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My experience as an ECS parent is almost 4 ½ years, and my experience as part of the administrative team is nearing my one year anniversary. As an ECS parent, I always knew that the Gospel message, Bible class, prayer, and biblical integration into academics were all experienced by my daughters every single day. In fact, those are the top reasons why my husband and I chose ECS. However over the past year of working here and spending my days inside the same building as my daughters, I have been truly blessed to experience for myself what I had known to be true about ECS – the Holy Spirit is alive and moving in our school.
In my position as Director of Admissions & Marketing, one of my favorite responsibilities is meeting new families and giving them a tour to show them the "ECS difference". Without a doubt, one of the top things that parents notice about the environment of our school is that is caring and peaceful.
My prayer for visitors to our school isn't that they are impressed with our challenging academics and A-Rating. It isn't that they come to our school so our enrollment can continue growing. It isn't that see that state-of-the-art technology is available in every single one of our classrooms. Yes, all of those are very important in the success and progress ECS has made over the past 40 years, and I love to share these aspects with families.
My prayer for every visitor to our school is that everyone who enters our doors will feel the presence of the Holy Spirit. I love the lyrics of Kari Jobe's song, "Holy Spirit", especially this part of the chorus –
"Holy Spirit, you are welcome here. Come flood this place and fill the atmosphere. Your glory, God, is what our hearts long for, to be overcome by your presence, Lord."
Our teachers follow Christ's calling and open their hearts – and their classrooms – to follow the promptings of the Holy Spirit every single day. Just in the month of October alone, four teachers shared the following ways that the Holy Spirit moved inside the hearts of our student during the school day…and these just the few divine appointments that I know of! There are so many more that happen every day in every classroom.
Natalie Adams, Second Grade Teacher:
October 1 – "What a GREAT day it has already been!! 3 of my kiddos asked Jesus into their hearts this morning! Praise the Lord"
Jessica Hill, First Grade Teacher
October 20 – "8 students from my class just made decisions to follow Jesus during our Bible lesson time!"
Megan Meny, Third Grade Teacher
October 27 – "The sweet, precious moments with a student make it all worth it. This morning during our morning routine, one of my students asked if I would pray with her when I have time. When a sweet third grader asks me to pray with them, nothing else seemed more important, so I stopped everything and pulled her out into the hall. She told me about what was upsetting her, and we prayed. It makes me so happy that she felt comfortable enough with me to ask me to pray for her. I am also so proud of her for turning to God in prayer, when she is facing something that is difficult for her. Today was definitely a good day!"
Oct 21 – Katie Janis, Fourth Grade Teacher, took this awesome photo that captured a sweet moment when Lonny Chapman, Fourth Grade Teacher, was praying with students on the playground.
Prayer, Bible class, and devotions are not just a part of the daily schedule at ECS that teachers "check off" and move onto the next thing. Our teachers and staff would share that the most important aspects of their job are to share the Gospel message with our students to lead them into a relationship with Christ and to equip students with a biblical worldview to confidently engage the culture and impact the world for Christ.
"We only have so much time to prepare our children in life. Where and how we allow our children to spend their time is one of the most important responsibilities we have." -Dr. James Dobson
This quote by Dr. Dobson wonderfully conveys why my husband and I choose to send our daughters to ECS where the Holy Spirit is welcomed, experienced, and celebrated every day.
Krista Decker
Director of Admissions & Marketing


text:
Coffeehouse Thread13 posts
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TowerDrot (1.0)
Classical towerdefense game plus some strategy..
Its my first game. I have been developing it for 5 months by XNA.
Programming, 3D modeling, designing, story writing and etc by only one - me.
And LowDetailed Video
I can test it on one device only (Lumia 920). There is opinion that on other devices (more less weaks) it will be slowly.
Please test it if you can.
My first question after a minute of play is that, while I can move and zoom the camera, will I be able to rotate the direction of camera in later version?
I'll comment that the 3D model is impressive enough for the first game. Good work.
My first question after a minute of play is that, while I can move and zoom the camera, will I be able to rotate the direction of camera in later version?
You can rotate the dir of camera by Taping on Left/Right Top corners of the screen.
Thanks for testing)
Looks awesome! Especially for a first game!
Looks awesome! Especially for a first game!
Thanks. I overdid a little
@zelder: Nothing like an overdone v1.0, if you underdo it people will not come back for a v1.1,.
You never get a second chance to make a first impression,..
Love it..!! Rated with 5 stars
@SharepointStack: Thank you
Another suggestion: Maybe you can add one more stage (maybe just another "start game" option) in the next revision, which is the same as level 1 but has no "clear condition". The game should last as long as "Back" button is not pressed. It's okay to just have the 3 weapons avaliable at the start. If possible, increase the spawn rate of enemy as the game goes. Lock the total score to 9999 to avoid overflow.
The stage's sole purpose is to test out how many objects the device can hold. (So the current number of different builds and enemy troops should be shown on the screen) This is valuable information because it'll give you idea on how many "target objects" you can place when designing levels that can run on lower WP models.
Whether to take it away from the "retail" build is up to you.
@cheong: very usefull suggestions.
In next review I'll add info about FPS, PolygonCount, endless level and much more enemies at one time and info about it all.
Yeah! I made it!
Download Full version http://www.windowsphone.com/s?appid=6267cb89-6b4f-411d-b7f6-2bd1912e5da6
Now it's FULL FREE!!
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subset: commoncrawl


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Tag Archives: Common Core
The Pros and Cons of a Jeb Bush Presidency
By Angela Kaye Mason, Contributor It isn't often that we hear a politician admit that they may not be a good candidate. Surprisingly, that is exactly what Jeb Bush said at a CEO council meeting for The Wall Street Journal. "I don't know if I'd make a good candidate or a bad one," he shared … Continue reading


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Archive for August 3rd, 2011
Joe Lieberman Says U.S. Should Cut Social Security To Pay For Fighting Wars for/because of Israel
Joe Lieberman Says U.S. Should Cut Social Security To Pay For Fighting Wars for/because of Israel
Neocon Israel firsters (like Joe Lieberman and John McCain) Trade Medicare for War
Will defense spending bankrupt the US?
The Decline and Fall of the American Empire
The High Cost of Subservience to Israel (by Paul Findley):
9/11 inside job "complete nonsense" says Vladimir Putin
9/11 inside job "impossible to conceal," says Vladimir Putin
Of course it's nonsense as US support for Israel's brutal oppression of the Palestinians was the primary motivation for 9/11 (and the earlier attack on the World Trade Center in 1993 as one can simply look up 'Israel as a terrorist's motivation' in the index of James Bamford's 'A Pretext for War' book and take a look at the following as well):
What Motivated the 9/11 Hijackers? See testimony most didn't!:
See the Los Angeles Times article near top of following URL:
Even General Petraeus conveyed to the US Congress that US support of Israel against the Palestinians was a threat to US:
General Petraeus Leaked Emails about Israel (scroll down to the comments section as well):
Pro-Israel biased media threat to US security (above New Statesman blog entry mentioned in following Press TV interview):
Israel and 9/11 (General Petraeus mentioned as well):
Additional at following URL:
See 'Miral' film to get an idea of what the Palestinians experience at the hands of Israel (to include the torture scene with the black bag put over Miral's head before she was brutally beaten as we saw similar Israeli torture tactics in Iraq as well):
More on Miral Film: http://tinyurl.com/miralfilm
Will Israel Kill Americans Again (email exchanges with General Petraeus mentioned near end of article by retired CIA analyst Ray McGovern who used to give the daily intel brief to Bush, Sr. when he was the VP under Reagan)?:
Don't forget what Israel deliberately did to the USS Liberty:
James and John Scott on FOX NEWS on USS Liberty attack
James Bamford includes 9/11 question/comment at the bottom of the following URL (USS Liberty survivors Phil Tourney and Ron Kukal had their questions posted and answered by Bamford too!):
The High Cost of Subservience to Israel (by Paul Findley):
"If there is a military intervention is Syria, then we are in for an extended war, which goes from the Mediterranean right to the Chinese border
Scroll down to the video link for interview with Michel Chossudovsky at RT.com link below:
Michel Chossudovsky says intervention should be the last possible option in resolving the current stalemate.
"If there is a military intervention is Syria, then we are in for an extended war, which goes from the Mediterranean right to the Chinese border, because then we'll have integration of the war theaters in Afghanistan, Iraq and, of course, Palestine and Lebanon – and so we are in for a much larger war," he said. "Let's understand that [if there is] any kind of military intervention in Syria at this stage using the pretext of a protest movement or responsibility to protect, we'll have devastating consequences leading to a military escalation in a vast area."
NATO readies for military operation in Syria – envoy
Syrian tanks storm Hama
Andrea Mitchell (who is Jewish as well) apparently pushing military action against Syria for Israel!
Lara Logan seems to be pushing neocon line of regime change in Syria in following CBS Evening News segment:
Syrian government denies killings in Hama
Keep in mind that the Israel first neocon warmongers would love to continue the rest of their 'Clean Break' agenda (http://tinyurl.com/cleanbreak) into Syria to involve Iran and Hezbollah in Lebanon to take down any threats to their beloved Israel no matter how many Americans have to die/get horribly maimed for such like they already have in Iraq which was in accordance with their 'Clean Break' agenda as well!:
US neo-cons seek war on Syria, Iran
12 Signs That We Are Getting Dangerously Close To War With Syria


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David Mortimore Baxter is the only kid in school who will stand up to Rose Thornton in the class election. He'll do anything to keep her from winning, even if it means making promises he can't keep.
Bookwire is a mobile app for your iPhone that gives you the ability to scan a barcode
or enter ISBN, access book records and add titles to wish lists.


