You DO Judge A Book By Its Cover

Well, its all coming together now. Here is the final cover design by Aimee Sims for my upcoming book "Help! My 401(k) Has Fallen - And Must Get Up!"
Currently the book is in typesetting and from there will be sent to Create Space. I am very excited about this and look forward to helping people get more from their 401(k) or IRA. Because it focuses on the
401(k), which is the biggest source of savings for many of us, and it is easy to understand - this book is unique.

It should be available to order by the end of May!

If you feel like you need your 401(k) working harder for you, please contact me. You can contact me through my website , Linked In, or on Twitter. I also host an advice program "Improving Your Financial Health" on Blog Talk Radio and on Harvest 103.1 WHME-FM in South Bend.

The book website will be http://www.my401khasfallen.com/.

Diary of a Wimpy 401(k) - Typesetting

One of the things I wasn't looking forward to with my book was typesetting. I am actually not the greatest typist in the world, and Microsoft Word isn't equipped for a clean copy. Typesetting means 'formatting' the words so that all paragraphs and spacing is even, and all graphs look clean and sharp.

When you self-publish, typesetting is one of those things that will make the book look more professional as opposed to just having it printed yourself. "Help! My 401(k) Has Fallen - And Must Get Up!" may sound like a catchy title, but I really want a professional look for it, not a 'wimpy' one. This is an opportunity to establish myself as THE authority on 401(k) plans.

I had about 2 options for this. First, I could have used Create Space, which will also assemble and print the book. Since Create Space is part of Amazon, they will also handle the customer ordering and shipping. They offered to do the typesetting also, and thought they could do it for about $1000 for my 100 page book.

They also told me that because I am using some graphs and tables in the book, I should make the size about 7"x10". Fine with me. I just need to let my graphic artist, Aimee Sims know that.

From reading "The Well-Fed Self Publisher" by Peter Bowerman, he also makes suggestions for firms which he uses to get his books done. Peter seems like a straight shooter, who knows what he is talking about, so I e-mailed a copy to a firm he endorses, Hoehne-Werner Book & Graphic Design.

I have spoken with Angela Werner there, and looked at their work on the website. Angela gave me an estimate of $800. If they are good enough for Peter, they are good enough for me. He suggests cutting costs where possible. Its also important to remember that you get what you pay for. With Hoehne-Werner, I believe it will be the right call. Typesetting is their specialty.

One thing I learned right away - I had wasted a LOT of time putting page numbers with my index. Angela suggested taking the page numbers out. Once the book is typeset, the page numbers could easily change!
"D'OH!" Oh well, I will know that next time.

The whole process should take about a month, so I am hoping to have the book out now by the end of May.

You can contact me for more information on "Help! My 401(k) Has Fallen - And Must Get Up!" at my website, http://www.helpmy401k.us/. Follow me on Linked In or Twitter also. I am currently hosting an advice show, "Improving Your Financial Health" on Blog Talk Radio, which also airs on Harvest 103.1 WHME-FM in South Bend.

James Gandolfini Won't Call Me Back

I got to spend some time this week working on the promotional video for the book, "Help! My 401(k) Has Fallen - And Must Get Up!"

I must clear up the crazy rumor that's been going around. James Gandolfini is NOT playing the lead role.....mostly because I can't get him to call me back. Bruce Willis either. (What's with these Hollywood guys anyway?)

James may be pretty useful though for those 401(k) reviews such as the one I mentioned in my last couple of posts - "Is Your Employer Wimpy?"

You know, he could tag along. We would just "have a little talk." Get these companies and their HR people to see my point of view. Bada Bing! Yes, I need to keep that idea on file.

Also, there is NO truth to the other rumor about the video. After seeing all the fuss this past week about singer Erykah Badu and her new video, I won't be shedding any clothing. The book could certainly use publicity, but you DON'T want to see me naked - TRUST ME on that!

What you WILL see when the video is done will be some cool animation with a piggy bank. My new friend Michael Rupchock (who does return calls) does some free lance video work through Pentavision here in South Bend. Michael & I worked through a small script this week and will continue smoothing it out. We are hoping it will be done in a few weeks, about the time the book should be available. This book is one of a kind, one of the few which focuses on helping average people to get more from their 401(k) plan.

Once the video is complete, I will post it here, and on sites such as You Tube. The video will also be on the book website, http://www.my401khasfallen.com/ . The website will be up once we have all the material in place to launch it. You can still contact me through my website, http://www.helpmy401k.us/.

Happy Easter!!

Legal Disclaimer: No animals or trees were harmed in writing this article. James Gandolfini was not actually contacted about making a video. He also was not harmed in any way.