Tuesday, May 16, 2023

Interview with Author Jeffrey Wynter Koon

 


 

1.         What inspired you to write this book?

I had to write this book about Cultural Insanity to share a new and deeper understanding of some of the answers to the question, “Why is the world so messed up?”

 

2.         What exactly is it about and who is it written for?

Cultural Insanity arises from factors that transcend time and nation.  People are partly blind to their own culture, especially to its hidden assumptions and beliefs.  The goal of the state should be to facilitate the fulfillment of human potential.  Cultural insanity, in contrast, involves the ways in which a society unnecessarily thwarts human development, and the extent to which each such way does so.      

 

The book also covers how cultural insanities develop.  Some of the ways in which evolution has shaped our brains tend to get in the way of assessing reality accurately.  Human defensiveness also contributes to the problems:  too often we protect our self’s status quo rather than seeking a higher understanding.  Part One gives a number of short examples of cultural insanities and later I sketch some of the major ones that now threaten us.  This core of the book also includes some antidotes for overcoming the weaknesses in our own thinking and evaluating processes.

 

Parts 2-4 demonstrate cultural insanity historically, mainly in Western Europe, further “proving” that cultural insanities are the result of an all-too-typical but consciously correctable deficit in human understandings.

 

The book was written to share this knowledge with everyone, especially posterity—to help humanity, subsequent generations, and the planet.  (That is also why the e-Book is priced at only $2.99.)  

 

3.         What do you hope readers will get out of reading your book?

The book will enable readers to see themselves, and the realities in their own society and subcultures more clearly, to re-evaluate some of their assumptions, and to become less likely to fall for bias, political spin, propaganda, and scapegoating.   

 

4.         How did you decide on your book’s title and cover design?

Writing about Cultural Insanity as a major factor in undermining our potentials and lives was always the goal, so it had to be central to the title.  However, deciding on the wording between “Cultural Insanity” and the colon was a struggle to fully show its importance and range of effects involved in it. 

 

The cover design represents a cry of anguish from Nature about what we humans are doing as well as from our younger and future generations.  The key tells you that this book can be of assistance in dealing with the problems.  At first, I experimented with a brighter cover design crowded with people and imagery from the book but, ultimately, I went with the more all-encompassing and direct, but perhaps more depressing, image now on the cover.

 

5.         What advice or words of wisdom do you have for fellow writers – other than run!?

Have an array of contacts likely to be interested in your subject matter or, at least, search for an agent before you’re nearly finished.  An agent is needed to get you accepted by a publisher that will be able to provide carefully guided assistance in promoting your book to people more likely to buy it. 

 

6.         What trends in the book world do you see -- and where do you think the book publishing industry is heading? 

Despite eBooks, paper books appear to be hanging in there... and will probably always be the most desirable for children.  But with so many shortened attention spans, my advice is don't write such a long book involving so many subtopics.

 

7.         Were there experiences in your personal life or career that came in handy writing this book?

The book is full of learning from my life of 80 years.  See my bio.  The gross violations of this country's ideals and values, and of common sense (e.g., the need to "save face" for U.S. leaders), that were involved in the War on Vietnam made me realize that there was such a thing as cultural insanity.  Since then, I have intensively monitored history, politics, and the environment in this country.  Later in life I made three shorter trips to European countries while reading about their histories.  That provided a lot of the material for the book, including 22 photos from Europe. 

 

8.         How would you describe your writing style.  Which writers or books is your writing similar to?

The writing is expository.  Part One is like a text in a new subject for an upper division college course.  It starts out by setting the stage and giving context, and systematically builds to the larger picture.  Parts 2-4, as expository histories demonstrating particular cultural insanities, make the treatment more thorough. Perhaps Darwin's approach to his topic is among the most similar.

 

9.         What challenges did you overcome in the writing of this book?

Finding a good way to systematically structure the material was a challenge.  Plus, I had to go over some parts many times to ensure clarity.  I tossed out one prospective historical chapter.  Although I had only 2-3 hours a day for writing, the reading and writing took about 10 years.

 

10.       If people can buy or read one book this week or month, why should it be yours?

Everyone can benefit from reading Part One of this book, even if the rest is set aside.  Part One addresses the human tendencies to fall victim to subcultural, societal, and even multinational cultural insanities—problems that can most readily be reduced by greater understanding and conscious attention.  In contrast, certain features of our brains, some of which are all too conducive to scapegoating, political spin, promoting fear, anger and resentment, the denial of social problems or history, confirmation bias, unrepresentative anecdotes, bullying, ostracizing versions of political correctness, name-calling, obstructionism, the war on drugs, horse-race politics (instead of platforms/issues), etcetera, make cultural insanities worse.  As a result, we have not dealt effectively (or at all) with the declines in middle class incomes and wealth, and their corresponding increases among the rich (since 1980), nor with jobs shipped overseas, the high cost of prescription drugs, unduly expensive medical care and coverages, inequality before the law, residual discriminations, immigration, environmental degradation, global warming, plastic wastes, unsustainability, and more.  This book will help the reader see through the fog. 

