PA Freedom Day!!!!!

DPRichard

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Yep, seven years ago today I stupidly signed a contract with PA. The contract has now expired, I informed them in writing months ago that I did not want to renew with them so I am finally free of those..... people, for want of a better term that won't violate this forum's TOS.

And to show there is life after seven years in the PA wilderness, I am currently querying agents with my second novel and am getting ready to put the rewritten first novel up on Amazon's Kindle Select program under a new title to rid it of the PA stench.

So everyone raise a glass of their favorite adult beverage and join me in a toast to PA FREEDOM DAY. May this day come swiftly for many others.
 

shaldna

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Congrats.

Now, did you get any confirmation from them that they recieved your letter? They weren't accepting mail a while back - including recorded letters that needed signed for.
 

Chris P

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Great to hear, Richard! Sometime in October 2014 is when mine expires. I've already send notification that I won't be renewing, and they acknowledged it. In the meantime, I"m proofing the galleys of my next book (launches in the next week!) and finishing up the first draft of novel #2.

Congrats on weathering the process and I wish you all the success you hoped for when you signed with PA all those years ago.
 

Snowstorm

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Congrats on your patience and not allowing PA to effect you. Best wishes for success! *Raises a Glencairn glass full of Bowmore 18*
 

DPRichard

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Congrats.

Now, did you get any confirmation from them that they recieved your letter? They weren't accepting mail a while back - including recorded letters that needed signed for.

Oh yeah. It was confirmed. I have the e-mail from them acknowledging they got it. I e-mailed over and over again until they finally replied that they got it. I also mailed certified letters to every known mailing address for the company as well as all of the personal home address for Vic, Miranda, Larry and Wilhelm that I could track down. Three years working as a skip tracer for an attorney paid off there, lol.

Trust me, they got the idea I was not going to quit until they officially acknowledged in writing that the contract was not to be renewed.

Here is what they sent:

From: PublishAmerica Author Support <[email protected]>
Date: Mon, Feb 6, 2012 at 6:42 AM
Subject: Richard Xxxxxx: contract non-renewal
To: [email protected]


Dear Richard:

Thank you for your email. Your contract non-renewal is noted. We decline to terminate the contract early.

PublishAmerica Support
http://publishamerica.com/support/


Follow us on Twitter at @PublishAmerica!
Like us on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/PublishAmerica




So it is official, I am done with them forever.

Thanks for all of the congrats and in case I miss any later, congrats to everyone whose PA Freedom Day is close at hand.
 

DPRichard

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Just got this from PA in reply to an Author Support submission I filled out this morning asking them to remove my book from their website ASAP:

PublishAmerica Support <[email protected]>
11:04 AM (47 minutes ago)
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Dear Richard:

The contract expired on 1/2/13, and the book is now out of print. You own the unformatted text only, and you can do as you choose with that alone.

PublishAmerica continues to own the ISBN number, the cover design, and the layout design of the text. Any use of any of these items would be a serious and very clear case of infringement. Therefore, you can use the same design only if we transfer the rights to you, or to your new publishing company. If you would like to use the cover or layout design, we would transfer the rights to your cover design and/or text layout, and provide you with high resolution pdf files of each. The cover design would cost $500, and/or the text layout would cost $250.

Again, you own the unformatted text only, and you can do as you choose with that alone.

PublishAmerica Support
http://publishamerica.com/support/



Gee, how nice of them to offer to sell me the crap cover they created for $500.

News flash for PA: I changed the title and created a brand new cover as well as used Amazon's format for the text so PA is more than welcome to keep the ISBN and the cover.

I'll even give them three guesses as to what they can do with them...... :p

Nice of them to re-confirm the contract has in fact expired though.
 

DPRichard

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Congratulations!

Getting picked up by a real publisher (something none of the stooges have managed for themselves) is the best revenge.

Indeed. My goal is to walk into a real book store and see real copies of my book sitting on the shelves by the end of this year.

EDIT: Just checked PA's website and my book is nowhere to be found. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful a sight that was to behold.
 
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merrihiatt

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Indeed. My goal is to walk into a real book store and see real copies of my book sitting on the shelves by the end of this year.

EDIT: Just checked PA's website and my book is nowhere to be found. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful a sight that was to behold.

Let freedom reign!!!!! Congratulations!
 

elindsen

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Indeed. My goal is to walk into a real book store and see real copies of my book sitting on the shelves by the end of this year.
Well, it may take a few years, But very awesome goal and way to stick it to them.

EDIT: Just checked PA's website and my book is nowhere to be found. I cannot begin to describe how wonderful a sight that was to behold.
*throwing party balloons*
 

Terie

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Indeed. My goal is to walk into a real book store and see real copies of my book sitting on the shelves by the end of this year.

You need to adjust your expectations a bit. Commercial publishers typically have a one- to two-year lag between contracting a book and it being released. If you sold the rights to a publisher today, you would be extremely unlikely to see it on the shelves before the end of the year. And if you're going to self-publish, it's not likely that bookshops will stock your book on shelves, unless you manage to convince a few local shops to carry your books (and that's really hard to do).

Set your goals for things you personally can control, such as 'start submitting my manuscript to agents by (date)' or 'self-publish by (date)'. You can't control when or whether an agent will pick it up, when or whether a publisher will contract it, and what the timeframe will be if these do happen (and hopefully, they will!).

Setting personal goals for things you can't personally control can lead to discouragement. Instead, focus on what you can control: writing and submitting. And all best wishes with both of those things! You deserve a break after suffering in PA purgatory for seven years. :)
 

allenparker

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PublishAmerica Support <[email protected]>
11:04 AM (47 minutes ago)
cleardot.gif


cleardot.gif

cleardot.gif

to me
cleardot.gif

Dear Richard:

The contract expired on 1/2/13, and the book is now out of print. You own the unformatted text only, and you can do as you choose with that alone.

PublishAmerica continues to own the ISBN number, the cover design, and the layout design of the text. Any use of any of these items would be a serious and very clear case of infringement. Therefore, you can use the same design only if we transfer the rights to you, or to your new publishing company. If you would like to use the cover or layout design, we would transfer the rights to your cover design and/or text layout, and provide you with high resolution pdf files of each. The cover design would cost $500, and/or the text layout would cost $250.

Again, you own the unformatted text only, and you can do as you choose with that alone.

PublishAmerica Support
http://publishamerica.com/support/

Anyone here think any other publisher in the world would want to use their formatting, editing, or cover?

I think the best part of finding another home is the fact that the covers change, the formatting changes, and the book becomes something totally different than what PA envisioned. Just my take, though.