The New Never-Ending PublishAmerica Thread (NEPAT)

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hmcalendin

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P.A. Form letter

We have received your request to terminate your book's contract. As a
general rule, publishers are not in favor of that. When a publisher agrees
to contract a book, it is done with an expectation of entering into a
profitable venture. PublishAmerica never charges any of its authors any
money in return for producing and publishing their book and making it
available to a worldwide audience. This is why we enter into contracts with
a seven-year lifetime, which affords the book ample opportunity to turn a
profit.

If your request was granted, PublishAmerica would be denied, prematurely,
any hope of recovering its expenses. This is why we would prefer to keep the
contract in place until its expiration date. Your book is currently being
carried by major wholesalers throughout the world, and listed by numerous
vendors. Every bookstore in the U.S. and Canada has immediate access to your
work. All this at PublishAmerica's sole and recurring expense. We still
harbor a reasonable expectation that, at a minimum, your book will allow us
to break even on our investment.

Therefore, if you were to persist on wishing to relinquish your status as a
published author, we can only grant your request if you agree to a $300
damage payment, which will help to offset some of our losses. Please let us
know if you want to proceed with termination. If not, we will both
understand and applaud your decision. As said, we prefer to keep the book in
publication.

Thank you,
Darcy
Public Relations/Web
[email protected]
 

James D. Macdonald

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Assuming PA never gets back to you with an itemized list showing why $300, here's my figures (from three years ago) showing why each book costs them $300 to produce.


http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/showpost.php?p=180826&postcount=18954

By charging you $300, they're trying to recoup their sunk costs. Their charging $300 also shows that my deductions were pretty close to right.

==========

As to the pricing issues -- PA's business model is this: "Since we're printing books that only your mother and your best friend will want, we'll charge prices that only your mother and your best friend will pay."
 

roncouch

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Welcome aboard, Heather! I too am a recovering PA author, and was recently expunged from the infamous PA private message board. I dared to pose questions as to why PA was receiving so much criticism from talented, honorable people. Zap, I was history. You will find members of AW to be forthright and honest. They do not demean PA authors but attempt to guide one another in a positive direction.
Good luck!
Ron Couch
 

Afinerosesheis

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We have received your request to terminate your book's contract. As a
general rule, publishers are not in favor of that. When a publisher agrees
to contract a book, it is done with an expectation of entering into a profitable venture.


PublishAmerica never charges any of its authors any money in return for producing and publishing their book and making it
available to a worldwide audience. This is why we enter into contracts with
a seven-year lifetime, which affords the book ample opportunity to turn a
profit.

If your request was granted, PublishAmerica would be denied, prematurely,
any hope of recovering its expenses. This is why we would prefer to keep the
contract in place until its expiration date. Your book is currently being
carried by major wholesalers throughout the world, and listed by numerous
vendors. Every bookstore in the U.S. and Canada has immediate access to your
work. All this at PublishAmerica's sole and recurring expense. We still
harbor a reasonable expectation that, at a minimum, your book will allow us
to break even on our investment.

Therefore, if you were to persist on wishing to relinquish your status as a
published author, we can only grant your request if you agree to a $300
damage payment, which will help to offset some of our losses. Please let us
know if you want to proceed with termination. If not, we will both
understand and applaud your decision. As said, we prefer to keep the book in
publication.

Thank you,
Darcy
Public Relations/Web
[email protected]

Bolding/red mine

It seems with this one sentence they are revealing their falsehoods openly. Without proper marketing/distribution, lack of editing and high prices (that just went up BTW), the "profitable venture" is just a bunch of BS.

The only expectation of it being thus said "profitable venture" is if the author buys their own books, then it is only profitable for PA, definitely not the author.
 

James D. Macdonald

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Note that they say "profitable venture" not "mutually profitable venture."

But! Once again PA leads the way. The wave of the future! A new publishing paradigm!

Other vanity publishers charge you $300 to publish your book. Not PA! Unique among vanity publishers, PA charges you $300 to not publish your book!
 

DaveKuzminski

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...Therefore, if you were to persist on wishing to relinquish your status as a
published author, we can only grant your request if you agree to a $300
damage payment, which will help to offset some of our losses. ...

Gee, a damage payment? Sounds like PA's trying to avoid showing any accountability for what it really costs. Yep, if you don't like the rules of the game or the stipulations in the contract, just make up what you want the rules to be and ignore the contract. Don't want to be called a vanity publisher? Make up a new term. Right, Larry and Willem? Hey, that must be where McCain learned how to use the phrase "putting lipstick on a pig." He got it from Larry and Willem when they put lipstick on AmErica House!

