My Books Are Not Free

A new movement is developing. One that's rebelling against the entitlement generation in the literary world who believe authors should not be paid for their books.

It's a sick attitude.

No author can earn a decent living giving away their books.

And readers should not expect that they should.

I've already written an extensive blog post on this topic earlier, so there's no need for me to repeat it all here - Keep Calm and Fart Rainbows

Therefore, over 600 of us authors have come together in a Facebook event we've titled, Our Books Are Not Free to protest against this freebie culture.

We're featuring the work of hundreds of indie and traditionally published authors who have priced their books reasonably so everyone can afford to buy them.

NO 99c and definitely NO FREE books.

If anyone can afford to but themselves a cup of coffee, they can certainly pay for a book that took longer to create and gives greater satisfaction.

Writers provide a service.

And readers, if you want that service, you pay for it like you do for everything else!

Over the next weeks, I'll be featuring individual authors and their books.

Check them out. You never know, you might just find your next favourite author.

Readers and Authors: Salieri to Mozart?

Ever see the movie or play Amadeus? In it, Mozart is supposedly murdered by a musician rival, Salieri who, knowing Mozart is ill, still commissions him to write a requiem. The effort required to compose this work added further strain on Mozart's already weakened body, and he dies as a result.
Far fetched, you reckon?

Maybe, maybe not.
The point I'm making is that sometimes readers, in their voracious hunger for new material to read (especially from their favourite authors), don't realise the strain they're placing on authors to complete that next book in the series, to finish their current WIP (Word in Progress) or to hurry up with that next novella, short story ....
Authors are crumbling beneath the strain, worried they'll lose their reader following if they don't feed the monster.
We, the authors, have become Mozart to our Salieris.
Now I'm not saying I don't appreciate and value my readers. Heaven knows I do, and I thank goodness for each and every one, and if I could write faster and produce more books - 2-3 per year - I would, just to satisfy my wonderful readers.
But, alas, I can't.
My ideas flow at a slower pace than some (whom I envy) and my books are larger. On average, my novels range from 114K to 95K words. Those are no small numbers. It takes me approximately 10 months to complete the first draft before it goes to my editor who then picks it apart until it's perfect. The next month I'm editing and re-editing before the manuscript is shipped off to my Beta readers whose job is to spot every typo, every blooper, every gremlin that can wreck a smooth read.
Twelve months later, taa-daa *drum roll* a new book is ready to be launched.
In the  meanwhile, I've neglected my family, postponed social engagements (some of my friends have given up talking to me, and I don't blame them), and scrimped together enough money from my meager royalties for a professional cover design, formatting, editing and proofreading just to get another book out there.
Then I take a deep breath and sit back - for at least a good half hour - at another job done.
The alcoholic drink in my hand is mandatory.
Ah! But it's not over. Now I need to spend the next three months marketing and promoting my latest release while starting on my next WIP.
Now, don't get me wrong, I'm not complaining. I'm simply showing the reality in being an author in the digital age, and it's a pace few can maintain.
I'm hoping I can, as there are a lot more stories inside my head clamouring to get out.
So please readers, when you're inquiring about the next installment in my series, also ask me if I've had a holiday.

As for freebies .... that's for another post, and it won't be pretty.

PS BloodWish is due for release this coming Easter 😊 And if you haven't yet started this series, what are you waiting for? 😉

Available on Amazon. Just ONE CLICK HERE.

2016 Christmas Author Giveaway

Come and join this year's Christmas Author Giveaway. As always, there's an amazing lineup of talented writers giving away copies of their books along with other great prizes.

Check out the promos and the books on offer for your cosy Christmas and Seasonal reading, then click onto the rafflecopter to see the individual prizes, and the FREE entry instructions.
You have to be in it to win it.

a Rafflecopter giveaway 

 

Keep Calm and Fart Rainbows - The Author's World.

