Flip the Script on eBook Piracy

e-book (Photo credit: Ángela Espinosa)

Work with me on this one. This could be a good thing trust me. Living in the hood I’ve come across street hustla’s selling everything imaginable out the trunk of their car, in bags or in their clothes! Movies and music are the hottest bootleg trends but what about eBook piracy? It has increased in numbers and authors are clueless as to what to do about it. Their initial reactions are to spaz out and sue. Don’t get it twisted it’s wrong to sell bootleg anything but why not use it to your advantage?

Work with them instead of against them

Instead of paying boo-coo amount of money for someone to do a blurb or a review of your upcoming novel why not approach the bootleggers and see for an exchange for the illegal ish they are doing they can do a review or blurb to help promote your work. Think about it we give our eBooks away for free for publicity why not get even more out of it.

Hire them!

The only reason they are pirated your work is so they can make money off of you so why not pay them. They are great promoters/marketers so hire them to do just that. Who knows a long term business relationship could come out of this. Teach them to earn legit money.

Mention them to other writer friends

Obviously they will bootleg other eBooks until they can get something legit going. Why not lead them down the right path by offering their um…services to your writer friends. Some will most likely cuss you out for even insinuating they hire their enemies. Just point out that the positives outweighs the negatives and if they still declines respect that and keep it moving. Personally it’s best to keep your friends closer and your eBook bootlegger even closer.

 

Nobody love losing money, it’s a brutal business and I don’t foresee it disappearing ever. It may seem as though I am not taking this subject seriously, I am but I’m a realist and what did your grandma used to say? Make lemonade out of lemons.

Peace and luv!

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• Is piracy a bad thing? (irevuo.wordpress.com)

Make money don’t get broke from self publishing

One of the CEOs if Smashwords made an interesting prediction for 2013. He stated that writers who self publish will pay more money out of their pocket getting their novel done than what they will get in profits.

Houston we have a slight problem. I understand that you have to spend money to make money but damn. Crazy thing is I believe him. As a writer who self publish it is easy to get caught up in the services many people offer because you feel that you need to. But it is all about being smart with it.

A lot of the traditional publishers who now offer self publishing services trump up their editing, designing, etc services in order for you to look at those packages and buy. Break that ish down and you will realize there is no difference, it comes out breaking your bank either way.

Neither I nor Mark Coker of Smashwords are trying to steer you away from self publishing we just want you to be careful. It is time consuming but do your homework. Hell it’s hard out here for a pimp! Know your goals, what you want before searching otherwise you will take anything. Know what you will pay for. A thousand for someone to develop a Facebook page? You should not pay for that! Come on now.

Peace and luv from yours truly,

Talia

Posted from none other than your favorite writer’s favorite writer Ms Talia

Did You Know…..?

Over 200,000 (235,000 to be exact) books get released yearly thru self publishing. Whether that is an appealing number is all how you look at it. What you do with the info is more important.

More opportunities!

CreateSpace, Smashwords, Author Solutions and Lulu are dominating the book market as far as self publishing goes. Some authors have really taken advantage of the services. And why not? You want something right, do it yourself.

Make money!

It’s not a guarantee so don’t shoot the messenger if your ish doesn’t pop off like you wanted it to. However if you put in the hard work you will in turn get hard cash. Realize also you must spend money to make money.

Self publishing avenues allows your work to become available a hell of a lot faster than if a traditional publisher did it. I’m still trying to figure out the mystery to why is that.

There is a downfall to self publishing (oh come on you already knew this was coming). Quite a few authors have went the self publishing route but didn’t take the quality of their work seriously putting out work full of garbage, grammatical errors, stereotypical dialogue (uh-hmmm urban lit?!), complicated plots and the whole terrible she-bang that would make Webster dictionary cringe. So out of the 235,000 self published novels how many actually are quality work?

One more thing, don’t get lost in the publishing game. If you self publish keep in mind there are 234,999+ right along with you trying to catch peoples’ attention so be innovative, creative and damn good!

Peace and luv!

Writing Opportunities

Real estate says location, location, location! In the writing business our motto is networking, networking, networking. It is possible to ink a deal and become successful without having connects but it sure is easy a hell when you do have them available. Attending those writer’s conferences and/or submitting to legit contests can get you some notoreighty. Here are a few I found for you. No need to thank me it’s my job. Now pay attention….

The Bookbaby Bestseller Sweepstakes: Only independent authors can enter into this massive publishing package worth over ten grand. The deadline will be October 31st and the winner will be contacted thru email.

Now back to the prizes: ebook Premium Publishing, custom printed books with Interior Book Design, cover design, global ebook distribution, a sales consultation and a professionally made website.

There is so much more, visit http://www.bookbaby.com for complete details.

Harper Voyager Giving Unagented Writers An Opportunity: For two weeks (Oct 1st thru the 14th) the science fiction and fantasy imprint Harper Voyage will be accepting unagented manuscripts. Editors from the US, UK and Australia will select the best. The winner will get the full service publishing package (editing, online marketing and sales support in world english markets).

