Archives for March 2013

Book Launch March 20: Kentucky Rain

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Jan Scarbrough did it again: she wrote a new romance in her Kentucky series, Kentucky Rain

Kate Lawrence is a recently divorced, single mom who is ill-prepared to make it on her own. She moves to her small Kentucky hometown to create a new life for her daughter and herself. Carrying emotional baggage with her, Kate is not sure she is ready for the man she finds living right next door.

A confirmed bachelor, Scott Gray thinks he’s gotten over Kate, but when he finds out who his new tenant is going to be, he’s surprised at the depth of his reaction. Carrying a torch for someone who hasn’t given him a thought in years is ridiculous. There’s no time like the present to move on. But does Scott really want to?
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Reviews for Kentucky Rain
“I am never disappointed by anything written by talented author Jan Scarbrough. Kentucky Rain, her latest ‘reunion’ story, is an emotionally satisfying read that has us rooting for Kate and Scott the whole way. We love them, hate Kate’s ex-husband, and enjoy her supporting cast. Highly recommended for everyone who loves a happily-ever-after ending.” Karen Block

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About Jan Scarbrough

A professional technical writer by day, Jan Scarbrough spends her nights writing romance. She is the author of several dozen books, a member of Novelist, Inc., the Romance Writers of America, and the Kentucky Romance Writers, where she manages their award-winning web site. Jan has written for Kensington and ImaJinn Books, and currently writes for Resplendence Publishing and the Turquoise Morning Press. She lives in Louisville, Kentucky, and rides American Saddlebred horses for fun and recreation.
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Jan Scarbrough Romance Author

Jan Scarbrough Romance Author

 

http://www.janscarbrough.com/
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Follow Jan on Twitter @romancerider

See Jan Scarbrough’s Amazon page
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Prices of her Bluegrass series have been reduced in preparation for the 3/20 release of her latest work:
KY Cowboy – $5.50 to $3.99
KY Woman – $5.50 to $2.99
KY Flame – $6.50 to $4.99
KY Bride – $4.00 to $2.99
KY Groom – $5.00 to $3.99
KY Heat – $2.99 to $2.99
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Don’t Let it Happen to You… Literary Agents Scams

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Dollar-Sign

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Third in the “Scam Series”: Literary Agents Fee Scams

Don’t let it happen to you…

In Canada, only ten percent of authors / books are agent-ed. Aspiring and established authors  successfully submit the majority (10,000 plus) of the titles published every year directly to editors at publishing houses. US writers have to go through an agent – 80% of all publishing deals are made through an agency. Publishers in the USA don’t want to deal directly with authors.
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As an author trying to find a literary agent you have heard or read from, is not an easy task. And you might find an agency describing itself as “non-fee-charging” but then nevertheless wants money up-front. Most professional agents’ associations adopted policies prohibiting members from charging fees, called “reading fees” or “evaluation fees”.
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A literary agent gets his commission AFTER the book contract with a publisher is signed and the first money flows. If they charge reading or evaluation fees or any of the following fees – author beware:

  • marketing fees
  • submission fees
  • travel fees
  • legal fees
  • advance fees
  • or “per hour” fee

For those writers who might think they need an agent – have a look at the do’s and don’ts of both sides:

Reputable agents will NOT charge you a fee up front to represent your book. They earn their living by selling your book to a publisher and gaining a commission. That commission is a percentage of the proceeds your book earns. For one thing, this gives the agent an incentive to actually market your book around to various publishers likely to buy it for publication. This is another reason why many agents pick submissions carefully. They know what publishers are looking for and they will not accept anything which is not ready for submission or close enough that a few days of editing will make the difference.
Most agents these days charge 15% commission on domestic sales (North America).
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Never under any circumstances should you pay expenses or any fees up front: the agent only receives money by deducting his or her 15% commission from your eventual earnings. An agent telling new writers that she/he was charging 15% commission plus expenses — that’s a rip-off; don’t agree to it. The Association of Authors Representatives (professional organization of literary agents) also forbids the charging of “reading fees.” If an agent asks you to pay a fee for his or her “evaluation” of your manuscript, refuse!
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So, what could you encounter?
Some agencies pressure authors into various additional services and charge fees for websites, sample cover mock-ups or illustrations or social media listings.
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AgentQuery wrote on their website: Industry Red Flags:

Be wary of any literary agent that contacts you out of the blue, especially if you have not queried that specific agent and do not have a public platform or presence. Fiction writers should be particularly cautious unless the agent has a logical reason to contact you, like you’ve recently won a prestigious writing contest, or they’ve seen your blog or read your published stories, etc.

