“An author died and the publisher wants to put MY name on the new edition?!”
Can a publisher name someone else as the "author"...after an author's death?…
Ask The Expert
“I want to charge a realistic amount for this freelance job. How much should that be?”
Freelancers, be VERY careful when doing work for an un-established start-up...…
“What’s a good (and cheap) way to send my book to reviewers and buyers?”
"Plain 6x9 envelope? Bubble wrap envelope, etc.? Any other mailing advice?"…
Q&A – “A conference organizer didn’t order my books on time!”
"On the day of my speech, it was determined that there were no books there for me to sign or sell!"…
“Will renting my ebook to libraries lead to more book sales?” Not likely! Here’s why…
"I once heard of a library that was copying ebooks onto CDs and thumbdrives for their customers, meaning multiple copies were walking out the door! Not only were authors NOT getting paid for each copy but..."…
“AuthorHouse Won’t Refund My Money. Who Should I Call?”
I have been working with AuthorHouse to publish my book. It has now been almost 2 years! …
“Should I pay a service to track queries I send to magazines?”
Writers can get so caught up in the "newest" site that offers submission tracking ("Ooooh! Pie charts and bar graphs!!") that they spend very little time actually querying and writing. They're too busy looking at statistics, chatting with other writers online, and not really getting any money-making work done.…
Uh Oh! Cutting Corners with your Self-Published Book Can Cost Time AND Money
I hired an (overseas) firm that promised 5-day turn-around and cheap prices on cover design and book formatting, I decided to have them handle those tasks for my book. It's now been 40 days and...…
“Angela, have you seen what Amazon’s doing with their ‘buy’ buttons now?!”
Amazon is allowing resellers to "win" buy buttons on their book pages, which means some books will no longer be for sale directly through Amazon! Read more...…
“Where can I read past winners of your quarterly 24-hour short story contest?”
The WritersWeekly 24-Hour Short Story Contest is in its 18th year!…
My book costs $2700 on Amazon!? What?!?!
Since these database errors are so prominent on Amazon, you'll see all sorts of books by unknown (and known) authors, both active and out of print, priced at out-of-this-world prices. Here's why...…
A Painfully Obvious Example of How NOT to Promote a Book!
It's never a good idea to keep writing more and more books for a series that isn't selling. You should take several months off from writing to promote the books you already have on the market. Here's why...…
“How many copies of my book can I expect to sell?”
"Do you have a guess on how well my type of book would sell?"…
“Should I pay for a print cover AND an ebook cover for my book?” NO!
If your publisher has already created a print cover for your book (paperback or hardcover), and if they are now trying to upsell you on ebook cover design, you're getting ripped off. Putting a cover on an ebook is as easy as copying and pasting the front cover only from the print cover file, saving it as a different file, and using that in the ebook, as well as on retailer websites, like Amazon, BarnesandNoble.com, and others.…
How does Archway Publishing compare to BookLocker?
Can you guess which large firm owns Archway Publishing?…
“If I write about someone who’s in prison, they can’t sue me, right?”
Just because someone is in prison doesn't mean they can't, or won't, sue you. If they find out about your book, read it, and don't like what you've written about them...…
Is Your Book Suddenly “Unavailable” on Amazon? Are They Up to Their Old Tricks Again?!
Has you print on demand book suddenly been listed as "out of stock" or "unavailable" on Amazon? Or, does it now have a ridiculous lead time - like "Usually ships in 1 to 2 months?" You need to read this and you need to immediately contact your publisher...…
“I’m afraid that self-publishing company is going to steal my manuscript!”
How do I know they won't take my rights, or steal my manuscript from me altogether?…
“Angela, what’s your opinion about publishers and authors hiring ‘sensitivity readers?'”
The practice of hiring "sensitivity readers" is absolutely RIDICULOUS! Books are supposed to challenge readers' thinking. They not only entertain readers, but also disturb, offend, spur people to action, expand our thinking, teach us about things, people, and societies that we would otherwise never be exposed to, and so much more! This is pre-publication censorship, plain and simple...…
Victim of defunct Tate Publishing doesn’t want to pay Tate’s (unfair) $50 for her production files. Can she just use the files they sent her for approval before the book was published?
"I don't want to ask Tate Publishing for my files. Can I get my book to you without notifying them of my change? I don't want them to sue me. Should I ask my attorney about this?"…
“How can I turn my blog into a book?”
Q – Hi Angela, I have hundreds of blog posts on my website and I’d like…
We don’t use foreign call centers…so now we’re racists?
"Your stand on outsourcing to third world countries is admission of your being racist. Would you mind explaining why you detest dealing with such a huge chunk of humanity?"…
“Can I publish pictures of people’s (private parts) that they’ve texted to me?”
"My friend and I have been collecting (bleep!) pics that men have been sending to us by text. We want to make a coffee table book out of them. How would we go about doing this?"…
“I want to publish an anthology that includes stories written by others. Where do I start?”
I'm interested in writing an anthology. …
“Should I pay Xlibris $6,000-$17,000 to promote my book?”
Dear Angela, (A relative of mine) wrote and self-published a book with Xlibris. She is a…
When a Vanity Publisher…Pretends To Be Traditional
I have been offered a contract by a regular publisher but, because I am not a known author, they want me to commit to purchasing copies up front for a total of $4200. I realize that they want to get all of their costs back up front but that seems kind of high to me. What do you think?…
Ask The Expert – “If our publisher doesn’t abide by our contract, can’t we just have our books published elsewhere?”
It's much easier to move a book elsewhere if a publisher has a non-exclusive contract. Unfortunately, yours does not.…
Q & A – “I’m looking for a publisher. How do I know I can trust you?”
“I’m looking for a publisher. How do I know I can trust you?” I receive…
Should I offer credit to bookstores, libraries and others who want to purchase my book?
The answer is probably not. Here's why, from experience.…
“CreateSpace has put us in a very bad light with our customers! I’m at my wit’s end! Can BookLocker get my book published right away?” YEP!
CreateSpace has put us in a very bad light with our customers now. This book was a Kickstarter campaign and we are now six months late. The complaints are coming daily.…