The original purpose for building this website was to create an internet platform to advertise the fact I'd become an author, and to promote my books. The idea was that my writing would eventually provide me some level of income, but there's only one small problem -- I haven't written enough material in any particular genre to draw and sustain a large audience, and there's a lot of competition in this new age of digital publishing. Long ago the decision was made to sacrifice quantity for quality, so I haven't tried to produce a steady stream of content on one particular subject. I have tried to focus on writing well, rather than publishing more frequently. Naturally, it was a very rewarding feeling in 2013 when not one or two, but three of my books won awards, but the problem is that awards don't automatically produce income. The market has been flooded with competition, and not enough people know who I am. I'm no genius when it comes to marketing myself as a writer, but I know that I don't have enough readers, book reviews, and my work hasn't gotten much publicity. This is somewhat difficult to write without sounding like I'm pleading for money, but in order for my work to earn income, I need to sell books and short stories. I have resisted the idea of buttons soliciting donations to support the website, and Patreon accounts. But on the other hand, I don't have an agent, or a book deal. I don't get paid six or seven-figure advances on work that hasn't even been written yet. The two small, independent publishers who have published my work paid fair royalties, but … [Read more...]
Georgia’s next defensive coordinator
First of all, let's get something straight up front. I have no special access to insider knowledge. I don't have a mole inside the UGA athletic department. No little bird has been whispering in my ear. Nobody who knows anything has told me anything that no one is supposed to know. In other words, take my analysis with a grain of salt, if not the whole shaker. I've been blessed with the God-given ability to use my brain to think like a private detective, which coincidentally comes in quite handy because my day "job" is to write detective novels. I use the pseudonym Rocky Leonard to differentiate the novels from my nonfiction writing. Kirby Smart does not have my number on speed dial. Nobody has divulged any Georgia Bulldog secrets to me. I'm a writer, not a sports journalist. Like Sergeant Schultz from the old television show Hogan's Heroes, I hear nothing. I know NOTHING! But I think I know who Kirby Smart might be planning to hire as his defensive coordinator, given only the fact that he didn't retain former UGA defensive coordinator Jeremy Pruitt. Coach Smart's hires for the offensive side of the ball seem to be excellent choices, especially considering the overwhelmingly positive reaction that came from the experts in sports journalism and the fact the new offensive coordinator and offensive line coach have experience working together. Nothing has been said about the defense, though. If we have confidence that the (soon-to-be) former defensive coordinator at Alabama has a clear plan in mind for the Georgia defense, we should assume that Coach … [Read more...]
The 2013 Readers’ Favorite awards ceremony
Our journey south for the Miami Book Fair and Readers' Favorite International Book Awards ceremony was a fantastic experience. The timing was also quite fortuitous. Final touches on the whopping new 13,000 square foot location for Nautical Ventures were still underway, so my cousin Hank McDowell and his wife Lauren had time to give us a tour of South Beach and Miami from a local's perspective, culminating with a pleasant dinner on the veranda at the Miami Yacht Club while reminiscing about the foolish days of our youth in Savannah. That alone was well worth the trip. But before I forget, here's a note to future attendees about the book fair: Miami is a coastal city, and on a peninsula. The tropical weather can and does change rapidly, from torrential rain to bright sun and back in short order. In retrospect, carrying a poncho or umbrella would have been prudent at the Miami Book Fair. But as we huddled under the vendor tents, the spontaneous rain shower became a great opportunity to shop for books. During one such interval my wife and I had the leasure of meeting Stephan Earl, author of the children's book Kayla and Eli Discover Jazz. We found Mr. Earl gregarious and engaging. His books are colorful, educational, and entertaining, so we got an autographed copy for my youngest grandson. If you have a preteen kid or grandchild who loves to read, you should check out his website. Miami is also headquarters for M2Hospitality. His client list includes U2, the Chicago Bulls and Boston Celtics sports teams, Jeff Gordon, Beyonce and Jay-Z, Leonardo Di … [Read more...]
Communication barriers
In the movie Cool Hand Luke, actor Strother Martin famously said, "What we've got here is failure to communicate." I certainly know how that feels. Let me give you a couple of examples, from my distant past... Once upon a time, before I began writing books and novels, I spent almost two decades developing computer software. During the first seven years, I wrote and then supported components for international banking applications, as an employee of Unisys Corporation. Our Finesse banking application had been designed and developed in Atlanta with domestic U.S. financial institutions as our target market, but naturally a major bank in Australia became our first customer. My boss shipped me, the "single guy" on our team, Down Under with the software. I spent the next four months in Perth, helping a small development team customize the product extensively so it would comply with international banking requirements. Lucky me. However, I encountered the communications barrier almost immediately on the trip, during my very first pub crawl, only hours after the fourteen-hour trip from L.A. to Sydney. We had a very serious communication problem there in the bar, even though everybody at my table spoke fluent English. Our misunderstanding happened while a trio of secretaries were plying me with round after round of free beer, saying they wanted to keep me at their table, entertaining them with my American accent from the Deep South. From my own perspective, I was a very lucky man. Three beautiful young women were buying my drinks, in a very … [Read more...]
Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims
I'm not jealous that the first book produced by Rush Limbaugh since 1993, called Rush Revere and the Brave Pilgrims: Time-Travel Adventures with Exceptional Americans, immediately took the top spot on the Amazon hard cover bestseller list. His new book has already reached #152 overall in the Kindle store, #1 in its category for Teen/Young Adult historical fiction -- on first day it was officially available for sale. Nor am I jealous that Rush Revere has received twice as many reviews on the first day of release as all five of my books put together -- mostly because I'm glad that I don't have to contend with his vicious critics, who seem to resent him for breathing. Twelve of the initial forty-one reviewers of Rush Revere only gave the book a one-star rating. Those uber-negative reviews were obviously written by snarky and intolerant liberals. At least one of them was honest enough to begin his review by saying: "Did I read the book? No..." Then how can you review it? None of the most negative reviews were of the "Amazon Verified Purchase" variety. About half of the five-star reviews were verified -- but in fairness, I don't know how the pro-Limbaugh fans have had enough time to read the book and write a review, either. Remember, it was only released today. There is absolutely no reason for me to envy Rush Limbaugh's success selling books on Amazon. In our capitalist society, demand is the only constraint on the total size of the economic pie. My problem isn't that Rush's radio listeners prefer his book to mine. My biggest problem is that his … [Read more...]