Epic fantasy, science fiction, urban fantasy, horror, dystopia and supernatural are the genres fitted for them. Visit http://www.harporvoyagersubmissions.com to submit.

BBC To Host Atlanta Black Theatre Festival: On October 4th thru the 7th the BBC will host a festival in the black mecca of the States-Hot-lanta! In four days, forty plays will take place. Workshops, author’s alley and readings will be offered to enjoy. Oh did I mention that this festival is free?

AABE Now Accepting Manuscripts: What would you earn for getting published thru AABE? How about:

-digital conversion
-major retail distribution
-worldwide Adobe PDF distribution
-exposure to Exchange Publishing Umbrella
-royalties that will be paid quarterly
-over 25,000 Facebook connects
-over 100,000 reader list
-over 400 african american book clubs exposure
-over 400 AABE ebook club members
-author new release campaigns
-WAAE radio author interviews

Get in while you can, all genres welcomed.

More upcoming contests
Hollywood Screenplay Contest. Categories accepted are: screenplays, short screenplays, tv scripts, pilots, stage plays, treatments and reality tv.

Deadline is September 30th.

Grand prize is: cash advisory meetings with Hollywood literart agency, Summit Talent, Literary Agency, Greenhouse Studios and Hollywood production company – Greenhouse Studios production package – software packages from Sony Creative software – InkTip Marketing package – gift certificates – moviemaker magazine subscription – independent film quarterly subscription – free entry to the Hollywood Screenplay Contest – Script Coverage package.

Whew that was a lot! http://www.hollywoodscreenplaycontest.com

Publishing Innovation Awards: These awards honor digital content that enriches readers in 14 categories. The winners will receive tickets to the three day Digital Book World Conference and Expo going down in January. The deadline is November 15th.

Boiler’s Journal’s 1st Annual 500 Flash Fiction Challenge: Can you write great content in 500 words or less? Here is your chance. First place winner will get $1000 while second place will get $500. Deadline is November 15th.

LA Book Festival: Any books that are published traditionally, by self, or indie are eligible for this. Three categories (Author of the Year, Book Design of the Year and Publisher of the year) to compete in. A $50 registration fee is expected but the prize is worth it. $1500 and a ticket to the LA book festival. Visit http://www.losangelesbookfestival.com

Peace and luv!

Entreprenuers In Africa

Each week Kickstarter highlights a unique, spotlight worthy project. I am highlighting this recent one on my blog because we need it to fall thru for this man.

Writer Jon Gosier is hoping to raise $60,000 to be able to get the youth in Africa the opportunity to publish and direct films and books. Read his reasoning:

“

The usual story we hear is how this explosion of youth is tied to unemployment, civil unrest and crime. But there is another side to this story whether it’s a Ugandan engineer teaching robotics to youth in remote villages or a Malawain who taught himself to build windmills which now power his entire community or the Kenyans racing to offer the continents first pan- Africa mobile banking solution – left to their own devices they are coming up with disruptive innovations, creating new business models that not only will employ themselves but their peers and creating new ecosystems for trade that boost the continent’s productivity.

“

I could not agree more. These people need to shine if not brighter than the negative images we see in the media. Hopefully this story will motivate some money makers. Tweet this to all of your social media friends and see if we can get this ball rolling. Visit kickstarter to donate.

Traditional Publishing? No Thanks!

Image via CrunchBase

This isn’t my opinion (the title). Read on and I’ll explain.

Author Penelope Trunks has attempted to go thru the traditional publishing route and she wrote about the experience on her blog. She honestly feels the same way about it as I do. A conversation went on with a publisher and as she asked legit questions they got an attitude and accused her of being condescending. So instead of bowing down Penelope digested every book on self publishing she could get her hands on and became a self publisher herself. Minds well…..what do traditional publishers do anyway? They don’t even want to fuck with you unless you have a strong online presence. They demand you to have a concrete marketing plan on what you’ve done so far and what you are planning to continue doing after the book deal (if they give you a contract).

With all of that what will they do, just sit on their asses collecting my hard earned cash? I’m serious, what are their responsibilities? I’ve worked my ass off on a project not to have some joe schmoe half market it. I’m kind of backwards tho considering I do want my own publishing company but I want to take it back to the way it was where all the writer had to do was worry about writing. Some writers do not always want to be self publishers, all they want to do is write novel after novel. My job would be to make sure that writer does that while I schedule the conferences, book signings, etc. And another goal of mine would be to cut down the process of publishing the novel in half. It should not take 12-18 months (unless you’re a celebrity, and we all know how that goes) to publish a book.

Anywho here are some of Penelope’s observations on traditional publishers:

• publishers don’t have any idea who is buying their books. 85% of books are sold thru Amazon. Ironically Amazon does not share their numbers with publishers. How do they market their clients? What if they schedule a writer to do a book signing in an area where they are not known?
• another Penelopism is print publishers have no idea how to do online marketing. WTF! That explains why they want you to do the grunt work cause they are too lazy to do it themselves! They haven’t a clue which online method works or how many people they actually reach since they don’t do a metrics based online publicity campaign
• The profit margins are too low. Penelope got more profit selling on Amazon rather than putting a link back to her publisher’s site for a sale

I have seen enough authors succeed at self publishing to not give it a try. It is not easy but I feel more rewarded this way.

