Angela’s Desk

Does that “Fictitious” Email Address in Your Book Already Belong to Somebody Else?

Published on January 30, 2013

Today, I noticed two email addresses for fictitious people in a novel I was formatting. They were very basic email address, too, and from gmail.com. So, I was certain they were already being used by someone. I was hoping it was the author himself who owned the email addresses. I sent a note to the author and, sure enough, he had not registered those email addresses. They belonged to other people...people he did not know. …

World’s Worst “Query Letter!”

Published on January 16, 2013

This week's missive will be short but I just had to share this with you. I received the following "query letter" (can we even call it that?!) last week... …

Three Times More People Prefer Print Books to Ebooks

Published on January 2, 2013

Three Times More People Prefer Print Books to Ebooks

Just two weeks ago, we published this article: Around 75% of Americans DON'T Own Ebook Readers - Are you ignoring 75% of the book buying market?! Coincidentally, Publisher's Weekly released their new annual survey results this week. As expected, the number of print book readers dipped slightly (only 3%) while the number of ebook readers rose 16%. This is good news on both fronts. Most people are still reading print books (triple the number of those reading ebooks) and those reading ebooks can buy more books because ebooks are less expensive. Only 5% of library patrons reported borrowing ebooks. That means 95% of them borrowed print books... …

75% of Americans DON’T Own Ebook Readers – Are you ignoring 75% of the book buying market?! – Angela Hoy

Published on December 19, 2012

I had an interesting conversation with my dad last week. He's 69, retired, and has had some health issues lately. He has always been an avid reader. I can remember him sitting in the living room each night, his shoes on the floor, his feet on his ottoman, a cold Schlitz on his cork coaster, his glasses perched on his nose, and a large hardcover book in his hands. He read quite a bit about history and he enjoyed suspense novels. We had a large living room and one entire wall was floor to ceiling bookshelves. I loved that room. Anyway, when I was talking to my dad last week, I asked what he was reading. He told me he's reading two books right now - both novels. He had them both next to him and read the titles to me. I asked him if he ever read ebooks. He guffawed pretty loudly. He said he had never read an ebook and he never would. He likes visiting bookstores, enjoys the smell of a new book, and likes holding it in his hands. He also loves his bookshelves. The fact is the vast majority of Americans (around 75% based on the most recent studies) don't own ebook reading devices... …

BookLocker is Now Offering “D.I.Y.” and “Payment Plan” Publishing Programs! – Angela Hoy

Published on December 12, 2012

BookLocker is Now Offering “D.I.Y.” and “Payment Plan” Publishing Programs! – Angela Hoy

As prices go up across the board, and as unemployment continues, many authors would like to get their books on the market but simply can't afford it. While firms like Author Solutions (owner of AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford and more) are squeezing authors out of thousands to tens of thousands of dollars (which we're betting most authors will never recover in resulting book sales), BookLocker is going in the opposite direction - publishing packages for any budget. …

Having a “Typo Contest” is a HORRIBLE Idea!

Published on November 21, 2012

Having a “Typo Contest” is a HORRIBLE Idea!

An author told me the other day he found a typo in his proof, adding "I'll probably leave it and send $5.00 to the first three readers that spot it and tell 'em it was test to see if they actually read the book..." I was completely honest, and told him that would be a HORRIBLE idea. …

Does that “Fictitious” Website in Your Novel Already Belong to Somebody Else?

Published on November 7, 2012

Does that “Fictitious” Website in Your Novel Already Belong to Somebody Else?

Recently, I noticed a URL for a fictitious website in a book I was formatting. I pasted the URL into my browser and, sure enough, it was a real website. The fictitious usage was for a humorous book but the actual website was a suicide prevention one. Had the author used that URL, it would not have only been in very poor taste, but it could have also resulted in a lawsuit. …

Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Fall, 2012 24-Hour Short Story Contest!

Published on October 31, 2012

For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Fall, 2012 24-Hour Short Story Contest. In case you're not familiar with our quarterly contest, this is how it works. On the date of the contest, at start-time, we send out the topic for that specific contest to all registered entrants, while also posting it online. Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories. The stories "must deal with the topic in some way to qualify" and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count. After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack. …

AUTHORS BEGGING FOR CASH ONLINE? INSULTING!! – Angela Hoy

Published on October 17, 2012

Warning - Some may be offended by today's column. I used to get SO annoyed when somebody would send me an email asking me to "click here!" to vote for their story or book or whatever on some website that was basically running popularity contests. There's something FAR worse now and it involves not begging for votes, but begging for CASH. …

Featuring Real People in Your Writing? Protect Yourself From Lawsuits! – Angela Hoy

Published on October 10, 2012

Last week an author submitted a book that contained some of his friends' life experiences. I, of course, asked him if he had obtained legal releases from his friends to include their stories in his book. He had not. What's the big deal, you ask? His friends voluntarily contributed to the book, right? Yes, they did. But, they might change their minds about doing so someday. …

Yet Another Website Lifts our Copyrighted Material – Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com

Published on September 26, 2012

Yet Another Website Lifts our Copyrighted Material – Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com

