Why I Will No Longer Make My Books Available in E-Reader Format

My book: “Scaring the Stars into Submission”
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1520229844?ref_=pe_870760_150889320

I recently put out my first story collection through Amazon. While there are plenty of pros and cons to self-publishing vs. going with an actual publisher (which I may discuss in another posting), I want to focus on publishing the paperback vs. publishing the e-book version.

Once my book went live, I was able to track my sales through Amazon, which is a pretty great feature. I have no idea where all the books went exactly, but I know how many books shipped and on what day. I’m also able to keep track of my royalty payments.

A month or so later, I found digital copies of my book free to download scattered across the internet. Some 3,000+ people had downloaded it from a site based in India, which meant I was losing profit on MY work. Now, I’ve only sold about 200 copies of my paperback version at this point. Not bad for six months, but…had 3,000 people actually paid for the ebook version, I’d be in much better shape.

I’ve spent a great deal of time finding the sites offering up my book and asking them to remove it from their downloads section. Some are affiliated with Amazon somehow, so they refuse, but others have been quick to remove the copies. Others have either refused outright or simply not responded to my request. Annoying, but what can you do?

Well…I won’t be offering up a digital version, that’s for sure. Not through Amazon, anyway. Since I spent so much time editing and formatting my book for both paperback and e-reader format (both are VERY time intensive the first time around), I know how to format them both properly. However, I will only offer up digital copies to people I know who send me money through PayPal or via other means to stem the tide of digital theft.

If I were a rich author (I’m not; not even a little bit), I’d probably worry about this less, but I’m essentially just starting out and already fighting against negative profits in away.

BUT BUT BUT…THE EXPOSURE!

No…that’s not even a valid argument. I’ve been asked to DJ, edit other books, write articles, and various other things related to my talents…all for free or “exposure.” This is a bullshit reason. I spent years honing my craft, both as a DJ and nearly twice as long as a writer. Asking me to take a hit to help you out in some cost-saving way does me no good.

So no, no more digital copies of my book will be available. Not to strangers. I put the work in to write the book. The least you can do is pay me the really tiny cost of entertaining you for a little bit of time.

Back Cover Summary:

“A great, unnamed event. A world both drowning and engulfed in flames.
Autopsies reveal gardens of lilies sprouting up inside the rib cages of the dead.
Clouds fall to the earth and affect the behavior of those that come in contact with them.
Revolution and violent uprisings spread through nations across the globe.
Twelve blind men in a basement transcribe the history of the world as it burns down around them.
Nightmares become reality; reality becomes nightmare.
Families turn to reluctant cannibalism in the hopes of waiting out the horrors beyond.
Corporations push to create a new population to replace the old one.
Philosophical musings from a balcony overlooking a dark, empty city.
A brief moment of something good between lovers as the world begins to slowly recover.

These are the stories before the event.
These are the stories during the event.
These are the stories after the event.
These are the stories of people coping and surviving, fighting to live, or fighting just to be doing something, anything.

The stories in this collection are brief moments, tiny pockets of surreal happenstance, but pure emotion. Each piece ties into the next by the tiniest filament, each story connected to the one before and the one after, each trying to hold on to some bit of normalcy, but failing in spectacular and terrifying ways.”