America Star Books / Publish America’s earns a 2.4-star rating from 0 reviews and 39 complaints, showing that the majority of authors are somewhat dissatisfied with publishing services.
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Being unfair
personally, i think its a bunch of ### as an author of publish america, you have to buy your own damn book when they should actually send you a free copy of your book and plus this other ### you have to pay for like the damn conventions and if you pay so much money you get your books put in books stores or you get book to sell on your own sometimes i wish i would have never signed that damn contract its a ###ing rip off ...
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
publishing of manuscripts
Publish America would probably publish any manuscript past 20 pages long. I wrote a decent book once. It is true that it cost me nothing up front. But all of the sales and marketing falls upon the author. They were no help at all. My initial order of books was at a great discount. Then all further orders kept going up and up in price until it didn't make any sence to order again. You cannot sell a 120 page book for $19.95! I would have had to do that to make .60 per copy. (compared to my first order when I could make a profit of $3.90. per unit, and also sell the book for $9.95. Fortunately I had my own music store to sell them through. But in the long run it was very hard to make a good profit. And this is really why you want to write, not just to see your name in print. If I ever write again, I will spend more time searching out a more reputable publisher! I hope this helps any future authors!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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
total lies
Date: Thu, 1 Dec 2011 06:56:15 -0500
Subject: RE: BBB Complaint Case#[protected](Ref#85-[protected]-[protected]-13-500)
They have an F, the lowest Rating which can be assigned to a company.
Barbara G. Enders | Director, Dispute Resolution & Trade Practices
Tel: [protected]
Fax: [protected]
Email: [protected]@greatermd.bbb.org
www.bbb.org | Start With Trust
NEW ADDRESS
BBB | Greater Maryland
502 S. Sharp Street, Suite 1200
Baltimore, MD [protected]
I wish io knew this before I signed up with this company
book pricing
This is my first published book, a children's book, meant to be read aloud. It is a collection of short stories about a little black dog, maybe 30 pages long. Publish America, at first named a price of $9.99, seemed fair. Then I see the book listed on their website at $24.99! This is a simple book with a price of a major bestseller. When I tried to talk to someone I was directed to a website for authors. You must submit an email and wait for someone to give you half an answer to your questions. They made one adjustment down to 19.99, still too high and when I tried to complain I was told "to ask politely". To add insult I had ordered 10 books when they offered a 50% discount, one day only. They insisted on charging me the higher price even though it had been lowered! Then I get daily offers of 65% off, and when I asked for that price they said it was not false advertising to offer a final discount and then to lower it the next day.
Are there any responsible managers there? The phone rings and an answering machine comes on . I suspect they make all their money badgering the authors to pay for any promotions of the books. I am very disappointed with them and plan to get a lawyer and cancel the contract.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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?
False advertising
Warning: PublishAmerica
PublishAmerica advertises that they don't want your money. then they offer and inundate you with “Bargains, ” offer you representation and press releases, and you never hear from them again.
They make a lot of money because no matter how much your book weighs; whatever “bargain” they offer you have to buy books to get it, i.e., Book Fairs, Catalog listings, Promises to promote, promote, promote.
Here's the catch: Even if your book of Poetry weighs 3, 4, or 5 ounces; every book is shipped at a cost of $3.99 which you have to purchase; then pay for shipping. For example: Your overpriced book, weighs 5ounces. Your offered agents, talent scouts, introductions to traditional publishers, Hollywood movie making, etc., etc.
So you pay for your books: They demand a minimum order and then you are charged $3.99 for each book to be shipped. On their blog it states you can no where find better shipping rates. They are unprofessional, discourteous, promise to post you and your website, etc., etc. and you never find a thing. Most of their most important links are always broken. They are so arrogant as to quote one of their Authors
They will offer to sell YOU Hard Covers to buy but they claim (as documented) that they do not publish hard covers. They are not available for sale or listed for sale. For example: my soft cover has an ISBN on the inside front cover for a Hard Cover. No such Hard Cover exists.
Here is an example of an Author amazed at their cover: Their art department is the only thing of value. Below is from their actual Home page. Why would anyone publish much less advertise such poor grammar.” Go PublishAmerica.net and look at the quickly moving “Author” quotes on the top. I copied directly from their home page but it would not convert.
PublishAmerica Cover Design
i just reviewed the front cover and i gotta say i'm very impressed
I have 573 saved emails from PublishAmerica that come almost daily and often, which are resent if you don't reply. Available to any Journalist. At this time I will provide my name.
Frederick, MD 21705
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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.
