I was surprised and delighted to be asked by International Business Times to write a blog on the subject of self-publishing. You can find my article here, http://www.ibtimes.co.uk/articles/516626/20131024/rape-incest-books-banned.htm
Kevin
I have written previously about the pulling of erotic titles by the retailer WH Smiths and Smith’s supplier, Kobo due to erotic (adult) titles being found on the retailer’s website. The concern was that children might access such material. Obviously children (in the UK those under the age of 18-years-old are so classified) should not be accessing erotic material. There does, however appear to be something like a witch hunt developing with authors not falling into the adult genre having their books pulled. See, for example the comments accompanying this post, http://www.serenajanes.blogspot.ca/2013/10/now-for-something-sweet.html#comment-form). I haven’t read any of the author’s works, however the short extract provided in the forgoing post does not, on the face of it appear to warrant her book being withdrawn from sale.
As I mentioned in my previous post regarding this issue adult fantasies (those concerning consenting adults) ought to be available for adults to view and purchase. Rape and incest fantasies are certainly not my cup of tea. However I am not aware of any convincing evidence that works of this nature lead to the commission of crime. In the absence of such proof I can see no valid reason for prohibiting their sale as certain UK newspapers appear to be agitating for. In short fantasy is precisely that, fantasy as opposed to reality and people should be free to fantasise provided that their fantasising remains exactly that, fantasising.
I recently blogged about how I had, totally accidentally breeched KDP’s terms and conditions by my collection of short stories, The First Time, being available from an outlet other than the Amazon Kindle store (see http://newauthoronline.com/2013/10/20/terms-and-conditions/). One of the commenters on my post said that he had heard of other people experiencing this problem and that authors should be wary of publishing their work on a variety of platforms if they intended to make it exclusive to Kindle at a later date. I am inclined to agree with him given my recent experience! If you want to make your books exclusive to Amazon in order to benefit from the promotion features of KDP Select then I would, personally not publish your work elsewhere. Having said that my long short story, Samantha appeared on my blog prior to being made exclusive on Amazon. However I, naturally have control over my blog and was, as a consequence able to remove Samantha prior to making it exclusive to Kindle. Never again will I make the mistake of making my books available in a variety of stores when my intention is, at some point to make them exclusive to Amazon Kindle. It is, quite frankly not worth the hassle.
Many thanks to Chris the Story Reading Ape for featuring me on his excellent blog. Please do check out his other posts and consider following him.
First I would like to thank Chris for his kindness in inviting me to post on his blog. He is performing a wonderful service to authors and long may he continue.
I was born in Liverpool on 6 January 1969, a year which is best known for my birth and for a rather minor event, the moon landing!
One of my earliest memories is of crunching through the leaves with my grandfather in Woolton woods which are situated only a short distance from where my family live. I loved to collect acorns and conkers as a small boy and it was undoubtedly my grandfather who inspired in me my love of nature.
As a small boy I vividly recall sitting on my grandfather’s knee as he regailed me with the exploits of The Famous Five and other children’s classics. It was from him that I derived my love of reading.
View original post 484 more words
It was a warm autumnal evening. In fact it was unseasonably hot and I was wondering not for the first time that day what on earth had possessed me to put on a raincoat. Well I could, just possibly justify the waterproof but the fleece which attaches to the raincoat? Surely I ought to have removed the fleece before leaving for work in the morning.
As I approached the crossing opposite to Charing Cross station I heard the dulcet tones of a young lady enquiring whether I’d like some chocolate. Now as anyone who works or visits London on a regular basis will know it is fairly common for passersby to be offered free samples ranging from tea to various food stuffs. I had, however never been approached on the street prior to this afternoon. Indeed my first reaction was to think “how kind” and decline the chocolate which I, in my naivety assumed was being offered as a gift. The young lady had a wonderful foreign accent which greatly intrigued me. Perhaps giving gifts of chocolate to total strangers formed an integral part of her culture or was my newly found acquaintance so enamoured with me that she felt impelled to demonstrate her affection by furnishing me with a gift of chocolate. It was, quite obviously the latter I concluded.
My newly found love was, alas to shy to confess her feelings. On me enquiring as to why she was visiting the UK my companion informed me that she was a Mexican student studying here. Selling chocolate was, she said her way of making money. As I say a deeply shy young lady who, rather than confessing her passion for a total stranger chose rather to invent a cock and bull tale about selling chocolate!
Well we parted friends dear reader, the young woman clutching £1 which I paid for the crunchy which she provided. I have been trying to find where she wrote her number on the paper but alas in her excitement she forgot to include it on the wrapper. Oh well there are plenty more fish in the sea …
Yesterday I received an e-mail from Kindle Support informing me that my collection of short stories, The First Time did not comply with KDP Select’s terms and conditions. What on earth had I done to receive this missive? Had I slandered a prominent personage who was, even now instructing lawyers to sue me for every penny I haven’t got?! Maybe I had copied huge chunks of a fellow author’s work and he was out for my blood?! I am pleased to report that none of these breeches apply. It turns out that Amazon had found The First Time for sale from an outlet other than the Kindle store. In order to enrol one’s books in KDP Select you must ensure that they are exclusive to Amazon which, in this instance The First Time was not.
