Late last week, when downloading my mail, I was surprised to see a ton of returned email bouncing back to my in-box. At first glance, I thought somebody had spoofed our address to send out sp*m. On second glance, I realized that every email I'd sent to AOL users in the prior several days had been returned to our servers, in one fell swoop. I was stumped …
If you feel something in your book may stir controversy, or bring critics out of the woodwork, don't let your future critics get in the first word. Protect yourself and your reputation ahead of time by addressing your critics before the criticism begins. …
The following question arrived in our email box last week: What is your take on e-mail 'Opt-In Advertising?" I recently received an email solicitation from a large company, in which such advertising was touted as a good marketing tool, because it supposedly involves an audience that has agreed to receive ads (a concept that I find remarkable--I'd never agree to such a thing). Do you have any knowledge of such stuff and, if so, what is your perception of its potential value? …
Last week, I published an article on selling advertising space in books. Unfortunately, only one reader responded to my call for individuals' experiences with this type of revenue stream. But, I liked her story so much that I bought it to run in this week's issue. To read how one author has successfully sold ad space in her books, see this week's Freelance Success Story. …
This article may reprinted/redistributed freely as long as the entire article and bio are included. Don't you wish companies would offer you money to include an ad about them in your next book? Most of us would love such an infusion to our writing income. A question about this coveted practice arrived in my in-box just this week. …
I received an email this week from Michael Powers, author of Heart Touchers: Life Changing Stories of Faith, Love, and Laughter. Michael had found one of his book's chapters published on a website. The website had removed his name from the piece and had even added three paragraphs to the end of what was now a published "article." …
Last week, I was alerted by a Booklocker.com author who found a fr*e copy of his book on the Internet. It was posted on the foreign website of a CPA. I started composing a letter to the CPA, telling him he was violating copyright laws, etc. In the process, I started hunting around on his website for his contact information. And, hoo boy, did I find that and more! I found not only the copyrighted book, but also his workout schedule, a list of debts he owed to his girlfriend, music lyrics and what appeared to be actual music files, a bunch of tax forms, his resume, other meaningless stuff and, you're not going to believe this one, a copy of his actual personal income tax return... …
When someone hires you to do a special writing job, they give you the assignment and you do the job. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, not really. Here are examples of complaints I've received over the years... …
I was contacted this week by a writer who was stuck in between an editor and her interview subject. She wrote an article, on spec, for a magazine. The editor sent a friendly note back, rejecting the article because its focus was too local. The magazine has a statewide readership. The writer graciously thanked the editor for his time and asked him to contact her if he ever needed her services. He agreed. The writer then reported to her interview subject (one of her instructors) that the article was rejected and why. The interview subject got very upset and demanded the writer contact the editor for more information about the "real reason" the article was rejected. …
Last week, we heard from yet another author (I'll call him Author Al) who is accusing his distributor of theft because his Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com rankings moved. A few years ago, another author claimed she was owed millions because her Amazon ranking was...in the millions. As you've probably guessed, this is a common problem. New authors often try to use bookstore rankings to estimate their sales. …
A few weeks ago, I posted an article that contains a sample, no-nonsense letter for writers to send to deadbeat editors. I'm happy to say that, for those who have reported using the letter, almost 100% have subsequently reported being paid (and paid quickly!) as a direct result of using that letter. …
I am a firm believer in Internet forums and discussion lists, which are public places where people can easily and instantly post their opinions, complaints and more online. Unfortunately, not everybody with a computer was taught manners by their parents and there are more people than I ever realized in this world who are crooks... …
This article may be reprinted/republished freely. Please share this information with others. Imagine this. You stumble upon a letter from a young man who could very well be your brother, your son, or even your neighbor. He is a marine and is stationed in the desert in Iraq. He has red hair...and a horrible sunburn. He desperately needs sunscreen and, while he can receive mail every week or so, he doesn't have access to a store. What would you do? Then you find a note from a female soldier stationed in Afghanistan who has no family. While other soldiers in her area get letters and packages daily, she has never received anything. She doesn't want food, clothes or toiletries. She just wants a pen pal or two. What would you do? Still another soldier wants to know if people from home can send him a couple of bags of candy or some inexpensive school supplies, like crayons and paper. He hands these items out to local Iraqi children to see them smile, but he's starting to run out... …
We were recently approached by a firm wanting us to post a "job ad" for them. The ad involved hiring writers to email pre-written articles. These "articles" were promotional and the emails would be unsolicited, meaning the writers were being hired to spam others. …
After I ran last week's article, Don't Argue With Editors After Rejection, I received an irate email from a woman whose article was recently rejected. (Contrary to our guidelines, she'd submitted an unsolicited piece without querying first.) She called my writing "a sham of an article." …
I'd like to share some advice on how not to ruin your chances of writing for a publication... …
