Plugging a book...

optimusx · #1 June 1st, 2005, 01:38 PM

Hey guys,

Decided to post this in the off-topic since it has absolutely nothing to do with muscle. Those who know me well enough know I hate tooting my own horn / plugging things... but I decided why not post this...

Anywho, just wanted to let you know of a new book out that I did the cover for. It's not a national best seller or anything ... yet (if Oprah gives it her blessing then it turns to gold

yeah right).

The book is called "Treading with Demons - Walking with Angels" and is available at http://www.demonsangels.com

The premise is a young man screws up his life, joins the hell's angles, gets caught up in drugs, sex, murder (usual stuff) and then does a 180. Honestly, the cover needed more work but it took forever just to get the darn printers to color match the sample we sent. Anywho, the first chapter is available on the site and you can order from the site (those 1 or 2 actually interested). For those looking for muscle growth or descriptive sexual acts, you won't find it in the book

, though you might pick up a few new curse words..hehe..

Scott

wbhunk · #2 June 1st, 2005, 03:29 PM

Wow, that looks great, OptimusX.....thank you for sharing your other talents with us (as well as the obvious).

One quibble....on the Flash intro to the website, it's "redeemed", not "redeamed"....unless canon law has changed again....LOL.

optimusx · #3 June 1st, 2005, 03:47 PM

wbhunk> Thanks for that catch

I will say that trying to work on a quickie site like that while being distracted by 3 or 4 IM windows can be a challenge! But the site was a freebie for the author and I had to squeeze it into my schedule.. hehe...

Actually everything I did for the book is a freebie (cover, redoing the typesetting, webpage, press releases). Oy, I've got to stop being such a nice guy

.

As a side note, the guy in the book is currently an innmate of the Colorado Dept. Of Corrections in Canon City, CO. That's not too far from Colorado Springs if I'm not mistaken. I have to wonder how those people take to the thought of a person in jail having a book with his story it in. hmmm...

Anyways, anyone interested in placing links on their blogs/mass media, please feel free to (http://www.demonsangels.com ... heck, I'll make a banner if you need it!) , this book definetly is hard to get moving... maybe if I slapped a really muscle bound guy in a leather jacket it would sell

Nah... well maybe for the next batch of books (if we ever get through the first batch!).

Scott

brent · #4 June 1st, 2005, 05:50 PM

I think that as a regularly contributing member, you should contribute bits about your life & outside interests. I know I do from time to time. I just get upset when people just try to hock something, and show no interest in the community here.

On a side note, how born again is it? I consider myself to be Christian (runs on and off) but I'm not buying a Pat Robertson type of thing... Ironically, I'm reading Angels & Demons by Dan Brown.

optimusx · #5 June 1st, 2005, 09:01 PM

Well the book definetly isn't "Smack you up the side of your head with a 747" Christianity. In fact a good 4/5ths of the book is about his fall (for better words) with one or two minor mentions of Christianity. The last portion is about the one decision that changed his life and the things that followed right after. Even that isn't "Pat Robertson" heavy. In fact it's more like "Because I've changed... I'm doing things differently"

As far as A&D from Dan Brown, yeah.. I tried to get the guy to change his title so as to not drive me insane with getting his site to register with Google/Yahoo, but no go. So now his title competes with A&D ... oy.

I personally hate to hock things on sites, esp this one since it feels so wrong. But sometimes you have to go to the ones you know best to get something done. God only knows I've sent Press Releases to every single Newspaper/TV station in the Colorado Springs/Denver/Canon City CO. area and no real catches there. Apparently they have zero interest in a local inmate getting his biography published. Go figure .. hehe

Scott

Lucas88 · #6 June 2nd, 2005, 06:34 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimusx

... maybe if I slapped a really muscle bound guy in a leather jacket it would sell

Nah...

All depends on who your target audience is, heheh! Marketing is everything in today's world.

Kidding aside, Scott, there's absolutely nothing wrong with sharing your creative talents, the artwork is great! I wouldn't mind seeing you take a shot at that "really muscle bound guy in a leather jacket."

One suggestion though, get someone to review your copy:

"...and at times turn you stomach..."

You'd be amazed at how some of the slightest mistakes will turn off potential customers.

As far as religion, I saw a great bumper sticker yesterday:

God is...
...Not a Democrat,
...NOT a Republican, and
...MOST DEFINITELY NOT a TV Evangelist!

Lucas

ethernet_jock · #7 June 2nd, 2005, 06:49 AM

Canon City's actually a pretty fair distance from C.S. but it doesn't surprise me that they disenvow all knowledge of it. Colorado Springs is about the military headquarters of the multi-state region and with that goes: a.) Remarkably republican/conservative and "Christian" righteous views.... it's like it's own tiny little bible belt. and b.) A shared interest in keeping just about everything a secret from the rest of the world.... particularly with Cheyenne Mtn. right up the hill. The best man in my wedding was enlisted "in the mountain" and I can't tell you how many times I tried to get him drunk enough to pry a few deatils out of him.... it never once worked.

Not to mention CS is also home of the "focus on the family" HQ.

