Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/7 - Research

Evil geniuses in Russia have hacked the username/password combos of millions. The government has not released the sites that have been hit. Yesterday I made changes at my financials. I’ve ignored stuff like this in the past, but since I’d been using the same codes for a long time I decided it was time to update.


Researchers in the UK have found that a fist bump transmits far fewer germs than a high five, which transmits 50% less than a handshake. I dole out fist bumps and handshakes in about equal proportion at the floating book shop. Maybe it's time to go 100% with the former. 

After years of being vilified socially and battered by taxes, smokers may finally have a reason to cheer. According to an article in today’s NY Post, scientists at a South Korean university say discarded cigarette filters can be transformed into high-performing carbon-based material used to store energy that will power all sorts of devices. Smokers may soon be greeniacs. I can hear Brooklynites right now: "What goes around comes around."

I don’t know if I’ve gotten dumber or if the crossword puzzles in the Post, which were once simplistic, have gotten harder. Taking a break from reading the past two days, I was unable to complete them, leaving several boxes unfilled. Kudos to the creators, who toil in anonymity under Tribune Media Services.

Christine Anderson Publishing sent me an email offering to cut its fee by 50%. It's generous, but it's still $500, and I would want to purchase 100 copies, which would send expenses past $1000. I was tempted but refused.  

My thanks to the gentleman who purchased a paperback thriller, the floating book shop's only sale of the day, and to Caroline, who donated three books, including a beautiful pictorial of the works of Andy Warhol that has Elvis in duplicate on the cover. It was on display for two hours. I'm surprised no one jumped on it. That's the way the week has gone.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/6 - Thanks

RIP Major General Harold J. Greene, 52, the highest-ranked U.S. officer to be slain in combat since 1970 in the Vietnam War. An engineer, he was a 34-year veteran of the Army. His current stateside home is in Falls Church, Va., where he lived with his wife, Army Colonel Sue Myers, and their daughter, Amelia Greene. Their son, West Point grad Matthew Joseph Myers Greene, changed his Facebook profile Tuesday afternoon to a photo of himself with his father. Thank you doesn't say enough.

I've come to my senses and decided not to publish Rising Star with Christine Anderson Publishing. I can publish it to Kindle for free and I can go to 48 Hours Press if I want copies for family and friends, and to sell on the street. One of the main reasons I went against it is that the Kindle through CAP would be at least five bucks. I can offer it myself for a dollar. In the meantime I'll try to find a home for the novel through traditional means. At the Poets & Writers website, I'm up to V in the list of small press publishers. I'll reevaluate when I've gone through the alphabet. I thank Miss Anderson for her kind words about the book.

My thanks to the young woman who bought Charlotte Bronte's Jane Eyre, and Shakespeare's A Midsummer Night's Dream. I love to see young people jump on the classics. Thanks also to Steve, the poet laureate of Sheepshead Bay, who purchased Christopher Hitchens' God Is Not Great, an argument for atheism. The prolific author of non-fiction died in 2011 at 60 from Pneumonia, a complication of esophageal cancer. And finally thanks to the gentleman who purchased a book in Russian that one of my regulars referred to as "dumb," which proves for the zillionth time that "one man's meat is another man's poison." I also had a visit form Ol' Smoky, now homeless and living on the Boardwalk in Coney Island. He was cursing up a storm, having been denied the use of the bathroom in two establishments on Sheepshead Bay Road. Thankfully, he found one.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/5 - Quandary

