“The only true wisdom is in knowing you know nothing.”- Socrates
There is a path in life where we are as dumb as a baby, brilliant as a teenager and approaching dumb again as we age. The logical conclusion is that we were always dumb. By dumb I don’t mean book smarts, I mean wisdom. Knowing a bunch of facts is not the same as having wisdom.
Wisdom comes with experience and a humility in failure. Its possible great wisdom comes to those who have suffered the greatest of tragedies. Ignorance is bred in the success of luck. At this point in my life, I just assume I don’t know anything—it’s the wise thing to do.
I have been featuring quotes in my newsletter for some time. I find these short pearls of wisdom to be the most concise insights into humans. While perusing quotes, I find that there are particular people I’m always attracted to. Socrates for sure. Hard to believe we are still enjoying his wisdom some 2,600 years later—now that is some lasting fame.
My favorites are Mark Twain, Albert Einstein (there is some chance I like his quotes because his photos are so interesting), Benjamin Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, and C.S. Lewis. Now that is a list of people who knew a thing or two about not knowing anything. Life just tricks you into thinking you know something; they knew it was all nonsense. Just wait, and what you think you knew will become dumb.
I’m going to continue with my search for the best quotes. Have any favorites? Let me know.
When is a good time to open a business? Never? Well, that could be the answer. Uncertainty creates many problems in deciding to do much of anything. My experience has been that I opened a business when I had too, often because I could not find a job. Desperation can create a push to make that decision. The more correct answer is “when you are ready.” Now the problem is how do I know if I’m ready?
My two books give advice on when you are ready to start a business and how to run that business. The other book offers small business owners a path on how to sell their businesses themselves.
This is real world advice from someone who has been there and done that.
My parents were church going people, in a casual way. For many years I accompanied them to various church activities. I was never comfortable, but always felt welcomed. The fact that I could not connect never bothered me. These were good people doing mostly good things and living their lives in good ways. What could be wrong with that?
After my parents retired, they went from casual church goers to dedicated church members. Even that increased involvement seemed good and positive. It became their most important activity and benefited them enormously. During that time my father’s political views become more focused with an increased element of hate. I wasn’t sure if that was the TV news shows he chose to watch, or some other reasons. I even wondered about his increased involvement with church. Still, it wasn’t a “real” problem.
I was on the phone with a friend of mine when we heard what had to be a bomb. A very big bomb. It was 1995, he lived in Oklahoma City. I heard it in his voice, he was scared; something horrible had just happened very close to his house. I was in New Mexico at that time, and had heard the noise over the phone, but he was within a few blocks and felt the blast physically. Watching the news reports of that awful tragedy made me sick. Killing kids because your head is screwed up and you hate the government felt like something no human would do. Of course, that would be ignoring the long history of such mindless killing in the name of something, or nothing; based on hate.
Why do humans hate other humans so easily? The answer for me has always been politics and religion.
Politics, at least in the US, is the act of governing ourselves. Why would that become so destructive as to promote killing? The US political system has a lot of flaws. Those flaws are being magnified as our world changes, but they have always been there. Our basis for our self-governance is a declaration of independence and a constitution which were hammered out more than a couple of hundred years ago by men who were all white, mostly wealthy land and slave owners who had vested interests in breaking away from England, but at the same time retaining much of the political power for themselves. There was no universal agreement on how to achieve those goals so there was a lot of compromise, which is not a bad thing.
So did they have a vision on how things would be 250 years later and incorporate that into those documents—of course not! Most people can’t imagine what the world will be like ten years from now, much less 250.
What binds politics and religion is power and wealth. In the US we govern ourselves, but we choose people to lead us. Those leaders are given power which often turns into wealth. Religious leaders have power and have often turned that power into vast wealth.
That power and wealth creates the haves and the have nots. It is the hate of the have nots that drives people to violence. The status struggle dominates much of our existence and leads to strange outcomes. Why is it so important to be important, or powerful or rich?
Religion would seem to be the counterbalance to the human desire to be on top. Religion often says the poor man wins—but at the human level the poor man does not feel like a winner. Even religious leaders don’t seem to believe their own preaching.
I know that government and religion are not evil. It is that some people in those institutions become greedy for power and wealth.
It could be large groups of people cannot agree on how to self-govern. There does seem to be a pattern where the people full of the most hatred want to be led by the loudest person in the room, rather than the best. The strongest rather than the brightest. We still pick our leaders based on the best defender of the herd, rather than the best thinker. Might make sense to stop that.
