Boobytrap

tirsdag den 14. november 2023

Writers And Money

Being an author leads to many weird situations that involves the critical or just curious eye of people who might consider buying your work. Some of it we, the writers, do a lot to direct as we want it to be seen: Entertaining, ingenious or "something new to this planet". We go from our solitary workplace by the computer, struggling to give life to fictional characters and plots of our own making to go craving for some kind of publicity. Without publicity the book will still be there, but only for our own personal enjoyment and without the stamp of success: Sales that prove that we were right in calling this, our work, our bosom baby.

A lot of people know that this makes us vulnerable to scams that tear into our finances, robbing us without giving us what we were told that we were buying: Publicity, contracts with good and legitimate publishers or, for instance, screen writers, etc., etc.. A lot of disappointments may be waiting for the hopeful writer and it's not fair to us or the trade as such.

However, the publicity part of the game may be less burdensome moneywise if we involve ourselves in certain measures that we perform ourselves:

1. I don't believe in listing people who might review our books for free, using emails to incite them to buy the book. To me that's looking unfair to those we approach as writers. However, honest reviews on platforms like e.g. Amazon and Goodreads are a wonderful boost to the sale process. Some writers may build a business partnership with other authors for cross-promotions or guest posts on each other's blogs.

2. Attend book conventions: OK, but that's not cheap. I's been invited to two conventions in Europe, but did not feel tempted to attend ....

3. a) Be a blogger or b) get someone who has a blog to read and review your book.

4. One may utilize platforms like e.g. Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram to engage with readers. Maybe that strategy may even lead to the building of a community of followers, but that may be pushing one's luck too far ....

5. Some writers participate in book club discussions of various art.

And what have I done up till now? Not much, even though I, who have a long list of self published works, ought to do something about the actual promotion of my works. Well, sometimes I do sell something, but I wouldn't be able to make a living by writing books which also goes for many other authors: This is not an industry for most of the people who are out to get riches. Some do, but not most of us ....

mandag den 13. november 2023

"Crooked Joe" or "Crooked And Culpable" Donald?

Is President Biden a disaster in his job, is he "Crooked" as Eks-president Trump calls him? No, neither the one nor the other, he is toiling along as best he can, but he is not showy: No extreme utterings, no blatant threats or insane plans for the future like his adversary.

To be "showy" like Trump doesn't turn anybody into "Hitlers", but words count, and he has said a lot of things that's beneath the allowable in normal conversations of normal people and it should be remembered. However, somehow it seems that he is mimicking Hitler by uttering plans and ideologies that means abuse of power, cruelty to innocent people, etc., etc. and his followers don't hear what he is saying just like many Germans in the 1930s-1940s. To talk about "freeing Germany of Jews" was said over and over, but seemingly these utterances weren't taken at face value. The speeches were just words to many and they might not have been able to envisage the possibility of coming to see them being turned into realities.

Who would have thought that USA would have had a president that might get accused of any of these felonies or childish (???) traits? America had dignity, but sadly enough it seems gone with this blatant blemish on the list of presidents.

https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/donald-trump-used-to-keep-a-book-of-hitler-s-speeches-by-his-bed-according-to-his-exwife-a6765391.html?utm_source=reddit.com

lørdag den 11. november 2023

The Political (Ab-)Use of Religion

Well put - and that was even before Christianity won the game of becoming the very best and extremely useful tool for those in power.

As we know it also works very well for those who are seeking power, like e.g. Donald Trump who all of a sudden is flaunting Christian beliefs he has never before exhibited any trust in. Smart? Yes, up to a point, but that trick only works in certain contexts and societies ....

I didn't know that about Thomas Paine, but I fully agree, especially in one aspect of the quote: Those who preach religious doctrines may not have chosen to do so in order to suppress others, but those doctrines - which they may or may not have believed in themselves - always have served that purpose. It's smart to team up with the ultimate authority which many see as the deity we in The West inherited from The Middle East: Yahwe. Up till now this planet has seen c. 4000-6000 "gods" (that we know of as there may be many more!!!), but somehow we, who are not desert people like the Jews, decided that the legend of the former war god, Yahwe, was the one we would adhere to. Former times worshipped other gods:

I find that extremely interesting historically and philosophically, but very, very Christian people hate to see this. For instance, many/most don't seem to understand that the so-called "Mother Goddess" was GOD and not only the consort of some male god.

