Bill Conrad's Blog - Posts Tagged "covid"
How Covid Effected Books
In early 2020, we became aware of the Covid 19 pandemic. This tragic worldwide event radically affected society, health, economics, politics, and daily life. But how did covid affect writing and publishing?
Initially, people could not go to bookstores which reduced sales and led to store closings. Yet, online sales improved because the people who could not work needed something to read. According to this graph, for 2020 through 2022, Ebook sales increased by ten percent and then returned to their previous levels:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/2...
As the pandemic became mainstream, I saw many rapid books such as “Treat Covid with Meditation.” On the Facebook group Writers Helping Writers, there was more interest in becoming an author, but this quickly tapered off. I also noticed more interest from part-time authors, so we should start seeing more new books.
How did Covid affect writing? Like any added knowledge, writers now have more subjects to write about. A Covid romance story? Or a Covid spy drama? Also, writers now better understand surviving a worldwide tragic event, and their dystopian novels will be more accurate.
Covid had a profound effect on our outlook and our media. Here is an article showing that books, movies, television, and online content is sadder than before December 2019:
https://www.voanews.com/a/why-people-...
Well, how do we get happier? Write happy books? Introduce happy laws? Or is this something that only time can fix? Getting back to normal will take significant effort and time. Where do we begin? I propose that the process starts by focusing on the pleasant aspects of life as we turn the page on this awful chapter in human history.
Authors have an opportunity to help. When they start a new project, they should try to apply a positive spin to their work. Is this realistic? Society is tired of Covid. There is an opportunity for authors to sell hope, and I have noticed an uplifting trend in recent books. Will happier books fix our problems? No, but it is a step in the right direction.
You’re the best -Bill
May 17, 2023
Initially, people could not go to bookstores which reduced sales and led to store closings. Yet, online sales improved because the people who could not work needed something to read. According to this graph, for 2020 through 2022, Ebook sales increased by ten percent and then returned to their previous levels:
https://www.statista.com/statistics/2...
As the pandemic became mainstream, I saw many rapid books such as “Treat Covid with Meditation.” On the Facebook group Writers Helping Writers, there was more interest in becoming an author, but this quickly tapered off. I also noticed more interest from part-time authors, so we should start seeing more new books.
How did Covid affect writing? Like any added knowledge, writers now have more subjects to write about. A Covid romance story? Or a Covid spy drama? Also, writers now better understand surviving a worldwide tragic event, and their dystopian novels will be more accurate.
Covid had a profound effect on our outlook and our media. Here is an article showing that books, movies, television, and online content is sadder than before December 2019:
https://www.voanews.com/a/why-people-...
Well, how do we get happier? Write happy books? Introduce happy laws? Or is this something that only time can fix? Getting back to normal will take significant effort and time. Where do we begin? I propose that the process starts by focusing on the pleasant aspects of life as we turn the page on this awful chapter in human history.
Authors have an opportunity to help. When they start a new project, they should try to apply a positive spin to their work. Is this realistic? Society is tired of Covid. There is an opportunity for authors to sell hope, and I have noticed an uplifting trend in recent books. Will happier books fix our problems? No, but it is a step in the right direction.
You’re the best -Bill
May 17, 2023
Covid: The Story
Back in 2021, I was having a typical day. I drove to Harbor Freight to buy an air-fitting and was on my way home while listening to the podcast The Dollop. As I absently waited at a stoplight, I noticed a police car. Suddenly, a car blew a red light, and the officer turned on his lights/siren. As he headed into the intersection, another vehicle arrived at high speed. The two collided, sending the speeding car tumbling, and a kid flew out. It was just like the movies.
As people came to the aid of the wrecked car, I realized I had a dash camera. So, I pulled into a nearby Walgreens parking lot and waited for the other police to arrive. When the police controlled the situation, I flagged down an officer and told him about the video and what I witnessed. He asked me to give him a copy, which I provided it the next day. Then, silence until four weeks ago.