My father hated more at the end of his life than he had during his life. Could be that is an aging process and the inevitable result of facing death. Or was it religion or politics. I don’t know. I do know that it was not pleasant to watch. He seemed to think the bombing in Oklahoma City, where he lived, was due to evil forces in the government who wanted to take away our religious freedoms. He also thought the country was being ruined by minorities and immigrants. It was the first time I heard those type of comments. The father who I thought cared about and loved everyone, now hated at a level that seemed unreal and sad.
Everyday seems to bring more evidence of disharmony in our country. Of course, it is possible we have never been as harmonious as we would like to think. The past always gets a bit fuzzy, while the present-day faults are crystal clear. I grew up in the 50s and 60s and I have fond memories of a different world. My parents grew up in the Great Depression of the 30s and chose not to talk about it. In both cases, if you examine those periods closer, you see problems in the so-called ideal period after WWII and you can find good things that happened in the horrible depression. Nothing is ever 100% bad or good.
One of the major issues that exist today is that tendency to see the world as black or white. Every issue is one thing or another—two opposing sides. Abortion, guns, mental health, gay rights, criminal justice—any issue you can think of seems to be dominated by opposing positions that are locked in, and no one will compromise. How did we reach the point where we cannot agree in some middle ground? Compromising is a very human quality, anybody who has experienced a long-term marriage understands compromising to achieve harmony.
Now, discussions on issues are defined by winning or losing. To win each side must get their way. The goal has become more an objective of defeating the other side as opposed to fixing problems. This “them against us” mentality will lead to disastrous results. A family always compromises, citizens must also compromise; the alternative is ugly. Our leaders used to understand the art of compromise, it is how the country was built in the first place.
Many people give almost reverent respect for the founders and the resulting documents. The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution were not divined by heavenly beings but written by men. Those documents did not spring magically into being. The process was difficult, full of arguments, even threats. The final documents were the result of a give and take–compromise.
You can go back and read what was written about the process. It was not easy or congenial.
A key to compromising is to respect your opponent. You can disagree but you cannot hate. If you identify your fellow citizens as the enemy, compromise is impossible. “I would rather die than give up my guns!”
“Give me liberty or give me death!” is a slogan of defiance with no compromise. The battle cry of “Let’s find some middle ground!” does not exist because it is not a battle cry. The goal of compromise does not have the emotional draw that leads to war. All battle cries are inevitably about the battle.
Wars usually start out having some kind of goal. Land, power, wealth, have all been objectives of wars. But once the war starts the only goal that matters is defeating your enemy. Destroying your enemy becomes the only goal. It’s now personal. Wars become so illogical that destroying yourself to defeat your enemy becomes a common tactic.
We may have reached that point in our internal affairs. Defeating the enemy is the goal. Running the country? Have no time to do that stuff!
“A house divided against itself cannot stand.” I believe this government cannot endure, permanently half slave and half free. I do not expect the Union to be dissolved — I do not expect the house to fall — but I do expect it will cease to be divided. It will become all one thing or all the other.”
― Abraham Lincoln
Lincoln’s words (based on a biblical quote) have as much meaning today as they did then. Slavery is not the dividing issue (although it is still in the background) but the issues that divide us have the same power—which is to destroy the whole.
“Let’s find some middle ground!” is probably better than how can we break this country up?
I’ve become a Patreon creator with my own page. What does that mean. Patreon is a gathering of various creative types who are seeking support through patrons. For that support those patrons receive unique rewards. This support is usually minimal; my tiers of support are $2, $5, $10 and $20 per month. Each tier has increasing rewards. Link to my Patreon page at https://www.patreon.com/cliftonwrites
Is that something you want to do—probably not. I sure understand that position. I would ask that you look at the page and give it some thought. I think the rewards will have value (some) and, of course, the support to me will be hugely beneficial.
Venturing into a new area for me; audio dramas. These will be based on my books or the characters from the books. The first is a spin-off of Pacheco and Chino. Chino & Tonto Mysteries. These will be released through Patreon first.
When I first thought about writing a book, my entire focus was on the story. Secondary was the structure of the story; writing it, the necessary steps of editing, how is it printed or distributed. My only thought was the story. I now spend most of my time dealing with and thinking about everything but the story. This is not a good thing.
