Publishing

Media exposure of rampant Google Books and ebook piracy has been going on for so long now. One would think that Google could have taken some simple remedial measures by now. But no, judging from this article in the NYT, Rousting the Book Pirates From Google, not a lot has changed. Google is still doing very…

Beware of expensive vanity publishers and scam agents who prey on new authors. Publishing a book today is easy with free online self-publishing services. Some are not entirely free, but most are very cheap. However, this low-cost simplicity has made it a goldmine for shady agents and predatory publishers to mislead new authors trying to…

No, I didn’t read the terms and conditions, but I ticked the box. So I agree, subject to change without notice. When you use a service on the Internet, do you know what you can and cannot do? Do you know what rights you have? Do you know what the site’s rules are? Can a…

Are errors and omissions accepted in ebooks today? I have read many comments and reviews about errors in ebooks. Of course, many of these comments relate to self-published books. But it is worthwhile noting that large and well-known publishers are also guilty of publishing ebooks with errors and omissions. The ebook rush It is hardly…

The ebook may seem to have taken the world by storm, but in fact, it has only been a storm in a few countries. Outside the major Amazon Kindle markets such as the US, UK, and Germany, it has hardly been a rain squall. I live in Switzerland, very close to France, and if I…

What do you really own when it comes to technology and buying ebooks? Do you own ebooks you buy? Well, from the story about a Kindle owner having her Kindle wiped clean by Amazon and her account closed, it would seem the answer is that you do not own ebooks. The disturbing part of the story…

Another day, another Kindle Unlimited scam. This time, it’s prawns! Well, shrimps for US readers. Okay, you can now place your table of contents at the end of your ebook, but it wasn’t the case a couple of months ago. The catch Many innocent self-published authors were caught up in attempts by Amazon to rid…

The bad news bears are always loud in their opinions when comparing self-publishing vs traditional publishing. It usually reads that traditionally published books are winning the publishing war and dominating market share against ebooks, especially over self-published ebooks. While rarely newsworthy, these opinion articles are frequent. They all beat a similar drum that the self-published…

Amazon has taken a new approach and policy change against paid customer reviews, including fake book reviews. In the past, Amazon deleted these product reviews or went after the provider of paid reviews. But Amazon has now set its legal sights on sellers. Paid and fake book reviews are an important issue for self-publishing authors.…

Signing up with a book publisher is every author’s dream. But think twice and beware of book contract nightmares. Never sign a book contract with a publisher without doing your homework first. There are so many small publishers nowadays offering publishing agreements. While some are good, there are many that are not so good or even…