NOW they've ticked ME off

I try to stay on the sidelines of the PUblishAmerica discussions these days. But my latest email got to me. They implied that I had never heard of Kindle or Nook, and that surely, now that they were informing me of this new sales source, and new direction for the publishing industry I will naturally want to pay them to have my book converted.

Honestly!

Ann

I received one, too!

3/16/2011

Ann..

I got one .." DELETED !" It reads as if we're
stupid ! I have to find a way to block their e mails..

Cheers..Joe

Me three, and it makes me steam.
I've avoided speaking my mind since any negative comments are regarded as "not nice". Just want to let you know that I have a bucket full of "not nice" waiting to be poured. Think I'll dump it in the toilet.

When PA published my two books in 2006, I made sure I kept all of the electronic rignts, and I requested and got an official letter from them stating I own those rights.

At that point in time PA had no interest in electronic rights, as no one there had the vision to see the electronic publishing wave coming. They sent me the letter just a few days after I requested it.

Last year, when I decided to make all of my work available on Kindle, I was asked by Amazon to submit a copy of the letter from PA. I submitted and the books were available in a couple of days.

The fact is that now all of my work is available for Kindle, at no cost to me, and that's the way it should be.

PA did what they said they'd do with my books, no more, probably no less, and I was satisfied with them. The truth is they've served their purpose. I now have some options that I wouldn't have had, and while I won't use them again, I still refuse to dwell on the negative aspects of PA.

3/16/2011


Question : One of my books is due this year, it was published
July 2004 by PA , 7 years, how soon do I give them notice not
to publish it anymore, what wording do I use in my letter? What
do I ask for ?

Cheers..Joe

I hear you, E Don. I'm not nearly as upset about the ebook offers. I need to look at my contract, but I'm pretty sure I own the electronic rights myself, too. What bugged me was the tone that suggested I wasn't aware of the phenomenon.

Ann

Ann, there's a good chance you do own those rights. Check your contract and see if you specifically kept them, and if you did, send PA a copy of the contract with the passage outlined, and ask them to send you a letter showing your ownership.

But don't be surprised if they don't want to do it. They're experiencing a huge amount of hindsight right now, and aren't too quick to communicate with many of their authors.

And Joe, I'd send them a notarized letter by registered mail stating that I wanted my rights returned, and the sooner the better.

I, of course, received one of their charming put-downs, also and wiith it, a promise to talk more!
They are ridiculous.

I followed in Don's footsteps and requested ebook rights shortly after Arirang: The Bamboo Connection was published. No problem to get them then. My email from PA was sufficient for Amazon to publish my book on Kindle. It's also on Google as an ebook.

I'm sure with all their new authors and the numbers of books PA published, the spamming continues to pay off or they wouldn't do it.

3/16/2011


I believe their a company who's desperate and has
run amok !


Cheers..Joe

Calm down, Joe. They produced three beautiful books for you.

I love Publish America. Just not all of their business practices.

PublishAmerica lived up to the letter of their contracts with me, and I would think they did the same with everyone they signed.

They do have a questionable business model, in which they derive most of their imcome from their authors, and not from the general public. Their never ending promotions seem to be proof of that, as well as the fact that they charge for services, such as making the books available in eform, that other publishers do for free.

I think they are constantly going through an evolutionary process in which they find more and more promotions that they can use to get authors to buy books, and while it isn't illegal, it certainly goes against the grain.

The best advice I can give is to ask for your contracts back once they are up, and move on with doing something else. It's pretty much a fact that a large percentage of PA authors, once they are out of their contracts, will never see another of their books published. There are other avenues, such as ebook publising and self pubishing, with will remain viable options, but most will just forget about their writing "career" and will never see anything else in print.

The dis-satisfaction with PA I think grew out of expectations that were much higher than the quality of the writing of most PA authors, and many of them couldn't accept that they just weren't all that good. So they did the only thing they could, they blamed PA. If you will revisit some of the virulent anti PA websites of a couple of years ago, you will find that the vast majority of those so called writers have never done anything else. They blamed PA for their first wave of poorly written books, I wonder who they're blaming for the fact that they still aren't getting published?

I'll ask for and get my PA rights back when the contracts are up, and that will be the end of my involvement with them. I still don't have a lot of bad feeling for them, but I have no desire to do business with them again either.

E. Don,

You said it so well. Thanks!

E. Don Harpe wrote:

PublishAmerica lived up to the letter of their contracts with me, and I would think they did the same with everyone they signed.

They do have a questionable business model, in which they derive most of their imcome from their authors, and not from the general public. Their never ending promotions seem to be proof of that, as well as the fact that they charge for services, such as making the books available in eform, that other publishers do for free.

I think they are constantly going through an evolutionary process in which they find more and more promotions that they can use to get authors to buy books, and while it isn't illegal, it certainly goes against the grain.

