Our new site Bookapy is now open for sales and author uploads. If you have ebooks on sale, you can upload them there.
Soon the promotion rules for SOL and our other sites will change to restrict promotions of book sales to books available on Bookapy.
Not yet, but soon.
For clarification, does this mean we can't list our author sites (as in personal sites with book info) if those then point to other places the books are sold?
Soon the promotion rules for SOL and our other sites will change to restrict promotions of book sales to books available on Bookapy.
And does this mean no links to Patreon?
And does this mean no links to Patreon?
No offense, but I hope it does. I understand that you are one of the few who actually earns a respectable amount from Patreon but most don't. I expect a privacy minded site like SOL not to promote one of the worst sites in existence with it's dozens of dubious third party references. If Patreon earned it's money with a percentage from the donations to the authors and didn't have any other third party shit I wouldn't have a problem with it but not like it is now. It's a malware infestation waiting to happen.
No offense, but I hope it does. I understand that you are one of the few who actually earns a respectable amount from Patreon but most don't. I expect a privacy minded site like SOL not to promote one of the worst sites in existence with it's dozens of dubious third party references. If Patreon earned it's money with a percentage from the donations to the authors and didn't have any other third party shit I wouldn't have a problem with it but not like it is now. It's a malware infestation waiting to happen.
I'd be curious to hear specifics, though I suspect that conversation is best had outside the forums. If you're willing to contact me via my author page, I'd like to hear specifics, please.
And does this mean no links to Patreon?
I imagine some authors do well on Patreon, but I won't go back there again. I think this will turn out to be a good option for authors.
I imagine some authors do well on Patreon, but I won't go back there again. I think this will turn out to be a good option for authors.
I don't think the answer is quite so cut-and-dried. A bit of math and a bit of forecasting says that some authors would be hurt by abandoning Patreon.
If the writer posts everything here, they aren't using SOL to promote a pay site. They're providing content with an option for users who want to to support their writing.
Without writers willing to constantly add content, there'd be nothing on SOL to read.
The "Contact" form on Bookapy is not working! When trying to reload my books, I also discovered that there is no Series field (for ordering books in a series), but I was unable to submit a feature request.
Just thought everyone would want to know.
There's also no 'boxed set' option, which I would dearly like and have submitted to Lazeez as a change request.
There's also no 'boxed set' option, which I would dearly like and have submitted to Lazeez as a change request.
That was part of my failed feature request, and one I'd made before (Lazeez said he was working on it, but I'm guessing he overlooked it).
Generally, Box Set are entered as Series #0, so the box set isn't listed as a part of the series, but displays at the top of the series list.
There's also no 'boxed set' option, which I would dearly like and have submitted to Lazeez as a change request.
Create a second entry at a higher price as an anthology, it's what I did.
As far as using Bookapy to sell Patreon books, the same rules apply. You can "sell" completed Patreon books, but you can't provide active links to your Patreon site. Thus, to use Bookapy, you'd need to format your completed books in order to submit them here.
Bookapy is a tool, allowing SOL readers to purchase books from SOL authors, but it's not a means of promoting alternate sites.
Got my answer (about the series and box sets), those items are still on his 'to be implemented' list. Apparently, it's not yet ready to implement. :(
I could think of trying to write a "better" story, under another new pen name. But I wouldn't want to sort out payment and the things that could unmask me. Any way to set it up to donate to charity?
I guess it's time to put this thread to bed.
For now, I haven't made up my mind on what the rules will say. I will carefully consider all the possibilities and address them in an addition to the posting rules. For now, everything stays the same. Nothing changes.
I understand the needs of authors, and I will have to balance them with the needs of readers and the protection of the various sites that I run now.
I will try to be as fair and accommodating as possible, but I'm sure, like every rule, anything that I come up with will upset somebody. I will try my best to minimize the upset factor of the whole thing.
This is a necessary change and like any change, everybody will need some time to adapt to it.
If an author needs to advertise to gain more downloads on their pay site,
I don't visit other sites to read stories or participate in any other activities, but I have visited a few of the sites for other reasons. From comments made in other threads and my limited experience, I get the impression that the other sites are not as organized as SOL.
Does anyone know if the authors on the other story sites promote the sale of their stories using a different pay site? If yes, how do the sites' managers respond?
It's a symbiotic relationship where both sides evaluate the costs and benefits.
I agree 100%. I'm currently writing a story intended for SOL, but now I may reconsider that. There really would be no benefit to me to do so.
As always, you can list that information on your personal author's blog, but not as part of the story.
From what Lazeez said, that would not be allowed in the future. No reference anywhere on SOL to your novels on other sites like Amazon, Lulu. etc.
But if the reference is to a personal site and not amazon, lulu, etc. I'm guessing authors will still be able to list their facebook & twitter, which also could contain links to those other services?
Or are SOL & it's companion sites going to become completely siloed with no connections to any social media or anything else an author might do, and only reference things on these sites and that's it.
I think there should be wriggle room on this subject. While it's not good for readers to be bombarded with adverts about what extra content authors have on Patreon, I don't think all mentions of the site should be banned from SOL since it is a legitimate way for enthusiasts to support the work of their favourite authors.
AJ
I think there should be wriggle room on this subject. While it's not good for readers to be bombarded with adverts about what extra content authors have on Patreon, I don't think all mentions of the site should be banned from SOL since it is a legitimate way for enthusiasts to support the work of their favourite authors.
Is advertising Patreon on Amazon allowed? Is advertising Amazon on Lulu allowed? Does B&N have author advertisements for Patreon? No, and those sites are free to visit. I pay for SOL, and although I would like to support authors I don't like advertisement for sites I despise like Patreon and Amazon.
I don't think mentioning 'If anyone would like to support my writing, I have a Patreon account' is particularly worse than 'If anyone would like to support my writing, I have a Paypal account'.
I can't speak for the examples you mention - I'm aware that Amazon allows authors to write a profile but I don't know what curbs they put on the content. Do they allow links to Twitter and Facebook for example?
After my recent computergeddon, I read several dead tree novels courtesy of my local library. The authors seemed free to mention their personal websites and Facebook and Twitter feeds.
AJ
I don't think mentioning 'If anyone would like to support my writing, I have a Patreon account' is particularly worse than 'If anyone would like to support my writing, I have a Paypal account'.
I can't speak for the examples you mention - I'm aware that Amazon allows authors to write a profile but I don't know what curbs they put on the content. Do they allow links to Twitter and Facebook for example?
After my recent computergeddon, I read several dead tree novels courtesy of my local library. The authors seemed free to mention their personal websites and Facebook and Twitter feeds.
The problem is that it becomes a sliding scale. Personally I would put the limit on just an author's personal website. That's the place where you can advertise as much as you want.
Which was my original question. If the rules forbid advertisements of other stores, do they forbid mentioning an authors website that contains links to other stores?
Do people put their entire works on Amazon, Lulu or B&N to be read for free? It's not a 1-to-1 analogy. Unless you're suggesting all the authors should pull their books off posting on the site for free and only putting them on bookapy
I believe one of the failings of Patreon is that it is difficult (if not impossible) for authors to gain an audience using Patreon services alone. You have to be known somewhere else first - such as SOL - and bring readers with you. I've used Patreon, and find the user interface clunky and it is VERY difficult to use. And, I can't go browsing through authors I don't already know in search of a story I might like.
