PublishAmerica has been in the news lately and I wanted to write a post detailing why a writer should, in my opinion, never ever get involved with this company but David Gaughran beat me to it. He writes:
For those unaware of the checkered history of PublishAmerica, a quick summary:This list is part of a longer article David wrote. It's about the Authors Guild and you can find it here: The Authors Guild Doesn’t Serve Writers.
1. They are one of only two organizations to earn the dubious honor of having their own sub-forum on Absolute Write’s Bewares & Background Checks (the other being Robert Fletcher’s infamous web of companies).
2. Preditors and Editors have a lengthy entry warning writers away.
3. The Better Business Bureau rates PublishAmerica as an “F”.
4. The leading industry watchdog – Writer Beware – regularly cover PublishAmerica’s various attempts to squeeze money out of their writers (e.g. here, here, here, here, here, and here - and that’s just the tip of the iceberg).
5. PublishAmerica are now the subject of a class-action suit, the allegations being very familiar to anyone who has followed the company (full complaint can be read here).
In short, PublishAmerica is probably the last place I would recommend to a writer.
Wherever you send your manuscript, I wish you the best of luck. Check your prospective publisher out with organizations such as Writer Beware and Preditors and Editors, do a search on their name and ask other writers what they have heard about the company before you sign anything.
