Red flag on bad mistake

papablues050164 · 06-18-2013, 06:28 PM

I have a question that may or may not mark me as an idiot. I was one of those poor souls who once submitted a book to PublishAmerica. It did nothing of course, which probably had as much to do with my poor marketing skills or theirs.
The point is, its out there on the Net so its bound to turn up in any discussion on any future website of mine. Should I ignore that book, pretend it never existed? Or fess up now, admit my mistake now & get it out of the way? Thank you.

Fluribus · 06-18-2013, 08:56 PM

What are you ashamed of? Did you write book of Nazi poetry called "Odes to Adolf"? If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

calvin-c · 06-19-2013, 11:09 AM

It seems you attribute the failure to poor marketing rather than the book itself being poor-so why would you ignore it? Choosing the wrong publisher might make the book hard to find but if it's good then recommend it-people will seek it out. If it's bad then acknowledge that. Either rewrite & republish it or list it but advise people to ignore it.

Dr. Drib · 06-19-2013, 11:15 AM

If you're ashamed of it, then you might be wise not to mention it to your friends, co-workers, union, church, wife, children, New Jersey, MobileRead, bank, school, the community in which you live, credit union, state, and finally your country.

If on the other hand you are proud of it, then you should only mention it if someone else mentions it first and liked it. If they didn't like it, quickly walk away so that you will not be further embarrassed.

Don

BeccaPrice · 06-19-2013, 01:11 PM

Did you sell the copyright to PA? if you're not ashamed of the book, but only your association with PA, re-publish the book with Amazon and CreateSpace, and ignore the PA edition.

CWatkinsNash · 06-19-2013, 02:55 PM

You and over 10,000 others. Most authors do not start out as business people - unfortunate deals get made all the time, and this falls into that category. It happens. No one is perfect. PA presented themselves as something resembling a trad publisher in terms of what they claimed to offer. It took some time before the truth came to light.

Worrying overly much about your previous association with PA can leave a negative impression. I wouldn't address it unless it comes up. My advice, if it does come up, would be to chalk it up as "seemed like a good idea at the time", and don't make excuses. Simply state that, at the time, publishing outside of traditional routes was much harder to navigate and you're glad that authors have many more options available to them today.

VydorScope · 06-19-2013, 05:01 PM

I do not know the history here... what is PA and other then the book not selling (which could happen anywhere), what is there to be ashamed of?

CWatkinsNash · 06-19-2013, 05:41 PM

PA presented themselves as something resembling a trad pub on the face - providing small advances, claiming to have an intense review process for acceptance, and also claiming to offer full editorial and marketing services and in-store distribution just like trad pub. This was not quite accurate.

I've never seen a PA contract, so I do not know how much was promised contractually vs. what was delivered, but here's one article that discusses some of the uproar:
http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/publish.html

VydorScope · 06-19-2013, 06:11 PM

I gathered that much... but why would that be an embarrassment? Everyone makes bad deals from time to time.

Lemurion · 06-20-2013, 04:23 AM

The best descriptions I've seen of PA hover around "truly loathsome." They market themselves to authors as a "traditional" publisher, a term they are trying to equate to a commercial publisher, but have a very different publishing model. Their basic business model is to lock the writer into a long-term deal and then sell them their own books at higher than average prices for the author to presumably resell. Many consider them a scam.

I wouldn't call attention to a PA book, but I wouldn't bother to market it until you can recover the rights.

avantman42 · 06-20-2013, 05:58 AM

I've not heard of Publish America, but I wouldn't worry overly about having put a book out through them. Before I started self-publishing, I hadn't heard of Author Solutions and all their aliases either. Even now that I do know about them, seeing their name on a book listing doesn't put me off buying the book, it just makes me feel slightly sad that the author probably got a bad deal

I wouldn't mention it. If you're asked about it, be honest - you made a mistake. It looked like a good deal, and you only found out the truth when it was too late.

06-18-2013, 06:28 PM	#1
papablues050164 Junior Member Posts: 2 Karma: 10 Join Date: May 2013 Location: Puyallup, Washington United States Device: none	Red flag on bad mistake I have a question that may or may not mark me as an idiot. I was one of those poor souls who once submitted a book to PublishAmerica. It did nothing of course, which probably had as much to do with my poor marketing skills or theirs. The point is, its out there on the Net so its bound to turn up in any discussion on any future website of mine. Should I ignore that book, pretend it never existed? Or fess up now, admit my mistake now & get it out of the way? Thank you.

