Consumer reviews and reports on scam companies, bad products and services
The Publish America
The Publish America Scam Robbed and degraded--as a writer and as a human being--by this company Frederick, Maryland
29th of Apr, 2011 by User608364
All my life I have made money by writing newspaper and magazine articles, even books. I am neither rich nor a household word, but I certainly am a professional writer. My contact with Publish America has been poisonous and degrading; reporting it is going to be my first step in moving on from it. Hopefully what I have to say will also warn people off this scorpion of a scam. It preys on the egos of people and it is likely to leave them drained of both ego and money. People think publishing a book makes them special; but not everyone is meant to write a book. There is no shame in this. I can't build a house. Better be special doing what your natural bent is.
I had a manuscript which my friends enjoyed reading and urged me to publish. It was very much a niche book--which does not mean it is the mud Publish America has made of it. I am retired and not in good health, and did not really want to expend the time in finding an agent and/or conventional publisher. But I was convinced--and still am--that when this came out it would sell a few thousand copies. No blockbuster sales, no movie contract.
When I first saw the Publish America ads, I should have known better than to fall. I let myself believe that I could work with an outfit like this, and make a little money both for PA and myself. I had very little money at the time, and this would bridge the gap. Actually, it widened the gulf between my work and its success.
My first inkling that something was wrong was when I received the initial book copy and noticed--too late--that the pagination was wrong for the first several pages. This was entirely my fault. I work hard at proofreading--and it's very important--but it is not my best skill.
Still, it should have been relatively easy to have the error corrected. After all, this is Print On Demand. There were not thousands of books already in print, the change should only take a few minutes, and all I had to do was ask--they should want a quality product as much as I did.
So I asked. I received the reply that it was my fault, which I already knew; and that it was perfectly saleable --which I suppose would be true, if they were trying to sell it. They don't seem to want to sell anything, except to the authors. They try to induce us to buy all sorts of services, including many that are available free of charge. You just have to know, which many of those who are entrapped by PA do not. You could lose thousand of dollars, hoping that the next thing you pay for will bring you success. DON'T BUY IT!
Just recently I discovered that my book does not even have a valid ISBN number, which makes it practically impossible to market it successfully. I can't believe this was accidental on the part of PA.
I have spent months rewriting--and even improving--this book, which I happen to like very much. Before this year is up it will be out again, with a real ISBN and a well-thought-out marketing plan, which I hope will enable it to reach its own small audience--after having been dragged through the mud for several years.
That, in short, is the story. I wish the others caught up in this scam some form of success, or at least peace of mind.
For the past months I have been rewriti
I despise this organization
Comments
4606 days ago by Lchiapel2
PublishAmerica help me pull off a major book title, Poker in Las Vegas. I can't really say they are a scam because they did this whole book phenomenally--at no cost to me. I think the people that are complaining so much about them should look at themselves better. Perhaps the way they present a manuscript to a publisher, whether it's PA or not, is probably shoddy in the first place. Getting a book takes a lot of editing, proofreading, marketing, web designing and much more. Stop thinking a Publisher is your "golden parachute" when it comes to getting published. Do more on your own to support your publisher. Times are hard all around. Become a columnist in magazines, promote others, spend money if you want it done right.
BE PROACTIVE!!! Larry Chiapelli

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