Self Publishing Succeeds only with Competent Marketing.

I chose the self publishing route for my novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Funds, and went to press with it before I understood all that was involved with marketing a book. I assumed my experience as a career salesperson, as I have reported in previous blog postings, would carry me. I wanted to…

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Self Publishing for Fun and Profit

I spent most of my career in sales. When I retired to devote myself full time to writing, I did not expect that my experience would translate meaningfully into my new venture, especially when I decided on self publishing. Writing is art, after all, and not to be sullied with coarser toil like selling stuff.…

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Deadly Portfolio Detective James Raker Resigns Melville County.

John J. Hohn and dog Jessie I ran into Detective James Raker on the streets in Charles City yesterday. Readers will recall that Raker was the detective who lead the investigation into the rash of murders on Pelican Bay of Lake Heron last summer. Local papers dubbed the murder spree as Deadly Portfolio, a title…

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The Best Time to Buy or Sell in the Stock Market.

As a retired financial advisor, the question that I am asked most often is, “Is it safe now to get into the stock market?” I answer, “No. It’s never safe to get into the market.” When the market is falling, I hear, “Do you think I should get out?” Again, “No.” Investing isn’t like swimming…

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Christmas Once Again. An Agnostic Salute to Its Passing

#christmas  #agnostic Agnostics can rejoice at Christmas. Christmas is one brief period of the year when Christians at least pay lip service to establishing peace on earth. They do it, of course, against a backdrop of carnage in the Middle East where life for the ordinary citizens in several countries is a never-ending nightmare, where…

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Internet Sales Require Trust Building Skills of the Salesperson

Recently, I was asked if my experience as a successful career salesperson transferred into the world of Internet sales, an area in which I am actively promoting my novel, Deadly Portfolio: A Killing in Hedge Funds. My initial response was that no, that it did not. Then I began to think about it. My publisher…

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Variable Annuities — Great, But Be Careful

If you have researched variable annuities on your own, you know that I couldn’t cover everything in one blog on the subject. Variable annuities have their drawbacks. It is important to be aware of them. A variable annuity is a long-term investment, one that you will want to hold your entire lifetime. It’s the place…

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Vairable Annuities — A Great Way to Protect a Retirement Portfolio

Thanks for all the questions about annuities. Yes, annuities are a valuable way to protect your retirement portfolio and secure an income for your survivors. But there are several things to be considered before buying one. There are two kinds of annuities; fixed and variable. Fixed annuities guarantee income to the owner and often the…

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Autumn is Solemn — A Poem

  The colors are past their peak in the Blue Ridge of North Carolina. Yesterday the wind and rain began stripping the trees of their leaves. They swirl down to earth, some stem first like a bather testing pool water with one foot. Others drop like a hand, palm up—resigned. Some glide in a dance…

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