Alexander M. Zoltai's Blog, page 215

Collective Thinking ~ Does The Individual Get Lost?

Being fair, morally right, and rationally correct are highly suspect traits in the prevailing cultural climate—better to be shrewd, morally neutral, and politically correct.

But only better if you feel you need to conform to the norm…

If you visit this blog because of its focus on Reading, Writing, and Publishing, never fear—I'm not going to go on a rant about sociological/psychological "musts".

We all do collective and individual thinking. We all take account of the larger group's needs and our own responsibilities.

Most readers make choices in books based on some mixture of what's popular and what they like.

Many writers struggle to address social issues through individualistic characters.

Some publishers are working hard to stay true to their calling to provide books of substance while juggling the demands of a materialistic culture.

Humans can't avoid thinking as individuals as well as using "collective" thinking.

I feel the critical differences show up in the balance between the two…

Also important to consider is which collective's ideas are used:

* The prevailing culture's norms?

* The deeper human matrix of Principles?

* A sub-culture's agenda?

* A traditional group's ideas?

* A political party's platform?

* A corporation's intentions?

* The clergy's interpretations of religious truth?

* The demands of an inner-city gang?

* Current mainstream science's programs of funding?

* The nebulous bidding of purported ascended masters?

* The neighbors?

Which group or collective do you permit to shape the reading, writing, or publishing you do?

How do you balance your individually determined code of behavior with the demands of your chosen collective?

What do you think of the statement I started this post with?

Being fair, morally right, and rationally correct are highly suspect traits in the prevailing cultural climate—better to be shrewd, morally neutral, and politically correct.

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Tagged: Collective Thinking, Morality, Political correctness, Politics, publishing, reading, Truth, writing

Virtually Sure Way To Meet Cool Readers, Writers, & Publishers

If you've been following this blog, you know I'm the Events Manager for Book Island in the virtual world, Second Life.

I spend about 40 hours a week on the Island and never fail having an informative and fun experience.

I also do 99.9% of my book promotion activities in Second Life.

So, yesterday, I was at one of our Happy Hours ( literary intoxication :-) and had just finished listening to a first draft of a story that was the result of applied NaNoWriMo frenzy (that's the National Novel Writing Month). It was an excellent first draft!

I saw that the Manager of the Island and our Library Specialist were at the library and excused myself ( before the same Happy Hour author began reading from her collection of recently published short humor stories :-(

I always love hearing the stories but I needed to catch up with my Manager and our Library Specialist (who, by the way, is a real life librarian at a prison in the state of Maryland).

We talked about the eleven new laptops we installed in the library. Mind you, this is a virtual world but these laptops can surf the Web…

There was another friend of mine there, DangerDave Writer—folks in Second Life often use very creative aliases :-)

Dave had shared a method for helping writers stop analyzing what they want to write and just get on with the writing.

I decided I had to share the technique here:

Inspiration via Travel Detour

Imagine yourself at an airport or train station

and your original trip has been cancelled.

You now must take an alternate route.

Form an image in your mind of a place you would like to visit on this alternate route.

You meet a fellow traveller who must also take this detour.

Now your story is about that traveller revealing his or her story.

Now your mind can begin forming an image of the face, skin color, clothing, luggage,

perhaps a bird in a cage,

or an ornate cane.

Anything exotic that hints of other travels.

Now, you are no longer responsible for writing the story. You are only required to uncover it.

Just one way to kick start the mind into creating without restrictions.

