@Troy , Why I’m devoting a year to helping black newspapers survive  by Regina H. Boone

Columbia Journalism Review  article Mentions AALBC...

"The African American Literature Book Club, which tracks independent, black-owned newspapers, counts more than 100 such papers, including the Richmond Free Press. "  

1 hour ago, Troy said:

Mel I recently added a book I saw on your website to your AALBC.com site: https://aalbc.com/books/bookinfo.php?isbn13=9light_attend I changed the way the site is designed to highlight went book are available for purchase directly from the author.

Thank you, Troy! I saw it! It looks great!  Please let me know how the distribution works through AALBC.. Once I publish,  I'd be more than happy to drop ship books to the buyers that are sold through AALBC... You're  beyond generous with your space and time - and I want to  support through sales too! 

Edit: Wait  - when I publish, maybe you can just have the buy direct from AALBC and you just send me the ship-to, my royalties via paypal and shipping cost (I'll let you know if I do free shipping too)  and I'll send you copy of  the tracking number (I usually ship USPS priority mail envelope)??? OR  somehow we can determine the sale came from AALBC and we can settle on your percentage??? 

And to be clear on my part, I can't prove it but I'm not letting amazon off the bootlegging hook!

Yes, it is easy for others to grab my digital and bootleg but specifically related to amazon, so many people have told me they purchased my book SWADM through amazon, yet it's not reflected in my royalties ...same with my digital short story.. My daughter bought several copies for her friends - I saw her receipt but it never showed up on my statement.   So even if create space isn't printing - which I believe they are what stops them from not printing if they already have the digital copy.    

At least if I sell physical copies there's a paper trail...

1 hour ago, Troy said:

I'd heard about bootlegging up books for year, but Amazon has really created a major platform for selling knock off products, including books.  Debirah said she wanted to sue, but Amazon was not helpful at all. 

Yes! This is exactly why I won't put another book on their platform... I probably sold a lot more but if Amazon is printing out my book and selling it - how will I know?  So I'm not going to worry about it - if my book is gains some interest then folks will be willing to buy from me... And if indie booksellers pick up my book - I will promote them too but I'm no longer putting my books in digital format format for someone to bootleg - that's ship has sailed.   

32 minutes ago, Troy said:

no bakes sales or crowd sourcing to raise money, it will just be over.

Now that's just funny - even though I suspect you might be right... We don't rally around our own when it comes to securing a financial foundation. This goes on my list of "what the black community can do better"

On 3/1/2017 at 0:51 PM, Troy said:

Mel I simply lack the power to battle Google on any level.  Unlike the streets where you can get some of your boys or hired muscle to retaliate.  I have no one who will support me on this level.

@Troy , The EU just BITCH-SLAPPED Google with 2.7 BILLION DOLLAR FINE for promoting their own ads in the search query https://www.wsj.com/articles/google-slapped-with-2-7-billion-eu-fine-over-search-results-1498556971

4 hours ago, Troy said:

But, it would be helpful to hear from a bookseller, who operates a physical store, what they think of your idea, which seems like perfectly sound advice.  However please define for our lurking readers what you mean by, "news hook."

We bloggers are short on time but have to spend a lot of time writing articles.  So. I wrote this post for my blog " Long on Words, Short On Time; Pitch to Your Inner Editor  in it, I give 10 steps to complete to create a story idea pitch to yourself for future article development.  It's an attempt to get the blogger to form blogging "muscle memory" for content production. 

 Step  7 is to how to use a news hook in the intro of the blog post ...

A News Hook ties your author and their book into a national news story and/or event.  

In addition, a blogger can use a news hook for SEO to  continue to generate traffic . In January of this year, I  followed up on "Nasty Woman" the poem Ashley Judd performed at the Women's March and it's the number 1 search term that brings visitors to my site,  

So here's one way booksellers can use a News Hook in their article:

 

• Make even the most staid topic provocative, titillating, timely and SEO friendly by using a News Hook. Hint: Check out a social network trending topics such as Twitter or Google.

Today,  after 21 years, Fox News dropped its “Fair and Balanced” tagline – now pitching news stories to the executive producer should be a breeze. But for the rest of us who want to remain unbiased but provocative; even the blogger with 1 follower can pitch a story idea to our inner editor to get the best story in print.

