#selling author

[avaantares]

Fanfiction Authors: HEADS UP

(Non-authors, please RB to signal boost to your author friends!)

An astute reader informed me this morning that one of my fics (Children of the Future Age) had been pirated and was being sold as a novel on Amazon:

(And they weren't even creative with their cover design. If you're going to pirate something that I spent a full year of my life writing, at least give me a pretty screenshot to brag about later. Seriously.)

I promptly filed a DMCA complaint to have it removed, but I checked out the company that put it up -- Plush Books -- and it looks like A LOT of their books are pirated fic. They are by no means the only ones doing this, either -- the fact that """publishers""" can download stories from AO3 in ebook format and then reupload them to Amazon in just a few clicks makes fic piracy a common problem. There are a whole host of reasons why letting this continue is bad -- including actual legal risk to fanfiction archives -- but basically:

IF YOU ARE A FANFIC AUTHOR WITH LONG AND/OR POPULAR WORKS, PLEASE CHECK AMAZON TO SEE IF YOUR STORIES HAVE BEEN PIRATED.

You can search for your fics by title, or by text from the description (which is often just copied wholesale from AO3 as well). If you find that someone has stolen your work and is selling it as their own, you can lodge a DMCA complaint (Amazon.com/USA site; other countries have different systems). If you haven't done this before, it's easy! Here's a tutorial:

HOW TO FILE A COPYRIGHT COMPLAINT FOR STOLEN WORK ON AMAZON.COM:

First, go to this form. You'll need to be signed into your Amazon account.

Select the radio buttons/dropdown options (shown below) to indicate that you are the legal Rights Owner, you have a copyright concern, and it is about a pirated product.

Enter the name of your story in the Name of Brand field.

In the Link to the Copyrighted Work box, enter a link to the story on AO3 or whatever site your work is posted on.

In the Additional Information box, explain that you are the author of the work and it is being sold without your permission. That's all you really need. If you want, you can include additional information that might be helpful in establishing the validity of your claim, but you don't have to go into great detail. You can simply write something like this:

I am the author of this work, which is being sold by [publisher] without my permission. I originally published this story in [date/year] on [name of site], and have provided a link to the original above. On request, I can provide documentation proving that I am the owner of the account that originally posted this story.

In the ASIN/ISBN-10 field, copy and paste the ID number from the pirated copy's URL. You'll find this ten-digit number in the Amazon URL after the word "product," as in the screenshot below. (If the URL extends beyond this number, you can ignore everything from the question mark on.) Once this number has been added, Amazon will pull the product information automatically and add it to the complaint form, so you can check the listing title and make sure it's correct.

Finally, add your contact information to the relevant fields, check the "I have read and accept the statements" box, and then click Submit. You should receive an email confirmation that Amazon has received the form.

Please share this information with your writer friends, keep an eye out for/report pirated works, and help us keep fanfiction free and legally protected!

NOTE: All of the above also applies to Amazon products featuring stolen artwork, etc., so fan artists should check too!

[homkamiro]

EVERYONE SHUT THE FUCK UP!!! I need to tell just how running blind fanfiction by @thetriggeredhappy fucked me up

I'm not joking when I say that this is my favourite fic ever made, I literally don't, everything about it is so perfect, so detailed and so emotional,, i cried a lot, i laughed a lot, and I was really amazed by some of the plot twitsts

EVERYONE needs to read it, and if you don't imma bust yo damn kneecaps

[pstelwitchcraft]

You wanna know what's crazy? Now knowing that Laura and Marisha didn't plan to be romantic this campaign at all, it is INSANE that everything went so perfectly, thematically, exactly the way it did.

The series of events from the rock breaking, Dusk showing up RIGHT as it was happening, to them making up just so Otohan could show up and kill Laudna not a DAY later literally because she wanted to get on Imogen's nerves ("Is she your favorite?"). And then Imogen obliterating Delilah with her own fucking hands for Laudna. Getting the circlet. Laudna holding Imogen on the ship they were about to crash having that Tether Talk^tm just before they were separated ONCE AGAIN.

Just the entire escalation that led to them meeting in Jrusar that day and Imogen blurting out "Can I kiss you?" in the mfing BREAD ISLE because she couldn't hold back her feelings is BONKERS.

Even down to Imogen saying she "thought dates were supposed to have sparks" after their date with pretty and telling Laudna she "has the biggest spark she's ever seen" a long ass time later in Bassuras.

The evolution of their feelings for each other, the tension that was building on that table every time they talked to each other. The fact that it all happened serendipitously with absolutely no previous plan and it went just the way it did? Immaculate. Showstopping. Absolutely astounding. If Marisha, Matt and Laura had sat down and planned this whole thing from the beginning it still couldn't have gone more perfectly.

[marypsue]

Like for real I am always one to strongly recommend wearing shit that shows off what you like and ignoring anybody who has anything to say about that, but also...you know a white cotton T-shirt and a pack of Sharpie markers are your best friends, right? And a quick trip in the dryer on high heat once you’ve drawn on the shirt will set the colours, right? If you’re feeling adventurous, you can get puff paint in many exciting neon colours. I picked up a bottle of additive to turn regular acrylic paint into fabric paint at my local dollar store, which also has a wide selection of acrylic craft paints. Heck, you can use just regular acrylic paint straight out of the bottle on heavier-duty fabrics, like denim. I have a whole bunch of hand-painted band patches made out of old pairs of jeans. Or you can paint directly on a denim jacket or a pair of pants, if you’re feeling it. 

