Life gets more weird each day
05/07/2006 07:00 p.m.
My publisher had told me it would be a few weeks before my book became listed on Amazon.com and Borders.com, but then, out of the blue, it popped up on both yesterday. Also, I got my author copy Friday. UPS supposedly had attempted to deliver it on Thursday, but there was no notice on my door that day, and there was on Friday, so I think someone was being lazy. In any case, I was happy that it arrived, but noticed a glitch on the back cover where they have a border crease. It's an nice feature, probably keep the rest of the cover from getting bent out of shape, but it runs right down through the edge of the picture on the back. So I will ask them the move everything over a tad on the back. I hope that doesn't cause delays for orders placed while they are fixing it. There's also a weird little glitch at the bottom of the picture on the back which might just have been a one time thing where it appears something moved during printing and made it slightly askew. I doubt anyone would notice without being told, but being my picture, it was obvious to me.
No matter though, I am just happy to have it out there and available. If anyone is interested, it is available at
http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/1419633090/002-2094277-4882448?adid=039WS4D861BT7THAXGM3&camp=14573&creative=327641&link%5Fcode=as1&n=283155 on Amazon. You can also find a link on my book site at www.seeds-and-weeds.com if that link is too long to copy and paste all in one piece.

Peace,
JJ
I am currently Poetic
I am listening to Let's Impeach The President by Neil Young

Will miracles never cease?
04/30/2006 04:13 a.m.
The other day I was told it would be three more weeks before my book would be available and then it would take 3-4 weeks after the book would be delivered after payment was received. Well, lo-and-behold, I got a call yesterday from my account rep telling me the book is now available for orders on booksurge.com. Hallelujah!

I am not happy with the amount of time it will take for the books to be sent out to those who purchase it from Booksurge, but for now, at least it is available.

For anyone interested in purchasing Seeds And Weeds, go to www.seeds-and-weeds.com and click on the link just below the index of poems on each page. The link will take you to the Booksurge page dedicated to Seeds And Weeds and the button to put this book in your hands.

JJ

I am currently Excited
I am listening to Paperback Writer by the Beatles (Paul McCartney)

One step forward & two steps back
04/28/2006 06:12 a.m.
Why does it seem that for every step forward, I take two steps backward? This book publishing process has become a endless maze of horror house mirrors in hallways that have no exit.
So now I am being told that it will take another three weeks after the manuscript becomes print ready, which has been dancing around readiness for the past week. It took two more mysterious steps yesterday, but is still not ready. Whatever " HCP Out to Production " means, I don't know, but I have seen several other status descriptions that all make no sense." So I am still waiting for it to become ready to order. And even after it is ready, it will take 3 to 4 weeks for any books I order to be delivered. 3 to 4 weeks? How is that possible when Amazon.com can get them out and delivered to the customer in 3-5 days? If Amazon owns booksurge and booksurge is printing the books that amazon.com sells, how can it take longer, even by a day, than it does for amazon to deliver them? Amazon has to wait for booksurge to deliver them, right? But the kicker there is that Amazon won't have them available on their website for 3 weeks after booksurge has it on there site. Now this means that no matter what, it will be another 3-4 weeks before any orders can be placed and who knows how long before they actually make it print ready.
I have two other books I have been working on and I can tell you, I will not be going through booksurge to have them published. They really need to get there act together. They also told me that amazon.com is moving their facilities over the next week, which will only make for further delays. By the time this book comes out, I will be in California and will have lost every opportunity to sell the book here that comes along. I have already missed two major poetry events and will likely miss 3 or 4 more over the next month. The funny thing it, on their website, where they display the timeline from manuscript submission to book availability, it says "The overall process generally takes about 10 - 15 business days for PDF submissions" under the heading "How soon will my book be available?". So that would be 3 weeks. It is already 4 weeks and will be another 4 weeks.
What else can go wrong?
JJ
I am currently Frustrated
I am listening to The pages of someone elses book turning

And for my next act, world peace?
04/21/2006 04:13 a.m.
So it turned out to be a really good day after all. My book, Seeds and Weeds, is now in the final stage to be printed and earlier this evening I did the featured poet spot in Albany. I was really nervous and not as prepared as I should have been, but it was ok. Not bad for my first time being featured. You gotta get those first times out of the way so you can get better. It felt like a major step to me. And I got a little mula for being the feature, first time I ever got paid for reading poetry.... I could get used to that. Maybe when my book starts selling I will get some nice little royalty payments as well. I can only hope!

Now all I have left to do is bring about world peace and everything will be fine.

