Ruth Ann Nordin's Blog, page 106

What Is Not Protected by Copyright

I have a novella called "The Vanishing". There is a movie with the same title. Someone I know was panicking because I was in danger of violating copyright. I knew I wasn't, but I had to dig up the proof so this person would leave me alone. Since I went through the trouble of finding it, I am passing this along to anyone else who might want to know what is not protected by copyright.

What this means is you are free to use any of the below in your own books without worrying about violating co...

Another Scam: Private Label Rights Articles

I'm passing this on. I did not realize that some people are taking articles from different blogs on the Internet and making books out of them to upload to Smashwords and Amazon's Kindle. How lazy does someone have to be to not just write the book from their own intelligence and creativity?

This was posted on Writer Beware Blogs! with Mark Coker, the founder of Smashwords, explaining the Scam of Private Label Rights Articles: http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2010/03......

Self-Publishing Companies and Possible Scams

Today I received an email from iUniverse saying that three of my books are good enough to be traditionally published, and since I am that good, I should look into marketing them.

Okay. First of all, those titles must have been picked at random because a few years back when I paid to self-publish that book, I also submitted it to see if it would qualify for their "Star Program". It seems to be that only a book worthy of traditional publishing should qualify. I did not qualify. Second, one o...

Good Article on Marketing by Mary Buckham

I thought this was a good article by Mary Buckham called Six Tips to Thrive as a Marketing Whiz, so I thought I'd pass it on. :-)

This was on the 1st Turning Point website.

If You Don't Comment in English, I'll Delete You

This is the third time now I have gotten a comment that is not in Engligh. I speak and write English. If I write a post in English, then it's common sense to comment in English. I have tolerated this twice now, with a friendly reminder that I do not speak another language (except for a little Spanish). I don't know what you're point is, but if you can read my posts in English, then you can answer in English.

So for now on, anyone commenting in a language that isn't English will be delete...

Self-Publishing Benefit: Write What Readers Want

Now, I'm not talking about writing with the whole "I'll change my style or technique to please the reader." What I'm talking about is self-publishing opens the door for the kind of interaction between the author and reader that allows for focusing our attention on the characters/world that our readers love most. With traditional publishing, the author has to think about what the publisher wants. With self-publishing, that doesn't come into the equation.

So what exactly do I mean by all of th...

On Writing: Make Each Scene Count

Hey, what do you know? I'm actually going to talk about writing instead of publishing or promotion. I don't know if I've ever done an actual "writing" post yet or not...and no, I'm not going back to check. After this, I have some proofreading to do. A writer's work is never done. :-)

Okay, so I do manage to pick up a book and read from time to time. I am also going through a revising of one of my books, and in all of this, I have discovered that filler scenes are boring. These are scene...

More on Making Money as an Author

Alright, so I've received questions since my last "money" post regarding some things I mentioned. I'll address those here. I hate to give out the numbers because whenever I do, I end up losing sales and hits to my sites. I know, I know. There is probably no real correlation, but it almost seems like I'm going to kick myself for this later. However, since those questions have come to my attention, I need the numbers to back up my statements.

I'll also add some more ideas on things you ca...

Beware of MyFreeRead.com

As someone who is opposed to making my readers go through ads in order to access my work, I thought this was important to pass on. Basically MyFreeRead.com allows you $0.20 each time someone downloads your ebook. But that person must go through a couple of ads before they get your ebook. If this appeals to you, go for it. As for me, I will not put my stuff on there. I hate ads and don't think it's necessary for people to read my free ebooks by making them watch ads first.

Victoria Strauss...

Rant: Only Self-Published Books are Poorly Edited

That is just a load of... (fill in the blank). I'll use the term crap.

I am reading an ebook from a small publisher that is recommended by Preditors and Editors, which is the compass many authors go by when deciding who to query. So this "recommended" publisher does have a good reputation. Well, I bought one of their books, and I am finding errors in every chapter that I usually hear people clown self-published authors for. I often hear people say, "All self-published books are poorly edited...