text:
The Authors Guild Doesn’t Serve Writers

It’s official: the Authors Guild has lost the plot. In their (seemingly endless) quest to smear Amazon, they don’t care who they wheel out as an injured party. Spoiler alert: it’s PublishAmerica. Yep, you read that right.

But before we get to that, how did we get into this mess?

At the beginning of March, The President of the Authors Guild – Scott Turow – called for the Department of Justice to drop their unfinished investigation into e-book price-fixing.

That call, of course, went unheeded, the investigation continued, and a suit was filed. A settlement was agreed with three of the Price Fix Six (with the rest electing to go to trial), but that settlement had yet to be approved by the court. Meanwhile, a wave of news stories appeared bashing a company not alleged to have participated in that price-fixing: Amazon.

The allegations against Amazon were successively absurd, culminating in a ridiculous story which claimed that Amazon’s charitable donations were a nefarious attempt to co-opt critics. It was quite clear at that point that we were witnessing a concerted PR campaign to sully Amazon – with reporters openly admitting that these stories were being fed to them by publishing executives.

The next step was a series of disingenuous open letters to the Department of Justice from various publishing industry professionals, prompting me to write my own letter, which was co-signed by around 200 fellow writers, and mailed a few weeks back (thank you again).

The reason for all these letters flying around is that, pursuant to the Tunney Act, the Department of Justice is compelled to accept comments from the public on the proposed settlement for a period of 60 days, and then both publish them and file them with the court.

On Monday of last week, just before the deadline for public submissions expired, Paul Aiken (the Executive Director of the Authors Guild) published his own open letter to the Department of Justice on the Authors Guild website, furnishing some of the aforementioned news stories as “evidence.”

Unsurprisingly, the Authors Guild’s letter barely mentions the voluminous (actual) evidence that the Department of Justice have compiled in relation to the price-fixing allegations, but instead focuses on a company not named as a defendant in this case: Amazon.

The letter is quite long, and worth reading – if only to get an idea of the mindset at the helm of the leading writers’ organization in America. I’m not going to go through the entire letter, but I will highlight a typical passage to show I’m not dismissing it out of hand.

(At this point, I should remind everyone that I’m not a lawyer. While I once pretended to be a law student to gain access to a college photocopier, none of the small-talk around the machines centered on US anti-trust law.)

How Amazon Captured 90% of the Market

From the AG’s letter:

It was precisely this practice – selling frontlist e-books at below cost to discourage and destroy competition – that helped Amazon capture a commanding 90% of the U.S. e-book market.

Completely untrue. When Amazon released the first Kindle in November 2007, there was no real e-book market to speak of. According to the American Association of Publishers, e-books were only responsible for 0.6% of trade book sales at the time. The market was tiny and Amazon’s only competition was a half-hearted offering from Sony, which was plagued with supply problems and limited title selection.

Amazon essentially created the e-book market in America. By the time Apple and Barnes & Noble had woken up to the fact that there was real money to be made in e-books, the market had grown by 600% (to 3.2% of all trade books sold) – with most of those new customers buying Kindles.

In short, Amazon got to (an estimated) 90% of the market because they were the only ones really playing the game, and the market was so small that a focused offering could make serious inroads.

The Authors Guild & PublishAmerica

The rest of the letter is just as bad, and I’m not going to waste time going through it all. I’ve dealt with most of these arguments already (and anyway, the commenters on The Passive Voice have done a pretty good job of dissecting the numerous fallacies, and there are a few zingers over at Digital Book World).

Instead, I want to focus on one particular section – the Authors Guild’s summary of the tactics Amazon used to establish CreateSpace (formerly known as BookSurge, who Amazon purchased in 2005).

Quoting from the original letter:

More importantly and profitably to Amazon, by forcing iUniverse and other author centered on-demand service providers to use BookSurge, Amazon severely constrained effective competition for its own author centered on-demand service provider, which became known as CreateSpace in 2009. Amazon’s vertical integration of on-demand printing eliminated the ability of iUniverse, PublishAmerica, XLibris and others to offer authors better royalties when selling through Amazon. CreateSpace appears to have thrived ever since. [Emphasis mine]

The first time I read that, I was in shock. The Authors Guild are so desperate to tar Amazon that they are willing to roll out PublishAmerica as a victim. And the more I think about it, the more mad I get. Really? PublishAmerica? Are you serious?

For those unaware of the checkered history of PublishAmerica, a quick summary:

1. They are one of only two organizations to earn the dubious honor of having their own sub-forum on Absolute Write’s Bewares & Background Checks (the other being Robert Fletcher’s infamous web of companies).

2. Preditors and Editors have a lengthy entry warning writers away.

3. The Better Business Bureau rates PublishAmerica as an “F”.

4. The leading industry watchdog – Writer Beware – regularly cover PublishAmerica’s various attempts to squeeze money out of their writers (e.g. here, here, here, here, here, and here – and that’s just the tip of the iceberg).

5. PublishAmerica are now the subject of a class-action suit, the allegations being very familiar to anyone who has followed the company (full complaint can be read here).

In short, PublishAmerica is probably the last place I would recommend to a writer.

However, the Authors Guild feels that PublishAmerica’s rights have been trampled upon. If Amazon hadn’t been such a bully, PublishAmerica could have gained more customers. Will Amazon stop at nothing in their evil quest to take over the world?

PublishAmerica wasn’t the only company that the Authors Guild sprang to the defense of; to be fair, the letter spends more time talking about iUniverse.

Question for lawyer types: shouldn’t the Authors Guild disclose their relationship with iUniverse when writing about them?

That relationship, of course, is the Authors Guild Back In Print program, which is run by iUniverse (and promoted heavily on the Authors Guild site). If you are a member of the Authors Guild, this service will get your book back in print, for free.

The catch is that you have to assign print rights to iUniverse. In exchange, when they sell a copy of your book, iUniverse pay writers around 15% of their list price. (Authors may terminate their relationship with iUniverse with 30 days notice, but iUniverse will retain a non-exclusive right to sell that book for a further ten months.)

The first question I have for the Authors Guild is this: do you benefit financially (or otherwise) from this partnership? And, even if Authors Guild doesn’t benefit financially (or otherwise), shouldn’t this relationship be mentioned when writing about iUniverse (and especially when writing a letter to the Department of Justice regarding a proposed settlement)?

More importantly, however, I would like to ask the Authors Guild whether they genuinely believe that the Back In Print program is the best way for writers to get their reverted titles published? Additionally, I would like to know if the Authors Guild feel that iUniverse provides a good service – both to Guild members using the Back In Print program and to writers in general?

I ask because I know how I feel about iUniverse.

For those who don’t know, iUniverse was purchased by Author Solutions in 2007 (who also own AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, and Trafford, among others). Since then, industry watchdogs such as Writer Beware have received a litany of complaints regarding their service (summarized here).

Aside from flogging overpriced and ineffective services to writers, iUniverse also pays terrible royalty rates. To give you an example, CreateSpace pays me $5 every time someone buys the paperback edition of Let’s Get Digital from Amazon. Had I published that edition through iUniverse, I would receive just over $2. (And the rates for the Authors Guild Back in Print program are no better.)

I can’t conceive of a rational argument for choosing iUniverse over CreateSpace. I find it sad that an organization which is supposed to represent writers is delivering them into the clutches of a company with an inferior service and terrible royalty rates.

But hey, it’s only print rights. All the money is in e-books these days, right? Unfortunately, iUniverse has come to the same conclusion.

Just before Christmas, iUniverse mailed their existing customers (and presumably those Authors Guild members who availed of the Back in Print program) with a very special deal. They offered to turn their customers print books into e-books and upload them to the various retailers FOR FREE!!!

The catch – and it’s a doozy – is that you have to fork over half your e-book royalties to iUniverse. That’s right: 50%. (Don’t panic if you missed out! This astonishing deal is also available to new customers.)

This kind of gouging should be roundly condemned by everyone. But do you recall the stinging rebuke from the Authors Guild? Do you remember the blog post written by Scott Turow or Paul Aiken advising Guild members to use alternative services?

Nope. Neither do I.

