Month: May 2014

Real Writers Have Thick Skins

Walk it offYou don’t have to spend a lot of time on social media to see plenty of examples of jackassery. This is not especially true of authors, but authors are people, so it is just as true of authors. Seldom does a day go by that we are not exposed to some kind of little drama – petulance, whining, back-biting, or fervent appeals to action over some imagined injustice. What a buzzkill.

When ignorance (don’t know) combines with apathy (don’t care) and arrogance (I’m special), you really have the makings of mega-drama. One of two things is usually at the center when this vitriolic mixture bubbles up to the surface. Either some author did not like a review they just got, or somebody’s book or guest post got turned down. Continue reading “Real Writers Have Thick Skins”

Tilting at Windmills: Pricing eBook Collections

John PhythyonGuest Post
by John R. Phythyon, Jr.

I’m tilting at windmills here. I know I am. This whole post is really pointless, because whether I’m right or wrong, things aren’t going to change.

But I’m a writer, so I figure I have literary precedent to get up on my figurative charger. Cervantes bequeathed it to me.

Today’s quixotic quest is eBook pricing. Specifically, I’m concerned with a recent trend I’ve noticed in omnibuses (omnibi?). Like most of us, I subscribe to discount lists – BookBub, E-Reader News Today, Pixel of Ink, etc. I try to comb through them on a regular basis, so I can see what’s being accepted and maybe pick up a book or two on the off-chance I’ll find time to read for pleasure.

Practically every day in at least one of my discount books newsletters, I see an ad for a collected series. A trilogy or longer series is offered in omnibus eBook format for a special price. And the thing is that special price is often as low as 99 cents. Sometimes, it’s as high as $2.99 or (gasp!) $3.99, but that’s pretty rare.

I can’t help but wonder how much harm we’re doing to ourselves and the market. Continue reading “Tilting at Windmills: Pricing eBook Collections”

Featured Book: Curse of the Lion’s Heart

Alexandra Fry - Private EyeCurse of the Lion’s Heart
Angella Graff
Genres: Mystery, YA
Available from Amazon.

Twelve year old Alexandra Fry has a special talent. She can solve mysteries. Unfortunately for her, that special talent only works for history’s most famous ghosts. In the end, she must make a choice between being normal and saving the world from a wicked curse.

Excerpt:

I snatched it up, turning it over in my hands. I had to be very careful with it, very careful. I wasn’t the owner of the locket, and the last thing I needed was to get sick with the plague before I could get it back to the museum. Still, I needed to make sure it was the right one. I sent a quick text to Jack to come into the library, and then, very carefully, I opened the lid.

As it creaked open, my eyes widened in horror as I saw that it was completely, and totally empty. I heard the door to the library open, and I looked up, expecting to see Jack. But instead, to my horror, I saw the tall, dark-eyed face of Jack’s cousin smiling down at me.

“Looking for this?” he asked, and I saw the locket then, dangling from his outstretched hand.

What others are saying:

“I really got a sense of my own days in junior high as I read this, and when a YA novel can do that with an adult, you’ve got yourself a nostalgic piece that transcends just simple reading.” – Chris Merlo

Anatomy of a Copyright Page

copyrightIndie publishing is full of learning experiences. One of them involves what to put on the copyright page of your book. (The copyright page, to be clear, is the page on the flip side, or verso, of the title page at the very beginning of your book.)

People put all sorts of junk on this page, but really, there is only one thing that’s pretty much required to be there: your copyright notice.

I’m going to digress for a moment and talk about copyright, because I’ve seen some bad info floating around the interwebs. As the creator of the work in question, you hold the copyright. Period. You can fill out a form and pay $35 to register your copyright with the U.S. gummint, or you can do any of the other things I’ve seen mentioned (e-mailing a copy of the work to yourself, mailing yourself a hard copy, etc.), but none of them are required. They will not grant you the copyright to your own work. You already own it. Continue reading “Anatomy of a Copyright Page”