May 4, 2005
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Turning Adversity lntr> Change
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Internet author makes a
living on her own terms
K atherine K ovacich
T he P ortland O bserver
by
published led her to ju st do it
herself. S he’d heard o f selling
d o w n lo a d a b le b o o k s on the
Internet and took a shot at it.
“W ithin the first m onth I had
$3,000 in sales. It hasn’t stopped
Julie Fast took the disorder that
once prevented her from -func
tioning in her daily life and turned
it into the catalyst for her success
since then,” she said.
ful business.
Fast benefits from pay-per-click
Despite being a woman with
advertising
offered by G oogle.
lofty aspirations. Fast had been
W
hen
a
person
searches for “bi
hindered by her bi-polar disorder
for more than 15 years. Hopes to polar disorder," her w ebsite is
be a Broadway singer, a screen listed on the side of the page. She
writer and a novelist were thwarted only pays when people click on
by immobilizing depression and her link.
“I get almost 30,(XX) people a
manic episodes.
month
to my w ebsite,” Fast said.
After taking numerous m edi
“
Right
now
I make 15,(XX) a month
cations and experiencing even
in sales.”
B ey o n d her tw o d o w n lo ad
books, "B ipolar Happens! The
H ealth C ards System for B ipolar
D isorder” and “The H ealth Cards
System for D epression,”
Fast has
said.
---------
she e said
D ealing with shady publishers had her w orks physically pub
in an attem pt to get her w ork fished. “Loving Som eone with
more negative side effects in an
attempt to fix her condition, Fast
decided she’d had enough.
“I wrote a treatment plan that
pretty much got me my life back,
r~
* • l rxl«^«Uno>
Bipolar
Disorder: I U TnJorct'iniiinO
nderstanding
and Helping Y our Partner” is with
New H arbinger, and “The Health
Sm art B ipolar D isorder O rg a
nizer” is w ith Penguin Press.
The Internet, though, m akes it
a lot easier than constantly w rit
ing query letters and sending out
transcripts, she said.
“W hat people don’t know is
that agents and publishing acqui
sitions editors are on the web look
ing for people to write books every
day,” Fast said. “If you have some
kind o f self-help book or really
amazing product that you re sell
ing on the Internet, agents and
editors are looking for you.”
Fast also Speaks to crow ds about
her business endeavors and will
do so again on May 17 at a W omen
Entrepreneurs o f O regon event.
“T here’s N o Such T hing as
A dversity” will be presented at
the Embassy Suites Hotel at 319
S.W. Pine St. Tickets range from
$25 to $30. For more information,
v is it w w w .ju lie fa s t.c o m o r
w w w .oregonw eo.org.
Author Julie Fast will be speaking on May 17 for the Women
Entrepreneurs of Oregon.
Optimism for Self Employment
Minority business owners cite success
M in o rity b u s in e s s o w n e rs
overw helm ingly indicate they are
pleased to be sm all business ow n-
ers and are optim istic about the
future paths o f their com panies,
according to a special report pro
duced by W ells Fargo and the
G allup O rganization.
E ig h ty -sev en p ercen t o f m i
n o rity b u s in e s s o w n e rs s u r
v e y ed say th ey are sa tisfie d
bein g a sm all b u sin e ss ow n er,
and nearly 90 p ercen t ex p ressed
..........- myself Got my .. ............... ........... ^ose m
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AM kM «
M . som ething un.que »
c om m itm en t to wellness creates a nu rturing env.ronm ent in which o u .•p a t.» ",s e
believe in c o n trib u tin g to a higher goal, this it the place to p u t your be lie fs in to practice
jobs.kaiserpermanente.org
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thrive
fe e lin g s o f success,
T hese findings are based on a
G allup survey o f about 1,000 mi-
nority business ow ners across the
country conducted from A ugust
2003 to D ecem ber 2004.
“T he confidence show n by m i
nority business ow ners is already
translating into personal and busi
ness success, w hich bodes well
for the future o f m inority busi-
continued
on page C7
The confidence shown by minority
business owners is already translating into
personal and business success, which
bodes well for the future of minority
business owners and the overall small
business segment. - Had,ey Robbins, Wells Fargo