Ebook piracy is real and growing…

Good Wednesday morning! Hope all of you are well and safe. I know several people in the flood ravaged south and I hope all of you are safe this morning. As I watch the news its devastating and tears at my heart. Prayers going up to all of you in the danger zones.

This morning I want to discuss Ebook piracy. When I started my writing career I was a little leery of putting my book on websites that I wasn’t familiar with. I’d spend hours checking out their ratings and BBB information before I’d even set up an account with them. We want to keep our work safe from those that want to take advantage, but what can we do in this day and age of cyber piracy? Nothing, not a thing…

I noticed about a year ago that when I googled my name, several websites came up that I didn’t recognize. Of course I checked them out and some of them are legitimate because they are distributors from Createspace that legally sell my book and I reap the royalties. But unfortunately a couple were actually pirating my books for free on their sites. A month ago I was searching out my books and found that the number of websites that my books are showing up on have more than doubled.

Of course it got me a little hot under the collar until a well known author told me something that hadn’t really hit me. She told me that it’s like free advertising. The word pirates as I call them were actually doing free promotions for my work. I still don’t like the fact that they steal your work and place it everywhere for free, but in a way it is getting my work out there. She also went as far as to tell me I should be proud that they picked my work to steal because that meant they evidently thought it would help them. Never thought of it that way either.

My question to several authors was how do you stop them, but all of them came back with the same response, you don’t. The websites change constantly and have crazy names. I keep a watch on it though because I don’t want someone else to list their name as the author of my work. Now that will spur me into action, but for now I’m just watching it.

I suggest if you’re a published author to keep an eye on your work. Do a cyber search frequently on your author name, book name and website. It’s just a precautionary measure, but it could save your work.

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

P.S. Oakley is coming out by the end of next weeks!!! I’ll be posting updates by the end of the week. So go over to my website at www.stephaniehurtauthor.com and subscribe to my newsletter to get updates on new releases or exciting news. Or go over to Facebook and like my author page to stay up to date at https://www.facebook.com/StephaniePayneHurt. If you’re a Twitter lover then check out my tweets at https://twitter.com/StephanieHurt4.

Tuesday morning glance at the past…

This morning I’m taking a look back at how things have changed in the self publishing world since I started in 2012. It’s amazing how it fluctuates. So many main stream traditionally published authors have gone back to self publishing and are enjoying the freedom that it provides.

Self publishing has come into it’s own in the last three years or at least in my opinion. There are more sites to place your books and they are more widely accepted. When I first put my books on Smashwords.com the distributors list was a lot shorter and now you can have your books spread out far and wide. Also, several traditional publishers are jumping on the bandwagon and looking at it differently.

The amount of self published books is phenomenal and the amount of best selling self published books has rose along with it. Now a self published book can actually go to the top without the hand of an agent or big publisher pushing it. Traditional publishing has it’s good points too. But for some of us starting out or maybe that have already been there, we’re venturing out and testing the waters first.

So, what’s your opinion on the growth of self publishing? Are you traditionally published or self published? Maybe you’re both…

As always, great writing and May God Bless You…

Mail Order Bride Research…

Well it’s raining and stormy here in Georgia this Monday afternoon. But that’s alright, we need the rain. Since I kind of let the news out slightly in a previous post, yes I’m working on a historical romance along with Chase, the 3rd book in the Five Oak Ranch series.

This book has been interesting to say the least. It’s based in the 1800’s just after the Civil War. The book is about a mail order bride from Georgia that goes to Montana to marry a man she’s never met. I don’t see how they did it. I’ve been researching the subject and it can be quite interesting to say the least.

Back in the 1800’s men went west in search of financial stability and adventure. Some left their wives home in the South and eventually sent for them, but the large bulk of them were single and when they finally settled in one of the western towns, guess what? Yep you guessed it, there were hardly any women. I can imagine these men were a little lonely and wondered if they’d done the right thing as they cooked their meals and washed their clothes.

It didn’t take them long to start sending advertisements to southern newspapers pouring out their hearts. Some would send romantic poems in order to lure in the ladies. It worked! Soon the mail order bride became a popular way for these men to finally have a wife. They’d write back and forth with the lady, then send a ticket for her to come west. Some of these correspondences were between the men and the father of the lady. In this case they don’t get acquainted until she steps off the stage coach in a dusty western town full of men. What a nerve wracking arrival to say the least…

It’s made for fun writing though. I’ve enjoyed delving into the history of the mail order bride as I make my story come alive. I’ll give a little hint soon of the title and then I’ll let you in on the cover. This book will probably come out in late summer. Since I love anything historical, this has been a thrill.