You remove the stress and pressure of creation and replace it with the thrill and excitement of discovery.

~~~

I hope, if you're a writer, you found that helpful; and, if you're a reader, you found it at least interesting as a way to understand the challenges writers face as they create the stories we read…

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

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Tagged: Book Island, NaNoWriMo, National Novel Writing Month, Second Life, virtual world, writer, Writers Resources, Writing Technique

Been To Your Local Library Lately?

Some may feel the effect of the digital revolution on books would make libraries obsolete.

It seems that, while buying and consuming books in your home is on the rise, libraries are still "in business".

A study done by The Library Journal ("Founded in 1876…one of the oldest and most respected publications covering the library field."), entitled, Library Patrons and Ebook Usage, has some interesting things to say.

To me, the most fascinating result is:

"…regular public library users don't just borrow books. They are also active books buyers who make many of their purchasing decisions based on the authors or books they first discover in the library."

In fact, the study found that "…over 50 percent of all library users go on to purchase books by an author they were introduced to in the library."

About a week ago, I wrote a post called, Should We All Self-Publish A Book?, that showed how some libraries are offering a service of printing a bound copy of a book in five minutes for about $6.00.

Of course, many libraries are offering e-books now. Check out this post for a survey of the options they might have to consider.

And, that old friendly(?) giant, Amazon, has begun its own Kindle Owners' Lending Library.

So, will library patrons stop going to their library to download ebooks?

As most everything having to do with books is undergoing deep flux and massive change there are no immediate answers and even surveys and polls can become obsolete before they're published…

Do you still patronize a library?

Have you gotten an ebook from a library?

What do you feel libraries need to do to not follow the path of so many bookstores?

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Tagged: E-book, ebook, Kindle Owners' Lending Library, Lending Library, Libraries, library, Library Journal, Public library [image error]

The Ebook Boom

Short post for me today.

Just want to direct you to a cool video about the ebook phenomenon.

PBS has the post, 5Across: Beyond the Book: E-Books and Self-Publishing, about which they say:

"On this episode of 5Across we look more closely at the e-book boom, as well as the growing clout of Amazon."

There are interviews with Dan Brodnitz, Ben Clemens, Kevin Hunsanger, Larry Jacobson, and Lorena Jones; and, those are broken-out as separate videos, by topic.

Enjoy :-)

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Tagged: Amazon, Ben Clemens, Dan Brodnitz, E-book, ebook, Kevin Hunsanger, Larry Jacobson, Lorena Jones

Is Something "Good" Just Because It Has A "Tradition" Behind It?

Whether you're a Reader, Writer, or Publisher (or, all three), this post should make you think.

Think about how damned hard it is to define something that's undergoing massive change.

The words "good" and "tradition" have quotes around them because, in my experience, different people have vastly different meanings for those words.

Good can mean anything from "what God says" to "whatever I decide to do".

Tradition can be "something to rely on" or "an impediment to progress".

I'll leave that slippery word "good" for a possible future post…

And, I'll do what I usually do when I'm writing a post and want you to "think afresh"…

Here are the major root-meanings for "tradition": delivery, surrender, a handing down.

"Handing down" is the most "neutral" root meaning to me—yet, what's handed down can be very good or simply horrid—it can be a transfer of an honorable heritage or a bad legacy.

"Delivery" as a root for tradition is a "defining" meaning—if it ain't delivered, it ain't gonna be a tradition.

"Surrender" is the one that gives me pause…

If we surrender a way of doing things when we hand down a tradition, does that mean we expect it to be changed or that we're praying it won't be changed?

When I type the word "traditional" into the search widget on this blog I get the posts I'm linking to right now—all spotlighting traditional publishing [ feeling a bit spunky today and wanted a touch of self-reference there :-) ].

I can do the same thing for self-publishing …

