What are Back Pages?
They are often facts that belong in the world, but just not in my book.
People tried to teach me how to write. They gave up.
People tried to get me to concentrate my writing into a niche. OK.
But they said the niche also had to be wildly popular in order to make money. OK.
So what did that leave me with?
I am a regular guy, sometimes stuck in the sixties, but other times hip and with-it. I have a sense of humor that is occasionally uncontrollable and almost always unfiltered. I’ve spent most of my life in more technical fields concerned with expensive sports cars and expensive houses.
Sales and satisfaction with those items. With hundreds of people.
Now, I am mostly a writer, writing about a variety of stuff, mostly me, with a crazy sense of humor.
I’m not pretty. I’m not rich.
I’ve made some bucks in my life, and I’ve spent a lot of them. Now, I am slowing down a bit, and have discovered I have some MS, so I need to sell 1.5 million books, and there’s a chance that ain’t gonna happen.
I am going to also give this Substack a try.
I do write a lot, so if anybody gets a chuckle out of it, I would surely be grateful if they would subscribe. It’s free.
The more folks I have on my mailing list, the more I can get the attention of book publishers, so that will be good.
There is also a side to Substack that can be more personal and can be behind its own paywall, no matter how low. Eventually, I hope to activate the paid subscription feature at the lowest level they will let me. And of course, Substack gets a cut, and stripe gets its share.
Some quick figuring, based on average conversion rates, tells me if I had about 5000 total subscribers, I would end up with a handful of paid subscribers, probably enough for a six-pack of Rolling Rock and a pack of Luckys. We’re talking every month here!
On a more serious note, here.
It would be a blessing to me if peeps would subscribe. To the free part. The money part will happen.
I intend to crank out more stories than ever!
Why just yesterday someone told me how good my writing always makes them feel when they read one of my stories.
They were just glad they could write so much better than that.
At any rate, it is the idea that I and my diminishing abilities will crank out these journal entries about a writer’s life and how he overcomes occasional adversities such as his immune system, his lack of creativity in his chosen field, and his difficulties in not being born rich.
If this description is starting to smack of sounding autobiographical, please rest in the notion that the piece may not be quite finished at any given time, and can be subject to change up until very late in the day.
After being a real estate broker for 38 years, Don’s a keen observer and prolific reporter of truth, common sense, humor, & life. He’s a WRITER|HUMORIST — Follow him at twitter.com/DonMartinBooks 1) Get ALL of Don’s stories right in your mailbox. (Often Medium notifies less than 1% of my followers about my new stories.) 2) Join Don’s “Back Pages,” a quick bit of weekly personal, insider-type thoughts. — He has already made thousands smile, hundreds laugh out loud, and dozens unsubscribe!
Don is also the editor of two Medium publications, Writers & Storytellers, and DIY Real Estate.
In fact, Don has for you a FREE “For-sale-by-owner, simplified kit” for you or a FREE “Make money writing on Medium, simplified kit.” There is no end to the profundity.