As Charles Dickens writes in A Tale of Two Cities: "It was the best of times, it was the worst of times." The same could be said for being an indie author nowadays, living in an exciting time where we're free to write and publish our own stories without having to rely on the arbitrary approval of traditional publishers. But it also means we're responsible for all our own marketing and publicity, dealing with reader expectations, good and bad reviews and piracy.

Then, there's the issue of free books.
Don't readers understand that asking authors to give away our books is destroying our livelihoods? I wonder if they really care? Between the freeloaders and the pirate sites downloading our books illegally, there's not much chance of earning a crust in this job. But then, since most people see writing as a hobby, I guess they reckon we don't need to be paid.

We can live on air, right? And of course, everyone knows the pixies pay the mortgage, authors don't have families that eat and unicorns fart rainbows.
Ah, the wonderful world of readers' illusions.
Unless this culture of entitlement changes, I can see more and more writers quitting the business. Why put all that time, effort and money into writing, editing, polishing and marketing a book only for it to be either stolen or ignored by the general reading public until they can grab it for free?
In the four years I've been published, my sales have bottomed out. By now, with 4 books out, I should be selling 4-8 books/day. Instead, I'm lucky to get 1-2 sales/day.
And it's not as if my books are invisible.
 
According to the experts, I'm doing all the right things - offering my short story (Laura's Locket) for FREE, and Book One (BloodGifted) for only 99c; an active social media presence; a fantastic number of genuine followers on twitter (even a bunch of Russian and Asian hookers, bless their little pearly G-strings. Guess they like reading paranormal romance in their spare time!); a website with a blog, and I'm even on Instagram posting pretty pics that take me hours to create or locate in hope somebody might like it enough to check out my profile - yet the results are enough to turn even a unicorn's rainbow poop brown.
 
And paid marketing sites aren't as effective as they used to be.
 
This has never happened before. My cover and blurb are just the same, so I can't blame the lack of sales on that.
Nope, the book world is changing.
With so many free books saturating the market, it's freeloader heaven. Why pay? And that pricey $3.99 book readers are dying to get their hands on? Well, they can simply download it from a myriad pirate sites while sipping their $5 Starbucks coffee.
And they say it's the best time to be a writer.
I suppose that depends on your point of view.

If you haven't yet read my Dantonville Legacy Series, and would like to support an indie author,  here's your chance 😊
Get BloodGifted on Amazon

 

All Hallows' Eve Party - Are You Game?

Here in Australia, we don't really celebrate Halloween. The English brought many traditions with them when they settled this country, but Halloween was not one of them. In the last few years, because of it's mind-boggling popularity in America, some intrepid souls thought they'd start Trick or Treating here.
Never took off.
We just don't like our kids wandering from house to house receiving sugary treats from strangers. Over here, it's bad ju-ju. Besides, it being late October, the weather is too hot for anyone to be running around in funny costumes. We'd rather be at the beach in a different type of costume.

So, what am I doing advertising an All Hallows' Eve event? Well, I happen to be part of a wonderful group of authors - mostly American - to whom Halloween is a significant occasion. I'm going along with the fun.
Starting Oct. 29th, as per the promo pic above, over 24 authors are throwing a Halloween party on facebook to which everyone is invited. Not only will you have a chance to be introduced to some fabulous new reads, but there'll be games to enjoy and scores of prizes to win.

Come and join us here - All Hallows' Eve on Facebook

Smashwords vs Amazon for Book Sales Survey

I've decided to conduct a little survey. Call it curiosity. As an indie author, naturally I'm curious which online retailer gives the best sales results.
Some authors sell well on Smashwords, others on Amazon.
The former distributes to other online book retailers, while the latter controls up to 80% of the online retail market. Most ebook readers I know would rather wait for a book to be available on Amazon rather than go to Smashwords.

So authors, help me out here. Tell me which site provides you with the greatest number of sales?
I've placed the survey in the right hand margin.

Happy clicking!