The Authors Guild seems more concerned with defending the rights of Author Solutions and PublishAmerica than its own members. And they seem so desperate to tar Amazon, that they don’t care how they do it.

They are so blinded by their hatred of Amazon that instead of advising writers how to take advantage of the excellent free services provided by Createspace and KDP to get their books back in print (which will also leave their royalties intact), they are pushing them towards a company with a terrible service record and awful royalty rates.

The Authors Guild should be ashamed of themselves.

About David Gaughran

David is Irish and lives in Dublin, where it rains every day and conversation is a sport. He writes historical adventures and has helped thousands of authors to self-publish through his workshops, books, and this here blog.
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77 Responses to The Authors Guild Doesn’t Serve Writers

  1. J.D.Hughes says:

    As usual, a concise and informative post with which I am in absolute agreement.

    It’s not a surprise that there would be this sort of backlash, and it may be only the first of its kind. The price of freedom is eternal vigilance, as someone important once said.

    • Thanks JD.

      Personally, what I would hope to achieve from this is some sort of change from the Authors Guild. I don’t expect them to stop railing against Amazon overnight – I think that’s in the DNA of the guys at the top. However, some writers may consider voting with their feet by not renewing their memberships or, even better perhaps, voting with their ballot papers at the next election for a candidate who actually has writers’ interests at heart.

      A good start would be this: instead of pushing writers towards a crappy deal with iUniverse, give them a breakdown of all the options:

      1. A full service company like iUniverse which charges high fees and pays low royalties.
      2. A flat-fee service company (e.g. BookBaby, but there are lots more) which charge nominal fees for things like formatting, and don’t touch your royalties.
      3. DIY with KDP, Createspace, Smashwords, B&N and Apple.

      The biggest problem I have with pushing writers towards iUniverse exclusively, is that there is no warning of the really really crappy 50% (net!) e-book royalty rate – which really means you will be getting 35% for every sale in the Kindle Store instead of 70%.

  2. Brian says:

    When I first came on board at my current workplace (I’m a programmer by day) the old guard had a way of doing things; it was prone to error with a high failure rate, but they had “their way”. They were given the opportunity to get on board with the new guard, but they vehemently resisted, petrified of losing their power and afraid to embrace new and better methodologies.

    None of them are there anymore.

    We’re seeing a similar change of guard in publishing. The reactionaries are in their death throes and they’re making an ugly scene as they desperately try to hold on to a bygone time. Print’s not going away, but its stranglehold on publishing is. The old guard can feel their power slipping away more every day. All this rabble is a distraction from that reality as they try to stave off the inevitable.

    The reason none of their arguments makes sense is because these creatures of habit are desperate. Ultimately this will all shake out and a happy medium will ensue. Until then we can expect more nonsense like this from desperate reactionaries unwilling to adapt and embrace the future.

  3. The Authors Guild must think, or at least hope, that writers are stupid.

  4. RDoug says:

    Well, so much for anything to do with Authors Guild. I certainly won’t be touching them with a 10-foot pole.

    Really good article, David. But, check the word “serious” in line one of paragraph six. You might want to change that.

  5. Pingback: The Authors Guild Doesn’t Serve Writers | The Passive Voice

  6. Thanks, as usual, David, for your useful and thorough sharing of publishing news. I’d bet that Paul Aiken knows nothing about PublishAmerica, and was just piling up names of outfits that can get (hapless) writers in print. What I’ve found more and more is that those on the other side of the publishing “divide” often get their information from sources with an agenda — no doubt they would accuse us of the same thing. Except that we’re right. ;-}

  7. Thanks for the information, I have joined the lawsuit against Publish America, they have had my book for almost two years and have done nothing except ask for money to promote it, I told them last year that it was overpriced at $19.99 for a childrens 68 page black and white book + freight to UK was ridiculous, I have since printed a similar book for less than £2, I didn’t cash their $50 cheque they send to all authors, because I didn’t trust them then and I still don’t, they refuse to give my manuscript back and say they will willingly collaborate with a publisher in this country that wants to use the manuscript on my behalf, but they will not back down on the pricing?
    Hope something gets done here, great blog as usual.
    Best Wishes

  8. Karen Ranney says:

    I was once a member of The Author’s Guild. After reading their website, their publication, and their missives, I ended my membership. Now, if they could only stop sending me solicitation mail, I’d be a happy camper.

    I sat in on the conference calls about Google Books, too, and they were all for authors opting in on that.

    One of the things about their “magazine” that always startled me was that it read almost like a very old school publication. As if they were pretending it was 1950 and look – women are writing. Who knew? But I was willing to overlook the impression of “good old boy” stuff if I could have dismissed the feeling that they were bordering on the edge of being Luddites.

    • I remember reading some of the testimony from Paul Aiken regarding Google Books. He described the settlement – when speaking before the House Judiciary Committee – along the lines of (paraphrasing from memory) “the opportunity we have been waiting for to help authors profit from out-of-print books.” Well, that didn’t work out to well, did it? Meanwhile, the Authors Guild completely missed the boat on an actually viable way to profit (to a much greater extent) from those out-of-print books: digital self-publishing.

  9. Stephen King says:

    Wonderful post. I have such a horrible memory that when I first read your quote from the AG letter I wasn’t sure what you were getting at. Sure enough, though, you’re spot on in your criticism. Nicely put.

  10. Margaret Y. says:

    Thank you for the excellent summary with extremely useful liks. Bookmarking!

  11. jakeescholl says:

    I think it’s silly they are trying to defend vanity press. iUniverse charges a lot to get a book ready, but that doesn’t include editing.

  12. Great links and a cogent article, as usual, nice work!

  13. I was pretty sure the Author’s Guild could do nothing further to surprise me, but I read at least half of your post with my mouth hanging open (Fortunately, my desk faces away from my co-workers.). There truly seems to be no bottom to this rabbit-hole of irrelevance and stupidity. How anyone can continue to respect or defend the AG is beyond me.

    Thanks for another brilliant article, David!

  14. Stant Litore says:

    I thought AG was off their rocker before. But now I am utterly speechless. This is beyond mere farce.

  15. Jaye says:

    I dunno. Kind of makes perfect sense to me. AG pushes its members to “self-publish” with iUniverse and others of that ilk, and those books disappear into a black hole of despair, never to be seen again. That accomplishes two things: One, fewer books that traditionally published AG members have to compete with on the open market; Two, it gives self-publishing a very bad rep with all those burned writers saying, “See! There is no money to be made in self-publishing, so let’s all keep the Big 6 in business and protect it against that evil Amazon.”

    Excellent summary and explanation, as usual, David.

    • But they would never use the dreaded word “self-publish” – even though that’s exactly what it is, which says a lot really.

      Quite frankly, I think its a dereliction of duty on the part of the Authors Guild not to go through *all* the options available to writers who wish to publish their out-of-print books.

      And to push them to iUniverse exclusively… well, I don’t know what to say. I would like an answer to the question whether the Authors Guild (or, I suppose, any of its officers) benefit financially or otherwise from the link with iUniverse. I should point out that I don’t suspect that’s the case, but I would like clarification.

  16. You have probably seen Ken Auletta’s article in the New Yorker about the Apple/publishers antitrust suit (June 25, 2012, Annals of Communications, Paper Trail). It is worth reading, as is your post above. Both are illuminating.

    • Kat says:

      I read that article and was astounded by some of the information. Greed and fear does amazing things to people. I know that the traditional publishing industry is panicking because e-books and digital are the future. It means less book stores, less traditional print books, etc. so how are they going to make their money? Instead of working hard to come up with ways to compete with Amazon, they file lawsuits, collude on pricing, etc. to try and take Amazon down. It reminds me of an article I just read in the New Yorker (May 14, 2012) about Clayton Christensen, titled “When Giants Fall.” The question Christensen began with 20 years ago was “Why was success so difficult to sustain? How was it that big, rich companies, admired and emulated by everyone, could one year be at the peak of their power and, just a few years later, be struggling in the middle of the pack or just plain gone?” I wonder if the same thoughts could be applied to the publishing industry.

      Read more

  17. annerallen says:

    ” selling frontlist e-books at below cost to discourage and destroy competition – that helped Amazon capture a commanding 90% of the U.S. e-book market.”

