Not Too Funny!

PA is desperate. They have tried in vain to sell me my book.

Finally they wrote me todsy and told me they would return my rights at no cost save the $99.00 it would cost them to remove my book from booksellers sites.

My charming reply:

Dear Publisher:

In all good humor, you have already pulled it from every marketing site, save your own.

It shouldn't cost $99.00 to get it off anywhere. If you put it back on Amazon, at a reasonable price, it might sell.

Best,


Alice M Crooker




For Ahad

I should have said "Nonsensical, Silly Rubbish!' For Lane--Aw Phooey can't think of everything.

I will be ready when their "gratitude lecture arrives." I will let them have a piece of my mind.

I have a reply all ready:

Dear Publisher:

RUBBISH! WHAT A PILE OF NONSENSE AND SILLINESS!

I am most grateful to you for the publishing of my book. I also appreciate the Book of the Week Award you so kindly bestowed upon me.

I am most grateful for the friends your board brought me.

I do wish you would spend your time selling my book to someone other than myself. I am tired of the book--I know what it says--I wrote it.

Thank you.

Alice M Crooker

For Ahad:

Dear Alice,
Nice letter. What are PA's responsibility to their authors. I do not think they put too much in that contract about their end. Mine is about up.
I still think James Elders and Rudy have some control there. James went so far as to find a sattelite photo of my house. He said so on the message board. I hear that Pier rules facebook now. hahahahahahahahahah! Talk about silly rubbish!

Love,
Betty

James is a sick joke. He told Lane he'd been looking in his bedroom drawers, when Lane asked him why? He said he'd been in bed with Lane's wife.

Lane said, "You are a pig, Elder's!"

Lane and I were thrown from the PA board.

I was told I would never be allowed to return. The luckiest day of my life.

for Ahad

Betty,

How can Pier rule Facebook?



For Ahad

Dear Alice,
Her mouth and ego are that BIG.

Do you remember Mr. Big old saturday cartoon fame? Well, that was Pier in drag.

Love,
Betty

Dear Alice,

Look here for Mr. Big.
I loved that show.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Mister_Big_(Rocky_and_Bullwinkle)

Love,
Betty

Betty,

I had a very strange beginning--no TV and no funny papers.
Consequently, I am devoid of humor.
Sorry, but I don't know those people.



For Ahad

Dear Alice,
I had a strange beginning too, but Bulwinkle and Mr. Knowitall, Rocky and all the other characters of that little show are etched in mine and my children's minds as good times on a Saturday morning. I always liked that Mr. Big was smaller than a bug and had to have backlighting to portray himself as large and menacing. Natasha and Mr. Badernov never knew.
Love,
Betty

Betty Fasig wrote:

Dear Alice,
Nice letter. What are PA's responsibility to their authors. I do not think they put too much in that contract about their end. Mine is about up.
I still think James Elders and Rudy have some control there. James went so far as to find a sattelite photo of my house. He said so on the message board. I hear that Pier rules facebook now. hahahahahahahahahah! Talk about silly rubbish!

Love,
Betty

To be honest and to keep honest records. I am throughly fed up.

I will not become a Crusader however and am still glad I had my book published through them.

I am not a crusader, either. The PublishAmerica that published my Wooffer was different than the PublishAmerica of this day where many, many thousands of people have put their work under their contract. In those days, it was a few authors.

Not that they were any more selective then, but they were nicer, the message board was a good thing, then. Now, it is sad. So many people with so much hope. But PublishAmerica reduces them all with the same equation. Dollars per book per author bought through them. I wonder how many really great books are there.

If you buy a thousand copies of your book like James Elders did, you can be tagged as PA's best selling author, ever. Probably get on their board of directors.

I hope William is having a great trip around the world "instilling the importance of literacy" world wide. That, I think was the absolute most offensive thing that PublishAmerica ever shoved down anyone's gullet.

The whole thing is that they could have given something back. I think they are a flash in the pan and are going out with as many bucks as they can. They are dying and taking a lot of unsuspecting author's dreams with them.

Love,
Betty

Betty Fasig wrote:

They are dying and taking a lot of unsuspecting author's dreams with them.

I never bought this; it's one of the points that made the AW PAMB such a cartoon to me. If you have a bad experience with a store, do you never shop again? The people that can't dust themselves off and write another book -or just rewrite their PA book- really aren't "authors" and never had sustainable "dreams." More like dilettantes with daydreams. Life's tough, wear a helmet.

Not that I'm defending PA, btw. I never even heard of it until I found AW, and it seems like a seriously crap company with bewilderingly bad customer service.

LC wrote:

Betty Fasig wrote:

They are dying and taking a lot of unsuspecting author's dreams with them.

I never bought this; it's one of the points that made the AW PAMB such a cartoon to me. If you have a bad experience with a store, do you never shop again? The people that can't dust themselves off and write another book -or just rewrite their PA book- really aren't "authors" and never had sustainable "dreams." More like dilettantes with daydreams. Life's tough, wear a helmet.

I agree. Dreams are for wannabes.

Some people only have one novel inside of them, and lots of people have difficulty dusting themselves off time and time again. Therefore, I don't judge them harshly. Sometimes, I just get tired, too. I just want to put down the pen and be lazy. Turn on the soaps. Swim in the sea. Take long vacations and read someone else's success. Fortunately, the muse checks in and I'm dusting off and starting again....

All book publishers are in a transition; some will make it; some won't. Changing times leave some greats in the dust. Blockbuster is one example. If PA is in difficulty, it's not unique to their business plan or their customer service or AW biting at their heels; they are just one of many struggling to hang in there.

I studied Chinese Brush painting for five years. I studied classical piano for as many. I didn't have the passion to become the best as I have a passion for writing. Yet, a friend hung my paintings on her wall and has had many compliments; it wasn't a wasted time. It was a time of philosophy and discipline and persistence in spite of my painting professor forcing me to paint bamboo until I was sick of it because I needed to perfect the subject and the strength in myself.

As I have said before, I would still have an organization similar to PA print a book that I wanted for limited distribution, but not one that was intended for commercial sales.

Where has all this talk of PA being in trouble come from? PA are finding new ways of selling their books. It's what they've always done. Remember PublishBritannica? Then PublishBritannia? Then poof! Gone! Followed by PublishAtlantica that went the same way. Why all the fuss about how they run their business? I never did get it and I suppose I never will.

I had one non-fiction book in me. PA published it.

I met Dick and Lane and all of you. What more could I want?

I never had serious dreams of being a best-selling author.

PA could improve their public relations, but they must not think it is necessary.

Shelagh,

Are you psychic? Their new deal is that they will start over with us.

Change the publisher's name, book's ISBN and reprice it to $14.95--if we will buy 7 books now.

What will stop them from charging $10.00 per book for shipping?

NOTHING!!!!

Now if we buy only five books we can have our picture on the front.

I'll Photoshop that for ya for free!

Make me young and beautiful!

LC

Too funny! They will ship five books for $19.95.

Raise the neckline please--needs to hide batteries and bypass scar.

Tell them you'll ship a pole to stick up their asses for $9.95.

alice wrote:

Raise the neckline please--needs to hide batteries and bypass scar.

Corrections are extra.

How much?