For the past six weeks, we've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Winter, 2011 24-Hour Short Story Contest... …
This week, we're going to look at how some POD publishers upsell authors on products and services that should already be included in their outrageous setup fees... …
When authors are researching POD publishers, they often just look at the setup fees, glance at the royalties (not knowing what they're a percentage of), and go from there. Unfortunately, they don't always think about asking what the list price of their book will be, don't understand how the royalty structure works or when royalties will be paid, and don't always ask how much they'll have to pay for copies they purchase themselves after the book is ready to sell... …
You did it! Your book is finally in print! After months of sweating over details like editing and cover colors and even the final list price, you're ready to start that marketing campaign! You've even figured out that you can make more money buying copies at your author discount and doing your own fulfillment at appearances than you would if you sent potential readers to your publisher's website. But, wait... You just tried to place an order for 100 copies of your book...and discovered that your publisher is charging you around $1 per small, paperback book for shipping and handling! Say what?! That blows your budget right out of the water! …
In 2007, I wrote a popular series of articles exposing many tactics being used by some POD publishers. Four years later, it's time for an update... …
This week's story makes me sick to my stomach. After last week's article about an author who admitted manipulating Amazon's sales rankings and reviews, I received an email from a reader who had applied for a freelance writing job online. The company in question wanted to pay writers for book reviews....but only for 5-star ones. …
It never ceases to amaze me how excited or infuriated authors get about their Amazon ranking... …
Not sure if you caught this news yet or not but, according to Publisher's Weekly, some publishers have suspended shipments to Borders after Borders suspended payments to them. Borders is apparently saying they now have new funding, that they want to meet with the publishers, etc. but I can't help but wonder why any investor would throw money at that sinking ship... …
Below is a recent email I received. I have removed identifying information for obvious reasons. I'll call this victim Regretta. Dear Angela, Three years ago, I started a blog and website describing my talents as a writer. They were both under one domain name. All this setup was done by my best friend. He had handled all the money matters and setup as he is a technical guy and worked as a web administrator. We were also involved emotionally and I trusted him blindly... The email went on to say that the "friend" hadn't worked on the site in two years, and didn't make any updates, but kept encouraging Regretta to grow the blog. He was earning Google Adsense money on the blog and he was sharing the revenues with her. By now, you know where this is going... …
Okay, I admit I'm being lazy with the writing this week because I have a TON of stuff to do before the relatives arrive on Thursday. I've been trying to fit this in somewhere and this seems like the perfect time. Below is part of an email that somebody forwarded to me by mistake. I usually delete these immediately when I realize they aren't meant for me but I didn't realize this was one of those until I'd finished reading. I was shocked by what it said. Would love to hear your opinion, too. Am I being too cynical in thinking this person intended to read and then return the print book whether he/she liked it or not?? This would definitely explain why some bookstores return books that look so shabby! Here it is: I have two important errands. I need to pick up a book and I could only find it at Borders. The book is 20 bucks and I could get an ebook but I wanted something I could return. Comments? Questions? Have a similar ditty to share? Email Angela at angela-at-writersweekly.com. …
If you've sent out a dozen or so free desk copies and received no orders, you should rethink your strategy. …
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? …
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... …
Unless your Internet connection has been out for a week or so, you've likely seen the story about 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... …
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... …
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... …
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... …
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. …
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. …
One of our authors experiences is a common scam occurring in increasing numbers online. …
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. …
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?" …
I have some unrelated odds and ends to share with you this week:
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)... …
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. …
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…
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. …
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. …
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. …
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 …
On April 14th, I publicly exposed some individuals and websites who were stealing copyrighted material from WritersWeekly and publishing it as their own. …
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:
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... …
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... …
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. …