    Now scroll back about 15 years and substitute “Barnes and Noble” for “Amazon” and “book” for “ebook”. Barnes and Noble put indie bookstores out of business all over the US with exactly this tactic. None of us indies could match their prices on bestsellers, because they sold below cost. Now we’re supposed to feel sorry for poor little Barnes and Noble.

    ..and poor little PublishAmerica? Pu-leez!

    • You might also remember the case in the 90s – the ABA’s suit about publishers (illegally) offering deeper discounts to B&N, and refusing to make those same discounts available to indie stores. They won that case too.

      I should also point out that this is common practice in the UK (where it is not illegal), and a particular bugbear of indie stores here. And, of course, the publishers practicing this are the UK arms of the same US publishers.

  18. Dustin Wood says:

    The Authors Guild should really rename itself to something more appropriate and descriptive for the work they’ve done lately. I would suggest, “Shrilling for The Six” or some other title. They certainly don’t seem to be giving two cents worth of care for writers as of late.

  19. Rob Cornell says:

    The “Authors Guild” needs to come on over, read this, follow some links, and get a freakin’ reality check. Unbelievable.

  20. Well said. I’m putting a link to this blog on my Faebook page.

  21. Mira says:

    Outstanding, David. This is terrific, as usual. You do a service for writers by taking such a solid stand here, thank you!

  22. D.L.Shutter says:

    Great post Dave! Thankfully, when it comes to things like this, I can read a good fisking by you and skip the nauseating, scrolling lines of a giant turd like this statement. I know as an aspiring professional, indie, I should always take the time to read “stuff” like this, but this one was just too difficult: Bullsh!t on top of bullsh!t.

    I’d be interested to see what the changes are to the membership of the AG in light of blatant, hypocritical, Big-6, shilling like this.

    Are you telling me there every member is a stay at home, top 1% earner, who dreads the loss of the old system? There’s no successful indies out there, with guild membership cards, that are taking issue with whose side the AG obviously stands on?

  23. Werner says:

    This reads like a screenplay similar to ‘Barbarians At The Gate’. Once the dust settles, I think it’ll make a good movie.

  24. Fantastic post, Dave. The surest sign someone is losing ground (and in this case their marbles) is when their claims become more and more outrageous and demonstrably false.
    I’m sure there will be more preposterous articles like this one.

  25. Guilds and unions often start out with good intentions, but usually end up promoting the interests of their leaders at the expense of their members. As the Authors’ Guild continues to promote the interests of publishers and book stores over those of authors, it starts to look more and more as though it’s reached that point… I certainly have no intention of joining them.

  26. Reblogged this on Armand Rosamilia and commented:
    Further Out of Touch: The Author’s Guild

  27. Nola Stone says:

    I never got $50 from Publish America for my two books???????

  28. Excellent article. I have been a member of the Authors Guild since 1990 and my late husband joined in 1972 or 1973. At one time the Guild was helpful to him during a court case. Twelve years ago I went for the Back in Print program for a dozen of my husband’s books and then published several more with iUniverse. Their royalty reporting was terrible. When I discovered that iUniverse had put two of our books out as ebooks without my permission, that did it, and I ended all my association with iUniverse.

    In 2010, I published a number of books with Amazon Kindle and Createspace. It has been an excellent business move. I am very pleased with Amazon. Not only have sales been good, but it is great receiving decent and timely royalties.

    I do not like the stand the Authors Guild has taken on this issue, which is a smear campaign against Amazon. Every time the Guild sends out another article from Scott Turow, and now from the Executive Director of the Guild, I become more irritated.

    I will not be renewing my membership with the Authors Guild. I now believe they have nothing to offer authors.

    • Hi Linda,

      Sorry to hear about your experience with iUniverse – but I can’t say I’m surprised. Could you share any more details about them publishing your e-books without permission? I’m particularly interested in hearing more about that (from you or anyone else with that experience).

    • Alexandra says:

      Linda’s comment confirms what I suspected. I’m a newbie to eBook publishing, having just written a guide to Wellfleet, on Cape Cod. Not having read this post and this comment, I contacted Author’s Guild about membership, because I was interested in the legal advice offered. I was told no, that a self-published eBook does not qualify me but change is under consideration. ” By the Guild’s former eligibility requirements, you do not appear to qualify for regular membership, due to your being self-published. However, changes are taking place that will affect your options as an applicant. Our members voted at last month’s annual meeting to open Guild membership to authors who do not qualify for membership by the Guild’s traditional standards. All of the rules aren’t in place yet, but authors who earn at least $500 in writing income in the 18 months prior to applying do qualify for associate membership.” So I qualified for associate membership in 2000 according to this rule, but now run an inn and no longer write freelance. I blog instead. And, don’t qualify to join the private club. I wrote to explain this. No go. I feel quite disgusted by these policies. Author’s Guild needs to join the 21st century. This experience convinced me that AG doesn’t serve writers, as you remarked, David. Does any alternative organization exist?

      • The Authors Guild isn’t alone in excluding self-published writers – most of the big orgs do – but I think that policy is completely outdated. I want to be clear, though, none of the above is motivated by that. Personally, I wouldn’t take a free membership if it was offered.

        As to alternative organizations, there are some big names behind The Alliance of Independent Authors –

        I haven’t looked into the details too closely myself, but I’m familiar with some of the people involved – they are all smart people – and it might be worth having a nose around the site to see if they suit your needs.

  29. M.J. Rose says:

    Astonishing that AG would mention Publish America as anything other than a company to avoid. Truly astonishing!

  30. RD Meyer says:

    The name implies that the Authors Guild represents the interests of writers. Its actions show it represents the interests of publishers. What a joke.

  31. unspywriter says:

    Very informative article. I was one of the iUniverse authors offered an ebook deal, and I refused it. iUniverse did the conversion any way without my knowledge or permission. However, when I requested that both the print book and the ebook go out of print, they complied immediately.

    • Thank you for this information. Can you tell me if they put the e-book on sale without your permission?

      • unspywriter says:

        They did. I wanted the rights back so I could edit my original collection of short stories and re-publish it as two ebooks. When I called them on doing the ebook without my permission, they basically said they hadn’t heard from me and assumed it would be all right, which was a lie because I had refused the ebook deal. However, they were prompt in returning me the rights for both the print and ebook.

      • That’s pretty shocking. If you could forward that correspondence to me, I would be very interested to see it.

  32. John says:

    David – see your third para – ‘Author’s Guild – Scott Turow’ – do you mean it is just for Turow?

    Couldn’t resist.

  33. Hi David,
    I think it is not so much a case of iUniverse’s 50% royalty rate being excessive as much a case of what you get for it. My maths are usually sound but maybe you could check my figures on an eBook selling through Amazon at 70% royalty.
    1. Big six author royalty = 17.5% of eBook retail price.
    2. iUniverse author royalty = 35% of eBook retail price
    3. Indie self-pub royalty = 70% of eBook retail price.
    Now the indie has to either do all the publication work (formatting, uploading and so on) themselves or effectively take a cut on royalty in publishing.
    If you agree with my maths, I would like to hear your comments on the three scenarios above.

    • You’re not alone in expressing this view, and maybe I should have teased that point out a little more.

      What do you get in exchange for handing over 50% of your e-book royalties to iUniverse? Formatting and uploading. Formatting is either something you can learn and do yourself, or outsource to a pro for a nominal fee. I haven’t seen the quality of iUniverse’s formatting, so I can’t comment on that, but there are pros out there doing a fantastic job for prices between $50 and $200. For someone who knows what they are doing, formatting a standard novel will only take a couple of hours.

      As for uploading, you really don’t want to hand over control of that to anyone else, as they will then control your account. That means you won’t have access to your sales figures, and will struggle to understand the impact of your promotional efforts. Also, that means your Amazon royalty payments will be going to iUniverse instead of you. I know there have been reports on Writer Beware and elsewhere regarding problems with getting paid from some of the Author Solutions companies, and it wouldn’t surprise me if that has also been the case with iUniverse.

