• Demons of Oblivion
    • Bloodlines
    • Hunter
    • Lineage
    • Exhumed
    • Oblivion
    • Novellas, Shorts, & Collections
  • River Wolfe
    • River
    • Rebellion
    • How the Werewolf Stole Christmas
    • Wolfe
  • Livi Talbot
    • Solomon’s Seal
    • Odin’s Spear
    • Ashford’s Ghost
    • Emperor’s Tomb
    • Shiva’s Bow
    • Yampellec’s Idol
    • Charon’s Gold
  • Elis O’Connor
    • Blood Ties
    • Witch Hunt
    • Soul Spell
    • Hell Fire
    • Demon Fall
    • Season of the Bitch
  • Waverly Jones Mysteries
    • The Killing Beach
    • A Wild Kind of Darkness
    • Alone at Night
    • Silent All These Years
    • A Dark and Distant Home
  • Standalone
    • Soulless
    • The Silent Places
    • Dweller on the Threshold
    • Watcher of the Woods
    • The Taiga Ridge Murders
  • Boxsets
    • Hauntings: Two Tales of the Paranormal
  • Audio
  • Sales

Skyla Dawn Cameron

My characters kill people so I don't have to.

  • Books
    • Demons of Oblivion
    • River Wolfe
    • Livi Talbot
    • Elis O’Connor
    • Waverly Jones
    • Standalone Books
    • Boxsets & Bundles
    • Content Warnings
  • Skyla
    • Newsletter
    • FAQs
    • Skyla’s Home for Wayward Strays
      • Sponsor a Cat
  • Blog
    • Soundtrack Sunday Overview
    • Comment Policy
    • Evil Writer Blog Posts
    • Evil Writer Blog Posts – Old Site
  • Patronage
  • Shop Books
    • eBooks Direct
    • Deals/Sales
  • Upcoming
  • Hire Skyla
You are here: Home / Archives for torrent

The Death of Livi Talbot (Extended Explanation)

For folks still hitting this page 3+ years later: I still have no ETA on the final book. It’s a time massive commitment to research and write, which means time away from other paid work and other writing commitments. Finding time and money for that, atop the years of stress from this series (I have a panic attack even trying to reread the earlier books to remember them as every shitty thing a reader ever said to me just enters my head when I do) means I have not written the seventh. I have absolutely no idea when I will.

Buckle in for a long one.

This is an incredibly difficult post for me to write but I want readers to have a heads-up about the situation, and I’ve always tried to be as transparent as I can (much to the chagrin to those who think I should just shut up and write).

I warned about this when Solomon’s Seal was first published in 2016.

I said this series is on life support when piracy first started. I explained about delays. I have said over and over that I cannot continue a series that isn’t selling, especially when it is being stolen more than bought. I have had pirate after pirate hit my page set up with certain search terms for them to find, so they know what is at stake.

Now here we are.

The Numbers

I hate bringing up the numbers because it’s so embarrassing and demoralizing but it feels like the only thing some folks will understand.

The latest Livi Talbot book, Yampellec’s Idol, released June 1–six months ago.

It’s been in my head since I wrote the first book in 2012.

I started writing it in 2018.

It is 150 000 words and required several drafts. We’re talking a good four to five hundred hours of my time just with the physical act of writing/revising. Not including the hours of research, reading books and academic papers (books and papers that ran me about $120, btw). Not including the time spent on the cover (just the stock ran me another $40 btw) and the interior formatting and all the administrative stuff that comes with publishing a book. The editors and proofers involved all worked on it as a favour to me–if not for that, and because I can do just about everything else myself, the book would not have been published.

In those six months, Yampellec’s Idol has made about $900. Canadian. (That’s $700 USD.)

Please really consider those numbers for a moment. Consider that to produce that book, I have to a) spend money out of pocket to begin with, b) favour it over paid work, and c) strain my physical health with long hours at the computer. Consider what your own bills cost just a month let alone for a year.

This is not even poverty wages at this point–it’s well beyond that.

I write because I have to–it’s the only thing I can do. But what I write and certainly what I publish comes down to money.

I’ve gotten this far, hands down, because of monthly support on Patreon. There is no question about that. It does not mean that those who buy the books and support them the traditional way don’t matter–but it means those sales alone simply cannot support the series. Look at those numbers. The bulk came in June and July, the rest petering out to a couple of books sold a month afterward. As much as I appreciate every single one of those sales–$150/month covers my hydro bill!–in another six months that’ll be down to maybe $15/month for that book since it’s still a “new” release. It’s the regular income from Patreon that has allowed me to keep writing these books because that money buys me time.

Factoring theft into it now? Work from nearly ten years of my life being copied and distributed without my consent, while I live in poverty and these are my sales numbers? Nope.

