For a long time, I’ve been trying to find software that would let me catalog my books AND help me to sell them.  I finally found one that does pretty much everything I need and for under $50:  Book Collector by Collectorz.com.

It allows me to just type in the ISBN of the book (either the 10 digit or 13 digit version), and it checks multiple sources to bring in the information on the book, such as title,  author, number of pages, publisher, year published, plot and much much more. It even brings in a photo of the cover(s) if available.  It also then allows me to override any of the fields, which is a good thing, as publishers have a habit of reusing some ISBNs, causing the information on some older books to come up wrong, including covers/dust jackets which can change frequently. You can also add some of your own custom fields if needed to cover anything they hadn’t already thought of.

The software then allows me to export my “collection” completely or 1 book at a time to HTML, helping me create quick and easy code for a website or my eBay listings.  If you’re handy with XML/HTML, you can even tweak the templates or create ones from scratch to change the output into whatever layout you need. (Check out my eBay store for some examples of listings where I’ve used the software to create the ads: Books-For-All-Reasons)

If you need something to help you catalog your own book collection, whether for your own personal enjoyment or because you also sell your books, I recommend you check out Book Collector.  They offer a free trial version to help you decide: Automatically Catalog Your Book Collection. Free Trial.

And if you’re an avid collector of other things, such as comic books, DVDs, video games and more, why not test drive their other software for free?:

Automatically Catalog Your CD Collection. Free Trial.

Automatic DVD Database Software. Free Trial.

Automatic Comic Database Software. Free Trial.

Automatically Catalog Your Video Game Collection. Free Trial.

By Nick Daws – Author of Write Any Book in 28 Days – Or Less!

If you’re a writer and don’t have your own website to advertise yourself, you’re missing out on a lot of opportunities. How do I know? Well, I’ve had my own site for about seven years now, and during that time it’s brought me dozens, possibly hundreds, of work opportunities. Here are just a few which came my way as a result of people seeing my site…

* Hamlyn Publishing (UK) wanting me to write a couple of two-page spreads for a proposed book.
* A retired gangster living in Ireland wanting me to help write his memoirs.
* A local video company, wanting my help scripting a training video.
* A US publishing house wanting me to ghost-write an exposé of malpractice in the insurance industry.
* A UK publisher, wanting me to quote for producing a series of city guides for publication on the Internet.
* And, not least, White Cliff Computing Limited, whose interest in my work led to me writing two courses for them, “Write Any Book in 28 Days – Or Less! and Quick Cash Writing.

I didn’t actually take up all of the opportunities mentioned above. Sometimes I was too busy with other projects (and I must admit the retired gangster scared me a little…). However, the point is that none of these approaches would have come my way without a website.

There are other benefits as well. If I’m applying for a new writing project or commission, I can simply suggest that the potential client refers to my website if they require any further information. It saves constantly sending out weighty CVs or résumés, and makes me look like a technologically aware, up-to-the-minute sort of guy (this becomes more important when, as in my case, you are no longer in the first flush of youth). The website also helps me keep in touch with readers of my books, and it provides me with an additional (if small) income stream through advertising.

OK, I hear you saying, you’ve sold me on the benefits of having a website, but I’m a writer, not a tech-head. I don’t know how to create my own site, and I don’t have the spare cash to hire someone to build one for me.

Let’s take the latter point first. Getting a website built for you need not be hugely expensive. Freelance writers really don’t need whizzy, cutting-edge designs with Flash animation, online databases, shopping trolleys, and so forth. A basic site which showcases you and your work should be more than sufficient. Try entering “website designer” in your favorite search engine and you’ll get hundreds of potential designers. Approach a few with details of your requirements and see what responses you get. You may well be pleasantly surprised by the quotes you receive. Website design is a very competitive field – and, of course, the designer you use can be based anywhere in the world.

However, if at all possible, I do strongly recommend that you consider building and maintaining your own site. This has all sorts of advantages. For one, you can update it yourself quickly and easily, and you can also create it exactly as you wish. You can add bits, take bits away, try out advertising, start your own newsletter, etc. etc. This is the route I have taken, and although my site is never going to win any awards for its design, it suits my purposes very well.

