One year has gone ... should we do plans for the next year?

Once again it's time to say goodbye to this year and keep our fingers crossed for the next one.

On a global scale, the world has gone through so many changes that we could hardly process them all. We have wars, shifts of powers, and global economic crises. Yet, we're still here and for this, should be grateful for what we have. 

On a personal level, I'm grateful for having remained sane during this massive income of news. This is also the reason I left the social network aside. Sometimes, I had the impression that social media, instead of bringing us together, is setting us apart, and at times even one against each other.

It didn't use to be this way back in the days when we all started to navigate the web searching for new friends around the globe.

During this year I focused on improving my writing, maintaining my business, and finding a balance between my writing career, my day job (the one that pays the bills), and my family.

I usually don't like to make long-term plans and I don't believe in the new year's propositions. They're generally destined to get busted by the first half of the year, forcing me to rethink everything from scratch.

Instead, I have a loose plan that includes reaching the so much sought balance between everything that matters in my life.

Next year, I'll keep writing new books of my police procedural's series and I'm planning to start a new series that will be released during the first half of the year. 

I have in mind an organized crime thriller series set between Sicily and the US. With all the inputs I receive daily from the news I can say that my ideas have started to flow wildly, giving me endless prompt for many books.

In sight there are new adventures for the Wandering Writer, starting already from May, so if you have enjoyed the previous adventures, stay tuned because I have new destinations in mind.

For now, I wish you all a serene Christmas, and I'll be  back soon before the end of this year with some new trips.

Take care!

What people forget too often about Amazon

 

It's always the same, and at a certain time of the year, the boycott of Amazon is populating social media.

The reason for that boycott is almost always the same and I presume has just a small percentage of truth. What people don't get when they say "Let's boycott Amazon so that Bezos will lose the money and will get perspective of a fair treatment" or "Boycott Amazon and buy from small businesses," is that they do exactly the opposite.

There are a few things people should keep in mind:

1. Amazon gives the chance to small businesses to earn money, because:

    a. they don't have enough funds to pay for a rental and the delivery chain to run a physical store.

    b. They're starting up and need a place that offers them tools to increase visibility and help with the distribution.

    c. They're indie authors who can't have their books in bookstores, libraries, and physical stores.

    d. and so on...

2. Boycotting Amazon will hardly affect Bezos' financial stability. He could even close the whole thing down and retire.

For these reasons (and many more) boycotting Amazon will literally kill all the small businesses that will have to find a new marketplace. 

While some will be lucky to find a substitute distribution channel, others will be forced to close down on their dreams and hopes.

As an indie author, I am extremely thankful for the services offered by Amazon. Without that marketplace, I would have never had the chance to publish my books or to give them the wide visibility they have now. 

Of course, there are other places where I could publish them, but would they give the same wide visibility to them? If there are, I haven't yet found one that gives the same chance as Amazon.

Perhaps should I start searching for it?

I don't know, but in the meantime, I'll have to stick to them, on my website, on the subscribers of my newsletter, and like for everything in this world to a pinch of luck, without which nothing is possible.

With this, I hope I haven't bored you and offered you a different perspective to peek into the life of an independent author and a small business owner.