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Should you blog your book ahead of time? Recently, there have been several blog posts hinting it's a bad idea.
This advice can cripple authors. They fear that once they blog something, it can never be in their book. This pushes them into boring, off-topic blog posts that don't resonate and hurt their marketing.
If that is you, I have good news.
(TL;DR) Blogging Your Book Lets You:
- Test Your Ideas
Build Your Audience
Make Your Book Better
You can blog your book ahead of time. You just need to do it the right way.
Quick note: I am writing specifically about blogging non-fiction. Fiction is a different animal. I am not a huge fan of blogging fiction but it can work. Rachelle Gardner has a good post about The Pros and Cons of Blogging your Novel that I encourage you to check out if you write fiction.
I know a little about this.
I wrote a blog post, Why Courtship is Fundamentally Flawed, which went viral (over 1 million views) and turned into a Kickstarter Campaign that raised over $11,000 and ultimately became a book, ebook, and audiobook (affiliate links).
Joshua Harris read Courtship in Crisis and other similar books and changed his views on his own book I Kissed Dating Goodbye.
Not only did the book kick off as a single blog post, drafts of some chapters still exist as blog posts today.
Your reach with a blog is wide. Your reach with a book is deep.
Far more people read my blog than buy my books. That is ok with me. My ultimate goal is to get the message out as widely as possible. And while the reach of the blog is vast, five minutes with a blog post is not going to have the same impact as two hours with a book.
Blog reading and book reading are fundamentally different experiences. Someone can read your content in one medium and then have an entirely different experience with the same content in another medium.
"Saying nonfiction readers won't read your book after they read your blog is like saying that fiction readers won't watch a movie after reading the book the movie is based on." Click to Tweet
The movie is the same story as the book, and yet the change in medium makes it entirely different.
"Fans of a book are the first in line for the movie and fans of the blog are the first ones in line for the book." Click to Tweet
And some movies (like Julie & Julia) are based on books that are based on blogs.
Takeaway: People who read your blog will also want to read your book. Don't listen to people who tell you otherwise.
Blogging your book makes your book better.
Blogging is a two-way dialogue between you and your readers. It allows you to hone your ideas as you get reader feedback.
While the "first drafts" of some chapters appear on my blog, the edited final versions in the book take into account the comments and criticism I received on the blog.
A few of the things I wanted to say were being misunderstood and I was able to make corrections before my book came out. I also was able to cut whole sections that were not connecting with readers. Other sections I thought would be boring turned out to be incredibly popular, like the chapter on Courtship's history.
If a post did not get enough traffic in Google Analytics, it did not make it into the book. My book is a curated collection of only the very best blog posts. It also has content exclusive to the book.
I was writing a controversial book and I wanted to be as clear and convincing as possible. Blogging the most controversial elements ahead of time, helped me do that.
Takeaway: Use your blog to get feedback from your readers. Incorporate that feedback into the book. This makes your blog and book different while making the book better.
A blog is not a book.
Good blog posts use photos and videos, which don't work in books. My blog content is shorter, rougher, and has hyperlinks instead of footnotes. Each post links to several other posts, so where to go next is not very clear.
You have passed nearly a dozen links in this post already, some of which you might have clicked on, some of which you probably skipped. This is a non-linear reading experience which is very different from a book where chapter 2 always comes after chapter 1.
While it is hard to binge my blog, people binge my book all the time.
Jane Friedman says, "Never use a blog as a dumping ground for material that's already been written" and I agree with that to a point. The final versions should be different from each other.
Takeaway: "If you copy and paste from blog to book or vice versa you are making a mistake. You need to adapt your message to the medium." Click to Tweet
Blog posts are advertisements for your book.
The parts of my book that live online as blog posts can go viral and promote the book all over again.
From time to time, blog posts like this one will flare up on Facebook. Suddenly, thousands of new people are reading it and I did nothing to make that happen. This leads to a whole new round of attention on my book.
Why wouldn't I want that free attention for my book? What would I gain by taking those posts down?
Takeaway: Add an advertisement for your book in the blog posts that wound up in your book as chapters.
But what about the contract?
The critics of blogging books are correct when they say that publishing chapters on your blog ahead of time forces you to use different language in the contract. But this is a small price to pay for all the attention you can get for free from great content spreading around the web.
The challenge is, the editor negotiating the contract is not typically involved in marketing the book. This is not her area of expertise and she doesn't know what she doesn't know. She often doesn't appreciate how valuable popular blog posts are in terms of Google rankings and sales.
Takeaway: If you decide to go traditional, make sure you pick an agent who "gets it" and is willing to negotiate for your blog posts to stay up.
Why would someone pay to read your book when they won't read your blog for free?
One big challenge in publishing is that it is hard to predict when a book will succeed. Some books that are "sure-fire winners" flop while others come out of nowhere to become runaway bestsellers.
If only there were a way to test a book ahead of time to see if it resonates with the market.
Oh wait, there is. It's called a blog.
"If a topic or writer is failing to find resonance with free readers, the writer will struggle to find paid readers." Click to Tweet
The solution is not to stop blogging and hope your publisher can find an audience where you can't. I think the answer is that you need to either invest in your craft as a blogger and get better or pivot your topic to one that has better resonance with your readers.
Takeaway: Use your blog to test your ideas to see if they have resonance with an audience. Typically, if it won't work as a blog post, it won't work as a chapter.
Case Study: Stuff Christians Like
(Affiliate Link)
In the popular book Stuff Christians Like, you will notice there is a picture of a side hug on the front cover.
There are over 100 different things from the book Jonathan Acuff could have featured on the cover.
Why feature the side hug?
Because it was one of the most popular blog posts from his popular blog Stuff Christians Like. His publisher, HarperCollins, was smart enough to see the value of those blog posts as advertisements help sell his book.
He knew the cover would resonate with his audience because the side hugs blog post was already resonating. Not every blog post made it into the book. Many of his posts flopped and did not make the cut to get into the book.
Acuff wisely put his most popular posts in his book along with completely new content exclusive to the book. This gave both his true fans and people new to his writing something to love and talk about.
I think Acuff's approach is the best approach. It makes sense to save some content exclusively for the book.
For my book, I had about a 60/40 mix. The only way to get 100% of the content was to buy the book.
Takeaway: Make sure your book has some unique content not found on your blog. But don't go crazy. Put as much of it on your blog as you are comfortable with.
Bottom Line
As an author, your primary challenge is obscurity. Blogging can be one of the best solutions to the obscurity problem for both you and your book.
- is a great way to test your ideas, find your audience, and find your resonance.
- is not for everyone and you don't need to blog your book first for it to succeed.
- can make you a better writer.
- helps sell more copies of your book.
Episode Transcript
[00:00:01] This is novel marketing, the show for novelists who aren't necessarily fond of marketing but still want to become best selling authors. Episode 132. I'm James L. Rubart, but you can call me Jim.
[00:00:14] I'm Thomas Umstattd Jr. And in this episode we're going to talk to you guys about how to blog your book and if you should blog your book. But first, there is some news on the personal front we need to talk about. I'm talking this is big multiple drumroll announcement, so Thomas, do you wanna take it away?
[00:00:34] Yes, you know that old child sings song first comes love, then comes marriage, then comes the baby and the baby carriage. Well, I have now completed the entire sing-song.
[00:00:44] So the trifecta is done. That's right.
[00:00:47] My wife and I are expecting a new little one to join our family here in October and we're very excited about that.
[00:00:54] Ok. Let's get details. What is the due date?
[00:00:57] It's October 7th so we may have some missed episodes about that time and finding a quiet place to record is going to become a little bit more of a challenge. I'm looking forward to it.
[00:01:10] Well congratulations that is just so awesome. You guys are going to be phenomenal parents. No doubt about that. So congrats. That's cool.
[00:01:18] Thank you. Thank you. And to commemorate the new baby we're going to do something we have never done in five years of the novel Marketing Podcast. So until today we've been focused primarily on fiction authors and for those of you who are novelists don't worry our focus is still going to be for you. But we thought once every 132 episodes would probably be a good idea to give an episode specifically for nonfiction writers. What? What?
[00:01:46] So we were surprised how many nonfiction writers listen to this show and they kind of have to eat the crumbs from the table sometimes when we focus on novelists so now we're going to make you your very own meal. And specifically we're going to talk about how to blog your book ahead of time.
[00:02:03] Right. So we're talking about while we're talking about in the intro you heard us say that we are going to talk to you guys about how to blog your book. We are talking about nonfiction books we're not talking about fiction. We'll touch on that just real quickly later on. But we're talking specifically if you're a nonfiction writer.
[00:02:20] That's right. If you're writing fiction blogging your book ahead of time is hard and not recommended. And the reason why it's hard is that fiction has to be read linearly. So for Chapter 2 to make sense, people have to have already read chapter one. And when you first start blogging, no one's reading your blog. And so it makes it really hard to enter your story. It can work. I know authors who've pulled it off but it's very tricky and very challenging. And that's not what we're gonna talk about in this episode. If you have successfully blogged your novel or you used a service like wattpad and you want to tell us about it, shoot us an e-mail. Maybe we'll have you on the show. We'll talk about blogging your novel, but specifically I want to talk about blogging your nonfiction book since nonfiction books aren't necessarily linear. Right. The order of the chapters often — you know when I was writing my nonfiction book the order of the chapters changed every month while I was working on it and for the people who backed the kickstarter, what they got in the final book ended up being very different because as I worked on I realized the order needed to change. It makes it much more open for blogging.
[00:03:22] New blog material that ends up in your book and it can work out quite well. Now I realize this is controversial there have been several blog posts saying that this is a bad idea. In fact that's what gave us the idea for this episode. Jim came across a blog post written by a very reputable agency and they were saying oh it's a real hassle if you blog your book ahead of time publishers won't want to touch it or you have to add extra language to the contract and that post really scared me, since I was afraid that if people read that post, they would be scared away from blogging or they'd be scared away from blogging anything that's relevant, because if it might end up in their book, they don't want to blog about it which forces them to blog about boring irrelevant topics which is not not a great strategy. You need to blog on your area of expertise and at the same level of quality of what's going to be in your book.
[00:04:14] The best material. That's right.
[00:04:16] So let's talk a little bit about why I'm so passionate about this. I actually did this.
[00:04:22] So for those of you who've been listening to the episode for the for those of you been listening to the show for a long time you know that I wrote a blog post a few years back that went viral. It was a single post and it got over a million page views and the people who read the post wanted me to write a book about it and they raised eleven thousand dollars on Kickstarter to make it a reality.
[00:04:47] And so then I was stuck writing a book which I'd never done before. So historically I've been the consultant for authors who build their websites to help them with their marketing. I haven't written books. You know I do lots of blogging but not a lot of book writing and I found that I was really struggling to write chapters for the book. I was working with a manuscript developer and we were going round and round and I wasn't happy with what was being developed and it was I was really struggling. And at the same time I was writing blog posts as I was interacting with my readers on the topic of dating and relationships, and courtship and I was finding that those blog posts I was wanting to turn into chapters and so I did. I turned them in chapters of the book and after a while I finally started just writing starting the chapters off as a blog post because I found that psychologically that was a lot easier for me as a blogger. I knew who my audience was and I knew that I didn't have to have all the answers right away. And what ended up happening was that the feedback I got from my readers of the blog informed the book and I could tell if something was making sense and I could tell something was being controversial in the right ways and it ended up making the book a lot better.
