Mar 13, 2011
Posted by Mohammed Ali in General, Sufi Comics | 9 comments
I’m pleased to share the news that 40 Sufi Comics book is now available to purchase on Amazon.com! If you’ve enjoyed reading Sufi Comics, please take out the time to write a review. Those you’ve requested for a free copy of the book, this week I’ll be shipping them to you. I still have some free copies left, so it’s still not late to ask for one. :)
How does one publish a book on Amazon.com?
- Steps to Publish a book using CreateSpace
Those of you who have been dreaming to publish a book, I would urge you to go for it! It’s a very rewarding experience and has never been this easy! Several people asked me how I got the book on Amazon. I’m outlining here a high level view of the steps:
* Once the content of your book is ready the first thing you need to do is to decide which digital publisher you need to approach. There are 2 big ones: Lulu.com & CreateSpace.com. I did some research and found both of them competitive, but decided to go with CreateSpace.com ’cause it’s an Amazon.com company and therefore the fastest route to get your book on Amazon.
* Once you’re registered with CreateSpace (it’s free), they ask you details about the book you want to publish (name, author, description, genre etc).
* Then you need to decide & inform the Physical properties of the book. This would include the page size, number of pages, type of cover. At the end of the process an ISBN number will be assigned to the book.
* With the above details in place, CreateSpace will ask you to upload 2 PDF files. One for the Interior pages, the other for the Cover page. This was the most time consuming step for me ’cause I had to constantly adjust the margin space, and page arrangements to meet their requirements. My skills in Graphic Design came in use here. If would be useful to have a friend with design skills to help in taking you through this step.
* After you’ve uploaded the PDF files as per their specifications, they will ship (at your cost) a ‘Proof’ copy of the book. If it looks good, you’ll need to approve it. Below are photographs of the Sufi Comics Proof Copy:
* Now you’re almost through. Setup the selling price of the book. CreateSpace will charge a fixed cost per print, whatever you sell your book for above that price is your Royalty! So if CreateSpace charges a fix cost of $5 per copy, and if you set the selling price as $9, then you will receive $4 for each sale.
Once you’ve entered the Sales Information, then in approximately a week’s time you’ll find that your book is available for the world to buy on Amazon.com!
Never in history has it been this easy for an individual to publish a book with the largest distributor in the world!
Mar 2, 2011
Posted by arif in General | 0 comments
“I always wanted to be somebody, but I should have been more specific.”
-Lily Tomlin
Feb 26, 2011
Posted by arif in General | 0 comments
ha ha ha ha…this guy so cracks me up!
Here we go again, another squirming dictator with dire cramps and julaabs, in Libya this time. If it were not for the bloodshed there, his rantings on TV this morning in a womanly voice would have been comical. You know, I had not heard Ghaddafy speak before and with the press terming him a ‘strongman’ I assumed he would have a deeper, manly tenor. Not so, he sounded almost feminine. Ah, well, perhaps he was just nervous with all the fatakras of gunfire going on around Libya. Nightmares, perhaps, dreaming of life in Saudi Arabia with Ali Zain el Abedeen (maybe Mubaarak and others as well?) as neighbors did not agree with his voice box. Perhaps.
What I do not understand is the US and Europeans posturing on these very interesting and exciting, I must confess, developments in the Maghreb and Middle East in general. BBC and CNN have not a clue, as usual, bringing in dubious ‘experts’ speaking awful English to explain why Ghaddafy would open fire on his own people. Duh! For corrupted power! For exactly the same reason blood was shed in Tunisia, Egypt, Bahrain, Yemen and numerous countries where dictators felt cramps of julaabs from a populace fed up with tyranny and injustice. There, I am no expert, but have simply explained why Ghaddafy did what he did. In simple, plain, snotty Queen’s English; put me on the tube!
Corrupted power supported and fed by the same governments that now go “Oh, what happened? How terrible! No bloodshed! Democracy must rule (except in Gaza and Iran where people are stupid and elect wrong people as leaders)!” The US and UK supported Mubaarak for decades while he prostituted himself in selling out the Palestinian cause and amassed a disgusting personal fortune of about 70 billion US$ – read carefully now, that is a B for billion. They welcomed him at number 10 and White House with honor, dignity, patted his fat arse with an attaboy and made him even fatter with fine food and wine. In Egypt meanwhile, where I used to frequently travel on business, poverty and crime improved every time I returned. Arbitrary arrests, confinements, torture and murders by Mubaarak’s thugs were overlooked in the name of regional stability suitable for western ‘democracy’.
