Hey folks, I realized it had been a while since I updated anyone. Then I realized that beyond telling people that I'm writing 24/7, there really wasn't much to say. I know. My life is so glamorous and exciting, no?
I've been waking up at six every morning and crashing around one. Considering that I keep looking at my most recent sex scene and envisioning men hooked up like little choo choo trains with weird genitalia shaped hitches... I'm thinking I need to get more sleep.
This book I'm working on is the hardest I've ever written. The sad truth is that this hard work and effort will just end up on a pirate site the day it releases. I'll have worked this hard to be stolen from.
Unchaste is a male/male/male paranormal shifter time travel book. Yes, that's a mouthful in soooo many ways. Heh. Still, it's been fun and kind of refreshing to do something different. What's challenging is making all the men equal parts of the book and ending the book in a way that all three are in a believable happily ever after.
This is only my second menage ever. So menage writers out there, got any secrets for keeping things fresh and simple?
Showing posts with label Piracy. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Piracy. Show all posts
Monday, February 7, 2011
Monday, May 25, 2009
Having Thoughts
I sold 695 copies of Claimed by Darkness copies in the final two weeks of February. This is good. What is bad? In three days, more than 1500 were pirated from illegal download sites. The book has been out since February and I'm only now being paid for the first two weeks of publication. 500 thefts a day, on average, over three and a half months of time. Imagine my financial loss. I won't even see March royalties on legitimate copies sold until mid to late June.
Other shit: It's pathetic perhaps, but I find myself thoroughly intrigued by the odd relationship forming between K and my boss. Despite her argument to the contrary, K appears to enjoy his company. So common is it to see them together that even those outside the department have made note. K informed that she's seeking a divorce. No comment on boss' marriage or status of boss-K relationship. Interesting.
Go remember someone. Conjure them in your minds. Think of them, their smell, their smile, their quirks, the way they've blessed your life. A special moment and thoughtful gesture. Better, remember the slow smile and easy laugh, the honor and pride and command of presence in someone who died for your freedom today. Have a thoughtful Memorial Day.
As Anny Cook commented on the Goddess Blog last week, and later on her own blog, ePirates steal books because they love the work and don't wish to pay for it. They make it nearly impossible for authors to continue writing because the pay-out is so little compared to the invested time and money. There is not one person who would willingly work and know the will be mugged everyday after putting in their hours. And most writers toil far longer than 40 hours a week on their craft.
Other shit: It's pathetic perhaps, but I find myself thoroughly intrigued by the odd relationship forming between K and my boss. Despite her argument to the contrary, K appears to enjoy his company. So common is it to see them together that even those outside the department have made note. K informed that she's seeking a divorce. No comment on boss' marriage or status of boss-K relationship. Interesting.
Go remember someone. Conjure them in your minds. Think of them, their smell, their smile, their quirks, the way they've blessed your life. A special moment and thoughtful gesture. Better, remember the slow smile and easy laugh, the honor and pride and command of presence in someone who died for your freedom today. Have a thoughtful Memorial Day.
Thursday, May 14, 2009
ePIRACY ARG!
Two mornings ago I went through my usual google search. Authors and publishers know to do this on occassion because our work shows up in unapproved forums. As expected, the search pulled up pirate sites which had allowed my books to be uploaded for the general access to all and sundry.
I know that readers think it's no different than lending a book out, a library, or used book sales, but that isn't the case. The internet is a universal access point. The damage is widespread. The theft is massive. Consider that the author who spends hours a day, sometimes for months on a single project, makes a percentage of sales. A short story selling for just under three dollars might net the author sixty cents per sale. We pay our own taxes, pay social security and federal taxes. If the publisher is international, there is the conversion rate to consider. Then consider that popularity of a book fades after just a few months.
In polling several authors, mainstream and erotic, I found that sales can be as low as a few dollars a month. Most publishers won't issue a check below a certain sales figure. I know one author who wasn't paid royalties for five months because sales and conversion rate put her beneath the minimum earning rate for a check to be issued. Now consider that most writers have families or day jobs or both.
Piracy is piracy. Stealing from a hardworking person, taking from their store of creativity isn't suddenly right because you are internet-faceless. It is tantamount to a stranger walking in off the street, going into your desk, stealing confidential files you've worked months on and selling it as his own.
The author doesn't get paid. Their families, children, household income suffers significantly. They depend on the income to make ends meet whatever the economy. Some authors may feel giveaways help them. Fine. Let them give away copies without limitations, that's their choice. But making the universal choice for someone else about their work is a violation of copyright, a violation of creative integrity, and a violation of someones financial support structure.
We don't make much. Even those of us who do well still need outside work to pay the bills. We don't strut around in feather boas and lounge in silk pyjamas. We don't have pool-boys peeling grapes for us. We're like the readers, the general workforce, out there who make a living doing what we know how to do and hoping we bring joy in the process.
I'm being stolen from. The site has been given a cease and desist. They took it down and another person re-posted my work. I can see the number of times it has been downloaded and I know that number will reflect in my publication check. And I'm not alone.
I know that readers think it's no different than lending a book out, a library, or used book sales, but that isn't the case. The internet is a universal access point. The damage is widespread. The theft is massive. Consider that the author who spends hours a day, sometimes for months on a single project, makes a percentage of sales. A short story selling for just under three dollars might net the author sixty cents per sale. We pay our own taxes, pay social security and federal taxes. If the publisher is international, there is the conversion rate to consider. Then consider that popularity of a book fades after just a few months.
In polling several authors, mainstream and erotic, I found that sales can be as low as a few dollars a month. Most publishers won't issue a check below a certain sales figure. I know one author who wasn't paid royalties for five months because sales and conversion rate put her beneath the minimum earning rate for a check to be issued. Now consider that most writers have families or day jobs or both.
Piracy is piracy. Stealing from a hardworking person, taking from their store of creativity isn't suddenly right because you are internet-faceless. It is tantamount to a stranger walking in off the street, going into your desk, stealing confidential files you've worked months on and selling it as his own.
The author doesn't get paid. Their families, children, household income suffers significantly. They depend on the income to make ends meet whatever the economy. Some authors may feel giveaways help them. Fine. Let them give away copies without limitations, that's their choice. But making the universal choice for someone else about their work is a violation of copyright, a violation of creative integrity, and a violation of someones financial support structure.
We don't make much. Even those of us who do well still need outside work to pay the bills. We don't strut around in feather boas and lounge in silk pyjamas. We don't have pool-boys peeling grapes for us. We're like the readers, the general workforce, out there who make a living doing what we know how to do and hoping we bring joy in the process.
I'm being stolen from. The site has been given a cease and desist. They took it down and another person re-posted my work. I can see the number of times it has been downloaded and I know that number will reflect in my publication check. And I'm not alone.
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