Celebrating Independent Authors
Recently I got an email from a friend who was all abuzz about a prospect to turn his book into a movie. He had taken my class on self-publishing a while back, and had dutifully completed all the steps and published his first book. The book was a memoir, and although he wasn’t interested in continuing writing as a career, who doesn’t like hearing that his/her book is fascinating enough to become a movie?
The email was as follows: Continue reading “The “Make My Book into a Movie!” Scam”
Have you seen these ads? Had your eye caught by that promise of easy-peasy success and wealth? I’m assuming (*cough*cough*) that most of you would know from the get-go that this is the bait for a complete scam, but just in case it tickles your palm and sends your brain into financial what-ifs, here’s the lowdown.
You used to see these ads in the backs of magazines (does anyone read paper magazines anymore?), but now you’ll see them as pop-ups on questionable sites or as books on Amazon. If you search on Amazon for any kind of writing advice, you’re bound to see a few of these come up as suggestions.
I looked at one recently called Continue reading “Write a Best-Selling Book in Just 3 Days!”
It seems anymore that there are all sorts of Print On Demand (POD) and service publishers, all ranges, offering a combination of add-ons and services. We’ve had readers asking about TheBookPatch, a slightly different take on POD publishers, and decided to look closer to see what we could find out about it.
From their website, they certainly look enticing. They offer to print a 60-page 6”x9” book for just $2.88, and this price is for 1-49 copies. For more than that, the price drops incrementally until you reach 1000 copies, when the price is at its lowest at $2.01 each. Continue reading “The BookPatch: Deal or Scam?”
Let’s say you’re brand-new to writing. You’re in the process of writing your Great (Insert Nationality Here) Novel and you’re looking around online for help. One website – Author Learning Center – stands out for you. The presentation is slick – friendly and reassuring. It features videos from authors you’ve heard of (Catherine Coulter! R.L. Stine!) and promises to provide you with lots of helpful information. And it’s free! For the first thirty days, that is. After that, it’s $9.99 a month. But you can cancel at any time!
Here’s what Author Learning Center won’t tell you anywhere on its website (I checked): It’s owned and operated by Author Solutions, one of the most notorious names in vanity publishing. Continue reading “What Author Learning Center Is Teaching: Buyer Beware”