Modern Pirates and Thieves

 In the world of books, there is one ever present scourge, book pirates. No, not people running around with a parrot on one shoulder, yelling "Argh" or "Ahoy Matey" every time they come ashore from their wooden ships, but people who think it is okay and acceptable to steal a book from an author and give it away for free. All too often you see them justifying this theft by saying 'people on a fixed income can't afford to buy books and they should be available to everyone.'  Well, yeah, books should be available to everyone, and in fact are. They are located at this place called a PUBLIC LIBRARY, a concept that has managed somehow to permeate the entire world.

Theft is wrong, people. You know it, I know it. It doesn't matter if it's a stick of gum or the Hope Diamond. Theft is wrong. And while some think that stealing a book and giving copies of it away is okay, let me ask you this: do you have a job you clock in for? Do you work for free? Then why do you think authors should? In many cases, authors aren't even making $2000 a year off royalties, most of the time even less, and largely because we have to fight people who seem to think the weeks we spend writing should have zero reward for us. Heck, even my own family has members who have straight up told me that I should give them FREE PAPERBACK COPIES of my books because they are family. 

People, I have to pay for edits, I have to pay for the covers, I have to pay for the physical copies you hold in your hand. I had to pay for the computer I used to write them on, the software I used to compose the 45k or more words I strung together, for the electricity used to run the computer and yes, the access to the internet to research the book so that I could create a believable world for you to enjoy. On average, it costs about $1200-1500 to write and publish ONE book. And yet there are those among us who think that I am made of money and can afford to do all this for FREE. Got news for you, I can't afford to do that. I have health conditions that eat up all the money I get every month in disability. So, yeah, I do need to be paid for each and every copy of my books that go out, be they ebooks or physical ones. I don't ask the people at the restaurants I frequent to work for free, I don't ask the cashiers at the grocery or general stores to work for free, and I for damn sure don't ask my medical team to work for free. So why do people think it's okay to ask authors to work for free?

On Publishing and Getting the Word Out

 Publishing is a strange world. You really have 3 sections: tradition, self, and vanity. 

Traditional publishing is where you have one of the old school publishers, like Random, and a contract that says you will write books X length and due by X date and you get paid Y amount for the books. Traditionally published books are considered 'upper class' for lack of a better term, and are the standard that everyone supposedly strives to attain. But here's the thing, you don't get as much in royalties, you have less control, and honestly, you usually end up with simple editing errors that are not tolerated in other methods of publishing. Traditionally published authors are actually held to a lower standard of quality, because the authors are given grace about edits etc, because the publisher is supposed to handle that, not the author.

Self publishing is a fickle thing. The author is responsible for EVERYTHING, content, copyrights, covers, edits, printing, advertising, sales, taxes, the whole shebang. Because of this, self-published authors are actually held to a higher standard than traditionally published authors. I have seen books put out by DelRey for one of my favorite authors, that has over 10 errors in it (missing words, wrong word used, misspelled words) that if I, as a self-published author, were to leave those errors in the book, I would be crucified by critics for the errors and scathingly told that is why self publishing shouldn't happen, that it brings down the industry. Um, ok Mr. Double-Standard.

Vanity Press is loathed by everyone. They are the publishers that are out to make a buck, and don't care about what they are putting out there. These are the publishers that charge you up front (spoiler alert: real publishers don't do this) to publish your books (usually well over $1000). It's left up to you to make arrangements for advertising and try to recoup your money from sales. While there really isn't anything technically wrong with going this route, I don't know many indie authors who can afford the vanity press route.

Interestingly enough, while you have a team working with you in a Traditional situation, in all 3, you as the author are responsible for getting the word out about your books. It's just the manner in which your books get to the public that differs.

The Saga Continues

 So, on August 12, I submitted the paperback and ebook versions of Out For Delivery to Amazon for publication. In less than 12 hours, the ebook was live. Here we are, 11 days, and 2 calls later, and I'm STILL waiting for the paperback to go live. I am at my wits end here. I can't resubmit it, I can't publish it as a new publication because it kicks it out  And they tell me that since it is in "Publishing" status, they can't cancel the publishing of it so that I can take it down and fix the few errors that the 7th person to edit it found, or put the correct cover on it. So, I get to keep a watch out for it and take it down as soon as it goes live, then fix the few issues, then reupload it and wait another who knows how long for it to go live again. UGH Oh the joys of being an author lol