JJ

I am currently Peaceful
I am listening to Pheobe Snow singin' Poetry Man

Wonder of wonders, was God in a good mood today?
04/19/2006 09:02 p.m.
Ok, after my last journal entry, I think God called 911 and somehow reached someone in my publishers office. I got an e-mail from my account rep saying they decide4d to waive the $50 fee I was going to have to pay to resolve issues with the book cover. I never expected that to happen, so maybe they aren't all that bad after all.
That means the book will go to press soon, as everything else has been approved for weeks now. I only wish it had been a week earlier, but what can you do? At least I will be able to hand out book release announcements at the reading tomorrow night and the Word Fest Friday night.
I will be putting info on my website, www.seeds-and-weeds.com very soon as to how the book can be ordered. There are currently excerpts on each page if you care to have a look.
The publishers is Booksurge, and their website is www.booksugre.com where Seeds And Weeds will be available for purchase as soon as they get it set up for printing. It will eventually be available on most websites that sell books. Booksurge is owned by Amazon.com so it will be available there as well. I'm not sure of the time frame on other sites though. The ISBN number is 1-4196-3309-0 if you find that more useful to search for it.

JJ
I am currently Upbeat
I am listening to Here Comes The Sun by the Beatles George Harrison on Abbey Road

Why does rock bottom have a false floor?
04/19/2006 05:08 p.m.
Why is it that when it seems like things can't get any worse, they do. I have been working on cover issues for my book with the publisher, who isn't very helpful, and now they want me to pay them $50 to make changes. I worked endless hours trying to fix it myself, but no matter what I did, they said the pixel dpi was too low. So to get it done, I have to come up with the money.

Well, I wouldn't like the idea even if I had the $50, but I don't. I just got nailed for $300 in taxes. Had to pay my rent late last month, so I got nailed for a $20 late fee, and now, if I decide to pay them the $50 when I get my next check, not for another week and a half, then I will be forced to pay my rent late again next month and pay another $20 late fee. And to make matters worse, I will have to pay penalties for paying my taxes late on top of it all.

If I choose not to, I won't be able to make the payment for the book cover modifications until May 12th. So far everything the publisher has done has taken a week for them to do after I send them anything. That means it won't be ready for printing until at least May 19th.

I started this process over 3 months ago so that I would have copies of my book at the featured reading I will be doing in Albany tomorrow night and at the Albany Word Fest on Friday night. Neither will happen now and I am missing out on a huge opportunity for exposure for the book. It all seems like a huge waist of time instead, not to mention money. But this is the story of my life. Over and over and over, and people ask me why I am the way I am. I am sick and tired of everything.

What else can go wrong? How can things get any worse? Well, I suppose if I don't have enough money to move to California this summer, I may as well call it quits. With my luck, there will be a massive earthquake when I am half way across the country and California will sink into the ocean. It will wait until after I quit my job and get out in the middle of nowhere so that I will have spent all of the summer money I am getting from the school.

Each year they withhold money and give it to us at the end of the year in case we can't find a summer job. This way we won't die if we can't find a summer job. Well, when I get that, that's the money I am going to use to move. It's all I have, so if anything else goes wrong financially, I'm done. How many years of this can one human being withstand? I was over my limit a long time ago.

JJ
I am currently Dismayed
I am listening to Yer Blues by the Beatles John Lennon from the White Album

April Fools at the Moon & River
04/02/2006 01:06 a.m.
Ha!, you should have seen their faces go ash-white and the look of stunned disbelief in their eyes. One poet even made a really snide remark and told me if I wanted to sing I could go right ahead, but she wasn't gonna sing anything.

So I let them sit there in silence for about 30 seconds while they thought about it, and then I said, "April Fools!", and they all let out one of those big sighs of relief, then laughed at themselves for not realizing what day it was.

I gotta remember to do that again if I ever get to be the host of another reading in California after I move out there this summer. I wish I had taken a picture of the look on their faces, classic, absolutely classic. Heheheheheehehe....

JJ


I am currently Silly
I am listening to Echos of laughter

What a day!!!!
03/18/2006 02:57 a.m.
Today was a very eventful day! I took the day off from work so that I could get everything ready to submit my manuscript for my book Seeds and Weeds. Everything went smoothly, except that after I got everything confirmed, they forgot to e-mail me the ISBN number. So I will have to wait until Monday to get that. But I can't actually send them the manuscript without the ISBN number because it has to be on the copyright page. That just means a slight delay, but it's a little disconcerting that they would forget something right after talking to me on the phone about how important it is for me to have it.

But that's not all. I went with my brother Stan and his girlfriend to see Neil Young's new movie, "Heart Of Gold" and I have to say, it was totally awesome! I felt like I was actually watching Neil live, which is an experience I have had in the past 13 times, so I know what it's like to be at a concert of his. It was both exiting and moving.

