Calling Out These Self Publishing Companies
ฝัง
- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 1 ส.ค. 2022
- A ton of self publishing companies and services are raking in the dough at the expense of hardworking authors. Between overpriced keywords on Amazon Advertising, email scams looking to market your book to nobody, and the Audiobook Creation Exchange (ACX) royalty share program, we've got enough to handle. Add the monopoly Bowker and Nielsen have on the ISBN market, broken negative targeting on Amazon Ads, and the SUPER high yet ambiguous expectations of the BookBub Featured Deal, we're left with little more than an empty bank account and some resourcefulness.
Let's talk about the horse manure plaguing the self-publishing business in 2022 - the best of the worst, if you will.
🔴 Amazon KDP Will HATE This... - • Amazon KDP Will HATE T...
🔴Hey, what are your gripes with self-publishing companies or services? Let's hear ya!
Amazon KDP Will HATE This... - th-cam.com/video/RUbrqN2srpM/w-d-xo.html
Thanks bro. your helping me alot
It's my pleasure and I'm so glad I could be of service to you. Keep kickin' butt and takin' names!
Awesome video!
Thank you so much!
What does Barnes & Noble charge for book formatting, and book cover design? I had no idea they NOW do those things.
I love asking those pop-up marketing cold calls which of my books they enjoyed. They usually ghost me after that.
That's a great idea! I used to love playing with scammy emails, but then realized it was wasting my time. So, I just toss it into the trash/spam folder and call it a day.
I'm doing that next time they call!
Good plan
Lol same!
haha I love it when the community comes together like this.
I get a ton of those emails, DM's on social media. "Let us promote your book" Instantly block or send them to the spam folder.
Yes, the DMs and comments telling you to promote on someone's botted trash Instagram account.
Continue being an inspiration Dale! I’m still working on publishing my books. I’ve written about 5 but won’t push further unless I protect myself. Thank you for being a mentor without even knowing it. Take care brother!
Hey, thanks so much for the kind words and support. We have WAY more in the works that's gonna blow everyone away. Just wait, it's gonna be awesome.
Gloves off and I love it. Been following you for years and I'm happy to see that you're still a real person who cares about the human side of the industry!
Luke! Hey, thanks so much for the high praise. We've got more on-tap. I'm working on a piece covering the issues I see with ACX. They're miniscule compared to what ACX does. Stay tuned!
I use direct keywords through Amazon. I've even thought about spending the $200 or so it takes to buy the audio equipment to create my own audio book. I figure since I have several books, the investment will pay off. I think the best part is I don't have to give anyone part of my royalties or pay an outrageous amount upfront. Before I published my first book on Amazon, I became obsessed figuring out how to do it and not get ripped off. I've lost out in the past to a vanity publisher. That one incident stifled my riding for years. I'm glad you're here, and you care enough to help us and help new authors figure the self-publishing market out. Plus I enjoy watching you. You are so clever n funny! There is tons of good info here!😊
Thanks! And, that's the way to go - independent. Keep at it!
Thank you!!! I was just researching ISBN#'s and bar codes at Bowker yesterday! Trying to then research if I need a barcode too. This is perfect timing to hear I can get the barcodes free! That Amazon KDP will automatically give me one! Bless you!!
Glad I could help!
I'm a fresh new author so thank you so much. Just subscribed for more of your words of wisdom!
Awesome! Thank you!
Hallelujah about BookBub. There’s a shroud of secrecy around them. Great video again!!
Yes! Thank you! Someone needed to say it. We WANT to succeed, but can't begin to do that if we don't support each other with honesty and integrity. BookBub needs to step up and be the change in the world we desperately need.
"Tell'em why you really mad, son!" Love the video thanks for the heads-up.
Hahaha, Ronell, you get comment of the day, my friend. Legit, it made me crack up. By the way, thanks for being a longtime subscriber. You're the best.
Really awesome and informative video, Dale! I subbed! I've been on Amazon for a decade and you taught me some new things. I'm going to start with negative targeting!