A private investigator called me and asked if I still had the video. I had long since deleted it, which disappointed him. He said there was a lawsuit and asked me to describe what I recalled. There was a long pause when I told him about seeing the kid flying out of the car. Yeah, I knew I would have to testify. So, on Monday, I found myself in a conference room before a video camera and told my story. They had lots of back-and-forth questions and then the big shocker. They had me on video with the officer with whom I spoke.
I have seen myself on video many times, but this was not a Christmas video or work event. No, this was me describing what he had seen in detail. My first thought was, “Man, I loved that shirt.” It was a Dr. Who phone booth with a British flag. So cool. Then, my thoughts turned to amusement as I saw myself in a face mask. After my report, we did a “virtual fist bump” instead of a handshake. So typical of 2021.
Now, I must pivot. “He had a thousand-yard stare.” Do you know what I am referring to? The soldiers returning from Vietnam were subjected to intense action, affecting their mental state. Often, people would talk to them, and it was as if the veterans were staring ahead of them as if they could see the future. What was it like to talk to one of these veterans? I do not know because I was five years old when the Vietnam War ended. So, the only way I can answer this is to ask people who were adults during this time.
My point is that I do not have any direct experience with the thousand-yard stare, but I do with Covid. I hope that my daughter will have a child, and that child will ask me about what it was like during Covid. It will be fun describing all the craziness, but what will be important is that my description will come directly from my experiences. And this brings up the point of this article.
I can write an accurate character interaction during Covid, but not about that “thousand-yard stare.” My only option is to read about the subject or ask a Vietnam veteran. Does the thousand-yard stare exist? Or did a bunch of people make it up? I cannot say for sure.
Well… Did we do fist bumps instead of shaking hands? How about those masks? Did we wear them in public? They look somewhat dorky. People might think that a bunch of people wearing masks is not true. Yet, I was there, and everybody wore masks.
And while I have not read a book or seen a movie set in the Covid time, I think this would make for a great story. How many movies were set in the 70s? Disco, fly collars, bell bottoms, 8-Track players, and all that chest hair. Yet… No deaths, fake news, travel bans, quarantines, or running out of toilet paper. Looking back, not a lot happened in the 70s compared to Covid.
Here is another example. My daughter graduated from Junior High School right in the middle of Covid. Long before graduation, they were conducting virtual classrooms. How did gym work? They had gym class, and the coach made them exercise on camera. Homework, school projects, and group projects? All over the computer. How well did that work? Yeah… Not well.
Her graduation was crazy. We were instructed to arrive in a thirty-minute window and not leave our car. At the first stop, a person was masked and gloved up. She checked in my daughter’s textbooks. Then, we drove to the second stop, where we settled her school credit account. At the third stop, we filled out paperwork and were handed a diploma. In total, eight minutes. How insane is that? There was a dump truck full of story material in my hum-drum life.
Do you remember when they first allowed the vaccine, and there were lines of old people stretching for miles? Drive up Covid testing? X’s on sidewalks telling you where to stand? Only 20 customers are allowed in the store. No exceptions!
Yet… I have not seen one book or movie set in this time frame. Yet, I have seen or read WWII/Korean/Vietnam/Gulf War/Afghanistan stories released during those tragic events. Sure, a few television shows have been adapted to current events, but other than a hastily created documentary, there are no big Covid movies or books. Well, what’s going on?
I have a few theories. First, people wearing masks would not be visually pleasing, so a movie or television show would be difficult. Second, it was a depressing time instead of an exciting or controversial one. Third, many poor decisions would not make for a good story. Fourth, there was not much action. Instead, we spent lots of time at home. Fifth, the circumstances are still too new, meaning that the events are fresh in our minds.
I think by 2030, society will be ready for Covid stories. How about a Covid romance? A kid is going stir-crazy and sneaks out of the house to do something exciting. Many people passed away (including my father’s sister), which is always good story material. And who could forget the secret government coverup? It is all there. All we need is a title. Covid II, the reckoning!
You’re the best -Bill
April 30, 2025
As people came to the aid of the wrecked car, I realized I had a dash camera. So, I pulled into a nearby Walgreens parking lot and waited for the other police to arrive. When the police controlled the situation, I flagged down an officer and told him about the video and what I witnessed. He asked me to give him a copy, which I provided it the next day. Then, silence until four weeks ago.