Beware of agents that offer representation for a fixed fee, offer representation only if you pay them money to edit your manuscript, or charge you up-front fees in the range of thousands of dollars to off-set the cost of submitting your manuscript to publishers. These are all warning signs—unethical behavior from an unprofessional scammer. Scammers will tempt you, especially if you are desperate and inundated with rejections. They will tell you how fabulous your manuscript is and you will want to believe them.

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WRITER BEWARE notes:
“Not all agents who charge marketing fees are dishonest. Some are simply inexperienced or inept. But scam or amateur, the bottom line for the writer is the same: a lighter wallet and no book contract.”

Remember, that many of these publishers operate under more than one name and as “in-house” referral services. This means they always find a reason to refer you to another company which they also own.
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Editors Nielsen-Hayden summed it up: “Writing may be an art or a craft (or both), but publishing is a business. It’s best to know the business before diving in.”

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More of our blog posts regarding Literary Agents:
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Visit often and get the latest alerts from WRITER BEWARE:
http://www.sfwa.org/for-authors/writer-beware/alerts/
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How Agents work and How to work with Agents
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2011/04/12/how-agents-work-how-to-work-with-agents/
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Must-Read Blog to learn more about agents and how to approach them
http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents
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What Literary Agents Want to Know From You
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/04/01/what-literary-agents-want-to-know-from-you/
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100′s of Links to Publishers and Agents
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/10/10/100s-of-links-to-publishers-and-agents/
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Which Literary Agent is Right for You?
http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com/2012/03/07/which-literary-agent-is-right-for-you/
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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous articles of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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Trousers or Pants? Can you Tell the Difference?

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English is English! – No! Not at all!  “England and America are two countries separated by a common language” — said George Bernard Shaw.

Many readers and writers are surprised to learn that there are huge differences in spelling between English-speaking countries. A book, written and published in the UK, needs almost to be “translated” into American English and vice versa.  And I am not even talking about Canada, South Africa, India or Australia… were there are many more differences.
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Generally, it is agreed that no one version is “correct” however, there are certainly preferences in use. The most important rule of thumb is to try to be consistent in your usage. The major differences between American and British English are:

  • Vocabulary – differences in nouns and verbs, especially phrasal verb usage
  • Spelling – differences are generally found in certain prefix and suffix forms

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Have a look at the many verbs that are differently written in this comparison at www.Spellzone.com:

  • … our endings change to or, such as humour (British) into humor (American)
  • … our endings change to er, such as theatre into theater, or centre into center
  • … ogue endings change to og, such as catalogue into catalog
  • L endings do not double in US spellings, such as travelled into traveled……. and the list goes on and on.

Other major differences are:

  • Present Perfect
  • Past Simple/Past Participles
  • Prepositions
  • Possession
  • The Verb “get”
  • Vocabulary

there are also some more subtle differences that might stymie visitors to Britain, especially those who have learnt American English. Linguistics lecturer Dr Lynne Murphy rounds up ten of the subtler US/UK mis-communications.

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Add to this the local usage of words, e.g. Trousers or pants? Juggernaut or 18-wheeler? Lift or elevator?  Tube, underground or subway? Find more eye-opening differences in British / American vocabulary, for example:

autumn – fall
barrister – attorney
bill (restaurant) – check
biscuit – cookie
caravan – trailer
chemist’s shop – drugstore, pharmacy
chips  – fries, French fries
cinema – movies
coffin – casket
pavement – sidewalk
petrol – gas, gasoline
postbox – mailbox
rubbish – garbage, trash
sweets – candy
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So, before you upbraid someone. or point out spelling “errors” have a look if it is not a British, Canadian or other English speaking individual or user of keyboards from these country. A person, for example, writing for newspapers in several countries has to adjust the writing for every article/country. And then there are these not native English speakers…

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
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http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS     111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful.Thanks

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Author Interview with Denise Deegan

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Denise Deegan Book Signing

Denise Deegan Book Signing

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Today’s author interview is with Irish author Denise Deegan,  a the bestselling writer of seven contemporary novels, four for adults and three for young adults. She began her writing career with a book of non-fiction. Her books have been published in Ireland, the UK and Commonwealth, USA, Germany, Holland and Korea, for sample: “AND BY THE WAY” a story of a teenager who lost her mother and has no real connection to her rock star-father, became a bestselling Young Adult novel.

