New Releases: The Traz & The Traz: School Edition

Today we're pleased to announce the release of THE TRAZ & THE TRAZ: SCHOOL EDITION by Eileen Schuh. This is the must-read novel for teens for 2012!

One girl, one undercover cop, one dangerous gang…

Thirteen-year-old Katrina is desperate for an adventure, something to numb her pain and loneliness. When Shrug, a giant biker from The Traz gang, asks if she wants a ride, she makes a reckless, life-changing decision.

Vulnerable and grieving, Katrina becomes a target for the gang's abuse—and there's no way to escape. Until she meets Chad, an undercover cop with rich brown eyes, a gentle chuckle and a plan to rescue her.

Only one problem. Someone is keeping dangerous secrets from them both.

Amazon Kindle edition

School Edition: The special School Edition comes with a teacher/student discussion guide at the back to encourage students and teachers to have open discussions about the choices teens make. It explores issues such as gangs, drugs, weapons and so much more.

Amazon Kindle edition



Reviews:

"A compelling read that will keep you turning pages." —The Kindle Book Review

"An intriguing read…exciting." —Amber Hayward, author of the Children of the Panther trilogy

"I finished "The Traz" and absolutely LOVED it." —Jim Brown, international novelist

"Fast paced action and realistic dialogue reveals the underlying message about the dangers of alcohol, drugs and gangs." —Aaron A. Lehman, author of the Mystery on Dog Island trilogy

"A fast-paced story…a thought-provoking venture into modern-day lifestyles and morals." —Donna Carrick, author of The First Excellence

Imajin Books speaks out about the new Amazon Kindle library program

With the news release about the new library program that supplies Amazon Kindle ebooks to public and school library patrons comes the obvious question the many authors are asking: How the heck do I get paid if they're giving away my ebooks?

This is what I was told:

Only ebooks distributed through OverDrive will be available as library books for this program. As there are other benefits to being distributed by OverDrive, I've tried applying to them twice in the past year or so and was turned down both times—most likely because all the books published at the time were my own, which is no longer the case as my company Imajin Books now publishes other authors and operates much like a regular traditional publisher.

If your books are carried by OverDrive, your books are then available for this new library program. Currently this only applies to US public and school libraries.

It’s my understanding that once you've been accepted by OverDrive, they would pay either the publisher or independent author. But I'm still unclear as to how they operate. Do they only loan out an ebook one at a time and wait for it to be returned before it's loaned out again? Or are they sending out an ebook multiple times?

As an author and publisher, this program raises some red flags for me. And I'm not sure it's a bad thing that we aren't using OverDrive. I want my authors to be paid for their works. I want to be paid for mine too. And our publishing company relies on sales--not giving away our products.

I'm not alone. 

Macmillan and Simon & Schuster are not supplying ebooks to this library program, as the New York Times reported. Adam Rothberg, a spokesperson for Simon & Schuster states, "We haven’t yet found a business model with which we are comfortable and that we feel properly addresses the long-term interests of our authors."

I feel the way Rothberg does. Some of our ebooks ARE  currently available via Booklending.com, but not through this latest library program, and I'm not sure there is any advantage to Imajin Books or our authors to get involved. We work far too hard on these ebooks; we just can't be expected to provide unlimited content for free.