Baron Alexander Deschauer
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Is our lack of ownership of e-books and audible books contributing to the erosion of our capitalist society? Are we headed for serfdom where no-one owns anything anymore? -- except those 'in charge' or those with the foresight to make others license t

12/2/2017

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I love Amazon and the Kindle and all ebooks. I also love ACX (Amazon's audible platform for creating audio books). However, I realised how flawed this system is when I wanted to share a book that I 'owned' with my brother.

If I buy an ebook from a non-Amazon supplier (Indie, etc), I get my pdf, epub, and emobi (Kindle) files. I can then share these files with my friends and family. If I buy from Amazon, I need additional technical knowledge before I can 'crack' the file and send it to friends and family. OK, this is annoying but not insurmountable.

I buy a LOT of audio books from Audible (another Amazon company). I love them. I walk for 3-4 hours a day and there is nothing better than doing so with a new book narrated into my ear. As I don't have many friends (yes, boo hoo me), I have never wanted to share my books that I have 'purchased'. Now, my brother has signed up and has become addicted to the siren-call of quality audio books. It is great value and allows you to listen to fantastic titles from business to classics to romance and thrillers. No argument there. BUT, I can't share my books with him, nor him with me. 

This made me think about what is happening to our society in general. Microsoft made the brilliant business decision to licence its software to IBM. IBM didn't care; it was only interested in making computers. Who cared about software? Over the decades, this licensing arrangement has become the norm. No one owns anything. Everything is a licence. You can't share or sell or enjoy any of the usual attributes of ownership.

In my research into the First Nations of Canada, I was struck at their members not being fully cognisant of the concept of ownership. I would suggest that many non-legally trained people also lack the full understanding of ownership. Over the centuries, we have sliced (salami-like) our ideas of ownership into various categories: legal, beneficial, reversionary, and so on. People would receive life-tenancies, or fixed tenancies. The government would regulate and enforce these forms of ownership and people became confident enough in the structures to start funding those with ownership. The banks/lenders would take security against one's legal, beneficial, or reversionary title. They would take security against leases or freeholds. They would take security against projected cashflows. All of this requires ownership.

In London, and throughout England, the richest families have been allowed to retain freeholds while leasing out the property that sits on top of it. Think of the Portman Estate, and much of the best parts of central London. All of this allows people who sit along that ownership spectrum to licence, lease, borrow against, sell and do what they want with the asset in question (subject only to the contracts to which they have  restricted themselves).

​However, if all we own are licences such as the ones we receive from Microsoft, Apple, Amazon and other proprietary business models, we are doomed to head in one direction--serfdom. Many people rent their homes (in Germany, it is almost 70%, in the UK, almost 30%). Almost all software is licensed. We are expected to act as a consumer or use the software to create more value. Most of us simply consume. It is like a piece of fruit. We never own something like this. It is perishable. Like fruit, we can eat it and become strong or we eat it and do nothing. Most of us eat and subsist.

Licencing of software has been a wonderful innovation to allow for companies such as Microsoft, Apply, and Amazon to become insanely big and powerful. But, it is also eroding our ability to be the masters of our own destiny. Instead, we are becoming pawns on a chessboard, constantly monitored and sold additional consumable 'add-ons'. Merely being on the chessboard doesn't make us players. Someone else is always in charge.

Until we recognise this vulnerability, we will continue blindly down this alley until it may be too late. The next generation is growing up without a concrete sense of ownership. They are growing up in systems created by others where nothing is owned by those within the system. 

Just a thought.

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Gone Fishing...

10/2/2017

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I am enjoying a break from writing. My brother has flown in from Canada and I am enjoying the finest cuisine. I knew he was a good cook, but this is ridiculous! We are going to all the tourist sites--places I haven't seen in over twenty-five years. It is a great break from my routine.

So...I'll post this short blurb and see you next week, same place, same time(ish).

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Good writing is tiring

4/2/2017

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I have been undergoing a bumpy ride these last few weeks. The engines have stopped and I am gliding, uncertain as to where I'm going and unable to adjust my course. My muse stopped whispering in my ear and writing output has been reduced to editing, emails, and business correspondence. No new work.

