Mel Hopkins

1 hour ago, Troy said:

"I Sell More Books Through Amazon than Any Other Platform"

@Troy  Selling more books and making money are two different things.   Now that publishers have to compete for the Amazon buy box  - I don't believe these authors are actually making money.  

 I  didn't get most of my sales from amazon  but that's because I promoted the sites  where I would make more money such as lulu.com,  my own website or link  and of course direct sales  or through personal booksellers.   When I sold through amazon - I only made $2.13 per book - lulu was $8. 68  and of course when I sold from my website or direct - it depended on how many books I ordered in advance...My royalty could go as high $10 per book.  Direct was best because even if I didn't sell in person,  I could offer free shipping - Priority mail and still have a decent royalty per book.    

I first published in 2006 - so no stores would buy my books.  Since I had an isbn # folks could still order it through their local stores - but I  didn't see any of those royalties.  

Aside:  My daughter purchased 10 Kindle copies of one of my short stories to send to her friends - and I got none of those royalties... It made me suspect that wasn't the first time - I got cheated out of my KDP royalties.   I removed my short story from kindle and I sell it directly from my site using fetchapp  ( FetchApp allows you to sell and digitally deliver downloadable goods)

I will be the sole distributor for my next release.    I'll keep good notes so I can report how it goes.   Oh by the way,  when I get a large order - I will definitely use AALBC printing services.  

@Troy , I'm not surprised... I used to be a amazon devotee.  hell, I used to be somewhat of an evangelical christian... now I barely say "grace" . I'm still a media junkie but now that I've focused on achieving my goals - I don't read everything. 

My point is you were dealing with a "cult".   They are addicted.   The ease of Amazon fulfills their needs - especially their need for acceptance. 

If you really examine their  words you can easily read through them to see how they believe amazon is their savior.  Even hearing the possibility of someone wanting them to boycott AMZN, the messiah,  makes them ill and you the enemy for suggesting it. 

You want to deal with independent thinkers. (self-acceptance is probably the Number 1 trait)
Also, forget about the bargain-hunters.  The only thing that will change their mind is if the prices go up or the product is cost-prohibitive.  For those addicted to their kindle -or the ease of digital readers,  there will have to be an alternative with a perk.  For example, they will be able to "own" their purchase and transfer their content to any device at will.

Yep, you'll have easier time recruiting folks who have already soured on Amazon   or even those looking for another way to publish independently.   Those people are usually business-minded and for them the bottom-line is their bottom-line.  For those recruits, the book business isn't an extension of their personality. It's a business.     So you're right, you don't need an MBA - you just need to be clued on business operations  and  "the cult of personality".  

 

Here's an article from EDC, publisher who pulled 2000 titles from amazon.com,  Ingram and baker & taylor (because they're distributors to Amazon) and big box stores in 2012.  He said it meant $2 million in annual sales but after a few tense months, they started making money again... http://www.businessinsider.com/edc-beat-amazon-2014-8    One more thing; EDC also has home sales consultants who sell their books - I mentioned that's how I sold my first book. There are other ways to sell books besides Amazon.

On 10/30/2017 at 3:12 PM, Cynique said:

In the real world people like me remind ourselves that we should live and let live,

@Cynique  Yes!  (or as they say on twitter " 

I get so excited when folks live their truth! Not what society expect of them  -but what they feel is right for them in the moment... We have enough of folks doing their best trying to fit in .   When we have people doing to suit themselves - it allows the rest of us to figure out what is true for us..

Reading your words allowed me to check my own barometer... where I stand.  I believe this may be true for a lot of us - all it takes is for one to speak up - and we are all freed.  

and me!!!   

How far would you go to find love? An ingénue will go to hell and back to find the man of her dreams. Or is it her nightmares. * * * “Sleeping with a D-Man” is a supernatural tale of forbidden love, conspiracy and sacrifice in a world where nothing is as it seems.

13 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

The problem is WHITE SUPREMACY.

@Pioneer1   

1) I asked if you watched the film because I asked my questions within context of the film.  Since, you answered "No” then you can't provide an informed opinion that is relative to the film.  That's cool. 

