Publish America experience

[jesuslover]

:mad:
Publish America is bad news, folks. Pure and simple. They promise to do all the promotion, but do none of it. They never answer e-mails. They are a Print On Demand (POD) publisher and the bookstores won't touch them. If someone does give you a book signing, you have to provide the books yourself. The price that PA puts on the books is way too expensive. If you buy books from the publisher, you get no royalties for it, and they only give you two books free. Much later, I found out that they have a complaint against them with the state of Maryland, where they are located. On the plus side, they publish anything and everything. I sent my manuscript to them in April of 2001 and was given the green light in June 2001. I got to choose my own book cover, that was in about September or October 2001 and the book came out in January of 2002. It is listed with Amazon and Books a Million.

[cawheat]

Thanks for you report!

[wgjones3]

Jesuslover,

Despite the bad experience you've had, you can still turn this into a positive. First, you learned from the experience. Publish on Demand is nothing more than a high-tech variation of vanity publishing. However, the POD comapanies are usually less expensive to get set up with. Be glad you didn't have to pre-buy 1500 copies of your book. :)

Like any vanity publishing venture, POD requires a lot of the writer to be successful. For yor part, you've got a book that, for all intents and purposes, has been published. Now, you've got to sell it. Set up a free website to promote yourself (http://www.truepath.com is a good place to start). With a little time, you can get your website promoted all across the web, on many search engines and on sites devoted to Christian writing (if your book is fiction, pm me or email me at wgjones3@yahoo.com and I'll share a few places to start with you). Also, you said that the cost per copy is high, but if it's sellable, then you can buy copies yourself and resell them (I'm assuming that you get them somewhat cheaper, since you don't get paid royalties on the copies you buy). There is a local writer who publishes his own books via vanity publishing and makes a good living selling the at flea markets, festivals, and in local bookstores.

Also, you hae a publishing credit to your name. Yes, future publishers and agents will most likely know that it was a POD publisher who published your work, but that won't matter if you can prove that your work sold. Many writers have started out in vanity publishing and landed very good contracts writing for big publishing houses.

Just don't give up. It may take more work than you thought, but you can sell this book, my friend. :D

[Love2write]

I have to partially disagree. Not all POD publishers are vanity presses. Vanity presses are usually small book packagers who charge thousands of dollars for an author to publish a book.

Publish America has the same process as other book publishers. You have to submit your book for acceptance. They do not charge at all for publication. What POD means actually is print on demand, not publication at a fee.

However I Universe does charge a $99 fee. One thing good about them is they really work with their authors, and a lot of people who would not have had the chance to be published in this highly competive market, are now published authors.

There is the ACW a Christian pod publisher that is fairly new to the mix.

There are a lot of drawbacks to pod publishers, and I would not recommend them unless you are willing to sink hundreds of dollars in to marketing your book. Another thing is bookstores don't stock a lot of pod books, especially Publish America books because of their no return policy, and the prices they put on the books are outrageously high.

[Unregistered]

How did you find out that Publish America had a complaint against them with the state of Maryland? Also, were the terms you listed on your post not listed on your contract you signed with Publish America?

[jesuslover]

:mad:
I was told by a person that I respected that was on an E-mail list that I used to belong to. As for the other, it states on the contract that PA will do all the promotion, but they do none of it.

[Unregistered]

Jesus Lover, contracts are negotiable, even Publish America's. But even their boilerplate contracts don't say anywhere that they will do all the promotion. They do make your book available at the various online sites, even foreign ones like Canada and England. Being a book author involves selfpromoting, and even the traditional publishers expect its author to do so or they'll be no second book.

[HisServant]

I don't know much about Publish America though I have heard many bad things about them. And like someone replied earlier not all POD publishing is vanity. I've had three books published through iUniverse and I have completely loved it! :D I had a book signing with Books-A-Million and they purchased the books for me. They've even invited me back. There are so many ways to market your book without having to spend a cent, especially online. Why not take your lemons and make lemonade. Pray that God will use your book and show you how to get it out there. Another really great thing about iUniverse is once you are published they give you an author's tool kit which is awesome- it has business cards, postcards, book signing poster, promotional poster, press release kit and the list goes on. They also take only about 4 weeks to get your book published from the day you upload it to them. They pay 20% on royalties, which I love because even though my royalty checks are small it's still such a neat thing to receive.

