Applying to Freelance at Reedsy

 Most of you know that although I am a devoted Guru fan, I haven't been getting much work there since I returned to freelancing. In fact, much work in the writing area hasn't been posted to bid on. I assume this is because all those "get-rich-quick" YouTube schemes that used to focus on hiring a freelancer to write/edit a book for you to post on Amazon have now turned into letting ChatGPT write your story for you. Good luck with that... 

So, I reevaluated Upwork because that and Guru have traditionally been the best freelance websites, in my opinion. This is primarily because of the SafePay/Escrow features. 

I did recently see a promotion (or rather an anti-promotion) for Reedsy. It was by a vanity press trying to sell its own "cheap" editing services. I investigated and discovered that according to Reedsy itself, its freelancers make a whole lot more than what I usually make, and they primarily attract overflow work from traditional publishers. This looked appealing. 

The catch is that they are picky in whom they "hire" or rather allow to work on their website. You fill out a profile, with a minimum of three links to books on Amazon and your website, and then they look and see if you are good enough to work for them. They do not, however, during this application process specify what you need to get hired--er, rather to work on their website. This is buried in a separate link.

First, you have to have worked in traditional publishing as an editor. For me, this was no problem because I have. The problem is that they want you to link to the books where you have worked as an editor--but these books can only be on Amazon because they will not let you upload a book from smaller, niche publishing company websites or from university publishing companies (where the theses and dissertations I have edited are published).

Presumably, you have to actually be credited as the editor (and I am not sure if I have ever been because I contractually do not allow my clients to use my name on their work without written permission--I also work under a lot of non-disclosure agreements). So, in short, I could not upload any of my "real" work. They do not tell you why you are denied, but I am certain this was one reason.

Second, although the profile you fill out asks for 3-5 book links, the hidden page on what they are looking for says you must have at least 5. Since they will not allow you to upload any more than 5, I question how you can have "at least 5." Perhaps they should have one of their editors look at their requirements and update them.  

I am glad there are "freelancing" websites that actually screen their employees. However, I have used many good editors on Guru who have probably not ever worked for a traditional publishing company. I also don't think a link on Amazon is the best way to determine if a publishing company is a valid publishing company. I cannot tell you how many publishing companies that have been formed in the past 5 years and post all their books on Amazon because they technically are self-publishing other people's books, are not legitimate publishing companies. 

The problem is that they cater to traditional publishing companies (the only ones who can probably afford to pay the prices). It makes perfect sense that they would want to use people who already have worked there. My question is, why are these people now freelancing if they were good editors at their respective publishing companies?

I do wish I had known these requirements before I went through the process of applying. It was a complete waste of time and had I known the requirements beforehand I wouldn't have bothered.

Kirkus Review's Slant for Traditional Publishers

Traditional publishers and those who service them are not ignorant about the self-publishing cash cow. Kirkus, a review service that has been around since the 1930s, specifically focused on traditional publishers and was funded by them, until it learned it could make money from indie publishers. It then set up its "Kirkus Indie Reviews." Now, in general, Kirkus only gifts less than 3% of all the books it reviews with a star. It also only gifts about 10% of its reviewed books with a "Get it" status (the second highest favorable review). Most of its books get general reviews containing the good and the bad, and I read about 20% end up with bad reviews. That means, starting off, you have a 1 in 5 chance of paying over $400 for a bad review. 

For comparison, if you submit your book for the traditional Kirkus review (which I believe is only for traditional publishers), the editors will pick which books get any review (I believe this is 10,000 books per year) and 10% of those books will get a star. 

Whichever way your book gets a Kirkus review, understand that you cannot get a star just because the reviewer liked your book (i.e. you cannot become eligible for their $50,000 prize just because you got an excellent review). The editors at Kirkus are solely responsible for giving out the stars and promoting the book.

