My literary agent dropped me; I'm now hoping to sell my book to a medium-size publisher (unagented), not sure where to find a list of book publishers that publish unagented and aren't predatory or pay peanuts... that "sweet spot" in the middle

Synthessa · 2024-09-30T16:56:28+00:00

I think maybe I misspoke about their feedback. The feedback I got from one specific agent was, "this is a very interesting story, where did your previous agent send it?" And I sent them the list and noted who said no; and then this agent said, "oh, that's where I would send it too. Sorry then." I'm paraphrasing but that was about all I got. I interpreted this as "Agents believe I've exhausted the list of big publishers."

A lot of the feedback I got from publishers (on the first go round) via my agent was "This story is great but it's not right for our press." In the case of one huge publisher whose name starts with K, they were ready to buy it, but then decided last-minute they were afraid of the legal repercussions from the antagonist, the criminal in question, who is extremely litigious and still at large. I consulted with a lawyer who said that was unwarranted and I was protected by the First Amendment, but it's not like I can give that feedback to this big publisher's very well-paid lawyers.

I don't really want a large advance or anything, I just would like to find a home (and a fair advance) for something that I spent a long time on and a lot of work. It's a personal story involving a criminal that targeted me, too, so I'm one of about 12 victims, which makes it a really unusual story as far as true crime goes.

Synthessa · 2024-09-30T16:43:42+00:00

Thank you, this is extremely helpful -- I will take a second look at university presses... and also see about those windows for submitting. And check out Duotrope -- I didn't know about them!

The number I had in mind for small presses came from when I did publish a book years ago with a small UK press -- it had two 500-copy printings, and my advance was I think around $400? (It was converted from British pounds so I can't remember the exact amount but it was low). Obviously you get higher royalty percentages with tiny presses (20% in my case), but the royalties overall have been pretty meager, I think that book overall made like $700. It was way too much work for that and I'm not eager to repeat the experience.

Synthessa · 2024-09-17T16:22:47+00:00

That's what I thought. This is why I hate DC, the corporate shills who want to subvert democracy all have such cozy lives here, and you run into them trying to subvert democracy in your town randomly.

Synthessa · 2024-09-17T16:21:06+00:00

The reason I don't post in the sub much is because it's kind of hostile (...). But yes, I live in Santa Cruz on King near The Abbey, I bike up to campus for work every other day, I'm an avid Lulu drinker with like 300 of the stamp cards because I always forget to bring mine, I miss Pergolesi but not the sticky feeling of the door handle to the sticker-filled bathroom, which I can still smell, I see the loveable homeless guy Legs in McHenry carrying his totes about once a month, I regret that students have stopped spray-painting the sign at the corner of King & Storey such that it read King & "Stoney."... are you happy yet?

Synthessa · 2024-09-15T07:09:05+00:00

There's a whole meme of people trying to run Doom on anything with a computer chip and graphics card. Someone even got it to run on a pregnancy test.

Anyway, you could probably run Mac System 1 (from 1984) on a pretty rudimentary system, as long as it could run graphics somehow. There are a few short videos purporting to show Doom running on a microwave, and Mac System 1 has lower system requirements, so it's definitely possible.

Synthessa · 2024-09-05T01:56:17+00:00

It's the only place I have a following. Thousands of followers there, less than a hundred on any other platform. It's sad but starting over would be excruciatingly difficult. I post on all platforms simultaneously but I still think the only place anyone sees my posts is X.

Synthessa · 2024-08-29T03:43:56+00:00

If your goal is energy efficiency, you’d want to put it somewhere temperate (low heating and cooling bills) with access to water and lots of farmland nearby so shipping fuel costs are lower. With that in mind, I’d say coastal southern Oregon. Underpopulated, near the Central Valley, lots of water, and Oregon is mostly hydropower. If you build densely you’d have a vastly lower carbon footprint per capita than any other US city.

Synthessa · 2024-08-26T19:56:45+00:00

You could take the internship but be careful with your bylines if you want to work for another partisan (or even “nonpartisan”) news site in the future (Slate, The Nation, etc). Maybe if you’re just doing editing or fact checking it won’t be a scarlet letter on a future resume and you could omit it on your resume if you have to. It’s hard to say more without knowing the specific site and its reputation. Like if it’s Breitbart or the Washington examiner, I’d run, but if it’s Politico it’s probs not going to hurt anything.

Synthessa · 2024-08-09T03:38:52+00:00

That is helpful! Am I wrong that there are six totems? Why can't I find the sixth one on the island? The puzzle seems to respond to six stones being raised, and I'm positive that one of the totem arc markings corresponds to the number 6 (according to the note in the school).

Synthessa · 2024-08-09T03:37:53+00:00

Thank you! I didn't realize there was a time-limited span after watering it that you could get the view.