The best advice I can give is to ask for your contracts back once they are up, and move on with doing something else. It's pretty much a fact that a large percentage of PA authors, once they are out of their contracts, will never see another of their books published. There are other avenues, such as ebook publising and self pubishing, with will remain viable options, but most will just forget about their writing "career" and will never see anything else in print.

The dis-satisfaction with PA I think grew out of expectations that were much higher than the quality of the writing of most PA authors, and many of them couldn't accept that they just weren't all that good. So they did the only thing they could, they blamed PA. If you will revisit some of the virulent anti PA websites of a couple of years ago, you will find that the vast majority of those so called writers have never done anything else. They blamed PA for their first wave of poorly written books, I wonder who they're blaming for the fact that they still aren't getting published?

I'll ask for and get my PA rights back when the contracts are up, and that will be the end of my involvement with them. I still don't have a lot of bad feeling for them, but I have no desire to do business with them again either.

Yep.

Ann

Dear E. Don.
You have said it all.

We have learned a little, some of us, and know where we stand in the literary world. Our position is not the fault of Publish America. I know they did all they said they would for my Wooffer.

The two things I ever had against them was the snotty attitude they deliver for not one good reason and their lack of ever reading what they publish. They could have had a chance to promote some lovely talented people. I imagine that Stephen King could send them the next new novel he writes and they would treat him the same way, never read a word, spam the hell out of him. I wish I could arrange such a thing. The news coverage would be awesome!

I will send the registered letter.

Love,
Betty

3/16/2011


Shelagh..

Four books....I guess what I don't like is when I get
a nasty answer to my questions, I believe they have such a
turn over of people working in their office, just like when I
sent a copy of a letter I received three years ago about my
electronic rights to my first two books , very nasty reply and
the person who wrote the letter isn't even there anymore as
they say here today gone tomorrow....


Cheers..Joe

So why get so angry about it, Joe? I know the problems you have had over the years trying to improve your computing skills. Ask yourself if you would have been able to produce the books to the same standard. They cost nothing and gave you great pleasure. If you want your paintings framed, you have to pay the framer. If you want your photos printed, you have to pay for printing. So why do you feel so angry when your writing has been turned into four books at no cost?

Years ago, support contacted me and told me that I should not use the PA message boards to promote the forums I set up for PA authors. It was a typical "tone" letter and way over the top. I was a complete stranger to PA support and they had no idea how I might behave. They sent out a warning without asking my motives. I have since dealt with literally thousands of authors and can understand just why PA deal with their authors the way they do. Authors can be complete time-wasters, if you allow them to argue with you. The "tone" letters are sent out to cut down on the amount of time-wasting that authors would otherwise indulge in.

Shelagh,

I love my publisher--Mandinam Press. My book was edited well , the cover adorable and no emails to buy.

I have been buyiing my book and having fun giving it away. Authors wish to be read.
If PA lowered the price they would sell far more books and have more good-will too.

I appreciate you have plugged my book to someone other than me.

3/17/2011

Shelagh..

I'm not mad, just upset and sad at their tone, So I
will send them a letter asking not to have my first book
published anymore since the 7 years are up, I do want to
do other things with it. And now that I have become more
bright about the publishing world I can publish e books
through other sources, I do know the publishing world is
very difficult just like the art world because there are thousands
upon thousands of people into it, I don't want to be famous, trust
me that's the last thing I would want, my only dream is that
people and especially children learn to read and open the world
to them.....You see when I was in the 4th grade I had a teacher
Mrs. Siegel, she opened up the world to me about reading, by
having the class bring in .75 cents a month to order a book of
your choosing, that opened my world and the world of the public
library, I wish I could meet her again and thank her for her great
effort in helping children, I have never forgotten her..

Cheers..Joe

Cheers..Joe

And Joe, there you have the attitude from Shelagh that you just expressed you didn't like from PA. I don't see much difference between the two.

Authors can be a waste of time, that's true, but the same can be said about just about anyone, including small publishers.

Sorry Alice, but I don't agree with your accessment.

E. Don Harpe wrote:

And Joe, there you have the attitude from Shelagh that you just expressed you didn't like from PA. I don't see much difference between the two.

Authors can be a waste of time, that's true, but the same can be said about just about anyone, including small publishers.

Sorry Alice, but I don't agree with your accessment.

E. Don,

No problem! I only spoke from my experience. That is all I know. Follks don't have to agree with me. I am glad you are here posting.

She is different from PA. She is not after me to buy books.
My book is $9.49 on Amazon.

She hasn't thrown me off the Message board yet, either.

Don't you like my book? Just curious!

Alice, I like your book. I also think you are a talented writer, and a good friend. But I don't think I made a good choice in trying to come back here to post. All I did was remember why I left.

E. Don, there are many people posting here. There are as many opinions as those who post. We appreciate each other even when we differ. Diverse opinions enrich our experience.