- Stephen Guise (author of Mini Habits)
Welcome aboard! And, yes! Negative targeting and the Search Terms report are the two most valuable features in Amazon Ads. Suppress the targeting at a campaign level as opposed to an ad group level. That way if you have another ad group you add later, the negative targeting is in place and you don't have to pay again for targets you know that don't convert.
Thanks so much for the subscribe! Stay tuned, because we have more in store on this channel and the podcast (DaleLinks.com/TH-camPodcast).
I’m a self publisher, and working on launching my second book! We get ISBN free here in Cyprus! Great video Dale thank you!
That is awesome! It looks like we're all going to have to move out to Cyprus or Canada now if we want free ISBNs. haha See you soon!
My new nickname for you is Flapper. Love it!! 😁😂🤣
Great video man!
hahahahaha Funny story, we used to call one of our friends Flapper because he was HUGE into swing music. He'd get mad at us and said, "Men can't be flappers!"
Excellent post and found myself nodding my head as you went through the list...haha.
Excellent! You know you nailed it when Dave freakin' Chesson agrees.
Sheesh another banger. The buffoonery with many of these companies remains at an all time high :(
No doubt. And, I've got more stories rolling out since this week and last week's videos. I'm putting together a piece entitled "Amazon KDP: Not as Bad as ACX." I needed to get this stuff off my chest for awhile. I'm so glad you like it. And, again, if you EVER need content for your videos, hit me up. I always enjoy your deep dives. Super fascinating.
I think a lot of self published authors think they have to have an isbn when all they're doing is putting an ebook up on Amazon. When you ask them why they have no idea. And often they're scrimping on other things like covers and editing to afford it.
Yes! They aren't prioritizing the right things. I got burned on a third party ISBN seller when I first got into the business around 2013-2014. I truly thought I had to have it. Sometimes, you don't know what you need to know when you need to know it most. Or...hindsight is always 20/20. haha
Yep - calls weekly, texts, emails to market my books for me - I tell them I have published 940 books and don’t need their services thank you
You give them far more courtesy and time than I ever do. I just toss it in spam and call it a day. haha Always great hearing from you, Dawn.
Thanks for the info Dale and agree 100%. Yes those pop up marketing email people are so annoying 🙄 😑 😒 like leave me alone lol.
Exactly!! Could someone tell their moms or something? They need to all go stand in the corner and think about what they're doing. Where's our community dunce cap? We need to provide those folks with some. hahaha
@@DaleLRoberts 🤣🤣🤣 I know right.
haha 😎🔥
YES! Thank you for making this. Time to call them out.
Any time! It needed to be said. The filter has been removed and we're not just covering the great things in self-publishing. It's time to address the scabs and warts of our business, especially if we want to make a change.
@@DaleLRoberts Absolutely. Calling out the common boiler plate models of these "Publishing houses/marketing professionals" is one way I spread the word...they always seem to change ever so slightly though. But you keep them on their toes.
Yes, those marketing companies doing cold prospecting are technically spammers. Toss them into the spam filter and don't deal with them again. I have zero time for emails like that.
This video is so good. Thank you!
You're so welcome! By the way, I'm loving that double banana sticker icon. Thanks for being a member for over three months.
Just got this video in my recommendation and I'm so glad. I have 4 books written already, and working on my vampire book series now.
After hearing so many horror stories about self-publishing from Amazon to others, I'm doing further research before doing anything with my work because I'm going to protect my work and not jump into anything, so thank you for what you are doing to provide this helpful information.
You got it! KDP is still worth considering, but at least you see all its faults.
@@DaleLRoberts Thanks, I'll consider KDP.
Glad to help.
@@DaleLRoberts 😊
😎🔥
I had a client that is in his 80's and he has been taking in by these "publishers" and charge huge upfront costs.. So Sad..
Yep. Trash. So disappointing. I hear the stories a LOT more than I care to ever remember.
