Narcissist: a person who has an excessive interest in or admiration of themselves.
Diva: a self-important person who is temperamental and difficult to please

– Source: Oxford Languages

I don’t know about you but I’d rather do business with a limited number of really nice people, and live a peaceful life with less money, than work with narcissistic customers. At BookLocker, all of our employees are of the same mindset. We are not in this business to make a fortune. We just want to work hard to help professional (and kind!) authors get their words out to the world – with outstanding customer service, and affordable rates.

Not only do we vet manuscripts for quality and, of course, sales potential, but we also vet authors. When you offer the best service in the industry at a fabulous price, you can choose your clients.

I am certainly no diva. I’m not averse to getting my hands dirty on the job (or anywhere else). I’m the President and CEO but you’ll still find me answering authors’ questions, and providing advice to them all day long (including batting around marketing ideas for specific books, which I love to do!). When my awesome folks get bogged down, I jump in, and help with everything, including book formatting, cover design, creating book trailers, and dozens of other things. And, I’m very happy to do it. I LOVE MY JOB! People who know me know I’m a down-to-Earth chick who never thinks I’m “above” any task at all.

And, that’s why I have zero tolerance for snotty people.

Most recently, an author who previously co-wrote a book with a (now deceased) major celebrity contacted me about republishing her book. She was looking for higher royalties. And, since even traditional publishers make their authors do their own marketing now (especially backlist authors), it would be wise for her to move to a publisher that pays double the rate she’s currently earning, and that offers the same distribution – Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, BooksAMillion, Walmart.com, Target.com, etc.

I read part of her book online, and sent her a response with details about our services, and telling her we’d love to work with her.

Of course, I figured she’d done her homework. But, alas, she had not. She’d clicked on the contact form on our website but she never clicked to read about our services, and the fact that they are not free.

My email was (horrors!) insulting and the dastardly diva sure showed me! She wrote back, saying she was a “real writer,” and that she refused to pay to get her book republished. She said someone else (not her) needs to promote her book. She is clearly FAR too important for that lowly task.

In case some of you don’t know, there are some traditionally published authors who considered self-published authors the inbreds of the industry. Yes, there are mountains of narcissistic comments online from traditionally published authors whose obscure books are nowhere to be found (out of print entirely) but who think anyone who pays to have his or her book published is the lowest common denominator anywhere, ever. Period.

And, I have news for them…that most of them already know. Most traditionally published authors don’t earn enough on book sales to pay their bills. Not even close. But, I know many self-published authors who are making a living promoting and selling their own self-published books. The difference is they are hard-working folks who aren’t “too important” to pound the virtual pavement. They don’t consider themselves “above” getting their hands dirty, and promoting their own works. And, they’re earning far higher royalty percentages than their traditionally published counterparts.

And, I have more news for Diva Debbie and others like her. If your book isn’t selling, it’s because YOU’RE are not promoting it. In other words, if they spent time promoting their books instead of criticizing self-published authors, their bank accounts would be a LOT fatter.

Even if Diva Debbie managed to land another traditional publishing contract (she won’t – no publisher wants to buy the rights to a dead-on-arrival backlist book that an author refuses to promote), she would still be required to promote her own book because, unless your name is something like Stephen King or Tom Clancy, your traditional publisher isn’t going to invest any money in your book. That’s right. No magazine or newspaper ads. No book tours and signings all over the country (or anywhere for that matter). No book reviews in People Magazine (or anywhere else), etc.

Traditional publishers earn their profits on their celebrity authors, and they hope and pray one of their unknown authors will “make it,” and become another celebrity author. But, the count on that unknown author to make themselves known.

And, co-authors of autobiographies of dead celebrities are not those authors. Of course, that author could earn a lot of money on that book if she took off her crown, and put on a laborer’s cap. But (sniff and harrrumph!!), she’s too good for that!

With each passing year, fewer traditional publishers are taking chances on unknown authors. They’d rather publish a piece of garbage by an “A-list influencer” (whatever that is) than publish a fantastic, potentially groundbreaking literary work by an unknown author.

