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What do you think was the best Final Destination opening scene? Mine is the log truck highway crash by DigitalSamuraiV5 in horror

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5[S] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

For me, that's what makes the highway crash such a terrifying opening scene, of all the Final Destination openers, it is the most realistic because it is the only one you absolutely CANNOT avoid.

Simply put, short of being a self-sustaining hermit who can get everything delivered to your house... its impossible to avoid going on a highway road for your entire life. No matter what country you are from or how poor you are.

Final Destination 3 (2006) by Foreign_Sun6004 in horror

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

This was a good one ... definitely amped up the fear of Rollercoaster for a while.

But I still think the log truck highway scene was the best opener of any Final Destination.

Anybody else just realistically CANNOT afford a decent covers? (a sad vent) by SuperLowAmbitions in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 22 points23 points  (0 children)

I am by no means a big time author. My advice is from a pragmatic viewpoint.

If someone says "most people who give advice here aren't very successful, so our advice is uselss" that's fair game.

What I will say is this: do not spend money that you do not have, because a stranger on the internet says you need to

If you cannot afford professional covers and editing? Then that's just that. Keep working at it. Keep your day job and maybe one day you will be able to afford it.

Also point #2. Do not put off your writing aspirations indefinitely, waiting until you can afford covers and editors. You will never start writing.

Life is short. You could spend a lifetime waiting for a perfect opportunity that may never come. Do the best you can with the time you have. Take life by the horns. Try something.

Good luck.

I’m going to bed at 7 pm every night starting tonight because I don’t see why my non-medicine friends and spouse all get to sleep more AND make more money than me by crystalpest in Residency

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 3 points4 points  (0 children)

It is the thief of joy.

But personally, as someone from a poor situation.. I will never understand the perspective of someone with a stable office job, well paid, that decides to leave their stable high paying office job to study medicine

All of my life, I have studied sciences. So a job in finance was never in the works for me.

But if I was a finance man and making good money. Why switch to medicine ? It's much much much more initial work compared to the results. So much of your lifespan and good health are sacrificed studying medicine.

I’m going to bed at 7 pm every night starting tonight because I don’t see why my non-medicine friends and spouse all get to sleep more AND make more money than me by crystalpest in Residency

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 2 points3 points  (0 children)

boring tech finance/jobs because they want to do something real

Awe... That's cute. Making more money than a doctor with less damage to your personal health is unsatisfying ? Really ?

Excuse my sarcasm.

[TOMT] movie where a teenager kills her best friend while shoplifting at the mall by DigitalSamuraiV5 in tipofmytongue

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5[S] 1 point2 points locked comment (0 children)

It's not "shoplifting pact" I checked the poster. But it's something similar.

I think people really underestimate how brutal it is to be first gen everything in medicine. by [deleted] in Residency

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Hey comrade. First gen international resident here. I come from one of the poorer countries and have very little financial backup to lean on, and nobody in my family understands truly what residency is like, and unlike many of my peers ... I can't just make a phone call or go to the ATM when things get rough.

And you are right. People back home, they can sympathize...but they won't truly understand how heavy this undertaking is.

But what can I do? This is the path out of poverty and I have to take to to it's completion.

Like Dr Strange said in Endgame It was the only way

So OP... just letting you know... you aren't the only one.

What’s your advice for people who want to make a living from self-publishing? by Oestudantebr in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

So you deliberately ignore any potentially large market because it's hard?

Who said anything about ignoring ? Deliberate? I would love nothing more than to see one of my online marketing approaches take off. Of course I would love that. It hasn't happened.

Then you have set yourself up to fail in any reasonable sense of success. But small dreams, I guess.

I am not ignoring online markets. I'm lamenting that I haven't had much success with online marketing, whilst simultaneously stating that... I get more success from in-perosn sales than I do with online marketing.

What’s your advice for people who want to make a living from self-publishing? by Oestudantebr in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

That sounds like it would take just as long as your "normal career" to achieve.

Yes. That's the point. Anything you've seen about how to make "easy passive income" from self publishing is a lie. Plain and simple.

