by Michelle Ross

Created on: March 17, 2008   Last Updated: August 10, 2009

Publish America is one of the biggest publishing scams out there. A simple Google search will raise several red flags for those researching this so-called publishing company.

Those writers who do not research who they are sending their manuscript to are easy prey for companies like Publish America. Therefore, I urge you to always research anyone you intend to send your manuscript to. Sites like Preditors and Editors and Writer Beware will both help you determine whether an agent, contest, or publisher is legit.

Publish America hooks naive authors into using them with certain promises. One of these is that they promise to read your manuscript. They tell you that they will not publish everything that comes to them, so that it makes them appear to be a traditional publisher. Do not be fooled! A former Publish America employee stated that the company does look over manuscripts, but they only check for any negative comments about their company. If no negative comments are found in your manuscript your work is published, whether it is poorly written or not.

Then they tell you they will give you an advance, also to make them appear like a traditional publisher. Well, they do, if you consider a dollar to be an advance. That is all you get from them, a single dollar. The rest is up to you. If you do not sell books, you will not make money, and good luck trying to sell a book published by them with their reputation.

They also promise to get your book onto bookstore shelves. Very rarely this does happen, though it is generally from the work of the author, not Publish America. On Preditors and Editors, you can read a letter from a Barnes and Noble store manager. It is stated in that letter that Barnes and Noble stores do not shelve books put out by Publish America. There are several reasons listed for this.

One reason is that Publish America books have no professional editing done, unless the author pays for professional editing. Who wants to buy a book that is riddled with grammatical and spelling errors? Another reason is pricing. Publish America puts a higher price on their books than the industry standard. A traditional publisher will not charge thirteen dollars for a one hundred eighty page paperback novel. The final reason listed is Publish America's no return policy.

No bookstore will shelve a book that cannot be returned to the publisher or author for a full refund. Unless you have a lot of money to throw around, you are not going to get your book onto bookstore

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