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  #1   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 16:29
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is online now
Experimenter
Posts: 25,829
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default Adieu, The Omnivore

Poor guy, I know of his pain of self-publishing. My brother tried that too.

Quote:
WHY I'VE PULLED THE PLUG ON THEOMNIVORE.COM

Dear Readers,

In early 2003, I created TheOmnivore.com as a result of my desire to
share what I felt was vitally important diet and health information
with others. Since that time, I have posted hundreds of articles, sent
out hundreds of newsletters, and answered thousands of emails from
people all over the world. I have performed this function
single-handedly and funded this effort entirely out of my own pocket.
To say that I have put a huge amount of time and effort into running
this web site would be something of an understatement.

Recently on June 26-27, 2006, I removed the bulk of TheOmnivore.com
from the internet. The few intact pages of my site that remain on the
net feature information about my recently released book, The Great
Cholesterol Con.

Numerous readers, after attempting to access articles and instead
getting a message stating "This page no longer available", have
written to ask what on earth is happening with the site. In order to
give an honest answer, I'm about to go on one of my famous rants, but
hey, you asked…

WHEN ENOUGH IS ENOUGH

In essence, running TheOmnivore.com was just taking up much time and
effort, and I realized I simply wasn't getting anything in return.
Don't get me wrong--the site was never intended as a money-making
venture, and at no time during the 3 years I ran the site did I ever
ask anyone for a single cent. I simply hoped to make some sort of
contribution to public health and knowledge by posting information for
people to consider and research further. However, instead of becoming
a repository of info for self-reliant free-thinkers, my web site seems
to have become a magnet for free-loaders who seem to be under the
impression that I am obligated to furnish them with free diet and
health info on tap.

This point has really been hammered home to me by the lackadaisical
sales response to my book The Great Cholesterol Con. The book was
released on May 29, 2006 and so far, it's selling VERY slowly. Judging
by the enthusiastic and overwhelmingly positive feedback from those
who have actually bothered to read it, it's not because I've written a
substandard book. The consensus so far is that it is entertaining,
easy to read, and the most thorough, damning and eye-opening expose of
the anti-cholesterol agenda ever written.

Unfortunately, due to lack of interest from the politically-correct
major publishing houses and literary agents, I had to self-publish the
book. Obviously, I don't have the mega-marketing budgets and worldwide
distribution networks that the major publishing houses do. If my book
is to achieve even modest success, it will happen only because of
word-of-mouth, because enough people bought the book, were blown away
by what they read, and told as many people as they could about it.

Well, judging by the sales figures over at Lulu, only a small fraction
of my newsletter subscribers have even bothered to buy the book. Yet I
still get people emailing to tell me what a great guy I am, how great
the (free) info on my web site is and still wanting (free) answers to
their questions. It's brought home to me the truth behind the old
saying about how people love you when you're giving stuff away free
but then suddenly run for the doors when you ask for some money.

The final trigger was the truly idiotic emails I received soon after
publishing The Great Cholesterol Con. Right after I released the book,
I received an abusive email from some wacko in Panama, who was most
upset that the book wasn't available in e-book form and that he would
have to pay international shipping charges if he wished to purchase
the hard copy version. Well boo-hoo, I've been living down under in
Australia and paying international shipping charges all my life! Due
to the lack of interest from the major publishers and literary agents
I approached, I was forced to self-publish with a print-on-demand
firm, and I cannot do anything about the fact that POD firms do not
have the same publishing and distribution facilities as major publishers.

As for releasing an e-book version, the last thing I wish to see after
pouring my heart and soul into this book is for it to be illegally
copied and pasted all over the internet (as so often happens with PDF
e-books). Thanks, but no thanks!

Not long after this, I had another fellow from Finland or the
Netherlands or wherever chastising me for not making the book locally
available in his country and taunting me that not many people will buy
my book as a result. I explained that I had to self-publish out of my
own pocket, and that if instead of offering unhelpful and spiteful
antagonism he could organize a contract with a major publishing house
that will allow my book to be sold in countries all over the world,
then I'm all ears.

So here I am, having self-published a book that has literally costs me
thousands of dollars out of my own pocket (and caused me more than a
few headaches along the way) to bring to market, and in return I get
disgruntled wankers writing to complain about how they have to pay an
extra ten piddly bucks to have the book delivered to their country!

Then about a week after I released the book, some woman who had
evidently read a statin article on my web site emailed asking: "OK, so
statins are bad, but what should we take instead?"

Soon after this, some equally idiotic bloke from Italy emailed telling
me about the zillion stents he'd just had installed in his arteries
and asking what I would recommend for him to help salvage his already
crapped-out cardiovascular system.

