Pros and Cons of Expanded Distribution

First of all, what is expanded distribution? It is a service provided by Amazon to a select group of paperback authors. If your paperback meets the eligibility criteria of trim size and paper type, then you can opt into the programme. What it does is make your book available to distributors, like Ingram, who send it to book stores, libraries and academic institutions. That sounds great, but what are the pros and cons?

The first pro is the wide distribution of your book. This gives you a bigger presence, online and in the physical world.

The second pro is boosted sales. With more people seeing your book, you should enjoy bigger sales’ numbers.

A con is that your percent cut of sales is diminished to 40%, as opposed to 60%. That is because distributors also need their cut.

Finally, the last con is the delay in reporting and royalty payments. This is due to the fact that it takes a lot of effort to track down sales all over the United States and the World.

So, there you have the pros and cons. I hope you enjoyed this piece.

Souhail and the Realm of Superbeings out now and available for free!

My new book, Souhail and the Realm of Superbeings, is out now. It is also on a free book promotion. The story is about a troubled young person that goes on quite the fantasy adventure. Please get a copy and even gift one if you can. It costs nothing. I hope you enjoy the book. Below is the cover and link

How To Be a Good Student

What does it take to be a good student? Below is a how-to guide that will help anyone struggling with school or uni.

Focus on Quality

If you’re writing an essay, make sure it is well-written and well-structured. Does it have a introduction, body and conclusion? Is the argument presented coherently or circuralry (circular argumentation is a big no-no).

Focus on Quantatity

Also focus on the quantity of your work. Do you abide by the word limit? Depending on the instructor, you may be allowed to go 10% above or below the limit. Don’t bet on that though, because other instructor might stress word count to help better your writing. I had one professor ask us to do a 1,000 word essay, which was harder to do than a 2,000 or 1,500 one as you have to write succinctly.

Aim for Perfect Attendance

Perfect attendance dies not just give you brownie points. That too, but it also allows you to gain valuable knowledge straight from the teacher/professor.

Go the Extra Mile

Don’t just focus on meeting minimum requirements. You should strive to go above and beyond. Academics differ on many points, but one point they all value is effort

Do Your Readings

A Professor once told us, the class, that you should do two hours of reading for every hour of an undergrad, history course. Another professor then asked the class to read an article, and in the following ckass she asked us to discuss it. Imagine how foolish those who did not read felt. I know, because I was one of them.

Study For Exams

Make sure you are prepared to take exams by studying effectively. This point needs no further explanation.

Work Hard on Assignments and Projects

This goes hand and hand with the go the extra mil point. Take good art, for example. The numbr-one quality of an artist is not skill or talent, but hard work. A painting, drawing or sculpture dies not make itself. It takes work

Implications of Inter-connectivity in the Time of Coronavirus

What is inter-connectivity, one might ask. What are its implications? Firstly, economic potential is enhanced with access to global markets. Secondly, cultural exchanges and military partnerships increase at a worldly level. Finally, and most recently, threats to humankind are possibly intensified with close contact of people across continents. Inter-connectivity has been tested in the age of Coronavirus, but it is still mostly positive, progressive and beneficial. 

Inter-connectivity refers to the increasing time-space compression as a result of globalization. More and more people are in contact with each other than ever before. Technology has also advanced to make distances seemingly smaller and more surmountable. These include, but are not limited to, the inventions of the car, steam engine and plane. In the traditional world, crossing over large pieces of land was very rare.

In fact, the radius of someone’s entire existence could be measured in thirty-to-fifty miles. Nowadays, people are travelling across large distances. In recent times, there was even the first non-stop flight from the United Kingdom to Australia! How times have progressed. What does this mean for people, though?

First of all, economic potential is enhanced. Large volumes of trade are more possible these days. Also, entrepreneurs have greater access to global financial markets. Finally, labour, capital and land had become more connected, with the forces of capitalism shifting from local constraints to global promises.

Secondly, culture is being exchanged at higher rates. One may find mosques, kebab shops and sheesha bars in downtown London while also finding pubs, fish and chips restaurants and McDonalds in Dubai. There are also instances of greater joint military programmes between allies around the world. Take the military partnership of the United States and South Korea, for example. Times have changed, mostly for the better it seems.