SCAM ARTISTS
This is the long awaited book sale totals from PA from their remarkable advertising campaign. I wasted all of my strength and marketing energies for them to do this to me? Now I am on board with all of the of disgruntled authors that I use to just read about. This is what I received just yesterday you decide and below it is my response to their con game. After you read this share your thoughts and opinions to: [protected]@gmail.com put PA in subject line.
Royalty statement period: February, 2011 to July, 2011
Your book sold no copies during this past sales period.
Author: Darrell Willis Sr.
Title: St. Moses, Handicapped Hunter
Retail Discount 0%
Returned Books 0
Quantity 0
Sales Price $0.00
Total Amount of Royalties Payable: $0.00
Frequently Asked Royalty Statement Questions:
What Happened To Books Sold Last Month: all books bought directly from PA are included in this statement; books sold through vendors, including. Amazon, may not yet be included. PA pays royalties on sales proceeds that it has received. Vendors, however, have up to 90 days or longer to pay PA. Thus, PA may not have received payments yet for books sold by some retailers and online vendors. PA will include royalties for those sales on the next royalty statement.
What Are My Royalty Cut-off Months: January and July, typically the last week; we forward our semi-annual statements at the end of February and August.
Where Are The Royalties On Copies Of My Own Book That I Bought: authors are not paid royalties on books that they purchase themselves, per your contract, unless we ran a special promotion that indicated otherwise.
Who Do I Contact For Questions About My Statement: email your query to [protected]@publishamerica.com; we will make every attempt to fully answer your question within seven business days.
To whom this may concern,
No! I have at least a hundred different websites showing that my book is being sold worldwide. Some of my books are being sold as used now meaning that some were read. I can't even begin to express my level of disappointment with this news.
I have proof verifying that your companies accounting methods are inaccurate and needs to be overhauled. I would suggest that you rerun the numbers again as I have evidence that reveals sales of my book on an International level.
If some area of resolve in this matter can not be found then I will be left with no alternative but to
forward all information regarding this matter to the MD District Attorney's Office.
Darrell A. Willis Sr.
"St. Moses, Handicapped Hunter"
TO ALL, I LEND MY PERSONAL OPINION AVOID PUBLISH AMERICA! IF YOU ELECT NOT TO AVOID PA AFTER WHAT YOU WERE JUST EDUCATED ON THEN YOU DESERVE WHAT THEY GIVE YOU. MAY GOD BLESS YOU ALL AND KEEP WRITING STAY ENCOURAGED.
It's sad that so many aspiring authors have been taken advantage of by PA. I wish that all of you would contact the Attorney General's Office in your individual states, and let's expose these PA crooks together on a united front. If you all would back me I will spearhead the campaign to expose PA'S fraud. Send me an email saying "let's unite" in the subject line to dwillissr@gmail.com, and I will add you to an ever growing list of swindled authors in preparation of getting the attention of the Attorney General.
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.
FRAUD AND LIES
MORE NEW PROMO FRAUD PUT OUT BY PUBLISH AMERICA ! One scam leads to another---Book Masters has teamed up with PA . Graph Expo in Chicago know nothing about PA being there.
now PA authors can send in $299 and get weekly updates on status of one book for six months .
all on my site
http://paulaspublishamericainformationsite.weebly.com/
WANT NEW NEWS ON PUBLISH AMERICA?
GO TO WEBSITE--------http://paulaspublishamericainformationsite.weebly.com/ NEWEST SCAM THERE------THIS ONE IS BIG=
SO BIG IT GOT ME OUT OF THEIR CONTRACTS----JUST YESTERDAY
Stay away from publishamerica.com
Well being a writer and just wrote my second book, publish america made promises on I seeing my book in all book stores, that it will advertised in the local paper, and also made into a movie...etc I have not seen any of these promises being done...not even one royalty pymt...after one yr...well this tells me they are not who the say ...I would like to find a agent, or a publishing co that say what what they promise and do it ...if any one can help me please do, and stay away from publishamerica.com.
Theft of Royalities
California Books is steal selling my book http://www.abebooks.com/servlet/BookDetailsPL?bi=1280057419&searchurl=ds%3D30%26isbn%3D9781591296034%26sortby%3D17 It is time where we Authors have trusted into this contract with Publish America, that our royalities would be distrubed as the promises that was made to us, Publish america publisher compensation" we...
