Post by writeway on Mar 7, 2019 5:04:12 GMT
It amazes me how many indies (some who have been around for years) do not have protection for themselves or their work. What I mean is, many are not members of writers organizations or other outlets that might help when trouble arises. I am a member of the Alliance of Independent Authors and it's the best organization I've been with. I've been with two others. The ALLi not only give members countless information (they run the popular Self-Publishing blog in case you don't know), discounts for different services and they are partnered with some great companies. But, for me, the big thing is they offer legal assistance to all their members. THIS is what I am talking about. So many indies are publishing without the means of getting help if something goes wrong. Now, by all means if you can afford a lawyer, that's great but many authors can't. And though trade publishing is far from perfect, those authors with the big publishers have access to legal help at least.
There is so much that can go wrong that it is dangerous for an indie to not be prepared.
Someone could steal your work.
Someone could accuse you of stealing theirs.
The retailers could do something crazy that puts your income in jeopardy. (Let me say, if you are in KU you definitely need protection with the way they snatch KU reads and ban accounts at will). Sure, you can't sue Amazon but a reputable writing organization can at least help you fight any injustice. When Amazon was snatching people's page reads last year, the Erotica Authors Guild, ALLi, the Authors Guild, and the RWA got involved and they put a good amount of heat on Amazon along with spreading the word to the public.
Anyway, the past week there have been several authors on FB facing issues and they have no one to fight for them. Sure, you can contact the watchdogs but you can't count on them to help fight battles with you. You NEED someone by your side and as business people we should have all our ducks in a row and having access to legal help is a biggie.
Just a thought. There are many organizations you can join even some in your own city or state probably. For a yearly membership fee, you'll be getting much more in the long run.
Trust me, if something happens you will be glad you did. I've been in situations where I needed help and the organization I was with came through. It's comforting to know that even though I'm an indie I'm not out here all alone.
There is so much that can go wrong that it is dangerous for an indie to not be prepared.
Someone could steal your work.
Someone could accuse you of stealing theirs.
The retailers could do something crazy that puts your income in jeopardy. (Let me say, if you are in KU you definitely need protection with the way they snatch KU reads and ban accounts at will). Sure, you can't sue Amazon but a reputable writing organization can at least help you fight any injustice. When Amazon was snatching people's page reads last year, the Erotica Authors Guild, ALLi, the Authors Guild, and the RWA got involved and they put a good amount of heat on Amazon along with spreading the word to the public.
Anyway, the past week there have been several authors on FB facing issues and they have no one to fight for them. Sure, you can contact the watchdogs but you can't count on them to help fight battles with you. You NEED someone by your side and as business people we should have all our ducks in a row and having access to legal help is a biggie.
Just a thought. There are many organizations you can join even some in your own city or state probably. For a yearly membership fee, you'll be getting much more in the long run.
Trust me, if something happens you will be glad you did. I've been in situations where I needed help and the organization I was with came through. It's comforting to know that even though I'm an indie I'm not out here all alone.