Kevin Ahearn writes about...

Publish America

Earlier this year, when the Science Fiction Writers of America (SFWA) announced how thirty of its members had “hoaxed” PublishAmerica (PA), a company that specializes in self-publishing, I blasted the SFWA: “sf writers” were supposed to be writing sf. What were they doing, purposely writing BAD sf to “hoax” PA?

So, is PA, which boasts about their “honesty and integrity,” a blatant scam or a reputable publisher? Ah, here’s where things get interesting.

PA, by contract, promises to PRINT your novel at NO cost to the author. Can you beat that or what? After the author and PA agree on the final “proof” (text) and retail price, PA will print as many copies as the author wants and then give the author a 20% discount on every book bought by the author (30% off if more than 21 copies are bought at a single order). Sounds great, doesn’t it? The author can then post the book on his website and do “signings” all around town, all around the country, and make 20-30% profit on every book sold.

Of course, deducting the price of the website and travel expenses, one wonders how much real profit the author will make IF his book sells at all. But even though only a small fraction of self-published books sell more than 500 copies, let’s say the author wants his books in independent bookstores. Problem is, those vendors will demand a 40% discount plus return privileges. Even if the book sells out, a VERY rare occurrence, the author loses money on every book that does sell.

Pushing the envelope, suppose the author wants to go BIG time with the major distributors and vendors: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Baker & Taylor and Ingram. Now we’re cooking, right? WRONG! The big boys want a 55% discount plus return privileges plus the author pays the shipping (Only Amazon pays the freight.). Bottom line: on every book the author sends to the major distributors he loses more money whether the book sells or not.

PA has high hopes for every book it sells the author because with only a 20-30% discount, the PRINTER is making a juicy profit on every one. (Small “real” publishers, who send books out to major distributors, sell the author books at a 60% discount.) Good book or bad, the PA author doesn’t stand a realistic shot at making a dime.

But how could that be true? PA will PRINT a book regardless of its ever having a chance of making a profit for the author? Let’s get real: PA is in the PRINTING business to make a profit for PA.

So PA’s a scam? Not quite. PA does pay an 8% royalty for every book sold through PA. (There are small publishers who pay nearly TWICE that rate.) With PA holding all the aces, an author cannot win whatever cards he holds. Even if his novel is a smash, PA owns the rights for seven years and gets 50% of the paperback, TV or movie rights. Surely the stingiest deal in the business.

But what IS PA’s business? Are they are “real” publisher or simply a print company? To find out, I went to their website, followed the instructions and submitted MY novel electronically. The next day I was told that in a few days PA would decide if they would publish my book.

Two days later, PA informed me that they would indeed publish my novel and included the standard PA contract. (It’s attached.) Oh, joy! Rapture! I’m an sf novelist! Mindful that I was still not yet in print, I wrote back asking PA who had read my manuscript and if the submission editor had any suggestions on improving my work.

A month has passed and I have yet to hear from PA. Nor have I signed the contract. Until I know any different, I have come to the inescapable conclusion that no one at PA ever read my book. Sending an author a publishing contract without reading his manuscript is not the way of a “real” publisher. This non-read policy allowed the SFWA to “hoax” PA. Surely the company might have learned something.

In publishing, rather than printing, an editor reads a submitted manuscript (usually through a lit agent), and asks: “Will his make the company any money? If the answer is “yes,” you’re a “real” author. As PA did NOT read my novel, that makes PA a printer out to sell me my own books at an inflated price.

Copyright © 2005 by Kevin Ahearn

Ed. note: Kevin’s letter seems informative enough that we can omit the copy of the contract. Kevin says that a copy can be found at at scifidimensions.com.