The New Never-Ending PublishAmerica Thread (NEPAT)

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tlblack

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Mostly just to annoy PA and be a squeaky wheel, I sent an e-mail to "author support" (what a joke!) asking them why none of my friends or family had received an announcement about my book being available. It's been available since October. I had given them a list of names and addresses of family members, at PA's request, and had included my name and address so I would know when the mailng was sent.

Here's the response I received:

____

Thank you for contacting us about the announcement letters for your book.

We appreciate your interest and pro-active stance with regard to the marketing
of your book.

Per Paragraph 17 of the contract, all marketing and promotion is at our election
and discretion. We have elected not to send the letters to your international
addresses.

We would be happy to provide you with the letter, which you can mail to any
addresses you would like.

Please continue to contact us with your suggestions and ideas.

You will receive a confirmation email in the next 24 hours. If you do not
receive one, please fill out the form again.

____

By international they meant a couple (two to be exact) addresses in Canada.

I think this is another way they are trying to save money. Postage is expensive, even when you're sending things out bulk mail. Much cheaper to just send the author the letter and have them mail out the announcement. Not that I'm going to do that. After all, that is at my "discretion." I did ask them to send me the letter, though, as A) it makes more work for them to do, and B) I'd like to see what it says.

And what an odd last paragraph. It's generally the standard one they send you in another one of the form letters. Somebody hit the wrong button somewhere and used the wrong form letter.

Which basically means: "We lost or threw away your list of family and friends so we can't possibly send out the letters. We really don't want to sell your book to anyone but you, so we'll send you a copy that you can do with what you want."
 
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Merricat

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I have published two books with Publish America and so far I have been happy with the process, although I know it certainly isn't one I want to use for future books.

RJ -- I'm glad PA fulfilled your needs with your first two books (nothing wrong with just wanting a couple of free copies for the family) and glad that you are looking elsewhere for your adult fiction. Good luck, and enjoy exploring the rest of AW.
 

smsarber

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PA= P.ompous A.sses who want only money and control over the masses they draw in with their cheap talk and not-so-cleverly (once you get to really see them for what they are) hidden agendas.

Thank you, I'll be here all night:D
 

roncouch

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Arrggghhhh!

Dear Author,

Frame this: February is royalty month. Your next royalty statement is due in less than six weeks.

Receiving their royalty check is a high moment in every author's life, no matter the dollar amount. A moment worth framing.

We are offering to frame your next royalty check for you, in a distinguished, transparent 8x10 hard coated frame that "floats" the check between sheets of glass and plexiglass. You can hang it on your wall, stand it on your desk, or display it in any other way you want. For a sample see www.publishamerica.com/framedcheck. It looks beautiful!

Note: you will still receive a negotiable version of your check that you can deposit, ensuring that the framed copy is a keepsake forever.

Reserve your framed check today. Price: $19.95, plus s&h. Phone orders only, at 301 695-1707, between 9am - 5pm EST. Offer expires January 30.


This is also a reminder that it is the author's responsibility to ensure that PublishAmerica has your most recent mailing address and email address on file. When we prepare our roughly 30,000 statements next month, all checks will go to the addresses that we have on file by January 31. If you need to update yours, please do so before the end of next week by email at [email protected].

Checks will be mailed February 28; statements regarding titles that sold zero copies will be forwarded by email. Framed checks will ship together with statements and negotiable checks early March.

Thank you.

PublishAmerica Author Support Team

 

Marie Pacha

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Order your framed copy of your check today (and before January 30) without any way to know if yours will be for $0.00 or another amount.

They'll send the negotiable checks with the framed copies, which means the author pays the postage for their royalty checks too.

Jan. 30 - Feb. 28 doesn't give them a lot of time to have the copies framed and prepared for shipment if very many people order them.
 

merrihiatt

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I thought this post was a joke. That someone made it up to sound like something silly that PA might do. IT'S REAL!!!!! I received the e-mail in my e-mail box. And, even worse than that, the site counter where the check is posted for viewing is at 460. Heaven's to Betsy!!!! I am speechless.:Ssh: A new low for PA.
 

merrihiatt

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$1.00 for the frame, .50 cents for the bubble wrap package, .05 cents for the special check design, maybe $4.00 in postage. PA spent a total of $5.55 and will make a profit of at least $14.00 on each of these framed checks. OH MY GOSH!!!!!!! And, yes, I am yelling. THIS IS INSANE!!!
 

Gillhoughly

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Checks will be mailed February 28;
Hmm, so about half a dozen of those will go out to writers with really BIG families buying a few books--or writers who bought copies through the PA website.

Remember--if you bought copies through the author "discount" those are NOT royalty sales.

statements regarding titles that sold zero copies will be forwarded by email.
That will account for 29,993 (I'd say 29,994, but Merrihiatt has wisely included herself out of the 30K "happy" authors), so no postage costs there.

