The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

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postshy

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Has anybody else had this experience....

A tidbit of news which I find very strange. PA owes me a cheque for the 5% overcharged me for my one and only shipment of fifty books. They admitted this was so, but no cheque has been received to date from them.

My royalty cheque at the end of February 2005 was for "0" - ZERO. I questioned this and informed them that I was almost 100% sure that I had sold a few books, but would not tell them how I knew. I said I would be contacting the IRS about the matter. Today I received a cheque for $3.39 (whoopee thrills!!) - purported to be "Royalties" - no further information. The cheque was dated 4/1/2005 - posted April 25th, 2005.

Am I the only one to be so-o-o lucky? OR, does PA hear the sound of water coming in through a leaky hull?

For heaven's sake, PA Authors still in PA's clutches - do you think we have nothing better to do but make up these stories about your beloved PA? Wake up and smell the roses!!!

PA - I know you read this Board. I shall not cash the cheque (ha! ha!) but will keep it, along with the envelope, as an example of your stupidity. Is this suppsed to compensate me - make me happy - make me keep my mouth shut? I have news for you- IT IS NOT GOING TO WORK! If you owed me royalties, you should have paid me at the end of February or, at the very least, sent me a letter of apology along with the cheque. I do not even know when, or where, these books were sold.

Sorry, my Nice-O-Matic broke!
 

realitychuck

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The think is, publishers are not in business to give their authors "a chance," and certainly not to make them feel good. They're in business to sell books. They'll publish an author if they feel he or she will sell books.

This doesn't mean they just want best sellers; it means they want books that have a reasonable chance to sell enough copies for them to break even or make a profit. So they reject books, not because they only want best sellers, or because they hate authors, but because that, for some reason, they don't think they can make money on it.

The reason to reject can range from the book being Godawful, to the fact that they just published a books on a similar subject the other day.

The only way a publisher can "give the author a chance," irrespective of its sales potential, is if the author pays for publication. Though all the big publishers take new authors, you don't hear them talking about "giving the author a chance." They talk about why readers will like the book.
 

M. Story

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postshy said:
.....OR, does PA hear the sound of water coming in through a leaky hull?
..........If you owed me royalties, you should have paid me at the end of February or, at the very least, sent me a letter of apology along with the cheque. I do not even know when, or where, these books were sold.
I think PA only tries to put out fires when someone threatens to call the fire department. They resolved a problem I had been trying to settle for 4 months only after I threatened to go to the attorney general & BBB. I know of someone else who had the same thing happen to them. They never even replied to one of my many e-mails and phone calls, and didn't even include a letter of explanation in the parcel they sent.
 

James D. Macdonald

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postshy said:
My royalty cheque at the end of February 2005 was for "0" - ZERO. I questioned this and informed them that I was almost 100% sure that I had sold a few books, but would not tell them how I knew. I said I would be contacting the IRS about the matter. Today I received a cheque for $3.39 (whoopee thrills!!) - purported to be "Royalties" - no further information. The cheque was dated 4/1/2005 - posted April 25th, 2005.

Wait a minute! Doesn't PublishAmerica say that they have never made an error on royalties? How is it that you're so lucky to be the only one of 11,000 happy authors to have the first error that they've ever made? This is a small symptom of a big problem.

I think you should make copies of that check and contact the IRS anyway. I'm sure they're sitting by their phones waiting to hear from you.

Is there some office at the embassy that deals with problems that Canadians have with foreign companies?
 

victoriastrauss

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James D. Macdonald said:
PublishAmerica Grows Its Author Support Team
Imagine a dim, low-ceilinged basement lab, with mist (and possibly less pleasant things) hovering about the perimeter. At the lab's center, erupting from the damp brick floor like a growth of massive fungi, are a dozen or so rectangular glass tanks, filled nearly to the brim with thick liquid glowing an eerie, unhealthy green. Something's inside the tanks, though the opacity of the liquid, and the dimness of the lab, make it hard to tell just what.