[00:06:02] This is a really important point. What Thomas is saying and this is why it doesn't work with fiction but with nonfiction you're getting input. You're getting beta readers all the time. And so you can emphasize the things that they're like, Oh my gosh we're really passionate about this and the things that's just crickets you can easily leave out so it's like I don't know it's free editing it's free.
[00:06:27] Crowd — what's the word. Crowd sourcing — it's free crowdsourcing.
[00:06:34] Yeah not only was my book crowdfunded but my book has crowdsourced in the sense that a lot of the feedback that I got was from readers of the blog. Now they weren't saying oh you missed a comma in the third paragraph that's not the feedback they were giving. They were responding to the ideas and they were helping to edit the ideas. And that's often what you don't get very good editing of your ideas from your editor. Your editor may not be passionate about your topic of your book. They may not be educated or aware of the topic of your book and they're not able to really help you hone the ideas in especially hone the ideas in a way where they resonate with a particular audience that you're trying to reach. Especially if you're traditional published you don't have a lot of choice and editor an editor may or may not be able to help you. So they may be able to help you put together a good paragraph or a good sentence but they may not be able to help you make your ideas really work.
[00:07:24] And that's where putting your material on a blog first can just be invaluable so useful to see oh everyone misunderstood the point I was making and they're all angry over the wrong things. Man it's so good to know about that while it's just a blog post.
[00:07:40] So when I put it in my book I am able to make sure they're not getting angry over a misunderstanding. The other thing you point out is that your blog is not a book so your reach with your blog is going to be much wider than your reach with your book. So people may spend five or 10 minutes on my blog but they'll spend an hour or two hours on my book. So it's a very very different kind of encounter it's very different kind of experience and it's a fundamentally different medium. It's as different reading a blog or reading a book as watching a movie and reading a novel it's just very very different experience.
[00:08:17] Yeah same story. Right. If you're if you're talking about film if you're talking about a fiction movie same story and yet it is it's a radically different experience and we're going to talk about a few examples of that later on. But right now I want to read this quote from you Thomas because I think this nails that saying nonfiction readers won't read your book after they read your blog is like saying that fiction readers won't watch a movie after reading the book the movie is based on. So think of yourself. Are there books that you've read. Let's use Hunger Games because that's one that became wildly popular. Did you read the book go. All right. I've got it. I'm not going to go see the movie or did you say I cannot wait for the movie to come out. I'm guessing for most of you it was the latter.
[00:08:59] That's right. And the movie followed the book beat for beat so it wasn't one of these movies so it was like inspired by the novel and it's nothing like the novel. The plot of The Hunger Games the book was exactly the plot of Hunger Games the movie. There was very minor things changed but they were very minor. And yet I read Hunger Games and I was the first in line to watch the movie.
[00:09:22] Well I loved it. I thought it was well done. And I yeah me too Thomas I'm with you.
[00:09:26] Exactly. In some movies like Julie and Julia are based off of books that are themselves based off of blogs. So you can actually take this the whole way. So don't believe anyone who tells you Oh if you blog the book first you won't be able to turn it into a book publishers won't publish it.
[00:09:44] That's just not true. The savvy publishers the publishers to understand marketing realize the value of a popular blog and they're not going to want you to take those posts down. And they're not going to be afraid that there are blog posts with the same material up because they realize that that is building your platform and helping your ideas.
[00:10:00] Better and more resonant which will ultimately give you a better book that will sell more copies. Oh and by the way you have all these passionate fans that are ready to buy your book.
[00:10:08] Yeah exactly. Exactly.
[00:10:10] So another way that I like blogging is that it makes your book better. We've already talked about this about finding out when your ideas are bad or they're not making sense. But it also helps you know when your ideas are good. So for example I went round and round about whether or not I should include a chapter about the history of dating and relationships. I didn't think that most people would care about that.
[00:10:37] And so what I did was I wrote it as a blog post because I did all the research for the book and I wanted to release it out into the world and it turned out that people loved that blog post and the young 20 somethings I was targeting with my book actually were indeed interested in history and the history of courtship and it ended up being the second chapter of my book and it ended up being the most convincing chapter of my book. So when I'm making my argument that the history chapter is the one that I get almost no pushback on and what I've seen really changing the debate is the history chapter more than all of my beautiful reasoning and eloquence in the arguments that I make it's the history chapter that made the difference and that chapter almost didn't make it into my book. If I hadn't have blogged it first I wouldn't have had the confidence to put it into my book. And you can get that feedback not just from the number of comments but also the number of shares on Facebook and Twitter and ultimately Google Analytics. So what won me over as I looked at Google analytics on that post and saw that people were spending 5 6 7 minutes reading that posting like wow these people aren't skimming it. They are like sitting down with a cup of coffee and really reading this blog post. There must be something here that should end up in the book.
[00:11:48] And don't let the technology intimidate you because technology these days even the simplest like Thomas just mentioned Google Analytics even the simplest analytics and you can learn this stuff if you don't know it already can tell you so much valuable information.
[00:12:03] For example I am a columnist on novel rocket and will be a columnist on learn how to write a novel.
[00:12:10] And I've written some columns I thought to myself oh my gosh this is killer. People are going to love this and people are like yeah whatever. And then other columns all right and I'll go I was kind of struggling with it. I'm not sure if that really is going to impact people. And you get this massive readership. So really the survey of one being yourself. You're not the you're not the best research subject to find out. Nowadays with the technology you can find out that information really literally at the click of buttons.
[00:12:40] This is an example from music but Lindsey Stirling almost did not publish her song Crystalize. She wasn't convinced it was a good song and that's to this day her most popular song so often you do not have good perspective on your own art. Whether it's good or bad sometimes you're in love with it and it's terrible and sometimes you hate it and it's amazing. And the only way to get that feedback in a true way is to put it out into the world. Having one editor or one or two beta readers look at it is not enough feedback for you to really know and have that confidence because they could be wrong too. They may be telling you it's terrible and they're wrong or maybe you're paying them and they want to tell you that it's good because they want you to keep paying them. It's that bigger audience. It's that analytics that really gives you the feedback.
[00:13:25] I'm not sure of that. I'm not sure the statistics on this Thomas so correct me but I believe once you hit 400 people responding to a survey you start getting into the plus or minus 5 percent accuracy. Well until you get to that point you're not sure. In other words a survey of 30 people is not necessarily going to be that accurate. And so the more people you get with feedback on your idea on your blog post the better.
[00:13:49] I have a rule that I don't listen to anyone's medical study if it doesn't have at least triple digit participants somebody will do some medical study on some like health impact and they took a test on 20 people and I'm like —
[00:14:02] I realize that scientists may think that that's valid but I don't think that that's valid. I don't think that's a big enough sample group to be valid. So just my own personal rule. Now I should point out here that a blog is not a book. And the best example of this is the first book I ever saw that started off as a blog. I was actually a fan of the blog and the blog was Presentation Zen and it was all about how to make better presentations how to use Powerpoint or keynote in a way that's not death by bullet point. And I was a passionate reader of this blog. I read every post when it came out and the posts were filled with images and they were filled with video examples of people's presentations and if you've ever seen me give a presentation live. I'm very much inspired by their presentations and approach this book and this blog changed my life.
[00:14:51] And when the book came out I was preordering it you know. I ordered it. I ordered the special edition I ordered every version of this book I could get my hands on and publisher was not a famous publisher that published this book.
[00:15:03] But what they found was that this blog had lightning in a bottle and the book has now been translated into dozens of languages. And second edition it's sold like crazy. And here's the interesting point.
[00:15:15] Those blog posts that turned into chapters of the book still exist online and in some ways the blog posts are better. So while they may not be edited as well because they are revised honed versions ended up in the book. The version on the blog has videos. The book doesn't have the books Scott photos it's a full color beautiful book but it doesn't have the video. So at one point he compares Steve Jobs' presentation style. And Bill Gates' presentation he has embedded YouTube videos of Steve Jobs presenting and Bill Gates presenting and there's Ted talks all over this blog that are not in the book and the book is a fundamentally different experience. The book is really good.
[00:15:58] The book is a more concise you know give a version I recommend the book all the time somebody who's having trouble with their presentations being boring in fact I tried to get I came across a blog all still in college. So this has been around for a while. I remember trying to get all of my professors to buy the book in a like friendly way without telling them your presentations are boring. This is death by bullet point.
[00:16:20] You're killing your students. It's like you can do it better.
[00:16:25] But you know when you read a blog the other big difference is that the blog is nonlinear.
[00:16:30] So a good blog post may have a dozen hyperlinks sometimes dozens of hyperlinks each that go to other pages. This is one of the ways you can tell somebody who is an experienced blogger from somebody who's kind of an inexperienced blogger. Inexperienced bloggers don't put a lot of links in their posts. Experience bloggers will have a link in almost every paragraph both to their own related posts and to other people's posts and the result of that is that when someone reads a blog posts you don't know what they're going to read next.
[00:17:00] You know they're discovering your blog like they're reading Wikipedia.
[00:17:03] There's kind of it's choose your own adventure. Whereas a book it's Chapter 1 Chapter 2 and in chapter 3 you can build your case in a more cogent way and you don't have to — and you can assume in chapter 3 that people have read Chapter 1 whereas in a blog, you have to assume that people are reading this post without having read any of your other posts so you have to repeat yourself a little bit more. So while you're copying it you're not copying and pasting from your blog to your book. I think this is a really important point. You are using your blog as a rough draft for a chapter of your book or for a section of your book that you are then honing and focusing into the book.
[00:17:39] It's not exactly the same. Ideally it's been tweaked and adapted for its environment.
[00:17:46] Real quick I'd like to mention the featured patron for this episode. It's the Time Drifter series by Lauren Lynch explore ancient civilizations from a Christian world view in a historical fantasy time drifter series appropriate for all ages. Lauren Lynch writes faith based infused historical fantasies created to challenge readers of all ages.
[00:18:07] After many years of focusing on the visual arts she found she could also paint with words and now enjoys dreaming up stories where the real world collides with the fantastic. To learn more about Lauren and her books visit LaurenLynch.com and of course we will have a link to Lauren's website and her book in the show notes. Thank you so much Lauren for being a patron of the novel Marketing Podcast.
[00:18:31] The other thing a blog is is it is a massive advertisement for your book because you are continually putting your blog out there it's continually being seen by Google it's continually being seen by other people. It's I guess one way to say that it is a massive prelaunch campaign for your book.
[00:18:53] That's right. And what's wonderful is that it can rank on google for years for certain search topics and people will find that post they're searching for something on Google and they've read your blog post and then they buy your book or a post will flare up from time to time on Facebook.
[00:19:10] So my original blog post which I thought would always be the most popular blog post the one on why courtship is fundamentally flawed is now not my most popular blog post my most popular blog post is actually one on confidence. That one I wrote is for one of the later chapters in the book. It's called the confidence crisis.
