Can I Give My Pseudonym A Fake College Degree?
If I'm writing under a pseudonym, can I call myself a doctor or a lawyer in my book (i.e. John Doe, PhD) even if it's meant to be humorous? …
Ask The Expert
Am I About to Get Ripped Off? Yes!!
I can see giving up ownership to my work if I was getting paid, but giving up both ownership and pay? Is that wise? …
Can I Legally Use Clipart In My Book?
Can I use Microsoft clipart in or on my book? …
What’s The Difference Between Reading Fees And Contests?
What is the difference between a fee contest by a publication and charging a submission fee? …
Marketing to Bookstores – A Lot of Work for Little (if any) Money!
I need to please ask you a question. I have started sending a copy of my book to some large bookstores out west. My first response was no, they wouldn't accept it because of my publisher's no returns policy. I'm afraid the other stores are going to say the same. …
How Much Should I Charge for My Writing Services?
I have just been offered a part-time job providing book reviews for a charitable organization's website. They asked me to pitch my fees but this will be my first professional gig and I don't know what to charge... …
WritersWeekly Has Blacklisted Another Publication That Charges Reading Fees
Could you be a bit too hasty to blacklist small publishers over fees? That most recent one was being overwhelmed by online submissions. The only work an 'author' had to do was hit send. The receiver had a lot of work to do to separate out the sewerage and sludge to even reach the slush. Couldn't the authors still send it in by snail mail the old fashioned way and NOT pay a fee? Additionally, university presses traditionally charge fees due to the low demand academic oriented work they publish. This cooperative/subsidy publishing is a long established norm in the university world and the only way such work would get published. It is not the traditional vanity press as the work is vetted. But you recently blacklisted a university publication for the fee issue. Now you are certainly free to blacklist anyone you want, I wonder if you are really doing it to help people more than you enjoy doing it... …
Can I Publish My Dead Friend’s Manuscript? No!
I have a manuscript, but am not the author. The author gave me the manuscript personally many years ago but without any written permission. His wish was just to somehow get it published. To make the matter worse, he was a resident of a foreign country and it was there he handed me the manuscript. He is now already deceased for several years. In this case, what should I do in order to prove that I am the rightful holder of the publishing rights, or at least some sort of representative? I do not expect to make any money off the book for myself. If there will be any income from it, it will be spent on worthy causes that the work's topic is closely related to. I would really appreciate your suggestions and/or recommendations. …
Repeat After Me. Do-Not-Pay-for-Book-Reviews!!!
I would like to contact book review writers about reviewing one or more of my ebook titles. I am willing to pay a fee for honest reviews, positive or negative, that are posted in magazines, blogs, or other places, to call attention to my titles... …
Mailing Your Manuscript to Yourself Does NOT Copyright Your Work!
I know an author needs to copyright a book in order to sue anyone who might try to steal it. What about short stories? How does an author protect himself with that type of writing? …
Is a 200-page Color-Interior Print on Demand Fiction Book Reasonable? No…
I'd like to publish a 200-page, 8.5 x 11 color-interior book. Is that reasonable? …
Amazon’s “In Stock” And “Ships In 2-3 Weeks” Verbiage Is Not Always True!
Yesterday was a good day at Amazon for (my book). But, it is hard to see how many books they sell. Their stated numbers of books in stock is erratic, as is its correspondence to delayed but related sales rank. I have tried a few times to watch the books in stock but it fluctuates according to no apparent logic... …
Is This Self-Publishing Rumor True?
This is straight from the horse's mouth! If you self publish you need to be able to market your book and you must sell one million books or your name is mud as far as writing for anyone ever again. I got this from someone who knows. Or thinks he knows! What have you heard about this?? Someone I know works for this writer and he told her this, that if you don't sell that big number of books you will never sell your work again! I don't know what to think about this, it sounds a little left field to me. Have you ever heard anything like this? …
Should I Pay a Fee to Submit to a Literary Journal? No!!
What is your view of publications that charge a fee just to submit work through their online submission portals? I notice many of the literary journals are now charging around $3 to submit, justifying that it's what it would cost for postage, administrative fees, and to help pay writers, like this quip from a lit journal: "We charge a $3 submission fee, which is the postage that would be needed for a submission. This helps keep us in business..." …
Should You Pay To Have Someone Give Feedback On Your Manuscript?
Should you pay to have someone give feedback on your manuscript? I know of a service that provides "beta readers" to authors but these readers charge to provide feedback. …
Can The Setting Of My Novel Be A Public Museum?
