The WritersWeekly Podcast

Brian Whiddon
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From the creators of WritersWeekly.com, the WritersWeekly Podcast delves into everything involving professional writing. WritersWeekly.com has been helping and informing writers and authors for over 25 years. We cover book publishing, article writing, getting writing gigs, paying markets, writing technology, etc. 

  1. 6d ago

    Episode 54 - Do YOU Think These Controversial Books Should Have Been Published?

    Which major publisher recently offered a contract to a hateful outspoken anti-Semite? Why did a specific author and friend of ours refuse to be interviewed for this episode? Which book - written by a 19-year-old activist - is blamed for actions taken by domestic terrorists, which led to many deaths?  Which book appeared to be written by a man, but was not? And, how did it lead to the deaths of three people?  OJ Simpson wrote a book about the murders he "allegedly" committed, but who ended up owning the rights? In America, we have the 1st Amendment. This allows people to speak and write about anything they want, with very few restrictions. But just because as publishers, we can put almost anything out there in print, does that mean we should? And where should the limits be? Who gets to draw those lines? Who should publishers listen to when it comes to what they publish? The loudest and most obnoxious voices? The latest "victim" classes? Those who purchase the books? Their own consciences? How much should common decency and potential consequences play a role in the decision to publish a book? Again, who gets to draw those lines? In this episode we discuss published books that have become "controversial." We explore the fuzzy line between what is "edgy" and what crosses into the no-man's land of books that perhaps never should have seen the light of day. Different people have different opinions. For some it's the subject matter itself. Or it's the motive behind the writing. Occasionally it becomes WHO wrote the book that causes issues with certain groups.  Can you be honest with yourself when it comes to differentiating between what can be published and what should  be published? Where exactly does that line exist in your mind?  Find out for yourself in this episode.   Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  2. Aug 26

    Episode 53 - The Psychology of Scam Victims with Psychotherapist Marsh Rose - DON'T MISS THIS ONE!!!

    Here's the episode that a LOT of you have been asking for! Angela and Brian welcome Marsh Rose to the WritersWeekly Podcast. Marsh is a professional psychotherapist based in California.  In this episode, we wade deep into what makes some scam victims tick! Are some personality types more susceptible to being scammed than others? What causes some people to move forward with a business deal when something clearly seems "off?" Why do some people flat out refuse to believe they are being scammed even when all the signs and evidence are there? Is this type of behavior related to Stockholm Syndrome? Are scammers actually SOCIOPATHS?? How do publishing scams compare to romance scams? We cover all these questions and more on this episode. So stretch out on your couch and take some deep breaths as you learn about The Psychology of Scam Victims on The Writers Weekly Podcast!   Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  3. Aug 12

    Episode 52 (PT 2)- 4 Industry Professionals Discuss Scams, Author Egos, and AI

    The fun continues with Stacey and Troy as we head off into the weeds and talk about all kinds of stuff related to writing and publishing! Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert are popular and respected writing and publishing professionals who also host the "Pros Talking Prose" podcast. Stacey and Troy join Angela and Brian to discuss how even intelligent and seasoned authors and writers can still wind up getting scammed by the very sophisticated overseas publishing crime cartel.      However, the guard rails came down, and we wound up getting into many other subjects, including the very contentious topic of authors using Artificial Intelligence (AI), our experiences with various types authors (there’s some juicy stuff there!), and other interesting and bizarre experiences we’ve all had while working as professionals in the literary industry.     In this episode, you'll also hear what Stacey and Troy discuss what differentiates a good book from a GREAT book, and SO MUCH MORE!     This episode is a TWO-PARTER since the conversation went into overtime. Part Two will be posted next week.    There's a lot of knowledge (and laughter – Stacey and Troy are A HOOT!) shared in this episode, so you won't want to miss a minute! Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  4. Aug 7

    Episode 52 - 4 Industry Professionals Discuss Scams, Author Egos, and AI (PT 1)

