Do You Really Know Where Biden and Trump Stand?

 As an independent voter, I believe it is not which party you vote for, but the most important thing is that you vote for a candidate who most supports your views.

That said, I have been creating a series of quizzes about the candidates on Sporcle, a quiz website. I did the research and use actual quotes. I use only where the candidates stand now (as opposed to where they might have stood in the past). There is a note called "How to Play" at the top of the quiz that explains all this. Once you answer, a quote from the candidate about the issue and a link to the article that contains that quote appears.

I have been completely surprised to find that although most quiz takers seem to be aware of Joe Biden's stand on issues, few are aware of where Trump stands on the issues. I encourage you to try these quizzes out and see how you do. This will also help you learn where both candidates stand on these issues. You do not have to register to take quizzes on the website (creating an account only helps you keep track of quizzes and earn badges). Also note, that as a quiz maker I cannot see individual results only general statistics for the quiz.

Donald Trump Quiz                    Joe Biden Quiz

Censorship Is ALWAYS Bad: Authors, Writers, Freelancers UNITE Against Censorship

 I have written about the censorship Amazon is doing to prevent books from being sold that address the COVID-19 pandemic. These books do not violate Amazon's terms of service, and Amazon states it is dedicated to allowing diverse interests. It is not. My book has more than 300 citations from other sources. I spent months researching it, and I had to fight to get the one version of it they did publish published. They have blocked the black and white version and the large print version from publication, and there is no way for me to fight this block. 

Facebook has similarly stifled and flagged my posts. Since the beginning of COVID-19, I have not been getting the number of views I have seen in the past. One of my friends wanted me to fact check another post that had been going around about breathing difficulties from masks. Keep in mind that cloth and non-medical masks are not being regulated by the FDA (even though the FDA is legally required to regulate them), so it can be expected they would cause medical problems. I did the research and reposted the post with a statement that yes, masks can cause health problems. I then posted links to scientific papers showing masks of any kind cause health problems as a part of my post. Facebook labeled my post as partly false?!? 

We are in the middle of a nasty election. I recently posted on my RSS News Website that politics-not COVID-19-is what is killing us in America this year. I don't know where you stand politically, but we as writers have to put our foot down about censorship. The Democrats in the Spring, led by Nancy Pelosi, spoke with Facebook openly and said that Facebook needs to ban sexist posts. As a woman, I don't want read sexist posts, but as a writer I would far rather be able to speak my mind than avoid seeing something offensive. Facebook should ban posts that are sexually or violently explicit--the only censorship I support because you can skip a post you disagree with but those things don't ever get out of your brain once you see them-even if by accident. A post flinging mud at a political opponent should not be banned simply because the opponent is a woman unless you are going to stop all mud slinging. 

I cannot stand Arthur Miller because I truly believe he caused Marilyn Monroe's already fragile mental state to decline even more greatly. Everything I know about him makes me more firmly believe he is a self-absorbed jerk. I hate the Crucible and Inherit the Wind because many people take these plays as historical fact instead of fictional allegories. However, that hatred did not stop me from publicly reading the Crucible on Banned Book Day while in college because I don't believe in banning books simply because they don't align with my politics or because they come from someone I dislike. 

My entire voting life I have voted for Democrats, Republicans, Libertarians and other third parties--even if it means writing their name on the ballot. But because the Democrats have pushed to stifle free speech so much in this election, I am not voting for a single one of them this year--even though I initially considered it. The Democrats knew Joe Biden got his son the job in Ukraine and that Joe used US funding to pressure the Ukrainian government to look the other way. Joe admitted this himself on television. Hunter admitted his father got him jobs. I mean, he worked on an Amtrak Safety Board when the only previous experience and knowledge he had was that he rode the train. I even figured out at the time about Ukraine before it became a social media pariah and posted about how bad that was for Biden to have done. Even a former Polish president admitted Joe got Hunter the Ukraine job. 

The Democrats knew that Joe Biden had a bad habit of letting racist remarks slip prior to electing him. Shoot, over a year ago I wrote a quiz on Sporcle about all his verbal gaffs. Because I am an independent, when Biden got the Democratic nomination this year, I wrote another one about President Trump's gaffs, which, in turn, sparked a whole series of quizzes about this election and the candidates that I am planning to complete in the next two weeks. I did this to be fair, but the Democrats are not playing fair in this election--and when they trample free speech to do it, they need to be checked. My complaint for years is that Democrats and Republicans don't offer a true "choice"--instead they both run identical candidates with different labels. The Trump-Clinton election was an obvious deviation from this path, but the problem with this election is that the Democrats chose an equally controversial candidate and are now trying to sugar-coat him by suppressing free speech. The only way I can think to protest their attacks on free speech is to not vote for them at all. That's okay, though, there are plenty of other candidates from which to choose.

COVID-19 Hasn't Stopped People from Cheating

 Every week, I get at least one invitation to a project asking for help with schoolwork. 

Now, let me say up front that being a scribe is a real, modern job that has merely changed titles to "Ghostwriter." Schools and colleges push for superior writing skills when not everyone (even very intelligent people) can obtain them. Writing is part education and part talent. Everyone should have basic writing skills, but not everyone needs superior writing skills. It would be better to just admit scribes still exist then going to all the trouble of maintaining secrecy about it. 

For this reason, I fully understand the masters or doctorate student hiring an editor to help polish his/her thesis or dissertation. At the same time, basic writing skills (and other basic skills) need to be practiced and learned by undergraduates and those in lower education. At any level, it is always unacceptable to have someone do your work entirely. 

Unfortunately, most of the "help" asked for is at the undergraduate or high school level, and it is not "help" but cheating. The job posts want you to do the work for them. Thankfully, Guru does not condone cheating and these are reportable projects that are quickly removed. Unfortunately, since Guru has taken away the $25 site-wide minimum transaction, more of these jobs appeared.

This leads me to the latest where the poster needed "a human who is familiar with.." certain chapters of a particular textbook. Perhaps they didn't think many cats, dogs, horses, or aliens would be familiar with the book. Poor English skills do not always signal some sort of cheating or scam, but all posts for cheating always seem to say things like this to make it seem like this is an official job while concealing the true nature of what is wanted. Cheaters know they are doing something wrong.

Even worse than the fact that these kinds of jobs have increased on Guru is the fact their are websites where you can hire people to do your homework for you. This mass of cheating on scales unheard of is harming our education in more ways than one. Not only are certain people who have the money getting no education, but also these same people are cheating others. You see, people develop higher level critical thinking skills at different times during their lives. You cannot rush this, but when a teenager is having an adult do their schoolwork, it looks like the teenager has already developed these skills. This makes educators mistakenly believe children can do advanced level thinking when they cannot. It puts those children who do not or can not cheat at a greater disadvantage because they are then expected to pursue higher order thinking when they are not developmentally capable of it.

