Nov 5, 2009 | Books, Rants |
I am so irritated with Amazon at the moment that I can hardly write this post. I've recently found out what it's like to be a published author with a book coming out that Amazon attributes to someone else. I keep trying to change the information, but so far they aren't budging.
The Prince's Royal Concubine is MY book, due out in March 2010 from Mills & Boon Modern. It will also come out in Harlequin Presents in the months after. Yet Amazon seems to think that my book belongs to Lee Wilkinson. How do these things happen? I wish I knew, but I'm having a heck of a time correcting it.
Want to see for yourself? Here's the US link and the UK link.
Nothing like slaving over a book and having it attributed to someone else! How would you feel? I know they can't forever call it someone else's, like when the cover comes out and they can clearly see it's mine, but I'm still pretty ticked off about this.
Amazon, give me back my book!
QUICK UPDATE: Thanks for all your words of support! I truly did not expect for folks to email Amazon on my behalf, but I do appreciate it! It seems as if they are in the process of correcting it right now. Hopefully it will be completed soon! 🙂
Nov 2, 2009 | Blogging |
I began to notice last week that a post I wrote in 2007 was getting a lot of traffic. I don't know why, really, but of course I clicked over and reread it. And I think there's still some wisdom in there.
June 11, 2007: Saturday was the Heart of Dixie RWA meeting. Have I said how much I love HOD? This is a committed, enthusiastic, sharing group of women (and one man). The group boasts more than one NYT bestselling writer as well as some fabulous authors who will get onto that list someday I am certain. And I can’t forget the unpublished writers who are dedicated and professional and who will also sell books and have careers because they won’t give up on their dreams. A talented, inspiring group to say the least.
Saturday, our guest speaker, a computer professional, talked about websites for writers. Very informative! I learned a lot. (My website, for instance, is in serious need of revamping. I’ll have to work on that.)
But you know what he said that had me thinking? He said that blogs are a timesink and not usually worth the trouble (I’ve talked about this before, but hearing it from a pro made me think about it even more). They can be, when the author has a clear purpose and a goal (such as promoting upcoming releases, holding contests, etc). As daily diaries, not so much. They take away from the writing.
And then I started looking around that room at those NYT bestselling writers. Not one of them has a blog. So I thought about the other published authors in the room. Only one that I know of blogs. The rest do not.
Other NYTBSWs do blog, so that’s not necessarily a definitive example. But it’s something to think about. Writing comes first. (And I’ve already spent at least half an hour editing this post. Things that make you go hmmm.)
Obviously I got the website revamped! And some of those unpublished authors in that room are now published — and a couple of them blog. Blogging takes time. And I have cut down on the amount of it I do. I used to blog every day. But, really, I don't have something to say every day anymore (I am the first to admit it).
So, I try to blog when I have something to say, want to ask you all a question, or have an observation I want to share. And of course now that I'm published I get to blog and giveaway books! That part is quite fun. 🙂
Have you noticed that blogs aren't as prevalent as they once were? Do you spend more time on Facebook and Twitter? I sure do. It's easier to stay connected with soundbites, I think, than to write an entire post every day (especially when the post should be interesting!). Do you have any favorite blogs you visit regularly? How many people are blogging there? One person, or several?
I'd love to hear your thoughts!
Oct 29, 2009 | Contests, Writing
You have until November 2nd to enter the latest Harlequin Presents competition! Here is a current post from the new Harlequin Blog about it, and you can also, of course, find much info over at the I Heart Presents site.
Best of luck to all entering! And remember, you don't have to win to see your dream of selling to HP come true.
But if you DO win, oh my. Enjoy that ride. It's great. 🙂
Oct 21, 2009 | Books, Reading |
I love paper books. The heft, the smell, the covers, etc. I have TONS of them. My office is lined with books, and I've gotten rid of many books over the years when weight considerations forced me to do so (military moves restrict you to certain weight limits). Just before we left Hawaii, I had a big purge. It hurt. I still regret some of the choices I made, and wish I'd kept the books. Others I look at now and wonder why I kept them in lieu of the ones I miss. Who knows?
I resisted ebooks for years. I don't want to read on a computer. Don't like it at all. I write and read my own work on a computer all day, so why would I want to sit and read a book? I don't.
But then came the ereaders. I resisted, mostly because there were still kinks to be worked out, and nothing really appealed to me.
Until the Kindle. Oh, I coveted that from day one. Why? Because of the wireless downloads from the bookstore. The fact I could send myself a sample chapter, and then download the entire book instantly if I liked what I read. Sure to be a bad thing for the wallet, but very good for my book obsession.
I finally got one in August, and I love it. Yeah, I knew there was a war coming, and that B&N was about to enter the market and that Sony was about to go wireless — but I was tired of waiting, so I took the plunge.
Am I sorry? Not at all! I love this darn thing. Just the other day, I downloaded a friend's book on the day of release! (Pamela Hearon's The Timestone Key, which if you like time travel and Arthurian legend stuff, you should not miss!) I love that I can carry several books with me and switch between them when I want a break from the one I'm reading. I used to read books straight through, but college kind of got me in the habit of reading many books at once. Sometimes I can't put a book down and I'll read straight through, but just as often I'll switch between books.
The Nook, B&N's offering, looks really cool. But Hubby has always told me not to buy the first model of anything, so I'm not sorry I bought Kindle instead. I'll wait and see how the Nook performs and what people think of it. And maybe I'll switch eventually, but for now, Kindle does exactly what I want. It delivers books instantly, it's highly readable, and it travels well.
What are your thoughts on ereaders? Do you have one? Planning to get one? Do you read ebooks on your computer?
Oct 17, 2009 | Contests |
I have author copies of Cavelli's Lost Heir! Tell me why you want one, and I'll pick a winner from the comments. This book isn't out until January so don't miss your chance for an advance copy!
UPDATE:
I simply couldn't pick just one winner, so I decided to giveaway 3 books! I trotted over to the random number generator, and this is what it told me:
First winner: Pearl!
Second winner: Lynne!
Third winner: Lois!
Send me your contact info at contact AT lynnrayeharris DOT com and I'll get your books on the way to you!
And if you didn't win this time, keep checking back because I simply can't resist holding contests. And if you click over to my Contest page, you'll notice I've put up the next contest for a book and goodies!
Thank you all so much for the wonderful comments. I enjoyed reading them all! You quite made my day!
