Europe and How You Might Get Black Tower Titles More Cheaply

Updated 7th June 2019

I think that it is a little sad that absolutely nothing changes in comic publishing. In 2015 when this was first published people were bragging on You Tube and in their blogs about hgow "I believe in putting my money where my mouth is and support Independent comic companies like Image"...Image has not been a small Independent company since it took off. It is considered one of the "Big Five".

Something has changed...out of the 30 or so comic channels I followed on You Tube only one is still going and that tends to be a little hit-or-miss.

When I have sold books (usually once or twice a year via the online store) it is generally to the United States which means I earn about £2.00 because the US taxes me. So after the printer and print in demand company take their cuts -which is far more than I ever get- not much left.

I have sold Some Things Strange and Sinister twice over the last 5 years -one copy to Italy and one to France.

You need to sell a good few books to live off of the money and that is not happening. But I've been over all this before and watched the tumbleweed roll by.

I am re-posting this for a very good reason. The same kind of offer highlighted before has been made to people fairly new to comics and they bit.  And lost money as there were no follow up orders.  The shop probably had no intention of ordering more.  They chanced it and you fell for it.

You sent them free comics at your own expense under their terms -they decided what to sell the books for and pocketed every single penny.  They probably then made the offer to someone else.

Back in the 1980s Forbidden Planet in London took copies of my Previews Comic. All sold out. That was about £45 (a lot in the 1980s).  I went to collect my money accompanied by the person who was with me when I dropped the books off and got the signed invoice. They would not pay -never heard of the comic. The official invoice -well, they had no idea who the person who signed that was IF it was genuine. 

the shop made a lot of money out of my 'free' comics that they 'never had'.

It's a very old trick.  Do not fall for it -learn by the mistakes of us Oldies!
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Right, I've had to sit down and look long and hard at what I can do based upon the financial situation and the move into Europe.

Firstly, there are about ten stores who will all stock and sell copies of my books to "gauge the market".  This means that I pick a certain number of titles I want to go with, say five, and I order them, send them to the store but get nothing back if they sell, however, the store will then decide if they want to then order and pay (at a discount) more copies -postage, etc., payable by me which means IF they took books I would have to sell a lot to even try to make money.

I was explaining this to the old chap runs a stall in St. Nicholas Market, Bristol -he's been in business since the 1940s!  He looked at me, mouth slightly open almost as though  stunned: "You have not, have you? You haven't?"  I told him "no" but that was the deal on offer.  His response: "Well, why not ask them if they want ten copies of each of your books and in a year or two they can decide IF they want to pay you or not?"  The look of disgust!

He is quite right, though.  Say I want to send one copy of the Collected Phantom Detective -I pay for the book but then getting it to the comic shop I have three postal options:

• Priority Mail £2.99 Delivers 1 to 3 business days after printing. Note: This option does not allow tracking

• Ground £6.99 Delivers 1 to 2 business days AFTER printing.

• Express £12.99 Delivers 1 business day AFTER printing. 

These are standard rates. I DO NOT decide these -the printer has the contract all sewn up so there is no choice.

If I sent a bunch of books this increases and even if the shops were to split the sale 50-50 (which they are not -they have made it clear THEY will decide on what I get) I am quite literally giving these books away (well, I am giving them away).  No way am I ever going to get 3% of what they are costing me back.  The shops are in fact demanding the same deal as Amazon and others.

This will not get the readership base I need.  "Get someone to sell your books at events -you send them the books and organise the table but they will know the way things work" to which I respond: "Oh, like whom?"

Even if I sent books to a relative so I could pick them up for an event it is still going in cold and with no prior build up and I honestly could not afford to lose more money like in 2015!

However, I have had an idea that will help people purchase Black Tower books at a lower cost than via the store front.

Firstly, remember: the postal costs are out of my hands.  If you want to order a book I'll let you know the postage options before placing an order.

What I will be doing is, initially, offering ten titles at a discounted price.  If you want to order one or more of those books you email me and I will ask which postal option you want and then tell you the total amount.  You will then need to send me the postal address and payment via PayPal which protects me and the buyer.  That done I will then place the order for you.  It then all goes through automatically.

I think it worth trying and you get a book at a cheaper cover price.

So I will decide which books in the next week and then list them here along with single copy postal options if you only want one book.

Am I going to book that world cruise in advance?  Give me a break!