text:
|Professional Automotive Repair Technical Discussions for October 6, 2010
International Automotive Technicians' Network (iATN) - Members Only
|(Also Available: All, Asian, Chrysler, European, Ford, GM.)
|Vehicle Owners: If you are seeking an automotive repair professional to service your vehicle, visit the iATN Repair Shop Finder.
Open Help Requests for Ford
|Help Request
|1995 Ford Taurus LX 3.0L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1FALP52UXS
Hello all, This Taurus was brought in to us with a complaint of slight power loss (surge) on the freeway. Road test reveals a flickering and sometimes steady check engine lamp. While on the drive, noted the lamp was more predominant when engine was under load...
|2003 Ford F-350 Super Duty XLT 6.0L no communication VIN: 1FTSW31P23
I don't think the communication issue is related to the running complaint, but need to see what is going on to properly diagnose. We suspect a bad injector due to black smoke and that engine hydro-locked at one point. Oil is slightly overfull but engine has no...
|2003 Ford F-150 XLT 4.6L No Start VIN: 1FTRW07603
Vehicle towed in a no start checked had good fuel pressure but no injector pulse or pulse to the coils have voltage to each but no ground signal scanner has a kam code 603 that wont clear at all.also no rpm or spark advance on scanner readings.suspected a cran... Trouble codes: 603 (Kam keep alive memory code)
|2003 Ford Excursion Limited 6.8L monitor not ready VIN: 1FMNU42S13
Hi, I have in my shop a Ford Excursion 2003 V10 and I cannot set the monitor ready for state inspection. Everything is ready except the O2 sensor and O2 sensor heater. I checked both sides of the O2 sensor and voltage and heater work correctly, there is no DTC...
|2004 Ford Explorer Sport Trac XLT 4.0L Electronic VIN: 1FMZU77K14
CRUISE CONTROL only sets occaisonaly once you put the brakes on it takes a lot of trying ... the green light will just flick when you press the set button ..it will not stay on..once it works you can turn it off and turn it on no problem but once you have canc...
|2005 Ford Escape XLT 3.0L 3-4 Shift VIN: 1FMYU93185
Hello & thanks in advance for all your help, I have an 05 Ford Escape 3.0L Automatic and very intermittently it will have a hard 3-4 shift just once but at the same time the theft light will flash on for just a few seconds. Have driven and I am yet to get the ...
|2005 Ford Mustang GT 4.6L MIL Lamp on VIN: 1ZVFT85H25
Hello to all. I am trying to get my head wrapped around this problem. It cam in with p0340 and we swapped left and right camshaft sensors. Code comes back after 2-3 key cycles. Tried unhooking alternator just to make sure no interference. Scoped sensors and lo... Trouble codes: P0340
|2007 Ford F-150 FX4 5.4L ABS light on VIN: 1FTPW14V07
ABS light on. Scan tool reads RF, LR and RR wheel speeds. LF - 0. Red brake light off. Unhook RF wheel speed sensor, both red and orange ABS lights on. Jumper LF wSS to RF and reads correctly on scan tool. Both Abs modules do not send voltage to the LF sensor....
|2008 Ford F-250 Super Duty FX4 5.4L spark plugs VIN: 1FTSX21598
Hello:This is my first time trying to do spark plugs on a 5.4.I have read all the posts and forums on this.So far i have done the top engine cleaner the night before.My problem is so far i can only move 2 plugs the 1/8 turn to allow the solvent to penetrate.I'...
|2008 Ford Fusion SE 2.3L brakes VIN: 2FPAF45D54
i have this fusion it starts locking left front caliper partialy after a 30-[...] trip. and if i pull over and sit for 1-2 minutes it comes back to normal for next 20-30 minutes.i have changed coses calipers(new from the dealer) and there is no change.than...
|2000 Lincoln LS 3.0L 2/ 5th gear VIN: 1LNHN86S6Y
need help fixing 2000 lincoln ls, trans has no 2nd or 5th gear, code set for pc b solenoid, and gear error 2&5. i know the solenoid pc b controls od band. i pulled pan and everything was very clean,i replaced solenoid assy,cleared codes and test drove,still sa...
|2003 Lincoln Navigator 5.4L Air ride control VIN: 5LMFU28R33
I'm having troubles getting the air ride suspension to accept the pheumatic test. I've run the tire size ratio, ride height, and calibrated and/or updated the air ride module. I've even tried two new modules. I've pumped up the vehicle and turned off the switc...
|2004 Mercury Monterey Premier 4.2L overhead councel VIN: 2MRDA20224
hey guys help me if you can. I got this van from a good customer and they want the amb. air temp to read accuratly. The temp sender is on the front of the van and if i short them together it shows -40 deg. I pluged in a coolant temp sender with some jumper wir...
Fixes & Summaries for Ford
|1992 Ford Ranger Custom 3.0L No Start VIN: 1FTCR10U9N
I'm really embarrased on this one. I was hoping to come back on here and say that I found the timing jumped, or some other extravagant thing, and I can't. When I reinstalled the push rods, the #4 exhaust push rod did not seat in the lifter. It appeared that it...
|1993 Ford Festiva L 1.3L headlights VIN: KNJPT05H7P
Thanks for the help. The problem was the junction block located next to the battery. One of the red headlight wires was corroded in the socket. Easy fix once I removed the battery and got all the crud off it so I could see what was happening.
|1999 Ford Expedition XLT 4.6L Starting VIN: 1FMRU1863X
thank you all for your replies,everyone was correct it had to go to the dealer and get reprogammed to the keys.i thought that since i ordered the cluster directly from ford that i could plug and go. well live and learn. lots of great replies and they are much ...
|2000 Ford E-250 Econoline 4.2L No Start, Stall VIN: 1FTNE2427Y
THANKS for all the input, I disconnected the DPFE sensor, let it sit overnight and tried starting it and no problem. I remember from my last ATG Ford class about the DPFE casuing a phantom PO340 code, I was cosidering a crank sensor but found no problem with i... Trouble codes: P0401, P1400.
|2001 Ford F-150 XL 4.2L Misfire VIN: 1FTZF17271
Thanks for all of the info guys. All info from mode 6 did not show any negitive info to point me in any direction. Tested fuel injectors all good. Went back to the spark plugs agian, not looking too bad only 6000 on them, but installed new ones. Mis-fire GONE....
|2004 Ford Ranger XLT 4.0L Windshield Wipers VIN: 1FTRA53JCF
Thank you to all who were willing to offer insight. The problem actually resided in the wiper motor itself. Internally shorted, after replacement, operates as designed. Much appreciated.
|2005 Ford Focus ZX3 2.0L Clutch VIN: 3FAFP31N35
Well I have to agree with most of you, The flywheel should have been replaced, but money was an issue. We cleaned out all the metal from grinding the flywheel, and it sounded good sliding back and forth. Talked to the customer and no noise was ever heard from ...


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Thu, 10/31/2013 - 1:36pm
Bluffton Police still investigating car break-ins
Subheadline: Thousands of dollars worth of electronics seized
Thousands of dollars worth of electronics seized
The Bluffton Police Department is continuing its investigation of and seeking suspects in a string of vehicle break-ins last week that affected three neighborhoods in town, Captain Angela Tanner said.
On Oct. 24, police received six reports of vehicle break-ins during the overnight hours of Oct. 23 in the neighborhoods of Mill Creek, Bluffton Park and Townes of Buckwalter.
All six reports indicated the cars' windows were smashed, and more than $7,000 worth of electronic equipment and cash was stolen.
According to Tanner, no further information was available as of Thursday afternoon.
For further updates, continue to visit blufftontoday.com.


text: anyone have any ideas about why my firewall picks up all kinds of activity (scans, attacks etc) for the first few weeks and then doesnt do anything? i havent had an alert in months and question whether or not its doing anything at all. if i re-install it, it will alert me every 5 minutes that my isp is scanning me but after awhile, it will cease to report that, or any other type of activity. just wondering if it learns to not bother me and doesnt bother to even tell me of any kind of intrusions or if i dont have it set up properly. im not talking about outgoing traffic, im talking about incoming activity. Thanks P.S. im not doing anything illegal, just curious about what is going on (or in my case, what isnt going on).


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Category Archives: Tips and Tricks Talks
Tips and Tricks: July 1, 2014
"The Pros and Cons of 3D Printing" Live Demo to Follow "3D printers are all the rage, creating things from teeth in dental offices to pizza in outer space." So says Dr. Rebecca Mercuri, Ph.D., who will address "The Pros … Continue reading
Posted in Tips and Tricks Talks Tagged 3D Printer Leave a comment
Tips and Tricks: April 1, 2014
"Dropbox: A Simple Way to Sync And Share Your Files and Photos" "Have you ever wished you had a simple way to access your files on all of your devices or a hassle-free way to backup and share photos and … Continue reading
Posted in Tips and Tricks Talks Tagged Dropbox Leave a comment
Tips and Tricks: March 4, 2014
"Exploring Art on the Internet In Your PJs" "Looking at art on the Internet can often lead you to discover treasures you may never have known existed," says Robert Lafond who will present The Computer Learning Center's latest "Computer Tips … Continue reading
Tips and Tricks: February 4, 2014
"Cloud Storage and Backup For Personal & Small Business Use" "Cloud Computing" has become a familiar term, but many people are uncertain what it is or how it applies to their personal and business computer use. On Tuesday, February 4, … Continue reading
Tips and Tricks: January 7, 2014
"Connect your TV to the Internet" "One of the easiest ways to enjoy online video and music is on your TV." So says Computer Learning Center instructor David Shinkfield, who will join fellow instructor Mary Kay Podlecki in presenting … Continue reading
Tips and Tricks: December 3, 2013
"Top Tech Gifts for Holiday Giving" "We're going mobile. Today in the U.S. over half of all adults own a smartphone or a tablet and some 65% of those mobile phone owners are using smartphones. Amid this sea of … Continue reading
Tips and Tricks: October 1, 2013
"The Future of Personal Computing" In today's world of seemingly ever-changing technology, the average computer user has to ask, "Where is it all going?" On Tuesday, October 1, Computer Learning Center instructor and course creator Victor Laurie will address … Continue reading