I have made the books affordable and available everywhere I conceivably can with no geographical restrictions. I run sales regularly. I gave away books at the start of the pandemic. I am super cognizant of all the excuses folks have for stealing. I have warned that there are consequences when you steal from a poor person, and that is: no more books.

Talked Off the Ledge

Last night, I was so upset I wanted to nuke my entire career and just walk away

So many writers complain about piracy and keep going anyway. And I cannot speak to them and their circumstances or how they do it.

But I…have been through things in my life. Terrible things that involved having control and autonomy forcefully taken from me. Violation of my rights sets off all kinds of sparks in my brain where I go into a panic and relive all kinds of things and the feeling of being trapped. Therefore my first instinct is to grab for any control I have–like cancelling a series.

Do I need professional help for this? Probably! (But therapy? In this economy?) Even if I had that, it wouldn’t change the fact that sales are not sustaining the writing of these books.

I pointed out, last night, “I cancelled River Wolfe over this. I cancelled Demons of Oblivion. I cancelled Elis outside of Patreon. I have done this before and never regretted it.”

“Yes,” my very tired platonic murder wife said, “but this is different. Because you have built this series with the support of all these other people at Patreon. You’ll feel different if you nuke the series this time because of what they’ve invested. But I still support you if you’d rather sell panties on the internet instead.”

She is not wrong.

So no, I am not here today to push the nuclear button and blow everything up.

But I have very limited paths forward at this point and there are choices to be made.

A Different Set of Numbers

I have been rationing groceries all month.

That is probably not as dire as it sounds because, due to pandemic anxiety, I have like ten boxes of oatmeal and other supplies. I’m not starving, I just have to get creative with certain meals being out of various supplies (tonight I’m trying vegan mac and cheese with a tin of coconut milk).

Shawn needs some teeth out. His poor little mouth is red and enflamed, and while he’s still eating, we’ve had to stop brushing his teeth because he’s sore. His surgery is next month and the worst-case scenario quote is $1500. Every extra penny I get has been going there which means I don’t get groceries, I don’t get to rent a movie, I don’t get takeout, I can’t do my Xmas shopping until next month when I’m sure Shawn is paid for. I’m running various sales in the hopes someone will be interested because I’m still short, and though I’m sure I’ll make it up through work in the next four weeks, we might need to see the vet sooner with an eye infection he’s developed.

This is not unusual for me. This is how I live day to day. One expense means I can’t afford to eat. When I’m sick and bedridden–as I was for much of this year–I can barely get enough work done to keep a roof over my head.

I cannot pay my vet in screenshots of all the illegal downloads of my books.

The End Is Nigh (with caveats)

Charon’s Gold, Livi 6, went up for preorder last month. Those numbers are…embarrassingly low. I know a lot of folks don’t know it’s scheduled yet, and others will wait until next year to preorder, but I also know plenty were upset about Yampellec’s Idol (*cough*thebooksaren’tromancesFFS*cough*) so there’s going to be a big dip in readers from 5 to 6. That’s just a fact: as low as YI’s sales numbers are, CG’s are going to be even lower by the time it comes out.

This is to say I was already considering where I can end this series when all this went down last night.

A big part of me wants to just…walk away right now. Take my toys and go home. Cancel Charon’s Gold and be done.

But last night I spent a lot of time rereading old messages from readers who reached out about how much Livi means to them. I went through my Patreon messages. I looked at the years of support folks have given me there, investing their extra pennies monthly to buy time away from freelancing for me to write.

You have trusted me with these stories.

I have to write these books, so yes, my feelings are important here, but this isn’t just about me. There must be recognition for what these books mean to so many of you and what you’ve invested in them. I don’t want to hurt you, I don’t want to give the impression that you don’t matter. You do matter. You matter more to me than you probably will ever know.

I’m trying to balance that against what else I know is true: this series is not sustaining itself and the psychological damage from theft of my labour cannot continue.

The likelihood is that Livi #7 will be the last widely published book.

It wouldn’t be the end of the series, and it won’t have an HEA, but it doesn’t have an emotional cliffhanger the way some of the others do and I might be able to tie off some broader plot things.

I will not leave you hanging. I will ensure it’s satisfying and caps off an arc, and can be interpreted as a sort of HFN (NOT a romantic one–that was never going to be in the cards).

This is not what I want but, to be perfectly honest, I need to do this for my own health–both physical and mental.

“Widely published” is the operative word there. There are five more books after #7 that are stories I want to tell and I will have to find other ways of doing so, whether it’s Patreon only and paperback releases like Elis’s books or something else I haven’t thought of. I don’t know yet. But I’m going to take some time to figure it out. #7 doesn’t have a final title and isn’t written yet, so the very earliest you’ll see it is late 2023. I have two years to make firm plans.

tl;dr

So here’s what all this looks like:

  • Charon’s Gold (Livi 6) releases October 22 2022 as planned
  • Untitled Livi 7 releases late 2023/early 2024 (tbd–it’s not written yet) and for all intents and purposes it’ll act as the last book.
  • Livi 8-12…I figure something out, probably using them as Patreon rewards.

