Masonisms
As always, I LOVE reading WritersWeekly each week! Thank you for being such a strong voice and source of support for writers. This week's Masonism was so cute -- and VERY true! Dawn …
Letters and Comments
Do Book Review Services/Publications Pay Some Reviewers Less Than Minimum Wage? – Readers Respond
I know a few publishers that pay only $100 per manuscript, regardless of the number of pages. I'd say that's well below minimum wage. Cynthia …
Worst Book Covers and Titles Ever! FUNNY!
Thought you might like this, Angela. Made me laugh. 40 Worst Book Covers and Titles Ever https://www.boredpanda.com/funny-book-titles-covers/ (WARNING! MATURE CONTENT!) -Michael Publisher's Note: I've seen this before but I laughed all over again! I even ordered one of the books. ;) …
Thank You, Patti!
I love WritersWeekly. I really appreciate the consistency and accuracy. Patti …
Letters To The Editor For February 26th
Letters will return next week. …
Letters To The Editor For February 19th
Letters will return next week. …
Your Response To The Playwright Was Enlightening…
Your response to the would-be playwright was financially enlightening, but don't discourage too much. Anyone who has a real passion for the theatre, the power of observation, research ability and talent to write convincing dialogue should try their hand at writing for the stage... …
Letters To The Editor For February 5th
Letters will return next week. …
Writersweekly Is One Of My Favorites!
Hi Angela, I don't have a question, but I just wanted to send you a comment... …
World’s Worst Query Letters Are A Hoot!
I NEVER tire of your World's Worst Book Proposals and Query Letters columns... …
Disgusted By Lack Of Concern Over Plagiarism
Hi Angela, I'm still disgusted by the apparent lack of concern expressed by the public over the plagiarizing of someone else's creative efforts. Perhaps the scariest part of the whole scandal is the quote I read today that was attributed to Ubuweb founder Kenneth Goldsmith: "It's not plagiarism in the digital age - it's [re-purposing]... Our notion of genius - a romantic - isolated figure - is (bleeping) outdated. An updated notion of genius would have to center around one's mastery of information." He added: "Should God sue me if I paint a river?" If Goldsmith really said this, I would avoid using the Goldsmith website. He is an alleged poet, which is why I find it hard to fathom that he could make a comment like the one above. I have to wonder how he would feed if I "re-purpose" some of his work to wipe my behind. Being a writer is hard enough without some famous actor stealing another's work, but when you have the founder of a website alleged to be dedicated to education appearing to say that it's open season on the creative works of artists of every ilk for re-purposing, someone has to draw a line. JW Editor's Note: Profanity in the quote above was bleeped out by WritersWeekly. …
Letters To The Editor For January 8th
Letters will return next week. …
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FOR JANUARY 3RD
Letters will return next week. …
LETTERS TO THE EDITOR FOR DECEMBER 27TH
Letters will return after the holidays. …
LETTER TO THE EDITOR FOR DECEMBER 18TH
Letters will return after the holidays. …
WE LOVE OUR READERS!! :)
Thanks for WritersWeekly.com - it's still the best, most-informative ezine for writers! Michael …
I Had The Only Professional Looking (Self-Published) Book
Dear Angela, Yesterday, I participated in an authors event at our local central library in Merrillville, Indiana. Perhaps 20 authors were there. All, it appears, were self-published. I had the only professional looking books and the only hard backs, which impressed most of the visitors. I need your business cards to pass out! Honestly, I am not kidding. The author across from my table had her book printed by PublishAmerica. What a horror story! (She told me) just the mailing fee for 100 paperback books (not so good color work on cover) cost her $400. Mailing is $4 per book! No bulk mailing charge. She is locked into a 7-year contract and was stunned when I told her that I get a check from BookLocker.com each month. In a year, she has never received a royalty check. Again, I am so pleased with your wonderful service. Leaving for Miami in two days to get my gold medal for Destiny Denied. One of the important judging points was the look of the book and the printing of the cover, which is due to your fine work. Gratefully, Rosemary Gard DESTINY'S DOWRY Set against the background of the beautiful Croatian countryside and its simple villages, DESTINY'S DOWRY is the story of a baby taken immediately after birth to a place she did not belong. DESTINY DENIED Stefan Vladeslav's father announces his illegitimate son Ivan as an heir and Stefan's mother is obsessed with the family's monetary inheritance. WINNER! GOLD MEDAL - Readers' Favorite Book Awards - Cultural Fiction EDITOR'S NOTE: You can read more about Publish America's ridiculous per-book shipping fees HERE. …
Get More Book Sales with 90 Days of Promoting Your Book Online!