In my time, I’ve used various programs to create and maintain my website, starting with a program called the CompuServe First Web Page Designer (now, I’m sure, residing in software heaven). If I was starting again today, however, I would definitely invest a few bucks in the Newbie Club First Website Builder. This is a four-volume guide to creating, writing, designing, automating, uploading and promoting your own website, in fully illustrated e-book format. As well as the four beautifully written e-books, you get loads of free software, including the Super Easy Mini Site Wizard, which will build a basic site for you in literally minutes. Check out everything on offer in this product at http://newbieclub.com/builder/?hotproducts. I guarantee it’ll blow you away.

Even if you decide to hire a professional designer to create your site for you, the Newbie Club First Website Builder will show you everything you need to know in order to take over the running of your site and maintain and update it yourself. Incidentally, the Newbie Club, which is aimed at people new to computing rather than IT specialists, also produces a free email newsletter packed with hints and tips for newcomers to computing – you can sign up to it at http://newbieclub.com/?hotproducts if you wish. Although I’ve been using PCs for quite a while now, I still subscribe, and regularly pick up useful hints and tips I hadn’t been aware of before.

Nick Daws is a best-selling author living in Staffordshire, England.
You can discover his exciting course online at “How to Write Any Book in 28 Days – OR LESS!”

Alec Greven is working on becoming another John Gray (MEN ARE FROM MARS, WOMEN ARE FROM VENUS), at least for 3rd graders. In 2007, his class had a writing competition to raise money for charity, and his book was so popular, it was picked up by HarperCollins for mass publication.

Not bad for a Castle Rock, Colorado 9-year-old whose advice in HOW TO TALK TO GIRLScontains such gems as:

– You’ll do better and be happier with a “regular girl” than a “pretty girl.” (Alec’s definition of a pretty girl is one who wear “fancy earrings, fancy dresses, all those shoes.”) According to Alec, “about 73 percent of regular girls ditch boys, 98 percent of pretty girls ditch boys.”

– If you’re shy, a talkative girl would be best for you.

– Don’t be the class clown.

– Impress girls with your skills but don’t be a show off.

– Call the girl but don’t keep her talking too long on the phone. (Two hours, for instance, is too long. Your mother will call you for dinner and you may have to hurt the girl’s feelings by abruptly breaking off the conversation.)

– If a girl ditches you, move on, life is hard. (This last seems a bit adult – wonder what his parents have been telling him…)

Alec says, however, given his own admittedly limited experience, his observations may only apply to his school, Soaring Hawk Elementary School and its play yard. I guess time will tell, eh?

One hit wonder or future top ten writer? Hmmm… (A sequel is already in discussions with the publisher even though the first book won’t be released until November 25th.)

(Already a little heartbreaker, isn’t he?)

Another artist whose book cover art I really like to collect is fantasy and sci fi illustrator ROWENA (full name Rowena A. Morrill). Most of her work, like Boris Vallejo’s (see that blog entry), features photorealistic characters in brilliant color paintings that jump off the page and catch the eye, with sexy and alluring women and men, menacing dragons, famed storytellers and wicked wizards among the many characters she has brought to life.

To me, her style is instantly recognizable, and the books her paintings grace have a favored, facing-front position on my shelves. I love to enjoy the detail and care that appear to go into each one. (Plus it doesn’t hurt that her art features prominently on many of my favorite authors’ books: Anne McCaffrey, Piers Anthony, Terry Brooks, and more…. A double bonus!)

Here are just a few examples of my favorite works of hers, both book cover art and posters (not to mention she does gorgeous fantasy trading card art, too):

FOR LOVE OF EVIL – Piers Anthony
(Book Cover Art)

ON THE SURFACE…

(Painting/Poster)

Her black and white illustrations are just as striking and almost step off the page (this one reminds me of Vargas’ airbrush work with its perfect skin rendering and amazing face and hair detail):

SCHEHERAZADE
(Pencil/Pen on Paper Drawing)

You can check out more of her work and buy signed posters & paintings of your own at her official website: ROWENA

Find books with Rowena Morrill art at Amazon.com
Find posters & books with Rowena Morrill art at eBay.com

Talk about taking a wrong turn somewhere… (What do you think – boy whale? – it apparently didn’t for directions… Someone should spring for a Thomas Guide for that one. LOL)

read more | digg story

Whenever people find out I’m on eBay selling books and other stuff and have been for almost 8 years, they invariable ask me how to sell on eBay. Even though millions of people are already buying and selling on eBay, I still run into quite a few who haven’t tried the service out yet, either from fear or from just not knowing how to get started. Or I talk to people who tried it once or twice, but couldn’t figure out how they could make much money at it, much less replace an existing job, doing it either full-time or part-time.