However, Indie authors need to be aware of a few contract clauses that Kirkus has stuffed in that mean you may not be getting a fair review. Note: although the top of the Contract says it is a general contract, it specifically talks about Kirkus Indie--so it does not apply to traditional publishers.

First, know that you cannot cancel the contract, but Kirkus can cancel it as long as it refunds your money. It does have any time limits on when it must do this, however. 

The most important and detrimental thing about their contract is two-fold. (1) You do not have any input into who is reading your book, and Kirkus does not have any contractual guidelines that limit who can read your book. This is important because Kirkus can assign your book to be reviewed by anyone. If you have a sci-fi book, they could give it to someone who only reads romance. Even worse, they could give your romance to a computer programmer who only reads books when he gets paid to do so by Kirkus. His review, based on his lack of knowledge about any sort of writing except computer programming, is perfectly acceptable under the Kirkus contract and you cannot complain about it. Nowhere in the contract does it say the reviewer has to be qualified to review the book, but it does say you cannot even request that the reviewer is qualified to review the book.

(2) In addition to the above, under "Miscellaneous," they clearly state they can hire freelancers to review your book. This means, you are not getting reviewed by Kirkus review staff with years of experience. No, if you are an Indie author, you are going to be reviewed by a freelancer. 

Kirkus' contract fully covers its butt. In my opinion, its "Indie" section is nothing more than a moneymaker for its annual award, which it usually gives to traditionally published authors. In 2024, all the finalists were from major publishing companies or their imprints. I did not go back further than this, but I presume the results are the same every year--especially since it seems most of the stars go to books selected from traditional publishers by editors and those same editors give out the stars. 

They state they make the "best efforts to provide" an unbiased book review. It does not say they will provide an unbiased book review. Nor does it say they will provide a "fair" book review, i.e. one by a qualified reviewer who actually reads your book in its entirety. 

Kirkus has been targeting Indie authors for years with marketing campaigns. My advice to those who are self-publishing is to save your money. 

A 5-Star Reader's Favorite Book Review: When Eagles Vie with Valkyries: War and the Journey Home by Paul Hellweg

[cultural sensitivity, racism, prostitution, offensive language/profuse swearing, drug/alcohol/smoking, violence, graphic violence, violence against women, mature themes, political viewpoint, religious viewpoint, depression, PTSD]

5-stars

In When Eagles Vie with Valkyries: War and the Journey Home, Paul Hellweg gives us raw, gritty free verse poetry from his experiences in Vietnam. Using literary devices like irony, repetition, allusion, and enjambment, we are transported to the battlefield in Vietnam—a young history major’s first day on the job—or we are brought to modern day bars and brothels in America where that same vet is trying to forget what he had to do. This book is not just dealing with the trauma our Vietnam vets went through, though. It also highlights the trauma of war through the eyes of a soldier who is so talented he can turn swearing into poetry in places and convert the sounds of the battlefield into a Wagnerian symphony. 

I think When Eagles Vie with Valkyries: War and the Journey Home reveals universal truths about all war to which any soldier can relate. It should be required reading for government officials who have never served a day in uniform but have no problem sending young men and women to fight wars so they can line their pockets as their military industrial complex stocks rise. Paul Hellweg is both graphic and witty, with poems like, “A Tidy Battlefield.” But there is tangible vulnerability and pain in the mix that is especially poignant in poems like, “Boots in the Mud,” “The Peace of Westphalia,” “Wounded,” and “Pain.” Some of my favorite lines are too brash to be shared in a review, but one was from Bête Noire, where after a land mine explodes under our author, he notes that as he is heading back down to the hole it created under him, “Gravity does what gravity must, and you meet the beast, maw open wide in greeting.” The best part about these poems is that they do not stay stuck in 1968, but they show a veteran slowly regaining his life again over the course of the next 50 years. 