Rip me off
I had a book published by Publish America, the quality was garbage, the price was way over priced and they just keep raising the price without my concent. I have wrote them many times and they just keep rejecting my complaints, they also won't pay nothing when my book is sold, they have breached their own contract many times and I want my book off their web site. I was hoping there were others who have had this same problem and found that there are many thousands who have had the same scam done to them by this company. I also want to know if there is anyone who can tell me what to do, so I can get my book out of these rip offs hands and try to recover what they have stolen from me... What a rip off, I would not recomend publish America to no one, , It is a big scam and they publish junk books, over priced, and they are destroying many authors dreams of being a published author...
Yes and people like you have nothing better to do than to make trouble, , , Go to hell where you belong, what are you a pig or something worse, , probably, , nothing better to do, , you need to write a book, nothing better to do for dummies, dummy
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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.
Blatant Breach of Contract
What boggles my mind is the fact that this and other websites aren't filled with hundreds of agreeing statements of how PublishAmerica.com has-- rendered unsellable most books, stolen royalties, published unedited manuscripts, and blatantly breached contracts to the extent that SOME law-firm SOMEWHERE wouldn't perk their ears and want to start a class action lawsuit.
I too was taken in by their scam and lost my book for 7 years. Their methods of false advertising are slick.
The website makes promises of pie in the sky, but when you receive the "standard contract" it cleverly mentions nothing of the promises on their website.
Remember, the contract is "God" in the legal world.
My book was published with errors that their "editing department" injected, overpriced the book, and rendered it 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. Get that?
You can't PAY someone to review your book if published by PublishAmerica.
The BBB of Maryland was useless. Their reply was that it was a business to business transaction.
The Atty General was useless, they referred me back to the BBB!
All I asked for was for them to lower the price of my book or cancel my contract.
If you are considering using them to publish - Don't.
You are better off buying a laser printer and printing it yourself!
PublishAmerica is a Scam.
Publishing troubles
I am writing this to warn all my fellow writer’s out there some advice about the so called publisher Publish America .com. I, just like many new author’s out there was extremely excited about the thought of my book being published that I foolishly signed the contract with Publish America. I was so happy, all my dreams were coming true. I was a published author, or so I thought. It wasn’t until after my book was published that I learned my book was not available to book stores. The book stores had to buy copies of my book to put on their shelves and I don’t know a single book store that would order the insane amount of books that Publish America wants before they sent out books, what book store is going to buy 120 copies of a book by a new author up front. That is just 1 of my issues I have many others as you will read. I am trying to spread the word about the scam that is Publish America.
1. Yes there are many inscepancies between the Publish America web site advertising and the actual contract.
2. Breaches of contract.
A. My official book date release was supposed to be Augest 22 2009, and was not made somewhat available until the end of September, and even now it is still not available where it should be (eg. Amazon.com, chapters.com).
B. Was told that if I bought a certain amount of copies of my book then I would get the royalties from that sale. I wasn’t given any.
C. Publish America in their contract stated that they would issue a press release-that was never done.
D. I was also told that my book would be available for my local book store to order and as of today my local book store is still unable to order copies.
E. was also told that I would receive 8 % in royalties in Febuarary and Augest of each year for copies sold. I have receipts from family and friends who bought the book through the Publish America website, yet I just received a statement informing me that I have sold 0 copies of my book.
3. No my book did not make it to Barnes & Noble book stores.
4. No the shoddy editing was not accepted. I paid $50.00 to fix the errors that they made and the book still is full of them.
5. The overall presentation of my book wasn’t too bad, but I was asked what I would like to see the cover look like after I told them they gave me something totally different then what I wanted.
6. Yes customer / author services are extremely unsatisfactorily. I am still waiting almost a year for answers to questions.
7. My book is very over priced.
8. My book is very under marketed.
9/10. My royalties also have been extremely unreported. I know for a fact that my book has sold at least 50 copies to family and friends through there website, yet Publish America states that 0 copies have been sold.
11. Sales statistic’s on my book are not accessible to me, because the whole sellers of Baker & Taylor along with Ingram still don’t have copies of the book and there for are not being sold. All the books that were purchased by family and friends were done so through Publish America’s website.
12. As far as I know my book is not for sale or advertised under a different name.
13. The only e-mail’s I ever receive from Publish America are one’s in which they are trying to sell me copies of my own book. And yes I feel very pressured to by copies. If I buy (X) amount of copies then that same amount would be donated to my local school’s, library’s, and book stores. The latest deal was they would send a copy to Stephen King.
14. Yes I was asked to provide Publish America with a list of people to announce the release of my book to, but they didn’t follow through and nobody received a single e-mail.
