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Hello from a non-skeptic

Charles, if you're still reading this thread:

Did you pay your "agent" up front to place your book, and did they put you in touch with CreateSpace? If that's the case you've been conned, doubly so if they didn't even do the editorial work you expected them to do. If this involved anything more demanding than a final polish such work should in any case have been done by an editor rather than an agent (not that you need either to publish through CreateSpace). If you think you've been had I suggest that you head over to this excellent site and ask for further advice:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php

Please note that I'm not being snarky or implying that you're an idiot for being taken in. Amateur/unscrupulous agents are notorious for preying on novice writers.
 
Charles Boden said:
It has been no pleasure for me right from the start, and in fact it has been more emotionally draining than you can even imagine.
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If you really mean this, it's time to take a look at the bright side.
It's time to celebrate the fact that life has been so exceptionally kind to you that random people on the internet who question your beliefs make you feel so "unimaginably" horrible.

If, on the other hand, you don't really mean it, just don't say it; it is a very silly thing to say.
 
Alice Shortcake said:
Charles, if you're still reading this thread:

Did you pay your "agent" up front to place your book, and did they put you in touch with CreateSpace? If that's the case you've been conned, doubly so if they didn't even do the editorial work you expected them to do. If this involved anything more demanding than a final polish such work should in any case have been done by an editor rather than an agent (not that you need either to publish through CreateSpace). If you think you've been had I suggest that you head over to this excellent site and ask for further advice:

http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php

Please note that I'm not being snarky or implying that you're an idiot for being taken in. Amateur/unscrupulous agents are notorious for preying on novice writers.
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I agree with your perception. The fact that you've been kind enough to direct Charles to a resource that can help him just goes to show that we're not the horrible, awful people that we've been accused of being. Thank you for your kindness, Alice. You're good people :grouphug:
 
*blushes :o*

Aw, thanks! I've been doing a bit of research on crooked publishers and agents, and sadly there are lots of them out there waiting to pounce on would-be writers.
 
Alice Shortcake said:
*blushes :o*

Aw, thanks! I've been doing a bit of research on crooked publishers and agents, and sadly there are lots of them out there waiting to pounce on would-be writers.
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I guess it's encouraging to see such activity is not confined to the music business.
 
You needn't concern yourself, Alice. I have requested my agent to make a donation of whatever royalty due to me, which will be done in January, to the charity institution of his choice, preferably one that works with children...

I will post the copy of the receipt here once he does so...
 
Charles Boden said:
You needn't concern yourself, Alice. I have requested my agent to make a donation of whatever royalty due to me, which will be done in January, to the charity institution of his choice, preferably one that works with children...

I will post the copy of the receipt here once he does so...
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Alice didn't ask about your "royalties".
 
Charles Boden said:
You needn't concern yourself, Alice. I have requested my agent to make a donation of whatever royalty due to me, which will be done in January, to the charity institution of his choice, preferably one that works with children...

I will post the copy of the receipt here once he does so...
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Charles! Good to see you here.

I'd advise you to keep a close eye on your "agent," because as Alice said, one is not normally needed for self-published books such as yours.

You're probably not expecting a whole lot of royalties coming your way anyway right away, but I'd still be wary of any "agent" who may be offering to help you. Definitely don't pay this agent any money.

Just a friendly skeptical suggestion. :)
 
Charles, Alice wasn't asking about your royalties, she was pointing out that anyone can publish books on CreateSpace, no agent is required. Your agent should have told you this and s/he certainly should not have charged you any money for putting your book on CreateSpace.

It's good to see you back here, Charles - we're not your enemies.
 
Charles, how did you find your agent? I ask because real agents are inundated with queries from new writers desperate to find reliable representation. If this person approached you, perhaps via the internet, he or she is almost certainly a scammer. If you paid this person upfront and they put you in touch with CreateSpace you've definately been scammed. Genuine agents make their money by selling a client's work to genuine publishers and taking a 15% cut of the profit; since everyone who uses CreateSpace does so at their own expense your agent has taken your money and done absolutely no work for it.
 
Charles,

I encourage you to pay close attention to Alice's recent posts.

This is no longer about debating the validity of your reincarnation claims or your ancestral lines to royalty. Nor is it about ridiculing or exposing any sort of stupidity on your part. It is about being careful and severing ties with someone who, due only to your unfamiliarity with the industry, may be taking advantage of you.

Separate your feelings towards this forum and its members due to our opinions of your other claims, and take good advice when it is given. No one here wishes you any ill will, regardless of how we may have come across.
 