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Mammoth YouTube Channel!
Weather Forecast
This listing has been updated! To view the latest info on this listing, click here to check it out on our new website.
This enchanting townhome at Creekhouse is adjacent to the Snowcreek Meadow. With generous views of Laurel Mountain and the Sherwins, this alpine retreat is sure to make you feel tucked away and safe in the arms of the mountains. A grand fireplace, open kitchen, and spacious dining area make this home perfect for families. Large windows adorn nearly every wall so you can indulge in the 360-degree views and natural light that bounces off the luxury finishings.
Not only is this home the epitome of style, but it's a knockout when it comes to convenience too! Equipped with an in-unit washer/dryer, TVs in almost every room, and large closets, you'll have a hard time finding something it DOESN'T have. A private wraparound deck is a major bonus, and deck chairs are already available so you can spend your mornings sipping coffee amongst the crisp mountain air while you enjoy the view. This is modern luxury at its finest.
Get away from the hustle and bustle and escape into this private community when you book this Creekhouse sanctuary. You'll still be just minutes from the slopes and fabulous activities, but be able to enjoy the peace and quiet of the surrounding residential community.
*Not handicap accessible **Spa, pool, and sauna hours, availability, and conditions are subject to change without notice. See rental Contract for details.
***Internet service/WiFi is NOT guaranteed. See contract for details.
Mammoth Business Tax Certificate No: 7863
Please click to view all rates: Rates and Avalibility
All reservation are subject to Mammoth TOT tax of 13%, 4% reservation fee, Damage insurance & departure cleaning fee. No upfront security deposit necessary. Rates are subject to change without notice.
Military & Service Personnel Discount
Nomadness Corporation®
Phone: (818)883-2488 or (888)472-5777
Fax: (818)710-9847


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Series: Four (1985)
The Mauler M.B.T. Tank [Manned Battle Tank] was first released boxed in U.S. toy stores in 1985. It included the tank driver, Heavy Metal. The Mauler was also sold in 1986 and was discontinued in 1987.
Driver/Pilot: HEAVY METAL (v1)
Heavy Metal was released as part of the fourth series (1985), packaged exclusively with the Mauler M.B.T. (Manned Battle Tank). He was also sold in 1986, then was discontinued domestically in 1987.
In 1989, Heavy Metal was available as a mail-in offer from Hasbro Direct.
Leftover Hasbro stock of this figure was packaged with new accessories and sold at an early G.I.Joe Convention.
Easily Broken/Lost Pieces
The Mauler included 2 antenna, a tow cable, and 2 grenade launchers which were easily broken or misplaced.
Featured In
The Mauler M.B.T. Tank [Manned Battle Tank] was featured in several of the various media of GI Joe through the years,including Trading Cards, Comic Books, Cartoons and Commercials
No variations of the Mauler M.B.T. are known to exist.
Vehicle Construction
The vehicle mold was repainted or retooled for the following vehicles:
Mauler M.B.T. Tank (1985)
Equalizer (1989)
The vehicle's cannon mold was repainted or retooled for the following vehicles:
Mauler M.B.T. Tank (1985)
Lynx (1989)
Reference InformationThe below information contains information about references to various collector's guides, Hasbro references, original retail prices, and other reference material related to Mauler M.B.T. Tank.
Original Retail: $16.99
Product Number: 6015
Lee's Guide: GIJ-85054v
The Ultimate Guide: Pg. 57 (1st Ed.), Pg. 94 (2nd Ed.)
Desimone Guide: n/a
Tomart's Guide: #GI5411
RAHC/Rank & File: n/a
Action Figure Archive Guide: n/a


text:
1999 · Germany
by Davidson, Susan; Ann Temkin; Ann D'Harnoncourt (intro.)
Germany: Hatje Cantz Pub, 1999. Hardcover. Near Fine/near fine. 1999. Hardcover. 343 pp. Profusely illustrated. Near fine in a near fine dust jacket. Very light edgewear to DJ. Tiny stray pen mark to text-block, bottom edge and rear DJ flap. Otherwise clean, bright and unmarked. Due to the size of this item, extra postage may be required for priority or international orders. (Inventory #: d009979)


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"As you watch this present Olympiad, you might appreciate some of the history behind the 1558 Confession of Guanabara in Brazil. The site of the first Reformed confession in the Americas is also a reminder to be ready to confess our faith at any time."
Did you know that the location of the 2016 Olympiad, watched over by the iconic Cristo Redentor, was also home to a little-known but early Calvinistic mission? My friend David Hall (whose church hosts the annual Reformation Worship conference) recently forwarded a fascinating article about it. I share it today so you can learn about a forgotten piece of history.
Rio's Guanabara Bay was the site of an early Genevan mission in the 1550s. As you watch this present Olympiad, you might appreciate some of the history behind the 1558 Confession of Guanabara in Brazil. The site of the first Reformed confession in the Americas is also a reminder to be ready to confess our faith at any time. Some spiritual athletes suffered much more than fatigue and muscle strain at Rio 450 years ago.
You may have heard illustrations like this one: what if armed guards burst in, arrested you, and at threat of your life, asked if you would stick to the Christian faith or not? It's not that hard to imagine such when you look at Muslim threats and beheadings of Syrian Christians, French priests, or others. There are some, in our day, who are challenged: will you continue to confess Christ? Are you always ready? If terrorists broke in to your home or Sunday School class, would they see Christianity? Are you trained sufficiently to voice it under pressure?
In 1557, a group of Protestants left Calvin's Geneva to help settle part of Brazil. The leader was a wealthy merchant from Geneva, and a professing follower of Calvin, Villeaignon (alternatively spelled "Villegagnon"). Along with him were dozens of other Genevans, who landed in the bay of Rio de Janerio and settled a small island off the coast. Things went well for a while. However, the leader had—along the way—flipped back to Roman Catholicism, and he grew jealous and suspicious of the other Calvinists. He had the disciples of Calvin arrested, charged with treason, and sought to punish them under Catholic law.
The way he did this was to arrest them, lock them in a room, and in under 4 hours, they had to write out a confession of their beliefs on a list of topics. If they were Roman Catholic, they might live but could be sent home. Conversely, if they were Protestants, they would be killed. They were ordered to commit their beliefs to writing. The result was an 18-paragraph confession that was chock full of Scripture (it was closed book; they were allowed no Bibles), even citing Augustine, Cyprian, and a few other well-known religious leaders. Within 12 hours after this confession was written, three of its authors were promptly hanged. The authors knew they were writing and signing their own death sentence—and the others later were sent back to Geneva.


