Corporate Ties: a lesson in companyspeak by Ben Woods
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    Keep people out of your workspace

    August 18, 2009 - It happens to everyone ... you're trying to finish some work, but that crazy guy/boss/stalker chick/cougher/obnoxiously loud lady keeps pestering you every five minutes. How do you solve this crisis?

    Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you to CubeGuard. It's essentially a banner you stretch across your cube entrance to keep out unwanted souls, which enables you to "Protect Your Productivity." Choose from a few standard messages or even create your own custom message?

    'Corporate Ties' rewrites completed

    August 07, 2009 - I've made a few adjustments to my new book, "Corporate Ties." While almost completely factually accurate, I have decided to change the names of most of the people involved with the story. Because a few years have passed since the happenings, I think I can be a little more open with people's responses to certain things that occurred. The story line involves following a few individuals through a corporate relocation/layoff process, mixed in with a love story and a large amount of shenanigans. I'm hoping to have the first copies out by Christmas, if plans go accordingly!

    'The Developers' flying off the shelves!

    July 13, 2009 - I haven't quite made the New York Times best-seller list just yet, but copies of "The Developers" are getting their places in the sky. I've secretly placed a few books on Southwest airplanes, so if you are flying Southwest anytime soon, make sure to check the seat pocket in front of you. Sorry, I didn't include any drink coupons!

    One thousand books

    May 24, 2009 - I remember reading or hearing something a few years ago that said only 10 percent of all books published ever sell 1,000 copies or more. I cannot seem to find exact numbers anywhere, however, I found a boatload of other statistics on the Para Publishing website. The self-publishing numbers are pretty low ... only 3.4 percent of Xlibris copies have sold more than 500 copies, for example.

    First 2009 book stop: Baltimore CityLit Festival

    April 12, 2009 - In 2007, I had my first taste of the Baltimore book scene at the CityLit Festival. Last year, I was a part of the event, so I figured I might as well join in again! The festival takes place 10 a.m.-4 p.m. April 18 at the downtown branch of the Enoch Pratt library.

    Book review: "30 Careers Before 30" by Daniel Lakstins

    January 17, 2009 - While I do not consider myself an expert in many things, one thing I feel a bit knowledgeable about is the genre of business-related books. I haven't read all 540,495,317 books in this field, nor do I plan to do so, because most are written by authors who think that because a company made billions of dollars by having its employees wear Hawaiian shirts on Fridays, the CEO of said company is a genius.

    New year, new stuff

    January 14, 2009 - Things seem to be getting more hectic as each year passes. I suspect some day, we'll have 26 hours in a day, but until that happens, we'll have to settle with getting everything imaginable taken care of in a normal day. As for me, I have a few new projects going, which is why I haven't had as much time lately to write articles and respond to comments. Have no fear!

    Fun times at the Baltimore Writers' Conference

    November 10, 2008 - During the weekend, I had a chance to finally attend the Baltimore Writers' Conference. There had been times in the past when I was thinking about going to one, but I could never fit it into my schedule. Luckily, I think I picked a pretty decent one to attend. First, it happened to be at Towson University, where I attend grad school. Second, there was a pretty good crowd of people there, all of whom seemed like qualified members of the writing profession. Finally, I had a chance to talk to some pretty cool people, including Gregg Wilhelm from the CityLit Project, travel writer L. Peat O'Neil, literary agent Shannon O'Neill and Mohamed Mughal, the author of "Resolution 786." I will admit, though, that a fair amount of the information I heard was stuff I already knew. But the writing business is a lot about who you know, and not necessarily just what you know.

    Why the book name change?

    October 26, 2008 - You may have noticed that I recently changed the name of my new book to "Corporate Ties." I haven't had a chance to change all of my marketing material yet because, well, there's only so much time in the day, right? After thinking about it and discussing with others, "Polos to Ties" worked great for the local audience, but from a book sales standpoint, a random person might not notice the fashion connection.

    Busy busy September

    September 04, 2008 - I will be making three book appearances in September, marking my first events since the early summer. Yeah, work and other things have gotten in the way!

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