text:
Book Country And Self-Publishing: Why the Hate?
POSTED BY VICTORIA-STRAUSS FOR WRITER BEWARE® ON NOV 23, 2011 January 22, 2023
Last week, Penguin subsidiary Book Country–a digital slush pile/peer critique community with a focus on genre fiction–announced that it was adding self-publishing services.
This prompted an explosion of negative commentary, including criticism from self-published authors. But I've been following the Book Country story for some time–Book Country staff have been active in reaching out to the writing/blogging community–and a good deal of the commentary I've seen is either inaccurate, or ignores the forest for the trees.
It's a scam!
A fair number of people have been claiming that Book Country's self-publishing service is a scam or a con. How, exactly? You may not think the service is a good idea; you may not like its terms. That doesn't make it a scam. A scam is an enterprise deliberately set up to deceive, cheat, and defraud victims. Using the word so loosely and inaccurately cheapens it, and makes it less meaningful when it's used to describe a real fraud.
Book Country is targeting vulnerable writers with deceptive hype!
I wonder if some of the people who are saying this have actually looked at the self-publishing pages on Book Country's website. There's actually very little hype, and none of the implied false promises of success that you find with so many other self-publishing services.
Book Country is gouging authors by keeping 30% of their income!
The problem here is that many people are comparing apples to oranges, contrasting Book Country, which acts as a middleman, with Amazon's KDP program or Barnes and Noble's PubIt, where there is no middleman.
All middleman self-publishing services keep a percentage of authors' income. Book Country keeps more than some, and less than others. For instance, Lulu keeps 20%. CreateSpace keeps 20-60%, depending on what distribution options you pick. Author Solutions companies (iUniverse, Xlibris, etc.) keep a whopping 80%.
I'm not saying this is good or bad. I'm just saying that Book Country isn't unique.
Book Country is overpriced!
Packages from self-publishing services run the price gamut. You can pay anything from $99 to over $10,000. Book Country's packages, which range from $99 to around $600, are at the lower end of this spectrum.
I'd also point out that, unlike other self-publishing endeavors associated with major publishers, Book Country hasn't contracted its program out to Author Solutions, but is doing the work in-house.
The fees don't even include editing or marketing!
Seriously? That's a criticism? The editing and marketing services sold by self-publishing companies–whether a la carte, or included in publishing packages as a way of bumping up the price–are like liquor in restaurants: a major profit center, because they can be bought cheap and sold high. Like cocktails, they are frequently overpriced, undersized, and cause for serious buyer's remorse once consumed. I frankly think that one of Book Country's strengths is that it doesn't lard its packages with this crap, or nickel-and-dime authors by shilling it separately.
It's not self-publishing, it's vanity publishing!
This is absolutely correct. So what? Publishing through Lulu, CreateSpace, or any other middleman service that charges a fee is also vanity publishing–yet authors who use these services routinely identify themselves as self-published or (shudder) "indie," and no one challenges them. Besides, the lines between self-publishing and vanity publishing have become so blurred over the past decade or so that I'm not sure this is a meaningful distinction any longer.
Am I endorsing Book Country's self-publishing program? No. Am I suggesting that anyone run out and use it? Certainly not. And I remain concerned by the potential conflicts of interest that arise when trade publishers expand into self-publishing.
But given the realities of Book Country's program–especially compared with other trade publishers' self-pub divisions, all of which are much more directly connected to their parent companies–it seems to me that the hating is out of proportion (and I do wish that some of the commentary were more accurate). Sure, Book Country's packages look costly when you contrast them with self-publishing on the Kindle or the Nook; sure, there's no need to use a middleman service when you can DIY for free. But the truth is that not everyone wants to DIY–and there's absolutely no shame in that, as long as you do your research and choose your middleman wisely. If you want a middleman, you can do a lot worse than Book Country.
All of which, of course, is entirely separate from the question of whether or not it's a good idea for you to self-publish to begin with.
It's interesting how human nature seems to drive us toward caste and class systems. One of the things that has really jumped out at me in the response to Book Country is how the self-publishing community seems to be organizing itself into hierarchies, drawing a line between digital self-publishers and those who use middleman services. The implication is that only the former are truly self-published, are truly entrepreneurs. Could we be moving toward a point where the stigma that has traditionally attached to vanity publishing will arise from within the self-pub community, rather than from outside?
I think it's great that you stepped out to clear some of the negative air about Book Country. I had read several other posts and tweets saying awful things about it.
I still don't think I will use them. I'd rather publish traditionally, however.
Jennifer McAndrews says:
Thank you for this non-inflammatory post. Well stated and much needed.
Daniel R. Marvello says:
Great analysis. Having run into many authors who really don't want to learn how to DIY, I believe services like Book Country have their place.
If you want to truly self-publish, you need to learn how to be a publisher. That means dealing with all aspects of publishing, from the production process to marketing your books. Many authors who think they want to self publish don't want to deal with that reality. For them, using a subsidy press or going the traditional route are better choices.
I'm not yet too concerned about a conflict of interest between Penguin's traditional channel and Book Country. Once could make the argument that Penguin is just giving authors wider choices for how to publish with them. By the time the dust settles, I believe the entire book industry is going to look much more like the subsidy model than the traditional model, much to the horror of the current establishment.
I think throwing a little cold water on this controversy is a good thing. There is far too much hyperbole floating around the blogsphere.
IMO – Penguin is trading on it's name to sell some overpriced services to unsuspecting writers. Nothing illegal, or scammy about that. A little nose pinching maybe, but each to his own. Definitely not the end of the world.
Henry Baum says:
The implication is that only the former are truly self-published, are truly entrepreneurs. Could we be moving toward a point where the stigma that has traditionally attached to vanity publishing will arise from within the self-pub community, rather than from outside?
I truly hope not. Saying that someone who publishes with iUniverse is a "lesser writer" doesn't make any more sense than saying "self-published books are bad." But sometimes people at the bottom of the heap want someone else to beat up on. Thing is, self-publishers are no longer at the bottom of the heap, so there's no reason to do this.
J. R. Tomlin says:
"ok Country is overpriced!
Packages from self-publishing services run the price gamut. You can pay anything from $99 to over $10,000. Book Country's packages, which range from $99 to around $600, are at the lower end of this spectrum."
No, they are NOT at the lower end of the spectrum for what they offer. They are offering NOTHING more than ether uploading files or formatting and uploading files. Uploading the files takes about 5 minutes and for the few times it is required is at most a half hour job. You can get your files formatting for a couple of hundred bucks.
And THEN on top of it for doing nothing more than that they take a royalty.
Don't want to DIY, then hire someone. Lots of authors don't do the formatting but this is price gouging, pure and simple.
Frankly, your defense of them is what is shocking.
Suzanne Tyrpak says:
The problem comes when Book Country loads a book to sites other than its own. Quoting David Gaughran:
Here's how it breaks down. For sales on the Book Country site itself, writers receive 70% royalties. This part, at least, is justifiable. Book Country are providing the retail platform, they are processing the sales, and dealing with the customers. And it's a comparable percentage to the major retailers.
However, through Book Country, you can also sell your book on those major retailers, such as Amazon and Barnes & Noble. This is where the real trouble starts.
On pages such as this one, they claim that writers will "earn 70% on your sales when priced at $2.99 or higher on all channels." This is an extremely disingenuous claim, as it is not 70% of your cover price, but 70% of the money Book Country receive from retailers.
Anne R. Allen says:
A nice, balanced post. But Suzanne makes a very good point in her quote from David G: their wording does look like intentional obfuscation.
Kelly McClymer says:
Part of the outrage comes from the same source as that generated when Harlequin did this last year — traditional publishers accepting money (more money than they get from the traditional publisher/author deal) to put out unedited/unvetted work.
A publisher is meant to be a gatekeeper, that's the job. If they then decide that anyone that pays them will be able to put out a book under their imprint, they abdicate the role of gatekeeper.
Traditionally published authors get that abdication, and get mad about it, for many reasons, chief among them brand dilution.
Self published authors understand that Book Country is using a false promise (the appearance of vetting and respectability of being published by an authorized gatekeeper) to rake in money from unsuspecting aspiring writers.
I agree it isn't a scam. It's legal to take advantage of people who don't do their homework on the business aspects.
I feel sorry for anyone who pays for this service, and I hope the service is as easy to dissolve as it is to create (when people realize they've been paying caviar prices for crumbled hamburger, they should be able to choose a better option without a lot of trouble).
Anyone thinking about it: do your homework and know what it costs to put out an ebook on your own, or with the one-time-fee help of experts in conversion and cover design.
Find out, too, what it takes to make a book discoverable, and what anyone taking 30% royalties ought to be offering in that regard. That's the hard part of self-publishing.
If you truly think 30% royalties is a fair deal after you do your homework, then I wish you much success.
Jim Kukral says:
It's just bad business. I don't believe what they offer is worth the cost. So there's no "hate", it's just calling them out on a bad model.
Really though, I think that this is a good thing for the self-publishing industry. Why? Because when a big player moves in it gives respect to a movement. Penguin has just justified the self-publishing model to the rest of the world. That's good.
http://www.nopublisherneeded.com/thinking-longer-about-penguin/
What I don't understand is what the author gets for the money they shell out. It's not hard to upload to KDP, Pubit or Smashwords (although, of the three, Smashwords is probably the most difficult because of the meatgrinder)
Even so, it's not worth spending hundreds of dollars for someone to do what is essentially, a ten-minute procedure of uploading a book. If you set your indent correctly (so you don't have tabs), save as filtered web page, and then convert with Calibre, you can then get your mobi and epub for both KDP and Pubit.