You approach (cautiously, 'cause that green stuff is really creepy), aware of a strong smell of chemicals, with undernotes of rot and corruption. The shapes in the tanks start to take on clearer form...you're nearly there now, you can almost make out what they are...they almost look like...like...oh my god, the one in the tank nearest you just turned its head and looked at you! It's...it's...ALIVE! It's PA's Author Support Team!

You're terrified. Your skin is crawling and your stomach is heaving. But you're also thrilled, because you've e-mailed Author Support 50 times in the last two weeks with a question about your royalties, and haven't gotten an answer yet. Now you know where the Team is growing, you can get hold of a real live Team member anytime--and they won't be able to ignore you, because they're stuck in those tanks.

Holding your nose against the appalling stench, you knock on the side of the tank where the growing Team member (it isn't quite finished yet; it doesn't have all its fingers) is still staring at you. In a firm, clear voice, you ask your royalty question. The Team member's bulbous eyes widen. Its blubbery lips part. Bubbles rise through the phosphorescent liquid as it begins to speak...and horror sweeps you up like a black tsunami. Those words, those awful words....

"Don't...take...that...tone...with...us."

You hear screaming...

- Victoria
 

postshy

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Yes, Uncle Jim......

I agree with you. How many mistakes have been made? Is this even the correct number? No information was given about where the books were sold. You know Ann's plan. I won't say more here Well, there will be a follow-up, you can bet. They also paid a friend of mine royalties on her personal order - they won't answer my question as to how this happened since there was no "special" on at the time. More mistakes? No wonder they do not want anyone in that Town House looking at their books - who knows what they would find? My friend has cashed her cheque, but she will let me have a copy of the royalty statement to submit to the IRS if necessary.

I was always taught, if you make a mistake, "Honesty is the best Policy", UNLESS you have something to hide.

Yes, I am a "disgruntled" PA author, PA Authors, so listen up before it happens to you. PA LIES TO YOU!
 

keltora

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victoriastrauss said:
Imagine a dim, low-ceilinged basement lab, with mist (and possibly less pleasant things) hovering about the perimeter. At the lab's center, erupting from the damp brick floor like a growth of massive fungi, are a dozen or so rectangular glass tanks, filled nearly to the brim with thick liquid glowing an eerie, unhealthy green. Something's inside the tanks, though the opacity of the liquid, and the dimness of the lab, make it hard to tell just what.

(snipped, though with great reluctance because it is so darn glorious...)

- Victoria

I have to go find a towel to clean the screen now... Spittle looks tacky on flat monitor screens... ;)
 

zizban

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Reading the board there is much evidence that PA books are in book stores.

The survival of the independent books stores and the concern over a handful of people picking the reading material for all of us is what is upsetting...I read an article recently on a best selling author's site about this and will find it and post it here.

Someone needs a visit from the Clue Wagon (tm)
 

bluwinteryfox

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victoriastrauss said:
It's...it's...ALIVE! It's PA's Author Support Team!
You hear screaming...- Victoria
:Clap: :roll: Oh my Victoria. My dog jumped off his chair to make sure I was okay as I fell off my chair laughing so hard. You really should take up writing.
 
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astonwest

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Memphis Ed said:
...the tread entitled "How many copies have you sold?" which was posted by a new author had 7 responses. This should tell us something.
I forget...I know there was a "how many copies did you purchase yourself?" poll over in the TIO board, but was there ever one for "how many copies have you sold?"
underthecity said:
In fact, somewhere there's got to be a line stating that authors don't have to pay a "dime" to get published, and that damn dime gets mentioned in --every--single--argument.
Actually, they're correct in that...they didn't have to pay just a "dime"...most PA authors probably had to pay in measurements of "dollars"...and quite a few, I imagine. I know I did...
victoriastrauss said:
Imagine a dim, low-ceilinged basement lab...
<snip>
You hear screaming...
Gave me goosebumps...*shiver*
 

CaoPaux

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*wince* A PA author paid $350 for a Kirkus review. It was a good review of a good book, so why do I wince?

1) They had to pay for a (debatably) respectable review.

2) I expect many of the 11,000 Happy Authors will now pay for a review.

