Wednesday Reads and the Reality of Businesses

Okay, I have a little rant here and it’s based on some authors’ rantings. Lately, a lot of it is directed at Amazon. Now, I’m not a fan of Amazon, that’s why I own a Nook. Still, it is a business I deal with and buy from occasionally (mainly because I’m lazy or just can’t find what I want around here). And that’s just it. It’s a BUSINESS.

This is what I’ve seen people griping about:

#1 – Amazon has changed the way a book shows up on the page. It now shows an ad for a different book (usually by a different author) below (in smaller print). Whoo boy, you’d think Amazon had cut a vein! How dare they do this?

Thing is, it’s not the author’s page. It’s Amazon’s page. They can do whatever they want. These authors just can’t see that maybe their OWN book could be an ad on someone else’s book page. I certainly would like that!

#2 – Apparently Amazon is changing the way they pay authors on Kindle Unlimited (KU). Seems they’ll be paying authors by the page read instead of a percentage. Some authors are upset that they won’t get paid as much if the reader doesn’t finish their book and how that is unfair. I think what’s unfair is that these authors expect to be paid for a book someone doesn’t like. I say: Write a good book and they’ll finish it.

I don’t see KU as being all that evil (except for that exclusivity part—don’t care for that at all). I consider it like a library. It’s just that the reader has to pay a fee. And it’s not like the author isn’t being paid. Maybe not a lot, but they get paid every time someone starts reading their book (unlike a library where the author only gets paid by the number of books the library purchases).

My Sunny Vampire is with KU and it wasn’t by my choice. In fact, I don’t even think Kensington had much of a choice as to which books ended up on KU. And it’s true, I get paid differently than if I had a book in KU as a self-published author. But Amazon is a BUSINESS and it makes DEALS with larger vendors. And its main purpose: To make money. How is that a surprise to these authors? It shouldn’t be, that’s what.

In this regard, I’m so glad I have an accounting degree. It came with LOTS of business classes! And if you’re going to go into business (and being published is the same as going into a business), I highly recommend taking some. Then maybe stunts like these won’t come as such a shock.

Okay, rant over. Now, onto what I read this week (yeah, I actually finished a book!):

Jun 12: “Dead Awakenings” by Rebekah R. Ganiere, a paranormal romance at 251 pages long. Blurb from Goodreads: Evaine, a struggling New York theater student, enters an unsanctioned drug trial in an effort to pay bills. She awakens in a derelict hospital, chained to a bed with no memory of who she is, or how she got there. A band of pale skinned men, led by the gorgeous Luca, burst in, whisking her away to safety. Once at Haven House, Evaine is introduced to The Family. Like them, she has become A Deader, a reanimated Undead. Luca is hell-bent on stopping the experimentations, and killing those responsible. He has no time for a Newborn who is struggling to control her rages, hunger, and powers. Nor does he have the desire to deal with the feelings she's awakening within him. Despite their best efforts, Evaine and Luca find their connection intensifying when suddenly, she remembers not only who she is, but also her fiancé, Tristan; who is still looking for her. Torn between her first love and her new heart’s desire, Evaine runs back to Tristan putting everyone in danger. When a rogue faction of Deaders, called Feeders, attempts to kidnap her, Luca suspects Evaine is the key to the experiments. Can everyone band together to keep Evaine off the cutting table of those she escaped from? Or will second death tear her away from everyone, for good? It started out slow but picked up steam to the end. This really is a zombie sort of book, so if you’re into them (and you like your paranormal romance clean, sex-wise), you’ll like this. I do have a warning: I had a lot of issues with the formatting on my Nook (and I bought this from B&N, too!). The lines wouldn’t change (they were too close together) no matter what I picked, so that kind of frustrated me (and I might have taken it out on the book a bit). Anyway, if you have a Nook, it’s something to consider. I have no idea how the formatting is on a Kindle.

On the writing front: I have a character in my current WIP to thank for figuring out one of my plots. If she wasn’t a ghost, and a figment of my imagination, I’d kiss her! J

So… I’ve been watching the old Batman series (1966) with my hubby and son. I still think it’s awesome. Make a series campy and it never grows old. Don’t you agree?

Have a good Wednesday and happy reading!

Stacy

P.S. I saw “Jurassic World” last night. Very entertaining. I enjoyed it.