World’s Worst Query Letters and Book Proposals For December, 2016!
Oh, yes! We know you’re excited!! Today, we’re going to share another installment of our popular…
Angela’s Desk
Want to Get Sued by a Model? Put His/Her Stock Photo on the Cover of Your Controversial Book!
If someone purchases a photo from a reputable stock agency, they are NOT permitted to use that photo in any way they choose.…
2016 BEST OF WRITERSWEEKLY! Make $10K+ Selling Erotica, COMPLAINTS about CreateSpace and Lulu, UPDATED Print on Demand Price Comparison, the 24-HOUR Short Story Contest, Writing & Selling Devotionals, Paying Christian Markets for Writers, and So Much More!
This week, I’m sharing our 20 “most clicked on” articles for 2016. Some of these were published before 2016 but they remain popular, and one (#11) isn't related to writing at all, but describes a very difficult day for our family. Enjoy!…
11 Paying Seasonal Markets For Writers + Holiday Money-Making Tips! by Angela Hoy
While it's too late to sell Christmas articles to magazines, some websites and blogs may still be interested in your seasonal ideas. As you drink a frothy hot chocolate, feel the warmth of the crackling fireplace, and gaze at candles and twinkle lights, grab a small notebook because it's the perfect time of year to create a list of seasonal ideas to pitch to magazines, blogs, websites, and book publishers - all year long!…
AWKWARD HOLIDAY GATHERINGS! When Relatives Say They Bought Your Book (But They Didn’t) by Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com, BookLocker.com, Abuzz Press and PubPreppers.com
Over the years, in every case where a sale from a relative was never reported by Ingram or us, it has been the result of the relative fibbing to the author about buying their book so as not to hurt the author’s feelings.…
The Cold, Hard, Ugly Facts about Traditional Publishing…and Why You Might Want to Avoid It Altogether by Angela Hoy
This week, we're going to discuss the (incorrect) assumptions many authors have about the "holy grails" of traditional publishing.…
7 BENEFITS of Self-Publishing! (And, reasons you may want to avoid the traditional route) by Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com, BookLocker.com, ABuzz Press and PubPreppers.com
Find out why YOU should be self-publishing!…
World’s Worst Query Letters and Book Proposals For November, 2016!
Oh, yes! We know you’re excited!! Today, we’re going to share another installment of our popular…
“Amazon Won’t Remove My Book! Are They Violating My Copyright?”
Anybody with an Ingram account (like the resellers listing it on Amazon) can pick up Ingram's feed, and can list the book for sale on Amazon, or anywhere else, including sites like ebay. By the way, I checked and your book IS for sale on Ebay as well. Many of those resellers have thousands of books for sale and they really don't care if a book is later inactivated. They also don't appear to care about the accuracy of their listings since there are countless errors appearing on Amazon.…
How We Prepare The “Home Office For HURRICANES! By Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com, BookLocker.com, AbuzzBooks.com and PubPreppers.com
After several notes from concerned authors, we posted an update to the website that details what we do to prepare for hurricanes. It includes info. about our services being located in another state, our four (yes, four!) different ways of accessing the Internet in a crunch, food and water storage, and even an update on what our employee Brian, who works on a boat, does to prepare his "home," and much more.…
What’s The Secret to Ongoing, Consistent BOOK SALES? by Angela Hoy, WritersWeekly.com & BookLocker.com
Many authors want to blame the publisher, the printer, the distributor and even retailers for their lack of book sales and some get offended when I'm honest, and tell them it's their lack of promotional activities that has led to decreased or non-existent book sales. Authors get bored with book promotion. Even one week of lower sales can lead to discouragement, spurring many authors to start a new book (or watch puppy videos on YouTube, or share recipes on Facebook, or binge-watch Netflix) instead of promoting the book they already have up for sale.…
World’s Worst Query Letters and Book Proposals For September, 2016!
