C h a z z W r i t e s . c o m

See all my books at AllThatChazz.com.

07/03/2011 • 9:25 AM 0

Book recommendations & VIDEO: People, nature and killer robots are out to get you

What an amazing book this is! It’s terrifying and very funny at the same time. Written by Cracked writer Robert Brockway, this book lays out everything that should terrify you to hide under your bed. Some of the stuff I write is really about scary what if scenaria. But Everything is Going to Kill Everybody isn’t so theoretical and fictional. For instance, there are autonomous killer robots in Korea right now…that can decide on their own to kill you…from two miles away…in the goddamn dark! In a few years, one-third of US ground forces will be drones and robots! (That’s ground forces! Not just the flying killer robots they have now that can kill anyone anywhere with the pilots sitting safely in a bunker n Nevada.)

(MORE TEXT AFTER THE VIDEO)

But that’s just one Skynet scenario. There are all kinds of things that could wipe out humans everywhere: hypercanes (instead of hurricanes), manufactured mega-tornadoes on a fragile leash, energy device plots that could fry us all, asteroid strikes, Mother Nature bludgeoning you over and over, microscopic robots, huge military robots designed to eat the fresh kills for energy (no, I’m not kidding!) and biotech wonders that could wipe us out with horrible plagues. In other words, you’ve got to buy this book, because, as deep as it goes, it’s also hilarious. The writer realizes that at some point he’s going to make you may lose all bowel control, so there are lots of comedic opportunities there. This is the scariest book you’ll ever laugh at.

(If you care to order immediately, just click the image for the Amazon link. If you’d prefer to live in sad denial, I understand, but you’ll miss a lot of fascinating, scary science and a lot of chuckles.)

Why Robots Will Kill Us All (blogs.wsj.com)
Robot-apocalypse jokes need to become serious discussions about robot safety. (slate.com)
Robot Mercenaries and Corporate Power – The Dark Future of Video Games Seems Closer Everyday (Video) (singularityhub.com)
Killer Robots With Grant Imahara, Tonight on Science Channel (wired.com)
Would The Three Laws of Robotics Work? (neatorama.com)

Filed under: authors, book reviews, Books, everything is going to kill everybody, Military robot, Mother Nature, robert brockway, Robot, Robotics, Skynet

06/29/2011 • 10:26 AM 2

Book Promoters: Will Google Plus kill Facebook, similar to how I slowly strangled Grandma?

For a full breakdown of the advantages of Google+, check out Gizmodo’s video summary.

It may be premature to say Facebook is in decline. Perhaps it’s more accurate to say its mercurial rise is flattening and it’s too early to declare its demise. Everything grows or dies, whether we’re talking about your business, your fan base, or your favorite social media.* Entropy rules and things change. Facebook is feeling entropy’s effect, so maybe they’ll adapt and improve and grow again (but that’s not the way to bet.)

I’ve got my problems with Facebook, but they’re mostly the same problems everyone else has: privacy issues; King Nerd arrogance; I don’t have enough Facebook friends; and, one day, I’ll suffer artificial limits on the number of friends I can have.

Note that though I love Twitter, I’m still chafing at the restrictions on the number of people I can follow there.

Please solve that problem and follow me @rchazzchute goddamnit!

Google+ (I’ve titled this post with Google Plus to emphasize the difference) is coming, and it might solve a whack of those problems if Google gets it right. One of the things I like is that you can make circles of friends, so you can choose who gets your message. Haven’t we all suffered the social stigma and financial pain of announcing on Facebook how much we’re looking forward to Grandma’s funeral, only to find Grandma’s still checking her account from her hospital bed and she’s cut you from the will? Petty old bitch.

Keep an eye out for the Google+ launch. They’re still working out the kinks with the beta version so right now the only way to join is by invitation. I’m pretty excited about the social and business possibilities Google+ offers. If it lives up to its promise, I will enthusiastically migrate away from Facebook to set up shop at Google+.

*MySpace is in a coma waiting for us to be merciful and finally pull the plug, for instance. If you still have a MySpace account, please, get your affairs in order. It’s almost as dead as Grandma.

