The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

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Sher2

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Christine N. said:
Personally, I like Prettybig A**hol*s
I like it, Christine! That one would resonate really nicely on a tee-shirt, too.;)
 

Sher2

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robeiae said:
Or:

Putzes Abound
Particularly Abusive
Putrid A*******
Stop! It's too hard to read dry old work stuff with one eye and this stuff with the other and keep a straight face. You're gonna get me busted.;)
 

robeiae

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James D. Macdonald said:
That's a victory for our side. Formerly they didn't mention it at all.

Also, don't forget the last line...
...they must be convinced that the book will sell. Author: there is work to be done!

Yes authors, there is work to be done! By who, you ask? Well certainly not by us, we're just the publishers!!

Rob
 

Sassenach

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The old Neil Young song 'Helpless' keeps running through my brain when I read the PA boards...except I change the title to 'Clueless'. [Sorry if that sounds snide...it's just that I can't believe how ill-informed/misinformed some of these poor folks are.] How else to make sense of a writer not knowing what genre her book is, or being surprised to learn that there's a 'Christian fiction' market, or sending out press releases before galleys are received, etc. It's so sad.
 
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DaveKuzminski

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robeiae said:
Well, to leap to PA's defense, the FAQ page on their site does say:

Of course, you would have to go look for this, but I am sure it is sufficient, legallly speaking, to keep them out of trouble.

Not according to their contract which states that anything outside the contract has no bearing.

They can't have it both ways with them picking and choosing which applies at any given time.
 

AnneMarble

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Sassenach said:
How else to make sense of a writer not knowing what genre her book is, or being surprised to learn that there's a 'Christian fiction' market...

I missed that one. There was a PA author who didn't realize there was a market for Christian fiction? :( All you have to do is walk into many Wal-Marts, and you'll see a whole section devoted to Christian books, including some novels.

Sometimes the cluelessness comes from on top, however. Shortly after iUniverse first came into being, a guy joined my mailing list to promote his romance novel. He had probably never read a romance novel before, but iUniverse told him he had written a romance novel, so he came on our list (and probably others) to publicize it. However, it turned out that... the heroine died at the end!!! :faint: That just does not happen in romance novels. iUniverse probably thought that if it had a love story, that made it a romance novel -- so that's how they marketed it.

Then there was the author who e-mailed a copy of her novel to me (without asking me if I wanted it) because her publisher told her she should send her novel to important people in the industry to get cover quotes. :Smack:
 

James D. Macdonald

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Sassenach said:
How else to make sense of a writer not knowing what genre her book is, or being surprised to learn that there's a 'Christian fiction' market, or sending out press releases before galleys are received, etc.

Well, the practice of deleting posts/banning authors who do make sense has to have something to do with that.

New writers are cute as a basket of kittens and just as helpless. That's why older, more experienced writers get ticked off with the scammers who make their living by taking advantage of the newbies. We all know how vulnerable we ourselves were back when we got started.
 

James D. Macdonald

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AnneMarble said:
Sometimes the cluelessness comes from on top, however. Shortly after iUniverse first came into being...

I remember when the guys who founded iUniverse showed up at SFF.net, back when they were just getting started. They quite literally had never seen a publishing contract before Lawrence Watt-Evans and I typed a couple in for them.
 

clintl

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James D. Macdonald said:
I remember when the guys who founded iUniverse showed up at SFF.net, back when they were just getting started. They quite literally had never seen a publishing contract before Lawrence Watt-Evans and I typed a couple in for them.

That's pretty funny. Several years ago, when "digital printing" had become a viable technology, I had an idea for a publishing venture that I ended up deciding was not viable (at least the way I conceived it at the time). But I at least had the good sense to ask one of my writer friends if I could look at a copy of one of her contracts, and to ask several writers about what terms they felt were in contracts that were unfair to writers.
 

AC Crispin

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Phase Two of THE PROJECT

Hi, just a message for those who have signed up to be part of Phase Two of THE PROJECT. (And it's not too late! Vic, could you please post my original message again?)

