Another Day, Another Cheapskate “Publisher” Looking for Free Labor
If I had a nickel for every time a hobbyist “publisher” sent me a “help wanted” ad for writers offering no pay, I’d be able to order pizza every single night.
Letters To The Editor For July 7th
Letters will return next week.
Selling Books Like a Client Advisor By Alice J. Wisler
As authors with books, we can learn from client advisors. True, what each of us really wants is to sell is a 328i or a romance novel. But the manner in which we do our selling is key to staying credible and authentic in a society that is filled with irritating sales folk. Plenty of authors push their paperbacks as though they are better than immortality. This can be exhausting for the customer. The real question to ponder is, do you care about your readership? Does it show?
When Contest Fees Make Sense By Ruth Schiffmann
I don’t relish the thought of admitting to my husband (or anyone else, for that matter) that this writing obsession of mine has put our finances into the red. As a means of avoiding that fate, I usually halfheartedly skim over contest listings in newsletters and blogs the same way I sort through my mail to weed out the junk. No matter how “legit” a contest was, if it required an entry fee, I would rule it out. Am I cheap? Maybe, or maybe I know how easy it would be to shell out a little bit here, a little bit there, always with my eyes on the prize until I had nothing left to show for myself but scraps of paper and tiny little pencil nubs.
A Movie Audition!
On Sunday, Max and I, along with Frank’s friend, Caleb, went to a movie audition. Pretty cool, huh? It’s for an indie film but they have quite a few speaking parts, along with the need for lots of extras. Filming is only during the summer and it won’t be a full-time thing so we thought…why not? I’ve auditioned for a TV reporter gig (got that years and years ago) and a high school musical (I got a non-speaking “Lady in Waiting” part and I got to sing…but not a solo) but I’ve never auditioned for a movie before. It was so much FUN!
HOW TO REMEMBER, WRITE AND PUBLISH YOUR LIFE STORY
Angela’s Hoy’s popular online class, now available in book format!
If you’ve always wanted to write your life story, but have a hard time recalling your memories, check out Angela’s memory triggers / autobiography book! (Works for biographers / ghostwriters, too!)
Excerpted from How to Remember, Write and Publish Your Life Story.
This excerpt may be reprinted/redistruted in its entirety as long as the entire excerpt, bio, and all featured links are included.
LESSON #1 EXCERPT: WHAT’S A MEMORY TRIGGER?
A memory trigger is one word that will bring forth not one, but several memories. The memory triggers featured in this book are going to evoke hundreds of memories from different years in your life. Memory triggers have
a way of spurring your brain to remember things you haven
When Weary Authors Say Their Book is “Good Enough”
Angela,
All I can say is “AMEN!” Maybe it’s because I’ve been around for a l-o-n-g time, but like you I grow increasingly weary of lazy mistakes made by lazy/uneducated writers and so-called editors. Is it too much to ask for sentences that actually make sense? That aren’t riddled with typos?
It’s sad to think that the public doesn’t care anymore, and continues to consume the increasing amounts of cr** being offered. Freelancers will go on pumping out trash if that’s what the publishers want. (I recall coming across an ad once on one of the freelance job boards in which the buyer wanted a large number of 500-word articles that “don’t have to be good or even grammatically correct. They just have to be unique.” I began looking at giving up the keyboard and becoming a greeter at WalMart.)
As always, keep up the great work!
Cordially,
Jeff Adams
Jeff Adams Copywriting
Handcrafted in small batches to ensure freshness
https://www.jeffcopy.com
—
When I sent my electronic manuscript to (a very large POD publisher) they added errors to it but they were common typing errors. That is what I find that is erroneous with some editors that re-type the manuscript when they do not have to and like (that large POD publisher), add errors and delete sentences that were not deleted before just to get me to pay to have the book edited. What happened is that I was blamed for those errors afterwards by some that read some if it, but not all of it. A suggestion that helped me out nine years ago, which I follow completely now, is no matter what you write, even email, edit it. Those things that do not seem important will plague the rest of your writing.
George Arnold Hall
https://www.georgearnoldhall.ca
twitter: @georgeahall
Business: George Arnold Hall’s Pen and Pencil
Writer / Developer
Works done or in Progress:
Series: Immortals of Scar (more info at georgearnoldhall.ca)
Could You Be a Freelance Translator? By Aline Lechaye
Are you bilingual, or perhaps trilingual? Maybe you lived or studied abroad. Maybe you were raised bilingual. Whatever the reason, do you consider yourself fluent in your various languages? Can you jump easily from one to the other? If the answer to those two questions is yes, then you might be able to become a translator.
Can I Use One Publishing Company’s Templates at Another?
I published my book with a company that offers “templates” for formatting an author’s book and cover. Can I just send you those files for you to print from?
Freelance for Newspapers by Being the Middleman (or Woman) By Jill Pertler
Newspapers have a number of characteristics that can benefit writers. They are published regularly and frequently. Their purpose is information dissemination through the written word. They are in need of good copy, which leads directly to a need for good writers.