Publication Date: June 2015

My first project at Mango Media, Inc. involved writing a humorous lifestyle book by the title of 99 Signs You Are Not in the 1%, which was split into various chapters of people’s lives that showcased the casual lifestyle of the 99%.

I both wrote the manuscript and illustrated the entire book with doodles to capture a “low-budget” effect for added humor. Certain elements, such as flow-charts I mapped out, were discussed with the graphic design team and built in Adobe Illustrator, but all other illustrative features were my work.

Once the final draft was completed, the book was campaigned via Kickstarter and was successfully funded to be published. It was also listed as a Top Pick on Kickstarter.

Below is the Kickstarter campaign, video (which I narrated), and page samples of 99 Signs You Are Not in the 1%.

99 Signs You Are Not in the 1% is also available for purchase on Amazon and Barnes and Noble.

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THE BOOK

Back when Occupy Wall Street was a thing, a whole wave of folks began to realize that 1% of the U.S. population is way richer than everybody else. But does that mean they have a higher quality of life? …yeah probably.

Er – I mean, no, of course not! For money does not buy happiness, my friend.

Too often people lament over not having the lavish lifestyle, but life’s too short to forget that the absurdity of your life is what makes it glorious. In 99 Signs You Are Not in the 1%, readers will be able to laugh about the sheer nonsense we have to deal with in life that fills us with rage, as well as see that sometimes the grass isn’t always greener.

WHAT’S INSIDE

Oh you want to know what you’re getting before handing over some money all willy-nilly? Sure thing!

99 Signs You Are Not in the 1% is a book that could possibly change your life.

…At least, it’ll make you laugh.

First, it’s going to be chock-full of doodles – oodles of doodles illustrating the life and times of the 99%, with a mix of flow-charts and scribbled commentary in between. I’m not saying they’re the exquisite illustrations of Leonardo Da Vinci’s lost journal, but they are the classiest doodles you’ll ever feast your eyes on. Just saying.

Want a couple of page spread examples? Well take a look at these bad boys:

The book is divided into ten chapters, which cover different aspects of life, from your current job situation to the intimate relationship you have with the delivery guy. It gets real deep. 99 Signs You Are Not in the 1% will be a beautiful quality paperback to cuddle with at night and cherish forever.

EXCERPTS FROM THE BOOK

Lucky for you, 99 Signs You’re Not in the 1% is practically finished. So here are a couple sneak peeks of what’s in store:

You’ve got take-out numbers on speed-dial. They know your order. They know your name.
At this point, you should send the Chinese restaurant around the corner a “Thank You for Being There” card. They’ve fed you so often, they’re practically family. And they don’t judge you if you order the family combo meal when it’s just you at the apartment.

You have an estranged relationship with your delivery food guy. Maybe you know his name, maybe you don’t. Maybe you’re building up to finally having a full-blown conversation with the guy. Maybe you’ll invite him to eat with you, establish a beautiful friendship, travel the world together, grow old together – and at his funeral, you’ll finally pay that two-dollar minimum tip.

While some learned the art of ballet or the tango, you learned the fine practice of booty dancing and doing the cha-cha slide now, y’all.
You may not know the proper steps to waltz around a ballroom, but you can whip out some sick moves on the dance floor. Whether you’re the pop and lock-ness monster with the smoothest robot wave to maker every b-boy proud or pulling out the ol’ Macarena to get jiggy with it, your motion expression will awe the lands. You don’t need structured steps to feel the music, man.

The One-Percent may have their classy, award-winning dances, but one time you won a dance-athon for doing the chicken dance for twelve hours and won a year-supply of fried chicken from the local grocery store, so like, who’s the winner now?