To make matters worse, there have been numerous studies about online teaching and increases in cheating and plagiarism--especially in lower education. Plagiarism websites do not check to see if it was a commissioned work. COVID-19 has increased the chances for children to cheat by keeping them home from school. Without in-class writing samples, teachers have no comparison to determine if the homework was written by the student or someone else. Having seen parents assemble entire projects for students before turning them in during my years in 4-H, I have no doubt this is happening with online school as well. Cheating-whether by plagiarism, commission, or parents-is unacceptable.

As I said, editing something that is already written in the upper levels of education (when the student should have already learned those needed basic writing skills and just needs the eye of someone with more advanced skills) is different than completely doing homework for students. Still, I have met other freelancers who do not seem to care about the ethics of writing papers and doing assignments for those in school. This is wrong, but simply telling them this when they have no ethical care to begin with does not help. You also cannot appeal to the students who are cheating by informing them that they are making homework more difficult and harming others by their act. It is time the government shut down websites that cater to cheating. 

Unmasking the Lies

 As writers and authors, it is our duty to do extensive research and read information with a critical eye, to be able to show proof of our written conclusions, and to not simply take someone else's word for it. That is no longer happening in most writing circles and it is wrong. 

Tonight, I was denied entrance to an AMC theater because I have breathing problems and cannot wear a mask. AMC is not the only company that has instituted mask mandates that go against CDC recommendations by requiring everyone- including those with breathing problems--to wear a mask. This is in clear violation of the ADA which requires disabled people to get equal access to all services. 

There were maybe 20 people in the entire theater seeing all the movies. My husband was wearing the required mask. We could have easily been sat 6' or 12' or 20' away from any other patron if there was concern, but instead we were told to get out. Apparently, AMC theaters wants to put their disabled patrons lives at risk in the name of "public safety." They also seem to believe they know better than the CDC as to who should and should not wear masks.

This is why I compare what is happening today to Hitler's regime. There is no sympathy for disabled people--we are marked by not wearing masks and we are shunned and harassed at every stop. I get glares that I try to smile back at. I get nothing but hatred--and I have done nothing wrong but to have had the poor genes to give me a weak heart and breathing problems that are compounded by that. 

If I were a lesbian and denied entrance to an AMC theater--there would be a lawsuit. No one would visit AMC theaters in protest for what was done to me. 

If I my skin were darker and I had African or Mexican heritage and I was denied entrance to an AMC theater--there would be a lawsuit. No one would visit AMC theaters in protest for what was done to me. 

But I am disabled. There is no one to boycott AMC--because I should just be locked in my house and allowed to die since I am detestable for daring to put someone's life at risk. Nevermind that doctors only wore cloth masks from 1890-1930 because they were shown to be so ineffective. Nevermind that I have already had COVID-19 and cannot catch it or spread it to anyone else. The public hates me because I am disabled.

Authors--your writing is powerful. Last year, the rights of the disabled would have been championed. But in the midst of all the lies that keep changing, the disabled have become a thing to loathe.

Amazon Censorship?

 Amazon has given me trouble about publishing my book: Hitler's Big Lie and the COVID-19 Pandemic. The first problem I had was that it was flagged for plagiarism. For those of you not familiar with the book, it contains close to 400 citations that take up about 25% of the book. The number of citations actually proves the book was not plagiarized, but computer software to detect plagiarism is not that smart. 

I argued that all copied content was citations or from my own online blog (or a cited quote), and that as non-fiction that is not a plagiarism issue. The color version of the book passed and I held my breath for the e-book. That also passed. Then I uploaded the Large Print version, and again it was flagged for plagiarism. Again, I contacted them with the information.

But then something strange happened. I uploaded a black and white version that would cost less, but this time I wasn't flagged for plagiarism. I was flagged because Amazon said they were not publishing books about the treatment or prevention of COVID-19 due to the constantly changing recommendations. I argued that my book is not about the treatment or prevention but more of a historical comparison of the way COVID-19 is being handled and received the same canned response: "Due to the rapidly changing nature of information around coronavirus, we are referring customers to official sources for advice about the prevention or treatment of the virus.

We've reviewed your book again and are upholding our previous decision to not offer your book for sale on Amazon. 

Amazon reserves the right to determine what content we offer according to our content 
guidelines.

You can find our content guidelines on the KDP website:
https://kdp.amazon.com/help/topic/G200672390"

 Say what?!?!? Nowhere in the content guidelines does it talk about not offering a book simply because 

the information was constantly changing. Read them yourself if you don't believe me. In fact, the only 

example it gives as to what is definitely not allowed is offensive material such as "pornography." I 

assure you, there are no pictures of any human in my book--most of my images are graphs, with a few

screenshots of the CDC website and a post I made of Facebook that was censored, too. In fact, the 

guidelines imply they will publish controversial material. 

I mean, these are the people who published a book that only contained the picture of someone's foot: Putting My Foot Down.

The other thing is that Amazon IS publishing COVID-19 books:

Unreported Truths about COVID-19 and Lockdowns: Part 1: Introduction and Death Counts and Estimates (This is a researched book, but Amazon almost didn't publish it--the author, however, has bigger names following him that apparently put pressure on Amazon by tweeting about their free-speech censorship. However, he didn't have trouble with Part 2.)

COVID-19: Lockdowns on Trial

Or this 200 page book with no reference section: Covid-19 : the Natural Approach Which the author seems to be self-publishing with her own publishing company name. 

Not to mention that they have no problems publishing books like this: 

If the guy who wrote it truly is a real MD, it is no wonder he has so much time to write e-book on a variety of topics... PSILOCYBIN CULTIVATION: The Guide to Cultivation, Safe Use and Magic Effects of Psychedelic Mushrooms

And this: How to Live Another 30 Years: The power of purple to dodge dementia, deter diabetes and deny any chance of you kids dumping you in a care home

Oh, and this, which is a 350+ page book with only 2 pages of references: Crystals for Healing: The Complete Reference Guide With Over 200 Remedies for Mind, Heart & Soul 

But apparently a book with 400 researched citations most of them from peer reviewed journals is apparently not acceptable for Amazon's low standards... 

Perhaps these are just ones that have broken through their censors, like my color version did. As I argue in my book, social media censorship (and Amazon censorship) is more harmful than helpful. Instead of allowing people to see and discuss fake news and come to the conclusion it is fake for themselves, it simply blocks it--this makes it more sought after and more dangerous. People are less likely to fact check if something is blocked because they assume it is blocked due to it being true and others not wanting them to know the truth. 