    This week, we have two guests onboard, and the conversation takes many turns, with PLENTY OF LAUGHS!    Stacey Smekofske and Troy Lambert are popular and respected writing and publishing professionals who also host the "Pros Talking Prose" podcast. Stacey and Troy join Angela and Brian to discuss how even intelligent and seasoned authors and writers can still wind up getting scammed by the very sophisticated overseas publishing crime cartel.      However, the guard rails came down, and we wound up getting into many other subjects, including the very contentious topic of authors using Artificial Intelligence (AI), our experiences with various types authors (there’s some juicy stuff there!), and other interesting and bizarre experiences we’ve all had while working as professionals in the literary industry.     In this episode, you'll also hear what Stacey and Troy discuss what differentiates a good book from a GREAT book, and SO MUCH MORE!     This episode is a TWO-PARTER since the conversation went into overtime. Part Two will be posted next week.    There's a lot of knowledge (and laughter – Stacey and Troy are A HOOT!) shared in this episode, so you won't want to miss a minute! Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  5. Jul 31

    EPISODE 51: AI ABOMINATION! AI Companies are Buying Millions of Rare Books, Scanning Them, and Then SHREDDING THEM!!!

    ALERT! One of the most disturbing articles we found (from one of the players in this travesty) has already been removed from the Internet. However, we located it on the Wayback Machine! We include a link to that under this episode at WritersWeekly.com/podcast (episode 51).    We've reported in the past on AI companies "scraping" the internet and absorbing ebooks for training their AI programs, without paying for the books. It has been determined that this is copyright infringement.   Well, it seems that the AI companies have begun to run out of data to vacuum up from the Internet. More and more, AI interfaces are now belching out information that was already belched out previously from other AI companies, and re-absorbed by AI. In other words, the AI clients are starting to spit out "copies of copies" of their information. In more direct terms, everything on the internet is already "tainted" by AI, and "pristine" data is harder and harder to come by. AI systems are now spitting out incorrect information about all kinds of topics!   So, a company called Anthropic (which just settled a $1.5B lawsuit with authors and publishers), has found a new workaround.    Pointing to a doctrine in copyright law from 1908 (!!!), Anthropic has begun buying up PRINT books by the millions - old books, rare books, out-of-print books - and are scanning them into their AI engines for their AI model, "Claude." However, after doing this, each book is destroyed. Gone forever.   Once there are no more physical books left on Earth, the AI companies will "own" the world's history, and can manipulate the data to say whatever they want. What's worse, their own leaked internal documents seem to indicate that this could very well be their goal!    We quote their documents in this episode. You are NOT going to believe what they said!!!   Don't miss this episode on how print books are disappearing by the MILLIONS, and what you can do to help stop this egregious act.  Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  6. Jul 22

    EPISODE 50: Real Stories of Authors Who Saved Thousands After Contacting WritersWeekly About Potential Publishing Scams

    Our favorite professor, editor, and book marketer, Clayton Jones, joins us again for this episode! He is a HOOT!!! In the “News from the Home Office” part at the beginning of the episode, we describe how Bigfoot has returned to our mountaintop neighborhood. THIS IS NOT A JOKE! Angela was a complete non-believer until she saw one two and a half years ago. They stayed for six months (lots of neighbors had encounters), and then left two years ago in March. Now, they're back! Okay, back to the episode!  Real Stories of Authors Who Saved Thousands After Contacting WritersWeekly About Potential Publishing Scams In just 7 days, we saved authors over $28,000. In the past two years, we've saved authors an estimated $2.9 MILLION after they asked us if they were about to be scammed.  Here are a few examples from the episode: "Rick" was about to send $350 to a woman with an American-sounding name, but she wanted him to wire the money to a guy named Abdulkareem Shiyan. She called him her “financial secretary.” We told Rick exactly how that was a scam! (We also reported that scammer/money mule to Lead Bank!) C.M. saved $5K! He was about to send that much to KDPBookPublishers.com, an Amazon impersonator. Unfortunately, he'd previously paid the scammer $499.  K.C. was about to send a fake publisher $1,000.  S.J. was about to pay a scammer triple what they'd originally quoted her for website hosting.  One scammer quoted an author an astoundingly low price of 199£ ($400 U.S.) for editing, publication and more. Classic bait and switch! Bobby G. was about to be extorted for an additional $1500 from a fake editor.  David C. was about to send Pen In Charge, a scammer that was already on our list, $2199. We explained to him exactly how the scam works, and he didn’t send the money! Cynthia M. almost sent $99 to a fake book club. We've saved LOTS of authors from sending hundreds, to even thousands to fake "book clubs." We helped Gary M. recover $2,650, not from the scammer, American Book Publisherz, but from his credit card company. We have specific instructions for authors whose banks or credit card companies may be trying to force the author to "work it out" with the scammer. If more than 60 days pass, the bank can wash their hands of the entire transaction, so it’s imperative to act FAST! On the day we recorded this episode, we save Eric N. from sending $3,999 to nybookexperts.com!  There are MANY MORE stories in this episode! Join us, and learn the new and ever-evolving ways publishing, website design, marketing, and other scammers are trying to fool authors into sending their hard-earned money. We will also teach YOU how to recognize these types of scams! And, we’ll make you laugh at the same time!   JOIN US! :)   Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  7. Jul 16

