No, I don't get any kickbacks from Buy.com. I don't know anything about it other than it's the lowest price I've seen.
http://www.buy.com/prod/7-velocity-micro-cruz-reader-special-edition-r102-256mb-color/224955242.html?listingid=170476072
Velocity Micro Cruz Reader R102 256MB 7-inch Touchscreen EBook Reader General Features: Black color 7-inch resistive touchscreen display 800 x 600 resolution Google Android 2.0 (Eclair) pre-installed 256 MB RAM 256 MB internal storage SD/SDHC memory card slot Mini-USB 2.0 interface Integrated IEEE 802.11b/g Wireless LAN Built-in speakers 3.5 mm headphone jack Automatic orientation sensing (accelerometer) Built-in lithium-ion rechargeable battery Up to 6 hours battery life when watching video Supports add-ons from CruzMarket Lead-free components (RoHS compliant) Installed Apps: Alarm Clock ASTRO (file manager) Web Browser Calculator Calendar CruzMarket CruzSync Dr.eye dictionary eBuddy IM client Email Facebook Mobile Photo/Video Gallery Music OfficeSuite Twidroyd User Wallpapers Supported Formats: eBook: ePub, PDF, TXT, HTML Audio: MP3, AAC, WAV Video: MPEG4, H.263, H.264 Unit Dimensions: 7.56 x 5.62 x 0.58-inches (H x W x D) Regulatory Approvals: FCC RoHS compliant
Hello, Christmas!
Wednesday, October 19, 2011
X-Factor, Fame and Having Talent
Third time I'm posting this vid
and linking to this article Damian Kulash
Wow. Do I have a thing for this song or what? No, I don't. But it's the ultimate example of the shift. The old paradigm is dead. You find the new ways.
Last night on X Factor (let me just take a moment to say Simon made 2 mistakes, not just the 1 but let this post be advice for all who didn't go through) all the singers were interviewed and about 90% of them said something like "I've wanted to be famous all my life and this is my last chance." That's a psychological issue and nothing to do with a talent show. What you should want is to be the best singer/performer you can be. I'm not sure I ever heard someone say this but if they did maybe the producers didn't consider that dramatic enough to air.
Three of the people who went through have been performing for years--Josh Krajcik and the Brewer brothers.
I've known quite a few actors and singers. It spills out of them. They'll do a couple dance steps for no reason, they'll start singing, crack you up with funny stories, they are essentially always on. Whether they have a job or even fame isn't the issue--they're going to perform anyway.
You lose X-Factor? You go sing in a bar. You create a band. You put songs on MySpace. You make a video singing on moving treadmills. You don't wait for permission or money. You do it because you love it, because this is who you are. You perform at the town carnival, at the school, at the senior citizen center, at the church.
Maybe you're poor for the rest of your life. Maybe you're never famous. But you give your ability to other people for its own sake, not for financial compensation. You find a way.
So I find these wannabes boring, shallow and self-centered people who may have an adequate voice, they may hit the big notes but they sound like everyone else. They don't know who they are and maybe they don't want to know. It's better to be a Mariah Carey knock-off than a real person.
All this applies to writing as well.
and linking to this article Damian Kulash
Wow. Do I have a thing for this song or what? No, I don't. But it's the ultimate example of the shift. The old paradigm is dead. You find the new ways.
Last night on X Factor (let me just take a moment to say Simon made 2 mistakes, not just the 1 but let this post be advice for all who didn't go through) all the singers were interviewed and about 90% of them said something like "I've wanted to be famous all my life and this is my last chance." That's a psychological issue and nothing to do with a talent show. What you should want is to be the best singer/performer you can be. I'm not sure I ever heard someone say this but if they did maybe the producers didn't consider that dramatic enough to air.
Three of the people who went through have been performing for years--Josh Krajcik and the Brewer brothers.
I've known quite a few actors and singers. It spills out of them. They'll do a couple dance steps for no reason, they'll start singing, crack you up with funny stories, they are essentially always on. Whether they have a job or even fame isn't the issue--they're going to perform anyway.
You lose X-Factor? You go sing in a bar. You create a band. You put songs on MySpace. You make a video singing on moving treadmills. You don't wait for permission or money. You do it because you love it, because this is who you are. You perform at the town carnival, at the school, at the senior citizen center, at the church.
Maybe you're poor for the rest of your life. Maybe you're never famous. But you give your ability to other people for its own sake, not for financial compensation. You find a way.
So I find these wannabes boring, shallow and self-centered people who may have an adequate voice, they may hit the big notes but they sound like everyone else. They don't know who they are and maybe they don't want to know. It's better to be a Mariah Carey knock-off than a real person.
All this applies to writing as well.
Tuesday, October 18, 2011
Welcome My Ukrainian Visitors
I don't often check the stats to see where people are coming from because I imagine most are now coming to see the image of the Neapolitan ice cream but apparently some have been showing up from my distant homeland. Yes, the Morgenroths lived near Lvov.
The history of Ukraine is fascinating and unfortunately quite difficult to find written about in English but I did get one very good book on it and one book by James Bailey on Russian folktales. What do Russian folktales have to do with Ukraine? 1000 years ago Ukraine was the leading force in the region and most of the so-called Russian tales were based in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, which may I add had paved streets before Paris.
If you read my book Flash, you know that Alex is in Ukraine shooting a movie called Paper Wings. This is a tale about a warrior, a bogatyr, by the name of Alyosha Popovich who meets the monster, Tugarin, at a dinner held at Prince Vladimir's castle. As monsters go, Tugarin is right up there and winds up throwing a knife at Alyosha so a fight is called for. They go out into a field and Tugarin flies into the sky on his paper wings. It all ended well for Alyosha and for Tugarin, not so much.
What, if anything does all this have to do with writing? I research quite a lot before and during every project. It adds color and texture and details. Characters have lives, they have a past. They have a present that may be happening off the page. You can bring these elements into your work in order to have a more fully developed story.
Or not. Does this kind of thinking impact sales of vampire books or slasher stories? No. Useless, actually. Maybe there are several different sorts of books which address themselves to different results. You have the entertainment books which are really read for plot. It's like an action/adventure movie. You just want to read it and get caught up in the action (could be a chicklit) and then have it all resolved in the appropriate way and then it's over. Well done! Or maybe there's the sort of book that's savored and enjoyed because the characters are people with lives and some kind of reality and it's not so much about where they get but how they get there.
As ereading expands and transforms people will come aboard with all sorts of expectations from their reading material and they'll be able to find it.