Jack Kirby

Would have been 98 today.  I think people from my generation in comics will readily admit that Kirby was a major influence in art -as Lee was to comic writers.  But Kirby had a mind that must have been exploding with ideas we don't even know about.

He WAS The King

 

Perhaps More Later But For Now Google+

I just went on Google+ for the first time in a week.  Views stand at just under 2 million.  What surprised me was the fact that the only comic related posts on there were from....me.

Normally, the site was chocked full of comic book or comic book related movie news and I'd wade through them all. As I pointed out a week or two ago, things had gotten quiet.  But this!

People on comic forums are talking about the lack of activity, too.

Meanwhile, Star Wars and even Jurassic Park are big topics.  Interesting to see how figures go for the next super hero movie.

There I was About To Promote A Couple Artists...

Yes, I like their work and known them a few years but part way through the post I realised something. I have repeatedly, over 25-30 years, promoted and pushed their work and posted links for them.  I double-checked and, yep, every single time I asked them to just mention a book or share a link they flat-out refused.

So, and you know who you are, there will be no post, no links and no promoting your work.  Trying to get around me don't work no more.  Everybody has been getting a free ride while I pay double fare.

In the meantime I shall be organising Europe 2015 since it seems that unless you are a student or have an "in" with the people who own exhibition venues comic events are not wanted.  Someone did ask about the old Bristol Comic Expo venue at Temple Meads Train Station.  As Mike Allwood pointed out recently: they want £2,500 PER DAY.  If I had that kind of money....!

Netherlands ought to see my books first so I'll let you know when that happens.

Straight Outta Ashton Vale

Just continuing the gangsta theme.  Mind you, I am currently listening to the fantastic Christine and the Queens, from France.

I ramble in the bramble while others scramble. Kah-chaaa!

Only problem cosplaying Tarzan when you walk to the shops or sit on a bus is the willy tends to pop out a lot.

Ahhhh.  Yes, scarily, not in a great deal of pain at the moment but I'm sure that will change when I wake up properly.

AAAAAAAAAAAAARGH!!!

ah. There we go.

So, before anyone calls the police and tells them I'm sitting naked on the roof singing let's get to the point.  Hang on.....YES!  Yes got the postman with a piece of the chimney.

above; 54mm Crescent hollow lead

Anyway, it has been pretty grim on the comics front for a while and so I've been relaxing by painting up some old toy soldiers and finding out what makes they were -I've had some of these things 40 years and last night I spent three hours trying to identify cowboys.  My old hollow lead ones are, of course, Britain's.  I also have a couple of the 1960s plastic Crescent cowboys.

below 1960s Crescent 60mm phot: Kent Owen Sprecher and Toy Soldier HQ Inc -http://www.angelfire.com/biz/toysoldierhq/Crescent.html

 

But the biggest pain-in-the-arsch was a set of seven figures (one without a horse but I have that in a box).  I looked for every make and type of plastic cowboy from the 1950s to the 1960s made in the UK. Nothing.

There was, however, a distinctive look.  With most cowboy figures the neckerchief has the main part usually at the front or to the side (figures 4 and 6 above).  However, with the tie-knot and 'tails' at the front is a mainly European look such as from Elastolin (and, no, I do not have these!):

Europeans seem to like this more formal look -even tewart Granger, actor and man of style displayed this -here Winnetou has a chat with Old Surehand (oo-er!) Stewart Granger who has his knot and 'tails' proudly on show!

But these were not Elastolin.  Then I had this idea: "Terry, why not turn them over and look at their bases?"  and I then banged my head repeatedly on the table -that might explain why this post started the way it did.  Bugger.

So, the blue plastic cowboy (the paint hardly existent on it now) base had "W. Germany" stamped on it.  d'uh!  The others, in a cream plastic, had numbers -1, 3 and 5 (I know there are others here "somewhere"!).  And "Made in Hong Kong" which confused me.  However, with "made in W. Germany" stamped on them I had a clue -I've written books on things that started out with less!

Jean Höfler.  A German manufacturer of Burghaslach in "Middle Franconia". Renamed BIG in 1962.  1960s and it seems some production may -well, obviously!- have gone to Hong Kong though I am not sure if this was legit the figures WERE sold in Germany in the 1960s and that would not have been allowed (legally) without BIG permission.