When politicians nowadays claim being "God's people" who "speak for God" I find that both preposterous, hypocritical and sacrilegious. To be a proclaimed Christian isn't the same as being the authorized mouthpiece of the god they say they are serving. I've always felt - and said - that Americans have a way of confusing their god with Santa and that goes for most of these so-called American, Christian politicians.

fredag den 27. oktober 2023

Should Teachings About Paradise Be Changed?

Relatives of dead people often talk of their sorrow as something that their own death will remedy: They are looking forward to meeting the deceased in an afterlife in "Paradise"/"Eden". When I see interviews with these people I feel sorry for their loss, but also for their - in my opinion - false hope of being reunified with the lost ones. To believe something like that one must have a faith in eternal life that makes it plausible. The same people who believes this also are dreaming of a resurrection like the one they think Jesus had. All of it dreams and hopes of millions of people that keep them in place, so to speak: Flimsy hopes turn into the glue that keep the structures of society together and makes genuine social changes difficult or even impossible.

As to the Paradise that is supposed to give the souls of the dead a new habitat then it's nothing less than "the garden of God (or Eden)", and, what's more, it didn't start out as something up in the sky, but was "down to earth", so to speak: "The location of Eden is described in the Book of Genesis as the source of four tributaries. Various suggestions have been made for its location:at the head of the Persian Gulf, in southern Mesopotamia where the Tigris and Euphrates rivers run into the sea; and in Armenia." (Wikipedia) I've never heard of anybody finding the geographical area of Paradise, but I'm sure many have been looking for it, both as an area on this planet and as a metaphysical picture of eternal bliss. However, when the war god, Yahwe, became the main - and solar - deity he and his godly garden were set in the sky. To me that signals a mind-over-matter fight of some kind which may have its roots in the ideological battle of female and male deities. The idea of the omnipotent "Sky Daddy" was born and has been with us ever since, just like the belief in a heavenly "garden of god".

To hear bereaved relatives talk about their belief in future meetings with those they lost to Death is difficult when you are not a believer. You don't believe in the Biblical Paradise, the afterlife nor in the chance of these people ever coming to see their lost ones again. Actually this should be what was taught in school - or taught in another manner. The teachers should go from telling tales of never proven, and extremely unsubstantial Biblical myths to telling the truth about their historical changes through the ages of human life. Or they should never tell these tales of Biblical events and characters without adding the word "myth" - and that goes for ALL tales of a Biblical nature ....

Wikipedia

tirsdag den 24. oktober 2023

Body Bizarre

I take for granted that this man is very proud of his "adornments" which I find hideous. Maybe this is a "Each to one's own taste"-case as there aren't any fixed rules when it comes to looks? Well, I think there are natural, i.e. in-born expectations to the looks of humans and these expectations constitute our concept of "beauty".

The body of this young lady will be considered "perfect" in Western countries of 2023, but some will mourn her tatooes and see them as disfiguring. Well, I for one don't like tats which in my opinion all too often turn into something that look like patches of dirt. They may be political or maybe even religious statements and I suppose that they as such should be respected, but I shall never see them as adornments.

The tatooes and needles of the persons above were chosen by the users, but what about those weird body deformities that were not chosen, but which in many ways come to represent the personality of the individual? A human, born as e.g. a midget, is something more than an uncommonly small person, but still that's what he/she is seen as: A midget is a midget. But what if one looks at a well-known midget like e.g. Henri Toulouse Lautrec? What describes the best the best? Is he first and foremost an artist or a midget to most people? Or put it in another way: Is he more of a midget than of an artist?

Small he was, but as an artist he was large and no one can deny it although they may not like his harsh paintings of "The Merry Life" of Paris, the prostitutes, alcoholics, etc..

