Monday, September 12, 2011
Self-Publishing
I'm in the middle of putting together my own ebook. It'll feature exactly 100 stories...I'm a rubbish designer and don't know much about formatting ebooks, so I'm learning as I go along... Here's the first mock-cover. My design skills might be highly unprofessional but I hope it's a cheery and whimsical image nonetheless...
The reason I am creating my own ebook is to repair some of the damage done by Neil Jackson of Ghostwriter Publications. The easiest way for me to explain who this fellow is (and what he has done) is to link to this fable I wrote about him...
I'll add that he issued my first ebook, Better the Devil, a collection of 76 stories, more than a year ago, with the promise that I would receive more than half the profits generated. I was naive enough to believe him. Needless to say, I haven't received a single penny and he has pocketed all the cash... I'm not the only author he has treated in this manner. The word "conman" is perhaps not too strong...
I therefore have to take the unusual step of requesting my readers not to purchase one of my own books! Please boycott Better the Devil and consider buying instead The Tellmenow Isitsöornot, which 'cancels out' the earlier ebook by offering more stories at a lower cost...
Tellmenow Isitsöornot isn't such a tongue-twister as it might seem. In fact it's one of Edgar Allan Poe's jokes (he made a lot more jokes than he's usually credited with). “Tell me now, is it so or not?” is the way to say it. I imagine it should be spoken with an Irish accent if possible.
As soon as this ebook is ready, I'll post information about it here. Thanks!
# posted by Rhys Hughes @ 12:53 PM 
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Sorry to hear about your troubles Rhys.
Better the Devil was one of the few books of yours that I haven't got around to purchasing yet. I'm glad that I didn't. Here's hoping you can salvage something from that scumbag. Good luck.
Better the Devil was one of the few books of yours that I haven't got around to purchasing yet. I'm glad that I didn't. Here's hoping you can salvage something from that scumbag. Good luck.
I'd known about the troubles with Ghostwriter Publications when I originally purchased BETTER THE DEVIL. However, Amazon has the publisher listed as Generation Next. I had not suspected some foul afoot when I gave them my money.
Also the contents of the book are not listed on Amazon. It wasn't until after I'd purchased it and looked through the contents page that I became suspicious. It included all the chapbooks that Ghostwriter was supposed to have published.
I did contact you shortly after, and explained the situation. You were a gentleman about it, but I know it's not a good feeling to know someone is profiting from your work.
I will purchase TELLMENOW ISITSOORNOT when it's available.
I wish I could do more.
Also the contents of the book are not listed on Amazon. It wasn't until after I'd purchased it and looked through the contents page that I became suspicious. It included all the chapbooks that Ghostwriter was supposed to have published.
I did contact you shortly after, and explained the situation. You were a gentleman about it, but I know it's not a good feeling to know someone is profiting from your work.
I will purchase TELLMENOW ISITSOORNOT when it's available.
I wish I could do more.
Thanks George. I feel bad for the fact that when Ghostwriter were supposedly publishing chapbooks, they took money from readers but failed to deliver a product...
What I'm hoping with The Tellmewnow Isitsoornot is to produce an ebook that includes many of the stories in Better the Devil but also a lot more tales too; and at a more erasonable price.
In a sense I am planning to undercut myself!!
What I'm hoping with The Tellmewnow Isitsoornot is to produce an ebook that includes many of the stories in Better the Devil but also a lot more tales too; and at a more erasonable price.
In a sense I am planning to undercut myself!!
So Ghostwriter became Ghostpayer? Troubling but I'm glad you've made steps to rectify it for yourself and others. As a fan I'm both saddened and gladdened that you were taken advantage of, and that you care enough about your work and your readers to, as you say "undercut yourself."
As a man with a graphic design degree, let me know if you need any assistance. Free of charge, of course. Otherwise, I can't wait to get it!
As a man with a graphic design degree, let me know if you need any assistance. Free of charge, of course. Otherwise, I can't wait to get it!
# posted by 
: 4:05 AM
: 4:05 AM
Thanks Mad Doctor! I'll almost certainly be producing more ebooks in the future, so I'll bear in mind your design skills, and don't be surprised if I come knocking at your cyber-door!
For this first book I'm going to stick with the somewhat amateurish but hopefully charming book cover I've got, simply because it manages to capture some essence in the stories themselves...
Thanks again!
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For this first book I'm going to stick with the somewhat amateurish but hopefully charming book cover I've got, simply because it manages to capture some essence in the stories themselves...
Thanks again!
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