UPDATE: This just in! MySpace has been sold. Details here. They’re starting with a workforce reduction and somehow Justin Timberlake is involved, so…nah, MySpace is still dead in the water. Like Grandma!

Google+ and the PR Game (pamil-visions.net)
Can Google+ Become Facebook Killer For Google? (myassgeek.wordpress.com)
Will Google Plus Be Better than Facebook? (zwingliusredivivus.wordpress.com)
With Google+, Google Begins Its Latest Assault on Facebook (news.dice.com)

Filed under: Publicity & Promotion, Social Media, Facebook, Google, Google Plus, social media, Social network, Twitter

06/28/2011 • 1:58 AM 1

What’s useful on my iPod? (Plus a treat)

For podcasts, the app you want is Stitcher. Most any podcast in the world is available there, so if you want a cool distraction or need to research how to do anything, there’s a great resource. And Stitcher is free.

Not on Stitcher (yet) but available through iTunes: The Creative Penn podcast. Joanna Penn interviews helpful people on all aspects of publishing. And she’s a great interviewer, too.

Twitterific: The interface on this app is better than Twitter. I like it very much.

Wolfram: The smarter search engine.

And a sampling of music to write by: Fountains of Wayne, Eminem, Cee lo Green’s F**k You, Earth, Wind and Fire, Daft Punk’s Technologic, Journey, Pet Shop Boys, Freeland’s We Want Your Soul, Queen, old Stevie Wonder, and the immortal Weird Al’s White & Nerdy (see Donny Osmond’s dancing on the YouTube video for full effect.)

Stitcher Makes On-Demand Streaming Simple (audio4cast.com)

Filed under: DIY, Media, podcasts, writing tips, iPod, iTunes, Pet Shop Boys, Podcast, podcasts, Stitcher, Twitter, Twitterific

06/27/2011 • 1:51 AM 1

The “But At What Cost?” Miscalculation

John Locke has written a book: How I Sold 1 Million Ebooks in Five Months.* (I recommend it)

LA Times writer Carolyn Kellogg wrote a piece that asks, “At What Cost?” Here’s that nonsense argument and my bit of nonsense follows.

The upshot is, Ms. Kellogg thinks Mr. Locke undersold himself. He sold a million ebooks, but charged 0.99 for many of them. She says he could have made a million of with higher pricing instead of making do in the $300,000 range. (A figure that would make many authors swoon.) There are many interesting observations in the comments section of the LA Times article that pick apart Ms. Kellogg’s worries very well.

Here’s my take away: I had never heard of John Locke until now. He used 0.99 loss leaders to sell a shit-ton of books. Yes, he “only” made 0.30 on the 0.99 ebooks, but low or no pricing allowed wary readers to try him out. And now many more people know about him. And I bought his non-fiction ebook which details his success so far. And I bought it for $4.99.

Kellogg is saying Locke was an idiot for leaving money on the table, assuming he could have moved so much and so quickly with a middle man trad publisher involved. Why would she assume that, I wonder? There’s no basis for it. The new world is not the old world and hers is classic old world thinking.

Now you know, if you didn’t, who John Locke is. And now you’re thinking, maybe I should buy one of his books and give it a try. Maybe more than one, huh?

*Thanks to Joanna Penn for her post on Mr. Locke. I love Joanna’s blog and podcast, The Creative Penn. Subscribe if you haven’t!

Random Thoughts on People jealous of John Locke and Kindle Indie Author success (ireaderreview.com)
Independent author John Locke joins Amazon’s million-Kindle-seller club (latimesblogs.latimes.com)
Self-published author John Locke sells 1M e-books (seattlepi.com)
John Locke – The New Sensation (onemano.biz)
Every author really should read this book – today (ireaderreview.com)
Self-Publishing: Maybe Not a Cottage Industry Anymore? (batterrier.com)
How to Sell a Million eBooks in 5 Months! (montyenglish.wordpress.com)
Independent Author Sells 1 Million eBooks Via Amazon’s Kindle (chatootsboots.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, DIY, ebooks, getting it done, links, Media, Publicity & Promotion, publishing, self-publishing, Writers, Amazon Kindle, books recommendations, E-book, John Locke, Los Angeles Times, publishing, Publishing and Printing, selling ebooks