The history of Ukraine is fascinating and unfortunately quite difficult to find written about in English but I did get one very good book on it and one book by James Bailey on Russian folktales. What do Russian folktales have to do with Ukraine? 1000 years ago Ukraine was the leading force in the region and most of the so-called Russian tales were based in Kiev, the capital of Ukraine, which may I add had paved streets before Paris.
If you read my book Flash, you know that Alex is in Ukraine shooting a movie called Paper Wings. This is a tale about a warrior, a bogatyr, by the name of Alyosha Popovich who meets the monster, Tugarin, at a dinner held at Prince Vladimir's castle. As monsters go, Tugarin is right up there and winds up throwing a knife at Alyosha so a fight is called for. They go out into a field and Tugarin flies into the sky on his paper wings. It all ended well for Alyosha and for Tugarin, not so much.
What, if anything does all this have to do with writing? I research quite a lot before and during every project. It adds color and texture and details. Characters have lives, they have a past. They have a present that may be happening off the page. You can bring these elements into your work in order to have a more fully developed story.
Or not. Does this kind of thinking impact sales of vampire books or slasher stories? No. Useless, actually. Maybe there are several different sorts of books which address themselves to different results. You have the entertainment books which are really read for plot. It's like an action/adventure movie. You just want to read it and get caught up in the action (could be a chicklit) and then have it all resolved in the appropriate way and then it's over. Well done! Or maybe there's the sort of book that's savored and enjoyed because the characters are people with lives and some kind of reality and it's not so much about where they get but how they get there.
As ereading expands and transforms people will come aboard with all sorts of expectations from their reading material and they'll be able to find it.
Monday, October 17, 2011
Amazon, The Insatiable Monster, Consumes EVERYTHING!!!
Look out Cleveland!
The NYSlimes, I mean Times, has this piece in the business section today where it lets tradpub people bemoan their self-created fate.Amazon Signs Up Writers, Leaving Publishers As Wallflowers At The Dance
“Everyone’s afraid of Amazon,” said Richard Curtis, a longtime agent who is also an e-book publisher. “If you’re a bookstore, Amazon has been in competition with you for some time. If you’re a publisher, one day you wake up and Amazon is competing with you too. And if you’re an agent, Amazon may be stealing your lunch because it is offering authors the opportunity to publish directly and cut you out.
“It’s an old strategy: divide and conquer,” Mr. Curtis said.
Huh. I thought Amazon was just trying to sell books, unlike publishers who God only knows what their plan has been for the last 30 years, now we learn Jeff Bezos is the reincarnation of Attila the Hun and is dividing and conquering and multiplying the income of numerous writers. What a bad dude!
You know what we have yet to hear? Some writer complaining how mean Amazon is to them (besides me with that whole objet/objects thing).
They do mention Riverhead suing Kiana Davenport. Way to go, Riverhead, that will ingratiate your company into the hearts of lots of writers who are on the fence about epubbing themselves. They're making themselves look like the idiots they actually are. How embarrassing and how embarrassing that they don't realize how they're embarrassing themselves.
Felony embed alert
The NYSlimes, I mean Times, has this piece in the business section today where it lets tradpub people bemoan their self-created fate.Amazon Signs Up Writers, Leaving Publishers As Wallflowers At The Dance
“Everyone’s afraid of Amazon,” said Richard Curtis, a longtime agent who is also an e-book publisher. “If you’re a bookstore, Amazon has been in competition with you for some time. If you’re a publisher, one day you wake up and Amazon is competing with you too. And if you’re an agent, Amazon may be stealing your lunch because it is offering authors the opportunity to publish directly and cut you out.
“It’s an old strategy: divide and conquer,” Mr. Curtis said.
Huh. I thought Amazon was just trying to sell books, unlike publishers who God only knows what their plan has been for the last 30 years, now we learn Jeff Bezos is the reincarnation of Attila the Hun and is dividing and conquering and multiplying the income of numerous writers. What a bad dude!
You know what we have yet to hear? Some writer complaining how mean Amazon is to them (besides me with that whole objet/objects thing).
They do mention Riverhead suing Kiana Davenport. Way to go, Riverhead, that will ingratiate your company into the hearts of lots of writers who are on the fence about epubbing themselves. They're making themselves look like the idiots they actually are. How embarrassing and how embarrassing that they don't realize how they're embarrassing themselves.
Felony embed alert
Sunday, October 16, 2011
Poetry
I'm not of two-minds about this. Almost anything written in the last 50 years is guaranteed to be insipid doggerel. Why is that? If you agree, you can tell us what you think. I think people have become less thought-full over the last century. English is a difficult language. It looks easy and some forms of it are have been ridiculously dumbed down, but handling it was requires skill. Skill which few possess. I don't write poetry, I'm not that stupid or arrogant to think I could do it well although I certainly wrote it when I was young and dumb in college.
It's always somewhat cringe-inducing to hear someone say "I just wrote a book of poetry, how can I get it published?" That was thankfully harder a few years ago but now it's frighteningly simple. Just go to Smashwords and see how much poetry is there. It should be used as a Halloween display it's so scary.
What's hard about poetry is that you should be concise. Being concise means you have a very clear idea or what you're trying to communicate. It's the shout it across the parking lot in 1 sentence and be understood situation.
Then in order to convey this idea and say it beautifully and precisely is another feat. It requires a good vocabulary and an understand of words. Then you have to understand structure and construction. You also have to realize you're telling a very short story, so that by the end of the poem there's some kind of resolution. The reader has gone from point A to point Z, not from point A to point A. The writer should have been illuminated, instructed and informed along this journey. There should be a moment of wonderment.
Otherwise it's just recreational therapy. It's like fingerpainting.
In my travels this week I came across a poem by Rudyard Kipling who was so skillful with the language and so insightful. I offer it to you as encouragement and for pleasure and for wisdom.
It's always somewhat cringe-inducing to hear someone say "I just wrote a book of poetry, how can I get it published?" That was thankfully harder a few years ago but now it's frighteningly simple. Just go to Smashwords and see how much poetry is there. It should be used as a Halloween display it's so scary.
What's hard about poetry is that you should be concise. Being concise means you have a very clear idea or what you're trying to communicate. It's the shout it across the parking lot in 1 sentence and be understood situation.
Then in order to convey this idea and say it beautifully and precisely is another feat. It requires a good vocabulary and an understand of words. Then you have to understand structure and construction. You also have to realize you're telling a very short story, so that by the end of the poem there's some kind of resolution. The reader has gone from point A to point Z, not from point A to point A. The writer should have been illuminated, instructed and informed along this journey. There should be a moment of wonderment.
Otherwise it's just recreational therapy. It's like fingerpainting.
In my travels this week I came across a poem by Rudyard Kipling who was so skillful with the language and so insightful. I offer it to you as encouragement and for pleasure and for wisdom.