The setting for my novel is (a large museum in Washington, DC). I also reference (a large foundation). Everything else is per my imagination. Do you see any issues with using an actual public place or organization for a novel? …
Which Company Should I Use To Self-Publish My Book?
Hello Angela,
In the past, I have entered your 24-hour short story writing contests. My question: I have a completed book that I'd like to self-publish. Who would you recommend for self publishing and what problems could I run into with self publishing?
Thank you,
Rebecca
…
Can You Recommend Specific Markets For My Articles?
I have a few articles about optics (binoculars, spotting scopes, riflescopes, etc.). Any guidance in where I may publish them? …
Should I Pay A Marketing Spammer To Review My Book?
There's a company by the name of [removed] and they want to review my book for a very expensive price. Any advice? …
Upscale Magazine Wants Me To Quote A Rate For My Article. What Do I Do?
The editor of (an upscale magazine) just asked what compensation I'm seeking for an article I submitted. Do you have anything in your database that might help me out with a compensation answer to this dicey question? …
If I Publish My Own Work Online, Can I Still Sell First Rights Elsewhere?
There are pieces--short fiction and memoirs--on my web site that I want to submit to paying markets. Are those pieces considered "published" and therefore ineligible? If so, would they become eligible if I remove them? …
I Have A Writing Degree But No Recent Clips! Help!!
I've been out of the writing game for quite some time. Achieved a B.A. in writing from Ithaca College, and wrote a weekly sports page in a small town for a start-up newspaper for approximately nine months. I am a professional firefighter with a lot of time on my hands, and would like to spend some of my free time blogging or writing on the Internet. How do I get started with little to no recent samples? …
How Much Should I Charge For Legacy Writing?
I live in India and, while we have many biographers for famous people and achievers, we do not have legacy writers, at least that I know of. I have figured out the process, identified printers, etc., but I am stuck at how to charge my customers. I want to start soon and this is the one aspect that I am unable to figure out... …
Should I Write Free, Unique Samples On Request When Applying For Writing Jobs? NO!
In my job search, I've sometimes been asked to write free samples for people before being hired and I'm wondering what I should do in that situation. I've been in the industry for 18 years now and I feel like my body of work should speak for me. …
Can You Recommend A Legal Resource For Authors?
Know that I will be filing for some copyrights, etc, but I'm chiefly concerned with what assurances, permissions or protections I have from naming other people and citing their work or quotes in my book. It's a positive, nonfiction piece and I cite my sources, but I'm not sure what's considered fair use or in bounds. Would like a legal expert to review and advise... …
AN EDITOR WHO REJECTED MY QUERY GOT MAD AT ME FOR SELLING THE ARTICLE TO HIS COMPETITOR!
If Online Newspaper editor says no, is it wrong to pitch it to others who may or may not overlap in coverage area? …
MY P.O.D. PUBLISHER WENT OUT OF BUSINESS. WHAT DO I DO???
I had a book published by (a small P.O.D. publisher) in the US and it has been on sale since Oct. 2011, I have received no royalties, no answers to my emails, and now all emails are sent back. The editing was disgraceful (no errors fixed, etc.) and they took a lot longer than my contract stated to publish it. I have seen no advertising as was promised. In fact, they did not adhere to any of their contract. I have cancelled my contract, but they are still selling it on Amazon and other similar sites. I really don't know what to do about it. I'm completely at my wit's end. …
Can I Use Actual Bank Names In My Novel? It Depends…
I would appreciate your opinion regarding libel content. I have situations in my book indicating cyber intrusions within (two national banks) implicating employees. I have the normal caveat indicating the characters and incidents are the imagination of the author. Do you think that is sufficient? …
Want to Get Sued? Write About Your Ex!
Well...my dilemma is that the person I would write about is my ex-husband, who would probably pursue vengeance on me, but there is a chance he might not. I am not going to pursue any vindication on him or try to slander him, but only to convey my testimony as to how I became a better person because of my experiences with, through, and because of him. I don't want any potential lawsuit, but I also cannot publish under another name or deny the truth that I want to write. In other words, I don't want to hide. Perhaps as I write, I will end up fictionalizing it, but I won't know until I am finished writing if that will be the result. I want to share my story and I hope it will help people. I have asked other authors what they know about lawsuits on this, and they don't know or they say to trust and write it anyway. Do you have any other information in addition to that other article? …
Another Question on Using Song Lyrics
My question - because my new novel is devoted to lines from various songs, does it matter how old the song is? What about songs from the 40s, for instance? …