[00:19:28] You know why women feel undatable and men feel undatable and why both of them feel like all the good ones are taken in that post. Frequently flares up on social media somebody will find it and share it in a bunch of other people will share it. And I suddenly get this whole new wave of traffic to my blog and new wave of attention to my book that I did not work for and I did not pay for. And if I'm not paying attention to my Google Analytics I may not even know happened because I've turned off comments now on my blog.
[00:19:57] I got tired of dealing with all of that hassle.
[00:20:02] But it's been very very useful in promoting the book in a very inexpensive and long term way.
[00:20:10] So don't listen to your publisher if they say oh we'll blog your. It's OK if you have this material from your blog but you have to take it down from your blog. That is very bad thinking that's like a Hollywood studio saying We'll make a movie out of your book.
[00:20:23] But you have to stop publishing your book like why would you do that? They don't compete. They help each other. It's like what happens instead is typically the publishing company will say hey we want to be able to license the movie characters.
[00:20:37] So Lord of the Rings for a few years has a character from the movie on the cover of the book. And then you'll notice that they stopped doing next that's expensive for them. The movie company actually gets a piece of the action. I mean they have Viggo Morgensteen on The cover of the book.
[00:20:51] Now some people say well the contract that I have with my publisher forbids me — Thomas.
[00:20:59] Thomas I just realized I just realized some some of our listeners out there are going to be offended that you called him Viggo Mortenseen.
[00:21:06] What's his name? Mortensen. I'm terrible with Hollywood actors. You should be happy I got just got the first name. I know you did, it's an unusual name so nicely done. It's one of the only movies I actually know the names the actors. Or pseudo-know the names. There you go.
[00:21:26] Anyway so some people say well the contract I have from my publisher says that this material can't be published anywhere else and I think this is a really important point to underline if you're traditionally published and I realize most of you don't have to worry about this you're going indie is that that contract is not from God. It's not even from the government. That contract is negotiable. There's nothing in that contract that cannot be negotiated. And all the time savvy agents will negotiate away that clause or they'll adapt it to exclude the blog. And that's perfectly fine. You should never approach a traditional publisher as if they are God and you're a humble supplicant. You are partners at best — you're partners at worst and at best they're your employee. They work for you. Your agent works for you. Your editor works for you and you need to be willing to push back and negotiate.
[00:22:20] And if you have an agent who's not willing to negotiate on your behalf if your agent is acting like they're on the side of the publisher rather than on your side get a different agent. There are a lot of great agents out there and you if you're a good author and especially if you have a popular blog you have choices. My blog post that I published and I did it independent. I had agents who were very happy with my choice of agents who were very happy to publish it. They saw the traffic that it was getting in they're ready to represent it when agents say I can get you a contract in 30 days on this blog post and you know I chose not to because wanted to move faster and independently publish it and because I'm an Indie at heart I guess. But the reality is is that — the secret is out.
[00:23:05] I think people have been suspicious for a while. I'm now out of the closet and they know.
[00:23:11] Wow, Thomas we announced that there's a baby coming and we announced that you're an Indie.
[00:23:15] I don't have anything against people who want to traditionally publish and I'm not saying I won't ever traditionally publish in the future. Some of my best friends are traditionally published like James L. Rubart. So I'm not I'm not racist against traditional published authors.
[00:23:29] But anyway the point I'm trying to make is that you can renegotiate your contract and make sure you pick an agent who gets it.
[00:23:37] The next question Thomas. This is a big one. This is a big one we kind of touched on it already talking about comparing a book a blog post and book to a movie. Right. But the question is why would someone pay to read your book when they won't read your blog for free. I mean the information's already there why can't I just read the blog and I want to give an example of something that's a little bit different than we've been talking about. And what this is is it's a book called Hyperbole and a Half. Now this came from a blog post and our mutual friend Suzy Warren said Oh my gosh Jim you have to read this particular post from Hyperbole and a Half. And so I read it and I'm just in stitches right. This gal she tells a story but she also draws these cartoons these very simple cartoons of herself. And I was rolling. I was laughing so hard. Well it turns out very shortly after that the book comes out and the book is simply a collection of the best posts the best little stories that she's told. So she's gotten that feedback. She knows exactly the most popular posts or her publisher and she know that. They put in a book. Well I bought that book for Darcy for Christmas. Now I could have said Honey you know just get on your computer and go read the blog post. But like you said it's a very different experience. Having that book and reading it that then it is on the blog. And so I bought it and Darcy liked it so much it's like oh my gosh I have to buy this for our son Micah. So that's one example of why should they. Why would somebody pay to read your book when they won't read your blogs for free.
[00:25:14] That's exactly why. And that's a really great point. Part of the value of the book is that it filters the very best blog posts which can be hard to do on a blog. And since as the blogger you have access you know which posts are popular you have a guaranteed hit on your hands.
[00:25:31] You've already tested this on the crowd. You know what resonates. And this is really important now I will say it also works the other way. If no one is reading your blog for free you're not going to be able to get people to pay to read your book. And one of the big frustrations in publishing is that traditional publishers often don't know which books are going to be successes and which ones are going to be flops. If only there was a way to test it to see if there's a market for the book is like oh wait there is. It's called a blog. So for nonfiction, you can really reduce the risk you can blog very inexpensively and see if there's an audience for your book or not. And if there isn't an audience for your book you don't have to spend all that time and money publishing a book when there's no audience to buy it and you are blogging on some obscure topic that you don't think anyone is interested in and you blog on it and the blog goes crazy you're like huh. Maybe there is an audience of people who want to hear about the history of courtship. So you put it in your book.
[00:26:27] Yeah that's a good question. That's a good question for you. Thomas when you wrote that blog post did you have any expectation it was going to go absolutely explode as big as it did.
[00:26:36] The history post I was not expecting to be popular I was expecting my 5 nerd friends to like it and to nitpick it like crazy and be like I disagree with your historical interpretation and I was expecting it to be very controversial but it turns out no one knows anything about history and I guess my historical analysis was pretty sound. I've not gotten any pushback on the history chapter and I'm summarizing 4000 years of history and I'm not a historian so I was like like this high risk chapter to write. But the reality was that people like this make sense you know because no one's really explained how we went from paying bride prices where the man buys the woman from her father to paying a dowry where the father pays the woman to get married. That's a huge shift. How did that happen where did that happen. And and I didn't know when I start writing the book. I did do the research when I found the answer I was like Wow that's fascinating. And if you're curious you can read it in that chapter and if you're interested you can buy the book or you can just read the chapter and that's okay. I'm okay with you just reading that one chapter on my blog and not buying the book because my goal ultimately is to spread the word and to fight obscurity because once people know who you are the money becomes easy to find. We have a real quick case study on this.
[00:27:48] Jim tell us about the book Stuff Christians Like. Stuff Christians Like this is by a guy named John Acuff who has moved into other types of books and business leadership and 30 day hustle and challenges and things like that but Stuff Christians Like is really what put him on the map but it didn't start off as a book. It started off as a blog and it's one of those blogs again Thomas where I'm reading this thing is just cracking me up it's so insightful it's written in such a humorous manner. And you'll notice on the cover of this book again the name of it is Stuff Christians Like. You'll notice there's this picture of a side hug on the front cover.
[00:28:24] Now John writes about all these different subjects right. Like guitar guy you know there's always guitar guy in your youth group and everybody wants to be the guitar guy or hang out with the guitar guy so he could have chosen a lot of different images to put on the cover of the book. But which one did he choose? He chose to feature the side hug right. And that's the reason he did that is because it was one of the most popular posts from his blog Stuff Christians Like and so his publisher Harper Collins was smart enough to go ha. Let's take that recognition. Let's take people's knowledge of that let's take the truth that people will resonate with that who haven't seen it before. And we're going to put that on the cover so people will take a look inside the book.
[00:29:10] And an important thing to note here is that he wrote hundreds of posts about Stuff Christians Like I think he was blogging almost daily for a while. So he has you know 3 4 5 700 posts in some of those posts flopped and they weren't funny they didn't resonate. People are like oh that you know maybe it was about some obscure aspect of Christian culture that making fun of it didn't resonate. Most people didn't get that joke. And you know what.
[00:29:34] Those posts weren't in the book. He only featured the most popular posts. And the other thing I think it's important to point out is that he did put things in the book that were exclusive to the book.
[00:29:44] So I did this too. So you can't get my entire book reading the blogs some of the material is exclusive to the book. So I'm not saying necessarily that 100 percent of the content has to be vetted through your blog. I think that you can have a mix. I think that John, he had about a 60 40 mix I think that that's a good mix but it may be different for you. I don't think there's a clear answer to what the best mix is. Jim I think for the cartoon book a lot of cartoonists do have a 100 percent mix where every single cartoon that's in their book was first on their website.
[00:30:20] And I've seen that done quite a bit. So I don't know if there's a clear answer to this but feel free to have something exclusive just to your book. You don't have to put it all on your blog.
[00:30:28] Yeah that's a smart idea because then they feel like oh nowhere else to get it. I've got to have the book.
[00:30:33] That's right. So bottom line as an author your primary challenge is not piracy it's obscurity. We say this quite a bit on this show and blogging can be one of the best solutions to the obscurity problem both for you and for your book. So it's a great way to test your ideas and find your audience and find your resonance to find which ideas resonate with your audience. It's not for everyone. You don't have to blog your book first to succeed but I find it special for nonfiction to be incredibly helpful. And it also helps make you a better writer. We talked a couple of episodes about writing short stories as a novelist.
[00:31:08] Well writing a blog post is the nonfiction equivalent of writing short stories. It is very very similar.
[00:31:13] It's like a whole book but in only a thousand pages there are only 2000 pages and ultimately I've been convinced that blogging your book ahead of time can help you sell more copies of your book not less.
[00:31:25] All right guys this has been a long episode and so we're going to talk about our sponsor very quickly the sponsor is us the sponsor is Patreon. And if you have not signed up for that yet if you've not become a subscriber we'd love you to go and at least check that out and see what it's all about. You can go to Patreon actually go to novel marketing dot com and you'll see a little button that describes what Patreon is. Essentially it's a way to support us and get some extra bonuses and some special behind the scenes features that you don't get as normal subscriber if you just want to keep listening for free. Great. We love that.
[00:32:00] But if you'd like to support us you can find out a little bit more about that by going to a novel marketing dotcom and looking for that Patreon a button.
[00:32:09] In our first bonus episode is live. It's all of our episodes on Facebook. So everything all the advice that we've ever given you on Facebook is all in one episode. It's for Patreon backers only. And you can get that in your podcast player. There's a special patrons only feed. We're going to have one or two bonus episodes every month. We have the bonus bundle and we have the Q and A episode that are patrons only if you want more of the novel Marketing Podcast. I realize giving a 30 minute free episode is probably a mistake on that.
[00:32:39] If you want more more Thomas and Jim you can get that the same way you're getting this.
[00:32:44] Once you become a patron you get a special link you just copy paste that into your podcast player of choice and you can get even more helpful advice on how to sell your books online offline and everywhere in between.
[00:32:59] I'm Thomas Umstattd Jr. and with me as always is best selling author James L. Rubart. Thank you for listening.Patron Sponsored Links