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Advertising & Marketing - Brochures
Brochures Can Benefit Your Business
Brochures have long been relied on for their versatility and effectiveness. They fold down for ease of display and can fit in standard letter envelopes for ease of mailing. Make the most out of your promotional effort by using powerful images, vibrant colours and a strong call to action!
- Standard 8.5" x 11", 8.5" x 14" or 11" x 17" size.
- 1 fold or 2 folds.
- Minimum order 50 units
- Single or double-sided print on 100# gloss paper stock
- Full colour (CMYK) print
Online Design Studio
You can upload your press-ready artwork files to us, or you can create your design right here on the website using our Online Design Studio.
Scroll down and click on "Browse Design" to review pre-made templates you can modify, or click on "Custom Design" to start your own design from scratch!
Psssttt... A Friendly Word of Advice!
Designing with photographs/graphics you've found on the internet generally doesn't look great when printed... that's because they're low resolution (72ppi to 150ppi). Instead, make your brochures look great with high resolution (300ppi) photographs/graphics.
|Size or Part Code
|8.5 x 11 - 1 Fold
|$ 35.00
|$ 50.00
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Valuation of Self-Insurance and Self-Protection under Ambiguity: Experimental Evidence
This experimental study, first, compares the individual valuations of two risk reduction mechanisms: self-insurance and self-protection. Second, it investigates these valuations when the loss amount is ambiguous, and compare these values with valuations when loss amounts are known. results confirm that there exists no "framing effect" due to the two risk reduction mechanisms. Ambiguity in the loss amount has a weak impact on the valuation, and using different representations of ambiguity does not change the valuation. Moreover, the mean ratios of ambiguous to risky bids are greater than one for low loss amounts indicating ambiguity aversion. These ratios are not significantly different from one for high loss amounts regardless of the probability of loss levels. Finally, 28 percent of the sample behaved consistent with the predictions of "anchoring and adjustment", while only 6 percent supported the "maximin" predictions.
If you experience problems downloading a file, check if you have the proper application to view it first. In case of further problems read the IDEAS help page. Note that these files are not on the IDEAS site. Please be patient as the files may be large.
|Date of creation:
|06 Jul 2007
|Contact details of provider:
| Web page: http://www.jenecon.de
References listed on IDEAS
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- Carmela Di Mauro & Anna Maffioletti, 2004. "Attitudes to risk and attitudes to uncertainty: experimental evidence," Applied Economics, Taylor & Francis Journals, vol. 36(4), pages 357-372.
- repec:bla:joares:v:10:y:1972:i:1:p:154-166 is not listed on IDEAS
- Robin M. Hogarth & Hillel J. Einhorn, 1990. "Venture Theory: A Model of Decision Weights," Management Science, INFORMS, vol. 36(7), pages 780-803, July.
- Tversky, Amos & Kahneman, Daniel, 1992. "Advances in Prospect Theory: Cumulative Representation of Uncertainty," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 5(4), pages 297-323, October.
- Hogarth, Robin M & Kunreuther, Howard, 1985. "Ambiguity and Insurance Decisions," American Economic Review, American Economic Association, vol. 75(2), pages 386-390, May.
- Shapira, Zur, 1993. "Ambiguity and Risk Taking in Organizations," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 7(1), pages 89-94, August.
- Dionne, Georges & Eeckhoudt, Louis, 1985.
"Self-insurance, self-protection and increased risk aversion,"
Economics Letters,
Elsevier, vol. 17(1-2), pages 39-42.
- DIONNE, George & EECKHOUDT, Louis, "undated". "Self-insurance, self-protection and increased risk aversion," CORE Discussion Papers RP 623, Université catholique de Louvain, Center for Operations Research and Econometrics (CORE).
- Dionne, G. & Eeckhoudt, L., 1984. "Self-Insurance, Self-Protection and Increased Risk Aversion," Cahiers de recherche 8424, Universite de Montreal, Departement de sciences economiques.
- Schoemaker, Paul J. H., 1991. "Choices involving uncertain probabilities : Tests of generalized utility models," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 16(3), pages 295-317, December.
- Kunreuther, Howard & Meszaros, Jacqueline & Hogarth, Robin M. & Spranca, Mark, 1995. "Ambiguity and underwriter decision processes," Journal of Economic Behavior & Organization, Elsevier, vol. 26(3), pages 337-352, May.
- Ehrlich, Isaac & Becker, Gary S, 1972. "Market Insurance, Self-Insurance, and Self-Protection," Journal of Political Economy, University of Chicago Press, vol. 80(4), pages 623-648, July-Aug..
- Ho, Joanna L Y & Keller, L Robin & Keltyka, Pamela, 2002. "Effects of Outcome and Probabilistic Ambiguity on Managerial Choices," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 24(1), pages 47-74, January.
- Di Mauro, Carmela & Maffioletti, Anna, 1996. "An Experimental Investigation of the Impact of Ambiguity on the Valuation of Self-Insurance and Self-Protection," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 13(1), pages 53-71, July.
- Marcel Boyer & Georges Dionne, 1983. "Variations in the Probability and Magnitude of Loss: Their Impact on Risk," Canadian Journal of Economics, Canadian Economics Association, vol. 16(3), pages 411-419, August.
- Kangoh Lee, 2005. "Wealth Effects on Self-Insurance and Self-Protection against Monetary and Nonmonetary Losses," The Geneva Papers on Risk and Insurance Theory, Springer;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 30(2), pages 147-159, December.
- Einhorn, Hillel J & Hogarth, Robin M, 1986. "Decision Making under Ambiguity," The Journal of Business, University of Chicago Press, vol. 59(4), pages 225-250, October.
- Christophe Courbage, 2001. "Self-Insurance, Self-Protection and Market Insurance within the Dual Theory of Choice," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 26(1), pages 43-56, June.
- Hogarth, Robin M & Kunreuther, Howard, 1989. "Risk, Ambiguity, and Insurance," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 2(1), pages 5-35, April.
- Camerer, Colin & Kunreuther, Howard, 1989. "Experimental Markets for Insurance," Journal of Risk and Uncertainty, Springer, vol. 2(3), pages 265-299, September.
- Kuhn, Kristine M. & Budescu, David V., 1996. "The Relative Importance of Probabilities, Outcomes, and Vagueness in Hazard Risk Decisions," Organizational Behavior and Human Decision Processes, Elsevier, vol. 68(3), pages 301-317, December.
- Eric Briys & Harris Schlesinger & J.-Matthias Graf v. d. Schulenburg, 1991. "Reliability of Risk Management: Market Insurance, Self-Insurance and Self-Protection Reconsidered," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 16(1), pages 45-58, June.
- Giovanni Immordino, 2000. "Self-Protection, Information and the Precautionary Principle," The Geneva Risk and Insurance Review, Palgrave Macmillan;International Association for the Study of Insurance Economics (The Geneva Association), vol. 25(2), pages 179-187, December.
- Carmela Di Mauro & Anna Maffioletti, "undated". "The Impact of Ambiguity on the Valuation of Self-Insurance and Self-Protection," Discussion Papers 94/25, Department of Economics, University of York. Full references (including those not matched with items on IDEAS)
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And normal family dog pets ....
The FBI and military and other government agencies cannot use "Islamic" realistic targets because of complaints from CAIR. But they can use targets that look like us. We don't have an advocacy group working to look out for us.
Go see the targets.
maybe we need to start requesting targets with swat and police in riot gear on them. not kidding. they will apparently be bashing through our doors either by accident or on purpose sometime in the future.
There's a lot of great info in the DaybyDay cartoons -- catching up was one of the things I did while FR was down last week! He's quite astute, does great work. Go, Chris Muir!
Some insane bureaucrat might though.
According to this long-time LE officer, targets like this have been used for a very long time, along with overlays that cover up the firearm. Here's an article that explains more, http://www.activeresponsetraining.net/the-pregnant-woman-target-controversy
If they can start cranking out targets of normal citizens to practice on, when will some enterprising soul come out with JPT targets?
Turnabout and all that?
BureauKaRATZ are NOT Americans.
They are SCUM that live off the taxpayer's dime. Their scut families really believe they are ENTITLED to your dollars.
Trouble is, a bureauKaRATZ is nothing more than an ignorant, illiterate, small minded eff that CAN'T think his or her way out of paper bag with a hole in it.
The truth is, a bureauKaRATZ (AKA RATZ) are nothing more than stupid people living off the taxpayer's dime.
A civil war? Its time to drag RATZ into the street, and tar and feather them.
If they want realistic targets, they will ask for targets made to look like your average male ghetto dweller.
I think I read yesterday, here on FR, that this target company has pulled said targets off the market.
They need to have women in truck targets and cop targets.
So, is turnabout fair play? Can the peasants request "realistic" targets of those requesting the "realistic" targets of them?
Target practice like this helps young men habituate to the idea of killing women and children.
Shall we assume Obama's private army will be made up of violent criminals - under the guise of 'giving jobs to people the rest of us see as monsters'... Nation of Islam is recruiting among violent street gangs. Janet too?
Throw a Burkah on her and I don't have a problem with it.
A two Fer!!!!!
Don't bother training with these targets.
I'm a middle-aged white guy, generally dress modestly well, clean-cut, physically fit. If you find yourself staring down the barrel of one of my weapons please know two things. One, you are lucky to still be alive, the mere fact that you have had time to take in my appearance means I haven't decided to kill you - yet. Two, you must have completely over-stepped your legal authority, violated my constitutional rights, and made me fear for my life & liberty, else I wouldn't be pointing my weapon at you. The only move you have that will keep you alive is to slowly place whatever weapon you may have on the ground and obey every command without hesitation.
It would seem that the DHS is absolutely determined to give the Gestapo a run for its money.


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2014 Subaru Forester - Consumer Review
Average Consumer Rating
Total Reviews
2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV (2.5L 4-cyl. AWD CVT Automatic)
Build Quality
Reliability Value
Build Quality
Reliability Value
18 of 20 people found this review helpful
Fuel Performance
By rb211 on
Vehicle2014 Subaru Forester 2.5i Limited PZEV 4dr SUV AWD (2.5L 4cyl CVT)
ReviewPurchased in October. Was getting 29 mpg on average. The cold weather began in mid December and mileage waned. Now January, Polar Vortex in PA, and the mileage is down to no better than 21. Takes quite a while to warm up...that's ok, I have heated seats.
Defrost is ok, but it is just fogged windows I have to cope with - not the frost many of you spoke of. But I turn on the defrost or the heater and in auto, the air conditioner compressor is engaged to regulate the set temp. Can't turn it off. RPM goes up 500. OAT is 8 degrees. Don't need AC, just bring in outside air. Not smart engineering there. Is it because of the CVT, Mr. Engineer? Love the car otherwise.
Best FeaturesHandling is crisp and positive. Great moonroof. Well organized engine compartment. Spacious interior. Comfortable seats even on long trips. Very good visibility. I think I like the CVT. Many don't like the stiff suspension; I like it, and the ground clearance. The limited edition has a lot of nice features.
Worst FeaturesPermit the operator to kill the air conditioner system when heating the car. In FULL AUTO, let outside air come in in lieu of running the AC...that's wasteful and contrary to the pursuit of 'green'. The RPM is forced up about another 500 when the heater is on. Verified by turning off the heater and observing the engine speed drop 500 RPM. Why change controls? On my 2004 Forester you move the wiper vertically to wash the windows, and pull it to take a swipe. On the 2014 exactly opposite. Criminy, Mr. Engineer.
Recommend (18) (2)
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Comments (1) Post a Comment
By physics2010
on 02/03/14 22:36 PM (PST)
on 02/03/14 22:36 PM (PST)
The AC runs to dehumidify the air, not to regulate the temperature. Common practice for defrost.Report it
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text: Human Rights Observatory Dogs Being Trained to Detect Prostate Cancer Many urologists agree that the current, so-called PSA test for detecting prostate cancer is often unreliable, but it remains widely used because there are no other tests. Researchers in Britain say this method may soon be replaced with dogs trained to sniff out the type of cancer that, according to the American Cancer Society, affects one in every 7 men. Cancer of the prostate gland is one of the leading types of cancers affecting men in their 60s. According to the World Cancer Research...Read complete article© Voice of America - Thursday, August 27, 2015