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06-18-2013, 08:56 PM	#2
Fluribus Guru Posts: 891 Karma: 8893661 Join Date: Feb 2012 Device: Kindle	What are you ashamed of? Did you write book of Nazi poetry called "Odes to Adolf"? If not, I wouldn't worry about it.

06-19-2013, 11:09 AM	#3
calvin-c Guru Posts: 787 Karma: 1575310 Join Date: Jul 2009 Device: Moon+ Pro	It seems you attribute the failure to poor marketing rather than the book itself being poor-so why would you ignore it? Choosing the wrong publisher might make the book hard to find but if it's good then recommend it-people will seek it out. If it's bad then acknowledge that. Either rewrite & republish it or list it but advise people to ignore it.

06-19-2013, 11:15 AM	#4
Dr. Drib Grand Sorcerer Posts: 45,341 Karma: 59447733 Join Date: Jan 2007 Location: Peru Device: KINDLE: Oasis 3, Scribe (1st), Matcha; KOBO: Libra 2, Libra Colour	If you're ashamed of it, then you might be wise not to mention it to your friends, co-workers, union, church, wife, children, New Jersey, MobileRead, bank, school, the community in which you live, credit union, state, and finally your country. If on the other hand you are proud of it, then you should only mention it if someone else mentions it first and liked it. If they didn't like it, quickly walk away so that you will not be further embarrassed. Don

06-19-2013, 01:11 PM	#5
BeccaPrice Wizard Posts: 2,146 Karma: 11174187 Join Date: Jan 2011 Device: Sony 350, K3-3G, K4SO, KPW	Did you sell the copyright to PA? if you're not ashamed of the book, but only your association with PA, re-publish the book with Amazon and CreateSpace, and ignore the PA edition.

06-19-2013, 02:55 PM	#6
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	You and over 10,000 others. Most authors do not start out as business people - unfortunate deals get made all the time, and this falls into that category. It happens. No one is perfect. PA presented themselves as something resembling a trad publisher in terms of what they claimed to offer. It took some time before the truth came to light. Worrying overly much about your previous association with PA can leave a negative impression. I wouldn't address it unless it comes up. My advice, if it does come up, would be to chalk it up as "seemed like a good idea at the time", and don't make excuses. Simply state that, at the time, publishing outside of traditional routes was much harder to navigate and you're glad that authors have many more options available to them today.

06-19-2013, 05:01 PM	#7
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	I do not know the history here... what is PA and other then the book not selling (which could happen anywhere), what is there to be ashamed of?

06-19-2013, 05:41 PM	#8
CWatkinsNash IOC Chief Archivist Posts: 3,950 Karma: 53868218 Join Date: Dec 2010 Location: Fruitland Park, FL, USA Device: Meebook M7, Paperwhite 2021, Fire HD 8+, Fire HD 10+, Lenovo Tab P12	PA presented themselves as something resembling a trad pub on the face - providing small advances, claiming to have an intense review process for acceptance, and also claiming to offer full editorial and marketing services and in-store distribution just like trad pub. This was not quite accurate. I've never seen a PA contract, so I do not know how much was promised contractually vs. what was delivered, but here's one article that discusses some of the uproar: http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/publish.html

06-19-2013, 06:11 PM	#9
VydorScope Wizard Posts: 3,418 Karma: 35207650 Join Date: Jun 2011 Device: iPad	I gathered that much... but why would that be an embarrassment? Everyone makes bad deals from time to time.

06-20-2013, 04:23 AM	#10
Lemurion eReader Posts: 2,750 Karma: 4968470 Join Date: Aug 2007 Device: Note 5; PW3; Nook HD+; ChuWi Hi12; iPad	The best descriptions I've seen of PA hover around "truly loathsome." They market themselves to authors as a "traditional" publisher, a term they are trying to equate to a commercial publisher, but have a very different publishing model. Their basic business model is to lock the writer into a long-term deal and then sell them their own books at higher than average prices for the author to presumably resell. Many consider them a scam. I wouldn't call attention to a PA book, but I wouldn't bother to market it until you can recover the rights.

06-20-2013, 05:58 AM	#11
avantman42 Wizard Posts: 1,090 Karma: 6058305 Join Date: Sep 2010 Location: UK Device: Kindle Paperwhite	I've not heard of Publish America, but I wouldn't worry overly about having put a book out through them. Before I started self-publishing, I hadn't heard of Author Solutions and all their aliases either. Even now that I do know about them, seeing their name on a book listing doesn't put me off buying the book, it just makes me feel slightly sad that the author probably got a bad deal I wouldn't mention it. If you're asked about it, be honest - you made a mistake. It looked like a good deal, and you only found out the truth when it was too late.

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