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Cewinterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Friday, July 06, 2001 - 10:40 pm: |   |
Hey Everyone!
New forum is up and in action... Check it out and see if you like it!
CEW |
Cewinterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, July 07, 2001 - 01:21 am: | |
Alright... so I like green... what can I do?
CEW |
Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 04:43 pm: | |
A message to Mr. Meiners,
As a new P.A. author, it was very discouraging for me to first be elated at the prospect of being published, only to lose all hopes when I read the bad press about P.O.D.'s, and then to be further discouraged when reading that authors on your own message board at P.A. were mimicking the complaints I had read in the bad press coverage (price too high, no review copies, no signing copies, no return policy, long waits for orders, etc).
I have a few suggestions for P.A. to help your new authors avoid the discouragement, and some suggestions (some that have already been made here) that would help your business:
1. Put a whole new page on your website that discusses the bad press issues about P.O.D.'s, and use that page to honestly and directly deal with your side of those issues. The page could be called something like "What differentiates P.A. from other, less-reputable P.O.D. publishers". This alone would get rid of many problems, because when an author reads those issues elsewhere, they automatically lose faith in your company. If they read it at your web site, they will have faith that you are not dodging any issues.
2. Change your contract to give authors 10 books for free, instead of two, along with the suggestion to your new authors that they should use some of these 10 books as review copies. I don't have a problem with trying to find my own reviewers, but I do have a problem with asking them to send a letter to you requesting a review copy on their own letterhead. This is an unreasonable request to ask of a traditional reviewer. They are busy and such a request would immediately turn them off. This would eleviate many issues between you and your authors with regard to reviews. If the author chose to just keep all 10 copies for themselves or their friends, that is their choice. But if they are smart, they will use the copies to promote their work.
3. Consider accepting returns from book stores. Whether or not you feel this is a problem for us authors, IT IS. Maybe you could work with bookstores to only accept 10% of their orders on return - if they ordered 100 books, you would accept only 10 unsold books. Then consider offering to sell the returned books to your authors at a much discounted rate. I realize that some bookstores rip the cover off of returned books, and I don't understand why that is. If this is part of the reason you do not accept returns, would you please explain why bookstores do this?
4. Lower the minimum number of books your authors need to purchase to get a discount. 20 books is a financial drain on an author, even after a discount. If you lowered the minimum to 5 books, many more authors would be willing to buy a few more copies for reviews or signings.
5. Post your sales figures on your web site (number of books sold, not financial figures). If you have any authors selling a few thousand copies of their book, make that information available so that other authors will be encouraged. If you do not have any authors selling a few thousand books, then you are doing something wrong in your business.
The bottom line is this - if P.A. is only going to keep pulling in new authors and selling a couple hundred copies of each one's work, then you are obviously only in this to sell to the author's friends and family. This practice would clearly be highly profitable for P.A. As you already stated, you have around 1,000 authors. Each one you plan to sell 300 copies for (to their own friends and family). At around $15 per book, you will gross around $300,000 on these authors. And you will pull in another 1,000 new authors next year, and the year after, and so on. In this process, P.A. makes money, but the authors never will. If you want to change that situation to one where both you and the authors make some money, you will have to consider some policy and publicity changes very soon.
I, for one, plan to make my book sell many copies. It would have been nice to have P.A. behind me on it more financially, but I will do it on my own if I have to - with leg work, not dollars spent on buying my own book. In the process of selling many copies, I will make money, and I will also make P.A. some money. If I end up putting them on the "map" so to speak by getting lucky enough to have a best seller, then that's great for both them and me. But if that does happen, I will definitely state publicly that it was my own efforts that sold that many copies, not P.A.'s effort, and I will steer others clear of them. Unless, somehow, we can see some changes in P.A.'s policies that make them more author and promotion friendly.
I do understand that all first time authors with all publishers are expected to promote their own work, so in that respect P.A. is not doing anything different. However, with other publishers the author has more to work with - they will accept returns, they will send review copies, their books are stocked in the stores where they will do signings, etc. With P.A., these things are not the case.
Let's hope for some changes in P.A.'s policies. I would really like to think that my publisher is actually in this to make some money FOR ME, too, not just themselves.
Marie |
Cewinterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 05:32 pm: | |
Echos of past words and silver-tongued vipers...
Hello Marie.
First of all, well said, and well seen. All of those things are certainly issues with PA. But despite the words on their site, Publish America is definitely not a "traditional" publisher.
I really hate to discourage anyone, because PA is offering an opportunity, but the fact is, PA simply cannot support the magnitude of a "bestseller". If any PA author should achieve such acclaim, it will only be because their book was purchased or otherwise taken from PA and moved to another publisher.
I came to realize this, and asked Mr. Meiners to release me from my contract, which he did. While I am faced once again with the daunting task of finding Agency representation, I am relieved that my book (the first of a 7 part series) has the opportunity for selling traditionally in the market (whether it ever does or no).
Mr. Meiners and PA have made some pretty big leaps in recent months, and have shown that they are hearing their authors. Who knows where it might take them. I will not try to address all of your questions and issues (with which I agree for the most part), and will anxiously await Mr. Meiners replies to you.
Finally, Welcome to the Mindsight Forum ;)
CEW |
Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 07:37 pm: | |
CEW,
Thanks for your reply. I do realize that the chances of becoming a best selling author under P.A. are slim to none, but stranger things have happened. It would be excellent P.R. for P.A. to have at least one best selling author, but if that author then states that they were not comfortable with their own publisher, it would be negative P.R.
I have no delusions of grandeur. My first book probably will not be a best seller and P.A. is not threatened by me or my statements, etc. I am only trying to give P.A. some food for thought to help them gain a better reputation. I hope I haven't sounded like I was making a "threat" of any kind, because as I said, chances are slim that my first book will do that well in sales, and P.A. knows this. I also hope that P.A. does not do anything to slow down my publishing process because of the things I have been saying about them. But if they did do that, it would be an obvious sign of a complete scam operation. In reality, I don't believe they are as bad as the other P.O.D. publishers out there, and I'm hoping Mr. Meiners will prove that to me in this forum.
Marie |
Cewinterland
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Saturday, August 04, 2001 - 08:10 pm: | |
Marie,
I do not think that Mr. Meiners is the vindictive sort ;). My impression of him seems to be that he might actually appreciate someone who can and will voice their observations in a calm manner, as you have done.
Regarding PA... One thing to keep in mind is that they do not charge for their services, like some other POD publishers. I still am grateful to them for giving me an opportunity to see my work in print - but more than that, and though it was a tough lesson, I learned a LOT from my experiences with them.
And about a PA book becomming a bestseller... you are right, stranger things have happened. But boy oh boy will there be a few growing pains if it does happen. So, here's to hoping that it can and will, and that Mr. Meiners will remain as personable as he has been of late at such a time. I wish it for PA too, but right now, I just don't think that they are designed to handle it.
That's what I meant earlier about potential. Mr. Meiners, I think, can manage it, and likely rather well. If PA should grow further, and such things become possible, I will be down at the fence jumping, shouting and cheering for everyone involved.
Meanwhile Marie, it sounds like you are on the right track. Dennis and Barbie and Claudia have made some very stringent steps toward realizing their dreams, and certainly others have as well. From your way with words, it seems that you will do fine as well. I certainly wish everyone the best.
CEW |
Marie
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Monday, August 06, 2001 - 03:43 pm: | |
CEW or Mr. Meiners,
I may have posted my messages to Mr. Meiners on the wrong page. CEW, can you copy and paste my message to the P.A. board? Or will Mr. Meiners also be checking this board? I'm looking forward to hearing from him.
Marie |
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