That’s the new title God has allowed me to be given after accepting a full-time position today with 104.9 The River (Christian radio station here in Columbus, OH). The way this opportunity unfolded over the last month was nothing but an act of God. I attended a Christian camp years ago while in elementary school, not knowing that God would tap my counselor’s (Director of Sales at The River) shoulder in 2010 and have him invite me into the station for a consulting meeting.

With the economy the way it is, it really shocked me to sense God’s love at the right time. I constantly reminded myself through the process that there are many out there today without a job – and to be offered one when you weren’t hunting for it shows God was moving even more to me. He was allowing us to get by as I worked at home as a freelance web designer (and part-time at our church), but it was getting pretty chaotic after 3-4 years. I tried maybe too hard to keep my fees affordable for ministries, while also not being too interested in bringing in a second hand to assist in completing projects as quickly as I’d like.

A few things God showed me through the process include: In the middle of the process I asked a pastor / friend of mine to pray, and he was quick to let me know that there couldn’t be a better job title for me. Another friend came up to me just last week (without knowing I had just applied), and let me know he heard the job opportunity ad playing on the radio and that I should strongly consider it. What excites me is to work with a group of individuals that sense the reality that God wants to use technology to improve the way they spread / connect His message to the community. To see how the coming generations use different technologies to communicate than the previous, and that God wants to speak to them where they are at.

I’ll share more details after I start (two weeks from today), but I thought I’d just give a small attempt at glorifying and praising God for His provision and guidance. His watch was obviously ticking – I don’t wear one.

This past November my wife took on the challenge of “winning NaNoWrimo“. The challenge? Write a 50,000 word novel entirely in just that month. Complete the challenge, and you are one of the many (insanely courageous) winners. After she completed the project (Word document) we were both curious what God might want her to do with the book.

She’s had four books published (by a “real” publisher). This was her first shot at fiction, so it’s a pretty safe and humble move not to think it’s ready for the press. But it was definitely ready for an impressive community that follows her blog, and readers of her books that she has been personally in touch with. Our first thought was to make it an e-book. There’s lots of buzz going on in the past year or so about the Amazon Kindle – and the near launch of the Apple iPad. There are also readers that are interested in just downloading a PDF document and reading it on their computer.

I looked into the process of creating a book for Amazon’s Kindle (Digital Text Platform), and while it’s not difficult, you only receive 35% of the proceeds of the price you choose to list the book for. I was close to submitting the book through to Amazon when Marla let me know that she knows quite a few people that take their own PDF documents and transfer them over to the Kindle.

Now knowing that was possible, I was able to find a service called PayLoadz that lets you upload media (documents, etc.) into an account and you only pay a monthly fee based on the number of items you sell. Here’s how the process works:

• Create an account on PayLoadz and connect it with your PayPal account. Your first $50 of sales is free. The next level would be $100 of sales, which requires a $5 monthly payment. After reaching that level it looks like PayLoadz is only keeping just over 50 cents of each $8 purchase.
• Create your first product (enter simple book details, upload PDF document and a product cover image you create)
• PayLoadz produces a purchase link you can share with your readers via your website, blog, email, etc.
• Money is deposited directly into your PayPal following a purchase
• Each consumer receives a unique and encrypted link to download the document immediately via email

By doing this, you’re avoiding handing 65% of your profit over to Amazon while readers are still able to read your book on a Kindle. Marla also chose to launch a WordPress site over at WorldsApartProject.com, where she will be sharing the actual book for free via frequent blog posts (with the option to buy it for $8 and not wait to read it over 10+ months).

There’s quite a bit of buzz flying around about Google’s new social network (Google Buzz). Many people instantly thought that it was an attempt to kill Twitter. I guess they could still think that, since it’s only been around for a few days. It functions a bit like Twitter, but also quite a bit unlike Twitter. Yesterday I was checking it out, and realized that it’s actually MUCH more like FriendFeed (purchased by Facebook not too long ago). It’s not just a status update, like Twitter.

I would consider it more of a lifestream / grouping of quite a few of your blog, website, and social networking feeds (RSS, Twitter, Flickr, YouTube, etc..). Which is exactly what FriendFeed does, but FriendFeed does MUCH better. How? Wouldn’t it be nice if Buzz provided an RSS feed, or even allow you to group your contacts into one URL (wall of discussion) for a focused dialogue? FriendFeed does this. Another thing FriendFeed has over Buzz is that its status updates can be carbon copied to also be your Twitter status. And the sign-up process with FriendFeed is open to everyone, not just users within a certain email system (as Buzz is with Gmail).

Google sure tanked with their Wave project, and I believe Buzz is an attempt to repair that mess. Conclusion – Buzz is a nice added feature for Gmail users, but is definitely not a Twitter killer. Feel free to connect with me on Buzz, Twitter or FriendFeed. Your thoughts?

I’ve been a faithful blogger, just not here the past few days. The 1PhotoPerDay project has had most of my attention, and obviously I’d recommend checking it out! Here are a few new sites / blogs on the block that deserve some attention as well:

• Abraham Piper’s Downhill Both Ways
• Kary Oberbrunner’s Your Secret Name (RSVP for the 3/10 online launch party)
• Tony Steward’s Ask Me Anything using Formspring.me
• Clients From Hell
• Jared Mahone’s Mixtape Project is now 6 weeks old

That’s enough for now, I guess! Thanks for sticking around. Gabe…must…blog…more..frequently.

Sparing many specifics (in hopes of not creating gossip), I have a few good reasons to be angry at and confused by the Christian book industry. In case you didn’t know, my wife’s an author. But her story actually only plays a very small role in creating all of this disgust.

A few great writers that I have close relationships with get the “you’re not a key author” slap in the face. I just heard someone use the “key author” title yesterday and it about made me puke. And guess what? Once a publisher sticks with a key author they usually get much more time (spent on picking something as important as a cover), and also much more of the budget.

I understand. You can’t expect a new author to be a hit right away, or deserve the time and budget of the publisher! I’ve heard it a thousand times. And it does make sense. But we live in the information age, an age where the thoughts of consumers are greatly impacted by a product’s visual flare. The truth is, even some of the best Christian publishers say they understand that, but apparently they don’t have a clue.

How do I know they could change for the better? Hire professionals (not just workers) who can create mini sites, marketing strategies (don’t just ditch social networking), and at least help the author out by giving them a cover that they’re not ashamed of! That’s called being a professional. And by being unprofessional, I’ve seen your decisions directly and negatively impact book sales.

Think outside the box, and don’t hold on so tightly to your own opinions. A huge part of your relationship with the author is making them comfortable with something they’ve poured hours into. You wouldn’t want someone having so much control of the destiny of your career and hurting it so badly. It turns my stomach to watch these friends books not sale almost entirely as a result of your cover choice / lack of marketing. God knows their story is good enough. The myth is a lie, today’s culture does judge a book by its cover.