Allbooks Review March 2011 Newsletter

Don’t be an April Fool- get a review by Allbooks Review International Visit: www.allbooksreviewint.com Do not be fooled by unscrupulous review companies Important notice: There is currently a campaign to impugn the reputation of Allbooks Review International, a professional review and author promo company since 2000, by a new review company that is neither professional nor honest. Allbooks Review is asking any author that has had a good relationship with Allbooks to post a short comment on facebook, twitter or other internet media sites. Being professionals, we will not name this company however we will counter these unjustified attacks with honest, forthright comments from real authors. Allbooks Review International thanks the thousands of authors that have worked with us over the years, we appreciate you. www.allbooksreviewint.com A special thank you to iFOGO and Independent Author’s Network for posting our notice. We received many, many emails of support from authors that know Allbooks Review Int. and are proud to work with us. FEATURE How do I approach companies for expert opinions?By Moira Allen Writing World=================================================================Q: I am looking for instruction on how to approach companies forexpert interviews/opinion and how to gain their permission for anassignment I have already been given. I am also looking for thesame information for getting permission to cite from publications.A: As you have already been given an assignment, the best way toobtain interviews is to call a company or individual and explainthat you are a writer and that you are doing an article for thepublication that has given you the assignment. Explain what thearticle is about and ask if you could speak to someone in thatcompany to gather information. (It's often best if you alreadyhave an idea of whom to speak to, but if you don't, and thereceptionist can't help you, ask to be transferred to the publicrelations department.) If you haven't done this before, I'd suggest that you writeyourself a brief "script" to follow -- e.g., "Hello, my name isDavid and I'm working on an article about (subject) for(publication name). I'd like to speak to someone in your companyabout (topic). Could you recommend someone who might have a momentto give me some information about (topic)?" Once you've been given a name and possibly transferred to thatindividual or that individual's secretary, find out if this is agood time to ask your questions. You may need to set up anappointment for another call later. On the chance that you will get to speak to the individualimmediately, however, be sure to have your questions ready, and beready to take down the answers. When I conduct a telephoneinterview, I usually have my questions in an open file on thecomputer screen, and I type in the answers as I talk to the person.I also print out the questions, however, so that I can refer tothem easily if they've scrolled off my screen. Regarding gaining permission to quote from publications that oftendepends on how much you wish to quote. If you are citinginformation, you can often paraphrase it so that it isn't a directquote. For example, "As John Smith notes in the July 2000 issue ofScience Monthly, cold fusion is still more of a theory than apracticality." In this way, you are attributing the information tothe correct source, and you aren't using a direct quote. If you do need to use direct quotes, and this is a researcharticle, you can generally use brief quotes without obtainingpermission. However, those quotes must be brief and not constitutethe main part of your article. Do not attempt to build yourarticle on quotes from other published sources. This is badetiquette and can often be construed as a form of plagiarism. Forexample, I once reviewed an article on training animals that"quoted" several trainers -- but drew those quotes entirely fromthe trainers' books. Since the article would not have existedwithout those quotes, this was not an appropriate use of suchcitations. Any published quotes you use should only support andcontribute to your article; they cannot make up the bulk of yourarticle. It's always best to get "live" quotes than use previouslypublished quotes. If you expect to have to quote long sections, and you feel the needto obtain permission, you'll need to write to the publication firstfor information on how to obtain that permission. You may then bereferred to the author. It depends on who holds the actualcopyright to the material. This can be a long process, so again,it's much better to get "live" quotes than to try to use muchmaterial from previously published sources.Copyright (c) 2011 by Moira Allen SUCCESS STORIES We love to hear of your success stories, submit them to us at: allbookreviews@aol.com Remember to post your book signing, guest speaker events on our Bookstore page. Simply send us an email with details of your events and we will be happy to post them. Just part of the Allbooks service to our authors. Independent Authors Network Everyone did a great job of promoting their IAN member page this month. These two blogs are wide open for your posts! The IAN Blog and Reader's Choice Books Please attach the post in a word file to an email to this address and include the post name like "Mystery Monday" in the email. ................................ Mystery Monday-If your book is a mystery then send over a blurb, article or synopsis of the book and I'll get it up on the next available Monday. .................................. Tuesday Guest Post is wide open for any posts about any writing or publishing topic. Send in your guest post. if you have a signing coming up or other event then tell me about and I'll post it on Tuesday. Send me a blurb about any book or author. .................................. WIP Wednesday- If you have a new book in the works that is about ready for publishing then shoot me over the book name, synopsis and when you are hoping to publish it. Also if you have a working cover send over the jpeg. I'll get your Work In Progress post up on the next available Wednesday. ....................................... Thriller Thursday- f your book is a thriller then send over a blurb, article or synopsis of the book and I'll get it up on the next available Thursday! ...................................... Fling Friday-If your book is Romance or any of the Romance sub-genres then end over