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mostlysignssomeportents · 1 year

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Kickstarting the Red Team Blues audiobook, which Amazon won't sell (read by Wil Wheaton!)

Red Team Blues is my next novel, a post-cyberpunk anti-finance finance thriller; it’s a major title for my publishers Tor Books and Head of Zeus, and it’s swept the trade press with starred reviews all ‘round. Despite all that, Audible will not sell the audiobook. In fact, Audible won’t sell any of my audiobooks. Instead, I have to independently produce them and sell them through Kickstarter:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell

If you’d like an essay-formatted version of this post to read or share, here’s a link to it on pluralistic.net, my surveillance-free, ad-free, tracker-free blog:

https://pluralistic.net/2023/03/21/anti-finance-finance-thriller/#marty-hench

Audible is Amazon’s monopoly audiobook platform. It has a death-grip on the audiobook market, commanding more than 90% of genre audiobook sales, and every single one of those audiobooks is sold with Amazon’s DRM on it. That means that you can’t break up with Amazon without throwing away those audiobooks. Under the 1998 Digital Millennium Copyright Act, I can’t give you a tool to convert my own copyrighted audiobooks to a non-Amazon format. Doing so is a felony carrying a five year prison sentence and a $500,000 fine for an act that in no way infringes anyone’s copyright! Indeed, merely infringing copyright is much less illegal than removing Amazon’s mandatory DRM from my own books!

I’ve got amazing publishers who support my crusade against DRM, but they’re not charities. If they can’t sell my audiobooks on the platform that represents 90% of the market, they’re not going to make audio editions at all. Instead, I make my own audiobooks, using brilliant voice actors like Amber Benson and @neil-gaiman, and I sell them everywhere except Audible.

Doing this isn’t cheap: I’m paying for an incredible studio (Skyboat Media), a world-class director (Gabrielle de Cuir), top-notch sound editing and mastering, and, of course, killer narrators. And while indie audiobook platforms like Libro.fm and downpour.com are amazing, the brutal fees extracted by Apple and Google on app sales means that users have to jump through a thousand hoops to shop with indie stores. Most audiobook listeners don’t even know that these stores exist: if a title isn’t available on Audible, they assume no audiobook exists.

That’s where Kickstarter comes in: twice now, I’ve crowdfunded presales of my audiobooks through KS, and these campaigns were astoundingly successful, smashing records and selling thousands of audiobooks. These campaigns didn’t just pay my bills (especially during lockdown, when our household income plunged), but they also showed other authors that it was possible to evade Amazon’s monopoly chokepoint and sell books that aren’t sticky-traps for Audible’s walled garden/prison:

https://www.publishersweekly.com/pw/by-topic/columns-and-blogs/cory-doctorow/article/90282-we-wrote-a-book-about-why-audible-won-t-sell-our-book-and-snuck-it-onto-audible.html

And today, I’m launching the Kickstarter for Red Team Blues, and even by the standards of my previous efforts, I think this one’s gonna be incredible.

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell

For starters, there’s the narrator: @wilwheaton, whose work on my previous books is outstanding, hands-down my favorite (don’t tell my other narrators! They’re great too!):

https://wilwheaton.net/

Beyond Wil’s narration, there’s the subject matter. The hero of Red Team Blues is a hard-charging forensic accountant who’s untangled every Silicon Valley finance scam since he fell in love with spreadsheets as as a MIT freshman, dropped out, got his CPA ticket, and moved west. Now, at the age of 67, Marty Hench is ready to retire, but a dear old friend — a legendary cryptographer — drags him back for one last job — locating the stolen keys to the backdoor he foolishly hid in a cryptocurrency that’s worth more than a billion dollars.

That’s the starting gun for a “grabby next-Tuesday thriller” that sees Marty in between three-letter agencies and international crime syndicates, all of whom view digital technology as a carrier medium for scams, violence and predation. Marty’s final adventure involves dodgy banks, crooked crypto, and complicit officials in a fallen paradise where computers’ libertory promise has been sucked dry by billionaire vampires.

It’s a pretty contemporary story, in other words.