 

About The Author:  I started college at Berkeley in 1959-60, ultimately majoring in history, with the Civil Rights movement in the South in the background.  Rock and roll was coming on strong and folk music was just over the horizon.  I went on to be faced with the War on Vietnam (and successfully protested against being drafted at the physical), the protests against that war, the arrival of the birth control pill, the sexual revolution, Black Power protests, and the third(?) phase of women’s liberation.  In 1968, I spent a year in Europe (living out of a minimalistic VW bus).  As a graduate student, I studied student/human development and also spent several years on efforts to strengthen student input via teaching evaluation, academic major program ratings and student participation in university governance.  I did the analysis for and wrote a book on college student development (Types, Traits and Transitions:  The Lives of 4-Year College Students, 1974), and was twice named one of three finalists by the University of California Student Body Presidents Council for the one-year Student Regent position.  I finished my research doctorate in education and co-wrote a journal article (with Harry G. Murray) on "Using Multiple Outcomes to Validate Student Ratings of Overall Teaching Effectiveness" [pp. 61-81, Journal of Higher Education, Vol. 66, No. 1 (January/February, 1995)].  I also took the lead in raising two children, was heavily involved in K-12 education and, in partial retirement, served as a volunteer expert to assist the State Department of Education in Minnesota to develop the student evaluation components of their model for evaluating K-12 teachers. For more info, please see: jeffreywynterkoon.com

 

   Need Book Marketing Help?

Brian Feinblum, the founder of this award-winning blog, can be reached at brianfeinblum@gmail.com  He is available to help authors promote their story, sell their book, and grow their brand. He has over 30 years of experience in successfully helping thousands of authors in all genres. Let him be your advocate, teacher, and motivator!

 

Read This!

 

Help For Authors Becoming Speakers

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/help-for-authors-becoming-speakers.html

 

Do Authors Need Accountability Partners?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/do-authors-need-accountability.html

 

Should You Write Another 10 Books?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/should-you-write-another-10-books.html

 

Can Libraries Overcome The Pandemic Setback?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/05/can-libraries-overcome-pandemic-setback.html

 

What Helps Authors Get Media?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/what-helps-authors-get-media.html

 

Book Trends Coming Out of the London Book Fair

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/book-trends-coming-out-of-london-book.html

 

Impressions Of My First London Book fair

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/impressions-of-my-first-london-book-fair.html

 

Avoid These Book Marketing Mistakes

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/avoid-these-book-marketing-mistakes.html

 

What Is The New Media Landscape For Authors?

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/what-is-new-media-landscape-for-authors.html

 

Blog Posts That Sell Books

https://bookmarketingbuzzblog.blogspot.com/2023/04/blog-posts-that-sell-books.html

 

About Brian Feinblum

Brian Feinblum should be followed on Twitter @theprexpert. This is copyrighted by BookMarketingBuzzBlog ©2023. Born and raised in Brooklyn, he now resides in Westchester with his wife, two kids, and Ferris, a black lab rescue dog. His writings are often featured in The Writer and IBPA’s The Independent.  This award-winning blog has generated over 3.3 million pageviews. With 4,400+ posts over the past dozen years, it was named one of the best book marketing blogs by BookBaby  http://blog.bookbaby.com/2013/09/the-best-book-marketing-blogs  and recognized by Feedspot in 2021 and 2018 as one of the top book marketing blogs. It was also named by www.WinningWriters.com as a "best resource.” For the past three decades, including 21 years as the head of marketing for the nation’s largest book publicity firm, and two jobs at two independent presses, Brian has worked with many first-time, self-published, authors of all genres, right along with best-selling authors and celebrities such as: Dr. Ruth, Mark Victor Hansen, Joseph Finder, Katherine Spurway, Neil Rackham, Harvey Mackay, Ken Blanchard, Stephen Covey, Warren Adler, Cindy Adams, Todd Duncan, Susan RoAne, John C. Maxwell, Jeff Foxworthy, Seth Godin, and Henry Winkler. He recently hosted a panel on book publicity for Book Expo America, and has spoken at ASJA, Independent Book Publishers Association Sarah Lawrence College, Nonfiction Writers Association, Cape Cod Writers Association, Willamette (Portland) Writers Association, APEX, and Connecticut Authors and Publishers Association. His letters-to-the-editor have been published in The Wall Street Journal, USA Today, New York Post, NY Daily News, Newsday, The Journal News (Westchester) and The Washington Post. He has been featured in The Sun Sentinel and Miami Herald. For more information, please consult: www.linkedin.com/in/brianfeinblum.  

 

 

No comments:

Post a Comment

Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.