tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post6937707445363310385..comments2024-02-07T02:40:14.765-05:00Comments on Stories 4 You: Keep Calm and Fart RainbowsGoldenBoxBookshttp://www.blogger.com/profile/02469627613746535923noreply@blogger.comBlogger7125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-86741221979792978122017-06-13T07:22:05.132-04:002017-06-13T07:22:05.132-04:00Great article.
I like the idea of being able to p...Great article. <br />I like the idea of being able to publish our own books now and having them on line. But with so much piracy sometimes I think that it was better when books where publish just on paper, that way everybody had to buy them.<br />And I love it when people tell me about all these people they know that are making a living with their books or blogs. Like I don’t already feel bad.<br />Cristina Grauhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15737884923759275950noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-23542426169225993312017-06-11T00:19:14.798-04:002017-06-11T00:19:14.798-04:00A really fantastic article! I agree with many of t...A really fantastic article! I agree with many of the things you have said. I've had heard every sorry excuse in the book i.e. - authors make plenty of money (false!), they are too broke to buy a .99 book (again a lie). <br /><br />My book was pirated on day one. That is really sad being a brand new author, but you're correct, that is the age we're living in. No wonder paperbacks are becoming more popular, and ebooks are becoming less.Mackenzie Flohrhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/03822638758299647713noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-69259697717316343852017-06-10T23:59:12.170-04:002017-06-10T23:59:12.170-04:00It would never even cross my mind to ask an author...It would never even cross my mind to ask an author for a free copy of their book. I know the time and energy and not to mention money it goes into producing one. <br />Having to say that, readers expectations of free books is only one problem. There are many. Like the latest I've heard fake books on Amazon. <br />To wit, using the same story, with protag's and location names changed, and selling several versions of the same story with different covers and different titles...to purposefully fool the bots at places like Amazon.<br /><br />Not only this, but authors are taking other authors' works...full length novels...and doing the same thing and selling them as their own. Some authors have made big careers out of this.<br /><br />Adding to the problem is Amazon right at the top for not taking greater care, but also offering services like the all-you-can-read Kindle Unlimited program, where readers can download a number of books for $9.99 a month and the author won't get paid until and unless the reader reads the book, and only then, per page fees, and only after a certain number of pages has been read...10% of the book?<br /><br />To get around that problem, writers are now putting jump links at the front of the book offering freebies at the back of the book..."Click her to see them now"...which means the reader has effectively told Amazon they'd read the full book, when they just clicked the link, and ensuring the author is paid the full price of the book...even though the reader hasn't read it. Who's this a scam for? The reader or Amazon? It's just an author trying to find anyway possible to earn what he/she deserves, but is this a moral way of doing it? If it's immoral, does this add to the scammy nature our current society lives in?<br /><br />And don't get me starting on the mega box sets selling at 99c...those are 20-25 authors scamming fellow authors out of their fair share.<br /><br />Scams are everywhere, and they do make it ultra hard to make a buck, for those of us who are honest in their work and dealings. If we jump into the scamming pool, it makes us just as bad as they are.<br /><br />Catch-22 at every turn.<br /><br />But, I'm still of the belief of 'head down, focus on your own work, concentrate on your target audience' and we will attract honest readers.<br /><br />No one is going to get rich in this business, other than Amazon. We must write because we love telling stories and sharing them with readers, understanding that the 'overnight successes' are few and far between. Write because you love it. If you're writing to make money...a lot of money...you might as well quit now, or really rethink your focus.Firetuliphttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10657031771377559033noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-36276368774222216032017-06-10T13:08:05.771-04:002017-06-10T13:08:05.771-04:00A bittersweet, despairing commentary that I must s...A bittersweet, despairing commentary that I must sadly agree with, for the most part (as those who know me will not be surprised to hear).<br /><br />I've been with the traditionals, more recently with small presses like Wildside and Creature Features. I haven't self-published since my fanzine days and doubt that I'll ever go that route. The work's too hard and the remuneration's too spotty for me to give the stuff away. I could never pursue this the way a true passionate hobbyist would. (And Wildside and Bastei Lubbe, my current publishers for the Gonji series books, don't do giveaways anyway; and Audible only gives away the audio books to entice subscribers to their service. So I've never even had to consider freebies, beyond comps on a one-to-one basis, and review copies, of course.)<br /><br />Perhaps I got spoiled by being lucky enough to sell reviews, stories and books early on. But being spoiled is hard to get over. I find countless unworkable flaws in the current publishing model, which I try to dodge or accommodate as best I can. But it's a difficult, uphill slog, for any newbies especially. And I admire any talented new writers who refuse to be defeated by the near-Sisyphean system.<br /><br />But this is a courageously honest, sobering piece, Tima. I wish you all the luck on your literary Hero's Journey. Oh, yes---it is that and no less. And if talent, skill, hard work and determination serve you well as your arms and armor, you'll find a way to achieve the object of your quest (that object only you yourself must identify).<br /><br />If not...you'll still have been no less the hero for having poured heart, soul and utter defiance of opposition into it. <br /><br />You have my admiration for making this monumental effort. Every writer here can empathize with your striving and your lament.Anonymoushttps://www.blogger.com/profile/15836588954473087281noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-90353507009469032052017-06-10T11:45:01.399-04:002017-06-10T11:45:01.399-04:00You make some really good points!! An interesting ...You make some really good points!! An interesting title as well!Mary Anne Yardehttps://www.blogger.com/profile/11350612918063788778noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-63923207030029946392017-06-10T07:05:06.959-04:002017-06-10T07:05:06.959-04:00Great article, Tima! I couldn't have said it a...Great article, Tima! I couldn't have said it any better. Even the small press publishers I WORK for have a hard time of it, because there are SO many books out there these days. I have gotten paid up-front for selling a short story or two to certain anthologies, but I have no idea how well those books are selling. (I stress the word "work" above because whether or not people think of writing as a hobby, it is STILL hard work.) The competition is tough, the market overwhelmed with books. I have some friends, and have met some people who assume the opposite of the "writing is just a hobby" attitude. They think all writers are wealthy. I wish. I'm far from being in Stephen King's tax bracket! We are in the middle of a sea change in the publishing world. All we can do is keep swimming with the tide . . . or against it, as it sometimes seems we do.Joe Bonadonnahttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08053954733485203286noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4630863509044352054.post-14520119695772948032017-06-10T06:51:54.022-04:002017-06-10T06:51:54.022-04:00Well said and unfortunately, true! It's natura...Well said and unfortunately, true! It's natural to pay the hairdresser, cook, plumber and so on because they're doing their jobs and we value their work. People don't think twice to pay for concert tickets or go to the movies because they value the work of the entertainers. Authors entertain people with their stories that they worked on for years and, either the author or publisher, invested a lot of money to publish it, yet people don't value the work of authors.<br />When my fantasy series was first published, a doctor I worked with asked for a signed copy. I didn't have copies at home, so I told him that he can buy it on B&N and I'll sign it for him. He looked it up on the website, "It's $12.50," said the doctor who drove a latest model BMW with a long face.<br />No, he didn't buy my book, he closed the website without saying a word and never mentioned my book again. Nothing is free in life, even books. When a reader gets a free book, the author pays the price for it with years of unpaid work and a lot of money invested into publishing and marketing the book.Erika M Szabohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/09183807132586480431noreply@blogger.com