Letters and Comments

Avoid Annoying POD Publishers That Hound You With Marketing Calls!

Published on August 29, 2012

Thank you Angela, I'm sold. A rep from Xlibris has been calling and bugging me every day! Now I have something to compare them to (BookLocker.com), and prove that they are not the best as they proclaim. Thank you again...enjoy your day. CC PUBLISHER'S NOTE: BookLocker is adamantly anti-spam and anti-telemarketing. If you like us, fine. If you want to use someone else, that's fine, too. We don't stoop to begging authors for their business so you will never receive spam or a telemarketing call from BookLocker. We've never done business that way and we never will. …

An Extremely Professional and Talented Cover Designer

Published on August 15, 2012

In the July 25 edition of WritersWeekly, someone asked you how your covers could be so inexpensive and what he'd get for his money. My answer??? A GREAT cover. When I self-published the first edition of my book, I paid a "professional" cover designer $2000. I told her EXACTLY what I wanted in terms of fonts, images, etc., and trusted she would put it all together into something great. When she seemed to misunderstand, I actually found some photos and put together a "sample" in Photoshop. She absolutely refused to give me ANYTHING like what I wanted--finally coming up with a Picasso-esque mess that I would have been embarrassed to use. She claimed she had created a cover and, despite the fact that I couldn't use it, she got paid in full. My son took my "sample"--tweaked it in Illustrator--and that's the cover I finally used on the book. For the second edition, I went with BookLocker.com and Todd did my cover. I sent him the cover of the first edition and told him what I'd like (essentially, the same thing I told the original designer). He came up with exactly what I wanted on the first try! In about two days! We tweaked the colors a bit and he even found me a couple of images that I loved for next to nothing. So, to the guy who asked the question...what you will get (from BookLocker) is an extremely professional and talented cover designer who should be making a LOT more...but I'm sure glad he works for BookLocker! Thanks, Judy Yero Teaching in Mind: How Teacher Thinking Shapes Education PUBLISHER'S NOTE: See examples of BookLocker's cover HERE. Click on each cover to see the entire cover (front, back and spine). Todd's covers are only $200 because we send him so much business. Of course, we pass that savings on to authors. :) …

Letters To The Editor For August 8th

Published on August 8, 2012

I read your News from the Home Office in this week's WritersWeekly. I've noticed a lot of people have stopped using social media during the Olympics so that they don't get any spoilers. I guess the same should happen with online news, too! Dawn Colclasure https://dawncolclasureblog.blogspot.com/ 365 TIPS FOR WRITERS: Inspiration, Writing Prompts and Beat the Block Tips to Turbo Charge Your Creativity BURNING THE MIDNIGHT OIL: How We Survive as Writing Parents TOTALLY SCARED: The Complete Book on Haunted Houses (with Martha Jette) …

Can You Republish Amazon Reviews? Maybe, or Maybe Not

Published on August 1, 2012

Thank you for your article about republishing book reviews from Amazon.com. As a professional writer who often posts reviews there, I would be very annoyed if another author lifted my work without asking me first! Obviously, I hold the copyright to my review. I have never given Amazon the right to hand my work to anyone else. Although I don't get paid for those reviews, I enjoy writing them as a favor to other authors. It would be a real slap in the face if one of those authors stole my writing and published it without my permission! Keep up the good work, Angela. Your newsletter has been quite helpful to me over the years. PUBLISHER RESPONDS: You should know that some employees at Amazon are indeed giving authors the right to republish book reviews in their entirety. Here's an email from an Amazon employee that was forwarded to us last week - On Jul 16, 2012, at 6:57 AM: Hello (author), You can certainly use your book's Amazon reviews on your website. While the Terms and Conditions allows for adding those reviews on your website, it does not allow you to use Amazon trademarks on your website. For more information, please review our Terms and Conditions... …

Letters To The Editor For July 18th

Published on July 18, 2012

THANKS FOR THE CHECK! Thank you for my first (BookLocker.com) royalty check, which arrived today--and which is bigger than the total of all royalty checks sent to me by AuthorOuthouse (AuthorHouse) since I did my two first novels with them in 2005. Paul AVOIDING A TRADEMARK INFRINGEMENT LAWSUIT IS SO EASY! I was looking through some of your material in WritersWeekly and found "Avoiding a Trademark Infringement Lawsuit is SO Easy!". I'd run a search when I started writing after I'd identified my main theme, and had found nothing except a mural (by the same name as my book). But after reading your article, I thought it might be wise to do another search. Guess what? There is another book with the title now. I'm so glad I checked! I've now picked another title. It actually fits my theme more closely, but will require a tweak to my text because I'd geared everything to the title - but just a little tweak. I'm spending some time reading your material as I proof my manuscript. Thank you for the information you provide in WritersWeekly. I have the feeling I'm going to be very happy with BookLocker. Thank you. Cynthia …

Flood and a Tornado!

Published on July 4, 2012

Angela, Just wanted to say how grateful I am that you and yours are okay! Boy, howdy, you sure do have some scary adventures! All the best, Sarah C. --- Glad you were all safe. January before last, water got within 30 yards of our house here in the Brisbane suburb of Fairfield, when so much was flooded and so many drowned, so we, too, were lucky. Now we say we live in Fairfield Heights. Thanks for being such a good writer/story teller. Bob …

Problems for U.S. Writers Working Abroad?

