America Star Books / Publish America
reviews and complaints

My situation wasn't resolved I didn't receive no type of money so how could you say or be fraudulent to me and lie to the courts about this issue being resolved if it was I would not be contacting you now you stole my money fully I want my money for my hard work and creations

I found this on another listing on this website. If you have been deceived by Publish America, there is a lawsuit filed by Hagens, Bergman, Sobel, Shapiro, LLP.
Contact Info: PublishAmerica@hbsslaw.com

I too have been scammed by Publish America. I wrote my book in 2010, I along with at least 100 of my friends and family bought my book and I ended up seeing no royalties. They simply told me that my book didn't sell anything. My book is also way over priced. My book is on barnes and noble's website for $24.95 when I can pick up the new Nicholas Sparks book for $11.99. I am very interested in going together to file a class action lawsuit or something to at least get money I'm owed and my rights back. Please contact me if anyone is doing so... spoiledbrat1881@hotmail.com

Are these your articles too? http://www.publishedauthors.net/dlroe/ar.html

What is the name of your book? PublishAmerica is not in Salt Lake City, are you? Is this book on Amazon?

You say that comment text cannot be empty. My originally leaving comment text empty was just a metaphor for Publish America (America Star Publishing) soul. It is just empty, but what they will eventually come to realize is that all things do have a season. Their season will come. America Star Publishing/Publish America, think that they have absolute power, but what they have forgotten that absolute-corrupted- power does eventually fall ... absolutely.

If anyone say they are impressed right now with the outlandish publisher mentioned above, be very careful. Remember what the Spider said to the Fly. "Welcome to my Web ..., " and we all know how that turned out for the Fly ...if we are not wearing blinders ... we do.

I will never use them again. I had no idea that they were con artists. I had such a difficult time understanding the contract. It was my understanding that all rights belong to me. I had found typos that weren't my fault and I had a letter stating that they will fix any typos free of charge. I told them about this and they denied it saying that I will have to pay for corrections. I have just 4 typos. They want to charge me $200. That's $50 a word! Are they kidding me? I know I'm a good writer but how will people know when PA won't do any leg work? I even believe my books are grossly overpriced by about $12. But what can I do? Rewrite some of the book, change the title and take it elsewhere? It IS my book. They've already breached the contract. I haven't heard from them about my royalties. I was supposed to hear something by Feb. It's almost April. I'm going to try to get out of my contract.

Take action people. Don't only take advice but take action and follow the advice. Read on http://www.writers.net/forum/showthread.php?59278-PublishAmerica-and-the-Attorney-General

Hold on a second, let's take a look at that word: "idiot." An idiot, by definition, is a person of subnormal intelligence. Does gathering intelligence and making one more well prepared for an argument, make one an idiot?

Dawniette, you are an idiot.

To the business owner: Dawniette is an individual who has set out to cause damage to businesses listed on here. Her (or his) sole purpose is to cause damage. I am in discussion with the law firm of Starrs Mihm, LLP to bring extortion and defamation charges against Complaints Board. In that process, we can subpoena records relating to the IP address of "Dawniette". Consequently, this sewer rat will be made public. If you would like to join me, please send an email to dirdeedeedz@gmail.com (designated for this website), and I will have my attorney's contact you. I have the wherewithal and vigor to stop this.

Count me in.. Another ripped off author.. My book was self published before signing with PA and sold over a 1000 copies. In 6 months PA has sold one not counting the ones I have purchased from their multiple emails asking me for money to promote it, list it on amazon, etc etc.. All for more money of course.. New authors please stay away from this rip off outfit.. Smokie Brannaman

I, too, am a victim of their lies. They published my book in March of 2009. After sending me an email stating they had sold ZERO books, after my first six months, I complained. It was only then that I received a check from them for $170. I have not seen a check since. We need to compile a list of us that are experiencing this rip-off, pool our monies together, and take legal action. Please feel free to contact me captmark435@atlanticbb.net

