Angela’s Desk

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? …

It Takes Longer to Get a Customer Than to Lose One! and When Your Competitor Screws Up, YOU Can Win! By Angela Hoy

Published on October 22, 2008

Several months ago, we started offering a "disgruntled author's special" to authors who aren't happy with their current POD publisher. If they move their book to BookLocker, they only have to pay $99 in setup fees, which is the same special we give to all returning authors (meaning authors only pay $99 setup fees on their second and subsequent books published through BookLocker). Why do we do this? …

More World’s Worst Book Proposals

Published on October 8, 2008

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 year. …

You Want ME to Write for FREE?! Ha Ha Ha!!! By Angela Hoy

Published on September 17, 2008

While I see lots of "employment" ads each week asking writers to write for free, I can count on one hand how many people have approached me directly, asking ME to write for free over the past decade...because most people know how I feel about writing for free. Last week, I ran a link to a video showing Harlan Ellison talking about how insulting it is to ask a writer to write for free. So, I was shocked when the owner of a writing blog wrote to me this week, asking me to write for her...for free. I'm going to share our exchange with you below but I'll paraphrase her emails since she refused to give me permission to publish them. …

Common Themes in Our Latest 24-Hour Short Story Competition By Angela Hoy

Published on August 13, 2008

I've been making notes about common themes that are emerging in the entries for our Summer 2008 24-Hour Short Story Contest. I thought I'd share these with you today so you can see how difficult it is for some writers to come up with completely original variations of a common theme. …

Aaarghh! I Wish I’d Googled That Deadbeat’s Name! By Angela Hoy

Published on August 6, 2008

Through WritersWeekly Whispers and Warnings, we publicize deadbeats, scams targeting writers, and even lowly spammers (who also target writers). The names of these jerks pop right up on google, through our Whispers and Warnings posts, and also through other websites, like ripoffreport.com. They are ripe for the picking by any writer willing to take the time to google a potential client's name. Sadly, I hear from writers all the time who type a varying version of this: "Aaarghh! I wish I'd googled that deadbeat's name before working for/with him/her!" …

Some POD Publishers: “Buy a Manuscript Evaluation So We Can Upsell You on Our Editing Services!”

Published on July 16, 2008

Some POD Publishers: “Buy a Manuscript Evaluation So We Can Upsell You on Our Editing Services!”

Last week, I received an email from an author who was perturbed that we didn't offer something similar to what he received via email (spam!) from another POD publisher. What was it? A $199 manuscript evaluation. If you paid and then decided to use that POD publisher later, you could deduct $199 from your setup fees. They could (probably do!) then upsell you on their expensive editing services that their manuscript evaluation very likely will say you need. Now, come on. Do you really think they're going to tell you your manuscript is perfect? No way... …

How Much Should You Spend To Publish Your Book?

Published on June 18, 2008

Lots of authors are turned on by the bells and whistles offered by some of the POD publishers. They seem to think if they just buy this, that, or the other, their book will be a success. Before they know it, they've spent several hundred to several thousand dollars... …

How Many Bookmarks And Personalized Pencils Make A Best Seller? None!!

Published on June 11, 2008

Yesterday, after work, while flipping through the mail, you find a postcard from Author Anne. It's a pretty postcard. It shows her book cover on one side, and has a brief description of the book on the other. But, you receive marketing postcards everyday...and you can't pick up the book and thumb through it. You're not online right now so you can't click to read more about the book. You leave it on the counter and forget about it. Later, you use it to push some crumbs into the sink and then you throw it away. …

BookLocker Files Class Action Lawsuit Against Amazon.com By Angela Hoy

Published on May 21, 2008

This article appeared in Monday's Special Edition of WritersWeekly.com. You may reprint this article or quote from it at your discretion. You can read/post comments here: https://antitrust.booklocker.com BookLocker.com has filed a class action lawsuit against Amazon.com in response to Amazon's recent attempts to force all publishers using Print on Demand (POD) technology to pay Amazon to print their books. …

Blogger PODdy Mouth Posts False Statements, Violates Copyright Law, Refuses to Correct Numerous Published Errors/Inaccuracies

Published on April 16, 2008

$500 Reward Offered for Information Leading to the REAL Identity of PODdy Mouth Imagine being contacted by one of your customers one day and being alerted to a blogger who is posting false statements and insults about you and many of your competitors on a continuing basis. Furthermore, the blogger is writing under a fake name...which previously belonged to someone else in the industry - a respected person - who had recently retired. To add insult to injury, when you approach this blogger to correct some of the numerous errors in their blog, they post more false statements about you, attack you personally, call you names like "ugly" and "self-masturbatory", and then blacklist you so you can no longer post comments in your own defense...all the while continuing to post false statements and refusing to correct the previously published inaccuracies. This situation is occurring right now. Read the entire story on Preditors & Editors HERE. ~~~~ REWARD!!! If you are the first to tell us the real identity of PODdy Mouth (not the original POD-dy Mouth, but the one mentioned above), and can provide verifiable proof of his/her identity, we will send you $500. We will, of course, respect your identity, but you must tell us who you really are because PODdy Mouth may very well try to trick us into implicating someone else. Please spread the word. If you know who PODdy Mouth is (or even if you want to weigh in with a guess for fun), contact: angela - at - writersweekly.com If you or your business has had a similar unfortunate experience with PODdy Mouth, we'd like to hear about that as well. Three industry executives, when recently asked on separate occasions who they think PODdy Mouth is, all immediately gave the EXACT same answer... …

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