In Libya, where a brilliant lunatic has been able to cunningly outfox both internal and external foes, was able to lure the EU for lucrative oil / gas deals. For money; easily forgotten were the killing of a lady cop outside the Libyan embassy in London and the downing of Pan Am 103. The very powers that were loathing of the dictator welcomed him to Italy and France; Tony Blair, tongue hanging, with that sinister, peculiar sneer on his face, landed dancing in Tripoli, praising, hugging, kissing Ghaddafy, all bhai – bhai. Why, Silvio Berlusconi even allowed Ghaddafy to set up tent right in the middle of Rome with a harem of females, a passion very much close to Berlusconi‘s heart; they have met each other 13 times in 3 years, so much their love and devotion to each other.
Now, as I see Ghaddafy fortunes crumble around him, making him squirm and as the noose tightens around his crown jewels, I can only pray and hope Libya will be saved the inevitable bloodletting that seems imminent. The saturation of Muslims in Europe that Sarkozy, Berlusconi and company most feared looks like an ever increasing possibility. Not through violent jihadist or mayhem, but exactly as Ghaddafy jokingly predicted to Berlusconi in Rome; by the influx of Maghreb Muslims. Little did Ghaddafy realize it will be his persecution, his suppression and his outstanding cruelty that will prove this prophecy true.
POSTED BY ALIYUSUFALI AT 1:20 AM
Feb 12, 2011
Posted by arif in General | 3 comments
I clicked this at Dr. Pooya’s Clinic in Bangalore.
Nov 30, 2010
Posted by arif in General | 0 comments
Dear Friends,
This is an appeal for funds. I keep my appeals on my blog to a minimum. It’s only when I’ve exhausted other resources that I spread my arms here.
I am a part of a group that actively supports a slum in Bangalore. Our core activity is running an interest-free Micro Finance service, to encourage women entrepreneurs to set up small business/trades of their own. Over the years we’ve undertaken many projects to improve the struggling lives of the slum dwellers. Our other initiatives have been:
- We’ve started a clinic at Rajendranagar Slum that consults ailing patients for a minimum fee of Rs. 10/.
- We regularly conduct tailoring classes for girls/women so that they are either self-employed or get employed at the local garment factories. Till date we have trained 60 women.
- We have hired and have on our payroll English Teachers to help the local Govt. School children of the Slum to learn English so that the transition from an Urudu/Kannada Medium school is easier.
One can see a lot of the work that we’ve done at our Foundation’s website by clicking here.
Rs. 5,000/- that’s all it takes.
Another of our intiatives have been to ensure that maximum children at Rajendranagar Slum have a full year education. We have been distributing scholarships over the last three years. This year our requirement has been about Rs. 8,00,000/- to sponsor 170 children. We have raised Rs. 6,00,000 and are Rs. 2,00,000 short. We have gone the extra mile and put these kids in school, promising the school that we will somehow arrange the funds and pay them their fees. Now since the fees are still overdue, the school is stopping these children first from sitting for test or exams and now some kids are forced to sit in the playground all day and not attend classes.
I implore you please contribute generously. I have personally met these children. They are bright and one can see that they have potential for greatness. If only someone would help them. If only we’d help them. Why should they live in tin sheds while our children live in high-rise apartments. Why should we have good clean toilets, were as they have to expose themselves in public to relieve themselves. Giving them a basic education is the first step to ensure that they and their families lead better lives. If 40 of us contribute just Rs. 5,000 each, these kids can step inside the school and attend classes again. Rs. 5,000 is just Dh 500 or just $100/-
You can contribute here:
You may write the cheque favouring Swabhimaan and please send the cheque to:
Swabhimaan
B 405 Raheja Residency, 3rd Block
Koramangala, Bangalore
India
Mob: +91 9945436757 (Contact: Venkat)
Please do let me know or Venkat (+91 9945436757) know once you’ve sent the payment so that Venkat can look out for the same.
Thank you so much guys!
By the way the above picture is not some stock image. It’s a picture that I clicked at Rajendranagar Slum of kids waiting outside an Aanganwadi (a Government Play Home) waiting for it to open.
Here’s a small presentation that you can click through to learn more about Rajendranagar, our activities and Scholorship appeal.
