Tuesday, July 13, 2010

PublishAmerica: the authors are fed up deal!

In what appears to be the Maryland vanity presses most desperate sales pitch yet, PublishAmerica is now trying to capitalize on its failures. That's right, folks!PublishAmerica has now stooped to soliciting money from authors whose books (according to PublishAmerica) haven't sold a single copy in over a year.

Thanks to anonymous for sending in this laugh out loud "Dear Author" letter. Anonymous receieved this in response to their letter to PA telling them that they have breeched this author's contract and the author wanted out.

It's beyond dispicable that they would address a breech of contract issue by trying to extort money from a disgusted author who has already been cheated. I guess that a number of disgusted authors are not buying into the "PAperback" promotion or the hardcover "bargain." Are you an author who refuses to buy copies of your own book? As a result have you not sold a single copy in over a year? Well, then today is your lucky day! PublishAmerica has a new sweet deal just for you!

Dear author:Your book has shown no sales for more than a year. At this time you may want to have your book's publishing rights reverted back to you. We can arrange that.Here's how we do it:Go to www.publishamerica.net/product94552.html and instruct us to return the rights to you. In the Ordering Instructions box, write the title of your book. You will receive the termination documents by mail. There are no strings attached to this termination {YOU BET YOUR ASS THERE IS!} except the $99 processing fee that covers our administration costs and our de-listing obligations to vendors and/or wholesalers. You must choose a shipping option to activate your rights return instruction. Thank you for having been a PublishAmerica author, or for sticking around if that's what you prefer!PublishAmerica Author Support Team

*** Holy piece of pathetic bullshit, Batman! But judging by the number of its authors who have contacted me about this publisher, this may at last be its moneymaker. If this doesn't convince you that PublishAmerica is the most unprofessional vanity publisher in the business, I don't know what will. Authors, I know most of you are fed up and just want out {your publisher knows it too!} but do not pay these people. You are paying them NOT to promote authors books. You are paying them NOT to work with news media and reviewers. In short, you are paying them to assure that future books are complete failures and thus more authors will pay them to get out of these contracts. Either way, they make money and authors lose. This publisher is notorious for cheating authors out of their royalties. So for many of the authors who have received this, they have pocketed your money and now have their hand out for $102.99. I would be wary of what the no strings attached termination agreement states, as other authors who have negotiated out of their contracts report that PublishAmerica put a gag clause in them. You pay them to get out of your contract and you are prohibited from warning others about them. I say, let them hold on the the non-profit turning books. Change your title, maybe the characters names and put your work on LULU.com or send it out to real traditional publishers.

I guarantee you that the reputable publishing houses would never make offers like these. If your book was not making a profit, they would void the contract to the benefit of both parties. Are you a fed up PA author? You may be interested in this.

17 comments:

TexasAgape said...

I complained a lot to Publish America so they finally sent me a letter and said they have deleted my book from their system, that I have all rights returned to me, oh sure they offered to let me purchase some bogus stuff, who wants plates or whatever to a book printed with so many mistakes it can't sell? If you need copies of some of the great deals they use to get authors to buy their own over priced books I saved several months worth in my archives. In fact I believe it may have helped me get away from them, I told them I save everything they send even the nasty emails!

Countess Dita VonDarkness said...

Oh sure. As if I believe PA returned your rights just from your simply complaining to them . Plates..what plates? Their only plates are the ones that Mienres serves the company food on.

Phil said...

PA only returns the publishing rights. The rest of the contract remains in effect until it expires.

Their letter would have explained that. Plus, "I have all rights returned to me..." would take a termination of the contract which PA will not do.

TexasAgape said...

A certified letter from Publish America post marked Feb. 11,2011 states quote, " We have arrived at the conclusion that no sufficient demand for your book can be expected.I am informing you herewith that we have currently no copies of your book in stock. All rights under the copyright are herewith retuned to you"

My book is not available through PA, I checked. So nay sayers, it seems I have my rghts back!

TexasAgape said...