No way can I see giving 30% of royalties to Book Country just for distributing the book to places I can distribute already.
Kate Avery Ellison says:
I wanted to offer a correction to what you said about CreateSpace. It does not necessarily charge the author a fee. You can opt to pay for extra services, or pay a fee for expanded distribution, but uploading and selling through Amazon/CS directly is 100% free. I've done everything myself and I haven't paid them a dime for the service. They just collect royalties.
I will say this–I appreciate posts that strive to take the middle of the road and look reasonably at controversies, so for that this post is good.
I don't think BC is a scam, and I think you're totally accurate in pointing that out. I do think it's a poor decision to use them, however. As several other posters have pointed out, there doesn't seem to be much real benefit to the authors using the service, and they are shelling out a lot of money and taking a cut in royalties when it comes to selling with Amazon, etc. Is BC going to provide some kind of marketing or exposure the authors otherwise couldn't get? I can't see how it's worth it otherwise.
But to each his own, I guess.
I am rather curious where BC was called a scam as Ms. Strauss alleges. Here are the main articles from major Indie Authors (shudder away, Ms. Strauss).
Indie Guru Joe Konrath's comments: http://jakonrath.blogspot.com/2011/11/book-country-fail.html
Dean Wesley Smith weighs in: http://www.deanwesleysmith.com/?p=5855
http://davidgaughran.wordpress.com/2011/11/18/penguin-launches-rip-off-self-publishing-service-targeting-inexperienced-writers/
Judge for yourselves whether their criticism is justified.
Necia says:
Interesting post. I'd seen that Book Country had this service and thought it was kinda cool. I really hadn't seen the negativity but it isn't surprising.
I doubt I'd personally use it, tbh. But it may serve a purpose for those without the tech know-how. **shrugs**
One correction – lulu does not charge for publication. Lulu authors, of whom I'm one, are self-published by any definition and only have to pay for print versions of books – i.e. we pay lulu as a printer. I believe you can buy services but I don't.
Livia Blackburne says:
I do think you're right that some of the hatred toward book country is irrational — mostly stemming from general hatred toward the traditional publishing establishment. But that doesn't change the fact that the service is overpriced.
A few points:
1.Unlike Createspace and Lulu, they don't have an option with no upfront fee. For that reason, I wouldn't call createspace and Lulu vanity publishers, whereas I would call Book Country a vanity publisher.
2. Take a look at what they're actually offering for your money.
http://bookcountry.com/CMSContent/Templates/Marketing.aspx?pageid=120483
They charge you $99 to format the ebook *yourself* and upload it. And then they take a 30% cut. For $299, the plan is again to format the ebook and printbook *yourself*, and again they take 30% of sales on top of that. Compare that with the fact that you can hire actual freelance ebook formatters to format your ebook for less than $99 dollars, and that person won't take a 30% cut.
3. And the 30% middle man fee is more than what the competition charges.
http://www.publishyourownebooks.com/ebook-aggregators-comparison-chart/
Smashwords gives the author 60% of *list price* (not net). Lulu takes 20% of net (and note that most savvy self publishers don't think Lulu offers the best value). Bookbaby charges a $20 annual fee per book.
I *will* grant that they are better than Author Solutions. Though… that's not an incredibly high bar 😛
It's no more a scam than PublishAmerica. Penguin is pretty much running the same kind of business. Many people like PublishAmerica.
Book Country's competition isn't Smashwords–it's Author Solutions and other "assisted" self-publishing services that provide both an electronic and a print self-pub option. That's the business model it's following–not the KDP business model, or the Smashwords business model. You can say that authors are better off using KDP or Smashwords, and that's a defensible position–but it's neither fair nor accurate to criticize Book Country simply because its business model is different from those services.
Much of the commentary on Book Country presents it as particularly heinous. I don't think it's any more heinous than any other example of this business model. My intent in this post isn't so much to "defend" Book Country as to point out that it's important to put things in context, to make appropriate comparisons, and to avoid hollering "scam" unless there's actual evidence of fraud (JR Tomlin, if you do a websearch on "Book Country" and "scam" you'll find plenty of examples–including Dean Wesley Smith).
Knave says:
Their actions are not criminal, but nor are they kindly.
The definitions of Vanity and Self/Indie (feel free to shudder) are fairly distinct to most.
One is designed to stoke your Ego, the other in theory to get you to market. If you want the ego boost of seeing your name on a book, hand them a credit card up front. If they are going to help you get to market, they should be asking where your cut can be paid to.
$99 to upload an ebook to Amazon or Smashwords? At those rates I'm sure you can find someone to tie your shoe laces in the morning for $99 too. But honestly, most people can take a moment and do just fine themselves.
As was mentioned above, there are a number of reputable places you can turn to, if you wish to out source part of the work. Editing, proofing, formatting for ebook or layout for POD. That many of them charge less than BC and don't ask to have 30% of future earnings should say enough. And by future, it may mean the life of the copyright itself. Once you've uploaded to them, the fine print suggests they can do whatever they wish with it, in any shape way or form, there after. By using their service, you've waived away any right to complain or enforce copyright against them. Ooops.
So yes, it has earned them some ire. This has caused several people to publicly call Shenanigans, especially amonst those who encourage self publishing.
Victoria — you're right that Smashwords doesn't have a print option. But as far as I can tell, Book Country's $99 ebook only option does not include a print book.
Stephanie Abbott says:
"One of the things that has really jumped out at me in the response to Book Country is how the self-publishing community seems to be organizing itself into hierarchies, drawing a line between digital self-publishers and those who use middleman services…"
This is because WB isn't doing its job, to warn newbie writers about bad deals and foolish endeavors. So we're trying to warn one another. And I think it's great that although as self-published authors we're technically competitors, we're still willing to help the new folks.
Lexi says:
What you haven't mentioned about Penguin's miserable offer is that anyone who signs up for it not only pays over the odds for formatting and easy-peasy loading to Amazon, but will forfeit access to KDP reports and sales graphs. Knowledge is power; that information is invaluable.
I guess most of us indies have been approached by traditionally published friends asking how many books they are likely to be selling given their Kindle chart ranking, the only information they have access to.
I reiterate: not everyone wants to DIY. Not everyone finds it easy to upload to KDP. Not everyone finds it palatable to contract out the work in true self-publishing style. There is no shame in this. Different strokes for different folks.
My observation: Beneath much of the criticism of Book Country runs an undercurrent of implication that writers who don't choose to DIY are lazy, foolish, or uninformed. I find that fascinating.
This is because WB isn't doing its job, to warn newbie writers about bad deals and foolish endeavors.
Wow. Just because I haven't stuck a pitchfork into Book Country? Have you actually read this blog or looked at the WB website lately?
Christine DeMaio-Rice says:
We are endeavoring to do with Self-pubbing what WB endeavored to do with trade pubbing. Warn new people away from rip-offs.
You don't have to like it. But to question our motives is unfair and unfounded. You don't know the self-pubbing community well enough to say that. If you did, you wouldn't make absurd statements like that.
When you started WB, who questioned your motives? Who made generalizations about you? I am sure that the great service you were doing (and continue to do) came under fire from someone.
Just please be aware that your (again, great) service is in trade publishing. It is apparent from this post that you simply do not know enough about self-pubbing or the community surrounding it to make sweeping statements. (the other commenters have covered ill-conceived comparisons and factual errors)
I am sure that my answer will "fascinate" you. But you might do well to observe content as well as context.
Fair enough, Christine (though if you really think that Writer Beware concentrates only on trade publishing, I encourage you to have a look at our website, and also at some of the posts on this blog).
If you feel that services like Book Country are a ripoff, what do you think of authors who investigate their options and actually choose to use those services? Do you feel they've all been ripped off?
Hi Victoria,
Different strokes. I do warn people away, because of the double dip between the up front fees PLUS the percentage of sales, and back it up with access to similar services.
But if someone chooses that, they are still part of my community. Honestly, once someone is in the boat with me, how they got there isn't relevant.
How I would have done it differently is simply my opinion and I shouldn't treat them with scorn any more than trade published authors shouldn't treat me/us with scorn.
And I was referring to WB's storied history with trade publishing. Though I admit to not having looked at your website since I decided not to query my second novel. I would refer you to kindleboards and some Facebook groups for self published writers where there is so much support that DIY is a misnomer.
Christine–I'm using DIY not so much to suggest that writers are on their own, but to distinguish KDP and similar programs from services where there's a middleman involved. I know there's tons of support and resources within the self-pub community.
I knew what you meant 🙂
I was being a little literary. In general, if you look, DIY really isn't DIY. We aren't islands.
Frances Grimble says:
Since the authors who buy into this program are required to do all their own editing, marketing, and formatting, they ARE doing DIY. OK, maybe they are paying freelancers, but that still gives them most of the tasks and costs of self-publishing.
On the other hand, Book Country is assigning the ISBNs. Anyone not using their own ISBN is not a self-publisher, by definition. ISBNs are assigned by publisher, and Book Country is the publisher in this case.
These guys are certainly a vanity press. Most of what they seem to be offering authors is the ability to upload a file, which Amazon will let authors do for free as far as I know.
"Beneath much of the criticism of Book Country runs an undercurrent of implication that writers who don't choose to DIY are lazy, foolish, or uninformed."
I don't think it's a matter of DIY versus not DIY. People criticizing book country are saying that if you use their programs, you are still going to be doing DIY, you're now just paying a lot of money to do it. As Francis mentioned, even if you pay for their most expensive package, all you're getting is still just formatting. You're still doing your own editing, cover art, cover copy, and marketing. So I really do think that it's not a snobbery thing here, but that writers really are trying to warn others away from what they perceive to be a bad value. Although, granted, there is a lot more vitriol over this than other similar operations because of the general ill will in some corners of the indie community towards big publishing.