Charles Boden said:
You needn't concern yourself, Alice. I have requested my agent to make a donation of whatever royalty due to me, which will be done in January, to the charity institution of his choice, preferably one that works with children...

I will post the copy of the receipt here once he does so...
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I'm a bit confused. If the royalties are due to you, and you wish them to be donated, why would you ask your agent to donate them to a charity of his choice?

I know nothing about agent relationships, but when it comes to charitable donations that I make under no obligation, I prefer to choose the organization myself.

But that's just me.
 
This whole thing stinks to high heaven. Is Charles implying that the royalties will be paid to his agent, who will then make the charity donation on Charles' behalf? This isn't how it works. Royalties are paid directly to the author, not to agents.

Charles, how much do you know about this man? Does he represent any other authors? How many books has he sold recently? Unless he provided his "services" for free you MUST have paid him upfront because there's no other way he could have made any money on this transaction - CreateSpace is a self-publishing outfit and doesn't buy the books it produces. You really need to get in touch with the well-informed people here: http://www.absolutewrite.com/forums/index.php

As I said earlier, novice writers are easy prey for phoney agents and vanity presses. There's no shame in being taken in.

Even further OT (bear with me, mods!) is the surreal story of what happened when wannabe writer Lanaia Lee fell into the hands of TWO phoney agents:

http://nielsenhayden.com/makinglight/archives/009448.html

You really couldn't make this up. It's a jungle out there, folks!
 
Well, I thank you all for your concern... As you can imagine, the difficulty in publishing is already a struggle even greater than one might think. It is in particular even more difficult to find a publisher for a work such as mine. I needed help and assistance to publish, and indeed this part of the bargain was fulfilled, but I am far from happy with all that has happened. The amount charged was greater but not substantially for the publication on CreateSpace, and I received help with the covers, but the promised "final revision" was not carried out and the initial insinuation was for more than just a publication on CreateSpace. I am giving the "agent" an opportunity to come clean, seeing as he has promised to settle what has been agreed with me in January. If he doesn't, well, I'll just post his name and the name of his agency here and start a law suit. I don't think it will reach that far, though, and our contract expires next July, so do I hear any better offers??? :)

But believe me though, it has never been for the money... I live fairly modestly, but have all I need in order to be happy. Of course it would be nice to see the book sell by the thousands. After all, I am the father of four, but in truth the one and main reason I have made all the effort of researching and writing has been to share the concept, also due to the fact that I was instructed to do so. When "Aunt Rita" told me about my ex-wife and my youngest son and our associations, my question to her was what I should do with such information. Her reply was for me to write about it, which was also what was implied when she said: "Ohshallah wishes it that you should cross through these arches..."

Someone here asked me why, if I had been told not to divulge certain secrets, I have now divulged what I have. Believe me, I also questioned myself concerning this when I began to wonder about divulging what I have been trying to regarding "Consciousness", and the "intuitive reply" that I got was: "Against the Greater Consciousness, nothing can be done. Go ahead and divulge it..." So I have been trying to act in accordance.

I really do wish that there were a manner by which I could share the knowledge of this reality with you all in a more convincing manner than I have, but there isn't. All I can do, as I say at the beginning of my book, is share my experiences. Of the twelve years that I took part in the Spiritualist Center I have mentioned, seven of them were working as a medium. Though I cannot prove it, what I can share with you all is that what I have shared both here and in my book is a "reality".

Charles
 
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Charles Boden said:
Well, I thank you all for your concern... As you can imagine, the difficulty in publishing is already a struggle even greater than one might think. It is in particular even more difficult to find a publisher for a work such as mine. I needed help and assistance to publish, and indeed this part of the bargain was fulfilled, but I am far from happy with all that has happened. The amount charged was greater but not substantially for the publication on CreateSpace, and I received help with the covers, but the promised "final revision" was not carried out and the initial insinuation was for more than just a publication on CreateSpace. I am giving the "agent" an opportunity to come clean, seeing as he has promised to settle what has been agreed with me in January. If he doesn't, well, I'll just post his name and the name of his agency here and start a law suit. I don't think it will reach that far, though, and our contract expires next July, so do I hear any better offers??? :)
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No offers. But you are asking better questions.
I really do wish that there were a manner by which I could share the knowledge of this reality with you all in a more convincing manner than I have, but there isn't. All I can do, as I say at the beginning of my book, is share my experiences. Of the twelve years that I took part in the Spiritualist Center I have mentioned, seven of them were working as a medium. Though I cannot prove it, what I can share with you all is that what I have shared both here and in my book is a "reality".