If you're a reader and not a concerned writer, you might ignore all the posts those last two links pull up.

However, if you're a reader who doesn't write, I'd love to hear your opinions of this post on the publishing "war"—readers should care about what's going on in the effort to supply them with books…

For the writers reading this, especially the ones who don't have time to or merely refuse to click on links in blog posts, I'll pull excerpts from a book designer and a literary agent to round out this article.

In my previous post, Where's The Gate? ~ More Thoughts On Publishing…, I quoted Joel Friedlander, the book designer, saying:

"…publishing is a business, and publishers businesspeople. Books that find a home with profit-oriented publishers can be defined this way: books that might sell enough to make the publisher a profit.

"That's the reality of gatekeeping, no matter how romantic it may sound. Publishers who make no profit are no longer in business. The business of business is profit, pure and simple."

Rachelle Gardner is a literary agent, one of the traditional "gatekeepers" Joel mentioned. In her recent post, Publishing in the Brave New World, she says:

"Part of the value publishers bring is a sense of history, a sense of tradition and permanence. Many authors still want to be a part of that. It's about great stories and important thoughts. It's about legacy. It's about a dream. People in publishing still see this dream as worth it. They're willing to swim against the tide because publishing isn't just a business, it's a life, it's a calling, it's a passion."

Personally, I have no problem with "traditional" publishers since I have many good reasons to be a self-published author…

Can traditional publishing "surrender" to the new tools and methods of our digital age?

Will they "hand down" the best they have from their vast experience without attempting to demonize those who travel a different path?

Is their system of "delivery" of books to readers a guarantee of "quality"?

Can the traditional folks and the people self-publishing work together to create a hybrid method of placing an author's work into the reader's hands (whether those hands hold paper and ink or technology)?

What are your thoughts and feelings??

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

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Tagged: book design, Joel Friedlander, Literary Agent, publish, publishing, Rachelle Gardner, self-publishing, traditional publishing

Want To Get Off The Rollercoaster?

I'm a writer and we tend to have emotional highs and lows—seems to come with the dedication to writing stories.

I'm sure painters have something similar. I'd venture the guess that all creative folk do…

Lynn Biederstadt's blog, Sky Diaries,  says, when describing itself: "A journey that's kinda like Life."

So, perhaps, everyone can relate to this post. Still, creative types seem to have more "thrilling" rollercoaster-living.

In one of Lynn's recent posts, she said:

"We create. We imagine. We doubt. We doubt some more. And then what?

"How do we pick ourselves up and move forward? How do we proceed in the knowledge that the feedback didn't come…the next gig didn't follow…the blog went unread…the piece was rejected?

"Falling into that emotional not-so-grand canyon is too easy. We walk at the cliffs' edges of ourselves, along uncharted paths that can—and do—too easily crumble away under our feet. Rejection (or, more often, the resounding echo of our voices into the nothingness of response) is devastating. And that lack of recognition is always present, or about to be."

Lynn offers what she calls a "solution of the moment"—Conscious Joy.

I urge you to read that post. I hope you'll leave Lynn a comment. I can dream, if you have ways to modulate the intensity of the up-and-down cycles of the creative life, that you'll also come back here and share them with me :-)

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com

Tagged: Creative Life, Lynn Biederstadt, Roller Coaster, Rollercoaster, Sky Diaries, Ups and Downs, writer, writing [image error]

It's Simple. They're Gone Reading :-)

C. S. Lewis said: "We read to know we are not alone."

And, Confucius is reputed to have said: "No matter how busy you may think you are, you must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance."

Well… There are apparently about a billion people on our planet who don't  choose to not read—they are, for various reasons, unable to obtain books…

There's a gentleman named Bradley S. Wirz who aims to help change that; and, he's begun a marvelous non-profit called Gone Reading International.

I got to talk to him the other day :-)

