LeeAnne Krusemark

GeorgeK · Apr 4, 2013

The local college is having her give a couple talks for like 40 bucks each about getting published and the add said

You can then leave a copy of your manuscript with LeeAnne, now the owner of an author-friendly publishing house, for a professional critique (for an optional fee), and a list of publishers and/or agents who are interested in your type of work

I've not been able on line to find anything about her being a publisher, but rather really just a guest lecturer.
Is she legit?

James D. Macdonald · Apr 4, 2013

See This is nothing like an official FAQ, message #1.

aliceshortcake · Apr 5, 2013

Instructor Biography: LeeAnne Krusemark
LeeAnne Krusemark is a journalist, published author, successful business owner, and adjunct professor. LeeAnne began her career in journalism, working as a reporter, then editor, then managing editor for various newspapers in New York and California. She started a successful writing/public relations business in 1988, and has served as Chamber of Commerce president. She is the published author of countless newspaper and magazine articles and two non-fiction books.
http://spcollege.augusoft.net/index...instructor_id=141&int_bio_id=127&CourseID=251

Krusemark's writing/PR business is Krusemark, Grinnell and Associates, which is based in Cerritos, California:

This company's business is selling books on how to work-at-home.
Category: Work-At-Home Business Opportunities
http://www.trustlink.org/Reviews/Krusemark-Grinnell-and-Associates-205811882

You can probably guess what her two books are about...they are 101 Ways to Make $Money$ as a Freelance Writer and A Beginner's Guide: How to $Cash In$ With a Successful Home-Based Business. Both look self-published. According to the Amazon blurb for one of her books she is "an adjunct online professor for Harvard Adult Education". This seems to be an impressive way of saying "her books are used in adult education courses".

Some of Krusemark's advice to novice writers can be found here:

LeeAnne emphasized that getting published is one part writing, one part timing, one part luck, and a few parts experience. She stressed that getting published is more often than not, about climbing the ladder of publishing success, it’s about starting out in smaller, easier publishing markets and building up from there.
http://www.thewritingnut.com/tcbwg/leeanne-krusemark-talks-about-getting-published/

I couldn't find anything about her new "author-friendly" publishing house, unless GKA is branching out. My suspicions were aroused by the fact that she reviewed a vanity-published book on Amazon, but she appears to have no connection with Summerland Publishing.

I certainly wouldn't pay $40 to listen to an "expert" who doesn't appear to have been commercially published and doesn't give the names of the newspapers she edited.

James D. Macdonald · Apr 5, 2013

She stressed that getting published is more often than not, about climbing the ladder of publishing success, it’s about starting out in smaller, easier publishing markets and building up from there.

May I stress that this is nonsense?

Maryn · Apr 5, 2013

You may.

aliceshortcake · Apr 5, 2013

Krusemark goes on to imply that gaining "publishing credits" will improve a writer's chances of getting an agent and/or being accepted by one of the bigger publishers. Her suggestions include writing greetings cards (isn't this a very competitive market in its own right?) and entering contests:

Joining writing contests is a great way to get publishing credits. It doesn’t really matter what type of contest it is, as long as you get to flex your writing muscles. The prizes don’t count either. LeeAnne told us that once, she entered an essay contest which asked the question “What would you do if you won the lottery?” Her essay won second prize, and she got several lotto tickets for free, but the most important thing was that her essay was published in a newspaper.

Would a reputable agent really be impressed by this...or these:

Letters to the editor are another way of earning those writing brownie points. Write a controversial letter that will get a good debate going, or write something that you feel strongly about. The more readers can relate to or react to your piece, the higher the chance that the editor will pick your piece to get published...

Lastly, LeeAnne encouraged us to take advantage of whatever writing opportunities our current jobs might present us with. In house publications such as flyers, posters, brochures, company newsletters, correspondence letters, and so on are a useful way of flexing our writing muscles, and also one way we can earn those publishing credits.
http://www.thewritingnut.com/tcbwg/leeanne-krusemark-talks-about-getting-published/

I don't know how much time Krusemark hopes to devote to her publishing business, but she seems to be kept pretty busy doing seminars on Make Money With a Typing/Word-Processing Business and Earn Money With Mystery Shopping. She also teaches the Online Writing Course (Getting Published), which can be yours for only $129.99 and includes the following gems:

Your success in the writing game will be determined by the amount of credibility publishers attach to you and your work. If you have credibility, getting your manuscript published will no longer be a dream. It will become reality...

By learning how to get published quickly and often, you should be well on your way to a lifetime of publishing success!

In this lesson, you'll learn why it's difficult to break in to the world of publishing, why publishers prefer to work with published writers, and why editors can be as choosy as they want to be...

In this lesson, you'll learn how to use writing contests to gain publishing credibility. This lesson will provide you with examples to steer you away from contest scams, and show you how to find legitimate writing contests. Then this lesson will discuss how to retain some rights to your work and resell your contest submissions...

This is perhaps the most important lesson of all. Before submitting your work to a publisher, make sure you take the necessary steps to protect your work against copyright infringement. That means ensuring your work has copyright protection, as well as maintaining rights to sell the work again and again if desired.

Avoid, avoid, avoid!

CaoPaux · Dec 8, 2016

Site in progress: http://www.leeannekrusemark.com/

LeeAnne Krusemark

GeorgeK

ever seeking

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar

James D. Macdonald

Your Genial Uncle

Maryn

Baaa!

aliceshortcake

Wilde about Oscar

CaoPaux

Mostly Harmless