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Denise, Is there a message in your book that you want your readers to grasp?
I like that people take different things from books. Many people have contacted me to say that Alex’s journey in And By The Way has helped them deal with loss.
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What inspired you to start writing?
I was doing a Masters in Public Relations. While conducting the literature review, I realized that a book should have existed that didn’t. I wrote that book. It was a non-fiction book and was published. Then it was like being bitten by a bug. I had to write a novel. I had no peace until I gave up my business to do so.
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How did you get the idea for the novel?
And By The Way is my fifth novel. While brainstorming with an artist friend for a picture book that we thought would be fun to work on together, we came up with the idea of a father who traveled abroad from work, coming home and telling his little girl about the country he’d been to. We both decided that, while educational, it was boring and politically correct.  My friend went to the Ladies.  While she was gone, a voice came into my head. It was a teenage girl who was giving her father a really hard time. Her voice was angry and sarcastic yet vulnerable. It completely gripped me. I grabbed a serviette and began to write.

I had just finished a two-book deal with Penguin. I was free to do whatever I liked. I decided to follow the voice and see where it lead. It emerged that the reason that Alex, the main character, was angry because her mother had died six months previously and her father had not been there for her. I realized later that the story had come from my subconscious. Triggered by the picture book idea, it was telling me that it’s not always good when a parent isn’t around.
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Does your book have any underlying theme, message, or moral?
I do not like morals. But I think my writing is influenced – not deliberately – by my past. I was a nurse. One of the things I learned was to grab life while you have it. Though And By The Way deals with big issues, it is an optimistic book. Alex has to learn to trust that good things will happen again. She has to take a leap of faith.
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Are your characters based on real people?
No, apart from Homer, the golden retriever who doesn’t retrieve. That is our dog.

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Who is your favorite character and why?
I actually have three:

The Rock star – Alex calls her dad ‘The Rock star’ because he is not being a father to her. He means well but cannot handle loss. I like the idea that parents are supposed to know best but sometimes flounder themselves.
The Stylist – Marsha works for The Rockstar. She is adorably ditzy and optimistic. She drives Alex mad, until Alex realises that Marsha is optimistic despite tragedy.
Louis – ah, Louis, my all-time fave. I am a sucker for the bad-boy with a heart.
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Two of Denise Deegan's YA novels

Two of Denise Deegan’s YA novels

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Give us an excerpted quote from your favorite review of this book:
‘It was such a powerful, emotional, beautiful book, one I loved to pieces and gobbled up as fast as I possibly could. I just can’t wait to read more by Denise Deegan – it was just so freaking amazing!’
Book Addicted Girl
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If Oprah invited you onto her show to talk about your book, what would the theme of the show be?
Recovering from loss.
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What would/could a reader or reviewer say about this book that shows they “get” you as an author?
I love to hear teenagers ask how I can get teenage characters so right. I love to hear that the characters are real to them. They are real to me, too.

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Thinking way back to the beginning, what’s the most important thing you have learned as a writer from then to now?

  • Write from the heart.
  • Wait for the characters to come to you. Don’t rush it.

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Considering a book from the first word you write to the moment you see it on a bookstore shelf, what’s your favorite part of the process? What’s your least favorite?

Favorite: when the characters take over and write the story. For example, the character, Louis, was not meant to have a big part but he muscled his way in. I love when this happens.

Least favourite: depends on the book. It can be very difficult, for example, when you know that something is not working and you are so close to the book that you can’t see the solution. A good editor is invaluable at times like this. I have been very lucky with The Butterfly Novels. I have an amazing editor.

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What scene or bit of dialogue in the book are you most proud of, and why?
There is a sailing scene at the beginning of the book that I love where Alex is trying so hard to hate a guy she fancies. I like all the scenes with Louis (of course). I am particularly fond of the scenes between Alex and her dad when he realizes his mistakes and tries to make things right.
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What genre have you not yet written but really want to try?
I am writing historical fiction for the first time and loving it.

