In my recent blog post on Pearson’s acquisition of self-publishing giant Author Solutions Inc., I posed several questions that I hope Pearson will consider as it integrates ASI with Penguin Group. One of these was whether ASI will start being more transparent in its advertising and PR. I’d like to go a little bit more into detail on what I mean.

Last March, word went out that self-publishing giant Author Solutions Inc (owner of AuthorHouse, iUniverse, Xlibris, Trafford, WordClay, Palibrio, and several others, and contractor for the self-pub divisions of several major publishers) was looking for a buyer.

I had no idea what that book was actually about, or any notion of characters beyond September and the Green Wind. But the book as it exists in the world of Palimpsest presented certain rules, and I always find it wonderful to write confined to a set of rules.

Here are several publishing-related items that caught Victoria Strauss’s eye over the past week.

Since Writer Beware’s founding, I’ve been getting questions and advisories about Mr. Kritzer and his company, EKP Productions. In 1998 and 1999, most involved Kritzer’s referrals to Edit Ink, a fraudulent editing service that paid kickbacks to agents who sent clients its way.

Page updated/links checked 12/28/23 Copyright Registration and Timestamp Services Manuscript Pitch Websites/Electronic Slush Piles Pre-Publication Publicity Query and Submission Services Publicists Marketing and Promotion Paid Book Reviews Vanity Radio and TV Book Fair Display Bookstores and Paid Shelf Space Enormous numbers of people are writing and trying to publish books. This vast universe of aspiring […]

Page updated/links checked:5/24/24 Submitting to a Small Press: Issues to Consider Evaluating a Small Press Hybrid Publishers Vanity Publishers in Small Press Clothing A Special Warning: Solicitation by Publishing and Marketing Scams Resources Small presses offer an important alternative to the Big 5 publishers (Penguin Random House, HarperCollins, etc.) and larger independents (Sourcebooks, Kensington, etc.), most […]

Page updated/links checked: 5/24/24 Overview: The Evolution of Self-Publishing Issues to Consider The Challenges of Print Self-Publishing or Traditional Publishing? Bad Reasons to Choose Self-Publishing Cautions A Special Warning: Publishing/Marketing/Fake Literary Agency Scams Resources Overview: The Evolution of Self-Publishing * Until relatively recently, if you wanted to self-publish, you faced a labor-intensive and costly process. […]

“Why SFWA®?” and “What can it do for me?” These two questions have stumped many a SFWA board member, volunteer, and employee throughout our existence. The typical answer had always been, “Bragging rights and oh, the emergency medical fund.” While those two things are definitely beneficial, I’m here to tell you that the Science Fiction […]