      In any event, formatting and uploading are trivial jobs, and there is no good reason why anyone (whether that’s Book Country, iUniverse, or whoever) should charge more than a (reasonable) flat fee for that service. Taking 50% of a writer’s hard-earned royalties for that task is, quite simply, a rip-off.

      As for comparing your three options, that’s apples and oranges and views may differ dramatically. To self-publish or seek a traditional publisher is a very different question – and that argument will rumble on for some time. The relevant (IMO) comparison here is between 2) and 3).

      While I’m a big fan of taking control of the entire process and doing everything yourself (outsourcing where necessary, of course), I understand that there’s a segment of writers who don’t want to do that. However, in that case, I would still recommend avoiding a company like iUniverse who have a questionable service record, and charge way too much for what they offer (and dip their hand in your wallet a second time when it comes to royalties). There are plenty of companies out there who will provide all required services for a reasonable fee and leave your royalties intact. If you don’t want to do everything yourself, choose one of them, and stay away from iUniverse.

      • Excellent summary, David. As a small publisher, I am grappling with what is a fair return for an eBook author when I cover costs such as editing, cover, ISBN, formatting and marketing. I only have one ( very promising new) author on the books at the moment. and we agreed on a royalty at 50% which I suspect is more favourable to the writer than to me. What I am doing is probably closer to the Big Six service, without my having developed their experience or skill. Still, I suspect there are quite a few indies out there who would be happier just writing and they do need honest and ethical alternatives to the shonks out there. I also assist other writers in short print runs locally under my imprint. I only charge for the ISBN (No, I do not wish to expand this free service). The authors meet the print costs and get 100% return on the books which they sell themselves. I have no idea what is a fair deal if I assist an author through CreateSpace when an eBook inspires a print run. I guess I am part of the new cottage industries springing up to service indie writers.

  34. radicalrog says:

    Being a former publisher’s agent I totally agree with the above. Amazon captured 90% of the market by being the first substantial player into the market. The various ‘we will publish your book’ companies see e.books as a challenge to their market because author’s don’t need them. They then develop their own franchise, but being late to the market they have to do something to challenge Amazon, so make spurious accusations. Sounds like a plot for a book!

  35. JF Brown says:

    Re: unspywriter says:
    July 3, 2012 at 11:39 am
    Very informative article. I was one of the iUniverse authors offered an ebook deal, and I refused it. iUniverse did the conversion any way without my knowledge or permission. However, when I requested that both the print book and the ebook go out of print, they complied immediately.

    LOL! No kidding they complied IMMEDIATELY. Can you spell “Slam Dunk Lawsuit”? And BIG punitive damages, too.

    And can’t help but wonder if they’ve done this with other authors, and just hoped these shenanigans flew under the radar. Yup, eternal vigilance…

  36. Pingback: Self-Publishing News: Ebook Sales and Resales, Losing the Plot, Fighting for Libraries | Self-Publishing Review

  37. Pingback: Questionable: Is this Publish America author really ‘successful’? | Bazaar Daily News

  38. Dear sweet Jesus… I had no idea that it was even possible for the Author’s Guild, of all organizations, to come to the defense of PublishAmerica, the bin Laden of publishers. Truly, I am staggered.

  39. Marsha Ward says:

    David, I used iUniverse when things were good at that company and it was the best of the type available, because I was told I very probably had a dreaded fatal disease and should wrap up my affairs. I wanted to publish my existing novel manuscripts (making the rounds and getting good comments from Tradpubs but no offers), so I used iU for three novels. The first two had contracts that clearly restricted iUniverse’s license from me to a print edition. By the time the third came out and my medical outlook had improved 100%, the contract included an ebook license as well as a print one.

    After a few years, I created indie ebooks of the first two novels, later adding my third by request of readers who weren’t finding the ebook only available at iU for $6 USD. Having played around with prices, I finally set them at $4.99 USD.

    Imagine my surprise when iUniverse announced in an email to me that for the price of FREE, FREE, FREE, iU was going to convert my first two novels to ebooks as a tremendous favor to me. I was given a link to a special FAQ section, and told I could not contact anyone concerning this project because everybody was busy doing the work I didn’t consent to, and for which they had no legal license.

    At the time, I was recovering from major emergency surgery, so had better things to concentrate my energy on. When I got well, I expressed my displeasure to iU, which I finally had to do in words of one syllable. They still didn’t get it.

    One of my chief concerns, besides the copyright infringements, is that Amazon is undercutting the price of one of the the unauthorized editions on my own ebook version. In other words, Amazon is selling MY ebooks for less than the price iUniverse has set, not my intended, higher price. I am no longer a happy iU customer, and have involved an attorney.

    Marsha Ward
    Westerns with Heart & Grit

    • Marsha Ward says:

      BTW, my fourth novel is coming out this year through CreateSpace. I no longer make any attempt to go with tradpubs, as it is much faster to get books directly to my readers by using the indie process.

    • Marsha, have you TALkED to Amazon about changing the price? i’m sure they’d be sympathetic to you. I’m not an author, I’m an Amazon Associate, but I’ve found that they are willing to listen over there.

  40. Fortunately I discovered Smashwords (for non-Amazon distribution), kdp and createspace long before I heard of this mob. Starting book number 7 (while 6 spends a month or so with beta readers) and all so far have been easy to get to the world.

    I’m a member of AiA (or will be as soon as I pay the annual renewal) and while I’m not hugely active with them, they are very supportive and not at all predatory.

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  46. Cecilia Barrie says:

    My 7 year contract with Publish America finished this year but they wanted $199 to buy it back but I hardly got any royalties (the book price was extortionate) so I never paid this money. I did not sign to let the book go on to Kimble or ebook. Any idea what I can do?

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How is therapy helpful?  Some benefits of therapy may include:

  • increased ability to cope with difficult situations and feelings
  • deeper understanding of who you are and increased ability to live out who you are in the world
  • greater personal confidence
  • improved relationships with one’s self and with others
  • developing a deeper understanding, or meaning, of the events in one’s life
  • discovering a sense of purpose

What happens during therapy?  Every therapy session is unique to each individual.  Therapy typically involves weekly sessions, usually 50 minutes in length.  Duration and frequency vary depend on the nature of your individual needs.  Therapy involves the exploration of sensitive and personal information.  During the course of therapy you may experience increased anxiety or confusion, as well as feelings of anger, sadness, fear, or frustration.  This is a natural part of healing and change.  The intent of therapy is to help you work with and through these feelings in a healthy, meaningful, and adaptive way.

Therapy is not a quick fix, and it is not magical.
Therapy takes time, and it is not easy, but it does work.  Those who are willing to make the personal commitment to themselves find that over time they can:
What is the difference between a psychologist and a psychiatrist?

Psychiatrists are medical doctors who specialize in understanding how medications for mood disorders interact with the body and other medications you may be taking. Some psychiatrists may provide occasional therapy but they primarily provide medication. Psychologists are doctors who specialize in understanding mental health. They provide counseling and do not prescribe medication.

Why shouldn’t I just take medication?

Medication alone cannot solve all issues. What medication does is treat the symptoms. Our work together is designed to explore the root of the issue, dig deep into your behavior and teach strategies that can help you accomplish your personal and/or relational goals.

Medication can be effective and is sometimes needed in conjunction with therapy.

I’ve never talked to anyone. I’m used to handling things on my own. Aren’t people who go to therapy weak?

Not at all. People who ask for help know when they need it and have the ability to reach out. Everyone needs help now and then. You already have some strengths that you’ve used before, that for whatever reason isn’t working right now. Perhaps this problem feels overwhelming and is making it difficult to access your past strengths. In our work together, I’ll help you identify what those strengths are and how to implement them again in what is happening now.

What’s the difference between talking to you or my best friend or family?

The difference is between someone who can do something, and someone who has the training and experience to do that same thing professionally. A mental health professional can help you approach your situation in a new way– teach you new skills, gain different perspectives, listen to you without judgment or expectations, and help you listen to yourself. Furthermore, therapy is completely confidential. You won’t have to worry about others “knowing my business.” Lastly, if your situation provokes a great deal of negative emotion, if you’ve been confiding in a friend or family member, there is the risk that once you are feeling better you could start avoiding that person so you aren’t reminded of this difficult time in your life.