That being said, last night was the first good sleep I had for weeks. I have been going to bed late and waking early for quite a while. In some ways, I enjoy the pressure of minimal sleep combined with the recovery from any excesses of the previous day. For weeks, I wanted to sleep well, but I couldn't fall asleep; when I did, I woke up half a dozen times during the night. When I woke up this morning, there was no tension nor a sense of a tsunami-like wave of work I needed to attend to. I had fallen asleep around 9pm and woke around 4.30am. For me, that was great. I stayed in bed until 5am, thinking I might even fall asleep again. Instead, I began to sense that my muse had forgiven me.

I have started and abandoned two manuscripts since the New Year. My muse began to show me in my mind how the two stories were actually one. Scenes began to appear in technicolor again.

I was afraid to jump out of bed in case I frightened my muse off (I haven't named it--it definitely isn't a she or he). I luxuriated in the images and then tested the scenarios presented to me. I then, cautiously, exited my bed and made my way to the computer. I refused to allow any distractions as I opened my abandoned files. I began to re-read with this new inspiration in mind. It worked. I began the process of reconstruction and started a list of notes and characters so that continuity wouldn't be affected. When I was done, I sat back and smiled. My muse was back.

Then again, maybe it was never gone. Perhaps the struggle is the most important part of the writing process. I'll let you know how it goes.

TTFN
​Baron



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I am tired of writing

28/1/2017

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I have never experienced anything like it. I blame my hubris from last week's vlog. By saying that I write 2,500 words per day (when I'm writing), I must have triggered something in my brain that made me complacent. I brag that I have written as many as 10,000 words in a day and that 500 words would feel like failure. 

Result? I haven't written a word since last week. The book I'm working on ceased to speak to me. My muse has gone silent. It is as though the gods want me to atone for my reckless exuberance. To that end, I no longer make any assumptions about output.

What have I learned? The book I have been trying to write may not be the book I should be writing. I have decided to put it aside and allow my mind to open up to the infinite and find me a new idea that will allow me to be what I have always been--an amanuensis for my muse. 

​Good luck to the rest of you who are still on good terms with your muse!

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Can you learn to write a great novel?

22/1/2017

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Many authors (like Stephen King) write that it may not be possible to learn how to be a great writer. You either are or you are not. I think there may be some qualifications to this and it comes down to two points:

1. If you have talent and do not learn the necessary tools to write, you will never be a great writer. You will definitely never write a great novel.

2. If you have the desire and learn every tool and study great writers, you may become a very good writer.

Either way, we must live with the consolation that only others--and time--will judge us. My philosophy is to treat writing as an extension of myself. In this manner, I don't use pen names or look at my books as 'income streams'. They represent me at particular times in my development--as a person and as a writer. 

For me, I begin the process of writing in a meditative state, allowing my mind to wander until it finds the tendril that it wishes to pursue. I allow myself the time--whether this means days or weeks--to let this grow into a form that I can see. I then begin writing a first scene. A character forms and I begin to see her personality. Another joins, and he or she begins to interact. Soon, a path becomes clear. 

In my meditative state, I try to understand the general arc of the novel and the direction of the plot. I don't know or understand how it is to transpire. Everything is very tentative, very fragile. I don't know if I will need to abandon the line of the story or whether it will grab me and embrace (or strangle) me until I finish the book. It is scary, exciting, and exhausting all at the same time.

While there have been times when this inspiration comes to me as I finish the final chapter(s) of a manuscript, I find that I am utterly depleted after I finish a book. I tend to treat myself to a cigar (or three) and a few days off to clear my head. I will busy myself with editing, other business, cleaning--anything--until my mind resets and is ready to begin its next journey.

I am assuming you all know how to read and write. And I assume you are all able to write a novel. The question is whether and how to write a great novel.

My answer: even the great writers do not always write a great novel. Great novels are an accident intended by great writers. All we can do as writers is to become the best we can be and pray for such an accident.

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Great steak, Great New Year. 2017 will be a big year.

15/1/2017

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​I'm back, well-fed and rested. I hope all of you enjoyed the festive season. 

