Holden, Greg 1957- (Gregory L. Holden)

PERSONAL:

Born 1957, in Chicago, IL; children: Zosia, Lucy. Education: University of Illinois at Chicago, M.A., 1982. Religion: Tibetan Buddhist. Hobbies and other interests: Visiting coffeehouses, bookstores, and antique malls; collecting antique fountain pens, watches, and hats.

ADDRESSES:

Home—Chicago, IL. Office—Stylus Media, 1826 W. Cornelia, Chicago, IL 60657.

CAREER:

Writer, editor, Web site designer. University of Chicago, Office of University Publications, Chicago, IL, from writer and editor to assistant director; Stylus Media (Web site design company), Chicago, IL, owner; full-time freelance writer and Web site designer, 1996—.

WRITINGS:

NONFICTION; COMPUTER ADVICE

Mastering Netscape 2.0 for Macintosh, Hayden Books (Indianapolis, IN), 1995.

Publishing on the Web, Hayden Books (Indianapolis, IN), 1995.

Mastering Netscape 4.0 for Macintosh, Hayden Books (Indianapolis, IN), 1996.

Official Online Marketing with Netscape Book: Build Your Business with the Power of Netscape, Ventana Communications (Research Triangle Park, NC), 1996.

Creating Web Pages for Kids and Parents, IDG Books Worldwide (Foster City, CA), 1997.

Windows 98 Registry Little Black Book, Coriolis Group Books (Albany, NY), 1998.

Small Business Internet for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide (Foster City, CA), 1998.

Internet Auctions for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide (Foster City, CA), 1999.

Starting an Online Business for Dummies, IDG Books Worldwide (Foster City, CA), 1999, fifth edition, Wiley (Indianapolis, IN), 2007.

Cliffs Notes on Buying and Selling on eBay, edited by Kyle Looper, IDG Books Worldwide (Indianapolis, IN), 1999.

Apache Server for Windows, Coriolis Group (Albany, NY), 1999.

(With Nick Wells and Matthew Keller) Apache Server Commentary, Coriolis Group (Scottsdale, AZ), 1999.

Tips and Tactics for Using the Internet to Run Your Business, Inc. Business Resources (Boston, MA), 2000.

E-commerce Essentials with Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002, Microsoft Press (Redmond, WA), 2001.

(With Scott Wills) Dreamweaver 4 Visual Insight, Coriolis Group Books (Scottsdale, AZ), 2001.

Microsoft FrontPage: Version 2002 Plain and Simple, Microsoft Press (Redmond, WA), 2002.

(With William R. Stanek) Faster Smarter Microsoft Office FrontPage 2003, Microsoft Press (Redmond, WA), 2003.

How to Do Everything with Your eBay Business, McGraw-Hill/Osborne (New York, NY), 2003.

(With Joli Ballew) The Complete Idiot's Guide to Adobe Photoshop, Alpha Books (Indianapolis, IN), 2003.

Norton Internet Security for Dummies, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2004.

How to Do Everything with eBay, McGraw-Hill/Osborne (New York, NY), 2004.

eBay PowerUser's Bible, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2004.

The Collector's Guide to eBay: The Ultimate Resource for Buying, Selling, and Valuing Collectibles, McGraw-Hill/Osborne (New York, NY), 2005.

Absolute Beginner's Guide to Online Dating, Que (Indianapolis, IN), 2005.

Degunking eBay, Paraglyph Press (Scottsdale, AZ), 2005.

(With Jill Finlayson) Fundraising with eBay, McGraw-Hill/Osborne (New York, NY), 2005.

1000 Best eBay Success Secrets, Sourcebooks, Inc. (Naperville, IL), 2006.

Selling beyond eBay: Foolproof Ways to Reach More Customers and Make Big Money on Rival Online Marketplaces, AMACOM/American Management Association (New York, NY), 2007.

(With Anthony Borelli) Affiliate Millions: Make a Fortune Using Search Marketing on Google and Beyond, Wiley (Hoboken, NJ), 2007.

How to Do Everything with Microsoft Office Live, McGraw-Hill/Osborne (New York, NY), 2007.

Author of "E-Commerce Makeover" column, Computer Currents magazine. Also contributor to books, including Using Front Page 2000 Special Edition, Mastering Netscape Communicator, and Maclopedia. Contributor to CNET Web site and to periodicals, including Forbes, PC World, and Australian PC World.

OTHER

Literary Chicago: A Book Lover's Tour of the Windy City, Lake Claremont Press (Chicago, IL), 2001.

Karma Kids: Answering Everyday Parenting Questions with Buddhist Wisdom, Ulysses Press (Berkeley, CA), 2004.

Has also published poems and short stories. Contributor to suburban Chicago newspapers.

SIDELIGHTS:

Greg Holden was a writer of stories, poems, newspaper articles, and college admissions materials for many years before he found his niche writing about computers and the Internet in the mid-1990s. Since then Holden has published numerous how-to books on such topics as creating an effective Web site, running an online business, and working with computer software. In one such book, Degunking eBay, Holden advises would-be sellers and buyers how to sort through eBay's millions of listings most effectively, how to create an item listing that will be attractive to potential buyers, and much more. The book is "a ‘must-have’ for anyone interested in amassing private collections from or making money off of eBay," commented a Wisconsin Bookwatch contributor.

