Copyright:  ©2011 Kirk Yuras

This book in all of its formats (Nook, Kindle, Special Edition in PDF, manuscripts in Microsoft Word, in any other digital format, limited printed edition, translated in any language real or imaginary [Croatian or Klingon, Elivish or Icelandic]), content on the websites, paintings (both digital and physical) and all associated materials are mine!  Please don’t steal and attempt to profit from all my hard work.  As much as I like my legal rep, I hate ask him to serve me in his professional capacity.  To read more about how copyrighting works, follow this nifty link.  [copyrighting general info]

In less legal terms, I’d ask people not copy and distribute this book electronically as it would pretty much squash my career before it ever started.  If you like the book enough to copy it/steal it (thanks, I’m flattered, but…) this is a Ten Book series and you’re taking the following books away from yourself.  I’m not delivering a threat, as in “I’ll stop you from getting the next books.”  Nor do I mean to imply some lofty, ethical sort of argument; I’m not calling you out on moral grounds or asking for a show of character.  I mean literally, I won’t be able to afford to write other books if too many people steal the first few.  Taking my book means you’re not contributing to my career – which dramatically decreases the likelihood I’ll write the next one.  I’m not a famous Hollywood Star or some mega firm with financial with-holdings to absorb rampant theft.

Frequently Asked Questions:

(Fervently answered queries/ Find another quip/ Foreign AndroidQueens/ Flying and Quacking/ Flippantly assigned Qualifiers)

Why Electronic Publication?

  Ownership.  You might’ve noticed that bit about the Copyright at the top.  Most authors (especially first time authors) do not own their book.  For shame!  Somewhere along the way, publishing houses asked too much.  Somewhere along the way authors lost their spine.  Electronic publication guarantees I am the sole owner of this work.

    I have to market and promote my book either way.  Typically, authors are responsible for marketing and promoting their book (especially first time authors) even if they sign on with a major publishing house.  For established mega-sellers like George R.R. Martin, some publishing houses will dig deep.  For new authors, this is rarely the case.

   Booming E-market/ Fizzling Physical books.  Many people consider E-books a passing trend.  Trends come and go but some market forces supersede fad.  Fact is, Borders closing has a windfall effect on physical book sales similar to nuclear fall-out on a field of crops.   399 Borders Book stores are closing and all their physical shelf space is gone forcing the same amount of authors into newly confined space.  Barnes and Noble is also exchanging many of its books for other media (games, coffee mugs, CD’s.)

  I once heard competition for shelf space (and sales) was something like two wolverines fighting over dinner.  Now its more like a den of rabid wolverines, fighting over scraps with a pack of wolves on the sidelines and grizzlies waiting to clean up.

   Some stats indicate as many as 70% readers prefer a physical copy to an electronic one, but like it or not, more and more authors are being forced into the E-Market.

 Will Time of the Awakening or any book in the series, Generations of Legends, be available in print?

(As mentioned above, the market for physical books is chaotic right now, but…) Ghad, I hope I can see print!  The one-and-only physical copy that does exist is the template for the Special Edition.  I’m currently exploring high quality printing options with several ‘brick and mortar’ companies.  Given my demands for a stellar presentation, however, this book may be pricey in a printed format.  When I get more news on this, I’ll update.

Does writing quality suffer from E-Books and self-publishing?

        Typically, yes.  Again, facts are facts.  When a writer is published through a traditional publisher, they’re edited on a number of levels, including a line-by-line grammar check as well as large-structure plot editing.  A traditional publishing house has its best interest at heart so when they put someone to print, they have to believe it’ll make them some money.  This creates a system of checks and balances for the readers.  It’s not a flawless method of quality control, but it has kept a lot of junk out of the bookstores.

     When authors self-publish, they bypass that filter.  It’s hard for writers to give themselves grueling, non-biased critiques.  Not surprisingly, a lot of E-Books are awful.  A better question is…

How does Time of the Awakening differ from other electronic books in terms of quality?

For a start, I’d long planned on traditional publishing.  In working with a group of writers (some of whom have published traditionally) I’ve had access to a seldom tapped resource.  I’ve had my book out there, reviewed and kicked around by people in-the-know.  Time of the Awakening has come under chapter-by-chapter, line-by-line critical scrutiny.

Then there’s the matter of a physical copy.  I hand-crafted something that functions as a piece of art, then translated that digitally.  People would be hard-pressed to find a comparable hard copy in a traditional bookstore, let alone find a comparable E-Book.

Why is there a deal for Barnes&Noble customers (with the Special Edition) and not Amazon customers?

Amazon and B&N contracts specify that any electronic book can be ‘repriced’ by the company if a better deal is offered somewhere else – so naturally, this question arises.  Why not give Kindle users the same opportunity I give Nook users?  I’d like nothing more than to do just that, but Amazon is not giving me the same deal Barnes and Noble does.  If/when Amazon offers me the same face-to-face selling opportunities (or something comparable) as B&N currently does, I’ll be glad to level the playing field.