Category Archives: Blind Blogger

Unknown's avatar

Writing Well 2: 4,000,000 Books and Me

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Recently I read a blog post that hit me like a bat on the back of the head. The author, Claude Forthomme, noted that a new book shows up on Amazon every 12 minutes and appropriately called this a self-publishing tsunami.

Claude’s post is now two years old and I expect the tsunami is now even larger. My guess is that Amazon currently has about 4,000,000 book listings.

In the middle of that flood of books are my two quite unnoticed self-published efforts.

That’s a lot of competition.

In another post, Claude shares that only 40 Amazon best selling authors actually make much money. 40 out of four million. I’m not sure what your math background is but even with my meager numbers skills, it seems obvious that the odds for financial success as a self-published writer are about the same as winning the lottery or me being asked to dinner with the President of the United States. It should be mentioned that I’m not his biggest fan.

My current book sales will not allow me to buy a first class ticket to fly to Paris, in fact, those sales barely allow me to buy an occasional beer to drown my writing career sorrows. Perhaps it’s time to throw out all the writing guru marketing crap that tells me that if I only work hard enough and smart enough and, of course, write something decent,, and then have a bit of good luck, I, too will be among the 40 best selling Amazon authors.

Not remotely likely, Grasshopper.

In Seth Godin’s insightful podcast, “Live at Carnegie Hall,” he poses the question of how young aspiring musicians can create successful lives amidst the flood of musical competition released by the same free and easy internet access that has changed the world for all of today’s creative artists. Seth suggests another path for life success. Instead of trying to compete with that tsunami of creative talent, build a tribe of 1000 followers for your unique artistic gift. He notes the careers of musicians who have small but dedicated followers. By focusing on uniquely serving a small group of people with similar passions, such artists have created simple and meaningful lives.

After listening to Seth, I considered my writing career and decided to change my focus to building a tribe of followers around my writing passion, young adult eco-fiction. Here I write for young minds still open and curious about the Natural world, a world that feeds my own soul. I’m building relationships within the eco-fiction community by reviewing other author’s books and being involved with discussion groups. I’m continuing my efforts to support the Save the Vaquita Porpoise! movement. And I keep asking myself the question, how can I best serve the needs of this community, my tribe while pursuing my own life path?

No, Ive not given up on building my writing platform, rather I’ve shifted it’s focus to serving my tribe. Sure, I’d like to sell more books, and I suspect this will happen over time. However, I’m not making plans to fly first class to Paris. I’d rather go fly fishing on the Rogue River.

Here are links to the above mentioned articles- (please make links noted below)

Claude Forthomme’s Blog-

https://claudenougat.wordpress.com/2014/08/19/to-self-publish-and-perish-buried-under-3-4-million-e-books/

https://claudenougat.wordpress.com/2016/02/07/only-40-self-published-authors-are-a-success-says-amazon/

Seth Godin’s Podcast “Live at Carnegie Hall”-

https://vimeo.com/155069902

Good writing!
Tio Stib Signature

Unknown's avatar

Michael Moore’s “Trumpland” Explains Why Trump Won

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Yes, like many Americans, I was stunned by Donald Trump’s astonishing election as the next president of the United States. No, I didn’t vote for him. His vile, bullying, and deceitful behavior during his candidacy left me both cold and embarrassed to be an American. No, I didn’t vote for Hillary Clinton either. Rightly or wrongly, I believed her to be part of an elitist political establishment that had little real concern for me or the rest of everyday America. I was an ardent Bernie Sanders supporter. Bernie is a good man, a decent human being, whose history of committed service to Main Street America, whose honesty and integrity, sparked me to political activism because I truly felt he was working for me. Sadly, Bernie didn’t make it past the Democratic Convention. Sadly, Bernie was not a real choice for president come election day. Instead, it was Clinton vs. Trump, not choices I could support. And Trump won.

This leaves me with two thoughts. First, Michael Moore saw all this coming last July. He correctly posited what would happen when what was formerly white middle class America reared up and roared it’s rage against the political establishment. He noted that this powerful elite had simply stopped listening to their constituency, and this complacency cost them dearly.

I’ve always enjoyed Michael Moore’s work, finding his voice to be insightful, compelling, and often humorous, a beacon of democratic freedom of expression and a reminder that democracy is the responsibility of each citizen.

Here’s the link to a summary of Moore’s “Trumpland” explanation of the election-

http://www.ew.com/article/2016/11/09/michael-moore-trumpland

Lastly, I must now confront my own responsibility for what is happening in America today, the divisiveness, the anger, even hatred, the polarization and tendency towards separation, all thinking and behaviors that run contrary to truly democratic process. I must push myself to pay attention, to listen with respect, to seek common ground and work for collective solutions to whatever challenges face my community, America, and the world I’m blessed to live in.