Covid-19, Hitler, and the Hate of the General Public

I have been getting a lot of attacks for my book--Hitler's Big Lie and the Covid-19 Pandemic. It boggles my mind at how many people are willing to throw out their rights and the rights of others as well as throw out everything we have learned about disease and disease control in the past 300 years. They are so closed minded that they accept what the CDC says without actually reading the citations behind it, while at the same time condemning my opinion without even reading my book or any of its citations. 

Because I do reference history and how these ideas (lock downs, masks, etc.) were discredited as methods of controlling pandemics years ago and continue to be discredited today--I was accused  of relying on old medical theories instead of "new" ones. Most of the citations in my book have been written since 2000. The ideas of lock downs as disease control were initially created in the 1300s. 

The irony is that these things came under scrutiny as soon as they were proposed and used for pandemic control. That did not stop them from being used because people "thought" they were effective even when science said they were not. The same experiments have been replicated in different ways throughout history, and they have the same results. When it is all said and done, lock downs and masks do not stop the spread. 

WHO is no longer giving daily situation reports. They seem to be shifting away from allowing people to interpret numbers toward forcing people to accept their interpretations. They also are superimposing daily deaths over the daily new cases--using TWO DIFFERENT SCALES SO DAILY DEATH NUMBERS LOOK GREATER. But look back at the reports from January to June. Every country locked down in March before they had huge numbers--immediately after this lock down, infection numbers around the world spiked up. This means that even if you do not accept ANY scientific data on lock downs prior to COVID-19 and you only use the data collected by WHO during this pandemic, you will see that the lock down did not stop the spread of disease... again. 

If lock downs did not cause severe economic damage, then one could say, "Sure, lets keep trying these because they make some people feel better." But the problem is that lock downs hurt people massively--with no benefit. 

As a freelance writer, I am usually ghostwriting, so I would not get direct attacks for controversial subjects. But I don't write things that I haven't spend a lot of time researching, though, whether I am ghostwriting or writing under my own name. The irony is that I have not written some conspiracy theory book with fake citations. In fact, I can't think of any conspiracy theory books where 1/4 the book is listed citations. I also can't think of a conspiracy theorist who encourages you to go out and do your own research, but I might be wrong because I don't read too much of that. 

If you believe the "new" normal is the best thing to do--fine--but the "new" normal is actually a very OLD normal that people have fought hundreds of years to get rid of because it was harmful and didn't work. You are entitled to your opinion, but I am also entitled to mine. Science says yours (and the CDCs) is wrong. 

Is Your Writing Style Hurting You?

There are basically three different writing styles: those who write and never revise. Those who write and revise, revise, revise, revise, revise... And those who write, revise, and occasionally revisit the work. The first two can kill you as a professional author.

I usually don't work with the second type. These are the people who think they are the best writers in the world, and wonder why no major publishing company has yet picked them up. They snort at you when you talk about revision as if only dumb writers do that. They may also fall into the small group of writers who are afraid that if they revise their own work they may mess it up--as if it were some sacred uttering instead of a novel or non-fiction work. Regardless of the reason, these people put out drivel and get some to read said drivel. Even I, who refuse to seriously edit this blog (because I do not get paid to write it), go back and read the stuff I put out to make sure it isn't too poorly written once immediately after writing it and on occasion thereafter. The problem is that the people who never revise always seem to write drivel. Think about it this way: If you don't want to read your own writing critically, than why should anyone else read it? If you can't or refuse to read your own writing critically, then hire someone to do it.

The other side of the coin are those people who revise and revise and revise and revise and revise and revise ad infinitum. I do work with these people, and they never realize that the more revisions they do on their work, the more errors they tend to introduce into it. Three revisions by the same person are the most anyone should do. If a year or so later, you want to go back in and revisit something, fine. You could even re-read your entire work for a better perspective, and you will probably find at least a few typos. The problem is that if you finish something and keep revising it over and over without a long break, you start to second guess yourself. You begin to forget what you moved to another chapter and reintroduce it. You introduce new ideas when the focus of that book has nothing to do with those ideas. It is the artist in you who is seeking perfection. I sometimes struggle with this and have to take a step back--set a deadline to be done.

The best practice is to write something and revise it once or twice. Then send it to a second pair of eyes. Allow them to go through it a couple of times, as well. Then, find a third pair of eyes, and even a fourth pair of eyes. At that point you have to trust it is the best it can be. You have to publish it and move on. Part of being a writer means that you must be able to discern when to finish. That point cannot be too early or too late.

Hitler's Big Lie and the COVID-19 Pandemic-- My Latest Writing Endeavor.

 I have written a new book, filled with citations to help clear up the mystery surrounding all the COVID-19 misinformation. Here is the description:

 The misinformation surrounding COVID-19 has possibly been the largest since the propaganda created in Nazi Germany. With even the CDC first telling everyone not to wear masks and now telling everyone to wear them, it can be extremely difficult to discover just what is right and what is wrong. Who do you trust? This book, filled with more than 300 cited references, was written to help you find the truth. It is a must-read if you are confused or if you want to find out if you have been able to sort through all the lies successfully. 30% of all the profits from the sale of this book will be divided equally and donated to a local YMCA and a summer camp that have been hit hard financially because of the COVID-19 business closures.

You can find the book on Amazon at the following links:

Full color version paperback: https://www.amazon.com/Hitlers-Big-Lie-COVID-19-Pandemic/dp/B08FP5V3JN/ref=sr_1_1?dchild=1&qid=1597677713&refinements=p_27%3AJennifer+J.+Reinoehl&s=books&sr=1-1&text=Jennifer+J.+Reinoehl

Color E-book: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B08G56JQVB

Black and white version paperback & black and white large print paperback--links to be posted within the next week or so. 

I am also going to be running some Goodreads Giveaways and will post those links as soon as they are ready. 

IngramSpark: Is the Headache Really Worth It?

IngramSpark is the latest self-publishing craze. I have seen tons of posts talking about its benefits, IngramSpark vs. Amazon, and of course why you should use both. But I don't get paid by IngramSpark (or Amazon for that matter) to talk about how wonderful they are. I get paid by people who become completely frustrated with uploading their books to IngramSpark and who then turn to me for help because I walked them through the Amazon upload. I don't use IngramSpark, and these experiences do not make me feel like I should rush right out and put my books on that platform.

The first big turnoff is that IngramSpark does basically the same thing as Amazon but charges you a fee. Not cool. Well, it would be cool if they offered customer support as a part of that fee, but apparently they take your money and tell you to figure it out yourself. Not only do the forums support this idea, but I have been through the process second hand. Something tells me if they offered even decent customer support they would help people get their stuff uploaded and these people would not have to talk to me. 