"My observation: Beneath much of the criticism of Book Country runs an undercurrent of implication that writers who don't choose to DIY are lazy, foolish, or uninformed. I find that fascinating. "
I've got two options for you for dinner. One is a crap sandwich, and the other is a grilled chicken. You want to eat the crap sandwich? That's fine, but we both know it's the bad choice.
So yeah, I think eating crap is foolish. It's fascinating to me that anyone would want to eat crap.
It's fascinating to me that anyone would try to garnish it.
Livia,
There is nothing wrong with someone offering what large publishers call a packaging service when they use it. That is, the packaging service does all the editing and production. Heck, I used to be an editor and indexer for what was essentially a packaging service for Silicon Valley business and technical publications. The company handed over their raw material to us. Several employees and freelancers worked it over, and sent it back as a professionally polished, printed manual, report, or whatever. I've even been interviewed as a writer for a company that packaged technical books (their pay was appallingly low, BTW). They just produced books and sold them to publishers.
So I don't see anything wrong with a self-publisher hiring a packaging service for his or her books. to avoid learning to do editing and production tasks at a professional level, or coordinating several freelancers.
I don't even see much wrong with a self-publisher throwing a book on the market without any professional-level editing, production, or marketing. I mean, I don't think the book will sell well but that is the publisher's problem.
What I do see as a problem, is self-publishers paying vanity presses for what the publishers think is essentially a packaging service where they can sit back and let the vanity press "take care of" all kinds of tasks, only for those tasks to be done very badly. If they're going to throw a heap of unedited, undesigned, unmarketed prose out there, they shouldn't be paying a vanity press for the privilege. And yes, Book Country is a vanity press.
I also don't think it is snobbish to make a market distinction between self-published books that are well edited, well produced, and well marketed, and those that are not. I produce professional books and I don't see why my reputation should be tainted by that of books I didn't publish.
Frances,
I agree with your points. Although I'm not quite sure why you addressed them specifically to me? I think we're on a similar wavelength.
Quote: Not everyone finds it easy to upload to KDP.
Goodness – have you looked at the two pages you fill in to load a book to KDP? I'd be seriously worried about anyone who found them a challenge.
I believe that Smashwords does have a print option, in that I bought a shtort story collection that was created and printed through Smashwords.
docstar says:
Lexi said…
This sort of comment shows that 'superiority' thing. Just because one person can handle it (or even many) doesn't mean someone who can't is stupid.
Irene Watson, Reader Views says:
Victoria, you said "Could we be moving toward a point where the stigma that has traditionally attached to vanity publishing will arise from within the self-pub community, rather than from outside?"
I believe we are there already. I can venture to say that if any of us went into a local brick and mortar store and asked the potential book buyers (Joe/Jane Public) browsing around to define "subsidy" or "vanity" press very few, if any, know what it is.
Irene – That brings up an interesting question. Right now this whole self-pub/subsidy/commercial wrangle is pretty much contained within the writing community. One wonders, as more self-publishers enter the market, if (or when) Joe/Jane Public will start to notice, and where that may lead. But that's another discussion.
Mark Coker says:
@G At Smashwords, we only produce and distribute ebooks. However, we do make it easy for our authors and publishers to hyperlink to where customers can purchase their print books. Happy Thanksgiving all!
Victoria, if that *shudder* wasn't intended as a slap in the face rather than an objection to the term, you would have phrased it differently. You know it. I know it. And that has a lot to do with things that have been said here.
No, I have NOT seen you being fair to the indie author community. You are perfectly happy, as far as I can see, to have authors ripped off by a company like Book Country. Why?
Sure, there have been individuals who posted on forums who used the term "scam". Rather obviously I was not talking about comments. I will give you DWS who is known for his hyperbole, but I don't know of another major blogger who used the term, David Gaughran, Lee Goldberg, Joe Konrath, for example.
You were guilty, in my opinion, of hyperbole as egregious as DWS's in your defence, yes, defence, of BC.
"Rip-off" has been commonly used and I think it is a pretty darn good description.
If I can't figure out the upload page (and maybe there is someone out there who can't) I suspect I can pay someone ten bucks to do it for me and they won't claim my printing rights, take the money before I see it, keep me from using the KDP tools AND charge me a lifetime of royalties. 52Novels amongst others will do the formatting for about 20% of what BC charges up front.
Book Country is a rip-off. What do I call someone who looks at the terms and then decides to go with a rip-off?
I'm afraid I call them a sucker. That doesn't make them a bad person. I've been a sucker once or twice in my life. Most of us have.
Re the "indie" publishing community: In my experience of about 20 years, the community is extremely supportive and noncompetitive. Both new and experienced publishers are helped very actively on forums and elsewhere.
But more experienced publishers do get frustrated with those who use vanity press services. There are only so many times anyone can hear similar tales of woe without being tempted to say the victim should have known better.
Experienced self-publishers also get frustrated with new self-publishers who want, somehow, to get all the services of a traditional publisher–and a traditional publisher from the days when traditional publishers did more for authors–without having a traditional publisher. They want to just sit back and write, and let everything else be magically taken care of. These are the writers who are typically deceived by vanity presses.
A self-publisher is running a business and should be fully aware of alternatives and their costs. New self-publishers NEED to do lots of hard work in addition to writing, and/or spend a significant amount of money. Telling them so is realism, not snobbery. Otherwise, a while later everyone gets to hear yet another tale of woe.
Mark Coker: Thank you for the clarification. Didn't realize that you didn't have a print option, even though I did buy a book that was published using your services via Amazon.
CC MacKenzie says:
This is such an interesting post Victoria, I tend to lurk, but had to comment. And you are not the only significant voice in the business who has given her backing to this endevour by Penguin – to be honest that worries me and I'll tell you why. I'm a newbie and I trust you and a couple of other commentors implicitly. But your stand on this has me scratching my head. Why would you want to see the naive and uninformed ripped off?
I totally agree wth Kelly, Suzanne, JR & Jim.
A new self publisher needs to do their homework and be aware of all the options available to them. Which is why JAKonrath etc have entered the fray and voiced their concerns.
Let us try to rise above the rhetoric and stick to the nitty gritty.
If a new self pub author does not want to attempt to do it all themselves there are plenty of people with a proven track record, i.e technology experts, editors, book cover designers who will do it for them for a set fee JA Konrath and others have listed who they use and how much they charge
– they never take a percentage of the rights.
And this is the key point for me – the rights! A fee is perfectly fine if the writer is willing to pay. But never, ever sign away your rights for no reason. This is where the Penguin business model falls down for me and it leaves a very bad taste in the mouths of people who've been self-pubbing for years and ploughing the field for the rest of us.
The business model is not illegal – I agree – but morally it absolutely stinks and this is why.
Penguin is one of the biggest names in the business – their reputation is stellar. In my opinion they've shot themselves in the foot here in an attempt to make a quick buck out of the naive. I can just see the many many newbies with stars in their eyes saying 'I've been published by Penguin'and being thrilled to bits. Of course, if they're super successful and see how much money they've paid Penguin for the privilege, they might not be too happy about it then.
I also see what you're saying, Victoria, but for once I simply do not agree with you. If anything when I saw the headline I anticipated you saying – Don't Do It!
However, I have to say I am totally shocked that you and a couple of others that I totally respect are backing Penguin's endeavour. For the first time, I do not agree with you.
Wonderfully written piece. It's the reason I keep returning to here.
CC–pointing out that Book Country is no worse than the host of other services of its type is not the same as backing it. I'm not backing it. I'm also not condemning it–at least, any more than I would condemn any other middleman self-publishing service.
If you want to know what I think of middleman self-publishing services–including Book Country–and why I think that authors who are considering using them need to take a serious reality check before they sign up, please see the Self-Publishing page of the Writer Beware website.
I would also encourage anyone who thinks they have not signed away rights when they use Amazon's KDP program to read the KDP publishing agreement again.
Will Entrekin says:
What I find fascinating? Comparing the above post to this one: http://accrispin.blogspot.com/2009/05/victoria-strauss-vanity-is-new-indie.html
I used to follow Writer Beware and much of its community. I think I found it via Making Light, and Jim MacDonald, years ago, and generally found it valuable. It might have been the first place I encountered the term "vanity press" and learned to avoid such things. Yog's law and all that. Money flows to the writer, and if that's not the case in a publishing endeavor, writer beware.
So it's an interesting shift. Having that previous perspective so ingrained, it's almost like this post is implying "It's okay for publishers to offer vanity services but not for writers to use them." Because, let's face it, authors who use them are generally met with disdain. It's pretty clear by posts at the SFWA that organization never thought highly of vanity presses or their authors. And from their site:
"If you're looking to establish a career as a writer, however, or if you actually want people you don't know to buy and read your book, vanity/subsidy publishing is probably not a good idea."
The term "independent"–and especially "indie"–seems to be a hot button one lately, and the one most likely to make corporate publishers and those associated with them shudder. I think, just as "independent filmmaker" or "independent movie" have come to mean those creators and flicks made outside the "Hollywood System," "indie" (and "independent writer" and "independent publishing") in the case of publishing has come to mean those creators outside the "corporate publishing/bookselling system."
