History of: In the Company of Elves

The history of my book, In the Company of Elves. Where do I start. Well, I guess I'll start at the beginning when the story was just written in a spiral notebook. At first it was just notes, later in 2003 I started putting the story together into a word document. I was inspired by fantasy books such as, Lord of the Rings, the Hobbit, the Shanara Chronicles and other fantasy books I've read throughout my life.

 I do want to mention that Alice in Wonderland and Wizard of Oz also played a part in my inspiration. Originally, when I was working on the story, I was uncertain about the title. I didn't know what to call it. I played with various titles. Agartha, Melissa's Journey, The Elves of Agartha and In the Company of Elves. I chose the the last one on the  list. 

 At first, I decided to make this book as a novelette, however in 2011 I changed my mind and during the time I was re-writing it, I added a few more chapters.
The original copy was 120 pages. Revised version is close to 200 pages. 

2009

2018

(the eBook was published in 2017)

Despite of going through writers block back in 2006 through early 2008, I was able to overcome it, but writer's block did set me back a bit. I finally completed re-writing In the Company of Elves and published it in 2018.

What I would want to see:
Since, In the Company of Elves is a juvenile/young adult book, I would love to see this in my local bookstores or anywhere Indie books are sold.

Here are some bookstores where you can find this book:

Cellar Door Books

5225 Canyon Crest Dr Ste 30A-B

Riverside, CA 92507

17.1 mi

Print and Page Booksellers

514 South Smith Avenue B113

Corona, CA 92882

26 mi

Once Upon A Storybook (Online Only)

Tustin, CA 92780

37.2 mi

Laguna Beach Books

1200 S Coast Hwy # 105

Laguna Beach, CA 92651

37.8 mi

BookPal (Online Only)

Irvine, CA 92612

39.4 mi

Vroman's Hastings Ranch

3729 E Foothill Blvd

Pasadena, CA 91107

58.7 mi

Print and Page Booksellers

514 South Smith Avenue B113

Corona, CA 92882

20.9 mi

Hudson Booksellers/Vroman's LAX (985)

Los Angeles Int'l - Hudson News

Carson, CA 90746

22.3 mi

Mysterious Galaxy Redondo Beach

2850 Artesia Blvd Ste 101

Redondo Beach, CA 90278

28 mi

Hennessey & Ingalls

300 S Santa Fe Ave Ste M

Los Angeles, CA 90013

Eso Won Books

4331 Degnan Blvd

Los Angeles, CA 90008

31.4 mi

If you want a paperback copy, you can order it from Amazon or Barnes &Noble. However, if you live in the area where any of these bookstores reside, please feel free to visit and ask them about the book.

Where to Find My Books

The links below will direct you to where you can purchase my books online other than Amazon, which is a top seller in books. 

Barnes & Noble

IndieBound

AbeBooks

Alibris

Better World Books

Better World Books

AbeBooks

Book Depository

Alibris

IndieBound

Barnes & Noble

Better World Books

Better World Books

There you have it. You can always find my books on Amazon. If you have Prime, you get a discount. Chandra's Quest has the most stars and can be found in various online book stores. In the Company of Elves has not been rated yet and no stars, but it can be found in various bookstores online. If you want your local book store or library to carry any of my books Please do request it from them.


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How Long Does a Copyright Last?

I was asked this question several times. It’s not that hard to search for info on the subject but when your written work is questioned in whether you have copyright papers or not, I need to emphasize that everything you write and publish needs to be copyrighted. I’m not talking about fanfic, or blog entries, only books you plan on publishing. A few years ago, CreateSpace wanted proof that in the company of elves was my written work, and that I did not steal from that other author, Sandie Bergen. Really? I do not know that author, I only know that she used the title, In the Company of Elves for one of her books and it was in recent years that she wrote and published her book. February 1, 2016. Her book is a part of a trilogy, whereas my book, is a single novel. By the way, the author died in 2015. Just noting.

 As for my book, I originally published it in 2009, then revised it and published it as paperback in 2018 but published it as eBook in 2017.

