I’ve received dozens of emails over the past couple of weeks asking for my opinion about Amazon’s decision to delete specific ebooks from their customers’ Kindle machines. Basically, this is what happened.
Hi Angela,
Just wanted to pass on my thanks for your terrific answer to the July 15th question on your site. I’m sick beyond measure of the proliferation of these lousy offers, which exist because fools take them.
I posted a link to your site on my blog today. Thanks once again for helping educate the writing masses!
Lori Widmer
Writing & Editing
https://www.loriwidmer.com
Have you, as an author, ever considered donating a copy of your book to your local library? Did you know libraries (and other institutions) typically require donors of such materials to sign a gift contract? Would you even bother to read the contract or would you simply assume it was entirely innocent (it’s a library, for Pete’s sake), and sign on the dotted line?
I’m feeling a little stupid – I read on your website that iUniverse gives authors only a 20% royalty for a book sold on Amazon. However, if I understand correctly, your royalty (for wholesale orders) is only 15%, which is even less. What am I missing?
Gosh, it sure would be nice to take a summer vacation that doesn’t involve a trip to the E.R.! See:
https://www.wirelesstrips.com/day-16-it-wouldnt-be-vacation-without-a-trip-to-the-er
My latest update is here:
https://www.wirelesstrips.com
This week’s Maxism:
My sister, who came to visit us at a campground near her home, said she needed to change her baby’s diaper.
Max asked, “Is his diaper sweaty?”
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments – Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts? Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension Magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies – $11,300; and many more! See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K – $100K Publishing Contracts – Want to read real book proposals that landed these contracts? Simon and Schuster – $100,000; Berkeley Books – $25,000; Osborne-McGraw-Hill – $19,500; Random House $15,000; and many more! See a complete list here: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/3332.html
I often receive emails from editors who, first, point out an error I’ve made and, second, offer their editing services to me. I’m always happy to receive friendly and constructive criticism and I’m thrilled when somebody points out my oops before thousands of others see it. I don’t, however, hire freelance editors who do this because editing is truly an art and I won’t hire an editor I don’t know. There are far too many so-called editors in business today who have no business editing. There is no licensing requirement for editors so anybody can slap up a website and call themselves an editor. I frequently hear from authors who are trying to get their money back from a freelance editor who actually introduced more errors to their book than they fixed.
This Week:
It was a pleasant Sunday afternoon when I began scanning one of the several Internet law blogs that I read with some degree of regularity.
The post happened to be a bit longer than normal and as I scrolled down I noticed a reference to two of my books published by BookLocker in the blog’s right sidebar. Thinking that this might be a link to BookLocker’s site on which these books are listed or, perhaps, a review by a reader, I clicked on the first title, The Discipline Book.
Instead of a link to BookLocker, which publishes a number of my books, or a review, I was greeted by the book’s title page. Hmmm, I thought as I scrolled down, perhaps the blogger has posted some examples from the text. Not so, I quickly learned. Instead of seeing a review, or a link to BookLocker, or an excerpt or two from the book, I was confounded to see the entire text of the book, all 564 pages of it, posted on the site.
How can I get my book into bookstores? Would I go up to the purchasing agent of that bookstore and tell them about my book? Or will they not work with me?
It all started with the elderly greeter at Wal-Mart. “I saw your picture in the paper,” he said. “You’re a writer, huh?”
I nodded, somewhat embarrassed that he’d recognized me. But I live in a small town where getting published was enough to land you a front page spot. Above the fold, no less.
“So have you been published in other things?” The greeter continued.
I shrugged and said, “I don’t like to brag, but yes, I’ve had more than 300 articles and short stories published, mostly in parenting magazines and religious publications. I’ve been writing pretty much my whole life, and I’ve been doing it for publication for the last five years. I’m currently under contract to write my first book.”
The greeter nodded, seeming impressed by my credentials. “All my life, I’ve wanted to get published, but I don’t know how to go about it. Hey, maybe you could help me!”