15. I am right now trying to break my contract with Publish America and to get my rights back.
16. I have not found the publishing credit’s to be attributed to anyone besides Publish America.
All I want is for my contract to be null and void and to get the rights back for my book along with monies owed to me. I just want to start over, am open to suggestion’s and or advice anyone might be able to give me.
My pen name is Kimberly MacEachern. my e-mail is [protected]@seaside.ns.ca, and the name of the book that I had published with Publish America is a children’s fantasy book called
Tales from Areallia: The Keeper’s.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
By your complaints I can tell that none of you has ever self-published.
It's sad that so many aspiring authors have been taken advantage of by PA. I wish that all of you would contact the Attorney General's Office in your individual states, and let's expose these PA crooks together on a united front. If you all would back me I will spearhead the campaign to expose PA'S fraud. Send me an email saying "let's unite" in the subject line to dwillissr@gmail.com, and I will add you to an ever growing list of swindled authors in preparation of getting the attention of the Attorney General.
Dear friends, I refer you to my first comment.
There are many things you can do to secure the content of your book and help promote it.
http://www.gloriusrenditions.com
Okay you are heard... You start the Petition. Spearhead the campaign to expose the PA evil-doings.
Darrell A. Willis Sr Author
"St Moses Handicapped Hunter" amazon ebooks
I am furious and fed up, Publish America. I paid 25 bucks to a complaint agency and still have no results. Why is this travesty of a publishing company not abolished already? They owe OWE us millions and they expect each of us to buy back our books. Ok, you wanna play that way? Make it a five buck deal and you have it. Please somebody get our books back from these book-nappers. It's my life's work. If everybody will file a petition, I will sign.
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Many Blessings to you all.
dwillissr@gmail.com
PA have told me that I have rec'd no Royalties and that was no surprise, though my books are listed all over the Net some selling as used. Nonetheless, I have done my research on this company and have personally spoken to other PA authors to find that we all share the same Royalty amounts and real life PA sagas. If any of you want to really vent to blow off some steam you can email me as I do plan to take further action ... a lot of action. Send me an email and let it all rip! I will do the rest to help you as I help myself too. Type HELP in the subject line.
dwillissr@gmail.com
YOU NEED TO EMAIL larry.larson@enovelshop.com - Mr. larson is going to help you as no one can. Don't delay, write him immediately explaining your circumstances keeping in mind that he is well versed with PA and their criminal activities. Tell him Darrell sent you and keep us updated. The best to all of you. dwillissr@gmail.com
HI, All
This is Paula Commerford, have been doing great --I have and a few others have gotten five authors out of their contracts and it only took about a month. For some reason Publish America does not want any to visit them ! Now for the bomb shell !
I received three emails two days ago from this email address-
vec@publishamerica.com--that is VICTOR E. CRETELLA'S THE ATTORNEY FOR PUBLISH AMERICA. Porn with pictures----forwarded to me from Victor from Craig's List
Now you tell me just how I should deal with this ?
booksellers with copies of my books
I am STILL finding independent booksellers on www.half.ebay.com who have "BRAND NEW" copies of my five novels, listed as "direct from the publisher/manufacturer" or "never been read" or having multiple copies, able to be shipped "within three days." My royalty statements from Publish America do NOT reflect any evidence of these kinds of transactions or where these other sellers obtained NEW copies of my works. Some mention that there might be "remainder" marks, which would indicate warehouse clearances of some kind. I suspect that PA or its printer Lightning Source is selling copies that I am not getting credit for. Attempts to find out from the booksellers where they obtained my books have been left unanswered. One reply I received from PA (from the usual anonymous person at support) said that these listings were "virtual listings" and that the booksellers did not actually have copies. Well, getting a copy of one of my books from PA usually takes close to a month, so there's no way the sellers could promise to send the book out in 1-3 days if they would have to wait almost a month just to get the book from the publisher or printer! Authors beware! Look on half.com and see if anyone is selling YOUR books!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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
Fales advertising, marketing
I agree with Vanessa, I've been published with PublishAmerica since 12/2017. To make a long story short. I know a large amount of people who has purchased my book of poetry entitled Eyes through me. My proof came to me as a shock. I had a myspace account and a tagged account. I was amazed by the amount of e-mails which I was recieving was boosting my self-esteem greatly. I'm talking about people from the UK, Asia, local areas surrounding my home town. Friends and family members as well. My only question is. WHERE'S THE MONEY? I haven't been sent not one check. Dear reader, if you're looking to publish a book. PLEASE DO NOT DO IT WITH PUBLISHAMERICA. That company has messed with the wrong brother, because I stop at nothing. It's a shame that a company would name it's self after a great place and then play games with peoples lives. Or is this how America deals business?
