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I am in complete agreement with you. Why did booksellers, writers, and independent publishers decide to hand their power over to one distributor? When "B" started the business he said that he was going to destroy the book business first. He said it would be easy, because it was full of English Majors.

LATEST BLOW TO BOOK INDUSTRY Update- 3/31/2020 - “A” has ordered a few books from a publisher I know, one tenth of their usual order. There is no such thing as a “kind” slave master. Sell your books through your own website. Hello from Amazon, We are closely monitoring the developments of COVID-19 and its impact on our customers, selling partners, and employees. We are seeing increased online shopping, and as a result products such as household staples and medical supplies are out of stock. With this in mind, we are temporarily prioritizing household staples, medical supplies, and other high demand products coming into our fulfillment centers so that we can more quickly receive, restock and deliver these products to customers. Beginning today you will see: Reduced Purchase Orders: We have temporarily paused ordering for products that are not household staples, medical supplies, or other high demand products. Extended delivery windows for existing purchase orders: We have extended the shipment/delivery windows for some existing purchase orders to give you more time to fulfill the order. Please ship your products toward the end of the extended window. This will be in effect today through April 5, 2020, and we will let you know once we resume regular operations. We understand this is a change to your business, and we did not take this decision lightly. We are working around the clock to increase capacity, and on March 16 announced that we are opening 100,000 new full- and part-time positions in our fulfillment centers across the US. We appreciate your understanding as we prioritize the above products for our customers. Thank you for your patience, Amazon (Okay, Troy and Mel, you were right. It is a tag. But the box with the pull up menu is on this screen, it's not on the other one.)

I just reviewed information on the people who've registered accounts on this discussion forum over the past 10 years. I will call these folks "members." Members are different from "Guests," people who post here without creating an account. Over the past 10 years 8,050 members joined this forum. However, only 3,131 members revisited our discussion forum after creating an account, and only 608 posted here. The fact that only 8% of the people who create an account actually post, always confounded me. I think it may be that some visitors believe you have to create an account just to read the posts or maybe once they create an account and can't figure out how to post. In any case, despite asking, I have no idea why so few members post. As you might imagine, of the members who post, 10% of us are responsible for 90% of all posts. Most of the top posters have not participated in over a year. As a result, I've decided to reach out, via email, to all 608 members who have posted. Two hundred members has have requested that they not be emailed or the email address they signed up with is no longer valid. Thanks leaves 408 members you will get the email. If 10% of these member participated regularly we'd actually have a pretty vibrant forum, which I'm sure anyone reading this would like to see. Of course lurkers (people who read the forums but never participate), you are free to join as well Also, all discussion forum members are entitled to enjoy a 10% off everything in the AALBC bookstore just use coupon code: thumperscorner when checking out. This is on top of free shipping for orders of $40 or more and no sales tax collection (save the state of Florida). This is a one-time use coupon.

@Pioneer1 I never left! I decided it was wiser to spend my time on other areas on this website, where I could help and also learn what others are doing in the book world. I don't argue with supremacist folks of any shade and for a while this forum (culture, race and economy) was traveling that path. Calling people coons, uncle toms, ni--ers, colonizers, crackers, (dang there are'nt many derogatory names for Angles that don't include them being in a superior position over black folks, is there? LOL but I digress)- because of their differing life perspective doesn't help any of us. Black Supremacy is as hateful as white supremacy. Hate and fear are way too draining, divisive and mentally harmful. If we couple that with Alex Jones-type alternative theories especially the unsolvable theories then we're all doomed. I'm all for considering alternative theories but if they are not meant to help us evolve then what? For example, if coronavirus is engineered/modified. - SO WHAT? A lot of viruses are engineered/modified for health reasons - such as gene therapy. For years domestic animals such as cats and dogs have been vaccinated against the coronavirus . Are we talking about that modified virus? Anyway, if we're going to talk about solutions then I'm all in...but just talking about what somebody is allegedly doing to us - makes us victims...and I ain't got time to talk about reinforcing my victimization.