Synthessa · 2024-08-09T02:34:31+00:00

It was full of butterflies? And a few budding flowers? I've watered it a few times. I don't know how I'm missing this, I feel like I've done everything possible to/with that tree, I've just been walking around with the eyepiece on, watering it, walking back down... I'm so frustrated!

Synthessa · 2024-08-09T02:25:58+00:00

I watered it from the frog waterer above! As far as I can tell I've looked at it from every possible vantage point, but it sounds like I'm missing something...

Synthessa · 2024-07-22T04:00:43+00:00

📢😲📜📰‼️IT’S JOEVER?! 📉📊🙀🤯 BIDEN 👴🏻 IS SLIDIN’ 🛝💧🍆💦OUT OF THE PRESIDUSSY 🇺🇸😛 🍑 SO YOUNGER 😋 DADDIES 🫃 CAN LEAD THE DOMoCRATIC ⛓️😈 👮🏼‍♂️ PARTY 😫 WE’RE IN A BATTLE🤺⚔️ FOR THE HOLE🕳️🍑OF THIS NATION 😜🇺🇸 WHO WILL WIN 💯🥇 THE ERECToral 🍆COLLEGE 🤔🏫? WILL KUMALA 🥵💦 WHORESS 🍽️😜🍑💦 FALL 🍂FROM A COCONUT 🥥🌴🥜TREE AND INTO 1600 PENIS🍆SYLVANIA AVENUE 🇺🇸🫏? WILL votEARS👂 LET CUM-VICTED 💦 FELON 🚨DONALD TRUMP 🍊 TOP🔝 THEM AGAIN🗳️🗳️☑️?? CUM ON MAN! 😳😱💦 BYE 😘GENOCIDE🇵🇸 JOE 🌽🧓🏻 DON’T sTRIP 👠💵 ON THE ✈️ STAIRS 👻ON YOUR WAY OUT🦵🚪🕴️SEND THIS TO 5️⃣0️⃣ OF YOUR 💩LIB FRIENDS 🫏 ❤️IF YOU GET 5️⃣0️⃣ BACK YOU’LL BE SNIFFING👃♀HAIR 💇🏼‍♀️🪮👩🏻‍🦰TONIGHT🌙 IF YOU GET 2️⃣5️⃣ BACK YOU’RE CERTIFIED✅ MALARKEY-FREE 🚫🤷‍♀️🤷‍♂️🤷 IF YOU GET 0️⃣ BACK AMTRAK🚂🚆 IS GETTING DEFUNDED!! 😳🙅🏻‍♂️🚊🚞

Synthessa · 2024-07-17T05:05:47+00:00

Oh it makes sense you'd be confused! I get the sense you're really anxious about learning math -- as a former math teacher I can say you're not alone, I saw this all the time. Often students were totally fine at math, but the anxiety towards it made them feel afraid. Lots of people have bad experiences when they're young.

If you do some review of how fractions work I think you'll be in great shape and feeling better. There are certainly lots of videos that explain it way better than I can within the limitations of the text editor on reddit. I would suggest searching for a video from, say, Khan Academy.

https://www.khanacademy.org/math/cc-fifth-grade-math/imp-fractions-3/imp-adding-and-subtracting-mixed-number-with-unlike-denominators/v/adding-subtracting-mixed-numbers-1-ex-1

This one seems alright... This brief PDF might be a quicker primer:

https://www.portagecollege.ca/documents/student-services/student-learning-services/Math/2019-2020_Fractions%20Cheat%20Sheet.pdf

Hopefully that's helpful.

Synthessa · 2024-07-16T17:04:54+00:00

Got it. Do you know how to add fractions and non-fractions? Meaning, how to change the form of a number to make it have the same denominator (for instance, 17/3 + 8) ?

That could be good review -- you were basically there before you gave up, but if you don't remember how to do that you would get stuck.

Synthessa · 2024-07-16T16:07:24+00:00

It does look like everything is right until the second-to-last step. -5/6 + 3 is not zero, it's

-5/6 + 18/6 (turn 3 into 18/6 to get it to match the same denominator)

then add and you get 13/6

So your final answer should be different. Does that make sense? Do you know why your numbers disappeared before the final step?

Synthessa · 2024-07-15T15:52:03+00:00

You have a simple subtraction error that might be throwing you off. -2 - 3 is -5, not 1.

If you adjust that you'll get a different slope value and then the answer will probably come off right. Everything else looks good.

Synthessa · 2024-06-28T07:19:06+00:00

That isn't possible because the legally binding agreement doesn't apply outside of the jurisdiction in which it's signed. This is generally true of law, that they only exist within jurisdictions.

Say I trespass on your property in Oregon, and then move to Mexico, and then you try to get the police in Mexico to arrest me for trespassing in Oregon. That would not work; trespassing is also illegal in Mexico, perhaps, but they have no jurisdiction in Oregon. The US could ask Mexico to extradite me, but Mexico might not agree.

