I'm not so swell headed I cannot admit when I'm wrong.

Update: Since I wrote this article on Publish America, friends whose intentions were to steer me in the right direction have sent numerous articles to me about this publishing house. At first I ignored the articles because I made a stupid move when I signed a contract with PA. And nobody wants to admit to being blatantly stupid on a website.
However, a few complaints I've read about stuck in my head and I couldn't shake them. For one, I've never received a royalty check on either of my two novels. Duh!!! Must've had my head on backwards to not have realized this until others put similar complaints in print. What the hell was I thinking that I let this slip by?
Second of all, my novels were never placed in bookstores although this was promised in their contract. They promised good distribution or maybe I had them mixed up with someone else--a real publishing house for instance. The only thing I can argue on their side and it's not really due to PA is that I wasn't subjected to shody editing because I did my own, several times before submitting my novels.
I had a website URL sent to me and I'm adding it here because there's so many complaints on so many levels, I'd need 160 articles to list them all.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Talk:PublishAmerica
Please go up there and read away. I'm thinking of enrolling in a joint action complaint to fix their butts. Anyone else interested, please let me know, either through my remarks section or through email:danar96.starband.net
Here's another site that was sent to me after I wrote this article. It's entitled The Truth About PA. http://www.wizardessbooks.com/html/PA_stories.htm




A lot of comments have been made about Publish America to the point where you should hang your head in shame if you've been published by this outfit. Myths have been circulated with no basis in fact, so I'd seriously like to have my say.
I've heard they take anything. Well, I don't think the two novels I sold them are just anything. I spent as much time researching and writing them as I do my others. Plus, I personally know of at least four or five authors in my group alone who were rejected by them. You see, when a publisher spends his or her own money to publish novels, the name of the game is profit. And they can hardly make a profit if they take just anything. The novel has to be well-written, with a logical plot, interesting characters, dialogue that moves the action along or those funded novels will sit on the shelves forever. Not paying attention to the requirements is hardly a basis for profit. Trust me, they pay attention.
To dispel another myth: they don't edit your novels. Not only was my work edited, the galleys were sent to me twice: the first time to edit and list needed corrections; the second time to check that those corrections were made.
Besides, editing your own novels is an essential part of being an author. You cannot just write something and send it off without checking for errors. This applies whether you're submitting to a publishing house or an agent. When your name goes on a work, it had better be your best effort or a not so nice reputation will follow.
Not to be confused with vanity presses, I think Publish America gives your novels its all. I've had email sent to me by these same editors questioning a section I'd written. After much discussion I made changes because those editors were right. See. I'm not a prima donna. I listen. Too many authors don't and therein lies one of the causes for rejection.
Another complaint is that Publish America makes you sign a seven year contract. Look. We're not children. Nobody makes us do anything that goes against our grain. If seven years seems too long a time frame, then don't sign the contract. Too many authors sign in haste and then bemoan the fact that 'seven years is too long'. Well, Hell's Bells. These authors need to grow up and give some forethought to their mistakes. Or to what they later perceive as mistakes.
I saw Publish America as another outlet for my novels. I have three publishers and am happy with all of them. Besides PA, I'm published by Denlinger's, Ltd. and Archebooks Publishing, Inc. All three work the same and since I've been published before I know what to look for. Mainly I've come to realize that if a deal is bad, don't get invovled. I've turned down many publishers due to crummy contracts. And I'm sorry for the slang but there's no other way to put it.
My final word to the protestors are: myths can always be dispelled. Check the facts before circulating rumors.

The two novels published by PA are Grave Results and the soon to be released Grave Results Two-Blood Rites. Perhaps the best horror I've ever written.