In case you missed it, I've made my two bookmarks available to print via my Facebook author page. I'll also be giving them away as contest prizes, or with the purchase of Halloween Tales for those with no photo paper, or who wish to save their printHere they are:
Get A Thorn of Death, featuring my story, "No More Room in Hell" at http://www.amazon.com/A-Thorn-of-Death-ebook/dp/B007LNVZQC/ref=sr_1_4?s=books&ie=UTF8&qid=1332163551&sr=1-4, or also via Smashwords.com or B&N's Nook page.
In case you missed it, I've made my two bookmarks available to print via my Facebook author page. I'll also be giving them away as contest prizes, or with the purchase of Halloween Tales for those with no photo paper, or who wish to save their printHere they are:
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The Odic Touch has been unpublished (for now). I plan to polish it up some before continuing work on the sequel... whenever that may happen. On Facebook and writer blogs, I keep reading how busy some of the other authors are, and it makes me feel like a bum for staying distracted rather than writing.
In promo news... I had decided to create bookmarks upon reaching the minimum royalties earnings from Smashwords... but I still have less than $10 (I need about $1.20, or, since I get 30% of each sale less than $2.99, about 4 sales of Halloween Tales at $0.99 each on https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/96714 ). I'm hoping I don't lose that money if the deadline passes and I haven't met the minimum requirement. I also decided last week (when I still had a week left before unpublishing Odic Touch) since I haven't made any more sales, I haven't printed any of the bookmarks yet. I'm starting to think I should change the rules and have trivia on my Facebook pages and give them away as prizes, or maybe post the JPEGs on here so that they can be downloaded and printed from home. Any suggestions? Feel free to comment to this blog, or on my Facebook page (http://www.facebook.com/royhudsonauthor). The only other update I can think of is that I heard an update on my latest novel submission (Take Only As Directed) and it's being read now. Firefly & Wisp is busy busy busy after closing submissions two weeks ago, but hopefully I get some good news soon. Several things to mention:
1. Today (3/8) is the last day for coupon code XK29F (50% off for The Odic Touch) on Smashwords. 2. I've sold one additional copy, making 99 cents to bring my Smashwords total up to $8.82, meaning I need to earn $1.28 more to get a royalty payment this month when the pay period ends. It sounds easy, but... not so much. One more copy of The Odic Touch today and another copy of Halloween Tales should do it.. Once I get that royalty payment, I can start making promo items for my page and the next book. 3. The Odic Touch will be unpublished in exactly one week (3/15), so if you want it, you'd better go ahead and get it while you can. 4. I submitted Take Only As Directed to Firefly & Wisp on 2/28 or so. 5. Since I won't have a novel in print from F&W until the fall but want to have another book available, I'll be self-publishing another short story collection on Smashwords. I decided on another short story collection because shorts are generally less wordy (and hence easier to edit) than novels. That's all I can think of that I'd call worth mentioning. More l PAYPAL CENSORSHIP UPDATE
In case you haven't heard, about two weeks ago, PayPal contacted Smashwords and gave us a surprise ultimatum: Remove all titles containing bestiality, rape or incest, otherwise they threatened to deactivate our PayPal account. We engaged them in discussions and on Monday they gave us a temporary reprieve as we continue to work in good faith to find a suitable solution. PayPal tells us that their crackdown is necessary so that they can remain in compliance with the requirements of the banks and credit card associations (likely Visa, MasterCard, Discover, American Express, though they didn't mention them by name). Last Friday, I sent the following email to our erotica authors and publishers: https://www.smashwords.com/press/release/27 Then on Monday, I issued an update, and announced we would delay enforcement of PayPal's guidelines so we and PayPal could continue our discussions: https://www.smashwords.com/press/release/28 THE PROBLEM: PayPal is asking us to censor legal fiction. Regardless of how one views topics of rape, bestiality and incest, these topics are pervasive in mainstream fiction. We believe this crackdown is really targeting erotica writers. This is unfair, and it marks a slippery slope. We don't want credit card companies or financial institutions telling our authors what they can write and what readers can read. Fiction is fantasy. It's not real. It's legal. THE SOLUTION: There's no easy solution. Legally, PayPal and the credit card companies probably have the right to decide how their services are used. Unfortunately, since they're the moneyrunners, they control the oxygen that feeds digital commerce. Many Smashwords authors have suggested we find a different payment processor. That's not a good long term solution, because if credit card companies are behind this, they'll eventually force crackdowns elsewhere. PayPal works well for us. In addition to running all credit card processing at the Smashwords.com store, PayPal is how we pay all our authors outside the U.S. My conversations with PayPal are ongoing and have been productive, yet I have no illusion that the road ahead will be simple, or