~~~

Brad, what were you doing before you began GoneReading?

I had a better-than-I-deserved career in marketing for 20 years.  I spent the last 10 running the North American event marketing division of a global consortium called Euro RSCG.

What led you to the idea of GoneReading?

Reading has always been my #1 hobby.  I can't imagine a world without books.  But one day I read (in a book, oddly enough) that almost a billion people in the world don't have access to books.  They're basically living in the middle ages.

Do you happen to remember the moment you decided to quit your job to start GoneReading?

Yes.  My corporate life had taken its toll.  I'll spare you the details, but I found myself curled up in the fetal position in a hotel room in New York City.  I called my wife and said "I can't do this anymore!"

By coincidence I had previously committed to going on a volunteer trip to Honduras in a few weeks' time.  Our project involved helping to build a library in the middle of the Honduran jungle.  That's what got the wheels turning in my mind.

So, Brad, how does GoneReading work?

GoneReading is a lifestyle brand of merchandise and gifts for book lovers like you and me.  Our current offering consists of original designs, each coupled with a slogan to pique the interest of readers.  Our designs are available for purchase on a variety of shirts, mugs, book bags, baby clothes and even dog t-shirts.  Everything is available for purchase at the GoneReading Store.

We're donating 100% of the company profits in perpetuity to fund new libraries in the developing world.  We actually wrote that into our corporate charter.

I really like Kind Corporations :-) But tell me, how do you develop the designs and slogans on your merchandise?

It's a collaborative process between myself and an amazing illustrator by the name of Danny Wilson.  Danny and I worked together throughout my corporate life.  We develop most of the concepts internally and Danny brings them to life visually.  Although I need to give Danny credit, he developed the idea for our most popular design called Take Me To Your Reader.  It's perfect for you, Alex, considering it features an alien.

I don't normally do the eye-candy-trip on this blog, Brad, but considering my recently published book is populated by aliens, I can't resist — Whoot!

I like that you've listed the seven most popular designs on your site, Brad :-)

So, how does all of this actually result in more libraries and literacy projects?

We're donating 100% of company profits to help fund non-profit organizations that already specialize in developing libraries in the poorest parts of the world.  My wife and I went to India and Nepal earlier this year to meet with such groups, to see the work they are doing on the ground.  It's amazing to see how a simple library can profoundly effect a local community.  Reading is a primary tool of self-improvement; without it, you don't stand a chance.

