Do Some Professors Stock Their Libraries With “Free Desk Copies?” Yep!
If you've sent out a dozen or so free desk copies and received no orders, you should rethink your strategy. …
Angela’s Desk
What’s the Best Ebook Format?
Here is an excerpt from an email I received: I just finished my first ebook about travel and safety . I own Adobe Acrobat Pro and can create PDFs with no problems. I see there are "compilers" that have very strong security to prevent any form of "sharing" our hard work. What do you think is the best way to go? …
Does Amazon Remove Old Book Listings? No!
When an author publishes a brand new edition of their book, or when they move their book from one publisher to another, or even when they get the rights back to their book and decide to self-publish, they are often frustrated to learn that Amazon will not remove the old version of their book from Amazon.com... …
Amazon – Do They Draw The Line ANYWHERE?
Unless your Internet connection has been out for a week or so, you've likely seen the story about Amazon... …
POD SECRETS REVEALED: Is Your Book Overpriced on Amazon?
I received this email from an unhappy POD author: "I've really, really disliked Lulu, and have been very discouraged by the process. I don't think a paperback of this book should cost so much (they claimed it's necessary for the Amazon distribution). I actually haven't marketed this book at all because I'm upset by the costs. She provided me with her book's information online. It's a 390-page paperback (fiction) and it costs (are you sitting down?) more than $25! She's right. That is WAY too expensive. Why would any POD publisher want to price a book out of the market like that? I looked online and found two POD publishers that have some (not all) of their books appearing on Amazon with significant price differences compared to the list price on the publishers' own websites... …
Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Fall 2010 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Fall 2010 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. We also post 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, sit back, relax, and take a break from your busy day to indulge in the sights and smells of a brisk Fall evening... …
Does Facebook Trump Ezines for Book Promotion? No!
I've received dozens of queries from writers on using social networking to promote books and we've run articles on this topic before. What we haven't touched on is NOT having Facebook, or another social networking site, be your sole online presence... …
Warning Signs of a Potential Deadbeat
Karen S. wrote in last week, asking: Thank you every week for an always informative newsletter! I have a question that I suspect concerns many writers and that I hope you'll answer in an upcoming e-issue. How can we find out whether businesses and groups that solicit writing via the Web are legit and really do pay? One way to avoid getting scammed by a potential client (who may be a deadbeat) is to Google their name with terms like "owes me" and "scam". However, every deadbeat has a first victim and there are signs to look for before and while you're working for them... …
MORE WORLD’S WORST BOOK PROPOSALS
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 me over the past few months. …
Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Summer 2010 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
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, sit back, relax, and take a break from your busy day...by being stuck in a stifling room with a hot iron. …
Finding Garbled, Illegal Copies of Your Articles Online? You’re Not Alone!
One of our authors experiences is a common scam occurring in increasing numbers online. …
Illegal Derivative Works
This week, I received an email asking me to comment on a situation regarding textbook publishers suing individuals for publishing "answers to homework problems." It's briefly discussed on techdirt.com HERE. In a nutshell, some publishers of textbooks are suing authors/publishers of guides that contain answers to the questions in those textbooks, claiming they are derivative works. I have to agree. When someone else uses your original work for profit it is, well, just plain wrong, and very likely illegal. …
ARE YOU, TOO, GETTING SPAMMED TO KINGDOM COME BY THOSE “GET PUBLISHED” EMAILS?
We've been getting plenty of spam emails lately with "Get Published" listed in the subject line. If you follow the trail of the ones coming from "GetPublished@waverilo.com", you'll end up at chooseyourpublisher.com. The site says, "Choose Your Publisher is dedicated to helping both first-time and experienced authors identify the most suitable publishing company for their books. Ready to discover the best publishers for you?" …
Miscellaneous Tidbits
I have some unrelated odds and ends to share with you this week:
- CONNECTICUT ATTORNEY GENERAL INVESTIGATING AMAZON AND APPLE
- MOLLY JOSS PREDICTS...
