The SoapBoxers

You’ve all seen ads in The Soap Boxers in the past.  Some of you might ask why we run ads.  Well, much like television, radio, and print media, we do have costs associated with the site.  The costs are relatively low, but like any business, Hyrax Publications strives to turn a profit.  Kosmo is the guy behind Hyrax Publications, and I do cultivate other revenue streams.  The online store, consulting business, and sales of my Kindle books all produce revenue streams.  Unfortunately, those streams are slow and meandering at this point, rather than a gushing torrent.

It’s not just Kosmo, of course.  Our other writers are independent contractors whose contract promises them a share of profits.  A key point to consider is  that profits must materialize, or they don’t get paid.  At this point, profits have not yet materialized, so they haven’t been paid.  Yep, the writers have been churning out articles every month (or in the case of Johnny and Martin, every week) without receiving a penny.  I think we should be at a point where profit sharing will kick in for 2012, but that’s not certain.

So we run ads in an attempt to turn this labor of love into something that pays at least a few pennies per hour.  How much combined effort do the writers spend on The Soap Boxers every year?  Between writing, coding, guest articles on other sites, and administrative tasks, my effort is probably around 250 hours – and I’d guess the entire group of writers puts in 500 hours or more.

Until this point, Google’s Adsense has been our primary source of ad revenue.  It’s an interesting program, but results have been a bit underwhelming.  There are several reasons for this.  Most advertisers prefer sites that focus on a niche.  By design, we are nicheless.  Second, we actively block advertisers if we feel they are not a good fit for the site.  This reduces competition for ad slots, and thus drives down the price we get – but I sleep easier at night knowing that these ads don’t appear on the site.  (Note: the nature of Adsense forces us to be reactive, rather than proactive, in blocking ads.  If you see an ad that you feel is inappropriate, send an email to kosmo@observingcasually.com.)

Finally, in the past we have attempted to minimize the number of ads we show to our regular visitors (you!).  When we don’t show ads, we definitely won’t make any money from you!

Moving forward, we are making sweeping changes to our advertising.  People who stumble across our articles through search engines will still see Adsense ads from any number of different advertisers.  The rest of you will not.  You will see only ads from independent sites who directly contract with us (such as It’s All Good) – and Amazon.com.

Our support of Amazon is not a shallow attempt to separate you from you hard earned money.  I have discussed Amazon with many of the writers, and the consensus seems to be that Amazon is a great place to buy stuff.  Personally, I’ve been buying from Amazon since it was a relatively small site that sold nothing but books.  My long history with Amazon makes me hope that may of you will see these ads as a service, rather than an annoyance.

You’re going to see a few different types of ads.  The most noticeable will be at the top left of every articles.  There are going to be a couple of different versions of this ads.  Newer articles will feature products of a topical nature (today, you’ll see items related to the Civil War, as 150 years have now passed since the conflict between the North and South).  At times, this will reflect Kosmo’s personal interests (thus the recent search for Stieg Larsson), but at other times will focus on topics that seem to be of interest to the public, regardless of whether I personally have an interest.  Older articles will show items related to a new book, music, or movie release  At this moment, the featured items are version of the book Water For Elephants – the basis for the upcoming Reese Witherspoon film.

It’s important to note that you could buy ANYTHING through Amazon, you don’t need to stick to the displayed items.  There’s a handy search bar to the left of the “Go” button.  Plug in the name of that book you’ve been looking to buy and hit “Go”.  The widget will then populate with the items you are looking for, without taking you away from The Soap Boxers.

You will also see an ad in the sidebar that will show computer-related merchandise.  Blog readers are, on average, more computer-savvy than the average citizen, so I’m hoping that many of these products will be relevant to you.

Finally, readers of articles that get a decent amount of search engine traffic will see customized Amazon ads displaying related items.  Are Athletes Overpaid features some of my favorite sports-related books and movies.

This campaign is still in the early stages, so bear with us a bit.  At times, you may very well see some strange things as we do a bit of experimentation.

It’s important to note that although we do receive a small commission on the Amazon sales, this does not affect the price you pay.  If you buy through Amazon, we humbly ask you to consider letting us help you find those items.

For the full effect, click this link to read the article.

