Tag: work

The Scam Game

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It is getting way out of hand. The phone keeps going off every 10 minutes or so and quite often, it is the same number calling. A number I don’t recognize. I spent most of the day at home yesterday and I got almost a dozen calls from unknown numbers.

I looked up most of the numbers and also the area codes, some were definitely from scammers. There were warnings out on this kind of aggressive calls. The problem is, the phone rings and when I pick it up, they hang up. Or they come up with some badly devised scheme about the “electricity” bill or something else. Nothing that makes sense. I want to know why they keep calling and when I pick up, they hang up. Doesn’t make sense either.

The aggressiveness comes from the number of calls they are fielding. Sometimes as many as 10 calls per day. Frustrating? Definitely! I was told that I could change my number but that is more than frustrating because I would have to inform friends and people close to me about the change. How they have my number is confusing as well. I am careful about who I give my number to so it seems like they are using some other method to get a hold of the numbers.

It seems that scammers have found a lucrative way of making money without doing any work other than to make you part with your hard-earned money. SCAMMERS get a job and earn money the old-fashioned way like most people do.

My plan is to take down the numbers, the ones that call here consistently and persistently and to hand over to someone to do the job of bringing them down. I hope it works but I’m sure more will crop up. Scammers, it seems, are here to stay simply because people fall prey to their dubious schemes and because they are learning there is another way of making money, one that does not involve going to WORK!

The Publishing Journey

It is not just about writing the book, spending hours and hours on end putting it together, getting lost in a world where magic happens, but then comes the question, “What to do with it?” after it is done and finished.

The search began for a publisher who would love my book and give it a chance. I had two offers. One a mega publisher and the other a smaller children’s book publisher. I went with the big one thinking my book would be in good hands. Thinking and the reality are two different things but that’s for another time.

Publishing took a long time as did the illustrations and the back and forth with the publisher. There were times when I was absolutely frustrated and other times when I thought they were doing a good job. The day I had been waiting for came and I got the message that the publishing day was just around the corner! There was a certain sense of euphoria I can’t explain. I was on cloud nine but nervous at the same time. Will it make it? It was a question that kept doing rounds in my head. Then I saw the finished product and I was happy and not so happy. There were certain things that did not set too well. The book size for one thing. The cover was eye-catching and I liked that part.

I had a book out there! The publisher wrote saying, “Success of the book depends on you.” Hmm….I wasn’t sure what that meant. What do I do now? It was hard work getting the visibility that was needed to bump the book up from under millions of titles. Daunting? Yes. Then there was the question of ratings and reviews. In the beginning, it was mostly 5-stars and I was floating around. It was doing well, this little book of mine. However, I came falling back to earth when the first not so good review knocked me off my pedestal! I was irritated, frustrated and I wanted to reply but was told that silence is the best approach. I kept my cool and more reviews started coming in, mostly 5-stars and that one review that still bugs me was relegated to a space at the bottom rung of the ladder.

I still wake up some mornings and rush to see if the book is doing fine. When I see that it is, I breathe a sigh of relief and that, my friends, is more than irritating to say the least. I’m talking about my dependence on a book to bring my mood up or to bring it all the way down. I’ve decided that I’ve done my part and the book will do just fine. I will help it along but if it is a good book, it will find its way.

The sequel is finished and has been accepted. I want to wait a while before I go through the same process again. NOW, I just need a movie producer to pick the book up and to turn it into a hit! Any takers?