Neil, as you may know, had a brain aneurysm last year, but right afterwards, before his brain surgery, he was inspired to write a bunch of songs and record them. Then he went to Nashville to perform a concert of those songs and several of his older tunes that fit the feel of the new album. It has a country flavor to it, though I am not a country fan, when Neil does it, he brings an edge to it that really fills my soul with peace. There were a few songs that brought me to tears, and I hate crying in front of people. Especially my brother, ya know, I have to face him after the movie and all...

Well, Now I am sitting here listening to more Neil Young music at home because I just can't get it out of my head and I don't particularly want to. Neil has been a great inspiration and influence to my in life and in poetry. It's amazing to me what he has been through and can still sing and play with such passion. What a great feeling I have right now. If I could feel this way every day for the rest of my life, I would die a wonderfully happy human!

Peace to all who happen across these words.
JJ
I am currently Peaceful
I am listening to Neil Young - Heart Of Gold

In The Coarsest Hearts
02/24/2006 08:09 p.m.
Warning, the following entry may be construed by some to have sexually explicit content, even though it doesn't really have any, some will read it and sure enough, they will see what their eyes want them to see.

Yesterday, I received a couple of messages, one on pathetic and one on another website I post my poems on, about my latest poem "Intercourse Of Hearts". Prior to the second message from a member here, I had written a response to this other person to let her know why I felt she was completely off base. Then I got a message from a member here who is worried I will get tossed out on my bum unless I change the title. So now I am curious how others feel about this and if any admins object, I hope they will contact me before making any decisions about my membership here. I am posting my response to the original objection here to give you an idea of how I feel about this.

The thing is, it shouldn't even be an issue as far as I'm concerned. The word only has sexual connotations when you put the word "sexual" in front of it. If you put the word "verbal" in front of it, it simply means to have a conversation. If you put the word "written" in front of it, it means to write letters back and forth. By itself, it means nothing more than "communication". So it seems odd to me that people have it in their minds that the word itself means the act of amorous contact. In fact, the only time I ever hear anyone use the word with sexual implications is when I have to occasionally sit in on a Health Class in high school as a part of my job as a Teacher's Aide. To be honest, I can't remember ever having a conversation with anyone who used to word, though I have read it in many books and articles over the years. The simple fact is, intercourse does not mean sex, and I did not infuse that meaning into it while using it. The poem is, in fact, opposed to the act without true love. Some may still object to that since it does not explicitly say you must be married, but that's a whole different poem with a debate all it's own. So anyway, here's the response I gave to the other site member:

You know what upsets me most? It’s not that someone objects to the use of a word that has been misinterpreted by just anyone, it is this notion that someone who should know better, who is a poet, a writer, does not know the meaning of a word that has been used for centuries by the most scholarly minds who have ever lived. That anyone in this community should think that a word which means, “the interchange of ideas”, “communication”, is beyond belief, but not beyond understanding.
As a high school teacher’s aide, working in English class five days a week, I have heard some horrendous usage of the English language. But that’s to be expected from teenagers who couldn’t care less about education or graduation. Not all high school students are like this, mind you, but it is bothersome than so many are. Yet, here, we are dealing in a community where most of us are adults and all of us are writers. It is our desire to express ourselves to others in words that has drawn us to this place.
If we can not take the time, as artists of the English language, to learn what the words we use mean, and especially the one word that by its very definition is what we use words for, then every word we write here means nothing. We are here to communicate, I am having intercourse with you at this very moment. You are reading my words, if you are offended by reading words, you should not be here. What other reason could you have for joining a community of word exchangers?
It’s like traveling to another country and going to a money exchanger when you need another form of currency that is accepted by the sellers of whatever you wish to buy there. You hand over a thousand dollars and they hand you back blank pieces of paper instead of whatever variation of money they use.
“Off you go”, they tell you, “and thank you for your generosity.” It’s almost enough to make you flip them the bird and reply, “intercourse you!”

JJ Johnson
I am currently Puzzled
I am listening to "The Word" by the Beatles

An inspiring story on the news
02/24/2006 01:36 a.m.
It's not often we get to see good news on the news, but tonight's national news on CBS ran a story unlike any I have ever seen bfore, and it made me feel so good I have to tell you about it.

It was about an autistic teenager, Jason McElwain, who was manager of his high school basketball team. Basically he helped out with uniforms and water for the players. Well, the coach of the team decided to have him suite up for the teams last game of the year as a reward for being so helpful and enthusiastically cheering the team on for the past two years. He wasn't supposed to play, but the as the game got closer to ending, Coach Johnson decided to put him in the game and experience what it was like to play. He missed his first two shots, but then made a remarkable three point shot. Then, unbelievabley, he made five more three point shots in a row and finished with 20 points. The crowd was going absolutely crazy. They showed the video of all of the shots on the CBS national news! It was absolutely inspiring!

http://www.wtnzfox43.com/Global/story.asp?S=4543503
I am currently Happy
I am listening to fans cheering in the stands

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