How much has the developed world cobbled together - in what some might say was an indecent haste- to bail out - to stabilize? - banks and financial markets? Must be easily over a trillion dollars. How much would it take those same governments, in addition to the Russians and the Chinese - to rid the world of poverty? Wouldn't this create a much larger market? Just thinking.
What am I reading? Just mulling over the Globe and Mail's 50 Greatest Books. This week's - number 40- selection is Goethe's Faust. Can't complain about that. Nor their inclusion of Dostoevsky's The Brothers Karamazov, Machiavelli's The Prince, Marx's Das Kapital and pretty much most of the others. I like Nabokov's Lolita - as I did his Laughter in the Dark - but wouldn't include it in my 100 Greatest, much less my top 50. Ditto Adam Smith's Wealth of Nations. And Dicken's Our Mutual Friend? What's going on here? There is no Crime and Punishment by Dostoevsky. No Tolstoy's War and Peace. No Orwell's Animal Farm. Well okay, there are still another ten selections to go.
Just scanning the European papers: both The Guardian and The London Times think that the finding that Sarah Palin abused her powers as Governor in Alaska (Troopergate) does serious damage to the McCain Campaign. I agree. The Timesonline.co.uk has a great piece on James Bond: 100 Years of Fleming & Bond. Great stuff.
I have also been glancing at www.fivethirtyeight.com, a site named for the number of electors in the electoral college, which compiles polling data and analyzes it. I go to it several times daily.
Sunday, October 12, 2008
Friday, October 10, 2008
Amazon's Inside The Book Feature Now Available
Amazon.com's Inside The Book feature is now available for The Road Not Taken: Memoirs of a Reluctant Guerrilla. Visitors to their website will be able to view select portions of my book including back cover, first chapter and the copyright page. This is a remarkable feature and if I have done my job right -writing and publishing- then this may be a game-changer.
My Holiday Wish List
There are two books on my wish list for the upcoming holiday season: The Night of the Gun: A Reporter Investigates the Darkest Story of His Life -- His Own by David Carr and Dostoevsky: Language, Faith and Fiction (Making of the Christian Imagination) by Rowan Williams.
Carr is a media reporter with the New York Times and his book is a memoir of a particularly difficult period of his life -four to seven years, he isn't sure how long- when he was a drug addicted crack smoker and coke seller and a danger to the people close to him. Carr's novel idea was to go back to Minneapolis with a tape recorder and video camera, peruse old arrest and hospital records and speak with scores of people from that period. I wouldn't ever think of doing anything remotely close to that in regards to The Road Not Taken: Memoirs of a Reluctant Guerrilla. I guarantee you I would be dead in a minute. I am happy to say that this is my best memory of what transpired in Cuba and end with that. Besides, as psychologists will attest, a person will remember with almost photographic accuracy the most traumatic periods in their life.
Rowan Williams is of course the Archbishop of Canterbury and his book examines the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky the great Russian writer. Williams discusses his book on an interesting and enlightening Stuart Jeffries podcast on guardian.co.uk and agrees that his work on Dostoevsky can be seen as an "indirect riposte" to the atheism of Richard Dawkins ("The God Delusion"), and Christopher Hitchens ("God Is Not Great") who wrote recent bestsellers about atheism.
I have long been a fan of Dostoevky but when I first read his works beginning with "Crime and Punishment" I read them as literature. It was only later that I became aware of the connections to religion and philosophy. I am reading "Basic Writings of Existentialism" by Gordon Marino which examines existentialism through selections from proponents like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Hieddegger, Sartre, Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Ralph Ellison (a surprise) as well as Dostoevsky.
I am up to my 0ld tricks now: reading books with the child-like joy of discovery. If I learn something new in the process, well, all the better.
Carr is a media reporter with the New York Times and his book is a memoir of a particularly difficult period of his life -four to seven years, he isn't sure how long- when he was a drug addicted crack smoker and coke seller and a danger to the people close to him. Carr's novel idea was to go back to Minneapolis with a tape recorder and video camera, peruse old arrest and hospital records and speak with scores of people from that period. I wouldn't ever think of doing anything remotely close to that in regards to The Road Not Taken: Memoirs of a Reluctant Guerrilla. I guarantee you I would be dead in a minute. I am happy to say that this is my best memory of what transpired in Cuba and end with that. Besides, as psychologists will attest, a person will remember with almost photographic accuracy the most traumatic periods in their life.
