candacew - Tumblr blog

candacew · 2 months

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I think you should legally disclose if something is ai just like how you legally have to disclose if something is an ad

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candacew · 3 months

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So a free tool called GLAZE has been developed that allows artists to cloak their artwork so it can't be mimicked by AI art tools.

AI art bros are big mad about it.

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candacew · 3 months

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Guys, stop being crap to creators. You aren’t hurting Amazon. You’re stealing from writers.

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candacew · 3 months

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I need a 3D printer.

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candacew · 3 months

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yknow AI art has ruined an entire genre of painting to me, i saw one of those smooth anime-realism pieces and immidiately thought ''ugh, AI art'' until i noticed it was posted by an established deviantart user 6 years ago. like ive never been a huge fan of that genre but it looks like a pretty difficult style to master and i feel bad for the artists who specialized in anime-realism only to have their entire market jacked by people typing keywords into midjourney.

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candacew · 3 months

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every once in a while, someone asks me, "where's the best place to buy your books?" -- specifically, they want to know which platform takes the lowest cut, so the largest percentage of the cover price goes to me.

this is a very cool, kind thing to ask, and i appreciate it every time. but if you really want to make sure an indie author you like makes money, here's the two biggest things you can do for their book:

rate/review. leave a star rating on whichever storefront you bought the book from. write a quick review on goodreads or the storygraph.

signal boost. post about the book on social media. recommend it to friends who like the same stuff.

these two things, either alone or together, put the book in front of more eyeballs. that translates to more sales, which translates to more eyeballs, which translates to more sales.

this is a big help even on platforms that pay smaller royalties--35% of 10 sales is still more money than 95% of 1 sale.

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candacew · 5 months

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The fact that Microsoft Word has to be a subscription is upsetting. I already paid for it why do I have to pay again

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candacew · 1 year

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WIKIPEDIA MONSTER COMPILATION PAGES FOR PEOPLE

japanese creatures

greek creatures

creatures organised by type

creatures listed by letter

humanoid creatures

filipino creatures

chinese creatures

cryptids

‘fearsome critters’

angels

beings referred to as fairies

creatures that pretend to be human

a page on therianthropic creatures

shapeshifters

hybrid creatures

extraterrestrial creatures

deities

a page of mythology page links

a section of folklore page links

flying creatures

theological demons

fictional species lists

mythology related lists

legendary creature related lists

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candacew · 1 year

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just saw someone reviewing the erin hunter books like, ‘they should publish the whole series at once, i don’t want to wait a whole year to read it’. like babe i hate to break it to you but,,,, go touch some grass and think about your relationship with consumerism okay, because it’s gotten really weird on you

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candacew · 1 year

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If you want books to exist, stop pirating them.

This sounds like drama, but it's not.

Not only is it well documented that pirating contributes to publishers not buying more manuscripts from an author (Maggie Stiefvater's experiment being the most famous), now we have evidence that Amazon's Kindle Unlimited algorithm is registering pirated copies of books online as the book being "offered" somewhere else, and punishing the authors for it.

And I don't know how much you know about Kindle Unlimited, but the thing is, if your book is in KU, you have to check a little box that says you're not offering the book anywhere else for sale. At all. So when the algorithm is finding the pirated copies, it's pinging it as, Oh! The author lied! The author misrepresented their sales strategy! ACCOUNT DELETION FOR AUTHOR. NO ROYALTIES FOR ONE THOUSAND YEARS.

Miette jokes aside, that's actually what's happening to very popular self-pub authors. Ruby Dixon just had her account deleted, her 15+ volume popular KU series taken down, and Amazon fighting her over the KU Pages royalties she'd already earned on those books. Now, Ruby's got her account back because she's popular enough that people shouted at Kindle executives very, very loudly, but what about other authors? This could ruin someone's career.

Well, why not publish wide, I hear you saying. Why stick to Kindle Unlimited? After all, Amazon sucks.

Here's the thing. Whether we like it or not, Amazon has a massive corner market on books, and for authors who are self-publishing, it is by far the most accessible and cost-effective method, PLUS, it's a great way to be discovered by new readers.

Because readers don't have to pay for individual titles under KU (they pay for a subscription, and then Amazon pays out authors based on how many pages of the book someone read), they can give new authors a try. They can take a chance on a book they're not sure they'll like. And Amazon tends to promote KU titles more aggressively because it's good for their business.

My little $0.99 short story, Swelter, is on Kindle Unlimited, and I can tell you that a good 85% of my royalties from it come from KU pages, not from people buying it. And that's for a story that costs less than a dollar and is not a big investment and has pretty good word-of-mouth in the f/f reading community.

Self-publishing is expensive, and time consuming. I'm getting away with it pretty cheaply right now because I am also a professional editor, and I have friends in the business who are willing to trade in kind rather than be paid. I have a really wonderful friend who is doing my ebook formatting for free because I beta read and do proofing for her. But if I were paying for all the services that I'm trading for, as most authors have to do? I'd be well over $1500 sunk into this little ebook coming out in a week that is going to cost $3.99 and be free to read on Kindle Unlimited. And that's not counting marketing. Because yeah, you have to pay for marketing. Hell, I had to pay $35 upfront to a popular site to be considered for their marketing campaign, and would've paid another $65 if they'd accepted me. (They did not, so I'm out that $35 without even a marketing campaign to show for it.)

And the thing is, I'm currently gainfully employed. I'm salaried. My spouse is also salaried, so I have enough disposable income to spend what I've spent on this ebook (which is still about $600, even with all the things I'm trading for). Most authors? Especially most self-publishing authors? Don't have that.