- WANT AD DIGEST AWARDED $6M IN COPYRIGHT CASE
Amazon Ebooks Are NOT Outselling Paperbacks!
The publishing world was awash in seeming hysteria last week when Amazon issued yet another press release designed to promote the Kindle. The release stated: "Amazon.com customers now purchase more Kindle books than hardcover books..." Of course, those in the industry recognize that "hardcover" means just that - a hardcover / hardback book; not a paperback. When you look at the "news" in those terms, the impact is far less dramatic. In fact, it's pretty ho-hum... In response to Amazon's latest press release, people not in the industry (and even some that are), may have automatically assumed, and some even announced, that Amazon's Kindle ebook sales had surpassed ALL PRINT BOOK SALES (ahem)... …
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. …
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”
Increasing numbers of authors are putting books on the market with errors these days. Perhaps all the errors on the Internet are making people feel more lax about typos and grammatical and punctuation errors. Heck, we even frequently see typos on the major news stations' news trailers on the screen. Don't even get me started on the major news websites. However, just because 'everybody is doing it' doesn't make it acceptable for an author to follow suit with their book. …
Dump That Content Mill and Get Your OWN Google Adsense Account!
Why do people sign up for content mills? To make fast, easy money like their ads usually state, right? Well, from what we've been reading over the past several months, the money is anything but easy. …
Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Spring 2010 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Spring 2010 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. We also post 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, sit back, relax, and take a break from your busy day to...watch death and greed collide. …
Term Paper Mill Scum
I took most of Monday off this week for the holiday so my post is short and not-too-sweet this week. I wanted to share this with you. I received an email from a man who wanted to post a help wanted ad on WritersWeekly.com and he obviously hadn't done his homework. He said they needed writers for "academic writing jobs" and my warning bells blew. I checked out their website and, sure enough, it was a term paper mill. This was my response: We would NEVER assist you with helping students cheat. Your service is the rock-bottom scum of the entire industry. What if your child was ill and the specialist you took her to was someone who'd paid a company like YOURS to do his schoolwork for him? Shame on you! How can you sleep at night doing what you do for a living?! Don't EVER contact me again! Angela Hoy WritersWeekly.com …
Putting a Copyright Infringer Out of Business
On April 14th, I publicly exposed some individuals and websites who were stealing copyrighted material from WritersWeekly and publishing it as their own. …
One-Shot Book Marketing Does NOT WORK – But THIS DOES! By Angela Hoy
Perhaps a dozen times a week, authors ask me some variation of this question: What is the best way to promote my book online? It's quite simple, really. This is all you need:
- An audience
- A vehicle to reach that audience
Trying to Scare Us Into Silence With a Cease and Desist? Pshaw!!! By Angela Hoy
It is SO entertaining to us at WritersWeekly when someone who owes one, two or a few writers money tries to scare us into silence. I could wallpaper my upstairs bathroom with all the cease and desist letters we've received over the years. In my opinion, cease and desists are form letters designed to intimidate victims, advocates for the victims, or the press... …
CreateSpace Complaints
We've been getting more inquiries from disgruntled CreateSpace/BookSurge authors lately. From what we can tell, a service claiming to be "free" (if you follow all their rules and specs to the letter) can sure be expensive. Some authors are spending hundreds to thousands of dollars to get their books published there. Here are some comments from recent CreateSpace / BookSurge authors who have approached us about moving their books to BookLocker... …
How to Collect a Court Judgment
So, you sued that deadbeat publisher in small claims court and you won. Congratulations! After the satisfaction of winning settles in, you start to wonder when he's finally going to pay you. You do some research and discover there's still really no way to force him to send you a check. …
More So-Called “Writers” Committing Copyright Infringement
It's always interesting when someone calls themselves a writer...when stealing another writer's work. Last week, I shared the story of invoicing Anne Wayman $38,250 after finding 51 incidents of copyright infringement on her website, aboutfreelancewriting.com. This week, we're exposing more copyright infringers, along with their responses (or lack thereof)... …
WritersWeekly Invoices Competitor Anne Wayman $38,250 for Copyright Infringement
It makes me sick to write this article but you deserve to know about this situation. If I sound a bit angry here, it's because I AM. And, you should be, too, because this affects YOU, our readers... …
Tracking Down Copyright Infringers – A Painful But Necessary Task
Today, I ended up spending my writing time chasing down copyright infringers. What do infringers most frequently steal from WritersWeekly.com? Our paying market listings. …
Think Twice Before Giving Away Your Entire Book Online For Free
I've read lots of different stories online about authors giving away free copies of their ebooks to try to boost print book sales. Some, mostly from traditional publishers, say doing this increased sales (but nobody seems to want to give out the real numbers) while others say doing this hurts sales. I thought I'd share my thoughts on this with you to help you determine if you should give away your book, or a significant portion of it, for free. …
Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Winter 2010 24-Hour Short Story Contest!
