A couple of years ago, I published this article - My Time to Whine: When A Contest Sponsor Gets FED UP! It primarily described how the actions of some writing contest entrants can make somebody want to stop hosting a popular contest completely. Today, I'm going to give you some hints on how to stand out in the crowd during your next writing contest. …
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. …
We recently received an angry email from a woman who claimed her father's book, which we published, constituted a violation of her privacy... …
This article was ready to publish a month ago when we exposed the Amazon/Booksurge Ultimatum. While we're, of course, still publishing updates about Amazon/Booksurge, I'm VERY happy that we're able to get back to book selling this week! …
Well, if it looks like a competitor, and acts like a competitor, and smells like a competitor... …
$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... …
Since WritersWeekly broke the Amazon Ultimatum Story two weeks ago, news has traveled quickly across the globe and it didn't take long for everyone, including book buyers, authors, publishers, and writing organizations, to weigh in against Amazon's actions... …
Tuesday, April 1st, was the rumored deadline Amazon.com gave to some POD publishers to sign an agreement allowing their printing division, BookSurge, to print each publisher's book to be sold through Amazon, or risk having their "buy" buttons turned off on the Amazon.com website... …
Some Print on Demand (POD) publishers are privately screaming "Monopoly!" while others are seething with rage over startling phone conversations they're having with Amazon/BookSurge representatives. Why isn't anybody talking about it openly? Because they're afraid - very, very afraid... …
This week, we're going to list our ebook for sale at some ebookstores and also take advantage of a few free ebook directories... …
This week, we're going to subtly promote our book(s) while posting comments on major news sites. I don't know about you but I love reading Letters to the Editor in newspapers and magazines. The letters section is one of the first places I look when I'm reading a periodical. The great news is, in increasing numbers, newspapers, magazines, and other news websites are allowing readers to post comments about articles, often instantly, on their websites, directly under each article. You can find a list of the nation's 100 largest newspapers right here... …
In case you're a newbie, a blog is a regularly-updated personal journal that is posted online. Special software enables bloggers to post their comments instantly online. No HTML! Yea! Blogs have exploded in recent years because they make publishing online so easy and because they are usually of a more personal nature than professional websites. Blogs seem to attract the voyeur in all of us... …
This week, we're going to meet some new groups of people while subtly marketing our book. I'm quite a social butterfly online and participating in online discussion groups is something I'd do for fun... …
This week, we're gonna drum up some free advertising in ezines, blogs, websites and maybe even some magazines. If you can't/won't spend money to place ads in magazines, ezines, blogs and websites, you might still be able to get them to mention your book. How? By offering them free content to publish. Remember the book excerpts we formatted during Week II? Well, let's see if we can get those published in some periodicals that are already serving your book's target audience... …
This week, we're going to expand our online marketing reach. We're going to cozy up to websites, zines and blogs that have good Google rankings! …
Last week, we discussed how important it is to offer a free excerpt of your book. We also shared URLs to "free article" websites where you can post your excerpt as an "article." Unfortunately, fiction authors are sometimes left out in the cold in this area. How do you turn a fiction excerpt into an "article?" Well, good luck with that. The good news is now you don't have to! …
Last week, we talked about sad assumptions and irrational expectations new authors usually have about book sales. We then discussed the dire need for an author to have his OWN website (not a URL controlled by someone else) and a periodical (ezine/blog) to market their book. …
This week, we're going to start a new series on successfully marketing your book online. If you have any unique or lucrative online marketing ideas to share, please send them along to me at: angela - at - writersweekly.com SAD ASSUMPTIONS AND IRRATIONAL EXPECTATIONS There once was a pencil maker named Peter who puttered around popping out pretty pencils from his place in Pennsylvania. After many months of hard work, he finally finished his first box of pencils and Peter the Pencil Pusher was now enthusiastically pushing those pencils on local store owners and some online stores as well. Peter finally managed to get the local pencil store to carry his box of pencils. He went in there, week after week, but his pretty pencils were still there on the shelf, gathering dust, surrounded by thousands, perhaps millions, of other people's pencils. Nobody bought his pencils! Peter didn't understand! His pencils were so special! Why didn't anybody pick up and pay for his pretty pencils? Peter also listed his box of pretty pencils for sale on the biggest online pencil store in the world... …
I received the following letter last week: I was interested in your article on book return policies. Recently, I published a book with AuthorHouse and was expected to contact bookstores myself. When they found out there wasn't a return policy in place they wouldn't order my book. AuthorHouse then came out with a fee (currently $699) for book returns. They wouldn't cooperate with advertising either even though it was part of the package. The publisher would not help with the most important part of the presentation of my book. Both publisher and bookstores expected me to do it all myself. …
This time of year, most of us are feeling ambitious and thinking about ideas for new books we want to write. It always happens to me, too. New Year's Day = New Book Ideas! I can't help it. They come spilling out of my brain faster than I can process them. In fact, I have a "book ideas" folder in my email box. It's filled to the brim with ideas for books that I will never, ever have time to write. …
Last week, I wrote about paper sculptures, personalized dolls, and personalized snow globes. The snow globe materials arrived this week but it's slow going so I don't have any pictures of the finished goodies to show you yet. We took photos of the children that make it appear they are holding their breath and swimming in the globes.. I originally took photos of the backs of the children, too, so there wouldn't be just white photo paper on their backs. Well, that didn't work... …