3) Considering the average quality of a PA book, I fully expect *comment deleted by Nice-O-Matic(tm)*

http://www.publishamerica.com/cgi-bin/pamessageboard/data/general/2314.htm
 

Jeff

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Actually, they're correct in that...they didn't have to pay just a "dime"...most PA authors probably had to pay in measurements of "dollars"...and quite a few, I imagine. I know I did...

Let's not forget that they have to pay the fee for copyright (@$30), something a reputable publisher will do for you.
 

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realitychuck said:
...
The reason to reject can range from the book being Godawful, to the fact that they just published a books on a similar subject the other day.
...
I am under the impression from reading over the years that many rejections reflect the manuscript having been pitched to a publisher that simply does not publish that particular sort of book. (Or having been sent to a publisher that does not take unagented submissions, or that wants query first, or whatever.) Folks need to study the market guides, look at publishers' catalogs, etc. Lots of et ceteras. (One of these days I will get far enough along on a new project to get TO the et ceteras. Sigh.)

--Ken
 
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IWrite

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ResearchGuy said:
I am under the impression from reading over the years that many rejections reflect the manuscript having been pitched to a publisher that simply does not publish that particular sort of book. (Or having been sent to a publisher that does not take unagented submissions, or that wants query first, or whatever.) Folks need to study the market guides, look at publishers' catalogs, etc. Lots of et ceteras. (One of these days I will get far enough along on a new project to get TO the et ceteras. Sigh.)

--Ken

If you talk to anyone whose job requires them to go through a publisher's slush pile - they will tell you that the vast, vast majority are rejected for being doo doo.
 

Lisa Y

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I have a stupid question that's been bothering me for a while. Why do publishers pay people to read slush? I thought slush was the bad stuff that isn't worth publishing. Are they afraid they'll miss something good?
 

James D. Macdonald

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Lisa Y said:
Why do publishers pay people to read slush?

Because no one reads slush for fun.


I thought slush was the bad stuff that isn't worth publishing.

No, slush is just unsolicited manuscripts. Much of it is bad, but that isn't why it's slush.

Are they afraid they'll miss something good?

They all know that Stephen King, John Grisham, Tom Clancy, and Nora Roberts won't live forever.

With some few exceptions any published author you care to name came from the slush. The only question is whether the slush heap they rose from was at the publishing house or an agent's office.

You need to read Slushkiller.
 

reph

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A PA author unknown to me said:
One advantage the bashers have over us at PA is this. They actually get free publicity when they can lie about PA and get it printed in major newspapers without paying a dime.
Why does this person think the "bashers" want publicity? Publicity for what? Are we trying to sell something? And has the person identified any lies told by "bashers"?

If PA wanted to stand up and voice it's [sic] objections, I'm sure the New York Times and other papers would say sure we'll print that for a fee, and a big fee at that.
Not so fast. If PA were to pay the Times a fee to print something, the material would be advertising, not news – and reputable papers check ad copy for false claims.
 

JennaGlatzer

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Just wanted to drop in to say that I've spoken with Ed. He's not gone forever. (Like any of us were going to let him leave... ha!) He just needs a break.

Now might be a good time to mention something, too. Those of us who are on the "front lines" of this fight... please know that we don't just post on this board. The behind-the-scenes work that you don't see is probably double or triple what you do see. We do it because we care.

Because of that, things can get emotionally charged. I think most of us have come to a point where we say, "Why bother? Why don't I just deal with my own career?" I've hit that point, Diana's hit that point... yet we all come back. You don't see the nastygrams we deal with by e-mail, the amount of time we spend "counseling" people, writing letters, talking to lawyers, etc. I missed a book deadline for the first time because I was so caught up in this issue and these boards.

To then go to the PA boards (which I don't do unless someone points me there) and see the same people that we're trying to help talking about us as if we're anti-Christs... it sure can put a damper on my spirits. I understand the message over there: "We don't want your 'help.' You're just jealous. You hate that we're revolutionizing the industry. You're just negative people who butt into other people's businesses. You're elitists. You're disgruntled. You're trying to keep us down. You're liars. You're doing it to get publicity for yourselves. You're afraid of the competition. You're bashers!"

