#But I mean genres are marketing tools so w/e

[tanadrin]

if you would be so kind, I'm doing a strange little survey. can you give me roughly one sentence opinions on each of the following things:

the holy trinity

ijtihad

the market

nightcore

swimming (as in, the sport)

singapore

the indie game dev scene

the orang pendek

the tv show "the x files"

gnosticism

fortran

4chan

recreational contraband

if you don't have strong opinions on any of them, feel free to hazard a guess but please don't skip any.

uhhh sure.

the result of an effort to impose univocality on disparate texts, and to understand how Jesus could invoke the authority and power of God in those texts, although one that was unnecessary--first century judaism already had a framework for that, the idea of a name-bearing agent, which was itself the result of a renegotiation of texts that had been amended to flatten the polytheistic divine hierarchy of ancient northwest semitic peoples into one that was more monotheistic in structure. the christian version seems strictly inferior: while you can construct a statement like "jesus is not the holy spirit, who is not god the father, but all three are god" in natural language, that doesn't mean it's not a contradiction. you can construct lots of nonsense statements as well-formed structures in natural language, without them being meaningful. the trinity is also not supported by any biblical texts. but christianity itself has a problem with trying to cast as the jewish messiah someone who clearly doesn't fit the bill; all in all i would say this particular philosophical incoherence is only one of many philosophical incoherences in traditional chalcedonian doctrine.

seems strictly better than taqlid if you have to pick one or the other, but based on my very, very limited knowledge of Islamic jurisprudence, as a standalone principle it does not seem very useful. if the assumptions you start from when performing any kind of reasoning are unsound, you will struggle to reach sound conclusions; this is as true of the law as anything else. it certainly isn't going to save you from the problem of being overly deferential to high-status authorities, and from skimming the Wikipedia article it looks like this is what the whole "closure of the gates" controversy is about--just like the principle of deference to earlier scholars of the law in Judaism, religious traditions that emphasize continuity with the past will tend to be bogged down by the fact that a lot of crappy conclusions made their way into the canon for political reasons, and also sometimes people in the past were actually just terrible.

contra the lassez-faire viewpoint, states create markets. they don't arise naturally. the state of nature for human systems of value exchange seem to be various kinds of gift economy with extremely limited scalability. proabably there will never be a coherent theory of value in market economies that doesn't account for the role states have in creating value by levying taxes in some form, whether in kind or as money or as corvee labor. markets are a useful tool to accomplish certain tasks, but they're certainly not optimal for all things, or intrinsically good or holy or w/e as some libertarians seem to think. a properly redistributive market economy, while not Real Socialism™, would be close enough that the handful of marxists fuming about it would be unable to get anyone to care.

never listened to it, but i support weird extremely online niche creative genres.

humans be liking water

a friend of mine worked in singapore for six months. apparently the equatorial belt is surprisingly overcast a lot of the time, which makes sense given how much it rains there, though in my head it's very sunny. also the sun sets super quickly. i hate hot, humid weather, so i suspect i wouldn't like living near the equator very much. also, i think it's funny how historically culturally and economically contiguous regions have these deep rifts created in them by colonialism. like, indonesia and malaysia could conceivably have become one country after independence from the dutch and british respectively, but the postcolonial elites of those countries certainly didn't want to compromise and share power with another group of postcolonial elites, so they ended up on very different trajectories; and i wonder if in 200 years we'll have a situation like austria and germany where actual distinct cultural and national identities have started to develop, or if eventually the cultural similarities will overwhelm the differences and promote closer cooperation. given the expansionist and authoritarian bent of indonesia's government in much of the post-independence period, it's hard to imagine, but indonesia + malaysia + singapore + philippines is a huge chunk of the world's population--indonesia alone has a population about that of the United States!--and i can't help but think strong regional collaboration, in such a historically important part of the world, could really create a ton of prosperity and give those countries outsized influence on the global stage.

has produced some real gems. like most fields of human creative endeavor, you get a lot of dross, but all the mechanical and narrative innovation in games these days seems to come from this quarter. hard to make a living in, though--the returns on independent creative enterprises are pretty low these days, regardless of sector.

had to google this. seems like it could pretty easily be an unknown or misidentified primate? also seems pretty mundane by cryptozoological standards. like if you told me there was an unknown primate living in the jungles of sumatra and borneo, i would go "yeah, sure, seems plausible."