There is a downside, however. The problem with inter-connectivity is the close contact of people in relation to the spread of disease. This has been proven evident by the global pandemic dominating headlines, the Coronavirus pandemic. Although the threat is great, public education efforts can safeguard against negative effects of globalization. This has also been shown to be the case with measures, such as public lockdowns, helping healthcare professionals deal with this pandemic. 

In conclusion, while not all great, inter-connectivity is a force that is largely positive. The economic potential of a smaller world is immense. Culture is rapidly being exchanged; military partnerships are also being formed. The sad reality of disease spread is the exception, and not the rule. Inter-connectivity should be embraced, despite a setback resulting from COVID-19. 

Solving an equation with two variables

I propose a new way of solving an equation with two variablesi. Instead of simple trial and error, you can rearrange the equation and use principles of simultaneous equations in one equation. So, look at the following example.

15X= 2Y+ X

2Y= 14X

Y= 7X

15X= 14X + X

X=1

15=2Y+1

Y=7

Finally, if you have two variales and a number, there’s a neat way I discovered to solve the issue.

Women, men, & society..

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There’s been something on my mind lately.. The woman is the future. She brings the future into the world she nurtures it. She makes the impossible possible. I don’t take that for granted because it’s miraculous and preserves the human race. During this time of uncertainty of Corona and greater uncertainty in society, I’ve been trying to get my bearings and find my feet. I feel I’ve regained a better sense of where I fit in in the world .

 

There’s a huge discrepancy in what’s being told to women in society and my culture and the truth. Who am I ? What I am capable of ? Where do my strengths lie ? What am I supposed to do with this life I’ve been given?

 

The answer is and always has been within . It’s in my intuition, ambition , love, energy, and perceptivity, and receptivity.

 

It is super subjective but one thing all women have in common in addition to journeying together as women is their potential to utilise their skills and intuition to bring a unique energy to the world .

 

What I think we need is treatment that supports her being/essence. With all the knowledge we have in the world it baffles me that we missed a universally accepted standard on how to treat women. It baffles me that what’s acceptable treatment keeps changing and not for the better. It baffles me that the concept of the woman is not valued accordingly. And it shows .

 

How men and women treat women is how they treat the future . I can’t say this enough. It’s a time of instant gratification where you get what you want when you want it. Let’s not mix technology with humanity. This goes against natural law of gestation . Good things takes time. There’s a reason why flowers bloom when they do . There’s a reason for everything .

 

The answer, I believe, is women need to be supported how best they feel supported and celebrated! Yes that means financially, her goals and dreams, and in her journey through life.

 

Society is playing a game where both men and women are losing and being shorthanded. Where life satisfaction is ever elusive.. and it doesn’t have to be.

 

Idk if this will be received well, but I will always speak out on the issues I keep seeing.

 

Thanks for reading if you’ve come this far!

Theory of the Origin of Life

As a probe mission prepares to travel to Mercury, human beings have been fascinated by outer space. What if humans looked down, rather than up? What would be found? That answer is known, to some degree. Magma runs under the Earth Crust, bringing with it the factors which result in life.

If life stems from magma, why is not there life in other planets? We don’t know if life exists in other planets. What we do know is that not all planets have layers of magma in them. Some planets are even made of diamond! While that would make for a great expedition, it does not, in theory, posses the factors that make life.

As a religious person, I would say that this brings about an important conundrum. God created life, but God could have also created the factors of life. We do not know how life came into existence, in terms of the process of life creation. We do know there is a physical realm with laws, and this could be another one.

In conclusion, life stems from magma. It would be interesting to go about and price this scientifically, but so far it is only a theory. What are your thoughts on this? Please leave them in the comments section.

Self-publishing is really hard

I have been finding it difficult to do this self-publishing thing. It’s really hard, in practice. Traditional publishing still involves a marketing effort, though. It seems that everyone is publishing books these days. It’s kind of hard to stand out.

Do You Think Self-Publishing is Easy or Hard? - Write Nonfiction NOW!

That’s not to say that I haven’t enjoyed my fair bit of success. I gave away 100 copies of one of my books once. That’s was great. I also sold quite a few copies. I’m enrolled in the expanded distribution programme and kindle select. I should find out soon how well those initiatives are going (expanded distribution takes time to report on sales).

Anyways, I thought I’d share my struggles to see if anyone else relates. Maybe, you can give me a few pointers. This is definitely a learning experience. Self-publishing takes a lot of work, toughness and, most importantly, patience. Who knows, I might even get a publishing deal out of this. Stay tuned to find out more about my journey.