Holy %$#~!

For crying out loud, I have addressed these very questions several
times already on my web site, and have just written an ENTIRE BOOK on
the topic!

I guess it's way too much to expect the apathetic, lazy, unthinking
sheep that constitute the majority of today's population to actually
use the search function on my site, or to plunk down a piddly 20-25
bucks for my book...nope, on top of the abundant info I've already
given, I apparently still must provide them with their very own
personalized answer!

If people want to act like a bunch of whining, unappreciative,
free-loading shmucks, that's their prerogative, but I refuse to be an
accomplice to such idiocy any longer. That is a major reason why I
have torn down the bulk of my site and why I will not be answering any
more health/diet questions. Virtually everything I have to say about
the saturated fat/cholesterol/CHD issue can be found in my book.
Whether people choose to buy and read it or not is beyond my control,
but it's all in there...

PERSPECTIVE

Two weeks ago to this very day, my last surviving grandparent passed
away. My Grandma was an incredible woman, and second only to my own
Mum as the person who I loved and respected most in this world. When
someone who means this much to you passes away, it tends to put a lot
of things in perspective. My Grandma was a strong, self-reliant woman;
her and my Grandpa had experienced poverty and much hardship during
their life. Yet they rarely complained - their primary concern was
always for the welfare of their children and us grandchildren. Even as
my Grandmother lay in her hospital bed, with the organs of her 84
year-old body failing, knowing that her long and eventful life was
about to come to an end, she did not complain. Instead, she would ask
my mother and Auntie, who were keeping a bedside vigil, if they were
hungry, and would urge them to go eat. Instead of complaining about
her fate, she repeatedly asked how us grandkids were doing. Instead of
whining about the pain, she wanted to know how her first great
grandchild was doing, and whether he would make it to Adelaide in time
to see her (unfortunately, he/we didn't).

What an amazing woman.

What a stark contrast to the self-obsessed, pansy-assed, serial
whining weenies that constitute the bulk of today's population!

WAKE UP, PEOPLE!

When someone sticks their neck out, and suffers virulent abuse and
denunciation for having the audacity to present you with potentially
life-saving facts, you need to SUPPORT these people! I'm not trying to
hit you with a Jimmy Bakker-type "I need your money to do God's work!"
routine, I'm just telling you how it is. People like me, Uffe
Ravnskov, John Hammell, etc, who have worked tirelessly to try and
alert people to the numerous frauds occurring in the diet and health
arenas, are NOT rich playboys who decided to go on some
conscience-placating humanitarian kick after getting bored with
driving Lamborghinis, sailing in the Carribean, canoodling with
supermodels and orchestrating multi-million dollar leveraged buyouts!
We are ordinary people who have to clothe, feed and shelter ourselves,
and receive virtually no financial assistance from anyone for doing
so! The main sources of research money are governments and drug
companies; these organizations are hardly going to provide us with
funds when they are the very organizations whose corruption, greed and
incompetence we are seeking to expose! And contrary to the claims of
certain shameless commentators who cannot factually dispute our
arguments, we do NOT receive a single damn cent from the meat, dairy
or egg industries.

When one of us writes a book that has taken years of effort to
research and write, please do NOT have the audacity to write asking
questions that are already addressed at length in the book, or to
complain about shipping charges or the fact that the book is not sold
locally in Outer Eastern Mongolia, or to point out that you would have
chosen pale violet instead of black for the cover background…just BUY
the damn book already! And if you like the book, tell as many people
who will listen as possible! Write reviews on amazon, talk about it on
web forums and give a copy to your doctor if you believe his brain has
not been entirely dulled by drug company propaganda.

Let me ask--how many of you have bought books by Dr. Atkins, or The
South Beach Diet? Now how many have bought The Great Cholesterol Con?
Gee, where did all the raised hands go? So if people won't think twice
about buying a weight loss book from someone who consistently sported
a double chin and who had absolutely no idea about the pivotal role of
calories in weight loss (Atkins), and will take diet-heart advice from
someone who uses and recommends toxic statin drugs (Agatston), why are
they so reluctant to purchase a book written by someone who has
established himself as an author of thorough research habits and
unassailable logic (I'm still waiting for the dozens of folks who have
attacked me on the cholesterol and calorie issues to front up with
actual evidence…)?

Hmmm, maybe it's because Atkins and Agatston never spoiled people with
hundreds of free articles, newsletters, and personal answers to their
email questions!!!

WHERE TO NOW?