2009

2017

 I came up with the title back in 2004, and started writing the book so yes, I have copyright papers for it. I had to prove my book was mine and by showing CreateSpace the copyright paper for the book, all was cleared.

After I researched the length a copyright for written work last, well I was amazed! This is what I came up with:

*The duration of copyright in these works is generally computed the same way as for works created on or after January 1, 1978: A copyright lifespan is 95 years from the year of its first publication or a term of 120 years from the year of its creation, whichever expires first.

What happens to the copyright when an Author dies?

In modern US copyright law, for works made by individuals (not works made by corporations), works are protected for the author's entire life plus 70 years. In the U.S. and Europe, copyright lasts for the life of the author plus 70 years. When an author dies, the ownership of the copyright changes. So, ownership in a copyright can be passed to an heir or to a third party via a will.

And that is why I say get a will and last testament set up.

I want to tell you that when you copyright your work, it will cost you. Digital copyright registration will run you $55 each written work. They will send you the paperwork through regular mail. However, if you're filing for one creative work and you're the only copyright holder, it only costs$35. Paper filings have $85 copyright fees.

I suggest spending the $85. You download and print the paperwork, fill it out, sign your name on it and send it to the Copyright office. I know, $85 can be quite a bit for some people but in the long run it’s worth it.  

Side note: Copyright your written work. I want to add that titles can’t be copyrighted. Copyrights cover works fixed in a tangible format, but because titles are typically short, they don't fall under copyright protection. So no, you can't copyright a title to a book, song or movie.

That is why when you search for a specific title on Amazon or other online bookstores, you might find various similar titles, but the content is not the same as what you’re looking for. I was searching for, Stranger Things, just to see how many books were out there with a similar title and wouldn’t you know it, I found many. So instead I decided to call my book, The Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual phenomenon, instead of Stranger Things: Paranormal, Supernatural and Unusual Phenomenon.

You can find this book on Amazon, just the eBook version.

The Stranger Things

History of Chandra's Quest

This is the history of  how Chandra's Quest came to be.

Chandra’s Quest was the first full length novel I wrote. 

It was 1996 when I started writing notes that I would use in the story. I  was inspired by sci-fi TV shows, movies and books, when I started writing my first book. The book was called, Shandara’s Journey when I started writing it. It was categorized as alternative sci-fi, adult book. Originally, the first two chapters of Chandra’s Quest, started out in a post-apocalyptic Earth after an alien invasion took place and devastated the major cities. Humans were taken to another solar system and became slaves to aliens that lived on those planets. After I finished writing Chandra’s Quest book 1, I realized that only a certain group of people would be interested in reading it, so I decided to make changes to the story before I published it.  I took out the most obvious adult content, then changed the title from Shandara’s Journey to Chandra’s Quest.

Why start the story at an alien brothel? This question was never asked but I thought I should bring it up. The main character had to start somewhere and as I stated before, the book itself, was an adult book before I made changes. I wanted it to be read by those who are 14 and older. 
I first published the book through Instant Publishers, a subsidiary publishing company. The book was written as a first-person narrative, based on the main character’s journals. For those who have read the Atlan Saga by Jane Gaskell, the main character from those books, carried a journal with her throughout her journey and the whole trilogy is based on her journals. I liked the concept of it, so I went with it for my book.

 I published Chandra's Quest Book 1 in 2002, I ordered several copies and distributed them to local small bookstores. I only donated them, I did not ask for any royalties from the sales of the books. Someone bought a copy of my book in 2004 and posted it on Amazon for sale. It was a third-party seller. He/she sent me an email and a link to my book. I then, signed up for Amazon as a seller and started selling the copies I had left. I sold a few copies. 
Later, I published book 2. Book 3 was still in the process of being written when in 2007 I decided to re-write the whole story. 
Why did I re-write it? Well it wasn’t because trolls made disparaging remarks in forums about my book, that's not the case and it would be ridiculous. I wasn't satisfied with it and I just felt I could do better. 

So, began the long process of re-writing the story. Chandra’s Quest book 1 the revised version was published through CreateSpace in 2013. 