Second--Amazon is the biggest book retailer in the world controlling almost a quarter of the field. If you publish through them, your book is automatically listed on their website and will come up in search results. If you publish through IngramSpark alone, someone will have to order your book through Amazon before it starts to become available there. You can get your book on Barnes and Nobles using IngramSpark, but again it will only be available through special order on their website. You are not going to get your book in a Barnes and Nobles store as an Indie writer unless you have a lot of really good connections and know-how. Just trust me--I have been in contact with my local B&N and I have truly thought about it, but if I realize the struggle and have decided that, no, that is not worth it, then you, too, should accept this fact. So, in short, IngramSpark is selling a pipe dream. Your book will not appear in-stock on the shelves of a major retailer simply by choosing IngramSpark.

IngramSpark (after paying your initial setup fee) requires you to register your ISBN yourself (which costs money). Once you do this, you need to set that ISBN up through Amazon if you are publishing both places, but then you lose Amazon's extended distribution option. I am not a fan of indie authors buying their ISBNs and trying to present themselves as an actually publishing business. 

Now, you can get a hardcover from IngramSpark--but their pricing means that you will have to charge a whole lot more for your book than what is competitive. A higher price means more money in your pocket per sale, but it also means fewer sales--maybe 0 sales if your book is too expensive. Granted, CreateSpace stopped their hardcover service a couple years before the Amazon move. I hope they will bring this service back, but I am looking for other options. IngramSpark is not something I would consider putting myself through at this point. I am currently leaning toward B&N. 

The biggest problem with IngramSpark is that it is not intuitive. People who have been doing it still do not understand everything they are doing and still end up having a lot of problems. So, no, I don't understand the novelty of paying for a headache. You should be able to upload a PDF to Amazon and then upload that same PDF to IngramSpark--many times you can't and that is a problem with the programming not with the user. 

Lulu (expensive) and Smashwords (only e-books) were also rages at one point in time. It seems these are dying off, but two major print-on-demand venues have stayed with it: Amazon and B&N. Considering the options these offer for free, it boggles my mind people would choose to pay someone to distribute their books. Granted, considering the ease of uploading to Amazon, it boggles me why anyone would choose a difficult to navigate platform that is quirky in what it accepts and what it doesn't. As a self-publisher, you need to save money where you can and spend it on important things like better editing, better cover design, better formatting, and better marketing. Feel free to leave me a comment about the reason you chose (or avoided) IngramSpark. I don't usually allow links in comments, but if you link one book as an example I will allow it on this post only.

Coronavirus Fake News

I haven't addressed this because most people reading my blog work from home, but the quarantines they are currently enacting to shut down the United States, state-by-state, are illegal, disproportionately affect the poor, and will increase infection rates as they expose healthy people to sick ones in confined areas. Research shows mass quarantines have not stopped the spread of any pandemic in the past 700 years. Even at the end of the Spanish Flu, it was determined that the mass quarantines enacted did not help nor did they prevent the spread.

This is confirmed by what we are seeing today. Currently, the three countries that have the highest number of cases are those who have enacted quarantine more than 14 days ago : Italy, France, and Spain. Since 97% of all Covid-19 cases show symptoms before 11.5 days after exposure, these countries should be decreasing in rates by this point, but their rates continue to jump upward. As more countries begin lock down, their numbers are also jumping higher. Mass quarantines hurt the economies of countries, disproportionately hurt the poor, and hurt healthcare efforts. But our nations are enacting them because they "worked" in China, without keeping in mind that China bore the brunt of the disease in a time when they did not even know what it was.

The mortality rate from Covid-19 is much lower than the mortality rate for the 2017-2018 flu. As we give up our rights, our jobs, and our other freedoms, are we doing it for a just cause or are we doing it because the media has managed to provide us with so much scary and false information that we are not thinking straight?

As writers, this affects us on multiple levels. We should be on the front-lines when it comes to protecting our freedom of speech. We will lose our jobs at the whims of other less scrupulous writers and the government; we will be confined and forced into situations that will render us more susceptible to the disease, and we will be pressured to write misleading copy.

Writing a Book Copyright Notice

What must you include in your copyright notice?

Copyright 2020 by Jennifer Reinoehl


Yep. That is all you must have. Still people like to write more. They feel that they must make it clear that no one else is allowed to copy their work. The problem is that the people who are writing these extended copyright notices are not lawyers and have not copied the notice word-for-word from a traditionally published book.

Now, I know what you are thinking with that last statement- Whoa, Jennifer, are you encouraging me to plagiarize!?!?!?! Guess what? General legal contracts cannot be copyrighted. There is a reason why the copyright statements look almost identical across traditional publishers. As long as it contains legal phrases with very specific meanings and is general in nature, you can copy it. Now, yes, I have a rather unique copyright statement in some of my educational books, so don't copy those (or any other copyright that looks non-traditional, especially those written from scratch by other authors), but in general, unless you are a copyright lawyer, you should not under any circumstances try to change the traditional notice.

The above--name, date, and copyright claim using the word "copyright" or its symbol, is all you need and that is the main thing I recommend. Copying a traditional, general copyright statement to further clarify is okay, but not required. Writing your own copyright notice that goes beyond either of these things is actually dangerous for you. For example, in one recent homemade copyright notice, the "author" assigned the rights of the book to me. That is right. It stated that all rights were given to the author, and since I was the actual author I got all my rights back the second that book was published. If I had not caught this and/or if I would be less scrupulous, I could have legally sued the person for publishing my work.

I have also seen authors write copyrights in such a way that the book could not be used in a library. I do not think they meant to do this, but they did. Legalese is a very specific area of writing that is best left to lawyers. If you are not the type of person who reads website terms of service and software terms of service every time you download something new or create a new user account on a website, then you should not try to write your own notice. Since a simple notice gives you the same protection as a detailed one, and since you can copy a detailed one from any traditionally published book you want, why try to create your own and risk destroying your own rights or the chance of your book being used in a library?

The Editing Process

The editing process should always be collaborative, but I think most writers do not understand what this means. It means that yes, I track changes. It also means that yes, you can accept or reject those changes. I also leave comments. Many of these are drawing your attention to something so you can change it when it is your turn--things like "I don't know what this means?" "Can you give me an example?" "Is this connected to that?"But some of my comments are notes "Don't panic--I didn't cut this I just moved it" (okay, so I actually just type "moved," but that doesn't look as cool), or "This is a dangling modifier" (If I have a lot of time I might actually explain what that is, but you won't even get a comment for stuff like this if I am short on time.

On your end, it is important that you address the comments an editor makes. This should come first. Once you have addressed them, feel free to delete them so the document doesn't fill up. If you don't understand why a change was made and you really do not think the new version is correct, you can always ask. An email with "On page 57, in paragraph 2, you changed "was" to "were" but I don't know why?" As long as you are flexible with time, I don't mind answering even grammar and spelling questions--as long as you don't question every single change.

