Troy

Del there are rules but the application, divination, interpretation or even understanding of those rules differ from practitioner to practitioner. Besides rules don't make something a science. Whether it makes "sense" far too subjective. There are many ways man has attempted to understand his world. Some tools and techniques are better than others. Some Christians feel Astrologers are practicing witchcraft and are certainly damned, others see Astrology as a way of understanding the universe that predates all modern religions... At the end of the day, the BEST way to demonstrate that Astrology makes sense it to prove what it is capable of doing in a way the is reproducible. Anyone who questions whether Astrology makes sense after that point is simply a fool or ignorant.

After discovering this video but after doing a little more research on the Life Changing Books to share in the next eNewsletter I discovered LCB has a NY Times Best-selling (E-Book, Nonfiction) author on their rooster Winter Ramos the author of Game Over. As far as I can tell it spend two weeks on the list. In Game Over: My Love for Hip Hop, "...Winter delivers a tell-all book on her famous ex-lovers and experiences in the music industry."

8,400 copies DT, that is excellent. That is 8,400 people that know you as an author, most of whom are probably new to your work. Now if you used an affiliate code that would have also been 8,400 people whose Amazon purchases you could have earned a commission on -- but I know you get it and I don't want to beat a dead horse... Please continue to let us know how the free ebook strategy works for you. Was there an uptick in sales of your other titles? Is Ratchet Woman now realizing more sales compared to other books you launched without the free promotion? Of course, I'll understand if you don't want to reveal all of your tactics.

Del I'm not sure you can apply the term science (soft, hard or pseudo) to Astrology any more than you can apply "science" to Christianity. Christianity is based on faith and Astrology is too subjective for either to be called a science. Can you clarify what you mean by "limited by its practitioners"? I would image everything is limited by its practitioners.

I never forget :-) But it is astonishing how many authors forget or simply do not know. Here is a link you can use going forward: www.amazon.com/dp/B00COSW6JY/tag=dtpollard-20 where B00COSW6JY is the Amazon product code or ISBN-10 These sales will also count toward AALBC.com's bestsellers list if you use links of this form which will obviously result in a lot of free promotion.

successful Indy Book Publisher

Pioneer that is deep, I guess that can happen because the design of the eNewseltter, website and discussion board are different.

Yeah my wife and I was rolling at the last part In reaction to the last part Bill Maher said apparently Ramsey must not watch keeping up with the Kardasians. I don't watch it either but I understand Kim is now in a relationship with Kayne West (how I know about Kim and Kanye speaks to the power of social media -- inundated with crap I don't care about)

Pioneer don't get me wrong I'm not absolving women of their roles in laying down with of Desmond Hatchett, then having a baby by him, but we were talking about manhood. There, in the 21st century there is also a difference between sexual intercourse and creating a baby. There are so many ways to prevent an unwanted pregnancy that it is ridiculous. I know life is complicated, things can get heated and a whole chain of bad decisions are made that lead to a woman giving birth to a baby who she then has to fight for some support from the biological father -- I get that, but 30 (24) times? At some point I think we can conclude that at least one individual involved needs to be stopped. I can't speak to all the other women involved. Desmond may have lied to and manipulated all of them -- don't know. ((Troy motions to one of Pioneer's scantily clad female servants to refill his drink. She smiles at Troy, almost imperceptibly, as she takes his glass, pleased to serve a real man. Troy nods just as subtly, acknowledging his impact on her. She moistens, quickly turning toward the bar hoping Pioneer does not become suspicious...))

