My profile: http://www.nanowrimo.org/eng/user/214284

In my opinion the Kindle is a great Green appliance. It allows you to read a book without killing trees and eventually ending up in a land fill. However, I like the ability to resale, or even donate, a book once I’m through. With a Kindle book, you can’t. I’m also at the mercy of the Kindle having a power issue, and then I can’t read a book. And the Kindle doesn’t have limitless storage, which limits my library.

I guess I’m struggling paying eight bucks for a digital book. I believe the digital version should be a lot less. I know many Kindle books have a cheaper price than their paper counterpart, but those books tend to be older. Give us new releases for at least half the cost since it should only take half the effort to produce, stock and ship.

I really like the Kindle. In fact, I love the iPhone version (iTunes link). It’s convenient, and I find I’m reading more because I have the book with me all the time.

If you’re an Author, and I know this may buy me some heat here, urge your publisher and Amazon to reduce the price of your digital works. I know I will.

Share with us your view on Kindle books, and if you have one, either the Kindle device or the iPhone application and how you like it.

I read an interview between Tisdale and another great bass player, Marcus Miller. Marcus said if you really want to stand out, people have to know who you are within the first few notes. And that is exactly what Tisdale did. I can almost always tell his songs just by the style. He truly made it his own.

Wayman passed away today after battling cancer. He was a gentle giant. And while I never had a chance to see him play live, I will always cherish his music, and share it with as many people as I can. You can always visit his website, http://waymantisdale.com to learn more, and see him perform on YouTube.

God rest, WT.

When you are at a social gathering, and there is a crowd of people, the volume rises as the number of people increase. Peoples voices get louder because they want to make sure they are heard. For some, the noise becomes unbearable and they leave the area, or for teenagers they put in their iPod ear buds.

Getting above the noise isn’t easy, but can be accomplished. Besides making sure your social network streams know you have a new blog post, making an RSS feed available; creating blog post titles that capture attention is going to be the key to being seen, heard, and then read.

If you can’t capture someone’s attention with your title, and you don’t deliver must read content every day, you’ll struggle to attract readers. And that’s what we want right?

I suggest you take as much coming up with a good title for your blog post as you do the post content. My second highest read post is one I wrote about using killer titles. Read it and let me know what you think here. What are some ways people can raise their blog posts above the noise?

1. About Me One of the first things I look for when I visit a new site is an About Me page, especially if I’ve never met the person. Some things you may want to include are:

• Personal background
• Writing background
• Accomplishments
• Favorite things to do

Make it personal. Connect with the person reading. People want to relate.

2. Contact Me Give your visitors an easy way to contact you. Whether it’s a form they fill out, a simply email address, or phone number (or all of these), I think the most important piece is to have somewhere for the person to leave you a message.

3. My Books/Writings Give people a page they can see all of your writing. You can break it out into books, published articles, anthologies, poetry, what ever you are writing.

4. Writing Samples Give everyone a look at your style. It’s also a great option to have when someone wants you give them an example of your writing. If you write books, and have several published, create links for people actually buy your books. Yay! Make some money.

5. Tools One thing I really appreciate from a veteran writer is a list of tools that you have used, or you find useful. These can be software tools, writing tools, links to web sites, books to read, and other resource links. This can actually be an active part of your site if you update it regularly, and share what you find along the way.

6. Bonus: Blog Bonus page, is not really a page. But you should really have a blog. If you’re reading this blog post, you probably have a blog. If you don’t have a blog, let me know, I’d love to help you get started. It’s easier than you think. I believe its an invaluable resource and tool for every writer.

I need to incorporate 3, 4 and 5 better on this site. I have the pages, but they need a lot of work.

Thanks for taking time to read what I think are very important parts of a web site. Tell us what pages you think are important for writers to have in their web site.

Today’s challenge is to crate an elevator pitch for your business, service or blog. Since this is a blog, not a business or service, my pitch isn’t going to entice you buy something, but rather keep coming back to read what I hope are funny, emotional and informative posts.

My elevator pitch for this blog is “Programmer by day, Writer by night. It’s my take on writing as a moonlight career.”

I originally started this blog to document my writing journey. I got caught up in a mountain of excuses why I stopped posting, and why I haven’t complete, or even finished, and of my prose writing.

It comes down to priorities. You have to look at them constantly, at least I do. Priorities change, and I need to change with them. Some times that means not writing, or taking pictures. But it doesn’t mean I have given up.

Honestly, I wish the writers in my area were as willing to share as the group of photographers I’ve come to know. Photowalking Utah, and the recent PhotoCamp, has really helped in building a great community. Maybe I should put on a Utah WritersCamp.

Back to the subject at hand, teh elevator pitch. Everyone should have an elevator pitch for their blog or business.

The first is Tamera Tanner. I met Tamara through Twitter, mainly because we have a common interest, horses. Tamara runs an outstanding foundation, The Straighter Way Foundation, that uses horses in therapeutic settings. Basically, the foundation gives people who wouldn’t normally get the chance to have an opportunity to experience what its like to ride a horse.

I’m proud become part of this foundation, and they could really use your help. To learn more please visit the web site at http://www.tswf.org/.

The next person I want to give a shout out too is David N Wilson. It wasn’t a big thing, but it was much appreciated. David re-tweeted my request to talk to someone about conventions. I appreciate the effort David. And, did you know that David is a rock star author? Well then, hurry on over to his web site and learn more about his writing. And more importantly, buy some of his books.

When the housing marketing starts hurting, and fewer new homes are built, it affects many other industries. One industry in particular would be the wood working and cabinet manufacturing industries. Fewer homes means a reduction in the number of cabinets being built, and the amount of wood needed to build homes, like trusses and framing material.

The issue we face, is a reduction in the creation of these products also means a reduction in the scraps these companies produce, namely saw dust. That’s right, saw dust. We use saw dust to bed our horses stall. It’s a common and necessary practice. Right now, the companies we usually buy from have either gone out of business or have no material to sell. And those that do are placing a hefty price tag on it.

So now we look for alternative sources. Is this an opportunity to go “green”? Could be. What would you recommend instead?

I met Rachel a few months ago, and ever since then I’ve been following her latest adventure. If you want to learn more about her global trek to climb some of the worlds best spots, visit her web site and chime in. You can also follow Rachel on Twitter.

Thanks for everything you do Rachel.

Anyway, here is a link to the interview, which also includes Laura Moncur, the leader of the pack so too speak. Laura is one of the most respectful and fun person you could ever meet.

By the way, I really do have pocket protectors lost somewhere in my junk boxes, I love Devo, and I can only say maybe one or two words in Klingon. That’s not over the top, is it?

KSL.com interview link.

Utah Blogger/Geek Dinner at Jason’s Deli (Thursday January 29, 2009) – Upcoming