The collaborative process means that some things are flexible. I have been known to occasionally change words out for better synonyms, but if you feel that takes away your voice, then you should reject the change by all means. But other times there are more serious issues that are not really flexible. For example, if I correct a misspelled word or if I divide one paragraph into two paragraphs. Will you get the chance to accept or reject the change--of course. Should you reject these changes? No. These are not flexible and I may or may not catch them the next time I go through it.

Editing also means flexible time. You should never plan to launch your book until it has been edited (and I recommend at least three different editors look at it). I know how long it will take me to edit your book, so when you see my 3 week estimate, you may get excited and want to launch in 4 weeks. But I have no way of predicting how long it will take you to get the book back to me when I send the changes to you for approval. I also, as I have said before, do not know what problems might arise that go beyond what I have planned to do. Now, once you send it for the final edit (the proofread) and formatting then you can plan the launch. Once the book has been formatted, you should not make any more changes to it. It should go straight from formatting to press. This is how it works for traditional publishers, too.

The Infamous Free Sample

I have recently talked about the "writing test." This is a "test" that employers invariably send me that takes time to complete and that frequently is filled with errors that cannot be corrected without a style manual. Similar to this atrocity is the free sample. Guru does not allow employers to request free samples. Like tests, any jobs that ask for samples I tend to avoid. Since employers cannot specifically ask for free mockups or free samples directly in their post because it goes against Guru policy, I do occasionally bid on a project and then get a request for a sample after the fact. 

In normal life, we only get free samples with new products. Most people do not like to try new products as a general rule. Giving them something free to try is one inexpensive way to give them something new that overcomes this. In addition, if they like your product they will tell others and you will get free advertising out of it. But people do not go to a company and say, I want you to make me a cookie that is low-fat and contains both chocolate and raisins, and I want a free sample before I decide if I am then going to buy that cookie from you. People have come to Guru looking for a very specific job to be done, and yet they are now asking for me to do free work on their job. Beta readers (who are not even close to being real editors, but who can catch some major flaws) do their work for free and enjoy it. Go to a website for beta readers if you want free work. 

Let's say I have a broken faucet in my bathroom and a clogged drain. Would I call a plumber and ask them to come out and fix the faucet for free before I decide to hire him to fix the drain? No. No one would do this because we all know plumbers charge you just to come out to your house and fix nothing. I had one plumber charge me for two hours of "work" while he sat in his van and waited for a plumbing apprentice to show up. 

Could you go to Office Depot and Staples with a paper you needed copied and ask them to make you a free copy as a sample? Well, you could, but I am going to bet they would laugh and tell the story to future workers for months. Would a lawn care company come out and do a free sample of their work on your lawn? Your doctor might give you free samples of medications (which she has received for free from businesses), but would any doctor see you for free so you could get a feel of how she diagnoses diseases? A mechanic might tell you what is wrong with your car for free, but he usually isn't going to tell you how to fix it yourself for free. 

The problem is that new freelancers (including myself when I was new) do free work. They are desperate for a customer base, for feedback, and for a variety of samples. Giving out free work encourages people to think they should be able to get free work. Beta readers do free work, so this also makes people think that editing should be free. The problem is that they have the wrong idea. Beta readers are not doing the work for free. The author of the work is actually giving a beta reader a free sample of their work to judge how an audience will receive it. The beta reader is paid for their time with a free book. A freelance editor is not an audience, but a professional who is going to fix your book's plumbing. Even new freelancers deserve to be paid for their work. 

How Long Will That Take?

I recently had a job where the person, I will call her Starfire, wanted the book edited in five weeks. This was not a big book, so I said sure. No problem--I could do it in 2-3. Then, Starfire told me she actually had a hard deadline of two weeks. She misunderstood something with her marketer and so there it was, could I still do it? Now, this made me a little nervous, but again, it was supposed to be the "final edit" so I agreed.

Beloved readers, please do not tell a freelancer that they are doing a final edit unless at least two other pairs of eyes, aside from your own have seen it. Now, there are some exceptions to this rule--many of these exceptions have PhDs from accredited universities and currently are involved in research. These people, because of their career choices, have to constantly self-edit and therefore a few read-thrus by them is actually about where I would expect a final edit.

For time comparisons, a final edit is quick and easy. If all I have to do is check spelling and grammar, I will get through a massive amount of book (even an entire book) in one day. I knew that this author needed more than that because she specifically asked me to check thematic issues, but even then, that does not mean complete rearranging and doing developmental rewriting. The same book that may take only a day to grammar check in a final edit, can take up to a week to proofread (final edit plus formatting), up to a month to do what I thought I was going to do--final edit plus a few comments to be fixed and then another quick edit and formatting. However, this book needed a lot of help. It needed what is called a developmental edit (read: it needed to be completely rewritten in parts: giant parts). [Note: these are the average times it takes me. Many good freelancers may require more time.]

What really amazes me is the number of teachers who use me to edit their book, and who have absolutely no idea about basic writing skills. At the same time, these are the people who are most likely to expect a quick turnaround for their "well-edited" work. No, you cannot use "can't" in formal writing. I can use "can't" in my writing because I know when and where it is acceptable to break the rules. You do not so you can't. (Did you see what I did there?) Yes, you must be consistent in your punctuation. (Where did you say you taught at?) No, you may not use spaces between paragraphs for the paperback version of the book. These rules should, in my opinion, be basic knowledge, but even our high school English teachers do not have a clue about these rules. (Hence my English teacher wall of shame.)

I have come to believe that high school teachers who are used to gazing at high school students' awful papers and blanking out most of the bad parts of these horrid things so that all their students do not have to completely rewrite or get an F. These teachers apparently think that this is similar to what an editor does, and since they can get through 30 kids' papers in one weekend, an editor should be able to do the same. There are editors like this (most of them probably are either only high school graduates or are actually High School English teachers who are editing on the side)--generally if you check an editor's samples you will see how many errors he or she will find. I average 70 per page or about 50 per page on some of the cleaner works that have been through the editing process. I am not going to skip anything from serial commas to dangling modifiers, but if I send you the work to accept/reject changes, and you reject most of my changes (including those involving dangling modifiers and the subjunctive case), the second time I go through it, I am not as thorough. Why? Because all of those errors would have already been caught and because I am not going to keep telling you to change something you do not want to change. Further, although I do leave comments sometimes concerning basic grammar rules you may have forgotten, you have paid me to edit--not to teach you English. It takes a lot of time to write out comments and I have no clue what you know (and it is just a typo) as opposed to what you don't know (although I am willing to be most English speakers neither know or understand the subjunctive case). It is always best to ask if you don't understand a change rather than outright reject it.

So, I got the work from Starfire and started reading it. The first chapter was a mess, but the message was coherent, and so I just rearranged a bit and cut a bit and made it into three chapters. It was at this point that I was informed her 150 page book had to be 300 pages so "please don't cut anything." Period.