    Episode 49: Authors Who Argued with Us Before, During, and After Getting Scammed

    Have you ever found yourself in the following situation? Someone comes to you to ask your opinion about some decision they are trying to make. Maybe it's dating or marriage advice. Maybe it's something about their career. Perhaps it has to do with some large purchase they want to make.  You give them excellent advice based on your expertise, along with facts and logic; not emotion. Then, they go and do the EXACT OPPOSITE of what you advised.   You wonder to yourself, "Why did this person ask for my advice in the first place!?" Kind of makes you want to slap them upside the head, doesn't it?! Well, we suffer this experience on an almost-weekly basis. Authors write to Angela Hoy, who has been exposing scams in the writing and publishing industries for 28 years now.  They ask: "What do you think about this publisher?" or "What do you think about this marketing service?" or “This company wants me to pay them $75K to make my book into a movie!” As we've said many times, there are so many scammers out there now, they literally now FAR outnumber legitimate businesses! Ninety-nine percent of the time, Angela will do the research, and discover that the "business" an author is looking at is indeed a scammer, and will advise the author as such. Most authors thank Angela and are very grateful to her for saving them from making a huge mistake and losing LOTS of money. However, some authors' responses simply baffle the mind. Some will argue that, to them, the scammer's website looks legitimate. Some argue that the person they have spoken to on the phone or traded emails with sounds SO professional. Some are even dumb enough to tell the scammers, "Angela from WritersWeekly.com says you're a scammer." Then, the author will literally come back to us and argue that the scammer PROMISED them that they are not a scammer! (Don’t EVEN get us started on the “money-back-guarantees” that scammers put on their websites. Authors actually think those false statements will protect them later!) We've even had authors ask for our advice AFTER sending a scammer money, and then they send even MORE money after we warned them that the company or individual IS INDEED a scammer, and explained exactly what our research revealed! Listen to this episode, and you will be shocked at the psychosis that some people suffer from. It's almost as if they WANT to be scammed out of their money! It always leaves us asking that infuriating question: "Why did they ask us to research that ‘company’ in the first place?!" Listen to this episode, and you will, like us, be scratching your head…or pulling your hair out. Don't miss it!! Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

  8. Jul 9

    Episode 48: Misery: Real Authors Who Have Been Stalked

    Music: "Light Rays" used with permission from Billy Bob Thornton and The Boxmasters. https://theboxmasters.com/store     Do you remember the movie based on the Stephen King novel "Misery?" An author is stalked and captured by an obsessed fan. She proceeds to torture him while still professing her admiration of his works. “I’m your number one fan!” Although most stalkers don't resort to such extreme behavior, being stalked can be a terrifying experience for anyone. Knowing that someone who is clearly not thinking right has set their sights on you is stressful, to say the least. Not knowing what that person is capable of means you must constantly be looking over your shoulder and never letting your guard down. That's a very traumatic way to live.  In today's episode, editor and college English professor Clayton Jones joins Angela and Brian to delve into the dark world of authors who have been stalked by unhinged "fans" and how those events ended up. Clayton, Angela and Brian all share their own experience with stalkers. We even have an example of an author who stalked someone who left her a bad review! Grab some popcorn and prepare to immerse yourself into psychological darkness and drama (with a little humor on the side.) You won't be disappointed!   Text us directly and tell us what you think of this episode! Learn more at https://www.WritersWeekly.com

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About

From the creators of WritersWeekly.com, the WritersWeekly Podcast delves into everything involving professional writing. WritersWeekly.com has been helping and informing writers and authors for over 25 years. We cover book publishing, article writing, getting writing gigs, paying markets, writing technology, etc. 

Information

  • Creator
    Brian Whiddon
  • Years Active
    2025 - 2026
  • Episodes
    55
  • Rating
    Explicit
  • Copyright
    © 2026 The WritersWeekly Podcast
  • Show Website
    The WritersWeekly Podcast