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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.
Manuscript
My nonfiction book deals with childhood sexual abuse and is a serious work. Against my better judgement I signed with PA as I have an online Bookstore and I knew I could order copies and market the book myself, online.
My PROOFS just came in--emailed, of course. The manuscript they are printing is missing the final {2} chapters. They are ignoring my complaint and seem to think I will order the book the way it is.
Anyone with a similar issue is free to email me at [protected]@aol.com. I know they have had shady dealings in the past-.I saw one of their books, Intimate Terrorism (a nonfiction work on domestic abuse) and since it was an excellent book, I had hoped they were cleaning up their act. I am stunned that they would alter the book's ending and end it on page 91 with no resolution of the problem.
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
7 year contract
Is there a publisher out there for a children's book (first time author) I submitted to Publish America and heard back from them in just a few days. They wanted to pay me one dollar, have me sign a 7 year contract and price the 13 page picture book at 24.95. I went on web and there are so many complaints about various companies. I am unsure what to do next.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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.
Scam and cheating
I would like to make known my bad experience with publish america. I am a new author and didn't suspect that I would be taken in by an unscrupulous publisher. They published my manuscript, a novel called, 'Familiar Stranger.' The promises they made regarding distribution of my novel are, it appears, dishonest.
I order 200 copies of my novel for which I paid the shipping as well as the cost of the books. They shorted me 50 copies on the order and refuse to correct their error.
They should not be allowed to deal with the public. It appears that they are, at best, scam artists. I hope a class action suit to set things right and pay damages can be raised. This company should not be allowed to operate!
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
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!
Awful company
In 2007 I contacted publish america with regard to publishing my poetry books. After looking one book over they sent me a 7 year contract that would automatically renew for another 7 years. I couldn't alter the contract to my specifications so I emaiiled them informing them that after the 1st 7 years the contract is to end. When proofreading got a hold of my book it took 2 months for them to proofread it. they said they weren't accepting any new manuscripts, but they sent the new manuscript that I sent them, back to me for proofreading; and of course they couldn't find the errors that I suggested. They then forwarded my book to another department and they sent me a copy of the cover which the name was spelled wrong. My voice is unique and they tried to proofread my book changing the name from Black As I Ever Was keeping' It real Rapoetry to Black As I ever was Keeping it real rapoetry. They said it was too late to change it and I said forget it. 2 months later December 2008 I get 2 final proofs of my book. I look it over and there are several formatting errors. They also changed some of the words in my poems which altered the meaning of my poems. I emailed one department after another and yet nobody is taking responsibility, they can't tell me whether they've actually received the Email or not, wouldn't tell me where corporate was, and they want me to order 50 copies of my book before they can make any changes. I said again, forget it. I plan on suing them for defamation of character and false advertising. They should be stopped immediately. They take aspiring writers and change and alter their works which is not in the contract. Then they want you to spend money on buying your own book from them, that is not correct.
The complaint has been investigated and resolved to the customer’s satisfaction.
In 2006, I published a poetry book called mirror you see I see by my maiden name Heather L McClister and received no royalties for my book. I want them to pay me my royalties
My book, Running On Bridges of Time was published in 2007. A number of copies were on sale at the New Mexico State University book store.
after the college changed to a different management, my book was not published there anymore.
I could not find my book in any store. I have tried to contact Publish America about renewing my contract with them, but they refuse to communicate with me. I want to find another publisher for my book. The book is good I know and believe that. I wonder if I could just find another publisher for my book. What options do I have?
if anyone can help me.
I would appreciate it very much.
jaramillop066@gmail.com.
This book is a collection of words that express the thoughts of a Hispanic growing up in the America of the 1960s. Growing up in poverty and through the turbulent Civil Rights era, along with the Chicano movement, inevitably left a mark on the life of the author of this collection of poems. The many struggles to succeed have made the author understand the value of hard work and perseverance. This collection of poems consist of real life events of the authors, along with dream sequences that come from a life of introspection. He hopes that this book will generate a rich tapestry of new imagination, for what we imagine can come true if we just believe.
Publisher : Publish America; First Ed. edition (October 15, 2007)
Language : English
Paperback : 87 pages
ISBN-10 : [protected]
ISBN-13 : 978-[protected]
Item Weight : 5 ounces
Dimensions : 5.98 x 0.21 x 9.02 inches
after 5 years, i have never received any money or an accounting for my book. shall we do a class action suit? bill warren ph [protected]
1/27/2016: PA, To all things there is a season...
