One Year On Mobipocket

Never has one website and its users had such an effect on my life.

Since I uploaded my books on Mobipocket, who I thought would be more of a distributor than a direct conduit to readers, I've gone from working in a cubicle to writing full time. Mobipocket hasn't made me rich, far from it, but thanks to the readers who enjoy my work I have just enough to do what I love without making time for another full time job.

"Why are you leaving Mobipocket?" Someone asked me this week. They interpreted my inclusion by other online eBook retailers catalogs as a move to separate myself from Mobipocket. My answer was simple; "I'm not leaving Mobipocket!"

My books will always be listed there. I've always been treated fairly by the site runners and there are a lot of readers who still very much enjoy Mobipocket, so there's no way I'll leave them behind when I have no reason to, especially after having a great year on their listings. For most of my time there I've been listed as the top selling science fiction author, an honour bestowed upon me by hundreds of readers who wait patiently for each Broadcast and spread the word (most of the time).

The reasons why I'm listing on Smashwords and Shortcovers are many, but mainly it's because Amazon.com, the owners of Mobipocket don't seem to be letting Mobipocket grow or change with the times. Just in case Amazon.com does something that really damages Mobipocket (and I don't know that they will, I hope they don't), I need to know my readers have a place to go to get my books.

There's also a need for more compatibility and people are very irritated with DRM, so there has to be an alternative to Mobipocket for any publisher or independent author. [EDIT: Smashwords doesn't add DRM to their eBooks and are compatible with all readers, even one I saw from Hong Kong recently] Things change, especially in the digital world, and I want my readers to feel confident that they can find my work no matter what reader they're using. I'll be the last person to force someone to buy print.

So, thank you very much Mobipocket, without you I wouldn't have met most of my readers. Thank you readers, without you and your reviews I would still be working in cubicle hell! Here's to another year on Mobipocket, may they remain viable and vital.

There is one more thing I should mention. I'm trying to spread the success I've had on Mobipocket to Shortcovers, Amazon.com and Smashwords. There are a few ways people can help and the one I'd like to focus on right now is getting reader reviews for the First Light Chronicles Omnibus on Amazon.com and Smashwords. I can't send signed copies out to everyone who posts a review, I simply can't afford it, but I can provide free eBooks! So if you post a review, send me an email with a link to it and you'll be rewarded! It doesn't have to be exhaustive, overly long or even an essay. Just a paragraph or two.

RL

Again, thank you readers, I'm a lucky author. Now, back to work on Spinward Fringe Rogue Element!

Punishing the Purchaser: FBI Warnings and Other Follies

I hope they don't sue me for pirating this screen shot. I ripped it straight from a DVD I had laying around.

Anyway, I popped in the Knight's Tale DVD the other day and had to sit through two piracy warnings that stayed on my screen for 30 seconds each before even seeing the main menu. Then I started the movie and guess what? Another FBI warning! If I hadn't already owned the DVD for a couple of years, I would have returned it.

Instead I ask; does anyone actually think this works?

I mean, being put out of my way actually makes me lean towards just logging on to my favourite p2p (peer to peer) site and grabbing whatever I'd like. At least the piracy groups know not to inconvenience their patrons.

I remember seeing the first two minute anti-piracy commercial after paying $11.00 to see a movie in a theater, I was pretty tempted to leave. Is that kind of advertising supposed to inspire me to go on some crusade against piracy? Am I supposed to feel ashamed if I download a missed episode of television or grab a copy of a movie from the net because I haven't gotten my copy from Amazon yet? I'll tell you, it doesn't work. I know plenty of people with massive digital movie collections and they don't look guilt ridden. I also don't feel like shaking my finger at them and telling them that they're hurting the creators of that work.

Theft is wrong, that's undeniable. If everyone who read my books pirated them I would still be working in a call center cubicle and I'd be spending thousands of dollars submitting manuscripts and mail outs to agents and publishers around the world. A few science fiction fans have put their support behind me because they had access to some of my work and as a result I'm writing for them full time. I still have to work to continue getting the word out to build that following, but I don't mind.

On the other hand I'm not interested in posting big notices in the first pages of my books telling them (the readers, my supporters), that piracy is wrong, and that I'll sue them if I find out they made a copy for someone else! Imagine starting into one of my EBooks and seeing a whole page dedicated to that kind of threat? I don't think anyone would put up with it.

