PublishAmerica setting traps for unsuspecting authors

With the introduction of the Internet into the publishing world, illegitimate publishers like PublishAmerica have immorally tried – and succeeded – to use technology to their advantage. If you are an aspiring author looking to publish, be careful of advertisements that offer their services “FOR FREE!” in enormous and vague type. According to the dozens of complaints received on ConsumerAffairs, their promotion isn’t false. They will publish your book for free – however, for other marketing services there comes a cost.

Notice how many times their front page advertisement uses the word “FREE”:

PublishAmerica will use these advertisements to entice unsuspecting authors, then refuse to give those same authors their royalties for their published books on the claim that no royalties were earned; despite the fact that authors can see their book has been purchased. PublishAmerica will then continue to ask the author for money to promote their book but fail to follow through on the request. Once authors have been scammed, the only way to get reclaim their ownership rights is to essentially buy their own book from PublishAmerica. Their slogan is a complete lie: “We treat our authors the old-fashioned way — we pay them.” Instead, PublishAmerica reaps the benefits of the book sales while the author doesn’t see a dime of their royalties.

Even after taking legal action, as reviewer Robert from Douglasville, GA says, “There is a part in the contract that if you don’t write them to cancel, the contract [with PublishAmerica] will automatically renew for another seven years.”

Authors: remember to be careful about who you give your work to – ensure that the handlers of your book can be trusted. A publishing company may sound appealing when it offers at face value to do everything for free, but always read the fine print. If “PublishAmerica” is often followed by “scam” or “complaints” in the search results, it’s likely that the company is not one you can trust with your book. Check ConsumerAffairs.com and other resource websites to get reviews from past customers. If you can’t find any reviews, try to find authors who have published with them and contact them to ask about their experiences.

Above all, protect your work. Don’t fall into traps set by companies like PublishAmerica – you may not be able to get out. The worst thing you can do is put your book in the wrong hands.