It is now, in this time of turmoil and difficulties that we each must work to be courageous, to stand for what is right, to listen with respect, to hold dear to the principles of freedom and equality that America was founded on. And we must never give up in our commitment to these ideals.

Be kind! Be strong! Be inspired!

Tio Stib

Unknown's avatar

Third World Shower

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the singular measure
of civilized pleasure
a waking human’s treasure

the perfect morning shower

while some grade countries on GNP
the importance of which I fail to see
only one thing matters to me

my perfect morning shower

still asleep
I hear the hiss
signal of my morning bliss
the flood of wet and cozy warm
the deluge splashing off my arms
consciousness begins to shake
my toes squiggle in a little lake
oh joy, the day that starts like this
if not, surely something is amiss

so here I stand expectantly
waiting for what I hope will be
that moment of pure ecstasy

my perfect morning shower

a distant rumble in the wall
my senses spark to shower’s call
the pipes begin to shake and creak
and then there is a tiny leak
a drip
an agonizing
pittance
of lukewarm
dribble

and so, from side to side I sway
trying to soak in token spray
pretending things will be okay

without my morning shower

tio stib, 2016

You might also enjoy: Morning Bliss, Mystery Game

Unknown's avatar

Two Rivers

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ahead
the canyon wall plunged
fell from the sea of sky
the river
dancing from shadow to sunlight
promising a new world
vanished

the rapid exploded

bouncing
white water splashes
rainbow mist
giggles
screams

the raft was spit
into beyond

and she was there
clear, quiet, confident
two rivers
two lifetimes
flowing
swirling
joining
at last

together

a shared smile
two travelers
now one

tio stib, 2016

You might also enjoy  Life Is Like a Broken Egg, Veiled Vision

Unknown's avatar

The Wave

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he watched the wave break
surge up the empty sand
surround surprised toes
sending shivers up his spine
awakening a dormant mind

then silence
the wave fell back
disappeared into eternity
and he wondered
about his life

tio stib, 2016

You might also enjoy High on Gratitude, Desert of Dreams

 

 

 

Unknown's avatar

Writing Well 3, Everybody Needs a Tribe

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In my previous post, “Writing Well 2,” I lamented the fact that with nearly 4,000,000 books listed on Amazon and with only 40 of those authors making any sort of money, my odds of financial success as a self-published author are less than me winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games. Since that activity involves athletes and that’s about the last thing anyone would call me, you get an idea of just how slim the odds are.

If you’re a writer like me, such statistics might be sobering, a bucket of ice water in the face of all those dreams of being a successful author. It certainly was a harsh wake up call for me. At the same time, I was forced to stop and look at my larger life picture. I observed that in my quest for the mythical Holy Grail of best selling authordom, I’d neglected other important areas of my life.

Even though I enjoy the solitude that is part of a writer’s journey, I also need the comfort of companionship. I need to feel part of something bigger than me, to share life and serve others, and, yes, I more than often need a little help from my friends.

How can we create such a community? How do we build our Tribe?

Thank you Jeff Goins for your timely response. In his article, “Every Writer Needs a Tribe,” (link below), Jeff outlines steps we can take to make our Tribe a supportive reality. Of particular value to me, was Jeff’s suggestion that we must be clear about what our “Voice” is in relationship to our tribe. I’ll let you explore his ideas for yourself, but for me this exercise was essential for me getting clear about why and for whom I was writing.

I’m writing young adult eco-fiction stories with solutions.

Have I given up on financial success as a writer? no, I’ll keep working at effective marketing, being a smart businessman, and becoming  a better writer. but my larger goal is to build a successful writing life amidst a supportive community. My main goal is to grow and serve my Tribe.

What is your Tribe and how are you building it around your unique voice?

Here’s the link to Jeff Goins article, “Every Writer Needs a Tribe”-

https://jeffgoins.leadpages.co/every-writer-needs-a-tribe-ebook/

Good writing!

Tio Stib Signature

You might also enjoy: Writing Well 1, The Transformative Power of Classical Music; Writing Well 2, 4,000,000 Books and Me

Unknown's avatar

Back to Love Basics 7, The Plus Side of Solitude Sucks

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It’s easy to get so wrapped up in trying to find our soulmate that we forget about the pleasures of being alone. In case your suffering from the solitude sucks syndrome, may I suggest the benefits of not having someone else around to share life with.