absolute classic of 90s culture. i think there's some explication to be done of the different ways conspiracy culture and ideas were received in the 90s vs now, drawing on the X-Files, the original Deus Ex, transitional fossils like John Titor, and modern conspiracy theories like Q Anon and resurgent Flat Earthers. They were always right-wing and allied with christian nationalism, but i think that was only partly understood in the 90s; 9/11 was a major inflection point in that it gave the Bush years their most salient features and laid the groundwork for the politics of the 2010s onward. in some ways pre-9/11 conspiracy media anticipated those shifts; in others, it fundamentally misunderstood its source material. i think it's all very interesting.

it's hard to disentangle historical heresies from the bullshit opponents of those heresies made up about them, but what we call gnosticism is plainly a Christian movement and a strongly anti-Jewish one, reflecting one early version of a current of anti-Jewishness that is perennial within various forms of Christianity across the last two millennia. but it also has interesting resonances with mystical religious movements from far-flung parts of the world, because Humans Be Enjoying Mystery Cults, and which i think are an attempt to spackle over some of the holes in early christian soteriology.

i wish i knew fortran and cobol so i could say i knew some fortran and cobol, but let's be realistic, i will never seriously study either fortran or cobol. you can't make good RTS games with them.

a major cultural hinge of the 2000s internet, and anthropologically, socially, culturally, and politically compelling, despite or because of its anthropological, social, cultural, and political pathologies.

i don't know what this means. drugs? pirated dvds? tap shoes in that town from footloose where dancing is illegal? strongly "pro" in all cases, though.

[sothischickshe]

4songs

i was tagged by @septiembrre to list 4 songs ive been obsessed with lately (thank youuuu <3 <3)

so none of these are recent but this has been the ~vibe ive been sorely missing of late sniff sniff sniff sob:

1. Fugees - Ready or Not (DJ Zinc remix)

2. Aphrode ft Barrington Levy - All Over Me

3. M Beat ft General Levy - Incredible

4. Audio Bullys - Ego War

I taaaaag @icanthearyoufromhereplease @wiatchh @riosnecktattoo @whataboutaujus

#Music #We are counting all the way to 4 today lads! And then no more 😰 #OK confession time: when am*ricans talk abt ed♏ I don't really know what they mean?! #I mean i know what it stands for but still??! #But maybe this kinda thing 'counts' #🤷‍♀️ #I am missing v much the moment at abt ~2am at a hℹ️🅿️ho🅿️ night or ~4am at a regg🅰️e night when something like this happens 😭😭😭 #Non lond*ners dni (unless you're cool) #UK #Jungle #Which IS massive #Plus other stuff #But I mean genres are marketing tools so w/e #Youtube #2days dance hr is gonna be after clawing my way home after the engl🅰️nd-ger game.... #I'm gonna need something good ooof 😭😰😱

[chrisstevenson]

The Lows of High Book Prices

A thousand pardons if I come off like a rant. I'm a mashup between J.A. Konrath and Harlan Ellison. I'm a writer advocate and defender of the written word. I also watch the industry like a stealthy Sasquatch. These articles are always meant for Guerrilla Warfare for Writers, my down and dirty blog. There is no BS here. Maybe some inaccuracies. I don't even like posting these articles to my YA website--no one reads me there anyway. I hope you suffer me well.  

First and foremost, if you are a celebrity author you don't need to be reading this. If you are an A-list author, pass on by. If you are a very popular author with a huge reader fan base and have a enormous mailing list that draws purchasing customers in like flies, audios. If you have a break-out or bestseller, you can kindly leave by through back door. There will also be some outlier exceptions. This article is not a call to arms for you. You are profitable, consistent and probably comfortably set in the mighty realm of book sales.

If you are new to writing with a minimum number of releases, an old-time mid-lister like me with a ton of books out there, or a new writer launching your first book, I think you better read this and make some grave determinations. It's unlikely a publisher is going to read this, but I've been with and seen too many that need to know what is working and what is not as far as ad pricing. This warning goes double for authors who just don't care that their e-book prices are going to be placed high regardless. It goes triple (as of this writing) because of the corona virus and the financially stressed atmosphere it has created.  People are buying essentials. As far as entertainment, they are streaming movies and playing games. Who started the the rumor that they were buying books hand over fist? Do you remember when this news was sent out on the wings of doves at the very beginning of the pandemic spread?