I was going to make several novelette books out of the story but chose to just make three books as originally planned. In 2016, I revised book 1 again, adding a different book cover image and pulling some of Chandra's Quest Book 2 chapters and putting them into Book 1. 

When CreateSpace merged with Kindle Direct Publishing, I changed the book cover again but noticed a few typos in the book and changed the typos as well. Book 1 was complete and it’s for sale as an eBook and paperback, not just on Amazon but on Barnes and Noble.

 Chandra’s Quest Book 2 was easy to put together. Of course, I had to do much needed editing and in the end I was satisfied with the outcome. 

Book 3 is still in the works. Almost complete but it will be the editing that will determine how long it will take before publishing the book.

So, that’s the story of how Chandra’s Quest came to be. It was my first book so yes; I care about it and it took me awhile to put together. I am pleased with the end results.

What would I change if I could do it all again? Well, probably the first-person narrative idea. It only works for regular fiction or non-fiction, that’s just my opinion of course. 

Feedback:

The only feedback I got from someone who never really read Chandra’s Quest was from my cousin who said, “I don’t understand it.” 
Of course, her and I have been at odds with each other for as long as I can remember. I found that you get bias feedback from those that know you and don’t like you, verses people who are total strangers. But without their mean-spirited feedback, an author wouldn’t grow to be the best they can be.

Note: I will write the history of In the Company of Elves in my next entry. 

Chandra's Quest

Website

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You Can Write About Anything

Yes, it's true. You can write about almost anything you wish. And yes, almost anyone now-a-days can become a published author. 

Example:
If my cousin Chris, wanted to write a non-fiction book about HAIR, even though she is not a professional hair dresser or stylist, she can. All she has to do is research a few key factors and the rest would be her personal outtake about how to deal with naturally curly hair. She has naturally curly hair and no doubt she has had nasty experiences with people who do not like curly hair, I bet it might make a good read for those interested in books about HAIR. She can write about her experiences with having naturally curly hair, her pros and cons on having to deal with it, et cetera. 

Much like my book, The Other Side of Things, where I state my personal opinion about certain HOT topics, non-fiction is easy to write especially if you are writing about your personal experiences and opinions you have about certain topics.

Writing a book is about writing what you know and what your passion is or what you've experienced. If you're writing sci-fi or fantasy and enjoy those topics, you can write about that too. 

What you know:
What I mean by, "what you know," is anything you are familiar with, people around you, places, and things. If you write a story about a woman living in a suburban city, you might want to use your city as foundation. 

Using a real person's name:
Yes you can use the name of a person you know, however as I stated in the past, be careful how you present the character. If the person you know is named Janet Bailey, and she has dark brown hair, blue eyes and her profession is a physician, make some minor changes by giving the character blonde hair or maybe giving her punked out color hair. 

Instead of the character being a doctor, make her a therapist, physical trainer or dentist. Remember names cannot be copyrighted, so no one can claim defamation just because you used their name, however make subtle changes to the character. You can write about anything you wish. Your audience depends mostly on the topic you choose for your book. Non-fiction seems to be quite popular now a days. There's an audience for every author. Your book may not be interesting to some people--people you thought it would be, however you'd be surprised to find that people you don't know, might fancy your book.

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So Grateful For….

So grateful for what we have now. Technology has come a long way hasn’t it? If it wasn’t for technology, Independent Authors, aka Self-published authors, would never be able to publish their books so easily and get them out there for readers. Think about it for a moment. 15, 20 or 30 years ago, an aspiring author would have to go through traditional publishers to get their books published. Some never got the chance to see their books published. It would take more than six months for their manuscript to be looked at and maybe accepted. It would take another six months for it to be edited and published.

How long did it take to get published?

There is no easy answer to this question. One book might take a year to produce while another is designed and printed in three weeks. It is sensible to allow at least three months for the process – six months is even better. The benefit in publishing with a traditional publisher is that you do not have to pay to get your book published. However, the wait time for some authors is disheartening.  

There were some subsidiary publishing companies at that time but only a few. After an author who was turned down through a traditional publishing company, he/she might publish through a self-publishing company but not without expenses.