Yesterday I was so bummed by the lack of book sales that I fought back by submitting my rock n roll epic, Rising Star, blindly to Christine Anderson Publishing, based in Virginia, which I spotted on Twitter. A half-hour later I had a reply. She'd read a few chapters and loved it. Turns out she's a Brooklyn girl, her dad Sicilian, a former bookie. I'd made a mistake in not researching her terms before submission. Had I known a fee was involved, I wouldn't have bothered. As far as I understand, it's $1000, refundable upon the sale of 250 copies, be they Kindle or print, within a four-year period. If I were just starting out, it would be a no-brainer. Her process seems similar to that of Water Forest Press, which produced my second novel, Adjustments, which came out great. Since my next three books had the great fortune to find small press publishers, I've become spoiled, only having to pay for copies. I've turned a small profit on A Hitch in Twilight and Killing, and probably will on Exchanges too, although the publisher hasn't paid me for the 14 copies that have sold online. If I went the fee route again, I'd hesitate to buy copies. I might wait, hoping 250 would sell, then ask for copies in lieu of the returned fee. I'd get ten free copies upon publication, but they would be gone in a week. The first 20 or so sales are easy. Only Close to the Edge, which came out in 2000, has sold more than 250 -- 355 at last count, but it had an eight year head start on the others. I wonder if I'm following a pipe dream thinking RS will be picked up and published at no cost to me. So far it has fallen on deaf ears. I wonder if my level is the self-published and self-promoted book, and if it's silly to think otherwise. I've had positive feedback from very few readers. I've had little luck getting people to rate the book at Amazon. Maybe that's telling. Maybe that means my work is not very good, and people are just too polite to say so. So I face a quandary. Christine, to whom I just spoke for 15 minutes on the phone, is sending me a blank contract to help me make up my mind. Right now my heart says yes, but my mind says no.

Why I hate the Yankees, part 999: They recently acquired pitcher Brandon McCarthy. His record for Arizona was 3-10, his ERA 5.01 - in a league without the DH! He is 4-0 with New York, ERA 2.08 - in a league with the DH! If anyone ever doubted God is a Bombers fan...

The floating book shop enjoyed a nice rebound from yesterday's debacle in Park Slope. My thanks to the kind folks who bought books.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/4 - Negatively 4th St.

I made the usual Monday trek to Park Slope and found parking rather easily on 4th Street near 8th Avenue. I carried two crates, about half the usual wares, down the slope to 7th Av. and set up shop in the shade at the edge of John Jay High School. It was one of those sessions that had me thinking: "Why the hell am I doin' this? I must be a glutton for humiliation." Hundreds of people passed in the three-and-a-half hours I was there. Three or four potential customers teased me with a long gander at the books, but passed. I stayed an extra half hour, determined the long trek and the lugging of the load would not be for nothing. I don't know if folks are reluctant to spend or afraid of potential bed bugs. The books are good, no current top ten authors but plenty of interesting stuff across the literary spectrum. I was willing to sell five paperbacks, classics included, for a dollar -- if anyone asked, but no one did. I looked at the street sign and recalled Bob Dylan's Positively 4th Street, which begins: "You got a lotta nerve to say you are my friend...." I felt friendless out there today. Finally, a young couple who had passed doubled back and bought Roald Dahl's Charlie and the Chocolate Factory. They didn't bother to look through the rest of the children's books, which I would have sold two for a buck. It was no picnic carrying the stuff up the slope. In the words of Scarlett O'Hara: "After all... tomorrow is another day." It already looks promising. Toluna surveys has deposited $20 into my paypal account, and I found a publisher to which to send my rock n roll epic, Rising Star, through Twitter.

Best of luck to Giants RB David Wilson, 23, who retired from pro football because of a re-injury to his neck. Doctors advised him not to play. He had surgery in the off season and hoped to continue his career. This would have been his third year in the league. It's a tough break, but he is young and strong, the future before him.

Here's some positive news to close the blog: According to the Weird But True column in the NY Post, two Harvard men have invented “spray cake,” which comes out of a can into a mold. After one minute in a microwave - Voila! - a cake or cupcake at one’s disposal. It’s wonderful to see Ivy League educations put to good use.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/3 - Bloomsday