Rowan Williams is of course the Archbishop of Canterbury and his book examines the writings of Fyodor Dostoevsky the great Russian writer. Williams discusses his book on an interesting and enlightening Stuart Jeffries podcast on guardian.co.uk and agrees that his work on Dostoevsky can be seen as an "indirect riposte" to the atheism of Richard Dawkins ("The God Delusion"), and Christopher Hitchens ("God Is Not Great") who wrote recent bestsellers about atheism.
I have long been a fan of Dostoevky but when I first read his works beginning with "Crime and Punishment" I read them as literature. It was only later that I became aware of the connections to religion and philosophy. I am reading "Basic Writings of Existentialism" by Gordon Marino which examines existentialism through selections from proponents like Kierkegaard, Nietzsche, Hieddegger, Sartre, Camus, Simone de Beauvoir, Ralph Ellison (a surprise) as well as Dostoevsky.
I am up to my 0ld tricks now: reading books with the child-like joy of discovery. If I learn something new in the process, well, all the better.
Thursday, October 9, 2008
The Challenges of Self Publishing - Part Deux
If you are a conventional publisher in Canada there are government programmes you can tap into. These include Canada Council of the Arts and Ontario Arts Council grants. If on the other hand, like me, you are a self-publisher, well, as Jamaicans say, Dog nyam (eat) your supper! You will be left to fend for yourself. And another thing: if you are a self-publisher, your work wont be considered for awards. Consideration for awards can be the bridge to greater sales arising from the publicity that surrounds both your book and the competition in which you are participating. This is the lay of the land. This is my challenge.
To be fair, I can get limited assistance from Canada Council for travel to readings or book launches but the rules are a little stringent. In the first place, you may have to be invited to such events.I have my eyes set instead on the Writers Digest contest for self-publishers in spring 2009. I will have to pony up $100 to participate. Perhaps I'll win and parlay whatever publicity into much needed sales.
To be fair, I can get limited assistance from Canada Council for travel to readings or book launches but the rules are a little stringent. In the first place, you may have to be invited to such events.I have my eyes set instead on the Writers Digest contest for self-publishers in spring 2009. I will have to pony up $100 to participate. Perhaps I'll win and parlay whatever publicity into much needed sales.
Wednesday, October 8, 2008
The Downside of Self Publishing
So now I have the product but I am not getting it to market. The product? My new book The Road Not Taken: Memoirs of a Reluctant Guerrilla. The book is easily accessible: the buyer can have it delivered to him/her by Amazon.com, BookSurge.com, Abebooks.com or Alibris.com. That's not the problem.
The problem is I have very scarce resources to promote the book. In fact if I am brutally honest, I have no resources. Zilch! Nada! Rien! Nil! Zero! So no press kits, no review copies, no bookmarks or business cards. I did send a print of the manuscript to the book editor of Essence magazine, Patrik Henry Bass and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will run a review. But that's the story of my life: the inability to exploit opportunities.
But I have my finger on the pulse of new media although I am a little slow to exploit its benefits. I know I must open myself up to the various social networks I have signed onto: linkedin, Facebook and Myspace etc. We'll see.
I am working on articles related to my personal narrative including one on the process of self publishing. I am also working on another article comparing what is referred to as the summer of the gun - the spate of gun murders whose victims tend to be black- with a similar situation in London, England circa 2000.
The problem is I have very scarce resources to promote the book. In fact if I am brutally honest, I have no resources. Zilch! Nada! Rien! Nil! Zero! So no press kits, no review copies, no bookmarks or business cards. I did send a print of the manuscript to the book editor of Essence magazine, Patrik Henry Bass and I am keeping my fingers crossed that he will run a review. But that's the story of my life: the inability to exploit opportunities.
But I have my finger on the pulse of new media although I am a little slow to exploit its benefits. I know I must open myself up to the various social networks I have signed onto: linkedin, Facebook and Myspace etc. We'll see.
I am working on articles related to my personal narrative including one on the process of self publishing. I am also working on another article comparing what is referred to as the summer of the gun - the spate of gun murders whose victims tend to be black- with a similar situation in London, England circa 2000.
Tuesday, October 7, 2008
The Canadian Political Scene
A few months ago I was in the Yonge/Sheppard Streets area of Toronto and noticed Liberal Party MP Martha Hall Findlay's former campaign bus in a nearby parking lot. I thought about the possibility she was readying herself for another run at the party's leadership should incumbent Stepane Dion falter. That scenario seems more likely now if the current polls asre to be believed.
