I've toyed with the idea of running a business online for many years, but other than helping Jacqueline Lichtenberg run simegen.com, which we support by domain hosting and selling advertising, I've never done much about it.
I'm a writer, and I want to make my living selling books and screenplays. I want other people to publish my books, make films from my screenplays, and pay me with royalties while I write more books and screenplays.
It actually worked that way with my books for a few years! But then the corporate interests took over the publishing industry, and all the midlist authors (those who did not routinely produce bestsellers) were shown the door.
Naturally, my first thought was ebooks. I've had a very successful ebook (Blood Will Tell ), but the number of copies sold to make a bestselling ebook are not enough to pay expenses. So I have turned to screenwriting, where it may surprise you to learn that there is a huge and expanding market, as opposed to the now small closed market of trade book publishing.
Although I'm making progress, moving up the ranks in contests, and getting many producers to read my scripts, I have yet to sell one. It will come--I broke into trade book publishing and I will do the same with screenwriting. But that's still in the future. I'll write more about my experiences as a screenwriter in other blog entries.
Right now I'm looking for ways to pay for my screenwriting lessons, contest fees, travel to film festivals, and all the other necessities to move to a new career. In the meantime, Jacqueline and I need to keep simegen.com going. So while Jacqueline has been writing non-fiction ebooks we hope to sell online, I've been researching how to promote those ebooks.
That research has brought me back to an old acquaintance, possibly the longest-lasting e-entrepreneur on the WorldWideWeb.
I first signed onto Jim Daniels' mailing list when he began BizWeb2000 in 1996, and I have remained subscribed all this time because his messages are full of good common sense about running an Internet business, and he is clear and low-key. For all these years I've been "going to" try most of his techniques "some day," while using some of his advice to keep simegen.com financially afloat.
One of the great things Jim does is to give away sound advice free of charge. Now he has put the basics of running an Internet business into an ebook that you can get free. Go here to download your free copy.
The secret to getting this ebook free is to scroll down to the bottom of the page and click on the gold key.
In Jim's book you will find ten steps to making money online spelled out and explained, from choosing what to sell to how to get other people to do the work for you. If you've ever thought that maybe you should start an Internet business, this little book is a great place to start.
You can't beat the price! Grab your free copy here , and download it to get you started. Or possibly to help you decide whether or not selling online is for you after all.
That's what I'm doing.
Showing posts with label Sime~Gen. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Sime~Gen. Show all posts
Monday, April 13, 2009
Friday, August 15, 2008
Olympic Gymnastics -- Unity in Diversity
Watching the women's gymnastics individual all-around last night, I couldn't help thinking of a story I had heard earlier on the evening news. The news story was that in a few years Caucasian Americans will be a minority, well under 50% of the population.
When you really think about it, why should that be news? Caucasions from England, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Germany were only the first people to come here seeking new lives, and to quarrel and squabble, and forge something new out of their differences. What they designed was a country intended to welcome diversity in all its forms. Not just Caucasians.
Now, with Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, both Caucasian, earning the Gold and Silver medals in individual all-around, you might wonder what in the world connected the two ideas in my mind. Actually, it was Nastia Liukin and her father (also her coach) who prompted this rumination by providing yet another example of America's strength coming from our diversity.
Valery Liukin won the men's all-around gold in the Seoul Olympics in 1988, representing the Soviet Union. After the end of that country, he moved his young family to the United States, like so many others seeking a new life in the Land of Opportunity.
Nastia was three years old when they came to the U.S., so she has grown up here. Nevertheless, she brings to gymnastics that long, lean, elegant, balletic line so characteristic of Soviet gymnasts. Shawn Johnson, on the other hand, has the compact, strong, energetic American style made famous by Mary Lou Retton. Together, these two young women--who are best friends and roommates at the games--lead a powerful team that a few days ago won silver in the team competition.
Shawn and Nastia could be seen encouraging, consoling, and congratulating one another not just during the team contest, but also last night when they were in competition for the gold. How very American it is to be both competitors and friends!
E Pluribus Unum--out of many, one. In union there is strength. That is the story of America. Europe has recently followed our lead and created the European Union, while maintaining the diversity of individual cultures. That is the lesson Americans live, and which is displayed to great advantage every time the Olympics come around.
As of today, the United States is still ahead in the overall medal count even if China has more golds. We are strong because we are united, and we are strong because we are diverse. It's a paradox, but whether we understand it or not, we need to remember it. If we close our borders, as some who forget our origins want to do, we may close out the occasional undesirable, but we will also close out the next Nastia Liukin.
Unity in diversity is one of the themes you will see often in this blog and in my fiction--it is the theme that attracted me to Jacqueline Lichtenberg and the Sime~Gen universe as well (see www.simegen.net). Another theme you will often see is connections--the way, for example, my mind connected the news story about increasing American diversity with what I have been seeing in the Olympic Games.
I hope you will be intrigued by those themes, and come back often to read my blog. To receive notice each time I post a new article (which will not be on a regular schedule), please subscribe to my RSS feed.
When you really think about it, why should that be news? Caucasions from England, France, Holland, Spain, Portugal, and Germany were only the first people to come here seeking new lives, and to quarrel and squabble, and forge something new out of their differences. What they designed was a country intended to welcome diversity in all its forms. Not just Caucasians.
Now, with Nastia Liukin and Shawn Johnson, both Caucasian, earning the Gold and Silver medals in individual all-around, you might wonder what in the world connected the two ideas in my mind. Actually, it was Nastia Liukin and her father (also her coach) who prompted this rumination by providing yet another example of America's strength coming from our diversity.
Valery Liukin won the men's all-around gold in the Seoul Olympics in 1988, representing the Soviet Union. After the end of that country, he moved his young family to the United States, like so many others seeking a new life in the Land of Opportunity.
Nastia was three years old when they came to the U.S., so she has grown up here. Nevertheless, she brings to gymnastics that long, lean, elegant, balletic line so characteristic of Soviet gymnasts. Shawn Johnson, on the other hand, has the compact, strong, energetic American style made famous by Mary Lou Retton. Together, these two young women--who are best friends and roommates at the games--lead a powerful team that a few days ago won silver in the team competition.
Shawn and Nastia could be seen encouraging, consoling, and congratulating one another not just during the team contest, but also last night when they were in competition for the gold. How very American it is to be both competitors and friends!
E Pluribus Unum--out of many, one. In union there is strength. That is the story of America. Europe has recently followed our lead and created the European Union, while maintaining the diversity of individual cultures. That is the lesson Americans live, and which is displayed to great advantage every time the Olympics come around.
As of today, the United States is still ahead in the overall medal count even if China has more golds. We are strong because we are united, and we are strong because we are diverse. It's a paradox, but whether we understand it or not, we need to remember it. If we close our borders, as some who forget our origins want to do, we may close out the occasional undesirable, but we will also close out the next Nastia Liukin.
Unity in diversity is one of the themes you will see often in this blog and in my fiction--it is the theme that attracted me to Jacqueline Lichtenberg and the Sime~Gen universe as well (see www.simegen.net). Another theme you will often see is connections--the way, for example, my mind connected the news story about increasing American diversity with what I have been seeing in the Olympic Games.
I hope you will be intrigued by those themes, and come back often to read my blog. To receive notice each time I post a new article (which will not be on a regular schedule), please subscribe to my RSS feed.
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