Posts by JeffT

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Your accountant showing up again.

I don't know anything about the Croatian legal system, I know a lot about how the US legal system deals with debts and torts.

In the US it is common practice (frequently involving smaller amounts of money) to send a "demand letter' outlining the nature of the problem and the proposed cure. Example "Your kid threw a rock through my window and did five hundred dollars damage, invoice for the repair included. Please pay this amount within thirty days to avoid further action." This puts the defendant on notice, if the case goes to court the plaintiff can point out they made a reasonable effort to settle the problem outside the courts.

I think this letter should be read as a demand letter not a threat. It is poorly worded (a good lawyer would try to sound friendlier) but otherwise not that far off the mark. One telling factor is the low ball statement of damages. In the US $3K (or whatever it was) is chump change, a matter for small claims court. No lawyer with brains is going to give up the big money coming out of the starting gate.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

You had the audacity to ask abuse survivors to pay you for including their story in your book so you can profit off their stories, twice, with that payment and then when someone buys the book.

A correction from your friendly accountant:

He's triple dipping not double dipping.

1) Patron $

2) charging people to put their story in his book. Usually it's the other way around.

3) Book sales.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Maybe find a good book to read if you long for an “ending”.

I can't help myself. I have six novels for sale on Amazon.com. Two of them have some connection to my time as a JW. No two of them come up to the page count of "The Reluctant Apostate." PM me if you want a link to buy one.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

SBF Caro writes biographies. What Evans wrote was a memoir of sorts, although the reviews sounds like he blurred the boundaries between genres, another no-no in the publishing world. I think his whole approach probably screamed "unprofessional" at whoever he was sending proposals to.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

Side note - since when does a publisher give a random former JW elder an “advance”? Advances are given to celebrities or prominent people for their memoirs.

Advances aren't just for celebrities. Unless you're dealing with a really small Indie publisher an advance of some sort is typical. Five hundred dollars would be a big advance for a first time author. Lloyd's big problem with publishing "The Reluctant Apostate" is that the thing is 200,000 words/800 pages long. The publishers know that NOBODY wants to wade through that to learn the story of some guy stuck in goofy cult.

Edited to add, I just looked up industry standards. A typical memoir runs 60,000 to 80,000 words.

So to people who say "but his videos help so much jw to get out of the cult" I say OH HELL NO!

It's been pointed out before, and his worth mentioning again, a person who is watching anti-watchtower You Tubes is already on their way out, even if they don't know it. My wife and I left the WTBS years before the internet became a thing. The information has always been out there, you just needed the nerve to go look at it.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

why did Evans soar to prominence?

Was he ever important anywhere other than his own mind?

I first noticed him (and dismissed him almost immediately) with the flap over AAWA and the outing of many PIMO's who didn't want to be outed. And then there was the fake signature on the incorporating paperwork for that entity. Then we had his attempt to gain control of "Crisis of Conscience."

I'm not impressed at all with his videos, they are bloated and rarely contain much in the way of new information. I have not read all of "The Reluctant Apostate," what I have read screams "unprofessional" A 200,000 word memoir? Somebody call an editor.

Maybe I'm alone on this, I never thought of him as some sort of leader. He doesn't bring anything to the table that can't be found elsewhere Ray Franz comes to mind immediately, by virtue of his place in the Watchtower organization. Evans was no where near that level within the organization. When I was in the process of leaving I read several academic works including those by Walter Martin, and Anthony Hoekema come to mind. To the best of my knowledge Lloyd Evans doesn't have any academic credentials.

I don't know why I should listen to this guy.

1

My latest novel

by JeffT in

jw
friends

i have started posting my latest work “the children of aquarius,” an urban fantasy, on amazon’s kindle vella program.

i expect to publish about one episode per week.

the first three episodes will be free.

JeffT

I have started posting my latest work “The Children of Aquarius,” an Urban Fantasy, on Amazon’s Kindle Vella program. I expect to publish about one episode per week. The first three episodes will be free.

Until the start of the 1965 school year three teenagers – Julius “Whitman” Whitman, Cliff Williams, and Lilith Barrett – were outcasts. They existed without friends; the objects of ridicule and bullying by their peers, and derision from their teachers. Then they discover they have supernatural talents.

They find themselves suddenly able to move objects by telekinesis and make people see things that aren’t there; or not see things that are. Where did these talents come from? Why were they selected to harbor supernatural powers? What are they supposed to do with their new-found powers? Or are they freaks?

Drawn together by the new status they set out to find the answers to their questions. Their investigation will lead them to wicked enemies and enigmatic allies. Are the universe and human society more complex than anyone ever imagined?

Link: http://www.amazon.com/dp/B0BJ9KXQKF

Follow me on Twitter at JeffThomasBooks.

Note: I’m posting this here because the parents of one of my lead characters are hard-core JW’s.

11530

It's been a long 9 years Lloyd Evans / John Cedars

by Newly Enlightened in

original reddit post (removed).

JeffT

I agree with Vintage, the elders are getting hung out to dry. I have no doubt the big boys will not think twice about leaving the little people dangling in wind.

3

I hate amazon!

by vienne in

amazon keeps grabbing profits from my mom and b's books.

one came off amazon.

one is still there but to make a minimum amount the price has gone up significantly.

JeffT

Folks on reddit (in selfpub) are saying that Amazon had some kind of computer glitch. They are trying to fix the problem.

3

I hate amazon!

by vienne in

amazon keeps grabbing profits from my mom and b's books.

one came off amazon.

one is still there but to make a minimum amount the price has gone up significantly.

JeffT

I have self-published several books on Amazon, and I'm about to serialize another one. Three sold reasonably well, two not so much. Enough is right, the author sets the price. There is a minimum price to compensate Amazon for the price of printing the book.

I don't understand what you think is unfair about the process. Writing is a tough way to make money all publishers are going to take a cut from the profits, they need to make a living, too.