Theodore’s Comments (group member since Apr 01, 2017)

Theodore’s comments from the Navigating Indieworld Discussing All Things Indie group.

Carole wrote: "They will link the books to you. Amazon has just removed all my reviews because I'm linked to so many people here."

That is unbelievable!

Dale wrote: "Theodore wrote: "Very interesting, Dale. I admire your grit and perseverance. B&N wouldn't even return my phone calls and e-mails."

I haven't had 100% success, either. I initially made phone calls..."

I have generally found that, in cases like this, it feels so good when you stop banding your head into the wall. (;>)

Dale wrote: "Theodore wrote: "Here's the problem re Indies and bookstores...they don't stock our books because in almost all cases, unless we're willing to lay out a ton of cash to the publisher (e.g., CreateSp..."

Very interesting, Dale. I admire your grit and perseverance. B&N wouldn't even return my phone calls and e-mails. In a word (or two): screw 'em.

Hey, Guys and Gals!

My story this week is about love won, and love lost. Alas, a bit of a tragedy.

You can vote for me here:

https://www.indiesunlimited.com/2017/...

As always, thanks for your support.

Ted

Theodore Jerome Cohen

Here's the problem re Indies and bookstores...they don't stock our books because in almost all cases, unless we're willing to lay out a ton of cash to the publisher (e.g., CreateSpace), our books are non-returnable. Even if we wrote something akin to the best sellers out there (and some indies can!), no bookstore is going to lay in a supply of these books knowing they will be unable to return any copies that cannot be sold. It simply doesn't make good business sense.

Now, you may be able to convince a local bookseller to give you a little space on one of his or her tables, but at what price? Say, you put out a stack of 10 books (which you purchased on the "come"), only to come back two weeks later and find two have been sold (your take: $2 per book over your wholesale price because the book seller took the rest of the money), two were damaged by people thumbing through them, one was stolen, and five remain on the table.

Comments welcome.

Here's a question: what's the last time the phone rang and someone didn't want something? (;>)

The world has its hand out these days!

Mr. Smiles (PS From my point of view, all problems are nails; my solution is a 20# sledge)

Theodore wrote: "Rocio wrote: "Hello, everybody. I just need to let this out. About a month ago I was invited to be part of a webinar to talk about my book and give tips to aspiring writers. I accepted and sent the..."

By the way, and on the subject of Revenge is a Dish Best Served Cold, just the other day I received a newsletter from my high school's foundation. Now, I loved my old high school...past tense. I only spent 3.5 years there, preferring to get in and get out as soon as possible, but those were some of the best years of my life and those teachers--I can remember every single one of them by name--were, next to my family, the most important people in my life. They gave me the foundation I needed to go on to the University of Wisconsin-Madison.

That said, some years ago I wrote a YA novel (under a pen name; this is the book that's in the local HS's curriculum) in which, among other things, all of the teachers' names, for some odd reason, were the same as my teachers back in the 1950s. As well, the story contained a lot of information about my home town. Just the kind of story, I thought, that would be of interest to my high school's librarian and to the school's foundation. So, I wrote both, twice, offering a generous supply of autographed copies.

Not a word. Not a peep. Nothing. Zilch. Zip. Nada. No one even bothered to hit "Reply" and say "Screw you and the horse you rode in on," which, at least, would have been a response.

Now, mind you, in the late 1990s, I had contributed generously to this foundation, giving annual contributions in the four-figure range. So, the head of the foundation certainly was not unfamiliar with me. Still, she never gave me the courtesy of a response. Not once.

So, I want you to take minute (this might be difficult to answer) and tell me what I did with her most recent pleading for money (and I do mean pleading...the foundation was OUT OF MONEY...they had NOTHING for the coming year). You only get one answer.

Does this answer your question about respect?

End of quiz.

End of story.

QED (end of proof, as we scientists say)

Rocio wrote: "Hello, everybody. I just need to let this out. About a month ago I was invited to be part of a webinar to talk about my book and give tips to aspiring writers. I accepted and sent the necessary inf..."

I'm thinking that's par for the course these days, on so many counts. First, many people today don't have a clue regarding social manners! End of story. I think many are simply born in a cave and never make it beyond that point.

