David Burrows's Blog, page 10
June 11, 2016
Self Published Authors and Dealing with Piracy
Piracy is a very difficult issue. When I started self-publishing I used Kindle because of DRM (Digital Rights Management) protection. However, DRM removal tools are now common place and so this is no longer a protection. I do not know what Amazon are doing about this, if anything.
I recently checked on Google for Free downloads of my books and surprisingly found numerous sites. I was also irritated to discover people blatantly Googling for the best sites for pirated ebooks. So what is the impact on the author of pirating? I spent a lot of time writing and editing my books (many years) and also paid to have the books edited and for cover artwork. Books simply aren't free. Having pirated copies is heartbreaking, especially when reading how grateful folk are at finding one. I have tried very hard to make my books competitively priced and even offer an Omnibus Edition.
Back to the piracy. The first thing I did was to notify the website with an email along the lines: "I am David Burrows and I am the author of the Prophecy of the Kings. Your site is offering free downloads of my book which is infringing my copyright as I have not authorised this. Please can you remove any offer of free downloads of my book and notify me when this happens."
Some sites required proof of ownership of copyright and I referred them to my website http://davidburrows.org.uk/
It was not easy to contact some websites so I used http://whois.domaintools.com/. This site told me who owned the URL and sometimes it supplied a contact email address.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) is another route and I emailed them following the guidance provided here http://readpdfonline.com.unlimitedbooks.club/dmca.php - The information required seemed quite detailed and I had some reservations about this.
The worst one to contact was Amazon. I found someone was using their cloud to offer free copies of my book. Given my books are for sale on Amazon this highlights how ludicrous it is that authors have to do all the work. To contact Amazon I used https://aws.amazon.com/forms/report-abuse. This was incredibly complex and I am not certain that I got this right so feel free to post here if I am wrong.
Anyway, I hope this helps other authors. Together, let's sink the pirates.
I recently checked on Google for Free downloads of my books and surprisingly found numerous sites. I was also irritated to discover people blatantly Googling for the best sites for pirated ebooks. So what is the impact on the author of pirating? I spent a lot of time writing and editing my books (many years) and also paid to have the books edited and for cover artwork. Books simply aren't free. Having pirated copies is heartbreaking, especially when reading how grateful folk are at finding one. I have tried very hard to make my books competitively priced and even offer an Omnibus Edition.
Back to the piracy. The first thing I did was to notify the website with an email along the lines: "I am David Burrows and I am the author of the Prophecy of the Kings. Your site is offering free downloads of my book which is infringing my copyright as I have not authorised this. Please can you remove any offer of free downloads of my book and notify me when this happens."
Some sites required proof of ownership of copyright and I referred them to my website http://davidburrows.org.uk/
It was not easy to contact some websites so I used http://whois.domaintools.com/. This site told me who owned the URL and sometimes it supplied a contact email address.
Digital Millennium Copyright Act of 1998 (DMCA) is another route and I emailed them following the guidance provided here http://readpdfonline.com.unlimitedbooks.club/dmca.php - The information required seemed quite detailed and I had some reservations about this.
The worst one to contact was Amazon. I found someone was using their cloud to offer free copies of my book. Given my books are for sale on Amazon this highlights how ludicrous it is that authors have to do all the work. To contact Amazon I used https://aws.amazon.com/forms/report-abuse. This was incredibly complex and I am not certain that I got this right so feel free to post here if I am wrong.
Anyway, I hope this helps other authors. Together, let's sink the pirates.
June 8, 2016
The Ill-Made Knight: Christian Cameron
The Ill-Made Knight by Christian CameronMy rating: 3 of 5 stars
Apologies it's not fantasy but it has close similarities, being set in medieval times. Very interesting book but faded in the middle. Set mainly in France after Poitiers 1356. The main character William Gold wants nothing more than to become a knight and his route to that goal is set with difficulties. The tale tells of mercenary bands of soldiers making a living after Poitiers and much of it relies on looting and rape. Overall I enjoyed it. I did get a little bored in parts as it did seem to go on but the perspective was interesting and the battle scenes lively.
