Publish America Gets Stung Again!

Anyone who isn't aware, PublishAmerica runs one of the most distasteful writers' scams. If you Google PublishAmerica, you will find a multitude of former PA authors who have had their work hijacked.

What does PA do that is so bad? They are a vanity press in reverse. They print your book, but make it next to impossible to get it onto bookshelves. There is no promotion, marketing, distribution, the prices are outrageous, the editing is nonexistent, and the quality is questionable. And they publish anything.

What makes this a scam is that they claim to be a traditional publisher (a term coined by PA). I'm not going to go into all the details, you can read them at Absolute Write.

But what is funny is that, for a second time, a group of authors have put together a book so bad that it is painful to read. It is titled Crack of Death by Sharla Tan. It was accepted by PA. Done in the same vein as Atlanta Nights by Travis Tea, it was written by several different authors, who only had a brief understanding of the book and what was written before their section. They received a contract for it from PA, but decided to deny it and put it on Lulu as a fundraiser. Here is an except:

All of a sudden Garry felt really protective over this pet-eat young girl who looked like a Cindy doll except with a pear-cede lip. He had to protect her no matter what it cost.

‘Nancy’ he said. ‘You’ve got to get away from Roberto. You don’t know what you’ve got yourself into. Your in grave danger. Tell her Lav!’

‘True, t’ings rough out deh, you know, Rasta.’ said Laverne flashing his gold tooth.

‘It’s true Nancy.’ Whispered Garry with a furrowed brow.

‘Yes alright dad. Just ask me your fucking questions and let me go home damn it!’Garry turned to Laverne.

‘Lav can you get the suitcase.’Laverne left the small dark room his dread locks swinging vilently behind him.They were alone.Garry sighed and stared at Nancy tenderly. ‘

I want to help you Nancy. I’m on your side.’For a split second Nancy could see the truth in his icey pear-sing blue eyes. Garry was a good man she could tell, but how could Roberto be a lying drug barren? She’d seen the pain in his eyes when he’d talked about his sick mother. Roberto where are you?

And another:

Nancy was now pumped full of adrenaline from the exciting chase on the pear, and
so she simply flew along the road as far as the car would carry her, pressing
her dainty foot down on the gas. She remembered the beauty spot Beachy Head, the
memory shot into her thoughts.Beachy Head is the most famous part of the
Eastbourne Downland. Beachy Head and is the highest chalk sea cliff in Britain
and rises 162 metres (530 feet) above the sea below. The main reason for Beachy
Head's popularity is the wonderful panoramic view which can be seen from the
cliff top. If you look east you see the beaches and town of Eastbourne, the Pier
and the Harbour, and then on to Chesapeake Bay and Tokyo and, on an
exceptionally clear day, Kansas City, nearly 40 miles away. Looking west, you
can see even further, up to 70 miles, past Santiago to Toronto and Bangkok and
then on to Nairobi near Amsterdam in West Sussex. On a very clear day the
outline of the Statue of Livery can be seen. But its history reveals a darker
side. Since the 1600s it's been a popular location for suicide attempts.
Eastbourne Parish Register contains entries of deaths at Beachy Head dating back
to 1600 and by the middle of the 20th Century there were an average of 6-7
deaths p.a. At the tail-end of the 1990’s it had crept up to an average of 17
p.a. PA not meaning PA but Per Annum, just in case you were wondering. Between
the years 1965-1989, an in-depth study of deaths at Beachy Head was made by Dr.
John Surtees (1997 pp. 125-136) – a cumulative total of 250. His research looked
into the causes of death, injuries sustained, factors relating to the
circumstances of the deaths and the resultant verdicts. Perfect for me, Nancy
thought thinking over these statistics as she raced along the road, Garry close
on her tail, if only I can shake off that bustard.

I don't see how anyone can say that Publish America isn't really Publish Anything. They are a subsidy publisher and should be avoided. I was almost a victim, but escaped only because a writer who I'm aquainted with was published by PA. This gentleman is a terrible writer, and I knew if they published him, it had to be a scam! I did a little research and found out about it.

If you have been a victim of PA, you should visit Absolute Write's Never Ending Publish America Thread.