#167 Dad's Hot Dog and a Book

According to a recent Time Magazine article called Books Unbound by Lev Grossman, the business of writing and selling books is changing fast. Four of the five best selling books in Japan began as cell phone books. Thousands of Japanese authors are making their books available on cell phones - free of charge. Although cell phone readers pay nothing, some of the more popular cell phone authors are picking up book deals.

Writers here in America are podcasting books and posting books on blogs, chapter by chapter. The Kindle and Sony Reader are making millions of books available on their funky screens.

American agents and publishing houses are dropping like flies. Borders and Barnes and Noble are on unsteady ground. Meanwhile, the literacy rate is skyrocketing and people are reading more than ever. While conventional publishers are going by the wayside, vanity publishers are expanding. According to Grossman, “Vanity publishing has become practically respectable.”

Lisa Geneva self published Still Alice, promoting her book from the trunk of her car. Before long she landed an agent and a six figure book deal. The Shack, The Lace Reader, Contagious, and Daemon are all examples of self published books that became best sellers.

So, where all of this leave me? Rest assured, I have an ingenious little plan. How does the phrase #167 Dad’s Hot Dog and a Book grab you? You see, I’ve been toying with the idea of buying a hot dog cart for some time now. There’s money to be made in the hot dog vending business. Bad economy or no bad economy, everybody loves a good hot dog. If I sell really good hot dogs, my business will explode. I’ll have to set up dozens of hot dog stands and hire a crack team of hot dog vendors. And then at the peak of the #167 Dad hot dog craze, I’ll introduce a new deal. #167 Dad’s Hot Dog and a Book for just ten bucks. Thousands of hungry Phoenicians will be chomping down on #167 Dad hot dogs and pouring over paperback copies of The Spirit Guide Bar or The Eight Fingered Criminal’s Son. And here’s the beauty of the plan, if the hot dog and book deal doesn’t catch on, who cares? I’ll go back to making a mint selling the dogs a la carte. I’ll be making so much cabbage I won’t need to sell my book. I can just circulate my books on Japanese cell phones. I know exactly what you’re thinking; William Zachariah Snyder is a stinking genius. It’s an absolutely brilliant plan. Thank you. Now, anyone know where I can pick up a used hot dog cart for a reasonable price?