“What are the benefits of going with a hybrid publisher?”
Ah, "hybrid." Such a cool sounding word, right? But...…
Ask The Expert
“She’s my friend so she won’t sue me for what I wrote about her, right???”
What still always shocks me is when authors assume that someone who is their friend today will still be their friend tomorrow. We've heard of family members suing authors for what was written, even when names were changed...…
“Should I get rid of the paperback edition of my book since the hardcover makes more money?”
"If I get rid of the paperback, people will buy the hardcover one instead and my profits will increase, right?"…
“Can I publish a book of baseball cards?”
"I'm helping a friend assemble a baseball book and he wants to include photos of Topps Baseball cards..."…
How to Waste Months of Your Life Writing a Book You CAN’T PUBLISH!
"I recently retrieved my dusty copy of (the author's) original synopsis and first chapters I produced and decided I wanted to continue to make it into book. I have tried to contact the originator by letter and email..."…
“Can I sue an author who gives their book the same title as mine?”
"Another author published a book in 2015 that has the exactly same title as my book, which was published in 2010."…
“A literary agency wants to represent my 12-year-old self-published book. Legit or not?”
"Because I hear so many horror stories about companies like this agency scamming authors (and yes, they approached me first!), I’m..."…
“What do illustrators need to know before starting work for an author?”
"I currently have an illustrator for my book. Do the illustrations have to be in a specific format for publishing?"…
Can Amazon Steal Authors’ Books, and Republish Them?
"If Amazon can blatantly rip off a vendor's hard-line design, what's to stop them from hijacking an author's book?"…
“I won’t earn a profit on my book so I can use other authors’ works under fair use copyright law, right?”
To be completely honest, questions like this always make me cringe. By contacting me today, this author may have avoided a lawsuit, or two, or a few...…
“A publisher wants $4,000 to market my book to OTHER publishers?!”
"I need your advice on a proposal just sent to me by an agency..."…
A VERY Expensive Anthology Scam Targeting Writers
Authors must pay more than $1,000 to be included. It costs even more if the author wants his or her name on the cover...…
“I created characters for my book from images I found online. Was that copyright infringement?”
"I realized later that maybe I was not supposed to do that. I tried for find the original artists to ask permission but..."…
“Can I publish somebody else’s old journal/diary?”
"I am in possession of a journal that was published in the 1940's. Is something like this publishable?"…
“I don’t want to pay Microsoft EVERY MONTH to use their software! What can I do?”
Why can't I just buy the software at a higher price and use that without being charged every month? Do you have a work around?…
Do NOT Pay Someone to Showcase Your Book at a “Virtual Book Fair!”
I received an unsolicited phone call from a senior marketing consultant at a company that displays books at book fairs. She said her company was only taking 10 books to a book fair in Europe and they chose mine...…
“Can I publish a memoir that was written in 1915?”
"I have not seen anything in writing about who owns the rights to the manuscript..."…
“Do industry insiders regard self-publishing as ‘cheating?'”
Anytime an author pays to get published, it's considered vanity publishing. But, many self-published authors earn more than their traditionally-published colleagues. …
“How can I ensure my books stay in print after I die?”
What is a literary trustee and where can I find one?…
“A publisher wants to charge me hundreds of dollars to ‘reprint’ something that is widely available for free online…”
"They're quoting me hundreds of dollars to reproduce the text in my book. But, there are countless websites that have already quoted this exact text by that author..."…
BarnesandNoble.com STILL Experiencing Problems after Massive Cyber Attack
While their main website is back up, they are still experiencing problems, including the inability to put up new ebooks...…
“Do people actually buy children’s picture ebooks?”
Would YOU buy your child or grandchild an ebook for Christmas, or as a birthday gift?…
“Amazon won’t remove the old listing for my book even though the publisher is out of business!”
"I was able to break the contract before they went out of business. However, my book is still advertised on Amazon Children’s Books, with all of the previous information, pricing, etc..."…
“Can an LLC protect me from getting sued?”
"I've written a book that contains lots of stories about people I've know. A friend told me to set up an LLC and then can't get sued. Is this true?"…
“This journal CHARGED me to publish my article and they want to CHARGE me to cancel it!”
"In early September, a firm contacted me through LinkedIn, and asked me to submit an article to their online (medical) journal..."…
“I want to write a new book. What’s trending now in the bookselling world?”
Finding trends on best sellers lists! And, if you can write a best seller that becomes a classic, you'll have it made!!…
Q – Can You Claim to Have “Channeled” Deceased Celebrities in Your Book?
I received an email from a woman who claims to have written a book about her channeled conversations with deceased celebrities. Whether you believe in channeling (a two-way conversation between the living and the dead) or not is irrelevant...…
“My publisher says only three copies of my book have sold. I don’t believe them. What can I do?”
Q – Hi Angela, Is it possible for me to find out about how many of…
Author wants to leave Xlibris, and wants previous listings of his book removed but…
"Amazon now shows my book as available on-line, as it also does through Good Reads. I contacted Amazon and its representatives were unwilling..."…
“How can I convince Amazon to make my book more ‘findable?'”
"My book is on Barnes and Noble and Amazon but it cannot be found in a search..."…