How does it work? What do I have to do in sessions?

Because each person has different issues and goals for therapy, therapy will be different depending on the individual. I tailor my therapeutic approach to your specific needs

How long will it take?

Unfortunately, this is not possible to say in a general FAQs page. Everyone’s circumstances are unique to them and the length of time therapy can take to allow you to accomplish your goals depends on your desire for personal development, your commitment, and the factors that are driving you to seek therapy in the first place.

I want to get the most out of therapy. What can I do to help?

I am so glad you are dedicated to getting the most out of your sessions. Your active participation and dedication is crucial to your success. After all, we only see each other for a session a week. It’s the work you do outside of our sessions that will really help you see your personal growth and development.

My partner and I are having problems. Should we be in individual counseling or come together?

If you are concerned about your relationship, and you would both like to work with me, I would initially work with both of you together. After this work, if one of you would like to continue in individual sessions, I could work with only one of you. It is not helpful to move from individual into couple’s work with the same therapist because of potential trust issues.

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John Stott on the Bible & the Christian Life

John Stott on the Bible & the Christian Life

Six Sessions on the Authority, Interpretation, and Use of Scripture

Streaming Audiobook - 2006
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In this six-session DVD curriculum, author and pastor John R. W. Stott--recently named one of the 100 most influential people in the world by Time magazine--addresses key areas of Christian beliefs in his typical clear, balanced, biblically based, and intellectually rigorous manner. Sessions include: 1) The Authority of the Bible; 2) The Nature of the Bible: Double Authorship; 3) The Interpretation of the Bible; 4) The Problem of Culture; 5) Developing a Christian Mind; and 6) Making an Impact on Society. Includes discussion guide.
Publisher: [United States] : Zondervan : Made available through hoopla, 2006
Edition: Unabridged
ISBN: 9780310272991
Characteristics: 1 online resource (1 audio file (4hr., 47 min.)) : digital
Call Number: eAudio

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A Kiss Gone Bad

A Kiss Gone Bad

Streaming Audiobook - 2014
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A death rocks the Gulf Coast town of Port Leo, Texas. Beach-bum-turned-judge Whit Mosley is summoned to a yacht where the black-sheep son of a senator lies dead. Was it suicide, fueled by a family tragedy? Or did an obsessed killer use the dead man as a pawn in a twisted game? When Whit defies political pressure and conducts an inquest, he and Detective Claudia Salazar expose a nest of drug lords, con artists, and power-hungry sharks - all out for blood. With their careers -- and their lives -- at stake, Whit and Claudia must unearth a lethal trail of passion and deceit that lies buried not in the warm sands of Port Leo but in the icy recesses of the human heart.
Publisher: [United States] : Hachette Audio : Made available through hoopla, 2014
Edition: Unabridged
ISBN: 9781478955078
Characteristics: 1 online resource (1 audio file (720 min.)) : digital
Additional Contributors: Glouchevitch, John
hoopla digital
Call Number: eAudio

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Fires of Nuala

Fires of Nuala

eBook - 2011
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On the planet Nuala, the scam that beguiling free-trader Silver has come to join has just been blown to the skies, along with the throne lines of three separate sovereign nations. The last male heir of one throne line, Sheel Atare, is unprepared to rule, but he's quick to seize allies wherever he can - like the beautiful and dangerous Silver. Now Silver has to choose: stick to the scam, or get sucked into the struggle to save Nuala - and Sheel Atare's life.
Publisher: [Cedar Crest, NM] : Book View Cafe, 2011
ISBN: 9780982844076
Characteristics: data file
1 online resource
Call Number: eBook

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As Best Buy Founder Leaves, Thoughts of a Leveraged Buyout Re-emerge

Some analysts say acquiring shares of Best Buy may be expensive for any leveraged buyout firm.Justin Sullivan/Getty ImagesSome analysts say acquiring shares of Best Buy may be expensive for any leveraged buyout firm.

With the founder of Best Buy announcing on Thursday that he was resigning immediately and potentially selling off his 20.1 percent stake in the company, many have been wondering whether the beleaguered electronics retailer may be sold.

It might be a tempting proposition for a potential buyer, like a private equity firm. But at least one analyst doesn’t think such a sale is likely, as potentially attractive as it may be.

Richard Schulze, Best Buy’s founder, originally planned to step down as chairman later this month and as a director next summer. (The decision follows the controversy over his failure to alert the board about claims that the company’s now-former chief executive, Brian Dunn, had had an inappropriate relationship with an employee.)

But he is instead stepping down now, in order to “explore all available options for my ownership stake.” A regulatory filing made after the market close on Thursday made clear the universe of potential paths that Mr. Schulze may take.

But most analysts consider a sale of the 68.9 million shares the most likely outcome. It’s possible that a leveraged buyout firm interested in eventually taking over all of Best Buy could begin by buying the stake.

Related Links

The company, which has been struggling against the likes of and Walmart for years, hasn’t made much progress in increasing its stock price. Its shares have plummeted 32 percent over the last 12 months and nearly 60 percent over the last five years. It fell about 1 percent on Thursday, to $19.70.

At that price, the entire company is valued at about $6.7 billion, making it an expensive deal for any buyout firm. Indeed, only a handful of deals over $5 billion have been made since the financial crisis, including the takeovers of Del Monte Foods, the Samson Investment Company and the El Paso Corporation’s pipeline business.

In a research note published last month and reprinted on Thursday, analysts at Janney Capital Markets argue that a potential buyer might need to pay about $30 a share, representing 3.5 times the company’s trailing 12-month earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization. That’s roughly $10.2 billion, though the company had about $1.2 billion in cash as of March 3. So let’s call it a $9 billion deal.

Yet the Janney analysts don’t think a leveraged buyout is likely. Assuming the current rules of the private equity market hold, at least a third of the purchase price, or $3 billion, would need to be in equity. Such a big check would require a club deal of several buyout firms, at a time when private equity deals of late have rarely exceeded three partners.

That doesn’t mean that a deal couldn’t be profitable. Best Buy still generates a healthy amount of cash from its operations, with $3.3 billion in the year that ended March 3. That cash flow could be used to support the debt taken on in a leveraged buyout.

And while Janney analysts didn’t factor it into their buyout models, Best Buy’s China and European cellphone businesses could be divested, they said. The former could fetch a valuation of about $800 million in an initial public offering, while the latter might fetch about $880 million.

None of this means that a deal will be forthcoming, though it might be alluring to some potential suitors. Any acquisition, however, would entail a lot of hard work. As Mr. Schulze said in a statement on Thursday, “There is an urgent need for Best Buy to reinvigorate growth by reconnecting with today’s customers and building pathways to the next generation of consumers.”


text:
A Full List of Every Poll Taken (so far) in GA06

Since there is so much interest in the April 18th jungle primary in Georgia to fill former Rep. Tom Price’s suburban Atlanta seat, we’ve compiled every single poll so far conducted and publicly released. RedRacingHorses will release its poll results Monday or Tuesday, piling onto Lake and Survey USA‘s releases this week.

Jon Ossoff has clearly consolidated the Democratic vote, which was a must if he had a chance at getting over 50% in the first round. He has been hanging around in the low 40% range for three weeks now, with the top Republicans representing between 40% and 47% of the vote in the same period. Lake contrasted with Survey in finding a higher share of undecided voters.

We are also monitoring the early vote as it rolls in. Democrats have outpaced Republicans in returns (as measured by voters’ last primary participation, we must warn), but Tuesday was the most Republican day of early voting so far. If Democrats were excited and turned out early, but Republicans begin showing up and eating into that edge, Ossoff’s odds at a first-round win drop. If Democrats maintain their edge in early overall, he’ll remain close to knocking on that door.


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Is One Deck Board Going to Be Cooler Than Another?

Is one composite deck board cooler than another?

Is one composite deck board cooler than another?

This question comes up frequently on the blog so I thought it would make sense to address the issue as a separate topic. My own clients ask me if one deck board is going to be cooler than another quite a bit, too.

No independent lab or authority does temperate testing that compares Brand X board versus Brand Y board to determine the heat they absorb under normal summer sunlight so unfortunately, there is no quantitative scientific data to fall back on. I may try to do some testing myself on the major brands and publish the results in Professional Deck Builder magazine in the future–we shall see.