View all my reviews
June 7, 2016
Warcraft: The Beginning
Anyone else seen this? I thought that it was fun and an excellent film although the acting was a bit stilted in my view. However, the CGI-Orcs made up for this. They were tremendous and the Shaman was truly evil. The tale was good and there were nods throughout the film to the game, World of Warcraft, that made me smile. Travis Fimmel was good but not as good ad his role in Vikings, which almost seems made for him with that sly twinkle just before a good double-cross.
http://www.warcraftmovie.com/
http://www.warcraftmovie.com/
May 26, 2016
The Reviews - The Good, the Bad and the Awful
Generally I have some really excellent reviews, but I have had a few less favourable ones.
How do I deal with this mix? Well like most human being I have feelings (although the wife disputes that). I feel elated when I get a good review and I can also feel very dispirited with a bad one. Having seen many reviews for books other than mine, I realised that even very well known authors get the occasional poor review, which shows that you cannot please everyone.
Fortunately, the number and quality of my good reviews outweigh the bad ones so I am clearly pleasing more people than not. I would never ignore negative reviews and do try to learn from them, so any future writing may incorporate these comments. However, an author then runs the risk of alienating existing fans so this is a constant struggle.
My proudest reviews are:
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk
http://www.risingshadow.net/
http://dragonsheroesandwizards.blogspot.co.uk/
https://sfbook.com/
But my favourite by far was by Neo on Kindleboards.com:
"I'm halfway through Shadow of the Demon (book 3) and couldn't agree more: this is a fantastic trilogy, one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a while, really! Now it's getting bitter sweet though: can't wait to read what happens next (and how it finishes) and I NEED to read on, but I also don't want it to end and so find myself slowing down, aaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for writing it and bringing your readers such a good time through it David"
This was so heartfelt that it made all the struggles of writing and publishing worthwhile.
Many thanks and keep the reviews coming - good or bad :)
How do I deal with this mix? Well like most human being I have feelings (although the wife disputes that). I feel elated when I get a good review and I can also feel very dispirited with a bad one. Having seen many reviews for books other than mine, I realised that even very well known authors get the occasional poor review, which shows that you cannot please everyone.
Fortunately, the number and quality of my good reviews outweigh the bad ones so I am clearly pleasing more people than not. I would never ignore negative reviews and do try to learn from them, so any future writing may incorporate these comments. However, an author then runs the risk of alienating existing fans so this is a constant struggle.
My proudest reviews are:
http://www.fantasybookreview.co.uk
http://www.risingshadow.net/
http://dragonsheroesandwizards.blogspot.co.uk/
https://sfbook.com/
But my favourite by far was by Neo on Kindleboards.com:
"I'm halfway through Shadow of the Demon (book 3) and couldn't agree more: this is a fantastic trilogy, one of the most enjoyable reads I have had in a while, really! Now it's getting bitter sweet though: can't wait to read what happens next (and how it finishes) and I NEED to read on, but I also don't want it to end and so find myself slowing down, aaaargh!!!!!!!!!!!!!!
Thank you for writing it and bringing your readers such a good time through it David"
This was so heartfelt that it made all the struggles of writing and publishing worthwhile.
Many thanks and keep the reviews coming - good or bad :)
Outlaw by Angus Donald
Outlaw by Angus DonaldMy rating: 4 of 5 stars
I was pleasantly surprised to find that I enjoyed this book. I was concerned a Robin Hood book would not be new, but the writing was good and the tale interesting. It had a gritty realism that was good. The outlaws and the Sheriff's men were in small bands that was probably accurate for the period. The book is written from the perspective of Alan Dale which makes it interesting. Alan is quite young at the start of the tale and due to circumstances, a thief. His relationship with Robin and the outlaws develops over a year or so and the tale is nicely interspersed with action. Overall, not bad.
View all my reviews
April 22, 2016
New Author Website Design
OK so I am not particularly talented when it comes to website design but I quite like the latest attempt.
The banner is particularly pleasing for me at least but I may play with the colour scheme. Any views? I think a blue to match the sky on the right might be a bit more cheerful but then again I like the brown and that the text stands out.