Once a month I publish an eNewsletter which is emailed to about 16,000 subscribers. At one point, the number of subscribers was over 17,000 but over the last year or so I have lost more subscribers than I have gained. The biggest cause of the decrease is simply email addresses that have become invalid. The system that I use Madmimi will delete any email addresses where there was a "hard bounce". This is actually a good feature, as it help keep costs by purging bad email addresses. Madmimi charges you based upon the number of email addresses in your mailing list. In every newsletter I solicit and receive feedback. There are some issues which are raised often enough that I thought it might be interested to share them with you. I will also provide a link in my next eNewsletter to this post so that my subscribers can read my reactions too. Perhaps it will encourage more feedback. The reactions are always overwhelmingly positive, that is encouraging. My goal is to provide useful and interesting information. I realize I can’t make everyone 100% happy, but I do want to include at least a few things anyone can appreciate – yes something for everyone :-) Usually the positive messages are pretty direct like, “Thank you. Much appreciated” or “great newsletter” Sometimes the messages are a little more thoughtful; “It's my pleasure to subscribe to AALBC. I can't begin to tell you how much I appreciate your eNewsletter. As a writer and an avid reader, it keeps me informed with what's going on with African American books and films, and other literary and film events. I recently re-released my debut novel, -------------------- , so I look forward to advertising with AALBC in the near future, as well. So, thank you!” or “My family had an unfortunate lost at this time, but hopefully I can send the 1%, . before end of May. I truly enjoy your newsletters, so informational, even when I can not afford a book I have the latest info at my finger tips... so for keeping me updated here in the Midwest were things are a little slower than your area.” or "I'd rather give you $10.00 instead of $7.99. I rather mail you a moneyorder. Just send me mailing info to send it too. Happy to support" In an attempt to help bring in revenue to directly support the eNewsletter I started asking people to purchase their subscription. The campaign plays on the concept of "The 1%". Where if 1% of the subscribers paid $7.99 for their subscription the eNewsletter would be much better.. The actual reach of the eNewsletter is 1,600 to 3,200 (reach meaning actual readers; people who open the eNewsletter email, in HTML format, and click a link). I would actually like to get 10% of the actually eNewslettter readers to subscribe which would yield almost $16,000 (an average of 2,000 readers * $7.99). Which would easily cover the eNewsletter expenses including paying for an editor and the writing of more pre-publication fiction book reviews – something I really would love to be able to do. I also learned many people who would otherwise pay for their subscription don't do so because they don't want to use PayPal. PayPal is much easier for me and makes renewing subscriptions much easier. While complaints come in less frequently than complements, complaints do come in – and I welcome them. Consider the following; “Why haven't you let us know about the new Maya Angelou book---Mom&Me&Mom--I just happened to find out from the Barnes and Noble website.” Here is part of my reply: I really meant to mention Maya latest in my eNewsletter, but I simply forgot. I have already mentioned it in so many places. I’m sorry you missed these. Most of this was done 5 to 6 weeks ago; Twitter: https://twitter.com/aalbc/statuses/313711762883112960 Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/aalbcfanpage (scroll down to March 18th) Discussion Board: And on Maya’s page on the website: http://aalbc.com/authors/maya.htm In general, the eNewsletter is just a sampling of what happens on AALBC.com or what I know about. I simply can’t cover everything. I know the eNewsletter is the most effective of all of my platforms as it is sent directly to the reader. It is not dependent upon search result or how social media decides how to position your information for others to see it. The really bad thing is that I discovered Maya’s new book the way any typical reader might. I did not get a pre-publication galley not even an email from the publisher. I might have even commissioned a book review if I had. From a business perspective I can only afford to do so much to promote a book for which I get no support from the publisher or author. An advertisement buy would be idea. But something would be helpful. As much as people complain about urban authors or self published authors in general -- they in many ways are keep many booksellers, like AALBC.com, alive and subsidize the promotion of authors like Maya Angelou. I actively look for new books from popular authors – discovering them is not always easy. I can only image how difficult it must be for the average reader to discover a new book, or how a new author reaches an audience (well, that is where AALBC.com comes in ) “troy you know i love you but you MUST have your newsletter *professionally* edited... “ What can I say, I agree. But the issue is one of allocation of resources. I write and edit the eNewsletter myself. While some writers are better than others at editing their own work, none are as good as the fresh eyes of a professional editor – I get that. If I got my paid subscriber base up I can certainly have one of my Edit1st.com editors handle the task. Then again with better editing I might have more paid subscribers Is the editing really that bad? STOP SENDING EMAILS TO MY INBOX! HOW MANY TIMES DO I HAVE TO CLICK ON 'UNSUBSCRIBE'??? THIS IS NOW HARASSMENT!!!! The AALBC.com eNewsletter is double opt-in. You have to subscribe, then confirm you've subscribed via email. Also each email include a link to unsubscribe. In the past I have added people, who have attended an AALBC.com event, to the eNewsletter assuming I was doing them a favor. But I got complaints and discontinued the practice. So I had no idea why this person would be yelling at me (ALL CAPS WITH MULTIPLE EXCLAMATION POINTS!!!!). After a little research I determined that this person subscribed on their own, but apparently could not figure out how to unsubscribe. I deleted them and checked with Madmimi support to see if there were any problems with unsubscribing – none were found. It takes about 8 hours to write an eNewsletter and a few hours read and reply to the feedback. Of course the underlying content in the eNewsletter takes days to compile and post. After 15 years of spreading the word about books, writers and now filmmakers. I know it is even more important than ever. There are simply less places for our stories to be told. There are fewer book stores, and websites talking about Black books, than when I started. Coverage of Black books in Magazines, Newspapers and on TV is far less. Social media, despite the hype, has not picked up the slack (). Again I appreciate all the critiques the positive and the negative -- even if it is just to say you misspelled a word it is all good. Thanks! Click to Subscribe