I wrote this one before SVB, before Sam Bankman0Fried and FTX — just like I wrote Little Brother before Snowden’s revelations. It’s not that I’m prescient — fortune-telling is a fatalist’s delusion — it’s that these phenomena are just the most spectacular, most recent examples in a long string of ghastly and increasingly dire scandals.

Red Team Blues blasted out of my fingertips in six weeks flat, during lockdown, when technology was simultaneously a lifeline, connecting us to one another during our enforced isolation; and a tool of predatory control, as bossware turned our “work from home” into “live at work.”

The last time I wrote a book that quickly, it was Little Brother, and, as with Little Brother, Red Team Blues is a way of working out my own anxieties and hopes for technology on the page, in story.

These books tap into a nerve. I knew I had something special in my hands when, the night after I finished the first draft, I rolled over at 2AM to find my wife sitting up in bed, reading.

“What are you doing?” I asked.

“I had to find out how it ended,” she answered.

The next day, my editor sent me a four-line email:

That. Was. A! Fucking! Ride! Whoa!

Within a week, he’d bought Red Team Blues…and two sequels. I finished writing the second of these on Monday, and all three are coming out in the next 22 months. It’s gonna be a wild ride.

Kickstarter backers can get the usual goodies: DRM-free audiobooks and ebooks, hardcovers (including signed and personalized copies), and three very special, very limited-run goodies.

First, there’s naming rights for characters in the sequels — I’m selling three of these; they’re a form of cheap (or at least, reasonably priced) literary immortality for you or a loved one. The sequels are a lot of fun — they go in reverse chronology, and the next one is The Bezzle, out in Feb 2024, a book about prison-tech scams, crooked LA County Sheriff’s Deputy gangs, and real-estate scumbags turned techbros.

The third book is Picks and Shovels (Jan 2025), and it’s Marty’s first adventure after he comes west to San Francisco and ends up working for the bad guys, an affinity scam PC company called “Three Wise Men” that’s run by a Mormon bishop, a Catholic priest and an orthodox rabbi who fleece their faithful with proprietary, underpowered computers and peripherals, and front for some very bad, very violent money-men.

Next, there’s three Marty Hench short story commissions: the Hench stories are machines for turning opaque finance scams into technothrillers. While finance bros use MEGO (“my eyes glaze over”) as a weapon to bore their marks into submission, I use the same performative complexity as the engines of taut detective stories. Commissioning a Hench story lets you turn your favorite MEGO scam into a science fiction story, which I’ll then shop to fiction websites (every story I’ve written for the past 20 years has sold, though in the event that one of these doesn’t, I’ll put it up under a CC license).

Finally, there’s a super-ultra-limited deluxe hardcover edition — and I do mean limited, just four copies! These leather-bound editions have Will Staehle’s fantastic graphic motif embossed in their covers, and the type design legend John D Berry is laying out the pages so that there’s space for a hidden cavity. Nestled in that cavity is a hand-bound early draft edition of The Bezzle, the sequel to Red Team Blues. The binding is being done by the fantastic book-artist John DeMerritt. Each copy’s endpapers will feature a custom cryptographic puzzle created especially for it by the cryptographer Bruce Schneier.

I often hear from readers who want to thank me for the work I do, from the free podcast I’ve put out since 2006 to the free, CC BY columns I’ve written for Pluralistic for the past three years. There is no better way to thank me than to back this Kickstarter and encourage your friends to do the same:

https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/doctorow/red-team-blues-another-audiobook-that-amazon-wont-sell

Preselling a ton of audiobooks, ebooks, and print books is a huge boost to the book on its launch — incomparable, really. Invaluable.

What’s more, helping me find a viable way to produce popular, widely heard audiobooks without submitting to Amazon’s DRM lock-in sets an example for other creators and publishers: we have a hell of a collective action problem to solve, but if we could coordinate a response to Audible demanding the right to decide whether our work should have their DRM, it would force Audible to treat all of us — creators, publishers and listeners — more fairly.

I’ll be heading out on tour to the US, Canada, the UK and Germany once the book is out. I’m really looking forward to as many backers in person as I can! Thank you for your support over these many long years — and for your support on this Kickstarter.