One thing you need to think about is your motivation for wanting to be published. Do you wish to be rich, famous, etc.? Or is your wish just to minister to those in need? The reason iUniverse works so well for me is because I truly feel that God has sanctioned me to work for Him through the writing of my novels. Yes, they are fiction but I also work in the plan of salvation. I know God is using my books for His good and that's all I need to know. It makes me feel so good to think that God- our Creator- is actually using something that I (nobody special) wrote, for His good. I believe He uses all Christian books regardless of their genre for His good. So, you need to analyze your motives and if you want to do it just for God then I say go straight to iUniverse.com, but if you are more interested in the fame and fortune then keep working at getting a traditional publishing houses interested in you and pray really hard! (Though like one of the other posts said even through traditional publishing houses you have to self-promote if you wish to succeed.)

Hope this helps. Have a blessed day full of love! :)

Sincerely,

Vicki Williamson

[Love2write]

Dear Vicki:

I'd like to hear more about your experience with IUniverse. One thing you forgot to mention is they charge the author for pubication, which makes them a vanity press. The charges range from $159 to $949. Publish America does not charge anything to the author, but the royalties are only at 8% and they have a no return policy with bookstores. I's royalty scale is inviting, and you can get your book published in a few weeks. PA takes up to a year. They held a manuscript of mine for five months that I had submitted, then they lost it, never having had anyone look at it during that time. I withdrew immediately.

I am one of those authors seeking a traditional publisher. I am not seeking fame or fortune, although I would like to make a modest income from writing. After all, a workman is worthy of his hire. Anyway, after my "pod" experience, I would prefer a traditional publisher. I think it is important for believers to have their books out on the shelves of bookstores. I want a reputable, well-respected agent and publisher, good royalties, and bookstores stocking my books.

Don't get me wrong. Iam so grateful for my experience of having my novel published. It has been awesome in spite of the drawbacks. PA printed my book in a large 6x9 with a beautiful cover. I've met wonderful people and enjoyed signings and learned about marketing.

I am working on a little book of childhood, family memories and intend to go pod with it. I'm not interested in having it out there on the shelves. It's pretty much for just my family and friends, so pod is a good place for it.

It all boils down to listening to the voice of God for direction. I know that he led me to PA; it gave me a start and so much more.

Rita

[jesuslover]

Yes, I'm grateful to PA for publishing my book. It was my first book (or anything for that matter) ever to be published. God called me to write and share whatever He tells me to write. A friend of mine was published after I was. He was published by Bethany House and was given book signings, interviews, and told where and when his book would become available on the book shelves. Advertisements for his book showed up in leading Christian magazines, and newspapers. This is what I always thought a book publisher was supposed to do. This is not about making money for me, it is about getting the word out about God's Word and about God. My book has been out for eleven months now and is still a well- kept secret. I have sold only 52 copies of the book so far. I wanted it to do better than that for Him because He has done so much more than that for me. Things are starting to look up, however, because the book is mentioned in a new magazine that the National Fibromyalgia Association, an off-shoot of the Arthritis Foundation, has put out. This issue is the September-December issue and I hope will sell more copies for Him. I am shopping another book around to publishers, and am grateful that PA did NOT publish this one.

Which brings me to ANOTHER QUESTION. How long do I give a book publisher to answer on proposal and/or manuscript submission before I take it to the next one on the list?

Any help you can give me will be greatly appreciated.

Thank you

[HisServant]

Make that 53 books sold. My younger sister has fibromyalgia and I told her about your book. She went to Amazon and checked it out. She said she would probably buy it. If she doesn't then I plan on getting it for her as a Christmas present. I also have a very dear friend who has fibromyalgia, so I will tell her about it also.

As far as how long to wait, it all depends on the publisher. You will have to look at the publishers's guidelines because that is where it will tell generally how long it takes them to answer. From my experiences I've learned it can take anywhere from 6 weeks to 6 months.

Since you have a friend published through Bethany maybe he could get his editor to take a look at your manuscript. :) Just a thought.

I wish you nothing but good fortune on your fibromyalgia book. Be sure to surf the net and find all of the fibromyalgia web rings, web sites, associations, etc., then see about letting them post your book or you can make a mention of it at the web rings, and in fibromyalgia forums. You have so many options open to you right now. Take advantage of all of your resources.

Have a blessed day!

Vicki Williamson