Love your energy, Dale!
I appreciate that! My video producer has been challenging me to speak more freely and just be myself. Last week and this week are proof I'm starting to lighten up and just be myself. I appreciate all your support, Argent!
Honestly you're the best. Thank you.
Wow, thanks! Marisa, have I told you lately how much I appreciate your undying support? I mean it. You've been subscribed for over two years...TWO YEARS! I've had deeply meaningful friendships fade after two years. Not you though. I appreciate your kudos and continue to deliver the content you expect of this channel.
04:53 I felt that!! 🤣 I'm glad I'm not the only one who feels this way!
Thanks!
I am new to this conversation and looking to publish now. Everything is a gross manipulative scam.
I don't know about "everything" but there are a lot of sketchy options out there.
@@DaleLRoberts it seems to me like the publishing companies are probably in poor shape financially and using these large self publishing programs as a way to exploit writers and keep their businesses afloat.
I own and use a lot of Kindleprenuer software, apps, etc. I did not know about the barcode. Thank you!
Happy to help! I use Kindlepreneur for a LOT of things: barcode, QR code, Amazon Book Rank Calculator, list of free and premium book promo sites. Kindlepreneur is THE best resource in all of self-publishing, bar none. I'll pass the love you shared onto Dave and his team. I know they'll appreciate it.
@@DaleLRoberts Thank you. I recently purchased Atticus and have owned Publisher Rocket since before it had that name. I love Mr. Chesson's products and I quite agree with your assessment. Thanks again for always putting out quality content.
Nice! Great minds think alike.
FYI, I live in the Netherlands (Holland) and you have to buy them here (you have to buy in the country you are resident). I can not bulk buy here. They won't sell more than 10 at a time as they don't want huge gaps in the numbers. It cost me €276 ($281) to buy them.
Wow! I have NOTHING to complain about compared to your cost. Thanks so much for sharing. What a ripoff! Wow.
Dale! I just like to watch you because I can't stop laughing you are so clever so quick and really understand this whole industry of making books! Thanks keep making us informed and entertained:-)
Wow, thanks! I'm trying my best to loosen up a bit and...well, this is rather unfortunate, but I'll say it anyway...let my hair down. It's not perfect, but we're getting there. I'm learning as I go, so I appreciate your kudos.
Wait till you see my haunted hotel episode coming in October. hahah
Yep, I'm going to be staying in Ohio's oldest hotel (215+ years) and one of the top ten most haunted hotels. The place hosted many presidents and a few famous authors - Dickens, Twain, Harriet Beecher Stowe. I grabbed the Twain suite and will be staying up overnight writing my new fiction horror story. Yep, we're going super meta! Writing horror in a world-famous haunted hotel that had two famous authors who were once self-published. We'll be loading up all the gear we can carry and documenting the experience.
Just wait...things are about to get interesting. haha Sorry to dump all that on you.
@@DaleLRoberts Cool! I'm already getting chills!
haha Me too!
Hi Dale. Thanks for being my guide on my self-publishing journey. I plan to upload my book to IS (and Amazon KDP) and I would love to say, "Available everywhere books are sold" because I believe people could walk into any bookstore and order it. Is that right? Maybe "Available to order from your local bookseller" - Hmm, lacks a little pizzazz. Can you please help me out?
So long as that bookstore uses Ingram for ordering, you're good to go. The first phrase works better than the second phrase. Just my opinion.
That's interesting that you bought 1,000 ISBN's. I bought 10 ISBN's, and I still haven't used all of them.
hahah Yeah, I just wanted to get them and be done with it. I don't want to have to decide to buy anymore any time soon. Go figure, they'll probably roll out free ISBNs soon. haha It'd be a good thing, but terrible that I'm stuck with ISBNs I didn't need to pay for. haha
I get those marketing emails all the time. They got it from my vanity press. I don't know how or why my publisher gave it to them, but they did. They even say they want to turn my book into a feature movie (the book is art I made that is accompanied by poems, prose, and Internet facts--there is no way to make it a movie). I send them packing every time.
haha Wow! Now they're just being lazy about their cold prospecting. And chances are likely, the company sold your data to someone or are in a shared network with the other questionable service providers. Sorry to hear about that.