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Hamilton - The Chiefs finished full of running to post an emphatic 33-14 victory over the Hurricanes at Waikato Stadium on Saturday to regain top spot in the Super Rugby standings.The Chiefs were temporarily pipped for top spot on the overall log by the Bulls, who received four log points courtesy of their bye weekend.Second half tries from Leila Masaga, Sona Taumololo and Toby Smith, and 18 points off the boot of Aaron Cruden, secured the Chiefs their eighth straight win from nine games this season."I'm just rapped that we could get a win and keep the ball rolling," skipper Craig Clarke, who notched his 50th Super Rugby match with the Chiefs, said in a pitchside interview."After half-time, we thought if we could hold the ball a little bit longer then we could create things."The Hurricanes took their fifth loss of the season but had raised hope of reeling in the hosts when Beauden Barrett's third penalty kick put them within five points 17 minutes after the break.However, Chiefs prop Taumololo barged over the line eight minutes later to ease the pressure before replacement Smith slammed the door shut with a 76th minute try.Taumalolo added to a remarkable try-scoring record, touching down for the seventh time in nine matches.Cruden, laser-sharp all night, kicked the Chiefs to a 12-8 lead at half-time with four penalties, but the Hurricanes had the first try through Andre Taylor five minutes before the break, the fullback charging 50m down the left wing.Livewire winger Masaga kept the Hurricanes at bay with a try five minutes after half-time, breaking a tackle with a piercing run to cross beneath the posts after receiving a flat pass from scrumhalf Brendon Leonard.Any evidence that the Chiefs might tire after their long-haul flight home from South Africa quickly evaporated as the home side kept the Hurricanes scoreless in the last quarter and added 14 points to keep their dominant season rolling.Scorers:Chiefs:Tries: Lelia Masaga, Sona Taumalolo, Toby Smith.Conversions: Aaron Cruden (3)Penalties: Cruden (4)Hurricanes:Try: Andre TaylorPenalties: Beauden Barrett (3)Teams:Chiefs:15 Andrew Horrell, 14 Lelia Masaga, 13 Richard Kahui, 12 Sonny Bill Williams, 11 Tim Nani-Williams, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Brendon Leonard, 8 Alex Bradley, 7 Tanerau Latimer, 6 Liam Messam, 5 Brodie Retallick, 4 Craig Clarke (captain), 3 Ben Tameifuna, 2 Hika Elliot, 1 Sona Taumalolo16 Mahonri Schwalger, 17 Toby Smith, 18 Michael Fitzgerald, 19 Sam Cane, 20 Augustine Pulu, 21 Jackson Willison, 22 Asaeli TikoirotumaHurricanes:15 Andre Taylor, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith (captain), 12 Tim Bateman, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Beauden Barrett, 9 TJ Perenara, 8 Victor Vito, 7 Karl Lowe, 6 Faifili Levave, 5 Jason Eaton, 4 Jeremy Thrush, 3 Jeffery Toomaga-Allen, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Ben MaySubstitutes: 16 Motu Matu'u, 17 Reg Goodes, 18 Mark Reddish, 19 Jack Lam, 20 Chris Eaton, 21 Charlie Ngatai, 22 Alapati Leiua
Chiefs will lift the Super cup this year,clinical performance !
What is Marius plonked doing, what game is he watching. Is he trying to make up for gifting the bulls the game last week by strangling the Stormers this week. Seems he can only see the Stormers doing wrong and Firce are only in the game cause of his deliberateness. Dork!!!!!
HAHAHAHAHA wake up Al
Hyt seker die naam raakgelees in die koerant en nou wil hy ook iets se met die naam in


