EPISODE 41: Dangers Lurking in PLAIN SIGHT on Facebook Author Groups! DON’T BE THE NEXT VICTIM!

EPISODE 43: 16 Possible Reasons Why Amazon KDP Permanently Closed Your Account (but they won’t tell YOU why!)

Approximately 90% of banned Amazon KDP accounts are never reinstated!   We were recently contacted by yet ANOTHER terminated Amazon KDP author. His unpaid royalties are $38K (!!!), and there is NOTHING he can do to get his account back (he’s tried!), nor to get his $38K. He can’t even access his files, nor see his past sales reports. He’s completely and permanently LOCKED OUT of his Amazon KDP account.    Could it happen to you? According to Google, it’s happening to thousands of authors per year now. Think about that. You've had your book(s) on Amazon KDP for several years. Sales have been pretty good. You may not be getting rich, but the royalties have been regular and dependable. Things have been good!   Then one day, you receive an email from Amazon KDP saying your account has been terminated. You think it’s a scam email, or a joke. But, it’s NOT! You quickly go to KDP to login to your account. Your username and password don’t work. The “forgot your password?” option doesn’t work. Your account is simply GONE. You’ve been permanently banned by Amazon KDP. Worse, they tell you that you’re not permitted to open any other Amazon KDP accounts in the future. EVER. (Many authors have tried that, even under different names and email addresses, and it never works. Amazon always knows everything!)   You go back and read the email from Amazon in its entirety. It says your account has been terminated. It says you violated KDP's terms of service, but it doesn't say which term(s) you violated. It simply says your account has been permanently closed, and that you can never open another account with Amazon KDP.    You send multiple messages to Amazon asking (begging!) for some explanation. You have every intent to correct anything you may have done wrong…if only you knew what that was! Their automated replies just keep saying they’re upholding their decision to ban you from their platform.    You start to panic, of course! You've not only lost your account, but you've lost whatever royalties you had coming from the previous two months. More emails simply get the same canned response: "We are upholding our original decision to terminate your account."   Here's the real rub: You AGREED to all of this when you signed up with Amazon KDP. It was in the "Terms of Service" when you clicked "I AGREE," including the fact that they get to keep ALL of your unpaid royalties. For some authors, that’s in the thousands of dollars.    In this episode, we crawl under the dark underbelly of Amazon KDP, and the growing problem of authors having their accounts closed down for any number of reasons, known only to KDP's AI/bot systems.    Amazon has specific reasons why they don’t tell so many authors why their accounts were terminated. We discuss those reasons in this episode as well.    Amazon KDP can immediately terminate your account at any time, at their sole discretion, with no warning, and with no human being at the helm to rationally weigh the facts and listen to your side of things.    If you are currently using Amazon KDP, or thinking about using Amazon KDP, you need listen to this episode to know the potential risks of working with that organization! There are OTHER WAYS to get your book on Amazon, and those won’t lead to your books being taken down, nor your royalties being withheld!  Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2463845/fan_mail/new] Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

Episode 42 - Stupid Author Tricks!!

In this episode, Professor Clayton Jones joins us again! Being an English Professor at the University of Tennessee, a professional editor, AND a professional book marketer, he’s seen it ALL! And, so has Angela, who has been in the business for 28 years! While Clayton discusses authors who have behaved badly when working with him, the examples Angela shares are from folks who contacted her through WritersWeekly.com asking for advice. Of course, we haven’t used any names in this episode…except for the celebrity authors who got caught doing stupid stuff!! Here’s just a tidbit of what we have for you in this episode (and there’s a LOT more!): The author who got scammed three separate times after Angela WARNED HIM THREE SEPARATE TIMES! Famous authors who got caught using AI, and even left AI prompts in their books!!! One of the authors was accused of using AI in his anti-AI book!! Authors who got VERY upset after they couldn’t land a traditional publishing contract…because their mother told them their book was the best one ever written. We’ve received the same comment from authors who didn’t win writing contests. “My mom says my story was better than the winning stories!” The author who got scammed for thousands, and then asked Angela for advice on how to hide what happened from his wife.  Authors who libel others in their books, and state, “I don’t care if I get sued!”  The co-authors who provided zero proof of severe allegations they made against many individuals and businesses. Some authors, who clearly don’t have attorneys, believe that publishing the book alone will be “proof enough.” Authors who committed copyright infringement under the false (but common!) belief that “everything on the Internet is free!” Parasite Book Marketers! Yes, that’s a real thing, and it’s very low-class!! DON’T DO IT! Authors who don’t read the fine print, and who are allowing AI programs (like Grammarly) to “train” their systems.  Authors who are beating the pro-AI drum, and using AI to write their books, while not realizing they themselves can get sued for copyright infringement someday.  AND SO MUCH MORE!!! Let’s be honest. There are things that work in the publishing industry - and things that do NOT work in the publishing industry.  Today we reveal ideas, attitudes, habits, and actions we have seen that inevitably tank authors' chances for success (and that can lead to not only embarrassment, but also litigation). We weigh these behaviors against the realities that exists in the publishing and writing worlds.  There are two approaches you can take with this episode: Some authors who have done some of the things we discuss might be insulted and offended by what we say. However, we’re using real examples and humor because, if we don’t laugh about these situations, we might just cry! Some of the stories are actually not funny at all. They are simply sad. We don’t laugh at those.  If you want to learn from others’ mistakes, listen to and learn from two experts in the field, and apply the "Don't do this" lessons that they offer from their vast experience in watching bad ideas and actions fail time and again. This episode will teach you what NOT to do if you want a smooth, efficient, and non-embarrassing book publishing experience. Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2463845/fan_mail/new] Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

EPISODE 41: Dangers Lurking in PLAIN SIGHT on Facebook Author Groups! DON’T BE THE NEXT VICTIM!