Let's play catchup

 So, over the last year or so, I've had a lot happen, just like everyone else in the world. Some of it good, some of it bad, most of it mediocre. The good: I've lost about 30 lbs, and had a new book release (see previous post). The bad, my oldest nephew is on the lam, last known whereabouts was Ft. Worth, TX in a stolen car. I actually kinda hope he gets caught before he gets to Mexico, because he has no one there to support him when he winds up in a Mexican jail. Yes, I said when, not if. And more bad, my sister in law, who lives next door, took it upon herself to steal from me, because she wanted to know what my #3 nephew had been up to while he was over at my house staying the night. Now, while I can understand wanting to know what he was up to, the way to do this is NOT by going into someone else's house while they aren't home, knowing they aren't home, without asking if you can go in the house, and taking something that does NOT belong to you or to your stepchild. But now, somehow, I owe HER an apology because when she called and informed me that she had my tablet that I let my nephew use and she demanded the password to said tablet, I hung up on her out of shock that she had stolen from me and had zero remorse about it. In fact, I'm being branded as immature and badly mannered, for doing so. Wow, and she is somehow on the moral, ethical, and manner high-ground considering that it was her action that sparked this reaction? What did she expect? For me to bow down and kiss her feet and grovel and immediately jump to her command? Sorry, I missed the ceremony that granted her ownership of me. So now, I have the dilemma of do I press charges against her, as the detective I spoke to said I have every legal right to do, or do I bow down and kiss her feet and act like I am okay with her blatant disrespect of me and mine? Personally, I'm for pressing charges and having her hauled in, booked, jailed, and imprisoned for the next two years just to teach her the lesson that she is NOT above the law as she seems to think. I have until next June 15 to decide.

New release!

 

~~~~*** New Release***~~~~

Delivering the mail was never supposed to endanger Caitlyn Rivers' life. When she noticed one of her customers hadn't picked up her mail in a few days, she called for a wellness check, and it took a turn she never expected.

After the police respond to the call, it is discovered who was behind the woman being found near death at the bottom of her stairs. And by being a good Samaritan, Cait’s life is put in jeopardy.

As Cait teams up with sexy detective Ryan Hill to put the perpetrator behind bars, tension builds between them. Will they break the case, or will the case break them apart?

Buy Links:

US: https://www.amazon.com/dp/B09CYD4TD6

UK: https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B09CYD4TD6

CA: https://www.amazon.co.ca/dp/B09CYD4TD6

AU: https://www.amazon.co.au/dp/B09CYD4TD6

On Sale for 99 cents!

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Blindsided By Kami Larke

After helping her boss, Hugo Lawrence, win a high-profile murder case involving a Mafia hit man, Shelly Barnes thought her future was secure. But life had other plans for her. After being fired for no reason and callously dumped in the same week, too many shots led to her waking up in Jason Phillips bed the next morning.
Although they just met, Jason is completely captivated by this strong woman, who seems to take every blow life sends her way with a grace that few people he knows can manage. He steps in, helping her in his own way, not realizing just how much his interference will rub her the wrong way.
Life holds more surprises for Shelly. First her former boss disappears, and the focus shifts to her, not only from the police but also from the people they defeated in court. Will Shelly ever be safe again?
Buying Links
US ~ www.tinyurl.com/kami-larke-blindsided
AUS ~ https://www.amazon.com.au/dp/B079L3DJYQ
UK ~ https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B079L3DJYQ
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Stalking Links
www.twitter.com/eykekathleen facebook.com/kathleen.eyke.southernfamilyties
www.Instagram.com/kathleeneykeauthor
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https://www.facebook.com/groups/242293399633936
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Now on Preorder~~

Now on Preorder!!

Driven to the brink of insanity by his cousin’s brutal murder, Robbie McGraw is determined to make someone pay. If he can’t get Gene Henderson, the man who pulled the trigger, he will settle for the people who helped Henderson go free, the legal team of Lawrence and Barnes.

Shelly Barnes’s life has taken her in new directions since helping Hugo Lawrence win the Henderson murder trial. While celebrating Labor Day with her boyfriend on the backwater, she falls off the dock, and is pulled out – and straight into a living nightmare. Now she must use her wits to outsmart a madman, and it’s not just her life that hangs in the balance should she fail…

Preorder your copy today!

US Preorder link https://www.amazon.com/dp/B07WS4R6CQ

UK preorder link https://www.amazon.co.uk/dp/B07WS4R6CQ

Canada preorder link https://www.amazon.ca/dp/B07WS4R6CQ