A little heads up

I’m a small author. I’ve written one book and am slowly working on my second. I’m a teeny, tiny fish in a very big ocean. So, when I read this post by Molly Greene about ebook piracy, I thought: no way that can happen to me. No one even knows I exist.

Well, no one may know I exist, but my book was in the general ebooks site. And you could get it for free. I didn’t know if to be flattered or offended.

Good news, Molly Greene’s article explains what to do and she even has the email that got her books removed from the site. I’ve sent them the email and hope that they’ll remove my book.

I’m really hoping that no one else finds their book on that site but, if you do remember, knowledge is power. Check out Molly Greene’s post and get your book back.

PS. If you know of other ways to get rid of books pirated, share them with me and I’ll pass them on as well!

PSS. I sent the email verbatim from Molly Greene’s site and the very next day, I got an email from general ebooks that said:

“Thanks for your report!

Links was removed.

Kindly yours.”

Success, even if it’s poorly written. 😀

Review: Darkness Concealed

Darkness Concealed is a dark fantasy. It’s a story set in a world where terrible things happen in a cyclic pattern. It’s also the story of four reluctant heroes who set off to try and beat incredible odds.

I particularly loved the characters. I loved Caleb in particular because he came from a small town, he was different and such a sensitive person. I loved his gift or curse and the changes it brought in his personality as a result.

I loved Alexandra, the fighter and warrior. I loved that she was a woman and also the defender of the group. She made so much sense to me and had so little patience for beating around the bush that I liked her instantly.

Liz was hilarious. Her inner battles were a hoot and she made me laugh. I loved her realistic nature and how clearly she thought.

Ivan, who loved books so much, was one of my favourites. A thinker, analytical and reasonable, I could so relate to everything he said. I felt better knowing he was part of the group and was hoping he’d be along for the ride from the very beginning.

Darkness Concealed doesn’t reveal its secrets at once. I loved that there were pieces and bits of the puzzle that come along the way. There are no useless facts. Things come together and become meaningful as we go along and discover more of the truth behind what’s happening. As a reader, I had to learn to be patient and wait for that insight. And not everything is revealed in this book. This is a trilogy after all.

I particularly loved the places where the four heroes go. I won’t go into details and reveal too much, but I loved those locations. They’re fantastic, amazing places and I was thrilled to be able to go along for the ride with the four main characters.

There are terrible things described in Darkness Concealed but there’s also humour and magic and hope. If you’re a fantasy reader or someone who’d like to try this genre, this one is for you.

(credit: goodreads)

Authors: What to do if Your Book gets Pirated

A great tip for those indie authors out there and a HUGE thank you to S. K. Nicholls for the information!

S.K. Nicholls

There is not a lot of recourse against the site itself, especially if the site is out of the country. If the web hosting site is U.S.A., you can send a DMCA take down letter to the web hosting site. They are under pressure to break the links of sites performing copyright infringement. You are also required to share some personal information in the letter which you should do with the hosting company NOT the offending site.

How do you find the site hosting company?

You can search domain registration on whois.com at: http://www.whois.com/whois/

Once you find the web hosting site look for their contact info or legal contact. This is usually an email address link.

Gene Quinn has a sample letter you can personalize (copy and paste into email) and send to the hosting company:

http://www.ipwatchdog.com/2009/07/06/sample-dmca-take-down-letter/id=4501/

You will need the offending site’s URL for your work. Once you get…

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Spread the Word

An absolutely lovely post with a great goal. Thanks for this one, Callum! I will!

Callum McLaughlin

Support fellow writers by spreading the word!

In just this last week alone, two fellow writers whose work I follow with much anticipation released new books! Mishka Jenkins and Melissa Barker-Simpson are authors, bloggers and all round nice, supportive people, so be sure and check out Prophecy of Stones and Hands of Evil; I know I certainly will.

I’ve read two of Mel’s books before and am currently working on my second of Mishka’s and so I already count myself as a big fan of both. They each have a unique voice and weave interesting stories with likable characters to draw you in.

They’re too modest to say but they both work very hard and would greatly appreciate your purchases and reviews, so why not support a writer and get an interesting story to enjoy for yourself, it’s win-win.

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Need a review?

If you’re an author and are looking for a place to submit your book for an impartial review, check out this site: http://reviewspagebypaige.wordpress.com

Paige is looking for books to review to build up her site. I’m thinking this is a match made in heaven for authors trying to get reviews. This is her review policy page: http://reviewspagebypaige.wordpress.com/review-policycontact-me/ and she’s actively seeking books to review! 😀

Paige is also on Goodreads if you’re interested in seeing what books she has reviewed, you can find her there or go to her site.

A huge thank you to Paige for letting me share her blog with everyone!

Marketing…

I loved Mishka Jenkins‘ post this week on Marketing because I could relate so well to what she said. I too don’t like to market my book. In fact, I have to admit I haven’t actually done any real marketing for my book–except for the posts on this blog.

I know for independent writers it’s a necessity but… I still don’t like it. It feels like shameless self-promotion. Mishka puts it so well.

“… I don’t like shoving myself in people’s faces shouting, ‘Buy my books they’re awesome!’ 😀 And no matter how inventively I try to do my marketing, it always feels like that’s what I’m doing.”

That’s it. Exactly.

Infinitefreetime just published his first book. He promoted it using his unique brand of humour. His plugs came across as funny and endearing. I know if I tried that approach, I’d come across as icky and strange. Anything but funny.

Mishka is a pretty smart lady. I bet she’ll come up with her own unique way. In the interim, I should probably figure out a way to start doing some promos. Or at least think about the entire thing in a more positive light. Maybe I should look at it as another aspect of the job of being an author.

Any tips? Got any ideas on marketing that don’t make the author sound icky?

Best 50 blogs for Indie authors

Best blogs for indie authors. The top 50 of them, ranked according to type and worth. I found this site and I know others will want to see it. I’ve posted it here and under the tab Resources.

http://augustwainwright.com/the-indie-50-the-50-best-sites-for-indie-and-self-published-authors/

Just another note, August Wainwright also adds that he’d like us to spread the word and, I can’t help but thank him not only for the amazing job he did with such a massive undertaking but also for sharing the results, freely with everyone else. Genius and heart, I don’t see that mix very often.

100th Post

Hm…a post about posts. Hee hee.

Well, this is my 100th post and I thought I’d share a few insights about this blog’s stats. For example:

The very top post was For Authors…and for Bloggers. You loved it I think because it had tips that were (hopefully) helpful.

Very close up was Formatting Nightmares. I think you might have liked that one simply because you could relate…or at least, I’d like to think I’m not the only one experiencing problems when formatting.

Molly Greene got the most clicks coming out of this blog…and, in my humble opinion, rightly so.

The USA is the top viewer of my blog, with 676 views, closely followed by Canada with 462.

But what do the numbers, stats and trends mean? It’s an odd experience, having a blog, but one I’d recommend. It keeps me writing and editing, if only on a minute scale. I’ve heard it said that having a blog is an excellent idea for a starting author. I would have to agree. But I would also add that having a blog is an excellent idea period. If I wasn’t trying to be successful at writing, I would so run a blog…maybe on doggies…or on drawing…or on what to not do with chili…or…