For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Winter 2010 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. We also post it online. Only registered entrants can submit stories and the contests usually fill up before "start time." Entrants then have 24 hours to write and submit their stories by email. 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, sit back, relax, and take a rest from your busy day. Hey, are you feelin' crafty? …
Throwing Away Your Money on Review Copies?
One of the biggest mistakes new authors make is believing that blindly mailing copies of their book (or, worse, emailing copies of their ebook) will result in sure-fire coverage by book reviewers and journalists. They waste this valuable opportunity by making several common mistakes. …
Heck, Yeah, I’m Mad! Is That a Problem?!
Sometimes, I receive emails that just don't make any sense to me. For example, occasionally people write to me under false names, sending false allegations about one company or another, or feeding me a completely false news story. Of course, I investigate these before I publish them and it's not too hard to figure out if somebody has fed me outright lies about one outfit or another. Perhaps it wouldn't be such a stretch to think some people have tried to get me to publish lies just so they can smear my name later for doing so. Let's face it, after a decade of WritersWeekly Whispers and Warnings, I now have more enemies than I can count...or even remember. Then there are the emails from people claiming to be long-time readers, who insult me for just plain doing my job - protecting them from industry scum. This week, I'll share one of those with you (edited and consolidated - we exchanged a couple of emails). After receiving this email, I felt like I'd been hit over the head with a purse after trying to help a little old lady cross the street. …
EBOOK PRICE-FIXING: Who Gets Hurt in the End? By Angela Hoy, Publisher, BookLocker
price fixing (n.) - the establishing of prices at a determined level, either by a government or by mutual consent among producers or sellers of a commodity. (dictionary.com) If everybody agrees to list and sell ebooks for $9.99 (or at any other "determined level"), that's price-fixing, plain and simple. When prices are fixed, who gets hurt in the end? Everybody...except the one mandating the price, of course... …
POD SECRETS REVEALED: More Hard Core Sales Tactics of POD Publishers Revealed
A year and a half ago, I published an article about hard core sales tactics being used by some POD publishers. Some of the sales reps at some POD publishers work on commission. Obviously, things haven't changed. In fact, they've gotten worse. …
Traditional Publishers Finally Standing Up to Amazon
This may be old news to you now but, just in case you missed it, Amazon had a showdown with Macmillan (one of the "Big 6" traditional publishers) over the weekend...and Macmillan appears to have won. Other large publishers are expected to follow suit. Basically, Macmillan wants the right to set their own retail prices for ebooks, and to set their own sales terms to bookstores. In my opinion, this is how it should be. The publisher should be able to dictate the terms of sales of their books to bookstores. Bookstores, of course, can negotiate their own purchase terms with a publisher but no bookstore should be able to dictate how, or at what price, a publisher sells their books elsewhere. You can read my comments on this situation in detail under Morris Rosenthal's article HERE. PublishersWeekly.com is posting frequent updates to this situation. And, finally, don't miss this article in Fast Company: Amazon Revealed: It Hates You, and It Hates Publishers UPDATE: Harper Collins is also now demanding better terms from Amazon. Click HERE to read comments by News Corp Chief Rupert Murdoch. …