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UNITED NATIONS (AN) — Amid growing calls on the U.N. secretary-general to order an independent investigation into Jamal Khashoggi's killing, a review by Arete News found just eight previous instances of a secretary-general issuing such an order since 1963. The last was in 2010, in the wake of Sri Lanka's civil war.
One week after Sri Lanka's 26-year civil war ended, the U.N. secretary-general and a handful of reporters flew halfway around the world to inspect the sandy coastal strip where separatist Tamil Tigers made a last stand.
It was a wasteland of scorched earth and craters in a war zone that came under heavy shelling from separatist rebels and the government. Burnt-out trucks and cars were left overturned near bunkers and battered camp tents. From inside a Sri Lanka Air Force helicopter, reporters gaped in astonishment down at a ghastly moonscape-by-the-sea.
The tour of the island nation's devastation after a war that cost 100,000 or more civilian lives extended to a barbed-wire-enclosed camp holding hundreds of thousands of displaced and hungry ethnic Tamils fearful of the Sinhalese majority. It was not until a year later, in 2010, that Ban Ki-moon, then the U.N. chief, ordered an investigation of alleged atrocities that would provide evidence of suspected war crimes by government forces and rebels.
That investigation was the last one ordered by a U.N. secretary-general, Arete News found in a review of U.N.-launched independent investigations since 1963.
Since Ban's tenure, from 2007 to 2016, his successor António Guterres has yet to order an investigation. That could change with growing calls for a U.N.-led probe into the killing of Saudi dissident journalist and Washington Post contributor Jamal Khashoggi.
In the past 55 years, there have been 76 U.N.-ordered investigations, the review found. Just eight were called by a secretary-general.
Guterres, who took over as U.N. chief in 2017, is only the ninth to hold that job since the U.N.'s founding in 1945. Forty-three of the investigations, or 57%, occurred in the past 10 years.
The U.N. Human Rights Council in Geneva has ordered the most overall investigations — 36 — since its creation by a U.N. General Assembly vote in 2006. The Office of the U.N. High Commissioner for Human Rights, or OHCHR, also in Geneva, is responsible for the next most: 12.
Despite its status as the most powerful arm of the United Nations, the U.N. Security Council, based at the world body's New York headquarters, has ordered just nine investigations between 1979 and 2013. The eight inquiries ordered by a secretary-general occurred between 1993 and 2010.
The Human Rights Council's predecessor, the Geneva-based Commission on Human Rights, called for six investigations between 1975 and 2000. The U.N. General Assembly in New York was responsible for launching five in the span of more than half a century between 1963 and 2016.
International commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions have in recent years become a key tool in the United Nations' response to violations of international human rights and humanitarian laws, including international crimes, according to OHCHR.
They have been "established with mounting frequency" in recent years by the Security Council, General Assembly, Human Rights Council, secretary-general and human rights chief, OHCHR said in a 2015 report that noted some regional organizations also have set up their own investigations.
"Commissions of inquiry and fact-finding missions have proved to be valuable in countering impunity by promoting accountability for such violations," it said. "They gather and verify information, create an historical record of events, and provide a basis for further investigations. They also recommend measures to redress violations, provide justice and reparation to victims, and hold perpetrators to account."
The work is supported by principles laid out among international agreements, many from General Assembly resolutions or U.N. reports. There also are specific rules from treaties like the 1949 Geneva Conventions, which applies to investigations for prisoners of war, or the 1997 Chemical Weapons Convention, which covers alleged chemical weapons use and production.
Scorched and deserted landscape of Sri Lanka's last battlefield seen in a fly-over at the end of the civil war in May 2009 (AN/John Heilprin)
Investigating Khashoggi's death
Khashoggi's case is the latest example of a "new and very worrying practice" of nations abducting individuals beyond their own borders, said Bernard Duhaime, chair of the U.N. Working Group on Enforced Disappearances.
"While in most cases the victims reappear in detention after a short period, in other cases they remain disappeared — as in the recent shocking case of Saudi journalist Jamal Khashoggi," he said in a statement.
More than 100 prominent artists, writers and activists called on Guterres to order a probe into the October 2 killing of Khashoggi inside the Saudi consulate at Istanbul, Turkey. Among the well-known writers and figures who signed onto a letter to Guterres were Paul Auster, Alec Baldwin, Ian McEwan, Joyce Carol Oates, J.K. Rowling, Patrick Stewart, Meryl Streep and Bob Woodward.
"The violent murder of a prominent journalist and commentator on foreign soil is a grave violation of human rights and a disturbing escalation of the crackdown on dissent in Saudi Arabia, whose government in recent years has jailed numerous writers, journalists, human rights advocates and lawyers in a sweeping assault on free expression and association," they said in the letter to Guterres that was published by the American chapter of PEN International, which promotes writers.
"The murder of a journalist inside a diplomatic facility would constitute nothing less than an act of state terror intended to intimidate journalists, dissidents and exiled critics the world over," they said.
Since Khashoggi's disappearance, Turkish officials have maintained that they have evidence he was dismembered and his body dissolved in acid by an elite Saudi hit squad. Other international organizations that promote human rights and press freedoms have called for a United Nations-led independent investigation into Khashoggi's disappearance and probable murder.
"U.N. involvement is the best guarantee against a Saudi whitewash or attempts by other governments to sweep the issue under the carpet to preserve lucrative business ties with Riyadh," said Robert Mahoney, deputy executive director of the Committee to Protect Journalists.
A U.N.-led independent investigation should be used to determine Saudi Arabia's role in Khashoggi's death and the identities of everyone who ordered, planned and carried it out, said the Committee to Protect Journalists, Human Rights Watch, Amnesty International, and Reporters Without Borders.
The organizations said Guterres should appoint a senior criminal investigator with extensive experience in international investigations to head the team, and that its work should begin at once and provide a public report.
U.N. human rights chief Michele Bachelet has also said that a U.N.-led independent investigation might be needed if Turkey and Saudi Arabia fail to reveal what they know.
Arete News: U.N. ordered 76 independent probes since 1963
Mandated by Human Rights Council (36)
2018 — Myanmar; Palestinian territory 2017 — Yemen; Congo; Myanmar 2016 — Burundi; South Sudan 2015 — South Sudan, Burundi; South Sudan; Cameroon, Chad, Niger, Nigeria; Libya; Syria 2014 — Iraq; Gaza; Eritrea; Sri Lanka; Syria 2013 — Central African Republic; Syria, North Korea, Mali 2012 — Syria; Syria; Palestinian territory 2011 — Syria; Syria; Ivory Coast; Libya 2010 — Israel, Palestinian territory; Gaza 2009 — Honduras; Gaza 2006 — Sudan (Darfur); Gaza; Lebanon
Mandated by High Commissioner for Human Rights (12)
2017 — Myanmar 2009 — Nepal 2008 — Kenya 2006 — Afghanistan, Western Sahara 2005 — Togo; Uzbekistan 2004 — Ivory Coast; Sudan (Darfur) 2002 — Colombia; Ivory Coast 1998 — Afghanistan
Mandated by Security Council (9)
2013 — Central African Republic 2004 — Sudan (Darfur); Ivory Coast 1995 — Burundi 1994 — Rwanda 1993 — Burundi, Liberia 1992 — Former Yugoslavia 1979 — Arab territories
Mandated by Secretary-General (8) 2010 — Sri Lanka 2009 — Guinea 2008 — Congo 2006 — Timor-Leste 2000 — Ivory Coast; Togo 1997 — Congo 1993 — Georgia
Mandated by Commission on Human Rights (6) 2000 — Palestinian territory 1999 — Timor-Leste 1997 — Congo; Guatemala 1988 — Cuba 1975 — Chile
Mandated by General Assembly (5) 2016 — Syria 1999 — Afghanistan 1998 — Cambodia 1973 — Mozambique 1963 — Vietnam
Source: U.N. Library and Archives at Geneva