Miniatures.de has some info on these: http://www.miniatures.de/jean-hoefler-421-cowboys.html

So, I have figures from Set 1 (below) and here is the Winnetou link because the second figure (blue) in row two was rumoured to be based on Granger -it's stated that a lot of figures seem based on stills from Western movies so......?

And set 2 -brother Mike did a nice paint job on my version of the first figure in row one  -with checked shirt (cowboy not Mike).

 

You want to grovel to me then send me Höfler  (one US site writes it "Hoeffler") figures!  I also have a few other figures including knights that seem to be Höfler.

But you sit there asking what this has to do with comics?

Well, in the photo I uploaded to Army Men Home Page, I have my (re-issued) Timpo Cowboys on a shelf next to my Charbens 60mm "Ancient Romans" and next to those are 1990s 50mm astronauts and behind them is the Deluxe Edition of Winnetou starring Pierre Brice and Stewart Granger and that was sent to me by German blogging supremo Subzero!

You see? Synchronicity, man.  Synchronicity (and I don't mean that 1980s album by The Police).

Off for a coffee....then finish off the zombies...toy zombies obviously.

Yes, I AM Terry Hooper and I Live In Ashton Vale -Gangsta's Paradise!

"What are you going to do now?" asked the postman.

I turned to him and gave a creepy smile and said:

"As I walk through the valley of the shadow of death
I take a look at my life and realize there's nothin' left
'Cause I've been blasting and laughing so long,
That even my mama thinks that my mind is gone
But I ain't never crossed a man that didn't deserve it
Me be treated like a punk you know that's unheard of
You better watch how you're talking and where you're walking
Or you and your homies might be lined in chalk
I really hate to trip but I gotta loc
As they croak, I see myself in the pistol smoke, fool
I'm the kinda G the little homies wanna be like
On my knees in the night saying prayers in the streetlight"

He backed up. "Yes, but are you going to get a pen to sign for the package cus mine's broken!"

It Was A Historic Day For Comic Fans

Monday, 1st November, 2010.  That was the date of the first ever posting on the Blogger CBO after I decided that the constant problems with WordPress might eventually see the site vanish -with no back-up or posts archive.

What was that first post?  A posting about the up-dated edition of Reverend Merriwether -God's Demon-Thumper, which had first been published in 2009.

The site got a few postings so I had back-up and when the WordPress CBO was snatched from me (long story) this became the permanent home that over 2 million views proves people have grown to know and love!

As I've posted before, when this became CBOs permanent home there had only been 80+ views but that climbed up, up and away.

So THANK YOU for dropping by and even though 99.99% of you are unknown to me -I love you all (except the "usual suspects")!

Toshiro Mifune to get a star on Hollywood Walk of Fame

Whoa.  This one took me by surprise. 

Actor Toshirō Mifune (1920-1997) will be honoured with a star bearing his name on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.


The star will be added by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce in 2016, together with new stars in the motion picture category for Quentin Tarantino, Michael Keaton, Steve Carell, Bradley Cooper, Ashley Judd and Kurt Russell.

A veteran of sixteen films directed by Akira Kurosawa as well as many other Japanese and international classics, Mifune is probably the best known Japanese actor of all time and should therefore need no introductions on this website. http://akirakurosawa.info/2015/06/25/toshiro-mifune-to-a-get-star-on-hollywood-walk-of-fame/

The Hollywood Walk of Fame celebrates achievements in entertainment and despite its location is not only for film stars and directors. For instance, next year will also see names like LL Cool J, Cyndi Lauper, Shirley Caesar, Joseph B. “Joe” Smith, Itzhak Perlman, Adam Levine, and Bruno Mars added in the music category.

While Akira Kurosawa has not yet received his Hollywood star, Japanese actor Sessue Hayakawa (1886-1973) and the fictional monster Godzilla have previously been honoured.

I Am NOT Retired. Please Read Posts Properly

Now I have to explain what I have written in posts!

just explained to a publisher that I am STILL reviewing books after the query "You aren't running CBO any more?" and a comment about my retiring.  I JOKED that it looked like my retirement had come early.  I NEVER wrote that I was now officially retired and not reviewing or doing anything comic-wise.

PLEASE READ THE POSTS.