Awhile back, I found some of our original paying market listings for writers featured on the The Markham Village Writers' Group website, markhamvillagewriters.com. Below are copies of my exchange with the founder and moderator of The Markham Village Writers' Group website, Donna Marrin. I have paraphrased the responses by Donna Marrin below. Needless to say, we were pretty shocked that someone running a website for writers thought it was okay to pluck original content from other websites! …

WORLD’S WORST BOOK PROPOSALS

Published on August 22, 2012

Today, I'm going to share another installment of our popular column, World's Worst Book Proposals. Yes, we can learn from others' mistakes! …

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

Published on August 15, 2012

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... …

Who Gets Your Book(s) When You Die? – Yet Another Case of Heirs Fighting Over an Author’s Copyrights

Published on August 8, 2012

Who Gets Your Book(s) When You Die? – Yet Another Case of Heirs Fighting Over an Author’s Copyrights

Ug! It happened again! We were contacted last week by a woman claiming to be the daughter of one of our authors. After logging into his author account, she posted a note, saying he'd died last month and she wanted his future royalty checks mailed to her. I checked the author's contract and - UH OH. In the beneficiary clause, the author had assigned his copyrights, control of his author account, and all future royalties to someone else (a female friend / associate), not to his daughter. …

POD SECRETS REVEALED: The Vanity Trap – Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com

Published on August 1, 2012

Writing a book is hard. Publishing and promotion can be difficult as well. Most authors are professionals but some still fall for the outrageous marketing verbiage dished out by some of the Print on Demand (P.O.D.) publishers. A lot of this garbage is downright insulting. Do authors really fall for this stuff? Unfortunately, some do! …

Can You Republish Amazon Reviews? Maybe, or Maybe Not… By Angela Hoy

Published on July 25, 2012

At BookLocker.com, authors frequently copy and paste their Amazon reviews (in their entirety!) into an email, asking us to republish those reviews on their book page on our site. Doing so would be a copyright violation. Other authors also contact me on occasion asking if they can republish Amazon's reviews. Here's what I tell all of them. …

Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Spring, 2012 24-Hour Short Story Contest!

Published on June 13, 2012

For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Spring, 2012 24-Hour Short Story Contest. In case you're not familiar with our quarterly contest, this is how it works. On the date of the contest, at start-time, we send out the topic for that specific contest to all registered entrants, while also posting it online. Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories. The stories "must deal with the topic in some way to qualify" and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count. After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack. So, today, taste the salt on your lips and feel the sun baking your skin... …

When A Book Contributor Threatens To Sue

Published on June 6, 2012

When A Book Contributor Threatens To Sue

I received a frantic email from an author over the weekend who'd been threatened with a lawsuit. Of course, the first thing I told her was that I'm not a lawyer and that I can't give legal advice. I then calmly told her to send me a file containing all the correspondence between her and the angry contributor because I'm always happy to give my non-lawyer opinion about a situation. Here's what happened... …

THE CONTRACT CLAUSE THAT SHOULD BE ILLEGAL!

Published on May 30, 2012

There are many content mills out there that have a confusing, vague, or buried clause in their contract that states contributors won't receive a check until the amount owed meets a specific threshold. In many cases, contributors never reach that threshold. They end up terminating their contract, hoping to receive payment for the paltry amount they are owed...but then realize the contract terms prevent them from EVER receiving a payment until/unless that threshold is met. That means the writer has done all that work - for free... …

How to Collect and Organize Stories for a Non-Fiction Book

Published on May 16, 2012

How to Collect and Organize Stories for a Non-Fiction Book

Many authors publish (and pay for) stories from others to include in their non-fiction collections. One author sent me this question last week: What I could really use is a template or some kind of information on the format and layout for this type of book to be published with BookLocker. I've got my ideas, can write them and have a publisher with guts to get this done, being you. The market is there for mostly physical books but I will also sell them in ebook format. Can you point me in the right direction? …

Reader Comments = Marketing Blurbs! By Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Published on May 9, 2012

Reader Comments = Marketing Blurbs! By Angela Hoy and Richard Hoy

Don't wait for somebody to post something to your book's page on Amazon. Ask readers, via your website and your newsletter, and even during the ordering process on your website (if you're processing your own orders), to submit their comments about your book to you by email or through an automated form on your website... …

Boldly Assuming You “Can’t Be Sued” Will Likely Lead to a Lawsuit

Published on March 28, 2012

Boldly Assuming You “Can’t Be Sued” Will Likely Lead to a Lawsuit

An author recently asked me about using real people (friends, relatives, acquaintances) in a novel. I told her doing so would be very risky from a legal standpoint. She assumed just calling the book "fiction" would protect her from a lawsuit. She also assumed simply changing a few names would also protect her from a lawsuit. …

Just Because I Rejected Your Manuscript Doesn’t Mean I’m a Racist, Homophobe, Anti-Semite, etc. By Angela Hoy

Published on March 21, 2012

Last week, I was absolutely STUNNED when I discovered a comment online from a rejected author who said I "discriminate." I am one of the most laid-back, easy-going, and accepting people you'd ever meet. During my life, I have had friends and boyfriends of many different races and religions. I have friends and relatives who are gay, straight, and bi. I, personally, don't think there is any one religion favored by God so who am I to decide if there are any right or wrong ones? Everybody should have an equal chance to publish their own feelings on faith, provided, of course, their manuscript does not promote hurting others... …

1 … 16 17 18 19 20 … 27