Alright, enough with the philosophy, already. Let’s see this stuff in action, right? If it’s not that hard (physically), and it’s really just mental fences we’re clearing, then we should be on our way, doing the deed, making good things happen. Let me be up front and say that even so, sometimes it’s hard. Really hard. Between motivation and know-how and learning and thinking harder than I’ve had to in a good long while, this hasn’t turned out to be the easiest thing to do. Also, check your notions of “fairness” and “originality” at the door. I will try to be fair, whatever that means to me, but really, both of them are taking a beating while I sort them out. You’ll see what I mean.
Without further ado...
Got some real projects on the burner now. Of course, all the different podcasts and books on the subject are saying that you shouldn’t multitask, but it seems to me that this is exactly what I should be doing. While I’m waiting for this to be done, I can spend some time doing something else. None of them are time-intensive so that I can’t do them, so what’s the harm?
For the record, these are just some of the things I’ve got going on right now...
BookCycler -- Had this idea a long time ago, but never followed through. As an avid reader, I gotta think that lots of people have books that are just sitting around, taking up space. So I thought I might offer a free service to go pick up books. Why not? I get to leaf through donated books, sell what I can, give to charity, save books from the landfill, and find them new homes in the hands of readers like me. Reduce, reuse, recycle. It's all there, and it involves books! Will launch officially on FaceBook soon, but the website (free through Weebly.com) and the online form (easily constructed -- again for free -- on Wufoo.com) are up and running already at www.bookcycler.com. Waiting on a logo purchased through Fiverr.com (see below for more), and then will look at getting the word out. Oh, and by the way, it could be very feasible, since I did some extensive internet research. Original? It was to me, just so happened another guy did it before I did, in another state. Should that stop me from trying? Discuss... :-)
Fundamental Questions -- This is a book I wrote a couple of years ago, part memoir, part biblical exposé, and while I haven’t done anything as far as marketing with it, I have managed to sell a few dozen copies (not much money in it, I'm afraid). Not too bad for a no-namer like me, but I think it needs a little push, not so much for money, but for discussion. This was a labor of love, and not one for commercial viability or critical acclaim. Will check out sites devoted to this subject and see what I can manage about getting the word out. Did just redo the cover for the Kindle version, though, and I like that one (see info on Fiverr below).
(By the way, you can get an affiliate link for products from Amazon, either as text or a picture, and insert them into your blog! This means that if someone clicks on this link and purchases my book, not only will I get my normal 30% from Amazon for the sale, but I will also get a referral fee. How crazy is that? It ain't much, but every penny counts for somethin', right? Here's an example of a text link, and then I've got a picture link at the bottom of this post for the other book. Feel free to click and purchase, if you like!)
I’ll Just Have One...Cookie -- This is a tiny tome on Amazon, about 15 pages long, devoted to five recipes for making one (awesome) cookie at a time. I figure it's good for weight control, because you're not making five dozen cookies at a time, or buying an entire package at once, but also, sometimes I just want a good homemade cookie, chewy and hot and full of as much chocolate as I can put in there.
The book has pictures I took with my iPhone (not the best quality, really, but people like pictures, and I thought it would be cool to see the end product).
Then I went to Fiverr.com and had a book cover made for $5. Fiverr has a lot of junk to wade through, but if you sort by rankings, you’ve got a good chance to find all kinds of helpful services for $5. Really. Logos, graphics, pictures, research, voiceover work for commercials, it's all there and for a five spot. Check it out.
Anyway, back to the recipes. I started a blog for it (makejustonecookie.blogspot.com), and will continue to publish on that, but still need to generate some traffic and reviews on Amazon. May make 2nd edition bigger, but right now just trying to get the word out.
Also started a Facebook page (specifically for a book), but need to launch that, too. Want it to be bigger than just a post on Facebook. Maybe free copies in exchange for honest reviews? Hmm. That sounds like a great idea...a really good idea...
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