The Old Neverending PublishAmerica Thread (Publish America)

Memphis Ed said:

What has Shemp done that anyone over here wants to accomplish?

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Three books with a vanity press!

James D. Macdonald said:

Three books with a vanity press!

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I'm still laughing at this, Uncle Jim. I stand corrected.

James D. Macdonald said:

More graveyard-whistling on the PAMB:



The poster seems to think that the folks who post the truth about PA are representatives of other vanity presses.

Poor guy! He ought to check out what it would have cost him to have a local printer run up as many copies of his slender poem book, coimpared to how much it cost him to have PA run up that same number. Then he can check how many of them he sold (and to whom) and how much more he would have made had he honestly self-published. (Not to mention how many more copies he might have sold had he been able to put a reasonable price on it. $14.95 for 88 pages!)

(I'm not talking about any of the vanity presses that call themselves "self-publishing services" or whatever -- I'm talking about honest self-publishing. Don't they have any Sir Speedy franchises in Philly?)

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We get paid to bash??? Sweet. Maybe now I don't have to look for a new job.

James D. Macdonald said:

Three books with a vanity press!

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??? Oh, you're being sarcastic. Nevermind.

Personal for those who need to hear it:

Just because your book is listed on ABE doesn't mean that it's being widely distributed or seen by readers or promoted by your publisher or even exists. All that being listed on ABE means is that your book has an ISBN.

James D. Macdonald said:

Personal for those who need to hear it:

Just because your book is listed on ABE doesn't mean that it's being widely distributed or seen by readers or promoted by your publisher or even exists. All that being listed on ABE means is that your book has an ISBN.

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There was a time when abebooks.com was strictly used copies (librarians found it a good place to shop for out of print items).

Now it has a lot of "stores" included in its listing, and some of those are merely a person with a website who orders the book after someone clicks on the "buy it."

So yes, it is not proof that one is selling at all.

AnneMarble said:

-snip- P.S. Maybe we should all change our avatars to pictures of menopausal women, just to draw him out.

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Change?

Dawno said:

Change?

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Um, yeah. You don't even look thirty in your current picture.

James D. Macdonald said:

Just because your book is listed on ABE doesn't mean that it's being widely distributed or seen by readers or promoted by your publisher or even exists. All that being listed on ABE means is that your book has an ISBN.

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Referencing result #5: Is Atlanta Nights really in its fourth edition?

Kris

DreamWeaver said:

Referencing result #5: Is Atlanta Nights really in its fourth edition?

Kris

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It certainly is! Check travistea.com for details. Find out if you have one of the super-rare collectible first edtions!

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[UPDATE] So far, http://www.travistea.com has had 4,543 unique visitors. Go, us!

Ken

whitewolfzty said:

Hello everyone,
Just thought it was time to join in. Yeah, I am another amputee from PA, I've had all my posts pulled and cannot gain access to the Private boards. No big deal I'll just come here instead. It was time for me to sever myself from the tenacious strings of the PA boards. It was beginning to stifle any creative juices I may possess.
I'll be back,
Ken

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Hi Ken! Long-time no talk! It's great to see you here, welcome to the cooler. Yeah, PA tends to pull all our posts after the big banning. They did the same thing when I was banned. Except I was grateful to not have to see my posts over there anymore. It couldn't have worked better, for me. You'll like it much better here. And don't forget to surf through the other forums to find a pick me up on inspiration!

Well there sure are a lot of ppl abandoning the old war-ship. Now I'm just waiting for Sooty girl and Jacki..and others. Come on down!

whitewolfzty said:

With such a response as this, I feel at home already. I will browse around and see which niche I fit into, but it seems nice here. Someone give me the low down on what to expect. I've only got one book out but I am working on the sequel to it now.
Thanks again, for the welcome.
I'll be back.
Ken

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My suggestion is to go introduce yourself at the Newbies Thread and then visit all the appropriate Writing Studio and genre threads. We are having some laughs over at Take it Outside...this is a great place to visit but even nicer once you start hanging out!

Memphis Ed said:

My guess is that Shemp has been here before and will be here again.

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Back when Sort by Reputation was enabled in Members List, he was easy to find.

