[The celebration of issue #100 is now history, so some chest-thumping is back.  Well, that’s newsy too, and I don’t spam readers with email newsletters like many authors, so you won’t find most of my personal news anywhere else.  News about the publishing business is more op-ed like—comment on those items if you approve or disapprove.]

Item.  Feedback is important.  Lurkers abound on the internet.  This isn’t a negative term for the most part, by the way.  I’m a lurker myself.  I read a lot of opinion and discussions in social media groups and on blog sites, but I feel compelled to comment only in a few cases when I see that something is missing and I can add to the discussion.  I’m also reluctant to get on a soapbox—that can really muck up an interesting discussion and take it down culs de sac.  My soapbox is here for the most part.

But feedback is important in those discussions, and it’s important here.  I realize that readers of this blog and/or my ebooks (there doesn’t seem to be much correlation there) don’t have a lot of time to write extensive comments here or anywhere else.  Up to now, my only feedback is via stats I have on hits and visits to this website.  There’s a steady uptick on those, and I thank all new visitors to this site for stopping by.  But if you have opinions about my ebooks, which often treat controversial themes, or blog posts, you’re free to comment, whether at the end of posts (more public, of course) or via the contact page at this site (more private, because I never divulge emails—this newsletter is part of the blog, and I don’t have separate ones).  Join the conversation—it’s what makes this country great!

Item.  No reaction?  I was surprised I didn’t receive any flak from my post “Our Narcissistic Society” this Tuesday.  How can I interpret that?  Like I always do, I guess: readers are so busy they don’t have time to comment, whether they’re disapproving or not.  Or, maybe I’ll be e-punished and e-boycotted?  Surprise!  There are so few readers of my ebooks that an e-boycott against them wouldn’t even be noticed.  Readers of this blog can e-punish me by no longer reading this blog, but because there isn’t much correlation between the numbers of book pages borrowed or books sold and the numbers reading this blog, that’s like slapping me with a cooked udon noodle instead of a Barry Eisler karate chop.

One point I neglected to mention in that post was narcissism in people committing violent acts.  Today’s a good day to do that.  I’m sure most people were aghast at the brutal murders of reporter and cameraman during an interview in Roanoke, VA.  The gunman calmly filmed the whole thing and put videos up on Facebook.  I guess that’s criminal narcissism.  Ever been to a gun show, though?  The stench of narcissism fills the air as buyers caress the fancy weapons.

Truth be told, I have no way of determining what you think about my posts unless you comment (see above).  My observations in that post and the last paragraph might have been insulting to some, but how would I know?  Those same observations might be spot on for others—again, how would I know?  I guess I should be satisfied people are reading the posts, thinking about the news comments, and enjoying the short stories.  It’s all free, and the only cost to me is my time, well worth it because it’s so much fun.

Item.  The Times’ vendetta against Amazon.  The NY Times is no longer content just to attack Amazon on behalf of Big Five publishers.  David Streitfeld, known for leading the charge against Amazon on behalf of traditional publishers and their authors like Preston and Patterson, joined forces with Jodi Kantor and attacked the workplace practices of Amazon.  If they want to go after exploitive retail practices, why not pick on Sam Walton’s exploitive empire of Walmart, Sam’s Club, and so forth.  Why not clean up their own shop?  I bet their printers and distributors have a few choice words about exploitation by the Times.

Joe Nocera, columnist for the Times, wrote a vitriol-laden op-ed (8/22/15) in support of the Streitfeld and Kantor expose.  The only honest statements in his column was that Amazon’s white-collar employees “…make good money…including stock options….”  They’re “…pushed harder to work faster and faster….” C’mon, Mr. Nocera!  Welcome to the modern corporate world.  Not everyone has a butt-callous producing cushy job like you do!

Streitfeld was taken to task by his own editor but still continues his personal vendetta against Amazon, writing biased articles that only can be called yellow journalism.  I can only assume that owners and editors of the NY Times condone this crap and have now told other reporters and columnists to toe the line and continue the vendetta.  Apparently Sturgeon’s law applies well to “all the news that’s fit to print” in the Times.  I’m ready to cancel my subscription, but the Times is so big in the tristate area, it’s putting all the other papers out of business.

Item. Kindle Countdown Deals.  I can’t say I’ve had much success with these.  Advertising them on Facebook and Goodreads fell flat, and I won’t spend hundreds of dollars to advertise on BookBub—I don’t have that kind of money and have yet to see that BookBub does anything for a writer besides take her/his money (I’m willing to hear contrary opinions, of course—can you lend me the money to pay the greedy bastards?).  Most readers of this blog don’t buy my ebooks either, so it’s probably a waste to announce the deals here.  (By the way, the Goodreads ad didn’t cost anything—they charge per click, and I didn’t get any!)

That said, don’t miss the Countdown Deal on The Collector, today, August 28, through September 1, where this book, #5 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series,” will sale for $0.99, reduced from $2.99.  You can prove me wrong, but because of the underwhelming response to these sales, I certainly won’t try again until next year.  Most of my ebooks are already a bargain at $2.99 or $3.99, so you can move up from foregoing a McDonald’s dollar meal to a regular one and still have many more hours of healthier satisfaction without indigestion.  And who knows what the McWhopper as proposed by Burger King will cost?  Adding a soft drink, that might be comparable to my ebook The Midas Bomb (#1 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series”).

Item. More than Human: The Mensa Contagion.  Have you been waiting for new sci-fi?  I turn some sci-fi conventions upside-down in this one.  There’s an ET virus, but it’s probably good.  There’s space exploration, but it isn’t easy.  There’s living on Mars, but not without stress and turmoil.  There’s all of that, even though I had tons of material left over.  Maybe I’ll write a sequel if enough of you read this one.  Take a look—it’s for sale on Amazon and Smashwords, so it’s not borrowable on the first (maybe to Prime members?) but it is via Smashwords’ affiliates Oyster and Scribd.  Moreover, you can have a free copy in exchange for an honest review.

Item. Family Affairs.  #6 in the “Detectives Chen and Castilblanco Series” will be available sometime this fall.  It’s out to beta-readers and cover artist right now.  Castilblanco has to prove his cousin didn’t commit murder, but the case blows up into something much bigger.  Lots of twists and turns in this mystery/suspense/thriller ebook.  Don’t miss it!

Item. Reviewers welcome.  All my ebooks need reviews.  You can read any of them for free in return for an honest review.  Check out my extensive catalog.  If you can’t find an ebook you like there, write and tell me why.  I’m curious.  Maybe I should be writing romance or erotica?  Nah.  I couldn’t even try.

In elibris libertas….

This entry was posted on Friday, August 28th, 2015 at 4:00 am and is filed under News and Notices from the Writing Trenches. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Both comments and pings are currently closed.