To Whom it may concern,

I've been having many troubles with PublishAmerica since my book came out in April 2017. I've had these problems: mistakes in the text, failure to correct them appropriately or entirely, refusal to void my contract, and the latest: My book is unavailable to the public. Friends have been searching Amazon and B&N and ordering the book only to be told three weeks later that the book is unavailable and the order has to be canceled. The companies are obviously been told that the book is unavailable by PublishAmerica. It is clear that Publish America makes its money by selling books to its authors; every day there's a new gimmick in my email. My book was published with errors that their "editing department" injected, overpriced the book, and rendered unmarketable to the extent that no book store will stock it, and all on-line bookstores have dropped it from stock. No professional book reviewer will TOUCH a book published by them.This Publish on demand (POD) company has been misleading authors for years. They claim to be traditional publishers, which is a total LIE. This company has made bundles of money off new gullible authors by publishing their books and selling them back at discounted rates to the authors. They do no conduct any promotions or distributions, even if the authors facilitate it. The alleged promotions are paid for by the authors when they buy their own books. No one will actually ever know if these promotions have actually taken place. PA's representatives are only addressed by first name or anonymously as "Publish America support." It takes miracle for them to get back to you with the simplest question. Most book stores will not carry Publish America books, because they equate PA to any other self-publishing house or worse. It also takes over two months to receive a book after you order it from Publish America.
Their royalty statements are vague and inaccurate. You will never know how many books your book has sold, unless you hire a private investigator. They can basically do whatever they want. This is an unethical and integrity free company. You are better off being unpublished than being stuck with this alleged publisher. Review the innumerable complaints against this company on the internet. It is truly a publishing mill that will publish anything they receive. They actually have an electronic editor that will keep your book filled with mistakes. You better hire an editor before you approve your final transcript assuming that you will decide to go with this scandalous company. Ironically, their representatives are taught to defend their scams, and they pretend to have pride and ethics. Publish America is truly the biggest scam in publishing history! It's so big that many other scam artists have started their own POD publishing houses. Breech of contract is easy to prove. Please help me. TLK

PublishAmerica refused to accept VITAL changes to a book I have written and are insisting on publishing it without them. The reason the changes were vital was because the book deals with the 1920's when Ireland was partitioned and Ulster became six counties while Eire retained the other 26. There was a lot of violence at that time and some of it was depicted in the book but given the recent resurgence of violence here, in particular with the Real IRA, I thought that this needed to be toned down. I did that, I also deleted 4 blank pages but because these two incidents caused the page numbers to drop from 246 to 240 pages PublishAmerica refused to accept the changes. I have since discovered that this company does not actually employ Editors to check and proof-read. What a mickey mouse company it really is. I want to publicly disown the book, its called, "Ma's Secret", not the book written about the East End of London but the one about Belfast in the 1920's. If you should see it - which is unlikely - because something else I discovered is that the books are only sold by PA - don't buy it. Boycott the book. Pass it on. However, they only have the copyright for another 18months or so, then I will take it to a proper publishing house. I'm hoping this will serve as a timely warning to anyone else contemplating using PublishAmerica - DON'T DO IT - THEY'RE RUBBISH AND RUBBISH WHAT THEY PRINT - I SHOULD KNOW, THEY'RE PRINTING MY BOOK AND ITS NOT FIT FOR PUBLISHING!