I would like you to read three paragraphs (below) which come straight from the keys of most of the advertisers I know and have dealt with. The wording might not be the same but the implications all point to the same conclusion. They don't want your high-priced book. They want rock-bottom cover prices and freebies. The reason is twofold; Shoppers want bargains, plain and simple. That's why W-Mart and Amazon rule the nest. Yet the second reason is that the company itself doesn't want to lose a potential customer. That means you won't be coming back for seconds if there are flat sales. They are also competing with other promotion and marketing sites that have the same mindset policies.

Here's my statistics for two YA fantasy/thrillers that had excellent covers and blurbs. Both of these ads were run before and during a Halloween special (the horror factor was quite evident).. Both books were priced at $2.99.

Book one ran for 15 days on a $45 budget. It received 5,391 impressions; total clicks--5--and a CTR of 0.09%

Book two ran for seven days on a $100 budget. It received 10,195 impressions; total clicks --13 and a CTR of  0.13%.

I don't think I have to do the math for you. Except for the takeaway, which was $145.00 from me and some wide-eyed experience. I later changed companies, dropped the e-book price to .99 cents, and still fell flat--no sales. We could argue all day long about what I did wrong with these two companies. I did not stop there. I enlisted in seven of the companies listed below, with very low, rock-bottom prices. Please excuse my spelling on the names.

Just Kindle Books

Fiverr--bkknights

Fussy Librarian

FreeBooksie

E-book Hounds

Robin Reads

Kindlebook Review

Book Barbarian

Booksends

BookDealio

Ebookdiscovery

Ereader IQ

Ent

Book Reader Magazine

Pretty Hot books.

Out of my promotions, I received three apologies and full refunds. I think I sold two books from Ent. That was it. I won't go into which seven, but I did do my research beforehand. They were my best picks.  

Have you ever heard that it wasn't the gold miners who made money off their digs, but the merchants who sold them the supplies, tools, products and other services? We basically have the same thing going on here, with grandiose claims of the promotion and marketing companies talking about going to the top of the sales charts, breakouts, unlimited exposure and guaranteed results. Results. Not sales. Impressions and clicks are a normal state of business and you'll see them. What you won't see are voluminous click-throughs--buys, sales, mullah.

There are many Indie writers who are exceptions to this rule because they have targeted outfits that payoff for them. Might be some trade published out there too. This comes from a lot of trial and error--R & D--and it NEVER ends because the books can go through an insufferable amount of tweaking to fine-tune the results. This happens when an author watches his/her ups, downs and in betweens--the stats that govern peak sales. Self-published authors also get a larger percentage cut of the royalties than the small trade-house authors. Many of the elite Indie authors pay thousands for ads a months, but they reaps thousands plus in return. So it is a revolving door for them--huge investments that garner huge profits. You want to make money, you have to spend it. That's not my quote, lol.

Look, all I'm saying is be wise and careful with your expenditures. You are going to see, if you already haven't, self-proclaimed experts that can do all forms of editing, covers, formatting, book tours, pod-casts, trailers, page ads, listings, book-to-movie deals, screenwriting, agent introductions, publisher submissions, blurbs, illustrations, writing courses, query letters, one-on-one instruction, translations, ghostwriting, expedited (paid) reviews, synopsis's, proof reading, evaluations and all other manner of Internet blasting services. Can you pay for some of these services without losing your shirt or blouse? Sure you can! It's up to you. But be aware, unless you really need and believe in any of them, you'll lose out every time.

I often wonder if we are just giving our books away because the sea is awash with them. So many tens of thousands of books are published each year that the numbers keeps compounding and burying the authors under tons of pixels. Nobody can find you, lest you post on FB that you will commit suicide if somebody, anybody doesn't buy one of your books before you take that leap. Well, if it goes viral and you were bluffing, it would work. I think you get the idea. Dear gawd, I've often entertained the idea.

1. Your deal price should be as competitive as possible (This is a company motto BTW).

"We promise our subscribers the best deals available. The better the deal, the more appealing it is to our subscribers, and therefore the more likely it is to be selected by our editors/readers. We rarely feature books priced above $2.99, and even $2.99 is an unusually high price for many of our categories.(I JUST LOVE IT WHEN THEY SAY $2.99 IS UNUSUALLY HIGH).

