I ran into a Christian publisher on the Internet and thought it wouldn’t hurt to pitch our material to them.
As I was doing so, I had this really creepy, uneasy feeling running through me… but I didn’t listen to it.
The website for Publish America looked official with lots of happy testimonials from their authors… and they made it super easy to submit your pitch. They stated that they “adhere to the traditional publishing concept”.
The website said that they would get back to you in 24 hours; and for an impatient person like me, 24 hours sounded like a reasonable time to wait for an answer.
But, as I was doing all of this, I had this really creepy, uneasy feeling running through me… but I didn’t listen to it.
I prepared the submission and hit the submit button.
It wasn’t until the next morning that I started listening to the really creepy, uneasy feeling running through me.
So, I googled Publish America and the word SCAM came up in the headline search.
Oops!
In reading the material on the Internet, I can’t say that Publish America is scamming their authors, but neither are they helping their authors. The term scam deals with deceit, fraud, swindling, trickery, etc.
I can’t say this publisher is scamming their authors… although they are not providing the services that are expected from a truly “traditional” publisher — which is what is causing the complaints.
They seem to be a hybrid mix between self-publishing and traditional publishing. The authors don’t have to pay to get their books published, but nor does the publisher help promote, distribute, or market the books either. Past clients have complained that this publisher jacks up the cover price past a reasonable selling point and doesn’t pay royalties as promised. The publisher will accept any manuscript submitted, will do minimum editing, if any, and will push out a product that some bookstores refuse to place on their shelves.
As I’m reading all of this — instead of hitting myself on the head for not listening to the really creepy, uneasy feeling running through me — I tell myself that when they come back and say they’d love to publish our book, I’ll end it there.
To be fair, this publisher has a right to make a profit and be in business. They may be a good fit for some authors, but I’d rather pass at this time.
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A friend of mine published 5 books with them. To promote, you end up pitching to family and friends. This can appear to be like a Vanity publisher years ago. You also have to call book stores to see if you can arrange your own talks and book signings. This is typical self-promotion, these days. You do receive an ISBN number. But Ex Libris also gives you this, if you pay them a fee and they will edit your book, and provide copies, etc, etc. Problem, is those they hire to edit are not even native English speakers (their editing was ridiculous and made no sense because English was their second language...that's how the publisher could keep costs down). This friend paid $3000.00 + to have 40 hard and soft cover books published. If a family friend didn't do production services he would have to do them himself you. If you have a pro do it, that can cost you on top of the upfront money you lay out to get them to print up the books. Bottom line problems with Publish America and Ex Libris and others. If you can handle these and want to see your name in print, go for it. Will your conscience nag you that the book isn't worthy, that people are giving you lip service about your work, that it is very hard to get readership? Well, count the cost.
ReplyDeleteCarole Di Tosti
http://caroleditosti-thefatandtheskinny.blogspot.com
http://achristianapologistssonnets.blogspot.com
Yep! It pays to do your homework before signing up with any of the self-publishing companies. Know what you're getting into before getting into it...
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