I'm currently waiting on some vital info from Writer Beware's Attorney. As soon as I receive it, I'll be forging ahead, and you'll all hear from me.

Best,

-Ann C. Crispin
Writer Beware
www.writerbeware.com
Author: STORMS OF DESTINY/HarperEos
www.accrispin.com
 

realitychuck

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Just a thought

It occurred to me that the percentage of PA authors who have successful PA books is roughly equivalent to the percentage of all authors who submit to regular publishers.

A regular publisher may accept 1% of manuscripts (for the sake of argument), but 100% of those make money for the author.

PA accepts 100% of manuscripts, but 1% go on to be "successful." (Enough to make money for the author -- though even the most successful PA author has probably earned far less than an average author at a "traditional" publisher.)

Further, the 99% of manuscripts the regular publisher rejects only costs the author postage, ink, and paper. The manuscripts PA accepts cost their authors considerably more, both in money and effort.

So your chances of success are roughly the same, and the regular publisher is going to cost you less money, require less work, and earn you more.
 

NicoleJLeBoeuf

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Aconite said:
Thanks, Nicole. I never saw the edited post; it looks like she made the addition a few hours after the original post, and the thread had moved on by then. Good to know she's well.
She is apparently not only well, but has offered me a brownie for my troubles. I hear things about her brownies, though... does she make any of 'em unleaded? I mean, chocolate chips yes, but other, erm, fillings, perhaps we could leave out? Just for me? ;)
 

Sheryl Nantus

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Ed Williams said:
Patently

Amoral...


Also, on the "PA Authors Only Bookstore" thread, it seems a little reality is coming into play, witness these remarks:

The entire thread is here:

http://www.publishamerica.com/cgi-bin/pamessageboard/data/lounge/8651.htm






actually, I liked the post where it's now not the PA Author's store, but his "friend's"...

:Ssh:

and yet they're still talking about Bonnie's store and no one has bothered to contact her and see how THAT concept is working...

truly, the blind leading the blind...
 

Crystal Rivers

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If I hear the phrase "Everything was CLEARLY OUTLINED IN MY CONTRACT" as a defense of PA one more time, I'm going to blow chunks.
EmoteSmack.gif
(I'm new. Am I allowed to say that.)
EmoteSsh.gif
 

MadScientistMatt

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More from the All PA, All the Time bookstore thread:

As conceived, will the bookstore be completely devoted to PA authors or will we be competing with writers from major publishing companies?

If the former, I"m in.

One way or another, there isn't much avoiding competing with writers from major publishing companies if you have a real book store. I have to wonder how many people would actually walk into a PublishAmerica Factory Outlet more often than once or twice, particularly if they happened to pick up a book where the writer had chosen the "no editing" option.
 

Sher2

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Crystal Rivers said:
If I hear the phrase "Everything was CLEARLY OUTLINED IN MY CONTRACT" as a defense of PA one more time, I'm going to blow chunks.
EmoteSmack.gif
(I'm new. Am I allowed to say that.)
EmoteSsh.gif
You're not only allowed to say it, but there's a blowing chunks smilie floating around here somewhere.;)
 

lindylou45

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Originally Posted by Ed Williams
...
Can't we refer to it as "pickling" instead, something about the term "we're pickling PA" really appeals to me...

PickleAnyone -- works for me!
 

Ed Williams

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Crystal, not only can you say that...

...but I will offer a graphic to underline your sentiments:
vomit-smiley-015.gif


I think a translation is in order here as well, from PAese into regular English. Whenever you hear any PA author say,

"Everything was CLEARLY OUTLINED IN MY CONTRACT"
It actually means:

"I was just as snookered in as you were, but I'm not going to admit it, so I'll act as if I knew things were this way all along."

Your friendly Director of AW Translation Services,

E3
 

Sassenach

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The idea of a PA-only bookstore is so patently absurd that it's hard to read those posts without wanting to swing a giant clue bat.
 
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