So what have you been up to lately?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Word Count & Scrivener

Good Saturday morning! Here in Georgia it’s simply gorgeous with the sun shining and the temps comfortable. Makes me want to go outside and sit the rest of the day writing. But my house needs an overhaul 😉 That doesn’t mean that I won’t end up out there with my laptop.

I’m working on two manuscripts at the moment. Of course ‘Chase’ is one of them and then I’m also working on a new Christian Historical Romance, but that one will be discussed at a later date. As for writing, I’ve been trying to get in my daily word count and then some. Since the stories are flowing pretty steadily lately, it helps me to stay focused.

One thing that is helping with my writing lately is a program that I’m trying out. Have you tried out Scrivener yet? Several authors have suggested the program to me, but until now I’ve been using word mostly. So about a month or so ago I decided to test the waters and I’ve not looked back yet.

This program incorporates my trusty outlines and character lists into the same screen as my manuscript. I can keep it all at my fingertips at all time. Better yet as a new character is created I can simply add them to the list and never skip a beat. I’ve even got the outlines typed out for a couple of story ideas for later in the year.

What’s fun is with my 5 Oaks Ranch series I can copy my character list over to the next book. That way I don’t have to keep going back to the books before and search out a character. Let’s just say I love this program and highly suggest trying it out. They offer a trial version so that you can make sure it fits in with your way of writing.

Well, I better get back to mopping my kitchen and doing laundry because it won’t do itself. Also the sooner it’s done, the sooner me and my laptop can head out to sit on the deck and get lost in another world, if just for a while.

So, what are you up to today? Hope it’s fun…

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

How do you like your eggs?

There are so many ways to have your morning egg. Boiled, scrambled, poached, sunny side up, the choices are endless. For me, well, I have one boiled egg just about every morning. I like scrambled eggs too sometimes with grated cheese. I’m an egg person.

If you think about it, eggs and romance novels go hand in hand. Yeah, I know, you’re saying ‘She’s finally lost it’, but you can’t lose what you didn’t have to begin with, LOL! Anyhow, as with eggs, romance novels come in many different genres. Everyone has a preference and when you start looking up romance on Amazon the choices are infinite. It’s amazing.

Some people like a laid back, relaxing romance that takes you away to faraway lands then others want that fast, racy romance that catapults you into another world and then drops you off somewhere you’re not expecting. Even with the different genres there’s sub genres. Yep, it get’s long when you hit that part of it.

When people ask me what romance genre I write in, well I have to think for a minute. I’ve written Christian romance, Historical Romance, Cowboy Romance, Contemporary Romance and the list goes on. Some of my books can fit into all of the above. It’s crazy how many are out there. It also drives a writer crazy when publishing because you need to make sure you put your book in the correct sub genre.

So, how do you like your eggs, ummm I mean romance 🙂

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Spring Evening on the deck…

It’s that wonderful time of year when the evening is just simply gorgeous and it’s not too hot to sit out. The mosquito’s haven’t totally moved in, but they’re trying their best. There’s a light breeze blowing and the birds are chirping. It’s a piece of Heaven tonight.

Of course I’m sitting with my laptop working on Chase. Yep, I said Chase. Oakley is now in the hands of my editor and I’m two chapter into Chase’s story. This one has been pulling at me for some time, but I had to get Oakley’s story finished first. Chase is full of life and humor, but he has a soft side that not many people see. His story will have you on the edge of your seat wondering what will happen next. I can’t wait to have it ready for my faithful fans.

I’ve been asked by many what my Mother’s Day plans are, well it’s easy. I have Church in the morning then meeting my brother and his family lunch. No way am I cooking tomorrow. Then it’s back home to do anything that hits my fancy. But if you know me and many of you may have already guessed, I’ll be writing. If the weather is nice, I might just sit out here on the deck tomorrow afternoon and write.

Hopefully now that Oakley is finished and Chase is on a good start, I’ll be able to get back to my regular blogging schedule. I’ve missed it so much and the interaction with all my cyber friends.

If I don’t get to it tomorrow, hope all of you have a wonderful and restful Mother’s Day!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Downhill slide…

Good morning! It’s a sunny morning here in Georgia. The sun is streaming through the trees and into the windows as I sit here writing. It’s been a productive morning so far. My exercise is completed, my breakfast eaten and 2000 words typed into my manuscript. Yes, Oakley is almost done.

