Six years and counting!!!
Since this is the beginning of the Newer NEPAT, let me state the reasons why I am dissatisfied with my PublishAmerica experience:
* The price PA set for my book is not competitive ($24.95 softcover, $29.95 hardcover).
* The bookstore managers I spoke to would not stock print on demand books and looked at me and my PA book as if I had the plague.
* Without the look inside feature on Amazon, no one can read any part of my book and get an idea of my style of writing. PA denied me the digital rights when I asked them for them for the express purpose of posting them on Amazon.
* I have received a ton of solicitations (PA calls them "special offers") to purchase my own books, yet PA never sent the notification to my family and friends, nor did they send out a press release. In the PA contract these items fall under the wording "at PA's discretion."
* I was banned from the PA message board. When I asked PA why I was banned, I received an e-mail stating that they didn't owe their authors an explanation.
* I didn't like the cover art for my book, but when I said as much, the other option I was offered was a red rose that looked like clip art. I chose the first option, it was better than the red rose, which had absolutely nothing to do with my book.
* The line-by-line edit that PA said they would do was nonexistent. They put a disclaimer in the front of the book stating that it was being left exactly as the author wrote it (I'm actually glad about this now, since I have heard horror stories about PA inserting errors into books!). I wanted a line-by-line edit. I wanted to know what areas I needed to work on. A quickie spell check is not editing.
* I was under the mistaken impression that PA read submissions and published works based on their merit. I have learned that this is not the case. PA will publish just about anything.
Those are the main reasons, although there are more. Suffice it to say, I am done with PA and can't wait until my rights are returned to me -- six years and counting.
I too have the same 6 years. And sadly, before knowing all of this info, I signed contract number 2. UGH!!! Where was this group when I needed you? LOL
Ok, my gripe... I got my press release, yeah, the one I put on the back of my book. Woohoo. No, PA never did contact my list of people who should be buying my books. That isn't even my biggest gripe.
Though the book price is awefully high, it is comparable. Though, omg, it isn't worth the price.
First round of printing, they put more errors in my book than were actually there, and trust me, I had my book edited by two professionals, and a group of buddies... So... Then, when they sent my first order of books, it cost me $80.00 for shipping of 20 books. OMFG!!! Well, to make matters worse, I got the books, the first book was cut up, looked like it may have been opened before I got it. The next couple of books had bent covers and pages, some of the books were wet inside. And books in the middle, not the top or bottom... When I contacted PA they said, that I had to send the books back, at my expense, and then they would decide to reprint them. Yeah, ok... Worse yet, there was no title on the spine. How the heck do I shelf these books?
Second printing, ok, ok, not even second printing, my second order, hardbacks, with "free" changes, came with no advertisements, and less pages than in the paperback. Hard backs looked way worse than the paperbacks, how sad.
Then to top it all off, I purhcased all of my own books on Royalty specials. That was a total of 50 books. I still haven't received a royalty check.
Know what they told me? Unless your check is $49.00 we will not bother to send you a check.
Now, how the hell come everyone else is getting a $1.57 or less, or a few bucks more? No fair.
Though I haven't been banned from the boards at PA, I have had almost all of my questions deleted, with no one even trying to answer them. And none of them were bashing PA in any way...
I have sent repeated emails to PA with various questions, no one has EVER responded. Then they tried to charge me extra to order my books. Hell no. I guess I won't use them to order my books. If I must, I'll buy them at towercom and re-sell them. ugh...
I don't understand why we keep letting these freaks do this to us...