Holden is also the author of Literary Chicago: A Book Lover's Tour of the Windy City, which includes ten walking tours of that city. The tours take walkers past the houses of famous Chicago authors and also guide readers through areas where passages from various books were set. Featured authors include the social worker Jane Addams and sociologist Studs Terkel, both of whom did much of their work in Chicago; Harriet Monroe and Gwendolyn Brooks, both poets; prolific screenwriter Ben Hecht, who got his start as a journalist in Chicago; longtime Chicago columnist Mike Royko; novelist Ernest Hemingway, who was born in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park; and playwright David Mamet, who was also born in the Chicago suburbs. Literary Chicago "might well be the most innovative approach to a city guide I have ever seen," Mark Sedenquist attested on the Road Trip America Web site.

Holden returned to technology writing with his Starting an Online Business for Dummies, a "no-brainer primer," according to a reviewer for the Washington Business Journal. In the work, Holden takes prospective Internet entrepreneurs through the basics of e-business, from initiating a business plan to choosing and paying for computers and other hardware, and he also recommends antivirus and encryption programs. A reviewer for the Errant Dreams Web site concluded, "This is handy material, and if you're looking to start a business on the web I highly recommend getting the most recent edition of this book." Similarly, Holden's 2004 title, Norton Internet Security for Dummies gives those who are not computer savvy a general introduction on methods to secure themselves against threats such as viruses and identity theft through the use of Norton software. A contributor for SciTech Book News felt that the author "offers straightforward information" in this guide.

Holden has also provided advice about online auction and sales services such as eBay. An early member of the eBay family, Holden gathered some of his best tips in the 2006 title 1000 Best eBay Success Secrets, a book that is the result of "the tested wisdom of tried techniques, not ideals," as a California Bookwatch critic noted. Here Holden provides insider information on everything from what products to sell on eBay to the best ways to list such items. He also takes the prospective seller through the difficulties of dealing with international mailings and with returns and complaints. The California Bookwatch reviewer further thought that eBay novices would learn a "tremendous amount" from 1000 Best eBay Success Secrets. Booklist contributor David Siegfried felt that veterans of eBay would also learn new information from Holden, such as the intricacies of collaborating with an auction service provider. Siegfried concluded that the volume would make "a decent addition to your eBay reference library."

With the advent of competition to the eBay model, Holden gives an overview of other online selling venues in his 2007 work Selling beyond eBay: Foolproof Ways to Reach More Customers and Make Big Money on Rival Online Marketplaces. Noting the dissatisfaction some feel with eBay's increased fees and complicated policies, the author introduces a number of competitive services, such as iOffer, an online trading community that allows negotiating, Yahoo! Auctions, and Overstock.com. Holden observes in his book that "eBay is not the shooting star that it once was," Siegfried observed, and thus it is important for online businesses to branch out to other service providers. A reviewer for Reference & Research Book News felt Selling beyond eBay "provides practical tips for ambitious online sellers."

BIOGRAPHICAL AND CRITICAL SOURCES:

PERIODICALS

Booklist, May 15, 2006, David Siegfried, review of Selling beyond eBay: Foolproof Ways to Reach More Customers and Make Big Money on Rival Online Marketplaces, p. 11; October 15, 2006, David Siegfried, review of 1000 Best eBay Success Secrets, p. 24.

California Bookwatch, February, 2007, review of 1000 Best eBay Success Secrets.

FSB, April 1, 2000, Richard V. Dragan, review of Starting an Online Business for Dummies.

Library Journal, September 1, 2004, Rachel Singer Gordon, review of eBay PowerUser's Bible, p. 182.

Reference & Research Book News, November, 2001, review of E-commerce Essentials with Microsoft FrontPage Version 2002, p. 105; November, 2004, review of How to Do Everything with eBay, p. 111; November, 2006, review of Selling beyond eBay.

SciTech Book News, March, 1999, reviews of Small Business Internet for Dummies, p. 9, and Windows 98 Registry Little Black Book, p. 33; June, 2000, review of Apache Server Commentary, p. 28; June, 2005, review of Norton Internet Security for Dummies, p. 151.

Washington Business Journal, February 2, 2001, review of Starting an Online Business for Dummies, p. 34.

Wisconsin Bookwatch, March, 2005, review of Degunking eBay.

ONLINE

Errant Dreams Web site,http://www.errantdreams.com/ (June 15, 2006), review of Starting an Online Business for Dummies.

Greg Holden Home Page,http://www.gregholden.com (December 5, 2007).

Lake Claremont Press Web site,https://www.lakeclaremont.com/ (November 28, 2007), "Greg Holden."

RoadTripAmerica Web site,http://www.roadtripamerica.com/ (March 27, 2005), Mark Sedenquist, review of Literary Chicago: A Book Lover's Tour of the Windy City.