What success I have had was based on the stories, the characters, the humor, the dog—you get the picture.
When writing fiction, the story is the core of everything. Good stories come from the imagination. There may be some facts supporting the story, but it is mostly made-up. Those occasional facts help tie the made-up portions together to have a coherent story line.
I’m currently exploring ways to spend more time on the story line and characters and less on the process. I will keep you informed.
While thinking about my writing, it occurred to me there was another “profession” that had stumbled out of its core proficiencies. Politics is now being controlled by people not interested in leading, legislating or improving everyone’s lives. It has become a strange entertainment business that only entertains its existing market. Preaching to the choir used to be a criticism, now it is a requirement.
This new class of politician not only is spreading lies, gossip, and some of the most bizarre conspiracies that have ever been uttered, but they advocate the destruction of the group’s enemies—usually their neighbors. The objective of these so-called leaders is to eliminate anyone who does not believe what ever craziness they have currently adopted.
At first, I thought this was merely an attempt to steal from gullible people who have no other way to connect to normal human beings. It was the beginning of a minor political party dedicated to the crazies. It would live on the fringes and offer a good example of why only sane people should be elected to office. They would never have real power.
I was wrong. Why people will believe some of this nonsense is beyond me. Maybe it’s a class thing? I’m so powerless in the real world I would rather live in this strange made-up bizzarro world. Maybe it is the desire to belong to something, anything. I want a group where I feel accepted. Hey, how about those whackos, they send me a lot of stuff saying I’m welcome. They also believe my failures are not my fault but something some insider politician did; can’t remember what, but it had something to do with sex.
Okay, I’m joining these people and we will take back the country from ……………(?) All we need is plenty of guns and the world will be fixed and all those elite bastards will be in Guantanamo (or someplace bad). No more will I be small, I’ll run the world!
To have all that power, just send your money to ………………….: or by my gold stocks, or by my survival gear, or………………
The real politicians, the ones who used to run the country, are totally lost. They have no idea how to compete. Should they become crazy too? Can you pretend to be crazy, and no one will notice? Or maybe just go back to being a hack attorney in Oklahoma representing the crazy folks back home?
But the money. THE MONEY! So, even the somewhat sane politicians are looking at one of their nuttier chamber members who just raised some amazing amount of money in one quarter. Almost all that money coming not from the poor people back in the district but nationwide with a few foreigners tossed in. Wow, millions and millions and that person is a certifiable idiot. I think I want some of that!
Now even “normal” politicians have decided to join the side-show and immediately begin shopping for a bigger house. Everyone is happy, except for many citizens of the country who can’t figure out how these people keep getting elected. Most citizens want a country ran without all the noise but with a more efficient and responsive government. Why isn’t that happening?
Those “normal” folks are starting to suspect a conspiracy!
Lately I have encountered time issues and, as a result, the frequency of this blog will become a little erratic and the posts, maybe, a little shorter. My future efforts will be towards increasing member support through my Patreon account. If you would like to see more about what I’m doing there, click here.
Thanks, again, for being a reader.
The Blues
Can a country have the blues? Of course, and we’ve got it. A lot of good things happen in the good old USA, but we have what seems like more than our share of ugly and sad shootings. I have several thoughts on guns, some of which I’ve shared before, and ideas on how to stop some of this nonsense. I would also guess, so do you. It all gets to be blah, blah, blah—what’s the fuckin’ point?
Some day we will figure this out, just not anytime soon.
Our schools are dangerous and ineffective. Teachers are demonized for working hard with low wages and trying their best to teach unteachable children. Public education may have run its course, time to try a different approach.
My experience with school was a mixed bag of great joy and great sadness. I had success and felt the shame of failure. All in what, at the time, seemed like a sheltered environment with caring adults ready to assist with amazing support. There were exceptions (a long list of gym teachers who should never had been allowed to be around children) but most of the people in my school memories were exceptionally kind and generous.
Not sure teachers have changed, but there is no doubt that our attitude about teachers and education have changed. We now demand results, like we’re dealing with a plumbing problem, not the unbelievably complicated problem of how to educate kids who carry around in their pocket access to the most destructive information ever offered to children, who live in an environment where everyone is busy and bemoans the future like it’s a curse. The joy of childhood has been stolen by adults.
We, adults, have messed things up. How often do you hear someone talk about the wonderful future that awaits these kids? Politicians talk in angry voices about how awful everything is, without even a hint of what they might do to make it better.
