Prowl the Internet and you will find a cabal of PublishAmerica authors whining about how badly they have been treated.
This is absolute nonsense. The PublishAmerica business model is unique, very simple and is spelled out in the contract. Basically, the author submits a book. PublishAmerica will print it via print-on-demand at no charge to the author. Included is the ISBN#, copyright registration and cover design. It is up to the author to promote and sell it.
Recently I heard of some writers that got together as a joke to create "the worst book ever written." In good faith, PublishAmerica accepted and published it. In my opinion, those authors have a problem -- not PublishAmerica. The idea of wasting all that time creating something purposely poor is anathema to me. Those nitwits should get a life.
If you are considering having your book published by PublishAmerica, here are some suggestions from an old timer:
1. Read the PublishAmerica contract. It spells out exactly what will happen and how the business model works. According to Dan Poynter's excellent free newsletter for authors (DanPoynter@ParaPublishing.com), some six million manuscripts are making the rounds of publishers and agents. Don't waste one minute of your life looking for an agent. And if you think you can get a better deal somewhere else, do not sign the PublishAmerica contract. I am sure, however that 9,999 times out of 10,000 you will spend the rest of your life looking for a better deal and you will never see your name on the cover of a book.
2. While you are at it, look into vanity presses -- Universe, Infinity Publishing and others -- who will publish for pay. Also look into book printers where the author does everything -- electronic text, cover, ISBN#, copyright, warehousing, etc. Plenty of options exist. Authors can get copies of their books far cheaper than the 40% off from PublishAmerica. But you are completely on your own.
3. No author can expect to be treated like Jackie Collins, Dan Brown, Ann Coulter or Tom Wolfe by any publisher -- PublishAmerica, vanity, self- or book printer. It is up to you to sell your book. I do not know any best-selling authors. But I know a lot of mid-list authors that have published with the biggest companies -- Doubleday, Crown, Penguin, Dell, Harper Collins. Every author -- every single author you will ever meet! -- whines and moans about lousy publicity, no books in bookstores and paltry advertising. Authors are truly tiresome people. (Myself excepted.)
4. PublishAmerica will publish what the author turns in. It does minimal editing, and once the author has signed off on it, that is what is produced. I am a terrible copy editor and proofreader. For that reason, I paid to have my book copy edited and proof read by two different editors. When I sent it to PublishAmerica, it was clean. Look at it this way. If a student turns in a theme paper to a high school or college teacher that was full of spelling and grammatical errors, the grade will be lower than if it were in perfect shape. Same thing here with one difference. When a book is published and is riddled with mistakes, it is quickly apparent to friends, family and customers that the author is illiterate and an uncaring slob.
5. Further, I paid a top-flight libel lawyer to vet the manuscript so I would not get sued. In addition, I bought 200 pre-publication copies to send to reviewers. PublishAmerica charged me close to their cost and put an ugly yellow triangle in the upper right corner of the cover that said: "FOR REVIEW ONLY. NOT FOR SALE." I mailed these out to reviewers with a personal letter and a press release. All in all, I spent somewhere between $10,000 and $15,000 getting this book out there. (The lawyer's fee was the killer.) Do you need to spend that kind of money? Absolutely not. But I would urge you to spend some money so you are guaranteed of handing in a clean manuscript.
Would I publish with PublishAmerica again? Maybe yes, maybe no. Right now I have a completed novel in the computer ready to go. But I also am running a business and have a bunch of clients that require handholding and who enable me to pay my bills. I do not have time to promote a book. Maybe when I retire and have some time I will self-publish or give it over to PublishAmerica (if they will have it). But not now.
Ultimately, PublishAmerica will make it possible for you to do something that every one of your friends and family would give their eye-teeth for -- a book with your name on the cover.
Go for it!
And good hunting.