In a well-written opening paragraph, an author hooks their reader with an attention-grabbing story, example, statistic, or historical context that makes them want to read on. This can be done by hitting multiple levels simultaneously, so that they are compelled to read more.
This article discusses America Star Books, formerly PublishAmerica, and their recent demise. It also describes how to recoup your rights.
PublishAmerica
Publish America, formerly known as PublishAmerica Books and ASB Promotions (which changed its name to America Star Books in January 2014), is a print-on-demand book publisher. It is a member of the International Association of Online Bookstores and is one of a number of companies that offer print-on-demand publishing services for authors and publishers.
Founded in 1999 by Lawrence Alvin "Larry" Clopper III and Willem Meiners, PublishAmerica has been the subject of multiple lawsuits and warnings from writers and author advocates. It has been accused of being a vanity press and has been described as a "pay to play" publisher.
It is a company that offers its authors "marketing packages," including marketing through a network of distributors, advertising, and participation in various promotional events. These "packages" are not cheap, and many authors find them to be a waste of their money.
As a result, some authors have been disappointed in the results of their PublishAmerica efforts. Among the many problems are lack of customer service, low quality of publications and marketing materials, and a general unwillingness to provide support to authors.
The company also has a long history of using misleading and deceptive marketing tactics. For example, it has been accused of sending promotional emails to its authors with the false claim that J.K. Rowling would be interested in their books. The company also claims that its sales representatives will "sell" books to bookstores and other outlets, even though such a sales effort would be a sleight of hand since the author would have to purchase the book through PA in order to make it available at those locations.
Moreover, it has been charged that the company has breached contracts with authors, as when Philip Dolan found that he had spent between $7,000 and $13,000 to promote his novel only to find that bookstores were not ordering copies of his work. He took PublishAmerica to arbitration for breach of contract and was awarded compensation for the difference in royalties between what he had paid to PublishAmerica and what he had earned on his own. During the course of the arbitration, PublishAmerica's accounting was questioned; Dolan alleged that he had been denied access to a financial statement and had received royalty payments for books that were never sold.