Doug Farren's Blog
February 17, 2019
February 17, 2019: Tax Tips for Writers
The last of the Peacekeeper series now stands at 25,490 words. It's been slow going over the past few weeks but at least I'm making some progress.
Every year around this time, I put out a short list of tax tips for writers. For the sake of tradition, I'll do so again:
Compare the number that appears on your Amazon 1099 with the total of all the amounts that have been deposited into your account. You will notice there's a small discrepancy. The difference is caused by the foreign currency conversion fee that you have been charged for overseas sales. This is a business expense and should be reported as such on your return.If you have a profit, make sure you fill out the 1040 SE form. You will be required to pay your fair share of social security and Medicare taxes. Make sure you deduct these from your business income. I believe you can deduct up to 40%. The reason I don't know is because I had a slight loss this year.Travel expenses (half of your meals, parking, taxi, air travel, lodging, etc.) are all valid business expenses and should be claimed.Keep meticulous records! I can't stress this enough. If you are ever audited, the IRS will want to see receipts and a mileage log if you claim mileage. These days, such records can be scanned and securely stored in the cloud.Review your tax return with a critical eye. This is especially important if someone else does your taxes. I found a mistake on my return several years ago and had to file a corrected return. Don't just assume that the person who prepared your taxes knows what they are doing. You know your business better than anyone else. You should know what you're sending the IRS as well.My schedule is going to be pretty busy over the next month or so. I am attending a convention from March 1st through the 3rd. Even though it is only an hour's drive from here, I plan on spending the nights there. This will give me more time to write as well as hang out in the author showroom until closing. I don't plan on making enough to cover my room expense, but I'm going to get a lot of writing done and I hope to meet some interesting people as well.
The very next weekend, I start working 12-hour days. The nuclear plant I work at will be shutting down to refuel and that means 12-hour days. My job during the outage will be to keep the reporting systems running smoothly and to work on all the programs I maintain. The outage will last for 25 days. Don't expect me to be doing any writing during the outage, there's not going to be any time!
Every year around this time, I put out a short list of tax tips for writers. For the sake of tradition, I'll do so again:
Compare the number that appears on your Amazon 1099 with the total of all the amounts that have been deposited into your account. You will notice there's a small discrepancy. The difference is caused by the foreign currency conversion fee that you have been charged for overseas sales. This is a business expense and should be reported as such on your return.If you have a profit, make sure you fill out the 1040 SE form. You will be required to pay your fair share of social security and Medicare taxes. Make sure you deduct these from your business income. I believe you can deduct up to 40%. The reason I don't know is because I had a slight loss this year.Travel expenses (half of your meals, parking, taxi, air travel, lodging, etc.) are all valid business expenses and should be claimed.Keep meticulous records! I can't stress this enough. If you are ever audited, the IRS will want to see receipts and a mileage log if you claim mileage. These days, such records can be scanned and securely stored in the cloud.Review your tax return with a critical eye. This is especially important if someone else does your taxes. I found a mistake on my return several years ago and had to file a corrected return. Don't just assume that the person who prepared your taxes knows what they are doing. You know your business better than anyone else. You should know what you're sending the IRS as well.My schedule is going to be pretty busy over the next month or so. I am attending a convention from March 1st through the 3rd. Even though it is only an hour's drive from here, I plan on spending the nights there. This will give me more time to write as well as hang out in the author showroom until closing. I don't plan on making enough to cover my room expense, but I'm going to get a lot of writing done and I hope to meet some interesting people as well.
The very next weekend, I start working 12-hour days. The nuclear plant I work at will be shutting down to refuel and that means 12-hour days. My job during the outage will be to keep the reporting systems running smoothly and to work on all the programs I maintain. The outage will last for 25 days. Don't expect me to be doing any writing during the outage, there's not going to be any time!
February 3, 2019
February 3, 2019: Diversity
My current work in progress (the last of the Peacekeeper books) stands at 22,808 words putting me solidly at the approximate 25% point. If all goes well, the novel might be ready for publication by the end of this year. We shall see.
One of the primary reasons I created a Twitter account was to stay informed on the activities of the people I've met at Launch Pad. It has also been an educational experience as writers like to share some of their important thoughts on the platform. The other day, I read a tweet from Katrina Jackson that one of the people I follow had replied to. The tweet basically asked why authors found it necessary to identify the race of their non-white characters yet did not identify the race of the white characters in their works? Her answer is simple and it points out one of the major issues with our society in general. Writers point out that a character (minor or not) is black, or Asian, or Native American because most readers automatically assume the characters in almost any novel are white.
Her point was well taken by many other writers, myself included. And, I've done the same in my books. I did it to point out the fact that the universe I write in is diverse and race, sexual orientation, and personal beliefs are no longer used to denigrate a person or categorize them into a marginalized group. A writer should not have to point out that a character's race unless that fact plays an important part in the book. I never thought about it, but pointing out a character's race is like a person describing a new employee to a significant other and specifying that person's race only if the person is not white. It means we see others who are not white as different when they are not. We are all human.
There are instances where a person's racial heritage should be identified. I have a Native American character in one of my books and the fact that he was Native American played an important part in the book. This would be the only case where pointing out a character's race should be done.