It's fascinating that a vanity services operation now gets a "So what?" from you, but "indie" makes you shudder.
Ben White says:
Victoria, you mentioned that by using KDP authors are signing away rights. Could you be more specific?
Which rights, exactly?
I had my lawyer look at the agreement and we came up with nothing significant. Did you find something we missed?
Eager to hear….
Bridget McKenna says:
"I would also encourage anyone who thinks they have not signed away rights when they use Amazon's KDP program to read the KDP publishing agreement again."
I've been over the KDP Agreement pretty carefully–especially, but not limited to, Section 5.5, Grant of Rights, and can't seem to find what you're warning us about in the statement above, Victoria. If there's a real threat to authors from the Amazon agreement, that might indeed make a worthwhile blog post. Speaking only for myself, I'm not seeing it in the terms themselves.
This is the point where people start parsing their words to pretend they didn't say what they said.
The blog post of mine you reference explains in detail why I so dislike the term "indie," where it's used to refer to self-publishing. It's confusing–since "independent publisher" has a long-established meaning as "a press that's not owned by a corporate parent"–it's often inaccurate–since many writers who refer to themselves as "indie" have encumbered their rights and are using someone else's ISBN (especially if they've used a service like Book Country)–and it has been co-opted in what I consider an incredibly misleading way by what I regard as one of the most problematic of the middleman self-publishing services (the Author Solutions companies). The balance of my post is a discussion of some of the ways in which Author Solutions is using "indie publisher" to mislead potential clients.
I'm not a fan of middleman self-publishing services (as I think is made clear in my discussion of these services on the Self-Publishing page of Writer Beware)–though I do feel they can be appropriate in some circumstances, depending on authors' needs and goals. My point is simply that, in the realm of middleman self-publishing services, Book Country is no worse than some and better than others (which of course is an entirely separate question from whether or not authors should use it) and that the incredibly angry response it has generated seems overstated, and suggests to me that something else is going on. I'm not alone in feeling this way. Both Henry Baum and Mick Rooney have made similar points.
My "so what" wasn't intended to indicate approval of vanity publishing-style services (or vanity publishers), but to emphasize what I say a couple of sentences on: that the lines between vanity publishing and self-publishing have become so blurred that the distinction may not be meaningful any longer. The blog post I wrote during the Harlequin Horizon/DellArte Press controversy provides more detail on my feelings about this.
Ben, Christine, and Bridget–
Per Clause 5.5 of Amazon's KDP Terms and Conditions,
You grant to each Amazon party, throughout the term of this Agreement, a nonexclusive, irrevocable, right and license to distribute Digital Books, directly and through third-party distributors, in all digital formats by all digital distribution means available.
This right and license includes, "without limitation," the right to reproduce and store the books; to display, transmit, and sell the books; to allow customers to store the books on their own devices; to display and distribute authors' "trademarks and logos," as well as portions of the books, in connection with marketing; to use and adapt authors' metadata. All of these are associated with allowing Amazon to display and sell books, and allowing customers to download and lend them.
You aren't granting these rights just to Amazon, either–you are granting them to Amazon's affiliates and to the affiliates of Amazon's affiliates.
In addition, you agree that we may permit our affiliates and independent contractors, and our affiliates' independent contractors, to exercise the rights that you grant to us in this Agreement. "Amazon Properties" means any web site, application or online point of presence, on any platform, that is owned or operated by or under license by Amazon or co-branded with Amazon, and any web site, application, device or online point of presence through which any Amazon Properties or products available for sale on them are syndicated, offered, merchandised, advertised or described.
Obviously, this grant of rights is not comparable to the exclusive, long-term grant of rights you'd give to a publisher, large or small. It's non-exclusive, and you can terminate it any time you like.
However, it does encumber your rights for as long as you're in the KDP program–and termination works both ways: Amazon can "suspend your Program account at any time with or without notice to you, for any reason in our discretion." (Clause 3) Together with the warranties and indemnities you must agree to in Clause 5.8, and Amazon's rather vague content guidelines, this gives Amazon considerable control over your intellectual property, especially in regard to how your books are disseminated and sold. Here's one example of this. Here's another.
We decided that, for me, this was well in the realm of acceptable, and did not infringe on my copyright, nor did it transfer any tangible rights outside the right of dissemination – which is basically what you give a distributor anyway.
As I also could terminate the agreement at any time, Amazon's ability to do so was not unfair.
OK – I don't want to derail the thread.
I do wonder what the actual rights agreement, and termination clause looks like for Book Country. Not the TOS, the contract.
What Christine said.
Now contrast a contract from a subsidiary of Penguin Group, from the days ebooks were little more than a gleam in Fritz Leiber's eye:
"The exclusive right…to print, publish and sell the Work and to license the Work, in whole or part, for publication…to license the Work, in whole or part, for…book clubs and in magazine condensation, newspaper syndications, serializations…anthologies, picture books, photonovels, premium direct mail, coupon advertising…"
And of course the now-famous "…exclusive right…to display the work in any manner designed to be read…by any means, method, device or process now known or later developed…including without limitation…" followed by everything the legal department could envisage eighteen years ago.
The publisher is still holding on to these rights. Not exercising them, mind, just holding them.
I'll take a mutually-terminable agreement over that any day.
Agreed, Bridget–there's a huge difference between the restrictive and exclusive grant a traditional publisher demands, and the non-exclusive grant demanded by Amazon. Amazon does demand a grant, though, and there are implications to that. Some writers seem to feel that they haven't encumbered their rights at all when they use the KDP program.
What's important, as always, is for writers to read the agreement, understand what they're committing to, and make informed choices that suit their goals.
When are you going to report that Charles Petit, your attorney and the AW moderator 'Jaws", scammed the estate of John Steinbeck's family. ??? Arent you leaving out one of the biggest scam artists in American Literature??? Writer Beware, you are hypocrites!!! And we are on to you in the major publishing houses, including Harper Collins–your career is over.
Christine Leov Lealand says:
Victoria says:- My observation: Beneath much of the criticism of Book Country runs an undercurrent of implication that writers who don't choose to DIY are lazy, foolish, or uninformed. I find that fascinating.
No, Victoria, they will be poor, like most authors have always been. Because the 'publisher' will be controlling everything about 'their' self published book. Including the contract, the time of the contract, the sales information available to the 'self published author' and on it goes… we don't know what the contract says yet but I bet it is in Penguin's favour.
Smart move by Penguin executives to make lots of dosh. 4000 authors logged into Book Country – if all bought the top package for one book alone that will make them over $2 million US. Then the ongoing 30% royalties. Wish I had the gall to do this – profit aforethought by Penguin. Guaranteed profit into the future.
Poverty planned for the authors who choose them.
Traditional publishing at it's best and best of all for Penguin they don't even need to have anyone read the books! = Fewer employees.
I recommend buying shares in Pearson, their parent company.
If you can afford $600 by all means go ahead, but I hope you know you'll be lucky if ever make that money back. You could instead take that money and invest in an editor, but again, you might not make the money back. I'm not negative, I'm a realist. Weigh your publishing options before making a decision.
LilySea says:
I think the self-publishing world is generally so defensive that it needs to invent the hierarchies you mention at the end of your post to carve out some space it can call "legitimate" in the face of a tradition of being considered something other than legitimate by the book world at large.
I agree with everything you've said about Book Country's self-publishing offerings (good, bad and tepid) and would add that the WIP-workshopping on the site (which is all free and entirely in the control of the writers posting their work) is a lovely "service" to writers as well as a smart marketing move by Penguin.
Anyone with good sense can understand where the lines are between Book Country's helpful contribution to the world of hopeful writers and making a profit for itself. With this information, you can decide what you want to do.
I'd add that traditional publishers–which I for one, still greatly respect–need to find creative ways to stay in the black. If this helps them make enough money to be able to afford to take a few more publishing risks in the traditional wing of their business, so be it.
I have been a member of the Book Country site since April and I really enjoy the community. I have no plans at all to self-publish, either.
Why Self-Publish?
When choosing a publisher for your book, sit back and think! What important factors will influence your decision? The whole idea of self-publishing is: as the author, you maintain control over the book production.
There are many reasons for self-publishing your book, and they usually relate to your head, your heart or your wallet.
In order to make your self-publishing venture a success, you need to be very clear about why you are doing it, and what will be required. Your reasons will influence every decision you make, both large and small. Self publish with total success!
http://www.loveofbooks.com.au
veinglory says:
It is possible to use both Createspace and Lulu without paying a fee. That is what makes then not necessarily vanity unless you by an upgrade.
Thinkhappy says:
Victoria, do you know if the KDP Select program prohibits selling the digital format from an affiliate link on a website?
Thinkhappy–KDP Select requires exclusivity, which means that the ebook can be distributed and sold only on the Kindle. As long as the affiliate link led to Amazon, I shouldn't think there would be a problem.
Please note, many brick-and-mortar bookstores won't list your book if you don't have at least a 40% to 55% trade discount, however don't assume they will carry copies of your book in their stores even if you do set it that high. Most self published authors don't even bother with brick-and-mortar bookstore sales and just concentrate on building good online sales.
Boston Book Printing
Alert: Light Sword Publishing, a.k.a. LSP Digital, Returns
MLM for Writers: The Best Authors Lounge