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If your book would be made into a movie, who should play the main character?
Saoirse Ronan, but perhaps that it too obvious a choice. I’d like some casting agent to surprise me.

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Denise Deegan

Denise Deegan

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How did you get published? Please share your personal journey.
Firstly, I gave up working. The book was what I most wanted to do and always ended up as the last thing I got to. I became a very angry person. Giving up a business to write a novel was a huge (and some would say mad) step. From the beginning, I treated my writing as a career. I really focused on the book.

When I did that, it became clear that the book I was writing was nothing special. So I stopped writing it. Then came an idea that had not been written before and that is what I wrote.

I did my homework. Sent off the three chapters etc. I expected rejection so went ahead and started writing a second novel for two reasons. One, so the rejection wouldn’t stop me. Two, so that publishers/agents would see that I had more than one book in me.

An agent came back to me and gave me tips on editing – without commitment. I still cannot believe how naive I was back then. I had not edited the book at all. When I started the process, I really got into it. I put the other book on hold and spent six weeks making the first into a much better book. I sent the revised chapters back to three people who had been encouraging in their rejections. They all wanted the book.
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What general advice do you have for other writers?
Persist. Get better. Persist. Get better. Persist. Get better….
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What do you find is the best part of being an author?
Hearing back from readers who loved the books, who were encouraged by them, changed by them, helped by them or felt newly equipped to help others. It is very special when people thank me for writing a book.

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What is ONE thing that you have done that brought you more readers?
Visited schools and gave readings, perhaps?
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What’s one thing that your readers would be surprised to know about you?
What, perhaps, they don’t realize is the extent to which I appreciate them and like to hear from them.

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Where can people learn more about your writing?

www.denisedeegan.com
www.butterflynovels.com
www.goodreads.com/author/show/818841.Denise_Deegan
Amazon.com amzn.to/ZPL0mv
Amazon.co.uk amzn.to/111wlJN

AND BY THE WAY
amazon.com/dp/B009SMWI6K

AND BY THE WAY

AND BY THE WAY

Denise Deegan, famous for her Butterfly Novel series has been a nurse, a china restorer, a pharmaceutical sales rep, a public relations consultant, an entrepreneur and a college lecturer. Her short story, Checkout Girl, was inspired by her days carrying out the toughest of all these positions. Denise lives in Dublin with her husband, two teenage kids and their dog, Homer. She can be found at Facebook and Twitter: @denisedeegan

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10 Reasons to Get Help Boosting Your Books Success

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Soaring to New Heights ...

Soaring to New Heights …

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Our blog has had now more than 215,000 visitors, over 900 subscribers, on Twitter we have more than 40.000 followers, in our Google+ circles are 5,000 people. On our Chime.in‘s Writing & Publishing Groups are 2,900 followers, on Goodreads 2,100 friends, not to mention Pinterest, Facebook with two accounts, StumpleUpon, 111Publishing.com website… and some more …
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Why do we list all this? To show you how much visibility your book(s) can get when we help you to built a community / network platform and a brand for you as an author.  We show your book constantly on all these sites!   More info: www.111Publishing.com and then click on Seminar
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10 Reasons – and some more to Choose our valuable Book Marketing Help:

  • Three hours of one-on-one Book Marketing Online Seminar phone-consultations
  • Unlimited book marketing consultations by email for up to three months
  • Unlimited social media help by email for up to three months
  • Instructions / Checklist / Hundreds of links for you to use for your book promotions
  • Free e-book: “Book Marketing on a Shoestring” launch in March 2013
  • Support & advertising your book on free days with Amazon KDP to hundred thousands
  • Blog posts including cover image/author bio/book description on both, blog and our websites
  • NEW: Author interview on our blog website & help to advertise your free days
  • NEW: “Book of the Month” recommendation on a major book lover site
  • Advertising of your book several times/week for 3 months on all our social media sites
  • Plus one surprise gift we will reveal once you sign up!
  • MORE FEATURES will be added soon
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Most important: the article and the interview we did with you and all the postings on our Social Media sites stay there FOREVER! This way it will have a long-term effect on your book sales. Compare this with advertisers who might charge you $100/year, just for a small, single pic of your book cover.
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As you can see, our Book Marketing Help is customized for you, the author, and we will individually work with you on your book’s success. It all starts with our purchase of your book and then an evaluation of your book’s sales page, your social media presence and your marketing activities so far. We will explain you the benefits of various steps in building the platform for you as an author and how you can establish a brand without incurring extra cost, such as expensive ads or how to avoid costly POD’s.
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Get Help from Professionals who Have Studied Marketing & E-Publishing for years!