I too as many of other people out there have just realized what a scam company publishamerica is.
I see my books for sale in almost every online books store, but yet the company says it has sold 0 copies for the last two years. not only that, but after finding a copy in the local barn and noble, I saw it was not what I had approved, it is riddled with errors and typo's when I discused it with them, they were rude and told me straight up, they thought it was in marketable condition and would make no changes. Viset my website and sign the pitition to file a class action suite. that all we can do.

i wrote a poetry book july 2017 called love me love my words isbn [protected] i signed a 7 yr contract with a agreement of every book sold i would get 16.95 per book and the only payment i received was a check for 7.55 and that everytime it comes around to royalties i dont get no royalties and my book is valued for more some book stores are selling it used for almost 250.00 per book used and new 16.95 www.buys.com is an example, www.amazon.com is another, the list is endless, its sold in 6 countries and i have not been properly compensated and they sent me a letter over 2 yrs ago asking me to accept 11.95 a book instead of 16.95 i told them see you in court, they are a scamming publisher and i havent received what is due me, and i want to know what i should do, my name is virginia sue le master, email address is kissingfrogs@fuse.net

They scammed me too and I live in Northern Ireland! I had two books I was interested in getting published and searched the internet for a publisher. PublishAmerica didn't charge for publishing and although they didn't give Advances I thought well at least it won't cost anything to get published. So I signed up. I sent them two drafts of two different books and they were happy enough. Then I was very ill and the books were the last thing on my mind. I heard no more from them until about 3 wks ago. They emailed and told me they were going to publish the poetry book and I informed them that it was only a draft and not finished. After a LOT of arguing they finally agreed that I could make the necessary changes and they gave me a deadline. The same thing happened with the novel and they sent it back to me in PDF format ready for publishing and told me to make any changes. I did and sent it back and they refused to accept the version with the changes incorporated. They are publishing it with LOADS of mistakes in it against my wishes. I am now publicly denoucing the book and want nothing more to do with it. So DON'T buy, "Ma's Secret", by Margaret Curry.

I, too, am a victim of their lies. They published my book in March of 2009. After sending me an email stating they had sold ZERO books, after my first six months, I complained. It was only then that I received a check from them for $170. I have not seen a check since. We need to compile a list of us that are experiencing this rip-off, pool our monies together, and take legal action. Please feel free to contact me captmark435@atlanticbb.net

I, too, am a victim of their lies. They published my book in March of 2009. After sending me an email stating they had sold ZERO books, after my first six months, I complained. It was only then that I received a check from them for $170. I have not seen a check since. We need to compile a list of us that are experiencing this rip-off, pool our monies together, and take legal action. Please feel free to contact me captmark435@atlanticbb.net

Here is my experience with PA. Jim Gilliam, Author, Point Deception

RE: 16 CFR Sect. 255 (2007); Sect. 5 of the FTC Act Prohibiting unfair and deceptive acts in commerce; USC Title 3--The President, E.O. 10214(quoted in pertinent part) (5) False pretense. With respect to obtaining property by false pretense, the false pretense may be made by means of any act, word, symbol, or token. A false pretense is a false representation of past or existing fact. In addition to other kinds of facts, the fact falsely represented by a person may be his power or authority to effect a certain result, his opinion, or his intention. Consequently, one who represents that he presently intends to perform a certain act in the future, but who at the time of his representation does not honestly intend to perform the act, makes a false representation of an existing fact--his intention--and thus a false pretense.

Paragraph 2. of the contract provides: "it is specifically understood and agreed, that the said volumes(s) will contain all manuscript pages as submitted by the Author . . ."

Based on this statement I have a reasonable expectation that integrity of my manuscript will be preserved, especially in view of the statement contained within the cover:
PublishAmerica has allowed this work to remain exactly as the author
intended, verbatim, without editorial input.
The e-copy submitted to me for my approval prior to publication was completely butchered, and of decidedly inferior quality, requiring forty eight pages of corrections. This is unacceptable and I do not approve this as the "final version of the manuscript" stipulated in paragraph 8. of the contract. Quoted in pertinent part: "8. Delivery and Advance: Author agrees to deliver to the Publisher the final version of the manuscript (hereinafter referred to as the "Completed Manuscript"), as an electronic file, within 15 days of the Effective Date. . . . After the Author's submission of the Completed Manuscript, no changes and/or corrections shall be made except to correct Publisher errors. . . ." A comparison of my manuscript (see attached) and the PublishAmerica manuscript (see attached) readily demonstrates the multitude of publisher errors.

