The thing about dreams is that they are precious to those they belong to. As writers we of course love to write, but we also want to make a living from our art. Feed our families. Find a loyal readership to share our words with. Some of us dream of making it big. J.K. Rowling big.
My goals are modest. I want to make a living and take care of my wife and kids. I am not unique in wanting that. It takes work of course, but then, we love writing, don’t we?
But beware. There are companies out there who have found ways to monetize our dreams. Most of you know David Gaughran. He is the author of Let’s Get Digital and Let’s Get Visible. He is also an investigative reporter who, it seems, has made it his life’s goal to expose Author Solutions for its unethical and, given the mounting evidence, dishonest practices. But there is much more to this story. So much more.
Please read David’s exposé on Authors Solutions, its awful practices, and the two class action suites against the company, as well as those companies who partnered with this beast. You will be surprised.
You can read David’s article here.
Woelf
Woelf Dietrich 
I read it. It’s pretty good.
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Very thorough, but David is known for doing his homework.
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I got it as part of the “Indie Author Power Pack” – it has David’s book, Write Publish Repeat by Johnny, Sean and Dave and a Joanna Penn book on Marketing your Book.
It’s really a brave new world out there in self publishing. These folks have really inspired me.
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Me, too, and yes, I’ve those as well. Got to stay informed.
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I think that in the world of today, where everyone can become their own publisher, these dangers are closer than ever. A lot of people who goes into self-publishing don’t have any preparation on a professional level. I mean, they often don’t have any idea how the professional publishing job works.
I think this is at the base of much frustration, but it can also lead to fall victims of non-ethical practises.
I’m lucky enough to have been working for a publisher for the past 10 years, that’s why I notice this constantly. There are things I take for granted that other people don’t even understand and I’m always shocked by it. Some of these things are at the base of publishing.
So – I know lots of people are saying this nowaday, but I feel like saying it again – do take time to learn the way traditional publishing works before you deciude you can do it by yourself. I’m not trying to say you can’t, of course you can self-publishing professionally and successfully, but to do that you have to know the job as a professional does. It takes time, granted, but it will be rewarding on many levels, I think.
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I agree. Before I made my decision I probably spent a year just researching. Following blogs and reading articles on publishing and trends and what not to do, and because it continuously evolves, you have to keep reading to stay up to date. But even then, you can still fall victim to a scam. So, yes, we look out for each other and spread the word when we can. That is what I love about our online community.
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