I rarely endorse writing classes, but if I wanted to learn copywriting or become a copywriter I’d sign up for Copywriting Success Summit 2008. Here’s why:

I know it’s possible, even quite possible to earn a ton of money copywriting – I’ve seen people do it. I ghostwrite which is another area of writing altogether.
I know or recognize most of the instructors. I mean how can you go wrong with Brian Clark, known in the blogasphere as Copyblogger, Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers fame, or Peter Bowerman who knows how to keep writers and self-publishers well-fed. Of course, Robert Bly, …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
A little while ago I posted about claiming credit when you’re ghostwriting On August 22, Peter Bowerman of Well-Fed Writer fame talks about claiming credit for other kinds of work done for clients. In replying to one of this Freelance Commercial Writers who asks “Do you get permission (to post a piece) from every client…?”
Peter’s response is he doesn’t ask. In fact, he calls it a “non-issue.” He does go into more explanation, making it clear he’s careful not to post anything under a non-disclosure agreement and the like, but the basic message is he feels free to use most …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
On July 31, 2008, BookLocker filed their response to Amazon’s expected motion to dismiss BookLocker’s suit against the online retailer for its insistence self-publishers use Amazon owned BookSurge to receive preferential treatment on the virtual bookstore. The announcement was made to the blogosphere on Angela Hoy’s Amazon BookSurge Antitrust Lawsuit Clearinghouse blog.
This is the blog to read if you want to really understand the issues. There are links to of BooklLocker’s original complaint, Amazon’s motion to dismiss and to BookLocker’s response, all in one place. It will take some reading, but it’s worth it.
For example, footnote 4 on BookLocker’s response …read more

Most of you will remember I sent a letter to Jeff Bezos as part of my response to SPAN’s decision to back Angela Hoy’s BookLocker suit against the giant etailer.
Yesterday or the day before, an email wandered in in response. Here it is in part:
Hello from Amazon.com.
My name is Peg Anderson of Amazon.com’s Executive Customer Relations. Jeff Bezos received your e-mail and has asked me to reply on his behalf.
Given your interest in Amazon Print On Demand, I want to make sure that you had an opportunity to read a letter we published about what we’re changing and why. …read more

A press release wandered in yesterday titled: Australian Book Printer Challenges Amazon.com’s Booksurge for Market Dominance
Although I don’t see anything in the press release that leads me to believe Booktasia is really different than Amazon’s BookSurge, it’s interesting that they at least allude to some of the problems some self-publishers have had with BookSurge, most specifically, allegations of poor quality with pages falling out. In fact, it seems almost as if they are acknowledging the premier position BookSurge is now in because they were purchased by Amazon.
What they seem not to be addressing is Amazon’s power as a seller of …read more

TheBookseller.com is reporting unease among publishers and agents in the UK who are warning authors and others about Amazon’s insistence publishers use BookSurge to maintain their buy buttons on the online retailer.
Wonder when Amazon will issue another press release on this situation. Maybe a boycott will be required. This issue feels like it’s moving oh so slowly, but I’ve never been known for my patience.
Write well and often,

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You know, probably the only thing other than Angela Hoy’s lawsuit that will stop Amazon’s drive for power over publishing is if we stop buying from Amazon and if we stop linking to Amazon. Sigh.
Sigh, not only because it’s so wonderfully easy to buy books and other stuff at Amazon I hate to make my life more difficult. Admittedly, buying my books through bn.com wouldn’t be that difficult.
The truth is I’ve got probably over 100 affiliate links to Amazon, maybe more. A few are here, others are at my other websites, www.aboutfreelancewriting.com, and www.powerfullyrecovered.com. And sure enough, every month …read more

Every now and again someone asks me if it’s possible to protect ebook .pdf files so people can copy them and give them away or even sell them. I tell people that yes, they can and that I don’t bother.
In the interview with Angela Hoy, Jerry talks about what the traditional publishers really fear with POD and Amazon is the lack of control they have over ebooks and books printed via print on demand. They are afraid that if someone like Amazon, through BookSurge, prints books, they, the traditional publisher has no way to verify how many books are printed, …read more

One of my heroes is Peter Bowerman. His most recent book, The Well-Fed Self-Publisher is based on his very real-world experience publishing two best sellers, The Well-Fed Writer and The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds.
I checked his blog and didn’t find anything about Amazon’s controversial attempts to force self-publishers to print through Amazon-owned BookSurge to be able to sell at the online bookstore in the normal way. So I asked him what he thought. (Amazing what happens when you simply ask!) Here’s what he said:
Hi Anne,
Actually, I haven’t written anything about this, but it seems the whole world has weighed …read more