Going from disturbed to irate

When I signed the contract, I went through it with a fine-tooth comb (or thought I did). I knew I'd have hurdles I'd have to face. I knew I'd be my own publicist, and I knew the price had the chance (apparently more than a chance) of being too high.

This, though, I did NOT know:

The main reason I recommend against signing with PublishAmerica is that PA's contract is specifically written for the purpose of deceiving authors who don't know what to watch out for before signing with them.

The infamous Paragraph 24, which on the surface refers to buying back materials supposedly needed for printing copies of one's book -- never mind the fact PA doesn't use the technologies mentioned in the said Paragraph -- also insinuates that the author must buy back the copyrights for their own book, which they have paid for themselves already to the Copyright office in Washington D.C., according to PublishAmerica policy.

This is done by surgically inserting the word 'Copyrights' into a list of materials 'needed' to print the book. According to Paragraph 24, if the author does not buy back the materials and the copyright, the Publisher may dispose of said materials and copyright however they wish.

This is deceptive language at best, because the contract signer -- even if they read it thoroughly -- will many times not see the word 'Copyrights' inserted with materials needed to print their books. This is just one of several deceptively written paragraphs within the PublishAmerica contract, and again the main reason I recommend against signing with PublishAmerica.

If I go and find my contract, somehow I won't be surprised to find that Paragraph 24 says exactly such. Clever wording.

I'm finding the truth to be a bitter pill. On the other hand, though, there are several manuscripts (mostly done) that they have NO control over. Mua ha ha.

Honestly, I do not want to start a smear campaign against PA. I'm still in a "wait and see" mode; but if PA has such a terrible reputation, even if PA did straighten up their act, there's still a snowball's chance in hell the book will sell. I, however, am very interested in seeing what DOES happen. If I find PA has been less than honest with me, they're going to learn a very powerful truth about me:

When it comes to something near and dear to my heart, I have NO FEAR. Fuck with my kid (especially my kid)? Your ass is mine. Fuck with my family? Your ass is mine. Fuck with my life's work?

What's the worst they can do, anyway? Here's how I see it, if all the bad press is true: I find out I've been Royally Fucked (tm). I then post my entire book for free on the Internet (and rest assured I will). PA comes along and says, "uh, uh, you can't do that." I tell them to get bent. They threaten me with jail, fines, etc. I tell them to STILL get bent. So they throw me into prison.

What a story THAT would make. NATIONAL MEDIA ATTENTION! 20/20, Dateline, you name it. Let the Media Ass Fucking commence! Everybody would know them for who they are (assuming they ARE this way).

Like I said... fuck with my life's work? YOUR ASS IS MINE!

For now, though, I'll play the game and see what happens. Rest assured, I'll keep everyone posted.

NOTE: Now that I've calmed down a bit, I'd like to emphasize that all the stuff I read online was essentially he-said-she-said stuff. But there was a LOT of it. I have a friend (one of the people who introduced me to PublishAmerica) who I will contact and see how SHE feels she has been treated. I'll post her response here. So stay tuned! Film at 11! That kind of thing.