This Beach House room is situated on the entire top floor of our house. All rooms open up to the top balcony which looks out to the beautiful Lembongan tropical island.
2 seperate Bedrooms joined by a sitting room which can easily accomodate more guests.


text:
<manifest package="com.stepstone.apprating">

    <application />

</manifest>

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaGithub


text:
Q: Backbone.js: add event of a collection not firing I have a standard Backbone.js collection defined like this:
class Observation extends Backbone.Model

class Observations extends Backbone.Collection
  model: Observation

I then bind the add event like this in an event handler for the collection's reset event:
  collectionReset: (collection) =>
    @collection.bind 'add', @elementAdded

The problem is that the event is not being fired.  I have set a break point and walked through the code and it is the following line (627 of backbone.js 0.5.3) that is stopping the add event from firing:
_onModelEvent: function (ev, model, collection, options) {
  if ((ev == 'add' || ev == 'remove') && collection != this) return;

And it is specifically the following comparison:
collection != this

The collection argument is different from the 'this' reference.
Has anyone else seen this happening before or can they point out what I am doing wrong?

A: There's a couple of suspicious things in your code; your collectionReset method takes a collection parameter, but then it looks like you try to bind it you use @collection, which is something different. If you really want to call bind on the parameter "collection" being passed, you need to use collection.bind, not @collection.bind .
I mostly bind events from model classes (including Collections) to Views, and in that case, you normally just refer to the model for binding, i.e. calling @model.bind 'add', someMethod. From your code defining Observations, it seems you should try something similar.

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaStackExchange


text:
Meineke Car Care Bowl Game Preview: Texas A&M vs. Northwestern
Opposing Views Staff
After finishing 2010 9-4, this has been a disappointing year for Texas A&M, but its first bowl win since 2001 would be a nice way to head into the SEC with a new head coach. With Mike Sherman finishing .500 in his four seasons at the helm, the Aggies decided it was time to move on and hired Kevin Sumlin on December 10th.
Sumlin, a Texas A & M assistant from 2001-02 led Houston to a school-record 12 wins and one shy of a BCS bid this year. Neither Sherman, nor Sumlin will coach the Aggies in the Meineke Car Care Bowl as Defensive coordinator Tim DeRuyter will take over coaching duties before moving on to his own new gig, as the head coach of Fresno State. Texas A & M closed out the regular season losing four of their final five games, capping off a season filled with adversity.
Senior Ryan Tannehill finished his first full season as quarterback completing 61.2% of his passes for 3415 yards, 28 touchdowns and 14 interceptions while carrying the ball 55 times for 246 yards and four scores. Tannehill spent his first two-and-a-half years in an Aggies uniform as a wide receiver setting the freshman school record for 844 yards in 2008. Despite the 6-6 record, A & M had little trouble scoring points; currently ranked 11th in the nation in scoring (39.6 ppg) thanks an average of 208.1 ypg on the ground (19th) and through the air with 287.9 ypg (17th). Tannehill has three receivers who have caught at least 45 passes; Ryan Swope (81 receptions, 1102 yards, 11 TDs) Jeff Fuller (63 receptions, 709 yards, 5 TDs) and Uzoma Nwachukwu (45 receptions, 572 yards, 2 TDs).
However, the Aggies rushing attack will not be at full strength against Northwestern as Christine Michael, was sidelined in early November with a season-ending knee injury and Cyrus Gray, who has five 100-yard games on the campaign, is questionable with a shoulder injury. Defensively, the team has done a solid job stopping the run allowing an FBS 13th-best 106 yards on the ground. The Aggies have had struggled allowing opponents to pass for 280.5 ypg (112th) and score 28.7 points per game (76th).
Northwestern heads to Reliant Stadium having gone 4-1 following a five-game skid, sending the Wildcats to their fourth straight bowl appearance. QB Dan Persa, tied for a nation's leading 74.3% completion percentage, became the starter last year but missed the 2011 TicketCity Bowl due to an Achilles' injury that also sidelined him the first three games of the 2011 season. Persa threw for 2,163 yards in nine games with 17 touchdowns and seven interceptions, ranking 10th in the FBS in passer rating at 160.3. Persa's main target all year has been WR Jeremy Ebert who was the Big Ten's fourth-leading receiver with 71 catches for 1,025 yards and ranked third in the conference with 11 TDs. Ebert needs 110 yards to move into second all-time at Northwestern with 2,475 and three catches to take over third place with 172 receptions.
Drake Dunsmore has been the secondary target for Persa, finishing this season with 43 catches for 509 yards. Dunsmore is the school's all-time leading receiver among tight ends and won the conference's inaugural Kwalick-Clark tight end of the year award. Demetrius Fields has caught one TD pass in three straight games and could also cause problems for the Aggies' pass defense. Northwestern has given up an average of 27.3 points this season, and have allowed 30 points or more in six of their nine games against BCS opponents. They have allowed 185.42 yards per game on the ground (90th in the FBS) and 224.2 yards per game in the air (62nd) and may have trouble containing an A&M offense that has the potential to be explosive.
Ryan Tannehill, Texas A & M Aggies: In Focus
Hyundai Sun Bowl Game Preview
AutoZone Liberty Bowl Game Preview
More NCAA Football Coverage
Dory LeBlanc, covers Gator sports for Gators First and BourbonMeyer.com. Not just a college sports enthusiast, Dory is also a fan of NFL, NHL, NBA, and MLB. Born outside Philly, she moved to Tampa, and now resides in Illinois, giving her a broad perspective on the sporting world. You can follow Dory on twitter @DoryLeBlanc

redpajama_set_name: RedPajamaCommonCrawl


This seal looks like it has just been told the joke of the century. It was caught cracking up and blowing kisses while lying on a rock in the clear blue ocean near an island off the Swedish coast.
The pinniped was caught on camera by amateur wildlife photographer Martin Thoma, from Germany. Mr Thoma, 49, said: 'It was not easy to get these pictures - at first the seals were very shy.
'I visited them every day and they started to relax around me as they got used to me. 'I'm sure the seal had a fun time and enjoyed the sun on the rock.
During the winter months grey seals can be seen hauled out on rocks, islands, and shoals not far from shore, occasionally coming ashore to rest. In the spring recently weaned pups and yearlings occasionally strand on beaches after becoming separated from their group.
Responses to "Seal enjoys a good chuckle after finding a nice rock to stretch on"


text:
How Can React Native App Builder Upscale Your Business?
by Zazz September 1, 2021 Time to Read Blog: 5 minutes
Apps are an integral part of our everyday lives. They have become a life-saver. Grabbing on to this opportunity, organizations are investing in app development. However, creating a game-changer app is the real deal. That's when apps developed with React Native app builder stand out.
In this high-geared and ever-evolving 21st century, every user wants speedy access to resources. Thus organizations are highly bent on apps to provide their users with a seamless app experience. If you create React Native apps, you can offer your users the kind of satisfaction they desire.
This blog will give you an overall idea and knowledge on how your business can overcome challenges and pace up with the modern-day and ever-changing business demands by taking full advantage of the benefits offered by the React Native app builder.
What Is React Native App Builder? How It Can Benefit Your Business?
React Native is an open-source JavaScript-based framework launched by Facebook back in 2015. It helps to build apps for cross-platforms, namely iOS and Android. Thus, React Native app builder is the top seed for developers to build exceptional natively rendered apps following a singular codebase for several platforms.
When you build an app by channelizing the strength of this cutting-edge framework, you are just not developing a mobile, web, or HTML5 application, but a unique app that cannot be differentiated from a Kotlin or Swift-based app as it makes use of the primary UI building blocks akin to native Android and iOS applications.
In simple terms, developing an app with this power-packed framework makes the app development process quicker and affordable. It is the reason why businesses worldwide are reaching out to companies providing React Native app development services.
There are many reasons why developers worldwide prefer to create React Native apps and why this framework boomed in the sphere of app development. Some of them are stated below:
Its singular coding structure helps build a single app that runs on different platforms, namely iOS and Android, thus saving time and cost.
React Native's usage of the already acclaimed old-school JavaScript library has helped them gain immense popularity.
With this leading-edge framework, the front-end developers can build some of the most high-end and robust applications that scale.
It provides a smooth, attractive and responsive user interface while accelerating the development process.
Well, the reason behind its roaring success is endless. But as a business, you must be concerned about how this open-source framework can be advantageous for you. So let's look at some of the benefits your company can reap if you develop apps using the React Native app builder.
Quicker and Affordable
Hiring two different teams for launching your apps on Android and iOS platforms separately is time consuming and expensive. But you cannot just drop users from a specific platform. Thanks to React Native, you can target users from various platforms without wasting time and money.
One of the benefits of using React Native app builder to create apps is that it enables quicker app development due to its code reusability function. Instead of jotting down discrete codes for Android or iOS, it gives developers the power to reuse the code for several operating systems.
Also, if you hire developers from a renowned React Native app development company, you can curb the overall cost of your app development. In addition, since the React Native app builder is open-sourced, you won't have to pay for the license.
It also puts forward effortless migration and numerous third-party plugins. Its best-in-class code reusable functionality helps to reduce the overall expense of your business application.
Native Look and Feel
Another benefit that you get if you create React Native apps is its classy native potentialities. Unfortunately, getting a seamless UX using the traditional Native framework for building apps is costly. Whereas, React Native fuses superbly with the native apps and offers an exceptional UX on both platforms.
Whether you are an Android user or an iOS user, the React Native app builder will give a native look and feel to your apps. Your users will forget what lagging is. This is one true artistry of React Native. You don't need to panic and stress over enormous application usages.
Singular Coding Structure
Apps developed with React Native app builder are easy to build compared to other frameworks due to its code reusability feature. As a result, developers can use a single coding structure for all platforms, thus saving time on writing codes for identical elements on separate platforms.
Developers are free to pen down codes in an equivalent programming language and tie up with React Native. It is highly beneficial if you want to add extra functionalities that the React Native libraries do not hold up. With the singular coding structure, developers can save time and invest in app up-gradation for improved user experience.
Web App to Mobile App
The React Native app builder enables the effortless conversion of a web application into a mobile app. Since the interface is modular and innate, it permits the developers to view how the web app might feel and look like a mobile application. Furthermore, since web applications are built following the Progressive Web App (PWA) framework, they can be easily transformed into mobile apps with the React Native app development framework.
Developers can lay hold of the source of the web application, transform it into programming logic, set up a test case to inspect and look over if the web application can be rapidly rendered into a mobile application or not. This magnificent functionality comes with the React Native framework, which will make your business applications highly efficient.
Cross-Platform Application Development
If you are thinking of launching your business app for either Android or iOS platforms, why not go for React Native's cross-platform compatibility feature and get your app launched on both platforms and drive profits? This is one of the many gifts provided by the React Native app builder framework. Its cross-platform framework offers you all the cutting-edge tools for building an application for both platforms.
The coding structure of React Native is highly adaptable with all the platforms. And while you plan to fix on a single platform, React Native helps target users of every platform in the given period. Developing apps with the React Native app builder keeps your time-related worries at bay.
High-Quality and Top-Notch Development
React Native is the top choice for app development since hiring dedicated React Native app developers is quite easy. In recent times, React Native is a highly favorable framework that developers study and shine at. By harnessing the strength of React Native app builder framework, developers can design and build top-notch apps with rich UI/UX designs to give users an unparalleled experience.
Besides that, it's easier to hire React Native developers and knowledgeable engineers at an affordable cost since the framework is quite easy to learn and be proficient at. As the developers can build robust and secure apps with React Native app builder, they are in total demand, but still, you can easily hire the finest ones without facing any difficulty.
Highly talked about for its third-party infusion, the React Native framework puts forward outstanding plugins that attach a layer of advantage to your business mobile application. Its high-yield framework and tailor-made modules make operations smooth and plain-sailing as it eradicates the requirement of WebView, making the app speedy, impeccable, and feature-rich in no time. React Native empowers the developers to build robust and dynamic cross-platform apps effortlessly.
When building a complex business application, the cutting-edge React Native app builder tools help curb the time to pen down intricate and elaborate coding blocks. The React Native-based app developers utilize these plugins and include high-end features in Android or iOS platforms in a flash.
If you look at popular apps like Facebook, Bloomberg, Skype, and Pinterest, they are built on the React Native app builder. Credit goes to its top-notch quality and flawless user experience. It is highly acclaimed and has achieved immense admiration over the years. React Native is invincible in its sphere.
Momentum matters when you are into business. A smooth and efficient app can keep you a level ahead of your competitors. React Native app builder is the most sought-after and convenient option at hand. So, if you are planning to build user-friendly and robust apps with the power of React Native framework, you need to secure the services of a renowned React Native app development agency.
Zazz is a reputable Mobile app development company with years of experience delivering feature-rich cross-platform applications to keep businesses a step forward in the race. So whether you choose us for React Native eCommerce app development or for building high-end On-Demand apps, we are your best bet. Contact Zazz to work with the best app developers.


