Ask The Expert

How Do I Subtly (and Effectively) Promote My Book When “Commenting” on Articles?

Published on July 17, 2013

I've been consistently following the advice in your book, 90 DAYS OF PROMOTING YOUR BOOK ONLINE: Your Book's Daily Marketing Plan. I have a question about signatures. I've been commenting on the news and other blog sites, and typing in my "signature" - [Name, Author, Title of Book].. When I do this, do you advise to try to create a direct hyperlink to my site, or is this spamming and against guidelines? I've been copying/pasting a typewritten signature. I'm not sure you can even create a hyperlink in comments but some of the research says I can and it would be easier to go directly to my site if you don't think this would red flag me on the various sites I go to. …

Will My 686 Meg Book Make A Good Ebook? No!

Published on June 5, 2013

I'm a professional American writer. My travel ebook has 330 color photos and is 686 megs so I must use a file sharing site to upload it. Is this a problem? I am planning a series of these travel ebooks. …

Why Isn’t That Editor Responding to Me?

Published on May 22, 2013

You ran a market listing in a recent issue. I emailed the editor and they haven't emailed me back. Why do you run markets from companies like that? You need to remove it! …

Can One Software Program Make ‘Device Agnostic’ Ebooks?

Published on May 15, 2013

I recently read that the author of the Harry Potter series set up her own online store to sell her books direct. She said she is going to make them "device agnostic". I presume she means so they can be read on any e-book reader. Is there one software program you can use that makes your e-book available to all e-book readers? With so many players now in the e-book business, and so many options, some of which are exclusive to a particular company or device, how do I know as I get ready to self-publish what is the best way to go to ensure anyone with an e-reader can easily buy my book and have it work on their device? Do you make ebooks you publish at BookLocker device agnostic? …

Why Hasn’t Amazon Removed My Out-of-Print Book?

Published on April 24, 2013

Why Hasn’t Amazon Removed My Out-of-Print Book?

I decided to pull my book off the market a few months ago, rename it, and republish it elsewhere (I was not happy with my previous P.O.D. publisher). My previous publisher said they removed the book but it's still on Amazon. How can I make them remove it? I don't want the old version competing with the new. …

Confused About “Likes” vs. “Friends” on Facebook

Published on April 17, 2013

Confused About “Likes” vs. “Friends” on Facebook

The confusing thing for me about Facebook 'likes' is that Forbes prefers us to encourage 'friends', which can be done with my personal FB page. I created a writer page (a business one), but it just feels redundant....so I'm still not sure what the importance of it is. …

Absent a Contract, Who Owns the Rights?

Published on April 10, 2013

I am thinking of publishing an eBook and P.O.D. anthology of my personal blog. I've been writing it for 10 years and it's quite popular. However, for the past three years, some of those posts appeared first on another blog. They paid me for those. Do you know who owns the copyright on the posts? …

Where Can I Find Quality Paying Markets?

Published on April 3, 2013

I am a new writer, just trying to find someone to publish me that will see the value in my writing and compensate me equally. Can you help? …

Is Sending a Press Release to Regular Folks Spam? YES!

Published on March 27, 2013

Is Sending a Press Release to Regular Folks Spam? YES!

It seems to me there is a fine line between a press release and a promotional item. Wouldn't you say that a press release is generally promoting something? Maybe the definition of "promoting" is the key. Can I send press releases to anyone or only to journalists? …

Help! My Web Designer Registered My Domain Under HIS OWN Name!

Published on March 20, 2013

Your articles are a never-ending source of information. Thanks for all your hard work. This week I discovered that my web designer seems to have registered my domain name with his name and contact information. A year or two ago, I actually printed out an article you wrote on updating your domain name and making sure you were the owner of record. For the life of me, I can't find the article now. Can you help? …

How Much Should I Charge For A Reprint?

Published on March 13, 2013

A magazine wants to buy an article I already had published elsewhere. They told me to quote them a price. How much should I charge? …

A Large Canadian Publisher Owes Me Money. What Can I Do?

