Suess's Pieces

Author Solutions Sued For Deceptive Practices

Emily Suess — Wed, 08 May 2013 12:27:45 +0000

Author Solutions, owner of several vanity press brands, has offices located in Bloomington, IN.

On Monday, April 29, I opened an email from an associate at Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart LLP. It said simply, “We represent plaintiffs against Author Solutions. I wanted to let you know that we filed our class suit against them on Friday in the Southern District of New York.”

On May 2, I got an email from Anon with nothing more than a link to a Publisher’s Weekly article titled, “Authors Sue Self-Publishing Service Author Solutions.”

Then a couple of days ago, I got an email from Jodi Foster asking if I’d heard about the lawsuit. (If her name sounds familiar, it coule be because she did an interview here last May. See “iUniverse Complaints: Interview with Jodi Foster.”)

Then this morning, I noticed that I was getting traffic from a Forbes article posted yesterday on the subject of the lawsuit.

Although I’ve been tweeting about the suit since I received the first email, I figured it was time I wrote something about the happy news. Something official to include in The Complete Index.

About the Lawsuit

Here’s an excerpt from the Publisher’s Weekly article in case you’re not familiar with the details:

Three authors have filed suit against self-publishing service provider Author Solutions, and its parent company Penguin, airing a laundry list of complaints and alleging the company is engaged in deceitful, dubious business practices. “Defendants have marketed themselves as an independent publisher with a reputation for outstanding quality and impressive book sales,” the complaint reads. “Instead, Defendants are not an independent publisher, but a print-on-demand vanity press.”

Beautiful, isn’t it?

There are three authors bringing charges: Kelvin James, Jodi Foster and Terry Hardy, and excerpts from the formal complaint read like poetry to someone like me:

“Despite its impressive profits from book sales, Author Solutions fails at the most basic task of a publisher: paying its authors their earned royalties and providing its authors with accurate sales statements.” (Victoria Strauss has posted a PDF of the full complaint.)

The authors are asking for $5 million in punitive damages. Now, I have no idea what kind of true financial impact a win could have on the company. Maybe none at all. What excites me more is the potential deterrent to future customers this lawsuit will bring, as it’s being widely publicized in self-pub circles and the media in general.

Bye-Bye Kevvy!

In related news, Digital Book World reported on May 3 that Author Solutions parent company, Pearson, has appointed one of their own to take over Kevin “Backdating” Weiss’s role as CEO. Penguin exec John Makinson said, “This is a bitter-sweet announcement because we shall be sorry to lose Kevin, who has provided the stability and clear leadership that Author Solutions needed in the year after our acquisition. But I always recognised that Kevin would seek fresh pastures in time and that a new chief executive from within Penguin would connect the business more closely to Penguin’s curated publishing activities.”

I haven’t yet heard where Weiss is heading, but the article says to expect an announcement sometime this week.

Stop Hunting For Better Clients

Emily Suess — Thu, 02 May 2013 13:27:11 +0000

I received the following email and thought it might help other freelancers to read my response. The author of the letter agreed to let me post the email anonymously.

Hello Emily,

I am a budding freelance writer. Truth be told I have been a budding freelance writer for more than three years now. I have spent a lot of time writing for low paying content mills, and to be honest I feel that I am pretty much burnt out from it. At the moment I am burdened with low paying clients, and I spend over 12 hours per day writing articles just to pay the rent and eat!

I am constantly reading that there are good paying clients around and I do not doubt that, but so far I have not had any success in attracting their attention or even finding where they are. I don’t think I am a bad writer, and I have a couple of decent clips on Yahoo, Blog Critics, and places like Hubpages.

I really don’t know what it is I am doing wrong. It seems to me that I am missing a piece of the puzzle. I know it all takes hard work and effort, and I am certainly not adverse to rolling up my sleeves and getting stuck in. I have just wasted so much of my effort thus far digging in the wrong fields. I am worried I will be burnt out before I realize my full potential as a freelance writer.

Kind regards,
Burnt Out

Dear Burnt Out,

My advice for you is threefold: dump the content mills, stop searching for work, and stop blogging for other writers.

I know what you’re thinking, but let me explain.

I spent some time writing for content mills back in the day, and I’m not surprised you’re unhappy. It might put food on the table, but it’s uninspired work that pays poorly with unreasonable deadlines. My first piece of advice to you? Fire them as clients.

I know you’re dependent on freelancing for your income, so phase them out if you have to. But you can’t accept better jobs if you’re spending 12 hours every day writing drivel. You also don’t have time to improve yourself or your business with such a workload. When will you update your portfolio? Your website? When will you blog for your business?