People have been asking if the drastic downsizing of TheOmnivore is
temporary, or if it is permanent. Make no mistake, it is permanent. I
just don't have the time, nor do I any longer possess the desire, to
keep it running at full tilt.

I will, however, leave the site as it now stands in its drastically
trimmed down version to provide people with information about the
book, and may add any emerging news about the book to the site. For
example, I understand that a number of web sites are planning to
review The Great Cholesterol Con, and I intend to add links to these
as they become available. If the book somehow ever manages to attract
any coverage in the corporate-controlled media, I'll post info about
that too.

I will also let the newsletter list remain active, in case there are
any newsworthy items I feel I should pass onto subscribers. Those who
do not wish to remain on the newsletter list can unsubscribe
immediately by following the instructions at the bottom of this email.
PLEASE DO NOT write to me directly asking to be unsubscribed, you need
to do this yourself. Like I said, just follow the instructions at the
bottom of this email and you'll be unsubscribed in no time!

I am currently working on a new web project which will hold special
appeal to all those of you who follow low-carb diets and are also into
strength and/or endurance activities. It will be totally free to
participate, but it will be a project that will hopefully provide far
more personal satisfaction and possibly even financial reward than
TheOmnivore. If you are a low-carbing bodybuilder or athlete, then you
may want to stay on the newsletter list to learn when this project
goes live.

I am also working on a fat loss book that will once and for all
address the unrepentant stupidity of people who think that eating
high/low-fat/carbs/protein at the same calorie intake awards some sort
of magical, mystical weight loss advantage.

Before I sign off, I would like to take this opportunity to personally
thank each and every one of you who has put your money where your
mouth is and purchased my book. I would especially like to thank those
who have graciously posted positive reviews on sites like amazon.com,
and a big hearty thanks goes out to folks like Hank from Canada, who
thought nothing of buying ten copies of the book to hand out to
friends, colleagues, and his doctor. If everyone had Hank's brand of
pro-activity, the powerful perpetrators of the cholesterol fraud
wouldn't stand a chance - they'd be toppled in no time! I truly hope
you all enjoy the book, and am always eager to receive your feedback.

Sincerely,

Anthony Colpo.
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  #2   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 16:44
Newbirth's Avatar
Newbirth Newbirth is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 2,766
 
Plan: -
Stats: -/-/- Female -
BF:
Progress: 96%
Default

Sad. Very sad. But seriously, attacking Atkins and Agatston is just tacky.
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  #3   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 17:09
tortoise's Avatar
tortoise tortoise is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 315
 
Plan: Protein Power
Stats: 258/223/??? Female 5'7"
BF:
Progress:
Location: California
Default

It's obvious that he's having a very hard time - he's grieving the loss of his grandmother, and he's disappointed in his initial books sales. But I've got to say that bitterness is not a good way to sell books.

The book has been out for a little less than a month. It is going to take time to get the word out about a self-published book. There are lots of things to do to spread the word, but brow-beating people is truly not one of them.

I feel bad for him, though. And I feel bad that his Web site, which educated so many people, is unavailable. I have hopes that he will get through this difficult period and start to approach his book marketing in a more productive way. I'm sure I will be buying it myself, probably within the next couple of months.
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  #4   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 17:50
MyJourney's Avatar
MyJourney MyJourney is offline
Butter Tastes Better
Posts: 5,201
 
Plan: Atkins OWL / IF-23/1 /BFL
Stats: 100/100/100 Female 5'6"
BF:
Progress: 34%
Location: SF Bay Area
Default

I know how difficult it is to manage a website like that. I was never on the omnivore newsletter, nor did I know there was a book out. Now that I do, I will be sure to order a copy.

I know how frustrating it is to put all your time, energy and money into something and get a crushing blow when you aren't making nearly as much as you thought you would.

I run a very large website that gets millions of page views a day. For years we did not accept any advertising or payment of any kind and then finally one day we decided to accept donations since the cost of hardware and bandwidth were turning into some hefty mortgage payments. We were expecting significantly more for what we thought we were giving and what our expenses were and it was a blow. After that we just started to take advertising and money was great.

Honestly, instead of getting angry at morons who aren't worth it I think he should keep a free site up, put as much information as he can on it, focus on SEO and take advertising. He can also, if he wanted to, offer another online service where he would answer diet questions or give diet advice for a small fee (I do not know if that is legal or not).

Ive learned the hard way that there are some things people will always pay for and anything to do with weight loss is one of them. While there are many of us who seek to learn and educate ourselves and others, there are always going to be more who want free advice and to be told what to do and what not to do. They do not want to put in the effort themselves.