Published on February 27, 2013

Throughout my long freelance-writing career, I've used your "deadbeat" suggestions as a template for a demand letter at least three times when companies wouldn't pay me for my work. It worked every time. Well, almost every time. In one case, I was sent partial payment for my work (one-third); then the company went out of business. But I understand that other writers received zero, so even then, the letter worked. But, what recourse do I have if the publisher isn't in the United States? Threatening to report them to the attorney general and other U.S.-based organizations won't work. I ask because a Canadian magazine owes me money. It's part of a pretty large, fairly well-known publishing company with a portfolio of several publications. After I wrote the story to my editor's specifications, she decided she wanted a much longer, more detailed sidebar, which took a ton of additional time and research, but I cheerfully complied and didn't ask for more money for the extra work. She said (in writing) that the pieces were great and she loved them, and I have the emails to prove this. Nearly four months have passed, but I have not received one penny. My editor has been giving me the run-around, telling me that she put a "rush" on my payment (she said this on January 11), and she has sent me a few other emails telling me that she's asked the accounting department to "find" my invoice. Realizing that I wasn't getting anywhere, I contacted the accounting department directly. I asked, "When will I get paid?" I received this beat-around-the-bush response: "Please accept my apology for the delay in replying. It has been quite a difficult start of the week for me. We are working hard at meeting all of our financial obligations..." This sounds to me like there are no immediate plans to write that check. I then wrote a note to the magazine's editor in chief, who has not responded. Do you have suggestions for next steps? …

Where are Paying Markets for Writers Archived?

Published on January 30, 2013

First, thank you so much for your website. It's proving invaluable as I embark on my journey to full-time freelance writer. I have a question. How do I access the writer's markets archives? You gave details of a pet magazine a couple of weeks ago and I just want to have another look at it. …

Did This Essay Contest Sponsor Rip Me Off? Probably.

Published on January 9, 2013

I am a longtime reader of your newsletter and short time freelance writer. I won an essay contest in May. My check was supposedly lost or stolen in the mail and I have still not received payment. I don't want to make waves or any rookie mistakes in my correspondence with them that would create problems for me so early in my career path... …

New and Used Copies of Books on Amazon

Published on December 19, 2012

Someone recently brought to my attention that on Amazon, there is a listing for people to buy a "new" or "used" copy of a book (that's from a P.O.D. source) for a reduced fee or sometimes an extraordinarily high fee. Do you know where these books come from or where I can learn more about this? …

Book Contests – Good Idea or Not?

Published on December 12, 2012

I received an email from (an online book contest). It is for recognition. Is this kind of thing normal? The entry fee is $50 at this time. …

How Often Does My P.O.D. Publisher Get Sales Info. From The Printer?

Published on November 28, 2012

According to (my P.O.D. publisher), I have NOT sold ANY books - ever. They also claim the printer (which is owned by the distributor) "won't give out those stats." However, I have been contacted by international fans who have purchased both paperbacks and ebooks, so this is mystifying, to put it mildly. …

Who Owns My Cover Design?

Published on November 14, 2012

My book was published by (one of the largest POD publishers) and I am not happy with their service or prices. They designed my cover but I want to move my book to BookLocker. Can you use the cover they designed? Can they sue me for leaving? …

Should I pay $300 for a press release service? Probably not…

Published on November 7, 2012

I am contemplating using a service to send out a press release for my book. Seems like it may be a good investment of $300.00. I wanted to get your input on the subject though. What sort of thoughts would you have about press releases in general? …

How Fast Can You Publish My Book?

Published on October 17, 2012

Can you publish my book immediately? My current POD publisher (one of the largest ones) is trying to get more money out of me for marketing so they are STALLING, and have been stalling for about two months now. I told them I am not giving them ONE CENT MORE!!! …

My Printer Overprinted My Book, Selling at Discount, Not Paying Me!

Published on October 10, 2012

My printer said they overprinted my books and that they're selling them at half-price. They are paying me no royalties. They did not have my permission to do this. When I asked my printer about this issue, I was told, quite curtly, that there was nothing that could be done, that I had no recourse and "printers selling cheap, brand new books without permission is a simple fact of publishing." I consulted a lawyer on this and other matters and was told that this action was NOT an accepted or legal practice, as far as his research showed. Am I totally out of line assuming that this is NOT acceptable? …

Client Trying to Make My Contract Retroactive?!

Published on October 3, 2012

I work with a not-for-profit company, writing materials for them such as volunteer handbooks, procedures and policies. I am a contractor, and I submit monthly invoices to them. I did not have a contract until now, and now they are asking me to sign something which includes the lines: "All Copyright in all works, (including those works originating prior to the signing of this contract) procedure, policy, training materials, discovery, invention or process made, designed, drafted or discovered by you whilst engaged by the Organization will be the property of the Company..." I'm not okay with this at all and I've mentioned to the CEO before that these documents are my intellectual property. It wasn't work for hire. They were paying for my time in constructing these materials. Do I have a right to the materials I have already written? I want to keep working with the organization but I feel they're making a huge assumption here. I have also written an extensive groundbreaking document for the organization that I wish to draw on in future works. I'd appreciate any advice you can give, I'm so confused. …

Book Returns and Ingram

Published on September 26, 2012

My brother in law has a traditional publishing house, small to be sure. He has ceased dealing with Ingram not only because of the discounts they demand, but also because of the mountains of returns he gets months later of books with torn covers, etc. What is your experience? …

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