Question about Publish America

[Jennifer Lee Lefort]

A friend of mine told me about this site. It looks promising, but I would feel better to hear from others who have had dealings with this company before sending them a copy of my book. Heres the link for those who haven't heard of it and are curious like me.

http://www.publishamerica.com/

 

 

[Marian Pike]

I have not taken the time to read your other responses so I may be duplicating...If all you want is to see your book in print then PA is the cheapest way to go.   Providing you NEVER take advantage of any of their "special offers".  You will not, in my experience see any results and you will be out the hard earned money you have paid.  I will admit to being suckered in to their scam.  Yes, I said scam, because if you are serious about your writing PA is not the place to go to become published.  They do NOT promote your book properly, even when you pay for them to do so.  It is cost prohibative (sp?) for you to promote it yourself as the price of the book is extremely overpriced for a new author and includes shipping and handling PER COPY.   There is so much more.   Please look online.  Some of the negative press is from people who did not read their contract, but where there is smoke, there is fire.  I just wish I had realized that in the beginning.

To date I have paid for and never realized any results or feedback from the following "services"

Promoting my book to Amazon's new romance line "Montlake".

Promoting my book to bookstores in my area.  I actually called the contacts I had given PA for this service and they told me they had never heard of them.

In addition, I can find my book as used on many websites and when questioning PA, with a screenshot of my book offered as used in the email, I received a reply from them stating that my email did not go through...WITH MY EMAIL AT THE BOTTOM OF THE MESSAGE!

I could go on but I think I have made my point.  Take the time to pursue legitimate publishers if you are serious about becoming published.  It is a lot harder and takes a lot longer, but in the end, you will be much better off.

 

[Jennifer Lee Lefort]

Wow, I guess it pays to be a little chicken. My friend told me about this site. I placed my book online in June, and I have been looking into different ways to promote it. So when she told me about PA, I thought it sounded good. I'm glad I asked first. Thx for sharing.

[Christine Amsden]

Publish America is a vanity press that charges authors to print their books. You never PAY a publisher to publish a book. They pay you. Anything else is a scam.

Check out this link:

http://pred-ed.com/pebpublisham.htm

Preditors and Editors is a good source, btw. Keep them bookmarked when looking for a publisher.

Google Publish America to see what you get. It's not pretty. 

[Pearson Oldmitz]

"They pay you." A brash statement from someone whose only book was published by Paladin Timeless Books. Here is a direct quote from their web site:

   Could you give me some idea of the range of advances you pay your authors?
Please keep in mind we are a very small operation at the present time. We rarely pay an author an advance.

Many well-known books, that have stood the test of time, had been "self-published," when they first appeared.

I have a friend who publishes "paranormal pulp," with a major publisher for big bucks, and then uses her own money to publish what she calls her "serious stuff," under another name in small editions, which she gives to her friends.

There is little demand for "literary works" in the marketplace these days. I know several authors who have published with big houses, and won major prizes, who have turned to self-publishing to get their works out.

Best wishes,

Pearson Oldmitz

[Christine Amsden]

A PUBLISHER does pay you, not the other way around. If you want to self-publish, then you are taking on the role of both publisher and author, and you may hire places that help you with getting your book ready for print.  

The problem with Publish America is that they have been known to lie about what they are and what services they provide. They are not a traditional publisher.

A traditional press does not charge the author. Advances have nothing to do with it, and I resent your characterization of Twilight Times Books, which has done a terrific job publishing the TWO books I have out now, and is doing a great job with the four books I have coming out soon.  No, I don't get advances, but I do get royalty checks, and I do not pay for editing, cover art, printing, distribution, etc. This is a traditional model of publishing in which the publisher invests in an author's work, and the two become a team.

There is nothing wrong with self-publishing. There is something wrong with a press that has lied and misrepresented what services it provides. 

ETA: I wanted to edit because I wonder if you're misunderstanding a term, in which case my annoyance may have been over the top. If so, I apologize. An ADVANCE is an advance on royalty payments. Most large publishers have the resources to pay an author some amount of money up-front, in anticipation of the royalties they will later receive. The author does not have to repay this advance even if they do not earn enough royalties to pay it off, but they also do not receive additional royalties until it has been paid out. (So if you have a $5,000 advance, until you've sold enough books to receive $5,000 in royalties, you don't get money.) Small presses don't have that kind of capital, so when you deal with a small traditional press, you are unlikely to receive an advance. However, this does NOT mean that you don't get paid. You get royalties for every book sold, and in the meantime, in a traditional model, you don't pay to put the book out.

[Jennifer Lee Lefort]

Thx. for the info. I think I'll just stay with Smashwords, KDP, and Createspace.

[Mel Chesley]

Publish America is a scam. Please go to AbsoluteWrite dot com and check out the link under their water cooler forums. I used PA and absolutely regret it. They are a PoD (Print on demand). They do NOT take refunds and will charge an outrageous price for your books. They are unprofessional and people have tried to sue them countless times for breach of contract.

[G Earle Gardner]

we did the big publisher like PA for a year and found that all the services that we paid to have done was sent to Lightning Source and now we go ritht to them and get the same thing and save big.... https://www1.lightningsource.com/

check out my group if you will be on iBook?

I am looking to get iPad / iPod owners and authors so I just set up a new group.

Apple gives publishers 50 free Promotional Codes for each book to help the Author get reviews and this group was created as a place for Authors and Publishers to post books looking for Apple owners to do reviews and as a place for Apple owners to find IBooks to read and review. To keep this group going I ask only that you do not ask for a download code if you are not willing to provide the author feedback in the form of a review.

To kick off the new group APPLE IBOOKS AND REVIEWS I have set the price for V.J.O. Gardner’s book JOURNEY HOME TO A NEW WORLD so anyone can download it and post a review for FREE, this is only until the end of the year. After that it will go back to the regular price.

[Jennifer Lee Lefort]

Thank you. I will check it out