Books • Beauty • Fashion • Confidence

Stay confident, stay creative, stay focused. My blog focusedgenesis.wordpress.com

[focusedgenesis]

Warning to writers

While you are worrying about whether beta readers will steal your ideas, there is a more genuine threat on the horizon.

When offered a publishing contract, please do all your research before you sign. There are a number of fakes and scammers out there, as well as good-intentioned amateurs that don’t know how to get your work to a wide audience. I won’t tell the heartbreaking stories here - there are too many.

Being published badly is worse than being never published.

It can destroy your career and your dreams.

The quick check is to google the publishing house name + scam or warning.

But, to be sure, check with these places first. They aren’t infallible (nothing is) but they can help you protect yourself. They are written and maintained by expereinced writers, editors, publishers and legal folks.

Absolute Write: Bewares and Background Checks

Preditors and editors

Writer Beware

and the WRITER BEWARE blog

Keep yourself and your work safe.

This is really important, so if you are a writer or have writer friends, or you are a writing blog, please reblog it.

[rosey-buddy]

Just to let you know, PublishAmerica changed their name to America Star Books.

[lunamax1214]

HEAD’S UP, WRITER TYPES: THIS IS AN IMPORTANT PSA!

[oldmanyellsatcloud]

Also applies to many so-called freelance sites that are just content mills, and may not pay unless your work is used, even if the contract seems designed otherwise.

[konekat]

Listen, reading these is like legit reading horror stories.  When it comes to publishing your writing, always, always, ALWAYS do your research.  Not only will it help you avoid scams, but it will also be likely to help you land a much better fit for an agent/publisher/whatever.  Knowing more is never going to hurt.

[glorious74-deactivated20181211]

Omg!!! Thanks for the warning! Writers— reblog!

[thegirlwiththebook]

I’ve heard stories like this that are scarier than horror stories. This is an all time worst nightmare for a writer. Everyone reblog and make sure you keep your work safe! 

[the960writers]

Always, ALWAYS check Writer Beware. Let me also recommend Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s blog about contracts and contract scams for authors in her section Business Musings.

[more-legit-gr8er-writing-tips]

Reblogging again for the links. Also check pred-ed.com and the Absolute Write forum. Then google Publisher’s name + scam and see what comes up. Do NOT use the BBB ratings, they are wholly unsuitable for rating publishers and regularly give A ratings to well-known publishing scams. You can also read my own post on publishing scams, have a link on the left of my blog ( can’t link here, I’m on mobile, sorry).

[bodaciousbanshee-deactivated202]

@korrigu

[breelandwalker]

SUPER IMPORTANT PSA!

Equally important to know is that you can SELF-PUBLISH through a number of platforms these days. @ean-amhran and I used Amazon’s CreateSpace and Kindle Direct Publishing to publish both of our books. No editors, no contracts, no finagling with publishers who want to change your materials. Just direct-to-market material.

(Granted, it means you’ve got to do a LOT more work yourself with editing and formatting and cover art, but it’s worth it to miss the headache of trying to bargain with publishing houses or avoid scams.)

Be vigilant, fellow writers!

[jenniferrpovey]

If you choose to self publish then HAVE A PLAN and think things through.

And hire an editor. Please, for the love of all that is holy, hire an editor. It’s expensive, but you will get a better book out, a better reputation…

[athelind]

If you’re going to publish electronically, make sure you also get someone who can LAY AN EBOOK OUT PROPERLY.

I have spent money on Kindle books, many of them reprints of older works, whose formatting is so messed up as to render them unreadable.

[jenniferrpovey]

I actually recommend using the Smashwords Style Guide even if you don’t use Smashwords.

It lays out how to neatly format an e-book in a wonderful step by step format, and you can get it free from Smashwords. Just leave off the couple of things that are (very obviously) Smashwords specific.

If you can’t stand dealing with the meticulous detail, then by all means hire somebody, but most people can learn to format an ebook correctly and once you’ve done it a couple of times it takes about an hour tops.