Reviewed by Jennifer Reinoehl for Readers' Favori

BYOBA: Buy Your Own Book Award

 There are so many horrible books I have read lately that are "award winning" and by "award winning authors." Yes, you can buy your own book award, but why go to the trouble when you can just make one up yourself and post a website somewhere for it? This fad is going to cause serious problems in the future and the people pushing these awards should be prosecuted for fraud. These are not real awards. 

One example is: Literary Titan This not only allows you to pay to get a book award, you also get a good review (or many good reviews) out of it. 

Another is the Book Excellence Award. They are trying to sell you their promotional services. 

Yes, bad reviews are hard to stomach. But they should be learning points. Did the reviewer personally not care for your book or was there a universal flaw that needed to be fixed? Being told your book is amazing as long as you can pay someone to say that is not an accomplishment. 

How do you know it is a fake award? There are many ways to tell. 

• You could read a few samples of the "award-winning" books on Amazon and look for typos and content issues. 
• How long has it been an award? If it has been around for decades it has a better chance of being legitimate. If it started after 2019, it's probably a scam.
• What kind of prize do you win? A lot of awards talk about the "cash value" of the prize you win. For example, with the Book Excellence Award, you get a grand prize with a "cash value" of $30,000. Now, that is their estimated cash value and the only real thing you win is a free marketing package that the sponsoring company does. Grand prizes should be the chance to get real representation and traditionally published or produced. 
• Is the sponsor their own editing/marketing/book cover design/vanity press type company? If it is a company that is selling any book related services in addition to the contest, its a scam.
• If the award is offered by a publishing company, look carefully at their website and see if authors must do pre-orders or pay a fee to get their book published. If either of the above is true, the contest may be a front for getting more clients. There is nothing wrong with entering it (as long as the entry is free or low enough cost you don't mind losing the money), just be prepared to be solicited if you lose the contest. 
• How often are awards given out? If it is any more frequent than yearly, it's a scam. 
• High entrance fees.

A lot of people say if there are a lot of categories it is also a warning sign, but I disagree with this. Final Draft, for example, is a good reputable script competition, but it has a ton of different categories. The more categories and the more prize levels the more likely you will win--especially if you write in a niche category. However, a lot of categories doesn't necessarily mean it is a scam.

Probably the worst part about being self-published is that major publishing companies frequently are the sponsors of legitimate book awards. This means, in case you didn't guess, that you will probably not be able to enter. 

Goodreads Book Review Group Blues

 So, I am in the regular Review Group now, and I am having the same problem as before. You can see this by looking at some of the reviews for the Baroness of Surli on Goodreads. Now, if you have been following me, you should know I have a book review matrix that I believe helps me give unbiased reviews. I adopted this when I started reviewing indie books and working for Reader's Favorite. (I tend to be harder on traditionally published or vanity press books--depending on the vanity press.) 

I also happen to like almost any genre. I do not care for memoirs, self-help, business books, horror that is supernatural or gore, erotica, and a few others. I will, however, read almost everything. (Erotica is the reason I have a clause in my freelancing contract that says I have the right to stop working on a project and refund any deposited funds without giving you anything if I deem the project to go against my ethics. Too many people told me they were doing "urban fiction" or "romance" and then tried to get me to work on their smut. Every sex scene I edited out they put back in with all my other edits when I finished. I wanted to throw up. Just as it is wrong to feed a Muslim pork and tell him its beef or vice versa for a Hindu, it is wrong to use a person to complete a project that as a whole is unethical to them.)

Anyway, since the Genre Specific Group is indefinitely closed, I started doing these general groups again. I decided any review is better than none. And, as before, most of the reviews say the same thing: "I don't really like reading this genre of book." Okay, okay--I get it, I created my serial novels as my own way of competing with some of those writers who put out thousands of "works" in their lifetime. My mashup genres combining historical novels in a sci-fi setting is a new thing and not going to appeal to everyone. That is why I am publishing them in serial for the first half, so people can see if they like the style before purchasing it. 

