M.G. Edwards – Page 5

Use Your Wikipedia Donation to Support Indie Authors

Online encyclopedia Wikipedia has begun its annual pitch for donations to continue operating as an independent, non-profit information resource. Founder Jimmy Wales will once again ask those who visit the website to donate “to protect and sustain Wikipedia.” This year, I encourage you to put this donation to a better use. Please use the money to buy books published by independent (indie) authors.

Wikipedia is biased against indie authors it considers “non-notable” unless their works are cited by “credible” sources. In general, it prefers traditional media and does not recognize citations from social media sites, blogs, writers’ networks, self-publishing websites, or indie awards. Unless you are noted by select information resources, you’re out of luck receiving recognition from Wikipedia.

Wikipedia also strongly discourages autobiographies. It prefers second- and third-hand sources, which it considers more accurate and objective than first-hand accounts, even though such sources may be biased. Whether the biographer has an ulterior motive or a conflict of interest is irrelevant. Wikipedia assumes that its system to evaluate biases in its articles is sufficient, although its view on autobiographies suggests that it is not robust enough to root out misstatements, factual errors, or embellishments regardless of source.

If you are an author with a publicist who writes an article about you linked to a source Wikipedia that considers credible, then welcome to the club. If you’re a successful self-published indie author with an independent network, you’re out of luck. You and your books are not eligible to be included in Wikipedia. Don’t ask your friend to post your biography for you. Anonymous monitors who evaluate articles according to the site’s self-determined criteria will delete you.

Most self-published authors do not qualify for Wikipedia profiles. This does a disservice to the many hard-working, established writers who have chosen to self-publish. The rapidly expanding self-publishing industry operates differently than traditional publishing, and indie authors are more apt to promote each other through social media, writers’ circles, and independent networks than to wait for recognition from traditional media. Wikipedia’s rules are better suited to the pre-Internet and pre-social media eras. Rather than adapting to changes in the publishing industry, it simply chooses to exclude most indie authors.

This year, please support independent authors. The money saved from not donating to Wikipedia will buy some great books and recognize outstanding authors.

Here are three independent author communities with thousands of books to choose from:

Independent Author Network

Independent Author Index

World Literary Café

Thank you for your support.

The opinions expressed in this article represents solely the views of the author. Encyclopedia image courtesy of Microsoft; the indigo ribbon is public domain.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain, a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories and Alexander the Salamander, a children’s story set in the Amazon. His books are available to purchase as an e-book and in print from Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.

For more books or stories by M.G. Edwards, visit his web site at www.mgedwards.com or his blog, World Adventurers. Contact him at me@mgedwards.com, on Facebook, on Google+, or @m_g_edwards on Twitter.

Superhero Author Interviews M.G. Edwards

Reblogged from KevinRau.com:

An Interview with M.G. Edwards

Many thanks to fellow author Kevin Rau for his invitation to interview me with a superhero twist! Although I am mortal, I’m happy to have the opportunity flex my lone superpower — my amazing ability to bend and twist prose. Thanks again, Kevin! I’ll try to keep this interview coherent and on topic. If not, just tell the words to get back in line.

When did you start writing, and was there a significant event that prompted you to do so?

When I was ten years old, my teacher asked our class to write tall tales in small groups and present them in class. Some groups chose to tell the story of Paul Bunyan and other well-known legends. Inspired by the 1981 eruption of Mount St. Helens, I wrote a tale called "How Little Big Chief Calmed the Mountain." Featured in my book Real Dreams, the story tells of how Little Big Chief made the ultimate sacrifice — offering what was most precious to him to appease an angry volcano. The role of Little Big Chief went to a good friend with cerebral palsy. His amazing performance is one of my fondest childhood memories.

Kev’s response: Hmm, I’ve always found that interesting. Personally, I have no memories below the age of 13 or so. None. I joke that I was hatched at that age. It’s fascinating to hear about others with their memories.

If you could have one superpower, what would it be? (Assuming said power would be reasonably powerful.)

