Last week, we published the worst query letter I'd ever received. I subsequently received two emails from readers who disagreed with my response to the writer, saying it may have been a teenager who wanted to write for us. They implied I should have been more gentle on the writer. Pfffttt!!! This was my response to one of them... …
This week's missive will be short but I just had to share this with you. I received the following "query letter" (can we even call it that?!) last week... …
2013 marks our 12th year of hosting the quarterly WritersWeekly.com 24-Hour Short Story Contests! Here are all the past contest topics. We've never published these in one place before so we hope you enjoy perusing these... …
Just two weeks ago, we published this article: Around 75% of Americans DON'T Own Ebook Readers - Are you ignoring 75% of the book buying market?! Coincidentally, Publisher's Weekly released their new annual survey results this week. As expected, the number of print book readers dipped slightly (only 3%) while the number of ebook readers rose 16%. This is good news on both fronts. Most people are still reading print books (triple the number of those reading ebooks) and those reading ebooks can buy more books because ebooks are less expensive. Only 5% of library patrons reported borrowing ebooks. That means 95% of them borrowed print books... …
I had an interesting conversation with my dad last week. He's 69, retired, and has had some health issues lately. He has always been an avid reader. I can remember him sitting in the living room each night, his shoes on the floor, his feet on his ottoman, a cold Schlitz on his cork coaster, his glasses perched on his nose, and a large hardcover book in his hands. He read quite a bit about history and he enjoyed suspense novels. We had a large living room and one entire wall was floor to ceiling bookshelves. I loved that room. Anyway, when I was talking to my dad last week, I asked what he was reading. He told me he's reading two books right now - both novels. He had them both next to him and read the titles to me. I asked him if he ever read ebooks. He guffawed pretty loudly. He said he had never read an ebook and he never would. He likes visiting bookstores, enjoys the smell of a new book, and likes holding it in his hands. He also loves his bookshelves. The fact is the vast majority of Americans (around 75% based on the most recent studies) don't own ebook reading devices... …
As prices go up across the board, and as unemployment continues, many authors would like to get their books on the market but simply can't afford it. While firms like Author Solutions (owner of AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford and more) are squeezing authors out of thousands to tens of thousands of dollars (which we're betting most authors will never recover in resulting book sales), BookLocker is going in the opposite direction - publishing packages for any budget. …
This week, we're going to look at how some P.O.D. publishers upsell (nickel and dime) authors on products and services that should already be included in their outrageous setup fees. …
An author told me the other day he found a typo in his proof, adding "I'll probably leave it and send $5.00 to the first three readers that spot it and tell 'em it was test to see if they actually read the book..." I was completely honest, and told him that would be a HORRIBLE idea. …
Over the years, we've experienced relatives of authors try to claim those authors were deceased in an attempt to get their royalties...but this week we discovered a whole new type of scam... …
Recently, I noticed a URL for a fictitious website in a book I was formatting. I pasted the URL into my browser and, sure enough, it was a real website. The fictitious usage was for a humorous book but the actual website was a suicide prevention one. Had the author used that URL, it would not have only been in very poor taste, but it could have also resulted in a lawsuit. …
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Fall, 2012 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 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. 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. …
Warning - Some may be offended by today's column. I used to get SO annoyed when somebody would send me an email asking me to "click here!" to vote for their story or book or whatever on some website that was basically running popularity contests. There's something FAR worse now and it involves not begging for votes, but begging for CASH. …
Last week an author submitted a book that contained some of his friends' life experiences. I, of course, asked him if he had obtained legal releases from his friends to include their stories in his book. He had not. What's the big deal, you ask? His friends voluntarily contributed to the book, right? Yes, they did. But, they might change their minds about doing so someday. …
About once a week (sometimes more), we hear complaints from authors about misinformation and downright lies they've been told by bookstore clerks and managers. Just today, I received this one from a Print on Demand (POD) author... …
Awhile back, I found some of our original paying market listings for writers featured on the The Markham Village Writers' Group website, markhamvillagewriters.com. Below are copies of my exchange with the founder and moderator of The Markham Village Writers' Group website, Donna Marrin. I have paraphrased the responses by Donna Marrin below. Needless to say, we were pretty shocked that someone running a website for writers thought it was okay to pluck original content from other websites! …
Last week, an author contacted me about publishing some old photos and postcards in her book. She insisted she could use the postcards because the company was "out of business." She also said it was okay to use the photos because the people in them are deceased and that "no blood relatives of (one of the individuals) are living."…
I've said it before and I'll say it again, and again, and again. DO NOT PAY FOR BOOK REVIEWS! Once someone finds out you paid a book reviewer, your reputation is toast. …
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. So, today, hop aboard a fishing boat, and assist with processing today's catch... …
Today, I'm going to share another installment of our popular column, World's Worst Book Proposals. Yes, we can learn from others' mistakes! …