We do NOT sell publishing / marketing videos, pre-recorded Webinars or DVD’s! We really work one-on-one with you!!! In some cases we worked up to 20 hours per client – it is not only the time we talk with everyone, it is the research in each case and the amount of time we invest in individual programs we create for each of our clients.  More info:
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We recently did a search of several dozen book publicity sites and their price for similarly individual marketing and comparable work would be around $2,500. We are charging only $98 for 3 months (approx. $1 / day) advertising, coaching and consultations. This special price is valid till June 30, 2013 only!

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Book your first 3-months package securely with PayPal on our website:
http://www.111Publishing.com
and let’s start building a professional platform, establish your brand as an author and advertise your book at the same time to hundred thousands of readers.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing

http://pinterest.com/111publishing/

http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK

http://bit.ly/VmtVAS    111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Where Can You Meet Publishers, Agents, Editors, Fellow Writers – All in One Spot?

One of the main benefits of attending a writers retreat or conference is the opportunity to meet editors, agents, publishers and other writers.  Widening your circle of connections in the literary world can help you mark your own presence in that world, learn about the publishing industry, and how to get your book published.  Learn even more about the craft of writing.  Just a few of the many writers conferences and retreat offers:
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Jackson Hole, WY, June 27 – 29, 2013

http://jacksonholewritersconference.com

Three manuscript critiques with authors & editors. Tracks for fiction, creative nonfiction, magazine, young adult, and poetry; workshops, talks & craft sessions.
Program Length 3 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio 4:1
Program Focus:  Children’s, Fiction, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Travel, Young Adult
Costs:   Early bird $365
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Jackson-Hole-Whyoming

Jackson-Hole-Whyoming

 

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Mendocino Coast Writers Conference, July 25 – 27, 2013

http://www.mcwc.org

Program Description
5 morning workshops with same presenter each day; large forum readings and discussions with editors, agents, & newly published authors; afternoon lecture sessions on craft.
Program Length 3 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio workshops 15:1
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Journalism, Mystery, Non-fiction, Poetry, Publishing, Screenwriting, Young Adult
Faculty 13+ presenters. Includes authors, editors & literary agents.
Costs:   Earlybird $525. $60/consultation. Lodging $55-$250 & camping; hostel-like farmhouse $18-$25/night.


Squaw Valley, California  July, August 2013

http://www.squawvalleywriters.org

Morning workshops, afternoon panel discussions, individual conferences, craft lectures, staff readings
Program Length 7 days  Deadline April 1, 2013
Group Size or S:T Ratio 20-124
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Poetry and Screenwriting
Faculty 28 instructors for the Fiction Workshop, 5 for the Poetry Workshop, 8 for the Screenwriting Workshop.
Costs:   $840 includes 6 dinners. Shared (single) lodging in local houses & condos arranged for $350 ($550)/week; inexpensive bunk bed available.
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Santa Barbara, CA, June 8 – 13, 2013

http://www.sbwritersconference.com

Program Description
Daily AM & PM concurrent workshops & plenary sessions, evening speakers, panels, Advance
Submission with agents & editors, late-night pirate workshops.
Program Length 6 days
Group Size or S:T Ratio 200
Program Focus:  Autobiography/Memoir, Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Marketing, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Publishing, Romance, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Screen-writing, Travel,
Faculty: 30 daily faculty plus evening speakers
Costs   $625 includes barbecue, cocktail reception, awards banquet.