Hello, everyone! It is with mixed emotions that I announce that Kosmo is stepping down from his post as Editor-in-Chief of The Soap Boxers to focus on other projects. I will be stepping into that role, effective immediately.

Honestly, I value this site mostly for the domain name. I will be deleting all of the current content within the next few days, and replacing the existing writers with a completely new staff. (Seriously, four people yammer on about politics every month?) The Soap Boxers will now become a forum for discussions centered around the modern woman.

Here is the posting schedule:

• Monday – Women in the Workplace. Women have made great strides since in the past few decades, but much still needs to be done to achieve equality with men. Lindsey will take a hard look at topics centering around the workplace, such as the problem of income disparity and the evils of sexual harassment.
• Tuesday – Relationships. Whether you’re a single women diving into the dating pool and attempting to avoid sharks or married with kids, there is always a need to improve the relationships in our lives. Join Liz for a lively discussion of relationships each week.
• Wednesday – Fashion. Looking for a lipstick that actually keeps its promise to look great all day or mascara that won’t run? In search of that little black dress to turn heads at the next gala event? Or maybe you need to find good deals on clothes for the kids. I’ll help guide you through the fashion jungle.
• Thursday – Home. Women end up as the de facto CEO of the home, mostly because men are too lazy to do it. How can you involve the kids (and maybe that lazy bum husband) with the cleaning? Which laundry detergents do the best job of cleaning those filthy clothes? Perhaps you’re looking for some new recipes to add some spice to meal time? Sharon will show you how to truly become Queen of the castle – making the serfs do the work.
• Friday – Party Time!  Let’s have some FUN!  Whether it’s a girls night out or a girls night in, Jessica will give you tips on how to make the event a rousing success.

I hope you enjoy the changes! All new content starting Monday.

Hey! You’re a freak. I’m a freak. Everyone is a freak.

Take some time today to share unique aspects of your personality with others. You can start by chatting about it in the comments.

I have a lot of unique aspects … but the thing that probably raises the most eyebrows is my fascination with serial killers. Murder in general interest me, because law enforcement can’t talk to the victim to get any information about the perp. OK, I guess Ducky from NCIS can talk to the bodies, but most cops probably don’t … and the ones that do probably don’t expect a response.

Class dismissed!

Sales of Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms continue at a pace best described as workmanlike.  It’s certainly not enough to retire on, but enough to satisfy my ego.  Of course, if you want to help me retire early, you can plunk down three and a half bucks and buy a copy 🙂

As a way to boost sales for the book, I am going to partner with some other bloggers.  I will write a short story starring the blogger in exchange for free publicity.  The blogger can post the story on their site as a change-on-pace from the typical fare, including a plug for my book at the end.  For an example of the type of story that might result, here is one I did for Adam at Man Vs. Debt last year.  I’m looking for bloggers with a strong, engaged audience.  (In other words, people who are likely to buy my book).  There will also be a bit of a referral bonus.  Send me a note at kosmo@ObservingCasually.com if you are interested.  If I’m not familiar with you, it make take a while for me to understand what makes you tick enough to write a story – it won’t be overnight.

I’ll be out of town on a business trip in the near future, and will be scheduling some marathon writing sessions for my upcoming novel, Casting Stones.  The main concepts have been in place for a while now, but it has been pushed to the back burner.  My word output goal for the trip is probably very optimistic … I’ll give a report of my progress upon my return.  The book is a murder mystery (but of course!) and also features a romance between a detective and a college professor.  If you like my other crime stories, your should really enjoy Casting Stones.

I’ve been keeping my newest venture close to the vest.  Now that it’s underway, I’ll share.  I have decided to launch an online fiction coaching school.  Courses will run for five weeks, with four students to a classes.  Each student will write four stories, which will be analyzed by me and peer reviewed by the other students.  I’ve been struggling to find a price point that made sense – a price that would properly compensate my for the work (analyzing sixteen stories as well as guiding the class and performing some administrative tasks) while making it affordable enough for anyone.  I finally gave up … I’m going to run 2-3 classes each year, and they will be free.  The goal is to bring together diverse groups and have them learn from each other.  If you’re interested in the next class, you can email me at kosmo@observingcasually.com.  The next class will probably take place in September, with subsequent classes beginning every 4-6 months.

