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Dec. 13, 2005 PublishAmerica is a notorious “author mill” that makes promises to its victims/”authors” than it has no intention of keeping. Their ambiguously worded contracts are some of the most one-sided in the publishing industry. When it comes to paying their authors, they simply breach the contract knowing that most don’t have the financial resources or knowledge to proceed with a civil case. I am embarrassed to admit that I too, was duped by these vultures. I have called for other authors to join my efforts to initiate a class action suit. (For details go to http://www.publishamericasucks.com/authors.html). Below is the second part of my story. I’ve desired to be a writer since I was nine years old. By the time I was thirty-two, I was nowhere near my goal. A full-time job and being the single parent of one teen and three pre-teens kept me busy. I had gone through a divorce and kept myself busy doing other things. Writing was put on the back burner for a decade. During this time I had completed one novel—an 1100 page handwritten tome titled, “Darker Than Blue.” It was loosely based on my high school days and centered one two high school cliques—one black, one white—and the fact that they had so much in common, but could never find that out due to the racial dynamics of their small town. I took a few college courses over that time and became a better writer, but no way was I ready to submit my work. I could tell a good story and was fundamentally sound, but had yet to establish my “voice.” However, I understood the difficulties of becoming a published novelist. I recall a joke I once heard. A girl comes home and excitedly tells her father, “Dad, I’m marrying a writer.” The father replies coolly, “Great. What does he do for a living?” Still, like every other dreamer that ever picked up a pen, my goal was to someday construct “The great American novel.” I had grown up in a household of poets, playwrights, essayists, painters, musicians and budding novelists. We had plenty of books and having always been an avid reader, I read everything I could get my hands on. Even if I didn’t understand it, I knew the rhythm of the language. My parents, Matthew and Clariece Stelly, emphasized academics and creative expression. They provided a environment conducive to artistic endeavor. We had pens. writing paper, crayons, construction paper, glue, staplers, paint brushes, canvases, felt pens, oil paint, scissors—everything conducive to creating art. Eventually I put down my paint brushes (I was only a so-so painter) and held fast to my pencils. I could always get laughs and was able to put my ideas down on paper. So at forty-one I began rewriting “Darker Than Blue.” At the time I was living with two of my kids in transitional housing. I finished typing and editing the manuscript in just over six months. That is when I came up with the idea for my second manuscript, “Tyempest In The Stone.” I wrote “Tempest” in just over a month, set it aside and two months later re-read and edited it. I let it sit another three months before adding to the story. By this time I had three manuscripts finished (having completed “The Malice of Cain,” which was originally titled, “Comes In Threes.” It was then that I decided to seek a publisher. For reasons of “ego protection” I submitted the weakest of the three, figuring “If it gets rejected, no big deal. It isn’t my best.” That submission was “Tempest” and I lucked up on finding a publisher, which was—you guessed it—PublishAmerica. Pas website announced that it was seeking stories of people who had overcome obstacles to succeed. They claimed to read all submissions and further, claimed that they rejected 80% of all submissions. Better still, they accepted e-mail solicitations. I mailed the manuscript and waited. Ten days later I was sent an e-mail stating my novel had been accepted and was undergoing “further review.” I was told to be patient, that I would hear from them within 60 days. But a week later I received the e-mail from Ms. Windsong that blew my mind. They had accepted my novel for publication. I was one for one. I recalled reading where Stephen King’s novel “Carrie” had been rejected 31 times. And while I knew I was no Stephen King, I figured that first publisher had been blown away by what I considered a “so-so” piece of work. I also believed the “editors” at PublishAmerica saw things the same way. But some not-so-funny things happened on the way to Stephen King’s neighborhood. COMING NEXT: PublishAmerica: The Middle Of Their Name Spells SHAME ------------ About the author: Timothy Stelly is a 46-year old California native with a wide variety of interests-from fishing to politics, which have a lot in common: Both require you to deal with worms and most of your time is spent idling. He is a former Democrat, believing that Party represents outdated ideas. He is officially registered as an Independent, choosing to keep his options open. Timothy is also the author of more than 80 screenplays and novels, two of which have been "published": "Tempest In The Stone" and "The Malice Of Cain", both available through PublishAmerica. He defines his writing style as "Hip-hop fiction; a cross between Richard Pryor and Richard Wright." His UK columns is written in a hard-edged style, but he is not yet a curmudgeon or a conservative. (Is that redundant?) After all, one of his favorite movies is "The Adventures of Milo and Otis." stellbread0.tripod.com Email: stellbread@yahoo.com Tell a friend about this site! ------------ All articles are EXCLUSIVE to Useless-Knowledge.com and are not allowed to be posted on other websites. ARTICLE THIEVES WILL BE PROSECUTED! |
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