In 2007, a whopping 400,000 books were published or distributed in the United States, up from 300,000 in 2006, according to the industry tracker Bowker, which attributed the sharp rise to the number of print-on-demand books and reprints of out-of-print titles. University writing programs are thriving, while writers’ conferences abound, offering aspiring authors a chance to network and “workshop” their work. The blog tracker Technorati estimates that 175,000 new blogs are created worldwide each day (with a lucky few bloggers getting book deals).

Wowsers.

You’re an Author? Me Too! via Booksquare

Dani, Craig, Caroline & Conor are preparing to take a year long trip around the world departing in late July 2008, and they’ve been blogging regularly about their preparations. Craig had some nice things to say about Escape 101, but his thoughts and reflections on everything from preparations and roadschooling to gear and techology for the trip are all thoughtful and authentic.  Best of all, they’ve got a growing blogroll of Round The World (RTW) families who are also sharing their experiences.

Even their daughter Caroline is contributing.  Check the site out - it’s a great resource and inspiration.

Mark has a real knack for tracking down and interviewing people. In my case, it was more like I stalked him, but you should also check out his interviews with famous bloggers and other cool folk. His interview with Scott Rigsby, who became the first double amputee in the world to finish an Ironman distance triathlon, will blow your mind.

Funny how similar things happen at similar times. Not long ago I posted on the link between charity and wealth - in essence, how giving makes you richer.

Now, here comes the latest from John David Mann (You Call the Shots): The Go-Giver: A Little Story About a Powerful Business Idea. And what’s it about? How putting others’ interests first, and continually adding value to their lives, ultimately leads to unexpected returns. How giving, in other words, is the path to getting.

The book tells the story of an ambitious young man named Joe who yearns to be successful. The problem, though, is that Joe feels as if the harder and faster he works, the further away his goals seem to be. One day, desperate to land a key sale at the end of a bad quarter, he seeks advice from the enigmatic Pindar, a legendary consultant referred to by his many devotees simply as the Chairman.

Over the next week, Pindar introduces Joe to a series of successful “go-givers”: a restaurateur, a CEO, a financial advisor, a real estate broker and “The Connector” who brought them all together. Pindar’s friends share with Joe the Five Laws of Stratospheric Success and teach him how to open himself up to the power of giving.

I’ll admit that I’m a sucker for parables—I love getting a great message packaged up in a cool story that’s easy to read—but I have to say The Go-Giver is the parable at its finest. Great story and an easy read, but not too simplistic like so many parables. And most important of all: useful. There’s some real wisdom in this one.

Pick up a copy. Or better still, put the theory to the test by sending one to a friend.

Escape 101

So - two opportunities. The first is a free excerpt from the book. The second is a chance to explore Tim’s blog, which is well worth subscribing to. And naturally, if you haven’t picked up a copy of The 4-Hour Workweek, then it’s time. Get outta here.

…for all these different toys, these wonderful new technologies, reading tops the list of things Americans would most rather do, given the choice, and by a large margin.

Not only that, reading is higher on that list than ever. Watching TV is No. 2, but a more distant No. 2. Reading is slightly more popular today than it was back in 1995.

Yay!

Via Buzz, Balls & Hype

An impoverished surfer has drawn up a new theory of the universe, seen by some as the Holy Grail of physics, which has received rave reviews from scientists.

Garrett Lisi, 39, has a doctorate but no university affiliation and spends most of the year surfing in Hawaii, where he has also been a hiking guide and bridge builder (when he slept in a jungle yurt).

In winter, he heads to the mountains near Lake Tahoe, Nevada, where he snowboards. “Being poor sucks,” Lisi says. “It’s hard to figure out the secrets of the universe when you’re trying to figure out where you and your girlfriend are going to sleep next month.”

I’m not too sure about the physics, but if this isn’t an example of serious lifestyle design, I don’t know what is. Check it out.

Now it turns out that there really is some science to claims that giving makes you richer, not just the other way around:

Emerging evidence—crunchy statistics from real data, not the mushy self-help stuff—supports the contention that giving stimulates prosperity, for both individuals and nations. Charity, it appears, can really make you rich.

For a number of years I’ve tried to maintain a charity account, where I sock a little away, and give it something I think is cool and worthy (Don’t worry - my track record isn’t great on this. I miss a lot of years, too.). I can’t say whether or not it’s made me wealthier, but I can say it makes you feel a lot richer to be able to give some bucks away. It’s a nice value-added sensation on top of the do-gooder feeling. Give it a try.

Giving Makes You Rich

Text Stats is a pretty wonky page — everything from some of the “readability” indices, to overall word count, to what Amazon calls “Fun stats” like “Words per dollar.” (Quotes you never hear at Barnes and Noble: “This copy of Infinite Jest is such a bargain at only 39,574 words per dollar!”)

For you writers, Seth Godin sums it up nicely:

Basically, short, simple sentences not only sell more books, but spread ideas farther and faster. The really cool part is that authors have fingerprints. From one book to another, we keep the same style.

I’ll let you know as soon as the stats for Escape 101 go up. Or, maybe I won’t, if the words per dollar stat is too outrageous…:)

I immediately saw the rotation as clockwise. What seemed hard for me was to get it to switch directions. It took a bit of effort. (Hint: I had to use the shadow at the bottom.)

Yet another glimpse into the uber-productive writer’s life.

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