This book has been really fun to work on. I’ve enjoyed writing all of my books, but there’s something about this series that really pulls at me. I think it’s the fact that the whole story of each of the five siblings actually is already in my head. It sounds crazy but it’s true. Of course I do have the filler material to put together and that’s the time consuming part.

Let me introduce you to Oakley, the cowboy, the man. He’s such a old spirit with his old fashioned way of thinking. His heart is filled with compassion and so much kindness. As he goes about trying to understand his brother, Ridge’s decision to hire a woman as a ranch hand, he struggles with other feelings that start up.

Keep watching for updates on Oakley and the release date will be announced possibly this week. Also, with the upcoming release of Oakley, I’m giving away 5 copies of Ridge over at Goodreads. Here’s the link: https://www.goodreads.com/giveaway/show/137212-ridge

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Wednesday writing…

It’s Wednesday, but with the rain outside it feels like Monday… I may need a full pot of coffee to make it to the office. Good thing I still have half a pot to go.

I have an update on ‘Oakley’ which is coming in a week or so. It’s really exciting the response I had with the 1st book in the 5 Oak Ranch Series, ‘Ridge’ and now I’m receiving emails, calls and texts asking when ‘Oakley’ will be ready. As a writer I love to hear from my fans, especially when they’re ready for the next book.

For me this is a exciting series and I can’t wait for each installment to be released. One fan asked me which sibling’s book will be my favorite and it’s hard to say, but if I had to choose it will be ‘Chase’ because he’s the playful, rodeo cowboy that leaves nothing unsaid. Of course I love all of them, I do have to say ‘Oakley’ has stolen my heart with his old fashioned ways.

I’ll be posting updates on the release date which is coming up really fast. If you’ve read Ridge please let me know what you thought, and if you haven’t then enter my contest that ends tomorrow for a chance to win a copy.

As always good writing and May God Bless You…

Coming out of the rain!

Good Tuesday morning! It’s wonderful to look outside this morning. The sun is streaming in through the windows and everything looks great. We’ve had rain and dreary weather for over a week, so the sun shining this morning makes me smile. Although it’s a little cool this morning, I’m not complaining one bit.

As a writer I go through many phases of writing. Some days I feel like it’s raining in my brain and the floods of thoughts seem to overtake me. It can be overwhelming, but then the sun comes out and the writing begins. I’ve been coming out of the rain for the last couple of days. During the busiest part of tax season I had so much going on in my mind that I couldn’t get a hold on my writing.

Now that the sun has come out I can’t seem to write enough. Of course I still have to go into the office and do accounting, but my mind is still focusing on the stories that cross back and forth. I’m a major multi-tasker so usually I have a note pad handy for those moments when I can’t get them to stop screaming at me. Some days as I do data entries which usually I do this automatically after over twenty some odd years I can do these in my sleep, I use my dictation app on my phone and write as I work. Yep I’ve got it bad.

If you’ve been following my blog the last couple of days you know I’m doing a fun giveaway of Ridge. This is because Oakley is coming out really, really soon… So keep up with all the news and subscribe to my website at stephaniehurtauthor.com for updates. Also, watch out for the questions that help you rack up points for chances to win a copy of Ridge.

I hope you enjoy your day and make the best of it!

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…

Here’s a little reminder of the giveaway rules and today’s question:

Do you prefer a moonlit stroll in the country or on the beach?

Don’t push that button!

It’s Friday people and it’s time to celebrate the weekend, well almost time. For me it’s already the weekend. I’m taking a couple of days off to get over the 12 hour days for the last three months. But of course I’m writing and working on publishing things that have been left out in the cold for too long.

Since I’m working on the finishing touches of Oakley, my mind goes to deciding when to publish. Well sometimes we get so excited about our finished manuscript that our need to get it out there for everyone overrides the fact that we’ve left off a couple of needed steps.

When you publish a manuscript you have a responsibility to your reader to make sure the work is polished and pretty… Have you read over the work. Have you read over it more than once? Are you feeling really good about the finished product? When I get my work completely finished and edited I have this feeling of “Yes it’s as it should be” and that’s when I hit the button. If I have any doubts I read over it again and usually I find something that I missed the other times. It’s worth the time.

So, make sure you feel good about the finished manuscript, not just excited that it’s finished. It’s your work, shouldn’t you want it to be the best it can be?

As always, good writing and May God Bless You…