PublishAmerica
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
PublishAmerica is a Maryland-based print-on-demand book publisher founded in 1999 by Lawrence Alvin "Larry" Clopper III and Willem Meiners (born Amsterdam 6 January 1949).
Some writers and authors' advocates have accused the company of being a vanity press while representing itself as a "traditional publisher"[1][2]
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[edit] History
The current executive director of PublishAmerica is Miranda Prather. In 2004, Prather stated that 80% of authors who submitted manuscripts to the house were rejected, and that the house had "30 full-time editors" with plans to expand.[3] In 2005, the company had 70 full-time employees of various functions.[4]
In 2004, PublishAmerica published small runs of over 4,800 titles (compared to Random House's 3,500 titles). [5] In 2005, the company had approximately 11,000 authors under contract.[6]
In August 2005, PublishAmerica was sued by Encyclopædia Britannica for trademark violation over PublishAmerica's PublishBritannica imprint. The matter was settled out of court,[7] with PublishAmerica agreeing to stop using the "PublishBritannica" name.[8]
In late September 2005, PublishAmerica announced its books would be returnable by the bookseller if they failed to sell, a standard practice among other commercial publishers. The announcement stated that this applied to "all" of its books, though it noted that there would be "a few exceptions initially" and that the offer would apply to United States booksellers only.[9] PA's site now says that "many of our books are returnable."[10]
[edit] Criticism
Critics charge that PA's contracts and practices prove the company is a vanity press.[11] PA pays advance fees of US$1 -$1000[12] to its authors, provides minimal editing and provides few of the services handled by trade publishing, including retail distribution, marketing and media relations. Disgruntled authors told Publishers Weekly that PA did not pay royalties owed to them, sold books it no longer had any rights to sell, set unreasonably high list prices and lower-than-average discounts for authors to buy their own books and either neglected or failed to place books into bookstores.[3]
PublishAmerica's Prather stated that book prices reflected "what the market would bear" and that "we don't control the bookstores in the country."[3][13] Other PublishAmerica authors have spoken out in support of the publisher, denying it is a vanity press and highlighting the opportunities it gives to unpublished authors.[14]
[edit] Acceptance of hoax manuscripts
In an attempt to demonstrate a lack of editorial oversight at PublishAmerica, several authors have written "sting" manuscripts. For instance, in December 2004, PublishAmerica agreed to publish the novel Atlanta Nights, which was later revealed to be a hoax.[15][16] PublishAmerica also accepted another author's manuscript which featured the same 30 pages repeated ten times.[15]
[edit] Arbitration
In December 2005 PublishAmerica author Philip Dolan, who had spent between US$7,000 and $13,000 promoting his book[17] only to find that no book stores were able to order copies of it, took PublishAmerica to arbitration for breach of contract. Dolan also alleged accounting irregularites; despite a clause in his contract allowing him to inspect PublishAmerica's accounts, his accountant was denied access, and Dolan received royalties for fewer copies of his book than he was able to account for having sold himself. He was awarded an unspecified amount in compensation for PublishAmerica's breach of contract, and his contract was rescinded.[18]
[edit] References
- ^ Italie, Hillel (2005-01-22). "Critics and supporters debate success of fast-rising PublishAmerica". Pittsburgh Post-Gazette. http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05022/446283.stm. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
- ^ Span, Paula (January 23, 2005). "Making Books". Washington Post: p. BW08. http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A25187-2005Jan20. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ a b c Zeitchik, Steven (2004-11-22). "Authors allege publisher deception". Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA481863.html. Retrieved 2007-08-28.
- ^ Post Gazette
- ^ [Washington Post]
- ^ Washington Post
- ^ Zeitchik, Steven (August 30, 2005). "On Vanity Press, Now It's Not Just America". Publishers Weekly. http://www.publishersweekly.com/article/CA6252581.html. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ Staff writer (2005-10-03). ""Britannica breaks copycat's spell"". The Times: p. 26.
- ^ PublishAmerica makes its books returnable
- ^ PublishAmerica FAQ
- ^ Buck, Tara (30 January 2005). "PublishAmerica: A friendly biz, or an author's nightmare?". Frederick News-Post (Randall Family, LLC). http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/archives/display_detail.htm?StoryID=48811. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ http://www.post-gazette.com/pg/05022/446283.stm Post Gazette
- ^ Susan Paganini (2004-06-24). "Paperback writer". San Antonio Current. http://www.sacurrent.com/columns/story.asp?id=58606. Retrieved 2009-08-06.
- ^ Keenan, John (2005-10-09). "No vanity, author provides own press". Omaha World-Herald: p. 10AT.
- ^ "Publisher Defends Hoax Charges". Sci Fi Wire. February 17, 2005. Archived from the original on August 6, 2009. http://web.archive.org/web/20050218021051/www.scifi.com/scifiwire2005/index.php?category=0&id=30435.
- ^ Bosworth, Martin (August 9, 2005). "Aspiring Writers Trash PublishAmerica". ConsumerAffairs.com. http://www.consumeraffairs.com/news04/2005/publish.html. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
- ^ Harwood, Bridgette (March 25, 2006). "PublishAmerica must pay up". Frederick News-Post (Randall Family, LLC). http://www.fredericknewspost.com/sections/storyTools/print_story.htm?storyID=47638&cameFromSection=news. Retrieved 2009-02-04.