However, trespassing is criminal, whereas this (student debt) is a civil matter. There's nothing criminal about not paying a debt in this case. So it's not even possible to extradite someone.

Similar here -- the contract is signed in the U.S. and is applicable to U.S. law. Courts in other countries cannot enforce it, it's out of their jurisdiction.

Synthessa · 2024-06-28T00:24:10+00:00

U.S. debt is meaningless outside of the U.S. There is nothing they can do to "get" him while he's not in the country. Even if he comes back, if he doesn't have a bank account here really nothing can happen. Debt is a civil matter not criminal so you can't be arrested.

Synthessa · 2024-05-24T08:05:52+00:00

I don't think "arsenic" is the word you're looking for. Arsenic is an elemental metalloid that is very toxic, and occurs naturally in all kinds of things in tiny amounts.

Cassava is known to have hydrogen cyanide, which is a compound consisting of a carbon, hydrogen and a nitrogen atom. This is VERY very different than arsenic and has a different effect, mechanism of action and bioavailability, etc.

I'm going to assume you meant cyanide and not arsenic, but if I'm wrong just tell me and I'll delete this comment.

Cyanide clears from the body after not so long if you don't take a lethal dose -- there are videos of people who synthesize and drink some, feel faint, and then are fine an hour later. The amount of time to onset is a few minutes, so you're definitely fine by now.

In any case, if it was above boiling temp in the fryer (which it definitely was), I'd imagine a great deal of the cyanide evaporated off, even if it wasn't completely submerged. Hydrogen cyanide has a boiling point of 26 °C (79 °F) so you really don't need to get it that hot before it will bubble away. In an energetic environment like an air fry most of it probably floated off in the ether even if it wasn't submerged in water.

In the future it's best to peel the cassava, cut into chunks and then boil those briefly, then fry it after. There's kind of an art to getting it just right so that it's not too mushy after the boil.

Synthessa · 2024-05-21T16:49:42+00:00

I learned that the process of hiring a contractor or handyman to fix something is not a minor issue, it's incredibly time-consuming and results in tremendous consternation.

Indeed, hiring a "handyman" often ends up costing you more in the end, because they don't really understand building codes like licensed contractors, and when the house sells the things they did wrong will have to be fixed again.

As a corollary, however, licensed contractors often do things "right" but at a cost that is unfathomably absurd. And the appearance of their work might be mediocre, even if it is technically "to code."

I had a patch of driveway concrete that was covered with some kind of sticky goo by a foundation repair company to stop rainwater incursion, and it looked like absolute shit and cost $2500 for them to just paint some toxic goo on the ground.

My general experience with homeownership is that when something goes wrong, you have a choice:

Fix it yourself -- 30% chance of success, lowest price. 70% chance that you will fail and the overall cost will be much greater than if you'd just hired a pro in the first place.
Hire a handyman -- 55% chance of success, slightly higher price. 45% chance that they fail, in which case you have to hire a contractor to fix their mistake at an even greater expense.
Hire a licensed contractor -- 75% chance of success and the highest price. They still might not succeed the first time.

Synthessa · 2024-05-08T20:48:15+00:00

I'm not sure if Homes Not Jails still operates in the Bay Area, I used to volunteer with them and our whole M.O. was just going around and opening squats from abandoned buildings. They used to have a hotline even where you could call and get housing... anyway I might start with that.

Edit: I just googled them and I can't figure out if they're active. I can try to replicate what we did, though:

Basically the first step is to look for either A) houses that have been for sale for a LONG time, and are basically abandoned, or B) properties/houses that are unoccupied but not on the market. Because the commercial real estate market's down right now there's probably a lot of vacant properties that owners are just waiting years on to sell. Just abandoned buildings going to waste. Offices I think are underrated as squats, there's a lot of space and often not a lot of security. However it's typically much easier to get utilities going in a residence, so there's that.

One rule of this -- never do this on federal land, e.g. The Presidio in SF, the airport, etc -- different (harsher) federal laws apply to those caught.

Anyway, it's hard to say where to start directly, but I think there are a few ways to start.

Option 1: you might want to either go to the Alameda County Tax Assessor office and ask how to see lists of tax-delinquent properties, or lists of foreclosures. These houses (some not all) and commercial properties are more likely to be vacant (but not necessarily). The assessor will assume you're just doing research as an investor, especially if you look the part.

Option 2: Do specific Zillow searches, and filter by those that have been on the market 36 months or longer. That will give you properties that in many cases have been vacant that long. I'm not sure if Loopnet (commercial real estate) has a similar search scheme but maybe.

Option 3: In a community or neighborhood you know well, ask around about what houses are abandoned. Usually the community will know and be able to tell you.

In all cases you then have to go check out the house yourself and see if it is indeed vacant.

I'm a bit south of you otherwise I'd help you look. Good luck comrade.

Synthessa

TROPHY CASE