I wasn't going to write anything today, but I was struck by a confluence of events that culminated in a perfectly-cooked steak and the final chapters of my audio book being forwarded for my review. I haven't written or done anything related to writing for almost a month.

The steak that I bought was too thick and I was worried that I would ruin a beautiful piece of meat. The butcher had no choice as he gave me the bone along with the rib-eye meat. Unfortunately, I didn't take a picture; the above was the closest I could find. I covered the meat with Montreal seasoning, cooked it on full heat for five minutes on each side and then put it in the oven at 250 for five minutes. After letting it sit for a few minutes, I alowed myself to cut into it. It was perfect. Pink without blood spilling everywhere with firm flesh that was red in the very middle. It melted in my mouth. It was the best 32 ounze steak I've had for a while...

The meat cranked up my body temperature and mood. (I didn't ruin it with a salad or potatoes...or anything, for that matter.) I went to my computer and saw the most recent chapters of my new book in audio format. My narrator (Michael Gwynne) is amazing and has brought my books to life. I think we'll have Slaves of Circumstance done and dusted in the next week or so. We are working on a six-book series. Assuming we finish it in the next three months (or so), I'll begin marketing it in earnest. 2017 is going to be all about marketing.

That being said, I am told that my website/blogs need to also be about other people and things. I am also told that no-one calls these musings blogs anymore. Can anyone tell me what I'm supposed to call these things? I also read that Twitter and Facebook are going the way of MySpace. I only joined last August; is the party already over?

Please help me. Tell me what content you want on these postings. If you don't, I'll keep nattering on about my life, my journey as a writer/publisher, and other things that take my fancy.

Until the next blog/posting/thing, onwards and upwards!



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Last blog of 2016--Recap of what i have done and will do

17/12/2016

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It is that time of the year again where we reassess what we are doing with our lives. For me, I am enjoying writing and the life of authorship. I have finished my tenth book and am doing the editing/pre-publishing elements for books 7-10 (Man on the Run Volumes 6, 1, 2, and Concentration Camps of Canada). In the last twelve months, I have published Revelation, Faust, Art of Wealth, and Man on the Run Volumes 3, 4, 5, 6. It has been an enormous effort and I look forward to writing more one-offs than series. I will only write volume 7 of my series once I have sold at least 100,000 copies of the series. This means 2017 will be about getting to grips with marketing. I have held off on this until now because people have proven resistant to starting a series at volume 3. I thought it was clever (a la Star Wars) but I have been proven wrong.

In addition to publishing to 35,000 outlets (so I am told), I have made (and am making) all my books into audio books. I have become hooked on audio books as I enjoy longish (20km) walks 3-5 times per week. They are the perfect companion. Naturally, for those of you who have friends, it is better not to be listening to audio books when you are walking together. 

I continue to have books translated into other languages, but I am going to halt this until my sales increase. Translators want to see track record. That being said, I have had Art of Wealth translated into French, Spanish, and Portuguese; it is currently being translated into Chinese (Mandarin). Revelation has been translated into three languages and is also being translated into Chinese. Faust has been translated into three languages. I anticipate these books to hit the market in the next three months.

I look forward to 2017 for a number of reasons.

1.  My newest book, Concentration Camps of Canada will go on sale. I hope to get it onto the curriculum of schools in Canada and the United States. If there are any of you reading this who can help, please contact me. It relates to Residential Schools in Canada and is a powerful story of a young boy told from his point of view from his first day in school to adulthood. I look forward to working with the First Nations in Manitoba and Canada in educating people about this chapter of Canada's history.

2.  My series will be ready for marketing. Man on the Run will be my primary focus and I look forward to getting the message out there. Naturally, I would be over the moon to talk to a distributor about this. The reality is that the Indie market is now more lucrative than traditional publishing for authors. Theoretically, I will make more money doing it myself. In reality, I am not doing this for money so I am happy for someone to take marketing off my back. The difficulty is that if I do nothing, my books will languish in obscurity. I would like them read!

