Category: Guest Posts

My Horrible Experience with FirstEditing

#PublishingFoul Logo Indies UnlimitedGuest Post
by Brenda Perlin

After my first book had been picked up by a publisher (not as good as it sounds), I figured my story needed to be cleaned up before I let it go to press. I was jazzed by the idea of my book getting some attention, but I didn’t want to use the publisher’s “paid editing” option. I had no idea where to turn. That was until, by coincidence, a radio ad for FirstEditing was broadcast while I was driving. Jotting down their number, I called as soon as I could. Continue reading “My Horrible Experience with FirstEditing”

“The Chosen One” Is a Recipe for Writing Failure

Sabrina ZbasnikGuest Post
by S.E. Zbasnik

In speculative fiction, there’s a trick people rely upon to insure their protagonist is the only one who can preserve the kingdom, save the world, and rescue the galaxy from mechanical centipedes. Unroll some ancient parchment, have blind monks read it in catacombs, and declare your main character the chosen one.

Stop.

To say the chosen one has been done to death is to think hurricanes are a little windy. Not only is it a cliché infesting every genre it touches, it’s also a drama killer. Wrack your brain trying to create believable villains, establish obstacles that no one should survive, place your main character in immediate danger, and it all amounts to nothing. We know he’ll survive; he has to. He’s the chosen one. The spoilers are written right there in an ancient scroll only a wandering transient can read because his order failed to maintain itself before the prophesied times. Maybe they should have hosted more pancake feeds to raise funds. Continue reading ““The Chosen One” Is a Recipe for Writing Failure”

Getting Out of My Publish America Contract

#PublishingFoul Logo Indies UnlimitedGuest Post
by Brenda Perlin

This past Sunday, I wrote about my nightmare experience with Publish America. After the way they treated me, I knew my only course of action was to try to get out of my seven-year contract.

Seven long years! I blame myself for signing such a miserable contract but I didn’t know any better. I had high hopes and was flattered that someone actually wanted to publish my story. If they would have said hang from the highest chandelier, I might have done so. I was naive and didn’t realize they were a company that published books not because they thought they were good, but because they thought they could make money off of an inexperienced first-time author. Continue reading “Getting Out of My Publish America Contract”

My Publishing Nightmare with Publish America

Predatory Publisher Month at Indies UnlimitedGuest Post
by Brenda Perlin

After I finished my first book, I submitted it for publication everywhere I could. As the rejection letters came pouring in, so did a quick reply from a company called Publish America. I should have run as fast as I could but instead I got caught up with the idea of being a published author. At the time, that seemed as farfetched as taking a ride to Mars. For one thing, I had no writing background, and this was a story based on my life. Who was going to want to read it? Still, I wished upon a star and saw my book on the shelves of bookstores. I so badly wanted this pipe dream that I bought into it: hook, line, and sinker.

Continue reading “My Publishing Nightmare with Publish America”