But then I hear from two people who ask whether I am going to some convention in Bournemouth this weekend.  First I've heard of it.  These people are on -let's now write WERE- on my Face Book friends lists so surely they saw my posts?  No, because they are only interested in their own or my page when it suits them.  THIS is what I mean by non-existing community.

At the moment I am just throwing my hands in the air.  I give up.  The UK is no place for any REAL comickers.

Comics.de: EIN SOMMER AM SEE – Von Nostalgie keine Spur

von Sven Jachmann

Dass die Jugend eine unbeschwerte Angelegenheit sei, ein Lebensabschnitt voller Freiheit, die so später niemals wiederkehren werde, ist natürlich eine blanke Lüge, vom vermeintlich unabhängigen Leben der Erwachsenen gar nicht erst zu reden. Schlechte Coming-of-Age-Erzählungen inszenieren Jugend als melancholischen Abschied: Etwas Gutes geht vorbei, und was sich stattdessen am Horizont auftut, ist zwar ungewiss, aber deswegen nicht weniger aufregend.


Die u.a. mit dem Ignatz- und Eisner-Award, dem Printz Honor und dem Caldecott Honor für besondere Bilderbuchkunst ausgezeichnete Graphic Novel „Ein Sommer am See“ der kanadischen Cousinen Mariko und Jillian Tamaki hebt sich von solchen Mythen ab. Denn der titelgebende (und, so steht zu vermuten, letzte) Sommer am See entlässt seine beiden Hauptfiguren, die Freundinnen Rose und Windy vor allen Dingen ratlos. Alljährlich sehen sich die zwei beim Familienurlaub am Avago Beach. Aber zu den einst sorglosen Spielen am Strand treten nun neue Komponenten: Rose himmelt insgeheim den jugendlichen Drugstore-Verkäufer des kleinen Nests an, und die eineinhalb Jahre jüngere Windy spricht womöglich etwas zu oft über ihre wachsenden Brüste. Weder erwachsen noch kindlich üben sie sich in Initiationsritualen, wie sie diese neue Parallelwelt zu verlangen scheint: Man trainiert die diffuse Furcht in den eigenen vier Ferienhauswänden beim Schauen von Splatterklassikern wie „Texas Chainsaw Massacre“ oder „Freitag der 13.“ und versucht sie draußen in der Begegnung mit Gleichaltrigen durch leidlich ausgestellte Coolness zu überspielen.


Mehr auf Comics.de: http://www.comic.de/2015/08/ein-sommer-am-see/

Status Update....wow. that sounds REALLY important, doesn't it?

Right, I can now be officially listed as unemployed.

No work has been coming in for four months and as I cannot get (buy) a table at Small Press or Comic events (been turned down again) in the UK to sell my books and earn a living I needed to update my status.

I announced this on Face Book yesterday and here today.  Yeah, 40 years of promoting the comics industry and Small Press in the UK you might think there might be appreciation but no.  I'm too old to be seen at events apparently because "old guys" don't do comics.

My retirement seems to have gotten here early.  At times I wish I HAD moved to the US or Europe where comics and creators are appreciated.

I'd like to 'thank' all the people in comics who I helped without asking for anything over the last three decades for their diligent ignoring of my asking if they could pass the word around that I was open to work offers.

I said I'd be honest with everyone and though I hear, after yesterday's FB announcement, certain people are literally wetting themselves with joy, it's fact.

Black Tower Books online store is still there but I'm not depending on that to earn a living.  Looks like I'll get to read more books and study.

meh.

The Flash Casts Newcomer as Heroine Speedster Jesse Quick

According to TVLine http://tvline.com/2015/08/25/the-flash-violent-beane-season-2-cast-jesse-quick/

By Michael Ausiello 

 

The Flash is adding a little girl power to its expanding company of Speedsters.

Newcomer Violett Beane has been tapped to join Season 2 as DC Comics accelerator Jesse Quick, TVLine has learned exclusively.


Beane’s Jesse — who will appear in multiple episodes of the CW smash — is characterized as a brilliant but quirky college student who gets caught up in the battle between The Flash and Season 2 Big Bad (the not-yet-cast) Zoom.

DC Wiki, meanwhile, describes Jesse Quick as “the alter-ego of Jesse Chambers, a heroine with super-speed powers. Chambers is the daughter of Golden Age heroes Johnny Quick and Liberty Belle; she would later go on to adopt her mother’s name. Her speed powers are accessed by speaking a special formula, although she also has her mother’s abilities.”

