On this page, you can find links to all of our podcast episodes, on four separate forums. The newest ones will appear on top.
Not only will you laugh (alot!) but you’ll also learn how to make more money with your writing, how to diversify your writing income, how to publish your own book (or how to get traditionally published!), how to spot scammers in the writing and publishing industries, hear funny stories about our dogs and chickens, and so much more! You can even hear a ghost (??) in Episode 2 (at around 14 minutes and 5 seconds).
IMPORTANT! Do you have legal questions concerning anything related to writing and publishing? James M. Walsh, Esq. will be joining us in a future episode. We’d love to know what YOU want us to talk about! If your question is chosen, we will only use your first name. Send your question(s) to us using THIS FORM.
CONTACT ANGELA AND BRIAN directly with questions, comments, or topics you want covered in future episodes of the WritersWeekly Podcast!
EPISODE 8: How Exactly Does the Book Publishing Process Work?
Are you a new author who is terrified about the book publishing process, or even how readers will respond to your new book? Or, are you simply curious about how the entire process works, step-by-step? THIS EPISODE IS FOR YOU!
Have you ever wondered what goes into getting a book published? Do you have a manuscript that you’re holding onto because you’re afraid of not knowing what to expect? How can you make sure someone won’t take advantage of you? How long should the process take?
In this episode, Angela and Brian go through the book publishing process from start to finish. From submitting your manuscript, to formatting and editing, cover design, copyright registration, and more – all the way to dropping the first copy onto your doorstep – we cover it all. If the publishing process mystifies (or terrifies) you, then THIS is the episode you need to hear!
Bonus Content: Hear about Randy the Rooster’s unfortunate demise and what Angela and Brian are currently up to in our “News From The Home Office” segment.
And, as always, we’d love to hear your comments and ideas!
Links referenced in this episode:
- Randy the Rooster
- Get free quotes from Native-English-speaking, vetted, freelance book editors who ARE located in the U.S.
- Association of American Literary Agents
- The Cold, Hard, Ugly Facts about Traditional Publishing…and Why You Might Want to Avoid It Altogether
- Some libraries (and even bookstores) may refuse to publish your book if you choose the wrong publisher.
- The Authors’ Safe Harbor Facebook Group! STAY SAFE FROM SCAMMERS! Enjoy discussing writing, editing, cover design, book marketing, and so much more without being spammed and scammed! Join this private group that is heavily moderated directly by WritersWeekly.com!
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
EPISODE 7: 9 New and Nasty Scams Targeting Authors
In this episode, Angela and Brian cannonball back into the cesspool of online scammers who target authors and writers. Joining them is James M. Walsh, Esq. James is an attorney from Pennsylvania, and has been assisting in the research to uncover how foreign criminals are scheming to steal your money. He also has an interesting story of his own!
We expose just how bold and brazen these thieves are, and how far they will go to convince you to hand over your hard-earned cash. There is even a whole class of weasels who will offer to “help” you AFTER you’ve been scammed…in an attempt to steal even MORE of your money. Don’t get caught in these scammers’ traps! Learn what you need to know to steer clear of the ever evolving schemes. Every writer and author needs to know what to look out for. You can’t miss this episode! And, as always, we’d love to hear your comments and ideas!
Links referenced in this episode:
- The Authors’ Safe Harbor Facebook Group! STAY SAFE FROM SCAMMERS! Enjoy discussing writing, editing, cover design, book marketing, and so much more without being spammed and scammed! Join this private group that is heavily moderated directly by WritersWeekly.com!
- Is Your Favorite Writing Group on Facebook Being Moderated by a Scammer?
- FACEBOOK’S FRAUD FIASCO: How Facebook is Profiting From Scam Publishers Targeting YOU on Its Platform – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
- Maximum Impact by Leo A. Murray and James M. Walsh, Esq. on BookLocker, Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and elsewhere across the globe!
- DON’T MISS THIS ONE! Publishing Mojo Claims THEIR REPUTATION WAS HARMED, But Then Stops Responding After MORE Allegations Surface!!
- Why Some Authors Forget Their Common Sense in the Drive to Get Published – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
- WriterBeware.org
- “Pig Butchering” is mentioned in Victoria Strauss’ article about the Philippines’ scammers (Page Turner Press & Media) who are currently in U.S. jail cells. On that page, she has this warning – SCAM ALERT: Authors are reporting calls from “US Literary Law Firm” offering “representation” for PageTurner victims for a fee of $1,200. This offer is fraudulent: there is no such law firm.
- Fraudulent “Recovery Firms” and “Law Firms” Are Scamming Previously Scammed Authors – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
- Latham & Watkins’ impersonation scam warning
- 11 Ways to Know If a “Publisher” or Other Service Provider is an Overseas Scammer (You’ll probably only need to check #1 to prove it!) – by Angela Hoy, Publisher
- A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
- NEW SCAM! “Pay us $26K and we’ll stock 3,500 copies of your book in 150 stores!”