What does the future look like to a twelve-year-old? A smart twelve-year-old will see a world on the verge of destruction, climate change, nuclear war set off by one of the loonies running a country, no clean water, food shortages, viruses; the future is not pretty. How does it feel to live in a world with such a bleak outlook?
Adults, all adults, need to talk to children about the great opportunities that lie ahead to make a better world. One not dominated by wealth but fairness. One not dominated by elites but by compassionate leaders. One of the biggest lies this country was founded on was “All men are created equal”, every kid knows that is not true; but we should be saying, we can make it true. Life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness is not some abstract ideal, it is an achievable goal for everyone. But we can not accomplish any of that in a world dominated by hate.
Education is still the key to a better future. Not an education conducted by cult leaders or con artists, but education that focuses on the future and the greatness that can be achieved with open minds. I don’t know what education will look like in the future, but let’s hope it will focus on creativity, imagination, objective facts, compassion, understanding and forgiveness.
At a certain age it is normal to compare how things are today with some past time, usually a time in your head when things were good—whatever good means. Of course, we all know that most of that comparison is false because we don’t remember things the way they actually were. Something in the brain manages to filter out a lot of the unpleasant stuff, leaving us with this sort of ideal world that never existed. So now in the present, we take our false memory and compare it to today’s stark reality. The past always wins. Except if you’re young.
I’ve said many times that the young need to be more involved in politics. Not because they know more, usually they know less—it’s because they are future focused. The young don’t dwell in the ideal past, they seek the better future. That is a good reason to have the young participate more in running things.
The U.S. is mostly run by people staring death in the face. Their future is bleak and frightening. Hang on for dear life to remain relevant and alive. Most of the old leadership needs to have the good sense to retire and leave the world to people who are more attuned to the future rather than the past. Give up power to make a better world.
I never had much power. Might be because I didn’t want power. I just don’t understand why people seem to need power over people they don’t give a shit about. It’s easy to say money drives the need for power, but it’s clear that’s not the only motivator. Power seems to inflate people beyond recognition. They become a caricature of what a leader is supposed to be. Hanging onto power like it’s a drug. I can’t give up power, I will die!
As a country we’ve known this forever. It is a unique person who willingly gives up power to the next generation. If those unique people are the good people, that would seem to suggest the ones who hang on to power are the bad people. I think in many ways they are. The rationalization, of course, is that they are the best people to handle the current crisis. And there is always a current crisis. Ego trumps everything.
We need age limits. Okay that just pissed off a bunch of old people. Well sorry, but it is the thing to do. Age limits on judges, age limits on senators, congressmen, presidents—you can’t be president when you’re too young, nor when you’re too old.
My reasoning for this is not ability. There are many older people perfectly capable of screwing things up as well as a forty-year-old. It’s not ability. It is giving up power to the next in line. This would not be a requirement if we saw a pattern of people in their seventies saying, it is time to pass the reins. But that is not what we see. The most powerful hang on for dear life. Their grip is weak, the mind is a bit slowed, but the thirst for power is forever strong.
If the young were in power (in this context that means mostly middle age), they should turn to the very young (teens and twenties) and ask them what they want. Have a constitutional convention and let the twenty somethings write a whole new approach—and listen to what they have to say. Wouldn’t that be interesting to see what the young really think this country is about?
I’ll bet a whole bunch of what their parents and grandparents think is important doesn’t mean a thing to them. I’ll bet they see the world and their future in it from an entirely different point of view.
Old people stop the bullying. Give somebody else a chance to screw things up (or not!)
New kid’s mystery book will be published tomorrow May 10th. Check it out!
I spend a lot of time hanging out with words. Words have meaning. It’s surprising to me how many words are tossed around for effect, not to convey a meaning, but to generate a response. This may be due to words having more than one meaning. The latest absurdity of this was with the Russians calling the Ukrainians Nazis. The definition of Nazi is “a member of the far-right National Socialist German Workers’ Party.” So possibly the slur was more that some people were practicing Nazism. Which has a broader definition of acting like a Nazi. Many US politicians like to call people Nazis because they can’t call them assholes, or other choice words, without offending their more sensitive mob members.
