A writer contacted me last week, pitching an article on how freelancers can become successful playwrights or screenwriters. Now, I've been in this business long enough to know that profitable freelance playwriting and screenwriting is about as common as becoming a highly paid actor... …
When you were a teenager, did you ever have friends who tried to trick their parents? Perhaps your girlfriend told her mother things like: "Don't you remember, Mom? You said we could stay out an hour late tonight!" "But, Mom, you told me just last week that I could use your credit card at the mall!" "Mother, you promised to pay me $10 for babysitting, not $8!" Of course, these mothers probably thought they were developing early dementia. I didn't fall for those shenanigans from our kids. (At least, I don't think I did!) Unfortunately, some people still use similar tactics in the business world... …
Wow! That nice P.O.D. publishing house representative wants to hear "more about your book!" Is it finished yet? Did you need to have it edited? Are you going to included pictures? What's your target market? Do you think that "nice" P.O.D. publishing house rep really gives a hoot about your book? Don't fool yourself... …
Today, I'm going to share another installment of our popular column, World's Worst Book Proposals and Query Letters. Yes, we can learn from others' mistakes! Featured below are real quotes from book proposals and query letters submitted to us over the past few months. …
This week, I'm sharing links to winning stories from the last 3 years of WritersWeekly Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest, along with each topic... …
I have published a few non-fiction anthologies over the years and they have all been successful, both from a research and publishing standpoint in the beginning, and a sales standpoint later. There is a right and wrong way to collect and publish stories contributed by others. In Part I of this series, we discussed how much to pay contributors, what rights to request, and what steps to take before you start soliciting stories. In Part II, we discussed the contract (and included a sample), how to find writers/contributors, what not to do, tracking contributors, email introductions, acceptance and rejection form letters (including samples), ordering contributions by email, and contributor payments. Today, we're going to discuss editing, formatting and publishing your anthology... …
I have always been offended by over-the-top marketing verbiage. Saying something is a "good deal" is one thing but trying to tell me a product or service is going to "make my dreams come true" is insulting to an individual's intelligence. I always wonder how people can fall for so much of the garbage being shoved our way by marketing executives these days... …
At BookLocker.com, whenever I notice a mistake in a book, I alert the author. If I notice a few, I will send them a list. These errors can range from the occasional misuse of a word (their vs. there, for example), or a formatting inconsistency (Chapter 1, Chapter Two, etc.), to something like the author's misuse of the term Prologue at the end of the book (should be Epilogue). Since we send the formatted file back to the author for any final changes, they have the opportunity to make any corrections at no extra charge at that point in the process. Alerting the author when we notice an error helps them avoid future reader complaints and, of course, bad book reviews. Here's a dirty secret you won't hear anyone talking about among P.O.D. publishers. Some of them see mistakes, and purposely allow them to remain in the book... …
Today, I'm going to share snippets from some of the worst query letters we've received over the past couple of months. Yes, we can learn from others' mistakes! Featured below are real quotes from query letters submitted to WritersWeekly.com... …
I received an email from an author last week asking why he never received his "royalties" for a Kindle "gift" ebook he bought for someone. It was his own book and he had documentation proving he'd purchased the ebook version from Amazon. I checked Amazon's reports and they didn't show the sale for that month. I wrote to Amazon and the author was not happy with their response... …
We have completed our annual update of the P.O.D. Publisher Price Comparison Chart. …
If you've ever searched for a domain name to buy on a website that sells domain names, this might have happened to you... …
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the WritersWeekly Fall, 2013 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 online. Entrants must be registered before the contest begins and there is a limit of 500 participants per contest. Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories. The stories "must deal with the topic in some way to qualify" and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count, which is announced with the topic. After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack... …
While it's tempting to include salacious content in your book, doing so can result in a heated lawsuit.…
This week, we're going to show you why reading contracts is imperative when considering a P.O.D. publisher... …
Last week, Amazon terminated the contracts of all their Maine-based Affiliates and Associates. See the email from Amazon in its entirety HERE. No, we were not affected, thank goodness... …
