Publish America, Vanity Press?
So many of the authors on the public message boards at PA have been debating the issue
of whether Publish America is a vanity press that I decided to give them the benefit of my
publishing knowledge. I posted, knowing that I would be censored as soon as the
administrators saw the post. They wasted no time. One person got to read the post, and zapow
it was gone. So here it is again:
“Hello out there, I say with cupped hand to ear. Haven’t you figured it out yet? Why do you
suppose our books are so overpriced? (I’ll probably get blacklisted for this—but truth will
out.) Publish America is most certainly a vanity press, but with a Madison Avenue twist: a
dollar advance and a contract. Hmm, a contract and a binding advance? That signals non-
vanity press, right? Ok, the dollar didn’t send you into orbit but the contract was an immediate
ego massage. The Pulitzer was in- hand, the ten grand spent. Yipeeeeeeee! Opra, here I come!
"Ok, back to earth, little astronaut. PA has invested in that very word, VANITY. It counts on
you, your family, and your circle of friends buying the book at the exorbitant price. Any further
sales is just gravy. When your book came out, do you remember how excited you were? Of
course, you do. You were ecstatic. So, how many of you rushed to order 10, 20, 50, even 100
copies? Most of you, right? I don’t know what PA’s break even number is, but it’s not very
high simply because it costs them very little to produce a book.
"Push the ego aside and look at the situation objectively—then get on with promoting your
book:
1) PA has very little invested in your book, since you did all the work in writing it and, yes,
even editing it. If it needed heavy editing, it wouldn’t have been accepted in the first place.
(Bubba and his treatise on night crawler ‘ketchin’ is just too costly to unsnarfle. It’s a sale lost
but a major embarrassment and bad pub avoided.) They may scan your book for typos and
misspellings but there are no major artistic changes made. In many cases, you even designed
the cover. (A book cover can be designed and laid out ready for print by a professional in a
couple of hours or less, even I can do it.) For the entire book, we’re only talking about a few
hours work for PA since everything is done digitally on the computer. Ok, the book is
formatted and the cover is ready.
2) The book goes to a print-on-demand digital press where any number can be printed on
the cheap, from one to the max. (This is another economical factor. There does not have to be
a thousand-book press-run with hopes that the book sells, perhaps be left with a printing bill
and 998 pads of toilet paper.) One hundred pound cover stock is less than ten cents per, and
sixty pound bond paper & ink is less than, or right at two cents per page. A 300-page book will
cost less than $4.50 to produce in materials and ink. If you have your calculator out, a 300-
page book has only 150 actual sheets of paper since the print is on both sides.
"My point: nobody has given you anything, big break or otherwise. You deserve to be in
print. You wrote the book; you did the WORK, and I’ll say it again YOU did the WORK, no matter
what PA is. Don’t spend one more moment debating being worthy. You’ve shown
determination and spirit in getting this far—and I am amazed at the resourcefulness in
promotion found here. So, go kick ass and fugitabout it.
"Direct all hate mail to yours truly, LW Fugett. I can handle it****
"PS. (If you want a better alternative to Publish America for your next book, drop me a note
and I'll show you the way. The means are right here on the net, and you can control
everything, especially price.)"
Questions and answers from a later post on Authors’ Den
Question: Hi there, Just read your spill on Publish America. What is your opinion on
Outskirts Press? Tell me more about what I can find on the internet. Where did you get most of
your work published and were you satisfied. Curious to know, (Name withheld as a courtesy to
author.)
Answer: Hi H-----, sorry for the delay. Outskirts Press is as good as any on the net if one
wants to pay to be published. And there's absolutely nothing wrong with paying except the
stigma, not of being ripped off by a publisher or anything so nefarious, but of having to pay to
get one's work into print. Actually there's nothing wrong with Publish America but the contract
and the outrageous retail price demanded. (I have a main line publisher who wants my book,
Kentucky Justice, and it's locked up with PA for 7 years. I screwed up, big time.) A first time
author trying to promote a 20-dollar book is probably going nowhere except to friends and
relatives. Even if the book were to magically make it to the bookstores, no one is going to take
a 20-dollar chance on an unknown and buy it. They may if it were half that price and it was a
good book, properly promoted, but even then, it would be doubtful. The best option is Lulu
publishing. It's free and you get the same promotion on Amazon, Barnes & Nobles, as well as
others on the net. You will have to do all of the work, formatting, editing, book cover, etc., but
those things are simple to do with their instructions. Best of all, you are in control--and you
get to set the retail price, above cost, of course. There's no contract. You can have an audio
made if you wish, an e-book, promote Search Inside on Amazon or anything you choose. By the
way, the latter two are not permitted with PA. I am currently with Tainted Coffee Press, a new
company, with which my company, Noir Publishing is an affiliate. Take a look at the price of
Murder in the Bluegrass on AD. It’s the right price. I just got the book placed with a few
bookstores, and it’s moving at 11-dollars per. If you decide to go with Lulu for your next book
and need any help, give me a yell. I’ll help you with any stumbling blocks—even the cover.