I caught some snippets of Charlie Sheen’s made-for-TV interview over the weekend.

When it was announced that Sheen needed rehab to fight his addictions, I was disappointed, but somewhat sympathetic.  It’s an unfortunate fact of life in Hollywood that some stars find themselves addicted to drugs.  Many manage to regain their footing in life and resume their careers.

But then Sheen started to talk, and I realized that he had two problems.  The first – drug addiction – is something that can often be treated successfully.  Egomania, on the other hand, is often a lifelong affliction.

According to Sheen, he has “tiger blood”, “Adonis DNA”, and is tired of pretending he isn’t special.  In the midst of this whole debacle, Sheen is demanding a raise – he wants $3 million per episode.  The whole issue of how athletes and stars is for another day … but seriously, you’re asking for a RAISE at a time when you’re embarrassing those around you?  Perhaps not the best timing.

Is Charlie Sheen a talented actor?  Sure – I’ve enjoyed him in 2 1/2 Men and in his movies, dating back to Major League.  Is he head-and-shoulders above the crowd?  No.  There are a lot of actors in his class.  Can you see Mark Harmon (NCIS) or Rainn Wilson (The Office) ranting about how they have tiger blood coursing through their veins?

OK, maybe that’s a bad example.  I can definitely see Wilson saying that … but only in character as Dwight Schrute.

I’ve always liked 2 1/2 Men, but I’ve always contended that the real strength of the show is the writing, not the acting.  All of the characters, large and small, have great lines.  Even the pizza guy has good zingers (“We’ve had a good run, Mr. Harper.”)

It’s a shame you didn’t have your publicist handle the media this time around, Charlie.  I’m certainly tired of hearing about you, and I’m likely to flip past your show instead of tuning in.  I certainly hope other stars are taking note in order to avoid making the same mistake in the future.

No one thing is grabbing my interest today, so I’ll talk about a lot of stuff.

First of all, the shin is not broken.  The x-rays confirmed it.  Good news, although a deep bone bruise isn’t much fun, either.

A revised version of the Kindle edition of Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms has been released.  I fixed a few small issues that had crept into the book during the Amazon conversion process, and also added the cover art and a clickable table of contents.  I will likely be revising the cover art in the next few days, at which point I’m not going to make any more changes (unless someone finds a serious problem).  If you want to give it a test drive, try the absolutely free “send a sample” functionality.  You’ll get about 10% of the book, at no cost to you.  If you like it, you can buy later.  Buyers can also lend the book to their friends for 14 days, free of charge to the friend.

Don’t have a Kindle?  You can buy one on Amazon for as little as $139 (or as much as $379) or download the Kindle viewer for your Mac, PC, Droid, iPhone, iPad, Blackberry, or Windows 7 phone (download a viewer here).  Personally, I still prefer paper and ink to e-readers … but it’s pretty cool that you can download free Kindle version of classics.  I paid about $50 for my copy of the Riverside Shakespeare when I took English 370 back in the mid 90s (it will set you back almost $90 these days) – you can nab a Kindle version of the complete works of the bard for $2.99 (there are also free versions, but the $2.99 version has good reviews).  For fans of works that are in the public domain, e-readers could be great.  I’ll be covering the whole Kindle authoring experience in another place and time (on another site, in other words).  More details later.

Sadly, there won’t be a print edition at this point.  If I were to use Amazon’s print-on-demand service (CreateSpace), I’d have to set the price in the $15-$20 range (for a paperback) in order th make the same profit I make on the Kindle edition.  That seems too high for a new author.  if you want the non-Kindle format, you can buy it from my store in PDF format (also just $3.49).  You can probably print a copy for less than I’d have to charge for a print edition, if you really want the book on paper.

In the world of sports:

Bryce Harper says that he’s trying to make the Nationals team in Spring Training.  That’s a nice thought, but it’s not going to happen.  Even if the Nats thought the 18 year old was ready, they’re not going to start his free agent clock ticking yet – delaying a call-up until June would keep him under their control for another year.  I really doubt that he gets more than a token call-up this year, though. As good as Harper is, I’m sure there is a lot he needs to learn about the game, especially as he moves to a new defensive position (outfielder).