"A Servant When He Reigneth"- Rudyard Kipling |
Three things make earth unquiet And four she cannot brook The godly Agur counted them And put them in a book -- Those Four Tremendous Curses With which mankind is cursed; But a Servant when He Reigneth Old Agur entered first. An Handmaid that is Mistress We need not call upon. A Fool when he is full of Meat Will fall asleep anon. An Odious Woman Married May bear a babe and mend; But a Servant when He Reigneth Is Confusion to the end. His feet are swift to tumult, His hands are slow to toil, His ears are deaf to reason, His lips are loud in broil. He knows no use for power Except to show his might. He gives no heed to judgment Unless it prove him right. Because he served a master Before his Kingship came, And hid in all disaster Behind his master's name, So, when his Folly opens The unnecessary hells, A Servant when He Reigneth Throws the blame on some one else. His vows are lightly spoken, His faith is hard to bind, His trust is easy broken, He fears his fellow-kind. The nearest mob will move him To break the pledge he gave -- Oh, a Servant when he Reigneth Is more than ever slave! |
Saturday, October 15, 2011
Didn't I Tell You?
It wouldn't be long before someone cancelled Halloween. This time it's a nitwit school administrator in Massachusetts who feels it's incumbent on her to flagellate herself for existing. While taking herself down, she has to make sure everyone else is as miserable as she is so she cancelled Columbus Day and Thanksgiving, too. Can Christmas be far behind? (But not Eid, I'd put money on it.)
I've been working hard on Flash 2 because I must finish that before starting on the follow up to Summer Horse, and that must be done by Christmas. That's why I haven't been here quite a regularly as I am when I'm not working as diligently.
So continuing with the theme of the month, harvest and Halloween, I found a very cool poster and worked on it for you to enjoy. What did I do exactly? I opened it in Adobe Lightroom and made it look good. It was terribly dark and discolored to the point where you could barely read the text. The truth is both Lightroom and Photoshop are terrific at fixing images quickly so it only took a couple minutes to make the adjustments. No criticisms of Adobe and their programs today, just praise.
I've been working hard on Flash 2 because I must finish that before starting on the follow up to Summer Horse, and that must be done by Christmas. That's why I haven't been here quite a regularly as I am when I'm not working as diligently.
So continuing with the theme of the month, harvest and Halloween, I found a very cool poster and worked on it for you to enjoy. What did I do exactly? I opened it in Adobe Lightroom and made it look good. It was terribly dark and discolored to the point where you could barely read the text. The truth is both Lightroom and Photoshop are terrific at fixing images quickly so it only took a couple minutes to make the adjustments. No criticisms of Adobe and their programs today, just praise.
Friday, October 14, 2011
Rhymes and (algo)Rithms
Apparently, according to a post at digital book world that's full of math and math-like ideas that lost me immediately, there's a way that Amazon figures out which books to push. When they stop pushing "People who bought this book also bought" or whatever, then you drop off the face of the earth which is exactly what happened to Not Low Maintenance at the beginning of the summer. Carolyn McCray assures us you can impact this by pricing changes.
Anything that starts to seem like work/a hassle is when I drop the idea. Which is why you don't find me on MyFace or Twitter. It was hard enough to learn Photoshop, that might have worn me out for the rest of my life. Pricing doesn't seem to make any difference in my experience except that I stopped getting drunk trolls reviews on the Kate book when I raised the price of that.
I think the big picture is that some people are selling really really well because they managed to tap into a vital readership. Other reading niches haven't arrived yet. I'd rather spend my time writing and waiting for more readers to show up than what is probably banging my head against a wall trying to find readers who haven't arrived in large numbers yet. Christmas will usher in a new set of readers so by January we'll have a good idea how much that rising tide raises our boats.
Anything that starts to seem like work/a hassle is when I drop the idea. Which is why you don't find me on MyFace or Twitter. It was hard enough to learn Photoshop, that might have worn me out for the rest of my life. Pricing doesn't seem to make any difference in my experience except that I stopped getting drunk trolls reviews on the Kate book when I raised the price of that.
I think the big picture is that some people are selling really really well because they managed to tap into a vital readership. Other reading niches haven't arrived yet. I'd rather spend my time writing and waiting for more readers to show up than what is probably banging my head against a wall trying to find readers who haven't arrived in large numbers yet. Christmas will usher in a new set of readers so by January we'll have a good idea how much that rising tide raises our boats.
Thursday, October 13, 2011
William Goldman Quote
"No one knows anything"
Over the past week I've read a variety of opinions on where ebooks are going and how fast. Are books in English going to be adopted rapidly throughout the world or are translations required? What is the future of literary agents and publishers? Who invented soft soap and why?
Do you know who William Goldman is? He used to be famous. Poor William that I say that. He was a noted novelist and screenwriter only twenty years ago. That's how fleeting fame and life is. Maybe you've heard of The Princess Bride movie. He wrote the book. And it's good.
We're in a moment of disruption, of transition. No one really knows anything. We're all speculating. But if we look at where Jeff Bezos is making his bets, I think we can learn quite a lot since he doesn't make many mistakes. Ebooks are going global, the market is expanding rapidly. Traditional publishing doesn't rule the day any longer. Ignore reality at your financial and professional peril.
I was watching The O.C. this morning and heard a song I liked so went about finding it. I learned someone involved is very green. For every CD sold, a tree will be planted in Mexico. (Why Mexico, I have no idea, but these things don't have to make sense.)
Paper publishing. Wonderful and enjoyable books can be produced. How about if just those are produced and all the books we know will be pulped are just not. Limited editions of books to be treasured and respected while all those cheap novels in the racks that have a life expectancy of 4 weeks move into digital versions only.
Why does a reader need Simon & Schuster to produce a digital novel? Let them do what they do best. Wait. I don't know what that is. Let's say a company like Harry Abrams or Schiffer who produce gorgeous coffee table books. Those are never going to be good on a digital reader. Sorry, I don't believe it. The images will be too small to be effective. The upcoming generation may feel differently but they'll be missing out.
It'll all happen. It's happening faster than I expected. Actually when I started this process I expected nothing because nothing all that much was happening. And that changed in 18 months.
So finish that book you're working on and get it out for the Christmas season because I know it will be bigger than last year.
Over the past week I've read a variety of opinions on where ebooks are going and how fast. Are books in English going to be adopted rapidly throughout the world or are translations required? What is the future of literary agents and publishers? Who invented soft soap and why?
Do you know who William Goldman is? He used to be famous. Poor William that I say that. He was a noted novelist and screenwriter only twenty years ago. That's how fleeting fame and life is. Maybe you've heard of The Princess Bride movie. He wrote the book. And it's good.