If you want replica merch and your poison of choice is a Hellfire Club shirt, go fully in-universe and paint your own. Stick it to Netflix and Hot Topic. Become ungovernable. Be your own weirdly-endearing punk little freak. 

[bluastro-yellow]

Kurvitz stresses that Kim doesn't actually have a character sheet hidden in Disco Elysium's code. Imagining that Lieutenant Kitsuragi has only one natural attribute point in Motorics helps the ZA/UM team to understand the depth of his character beyond what's referenced in the game's dialogue. "We just came up with this stuff for coherency," says Kurvitz. "And because we're nerds."

"I like to think Kim has a Thought Cabinet project called Revolutionary Aerostatic Brigades that he's worked on since he was a teenager," Kurvitz says. "This raises the learning caps for his Reaction Speed and Interfacing."

Kim's high Volition skill makes him impervious to prying, Kurvitz says, as the detective can find out on occasions being met with Kim's brick-wall resolve. Kim often chastises these whims of the detective's, but will occasionally play along. The Lieutenant finds his new partner funny, says Kurvitz.

Kim is naturally shit at Motorics and thinks Harry is funny source

[sisaloofafump]

Batshapes

Bonus:

[secretmellowblog]

I really do love how Javert is the ultimate physical embodiment of the word “bootlicker.”

His entire personality is composed of “respect for authority and hatred of rebellion;” he grovels before anyone of a higher legal/social status, and thinks they can do no wrong. He puts all of his faith into the institution of policing. He worships his superiors in the police force and the legal system. He would sell out anyone who committed any infraction to the police, and would do it with smug glee.

I honestly cannot think of any fictional character who embodies the word “bootlicker” better.

I’ve mentioned before that one of my favorite small Javert moments is when he’s attempting to get Madeleine to fire him, and….he gives Madeleine a salute even when Madeleine’s back is turned, and he can’t see the salute. To me it shows how much Javert’s bootlicking is genuine. It is earnest. He earnestly believes in his own inferiority and the necessity of constant groveling respect to authorities. They don’t need to police him— he polices himself. He grovels even when their backs are turned.

He doesn’t just lick boots for show; he licks boots because he genuinely believes it is the morally correct thing to do, that an “inferior” is legally bound to grovel before their “superior.” And he enjoys this groveling; he experiences a savage glee at his usefulness to authority; he loves the taste of boot leather.

He’s a bootlicker all the way to the bottom of his soul.

[taytei]

why does an ice demon need a fur lined cloak?

[peanuts-fan]

[duplicitywrites]

people forget that (most) authors don't write to be popular.

that is why constantly being asked to update is so immensely frustrating. authors are not influencers, this is not paid content where you have a justified say in what gets made.

commenting "update please" doesn't tell the author you care about them as a human person, it says you only care about the next update. that is quite literally all it says, regardless of the intention behind it. choosing to interpret it another way is just an interpretation, it doesn't change the actual meaning of this as a demand devoid of genuine desire for interaction.

like, what is the answer to that request even supposed to be? "yes okay"??? it's just entirely ridiculous, and i'm tired of being told this should be taken as a compliment. the level of communication involved here is the same as dealing with a five year old who wants more candy.

it is not a compliment, it doesn't make me feel like someone cares, it makes me feel like people only care what i can give them, which is fucked up to say the least.

if you want to leave a short encouraging comment, then put some emojis or just say you liked it. it's not hard to do, and it's not some complex social skill you need to have, it is very basic decency that everyone should be capable of.

authors aren't here to serve you updates. these are real people, not products, try to treat them as such.

[captainkirkk]

When I started writing 'lessons in tea making', I set out to make it a longfic that following ATLA Book 2 and 3 in its entirety but now its been almost 5 years and I'm realising that I'm probably never going to get around to finishing this monster of a wip

HOWEVER, I do have around 15k of chapter 2 collecting dust in my google drive so.... what's everyone's opinion on authors uploading (signposted) unfinished chapters....

[sandwichsapphic]

“very amusing sir” DO NOT ENCOURAGE HIM. your boyfriend is making jokes during the apocalypse this is NOT the time

[theshitpostcalligrapher]

Ex Libris: Jurgen Leitner

usual reminder that back in the day i had planned on making an eric carle style book version of ‘a guest for mister spider’ and got burnt out on the project real fast but not before I’d designed and made a custom leitner bookstamp about it (which i got a thumbs up from Alexander J Newall about it on twitter so its canon to me, personally)

so if you’d like to download the design and upload it to any stamp-making site (i used staples cuz it was like maybe thirty bucks for a custom stamp) to have your own leitners, have at thee

most stamp making sites will have a suitably gothic/fraktur font for you to do the ex libris bit on

here’s what the tamp looks like when it’s been applied to books:

^I got that book from the on-sale shelf at my old university’s bookstore. it was the only copy there and I’m unsure as to what class this would have been reading material for, though I’m guessing it was one of the linguistics classes.

[crow-caller]

I see a lot of posts where people decry all these horrible books where characters talk like they're in therapy have pronoun circles and get advertised only by listing identities and never have I seen anyone decrying them actually name real books they have read doing this.

Somehow I think it might be less a common problem and more something people vaguely heard about and complain about without ever actually reading or encountering

[pinegrovez]

Ramona in her everyday outfits 🦇🕷️🖤

[museaway]

there are some days when no matter how good the music or the company or the food, no matter how comfortable you are or how much tea you make, no matter what friends are online, you just feel miserable.