Recent Posts

Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10
1
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by LilyBLily on Today at 12:16:27 AM »
I don't read the long articles in the NYTimes from first sentence to last. The first three paragraphs--totally in contradiction to the rules we were taught in journalism school--are usually unimportant in the extreme and repeat info from the teaser that got me to the article. And when the story wanders into the long process of this person or that person seeking this or that, I skim those, too.

I confess there is a major interview with the owner of the Ripped Bodice in the New Yorker about the current rise of romance novel oriented small indie bookstores, and since I know all that mag's articles run very long, I did not read it. Someone will have to do a tl;dr on that one. These long articles try my patience.

I do read the comments on articles whose topics interest me, because they show a wide variety of perspectives and experiences--often much wider than what the main article has. I know we are adjured not to read comments, but those that get posted on the NYTimes articles are quite interesting. For instance, there is always at least one bitter man ranting that women only want to get money from men--and it's not the same guy each time, as it was on the Washington Post's comments last time I checked. (Other commenters recognized him and "yelled" at him.)

When my mother went into dementia, she stopped doing the Times crosswords. I eventually found those half-completed books, and the notes to herself to remind her of my address, and other clues to her efforts to keep her wits. But dementia took her brilliant brain anyway. I do not expect to get lucky myself.
2
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by Bill Hiatt on February 16, 2025, 11:27:23 PM »
Keep in mind that the science continues to advance. There are already medications that can treat many dementia-related issues, reducing or possibly eliminating symptoms. Treatments are likely to get even better going forward.

The key is early treatment. What we have so far might be able to hold you in place but can't restore what is already lost.

It's also important to make sure any doctor you work with knows what he's doing. One of my friends was misdiagnosed because the doctor used a very math-based test to check for dementia. My friend was not that great with math to begin with. When a different doctor tried a more verbal assessment, my friend tested as fine.

In another case, a friend was told he'd failed 50% of the test by not knowing what the date was. That may not be dementia--it may just be retirement. When I was working, I always knew what the date was. After I retired, scheduling became a lot less important. I've never missed an appointment or other commitment, but because I work at a computer, and so I can often glance at the date, it's no longer information I need to keep track of as much. We tend to store in our most active memory the data we need to use frequently and is more easily accessed via memory than via a quick lookup.
3
I figure I can run the five free days consecutively and 1. If I publish the paperback in time, I can add the paperback to the back of the first book. or 2. If not #1, then add the photo of the sequel cover and blurb and say "Coming soon!"
You can, but you're gonna get the most series sales by linking it during the sale. You can also revise the 1st ebook later when the links appear. Amazon will sometimes revise books that were sold in the past. But you really should promote the 1st book when you have the 2nd on sale.

Why are you concerned with losing your 5 days? Don't free days get renewed for another 3months on the KU plan (it's been a while that I've been in KU)? Or are you leaving KU?

Thanks A.L. Yes, the 5 free days renew on the 23rd. And I'm staying in Select. Why I'm trying to do something worthwhile with the 5 free days is because I'm mad at myself for not effectively using them earlier and it was only as the Select term was about to expire that I realized I hadn't used them.

But I put the sequel cover and blurb and "Coming soon" in the back of the first book and I'll run five consecutive free days and see what happens. I realize there would be no momentous consequences to whatever I did with those 5 days, but now at least I've done something with them (and tempered my self reproach!).
4
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by LilyBLily on February 16, 2025, 11:38:45 AM »
I assume I will get dementia. I have some time left before it could be a problem. Maybe all the complex things I'm doing now (Facebook ads! Arrgh!) will keep my brain intact for a while longer than I expect, but certainly I intend to hand over all the key things I now run in the family my by mid-eighties. Until then, full speed ahead unless a sudden health issue causes a drastic change in course.
5
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by Jeff Tanyard on February 15, 2025, 08:59:10 AM »
Does reading newspapers/news websites count as reading more fiction?  :icon_think:


I'm not sure it counts as "reading" at all.   :confused:

(Disclaimer: I "read" news sites, so I'm not the best role model about this.)


I was just thinking the same thing. Lol. I really have to stop. It's getting in the way of my actual fiction reading. Too much news will rot your brain. :D


It'll wear on your soul, too.  We should all take Choi's advice from time to time.



6
I figure I can run the five free days consecutively and 1. If I publish the paperback in time, I can add the paperback to the back of the first book. or 2. If not #1, then add the photo of the sequel cover and blurb and say "Coming soon!"
You can, but you're gonna get the most series sales by linking it during the sale. You can also revise the 1st ebook later when the links appear. Amazon will sometimes revise books that were sold in the past. But you really should promote the 1st book when you have the 2nd on sale.

Why are you concerned with losing your 5 days? Don't free days get renewed for another 3months on the KU plan (it's been a while that I've been in KU)? Or are you leaving KU?
7
You could just get the preorder out if you have the cover. All you need is a cover with Amazon for preorder. You won't get as many sales, but if you're pressed for time, you can gather co-sales that way.

Thanks A.L. I guess I don't know what I'm doing. I have to publish the paperback. Should be in the next day or two. Then announce to my ARC reviewers they can review it. Then wait for enough reviews until I publish the ebook and then get some promos. The five free days just kind of complicate things.

I figure I can run the five free days consecutively and 1. If I publish the paperback in time, I can add the paperback to the back of the first book. or 2. If not #1, then add the photo of the sequel cover and blurb and say "Coming soon!"
8
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by Bill Hiatt on February 15, 2025, 05:49:57 AM »
...I'm pretty sure that writing fiction must also be good brain stimulation.

As it happens, my wife sent me to the doc as I can be forgetful.  Doc's first question, What do you do?  I write novels.  Doc said, If you can do that, you're brain's fine.  Lots of other reasons for forgetfulness.  Next!
Actually, there are many things that can lead to memory issues, including but not limited to the following:
insufficient sleep
stress
breathing issues (oxygen deprivation)

At one point, I thought my father was in the early stages of dementia. What he actually had were pulmonary issues that prevented his brain from oxygenating properly. With supplemental oxygen, he was back to his old self in a week.

I've seen even high school students have memory lapses when they were under a lot of stress. Most extreme case: a student who forgot all about US history a day or so before the AP US History exam. He wanted to panic-study, but I kept saying, "Go home and take a nap!" Eventually, the advice penetrated, he went home, caught up on his sleep, and was fine the next day. Somewhat less extreme: I've had colleagues completely forget a conversation that we've had the day before.

In other words, there are many causes of memory loss aside from things like Alzheimer's. In much the same way that a headache doesn't necessarily indicate a brain tumor, memory loss doesn't necessarily indicate dementia. It's important not to jump t the worst case scenario without ruling out less serious possibilities (many of which are much more easily treatable).
9
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by Lynn on February 15, 2025, 05:11:50 AM »
I was just thinking the same thing. Lol. I really have to stop. It's getting in the way of my actual fiction reading. Too much news will rot your brain. :D
10
Quill and Feather Pub [Public] / Re: "Read more fiction," says the doc
« Last post by Post-Crisis D on February 15, 2025, 04:42:17 AM »
Does reading newspapers/news websites count as reading more fiction?  :icon_think:
Pages: 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10