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Featuring Jenny Pedroza, co-founder of the Writers Coffee Shop; Mark Coker, Founder, Smashwords; Sandra (Sandy) Poirier-Diaz, President, Smith Publicity, Incorporated; and Bob Young, CEO & Founder, Lulu.com.
This panel's industry insiders know how to ensure that a book will stand out in the dynamic world of self-publishing and they shared with CCC's Chris Kenneally their insights on what every self-publisher needs to know about the secrets of the editing process; the art of cover design; the tricks of the publicity trade; and how to create and find winning sales ideas.
Recorded at uPublishU, the day-long self-publishing pre-conference program of BookExpo America 2012.
KENNEALLY: I have one question for everybody this morning. Is there any better place to be on a Sunday morning in the spring than the Javits Center at 9:00 AM? I don't think so, considering the panel that we've got right now, and the subject for today, which is all about the explosion in the self-publishing world.
You can get all sorts of numbers. Self-publishing – any kind of publishing, really – is a bit like Congress. You can get all kinds of numbers to justify any statement you make. But I'm told at least 400,000 self-published titles will appear this year. So that means, in about the time it takes to have the conversation we will enjoy this morning, more than three dozen books will appear.
And in contemplating figures of that kind, I think of Mae West, but not for the reason that you're thinking. Mae West said a number of things. She's remembered for that sort of caricatured figure, but let's remind ourselves that she was a great playwright, as well as a fine actress. And she pointed out one time that too much of a good thing is simply wonderful. That's what we have right now. I think that the self-publishing revolution – and we're going to discuss it with our panel – is really making it possible for people to express themselves in ways that simply weren't allowed, weren't available to them in the past. A recent poll said that four out of five Americans believe they have a book in them, and I want to ask you, what's wrong with that?
So, with that, we're going to start with somebody who I believe needs an introduction, because she's appearing for the first time in her new role as a publisher. Jenny Pedroza, welcome. Jenny is from Mansfield, Texas. She's the co-founder of The Writer's Coffee Shop, an independent publisher based out of New South Wales, Australia. We'll get her to explain the connection between Texas and Australia in just a moment. And last week she completed a 16-year career as a third-grade teacher to devote herself to publishing full-time. So, again, Jenny, welcome to uPublishU.
PEDROZA: Thank you very much.
KENNEALLY: Now, if you haven't heard of Jenny or The Writer's Coffee Shop, you probably have heard of a title they first published, which is called Fifty Shades of Grey. And we should tell people briefly that The Writer's Coffee Shop was created by Jenny and three other women, Amanda Hayward, Jennifer McGuire, and Lea Dimov. The love of literature united them, despite the fact they were scattered around the globe. And after creating friendships in an online community, they had a desire to help talented writers become published authors, and The Writer's Coffee Shop Web site grew from a place to discuss books into a publishing hub in October 2010.
And, Jenny, we're going to have to talk a little bit about Fifty Shades of Grey. And I'll remind the audience that I believe the figure now, in the last six weeks, is 10 million copies have been sold. It is the publishing phenomenon of this season. I believe 25% books of sold right now are Fifty Shades of Grey. Tell us about what went into discovering E.L. James, and making that book available to the world.
PEDROZA: Well, one of the things – we were an online writing community. That's how we all met. And, basically, this was mostly women. I say women. I'm sure there were some men in there as well. But they're mostly women. They were on there publishing for the first time, online. They were wonderful stories that they were too afraid to go out there and send to the big publishers. And so they were writing, and we were reviewing, and we were getting to know each other really well, and basically, we became good friends. And the author, E.L. James, was one of these women that Amanda, my co-founder – she and Amanda talked greatly for between six and eight months.
KENNEALLY: And these friendships conducted entirely online. You never actually met?
PEDROZA: Correct. No, we have now. We have all met now. But up to probably last year, we had not ever met in person. We'd Skyped, different things like that, but it was all online. And so we worked really hard to get her online and on board, and we brought the world Fifty Shades of Grey.
KENNEALLY: Well, what's interesting about the story is that you really had no intentions of publishing. This was about community, and I think that that's a note that we're going to hear throughout the day's program. Community is really important. And you certainly had no publishing experience, but that wasn't something that held you back.
PEDROZA: No, it really wasn't. We had an idea that, first of all, as you said, we were just writing together, getting to know each other a bunch. And I'd say there was about 50,000 of us at the time on our site. So it was a nice little quiet group. (laughter) And we continued to grow all the time. And, basically, we saw these stories, and some of them were just amazing. And we said, OK, these women need a voice. They need to be able to get their word out there. So that's why we decided to start the publishing house.
KENNEALLY: You know, not everybody has agreed that these writers should have a voice. In fact, for at least a while, the book was banned in Florida libraries. I understand that the ban has been lifted, in part because of a petition that was started by a mother and her 16-year-old daughter. So I guess I wonder about your thoughts as a now former third-grade teacher. You left the classroom to get on a plane to come here to speak to us today –
PEDROZA: Yeah.
KENNEALLY: – which is really a great story. Do you think that there's an incongruity there between being a third-grade teacher and the publisher of something that's come to be known by –
PEDROZA: It would definitely not be part of the curriculum. That's for sure. But I think it does speak volumes as to, when you have an idea, when you have a story in you – even third graders have stories in them – that you can get it out, you can get your voice out, you can be heard. And I think whether someone does or doesn't want to read it, that's your choice as a reader. That's your choice as a writer, depending on what you want to write. So, sadly, even bad press is good press. Even the ban that got the word out there again. So it just depends on what you read.
KENNEALLY: Well, it reminds me of another Mae West quote that I like. Someone said, when they saw these diamonds she had, "Goodness, those are wonderful diamonds." And she said, "Goodness had nothing to do with it." And goodness has had nothing to do with your success, Jenny Pedroza.
PEDROZA: (laughter)
KENNEALLY: But we're very happy to have you join us, though. I want to turn to Mark Coker. Mark is just sitting beside Jenny. He's the founder of Smashwords, an e-book distributor. He's also an author, entrepreneur, angel investor, and advisor to technology startups. Mark and his wife Lesleyann co-authored a satire on daytime television soaps they called Boob Tube. The book was rejected by every major New York publisher, despite representation by a top literary agency.
And that experience, which may be familiar to people in the room, inspired him to start Smashwords, which is a free publishing platform that allows authors to publish their works online. Mark, just to give people another few figures around the explosion in all of this, in 2010 Smashwords published 28,800 titles, and I think the number in 2011 was 92,500. How many so far this year? Do you have an idea?
COKER: Well, our catalog has grown to 127,000.
KENNEALLY: So you've added 30,000 or 40,000 more since then, probably.
COKER: Right.
KENNEALLY: Well, it's a remarkable story, and I guess I want to get your reaction, first of all, to what Jenny's just told us. Does that sound familiar, when you go out to meet with self-published authors, people who are on your platform or work with other platforms, do you hear the same kinds of things?
COKER: Well, I think what Jenny said that really resonates with me is that writers now have the freedom to publish anything they want, and readers now have the freedom to choose from this amazing diversity of talent that's now available to them. And although the publishing establishment thumbs its nose at Fifty Shades, it's a brilliant book, because readers think it's brilliant. And I'm really happy for its success, so congratulations.
KENNEALLY: It's a really interesting thought, Mark, because I know you've written about this a lot. And that point about reader passion, and tapping into that, is something that authors really need to recognize and celebrate, and also never forget.
COKER: Sure. Sure. And I would also add that one of the challenges with traditional publishing is that you take – traditional publishers, the folks who work in publishing, are all wonderful, amazing, passionate people, but they're making their best educated guess to acquire books that they think have commercial potential. But they don't really know for sure which books have commercial potential until that book hits the streets and readers react to it.
KENNEALLY: Yeah, and so the greatness of any book, of any publisher, is almost accidental, which may be familiar to you as an angel investor, too.
COKER: Sure. To a certain extent, it's all about creating the best product you can, and then throw it against the wall and see if it sticks. You really don't know if it's going to resonate with your target audience until the audience touches it.
KENNEALLY: One of the questions I think a lot of people in the room will have is, once I've written my book, how do I find readers? How do I get them to discover me? That's the new term in the industry, discoverability. And I know you did a survey recently which looked into that question. It was on mobile reads, and it asked how e-book readers, or e-book buyers at least, discover books. Tell us what you found.
COKER: Sure, yeah. We did a non-scientific survey over at MobileRead, the online community of e-book enthusiasts, and I posed 12 questions. I asked e-book enthusiasts there to name the single most common method of e-book discovery that they use for the books that they purchase. I gave them 12 different answers that they could respond with. The number one response was that they turned to their online communities, blogs and message boards. That was about 28%. So they trust their hyperfocused online communities for book recommendations, and that was compared to only 4% who answered immediate friends and family. So that was interesting.
The second most common method of discovery was that readers look for their trusted favorite authors, that was about 18% answered that. So that speaks to the importance of author's brand, and the importance of you as an author building your platform.
KENNEALLY: Let me take apart two things you just said, Mark, because I think they deserve attention. One is the point that communities matter. We heard that from Jenny. She started with a community that grew into a publishing business. Describe some of these communities. They cover absolutely any subject, any interest, any person.
COKER: The wonderful thing about the Internet and online marketing is that you can find hyperfocused communities of people who are appropriate for your book. Let's say you wrote a book about how to grow massive tomatoes or pumpkins. Well, there are online gardening communities, and many of those communities have message boards or forums that you can join and participate in and add value to. So that's some examples. And then, of course, there are probably dozens, hundreds of blogs that focus on growing tomatoes or gardening.
KENNEALLY: Right, but then the other piece was that the brand is the author. And brand is a term we hear a lot about. Publishers are trying to assert their brands. I ask myself, what is a brand? And I often think a brand is a commitment that, in the case of a company, the company makes with the customer – we're going to do something, and we're going to really do it consistently and well. Talk about what it means for an author to be a brand, and how do you get to that point where you're recognized for that?
COKER: Well, yeah, I see the author as the brand as the same thing. A reader will come to know you and trust you, and expect a certain quality of content, of book, from you. So much of this is about you earning the reader's trust, and you want to earn your target reader's trust. If you're writing romance novels, don't target fans of horror or other genres. That's the way I see it.
KENNEALLY: But at the end of the day, having done this survey, and just the experience with Smashwords, how important is marketing? What are some of the other pieces that are important, as far as you see it?
COKER: Well, those first two items in the survey were not surprising. The most surprising thing was that all of the other answers were fragmented. All the other slices of the pie were very small. So like 5% or 6% said they only look at e-book covers, and then if they like the cover, they'll investigate the book. About 4% said that they will download anything, and then they'll give it a try. About 5% said that they will only download free books, and if they like that book, and they like that author, then they'll seek out the other books by that author. And if you looked at all the other answers, they all fell under this category of random browsing.
And what's interesting there is it really, I think, accurately mimics how we often shop for books. If we walk into our local Barnes & Noble, we have this idea that we want to buy a book, and maybe it's romance, or a thriller, or a memoir, but we don't know which book we want to buy. And so we walk down the shelves, we'll pick up a book, we'll look at the cover, we'll look at the back cover, we'll open it up, maybe read a few pages. And so what we're finding is that the e-book discovery process is very similar.
So one of the opportunities for authors is to really recognize how readers discover books. I like to think of a book as this object, and attached to this object you attach all these little dials and levers that make your book more available, more accessible, more enjoyable to your readers. I also like to think of this idea of mounting a beacon on top of your book. Those are the discovery items, so that when someone's looking for a book similar to your book, they'll find it.
KENNEALLY: And as far as beacons go, I want to turn to Sandy Poirier-Diaz. Sandy, welcome. Actually, why don't you grab the mike there next to Bob? Yeah, we'll get to everybody and just down the line, then I'm going to mix up the conversation a bit. But I think this is a good progression, because Sandy is president of Smith Publicity, with offices in New Jersey, New York City, London, Toronto, and Los Angeles.
