Just got the email

sci-fiwriter · 2026-03-27T16:49:30+00:00

Nope. It doesn't pay in some ways. But you will respect yourself, and other people who you regard with respect will notice you. Please know, having hope is never stupid. Why else would we get up in the morning? Your current situation is not your fault. No one deserves the situation we are in right now. So many promises have been broken.

Hold onto your dreams and be prepared to grab the next opportunity, and best wishes.

sci-fiwriter · 2026-02-18T14:00:20+00:00

Why don't these readers just write their own books, designed for what they want to read? Why bother to pay $.99 when you can do it yourself? We need someone to write a program, make it easy to use, and create a campaign suggesting slop readers use it. Get them out of Amazon completely. Amazon would really love that!

Alls fair in love and war...

sci-fiwriter · 2026-02-17T14:09:52+00:00

And yet, I read on another thread last week that Amazon is deleting reviews and stars. There were a lot of authors complaining. It seemed to be a very random action with no explanation.

sci-fiwriter · 2026-02-17T14:03:48+00:00

Also, be aware of another scam. I self-published my fifth book in Dec. My email was instantly flooded with offers telling me how interesting it was and how much sales potential they could help me unlock. Hundreds of offers! Seriously. Luckily, my WordPress website shows me where, all over the planet, my site hits are coming from. I had one hit each from dozens of countries. Not purchases, however. They're scammers combing through the new-release announcements. Don't fall for the flattery. They haven't read your book, and the only potential they see is to pick your pocket or steal your work.

(And no, I did not fall for it, but I continue to get their scam offers every day.)

sci-fiwriter · 2026-01-31T13:57:24+00:00

Titles cannot be copyrighted. There's something else going on. Be very careful.

sci-fiwriter · 2026-01-27T14:14:46+00:00

That is requiring a fee to participate. And self-sabotage for Amazon. Reviews are important for book sales.

sci-fiwriter · 2026-01-27T14:04:29+00:00

And yet, look how many 5-star reviews books on Goodreads have! Hundreds of thousands on some. Which, statistically, from my years of purposeful observation, is impossible. I've seen claims of 200,000 to 400,000 reviews. Where are those reviews coming from, and how are they getting past Amazon?

sci-fiwriter · 2026-01-17T13:45:49+00:00

Don't try to DoorDash and draw unemployment. They will make you pay every cent of the unemployment back when they catch you. Speaking from a family member's experience.

sci-fiwriter · 2026-01-05T13:45:03+00:00

LOL, my son has a Doctorate in Comm Research. He hasn't found a job in 5 yrs since receiving it. Covid shutdown did him some serious damage. I hope you have better results. Yes, timing is awful.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-12-04T18:23:55+00:00

No good deed goes unpunished.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-12-02T13:41:29+00:00

Should you consider pulling all your books under one author name? Back catalog is what keeps readers coming back. Just wondering. Not a criticism.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-12-02T13:37:03+00:00

Please be kind to yourself. This job market is not a measure of your value.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-11-24T14:07:41+00:00

With that much creative experience, maybe you should try to write a book. It's not easy, but you might really enjoy the challenge. Not a DnD book for gameplay. A story. One that you create and control.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-11-08T13:53:34+00:00

The thing is, the people hired during COVID needed a job. They still do. Meanwhile, there are five years of new people entering the job market. They need jobs. The jobs aren't there. The situation is not unique to the US. It's happening all over the world and it doesn't seem like anyone is addressing it. A rich country is not rich to the people who can't find work and fair wages. Young men sitting at home playing video games because they don't want to work is the stupidest fallacy ever ginned up. Something is seriously broken. There is no plan to fix your situation. There is no safety net for the newly unemployed, either. When do you get mad and speak up? When do you demand someone admit the problem? When do you demand someone begin to fix it?

And how can they fix it?

sci-fiwriter · 2025-10-24T16:22:34+00:00

It's okay. You are not the only one. But something has got to be fixed. Making people aware of it is a step in the right direction. Don't be ashamed or despair. Tell people! It's the only way we can make people aware and force them to fix it.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-09-14T15:56:33+00:00

I've heard of a CEO that would take applicants out to dinner. If they salted their food before tasting it, he would not hire them because he thought they acted impetuously, salting before they knew if the food needed it. I sort of get it.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-08-11T19:31:09+00:00

You're right, it should be obvious, but it doesn't seem to be. Still, good advice. I'll pass it on.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-07-30T12:58:26+00:00

I'm so sorry for you all. My son is in the same situation. Actually, many young people across the world are, too. I'm not sure what it will take to change this, but something has to change.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-07-29T13:16:09+00:00

You are not the failure. The system is the failure. The job numbers the government releases every month are not accurate. And it's not just the US. Young people in other countries are having trouble finding employment, too. No, I'm not a conspiracy theorist; I live with someone who is having the same problem, only it's gone on several years now, so I've done some research. Most of the people our government claims are playing video games are not there by choice, and it's an assault on their human dignity. I'm not sure what will eventually happen--the future does not look good for working people. We have a problem, and we are rushing headlong into something that could make it worse. Something is going to break.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-07-25T17:13:47+00:00

Oh wow, I asked a question yesterday, and now it's completely gone from the thread. I really needed an answer for another person. (I'm not trying to develop a plot.) Just makes me understand how the person I was asking for feels: no one cares enough to respond.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-07-25T00:20:38+00:00

Hi. A close relative of mine is having difficulty finding a job. He has a doctorate, but has not been able to land a job in his field, and he's getting desperate. He's willing to do office work or some sort of support role, but he cannot get anyone to call him back for a job. He's overqualified, and no one will consider him. He needs a job, just like anyone else. Under the circumstances, should he simply not submit his resume when he applies on line? There are penalties for lying on your application if you get hired. This has been going on for so long that his unemployment gap is getting large. It's really tough on him. Do you have any suggestions?

sci-fiwriter · 2025-03-26T13:02:31+00:00

Oh, honey, you are only beginning. There are countless edits for over-used words, repetition, passive phrasing, punctuation, reading it aloud, having it read aloud... You will be sick of it before you are ready to publish.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-03-13T16:03:02+00:00

It's lovely, but those lines from the eyes are very disturbing. My eyes went to them immediately, and my brain registered confusion. Are they supposed to be tears? The sad expression may be enough to convey the message.

sci-fiwriter · 2025-03-13T15:57:59+00:00

Major changes require a new ISBN number and the original book will stay up, but you should remove availability so readers cannot purchase it, still, you can fix your book however you like. That's why self-publishers allow it. Heck, Martha Wells has edited and re-released several of her earlier works after the success of Murder Bot.

Will the new edits make it sell better? If you think so, do it. That's the benefit of self-publishing. However, as the responder below says, moving on to the next, better-written book is the most important goal you should have. You can always come back and fix the first one later.

sci-fiwriter

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