We're in a moment of disruption, of transition. No one really knows anything. We're all speculating. But if we look at where Jeff Bezos is making his bets, I think we can learn quite a lot since he doesn't make many mistakes. Ebooks are going global, the market is expanding rapidly. Traditional publishing doesn't rule the day any longer. Ignore reality at your financial and professional peril.
I was watching The O.C. this morning and heard a song I liked so went about finding it. I learned someone involved is very green. For every CD sold, a tree will be planted in Mexico. (Why Mexico, I have no idea, but these things don't have to make sense.)
Paper publishing. Wonderful and enjoyable books can be produced. How about if just those are produced and all the books we know will be pulped are just not. Limited editions of books to be treasured and respected while all those cheap novels in the racks that have a life expectancy of 4 weeks move into digital versions only.
Why does a reader need Simon & Schuster to produce a digital novel? Let them do what they do best. Wait. I don't know what that is. Let's say a company like Harry Abrams or Schiffer who produce gorgeous coffee table books. Those are never going to be good on a digital reader. Sorry, I don't believe it. The images will be too small to be effective. The upcoming generation may feel differently but they'll be missing out.
It'll all happen. It's happening faster than I expected. Actually when I started this process I expected nothing because nothing all that much was happening. And that changed in 18 months.
So finish that book you're working on and get it out for the Christmas season because I know it will be bigger than last year.
Tuesday, October 11, 2011
Is He Insane? (PG-18)
Eating Puppy Meat Is the Same as Eating Pork, British TV Chef Says
Updated: Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011, 7:38 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011, 7:38 AM EDT
Published : Tuesday, 11 Oct 2011, 7:38 AM EDT
(Sky News) - British TV chef Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall claimed that eating puppy meat is no more morally objectionable than consuming pork.
The celebrity chef previously shocked viewers by eating placenta pate, curried fruit bat, giraffe and calf testicles and now claims that he would not be against a "high-welfare organic puppy farm."
The celebrity chef previously shocked viewers by eating placenta pate, curried fruit bat, giraffe and calf testicles and now claims that he would not be against a "high-welfare organic puppy farm."
Read more: http://www.myfoxny.com/dpps/news/offbeat/eating-puppy-meat-is-the-same-as-eating-pork-dpgonc-20111011-to-_15420622#ixzz1aVEp7OFp
Does anyone have to explain to this crackpot the difference between eating a farm animal and eating a companion animal? Dogs...well, are man's best friend. They work beside us, they comfort us, they are our friends.
But see, you can't eat just any dog. A puppy that's been eating Pedigree isn't "organic" enough. It has to be eating, well, like my dogs. It has to eat from the human food chain, thereby taking away food from hungry people, so that this nutjob can roast loin of puppy and serve it at his f'ing restautant. With fava beans and a fine chianti.
So instead of training this puppy as a service animal, to help someone who is blind, or disabled, you're just going to eat it for the fun of eating it.
We have reached a level of depravity I wouldn't have dreamed possible. Heck, I'll post this as well. This video has content that is not safe for anyone under 18. It's NSFW. It's not safe for anyone who isn't already deranged. This high-mindedness is from the Occupy Wall Street Protesters this past weekend. (This is what our politicians are finding solidarity with.)
"You can have sex with animals or whatever". That's what they're chanting.
You can, but why would you and why would you want to? What kind of person are you that would rape an animal?
I don't get it. I'm not on board with it. It's not okay for me or with me.
Monday, October 10, 2011
Being A Big Picture Person
Years ago I was fortunate enough to meet a very strong-minded woman. She was from the south and didn't have the benefits lots of spare money would have afforded her, so I don't know if she even managed to go to college, not that I think much of that at this point. She became a flight attendant. This is a woman a terrorist does not want on his flight. Susan is the kind of person who would cut a small hole in the fuselage and push him out like a rope of sausage.
Beyond all that was memorable, she always used to say "Be a big picture person."
I suppose it's hard to say look at all the great opportunities in publishing, when in your own little legacy publishing world, it's crumbling, collapsing and falling apart underneath your desk. Good people are going to suffer. Tina Brown and Ariana Huffington are not going to suffer. Diane "It's Not Raunchy Enough" Reverand is not going to suffer.
Boo hoo.
What brought this on? I read an article by some guy saying not only publishing is dying, books are dying, too.
How stupid is Jeff Bezos for bothering with the Kindle Fire when books are dying? Books are dying because people want free content. Well, I want free content too. And maybe it can be free.
If people won't pay for books some other way to pay authors will be created. I don't object to advertising in my books. I don't object to someone paying me to write.
Big publishing? What does that have to do with me? In the big picture, the world is open to me.
(Photoshopped by me, of course)
Beyond all that was memorable, she always used to say "Be a big picture person."
I suppose it's hard to say look at all the great opportunities in publishing, when in your own little legacy publishing world, it's crumbling, collapsing and falling apart underneath your desk. Good people are going to suffer. Tina Brown and Ariana Huffington are not going to suffer. Diane "It's Not Raunchy Enough" Reverand is not going to suffer.
Boo hoo.
What brought this on? I read an article by some guy saying not only publishing is dying, books are dying, too.
How stupid is Jeff Bezos for bothering with the Kindle Fire when books are dying? Books are dying because people want free content. Well, I want free content too. And maybe it can be free.
If people won't pay for books some other way to pay authors will be created. I don't object to advertising in my books. I don't object to someone paying me to write.
Big publishing? What does that have to do with me? In the big picture, the world is open to me.
(Photoshopped by me, of course)
 |
| By Zombie at yesterday's Occupy SF protest |
Sunday, October 9, 2011
Amazon: The Monster That Devoured Everything
Do I care?
No.
Next topic.
Going back for a moment, this rated 7 pages at Business Week. (I think it's "plum" not "plumb" btw.)
My friend is appalled that I shop at WalMart. I like WalMart. They have almost everything I want and at the lowest price around. If you need to return something, it's hassle-free. What's not to like.
Amazon has just about everything and for the lowest prices around. If you need to return something, it's hassle-free. Unlike with traditional publishing, all my books are now for sale (without commentary from idiot editors), hassle-free and with a larger royalty. What's not to like?
Jeff Bezos is too successful? That's a bad thing? I used to shop at a number of different sites. Amazon made it easier. What is it, immoral, to want your life to be simplified? If Jeff Bezos is doing it so well, do it better.
I'm so tired of people complaining. This isn't kiddie soccer where everyone gets a plastic trophy for participating. If you want everything to be equal, go to North Korea where they're all eating bark off the trees.
