The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

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NicoleJLeBoeuf

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And now for something completely different.

By the way, why do we say of a person exhibiting cult-like behavior, "They must be drinking the Kool-aid," like maybe at some point in the future they'll wise up and stop drinking it? Following the analogy we're using here, no one can be in an ongoing state of drinking that stuff. You drink it once, and then you die. Poison does that to a body.

Perhaps we should say, "They'd drink the Kool-aid if PA handed it to them"? Or, "We gotta get them out of there before they drink the Kool-aid"?

I dunno, just seems to me that we don't exactly have a one-to-one correspondence with this metaphor. Maybe I'm just anal? ;)
 

WhisperingBard

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For my fellow PA authors. . .

...who are doubting themselvs:

If writing was important to you *before* you published with PA, then it should be important to you now. Don't let PA take that away from you.

If you gave a good book to PA, write a better one now.

If your book was less than stellar, make up for it with a new, better one.

If you don't know the difference, start learning now.

PA may have scammed us, but they can't take away the one thing that matters: our writing. That's ours to do with what we will. If you give up, if you stop writing, PA has won. But more importantly, you have lost.

Setbacks are hard, especially when they cause us to doubt our own abilities. But the choice is: sit back and worry that our writing isn't any good, or set out to prove to everyone that we're one hell of a group of writers.

The choices are ours to make. Be courageous and make the right one.

I'm betting on us. :Hug2:
 

Literary Lola

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Dang it, Dolan...

How do you do it? You ask the tough questions and make the poignant observations just like...like...someone who is a free thinker. AND YOU STILL RETAIN YOUR POSTING RIGHTS. Heck, man, I've seen people get tossed for not brushing their teeth and flossing.

I bow before greatness. :Hail:
 

JennaGlatzer

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Nicole: Yes. You're anal. :D Jes' kiddin'. Perhaps this particular Kool-Aid poisons people very slowly, over time, instead of all at once.

Lisa: If it wasn't for your book, I wouldn't be in this fight. YOURS is the first PA book I ever read that I thought had real potential. You're good. I said so. And I'm a tough judge. I don't even like mysteries, remember?
 

Literary Lola

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re: WFH

Chacounne said:
Jaws, WFH?
LOLOL. I'm such an idiot. I kept seeing this as a WTF clause, as in "What The F...? :roll: All I could think was, "Yep, that's what I kept saying when I got my author's copies."

Note to self: make appt. with eye doctor.
 

lindylou45

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Medievalist said:
I wonder if Publish America had permission?

They had the permission of the Big 3. Don't you know that's all they need? :confused:
 

CaoPaux

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I'll wager WFH means Work For Hire. A large can of worms for a writer to open.
 

Ed Williams

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Let me say something here...

Sher2 said:
I know the feeling, ByGrace, and I'm also embarrassed by the whole debacle. By virtue of having written three novels, however, yes, you are a real author. You haven't yet reached the readership you want and you sure haven't been paid like a real author. All we can do now is hold our heads up, keep putting one foot in front of the other, and keep going. Otherwise, PA wins. I don't want that, and I don't think you do, either. :Thumbs:
All of you who wrote for PA, learned the truth, got out, and came here for support and help are to be commended - big time. Y'all are REAL writers, and the only sin you committed was believing the lies of three big pieces of pond scum and one small piece of horse excrement. That's all you're guilty of, being decent human beings who took someone at their word. Someone whose obligation was to be straight and honest with you. It's nothing to feel bad about, it is nothing to be ashamed of, it's Moe-randa, Larry, and Curlem who shouldn't be able to hold their heads up. Y'all don't know how I proud I am to see all of you here, how proud I am of all of you for your guts, determination, and most of all, character.

Please - as it suits you, let it go. Grieve, but let it go. Obstacles will always be out there, but you've passed through a most difficult one. You all kept open minds and learned the truth. In the end, many of y'all will be among those standing, holding books in your hands that you'll be proud to claim. And even if more books aren't in the cards, y'all will still stand tall, because of your inner decency and your willingness to help other writers avoid those literary whores up in Maryland. I'm very proud to be associated with every one of you.
 

