For at least the last fifteen years, the majority of websites have used a "freemium" approach to business. They sell advertising to cover their costs while not charging for the content. This leads people to believing everything on the internet is free.
It isn't!
BC costs money to maintain. The 200,000 unique visitors a month it attracts allows Erin to sell advertising. However, that advertising only generates a fraction of the revenue needed.
Did Laurie S. publish her great story Transcending Marilyn -- about a Marilyn Monroe mimic -- under the new name He Is Our Girl by Melissa Raquel, or has someone stolen Laurie's story?
I ask because other novels by Melissa Raquel don't seem to be written in Laurie's voice.
At the end of a long and carefully thought-out comment in another blog, Iolanthe said, “It is always a little distressing when another reader looks down their nose at stories or categories that I prize, but oh well. We're not all in the same place; we don't all have the same tastes.”
I’ve been to Texas many times. Other than the men trying to convince each other who’s got the biggest penis -- they seem to be quite normal.
So why all the hateful trans laws?
The other night I was watching CNN. They aired a report that seemed to answer that question. The report slipped into CNN jingoism but contained a lot of information that led to sound conclusions.
It’s been four months since I sold my last business. During that time, my blood pressure has dropped from an average of 130/85 to 110/65. My weight has also dropped fifteen pounds -- with little change in eating or exercise. I have hope that I’ll soon fit into the dresses in storage bins marked an accusatory “too small.” As if it was somehow their fault that my waist had disappeared over the years, causing them to become too tight.
Amazon is a horrible organization -- as is pointed out here quite often.
However -- it's time to give the devil his due.
Yesterday, my Kindle went dark. I use my Kindle at least two hours a day so I immediately ordered a new Kindle for $204. It arrived this morning . . . less than twelve hours after I ordered it.
The setup took about fifteen minutes . . . mostly due to uploading my old content.
“The reciprocity principle is one of the basic laws of social psychology: It says that in many social situations we pay back what we received from others. In other words, if John does you a favor, you're likely to return it to him.”
I have noticed over the three decades I’ve been posting stories that a large share of those who leave comments on my stories are authors.
Perhaps they leave comments because I leave comments on their stories.
That is a huge statement for me. I know thousands of people. For most years in my business I worked with six to eight hundred entities who had anywhere from ten to five thousand transactions with me. . .enough so that my last year in business my sales were forty-eight million dollars.
As would be expected, my phone is blowing up with all sorts of Democrats asking for donations. Between the 1/6 hearings and the SCOTUS decisions the Dems are sensing a campaign contribution bonanza.
What wasn’t expected was the letter I received yesterday from "President Donald J. Trump."
The letter contained two pieces of paper: a letter from Trump asking me for $2,900 and a 2022 Critical Issues Survey from the Rep Nat’l Comm.
When you woke up yesterday, did it seem like you were in another world?
You are.
In a democacy, a position supported by less than a third of the population has turned our country inside out.
The supreme court ruling yesterday and accompanying opinions made it clear that the three uber-conservatives Trump appointed to the court are hell bent on taking us back to the dark ages. We now know exactly what MAGA has meant from day one.
Who said, " Your freedom of expression of yourselves in drag is what America is all about."?
And, why did she say it?
I can't say that I'm a big Ru Paul fan. But the other day I was looking on FOX for the right's reaction to the Jan 6 Investigation and saw a clip of Nancy Pelosi. The anchor stopped saying inflation, inflation, inflation, inflation, inflation, inflation just long enough to suggest that the Pelosi clip would make a powerful campaign commercial. . .for the right.
When Amelia and I originally wrote “Peaches” -- we were relieved when Y2K turned out to be a yawn brought on by adequate preparation. That particular hysteria cost my business about $1million when I lost a major supplier for what turned out to be no valid reason. They wrote me a check for $40k to soothe my pain. . .didn’t.
The other day it was suggested that not many realize that the U.S. is a republic versus a democracy, or that many know the difference. I’m sure that’s a fair statement.
I grew up in a state with very small population. We were well aware of the steps our government took to protect the rights of minorities. Residents of my home state used minority rights arguments to justify the fact that we had two senators for every 300,000 people while a state like New York also had two senators with their many millions of citizens.
"Don't join the book burners... Don't be afraid to go in your library and read every book." - Dwight D. Eisenhower
“If all printers were determined not to print anything till they were sure it would offend nobody, there would be very little printed." - Benjamin Franklin
“Information is the currency of democracy.” –Thomas Jefferson
Today, she revealed that she is re-reading one of her favorite books, "Catch-22."
Joseph Heller's black comedy is by far my favorite novel. Catch 22 could have been tossed in the dustbin many times. First -- it took Heller forever to write it. Then it was only a mediocre seller in hard copy. It wasn't until it was put out on paperback and sold for .75 that it took off and became a hit. I read it first when I was fifteen. And have read it many times since.
In this world of algorithms and jackasses, certain things do and do not count.
Bezo is a jackass.
BC needs revenue to stay viable.
BC generates a considerable amount of revenue through the sale of my books. The more positive review for my books, the more books Amazon will sell. I don't take anything from this revenue flow.
Therefore, please read the book, and then review the book. The cash coming into BC counts.
Amy won again today on Jeopardy. She is the first transgender contestant to have this much success -- closing in on $1 million in total winnings.
It is her serenity as much as her amazing knowledge base that makes her so much fun to watch.
Today - at a crucial point of the contest, an answer she gave was judged wrong. She is rarely wrong. I turned to my spouse and said, "They've got to correct that! Her answer was just as correct as the answer they said was correct." About five minutes later, they corrected their error and gave her credit for the answer.
Grace under pressure is a beautiful thing to witness.
Jeopardy contestants often fold when adversity strikes. Not Amy Schneider. She now has won more money than all but three other contestants in the history of Jeopardy. She has done it with a smile and good humor.
Her knowledge is impressive but it is her presence that carries the day.
She isn't shy about being trans. Yet, it's clear it's not her focal point.
Spent the last hour and a half shoveling fourteen inches of snow. Thankfully it was light and fluffy, in mild temperature with no wind.
Rethinking the wisdom of buying a house with a double lot.
Gave away my two snowblowers when I moved to the city from the burbs. Had a big one for the driveway and a small one for the sidewalk and to blow the blow from my deck down into my pool.
Now all I have are four shovels, a spouse, and a springer spaniel (with dubious snow moving skills).
Based on my experience, with over a dozen books published on Amazon and over one hundred stories published on BC:
You are three times more likely to receive a comment on Amazon than you are on BC. Perhaps that's because people leave a kudos on BC instead of a comment.
My books on Amazon have received over 500 comments. My stories on BC have received nearly 2,000 comments.
There doesn't seem to be a difference -- between the number of good and bad comments, whether here or on Amazon. The ratio seems to be about 9:1.
Checks can be made out & sent to:
Joyce Melton
1001 Third St.
Space 80
Calimesa, CA 92320
USA
Note: $6000 is the operating, maintenance and upgrade budget. Amounts received in excess of the $6000 will be applied to long term debt accrued over the last 19 years.