subset: commoncrawl


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If we had to describe the NAMM Show 2019 in just a few words, we would probably say it was crazy, but in an inspiring and positive way! We set off on Monday 21st, looking forward to showing off our new range of products in the biggest fair in the world. We were confident that people were going to like them. We knew that our BMI technology was something unseen before in the industry. That the look of our devices was also disruptive and that it merged a classic and modern concept in a beautiful way.
But what means the most to us is that our users love what we are doing.
So… what were the results?
The NAMM Show 2019 was a huge success for TIERRA Audio. Not only did we meet some of the most influential people in the music industry people, but the feedback we received went beyond even our wildest dreams.
Some comments we got…
- "I really like it that you guys have VST control over your analog compressor".
- "Your proposal is amazing. The combination between analog and digital without adding any kind of distortion to the signal is just brilliant".
- "The look of your devices is incredibly unique. I want to have one of those in my rack! The fact that you have even thought of the perfect packaging to come with it makes it even more appealing".
- "TIERRA Pulse seems like a life-saver. I can't believe that it can block my device remotely if I plug it into a voltage that goes beyond the maximum! A service I'm looking forward to trying".
- "You've thought of every detail! The phantom awareness light in the rear of the equipment is very useful, as well as incorporating LEDs that work as position, volume and panning selectors".
Some media appearances…
During Media Preview Day, and the following days at the NAMM Show, we got to speak to several journalists and music experts. Here you can find some of the videos where we're featured so far and learn more about what we have to offer:
Some Social Media Mentions…
We had the pleasure of welcoming amazing people to our stand! And best of all… they were impressed with our products and wanted to share it with the world!
Some of them were: MusicTech, Bboy Tech Report, Sounds and Gear, Afsheen Salmani, among many others!
Some experts we met…
Rafael Sardina:13-time Grammy-winner, producer/mixer/engineer, Rafael Sardina, came to visit us at our stand! It was incredibly exciting and he liked everything we saw very much. We are now getting everything ready to send him one of our devices so that he can try them out and make his magic happen at his studio in L.A.
Afsheen Salmani: Not only he has worked with artists such as Madonna, Chris Brown and Lindsay Sterling, but he also produces his own music! We had the pleasure of having him at our stand and were then invited to visit him at his studio in L.A so that he could test our devices. He immediately recognized a warm sound in our Lava Preamp and gave us incredibly positive feedback! We are looking forward to doing things together with him.
Armando Ávila: Grammy award winner, Armando Ávila, paid us a visit and was very impressed with how we've managed to merge the analog and the digital world. He took a look at our Lava Preamp and Boreal FET Compressor and is looking forward to trying them out! It was amazing for us to meet and receive feedback from such an amazing producer. Some of the people he has worked with include Luis Fonsi, La Quinta Estación and Ana Torroja, among many others.
Tato Latorre: Known for his versatility when it comes to producing, Tato Latorre visited us and gave us incredible feedback on o,r brand new just-launched equipment. He has worked with artists such as Funambulista, Maldita Nerea and Antonio Orozco, among others, and will soon be playing with our devices in his studio in Spain.
DJ Nelson: This Puerto Rican DJ and record producer has played a significant role in the development and popularization of reggaeton. He learnt about the features of our equipment and not only does he wants to try it out, but he wants his hands on our Icicle Equalizer ASAP(available mid 2019)
Juan de Dios Martín: We emailed him before getting there, and from the very beginning he seemed intrigued by our proposal. He stopped by our stand and saved our butts by lending us a sound card (ours had a bit of an accident). He then gave us super positive feedback on our equipment. We are delighted that he liked everything he saw and can't wait for him to try it out!
To sum up… NAMM Winter Show 2019 exceeded our expectations and opened lots of new doors for us. We can't wait to collaborate with all the amazing people we met and keep on growing and reinventing the future of audio!


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I'm currently sitting in Moby's Coffee & Tea in North Hollywood, CA. It's a nice little place that my cousin Wesley recommended. I had dinner and several hours of great conversation with Wes last night, catching up on life and family. It was so great to see him. Dude even let me have his bed. Now if I can only find my other cousin, his brother Nelson, who supposedly lives on the south shore of Boston somewhere. Nelson...you out there?
So, in short, my drive from Portland to LA was spectacular. It was everything I might have imagined it would be.
I was mostly on US Route 101 from Lincoln City, OR, all the way until Route 152, which takes one from 101 to Interstate 5. Rte. 152 was a pleasant surprise and one of the most beautiful segments of the whole shebang. I also got off 101 to go through the "Avenue of the Giants", part of the redwood phenomenon in Northern California. I have driven well over 1000 miles in two days and not once was I tired or even tired of driving. It has been grace-filled, nourishing, and inspiring.
Somewhere in Oregon between Tigard and Lincoln City, outside a Dairy Queen:
(By the way, I did run the 5K race in Oregon. Didn't do as well as I might have liked, but the whole night was a pleasant surprise as it was actually put on by a church and we worshiped together. The speaker of the Word that night relied heavily on a Johnny Cash song and is currently ministering in Israel. God spoke to me that night. Very thankful.)
This was my first view of the Pacific in some twelve years, Lincoln City, OR. It was about :
This is the car I rented for this whole trip. I got a free upgrade and have thoroughly enjoyed this Hyundai Sonata. The gas mileage has been incredible as I've only filled it up twice and at the moment still have half a tank.
My drive on the "Avenue of the Giants" happened around 8:00 at night which was great because no one else was on it. There was plenty of light for me to enjoy what I was seeing. I'd seen the redwoods when I was real young (4.5), but with my growing love for trees over the last seven years, this was special for me.
I have been kept company by a whole bunch of music, but most memorable has been Johnny Cash, Macklemore & Ryan Lewis (thanks to my friend who suggested I give it a try), Ennio Morricone, Vivaldi, and Arcade Fire. I honestly cannot remember how long it's been since I've been able to listen to whole albums at a time. I've also spent a lot of time driving in silence. And a lot with the windows down.
I'm unable to recount everything I saw, but can't wait to share it with my church community in several weeks. I totally miss my family, but have talked regularly to them.
I've thought lots of thoughts and prayed lots of prayers over these some 1000 miles so far. One thing for now: The world is a really, really, really big place. Chill out and enjoy it.
The first two pics here are out of order, they are in Oregon:
Likely the most photographed bridge in the world. I didn't even stop.
Seriously: Route 152 was a beautiful surprise. Amazing:
One last thing for now: I began yesterday in Ukiah, CA. It was a beautiful 58 degrees when I woke up. At one point on I-5 about 2 hours north of LA, my car's thermometer said 101 degrees. I remember from an early age being told how California is such a big state that such things can happen. But it was pretty interesting to go between the two extremes.
I've long said that I am not big on California. San Diego is beautiful and all and a great place to visit, but all-in-all, when I think California, I think "lots of crowded people/places" kind of like Cape Cod on steroids. I've always said, "As for me, I prefer Northern Vermont." Friends in seminary from NorCal told me that I needed to check out Northern California as it would change my mind.
They were right.
Northern California is amazing. Kinda like Vermont on steroids.
Beautiful country, this is.