First, let’s set a reasonable expectation for what dictates “too hot to walk on” with bare feet. I don’t know what the answer is but I can tell you that a toddler is probably going to have a lower tolerance than a 35 year old who walks on the beach frequently. Personally, I have walked on many surfaces with bare feet that were uncomfortable from sand, to wood, to concrete because it was just plain hot outside! People seem to forget that when it’s 105 degrees at 2PM and the sun is blasting, it’s not really a pleasant time to be outside–regardless of what you are walking or sitting on. A modern man made deck surface seems to be held to a higher standard than other products for some reason that I can’t quite put my finger on.

A deck’s surface temperature is a factor of the heat the deck boards absorb and retain. Much of this absorption is relative to the board’s color. A dark color will absorb more than a light color–it’s physics. For example, under the same conditions, Trex Vintage Lantern (perhaps the darkest deck board color going) is going to feel hotter under foot than Trex Rope Swing (a tan, sand color). This is not to say Rope Swing will be cool to the touch, but comparatively, it will be cooler than Vintage Lantern. Heck, if you painted a plain old pressure treated deck board the same color as Vintage Lantern, I bet it would be pretty darn hot too!

No man made deck boards are designed from the ground up to be remain cool in the heat. It’s just not something that the manufacturer’s focus on at this point.

So…the definitive is answer I can give you is this:

When the sun is blasting your deck (or patio, or driveway, or lawn) it’s probably going to be hot and not pleasant. Lighter colors are usually a little cooler than darker colors.

Goodbye Wood Deck Framing… Hello Steel Deck Framing

Chances are if you have a deck in your backyard–even if it’s a newer synthetic deck–the underlying support framing is pressure treated wood.

Pressure treated lumber is cheap, readily available and using it is a no brainer for the average contractor. “I’m going to build a deck, I’m going to use pressure treated wood” they automatically think to themselves. I’ve built hundreds of decks using pressure treated lumber, but I started getting increasingly frustrated by it.

The wood being harvested these days from forests is “new growth” wood for the most part. This means the trees are relatively young before they are cut down. There are barely growth rings on lumber we get these days (you know the number of rings a tree has is an indicator of its age, right?) and the more growth rings, the denser the board and the stronger and straighter it will be.

You can visibly see the growth rings in this tree however this is a young tree. The rings would be much denser in an older tree.

Older lumber was much denser than the lumber we get today and was generally of a higher quality. Trees can only grow so fast and demand is high, so we get what we can get at this point.

Aside from the wood being “young”, the pressure treating process has been changed significantly in the last 10 years and chemistry used in the treating process has been cleaned up to meet environmental concerns. The lumber mills will tell you the new processes are better than the old ones, but ask any carpenter and they’ll all agree the new lumber is terrible. Not a little worse…Absolutely terrible in comparison.

I got tired of dealing with the unpredictable characteristics of pressure treated lumber. Sometimes it comes soaking wet, sometimes it’s dry as a bone. Sometimes the boards shrink a little when they dry out. Sometimes they don’t shrink at all. Despite our best efforts to frame a precise pressure-treated frame, we simply cannot control what the wood will do as it seasons or dries out in it’s final position as part of deck.

Pressure Treated Framing Moves at will

Look at how the deck boards are ridging at the intersection (Click the photo to Zoom in). This is not sloppy craftsmanship but the result of three different underlying framing members shrinking and crowning different amounts. This was glass flat upon completion of the job, but the wood does what the wood wants to do!

This unpredictability means that a deck can develop dips and dives, and deck boards attached to the framing move out of plane creating raised and ugly joints. It’s frustrating to see a beautiful deck compromised by the irregularity of inconsistent framing lumber six months down the road.

In a quest to always provide the best product to my customers, I’ve completely abandoned pressure treated lumber in all of our new deck projects in lieu of light gauge steel framing (LGS). Just a few of the benefits of steel deck framing are:

  • Lighter in weight but stronger than wood
  • Wildly increased joist spans mean less beams and less footings. This is a really big deal on raised decks with patios underneath.
  • More design flexibility. If I need a longer span I can change the parameters of joist from gauge, flange width, and web depth. With wood, we are stuck with 2×8 through 2x12s.
  • Perfect material. Every joist is made by a machine so there are no inconsistences from joist to joist like wood. Sometimes two wood  2x10s can measure up to a half inch differently!
  • Perfectly flat, level and square decks. The consistency of the material means that everything is extremely precise.
  • No shrinking, warping, twisting or shape changing.
  • Very little waste. All the steel is delivered to the job site pre-cut so it just has to be assembled.
  • When completed, it’s nearly impossible to tell the framing is not wood.
Steel Deck Framing in New Jersey

This multi-level deck is looks different now, but look at the photo below to see it when it’s finished and  it looks no different from what you’d expect.

Steel Deck framing provides a glass smooth deck surface

This deck surface is not just flat. It’s perfectly flat and will stay that way forever unlike wood which wouldn’t start or stay this flat.

This is a steel framed deck. Can you tell?

More and more leading deck builders across the country are abandoning wood in favor of steel framing because there are very few downsides to using steel. The main roadblocks to getting started with steel for most contractors are:
  • Lack of knowledge or understanding of steel framing methods, materials and techniques
  • Resistance to change because they are comfortable in their old ways
  • Cost. Most think it’s more expensive than it is or too labor intensive. It can be more expensive and it can be more labor intensive in some circumstances but not all. Usually the minimal cost difference is well worth the value of the finished product.
  • It’s not locally available. Nonsense! Light Gauge Steel framing is available everywhere. If there’s a commercial building in your town, you can bet it’s got LGS in it.

This is a steel frame deck, too.

Pssst! Wanna Buy Premium Remodeling on Sale?

We live in a society of supply and demand. Things that everyone wants to own (a Mercedes SLR) typically cost more than things no one wants (a Yugo). The same applies to services; a haircut from someone who cares about the details and has years of experience in creating the latest styles will demand a premium over a cut delivered by a beauty college student just starting out with scissors.
But what if you wanted that car, haircut, (or in our case, remodeling) that was the better quality option, but you wanted to secure it at a discount. Well, for the car, it might involve looking for a used model, for the latest haircut you might have to look for a coupon or promotion… but what about that finished basement, attic storage space, or outdoor kitchen/deck dream?

Custom Deck, Patio, Kitchen

Outdoor Kitchen, Patio, and Deck

Getting the lowest price possible on quality remodeling requires 2 things: Honesty and Flexibility.

  • Honesty: Have a clear understanding of your financial limitations, as well as a list of wants/needs in priority, and communicate these to your remodeling contractor or designer. Once they know what is most important to you, they will be able to revise the project to fit your needs, and can offer revisions and options to best suit your preferences.
  • Flexibility: Timing can play a crucial role in lowering costs. For instance, most contractors in the northeast are slower December thru February, and are willing to work for less just to stay busy during those months– but this may require waiting until that timeframe, or allowing them additional time to complete the project while they work around the weather or availability. Again, clear communication up front– and throughout the project– will help keep expectations accurate and satisfaction within reach.

Keep these simple thoughts in mind, and start the conversations with your prospective deck designer/builder as early as possible to allow you both to work thru any questions, and create the perfect project, at an affordable price.

Gate Thoughts for Your New Deck…

As a deck designer I frequently get all sorts of special requests from our clients, but one of the most common requests is to install a gate on a deck.

Typically a gate is added for security, to keep pets or kids on the deck and away from the steps, but a gate can also be added to improve privacy or as a fashion statement.

When considering a gate for a deck, consider first the “needs”: should this have a child-proof latch, be self-closing, or rated for pool access?

Trex Deck Pool Gate

Custom Pool Deck

This deck needs a gate

While it may be required because of the location or client’s needs, it’s important to consider as well the location of the gate and operation-will it create an inconvenience when open (blocking travel, or opening over the steps)?

Gate at deck steps

Once you know what a gate “has to” do, it is worth considering what you’d like the gate to look like. Should it perfectly match the deck’s rail?

