Randy Stapilus's Blog, page 12
December 12, 2015
Labrador’s government
Raul Labrador, the representative from Idaho so visible in the elite media, has given us something there worth chewing over, at the heart of what this country is about, and in the heart of Raul Labrador.
You’ll find it in a December 14 article for the New Yorker by Ryan Lizza on how a smallish group of U.S. House members called the “Freedom Caucus”, for which Labrador is a spokesman, won enough clout to push out one House speaker, John Boehner, and circumscribe his replacement, Paul Ryan.
O...
December 11, 2015
Story pitch v press release
The age-old checklist of book marketing tactics always includes this: write a press release and send it to newspapers, broadcasters and others in your region and elsewhere.
But that may be the wrong approach. I suggest you pitch a news story about your book to the press, rather than send out a conventional press release.
Press releases have long been a standard part of the book marketing process for good reasons.
They can be mass-delivered. You can collect names and email addresses by scouti...
December 5, 2015
A sales tax gamble
When the Idaho Legislature convenes next month, it will have to place its bets on the sales tax, just as the League of Women Voters already has.
The reason is a proposed initiative just released by the Idaho League of Women Voters “reducing the sales tax rate and broadening the sales tax base.” It does that most basically, by reducing the overall rate from six percent to five, and by extending the coverage of the tax to include not just many goods but also many services, which generally have...
November 28, 2015
No barking in the night-time
Two years ago at this point, Idaho was headed for a major clash within the Republican Party.
It was two years ago last week that Russell Fulcher, then a state senator from Meridian, announced he would oppose incumbent Governor C.L. “Butch” Otter in the Republican primary. That launched the most serious opposition from inside his own party to an Idaho governor in almost 50 years, though Otter would go on to win it decisively.
Months before that, in June 2013, Bryan Smith launched his campaig...
November 27, 2015
Navigating the Amazon categories
If you think of Amazon’s book categories – all books on Amazon.com are placed into subject categories – as either crowded or lightly populated, where would you prefer your book to be? The answer may not be as obvious as you think. You’ll find more customers in the fast lane, which is where the highest-ranked (for popularity) books can be found, but your book may be lost in the crowd there. The reverse is also true: there are fewer readers in the less-populated categories, but your book is mo...
November 21, 2015
Kempf’s corrections
In January I ran out a list of 100 influential Idahoans, among them (at number 43) a brand-new state official, appointed to the office just a couple of months earlier: Kevin Kempf, director of the Department of Correction.
A year after his appointment, I’m glad I included him. The indicators about his background I was advised of, that might make for significant changes at the state lockup, seem in fact to be leading to something new.
Kempf arrived as director on the shores of a troubled per...
November 14, 2015
A shooting reverberates
What’s indisputable about the shooting incident north of Council is the assessment by Lieutenant Governor Brad Little, that, “It’s an absolute tragedy.”
Try to get a lot more specific than that, and you rapidly find questions outnumbering answers – and that is a problem. We only know part of what happened that night.
Little told the Idaho Statesman, “The issue is the attorneys for the Yantis family are going out and painting a picture, and the sheriff’s deputies, the sheriff, the Attorney Ge...
November 13, 2015
Best places for giveaways
As an indie author, you can find a growing number of options for running book giveaways, but you’ll need to choose carefully to stay on the positive side of the ledger.
Give them away? Giving away books you’re trying to sell may seem counterintuitive, and it doesn’t work equally well for everyone. Some authors have reported sending books to people who enter every contest to win a free book, so in some cases they’re not connecting with actual interested readers. One book giveaway analysis sai...
November 7, 2015
Record breaking
In 1985 one of Boise’s most significant mayors, Richard Eardley, was wrapping up a record 12 years in office, his third term, and mulling whether to run for a fourth. He didn’t.
Those were the days of the downtown mall wars, and Eardley had been through the wringer. He was no doubt getting tired of the conflict and the stress, and his long-held vision for developing Boise was being overturned. But there was also this: He probably wouldn’t have won, and he likely knew that. In that year’s may...
October 3, 2015
No refuge
Last week’s column on Muslim refugees coming to Idaho drew enough response that a follow seems warranted.
One respondent opined (in an attachment), “the bottom line is that the [College of Southern Idaho] refugee program must be terminated to prevent potential Islamic jihad terrorism and immigration jihad with increasing numbers of muslims.”
Another more measured reader: “You’ll notice most of the fear is fear of people from countries that are Islamic states. If Europe and America are going...
