Thursday, April 16, 2009

Injustice!!



Hello,

I'm kind of upset about this, and want to share. If you're reading this, then chances are you already have our flagship book, Take me Away From All This!! It's a great book, and still our best seller, but the problem is that I'm not the one selling the book, or getting the meager profits!!

Some of you may remember the excitement of the book being published some time back by a company called PageFree Publishing. At the time, I was grateful to the company, but as time went on, I outgrew my need for them, and began self-pubishing my books. And to be honest, I didn't feel like I was getting honest royalty reports from them, and had seen others complaining about the company. I sent them a cease and desist notice some time back, which they acknowledged receiving.

As time passed, though, I kept seeing the book being offered for sale at ebay and at many online bookstores, and I emailed PageFree to stop selling the book. The problem is, they are a Print on Demand company, and so allow online booksellers the opportunity to list books that they do not actually have in inventory, and then print the books and ship them when ordered. Recently, I have seen more and more online sellers offering MY book, and I have actually heard from several people who say they bought the book, and I know for a fact that they didn't buy it from me.

I, and happyGlyphs Comics, are selling a new, improved and updated version, for a similar price as the old one. Cheaper, actually, since I charge less shipping, and the quality is actually better, as I've been told by a comic book shop owner. Lulu.com is the only other authorized seller of the book.



I ask, and urge, you to please let me know if you have bought the version in the last few years that says PageFree Publishing on it. If you are an online books seller, and you are receiving the book from PageFree, then you are an unwilling accomplace to a crime. I am being robbed. Probably not a lot of money, but every sale is important to me, for many reasons, and there is of course the sense of justice. PageFree has no right, and has had no right, to sell my book.

And for those of you looking to self publish, I urge extreme caution in dealing with any print on demand company that charges you to print your book. You cannot trust that you will be treated fairly or get accurate royalty statements. Maybe some are honest, but try to get references before working with anyone you don't know.... a good recommendation for any business transaction, I suppose.

I try to trust people first, and judge later by their actions... and unfortunately I get screwed for that. It's a shame that dishonesty is part of the business world, but what can you do?

I can, and will, pursue legal action if this goes on. I can also give the warning out to those who want to self publish, and I can also ask you all NOT to support thieves.

Take Me Away From All This!! is a great book. I want you to read it, and have a copy of your own to treasure always. But please... help support a starving artist instead of an (alleged) crook.

Thanks! JOHN :0)

PS Wanna know a secret? Besides having a bunch of new cartoons, and better quality, the second Edition of the book has an altered cover. There is a third stripe on the sock falling out of the laundry basket!! Shh... don't tell anyone! :0)

3 comments:

Joel Turner said...

Did PageFree Publishing provide the ISBN or did you apply for your own?
The ISBN should direct the royalties to the correct party.
We are a Short run digital book printer and do not provide ISBN #s to Self publishing authors.
We always advise that they should become an independant publisher.
Thanks
Joel Turner
President
www.americas-press.com

Unknown said...

Hi Joel,

PageFree ordered the ISBN as part of the deal. Thanks for the info on that.

Sorry for the tirade, but this has been going on for some time, and it upset me a bit to find out that people were buying the book from a source that should no longer exist!

I'll check out your site. Can I ask about digital press quality? Do the colors last as long as traditional press, and are papers acid free? Just curious.

Thanks again, JOHN :0)

Kishore said...

John...

I'm sorry to hear about this. Hopefully you will get this sorted out!