Today, for the first time, I am going to engage in shameless promotion. You see, and may have inferred from the title, my first book "Observations at the Speed of Life" will be available on Amazon and Barnes & Noble this week.

Steve, my marketing advisor at Constant Contact, who has guided me through the process, has explained to me that reviews or ratings on Amazon impact the visibility of the book. Apparently, receiving 25 Reviews/Star Ratings within the first 72 hours the book is available can have an impact on its placement for about six months. The book should be available for pre-order now and will ship very soon.

To review it, simply enter 'Observations at the Speed of Life' into the Amazon search bar, scroll down quite a way, give it a star rating (guess which one I'd prefer) and a few comments, and you are on your way, I mean, I am on my way. You don't have to buy the book to review it, particularly if you've read the majority of Weblogs that are included. As of this writing, only 376, 109 books are ahead of it on the Amazon best seller list. NY Times Best Seller List, here I come!

I will, of course, be optimistically and appreciatively grateful for your additional support.

Ed

The box on the porch looked like any of the hundreds of boxes we’ve seen on our porch, since Amazon was invented, and the pandemic helped kill retail stores. It was brought inside. I couldn’t remember what I was expecting to arrive that day but would soon find out.

When I opened the box, I froze. Staring back at me was a book, make that ten books, and each one had my name on the front cover. It had a big spyglass and the words “Observations at the Speed of Life.” I was a published author, OMG. 

I grabbed two of the books and went downstairs where my wife and son were watching TV and promptly handed them books 1 and 2. They both impulsively uttered “cool.” I can’t begin to describe the feeling.

The call was friendly and productive. I was conversing with Joe, the Executive Director of the Phi Sigma Kappa National Fraternity, on a Zoom call and we were discussing my impending retirement from ‘active duty’ with the fraternity. On impulse, I said: “let me show you something,” and held up a copy of the book. 

While he was oohing and aahing, (not really) he also went on Amazon, found the book and looked at me with pride and said: “cool.” This was how I learned it was there. I was shocked because I thought that online sales were two or three weeks away. After the call, I went to Amazon myself, copied the link and sent it to my wife and son. I can’t begin to describe the feeling.

The meeting with John, the CEO of a client in Cincinnati was going well, when I pulled out a copy of the book that I had previously signed (or autographed as the case may be) and presented it to him in appreciation for his confidence in my work. 

His eyes lit up, he looked and me, and simply said, “cool.” For the rest of the day at his organization, no matter who we met with or passed by, he introduced me as a published author. I can’t begin to describe the feeling.

My son and I were at a brewery in Westminster, Massachusetts to see one of our favorite artists, Martin and Kelly, for the hundredth time or more. I signed a book and presented it to them before the show. The look of amazement (maybe shock?) in their eyes let me know they were impressed, and asked a lot of questions about the book, the process and more. 

Unlike you, they hadn't read the Weblog before, so they were caught completely by surprise. As the band took the stage, one said: “this is so cool.” I can’t begin to describe the feeling.

In a few short days my first book will be available as a soft cover for $21.95 and eventually as an eBook for $9.95, and will be sold at Amazon, Barnes & Noble, and more locations. Let me tell you that is very exciting. It is also very cool.

But what’s most exciting to me may not be what you think.

It is very cool to be a published author. It is an awesome feeling, that I can’t begin to describe, and when I am at a loss for words... It is something to be very proud of, and something I may be highlighting on my resume, my web site, and my marketing materials. I may even buy a billboard on the Southeast Expressway to promote it. 

My late parents would be particularly proud, and I know that my family, my brothers and sisters, my wife and son are also very proud. Depending on how well you know me, you may be very proud.

When you can make people both living and dead proud, you’ve accomplished something. But that’s not what’s most exciting to me.

You may also think that it is very cool to be able to do a book-signing, and you’d be right. I can’t wait to sign books. I can’t wait to thank people for getting the book. I can’t wait to feel like a big shot. I may not do the signings at traditional locations. I may use the Umass Club in Boston or Loretta’s Last Call, THE country music bar in Massachusetts. 

I know if the book sells enough, that Barnes & Noble might be interested in hosting me. In fact, even if they are not, I think I will bring my own crowd to a store, set up a table and take some photos. That would play well on social media, wouldn’t it?

You may also think it is very cool to be able to have all the birthday and holiday gifts that I will give out in 2024 to be books with my name on them, and you’d be right. To be honest with you, I can think of a hundred people I’d love to give a book to, and even though that might kill sales revenue, I might still do it.

Let me tell you what the coolest part of having a book published. Let me rephrase that. Let me tell you what the coolest part of having THIS book published is: It inadvertently becomes my legacy. 

Several years ago, after reading a particularly interesting Wednesday Weblog, a friend, Gary, in North Carolina, who I hadn’t seen in years told me that when he was reading the Blog, he could hear me as he read the words, as if I were speaking.



That’s always been my style: I write like I talk.

Oh, I’m pretty sure that I won’t be remembered like Charles Dickens, or William Shakespeare, or Emily Dickinson, but someday, 25 or 50 years from now, someone will find a dusty copy of the book and get a great picture of life during my lifetime. 

They’ll find some humor, probably since shopping carts have been eliminated. They’ll find some messages, although they might wonder what an umbrella might be. They’ll find some inspiration from a kid in a wheelchair playing ping pong.



Yep, that’s the cool part of publishing a book. The legacy that, honestly, was accidentally created.

So, the stories about my life, my philosophies, my messages and more will now live on long after I’m gone, and people will be able to hear me. Think about that.  It won't be people talking about buying an umbrella, or repeating a story about me being 'third class, unskilled.' It will be me providing the narrative, after I'm gone.

Think about the conversations with your grandparents that you had, or wanted to have. Think about the stories your parents told you. You kinda, sorta, remember them and the details. My legacy, my life is wrapped up in 292 pages and it is NOT a biography, it is not a non-fiction book, it is not a business book, it is a book about…observations at the speed of life: my legacy.

Postscript #1: How to Help Make Me Famous

• To have a book stay near the top on Amazon, it needs to have a minimum of 25 ratings/reviews within the first 72 hours it is available. You don't need to purchase the book to do a review.

• Because I will be posting directly to social media accounts about the book, and you have read most of the stories, you can ethically repost and/or comment that you’ve read the book (you just read it a week at time, but you don’t have to share that).

• Think of how simple your holiday shopping could be. Reach out to me for a quantity discount. I have connections. I will sign them all, somehow.

Postscript #2: Thank You

From the bottom of my heart, thanks for reading the Wednesday Weblog. It was a crazy idea about 200 weeks ago, and it could have died on the vine, if you didn’t read it and shared your thoughts and comments on LinkedIn and referred a friend. 

While the success of the Weblog has been great for my ego all these weeks, the publication of the book has humbled me, and changed me, but I can’t begin to describe the feeling.