In a 15-year career, she's led, designed, and executed thousands of print ad public relation strategies, direct mail campaigns. Her publicity success includes placing clients in Today show, Parade magazine, Wall Street Journal, all that sort of high-end media. Sandy, Mark was talking about placing beacons on books, and certainly one way to help that beacon really get a laser brightness is to find yourself in the media. First, let me ask you this – in the past, the self-publishing label was a stigma, and I think you want to try to dispel the idea that that is no longer the case, or that it has gone away.
POIRIER-DIAZ: Absolutely. When Smith Publicity started by Dan Smith back in 1997, he was one of the first people who would actually take on a self-published author. He had a different perspective – as we do as a company – that we look at each book on its own merits, and if it has good quality, if the author has interesting credentials, it's a good story, valuable information for readers, then we're going to take it on and try to help authors really get meaningful awareness for the book, which is needed.
Now, probably five years ago or so, when we'd be pitching a book to the radio station, we would get responses back – if this is self-published, don't bother sending it. Interesting information, self-published – not interested. Even five years ago. Today, that is absolutely not the case. We never hear that question – if this is self-published, don't send it. So the world has accepted, the media has accepted that self-published books are of value, and have definitely a place in top-tier media.
KENNEALLY: In a way, it's like the transition that made – I mean, you can't call it a B movie any more. It's independent film.
POIRIER-DIAZ: Exactly, and it goes along with – it's true. I think –
KENNEALLY: So now maybe these are indie books.
POIRIER-DIAZ: Exactly. There was independent music, independent film, and now independent books. And as we were talking about before, let the buyer choose what they would like to read.
KENNEALLY: What about building a brand? How can media placement, publicity, build an author brand, Sandy? And maybe dispel another myth, which is about the difference between publicity and advertising. Just delineate those for us.
POIRIER-DIAZ: Sure, and a lot of what we do is education, because you all are experts at writing books, you're experts at your topic and passionate. And we provide a lot of information about the difference between, say, publicity and advertising. Advertisement is paid, where you pay to place a specific ad, whether it's in a magazine or on TV. The consumers know it's paid. The consumers know you've paid for that space.
Publicity, the biggest difference is, we make you part of the news. Much more credible. Very much more difficult to get, because we have to convince the writers and editors, reporters, producers, that what you have to say is of value, as opposed to just putting an ad in the paper. So the ad is very controllable, you know what's going to be there, but being quoted in a story, having your book featured in some way as part of the story. Absolutely, in the reader's eyes, and book buyer's eyes, much, much more credible.
KENNEALLY: And an author has to be ready to talk about something besides the book.
POIRIER-DIAZ: Absolutely.
KENNEALLY: I mean, if I was going to interview Jenny, which I would love to continue to talk with you – I was a reporter in my previous life – I would want to ask about the third-grade teacher, what the reaction was in the classrooms, in the schoolyards, how it feels to suddenly find herself as a publisher. There's a story there that goes well beyond the book itself. And you direct authors to help develop that story.
POIRIER-DIAZ: Absolutely. And we always joke, when you're doing a radio interview, nobody wants to talk to a book. They want to talk to someone who's interesting, lively, engaging, has something to share with their reader. So it really, oftentimes, isn't about the book. If you ever listen to NPR, for example, and you're hearing the author have a really interesting background, interesting – like Jenny – it makes you want to go out and learn more about them. So what we're really trying to do with media placements for author is to spark that interest, so that the consumer will want to learn more about you, and hopefully go out and buy your book.
KENNEALLY: I want to turn finally now to Bob Young at the end, with the Lulu cap on. Bob Young, welcome.
YOUNG: Thank you, Chris.
KENNEALLY: Bob is founder and CEO of lulu.com, an international marketplace for new digital content, with more than 300,000 recently published titles, 15,000 new creators from 80 different countries. And I think the point I want to bring up is that this is hardly your first startup. You were co-founder of Red Hat – you had a red hat in the old days, now you've got an orange cap – which many will recognize is the open-source software company that gives hardware and software as a standard platform on which to certify that technology. Red Hat is now a Fortune 500 company, and so you went from there to found Lulu in 2002, which is – I don't know, in the terms of self-publishing, in terms of publishing, is in a galaxy far away. Things have changed so much in those 10 years.
YOUNG: They sure have. My background is in technology, so I'm looking out at this group – and, by the way, thank you all for showing up at 9:00 on a Sunday morning. When Chris and I were discussing this event, we thought we'd be talking to each other. (laughter) And we were hoping a few of you might be at home reading your Twitter feeds. That was about as close as we thought we were going to get to an audience. So I'm flattered. I think we're all flattered by the effort you made to show up.
So my background is in technology. I build technology companies. And after we did Red Hat – and I start things. Like Mark, I'm very much an entrepreneur. And the reason I'm an entrepreneur – many entrepreneurs are entrepreneurs because of a vision, because of – I'm an entrepreneur because no one would give me a job. (laughter) And that puts me in exactly all of your category.
When you go to write a book, before you put pen to paper, I would encourage you to think about your book as your business. And so when you think about any business, how do you start? And you don't start with the product. You start with the customer. So you have to have a clear idea of who you are writing for. And if you can start with that – so my favorite author at Lulu – we have a bunch of great authors showing up here at our booth during the conference for the next few days.
But my favorite author is not one that we were able to convince to come to New York City, because he's a software engineer working out of his little apartment somewhere in some skyscraper in Singapore. He contributes to an open-source software project called Zen Cart. It's a shopping cart, so you may run it on your own Web sites, if you run a bookstore, for example. And he writes the material, the training manuals for this. It's a very specialized service, and he's very good at it, so he charges a lot for these manuals.
KENNEALLY: What's a lot?
YOUNG: He charges $75 for a book.
KENNEALLY: And in a year, do you have an idea, or can you tell us how many he sells?
YOUNG: He only sells between 1,000 and 2,000 books a year. But he knows precisely who his market is. But keep in mind, the whole point to self-publishing, the whole point to an open publishing platform, is you're in charge. You keep all the money. So in his case, on $75, he's earning more than $50 per book. He sells 1,000 books – Jenny, I'm not sure how many copies of Shades of Grey – but Mr. Goh sells 1,000 or 2,000 books a year. If he sells only 1,000 in a bad year, he's only pocketed $50,000.
$50,000 puts him in the top 1% of all published authors in America. So he is a one-percenter living in his little flat in Singapore. And what Lulu has enabled him to do by offering this platform is he gets to bring his book to market without having to travel to New York City. And along with what we were able to do with Jenny and Shades of Grey, it gets you out of bed in the morning.
And so this is my real attraction to this show, why I like publishing so much more than technology. In technology, it's a cold service. A very valuable service, but it's – how do you get excited about selling another computer? But selling another book, that's a passion, and you'll see it over the course of the next few days, of just everyone on every side of this industry is passionate about what we do. It's just so much more fun than technology.
KENNEALLY: Right. Well, to underscore the point of the transformation that's taken place in the industry over the last 10 years, Lulu now not only supports authors, but you're working with publishers. So these technology components, these APIs that allow people to sell in multiple currencies, or to distribute, and so forth – sometimes an author grows into a publisher. Take a look at what we've got here on this end of the table. Talk about that change, and the way that technology is influencing the publishing business. I like to ask the question, since when did publishing become a technology business? It's now very much a technology business.
YOUNG: It sure is, as Mark will tell you. Mark has – what do you call yourself? Are you a publisher?
COKER: We're a distributor.
YOUNG: OK, but here's Mark, one of the leading distributors of new books these days, and he doesn't put a single word on paper. So this is all about technology. And by the way, just for your benefit, so that you don't get too intimidated by the amount of technology you're dealing in, that's what you look to guys like Mark and me to do for you, is there are great technology partners for you guys who, if we're doing our job properly, will protect you from all this technology.
KENNEALLY: Right. Well, you raised a point, Bob, in the case of Smashwords – not the only platform that does it – it's e-book only. And I want to ask a question of anybody on the panel here about the debate around print or not to print. I think everybody's got an opinion here. I'll ask Jenny first, really. You all started in an online community, but ultimately felt, I think, that going to print was important. Why?
PEDROZA: I think that there's something magical about having the book in your hands. And primarily we did sell e-books. There's no doubt about it. But you have to think of the genre that we were writing, as well. I think that the privacy of having it on your reader was one of the factors of why we sold so many in the e-book area. But we've had people that have bought the e-books and have come back to us to get the printed books, because they want to have them. There's something about having that book in their hands.
KENNEALLY: In fact, people scrambled to get the last printed editions from Writer's Coffee House because once Vintage took over, those were going to become collectors' items.
PEDROZA: Right. In fact, for a while there, some of them were selling upwards of $900 per print. Not ours, but people were selling theirs on eBay and different things like that. Yeah, there's a certain aspect of it. People want to have that in their hands, which is not something that you can actually do with an e-reader sometimes. It's just a different – and it may eventually work its way out. But it's kind of like a letter in the mail. I kind of equate it to that. You can get an e-mail, and that's great, but there's something about when you get a card from your grandma that just makes it kind of special. So it's kind of along that same area.
KENNEALLY: Yeah. Sandy – and I know everybody's got an opinion, but I want to ask what the media thinks. Does the media expect to see a printed copy? Will they talk about an e-book only?
POIRIER-DIAZ: That's a great question. Probably over the last two years, we have started working with e-book-only campaigns, and there's a service called NetGalley. If you haven't heard of it, they're fantastic at getting your e-book for free to the media librarians, booksellers, etc. So that's a great way to get the book in the hands.
Three years ago when NetGalley started, when we tested it out, not many people had e-readers. Now, if you're a book reviewer, that would be your first tool, is to have an e-reader. Who wants to take home stacks of books? So while we still like to have a few printed copies for the people who don't have e-readers, there are many projects that are very successfully reviewed by the media in e-book-only format.
KENNEALLY: And isn't the reason because then you can hold it up in front of the camera?
POIRIER-DIAZ: Yes, and sometimes we just get covers to do that, exactly.
KENNEALLY: Is that right? Really?
POIRIER-DIAZ: Yes, exactly.
KENNEALLY: Bob Young, your business still prints books. You believe in print. Defend print.
YOUNG: OK. So we do everything. We'll do PDFs if you want to read it on your monitor – let me rephrase that, if your customer needs to read it on his monitor. We do e-books if your customer needs to read it on his iPad. We do physical books in a wide variety of format. So if your customer needs to read it on paper, if he needs it printed in Australia, because he doesn't want to ship a paper book to Australia, we can print it for him in Asia. We can print in Europe. We can print wherever your customer is.
The point is – and here's the secret, pay attention – there's no such thing as a book. There is only content. The book is simply the vehicle. We've confused the traditional reader, which was sheets of pages bound between a cover. It was an iPad or a Kindle – I was going to say 100 years ago. We're talking five years ago. So in the same way a Kindle is a reader, so is a physical printed book a reader. There's no such thing as a book. So if you have content, and if you're selling content, the trick is, who are your readers, and what format do they need to read in?
As an example, if you're publishing workbooks, biology textbooks, that will always work much better on paper than it ever will in any form of reader, because you can interact with paper in a way you can't interact with your e-book reader.
KENNEALLY: Right. I've also seen stats that show that still, today, 2012, the most common way that people read a book online is on a laptop or a PC. So as much publicity as the iPad or other tablets have received, people are still reading on their breaks at work, at lunch, and that sort of thing, at their desk, using a laptop. And so, keeping that in mind, I think, and again, thinking about how people read, is an important point.
Mark, I've saved you for last, because I know you have a contrary view of all of this. Is that fair to say?
COKER: Yes and no. I agree with –
KENNEALLY: That's being clear.
COKER: I agree with Bob that print, e-book, these are just formats. They're just containers for your words. Now, I'm a lover of print books. My wife and I collect books. We own thousands of books. We have so many books they won't fit in our library. And our idea of a great vacation is going to a used bookstore in some unknown town. But I think, for most self-published authors, I think print is dead.
Now, there are exceptions. If you're a nonfiction author, and you're a subject matter expert, and you do a lot of public speaking, and you're out before many people, or if you have a really large platform, then print makes a lot of sense for you. I would encourage you to do that. But if you're a fiction author, I would encourage you to do e-book first, and then if your book becomes big, and it becomes commercially viable to do print, then do print. There are great providers out there that will help you do print. Lulu is one of them, CreateSpace is here. I definitely recommend those two folks to look at.