If we spent some time, we could come up with a long list of words that have one meaning in a political environment but really mean something else. Politicking with double meaning words has become something of an art form due to social media. We now communicate very important ideas in very short sentences. Long speeches about policies, laws, community goals, principles, ethics don’t happen too much anymore. In the past the use of certain words was more in the dog whistle arena, but today many people find it okay to just blurt out their biases, prejudices, hate, misunderstandings because it seems to work with their followers. Society has been given permission to lie and hate.
If you judged leaders’ popularity by the amount of money they raise, at the top of the list would be the liars and haters. They don’t want to change laws or create improvements in their followers’ lives; they want to destroy the enemy. And the enemy is everyone other than the people who think exactly the way they do.
Comradery, compromise, discussion, analysis: all words not being regularly bandied about. Fight, kill, democracy destroying, existential, war; are words often heard in political debate. Extreme language will seldom result in solutions, only conflict.
I must admit I’m one of those people who find it difficult to squash a bug. There is a sadness to death at all levels. I cannot imagine a person who casually causes other humans to die because they are in the wrong place at the wrong time. These soulless people do not seem to feel the brief sadness you might associate with squashing a bug. We can see that evil on the scale of the Ukraine war; but we seem blind to the war like words being tossed about by our fellow countrymen.
The only rational explanation for this language is that the people using it feel justified. Some of the dumbest rationalization is the playground favorite of “you started it!” “It” is usually not well defined. The war like rhetoric in our politics reflects feelings that one is under attack. Both sides of this verbal battle may feel the same, under attack by the other. As a country, we have a long history of this sort of competition on what the country is about, what are those core principles that we should agree on. Whether this latest round is more extreme or not will probably be determined on how it ends. Do words turn into violent action or do words turn into compromise and agreement. At this point I don’t think we know.
֍
BOOK ALERT!
My latest book is a kid’s mystery chapter book. The eBook is available for pre-order from Amazon. There will be paperback and hardcover versions of this book on May 10th. Something different from me and my wife that I believe even adults might find enjoyable.
There are some very public people who seem to feel that they are blameless, even if caught red-handed. Some official in North or South Dakota ran down a guy and killed him, not his fault. Some people plotted to kill a governor, but they were encouraged by a mole, not their fault. We see this a lot, not too many people taking personal responsibility for their actions. I used to work with a guy who had constant problems with his computer, he always asked if there was something wrong with my computer, like it had infected his, not his fault.
That contrasts with my memory of my parents and grandparents. In my mother’s world if something went wrong with her kids, it was always her fault. While that might be noble it was not logical, since she did not do what her dumb kids did that was wrong. It just seemed like people used to not only accept personal responsibility for their own actions but parents, grandparents, even the neighbors, accepted responsibility for others because they had not watched them closer, or taught them better, or a long list of reasons.
Someone being contrite and owning up to their shortcomings would be unusual. The most often used tactic for being caught doing something illegal, or embarrassing or just plain stupid, is to lie.
Lying is the required skill for most who live in the public eye. “Senator, we have you on video saying all your constituents are dumber than dirt.”
“Not me. That video is fake. I love my people. You media people make me sick, you are all alike, out to punish us true patriots. Fake news, you lying reporter bastard.”
“I support Senator Blowhard, because he is being attacked by the elite media. Senator Blowhard understands my needs here in Podunkville, and I will fight to the death for his right to protect our country!”
Fake news has officially been defined as any news you don’t like. The truth is now whatever benefits you the most.
With the mind-blowing audacity of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, we now have a nuclear power country acting like one of our two-bit politicians. If I have the power, I can do whatever in the hell I want to do. That can mean I will kill thousands (or could it be millions) because I’m pissed.
Without objective truth the world will descend into the ugly world of “might makes right”. The craziest people will gain power, while the more sensible ones will be called crazy. Anyone who doesn’t want to join in the hate will be called a coward, a traitor, a madman. All those words will be hurled by cowards, traitors, and madmen.
Nuclear weapons and climate change could mean the end of the world as we know it. It seems like it was just weeks ago we were living in a world where the crazies were just a side-show, providing entertainment as we moved along in our mundane lives. Be assured, if crazy people are in charge, crazy things will happen.
The first thing that must stop is lying. People who lie cannot be leaders. People who lie cannot be trusted. Lying is the ultimate sin leading to destruction.
My mother was not a world wise person. She did, however, know that the difference between good people and bad people was lying and not taking responsibility for your own actions.
Most of us know what is right but will be conned by liars and hustlers anyway.