text:
Q: Cakephp Callback function called multiple times first some background information:
A user can fill out some input text boxes and upload multiple images (in one upload field). After the form is submitted, the text from the text fields is saved in the DB with $this->XXX->save(). Additionally the data (in particular the images from the file upload) is processed in the callback function afterSave(). So far so good.
Now to the problem:
It seems that the callback function is called multiple times (1 time for each uploaded image). So the problem is, the first time is everything fine, but after that the $this->data array is basically empty (all text fields are = '') so the callback function throws some exceptions because there is no data. I solved the problem by just checking with isset() and so on but I think that is not solving the problem.
So my question is, why is the callback function called multiple times and how can I prevent that?
Edit:
Following some relevant code snippets:
Controller:
      if ($this->request->is('post') || $this->request->is('put')) {

        if($aid==null) $this->Article->create();
        if ($this->Article->save($this->data)) {
            $this->Session->setFlash(__('The article has been saved'), 'flash_custom');
            return $this->redirect(array('controller' => 'articles', 'action' => 'view', $this->id));
        } ...

Model:
I think most of that is not relevant here.. In general I send data to other Models where this data is saved in other db tables like this for pictures
 if ($this->data['Article']['picture']) {
   foreach ($this->data['Article']['picture'] as $picture) {
       if (is_uploaded_file($picture['tmp_name']) && (substr($picture['type'], 0, 5) == "image") && $numberOfPictures < $pictures_allowed) {
           $this->Picture->addPicture($picture, $this->id);
       }
       $numberOfPictures++;
   }

Error Dump:
I think a Dump of the $this->data array is quite interesting here (explanation below)
array(
'Article' => array(
    'pictures' => '0',
    'title' => 'Error Test',
    'abstract' => 'Test abstract',
    'body' => 'Testtext',
    'picture' => array(
        (int) 0 => array(
            [maximum depth reached]
        ),
        (int) 1 => array(
            [maximum depth reached]
        ),
        (int) 2 => array(
            [maximum depth reached]
        )
    ),
    'modified' => '2015-04-13 22:00:09',
    'created' => '2015-04-13 22:00:09',
    'id' => '294'
))

Notice (8): Undefined index: title [APP/Model/Article.php, line 723]
Notice (8): Undefined index: body [APP/Model/Article.php, line 724]
Notice (8): Undefined index: abstract [APP/Model/Article.php, line 725]

array(
    'Article' => array(
        'id' => '294',
        'pictures' => (int) 1,
        'modified' => '2015-04-13 22:00:09',
        'title' => '',
        'body' => '',
        'abstract' => '',
    )
)

Notice (8): Undefined index: picture [APP/Model/Article.php, line 777]

Notice (8): Undefined index: title [APP/Model/Article.php, line 723]

Notice (8): Undefined index: body [APP/Model/Article.php, line 724]

Notice (8): Undefined index: abstract [APP/Model/Article.php, line 725]

array(
    'Article' => array(
        'id' => '294',
        'pictures' => (int) 2,
        'modified' => '2015-04-13 22:00:10',
        'title' => '',
        'body' => '',
        'abstract' => '',
    )
)

Notice (8): Undefined index: picture [APP/Model/Article.php, line 777]

Notice (8): Undefined index: title [APP/Model/Article.php, line 723]

Notice (8): Undefined index: body [APP/Model/Article.php, line 724]

Notice (8): Undefined index: abstract [APP/Model/Article.php, line 725]

array(
    'Article' => array(
        'id' => '294',
        'pictures' => (int) 3,
        'modified' => '2015-04-13 22:00:10',
        'title' => '',
        'body' => '',
        'abstract' => '',
    )
)

Notice (8): Undefined index: picture [APP/Model/Article.php, line 777]

Explanation:
I just dumped $this->data once but like you see I've uploaded 3 pictures and I got 3 afterSave calls and so 3 $this->data dumps. The first time everything is fine, but after that some warnings are thrown because the array is not filled anymore.
I hope this additional information may help you

A: If you're calling Model::save via the aftersave callback for the same model, then it will be a recursively saving, as the aftersave will call the save, which will trigger the aftersave again..
Disable callbacks in save method you're using in the aftersave
$this->save($data, array('callbacks' => false));