I think he would have a lot more financial success if he did shift to an advertising/premium services model.

While I also completely understand the reasons for the outburst I found it to be unprofessional at best. It just turned me off from wanting to support him to some degree. There are many times I have wanted to tell people how ungrateful they are but I usually do my best to always stay calm and professional. Of course now I have an even better revenge. Obnoxious form letters that are sweet as can be and filled with fluff and people just keep writing back and I send the same letter over and over again and I can picture their faces turning red and their heads about to explode. But... it makes me feel better lol.

I do agree that we should show our support to things we care about or they might go away but we can't force everyone to feel the same way and getting money out of people can sometimes be harder than one might think. All the thank yous in the world don't help put food on the table.

Okay, I'm done rambling and I'll go check out amazon and get a copy of the book.
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  #5   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 18:15
ItsTheWooo's Avatar
ItsTheWooo ItsTheWooo is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 4,815
 
Plan: My Own
Stats: 280/118/117.5 Female 5ft 5.25 in
BF:
Progress: 100%
Default

That guy is and always was crazy.

He has some useful info and his points are interesting but he's just so emotionally messed up that I can't even fathom how or why anyone would faithfully read it.
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  #6   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 19:32
Nancy LC's Avatar
Nancy LC Nancy LC is online now
Experimenter
Posts: 25,829
 
Plan: DDF
Stats: 202/185.4/179 Female 67
BF:
Progress: 72%
Location: San Diego, CA
Default

I like his message but he tends to be very angry and emotional at times.

One of the tough things that I'm suspecting that the publishers who rejected his work might have already considered is, information is pretty much freely available on the Internet. Also his subject is one that people feel very strongly about, one way or the other. Probably most of the public isn't ready to challenge conventional wisdom.

I've already made up my mind about cholesterol and feel it is mostly a non-issue for me. I love to read studies and what not but I don't feel so excited by the issue I want to spend $25.00 on it.

If someone wants to blog because they enjoy it, more power to them, but I think getting their expectations built up that they'll be able to sell books or make money from it... is probably going to be a disappointment to them.

Blogs come and go. It is always sad to see one you like reading go, but everyone gets sick of the demands on their time sooner or later.
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  #7   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 20:18
kwikdriver's Avatar
kwikdriver kwikdriver is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 2,581
 
Plan: No grains, no sugar.
Stats: 001/045/525 Male 72
BF:
Progress: 8%
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by Nancy LC
I like his message but he tends to be very angry and emotional at times.

One of the tough things that I'm suspecting that the publishers who rejected his work might have already considered is, information is pretty much freely available on the Internet. Also his subject is one that people feel very strongly about, one way or the other. Probably most of the public isn't ready to challenge conventional wisdom.



People like him -- iconoclasts -- generally are different, by definition. If he was more like everyone else, he would have thought more like everyone else, and never had his site up in the first place.

Publishers rejected the book because no one wants to buy it, and no one wants to buy it because the vast majority of people, even those low carbing, don't really care about cholesterol and its health effects; they just want to get slim. Even here, notice how many people say things that are astonishingly uninformed. People don't care about the nuts and bolts; they just want results. Many people low carbing do so because it works, and convince themselves that saturated fat isn't bad for them after discovering that the plan works so well -- it's backwards rationalizing. That is how people operate the vast majority of time -- do first, justify second. Colpo was naive to expect otherwise; the only people who would buy his book are academics, the naturally tendentious, and people like Colpo's Hank from Canada, who actually are willing to spend their own time and money to educate other people. There just aren't a lot of people like that around. And now it looks like there's one fewer.
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  #8   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 20:32
Dodger's Avatar
Dodger Dodger is offline
Posts: 8,752
 
Plan: Paleoish/Keto
Stats: 225/167/175 Male 71.5 inches
BF:18%
Progress: 116%
Location: Longmont, Colorado
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How many copies of a self-published book on an esoteric topic with no advertising did he really expect to sell in the first month?
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  #9   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 21:25
ItsTheWooo's Avatar
ItsTheWooo ItsTheWooo is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 4,815
 
Plan: My Own
Stats: 280/118/117.5 Female 5ft 5.25 in
BF:
Progress: 100%
Default

Oh, and, equal levels of calorie intake will not produce the exact same rate of fat (nevermind weight) loss, because calories do not exist in a vacuum as the exclusive metabolic affector.
It is undeniable there must be caloric (energy) deficit for fat loss to occur, but whether or not this happens depends on a whole lot more than cal intake. ... because much, much more than cal intake affects metabolism.