OK now I get it after reading DT blog post apparently much of the hype has to do with the Brother who found these girls. The media is playing up the ghetto nature of the hero, because the public loves this stuff and as a result it is very lucrative. There are already a ton of remixes o Youtube, these people will profit as well. We live in a perverted society :-) Wait for the last part of the interview Ramsey come up with a funny line.

All of the data shared below was derived from the, 2012 U.S. Book Consumer Demographics & Buying Behaviors Annual Review, which is prepared by Bowker Market Research and Publishers Weekly and published 10th August 2012. I attended a presentation, given by PW and Bowker earlier this week where copies of the report were made available. The list price is $999, so I was happy to score a copy. The presenters Jim Milliot Co-editorial Director, Publishers Weekly and Carl Kulo U.S. Director, Bowker "The Annual Review explores demographic changes in the context of overall market trends culled from the Bowker Market Research consumer panel of almost 70,000 Americans who bought books of any format and from any source in 2011." Again, the information in the 2012 book reflects purchaseS made in 2011 (the 2013 edition will be out soon), so that data presented immediately below is somewhat stale, but still interesting and valuable if you are involved in the book business. Some highlights from the 2012 book include; Amazon is the country's largest bookseller; not matter how you measure it sales (26%), units or book buyers Online retailers accounted for 39% of consumer book spending Independent Bookstores' share of the book market rose 1% Bookclubs shared dropped to 2% from 13% in 2009 (ex. Black Expressions, Book-of-the-Month Club) B&N was the 2nd largest bookseller with a 16% share During the presentation the 2012 data (from the forthcoming 2013 edition) was presented and discussed. Online sale represent 43% of book purchases. Amazon continues to lead the way -- no one else comes close. Walmart and Costco appear to be scaling back on book sales. It looks like B&N will close stores going forward. Also we see that; eBook sales have slowed and the decline in the sales of physical books is slowing and appears to be stabilizing. women represent 60% of book buyers, 65% of units and 58% of dollars spent While discussing how people learn about books, social media was not listed as a significant factor. While many in the audience reacted in surprise. I was not surprised in the least. The most common way people learn about a books are; Like this author (23%) Other at 22% (includes, Radio, TV, bestsellers lists, reviews and advertising), In-store display 19% Of course this is just a microscopic sample of the information provided and discussed. The presenters Jim Milliot and Carl Kulo U.S. Director, Bowker Market Research will also be presenting at Book Expo America in a few weeks.