Here’s what I can guarantee about the end of 7:

  • it’s will work as an HFN (happily for now) for Livi as a person (NOT romantically)
  • it will not end on a cliffhanger
  • I will (hopefully) cap off one of the story arcs

Still…Maybe?

Maybe things will change?

I’m doubtful after all this time.

Livi has had five years to find an audience. Five years. That is more than a lot of series get. I don’t have money for Amazon or FB ads and I never will. I’ve had to rely entirely on word of mouth, and I know so many of you talk up the books–I appreciate that–and have helped spread the word, but… *points to numbers above* Every single year, the series picks up a few more readers than the one before, so I’ve given it a lot of time–and going on six books now–as a leap of faith.

I think I’m about to hit the ground.

There is always hope things will change. I don’t need to be a bazillionaire–I just need to pay my bills and take care of my cats. Maybe regular series readers will jump to a few thousand over the next two years. Maybe Patreon income will continue to rise. Maybe something else I write will take off and bring in more readers, although Livi was the most high-concept and commercial of my books so I don’t know about that.

I’ve added a new Patreon goal detail–at $1000/month, whatever Livi Talbot books written past the seventh will be published widely regardless of low series sales because I’ll be able to devote more days a week to writing. That is the best promise I can make right now. That might take another ten years to reach, however, so don’t rely on that.

Why do you keep talking about this?

There is basically no winning as a public person with obligations to your readers.

I can keep quiet, reach book 7, and announce then “Yeah, guys, series is over! Sorry if it feels a bit unfinished but we’re done unless you head to Patreon!” And deal with the ensuing complaints.

I can be vague and and say “Oh my health’s not great” or “sales aren’t good” and get emails for years about why the next book isn’t out on Kindle yet.

And I can be upfront and say, look, this is what’s going on.

The thing I want folks to realize is that, although my first instinct is always to nuke everything, I ultimately give this a lot of thought. I never, ever am hasty about these decisions and weigh a lot of factors. And I don’t take the obligation to, and support from, readers lightly.

This comes with a risk that I’ll piss off even more people who find me off-putting, but I opt for transparency always. This is what’s going on. This is how I feel. Do with that what you will.

Is there something I can do?

Buy the books.

Tell your friends to buy the books.

Remove the books from piracy sites.

If you find a link to illegal downloads of my books, send them to me (anonymously, if you prefer) so I can get them taken down.

Do not request other books at piracy sites.

Do not upload the books to piracy sites.

Do not tolerate theft among your friends and family.

Join Patreon if you’re so inclined.

Honestly, many of you reading this are already doing everything. This isn’t your fault. You’ve already done so much and for that I thank you.


Only Read This Next Part if You’re a Thief

For several months this year, I was fairly certain I was going to die.

I was stuck in this no man’s land of healthcare where I couldn’t get seen. My autoimmune disease relapsed and I spent the better part of the year getting worse and worse until the pain was intense enough, the daily fevers worsening, the coughing and vomiting constant, that it suggested things were getting very bad for me. I had an emergency notice on the inside of my door with my medical history and emergency contact in the event I was found unresponsive. And I am the kind of person who doesn’t got to the ER when she has a fever of 104.3F or a broken foot, so when I am scared about something, it’s pretty serious.

This is who you’re stealing from. This is what the stress YOU create does to me. This is why, when I say I have to walk away from publishing to prevent you from stealing for the sake of my health, I’m being deadly serious.

If you have ever downloaded, uploaded, or requested a book from this series–if you’ve ever come to my site looking for illegal downloads or ways to bypass Patreon’s paywall (yes, I get your search results)–you have contributed to this decision. You have killed multiple series and now you’ve done it to Livi too.

How can you purport to love books when this is what you do to the people responsible for them existing?

November 28, 2021 By Skyla Dawn Cameron 2 Comments

The Death of Livi Talbot

For folks still hitting this page 3+ years later: I still have no ETA on the final book. It’s a time massive commitment to research and write, which means time away from other paid work and other writing commitments. Finding time and money for that, atop the years of stress from this series (I have a panic attack even trying to reread the earlier books to remember them as every shitty thing a reader ever said to me just enters my head when I do) means I have not written the seventh. I have absolutely no idea when I will.

Original Post:

This is really hard for me.

I really debated posting this all day. Like I want to get this out of the way as soon as possible, but I also don’t want to clog up the blog with another big long depressing thing that a lot of folks probably don’t want to read.

I warned about this when Solomon’s Seal was first published in 2016.

I said this series is on life support when piracy first started in 2017. I explained about delays. I have said over and over that I cannot continue a series that isn’t selling, especially when it is being stolen more than bought. I have had pirate after pirate hit my page set up with certain search terms for them to find, so they know what is at stake.

