Jason Z. Christie's Blog, page 36
May 8, 2012
Intentionally Left Blank
I couldn't do it
Not write a poem here
It would be an insult
Blasphemy
An affront to the concept of love
Why can't I do this everyday?
All the time
Write for you
Until
You take my hand
And say it's time to stop
Not write a poem here
It would be an insult
Blasphemy
An affront to the concept of love
Why can't I do this everyday?
All the time
Write for you
Until
You take my hand
And say it's time to stop
White Space
Poetry, like work
Expands
To fill all available space
A consuming passion
An addiction
My mission - church bells
If only in our heads
Sometimes, at night
I hear the train
And imagine
It's bringing me closer
To you
Expands
To fill all available space
A consuming passion
An addiction
My mission - church bells
If only in our heads
Sometimes, at night
I hear the train
And imagine
It's bringing me closer
To you
Art Thief
Call me Commissioner Gordon
Patronizing artists
Acquiring their works
On the cheap
I stole Mona Lisa's smile
And put it on your face
Venus rising, gave her body
So that you would have a place
To house a spirit
So beautiful
Only I can see it
Patronizing artists
Acquiring their works
On the cheap
I stole Mona Lisa's smile
And put it on your face
Venus rising, gave her body
So that you would have a place
To house a spirit
So beautiful
Only I can see it
Dear Johnnie
F-Sa-Su-Mo-Tu
Until I see you
Your poet, randy
Better watch his back
I am a vengeful and jealous dog
Battling myself
For your heart, mind, body and soul
Betting it all
Double or nothing
Every day
Forever
And winning every time
I'm the computer
And I cheat
Until I see you
Your poet, randy
Better watch his back
I am a vengeful and jealous dog
Battling myself
For your heart, mind, body and soul
Betting it all
Double or nothing
Every day
Forever
And winning every time
I'm the computer
And I cheat
May 6, 2012
Sweetest
Her prince was a frog
Her charger got towed
But she was still
The sweetest princess
In all the worlds...
Her charger got towed
But she was still
The sweetest princess
In all the worlds...
April 30, 2012
New Media
My heart is atwitter
At the little things you like
And how I melt
When you kiss my face
Book of our lives
The timelines
I wait
In delight
For each
New chapter...
At the little things you like
And how I melt
When you kiss my face
Book of our lives
The timelines
I wait
In delight
For each
New chapter...
April 25, 2012
October Surprise - No Free Books
If we can start a quiet campaign now and generally agree not to give any books away during the month of October (especially Halloween-themed books!), we can see if we can positively affect the bank accounts of struggling authors.
Do your part to spread the word. A book worth reading is worth paying for. You've stopped deforestation (Okay, not really, but, you know. It's a start.) Now let's stop literary devaluation.
Or perhaps come up with a catchier slogan. But let's stand together and sell some books, indie authors. Stop cannibalizing your sales, just for the month of October.
Heh, okay, I like that one.
Do your part to spread the word. A book worth reading is worth paying for. You've stopped deforestation (Okay, not really, but, you know. It's a start.) Now let's stop literary devaluation.
Or perhaps come up with a catchier slogan. But let's stand together and sell some books, indie authors. Stop cannibalizing your sales, just for the month of October.
Heh, okay, I like that one.
Guest Post - Pandora Poikilos
A reader or writer – which would you rather be?
By Pandora Poikilos - http://pandorapoikilos.com/
I had two passions in my life when I was growing up, reading and writing. As a child, I looked forward to the little hardcover Labybird books that I would be given as presents. Food would finish and clothes I would outgrow but books ... now those were gifts that would last a lifetime.
I learnt about mystery from Nancy Drew, laughter from Adrian Mole, life's complexities from Pip and family life from the March sisters. I would explore more authors later on and in my teen years I would learn to explore my gift to myself, writing. In an era when computers were not a household necessity, I would scribble my thoughts on paper, send them via snail mail and look forward to when I could see my name appear in the local newspapers. Numerous articles later, I was convinced that writing was my talent and went on to get a degree in communications and an internship with an international news agency.
But I was tested and I failed, miserably. I was diagnosed with IIH (Intracranial Hypertension) about four days after I received news about the internship. I convinced myself that if I couldn't write the way I wanted then I wasn't a writer. I gave up on writing and I explored all other options I could think of. I was pushed and shoved into situations I was not comfortable with, let alone happy and kept going one disastrous attempt after another. I needed to find my calling.
