When you put all your publishing eggs in one basket, don’t be surprised when your basket and ALL of your eggs disappear one day!
Amazon self-published authors: Our books were banned for no reason
“In recent weeks, Amazon (AMZN) has taken down e-books written by at least six self-published novelists who say they did nothing wrong and depend on the platform to make their living, those six novelists told Yahoo Finance…”
Read Angela Hoy’s explanation and strong opinions on this latest Amazon development RIGHT HERE.
If you think “all books should be free,” then you, too, should also be forced to work for free.
‘Elitist’: angry book pirates hit back after author campaign sinks website
“Authors have been called elitist by book pirates, after they successfully campaigned to shut down a website that offered free PDFs of thousands of in-copyright books.”
The info. was obtained legally and it IS in the public interest so…case closed!
Judge blasts Sun Sentinel for publishing confidential information in Parkland school shooting case
“By court order, the district was supposed to black out nearly two-thirds of the report because it disclosed information that Cruz was entitled to keep private under federal and state law. But the method used to post the report on the district’s website made it possible for anyone to read the blacked-out portions by copying and pasting them into another file.”
(Editor’s Note – WritersWeekly takes no political stance one way or the other on this first story. We are including it to illustrate a common warning we issue to authors who approach us wanting to publish “tell-all” books, or to “blow the whistle” on bad things that happened in their lives. High-profile cases can lead to intense scrutiny of the author. If a confidentiality clause was signed, any income the author earns from the book (or appearances) may go toward legal fees, and a potential legal judgement or settlement. And, as this story shows, even public figures can sue…and get sued.
Tell-all books leads to intensive background investigations into author, heated accusations, and legal service for alleged violation of confidentiality agreement.
Omarosa book raises questions on what the top-paid White House official actually did
“Infamously, the Daily Beast spent a day with Manigault Newman at the White House, reporting that there was ‘confusion about Omarosa’s precise role’ in the administration and that she spent the work day planning her bridal luncheon.”
I wonder if this will become a regular, accepted method of process service
Democrats Tweet-Serve Subpoena to WikiLeaks
“The law firm further stated that it had been trying to serve WikiLeaks the lawsuit since April, but had been unsuccessful in doing so through traditional means, and therefore had no choice but to serve WikiLeaks by Twitter.”
Are copyright holders getting too sensitive over fair use?
Fair Use For Me, But Not For Thee
“Until rightholders are on the defendant side of a copyright infringement suit, however, they can be pretty aggressive in advocating for expansive rights and often take narrow views of fair use.”
More fair use / copyright infringement
Prince’s Label Says Video of Fans Singing “Purple Rain” is Copyright Infringement
“This is very disturbing: Universal Music filed a DCMA takedown on a video I shot of thousands of Prince fans singing Purple Rain the night of his death. This was clearly fair use and UMPG and Twitter are in the wrong.”
Invasion of privacy: Drone
‘It’s disgusting’; surveillance shows drone flying outside woman’s window at night
“Brentwood police are investigating the incident, but officers are not certain if any laws were actually broken.”
Apparently out of style in these first decades of the new millenium is the old expression, asked as a question, “Have you no shame?” Likewise the affirmative scold, “You ought to be ashamed of yourself.”
It’s a good thing, of course, that today people conduct themselves more from a positive place of knowing “what’s right” than from a fear of shame. I absolutely get that.
However, the people behind the website featured in this article apparently have no sense of shame. They also do not know “what’s right”. Their indignant feelings of entitlement are frankly astonishing.
They angrily defend their right to steal another person’s work! This is a concept directly from Bizarro World.
The “OceanofPDF” progenitors–and their supporters–ought to be ashamed!