I like fiddling with the webdesign and look at other author sites for inspiration and to also check what themes are current. That is what drove this recent change so fingers crossed it is more effective/pleasing.
Check out my website to see what you think, or to read sample chapters or find my books on various Internet book sites.
http://davidburrows.org.uk/
Best wishes
David
The banner is particularly pleasing for me at least but I may play with the colour scheme. Any views? I think a blue to match the sky on the right might be a bit more cheerful but then again I like the brown and that the text stands out.
I like fiddling with the webdesign and look at other author sites for inspiration and to also check what themes are current. That is what drove this recent change so fingers crossed it is more effective/pleasing.
Check out my website to see what you think, or to read sample chapters or find my books on various Internet book sites.
http://davidburrows.org.uk/
Best wishes
David
February 3, 2016
Jekyll and Hyde TV Series
OK, I actually quite liked this. It was nonsense but it was also fun. As a series it improved over time. It's a shame the second series is cancelled as I think it would have improved again.
I never liked the original Jekyll and Hyde premise so I was relieved this was different. There was a host of very strange creatures led by Captain Dance, a thoroughly nasty character with a very strange torso; no skin and a beating heart. Tom Bateman was interesting as Jekyll (and of course Hyde). The difference from the usual tale was rather than drinking a potion Jekyll has a genetic defect and turns into Hyde when angry (rather like the Hulk, but less green)
The main problem with the series was screening it before the watershed. Some monsters were very macabre. It seems a common practice, after all Dr Who was screened in prime time and much later than it used to be, so no wonder children have not been watching it and ratings have dropped.
Picture courtesy of de.wikia
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4224588/
I never liked the original Jekyll and Hyde premise so I was relieved this was different. There was a host of very strange creatures led by Captain Dance, a thoroughly nasty character with a very strange torso; no skin and a beating heart. Tom Bateman was interesting as Jekyll (and of course Hyde). The difference from the usual tale was rather than drinking a potion Jekyll has a genetic defect and turns into Hyde when angry (rather like the Hulk, but less green)
The main problem with the series was screening it before the watershed. Some monsters were very macabre. It seems a common practice, after all Dr Who was screened in prime time and much later than it used to be, so no wonder children have not been watching it and ratings have dropped.
Picture courtesy of de.wikia
http://www.imdb.com/title/tt4224588/
January 23, 2016
Path of Exile versus Diablo 3
Well, one is free for a start which is always a good thing. I recently played Path of Exile and it certainly kept me entertained. There are similarities with Diablo 3 in that you have to find better weapons/armour. (For some reason the original Diablo was the better than Diablo 3 as the weapons had names suiting their status, whereas Diablo 3 has cards and somehow that doesn't work. POE is more alike the original Diablo.)
I did play both games solo so perhaps in a group it might be more fun.
In POE you have to find gems to add to weapons/armour to increase their ability which may already be quite high. I liked the different colour weapons later on in the game (blue, yellow then white) denoting rarity. I loved that after a battle, arrows were embedded in everything. Overall I think I preferred POE. The Diablo series never improved over the original game. I personally do not think that added graphics is key to good games and POE shows this. Don't get me wrong, the graphics in POE was good but perhaps wasn't as good as Diablo 3 -- but who cares.
Diablo 3 became tedious in my mind with tasks that were identical between different characters. The weapon drops were getting better so you had a good chance against the opposition. In Diablo 3 I didn't like that characters had little overlap, an archer had very little ability as a magician, as an example. Some of the arrows became grenades and I really hated that. Exploding arrows OK but grenades??
POE had its downside and some were serious niggles. The programme bombed me out after defeating two big villains/bosses and the last one was the end of the game. On going back into the game, it hadn't logged that I had defeated him and I would have to start that episode again. The villains can be seriously hard and the final one almost impossible. In Diablo 3 the villains (bosses) died after a couple of arrows which was far too easy and on occasions I hadn't realised that I'd actually defeated a boss.
