Let's Talk…reselling ebooks is ILLEGAL

How many times does this have to be pointed out? I ran into a seller on an auction site (not ebay) who was selling a slew of ebooks. None of them were mine but I knew a lot of the authors this person was ripping off. I emailed said seller and she did remove the books but book pirates are like roaches – you stomp one out and three more pop up.

Used bookstores – I personally like used book stores. The reason being that as reader, I’m more likely to pick up a new author at a used store than paying full price. If they catch my attention, then I will buy the rest of their books new.

But ebook pirates? Nope! They pay for one book (the file) and then can sell it limitless times. That’s outright stealing and its wrong.

Can’t we all get along?

Over the edge…

The question of the evening is…just how many tech support reps does it take to answer an email question?

I’m currently on hold with Time Warner cable and my mission is simple – to get the email addy assigned to my road runner account. Sounds simple doesn’t it.

Not to Time Warner.

I’m on my third person now and so far all of them have been unable to help me…okay, the rep came back to tell me I’m being transferred to lucky number four. Let’s see how well this works out…

(listening to very bad muzak)

Hmm…I really need to do my nails. I have a signing on Saturday and I don’t want to look like a castaway…

No idea what to do with my hair. I’m growing it out but I almost always wear it up. What is the point of having long hair when I always wear it…

THE BITCH HUNG UP ON ME.

The reason we have random acts of violence in this country is because we have to DEAL WITH UTILITY COMPANIES. I’M NOT A VIOLENT PERSON BUT IF THE TIME WARNER REP WERE TO KNOCK ON MY DOOR…THEY’D ONLY HAVE A FEW SECONDS TO LIVE.

My mother is very fond of saying, ‘why can’t people just do what they are paid to do?’ I have to agree with her. I’m not asking for serious tech support – I need the email addy I received when I signed up TEN YEARS AGO. Is this rocket science?

No.

Am I trying to solve world hunger?

No.

I JUST WANT THE EMAIL ADDY I’VE BEEN PAYING FOR…

I’m now talking to the fifth person…who probably can’t help me. He sounds like he’s nine.

(whistling as he pulls up my account)

Not sure what I might wear this Saturday either. Its going to be hot and humid…

What does my operating system HAVE TO DO WITH MY EMAIL???

Fuck, I’m on hold again.

(nose picking)

Sweet Mary and Joseph….I have my email addy. Please dear Goddess – let me remember my password or they may ask for my blood type and a genetic sample before they’d give me a new one…

Maddie Update!

Thanks to everyone who sent me well wishes about my dog, Maddie. She’s doing well and getting stronger every day. Yesterday her staples were removed with nary a whimper and she’s now happily scratching her back across the living room floor.

Her hind legs are still weak and she jacknifes herself from time to time. But her balance is improving and she’s getting around much better. I still don’t let her near the steps which annoys her but I don’t want to take a chance on her reinjuring herself either.

More later!

Drama in the Wilder Household

Ugh – where do I begin? Last Thursday Maddie, my dog, was limping a bit and generally acting slow. I put it down to possible arthritis and gave her some aspirin. (baby aspirin, no more than 1 per 12 hours!)

At 1:30 on Friday morning she woke me up in obvious pain. I grabbed the dog and ran across town to the 24 hour vet hospital. Within minutes they diagnosed her as having a possible ruptured or herniated disk.

OW!

They wanted to run some tests to make sure what was going on and see if she needed surgery. So I had to leave her there…sniff. I stopped by the desk on the way out and they wanted a deposit…of $2200.00!!! YIKES.

Now you tell me, who has that kind of money just lying around, especially in the middle of the night. I couldn’t just give them a check the next day, they wanted it immediately or they wouldn’t touch her.

I guess a person’s word isn’t worth much these days.

So I had to break out a credit card and make the downpayment. The next morning they called and yes…she needed surgery. And the pricetag? $3500.00.

I know…some of you are going to say I’m nuts – maybe I am, but I couldn’t give up on my girl. She’s only nine years old and that girl and I have been through hell together. She’s travelled with me all over the U.S. and we did Katrina work for many months on end. She’s more than just a dog to me.

Hey! Isn’t that a commercial?

Anyway – my baby is home and she’s recuperating well. Her back legs are weak – they had to move her spinal column during the surgery so it was bruised. She’s been home almost 2 days now and i can see a big difference in her.

Recovery will be slow and long – about a month of being confined – so I’ve moved my office onto the first floor with my girl.

More later

Sapphire Blue Publishing

Sapphire Blue Publishing
http://www.sapphirebluepublishing.com/

Press Release

Contact Info:
Name: Maria Clayton or Tina Gerow
customerservice@sapphirebluepublishing.com

For Immediate Release
August 2008

Phoenix entrepreneurs take on electronic publishing

Phoenix, AZ – Local entrepreneurs Maria Clayton, and Tina Gerow are pleased to announce the grand opening of their publishing house, Sapphire Blue Publishing, on August 15, 2008. With their diverse business backgrounds they seek to form a win/win partnership in an industry they love.

“Our goal is to bring Corporate America know how and innovation into perfect balance for the best experience for readers and authors,” says Maria Clayton, former Director of Technologies for a fortune 500 company. “We believe in a work environment that is fun and provides challenges that encourage play, innovation, and nimble out-of-the-pack thinking without boundaries.”

Sapphire Blue’s focus will be electronic books, or ebooks. These titles will take the form of a download that can be read on any number of electronic devices from the iPhone to dedicated electronic readers.

“Electronic book sales have doubled each year since 2001 and the projections are the market share will continue to climb,” says Tina Gerow. “Think about all the trees we’ll save. There’s no better time to embrace our ecological concerns and pair that with what we love, reading good books.”

Free KINDLE book

Samhain Publishing is giving away another Kindle title. It is Giving Chase by Lauren Dane. Dontcha just love these freebies…and I love my Kindle like a fat kid loves cookies.

Sounding Off

This morning the popular publishing newsletter Galley Cat featured a story posing the question, ‘Should Authors Take Their Publishing Complaints Public‘?

In their article they spotlighted an author who leveled a charge against their publisher for not paying royalties correctly. That said, it appears to be a case of sour grapes as GC hinted that the author greatly inflated their sales numbers. While Nielson’s BookScan doesn’t lie, it also doesn’t portray total sales numbers as every store doesn’t report to BookScan.

So should authors take their complaints public?

I believe so…with a caveat – they’d better be sure what they are saying is correct or they are shooting themselves in the foot…or career.

If authors (including myself) hadn’t spoken out about Triskellion then who knows how long that company would have limped along scamming authors? Trust me, I tried everything to settle with them amicably and the owners weren’t having it. Sometimes public humiliation is the only weapon we have left and in the case of Trisk – it worked.

There are any number of examples such as the Trisk debacle – and who knows how many authors avoided the train wreck because those involved spoke out? Sometimes you have to stand up and risk taking a hit in order to do the right thing.