Angela’s Desk

When Freelance Editors Cross the Line

Published on July 29, 2009

I often receive emails from editors who, first, point out an error I've made and, second, offer their editing services to me. I'm always happy to receive friendly and constructive criticism and I'm thrilled when somebody points out my oops before thousands of others see it. I don't, however, hire freelance editors who do this because editing is truly an art and I won't hire an editor I don't know. There are far too many so-called editors in business today who have no business editing. There is no licensing requirement for editors so anybody can slap up a website and call themselves an editor. I frequently hear from authors who are trying to get their money back from a freelance editor who actually introduced more errors to their book than they fixed. …

More World’s Worst Book Proposals

Published on July 22, 2009

I'm still on vacation so this week 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...and one bizarre note from an author whose book was rejected. …

Has Lulu Gotten Too Big For Its Britches?

Published on July 8, 2009

I receive frequent emails from authors who ask why they should pay us (BookLocker) to publish their book instead of using a so-called "free" service like Lulu.com. I've written about what I call "bargain basement POD publishers" in the past. Lulu used to have a pretty good reputation. Heck, I even used to refer authors to them. No more! Since they've grown so large, started using different printers, and laid off a chunk of their staff last year, things appear to be not-so-rosy at Lulu these days. Have they grown so big that they can't keep up with their authors' needs anymore? …

Gripe, Moan, Groan…

Published on June 17, 2009

I have lots of software programs, which are required for what I do (publishing). I don't buy software updates every time an upgrade comes out because, if it's working just fine for me, why pay hundreds to thousands more per year for something I don't need? I think it's a huge conspiracy anyway. And, whenever I do get an upgrade, seems something always go awry anyway. …

Are YOU Being Censored?

Published on May 20, 2009

Are YOU Being Censored?

The word CENSORSHIP is sure thrown around a lot these days. It has a very negative connotation about it, don't you think? But, it is really a BAD word? It was previously used primarily when speaking of government action...but the word Censor is far more widely used today. …

How Much Are Examiner.com Writers Really Earning?

Published on May 13, 2009

Last week, we pondered if Examiner.com, which seems to be running ads for writers EVERYWHERE, is just another pay-per-click meat market. I issued a call for "Examiners" to contact me, and to share their experiences. Sadly, some Examiners are working very hard for very, very little money...and seem very happy to be doing so. You'll see that not everybody below is disgruntled so we believe this represents a fair sampling of Examiners. …

Examiner.com – Just Another Pay-Per-Click Meat Market?

Published on May 6, 2009

We received a complaint about the terms this company offers contributors so we decided to check it out. You've likely seen the hundreds (perhaps thousands?) of ads posted on the Internet by Examiner.com, which seems to perpetually need writers. You can bet that anyone posting this many help wanted ads is offering really, really low pay. …

POD BEST PRACTICES – Part IV of IV

Published on April 22, 2009

There are lots of snakes in the Print on Demand (POD) industry. While most companies charge too much, way too much, there are a few that offer good services at reasonable prices. Some of those even offer reasonable customer service! This week, we are consolidating the entire list from Part I, Part II, and Part III. But, first, I need to rant. Being a POD publisher myself, I hear from authors who have been ripped off by other POD publishers on almost a daily basis. Some of their stories make me sick. From elderly authors who were convinced to give more and more and more of their retirement money to the POD publisher (who knew all along that person's memoirs would likely never sell more than a few copies to family members), to authors who paid thousands when they could have paid hundreds to a better POD publisher, to authors who were forced to pay hundreds to fix the POD publisher's own mistakes, to authors who gave up rights to their current and future books to a company that pretended to be a "traditional publisher" but who was just another form of vanity publisher, preying on authors and hoping they would buy more and more and more books. …

POD BEST PRACTICES – Part III

Published on April 15, 2009

There are lots of snakes in the Print on Demand (POD) industry. While most companies charge too much, way too much, there are a few that offer good services at reasonable prices. Some of those even offer reasonable customer service! We are currently compiling a list of "Best Practices" for the POD industry and we'd love to have you share your ideas with us! In Parts I and II, we discussed things a POD publisher should and should not do. Here's a breakdown... …

“BEST PRACTICES” FOR THE POD INDUSTRY – Part II

Published on April 1, 2009

There are lots of snakes in the Print on Demand (POD) industry. And, while most companies charge too much, way too much, there are a few that offer good services at reasonable prices. And, some of those even offer reasonable customer service! I thought it would be fun to start compiling a list of "Best Practices" for the POD industry. …

“BEST PRACTICES” FOR THE POD INDUSTRY – Part I

Published on March 25, 2009

There are lots of snakes in the Print on Demand (POD) industry. And, while most companies charge too much, way too much, there are a few that offer good services at reasonable prices. And, some of those even offer pretty good customer service! I thought it would be fun this week to come up with a list of "Best Practices" for the POD industry. …

What Recession?! – Part II

Published on March 18, 2009

Three weeks ago, I published this article: What Recession?! Plenty of Freelance Jobs for Writers! In the article, I talked about how the media keeps telling us the sky is falling...but that every restaurant and store in our town (and other towns we traveled through, down to Virginia and back last month) seems to have a full parking lot. I received lots of emails from readers who reported the same thing in their towns. You can read a couple of the emails I received about the article HERE. This week, I'm going to share some links to more good publishing financial news with you... …

You May Be Entitled to $60+ From Google!