"While your deal price should be based on your book marketing goals, pricing as low as possible will entice more readers to download your book. The lower the price, the higher the conversion rate of a Deal. Knowing this, our editors prefer books that are competitively priced, since those will drive a higher volume of reader engagement. They’re also able to select a higher percentage of discounted books. If you’re not selected for a deal between $0.99 and $3.99, consider resubmitting your book for a free promotion, as this can be a really effective way to increase your chances of getting selected.

"Keep in mind that the competitiveness of your price depends on your category. While it’s normal to see a higher priced book in Cooking, for example, prices are usually lower in the Mysteries or Romance categories (THOSE TWO ARE THE BEST-SELLING GENRES, BTW).. Browse through books in your category to see what’s competitive in your own genre. Again, if your book is not selected at one price, try resubmitting at a lower price or for free. Your chances of being selected will be higher."

Note the last sentence. They are going to select you in accordance with how profitable they think you can be.Sounds to me if you don't go low enough to suit them, they'll politely blow you off.

I've heard some positive news about AMS, BookBub featured ads, and in a blue moon, FB and Twitter boosters. I've used all but the grand daddy feature ad. While these might still show some profit, they certainly aren't working like they used to. Profit has measurably declined, and I mean this in a general sense.

What does my crystal ball tell me for the future? I can only take a wild stab at it and say that the heavy visual sites like Pinterest, Instagram, Tumblr and others are driving a wedge between the other competitors. They could be the wave for future book exposure. I know their swords are drawn against Amazon

Anybody have any solutions or ideas about gaining some profitability in this industry? I'd love to hear it. Or any promo/marketing site that has fulfilled your dreams. BTW, just like FB put the whammy on My Space, do you see another FB type site in the future? I dooooo,

Blessed wishes, please stay safe and healthy.

Chris and Christy.  

[valeriebielbooks]

October Writers’ Forum

In my journey through the steps of independent publishing, refining my writing skills, and most recently completing a successful agent search, I’ve come across some excellent information, tips, tools, and shortcuts that I think would be beneficial to any writer. Once a month, I’ll share the “best of” information and news from the publishing industry as well as feature other authors and writing instructors with tips to share. I am incredibly thankful for the assistance and advice given to me from writing and publishing professionals and am happy pay that forward. On a professional level, I also use my publicity and editorial skills to aid other authors through my company Lost Lake Press.

November Book Events in Wisconsin

The Wisconsin Book Festival is celebrating its 15th year with a diverse schedule of events featuring authors of every genre from October 27 to November 5 (and additional events all year long.)

Additionally, we are very fortunate in southern/south-central Wisconsin to have indie bookstores with extensive schedules of author/book events. In fact, there are so many in November that I can't fit them all here. Please check out your favorite bookstore's event schedule by clicking below.

Mystery to Me Bookstore, 1863 Monroe Street, Madison

A Room of One’s Own, 315 W. Gorham Street, Madison

Boswell Books, 2559 N. Downer, Milwaukee

Books & Company, 1039 Summit Avenue, Oconomowoc

Featured Subject

Alliance of Independent Authors and Indie Author Fringe

If you are an indie author or contemplating taking that plunge, you must familiarize yourself with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and their online conferences called Indie Author Fringe, which are “fringe” to the major global publishing fairs. ALLi “brings together the most up-to-date self-publishing education and information available and broadcasts it to authors everywhere.”

The recent schedule of online sessions offered in conjunction with the Frankfurt Book Fair included many excellent pre- and post-publication topics. Here are my favorites:

Seven New Trends in Digital Book Advertising for Authors with Mark Dawson

Finding Your Profitable Niche as an Indie Author with Dave Chesson

The Economics of Audio Books: An Author Case Study by Ian Sutherland

Do Facebook Ads Really Work for Books? The Facts: Michael Alvear

Bookbub Ads for Beginners by Adam Croft (Yes, you can advertise with Bookbub even if you can’t seem to land a daily featured deal.)

There were also plenty of sessions focused on getting started in self-publishing if are weighing your options. Really a treasure trove of information and a great place to start as you’re educating yourself about the indie publishing industry.

Pre-Publication Information

Using the Right Images for Your Blog or Social Media

This might seem like the least of your worries as you begin your publishing journey. After all, you’re supposed to be spending your time WRITING. However, you will at some point write a blog and/or curate your brand and message to followers via social media platforms. You’ll be including images in those posts and those Images Matter! You will always have higher engagement if you use images. (Here’s a fabulous article on writerswin.com that gives you the image specs for most social media sites.)