Documentation


text:
Horrifying 22-foot statue of baby Jesus looks just like Phil Collins
The new sculpture might also be "the biggest baby Jesus statue in the world"
on November 20, 2019, 10:18pm
Baby Jesus and his Phil Collins lookalike
In one of the strangest chapters in the book of Genesis, a Mexican church has built an enormous statue of the baby Jesus that looks just like Phil Collins.
The balding, mulleted sculpture was commissioned for the church La EpifanÍa del Señor, according to the New York Post. It is 22-feet tall and weighs over 2,000 pounds. The priest Humberto Rodriguez said that he only wanted something that would "fit the church." Apparently, he was taken aback by the size, saying he "never intended to make it the biggest baby Jesus statue in the world." Whether it actually takes the record has yet to be confirmed, but it's certainly massive.
Created by the sculptor Roman Salvador, the statue would stand a couple of feet taller than the tallest Tyrannosaurus Rex. In pictures on Twitter it towers above the altar, with a mullet like a lion's mane, and dead blue eyes that promise to harvest some souls. The resemblance to Phil Collins in the 1980s, like so much of this horrifying toddler Christ, is presumably unintentional.
Understandably, Collins himself has declined to comment. Earlier this year he released Other Sides and Remixed Sides, two compilation albums. In June, he reunited with former Genesis bandmate Mark Rutherford to play "Follow You Follow Me", their first time sharing a stage in 12 years.
En la iglesia "La EpifanÍa del Señor" de #Zacatecas tienen una estatua enorme del "Niño Dios" ¿O de Phil Collins? 🤔 pic.twitter.com/566RicHDxK
— Iәnuɐɯ әsoɾ (@JoseManuelRadio) November 20, 2019
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Most memorable moments on stage in 2017
Theater writer takes a look back at the moments in the theater that he just can't shake.
Most memorable moments on stage in 2017 Theater writer takes a look back at the moments in the theater that he just can't shake. Check out this story on cincinnati.com: http://cin.ci/2CiCOs4
Special to Cincinnati Enquirer Published 2:23 p.m. ET Dec. 28, 2017
Nicholas Rose starred as Prospero in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's production of William Shakespeare's "The Tempest." It was a towering and deeply moving performance in what would be the company's final production in its Race Street home.(Photo: Provided/Mikki Schaffner)
When I saw "The Tempest" at Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, I was wowed by Nicholas Rose's performance as Prospero. The rest of the show was good. But was it good enough to make a year-end "best of" list? Probably not.
There's my dilemma.
It's been eight months since I saw the show and I still can't get Rose's performance out of my mind. In particular, I remember a scene near the beginning of the second act. His character's daughter is exchanging vows of love with the son of his arch-enemy.
Rose didn't say a word. He stood in the aisle on the left side of the theater and relished in the tenderness between the two younger people. In that moment, the momentum of the play changes completely.
In that moment, Rose's acting was as moving as anything I'd seen in ages. It was acting without artifice. And it was exquisite.
Whatever kind of list I was going to put together had to have a place in it for Nicholas Rose.
So I've scrapped the traditional list of best dance and theater productions. Instead, it's become a list of moments in the theater that I just can't shake. That could mean an individual actor or dancer. Or a production. Or, for that matter, an offstage person whose work changes everything around it.
So here, in my opinion and in no particular order, are the highlights of 2017.
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From left: Torie Wiggins as Ruth Younger, Burgess Byrd as Lena Younger and Shadow Avili' as Travis Younger in Cincinnati Shakespeare Company's 2017 production of Lorraine Hansberry's "A Raisin in the Sun." The Enquirer's review said that Byrd's performance was "kind and cajoling, stubborn and, in her own way, quietly elegant." (Photo: Provided/Mikki Schaffner)
"A Raisin in the Sun," Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. Lorraine Hansberry's play premiered on Broadway in 1959. But nearly 60 years later, it still felt chillingly contemporary. Directed by Christopher V. Edwards, the production was a sobering and sometimes heartbreaking view of the world Hansberry lived in. There were many fine performances; Torie Wiggins, Renika Williams, Darnelle Pierre Benjamin. But most memorable to me was Burgess Byrd as Mama, the conscience and moral rock of the family. Late in the second act, the emotional floodgates open and a lifetime of disappointment and repression come pouring out of her in a wave of fury.
Cincinnati Ballet dancers were seen in guest choreographer Ohad Naharin's "Minus 16" during the company's "Bold Moves" series at the Aronoff Center in March. (Photo: Provided/Peter Mueller)
"Minus 16," choreographed by Ohad Naharin, performed by Cincinnati Ballet. Performed as part of the company's Bold Moves program in March, Naharin's work, which cobbles together elements of three earlier works, is raw and intense, an aggressively percussive style of dance almost never seen in ballet dancers. It was easily the most talked-about work of the season.
Julia Knitel starred as singer/songwriter Carole King in "Beautiful – The Carole King Musical." The show, which was the final production of the 2016-2017 Broadway in Cincinnati season, was a popular and critical success. (Photo: Provided/Joan Marcus)
"Beautiful: The Carole King Musical," presented at the Aronoff Center by Broadway in Cincinnati. An absolute joy of a musical. Thanks to Douglas McGrath's detail-rich script and a remarkable performance by Julia Knitel as Carole King, this was a show that was as robust as it was intimate as it charted King's life and the way her memorable music helped define the tumultuous years of American music in the second half of the 20th Century.
After several months away from the local stage, Paul Strickland (left) and Erika Kate MacDonald (right, in silhouette) returned with "13 Dead Dreams of 'Eugene'," their take on the mysterious tale of an unidentified man whose body was found beside a lonely road in Sabina, Ohio in 1929. (Photo: Provided/Dan Norman)
"13 Dead Dreams of Eugene," by Erika Kate MacDonald and Paul Strickland, at the Know Theatre. MacDonald and Strickland spun this tale from the true story of an unidentified man found dead by the side of the road in Sabina, Ohio, in 1929. For the next 35 years, the embalmed corpse – nicknamed "Eugene" – remained on display. The production was a barebones affair. All the lighting was handheld. You know – flashlights and such. But their 13 tales were haunting and melancholy and remarkably poetic.
Douglas Borntrager, sound and projection designer. You're most likely to see or hear Borntrager's work at the Know Theatre or Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. But he finds his way into some smaller productions, too. I'm especially impressed by the soundscapes he creates. Sometimes you're not even sure what the sounds are. Maybe it's a mechanical whirring. Perhaps it's a grinding sound. Or a whoosh. Or something that is so, so soft that you're barely aware it's there. All I know is that his masterful work adds as much to the productions he's involved in as any actor or director.
Melissa Gelfin and Cervilio Miguel Amador brought searing passion and heartbreaking tragedy to the title roles in Cincinnati Ballet's October presentation of "Romeo and Juliet," choreographed by artistic director Victoria Morgan. (Photo: Provided/Peter Mueller)
"Romeo & Juliet," performed by Cincinnati Ballet at Music Hall. The entire company looked good in artistic director Victoria Morgan's production. But the performances by Melissa Gelfin (Juliet) and Cervilio Miguel Amador (Romeo) were emotionally searing. For this story to really work, you have to believe that these characters would willingly give up everything for one another, including their lives. For two hours, Gelfin and Amador did just that.
Jordan Trovillion played Hunter, a warrior who travels around the world slaying beasts that exist below the streets of the world's great cities. She was one of the main characters in the Know Theatre's recent production of "Neverwhere." (Photo: Provided/Dan R. Winters)
"Neverwhere," Robert Kauzlaric's stage adaptation of Neil Gaiman's 1996 novel, at Know Theatre. Gaiman's novel is long and convoluted and filled with characters that defy logic. But co-directors Andrew J. Hungerford and Dan R. Winters and their cast of eccentrics make sense of it all as they lead us safely through the often harrowing world of life below the streets of London.
From left: Blake Hammond as Thomas Nostradamus and Rob McClure as Nick Bottom were featured in the National Tour of "Something Rotten!" The musical was presented at the Aronoff Center as part of the Broadway in Cincinnati series. Here, the two are seen at the beginning of the show-stopping number called "A Musical." (Photo: Provided/Jeremy Daniel)
"Something Rotten," presented at the Aronoff Center by Broadway in Cincinnati. The show, which whisks us back to a slightly twisted version of Shakespeare's London, is wild and wonderful. But one number – it's called "A Musical" – was an absolute showstopper. In the course of 6 or 7 frantic minutes, the cast bombards the stage with musical and choreographic riffs reminiscent of nearly three dozen of Broadway's best-known shows. It's exhilarating and so clever that you hesitate to laugh much for fear that you'll miss another witty reference.
Nicholas Carrieré, as Will Shakespeare, is seen battling a crushing case of writer's block in the Playhouse in the Park's production of "Shakespeare in Love." Directed by Blake Robison, it was the opening show of the Playhouse's 2017-2018 Marx Theatre season. (Photo: Provided/Mikki Schaffner)
"Shakespeare in Love," Cincinnati Playhouse. I wasn't sure that this show belonged on this list. But it was so enjoyable and so entertaining; why would I not include it? Yes, it's based on a mainstream movie. And there is absolutely nothing edgy about it. But the script is sharp and savvy. And director Blake Robison's production was so well cast and so well acted that it was impossible not to enjoy it.
Playwright's Trey Tatum's "The Disappearance of Nicole Jacobs, part 1: The Sister," featured at the Cincinnati Fringe Festival, was a supremely chilling drama. Here, you see Henry Eden and Miranda McGee in a scene from the show, which also starred Cassie Delicath. (Photo: Provided/Dan R. Winters)
Cincinnati Fringe Festival. I saw more than a few clinkers at the 2017 festival. But remember, this is a proving ground for new ideas. It wouldn't be doing its job if everybody loved everything. There were four that I find myself still thinking about:
- "The Disappearance of Nicole Jacobs, part 1: The Sister," by Trey Tatum, directed by Bridget Leak. A troubling story about a young woman who walks into the woods and disappears. With a stirring performance by Miranda McGee.
- "Is That All There Is?," written by Sara Mackie and starring Jared D. Doren as a drag performer about to begin what may be his final stage performance. Mackie manages to fill the show with melancholy and fireworks – not your everyday combination.
Katie Mitchell (left) and Rory Sheridan starred in Tracy Hoida's "Larry 13:2," about the curious relationship that arises when a young woman seeks out the help of a thirtysomething professional man who is operating on the far side of the law. The show appeared as part of the 2017 Cincinnati Fringe Festival. (Photo: Provided/Erika Nj Allen)
- "Larry 13:2," by Tracy Hoida, directed by Rebecca Bromels and starring a likeable but shady Rory Sheridan and an ebullient Katie Mitchell as a young woman who may just be an angel.
- "Sumatran Rhino," by Mike Hall, directed by Greg Procaccino, starring Burgess Byrd and Darnell Pierre Benjamin as the last two humans on earth. Hall's script is rich with perplexing questions as the characters have to decide if they will repopulate the earth or will they let it die, the victim of its own violence.
Ernaisja Curry (left) and Kelly Mengelkoch had featured roles in Steven Dietz's "The Random World," which was the first production in the renovated Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati complex on Vine Street. Producing artistic director D. Lynn Meyers directed the production. (Photo: Provided/Ryan Kurtz)
"This Random World," by Steven Dietz, directed by D. Lynn Meyers. Dietz's script is facile and sometimes thoughtful. The show is filled with scenes where people don't connect with one another. But what stands out in my mind is a scene near the end, where two women – actors Ernaisja Curry and Kelly Mengelkoch – meet on a path near a shrine in Kyoto. They don't know one another. But as the rain falls around them, they share a moment that is more elegiac than either realizes.
The exterior of the $17.5 million Otto M. Budig Theater, the new home of Cincinnati Shakespeare Company. The theater, located at 1195 Elm St., hosted a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 6 p.m. on August 11. (Photo: David Lyman for The Enquirer)
New venues – If ever there was an optimistic sign for the future of live music, theater and dance in Greater Cincinnati, it has to be the remarkable investment in infrastructure that has taken place in recent years. We all know the big ones; Cincinnati Shakespeare Company, Ensemble Theatre Cincinnati, Music Hall and the theaters at the College-Conservatory of Music. In late 2016, there was Memorial Hall, too. But don't forget the many other projects that may be smaller, but are no less significant. Falcon Theatre has made significant improvements to its tiny storefront theater in Newport. And de la Dance Center's studio theater has proven to be a fine venue to showcase students and host performances of de la Dance Company. There are others, too; Children's Theatre of Cincinnati's new Showtime Stage, Clifton Performance Theatre's new Northside venue, Liberty Exhibition Hall and, sometime in 2018, a new performing home for Madcap Puppets.
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Q: How can I secure this file upload using Express.js and Formidable? I am trying to learn security best practices for NodeJS/Express. How can I secure this file upload? Currently, it just places files in a folder. I concerned about users uploading malicious files/code.
This is a simple file upload that comes from a form on my react frontend. The goal is to allow people to upload avatars for their profile. I am using Formidable, so I can check the type of the images, but I am wondering if this is secure enough?
server.js
const express = require('express');
const server = express();