Now here we are.

So to summarize: sales have been not-great for the latest book and series in general. Preorders for the next are embarrassingly low. New books have popped up for illegal download this month.

These combined factors and ensuing stress has had me debating for the past twenty-four hours what to do, and after talking it over with a friend, and weighing all the factors including the tremendous support from so many of you…

The likelihood is that Livi #7 will be the last widely published book.

  • Charon’s Gold will still release October 2022 as planned, in ebook and paperback.
  • The as-yet untitled Livi Talbot seventh book will hopefully release late 2023/early 2024
  • It will conclude the series of publicly available books.
  • The final five (#8-12) will probably find a home on Patreon somehow (I haven’t decided how yet but I’ve got a few years to plan; Elis will finish up and I could serialize Livi there next)

I am sorry this hurts some people. I don’t want to hurt anyone. You’ve had so much faith in me and the books, I don’t want to let you down. But I…I can’t handle anymore of this with these books. I cannot handle the violation of my rights and what the triggers for me. Ultimately, this feels like a better option then just cancelling everything outright. #7 doesn’t end on a cliffhanger and I think it can close off some of the arcs so it’s satisfying–it gives me time to close some loops and gives you time to know what’s coming.

I do not make this decision lightly but I think I have to do it in order to protect my mental and physical health.

I have a longer explanation here that gets personal and goes into a lot of factors I weighed, for those interested, including the financial considerations.

I will guess at a couple of FAQs:

Is this a done deal? More than likely. The series has had five years to pick up enough sales to sustain it. #5 and #6 were only written because of monthly Patreon support covering bills so that I could write them–this has been a long time coming. I cannot fathom suddenly gaining enough readers to change things.

Can you still keep writing them with Patreon? I can and I will–that’s what I’ve said here. They’ll just go the way of Elis’s books and become Patreon stories rather than publicly published.

Will Livi and West– No. This series is not paranormal romance; it’s urban fantasy. No one is getting a romantic HEA; I wouldn’t tack that onto the end of a book where it doesn’t fit to begin with. Livi, on her own, will get a happily-for-now because I don’t want to leave folks hanging, but nothing about this series has ever been Genre Romance. Their relationship is one aspect of MANY that make up the books. Please stop yelling at me.

Is it a ploy for more patrons? Nope! I figure those who want to join can but I don’t anticipate many regular readers who buy to translate into the subscription model. That’s why I’m trying to give them some kind of closure with Livi #7, so they don’t feel they need to join as patrons.

This is completely and totally for my own health. I’ve spent twenty-four hours crying and shaking, paralyzed and unable to write, and the only reason I’m not vomiting is because I’m so stressed I can’t eat anything.

I want loyal (paying) readers to see the end of where this is going–I know the ending of the twelfth book and I am still eager to get there. But I cannot handle this situation any longer.

Sometimes self-care isn’t a bubble bath–it’s protecting your intellectual property any way you can.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: charon's gold, epub, livi talbot, mobi, patreon, pdf, piracy, shiva's bow, tiger's memory, torrent, yampellec's idol

April 7, 2017 By Skyla Dawn Cameron Leave a Comment

Wherein Livi Talbot’s on Life Support

Nov 21 Update: the series has been cancelled prematurely.

So titled because of this post. Hey, I like carrying a rough metaphor through, okay?

If you’ll indulge me for a moment, there are some things I have to get off my chest, and it may be lengthy and something I regret, but this is my page so, well, here we go–whatever, I do what I want.

[Read more…]

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: epub, life, livi talbot, mobi, news, odin's spear, pdf, personal, piracy, rant, solomon's seal, torrent, update, writers and readers, writing

February 3, 2015 By Skyla Dawn Cameron 13 Comments

Dearth of Empathy and Death of Zara Lain

First, the ground rules:

  1. I have been published for nine years and pirated for eight of them. Whatever pro-piracy, “chillax” argument you are going to make, I have heard it. And I don’t care. Your comments on this subject will not be approved.
  2. Speaking of, I have a very detailed comment policy. In a nutshell, when you visit my blog and step into my virtual home, you are entitled to my opinion; I am not entitled to yours.
  3. Since the point of this post is compassion and empathy, or lack thereof, I do recommend you step back and consider that before reacting in a way that proves my point.
  4. You can believe that piracy is great and right and STILL respect others’ wishes/opinions in this matter. I think vodka is great. I do not force others to partake of it.

Now…

*

Zara Lain is dead.

I’ve had very simple policies regarding books in the Demons of Oblivion series and its continuation.

The first is that future books depend on sales. As it was initially conceived as a five-book series (and only when I realized how Oblivion ended did I know there should be more books) with a particular arc that came to a conclusion with the fifth book, I knew I could end it at five and hopefully readers would be satisfied, but that there was room for more. And even after I said last year that I needed to let go of the possibility of book six and beyond since sales were so poor (despite being 3x what they were with a publisher) and it was stressing me out, I have always left the door open for more (for confirmation, check the description of the Patreon milestone “Oblivion and Beyond”).