He didn't live by his disabilities, but some did, like e.g. the twin girls that were born by the unmarried and poor, English woman, Kate Skinner in 1908. Maybe she never intended to keep them even if they had been perfect as she, being unmarried, might have known that she couldn't take the financial responsibility of their upkeep. Well, actually she ended up earning money by selling the twins to a woman who exhibited them as what they were considered at that time: Monsters or Freaks. These children were innocent victims of the early 1900-ideas about valid human looks. Being conjoined they were not accepted as anything but "bizarre" or "inhuman".

The woman who bought them was Mary Hilton whom they were to call "auntie" and they are known by her surname of Hilton: Daisy and Violet Hilton. As such they were taken on tours, just exhibiting their "weirdness" or performing in some way. It's a sad fact that they referred to this "auntie" and her daughter as their Owners. Something like that didn't interest the audience because the only thing they saw was their looks. However, in their life time they went from "sideshow performers" and "vaudevillians" to "film actresses" as they came to appear in some movies, "Freaks" and "Chained for Life". Something which just were another way of keeping them in their assigned rôle of side show freaks.

Both of them married, but whereas the marriage of Violet lasted for 10 years, the one of Daisy lasted 10 days.

Defined by their looks ever since their birth they never really left the "freak"-life that was assigned to them by those who paid to look at them. To me that's the real freakishness of the matter ....

https://www.healthline.com/health/pycnodysostosis

https://wellcomecollection.org/works/sctkmtb4

Wikipedia

lørdag den 21. oktober 2023

The Shady Publishers of Today

When I started publishing, i.e. in my native tongue of Danish, I took for granted that the publishers that I approached - or who approached me - were what one might call "reputable". To me that meant that they were of a standard that made publishing with them a kind of "stamp of approval" which guaranteed that my book was worthwhile for buyers and readers: It was QUALITY and should be recognized as such as it presumably had been through a validation process by what was considered expert editors. On top of that the publishers were supposed to make an effort to make the book sell by PR via ads in newspapers, magazines, etc..

A book was always physical, hardcover or not, and it was sold at good, reputable bookstores, it had reviews, etc., etc.. There might have been "scammers" even then and some publishers were anything but reputable, but that wasn't a grave problem as one simply kept away from these "bad eggs" of the business.

Now, the process of publishing and the obligations of the publishers have changed in so many ways that it's hard to keep track of what's going on. First of all, an agent has become a necessity because most of those so-called reputable publishers will not accept a script from the author without one. I suppose this trust in agents is a remnant of the old validation system by the editors of the individual publishers, but how trustworthy is this agent-based recommendation? Contrary to the old system with presumably non-biased editors who were engaged by the publishing houses each of these agents works for themselves and their clients. I take for granted that big publishing houses still have editors who may - or may not - have an eye for what's good enough to be published by them, but if that's the case why then not skip the agents and negotiate directly with the writers?

Our days' market of books have moved in several directions and I must say I have a nostalgic longing for the old hard cover books, but at the same time I acknowledge that they seem to be vanishing as they have lost out to the electronics of today. However, this has given writers new possibilities of publishing that I too have enjoyed. As far as I can see the only problem with self-publishing e-books, as I've done on several occasions, is the lack of a "stamp of recognition" by agents, editors, etc.: The public may not take the author's words for it that these books are worthwhile.

OK, now the situation is changing rapidly and it's difficult to find one's way in the publishing swamp of today, but right now I feel that we as writers should not go exclusively after the by now more or less out-dated agent-publisher-system. Presumably it offered safe publishing, guaranteeing one's royalties, PR, etc., and when it worked it was nice for the author, but is it realistic to expect now? Also, much of what kept this system going was a kind of snobbery that I, not being a snob, find unpleasant as well as illusory. Actually, writers chasing the high-class, so-called reputable publishers have exposed them as the genuine "vanity press" of the market ....

There must be a way to take advantage of some of those publishers who set out to scam or even abuse us by not fulfilling the obligations they use to lure us in with. To read about some of them one would think they were angels sent to protect and lead writers to fame and fortunes beyond belief and, sorry to say so, they are not. No, they keep one hanging with fees, the necessary PR, keeping tracks of royalties, etc., etc.. Also they have a way of robbing one of one's copy right, but, as far as I know, it's possible to regain it by changing the ISBN No. Besides I'm sure that traffic goes with the reputable ones as well.