You also can’t build an impressive portfolio if all your clips are content mill samples. The best writers still produce subpar work when they’re burnt out and underpaid.

My next recommendation is that you stop searching for clients at all. Do you know why content mills can make outrageous demands and pay so little for the work? Because writers keep applying. And the only writers willing to apply to them have convinced themselves they’re desperate for the work. Trust me, the mills know this and they’re all too happy to exploit it.

So change up your business model. I haven’t searched for a client in a few years now, because at some point I realized I was wasting my time. Instead I’ve invested time and money assisting potential clients in their search for me. I built a website and blog and made friends on social media so that when people searched for “Indianapolis freelance writer” they found me. Then they contacted me.

All I do these days is respond to the requests for quotes that land in my inbox and reach out to potential clients in my network. I don’t cold call anyone ever. I don’t scour openings on Elance or oDesk or Craigslist.

Back to the website stuff for a minute. I’m not a keyword expert and I don’t know all the ins and outs of search engine algorithms, but I have common sense and know how to improve my chances of being found online. I recommend you do the same using “freelance writer” or “content writer” with a local qualifier like your town, city, region, or country to bring in search traffic. That’s how they’re going to find you.

The next problem is: what will those people find on your site when they get there? When potential clients see you’ve been blogging to other writers or complaining about the horrors of content mill writing, they’re going to be confused. You need to be posting content for people who hire writers not for other writers. At least until you’ve established a solid client base.

It’s great to commiserate with people who understand, and I don’t know where I’d be without my freelance writer friends, but none of them are ever going to become my next client.

I recently separated my blogs. I have the professional blog for clients and this blog for writing whatever the heck I feel like. But I have a full-time job paying the bills at the moment, so I have some freedom in that regard. If you don’t have the time to run two separate blogs, writing to a client audience should be your priority.

Now, I’m not saying this next part describes you, Burnt Out. But it’s worth putting out there for all the struggling freelancers:

Sometimes I think new writers see talented, successful writers running classes and giving advice to budding writers and they think they need to mimic that behavior to be successful. Great freelance writers have freelance writer followers! Great freelance writers are mentors and give advice! I should do those things to be a great freelance writer too!

Unless you’re in the business of educating new writers right now, it’s not a profitable way to spend your time. If that’s something you want to pursue later, awesome.

I hope this helps you, Burnt Out. Let us know how things go.

Emily

My New Copywriting Blog

Emily Suess — Tue, 16 Apr 2013 17:33:37 +0000

One of the things I’ve decided to do as a result of feedback from the web copywriting instructor at Mediabistro is focus on building the professional side of my web presence.

Don’t worry, this blog isn’t going away. And neither is any of the content. I’m just making a formal announcement so that those of you interested in my copywriting and freelance writing content know where to find it.

Read the blog here.

Subscribe to the feed here.

Or subscribe by email.

In Review Part 2: MediaBistro’s Copywriting for the Web Online Course

Emily Suess — Thu, 11 Apr 2013 10:59:17 +0000

This week I got feedback on Assignment #1. So, let’s discuss.

My assignment was to write about myself and my online identity. I put together a one-page narrative with links to my website, blog, social media accounts, and the sites where I contribute content. A few days later, the instructor returned the assignment with commentary. I’ve excerpted some of that feedback (mainly the critique) to help you get a feel for what goes onside inside the virtual classroom.

The Short Version

For any of you who don’t care to pick through the details, here are my thoughts on this week in a nutshell:

If these courses pay for themselves in any way, it’s in instructor feedback. They spend a lot of time writing thoughtful commentary.
I don’t think many people take Mediabistro’s Copywriting courses to learn; I think they take them to learn to make money. I find this a little off-putting, but I realize that I am the weird one here with the social organizing background and the liberal arts education. The vast majority of students I’ve encountered so far are marketers and advertisers through and through.

About My Website

“Think about the proportion of that top banner compared to the portfolio samples and the elements beneath it on the home page. It’s great to see you and to have that hero shot of the city that places you in IN, but perhaps if the other elements were bigger you could explain more the business challenges along with the samples in one shot rather than the ‘…’ to the subpages.”

The instructor had more to say about improving my website, most great suggestions except for one thing: I’m working off a template. Changes to the writing? That I can do. Changes to design? Imma need a bigger budget for that. For now the size of site elements and the “…” cutoffs are beyond my control.