This discussion about racial identification can also apply to sexual orientation. If you want to write a diverse book and include people of all colors, customs, beliefs, and sexual orientation, you don't have to come out and point a finger at a character and say "she's lesbian" or "he's black" or "he was once a she". If it's important to the plot of the story, then work it into the prose in a manner that the reader can clearly see who the character is without having to resort to a pointed declaration. When someone walks into a room, they don't stop in the doorway and shout "Hi! I'm a black transgender person!". Pointing out a character's race or sexual orientation during the first description of that character is like doing the same thing.
We are all human. Who cares what the color of our skin is or who we love. We are all human.
One of the primary reasons I created a Twitter account was to stay informed on the activities of the people I've met at Launch Pad. It has also been an educational experience as writers like to share some of their important thoughts on the platform. The other day, I read a tweet from Katrina Jackson that one of the people I follow had replied to. The tweet basically asked why authors found it necessary to identify the race of their non-white characters yet did not identify the race of the white characters in their works? Her answer is simple and it points out one of the major issues with our society in general. Writers point out that a character (minor or not) is black, or Asian, or Native American because most readers automatically assume the characters in almost any novel are white.
Her point was well taken by many other writers, myself included. And, I've done the same in my books. I did it to point out the fact that the universe I write in is diverse and race, sexual orientation, and personal beliefs are no longer used to denigrate a person or categorize them into a marginalized group. A writer should not have to point out that a character's race unless that fact plays an important part in the book. I never thought about it, but pointing out a character's race is like a person describing a new employee to a significant other and specifying that person's race only if the person is not white. It means we see others who are not white as different when they are not. We are all human.
There are instances where a person's racial heritage should be identified. I have a Native American character in one of my books and the fact that he was Native American played an important part in the book. This would be the only case where pointing out a character's race should be done.
This discussion about racial identification can also apply to sexual orientation. If you want to write a diverse book and include people of all colors, customs, beliefs, and sexual orientation, you don't have to come out and point a finger at a character and say "she's lesbian" or "he's black" or "he was once a she". If it's important to the plot of the story, then work it into the prose in a manner that the reader can clearly see who the character is without having to resort to a pointed declaration. When someone walks into a room, they don't stop in the doorway and shout "Hi! I'm a black transgender person!". Pointing out a character's race or sexual orientation during the first description of that character is like doing the same thing.
We are all human. Who cares what the color of our skin is or who we love. We are all human.
January 20, 2019
January 20, 2019 - Snow!
Last night, we had our first major snowstorm for this winter. The weather forecast had predicted 8 to 12 inches and people flocked to the store to buy milk, cereal, bread, and other supplies. Last night when I went to bed, we had received only about 2 inches. This morning, the story is different. I can look out my window and see a drift at least knee-deep. The plow has been up our street and the end of my driveway is blocked off by a wall of snow. Soon, when the sun begins to make an appearance, I will begin the process of clearing off the driveway. I also do our neighbors, especially because one is in her 80's and recently lost her husband.
I grew up in Minnesota and I can easily recall enjoying the winter. We would go outside in our snowsuits and build snow forts, tunnels in the snow, snowmen, and something we invented -- snow mazes. When I turned 14, I got my snowmobile license and then I could go snowmobiling. Those days are now gone as the amount of snowfall in recent decades has not even come close to what I remember as a child. Can people these days imagine snow deep enough to dig tunnels through! I don't know how much we actually got so far because of the drifting but even after last night's major snowstorm, it's not deep enough for even a child to build a tunnel.
This sudden shift in weather reminds me about a world-building tip that every author needs to be aware of. If you have a planet that can support life, then you most likely can't have a 'water planet' or a 'desert world' or a 'forest moon'. Planets (and moons large enough to retain an atmosphere) will always have a variable climate. Earth's climate is caused by its axial tilt. Tip it to far and you have a world of harsh extremes. Tip it closer to being upright and now you have a world with a more even climate but one that changes with latitude. The equator would be burning up and the poles would be a frozen wasteland.
The point is, if you need to set your story in a forest, chose a location on a planet that is close to an ocean and near the planet's equator. If you need to be in a frozen landscape, your choices are to chose winter in a location where the climate changes, the poles of a planet, or a world that is too far away from its sun to keep it warm. In the later case, only a thin band near the equator would be warm enough to support much life. If the equators are cold, imagine how cold the poles would be!
I've been doing some writing and the next Peacekeeper book is about 1/4 of the way done. I'm going to get some more written this morning until the sun starts to show itself and then I will be out in the snow playing with my snowblower and shoveling.
I grew up in Minnesota and I can easily recall enjoying the winter. We would go outside in our snowsuits and build snow forts, tunnels in the snow, snowmen, and something we invented -- snow mazes. When I turned 14, I got my snowmobile license and then I could go snowmobiling. Those days are now gone as the amount of snowfall in recent decades has not even come close to what I remember as a child. Can people these days imagine snow deep enough to dig tunnels through! I don't know how much we actually got so far because of the drifting but even after last night's major snowstorm, it's not deep enough for even a child to build a tunnel.
This sudden shift in weather reminds me about a world-building tip that every author needs to be aware of. If you have a planet that can support life, then you most likely can't have a 'water planet' or a 'desert world' or a 'forest moon'. Planets (and moons large enough to retain an atmosphere) will always have a variable climate. Earth's climate is caused by its axial tilt. Tip it to far and you have a world of harsh extremes. Tip it closer to being upright and now you have a world with a more even climate but one that changes with latitude. The equator would be burning up and the poles would be a frozen wasteland.