In POE some drops just didn't exist, for example I only ever found one jewel for the skills tree. The same was true for various cards. I also did my best to improve my skills against against fire, chaos etc, but on the skill tree they seemed spread out and difficult to find. The skill tree is enormous and I think there was even a skill on dealing with ingrowing toenails. I never did find a minion unless a golem is one.
I think I spent more time on POE than Diablo 3 (including the expansion pack (Reaper of Souls). For a free game it is epic and entertaining. For me I preferred POE and for a freebie that can't be bad.
I did play both games solo so perhaps in a group it might be more fun.
In POE you have to find gems to add to weapons/armour to increase their ability which may already be quite high. I liked the different colour weapons later on in the game (blue, yellow then white) denoting rarity. I loved that after a battle, arrows were embedded in everything. Overall I think I preferred POE. The Diablo series never improved over the original game. I personally do not think that added graphics is key to good games and POE shows this. Don't get me wrong, the graphics in POE was good but perhaps wasn't as good as Diablo 3 -- but who cares.
Diablo 3 became tedious in my mind with tasks that were identical between different characters. The weapon drops were getting better so you had a good chance against the opposition. In Diablo 3 I didn't like that characters had little overlap, an archer had very little ability as a magician, as an example. Some of the arrows became grenades and I really hated that. Exploding arrows OK but grenades??
POE had its downside and some were serious niggles. The programme bombed me out after defeating two big villains/bosses and the last one was the end of the game. On going back into the game, it hadn't logged that I had defeated him and I would have to start that episode again. The villains can be seriously hard and the final one almost impossible. In Diablo 3 the villains (bosses) died after a couple of arrows which was far too easy and on occasions I hadn't realised that I'd actually defeated a boss.
In POE some drops just didn't exist, for example I only ever found one jewel for the skills tree. The same was true for various cards. I also did my best to improve my skills against against fire, chaos etc, but on the skill tree they seemed spread out and difficult to find. The skill tree is enormous and I think there was even a skill on dealing with ingrowing toenails. I never did find a minion unless a golem is one.
I think I spent more time on POE than Diablo 3 (including the expansion pack (Reaper of Souls). For a free game it is epic and entertaining. For me I preferred POE and for a freebie that can't be bad.
December 30, 2015
Force Awakens, Specter - Are Scripts for Films Assuming Audiences are Stuipid?
Do film makers think their audiences are stupid?
Spoiler alert.
OK -- Specter and The Force Awakens were entertaining -- but come on film makers! In Specter, Bond blows up an underground bunker with one shot by hitting a surface gas tank, with sufficient delay to meander to a helicopter. What sort of health and safety was in the Villain's base? Was it rigged to blow up?
The Force Awakens was truly daft, yet another Death Star so easily destroyed. Hadn't the Empire learned anything from the previous two. It also was destroyed with seconds to go. OK we need a bit of excitement, but will Star Wars episode 20 be Death Star 16 destroyed with seconds to go. Also, novice Jedi defeat Master Jedi whereas Luke, the strongest Jedi in centuries, took months of training to fight Darth Vader.
What is happening to scripts? Do film makers think audiences are duped by CGI and nothing else matters? Why spend millions on films but allow daft plots? Spend money up front on a good tale. Audiences aren't daft.
Spoiler alert.
OK -- Specter and The Force Awakens were entertaining -- but come on film makers! In Specter, Bond blows up an underground bunker with one shot by hitting a surface gas tank, with sufficient delay to meander to a helicopter. What sort of health and safety was in the Villain's base? Was it rigged to blow up?
The Force Awakens was truly daft, yet another Death Star so easily destroyed. Hadn't the Empire learned anything from the previous two. It also was destroyed with seconds to go. OK we need a bit of excitement, but will Star Wars episode 20 be Death Star 16 destroyed with seconds to go. Also, novice Jedi defeat Master Jedi whereas Luke, the strongest Jedi in centuries, took months of training to fight Darth Vader.
What is happening to scripts? Do film makers think audiences are duped by CGI and nothing else matters? Why spend millions on films but allow daft plots? Spend money up front on a good tale. Audiences aren't daft.
December 18, 2015
Happy Christmas, Writers and Readers
Happy Christmas everyone.