Oh, yes! We know you’re excited!! Today, we're going to share another installment of our popular column, World’s Worst Book Proposals and Query Letters. Featured below are real quotes from query letters and book proposals submitted to us over the past few weeks.…
CREATESPACE COMPLAINTS (now known as KDP Print) – PART IV
CreateSpace is a mess. The process to get the proof is no problem. Everything was going swell until I ordered 50 copies on the 9th of January and chose expedited shipping. They shipped it standard, then it took 5 days to print the book, then another 5 days to get it to USPS. Then it was sent off, only to be delayed another 2 days. Now it's the 20th and I need it for a book signing on the 23rd and there's no way it's getting from Pennsylvania to Lafayette, Louisiana in 2 days. Hopefully your service will be done correctly.…
Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Summer, 2016 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
For the past six weeks, we’ve spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the WritersWeekly Summer, 2016 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 on WritersWeekly.com.…
HELP! MY PUBLISHER IS GOING OUT OF BUSINESS!! How Can I SAVE MY BOOK Without Going Broke?!
Over the last 2 weeks, we've received reports from authors that another well-known P.O.D. publisher recently kicked the bucket. In their email notice (which used the word "regret," but offered no apologies, nor an explanation), they told authors to pay them ($250 to $300 per author!) if they wanted copies of their production files and an ISBN. That's right. AFTER those authors paid upwards of $1,000, $2,000 or even more to get published, the publisher is trying to drain their wallets further...as they're kicking those authors out the door...…
PART II! THINGS GOT NASTY! – Author With Dementia…Or Victim of Daughter’s Deceit?
...she came out swingin'! She sent me a scathing email, laden with typos (which was odd because she claims to be a "mental health professional" with a PhD), saying that my note to her father forced her to discuss this with her father before she was ready to do so (remember that part for later). She made allegations about her dad being verbally abusive toward his wife. She made some other pretty disturbing accusations about him as well. She said I shouldn't have contacted him without having medical or psychological training (what?!).…
Author With Dementia…Or Victim Of Daughter’s Deceit? Who Would You Believe?! By Angela Hoy
We had an uncomfortable situation arise at BookLocker.com this week. Read what happened below and, if you have any input or an opinion about this situation, please share your wisdom in the comments section below.…
WritersWeekly Investigative Reporter Goes Undercover to Investigate POD Publishers! By Brian Whiddon, a.k.a. “Secret Squirrel”
GUEST POST FROM BRIAN WHIDDON Brian Whiddon, the new Operations Manager at WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com, recently…
We Just Hired An Ex-cop And Veteran…Who Lives On A Boat – By Angela Hoy
Our one-on-one, owner-to-customer service isn't changing. Richard and I will still have direct contact with our WritersWeekly and BookLocker families. But, we are shifting things around a bit. Richard has always performed the majority of the back-end computer work, which can be taught to someone else. He really wants to get more books on the market under his own name. I haven't released a new book in two years myself and I finally realized that I might never release another one if we didn't hire someone to help with some of my activities. For example...accounting. Like many writers, I DETEST accounting and anything even remotely related to math. (Ug! Why didn't I hire someone to do that years ago?!)…
(Groan!) Common Themes That Pop Up in EVERY 24-Hour Short Story Contest…
When’s the next 24-Hour Short Story Contest? Find the date RIGHT HERE! During the WritersWeekly.com quarterly…
Why Sweat Outside When You Can Write In The Air Conditioning?! The Summer 24-Hour Short Story Contest IS THIS SATURDAY!!!
The Summer, 2016 Short Story Contest will start at 12:00 p.m. (noon) central time THIS SATURDAY, July 9th. Rather than sweating and getting a sunburn, spend the day in the cool air conditioning, and come play with us!…
OUCH! Some So-Called “Authors” Should NOT Be Writing Books! By Angela Hoy
If I was truly honest, and told them to give up the craft, or to go to back to school (some of these folks literally need to start all over at the Kindergarten level), I would be harassed for eternity. Most people simply can't accept or comprehend the truth and, no matter how reasonable or gentle your message to them is, they will never believe it and they will hate you for delivering it. They may even try to destroy your reputation online through libelous, anonymous posts.…
Authors, Check Your Ego at the Door…and You Just Might Sell Some Books! By Angela Hoy
Oh, if I had a nickel for every time my honest, professional words "hurt" an author's feelings...…
World’s Worst Query Letters and Book Proposals For June, 2016!
