The Pipeline. Was it just a Detroit thing?

The Pipeline. Was it just a Detroit thing?

By Ryan Potter

Imagine this. It’s 1984 and you’re 13 years old. You live in a working-class suburb 30 minutes outside of Detroit. It’s summer. You’re bored and spend most days hanging at your best friend’s air-conditioned house, where you get to crank Van Halen all day because his parents are never around.

One steamy day, the coolest high school kid on the street asks if you’ve ever dialed the Pipeline. You and your friend look at each other and shrug. The cool guy smiles and tells you to dial three digits, 211, from a push-button phone and then simply listen. He says the Pipeline is a public telephone portal and a great way to meet girls.

Three minutes later you’re in your best friend’s living room, where the two of you flip a coin to see who gets to dial the Pipeline first. You win and experience a brief pang of nervousness as you reach for the green telephone and dial 211.

At first there’s nothing but silence. You’re waiting for the line to go dead, but then you hear voices. Faint at first, but yes, there are definitely people talking. You hear laughter and yelling, but you also catch two-way conversations between people arranging meeting places and exchanging phone numbers. The more you listen, the more you realize how local this mysterious telephone portal is. The meet-up destinations are public places you know well. The phone numbers tossed back and forth are all in your area.

Turns out the Pipeline is real. You have no idea how it works, but that means nothing. It’s an addictive discovery that occupies the rest of your 1984 summer and many other 1980s summers. You dial in at all hours of the day. There’s always activity. The Pipeline is never silent.

You eventually say things like “Hi!” and “Hey, anybody out there go to Stevenson Junior High?” You use fake voices and names to create your own cast of Pipeline characters. But the one thing you never do, despite numerous offers from captivating female voices, is give out your real phone number. You know Mom will kill you if you do that. As for the phone numbers various Pipeline girls throw your way, they all turn out to be fake. You hear stories from kids at school that involve older brothers and their friends allegedly meeting beautiful girls through the Pipeline, but you seriously doubt the validity of such reports.

In the end, The Pipeline was about listening to other young people having innocent fun on an open community phone line that was probably one of the first audio chat rooms in existence. Nobody was mean. Looking back, I realize the opportunity for serious trouble to result from Pipeline encounters was quite real, but I’ve never heard of one tragic Pipeline story. Maybe some bad things did happen, but I’m guessing such incidents were rare. I suppose we were so amazed with the existence of the Pipeline that we never considered the notion that bad people might lurk there, which is quite different from today’s “Internet predator” era. Luckily for us, in the 1980s we never heard the words “Pipeline predator.”

For me, the novelty wore off later in high school. I’m not sure when the Pipeline came to an end, but end it did. What I’m wondering is if the Pipeline was purely a Detroit thing. Were there other 3-digit “Pipelines” in different states? If so, perhaps they went by different names. I have no clue, but I’d love to hear from anybody who has a Pipeline story/stories to share.

By the way, I’ve only found one Detroit Pipeline thread online. My favorite post is from user “Ravine,” who tells the story of meeting two close friends on the Pipeline and how one of them eventually became one of two Best Men at his wedding. It sounds like a true story. I hope it is, because having good experiences was what the 1980s Detroit Pipeline was all about.

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Ryan Potter’s latest novel, Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light, is available in the Kindle Store.

amazonbestseller

A best seller? Really? These days you can’t be so sure.

By Ryan Potter

Have you noticed all of the best-selling books and authors out there lately? You can’t browse three pages of Amazon book listings before coming across a title or author claiming “best seller” status. Although the explosion of eBooks and digital self-publishing has led to the discovery of many wonderful writers, the emergence of so many publishing platforms and eBook stores has made it much easier for writers to brand themselves as best-selling authors, a claim that, unfortunately, can be misleading these days.

I’m guessing when many of you see or hear the phrase “Best-Selling Book” or “Best-Selling Author,” you think New York Times Best Seller, which is still the gold standard when it comes to best-selling books. But what about…oh, I don’t know…the Amazon Best Sellers lists, for example? Truth is it’s all a bit confusing.

Let’s say an Amazon eBook hits #1 in its paid category, like Teen Literature & Fiction, for example. Does that give the author the right to claim an Amazon Best Seller? Or would that mislead people into thinking #1 Amazon Overall Best Seller, which is an entirely different (and far more coveted) beast? My hunch is the author should state something specific, like “Best-Seller in Teen Fiction & Literature” (or whatever category/categories the book hit #1 in).

The problem is many self-publishing authors fail to be specific with their best-seller claims. Instead, they reach the top of some ridiculously narrow online eBook store category and succumb to the temptation of shouting “I wrote a best seller!” or “I’m a best-selling author!” to the rest of the world.

Don’t get me wrong, making it to the top of any “best seller list” is a nice achievement, but with so many book categories and ways to reach the top, the significance and esteem of the phrase “best seller” has lost much of its luster, unfairly punishing authors who legitimately work their tails off to hit number one in broader categories that are more difficult to summit.

But things get really deceptive when it comes to those “Best-Selling FREE Kindle Book Lists” you see all over Amazon. I’m an Amazon author. I love Amazon. My beef here has nothing to do with Amazon as a company, but think about this: How can a book be free and best-selling at the same time? It’s impossible! In fact, the notion of a “free best seller” is nothing but a big fat oxymoron. Again, it’s a nice achievement to be #1, but is it fair to claim Best Seller on a work that was free? I think not.