Consider these advantages of being one and only one-

1. Living alone means making the bed is optional rather than submit to the control freak compulsions of a significant other.
2. Being alone means that making pancakes for breakfast on Friday at 9 p.m. requires no excuses.
3. Lonely people don’t have to share the last cookie not to mention feel the least bit guilty eating it.
4. Being alone means you can squeeze the toothpaste tube any darn way you want.
5. Alone means you can watch any television channel you want or those dvd’s you’ve been too embarrassed to share, and drink all the beer or eat all the ice cream you feel like in the comfort of your underwear, without any snarky feedback except perhaps from the pleading eyes of your dog. Okay, if you’ve got a dog you can’t possibly be lonely and don’t need to read the rest of this list.
6. Being alone means you need not explain to anyone just why you feel like blowing up balloons and then stoping on them after a trying day at work.
7. Alone means you can change the color of lipstick you wear every day without your room mate asking “Is something the matter?”
8. Single means that when you order a medium pizza you suddenly have enough “food” to last two entire days.
9. Being alone makes grocery shopping so much easier. “Did she say Toastie Crunchies” or was it “Chocolate Crispies?”
10. There is a singular bliss in solitude knowing that you can fart however and whenever you want.
11. Sleeping alone means you don’t have to pretend you are sleeping when he/she comes home late wanting to talk. Another plus on the subject of sleep is that alone means you don’t have to worry about snoring, unless, like me, you snore so loud you wake yourself up.
12. Being alone means you already have the one audience who will always listen to you. Yourself.
13. Perhaps the greatest gift of being alone is that now you are absolutely, totally available to whatever opportunity comes along. This means that when that elder gentleman in the tuxedo and top hat walks up to lonely you sitting by yourself in the coffee shop and says, “Excuse me, I can see that you are lonely and my anonymous employer has authorized me to hand you this round the world travel ticket including a check for $500,000 to cover expenses. The only stipulation is you must leave this week and you must travel alone.”

Of course, you can have only one answer…

“Me?”

And lastly, being “alone” makes you part of one of the world’s biggest ironies.

Consider this, you are sitting in solitude, feeling down, hoping that your life will change. At this very moment, all around the planet, there are millions of fellow loners just like you, with similar thoughts. Conclusion: you are actually surrounded by a sea of fellow solos. None of you are even close to alone.

I’m waiting for someone to stand up in Starbucks and shout, “Hey! Is anybody else lonely here?”

I’m listening…

Tio Stib Signature

You might also enjoy: Seattle Sun, Soulmates at Starbucks

Unknown's avatar

Writing Well 3, Everybody Needs a Tribe

by

In my previous post, “Writing Well 2,” I lamented the fact that with nearly 4,000,000 books listed on Amazon and with only 40 of those authors making any sort of money, my odds of financial success as a self-published author are less than me winning a gold medal at the Olympic Games. Since that activity involves athletes and that’s about the last thing anyone would call me, you get an idea of just how slim the odds are.

If you’re a writer like me, such statistics might be sobering, a bucket of ice water in the face of all those dreams of being a successful author. It certainly was a harsh wake up call for me. At the same time, I was forced to stop and look at my larger life picture. I observed that in my quest for the mythical Holy Grail of best selling authordom, I’d neglected other important areas of my life.

Even though I enjoy the solitude that is part of a writer’s journey, I also need the comfort of companionship. I need to feel part of something bigger than me, to share life and serve others, and, yes, I more than often need a little help from my friends.

How can we create such a community? How do we build our Tribe?

Thank you Jeff Goins for your timely response. In his article, “Every Writer Needs a Tribe,” (link below), Jeff outlines steps we can take to make our Tribe a supportive reality. Of particular value to me, was Jeff’s suggestion that we must be clear about what our “Voice” is in relationship to our tribe. I’ll let you explore his ideas for yourself, but for me this exercise was essential for me getting clear about why and for whom I was writing.

I’m writing young adult eco-fiction stories with solutions.

Have I given up on financial success as a writer? no, I’ll keep working at effective marketing, being a smart businessman, and becoming  a better writer. but my larger goal is to build a successful writing life amidst a supportive community. My main goal is to grow and serve my Tribe.

What is your Tribe and how are you building it around your unique voice?

Here’s the link to Jeff Goins article, “Every Writer Needs a Tribe”-

http://goinswriter.com/writer-tribe/

Good writing!