June 16th is the day the events of James Joyce’s Ulysses take place. It’s celebrated as Bloomsday in Ireland. I’ve read the novel twice. I understood about 10% of it, and do not remember a single line. It is a much harder read than anything by Shakespeare, of which whose works I understand at least 50 % and can cite many quotes. The only writer I find more difficult than Joyce is Henry James, who I understand but whose prose to me is dense and unreadable except for Turn of the Screw. Although Ulysses is beyond my grasp, I was so intrigued by the idea of following the stream of conscience of characters through an entire day that I attempted my own version, American Ulysses, which is on file on my PC and would be the last of my five remaining manuscripts I would attempt to have published. Mine follows only one character -- me. Anyway, Maya Lang, a Ph.D in Comparative Literature who grew up on Long Island, tackles Joyce in an impressive debut, The Sixteenth of June. Set in 2004, the 100th anniversary, it is told from the point of view of three characters: Leopold, an IT manager; Nora, his fiancé, a classically trained singer; and Stephen, Leopold’s brother, who has been working on his doctorate for seven years. Anyone intimidated by Joyce should not hesitate to read this intelligent book. Set in Philadelphia, it’s prose and dialogue are first rate and will be much more familiar to Americans than Joyce‘s. The subconscious thoughts are infinitely easier to follow, and the entire volume comes in at a tidy 237 pages, a quarter of the length, I’d guess, of Ulysses, which is discussed at times during the narrative. Any specific references to it were lost on me. Stephen cites it as a book many pretend to have read. As for Lang’s work, it is rich with insight into the inner and outer worlds of humans. Here’s an example: “That is the economics of life, the market of the heart driven by supply and demand, just like everything else. When you want too much, too openly, life sees your hunger and contracts. Not mind as time unfolds, testing you. Not mind the sparseness, the seeming lack. No roses without thorns.” She also introduces an interesting term: “Grand Unnamed Things” or “GUTS,” which are there but never to be examined. Only nine contributors have rated it at Amazon, forging to a consensus of four of five. I agree. Since I had such difficulty with Ulysses, it wouldn’t be fair to say The Sixteenth of June is better, but I certainly enjoyed it a hell of a lot more. My only quibble is that on occasion there seems to be more than one point of view in a paragraph. Its sales are modest. At last check, the hardcover edition ranked 109,905. There are more than 11 million books listed at Amazon. 

I didn't sell a lot of books today but I did sell a huge one: Arnold Schwarzenegger's The Encyclopedia of Modern Bodybuilding. Lugging it around was a workout in itself. My thanks to the young men who bought it and to the session's other buyers.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/2 - Number One

In college, way back in the late 60's to early '70's, it was believed by many scholars and critics that the great American novel had yet to be written. I've read a lot of classics, but I'm certainly no scholar or critic, although I do not hesitate to air my thoughts on any book I've finished. Ask ten readers which is the greatest American novel, and there are liable to be ten different responses. I believe it was published in 1884 -- Mark Twain's examination of the human condition in The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn. It may have been the first modern novel in that the author had the audacity to write it entirely from the point of view and in the vernacular of a semi-literate teenager. And he pulled no punches, using language only hip hop artists get away with these days. Yahoos in the education industry are now issuing white-washed versions of it, a travesty. Despite its un-literary language, it is poetry. Are there flaws? In my opinion, yes. Huck does not drop the g in words ending in ing. Although genuine, Jim's slave dialect is tough going. Early drafts of my third novel, Killing, contained almost no compromise in the Brooklynese. I wanted this work of fiction to be as true as possible, as true as Twain's masterpiece. I caved when friends said it was too difficult to read. What began as 95% accurate became perhaps 50%. Hopefully it retains enough of the fascinating flavor I hoped to communicate. As for Huck Finn, he does not find permanent enlightenment. He remains uniquely human until the end, baffled by life's mixed messages. The book was written by a wise man -- with wit to die for. Here are a few lines from the novel. Anyone offended by what it means to be human should pass:
"You don't know about me without you have read a book by the name of The Adventures of Tom Sawyer; but that ain't no matter. That book was made by Mr. Mark Twain, and he told the truth, mainly. There was things which he stretched, but mainly he told the truth."
"What's the use you learning to do right, when it's troublesome to do right and ain't no trouble to do wrong, and the wages is just the same?"
"I do believe he cared just as much for his people as white folks does for their'n."
"H'aint we got all the fools in town on our side? And ain't that a big enough majority in any town?"
"I knowed he was white inside."
"...he was most always right; he had an uncommon level head for a nigger."

