The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

realitychuck · Apr 8, 2005

James D. Macdonald said:
Maybe a trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield, too, and a banquet after? That would resonate! Maybe call the Guiness people if it looks like the World's Largest Group Arbitration?

Antietam is much closer to Fredrick, and is a pretty impressive battlefield, too.

My feeling about the WD ad about PA was that it was early in PA's history, when their reputation hadn't gotten out. A search at that time would probably reveal that PA was indeed publishing books and only charging $1, just as they promised. And with no AW forum, it would be difficult for a researcher to get the whole story.

If PA were taking out the ad today, they'd be treated differently.

Gravity · Apr 8, 2005

realitychuck said:
Antietam is much closer to Fredrick, and is a pretty impressive battlefield, too.

My feeling about the WD ad about PA was that it was early in PA's history, when their reputation hadn't gotten out. A search at that time would probably reveal that PA was indeed publishing books and only charging $1, just as they promised. And with no AW forum, it would be difficult for a researcher to get the whole story.

If PA were taking out the ad today, they'd be treated differently.

Lord God above, I would sure hope so! Treated differently, hmmm? Maybe something that would...resonate. In honor of our errant PA crew, manning the mighty, although listing to port badly, pirate ship, I'm kinda liking the idea of taking "resonate" and turning it into something salacious. As in:

"Bobby! You've been in that bathroom an hour. You'd better not be resonating!"

"I'm not, mom! Honest!"

"You know what that say about boys who resonate! You'll go blind!"

"Well...can I at least do it until I get a better contract?"

Ahem. You all can see the possibilities with this, I'm sure. The mind reels...

John

DaveKuzminski · Apr 8, 2005

Aside from Writer Beware and P&E, there really weren't many warnings out then concerning PA. At that time, P&E was also hosted on the SFWA site, so the only writers who knew of us were mainly those interested in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Regardless, I'm proud that P&E pegged them from the beginning when a writer asked for our opinion of the PA contract.

Sher2 · Apr 8, 2005

Gravity said:
In honor of our errant PA crew, manning the mighty, although listing to port badly, pirate ship, I'm kinda liking the idea of taking "resonate" and turning it into something salacious. As in:

"Bobby! You've been in that bathroom an hour. You'd better not be resonating!"

"I'm not, mom! Honest!"

"You know what that say about boys who resonate! You'll go blind!"

"Well...can I at least do it until I get a better contract?"

Ahem. You all can see the possibilities with this, I'm sure. The mind reels...

Clearly, my mind resides in low places. I've been attaching this connotation to that wonderful, fits like a glove (no, don't go there) word for a while now, doing my darndest to not go blind. What a powerfully resonant word -- you can use it as a noun, a verb, an adjective, even an adverb if you're in the right frame of mind.

lindylou45 · Apr 8, 2005

Just a really short post

We all know the The Pickler here. Well, if you'd like to be his sidekick, please go to the Take It Outside Board and read the thread regarding sidekick auditions. The Pickler is getting mighty tired of fighting alone!

Of course, I will always be his favorite sidekick, but I'm willing to step aside and allow a more "pickle-worthy" candidate to emerge.

PICKLE POWER

Duncan J Macdonald · Apr 8, 2005

realitychuck said:
Antietam is much closer to Fredrick, and is a pretty impressive battlefield, too.

An even more impressive site near there is the *cough*undisclosed location*cough* where Dick Cheney was during most of the Autumn of 2001. I might be prevailed upon to drive folks by there -- but not too close, the guards at the gate carry automatic weapons with chambered rounds.
Camp David is fairly close as well.

Ed Williams · Apr 8, 2005

Whew, things are getting a bit tense over in...

...the Great and Mighty Land of Poz, here's someone on the PA boards responding to a fellow author who's just noted that his PA book is in the top ten PA bestsellers on Amazon:

after much study, being in the top 25 on amazon with PA means you sold 4-7 books last year.

enjoy your $5.22

The only word I can think of right now is, "Ouch!"