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Literary Lola said:
LOLOL. I'm such an idiot. I kept seeing this as a WTF clause, as in "What The F...? :roll: All I could think was, "Yep, that's what I kept saying when I got my author's copies."

Note to self: make appt. with eye doctor.


OMG That is what I was seeing too!


Jenn
 

bikrpreacher

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Ed, that was such a sweet post, tell you what I'm going to do for ya, I'll drive on over to
Atlanta and go to Mulligan’s, and have a hamdog. Oh you are welcome, I'll come back and describe it for you, it's the least I can do. no, really, you are welcome! (hahaha, bad I know.)
 

Deleted member 42

Chacounne said:
Jaws said:
What I have in front of me is not just a rights grab—it's a WFH grab. The
noncompete clause, which is buried, is also rather obnoxious, although
fortunately it's probably unenforceable. The pay rate is also unreasonably
low considering the profitability of the series… although that particular
problem is hardly unique to Chicken Soup.


Jaws, WFH?

Work For Hire; they hire you to write, you write, they pay you, and they own all the rights, forever. They don't even have to use your name. Whatever you wrote is their property.
 

lindylou45

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Sher2 said:
This may be THE most distressing PA experience I've heard yet. PA ought to be roasted on a spit in the fiery furnace for this. :(

Not only PA, but the "advertisers" who took his money when they had to know they could never get his book into bookstores. I know one author who went to an advertising firm and as soon as she told them who her publisher was they told her they couldn't help her because, in their experience, bookstores simply did not stock PA books.
 

bikrpreacher

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Ed Williams said:
....that I've heard from the owner of Mulligan's, and I will be enjoying a hamdog soon. So there! :banana:

LOL, so I'm too late again. Gotta work on my timing! LOL
 

NancyMehl

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Rep points....

Ed Williams said:
All of you who wrote for PA, learned the truth, got out, and came here for support and help are to be commended - big time. Y'all are REAL writers, and the only sin you committed was believing the lies of three big pieces of pond scum and one small piece of horse excrement. That's all you're guilty of, being decent human beings who took someone at their word. Someone whose obligation was to be straight and honest with you. It's nothing to feel bad about, it is nothing to be ashamed of, it's Moe-randa, Larry, and Curlem who shouldn't be able to hold their heads up. Y'all don't know how I proud I am to see all of you here, how proud I am of all of you for your guts, determination, and most of all, character.

Please - as it suits you, let it go. Grieve, but let it go. Obstacles will always be out there, but you've passed through a most difficult one. You all kept open minds and learned the truth. In the end, many of y'all will be among those standing, holding books in your hands that you'll be proud to claim. And even if more books aren't in the cards, y'all will still stand tall, because of your inner decency and your willingness to help other writers avoid those literary whores up in Maryland. I'm very proud to be associated with every one of you.

Ed,

I was going to give you some big rep points and tell you what a sweetheart you are, but I have been informed by the RepPoints Fairy that I must spread my magic points around more and stop sliding them all under your pillow.

So....:Fairydust this is the best I can do for now.

Nancy
 

Sher2

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writerjenn said:
Aren't they ALL WTF clauses? You read 'em and think.. 'WTF'?
Either I have a 1-track mind or we're deep, deep thinkers -- that's what I thought, too. :Smack: You're so right, Jenn -- PA contracts are chock-full of WTF clauses, except I tend to think of them as FY clauses.;)
 

underthecity

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Got some advice for the PA authors who have their books held hostage, and who have been told to keep writing by the helpful posters on this board:

IT'S EASIER THE SECOND TIME AROUND.

Anyone who has written a second book knows this, but the ones who have only written one may not. And to those who are now having doubts about their abilities because of PA, do what Uncle Jim and everyone else says: write your next book. Start right away. Use the characters out of your first book and put them in all new situations if you have to.

