• Class Action Lawsuit Filed Against PublishAmerica

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware I can’t count the number of questions I’ve received over the years from unhappy PublishAmerica authors, wondering whether a class action lawsuit against PA has been/might be/ever will be filed. Frankly, I would have bet against it, given the cost, the difficulty of gathering plaintiffs, and the ambiguities of PA’s business model. Now I get to eat my words. On June 11, 2012, a class action summons and complaint was filed in Maryland District Court in Baltimore against PublishAmerica LLLP, by plaintiffs Darla Yoos, Edwin McCall, and Kerry Levine (Case Number 12-cv-1696). The full complaint can be viewed here. Attachments include the contracts for the three plaintiffs. Quoting from the Introduction to the complaint–this will all sound very familiar to long-time PA observers: Defendant PublishAmerica is a book publisher that  portrays itself as “a traditional, royalty paying publisher.” But unlike traditional publishers, which…

  • Why You Can’t Always Trust the Source

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Many writers assume that a literary agent's inclusion in a market guide or listing--whether it's a print book, such as Jeff Herman's Guide, or a website, such as QueryTracker--is an imprimatur of reputabi...

  • Publishers’ Desk: Display or Misplay?

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Over the past few months, I've gotten a number of questions from writers who've received spam--excuse me, invitations from a website called Publishers' Desk. Its motto is "Bringing Authors and Publishers ...

  • BookStoreMarketing.net: Beware Spam PR Services

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Recently I've gotten a number of questions about BookStoreMarketing.net, a service that promises to promote authors' books to bookstores via a printed catalog, a promotional email, or both. Alternatively,...

  • Publisher Alert: Arvo Basim Yayin of Turkey

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware A couple of weeks ago, I began hearing from self-published and small press authors who'd been approached over the summer by a Turkish publisher called Arvo Basim Yayin. All reported having been contacted ...

  • D Publishing: Dymocks’ New Self-Pub Service

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Last week, Dymocks, an Australian bookselling chain, announced the launch of D Publishing, a electronic and POD self-publishing service. Like Amazon and Barnes and Noble, Dymocks is a major book vendor....

  • The Fine Print of Amazon’s New KDP Select Program

    Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Almost since Amazon's controversial Kindle Owners' Lending Library--which allows Amazon Prime members to borrow selected ebooks for free--debuted, there have been rumors that Amazon was inviting KDP self-...