Years later and so much more broken than when I started out, I put pen to paper again. This time, I surprised myself. Since then, I've been tested numerous times. Brain surgery, a lump on my back and eyes that cannot stand the glare from a computer screen but I'm not giving up. Not this time.
One particular incident when things got exceedingly difficult stands out. For a short while, my eyesight was so bad I couldn't type the chapters I had handwritten, I felt downright miserable.
Cue the arrival of my knight in shining armour. No, Peas didn't show up on a white horse to take me to a majestic castle, he offered me far more than that. Everyday, he would come home from work, he listened and typed as I read out my work.
We had so much fun, the hours together have even led to the 'birth' of Bruno McGrath but more on that in time to come. For now, I believe that you cannot be a writer if you are not a reader. But having done both I would rather be a writer. To me, it is my breath. Love and light.
By Pandora Poikilos - http://pandorapoikilos.com/
I had two passions in my life when I was growing up, reading and writing. As a child, I looked forward to the little hardcover Labybird books that I would be given as presents. Food would finish and clothes I would outgrow but books ... now those were gifts that would last a lifetime.
I learnt about mystery from Nancy Drew, laughter from Adrian Mole, life's complexities from Pip and family life from the March sisters. I would explore more authors later on and in my teen years I would learn to explore my gift to myself, writing. In an era when computers were not a household necessity, I would scribble my thoughts on paper, send them via snail mail and look forward to when I could see my name appear in the local newspapers. Numerous articles later, I was convinced that writing was my talent and went on to get a degree in communications and an internship with an international news agency.
But I was tested and I failed, miserably. I was diagnosed with IIH (Intracranial Hypertension) about four days after I received news about the internship. I convinced myself that if I couldn't write the way I wanted then I wasn't a writer. I gave up on writing and I explored all other options I could think of. I was pushed and shoved into situations I was not comfortable with, let alone happy and kept going one disastrous attempt after another. I needed to find my calling.
Years later and so much more broken than when I started out, I put pen to paper again. This time, I surprised myself. Since then, I've been tested numerous times. Brain surgery, a lump on my back and eyes that cannot stand the glare from a computer screen but I'm not giving up. Not this time.
One particular incident when things got exceedingly difficult stands out. For a short while, my eyesight was so bad I couldn't type the chapters I had handwritten, I felt downright miserable.
Cue the arrival of my knight in shining armour. No, Peas didn't show up on a white horse to take me to a majestic castle, he offered me far more than that. Everyday, he would come home from work, he listened and typed as I read out my work.
We had so much fun, the hours together have even led to the 'birth' of Bruno McGrath but more on that in time to come. For now, I believe that you cannot be a writer if you are not a reader. But having done both I would rather be a writer. To me, it is my breath. Love and light.
April 24, 2012
$.99 is the New Free
Hey, indie writer. Guess what? Things change.
I know, right? It's crazy. But what worked last year might not work this year. Yes, lots of new Kindle and Nooks and iPads, lots of new readers. And lots and lots of free books filling them up.
Sure, it's great to have 1500 books at your fingertips, in case the zombie apocalypse comes ahead of schedule or whatever, although in that case I hope you have invested in some sort of solar charger. Guess what? Most people will never read 1500 books in their lifetimes.
Game over.
So to sell a book to these people, they'd have to flip through this digital metric shit-ton of books and say to themselves, "None of these are what I want to read. I think I shall go purchase a new one, instead." Then they have to find your obscure ass.
Do you see how unlikely that is? Not to mention, the new ebook machines aren't ebook machines. They're web browsers and Twitterboxes and mobile Facebook units. Angry Birds delivery devices. Do you think your book can compete with Angry Birds? Fuck off.
$.99 books suck all around. People turn their noses up at them, increasingly. The profit margin is practically nil. $.99 screams indie writer. For some reason, a lot of people don't seem to like indie writers. Fuck 'em.
$.99 books move units, though. And they move up the sales charts. Moving up the free charts on Amazon is like...some clever simile I don't feel like coming up with. I don't know. Pissing in the bathtub. Yay! I gave away X amount of books!
Yes, and that is X amount of books you are guaranteed not to sell. Because those people got it for free.
I understand about getting your name out there and acquiring fans. But who wants a bunch of broke people as fans? How likely are they to buy your next book when they already got this one for free? All you really have to do is lay back and wait for the next free run of any given KDP book and it's yours for the clicking.
