Reality based fiction for Young Adults... welcome to the novels of Wilson James, author

Welcome to my writing – the reality based Young Adult fiction of Wilson James

Improbable. Unlikely. But not impossible. That’s what I write. Stories such as Sons and Brothers in Seattle, the tale of an older teen trying to provide a better life for a younger sibling and his own young children. A reader told me that this story truly mirrors much of his own life. I am awestruck to hear that, and amazed by the courage of the young man who actually lived the story.

All of my stories tell of young courage, and tenacity, and support of friends and family, and love. My books are meant to be an expression of what can be, even if it often is not.

I take my inspiration from the lives and deeds of real young people. Some I’ve known personally, or have watched from a close distance, and some I simply know of. The thread that binds them all together is they’ve shown that they can achieve the unlikely in spite of the challenges they face. In spite of the resistance of many adults around them. In spite of the naysayers who doubt. 

These young people have identified a dream or at least a goal, and have worked to make it happen.

So I take my lead from all of them. I use their example to create stories, with the hope that others will read, and find some part of the story that can help them in their own lives. I hope to empower young people with the examples in my stories. I know that some readers have found inspiration in the stories I write, and I take great comfort in that.

I set out to honor those whose lives were examples to me and my writing, and I hope that I will have done them justice. I also hope to honor my readers with the best stories I can create. Thank you for reading.

Wil

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And, here's how to find my books...

Here, also, is a link to a post about software or apps to read eBooks.

Smashwords - seven of my eBooks are available here, in multiple formats including for Kindle, Nook

Barnes and Noble – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the Nook

Apple US iTunes Bookstore – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the iPad

Apple UK iTunes Bookstore – seven of my eBooks are available here, for the iPad

Kobo – six of my eBooks are available here, in ePub format

 Amazon – some of my print books are now available, with selected eBooks to be available at a future date

Prices for eBooks too high in comparison with print Books

As an author, I have become much more aware of the extraordinarily high prices that some retailers are charging for eBooks. Both as an author and as a reader myself, I am not happy about the high prices!

In order to pursue marketing ideas for my own books, I frequently review various retailers’ sites. I have noticed, with the increasingly popularity of eBooks, that more online retailers are establishing good online shopping opportunities for eBooks. Certainly Smashwords, my primary online retailer, is pursuing business relationships with an ever increasing number of very good retailers, currently including Barnes and Noble, Kobo, Sony, Apple and others. That is all good.

eBooks priced higher than print Books

What is bothering me is the prices being set for eBooks. It is frequently almost as much as the price for a print Book. In fact, I recently saw some new release eBooks priced at higher than the hardcover print Books! I was shocked and stunned. I simply cannot understand how a retailer can charge more for an eBook, that requires only the cost of miniscule space on a server, versus the cost of printing, shipping and storing a hardcover print Book. How can that possibly make sense? How can a retailer possibly justify charging more for an eBook than the same title in a print Book?

High prices negatively affect reviews and ratings

One of the things that has bothered me most was seeing reviews and ratings for some books actually being affected by the very high prices for eBooks. A rating and review should be based on the content of the book, including perhaps how well it is written, and how imaginative the plot line is, and other considerations related to the writing. In one case I saw online recently, a very good book was being badly down-rated because of pricing issues. Imagine the poor author having his very good work hit with bad ratings because of the retailer’s and/or publisher’s greed.

In my humble opinion, the price of eBooks should reflect the minimal cost of production compared to the higher costs involved in print Books. Of course, an author should gets compensation for his or her hard work, but eBooks need to be cheaper than print Books.

What do you think? Do you agree?

I don’t know what we can do about these terrible pricing practices at this point, but we can certainly start talking about it.

Join me, and comment.

Wil