- What is the Reticular Activating System that James says serves as our internal sh*t detector?
- It’s 10:00 p.m. – Do You Know Where Your Elderly Author Parent Is?
- Johnny Depp impersonators are scamming fans out of thousands, report reveals
- Scammer Word Stratum / wordstratum.co / wordstratum.co.uk Tries to Hookwink Angela, and Gets Smacked HARD For Doing So!
- How To EASILY Get Awesome and Honest Book Reviews That REALLY Carry Weight With Readers!
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
EPISODE 6: How AI (Artificial Intelligence) is Getting Writers, Students, and Even LAWYERS into Trouble!
In this episode, Angela, Brian, and a special guest, University of Tennessee English Professor Clayton Jones, explore the disturbing role of AI (Artificial Intelligence) in the writing, education, and legal industries. Is there a role for AI in professional writing? How are people currently using it? What are the ethical and unethical ways for AI to be used? We discuss what we’ve seen from authors and writers as publishers ourselves and Clayton gives us insight into AI’s place in the education world. Is AI just a cheater’s shortcut? Is it a helpful tool or a hindrance? We will also be looking at some ways AI has been used that have gotten people into some pretty big legal trouble, along with a study that sheds some light on AI’s effects on student learning. Join us for a lively discussion on Artificial Intelligence and its influence on ALL aspects of creative thought and production. And, as always, we’d love to hear your comments and ideas!
Links referenced in this episode:
- IBM: Understanding the different types of artificial intelligence
- Lawyers submitted bogus case law created by ChatGPT. A judge fined them $5,000
- AI ‘hallucinations’ in court papers spell trouble for lawyers
- HECHINGER REPORT: Kids who use ChatGPT as a study assistant do worse on tests
- Grammarly’s Free AI Detector
- Sound Wind Literary
Jones Books and Stuff on TikTok - Rocky the Cat (doing what he does best!) on TikTok
- Book Trailers
- Clayton’s Popular Social Media Marketing Package
- 2023 Writers Guild of America strike
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
EPISODE 5: Memoirs and Lawsuits
In this episode, Angela and Brian share the very real dangers of telling people too much in your memoir, how it might affect the people you write about, and how it can affect you financially down the road if you get sued for libel, defamation, or invasion of privacy. Angela and Brian also discuss some high-profile lawsuits that resulted from famous authors’ books, and two interesting examples from authors they know.
DISCLAIMER: WE ARE NOT ATTORNEYS AND NOTHING WE SAY IS LEGAL ADVICE. If you have specific questions about your situation, contact an attorney. That said, we have tons of experience vetting manuscripts, and being able to find red flags that might cause authors problems later. We’ve also heard countless horror stories over the years about this topic.
Links referenced in this episode:
- Don’t Invite a Lawsuit with Your Memoir – by Angela Hoy (this article mentions the father whose daughter threatened to sue him)
- The release we discussed, for people mentioned in your book, is in this article: Don’t Invite Lawsuits by Real People Featured in Your Book! (Hint: You Can Still Be Sued Even If You Don’t Name Them!)
- Why Some Authors Need Lawyers
- Brian’s memoir:
- We forgot to mention Angela’s book, which is part memoir: The Emergency Divorce Handbook for Women. She wrote it under her real name, changed the names of her first husband and his family members, and she did not get sued. Angela gives the ebook away for free to those in need during such a trying time. You only need to Contact Her to request a free copy.
- Attorney Contance Briscoe, the author of UGLY and BEYOND UGLY, was sued by her mother. Incidentally, she was later disbarred for an unrelated matter.
- ‘The Help’ Spawns A Lawsuit And A Question: How Much Borrowing Is Fair?
- ‘Running with Scissors’ Author Settles Suit with Therapist’s Family
- Statutes of Limitations for defamation by state.
- CONFESSION: Um, I’m Kind of Addicted to the Johnny Depp Defamation Trial…
- What did Amber Heard’s Washington Post op-ed actually say?
- Publishing Other People’s Non-fiction Stories Can Get You Sued!
- Want to Get Sued? Write About Your Ex!
- Am I at Risk of Being Sued?
- Did Your Lawyer Say, “You Can’t Be Sued?” BEWARE!
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
EPISODE 4: Demystifying Query Letters and Book Proposals
In this episode, Angela and Brian teach listeners the rights and definite wrongs that freelance writers and authors do when approaching magazines and websites for writing work, or when approaching traditional publishers in the hopes of landing a publishing contract. Angela also shares how listeners can contact her to get free copies of her books:
- QUERY LETTERS THAT WORKED! Real Queries That Landed $2K+ Writing Assignments – SECOND EDITION
- BOOK PROPOSALS THAT WORKED! Real Book Proposals That Landed $10K – $100K Publishing Contracts – SECOND EDITION
Links referenced in this episode:
- Yocheved Golani in Israel, author of It’s MY Crisis! And I’ll Cry If I Need To: EMPOWER Yourself to Cope with a Medical Challenge.
- WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest
- What Did Our Pastor Hear Angela Say?! – by Brian Whiddon, Managing Editor
- If You Are “Sympathy Pitching” Editors and Publishers, PLEASE STOP! by Brian P. Whiddon, Managing Editor
- Association of American Literary Agents
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
EPISODE 3: The Collapse of NaNoWriMo: What Went Wrong?
In this episode, Angela and Brian do a deep dive into the non-profit organization known as “NaNoWriMo” (National Novel Writing Month), and their recent announcement that they would be shutting down. Did financial mismanagement bring about their demise? Or was it a failure to address alleged accusations that a child groomer was on their forum? Could it have been their stance on AI being used in writing that caused a rebellion among its faithful disciples, and even two board members?
Links referenced in this episode:
- WritersWeekly’s Quarterly 24-Hour Short Story Contest
- NanoWriMo on Wikipedia
- Epic Indie’s post on Substack
- @Arumi-Kai on X: Photo 1 and Photo 2
- SpeakOut has a page of testimonials from users
- Nanowrimo’s pathetic we’re going belly-up video. See if YOU can make sense of the math!
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
Additional References:
A statement by one of Nanowrimo’s AI advertisers.
EPISODE 2: “In Just $299” – Publishing SCAMS You Need To Avoid!! Part 2
In this second part about publishing scams, Angela and Brian discuss steps the WritersWeekly team have been taking to combat the prolific rise in international publishing scams, and specific steps YOU can take to make sure that a ‘publishing company’ you may be looking into is or isn’t a scam operation. Also, something odd happened during the recording of this episode. Listen carefully around the 14 minute, 5 second point. What do you think you hear? We’ll be telling the whole story in the “News From The Home Office” on WritersWeekly!
Links referenced in this episode:
- What Did That Otherworldly (?) Voice on Our Podcast Say???
- A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
- 11 Ways to Know If a “Publisher” or Other Service Provider is an Overseas Scammer (You’ll probably only need to check #1 to prove it!)
- DON’T MISS THIS ONE! Publishing Mojo Claims THEIR REPUTATION WAS HARMED, But Then Stops Responding After MORE Allegations Surface!!
- Victoria Strauss at Writer Beware – Publishing/Marketing/Fake Literary Agency Scams List
- Victoria Strauss’ blog at Writer Beware
- REPORTING SCAMMERS TO META/FACEBOOK:Email Meta’s investigations unit with SPECIFIC DETAILS about how your were scammed: legalinvestigations@meta.com. Include the company’s link(s) on Facebook and, if possible, Instagram. Be sure to copy Meta’s Chief Legal Office, Jennifer Newstead, at jnewstead@fb.com!
- Brian’s book: BLUE LIVES MATTER: The Heart Behind the Badge
EPISODE 1: “In Just $299” – Publishing SCAMS You Need To Avoid!! Part 1
In our first episode, Angela and Brian tackle the astronomical rise in international scams that are targeting writers and authors. These criminals are using professional looking websites, social media, direct messaging, spam, and cold calls to lure people in with the promise of writing-related services (even scam book-to-movie “services”) at bargain-basement prices. But, look out! Once they have your money, you’re not getting it back! These scammers are claiming to offer book publishing, ghostwriting services, editing, website and SEO services, cover design, interior formatting … the list goes on and on. This podcast episode might very well save you from losing THOUSANDS of dollars!
- BookLocker.com has been in business for more than 25 years, has an excellent reputation, and is located in the U.S.
- WritersWeekly.com’s articles, marketing secrets, paying markets for writers, and freelance job listings.
- Abuzz Press – No setup/design fees for authors but very choosy on what books to accept.
- Complaints about specific publishers.
- FACEBOOK’S FRAUD FIASCO: How Facebook is Profiting From Scam Publishers Targeting YOU on Its Platform – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
- A List of Publishers and Services That ALL Authors Should AVOID AT ALL COSTS!
- 11 Ways to Know If a “Publisher” or Other Service Provider is an Overseas Scammer (You’ll probably only need to check #1 to prove it!)
- Publishing Scam Resources for Authors
- FRAUD ALERT: Why 5-Star Reviews on Trustpilot Can NOT Be Trusted – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
- DON’T MISS THIS ONE! Publishing Mojo Claims THEIR REPUTATION WAS HARMED, But Then Stops Responding After MORE Allegations Surface!!
- “Withheld for Privacy (in the same building as a penis museum) and proxy services have turned Iceland into a global hub for illicit activity far out of proportion to the country’s size…”
- Foreign Owners of PageTurner Press and Media ARRESTED in the U.S.!
- Why Some Authors Forget Their Common Sense in the Drive to Get Published – by James M. Walsh, Esq.
- Scammers Are Offering to “Help” Scam Victims Get Refunds…For a Fee, of Course
- SCAM ALERT: No, Netflix did NOT just email you about turning your book into a movie!
- It’s 10:00 p.m. – Do You Know Where Your Elderly Author Parent Is?