Thanks for the note and don’t be a stranger** LW Fugett
Question/ Statement: If Publish America is running such a good racket as you imply,
where are all the me toos? I guess the vast majority of PODs must be uninformed or
unconvinced because the PA model is almost never copied. The way to get rich with a POD is
not by giving something for nothing! My contract doesn't bind me to anything except that they
have the rights to a book nobody wants. They get nickels and dimes compared to the gold
mine in pay up front publishing. Also not mentioned in your article is that some PA authors can
sell movie rights without giving anything back. (Name withheld as a courtesy to the author)
Answer: Hi E-----. Thank you for the rebuttal. I would have expected as much from PA
when I posted rather than to have been censored. However, the point to my article was not to
expose PA as a “racket”, but to inform its authors of the misnomer they were marching to. The
controversy at PA among the authors (because PA’s design was to intentionally promote an
impression and set PA apart) was, is, and always will be whether the potential buyers of their
books consider PA a vanity press, especially the book store owners who do not want to stock
PA’s books, number one, because they are so over priced, and number two, because they are
non-returnable (except for a select few that do sell). Let’s be realistic. Like any other vanity
press out here, PA has some real dogs in print that are nothing more than drivel. Bookstores
are in business to make money, not to stroke our egos.
As far as the seven-year contract is concerned, consider it a seven-year annuity for PA. If
only four books per year are sold per author at twenty dollars a book, (this is a conservative
estimate with 20, 000 authors under contract, and PA states up front that they fully expect you
to promote your book for the entire seven years) Pa will gross 11, 200,000 dollars. For those
four books, what will the author receive? A few dollars and an ego massage. Of course, that
may well be payment enough.
A movie deal? Another come-on. It’s only mentioned to implant the notion of possibility. The
odds are astronomical.
FYI, there is a better alternative here on the net, and it’s free, but, sad to say, it’s also a
vanity press.
E-----, I’m only the messenger and I fully expect to be shot. Thank you.
LW Fugett
Question: Hi L Fugett: Please tell me what is the internet alternative to PublishAmerica? If
you mean Lulu.Com its a total rip off. I dont understand why a publisher doesn't charge $ is a
Vanity Press. (Name withheld)
Answer: Hey, E-----,** Publish America is a vanity press simply because the powers in
charge play to our vanity, our ego, the burning desire to be a published author, willing to sign
away our book rights and huckster our brains out for only a remote or a non-existent chance
at the brass ring, not because of monies being or not being exchanged from author to
publisher. (The contract replaces the up-front money, guaranteeing payback and profit.) The
hallmark of a main-line publisher is quality of writing and editing, of sales, of competitive
pricing and promotion. Our books were not accepted because our work is stellar compared to
“up-front” vanity presses. For the most part, they are not superior. Bookstores want quality
and value—books they can move—and they picked up on the big lie immediately.
PA’s publishing model is nothing short of brilliant, counting on our egos to make the
suggestion that non-payment equals mainline publisher. (The contract is a part of this, and
parcel to the lie.) “We don’t want your money, just your work.” The “payment” comes in on the
backside, not the front. At least, the up-front presses are truthful about it, and one
understands what’s coming about. The “touch” of sinister is the false dream promoted and the
letdown when we hit the brick wall after we’ve bought our books and try to promote an
overpriced, sometimes poorly written, under edited, vanity press production. Lulu is also a
vanity press, but it is free and one does have some latitude with the price—and no binding
contract.
Since the author is doing all of the promotion anyway, one would be better off going to a
digital press that specializes in the printing end and having his/her book printed and then
consigning the book to bookstores. It’s an option, but a lot of work. (Bookstores will do this
most readily if the procedure is handled right and the marketing is acceptable, e.g. graphics
display box.) At least the retail price would be more competitive. Of course, one can do this
with Lulu or Publish America, (buy the book and consign it.) but the retail price would be
prohibitive, especially with PA’s books. Who knows, after PA gets its digital press up to speed
and their annuities into overdrive, perhaps they’ll lower the price of their books and give us a
better shot.
LW Fugett
Check back periodically. I'll have more information on publishers and writing.
| Noir publishing on Publish America (and others as information is accrued) |
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