I can hear shouts of “you brought it on yourself. Why are you belly aching. It’s a fair cop guv. You should stop waffling on about the situation and remove The First Time from all outlets other than Amazon forthwith”. Would where it that simple! The First Time was published using the services of a self-publishing company who as part of their service enrolled my book with a variety of e-book distributors. However due to no sales resulting I asked the company to remove The First Time from all outlets other than Amazon. Once I received confirmation that this had been done I enrolled my book in KDP Select assuming that it was now exclusive to Amazon. As you know from the above dear reader this is not the case! I have written to the self-publishing company asking that they ensure The First Time is removed from the outlet which Amazon drew to my attention. I live in hope that it will be removed from sale ASAP thereby ensuring that The First Time remains enrolled in KDP Select.
The lesson I draw from the above is the importance of ensuring that authors keep control over their works. I am listed as the author of The First Time but not the publisher. In my case it is only the publisher who is able to remove books which has led to the problems outlined above. Dear fellow authors please, please read the small print prior to signing contracts.
Good news for bloggers such as myself
The government has just tabled draft regulations under the new Defamation Act to protect English and Welsh bloggers from being sued if people put up unwanted libellous comments on their websites.
I am indebted to Rupert Jones,a Birmingham barrister who specialises, among other things, in media law for drawing my attention to draft regulationswhich have been tabled by the Ministry of Justice. The regulations have to be debated by a committee of MPs and peers before becoming law. As far as I can see these regulations do not apply to Scottish or Northern Ireland websites.
From my reading as a journalist it allows bloggers 48 hours or two working days after a complaint has been received to contact the person who put up the comment and make a decision whether to take down the comment. It also allows – if both sides agree – for the person complaining about…
View original post 298 more words
Oh for the days of your when I could be found sitting reading with nothing but the ticking of a mantle clock to keep me company. No e-mail, internet or mobile telephone to distract me. Oh blissful memories of sitting on a wooden bench in a pleasant garden with nought but the singing of the birds as my companions.
Oh the irony of waxing lyrical about the joys of days gone by on a laptop!
Technology has it’s place. I well remember failing to meet my friend Brian in the days prior to either of us owning a mobile. Both of us waited in London’s Victoria mainline station but in entirely different parts of that huge concourse. You can guess the rest, we failed to make contact and returned home frustrated to put it mildly! Today such mishaps are much easier to avoid as short of forgetting one’s mobile or the battery failing one can call or text to ascertain where your friend is.
The internet has opened up the world and is, on the whole a force for good. Authoritarian regimes find it increasingly difficult to prevent their populations from knowing what is going on in the wider world. Even in North Korea where access to the internet is prohibited accept for a privileged few in the higher reaches of the regime, some ordinary North Koreans manage to get online with the assistance of iPhones, which is to be welcomed.
However I still feel a sense of nostalgia for those simpler times when the internet had not yet been born and landlines ruled supreme. The constant exposure to extraneous noise (the pinging of e-mail, the beep of yet another text arriving) will unless we take great care destroy something incredibly precious – the ability to completely switch off and lose oneself in the company of friends, nature or a good book. .
I don’t have a magic bullet to square this vicious circle. However when I see children playing sports rather than glued to their mobile devices I do glimpse a ray of hope. Listen to the birds, go for a walk and if you possibly can leave your phone at home or at the very least turn it off.
For my author’s page please visit http://www.amazon.co.uk/K.-Morris/e/B00CEECWHY/ref=ntt_dp_epwbk_0
I am considering entering RNIB’s annual writing competition. This year entrants are being asked to write a story on the theme of “a day in the life of”. The story may feature either a real or ficticious person. You can find entries from last year’s competition here, http://www.rnib.org.uk/getinvolved/membership/membersbenefits/visionmagazine/Pages/vision_magazine.aspx.
While browsing the web earlier today I came across the below article on how to get started in the world of self-publishing, http://www.publishlawyer.com/carousel7.htm. The article dates back to 2002. it is, none the less a useful source of material for those just starting out in the field of self-publishing. The main criticism I have of the piece is it’s concentration on traditional print books (the world of e-books receives only a fleeting reference). However given the vintage of the article one can, I think forgive it’s concentration on the printed word.
For those with limited financial means or budding authors who wish to start out by producing an e-book only rather than a print book, I recommend taking a look at Amazon’s Kindle Direct Publishing which allows authors to market their e-books free of charge. For KDP Select please visit http://kdp.amazon.com/self-publishing/KDPSelect
