Slashdot Mirror
Dog Bites Website
In early March my eleventh book A Dog Year; Twelve Months, Four Dogs and Me was published by Random House/Villard. For several months I've been working on a bottom-up, Net-based marketing program that permits me to push my own book in my own way, rather than rely on big publishing or big media. That led me to the banner ad on this site a lot of you have seen and e-mailed me about. So why am I buying a banner ad, on Slashdot of all places, to tout my new book about a year with four dogs? It's a chance for me to tick off the yowling hordes, which is always fun. Some will shriek that a dog saga has little to do with open source, technology or selling things on the Net. But it does, and I'm happy -- eager, even -- to explain why.
I do most of my hyping for A Dog Year in the expected places -- in media interviews and on various dog-related sites, mailing lists and forums.
My reason for advertising here, too, is that I believe the Net offers the best place for individual entrepreneurs of all kinds -- writers, game creators, artists, musicians, software designers -- to skirt conventional costs, limitations and marketing practices and find their own audiences. To me, that's a big part of the "open" in open source. Younger people raised on the Net don't pay nearly as much attention to mainstream media as their elders, so we have to reach them where they are. The good news is that we can.
In fact, Net communications themselves have become increasingly segmented and targeted. Much has become subterranean, centered on mailing lists, IM and other limited-entry venues. In the weeks before my book's publication, I concentrated on these grass-roots venues, contacting websites, subscribing to mailing lists, e-mailing excerpts of my book to people who were interested. People on special interests lists and chat rooms don't mind being pitched on subjects they're interested in. They don't consider it spam. What they hate is being bombarded with messages for things they don't care about, which is what traditional media does. Besides which, I can't afford to take an ad out in Time magazine or on the ABC Evening News.
Elsewhere, individual entrepreneurs and creators find it more and more difficult to survive. The megacorporations who've taken over much of culture and media are primarily interested in best-selling mega-products -- Britney Spears, John Grisham -- not idiosyncratic ones like mine. They have a point, too. My last book found its own audience, or rather its audience found it. It did all right, but didn't sell much beyond it's core audience. To successfully market a book like Running To The Mountain or A Dog Year (at least in the conventional way) could cost more money than my publisher expects to earn. And interesting, I believe the Running To The Mountain excerpt that ran on Slashdot sold more books than a subsequent appearance on the Oprah Winfrey show.
The Net, at least in theory, can bypass that stalemate and create radical new opportunities for artists of all kinds. So I don't mind paying for my own ad. I think it has worked.
Individuals are under attack all across our culture, from the likes of Microsoft and Wal-Mart and Sony to publishing conglomerates. The Net can be a way out for people like me (us), whether we're telling the story of our dogs or coming up with new software. What's why I bought a banner on Slashdot. If it works, it could sell some books, sure. I have no apologies to make for that. But it could also help demonstrate to writers and other people struggling to survive in a mass-market world that the Open Source idea is only fractionally about software. It's about individualism, free expression, and a culture open to us all.
Hey look, I got two ads on this Slashdot page - one for a Pentium 4-M processor, and one for some crappy book about dogs. I demand a refund. I thought they said no more than one ad per page.
So you bought a Slashdot banner ad, and got to write an article about your product. I know that Microsoft have advertised Visual Studio here, so do you know when we get to see an article by Bill Gates saying how great his product is?
For several months I've (Link to Amazon/something about book) been working on a bottom-up, Net-based marketing program that permits me to push my own book in my own way
"Link to Amazon/something about book"? C'mon, you're a professional writer : please submit stories, not drafts.
Well, that pretty much explains his entire slashdot career, doesn't it.
Jon Katz. Mega-troll.
Best Slashdot Co
e-mailing excerpts of my book to people who were interested
A-ha! Spam!
Because Jon Katz is a slashdot editor, and can post whatever he wants, basically. If CmdrTaco wrote a book, I'd expect a writeup about it here.
Now what we need is for someone to write a review about "A Dog Year" and get it submitted.
Hopefully from someone who didn't like the book. (:
Whoever stated that signature sizes should be limited to one hundred and twenty characters can just go ahead and kiss my
Just checking.
