Jo Robinson's Blog, page 107
December 4, 2013
$ Incredible Book Savings $ 1 Day Only $ Tuesday, 12/10 $
Too busy to shop for books on Black Friday and Cyber Monday? Only found savings of 10 to 20%, and just on books that were expensive to begin with?
No need to fear, Read Tuesday is near! Read Tuesday is a Black Friday type of event just for book lovers, only the savings will be even more amazing.
Discounts on e-books will be up to 90% off.
5 Days to go!
December 3, 2013
The Good Guys
WordPress has changed everything around and I don’t have a clue what’s going on now. I want my quick post back! Anyway. I popped out to the shops yesterday for a couple of arbitrary things and got caught up in the festive craziness. Reindeer, tinsel, carols. I wanted ALL that shiny stuff. Then I noticed how many people weren’t buying the bling. They were counting out coins for loaves of bread instead. It was really deflating. I’d forgotten what Christmas in South Africa was like. I think that maybe living in Zimbabwe for so many years changed me in large ways. If I’d stayed here I wonder who I would have become. I wonder if I would have noticed the beggars and the hungry rather than heading straight for the shoes. I love celebrating, and of course I love the presents and the traditions, but I see more now than I would have done if I hadn’t lived through Zim’s troubles.
Before, I mostly looked away from anything sad or horrible. I did donate to charities like Save the Children every year, but I never thought long or hard about why they actually needed donating to. Back in the days when I still ate chicken, I preferred to buy it already portioned, so it didn’t look like an actual chicken, and not think about the trip that guy took to end up as my crumbed breast. I still don’t like thinking about these things, and most certainly not looking at them. But the thing about all that went down in Zimbabwe was that you didn’t have a choice. You were plonked right there in the middle of things, and you couldn’t avoid looking at what was all around you.
I’ve made friends with people I would never have come across if that poor country didn’t have a meltdown, and seen things that made me realise that we are all just the same, only with different amounts of luck. The world is covered with millions of us, all living vastly different realities, and even though we don’t have to look, sometimes when we do, we find that we actually can make a difference now and then. Whether it’s to support an author donating the proceeds of book sales to help starving children, or buying free range meat if you can afford it, or adopting an old battery hen, and letting her have some chicken times and get to know what grass feels like under her poor bent feet before she dies – all of these seemingly small things are actually huge when they all add up.
I’m not sorry that I’ve seen tragedy, cruelty, suffering and death – both in people and in animals, even though it’s wounded me deeply every time I did. I’m glad that I know what goes on in the world around me, and I’m even more glad that there are amazing people out there, much braver than me, who have the balls to try and change things, even when it sometimes means that others revile them for what they do, and often that it means that their whole lives are dedicated to relieving the suffering of others, and they get to miss out on all the fun stuff and the bling. Kudos to those fantastic souls.
December 1, 2013
Joshua
Gill and Mary were both grinning like Cheshire cats, Joshua just stood there waiting for the expected reception, which he duly received.
“Oh my God, Joshua your head what happened?” Gill turned to Mary in confusion, her eyes taking in the bloody, dirty bandage on Joshua’s forehead.
“There was an incident Gill,” Mary is inspecting Joshua’s wounds and her words are dismissive.
Virgil Gives Back
Reblogged from Life in Portsong:
Beneath his rough exterior, Virgil Creech has a big heart. To prove it, in the month of December, proceeds from the sale of his book, Virgil Creech Takes a Swipe at Redemption will go directly to benefit orphans in Africa through a wonderful ministry called Heart for Africa.
Here is a description from their website: Heart for Africa is a Christian non-profit 501(c)3 public charity.
CNN iReport for Huge Book Sale on Dec. 10
CNN iReport allows anyone to share their news story. You can write your own article and post it there, or check out what others have written. Vote on articles to help CNN decide which stories should be featured on CNN. Leave a comment on any article to start or engage in a lively discussion.
I posted an article about Read Tuesday, a Black Friday type of sales event just for book lovers on December 10, at CNN iReport.
This is the first time I'm asking for anyone to click on a link and vote - but please do - it would be AWESOME if this event made CNN!
November 30, 2013
Plight of the Rhino: A Wildlife Anthology by Springbok Publications: 1 (Springbok Publications Wildlife Anthology) Launch today
Reblogged from Chris The Story Reading Ape's New (to me) Authors Blog:
Plight of the Rhino is the first wildlife anthology by Springbok Publications. The stories and poems, written by international writers, depict wildlife in all its glory. The book will take you on a journey across continents and introduce you to some iconic as well as lesser known wildlife species. These heartfelt stories recognise the joys of the animal kingdom and the heartache of poaching and extinction, facing our wildlife today.