Dear Angela, Linda and I have been reading 90 Days of Promoting Your Book OnLine. We have found this book to be very helpful and we both wish to thank you for making this book available. Thank you very much. Professor/Dr. Brian Rothbart Linda Penzabene ==== Very Happy with BookLocker! Angela, Everyone who has read the book has been really impressed with the appearance of the book, especially the quality of the print and the cover. You should be very proud of your work. Jessica Clews Ettie Brogan https://booklocker.com/books/7111.html …
13 Signs You Shouldn’t Include That Risky Content In Your Book
Hi Ang: As always, your advice this week regarding "13 Signs You Shouldn't Include That Risky Content In Your Book" is excellent. I can give you two personal examples of situations where distance didn't mean a thing in cases of plagiarizing someone else's work. One was intentional and one was an innocent mistake (although I should have been more diligent in finding out if a copyright still existed). Thankfully, they both had happy endings but they could have caused a lot of financial grief. Strangely enough, they both involved published material from England. In the first case, I was just an innocent bystander. I was Editor of a weekly newspaper and my Publisher sold a lot of the advertising and was also the chief layout artist (did I mention it was a very SMALL weekly?) Anyway, his highest-paying advertiser owned a fancy subdivision that included a riding stable. He wanted to feature the stable in his full page ad that week and, as artwork, the Publisher photocopied a cartoon featuring a cute little English girl decked out in full riding habit and riding a Shetland pony. It was from a book of English cartoons someone had given his daughter as a Christmas gift. As I recall, the character - from a long-running English cartoon strip - was called Penelope. When I pointed out that the drawing was probably subject to copyright and shouldn't be included in the ad, the Publisher snorted and said: "This book comes all the way from England. The artist doesn't have access to our paper. He'll never see it." Wrong! Within a week, we got a "cease and desist" letter from the artist's solicitor in England. Obviously one of our readers was familiar with the cartoon and had sent the ad to the artist or to the publishing firm that produced the book. That was the first and last time the cartoon was used and, fortunately, we never heard another word about it. In my book Some Sunny Day, the title comes from the World War Two song We'll Meet Again. My Dad used to sing the song at family gatherings and, since the book was about life after his return from overseas following the war, I thought it would be appropriate to include the first verse in the book. Naively, I figured that so much time had passed since the song had been written, it was probably in the public domain and I was free to use it. I must have had a horseshoe in my back pocket at the time because, by an almost unbelievable coincidence, an English friend of mine bought several copies of the book and sent them to friends and relatives in England as gifts. Shortly thereafter, she got a note from one of her nieces pointing out that her husband, C. Ross Parker, owned the rights to the song, which his father, Ross Parker, had written. I wrote Mr. Parker a letter of apology and he sent back a nice note giving me permission, after the fact, to use the verse. Needless to say, a line indicating this permission was inserted in the next and subsequent editions of the book. Keep those words of advice coming, Ang. You're providing an invaluable service. Bear hugs, Tom Douglas Author, Editor, Freelance Writer Recipient - Minister of Veterans Affairs Commendation 2012 https://www.veterans.gc.ca/eng/department/mincom/bio/1061 https://www.tomdouglas.typepad.com …
My BookLocker Books are Beautiful!
Two weeks ago, I showed at the Schoolhouse Art Fair, where I had a table with both of my books. The books sold well and a few self published authors mentioned how beautiful my books were! Having only worked with you, I didn't know what they were referring to. Of the five I had lengthy conversations with, each had complaints: slanted printing, blurred printing and one even had a blurred jacket cover. Wow! Am I happy I am with BookLocker. Rosemary Gard Destiny's Dowry Destiny Denied …
Shame on Teachers Who Discourage Young Writers!