The point is, if you need to set your story in a forest, chose a location on a planet that is close to an ocean and near the planet's equator. If you need to be in a frozen landscape, your choices are to chose winter in a location where the climate changes, the poles of a planet, or a world that is too far away from its sun to keep it warm. In the later case, only a thin band near the equator would be warm enough to support much life. If the equators are cold, imagine how cold the poles would be!
I've been doing some writing and the next Peacekeeper book is about 1/4 of the way done. I'm going to get some more written this morning until the sun starts to show itself and then I will be out in the snow playing with my snowblower and shoveling.
January 13, 2019
January 13,2019 - Writing
I made pretty good progress on my next novel over the holiday vacation. As of right now, the new book has just under 18,000 words which puts me roughly 1/4 of the way done. Of course, that's just the first draft. I am, once again, wondering if spending my time writing is worth it. My weekend mornings are the only time I have to myself to do what I want and for years I've spent the vast majority of that time writing. It was worthwhile when sales were doing good. Recently, sales have been abysmal and I'm finding myself questioning my choice of what to do in the mornings.
Don't get me wrong--I love to write. But writing for a tiny audience with the prospect of not making enough royalty from the book to cover the cost of the artwork and the copyright fee does not make much business sense. I've always treated my writing as a business. I pulled out of Smashwords and went exclusively KDP based on an analysis of sales and a three-month long trial period. If a retail store does not make enough in sales to cover their expenses, the store closes. For a self-published author, if the sales don't make enough to cover expenses and don't provide enough financial compensation to warrant giving up the time to write, then the business should be closed. I'm close to pulling the plug.
I will finish the book I'm working on now. I'm not sure when that will happen because the incentive is not really there. But, this novel could very well be the last of the Peacekeeper series and it could be the last book I write for a long time.
Why are sales slumping? It's hard to say. I think it might be the explosion of self-published authors out there. I do think that if people would provide an honest review after reading a book authors would get more readers. Over the years, I've sold about 10,000 copies of Translight. I have 66 reviews. That's pathetic. I haven't checked, but I've heard many other authors complain about how many times they've found their books on a pirate site. One romance writer found her book on a pirate site before it was even published! So, part of the reason has to be the fact that people don't think they should pay for things. Authors spend a lot of time working on their books and they want to be paid for their effort. Most aren't expecting to get rich. But every author out there wants to be compensated for the time it takes to produce a novel.
It's Sunday. I sort of feel like writing, but I have some other things I want to do as well. I will be forced to decide how to spend my valuable time as soon as I post this. My decision will be based on how much I want to write, what I think I will gain from spending my time doing so, and how much I want to do the other things on my list. This morning, it's a tough choice and I'm still undecided.
Don't get me wrong--I love to write. But writing for a tiny audience with the prospect of not making enough royalty from the book to cover the cost of the artwork and the copyright fee does not make much business sense. I've always treated my writing as a business. I pulled out of Smashwords and went exclusively KDP based on an analysis of sales and a three-month long trial period. If a retail store does not make enough in sales to cover their expenses, the store closes. For a self-published author, if the sales don't make enough to cover expenses and don't provide enough financial compensation to warrant giving up the time to write, then the business should be closed. I'm close to pulling the plug.
I will finish the book I'm working on now. I'm not sure when that will happen because the incentive is not really there. But, this novel could very well be the last of the Peacekeeper series and it could be the last book I write for a long time.
Why are sales slumping? It's hard to say. I think it might be the explosion of self-published authors out there. I do think that if people would provide an honest review after reading a book authors would get more readers. Over the years, I've sold about 10,000 copies of Translight. I have 66 reviews. That's pathetic. I haven't checked, but I've heard many other authors complain about how many times they've found their books on a pirate site. One romance writer found her book on a pirate site before it was even published! So, part of the reason has to be the fact that people don't think they should pay for things. Authors spend a lot of time working on their books and they want to be paid for their effort. Most aren't expecting to get rich. But every author out there wants to be compensated for the time it takes to produce a novel.
It's Sunday. I sort of feel like writing, but I have some other things I want to do as well. I will be forced to decide how to spend my valuable time as soon as I post this. My decision will be based on how much I want to write, what I think I will gain from spending my time doing so, and how much I want to do the other things on my list. This morning, it's a tough choice and I'm still undecided.
December 30, 2018
December 30, 2018 - The Subconscious
The new novel now has 12,360 words in it and more will be added as soon as this has been posted. I plan on working on it every chance I get. I hope to have the first draft done by the time I return from Launch Pad next year. Speaking of next year -- I hope everyone has a happy new year and has plans to make 2019 better than 2018. These are stressful times and spreading a little joy to others is one way to help ease that stress. Respect others and extend a helping hand when you can.
It's strange how the subconscious mind works. Yesterday, while in the shower, a thought popped into my head informing me of something I've overlooked in the novel I'm working on. I wasn't thinking about the book nor did I have any idea I'd forgotten something. But, there it was--poof! This has happened to me more times than I can count. It's as if the subconscious mind is continually reviewing things and if it finds something that needs to be addressed it alerts the higher mind to what it has found. That's why I've learned to blank my mind as best I can when I'm trying to solve a complex problem. I just look at it and let the super parallel processor called my brain work on it for a moment. The solution usually appears and if it does not I know it will pop up sometime in the near future when I least expect it.