After receiving Diva Debbie’s snotty diatribe, I just couldn’t resist. I Googled her. With that ego, she most certainly must have some best sellers under her belt, right? Nope! She has co-authored two books. She has never written a book on her own. They were published by the same small company (that I’d never heard of). The cover designs are awful. One doesn’t even have an excerpt on Amazon and the quotes on the back cover aren’t even about the book, nor, the author! I’m still trying to wrap my head around that…

Just because a company doesn’t charge an author to put their book on the market doesn’t mean they know what they’re doing. Clearly, this publisher doesn’t do design NOR book promotion well…or at all.

I suspect that Diva Debbie is going to do what most authors do who send me a stuck-up response. She will shop around, discover she can’t get another traditional contract, will research self-publishing services, find that the best customer service and price are at BookLocker, and contact me once again. And, since she previously showed her true colors, I will tell her we are no longer interested. People with egos like that only  devolve over time. The longer you know them, the worse they treat you. If you’ve ever known a narcissist, you know what I’m talking about.

Our website clearly states “we don’t work with jerks. ” Life’s too short to do business with mean and/or rude people. There are plenty of really nice, kind, sweet authors who want to partner with equally nice folks. Those are the authors we invite into the BookLocker family.

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Got questions about Print On Demand and Self-publishing? Ask Angela Hoy.

About The Author

Angela Hoy is the publisher of WritersWeekly.com, the author of 19 books, and the co-owner of BookLocker.com (one of the original POD publishers that still gets books to market in less than a month), PubPreppers.com (print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish), and Abuzz Press (the publishing co-op that charges no setup fees).

Angela has lived and traveled across the U.S. with her kids in an RV, settled in a river-side home in Bradenton, FL, and lived on a 52 ft Irwin sailboat. Angela now resides on a mountaintop in Northwest Georgia, where she plans to spend the rest of her days bird watching, gardening, hiking, and taking in all of the amazing sunrises.

WritersWeekly.com - the free marketing ezine for writers, which features new paying markets and freelance job listings every Wednesday.

BookLocker.com - According to attorney Mark Levine, author of The Fine Print, BookLocker is: "As close to perfection as you're going to find in the world of ebook and POD publishing. The ebook royalties are the highest I've ever seen, and the print royalties are better than average. BookLocker understands what new authors experience, and have put together a package that is the best in the business. You can't go wrong here. Plus, they're selective and won't publish any manuscript just because it's accompanied by a check. Also, the web site is well trafficked. If you can find a POD or epublisher with as much integrity and dedication to selling authors' books, but with lower POD publishing fees, please let me know."

Abuzz Press offers FAST and FREE book publication, but only accepts a small percentage of submissions, and only works with U.S. authors.

PubPreppers.com - "We Prep, You Publish!" Print and ebook design for authors who truly want to self-publish. Offers formatting and design services only, and then provides simple instructions for authors on where to sign up to have the print and ebook editions printed/listed/sold. Cut out the middle man. Keep 100% of what bookstores pay for your book!

Angela's POD Secrets Revealed Series can be found HERE.

Have a POD Book with another publisher? See if BookLocker can give you a better deal. (BookLocker offers "disgruntled author discounts" to those who want to move from other POD services.)

See BookLocker's publishing packages HERE.

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Angela is the creator of the Original 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
https://24hourshortstorycontest.com/

Read More Of Angela's Articles HERE

So, You Wanna Be a Ghostwriter - How To Make Money Writing Without a Byline

Many freelance writers find it difficult to break into the publishing world. What they don't know, however, is that there's a faster and easier way to see their words in print. It's called ghostwriting, and it's an extremely lucrative, fun, and challenging career.

But how do you get started as a ghostwriter? How do you find new clients who will pay you to write their material? How do you charge? And what kind of contracts do you need to succeed? All these questions and more are answered in So, You Wanna Be a Ghostwriter...How to Make Money Writing Without a Byline.

Read more here:
https://writersweekly.com/books/49.html