Disqus - Friends of MikeShatzkin

Re: Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature

Deborah Smith Author — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:13:05 -0000

hi. As a hybrid author and a small press publisher I keep repeating this in the hopes people will stop misunderstanding how much money publishers make: the overhead to publish a book WELL-- to edit, cover, market and manage all the platforms and promotions that go on, long term, plus the cost of the distribution networks--eats up a majority of the profit per book. The profit margin on books is VERY low, and even if there are no print costs (which, btw, are a minimal portion of the overhead) the overhead still exists. My small press, Bell Bridge Books, publishes every title in both ebook and trade paper (also audio.) We make zippo on sales of print books and, after giving authors 40 percent royalties on ebooks, handing over 45-55 percent of the retail price to wholesalers and/or distributors, plus overhead, we may clear $2 on a $10 ebook. Authors selling at a traditional price point do as well or better than authors selling cheap, because every sale yields a higher profit for the author as well as the publisher. Publishers are not the enemies of authors; in fact in most cases they're the reason hybrid authors have been able to launch such successful self-pub careers. I respect self-publishing and encourage authors to try it; learning the dark underside of the publishing business is a good education. I just wish self-pubs would educate themselves better and stop spreading misinformation about the publishing biz. Authors are our friends, not just our food.

Re: Self-Published Authors Are Destroying Literature

Deborah Smith Author — Wed, 19 Jun 2013 20:22:39 -0000

Discoverability is a huge issue, and also quality control; the major online retailers have a lot of systems in place to elevate books from known publishers, popular self-pubs and successful hybrid authors. There is far more gatekeeping going on than people realize. The criteria is partially based on an assessment of reviews but largely based on proven sales. So there's a mix of highly rated and highly sold titles. Either way, the struggle is to get through those gates by accumulating terrific reviews and a solid sales record.

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:24:26 -0000

Really? I am white, from georgia born and raised and have never lived anywhere else. It's been thirty years since I've heard anyone use the n word in public or private. The south bashers are bigots in their own right. Also hypocrits. Show me a part of this country where racism isn't commonplace. Unfortunately.

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:27:33 -0000

I've never eaten at deens restaurant but have been in that neighborhood many times. She has more black customers than any other restaurant in the city. It's not uncommon to see large family groups there.

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:52:50 -0000

Never stand in your sewage filled back yard and accuse other people of being trash.

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Thu, 20 Jun 2013 09:54:47 -0000

Btw, deen is a democrat and an outspoken Obama supporter. There are a lot of us here. Free your ignorant mind.

Re: Kevin Sorbo: Paula Deen case highlights ‘hypocrisy of America’

Deborah Smith Author — Thu, 27 Jun 2013 00:27:40 -0000

Your bigotry is showing. "southern racist" paints an entire region in a nasty, stereotypical way. You apparently don't know anything about the south, either in 1960 or now. I'm not here to defend Paula Deen, just to point out that it's not okay to bash an entire region of the country while calling out others for their prejudices.

Re: Paula Deen’s ‘I Is What I Is’ Defense Is Punchline From A Notorious Racist Joke!

Deborah Smith Author — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 19:35:53 -0000

You are a bigot decrying bigots. How amusing.

Re: Can we forgive Paula Deen?

Deborah Smith Author — Fri, 28 Jun 2013 21:00:20 -0000

Almost all of her staff was and is black. I think they were being treated like employees, not due to their race. when I worked as a waitress we had to come in certain doors and stay out of the customers' restrooms.

Re: Your Social-Media Guide to the Scary World of Paula Deen Defenders

Deborah Smith Author — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 16:58:11 -0000

I call on Random House, the parent company of Ballentine Books, to take this opportunity to clean out its entire nest of authors labeled racist, sexist, homophobic and/or anti-Semitic by the general public: Donald Trump, Michael Jackson, Senator Robert Byrd, President Harry Truman, and Newt Gingrich. I call on the respective media corporations to show their zero-tolerance commitment to ending all types of bigotry by no longer employing the following, all of whom have public records of overt bigotry: Mel Gibson, Dog the Bounty Hunter, Charlie Sheen, Alec Baldwin, Paris Hilton and actor Jonathan Rhys Meyer. I’m sure there are many more public figures we need to expose and remove from our society. Let’s get right on that,shall we? Now that we’ve gotten the ball rolling by eviscerating that Gravy-Covered Demon, Paula Deen.