Even though my birthday is not until next week, my wife and her sisters decided to celebrate it yesterday. We went out to a local restaurant where they presented me with a couple of cards. The presentation of gifts was forbidden--has been for some time. My wife managed to find the best birthday card I've ever received. As you know, I like dragons. I write about them and love watching them in movies--especially dragons that have a relationship with people. My primary reason for watching Game of Thrones is because of the dragons. Look at the card she got me:
This is a card I will keep for many years. I plan on taking it to work so I can put it on display.
Even though I'm still on vacation, I did have to drive into work yesterday. Our Information Technology department pushed some updates to our computers. This triggers a forced restart a day or two later. I can tell when the production computers are not running because there is a report that goes out at 0420 every morning. I have it sent to my personal email so I can monitor the system. If that report does not show up, there's a problem. I also get emails of errors when they occur and another when the error clears. the system is robust enough to handle most catastrophic network failures and minor issues with the database. Yesterday, the report did not show up and no error message was received. This told me that the system had been restarted. I drove in, logged back in to the two production servers, and was back home in about an hour. These are not true servers--just laptops running multiple Microsoft Access programs. Keeping them running is part of my job.
This concludes my last post for 2018. See you all in 2019!
It's strange how the subconscious mind works. Yesterday, while in the shower, a thought popped into my head informing me of something I've overlooked in the novel I'm working on. I wasn't thinking about the book nor did I have any idea I'd forgotten something. But, there it was--poof! This has happened to me more times than I can count. It's as if the subconscious mind is continually reviewing things and if it finds something that needs to be addressed it alerts the higher mind to what it has found. That's why I've learned to blank my mind as best I can when I'm trying to solve a complex problem. I just look at it and let the super parallel processor called my brain work on it for a moment. The solution usually appears and if it does not I know it will pop up sometime in the near future when I least expect it.
Even though my birthday is not until next week, my wife and her sisters decided to celebrate it yesterday. We went out to a local restaurant where they presented me with a couple of cards. The presentation of gifts was forbidden--has been for some time. My wife managed to find the best birthday card I've ever received. As you know, I like dragons. I write about them and love watching them in movies--especially dragons that have a relationship with people. My primary reason for watching Game of Thrones is because of the dragons. Look at the card she got me:
This is a card I will keep for many years. I plan on taking it to work so I can put it on display.
Even though I'm still on vacation, I did have to drive into work yesterday. Our Information Technology department pushed some updates to our computers. This triggers a forced restart a day or two later. I can tell when the production computers are not running because there is a report that goes out at 0420 every morning. I have it sent to my personal email so I can monitor the system. If that report does not show up, there's a problem. I also get emails of errors when they occur and another when the error clears. the system is robust enough to handle most catastrophic network failures and minor issues with the database. Yesterday, the report did not show up and no error message was received. This told me that the system had been restarted. I drove in, logged back in to the two production servers, and was back home in about an hour. These are not true servers--just laptops running multiple Microsoft Access programs. Keeping them running is part of my job.
This concludes my last post for 2018. See you all in 2019!
December 23, 2018
December 23, 2018 -- Writing again
I am on vacation and won't be returning to work until January 2nd of next year. Since I've finished my website programming books, I decided to get back to work on writing Peacekeeper 4. Since the manuscript has languished for so long, I had to go back and re-read what I'd written several months ago. Now that I'm in the right state of mind, I found several issues with the original prose and made some changes. As of early yesterday morning, I'm now adding new material. If all goes well, I should have a first draft finished by the end of next year's Launch Pad.
APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) has posted a short video I believe every human on Earth should be forced to watch and to think about. It is a sight that only a handful of humans has ever witnessed with their own eyes and one that no human will ever see again until we return to the moon. The incredible real-time video of Earth rising over the moon's horizon puts a new perspective on our world.
Earth is a beautiful world--especially from space. It gave us life. It is our mother and our father. Yet, we treat it as if it is a slave or worse. It provides us with everything we need to thrive but the vast majority of people take it for granted. We are ruining our planet--the only planet we are capable of living on and our only home--at an alarming and increasing rate. And for what?
There is a huge difference between needing something and wanting something. We need to eat but we want a thick juicy prime steak. We need a place to live but we want the best house we can't afford and a second one to 'get away' to. We need a job so we can live a secure life but we want to accumulate wealth even if it is at the expense of others. We need transportation but we want to be seen driving an expensive luxury car. When the needs of every person on this planet are met, then we can think about obtaining the things we want. What kind of person are you? Do you even try to help those less fortunate than you? If you have the means and you don't try, what kind of person does that make you? "A survivor!" some will say. Not in my book and not in any of the books that spell out how a person of any of Earth's religions are to live their lives. It's time we started working for everyone instead of for ourselves.
I certainly hope that the world's population will wake up, put an end to greed, and set ourselves on a path of a sustainable relationship with Nature. I'm done ranting about this topic. I promise to do my best as a human in 2019 and beyond to make this world a better place not only for myself but for everyone and I will refuse to support or socialize with those who won't.
Have a happy new year and let's all try our best to make 2019 the beginning of a new respect for our planet and for each and every respectable human inhabiting it.
APOD (Astronomy Picture of the Day) has posted a short video I believe every human on Earth should be forced to watch and to think about. It is a sight that only a handful of humans has ever witnessed with their own eyes and one that no human will ever see again until we return to the moon. The incredible real-time video of Earth rising over the moon's horizon puts a new perspective on our world.