I noticed also that PA seems to think only a currently published book confers published status upon an author. I'm surprised that PA hasn't tried to claim that published status can be conferred upon writers only by PA. Then again, maybe that revelation will come about in 2009 when PA tries again to revolutionize the publishing industry by issuing that as an edict.
 

smsarber

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To me, the funniest part is that they use the word profitable. As you said, UJ, not mutually. Because they first print off your initial two copies; just enough to tease your family into buying a few more. PA is already making a profit off you with those. If no more are requested, they won't ever print any. So what exactly is their loss?
And what worldwide wholesalers are currently carrying any PA books? It just doesn't happen. I somehow got Barnes and Noble to get in three of my books, I caught them on a lucky day. (Of course, my family and I bought those!)
Anyway, welcome Heather. You're among friends now. Just take it easy, and don't worry; the PA stink DOES wash away. You just need about a hundred baths!!:e2shower:
 

endless rewrite

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Hi Heather,

Welcome, I hope you enjoy your time here and congratulations you on your books. Happy to see that you are in the process of breaking free from PA. I am curious to know if more PA authors are starting to see the light. With recent price increases, solicitations to buy your own book every month and books being removed for sale from Amazon, it must be tough to be a happy PA author right now. I know PA stifles discussion on the PAMB but there is hope if more PA authors are talking honestly to each other away from the PA board. You mentioned a number of authors seeking to terminate their contracts, I was curious about how many authors are struggling to break free. I'm not asking you to name names or anything like that, but have you seen an increase in the number of PA authors unhappy with their lot and willing to admit as much, even to each other? It's good to know that you are banding together to help each other. Good luck.
 
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Susan Gable

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hmcalendin

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Currently there are quite a number in th last few weeks that hav eput thier foot down with P.A. All have been banned and all have been getting the silent treatment from P.A.
I am getting the distinct feeling that P.A. has never had such a group want to leave en masse before. I have heard nothing back as yet from P.A.
I sent 2 more emails today and have given them until end of day to provide me with the documentation I have requested, otherwise I have my marketing manager and lawyer involved. One of my author friends has ties with eht MD Attorney General.....this is going to get interesting.
 

DaveKuzminski

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Actually, I'm surprised that someone at PA hasn't tried to spoof any AW member IPs on PA author guest books in order to get some AW members banned. Or have they and no one's reported it?
 

Applekey

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Considering how AW bans people and makes sure they stay banned in a rather aggressive fashion, I'm surprised they haven't thought of it because it would work very, very well.
 

CaoPaux

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Considering how AW bans people and makes sure they stay banned in a rather aggressive fashion, I'm surprised they haven't thought of it because it would work very, very well.
Cuz, you know, perish the thought that a private community would uphold any standards. :rolleyes:

Such tricks've already been tried. The techs behind the scenes sort it out right quick.
 

brianm

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Considering how AW bans people and makes sure they stay banned in a rather aggressive fashion, I'm surprised they haven't thought of it because it would work very, very well.

Either you are someone who has been banned for very good reasons and have come back under a new SN or you haven't lurked long enough to know that the mods put up with a great deal before they ban a member from AW.

Such tricks've already been tried. The techs behind the scenes sort it out right quick.

It would never occur to me that someone would do such a thing, but I'm not surprised considering the threads here in AW have stopped quite a few writers from signing on with PA.
 

smsarber

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Either you are someone who has been banned for very good reasons and have come back under a new SN or you haven't lurked long enough to know that the mods put up with a great deal before they ban a member from AW.

Boy do I know that is true. Just read my signature. I have a mouth, and a bit of a temper. I have had a good deal of understanding from the mods. Now I have grown up quite a lot, and my attitude is much more in check, but it only took one ranting post to get me banned from the PAMB. long live MacAllister and the other AW mods!!:partyguy:
 

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Applekey is my good friend: Chris Turkel. Many of you knew him as Zizban, Abemorgantis, CrashCourse, Lord Chess, zizbanreturns, edgyllama, etc, etc, etc. His file of sock puppets continues to grow and, along with this one, he's not welcome here. And he knows why.
 

brianm

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Applekey is my good friend: Chris Turkel. Many of you knew him as Zizban, Abemorgantis, CrashCourse, Lord Chess, zizbanreturns, edgyllama, etc, etc, etc. His file of sock puppets continues to grow and, along with this one, he's not welcome here. And he knows why.

Oh, my... my gut was telling me this was someone who had been banned previously for good reasons, but I had no idea he had so many sock puppet names.

Does he hold the AW record? :D
 
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