While you can use trial and error to figure out how to use eBay, or try to learn eBay using their help guides (which aren’t really that helpful in my opinion), I find learning from someone who’s already done what I’m thinking of doing and who shows me concrete examples how to succeed is easier and much more productive in the long run. (This, after bumbling along on my own for the first few years or so before I decided to get some REAL help through books and videos – now I’m a PowerSeller and doing better all the time at something I enjoy and can actually make money doing!)

Depending on what level you think you’re at – absolute novice, sometime user who would like to do a bit better or aiming for PowerSeller as quickly as possible – there are quite a few good books and guides to get you quickly where you need to be:

JUST GETTING STARTED ON eBAY:
eBay Income: How Anyone of Any Age, Location, and/or Background Can Build a Highly Profitable Online Business with eBay by Cheryl L. Russell
Three Weeks to eBay Profits: Go from Beginner to Successful Seller in Less than a Month by Skip McGrath
eBay For Dummies by Marsha Collier
Sell Books and Videos on eBay

IMPROVING YOUR eBAY BUSINESS:
How to Buy, Sell, and Profit on eBay: Kick-Start Your Home-Based Business in Just Thirty Days by Adam Ginsberg
eBay: Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks (Top 100 Simplified Tips & Tricks) by Julia Wilkinson
What to Sell on eBay and Where to Get It by Chris Malta
Make Money Tearing Up Old Books & Magazines And Sell Them On eBay

eBAY POWERSELLER ADVICE and RESOURCES:
eBay Powerseller Secrets: Insider Tips from eBay’s Most Successful Sellers by Debra Schepp
Titanium eBay: A Tactical Guide to Becoming a Millionaire PowerSeller by Skip McGrath

Global Product Sourcing Just Got Way Easier – SaleHoo!
Build A Niche Store – Make Commissions on Anyone’s eBay Sales
Become An eBay PowerSeller In 90 Days
Auction Inspector – Find Items with Low Competition/High Selling Prices!
The Powerseller Assassin – IPod, XBox, Ps3, And Mobile Phone Sources

Spending $10-$50 now on a little ‘informed’ help will probably save you 10 times that or more over the course of your eBay career (or using any service while trying to earn money online…) I know it’s helped me!

Not everyone is a dyed-in-the-wool book collector or quite as rabid a reader as I or my mother (a fact I don’t truly comprehend, but acknowledge as a remote possibility. =) However, most people I know enjoy a great read and would love to be able to have a chance to read more if only it didn’t cost so much to buy books nowadays or take so much time to find a good book, not to mention not having enough room to house all the titles they’ve read/want to read. Just as Netflix and Hollywood Video have made life a LOT easier for avid movie buffs in the U.S. to access and watch a huge library of films without spending a lot of money or time driving back and forth to the store, there’s now a similar service for book lovers, whether you prefer holding a book in your hand as you read (in paperback format) or you need to have your stories read to you (ala audiobooks) because you can only ‘read’ during your commute or long family drives. Booksfree.com is a great new service now available for the rabid reader with unlimited rental plans starting as low as $9.99/month. Why Booksfree?
Providing reading and listening enjoyment to thousands of satisfied customers since 2000, Booksfree offers unparalleled value to its members. Nowhere else will you find the savings, selection, and convenience offered by Booksfree. Some of the benefits of a Booksfree membership include:
• Largest selection of paperback and audiobooks • Convenience of home delivery • No due dates or late fees • Entire audiobook shipped regardless of the number of discs • Convenience of selecting your books online • Numerous plans to fit your reading or listening habits • Saves you from having to store books you’ve read or listened to • Book ratings and reviews • Ability to keep books at a discount (if you choose) • No commitments, cancel anytime

Another neat thing is to be able to ‘try before you buy’ for book collectors. You get a chance to ‘test drive’ an author’s newest title(s) before you decide whether to add it to your collection permanently in a more expensive ‘collectible edition’ such as 1st Edition Hardcover. (As we probably all know, not EVERY title an author writes is up to his or her normal standards, so unless you’re a ‘completist’ – someone who collects everything an author writes in all formats regardless of each item’s writing quality – I prefer to keep only the best of each person’s works… It’s being able to identify them as such before investing a lot of money that I like about this service!)