In the documentary, the problem is NOT white supremacy...  Now if you want to go off topic, that's fine.

2) But for sake of argument let's say the film discusses "white supremacy" then we see it's not a goal or a problem per se, it's a tactic.  In this film, the goal was empire building and where necessary” white supremacy" was used as a tactic to divide the people from their natural resources and riches.    
 

3) THE PROBLEM, both in the film and globally, is the goal of a pseudo emperor attempting to seize and control resources, even natural resources to amass a fortune for his/her empire.  Thereby reducing the rest of the planet and its inhabitants to slavery and servitude.  

In sports, such as basketball, I know you don’t get distracted by your opponent’s fancy footwork & dribbling – that’s how you get your ankles broken.  You maintain your focus on achieving your goal.

Leaving the sports analogy, defense can be a goal but it’s not an effective one.  

There are a few countries that have created their own goals – and as a result are not at the mercy of the World Bank or IMF.

One country has already taken steps to create its own world bank.

They may have problems but white supremacy ain’t one.

If you really understood white supremacy,  you'd know you fell for the illusion. Then you’d know it’s a distraction to keep alleged “non-white” people on a defense to lose sight of their own goals.  You’d know the would-be emperor is skilled at the art of legerdemain.   

The easiest way to defeat him is to stop letting him rent space in your head. 
 

9 hours ago, Cynique said:

The word you are trying use is "jibe" not "jive". To jibe with someone is to agree with them. Jibe can also mean “be compatible with or similar to.” If two people jibe, they get along quite well. (Definition from Merrimen Webster.)

@Cynique  thank you for this - I think I've been a victim of this eggcorn 

1 hour ago, Troy said:

Many feel not only that Amazon is their best options for obtaining or publishing books, but they feel it is their ONLY option.  

@Troy,  how can you help people who are looking for an EASY-BUTTON?   Remember what you told me about not everyone living in "my world"?  Well, that's the task you're about to undertake - barging into worlds unlike your own.  

Independent publishing came long before amazon or kindle... but Independent publishing was never easy that's why only a few people did it.   I self-published in 2006 because I learned about print on demand.  But I still had to do the heavy lifting to get the book into the reader's hands.  And I wasn't even as dedicated as Zane and the others who self-published and sold out of the trunk.   

All this to say, you don't have to convince the willing because we already know... If you're attempting to convince people who aren't used to doing the heavy lifting; refocus your energy. 

Showcase  people who can and do  publish without the help of Amazon/KDP - Those looking for an easy button might be more incline to follow those who can light the way.

3 hours ago, Cynique said:

 

Do i sound like a bitter black woman, lacking in compassion?

@Cynique , Nope!  You sound like a wise woman who's witnessed a lot.   And now you have the opportunity to watch this big sh*t show brought to us by a reality TV show performer.  Or you can tune out too...

I used to think Gil Scott Heron prophecy of " the revolution won't be televised" as something profound.  Now I see it's simply because there won't be one. We're not going out with a bang...just a petering out.  

2 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

any other White man to "reveal" to us that poverty wasn't accidental?

Yes... because while I knew of the inequity- I didn't know of the laws that made it possible.

What's worse is we haven't stopped it yet. We haven't changed our ways. We continue to vote to allow the oligarchs to take more of our rights.  We haven't taken the steps prescribed in the documentary or even from the man who is a confessed economic hit man to act on it. 

  @Troy is sounding the alarm to put an end to it by slowing down Amazon, facebook, google , apple - microsoft - what NY Times called Technology's Frightful Five   ... and he posted the push back he received from doing something as simple as boycotting Amazon.   Those people are extremely scary...(I was them before I had the information we have today) - 

So yes, I think we do need more people of every color to keep speaking up and providing solutions.   These are laws being enacted that are enslaving people once again.  

I bet if I tracked my activities of a 24 hour period it would reveal how I'm contributing to poverty in the motherland.  In fact, I know it..because I'm a huge coffee and tea drinker ...so even that simple action is aiding in the genocide of Kenyans.   

@Pioneer1 Question:  What part shocked you? What part did you already know but decided there was nothing you could do about it?  What simple action can you do to make a difference in all our lives today?