@@DaleLRoberts One of them even told me that my vanity press was shutting down after all the years in business and that I would be in good steads if I were to start letting them publish and market my book. It's difficult to imagine the gall of some people.
Great. And yup; the Fiverr Marketing scammers have been all over me.
Report those clowns. I work directly with the Fiverr team and every time I run into issues, they're QUICK to resolve the issue. Fiverr is a great platform, but they can't keep all the scammers out. They need our help to point out the trash, so they can remove them.
By the way, Craig, thanks so much for being a subscriber for over a year now. Your support means the world to me.
@@DaleLRoberts No worries. Your content is always excellent and informative and has steered me right on more than one occasion. Keep doing what you do!!
Done deal! Stay tuned, because we've got some GREAT content coming out real soon.
Not even published just trying to get my research in and I got an unsolicited book marketing offers.
Oh, those get worse once you do publish. Be careful.
Can you please make a video on how to avoid scamming book marketing companies that over promise and under deliver e.g Book Writing Experts located in Los Angeles Ca.
Let me see what I can do. These past two videos have shown me people want to hear more like this.
Will Amazon’s ASIN work with things the Library of Congress registration & copyright registration?
I don't think it does, but you'll have to double check with both sources first. I think you'll need an ISBN, not the ASIN. Again, I'm not 100% sure since I've never considered that as an option.
Thank you so much for making these videos.. So many authors have no idea about how bad they are being ripped off.. I have even been lambasted by authors such as Chuck Wendig, because they say what I do is unethical?!? Which is nuts. But I digress. I edit , help people with a quality cover and no stupid template and format and design the book for them and if they need it, give them a isbn and create the barcode at no cost. Just a service. I will upload for them and create keywords for them. All part of the edit cost.. Then I see these companies like Page Publishing and Newberry Springs and others and I am outraged. They can do very little of what they say. "We will put your book in every bookstores in America" Really, I was a book buyer for a national chain and it doesn't work that way. Just keep up the good work, education is a must for self publishers. My first question is, "What is your expectation?" If they say the NYT, we need to have a talk, As a self published item, all you can do is give it the best shot to sell. And it shouldn't cost your life savings. Kudos to you!
Thanks for the praise. And, if you're doing the right thing by your customers, then don't sweat what other people say about you.
@@DaleLRoberts Thanks Brother.. I try to be super transparent and help where I can. I even have had clients that really can't afford a big payment, so hey $100 a month is fine.. I'm not going to be the reason they can't eat. Other companies, not so much.
Nice. Keep doing good, because the right people will see it and sense your motivations.
LOL, if other authors, editors, and agents didn't use MS Word as their sort-of processor of choice, I would have gotten rid of Word forEVER ago! I can't imagine trying to format a book cover in Word 😂 Derek is awesome, I love him too! And the ISBN scam of the US has been a thorn in my biscuit for ages.
Yes, Microsoft Word for book covers. That's just...insane. And, I just heard from a viewer in the Netherlands. Their ISBNs cost upwards of $276 per registration. Yikes!!! With no bulk discounts.
@@DaleLRoberts $276!! Here I thought the US was bad about ISBNs. That feels like such a barrier of access. Now it makes sense why when I read statistics about how many authors there are, the Netherlands has seen a decline over the years. (The ISBN probably isn't ALL of it, of course, but I bet it plays a role). Thanks!
No doubt! haha
I’ve experimented with Amazon Ads. It has not been worth it for me. It cost more than sales.
Yeah, sometimes it's best to take one step back to take two steps forward. I highly recommend before you ever plunk anymore money down, go through their free courses. It'll help clear up some of the muddiness.
@@DaleLRoberts It was the keywords. Not specific enough.
