tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post115736017301217322..comments2024-03-26T01:10:13.720+00:00Comments on Teach Me Tonight: Metaromance (3)E. M. Selingerhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/00426524354823232002noreply@blogger.comBlogger5125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-1165695598123805692006-12-09T20:19:00.000+00:002006-12-09T20:19:00.000+00:00I've read that one! It's The Cinderella Valentine ...I've read that one! It's <I>The Cinderella Valentine</I> and it probably won't be up on the eHarlequin website for ever, but for anyone else who would like to read it the link is <A HREF="http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/onlinereads/readsIntro.jhtml?pageID=060801rs01001" REL="nofollow">here</A>. There are other online reads books in the <A HREF="http://www.eharlequin.com/cms/onlinereads/readsLibrary.jhtml" REL="nofollow">eHarlequin library</A>, but no others by Liz (at least not at the moment).<BR/><BR/><I>I had an enormous amount of fun writing a story that addressed the conventions of the romance genre, giving a little twist to all the cliches</I><BR/><BR/>That really comes across when you read the story (well, it does if the reader knows the conventions and/or pays attention to Mollie's notes).Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-1165682550057136062006-12-09T16:42:00.000+00:002006-12-09T16:42:00.000+00:00Thanks so much for featuring my story on your blog...Thanks so much for featuring my story on your blog, Laura. You're right -- it is fairly old; I wrote it in 1999 and it was one of the first 12 contracted mini stories for eHarlequin. It has also been published as an add-on to one of Betty Neels stories in the UK.<BR/><BR/>I had an enormous amount of fun writing a story that addressed the conventions of the romance genre, giving a little twist to all the cliches. <BR/><BR/>For something a little more up to date -- and free -- there is another of my short stories on eH at the moment, featured alongside the Bella Brides series. :)Liz Fieldinghttps://www.blogger.com/profile/10464889663853976327noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-1157402579313363972006-09-04T21:42:00.000+01:002006-09-04T21:42:00.000+01:00I just have the impression that if authors were wr...<I>I just have the impression that if authors were writing them as a freebie, to be released in installments, they'd maybe have written them one way, and it'd be a bit different from how they'd write if they knew that there would be paying readers who would read the whole thing in one go.</I><BR/><BR/>Laura, one thing that's stressed to the authors who are contracted to write Online Reads is that each installment must end with a cliffhanger. And you're right about the constant recapping. You didn't see as much of that in the daily online reads, but in the weekly ones, it was necessary. Obviously, those stories are going to have a completely different feel when read all in one sitting. <BR/><BR/>When you read those stories in the online library, you understood that you were reading serialized novelettes. But people downloading the mini books are going to view the stories in a way that was never intended by the authors. Might some of the stories come off sounding a little melodramatic when presented outside of their original context? If I had written any online reads, I think I'd be worried about that.Brenda Coulterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13528691681455659296noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-1157393649189055332006-09-04T19:14:00.000+01:002006-09-04T19:14:00.000+01:00Thanks for that information, Brenda.How would you ...Thanks for that information, Brenda.<BR/><BR/><I>How would you like to download several of the 99-cent titles only to find, once you began reading, that you'd seen every one of the stories before?</I><BR/><BR/>I'd be disappointed. I'm one of those people who gleefully 'discovered and devoured' almost the entire free-read library. It took me a while, because it was huge and I didn't want to get eye-strain.<BR/><BR/>I suppose at that price it wouldn't be a huge loss, but it might make me wary of buying more. I agree with you, I think openness with the readers would be the best policy. For one thing it would give readers an indication of the length of the minis. I hadn't realised they were quite <I>that</I> mini.<BR/><BR/>It's a shame the authors aren't getting any money out of this. I suppose the minis help with name recognition, but not any more than they did in the library. And I wonder if the authors would have written them differently if they'd known they were going to be sold this way? I don't mean that as a criticism of the reads, I just have the impression that if authors were writing them as a freebie, to be released in installments, they'd maybe have written them one way, and it'd be a bit different from how they'd write if they knew that there would be paying readers who would read the whole thing in one go. Because the stories were serialised there's often repetition/re-capping from one chapter to the next. I suspect that the authors assumed that readers would have read the last chapter a week previously, and might have forgotten some of the details. And some of the free reads were introductions to series/involved characters from print books that were being released at the time. Again, that's going to affect how they're perceived by readers who might not now be able to find those print books.Laura Vivancohttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00906661869372622821noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-30203557.post-1157390411231886482006-09-04T18:20:00.000+01:002006-09-04T18:20:00.000+01:00It used to be on the Harlequin website too, but th...<I> It used to be on the Harlequin website too, but they removed most of the online reads, which I thought was a bit of a shame, but it could be because they've launched an ebook 'boutique' where, among other things, they're selling 'Harlequin mini' ebooks. I'm sure at least one of the mini ebooks is a story which used to be a free online read.</I><BR/><BR/>Currently, <I>all</I> of the 99-cent mini-books for sale at eHarlequin's e-book Boutique are former Online Reads. They were recently removed from the free online library and are being presented as new material. (The sin is actually one of omission--nowhere is it suggested that the stories are <I>not</I> brand-new.) Granted, some readers will be delighted with the minis. But I submit that the kind of reader who's likely to pay for and download the mini e-books (romance-hungry, internet-savvy) is precisely the kind who is likely to have discovered and devoured scores of the free reads before eHarlequin closed that door. So it's a bad marketing move, and one that will leave many readers feeling duped. How would you like to download several of the 99-cent titles only to find, once you began reading, that you'd seen every one of the stories before?<BR/><BR/>In case you're wondering, the authors are making nothing on the minis. The online reads were contracted as "work for hire," meaning the authors were paid flat fees and received no further payment. That's becoming a bit of a sore subject among many of those authors because they never expected to see the "free online stories" they wrote recycled in this way and <I>sold</I> to readers.<BR/><BR/>I hope eHarlequin wises up and admits that the minis aren't new material. Where's the harm in offering "a collection of stories that delighted eHarlequin readers, now available to you for just 99 cents each"?<BR/><BR/>I usually admire Harlequin's marketing savvy, but this time they've shot themselves in the foot.Brenda Coulterhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/13528691681455659296noreply@blogger.com