I have a big problem buying stuff for people who already have everything... especially when I know they probably won't want whatever I could find on sale at the mall or at the department store. I'd much rather spend less money, but more time, making homemade gifts for family members and close friends. …
If your home business has grown to the point of bursting, and you are thinking about hiring someone, but don't want the headaches associated with that, you should seriously consider trying to automate some of your processes. …
Okay, I need to confess something to all of you. I have a problem with... delegation, the act of entrusting another to MY work. That's right. MY work. I like to maintain complete control of our business at all times. From A to Z (accounting to Zach), I am convinced that if I am not controlling everything simultaneously then things will definitely and completely fall apart. I recognized this problem long ago, and I know the stress my little control problem causes is probably slowly killing me. But, I was always afraid to turn over my tasks to another person. And, it seemed the time it would take to train someone to do it would just take up even more time that I did not have! Over the summer, our business boomed and it got to the point where I had to finally say, "No more!" My breaking point turned out to be a blessing. …
Last week, I gave you a tour of our hectic house and "home office." That was important because it gave you a good idea about how our surroundings can affect our productivity (and creativity!). This week, I'm going to share how we manage to homeschool Max while we work more than full-time on our business... …
Today, I'm starting a series on organization, automation, and delegation. How does one run a house, a marriage, five children, and a business in only 24 hours a day? It's not always easy! The keys are organization, automation, and delegation. Today, I'll give you a tour of our house and explain how we (try to) keep it organized. …
I'm pretty backed up this week so I'm going to share another installment of our popular column, World's Worst Book Proposals. Yes, these are real! Enjoy! In the actual book - Chapter 1, Line 3: A person who practices witchcraft is indeed a witch, yet what is a witch and how does a witch practices witchcraft. …
DISCLAIMER: Many deadbeats use legal threats and intimidation to try to scare their victims. These bullying tactics are common when you're dealing with psychotic, anti-social crooks. While anybody can sue anybody for anything these days, you should remember that they would have to open all their books in the event of a lawsuit and many deadbeats don't want to do this. In addition, they would likely have to sue you in your own state. And, defamation lawsuits are hard to prove and may be very expensive, especially if they are out of state. Ironically, some deadbeats would rather pay their attorney thousands than pay a writer the hundreds they legitimately owe. But, their legal hot air is usually just that - hot air. You may want to consult an attorney if you plan to take the action below against the deadbeat. We aren't attorneys and none of this should be considered legal advice. …
In last week's missive, I discussed disappointing book sales resulting from authors appearing as guests on radio shows. I inquired if readers have had similar or different experiences and asked you to to share your experiences. All but one of you reported poor book sales. The one positive email I received wasn't actually sent by the author himself, but by the radio host who interviewed him. However, some of you did report other good things that resulted from your radio interviews. Here's what you said... …
An author sent me a note this week inquiring about using an 800 number during radio interviews to sell books to people who are listening in their cars. I shared my opinions with him (see below). I'd love to hear from other readers who have attempted to sell books through radio interviews! Was it successful for you or were you disappointed in the results? Do you think ipods and satellite radio have made radio shows less lucrative for authors trying to market their books over the airwaves? Do you think my statements below are incorrect? Or do you agree with me? …
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 paperback book for shipping and handling! Say what?! …
At BookLocker, we sure are tired of our competitors giving Print-on-Demand (POD) publishing a bad name! From poor quality books, to horrible customer service, to unnecessary costs in the thousands, to refusing to answer new authors' questions about prices, enough is enough! …
Angela, Mason and Max all have a cold. Her column will return next week. So your click will not have been in vain, here's an interesting tidbit sent in by author Burt Close: …
So, your book is finally being published! Congratulations! If you're like the rest of us, you envision yourself walking into your local bookstore and seeing your book on the shelves. You start to plan book signings and appearances. And you dream about how big your first royalty check will be! But, if your traditional publisher is a small one...or even a new, unestablished POD publisher, how long will it last, and how much money and time could you lose? …
I have a confession to make. A couple of weeks ago, I looked up the rate of inflation over the past few years. I discovered that inflation has risen 20% since 2000. While we hadn't raised our prices at booklocker.com during all that time, we also hadn't raised the rates we pay freelance writers at WritersWeekly.com. I was mortified and embarrassed. Why hasn't anybody complained during all these years? We made an immediate decision. At WritersWeekly.com, we are raising our rates 20% for features and 33% for success stories... …
Last week, we talked about how many self-published authors have landed traditional contracts only after self- publishing. This week, I'd like to talk about authors who avoid traditional publishing houses for some (or all) of their titles, and why. Years ago, I wrote and self-published a book with another author. It was a book about successful online publishing. We put the book up for sale as an ebook and it sold very well...so well, in fact, that it sold at auction to a large New York publisher a few weeks later. The initial advance was nice - very nice. It helped pay the down payment on our new home in Maine. But, there were quite a few downsides... …