That'll do it. I always recommend starting with auto targeting, then build out negative targeting from the list you pull from the Search Terms report. The key is to put all the negative targeting at a campaign level, not just the ad group level. Because as that ad group dies out, you can start a new campaign with the negative targeting already in place. Then, you won't be paying needlessly into targeting that's irrelevant to your book. I REALLY need to do a whole new video about Amazon ads. We're long overdue.
Hey man, love your content. I cannot seem to put my audio book on Christianaudio, do you know how I can do that?
Never heard of them. Why don’t you reach out to their support?
I throw those marketing companies in spam. I don't know you, son. I used to make my covers with Microsoft Word until I got a handle on Photoshop.
Yep, toss them out! And, MS Word??? I did not know that about you. You've come a long way, baby! haha
Thanks Dale. I agree with you on these pay by click ads for Amazon. Face Book isn't any better. Probable far cheaper to go out and rent a billboard on a busy highway then pay by click.
I suspect that someone spends a great deal of time clicking those ads to increase revenue for Amazon.
They've actually got a system in place to detect fraudulent clicks. In the event you see a bump in clicks for no reason, report it.
thank you it's quite bad I do like snow but moving canada is probably not a good idea.
Yeah, I'm gonna agree with you on that.
I wonder if we authors would have a chance to fight if we just hired an attorney and filed some kind of lawsuit against Bowker. Anti-trust lawsuit maybe?
Man, I think this originates from the US Government's involvement. Not sure what Nielsen's deal is overseas. We'd have a LOT of work ahead of us.
Not just the U.S., but in Australia they’re the seller we have to use and we pay a premium price too. Government used to own the process, but…
Yes, that's RIGHT! Totally forgot there's Bowker AU. Sorry to exclude Australia, you guys are, after all, one of my top viewing regions. I'll be sure to include you guys next time. We share Bowker's burden.
Random question: I know this has nothing to do with the video but I was thinking of using publishdrive. In your experience is the quality of their print books good?
I've yet to test them out, but hear good things about the print quality. And, don't sweat leaving questions on the video whether pertinent to the topic or not. If it were live video I wanted to keep on topic? Sure, but in instances like this, you're totally fine!
Awesome thank you!
I get emails from people saying they "saw my book" and "loved" it and now they want to tweet it out to 1000s of their followers for only several hundred dollars. Yeah, right.
Hard pass, hahaha!
Nice video, no nonsense, I like it
I'm glad you like it
I’ve always wondered how Bowker has had a monopoly in the U$
TL;DR - Government involvement.
I get too many pop-up marketing emails, especially on Facebook.
No doubt.
Loved your video, but don't stress the small stuff.
Thanks!
lol brother I love your rants :)
Oh, these last two rants are going to pale in comparison to my upcoming one covering ACX. That'll be out the week after next. It might get ugly.
I sent acx 11 titles to change from exclusive to non exclusive. All well past a year exclusive. First email back said I need to send them a reason why I want them changed. I sent a reason. Second email they said I need to send them a better explanation of why. I sent them a longer version of the first. 3rd email they said 11 is too many for 1 agent to handle at one time. Sorry, we are not trying to make you jump through hoops. Please send only 5 at one time. 😵💫
Well, that's some tomfoolery! You don't need to write an essay on WHY you want out of exclusive distribution. That's just silly. I wonder if someone wasn't just trolling you. It seems like it wasted EVERYONE'S time. Geez! I feel like ACX deserves a devoted video like KDP.
Another update on urban book publishers fiasco.
Apart from terrible editing, they clearly haven’t even read it, I found several spots where the story looped back and repeated itself for over 30 pages and their website promoting it is full of generic fake reviews, bad grammar and saying that my book is about outer space, when its not at all. (Guess they took the Star in my continent Talistar too seriously, because they sure as heck didn’t read it.)
What should I do?
Ask for your money back.
@@DaleLRoberts that’s just what I’m going to have to do. Thanks for replying.
