Publish America PICKPOCKET AMERICA Frederick, Maryland

I made the mistake of contracting with Publish America about 6 years ago. After emailing them throughout the process, I learned at the last moment, that the photos I submitted for the cover of my book were not going to be used, despite their promises. They "lost them." Instead, they submitted crummy pictures one might expect of a 6 year old with a broken Crayon.

I reacted, supplying Pickpocket America with a copy of their email which had assured me they could do whatever I wanted. They balked. Then replied that I had 3-5 days to supply them a cover. This I did through the help of an artist friend in another state. His artwork is what graces the cover. PA did NOTHING but print what they were handed.

As usual, PA did nothing to support sales. They sent solicitations to probable buyers, names and addresses supplied by me. Their overall marketing "strategy" was absolute ineptitude. (Since I purchased copies of my book, they made money at the outset.) Over the years, I have received, at the most, $50 in royalties.

With the popularity of ebooks, I decided to do the conversion. Foolishly, I contacted Pickpocket America and asked if they did conversions. They told me yes. They gave the amount and told me they'd contact the various companies to arrange the set up. I agreed.

Imagine my horror when I found my book on the ebooks for $29.95. I demanded to know who set that price, that I did NOT agree, etc. and wanted to be contacted immediately.

They responded with the following email:
From: PublishAmerica Author Support
Sent: Sunday, April 15, 2012 10:27 AM

Thank you for requesting a lower list price for your book. We will agree to lower the price, even though it goes against our experience over the past 12 years in this industry. You are not alone in your thinking. Price is not the reason that your book is not selling, but if you think that it is, we have a solution for you. But, we have a responsibility to our employees, to ensure that we make a profit. If we do not do that, we would go out of business very quickly.

Our pricing policy is deliberate and has proven successful for 12 years. It is based on what we know the market will bear and on our long-time record of generating sales: four million (4,000,000) books to date. Contrary to what some believe, lower book prices typically do not mean higher volumes of sales.

Book sales mostly depend on other factors, such as an author's name recognition or celebrity status. Sales may also depend bookstores' expectations that a book will sell, which may lead them to stock to book. Today's New York Times bestsellers' list is solely made up of well-known authors, with book prices ranging between $15 and $35.

Since our prices are comfortably in the middle of that range, we discourage lower list pricing. However, our society, and our economy, are built upon principles of freedom of choice. Therefore, if you insist on seeing your book listed by bookstores at prices as low as $18.95 or even $10.95, you may secure it at a fee here:

http://www.publishamerica.com/testimonials/index.php. That, of course, is the real story.

Our experience shows that lower prices do not mean higher profits either for the author, or for the publisher. If you feel that you know better, then you are free to pay the fee and reduce the price of your book. Also, it looks to us as if your name as we have it is the same as you have it below. Please show us where we have it wrong.


Obviously, Pickpocket America has been slithering blithely along for 12 years. They need to be put out of business. As they are using the Internet and US Postal Service, this seems to qualify for a visit from the FEDS. If you have not filed a federal complaint, do so! Let's show Pickpocket America where they are WRONG!