A number of you have mentioned that you were aware going into your contract with PA that their marketing and author support wasn't necessarily the best, but that you thought that your book was unique enough that you could make PA work for you. Would you mind please sharing why?
In my case, it was a business decision. I own a retail/wholesale store online that specializes in a niche market, through which I sell an original line of products. Previously, I'd put together a book of children's poetry and stories that I printed through Cafe Press, which I sell through my store (it does fairly well, all things considered - not like a "real" book would, but certainly better than PA books are doing). I began to get requests from my customers for more of my work.
I had a manuscript for a mid-grade novel (still within my niche but also with broader mainstream appeal) that I had shopped to Laura Geringer Books once upon a time. It made it out of the slush pile, past the first reader, and on for further review. Ultimately, however, they passed on it. So, I thought, why not have the book printed myself and sell it along with the Cafe Press book? And that's what I did.
Why didn't I go back to Cafe Press, or try Lulu instead? Because PA promised to edit my book. And I knew no matter how much *I* liked the book, it still needed professional editing. PA also offered the possibility of distribution on a larger basis, or so I thought.
Anyway, it wasn't long after I signed the contract (couple months maybe?) that I began to discover things online that made me nervous about my choice. I began to read PA's boards religiously, and what I found there made me downright queasy. And then I landed here, at AW, and thought, "OMG, what have I done?"
I hate, really hate, being associated with a company that treats authors the way PA treats them. My decision to let them print my book is one I will regret all my life.
Because I have pre-orders from customers for my book, I have no choice but to purchase a small quantity from PA to honor those. But that will be a one-time-only thing. After that, I want nothing more to do with them, except perhaps to help bring them down/get them to go legit.
(Oh, and in case anyone is wondering why I didn't just pull up my boot straps and continue trying to get my book published legitimately, there was an awful lot going on in my life around this time, not the least of which was caring for a 98-year-old father-in-law and a mother who was seriously ill. My head just wasn't in a place where I could have dealt with it.)
And that's *my* story...