[freshest-tittymilk]

@ghdos spread the knowledge

[vorpalgirl]

Because the redirects aren’t working for me, I’m going to assume others might have trouble with these links, so for those who need it the URL for the website to Writer Beware is: www.sfwa.org/other-resources/for-authors/writer-beware/ As stated on here: “Writer Beware is sponsored by the Science Fiction and Fantasy Writers of America, with additional support from the Mystery Writers of America, the Horror Writers Association, and the American Society of Journalists and Authors.” These are not publishers’ guilds, notice; you sometimes see scammers trying to defend themselves against Writer Beware exposes by claiming that they’re “small press” or “indie” and Big Publishing is somehow out to get them - but all of those guilds are run by and for writers, to help support them and represent them in the field. It is the closest writers have to having unions, and there’s no direct competition between them (you could literally be an in any of those guilds are the same time as each other, in addition to others, and I believe a number of authors are).

Writer Beware is a wonderful resource, and I highly recommend it. It’s both a good general guide to the scams people run/red flags to watch out for (such as giving up your copyright entirely as opposed to specific rights, or being charged to publish something or have it edited, when they’re trying to act like they’re a “normal” publisher), and a frequently-updated list of the latest specific known scammers, both in “fake agents” and fake/scammy publishers categories. (The company formerly known as Publish America is one of the most famous and egregious cases, but by far not the only one)

Additionally, for SF and fantasy writers, the SFWA’s own list of qualifying markets that one can be published in as a prerequisite to be able to get into their guild (remember, it IS a profession-based guild), is a great guide to normal markets for those genres that have standard contracts that aren’t abusive or scammy, and their guidelines include some of the industry-standard minimums for “per word” etc rates, so even if some new magazine market isn’t on their list, you can tell if it’s suspiciously far outside the usual per-word or whatnot standards. (It’s likely the guidelines for Mystery Writers of America etc also would be useful in that vein) Even if you’re unpublished or don’t want to join their guild, they’re a wonderful group and resource, and I highly recommend their site and Writer Beware in particular! The other sites mentioned above, such as “Preditors and Editors” should be still valid if you Google them, and are often rec’d by Writer Beware, but Writer Beware is the one I’m most familiar with. :)

[hookslovelyswan]

Also, you should never have to pay an agent or anyone a  “reading fee”! DO NOT PAY PEOPLE TO READ YOUR WORK!!! Run away from so-called agents that charge a reading fee! They are considered unethical in their own industry!

Also related to agents: Should you go this route and seek one, DO NOT PAY ONE DIME TO THEM upfront! A real agent only gets paid when he sells your book to a publisher! The average cut is about 10-15% of the first sale profits, if I remember right, with cuts of film and other rights maybe being more, when sold. At most, writers should only be responsible for the costs of phone calls and postage.

For more information see: How Literary Agents Get Paid. Standard Commission Practices and Payments for Literary Agents

Edited to Add: Some other great, highly respected resources for writing and getting published are:

Writer’s Digest

The Writer

Writer’s Market

[ms-potts-to-you-deactivated2018]

BOOST

[lady-of-the-abyss]

Sharing this with everyone!

[saintalbatross]

Reblog If Your Blog Is Safe For

Transgender people

Homosexual people

Bisexual people

Genderfluid people

Asexual people

Pansexual people

Autosexual people

Demisexual people

Bigender people

Agender people

Polysexual people

Straight people

Cisgender people

Straight allies of the lgbtqpiad community

ANYONE

[tante-toska]

I THINK I LOST A FOLLOWER FOR REBLOGGING THIS WTF

[sunflowercocoa]

My mother broke my arm, help me escape an abusive household!

TW: Domestic abuse, physical abuse, suicidal thoughts What happened? On Friday, April the 6th, 2018 I spent the entire night at the A&E of my local hospital. A minor argument had escalated and it lead to my mother taking a metal rod of a mop and using it to aim for my head, luckily I raised my elbow to protect my...

So I’m finally doing this GoFundMe you guys have been encouraging me to do! 

Please do share this. The overwhelming support I’ve been met with since I started posting about what has been happening to me is amazing and y’all have done so much for me over the years I truly can’t thank you enough! 

I wish I had things to offer you guys, I am pretty good at writing and editing papers and usually receive an A range for papers (but fall short in exams fml), so if you guys need proof reads for essays or applications or anything I will certainly be your gal!