So Kindle Unlimited, for all its flaws, is a way to get more diverse voices in the business because you don't even have to buy an ISBN. Amazon assigns you an Amazon Sales Index Number (ASIN) and you're good to go, as long as you're not listing it on any other sites. Hell, they even have tools for you to make your own cover art if you don't want to pay someone to make it for you. They do a lot of their own internal promotion on Kindle. Readers can try you out for little-to-no personal investment on their part and maybe discover that they love your writing, and you've gained a whole audience. It's a great return-on-investment for self-published authors.

So that's why a lot of self-pub authors choose Kindle Unlimited. And a lot of authors will do a limited run on KU in order to get some early word-of-mouth and discovery readers, and then publish wide later. (That's my current strategy with Welcome to the Show, if it does well. If it's not doing well, I probably won't sink the money and time into expanding its availability.) But if this happens, if Amazon shuts down their account over "KU membership misrepresentation," then even if the book has been published wide and is available on other platforms by then, Amazon is going to dispute their KU Pages royalties and try to take them back.

So by pirating books, not only are authors losing "potential" sales (I know, there's a whole argument there), they could be losing real, actual sales that they've already sold.

In conclusion:

1. Don't pirate books.

2. If you see someone requesting where they can read a book "for free", speak up.

3. If you see someone providing links where people can read a book "for free" (if it is not provided by the author for free), speak up.

Thanks, and have a good day.

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candacew · 1 year

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I just got my copies of the hardbacks of The Black Hand in! Second picture shows the formatting. I love 😍 #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #kimmersbooks #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #reverseharem #whychoose #cmwondrak https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpu-qBHgRKV/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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candacew · 1 year

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I'm 45k into drafting my next book... and, not gonna lie, it's taking some TURNS, guys. Turns it wasn't supposed to, but I'm here for it! My Facebook group said they wanted more serial killers from me, so that's what they're gonna get. 😈 #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #kimmersbooks #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #reverseharem #whychoose #candacewondrak https://www.instagram.com/p/Cpm71jfrdn4/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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candacew · 1 year

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Cover reveal! Preorder announcement! Introducing Elias and Sloane, starring in Rot, the spiritual successor to Sins. If you want sane characters, look somewhere else. 😇 Coming May first! 👇Blurb below. 👇I know this one won't be for everyone, but as I figure, that's most of my stuff, anyway. 💀💀💀💀💀💀💀 Grandmother always said I had the rot in me, something dark and vicious, waiting to come out and play. That I got it from my father, a serial killer who attacked my mother. It runs in my blood. She said I can't escape it, no matter how hard I try. She was right. My mother and I are out of options, so we had to run. Leave behind the life we both knew without looking back. We move in with my estranged aunt, her sister, and her handsome son, Elias. She's happy to take us in, thinking we can make up for lost time. But the rot is always there, waiting. I don't expect much. Life is so boring when you're trying to be good. Elias doesn't hesitate to make it known I'm not welcome in his life or his house, and he'll do anything he can to put me in my place and get us to leave. Rot attracts rot to make something new. Cold, cruel, calculating; there's more to Elias than meets the eye, and I find myself wanting things I've never wanted before. I'm not the only one keeping secrets. Elias is, too, and I'll do whatever I can to discover the truth. The rot demands it, just as it hungers for us. Books2read.com/rot #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #romancebooks #candacewondrak https://www.instagram.com/p/CpfQ_SzLZFe/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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candacew · 1 year

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What else do you collect besides books? I just picked up some pokemon cards and this adorable pikachu squishmallow from target. 🥺 LOOK 🙌 AT 🙌 HIM🙌 He is so big and soft and squishy, I love him. #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #reverseharem #whychoose #candacewondrak #pokemon https://www.instagram.com/p/CpdBLW1ruoO/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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candacew · 1 year

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I just love pink 😍😍 #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #kimmersbooks #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #reverseharem #whychoose #candacewondrak https://www.instagram.com/p/CpXz6XZrSnT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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candacew · 1 year

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Vicious Heart is out in the world! I just got my paperback yesterday. Ain't she gorgeous? 😍 #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #kimmersbooks #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #reverseharem #whychoose #candacewondrak https://www.instagram.com/p/CpVBaAULyNn/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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candacew · 1 year

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Release day announcement! 🥳🥳🥳 Lola's officially got another trilogy under her belt, and I CANT WAIT for you guys to read it! She goes balls to the wall in this one, takes no sh*t... SCORCHED F*CKING EARTH. I love her so much, and I hope you do, too! And if you've been waiting to start the trilogy till its complete, nows your time! ((And if, by some chance, you haven't read the A Death so Sweet series, you definitely should read it before this one, as this one is a follow up to it!)) Please remember to review/rate/share if you can! It's been hard for a lot of indies lately, me included. We really do depend on you lovely readers ❤️ Also, let me know if you want a spoiler post! I think some of ya *might* wanna talk about that ending... #bookstagram #igreads #booknerdigans #bookworm #bibliophile #bookaddict #books #booknerd #bookphotography #instabooks #readersofinstagram #bookgram #booksofig #booksofinstagram #bookporn #coverlove #booklife #bookaddict #booklover #bookblogger #bookcommunity #instaread #reverseharem #whychoose #candacewondrak https://www.instagram.com/p/CpP1jjRLzWT/?igshid=NGJjMDIxMWI=

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