I'm sorry (I am) that people who own bookstores are going out of business. That's not because of Amazon (not entirely), it's because publishing has been in the toilet for over 20 years. Those elitist nutcases in New York put you in this position, not one guy with a good business plan. Books became unfriendly to readers. Heck, they became writer unfriendly. An arrogance permeated the whole industry. When people had an alternative, they took it. That's not Amazon's fault.
There's no next topic. I have to get back to my book.
No.
Next topic.
Going back for a moment, this rated 7 pages at Business Week. (I think it's "plum" not "plumb" btw.)
My friend is appalled that I shop at WalMart. I like WalMart. They have almost everything I want and at the lowest price around. If you need to return something, it's hassle-free. What's not to like.
Amazon has just about everything and for the lowest prices around. If you need to return something, it's hassle-free. Unlike with traditional publishing, all my books are now for sale (without commentary from idiot editors), hassle-free and with a larger royalty. What's not to like?
Jeff Bezos is too successful? That's a bad thing? I used to shop at a number of different sites. Amazon made it easier. What is it, immoral, to want your life to be simplified? If Jeff Bezos is doing it so well, do it better.
I'm so tired of people complaining. This isn't kiddie soccer where everyone gets a plastic trophy for participating. If you want everything to be equal, go to North Korea where they're all eating bark off the trees.
I'm sorry (I am) that people who own bookstores are going out of business. That's not because of Amazon (not entirely), it's because publishing has been in the toilet for over 20 years. Those elitist nutcases in New York put you in this position, not one guy with a good business plan. Books became unfriendly to readers. Heck, they became writer unfriendly. An arrogance permeated the whole industry. When people had an alternative, they took it. That's not Amazon's fault.
There's no next topic. I have to get back to my book.
Saturday, October 8, 2011
Writing Descriptions
I hate writing descriptions almost as much as I hate writing a synopsis for agents and editors. Luckily I don't have to do that part anymore but I still have to do descriptions.
The publishing industry (bunch o' know nothings for the most part) thought I wasn't served well by writing for television. I beg to differ. I learned a whole lot. One thing you learn as a headwriter (and I want to make it clear I never worked as a scriptwriter. Sure, I wrote scripts, lots of them, but that was never my job title) is how to sell story to people who are starting at zero. You don't get to talk to them, you don't have the opportunity to "perform" and shine for them, using your sparkling personality to put the thing across. They're going to read it in their office when they're probably in a not very good mood. Every few months you have to write a document called a bible and it tells everyone involved where the story is going (before they start tinkering with it and totally ruin it). There's a certain tone to it, a style. You pick that up fast.
That's how I look at descriptions. I still hate it but it's more than necessary, it's crucial. How do you approach this, how do you think about this?
Instead of thinking about plot, think about theme. If plot is "The queen died, then the king died" let's think of theme as "The queen died and because the king loved her so much, his life drained away and he died." What is going on in your book that drives the story forward? What are the characters feeling? Emotions make people behave in certain ways. Characters react to situations. What's happening and how are characters reacting?
This is what will make your potential reader pass on the book or buy it. Does your description connect with the reader? Maybe not. Not everyone will like your book even if you write a great description. But few will buy your book if you just give them a cursory snapshot of the book thinking that will be enough.
It's not enough. Here is the only chance you have to sell the book. Here is where you change visitors to buyers.
Your eye-catching cover brought them here. It did its job. Now you have to convince them in a few short paragraphs that there is something in this book for them.
If your book isn't selling, look at your description first. Is it as good as you can make it? Can you rethink it? Does it reflect what's best about your book?
I was speaking recently with someone who wrote a book that should by all rights be up at the top of the charts. It sells nothing a month. What is so creative and inventive about this book isn't mentioned in the description. Why not? I think the description lacks drama and conviction. I think the cover is fine. I think readers like a good cover but I think the order of importance is 1) write the best book you can (you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear etc.) 2) write the best description you can (if you don't have a good book, how much can you fix that in a description without lying?) 3) get the best cover you can to bring the people to you.
People will find you. They will also ignore you . I think a lot of books are bought because they are just on a list and everyone is buying it so more people just buy it. But I think there is a substantial number of people just doing a search to see what they can find. How many times a week do you go to Amazon, type in a search term and see what pops up. I spent an hour looking for a book on King John yesterday. Typed in Henry II. Typed in Richard the Lion-Hearted. Typed in Kathryn Swynford. Books turn up. You look at them. That's how people find you.
Does Facebook help? I have no idea. But what I do know is that where you have to shine is at Amazon. Make everything right there. Amazon is there to sell books and they do everything they can to sell more books. Let their business plan help you by doing the best you can at your job.
The publishing industry (bunch o' know nothings for the most part) thought I wasn't served well by writing for television. I beg to differ. I learned a whole lot. One thing you learn as a headwriter (and I want to make it clear I never worked as a scriptwriter. Sure, I wrote scripts, lots of them, but that was never my job title) is how to sell story to people who are starting at zero. You don't get to talk to them, you don't have the opportunity to "perform" and shine for them, using your sparkling personality to put the thing across. They're going to read it in their office when they're probably in a not very good mood. Every few months you have to write a document called a bible and it tells everyone involved where the story is going (before they start tinkering with it and totally ruin it). There's a certain tone to it, a style. You pick that up fast.
That's how I look at descriptions. I still hate it but it's more than necessary, it's crucial. How do you approach this, how do you think about this?
Instead of thinking about plot, think about theme. If plot is "The queen died, then the king died" let's think of theme as "The queen died and because the king loved her so much, his life drained away and he died." What is going on in your book that drives the story forward? What are the characters feeling? Emotions make people behave in certain ways. Characters react to situations. What's happening and how are characters reacting?
This is what will make your potential reader pass on the book or buy it. Does your description connect with the reader? Maybe not. Not everyone will like your book even if you write a great description. But few will buy your book if you just give them a cursory snapshot of the book thinking that will be enough.
It's not enough. Here is the only chance you have to sell the book. Here is where you change visitors to buyers.
Your eye-catching cover brought them here. It did its job. Now you have to convince them in a few short paragraphs that there is something in this book for them.
If your book isn't selling, look at your description first. Is it as good as you can make it? Can you rethink it? Does it reflect what's best about your book?
I was speaking recently with someone who wrote a book that should by all rights be up at the top of the charts. It sells nothing a month. What is so creative and inventive about this book isn't mentioned in the description. Why not? I think the description lacks drama and conviction. I think the cover is fine. I think readers like a good cover but I think the order of importance is 1) write the best book you can (you can't make a silk purse out of a sow's ear etc.) 2) write the best description you can (if you don't have a good book, how much can you fix that in a description without lying?) 3) get the best cover you can to bring the people to you.