Beane recently finished shooting a role opposite Michael Ian Black in the indie comedy Slash.
The Flash returns Tuesday, Oct. 6 at 8/7c on The CW.
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Hmm. I wonder WHICH costume she'll wear?   Will she "pull a Supergirl" by not revealing so much leg to keep things family friendly?

 

"Je possède plus de 26000 BD. Je n'ai plus le temps de tout lire"

Oh man, even if you do not read French well this article is worth checking out -lots more photos over at L'Obs Bibliobs http://bibliobs.nouvelobs.com/bd/20150819.OBS4418/je-possede-plus-de-26000-bd-je-n-ai-plus-le-temps-de-tout-lire.html

Par Renaud Février

Voir tous ses articles

La collection de Damien Bardy pèse 13 tonnes. En lisant un album par jour, il faudrait plus de 70 ans pour en venir à bout. Rencontre.

DIAPORAMA. Collectionneur de BD (Renaud Février - L'Obs)

Partager

Un rêve inaccessible pour certains. Un objectif pour les plus téméraires. Une vraie folie pour tous les autres. Avec plus de 26.000 bandes dessinées, Damien Bardy, 47 ans, est un collectionneur de BD passionné. Pas du genre à écumer les salles de ventes aux enchères pour s'acheter une couverture de Tintin à 1,3 million d'euros ou une planche originale à 2,5 millions. Il n'en a pas les moyens et puis… il n'aime pas vraiment Tintin de toute façon. «Trop verbeux.»


Sa collection reste malgré tout impressionnante. Les chiffres donnent d'ailleurs vite le tournis. Imaginez un peu, 26.000 albums: en en lisant un par jour, tous les jours de l'année, il faudrait plus de 70 ans pour tous les lire. Si on les alignait côte à côte, cela ferait plus de 250 mètres de BD. Dans sa maison de 130 m2 dans une petite ville-dortoir de la banlieue de Clermont-Ferrand où Damien vit avec sa femme et leur fille, les BD occupent ainsi environ 60 m2…

J'ai trois pièces entièrement dédiées aux BD, avec des îlots centraux, des albums sur le dessus des étagères et une zone 'A lire' avec plus de 500 BD en retard. J'empiète un peu dans le salon, dans le hall d'entrée, dans le couloir et dans notre chambre, car je n'ai plus assez de place. J'ai même commencé à 'déporter' certaines BD que j'aime moins dans une pièce chez mes parents. Je me suis juste interdit de squatter la chambre de ma fille. Elle a déjà suffisamment de bordel…"

(©Renaud Février - L'Obs)

Poids total estimé de la collection : 13 tonnes. Prix : plusieurs centaines de milliers d'euros… Sur le site internet BDGest, où il répertorie sa collection, l'Auvergnat pointe en 2e position du classement national. Mais il l'assure, il n'est pas un «gros» collectionneur : beaucoup possèdent plus d'albums que lui, mais ne prennent pas le temps d'enregistrer leur collection en ligne.

Guernica Interview: Gilbert Hernandez: I Saw My Neighborhood as the World

I'm a big Gilbert fan -of course, Jaime, too!- so I know what I'll be reading this evening!

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The elder statesman of alt comix looks back on the legendary series he co-created, Love and Rockets.

Gilbert Hernandez
Photo courtesy of Carol Kovinick Hernandez.
In 1981, at a time when the comics landscape consisted mainly of children’s, superhero, and genre comics, Gilbert, Jaime, and Mario Hernandez revitalized the medium with their character-driven tales of life in California and Mexico in their series Love and Rockets. A mashup of superheroes, sci-fi, and sometimes romance, the work of Los Bros Hernandez, as they’re often known, signaled a significant transition in comics, one that expanded the possibilities of the form and revealed not only that comics need not be solely for children but also that the medium could offer emotionally nuanced and keenly observed literary narratives.

Love and Rockets, published by Fantagraphics, was principally produced by Gilbert and Jaime. Whereas Jaime tapped into LA punk culture, Gilbert focused on more universal motifs: coming-of-age, familial drama, and romantic love in the mythical village of Palomar. The Mexican American brothers featured Latino and Latina characters in their comics at a time when the industry was comprised almost entirely of white men. In Love and Rockets, Gilbert introduced one of the most memorable and complex female characters of the era–the fierce Luba, whose matriarchal presence invigorated Palomar and, more broadly, the world of independent comics.