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The Just Because Sale
Just because…I'm curious.
Just because…No sales at $1.99 will earn me the same as no sales at $4.99.
Just because…Sales are fun, right?
The Only City Left will be on Kindle Countdown sale from 9/9-9/15.
Tell your friends! Or if you haven't enjoyed the samples from it, tell your enemies!
Archive for September, 2014
Kindle Countdown Sale: The Only City LeftPosted: September 8, 2014 in E-Book, TheOnlyCityLeft
Tags: countdown, promotion, sale, the only city left
The Just Because Sale


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|Site Name
|Their World
|Vampires, werewolves and hunters roam the streets as freely as any human or more so. The hunters are trying to keep a fragile balance between humans and the supernatural. It's Their World now.
|Sep 12th 2014 07:42
|Submitted By
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|Highest Rank
|5 on Jul 24th 2018
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Create a Website Account - Manage notification subscriptions, save form progress and more.
.1 On lots which abut more than one street, building and lot shall generally front upon the more pedestrian oriented street, given the arrangement of existing and proposed streets and drives, and the orientation of buildings on adjoining lots..2 Where multiple buildings are permitted on a single platted lot, each building shall generally front upon a pedestrian oriented street, either external or internal to the development; side and rear yard designations shall be determined on the basis of building orientation..3 On irregularly shaped lots, the location of required front, side, and rear yards will be determined by the Zoning Administrator. The determination will be based on the spirit and intent of this ordinance to achieve an appropriate spacing of buildings and orientation to the street(s).
Zoning Ordinance Table of Contents


text:
Film festivals are claimed to be leading events establishing the reputation of directors and producers in the film industry and they constitute a well-established field in itself. Film festivals have become a widespread phenomenon over the last fifty years with specialization as an emerging feature, profiling festivals on the basis of the participating genre and quality of movies, directors and actors. Such a structured field constitutes an interesting domain to analyze challenges and advantages of late adopters in an institutionalized field. This paper is concerned with the strategic responses and efforts made by two late adopters film festivals – Copenhagen international film festival (CIFF), launched in 2003, and Festa del Cinema di Roma (FCR) launched in 2006 – in order to establish themselves as international film festivals within the international film festival field. The comparative study of two film festivals is based on qualitative data and thrives on business ethnographical methods. The paper investigates how the two festivals have positioned themselves and how they face the inclusion-exclusion dilemma (Brewer, 1991; Alvarez et al., 2005) establishing themselves within the institutionalised field of international film festivals. Combining the classical work by Tolbert and Zucker (1983) on early and late adopters in the diffusion of management ideas and practices with Suchman's (1995) forms of legitimacy and Lawrence and Suddaby's (2006) notion of institutional work, we analyze how imitation and innovation pressures have shaped the frames used to position and legitimate the film festivals and their relation with the industry.
|Original language
|Place of Publication
|imagine.. CBS
|Number of pages
|Publication status
|Published - Nov 2009
- Film festivals
- Field configuring events
- Legitimacy
- Institutional work


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Georgia veterans home residents to get 1st bill
ATLANTA - Georgia is about to do something it's never done before: Charge veterans for their care in the state's two homes for war veterans.
The Legislature authorized the residential fee to take advantage of a federal reimbursement program that helps veterans pay for assisted-living-type care.
The legislation's sponsor, Democratic Rep. Mary Margaret Oliver of Decatur, said Georgia has not been getting the federal funds it could get.
No final decision has been made on how much veterans will pay for living at the homes in Milledgeville and Augusta. The assistant commissioner of the Department of Veterans Affairs, Daniel Holtz, told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution (http://bit.ly/PuPBtI ) that he would have preferred to keep the care paid for with federal and state funds, but the General Assembly wanted another stream of revenue.


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Recent Obituaries
Muehl-Boettcher Funeral Home has been here since 1873 for the families that have suffered the loss of a loved one.
We will be here for you during these unprecedented times of COVID-19. Every funeral service will be given individual consideration by our staff to create the most meaningful tribute possible.
Recent Obituaries
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Also known as Medu Vadai or Medhu Vadai, this makes a good accompaniment for morning breakfast along with Pongal. Most of the south Indian festivals include Vadai in their menu and this is made. During Navarathri, this vadai is made as one of the neivedhyams in the morning.
Urad Dal - 1 cup
Green Chillies - 4 or 5
Curry Leaves - 1/2 cup
Coriander Leaves - 1/2 cup
Salt to taste
Hing - a pinch
Oil - To fry
Wash and Soak Urad Dal for half an hour. Drain the water thoroughly and grind it to a fine paste along with curry leaves, coriander leaves, salt, hing and green chillies. Add no water (or sprinkle water if necessary), and grind it to a fine paste. It should form a thick fluffy ball.
Heat oil in a pan, and when hot reduce the flame. Take small balls of the dough and flatten them, make holes in the center and fry them in oil. Keep turning them ocassionally till they become golden brown. Remove from pan and drain the oil thoroughly. Serve hot.
Recipes >


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Kala Jerzy
Contributing Writer
Billboard revealed its 2018 Music Awards. Among the winners are Kendrick Lamar, Ed Sheeran, and Bruno Mars in the lead with 15 BBMA nominations each, reports Billboard. Post Malone is up for 13 BBMAs in 12 different categories.
Justin Bieber and Cardi B both got eight nominations each. Luis Fonsi and Daddy Yankee got eight. It should come as no surprise that Cardi B is competing with 21 Savage, Camila Cabello, Khalid, and Kodak black for the Top New Artist.
According to NBC, nominees and winners are selected through analyzing data collected over a 12-month period. Billboard disclaims that, "Billboard Music Awards nominees are based on key fan interactions with music, including album and digital song sales, streaming, radio airplay, touring and social engagement."
Supposedly, the above "measurements are tracked year-round by Billboard and its data partners, including Nielsen Music and Next Big Sound. The awards are based on the reporting period of April 8, 2017, through March 31, 2018."
Hugely competitive and meaningful to the competing artists, you can see the full list of a variety of categories and nominations for Billboard 2018 Music Awards on the Billboard website. Congrats to all the artist who made it to the list of this year's Billboard Music Awards!
Source: billboard.com


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(TibetanReview.net, Jul30, 2016) – A popular Tibetan Buddhist leader who died in prison in highly questionable circumstances in Sichuan Province in Jul 2015 was poisoned by Chinese authorities, reported the Tibetan Service of Radio Free Asia (Washington) Jul 28, citing his niece who recently fled to India.
China claimed at that time that Tenzin Delek Rinpoche, 65, had died of illness despite medical care. However, according to the monk's niece Nyima Lhamo, 26, she and her mother – the deceased monk's sister – saw that her uncle's mouth and finger nails had turned black from poisoning.
"We then asked for the address of any hospital where he had been seen, along with a copy of any medical report they may have prepared, but none of this was given to us," Lhamo was quoted as saying.
Speaking to the press at Dharamshala on Jul 28, Lhamo has said she and her mother, Dolkar Lhamo, were later detained for two weeks in Sichuan's provincial capital Chengdu on suspicion of having shared information about the monk's death with outside contacts. Both refused to sign a document which required them to undertake not to make further accusations in connection with the monk's death.
They were eventually released, with the authorities saying their village leader had signed the conditions on their behalf as guarantor.
The Chinese authorities were said to have launched a smear campaign against the monk after his death, calling him a 'fake lama' and forbidding his followers from displaying his photo. "No one is allowed to say that he was murdered," Lhamo has said.
Lhamo has said that by speaking out she was risking the lives of her family and relatives back home. Nevertheless, she wanted the free world to investigate the cause of her uncle's death.
Tenzin Delek Rinpoche was not just a popular religious figure but was actively involved in environmental protection and philanthropic care for the children, the poor and the elderly and other social causes. His popularity with the local populace was said to be severely resented by the authorities who falsely charged him with involvement in an unsolved bombing campaign. He was sentenced to death with a two year reprieve which was later converted into life sentence.