Evidently I am not the first author to complain of PublishAmerica's substandard performance regarding manuscript integrity between what is submitted and what is printed. Accordingly, I submit the following string of self-explanatory e-mails:

Publish America email exchange
________________________________________
From: PublishAmerica Pre-Production Dept
Date: 9/8/2009 8:30:48 AM
To: championbd@aapt.net.au
Subject: Brian Daunter: Time Bandit: Text changes

Hi Brian,

As indicated in our cover letter when we
Submitted your book's proofs for your final
Review, in accordance with what you agreed to in
Your contract, no more changes can be made to a
Completed Manuscript, other than correcting
Publisher's errors, if any. The Completed
Manuscript is presumed to contain the voice and
The language precisely as the author means to express them.

The list you are now submitting contains changes
Of a different nature. Unfortunately, no such
Changes can be made at this point unless we
Interrupt our production process and withdraw
Manpower from already scheduled assignments. If
You insist on us making these changes anyway, we
Must charge you $99 for rescheduling text department assignments.

Please let us know how you would like us to
Proceed. If you opt for having the change
Implemented, we will call you for your credit card information.

Thanks,
Pre-Production
PublishAmerica

From: Brian /Richelle
Date: 9/17/2009 10:16:17 AM
To: theresa@publishamerica.com
Subject: Time Bandit Brian Daunter

Hi Theresa,
The errors are in the proofs; therefore unless they are corrected PA is in breach of contract and it is now null and void.
PA's response indicates the possibility of lack of due diligence or deliberate production of incorrect proofs. If the later is the case then the situation moves from civil contract law to criminal law.

Kind Regards,
Brian

From: Brian /Richelle
Date: 9/21/2009 6:30:36 PM
To: Lorettal@publishamerica.com; jeannetteg@publishamerica.com
Cc: kristineb@publishamerica.com
Subject: Brian Daunter Time Bandit

Because the prima facie evidence suggests that Publish America is attempting
To defraud with the intent to extort; I have had to refer the situation to
The Internet Crime Complaint Centre (ICCC). The ICCC is a partnership
Between the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI); National White Collar
Crime (NWCC) and the Bureau of Justice Assistance (BJA). The ICCC will
Assign the appropriate agency (FBI; BJA) to conduct the investigation.
Officers of Publish America (PA), such as yourself, as well as PA, are
Liable for prosecution if any criminal impropriety has been committed.
If as officers of PA, you consider that you have acted rightfully in a
Proper manner, and or unwittingly or coerced in to duplicity, then you are
Advised to contact the ICCC or FBI.

Kind Regards,

Dr. Brian Daunter

Then you produce it without my permission or contractual agreement (fraud; extortion)
I have forwarded your email to the ICCC.

-------Original Message-------

From: PublishAmerica Author Support
Date: 9/21/2009 7:51:22 AM
To: championbd@aapt.net.au
Subject: Brian Daunter: nonsense

Dear Brian Daunter:

Please explain how you have been defrauded, extorted, or otherwise
Maligned, not frivolously but convincingly. In the absence of such
Convincing explanation we will continue to produce your book as scheduled.

Thank you,

PublishAmerica Support
support@publishamerica.com

If any one has had or having similar experience with Publish America, contact ICCC
ic3.gov/default.aspx
________________________________________
Last edited by championbd; 09-28-2009 at 08:51 AM.

From the foregoing it would seem that I am in a similar situation to that related by Dr. Daunter.