Beware of Companies that Guarantee to Get Your Book on Bookstore Shelves by Angela Hoy We've seen lots of marketing ploys and blatant sp*m from so-called PR and book marketing firms that say they guarantee to get your book on bookstore shelves. Authors should be very, very wary of these claims. In most cases, the author will pay much more to the "PR" or "marketing" firm than they'll ever get back in book sales. And, they just might end up with a pile of returns from the bookstores... …
Does an editor or publisher owe you money? Are they giving you numerous excuses and even claiming to have already mailed the check? Here's what you should do... …
Over the past few weeks, we've banned a record number of users from our forum. Some people think they're clever when they create more than one identity and try to make it appear that multiple people have a complaint about company or when they complement their own posts with other like posts from "other" users. What these not-too-smart-people don't realize is how easy it is for us to figure out when this is happening! …
Each year, I share an idea or two for homemade gifts that creative folks (writers!) can make for loved ones for the holidays. Last week I shared two new ideas, I shared two new ideas, including how to make a quilted felt house and how to create photo ornaments. Here's a new idea for this week. Iron-on Photo Dolls... …
Loving and Inexpensive Holiday Gifts By Angela Hoy Each year, I share an idea or two for inexpensive homemade gifts that creative folks (writers!) can make for loved ones for the holidays. Last year's article brought in lots of great as from readers! You can see links to those at the end of this article. In today's article, see how to turn photos of your children, pets, or even yourself into Photo Ornaments using cute, miniature scrapbooking supplies. The article includes a photo! Also, read how to turn the image in a photo into a small, framed felt quilt... …
This week I'm happy to share a letter I received recently from someone seeking slave labor, along with my response. Enjoy! …
We received an interesting email last week that brought to light a possible scenario that could have been very bad for us...and completely NOT our fault. …
Every business owner, even freelance writers, occasionally comes into contact with a customer whose rage and unethical behavior let you know that the term "the customer is always right" is sometimes wrong. …
I'm often asked how new authors, both self- and traditionally-published, can get their book into bookstores. Traditional publishers often don't get the majority of their new titles on bookstore shelves. There are just far too many books on the market for bookstores to carry all published titles on their shelves. Sadly, many authors think that getting a traditional contract means their book will be in almost every bookstore in the country. That's just not the case. Authors who successfully manage to get their books on a few bookstores shelves are primarily targeting local bookstores which are often happy to help a local author. …
Never let yourself be victimized by someone else's promises of fame... …
The next time you see someone seeking writers for no pay, don't hesitate to respond to their lame excuses for non-payment! …
I used to think I had seasonal book selling fluctuations all figured out. November and December were always pretty busy because of the holidays. Things would drop off in January and February. Revenues would pick up in the Spring, but drop off in July and August when people were on vacation. They'd pick back up again in September because school would be back in session and people would be getting back to business, and so on. Major news items like 9-11, the start of the Iraq war, and even the recent hurricanes affected us, but in a very minor way and for only a day or so. But, this summer, all my theories were proven wrong. …
I was pretty disturbed to receive the following email last week... …
How often have you seen this statement? "All submissions become the property of XYZ Company?" What if you saw that while you were applying for a freelance (or full-time) writing job? If you do, be very wary. …
In response to last week's article, 10 Things You Should NOT Say When Submitting Your Book for Consideration, one reader wrote asking for a list of 10 thing you SHOULD include in a book proposal. I called on our trusty friend and book marketing expert, MJ Rose, who generously offered to pen an article on this topic for us to run this week. Please see this week's Feature Article. …
At Booklocker.com, we receive several book manuscripts each week from authors wanting to get their books into print. While we're not a traditional publisher, we are concerned about offering a high-quality inventory. Therefore, we publish less than 5% of incoming submissions. After another agonizing week of seeing the same mistakes by authors made time and again, I thought we'd try to help those of you who are sending your manuscripts to publishers, traditional and other. Perhaps we can help you avoid one of these common mistakes (and give you a smile at the same time!). …
Last year, while perusing ebay.com for antique dolls (one of my hobbies), I stumbled upon a category of dolls I'd never seen before. They're called reborns. Reborn dolls are regular baby dolls that have been seemingly transformed into living, breathing, adorable infants that nobody can resist! …
When being tempted by a publisher who is trying to upsell you on marketing products and services, you should balance the cost of the service with the income you expect it to generate. And don't fool yourself. Very few of these expensive products and services are going to generate enough sales to warrant the initial expense. …
I've compared prices and services at the major POD publishers and it's appalling what some people are charging for the same print run...literally! All the major POD players use the same printer! It's even more discouraging that most of them aggressively try to up-sell authors for worthless marketing products and services. Here's a checklist to help you avoid the naughty ones... …
Before I became a business owner, I'd heard stories about mom and pop businesses that failed when mom and pop got sick of each other and got divorced. I'm often asked how Richard and I manage to stay happy while working side-by-side all day long, every day. Not only do we work side-by-side, but we work at home, so we work and live in the same space. We've abandoned the home office for the time being because it's too hot in there this time of year. So, we work in the bedroom during the day and watch TV in there together at night (with all the kids lounging around, too). Come to think of it, the only time I'm not with Richard is when one of us gets up to go to the bathroom. We even go to the grocery store together (that cabin fever sets in every few days). …
