Heaven forbid someone offer a cute little meme with the ulterior motive of selling something... Still, nothing seems all that sinister about it.
On Tue, Jul 20, 2010 at 8:45 PM, Holly Elliott <[email protected]> wrote: > It is a scam, apparently: > > > > Don't use I Write Like; UPDATE > > UPDATE: If you C&Ped from me, be sure to delete the link to the scamster's > site that I helpfully left in the first time. D'oh! Making Light is keeping > the links in, because the idea is to drive searches for the topic to > McDonald's post. > > Jim McDonald did some digging into that "I Write Like" meme, and what he > found isn't pretty. > > I looked at the rest of the text on the results page: > > Great job! Do you want to get your book published? > > “I have personally read through thousands of book proposals in my > career as a publisher and agent. I know what these professionals are looking > for—and what they are not looking for.” > — Michael Hyatt, Chairman and CEO of Thomas Nelson Publishers. > > > That little bit includes two links, both to the same page: [redacted; > see Making Light post for link] > > Yep, it’s SEO. And they’re using social engineering to get those links > wide-spread and high in the Google stats. Helpful little cut-n-paste code to > put in your blog! > > But wait! There’s more! > > Go over to that advertised page, and you’ll find a pair of $19.97 > e-books by the above-said and afore-mentioned Michael Hyatt. These books > promise to tell you such insider secrets as how to avoid the three items you > should NEVER include in a fiction book proposal. Wow, I can’t wait to find > out. > > So, who’s Michael Hyatt, and what is Thomas Nelson? > > Basically, a former legitimate Christian publisher, now a vanity press. > > This “I Write Like” site isn’t remotely legitimate. No, they aren’t > trying; or, anyway, they aren’t trying to analyze writing samples: They’re > trying to lure newbie authors to the rocks and shoals of vanity publication. > > > I will also note that there's a "sign up for our awesome newsletter!" box > on the side, which says that by doing so you can download FREE a "classic" > book on writing by Charles Raymond Barrett -- a book which is, it *doesn't* > tell you, also available at Project Gutenberg because it's from 1898. > > I *strongly* recommend removing any links and code from "I Write Like" that > may be in your posts. > > Boost the signal. > > > > > > *From:* [email protected] [mailto: > [email protected]] *On Behalf Of *[email protected] > *Sent:* Tuesday, July 20, 2010 6:22 PM > *To:* [email protected] > > *Subject:* RE: [The Unique Geek] Who do you write like? > > > > Crazy! Some of my old writing came back as Allen Ferris and Nick Horn! > > > > The Irredeemable Shag > http://firestormfan.com > http://onceuponageek.com > http://twitter.com/onceuponageek > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [The Unique Geek] Who do you write like? > From: [email protected] <//[email protected]> > Date: Tue, July 20, 2010 5:56 pm > To: [email protected] <//[email protected]> > > Put in some older stuff and got Terrance Dicks > > > > -----Original Message----- > From: shag <[email protected] <//[email protected]>> > To: theuniquegeek > <[email protected]<//[email protected]> > > > Sent: Tue, Jul 20, 2010 1:52 pm > Subject: RE: [The Unique Geek] Who do you write like? > > That is the funniest thing I've read all day! LOL!!! Now I gotta know if > that really came up or if you are kidding. > > > > The Irredeemable Shag > > > > > -------- Original Message -------- > Subject: Re: [The Unique Geek] Who do you write like? > From: [email protected] > Date: Tue, July 20, 2010 4:46 pm > To: [email protected] > > I got Alan Dean Foster! > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Unique Geek" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<theuniquegeek%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en. > > -- > You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups > "The Unique Geek" group. > To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. > To unsubscribe from this group, send email to > [email protected]<theuniquegeek%[email protected]> > . > For more options, visit this group at > http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en. > -- Jennifer "Scraps" Walker Queen of the Helper Monkeys Better living through creativity... and cocktails! http://www.scrapsoflife.com/blog -- You received this message because you are subscribed to the Google Groups "The Unique Geek" group. To post to this group, send email to [email protected]. To unsubscribe from this group, send email to [email protected]. For more options, visit this group at http://groups.google.com/group/theuniquegeek?hl=en.