Tio Stib Signature

You might also enjoy : Writing Well 1, The Transformative Power of Classical Music; Writing Well 2, 4,000,000 Books and Me

Unknown's avatar

Eco-fiction Review 2, “Troubled Waters, the Story of a Fish, a Stream, and a Pond,” by Daniel P. Mannix (1969)

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“Troubled Waters” is another young adult eco-fiction classic from Daniel P. Mannix recently brought back to life in ebook form. I’ve previously written about “The Fox and the Hound,” Mannix’s best known work. I count this story equally captivating for its incredible detail and awareness of what an underwater world could be. Daniel P. Mannix is one of those marvelous creative beings whom I wish I could go back in time to visit.

Troubled Waters Book Cover

Here’s a summary of “Troubled Waters, the Story of a Fish, a Stream, and a Pond,” provided by eNet Press-

Beneath the surface of a river, stream or pond lies a strange and dramatic world of living things, a world of unearthly beauty and marvelous complexity that to most of us is unknown. In Troubled Waters one of America’s most popular nature writers transports us into this realm of fishes and other water creatures in all its diversity and conflict, its beauty and terror, its gentleness and violence.

Out of the poisoned and heat-polluted waters of one of our great rivers flowing through a city and past factories and power plants, the male goldfish Buck and his smaller female companion find their way into a clear, wooded stream preserved by fishermen. Here, where patches of sunlight reflect on the soft brown gravel and food is abundant in the deep holes and below the swift riffles, the two fish, who have been washed out of garden pools, face the dangers of existence in the wild. To go along with them and share their life and vicissitudes is an unusual and delightful experience in reading.

Neither the drama of underwater life, nor Daniel P. Mannix’s skill in portraying it, ever flags as the fish push on up the pleasant stream, encountering such diverse and menacing creatures as swift trout, hungry catfish, darters and crayfish, a fishing spider and water shrew, and many others. But the stream is eventually destroyed in a strange fashion by the houses and towns pressing in around it, and Buck and his mate flee to a new home in a wild pond. Of their life there Daniel P. Mannix gives no less memorable an account. It is a place of grebes and mergansers, of a giant snapping turtle and an otter as fluid and swift as water itself; of numbing cold and lack of oxygen under the dark ice and snow of bitter winters; of life, warmth and incredible beauty in spring, summer and autumn.

Both sensitive and dramatic, filled with suspense and poetic in its evocation of nature, Troubled Waters brings the underwater world

“Troubled Waters,” like “The Fox and the Hound,” has my highest recommendation. If you enjoy these books, you might also like “The Last Eagle” and “The Backyard Zoo.”

Good Reading!

Tio Stib Signature

You might also enjoy : Eco-fiction Review 1, The Fox and the Hound: by Daniel P. Mannix

Unknown's avatar

Eco-Fiction Review 1: “The Fox and the Hound” by Daniel P. Mannix, (1967)

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“The Fox and the Hound” is perhaps the best animal story I’ve ever experienced. It’s author, Daniel Pratt Mannix (1911-1997), was an American journalist, photographer, film maker, sideshow performer, animal trainer, and brilliant writer. His books cover a wide diversity of subjects with titles including “Memoirs of a Sword Swallower,” and “The Backyard Zoo.” His animal stories were lauded for the unique voices he gave his characters. These stories foretold the environmental consequences of human interference with the balance of the Natural world. Fortunately, many of Mannix’s works, which predate the digital age, have been republished in ebook format making these classics available for today’s readers.

The Fox and the Hound Book Cover

Here’s a summary of “The Fox and the Hound”-

Tod, a red fox kit, is raised as a pet but returns to the wild to do what all foxes are born to do, explore, trot along fence posts, cross icy streams, define his territory, mate, hunt, bury corpses for a rainy day, and, most of all, out-smart his enemies. Tod, in fact, is so sharp-witted and cunning, dauntless and valiant, that his ability to defy death becomes legendary.

Copper, a half-bloodhound tracker, is the dog who lives to hunt the fox and, along with his beloved master, embarks on a lifelong quest to end the life of the elusive Tod.

Described from an animal’s perspective, the paths of the fox and the hound overlap and intersect in a world teeming with scent and sound and sight and instinct. Their vivid,, gripping, and absorbing, story is so arresting and unflinching that the reader’s awareness of wildlife and the essence of their domain may be reshaped and refined and, in the end, irrevocably changed.

Winner of the Dutton Animal Book Award in 1967, the Athenaeum Literary Award, and a Reader’s Digest Book Club selection. The Fox and the Hound also became an animated Walt Disney movie and a box office success.

“The Fox and the Hound” is a superb Y.A. eco-Fiction book which has my highest recommendation.

Enjoy!

Tio Stib Signature