On another front, here's some fairly simple proof that bookstore placement is next to impossible for PA books - on their Book Signings, etc. link, there are ten threads. And this out of a reported 11,000 plus PA authors?
Trying to commercially sell PA books is like trying to set an Olympic swimming record with a baby hippo clinging to your leg...

Sher2 · Apr 8, 2005

Ed Williams said:
...the Great and Mighty Land of Poz, here's someone on the PA boards responding to a fellow author who's just noted that his PA book is in the top ten PA bestsellers on Amazon:

The only word I can think of right now is, "Ouch!"

On another front, here's some fairly simple proof that bookstore placement is next to impossible for PA books - on their Book Signings, etc. link, there are ten threads. And this out of a reported 11,000 plus PA authors?
Trying to commercially sell PA books is like trying to set an Olympic swimming record with a baby hippo clinging to your leg...

Whew! Things are tense all over. Lord have mercy, when will they ever learn that "top ten PA bestsellers" means nothing in the grand scheme of things? That baby hippo's not only clinging, he's got a mouth full of sharp, baby hippo teeth and he's biting. :Wha:

T42 · Apr 8, 2005

DaveKuzminski said:
Aside from Writer Beware and P&E, there really weren't many warnings out then concerning PA. At that time, P&E was also hosted on the SFWA site, so the only writers who knew of us were mainly those interested in science fiction, fantasy, and horror. Regardless, I'm proud that P&E pegged them from the beginning when a writer asked for our opinion of the PA contract.

Dave, what is really PAthetic on my part is that I found a couple of places after I had gotten into it pretty deep with pa that had people discussing pa and how unhappy they were so I wrote pa a letter and told them that I wanted to hold off for awhile because I had read some negative things about them and wasn't sure what I wanted to do yet. I got one of the basic this is what we are about and you will find disgruntled authors with any publisher and that some people just aren't happy no matter what. And because I didn't find a lot about it at the time or just didn't look hard enough, I fell for their crap hook, line and sinker! If only I had come across this place at that time.....I guess I will go sleep on it...oh the regrets, the torture...the demons....the stooges....It's always something!
Night all! :hi:

Renee · Apr 8, 2005

Mem that's called a PA moment..lol..

Hang in there!

BTW- It's good to see you again. :Hug2:

NancyMehl · Apr 8, 2005

WD

Sassenach said:
Nancy:

Did you at least get a kill fee?

I pitched them some ideas a while back, and the response was very snotty, fwiw.

I was paid for the article after it was accepted, so no need for a kill fee.

I'm not out any money, but when you keep telling people you sold an article to WD - but it never shows up....well, after a while they start to look at you funny.

Again, I wonder if my PA connection had anything to do with it.

Nancy

lindylou45 · Apr 8, 2005

It might take that just to get him to shutup about the dang bathroom.

I've always found the pharase "do it yourself." always works well.

I am so discouraged with this pa thing! They lie out of their butts and people believe them. They flat out lie in letters, ads and everything else and the world just keeps going on and so do they! Why doesn't the dang press jump on these slime balls? They don't even seem interested in the matter of PA!

I know, Mem. But we'll get there. They will eventually fall, maybe not today, or tomorrow, but soon. I wonder if they liked my website.

lindylou45 · Apr 8, 2005

T42 said:
Of course your right about the first part! I have sent out so many letters to the press and everyone I can think of too investigate Pa. and I get so mad when I see the letters they send myself and others. I get mad anytime I read the threads at PA and every time I see the fraudulent statements they make all over the web.

We all do, Mem. We have to keep the pressure on and the only way to do that is to keep exposing them. I've written to numerous sources as well, and I'll continue to do so. Say goodbye to the stooges! :hi:

lindylou45 · Apr 8, 2005

T42 said:
I found out that they (bible colleges) don't have a very good sense of humor and they don't like people who party and they do not like hippie's! (Even in Ca.) Wow, those were the good ol' days! Gotta eat now...

