[cynthia]

Aloha all.. I just signed my contract to have my first poetry book published!!

Publish America signed me.. I read a lot of reviews of the company... The Washington Post wrote a very fair article on them and I am hopeful..
It's called Kindergarten for Grown Ups and it'll be POD so you'll probably have to order it through your bookstore or online.. I'll keep you all posted!

Aloha, Cindy

[Chudz]

Woo Hoo! Way to go, Cynthia!

Edited to add smileys!

[lemonthief]

Hey Cynthia,

Good on you for getting yourself out there. It's great to see. I'm a bit concerned about Publish America though, I've just done a bit of googling and come across some very unfavourable reviews. You've probably read, but see here and wiki for examples. It's basically not a respected publisher. I wish you all the best success but would always suggest that you and everyone else reading always do your research on publishers. I'm sure you have. Good luck.

[cynthia]

Thank you Chudz and Sophie... aloha

[Child of the Sun]

Congrats! That's fabulous news.

[melissah]

I'm with Sophie on this one. Congratulations for your effort are in order, but you might want to reconsider publishing with them.

[cynthia]

Well, considering that I have been writing for free for two and a half years and now I'll have a book and hopefully 8% that's better than nothing..

besides I'll have something to sign for people
And losts of people are asking me for autographed copies

SO THERE

[lemonthief]

Only trying to help Cynthia.

besides I'll have something to sign for people
And losts of people are asking me for autographed copies

That's exactly the kind of attitude Publish America looks to prey on. Seriously, read the articles.

If you want to be associated with them, that's absolutely fine. No one's stopping you. It's just best to have all the info on these things before diving in and realising that it wasn't really all you thought it was going to be.

[cynthia]

Only trying to help Cynthia.
That's exactly the kind of attitude Publish America looks to prey on. Seriously, read the articles.

If you want to be associated with them, that's absolutely fine. No one's stopping you. It's just best to have all the info on these things before diving in and realising that it wasn't really all you thought it was going to be.

Thanks Sophie... I just wanted a book sooo bad... my self esteem is too low to go through usual publishing routes.. It's been such a long road,, aloha, cindy

[melissah]

Thanks Sophie... I just wanted a book sooo bad... my self esteem is too low to go through usual publishing routes.. It's been such a long road,, aloha, cindy

Oh cynthia.

There are two sides of this industry: the art, and the business. An agent or a publisher is absolutely looking for someone who just makes them rave about the work; they are also looking for something that they can sell. So, yes, it's hard to feel the sting of rejection, but they aren't rejecting you! They're just saying "the thing that you wrote needs work" or "I just don't feel passionate enough about this to represent/publish it" or, in the worst case scenario, "this isn't good enough." They are NEVER saying "you are a failure and nothing that you ever write will be good enough, so quit now!"

The key is to not take it personally.

If you want a book, you might try something like Lulu or Amazon's CreatSpace. It's a far more honest road, in my opinion, as you know that you are self-publishing. Readers know that you are self-publishing. Agents and editors and publishers know that you are self-publishing. Being published with a vanity press like Publish America suggests a lack of industry nowse or a desire to be published that trumps your desire to write.

A collection of SFWA members wrote a book that was accepted by Publish America. You can read about it here:
Atlanta Nights by Travis Tea. Maybe that will put things into perspective.

tl;dr (that stands for "too long; didn't read", for those of you who aren't interested in reading through my bullcrap): if you want a book for people to buy and sign, go with self-publishing. Vanity presses only lead to heart-ache.