Publish America...any info?

[Greg Mayo]

Hey all, I just received a response from Publish America. They accepted my manuscript! They are going to publish my book! Then, I sent a copy of the sample contract to my attourney. One of his partners said they are a vanity press is publisher clothing.
Does anyone know anything about Publish America? Is it true what the lawyer said?
I was excited and now wonder if it's really anything at all.

[Erik Deckers]

Congrats on the acceptance. I don't know anything about them, but I know there are some discussion groups about vanity presses and which ones to beware of. I just can't remember the list. I would cruise Google for things like "self-publishing warning" (no quotes), and see what pops up.

[Lori Lowe]

Hi Greg. I would be wary. Wikipedia has warnings--you can check your agreement to see if it is set up the way it is described in the Criticism. Best of luck to you. Wikipedia says:

PublishAmerica is a Maryland-based print-on-demand book publisher founded in 1999 by Lawrence Alvin "Larry" Clopper III and Willem Meiners. It has been the subject of controversy because it has been accused of being a vanity press or author mill by some writers and authors' advocates,[1] despite its claims to be a "traditional" advance- and royalty-paying publisher.
Critics charge that PA's contracts and practices prove the company is a vanity press. PA pays a nominal US$1 advance to its authors, provides minimal editing and provides few of the services handled by trade publishing, including retail distribution, marketing and media relations. Disgruntled authors told Publishers Weekly that PA did not pay royalties owed to them, sold books it no longer had the rights to sell, set unreasonably high list prices and lower-than-average discounts for authors to buy their own books and either neglected or failed to place books into bookstores.[6]

PublishAmerica's Prather dismissed authors' criticisms, saying book prices reflected "what the market would bear" and that "we don't control the bookstores in the country."[2][7][8] Other PublishAmerica authors have spoken out in support of the publisher, denying it is a vanity press and highlighting the opportunities it gives to unpublished authors.[9]
There is some more info on wikipedia and other sites. The main thing is that book sellers may not want to work with them, so they would prevent you from getting in the book stores.
Tell us more about your book!

[Greg Mayo]

Thanks for the input. After really looking things over, talking with the editor assigned to me, talking with a friend from church (lawyer) and praying with my wife we decided to turn down the contract.
That was tough...
I've published hundreds of stories and columns but my dream has been to publish a book...not this time. One heck of a bummer to get that excited and then crash.
Anyway, your input was helpful and I did spend about two hours looking at info on PA.

Thanks,

Greg

[Jeff Bowe]

Never get discouraged! Instead, what did you learn about what to look for, and what to do next. If it's a good book, keep working. There are real publishers out there, don't know how long you have been submitting it (first day in THIS group).

What is the topic of the book?

[Greg Mayo]

Jeff,
Thanks for that. It was tough to go from the high of getting accepted to where I am today. I really believe in the book though and the series that follows.
It started as a short story based on an article I read eight years ago about a guy who lost his family in a car accident with a drunk driver. Everyone that has read the story has cried...I guess that's good.
Anyway, I am having trouble finding "real" publishers that are small. I see the big boys and they insist on an agent. Then I see the vanity presses.
I guess I just have to look harder!
Welcome to the group!

[Lou Harry]

Here's a rather smart way that a group of writers showed Publish America's true colors.


http://www.lisamaliga.com/AtlantaNightsLosAngelesTimes.htm

In short, they deliberately wrote the worst book they could. They repeated chapters. They left one blank.

And Publish America accepted it.

A funny but, ultimately, depressing tale of what some companies will do to make money from the dreams of those who don't know the publishing business.

Best of luck placing your book with a legit publisher--one that makes money from interested strangers buying their books rather than from the authors themselves.

Lou Harry
www.myspace.com/lharry

P.S. Interested parties might want to check out the 16-author event this Saturday at The Mystery Company in Carmel and the 90-plus authors at the Indiana Author Fair at the Indiana Historical Society on Dec. 6.

[Greg Mayo]

Lou,
Thanks for the link. I read the story on PA. What load that company is. It's a shame a guy can get that fired up about getting accepted only to find out the publisher is full of poo!
Thanks,
Greg

[Jennifer Young]

Wow, how did this end up for you? Super curious and hope it has a happy ending, or middle! Nice!
Jen

[Maurice Broaddus]

publishamerica IS a vanity press. they will publish your novel without editing it. you will be doing all of the marketing for the book. the amount you'll be selling the book for is pretty steep. and you will still only collect roughly 7% royalties for your efforts ... so it's not even as good a deal as self-publishing.

also, they keep your rights for seven years, so you can't even re-sell the book to a larger company later.

[Karen Gill]

Greg, maybe you could try Author House. They're a self-publisher based in Bloomington. A friend of mine whose book I edited went that route and had a positive experience with them. The book came out looking sharp, too. Don't give up just because Publish America turned out to be a disappointment.