GET OUT OF THE RUT AND WRITE – Monica A. Andermann

We’ve all heard that old axiom before: the only way to write is to sit down at the computer and type away. Yet that discipline had me feeling all tapped out. Ideas no longer flowed from my brain, to my hands, to the paper. What little I did manage to write seemed dull and lifeless. No wonder. I was dull and lifeless. Clearly, it was time for me to get away from the computer.

Whispers And Warnings For August 22nd

Apple – Opposes settlement by three other publishers accused of ebook price fixing, saying the judgement will terminate and rewrite Apple’s contracts “before a single document has been introduced into evidence, before any witness has testified, and before the court has resolved the disputed facts.”
The Michigan Daily – Libel lawsuit by a Canadian hockey team has been dropped.
Chilean Journalist – denied passport over 61-year-old libel conviction

Caleb is Here!!!

Frank’s friend, Caleb, who has been part of the family for years, is visiting for two weeks and we are having a blast!

Complaints About Lulu Are Spilling Onto Lulu’s Own Twitter Page

Complaints About Lulu Are Spilling Onto Lulu’s Own Twitter Page

We’ve previously covered the numerous complaints posted about Lulu.com to their own forums by their own authors. The complaints are about customer service, quality, costs, and much more, including the fact that it’s difficult for authors to get a response out of them.
But, savvy Lulu authors have figured out how to bypass regular email. They’re posting complaints directly to Lulu’s Twitter account. Here are a few snippets posted just in the past two weeks…

An Extremely Professional and Talented Cover Designer

In the July 25 edition of WritersWeekly, someone asked you how your covers could be so inexpensive and what he’d get for his money. My answer??? A GREAT cover. When I self-published the first edition of my book, I paid a “professional” cover designer $2000. I told her EXACTLY what I wanted in terms of fonts, images, etc., and trusted she would put it all together into something great. When she seemed to misunderstand, I actually found some photos and put together a “sample” in Photoshop. She absolutely refused to give me ANYTHING like what I wanted–finally coming up with a Picasso-esque mess that I would have been embarrassed to use. She claimed she had created a cover and, despite the fact that I couldn’t use it, she got paid in full.
My son took my “sample”–tweaked it in Illustrator–and that’s the cover I finally used on the book.
For the second edition, I went with BookLocker.com and Todd did my cover. I sent him the cover of the first edition and told him what I’d like (essentially, the same thing I told the original designer). He came up with exactly what I wanted on the first try! In about two days! We tweaked the colors a bit and he even found me a couple of images that I loved for next to nothing.
So, to the guy who asked the question…what you will get (from BookLocker) is an extremely professional and talented cover designer who should be making a LOT more…but I’m sure glad he works for BookLocker!
Thanks,
Judy Yero
Teaching in Mind: How Teacher Thinking Shapes Education
PUBLISHER’S NOTE:
See examples of BookLocker’s cover HERE.
Click on each cover to see the entire cover (front, back and spine).
Todd’s covers are only $200 because we send him so much business. Of course, we pass that savings on to authors. 🙂

Why Your Blog Needs a Media Kit – Jennifer Brown Banks

“Can you tell me how much it costs to take out an ad at your site?” asked a publisher in Arizona back in April.
Unfortunately, like many bloggers who blog as a labor of love, I never gave serious consideration to earning pay for my say. Not until then.

Should I Try to Land a Literary Agent?

I recently collaborated with a much-published and widely read author to edit one of her pending publications. We discussed my literary life, too. She indicates I should get an agent to market my newest manuscript. What do you think?

Selling Books Abroad – Eric D. Goodman

Selling Books Abroad – Eric D. Goodman

We were planning a vacation to (and travel story on) Spain anyway. Adding a book event to the visit was a great way of mixing business with pleasure – and it proved to be an effective way to sell books and create some buzz with a new readership.

Whispers And Warnings For August 15th

Cambridge University Press, Oxford University Press, and SAGE Publishers – In copyright infringement lawsuit against Georgia State University, judge denies publishers’ request for relief; tells publishers to pay defendant’s attorney’s fees.
Ampersand Publishing – Owes Jerry Roberts an additional $81,560.05. Attorney’s fees are now almost $1.1 million.
National Jewish Democratic Council – Sued for $60M by Sheldon G. Adelson, a billionaire casino owner, for alleged libel, for an article published on the group’s website.
The New Yorker – Judge rules libel suit filed by Peter Paul Biro can go forward.
Bloggers Roman Brice and Nancy Pincus and 10 unnamed internet commenters – Sued for $2M for (alleged) defamation.

I Like Grass (in my yard!)

It seems all we’ve done since we moved into our new (circa. 1969 – so it’s new to US) home in Florida is spend money on repairs. Now that the leaky part of the roof is fixed and the plumbing no longer backs up, we’re getting some work done on the outside…