3.  This is the most important: I look forward to spending more time with my wife.

4.  I look forward to getting back into the saddle re: business and development. I have been living the life of a retiree for five years. While it has allowed me to study French in France and Hebrew in Israel and write these books all while travelling the world, I find that I miss the buzz of business. Hyper-tech greenhouses, green energy, and creative financing are the most likely avenues I will pursue. Whatever I end up doing, I will ensure that I maintain my 2-4 hours of writing per day (either creating or marketing).

5.  Paper. I look forward to paper books (again). As I am travelling a lot, I converted to e-books. I love my kindle but it remains a sterile experience for me. I still love the feel of paper. I love to see the books on the shelf after I have read them. I miss the tactile interaction with 'real' books. I find that living in the ether of a paperless existence to be lonely. One one hand, I have the world at my fingertips. Google, downloads, and endless books, movies, documentaries, and research are available to me anywhere I can get wifi or an internet connection. While the world is theoretically limitless, I find that the algorithms of Amazon, Google, and the rest feed me what I am interested in. As a result, my world horizon narrows the more 'they' get to know me. I think there is still something lacking (for me) in the ether. I want to search, explore, and enjoy what is out there. The more I do, the more I come across the e-mining of emails and contact details from vendors and users of the net. This is because everyone is trying to accumulate their email lists independently. So, as I approach a site, I am required to enter my details. I dislike this so I click away. If I do enter my details, my inbox is bombarded. I can mark as junk or discontinue but somehow they continue to send me stuff. In the internet, you never truly ever leave a site. In real life, the door opens and then closes; you enter or leave as you want. You are drawn in or not and it becomes part of who you are. In the ether, an algorithm is defining who we are. The problem is that it is a reflection of who we are at the time.

I feel optimistic about the future. There are many reasons to dispair at local, national, and global news; but there are more reasons to be excited at the opportunities available to us--as individuals, communities, and nations. It is a good time to be alive and participating in history.

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I don't really want to be writing this blog today...

11/12/2016

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I read an article recently that says people who are very wealthy prefer to continue working because it gives them status, structure, and relevance. Once you have a few bucks, you can travel the world, sleep in, and do nothing. After a while, this ceases to appeal--especially if your mind prefers stimulation and interaction with others.

I have been blogging for almost four months and I try to put something out on a weekly basis. There is no fixed schedule. Sometimes, I think I am pithy. There are times where I am less so.

I have projected my life and tried to live my life without the boundaries that tie minds down. I instinctively push against structures, I am iconoclastic, and I aspire to making the world a better place. Today, however, I feel little inspiration.

So, while short, this is the equivalent of the dishelvelled worker who comes in, grunts hello, and goes to his cubicle. I am trying not to jettison this structure, however tenuous.
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is it too early for merry christmas? My thoughts on free things...

4/12/2016

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I find myself not watching a lot of the vlogs and how-to posts as they begin to repeat themselves. I wonder how sincere the presenter is--do they really want to help us or are they simply creating content in order to gather an email list. In today's world, email lists are the most important asset for authors and vendors of all kinds. It is why we are given 'free' things in exchange for our emails. I am told in these vlogs that these free giveaways must have value and that any author or vendor should follow up the free giveaway with more free things. It is all about providing value to the customer. The hope is that people will then buy their books or widgets for sale.

I am becoming doubtful about this business model.


It is always great to receive free things. I love that I can download Adobe for free. But if I want to manipulate pdf files, I need to pay for the professional version. We get to download crazy games for free--but if we want certain goodies within the game, we have to pay for it. We get to search the internet for free, but we have to accede to advertisements. That's life. We are all used to it.

BUT...

In the world of books, I find that authors are desperately trying to create 'permafree' books on platforms to entice readers into their email / product funnel. It is a legitimate business model and I agree with it. However, many desperate authors put out shorter and shorter free books. Customers are expected to get a 'free' 30-page book. For me, that is called a pamphlet. Or, 50-100 page books that are crammed with pictures and graphs and large print. Again, the same 20-30 page pamphlet expanded to a short book length. The result: the consumer becomes wary of all free books and products. The hacks are ruining a perfectly good and respectible business model. The market is responding by becoming more savvy and more demanding.