Pop up marketing services, yes almost daily. Never replied to any of them.
I hear you! Same here. They don't work anyway. You're better off making a marketing plan yourself and using that money to hire out specific tasks if you want/need to.
I just use the free isbns from Amazon, etc. I have not run into a situation where that was an issue. Kdp and Ingram will automatically create a barcode and print it on your book. I've never bought one of those either since book stores buy from Ingram. 🤷♀️
Not all bookstores will buy from Ingram if there's no official barcode put in place with the retail pricing info and such. What Ingram creates is a basic barcode with no pricing (much like KDP). As you can imagine, that'd be a pain in the neck if bookstores had to constantly answer questions about how much a book costs when customers see it in-store. So, they don't stock it. I highly recommend if you want more brick and mortar placement, get an actual barcode put in that spot.
@@DaleLRoberts that's not an option for me. I don't go direct to Ingram. I got into Draft2Digital's print beta. They don't allow returns so bookstores wouldn't be interested anyway. That said, I have sold a lot more paperbacks since going through them instead of direct to Ingram. 🤷♀️
Don't fix it if it's not broken, right?
It would be a dream if you and Dave from Kindlepreneur would team up to somehow demolish the ISBN monopoly.
haha I'll pass it on to Dave, maybe he'll be game. I wish we could have access to low cost ISBNs so we're not going broke simply to get international recognition for our works.
I think the US Government outsourced it to Bowler. That's why it's just them.
That's what I heard too.
Uh...it's a government racket :(
@@Kindlepreneur Man, doesn't it suck though?
Let’s not forget dorrance and company “publishers”
hahaha Yeah, they do NOT have a good reputation. I get a LOT of emails of people duped by them and it's usually too late for me to do anything. It sucks.
@@DaleLRoberts spent over 2k on them before i realized how shady it all was
Oh, no! I'm sorry to hear that. Two-thousand dollars?! Man!
That company attempted to get my money back in 2012. Nope!🙅🤷🙅
@@AuthorLHollingsworth what was worse is that I was a kid too, so my dad and I-naive as we were-were so excited when a publishing house “wanted” my book. They have connections to copyright houses so they know when new stuff is up
Dorrance is the worst; multiple emails and multiple phone calls as well.
Yeah, they don't have the best reputation from what I hear.
Dale, I have received so many e-mails that I stopped counting. 🙅🤷🙅🤷🙅🤷
Right?! haha I'm just gonna do a whole video where I troll them. It'll be like how Kitboga is with online scammers, but for these trash book marketing services.
@@DaleLRoberts Love that idea!!!!! 🤔🤔🤔😂😂😂😂
You've got me thinking...
lovely content
Thanks!
Why are sales low this month
We're in the lean months of the year. Usually sales start to slow up around the summer time (between June to September). You'll see sales slowly increase going into the last three months of the year.
Anyone know is urban book publishers New York are legit?
Just spent a lot of money on them, but then realized that not a lot of information is available
I never heard of them. Proceed with caution.
@@DaleLRoberts well, too late to turn back now, but I do have a written contract that promises a certain amount of sales for the marketing plan or my money back.
It’s just that sounds too good to be true.
I’ll keep you posted on my experience with them. I’m new at this so was overly excited.
Yeah, let me know how it goes. Join me on Discord, I'm there everyday. dalelinks.com/discord - Ping me there when you get more developments.
@@DaleLRoberts I will. They let me keep all the rights and their contract has it in fine writing(which I made copies of) that if I don’t get atleast 90% of anticipated sells, I can get my money back.
My dad who owns a business found it for me but he has no experience in literature only hvac sells. Thank you so much for the work you are doing!
@@DaleLRoberts I would honestly just be happy if the book is professionally edited and it has a great cover design. ( I wanted something similar to octopath traveler’s cover art in style snd they said they could.)
give em' hell brother :) I love it
Always! Just wait...we gotta talk about ACX. "Houston...we have a problem..."
