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How's that for an attention grabber ;-)
Been a while, so I figured an update was in order. First off, the first run of Fire And Fame is about done, meaning we'll be going back to the printer shortly for Round Two. Thanks to everyone who purchased a book, we appreciate it.
Also, a vote of thanks and praise to the media folks that have stepped up to help push Fire And Fame. Reading a book is a hell of a lot more time consuming than listening to a CD, so it says a lot about the gentlemen who took the time to read and (for better or for worse) review it. The interviews have been a very important and highly appreciated added bonus. So, to Chad Bowar (About.com), Neil Daniels (Powerplay / neildaniels.com), Bruce Mee (Fireworks Magazine), David Perri (BW&BK) and Mark Gromen (Metal Maniacs), thank you.
To the musicians that offered their accolades and advice, there's no better endorsement than that from the folks that have lived the rockstar dream. Thank you.
That said, I'd like to address the dark side of this little venture...
Having been in the music journalist biz for 15 years I'm well aware of how the game is played. When it comes to music it's simply impossible to review every CD and do up an interview for every artist that crosses your desk. When it comes to a book, you REALLY have to be interested in the subject to want invest the time in reading it. Thus, promo for a book like Fire And Fame is a crapshoot. That's a reality we were aware of going in, and indeed, we've sent books out blind to various publications and gotten zero feedback in return. A calculated risk that, unfortunately, comes with the territory.
There have been several media people, however, that have expressed interest in the book to myself and Joerg directly, and given us nothing in return. Not a frickin' peep. Perhaps they decided it made better toilet paper than reading material, maybe they wanted to spare us the pain of a crushing, negative review. Either way, it's completely unprofessional behaviour based strictly on the thrill of having one's hand out and getting a freebie.
You know who you are and you should probably be ashamed of yourselves. But I doubt you are.
Fire And Fame is an independent release. This means that WE EAT THE COST OF EVERY SINGLE BOOK WE SEND OUT AS PROMO COPIES. We don't have a publisher or a record company to write off the costs, we don't have a slush fund to skim off the top as we please.. So, €14,99 + postage... do the math and you can understand why our activities in the press are severely restricted. We'd like to make some money off the book more than we'd like to provide you with a decoration for your coffee table. Sorry
With that in mind, from this point forward promo copies will only be provided to media outlets we feel we can trust. So, there will be a dialogue and discussion of what can or cannot be done for Fire And Fame before anything is sent out.
Shooting ourselves in the foot? Maybe, but it's better than shooting ourselves in the head.
And with regards to "saving" us from poor reviews, don't bother. The folks at Sweden Rock Magazine gave us a measly 4 / 10, and even though they missed the point entirely ;-), the fact they stepped up and made the effort to give us and everyone else some feedback makes them a class act.
Until next time,
Carl Begai
BW&BK
www.bravewords.com
carlbegai.com
P.S.: Jaap, you fucking rock! Thank you, beer's on me...
3:02 PM
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