06/26/2011 • 9:22 AM 2

Sometimes reality is far less believable than fiction

Right now, I am heartsick. It’s Sunday morning. I’m listening to CBC radio. The subject is police abuse of power at last year’s Toronto G8 conference a year ago. There are too many examples of violence against peaceful protesters, but one stands out. A group of police tackled a man who is an above-the-leg amputee. They pinned him to the ground. They said he had a weapon. They said he was a spitter. They beat him and handcuffed him. Then an officer ordered the amputee to walk. Of course, he could not.

But that’s not even the super evil part. Not yet.

The officer then ripped off the amputee’s artificial leg. He ordered him to walk again. Couldn’t. So then the officer ordered him to hop, which was too painful.

The whole story of mistakes made by police at the G8: confining people without arrest; arresting people they know are innocent, peaceful protesters; arresting people who aren’t even protesting but made the mistake of living downtown and trying to buy milk at a local convenience store. Restricting freedoms with violent, bullying tactics and demanding people move but giving them nowhere to go. Worse, these unprovoked criminal acts against innocent people, perpetrated by police, are covered up by police. Unconstitutional “containment tactics” entrapped people. Police were hyped up, spoiling for a fight where non was necessary. Hundreds of cell phones and cameras recorded these crimes, yet police refused to discipline themselves.

I know a couple of cops. I like them plenty and this isn’t about them. I’m confident they are peace officers, serving and protecting. This is about the fact that the facts are worse than what most of us could pull off in a novel. A police officer who rips off an amputee’s leg and demands he hop? You couldn’t get away with that in a novel. That’s so bad, it reads as cartoony evil. If I used that in a novel, my beta readers might well accuse me of writing “over the top.”

Meanwhile: 11909. That’s a badge number on one officer’s helmet as reported on CBC radio this morning. A protester wants to bring assault charges against the officer whose identifying number is 11909. Allegedly, that officer struck a peaceful protester with a riot shield. There’s video evidence. However, the powers that be are refusing to identify that officer so due legal process can ensue. It seems we can complain of mass arrests, police brutality and detainment without process or cause, and the bureaucracy in charge of these officers do not feel the need to respond to charges in court or in the media.

Some people think this travesty of justice doesn’t apply to them. They think only troublemakers were hurt or arrested or detained by police. Among those abused by police were many people who felt the same way, at least they did until last year this time. Where there is no accountability, when a country’s constitution can be discarded at a whim by authorities, we are all in danger. Freedom of speech without exercise isn’t freedom.

The Toronto police chief, Bill Blair, first stated that everything was fine and there was no basis for any criticism of the police. Then the video came out. Now he admits police made mistakes, but is less interested in pursuing a conversation about it. So will there be a public inquiry? It hasn’t been decided yet, even with all the video evidence. Even though many officers mistook fear of them for enforcing respect for the law. Even though accused officers are still covering up. Even though for all the mass arrests, their successful conviction rate? 2.2%! The fact that they are resisting a public inquiry at all tell you all you need to know.

I am nauseated by this. No kidding. It make me sad for my country and for the damage done to the reputation of good officers. I wish it were fiction.

Protesters return to G20 ‘kettling’ corner (cbc.ca)
Activists demand police chief resign over G20 ‘abuses’ (ctv.ca)
Hundreds rally and march to mark first anniversary of G20 (ctv.ca)
G20 (regretfulabuser.wordpress.com)
More Police & Government Abuse: Reporters Arrested For Documenting A Public Meeting (caseyhendrickson.wordpress.com)
G20 overwhelmed Toronto police: report (cbc.ca)

Filed under: Horror, Media, Rant

06/25/2011 • 1:51 PM 0

JK Rowling will finally sell Harry Potter e-books

Filed under: ebooks, ebooks, Harry Potter, JKRowling, Pottermore

06/23/2011 • 1:52 PM 0

VIDEO: Moso, the free Mac app for vlogging

Did I mention that this app is free, free, free? Also, it’s free.