...whenever I create a book or website, you'll give me full coverage on Slashdot?
Oh wait, you won't?
Jeez, when you said that Slashdot was going to be ad-supported, I didn't think you could have meant THIS. =P
Because part of Slashdot's new finance model includes the posting of one "sponsored" story (i.e., advertisement in the form of a story) per day. This was announced along with a bunch of the other subscription news.
Like woodworking? Build your own picture frames.
I know, I should have done this a long time ago, but this JonKatz adverticle is over the top. Note to JonKatz: I ain't buying your crappy book either!
I am not a number! I am a man! And don't you
> If CmdrTaco wrote a book, I'd expect a writeup
> about it here
If Taco wrote a book, I expect you'd have to buy a copy of it to avoid seeing popup ads.
Few books sell well, and even fewer (mine, for example) make money.
Plug away Mr. Katz...
"They do not preach that their god will rouse them, a little before the Nuts work loose." Kipling, 'The Sons of Martha'
- "$$$ Make money fast $$$" ...
- "Toner at half price !"
- "Enlarge your Penis !"
- "I met four 18 years old girls living in the same room with a web cam"
- "Email advertising WORKS!"
-
Brilliant thinking editors!!
I can see it now
Taco - man, the comments really are down
Hemo - yep, the advertisers are noticing too
Katz - dribble, whiffle, waffle, snarf
Taco - Hey, Jon - feel free to plug your latest book
Katx - coooool
Hemo - he he, nice one
Taco - [leans back on chair], Yep - no one will be able to help themselves, it'll be a 700+ article in 20 minutes flat.
Come on, be fair.
This blatant ad is the best thing Katz has ever written. To the point, logical, even engaging. Certainly the first Katz speel I've read to the end.
How can you not like a book about Golden Retrievers and Border Collies? Why kind of twisted, hate-filled bags of dirt haunt ./?
I mean, it's not like Jon's little advert blotted out crucial news like another 2.4.19 Rev xxx Linux kernel patch.
---
Yeah, and you aren't much of a writer either.
I pity the poor editor that has to correct Taco's spelling and grammar..
Blaming GW Bush for the Iraq war is like blaming Ronald McDonald for the poor quality of food.
Shouldn't it be, "The truth about Katz and dogs"?
*groan*
In Soviet Russia, hot grits put YOU down THEIR pants.
Few books sell well, and even fewer (mine, for example) make money.
Maybe your books just aren't interesting and therefore don't sell well. Just a theory.
>You have to apologize for posting an ad with your moderator priviledges, disguised as Yet Another free expression anti-corporation blah blah article.
Seriously.. it's a BOOK about DOGS! Unless his dogs were cloned/implanted/digitized/running Linux/playing mp3's/putting spyware in Kazaa.. I DON'T GIVE A SHIT!
Nor much of a writer either...
>Some people think if you get a book published, you're a big deal and a rich one. If you're Grisham or King, that's true.
That's because they can write and you can't.
>In early March my eleventh book
Well, whoever said that practice makes perfect never met Jon Katz.
>For several months I've been working on a bottom-up, Net-based marketing program that permits me to push my own book in my own way, rather than rely on big publishing or big media.
Translation: I'm too poor to advertise.
>So why am I buying a banner ad, on Slashdot of all places, to tout my new book about a year with four dogs?
Because the Slashdot staff are the only ones clueless enough to think you're a writer.
>Younger people
That is, young enough not realize that Katz's prose is to real writing what Yoko Ono is to music.
>raised on the Net don't pay nearly as much attention to mainstream media as their elders
Yeah, the mainstream media generally ignores untalented hacks who pretend they're writers.
>To successfully market a book like Running To The Mountain or A Dog Year (at least in the conventional way) could cost more money than my publisher expects to earn.
Yes, that's what tends to happen when your books suck.
>Individuals are under attack all across our culture
As opposed to those of us on Slashdot who are merely assaulted with your bad prose.
>I have no apologies to make for that.
No, what you should apologize for is your writing.
- Rael
> Hey, ./ subscribers, how happy are you that you wasted a page hit on Katz's book promotion?
You mean subscribers got to see this too?
Maybe I won't bother after all...
rant