WIN-WIN: Thinking My Way Outside the Economic Box of the American Artist / Entrepreneur
Want to make an easy $25 and help support my work?
Through October 30, Capital One, my savings bank, is offering $25 to anyone I refer using the following code:
AM3Y4KYDF
You can open a High Yield Money Market Account:
- online HERE,
- or by calling 1-800-555-4904
Simply provide the code AM3Y4KYDF when you open an account online or over the phone. I get $15 per referral, so actually, you get the better part of the deal! And CapitalOne pays a great rate on savings accounts regardless of balance, currently 5.00%. More details at: CAPITAL ONE .
Normally I would not make a commercial announcement like this via my blog or email newsletter list, but I have been extremely satisfied with my CapitalOne savings plan. Plus, at this point I am doing my darndest to think creatively about how to stay afloat in the current economy. So I don't mind trading a tiny bit of pride and running the risk of offending someone here in order to help make ends meet. We all know friends, family, and colleagues who've taken a hit. I have, too. So this is one small way I'm fighting back. I don't intend to do this kind of thing very often, but I've decided that Fall, starting this year, is going to be my annual fundraising drive.
Not to worry — I'm not in dire straits at the moment, but you know what they say about an ounce of prevention. And, as a disenfranchised artist in this culture (please note the clever double redundancy in that phrase), I am choosing to be proactive rather than reactive with regard to my financial situation.
Typically, the last year of a President's term is bad for the stock market. I have managed to save a couple hundred dollars each month over the past several years by starting a ShareBuilder plan. Right now, I'm looking at cashing out a couple of very small but somewhat volatile investments while the market is still strong, and placing the proceeds in my savings plan.
Meanwhile, I'm doing my best to paddle against the stream in other ways:
- I'm clearing space by donating items to my local thrift stores and selling the more valuable stuff on eBay starting next week, HERE.
- I have been keeping a tiny little online bookstore at Amazon.com for five years now.
- I'm rewriting MAKE A ZINE!, my very first book (1997), for a second edition release next year from Microcosm Publishing.
- Royalties from my how-to book on sex are lagging a bit, and I'm taking up the slack by helping to produce a second volume of stories from the Literotica.com website.
- Paddle faster. I'm getting older, so I'm trying to work smarter, not harder. However, I just took on a small gardening job, just to make sure I can cover a bill or two.
And I'm still finding time to write:
- I'm a featured contributor to the seven-author anthology, ENTANGLED LIVES, just out on Alyson Publications. Details are HERE.
- I've just completed the first draft of a novel of modest length (about 50,000 words);
- and I'm about seventy percent into a second, longer novel.
- I've just signed a contract for a new short story to appear in a big-time erotic anthology. Due to the publishing industry's volatility nowadays, I don't pre-announce things anymore, so details on that to come, once it goes to press.
Here are some other ways to lend support:
- by donating via the Tip Jar to MY BLOG, RIGHT HERE. The Tip Jar is in the upper left hand corner.
- or by purchasing a gift from me for yourself or someone else via Amazon, HERE.
- or from me via eBay, HERE (opening by Sept. 20).
- And, of course, you can buy a copy of ENTANGLED LIVES, if that's something you would enjoy. You can send me a ten percent commission via Amazon by using THIS LINK.
Finally, any other Amazon.com purchases you make (aside from links via this blog) can also help me out. You can file the following code for future reference and paste it in at the end of whatever Amazon URL you are using:
/tag=billbrentauth-20
...and then reload the page, so that Amazon knows to send me a commission. (Now how's that for trickle-down economics?)
Thanks so much for reading this, and I truly appreciate your support of my work, whether or not you can help with the financial thing at this time.
Wishing you a beautiful day,
Bill Brent
[this page last updated: 2007.09.13, 8:25 p.m. Hawaii time]
LitBoy.com is a professional blog. Keeping it online costs me $200 per year. That's before paying me for my writing, photography, or anything else I do here. If you enjoy this blog, please use the Tip Jar at the top of this page. Your two-dollar minimum donation helps keep this banner-free site alive. It's quick and easy!
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