New Book Coming

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I just completed the first draft of my next book.  I mean like 5 minutes ago!  I’m approximately 3 weeks ahead of schedule.  ‘scuze me while I bask in the feeling for a few minutes.  Projected “publication date” is January 2nd (I think – I don’t have my planner with me), but it will probably be available by mid-November.

This is cool, because the book following that was mostly written but has been – well, let’s call it misplaced.  Rather than hunt for the digital files, I will probably re-write it, and the next three weeks will certainly help by giving me extra time.  The projected time for that one was February of 2015.

I’ve been thinking about my books for the last few days, since I’ve been listening to the Sell More Books Show podcast.  I need to create supporting video content for these as well, and I was thinking about cranking out a book every other month next year.  I may not be able to do that if I create the video content myself.  I’ll probably have to find at least one virtual assistant, probably more than one.

Selling Something Else

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RecEx_front_coverI’ve been on vacation.  That said, I’m a terrible business owner slash sales person in general, because I almost never have business cards or a book with me.  It’s true, I brought both of those on my trip, but they were safely packed away with my laptop in my hotel room when I ran into a very nice young gentleman.

We got talking about his family’s business, and how they’ve been running an extension to their business without marketing for several years.  They’re planning on trying to “flip the switch” on marketing at the beginning of 2015.

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Asking Rarely Hurts

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My wife and I are spending some quality time in the Southwest US.  Specifically, Albuquerque New Mexico.  A couple days back, we went to the 10th Annual Salsa Fiesta held in Old Town, ABQ.

I’m a wimp.  I was only able to make it through two of the three tents filled with contestants and their salsa samples.  In one of the tents, one of the contestants was urging the public to vote for them as the winners.  The staff at the booth asked, in loud voices: “Please vote for booth #18.  Remember, when you vote, please vote for booth 18.”

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Chromebook – Not Bad

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Got a new digital toy.  14" HP Chromebook.  This model comes with 200 MB per month data via T-Mobile.  I used up 80% of that in the first hour!  Anyway, that's why I bought it.  As a refurb, it was nearly $100 less than the regular price for the item.  I used it most of the afternoon, and only drained 20% of the battery.  Cool so far!

The ChromeOS takes a little getting used to.  It's just like working in Windows, or Mac, or Android, but only a little . . . off.  Just enough so you scratch your head and try to remember how to do something.  Usually, it's easier than what you're trying to make it.

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My Books Are Free!

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KU_free_ad_001Well, sort of.  Amazon has unleashed another monster.  This one is called Kindle Unlimited.  For a penny less than $10 per month, you can read as many ebooks as you want.  The books have to belong to a special program that guarantees you'll only find them on Amazon, but there are over 600,000 (number supplied by Amazon) available at this point.

My two current books are in there.  If all you want are my ebooks, then the price is about $7 total.  But for three bucks more, you get access to so much more.

I'm not trying to shill for Amazon.  They don't need my puny efforts.  But if you read as much as I do, there's a wealth of fiction and non-fiction books out there.  Some of them are crap, true.  I'm sure people have thought that about what I've written.  But I'm a member.  The first 30 days are free – why not try it out?  And you don't need a Kindle.  You can get the Kindle software for every device you own and read books there.

So: Two marketing-related books FREE if you've got Kindle Unlimited.
Recognized Expert Status – http://amzn.to/1r6q3Vm
Membership Site Design – http://amzn.to/1nD937S

Excellent Service

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I'm putting together a mobile audio rig for an upcoming project.  Part of that will be to talk with others over Skype and record the content.  In the past week, I bought two different external USB microphones.  The first wouldn't let me hear anything without unplugging it.  I emailed the manufacturer for help, and got a notice back last night that my email hasn't gone through because their site is messed up.

I bought a 2nd mic – a Yeti from Blue.  Works and sounds great, except that again, I was having problems.  Specifically, with Skype.  I could hear things great now, but my mic wouldn't work with Skype.  I even took their advice on the front of their website and made sure I had the newest version.

I bit the bullet yesterday and started a chat session with their support.  After waiting 25 minutes, I was finally connected with Kowji, one of the reps.  I told her the problem, and she wanted to access my computer.  Of course, I was sitting in my comfy chair in front of my desktop, not at a table with my laptop.  After some kajiggering (technical term!), I switched to the laptop and let her in.

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