How much does it cost? 

If you decided to self-publish back then, you’re looking at $500-1,000 to publish each book. It was and is a GAMBLE because many authors have to do their own advertising/promoting. As for distributing your books, the best that you can do would be to take a few copies to the local mom and pop bookstores and let people know your books area available there. If you wanted your book to be distributed to major bookstores, you would have to hire someone like an agent to do the job. Not an easy thing to do, trust me. When I first published Chandra’s Quest book 1 through a subsidiary publishing company, back then, it cost me $300. At that time, Amazon Kindle wasn’t around, so I did not publish for free.  Later, when CreateSpace came around, I revised my books and published them without paying for the printing. eBooks came into play and it became easier to publish.

Benefits of traditional publishing:

Monetary advance before publishing

Potential for traditional media coverage

Social signaling/feelings of acceptance

Some Bookstore placements

The cons:

Very hard to get a deal

Huge time investment

Loss of ownership
loss of marketing control

Loss of creative and content control

Limited financial upside, depending on the genre that is popular at the time.

Self-published books:                                                                                    
Some companies have incorporated self-publishing tools to their online websites and if you pick the right one, you won’t have to pay to get it published. When your book is published, some websites will post your book on their site for readers to see and possibly buy. Kindle publishing is one of the biggest publishing companies out there. They do offer marketing and promotional deals. Of course, for the services you'll have to pay, but you still don’t have to pay to get your book published.

Let’s talk about why we take this technology for granted. Why some people no longer find it amazing to know an Independent Author.

Well, when self-publishing first was available through the internet, it was a God sent to self-published authors out there. They now had a way to show people their written work. As a matter of fact, when the internet came around, a lot of authors took advantage of it and posted their written work on their websites, forums, and chats. 

So, how do people take technology for granted? In the beginning when independent authors published their books, people thought it was a BIG deal. It was “cool’ to know an author, however somewhere along the way, it got around that independent/self-published authors were not good enough to be considered as real authors and to add acid to the fire, some people started posting negative comments about books written by independent authors, especially if they knew that author and jealousy came into play. Publishing your own book becomes common so therefore, Independent authors became common but not noted/recognized.

Example: if I had told my cousin 20 or 25 years ago that I was a self-published author and that I wrote a book, she would have thought it was “cool” however because of time and how we take technology for granted, it’s not a big deal anymore. 

Can anyone write a book and publish it? 

Yes, I suppose they can, but they need motivation and commitment to the art. Writing should be second nature to them. 

Options: Authors have many options now and traditional publishing isn’t the only way to go. I am grateful that we have the technology to publish our own books.

Food for thought: Self-published authors have courage and they did what they said they would do-- publish their books, despite of unwelcome comments.

So Grateful For....

I am grateful that I live in this time and I am grateful for those who have taken the time and read books by independent authors. Give them a thumbs up because they did what they wanted to do.

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In the Company of Elves: What you Need to Know

As the author of, In the Company of Elves, I highly enjoyed writing this fantasy story. It is one of my full-length novels, other than the Chandra’s Quest trilogy books. Even though Chandra’s Quest was my first book, I was inspired to write, In the Company of Elves by watching movies like Legend, Willow, Lord of the Rings, Alice in Wonderland to name a few. I published In the Company of Elves in 2009 but started writing the story back in 2004/2005. Yes, I came up with the title for this book many years ago. The first copy of the book was published through Instant Publishers, a subsidiary company. It only had 120 pages. 

Then I decided to revise the book, so I re-wrote it and added more chapters to it. For those who have downloaded my book and enjoyed it, Thank you. If you have a paperback copy, thank you for purchasing it. I recently donated 1 copy to one of those Little Library Boxes, in Menifee Ca. If you read it as a Summer read, please be sure to leave a review on Amazon or on my Facebook page or Instagram. Thank you. 

NOTE: In July, I will be publishing The Other Side of Things Part 2. It is a non fiction book, with issues on Health, Social relations, Romance and Fashion.Visit my Facebook page and my Website for more info.

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