5 hours ago, Troy said:

But if give you a sense of how Amazon has become an issue of religious proportions

@Troy  Ok this exchange is scary.   But what's worse in 2008, I was an affiliate and I felt the same way as these devotees.   All it took for me to wake up from my slumber was to realize that my book was selling through amazon but I wasn't getting my royalties.   

But yes, I think this is exactly how we became slaves.

"There are none so blind as those who will not see"  ...

The U.S. House of Representatives just passed  their version of Senate bill which is a large tax cut bill that benefits anyone who earns more than $900,000 a year ...47 Million Americans (what's left of the middle class) are expected to be impacted ... We aren't inching towards the haves and have nots... we are there - slaves and slave masters...  This documentary shows how we got there...

From the dailymotion video with english subtitles 

" http://filmow.com/the-end-of-poverty-t71910 The End of Poverty? is a daring, thought-provoking and very timely documentary by award-winning filmmaker, Philippe Diaz, revealing that poverty is not an accident. It began with military conquest, slavery and colonization that resulted in the seizure of land, minerals and forced labor. Today, global poverty has reached new levels because of unfair debt, trade and tax policies -- in other words, wealthy countries exploiting the weaknesses of poor, developing countries. 

The End of Poverty? asks why today 20% of the planet's population uses 80% of its resources and consumes 30% more than the planet can regenerate? 

The film has been selected to over 25 international film festivals and will be released in theatres in November 2009. Directed by Philippe Diaz, produced by Cinema Libre Studio with the Robert Schalkenbach Foundation, 104mins, 2008, USA, documentary in English, Spanish, French with English Subtitles. The End of Poverty The End of Poverty"

3 minutes ago, Troy said:

 

PayPal has an option that allows people who transact through PayPal. to be sent back you your website after the transaction is completed--this is the page I'm talking about (I just making sure I'm clear).

 

Yes, I was just reading how others use a customized  thank you to return to the website...  I'm open to that as well especially since the "buy button" is on my websites.   I didn't take into the account that some sell books through shopify, squareup market and gumroad  and wordpress pay page  but I agree it would have to be flexible enough to incorporate those options too.  Plus we would want to make sure that you can verify that the book is aalbc bestseller too.   

 

7 minutes ago, Troy said:

I'm glad you explained in more detail how marketing and sales work in publishing.  Others (especially indie authors) will appreciate the effort it actually takes to get books into the hands of readers.  They really do believe Amazon sells books for them and gets them in from of readers and there are no other options.

 
I've been putting together a check list of the ways big 5 tradebook publishing companies market their books for my own use.  I truly thought most indie author/publishers had access to the books that detail the activity they didn't need one more... but maybe I'll make it available too. 

16 minutes ago, Troy said:

If you create a customized thank you page I can show you how to use Google Tag Manager to determine where those customers, who actually purchased your book came from.  If fact, once you set up Tag manager you can give me limited access to your Tag Manager account and I can set this up for you.

Right now it goes back to paypal confirm - but I will create a page on my website.   Then I will connect the custom thank you page via this button.  But will you have the information too? How does that work? Either way you'll get your cut but I want it to be seamless accounting. - 

Remove

1 hour ago, Troy said:

I'd bet money Penguin had salespeople who pitched books to distributors to sell to stores.  I discover more books through Ingram than I do through publicists. 

@Troy 

Absolutely they did! They are sales people supported by THE MARKETING DEPARTMENT!!!

Penguin RandomHouse has several types of marketing departments.  I worked in one of them (Academic Marketing and Sales) We dealt mostly with backlist titles.  There was a marketing department that dealt with only adult front list titles., there was one for children's books ...et al.

By the way, Trade book In-house Publicity departments and their publicists don't market books - they work with the authors and get publicity for them - (different department/different activities) There's another department in trade book publishing that is like publicity but they are speakers bureau for authors.  Then there's media relations too.  

When I worked for G.P. Putnam's sons I worked in Special Sales.  We handled the marketing and sales for institutional markets and commercial premium incentives sales...)

You might think you're discovering books through Ingram - but guess how Ingram gets the info -Trade book publishing Marketing departments and marketing collateral from small presses too.  Ingram even has their own marketing department which is probably who pitches and promotes to you too.    