I think we all try to remind ourselves that a lot of those people are going to turn around and realize that none of that is true and wind up appreciating what we do over here, but even if they don't, WE still know it's not true, and WE still know that we're trying to fight "the good fight."

Still, when you're volunteering massive amounts of time, energy, and in some cases, money, to this cause and still getting spit on, it's hard to keep marching. To come here and get further criticized because someone didn't like the wording you used or the methods you chose makes it harder. It feels like you're damned if you do, damned if you don't.

I might have thrown my arms up and said "forget it" if not for the letters and phone calls
that remind me that even if I don't get to please everybody, there are a lot of people who've needed people like us to stand up for them, tell them they're not hopeless, and take up arms with them. Even if we haven't accomplished all our goals yet, we've made a difference for people who might have given up, people who might have stopped writing, believed they were to blame, or dove head-first into the next scam. We've forced PA to be more honest than they were before, and we can keep doing that.

I'm asking for a little leeway for that. If you disapprove of the way something was handled, I'm asking that you contact Victoria because she's the moderator of this board, rather than getting into nitpicky and often off-topic discussions about what's PC and what's not PC and what people are allowed to say here. Is there anyone here who you honestly think just enjoys making a sport of insulting PA authors for the heck of it? Anyone here who you think needs to be "called out" on actions because their intentions are bad?

Right. Let's do our best to stay on topic and working toward our shared goals.
 

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postshy said:
(Snip)
I said I would be contacting the IRS about the matter. Today I received a cheque for $3.39 (whoopee thrills!!) - purported to be "Royalties" - no further information. The cheque was dated 4/1/2005 - posted April 25th, 2005.
(Snippety)
PA - I know you read this Board. I shall not cash the cheque (ha! ha!) but will keep it, along with the envelope, as an example of your stupidity.

Oh, please don't do that. Photocopy it (one of the new scanner/copiers will give you an almost identical copy) and frame it if you want, but please, please, cash it. Make them actually spend the money. Unless, of course, they've put a weasel-word "satisfaction" on the back of the check.

Mo
 

mdin

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The PA new releases are out for the week. It looks like 115 books this time.

Has anyone noticed that they seem to be publishing more and more poetry lately?

Once again there's several spiritual books with the sky as a backdrop.
 

DaveKuzminski

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MMo said:
Oh, please don't do that. Photocopy it (one of the new scanner/copiers will give you an almost identical copy) and frame it if you want, but please, please, cash it. Make them actually spend the money. Unless, of course, they've put a weasel-word "satisfaction" on the back of the check.

Mo

Mo is Absolutely Write! Copy that check and then cash it. Don't give PA any excess funds to fight back with.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Imagine if 11,000 happy authors refused to cash $3.00 checks. Miranda, Larry, and Willem could stay an extra week on Aruba.

Do be careful, though, that they haven't added any words to the back of the check like "This payment satisfies all debts to me by PublishAmerica" or something sneaky like that.

What you do with that sort of thing -- write "For Deposit Only" on the back, and deposit it in your account.
 

James D. Macdonald

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On the for-pay Kirkus reviews:

They only appear on-line. They aren't in the paper version of Kirkus that goes to libraries and bookstores. In short, for authors, they're useless.

This is another example of a company turning to the dark side of the force.
 

pepperlandgirl

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You know what's kinda sad? My first novel is e-published. It was released today. I know for a fact that it's sold 5 copies (not saying it hasn't sold more, but I know 5 people have bought it) and I have already made more in royalties that pretty much all the PA authors did this last quarter (well at least the ones who posted the amount of their checks publically).

That's not kinda sad. That's really sad. If you are lurking and considering PublishAmerica, please, please, consider all of your options first. I may not be playing with the big boys yet, money wise. I didn't even get a $1 advance! But when my royalty check comes, it won't be for $3. I'll be able to buy more than a pack of cigarettes. And that's just with a little e-publisher. Imagine the possibilities!
 
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