I would like the ability to clone myself like Michael Keaton did in the movie Multiplicity. Not that I relish dealing with multiple versions of myself and their escapades, but they sure would come in handy to help me multitask. One could focus on brainstorming ideas for novels, another on writing outlines, a third on drafting the manuscript, and a fourth on editing it. My productivity would soar! At least, that’s how it would work in theory.

Kev’s response: Just the ability to brainstorm ideas in a group for storylines would rock.

Do you have a favorite superhero from novels, comics, or movies?

I’m a big comic book fan. My favorite superhero — long before The Avengers movie came along — has always been Thor. I mean, how can you beat a demigod? I know that Ironman seems cooler, the Hulk is a force to be reckoned with, and Captain America is America’s superhero, but it’s hard to beat a Norse god and his mighty hammer.

Kev’s response: Thor is a full-blown deity, you know. Perhaps not in the Marvel Universe, however. He is filled with much awesomeness – and Chris Hemsworth has done an excellent job portraying him in the Thor part. 🙂

Click here to read the rest of my interview on Kevin’s super-fabulous blog!

About Kevin Rau

Kevin Rau is the author of six novels, including the H.E.R.O. series, an Illustrated Guide, and short stories in the SciFi/Superhero genre. He also does character art. He launched the Author Interview pages to promote fellow authors and create some cross-links back to their websites or social networks within the interview. Visit his interview page for more great interviews from other authors. For more information about his work, visit KevinRau.com.

Thor’s Battle Against the Jötnar (1872) by Mårten Eskil Winge is public domain.

Thoughts & Sayings (July 2012)

Here are some thoughts and sayings I posted on Twitter and/or Facebook in June. To my knowledge, I made these up (for better or for worse). Sit back, relax, and enjoy the write!

Encouraging Words

1. Whenever life seems to have no purpose, I lecture it about getting motivated.

2. Happy Monday! I don’t know why I’m happy to start a work week, but I wish it would stop.

3. Being flawed is a prerequisite to being appreciated for something you’ve done well.

4. The word “momentum” begins with a flash and ends with a pause.

5. If only life had a breaker panel where you could flip a switch when you’re overloaded and ready to short circuit.

6. Friends come and go. Sometimes I wish they would sit and stay for a while.

Twisted Words

7. Why does the word “Saturday” begin with “sat” when most people are out and about enjoying the weekend?

8. The world doesn’t owe you a scent. You have to excrete it yourself.

9. A round dog with a tough exterior but a soft demeanor is a melon collie.

10. I don’t know what on Earth is going on. Thank heavens I’m well-grounded because I’m feeling spacy.

Holidays & Events

11. May annoys June because she always finishes first and is much too flowery.

12. It’s ironic that Father’s Day falls on a Sonday.

13. The financial markets are bloated because they digested too much Greece.

14. Rumor has it that the sequel to the movie Prometheus will be called “Icarus” and will feature a group of scientists searching for the origin of mankind that discovers that humanity was actually created by a violent, warlike group of human beings. Word has it that the film will be set on Earth.

Random Musings

15. A week is an artificial construct. Thank goodness someone invented weekends.

16. At this moment, millions of people are spending quality time with their tech gadgets.

17. The drawback to multitasking is that you can only finish one task at a time.

18. It’s been so long since statesmen ran our country that no one’s bothered to make the word gender neutral.

19. I drive faster in America because I use kilometers.

20. One of the most difficult travel decisions is deciding whether to consume or throw out perishable food before leaving on a trip.

21. Do Slovaks write Czechs?

Click here to read the previous batch of Thoughts and Sayings.

M.G. Edwards is a writer of books and stories in the mystery, thriller and science fiction-fantasy genres. He also writes travel adventures. He is author of Kilimanjaro: One Man’s Quest to Go Over the Hill, a non-fiction account of his attempt to summit Mount Kilimanjaro, Africa’s highest mountain and a collection of short stories called Real Dreams: Thirty Years of Short Stories. His books are available as an e-book and in print on Amazon.com and other booksellers. He lives in Bangkok, Thailand with his wife Jing and son Alex.