I tried to go down this route but I quickly changed my mind (after a few weeks). I may not get the publicity and may be stuck in obscurity, but I think it is destructive for authors to not get paid for their work. It is a race to the bottom and no one wins. Consumers feel manipulated, authors feel under pressure to write-to-market, and the quality of writing deteriorates over time. 

I kind of like the idea of starving artists/writers who build their portfolio of pictures/writings only to be discovered by accident or after they die. Art is about something bigger than money. If you want to be entertained, great, there are lots of diversions available. Over 700,000 books are published every year in the United States alone. Another interesting fact: last year, 2.7 billion books were sold in the US. That seems like a lot but isn't when you realise that this includes all of the books ever published in the US. Most authors will not sell more than a handful of their books.

On that happy note, and conscious that I try to keep these ramblings brief, I would like to offer all of you a free e-book of your choice. I know, it seems to go against what I have just said but, hey, that's life. I want to say thank you to all of you for reading by blogs and vlogs (you tube ramblings). All I ask is for you to subscribe and email me the ebook you would like to receive. I will need your email details and the type of book you want (.mobi files for kindles; epubs for most others). Titles to choose from include: Revelation, Faust, Art of Wealth, Conspiracy (Man on the Run Volume III), Chaos (Man on the Run Volume IV).

At the very least, it gives you an early Christmas gift. I am happy for you to pass it on to your friends and family. Now you also know why anyone gives you anything for free: because they value your loyalty and want your contact details!

This offer is good until December 20, 2016. (That's when I turn off my computer until the New Year.)


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Fires, recounts, and the unknowable...

27/11/2016

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I am finally getting used to the reduction in election-related emails, tweets, and FB postings. The idea of a recount or, worse, a hacking conspiracy involving Russia and rigging of the US election would mean chaos and uncertainty for the world.

I am Israel at present and the arson that led to fires in and around Haifa, Jerusalem, and elsewhere is another example of things that are beyond our control. Arson happens all the time. Sometimes, it is effective. We see that now. We saw that during the fire bombing of Dresden by the Allies during WWII. The results of success: huge financial, emotional, and human loss. How and when this happens is incredibly uncertain. Nature is too big to fight. Effective bad guys act as a catalyst to make nature fight on their behalf. Whatever happens, no one is in control.

The above examples are things that spring to mind as I contemplate how little we control in our lives. So much is unknown and unknowable. To survive, we need to find a way to let go of our desire to control our environment, others, even ourselves. This realisation came to me a couple of years ago and was the inspiration for my book, Revelation. It is all about living in the present. That being said, I am as guilty as anyone else when it comes to slipping into the past or future.

If you have been reading my blogs, you'll know that I started this as a way to document my learning curve of social media. My motivation behind engaging with social media was my desire to sell books and become visible online. Today, I have come full circle. I am not convinced that anyone buys a book or likes something simply because they are inundated with your images. I appreciate that conventional marketing confirms that we need to see something quite a few times (20? 30? 50?) before we actually notice it. Online, this is merely noise and it may need to be a much higher number--possibly 100 times plus.

​Combine that with the fact that I am reaching the age where people may look at me as a curmudgeon. I prefer a quiet afternoon under my Mulberry tree with a scotch, cigar, and the Economist to many things. Online, it is very helpful if you are young, perky, and informative. I am the opposite. I am middle-aged, not perky, and looking for information. I try to share what little I have learned. I thought it would be interesting but most twelve-year-old kids already know what I am discovering. (I never thought I'd be one of those people who said things like that...)

BUT, if we go back to square one--things are unknown and unknowable--then there is still a chance for me. (Yes, I remain an optimist.) I am working on a great Young Adult manuscript that I hope to market to schools and libraries in Canada and the US. I believe that I bring to the table something the young, perky people don't--I have lived life a bit longer than them. I also know that most of these internet-savvy folks are very intelligent (despite hiding it in an attempt to look cool). Finally, I know that the audience and readers are very intelligent. It is an old refrain to say that things are being 'dumbed down'. In the age of online readership, I am happy to target the remaining people who want to be challenged and who are interested in impacting the world around them. 

Tomorrow is promised to no-one. It is unknown and unknowable. For me, that gives me hope.
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  • Home
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