Published on March 11, 2009

In case you've been living under a rock, there is a pending class-action settlement involving authors / publishers and Google. Basically, the lawsuit was brought by authors and publishers who claimed Google violated their copyrights when it scanned books and featured them, or portions thereof, online without permission of the copyright holders. Of course, Google denies the claims (snicker) even though the books are still featured at books.google.com! Anyway, what's in it for you? Well, you get to decide. You can either opt-in and get $60 per book (read the fine print!) if you are the sole copyright holder of a book. Or, you can opt-out (which means you can sue Google later if you want to). …

Topic, Common Themes, and Winners of the WritersWeekly.com Winter 2009 24-Hour Short Story Contest!

Published on March 4, 2009

Over the past few months, I've been posting a missive about the common themes in entries submitted for the previous 24-Hour Short Story Contest. We received lots of positive feedback so I'll continue to do this for future contests. For the past month, I've spent every spare moment judging the hundreds of entries submitted for the Winter 2009 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, take a rest from your busy day. Sit back, relax, and step into...a mysterious wedding scene? …

What Recession?! Plenty of Freelance Jobs for Writers! By Angela Hoy

Published on February 25, 2009

Gads, if I receive one more query letter from a writer on how writers can survive a bad economy, I'm going to scream. I believe a lot of what is happening is caused by panic. What better way to incite panic than to help the rest of the yell-fire-in-the-theater journalists by publishing yet another article on the bad economy? …

My Oh My, How Things Have Changed! By Angela Hoy

Published on February 11, 2009

Lots of people think self-published authors had to print and then store zillions of copies of their books before Print on Demand came around. Actually, that wasn't always the case. Some of us went an alternative route to avoid large up-front costs. Today, I thought it would be fun to take a trip down memory lane to my early days as a self-published author. …

Lulu CEO Admits They’ve “Easily Published the Largest Collection of Bad Poetry in the History of Mankind”

Published on February 4, 2009

Lulu CEO Admits They’ve “Easily Published the Largest Collection of Bad Poetry in the History of Mankind”

One of the banes of our existence as a POD publisher is that most of our competitors don't vet manuscripts for quality and, thus, publish a lot of garbage. Sure, there are some gems in there but, heavens, if you saw what we see on a daily basis, you'd be amazed. I'm not trying to be harsh or to hurt anybody's feelings but, honestly, wouldn't you want somebody to tell you if your book was really, really bad before it went into print? Sadly, most POD publishers are far more interested in how much money they can get out of you than they are in the quality of your book. …

Gullible People Who Apparently Want to Get Screwed? By Angela Hoy

Published on January 21, 2009

There aren't too many things that frustrate me during the course of a day. If Mason potties on the floor instead of making it to the toilet, that frustrates me. When my computer shuts itself down before I've saved my current document, that frustrates me. And, when somebody asks me to Google something for them, when they obviously can very well do it themselves - and faster than it took them to email me - that frustrates me. The people that frustrate me the most, however, are the ones that send me emails like the one below. …

When Authors Aren’t Willing to Market Their Books – READERS RESPOND!

Published on January 14, 2009

Last week, I wrote about the new trend of authors who "just want to sit at home and write" and who don't want to market their own books. Many hopeful authors mistakenly believe a traditional publisher is going to pour marketing bucks into their book. This just doesn't happen. I wrote, "I'd love if some of you who have traditional contracts would contact me and tell me what your publisher did or didn't do to promote your book vs. what you had to do to promote your book. It's rare to meet an author who feels their publisher has adequately promoted their book." Of all the responses I received, only one author claimed he was happy with his publisher's marketing efforts. Here are some of the emails I received... …

When Authors Aren’t Willing to Market Their Books

Published on January 7, 2009

I'm noticing a disturbing trend. At least once a week now, I'm contacted by an author who is seeking a self-publisher that actively markets their book for them...for free. …

POD SECRETS REVEALED: Shipping Costs Charged to YOUR Customers By Angela Hoy, co-owner of BookLocker

Published on December 10, 2008

Several months ago, we ran a feature that revealed the shipping costs charged by POD publishers on author orders (large-quantity purchases). Today, we're comparing the shipping costs POD publishers are charging YOUR readers - the customer who drops by to order a book from the publisher at the recommendation of the author. Yes, inflated shipping costs CAN impact your sales! …

OUCH! Some POD Publishers Raising Book Prices TOO HIGH!

Published on November 19, 2008

Last week, we talked about FORCED MARRIAGE: When POD Publishers Take Your Money AND Your Rights. This week, I'm going to discuss a disturbing trend among POD publishers. The list prices of some POD publishers' books are going up - and fast. Some of these prices are so high that authors know potential readers will not buy their books. Authors should not spend hundreds to thousands to publish a book that will ultimately be priced beyond what the market will bear! …

FORCED MARRIAGE: When POD Publishers Take Your Money AND Your Rights By Angela Hoy, Publisher, BookLocker.com and WritersWeekly.com

Published on November 12, 2008

FORCED MARRIAGE: When POD Publishers Take Your Money AND Your Rights By Angela Hoy, Publisher, BookLocker.com and WritersWeekly.com

A year ago, I published POD SECRETS REVEALED: You Pay...But THEY Own the Rights, an article exposing how many POD publishers charge authors for services, but then claim the rights to the materials the author paid them to create. Let's face it. If an author pays hundreds to thousands to a company, and then can't get copies of their production files to use elsewhere, how in the world can that author afford to move their book to another publisher if they're unhappy? …

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