PM Stephen Harper called general elections for October to preempt any negative effects to the Conservative Party should, as expected, Democrat Barack Obama wins the US presidency. When Harper was in opposition I had a more positive view of him. However since becoming prime minister he has become a George W Bush Lite, aping most of the American's nonsensical positions on the environment and tax cuts -uncertain economic times will tax all governments- and descending into the Karl-Rovian quagmire of dirty personality politics etc.
Harper started out of the blocks with polls suggesting he could win a majority but now a minority government seems more likely. Absent a Liberal government of any scale, that scenario is more palatable. Still, either scenario means a Liberal leadership contest is now almost certain.
As much as I like Stephane Dion, I do not regard him as an adequate custodian of the Liberal Party brand so skillfully and brilliantly burnished by Jean Chretien who guided Canada to the best economy of all the G-8 countries for a decade. My favourite is Bob Rae, the former Ontario premier and I could settle for Michael Ignatief. I am distracted by the US presidential elections but whatever happens in this Canadian election, it will be a very interesting time for Canadians.
PM Stephen Harper called general elections for October to preempt any negative effects to the Conservative Party should, as expected, Democrat Barack Obama wins the US presidency. When Harper was in opposition I had a more positive view of him. However since becoming prime minister he has become a George W Bush Lite, aping most of the American's nonsensical positions on the environment and tax cuts -uncertain economic times will tax all governments- and descending into the Karl-Rovian quagmire of dirty personality politics etc.
Harper started out of the blocks with polls suggesting he could win a majority but now a minority government seems more likely. Absent a Liberal government of any scale, that scenario is more palatable. Still, either scenario means a Liberal leadership contest is now almost certain.
As much as I like Stephane Dion, I do not regard him as an adequate custodian of the Liberal Party brand so skillfully and brilliantly burnished by Jean Chretien who guided Canada to the best economy of all the G-8 countries for a decade. My favourite is Bob Rae, the former Ontario premier and I could settle for Michael Ignatief. I am distracted by the US presidential elections but whatever happens in this Canadian election, it will be a very interesting time for Canadians.
Monday, October 6, 2008
Birth Pains!
It has become painfully obvious now, that self-publishing The Road Not Taken: Memoirs of a Reluctant Guerrilla was the easiest button to button. Writing the manuscript? A cinch. Organising the cover and layout? Like taking candy from a baby. Setting up the printing with the printer? As easy as A-B-C.
Well, at least compared to marketing the book. When the first edition was published, the writing was all I was concerned with. Now I am trying to do a PR campaign on the cheap: using social networks like MySpace and Facebook to broadcast information about the book. This from a guy who isn't terribly social and who is intensely private.
So far I have sent press releases to a few outfits including booksofsoul.com and I have sent a draft of the manuscript to Patrik Henry Bass, Essence magazine's book editor. A few good women have promised to contact Oprah about the book. I am not holding my breath for anything to happen there. But I have started another blog, The Guerrilla Journal to track my progress along the path of becoming a bestselling author! Aha.
I am proud of the book, of course. It holds the keys to my future and to the achievement of the goals I have set for myself. I have likened the process to grunge publishing (akin to grunge music) which is probably unfair because this edition is much better than the earlier one. Now I have to employ "guerrilla marketing" to grab some eyeballs.
Well, at least compared to marketing the book. When the first edition was published, the writing was all I was concerned with. Now I am trying to do a PR campaign on the cheap: using social networks like MySpace and Facebook to broadcast information about the book. This from a guy who isn't terribly social and who is intensely private.
So far I have sent press releases to a few outfits including booksofsoul.com and I have sent a draft of the manuscript to Patrik Henry Bass, Essence magazine's book editor. A few good women have promised to contact Oprah about the book. I am not holding my breath for anything to happen there. But I have started another blog, The Guerrilla Journal to track my progress along the path of becoming a bestselling author! Aha.
I am proud of the book, of course. It holds the keys to my future and to the achievement of the goals I have set for myself. I have likened the process to grunge publishing (akin to grunge music) which is probably unfair because this edition is much better than the earlier one. Now I have to employ "guerrilla marketing" to grab some eyeballs.
Subscribe to:
Comments (Atom)