Marketing is a full-time job.  Don't get me started on Communication. lol - in Academic Marketing & Sales we'd produced quarterly catalog that would go to every professor on our mailing list... and then we'd look for other markets to enter.  I'd write occasional copy for the catalog, but do you know my primary job was planning and setting up and attending conventions/exhibits and meetings?!!! 

You know that list you post about all the black book conferences/meetings. Imagine being an exhibitor at most of all the major U.S. conferences. Imagine carting around classics and backlist titles and setting up exhibits around the country... I was that person!  And that's just a small part of marketing that trade book publishing companies do... 

See where I'm going with this? The majority of departments in Big 5 trade book publishing are marketing & sales.   Editorial is a small and elite group in the Big 5.

All this to say, it is the job of the publisher (big or small) to market their books.  Amazon is a distribution channel no different than Ingram.  If publishers are leaving it to amazon to market their books too then that's no good.  Even when working with AALBC - I would expect the use of the platform and positioning of my books would be worth more than $1 per book .... I’d be grateful for yet another channel but that wouldn't stop me from marketing the heck out of my book - 

1 hour ago, Troy said:

I asked about the customized thank you page for your PayPal transactions, not because of customer service, but because it give me a place where I can have you drop some code to actually track the source of a transaction, alternatively you can use Google's Tag Manager on your website.  Please send me the URL of your thank you page.

 

Right now, thank page is self-contained with the checkout ... maybe if I create a paybal button specifically for aalbc -and then you can code a customized thank you page that I can attach to it? 

56 minutes ago, Troy said:

Mel, when someone buys your book they are sent to PayPal, have you created a customized thank you page?  I'

I have customized thank you page and I've  also written thank you notes directly.   

Of course I would be interested in selling wholesale and I have in the past   So far my   I've also sold my first book through independent sellers - Just like they were Tupperware saleswomen.  It was great!  I got the idea from one of my readers (and friend) She liked the book so much she sold it at her job.   $1.00 per book is fine-.  Just as you mentioned Amazon took  a lot more - and they had nothing to do with the book -other than sell it from their website (at least the sales the reported to me). 

1 hour ago, Troy said:

, I currently have code on the site which allows me to link directly to authors site for buying a book, as I have for your new book: So You Want to Be a Flight Attendant: A Memoir. 

I'm not losing control of my inventory again.  By the way, I'll let you know when I've release "So, You Want to Be Flight Attendant : A Memoir"  - I hit a production snag delayed it.  

* * *

Troy, you know I come from a publishing marketing background so it's difficult for me to understand - someone buying another book if they don't see a book they want to buy on a website?

  When we sold books at Penguin - professors contacted us for specific books - not "whatever we had"... We marketed books - and that's what they asked for...so if authors/publishers market their books and   sell their books on their websites - wouldn't it be because someone was interested in purchasing that book?   Or are you saying that Amazon is marketing their books too? 

I just bought a book today - I was looking for that book - I didn't purchase a book like it ---I purchased the book I wanted to read.  I got it from the publisher 's website and they had a paypal option.  By the way, they didn't send me a "thank you" - they gave me the option to print my receipt.  I remembered my paypal account offers the same. 

 I'm confused by your statement.  Are you saying that independent publishers/authors don't market and sell their books - like old school booksellers did back in the day?  If not - then it's not Amazon or the reader that's the problem... It's the independent author/booksellers  not pushing and promoting their books.  That has to change too!

I rarely buy "black" books and when I do they are old books...usually out of print books. 

 I usually learn about  new titles through articles that I read .  That's usually-my impetus to purchase the book.  I buy based on benefits - not word of mouth. 

  If the author or the publisher isn't selling the book, I  then go straight to an online retailer.  The online retailer of choice is usually amazon - unless I have a Barnes & Noble gift card.  If I were to change the way I buy books , it would be based on a change in the marketplace. 

As an independent author, publisher and bookseller - I've decided not to sell my books through amazon.  I don't see the benefit.  I removed my debut novel from amazon - (and all online retailers) and my soon to be released book "So, You Want to Be A Flight Attendant" will only be available through me.  I haven't decided if I'm going to release it through Lulu yet... So if anyone should boycott Amazon it should be the independent author/publishers. Buying direct from independent publisher will have a greater  impact their bottom-line that it will Amazon. 

