Friday, August 19, 2011

They Earn How Much?!?!

This is a list that I want to be on someday. Forbes has come out with the top earning authors and they are making lots of money.

http://www.forbes.com/sites/jeffbercovici/2011/08/17/the-worlds-highest-paid-authors/

Why? Books will never die but right now their format is changing. Whether the change will actually stick around or is just a fad, only time will tell. But I can guarantee, books will always be around because people like stories.

Even if you not a reader and unless you’ve been living under a rock, you should know a couple of these top 10 authors:

1. James Patterson - $84 million
2. Danielle Steel – $35 million
3. Stephen King – $28 million
4. Janet Evanovich – $22 million
5. Stephanie Meyers – $21 million
6. Rick Riordan – $21 million
7. Dean Koontz – $19 million
8. John Grisham - $18 million
9. Jeff Kinney - $17 million
10. Nicholas Sparks - $16 million

Here are a couple of things I’ve noticed about this list. The number of male writers outnumbers the female writers (I think some women writers are going to be moving up the ranks). There are three young adult/children’s writers on the list (which is encouraging because, hopefully it means children and young adults are reading). And there are some names on this list that have writing for years and year and, well a really long time. I also noticed that one big name was missing from the top 10 list. JK Rowlings came in at only $5 million (her Harry Potter books have run its course). How could this be? According to Forbes the income estimates are based on sales figures supplied by Nielsen Bookscan (which gets year-end sales totals submitted by publishing houses to Publishers Weekly and input from numerous agents, managers and editors).

Right now I’d sell my book(s) for a just a couple thousand dollars (what a steal!) just to get published!

Tuesday, August 9, 2011

Dear NFL - Here's How You Can Show Your Appreciation...

Well it looks like there’s going to be a professional football season after all. And to show it’s appreciation of all the fans, the NFL is having each team present personalized jerseys to 90 supporters.

http://online.wsj.com/article/AP24d962f2bcf2495fac6e7a2914d1582a.html

Really? Personalized jerseys are the best the NFL can do? Please.

Here are five suggestions that the NFL can do to REALLY show it’s appreciation to the fans:

1. Discount tickets. I don’t know how much tickets are where you live but here in Denver tickets for good seats for a single, regular season Bronco game are anywhere from $75 - $510. And somehow Invesco Field where the Broncos play is always filled for every home game so make it a little bit more affordable.

2. Ticket lottery. Have a lottery for a certain amount of free tickets for each home game of the season. What fan isn’t going to love free tickets?

3. Give away tickets in the suites. This would be a real treat for any Bronco fan. Give away a couple of pairs for each game. This will guarantee fan loyalty.

4. Discount parking. Parking at Invesco Field can set you back $30. Add that to the cost of the ticket and you are forking out some big bucks to see a Bronco game.

5. Discount concessions. Food and beverages at the concession stands aren’t cheap either. Give a discount for the season or just a couple of games.

Yes, personalized jerseys are nice but I would guess that most fans would really just like to go to a game without having to take out a small loan to do so. People, we are STILL in a recession and it’s all about $$$$. What could boost the spirits of fans more than being able to afford going to a professional football game?

Go Broncos!

Wednesday, August 3, 2011

Where Would You Live?

If you could live anywhere in the U.S. and money wasn’t an issue, where would it be? Would you like to live in big city like New York City or Chicago, or would you opt for a small town in Vermont or Oregon?

And why don't you live there now? Probably because of money (among other reasons).

According to Forbes Magazine, the top five most expensive places to live in the U.S. in 2010 were:

1. New York City, New York – I have no idea how people survive financially in this city. In general, people have to make 40 times the monthly apartment rent to qualify without a guarantor. Let’s do the math. If the average apartment rents for $2,800 you’d have to earn $122,000. I don’t know many people who earn that much money.

2. Los Angeles, California – It may be sunny there but gas prices are higher and commutes are astounding. And then there’s pollution, smog, earthquakes. Why do people want to live there?

3. Honolulu, Hawaii – This might be paradise but it comes with a price. Everything (food, household product, gas, building materials, etc.) has to be imported so it costs more. Living in this city costs 55% more than the average U.S. city.

4. Aspen, Colorado – It’s a nice place to visit and home to some major celebrities but the average house is $2.6 million. The rich and the famous have made this mountain retreat expensive.

5. Juneau, Alaska – This city has the same problem as Honolulu. If you think gas prices are high where you live, they have gotten as high as $9 per gallon the small city of Juneau.

The only one of these place that I would even slight consider living is New York City and that's because it's the publishing capital of the U.S. (and I'd have to have so much money that I would need another residence somewhere else). I’ve visited all of these places with the exception of Juneau, Alaska. I think my perfect place would be a cottage on a beach that is close enough to a city (under an hour’s drive) that had the culture (theaters) and amenities (B&N, Target, Hobby Lobby) I wanted.

Ah, maybe one day…

Monday, August 1, 2011

Monday Blues

It takes forever for Friday to come along but Monday seems to come more quickly.

As I sit at my desk and look out my window (yes, I finally have a window) I wonder, “Wasn’t I just here?”

Of course the Monday Blues aren’t so bad if you love your job or whatever you have to do all day. And if that’s the case, consider yourself lucky. I don’t think it’s instilled in you while growing up what it means to go to work to earn money to survive (or work to support somebody who is earning money so you can survive) and that “work” may not be enjoyable, creative, or even interesting. “Work” may be mind-numbingly boring, frustrating and irritating. Nobody tells you that growing up. You are told that if you work hard you can be anything you want to be. I used the think that getting up in the morning and going to work (as oppose to school) would be kind of cool. I also never considered I wouldn’t have a job that I enjoyed. But there are jobs out there that aren’t interesting, aren’t challenging and are mind-numbingly boring but have to be done. And why do we do it? For the paycheck, of course.

Such is life, which is often contemplated on Monday morning when the work week starts all over again.