So if you’d like to Rent unlimited paperback books or Rent Unlimited CD or MP3-CD Audiobooks, then definitely check out Booksfree.com

And right now, get
20% off your first month at Booksfree.com. Use coupon code: CJ86

I’m a firm believer in doing it yourself (even given my past history with sharp objects and ER rooms – see my earlier post re: home improvement TV shows) so was nicely surprised to find someone had come out with a do-it-yourself Xbox 360 Repair Guide.

I’ve worked in and around computers and computer systems for over 23 years (think Commodore 64, Kaypro, and IBM’s first PC to give you an idea of when I got started.) I have always hated taking my stuff to an official repair center as they always managed to find tons of things wrong that each cost an arm, leg, and small child to fix since magically none of it was related to anything the warranty might cover. Given Microsoft’s announcement that their new product, the Xbox 360, seems to have a few ‘defects’ that ‘should’ be covered under warranty, you can imagine I wasn’t firmly convinced that this would be how it would actually go. (In fact, I’ve heard figures of up to $140 or more to fix what I think should have been covered under some sort of recall or warranty coverage…!) Not to mention the shipping expense which isn’t covered, shoving the repair costs even higher. (Personally I prefer to spend that money on the fun stuff, not fixes for things that were designed poorly…)

With new games like the long awaited Halo 3 finally being released, who wants to wait weeks to get your system repaired when you get the dreaded 3 Red Light error or an over heating console, graphic errors, and freeze ups? You could try Microsoft’s official repair center if you still believe your unit is covered under the original warranty. If it isn’t, or if you don’t think they’ll fix the defect under warranty, then why not check out this guide? It even has some great ideas for how to make money fixing other people’s malfunctioning Xbox’s or for buying ones with known problems, fixing those and reselling them for a profit – a win-win that would more than pay for the guide if you’re so inclined, a nice little business that could help you buy even MORE Xbox games for your now working system.

(Note: as with most electronic devices, opening the box and working on the innards yourself WILL most likely void any remaining warranty so proceed accordingly.)

While watching yet another home improvement TV show today, I realized that, even though they and all the books warn you to always wear safety gear and consult with a professional, none actually tell or show you what might happen should you ignore that advice. And yet, that might be the most important lesson of all…

I, of course, speak from experience. (You knew THAT was coming, didn’t you?)

Every time I type on Mr Keyboard, I’m reminded of what I did to Mr Finger two years ago this coming September. It seems that the housing sales boom sucked us up right along with it, and we decided it was time to get the H out of Dodge (or in this case, SoCal and all its high traffic, high prices, high heat and even higher propensity to burst into flames all around you.) So, after watching probably the equivalent of at least 40 hours of diy home improvement TV shows, and about 10 books on home selling/staging, I felt ready to tackle our own house. I mean, how hard could it really be if they get all that stuff done in less than an hour, including commercials, right? (Just for the record, I’m not THAT stupid – I know it probably took them at least TWO hours to do the work and they edited it down. BWAHAHAHAA….)

I actually had a great start (even if it did take me about 3 times longer and 5 times more money than planned for each task.) By myself, I managed to paint the entire exterior and interior of the one story 1250 sq ft house without mishap, other than the odd paint spill, cleaned up as soon as possible (or clothes hidden in the back of a closet to be disposed of later.)

Refinishing the tub and the kitchen sink even went pretty well except for having to open every window in the house for a couple days due to the smell. Laying new vinyl tile in both bathrooms almost went according to schedule. (Seems you need to set something flat to spread your weight on the tiles you just laid rather than sit on them directly or they ‘slide’ a bit, ruining your perfectly laid out pattern, requiring some reworking. I didn’t find out about that trick until months later on yet a different home improvement show after having relaid my own a couple times and then just filling in the boo-boos with a bit of silicone grout…)

When it came to laying the new laminated wood floor, I did discover on my own there ARE two ways to put a radial saw blade into a Riyobi 18v Radial Saw and backwards only ‘chews’ and burns the wood, making the radial saw kick and buck, besides leaving a vile smell and quite a few blackened edges to the planks, but luckily no blood was spilled. At least not at that point. (Good thing they recommend buying 10% over what you think you’ll need to account for ‘spoilage’ – too bad they don’t spell out ALL the ways you can spoil it!)

About now, I was pretty impressed with myself and the house was starting to look pretty good. From having almost no carpentry or home repair skills, I felt all the home improvement shows and books had practically made me an expert. I was ready to tackle another job in our quest for home selling perfection. After all, the house was almost 50 years old, and hadn’t had a facelift in about the same. EVERYTHING needed doing.