Plight of the Rhino - a book dedicated to helping Save the Rhino. All contributors (including yours truly) have waived any payment, so that proceeds can go to saving this mighty creature from extinction.
November 29, 2013
Last Rant Ever – Promise! – Well -
Just to clarify my last post. Ever since I went on my cleanup campaign I’ve been on a mission to do everything right as far as internet ethics are concerned. I’ve been following what I’ve obviously wrongly construed was the online etiquette for small self-published scribblers. I’m not talking about the websites of guys who tweet or blog about belly busting humour, or offer sound eating advice, like my namesake and Google page one nemesis, Jo Robinson, author of Eat Wild. Fashion blogs, hilarious Twitter accounts, and advice columnists are welcome to my slavish following, and I wouldn’t expect their notice any more than I would expect Dan Brown to pop in for tea and biscuits. The same applies to readers, amazing friends who happen to also be tireless and supportive book blogger’s, and other innocents who are supplying a much needed service to the millions of unknown independent writers out there.
I saw a blog rant a while ago where someone said that people who go around “liking” blog posts without commenting are basically sycophantic tools. I like to leave a “like” to let the blogger know that I’ve read and liked what they have to say. I think it shows my interest and support. What’s the “like” button for if not to like? Why should I have to think up a comment when I don’t really have anything in particular to say, but still enjoyed what I read? Regardless of my current temper-driven wordiness, I am terminally shy, and I have an underlying fear of saying something – however seemingly innocent – that will end up with some sort of wrath being rained down on my head. It has happened. Liking is a lot safer. There are so many nebulous blogging, tweeting and general “how to behave online” rules that the mind boggles.
This is how I see things. There are blog and Twitter sites that have a million followers and follow back three only – their granny, their BFF and one other site that is so awesome that it doesn’t follow even them back. That’s cool – nothing wrong with that. They have no need to make friends and influence people, and I’m more than happy to follow their awesomeness because they really are rock stars. Then you have the indie writers. There are millions of us. Some have achieved some level of success, and have so many followers that it would be impossible to have a squiz at what their fans are up to. That’s cool too. Happy to follow for gems of advice or some of Chuck Wendig’s hilarious F-bomb humour. Some try, like Toby Neal and Hugh Howey – he actually will try to answer or respond to his fans every time. Lovely guy. Then you have the small indie writers who make the time to interact with their entire following on every site – this is me – and apparently this is the wrong way to go about things. Good thing to find out because it’s tiring.
I don’t know. I’m probably wrong again. I generally am. I wonder what we’re up to though. I do feel that any other small member of the millions strong indie scribbler club, who takes the time out of his or her hectic life to notice me long enough to follow me on any site, or like anything I have to say, deserves the same attention from me. My rant was directed purely at my own club, by the way. Small self-published writers, struggling to be noticed. I do get the concept of content blogging that’s so awesome, you don’t ever need to follow back or interact. But not all blogs are that brilliant, and some indie authors end up stuck in an incestuous group of fellow indie buddies who they solely interact with, ignoring all new comers, and grandly accepting new followers in the manner of established famous writers. This is probably cool too. They could be hobbyists, and genuinely not care about what their followers and fans are up to. That’s what they do for fun. They have a place to hang out with their pals. Then again, I believe that the world of self publishing is a totally new animal. Logically it doesn’t make sense to convince yourself that you’re already big enough to sit back and accept any love coming your way without reciprocating, when it’s obvious that you aren’t. When you are unknown and not selling thousands of books every day, why on Earth would you pretend to be doing that very thing? Reach out and make new friends. Help, or at least interact once or twice, with new friends and followers.
Am I doing it all wrong? Am I giving the wrong impression by taking an interest in those who take an interest in me? Am I a terminal groupie? Probably. Anyway. I won’t ever stop loving those great blogs who make me laugh every day, or those of famous scribblers who teach me about writing or blogging, and certainly not those of those guys who tirelessly support indie writers with little or no benefit to themselves, and most of all my friends – my indie writer friends who do the work, write, market, and still take the time out of their lives to notice others who take the time out of their lives to give them a boost, a word of encouragement, or just a simple “like” now and then.