My book is not availble, it is not being printed or sld, it is deleted. The letter from Bryan Winfrey dated Fed 10,2011 post marked Feb 11, 2011 certified to me states "All rights under the copyright are herewith retuned to you." PA has sent notice to retailers that no new copies will be printed, PA has ceased making copies available. Now to me this is we are done, its my book not PA's any longer. I am now doing a re-write and editing.

Anonymous said...

I've had a book published with them and I want out of the contract. It's a trilogy and I refuse to get the other two books published with them. Are you saying there is no way to get out of it? What if I changed some character's names and the book title?

Phil said...

Yes, "all rights under the copyright" are returned to you but certain provisions of the contract remain in effect. Publishing rights are returned but the contract has not been terminated. The "dispute" provision remains. You still have a contract with PA.

Phil said...

I'm not saying there is nothing one can do. There are conditions that provide you with a way to get your publishing rights back and you then hold those rights.

I'm saying that PA will not terminate the whole contract.

ghostlyreader10 said...

It isn't the "dispute" part of the contract that is intact it is the "warranties and idemnifications" which protects them from anyone suing them over the content of your book. I too am getting my rights reverted back to me. Just glad to be out from under them.

Phil said...

It used to be paragraph 29. and started out "... All unresolved disputes..." This used to be referred to as the arbitration clause and in later contracts PA changed the provision from arbitration to action in a Maryland State Court. Which ever provision you have remains in effect after you have received your "rights" back.

Anonymous said...

Interesting..where can you complain? There are NO emails for author support on the website. I even emailed the person who I originally dealt with when they wanted the 200.00 for resubmitting my manuscript after finding a few unwanted errors. Sadly, I have bought the packages and my book is doing extremely well on kindle books. Even though, I just want out and go a different route. Thoughts??

Anonymous said...

Hello there, I love this website! I am another disappointed author who has received the same email offering to purchase back the rights to my own book. Hey wait a minute...Why should I pay $99.00 for something that is mine in the first place. The other things is that I know for a fact that some people have bought some books this year, I even have the honor of signing one of them and now PA is telling me that I have not sold any books for the whole year! What are they talking about? I have seen the books this people bought and they could not have stole them from nowhere; so how did they get them?

Okay, where did my royalties go?

TexasAgape said...

PA did such a horrible job of editing, that I am certain the one in print is not the one I sent in hundreds of corretions for. I have not heard from them since they dropped me, I have a letter returning my rights, no more in print they say, yet still available on Amazon & other sights, like they are not ordered no one keeps them in stock. SCAM in everyway! PA should be sued for multiple counts of fraud & misrepresentation.

TexasAgape said...

PA did return my rights and they have removed my book from their list, as well as not send me anymore emails, I was told by my lawyer the letter clearly shows I own all rights to my book regardless of the contract, it is signed by a VP via certified mail and releases me to do what I will with my book. No fees invloved all it cost me was a lot of emails and letters standing up and talking back.

H.McAlendin said...

I am one of many authors trying to get my rights back. Over the last 3 years they have asked me to pay anywhere from $250 to just last month $149 admin fees to get my rights back. Their 7 year contract is unheard of in the industry and if I had known then what i know now, I NEVER EVER would have signed my work over to them to publish.

Anonymous said...

I just received this "offer" today. My contract is over 10 years old and is worded more ambiguously than some other versions I've seen floating around on the internet. I've no plans to pay them, but I'm trying to find out when my contract expires or if it already has.

My contract also contains a clause about them having the right to "publish or first refuse" my next work, which is one big reason why I've stopped writing anything. I need to know if that still applies. I hope I can find the answer somewhere.

Anonymous said...

I am a victim of PA's deceitfulness as well. I have tried to get out of their grasps for almost 2 years now. I have sent angry e-mails to which they just challenge me and ask me to prove where they are wrong. I have decided a different approach to which I hope may prevail. They are not easy to talk with that is for sure. I just hope this tactic works and if not back to the drawing board although, I would like to speak with TexasAgape and see how she was able to get out of her contract.