|
Post by djmills on Jul 28, 2021 14:42:44 GMT -8
Gary, Buttercup/Bella is really lovely. Makes me want another best friend at my place. Hope she settles in quickly. :-)
|
|
|
Post by djmills on Jul 31, 2021 14:01:30 GMT -8
Chris and Gary, thought I would let you know Pulphouse Fiction Magazine is running another subscription kickstarter for the next 12 months.
Being Kickstarter, you don't have to pay for 12 months of the magazine, just donate US$5.00 and as each stretch goal is reached, get another ebook or course. :-)
This is how I "purchased" the last eight or so courses from Dean Wesley Smith. So, for the US$5.00 I will get the latest issue of the magazine, plus each stretch goal.
So far, I will get:
First reached stretch goal course is a Pop-Up: When They Do it Wrong: Getting Inspiration from Things You Love to Hate. $150.00
Second reached stretch goal course is a Pop-Up: Writer's Deadly Delusions: What Writers Believe That Can Kill Their Writing and Business.
And for Chris because you write like the pulp writers: When the next stretch goal is reached ($20,000) the course is a Pop-Up: A Tribute to the Pulp Writers: What You Can Learn and What to Avoid from How Pulp Writers Lived and Worked.
I personally hope they reach $25,000 so I can get that course. :-)
Anyway, check it out and decide if US$5.00 is good for the stretch goals now available, or even any of the add ons.
|
|
|
Post by jjmainor on Jul 31, 2021 17:43:00 GMT -8
Never cringe! Just smile. by the way. I love the way one of your reviewers on Zon ticks you off for your prooreading. Like I say. Gotta smile. Is that how it comes across? I don't get ticked off by it, only disappointed. Sometimes things that come across as mistakes were intentional choices, so I just feel I should point that out. If you're looking at Covfefe Syndrome, I wrote about a character losing his mind and memory piece by piece. To immerse the reader in what he was going through, certain chunks of the book were written with increasingly deteriorating language. Because the title took from a famous Trump tweet, the reviewer went into it a little biased. He even said he was looking for a blatant political satire, but the political satire was very subtle, so I wouldn't be surprised if there was a little bit of TDS influencing the review. Plus, it was another author, so there is always the question about whether or not he's trying to bring down his competition.
And then I had the one for Are There Heroes In Hell? The book is set in a semi-distant future, but one veteran wanted to apply his experience in Vietnam to his reading of the story. My reply to that one was just to explain that I wasn't commenting on the military of today, but rather commenting on where it could be in a couple hundred years if the attitudes of the broader society continue down the path they're going. Plus, IMO, it makes their moment of heroism in the climax that much greater if they don't have the attitudes of valor and service that service members today have. And the review didn't touch on this, but it was another book where I played with flawed language. I told the story through the main character who came from a background of poverty and didn't have the best education growing up. I don't think I captured that well, but I tried to mess with the language to demonstrate the lack of advantage.
At the end of the day, though, they bought the books. I can't be ticked at that, only disappointed that my vision didn't come through like I hoped it would.
|
|
|
Post by unclegarf on Aug 2, 2021 2:17:58 GMT -8
I actually learn more from well constructed negative reviews. But sometimes we are completely misunderstood. When I was doing the fine art degree I took in my tribute to George Floyd painting, taken from the photos of the cop kneeling on Floyd's neck with a large traffic sign saying STOP.I was told it was 'fetish' art. There was also book 5 in the Craggy series where a reviewer slagged me off for pushing a gay agenda (I'm not gay, by the way) even though I was merely giving balance to the humans on Mars. As for your 'proorreading' review, it merely made me smile that somebody was moaning about proofreading when he / she couldn't manage a few words. All we can do is to try to convey our ideas into a form most people can follow and hopefully enjoy. Lemon update! Tree 1 is now in a pot and looking happy at about three inches tall, on my windowsill. Tree 2 is just poking out of the eggshell. They'll stay housebound until next spring. Bought some oranges to try orange pips only to find no pips in them. . Hoping to get the call about Bella (Buttercup) today.
|
|
|
Post by jjmainor on Aug 2, 2021 7:03:57 GMT -8
These days, it's not the reviewers I take issue with, but Amazon itself. I have another pen name that competes with books distributed through an Amazon subsidiary. When I was taking over the charts, I was taking slots away from those books, and Amazon started playing all kinds of games. they keep trying to pull my books out of those categories even though they're relevant. Rankings can take days to update, if Amazon updates them at all. And they won't give my books the "best seller" orange banner when they're at #1 in their categories. And don't get me started on the book they banned...
