I've often looked down on those who go through minor publishing, Print on demand houses, to get their work in hard copy. I've gone down that road, and perhaps for your first time publishing it's not a bad start, a good introduction to the world of publishing, but eventually you have to grow. Like transitioning from crawling to walking. A time or two I've looked down my nose at those people, but now I want to warn you. It's not that you're not trying, it's that you might get screwed.
Back in 2005, Before the Kindle ever came out, I signed a contract with an unsaid publication house to get Owens Valley out to the market. They made it simple and easy. Years later, it bit me in the ass. Turns out they published Owens Valley, a book I specifically took off the market, into an ebook for anyone to download. They did so without my permission, without any contract, and as of this writing, to the best of my knowledge, without any compensation. I walked away from that book with my head held high, knowing that I'd publish again without anyone's help, only to learn that the people I trusted made it nearly immortal.
in 2010, I saw this ebook version. To I was infuriated would have been like saying the Apollo one mission had a few technical difficulties. I threatened legal action, and the publishing house, I thought, was sincere enough to bring down the e-book format. Keep in mind, I never signed away any rights to anything, so they had no right to reproduce.
I learned later that they sent me an e-mail, saying that if I didn't respond Owens Valley would be turned into an e-book. Just like that. Period. No contract. No rights agreement. Nothing. This could have been a lie to cover themselves, which I'll explain later.
I thought that was the end of the misunderstanding. Until this week. I saw Owens Valley was still up for Epublication. It was still available. Ladies and Gentlemen, I could have blown a fuse. Years after the whole ordeal and I'm about to go through this again? No, actually. And if I may, here's the lesson. Turn the seller against the producer if you have it, if that's what it takes. I contacted the seller citing my rights as the author, and they promised to remove it.
If you are a young author, I'm begging you to not touch automatic publication houses, Print on demand houses or anything like that. Yes, I use one, but believe me when I tell you it's a different beast that almost any other program out there. Hold off for a while, think it through. The chances of you dying tomorrow are relatively slim. All you need to do is the research, figure out who's for real and who isn't. The publishing house that cause me all of this is a major name, and I would have never guessed I was going to deal with all of this from such reputable people.
By the way, I went back through my in-box. I keep all my e-mails that have to do with business, I mean all of them. I never found the supposed e-mail they sent me about turning Owens Valley into an Ebook. If you're a young writer, guard yourself, people are out to get you in ways you can't currently imagine.
Back in 2005, Before the Kindle ever came out, I signed a contract with an unsaid publication house to get Owens Valley out to the market. They made it simple and easy. Years later, it bit me in the ass. Turns out they published Owens Valley, a book I specifically took off the market, into an ebook for anyone to download. They did so without my permission, without any contract, and as of this writing, to the best of my knowledge, without any compensation. I walked away from that book with my head held high, knowing that I'd publish again without anyone's help, only to learn that the people I trusted made it nearly immortal.
in 2010, I saw this ebook version. To I was infuriated would have been like saying the Apollo one mission had a few technical difficulties. I threatened legal action, and the publishing house, I thought, was sincere enough to bring down the e-book format. Keep in mind, I never signed away any rights to anything, so they had no right to reproduce.
I learned later that they sent me an e-mail, saying that if I didn't respond Owens Valley would be turned into an e-book. Just like that. Period. No contract. No rights agreement. Nothing. This could have been a lie to cover themselves, which I'll explain later.
I thought that was the end of the misunderstanding. Until this week. I saw Owens Valley was still up for Epublication. It was still available. Ladies and Gentlemen, I could have blown a fuse. Years after the whole ordeal and I'm about to go through this again? No, actually. And if I may, here's the lesson. Turn the seller against the producer if you have it, if that's what it takes. I contacted the seller citing my rights as the author, and they promised to remove it.
If you are a young author, I'm begging you to not touch automatic publication houses, Print on demand houses or anything like that. Yes, I use one, but believe me when I tell you it's a different beast that almost any other program out there. Hold off for a while, think it through. The chances of you dying tomorrow are relatively slim. All you need to do is the research, figure out who's for real and who isn't. The publishing house that cause me all of this is a major name, and I would have never guessed I was going to deal with all of this from such reputable people.
By the way, I went back through my in-box. I keep all my e-mails that have to do with business, I mean all of them. I never found the supposed e-mail they sent me about turning Owens Valley into an Ebook. If you're a young writer, guard yourself, people are out to get you in ways you can't currently imagine.
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