Second, Indies aren't treated with much respect in many, if not most, venues. Might as well learn that from the get-go. The number of people (other than ourselves) who treat us with respect are few and far between. My local bookstores won't give me the time of day, and, in fact, have been downright rude despite the fact one of my books is used in the local high school's curriculum and I guest lecture there on the subject of mystery writing. It's a fact of life, so my suggestion is simply to be mindful of this, chose your options carefully (especially if they involve an outlay of money), and enjoy your endeavors for the joy they bring YOU!

By the way, I don't know if this is relevant, but a few days ago, someone purchased four Kindle editions of Book 1 of my short story anthologies and two Kindle editions of Book 2. I thought it was unusual at the time...but now, I'm thinking it's the kind of thing a school or a library might have done.

Wow! That IS impressive. A big shout-out to you and your peeps! T

Carole wrote: "Thirty-five years ago I went for an interview to get business- it was a huge travel agency that would have been a game changer for us. We were so broke and struggling. My husband dropped me off for..."

Wow! that's ugly! Too bad there wasn't a big, glass paperweight handy! (;>)

Amy wrote: "I got as far as reading someone actually taught 50 shades. My eyes are now so wide my eyeballs are threatening to drop out."

Today, you can find a course on just about anything in a college or university. Actually, it can be quite stimulating to go back to school. I recently took a short course on major Supreme Court Decisions.

Just ran across this article on The Washington Post Website. Thought members here might find it interesting for any number of reasons.

What bad-sex novels can teach us about consent and harassment

https://www.washingtonpost.com/entert...

Carole wrote: "lol. One day, Ted- we'll hit a crap table together. My son got married in Vegas and right from the wedding, we took over a table- That was some crap game!!!My son used many of our stories when he w..."

That would be a hoot!

Carole wrote: "New article on Medium- It's about gambling, not children's books or writing. https://medium.com/@caroleproman/gend..."

Wow! What I wouldn't give to spend just one hour standing next to you at the table! What a terrific article. You need to incorporate that into a novel! Just terrific!

Hey, gang...thanks for pulling out fat our of the fire once again:

Theodore Jerome Cohen Wins Flash Fiction Challenge

https://www.indiesunlimited.com/2017/...

I'll be back next week with a sad tale of love won...and lost.

See you next Wednesday. In the meantime, have a great weekend. And drive carefully out there. It's snowing here.

Judy wrote: "Amy wrote: "My latest story just got mentioned in the Medium Daily Digest email. :-)

https://medium.com/@debzcooper/above-..."
congratulation, Amy!"

"I am quite invisible, despite my purple hair."

I absolutely LOVE your writing style! And I loved your piece. Do NOT...EVER...GIVE...UP...ON...YOURSELF!!!!

Ted

Carole wrote: "I know. Years ago when I first got on Goodreads, I asked why authors don't do that. It was explained to me then that you can't swap reviews. When anyone else has suggested it, I have explained that..."

I wish there were a way to RECOMMEND this post a thousand times!

Pat wrote: "It is wierd, but it must be from someone where you didn't leave a review because you didn't like. I don't leave bad review either.

On another note, what is going on with the Giveaway fraud?"

BTW, to show you how brazen some people are, I once got a PM via Goodreads from one person who entered their name into one of my giveaways, asking if they won, that I only sign my name on the cover page...nothing more than that. From then on, I made it a point of writing a long, personalized message to each winner! If they're going to resell my books, by G_d, I'm going to devalue them from the get-go.

Pat wrote: "It is wierd, but it must be from someone where you didn't leave a review because you didn't like. I don't leave bad review either.

On another note, what is going on with the Giveaway fraud?"

I assert that majority of Giveaways do NOT result in reviews. This is based on the six I ran, giving away multiple books on each giveaway (and using Priority Mail to send the books to the winners), NONE of which resulted in a review and in a least one confirmed case, resulted in a book appearing for sale on an Amazon reseller's Website within two weeks of the book being mailed to the winner. It's nothing but a fraud perpetrated on authors in that we should not expect these giveaways to result in anything but a loss of money and frustration.

BTW, I made my feelings known to the Goodreads editors, but, of course, received no satisfaction or recognition of the problem.