You mean a wish list on the profiles here? OK here is the thing; my shopping cart software is run by Big Commerce. The website is by Troy Johnson, and he discussion forums are by Invision Power. three separate databases. AALBC is really quite unique in that it is built by me. That offers many advantages and some disadvantages. Most web based book sellers use software from companies like Big Commerce to run their entire website. This provides the ability for anyone to run a bookstore but much less flexibility than a custom website. Software like big commerce is more likely to have a wish list feature because that is a popular feature for ecommerce sites. Since the forum and my shopping cart are developed by two different vendors tying these features together would be tough. Other platforms used by online book stores include shopify (which I can't use because it really is not designed to integrate easily with existing websites), and the platform provided by Indiebound for ABA member brick and Mortar bookstores. I'm not aware of another web based book store using a custom designed website and database, as AALBC does. Most websites running discussion forums use discussion forum software to run the entire website. I thought about tying the logins created here to the rest of the website, but now that I'm collecting customer information through bookstore sales, it might be better to use those logins. I;ll look info it -- thanks for the idea @Mel Hopkins

@Wendy Jones "The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones with Ready-to-Frame prints, where food and art intersect." You nailed it right here. I want to read, see and have this book on display in my home! So as you can see, just from this title and introduction; I already know I'm in this audience. I know there are others in the audience too. And here's why - #arthistory #africanamerican #womenshistory #chef #foodporn #gastronomy #oralhistory #pictorialhistory are some of the tags that popped into my head. I also believe "all art is political" ; so in the content I would expect to read about a change agent too. - Art is a movement. - Food is America's pastime and "Food Porn" as the young people call it today - is all over Instagram, pinterest and maybe even facebook as a club. In 2019 , We finally got our very first black woman Michelin star chef. In. 2019. So, imagine to learn there was black woman who was doing this way before social media was a thing! You are tying the past to the present and that would make this book hard to ignore. You've nailed this! Answering the rest of those questions just help you and your publicist to promote your brand in a way that secure you as an authority on Black/African American women history. While your mother may be the protagonist in the narrative you are still highlighting the journey of a group of black women and documenting the period for the annals of American history. Your brand is shining.

Hello, Mel Gladys Mae West is another Hidden Figure. She reminds me of my mother. Quite a story. I read your reply earlier, but I Just found this. Thank you. Having another example is helpful. I will refer to your questions to create the promotion for my next book, The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones. I have mostly finished the text. It just needs one more revision before I send it to the developmental editor. What I came up before asking your questions was this: The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones with Ready-to-Frame prints, where food and art intersect. This is my revision after using your questions. Please let me know if I'm on the right track. Who, Why, and How: The Culinary Art Portfolio of Josephine E. Jones with Ready-to-Frame prints The first black woman in management at a Fortune 500 company in 1967, who overcame racism, sexism, and classism, to create food that looked too good to eat.

FORGIVABLE CORONAVIRUS EMERGENCY LOANS At a recent Independent Book Publishers Association Committee meeting, I received the following information which I would like to share with you. As an independent publisher, if you hire developmental editors, copy editors, illustrators, and/or publicists to work on your book(s), you qualify for the emergency loans described in the Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act. The introduction of the Coronavirus Emergency Loans Small Business Guide Checklist states the following: The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act allocated $350 billion to help small businesses keep workers employed amid the pandemic and economic downturn. Known as the Paycheck Protection Program, the initiative provides 100% federally guaranteed loans to small businesses. Importantly, these loans may be forgiven if borrowers maintain their payrolls during the crisis or restore their payrolls afterward. The administration soon will release more details including the list of lenders offering loans under the program. In the meantime, the U.S. Chamber of Commerce has issued this guide to help small businesses and self-employed individuals prepare to file for a loan. In other words, if you use the loan to pay your independent contractors, the loan becomes a grant. If you don’t use the loan to pay your independent contractors, the loan will have to be repaid with interest. No loan requests over $10 million will be considered. (I had a good laugh when I read this.) There is more information in the link below to the Coronavirus Emergency Loans Small Business Guide Checklist, on the U.S. Chamber of Commerce website, which you can download as a pdf. I wish you much success. https://www.uschamber.com/report/covid-19-emergency-loans-small-business-guide Sorry, this is in the wrong forum. It should be in Ways to Share.

You beat me to the punch @Wendy Jones i was gonna share this today. Amazon's effective monopoly over the sale of independenly published Black books is now they can decide when it is important to stock, sell, and ship them. As long as USPS, UPS, FEDEX, and any number of other delivery services are out there AALBC, nor any other bookseller, has to slow down your book delivery. Amazon stocking fewer books and delaying delivery is only a problem for authors because they put all their eggs in one basket -- Amazon's I'm still doing three day delivery on the books in my store and im getting more customers everyday.

