March Madness = "The Developers" on the Kindle sale!

March 11, 2010 - For no reason whatsoever, I've decided to over "The Developers" for a buck on the Kindle this month. I tried to offer it free, but the lowest I could go was a dollar. Anyway, if you have a Kindle, check it out!



Literary agent list (updated 10/16/10)

January 16, 2010 - As I attempt to find an agency to pitch my new book, I thought it might be a good idea to list some of the agents I have contacted. At this stage, I've run into issues where companies have listed communication methods, but they don't seem to follow through. I hope that my list will save the time of others who are attempting to find representation.



Warrant unnecessary for email search by U.S. government

November 05, 2009 - If you are currently transmitting secret operations to take over the world via email, think again! A federal judge in Oregon ruled recently that the government can take a look at your email without any notice.



Baltimore Book Festival school fundraiser

September 25, 2009 - 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. The school is currently selling ChicoBags, which are reusable shopping bags (and for what it's worth, we're selling the purple version). The bags cost $5, and with each purchase, I'm throwing in a copy of my book. Anyway, if you are out of town and interested, I'll just add $2 for shipping. Send me your address, and I'll send you bag+book.



Publisher List

September 20, 2009 - 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.



Mapping the reviews

August 23, 2009 - 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?



'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!



New U.S. government 'transparent' sites

July 02, 2009 - Where do your tax dollars go? What data is being collected in this country anyway? Previously, these were difficult questions to answer, but the new administration appears to be making headway toward real answers.

At USAspending.gov, site visitors can see who is receiving federal funds, what industries are benefiting the most from the dough and which contractors are winning contracts. At Data.gov, users can check out numerous types of data catalogs, in numerous formats as well.



Community website (like .comU) purchased by AOL

June 17, 2009 - I found out the other day through an internal company email that AOL has recently purchased two companies as part of its local strategy initiative. I was immensely surprised when checking out one of them, Patch, which is essentially a community-based website geared toward providing info with a small-town flavor. It's quite remarkable how similar this site is to .comU, the original website built by "The Developers."



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.

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