People will find you. They will also ignore you . I think a lot of books are bought because they are just on a list and everyone is buying it so more people just buy it. But I think there is a substantial number of people just doing a search to see what they can find. How many times a week do you go to Amazon, type in a search term and see what pops up. I spent an hour looking for a book on King John yesterday. Typed in Henry II. Typed in Richard the Lion-Hearted. Typed in Kathryn Swynford. Books turn up. You look at them. That's how people find you.
Does Facebook help? I have no idea. But what I do know is that where you have to shine is at Amazon. Make everything right there. Amazon is there to sell books and they do everything they can to sell more books. Let their business plan help you by doing the best you can at your job.
Friday, October 7, 2011
Je Ne Parle Pas Francais, darnit!
Is that how you say it?
News du jour --
"French publisher Flammarion has signed an agreement to sell its electronic titles through Amazon and Apple’s iBookstore.
The publisher is the first in France to sign up with Amazon, just before the Kindle is expected to be launched on the French market. Several other publishers have pacts with Apple, including Hachette Livre, La Martinière and Albin Michel, but they have yet to follow for Amazon."
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/flammarion-signs-amazon-deal-ahead-kindle-launch.html
Flammarion published Impossible Charlie (now Dream Horse) years ago so I suppose I should try to get the French rights back and repub immediately.
News du jour --
"French publisher Flammarion has signed an agreement to sell its electronic titles through Amazon and Apple’s iBookstore.
The publisher is the first in France to sign up with Amazon, just before the Kindle is expected to be launched on the French market. Several other publishers have pacts with Apple, including Hachette Livre, La Martinière and Albin Michel, but they have yet to follow for Amazon."
http://www.thebookseller.com/news/flammarion-signs-amazon-deal-ahead-kindle-launch.html
Flammarion published Impossible Charlie (now Dream Horse) years ago so I suppose I should try to get the French rights back and repub immediately.
My misunderstanding. Amazon Kindle opened this morning and all my ebooks are live and ready to be sold.
Still they're not in French so I don't know how helpful that will really be but I got a real kick out of it!
I'm So Confused!
Not me but someone who read something I wrote and completely got it wrong.
I'm not exactly a beginner at this writing thing and while I will allow that in quick posts to forums and even this blog, things don't always come out as you intend. I already know this and take care to be as clear as possible.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be possible to be as clear as required to allow everyone to speed read with earbuds in, playing Doom, and having 20 other things going on and still get what you're attempting to convey.
Try to be as clear as you can. Try to use words people recognize--I know that's dismaying but it's good advice at this point, and especially since we seem to be hurtling to a world market where readers may be pretty good in English but not as sharp as a native American (can I say that???).
I don't think there's any solution for this and a lot of bad reviews are a result of bad reading. Someone is just not paying attention and thinking. I should make up a sign "Thinking Required". But I didn't, I worked on this autumnal photo from 1906.
I'm not exactly a beginner at this writing thing and while I will allow that in quick posts to forums and even this blog, things don't always come out as you intend. I already know this and take care to be as clear as possible.
Unfortunately it doesn't seem to be possible to be as clear as required to allow everyone to speed read with earbuds in, playing Doom, and having 20 other things going on and still get what you're attempting to convey.
Try to be as clear as you can. Try to use words people recognize--I know that's dismaying but it's good advice at this point, and especially since we seem to be hurtling to a world market where readers may be pretty good in English but not as sharp as a native American (can I say that???).
I don't think there's any solution for this and a lot of bad reviews are a result of bad reading. Someone is just not paying attention and thinking. I should make up a sign "Thinking Required". But I didn't, I worked on this autumnal photo from 1906.
| James Whitcomb Riley. 1853–1916 |
| When the Frost is on the Punkin |
Thursday, October 6, 2011
India's $60 Tab
"Move over, Kindle Fire - the world has a new cheapest tablet computer. India’s government has announced a new Android-powered tablet called Aakash priced at between $35 and $60 that could set a light under the booming country’s digital content market"
India's Fire
Yeah, maybe, it has a couple things in common with the Kindle Fire, both run Android, but I suspect the Aakash is a very stripped down device and the Fire isn't. Aside from the fact there are cheaper tabs than the Fire already, like an Asus I saw recently. (Did I read that sentence wrong?)
Still, this is what we're waiting for, and at some point maybe readers will be $10 subsidized by sales and adverts.
So Jeff Bezos will be there opening Amazon India just as the Aakash (does that have anything to do with the Akashic Records?) is released.
Did I mention that I got a quote on translating one of my books into German for Amazon DE and the price was about $3000? This is going to be a very large stumbling block for most of us. I know Scott Nicholson is doing it and achieving great sales but he has great sales here. He's writing something very commercial that people really want. If you are not seeing great sales and you're a little more niche-market, why would you invest that kind of money in a translation. If you were going to invest money, the place I would start is with a professionally designed cover for the American market.
India's Fire
Yeah, maybe, it has a couple things in common with the Kindle Fire, both run Android, but I suspect the Aakash is a very stripped down device and the Fire isn't. Aside from the fact there are cheaper tabs than the Fire already, like an Asus I saw recently. (Did I read that sentence wrong?)
Still, this is what we're waiting for, and at some point maybe readers will be $10 subsidized by sales and adverts.
So Jeff Bezos will be there opening Amazon India just as the Aakash (does that have anything to do with the Akashic Records?) is released.
Did I mention that I got a quote on translating one of my books into German for Amazon DE and the price was about $3000? This is going to be a very large stumbling block for most of us. I know Scott Nicholson is doing it and achieving great sales but he has great sales here. He's writing something very commercial that people really want. If you are not seeing great sales and you're a little more niche-market, why would you invest that kind of money in a translation. If you were going to invest money, the place I would start is with a professionally designed cover for the American market.
Just read where Joe Konrath is hanging up his blogger hat for a while. That will be a hole in the publishing blogosphere. He does have a dynamism others lack, he does have success most of us lack and with that success the accompanying experience so it will be hard to duplicate his efforts. Maybe he'll be back. He'll be fine either way.
Wednesday, October 5, 2011
The PCness of Halloween
There seems to be a concerted effort by some to erase religion (not of any kind, of certain kinds) in the country.
I thought it remarkable to watch the Amanda Knox acquittal and see a cross with Jesus hanging on the wall. That just wouldn't be permitted here. Or probably in England where there have been complaints about Christmas carols.
So I started wondering how long we will be permitted to enjoy Halloween without the anti-religious police haranguing us. Because, after all, Halloween is All Hallow's Eve, preceding All Saints' Day. They may not have gotten the memo on that yet.