Today (Mar 22), I’m doing a remote talk for the Institute for the Future’s “Changing the Register” series.

[Image ID: A graphic showing a phone playing the Red Team Blues audiobok, along with a quote from Booklist, 'Jam-packed with cutting-edge ideas about cybersecurity and crypto. Another winner from an sf wizard.']

#pluralistic #wil wheaton #drm #chokepoint capitalism #Monopoly #audible #amazon #audiobooks #sf #science fiction #post cyberpunk #cyberpunk #technothrillers #thrillers #heists #cryptocurrency #red team blues #marty hench #kickstarter

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cowboyjen68 · 1 year

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Taxes. You CAN do this!

To those of you who have not filed your taxes (Deadline is tomorrow) or who are putting it off because it is too complex I have some good news. I paid a CPA for years, sometimes 200.00 or more to do my taxes. My parents helped me or did them for years and then, once married, I was convinced they were too complicated for me to handle. Most of us, even me with three jobs, a chiild and owning a home etc, are eligible for free tax preperation. Certainly we should not be paying 200 some bucks to some service that is just following along the same form we could be doing for ourselves.

TODAY go to irs.gov. There is an application to ask for an extension. FILL IT OUT. Get yourself more time to avoid loosing money in fees and penalties.

The IRS site will ask you some questions to help you find a FREE or discounted service to file your taxes on line. Look for a site that does your state (some list specific states and others say all states) for free if you file your federal with them and you can do it all at once.

If you don't have access to your tax records from last year you can contact the company you used last year OR follow the link they provide to access/set up your IRS account. This is good to have in any case because there is lots of good information about your income etc on there. It takes some back and forth on your phone/computer (you need a smart phone for quick IDME set up but there are other options). You can also get all your information off of the hard copies from the previous year.

Once you choose the right tax prep account from the IRS suggstions you simply follow the easy instructions and match my the form number listed on the tax papers mailed to you by your bank, employers, etc. Match the box numbers as you go. It is really a easy process if you just follow the numbers of each box. You will need your checking account and bank routing number for direct deposit AND your Adjusted Gross income (on last years tax form OR available from the IRS/you preparer) AND the "over payment" ie REFUND From state and federal last year. (Also available on your irs site or on the forms form last year).

They email and or text confirmation and if there is an issue they give you the specific space that needs correcting.

You CAN do this!

ALSO> rememeber to have your tax exemption 0 going forward to insure taxes are withheld all year so you are less likely to owe. (DO not claim yourself).

AND remember you can deduct your Vehicle registration from many state taxes (you will need the title OR at least the cost you pay, year, and WEIGHT of the model you own-I was able to google the weight using the year and model).

If you get hung up the IRS also lists free services to help you. Many libraries and local social sevices entities will have information on the free filing help.

#taxes #advice #adult things #irs

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nice-bright-colors · 4 months

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Sunday. 12.31.23

I’m out of coffee beans, and my local coffee roaster is closed until Tuesday. Shit.

My CPA had an illness and subsequent death in the family on Christmas. I told her we could reschedule the paperwork and fees for turning my LLC into an SCorp. I probably just missed out on reducing my taxes for this year. Damn.

I haven’t wrote in my journal since Dec. 6th. Plenty has happened since then, all stuff I should have written about. Nope, let’s try to cram it all in on the last day. Balls.

I haven’t heard about the years work/ praise/ looking forward email from all the projects we did this year. I guess the sting of selling a company back to its owner for $1 hit a little hard. Shit balls.

I’m debating about taking a shower since I’m so cold right now. Fucking hell.

Maybe I’ll even shave and hopefully end the year with a bang. Fuck.

Starting the year off tomorrow with new desktop calendar. It was a gift from The Wife™️. Not exactly thrilled about it right now. If I could UNFU*K myself, doesn’t she think I would’ve by now?

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milescpareview · 4 months

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What is CMA Salary Per Month?