I hadn't had a vivid dream in months, until last night. I was at some kind of party. Bert Convy was behind the bar. He extended his hand to shake, and knew a lot of intimate details about me. Why Convy? Who knows? I haven't encountered his image in a long time. Freud believed dreams are wish fulfillment, so I'd guess this one had something to do with the desire for literary success and the celebration that goes with it. If that's the case, why wouldn't my subconscious have conjured Twain or Dostoevsky or Saul Bellow rather than Convy? Weird, as usual.

I expected the floating book shop to be rained out today, but the precipitation held off. The return was small but it beat being indoors. My thanks to the gentleman who purchased two paperbacks. I also had a nice laugh when a guy, frustrated by one of those newfangled machines that was eating up quarters without dispensing parking vouchers, slammed the side of his fist into it and caused coins to cascade as if it were a casino slot machine. He and his female companion chuckled delightedly.
Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx

Selling My Books on the Streets of Brooklyn 8/1 - Best Offer

When Best Offer (2013) arrived in the mail, I could not recall what it was about or why I’d added it to my list at Netflix. I’m sure the presence of the great Geoffrey Rush had something to do with it. He plays Virgil Oldman, a high end auctioneer and art expert. He lives alone, terrified of women, and spends a lot of time in a hidden room that contains wall to wall portraits of ladies. He obtained the paintings individually through a scheme with a friend, played by Donald Sutherland, whose bushy gray beard and long hair is reminiscent of Walt Whitman. Oldman is hired to liquidate the holdings of the estate of a beautiful woman in her mid 20’s, who hasn’t left her villa since she was 15, and refuses to meet face to face. The relationship of these troubled souls forms the basis of this intelligent film written and directed by Giuseppe Tornatore, a Sicilian who in 1988 did the screenplay for one of my all-time favorite Italian films, Cinema Paradiso. Among the works in the mansion are pieces of an 18th century robot, which is gradually reassembled as the parts are discovered, obviously a metaphor for the two lives that must be made whole. This is quiet drama that requires audience participation, a refreshing change from most movies these days. It won several international awards, but received no Oscar nominations. I think it is far superior to the five 2013 Best Picture nominees I’ve seen. I thought the same of The Book Thief and August: Osage County. 37,500+ contributors have rated Best Offer at IMDb, forging to a consensus of 7.9 of ten. On a scale of five, I rate it four. Sylvia Hoeks, who is Dutch, plays the paranoid young woman. Philip Jackson, a veteran Brit character actor I’ve seen on at least five shows broadcast on PBS, lends able support. Ennio Morricone did the score. I did not pause the disc the entire running time of 2:11. My only quibble is the lack of close captioning.

Each day an elderly gentleman stops by the floating book shop to tell me a silly joke. Here’s an example: “What do they call tuberculosis in Ireland? O’TB.” 

Rosemary stopped by, on the point of tears. A couple of weeks ago she decided to pull up all her rugs, which unleashed a swarm of termites and beetles. Her furniture all has to be thrown away. All I could do was give her a shoulder rub. Joan, who must be in her late 60's, passed. Her mid 30's son is getting married Sunday. She had her nails and toenails done in pink up the street at the Chinese shop, the first time she'd paid for it, hadn't done it herself. Even her lipstick was that shade. It looked nice. I asked her to get me Jill Hennesey's phone number. The former Law & Order ADA is related to the bride-to-be. Unfortunately, she's already married to an Italian.   


Book-selling was so good today I was able to offer discounts and reduce the load in my car by two full bags. There now remain six in the front and back seats. Thanks, folks.

Vic's 4th Novel: http://tinyurl.com/bszwlxh
Vic's 3rd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/7e9jty3
Vic's Website: http://members.tripod.com/vic_fortezza/Literature/
Vic's Short Story Collection (Print or Kindle): http://www.tiny.cc/Oycgb
Vic's 2nd Novel: http://tinyurl.com/6b86st6
Vic's 1st Novel: http://tiny.cc/94t5h
Vic's Horror Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/cyckn3
Vic's Rom-Com Screenplay on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/kny5llp
Vic’s Short Story on Kindle: http://tinyurl.com/k95k3nx