ISBNs are free in Canada :)
Indeed they are, just like I mentioned in the video. ;)
I don’t get it. Lulu offers free ISBNs.
Yeah, but they still own the imprint. People looking to own the imprint on the ISBN want to purchase them. Many POD companies offer free ISBNs, but you can't take it anywhere off their platform. That's a deal breaker for some.
And so u could not sell some of of the 1000 ISBNs to someone else?
Nope! I'm stuck with them. But, I'm okay with that. If I had a choice, I'd love to gift out ISBNs to authors in need. But, I can't change the imprint, so it's pointless. Doesn't that suck?
Brand new subscriber here. I am an author and I have my first book in publication as we speak. I write strictly horror stories in the likes of paranormal and monsters.
Oh, nice! Welcome! Good luck on your horror writing, that's my favorite genre.
@@DaleLRoberts Thank you, I appreciate that. Horror has been my favorite since I was a kid.
Same here! Horror books were what broke me out of my reading comprehension issues. I credit Stephen King for making me a better reader. Now, I can credit him for being a better writer.
@@DaleLRoberts Stephen King is my inspiration.
It'd be confusing if a writer is into horror, but not in the least bit inspired by King. haha
Bowker--rip off! You can get an ISBN in other countries FREE. Isn't this a monopoly?
Yep, it's ugly. Not a fan of Bowker and I'm trying to do more digging to find out HOW this happened.
Put those isbms on eBay. I’ll bid.
If I could, I would. But, you'd end up with an ISBN with my imprint on it. Imprints on ISBNs are like tattoos - permanent.
@@DaleLRoberts hello. I understand the POD company supplies the ismb number. Do they buy them in bulk? But you just said you can’t transfer IDs. How do they get around this? If they charge individually, that would add $125 to your print costs.
Platform-assigned ISBNs (typically free) are property of the platform. You can't really take them anywhere. I always liken it to this...
If you came over to my house to cook a meal, I'm happy to furnish you with the pots, pans, utensils and stove to make your meal. But, when you go to leave, you have to leave my stuff here. I wish it were as simple as signing over the imprint rights, but...here we are. Always great hearing from you, Cynthia!
So Dale, Here me out... What I think is this would be a perfect time to create your own Self-Publishing Book Company; I would use it and give it a shot. You have the resources, the contacts, the know-how to create something independent for the rebel book creators. Okay, I wont pressure you, but you have been pregnant and in labor with your own thing, so now just push it out.
haha Your comment made my day. I wish I could or wanted to take on the responsibility, but I'm just not at that point in my life. I see all the work Michael Anderle puts into his publishing company, and I'm frankly not interested in that level of work. But, never say never.
Have you read any of Dean Wesley Smith's nonfiction books on writing? I've been reading them, and I think they are a must read. I would love for you to check them out and see what you think of them. Most of these books are on his blog. Here are the books I bought and have been reading, that are on his blog for free:
*Heinlein's Rules:* Five Simple Business Rules for Writing
*The Magic Bakery:* Copyright in the Modern World of Fiction Publishing
*Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Publishing*
*Killing the Top Ten Sacred Cows of Indie Publishing*
*Stages of a Fiction Writer:* Know Where You Stand on the Path to Writing
*How to Write Fiction Sales Copy*
And then there is his book that has changed my view on how to write. (Not on his blog, that I could find.)
*Writing into the Dark:* How to Write a Novel without an Outline
Other books that are on his blog for free are:
*How to Write a Novel in Half a Month*
*How to Write a Novel in Ten Days*
*Writing a Novel in Seven Days*
*Writing a Novel in Five Days While Traveling*
If I asked this already, I apologize for repeating myself.
I haven't, but my buddy Michael La Ronn highly recommends Dean Wesley Smith's stuff. He needs to pay you for the referral. haha
@@DaleLRoberts - 🤣 He should. 😂
I'm sure he has an affiliate program. Look into it.
