brianm is a perfect gentleman on here, always has been, always will be. He also knows what he's talking about. I respect that.
brianm is a perfect gentleman on here, always has been, always will be. He also knows what he's talking about. I respect that.
As a recovering PA author, I ask myself If I would have paid any attention to the warnings posted here and other sites had I bothered to look. Frankly, I don't know. I do know I did not write a book for money, and that's a good thing seeing as my recent PA royalty check was a staggering $34.00. People make mistakes. Some have difficulty admitting errors in decision making. I don't. I screwed up! It won't be the last time. Good luck to all in your writings endeavors.
Welcome, Xanadian! If you haven't already found it, check out the Index to the PA Forums which groups discussions by subject.
As a recovering PA author, I ask myself If I would have paid any attention to the warnings posted here and other sites had I bothered to look. Frankly, I don't know. I do know I did not write a book for money, and that's a good thing seeing as my recent PA royalty check was a staggering $34.00. People make mistakes. Some have difficulty admitting errors in decision making. I don't. I screwed up! It won't be the last time. Good luck to all in your writings endeavors.
I don't get on this thread very often anymore, I don't like to rehash my experience with PA. I didn't read anything about them. I did absolutely no research. When they published a poor excuse for a poetry book I had written I was elated. But I was in the tale-end of my days in active alcoholism. I went to prison for DWI the day after my acceptance e-mail.
PA hurt and scarred, I am better for it. I would have never found AW otherwise. And now I have to admit, PA was a mistake. Period. But one I learned from.
And due to health problems I am a thirty-two year-old on disabilty. I am writing with the intent of making it my living. I have been working on my first novel for two+ years because it has to be my launching pad. I do write for money (meant to be taken in the sense that it is the only career I want), though the only work I have had published is my essay entitled "The Path was Rocky but Worth it", located in the Memoirs and Life Stories thread here. It was published in "Voices of Alcoholism".
I have only been writting seriously since I got out of prison April 3, 2006. But if I hadn't gotten the boost of having my PA contract on my mind the whole time I was inside I may not have written after I got out.
I am NOT endorsing PA, but when life gives you lemons, learn from your mistakes and squeeze those lemons; everyone likes lemonade!
Upstream in this thread, CaoPaux gave a link to the index for the PA forums.
That index includes previous discussions on the steps a PA author can take in order to get their contract canceled. It is entitled, "Analysis of PA’s Contract (and How to Escape It)."
I urge any AW member or lurker to read this section if you are seeking advice on how to get your contract with PA canceled.
I corrected the advice given by AW member malberque upstream in this thread and explained why the advice was poor. If, in doing so, I offended this poster, I apologise. But I feel giving proven incorrect advice to a PA author on how to get out of their contract will only add to their frustration when that advice leads to a deadend.
I won’t address the negative comments about AW members made by both roncouch and malberque upstream, except to say that I mark it down to new members who have not taken the time or had the time to get to know AW’s members. Especially those members who post on a regular basis to the PA threads.
Rose, I was wondering. Would you say the largest royalty check from PA is most often the first one, and then after that they taper off?
I know how both of you feel. I would hope more would understand that we are not dummies, just made bad choices. We took the blame for the errors of our ways and came here to give a little help for others not to make the same mistake. I believed what PA said on their website. I thought they were a new upcoming company that would do things a little different. I also talked to a current PA author before I signed. Little did we both know (at the time) how they really worked. I thought I knew better, but I didn't. I take full blame for that.
Sometimes at AW there is a sense of "It's your fault. You should've known better, you should have researched...", even if it isn't stated in those exact words. I know all that and so do others who come here. We'll take the blame, but instead of the should've dones, the sense should change to this is what you can do now. Sometimes the undercurrents here leave a bad taste in my mouth. Sometimes a helpful posting goes ignored in favor of the snarky ones. This doesn't help anyone. Does it make some here feel superior? Just MHO is all.
This has been on my mind for a long time.
Ron, if you made 34.00 that is about the top royalty pay you'll ever see from PA. My biggest one was over forty. But it's sad though, isn't it?
We have had our lemons, and I don't mind admitting I was wrong and will proceed to make lemonade. If people want to judge, so be it.
Wow, you all actually got royalty checks! I'm impressed. My book's been out 8 months and I've not sold a single book.
Wow, you all actually got royalty checks! I'm impressed. My book's been out 8 months and I've not sold a single book. Nor do I ever expect to. Of course, I don't buy them myself and I don't do any marketing at all. I've even told my friends not to buy the book because it is so overpriced.
As for the BBB, you have to understand how the BBB views its role. It is more like a mediator than an arbitrator--in other words, they try to facilitate a settlement between the parties rather than judging the merits of a controversy. As long as the merchant responds to the complaint, the BBB will take no action against the merchant. Terri is absolutely correct that the BBB's methods assume that merchants want happy customers and will take all reasonable steps to make that happen--but PA is the exception. I filed a complaint with the Maryland BBB, but I had no illusions that the BBB would take any action against PA. I confess I did hope that PA might ignore the complaint or perhaps cancel my contract to make me go away, but no such luck. You can read about it if you want, because it's all posted on the PA page of my web site (christianityforthinkers.com). On the other hand, it was a little bit fun watching PA obfuscate and evade in their responses to the BBB.
My point was this: I own a business. I have been asked by many customers over the years if I was a member of the BBB. Never was I asked if I knew of Web threads about me. True, it's apples and oranges. Perhaps we should appreciate the fact that more mature people are likely to call the BBB for info than they are to type PA into a search engine. A fair number of those who have been duped by PA are seniors. To them, calling the BBB is a no-brainer. They were doing so long before the internet was even a thought. If one person, just one, is spared from the misery that PA deals out, than I believe the effort is not futile. Plus, it may help the 'author' feel less crappy about their choice. Maybe if we concentrated our frustration toward PA, and not each other, things would be a bit less tense in here.
Thanks again, Leslie.
Was he talking about a new book from a different publisher? That would have bent PA out of whack. No other publisher would remove a success story by one of its authors.
I don't believe it. That was from Don Harpe!
If Harpe can see the light there's hope for all. I have seen him be deeply unpleasant and aggressive to authors speaking out against PA on other boards. (not me BTW) Maybe now he will direct some of that righteous anger where it belongs. Saying that, I think anger towards PA is understandable but also a waste of energy. Write another book, write a better book and leave PA way behind.