Earth is a beautiful world--especially from space. It gave us life. It is our mother and our father. Yet, we treat it as if it is a slave or worse. It provides us with everything we need to thrive but the vast majority of people take it for granted. We are ruining our planet--the only planet we are capable of living on and our only home--at an alarming and increasing rate. And for what?
There is a huge difference between needing something and wanting something. We need to eat but we want a thick juicy prime steak. We need a place to live but we want the best house we can't afford and a second one to 'get away' to. We need a job so we can live a secure life but we want to accumulate wealth even if it is at the expense of others. We need transportation but we want to be seen driving an expensive luxury car. When the needs of every person on this planet are met, then we can think about obtaining the things we want. What kind of person are you? Do you even try to help those less fortunate than you? If you have the means and you don't try, what kind of person does that make you? "A survivor!" some will say. Not in my book and not in any of the books that spell out how a person of any of Earth's religions are to live their lives. It's time we started working for everyone instead of for ourselves.
I certainly hope that the world's population will wake up, put an end to greed, and set ourselves on a path of a sustainable relationship with Nature. I'm done ranting about this topic. I promise to do my best as a human in 2019 and beyond to make this world a better place not only for myself but for everyone and I will refuse to support or socialize with those who won't.
Have a happy new year and let's all try our best to make 2019 the beginning of a new respect for our planet and for each and every respectable human inhabiting it.
December 16, 2018
December 16, 2018
Yesterday, while at B&N, I finished reading PHP and MySQL Web Development. This was the last book in a large series of books I've been reading to increase my knowledge of how to build a web page. I've only scratched the surface and I doubt I will ever need even the small amount of stuff I've learned so far. But, it was something I wanted to do. I plan on putting some of this knowledge to work on upgrading my author website. But, now that I've finished my reading assignments, it's time to get back to writing.
Peacekeeper 4 has been simmering on the back burner for a long time now. The itch to write is returning. I start my Christmas vacation next Friday and that's when I will be getting back into writing. I hope to write every morning until I return to work in 2019. If all goes well, I should have a very good start on the book by the end of my vacation.
The price drop has caused a small increase in sales. Based on this, I will keep my books at $2.99. This is where I had my books priced for a long time. Several years ago, I read that books priced this low were not viewed as being worth buying because readers assumed that the author priced them so low because they weren't that good. Even though I found this to be a bit odd, I decided to follow the article's advice and priced my books to reflect the fact that I have had good reviews and I am an active member of SFWA. Sales did seem to go up and I was happy.
Several months ago, sales began to fall and then hit a low I hadn't seen since I uploaded my first novel back in 2009. The reason, I believe is people have come to expect rock-bottom prices on Amazon for fiction. I'm not greedy, so I dropped the price to $2.99. This is the lowest price I can place my books and still collect 70% royalties. I've been toying with the idea of putting the first Peacekeeper book at $0.99 to see what happens. I'm still undecided at this point.
I think one of the things that has interfered with my desire to write is the current political situation in the United States. We have a President and a government that seems intent on dismantling every rule and law that has been put in place to protect the environment. This government acts as if they were elected to serve large corporations instead of the people they are supposed to be representing. In my opinion, they are nothing more than a bunch of rich, greedy, narrow-minded people who have no ability to care for the hard-working people who elected them. Big corporations are not interested in anything other than profit. They are driven by greed and they are sending this world into a climate disaster that will affect everyone on the planet.
We need a government that believes in science. That understands the long-term consequences of their actions. That cares for the people they were elected to serve. We need laws and a law enforcement organization that holds people accountable for their actions including the rich. We need to tax the rich so they are upholding their fair share of the burden of running this country. The rich are not privileged. They think they are because they can buy their way out of trouble and bury the truth of what kind of people they really are. I wish there was a way to outlaw greed.
It's time for me to go back to my own universe. To immerse myself in a society where most of the people actually work toward the betterment of everyone instead of looking out only for themselves. Time to start writing again.
Peacekeeper 4 has been simmering on the back burner for a long time now. The itch to write is returning. I start my Christmas vacation next Friday and that's when I will be getting back into writing. I hope to write every morning until I return to work in 2019. If all goes well, I should have a very good start on the book by the end of my vacation.
The price drop has caused a small increase in sales. Based on this, I will keep my books at $2.99. This is where I had my books priced for a long time. Several years ago, I read that books priced this low were not viewed as being worth buying because readers assumed that the author priced them so low because they weren't that good. Even though I found this to be a bit odd, I decided to follow the article's advice and priced my books to reflect the fact that I have had good reviews and I am an active member of SFWA. Sales did seem to go up and I was happy.
Several months ago, sales began to fall and then hit a low I hadn't seen since I uploaded my first novel back in 2009. The reason, I believe is people have come to expect rock-bottom prices on Amazon for fiction. I'm not greedy, so I dropped the price to $2.99. This is the lowest price I can place my books and still collect 70% royalties. I've been toying with the idea of putting the first Peacekeeper book at $0.99 to see what happens. I'm still undecided at this point.
I think one of the things that has interfered with my desire to write is the current political situation in the United States. We have a President and a government that seems intent on dismantling every rule and law that has been put in place to protect the environment. This government acts as if they were elected to serve large corporations instead of the people they are supposed to be representing. In my opinion, they are nothing more than a bunch of rich, greedy, narrow-minded people who have no ability to care for the hard-working people who elected them. Big corporations are not interested in anything other than profit. They are driven by greed and they are sending this world into a climate disaster that will affect everyone on the planet.
