What Does ‘sic’ Mean and When Should You Use It?
"My book contains speeches by others that have grammatical errors. What do I do?"…
Ask The Expert
“Is my book being trolled on Amazon by someone I know?”
If an author has any enemies (or suspected enemies), I recommend he or she remove those people from their social media friends' lists, as well as their email lists long before marketing of a new book begins...…
“Should I pay my publisher almost $3,000 to make my book returnable?”
Being told you have to buy insurance to close a book distribution deal? Sounds fishy because it is.…
“Should my website’s URL be my name or my book’s title?”
"What do you recommend for authors when they are creating a..."…
“Nobody Has Bought My Brand New Book…Yet There Are Already Used Copies For Sale Online?”
I haven't been paid a dime, but there are used copies of my book on Amazon. Well no, those aren't really used copies. …
If an editor buys first rights, but never publishes my article, what then?
If an editor accepts an article, but never print it, can I sell it again?…
“What are the benefits of going with a hybrid publisher?”
Ah, "hybrid." Such a cool sounding word, right? But...…
She’s my friend so she won’t sue me for what I wrote about her, right?
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?
Do the illustrations have to be in a specific format for publishing? Yes, they do!…
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
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?!
They are simply luring in authors, and then upselling them on worthless services.…
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?"…