Have you ever wondered how companies get ad space on billboards? Have you thought about buying billboard space to promote your book, or other product or service? …
Based on a survey we did several years ago, most authors who had done a book signing were disappointed with the results. Most reported selling fewer than five copies of each title, and also reported they spent far more time and money preparing for the signing than they earned in profits from book sales. We wanted to see how things have changed so we sent out a call for information last week. Here are four of the responses... …
How many copies of your book(s) have you sold at book signings? …
Today, I'm going to share snippets from some of the worst query letters we've received over the past couple of months. Yes, we can learn from others' mistakes! Featured below are real quotes from query letters submitted to WritersWeekly.com. …
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the WritersWeekly Summer, 2013 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 online. Entrants must be registered before the contest begins and there is a limit of 500 entrants per contest. Participants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories. The stories "must deal with the topic in some way to qualify" and they must not exceed the pre-assigned word count, which is announced with the topic. After reading the entries for each contest, we can see how difficult it is to come up with a unique plot when working with an assigned topic. But, inevitably, a few writers do manage to successfully break away from the pack. Keep reading as this peaceful summer day melts into mayhem... …
This week, I read an article about a library director who (allegedly) said 9-year-old Tyler Weaver, who read a staggering 63 books over a 6-week period this summer, "hogs" the prizes each year, and should "step aside", and let other kids win... …
There has been an ongoing controversy about writing jobs that pay crappy wages. Last week, I asked you how much you'd write for. This week, we're featuring the answers... …
So, readers, what would YOU write for? …
Did you see the news last week about a libel lawsuit against a deceased author? A judge has ruled that the lawsuit can proceed but it now involves his widow. Aside from only publishing facts that you can prove beyond any doubt, how can you protect yourself and your family from these types of lawsuits? …
The fact is, nobody close to you can or likely will give you an honest critique of your work. They are so concerned about hurting your feelings, or discouraging your future writing, that they will say anything to make you happy... …
I recently received the following question from an author: What advice can you give to a self-published author about getting OPTIONED (film and television). I want to sell my book online, and plan on taking your advice on marketing online, but one of my primary goals is to get my book into the hands of producers and directors who will want to turn it into a movie, and will want to "option" it. Here was my response... …
Several times a week, writers send us query letters, hoping to get published in (and paid by!) WritersWeekly.com. Today, I want to share with you 11 common mistakes writers make when approaching us (and other publications). …
If you have self-published your book, or if you have considered doing so, you may have seen the nasty debates occurring between self-published authors online... …
Writers are a funny bunch. It seems they either have very low self-esteem...or far too much of it. That's probably true of workers in most professions but, since writing is such a personal matter, writers can appear to go to the extreme with these emotions. Unfortunately, these feelings can lead to some unattractive actions that can harm or even ruin a writer's opportunities for success... …
As the owner of WritersWeekly.com and BookLocker.com, writers and authors frequently add me to email notifications they send out when they update their website or blog. I'm happy to receive these and I often find interesting and intriguing tidbits in these individuals' posts. Unfortunately, some of them have great blog posts or website articles but very boring email notifications so nobody opens them... …
Hang on tight because an ocean storm is brewing... …
Earlier this month, Author Solutions was (finally) sued by a group of writers who are unhappy with their services. Author Solutions is the parent company of AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford, WordClay, and other properties. The suit is seeking class-action status. At WritersWeekly, we have received numerous complaints from unhappy Author Solutions authors over the years. Each year, it seems to get worse... …
It happened again today. I received a query from a freelance writer, and sent an acceptance email to her. Her ISP immediately kicked back an automated message saying my email to her was rejected as spam. The writer never received it because it was hard filtered by her ISP... …
It can take months or years to land a literary agent and/or a traditional contract. If you do, it can take many more months or even years for the book to actually be published... …
Today, I'm going to share another installment of our popular column, World's Worst Book Proposals. Yes, we can learn from others' mistakes! Featured below are real quotes from book proposals submitted to us over the past few months... …