We need a government that believes in science. That understands the long-term consequences of their actions. That cares for the people they were elected to serve. We need laws and a law enforcement organization that holds people accountable for their actions including the rich. We need to tax the rich so they are upholding their fair share of the burden of running this country. The rich are not privileged. They think they are because they can buy their way out of trouble and bury the truth of what kind of people they really are. I wish there was a way to outlaw greed.
It's time for me to go back to my own universe. To immerse myself in a society where most of the people actually work toward the betterment of everyone instead of looking out only for themselves. Time to start writing again.
December 2, 2018
December 2, 2018
Climate Change Report
The day after I saw the news that the latest report on climate change was out, I downloaded a copy and started reading. It's a massive work with every scientific fact backed up by references to the original data. There were a lot of other things I could have done, but the report was important and I wanted to know what was in it. Even though I just read the highlights and some of the selected details, it still took me several hours to digest. It is an eye-opening report. You can get your own copy from the official government website. Our planet, the only home humanity currently knows, is in danger. I'm almost 61 and many of the changes that will take place will become starkly visible in my lifetime. Those changes will become worse and my kids will have to live in a world that is becoming hostile to life. It's depressing.
New Cell Phone
About six months ago, my 3-year-old HTC 10 smartphone (which was the flagship phone for HTC when I purchased it) began to reboot itself when it hit 25% battery level. It would enter into a continuous reboot loop and required a hard restart to fix. Battery life began to rapidly decline. About a month ago, I started to get fed up with it and began researching for a new cell phone. For a long time, I had my eye set on a Google Pixel 3 but the cost was prohibitive. Last week, my HTC battery was discharging at a rate of 1% every 1.5 minutes and even starting from a full charge would not last the night in standby mode. By this time, my dad had purchased a new phone after doing a bunch of research and he settled on the Moto G6. The specs looked good.
The Moto G6 processor is actually less powerful than my older HTC 10. But, the phone runs near stock Android. Now, I'm a tech nerd and I've always enjoyed owning high-tech stuff. The practical side of my brain was telling me I did not need the power of a flagship phone. I had to remind myself that today's phones are built to become obsolete in 3 years because of the nonreplaceable battery. That pretty much ensures that someone will need to buy a new phone every 3 to 4 years. Did I really need a $1,000 flagship phone every 4 years? The answer is no. I bought the G6.
Phones in the Android One program run near stock Android. My phone was clear of bloatware and even though it has the same memory capacity as my HTC I have more room remaining after reloading all of my apps. It is snappy and runs everything I've thrown at it (I don't play games). My only complaint (which was easily corrected) was the fact that the phone was so slippery I couldn't set it down on any cloth surface without it slowly sliding to the floor. A nice rubber case solved that problem. I will be sticking with Motorola Android One phones from now on and I will never buy a flagship phone. I can't justify the cost and I don't need the insane specs of a high-end phone.
Book Sales and the Itch to Write
A couple weeks ago, I said that the itch to write was gone. I also said I was going to drop the already low prices on my books to $2.99 (the lowest price I can set and still make 70% royalties). The drop in price has caused a small uptick in sales. I've been spending my time learning PHP and enjoying my time off. The itch is beginning to return but my desire to complete my website developer education is overriding my desire to get back to writing. I will finish reading this book on PHP and MySQL and then I will consider getting back to writing. Unlike a romance writer, I don't have a fan base that is anxiously awaiting the release of my next book. There's no hurry. Nobody has been sending me emails asking me to please hurry up and write another book. I like to write, I like to see my books in print, and I love to see a sale because I know someone is reading my story. But I also love computer programming and learning new technologies and languages. For now, the writing will be taking a back seat while I satisfy another itch.
The day after I saw the news that the latest report on climate change was out, I downloaded a copy and started reading. It's a massive work with every scientific fact backed up by references to the original data. There were a lot of other things I could have done, but the report was important and I wanted to know what was in it. Even though I just read the highlights and some of the selected details, it still took me several hours to digest. It is an eye-opening report. You can get your own copy from the official government website. Our planet, the only home humanity currently knows, is in danger. I'm almost 61 and many of the changes that will take place will become starkly visible in my lifetime. Those changes will become worse and my kids will have to live in a world that is becoming hostile to life. It's depressing.
New Cell Phone
About six months ago, my 3-year-old HTC 10 smartphone (which was the flagship phone for HTC when I purchased it) began to reboot itself when it hit 25% battery level. It would enter into a continuous reboot loop and required a hard restart to fix. Battery life began to rapidly decline. About a month ago, I started to get fed up with it and began researching for a new cell phone. For a long time, I had my eye set on a Google Pixel 3 but the cost was prohibitive. Last week, my HTC battery was discharging at a rate of 1% every 1.5 minutes and even starting from a full charge would not last the night in standby mode. By this time, my dad had purchased a new phone after doing a bunch of research and he settled on the Moto G6. The specs looked good.
The Moto G6 processor is actually less powerful than my older HTC 10. But, the phone runs near stock Android. Now, I'm a tech nerd and I've always enjoyed owning high-tech stuff. The practical side of my brain was telling me I did not need the power of a flagship phone. I had to remind myself that today's phones are built to become obsolete in 3 years because of the nonreplaceable battery. That pretty much ensures that someone will need to buy a new phone every 3 to 4 years. Did I really need a $1,000 flagship phone every 4 years? The answer is no. I bought the G6.