A bible college that doesn't like hippies -- I thought the whole thought process was to love everybody -- even hippies. Poor Mem, here have a brownie. :Hug2:

mdin · Apr 8, 2005

Ed Williams said:
...the Great and Mighty Land of Poz, here's someone on the PA boards responding to a fellow author who's just noted that his PA [/color]

That's pacman. I'm fairly certain he'll be an AWer if he's not one already in the coming weeks/months.

****

Hey, aren't those court TV shows really mediators? Judge Judy, People's Court, etc.?

I would pay money to see that.

Steve 211 · Apr 8, 2005

About the WD Book Club bit I started, thanks to Jenna and all for checking out WD's policies. I have in the past enjoyed and benefited from their interviews and articles. When it got old, I left, but it was good for the time.

The thing that gets me about the Book Club, though, is they're not showing PA as simply another advertiser, but are congratulating people for having their books published by them. Giving them, by default, a thumbs up.

I'll send them a letter, and while that may not help any, at least I'll have done something to try to save another book's soul (to say nothing of the author's frustration).

Anyway, it's great to see what you're all doing, and my best to Uncle Jim, Jenna, Victoria, Kuzminski, Jaws, and everyone else who are working to take Publish America down on its dirty knees. :guns:

MariahJ · Apr 9, 2005

I have been lurking and gathering good info from the many here. One comment on whether this HB person is here or not, I have noticed some similarities to writing style and manner also of him and some here, but I wasn't going to say anything. Is this PA war that big? Is HB a PA employee or not?

Thanks

MJ

SeanDSchaffer · Apr 9, 2005

Reply to MariahJ

MariahJ said:
I have been lurking and gathering good info from the many here. One comment on whether this HB person is here or not, I have noticed some similarities to writing style and manner also of him and some here, but I wasn't going to say anything. Is this PA war that big? Is HB a PA employee or not?

Thanks

MJ

Hi MJ,

First, welcome to the AW Boards. It's good to hear from you.

Second, it's only natural that some people on these boards will write similarly to HB, but that's only because there are so many members on this board who constantly write on this particular thread. There are more than a thousand members of AW, and it stands to reason that some of them will sound a lot like Mr. Marcus.

As for the 'PA War' you mentioned: PublishAmerica is hurting more writers than just about any other scam out there. At last count they had more than 11,000 authors under contract with them. And their contract is most certainly less than savory. I signed with them a year-and-a-half ago, and only recently (within the last couple of months) found out about the deceptive language used in the contract. It's a scary thing to have to deal with, only finding out you've been scammed after you've signed a contract with the scammer. I'm just one of the 11,000 authors they've scammed. It's such a big operation and it hurts so many writers by preying on their dreams of being published for a quick buck: this is why the 'PA War' is so big.

Finally, about Marcus' being a PA employee: I couldn't tell you either way. I frankly don't know, and dare not hazard a guess. A lot of people have suspected it for the longest time, but I personally do not know the answer to that particular question.

Again, it's good to have you here, and welcome.

Ed Williams · Apr 9, 2005

Welcome, Mariah, and I think....

MariahJ said:
I have been lurking and gathering good info from the many here. One comment on whether this HB person is here or not, I have noticed some similarities to writing style and manner also of him and some here, but I wasn't going to say anything. Is this PA war that big? Is HB a PA employee or not?

....the bottom line is, the PA "war" is this big, and the person in question is not even worthy of further discussion - he's a literary pissant, and that's me being really nice about it.

Getting back to the PA war, I've spent time with more than one person here who has poured their hearts into writing something, only to find that they might as well have taken their work and tossed it into a Krispy Kreme doughnut machine. PA is simply a trip to nowhere. When I started writing, I had a couple of very nice published authors who greatly helped me out, they gave me good advice, and really helped build my confidence about what I was attempting to do (get published). When I asked what I could do in return for their kindness, they both told me, "Help any promising writer who happens to come along." Since there are tons of promising writers here, and PA preys on people like that, I feel like my way of helping them is to do anything I can to expose PA for what they are. I've personally watched writers at conferences and literary trade shows get embarrassed beyond measure on account of their association with PA, and that's a terrible thing to behold. PA treats their writers pretty much like pond scum, and they need to be the same as Tim McVeigh - gone.