Bloodlines-AReThe second policy was that if Exhumed ended up pirated, that was it. I would never, ever publish another Zara Lain book. Ever.

Searching for illegal copies of my books leads you to my site first where I make this abundantly clear. This has led to some people, over the past year, legitimately buying the books (including Bloodlines, which has been out there for pirating for a year and a half now). I have also reached out to/confronted any attempted pirate I found and asked them not to steal from me. It’s an exhaustive process but, generally, appealing to someone’s humanity as a fellow human is more effective than ranting and threatening legal action.

For some time these policies, combined with the sheer obscurity of me as a writer, has worked to keep most of my books from being illegally distributed.

This is no longer the case.

Therefore, Zara Lain is dead.

*

When a google alert on Sunday popped up to tell me Exhumed was being requested at a forum devoted to illegally distributing books, my heart sank but I headed over to try my best. I reached out to the pirate–who I have no doubt hit my website first, as they always do–and very nicely, very calmly asked her (I’m assuming “her” as, sadly, I find a great number of pirates are, because women seem to enjoy fucking over other women) to please not do this.

Please.

This book, I said, has sold little in the past month. I am not some big time author, I am really struggling with basic things like affording food and vet care for my ailing cat. Readers and writers have a symbiotic relationship; I cannot do my part–producing more books to be read–if readers do not do theirs by obtaining books legally. I suggested that perhaps she could visit her local library and request that they order a copy if she cannot afford the book.

This was one instance where appealing to someone’s humanity didn’t work.

“jdscott666” (aka “jd25” aka “bookho”) is responsible for the death of any potential the series had left. Unequivocally.

*

“But Skyla, YOU are the one choosing not to write them! You can’t punish everyone for one person’s actions!”

I get it. I do. But here’s the thing: I am the one who has to write these books.

I am the one who has to make financial sacrifices to write something that doesn’t earn a living wage. I am the one who has to face the word processor plagued by the knowledge that this book I’m pouring myself into is going to be illegally distributed more than bought; that if I bear my soul in this thing, this piece of art that has emotional resonance with people, I will eventually have my rights violated and consent disregarded.

I can tolerate low sales. I can tolerate piracy. I cannot tolerate both at the same time.

tumblr_mrjz0wndLq1qzswero2_250

This does affect legit readers. I feel terrible about that, I really do.

But however much you might love the characters and books, remember that they come from my brain. I live and breathe these fictional people. I’ve invested over a decade of my life into this series. These stories have parts of me in them.

I am also, whatever my faults, a woman of my word. When I say “If you do this thing, there will be a consequence”, I’m not making an idle threat. It’s been almost six years since Wolfe came out. Has there been another River novel? No. There hasn’t even been a short story(1). Like I said, piracy guaranteed I would never, ever go back and write another of those books. I said that if you pirate Exhumed, you will kill this series too.

I don’t bluff.

*

Exhumed-KindleExhumed…just about killed me to write.

I cried through most of it. It absolutely terrified me to go to the places I did with the book. I put my blood and tears into everything I write–those who know me see glimpses there in everything–but never as openly as I did with that book. That is my soul bared on the page. Out of the thirty+ books I’ve written, there are maybe half a dozen I can say that about.

It didn’t sell well. It was rarely reviewed and barely read. People spoiled the twists for readers within the first week of release. It didn’t make any favourite book/top reads lists.

But the handful of die-hard fans bought it, read it, and loved it. And it was a book I was tremendously proud of.

And now I cannot even describe for you what it feels like to have that book illegally distributed. The reader/writer agreement is, “Okay, here is a piece of my soul; you can have it and do with it what you will–hate it, tear it up, whatever–if you’ve paid for the thing.” Then NOT paying for the thing? Having my rights violated, my consent stomped all over? When I am having to have conversations with myself about whether or not it’s time to break down and go to the motherfucking food bank?

It is heartbreaking. And it hurts too much to even contemplate putting myself in this position again with these books.

*

A lot of people, when dealing with pirates, say, “It’s a shitty thing to do, but I don’t think you’re a bad person for stealing.”

Sometimes, I’d agree. I don’t think illegally distributing books in itself makes you a terrible person; I think intent matters a lot and I ultimately believe in a human being’s potential to do better.

But I do think that when the creator of something reaches out to you and says, “Please don’t do this; this harms me and those I care for, and has a tangible, negative impact on my life,” and you do it anyway…well, yes.

Yes, you are a TERRIBLE FUCKING PERSON.

