First Draft

If you know anything about me, you know that I am not an eBook fan. But, wait! eBooks are convenient, eBooks are inexpensive, says the reader. eBooks are a lot of work to create correctly for very little financial return on the investment of time. Let’s start with the fact that eBooks are not really books any more than a scroll or clay tablet is a book. eBooks are actually a digitalized story; not a book. The term is nothing more than propaganda to make readers think they are getting a book for cheap. eBooks are not owned by the reader. The price is only for access. Like a print book, eBook “purchases” do not include rights to the copyrighted material, nor do they come with distribution rights. The reason that I don’t like eBooks is that we have had two books pirated; as of Sept 1, 2025, now three books pirated. Remember the FBI warning on videos? The same warning should be at the start of eBooks. eBooks are intellectual property they are protected by DRM and the US, by COPYRI...

There seems to be an increased proliferation of book marketing companies springing up by the minute. Caveat Emptor. If your Latin is rusty that literally translates as “let the buyer beware.” This cautionary tale is especially aimed at self-published authors. The first time the internet bots crawl across the fact that you’re a writer, get ready for the deluge of unsolicited emails advising of services that you did not know that you needed or even wanted . Writers have a creative talent in the age-old craft of storytelling. These sudden inbox-stuffers want to make money on a writer’s need for readers. Most of these companies have vague terms for the packages/bundles on their websites. Most of them do not list the itemized price of the “services” in the package. Most of them will not allow a la carte purchases. Most of them will include praise for your book in their quest for your money. Most of them do not tailor their product to your product, and therefore are not targeting y...