Let’s just say this out loud, our current political environment is much more a shitshow than anything approaching intelligent discussion. Clown car, performative art, demagoguery –these are words that show up when observing our politicians attempt to lead. Why?
I’m sure some of us can remember a politician or two who would discuss some of the issues addressing our nation with a thoughtful presentation regarding their causes and a detailed legislative agenda to address those issues. Much of the political discussion today is being conducted by one bozo after another. Why?
There are reasons. A couple are cable TV and the internet. These wonderful sources of entertainment and information have been turned into the main draw for the gullible. Why think when you can tune in and watch some morons tell you lies about almost anything that might cross your mind.
The U.S. Department of Education says that 54% of U.S. adults 16-74 years old—lack proficiency in literacy, reading below the equivalent of a sixth-grade level. Welcome to the land of stupid.
What does it mean to have over half the adults in a country not being able to read a newspaper? It means as a country we have gone backward. Today we think based on a group test. My group believes this, so I do too. And who often leads the group. The loudest, most confident member of the group. That person has rock solid beliefs that will never change, no discussion could alter their views, no facts could interfere with their assuredness, no argument could sway them to question themselves; completely closed minded and absolutely confident in what they believe. They are the leaders.
There was a time, in the not-too-distant past, when critical thinking was a skill schools taught. Not now. Schools are more likely to teach beliefs than facts because the parents demand it. Don’t confuse my kids with uncomfortable facts—it’s bad for their self-esteem. There was a time when schools taught art, music—not so much now. Teach my kid to be a computer coder, so they can be millionaires or billionaires, that’s what matters. I don’t care if they can’t read or think, can they code?
Who cares if people can’t read a newspaper, newspapers are dead anyway? Yep, there is some truth there, but the on-line world will dumb down everything if half their customers are functionally illiterate. Can you convey a complex thought and keep the sentence structure below a sixth-grade level? We just had a leader who wanted critical information presented to him in picture form—and many people thought he was smart.
There is ample evidence that the U.S. school system is failing. More and more kids are being taught in religious schools or home schooled where often the primary agenda is beliefs not objective truth. There are more STEM programs, but they are not teaching critical thinking or objective facts, just computers, math, and ego. Independent test scores show children under performing compared to other countries while school grades are averaging higher. More A’s to C students. Makes the parents feel better, but what does that accomplish?
The decline in our educational system may be contributing to the current crop of clowns in congress. Stupid people elect stupid people to lead them; then believe they are doing a good job because at least they are entertaining, and don’t take shit off anybody. That last part fogs my brain. It is so outlandish. A common requirement in politicians today is that they fight. Fight almost everyone. You would think we were electing pro-wrestlers not thoughtful leaders. This strange requirement to be outlandish to win elections is driven by ignorant people who have no idea what the country would look like if all leaders were as clueless as their favorites.
Why? One easy answer to all of those “why”s is money. The money in politics is staggering. This is better than pro-wrestling and less dangerous. There seem to be three groups running for office. One group are people who actually want to serve and make things better, this group is becoming smaller rapidly. The second group are people who have money, often lots of money, but want power. The motivations here are hard to understand but people seeking power usually have an agenda that is more personal than honorable. The third group are the hustlers. They’ve looked around and decided this is the best con-game in town. These are the real clowns. Their only goal is to attract attention. To do that they must be louder, more offensive, more obnoxious, more controversial, more hatful, more ridiculous than anyone else in the room. The biggest clown wins.
The biggest clown wins because we are all dumb and we decided we want entertainment, not a well governed country. Send in the clowns!
Isn’t it rich? Are we a pair? Me here at last on the ground You in mid-air Send in the clowns
Isn’t it bliss? Don’t you approve? One who keeps tearing around One who can’t move Where are the clowns? Send in the clowns
Just when I stopped Opening doors Finally knowing the one that I wanted was yours Making my entrance again with my usual flair Sure of my lines None is there
Don’t you love a farce? My fault, I fear I thought that you’d want what I want Sorry my dear But where are the clowns? Send in the clowns Don’t bother They’re here
Isn’t it rich? Isn’t it queer? Losing my timing this late In my career Where are the clowns? There ought to be clowns Well, maybe next year
It is my annual decision day when I consider the pros and cons of continuing with the book writing journey which I started some ten years ago. The decision is not based on facts, but here are some.
More books are being published and sold in US than ever before.