You can read the full interview here: https://www.guernicamag.com/daily/gilbert-hernandez-i-saw-my-neighborhood-as-the-world/

The Hooper Interviews -A Warning Note!

  

Terry Hooper-Scharf

Paperback, 

A4

365 Pages 

Preview

Price: £20.00 (excl. VAT)

Ships in 3-5 business days.

 http://www.lulu.com/shop/terry-hooper-scharf/the-hooper-interviews/paperback/product-22078000.html

 

 

From a huge selection of interviews covering the Small Press,Independent Comics from the UK,Europe and US -The Hooper Interviews!  To celebrate, at the time of publication, over 25 years of interviewing comic creators -writers, artists and publishers- this 365 pages book was produced.

Interviewees included Yishan Li, Marv Wolfman, Dave Ryan, John Cooper, Mike Western, Donna Barr, Roberta Gregory, Sonia Leong, Emma Vieceli, Pekka A. Manninen, Alan Class, Karen Rubins, Kate Glasheen, Ron Fortier, Jon Haward, Franco Francavilla, Rick Geary, Tania Del Rio, The Etherington Brothers, Olivier Cadic (Cinebook the 9th Art), Holly Golightly and MANY others.

 Profusely illustrated with art and photographs!

Now, selling via the online store I do not make a big profit out of this. In fact, it is not a profit.  However, the lulu.com Print On Demand service -they store and forward pdf files to printers and are not in any way publishers- offers a distribution deal so you can get your books sold by Barnes & Noble, Amazon and other dealers.  They order the copy of the book ordered and do not promote or push the books.  They are, simply, another online store.

There is a major catch.  For one thing there is a tiny payment to me for a book -under £1/$1 for, say, the Interviews book.  Lulu.com and -the main chunk of money going to these- Amazon, Barnes & Noble get the main money.  Now, yes, IF they were promoting or pushing the book you would expect them to take a percentage.  But they do not. The book is "just listed" and for that they take all the money.

So, imagine my shock when I saw, on Ebay AND Amazon, people offering "new copies" of the Interviews book for up to £30/$60.  Let me make this clear: these people will order with a discount from lulu.com and then hike the price HIGH to make an even larger profit.

I have heard nothing back from two dealers who list the book as "a graphic novel" -there is nothing on lulu.com nor the book info that in any way states that this is a sequential art book -it states this is a book of interviews!

Now, I am the publisher and it states and shows this on the online store.  I publish under Black Tower Comics & Books.  Again -this is stated on the store and in the books and the legal notices.  So, when I see ALL the sites listing the publisher as lulu.com I get pissed off.  Lulu.com -as it points out whenever there is a problem of any kind- is "only an intermediary between publisher and printer, storing files".  It does not pay me as an author nor do they have any rights what-so-ever to any of my works.  That is solely mine.

I pointed this out to Amazon, Barnes & Noble, etc., but they refuse to recognise me as the publisher -I have, apparently, no such title recognition in their deal with lulu.com.  Lulu.com is the publisher and they will not change that.  Be clear: you complete an online copyright form and declaration where I am listed as Publisher and Black Tower Comics & Books is listed as the company. THAT makes it very clear.

It is illegal for another person or body to claim to be the publisher of your work unless they have paid you for that work and there is an agreement to this effect.  International publishing law states so quite clearly.

These are my books with my name on them and I do all the publishing/editing/interior work.

I have been in publishing a long time and I have seen how creators get ripped off and cheated and end up having produced a great deal of work and not even making a living from it.  It is wrong.  It has to be stopped.  People who have done no work to promote my books or credit me correctly as publisher, simply stick up details from lulu.com and will make more from selling one copy than I will if I sold ten books via them and got by pittance.

No. I am the one who will control sales until these big organisations and dodgy dealers decide to respect me -and others- and pay a proper percentage.

I have told lulu.com in writing that I wish to withdraw from their distribution deal and WHY.

I really am sick of how creators are treated as shit to make companies with money make more -by doing nothing.  End.

And my advice if you think being listed by these co0mpaniesis going to get you sales and make you money -it won't.  Do not be fooled because in this market you may well have worked for years on the book, typed it, edited it, put in weeks of finalising and design but you are of no significance.