We've previously covered the numerous complaints posted about Lulu.com to their own forums by their own authors. The complaints are about customer service, quality, costs, and much more, including the fact that it's difficult for authors to get a response out of them. But, savvy Lulu authors have figured out how to bypass regular email. They're posting complaints directly to Lulu's Twitter account. Here are a few snippets posted just in the past two weeks... …
Ug! It happened again! We were contacted last week by a woman claiming to be the daughter of one of our authors. After logging into his author account, she posted a note, saying he'd died last month and she wanted his future royalty checks mailed to her. I checked the author's contract and - UH OH. In the beneficiary clause, the author had assigned his copyrights, control of his author account, and all future royalties to someone else (a female friend / associate), not to his daughter. …
Writing a book is hard. Publishing and promotion can be difficult as well. Most authors are professionals but some still fall for the outrageous marketing verbiage dished out by some of the Print on Demand (P.O.D.) publishers. A lot of this garbage is downright insulting. Do authors really fall for this stuff? Unfortunately, some do! …
At BookLocker.com, authors frequently copy and paste their Amazon reviews (in their entirety!) into an email, asking us to republish those reviews on their book page on our site. Doing so would be a copyright violation. Other authors also contact me on occasion asking if they can republish Amazon's reviews. Here's what I tell all of them. …
While self-published books don't carry the same stigma they did even as recently as a few years ago, they still aren't considered on the same tier as traditionally published books. So, most self-published authors don't want to make a big deal out of the fact that their book is "self-published." …
There seems to be no shortage of ways that POD publishers can concoct to separate authors from their money. Here are a few DOOZIES that we bet cost far more than most (if not all) authors will ever earn back in resulting book sales. …
Ah, the large POD publishers will say just about anything to get your money, including offering ridiculous sales that look like good deals...until you do the math. …
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Spring, 2012 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 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. 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. So, today, taste the salt on your lips and feel the sun baking your skin... …
I received a frantic email from an author over the weekend who'd been threatened with a lawsuit. Of course, the first thing I told her was that I'm not a lawyer and that I can't give legal advice. I then calmly told her to send me a file containing all the correspondence between her and the angry contributor because I'm always happy to give my non-lawyer opinion about a situation. Here's what happened... …
There are many content mills out there that have a confusing, vague, or buried clause in their contract that states contributors won't receive a check until the amount owed meets a specific threshold. In many cases, contributors never reach that threshold. They end up terminating their contract, hoping to receive payment for the paltry amount they are owed...but then realize the contract terms prevent them from EVER receiving a payment until/unless that threshold is met. That means the writer has done all that work - for free... …
Many authors publish (and pay for) stories from others to include in their non-fiction collections. One author sent me this question last week: What I could really use is a template or some kind of information on the format and layout for this type of book to be published with BookLocker. I've got my ideas, can write them and have a publisher with guts to get this done, being you. The market is there for mostly physical books but I will also sell them in ebook format. Can you point me in the right direction? …
Don't wait for somebody to post something to your book's page on Amazon. Ask readers, via your website and your newsletter, and even during the ordering process on your website (if you're processing your own orders), to submit their comments about your book to you by email or through an automated form on your website... …
I received an email this week from a writer I'll call "Susan." She needed my advice about a "client" who owed her a few hundred dollars. He hired her last year to write an ebook for him. What mistakes did this writer make to contribute to the scammer's success? …
Jeff Bezos is a BILLIONAIRE!! He is worth 18.4 BILLION dollars. Instead of putting air conditioning in the ovens his company calls warehouses, he's blowing his money trying to recover rockets from past space flights. Why?! …
An author recently asked me about using real people (friends, relatives, acquaintances) in a novel. I told her doing so would be very risky from a legal standpoint. She assumed just calling the book "fiction" would protect her from a lawsuit. She also assumed simply changing a few names would also protect her from a lawsuit. …
Last week, I was absolutely STUNNED when I discovered a comment online from a rejected author who said I "discriminate." I am one of the most laid-back, easy-going, and accepting people you'd ever meet. During my life, I have had friends and boyfriends of many different races and religions. I have friends and relatives who are gay, straight, and bi. I, personally, don't think there is any one religion favored by God so who am I to decide if there are any right or wrong ones? Everybody should have an equal chance to publish their own feelings on faith, provided, of course, their manuscript does not promote hurting others... …
Last week, Author Solutions announced they're for sale. Author Solutions, which is owned by Bertram Capital, has several publishing services companies, including AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford and WordClay. They also have some lesser-known services like HollywoodPitch.com, AuthorHive.com and Palibrio.com. The announcement included some pretty revealing financial information about the company. It sure looks like Author Solutions has separated authors from a LOT of their own money! Let's dissect the numbers, shall we? …