Wicked and deceitful man do flourish when good men and women are silent. So, as long as all of us keeping putting the Truth out there about Publish America...America Star Books...Textstream Publisher and any other name they may currently go by eventually someone with some real clout will show some integrity and truly address this beyond shameful so call business we all know as Publish America, and its many other names.
MPN, Author/ and original Creator of Man-Tu The Young One Published 12/2010
PS; The above Publish America haven't been my publisher, since I purchase my publishing rights from them in 2013. Never signed any contract with America Star Books nor Texstream Publisher and any listing with them claiming to still be my publisher is a lie. Those rights are no longer theirs to claim.
It is truly strange how our world and local news stations, report almost daily how other fraudulent companies are being investigated and some times brought down, and yet the government watchdogs appears to be turning a blind-eye to the above mention and their down-right unlawful practices. One has only to read our on line complaints and yet our complaints ... somehow are invisible and ... yet they see everything else?.
I changed my e-mail address. Publish American is impossible to reach by phone. I called after hours to leave a message and the mailbox was full once again. They have a form you can send to them on your site and it never takes and gives a "Page Error". Now how am I suppose to contact them about an important change in information?
This company had 14 of my books for 2 years and claimed I sold 0 amount. I know I sold many. I did not receive even one royalty check from them and they are still selling my books.
Alessandra Gelmi's Whose afraid of red and Ring of fire are metaphors for a sexually transmitted disease she passed to numerous men throughout her life. Do not read these books and do not support this publisher.
Count me in on the class action suit when it happens
Well I feel raped by Publish America. All the promises did not come to fruition. They say I have had no royalties; yet you can find my book for sale at other online bookstores. I am totally devastated. I just don't know how any company can be so deceitful.
i just read the book Crack'd a true story of crack addiction. And let me tell you, it was a very difficult book to read, not for the the content but for the bad punctuation, misspelled words and run on sentences . the biggest complaint i had for the this poor book's author was misused and misspelling of the word know and now and the word to and too. Who in the hell proofs these authors books?.. that alone would send me screaming for an atty. It was so bad as i read the book, which is very good, by the way, i had a pen in my hand and corrected every error i encountered. Very pathetic... and this company, Is it still in business? Very sad for those who invested their own money only to be brought down by a jerk of a company. On page 215 and 216 alone i counted 25 errors and i am not even nit icking.. Mr. Whitton, I enjoyed your book very much and you deserved better representation than what you got from these publishers or what ever you want to call them.
Breach of Contract, poor printing quality...deserve a refund!
$1064.97 is what I paid for very poor quality books.
In light of the lack of quality in the printing and in considering the abnormally high price of the books, I got ripped off! PA is in breach of the contract. They have breached the contract in the following ways:
FIRSTLY, for failing to produce “attractive and substantial-looking” copies of the books. To quote the contract, paragraph 2,
“2. The Publisher agrees to produce the said literary work in book form, in such format, type and style of paper, jacket and binding as will make the volume attractive and substantial-looking. It is specifically understood and agreed, furthermore, that the said volume will contain all manuscript pages as submitted by the Author (unless otherwise designated hereinafter), and will be printed on good quality paper with the bound size to be, approximately, 5½ x 8½ or 6 x 9 inches, or any other size as the market demands.”
My books are NOT attractive and substantial looking; instead they are cheap and ugly looking! Readers can't even see the pictures clearly. The first few copies of the book did not have this problem. What happened, did they run out of ink and think my readers and I would not notice?
The black and white pictures inside the book were very poorly reproduced, looking more like faint gray and white pictures. The quality is getting worse and worse with every order I make. The books are not worth paying for. In addition, the latest run of the books does not appear attractive and substantial looking on the covers, which are very faded compared to the first run of books. The colors are not at all like the proofs or the very first few books.
SECONDLY, for including advertisements for other Publish America books at the end of my books. The contract also does not anywhere give Publish America permission to place an ad for other Publish America books in the back of mine. I did not submit those ads to be published, nor did you ask my permission to do so. If they had asked, I would have denied them permission. You cannot put things I did not write, by authors unknown to me and perhaps not acceptable to me, in my books without permission and without any mention of ads in the contract. The contract says PA will print “all manuscript pages as submitted by the Author, ” and as I stated, I did NOT submit advertisements for other people’s books to PA.