Phones in the Android One program run near stock Android. My phone was clear of bloatware and even though it has the same memory capacity as my HTC I have more room remaining after reloading all of my apps. It is snappy and runs everything I've thrown at it (I don't play games). My only complaint (which was easily corrected) was the fact that the phone was so slippery I couldn't set it down on any cloth surface without it slowly sliding to the floor. A nice rubber case solved that problem. I will be sticking with Motorola Android One phones from now on and I will never buy a flagship phone. I can't justify the cost and I don't need the insane specs of a high-end phone.
Book Sales and the Itch to Write
A couple weeks ago, I said that the itch to write was gone. I also said I was going to drop the already low prices on my books to $2.99 (the lowest price I can set and still make 70% royalties). The drop in price has caused a small uptick in sales. I've been spending my time learning PHP and enjoying my time off. The itch is beginning to return but my desire to complete my website developer education is overriding my desire to get back to writing. I will finish reading this book on PHP and MySQL and then I will consider getting back to writing. Unlike a romance writer, I don't have a fan base that is anxiously awaiting the release of my next book. There's no hurry. Nobody has been sending me emails asking me to please hurry up and write another book. I like to write, I like to see my books in print, and I love to see a sale because I know someone is reading my story. But I also love computer programming and learning new technologies and languages. For now, the writing will be taking a back seat while I satisfy another itch.
November 25, 2018
November 25, 2018: What our nation could be
I realize this blog has a low following, but this is the best platform I have to express myself to the public. This morning's Twitter feed produced a report on the near absence of cash transactions in Switzerland. Over breakfast, I mentioned this to my wife and she wondered why we Americans still relied on cash as much as we do. The answer is fairly simple--we have never implemented a standard.
Here in the U.S. we have Google Pay, Chase Pay, PayPal, iPay, and (because Walmart won't accept anything else) we have Walmart Pay. The ability to use these payment methods is based on a standard called NFC which is available on almost every single cell phone in use today. But the actual payment systems are incompatible and can't communicate with each other. If I want to use my phone to pay for something, I need multiple apps installed and I would need to know which one is accepted at the store I'm in. Also, as far as I know, there's no easy way for me to accept electronic payments if I'm selling books at a convention.
Switzerland has implemented a standard and it's working. My wife then asked a simple question, "Why haven't we done something like that?" Why indeed? This kicked off a whole series of thoughts as my scifi brain created an alternate history of the United States. A history where we had a government that actually used its authority to benefit the people instead of lining the pockets of the rich who don't really need any more money. So where did this take me? Allow me to share a dream with you.
Instead of a nation with multiple types of electronic payment systems, the government steps in and calls for the creation of a single standard. There may be multiple e-pay companies, but a person can choose to use any one of them and they will all work anywhere. If you can't afford to buy a cell phone, you can purchase a small pocket device with the application pre-installed so you can make electronic payments. Problem solved, no more money, no more bank robberies, and robbing a store is no longer profitable because there's no cash to be had.
That was simple. Now let's expand on that a bit. Instead of allowing greed to rule, the United States decides to implement universal health care. Doctors are paid a good wage and take care of anyone who walks through the doors without having to worry if the patient can pay. Drugs prices are fully regulated with the cost of the drug based on the cost of development as well as the cost of the materials instead of how much the drug companies can extort the people who need the drugs. Laws are passed and strictly enforced: Speeding is detected by a network of cameras and people who refuse to slow down have their license revoked. A standard put in place scans a person's driver's license to ensure it is valid and if not the car refuses to start.
Living conditions are guaranteed and slum-lords are severely punished. Companies compete for the loyalty of customers but share information that benefits the nation as a whole. Monetary transactions and business dealings are fully transparent and violations of the law are swiftly dealt with.
Given this type of government (for the people, by the people) and a nation of people who care for each other and work towards the common good instead of fighting over racial and cultural issues, this country would be unstoppable.
But, it's a dream and I know it will never come true except in one of my books.
Here in the U.S. we have Google Pay, Chase Pay, PayPal, iPay, and (because Walmart won't accept anything else) we have Walmart Pay. The ability to use these payment methods is based on a standard called NFC which is available on almost every single cell phone in use today. But the actual payment systems are incompatible and can't communicate with each other. If I want to use my phone to pay for something, I need multiple apps installed and I would need to know which one is accepted at the store I'm in. Also, as far as I know, there's no easy way for me to accept electronic payments if I'm selling books at a convention.
Switzerland has implemented a standard and it's working. My wife then asked a simple question, "Why haven't we done something like that?" Why indeed? This kicked off a whole series of thoughts as my scifi brain created an alternate history of the United States. A history where we had a government that actually used its authority to benefit the people instead of lining the pockets of the rich who don't really need any more money. So where did this take me? Allow me to share a dream with you.
Instead of a nation with multiple types of electronic payment systems, the government steps in and calls for the creation of a single standard. There may be multiple e-pay companies, but a person can choose to use any one of them and they will all work anywhere. If you can't afford to buy a cell phone, you can purchase a small pocket device with the application pre-installed so you can make electronic payments. Problem solved, no more money, no more bank robberies, and robbing a store is no longer profitable because there's no cash to be had.
