FTC Orders Bloggers to Disclose Conflicts of Interest
From Wired.com:
Gadget bloggers and Amazon.com reviewers now must disclose freebies and financial interests or face fines up to $11,000, according to rules announced by federal regulators Monday in an attempt to make word-of-mouth endorsements on the net easier to believe.
The Federal Trade Commission introduced the rules to prevent the net from being flooded with paid-for reviews which appear to be the work of everyday netizens, but are actually paid for with free products. But the new rules (.pdf) are confusing, ambiguous and likely unenforceable in the real world, given the size of the net, the sheer number of blogs and reviewers, and the difficulty of making distinctions between media professionals and amateurs, and between sponsored posts and pure reviews.
Here are the rules: http://ftc.gov/os/2009/10/091005endorsementguidesfnnotice.pdf
The complete article is here: http://www.wired.com/epicenter/2009/10/ftc-bloggers/
Jon Gosselin Needs a Spell Checker
By George Sheldon
It looks like Jon Gosselin – the Jon of Jon and Kate Plus 8 – needs a spell checker. Check out the No Trespassing sign he erected on his property:
I am not certain about the correct spelling of Mr. Gosselin’s first name. This is the first time I have even noticed it spelled Johnathon, rather than Jonathon. However, I know penelty is not the way to spell the word penalty.
His estranged wife Kate just said Jon took $230,000 out of their joint bank account. Perhaps he will be using a small part of the cash to buy a dictionary or a spell checker.
Sarah Palin’s Book Already a Best Seller
By George Sheldon
Sarah Palin’s book, Going Rogue, originally planned for next spring, is being released November 17 with an announced first printing of 1.5 million copies. Palin and her collaborator Lynn Vincent finished the book two months after Palin’s resignation as Alaska’s governor.
Palin’s book is already the top bestselling book on the shopping sites of Amazon.com and Barnes & Noble, a full month and a half before the book goes on sale.
The memoir, which became available for pre-order this week, has been in Amazon.com’s top 100 for three days, and replaced Dan Brown’s latest novel, The Lost Symbol.
Ten Million Clicks Another Writer’s Rip Off?
I saw this in John Kremer’s Tip of the Week Newsletter which I received via e-mail:
10 Million Clicks for Peace is looking for 1,000 authors to write a mini-book
about an aspect of peace, including such things as: personal peace,
financial peace, life purpose, peace at work, peace in school, peace in
one’s relationships, physical peace (i.e. your health), peace with your pet,
peace with the environment, and so forth.To raise money for the printing and distribution of the 1 million books on
peace, they are selling a home study, do-it-yourself course on how to
effortlessly write and publish a mini-book.Nice idea, but they want a donation of $197 for the mini-course. Alas.
But, if you want to know more, go to http://www.10millionbooks.com or
http://www.tenmillionclicksforpeace.org.
Well now. That’s a new take! A mini-course for writers who want to write a “mini-book.” And it only will cost you $197! If I did the math correctly, that’s a total of $197,000 when the first 1,000 people sign up. Why didn’t I think of this?
You’d be far better off to spend the $197 for John Kremer’s book marketing materials (especially his his book). You can learn about him and his work here.
National Bookstore Day Set for November 7
National Bookstore Day, a day devoted to celebrating bookselling and the vibrant culture of bookstores, will be held on Saturday, November 7th.
Freelance Reviewer Wanted – With Strings Attached
By George Sheldon
From FreelanceJobOpenings.com, I noticed this interesting advertisement:
Publisher of exciting new novel timed to coincide with the forthcoming major motion picture release this December of "The Lovely Bones" (Paramount Pictures) directed by Peter Jackson (based on the book by Alice Sebold) seeks book reviewers/publicists to work online to create a widespread grassroots word-of-mouth campaign by posting honest positive reviews and information about the novel on social websites, blogs, chat rooms, book clubs, bookseller websites, religious and spiritual sites, media sites, and similar online venues. The novel is a work of literary fiction exploring the themes of justice and forgiveness and is about a young female attorney who dies suddenly and finds herself being groomed in the afterlife to join the elite lawyers who defend souls at the Final Judgment. We are seeking freelancers who have great passion for books and writing about books, combined with passion for and skill in internet community building and posting on internet sites of all kinds. Must be intrigued by the premise and subject matter of the novel and, upon reading it, must be able to provide honest strong positive, enthusiastic reviews before accepting the assignment.
Notice that you must be intrigued, as a book reviewer. And you must be able to provide honest, strong, positive enthusiastic reviews. What if you don’t like the book? What if it is a stinky tome? Well, that doesn’t work, if you want to be a paid reviewer.
Whatever happened to journalism?
Cashing in on Twitter
CBS News has a good piece about Tweeting for Cash. Can you make money tweeting? Before you sign up with a company willing to help you, watch this video.
Looking for Freelance Writing Jobs?
If you are looking for freelance writing jobs, here are some of my favorite places to look:
• Online Writing Jobs
• Writing Bids
• Snag-A-Job
• WorkTree.com
• Beyond.com
• Graphic Design Bids
• Freelance Design Jobs
• Photo Jobs
• Creative Jobs Central
• Elance.com
• oDesk Outsourcing
• GetAFreelancer.com
• Examiner.com
• Go Freelance Jobs
• Legit Online Jobs
Daily Beast to Publish Books
The Daily Beast, in a joint venture with Perseus Books Group, is forming a new imprint, Beast Books. It will focus on publishing timely titles by Daily Beast writers — first as eBooks, and then as paperbacks on a much shorter schedule than traditional books.
“Ms. Brown said that Beast Books would select authors from The Daily Beast’s cadre of writers, most of whom are paid freelancers, to write books with quick turnarounds. She said she planned to publish three to five books in the first year.”
Who knew the Daily Beast was paying freelancers? That is great news.
The complete story is here: http://www.nytimes.com/2009/09/29/books/29beas.html?_r=1