The story is in the link, but stuff I left out due to fear of my family finding it is that in the long run I hope to eventually save and raise enough money to somehow move to where my long distance bf lives to work/study & since it is a non-straight relationship, my parents would literally kill me if they knew about it. Seriously, if they break my arm for cooking the wrong way & then answering back when insulted, then imagine if the strict African Muslims that they are knew this stuff about their daughter.

[hellishb]

[miss-lizard]

[asking-jude]

Source

♡ Need support? 

[powerfulwizard]

Give our family a chance!

Me, my girlfriend and our daughter are seeking for your help! We was born in Russia nad had to run away from country because of anti-gay propaganda law.

Please help them!! I’ve seen some posts about this couple, but nobody here has directly posted the link to their crowd fund.

[powerfulwizard]

They have a PayPal too. Their PayPal email is [email protected]

[a-titty-ninja]

[theirisianprincess]

DID HE MAKE IT??

[imnotafraidofhospitals]

he makes it

[theirisianprincess]

THANK FUCKING GOD

[focusedgenesis]

[the-movemnt-deactivated20170912]

this is true love y’all (x) | follow @the-movemnt

[screengeniuz]

😂

❤️

[enchantechante]

pls let this be the start of a trend

[warbutt]

retweet this and your dream job will come into your life

[internetsurfing]

ok y'all this is crazy i reblogged this today and i just got offered a job. what the fuck

[ummno]

Worked last year. Give it a whirl, kids.

[focusedgenesis]

There’s something that’s been really bothering me with the fashion industry that needs to be left back in 2017. People who are different only being “featured” in high fashion shows and not the focus of these fashion shows.

With fashion week 2018 coming to New York in a month there are so many things to expect. Fashion trends from classic and clean lines to frump chic will make their mark on the run way. Fashion designers being innovative in every possible way can also be expected. Another thing that can be expected to walk the catwalk this year; models who look exactly the same.

There has been this standard in fashion show during fashion week that the models are tall, super skinny, and, of course, white. This bothers me to no end. Fashion designers know that there are more body types out there than this right?

All across the globe fashion week 2017 is known as the year that broke the records. Why? It was the first year a black male walked the runways of Seoul fashion week. It was also the year we saw fashions designers work with plus size models only. It is also the year we finally saw models with albinism, transgender models, and fashion lines catering to Muslim women.

NEW YORK, NY – SEPTEMBER 12: A model walks the runway at the Anniesa Hasibuan during New York Fashion Week: The Shows at The Dock, Skylight at Moynihan Station on September 12, 2016 in New York City. (Photo by Frazer Harrison/Getty Images for New York Fashion Week: The Shows)

One of the main ideas of fashion is to celebrate uniqueness and differences yet this is the first year we’re actually seeing “actual” people walk the runways of fashion week? The world doesn’t consist of just the super tall and super thin. The average pant size of women in America is a size 16, not the sample sizes 2 or 4. There really isn’t status quo for what is “normal” anymore and the fashion industry has yet to catch up.

It’s a little strange when you think about it. The fashion industry is suppose to be top of the line when it comes to innovation and uniqueness. Every year you can expect something different during fashion week in major cities across the globe but there are still somethings that are keeping the fashion industry a couple steps behind.

The industry, especially high end fashion brands, need to work on being more inclusive. Models who are different when compared to the fashion standards should not be put on the back burner. There are people who looks at these events, billboards, and fashion magazines who don’t fit the fashion industry standards by any means. These fashion shows need to reflect that.

I know it’s hopeless to wish for such a swift change in the fashion industry with New York fashion week coming so close but 2019 is far away. We still have a long way to go until next year with so many barriers to break. For now, let’s see what happens during New York Fashion week 2018.

Connect with me:

@focused_genesis        focusedgenesis.tumblr.com      ladysentalks.com

NEW POSTS EVERY SUNDAY!!!!

  Previous Post:

17 Things I learned in 2017

Is the Fashion Industry Cutting Edge or Still A couple Steps Behind? There's something that's been really bothering me with the fashion industry that needs to be left back in 2017.