Beloved readers, if you do not want me to cut giant sections out of your book--sections that are incoherent, sections that tell me your life story in a book that is not about your life, sections that explain in great detail about how to change the oil in your car in the middle of a book titled "Top Ten Celebrity Makeup Secrets"--then you have two options, (1) Do not put this stuff in your book; stick to the topic at hand; focus; make sense; or (2) Do not hire me. Sadly, no one who hires me even thinks that they may be the subject of my vandalism in the name of producing a good book. But, keep in mind that I have cut giant sections and rearranged entire books of some of those same PhD writers whom I would consider very good at their craft. What is the difference between them and the average Joe? For the most part the PhDs listen...for the most part.

So, after Starfire's chide about cutting things, what was I to do with the inconsistencies and incoherence? I told her to rewrite two chapters by herself instead of deleting it giant sections of it and trimming out the fat. Keep in mind that I did not come on board with knowledge of the problems in the book--it is rare to ever do this. The first chapter (the one you might see before you are hired) is ALWAYS the cleanest, most well-written piece of literature that an author can produce. It is like brushing your teeth before you go to the dentist.

The problem with having her rewrite it is that it took four of those precious few days I had to do the book. The other problem was that she then wanted to add three more sections in to other parts of the book because she was so worried about page count after fixing this section. At this time, there were then only 9 days left and 12 chapters to go through. I set to work. This time instead of hacking and slashing, I hacked, slashed and completely rewrote chapters all by myself. It took me three days to finish the entire book, and I knew I would not get very much time to fix anything else when she returned the book to me this time. But as I was approaching the last chapters, I discovered something unique. Whereas most of the chapters had pretty much continued on the same theme and style with slight variances here and there, the last two were out there. (1) I think she was trying to hard to finish at this point in her writing journey; and (2) she must not have read through the whole thing even though she said she had put it through several edits. Now, as for me editing, I was out of time, so I thought, hey, we don't need these chapters--CUT. :)

Of course it came back and she wanted me to specifically rewrite them, by myself. It had taken her four more days to accept and reject my changes this time. I had exactly two days left and now I had to rewrite these chapters on top of that. And I did, buuuuttttt--the problem was that she had yet again added in more content to the final chapters when I sent them to her. The last chapter (like most non-fiction last chapters) was a conclusion and yet she had now introduced an entirely NEW concept into this chapter!

Beloved readers, please finish your book before you send it to anyone to be edited. Yes, editing (especially the first developmental edit) means that your book is not really done, but I had almost finished editing. I had already edited that chapter in full and had no reason to go back through it except for my final editing sweep, which as I already said, I would not be checking developmental things carefully at all. But, although few people can write well on their own, even fewer understand the finer points of formatting and styles. She did not, of course, and so when she added this in, it stood out like a sore thumb as I glanced over the pages. (Again, see what I did there.) A new concept does not belong in the conclusion, but I had already done that part of the editing. So, that new concept only got checked for spelling and grammar--it was not as if she were taking many of my suggested cuts anyway. Even doing this, I still had to stay up most of the night to finish the job.

Beloved readers, if you feel you need to introduce an entirely new topic into a book, in the conclusion nonetheless, after the first phases of editing are completely done, do not do it. Write a sequel. Put all that other stuff I cut out that you love into that sequel. You have paid me (or some freelancer) to edit your book. We have done that. Imagine if you were a janitor, and you just finished mopping the floor and went to clock out. Then, your boss came up and threw eggs all over that floor you just mopped, came over to you and told you that you cannot clock out until you mop the floor and clean up the eggs. That is what you are doing to your editor. Even if you plan to pay extra money for this (which no one has ever offered), do you really think the janitor wants to go back and clean up your mess after he or she had just finished cleaning up the mess?

I can pretty much tell which books I work on have amazing potential to sell well (with the right marketing plan) and which books no amount of marketing is going to help. Some books I work on are poorly written, but (1) if I have not been paid to rewrite them in the entirety, I will not do it as a general rule (more because I have a schedule and deadlines and have not budgeted my time for this) and (2) even if you do pay me, I do not have the final say over the book--you do. No matter how many edits and changes I make to your book for the better, you can reject all of them if you like. Some people are like that--they want an editor to help them feel better and give them an "A" for C or D work. I am not a high school teacher. I home-schooled my kids until junior high, but I did not allow them to get away with that rubbish. My kids went to school and came home amazed at how much easier it was than the home-school I put them through as I polished my curriculum.

I, as you know if you have been following me for any length of time, am not a sugar-coating-it kind of girl. I will not do that. I am blunt and honest. I have read tens of thousands of books, and I know that as difficult as it is to break into traditional publishing, it is more difficult to write a New York Times best-selling, self-published book. Because selling self-published books is hard, I want to help you by turning your C or D work into A work. But I cannot do that if you will not let me, and I also cannot do that if you do not give me enough time to help you.

If you think you have a good book that is well-edited, you should always plan to have it edited at least a month before the release date or the date you need it to be finished per 100 pages. This gives your editor time to deal with any problems that may arise. I would only cite two weeks for it, but under certain circumstances it might take longer even if I cited that time. This jobs was one of those where I needed more time but did not have it. If you need a developmental edit, you should plan 3-6 months in advance. The freelancer must do the edit and return it to you and wait until you get it back to him or her before advancing to the next part or the next stage.

Warning!! Don't Throw Away Turbo Tax 2019 Home and Business Activation Code!!!

Warning: The Turbo Tax Software is seriously flawed this year (at least the CD for Home and Business). Once you have installed and set it up--after you have already begun to work on your taxes--it continues to ask you for the activation code randomly (after updates, I assume). I contacted them last week, but so far they haven't fixed the issue, which at best is annoying and at worst means you just flushed all the money you paid for it down the drain because if you lose that code you are pretty much screwed. Even registering the product does not link it to you in their database, which I have complained about, too. (Yeah, I know--that is totally dumb. Why do I want to register a product solely so they can solicit me?) I am very disappointed in the software this year because of this.

Update: Apparently you will run out of activation uses too!!!! Others have complained on their website about this but Turbo Tax is not listening or doing anything to resolve the problem. This apparently has been a known problem since December 2019. Once you run out of codes they had to create an account and re-download the software only to have more problems with the activation code. 

I will remove this post if they fix the problem. Otherwise, buyer beware.

Looks like this isn't the only way Turbo Tax is trying to screw users over even though their product is one of the most expensive on the market.

Who Is the Author?

Almost all freelancing today is ghostwriting of some sort--either ghostwriting through developmental editing or ghostwriting directly. Although there are still many traditional freelancing jobs, the immense number of freelancing projects that have flooded the market lately are done anonymously. Many freelancing contracts, including my own, explicitly state the rights pass to the employer and then mention that the project is a work-for-hire. I think this is why many employers begin to think they are the "author" of the work. This is not true. 