You'll find you're constructing sentences better, remembering the things you did wrong the first time. Dialog is easier to write. Grammar has improved. You catch mistakes as you make them. And editing especially is easier and seems to go more smoothly.

Get a copy of Atlanta Nights and read it carefully, comparing it with your own work. The glaring and obvious mistakes in AN will help you analyze your own manuscript better. I'm serious, it works.

Or consider this: you told the story you wanted to tell in your first book didn't you? Why not try a nonfiction title, like a local interest book or a how-to book? Is there any particular subject you know a lot about? Write about it. Just ask Jenna Glatzer, she's written at least two about subjects she knew a lot about. Nonfiction is easier to write than fiction (but may take a lot of research) and can be a lot of fun. Or write a tell-all book: "How I survived the Clutches of PA and Became a Famous Author." Books like this sell.

Nonfiction authors, even if you say, "I've never done fiction," try it! Write the story you've been carrying inside you all these years. Ask any questions that come up along the way on Uncle Jim's thread. Have some fun with it. You have nothing to lose, and everything to gain. (Cliche, I know, but it applies.)

You've already written one book. That's a lot of work, but you learned a lot doing it. Whether or not you're fighting to get the rights to your book back shouldn't stop you from writing anyway.

Worst case:

You don't write anything for the next year and work your full time job while fighting with PA, which could go on for a while. In one year: no writing is done. It's just one year later.

OR, you work your full time job, fight PA, and write a little every day in your new WIP, be it fiction or nofiction. In one year: you have a finished manuscript that you are now submitting to publishers. You've beaten PA. Because of them, you will now be published. When you get your book back from PA, rewrite it and submit it to your new publisher. Chances are they'll want it. (You can leave out the fact it was printed by PA. It won't matter.)

I know that your experience is draining, depressing, frustrating, teeth-clenching, tear shedding, and chair throwing. In spite of this, you ARE a writer, and like Billy Crystal says in Throw Momma From the Train: "Writer's write, always." ;)

Don't let this company stop you from pursuing your dream.

Now I should get back to work on my own WIP. :Coffee:

underthecity
 

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NancyMehl said:
Ed,

I was going to give you some big rep points and tell you what a sweetheart you are, but I have been informed by the RepPoints Fairy that I must spread my magic points around more and stop sliding them all under your pillow.

I'll donate to the cause Nancy <g>
 

Sassenach

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Or consider this: you told the story you wanted to tell in your first book didn't you? Why not try a nonfiction title, like a local interest book or a how-to book? Is there any particular subject you know a lot about? Write about it. Just ask Jenna Glatzer, she's written at least two about subjects she knew a lot about. Nonfiction is easier to write than fiction (but may take a lot of research) and can be a lot of fun. Or write a tell-all book: "How I survived the Clutches of PA and Became a Famous Author." Books like this sell.

Talk about WTF?! As a writer and teacher of nonfiction, I consider your comment: Nonfiction is easier to write than fiction absurd.
 

underthecity

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Sassenach said:
Talk about WTF?! As a writer and teacher of nonfiction, I consider your comment: Nonfiction is easier to write than fiction absurd.

Sassenach, I'm sorry, and don't wish to start a debate, but I'll clarify this since I wasn't specific.

In a nonfiction book, you don't have the same restrictions as a novel: plot, characters, etc. It's a different beast, but not necessarily "easy." It's not "easy" to write a history book or a "how-to" book, just different.:Smack:

utc
 
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Sassenach

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OK utc...clarified.

I write both, and sometimes 'making stuff up' for fictionis as difficult as researching it for non-fiction!
 

reph

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Medievalist said:
Work For Hire; they hire you to write, you write, they pay you, and they own all the rights, forever. They don't even have to use your name. Whatever you wrote is their property.
One difference between a work-for-hire contract and an all-rights contract: with the latter, in some circumstances you can buy your rights back. Another difference: with the former, the agreement is supposed to precede delivery of the work, although not every publisher seems to know that.
 
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