Charles
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I suspect your "reality" has been chipped away at. Keep asking.
 
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Charles Boden said:
It is in particular even more difficult to find a publisher for a work such as mine. I needed help and assistance to publish, and indeed this part of the bargain was fulfilled, but I am far from happy with all that has happened. The amount charged was greater but not substantially for the publication on CreateSpace, and I received help with the covers, but the promised "final revision" was not carried out and the initial insinuation was for more than just a publication on CreateSpace.
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I'm curious--what service exactly did your agent provide? As I understand it, one does not need an agent to get a publication out through CreateSpace. Having seen the cover of your book, I am also a bit skeptical that this person did much work on that--to be honest, it is rather a simple design. I'm still thinking you may have gotten scammed, so I'd be very careful in future dealings with this person.


Charles Boden said:
All I can do, as I say at the beginning of my book, is share my experiences. Of the twelve years that I took part in the Spiritualist Center I have mentioned, seven of them were working as a medium. Though I cannot prove it, what I can share with you all is that what I have shared both here and in my book is a "reality".

Charles
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While I don't agree with your "reality," I do think that--as opposed to many frauds--you are honest in that your "reality" feels genuinely real to you. I do still hope that your visit here may have opened the door to questioning whether all the details still make sense from a logical and objective point of view.

I also hope you reconsider your statements about your visit to this forum being such a harrowing experience. It may feel that way sometimes when our most entrenched beliefs are challenged. But challenging entrenched beliefs is what skepticism--and science--is about. And that is what we like to do in this forum. Don't take it too personally. :)
 
What instantly jumped out at me were all the unsuspecting serious and honest people that may have come here and been beaten into a pulp by all your attacks. If after all that I have shared here you are still bent on claiming that I am dellusional, then again we are going round in circles, and it would be best if we did indeed just finally end this thread.

The concept of spiritual evolution via the reincarnatory process is beautiful, it is perfect and it is without flaw. One of the reasons I held back from looking at this thread was so as not to be tempted to reply to so many provocations and to hopefully give you all some more time to research, read, study and reflect. I cannot give you all your answers (though you all seem to believe that you already hold them). As I said at the beginning of this thread, the "Spiritual Journey" is always an individual one. It is an exercise in "free-will". You have the choice to search and seek for the answers or to refuse to do so and remain in ignorance. That is always an individual choice; as is what we choose to believe in or not.

Concerning my "agent", that is my affair to sort out. If no publisher demonstrates an interest, I will simply publish on CreateSpace myself with a properly revised edition. Who knows if you guys can't help me write a better revised version of it? It does indeed seem, however, that what my "agent" has been doing is another thing that Ohshallah wishes to see "cleaned up". What he doesn't know is that as well as Ohshallah I also have Mr Lock-Street as my guide, who will have him dancing the can-can naked upon a sleazy bar table with a red rose in his mouth if he doesn't come clean with me.

Have none of you realized that what is behind all this is much more than just myself? We have ALL lived many lives, and will still live many more, so why the insistance of focussing on me? You call yourselves "serious scientists", but yet you condemn the purchasing of books???? Books have always been mankind's source of knowledge. It is by reading and studying that we LEARN!!! It is not important if my "agent" might be conning me. What truly matters is that anyone wishing to purchase my or Carol's or any of the books that have been mentioned will have this in their hands as a source of KNOWLEDGE.

In Umbanda, money is called "aqué", which means "materialized energy". It is meant and created to change hands in exchanges.

I have not taken anything here too personally. I am well scholared in argumentations on the topic over the internet ever since I joined Carol Bowman's forum over ten years ago (I used to sign under a different name). Someone here said that I had "crossed the line". In my view, I have been "pushing the line", both here and there, and it was for this reason that I came under moderation over there and only "moderated" post are being authorised. As I have received no further notifications from the CPL forum, I have not been posting there.

The point of the matter is that what I am calling for via what I have written is a serious reconsideration of certain phenomena and of certain dogmas and doctrines of the now very ancient "traditional religions"; for under the concept of reincarnation we can observe that ALL major lines of religion, including "science", are referring to the same "fundamental truths". Though the confirmed knowledge of this reality still evades us, it is only a small leap away, but this "leap" is not one that I might teach you all, but one that you will have to learn for yourselves...

Charles Edward Stuart Boden
 
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