First, although my contract explicitly states the project is to be considered a work-for-hire in order to reassure my employers, it does not and cannot meet the definition of that term according to the copyright office guidelines. Because "work-for-hire" is kind of a misnomer, people assume it means that if I hire someone to write something for me, it belongs to me. The problem is, the "hire" part means you hire me--as a part-time or full-time employee and provide all the benefits including paying some of my social security taxes and withholding tax money for me. The term "work-for-hire" means that Disney or WebFX hires me and anything I write in the course of my job for them belongs to them--not me. You can also apply this to very specific works in the actual freelancing world, but these are not the types of works you are asked to write as a freelancer and in general they are works that would require multiple freelancers to put together simply because of their vast nature. 

Does that mean when you hire me you are going to get in trouble and you don't own the copyright. No--however, I can only say no for myself because I do require you to accept the terms of my contract before I will work for you. Many people see my long contract as something scary. In fact, it protects both me and my employer. My contract is a work-in-progress, but it specifically states that all rights to the work pass to my employer until the death of my employer. This statement, not the work-for-hire statement, gives my employer the right to do what he or she wants with my work without fear of me preventing them from doing so. It also prevents me from using the work again, except for samples. (The only reason I can use samples of the work is because this is another clause in my contract. The clause also states that I will not use samples of the work if the employer notifies me not to do so). 

But, the fact is that even if you are the copyright holder, you are not the author. Do you have to put my name on the work? No, actually you can't. Another clause in my contract prohibits this unless you have express written permission. You cannot use my name, likeness, etc. to promote or endorse your book (even though I wrote it). If you do this, then I automatically regain the copyright. This is the only way I can control who uses my image and my name. 

Technically, the only way you could acknowledge me and avoid "plagiarism" under the terms of my contract (without getting my written permission) is by stating the book was written by a ghostwriter without naming me (but no one does this) or you could publish it under a pen name that you only use for works created by me. 

My contract is relatively solid and designed to protect both me and you. If you hire Joe Smoe or Abrahim Ad-Abdul, and they don't have a contract with you, where does that put you? If you don't have a contract, the author owns the copyright on production of the work. If you don't have a contract, that copyright is not passed to you. The thing is that Joe and Abrahim probably don't realize this. They probably think you have the copyright to their work simply because you paid them. You could also probably make the case that you own the work if they stated somewhere in writing to you that you would own all the rights as long as you have a copy of that statement and can prove they wrote the statement. But chances are good even without a contract Joe and Abrahim are not going to come after you and try to prevent you from publishing their stuff. You paid them after all.

The only time you would be in trouble without a contract is the rare chance that your book becomes a New York Times Best Seller. If you are making millions of dollars off of something you paid $75 to get, and you don't have a contract, and the author finds out you are making millions of dollars off that work, the author could technically sue you for that money or a portion of it. 

There is one other time where you could be in trouble hiring a ghostwriter and not attributing the actual author. This is in the academic realm. It happens. I have written scientific papers based on research provided to me by my employer. These were then published in academic journals--without my name. In fact, I was never even asked if I would like my name included. The chances of anyone finding out are close to 0%. I am not going to tell, and I doubt the attributed author(s) would tell. But if a fellow academic finds out you are having your papers ghostwritten and you are not at least attributing the real author, you face the chance of losing your job. The irony is that adding an extra person on the author list is generally not something frowned upon. So, if you ask someone to ghostwrite your academic journal submission, ask them if you can use their name to keep yourself fully covered. Again, holding the copyright to something and being the author are two different things. 

Another one for the English Teacher Wall of Shame

How do these people get jobs teaching? This is a direct quote from my daughter's English teacher:

"and suffered prejudice and discrimmination."

I got it--you are in a hurry and jot off a quick note without checking it. But misspelled words are now underlined in red by every browser I have seen. 

This woman has also told her class that a work of fiction is "semi-autobiographical" even though it contains this quote on the copyright page:

"The characters and events portrayed in this book are fictitious. Any similarities to real persons, living or dead, is coincidental and not intended by the author."  <facepalm>

Memoirs do not belong in the autobiography sub-genre in my opinion. They border on the fictional side of life. They get away with it by claiming to be "the author's view." Frequently, they are called out for the facts they present that do not stand up to fact checking and even for complete fabrication. We lap them up along with the false reality TV shows and documentaries and amaze ourselves at how something so out there is true. As the old adage says--"if it seems too good to be true, it probably isn't true." Adjusted, I would say "If it seems too entertaining to be true, it probably isn't true."

I say this as someone whose grandmother fully believes I should turn my life into a reality show. Then she says no one would believe it is true, though. I walk into a store for something quick, get in line and the lady in front of me discovers she grabbed the wrong item for her 50 cent coupon. She proceeds to run all the way to the back of the superstore to find the correct item and then returns with it while the rest of us are still waiting. Then she pulls out her checkbook--she has not been writing her check while the checker was ringing things up. She just starts when the checker pushes "total". Finally, I step up, the checker swipes my one item and discovers she has run completely out of receipt tape. She does not have an extra roll ready in anticipation of this moment, but has to send to the office to get one. True story--and it would be believable if it happened once, I suppose. The problem is that it happens all the time to me. While it is happening, I usually explain to the people around me that if they see me in line again, they should probably pick another line. My husband after 20 years no longer believes me when I say I just need to run in and get something and it won't take more than five minutes. 

Nobody would read a boring story-true or false. It is our job as writers to make each story we tell (non-fiction or fiction) believable and interesting. How many times have you seen a negative Amazon review about a fiction book that wasn't believable? The problem comes when an English teacher tells her class a fiction work is semi-true just because it is believable. If as an author I write something that is close enough to fact that I deem it a true story, I am not going to market it as fiction. 

The term "semi-autobiographical" exists, but the problem is that it has no definition--nor could it. All works of fiction are in some ways semi-autobiographical. Writers create stories and characters based on what they know. By the looseness of the term, semi-autobiographical means anything that is currently classified as fiction. In a society that already enjoys blurring the line between fact and fiction, this is unhelpful. Academia has flagged Dickens as writing many "semi-autobiographical" works that are nothing more than well-researched, believable fiction.

For example, I am currently ghostwriting a fiction book in which the main character is entered into a speech-writing contest by her professor. The person who is the author had originally planned for her to write a literary analysis paper that was entered in the contest, but I changed it because speech class better fit the story. I also gave her a job in a grocery store. Is this ghostwritten work of fiction that will not even bear my name now "semi-autobiographical"? After all, a teacher DID enter me into a speech writing contest when I was in high school, and I had a job in a grocery store. In fact, the layout of the grocery store in the novel is similar to the one in which I worked.  By the current definitions, if someone found this out in the future (and discovered that I had ghostwritten this book) they could claim it was. But my experiences, which are not truly related in the novel--but, as Dickens would say, "are written in the way I wanted them to happen--" are not something I would consider autobiographical at all. If Dickens himself admitted that the things in his books were not really how they happened, and if further research has shown these things in his books are not true, then why do we keep insisting his works are "semi-autobiographical" works? All the best fiction is based on life. That does not make it non-fiction. 