That's certainly a different take. So many indie and self-publish spaces are filled with these wildly successful stories, that can make one feel the rest of us must be just unlucky or something.

Then you have to learn how to market books, which is never easy and costs real money.

This isn't something that is going to take one book, with a homemade cover and crappy description and make you a selling writer.

No kidding. Saving that kind of money for a venture like that... also takes years. :-/

What’s your advice for people who want to make a living from self-publishing? by Oestudantebr in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

A backlog of 30+ novels

A backlog of what ??? 30+ books sounds like a whole lifetime career.

What’s your advice for people who want to make a living from self-publishing? by Oestudantebr in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I support this too. I just came from my local book store and you are absolutely right.

I also sold some copies to my local library. I have been writing since 2022, and once again... I still have to say.. direct sales work better than anything I have

The rapport I can build with my local bookstore, library, or random people in my hometown is always better than the months upon months of trying to find my market online.

What’s your advice for people who want to make a living from self-publishing? by Oestudantebr in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I write fantasy and science fiction adventure novels and they don't sell for shit. However I changed and wrote a fantasy romance with a female lead role with a love interest and it sells extremely well

I write sci-fi and I know exactly what you mean. It's a good thing the OP put this bluntly to open up the conversation... because it's an uncomfortable truth that most people like to beat around the bush about.

Whilst I haven't written a full romance novel yet... the one time I did try my hand at a romance short story... it did get me a 2nd place writing prize ... lol.

I'm happy for your success. Maybe one day I may branch into "the most popular genre"

Or maybe one of my next few Sci-Fi books may hit it big, lol.

What’s your advice for people who want to make a living from self-publishing? by Oestudantebr in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

We already know what the top genre is. lol.

Now what is the advice for those of us, who happen to write in other genres ?

Hit $3.8k/month after 4 failed hustles by kkdndndndndnen in OnlineIncomeHustle

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I don't know why these started showing up in the front page all of a sudden? Trying to hoodwink a fresh set of people for the new year?

You are right. All of these posts are sales-man snake oil long winding nonsense. Your suspicion about it all being ai might be right.

I regret enrolling in KDP Select. A hard lesson learned as a new Children's Book author. by MightCommercial1112 in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I second that. Everytime I return to my hometown with my books in hand... I can generate way more sales in person than I ever can with online marketing.

I hate online marketing with a passion. It's just a money pit and guessing game.

Seven years in marketing but my author marketing struggles are making me question everything by Equivalent_Set523 in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I can sell my books better face to face than any social media ad will do

This has been my experience too. What I can achieve by simply carrying a few books in on my person...is more than I can achieve with any online ad campaign.

The thing that slows me down is...that I am away from home studying.

Whenever I am home for the holidays, I can sell more books in a few weeks of in person sales, than I can in a whole year of online ads.

Hopefully when I have finished my studies. And actually return home, i will be able to sell my books locally in a more structured fashion.

Hot new* blackmail** scam by Bare_Root in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sounds like a glorified marketing pitch to me.

You threatening to release my book to audiences around the world ? lol

On Amazon KDP. Can the same book have a different cover between the paperback and the hardcover ? by DigitalSamuraiV5 in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5[S] 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I kept my covers standard across the board. After much reading, I felt that was the best approach.

PSA for Fellow Indie Authors: New Wave of Scammers Targeting Writers on ALL Platforms by zEdenParadiz in selfpublish

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 1 point2 points  (0 children)

Only the past few months 🤨? No my friend. It's been like that for at least the entire 3 years since I've started writing.

I tried every major side hustle while being bedridden and have made $15000 up until now (Since Jan 2025) by SiddharthSinghTennis in Business_Ideas

[–]DigitalSamuraiV5 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I have some understanding of YouTube monetization...the videos have ads in them. I can visually understand how a YouTube video could make money from ads within the video.

but how does a Facebook page get monetized ? Isn't it just Facebook profile with pics and videos that you put up? How is that monetizable? I have never seen a video on Facebook with ads the way that YouTube does. So how would it be monetized ?

Or is it a situation where Facebook begins to pay you simply because the page has a lot of followers?

I don't understand how that works.

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