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Just when you thought you knew how weird and shady the publishing business is, you find an article like this one on The Verge (Bad Romance) website. It's about how self-publishing romance novels is done and how some people game the system. And it's about Amazon's Kindle Unlimited service. And court fights. Even deaths threats. Nothing brings romance to mind faster than death threats. I'm being facetious, of course, unless you're in a really bad relationship.
Some of the things I'd heard about before—stuffing the books with junk to make them longer and ways to make Amazon think the whole book was read when it wasn't—but I didn't know about copywriting words used in a book series and the how some of the best-seller lists work. There's a lot in the story that's more than a little scary. There are serious amounts of money being tossed around for influence.
I can't explain it any better than the article, so go read it instead. Click on the link at the beginning of my post and it will take you there. Or, if you're a self-published author, maybe you shouldn't! You might change your mind about writing and go into a field that's a little more sane—like politics.
I just hope I don't get sued for my blog title!
© 2018 K. R. Smith All rights reserved
So crazy, isn't it?
ReplyDeleteWhat a nut ball...I didn't read your linked article, but it sounded like there was also some quarrel between two writers who used to work together. So, it's a tricky business, and...nope. She was crazy. Copywriting a word. *eyeroll*
I may have to stick with horror. You romance writers are tough group!
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