While I worked on laying the new carpet tile throughout the living room, hall and all 3 bedrooms (it cuts with just a straightedge and utility knife and goes together like a puzzle), Mom told me one of the ‘damn cats’ has ruined yet another window screen. The really old aluminum screening had become brittle, so, of course, the cat had chosen them for her escape attempts while all the work was going on. However, that did nothing for the aesthetics or livability of the house, having a cat-sized hole letting flies and bees in, so that became the next job, leaving the rest of the carpet tile for another day.

After yet another trip to Home Depot — which you know you’ve been to toooo many times when they yell out your name as if you’re a character on Cheers — I came home with windowscreen supplies, the new fiberglass that’s ‘pet-resistant’. (They’d never met MY pets, but at least it seemed easier to work with than more aluminum which I figured would scratch me up.) I had only 8 to do, so wanted to get them all done since it was Friday and didn’t want to spend a weekend working on the windows. Everything was going well until the 8th. Seems it had gotten dark outside, so I had dragged the remaining one into the kitchen where the light was better. I laid all the stuff out on the floor, put in a new blade into the utility knife as cutting the first 7 down to size in the frames had dulled the blade and was about to get started when Mom walked into the kitchen. I stopped as I was in her way. She got her coffee, walked to the kitchen door,
turned, said ‘Be careful’, and headed down the hallway. I picked up the screen, took the knife with my left hand and the excess screen sticking up with my right hand, and next thing I know, I’d sunk the nice new VERY sharp blade deep into my right index finder at an angle and lifted off Mr Fingerprint and now couldn’t get him to stay without extreme pressure and lots of red stuff.

Four hours in the emergency room and 6 stitches later, I found myself cursing home improvement shows, the home selling market and my own clumsiness. (Mom was just cursing the last and herself for having said, ‘Be careful’ – that’s like a red flag to Murphy and his law around me.) Since I’m right-handed, it caused a 3 week delay before I could use a utility knife again (which was partly due to fear of the evil critter and partly because I couldn’t use enough pressure on it to cut the rest of the carpet squares to size.)

So, if you’re planning to do-it-yourself, watch the home improvement TV shows, read the books, and consult with the professionals, but remember Mr Finger. They don’t tell or show you what can go WRONG… (On the bright side, I feel Mr Finger’s bandage looked quite friendly with a Smiley face added…not quite as friendly before the bandage, though…) Now, however, Mr Scar and the reduced sense of feeling in Mr Finger remind me to leave anything requiring really sharp implements to the professionals (or to use the professional meat-cutters metal mesh gloves I bought online to protect my hands AFTER I cut myself)… (LOL)

To see Mr Finger BEFORE the bandage, click on the black square – not for
the faint of heart (or stomach)…

bfarnew

———————————————————————————————–

And before anyone else recommends them to me, here are some of the books I plan to read before starting ANY more new projects:

A few days ago I picked up a very hard-to-find THE ART OF PETER MAX, a book filled to the brim with Peter Max posters and paintings. They’re not kidding that it’s a magical book, filled with his visually compelling, mesmerizing, kaleidoscopic work. His use of color and movement is amazing, from his abstract work to his iconic pop-art advertising with its rock and roll sensibilities. (Might have something to do with the many rock and roll stars he hangs with, such as The Beatles, The Rollings Stones, Aerosmith and more, many of whom feature in his work…)

His work has been showcased on everything from watches, to clothes, to postage stamps besides his very well known Peter Max posters, prints and paintings featured in places like the Corcoran Gallery, the Museum of Fine Arts in Houston, and even The Hermitage in Saint Petersburg, Russia. Once you’ve seen it, it’s VERY hard to forget!

Here are just a few samples of what I found inside this amazing book (my pictures don’t even come close to doing them justice):

If you need a Peter Max poster or painting ‘fix’, this is the book for you with over 350 Full Color plates to peruse. It’s a wonderful resource/biography as, according to dust jacket flap, it was compiled with the help of the artist himself, taking the reader into the backstage of Peter Max’s studio and the celebrity-studded life of an artist who is himself a celebrity. (I find the best biographies are the ones where the subject has co-operated in coordinating the contents.)

Find it on eBay: THE ART OF PETER MAX
Find it on Amazon: THE ART OF PETER MAX

See even more of this great pop artist’s work at his website, including his art for charity. (Check out the neat stuff he did for Earth Day 2007!): PETER MAX ART ONLINE