Brad, thanks for taking time from your project to give us a glimpse of your Most Honorable Endeavor :-)

~~~

I must close this post with the quotes on reading from the GoneReading site:

"I cannot live without Books" – Thomas Jefferson
"I like big books (and I cannot lie)" – GoneReading founder Brad Wirz
"If you have a garden and a library you have everything you need." – Cicero
"A library is not a luxury, but one of the necessities of life." – Henry Ward Beecher
"Books are a uniquely portable magic." – Stephen King
"I cannot remember the books I've read any more than the meals I have eaten; even so, they have made me." – Ralph Waldo Emerson
"The man who does not read good books has no advantage over the man who can't read them." – Mark Twain
"Never judge a book by its movie." – J.W. Egan
"The habit of reading is the only enjoyment in which there is no alloy; it lasts when all other pleasures fade." – Anthony Trollope
"You must find time for reading, or surrender yourself to self-chosen ignorance." – Confucius

And, Please, don't forget the Billion folks in our human family who wish  they could Choose to Read………

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

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Tagged: Brad Wirz, Bradley S. Wirz, Danny Wilson, Literacy, Literacy Project, read, reader, reading [image error]

Writing "Advice" ( Good for Readers, too :-)

Hey writers! "You need your own approval for your work before you consider changing it based on others' opinions."

Of course, this implies you have your own "message" to deliver through your writing…

That quote up there came from a previous post here called, What *Not* To Do If You're Looking For Writing Advice.

And, since the title says this post is good for readers, I'll quote a bit from a previous post called, Do You Write For The Reader or Should You Write For Yourself ?:

"Read as widely and deeply as you possibly can. Read till you're bored and then read more. Absorb as much of our Human Family's hopes and dreams and challenges and fears and dangers and failures and quirks as you possibly can–absorb it into what you could call your internal Meta-Reader. Then, when you sit down to create, let that Meta-Reader decide what is absolutely necessary to write………"

And then, there was a post called, Resources for Writers ~ Readers Welcome :-), with more of what most folks feel are Resources for writers…

Basically, "Writing Resources" are inside the writer and the best commonly accepted "writing resources" you can find outside yourself are the ones that help you find the resources within yourself…

Since I've already mentioned reading as a dynamite resource for writing, I wonder if anyone checking-out this post is an avid reader who's toyed with the idea of writing their own books?

If your tempted to search the Internet for writing "advice" or "resources", please think through the ideas in this further quote from the first post I linked-to:

"…because the Internet has grown into a many-headed, commercial beast and we all seem to love looking for approval and there are so many wolves in sheep's clothing out there, when you do have some work you feel good enough about to have other minds check it out and offer advice, put it aside, resist the temptation to get advice, let it sit a month or two, and work on a new piece. When you come back to it, you'll probably find things that you feel need changing. Change them and then, maybe, offer it for critique."

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

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Tagged: Internet Searching, reader, reading, writer, Writers Resources, writing, writing advice [image error] [image error] [image error] [image error]

Should We All Self-Publish A Book?

You've probably heard the old adage: "Everyone has a novel in them."

Sometimes, it continues with, "and that's right where it should stay."

I can believe everyone does have a novel or autobiography or memoir or non-fiction book inside them.

What I can't believe is that everyone has what it takes to get it out.

Some folks use ghost writers. And, the ones who are brave write it themselves and self-publish.

I guess you could call me brave………

If you're new to this blog, you should know that, even though my latest book is for sale, I still give it away. [HINT: it's one of the reddish links in the right side-panel]

I self-published for two reasons:

* My book needs to be read as soon as possible by people because, even though it's a novel, the story has the potential to help our human family.

* I really didn't think traditional publishers would see my book as a profit-maker.

By the way, that particular book, even though it's only six months old has found its way into at least one library.

Naturally, I've written a number of other posts about various aspects of self-publishing but there's yet another angle:

Sacramento Public Library: Self-publishing made possible through Espresso Book Machine

Darien Library to Become First East Coast Library to Install Espresso Book Machine

New York Public Library gets first Espresso Book Machine

And, there are more places, libraries and bookstores, getting into the act…

Walk in and, in five minutes, have one of thousands of books, possibly one you've just finished writing (and, hopefully edited well), printed on the spot, for extremely nominal cost. I saw one library charging only $6.00/book…

What does this phenomenon mean?

Not only can folks self-publish through companies that take care of the production end of book-birth, people can walk into a library or bookstore and walk out with their own book in mere minutes…

Is this intriguing to you?

Does it sound like something that will turn into a short-lived fad?

Will it make lots more people believe they have a book in them just waiting to get out?

Want to check out the company that makes this machine?

Wanna watch a book being made?

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

For Private Comments, Email: amzolt {at} gmail {dot} com

Tagged: Espresso Book Machine, Ingram, library, Lightning Source, New York Public Library, publishing, Sacramento Public Library, self-publishing [image error]

Write It And They Will Come??

Faith and Hope are delightfully dealt with by Emily Dickinson.

Faith and Hope can seem useless in a world where success is married to money and cheating with politics.

Faith and Hope are what writers have always needed: while writing, while deciding who should publish their work, and while doing what they must to find readers.

If what the author writes has no power to inspire them to faith and hope that folks will read it, folks will probably never read it.

That last sentence has another ending: If what the author writes has no power to inspire them to faith and hope that folks will read it, it still may be read widely if the publisher markets it to the right people.

What about self-published authors?

Both sentences are, I believe, still true…

Some authors, like me, feel that if enough people read the book it just may start selling through word-of-mouth.

Therefore, since people reading the book are the Cake and books-sold is the Icing, though my novel is for sale, I still give it away…

So, I feel the title of this post should be rewritten. How about this?

Write It And They Will Come

If You Have Enough Faith

To Give The Book Away Until It Begins To Sell Well.

A bit long? :-)

And, since I'm a self-professed maverick who self-published a novel that certainly doesn't fit into any of the "popular" genres, I must either be profoundly insane to think my book will ever gain a wide readership, or………

I have a deep faith in the book's worth and very high hopes that word-of-mouth will makes its worth well-known.

Naturally, anyone can comment on this post but I sure am encouraging any of you who have read the book to add your appraisal of what I've tried to convey.

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Our Comment Link Is At The Top of The Post :-)

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Tagged: Emily Dickinson, faith, free books, give it away, Hope, Notes from An Alien, publishing, self-publishing [image error] [image error] [image error]