So I got some useful feedback, but I’ll have to bookmark it for later.

UPDATE 4/13: Thanks to some helpful people on the internet, I’m able to make some of the suggested changes to my website. Hooray!

About My Social Media Accounts

“I think your LI is looking fine for the most part, but your Twitter seems kind of all over the place, and while most people use this channel as a microblog, if you are selling social strategy remember those that want to hire you are probably holding your feed to a higher standard …. Your Facebook seems more focused on the author challenges, and while I am sympathetic, I would suggest keeping the publishing content about the pitfalls of the business separate from the marketing writing one. Suess’s Pieces also got kind of lost at the bottom of many of your web site pages.”

My Tweets are all over the place, but my God are they ever representative of the things that matter to me. I started the @EmilySuess account in 2010, and most of my followers would wonder what the hell happened to me if I limited myself to updates designed to impress potential clients or employers.

For me Twitter truly is social. I chat with people I like. I stay in touch with real-life friends. And I think this has worked for me so far for two reasons: 1) I’m a part-time freelancer and 2) I am my own brand right now. If a potential client doesn’t like that I’m vocal about women’s rights or they think retweeting my friend’s giveaway is off-topic, I’d probably find working for them a soul-crushing experience. They’re choosy. I’m choosy. It works out in the end.

But! I do realize where the instructor’s coming from. I’m not sure a separate business account is the way to go, but I’m giving it some serious thought. In the meantime, I’ve got a couple of client accounts to share during the application/proposal process for new gigs.

My excuse for Facebook is that I post what engages people. Ninety-nine percent of my Facebook followers are fellow writers, not clients. When I attempted posting client-focused content, it just bombed. That’s life on the internet.

About Writing for Small Business Bonfire

“[The Small Business Bonfire] seems like a colorful, energetic site, but unless they are paying you … why not just write about similar topics on your other blog or sites instead?”

Of course they pay me. People think this a lot—that I write for Bonfire for free—I can’t figure out why. It worries me, though, for reasons I don’t care to get into at the moment.

About Writing Self-Publishing Content

“Well, you obviously know a lot about this topic and just from glancing at some of your publishing posts, I share many of your concerns …. My question here too is whether it is worth your time to offer this advice for free rather than teaching a class about it down the road or being on a panel where you get some sort of compensation? I believe writers should really strive to get paid or compensated on practically everything that they do, and I see that you are really busy with your job and already have so many outlets, so I guess consolidation is what I am pushing as a thing to consider.”

Back to the money thing. I get it—that’s why most people are taking this course.

I would never suggest a writer write for free or for the promise of “exposure” ever. I believe in making money for what I do. But, dude, money isn’t everything. Writing about self-publishing and teaching authors how to not get scammed by dubious assholes? That’s a labor of love. I will never charge a penny to share what I’ve learned about the industry. Ever.

In fact, the The Self-Publishing Services Directory is making other people money. I’m okay with that.

More next week!

Want to read past posts? Browse the Ad Copywriting Certificate Review Archive

Emily paid the full price for enrollment in Mediabistro.com’s Ad Copywriting Certificate program and is not being compensated in any way for her reviews.

In Review Part 1: MediaBistro’s Copywriting for the Web Online Course

Emily Suess — Sat, 06 Apr 2013 20:25:38 +0000

Life got kind of busy there for a while, and I took a break from MediaBistro’s Ad Copywriting Certificate Program. But I’m back now, and ready to share what’s going on in the next course: Copywriting for the Web.

This week was week one, so it was mostly introductions and settling in to the program. It’s a six-week course with a challenging, jam-packed syllabus. The class looks to be more promising than the last for a few reasons:

This is not the instructor’s first time teaching the course.
I’m more comfortable turning assignments from this course into portfolio pieces. (I can’t design an ad to save my life. But respectable looking website templates are pretty easy to come by.)
While an obsession with Mad Men made me think I wanted to do more print, TV and billboard advertising, the truth is I don’t. Web and interactive copy—that’s my thing.
It’s not the holiday season anymore, and I feel like I’ve gathered my wits some.

I’m working on Assignment 2 for this week, which includes picking from a couple of instructor-provided options to create web copy. I’ll be writing a home/landing page, an about/mission page, a banner ad, and identifying audience segments and writing relevant social media content for three social media platforms. (I’m going with the obvious here—Twitter, Facebook and LinkedIn.)

It might not sound like a lot of work, but it’s a sizable commitment for someone like me who has a day job and a freelance writing business and still tries to find time for life’s little frivolities. You know, things like eating, sleeping and laundry. There’s plenty of reading involved in a course like this if you’re like me and want to scarf down all the supplemental links too.

