Romantic fiction Indie author Rusty Blackwood welcomes May with a news-worthy entry!

• Posted on 1st May 2013
• in Best Romance Novels, Fiction Romance Novels, Romance Drama, Romance Fiction, Romantic Fiction
• by admin

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Welcome May! Brightest Beltane Greetings and Warmest May Day salutations!

My first entry of the month hits close to home — in actuality it hits me — as well as my previously published work through Xlibris, another acquisition of ASI (Author Solutions Inc.) the so-called self-publishing giant for aspiring authors. The first article, the link which you will find first in-line below has been brought to light by Writer Beware ®, a writer’s best friend and wonderful watchdog of the publishing world, and speaks about the recent class-action law-suit brought against ASI, centering on iUniverse, one of the self-pub companies taken over by ASI in 2007. You will find it very enlightening, to say the least.

http://accrispin.blogspot.ca/2013/05/class-action-lawsuit-filed-against.html

The next link located below this paragraph can be found in the above article by Writer Beware, but I am listing it on its own because I truly hope it will be read.  The information it contains is priceless, especially if you happen to be an unsuspecting Indie author on the look-out for a reputable company to publish your book. This unfortunate scenario discussed in this article has happened to far too many — me included. Have a read, and please re-join me here afterward.

http://ellisshuman.blogspot.ca/2012/08/why-i-left-iuniverse.html

I became a serious writer way back in 2001. I was not professionally trained in the genre of writing, but I have always had a love for it, and the gift to express myself in words. I began writing the story of Passion in Paris in 2001. It was a turbulent time in my life and I took every possible moment to escape into what was to become my literary pride and joy. I wasn’t as yet ready to publish as the novel was not finished, but I had intended on self-publishing it as I was and still am determined to hold the rights to my work and not be made sign them away in order to get published, so in and around 2005-06, I  began looking around for a company to bring the novel, as well as other work I had done to fruition. At the time Xlibris was of itself, the same as iUniverse and many others which were later scooped up by Author Solutions. I had researched numerous self-pub companies but I ended up going with Xlibris because they seemed to offer the best for what I could afford. Their contract was straight-forward, nothing that required a high-priced lawyer to have to decipher, and I actually felt good when I signed it foolishly thinking I was on my way. I published 4 titles with that company, the first title coming out in 2009. My next title was released in 2010 along with the first part of my Passion in Paris — being a novice and naive in the area I was venturing in to I was convinced by a fast-talking Rep that the romance/drama would be better done in 2 books. I now realize it was because it would bring double the package amount into Xlibris’ coffers — actually Author Solution’s.  The second part of the novel was released in 2011.

Throughout this time I received very little by way of sales through Xlibris or the secondary outlets they use and whenever I would inquire this I was always told there were no sales, in-fact the very complicated sales reports on the author’s sales charts always reported no more than a couple of sales through each quarter. The usual $25.00 nonsense was given, the same clause that Mr. Gaughran in his Blog entry entitled ‘decontructs the ASI empire’ speaks about with regard to his contract with iUniverse. This also exists with Xlibris, although it was not stated in their contract. My contract stated that the author would receive 25% of every book sold through Xlbris, and 10% through a secondary seller. The same redundant nonsense with constant sales pressure for marketing existed — which I unfortunately got sucked in to and am still paying for — and the most irritating of all, the ridiculous amount of grammatical errors and messed-up formatting under the guise of professional copy-editing, as well as endless mistakes and problems with the covers, and then trying to get these problems rectified — that is IF anyone returned your calls or e-mails. It was a nightmare.

Unfortunately these kinds of needless errors in the finished book stick with the author’s name, and the readers who have read work put out by these so-called-professional self-publishing companies carrying our name on the work gives the readers the wrong impression entirely. I have spent well over a year and a half trying to rectify the mistakes as well as the bad impressions brought to my titles. I terminated my contract, and have since re-published all of my previous titles — with the exception of my 2-part romance/drama which is now coming out this month in one novel, the way I had originally wanted it done, under the title ‘Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary.’

I have requested that all my previous titles published through Xlbris be pulled, and they have assured me they have, but I am still finding a few titles on Amazon and a few secondary outlets which I have brought to the attention of Xlibris but have been told there is nothing they can do about it. I inquired if I would be paid should they be sold and was told no. Do the math people!

So, I am going to use the same plea as David Gaughran uses at the end of his very informative article, and ask that you don’t purchase any of my work under the titles Feelings, Young Minds, Passion in Paris: Connections to the Past, and Passion in Paris: Directions of the Heart on Amazon, or any other secondary outlet in paperback OR e-Book because I will NOT receive compensation for it. Instead, purchase ONLY my work published through Create Space, and wait for the release of Passions in Paris: Revelations of a Lost Diary due out this month. It will be available in paperback format through the online bookstores at Create Space, Amazon, as well as available at CHAPTERS in St. Catharines, and CHAPTERS online. e-Book format of the title will follow.

And as always, support your local authors, as well as all your local talent in the Arts!

Rusty.

 

 

Tags: author, best romance novels, Blackwood, Canadian Indie author Rusty Blackwood, fiction romance novels, Indie, romance drama, romance/drama, romantic fiction, Rusty