The Certified Management Accountant (CMA) designation is increasingly recognized for its emphasis on strategic financial management and decision-making skills. In terms of salary, CMAs are well-positioned to earn competitive remuneration. The monthly salary for a CMA varies based on factors such as experience, location, and industry.

On average, entry-level CMAs with 1-3 years of experience can expect a monthly salary ranging from $3,500 to $6,000. Mid-level professionals with 4-7 years of experience may command salaries between $6,000 and $10,000 per month. Senior-level CMAs, possessing over 8 years of experience, can enjoy monthly earnings exceeding $10,000, depending on their role and responsibilities.

Industries such as finance, manufacturing, and consulting often offer higher salaries for CMAs, recognizing the strategic financial insights they bring to the table. Additionally, geographic location plays a role, with metropolitan areas generally offering higher compensation to reflect the cost of living.

In conclusion, the monthly salary for CMAs is influenced by factors such as experience, industry, and location. The CMA designation continues to be a valuable asset for professionals seeking rewarding careers in management accounting and financial leadership roles.

#Indiacpa exam #certified public accountant #cpa full form #cpa in India #CPA review #cpa training institute #cpa salary in India #cpa syllabus #cpa license #cpa cost #cpa fees #us cpa exam #cpa exam fees in India #cpa details #cpa average salary in India #cpa highest salary India #best institute for CPA in India #cpa course details and fees #US Certified Public Accountant Exam

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businessonboarding · 2 months

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Mastering Pay-Per-Click (PPC) Advertising: A Comprehensive Guide

In today's digital age, mastering Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising is essential for businesses looking to thrive online. PPC advertising offers a targeted approach to reaching potential customers, allowing businesses to display ads to users who are actively searching for products or services related to their offerings.

Understanding the Basics of PPC Advertising

At its core, PPC advertising operates on a simple principle: advertisers bid on keywords relevant to their target audience, and their ads are displayed when users search for those keywords. Unlike traditional advertising models, where advertisers pay a flat fee for ad placement, PPC advertising follows a pay-per-click model, meaning advertisers only pay when someone clicks on their ad.

The Importance of Keyword Research

Keyword research is the cornerstone of any successful PPC campaign. By identifying the keywords and phrases that potential customers are using to search for products or services, advertisers can ensure that their ads are displayed to the right audience. Effective keyword research involves not only identifying high-volume keywords but also understanding the intent behind those keywords. By targeting keywords with high commercial intent, advertisers can maximize the return on their advertising investment.

Crafting Compelling Ad Copy

In the competitive world of PPC advertising, compelling ad copy is essential for attracting clicks and driving conversions. Advertisers must create ad copy that is not only relevant to the user's search query but also compelling enough to entice them to click. Effective ad copy should highlight the unique selling points of the product or service, address the user's pain points, and include a clear call-to-action to encourage users to take the next step.

Maximizing ROI with Strategic Bidding Strategies

Strategic bidding is key to maximizing the return on investment (ROI) of PPC advertising campaigns. Advertisers can use a variety of bidding strategies to ensure that they are getting the most value for their advertising dollars. From manual bidding, which allows advertisers to set individual bids for each keyword, to automated bidding, which leverages machine learning algorithms to optimize bids in real-time, there are strategies to suit every budget and objective.

Leveraging Ad Extensions

Ad extensions are additional pieces of information that advertisers can include in their ads to provide users with more context and encourage engagement. From sitelink extensions, which allow advertisers to include additional links to specific pages on their website, to callout extensions, which enable advertisers to highlight key selling points or offers, ad extensions can help advertisers stand out from the competition and drive more clicks.

Continuous Monitoring and Optimization

The digital landscape is constantly evolving, and ongoing monitoring and optimization are essential for ensuring the success of PPC advertising campaigns. By regularly analyzing key performance metrics such as click-through rate (CTR), conversion rate, and cost per acquisition (CPA), advertisers can identify areas for improvement and make data-driven adjustments to their campaigns. Whether it's adjusting keyword bids, refining ad copy, or testing new ad extensions, continuous optimization is key to staying ahead of the competition and maximizing ROI.

