sàds

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware I've written before about Author Solutions' relentless efforts to get authors to buy the company's "marketing" services. Here's an example that was recently passed on to me (with the author's name and other identifying information redacted). Note the poor quality of the English (a lot of AS's staff are in the Philippines; English is a second language), the implied specialness of the offer (50% management discount, just for you!), the "hurry up and buy" pressure (supposedly only eight books will be able to get in on the deal; first come, first served!), and the...um...optimistic way the service that's being sold is presented ("endorsement" implies something tailored to the product, but in fact all it means in this case is a listing in Ingram's print and online magazines). It's all directly out of the junk mail marketing handbook. Note, finally, the tiny-print disclaimer at the...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware Earlier this week, I ran across a blog post by best-selling author Claire Cook   about the process by which she decided to become a hybrid author, ditching her high-powered agency in the process. It's an interesting story--but what really caught my eye was this: And then one day on the phone my agent informed me that in order to continue to be represented by this mighty agency, I would have to turn over 15% of the proceeds of my about-to-be self-published book to said agency. Not only that, but I would have to publish it exclusively through Amazon, because the agency had a system in place with Amazon where I could check a box and their 15% would go straight to them, no muss, no fuss. I've warned in the past about interminable agency clauses in author-agent agreements (language through which an agency claims the right to remain the agent of record not just for the duration of any contracts it negotiates for yo...

Posted by Victoria Strauss for Writer Beware If you've encountered Green Shore Publishing , you might be intrigued by an enterprise that describes itself as "The UK and Ireland's New Standard in Book Publishing," and touts both its success and (in the little video on its home page) its extreme selectivity. But wait: Green Shore Publishing isn't exactly what it seems. First clue: the Packages page , where you learn that you must pay between £300 and £1,500 for the privilege of publication. OK, so not really a publisher, then. Misgivings growing, you move on to the Testimonials page , where three video clips from authors who provide neither their surnames nor the titles of their books carry an unmistakable whiff of canned ad script. On to the Catalog page to check out the books. But wait--there's no catalog page, even though the home page verbiage, as well as the "testimonials", suggest that GSP has been releasing books for several months, if not lon...