Matching Deck Gate

This custom-ordered gate matches the TimberTech Rail

Or would this be an opportunity to do something just a bit different to create an artistic statement or accent?

Matching Deck Gate

Privacy wall gate in Fiberon Horizon

Wrought Iron Gate

Custom-designed and built metal gate

Lastly, once you know what you want, it is time to get a price, and see if the cost fits within your budget.

  • As a generic guide, a basic pressure treated or vinyl gate might cost between $250-500.
  • A wrought iron or aluminum gate may range from $400 to $1000.
  • Lastly, a custom-fit, matching gate can often cost $500 to over $1500 installed.

 One thing to keep in mind is that while gates should be discussed during the planning stages, if budget dictates or your needs change, they can usually be added at a later date rather simply.

So, there’s this tree in my way…

Building a deck around a tree is not difficult and can really give your deck that “Wow” factor (plus avoiding that oh so un-eco-friendly solution of cutting the tree down!)

Your framing needs to be close enough to the tree to support the decking ends, yet far enough away so the tree has room to move (in the wind) and grow.  I keep the decking 2-3” away from a full grown tree so the framing should be 5”+/- away.

Any joists that run into the tree need to be headered off, this is similar to building in a stairwell opening in a floor system.

First, install your joists on layout except those that the tree location interferes with.

Second, install 2 pieces of blocking between the 2 joists on either side of the tree, one on the house side and one on the rim joist side. (You’ll want to double up this blocking if you’re spanning more than 4’)

Third, install the remaining joists on layout between the house ledger and the blocking.
Fourth, install shorty joists on layout on the outside edge of the tree from the 2nd piece of blocking to your rim joist.

Fifth, cut blocking w/ 45º angles and nail to interior corners of the box around the tree.

Tree is fully blocked and ready for decking

Your framing should now be within 5” of the tree on all sides.  (You may need to adjust your joist layout slightly or add additional blocking to keep the box within 5” of the tree).

I normally start at the house and work out so in this case, I lay down decking until the tree interrupts the course.

Decking Ends cut in contour of tree

Set the deck board down in place on the deck and trace a line following the tree’s contours on the board, keeping the final cut 2-3” away from the tree
Cut out the line using a jigsaw and clean up the edges w/ a router and 1/8” roundover bit.
Install the deck board.

Subsequent rows on either side of the tree get a similar treatment –

  • Rough-cut the end of the deck board to the tree,
  • Butt the rough cut up to the tree and trace the final cutline,
  • Cut the final line w/ a jigsaw, clean up w/ router and roundover bit,
  • Install the deck board keeping that 2-3” gap.

At each row, I pull measurements from both sides to make sure everything lines up on the far side of the tree.

When I get to the far side of the tree, I trace a final cut line on the full-length piece of decking, cut and install.

Continue on w/ your decking until you’re finished, install all handrails, clean up and voila!  You’ve now got a tree in your deck!

Flashing your projects (without getting arrested!)

Flashing your projects (without getting arrested!)

Flashing – this is what can make or break a deck’s lifespan.  And no, I’m not talkin’ about running around in a raincoat and little else!  Flashing tape and/or metal flashing will divert water away from critical points on your deck, preserving the wood and maintaining a solid structure.
The three main areas I’ll cover here are beams, ledgers and handrail post blocking.

Beams –

If you build East of the Mississippi, chances are you use doubled or tripled  2x as your support beams.  These are just beams built up by nailing multiple 2x members together.  Any time you nail 2 pieces of wood together, you create a spot for water and debris to sit on…and eventually rot out.  I pulled a built up beam apart to find this amount of rot between the plys.

One problem is you can’t see the rot as it’s hidden between the 2x plys.  It will continue to degrade until one day, the beam fails – most likely when there’s a hefty load of people on the deck.

Solution? Run a strip of 4” wide flashing tape across the top of the doubled beam (6” wide for triples) to prevent water from seeping down between the plys.  To eliminate topside penetrations, use hurricane straps such as Simpson H1s or H2.5s to secure your joists to the beam w/o running nails through the flashing tape.
For those builders who use 4x solid beams, the use of flashing tape will prevent debris from sitting on the beam top, hastening rot.

One additional thing I do is build ‘hats’ out of metal flashing for the tops of my 6×6 support posts.  This keeps water from wicking into the exposed end grain and rotting out the tops of my posts.
One important thing to note – if you use metal flashing (aluminum) w/ ACQ pressure treated wood, you MUST put a barrier between them.  The chemicals in the ACQ pressure treated wood will eat the aluminum flashing in short order.  What I do is skin the bottom of the metal w/ flashing tape so the metal doesn’t touch the pt wood.  If you have access to MCQ treated wood, this isn’t an issue for you.

Ledgers –

Can NOT stress the critical nature of this connection ENOUGH.  95% of the deck failures you read about across the country happen because the ledger failed for one reason or another.   I will cover proper ledger connections in another blog, but for now, let’s talk flashing.

I flash ledgers in a multi-part process.
1. Install Z-flashing over top edge of cut house siding (beneath ledger board)
2. Install flashing tape over top of Z metal and up the side of the house to top line of ledger.
3. Under French and sliding glass doors, I install metal flashing and caulk to seal that area from water intrusion.  I can’t tell you how many times I’ve pulled off old ledgers to find the house wall rotted out under the French or sliding glass door!  Not a pretty sight!

4. Install ledger board.
5. Install 4” flashing tape over top edge of ledger board and up the house wall under the house wrap.

Handrail Blocking –

OK, one more thing on flashing…if you’re building a deck where the handrail posts will be top-mounted (usually in a metal post situation), you’ll want solid blocking under the handrail post location.  That way, the lag screws will have a large chunk of wood to bite into, providing a secure connection for the post.Again, you’ve got wood nailed right next to wood so… flash that sucka!

Light It Up !!

So… you know you want to have some kind of lighting on your deck, but there are so many different options you don’t know quite where to begin.  Well you came to the right place.  For the past 12 years Long Island Decking has been lighting up approximately 90 percent of all the decks we install. That’s a lot of lights!!   It is the number one accessory that we are asked.  They add beauty, value and more importantly, safety to your backyard.  Lighting up stairs will cut down on accidental falls, and lighting up railings or up-lighting the back of the house will make your home less of a target for burglars.

Let’s start with the three basic types of lighting available in the market today so you have a basic understanding of the differences between them.

1.      Line voltage or 110

2.      Low voltage or 12V

3.      Solar lighting

Line Voltage or 110

Line Voltage is exactly the same type of electricity that you will find throughout the rest of your home.  It is the same power that runs through all of your outlets, powers your television, appliances, and other lighting.

The biggest advantage that line voltage has over the other two is that practically no matter how far you have to go away from your power source you will not have a noticeable difference in the brightness of your fixtures.  Low voltage lighting experiences what’s known as voltage drop.  That means the further you get away from your power source the dimmer your lights will get.

In most municipalities installing line voltage requires lighting requires a licensed electrician.  That means that typically an electrical permit has to be pulled and an electrical inspection has to be performed.  These additional steps usually end up costing more and taking longer than the other types of installation.  They are fed power through wires.

Low Voltage or 12 V

Low voltage lighting is our preferred type of installation at Long Island Decking.  Contrary to popular belief low voltage lighting is not dimmer that line voltage.  When installed properly they are just as bright as the line voltage equivalents if not brighter.

Typically all that is needed to install low voltage lighting is an outlet to plug a transformer into.  In our area at the time of writing this article you do not need to file additional permits or have a licensed electrician to install them.  The newest fixtures on the market today are available in LED.  They use a fraction of the power of a normal fixture and last up to 15 years before having to be changed.  Less power means smaller transformer and lower cost.  These newer fixtures also cut down considerably on voltage drop that is known to plague low voltage systems.  We can install 50 fixtures on a single 60 watt transformer and only use the power of a 50 watt bulb.  Now that’s efficient!!

Normal incandescent low voltage lighting fixtures are known for burning bulbs out rather quickly.  They also experience voltage drop and require special wiring techniques to avoid having some lights dimmer than others.  They are fed power through wires.