However, one review got to me because it was point on--and it wasn't even a bad review. She said the book was filled with typos? (The blog for the books is filled with typos--I put out my first draft so I can publish a chapter every day, but I do proofread it before publishing.) She gave one example where I used "to" instead of "too" and suggested I get an editor. (For the record, I used "too" correctly 20 times and "to" correctly "1012" times. I did misuse "to" about 8 times which are now fixed--but usually I misused it by creating a split infinitive.) I am thankful she pointed my typos out. I just wish she would have done it privately because I really do not think it is completely filled with them. But these are the unforgiving rules of the group--if you have published a book with any typos they can be called out. Since even traditional publishers usually have a few typos (many typos now), this is a real possibility. Since some people are not aware that things like serial commas may or may not be a typo depending on the style guide you use, this can also create problems. (To instead of too is always a typo. Split infinitives are also always a typo unless you have a single character who always uses them in dialogue. I am not saying this review in particular was wrong.)

She went on to say that I wasn't really creating a new world or new characters, but that was okay because some people do that. This, I hope she is wrong about. She did not read the original novel, to the best of my knowledge, so her comment is justified from her point of view. 

The Baroness, in my book, is trained in military arts and kicks butt--she even takes down the male lead while pregnant and saves his life when she is not. I promise that did not happen in the historical novel it is based upon. The original character mostly faints and screams and gets taken advantage of or almost taken advantage of by several men. My male lead is tortured by what he does, but his actions, in my opinion, are not nearly as bad as the actions of the male lead in the original. The original was not a character I had any feelings for and I certainly wouldn't have married the jerk, I can at least understand the male character I created. In the original, the Dad tries to shoot the Baroness, and then when they make up, he kisses her on the lips "like a lover" while she is sitting on his lap--yeah, that's not a translation issue and I was grossed out, which is why it isn't even remotely a part of my book or his character. 

I felt the reviewer, like some of the others who have reviewed me, was belittling me for recreating a once popular but little read public domain book--this is my interpretation and feeling about the review, so hopefully I am not correct. Reviews can hurt some times--and most of it can be what our own minds make of them.

I could have written my book without citing the original because it is in public domain (and it is doubtful many people today have already read it), but I am not like that. I believe the original authors deserve credit. Since these are mashups, I deliberately keep some of the original text in tact, but I also believe I have changed my books enough to pass the 70% copyright test. 

You cannot copyright ideas because ideas don't tell the story. Since college, I noticed my talent is to capture all the main ideas of a plot in a novel way, like for example, John the Baptist's beheading or Jael's driving a stake through Sisera's head. I have my own ideas, too, but I equally like recreating things my way. Saying these books are invalid because of that would be the same as someone saying, Gordon Ramsay is just remaking Beef Wellington so there isn't anything special about it. I mean he is using the same beef anyone else can use!

In the meantime, I am back to the Review Group. It is always tough to get a less than 5-star review. Authors should take those and learn from them if they can (like fixing typos), but as an author you also need to recognize when the reviewers negative opinion is not the end of the world. In the end, it is one person's opinion. If this one wouldn't have told me to get an editor on a book that has been through two beta readers and that I have been through twice myself after writing it and then rewriting it, and if I wouldn't be a degreed, professional editor, that probably wouldn't have hurt so much. But I have always said that you need to have someone else edit your own work regardless of your qualifications. This is still true and the review is proof of that. That said, the only reason she could have found so many typos when four other previous reviewers did not, would be that she was not interested in the story. I'm sorry for that, but it is unfortunately the nature of the General Review Group. 

A 5-Star Reader's Favorite Book Review: Dogs of DevTown by Taylor Hohulin

I give this book 5-stars.