BuildBookBuzzz.com tells us how to pick the right images for our blog posts. My favorite piece of advice is to not be too literal in your choice of images. (This is a mistake that I make somewhat frequently.)

You want to make sure you’re using photos or graphics that are free to use—if you’re not designing your own graphics or using your own photos. You can always purchase images, but there are many free image-sharing sites that might have exactly what you need. Digitalpubbing.com lists 18 sites where you can find photos, BuildBookBuzz.com also lists free stock images sources.

Pricing Your Books

This question always comes up. How do I price my books? I still wonder if I’ve hit the right price point, and after reading this article by author Dean Wesley Smith, I might make some changes. The nice thing about indie publishing is that this is our decision to make. Whether you are a new or established author, this is worth the read.  

The Newest Issues and Considerations about Amazon’s Kindle Unlimited Program

More trials and tribulations over at Amazon . . . are you sick of this subject yet? I’m getting a little tired, however, with such a high percentage of the independently published book market being reliant on Amazon, we must stay informed! Most of the problems are stemming from manipulation of the Kindle Unlimited program, which is the subscription service for readers that authors enroll their books into and are paid for the pages read.

The following articles were all written by independent publishing expert and author David Gaughran, who is a wealth of information and writes detailed articles on so many subjects important to succeeding in the indie pub world.

Here’s the quick scoop:

Gaughran first tells us about Amazon’s fake book problem in a detailed article in June—explaining how some bad actors are using clickfarms to manipulate the best seller charts.

He then explains how he decided to take the leap and test his books on Kindle Unlimited in August, using some of their built-in promos like Countdown Deals. (This means his e-books were exclusive to Amazon and couldn’t be available for purchase anywhere else.) Check out the crazy stuff that happened to him in this article: https://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2017/08/12/the-only-rule-amazon-truly-cares-about/

Then later in August, he provides a summary article about the Kindle experience that is worth a read (even if you aren’t exclusive to Kindle.)

Just last week, Gaughran details the saga of Amazon attacking legit authors but seeming to continue to ignore the scammers, making for a difficult time for a few relatively well-known indie authors in his article: Amazon’s Hall of Spinning Knives. (The title made me laugh, but really this isn’t funny as it is costing legit authors some serious money.)

Most recently, Gaughran writes a smart analysis of the conundrum indie authors face – whether to embrace Kindle exclusivity or go wide with your marketing strategies.

No matter what strategy you decide on, at least you’ll be up-to-speed as you market your books. I find that David Gaughran is a partner we can trust for solid info!

Post-Publication

Independently Published Authors – Libraries Are for You!

I recently spent two days at the Wisconsin Library Association hanging around with some of my favorite people, and I was surprised and pleased by how many librarians asked how they could find well-written independently published books. What a great question! The authors in attendance referred librarians to winning contest lists for indie and small presses and to sites like IndieBRAG that only give a gold medallion to books that meet their high standards. (If you haven't submitted your books for consideration over at IndieBRAG, you should do so immediately. This supportive community provides excellent indie book recognition and advice.)

This reminds me that those of us who have been intrepid enough to publish independently should not shy away from the library market. This article by Amy Collins on the Book Designer website remains relevant more than a year after its initial publication and provides a succinct 9-step list on how to get your books into libraries.

The Evolution of Libraries

Libraries are a hub for so much more than books. Nowhere was this more evident than at last week’s conference . . . Wisconsin like most other states provides exemplary services to patrons well beyond book lending and incorporates new trends and technologies. There’s so much our libraries have to offer. An articleI bookmarked a year ago by best-selling author of “The Memory Box” Eva Lesko Natiello recognizes how the ability of libraries to embrace what’s new can only bode well for the independent author.

How to Make the Most of a Professional Book Review

You’ve landed a wonderful review from a professional or editorial book reviewer. Now what? After you’ve done your happy dance around your desk, you need to jump into action to make the most of this praise. The BookBaby blog lists eight things to do with this review. It’s important to make sure it is visible to potential readers and seven of the eight steps address this. However, the most important step might be what you do with a not-so-great review . . . don’t take it personally but definitely see if there’s anything in the reader’s critique that can improve your writing.

As always, I hope that these articles help you on your writing and publishing journey!

Happy Reading & Writing, Valerie

#indie author #self-publishing #self publication #independent publishing #writingadvice #writing tips #author help #wisconsin books