Hey DT why don't you use an affiliate code when you post links to Amazon. You can earn at least another 6.5% on the sale. If for some reason you can use the affiliate code of another bookseller for example AALBC.com's affiliate code is "newsstory-20". http://www.amazon.com/dp/B00COSW6JY/tag=newsstory-20 or using a short link: http://bit.ly/ratchetwoman This not only gives you the opportunity to support a bookseller, it also give those sellers an incentive to help promote your book. Admittedly, the relationship between independent booksellers and Amazon is quite contentious. The reality is that MOST authors, when they provide a link to order their book online, the link is to Amazon. There is little I can do to change this behavior because MOST people when they buy online, buy from Amazon. Therefore authors linking to Amazon makes sense (without getting to deep into the economics of buying Black). Given these facts, we should at least get the extra 6.5% percent of of Amazon, while they are still giving it away. The MOST disheartening and frustrating thing is that no matter how many authors I explain this to, authors don't usually change their behavior and they continue to allow Amazon to keep the extra commissions.

"The mainstream media is a JOKE." I agree with that. I don't know why this particular story is getting so much national attention either. Sure it is bizarre and tragic, and therefore "news worthy". But there is no shortage of these bizarre stories and the coverage seems over the top. But again given the status of mainstream media I'm not surprised or really very interested...

Pioneer, I have nothing else to add. I do however think your reasoning with White supremacy, sexual stereotypes, manhood, and irresponsble behavior is muddled at best. With your reasoning a man is still a man even when he behaves like a boy. I disagree, but I aslo appreciate, based upon our collective behavior as a society, that I'm in the minority. We continue to treat these "irresponsible black 'sperm banks'", as men. We even enable the behavior; like the parent who keeps giving his child the keys to the car even though the kid gets drunk and crashes the vehiclle every night. People like Desmond, should have been sterlized (if not castrated) a long time ago, But instead his irresponsible behavior continues without consequence. Apparently child suport is no deterent.

"...undiagnosed ADD culture of this microwave society" Someone should study this -- seriously. It would be interesting to know what percentage of the Black community can actually read and enjoy a novel like Beloved -- both what percentage actually did read and enjoy it, and what percentage could, if given the opportunity. Then compare how that percentage compares to the white population. A non-Black friend turned me on to the novel Beloved years before I started AALBC.com. I found the book challenging, but very enjoyable. It never occurred to me why I had never heard of the book previously. Like most Black men, I suppose, I was not tuned into the literary world. This is just an anecdotal example of how I as a Black man was ignored, and continues to be ignored by publishers (often bookstores and authors too). All Black readers, not just men, are ignored in the literary fiction world as well. With the exception of a few African writers, and Black writers writing for the majority audience, Black people are effectively ignored in the work of literary fiction. Toni Morrison, Alice Walker, etc, are basically done writing books -- who is on deck? Perhaps publishers and even book-sellers consider the Black male demographic too small or expensive to acquire to bother with -- but it is not the publishing industry's job to generate this demand. It is ours, if we think it is important. If the Big 6 (or 5) publishers knew they could make money pubbing more literary fiction for Black people -- they would. Until then we will just have to be satisfied with commercial fiction (urban, erotics, celebtrity) targeted to the female masses.

This is almost like the chicken and the egg conversation. Less than 20 years ago, Nah'Sun we complained about major publishers believing Black people did not read at all, and therefore assuming that publishing books for that demographic did not make business sense. A few folks self-published made some money and only then did publishers recognize a business opportunity founded on the fact that Black folks actually do read. Today we are arguing that Black folks actually do read literary fiction. But at the rate things are going culturally, it may only a generation or two before books like Morrison's Beloved or Baldwin's essays are no longer read for pleasure or to challenge one's ideas. Books like those will be relegated to Universities to be read by academics seeking post graduate degrees in some obscure area of study...