Could that very active fellow Facebook author group member really be a SCAMMER? Chances are pretty high THEY ARE!   Publishing scammers have infiltrated Facebook’s author groups to perform DATA MINING! What’s the problem, you ask? All they have is your Facebook profile link. So, what’s the big deal?   Nope, that’s not ALL they have! They start with your profile, and within minutes, they likely know more about you than your next-door neighbor.   When someone in your Facebook Author/Writer group posts thing like this, BEWARE! "Authors, drop your book cover! Show us your masterpiece!"  “Post the links to your books! Let’s help each other out!” “Show us your author website!”  But, what if they simply ask a very general “tickler” question of all the members? They’re starting a specific discussion for a specific reason! They know what they’re doing, and hundreds of unwary authors respond!   "Tell us what you're currently working on!" "Tell us what makes your book special in one sentence!" "What's the best platform for me to market my book?"  And, guess what? Some of these data mining scammers are actually the MODERATORS of author groups on Facebook! And the group members have NO IDEA!  If you respond to those ridiculous posts, it may seem innocent on your part (and it is) but it is NOT innocent on the part of the scammers. How can engaging them hurt you? A bunch of other folks in the group are doing it. It's free publicity. You are proud of your book. And who knows: someone may BUY A COPY! So, you engage the scammer (who you think is just another author.)  CONGRATULATIONS! You've just painted a target on yourself for scammers.  Many Facebook groups for authors and writers have hundreds and even thousands of members. Many of those require nothing more than to click a "JOIN" button. Many in the group, however, never post in the group, or even look at it again. Some groups are old and the “members” have gone stagnant on Facebook. The scammers are looking for living, breathing members who have active manuscripts to publish, and books to promote. That means YOU are far more likely to become their next target!  Overseas scammers want to target authors with offers to publish their books, edit their books, offer fake movie deals, promote their books – you name it. They have literally dozens of fake services to offer! And, finding an active author with a book to publish or sell is the very FIRST step they take with data mining.   Listen to this episode to learn how scammers can take one small link (your Facebook profile) to gather TONS of personal information about you from across the Internet!   And, we’ll tell you how they use that information to fool potential victims, and suck their wallets dry.   Listen to this week's episode, #41, and learn the tricks and tactics these parasites are using to get your personal information to target you with opportunities to give your money away, and never see it again. You will also learn how to protect yourself.   Join us as we dissect the dark underbelly of Facebook Author Groups! Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2463845/fan_mail/new] Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

From 14-Year-Old Runaway, to Cop, to the Managing Editor of WritersWeekly.com. GRAPHIC WARNING AT 1 HOUR, 3 MINUTES! (1:03)

In Episode 10 of the WritersWeekly Podcast (one of our most popular ones!), you heard the story of how Angela Hoy started WritersWeekly.com as a young, single mother, with MANY challenges along the way. Those included skipping meals early on to ensure her children were well-fed (her ex wasn’t paying court-ordered child support), and later suing Amazon.com for federal anti-trust violations, and winning! She turned a fledgling hobby website into an internationally known publishing powerhouse and, 28 years later, it’s still going strong! Now we present Brian Whiddon’s story. Brian is the Managing Editor at WritersWeekly.com, and the Operations Manager at BookLocker.com, a full-service book publishing company. He is also the author of Blue Lives Matter: The Heart Behind the Badge.  Brian grew up rough (to put it mildly!), had run away three times by the age of 14, and then moved back home with the help of a friendly police officer. That gentleman was Brian’s inspiration to later serve vulnerable members of the population himself. Listen to this episode to find out what happened to the amazing police officer who literally changed Brian’s life.  Brian was kicked out of his home by his parents at 17 but was determined to finish high school, because a diploma was required to become a police officer. He then served in the United States Army for five years, which included a combat deployment in Somalia. (Wait until you hear the camel dust story, and about the time Brian and his two soldier buddies mooned a Colonel!) After leaving the Army, Brian finally got to live his dream career as a police officer. In this episode, you’ll hear first-hand Brian’s story of how he and another officer got repeatedly burned while pulling a man from a burning airplane. He shares other stressful, exciting, and even hilarious stories as well.  Tragically, after 15 years, the career he had dreamed about since the age of 13 was tragically stolen away from him, simply because he did the right thing. After witnessing police misconduct, and reporting it, Brian prevented an innocent young man from going to prison…and got fired for doing so.  How does a former law enforcement officer later become the Managing Editor for one of the first writing websites on the Internet, and the Operations Manager for one of the most well-known book publishing companies?  This episode is packed with emotion, humor, inspiration, and lots of human interest! (Did you know “beef sticks” in Korea are actually dog meat? No, Brian didn’t eat those!).  If you have ever wondered about the man behind the voice here on the WritersWeekly Podcast, you DON’T WANT TO MISS THIS ONE!  Repeat: GRAPHIC WARNING AT 1 HOUR, 3 MINUTES! (1:03) Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2463845/fan_mail/new] Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

Episode 39 - Authors Who Had to Pay THOUSANDS After Being Sued

In this episode, Angela and Brian share real stories about lawsuits that were filed against authors, and how those proceedings affected them financially…and otherwise. So many authors feel that, even if they get sued, they might win…so, no problem, right? WRONG! In the U.S., unless a case is declared frivolous by a judge, you might never get back all the money you spent defending yourself.  Another problem is the tremendous amount of stress authors must endure throughout the legal process, which can take months, or even years.  Listen to this episode, which is filled with examples of lawsuits filed against authors (and why), so you can hopefully avoid the legal pitfalls that could land you in court and can potentially lead to bankruptcy. Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! [https://www.buzzsprout.com/2463845/fan_mail/new] Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com