Peace and luv!

 

Related articles

• Traditional publishers have no clue about on-line marketing, says author Penelope Trunk (teleread.com)

Writer’s Digest West Conference and Pitch Slam

Hollywood Sign (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

‘It never rains in Southern California!’

Ok I am seriously aging myself right about now and that song has nothing to do with this post I just thought I’d share that line from a classic song with you.

Back to the topic at hand – Writer’s Digest. October 19th thru the 21st (are you marking your calendars yet? Let me give you a sec to do that…). Alright so on those days in sunny Hollywood, California in the Renaissance Hollywood Hotel and Spa Writer’s Digest will host the West Conference. WD is such a great source for getting tips, critiques done, updates on workshops and conferences along with tutorial information. I highly recommend it if you haven’t been going to the site. Their conferences are the same just in person!

I know, I know you want to know the price. If you register before or on July 19th which is today you will only have to pay $845. For an individual full conference it’s $495, the Saturday only option is $375 and the whole kitten and caboodle will cost you $945. I suggest you register early. Go to the website to get the full scoop.

Another event to watch out for is the Pitch Slam. The concept is similar to speed dating. For 90 minutes a room full of agents will be at your disposal. Here’s the catch tho, you will only get three minutes with each one! The first 90 seconds will be spent describing your work and why it will be successful. The second set of 90 seconds will allow the agent to critique the pitch. Your mission if you choose to accept it is to get the agent’s business card before your pitch self destructs. Ok maybe the latter is extreme but you do need to get that card! Digest as many pitch books and blog info as you can so you will be ready. Good luck!

Peace and luv!

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Writer’s Advance By LitChat

English: South Beach, Florida (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

In a writing stump? Or maybe you just need to do some freshening on your craft well then pack your bags to hit up South Beach, Florida.

On September 16th (my son’s birthday just in case you wanted to know) thru the 19th at the Betsy Hotel LitChat will host its first Writer’s Advance conference. Days filled with information, tips and workshops for you to digest so good when you get back nothing but greatness will flow out of that brain of yours.

Each participant will get 2 sessions with a master instructor, writing time, 2 read and critique sessions, panel discussions and public reading series. The hotel will give participants coffee and tea breaks along with group dinners.

Now about that cost. You knew it was coming.

For the early bird tuition it is $250; you save yourself a hundred dollars from the price if you wait to pay at the door ($350). Between August 2nd thru September 15th the cost is $300.

I’ve said it before and I will say it again take advantage of events such as this; unfortunately I have not gone to any conferences due to lack of transportation and funds but that should not stop you from getting connected, networking and getting discovered. For those like me what can you do to network and rub elbows with some authors?

• search online for free writing classes (yes they do exist)
• carpool with a group (this may lower the pay as well)
• go where the author’s are online; reading an author’s blog or website or subscribing to their newsletter can give you much insight on what you should expect and be doing.

Reserve your spot asap because there are only a few slots for this.

Peace and luv!

 

Is It Worth It?

Kickstarter. In case you’re not sure of what it is or do Kickstarter is a website that people who need projects funded can create a campaign to hopefully attract some gracious people to fund that project. People from artists, movie directors and the like have turned to Kickstarter to hopefully get projects funded. How many publishing projects have been funded? According to Kickstarter’s findings less than 32% of publishing projects get funded. Over 7,000 projects never got a single pledge. Wow, 7,000? Well if you think about it how many actually create campaigns daily, I’m for sure a hell of a lot more than 7 gs. Seven projects have raised well over one million. Actually $215 million have been pledged to successfully fund projects and 63% of theatre projects have been successfully funded.

Don’t scrap that project just yet, these numbers just mean before you get a campaign going make sure you have a legit plan for getting some big dawgs to fund your project. Start inquiring and getting people geeked before the fundraising begin, if what you are presenting to people as a teaser is getting lukewarm responses tweek some ish. Offer incentives for giving money to your cause.

The great thing about Kickstarter is if by the deadline

you have not reached the financial goal then it goes back to the funders. Which means you go back to the drawing board; however too many unsuccessful campaigns will damage your reputation to deliver so be careful. Have any of you done anything thru Kickstarter? Let me know how you did.

Peace and luv!

Step Into The Digital World

This will be the 4th year for the Digital Publishing Virtual Summit. You will not have to leave your house for this event. 20 different workshops will be at your disposal including ways for promoting your message, creating book strategies and multimedia content along with making money with your message.

To register visit www.bookmarketingmadeeasy.com to sign up. Once you do they will email you with the complete list of dates, times and workshops that will be conducted. I did and trust me the workshops are worth participating in. And oh did I mention that this is free?

Peace and luv!