server.listen(8000, () => {
  console.log('Server started!');
});

server.use((req, res, next) => {
  res.header('Access-Control-Allow-Origin', '*');
  res.header(
    'Access-Control-Allow-Headers',
    'Origin, X-Requested-With, Content-Type, Accept',
  );
});

const upload = require('./upload');
server.post('/upload', upload);

upload.js
const IncomingForm = require('formidable').IncomingForm;

module.exports = function upload(req, res) {

  var form = new IncomingForm();

  form.parse(req);

  form.on('file', (field, file) => {
    console.log(file);
  });

  form.on('fileBegin', function(name, file) {
    file.path = __dirname + '/uploads/' + file.name;
  });

  form.on('end', () => {
    res.json();
  });
};

A: You could also check the MIME Content-type with the request:
if (contype.indexOf('image/png') !== 0)

Also, checking for file extensions:
file.extname('cool_picture.png')

And last but not least, check for file headers in hex format. All file types start with a sequence of hex digits. What does that mean?
PNG always start with the sequence: 5089 474e 0a0d 0a1a
JPG always start with the sequence: d8ff e0ff 1000 464a
And so on, so you can create basic strings or arrays with the initial file headers for images, like PNG_HEADER = '5089 474e 0a0d 0a1a';, read the file headers on the upload and compare if matches the file content-type and extension.
This should be ok for your upload.

A: Following 2 steps are basic steps.
In frontend only allow specific file extensions like(.pdf,.png etc.) with limitations like size. (Don't forget front end code can be manipulated).
2.You shoul also need to check file extenstions & sizes in backend(if you are using node you can use multer to achieve this.)
What more we can do in backend?
If we only rely on checking with extensions it doesn't help. (anyone can modify name of sample.exe to sample.jpg & upload).
For example if you check whether file uploaded image or not in backend other than checking with file extension you can follow below approach also.
The first eight bytes of a PNG file always contain the following (decimal) values: 137 80 78 71 13 10 26 10
If you want to check whether uploaded file is png or not above condition will work. Not only that if you want to check files uploaded properly or not you can follow some approaches like mentioned above. (for .pdf, .doc some rules might be there). You can check MIME signature data which is the best practice.
Don't save uploaded files in backend code repository. Store them some other workspace. (optional)
Following links might help.
Cloud Storages
Other than storing files in local server you can save uploaded files on cloud like amazon s3 bucket. After every time any file is uploaded to that s3 bucket you can trigger scanner using lambdas(automatic file scanners on amazon).
Other than amazon you can also use google drive for files upload (not optimal one). But when someone downloads uploaded file google will automatically scan for viruses.
amazon's s3 bucket file's scan links::
amazon s3 bucket files scan SO
amazon s3 bucket files reddit
s3 files scanning using lambda & clamav
For local server::
Mime official signature check
check file types plugin
clam scan npm
check image content without extension SO 1
check image content without extensions SO 2


text:
Political Odds Data: Queen Hillary Ascends, Prince Jeb Descends
Spencer | On October 28, 2015
Hillary Rodham Clinton, former U.S. Secretary of State
(Photo by Mike Davidson) (CC BY) (Resized/Cropped)
Hillary was always going to win the nomination, and the betting markets always knew it. For nearly two months, political pundits were describing Hillary's imminent collapse. She was losing ground in opinion polling for early states to Bernie Sanders, and she was mired in two major scandals. Prior to the first Democratic debate, there was a genuine feeling in the media that her campaign hinged on her performance at the debate. But even during those particularly weak moments in her campaign, she was still by an extremely wide margin the front runner in betting markets. Her winning the primary has always been virtually inevitable.
The difference now is that everyone knows it, even pundits.
At her lowest point, Hillary was over 40% more likely to win the nomination than the runner up. Now that she's endured the Benghazi hearings without taking any major damage, and no longer has to worry about Biden dropping in and taking half her voting base, she's in an extremely solid position to win the nomination. Jim Webb and Lincoln Chaffee, who were never serious threats anyway, have now dropped out, meaning she only has to deal with O'Malley – who is clearly running for a spot in Hillary's administration – and Bernie Sanders, whose leftist-pandering campaign is already running out of steam.
With Biden gone, there is no credible establishment alternative to Clinton in the party. The only serious threat she's faced was Biden, and now that he's announced he's not running, Hillary is overwhelmingly likely to win.
This is in sharp contrast to the Republican race, which is chaotic and never had a front runner on the tier of Clinton. Jeb, who at the start of the campaign was considered the inevitable nominee, is now no longer first in betting markets.
Rubio, who has been consistently rising for over a month, is now in first place.
For the first time since we've been tracking it, Jeb is not first in the betting markets. He is now behind Rubio 7%.
It's also worth noting that Ben Carson, who is now leading in opinion polls in Iowa and at least one national poll, is at 9% to win the nomination. What Ben Carson is experiencing is what we always see in the early days of party primaries; outsider candidates urge to the top of opinion polls by saying controversial things that grab headlines and attention from disillusioned members of the party. But these candidates always fizzle out, often before any votes are cast.
The bettors are wagering that, as happened in 2012 and 2008, eventually the party will nominate a moderate, establishment candidate. But the margin between 1st and 2nd is much smaller for the Republican party than it is for the Democrats.
There is going to be a Republican debate tonight; if Rubio can present a debate performance as strong as his first two, he should be able to maintain and even widen his lead in the betting markets. But strong performances from other candidates can further disrupt what is already a relatively unpredictable race.


text:
Faculty of MedicineDepartment of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
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» Faculty of Medicine » Home » Undergraduate
The Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences at UBC offers an undergraduate BSc degree in Honours Cellular, Anatomical & Physiological Sciences (CAPS). Courses are offered in human structure and function with emphasis in nervous, endocrine, cardiovascular, respiratory, renal and gastrointestinal systems. The overarching goal of our undergraduate teaching is to provide interdisciplinary training in life and health sciences. This prepares students for careers in the academic, biotechnology or medical fields. Our Honours students spend a year carrying out a research project under the supervision of a research faculty member that forms the basis of a graduating Honours thesis. In addition, students may choose to do a 12-16 month Cooperative Education program, working in a research laboratory as part of their undergraduate training.
As of winter session 2013, the Honours Physiology BSc specialization is renamed to Honours Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences.
What will you be studying?
THE STUDY OF LIFE PROCESSES
How living systems work from the molecular level to organ systems to the whole organism.
How the organism responds to physical activities and to the environment around it whether it is the vacuum of space or the depths of the ocean?
How disease can affect living systems?
How the genome translates into function both within the cell and the whole organism?
The history of the field of study
Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences are important because they are the basis upon which we expand our knowledge of what "life" is, how to treat disease, and how to cope with stresses imposed upon our bodies by new environments The history of the field can be traced to Aristotle in the 4th century B.C., but the science in its modern form began to develop with the Renaissance. The American Physiological Society was formed in 1887; the Canadian Physiological Society in 1935. Over the last century, the field has grown at a constantly accelerating rate, diversifying into many specialized areas. Most recently, advances in molecular biology have provided new techniques for investigating physiological processes at cellular and sub cellular level such as signal transduction, membrane transport, muscle contraction, electrolyte regulation, endocrine function and neural conduction. New findings challenge older concepts as scientists probe the molecular levels where structure and function become synonymous. Knowledge of the normal human structure and function helps scientists understand what goes wrong in disease, leading to the development of new strategies for prevention and treatment. The highest honor awarded in Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences is the Nobel Prize in Physiology or Medicine, awarded since 1901 by the Royal Swedish Academy of Sciences.
A B.Sc. degree in Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences allows you to work in many different settings under the supervision of a senior scientist. If you are aspiring to the level of and independent investigator and teacher, you should plan to obtain a M.Sc., Ph.D. or M.D. degree. Work settings including colleges or universities allow for teaching students in anatomy, physiology, biology, medicine, dentistry, and other health fields and conducting research and guiding doctoral candidates who will become the teachers and investigators of the future. If you prefer full time research you can find rewarding positions in government laboratories, industry, hospitals, and clinical settings.
Solid preparation for clinical fields
Many undergraduates in Cellular, Anatomical and Physiological Sciences chose to continue their education in medical, dental and veterinary schools where cellular, anatomical and physiological sciences are the prominent and necessary knowledge base.
The preceding information is adapted from the American Physiological Society.
Department of Cellular & Physiological Sciences
2350 Health Sciences Mall
Website cps.med.ubc.ca
Email cps.info@ubc.ca