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Corte Madera, CA, August 8 – 11, 2013

http://bookpassage.com/travel-food-photography-conference

Travel Writers & Photographers Conference
(Just across the Golden Gate Bridge from San Francisco)
bpconferences@bookpassage.com

Geared to Food & Travel writers and photographers this Conference has an extraordinary, international reputation among publishers, editors, and writers. This four-day Conference offers an array of writing and photography workshops in the morning, a full afternoon of panels and discussions, and evening faculty presentations.
The faculty includes publishers, magazine editors, photographers, travel essayists, food writers, guidebook writers and more.  Price: $635.00

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Key West, FL, every January

http://www.kwls.org
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Key-West-Beach

Key-West-Beach

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4-day seminar includes readings, conversations, lectures, panel discussions. 4-day writers’ workshops feature AM writing sessions (limit 8-12/instructor) and PM individual consultations, talks, open readings.
Program Length Seminar: 4 days / Workshops: 4 days each
Group Size or S:T Ratio Seminar: 350-400 / Workshops: 12:1
Program Focus
Autobiography/Memoir, Children’s, Fiction, Humor, Journalism, Mystery, Nature, Non-fiction, Playwriting, Poetry, Publishing, Science Fiction/Fantasy, Screenwriting, Travel, Young Adult
Costs   Seminar $495; Workshops $450. The next Writers’ Workshop Program will take place between the two Seminar sessions, January 12-16, 2014.
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For a full list of writers retreats in the USA please go to:  http://writing.shawguides.com

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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How to Use Photos on the Internet

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Antique Rolleiflex Camera

Antique Rolleiflex Camera

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My largest visitor stream I ever got on any blog was via Google Image Search. People were looking for a certain image on Google and found my website. The photo had the right size, motive and it was named with the right keywords.
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Improve SEO through your photos
There is more to it, than just placing attractive photos on your blog or website. Here are some tips how you can optimize your photos to improve SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and to get more traffic to your website or blog.
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Reduce the file size of your photos
NOT the dimensions of the image, but the pixel size. When you re-size a photo manually in WordPress (for example) you only change the dimensions, and the amount of pixel stays almost the same. A file size of 1.8 MB can be easily reduced to 300 Kb without compromising the quality for the viewer. Adobe Photoshop or Adobe “Lightroom” software can be used to re-size the photo’s pixels – not the dimension! Important: Make a copy of your original photo BEFORE you re-size. Otherwise it would be lost forever and you would keep only the lower pixel version. There is no way back!
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Name your photos
File593730.jpg or DSC_8405037.jpg is not helpful to you and totally meaningless to search engines. Keywords in the photos name should be separated by hyphens, NOT underscores, and shouldn’t be squeezed into a single word, e.g. Antique-Leica-Camera.jpg.
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Always use ALT tags
Wordpress makes it easy for you when adding photos to your text. The fields for Title, Description, ALT and caption are build-in, so you can fill them out easily. Search engines can’t “see” photos, but “read” keywords, that describes your image. Keywords that you use on your web page should work together with the keywords you use for your images.
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Where to find inexpensive photos?
You might be an avid photographer, just like me, taking often several hundred images a month. However, from time to time the need for a certain motive arises, and the question is, where to turn to for inexpensive images for a blog or a web site? A lot of research brought up a handful of online offers that I like to share with you.
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Find websites in these articles that provide good deals on royalty-free photographs or even free ones. If you don’t know the difference between royalty-free and free photos, take the time to read these articles thoroughly.
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Where to find free photos and illustrations?

Part II of Free Image Sources

Part III of Free Image Sources

Part IV Free – Inexpensive Photo Sources

Why Steal When You Can Get it for Free ?

5 Laws Writers Should Know to Avoid Getting Sued

10 Rules of USA Copyright Infringement

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 800 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

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Part 2 – Author Beware of Scams !!!

Random House

Random House (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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In a blog article from last fall we wrote: 10 Signs, Showing You Vanity Publishing TRAPS

We stated: “Reputable trade and independent publishers don’t ask the author for money, ever”. Random House’s imprint ALIBI doesn’t do this. However, what they do is to take away all the worldwide rights to the book in any form from the author. And: they will deduct all their book production and business costs including possible legal fees, from whatever royalty the author can expect in the future. If any at all. They will not reveal these costs or being open and accountable BEFORE – and certainly likely not after – signing the contract.
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John Scalzi  wrote another blog about Random House’s imprint ALIBI

“THIS IS A HORRIBLE AWFUL TERRIBLE APPALLING DISGUSTING CONTRACT AND NO WRITER SHOULD SIGN IT EVER. ”

“… preying on the writers, most at risk for being preyed upon, the new and the desperate. I’m wondering in what world I would think, paying authors no advances and shoving publishing expenses onto them, is somehow a reasonable business model.”