a blurb, article or synopsis of the book and I'll get it up on the next available Friday. ...................................... Sample Sunday-Send over a 1000 word sample of your book and I'll get it up for you on the next available Sunday. ...................................... If you had a book review that you are particularly proud of or an interview at a blog or site and would like to have posted then please send them to me. If you review books for authors and would like them posted to Reader's Choice Books then please let me know. ..................................... I hope you'll send in your posts as these blogs see good traffic and could really help get your books out there! Thank you. William-- William R. PotterFounderThe Independent Author Network Independently Published/Promoting as a Group Submissions Wanted: WIN UP TO $500 WRITING A POEM OR SHORT STORY!Dream Quest One Poetry & Writing Contest. Write a poem, 30 linesor fewer on any subject and/or write a short story, 5 pages max.on any theme, single or double line spacing, neatly hand printedor typed for a chance to win cash prizes. Visithttp://www.dreamquestone.com for details! The online TV version of The Authors Show, which has been a huge success in the United States for over 4 years, will soon launch in Europe, in The Netherlands, in Dutch, with a local host. For more information, visit DeAuteursShow.nl. Danielle Hampson Executive Producer The Authors Show The Authors Marketing Power House Dark Discoveries Open to Submissions------------------------------------Dark Discoveries is looking for short stories from 500 to 6,500words. Stories must be in the horror/dark fantasy/dark sci-fi anddark mystery veins. They are looking for powerful, well-writtenoriginal ideas and new twists on old horror conventions. Payment is$0.05 per word and is paid 90 days after publication. For moreinformation visit: http://darkdiscoveries.com/blog/submission-guidelines/ Urgently need cartoonists, for South African cartoon strips. I’m struggling to find artists who portray black characters. What’s needed are black heroes.... There are loads of possibilities. Eg; Where the subscriber can fill in the bubble captions thus writing the story board."Urgently need artists/authors who already do something like this or who might be capable of it. If this sounds like you, contact richie@theebooksale.com. Allbooks Reviews INTERVIEW: Please state your name and location. (city and State or Province, Country) Bob Frey Sandy, Oregon Tell us the title and publisher of your book: Supermale’s Gone and Left Us Van Fleet Books Tell us about yourself: Bob grew up in advertising agencies as a copywriter. When he turned to writing fiction, he found it was a whole new ballgame and he had a lot to learn. He has now published a mystery, The DVD Murders, and some short stories, including Supermale’s Gone and Left Us. Also an actor, he loves to entertain, make people think and laugh, and maybe shake them up a little. When was the book released? December, 2010 Give us an overview of your book. How much can a man, especially if he is a superhero, take? Striped searched and sent to the pokey as an illegal alien. Locked up with liars, thieves, and murderers and treated as a common criminal by the warden and prison guards alike. Scorned as a snitch and Boy Scout by the other inmates, Supermale, the defender of truth, liberty, and the American way of life, declines to escape since it would be breaking the law and send the wrong message to America’s youth. Finally, since his country of origin no longer exists and the authorities have no place to deport him to, the super patriot is declared a national security threat and detained at Gitmo Bay as an enemy combatant. Is that the final straw that breaks the superhero’s back or is there more? At any rate, Supermale’s gone and left us. How does that bode for the future of the United States and the free world? What inspired you to write this book? I had the idea for this story kicking around in my head for a long time. If there really was such a thing as a superhero, what would be some of the problems he or she would face in real life? How would Superman handle the loss of all the civilian clothes he leaves in telephone booths, for example? He would have to have a helluva wardrobe. And since he is made of steel, how could he make love to a woman? By the time I got around writing it, a telephone booth was a thing of the past. Nevertheless, I still had a lot of fun writing about some of the problems a superhero might encounter. How is your book different from other books in this genre? I’m sure there are a lot of satires out there, but I don’t know if there are many that poke fun at superheroes. It always amazes me how people interpret what I write. They read into it ideas I had no conscious intention of putting on the page. Some good. Some bad. Where can people buy your book? Since it is a short story (44 Pages) it is available as an eBook on Amazon for only $0.99. Are you working on another book? If so when do you expect it to be published? I’m working on several: another mystery novel, a book of short stories, and a children’s book. All will be published early in 2011. If you self published, what advice can you give to fellow writers? If you want to be published traditionally, give it a try, but don’t spend too much time on it. Nowadays, authors published by mainstream houses are expected to put as much time in promoting their books as self published authors. There are few Stephen Kings or Ann Tylers. Consider a POD. If published traditionally, tell us how you benefited: I have a mystery book sitting with a traditional publisher right now. I expect I will try and break the contract. Why? Because the publisher wants exclusive rights to all media, including eBooks, and that’s where sales are headed if they are not already there. Can you share one of your marketing successes with us? I have sold four times as many eBooks of my mystery novel, The DVD Murders, than paperback copies. Of course, the eBooks are cheaper, but the sales are good for my ego. How did you find Allbooks Reviews and what are you hoping for in your relationship with us? I hope to sell some books and build relationships with readers. Was the low cost a surprise? What other things would you like Allbooks Reviews to offer writers? Reader comments would be helpful. Thank you for this interview and best of luck with your book.