I'm wondering if the indie booksellers are using their blogs to promote little-known books.  Writing articles focusing on the benefits of a book / using a news hook as a tie-in to books they're selling could be a win - win. 

5 hours ago, Troy said:

The image was posted on my Business page (where I was prompted to use the coupon) where is got 8 Likes, no shares, and no comments.

 

The image was also posted on my personal page where is got 94 likes, 4 shares, and 14 comments.

Glad to know it wasn't my imagination.  

16 hours ago, Troy said:

 

Did the use of the word "Afro" strike you? I guess they used it in place of "Black.

@Troy , of course not, they are referring to the people of Afroia...    J/K

it used to - but when I began flying around the world I learned it was European /Asian term.. In fact, I think the Latin countries use it too.  But I became familiar with the term when dealing with the Dutch - I think the Dutch refer to black people as "Afro" descent.  

4 hours ago, Troy said:

Black-owned airline (is it in Africa?), please share the link here too!

4 year old start-up Fly Jamaica Airways, owned mainly by Captain Ronald Reece and his wife Roxanne.

I'm not a "bestseller", great review, "award-winner" kinda reader.  So, it doesn't matter to me what any bookseller such as Amazon/BN promotes, I read what interest me .   

I think You @Troy and I both agreed we often hear of books through news articles placement.   (Do you remember that conversation - I think it was a facebook conversation some time back when I was on facebook the first time. )  

When I do, hear of book through an article or in conversation,  I go to the author's website first to buy.  In fact, I just linked to a book and its website here on my profile.  Today, was the first time I actually went to the author's website and could only purchase the book there. woo-hoo!  

Mostly,  I haven't been successful. I'm not sure why authors aren't selling directly from their  website.  It's so easy to sell direct now since there are so many ways to collect money online.  

When I publish my next book, I will sell direct and most likely through lulu distribution (since they're the printers) BUT I'm NOT distributing through amazon and I'm NOT distributing digital.

But I digress,

Next I do a search engine query to see where I can purchase the book.  Since I purchase  mostly out-of-print books I find them on ebay, abe's books  and other spots or via Amazon.  

I remember you mentioned you had a bunch of old books, and I just don't understand why you didn't sell those on here.   I'm in the process of selling gently used and almost new books from my website. 

But in answer to your question, Yes I'd buy from indie booksellers! 

 

3 hours ago, Troy said:

If you organize it Mel, I'll be happy to promote it and to go in with you 50-50%  We can discuss the details it that sound interesting to you.

Oh snap!  LOL... I got so much stuff on my plate... Ok, Bet! BUT put it on the warming tray, but not on the stove somewhere in the kitchen -but out of sight.. I need to get my portion in print first.  

7 minutes ago, Troy said:

I noticed that many of my friends using Facebook just to share photos get much more engagement

This is exactly what I noticed too - as soon as I syndicated my blog posts to facebook - wordpress sent me a message and said my page views were booming, more than the whole time I've had the website..   

Speaking of which, because of your advice,  I do everything from my website now ...I even use the portfolio feature for my consulting business... I really think that you should host a webinar (paid or introductory) that includes your social media findings and how advantageous it is  to have a personal website  for community news and to extend our personal brand..

 I rarely "share" articles - I now  press and discuss them on my website, along with the books I read. This way it strengthens my brand; promotes other black media (getting ready to promote an amsterdam news article that did a feature on a black-owned airline) And I hope retains the power of our voice in media.  You are the champion of this cause and I support you! 

I just returned to facebook and...the first few days were torture!  In fact, I wrote on txt.fyi about my terrible experience. I wanted to test out the ads and for $10 I thought it was a bargain to reach a specific group.  Needless to say, I've now killed my professional page - and only have a personal page because that is the only page that provides engagement and it's free.   I no longer believe facebook is the advertising juggernaut it claims to be.. I think something different and tricky is going on and i don't trust it. 

21 minutes ago, Delano said:

BTW in mathematics amateur have also made contributions to the body of knowledge.

@Delano even to this day! 

"PROOFS are the currency of mathematics, but Srinivasa Ramanujan, one of the all-time great mathematicians, often managed to skip them. Now a proof has been found for a connection that he seemed to mysteriously intuit between two types of mathematical function.