that the outcome will be favorable. BUILDING A COALITION OF SUPPORT: Independent advocacy groups are considering taking on the PayPal censorship case. I'm supporting the development of this loose-knit coalition of like-minded groups who believe that censorship of legal fiction should not be allowed. We will grow the coalition. Each group will have its own voice and tactics I'm working with them because we share a common cause to protect books from censorship. Earlier today I had conversations with the Electronic Frontier Foundation (EFF), The American Booksellers Foundation for Free Expression (ABFFE) and the National Coalition Against Censorship (NCAC). I briefed them on the Smashwords/PayPal situation, explained the adverse affect this crackdown will have on some of our authors and customers, and shared my intention to continue working with PayPal in a positive manner to move the discussion forward. The EFF blogged about the issue a few days ago: https://www.eff.org/deeplinks/2012/02/legal-censorship-paypal-makes-habit-deciding-what-users-can-read Today, ABFFE and NCAC issued a press release: http://www.scribd.com/doc/83549049/NCAC-ABFFE-Letter-To-PayPal-eBay-re-Ebook-Refusal-2012 I will not be on the streets with torch in hand calling for PayPal's head, but I will encourage interested parties to get involved and speak their piece. This is where you come in... HOW YOU CAN HELP: Although erotica authors are being targeted, this is an issue that should concern all indie authors. It affects indies disproportionately because indies are the ones pushing the boundaries of fiction. Indies are the ones out there publishing without the (fading) protective patina of a "traditional publisher" to lend them legitimacy. We indies only have each other. Several Smashwords authors have contacted me to stress that this censorship affects women disproportionately. Women write a lot of the erotica, and they're also the primary consumers of erotica. They're also the primary consumers of mainstream romance, which could also come under threat if PayPal and the credit card companies were to overly enforce their too-broad and too-nebulous obsenity clauses (I think this is unlikely, but at the same time, why would dubious consent be okay in mainstream romance but not okay in erotica? If you write paranormal, can your were-creatures not get it on with one another, or is that bestiality? The insanity needs to stop here. These are not questions an author, publisher or distributor of legal fiction should have to answer.). All writers and their readers should stand up and voice their opposition to financial services companies censoring books. Authors should have the freedom to publish legal fiction, and readers should have the freedom to read what they want. These corporations need to hear from you. Pick up the phone and call them. Email them. Start petitions. Sign petitions. Blog your opposition to censorship. Encourage your readers to do the same. Pass the word among your social networks. Contact your favorite bloggers and encourage them to follow this story. Contact your local newspaper and offer to let them interview you so they can hear a local author's perspective on this story of international significance. If you have connections to mainstream media, encourage them to pick up on the story. Encourage them to call the credit card companies and pose this simple question, "PayPal says they're trying to enforce the policies of credit card companies. Why are you censoring legal fiction?" Below are links to the companies waiting to hear from you. Click the link and you'll find their phone numbers, executive names and postal mailing addresses. Be polite, respectful and professional, and encourage your friends and followers to do the same. Let them know you want them out of the business of censoring legal fiction. Tell the credit card companies you want them to give PayPal permission to sell your ebooks without censorship or discrimination. Let them know that PayPal's policies are out of step with the major online ebook retailers who already accept your books as they are. Address your calls, emails (if you can find the email) and paper letters (yes paper!) to the executives. Post open letters to them on your blog, then tweet and Facebook hyperlinks to your letters. Force the credit card companies to join the discussion about censorship. And yes, express your feelings and opinions to PayPal as well. Don't scream at them. Ask them to work on your behalf to protect you and your readers from censorship. Tell them how their proposed censorship will harm you and your fellow writers. Visa: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=V+Profile American Express: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=AXP+Profile MasterCard: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=MA+Profile Discover: http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=DFS+Profile Ebay (owns PayPal): http://finance.yahoo.com/q/pr?s=ebay+Profile Starting Sunday, if our email systems can handle it, we will send out an email to several hundred thousand registered Smashwords members who are opted in to receive occasional Smashwords service updates. The email will combine Read an Ebook Week with the censorship call to action. Let's start a little fire, shall we? Thank you for your continuing support of Smashwords. With your help, we can move mountains. Best wishes, Mark |
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January 2020
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