The first discussion for the course was held Thursday night, but I didn’t make it. So more on that aspect of the course in a future post. If you have specific questions about the program, toss ‘em in the comments. I’ll answer them to the best of my ability. If you’d like to contact me privately, that’s cool too. Just use the contact form to send me a message.

Read other review posts:

In Review Week 1: Mediabistro’s Ad Copywriting Certificate
In Review Week 2: Mediabistro’s Ad Copywriting Certificate
In Review Week 3: Mediabistro’s Ad Copywriting Certificate

Emily paid the full price for enrollment in Mediabistro.com’s Ad Copywriting Certificate program and is not being compensated in any way for her reviews.

Help a Kid Get His Monkey Back!

Emily Suess — Mon, 11 Mar 2013 12:18:18 +0000

I know this isn’t the sort of thing I usually post here, but I really want to help this man, and I thought I’d enlist the help of the internet.

This morning, I received the following email:

Okay, this is a bit of a strange request considering the content of your 6/19/11 Blog, but here we go:

I have scoured the internet trying to find a replacement for my 5-year old son’s stuffed monkey that was lost yesterday. He has had it his entire life, and I’m desperately looking for a replacement. The only “match” is the image that you used for your blog. Any ideas where this came from??

http://blog.emilysuess.com/reflection-sunday-because-childfree-actually-isnt-a-four-letter-word/

Thank you!

Here’s the image I used, which originally came from Morguefile.com’s stock image directory.

I wrote the man back right away:

I found that image on Morguefile.com — it’s just a stock image. But I feel horrible about your kid losing his stuffed animal and want to help. (I just lost my purse this weekend at a restaurant, and some kind soul turned it in completely intact. I feel like I need to pay it forward!)

So I’m going to ask my readers to share the image and see if we can’t help you find another one.

Emily

So, people? Want to help a 5-year-old kid get his stuffed monkey back? Share this post everywhere. And if you’ve got a lead, leave a comment or contact me.

UPDATE: 8:45 Jessica E. on Facebook sent me a link to purchase the stuffed animal on eBay. I love the internet.

Author Solutions, Random House & Syphilis, Oh My!

Emily Suess — Thu, 07 Mar 2013 17:54:28 +0000

It never fails; every time I mention ‘Author Solutions’ and ‘self-publishing’ in the same breath, some self-pub stalwart emails me or tweets me with a tirade about how self-publishing—true self-publishing—has nothing at all to do with the business model of vanity presses, and Author Solutions is a vanity press.

In theory, I would agree. I even tried to make this distinction here on the blog early on, but found it futile. However we might like to define terms like ‘self-publishing’ and ‘vanity press’ in an academic sense, we cannot ignore actual language in use. ASI calls what ASI does self-publishing. Consumers call what ASI does self-publishing. Media outlets call what ASI does self-publishing.

If that makes you angry, perhaps I can console you a little. ASI’s attempt to change public perception by framing itself as a self-publisher has had limited success*. Instead of forcing ASI to use the less desirable term, we’re getting something even better out of the deal: The term ‘Author Solutions’ is now bearing the negative connotations we had previously associated with the more general term ‘vanity press.’

As an amateur linguist, I find this fucking delightful.

***

Recently a friend asked me how things were going with ‘that Author Solutions.’ Her nose wrinkled. Her upper lip curled. She expressed disgust. It was like someone had shown her the syphilis photos from my seventh grade health book at the exact moment she said ‘Author Solutions.’

That’s it! I thought. Author Solutions is syphilis.

And the thing about syphilis is that it’s contagious.

***

Yesterday, Random House went and did something foolish, exposing their sores and lesions to the world. You see, Random House recently launched e-book imprints with contracts so foul they were likened to vanity press contracts.

John Scalzi, president of The Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, took Random House to task after seeing contracts for Hydra and Alibi**. He pointed out plenty of problems with the contracts: there are no advances, authors are charged for costs previously covered by publishers, and—I find this stuff particularly disgusting—the publisher keeps your rights for the length of copyright AND options the next thing you write.

Scalzi wrote:

“Dear writers: This is a horrendously bad deal and if you are ever offered something like it, you should run away as fast as your legs or other conveyances will carry you.”

Funny. That’s exactly what Mrs. Hewlett told us about sleeping with people who didn’t want to wear condoms.

***

So what, specifically, does Random House have to do with Author Solutions and syphilis?

