author

Eddie's story

I write short stories. They're not Tolstoy, Hemingway or Alice Munro and I'm no English scholar, but most of them have been rigorously vetted by a no-nonsense online critique group and one or two have achieved acclaim in short fiction competitions.

Back in 2002, I was content to write my semi-autobiographical tales, exchange critiques with fellow writers, then submit them individually to magazines. Publication in book form being the last thing on my mind, the only scams I'd heard about were companies who sell poetry anthologies to contributors at inflated prices. Then a trusted author friend, who previously had a SciFi novel published by a US company, honestly believed he had found a reputable publisher for his collection of short stories. He recommended PublishAmerica to me.

I had no reason to doubt PublishAmerica’s claim that it was a "traditional publisher". Although I didn't feel I had written enough stories, it seemed I had nothing to lose by submitting them as a short anthology.

In no time at all, I received PublishAmerica's standard acceptance letter with the now legendary line "we have decided to give your work the chance it deserves." It was the start of a life-changing, time and money consuming experience that along with countless others I've lived to regret.

My daughter and her partner sketched a suitable cover and my works went along the PublishAmerica production line with almost undignified haste. The fact that they passed my ms without comment didn't alarm me because the stories had already been thoroughly edited, although I did expect the editor to suggest some alterations, such as rearranging the running order for instance. I later realised that they don't employ real editors at all.

My friend's book had a few months start on mine and the first warning light flashed when I received a flyer from PublishAmerica offering me his anthology at a discounted price – he had included me in his mandatory friends and family list. The cover price, $19.95 for a slim paperback, was the first sign that this "traditional publisher" might have a vanity agenda. My friend started a thread on PublishAmerica's Authors’ Message Board politely discussing the price issue but was allowed only one or two posts before having his access to the board denied. Then an anonymous PublishAmerica staffer (InfoCentre) posted an incredible tirade of verbal abuse and misinformation on the thread, followed by PublishAmerica authors/cult members joining the fray like a pack of ravenous hyenas, safe in the knowledge that my friend was unable to reply to their posts. In frustration he voiced his opinions on other writers' forums, at the same time requesting to be released from his seven-year contract. Perhaps because negative criticism of PublishAmerica was uncommon in those days, his request was duly granted, but first he had to sign a gagging agreement. Soon after, he had his work published by a POD company in the UK at a much lower cover price and with a standard author-friendly contract.

Forewarned, I remonstrated with PublishAmerica immediately I saw the $19.95 tag they placed on my own book of 136 pages; but even at $16.95 it remained overpriced compared with similar books. What followed was the scenario enacted time and time again by victims of this scam. After finding out about PublishAmerica 's no returns policy and sub-standard discounts, my local bookstore reluctantly agreed to a book signing only if I supplied the books myself. Meanwhile I had interviews arranged with two local newspapers for which I was unable to get review copies. In some desperation, I again phoned Frederick, Maryland, this time ordering fifty copies of my own book. By then I knew I was giving money I could ill afford to low-life thieves, but I felt obliged to fulfil my commitments. PublishAmerica 's saleslady even tried to charge me shipping from America until I pointed out that their printers, Lightning Source, had a depot in the UK only sixty miles from my home. When my book received good coverage in the local press, my friend and I shared a book signing in a public hall, but the reluctance of bookstores to stock my book had drained the last drop of enthusiasm I had for marketing. Contrary to PublishAmerica's website promise at that time, my little book was never going to appear on bookstore shelves "from sea to shining sea" and, worse, my stories were being held hostage by criminals for a period of seven years.

I vowed to do all in my power to prevent fellow-writers from falling victim to this cynical scam. To that end, I published articles such as Mug An Author Dot Com. These attracted a steady stream of email letters from grateful novice writers and a few angry ones from smug PublishAmerica cult members. Meanwhile, royalty cheques too small to bank continued to arrive. My regular email requests for termination of my contract were ignored except for the occasional standard patronising and abusive refusal. In April 2005, they sent me a document entitled "Settlement Agreement and Release", containing the iniquitous confidentiality and non-disparagement provision which, when signed, amongst other things carries a threat to expose members of my family to financial penalties should they tell the truth about PublishAmerica.

A lot of fuss about a paltry little book? Not really, it's about working with fellow victims to do what law-enforcement agencies here and in America should be doing on our behalf: bringing crooks to justice and revealing a despicable scam that ensnares hordes of unsuspecting novice writers with depressing regularity.

Ironically, other than a hard lesson on man's inhumanity to man, I did gain something from my experience. In my initial enthusiasm, I had set up a website for my stories and exchanged links, not so much with other writers, but with websites where READERS are likely to congregate. As a result, my stories are receiving much more exposure now than they ever stood a chance of achieving through being "published" by the deceitful author mill that is PublishAmerica.