Now, Chris, on the market share, you talked about how – I think you mentioned e-books account for about 20% of the overall market, and print is the rest. I think those stats are misleading, because although those statistics are probably somewhat accurate, they're referring to the entire universe of books. And as a self-published author, you don't have access to brick-and-mortar bookstores. It's really difficult to get your book into brick-and-mortar bookstores unless you have the support of a large publisher. So it means you're not going to be able to easily tap into that 80%.
And when you have both a print book and an e-book listed for sale at Amazon or Barnes & Noble, and your customer has a choice between purchasing a $15 or $20 or $30 book and a $3 e-book, the sale will often go to the e-book. I know most of our authors at Smashwords – we're working with over 40,000 authors – most of them will tell you that they sell many more e-books than they do print books.
KENNEALLY: We'll get to the subject of price in just a second, but I was thinking about books. I also – I'm a book author, I've committed that crime once or twice. I love my books too. I loved my record collection at one point. And I know that my daughter hasn't bought a CD probably in three years. She buys one for me every once in a while, because she knows it's for the old man. But I imagine a time when the book collection as object, as a physical thing, will take the same place as that record collection. But we're still in that transition period, I believe.
Let's talk about pricing. Mark, continue with you. Does price matter? If so, how?
COKER: Well, price definitely matters. If you're self-publishing an e-book, your customers, your readers will expect that that book is priced less than the print counterpart.
KENNEALLY: How much less?
COKER: Well, a lot less. We've done some research here. We just published some research about a month ago. We looked at our entire catalog of books, and millions of dollars of sales across multiple retailers, such as Apple, Barnes & Noble, Sony, Kobo, all these retailers that we distribute to, and we sought to identify, what is the average price that consumers want to pay for books, and what price points earn the author the most money, and what price points get the most downloads.
We found that, surprise, surprise, the price that gets the most downloads is free. We looked at our downloads over at Apple, and free books get about 103 times more downloads than paid books. So that's really interesting. It says that free is important if you're looking to build your platform and reach a lot of readers. If you price your book at 99 cents, you're going to reach a lot more readers than you will at $9.99, but we found that you're not going to make more money. We actually found that the 99 cents and $1.99 underperform all the other price points.
We found that $2.99 to $5.99 seems to be the sweet spot for self-published e-books. This is one of the things about self-published e-books. When you self-publish an e-book, you are going to earn 60-80% of the list price as your royalty, which is a lot more than you would get from traditional publishing. From traditional publishing, you're going to get 5-17%. And so what this means is that you, as a self-published author, can price your product lower, yet still earn more per copy that you sell than you would through the traditional route.
KENNEALLY: That's what they call the new math, as far as publishing goes. I want to drag Bob Young back over to that microphone. Bob, the instance you gave us of Mr. Goh in Singapore, he's charging $75 a copy. So it's possible to go far higher than $5.99 or $9.99. Tell us what you've learned at Lulu about price.
YOUNG: Chris, this is probably why you invited Mark and I on the panel. You need at least two people to get to fisticuffs who are in the same space. (laughter) And here's where Mark and I probably disagree, is that I think – again, I'm a business guy first. I look at your book as your product, and the single most common mistake businessmen make across the universe is, they underprice their product. Let me repeat that. The single most common mistake most businessmen make at all times is they underprice their product.
Because that's how the free-market system works. We work because we get paid for what we do. If you write a great book, and you don't earn any money from it, you don't have any money to pay the rent so that you can write the next great book. You are not serving your customers if you're starving to death, because your customers want a brand. They want a better book the next time. If you don't earn anything from your book this time, how do they earn any book next time?
Now, don't get me wrong. I'm a big fan of free. I've built a company that has become a billion-dollar company on the premise of free software. But you have to be very tactical with free. Free is a great way to build an audience, but once you have an audience, how do you monetize that audience? How do you get them to pay you for it? If you're providing something of great value – John Grisham, as a great example – John Grisham doesn't have to give away his book for free. In fact, John Grisham isn't even in the $2-$5 price range – is that your sweet spot?
COKER: $2.99 to $5.99.
YOUNG: Thank you. So $3-$6. He's not in the $3-$6 price range because he has a brand of sufficient quality that when you buy that John Grisham book for $9.99, or whatever the current price is, there's a quality assurance with that book that, when you buy a new book from someone you haven't heard from before, you might not have. So if you can build a following by giving books away for free – Shades of Grey being a great example – then you've got an audience for the publisher, if you sign up with a traditional publisher, will work for you, or an audience that Sara (sic) will help you connect with.
So the trick is to do your analysis of who you are writing this book for. In Mr. Goh's case, he was writing this book for technology users who were using this shopping cart tool to make money. He goes, if I can help them make a little bit more money on their Web site, $75 is chump change to them. His argument is, he should probably charge more than $75.
KENNEALLY: I want to put Jenny on the spot here – Jenny, if you grab that microphone – and ask you about the monetization piece of this. I mean, when you sat down in Texas and worked with people in Australia – and we haven't even got to that point about how the heck you found somebody to talk to and work with in Australia – but when you got together originally, was money part of the discussion?
PEDROZA: Oh, absolutely. We weren't ever thinking it was going to ever be this big, but, yes, there was a definite – we had to figure out how much the authors were going to get, how much the platform that we were using was going to get, and then, of course, what we were going to get in order to survive. Now, we never, as a company – I think he hit the nail on the head with that. You have to be able to price it high enough that you are going to be able to continue to grow. I think that's important.
KENNEALLY: And you have to grow – sorry, you have to have that income, because as you've grown, you've begun to work with editors and designers. There's a whole network of people who go beyond just the four of you.
PEDROZA: Absolutely. Well, we started with four, and now we have about 35 around the world. We have people in Belgium, we have people in the UK, Australia, all around America. So it does. Now we have to support this growing workforce. So it definitely is. You have to really watch and make sure that you're charging enough, but not too much, so that you can reach your target audience, definitely.
KENNEALLY: Do you have any specific pricing range that you found was more successful?
PEDROZA: We have found that e-books, around $9.99 is probably the – is our standard. Any over than that – that's where we have capped it. And then as far as print books, we kind of base it on the number of pages and the audience that it goes to.
KENNEALLY: Right. Well, we've come up to the end of our official time. We got a bit of a late start, and I want to offer at least an opportunity – there's a big crowd here. I don't see any microphones for people to go up to, but I'll do my best to relay a question or two before we let this great panel leave the stage. So I see a hand there. Yes?
F: (inaudible)
KENNEALLY: If I can sharpen that question and rephrase it, you're asking, why can't we all just get along? I think that's the question. And I think the point is that what we're seeing here is, that may be the legacy of something that began 10 years or more ago, and as the self-publishing author community converges with the traditional publishing community, I think that that debate is going to end – if not end, at least the volume level will go down. I'm seeing Bob Young nod yes. Bob, what do you think?
YOUNG: Well, yes and no. But Chris, this goes back to your former profession. The media loves confrontation. It's hard for us to get any media coverage if we don't say bad things about someone. (laughter)
KENNEALLY: So obviously Bob succeeded today. He's been teasing Mark mercilessly here.
YOUNG: The short answer is, you're exactly right. There's lots of room for both traditional as well as self-published. But as Mark and I demonstrate, and certainly as Shades of Grey illustrates, you don't have to go through the traditional publisher, where only 20 years ago that was a requirement to get your book to market.
KENNEALLY: Right. And I love the idea that the questioner made – a point she made, which is that this is about entrepreneurship. This is something really apart from publishing itself. I see a hand back there. Yes?
M: (inaudible)
KENNEALLY: Just to be sure everybody heard, the question is asking, so is there any reason – I'm going to, again, sort of narrow this down – is there any reason to work with a traditional publisher? Maybe the question could be put this way. What kind of an author might find it preferable to work with a traditional publisher? And I agree, I think Sandy could take that question.
POIRIER-DIAZ: That's a great question. The author that is a better candidate for a traditional author is one that doesn't want to be an entrepreneur. When you're a self-publisher, you have to find your editor, often. You have to do the book cover design, back cover copy, find distribution channels. You have to market yourself, which you have to do traditionally as well.
But if you really want to focus on, perhaps, just writing, or other parts of your career, a traditional publisher may be a better place for you, because they're taking care of all those details. You lose control, the timing is out of your control. It could be a year to two years before your book gets to market. But maybe that's OK for you.
From a publicity and media perspective, there is still a little bit more of a benefit to having the traditional published title or brand next to the name. It does raise you up a little bit. Not enough to necessarily pick one over the other, but it does open a few more doors, especially getting on the bookstore shelves. I think less than 1% of books published actually get on bookstore shelves. But a traditional publisher usually has the avenues to make that happen. So there are a few reasons why somebody may choose traditional.
KENNEALLY: Mark, you want to get in there on that?
COKER: I agree with everything you said there. But I would just point out that I think 10 years from now, there probably won't be very many bookstore shelves. When you look at how self-publishing has evolved over the last 10 years or so – and Bob can probably speak to this more than I can, because they are a true pioneer on the print side – four years ago, when we started Smashwords, there was a stigma with self-publishing. Self-publishing was seen as the option of last resort. It was seen as the option for failed authors.
Now that stigma is disappearing, and it's disappearing very quickly. I think what we're going to see over the next few years is a new stigma develop, and that's going to be the stigma of traditional publishing. I think authors will be sitting around the table, and someone will raise their hand and say, I just got a big deal with New York, and their fellow authors are going to say, I'm so sorry to hear that. (laughter) Now, laughing about this –
KENNEALLY: That's the tweet of the morning so far.
COKER: This conversation actually is already happening among some of the best-selling independent authors.
Now, to the comment that was made earlier about this battle between self-publishing and traditional publishing, I think it would be great if we could all get along. I certainly respect both sides of it. But I think it's also important to understand and respect that there are millions of writers out there who have had their dreams crushed by traditional publishing.
Traditional publishers acquire books based on perceived commercial merit. So if your book isn't perceived to have great commercial potential, then your book is worthless to them. All of us who love books should recognize that a book should not be valued by its commercial potential. The book should be valued by its impact on the reader. And even if your target audience is only 20 readers, that book deserves to be published. That book is valuable to the world.
KENNEALLY: Bob Young, 30 seconds on why rejection slips are a thing of the past.
YOUNG: OK, yeah, simply because you can publish any way you want. But keep in mind, what do publishers do? And, again, just to pick on Mark –
COKER: I'm not picking on you. (laughter)
YOUNG: I'm disappointed! Everyone picks on me.
COKER: Look at his funny hat. (laughter) (applause)
YOUNG: OK, so –
COKER: Don't fall for it.
YOUNG: – the reason traditional publishers – sorry, rejection slips are a thing of the past is, A, because you can publish yourself. But the key thing to remember is most of us are not salespeople. I happen to be a salesperson, which is why I wear funny hats. And that's the role of the publisher. There will be a new generation of publisher who will help you take your book to Smashwords, and to promote it on Smashwords, if you don't want to or don't know how to do it.
Sandy and I, when she was visiting us a few months ago, I kept saying, well, why aren't you the publisher? Because they think of themselves as simply the publicist. And I'm going, but you don't need warehouses, you don't need copy editors, you don't need all of that infrastructure. You're the sales organization. Why aren't you the publisher? I'll let Sandy answer that one.
KENNEALLY: Well, I'm going to have to take it as a place to stop, because, in fact, everybody here is a publisher. That's why we're all here at uPublishU. I want to thank our panel this morning, Bob Young, founder and CEO of lulu.com, Sandy Poirier-Diaz, president of Smith Publicity, Mark Coker, founder of Smashwords, and Jenny Pedroza, thank you for coming all the way from Mansfield, Texas. She's a co-founder of The Writer's Coffee Shop. Thank you all.
COKER: Thank you.
KENNEALLY: As a final thought – and you might want to tweet this – not everybody agrees that this is a good thing. Somebody said once, times are bad. Children no longer obey their parents, and everyone is writing a book. (laughter) Cicero said that in the first century BC. Take care. Thank you.