That inverse-order feature was quite handy.

whitewolfzty said:

With such a response as this, I feel at home already. I will browse around and see which niche I fit into, but it seems nice here. Someone give me the low down on what to expect. I've only got one book out but I am working on the sequel to it now.
Thanks again, for the welcome.
I'll be back.
Ken

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Ken- You'd better be back. You are welcome here.

I realize this is old information but it bears repeating. Anyone that wants to report PA, the address is: Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 200 St Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-2021. You also need to report them to the General Attorney in your own state, Better Business Bureau, and since I, myself, am poorer than church mouse (and will stay that way thanks to good old PA, I'm looking into pro bono legal council by way of your state bar association and I, lucky me, have a law college where I live with students that I'm going to check into representation with). I still have a pass onto the private boards and wanted to post this info but I figured I'd be banned and deleted so fast that no one would have the chance to read it. I could care less about being banned but I've been waiting to be banned until there was something that needed to be posted and I have no idea where to post it. PA already knows that I'm a naughty writer I got my first tone letter- well, it wasn't my first but it was the most nasty one (I was soooo proud).

mdmkay said:

I realize this is old information but it bears repeating. Anyone that wants to report PA, the address is: Office of the Attorney General, Consumer Protection Division, 200 St Paul Place, Baltimore, Maryland 21202-2021.

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For the forty-seventh time, don't do this. The relationship between an author and PA is a business-to-business one, not a consumer transaction. Maryland's consumer protection laws do not apply to business-to-business transactions.

People who are looking for legal representation might check with Volunteer Lawyers for the Arts.

People who are looking for ways to help PublishAmerica reform might want to write to Ann about Phase II.

We've helped PA see the errors of their ways enough to make changes to their website, and I'm certain we're making progress in getting the word out to prospective victims -- I expect that's why they're raising their book prices: They have to cover the shortfall in revenue somehow.

So, keep up the good work, and help your fellow authors.

http://www.publishamerica.com/cgi-bin/pamessageboard/data/lounge/9183.htm

Message:
Does PA edit the manuscript?

I am getting conflicting thoughts on this.

The contract says they do edit.

That message was about 15 minutes ago...I don't suppose any PA old and moldies will want to get their weekend off to a rousing start with a truthful reply....anyone?

AUTHORS...if you want to know what PA does with your manuscript, then run a Spellcheck, cross your fingers and have a beer...cuz THAT'S all there is folks!

Jaws said:

The relationship between an author and PA is a business-to-business one, not a consumer transaction. Maryland's consumer protection laws do not apply to business-to-business transactions.

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All right, now. Anyone want to guess a good reason for PA to do business in Maryland?

A. Because that was the best place to build the warehouse in which they keep their inventory of printed books.
B. It's near Washington DC, so they are well-placed to bid on defense contracts and other lucrative government business.
C. See quote above.

Me: I'm not good at multiple choice. Can I take the test essay style?
PA: Sure, it'd make a good book.

Kris

akaa1a said:

I don't suppose any PA old and moldies will want to get their weekend off to a rousing start with a truthful reply....anyone?

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Woo hoo! Go, XXxxx!

James D. Macdonald said:

It certainly is! Check travistea.com for details. Find out if you have one of the super-rare collectible first edtions!

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[UPDATE] So far, http://www.travistea.com has had 4,543 unique visitors. Go, us!

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Ugh, collecting it is about all you want to do. The book has some comical points in it, unintended.

It was a coup, and I'm sure will rank (Up there) with Plant Nine from....

But the point was made, and it is for a good cause.

Originally Posted by akaa1a
I don't suppose any PA old and moldies will want to get their weekend off to a rousing start with a truthful reply....anyone?



Message:
Hey Soots!

JL...
You're right about that! I guess I would be concerned for the reader of the book though.

As we all know from posting on the boards, literary license can be misconstrued and may, in some cases, hurt the message.
I think it's important that people realize that successful editing takes a trained person, whether PA or not.

For example, "I" can take your manuscript and "proof" it for you...but, (as I scream running out of the building), I wouldn't ever "edit" it for you because I'm not a trained professional.

I think it's important to make that distinction and encourage authors to know the credentials of the person working on your manuscript.


Maybe old? Maybe moldy? Maybe coming to visit real soon!

DreamWeaver said:

A. The partners were all born and raised there, and just want to bring some prosperity to their beloved home town.

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Clopper and Prather are both from Maryland.