Scammers are scammers, gloating in their frauds, but still, one may get them to publish one's books and there should be a way based on the law to make them keep their promises. We need law makers who will set up rules that mow out the worst sharks among them. Everybody may publish, but it's obvious that what used to be free, is changing into something one might call more or less disguised "fees-based". In any case, to hook up with any of these well-known shady publishers is dangerous business, but these days the borders between them and the reputable ones have become quite blurred.

Right now, as I'm preparing the publishing of some new books I've made a very tentative approach to one of the shady ones, simply to sound it out. I may go through with it, but only if I keep my copyright ....

https://boobytrapec.blogspot.com/2023/10/publishing-modern-way.html

mandag den 16. oktober 2023

Publishing The Modern Way

I'm not into making drawings or paintings myself, but still, I did make this quite nice picture which may end up as an illustration for one of the children books I'm working on at the moment. How is that possible when I haven't even attended art school? Well, with the new tool Al many things that weren't possible now are becoming everyday events. Atthe moment I'm not able to explain what Al is, but still I use it for pictures. Being a writer who enjoys the process of writing I may also try my hand at Al-writing and publishing, but that's not my first priority: I write, thus I'm a WRITER, should I use Al for writing I would feel that I lost my right to identify as a writer. However, I'm not blind to the fact that modern times also mean modern measures, and Al seems to have come to stay with us, writers or not.

Writing may be a job like other jobs or it may be something more personal. To me it definitely is personal, although I feel more for some of my writings than for others. In that respect one might say that I'm like a mother with favorite children.

When I approached AuthorHouse and ended up publishing four books with them I had no idea of their somewhat shady reputation as a "vanity publishing firm". Would the knowledge of this have stopped me from choosing them as my publisher? No, I wanted to steer the wheel so to speak as these four books weren't in my native tongue, Danish, but in English, and I didn't have the connections In England as I had in Denmark. Did I get to steer the wheel? Both yes and NO.

The books themselves were all right as to looks, but not in an outstanding manner. That didn't worry me as I was more interested in the fact that I had had them published than in their looks. However, there was one thing I resented, i.e. that some people stressed the point that AuthorHouse was called a "Vanity publishing house" because the authors who published with them were supposed to publish out of vanity paying for their services. The old kind of publishers, which I knew from Denmark and the books I had published there, paid me, not the other way around. That, in itself, was seen as a sort of hallmark of quality, classifying the individual books as good and worth while for the reader, not "mere pulp fiction".

To publish something like this - which I did - exhibits just as much "vanity" as publishing something with a so-called "vanity publisher" like e.g. "AuthorHouse". I may prefer the order of a main stream publisher, but that's all the difference of these publishers is to me.

Published with LULU

It has been said that the difference of publishing with "Vanity Publishers" or start self-publishing as I did with LULU and SAXO is that one keeps one's rights to the works: The copyright. I'm not sure that goes for all self-publishing companies, but one do keep the control of the book in other ways. However, that also means that one has to do all the PR work oneself which isn't as easy as one might wish for. However, when I shall publish my next book - and that's what I'm planning to do some months from now - I shall think carefully of the choices I see now: Self-publishing with e.g. KDP, LULU or SAXO? Or should I venture into the swamp of the so-called "Vanity publishing" once more?

I've read the warnings of the diligent and very, very knowledgeable Victoria Strauss on her "Writer Beware"-blog, and it was made clear to me that "Vanity presses" and the like are dangerous dancing partners. Many/Most (???) of them only focus on their chances of bleeding the author and forget all obligations toward him or her. In my opinion that doesn't mean that we should give up on them here and now. Knowing what they do and how they are there must be a way to keep the steering wheel and co-operate with them for those who find all other ways to publish overwhelming. What is needed is a sort of acceptable "Deal with the Devil". Had it been easier to find good agents and reputable mainstream publishers I would never have thought of "making deals with the Devil", but the situation being what it is I'm rethinking our possibilities as writers.