Complaint Review: Publish America LLLP - Internet

After one year persuing this company on the internet via five different websites titled "whypublishamerica" I finally gave up.     I received on the average of 2-3 e-mail solicitations a day to purchase my own book and they would send the same number of copies "to my great-great aunt lucy or whatever".     In June 2008 my book came out at an embarrasing $19.95, jumped to $24.95 and then to $29.95. Add $3.99 per book for shipping and its really out of bounds.   

My first royalty check was a whopping $2.80 which seems to be the typical first check, then I bought 9 copies in order to get my book into a hard cover by replying to an e-mail special that they would pay royalties on the purchase. They first sent me a "no sales" royalty statement via e-mail (breach accounting error). I responded by sending them the e-mail solicitation and a check for $17.96 was sent (breach accounting error because the royalty should have been $17.97). The ISBN # on the check stub was for the soft cover (breach accounting error). I responded by informing them that the statement was wrong and in Dec 2009 I got another check from Larry-boy for $17.96 which had no accounting stub attached (breach).   

I received my $1 as promised and the last item of my contract stated that this $$ would be deducted from my first royalty check (breach because to this day they have not deducted that $$).   Please excuse my fumble fingers if I have typo's, I suffer from A-O connected neuropathy and have a tendency to hold the key too long.   My 1099-misc was not sent for the $1 advance and the $2.80 royalties (breach) for 2008 sales. My 1099-misc for 2009 was for $17.96 and did not include the $2.80 which was actually paid in 2009, the second check which was issued in Dec 2009 (breach accounting error).   

Now this may not seem like much but $31+ can push one into another tax bracket. Not reporting royalties can get one into trouble.    In several e-mails to author support I requested a full accounting of the number of bookss printed and distributed. I received no reply as my contract states that I have to pay for any additional accounting info. The Printing company LSource would not give me the data and sent me back to PA for it. I went into the book sellers sites and requested info and only Alibris acknowledged that they did in fact have 8 copies of the book.    Today I got another ccheck, yes to the above individual that mentioned a check for $1.40, so was mine. I still have no 1099-misc for 2010 (breach for yet another accounting error).

By coincidence the book once again sold for $17.47. In totla I can account for 10 copies of the soft cover which, like a fool, I sent out in media kits to Regis, Larry king, a local radio station and my local library. I bought 9 copies of the hard cover and received nine free but I paid full price at $24.95. The hard cover then jumped to $29.95 and stayed there.    I've contacted the local office of the FBI, filed on the internet crimes site FBI-IC3, filed with th FTC, BBB-Maryland, DoD (Department of Defence), FBI disaster fraud site, the American Red Cross, The Barbara Bush Foundation, The Lincoln Library, Borders, B&N, Apple, NBC Today, Target, Walmart, and the IRS.    

I have now prepared a presentation for the Kentucky Attorney General which will be my last effort to get someone to actually care about what these people are doing.    The contract mentions prromoting the book and has trapped all / any kind of publication but at their descretion which means you buy your own book at a deep discount and maybe they will approach Amazon to handle a kindle version. There is no way to track whether or not they actually send Oprah 5 copies or not.  

I knew I would have to participate in seling the book, but I've been turned down by the local book sellers because this is a PA published book. B&N told me that when I get my publishing rights back andd re-publish the book they would let me do a signing. My local Borders manager told me the same thing.    I am not nor will I ever be a career author. It was never my intention to make a fortune on this book. I simply wanted to help undiagnosed narcoleptics find the relief I have found through modern medicine.   My re-write is no in print with a very good PoD publisher Avid Readers Pub Gp and I'm pleased with the quality and the price. Yes, I paid a fee +- $200 but I got a better book with three times as many photos and a fixed price per book. If it is sold through an online seller I get almost 50% royalties.

If I sell the book myself I get it all.    So, for the novice like me, pay out the bucks and avoid PA LLLP like the plague unless you like reading redundant / repeat e-mail soliccitations to buy your own book.  Anyone refuting this article can buy a copy of the presentation I'm sending at the PA price of $195.00. Just kidding. If you want to use it as an example to send one to your state AG just google my ISBN and look me up in the phone book. 1-60563-294-5 can be found at B&N but please don't buy this book, buy the new one 978-1-935105-91-4.    PA wallflys...we don't blame you. You're just employees like the people who work for the "company" that sell their morals, principles for the price of a paycheck.