As authors, we all have a responsibility to honestly inform our readers whether we are writing fact or fiction. Readers, including those in academia, have the responsibility of believing us.

The broken computer blues

My keyboard broke (in case you didn't tell some of my posts have an odd w or two). I am in the middle of a few projects, it will take an entire week to have it fixed while they wait for parts, and I hate using my husband's computer because "shift" is in the wrong place on the right side and I hit all sorts of other keys when I try to use it (and of course I use that shift the most even though my typing teacher would be vastly disappointed in me for not switching sides), so I have not taken mine in yet. Sad, I know.

I cut and paste every single "w" I type (including that one). I touch type, so normally this doesn't slow me down too much, but the problem comes when I paste a formatted w into a document that is formatted differently ( I try to copy only unformatted ones). Or problems arise when I cut and paste other things and forget to copy the "w" when I am through. Then I can end up having to hit ctrl z and spend time copying and pasting an actual "w" into the text. 

I also cannot use my "2" or "at" (sorry, I don't want to switch out my "w" for that symbol and then have to copy the "w" again). The 2 on my numeric pad works, though, so I can use that as long as I don't forget. 

I could, of course, plug in an alternate keyboard, but as I already said, I touch type. That means I need to have the same keyboard or spend a lot of time getting used to a new one. Apparently the people who design computers do not take this into account as they create thousands of differently designed keyboards. I would have so many mistake key hits I don't think it would make it any quicker than the cut and paste I am now doing. 

I did finally spend the day it took to back up my computer, but my plan to take the computer in this week failed. I have had three unexpected appointments come up and one was a meeting with my Congressional representative that required me to give a PowerPoint--something I did not want to attempt on my husband's computer. So, if all goes well, I will deposit my computer at the repair shop on Monday and get it back by Friday--next week. Since I rely on my computer for income, losing it for that long is not something I am looking forward to doing.

UPDATE: It took three trips to the computer repair shop to finally get my computer fixed. After a week of waiting, I got home to discover my j key was no longer working and neither was my DVD drive (something I need). The DVD drive was fixed and I got home only to discover I could no longer use my keyboard at all. That third time, I was like look, I need my whole computer to work when you give it back to me. Please check to make sure it is fully functional before you give it back. Now, I am happy again, although my "o" is finicky, but I can live with that more than I can live without my source of income.

Self-Publishing is a Great and Easy way to Get Rich--NOT!

I stumbled across a blog stating that it is easy to self-publish and make $2000 per month. This person said he realized that was not a lot, but he was continuing to build his income.  People  were excited and probably out buying his whole collection of get-rich quick through gigs schemes. 

Self-publishing is easy. You  write something (or easier still--hire something to be written), and upload it to Amazon. Then sit back and collect the cash. The problem is that just as some people are not cut out to be parents (and others can easily juggle 12 children), some people can write books and some people cannot. Yes, I know, your 9th grade English teacher said you are an amazing writer and you even won a writing award. My 9th grade writing work is awful, in my opinion. I am not going to rip it up, but I won't be posting it any time soon. I wrote like a 9th grader. Terribly. It has taken years of reading piles of books and four college courses to hone my writing to the place where it is today. Even then, I would still love to get my MFA in creative writing (and yes, my college instructors told me I had enough talent that I should try to do this).

As I have said many times before, anyone CAN write in America because we are taught to write. But there is a refining process that goes beyond just writing that is required in order to have other people read your work and like it. Harper Lee was a great writer, but it took 2 years and drastic revisions to get To Kill a Mockingbird. It took the input of a competent editor. In order to sell all those copies and become mandatory reading in most high schools, it took massive publicity campaigns undertaken by a traditional publishing company. Her book had to meet the requirements for and be entered into legitimate contests so she could then win those contests. It had to be nominated for awards so she could win those awards. It had to have copies sent to the right newspapers and magazines so the editors and writers could read it and print things about it--now these editors and writers get millions of books each year, so anything you or I send is likely to get swept off with masses of other books into the circular bin to make room for those books sent by bigger names. A single person does not have the resources to do what a traditional publishing company does. 

So, you write a book, put it out, sell it for free, become an "Amazon bestseller" and make $50 off it when you finally sell it for money--if you can get descent reviews from people whom you have not paid. Then you start getting some negative reviews because of editing typos (or worse poorly constructed material), and there goes your chances of making it big off that one. And you will have typos--everyone does. If you only have a few, you might not affect your sales, but the number of typos in your final work depends on two factors--(1) your level of grammar knowledge (or the level of grammar knowledge that the person you paid to edit it has) and how well you (or the editor) knows the style manual you are following to clean it up and (2)how many times it has been edited.

So your first book made you $50 before your sales dropped of, so you write another. 

At some point, you may hire someone else to write it or edit it or market it. Then you might make a little more off the books, but now you are also losing money because you have to pay someone to do all this. If you pay someone who doesn't know what he or she is doing, you still get the bad reviews and lose even more money. Paying someone who does know what to do in each of these steps can cost you thousands of dollars. 

I don't want to discourage you from the process, but I want you to go into it with open eyes. It takes a long time to build up enough books and publicity to support yourself. It is difficult to get people to review your book even if you give it away. It is difficult to make no money and still keep repeating the process until you do. Successfully self-publishing a book is in fact just as hard as trying to find a traditional publisher to publish a well-written book.

Self-publishing has been sold to the public as a cheap work around to traditional publishing (as opposed to the expensive work around of vanity press publishing). The truth is that you have to have just as much backbone to self-publish as you do to traditionally publish. Each book you put out that doesn't do well, is like a rejection letter from a traditional publisher except instead of getting one letter, you get five or ten 1-star or "I wish I could give 0 stars" reviews that detail why they hate your work--even if the work itself is good. Publishers usually just send you a short and sweet form letter. In some cases, it is obvious why you were rejected--poor writing, poor editing, poor formatting. In others where you get no reviews and few sales, it is simply that you don't have enough resources to market it to the right audience. 

So what about the guy who is making $2000 per month? He openly admits he had to build his "business." He is also selling get-rich quick books, he has a rather large online presence, and he is getting that money from multiple books. He is successful because he can use one advertising campaign to support all his "gigs." That means he can spend a lot of money but when he looks at how much is being spent per "gig" it doesn't seem like much. He also is probably paying people to do his writing for him because when you have your finger in so many pots, it is hard to find the time to stir all of them yourself. The bottom line is that if you want to make money, you have to have money.