@@DaleLRoberts - Great idea! Thanks.
I've got your back.
Pop ups are the worst! 😂
haha No argument here.
Hmm verry creepy TO ME
Moonchin!!! Always great hearing from you and you are not wrong. A lot of this stuff drives me and many other people crazy.
I think you have a skewed view of narration. It takes about 3-4x the length of the book to make an audio file. You have a book and having the audio file then enables you to make an additional income. This is made possible by the narrator AND you get to choose from those who apply. If you think this is easy work and want to keep all of the income from audio, you have the option to do it yourself ;-)
No, I'm fairly confident in my view. Paying a narrator their finished price per hour is more than fair. When they jack their rates up just to buy out a contract is ridiculous. But, I'm not the only author who feels this way. That's why, again, I stated the better option for rights holders is Findaway Voices' royalty share. Then, the narrator gets paid their full worth.
Yes, narrators SHOULD get paid, I didn't imply that. No, they should NOT jack up their finished price per hour simply to void out a contract. After all, if the narrator gets paid regularly for a few years from the split and the rights holder comes back to buy out the contract by paying the TRUE finished price per hour for the content, then that means the narrator got MORE than their paid worth.
So, I think how you interpreted what I said was skewed. Because by disagreeing you imply it's okay to screw over rights holders and hold out on them by inflating the finished price per hour. Kind of a shady move still.
@@DaleLRoberts Thanks for your reply. I'll check out the video again, as I got the impression that you considered the royalty split to be unfair. If I misunderstood that, then my bad (and sorry)
No, the royalty split is fine and a really great option for both parties. But, it can be soured when asking to buy out the narrator. I've had a few narrators who share a set finished price per hour, but when I go to buy them out, that finished price per hour goes WAY up. That part I do NOT like.
Trust me, I did voiceover work at a local studio. After crunching the numbers, if I were doing that work for someone, I'd need at least $125 per finished hour to break even. Asking $250 per finished hour is a more than reasonable rate for quality narrators and voice over talent. These narrators had their normal rate, and then they had an inflated rate so they could milk the 50/50 contract. That's the part I do NOT like and will continue to discourage people so long as that type of abuse is an available option.
That's why I feel Findaway Voices has the best royalty share program. Rights holders pay 50% upfront for an 80/20 split that has a ten-year agreement. Should the rights holder wish to buy out the contract, they pay 100%. So, the narrator gets 150% of their rates, plus 20% earnings in between. THIS is more than fair to me. In fact, I wouldn't at all mind having it 50/50.
I'm glad you heard me out on that. I've got nothing but love for our narrators. While there's just a few bad apples in the bunch - and don't all businesses have them - overall, the narrator/voiceover community is great, positive, and want the same thing everyone wants - success.
@@DaleLRoberts Looks we're on the same page - thanks for taking the time to explain the situation for me.
Yeah, we were saying almost the same exact thing. Sadly, many people will hear what they want and assume the worst in people rather than hear them out. I appreciate you and hope to hear more from you soon.
ever heard of Tele Pub publishing ?
Nope.
Stay away from Christopher Clawson Rule. He used to run Breaking Rules Publishing but now it's called Someday Publishing. He has ripped off the royalties of over 30 former authors, myself included. I can account for over 100 sales he has kept of mine and plays stupid as if he has no clue about those proven sales. He is also being sued by the photographer Tom Hussey for copywrite infringement.
Authors Beware
Thanks for the heads up.
I have no money bro
Sorry to hear that.
@@DaleLRoberts
If you don't mind me asking if you had to get down to brass tax with
1. editing
2 Book cover.
3.Cover letter.
4. Book blurb.
ETC
HOW MUCH WOULD YOU SAY IT ALL WAS EXACTLY
R SHOULD I JUST GUESS AND THOUGHSLY MAKE A FOOL OUT OF MY SELF. PLEASE TELL ME HOW MUCH ILL NEED TO INDIE PUBLISH MY BOOK.