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It is safe to say that you are disappointed with your every day schedule and wish to have a great time and loosen up your psyche? Web based games are your answer. Truth be told, being completely free and effectively open to all who have a web association on their Personal Computer, they've become the answer for some individuals' work weight and disappointment. The titles accessible and the wide scope of types open online are most likely enough to leave a layman in amazement. The immense assortment implies that they can oblige the requirements of all age gatherings and sexes, from adults to small developing children just as experts.
Being as effectively open and for nothing out of pocket, they are quickly turning into the most loved distraction of numerous individuals over the globe. One should simply to make a record or sign up on one of the a huge number of sites that have assortments of web based games, as MindJolt, Stick Games and so on, and they're ready. Along these lines, numerous individuals simply sign in and start playing their preferred game when they have some time, making a decent attempt to arrive at the top scores.
On the off chance that you decide not to join, a few gateways like MindJolt don't spare your scores on the web yet let you mess around any way. Be that as it may, there is no damage in making a record in presumed gateways. You wouldn't need your high score to evaporate from their record, okay? Making a record will promise you a spot in those "top scorers of the week" graphs in case you're adequate, and will likewise enable you to connect with individual gamers over the world.
The utilization of web in gaming has made it simple for gamers over the world to speak with one another effectively, paying little heed to the separations between their geological areas. Tips from different gamers improve one's very own aptitudes, and help make the mind more beneficial and progressively profitable. Critical thinking abilities that are cleaned through such games and collaboration with different players to contend can likewise be utilized during work and concentrate also, to yield magnificent outcomes. In this manner, the benefits of web based gaming are not confined to gaming alone.
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That, yet gaming has even demonstrated to be a treatment for individuals looked with psychological well-being issues like Alzheimer's ailment or other memory hole related 파워볼사이트 conditions. Wellbeing foundations really empower the utilization of mind animating test or astound games in supporting the expedient recuperation of such patients, in light of the fact that these games have been known to help in such cases.
So as long as you pick the correct games for yourself, the benefits of the games are many. For kids, guardians need to indicate the games that are reasonable for their children, and help them at first with the game play. With this small observing, you can ensure your child picks up the greatest out of something that will undoubtedly engage them while cleaning their synapses. In this way, these games are advanced for youngster prepping. The advantages are huge, if just the playing conditions and lengths are observed by the guardians if there should arise an occurrence of children. The drawbacks can introduce themselves on the off chance that we get dependent on gaming on the web, yet with these important measures, such issues can to a great extent be maintained a strategic distance from and the most extreme can be picked up while being engaged at the same time.


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Robert Younger
Medium mixed media
Website http://robertmyounger.com/
Robert Younger is originally from Philadelphia, Pennsylvania (b.1947). He attended the Philadelphia College of Art (1965-69 BFA sculpture). The following year was spent in Rome, Italy, on a Fulbright scholarship. Upon completing a year at the Yale Graduate School of Sculpture he returned to Philadelphia, where he lived and worked until 1978. For many years he lived next to the Brooklyn Bridge in lower Manhattan. In 2012 his basement studio was inundated by hurricane SANDY. He now lives on higher ground in Boothbay, Maine.


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ExxonMobil Qatar Security Officer Jobs Briefed Summary According to Official ExxonMobil Qatar Careers Portal
|Hiring Agency
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|Salary / Payout
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|Qualification / Experience
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|Type Of Job
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Detailed Description Job
Job Description
A Security Officer patrols, monitors, and observes security procedures to ensure a safe Guest and Member experience while investigating theft and managing instances of undesirable behavior.
What will I be doing?
As a Security Officer, you are responsible for monitoring and controlling staff entrances, patrolling on a regular basis, and managing undesirable behavior to deliver a safe Guest and Member experience. A Security Officer will also be required to investigate theft and support evacuation procedures. Specifically, you will be responsible for performing the following tasks to the highest standards:
- Monitor and control staff entrances
- Conduct regular searches of bags, etc. carried by members of staff and report discrepancies or violations immediately
- Control the Goods pass out procedure for any items purchased, loaned, or otherwise legitimately obtained
- Maintain system that monitors contractors working in the hotel in accordance with company health and safety policies
- Responsible for checking goods received out of hours
- Maintain system that records the issue and receipt of departmental keys
- Operate, check and monitor the CCTV system
- Patrol the hotel on a regular basis ensuring fire walks take place and are recorded
- Ensure safe passage of cash transfers within the hotel
- Support evacuation of the hotel during fire alarm situations
- Monitor suspicious packages and be aware of bomb and terror threat procedures
- Provide secure storage for guest oversized items
- Ensure hotel facilities and function rooms remain secure and locked when not in use
- Maintain the Security Log Book and Incident Reports
- Investigate and report all allegations of theft, criminal damage and other incidents
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- Liaise with Police in the absence of Security Team Leader
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A Security Officer serving Hilton brands is always working on behalf of our Guests and working with other Team Members. To successfully fill this role, you should maintain the attitude, behaviours, skills, and values that follow:
- High school graduate or above
- Good physical condition
- At least two (2) years of law enforcement experience either on a Security Bureau or military training
- Must be knowledgeable about fire procedures, disaster plan procedure, bomb threats and hotel evacuation procedures
- Should be well versed in local law/government regulation
- Absolute discretion and confidentiality regarding sensitive information
- SIA trained and licensed
- Positive attitude
- Good communication skills
- Good grooming standards
- Ability to work under pressure, keeping calm in emergency situations
- Ability to work on their own or in teams


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Meido Mikoto Waifu Deluxe!
Shizuru's route is about the overwhelming force of Shizuru's pain-inducing imagination as Runstar, Sauryman, Pokerface and Gaffe Giraffe-san all combine efforts to take over the known world. Runstar shoves Kotarou's face into the dirt, proving that everything does, indeed, smell like the sea. We're all forced to bow as hulkamania runs wild on us, Guardian and Gaia join forces to take on the real threat of the world while the entire world blows up in a gigantic nuclear strike via the latter, proving that humanity are all assholes and the Key was right in the first place. Oh, and somewhere along the lines, I commit ritual seppuku after the absurdity that was this route's ending.
We'll get to that later.
Servant Class: Berserker
Shizuru, my personal favorite character concerning hilarity! As everyone knows by now, the thing that seems to me my favorite character trait or archetype is the eccentric, lack-of-common-sense (deadpan voice is a +) and downright strange types that appear. Shizuru not only fits all that, but her facial-expression language and her rather vivid imagination makes her fairly hilarious and colorful as a character.
She's pretty strong-willed, too. Surprisingly so. I initially thought they were going to go for another pity-trip with Shizuru, but… not really. There's one scene that takes place near (or during, can't remember) the common route where she explains her past, but besides that small moment of weakness, you don't get much room to actually feel sorry for her. It's good to see a character genuinely strong without focus on some sort of painful and dark past that lead her to become super tough and 2deep.
Anyways, I was fairly invested into Shizuru before her route even began, which makes it a bit hard to review properly, since I cared from the start. And it might be because of my own little niche for the odd-ball characters, so, take it as you will. I think, at the very least, she doesn't really do anything worth disliking her for and I'd kind of expect most people would get a few laughs out of her even if you don't get invested all the way. She also created Runstar and is the deity that Mikoto's samurai worships in Pathfinder. She's no joke, yo.
High Overlord Gaffe Giraffe-san!
Right, so! Shizuru's story is about one of the sides in that giant holy shit conflict we saw in Kotori's route, rather than being some random middle man! Kotarou has clearly chosen a side this time. He seems to be dramatically less useful (bordering on hindrance) this run around, but it's not totally his fault. There's not much the poor guy can do in this situation, really, except sit there and support Shizuru all the way through.
Speaking of which, one thing that's changed from Kotori's route is that the story-telling for romance AND story isn't as in the air as life in outer-space. Even if it's not said, it's clear as hell where Shizuru and Kotarou stand the entire way through. Once again, it isn't the focus and does play second fiddle to the plot (which it should), but it didn't feel forced or awkward in… well, any way, honestly. Shizuru as a love interest felt genuine enough to benefit the slice of life. I do like to pretend that Guardian actually is using him to keep her mind occupied to prevent Gaffe Giraffe-san and co. from taking over the world, but that's a seperate issue.
Kotarou gets the "you know too much" spiel during this route. However, instead of attempting to kill him like in cliche action movies, Guardian has decided that they could probably keep him around, if only because god of evil and darkness Shizuru said so. So, Shizuru gets put on watch-dog duty for everyone's favorite moron Kotarou. So, this results in Shizuru moving in with him, which thanks to Shizuru's rather hilarious character leads to predictable results and frankly the slice of life was probably the most enjoyable part of the route. Not that the story building was bad, but there isn't a real tension or fear until I'd say the 80% mark.
Around said 80% mark is when all the insane stuff starts happening. I think they may have slammed the hammer down too hard on this one, to be honest. The initial problem at the beginning of the route is quite obviously going to be solved unless they stretched the entire flashback the whole span of the route, so while I was rather relieved when it was solved, I can't say I was worried about it taking a dark turn for the worst. This is a complete turn-around from what happens near the end, which is the equivalent of someone kicking down your door and throwing every plate, glass, cat, person and kitchen sink it can wrap its fingers around towards your general direction.
It might be because that the whole "enjoy your time together while it lasts" sort of message seems to be the thing that's said a lot during the route, but I feel like I might be looking to far into it. It could very well be just awkward pacing, but I'm a little hesitant to call it a fault, so I'll have to leave that one in the air for awhile.
Anyways, this route probably sounds pretty good right now. An enjoyable heroine, a lot of information and story being given to the reader (which is damn good so far. Rewrite's story is intriguing as hell) with some drama, happiness and sadness all rolled into a side-route. Of course, it's still a side-route, so you can't expect anything too hardcore, and the intrigue of the story behind Rewrite definitely carries it a bit, I wouldn't say anything is overly bad.
My reaction exactly.
So, we get to the ending. Shit is EVERYWHERE, sacrifices are made, people can't find their breath mints and there is some seriously AMAZING as hell music playing in the background. All the shit the whole route has lampshaded, foreshadowed and all the information you've been given is finally coming to ahead. It's pretty intense and you kind of think everything is screwed, but it's okay! Hope is everywhere. Subtle, of course, but there. So there that it's impossible to ignore. This payoff is going to be great.
See, there's a scene involving a diary where it kind of hit its peak for me. It was obvious where it was all going. What was going to be on the other side of the doors when they decided to open. It's clear as day, right? Well… sort of! You get what you wanted, all right. Oh do you EVER. I swear they did this to make fun of me, because that's the only god damn logical conclusion I can come up with for this freaking nightmare.
Read at your own peril: Spoiler Ahead!
He comes back as a mother fucking TREE. Yes, Kotarou the BRANCH. Hope in the face of destruction? All the happiness you enjoyed? It all leads up to Kotarou giving his life to Shizuru in order for him to become some sort of half-sentient god damn TREE. I actually laughed. I laughed hard when I saw the last CG because of the absolute absurdity and the sheer stupidity of it all And I must say, if the supposed heart warming ending cg makes me laugh, I have to start questioning it.
Edit: So, turns out, there' is a reason, if barely one, which is partially revealed through Chihayas route. So, yes. I guess why Kotarou becomes Kotarou the future swingset is a bit more clear. The process is, anyways, but I still don't see how it makes it any less redundant and stupid. I'll admit, I was a bit wrong as to why the process didn't make sense, you just had to go through Chihayas route to see how he became a tree, but I still don't see how that makes it any less fucking pointless. I hate the symbolism this is supposed to have here because it all seems incredibly meaningless without any satisfaction towards the ending. And, for the record, just because they explain the process in Chihayas route doesn't automatically relinquish this routes explanation from being utter shit.
So, yes. Unless Rewrite has more tricks up it sleeve to make me think becoming a tree in some sort of pointless, random and emotionally grating way, I'm still calling this ending a giant piss.
Look, I understand message and bittersweet and whatever, but this was just… well, shit! Sure, the alternate version of the ending which I'm sure most people were expecting would probably be just as cheap and potentially trivialize a lot of what happened during the route too, don't get me wrong, but I think it would have been far, far more satisfying to see it unfold. And the characters I think would have deserved it too. I don't know, if they can randomly ass-pull some sort of deranged pointless symbolism, I think they could have found a way to ass-pull something that not only would have felt better emotionally, would have been far, far more satisfying.
Annnnnd rant over.
I'm never one to say that an ending should decide the quality of an entire route, but everything really got laughed at. The pacing gives you whiplash, but even during the happy parts of the whole route you still get the feeling it's all leading up to something. I honestly can't remember the time a side-route's ending got my jimmies so rustled. I'm having trouble seeing anything good about this ending. At all. It's cheap, damn near cartoonish with some weird symbolism and very little information as to HOW, which makes the rest of the route's lead-up to it seem entirely pointless and stupid. I just… I don't know. Maybe if they didn't do it at the VERY end and expanded it a bit more, it'd be a little more satisfying. It's highly possible I'm a little more annoyed simply because I liked Shizuru's character and kind of think it got shafted right before the credits. I'm not sure.
Besides that, only a couple things to say! I would have preferred if pre-flashback would have been a bit longer. You kind of got rushed into it a bit, but I don't think most people will care while reading it. It's a little disappointing they didn't expand on it a bit more, I think it'd have added quite a bit. And as I've said before, it's possible you won't actually feel any reason to think the problem at the beginning won't be fixed, which can result in a lack of tension until the VN throws its house at you.
As for good points, Shizuru is hard to hate and to me was the complete opposite, which means I actually enjoyed all the slice of life segments between her and Kotarou. Also, this route gives quite a lot of information on everything about the setting from the side of Guardian, which is pretty nice after going through the middle-man's route. And the climax really does what it sets out to do. The hopelessness was pretty damn genuine. I just wish– Ugh. No. Nope. I said I was done ranting. No more.
Anyways, I'm not sure what I'll do next. I've been hearing a lot about Akane's route, so I'll probably save that for last. I think I'll go walk to Chi's route and see what its like on the other side of this whole craziness.
Bye for now!
I'll hopefully get to see Chihaya's fireball!