In addition, I notice that the photos and words found on the two ads were very dark and clear and crisp, unlike the faint, poor job PA did on the interiors and covers of my books! How can they justify good quality printing on the advertisements while simultaneously cheating me out of the good quality that PA legally promised to me in the contract?
THIRDLY, PA has failed to report all sales and collections there from to me. The contract clearly states that “11. The Publisher agrees to keep and maintain true and accurate records relating to the distribution of copies of the said literary work, including reports of all sales and collections therefrom.” In addition, the contract also says,
“The Publisher shall pay to the Author the following royalties:
A royalty upon the regular edition sold in the United States and elsewhere of:
8 percent of the sales price thereof on the first 2, 000 copies sold;
10 percent on the next 8, 000 copies sold;
12.5 percent on all copies sold in excess of 10, 000 .”
I have personally sold hundreds of books at the HIGH prices PA charges and PA has only paid me royalties for a few. I find this very questionable. I would like a copy of these records that PA is required to keep, including reports of all sales and collections, because I do not believe that PA is keeping and maintaining true and accurate records. I would also like to see the sales upon which PA is awaiting payment as well as completed sales. I dispute PA's figures on the royalties they have already paid, and I suspect that they are withholding royalties due and payable to me.
In conclusion, I am a Christian and am careful to be honest in all my dealings. I am very disappointed that PA has not been honest with me and has cheated me out of money that, for my husband and me who live on disability, is very hard to come by. The $1064.97 that I paid for the latest order, plus the money I have paid for previous orders, represents a substantial percentage of our annual income. We cannot make this money back because no one will buy the books in such poor quality that PA has printed them, for the prices that PA charges. I would not demand the refund if they had been honest all along with the royalties and if they had not cheated me out of the very ink on the pages and printed such fa
I signed a contract with Publish America in 2007. After seven long years of dealing with my dreams of being a "published author" dashed, and not receiving a dime in royalties for the past three of those years (despite family and friends claiming to have purchased copies of my book, ) my contract finally ended, and the rights to my work have been reverted back to me.
And yet the book that Publish America put out is still listed on all the major book retailer websites. It has not been removed from Amazon.com, Barnes and Noble, and there are multiple copies being sold on eBay. PA no longer has the right to distribute or sell my work - what they are doing is copyright infringement.
Publish America are thieves. I wish I had done better research before signing with them!
I ran for Congress and wrote a book using PA, I loved the cover work and the contract was acceptable. In August of 2011 I received my first accounting, No books sold, no disbursement. I had not heard of anyone buying my book, but then again I am deaf. In march 2012, I received but an e-mail from PA, Not enough books sold for a disbursement. I had friends buy my book and talked to several twitter followers that told me my ideas in the book were promising and they would send copies to our representatives. I am a poverty level disabled veteran, so i cannot afford but 5 books a month, but only every other month if i am lucky, so I wonder about what is going on. August in just a month away and time for a royalty, we will see if it all works out, if not, I will take action.
P.S. there is currently copies of my book in the Whitehouse and one has been submitted to the Nobel org. on literature;-)=
John W Hargis Sr
PA are the worst of worst thieves. They published my book, Welcome Back To Self, Feb. 2005, and my lawyer has traced my book around the world and I can't reveal all their tricks but if you really use your imagination you will know how they sell books under many ruses that totally disconnects with your original account. "To steal Mankind's dream is to deny their right to die by natural causes..." A. Evans
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
Hi people,
I am a partially disabled senior. I was duped by PA. In their contract, there was no mention of any prerequisite of purchasing my own books before PA follows through in publicizing my books. At the end of every 'offer' you are hit with "HERE IS HOW WE DO IT". You must make a minimum purchase. Meaning that you are in fact paying for the 'free donations' to whomsoever.
The PA website is dishonest and misleading.
Why does'nt any one start a class action suit againist them instead of complaining. Do something, all I have read is bad crap about PA, the put some action in your words, like your books you wrote with action and deatils, get a lawyer NOW. You have enough proof with all these comments about how horrible PA is. Authors, you have work to do and that is to SUE.
I have not been told by Publish America how many of my books were sold. I have had many people to tell me they bought books. They put my books on Amazon.com and they will not tell me either how many books sold through Amazon.com. I ask Amazon.com to take my book off there list to be sold they refused to do so. If you know of anyone who has a class action sue against Publish America please let me know.
I spent years writing and months of checking for a publisher to work on my project. Sadly I chose PublishAmerica.
