If you've checked out my website in the last month or so you may have noticed the Coming Soon! tab up there next to the blog tab.
If you've clicked on that tab you'll have seen the cover art and blurb for my first short story planned for release on Kindle. It's been up there for a couple of weeks now.
So, why hasn't it appeared on Kindle yet? Why is it still on a Coming Soon! page and why isn't there a Books Available page?
Because I'm waiting for copyright.
I looked into copyright quite a bit after I decided to make some of my short stories available for download. Google "reasons for copyright" and you'll find all the information you could ask for on the matter. AbsoluteWrite, the writer's forum I visit, is also teeming with information and argument both for and against it.
But still, I wasn't sure. I mean, these are short stories, not novels we're talking about. Most of them are previously published tales besides. Is it really worth filling out the application and waiting months to receive that little circled C?
And then of course there's the fee.
Being a pinchpenny at heart, I usually look for the least expensive way to get what I want. I'm a shopper of sales and a lover of promotional codes and whatnot. But I don't want to buy junk or something I don't need. When I do invest in things, I expect quality for my hard-won cash.
So when I read through the copyright office's website and saw this was going to require payment, I balked. I fussed. I reread all the reasons copyright is a good idea and all the bits against it. And then, like I usually do when I can't find a less expensive route, I consulted my Hubs.
He summed it up like so
"If it's good enough to have your name on it, out there for all the world to read, then it's good enough to have copyright. Take the time. Spend the money."
It's hard to argue with that.
Oh, I'm sure I could if I wanted to, but what he said makes sense to me. If my stories are good enough to be out there, they warrant the time and cost of copyrighting them. And if I can't see spending the time and cash, then they shouldn't be out there for downloading. Not until they're ready at any rate.
So, Sam is waiting for copyright to come in.
T minus another month or so...
-L
If you've clicked on that tab you'll have seen the cover art and blurb for my first short story planned for release on Kindle. It's been up there for a couple of weeks now.
So, why hasn't it appeared on Kindle yet? Why is it still on a Coming Soon! page and why isn't there a Books Available page?
Because I'm waiting for copyright.
I looked into copyright quite a bit after I decided to make some of my short stories available for download. Google "reasons for copyright" and you'll find all the information you could ask for on the matter. AbsoluteWrite, the writer's forum I visit, is also teeming with information and argument both for and against it.
But still, I wasn't sure. I mean, these are short stories, not novels we're talking about. Most of them are previously published tales besides. Is it really worth filling out the application and waiting months to receive that little circled C?
And then of course there's the fee.
Being a pinchpenny at heart, I usually look for the least expensive way to get what I want. I'm a shopper of sales and a lover of promotional codes and whatnot. But I don't want to buy junk or something I don't need. When I do invest in things, I expect quality for my hard-won cash.
So when I read through the copyright office's website and saw this was going to require payment, I balked. I fussed. I reread all the reasons copyright is a good idea and all the bits against it. And then, like I usually do when I can't find a less expensive route, I consulted my Hubs.
He summed it up like so
"If it's good enough to have your name on it, out there for all the world to read, then it's good enough to have copyright. Take the time. Spend the money."
It's hard to argue with that.
Oh, I'm sure I could if I wanted to, but what he said makes sense to me. If my stories are good enough to be out there, they warrant the time and cost of copyrighting them. And if I can't see spending the time and cash, then they shouldn't be out there for downloading. Not until they're ready at any rate.
So, Sam is waiting for copyright to come in.
T minus another month or so...
-L