I had an experience similar to John Cali's. In high school, I completed a written work for a statewide writing competition. As part of the submission process, a teacher from my school read it. He shook his head and said he had no idea what it meant and that I should consider not submitting it. He felt that it would embarrass our school if I submitted it. He also told me I would never amount to anything in life. (Way to build up a student!) I did not listen to him, and submitted it anyway. The judges at the competition were so impressed with my writing that they asked me to quote part of it to them to verify I had not plagiarized it. My teacher was thunderstruck to hear my name announced the first prize winner. This little victory solidified my resolve to write as my career. I met the discouraging teacher years later. He seemed amazed that I doing well and was writing full-time. Success is the sweetest revenge. Deborah Jeanne Sergeant https://www.skilledquill.net …
13 Signs You Shouldn’t Include That Risky Content In Your Book
Hi, Angela. I wanted to tell you how much I enjoyed reading your article "13 Signs You Shouldn't Include That Risky Content In Your Book." Your experience shines here. Through my first reading, I found myself nodding and even laughing. But then, on second reading, it occurred to me that even we seasoned writers and editors can, without thinking about it, fall into one of the 13 traps. In fact, just this morning I was mulling inserting the horrible Dr. ____, who created financial distress for me years ago, into a novel I'm writing. Reading your piece this evening, I saw that I'd combined #1 "She'll probably never read it" and #12 "It's been years since it happened..." Thanks as always, AM …
Letters To The Editor For October 23rd
Angela is on vacation. Letters will return next week. ADVERTISEMENT PRINT ON DEMAND PRICE COMPARISON See how the P.O.D. publishers compare! …
Shame on Teachers Who Discourage Young Writers!
Hi Angela, I loved your story about your and Sharon Campbell's early writing experiences. I had a nearly identical experience in college. My English instructor seemed to have a personal dislike for me, although it was not mutual. I wrote what I considered the best paper I'd ever done, on a spiritual experience I'd recently had. I'd always loved writing, and this paper just flowed so easily and effortlessly. The instructor was known as a tough grader. But I thought I would surely get an A or A+ on this. When I got the paper back, was I ever pissed! His only comment was it was too good to have been written by me. I got a failing grade, and felt very discouraged. About that same time I wrote another long paper on another of my spiritual experiences. This one was just for me, not for a college course. Again, I thought…
I Based My Character On My Elderly Client/Friend. Do I Really Need A Notarized Release? Yes!
Hi Angela, This isn't a question, but a further response to the Ask the Expert question about the notarized form for the elderly person. I'm a Notary Public in Washington state. Two things come to mind in regard to the question of the notarized form. (Notaries are not allowed to give legal advice so this isn't and I don't. Winking smile.) 1) Notaries should not notarize a form for anyone they suspect may not be competent to sign the form. We do this by observing the person, their actions, talking to them and observing the person (your questioner?) getting them to sign the form. 2) Also, I don't know in what state your questioner was located, but here in Washington we have traveling notaries who will go to your home, office, etc. (myself included) to notarize documents. I hope these two suggestions will help clarify the issue for your questioner. Barbara L. Workman, Notary Public, Washington …
“Appalled to read the story about…”
I was appalled to read the story about the woman who is now a devotional writer who worked so hard on her high school assignment. To get that poor grade just because "it doesn't sound like you" was, in my opinion, totally out of line. With the stroke of a pen, this instructor destroyed the joy in writing of a young woman and kept her from decades of contributing to fiction and nonfiction, not to mention pleasure... …
Are Book Signings Big Book Sellers? Not Usually… So, Try Other Venues!
The venues listed for the book signings are the wrong places to do book signings. There would never be enough people to make it worthwhile. For the places in which to do it right, you usually you need a few months of preparation time and money to book a table at a place that has high traffic, which includes people that would normally buy your book. Basically, going where thousands of people will be with $100s of dollars to spend. People who read the material I write would generally be found at game expos and fan expos. At those places, you can also charge for the signature. Dressing up might help as well. George Arnold Hall https://www.linkedin.com/profile/view?id=168797012&trk=tab_pro https://goblincarcassstudios.com twitter: @georgeahall, @CharacterViews, @cronktheband …