So, since it's not illegal, I've started ripping all my DVD's to a hard drive, skipping the FBI warnings and keeping all the digital picture and surround sound goodness. You see, what they don't tell you in those threatening announcements is that everyone who owns an intellectual product is allowed to make 1 or more copies for backup purposes. That's true in Canada, the US and the UK. My glossy DVD's will sit on the shelves getting dusty and ignored from now on.

As a final note with regards to piracy, the whole digital information industry is trying to find a new business model that lets everyone think they're getting something for free. I'd love to give my stuff away, but I don't receive enough donations or have enough cash in the bank to allow for it. That doesn't mean I'm going to wait to be rich to find a way to get my books out there cheaply or freely. In the future I'll be trying a few different strategies on my own as I discover new opportunities. No promises at this point, I'm still looking at several options. My point is that there will be ways to get content for free eventually, even though it may take another decade for companies to figure out how to stay in business and finance their productions.

RL

[Are you an advocate for piracy or a supporter of the content creators? Do you have a solution that lands somewhere in the middle? Leave a comment!]

Farewell 2008, Helloooo 2009!

On January 1, 2008 I resolved that I would write every day of that year. I only missed sixteen days and the results of putting the work and time into my craft are beyond what I could have imagined.

I started with Freeground on January 1, and I had no idea what I started. Five and a half more science fiction novellas/novels followed along with a non-fiction self help, two other books that will go unpublished as well as the full outline and treatment for a horror novel/screenplay that you'll most likely see this year.

My writing has improved, my plot craft has gotten sharper and I've fallen head over heels with the universe I've created over the last 365 days as well as the characters dwelling within. The Spinward Fringe universe is something that will persist whether people are interested or not. The good news is that interest is growing and Spinward Fringe is actually putting bread on the table and a roof over my head.

In August I launched the First Light Chronicles Omnibus and the first Spinward Fringe novella (Resurrection), on MobiPocket and the few people who had purchased them through Lulu.com were kind enough to post reviews there. The growing interest there since has shown me not only where my audience is but that there's actually a demand for what I'm doing. I love to entertain, I could easily say that it's one of my primary reasons for being and it seems the British love what I'm doing. Not to diminish my other readers, I appreciate everyone, but over 70% of my readers live in Britain. If this keeps up I'll have to make the trip to meet a few, but I'm still a little under funded for that I'm afraid.

Since then there have been rumors of a television series, another rumor that the whole book series has been put on hold because I've been picked up by a publisher and yet another rumor that I'm giving up Science Fiction for Horror. Well, none of those are true. If there's a television series coming (and I'd love it if there were), no one told me. I haven't been picked up by a publisher, but two agents have passed on me since I'm self published and I'm certainly NOT giving up Science Fiction.

It's true that I'll be writing a horror novel after Spinward Fringe Frontline, but only one and it's already fully outlined so it won't take very long. There are plenty of Spinward Fringe books waiting to be written and you'll see a few of them in 2009.

Here's something else that's true: I'm just a hair away from making a real living at this. No side jobs, no extra work here and there, just writing full time. Complete independence is a dream that not only my characters lust after, but something I've sought out my entire life and thanks to all of you I may be able to attain that goal. I'll have the opportunity to entertain with the written word a hell of a lot longer, hopefully for the rest of my life. In the meantime my primary donator and a couple much smaller ones have filled in financial gaps that I would have had to pick up a part time job to cover, I have to thank you especially. Just the fact that people are buying and enjoying my work is amazing, that someone actually invests a little (or a lot), more so I can keep producing is just incredible.

To think back to a time when I thought few (if any), people would be interested in what I was writing but I kept inventing and typing anyway really shows me how suddenly and surprisingly things have developed. I wrote for the enjoyment back then, and to be completely honest, writing is still a selfish act for me for one simple reason: I love what I'm doing. If I don't enjoy writing something, I simply don't do it. The fact that others are entertained by what I'm doing just makes me want to create better, more surprising and engaging fiction, thus increasing my enjoyment. It's a mental exersion that its own reward and I couldn't stop if I tried. Having said that, any movie, book, television or puppet show is always a lot better when you've shared it with a friend. So I'm truly fortunate to have a few hundred friends to share my favorite books with. When you have a cinema running in your brain 98% of the time it helps to have a few bodies in the seats.

Thank you all, I truly owe so much to everyone who has purchased one of my books, clicked on the donation button or passed the word.
You'll see some amazing, horrifying, and interesting things in 2009. After all, 2008 was just about getting started and 2009 will be all about making things bigger, brighter, bolder.

You ain't seen nothin' yet.

RL

Happy new year!