That was simple. Now let's expand on that a bit. Instead of allowing greed to rule, the United States decides to implement universal health care. Doctors are paid a good wage and take care of anyone who walks through the doors without having to worry if the patient can pay. Drugs prices are fully regulated with the cost of the drug based on the cost of development as well as the cost of the materials instead of how much the drug companies can extort the people who need the drugs. Laws are passed and strictly enforced: Speeding is detected by a network of cameras and people who refuse to slow down have their license revoked. A standard put in place scans a person's driver's license to ensure it is valid and if not the car refuses to start.
Living conditions are guaranteed and slum-lords are severely punished. Companies compete for the loyalty of customers but share information that benefits the nation as a whole. Monetary transactions and business dealings are fully transparent and violations of the law are swiftly dealt with.
Given this type of government (for the people, by the people) and a nation of people who care for each other and work towards the common good instead of fighting over racial and cultural issues, this country would be unstoppable.
But, it's a dream and I know it will never come true except in one of my books.
November 19, 2018
November 19, 2018 - The Writing Bug
The writing bug, that constant itch to start a new story or finish the one currently under construction, is gone. I can't say that writing, for me, was ever a hobby. It was a passion and I threw myself into it with everything I had. I bought books on plot and character development. Read numerous articles and books on how to improve my prose. And, I wrote. On my days off, I spent the entire morning hammering on the keyboard of my computer in the rush to get the next book done. I enjoyed the editing process and the thrill of seeing my hard work in print. I kept up this pace cranking out 12 books at the rate of about one a year. But now, the bug is gone. The adrenaline kick of producing a story so others can enjoy it is no longer there. For the past few weeks, I've been wondering why.
To be totally honest, I don't know. But, I have a few ideas. One of the biggest is the pitiful sales that I've been seeing of late. One of the thrills involves knowing that the stories I write are being enjoyed by others and seeing a sale is what keeps that thrill alive. It has become a habit for me to look at Amazon sales every morning. I was happy with one or two new sales a day -- I'm not greedy. When sales and pages read started dropping far lower, the desire to write followed suit. In an effort to boost sales, I've decided to drop the prices of all my books. I will be doing so as soon as I post this.
But sales are only a part of the reason. Writing is a lot of work; it takes away from many other pursuits. I like to read science fiction and books on astrophysics, quantum theory (for the lay-person) and other technology-related books. I'm also on a quest to learn more about website development. Mornings are also when I am able to watch the science fiction shows my wife does not care to watch. Sacrificing these things is part of scratching the itch. But when scratching begins to result in bleeding it's time to reexamine your priorities.
I've been to a number of events as an author. Sometimes I sell a lot of books. Other times I sell nothing. I've been to conventions, a few of them as a writer. In fact, I'm scheduled to attend another one next March. One thing I've learned at these conventions is that my personal skills are not as finely honed as that of some of the other authors I know. I don't like to brag and I don't interrupt people when they are talking. From what I've observed, to be noticed as an author, you need to be almost rude to garner attention. That's not me.
I will never be nominated for any sort of award. I will never have anyone recognize me in a crowd because I'm a published author. I will never be able to make a living writing books. Believe it or not, I'm perfectly fine with all that. I never wrote because I wanted to win an award or become a famous author. I never published to get rich because I'm practical enough to realize that most writers need a day job to support themselves. I wrote because I had the itch. The itch is gone.
So, after all that, what are my plans? Starting today, I'm putting my 2 current writing projects on indefinite hold. I'm going to start doing some of the things I haven't been able to do because I've been spending time writing. I have no doubt that the itch will return. When it does, I'll start writing again.
To be totally honest, I don't know. But, I have a few ideas. One of the biggest is the pitiful sales that I've been seeing of late. One of the thrills involves knowing that the stories I write are being enjoyed by others and seeing a sale is what keeps that thrill alive. It has become a habit for me to look at Amazon sales every morning. I was happy with one or two new sales a day -- I'm not greedy. When sales and pages read started dropping far lower, the desire to write followed suit. In an effort to boost sales, I've decided to drop the prices of all my books. I will be doing so as soon as I post this.
But sales are only a part of the reason. Writing is a lot of work; it takes away from many other pursuits. I like to read science fiction and books on astrophysics, quantum theory (for the lay-person) and other technology-related books. I'm also on a quest to learn more about website development. Mornings are also when I am able to watch the science fiction shows my wife does not care to watch. Sacrificing these things is part of scratching the itch. But when scratching begins to result in bleeding it's time to reexamine your priorities.
I've been to a number of events as an author. Sometimes I sell a lot of books. Other times I sell nothing. I've been to conventions, a few of them as a writer. In fact, I'm scheduled to attend another one next March. One thing I've learned at these conventions is that my personal skills are not as finely honed as that of some of the other authors I know. I don't like to brag and I don't interrupt people when they are talking. From what I've observed, to be noticed as an author, you need to be almost rude to garner attention. That's not me.
I will never be nominated for any sort of award. I will never have anyone recognize me in a crowd because I'm a published author. I will never be able to make a living writing books. Believe it or not, I'm perfectly fine with all that. I never wrote because I wanted to win an award or become a famous author. I never published to get rich because I'm practical enough to realize that most writers need a day job to support themselves. I wrote because I had the itch. The itch is gone.
So, after all that, what are my plans? Starting today, I'm putting my 2 current writing projects on indefinite hold. I'm going to start doing some of the things I haven't been able to do because I've been spending time writing. I have no doubt that the itch will return. When it does, I'll start writing again.
