I Wrote A Book--Now What?

Meet A. Pexx

It appears that the easy part about writing a book is writing the book. Over the years, I've done a lot of writing but nothing like this. Technical writing and academic writing were relatively easy because I did not have to worry about marketing and selling the stuff. Now I do. And this seems to be the most important, and difficult, part of being an author.

The good news is that the internet has liberated me from the grasps of "traditional" publishing. The bad news is that the internet has liberated me from the grasps of "traditional" publishing.

Not very long ago the process was pretty straight forward. You wrote something, found a literary agent and/or publisher and got out of the way. Today it's a bit more complicated--print or electronic, publisher or self published, traditional marketing or social media marketing, and so on. Oh, and it helps if you have something interesting to say.

To make things worse, it appears people don't read much anymore--now that can be a real show stopper. Second, there is a lot of competition for the reader's time and "eyes." And finally, what to read? There are millions of books--traditional and e-books--to choose from. This can make this "author thing" a bit of a crap shoot.

So what's a guy to do? I am a new author--yep, published, and few people can say that! (Mom is so proud).  Now I need to find some people who: 1) read, 2) have time to read, and 3) also what to read my book. If I can't do this, I can take comfort in knowing that at the very least I'll have some nifty Christmas gifts for the next hundred years. I love a challenge . . . Money Makes Me Crazy.

Black Friday Overload



Save'n Money the American Way


At about 10:00 PM on Thanksgiving I hit the road with my daughter to try to capture the essence of Black Friday. We were full of great food and going through a little football withdrawal--I know, blasphemy and unAmerican. We wanted to capture what motivates people to give up their valuable time and creature comforts to save a few dollars.

We checked out all the big box stores--WalMart, Target, Best Buy and the like.  Everywhere we went, we found excited and tired Black Fridayites huddled over their smart phones and laptops suffering for bargains and swapping stories from Friday's past. The lines were orderly and well mannered. Those at the front of the lines looked confident--savoring their good luck to be up front. While those in the rear of the line were in small groups discussing strategies and tactics to ensure they made the "perfect" buy.

By 11:30 I knew I was done. I had met some nice people, found out that Black Fridayites have their own culture and traditions, and the experience was usually more important than the savings. I also learned that as compelling as an 80% discount is on a laptop computer, it's not enough for me to camp out for two days in a parking lot with a few hundred other bargain hunters. However, that's me. I just happen to think and feel differently about money than they do. And truth be told, there are a few things I'd camp out for.  . . Money Makes Me Crazy!

I Can't Be the Only One . . .

I know money make me crazy. And I can prove it. I have a house that is too big, a car that costs too much, and piles of stuff I don't need but can't bring myself to get rid of. I bet I'm just like you and millions of other people who don't seem to be the rational spenders we learned about in Econ 101.

Have you ever run into the grocery store to buy milk and bread only to spend a small fortune on lots of other stuff? Do you really believe that sending $99.99 (conveniently spread over four simple payments) to the talking head on the infomercial will make you: slimmer, richer, healthier, more popular, younger, sexier, or whatever?  Have you ever run out of money before you run out of month? Do I need to go on?

If this is you--and to be honest, it is. We need to talk. I want to know why money makes you crazy.

I have a new book on this topic with my publisher now. It will be available Feb/Mar 2011. My goal here is to share what I learned about people and money while writing the book. And hopefully, you'll share some of your best money experiences with me.

So, let the adventure begin . . .