You are lacking in empathy, either because you are an actual sociopath or because you have deluded yourself into believing your entitlement to cheat the system and read without abiding by the rules in place that ensure I can make a living outweighs my rights as the person who CREATED THE BOOK IN THE FIRST PLACE. You knowingly, deliberately, maliciously set out to hurt another person, and for what? A couple of hours of entertainment? This book would not exist without me, and to thank me for the contribution, you completely fuck me over?

omudbxmtfdkro76rwikq

If you do this, you are a shitty person. Period. Full stop. No justification or excuses.

*

This dearth of empathy, quite frankly, scares the hell out of me.

Like the more and more we’re connected, the more we see avatars instead of people; the greater our access to content creators, the less human we see them as. If someone came to me and said, look, this thing you are doing that violates my rights is having a real negative impact on my life, so please do not do it? Fuck, I’d feel like shit. I’d try to find a way to make it right. I sure as hell wouldn’t double down.

I regularly write from the POV of murderers and monsters, and yet this is still baffling to me, how someone can feel so entitled to a book, they will disregard the creator’s wishes–how they can refuse to see that creator as human. How they justify their mentality of “want, take, have” and believe it trumps my right to things like groceries and veterinary care for my pets.

This lack of empathy is nothing to be proud of; in fact, I think we–as a society–should be shaming the fuck out of people who show so little regard for others. If we could take the amount of energy we put into shaming people for stupid shit like obesity or promiscuity and put it toward having no tolerance for actual character flaws like lacking empathy and willfully harming others, maybe humans wouldn’t be such a shitty species.

*

This bears linking to again.

The bottom line is that artists’ rights are workers’ rights. You are not being progressive or radical by denying artists the right to control their own work. You are not helping the underprivileged by making it impossible for anyone who isn’t already rich and privileged to take up artistic careers. Your pirated Taylor Swift song isn’t feeding the poor. If you want to fight the power, maybe try hacking JP Morgan instead of pirating a vampire romance for your Kindle.

As a writer, when you spend a lot of time sending takedown notices and dealing with this aspect of the business, you get pretty familiar with piracy sites. You see the same things over and over.

You see dozens of people thanking and giving praise to “all the hard work” someone put into a torrent of three hundred books.

tumblr_inline_mi0sd1vMSv1qz4rgp

These people are able to disconnect the book from the author so much that it doesn’t even occur to them to THANK THEM FOR WRITING IT IN THE FIRST PLACE. Not that we can live on praise and thanks alone, of course, but that the writer is left entirely out of the equation is very telling.

I fully support ebook (and movie) piracy in specific instances, like smuggling content across the border to North Korea. That is hugely important work making a difference within that country. But we are not talking about distributing work across tightly controlled borders to help oppressed people see what’s happening elsewhere in the world.

We are talking about people who claim to love books and yet actively work to ensure the people who produce them can’t make any more.

tumblr_mbd7zxs26q1rs3j3f

And this is absolutely baffling to me, in part because for a long time I have been very poor and therefore very aware of how I spend my money. I shop local as much as possible, even if it means spending a bit more money. I buy books by my friends even if they’d give me a free copy. If I like a thing, I try to ensure my pennies to toward supporting it, and even if I DON’T like a thing, other than boycotting, I wouldn’t go out of my way to cause someone harm.

*

“Nothing you say here, Skyla, will make a difference.”

That? That does not make me feel better, you realize.

I am fully aware that I am shouting into the void. That talking about piracy makes me a target for more of it (because, again, their entitlement blinds them to the fact that I am an actual person and that it is a shitty thing to work to harm another human being and her family for no reason). That it would be much easier if I could just flip a switch and stop caring about my work being stolen.

Let me tell you, you do not want to see what kind of person I will be if I stop caring about all these un-winnable fights.

I am told the same thing every time I take in a stray dog off the street, feed it, and try to find its home, or take in a cat when dear god I do not need another but it’s starving and freezing outside. “Just care a little less.” But as soon as we shut off that little part of us that empathizes and connects with others, the closer we get to being the kind of person who willfully disregards the rights and wishes of others.

And I don’t ever want to be that kind of person.

tumblr_me4id3inVk1rkw0kho1_250 tumblr_me4id3inVk1rkw0kho2_250

So I care. And I will speak up. Loudly. Even when it doesn’t appear to make a difference. Because the alternative is sitting back and pretending it’s okay, and I am not going to do that. I abhor dishonesty of any kind too much.

Please do not tell me to stop caring when someone violates my rights. Please do not tell me to stop caring when someone’s actions make it that much harder to keep the heat on. Please do not tell me to stop caring because “it’s never going away.”

How about instead, you start trying to care a little more?

*

“Seriously, Skyla, what the hell does this mean now?”

