James M. Jackson's Blog, page 21

Update on My 2015 Goals

I have periodically posted on Facebook my progress or lack thereof on two of my current goals: Losing 12 pounds and keeping that weight off and exercising sufficiently each month to earn 250 “Cooper Aerobic Points.” Commentary and graphs follow.
 Commentary on Weight:
As of today’s weigh-in, I have lost 9.5 of the 12-pound goal. I’ve discovered two main factors determine the daily variations: (1) salt—eating something salty at dinner or for a later snack retains a ton (well, 1-2 pounds, ac...

The Chosen and the Wannabes

I’ve recently read three books by bestselling mystery authors. If I had written any one of them, they would not have been published by a big five publisher. Sour grapes? I don’t think so; I think it reflects the reality of the hoops a wannabe author has to go through today to be published by the Big Five.
One of the bestsellers started with a bang and then proceeded to give not one, not two, not three, but four solid pages of backstory. In order for me to win a Big Five publishing contract, I...

Understanding Differing Author Views on Publishing

Here is my claim: anyone who purports their views to be totally independent either (1) has no skin in the game, (2) is honest, but fooling themselves, (3) is dishonest and trying to fool you.
Harsh, I know, but I do believe it to be true and a useful guide for reading anyone’s opinion.
Your immediate question should be, so Jim, in this blog are you representing (1), (2) or (3). Unfortunately, my earnings as an author qualify me as having almost no skin in the game. However, I do have a worldvi...

Driving Lessons

Beastette & Little RedWe’ve just had our family from Minnesota for a visit: two parents, two kids (almost 10 and almost 13) and dog (2+). One advantage of living deep in the woods is that kids and dogs are permitted a level of freedom unavailable at home. A great deal of learning comes from that freedom. The dog ditches her lead for the duration, roams the woods, drinks from mud puddles, swims in the lake and barks at critters without being yelled at (too much).

Children enjoy many of the...

How to Game Amazon Unlimited

Today’s blog is courtesy of Seamus McCree, who has always had an interest in how people can scam any financial transaction. Since he is a fictional character, take his advice with a pinch (no, make that a saltshaker) of salt. ~ Jim
Mr. Jackson’s recent post demonstrated that Hugh Howey needs a course in remedial math, given the faulty design and interpretation in his Author Earnings Report. I have some good news for Howey on how he can afford to take a little time off for coursework.
If he foll...

Author Earnings 3rd Quarter Report: Making an Iceberg from an Ice cube?

“Howey sees an ice-cube, and shrieks 'iceberg'." ~ Philip Jones, editor Bookseller

Hugh Howey (author of the Wool series published by Kindle Direct Publishing) published his July 2014 Author Earnings Report. Howey is an unabashed promoter of self-publishing and of Amazon, and why not, he’s done very well by both. However, his success does not mean he is an expert on publishing in general.
Many people have questioned the methodology in his previous reports. Essentially, he pulls data from A...

UK Author Income Survey: Much Ado About Nothing?

Since the Authors’ Licensing & Collecting Society (ALCS) published the summary of their UK Author Income Survey, much angst has been displayed in the blogosphere about this study claiming that one more nail has been driven into the coffin of aspiring authors.

The survey summary troubles me, not for what it says about author incomes, but about whether it has any validity. Consider the following:

The publication provides no footnotes or link to detail the mechanics of the survey. Proper surve...

The Kindness of Strangers

Dateline 7 July 2014: Early morning, Hampton Inn, Utica, New York.
The camera case with wanderlust
I had planned to upload my photos from the day before to my computer, choose one for my daily Facebook post celebrating the road trip we were on—and the camera was not where I expected it to be. I checked the room without success. I thought about when I had last used it (taking a picture of the bridge over the Hudson River we’d crossed) and what I had done with the camera (zipped it into a soft c...

The Effect of Canada’s New Anti-Bitcoin Law

While traveling in Canada, I came across an article about bitcoins. It turns out while the U.S. has held hearings about bitcoins and other virtual currencies, Canada has recently (June 19, 2014) actually signed legislation. To be fair, the law affects all virtual currencies without mentioning bitcoins by name, but be sure they are the main reason the bill was passed.
Prior bitcoin posts
For those not familiar with bitcoins, I have two previous blogs. This one dealt with my skeptical view of bit...

Spring Has Finally Arrived

“Spring has sprung.The grass has ris’.I wonder where the birdies is.”

Do you remember that little ditty from grade school? Do they even say such nonsense today? I don’t know, but I do know that Spring has finally arrived in the Northwoods. What the heck, it is June 1st. Technically, Summer is only three weeks away.

5/17/14 Notice the buds are just getting red.Because Jan and I are migratory, we normally experience two complete comings of Spring: one in Savannah and the other in the Upper Penins...