The Best of Both Worlds: Self-Publishing and Traditional Publishing

When I first got published, I was published independently. I was looking for a traditional publisher, but then I realized I couldn’t get published because I didn’t have an agent and that I couldn’t get an agent because I hadn’t published previously. It’s a catch-22. When I decided to go with an independent publisher, I shopped around and found the best fit for me, and once the book started selling well, the traditional publishers came to me. If you’re thinking about self publishing, by all means, go ahead and do it. It’s a rewarding process—just the satisfaction of seeing your words in print is almost worth it, and having other people connect with what you’ve written is an enormously wonderful feeling. So get your words out there, no matter how you have to do it. I would do it again in a heartbeat.

When you’re trying to find the right publisher, make sure they’re a good fit for you, not just a good fit for them. Make sure they will give you the support you’re looking for. Make sure they have a marketing campaign for your book. Make sure they can actually get your book in the bookstores or online—whatever best suits your needs and will help you sell books.

And above all, don’t give up. It’s a very difficult business to get into, but it is amazingly rewarding to get your words out there and connect with your audience. It’s just a wonderful feeling. - Michael Crider

Live Life with Passion

We ought to live life with passion in whatever we do. Just try our human best and leave to God the rest. While we are healthy and able, we should work hard to save up for our retirement in years to come. Be like the ant; storing up food for winter and don't be like the lazy grasshopper singing all day long and go hungry during winter. I love my job and it is beyond my wildest dream to be able to work from home with above average salary compared to an executive in an MNC in Bayan Lepas, the Silicon Valley of Penang. Benefits like medical leave, medical expenses, EPF and SOCSO are also given by my boss. He works hard every day, living life to the fullest and wakes up at 6:00am to listen to Joseph Prince preach via the CD sermons, ordered from Singapore.

Swam at Quayside Yesterday

My aunt's condo at Quayside, beside Straits Quay is around 3,033 sq ft in size, large and unoccupied. This is because the owner, my aunt is living in Singapore and she is a property investor. She bought the place 3-4 years ago for about $2 million and now it is worth about $3.8 million - $4 million. Her new Mercedez E250 is left parked there and is only used when she comes to Penang. It is mostly computerised. The swimming pool is large with many trees and plants and well landscaped. There are several jacuzzis too for one to enjoy the water massage on the body.

Hardly any Opportunities

Now there are hardly any opportunities to make money online as easily as it was in the past. Just copy and paste a pre-written guest post and voila, you get your USD 10. Now I have to submit 5-7 photos with at least 300 words for approval just to earn USD 5 that takes 10 days to receive. There are so many writers hungry for work that they submit several posts per day. Well, as for me, I just cannot allocate the time and research for this menial amount with much work. But something is still better than nothing at all.

Join Adsense Alternative - Uber CPM

There is a new publishing company like Google Adsense and is a good alternative with many adverts on its banners placed at your sites. To join this network, click on http://ubercpm.com/index.php?rp=5377 where you can join immediately but never click on your own ads. It is good to leverage on your various blogs via this network should you be banned permanently from Adsense. I don't know how good the conversion rates are but you can withdraw via Paypal when you hit USD 10, unlike USD 100 for Adsense. Though it is lower income, but nevertheless, something is better than nothing at all, don't you agree? Don't be greedy and don't cheat. Honesty is the best policy!

Money is Important but not Everything

Money is important but not everything. It can buy you comfort but not health, even though you can buy supplements and vitamins to prolong your life. It is a tool to exchange for food, clothing, transport and the like. With more money, you can live more comfortably during your retirement years and hopefully stretch the money to a lifetime. Everyone works hard for a golden retirement and not a woeful one where one has to beg in the streets like a vagrant. You want to be surrounded by loved ones and money can buy their love and loyalty. Marriages break down and divorces happen all due to money problems and financial difficulties. But once the breadwinner starts to earn more money, then the wife may reconsider reconciling with her spouse. Hence, money speaks louder than relationships.

US Average Household Economy

Just read in a magazine that more than half of average American household could not raise US2,000 in a month from loans, credit cards, etc. And an average household has around USD35,000 in their retirement fund, leaving them with only USD100 to spend per month for as long as possible. I thought Malaysia was bad, but looks like the grass is also not greener on the other side. People are struggling with survival and everyday issues like putting food on the table. There is a lot of unemployment but one is lucky in the US as he or she gets to claim unemployment benefits unlike here in Asia. And if you are disabled and cannot work, you get disability benefits from the goverment of USD 2,200.00! In Malaysia, you get RM 350 if you are working and RM 300 if you are not working as an OKU or disabled. One can barely survive with this amount taking into account the high costs of living.