Fans of the St. Louis Cardinals are holding their breath for news about co-ace Adam Wainwright, who injured his elbow.  While nobody is yet saying that Wainwright is done for the year, GM John Mozeliak said “things do not look encouraging.”  Most often, you’re going to see a GM make a neutral statement when there is a degree of uncertainty about an injury – seeing a negative comments makes me very concerned.

Trevor Bayne won the Daytona 500 last weekend, while Tony Stewart won the Nationwide Series race.  Interesting, neither racer is the points leader.  A new NASCAR rule this year allows drivers to pick up points in just one series.  You can still win races (and money) in any series, but only contend for the title in one series.  The main reason for this was drivers from the top level Sprint Cup dropping down the Nationwide and winning titles.  Even with the change, you’re going to see the stars run Nationwide races – because it gives them more experience with live competition and allows them to gain familiarity with the track.  Cedar Rapids native Landon Cassill pushed Stewart to victory in the Nationwide race.  He finished 3rd in the race and is atop the points race.

In the world of food:

I’m in search of the best canned chili.  I love chili, but it has to be in a relatively thin band of the broad chili spectrum.  Surprisingly, Campbell’s Roadhouse Chili is pretty good (and, oddly, you can buy it on Amazon).  I’m planning to try about a dozen differnt types of chili in my quest to crown a king.

I am making Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms available to the public.  The book contains more than 70 of my short stories – more than 80,000 words.  Most of them have appear on The Soap Boxers, but the book also contains the full versions of The Cell Window, Key Relationships, and Tip of the Iceberg.  This is the largest collection I have released to date.

I’m setting the price at just $3.49 – that’s 5 cents per story.  I hope you get a nickel’s worth of enjoyment out of my stories.

Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms is available in two formats – in PDF format from the Hyrax Publications store and in Kindle format at Amazon.

You can also check out my author page at Amazon

I also chatted with the guys at the Card Corner Radio show last night about the sports card book.  You can listen to it here – I jump in around the 10 minute mark.

	PDF Version
	Kindle Version

Yesterday, I mentioned that I will be seeking a publisher for Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms, my collection of short stories.  While the market for short stories is not nearly as large as it was a generation or two ago, I believe that the current focus on bite-sized nuggets of information (Twitter, for example) may have a spillover effect into the literary world.

Today, I’m going to take you down the road to publication – a road that I am still navigating myself.

Write – sounds, simple, doesn’t it?  You can’t have something published unless you first write it.  It can be hard to get into the habit of writing, though.  My first taste of writing glory came when I was picked to attend a writer’s conference in 6th grade.  I still wonder if I was picked because I was the only boy who expressed interest … but I enjoyed the experience.  I wrote stories off and on until I graduated college, and then quite abruptly quit writing fiction for ten years.  I never intended to stop writing – it just happened.

Ego – You need a bit of an ego to write fiction.  You’re making up stuff out of thin air and expecting people to be interested in it.  This is different from non-fiction, where you’re adding to an existing information base (and an accompanying reader base).  This was a bit difficult for me, as I’m really not an ego-driven person in real life (or, at least, I think I am not).  I got around this by creating the persona of Kosmo.  Kosmo can have his own personality and ego, and I can check the ego and the door when I drop back into real life.

Editing -Without a doubt, my least favorite aspect of the writing process is editing.  When I was preparing the initial version of Mountains, Meadows, and Chasms for entry into the Iowa Short Fiction Awards contest, I was editing those stories for the third time.  First, I edited them for publication on The Soap Boxers.  When I prepared them for publication as eBook in the Hyrax Publications store, I edited them again.  While I enjoy reading my own stories, the thought of editing them yet a third time was not my idea of a fun time.  However, a few trips to Pizza Hut with my binder in tow helped make the process less painful.

