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A co-worker recently sent me a link to Life's list of 30 Dumb Inventions. I'd say there are probably more than 30, but this list is pretty good. I will admit, though, that I'm a big fan of the flying platform. I could use one of these as a substitute for city driving!
I plan to attend the 2009 edition of the Baltimore Book Festival ... as a customer, though, not as a vendor. But I still feel as if I should be more a part of the action. So, for the rest of September, I decided to give away a few copies of my workplace humor novel, "The Developers," in conjunction with raising money for Southwest Baltimore Charter School.
As a knockoff of my literary agent list, I have decided to supply you with the short list of publishers I have contacted for my latest book venture. After querying agencies for a few months, I started contacting more mid-range publishers with the hopes of avoiding agencies altogether. This is not to say that bypassing an agent is beneficial to everyone; I think it's worthwhile in my case for a few reasons:
There are numerous ways to get people's attention in an email, although, let's face it, people would rather watch YouTube videos than read emails. But if you work at the New Zealand firm ProCare, you may want to avoid anything other than basic black text. Two years ago, the company fired Vicki Walker for sending an email that highlighted a specific date and time in red, as well as an important message in all caps.
I meant to do this a long time ago, but I wanted to determine how many states I've covered with "The Developers" reviews. By this count, it looks like 18 plus Washington D.C. It would be pretty cool to hear from someone in every state, but let's face it, how many copies of my book are lying around in South Dakota?
Sorry, it's me, not you.
There was a note on my door last Friday from UPS, saying I had a package waiting for me. Luckily, on UPS' Web site, you can see where the package is coming from. Unfortunately, it said somewhere unfamiliar in Massachusetts, so I had no clue what it was.
Today, I arrived home to find the package. In it was an official Major League Baseball 2004 All-Star Game T-shirt.
I have one simple request for Christmas -- that someone, ANYONE, will finally be named president. Yes, we have George W. and Al, but if they name Al W. George out of Minot, N.D., instead, that would be fine.
What caused this whole problem? The people of the United States, of course, always trying to stir up trouble, whether it's at the local moose lodge or bingo hall. Can't people fill in the correct circles? Can't people count votes right? Can't people use turning signals when changing lanes?
Google is surely near the end of cataloging every book known to man, including those manuals that come with VCRs, because The Developers has finally made the list. Google Print is nice because it allows you to review portions of the book and perform searches throughout. However, not all of it is searchable, so you won't be able to see the ending.
What do Elvis, Bing Crosby and Wham all have in common? No, besides being three of the top musical acts of the 20th century. Of course! They all have had Christmas hits!
I received a fair share of emails regarding my recent story about the RIAA and the price of CDs. I thought maybe it was spam, until I found out that the story was posted on Digg.
Not only that, but I received a handful of emails about my article. I'm glad my writing spurned conversation ... I wonder where that will leave the RIAA?