It's not just me, but I've since noticed they play the same games with other authors in those categories if they're not distributed through the subsidiary. They won't get the orange banner when it's their turn at the top, and every few months, their books also disappear from the categories.
|
|
|
Post by unclegarf on Aug 2, 2021 8:42:40 GMT -8
My run ended dead when they did that select group thing. They just can't leave things alone, including prices.
|
|
|
Post by unclegarf on Aug 3, 2021 1:16:47 GMT -8
My little freebie 'Davron' serial of ten parts is always finding new readers, especially on Apple. I wonder if a new Davron story in a single book form would be worth the effort? I might give it a read through and see if I can summon up the enthusiasm. Anyway, I'm in the garden building cold frames to over winter plants. The exercise is good for me, apparently.
|
|
|
Post by unclegarf on Aug 11, 2021 3:11:17 GMT -8
I thought I'd have 'Buttercup' at home by now, but it turned out she has a few medical issues to work through still. Hopefully she will get the all clear soon and then she can come here and be totally confused with the odd human things I get up to. She was picked up as a stray and I suspect she has had an adventurous life. If only she could tell me all about it, we'd have a best seller on our paws.
|
|
|
Post by ChrisLAdams on Aug 16, 2021 12:13:03 GMT -8
... Chris because you write like the pulp writers: When the next stretch goal is reached ($20,000) the course is a Pop-Up: A Tribute to the Pulp Writers: What You Can Learn and What to Avoid from How Pulp Writers Lived and Worked... Well I just saw this, been hammered at work and busy at home, and haven't jumped on here for a while. I guess I missed the boat, as I didn't see where I could still contribute. You'll have to let us know how that course is, sounds fascinating.
|
|
|
Post by djmills on Aug 16, 2021 13:21:54 GMT -8
Chris, I will let you know how the Tribute to the Pulp Writers goes.
I am looking forward to the other classes as well, especially Side Hustles for Writers and Can I Sell Without Promotion. :-)
Of course, I know I can sell without Promotion, but interested to read other suggestions.
|
|
|
Post by unclegarf on Sept 28, 2021 7:24:20 GMT -8
Y,know, I've a bit of a rep as a greenie / skip diver. My two little lemon trees have done well in their little pots on my kitchen windowsill but it was time to repot. So as a bit of a tight-wad, I was looking around for two large matching containers. Peddling away on my white E - bike with the trailer hitched on I set off to the supermarket to stock up just before the dodgy wet weather hit us. And sure enough, in skip number 2, I saw them. Two matching 'containers?'. On the return journey loaded up with essentials like beer, I parked up and checked out the skip which was full ready for the trip to landfill. What on Earth are these things? I realised they were large ceiling light shades. I wasn't one hundred percent sure I wanted them but, what the hey. Back home I had the chance to study the shades. Very heavy steel with a copper plating inside and dark grey powder coating outside. Being impatient to rehome my little gems, I found something to create a porous cover to keep compo in and let the water out. I was amazed at the size of the root ball filling up the small pots. A good mix of my own compo, sand and worm castings (I keep a couple of small worm farms). With a little wipe down leaving a good inch of the inside copper showing at the lip, they looked really good. Then I noticed a label on the inside of one shade and it said 'Industville'. A quick google and I found the exact same shades at an eye watering £99 EACH!!! Nearly £200 pounds worth of planter. Not sure what the moral of this is, but there must be one. www.industville.co.uk/products/old-factory-vintage-pendant-light-12-inch-pewter-copper?variant=17710193285&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5_zMks-i8wIVBYBQBh3wzwE-EAQYASABEgJ29PD_BwEwww.industville.co.uk/products/old-factory-vintage-pendant-light-12-inch-pewter-copper?variant=17710193285&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5_zMks-i8wIVBYBQBh3wzwE-EAQYASABEgJ29PD_BwE
|
|
|
Post by ChrisLAdams on Oct 4, 2021 5:46:16 GMT -8
Y,know, I've a bit of a rep as a greenie / skip diver. My two little lemon trees have done well in their little pots on my kitchen windowsill but it was time to repot. So as a bit of a tight-wad, I was looking around for two large matching containers. Peddling away on my white E - bike with the trailer hitched on I set off to the supermarket to stock up just before the dodgy wet weather hit us. And sure enough, in skip number 2, I saw them. Two matching 'containers?'. On the return journey loaded up with essentials like beer, I parked up and checked out the skip which was full ready for the trip to landfill. What on Earth are these things? I realised they were large ceiling light shades. I wasn't one hundred percent sure I wanted them but, what the hey. Back home I had the chance to study the shades. Very heavy steel with a copper plating inside and dark grey powder coating outside. Being impatient to rehome my little gems, I found something to create a porous cover to keep compo in and let the water out. I was amazed at the size of the root ball filling up the small pots. A good mix of my own compo, sand and worm castings (I keep a couple of small worm farms). With a little wipe down leaving a good inch of the inside copper showing at the lip, they looked really good. Then I noticed a label on the inside of one shade and it said 'Industville'. A quick google and I found the exact same shades at an eye watering £99 EACH!!! Nearly £200 pounds worth of planter. Not sure what the moral of this is, but there must be one. www.industville.co.uk/products/old-factory-vintage-pendant-light-12-inch-pewter-copper?variant=17710193285&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5_zMks-i8wIVBYBQBh3wzwE-EAQYASABEgJ29PD_BwEwww.industville.co.uk/products/old-factory-vintage-pendant-light-12-inch-pewter-copper?variant=17710193285&gclid=EAIaIQobChMI5_zMks-i8wIVBYBQBh3wzwE-EAQYASABEgJ29PD_BwE Cant believe someone tossed such nice light covers in the bin. Good score, Gary!
|
|