So I finally got myself accepted as a writer of articles for Demand Studios, applause please.

No mean feat, I might add: my bio was rejected four times, which led my friend Nancy to suggest I write a book called "There's a Problem With My Bio." Perceptive of her.

Once the bio hurdle was cleared, (it had something to do with not using Mozilla,) there was the not insignificant matter of actually researching and writing the articles.

There's a huge list of titles, of which you can claim up to ten when you get established.  I'm capped at three at the moment, having just written the first, a natty little ditty about diversity in the deaf culture, which I'm something of an expert at.  Except that the article got bounced because I didn't quote recognized experts in the field--at which point I had to search some up to back what I knew to be facts.  That took half a day.  And the format in which the writ...Read more

I downloaded an ebook called 20 ways to make $100 per day online.

Couldn't nearly everyone use another hundred a day?  My hands in the air.

Anyway, most of the ways to do this involve technical knowledge of the computer, and my overdeveloped right brain isn't up to the challenge.

But there were two sections that caught my attention.  One involved ghostwriting, and the other involved article writing.  

There's a Warrior website that lists both writers and those who need writers. I checked it out, and sure enough, opportunity abounds--but first, you need something like a portfolio.  I've written four dozen books plus, several speeches, short stores--but articles and ghostwriting are a different concept.

So I put an ad on Craig's List that says, Writer For Hire, personal ads, articles, speeches--you need it, I'll write it.

 <...Read more

I'm never out there on the cutting edge of new ideas. Instead, I stumble across them long after they've come and gone, but that doesn't diminish my excitement in finding them.

Thus it is with a guy called Kevin Kelly, who came up with an idea called the 1000 true fans model.

Basically, he says if an artist, writer, composer, can gather up a thousand fans who are willing to spend money--Kelly sug...Read more

The famous line says, "We're not in Kansas anymore," and when it comes to publishing, we're not even in New York anymore.

The secret to selling anything these days relates directly back to the Internet.  Making knowledge more accessible might originally have been the goal of the World Wide Net, but interactive communication has done far more--it's literally changed the face of publishing and distribution.  

If a new writer doesn't have a website, a Twitter account, an active presence on Facebook and numerous other social networking sites, chances are slim that his work, regardless of merit, will be noticed.  

So what are the new rules of the game?

1.  Create relevant profiles on Facebook, Twitter, and as many of the other social networking sites as you have time and energy for.

2.  Write relevent articles and get them published on...Read more

Finally, finally--you have your baby in your hot little hands, all 300 pages of it. You love the cover, the back copy, the layout.  It's your book, fruit of your right brain, child of your imagination.  You order 300 copies, hoping that will be enough for the irstt two weeks. It is POD, so ordering more isn't too much of a headache.

Now all you have to do is let the masses know it's available for them to buy.  And you don't want to get trampled in the stampede.

As if.  

You give away a sizeable number of copies, depending on how many relatives and friends you have. Unfortunately, they loan their copies to their friends instead of buying more from you.