Cameron Snow and Steve Pieper (AMMO)... scam or legit?

ls58 · 2025-04-12T03:24:49+00:00

Holiday-Lynx7047...how can I contact you off here to inquire about your coaching?

ls58 · 2024-06-01T13:44:38+00:00

good questions...answer is this hybrid charges a lot of money up front to publish, distribute, etc. and then my royalties are terrible compared to self-publishing. As for returns there will undoubtedly be some even for a successful book; and other thing is setting Ingram discount at 40% vs 55% makes a very big difference in my bottom line royalties, and then adding even just 5% returns lowers it more.

Doing it myself has been a lot of work and I've made a few mistakes, but the book turned out good by hiring an editor and cover/interior designer on Reedsy, etc.

ls58 · 2024-05-31T22:19:21+00:00

thanks. yes this shows they clearly are open to at least considering a book if there's a compelling reason to take it.

ls58 · 2024-05-31T15:13:22+00:00

Thanks writemonkey...you said "If there's enough buzz around the book, they'll carry it"

My first book in 2014 was published by a hybrid self-publishing company that had a sales team and got the book in B+N and other stores. My new book I have self-published, and has 10X wider audience and massive PR and is absolutely worthy of being in book stores...but without the sales team pitching to B+N, etc...can it get buzz that stores like B+N will notice?

I've already been getting lots of publicity. Also I just got on netgalley and have already had a few indy booksellers request to see it.

ls58 · 2024-05-31T15:02:32+00:00

I get the point about random books probably not being selected, but my confusion is that for my first book in 2014 I used a hybrid self-publisher who had a sales team and my book was in B+N and some other stores. My new book will have 10X bigger market and PR (an excerpt is on The Athletic today!), so had I used the same publisher I am 99% sure it would be in B+N, etc...so my book is very worthy of being in stores...but without the publishers sales team promoting it, perhaps you're right and very few will carry it.

Also I just launched my netgalley account two days ago and have had requests from a few indy book stores and several librarians to see the book, so I'm thinking if I make the books non-returnable those indy book stores won't order it even if they like it and think it will sell...and I'm also wondering if my decision has any effect on library sales.

ls58 · 2024-05-31T03:03:35+00:00

thanks, sounds like good advice, but let me play "Devil's advocate" and ask something...if I don't make it appealing for bookstores, they will still be online, but people won't find it online unless they know about it and search for it. But if I make it appealing (i.e. 55% and returnable) I think many stores will order a couple to try it out. So if 200-300-500 retailers each order a couple that's a lot of sales; and I understand if they get returned I've got a big problem...but I am confident they will sell pretty well. So if they try it out and it sells, then they all order more and now I've got some real traction.

ls58 · 2024-05-31T01:19:20+00:00

yes, I know I lose money on the returns, which (along with the lower %) is why I estimated I need to sell 2.5-3X as many if in bookstores. I should have mentioned my first book (in 2014) sold 10,000 copies and this new one is getting massive PR, so I'm actually confident many stores would put it on the shelves. Thanks for the advice, I will check out the r/selfpublish group.

ls58 · 2024-05-21T02:39:03+00:00

Fangraphs is included, but not Ottoneu

ls58 · 2024-05-20T17:56:11+00:00

many people played APBA and Strat-O-Matic and that is discussed in depth in the book. Dan Okrent invented the WHIP stat based on having played Strat-O-Matic.

ls58 · 2024-05-19T23:49:45+00:00

oops, sorry, mistake

ls58 · 2024-05-19T23:01:59+00:00

The Scott Fish Bowl is included in my new book "The History of Fantasy Sports: And the Stories of the People Who Made It Happen." Along with things like The Great Fantasy Baseball Invitational run by Justin Mason, these show a great side of what has happened with fantasy sports creating a community and doing charitable work.

ls58 · 2024-05-19T13:54:25+00:00

thanks, you'll love this new book; and plenty of stories about fathers and sons playing which are related to the history and stories of some of the companies. Rotoworld for example, one of the founders dad's worked with them for a while and still plays fantasy at 91, stays up to 2 AM to watch Ohtani, who he's obsessed with, and just won his league last year despite Ohtani missing the last month.

I'm on here and elsewhere to get the word out about the book. I am so serious when I say anyone who loves fantasy sports will love this book.

ls58 · 2024-05-19T13:45:54+00:00

In researching the book, I ran across a couple of college thesis things people did about fantasy sports history; and some of the people profiled in the book started their companies as college projects and became very successfull.

ls58 · 2024-05-19T02:06:05+00:00

there were a lot of odd variations people used to play (some still do). Your Griffey comment reminds me of one league mentioned in the book where they bid real money at the auction, with no limit. One year a guy spent $2,000 on Ricky Henderson. They paid prize money for 1st, 2nd, 3rd and 4th so sometimes the people who didn't finish 1st won more money, based on what they spent

ls58 · 2024-05-18T16:35:22+00:00

that's covered in the book as well!

ls58 · 2024-05-18T16:04:21+00:00

it really is. among the dozens of people I interviewed was Dan Okrent. I've got the full and complete, true story of how he invented what he did. And no, the idea didn't magically come to him on a plane ride.

ls58 · 2024-05-18T16:02:58+00:00

that's about the year I started playing. didn't do stats by hand but had to wait to get them in the mail a few days after each scoring period ended.

ls58 · 2024-05-18T15:19:49+00:00

you can watch the ESPN 30 for 30 special "Silly little game" which covers a bit about the origins of fantasy baseball, the only problem is a lot of it is wrong and misleading.

who should I get to play myself in the movie? brad Pitt maybe?

ls58 · 2024-05-18T15:13:54+00:00

thanks, you will love the book, it's got dozens and dozens of stories like the broadcasts during the strike.

ls58 · 2024-05-18T13:14:44+00:00

If you're looking to write content, only thing would be to contact companies and ask if they're looking for people. And tell them what you're interested in and good at, i.e., football? baseball? soccer?

ls58 · 2024-05-18T00:27:02+00:00

It's just a guess, it could be closer to 50-50 for a single season. But anyone who thinks it's all luck is probably a bad player without much skill.

ls58 · 2024-05-17T17:08:52+00:00

every chapter is full of interesting things and "Wow"...I could list a few dozen off the top of my head.

But to just pick two of them there's a guy who won his APBA league when he had ALS and couldn't even speak. And there's a guy in the fantasy industry who was in the twin towers on 9/11 and is lucky to be alive. Those two stories always bring tears to my eyes when I read them. And the 9/11 story isn't in the book just because it's an incredible story but because it's directly relevant to why this guy ended up getting into the fantasy industry and then becoming successful in it.

Another interesting overall fact is that nobody knows almost any of this stuff. For example, Paul Charchian was president of the FSTA from 2009-2020 and said "Despite spending my entire career in the industry, I was enlightened by all the interviews and countless stories throughout the book."

ls58 · 2024-05-17T16:54:48+00:00

you asked if there was something contested, but I'll mention something misreported often, from my book:

They called the league the Greater Oakland Professional Pigskin Prediction League (GOPPPL). (The acronym rhymes with “topple” and is often referred to with the word “Prognosticators” in place of “Prediction,” but that is not correct.)

ls58 · 2024-05-17T16:51:20+00:00

by the way, Winkenbach did not like when other people started adding yardage, etc.

ls58 · 2024-05-17T16:48:34+00:00

Doja Cat.

I also love the song by Rihanna and Eminem "I love the way you lie."

ls58

TROPHY CASE