I was spammed this week by an organization that hosts book fairs. Of course, it’s all online again this year. No in-person meetings. No people walking around viewing books laid out on tables. Nobody shaking hands with literary agents. It’s really…nothing of value to authors AT ALL.

This organization is saying that “meetings” will be held online. And, there will be “digital presentations.”

Here’s what’s disturbing to me. They still want authors to pay waaaaaay too much money to “virtually attend,” and they still want authors to (get this!) send PHYSICAL COPIES of their books to the company!

The authors have to pay for those physical copies.

The authors must pay to have those books shipped.

And, yet, there will be no humans there to BUY those books!

Why can’t the authors simply upload the covers and descriptions of their books? (I have a sneaking suspicion that the organization soliciting free books will end up selling those online later.)

Regular book fairs don’t turn profits for authors, either. So, this whole virtual book fair business is, in my opinion, complete garbage.

Don’t fall for the sales pitches. There are FAR BETTER (AND FREE!) WAYS to promote your book!

RELATED

• Book Fairs – Worth The Effort? By Angela Hoy
• Do NOT Pay Someone to Showcase Your Book at a “Virtual Book Fair!”
• “Should I pay $750 to have my book displayed at a large book fair?” NO!!!
• Should I Pay Money to Display My Book at Book Fairs?
• Company Selling Book Fair Appearances Spammed Me. Should I Send Them Money?

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.

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TRAVEL WRITING 2.0: Earning Money from your Travels in the New Media Landscape - SECOND EDITION

Completely revised edition of the ground-breaking travel writing book that provides a road map to success in the digital age. It dives headlong into the entrepreneurial world of blogging and digital books, while still acknowledging the real money to be made in declining print forms.

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