What is this new right, the Not To Be Offended Right? Turn away, don't look. I find pornography offensive, so I don't look at it. Simple.
Doing my part to read this month, I ordered a book on donuts from Amazon and UPS will drop it by today. Like a little Christmas. Yikes! Turn away if that word offends you. I'm Jewish and it doesn't offend me so go figure.
I thought it remarkable to watch the Amanda Knox acquittal and see a cross with Jesus hanging on the wall. That just wouldn't be permitted here. Or probably in England where there have been complaints about Christmas carols.
So I started wondering how long we will be permitted to enjoy Halloween without the anti-religious police haranguing us. Because, after all, Halloween is All Hallow's Eve, preceding All Saints' Day. They may not have gotten the memo on that yet.
What is this new right, the Not To Be Offended Right? Turn away, don't look. I find pornography offensive, so I don't look at it. Simple.
Doing my part to read this month, I ordered a book on donuts from Amazon and UPS will drop it by today. Like a little Christmas. Yikes! Turn away if that word offends you. I'm Jewish and it doesn't offend me so go figure.
Tuesday, October 4, 2011
99 Cent Price Point
I'm not going to hammer on this again, I'm going to ask some questions pertinent to this price and see if we get anywhere.
Apparently readers are under the impression they can pay 99 cents and get a book so long it's probably unpublishable by legacy publishing standards. Once you get into the 100,000 word range, that's long. It's hard to ship because not as many fit in a box, they fall apart, whatever whatever. Harry Potter tomes are an anomaly. (Tell me you didn't skim, too.)
I've read self-published books that could have had 200 pages cut and it wouldn't have hurt, would only have helped. I don't know what the appeal to bad writing at length is unless it's like a Director's Cut DVD which includes all the scenes that shouldn't be there and runs 3 tedious hours.
I'm going to release a novella in the next few weeks. It will be novella length. It will still be priced at 99 cents because Amazon doesn't give me a choice. I noticed yesterday Konrath's new book is a novella. I've seen more novellas coming out recently than ever before. One reason might be that no one is going to legacy pub a novella. You'd have to have 2 or 3 maybe with similar themes (Christmas) in order to warrant all the bother of publishing a book.
Konrath writes very fast as do some other writers. They seem to have a lot of words in them. But still do you want to write 1 70,000-100,000 word book for 99 cents or perhaps 2 or 3 "novellas" for 99 cents each, increasing your shelfspace presence, potential to be noticed, increase in sales ie the reader likes you so wants to buy all your books not just your 1.
Is this shortchanging the reader? No. They have come to expect too much. Massive length books at 99 cents cheat the author. It devalues their work and their worth.
When I started my writing career, my first editor (actually my best one) wisely said "A book is as long as it takes to tell the story."
I question whether 100,000 words is required to tell most stories.
I had a review that said something like "Good book but should be longer." No, it shouldn't. It told the story. This is like a movie studio making a deal with McDonald's to include plastic toys in a Happy Meal that are linked to the lastest Hollywood release. They say "this extends the experience of the movie."
I can understand that from both sides. The movie company wants to increase awareness of the product and sell more tickets. McDonald's wants to sell more burgers and they get free publicity every time the movie trailer runs. The audience wants to live in the unreal world of the movie for longer than 90 minutes. Seeing a plastic Mirror of Erised or a Spongebob gives them an alternate reality. I won't discuss whether or not I think they should be spending so much time in alternate realities.
Readers sometimes say (so infrequently really) "I didn't want the book to end". Okay. I believe that. What I don't believe is that all these long books are so marvelous the reader doesn't want them to end. Call me a cynic but I think it's more like Dudley Dursley throwing a screaming fit when he receives less birthday presents than last year and Uncle Vernon says "Ha ha. The tike wants to get his money's worth."
All of which is a very extended experience of saying I think it's smarter to write short than long at this point if most readers think 99 cents is the perfect price.
Apparently readers are under the impression they can pay 99 cents and get a book so long it's probably unpublishable by legacy publishing standards. Once you get into the 100,000 word range, that's long. It's hard to ship because not as many fit in a box, they fall apart, whatever whatever. Harry Potter tomes are an anomaly. (Tell me you didn't skim, too.)
I've read self-published books that could have had 200 pages cut and it wouldn't have hurt, would only have helped. I don't know what the appeal to bad writing at length is unless it's like a Director's Cut DVD which includes all the scenes that shouldn't be there and runs 3 tedious hours.
I'm going to release a novella in the next few weeks. It will be novella length. It will still be priced at 99 cents because Amazon doesn't give me a choice. I noticed yesterday Konrath's new book is a novella. I've seen more novellas coming out recently than ever before. One reason might be that no one is going to legacy pub a novella. You'd have to have 2 or 3 maybe with similar themes (Christmas) in order to warrant all the bother of publishing a book.
Konrath writes very fast as do some other writers. They seem to have a lot of words in them. But still do you want to write 1 70,000-100,000 word book for 99 cents or perhaps 2 or 3 "novellas" for 99 cents each, increasing your shelfspace presence, potential to be noticed, increase in sales ie the reader likes you so wants to buy all your books not just your 1.
Is this shortchanging the reader? No. They have come to expect too much. Massive length books at 99 cents cheat the author. It devalues their work and their worth.
When I started my writing career, my first editor (actually my best one) wisely said "A book is as long as it takes to tell the story."
I question whether 100,000 words is required to tell most stories.
I had a review that said something like "Good book but should be longer." No, it shouldn't. It told the story. This is like a movie studio making a deal with McDonald's to include plastic toys in a Happy Meal that are linked to the lastest Hollywood release. They say "this extends the experience of the movie."
I can understand that from both sides. The movie company wants to increase awareness of the product and sell more tickets. McDonald's wants to sell more burgers and they get free publicity every time the movie trailer runs. The audience wants to live in the unreal world of the movie for longer than 90 minutes. Seeing a plastic Mirror of Erised or a Spongebob gives them an alternate reality. I won't discuss whether or not I think they should be spending so much time in alternate realities.
Readers sometimes say (so infrequently really) "I didn't want the book to end". Okay. I believe that. What I don't believe is that all these long books are so marvelous the reader doesn't want them to end. Call me a cynic but I think it's more like Dudley Dursley throwing a screaming fit when he receives less birthday presents than last year and Uncle Vernon says "Ha ha. The tike wants to get his money's worth."
All of which is a very extended experience of saying I think it's smarter to write short than long at this point if most readers think 99 cents is the perfect price.
