For PublishAmerica read ScamAmerica
I have to admit to being readily impressed by company names.
Maybe it's an age thing. You see, I was around when we had
nationalised industries here in Britain, you know, British
Railways, British Gas, British Steel, British Road Services,
etc., etc. Those companies may have been over-staffed and
under-efficient but you always knew you could trust them, and a
product marked "Made in Britain" had class - in those days. Even
after they became privatised the word "British" in a company
name still, in my subconscious at least, gave that firm a stamp
of approval. Those were the heady days when we had some
traditional industries and workers could rely upon union
protection to prevent their jobs being shipped out to third
world countries.
When a company called PublishAmerica
(http://www.publishamerica.com/index.asp) agreed to publish my
small collection of short stories, I was delighted. This wasn't
a 'tuppence ha'penny' outfit but an organisation that boasted
"America" in its title. I've never been to America but I have
made some good "virtual" friends there and know how patriotic
Americans are. How could you not feel safe doing business with a
firm that so proudly flew the flag of that famous super power?
When I checked out PublishAmerica's website, all red, white and
blue with the slogan "We treat our authors the old-fashioned way
- we pay them," I felt truly blessed. A publisher of high esteem
(I believed the testimonials) recognised the reader-appeal of my
stories and my potential as a writer.
Further encouragement came from the "Why PublishAmerica?" page
where I was told "The majority of our books that are sold retail
are sold in physical brick and mortar bookstores" and
"PublishAmerica can remove the stigma of paying to be published.
With PublishAmerica, you will have the very important
distinction of having your book ACCEPTED BY A TRADITIONAL
PUBLISHING COMPANY."
Yet something about the company name puzzled me. I mean, why not
"The American Publishing Company" or similar? As it stands
"PublishAmerica" could be interpreted as an ambition to publish
anything and everything that was ever written in that country.
Amazingly, that interpretation very much sums up their
objectives.
In my enthusiasm I had been studying PA's Author's Message
Board, following links to previously published author's websites
and reading all the reviews and book excerpts I could find (not
realising that authors with anything pertinent to say are
instantly barred from posting). Then I read one of their books
from cover to cover. Now, my own education at an orphanage
school in the Highlands of Scotland was very basic, so my grasp
of English Grammar left something to be desired. Nevertheless,
convinced I had stories to tell and the ability to tell them, I
had joined Internet critique groups to learn how to present
them. When I read my first PublishAmerica book my feelings were
a blend of embarrassment, anger and disbelief. The writer had
obviously worked hard to put the story together and it had the
makings of an entertaining read. It reminded me so much of my
own first and only attempt at writing a novel - abundant
clich