Pioneer of course that is techincally true, but surely you knew we were not talking about a "man" as in a physcially mature or fully grown male. We were talking about a socially and psychologically mature male as determined by what I think we can agree are reasonable standards. So in that content, do you think a male who makes baby and shuns all responsibility for their child a "man"?

"As noble as it is, sticking around and raising children doesn't make you any MORE of a man than the deadbeat bum who knocks a woman up and runs off to duck responsibility." Pioneer you never cease to astound me. While I often disagree with many of your statements, none you have written has ever suprised me. In fact, I've heard your ideas expressed many times over the years. I was raised on many of them, listening to brothers in the street, men talk in barbershop and even talking trash with the fellas. Anyone who makes a baby with a woman but fails to support that child is not a "man". In fact I would argue they are less than a man. Men do not spread their seed with reckless abandon, "boys" do that. Animals do that, not men. I know in todays culture so called men can do anything they want and still claim the title. So, in 2013, we describe people like Desmond as "men", but there is nothing manly about him -- despite what all the woman who so willingly spread their legs for him say. They are in no position to judge. God bless Desmond's children.

One down 3 to go!

Pioneer, you are not gay stopping trying to rationalize it or make sense of it from your perspective. If just is -- obviously. I don't understand why, for example, so many Black people embrace, without question, the religion forced upon them by their enslavers. Some call it faith others brainwashing. But if religion makes people happy without infiringing on my rights or forcing me to adpot their lifestyle, I'm happy for them.

Book Store Database on Huria Search Last week I updated Huria Search to take our bookstore database generate webpages for each bookstore to include a representative photos, video, social media links, website snap shot, map to the store social media links, hours of operation and more. The book store database may be found here. Here is an example link to a local store near Harlem: https://aalbc.com/bookstores/store.php?store_name=Sister%26rsquo%3Bs+Uptown+Bookstore This is an attempt to capture every single Black owned independent bookstore in America. The database currently has 113 stores. If there are any missing stores or stores that should be removed please let me know in the comments. I’m also working on a similar site for Black Indy book websites. Which will replace this static page: http://aalbc.com/otherwebsites.htm The Power List & Huria Search Editors Note: (June 2017) the standalone sites for the Power List and Huria Search were migrated to https://aalbc.com/powerlist/ and https://aalbc.com/huria/, respectively Last week we (AALBC.com, Cushcity & Mosaicbooks) launched the Power List a national best-selling books list (http://powerlist.info). We are making the list freely available, as long as it is properly attributed. We actually provide code which allows people to post the list on their websites and receive automated updates: http://powerlist.info/usage-policy/using-the-power-list-on-your-site/ When visitors click on a book title or an author’s name on the Power List website a Huria Search is run. Huria Search is a search engine specifically designed to return Black owned independent websites -- sites that are being crowded out by corporate websites in conventional search results. Huria Search currently indexes 114 different websites. Many of the websites are Black physical bookstores, or the Black indy websites. I do not include sites that focuses on a single individual (ie personal blogs, authors), and social media websites. This will make it much easier for visitors to discover our websites, the way it used to be. Huria search can be used on any website. If you are interested in using Huria Search on your website let me know. Google Adwords Google is aggressively promoting their adwords program. This week they sent 20 coupons which allows me to give people $100 of free Google advertising if they spend $25. I have not done much advertising with Google, but I use their AdWords tools all the time. At any rate $100 is $100. So you many as well take advantages of the free advertising if you have not done so before. If you want a coupon code just email me and I’ll send you the code.

Danger Word a film by Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due Learn about how you can take part in the community-funded short zombie film DANGER WORD, to be shot by director Luchina Fisher at the end of May, 2013. Starring Frankie Faison (The Wire, Banshee, The Silence of the Lambs). Screenwriters Steven Barnes and Tananarive Due explain how they decided to shoot their own film after working in Hollywood. DANGER WORD is the story of a 13-year-old girl survived the zombie plague with her grandfather in his wooded cabin--and how her birthday celebration goes awry. Learn how you can be a part of the indie horror

My sentiments exactly.