  • Nothing has changed for Oblivion.  Either I get to it when I get to it or, miracle of miracles, somehow Patreon reaches my sustainability goal first and then I will buckle down and prioritize it.
  • This has not changed the potential resurrection of Amends on Patreon. If that milestone is reached, Zara will rise again there, for that book only. I am undecided about whether or not, when it’s complete, I’ll release it for sale; it might remain exclusive to patrons.
  • Dial V for Vampire remains exclusive to my website shop and this is the only place a post-Oblivion world will be glimpsed.
  • Solace, Zara’s next full-length book in the series, will be written eventually because it’s a story I want to tell. And then it will sit on my harddrive, except for when it goes to visit close friends to be read. Absolutely no one will stop me from writing, because writing is breathing for me. But publishing? I will not publish a book only to have it stolen more than bought.

I am not rage-quitting writing or closing up shop. I have more stories to tell. More books will release at some point. I’ve been through this before and the wheel keeps turning.

Maybe the next books will sell better.

But, like River Wolfe, Zara Lain is dead, and will remain so.

*

tl;dr – piracy killed another series, wheee!

 

 

(1) Rebellion is still on my plate here, but I am so fucking depressed right now (and still dealing with med dosage changes fucking up my moods), I’d rather tackle my pile of paying work for a while. Hopefully it’ll still be done by the end of the month.

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: Demons of Oblivion, exhumed, news, piracy, rant, torrent, writers and readers, zara lain

January 26, 2014 By Skyla Dawn Cameron

“When’s That Book Coming?” Winter 2014 Update

So I can’t link to the old state-of-the-union posts because, as you can see, I have a new site/blog now and the old posts are gone. Last one was October and I was on a bit of a writing hiatus and had just lost/left/mostly-lost-but-semi-left my day job.

tumblr_mf1iyk7YaD1qi5njrFor the job thing? I am sublimely happy.

I mean, I spend a fair amount of time wondering how I’m going to pay my rent. It’s not just the unsteady income but the difficultly when relying on royalties that come from several different sellers who are all on their own payment schedule–it would drive me to drink if, y’know, I had the money to spend on alcohol.

And yet there is so much less stress. I can actually make a living wage now on things like editing and I dictate my own terms (no more being required to do content and copyediting AND proofreading for what amounts to pennies an hour), I get down payments up front and full payments immediately after work is complete, and thus far have worked with utterly fantastic clients. Plus no one screams at me constantly for other people’s fuck-ups. WIN.

But that’s not why you’re here; you come for book stuff! Since the last post…

 

Relaunch

Bloodlines-AReThere was the week-long blog tour and relaunch of the Demons of Oblivion series late October, as I had my rights back and wanted to give the books a push. Thank you so, so much first and foremost to Melissa of My World…in words and pages for organizing the tour and taking care of everything for me. And thank you to everyone who allowed a guest post, interview, or reviewed the books.

The result was around a bunch of new people getting Bloodlines while it was free, and a handful sticking around and picking up the other books over November and December. If you’re a new reader who came from that–hello! Nice to meet you. Thank you for reading, and if you also posted a review and told your friends, I really appreciate it. You are sexy and awesome.

This has also increased illegal downloader traffic by tenfold. Folks, the series will not continue without reader support. The books are extremely affordable and made available everywhere. I am not a popular enough author to justify publishing books that are stolen more than they are bought, especially not now that this is how I make my living. Rent comes first. If you stumble across this blog post while looking for torrents, please stop. /rant

 

New Releases

All the Demons of Oblivion novels and stories have been re-released in ebook. I’m not sure about print yet–the print rights for Bloodlines still lie elsewhere, and if I’m going to do print, I’d like to release all of the books together. Incidentally, Bloodlines is also now in audiobook if that’s your thing.

HungryLiketheWendigo-AREI also released a short story, Hungry Like the Wendigo, under the Tales from Alchemy Red banner. It’s a Ryann David short (well, a LONG short story at 9K words), includes Ellie and Nic, and takes place between Hunter and Lineage.

While it wasn’t exactly a “release”, I wrote a novella set way in the Demons of Oblivion ‘verse future called Dial V for Vampire and offered it as a Christmas gift to members of the Facebook fangroup. It’s Zara narrated, set after Solace (the theoretical sixth book).

I’m also serializing Soulless, which you’ll recall was a PWYC/fundraiser thank you gift for Sophie in 2012 when she was sick. Two chapters a week, and there’s a tip jar there–when donations reach $50, I post an additional chapter that Friday. Eight chapters are already live.

 

What I’m Working On

Uh…

ku-medium (20)

I tried to take January to just write something for me and failed at that because I hate everything I write right now. So I’m back to working on for-pay writing projects, which you (probably) don’t read, because I am officially a full time writer/freelance designer now and I need to be able to pay for heat during this -30C winter. Like a grownup. Which is my least favourite thing to be.

There are several projects on my radar, however.