Their salesman lied to me! "I asked if my graphic-artist son could do my cover without charging me. Quote, "Yes, we love it when the author's have their own covers because our graphic department is so busy and it's cheaper for us." If he hadn't lied to me I never would have signed the contract with them. I'm now stuck with a book that has the ugliest joke of a cover that PublishAmerica did for my book and they won't let me put my son's cover on it saying it will cost me money. I agreed to pay the fee to have his cover, and then they said that it was to dark. I have to tell you now that my son is a professional Graphic-artist who does this sort of work for a living. He sent it to them in the size and format they asked for. They then said it was too dark, so he sent them links to 5 other books that they did with even darker, blacker covers than mine. My son even offered to lighten it a little, but they still refuse to do anything. My son and I have spent many hours trying to resolve this problem with them, but they won't give us a truthful answer to save them. This is not to say anything about the corrections department who didn't fix any mistakes and refuse to even let me, (Without a hefty fee). They have sent threatening e-mails, rude e-mails, and they don't even read your e-mails because if they did they wouldn't answer them with cut and paste threatening e-mails they've sent to anyone who disagrees with them. The nasty e-mail had nothing to do with what we were asking. We wanted to know what they wanted to resolve this situation.
We have been really trying to be nice here because it is against everything we believe to be rude and hateful towards others, but I can say that PublishAmerica has push us beyond nice.
I have never felt so angry, frustrated, and sick in my life, and that's saying something because I have 9 children. All the time we've put in trying to resolve the problems has amounted to nothing, we are still at a stand off! I've even asked them to let me out of this contract if they don't care about me at all.
I'm praying for a miracle here, so if there is anyone who can help me I would sure appreciate it.
Unhappy author,
S.K. Briggs, Author of Quade 2400 series.
This is an email I sent to PA:
01/15/10
To whom it may concern:
My name is Harry Hubbard and PA has just published my book Screaming at the Top of my Mind.
ISBN#: [protected]. However, I never received a proof of the cover and several problems have been noticed. The Title and subtitle problems have been corrected, however there is no printing on the spine and on a bookshelf the book it shows as just a blank white strip.
I don't see how this can be marketed in a bookstore as most of their books are put on the shelf with only the spine exposed. My book is supposed to be able to be marketed in bookstores, yes?
I have sent several emails to Author Support and even put in an official request that the cover be corrected. This was on January 13th, and I have yet to hear from anyone regarding the matter.
I was sent a proposition that if I ordered at least 12 of my books ( I ordered 15) I would receive them at 50% off, which I did. Now, I have 15 books without spines and with the wrong cover on them. I can not market or sell them myself because of this error. Plus, I was to receive a copy of a book on self-marketing which I have not received.
I have requested that my order be refilled with the corrected copies. Still, I have not heard from anyone from PA.
I realize that PA is a POD publisher and I can not see why there is a problem with correcting these errors and doing the right thing in replacing my books, so I can market them.
Please, someone in charge, answer this plea.
Thank you,
Harry Hubbard, Jr.
Their response is to do nothing!
I was recently published, actually in April. It was a dream come true for me. I wrote an autobiography, thus meaning I would have to have permissions from immediate family members. I abided by the contract taking it very seriously, sent out my permissions along with the manuscript so family could review it to see if they wanted anything changed. Well, my brother neglected to do so. He called PublishAmerica, told them I lied and he never recieved the permission or manuscript, then said I lied in my book. In my contract it says that if they decide to stop production, they MUST NOTIFY ME. Of course they didn't. Now I am amidst the chaos of deciding to sue them for breach of contract. Superbly pissed, it just happened yesterday.
Overview of America Star Books / Publish America complaint handling
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America Star Books / Publish America Contacts
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America Star Books / Publish America phone numbers+1 (301) 228-3853+1 (301) 228-3853Click up if you have successfully reached America Star Books / Publish America by calling +1 (301) 228-3853 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have successfully reached America Star Books / Publish America by calling +1 (301) 228-3853 phone number Click down if you have unsuccessfully reached America Star Books / Publish America by calling +1 (301) 228-3853 phone number 0 0 users reported that they have UNsuccessfully reached America Star Books / Publish America by calling +1 (301) 228-3853 phone numberAuthor Support Team
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America Star Books / Publish America emailsaq@publishamerica.com100%Confidence score: 100%Supportpr@publishamerica.com91%Confidence score: 91%communication
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America Star Books / Publish America addressP.O. Box 151, Frederick, Maryland, 21705, United States
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America Star Books / Publish America social media
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Checked and verified by Jenny This contact information is personally checked and verified by the ComplaintsBoard representative. Learn moreJun 30, 2025 - View all America Star Books / Publish America contacts
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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