[drug/alcohol, gambling, gangs, somewhat graphic violence, violence against women, murder, mature themes]

Dogs of DevTown by Taylor Hohulin is a thrilling ride through a dystopian future. Shan is a bounty hunter who will work for any mob boss as long as the boss pays in cash and uses a paper contract with her. Living in a dystopian world where everyone wants to get hooked up to the Net through a port in their necks and most are on the drug Oracle, Shan is unique in that she does neither. When one of her regular employers, Loxx, hires her to find one of his absent employees, she enters the underground turf of someone calling himself Sigma, who is even more powerful than any of the mob bosses she knows. Will she be able to finish the job for Loxx and walk away from the mystery she has glimpsed without looking back and triggering Sigma’s ire?

Dogs of DevTown was so good that I went back and checked the copyright page halfway through because I couldn’t believe a major publisher hadn’t released it. The theme that no man is an island rings especially true today when many people think they can shut themselves off from the rest of the world and survive alone. However, as was true in this book, once you try to live independently from the world, you may find your plans ruined by something your neighbor did. This may be an especially hard lesson for people like Shan, who only see how independent from the world they are, but the truth is she relied on others even when she thought she could take care of herself. I also enjoyed the message that sometimes the weakest people in our lives are the strongest in our moment of need. However, this book does not moralize. Taylor Hohulin filled his book instead with action and moments where the intensity is not a fistfight but a battle of strategy. I highly recommend this book!

Reviewed by Jennifer Reinoehl for Readers' Favorite 

The Dangers of Defunct Goodreads Groups

I have posted on here before about the dangers of exchanging book reviews on Goodreads, so I went into this with open eyes. Unfortunately, the Genre Specific Goodreads Group only has one active moderator left. I reached out to him to try to get it going again and offered to split the work and run the groups for him, but he declined. He told me to contact the moderators of the general Review Group to find out how I could get it started again by myself. I don't need to do this because I know I can't and the moderators of another group cannot do anything about it either. Unfortunately, Goodreads does not seem to "clean" its groups when moderators are AFK for months or years. 

I haven't been on Goodreads in a long time. First, I was focusing on freelancing and then on the court cases. Needless to say, I found myself in a lot of defunct Goodreads groups that haven't been closed. Goodreads really need to close groups if the moderator has not been on in a year. If the moderator has been on but has not been active and Goodreads gets complaints because the moderator cannot be contacted, again, Goodreads should reach out to the moderator with a warning that the group will be closed if the moderator isn't involved in it. 

This is important because people in groups or joining groups who do not pay attention to the moderator activity can get into trouble. One of the groups I was in no longer had a moderator. I believe it was a review group that connected people who wanted to read books for free and review them with people who wrote said books. This in itself will always be a problem. There are usually way more people writing books than those who have time to read them. Anyone posting in that group that they were interested in reviewing specific types of books would get flooded. Even people who had not been active in months or who said they were not longer accepting reviews would continue getting requests. A moderator could have set rules--like your post stays up for five books and then it gets taken down and you have to repost when you have finished those. Or, the moderator could have closed the post when the original poster said they were done. Only the moderator and not the original poster have this ability.

I also did not realize that these posts are searchable in Google. I briefly offered a free pdf to people who were interested in reviewing it on their blog. To make matters worse I did this in a group that did not have a moderator--so the post could not be taken down easily or quickly. And I was even more stupid in believing that only members of the group could see the post so I added my e-mail address to save time. Yeah, dozens of spam messages later with some of them threatening me if I didn't pay them to review their book, and I am a much wiser girl. I was able to edit the post and remove my e-mail. I also contacted Goodreads, sent them copies of the spam messages and e-mails, and told them to please remove the post altogether. It took a few weeks and I still get spam from one of them who keeps changing her email address, but eventually I hope they all get blocked. I also reported them to Amazon. You cannot post paid reviews on Amazon except in the author section. In other words, paid reviews are almost worthless and you probably won't see an increase in income. Plus, if you get caught your account will be suspended. 