A private investigator called me and asked if I still had the video. I had long since deleted it, which disappointed him. He said there was a lawsuit and asked me to describe what I recalled. There was a long pause when I told him about seeing the kid flying out of the car. Yeah, I knew I would have to testify. So, on Monday, I found myself in a conference room before a video camera and told my story. They had lots of back-and-forth questions and then the big shocker. They had me on video with the officer with whom I spoke.
I have seen myself on video many times, but this was not a Christmas video or work event. No, this was me describing what he had seen in detail. My first thought was, “Man, I loved that shirt.” It was a Dr. Who phone booth with a British flag. So cool. Then, my thoughts turned to amusement as I saw myself in a face mask. After my report, we did a “virtual fist bump” instead of a handshake. So typical of 2021.
Now, I must pivot. “He had a thousand-yard stare.” Do you know what I am referring to? The soldiers returning from Vietnam were subjected to intense action, affecting their mental state. Often, people would talk to them, and it was as if the veterans were staring ahead of them as if they could see the future. What was it like to talk to one of these veterans? I do not know because I was five years old when the Vietnam War ended. So, the only way I can answer this is to ask people who were adults during this time.
My point is that I do not have any direct experience with the thousand-yard stare, but I do with Covid. I hope that my daughter will have a child, and that child will ask me about what it was like during Covid. It will be fun describing all the craziness, but what will be important is that my description will come directly from my experiences. And this brings up the point of this article.
I can write an accurate character interaction during Covid, but not about that “thousand-yard stare.” My only option is to read about the subject or ask a Vietnam veteran. Does the thousand-yard stare exist? Or did a bunch of people make it up? I cannot say for sure.
Well… Did we do fist bumps instead of shaking hands? How about those masks? Did we wear them in public? They look somewhat dorky. People might think that a bunch of people wearing masks is not true. Yet, I was there, and everybody wore masks.
And while I have not read a book or seen a movie set in the Covid time, I think this would make for a great story. How many movies were set in the 70s? Disco, fly collars, bell bottoms, 8-Track players, and all that chest hair. Yet… No deaths, fake news, travel bans, quarantines, or running out of toilet paper. Looking back, not a lot happened in the 70s compared to Covid.
Here is another example. My daughter graduated from Junior High School right in the middle of Covid. Long before graduation, they were conducting virtual classrooms. How did gym work? They had gym class, and the coach made them exercise on camera. Homework, school projects, and group projects? All over the computer. How well did that work? Yeah… Not well.
Her graduation was crazy. We were instructed to arrive in a thirty-minute window and not leave our car. At the first stop, a person was masked and gloved up. She checked in my daughter’s textbooks. Then, we drove to the second stop, where we settled her school credit account. At the third stop, we filled out paperwork and were handed a diploma. In total, eight minutes. How insane is that? There was a dump truck full of story material in my hum-drum life.
Do you remember when they first allowed the vaccine, and there were lines of old people stretching for miles? Drive up Covid testing? X’s on sidewalks telling you where to stand? Only 20 customers are allowed in the store. No exceptions!
Yet… I have not seen one book or movie set in this time frame. Yet, I have seen or read WWII/Korean/Vietnam/Gulf War/Afghanistan stories released during those tragic events. Sure, a few television shows have been adapted to current events, but other than a hastily created documentary, there are no big Covid movies or books. Well, what’s going on?
I have a few theories. First, people wearing masks would not be visually pleasing, so a movie or television show would be difficult. Second, it was a depressing time instead of an exciting or controversial one. Third, many poor decisions would not make for a good story. Fourth, there was not much action. Instead, we spent lots of time at home. Fifth, the circumstances are still too new, meaning that the events are fresh in our minds.
I think by 2030, society will be ready for Covid stories. How about a Covid romance? A kid is going stir-crazy and sneaks out of the house to do something exciting. Many people passed away (including my father’s sister), which is always good story material. And who could forget the secret government coverup? It is all there. All we need is a title. Covid II, the reckoning!
You’re the best -Bill
April 30, 2025
