Using conservative guerrilla marketing, we can combat leftist gatekeepers, just like the ‘Big Based Book Sale’.

Very few people offer assistance⁤ to their competition. Doing so is evidence of an exceedingly rare generosity ⁣toward one’s fellow man.

Until recently, I’d ‌only encountered one⁤ memorable example of this ​selfless behavior, when, many years ago in an introductory graduate seminar on research skills, I observed one‍ student in the class periodically offer⁣ valuable tips to the⁢ class at large. ⁤His generosity made ‍quite an impression on me at the time, yet I hadn’t thought ⁤about that graduate student for a long while until a couple ‌of months ago. That was when I participated in an online book ⁤sale promoted by a scientist and inventor who ⁣also writes science fiction, Hans G. Schantz.

The ⁢idea behind this sale, ​which Schantz has‍ named the Big Based Book Sale,⁣ is that⁣ for a ​designated week, ⁣all of ⁣the participating authors lower the price of​ their Kindle eBooks to 99 cents⁣ and then promote the heck out of ‌the event. Since the sale is ⁣advertised specifically⁢ as a “based” book event, the target audience is readers of science fiction and fantasy who’ve had it up to their eyeballs with ‍political⁢ correctness and the “woke” narrative.

The books offered are,⁢ at the very⁢ minimum, void‌ of PC content. Some, like Schantz’s own novels, actually serve up ⁣direct counter-arguments to ⁤the ⁤shibboleths of ‌a PC worldview.⁣ In his⁤ novels, ⁤these might ‌be ⁢reflected in the narrative arc or ⁤in the ‍dialogue itself.​ (His young adult trilogy, The Hidden ‍Truth, ⁤for⁣ instance,⁤ is predicated‍ on the reality ⁢of a globalist cabal, while his fictional high school students debate topics such as why or why not women should have the⁢ vote.) In the ‌end, I imagine ⁤that all⁢ of the authors offering their works‌ for this event approach ‍being “based” differently.

But the one thing they all have ‌in common is the ​likelihood that they wouldn’t have‌ been published by a mainstream publishing⁢ house, not because of a lack of⁢ literary merit,‍ but‌ because their work​ contains‌ heretical ​content ⁢according to ‍the ⁢leftist censors that some publishing ⁣houses⁤ have ⁣actually hired to function as gatekeepers. And there’s the rub: It’s not so⁣ much that the content⁣ being produced these⁤ days‌ is so lame, as if‍ writers⁣ are typing with a⁢ checklist of obligatory⁢ criteria next⁣ to their keyboard. It’s the silencing from these ⁣Puritanical scolds who wield so much power over what gets published that ​has introduced a ‌new‍ level of Philistinism into ⁣our culture. Interesting work, full of the variety‌ that free minds are capable of producing, might⁣ very well languish in obscurity despite there being readers‌ eager ​to engage with fresh work.

That’s why the

Big Based Book Sale

event appealed​ to‍ me, because⁣ like so many Americans, I am revolted by the ‌values being ‌sledgehammered into our consciousness nonstop. The repetition of the same themes, the unvarying uniformity ​of opinion, and​ the specific values themselves are both distasteful and wearily ⁢predictable. As an⁢ author of a fantasy novella myself ‍that ​can at least lay‍ claim to not being‌ “woke” if not ‍actually “based,” I quite happily participated in⁣ the event despite having low ⁢expectations ⁢regarding sales. I mean, how much interest could these ⁣notices —​ essentially online flyers​ — generate, even with a couple ⁢hundred people⁤ sending them ⁣out through their social media platforms?

Well, much to my surprise,⁢ the⁢ answer‍ is quite​ a lot. The sale moved a ‍considerable number of‌ books overall, and it⁤ seemed that nearly⁢ everyone who participated sold something. I was taken aback ⁣by what​ this implied about Schantz’s reach — which appears to be ‍driven mainly ⁣by​ his substack, “The⁢ Wise of Heart” —‍ as well as the ​grassroots ⁣marketing effectiveness⁤ of the ⁢authors ⁢who participated.

Let’s‍ face it, it​ takes a lot of work ‍to create ‍excitement about a book sale. ⁣At the⁤ same time, the success of the sale only proves there’s a hunger for novels​ that don’t fit the current ​understanding‌ of the ⁣world — the world as a⁤ social justice ⁢warrior imagines it. ⁢These books show that there’s more than‌ one way to understand the term “alternate reality, ”and people are ​lapping it up.

More importantly, I was impressed by Schantz’s personal ⁣generosity. He ‌has⁢ made the effort to ​create and maintain both a forum for writers and a ‌means for⁣ them to get their books‌ in front of⁢ the public. Schantz creates ​a⁢ “flyer” — essentially an annotated ‍catalog to advertise the titles — comprised of‌ the books’ descriptions, editorial⁣ reviews, and links to Amazon, making browsing ⁢rather enjoyable and ‌purchasing hassle-free. For participating authors, he even tracks sales from the event and produces a final ⁢“tally”‌ at the end⁢ — all for what is inarguably his own competition.

I was delighted ​with this experience. But most​ of all, I was impressed by Schantz’s ‌disinterestedness‌ in service to a larger‌ goal, that of promoting fiction that deals frankly with reality and ventures into intellectually taboo⁣ areas. Those in conservative circles ​constantly bemoan the near-complete takeover of‍ culture by the ‌left. ​One⁤ possible answer to this assault on civilization may ⁤very ​well come from grassroots movements such⁢ as these.

Schantz‌ welcomes new authors​ and readers to his periodic sales, the next taking place for one week during the Thanksgiving holiday, Nov. 22 to 29. For more information,​ click on this ⁤ link, which will go live Wednesday.