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A few people have requested a post about the native trees in their yards. There aren't that many trees and large shrubs native to the Anchorage area. If it's tall and growing in your backyard and you want to know what it is, you've come to the right place. Or if I missed one, you all will let me know.
1. White spruce, Picea glauca. The shaggy Christmas tree in high heels. If it doesn't lose it's leaves in the winter and it's a tall, native tree, the answer is spruce. Usually quite a bit taller than wide, especially with age. Needles are shades of green, sometimes with a bluish cast.
2. Black spruce, Picea mariana. The ugly stepsister of the white spruce. It's charms are somewhat, shall we say, subdued. Well, I would be too if I had to grow in a swamp. If it looks scrawny, spindly, and half dead and it's growing in a low, poorly drained spot, it might be a black spruce. Doesn't get as tall as the white spruce.
3. Cottonwood, Populus trichocarpa. The one that grows about 8 feet a year and drops twigs, branches, leaves, etc. at any time and for any reason. If it's "snowing" in July, it's a cottonwood. Last year, the air was thick with little white fluffs for several days. Trees are either male or female. Do not park your Ferrari under this one on a regular basis unless you were going to have it repainted anyway. Other cottonwoods call Alaska home. Do think twice about planting this.
4. Birch, Betula spp. A couple of different varieties of the tree forms, but for our purposes, just birch. Hosts monster aphid parties every year, has white, peach, gray, brown or any-combination-thereof-colored bark. If there is a new pest in town, it will move into the birch hotel for a stay. Keep this one watered if you plant it or things can get ugly…real ugly. Sometimes a very respectable yellow gold leaf in autumn.
5. Willow, Salix spp. We have scads of kinds, from wee baby willows to big daddy willows. If the bark has been sampled by the moose on a yearly basis, then it's probably a willow. In fact, one sure way to tell (besides the silver, furry catkins covering the branch tops in March) if it's a willow is the 45 degree angle of the trunk or branch where it's been snapped over by said giant ungulate. Leaves usually longer than wide, sometimes remarkably so, bark gray.
6. Alder, Alnus spp. The shrub that is too big to be a shrub. When I think shrub I think 8 feet max, though I realize this is not true and the dividing line is around 30 feet botanically. If it has 6 trunks instead of one, that's a clue. Also the lenticels on the bark, sort of light colored marks that function like pores. Check for itty bitty pine cone looking things that are in fact called female catkins (or cones, or conelets, take your pick). If your kid wants to climb the almost diagonal limbs of some 30 foot shrub, it might be an alder.
7. Red Elderberry, Sambucus racemosa. Definitely a moderately sized shrub, not really in the same category as the big ones, but it has annoyed me so much this spring that I am including it in the hopes some of you have chainsaws and less than tender hearts. Leave this one alone if it's in an out of the way spot or you enjoy yearly pruning. I had two in my last garden (planted by robins, not me) that made spectacular informal hedges with yearly trimming.
With great age (which for this shrub counts as about 15 years) can become a tough, sprawling monster, but branches only a year or two old are easily breakable. Kids adore making scepters, swords, and buggy whips from the younger wood. I have been whipped a few times while hauling brush and yes, it does hurt. One of the first shrubs to leaf out in the spring, white flowers, wood smells unpleasant if broken or bruised. Robins eat the berries but you shouldn't.
I have been busy in the yard, have you? Or did I miss any common native Anchorage trees?


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The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.
A video out of Seattle shows a mob of Black Lives Matter agitators harassing a homeowner and demanding that they give up their property in order to fix racism.
The clip shows a male demonstrator singling out one home and lecturing those inside about how they're "living in a historically black neighborhood."
He then accuses whites of buying land and homes from black people for below its market value and kicking out African-Americans.
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Black Lives Matter mob demands White people move out of neighborhood and give their homes to black people. pic.twitter.com/K2ywb899zS
"Do you know that? Because if you don't, now you fucking do, now do something about it," he adds, to which another protester responds by saying, "Open your wallet!"
He then accuses the homeowners of being complicit in "racist gentrification" while demanding they do something to fix the problem.
A masked female BLM agitator with a bullhorn then continues the tirade.
"Give us your house, give black people back their homes, you're sitting there comfortably…I used to live in this neighborhood and my family was pushed out and you're sitting up there having a good time with your other white friends."
"Now we're bringing it to your front door, so what the fuck do you plan to do about it?" asks the male protester as the mob continues to harass the homeowner.
The video ends with the homeowner apparently turning the lights off in a bid to avoid any further escalation.
The seizure of white-owned property has long been a primary goal of the Black Lives Matter movement.
Back in 2017, BLM leader Chanelle Helm issued a list of demands, one of which was that white people will their property to black people in order to prove they're not racist.
"White [people] if you don't have any descendants, will your property to a Black or Brown family," she wrote.
"Preferably one that lives in generational poverty. … White [people] if you can afford to downsize give up the home you own to a Black or Brown family. Preferably a family from generational poverty. … White [people], re-budget your monthly so you can donate to Black funds for land purchasing."
The statements, views and opinions expressed in this column are solely those of the author and do not necessarily represent those of this site. This site does not give financial, investment or medical advice.