Conclusion

In conclusion, mastering Pay-Per-Click (PPC) advertising requires a combination of strategic planning, creative execution, and continuous optimization. By understanding the basics of PPC advertising, conducting thorough keyword research, crafting compelling ad copy, leveraging strategic bidding strategies, and continuously monitoring and optimizing campaigns, advertisers can maximize their ROI and achieve their marketing objectives in today's competitive digital landscape.

#ppc #digitalmarketing #digital art

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chiefkidthing · 1 year

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must read blog on US CPA EXAM STRUCTURE

US CPA COURSE ONLINE CPA FEES IN INDIA CPA COURSE ONLINE 2023 https://www.vglearningdestination.com/

#cpa #cpa course online #cpa course fees #cpa course #Enrolled Agent Course Online #acca course online #us cma course #cma course #certifiedinternalauditor #cia course #cia #cma

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onlineearningselite · 11 months

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Best Affiliate Marketing Programs for Beginners

Introduction:

Affiliate marketing has gained immense popularity as a lucrative online business model, allowing individuals to earn passive income by promoting products or services. For beginners, choosing the right affiliate marketing program is crucial to ensure a smooth and successful start. In this blog post, we will explore the top affiliate marketing programs that are beginner-friendly and offer great earning potential.

I. Amazon Associates: The Giant of Affiliate Marketing

When it comes to affiliate marketing, Amazon Associates stands out as one of the most trusted and widely recognized programs. With millions of products available for promotion, beginners have a vast range of options to choose from. Amazon offers competitive commission rates, making it an attractive choice for affiliates. Getting started with Amazon Associates is relatively easy, and the program provides helpful resources and tools for beginners to maximize their earnings.

II. ClickBank: A Digital Product Paradise

ClickBank is a popular affiliate marketing network that specializes in digital products and one of my favourite Affiliate Marketing Program. As a beginner, ClickBank offers several advantages, including a vast marketplace of digital products spanning various niches. The platform boasts high commission rates, often ranging from 50% to 75%, providing excellent earning potential. ClickBank is known for its user-friendly interface, making it easy for beginners to navigate and find profitable products to promote. Additionally, ClickBank provides ample resources, tutorials, and support to help affiliates succeed.

III. ShareASale: Diversity and Merchant Options

ShareASale is an affiliate marketing platform that offers a diverse range of merchants and products. Beginners can find opportunities in numerous niches and have the flexibility to choose products that align with their interests and target audience. ShareASale provides a user-friendly interface, making it easy to browse through available merchants and select suitable products for promotion. The platform also offers robust reporting tools, helping affiliates track their performance and optimize their strategies accordingly.

IV. CJ Affiliate: A Trusted Affiliate Marketing Network

Formerly known as Commission Junction, CJ Affiliate is a reputable affiliate marketing network that has been in the industry for many years. With a wide array of merchants and products, beginners can find profitable opportunities across various niches. CJ Affiliate stands out for its advanced tracking and reporting capabilities, allowing affiliates to monitor their performance accurately. The network also provides comprehensive support and resources to help beginners succeed in their affiliate marketing journey.

V. Shopify Affiliate Program: Earning with E-commerce

The Shopify Affiliate Program presents a unique opportunity for beginners to earn recurring income by promoting Shopify's e-commerce platform. With the rapid growth of online businesses, promoting a trusted and widely used e-commerce platform like Shopify can be highly lucrative. Affiliates earn a commission for each new customer they refer to Shopify, as well as a percentage of their monthly subscription fees. Shopify offers a range of marketing materials, tutorials, and dedicated support to assist affiliates in maximizing their earnings.

VI. MaxBounty: Exploring CPA Marketing

MaxBounty is a renowned CPA (Cost Per Action) affiliate network that offers attractive commission rates and a wide range of offers. CPA marketing differs from traditional affiliate marketing, as affiliates earn commissions when their referrals complete specific actions, such as signing up for a free trial or filling out a form. MaxBounty is known for its user-friendly interface and offers excellent support to beginners. With a variety of high-converting offers available, MaxBounty presents a great opportunity for beginners to explore CPA marketing.

Conclusion:

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