What’s so not cool…
I don’t usually post ranty, unhappy posts. But this needs saying.
It was brought to my attention that my Elements of Retrofit outtake was added to Goodreads. *sigh* Okay, as much as it irks me, I can’t stop that. I did however, when posting that outtake, ask that it not be added, but whatever. Like I said, I can’t stop it.
BUT THEN I realized that the cover of Elements of Retrofit had been defaced and added as the book cover!
Like seriously, WTAF?
Literally, the original cover was written over with the outtake title and posted as the cover…
And that, my dear people, is so not cool.
Just so we’re clear here, I do not own the rights to cover art of books owned by Pride Publishing. I, being the author, can use said cover art for promotional work. I have express contractual permission to do that, including the outtake banner I made – which includes their cover. Other people do not. Unless they’ve contacted Pride Publishing and said “Hey do you mind if I infringe on all copyright and licensing rights and write over the top of the original cover art and post it on Goodreads?” which I’m pretty sure they didn’t, because I’m pretty sure Pride Publishing would have laughed all the way to their legal team. Just sayin’.
I have contacted a Goodreads librarian, who then very kindly had to contact a Super Librarian (they have capes and everything) to ask that the cover (and hopefully the “book”) be removed.
So before you think it’ll be cool to go and waste a bunch of people’s time to deface a book cover and add it to GR, my very humble little piece of advice is, please don’t.
And while we’re on the topic of using other people’s pictures/photographs (that you downloaded and/or didn’t purchase) for ‘fan-art’, that’s illegal too. I guess it’s only a matter of time before someone in the m/m community gets made an example of and sued. Using pictures found online is a tricky business, and I love a great piece of fan-art as much as the next person. But the rule is simple: don’t post what you don’t own. I buy most of my images for my promotional art for between $1 to $30, so if you don’t want to buy images, don’t do it.
In case you were unaware of how these things work, I’ll leave a link to another blog for your perusal, courtesy of BlogHer.com.
WHY NOT TO USE COPYRIGHTED PICS YOU FIND ONLINE
Or, alternatively, you can just Google “Can I get sued for using copyrighted pictures online?” and settle in to read the eleventy billion responses.
But, as I said above, I can’t stop anyone from doing these things. I would just really REALLY appreciate it if people didn’t use pictures they don’t have rights to, especially when that picture has my name on it. I’d rather not have my name dragged through the mud when the copyright holder takes you to court, mmkay?
On a much brighter, happier note, I hope everyone has a great week!
2 Comments
pawz4effect
Okay, I was on your web page as I’m currently into the second book of The Thomas Elkin series, about to buy the third and could have sworn there was a 4th…nope, obviously wishful thinking but I found the out-take of Cooper’s POV…..and THEN, I read the Goodreads debacle and I can’t agree with you more. That’s when I went “oookkk!”
Now, when I fall in love with a series and I then proceed to buy the series….. generally followed by my acquiring (purchased & freebies) everything else the author writes. With the freebies, I generally like to have them in my Calibre library so when I decide to reread a series, I can immerse/overdose myself in the whole she-bang. Many authors pages already have the freebies downloadable in either PDF or doc format and I then use Calibre to transfer the content into epub for my ereader.
If a freebie is only on the webpage, I do a copy of the text and then I create my own epub. With all my purchased books, I understand the legalities of copy-write. I have shared one or two freebies in the past but by sending the url link as my friends may not use the epub format.
However, the issue you have raised has me concerned as to whether I can ‘create’ my own epub from your website. I guess this is where I should be asking if I may do that? These are only for my own use and I personally hate reading swathes of text off a computer screen as it gives me all sorts of eye strain.
So, is it permissible for me to copy the text of Cooper’s POV for pasting into a document to create an epub of the story?
I would also be very happy to send you copies of these files for your own use….note, though, I am no expert but what I produce is passable for snuggling in bed with one dawgie and 2 possessive cats, avidly reading, late at night….
cheers
Liz
nrwalker
Awwww, thank youuuuuu!! And big squishy hugs for asking!! I love that you asked, and of course I’m okay with that. As long as it’s for your own personal use, I’m more than happy for you to have it in your library so you can read and reread at will. Give your pooch and kitties some love from me. <3 <3
Thank you again! <3