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More About
Wellness...
The author:
William R. Vitanyi, Jr. aka Bill V, is the author of
three books and a screenplay. He's also done a
smidge of acting in independent films, and currently
works during the day as a computer programmer at
Edinboro University of Pennsylvania. Although his
first book was a technological thriller, more
recently he has taken on cubicle humor as a general
theme. His paper mache'
cubicle door will be installed as soon as the State
provides the requisite forms.
Bill lives in
northwestern Pennsylvania with his family and many
pets. He is an Edinboro University alumnus, with a
Bachelor's degree in Russian Language and additional
training in computer programming and operations. He
denies any knowledge of the intelligence community,
though he is familiar with Trident submarines. His favorite singer
is Ryan Star.
Currently 47
years old, he hopes to improve on this in the near
future.
Wellness:
The Genesis. Too much time
watching exercise videos as part of an intensive
weight loss program, combined with too much time
watching the inside of a cubicle, combined with too
much unused cranial space, and there you have it.
After requesting
permission from the president of the university
where he works, Bill sent an
invitation to all university staff and
students, informing them about the project and asking for
vomunteer
models. One hundred were sought, and one hundred
stepped up. It took a few months, and a lot of
running around, but finally all the photos were
taken, all the releases signed, and the raw material
for Wellness was securely in hand.
Bayla the Company.
Publishing is a funny business. There is more
on this on the writing page of this site, but
suffice it to say that Bill was not satisfied with
how mainstream publishers approach the task of
getting a book into print. It simply takes too long,
is not heavily supported from a marketing
perspective―especially
for a relatively unknown author―and
takes too much creative control away from the
author. Not to mention the profit drain as middlemen
scarf up the lion's share of a book's revenue. Of
course, they also take on all of the risk.
Pros and cons, no
doubt.
Bill was willing
to take on the risk and responsibility, and so Bayla
was born. Bayla Publishing was formed for the
specific purpose of publishing The Official Guide
to Office Wellness. By forming a company and
purchasing a block of ISBN numbers, Bill would
retain full control over all aspects of Wellness.
Succeed or fail, it would be the result of his own
efforts and decisions. Of course, the first decision
was to involve as many people as possible in the
project.
Why Bayla ?
In the early nineteen hundreds
Bill's grandfather passed through Ellis Island,
and was asked his name. He responded "Bela"
(pronounced "Bayla") which the clerk said sounded
like Bill, so his name would henceforth be William.
It became tradition in Bill's family to name firstborn male
children William. Perhaps it should have been Bela.
Or Bayla.
That's where Bayla
comes from. What's in a name, anyway?
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