[focusedgenesis]

My first try at a book rainbow 🌈❤️ #shelfie #bookstagram #bookrainbow #books #bookworm #booknerd #reader #reading #readersofinstagram

[focusedgenesis]

Snow day on the east coast so we break out the big books #bookstagram #books #queenofshadows #reading #readers #readersofinstagram

[focusedgenesis]

Holiday book haul time!! I'm currently blasting through Queen of Shadows by @therealsjmaas! #books #bookhaul #holidaybookhaul #bookstagram #bookworm #booknerd #reader #readersofinstagram

[focusedgenesis]

Happy New Year guys! Decided to write down my reading resolutions so it would make it easier to keep track of. Ignore my crappy firework. What are your resolutions this year? #bookstagram #bookishresolutions #reading #readingresolutions #bookworm #books #readers #readersofinstagram

[focusedgenesis]

Good morning, happy new year and I hope y'all are ready! I told y'all I'd be back from hiatus come the new year! There's a brand spankin' new post live on my blog! Click the link in my BIO to check it out! I'm back baby! #blogger #lifestyleblogger

[focusedgenesis]

17 Things I Learned In 2017

It is okay to not be okay. What you call strength turns into stubbornness, pride and a whole lot of pain when you don’t recognize that you are not okay and that you need help. Recognition is key in 2018.

Take a break. It doesn’t matter if it’s a long or a short break. Sometimes your brain needs a mental retreat to get things back in order. Let yourself rest.

If it’s not for you don’t force that door open. If you keep slamming your foot in a door that’s trying to close you’re gonna end up hurting yourself. Let that door close; physically and metaphorically.

Do things that make you happy. In the end no one else can make you truly happy but yourself. Screw what anyone else says or wants. They can suggest, but nothing they say really holds any power unless you give it power.

Stop sugar coating. While this holds true for other people telling you lies this holds even more truth for yourself. We believe the lies we tell ourselves the most. Stop it. Recognize truth when truth is presented.

Stop living a double life. Whether you have an online presence or not, stop making people believe you’re one thing when you’re the other. Stay true to the person you are around your friends and family. Stay true to you.

Learn to trust yourself and open up to new experiences, even if you have to do it alone. Life has no reset button and that’s scary but here’s the good thing: you will always have an experience to learn from. Open up to those experiences.

Set goals. No matter how big or how small set your goals. Organize your life. Plan. Go and achieve your goals.

Being your best self doesn’t mean putting down others. It’s cool you’re focusing on yourself  and achieving what you set out to do but don’t belittle those that aren’t on your level. Remember, you’re an amateur to someone else out there in the world. #behumble.

You can plan for days but until you act on those plans then your plans will be nothing but plans. Even if you’re scared act on them, you’ll never know what will come out of it if you don’t act.

It’s okay to have a really good cry. Sometimes you have to let your emotions out. Let. Them. Out.

Don’t let other people force their goals on you. If you feel like a “friend” is pushing something on you and you’re not feelin’ it, that’s a“friend” being too scared to act out their plans themselves. They’ll try to push their dreams on you. Don’t fall for it.

If you are going to drop someone, drop them completely. Don’t sit there and think on it and let them weasel their way back into your life with their negativity. Drop their number, drop them as a friend on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and in real life. DROP THEM. Got no time for that mess.

Stop trying to take everyone with you one your journey. Your journey is not made for everybody. They were your friend for five years? So what! If they want to leave let them leave.

Stop telling everybody in on what you’re doing and how you’re going to do it. Quit that braggin’. Not everybody has your best interest at heart. People will find a way to sabotage your happiness if you give them a way in.

Friends come second, you come first. The funny thing about loyalty is, you can give it out to everybody you call a friend but the moment you need someone loyal in your life nobody seems to know who you are. You can give everybody every second of your time to your friends but when you ask for a minute of their time they’re suddenly busy. None of that in 2018. Focus on you.

LIVE YOUR BEST LIFE. Find ways to smile. Make memories you’ll look back on next year and laugh about. Go outside. See what the world has to offer.

As we head into 2018 with arms swingin’, I hope you can take some of what I learned with you in the new year. Happy new year ya’ll! Focused Genesis is new and improved! I hope you’re ready!

What lessons did you learn in 2017?

Connect with me at:

@foused_genesis     focusedgenesis.tumblr.com  ladysentalks.com

My Previous Post:

Jeffree Star: Is He Racist or Nah?

17 Things I Learned In 2017 17 Things I Learned In 2017 It is okay to not be okay. What you call strength turns into stubbornness, pride and a whole lot of pain when you don't recognize that you are not okay and that you need help.