Remember back in July when Pearson and Penguin acquired Author Solutions for $116M and the publishing world sort of gasped in horror? Many people thought executives at the traditional house were out of their ever loving minds. Others, including a few ASI employees, expressed hope, thinking maybe the sale would be good for ASI. Maybe the new owners would finally force the scourge of the publishing industry to clean up its act?

No such luck. Think about it. When was the last time you heard of a healthy person and a syphilitic having sexytime, and the syphilitic being healed as a result?

So the disease has continued to spread through the industry. Pearson (parent of Penguin) merged with Random House after buying Author Solutions. Author Solutions was then hired to run Archway for Pearson’s competitor, Simon & Schuster. Penguin launched Partridge, another self-pub imprint operated by Author Solutions. And ASI already had self-publishing connections to Harlequin, Hay House and Thomas Nelson.

***

Maybe I’m paranoid from watching too much Fringe lately, but I believe Random House has a serious case of the ASI syphilis strain. Remember how your Sunday School teacher told you that having sex with one person was just like having sex with all the people that person had sex with? It’s kind of like that in the publishing industry right now. (Author Solutions is owned by Penguin who merged with Random House. Yadda. Yadda.)

Syphilis! Syphilis! Syphilis!

What makes Random House unique from syphilitic brands like iUniverse, Penguin, Partridge, etc. is that they’re not embracing the term ‘self-publishing’ when talking about their suck-ass, vanity-style imprints Hydra, Alibi and (presumably) Flirt—because that’s a term that could raise flags for even the n00biest n00bs.

I believe Random House wants to pioneer making vanity publishing the new traditional publishing, and they’re starting by, as Scalzi puts it, trying to “skim the slimmest of margins off the most vulnerable of writers” first.

I also believe that if these assholes succeed with their little vanity contract experiment, they’ll be one step closer to erasing any distinction at all between vanity publishing and traditional publishing.

And then those self-pub stalwarts all hung up on their definitions are really going to be pissed.

*By the way, you should know the law firm Giskan Solotaroff Anderson & Stewart LLP is currently investigating the practices of Author Solutions and all of its brands. There are whispers of a class action lawsuit. Tell. Everyone.

**As far as I’m concerned, both of Scalzi’s blog posts are required reading for new authors.

How I Found My Editor

Guest Author — Tue, 05 Mar 2013 17:54:23 +0000

by Ellis Shuman

After I finished writing, revising, and polishing my manuscript – a suspense novel set in Bulgaria – and after receiving very few responses from the many literary agents I had queried, I decided to take my next step in a completely independent direction. The world of publishing had changed, making it easier than ever to self-publish. I had read the success stories of indie authors and I was convinced that I could follow in their footsteps.

Before I clicked the submit button to make my novel available to the public, I had to be totally convinced that it was in the best possible shape, free of embarrassing punctuation and grammar mistakes. I had reviewed the text repeatedly, but I no longer could see sections requiring further revision. I needed the assistance of a professional editor.

How would I find a suitable editor, one who would connect with my fiction and provide professional assistance and advice at a reasonable price? Just when I was ready to begin looking, Emily Suess added a Self-Publishing Services Directory to her blog. I also found listings on the Editorial Freelancers Association website. I selected fifteen candidates that I felt would be the most suitable to edit my fiction and I sent each of them a short email with a sample of my writing.

I have written a suspense novel (104,000 words / approximately 400 pages) and have been querying literary agents/publishers. I am interested in receiving a quote for editing services (proofreading + just having a set of professional eyes review the manuscript). Thank you in advance for responding with a cost and time estimate for this project.

To my surprise, and very much unlike the process of querying literary agents, most of the freelance editors replied with huge enthusiasm for my project. A suspense novel set in Bulgaria? Exciting! A missing Peace Corps volunteer? That’s just the kind of book that interested them!

With so many eager candidates, I had to select which editor would best edit my manuscript at the most reasonable price. Each of them had been sent a short sample of my writing, although in some cases I was asked to send a longer version. Three pages, one chapter, 50 pages – whatever was needed to demonstrate my writing abilities, showing the prospective editor how much work was to be done and showing me what editorial changes each would suggest.

The responses I received were quite varied. One editor said he wouldn’t change a single word in my first chapter, so I ruled him out right away. Another said he could only provide revision suggestions if he saw the entire manuscript in advance. I ruled him out as well.

