Don't believe everything you read on websites. There are so many ways that these people swindled me and many other Authors, only to be stuck in a contract that is so vague no one can get out of it.
Publish America's Words = "PublishAmerica, a traditional advance and royalty paying book publisher, launches authors in the best tradition of old-fashioned quality publishing. The Maryland based publishing company is fundamentally opposed to charging any author fees. Its founders decided that a well-written book is worth publication if the author can convince a publishing company that there are at least the seeds of a market out there, and that the author's talent holds a promise for the future.
They are liars #1 Yes they don't charge the author to publish the book, but they over charge on the price of the book, where no one wants to buy it, and they send out several emails offering "deals" to the authors to buy their own book at what would be regular retail cost for paperbacks retail in stores)
#2 in the industry of publishing they ARE considered a POD. Print on demand (POD) is the commonly-used term for the digital printing technology that allows a complete book to be printed and bound in a matter of minutes. POD technology makes it easy and cost-effective to produce books one or two at a time or in small lots, rather than in larger print runs of several hundred or several thousand.
#3- Everyone who submits a book gets published by this company. "Its founders decided that a well-written book is worth publication if the author can convince a publishing company that there are at least the seeds of a market out there, and that the author's talent holds a promise for the future." They don't even read the entire book, they read the first chapter if anything, and go from there. Again, Everyone Is Accepted, regardless of their talent.
Publish America says = "Because it took full advantage of the latest printing technology before any other traditional publisher did, the company can afford to sell all copies of a book on a non-returnable basis, now that each copy can be printed in accordance with real demand. However, Publish America titles are often returnable anyway, which allows bookstores to return unsold copies ordered through the nation's largest book wholesaler Ingram, as part of an ongoing returnability experiment that affects many thousands of book titles. As announced when initiated, this experiment may be calibrated or discontinued at the publisher's discretion."
They do not accept returns which is why book stores don't want to purchase the books to sell.
"PublishAmerica is a traditional, royalty paying publisher. We are strongly opposed to charging fees, ever. There's no catch, no hidden surprises. We even pay small advances to indicate our principle. The author is never, ever, under any obligation to pull their wallet to make any purchase whatsoever. We don't want their money. We want their book. All expenses involved with acquiring, producing, manufacturing, and publishing a book, and marketing it to the industry's wholesale and distribution channels for full availability through all bookstores at home and abroad are underwritten by PublishAmerica solely. This is one of our main claims to fame, and one that we are very proud of. All authors are treated equally here."
Yes - you get paid a royalty advance...$1 to seal the deal. They forgot to mention they 50/50 split if your book goes to MOVIE. On their website they say they don't want movie rights, just publishing rights, but the contract says otherwise.
"Does the use of the digital on-demand printing technology make a publisher a POD house? No, it does not. Of course not. According to www.acronymfinder.com, there are 57 different meanings for POD, from Post Office Department to Point Of Departure to Proof Of Delivery.in our world, POD is vanity publishing, and PublishAmerica is no vanity publisher, by any stretch of the imagination"
Yeah, if you'll buy that I'll throw the Golden Gate in FREE. POD, in the Publishing world means PRINT ON DEMAND. They are a POD no matter what kind of smoke they try to blow at you!!!
"We assign a graphic designer who comes up with a unique cover design. All PublishAmerica book covers are custom designed, without exception. Our designers communicate with the authors, to hear their suggestions and ideas, so that they can be incorporated into the design. We believe that this communication is important to our authors. After all, this is their life's work. They want it to be treated accordingly. They want quality, and we assure them quality. For free."
Yeah, well just don't blow up the book cover and you wont notice all the flaws in their design, oh yeah and they let crayon colored pictures for their book covers, done by and adult mind you. So what is all that smoke about quality and custom design? YIKES.
Oh yeah here it is, about MOVIE RIGHTS... They are liars!..
"PublishAmerica is only interested in a book's publishing rights. We don't want any other rights, unless an author insists that we carry them on his/her behalf. Movie rights, audio rights, TV rights, merchandising rights, the copyright, they all remain the author's. We are a BOOK publisher, the only way we earn our money is by selling books, and we're very good at that. Everything else can be done better by others. Our contracts expire after seven years, unlike the life term that most other traditional publishers require. Maybe that's one of the reasons why our contracts seem to be particularly liked by lawyers: we count a few hundred attorneys among our authors."
Everyone in the publishing field tells you NEVER go with a 7 year contract. I missed that one, while I was still green and new to this business. Publish America's contract specifically states that should your book go to movie, the monies shall be split 50/50. See what I mean they LIE! Please email me if you want the links to where I got all this information, and if you would like to see a copy of my contract that states the above. Nothing they promise on their website is real, it is all worded in such a way that anyone besides an attorney can't understand. We are more tempted to believe what they say on their website rather than try to understand all the mumbo jumbo stated in the contract. It's just to confusing.
If you were even thinking of joining Publish America PLEASE DON'T you will be sorry... And all the claims you hear about people defending them... Most likely work for the company and are trying to pass themselves off as a happy author. Don't believe the wolf in sheeps clothing!
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