A year ago at this time I was waiting with great anticipation for my 60th birthday in January.
And not just because 60 is the new 40, either. No, I relished the thought of my 60th because Elm Court, the senior center across the street, offers a .25 cent cup of coffee to anyone 60 or over.
One of the small perks for making it this far, I guess.
Take that Starbucks...
A few short days (are there any other kind now?) after I became a proud Elm Court coffee-drinker, I posted this notice announcing RBP's first foray into Amazon territory. Heretofore, I'd published solely through Lulu.com.
For reasons associated with marketing and perception, a book doesn't hold much cachet with the general public unless one can say with casual affect, "hell, it's at Amazon if you're really so damn interested in reading the thing."
"What's Lulu?" people often asked in RBP's early days, unaware of this vital POD company and Amazon competitor.
If you can't beat 'em, join 'em.
On Valentine's Day I demonstrated my self-love by publishing a collection of poems I'd been working on for several years, Cello Music & Other Poems.
I think this is the best poem in the book, but I could be wrong.
Let the critics argue about it.
A couple of new RBP projects were simmering in late February when I blogged this mini-rant on books and publishing.
K.C. Bacon's second book, Morandi's Bottles, was coming together after so many editing exchanges that I finally had to put my foot down.
"You'll never achieve perfection," I told K.C., to which he responded, "Yes, but I intend to."
In another development, I'd noticed that Charles Deemer had started posting a number of intriguing poems at his blog, Writing Life II, one of my favorite sites on the Web.
I believed I was watching a new book emerge before my eyes, so I wrote to the PSU professor and retired playwright, suggesting we discuss the possibility of RBP's involvement in the publication of these wry, funny and sleepless gems.
His initial response was that there were too few poems at that time to warrant a book. I pointed out that perhaps that would change.
And in fact it did.
(right now I'm having "hella time" with blogger, my wireless and everything else, but I'll continue later)
TS
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