“After hearing recent news about Amazon selling counterfeit books, how can I find out if I’m a victim?”
Here are some ways to determine if your book has been counterfeited. …
Ask The Expert
“I want to solicit stories from my readers for posting on Facebook. What do you think about this idea?”
Do you REALLY want to give Facebook complete control of ALL of your creative content??? Here's what you need to do instead...…
“My publisher wants me to attend a Hollywood pitch festival but I have to pay them for it. Have you heard of this?”
I was contacted recently by an author who did attend one of these. He was initially impressed and excited because "so many" publishers had authors in attendance. But what he didn't know was...…
Q – “My brother was a famous singer in an 80’s rock band. Can I write about that?”
My brother hit the big time in the 80 s as a singer in a band he formed called (removed). I have an urge to write a book about my experiences with the band and touring with them as well...…
Q – “Where can I make short videos to promote my books on social media?”
We use these types of videos and they are VERY effective. The site we use is really fast (you create the videos yourself - with music!) and you can test them out for free...…
7 Fatal Mistakes Made by New Freelance Writers – DON’T Become an Instant Industry Fatality!
If you follow all of these rules, your writing career has a FAR greater chance of being a success. …
Q – “i keep sending out queries but nobody responds what am i doing wrong” (sic, sic, sic…)
I don't know how any writer can claim to be a serious writer when presenting their "work" in this way...…
“I found a fantastic erotic photo of a model for my book cover…but my publisher won’t let me use it. What can I do?”
Publishing real models' faces on some types of books can lead to BIG legal problems!…
“Publish America is out of business and I’m now going to self-publish. How can I get Amazon to remove my old books from their site?”
"I have two books published by Publish America and they are out of business. I plan to self-publish the new books. Who at Amazon can I contact to have the original books removed?"…
“I want to publish the lyrics from an old song but the rights holder hasn’t responded to me. What can I do?”
I've emailed ASCAP, and Sony, who owns the publishing rights, for permission and no one has gotten back to me...…
“When writing under a pseudonym, should I put my REAL name on the copyright page of my book?”
If something goes awry in the government database (which is a question of when, not if), someone searching for your pseudonym could find your home or mailing address, put two and two together...…
“A radio talk show host saw my book and wants to interview me. Should I be leery?”
"I googled him and he seems legit. They want me to call in, and discuss my books with them. Have you heard of anything like this being of benefit to any of your authors?"…
“An anthology publisher owes me royalties! What can I do?”
Anthology publisher ripping you off? Rescind the rights to your story AND then invoice them for copyright infringement!…
“If I signed a non-disclosure agreement, can I still write about my ex-boss using a pseudonym?”
"I'm involved in a lawsuit against my previous employer and I'm about to sign a non-disclosure agreement. I want to write a book about the case using a pseudonym. I can do that, right?"…
“A publicist called me about ‘republishing’ my book. What’s up with that?!”
I was called by a "publicist" about republishing my book that they saw on Amazon. (It's not supposed to be there because my lawyer was supposed to give them a cease and desist order since it was from Tate Publishing...)"…
“A marketing company says my book was ‘endorsed’ by movie producers but they want $5K! Is this too good to be true?”
Movie deals are exceedingly rare yet so many authors pay thousands to these types of firms each year. I'm willing to bet this firm makes the vast majority (if not ALL!) of their income from hopeful authors, NOT from movie deals...…
“Someone stole and republished my blog posts AND photos as her own! What can I do???”
An elder lady writer has been stalking me for 7+ years every single day. She has copied my blog posts and used some of my blog post ideas as her own. She didn't even bother to change the name of...…
“Can I recreate someone else’s photograph I found online, and use on my book cover?”
Is recreating a photo you find online copyright infringement?…
“Websites are offering my book at RIDICULOUS prices! How can I stop them?”
These scammers use my Amazon ads and illustrations claiming all sorts of things, like having 15 books of varying quality on hand, and raising the cover price from $13 to $45. However, my publisher and I have never sold books to these people...…
“How can I find out which publishers are imprints of Author Solutions? They took me for $15,000.00!”
Sometimes it's difficult to discern which publishing companies are owned by the behemoth Author Solutions. Check this list!…
Q – “Should I write about abuse I endured as a child if the abuser is still living?”
"One of the abusers is still living. I have no contact with that person. He is a sociopath. I would not name him in any book I would write, but I would have to..."…
“I rewrote my book but I want to re-use the title from the first edition. Will this create problems on Amazon?”
Would two Amazon pages then exist for the same book title? The old one AND the new one?…
“Should I pay a well-known company more than $400 to review my book?” NO!
Do you know about this company and is this something you recommend?…
“Should I call the updated version of my book Second Edition…or not?”
The publisher has relinquished all rights and removed the book from Amazon. The content will be almost the same...…
“What is a fair rate to pay an illustrator for my book?”
"I have an illustrator for my next children's book. How do you determine how much to pay them?"…
“How can I release a book into the public domain?”
What I want to do is put my aunt's three books into the public domain now, and make them available through digital preservation efforts. But, I first need to prove that I actually have the right to donate them...…
“Tate Publishing agreed to reimburse their victims but I never submitted a claim! What can I do?”
It's NOT too late to file your claim! But, you need to hurry!!…
Q – “I tried to publish my book through Amazon’s KDP Print (previously CreateSpace) but that has been a disaster. Can you publish it instead?”
I was going to publish my book through Amazon's KDP Print (previously named CreateSpace) but that has been a disaster...…
“My ebook looks like (bleep) and my publisher refuses to fix it! What can I do?!”
My publisher finally got my ebook up for sale and it looks horrible! I asked them to fix it and they said that's the best they can do with current technology. I find that impossible to believe! What can I do?!…
“I found a really cheap overseas book editor but I’m suspicious of the price…and their unprofessional website.”
"I am a single mom and I just finished my first book. I was looking for an affordable editor and I found one. It's really, really cheap but..."…
