Today three stories of mine were rejected.
Rejection is part of the game, of course, and as the end of the year is drawing close, a lot of editors are clearing their desks – as a consequence, a lot of rejection slips are mailed at the same time.

Anyway, I decided to give myself a little gift as a pick-me-up – a way to keep the disappointment at bay.
And while I was browsing Amazon, the Almighty Algorithm informed me of the availability of the digital edition of Mark Schultz’s complete Xenozoic Tales, for the price of a cappuccino.
And I have the Paperback of the Tales here on my shelf but, well, why not?
After all, Mark Schultz is one of my favorite artists, and the Xenozoic Tales are part of my life growing up.
Cadillacs and dinosaurs, and all that.
I also thought I’d check out this digital edition, and then maybe give away a few copies as last-minute gifts to my friends.

Imagine my disappointment when, when finally my reader managed to open the ebook, I found out this is a pirate copy, patched together with very low quality scans.
An ugly rip-off.
So, I had to return the ebook, and ask for a refund, and then I sent a note to Amazon, informing them they are selling a pirate ebook, ripping-off the artist and the reader.

And this is not the first time it happens – in the last ten days I had to ask for refunds for two other ebooks, because they were not what the Amazon page was advertising.

It’s funny, in a very sad way: self-publishing should have freed us of the tyranny of the gatekeepers, and should have turned the whole process into a Darwinian selection that would award quality and contents; it turns out scammers and thieves are taking advantage of it instead.

A pity – especially for my friends, that will not get a copy of Schultz’ cadillacs and dinosaurs adventures anytime soon.