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 17:43:34 -0000

Really? You do know that only a tiny percentage of Southerners (and also northerners, including whites in the northeast states,) owned slaves, right? And that Southern cuisine is a melting pot of influences from the Scots, the Irish, the Native Americans, the English, Cajuns, Creoles, yes African Americans, too, absolutely. And that white and black Southerners grow the same things in their gardens and eat the same foods because certain crops grow plentifully in the Southern climate?

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 17:45:24 -0000

If the restaurant she referenced is the one I think it is, the waiters have been there for decades and make upwards of six-figures a year in salary and tips. They handpick their successors when they retire.

Re: Paula Deen On Her Dream ‘Southern Plantation Wedding’

Deborah Smith Author — Sun, 30 Jun 2013 17:55:35 -0000

She wasn't wishing for a slave crew to work at a wedding. When you google "plantation style weddings" you see dozens of settings throughout the South (and elsewhere) offering that package.

And let's note that actors Ryan Reynolds (Canadian) and Blake Lively (Californian) were in the news recently for their plantation-style wedding in the South. Off with their heads!

http://www.huffingtonpost.c...

Re: Guilty of Being Southern

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:29:01 -0000

Rainbow/PUSH just released a statement about their investigation at her restaurant. "No racial discrimination." They suggested installing some HR oversite in her company to address employee concerns, but that's all.

Re: Guilty of Being Southern

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:31:47 -0000

It's no proudly displayed in most Southern places. Most major cities are extremely diverse and most have AA administrations. Get a few facts before you display your regional prejudice.

Re: Guilty of Being Southern

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:33:00 -0000

This is different from the north how? And FWIW the South has huge diversity in its major cities including he pubic schools.

Re: Guilty of Being Southern

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:34:21 -0000

Re: Guilty of Being Southern

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:37:20 -0000

That's the new South where most of the major cities are diverse and peaceful and run by AA administrations. Where we have more elected AA officials than any other part of the country. But don't let facts get in the way of your regional bigotry. BTW, the biggest story of late re: refusing federal money was in Kansas.

Re: Deen's accuser: 'This has never been about the N-word'

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:52:53 -0000

Your racist comments aren't doing your argument much good. Also, the accuser is white.

Re: Deen's accuser: 'This has never been about the N-word'

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 16:56:17 -0000

Re: Deen's accuser: 'This has never been about the N-word'

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 17:01:10 -0000

Trump has been sued for racist business practices. 500,000 people petitioned Macy's to stop carrying his brand because of his racist and sexist comments and actions.

Re: Deen's accuser: 'This has never been about the N-word'

Deborah Smith Author — Tue, 02 Jul 2013 18:25:33 -0000

Rainbow/PUSH cleared Deen of racial discrimination a few days ago. They interviewed a bunch of her employees. The worst they could find out was that some felt they'd been passed over for promotions.

Re: We use Paula Deen to give ourselves a pass

Deborah Smith Author — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 18:51:14 -0000

If you read the entire deposition then how come you didn't see the testimony of a woman on the kitchen staff at Uncle Bubba's who disputes everything Lisa Jackson said and paints a picture of Jackson as given to foul-mouthed rages bordering on the nutty.

Re: We use Paula Deen to give ourselves a pass

Deborah Smith Author — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 18:54:32 -0000

Rainbow/PUSH cleared her last week of any racial discrimination personally and found that half the employees they interviewed felt well treated and very happy. The other half had hard-to-prove suspicions of being passed over for promotions because of their race. In other words, the coalition did not find anything most sane people would call an oppressive or racist atmosphere.

Re: We use Paula Deen to give ourselves a pass

Deborah Smith Author — Wed, 03 Jul 2013 18:55:31 -0000

Actually, there were a number of incidents in which she and her people intervened to keep the brother on the straight and narrow.