The proof deepens the intrigue surrounding the workings of Ramanujan’s enigmatic mind. It may also help physicists learn more about black holes – even though these objects were virtually unknown during the Indian mathematician’s lifetime.

Born in 1887 in Erode, Tamil Nadu, Ramanujan was self-taught and worked in almost complete isolation from the mathematical community of his time. Described as a raw genius, he independently rediscovered many existing results, as well as making his own unique contributions, believing his inspiration came from the Hindu goddess Namagiri. But he is also known for his unusual style, often leaping from insight to insight without formally proving the logical steps in between. “His ideas as to what constituted a mathematical proof were of the most shadowy description,” said G. H.Hardy (pictured, far right), Ramanujan’s mentor and one of his few collaborators.

“His ideas as to what constituted a mathematical proof were of the most shadowy description”

Despite these eccentricities, Ramanujan’s work has often proved prescient. This year is the 125th anniversary of his birth, prompting Ken Ono of Emory University in Atlanta, Georgia, who has previously unearthed hidden depths in Ramanujan’s work, to look once more at his notebooks and letters. “I wanted to go back and prove something special,” says Ono. He settled on a discussion in the last known letter penned by Ramanujan, to Hardy, concerning a type of function now known as a modular form.

Functions are equations that can be drawn as graphs on an axis, like a sine wave, and produce an output when computed for any chosen input or value. In the letter, Ramanujan wrote down a handful of what were then totally novel functions. They looked unlike any known modular forms, but he stated that their outputs would be very similar to those of modular forms when computed for the roots of 1, such as the square root -1. Characteristically, Ramanujan offered neither proof nor explanation for this conclusion." From the New Scientist... there's also a movie about this "amateur" called "The Man who knew infinity" 

3 hours ago, Delano said:

 I wanted to decide for myself.

@Delano,  folks don't want you to do that.... in fact, people get extremely nervous if you actually attempt to put in the work.  I'm also leery of cause and effect folks  who swear something happens as a result but  always seem to  miss a step... I told my mom years ago - everything I read about cholesterol and cardiac arrest was missing the link - but big pharma went ahead with their drug dispensing.. just the other day, a "new" study came out and stating the "drugs" are killing people  faster than high cholesterol.  All this to say - I see evidence of "climate change" as the "experts define it but  I flip flop on the cause - with mostly believing  fossil fuels may be causing  climate change but maybe because - we continue to unearth it...

  On 6/17/2017 at 7:23 PM, Mel Hopkins said:

@Delano, maybe i missed something - but I thought this graph was indicating co2 emission is not related to  global warming because it didn't track with the rise in temperature?  and the charts are showing something else is in play? 

 

@Delano, the charts you've posted and what you've stated; indicate to me that you don't believe people (and their subsequent actions) are contributing to CO2 emissions .  I just wanted to be clear of what argument you're presenting.    


It's my understanding Global Warming is a rise in the earth's temperature - and Climate Change is the slow moving "disaster" that has befallen the earth again. 
I wanted to know what was exactly your argument... is it that you don't see evidence of humans and their activities contributing to climate change? ... Do you think Pangaea affected climate change,  as it did millions of years ago?

There's evidence of Climate Change happening now, as it has happened in the past,  hundreds of thousands of years ago after the ice age  is allegedly the reason many of us left the African continent..  we were in search of water  since some places experienced drought and other spots were experiencing floods...   But I too doubt that "industry" and fossil fuel created carbon dioxide emissions had an affect on earlier warming.

Happy Father's Day to all the AALBC's community fathers!  

I only know for sure that @Troy is a father because I've spoken with his daughter   So a special Happy Father's day to you Troy!

 @Delano, You've mentioned you saw your children in your previous partner - therefore Happy Father's Day!

I believe @CDBurns  is a dad too Happy Father's Day!

 @harry brown, @Pioneer1 @richardmurray  Sending you all Happy Father's Day too. If you're not fathers, big hugs to you on this day anyway!

16 hours ago, Pioneer1 said:

Ever thought of the possibility that you were actually recalling the genetic recordings of your ANCESTORS' LIVES that was encoded in their DNA and passed down to yours but when you recall them you mistake them for your own?

that's a possibility... but it's not different...but it's still a past life that the current host has lived... 