You're also much more likely to get shit reviews from kooks with an agenda if you give books away. But if you paid $.99 for a book and you didn't like it, that's your fault, not the author's. That's also $.35 in the author's pocket, whether you liked it or not, and actual sales rankings, not a worthless jaunt up the free charts.
So, the next time your KDP Select free promo time rolls around, try making your book $.99 instead. I think you'll be pleased with the results. We need to cultivate book buyers at this point, not book readers. At least I do. I have expensive habits and kids to feed. Girlfriend needs a diamond ring of considerable value. I still want that all black 2010 Chevy Camaro. Hawaii beckons.
You're not going to make it with one book at $.99, no matter what. 10 books at $.99? It could happen. Once you're charting well and things are otherwise running smoothly, then you can switch your price to something profitable without falling back into obscurity. Sure, you have to sell 6 times more books at $.99 to make what you do at $2.99. I'd rather sell 6 than zero, personally.
Writers are as fickle as their readers. I'm sure I'll change my mind in a week or two. But for now, all of my books are $.99, from the 85,000 word thriller to the stoner zombie novella that seems to piss people off to no end.
I wanted to be a writer, not an economist...
Pageburner, Zombie Killa, Radar Love, Hurricane Regina, Perfect Me, Six Stories Short & Sweet - $.99
I know, right? It's crazy. But what worked last year might not work this year. Yes, lots of new Kindle and Nooks and iPads, lots of new readers. And lots and lots of free books filling them up.
Sure, it's great to have 1500 books at your fingertips, in case the zombie apocalypse comes ahead of schedule or whatever, although in that case I hope you have invested in some sort of solar charger. Guess what? Most people will never read 1500 books in their lifetimes.
Game over.
So to sell a book to these people, they'd have to flip through this digital metric shit-ton of books and say to themselves, "None of these are what I want to read. I think I shall go purchase a new one, instead." Then they have to find your obscure ass.
Do you see how unlikely that is? Not to mention, the new ebook machines aren't ebook machines. They're web browsers and Twitterboxes and mobile Facebook units. Angry Birds delivery devices. Do you think your book can compete with Angry Birds? Fuck off.
$.99 books suck all around. People turn their noses up at them, increasingly. The profit margin is practically nil. $.99 screams indie writer. For some reason, a lot of people don't seem to like indie writers. Fuck 'em.
$.99 books move units, though. And they move up the sales charts. Moving up the free charts on Amazon is like...some clever simile I don't feel like coming up with. I don't know. Pissing in the bathtub. Yay! I gave away X amount of books!
Yes, and that is X amount of books you are guaranteed not to sell. Because those people got it for free.
I understand about getting your name out there and acquiring fans. But who wants a bunch of broke people as fans? How likely are they to buy your next book when they already got this one for free? All you really have to do is lay back and wait for the next free run of any given KDP book and it's yours for the clicking.
You're also much more likely to get shit reviews from kooks with an agenda if you give books away. But if you paid $.99 for a book and you didn't like it, that's your fault, not the author's. That's also $.35 in the author's pocket, whether you liked it or not, and actual sales rankings, not a worthless jaunt up the free charts.
So, the next time your KDP Select free promo time rolls around, try making your book $.99 instead. I think you'll be pleased with the results. We need to cultivate book buyers at this point, not book readers. At least I do. I have expensive habits and kids to feed. Girlfriend needs a diamond ring of considerable value. I still want that all black 2010 Chevy Camaro. Hawaii beckons.
You're not going to make it with one book at $.99, no matter what. 10 books at $.99? It could happen. Once you're charting well and things are otherwise running smoothly, then you can switch your price to something profitable without falling back into obscurity. Sure, you have to sell 6 times more books at $.99 to make what you do at $2.99. I'd rather sell 6 than zero, personally.
Writers are as fickle as their readers. I'm sure I'll change my mind in a week or two. But for now, all of my books are $.99, from the 85,000 word thriller to the stoner zombie novella that seems to piss people off to no end.
I wanted to be a writer, not an economist...
Pageburner, Zombie Killa, Radar Love, Hurricane Regina, Perfect Me, Six Stories Short & Sweet - $.99
Supernova
You - my love eternal
Set me ablaze with flames infernal
The best part of the afterlife
My better half
My lighter
The candle
Torchbearer
I made you
And you made me
So who are we to blame?
Set me ablaze with flames infernal
The best part of the afterlife
My better half
My lighter
The candle
Torchbearer
I made you
And you made me
So who are we to blame?
