Saturday, October 10, 2015

Channeling My Higher Self


I hear from the Astrology community (my other tribe? J ), October 15 is a good time to launch menakoo.com when the energy of the new moon is rising.

The Dance of the Chi PDF was created in a very complicated way.
It was the first time creating a digital book for both my graphic artist and me.
The process was made more difficult and stressful than it needed to be for we were both just not ready in terms of our skills and experience.

So, when you read TDOTC, you will find the top of the pages a bit crowded.
In my opinion, the first line of text is too close to the header design.
I could pay my graphic artist another fee to re-do the lay out but then it would cause more delay and yet more delay as I would have to proof read all over again so I’m releasing it as it is.
Besides, I have already gone over the budget for this book project and as digital books go, it’s anybody’s guess whether I am going to be lucky enough to recover the cost even as it stands.
Other than the top being a bit crowded in parts, the rest of the book looks fine to me.
I hope you will enjoy the contents.

The common opinion today is that the digital age is damaging to writers.
This is true especially in the third world and developing countries where copyrights are mostly not honored.
Most of us are aware that pirated software, DVDs, CDs, branded goods and pretty much anything relatively expensive are widely in use in certain parts of the world.
Some are of the opinion this is a “service” to poor people who otherwise won’t have the chance to enjoy the stuff that richer people get to enjoy.
Depending on which side you are on, piracy can be a good or bad thing.

They say the Internet has no borders and the problem of piracy of digital books is worldwide.
I have often thought that if goods were sold cheaply enough, that that would be the answer to the problem of piracy.
The idea is to make piracy unnecessary and not lucrative.
My books are sold cheaply because I want to discourage piracy and because I want as many people to benefit from my experience and insights as possible.

Initially, I was inspired by another author who claimed that when he offered his digital book on the ‘HONOR’ system, his faith in human beings was rewarded in that he earned even more than if he had placed a price on his book.
Reading that, I had wanted to follow in his footsteps but I eventually caved into the opinions of the people around me who were dead set against the idea.
They convinced me that I wouldn’t even be able to recover my cost if I take that route.
The Buddha taught that the middle path was the best one so I settled for the middle path.
I charge USD5 per book and I have a ‘DONATE’ button on my web site in case readers actually would like to pay me “value for value.”
Just because I price my books at USD5 each doesn’t mean I think my books are not worth more. J

So, if you find any of my books available anywhere on the internet other than on menakoo.com, please know that they are pirated copies.
(If I decide to use ‘Sellfy’, I will share the news.)
I understand there are websites where pirated books are sold.
I am doing my best to secure my PDFs but I still need your support.

Please encourage self-published writers like me by not purchasing pirated copies of digital books.
As well, if you come across translated versions of my books, please alert me as I have not given anyone permission to translate my books.
If and when such an agreement is made, I shall be proud and happy to announce on my website that that has happened.
You can go further by identifying, reporting and alerting the authorities of such sites.
Writers need to pay their bills too.
Many thanks for your understanding.

Below, I share a study released on September 16, 2015.

“The digital era is cutting into income for book authors, making it more difficult to live off writing alone, a survey by the Authors Guild said Tuesday.
The survey said income for full-time US authors in 2015 fell 30 percent from 2009 to $17,500, and part-time authors saw a 38 percent drop in income to $4,500.

"Authors' income is down. This is the result of a confluence of factors," the study found.
"The ubiquity of e-books means that online book piracy is more of a threat than it was in 2009. We've seen major consolidation within the traditional publishing industry, which means less diversity among publishers and their increased focus on the bottom line."

Traditional publishers' dominance of the marketplace meanwhile is being eroded by the rise of self-publishing, the study noted.
The report also singled out Amazon — a frequent target of the writers' group — saying its dominance has led to the shuttering of thousands of brick and mortar bookstores and has "made the business of authorship both more diverse and less profitable than it was six years ago."

Publishers Weekly, which first reported the findings, said the study found a majority of authors would be living below the US poverty line if they relied solely on income from their writing.
"The picture's not pretty, but there are silver linings," the study said.

"The rise of hybrid authorship is an exciting development: authors can now have more freedom in choosing a method of publication and promotion that suits the needs of the specific book they're trying to market."
And it noted that "the opportunities for author-reader engagement are unsurpassed in the history of book publishing — even if this engagement competes with an author's writing time."” -- © 2015 AFP 

More than a year ago, I was warned by others who went before me that I am wasting my time creating digital books for sale.
I decided to go ahead anyway.

“There will be a few times in your life when all your instincts will tell you to do something,
something that defies logic, upsets your plans, and may seem crazy to others. When
that happens, you do it. Listen to your instincts and ignore everything else. Ignore logic,
ignore the odds, ignore the complications, and just go for it.” ― Judith McNaught

I share this study to let you all know I am aware that digital books will not create a lot of income.
However, it is my hope the sales of the books will be at least sufficient to cover expenses of publishing so that I may go on to publish more books.

Update on the launching of http://menakoo.com/ and the digital books:

My team has been doggedly and persistently making the effort to launch on October 15.
There are still a few technical glitches to overcome and the launch will happen around that date. After that, I will need to take it easy for a bit and if there are any technical problems, my able webmaster will handle your concerns. Thank you for your continued interest.