It’s out!

 Sun 4.14.19

         My book is finally out, https://www.amazon.com/Manhattan-Seeress-Lorraine-Saint-Pierre/dp/0578436639/ref=sr_1_fkmrnull_1?keywords=manhattan+seeress&qid=1555269984&s=books&sr=1-1-fkmrnull

 Now comes the prospect of disseminating it.  I had a dream last night and also this morning, but I forgot the last one.  Both were on the same theme – The compromises one makes trying to sell oneself to others.  Yes, sometimes my dreams are just thoughts.  So a warning, don’t go out there with a price tag on your forehead.  I am reminded of something Norman Mailer once said, “. . . being a man is the continuing battle of one’s life, and one loses a bit of manhood with every stale compromise to the authority of any power in which one does not believe.”

     I thought Steve Jobs said it all when talking about marketing.  The idea is not about selling a product, one’s book, or oneself.  It’s about one’s core values being offered.  It is offering dreams, personal experiences, and yes, status, i. e.  A person’s condition, position or standing relative to that of others.  I have to be clear about what I want them to know about me.  My book presents the idea that there is more to experience than the reality presented to us.  The world presented is a grid, these are the known paths, the byways, best not to stray beyond charted borders.

      I watched a video on Youtube “Why You Shouldn’t Probably Be Advertising” by Chris Fox, especially your book when it first comes out.  Beseeching family and friends, coworkers is actually messing Amazon’s algorithms.  Those people are not your real readers, they’re buying the book to support you and probably wouldn’t buy the book if it was written by someone else.  Amazon, looking through that bunch, does not get a clear picture of who they should present your book to.  Having spent a lot of time catering to Google’s algorithms for my site this makes a lot of sense to me.  At least, giving it a bit of time for a natural audience to develop and not pressure inappropriate readers to buy it.

     So, don’t do me any favors, only buy it if the subject interests you.

The favorite essay this month has been, Learned Helplessness