So…. This is what I’ve figured out:
1. Everyone has different reasons for interacting on the old interweb.
2. They’re all entitled to their opinions.
3. It’s not my place to crap on anyone for doing what they’re doing.
4. I’m entitled to my opinion too, and I need to wo/man up and act accordingly.
My original intent for this blog was to post excerpts from a fictional character’s diary. That never worked out, but I found that I loved blogging in general and interacting with other bloggers around the world. Not just book bloggers, but bloggers who scribble about all sorts of things.
New Rules for Me:
1. I will always try to interact with my followers, and see what they’re up to, even if it’s only occasionally, and even on the snowball in hell chance of me ever becoming a famous scribbler.
2. I will continue to slavishly follow the funny and informative guys even though they ignore me or sometimes respond to my comments in hilariously rude and offensive ways.
3. I will always support in any way those awesome bloggers who give their friendship and talent freely and lovingly.
4. I will no longer interact with bloggers that I’m trying to interact with in a mutually beneficial way if the interaction isn’t mutually beneficial. My likes and shares are probably irritations to them anyway, and there just aren’t enough hours in the day.
5. I will not be afraid to share my opinions just because they’re a little different, and because they are likely to get me unfollowed in droves.
An Opinion:
Beginning with a fact or two – 95% of traditionally published authors ever sell fewer than 500 copies of any given book. 98% of self published authors sell fewer than 5 books other than to friends and family. Considering the millions of self published books, the two percent that do is actually quite a lot of scribblers. Most wallow in that 98 percentile chasm. So, unless you actually are part of the awesome 2% club, and even so, why on Earth would you ignore a potential ally? That opinion’s just from a marketing perspective, and not my main reason for blogging. I do it because I enjoy it. I especially enjoy that the bloggers I follow interact with me as a person, and appreciate my comments and interest in what they have to say. And unless they are in fact Hugh Howey, I enjoy seeing their opinions on my humble opinions now and then. That’s what I believe, and that’s what I’m going to carry on doing, together with my friends and any other followers who didn’t squeeze their nostrils shut and jump ship following my original whinge. I’m just going to carry on being me, and even though I obviously will carry on following blogs that really interest me on a non-writer level, like recipe, real life issues, ghosties and funnies, without for a second expecting any of them to notice me, I’m not going to carry on supporting small indie writers struggling up the ladder, unless I really do think that they are the next Phillipa Gregory if they don’t return that support.
Namaste.
Toot it Baby!
I know that a lot of bloggers and Twitterers live by the rule that they are posting really cool stuff, so they deserve total adulation and don’t need to follow back any of their followers because of their awesome coolness. This is true in a couple of cases. I have two blogs that I follow slavishly – Chuck Wendig and Hugh Howey. The rest I will follow because they’re interesting or generally cool, but mostly I slow down with reading bloggers posts that have no interest in what I have to say. Most of the blogs I follow are writer’s blogs. Generally indie writers like myself.
I’ve read several posts saying that Twitter followers don’t need to be followed back because they are following you because you are most cool and they are most certainly hanging on your every word – and why the hell would you give a shit what they have to say? Never going to be as cool as your intonations. Well…. Have you had a squiz at your followers lately Indie writers? I bet you a cheese-smelling sock that they are ALL other Indie writers. Yes – they are readers too, but actually, they are thinking of ways to market their own words, and would probably appreciate a kind word or two from yourself – in your capacity of reader.
I haven’t actively marketed any of my books, and I don’t intend to until I’ve published the third in the Shadow People series – on the BASTARD Createspace!, but I will say that some of you guys are unfairly blowing your own horns, and ignoring future potential allies, who might just get a little tired of your self-involved speeches. I personally unfollow anyone who is not following me on Twitter – why the crap would I want to repeat what some equally unknown indie has to say just because he thinks he’s Jesus – so now it follows on blogs, why the hell would I want to hear what you have to say if you have no interest in what I have to say? And as an author I’m afraid I’m going to have to go the same route with the blogs I follow – if all that you do is toot your own horn – then good luck to you fella with your – umm- campaign.
November 28, 2013
Shadow People: Who Are They and What Do They Want?
Reblogged from Welcome to ghost talk blog:
Sightings of shadow people are on the increase! I attribute this to the rising vibration of our planet and our ever-expanding realities which open a portal to other dimensions. Just as the third eye chakra is the gateway to the spirit world, the collective consciousness of our planet is the doorway into other realms. Shadow people, like Ouija boards, have been given a bad rap, but knowing what you are dealing with helps to dispel the fear and myths.
Find out more about the real Shadow People from the lovely ghost buster Bev!
