Writing is a glamorous occupation - at least from the outside. Popular depictions of our profession tend to leave out all the other stuff that comes with the territory: carpal tunnel syndrome, liver failure, penury, and madness.
Okay, okay, I jest. I love being a writer. Sharing stories with the world and getting paid for it is bloody brilliant. It's a dream job, and like any profession with a horde of neophytes seeking to break in, there are plenty of sharks waiting to chew them to bits.
Posted by Diane Tibert on June 19, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/06/19/the-author-exploitation-business/
Occasionally when doing business in Nova Scotia, things don’t always go as planned. The company hired to do a job may not fulfil their obligations, and they leave the customer less than satisfied. Of course, when this happens we could always bitch to our friend or the guy sitting next to us at the bar, but if we honestly feel a company has wronged us, there is always the Better Business Bureau (BBB).
But what is the BBB, and what does it do?
From their website: The BBB is a non- profit, independent organization devoted to helping businesses serve their customers. We receive 60,000+ inquiries per year, 80% representing pre-purchase inquiries. The BBB influences $30 millions in purchase inquires per year. Most importantly, we serve as a resource for consumer topics and issue anti-fraud warnings.
Posted by Diane Tibert on June 17, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/06/17/better-business-bureau/
Th
e only thing standing between a writer and a published book is unscrupulous individuals.
This morning I received a thought-provoking comment on the post I wrote regarding Bryler Publications and Three Dogs Press, both owned and operated by Cynthia McMurray. Instead of posting my answer below the comment, in a place where it may not be seen by others, I decided to create an entire new post. This also gives me more ‘space’ to answer.
I won’t post the entire comment here, only quotes from it. If you want to see the entire comment by Another Victim, it’s located near the bottom of the page on Bryler Sleeps with Three Dogs on Staircase.
Another Victim asks: “Do you (or anyone here) have any plans/strategies about what can be done to stop her (Cynthia McMurray) from continuing to do this to other unsuspecting victims?”
Posted by Diane Tibert on June 13, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/06/13/what-can-we-do-about-bryler-publications/
I spoke with a relative who has been in business for himself for the past few decades. He’s seen companies come and go, and come back again. He’s seen companies that owed his company money go out of business, leaving him wondering how he would get paid for the services and products he provided.
As a person owed money by a company that goes out of business, sometimes we’re left in the dark, wondering the exact same thing: can I get the money owed to me, and if so, how do I get it?
My relative told me that getting paid isn’t automatic. Well, it is if you’re dealing with an honourable, honest company that values its reputation. When a reliable company goes out of business, all their debts are paid in full without hassle. They not only respect themselves and the laws, but their former service and product providers.
Posted by Diane Tibert on June 11, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/06/11/when-a-business-goes-out-of-business/
This is an update to information presented in my last post—Bryler Sleeps with Three Dogs on Staircase .
When I initially wrote that post on May 28th, I had linked to a working website boasting the amazing new Nova Scotia publishing company Three Dogs Press. It contained several working links providing information on their new authors, their new books, their incredibly generous program Books for Kids by Kids (which is bound to excite innocent children in several schools), their wonderful packages for self-published authors through their imprint Staircase Publications and various other information.
Posted by Diane Tibert on June 9, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/06/09/three-dogs-find-new-dog-house/
Okay, I admit the title of this blog sounds totally confusing, but by the end of this post, you’ll understand.
I’m a writer, and anyone who has followed this blog for any length of time knows I’m also a dreamer. In fact, it’s stated right there at the top of this blog beneath my name. As a dreamer, I love it when people dream big. Dreaming big for a writer is getting a short story or novel published. Yeehaw! to dreams.
What I dislike is people crushing the dreams of others. That might be something as simple as telling a writer they’ll never get published or saying, “I’ll publish your book; give me your money,” and never delivering the product.
My first response to dream killers is sadness. What in their life is so horrible that they have to murder the dreams of others? It is disheartening for the writer who may give up on a dream because someone gave them negative energy and killed their dream.
Posted by Diane Tibert on May 27, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/05/27/bryler-sleeps-with-three-dogs-on-staircase/
Have you been solicited yet? Perhaps you have and you didn’t realise what you paid for the right to vote for a friend or family member who entered a Facebook-based contest. You know, those ones where people submit something—a pictures or story or something—for a chance to win (fill in the blank) and then beg everyone on their friend’s list and more to vote for them.
Posted by Diane Tibert on May 21, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/05/21/dislike-facebook-based-contests/
By Scott Bury
The Hobbit. Game of Thrones. The Twilight saga. Harry Potter. Snow White and the Huntsman. Oz, the Great and Powerful. Once Upon a Time.
Hollywood continues to score hits in the science fiction and fantasy genres, on both the big and small screens. There is an appetite for this kind of fiction.
And browsing around bookstores, grocery stores and the immense emporia that masquerade as drugstores these days reveals an appetite among the public for fantasy, too.
Posted by Diane Tibert on May 14, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/05/14/do-we-need-publishers/
This video clip explains the importance of seeds, and seed diversity far better than I can.
http://youtu.be/QJ28IC63hlI
This is huge, and truly HORRIBLE.
I've just learned the EU is trying to pass a new law that would outlaw the selling or trading of heirloom varieties of seeds. If passed, this law would benefit only the multinational seed companies - like Monsanto - while endangering biodiversity and the safety of future…
Posted by Diane Tibert on May 6, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/05/06/has-the-eu-gone-completely-mad-update-video-added/
I was at the London Book Fair last week - and I'll be blogging about that soon - when the news broke that David Mamet is to self-publish his next book.
His reasons? "Publishing is like Hollywood—nobody ever does the marketing they promise."
While I think it's great that someone as high-profile as David Mamet is self-publishing, I was very disappointed to find out the
Posted by Diane Tibert on April 23, 2013
http://dianetibert.com/2013/04/23/lazy-literary-agents-in-self-publishing-money-grab-via-argo-navis/