Mariah, didn't mean to get so intense, just wanted to fully and honestly answer your questions. You'll enjoy it here at AW, lots of good info and good people to be found, and I hope you'll post more in the future.

P.S. Fellow denizens of AW, we have gone over 200,000 page views for this thread! Two hundred thousand! I had someone email me the other day and say they loved the info presented here and the fact that we're a wonderful "literary soap opera." Personally, I think ZaZ is the true drawing card for this thread, his quiet epistles of friendship, togetherness, and sobriety draw people in here like magnets....

Diana Hignutt · Apr 9, 2005

When the PA Trial Comes...

I'll be at the PA trial. Okay, maybe not the criminal one, but at one of the civil cases...

I'll bet I'll have a better seat than most anyone...

(patience, my friends, patience)

diana

Moondancer · Apr 9, 2005

Sassenach said:
Here's a PA author who's a target for the PR types. She's puzzled as to why the PA 'press releases' aren't doing the job. Poor naive PA'er:

When I received this e-mail, I thought, "Cool! I'll bet I hear back from the newspapers around here!" (I live in the Middle Tennessee area, by the way; there are two newspapers I listed in the media contacts, the Tennessean in Nashville and my local community newspaper.)

So I waited a couple of weeks and didn't hear anything.

Then I found the pertinent newspaper editors' e-mail addresses and e-mailed them notification that I had signed a contract with PA, and that they had probably received a press release on this from PA, and if they had any questions about this, they could contact me.

I still haven't heard anything. I didn't even get any responses from the e-mails.

The Tennessean doesn't have a literary/book section. Unless the book release was newsworthy for other reasons, he/she shouldn't expect to see anything in it about the book. As far as her community paper is concerned, it, too, will depend on what the focus of the paper is. I never really got that sending press releases to local papers method. I suppose it's another way PA looks like it's doing something without actually doing anything. *sigh*

Moondancer · Apr 9, 2005

Sher2 said:
Yeah, I'd go to the hairdresser's and plop down $20 or $30 for a paperback by somebody I've never heard of. Somebody is waaaaaaaay down the rabbit hole. They might have better luck making their pitch in bars -- say, right around last call.

Nah, not at last call... it needs to be timed just right... somewhere between too drunk to know better but still having money in the pocket.

MartyKay · Apr 9, 2005

Sher2 said:
MartyKay, I dub thee Official Haiku Priestess.

Thanks

umm.. perhaps I should point out I'm male in gender, though... (where's the blush emoticon??)

marty

Christine N. · Apr 9, 2005

James D. Macdonald said:
Maybe a trip to the Gettysburg Battlefield, too, and a banquet after? That would resonate! Maybe call the Guiness people if it looks like the World's Largest Group Arbitration?

LOL, heck, might as well make a trip to Baltimore and visit the Inner harbor. Catch a seafood dinner. Maryland crab cakes mmmmmm... If you're gonna go down that way, at least make it worthwhile

That old battlefield's not all that exciting, I don't think. But if you go, I'll just take a jaunt to the Boyd's Bear factory.

Sher2 · Apr 9, 2005

MartyKay said:
Thanks

umm.. perhaps I should point out I'm male in gender, though... (where's the blush emoticon??)

marty

I'm blushing right along with you, Marty. Sheesh, you'd think I'd know the difference at my age. :Shrug:

I'm searching my vast depository of very useful items for an appropriate icon for the High Priest of Haiku. Sorry, dude.

The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

Hack Writer

Seen 'em come, seen 'em go

Preditors & Editors

Auroraless ExPAtriate

The Stooge Slayer

Plotting! Not Plodding!

Auroraless ExPAtriate

Herb Lady

She Who Resonates...

The Stooge Slayer

The Stooge Slayer

The Stooge Slayer

The late, the great XThe NavigatorX

Here and There

MariahJ

SeanDSchaffer

Very Tired

Sockpuppet Hunter

haz a shiny new book cover

Auroraless ExPAtriate