(There’s the power of the written word over video right there. I forgot to mention the app is free, but it was easy to add the detail of the price using this ancient keyboard thingy.)

More details: You don’t edit Moso, you just do retakes. It’s easy to upload to Twitter, Facebook and YouTube, though. I’d say if there’s a social medium that’s underused for authors promoting their books, it must be YouTube. Moso will help you with that.

Podcasts can be helpful, though access and difficulty of execution/time involved increases the variables in that argument. I don’t think Facebook is as effective for promotion as it could be. Twitter can be effective if used well (but that’s another post.)

I Vlog, You Vlog, She/he Vlogs … and You Know How the Rest of It Goes (englishforteenagers.org)
Sharing YouTube Activity Digital Breadcrumbs (speedofcreativity.org)
20+ Apps To Bring Your Favorite Websites To Your Mac Desktop (makeuseof.com)

Filed under: authors, blogs & blogging, Books, podcasts, Publicity & Promotion, self-publishing, What about Chazz?, Facebook, Social Networking, Twitter, Video blogging, vlogging, vlogs, YouTube

06/22/2011 • 7:47 PM 0

Guard your personal information when recycling your tech!

My rant about Staples:

Recycling Your Cell Phone (mycricket.com)
Are tech companies earth friendly? (chimac.net)

Filed under: Rant, data security, personal information, Staples complaints

06/20/2011 • 10:02 PM 1

Zoe Who? I recommend you find out who! (PLUS GREAT VIDEO)

The Little Me Update: I’m reading and writing a lot lately. Yesterday was an incredibly productive day as I get closer to putting a (long) short story called The Dangerous Kind up on Smashwords. It’s amazing how many alterations I still want to tinker with as I go through the editing process. Still!

Anyway, I’m also in book recommendation mode this week, so…

Have you subscribed to Zoe Winters blog yet? If you are an indie author, you definitely should. I especially like her ranty goodness on her wordpress blog. As I waited for my son to finish soccer practice I started digging into the last chapter of Zoe Winters’ book: Smart Self-Publishing: Becoming an Indie Author.

This is the single most helpful book on the business of self-publishing I’ve read. (I have the Sony e-reader version, though I think I’ll want to get the print copy, too, for easy reference and permanent residence on my bookshelf. Yes, I do that, too!)

Zoe has a no-nonsense approach to the subject which boils things down to what you need to know to succeed as an indie author. There are a lot of useful books on the subject out there, but this is delivers the bullet without preamble or extra excavation needed on the part the reader. Zoe Winters has broken the trail and mapped out the way so it’s easier for you.

I especially love how frank she is about the self-publishing strategies that didn’t work. The book is worth your time and money for the troubleshooting section alone.

And she’s good at spotting the details others might have missed. For instance, everyone agrees Goodreads can be a great place to boost awareness of self-published books. But Zoe is savvy to point out the pitfalls, too (like if the regulars get a whiff of the stink of self-promotion on you they’ll find your home, break in and beat you to death with Webster’s dictionaries.)

If you don’t love her already, she also made a series of YouTube Videos about breaking into publishing the indie way. Go to YouTube and search for the series called Zoe Who? . Enjoy. (And buy her guide.)

Here’s a sample video of Zoe Who? by Zoe Winters:

Createspace or Lightning Source: Pros & cons breakdown (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Self-publishers are judged unfairly (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Writers & Readers: I say something new & cranky (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Book promotion for self-publishers (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Publishers: What do I need you for? (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
Write. Commit. Do. (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)
6 Effective Ways to Promote Your Book (chazzwrites.wordpress.com)

Filed under: authors, book reviews, Books, DIY, ebooks, getting it done, self-publishing, Useful writing links, Writers

06/20/2011 • 2:10 AM 9

Book promotion for self-publishers

As a self-publisher, you probably can’t afford to splash a big ad across the back page of the New York Times (and that’s of limited use anyway.) What is useful is connecting with people. Be genuine and you can share and spread useful information that brings good karma down the line. In this video I talk about Jeff Bennington’s Reunion blog tour. I won a Kindle, but I would have promoted his novel anyway. Here’s why: