Tag: scenario

Have you Ever Done This?

John Guillen35 Comments

Recently I read a post about the easiest way that you can support one of your favorite authors, but I won’t link to it because the blogger didn’t reply to my comment. Seriously.

Anyway, her entire post was about going into your favorite bookstore, finding the book/author you’d like to help support, and turning their book to face the aisle with its cover out rather than just its spine. She made it sound like this was a huge deal and could help out authors in a significant way. But I disagree.

Let’s say you do this and someone comes along and buys the book. Let’s even assume that they enjoy the book. And then later buy more books by this particular author. We’ll say the author has five more books currently available. So this other person buys a grand total of six books by this author. Whoop. The author makes a grand total of…not much from the sales. You could really stretch this scenario to say that this new reader is going to climb to the top of a mountain and scream that everyone should read this author, or that they’ll tweet about it, or find a way to interview them on their blog. But let’s be real. A typical person in a bookstore simply does not have the ability to drive sales without a significant platform, which most people do not have.

Sure it’s nice of you to turn that book by your favorite author out toward the aisle, but the impact is likely no greater than if you’d have just tweeted that you liked it.

Have you ever gone into your bookstore specifically to do this? I haven’t, mostly because I don’t go into bookstores.

What to do When the Lights go out

John Guillen12 Comments

I know many people seem to think that it rains a lot where they live, but let me tell every single one of you that you’re probably wrong unless you live in one of a handful of cities. Houston is one of those cities.

It’s rained each of the last ten days (or nine?) and yesterday was the worst storm in at least two years that I can remember. My car was parked in the street and when I went out to move it the water was almost up to my knees. But not quite inside the car yet. Thankfully, it’s brand new with less than 5000 miles on it. Anyway, as a result of the heavy rainfall, which is also expected tonight, the power went out. And stayed out. Which left me with a dead phone and wet clothes with nothing to do.

I should have read by candlelight! But I didn’t. I just sat on the sofa until about 11:00 and then fell asleep earlier than I have in months. No reading. Or anything. I had an alarm to wake up to because I happened to charge my iPod a few days ago for no reason. Go, me.

Anyway, I wish I’d have thought to read a little last night. Just because there was nothing better to do in the darkness. What do you do when the power goes out?

PS: Sorry for the late post! I had no power! But I’ve posted everyday since January 18, I refuse to let the streak end because of a stupid thunderstorm.

On this day in 2014 I published Where the Magic Happens.