I get the point he is making, I agree it is pretty much a gimmick and not always correct to say you don't have to worry about how much you eat if you do LC. But he really isn't correct about this: I do think sometimes changing what you eat can produce fat loss even if calorie level stays constant... because what you eat affects metabolism (fat gain vs fat using) just as much as how much in energy.
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  #10   ^
Old Tue, Jun-27-06, 21:37
Newbirth's Avatar
Newbirth Newbirth is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 2,766
 
Plan: -
Stats: -/-/- Female -
BF:
Progress: 96%
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I think it has to do with how many calories are used in the end....but the conversion of protein and fat to energy is more "costly" calorically than the conversion of carbohydrates to energy. Hence you can eat the same number of calories and still lose weight.
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  #11   ^
Old Wed, Jun-28-06, 05:05
Lez's Avatar
Lez Lez is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 1,120
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 256/190/180 Male 69 inches
BF:yes
Progress: 87%
Location: UK
Default

Be careful about reading health books. You may die of a misprint.
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  #12   ^
Old Wed, Jun-28-06, 05:23
WyoDiva's Avatar
WyoDiva WyoDiva is offline
Clueless. ODAAT.
Posts: 10,845
 
Plan: Intuitive Eating
Stats: 290.6/290.6/180 Female 5'10"
BF:I do not care!
Progress: 0%
Location: Helena Montana USA
Default

Quote:
Originally Posted by ItsTheWooo
One thing I can say, you are making me understand why Colpo made the decision he has...if the rest of his readership acts equally as unjustifiably entitled and lazy as you do (HI HI Mr 75 posts why don't you contribute something before you shoot off, THXU!)
You tell him, Woo!!!

In spite of Mr. Colpo's negative ranting (and that I've never even HEARD of the Omnivore site), after studying the description and reviews on Amazon.com, I sure would like to read his book. However, I'm a financially-challenged student for a few more months who can't buy it yet - I'll put it in my wish list on Amazon and see if I can get my local library to buy it.

All posturing aside, LC has dropped my cholesterol 100 points - and still dropping, I'll bet. I'll be in for blood tests in the next week and will report results in my journal. What a miracle!

Thanks for the information, NancyLC.

Last edited by WyoDiva : Wed, Jun-28-06 at 05:30.
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  #13   ^
Old Wed, Jun-28-06, 08:16
kyrasdad's Avatar
kyrasdad kyrasdad is offline
Senior Member
Posts: 3,060
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 338/253/210 Male 5'11"
BF:
Progress: 66%
Location: Broken Arrow, Oklahoma
Default

All points about his personal volatility aside, I can't imagine that removing his website will help book sales. I've rarely visited his site - I just don't have the time to read everything I'd like to - but in general if he's an interesting read and he can plug his book on the site, he'll create purchases.

He had a useful website, which is the first step to capitalizing on it. I have a few that I make moderate money on. Not pay the mortgage money, but nice tip money from AdSense. Coplo could promote his book and monetize his site without removing it, if he were so inclined. He is not going to sell more books by taking that website down. He is going to sell fewer books.

I realize this is the rational analysis of a marketer, and Coplo is coming at this from the injured point of view of an author who was rejected from publishing his book, believed in it, and then self published it to no splash at all.

His website didn't cause the lack of sales. In fact, it probably was what promoted the sales he did get.

From a marketer's point of view, I'd monetize the site with some light advertising, I'd be certain that my pages were search friendly, then as someone else posted, I'd offer premium memberhips or consulting of some kind. And I'd market my books as well.
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  #14   ^
Old Wed, Jun-28-06, 08:45
kaypeeoh kaypeeoh is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 1,216
 
Plan: Atkins
Stats: 185/180/165
BF:
Progress: 25%
Default

I just ordered the book from Amazon. All I know about him is the brouha on this site when he questioned Atkins-style eating. I'd rather not rehash the argument but I think his only point was you can't eat like a pig and expect to lose weight, regardless of the type of diet.

I doubt I'll read the entire (360 page) book unless it's extremely well written. It's a sad fact that without a publisher to promote it, the book won't do well.
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  #15   ^
Old Wed, Jun-28-06, 09:13
fluffybear fluffybear is offline
Registered Member
Posts: 3,221
 
Plan: low carb/low fat
Stats: 255/236/155 Female 5 ft. 9 in.
BF:32%/?/20%
Progress: 19%
Location: USA
Default

Another "expert" who picked up his toys and went home. How many times have we seen THAT kind of attitude? As with other "experts" who spout off, but don't back up what they say with real science, he seems to be on an ego trip. As he said himself, "boo hoo."
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