Paragraph 13. of the contract provides in pertinent part: "The Author agrees to actively participate in promoting the sales of the said literary Work in his home town area and elsewhere, by making himself available to media interviews, book readings and/or signings, and other public sales promotion appearances." When I first made an inquiry regarding your, "too good to be true" advertisement on the Author's Den website I informed you that I was leaving my previous publisher because I could not afford their fees to promote my book. You assured me that you did not want my money only my book. I have just now retired after 28 years of service to my country first in the Coast Guard, then the Army, and finally the U.S. Navy Military Sealift Command. Therefore, I am on a fixed income that has been further complicated by the total destruction of my home by fire on 10 March 2010, and cannot afford to spend any money to promote my book, nor can I afford to buy any of my books from you at any price.

The Restatement of (Second) of Contracts states in Section 153 ("Where a mistake of one party at the time a contract was made as to a basic assumption on which he made the contract has a material effect on the agreed exchange of performances that is adverse to him, the contract is voidable by him if he does not bear the risk of the mistake under the rule stated in Section 154, and (a) the effect of the mistake is such that enforcement of the contract would be unconscionable, or (b) the other party had reason to know of the mistake or his fault caused the mistake.")

Since PublishAmerica advertises openly on the Author's Den I had every expectation that PublishAmerica was a "traditional" publishing house as depicted in their ad and that they adhered to the highest ethical standards of the publishing industry as also promised in their e-literature. Imagine my chagrin when I discovered that PublishAmerica has been ripping authors off for years. Having just made that discovery after signing the contract I hereby declare that it is unconscionable, as set forth in Section 154(a) that I would have signed the contract had I been aware of PublishAmerica's reputation prior to that signing. Therefore, the contract is void by reason of mistake.

Section 153 changes the traditional doctrine stated in the original Restatement in
two ways. First, a unilateral mistake can render a contract voidable if "enforcement of [such] contract would be unconscionable" whether or not the nonmistaken party had a duty of disclosure. Second, a unilateral mistake can render a contract voidable if the nonmistaken party had "reason to know of the mistake, " even if he or she did not have actual knowledge of the mistake. Of eighty-nine cases from the U.S. Supreme Court, the U.S. Claims Court and Court of Federal Claims, and other federal courts within every circuit but the First Circuit and Federal Circuit and from local courts in Alabama, Alaska, Arizona, California, Colorado, Delaware, the District of Colombia, Florida, Georgia, Hawaii, Illinois, MARYLAND and thirteen other states none of them rejected Section 153 or cited it in a negative manner. Accordingly, should it become necessary to litigate my contract with PublishAmerica in either federal court or Maryland state court my assertion that the contract is void for reasons of mistake and unconscionability would most likely prevail.

I will send this e-mail notice of termination of this contract to you via certified mail return receipt requested No. [protected] as required by paragraph 25. of the contract dealing with termination. The one dollar ($1) advance tendered by PublishAmerica to me will be returned to you in the same envelope.

By return certified mail you will send me written notification of your understanding that the contract between Author JAMES WILLIAM GILLIAM, II and Publisher PUBLISHAMERICA has been terminated.

James W. Gilliam
Author, Point Deception

i submitted to them also and heard from them by e-mail and a=got the contract in my e-mail. I was happy at first but now since reallly reading the contract and seeing all these complaint i am very leary of them. I don't think i will sign i have a copyright on my title and story though.

Publish America published a book entitled "Tag the Tailless Reindeer" for me in 2009. The book is currently available on Amason. How would I find out if the book paid any royalties and if so, why have I not received any pay out from the book?

Fortune Cookie Wisdom 2005

Any luck?

Stephen Fernbach

FERNBACHS@AOL.COM

This is to inform you that though my book is available on many online web stores, the publishing company had failed to give me my royalty once.
Author
Afrin siddiqui

I agree with your comments they scammed me too. I have contacted the DA's Offce in Baltimore and asked them to investigate this mickey mouse (sorry mickey) publishing company. Q: What publishing house doesn't employ Editors to proof read the literature they receive? A: PUBLISHAMERICA

My advice - contact the DA's Office in Baltimore - the more complaints they have the more likely they are to investigate this CRAP publisher.

The DA's Office in Baltimore can be contacted via email - check it out!