WritingMadeHard

Selling books is difficult. You think that the hard part is writing a book. No. The hard part is getting people to purchase the book. Even if it is a book that they will enjoy reading, people don't know that until after they have read it, so the hard part is getting them to read it. There are hundreds of thousands of books out there, why should people read yours? The same is true when trying to get a publisher to read your book. They have to read it to decide whether to publish it or not, but they receive hundreds of manuscripts per week. They cannot possibly read them all. Why should they decide to read yours? First you have to make it appealing to them. That means using an easy to read typeface, no errors, and a cover letter that entices them to read the manuscript. Is it any wonder that most books don't even get read by a publisher? Publishers like an author to have an agent because that means that someone else has red the manuscript and thinks it is worth reading. That makes it more likely the publisher will invest his time in reading it.

I have a book on hypnosis in healtcare currently available and I'm working on a book about using hypnosis to enhance ESP. If you are interested, here is an excerpt:

Since the beginning of Man's time on this earth, he has used hypnosis and ESP. However, he has not usually known that is what he was doing, and he did not often use them together.

Healers, witch doctors and sorcerers learned early that the bigger the show they put on, the more likely it was that their predictions would come true. Whether they were predicting good health or ill health, life or death, wealth or poverty, when the predictions were accompanied by smoke, fire, noise, dancing, and drama, they were more likely to come true. These were the hypnotists, although they did not know that's what they were. Hypnosis is not voodoo or magic, but voodoo and magic are at least partly hypnosis. Sometimes these practitioners also had high levels of ESP. Frequently their abilities to see or understand things other people could not is what lead them to learn hypnotic techniques. It better equipped them to help others or influence events.

Today, we still see these techniques used by many. The tendency to put on a good show is evident at many faith healings, psychic healings, mentalist and spiritualist demonstrations where it is beneficial to have observers believe in what is going on.

Why is this? Not necessarily because the practictioners are fakes. Whether they are fake or not is irrelavent if they succeed. No, there are two reasons these people utilize hypnotic techniques. One is tradition. Others have used smoke and mirrors, so they use them. The other reason is that it increases their successes. The simple truth is that what we expect to happen tends to happen--even if we have to make it happen ourselves. And we are more likely to expect or believe the prediction will come true if it is accompanied by a convincing show--in other words--if we are hypnotized.

But there is a whole other reason to combine hypnosis and ESP. Hypnosis allows the hypnotized subject to concentrate more fully on the task at hand. Whether one is studying for a test, practicing golf, or using ESP, the ability to concentrate is a major asset. Furthermore, hypnosis makes difficult tasks easy and allows one to do things that might not otherwise even be possible for that individual. Thirdly, hypnosis allows one to do things he may not consciously know how to do.

The biggest reason to combine hypnosis and ESP is that combined, the results are far more gratifying than any other way. In all the years that I have been using hypnosis and ESP together, I have never performed an experiment that did not yield what I consider spectacular results—even if those results were not always what I’d expected.

I was anxiously awaiting the new premier of the old Star Trek (remastered and with new special effects, of course) when I received word that my grand daughter had a neurological problem and was going into the hospital in New Orleans, so I hopped in the car and went there. Of course I missed the premier of the new old Star Trek, but my granddaughter was okay and that was worth missing it for. Anyway, it seems there is a real lack of creativity in the entertainment industry when the best they can put out is a revamped show that is 40 years old. Perhaps the new Star Trek Movie by J.J. Abrams will show some originality while also noting that what people really like are the old shows. The best movies were those that took place in the old universe and I hear that the new one will also take place in the same universe as the original series. Kudos to Mr. Abrams for that!

While we're on the subject of mivies, I was in one while in New Orleans. They were filming a Christmas story called A Perfect Day and called for "extras", so I went. The old stories about hurry up and wait in the movies is true, I found. We were there from 2p.m. until 9:30 and they shot about a page or two of the script, probably about 2-3 minutes of the movie. To be fair, they did shoot it several times and from many different angles. We spent a lot of time sitting around while cameras were moved, etc. It was fun, but it is hard to believe anyone would want to do that day in and day out for a living. Rob Lowe and Christopher Loyd were both there and I came away with a new appreciation of both of them. I've always enjoyed Christopher Loyd in every performance all the way back to his "Taxi" days, but never really appreciated Rob Lowe. However, both were very professional, good at what they did and creative people. Rob Lowe even auctioned himself off to the "extras". Something he surely did not have to do after such a long day of shooting. He must have been tired. I found him much more personable and professional than I'd expected. He is also a better actor than I'd thought. The shoot was fun to do even with the waits. However, there was no opportunity to promote my books, and that is what I need to do.

BTW, Don't forget to come to my book signing in Melbourne, AR if you are in the neighborhood. I'll be doing a reading and answering questions as well as signing Dreams of April Ten and Hypnosis In Healthcare. It is October 26 at 3:30 at the Cottage Book Store on the town square. Steve

This year, those of us who consider Star Trek to be a major influence in our lives celebrate the 40th anniversary of the original Star Trek series. Paramount and CBS are marking the 40th anniversary with a new edition of the old series. It is being re-released with new graphics and special effects and will be shown on 200 tv stations throughout the USA. Ironic that the show originated on NBC and the network that tried to kill it twice before succeeding has let it slip through their fingers again. The original series was a watershed because it used stories written by science fiction writers rather than TV writers. Had the succeeding series done the same thing, they would have been much more watchable. Let's hope that any new series bearing the Star Trek name will also hold to the old tradition of using stories written by science fiction writers. Steve

Hi: It's been a long time since I've last written here. Sorry about that, I've been babysitting the grandkids and it took all my time. Anyway, I'm back and I'm busy. I've been introduced to the web forums of my new publisher, Mundania Press, which is bringing out two books for me next year. The humorous scifi adventure, The Last Guardian, and the horror novel, Dark Moon, written with Canadian author Beverley Bateman. Current news, though, is that I will be doing a book signing and reading at the Cottage Bookstore in Melbourne, Arkansas at 3:30 p.m. Thursday October 26. If you are in the neighborhood, feel free to drop in. I'll have both The Last Guardian and Hypnosis in Healthcare there with me. Steve