More Authors Guild Shenanigans

First, ALLi (Alliance of  Independent Authors) embraced AI (Artificial Intelligence) and sold out its members. [Note: In the interest of transparency, I am a member of Alli.]

Now AG (Authors Guild) claims the only way to protect its members is by selling out their members to Big Tech by licensing the works of its members to these companies.

Big Tech is already scraping the internet, aka stealing artistic works. Instead of fighting them, why are organization,s that are supposed to by representing our interests, stabbing us in the back?

It all comes down to money. ALLi and AG are probably planning to skim the money supposedly pain to them on our behalf. Last week, Lilith Saintcrow had a rundown of her communications with AG over the matter.

The out-and-out lying of AG wasn't surprising. It has become the norm in our society, which is frightening in and of itself. When I was visiting my cousin in WV last week, the subject of Springfield, Ohio, came up more than once. *facepalm*

I have never wished to join AG after its anti-indie stance when I first started publishing in 2011. But how long will I remain a member of  ALLI? Long enough to use the free codes to update my paperbacks on Ingram, which I'm in the process of doing.

By update, I mean fixing the typos that escaped editors while my formatter is updating the back matter. (I've got 83 books out right now, under two names, and there will be two more published before the end of the year. I'm currently working on the Bloodlines series and the Bloodlines shorts. After that, I'll buckle down on the Justice series for its upcoming 10th anniversary.

I kind of wish that Writers Guild of America accepted writers of other calibers besides screenwriters because they are the only ones in the U.S. who seem to give a shit about writer's rights.

Dear Postal Employee...

To the United States Postal Worker who cut open a box I mailed,

Yeah, you know who you are. The box didn't have an "accident".You used a box cutter to slice open the smallest side of the box I mailed to a reader. You dumped out two entire sets of my Bloodlines series paperbacks, one for the reader and one for his sister.

Even worse, you left the tracking bar code intact so the box would arrive empty. To a P.O. Box. There's no way you can say someone stole it from my reader's porch.

The box was stamped "Media Mail". Or are you really that much of a dumbass to think something that heavy would have DVDs or CDs. Holy Cthulu! Who uses material media these days? Only crazy-ass book lovers!

I know damn well you'd only get pennies on the dollar for my books at a used book store. Or did you dump them in the trash once you saw they were just books?

At least, I'm hoping it was greed that drove you to the theft. If you just took the books for shits and giggles, you truly are an asshole out to only hurt people.

Because you see, this reader has had an awful time lately. These books would have cheered up a gentleman who is chronically ill. You didn't hurt me. You hurt someone who's already had life throw a ton of shit at him.

Karma's a bitch, dude. And someday, she'll come calling for you.