“Right here on the first page, the contract notes that ALIBI takes the exclusive right to print, publish, sell and license the contracted work, in every possible format, in whole or in part, in every language, in the entire world, for the full term of copyright ” (which is 70 years after the death of the author).

Another of John Scalzi’s points: … “transfers the cost of these services onto the most ignorant partner in the contract — which is to say, the AUTHOR. Yes, authors, I know. You are smart. But — can you tell me what “plant costs” mean? What about “conversion fees?” Can you give me a sum that you know with certainty what those costs and fees should be? Do you know how much it costs to print and bind a book? Is ALIBI printing them individually or in one large print run? How will that affect unit cost? What’s a reasonable sum for warehousing? You better know because the contract won’t tell you…”

Read John Scalzi’s article where he goes through all parts of this exploitative publishing contract and explains the disadvantages for authors in detail. 

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There are more “Scam News”:
Class Action Suit for Penguin and Author Solutions?

Emily Suess, author and editor, compiled a whole index of Author House (iUniverse) complaints in her blog.  Litreactor Magazine reported last week: “Penguin’s self-publishing service, Author Solutions, is headed for the courts after it was revealed that New York law firm Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart is investigating claims that the company hasn’t been meeting it’s obligations, or worse. The company’s questionable practices have been going on for some time: a Google search turns up loads of negative experiences with the company and its subsidiaries. Described by one blog poster as “a class-action lawsuit waiting to happen” and he gave plenty evidence to support this.

Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart LLP is currently investigating the practices of Author Solutions and all of its brands: AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Trafford, Xlibris, Inkubook, and Wordclay. Authors using Author Solutions have complained of deceptive practices, including enticing authors to purchase promotional services that are not provided or are worthless, failing to pay royalties, and spamming authors and publishing blogs/sites with promotional material.”
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XLibris “publishing” contract outrageous!
A few days ago I got to see a contract from Xlibris, shown to me by an aspiring writer. Unbelievable what “services” they listed to justify their $3.700 plus contract, stating for example as one of their “services” the “Look Inside” function at Amazon and B&N websites! They are provided for free by these online retailers, and XLibris could be sued by Amazon and B&N for charging authors for that. We wrote and warned about Penguin’s and Simon&Schuster’s acquisition of these firms here on this blog. Now there might be a class action suit looming. If you have a case, contact the law firm here.

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Be aware when you see these company names showing up somewhere: Argus, Aberdeen Bay, Algora, All Craft Media, Amereon Press, AmErica House, American Book Publishing, Anchor, Angel Press, Appaloose Press, Author Solutions, Author House, Balboa, Bookwise, Brighton, Brookline, Brundage, Cambridge House, Capri, Capricorn, Century, Challenger, Cobblestone Press, Collegiate Press, Dandelion Books, Deep River, Dorchester Publishing Dorrance, 1st Book, iUniverse, Tafford, West Bow, Xlibris…. even so some change their companies name frequently.  Ask for referrals by other writers and use the internet to do your research.

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Hopefully every writer learns to prevent traps, shares these blog posts with writer friends and colleagues and gets a lawyers’ opinion before signing any of their rights away – or better: decides to author-publish. It is relatively easy to publish books, distribute and market them on your own.
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Did you know that until the 1920’s authors self-published and publishing houses were a rarity? Only during the last 90 years, publishing houses established and grew bigger and bigger. Now we have a reverse of this trend and more and more books and e-books will be author-published.

Just get help with all these publishing steps and coordinate your own enterprise. We offer 3-month publishing / marketing consulting for a very small fee and will explain you in detail every step on your way to author-publishing.

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Pingates

Author Beware of Scams !!!

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The reason I started http://savvybookwriters.wordpress.com initially, was to warn authors of traps they can fall in, after a friend of mine has been deceived by a so-called vanity publisher. Well, she was very naive and did not seek the help of a lawyer, specialized in contract law, nor the advice of her well-meaning author friends or her writer’s group. After having her manuscript sent out to several dozens of publishers and receiving only rejections, she was so eager to get published, that she did not want to hear any warnings and signed her rights away for 70 years after her death! Not only this, she also paid more than $6.000 to have her print book published. Until now (3 years past the initial launch) the vanity “publisher” failed to format it into an e-book, despite his many promises.
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Vanity Publishing
For those who do not know what a “vanity publisher” is: These companies take on almost every book authors pitch to them, without concerns if the book is marketable, they charge authors outrageous amounts for editing, book cover and printing or e-book formatting.  Many of these companies are printers who get their machines running this way. Others are just agents for author services, who receive healthy commissions from their sub contractors.