Oh, yes! We know you’re excited!! Today, I’m going to share another installment of our popular column, World’s Worst Book Proposals and Query Letters. Featured below are real quotes from query letters and book proposals submitted to us over the past few weeks.…
Needlessly Splitting One Book Into Three? Publisher Finds Yet ANOTHER Way To Drain Authors’ Wallets!
Their cheapest publishing package is more than $1,000. If they can convince an author to split one book into three, that author will then pay $3,000 instead of $1,000! Of course, that salesperson will triple their commission as well.…
Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Spring, 2016 24-Hour Short Story Contest! By Angela Hoy
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the WritersWeekly Spring, 2016 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 on WritersWeekly.com.…
BookBaby’s Unfair Contract Clause! By Angela Hoy
We were recently contacted by an author who was unhappy with BookBaby, and wanted to move his book to BookLocker. But, after sending us his files, and discussing formatting, etc., he asked about how to terminate his contract with BookBaby. I told him to read his BookBaby contract, find the termination clause, and follow the instructions there. He found his contract, read it, and wrote me back, not at all happy with what he discovered...…
22 Signs That So-Called “Publisher” is an AUTHOR MILL! By Angela Hoy
What is an Author Mill? The term was originally coined by Victoria Strauss of Writer Beware. It described publishers that focus on quantity, not quality. However, she limited the term to describing "publishers" that didn't charge authors up-front fees, but that still published anything and everything, quickly pushing large volumes of sub-standard books onto the market. Unfortunately, many authors later learned that this type of publishing isn't really "free" at all. …
POD SECRETS REVEALED: Book Contests for a Publisher’s Authors? Pppfffttt!!! By Angela Hoy
Playing on an author's vanity is one of the most common marketing ploys used in the publishing services industry. From promises of wealth and fame to ridiculous "your book can be a movie!" promotions, there is seemingly nothing these clowns won't do to dig deeper into their authors' pockets. …
“Special Event Signings” Sell Far More Books Than Bookstore Signings! (Or “Why Should I Order Copies Of My Own Book?”)
I received the following question from an author last week: Why would any author buy copies of their book instead of referring people to Amazon or another store? His email went on to say that he knows we don't usually recommend book signings at bookstores and he was curious why an author would need copies for any reason other than a bookstore signing. …
A Funny And FREE Book About The Public Domain!
I'm absolutely buried after taking four days off to go on a cruise...that ended up having horrid wifi capabilities. Luckily, my friend, attorney Harvey Randall, sent me this goody to share...…
Marketing Your Book to Conference Attendees (when you’re not even there!)
Have you ever been to a business conference or workshop and received a bag of goodies as you walked in the door? Have you ever won a door prize at one of these conferences or workshops? Wouldn't it be great to be able to market your book to people attending a conference that complements your books topic...even if you're not there? …
P.O.D. PRICE COMPARISON – Updated 04/15/16 – How much are these publishers charging authors?
Here is our annually updated POD Price Comparison!…
PRINT ON DEMAND (POD) PRICE COMPARISON
UPDATED: 04/15/2016 SUMMARY (see details about each firm below) BookLocker: $675 (Deduct $200 if submitting your…
START-TIME IS SATURDAY! Last Chance to Sign Up for Spring, 2016 24-Hour Short Story Contest!!
Saturday (tomorrow), at 12:00 p.m. (noon) Central Time, the topic of the WritersWeekly Spring, 2016 24-Hour Short Story Contest will be sent out via email to all registered participants, as well as posted to the WritersWeekly.com website...…
Has Your Book Been Displayed At A Large Book Fair? How Many Copies Did You Sell?
At the last book fair I attended, there were countless lonely authors sitting behind tables, offering to autograph their books...…