@Delano, maybe i missed something - but I thought this graph was indicating co2 emission is not related to  global warming because it didn't track with the rise in temperature?  and the charts are showing something else is in play? 

5 hours ago, Troy said:

...maybe I don't really understand what you mean by seeing someone Mel

@Troy It's because you're  over-thinking it. ( I never use that term.  lol)  But You can't think your way into "seeing" someone.   It's not with the mind or eyes, it's with the heart. 

40 minutes ago, Troy said:

 Now I believe people can share their lives and love each the, but the "SEEN" part is what is getting me caught up.

@Troy ,If you're caught up on the "seen" then that's where your focus belongs.   Your focus is not on how others see . That's irrelevant in this task.   Are YOU are willing to to "see" your life partner.   Are you willing to see your partner objectively?  This means to see her at her core... See past her  behaviors and habits and into the heart of her maybe even more deeply than she's willing to see herself.    

If you are it ceases to be a task and instead becomes an ability.   

8 hours ago, Delano said:

Now consider this scenario: you want to sit at a given table, but the only available chair at the table is broken; the chair only has three legs. What can you do with the broken chair to be able to sit at the table?

And if we included Personal Intelligence , we can use the 3 legged chair as a foot stool because possibly one person who is already seated might be willing to share his/her seat and or lap .

6 hours ago, Troy said:

As far as being completely open for a perfect marriage, that I'm not so sure about...

There's nothing so satisfying as being SEEN by the one with whom you share Life and LOVE... 

5 hours ago, Troy said:

Just because you understand the stock market does not mean you will make money.  We rely on research reports and the companies themselves to provide information.  If they lie what good are our facts and information.  If rating agencies and government regulators fail to do their jobs we are screwed--and we a

This was really good, @Troy!  Do you know I don't have a clue as to how the stock market works. (I have an idea but not enough to teach) but I still made a nice chunk of cash and cashed out to do other things with my money... Do you want to know how?  Because I pay attention!!! I listen! I bought walgreens at  $35 a share and  sold at $105 I think it was... It wasn't insider trading I just paid attention to movements of the company... I heard they were setting up clinics inside larger corporations and for things like drug testing etc ...and employee health maintenance.   I went online to see how far reaching it was and lo and behold... there was evidence everywhere...  Know what else I bought?  Siemens, because of the high speed railroad that broke ground under Obama, this company had a few subcontracts related to the high-speed railroad -so I bought a piece of their company. Not much, a few shares. but enough to play around with and make cash. 

 I invested in chinese bonds (yuan) via EFT retail because they (PRC) hold a lot of U.S. debt and I followed a lot of American companies such as caterpillar who were investing in building China at their rate of exchange... Since I had gone clothes shopping in Beijing a few times I realized how much U.S. dollars could buy in RMBs (their currency)and I thought holy crap - American companies are making out like fat cats because they could buy so much more... then I noticed how the Chinese were playing with the U.S. treasury by lowering their currency's value and by the way- that was reported in the  U.S. media but no one was paying attention because everyone here is focused on the fuckin' kardashians.  So U.S. media stopped reported on it.  I turned to Bloomberg.... they tell you who is moving the crowd and why the crowd is moving"  It's not market manipulation - it's people manipulation 

and now Bloomberg is a media empire that is taking over the world ...but folks are paying attention to google whose product is an address bar. 
 
I just noticed that bloomberg law is a thing... that is getting ready to overtake LexisNexis (RELX) ( correction* I believe it  already has but don't quote me on it) but I digress....that's a whole other story. 

Troy, nothing is rocket science except rocket science and even that is dependent on how we measure time... 

 - the stock market is exactly what it is a market... you buy and sell everything.  

But you have to pay attention to what you're buying. You have to decide if you are going to let someone do your thinking for you - or are you going to pay attention.   President Obama enacted a law to protect the consumers.... and it did.   Now we have 45 taking away the very protections that you just mentioned will screw us all... so yes,  you are right. I have to make people care to understand. (I love that line)  So Troy if I can make you care then my job is done because you are a  champion of black people... and you will echo my voice.  And you'll tell them  the only trickery is diversion - distracting your attention  like a sleight of  the hand from what matters.