My latest novel spent three consecutive days at #1 in Amazon’s Teen Literature & Fiction Best Selling FREE eBook list. I was thrilled. I never imagined topping a list like that, but all it means is that I gave away a lot of FREE eBooks, meaning I have no right to stick a generic tag like “Best Seller” on my novel. I suppose I could say “Spent three days at #1 in Amazon’s Teen Literature & Fiction Best Selling FREE eBook list,” but who cares about that?

Bottom line: This whole issue is still evolving, but I don’t think it’s too early to propose an ethical rule for authors that goes something like this: “Please Be As Specific As Possible In Regards To Any Best Seller Claims.”

And for all of you readers out there, you might want to do some digging on any self-published eBook touting the generic claim “Best Seller,” because it might not be as impressive as it sounds.

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Ryan Potter’s latest novel, Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light, is available in the Kindle Store for only $2.99.

kindle-app-readerBy Ryan Potter

I realize I might be preaching to the choir on this topic, but before you stop reading take a moment to think about your friends and relatives of all ages, especially those over 40, and consider the following. As a Kindle author, the one comment I’m still surprised to hear so often goes something like this: “I’d really love to read one of your books, but I don’t own a Kindle.” At which point I always take a minute to explain that you don’t have to own a Kindle to read Kindle books.

Although Kindles are wonderful devices and, in my opinion, owning one is worthwhile, more consumers need to know that Amazon offers several ways for customers to read free and paid Kindle content anywhere by simply downloading one of their FREE Kindle reading apps.

Also, when you buy a Kindle book once, you can read it on any device that has the Kindle app installed. I’m currently reading a Kindle serial. Sometimes I read episodes on my desktop Kindle app. Other times I’ll read on my iPhone Kindle app. I’ve even pulled episodes up on my iPad and Kindle Cloud Reader, and I love having the choice of syncing to the last page read regardless of what device I read my Kindle content on.

I hope this helps some people. Again, many of you know most or all of this, but I think you’d be surprised with the number of people who aren’t aware of the numerous free Kindle reading options, so please, consider spreading the word and/or forwarding this post to anybody you think might benefit from this brief Kindle reading app primer.

No Kindle? No problem!

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Ryan Potter’s latest novel, Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light, is available in the Kindle Store for only $2.99.

Successful self-publishing requires more time and effort than you might think.(Photo by The Creative Pen)

There’s no shortage of free Kindle books on the web.
(Photo by The Creative Pen)

By Ryan Potter

Looking for loads of FREE Kindle books on a daily basis? Good news. There are three excellent websites that do just that. Best of all, there are no strings attached. You don’t even have to subscribe to any email lists, although you might want to just to see the daily offerings on each site.

I discovered these sites as an author looking for ways to promote my own Kindle books and was more than pleased with the results. So, whether you’re an author or a reader (or both), chances are you’ll find something worth clicking on at least one of these websites. It’s amazing to see all of the FREE quality work out there.

I’ve listed the sites alphabetically to avoid any rank-order preference.

1. Bargain eBook Hunter

  • Bargain eBook Hunter lists eBooks at great deals (from FREE to $5) and crosses all genres and styles. The site features at least two “Free Kindle Blocks” daily, and each block promotes five free books.
  • Authors can feature their eBooks in a few different ways on Bargain eBook Hunter, all of which are affordable and, speaking from experience, tend to produce great results.

2. Pixel of Ink

  •  Pixel of Ink features free and bargain eBooks from no fewer than 12 genres, with a special emphasis on Christian living, fantasy, romance, and science fiction. The site lists two daily “Freebies & Deals” installments, each featuring about seven books.
  • Pixel of Ink’s Author’s Corner lists ways writers can promote on the site. There’s no charge for letting Pixel of Ink know when your book(s) will be free on Amazon.

3. PixelScroll

  • In addition to at least two daily “Free Kindle Book Packs” and “Bargain Kindle Book Packs,” PixelScroll presents daily postings of bargain-priced (and sometimes free) Kindle Apps, Instant Videos, MP3s, and accessories. 
  • PixelScroll’s “Feature Your Product” page offers three easy ways for authors to promote their work on the site.

All three sites have Facebook pages and together have over 350,000 followers, so people are obviously finding Kindle-related things they like here. If you haven’t already done so, check them out and see what you think. Also, if you know of any other free/bargain Kindle sites I’ve missed, please let me know.

Here’s to happy free Kindle reading!

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Ryan Potter’s latest novel, Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light, is available in the Kindle Store for only $2.99.

Only $2.99 in the Kindle Store

Only $2.99 in the Kindle Store

Just a quick announcement about a new Kindle eBook novel I’m proud to have in the Kindle Store. I wanted to write the kind of book I would have read when I was 14, and the result is Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light, a paranormal horror novel about a very special 16-year-old boy named Roman King.

When Roman discovers that his emerging paranormal abilities are actually gifts from his dead identical twin brother, he’s reluctantly thrust into a must-win battle against evil that threatens the existence of humankind but offers Roman a great destiny if he can survive the ordeal.

Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light is a story about the power of good and its enduring ability to triumph over evil. Although this is very much a boy-friendly novel loaded with demons and gory monster fights, the story’s emphasis on friendship and love is appropriate for all teen and adult readers.

So if you or anybody you know likes fast-paced paranormal horror with a serious gore factor, please check out Roman King and the Armies of Fire and Light.

Thanks for reading and please feel free to share!
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