“Vanity publishers” don’t make money selling a book, they only make money producing it!

Now it seems that reputable, traditional publishers step into the foot prints of these “vanity publishers” and go into the business of deceiving authors.  Many jumped on the bandwagon of the success of e-books and created imprints for digital books, such as “Hydra”, “Flirt” or “Alibi”an imprint of Random House, or “Blackfriars” an imprint of Little&Brown in the UK.
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They ask writers for a life-of-copyright contract that includes both, primary and subsidiary rights! (See the story of my friend above).  No advance. Only the NET proceeds (means, after all costs of the “vanity publisher” is deducted) will be split between both sides. Deductions for e-books include, among others: the overhead and administrative costs of the “publisher”, costs for editing, cover art, formatting plus a publicity fee of 10% etc. – so the author pays for all these in the end.
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Publishing – but not under these conditions!
And if there is a print version, printing and binding costs,” plus 6% of GROSS sales revenue (NOT the NET sales!) to cover freight and warehousing costs.  One has to do the math, calculate all this and realize that it makes absolutely no sense to sign up such an unfavorable contract. There is only one who makes money with the authors work: The “vanity publisher”.
Yes, the authors don’t have to pay upfront costs, on the other hand they don’t know what they will earn per book, while the publisher is assured that their expenses will be paid for as soon as the book sells.
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See what John Scalzi wrote in an open letter to Random House on his blog:

“Dear Random House: It’s clear you’re targeting new, un-agented authors here because no agent who is not manifestly incompetent would allow his or her client to sign such a terrible contract. But here’s the thing: New authors don’t actually need you to sell their work online. They can do it themselves — and are, and some of them are doing quite well at it. You are working under the assumption that these newer authors are so eager to be with a “real” publisher that they will suddenly forget that publishers are no longer a bottleneck to being published, or that you are offering nothing they can’t do themselves (or have done for them) and offering them nothing for the service — indeed your business model appears predicated on sucking as much as possible from them in fees and charges while offering as little as possible in way of compensation. Hydra is a vanity publisher, in sum.
Do you genuinely believe these new authors are that stupid? And if so, do you genuinely want an entire imprint of your publishing empire populated by such people?”
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We will cover more examples of unfavorable ways of publishing in the next days – and can only warn you: Author beware, beware, and beware even more.  What’s the benefit of Google?  You can type in the name of a company and the words  “complaint” or “complaints” and see what comes up. Read these posts carefully!

Find out more about this topic in our former blogs, and spread the word, re-blog the articles, so that other writers can learn about the publishing industry and make informed decisions:

First Penguin – now Simon & Schuster Wants Your Money

Victims of Vanity Publishers

Comparison of Vanity Presses

10 Signs, Showing You Vanity Publishing TRAPS

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If you enjoyed this blog post, please feel free to check out all previous posts of this blog (there are almost 700 of them : ) if you haven’t already. Why not sign up to receive them regularly by email? Just click on “Follow” in the upper line on each page – and then on “LIKE” next to it. There is also the “SHARE” button underneath each article where you can submit the article to Pinterest, Google+, Twitter, Chime.in, Facebook, Tumblr and StumpleUpon.

Thanks a lot for following:

@111publishing
http://pinterest.com/111publishing/
http://on.fb.me/TvqDaK
http://bit.ly/VmtVAS 111Publishing @ Google+

Don’t forget to spread the word on other social networking sites of your choice for other writers who might also enjoy this blog and find it useful. Thanks

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Pingates

Nassau, Bahamas: There is more than Shopping…

I am very excited to tell you about our upcoming Writer’s Seminar at Sea. We’ll be sailing on
November 3, 2013, aboard the incredible new cruise ship “Breeze”, recently named 2012’s “Best New Ship” by Cruise Critic. Learn effective techniques to market your books, network with peers, and have the time of your life in the exotic Caribbean! Partially tax de-ductable!

Seminars are on days at sea, so there is lots of time to explore the Caribbean Islands. Seminar-Cruise starts from $1.032 pp ALL INCLUSIVE & for spouses who don’t attend only $832. See complete details http://writers.thecruiseevent.com/