A sample of a coffee Table Book about the PhilippinesI have a cousin in the Philippines who owned a Coffee Table Book** Publishing business. He writes books in coffee table format and sells it mostly to the an exclusive and rich clients who are the subject of his books. Some of his books titles are: Father and Sons, Mothers and Daughters and the Rich and the Famous. The books are selling well but mostly to the people( and their relatives) mentioned and listed on his books. The price of each book ranged from $500 to $1000. One of his best seller is a coffee book that has the autobiography of the 25 riches Filipinos in the Philippines. From what I heard all of the 25 listed in the book donated $10,000 each and received 5 copies of the books. If they purchased additional copies they have to pay additional $500 for each copy. What a racket, indeed!
Today, he has exhausted his list of rich and well-known(in high society) Filipinos in the Philippines, so he is pitching his sales talk to Filipino-American residing here in US. One of the sales pitch is that if you donate $1000, your name will be included in a book that he is planning to write about the lives of Filipino-Americans in the US. You will receive one copy of the book. For additional copies you have to pay $500. The book will discuss the struggles and accomplishments of these eleven Filipino-Americans here in US. The book will be published by November 11,2011. There will be an award ceremony and party for those whose names has been selected in a 4 star hotel in Makati, Philippines. The party and award ceremony is scheduled for November 11, 2011 ( 11-11-11) at 11:11 AM. The luncheon will consists of 11 dishes served ala chinese lauriat by 11 waiters at 11 minutes interval. The lunch will start with a soup, a salad, an appetizer then 7 main dishes and finally the dessert ( his birthday cake). The cake will have only 11 candles to signify 6+5=11, since November 11, 2011 happens to be also his 65st birthday. He plans on inviting only 111 guests including the 11 names selected in the book. The book title will be "Who's Who Among Filipino-Americans". I will write an article about my cousins obsession of the number 11 later in this blog.
I was approached by my cousin to be included in the book, but I politely refused. I think the $1000 donation is a scam. However, I am pretty sure he could convinced at least 11 people (male or female) who will be willing to pay that amount to have a little publicity and an ego-boast in their lives. My cousin is a smooth talker, very personable and has lots of connection to the rich and famous in Metro Manila. My question is: Is this Legit business or a Scam? Let me hear from you.
Note: The reason why I refused to be included in the book is not because I do not want to pay him the $1000 fee, but because I have already written by own autobiography and memoirs here in US. For details about my biography, Please visit, http://theintellectualmigrant.blogspot.com Chapter 1 to 14
**What is a coffee table book: A coffee table book is a hardcover book that is intended to sit on a coffee table or similar surface in an area where guests sit and are entertained, thus inspiring conversation or alleviating boredom. They tend to be over sized and of heavy construction, since there is no pressing need for portability. Subject matter is generally confined to non-fiction, and is usually visually-oriented. Pages consist mainly of photographs and illustrations, accompanied by captions and small blocks of text, as opposed to long prose. Since they are aimed at anyone who might pick the book up for a light read, the analysis inside is often more basic and with less jargon than other books on the subject. Because of this, the term "coffee table book" can be used pejoratively to indicate a superficial approach to the subject.
Source: Wikipedia
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