Seven Things

01 - My writing ambition has somewhat demised. I haven't been sending out my short stories to any online journals. I think now I prefer writing contests more. At least the competition isn't everybody. I had entered a couple of writing contests before and of course I didn't win but it just seemed somewhat easier than having to randomly choose which story to send because as specific as online journals are with their guidelines (and sometimes themes or genres), they are still sort of vague in some strange way while writing contests are while just as specific, at least, they are not as vague but maybe that's just my experience. Anyway, writing contests are just easier although failure rate is kind of higher.

02 - I haven't been doing the Friday Writings challenges. I think having the restriction of writing the maximum words of 369 is something I'm not good at even though whatever writing (fiction, that is) I posted, I try to restrict to a low number although higher than 369. I guess I'm not one for brevity.
    Plus I think the Friday Writings challenges is more for poetry and prose as the participants are mostly writing poetry which I don't do any more. I like that they tell you what next week's prompt is so that you can write in advance. Check out Poets And Storytellers United over here if you like to participate.

03 - I haven't been participating (posting) in respect to Insecure Writers Support Group so they took me off their sign-up list. I actually haven't joined any other writing groups or even discussion groups so I guess being kicked off one matters little. It is nice to talk about your complaints, failures, activities and anything that gives amateur and seasoned writers something to share and bond over but like I said above, I don't have much writing ambitions so I didn't really have much to talk about. Visit the Insecure Writer’s Support Group blog here.

04 - Book series connecting to one another — I don't like the idea of an author's book series all connected into a single world. I prefer a series (as most books are series) as belonging to itself, its own little universe. Also with connected series, you feel like you didn't really finish a series unless you read the connected other series. It's awful enough that book series are like twenty books long but now they are connecting all the series, it's maddening.

05 - Ebook pricing is really getting ridiculous — Recently I saw an ebook for $22.95 (pricing is usually set by the publishers) which usually are at $12.99. Then there were ebooks at $19 and even $35 - what have changed to make ebooks this ridiculously high? 
    I can't understand the pricing of ebooks but I think ebooks should be lower than paper books. When you buy an ebook, you're not buying a book, you're buying the rights to read a book so why should people pay the same amount equal to paper books when you cannot resell ebooks or even lend them unless you hand over your ereader.
    Frankly, I think people should just invest in their public library and borrow books from them. This way, everyone benefits. But that doesn't really solve anything. What would be better if publishers allow public libraries to have perpetual licensing of ebooks they purchase since they pay triple or even quadruple the price, way more than regular consumers. If publishers are going to treat ebooks like paper books, they should allow permanent ownership (not just letting ebooks sit in ereaders or have temporary licenses) of ebooks when people and public libraries purchase them.
    Here are two links talking about ebook pricing:
    - The hidden truth about ebooks & eaudiobooks
    - The problem with e-books (video)

06 - If anyone is interested in murder mysteries, there is a magazine, Deadly Pleasures, all about new and upcoming murder mysteries books. They now offer their magazine without subscription fees. Check it out over here.

07 - Book samples that only has an introduction — When I read a book sample, I expect to read some of the book not just an introduction. So yes, an introduction is part of a book but it is not the actual book, it's an opinion, an essay, a glorified love letter to the author or the book and it sometimes contains spoilers. For those reasons, I always skip reading the introduction when I read book samples but also when starting a book.
    For a real book sample, it should show the text, like chapter 1 and then some text - this shows samples of the writing style or how the book is structured or formatted, even a little taste of the characters. You don't get that reading an introduction.

What's on your mind these days?