Culling – This is an advanced form of editing, and most applicable to short story writers.  Since my resurgence as a fiction writer began in the spring of 2009, I have written 92 pieces of short fiction.  It would be tempting to cram all of them into a book in order to pad the length.  However, some of them just aren’t good fits.  The first cuts were easy – pieces like Manny Ramirez Signs With the Tigers were fun to write, but they were satire and not typical fiction stories.  I love Ferdinand the Turtle (especially part 2, Meeting Bob), but the couple of children’s stories didn’t fit in well with the others. Finally, I cut stories that just weren’t very good.  I originally started writing short stories as a way to refine my technique before beginning work on a novel, so while some early stories like Release Point are fairly good, there are also some stinkers like Puzzled (I really thought this idea would turn into a good story, but it didn’t).

Finding a publisher – There are three ways to get your work published.  Martin Kelly already walked us through the self-publishing route, and I’m not going to reinvent the wheel.  The second route is taking your work directly to the publishers.  However, some publishers don’t take direct submissions, preferring to work through literary agents.  Obviously, the third route is to use a literary agents.  Literary agents are typically paid a commission based on a percentage of your royalties.  This means that you don’t need to pay the agent up front.  Naturally, this means that the agents are selective, since they don’t want to waste their time peddling crap.  I’ve only been seeking an agent for a few days, so I’m not an expert at this point.  However, I did stumble across Editors and Preditors.  I can’t vouch for the accuracy of the information on the site, but the gist of the site is to let writers know which people are legit and which ones are not.

remember that ego you stroked a bit earlier?  You’ll need to trim it down a bit when you’re searching for a publisher or editor.  Odds are good that you’ll receive several rejections before getting accepted.  Good luck!

Many of you will be snowbound as you read this, a result of the latest storm of the year decade century millenium.  A monster lizard, some have called it.  Many of you are handling the situation in stride, but some of you are going a bit crazy.

Whenever I have the misfortune of needing to go to the grocery store on the day before a big storm, the place is always packed with people gearing up.  I can understand making sure you have some staples on hand, but there’s a point where prudent preparation gives way to insanity.

This is most apparent on the toilet paper front.  I haven’t witnessed this myself, but anecdotal evidence points to people stocking up on the Charmin in advance of a big storm.  Seriously?  Do you people not have an adequate supply on hand in general (remind me not to be your houseguest)?  Or does the storm make people need to go to the bathroom more?  OK, there’s a bit of logic in the bathroom being used more, since the whole family is stuck at home … but still, you don’t need to buy a six week supply to wait out the storm.

While it’s prudent to make sure that some of the food you have on hand doesn’t require cooking (lest you lose power), again, there is a practical limit that comes into play.  For starters, don’t you already have some food that would suffice in an emergency?  I could certainly get by for a few days eating peanut butter sandwiches, Pop Tarts, and dry cereal.  Not exactly fine cuisine, but good enough in a pinch.  In my neighborhood, the risk of power outages is minimized by the fact that the power lines are buried – meaning that a main line need to go down in order for us to be affected.  You know the lines I’m talking about – the ones the power companies generally fix in a matter of hours.

When you get back on the road, drive safely.  This means not driving 80 mph in the midst of a snow storm … but it also means not driving 15 mph in flurries on the interstate.

It seems to me that a lot of people overestimate the impact of these storms.  While it’s true that some rural areas can get cut off for a week or more, the reality is that for people living in cities, this isn’t common (especially in the midwest, where I live).  Weather will be bad for a day or two, and then things will pretty much return to normal.  This is modern day America, with cell phones and 4 wheel drives – and reasonably well maintained roads.

I hope everyone stays safe during the storm, and that things are quickly back to normal.  Just breathe deeply and don’t panic.  And for you goofballs who enjoy the white stuff, enjoy it while you can – spring is just around the corner.

If you’re the ultimate fan of The Soap Boxers, then I know exactly what you are thinking.  “Where can I find a crossword puzzle that will test my knowledge of the site.”

Until recently, this test did not exist.  However, I am pleased to announced that as of today, such a puzzle does exist!  I have created (with the assistance of the crossword generator at Armored Penguin) a 40 clue puzzle.  Some of the clues ask questions about the writers or the site itself, while other clues relate to topics that have been discussed on the site (hint: the “Search” functionality can be found on the right side of the menu near the top of the page).

Get stuck? Don’t worry – there’s an answer key.

• Download as PDF
• Download answer key as PDF