Zippia.com (source of all statistics and data in this post)
Seventy-six percent in 2020 were Hardback and Paperback. E-Books were 9%. Does that surprise you? It did me. What distorts that some is those precents are for revenue. So, 76% of the revenue is from hardback and paperback, not number of books. For one $25 hardback it takes 25 of the $.99 eBooks to equal the dollars. Still my impression was that hardbacks were declining –they are not!
Why is it then that almost everyone I know is reading less? Many of the people I talk to or listen to say they do not read at all. The easy answer is that all the people I know are illiterate dummies. Is that the answer? There was a time in my life when I had many conversations with friends about books. The latest and greatest or even the most disappointing book we had recently read. It was normal, now it would be strange. It never happens anymore. The people I know don’t even talk about my books because they have not read them. I’m willing to admit to having lousy friends but it sure seems like a trend to me—so more books are being sold but nobody talks about them?
Obviously, that can’t be true, so it’s back to my contacts not being readers but the rest of the world is reading and discussing. Maybe I need to get out more?
Indie book growth.
Maybe by 2021 the number of indie books is pushing 2 million. Let’s say each author averaged 2 books (this makes easy math) so there are 1 million indie authors. Note, I have no idea the average number of books written per author, but I would guess that the majority is one book, but there will be indie authors who have written 80—but 2 seemed like a good guess. This starts to explain all those book marketing sites and people hustling indie authors—there are truckloads of customers out there who have no idea what they’re doing. Sucker alert!
It is interesting, if I’m interpreting this chart correctly, the number of new indie books per year has leveled off and was a “small” 300 thousand in 2019. So, using the same 2 book average per author that would represent 150,000 indie authors, it’s possible that represents the “active” number of authors in the indie world with something like 850,000 who published something at one time but are no longer active. Fewer suckers, sorry sellers!
On the other hand, if that chart is saying there are 1.7M NEW indie books in 2019, everything I said above is not accurate. I just can’t imagine there are that many new releases in a year in the US—but it is not clear in the article that sources this info.
If you’re a writer what does this mean? Probably nothing! There is a huge market for books, but indies are capturing a small piece of the pie. Any one indie author can be doing okay, but most are just getting crumbs.
The path to success is writing good books and continuing to write. The other key to success is to have plenty of money so you can continue to spend on your dream even though the returns are poor. Then the big number one key kicks in: LUCK! Yep, old tried and true basis for much success, stupid luck.
I have spent considerable time and money producing 14 books to date. Have enjoyed some level of success but not notable monetary success. I consistently blame myself for not being a better marketing and promotion person. I write books, alone; how is there any logic in suddenly being someone who wants to interact with people and be a self-promoter.
I’ve read my books and I like them. Wow, what a shock, author likes his own books! Before I wrote I was a reader. Hundreds of books per year. I devoured books. I thought I was an expert on what was good and what was bad, what made me like an author, what did not. Of course, it’s hard to be objective with your own stuff, but I like my stuff. I will pause for the laugher to die down. The point I’m trying to make is that while my books are not going to be in the “best book ever written” category, they are good entertainment with interesting locations and characters. But still no real level of success.
This is my annual decision point on whether I want to continue this activity and toss more money into the fire pit or just quit.
If you’re a creative person you have been here, maybe many times.
Many years ago, I gave up thinking about making money with my art. From that point on if I did something creative in art it was for me, nobody else. I didn’t want to sell or make any money off the art. It’s my stuff and I like it. I continued to do art, but it was different. Less intense with huge periods of nothing.
Maybe the writing should fall into that category. There does seem to be a difference though, I can paint for myself but not sure I can write a book for myself. Often a piece of art is maybe a day or two, a book? My quickest book took several months, the longest time was almost two years and, of course, I have Durango Two Step buried in the basement for at least that long with no end in sight. Writing a book does not take a short amount of time; and the big kicker is the investment. For me, my average book costs me multiple thousands of dollars to produce. A quality book utilizing the talents of many people for covers, formatting interiors, editing and other elements requires substantial time and money.
I won’t give you the answer right now since I don’t know the answer. Usually, I will decide to quit and then decide not too several times. This annual process so far has resulted in me continuing the author journey with hopes of doing better, but this time, who knows.
My books in order are:
The Originals (I consider this book a training exercise. It is no longer available).
Ted Clifton's Grain of Salt Commentary 