So, I have tidied up my Google Group memberships and canceled several with no moderators. Some, I am still hanging around but I will cancel in June if they do not have some moderator activity. Once spammers and other unethical people take over and find out they can post whatever they want, it isn't the place you want to hang out and try to promote your book. It also can waste you a lot of time (cleaning out the spam) and it can cause you grief as well as cost you money if you aren't careful. 

Online games frequently delete accounts or kick you from being a leader if you don't log on enough. Goodreads needs to learn from this example for its groups--especially ones with a lot of activity and no moderator. It would be simple for them to send out a message saying due to lack of leadership this group will be closing on X date. Please download or save any posts you wish to keep. 

Keys to Genres (1)

Authors who self-publish often have trouble classifying their work. I recently did a post on the different levels of heat in romance. But what is a romance novel? A romance novel must have two main characters the reader likes and can connect with. These characters must develop some sort of emotional connection that grows with the characters throughout the book.

Fantasy deals with the realm of magic. If something is magical or supernatural (like spiderman) it is in the realm of fantasy. This includes magical creatures and monsters.

Science fiction is similar to fantasy. The difference is there is no magic. Science fiction takes place in the future from when the book was written. (So 20,000 Leagues Under the Sea is science fiction even though we now have submarines.) Science fiction can also take place in an alternate reality. Anything that scientists might talk about--time travel, faster than light speed travel, etc. is game even if science could never actually accomplish it. 

Magical realism is different from fantasy in that the magical things that happen are more along the lines of miracles that are then accepted by people who are living in today's society. 

Non-fiction is still considered non-fiction even if you have changed the names and identifying traits of some of the people. I am currently reading a book that claims to be both fiction and well-researched, conspiracy theory truth (and no, I don't think the guy is trying to do this for literary reasons). Non-fiction (except for something like a memoir or literary fiction, poetry, cookbooks, etc.) usually requires research and footnotes or a bibliography. There are a few fiction books that imitate this with footnotes (Jonathon Strange and Mr. Norrell comes to mind). If the footnotes are real and not made up, it is non-fiction. 

Poetry can cover a lot of things. The problem is that it must have either rhyme, shape, meter, imagery, or some other literary device, usually one that includes the repetition of sounds. 

Dystopian--the end of the world is grim. Usually, these are futuristic books with awful governments and people trying to escape them. 

Action/Adventure books--these books usually have a quest or mission and the daring feats or physical action drives the plot more than character relationships, world building, or character building.

Horror fiction is meant to scare or disturb you. There are a variety of ways this can be done from detailing grotesque torture to paranormal events. 

A thriller doesn't necessarily want to scare or disturb you, but it more is keeping you on the edge of your seat to find out what is going to happen next. 

If there is a genre you aren't sure about, feel free to leave me a comment and I will try to address it in a future post. 

A 5-Star Reader's Favorite Book Review: I Made This One for You by Christy Kim

 Christy Kim’s I Made This One for You is a picture book dealing with an important issue in our “sharing is caring” society. Hanuel is a young girl raised on this mantra. She soon discovers there are times when children don’t feel like sharing, such as when they are playing with a new toy. Hanuel struggles to understand how her friends can say “no” to sharing and still care about her. Will Hanuel learn that respecting others’ feelings is also an important part of caring?

I Made This One for You is a good way to teach kids about the other side of sharing. Parents realize the importance of teaching children to share their toys and other items but often overlook that some children could see this as a right to take anything away from another child. Christy Kim’s book also helps kids on the receiving side of the mantra understand the asking child’s feelings and how to deal with his/her own feelings and the feelings of the other child. I’ve had personal experience with this at a birthday party for my youngest. She had just opened a toy, and the child who gave it to her wanted her to share it with him. His parent even said, “Sharing is caring.” This put me in an uncomfortable spot because the toy was supposed to be a gift for my daughter. She reluctantly handed over the toy, and I felt her sadness and confusion. I wish I had this book at that time because it would have helped me (and my daughter) to deal with the situation. I highly recommend this book!

Reviewed by Jennifer Reinoehl for Readers' Favorite