Book Review: "Henry 38" and Day Zero by Olsen Jay Nelson

Henry 38 is a very intelligent speculative fiction spoken mainly through a managerial perspective; where the reader is taken through a history of a very possible future from the ‘high up’ perspective similar to that of a history book; except with a more personal and entertaining feel. It revolves around Henry Clay, a businessman in the mid-21^st century, who takes the weight of the world on his shoulders and rises to power as a key figure in human history; though one who acts in the shadows to work for his dream of a utopia for humanity. The future is bleak, the middle class having become extinct in the earlier part of the century, with islands of civilization for the ‘have been’s and a sea of chaos for the ‘have not’s. This is a short story of nearly 16,000 words with a chilling end, and well worth the read for anyone interested in the direction our future is currently progressing into.

Day Zero is a full-length novel of 66,000 words set in the same time span of Henry 38, with a lighter managerial aspect and a stronger focus on the lead character, Ikaros Jonez. Ikaros establishes a massive company in his time and generates the many breakthroughs needed for Henry’s future. A true revolutionary, he runs into trouble on a few occasions in his efforts to improve life for everyone while furthering his own agenda. Day Zero takes a much closer look at the quality of life in the mid-21^st century and some of the terrible things to be expected should we continue down the path we are taking in the present.

Both books are very intelligent reads and spoken from an academic standpoint. These books are highly informative, chilling, and motivating for those of us who care to see the future change, and I am eager to read more in this series. Though not for light reading, I would recommend these books to anyone active in positive change for the future, and to whoever asks what can be done to avoid a dystopian future; also to get a few good ideas as to what should be done to avoid it.

I would like to emphasize the difference between sci-fi and speculative fiction. Olsen Jay Nelson's work is speculative fiction, written with as much rationality as can be applied to work pertaining to the future, whereas science fiction has a sad tendency to ditch actual science altogether (a significant source of irritation for me). Unlike your typical sci-fi, a lot of thought and work goes into creating speculative fiction in order for it to be as realistic as possible; I find both stories to be frighteningly realistic.

Day Zero: http://www.amazon.com/Day-Zero-New-World-ebook/dp/B007TW8H2K/ref=la_B006FR8LW6_1_3?ie=UTF8&qid=1342659524&sr=1-3

Book Review: "How I Make a Living in Writing" by Scott Morgan

In Scott Morgan’s book, How I Make a Living in Writing, one will find a plethora of great advice from a true entrepreneurial spirit. Scott’s writing is down-to-earth, often times funny, and he speaks to all of us who take our chosen professions as self-employed writing professionals very seriously.

He explains the difference between being a writer versus just being an author. He engages in writing books, such as this one, but does not stop there. As a writer he engages himself in everything to do with writing, including editing, to make a living doing what he loves most: working with writing in all its diversity. For many authors this book is particularly helpful in laying out a variety of options for business marketing, both in the digital world and the physical world.

I feel that the tactics and techniques he covers are applicable to more than just writing, but to any hobby/profession with a product; especially digital products. Whereas his ‘product’ involves both books and writing/editing services, he is particularly well-versed in the many ways to find your market and business associates and explains which avenues are worth the investment of your time. He also explains that even free time is valuable for making connections, emphasizing that we don't always have to make money with our time for it to be invaluable.

He does not sugar-coat the position of an entrepreneur, but instead blasts the reader with a well-written (and somewhat alluring) warning that being independent of hourly rates and paychecks is very hard work. I loved the simplicity and effectiveness in stating that being a writer is your job, and you have to work it as your job to get anywhere with it.

He frequently details the methods of making connections in all places and what you can expect not only from those you wish to connect to, but also from yourself. His writing speaks to those of us, like myself, who aren’t exactly socially adept and have difficulty connecting with others; be it out of fear, social awkwardness, or both. He reminds us all that to make this system work we must take it very seriously while enjoying the job itself; you can’t put only half effort in and expect to receive a double effort's pay, that’s for sure.

He details what you can expect to make, and how much you can expect to work; but what is most important is that he actually gives you the ‘how’ of working, unlike so many entrepreneurs who give you the ‘what’ and the ‘why’ but never the actual techniques to work this great system!

In short, I would strongly advise this small, easy to read and understand 22,000 word book to any author looking to work for themselves, and I would especially recommend it to entrepreneurs looking to leave the workforce for good. Even if you aren’t going into writing, the techniques he has used are transferable across any entrepreneurial endeavor and apply to many different fields. I myself have learned a lot from this book and I recommend it to anyone looking to work for themselves, because it is well worth the investment!

http://www.amazon.com/Scott-Morgan/e/B008D2A4MG/ref=ntt_athr_dp_pel_1

The book's URL will be put up once it has been published. Thank you for reading!