On 10/21/2017 at 4:49 PM, Cynique said:

i don't think i am personally acquainted with any women with whom this approach as worked, however.   

AMEN!  I can't even imagine someone saying "oh, yes...I want to spend the rest of my life or even a minute with you, Mr. Potty Mouth"

7 hours ago, Troy said:

 

OK Is see now the Basketville theme you are using has a button at the bottom of the page to show older posts.  Did I miss that the first time or did you just invoke that? 

 

@Troy  Oh no, that's been there.  I didn't know that's what you meant.    I did put up a widget  for popular content and since yours is one the most popular - it's listed on the front page.   

I'm still bummed out about VSB... Maybe they just wanted the money and job with bennies.  (oh well smh)

@CDBurns She tryin' to kill you man...that's sugar it will take you out! LOL.. Just kidding.  Beautiful gesture of kindness!

1 hour ago, Troy said:

None of the blog posts are listed--unless I'm just missing them?

Wow... something so simple... like an archive page?  Ok I'll do some research and get on it!

1 hour ago, Troy said:

If you believe the 2M number (I don't), then you have to ask yourself why weren't these Very Smart Brothers able to monetize that much traffic to pay writers and provide a good living for themselves.

That IS what I asked myself... I got very sad too. I thought if you're getting that many visitors then why sell?  It made me feel that even traffic won't help me set up a business writing.  

On 10/14/2017 at 9:36 PM, Troy said:

Education.  Full stop.

 

If you really want the full solution; stop consuming most forms of media and go back to reading books and newspapers.

 

That is it.

@Troy

Unfortunately that's not it.. Reading comprehension is a becoming a lost art.  Most people don't even have a grasp of semiotics...  I included  few symbols in my novel that modern Americans would (should) have understood right away  but they didn't have a clue.  And my symbolism was basic - really basic!    Today, people read a few words that tap them emotionally and believe they understand the composition.   Recently I had to diagram a essay  beginning with the conditional statement .   I agree education is the key... but now we have to figure out how to help people become educated.  

34 minutes ago, Troy said:

 https://melhopkins.com/2016/06/09/aalbc-the-african-american-media-clearinghouse-wifotit/ 

Thank you, Troy! Thank you for including me!  And thank you for your website diagnosis.   It helps out a lot! I was considering moving off the service and going over to wordpress.org hosted by godaddy  but I may rethink that now.  

I'm not quite sure how to add those meta-tags and title tags through the wordpress. template.   I do get to chat support with my subscription - so I will contact them and ask.   

Did you use the  search feature and type in aalbc.  I found about five aalbc related articles.  Also I found this article through my categories.    Also the link works too  -am I misunderstanding?   I am a beginner when it comes to html and coding.

On 10/18/2017 at 2:03 PM, Troy said:

However if the entity registered a domain and mapped to their Wordpress or Blogger presence, then it could be considered a site as long as it functions as a standalone site.  

This is my question.  I can't tell if melhopkins.com is a standalone site or is ranked as wordpress.com . Or it could be because I signed up for the wordspress site before I mapped my domain.  

With wordpress.org - I don't think you don't get a wordpress domain in addition to your domain name.   I hope  I didn't make this too confusing.   

AND... I'm very disappointed in VSB... I thought this was a blackowned site!   Edit: Here is their reasoning http://verysmartbrothas.com/why-we-joined-gizmodo-media-group-gmg-explained/

So many things to ask and say about this clarion call  but first, 

1) what qualifies as a website?  

2) Does a website with an owner's domain  hosted on wordpress.com (DOT COM) or blogger.com qualify for ranking? 

3) Or do you need to build on wordpress.org (DOT ORG) website with separate hosting.   

4) What if it's a blog with a static page plus a single entry per day...

5)

9 hours ago, Troy said:

I know this is hard for people outside the community to believe, and the government statistics are laughable to anyone here, but what else is new.

 

So now we aren't going to use government statistics as the standard because they don't measure up to what you believe you've seen?