Monday, October 3, 2011
Last of the Tomatoes
On a less attractive note, here's a question that came through on one of the publishing lists I'm on.
"as far as e-books go, what is the best, cheapest converter? And do I have to choose a company that manages my accounts? Can I do it myself and avoid paying someone to do this?"
Let take this one point at a time. I'm confused. Why do you need a "converter"?
You upload the document file to BN or Amazon or Smashwords and they convert it for you. What more can anyone ask for or need? What's the point in using Calibre (or Sigil which I can't make work and both are free) convert it to anything else? Unless you're using InDesign which is overkill for this exercise.
What do you need a company for? What kind of company? I just spent most of last week researching epublishing and I have no idea what this person is talking about. What?
Can you do it yourself? I have no idea. It would have taken a five minute Google search to answer these questions but that was apparently too difficult. BN, Amazon and especially Smashwords (totally gone out of their way) provide FAQs detailing their requirements. Smashwords is very specific on how to do the formatting, they have a free book on it.
Take control of your life, your career and your business and find out what's needed. This is not rocket science. It is annoying and time consuming, I admit that. I admit that just turning the thing over to have someone format it for you and charges $100 looks appealing. Will you ever make that $100 back? Can you afford that $100 in this financial climate? Or will going through the process of self publishing teach you skills you wouldn't have otherwise?
It's been one year since BN opened PubIt to self-publishers. It's only one year.
Sunday, October 2, 2011
Meme Me Me
Meme--Men are bad, women are great.
I was just an Amazon looking at my non-sales of late and saw a book called something like Taming the Bastard.
Romantic Comedy. A man, is of course, the bastard. I have all the hope in the world for the future of that relationship. Let me spell it out for you. If she respects him so little now and calls him a bastard 1) why does she want to marry him 2) what will change so that she doesn't continue to think of him as a bastard?
Yesterday I finished doing some research for someone, came to about 30 pages, so I was tired and got into bed early to watch an old movie. Instead there was something on the Man Hating Channel, I mean Lifetime TV, I never heard of the movie and I like Harry Connick Jr well enough. Then I saw the wife from Men in Black was in it and I like her, so okay I'll watch
What a horrible piece of derivative dreck. I'll just address how unlikeable the main character is. I have amnesia about her name. She was mean, small and petty to everyone. Then of course, you have the standard transition where she starts to melt and you are supposed to see she has a nicer side. Then of course, there's an opportunity to make it all back to the townsfolk she treated so horribly and everything is fine.
I didn't watch that trailer. Was there an interview with either the writer or director who said this is "a character driven story"? I don't know what to say if they really believe that, or they're so clueless they don't know better.
The movie on USA Channel at the same time was the elegantly titled film "Knocked Up".
The only thing I can take comfort in this morning is a post by Konrath from a couple days ago when he said there will be a huge audience and at that point even a niche audience will be substantial. I know I don't write the straight commercial work. I don't write about men being bastards who need to be housebroken, tamed and crushed by ditzy shoe-shopping females. No, that doesn't interest me. And seriously good for all of you who can do that, and believe it and it comes from your heart. We now have the opportunity and freedom to write what does move us and inspire us, whatever it is, and yes I believe at some point we will all be found by readers who are moved by those thoughts, too.
I was just an Amazon looking at my non-sales of late and saw a book called something like Taming the Bastard.
Romantic Comedy. A man, is of course, the bastard. I have all the hope in the world for the future of that relationship. Let me spell it out for you. If she respects him so little now and calls him a bastard 1) why does she want to marry him 2) what will change so that she doesn't continue to think of him as a bastard?
Yesterday I finished doing some research for someone, came to about 30 pages, so I was tired and got into bed early to watch an old movie. Instead there was something on the Man Hating Channel, I mean Lifetime TV, I never heard of the movie and I like Harry Connick Jr well enough. Then I saw the wife from Men in Black was in it and I like her, so okay I'll watch
What a horrible piece of derivative dreck. I'll just address how unlikeable the main character is. I have amnesia about her name. She was mean, small and petty to everyone. Then of course, you have the standard transition where she starts to melt and you are supposed to see she has a nicer side. Then of course, there's an opportunity to make it all back to the townsfolk she treated so horribly and everything is fine.
I didn't watch that trailer. Was there an interview with either the writer or director who said this is "a character driven story"? I don't know what to say if they really believe that, or they're so clueless they don't know better.
The movie on USA Channel at the same time was the elegantly titled film "Knocked Up".
The only thing I can take comfort in this morning is a post by Konrath from a couple days ago when he said there will be a huge audience and at that point even a niche audience will be substantial. I know I don't write the straight commercial work. I don't write about men being bastards who need to be housebroken, tamed and crushed by ditzy shoe-shopping females. No, that doesn't interest me. And seriously good for all of you who can do that, and believe it and it comes from your heart. We now have the opportunity and freedom to write what does move us and inspire us, whatever it is, and yes I believe at some point we will all be found by readers who are moved by those thoughts, too.
Saturday, October 1, 2011
Overnight Success
I didn't watch the first season of American Idol, missing Kelly Clarkson, but I watched all the other years. Especially with Carrie Underwood, who I loved, I wondered "How do you learn how to do this?" What kind of background do you have to be able to walk out in front of all these people and sing sort of professionally.
Then I saw a bio of Carrie and saw she'd been singing and performing since she was a little girl. Okay. That explains a lot.
This week on X Factor Josh Krajcik shows up. He couldn't be more disheveled. So here's the whole segment. Pay special attention to Simon rolling his eyes.
"What are you going to sing?"
"At Last."
"Really?" I cringed along with Simon. Oh please not.
Then see what happens at the second word out of Josh's mouth.
x
How do you learn how to do this? Oh I'm just a simple burrito slinger.
Yeah.
So I found this on youtube. Now I understand what LA Reid was saying at the end. It was a performance.
Josh was looking for max impact. He was playing us.
Mom knew what she was talking about.
Overnight success takes that investment of 10,000 hours.
Then I saw a bio of Carrie and saw she'd been singing and performing since she was a little girl. Okay. That explains a lot.
This week on X Factor Josh Krajcik shows up. He couldn't be more disheveled. So here's the whole segment. Pay special attention to Simon rolling his eyes.
"What are you going to sing?"
"At Last."
"Really?" I cringed along with Simon. Oh please not.
Then see what happens at the second word out of Josh's mouth.
x
How do you learn how to do this? Oh I'm just a simple burrito slinger.
Yeah.
So I found this on youtube. Now I understand what LA Reid was saying at the end. It was a performance.
Josh was looking for max impact. He was playing us.
Mom knew what she was talking about.
Overnight success takes that investment of 10,000 hours.
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