PublishAmerica - Writers Forum

billz015 · 05-27-2005, 11:30 PM

I recently finished a short novella(22,000 words) and I sent it into this company without any knowledge of them or their business dealings. They want to publish it but after learning some things about them(only sell + promote book online, say they distribute it to B&N, doesn't edit books) I'm not so sure I should go with it, because with my first bit of published work I want to get some kind of press that could help out with my goal of writing full time

now I'm just wondering if any of you have had any dealinds with publish america and if you guys have any recommendations about what I should do in this situation

pgoroncy · 05-27-2005, 11:56 PM

I haven't had any dealings with them personaly, but some of the other members here have. Here is a thread with a discussion about them:

http://www.writingforums.com/viewtopic.php?t=6145

lisajane · 05-28-2005, 12:16 AM

I know one person who got published under them. She did all her homework and weighed up her options, and still went for them. She's very happy, it's suited her.

Nickie · 05-28-2005, 03:16 AM

I have two books out with PA, and all in all I am not disappointed. The only 'complaint' I have about them is that they pay the royalties by check I'v easked them repeatedly to pay me through Paypal or directily into my account, but they don't do that. As I live in Belgium it's a problem cashing in a check from overseas. My bank wants to do it, but I have to pay a lot of money just to get the money I'm due!!!

That is the sole reason why I'm looking out to place my following books with a genuine publisher. A manuscript is now with an agent. After reading a partial, she wanted me to send the full.

I have gained a lot of experience in selling and promoting my books though, and that is worth something.

Nickie

mammamaia · 05-28-2005, 08:55 AM

bill...
i've had several writers come to me for help in getting out of their contracts with pa... it's not a good way to go for new writers who want to establish a reputation, as the writing community in general, and the traditional publishing industry do not consider pa or other pod/self/vanity-published writers to be 'published authors'...

if you have to put up even a single penny to get your book into readers' hands, it's a form of vanity publishing and isn't considered 'being published' by agents and editors of paying publishers... so, if you do go that route, it's best to use a nom de plume, so your real name won't be tarnished and you can use it later when approaching 'real' publishers with future works...

before you make a decision, see what preditors & editors has posted about pa:

www.anotherealm.com/prededitors

all that aside, i'm afraid you are going down a dead end street, seeking a publisher for a novella [short or long]... there's just no market for such a thing... it's way too short to make a book and way too long for a magazine... no book publisher [except those you pay for the privilege] will consider publishing a 'story'... book mss for adult readers must be at least 75k words and optimum is 100-125k...

if your goal is to 'write [fiction] full time' then you'd best write and submit short stories to magazines and work on novels that will have some chance of being published... what you have simply isn't a 'book' and any so-called publisher who says it is, is a scam artist...

that said, many e-publishers will publish almost anything, of any size, but that's not considered 'being published' either, unless it's a reputable site and you're paid the going professional rate for your work...

sorry to not have better news for you, but it's best to know what the reality is, when entering unfamiliar waters...

love and hugs, maia

silentbeauty · 05-30-2005, 05:27 PM

Knows a self-published author that won a newbery award. I don't think traditional publishing is better or worse than self-publishing but I think both can work. Some very famous people started off as self-publishers and found their way right into a traditional publishers lap.

silentbeauty

Anonymous · 05-30-2005, 05:33 PM

no argument there, sb... but pa and pods are not 'self-publishing' per se... self-publishing is when you pay a printer to print your book and you control all aspects of the process... i seriously doubt that newberry award-winner's book was put out by pa or its ilk...

strangedaze · 05-30-2005, 05:47 PM

Just wanted to say that I've heard some very nasty things about PA and to comment on the novella thing. A gal who used to post at lit.org, who's the editor of Lost in the Dark, a paying ezine, recently had her novella published in print, so it still is possible for that to happen, though she was working in the small press horror genre.

Taxiday · 05-31-2005, 04:49 PM

Thanks to all for the comments about Publish America. They were the first ones to ask to see my manuscript. I was thrilled to death until ... I got a letter in the mail asking for my email address. Why? They had to have it from when I submitted my first query. Then after emailing them my fulll manuscript, I got an email from them saying they couldn't open the attachments - so it was clear they had my email. I then sent them another email with the mss in unformatted text, along with the bio they asked for.
All well and good. But then, they sent me another letter in the mail saying they were going through the pre-publishing phase and would be offering me a contract - without an advance against royalties and saying it would take up to one year to publish - and, again asking for my email address!
Now, I may be egotistical but I KNOW that my book is commercially viable, well-written, informative, and even humorous. It deals with a subject that literally millions of people are interested in as shown by the 33 MILLION people who came to Las Vegas last year, the 40+ MILLION due this year, and the other uncounted millions who visit casinos elsewhere, including cruise ships, and those watching all those programs on TV about gambling.
So, with all that, why on earth should I deal with someone who wants to take that long and won't pay an advance?
From your posts, it seems that my gut feeling was right and I'm far better off waiting for the local publisher who know the genre, has a completely formatted CD of the mss, and can go to press a whole lot faster.
So, thanks again for alerting me and it makes the waiting process so much easier.

Julianne · 05-31-2005, 05:50 PM

PA is a publisher to run away from as fast as you can. Anyone even considering PA should check out:

http://absolutewrite.com/forums

Click on the "Bewares and Background Check" forum and then look for the sticky thread called "The Neverending Publish America Thread."

It's an eye-opener.

mammamaia · 06-07-2005, 12:59 PM

'waiting' isn't gonna do it, taxi!... you have to go out and find 'em... real publishers are not looking for books, they have them sent to them every day... in piles!... so, you'll need to do up an effective query letter and start blitzing all the presses that specialize in the type of book you have to offer and will accept queries from unagented writers...

another thing you can do is try to find an agent to rep the work for you... again, finding the ones who will accept queries from new writers... it's a long, hard row to hoe, but the crop is worth the work, if you get that thing sold...

also, don't hold out for an advance... most publishers don't pay much of one [if any!] to unknown writers... and small indies can't afford the risk, either... at most, you may get a small one, but don't forget it comes out of royalties, so that may be all you make on the book, if it doesn't sell well...

best of luck with it... love and hugs, maia

pgoroncy · 09-12-2005, 04:17 PM

Not to resurect a dead thread or anything.

But I just read an interesting article on the subject and wanted to share with anyone interested.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp...5187-2005Jan20

Stewart · 09-12-2005, 05:43 PM

These people should take more time to read contracts before signing off anything; they deserve all they get.

Julianne · 09-13-2005, 11:38 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Connor Wolf

These people should take more time to read contracts before signing off anything; they deserve all they get.

Connor, that's a rather naive and simplistic statement. Many of the types of things that people are objecting to are NOT COVERED by the contract, nor would they be covered in a contract with a major commercial publisher. PA is bad news, period. Thanks for posting that link, pgoroncy.

mammamaia · 09-13-2005, 11:41 AM

you're all heart, huh, connor?