  • Odin’s Spear (Livi #2) – the zero draft is such a damn mess that I decided to call it done despite the five or so missing chapters, and I’m now working on a decent first draft.
  • Amends – this is the old Zara serial. I’m not relaunching it until I have a draft done but it’s my intention to do that this year, hopefully after Soulless concludes.
  • Retrograde (Baptiste’s War #1) – formerly known as Nairobi Spy Book. Nothing I can say right now except that, though it’s been fighting me, I expect the zero draft to hit me like a freight train when it’s done simmering in my brain soon.
  • River (River Wolfe #1) – planning to work on the rewrites for this in the spring and eyeing a summer release if all goes well. This’ll require a Kickstarter/Indiegogo sort of thing, probably.
  • Oblivion – I’ll endeavor to get a zero draft done by the summer, with an eye on a possible fall release.

All of this is subject to change.

I hate being vague and not having firm dates for the books you’re waiting for, but to take the time to write projects with no guarantee of return on investment, I have to get a chunk of money saved up for rent and stuff first which requires focusing on paying work right now. I’d rather tell you that upfront than have to pick random release dates and then excuse away when they’re missed. With the lack of art patrons and sugar daddies nowadays, we do what we can.

I’ve also noticed a renewed interest in people hitting the old Children of the Apocalypse serial site. Book Three is still on hiatus; I pulled it out, I think, last year(?) with the idea to finish it at last and maybe start the fourth book, but there is so, so much I wanted to change with the whole thing, I realized that for me to revisit this series, I’m going to have to give it a total rehaul. Each book and short story, rewritten from scratch. And…you guessed it, that is just not in the cards right now for a freebie. I have hesitated even leaving the books up as-is because I dislike something out there that I don’t feel is my best work, but people still read it now and then and if they get some enjoyment out of it, I’d rather not take that from them, especially since I don’t know when I’ll have a chance to re-release it.

 

 Other New Stuff

There is a new…sort of addition to the home.

This is Vincent.

Vincent

He was outside my apartment building in December, crying every time he saw me (he is NOT an outdoor/stray cat), and I live on a busy intersection in town where he was at risk of being hit by a car, if he didn’t starve or freeze to death first (as the temperature was dropping really fast).

Extremely generous friends kicked in $ around Christmas to help feed him (and boy, does he eat) and send him to the vet (he’s about five years old and healthy), so things are well right now. He was already neutered, not mircrochipped, and despite looking for his possible owners I’ve had no luck finding anyone. He’s now BFFs with Rodney Ballsnomore and he worships me, so we’re figuring things out as we go since there are no open foster homes here for him. At this point if his humans show up, I am probably going to bitchslap them for doing such a piss-poor job of looking for him.

Also, he’s ginger. We all know how I feel about ginger cats, considering 1/3 of my felines are of the redheaded persuasion.

So. Y’know. Tell your friends to buy my books so I can feed my cats? (Failed Marketing Slogan #147)

loki

If you missed it previously, I have a newsletter signup page here. You can either have a quarterly newsletter delivered to your inbox or be notified when there are new releases only. Or both. I’m not opposed to both.

Next update coming in April!

Filed Under: blog Tagged With: Books, Demons of Oblivion, news, piracy, state of the union, torrent, writing

  • 1
  • 2
  • Next Page »

In Memory of Gus

Become a Patron!

Buy My Books

Kobo | Kindle | Smashwords | iBooks | GooglePlay | Payhip | Find Paperbacks & Hardcovers at Amazon
Buy Me a Coffee at ko-fi.com

Books in Progress

38000 / 65000 words. 58% done!
Demon Fall

113233 / 113233 words. 100% done!
Beneath the Pines

20000 / 100000 words. 20% done!
These Haunted Woods

Meta

  • Log in
  • Entries feed
  • Comments feed
  • WordPress.org

Recent Comments

  • CRussel on Torching Kindle (and Probably My Career, YOLO)
  • Anna Blake on Torching Kindle (and Probably My Career, YOLO)
  • Martha Hubbard on Torching Kindle (and Probably My Career, YOLO)
  • Paula on Audiobook (Initial) Release: DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD
  • Skyla Dawn Cameron on Audiobook (Initial) Release: DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD
  • Melissa Hayden on Audiobook (Initial) Release: DWELLER ON THE THRESHOLD
  • Anna Blake on Nothing to Say (That Isn’t Incoherent Screaming)
  • Skyla Dawn Cameron on Soundtrack Sunday – THE TAIGA RIDGE MURDERS
  • Kerry on Soundtrack Sunday – THE TAIGA RIDGE MURDERS
  • Skyla Dawn Cameron on The Birthday Thing

MEET SKYLA DAWN

Writer of urban fantasy, thrillers/mysteries, and horror.
Fifth-generation crazy cat lady. Bitchy feminist.
So tired all the goddamn time.

My characters kill people so I don’t have to.

read more

Become a Patron!

Socials

  • Amazon
  • Bluesky
  • Email
  • Etsy
  • Facebook
  • Reddit
  • Twitter

What I’m Working On:

Writing Elis 5. Also kind of sort of writing Waverly 8.

I'm not inclined to resign to maturity.