Solar Lighting

Solar lighting is by far the easiest to install as there is no wiring to deal with.  Just unpack set outside and wait for it to get dark out.  Most solar lighting are used as post caps as they get direct sun and collect energy from the now smaller solar panels on top.

Ease of installation… let me say it again.  Ease of installation.  The main thing that solar lighting has going for it is that they are very simple to install.  No wiring necessary.  That means that not only do you not need a permit, you definitely do not need an electrician.  There is no timer or switch to worry about as they will turn on via a sensor built right into the fixture.  They use no power.

Brightness level is the biggest complaint about solar lighting in general.  Though the newest generations are much better brighter and smaller than years past they still have a long way to go to catch up with the other two types of installation.  Batteries tend to die after a few seasons.  Don’t stay on all night.

I hope you now have at least have a general understanding of the three types of exterior lighting available to you so you can make an informed decision on which works best for you on your home.

Owner Jay Oliver has been designing and installing backyard projects in Long Island NY for the past 20 years.  If you have any questions or comments on this article please leave them below.

Stylin’ Decks – Using non-wood decking to create multi-tone projects

In addition to qualities such as decreased maintenance, scratch resistance and mold/mildew resistance, non-wood decking also allows you to create multi-colored decks. This opens up a whole new realm of style for your next outdoor project.
Wood decks have long been a single color simply because it’s wood and also because it’s too difficult to attempt to stain it multiple colors. With the advent of color choices in non-wood decking, that mindset can be challenged.

Mix up colors in a single brand and line of decking to make your next project ‘pop!’

BORDERS – High end deck builders offer the option of installing border boards around the deck perimeter to hide end cuts and give a more “finished” appearance.

STAIR RISERS & FASCIA – Another option is changing up the color in your vertical surfaces.

HANDRAILS – Some non-wood decking manufacturers are now offering mix-n-match handrail kits w/ balusters in one color and rails/posts in another. Barring that, you can always custom order your own rail parts in the desired colors.

SEAM BOARDS – When a deck is longer than 20’, an alternative to random butt joints is to run a seam board down the middle of the deck, perpendicular to the deck boards. If you’re using different colored perimeter boards, use that same color for the seam boards. Seam boards require extra framing, which will be covered in another blog.

PINSTRIPING – This is a new effect that I invented! At least, I’ve never seen it on any deck or picture before…
Rip a deck board down to 1 1/2″ and screw it (every 8″) to the side of a perimeter board to create a pinstripe effect on your deck. Position the ripped edge against the side of the perimeter board so the finished edge is showing at the gap.

Ah, yes… the numbers!

In my neck of the country, decks can cost as little as $20 per sq. ft, and as much as several hundred dollars a ft, depending on what goes into them. (Most of our projects end up between $30 – $60 per sq. ft.) that’s a big range, isn’t it! This is where a deck design professional can assist- in helping to understand just what you expect of your new outdoor living area, and the tag-along costs.

But if you aren’t yet ready to talk to a professional just yet, take heart! There are a few things you can do on your own to get a feel for what to expect.

Glenn Mathewson suggests you think thru some of the “rooms” you would like to see included on your new deck, then measure the corresponding rooms in your house. Like your 400 sq. ft. dining area, maybe half of your 600 sq. ft. living room, and just the basics of your 500 sq. ft. kitchen? Well, you may be able to share some of the size (think of your first apartment’s kitchen/living room), but you will need some space for walkways, or “hallways” in the deck. So you may be looking at a deck that is 800 to 1,000 sq. ft. in size. It might be worth doing a little thinking and research to find out what that type of square footage is worth if it were a complete house, simply as a point of reference.

Now that you know the size, and you have some idea of what you want for features (remember, more stuff costs more), take a look at your house and neighborhood. Live in a gated community in a pricey zip code? Or maybe you live back a dirt lane at the end of an unpaved county road.

While a deck builder will most likely build whatever you want regardless of where you live, a seasoned deck designer will usually make recommendations in design and materials that reflect the area, and will complement the design and construction quality of your house. You rarely see a throw-away PT deck attached to a beautiful brick home. Your new deck will most likely cost between 5% and 30% of what your house is worth.

Again, this is all about you, and what you are looking for. Don’t let a deck builder bully you into allowing them to build a shrine to their ego- do your research and talk to professionals to find out who you are comfortable working with, just like you probably did when you bought your house!

With a basis of what you would like to accomplish, and some rough idea of what it could cost, you are ready to talk to a deck design professional to start the process of narrowing down the layout, features, materials, and options that will help define the outdoor living space you and your family will create memories with for years to come.

Setting a deck budget… And how about that design!

So you’re thinking about adding a new deck, or replacing an existing deck that has outlived it’s welcome. This is the perfect opportunity to improve not only the value of your house, but the comfort of your home.

See, here’s the thing. A deck can be a simple box,and that’s not wrong, but with a little bit of thought, it could be so much more. But this isn’t about deck design (at least this entry) it’s about budget. However, your budget will drive your design, so a few simple questions should be considered.

Whenever I meet with a new client to talk about designing a deck, we spend some time talking about how they plan to use the deck, before we get to the dollars and cents. If you don’t ever picture using the deck- it’s just simple access, or you need SOMETHING there in order to sell the house, then we will want to look at designing the simplest and most affordable deck that will safely accomplish those goals. I mean, after all, why have an 800sq. ft. Deck, if you only need a 16sq. ft. landing!?

OK, so you need more than a landing with a set of steps… This is actually something you and your family are going to use.

Again, your intended use of the new deck will drive the design, which will help to determine the project budget. Simply put, the more “rooms” of your house the deck will replicate, the more $$ you will need to allocate to the project, in order to meet your needs. Want a big outdoor dining room, with a separate sitting area, and perhaps a built-in kitchen? Then not only will we need to set aside some space, but we will need a proper budget as well.

Ah, yes… The dreaded budget. Stay tuned for some facts, figures, and numbers!


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Thursday, July 13, 2017

Happy Thursday everyone,

Welcome to the DL.ART Thankful Thursday
 Challenge #208 "Anything Goes" week 1 of 2

As you know the team is on vacation until September and I am having a Guest design call, if you are interested please send me an e-mail, my contact info is at the top left.

For the last three weeks I have had technical difficulty with my blog posts, I think I may have gotten the bugs worked out tonight.

Anyway onto my project.

I bought a lot of this unicorn paper, I just love it and I am going to be sad to see it go, it should be around until the end of August if all goes well. I think I may even buy some more I like it that much. Is that bad of me?
I made a dozen or so of these cute quick cards, not all of them have the thanks in gold, i ran out of that cardstock, but the font is fun. you can purchase these from my CTMH store if you like

The challenge will run from July 13 9:00 am PST until
July 26,2017 11:55 pm

DSP- unicorn , and sugar rush
DL.ART twine

this challenge is round one of challenge #208 and # 209. There will be a winner from each challenge and a drawing from those two winners for the prize.

3 entry limit
No stacking   (your entries can not be next to each other)
Be a follower (even if you think you follow me click on the follow because Blogger has been dropping people off)

Show this blog link on your blog
Leave a comment and have fun

Have a blessed day, Diana

  1. Love the unicorn paper on this adorable card!

  2. Loveeeeeeeeeeeeee this!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

  3. LOVE your card....simply magical!

  4. I like the background paper and the sentiment!

  5. I love the darling unicorns!!Such a pretty card my friend!
    Oh! By the way I am receiving all of your posts.
    Have a wonderful day,
    Crafting with Creative M

  6. Cute card! Wonderful paper and the thanks looks great in gold!
    Have a great week!

    Glenda's Cards

  7. I have a 3 year old who is crazy about unicorns so this is just adorable! Love the cute papers and that shiny gold sentiment

  8. Your card is really cute and I love those unicorns - I can see why you bought extra paper. Thanks for a fun challenge - love this theme. stamping kitty at

  9. Super cute card and fun papers~the background unicorns are adorable and I love the gold thanks~another fantastic card Diana!
    Sherrie k

  10. Wonderful card. Love the background paper.
    Valerija xx

  11. So adorable, Diana!! Love the gleaming gold die cut sentiment against the cute paper!!
    <3 J

    jwoolbright at gmail dot com

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