The general overall attitudes of CS and Denver couldn't be more different but there are good people to be found in both places - of course.... but I can see why anything related to a prisoner being famous wouldn't be well embraced down there. Anywhere else... it would just be "not important enough" probably.

optimusx · #8 June 2nd, 2005, 07:09 AM

Lucas88> Thanks for the catch! You would have thought with three different people reading that particular copy that someone would have caught it... I guess after you pass a piece around so many times you start to gloss it over. You're right though, its all in the details on whether or not people are going to read a product.

ethernet_jock> Well I did post to a canon city forum just to let them know about the book. There were two responses both in the strong negative. To sum up their response: People in Jail shouldn't be profiting from life story/it's illegal for them to earn money while in jail, all of the money that he earns should go to the families. I basically responded with: Now a days it happens, look at Martha Stewart... she spent more time on TV when she was incarcerated!

As far as the guy in prison getting any money from this, he's not. As far as it being illegal for him to earn money while in jail, I don't know if this is true considering I'm sure Martha Stewart still was raking in money from her own stocks/etc. On top of that, they do earn money while in jail doing things for the jail (at a reduced rate of something like $0.17/hour).

Somehow I feel like the book is in the middle of a minefield and no one wants to get near it

I was actually hoping that the people in the CO area near it would be more open to picking it up, but after that post to a community forum, I think that's all but shot. hehe... c'est la vie

Scott

Lucas88 · #9 June 2nd, 2005, 07:44 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimusx

Thanks for the catch! You would have thought with three different people reading that particular copy that someone would have caught it... I guess after you pass a piece around so many times you start to gloss it over.

Scott, believe me, I know I tend to see what I expect to see after about the third review of something...whether it's there or not. It pays to put the piece down, walk away for at least 2-3 days, and come back for a review with a clear head and no expectations...takes practice but doable (and then there are deadlines...I know).

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimusx

As far as the guy in prison getting any money from this, he's not. As far as it being illegal for him to earn money while in jail, I don't know if this is true considering I'm sure Martha Stewart still was raking in money from her own stocks/etc. On top of that, they do earn money while in jail doing things for the jail (at a reduced rate of something like $0.17/hour).

I think it's illegal to gain financially from the crime, so a book is in that gray area because it's about the crimes committed...also, how the proceeds are handled can make a difference. If you have other, legitimate income, I don't think there's any issue with that, at least legally.

Quote:

Originally Posted by optimusx

Somehow I feel like the book is in the middle of a minefield and no one wants to get near it

I was actually hoping that the people in the CO area near it would be more open to picking it up, but after that post to a community forum, I think that's all but shot. hehe... c'est la vie

Don't be discouraged. People typically are more vocal when they have something negative to say...it's a defensive posture when they feel threatened in some way. I look at this kind of book as a lesson for the open-minded:

We all make good and bad choices in life. In the end, everyone is responsible for the choices they make. However, we don't always have control over the circumstances that put us in the position of having to make the choice in the first place. If we could learn how to change those circumstances before it comes to a decision point, we could probably avoid a lot of grief. If we don't learn about those circumstances and what leads to those choices having to be made through peoples' stories, however distasteful we may find them, how can we possibly learn to change?

OK...way too deep!

I'm gone,

Lucas

brent · #10 June 2nd, 2005, 10:31 AM

Scott, don't feel weird, this is your community. You should share what's going on in your life. I'll probably read it as soon as I finish A&D, and this cute book my mom has about a girl in London that's addicted to shopping (we've both been reading some dark/heavy books lately so this next one will be very welcomed fluff). I'll have to order soon though as books don't take terribly long for me.

optimusx · #11 June 4th, 2005, 09:16 PM

Brent, I feel your pain. Even though I've been buried under tons of work I still seem to find time to go through books of all kinds. The ladies who run the local Waldenbooks expect to see me in there at least once a week purchasing one or two books. This doesn't even include the books purchased online. Add on top of that magazines like IEEE and Newtype... I usually rarely lack for material.

For the people that actually like Star Trek, you really should check out "Articles of the Federation". It's a really well written book with characters you'd wish Paramount would actually make into a show. It's basically the first year in office of a new Federation President. Actually one of the few recent reads that actually made me want more

Scott

brent · #12 June 5th, 2005, 01:43 AM

I should check into that. It's sad that Star Trek seems to dying. The kids no longer know the characters, Enterprise is getting canceled early, no new movies are on the horizon, and even Portland's most popular Klingon bar has shut down.

I hope this trend turns around.

optimusx · #13 June 5th, 2005, 05:14 AM

Portland had a Popular Klingon bar? Are you telling me that there is/was more than one Klingon bar in Portland?!?! And to think, in Vegas all you've got is Quark's Bar at the Star Trek Experience

Maybe Paramount should move the Star Trek Experience out to Portland and setup shop. They could call it "The Worlds of Star Trek : Kronos, home of the Klingon Empire"

Scott

brent · #14 June 5th, 2005, 10:29 PM

Maybe I was exaggerating a little. There was a Klingon bar, that was fairly popular. However, it was in an older building that didn't have the handicap access needed to keep their lottery machines. In Oregon, nearly all bars depend on lottery money, so with no video poker, and no slots, there's no bar. A little like here...

BTW Quark's is totally different. It's more of a tourist place than a local enthusiast hang out.