Troy and Chevdove after Kareem storms out................. Lol.

I know I'm late to the party and y'all done ate up all the chips and dip and drank all the punch, too!! But, I thought I'd add a little something - and something quite different than most of what's been shared. I'm an older Brother, who digs a lot of what has been posted already, but a couple of friends (who don't know each other and have different tastes) have recently turned me on to some music that some here at AALBC might dig. First up, the 'British' (really Afro-Caribbean) saxophone player Shabaka and the Ancestors. Most of the band members are from South Africa and they are jamming. A brief introduction: This is one tune: https://youtu.be/TnkjcS_yTfA For a more extensive experience, here's their live performance from a couple years ago, which I really enjoyed. https://youtu.be/IU4vpE2eGho Damani

DISCUSSION FORUMS STELLAR - SCREEN FATIGUE IS THE PROBLEM Before I let you know why I haven't been participating in the discussion forums, I want to express my gratitude to African American Literature Book Club. I found my editor and publicist here. Troy did the research to include the WBAI David Rothenberg interview on my author’s page, even though I had forgotten to send it to him. The review that was published on AALBC, though not completely positive, was professionally written. A professional review gives the reviewer’s opinion of the book with supportive evidence from the book while giving enough information for the reader to decide if s/he is interested in the book. The reviewer did that, which resulted in sales of An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones. One of those sales resulted in a reunion with a beloved writer mentee. Another sale resulted in a fine correspondence—which continues until this day—with an admirer of the book who has also been very supportive of my career. Thank you. I was briefly on Facebook and LinkedIn for business, but ran away screaming. Facebook seemed intrusive to me. After I left, they followed me for six months online. LinkedIn sent emails to everyone in my inbox, which resulted in contact from someone I never wanted to hear from in this life or the next. Although I am still on Goodreads, I am not very active. When I visited their forums I was appalled at the childishness of the exchanges. It reminded me of third grade playground fights. Then I came to this community. Discussions were at a high level, included sources, and--whether I agreed with the writers or not--the conversations were always civil. There was so much variety, and you could start a new topic. Engaging people with differing perspectives was exhilarating. I will never forget the series of discussions Troy, another community member, and I had with a young man about his views on gay people. We didn’t change his mind, but I hope he at least reexamined his beliefs. Who could forget the life changing discussions about “A” and its devastating effect on booksellers, readers, and writers? Your discussion forums increased my brain cells. I spent days creating responses in my head. Then I typed them up in Word and revised them. After that, I cut and pasted them into the forums. Recently, I created a STAY AT HOME RESOURCE KIT on my website for my email list. I will discuss the details of that in another post. I think a custom tailored version of it would work for other writers. One element of the kit included recommended links. Here is what I put on my website: Discover the joys of the 21st Century’s version of the 18th Century salon. Then I copied the block of text from AALBC’s website giving details about the site and put the link on my website. For the past two years, I have been giving readings of An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones for Black History Month Programs at libraries and added a college this year. In addition, I also scheduled my first Women’s History Month Program this year, which was postponed because of COVID-19. Wherever I go, I have been telling writers and readers about your website, with particular mention of the forums. In other words, although I wasn’t on the forums, I was sending as many people to them as I could. I don’t think the discussion forums can be improved. They are already excellent. The problem lies not with your discussion forums, but with my screen fatigue. Like most people, I spend a great deal of time on screens: the computer and the phone. I don’t have a TV, but watch movies, documentaries, TV programs, and videos on the computer. I am looking forward to watching an Oscar Micheaux film on Youtube later tonight. Except for occasional trips to bookstores, most of my research is done on a computer screen at home or at the library. I don’t have other devices, but still spend more time than I’d like on screens. When I was working on An Extraordinary Life: Josephine E. Jones, I had to get special computer glasses to ease the fatigue of reading the digital proof files my copy editor sent me. I felt as if I my eyeballs were walking on sand. I am wearing those glasses now. After awhile, I don’t want to see another screen. I just want to put on my regular glasses, sit in my wing chair, prop my feet on the footstool, and read Looking for Lorraine. (If this ends up with a "tag"[I don't think that's the correct term-my research described the "at" sign with the name as a tag] it will be another accident.)

@Troy https://www.nbcnews.com/news/us-news/florida-coronavirus-cases-surge-spring-breakers-express-regret-n1168686 Your boy is pulling back on his statements haha

This is something else.Love it. Two different videos.