Published on June 13, 2012

I am not a rock star. And yet, when Examiner.com hired me in their first wave a few years back, that's what they promised. What I was, I think, was a shill. After a couple of years, and with no way to even review horrific ad hominem attacks before they were appended to one's columns--and hard on the heels of an Examiner.com editor bowing to pressure from a single reader who didn't like something I had written and telling me to write otherwise--I quit. I was writing on ethics, by the way, and the editor in question was acting, in my opinion, highly unethically, especially for a so-called news outlet. …

Examiner.com

Published on June 6, 2012

Hello Angela, I'm also a writer on Examiner.com and, although I really don't take them seriously at all, I continue to write for them. I use them to promote books I publish for other writers and also to vent my thoughts on politics and religion. They are rather loose in their acceptance level -- all you have to do is write. The more often you write, the better they like you. They use a grading system that is rather frustrating. I'm a professional editor / co-publisher and Examiner.com doesn't seem to have a clue about good writing. There is no indication of why you get graded the way you get graded -- no feedback for your grade -- and no transparency on their part about who is doing the grading. We could be graded by monkeys for all we know. I enjoyed your article revealing how the writers feel on Examiner.com. Thank you for revealing some truth for writers so they can make a more informed choice when signing up with Examiner.com. They seem to be very bias. I've also noticed that when I use my Twitter account to advertise my Examiner.com articles, people tell me they've read my article, but the number of readers I'm seeing does not seem to match the number of "hits" Examiner.com is reporting to me. There is really no way to check the integrity of Examiner.com's "hit" numbers on our articles. That is a bit disconcerting for me. When you have a place that is barely willing to pay writers for their time and effort, asks them to leave and keeps their work -- making additional income off "fired" writers, I can't help but wonder about the accuracy of their "hits" per article integrity. Thank you for the article. It helped me to evaluate for myself if perhaps I'm wasting my time on Examiner.com. -Name not published on request. …

DEMAND STUDIOS / A.K.A. DEMAND MEDIA STUDIOS – YES, WE’RE STILL GIVING THEM A THUMBS DOWN!

Published on May 30, 2012

Dear Angela, I owe you the biggest apology. Several years back, I dissed you for your stance against Demand Media Studios. I felt that you had done a hatchet job on them, but the fact is, you didn't go nearly far enough in exposing them for the terrible company they are. Please accept my most heartfelt apology, and feel free to share this letter that I wrote to them today: https://tempetempest.blogspot.com/2012/05/latest-disrespect-to-writers-at-demand.html You have my full permission to quote me. Sincerely, A wiser, contrite Jane M. Smith …

Thanks!

Published on May 2, 2012

Angela/Richard/and Staff - I just want to take a moment and say thank you for all your guidance and fine work while my book, "Adam Reborn: A Family Guide to Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury," was in your hands. To those writers out there who may be reading this now, during my son's accident it was a terrible time. Writing the book was a very difficult time because I was reliving the accident again. (Tied to the whipping post for a second go round.) However, I assure you, dear writers, that if you have any interest in Print on Demand (POD), your time with Booklocker will be a smooth road to travel. For those of us who love the written word, but can be "computer challenged," Angela and Richard and their team are with you every step of the way. Alex Stelmach ADAM REBORN: A Family Guide to Surviving a Traumatic Brain Injury https://booklocker.com/6122 …

Help! My Book Has Been Attacked on Amazon!

Published on April 4, 2012

Thumbs up to your readers for saying something about Amazon's policy of not letting authors reply to hecklers. We're supposed to just put our work out there and let them take shots at us with no response at all. I picked up one major heckler right away whom I feel is a member of one or two of the national writer's groups and is ticked that I didn't go the traditional literary agent route. Well hello!!! I tried submitting to lit agents for (count them) 10-years and you, Angie, are the only person in the publishing biz who gave me a ray of hope. Just wait until they get a load of my second in series. Kuddos lady!! D.M. Simonds ANGEL OF THE REALM https://booklocker.com/books/5280.html …

Just Because I Rejected Your Manuscript Doesn’t Mean I’m a Racist, Homophobe, Anti-Semite, etc.

Published on March 28, 2012

Hi Angela, I was deeply saddened by the article about the woman who made all kinds of assumptions about you because her manuscript was rejected. I want to say for the record that I've been working with BookLocker since 2003, and I have never found you or your family to be anything but friendly, accepting, and encouraging. Thank you for everything you do! Best, Debra Stang HOSPICE TAILS: The Animal Companions Who Journey With Hospice Patients and Their Families VISITING GRANDMA --- Hey Ang, I read your column today on not being racists for rejecting a book for X reason. Pretty funny. Having been in the writing biz (magazine and newspapers) my entire career I feel for you; as a reporter then editor I've been called every name in the book, none that I will repeat to a lady and I wish I had a nickel for every time someone threatened me with a lawsuit. But, that's the biz and the challenge with nonprofessional writers, they don't understand how the business works and, more to the point, that it IS a business and that business is to make money. I think what authors (any writer, for that matter) must understand is that they can't take their work and coddle it to their breasts as if they were children. I. too. pitched a book to you that you passed on; you passed because it was based on actual events. You explained (very nicely) that you didn't want to offend any survivors or risk litigation. I think this would make a nice additive for your readers to know that there are SOME of us out there who can take a rejection without rancor. Hugs, Peter J. Gallanis Assignment Editor Journatic …

Insist on a Contract!

Published on February 29, 2012

Dear Angela: As a freelance writer with more than 20 years of experience, I am still surprised when companies are not willing to provide clear contracts for writers. This is something that companies should view as a win-win situation to avoid any confusion or miscommunication, but instead many companies are unwilling to do it. I was recently offered an online writing project, but the company refused to insert payment dates (it was a 3-month project) as per my request - which is standard for all writing contracts. Unfortunately (for me) I was unwilling to accept the contract this way, and was surprised when their reply didn't even consider my request. I joined the writer's union years ago because I had a bad contract, and ended up doing a lot of work for free. Please make writers aware that, especially now with the Internet, a good contract will not only ensure that you get paid, but will protect your copyright. Nobody should be working for free. Thanks for all your great work! Best, Nina Flanagan …

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