Framed checks will ship together with statements and negotiable checks early March.
YO--PA?

What if the writers reserving framed checks made zero royalties?

The vast number of your customers, I mean authors, are going to make zip. That's spelled Z-I-P.

You going to sell them a blank sheet of paper for 19.99 + overcharging on the shipping?

Oh, damn, I just gave them another way to rip off their victims.

PA lurkers--

If your royalty statement numbers disagree with the number of books you KNOW you sold, make a fuss.

MAKE A BIG FUSS.


For those whose royalty check is disappointing (and it will be) and you complain to PA:

If you get a tone letter ripping you a new one and saying you didn't work hard enough to make sales so it's clearly YOUR fault, you're ungrateful, and should immediately apologize--

---Then please join AW and blow off steam here. PAMB won't allow that, but we do.

We welcome you, and your posts will NOT be deleted; you will NOT be banned.
 
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merrihiatt

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Well, gee, I have something to look forward to now. My royalty check will be mailed to me as I know that five books were purchased (three through Amazon.com back in October and two through PA back in October). So, my whopping check for $5.05 (if I'm lucky!) will be enough to buy a week's worth of fruit and yogurt parfait's at McDonald's, but that's about it.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Wow. Did you see how that sample check had the amount filled out for $84.75?

That's the equivalent of 71 $24.95 books sold.

Bets on how many people will get checks that high?

500 or fewer of the 30,000 ecstatically happy authors? 100 or fewer? 10 or fewer?

Anyone?
 

Marian Perera

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I thought this post was a joke. That someone made it up to sound like something silly that PA might do. IT'S REAL!

I actually said aloud, "No. No. I don't frigging believe it" when I read that email.

On the plus side, I like PA's growing greed and desperation. If even one or two honeymooners wonder why they're always being solicited for money, that's a good thing.
 

PVish

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Wow, they're turning into poetry.com.
That was my first thought! Now, if they offer plaques with the book's cover, a special medallion proclaiming "I'm a Published Author!" and an adoption certificate proclaiming "Official Member of the PA Family," they'll have surpassed any sleazy award poetry.com has offered.

I wonder if they got the idea from all the HappyAuthors proclaiming on the PAMB how they framed their dollar. I'll bet they offer framed dollars next.

Forget the lighter. This calls for a blowtorch.
 

DaveKuzminski

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Checks will be mailed February 28; statements regarding titles that sold zero copies will be forwarded by email. Framed checks will ship together with statements and negotiable checks early March.

So which is it? Are they sending the negotiable checks in February or March? Don't their contracts state February? Is it possible that PA is trying to squeeze out an extra day of delay in order to have funds behind the checks so they don't bounce off those frames?

Of course, it could be embarrassing for PA if they send out a check for $0.00 by email and then receive the funds for a framed check and try to change it by claiming there was a royalty due after all so they won't have to refund the money for the framed copy.
 

Cyia

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Two things:

1 -- why would someone have to "reserve" their check if all it takes is printing a non-negotiable copy?

2-- why would they go to all the trouble of putting a fake name on the "example" and yet leave the bank account/routing numbers visible rahter than just using a string of 000's?
 

PVish

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The book cover that the author complained about (the author news that went poof) is in this week's new releases. It does look like "someones boyfriend on the front"! The cover doesn't come close to the book's description. Plus it's 135 pages for $19.95 (regular price: $24.95).

I can see why the author was disappointed. He has my sympathy.
 

CaoPaux

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(FYI - the posts above re: the framed check offer were copied over from Son of PAMB Quotes. Too astounding to be left out of the "official" thread, IMNSHO.)
 

Scribhneoir

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Reserve your framed check today. Price: $19.95, plus s&h.

:Jaw:

I don't know whether to be utterly appalled or grudgingly impressed by the sheer audacity of this scheme. I wonder which stooge came up with this fiendishly diabolical plan to get PA authors to pay, and pay big time, for their royalty checks? Do they really expect even the most starry-eyed newbie to fall for this?
 

smsarber

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:Jaw:

I don't know whether to be utterly appalled or grudgingly impressed by the sheer audacity of this scheme. I wonder which stooge came up with this fiendishly diabolical plan to get PA authors to pay, and pay big time, for their royalty checks? Do they really expect even the most starry-eyed newbie to fall for this?
They're floundering on bankruptcy is my guess.
 

Broadswordbabe

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They're floundering on bankruptcy is my guess.
<ohpleaseohpleaseohpleaseohplease>
The only single downside I can see to PA going bankrupt is that, from what I understand, it might not stop one or all of the Stooges from setting up another scam business and ripping off another bunch of people. So I strongly suggest that if that happens we all (after we've recovered from the celebrations) do the occasional googlehunt for familiar names setting up new businesses. Just to keep their names, together with the words 'scam' 'con-artist' etc. up in the public eye there.
 
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