The rest of the candidates sent back Word documents with suggested changes highlighted by the tracking function. Unintentionally, I had made a simple punctuation mistake in the very first sentence of my writing sample. Most of the freelance editors immediately pointed that out to me. The majority suggested simple sentence restructuring, occasional word replacements, and a tightening of the text. All of the suggestions were truly helpful, and on target, so how would I choose to work with just one of them?

“The correct way to write the name of the Bulgarian currency is lev,” one of the editors wrote in a comment listed in the Word document sent back to me. “Also, why do you repeatedly refer to your main character by his last name? Was that intentional?”

None of the other freelance editors had pointed out these two issues. In addition, this same candidate had presented the most comprehensive editing of my sample writing, incorporating most of the suggestions made by the other editors and adding many other original revisions. She was the only candidate who had gone out of her way to research the simple elements of my manuscript, to make sure that what I wrote matched the facts.

Of course, setting the price for the freelance editing was also a major factor in the process. To edit a 400-page work of fiction I received quotes ranging from $900 to $3,500. One freelance editor refused to state his price until he had read the entire manuscript. All of the editors stated that they were ready to start work on the project immediately, with quick turn-around times.

Luckily, the candidate who had displayed the best sample editing, was available at a reasonable price. Having a good working relationship with your freelance editor is crucial to the success of a project. Questions, comments, suggestions, observations, and revisions have to be part of an ongoing two-way street of communication. I am pleased with the freelance editor I selected; we worked well together. I have no doubt that my manuscript was vastly improved with her assistance.

My suspense novel, Valley of Thracians, was published for Kindle at the end of January, 2013, and is now available in paperback as well. I would like to thank Amber Jones Barry for helping transform my writing into something I’m truly proud to present to readers. I highly recommend her to writers interested in hiring a professional freelance editor.

Ellis Shuman and his wife, Jodie, lived in Sofia for two years 2009-2010. During that time they maintained a very active blog, Ellis and Jodie’s Bulgarian Adventures, detailing their travels. Ellis is the author of Valley of Thracians, a suspense novel set in Bulgaria. The book is available at Amazon in Kindle and paperback editions. Ellis writes frequently about Bulgaria, Israel, and other interesting things at his blog.

About that Author Solutions…

Emily Suess — Tue, 19 Feb 2013 15:00:33 +0000

I know many of you are interested in getting continuing news about Author Solutions, so I’m pointing you in the direction of David Gaughran’s blog Let’s Get Digital today. He invited me to write a guest post in light of recent news that Author Solutions will be operating yet another self-publishing company, Partridge. Partridge is Penguin’s new self-pub brand for India.

If you hop over there you’ll also have a chance to read about Leah, an author who was saved by a caring internet from very nearly publishing with Author House. Read the post “Penguin’s Solution for Authors: One Racket To Rule Them All.“

This Week in Self-Publishing: Parsley Does Thyme

Emily Suess — Sun, 17 Feb 2013 18:09:15 +0000

A cookbook narrated from prison. Parsley Does Thyme, volume three of the Upper East Side Cookbook series, is published and for sale as an ebook.

“The books are the work of Linda Olle, a longtime resident of Carnegie Hill. Although the books are carried in her neighborhood’s bookstores, as Olle explained recently, “the publishing world is so depressed, I didn’t even bother looking for a publisher.” She publishes them on her own through The Parsley Press.

“PARSLEY DOES THYME”: A SELF-PUBLISHED WONDER
on The New Yorker

Bowker and Vook hook up, expanding self-publishing services.

“Thanks to the partnership, authors using MyIdentifiers.com, will now be able to purchase Vook’s eBook production and distribution tools.”

Bowker & Vook Partner to Expand Self-Publishing Services
on AppNewser

And what about that self-publishing stigma? Will it ever go away?

“People used to think self-publishing a book meant it wasn’t good enough to get picked up by traditional houses. However, the stigma of self-publishing is changing. Success stories have become more and more abundant, and the shock those successes caused even five to 10 years ago is slowly beginning to dissipate.”

Has the public perception of self-publishing finally changed?
on TeleRead

You need a real editor. This week on She Self-Publishes I breakdown the editorial hierarchy and help authors find out where they fit in it.

“Essentially there are three editing phases: substantive editing, copyediting, and proofreading. It’s highly unlikely that you’ll find an editor that does all three. In fact, you might be wise to run away from someone that offers to do all three stages, because…”

[SHE SELF-PUBLISHES] HOW TO CHOOSE YOUR EDITOR
on She Writes

FREE for authors! The Self-Publishing Services Directory connects you to individuals that can help you write and market a better book.