Image via Flickr Creative Commons, courtesy of Tim Simpson.
It’s been amazing and terrifying to watch the changes in our industry just over the past six years. For generations, there was only a handful of items a writer needed to do. Write a book. Query. Get an agent. Land a deal. Hopefully continue writing more books. Though this was far simpler, there was a horrific failure rate and most writers never saw their works in print.
In The Digital Age, we live in an exciting time. E-books have offered new life to many works that were simply a bad investment in the paper-based world (novellas, epic fantasy, poetry). Yet, with new opportunity comes new responsibilities.
We must understand the business side of our business. And, as someone who teaches at many conferences, I know that until recently it has been rare to find an in-person conference that offers training outside…
Earlier this week I allowed my toddler to take over my blog for a few reasons. 1) He is a master manipulator 2) I’d mentioned my other son a few times and decided he deserved some spot light time and 3) His methods may be somewhat Machiavellian, but he instinctively knows how to conduct a basic personal SWOT analysis.
By SWOT I mean the business process of analyzing Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities, and Threats and then figuring out a way to turn weaknesses into strengths and threats into opportunities, or at least neutralizing them.
He is mobile, but not agile. That is fine with him, he forces us to fetch and carry for him so that he can focus on other priorities saving vital resource time.
He is loud, but not necessarily articulate. He finds other ways to get his message across. He is big on non-verbal communication.
What he lacks in world experience he makes up for by cultivating strategic partnerships.
All to often we try to be too many things to too many people. As the saying goes, when you try to please everyone, you please no one. Our messages become diluted, convoluted and lost in the crowd. In business it is of utmost importance that you clearly identify your target customer / target market.
When I began writing, I decided the same principles applied. There are going to be readers out there who just aren’t going to be interested in what I have to say, or be turned off by my style. Just as if I was creating a marketing plan in mind for product development, I tried to always keep my ideal audience in mind as I was writing. The story could easily have taken various, ultimately pointless, detours if I had tried to throw in nuggets for my non-target readers.
In addition to the book’s SWOT, I thought I might follow my toddler tyrant’s lead and complete my own personal SWOT. So what were my strengths? In the case of An Uncertain Faith, while I didn’t have much professional publishing experience, I have more than a few years of experience with much of the subject matter.
My weaknesses? The lack of prior publishing experience was a big one, but my day job has given me plenty of experience writing to non-English speakers. If you ever wonder if you are describing something well enough, send a note to overseas colleagues. If they can understand you even after putting it through a free translation program then you know your word choice is spot on. If you don’t have that luxury, merely open two free translation programs. Write text in one and convert it to Traditional Chinese. Copy and paste the Chinese translation into the second translator, specify that it is Simplified Chinese and convert back to English. I tried this once where I attempted to describe a metal fan blade. The resulting translation back was a poetic phrase about steel flower petals wafting in the wind. I believe there might have been a tiger involved as well.
Threats? Yes, there are going to be internet trolls and negative reviews out there, and as I become more successful they will become a greater threat, but at this time I found my greatest threat was myself. If I didn’t hit the submit button, I would never achieve success.
Opportunities? Well that is the whole point to this exercise isn’t it?
An unforeseen benefit from giving the little man the blog reins for the day was giving me an opportunity for my first blog two-parter, my first attempt at a sequel! I hope you enjoyed it.
where the wild things are tribute (Photo credit: Tojosan)
Taking command of any situation has always come naturally to me, but now that I track my age in terms of years rather than months, I’ve come to recognize that the path to success and world dominance may be more mysterious to others. I commanded one of my servants to write down my observations so that those that follow behind them may benefit from my years of experience.
Each of us are born with a set of tools, that when properly deployed, can ensure successful command of the servant set known as Mom and Dad. These tools are the piercing cry, the appearance of helplessness, and natural cuteness.
Step 1: Neutralize Potential Rivals with Speed and Extreme Prejudice
It is true that you cannot choose your family. For those of you who are placed in homes with two servants, you must exert your dominance. They may have the false belief that because they outnumber you they get to control the schedule. You must clear up this misconception immediately.
I found the easiest way to do this is through the process of divide and conquering. In my case I selected one of the two to ‘favor.’ For several months, I would allow none but the chosen one (Mom) to carry me around the house or feed me through effective use of a combination of the aforementioned piercing cry and sleep deprivation. While wearing down the resistance level of Mom, this tactic also causes the second servant (Dad) to be filled with feelings of inadequacy and/or guilt. Once conditioned, all I had to do is favor Dad with the smallest attention and he was volunteering to do my bidding.
It is important not to maintain the illusion of favor for too long of a period otherwise it will lose its effectiveness. I recommend that after no more than a year, you suddenly switch preference for no apparent reason. This will leave both servants wondering what they did to change your favor.
Secondly, do whatever you can to drastically alter the frequency and consistency of your bowel movements. This will cause the occasional discomfort, but it is worth it in the long run. Your servants will become obsessed with tracking your changes. This will become a frequent conversational topic even when you grant them a night out insuring that by granting them some alone time you do not inadvertently open the door for a younger, cuter housemate.
Step 2: Allow for the Appearance of Hope
Next, I found that many children make the mistake of walking very early on. I understand the temptation. It can be hard to properly train your servants and you may grow frustrated if they do not immediately jump to execute your commands, but do not give in. Once you begin to move about on your own, they will begin to question their continued belief in your helplessness. It is much, much better that you continue to demand that they carry you around everywhere. They will learn to love the additional time you spend together in doctors’ offices talking about you.
However you do not want them to become discouraged with your progress. It is important that you occasionally look like you are making an effort. Attempt to pull up on furniture, but fall immediately. Let them know you are healthy – as this will prevent shots, but just not ‘ready.’
Another good tactic is to point towards your hind end and say the word ‘potty’. This will cause the servants to start to dream about the day they no longer have to buy diapers. They will place you on a potty seat. Crush this dream by never, ever doing your business when and where they want. Laugh at their pleas as if you don’t understand.
As long as your servants believe there is hope for a change from the status quo, they will be less likely to rebel and or force you to do something not of your choosing.
Step 3: Dominate the Room. Any Room.
Eventually though, the temptation will grow too strong and you’ll mess up. They’ll catch you taking steps. They will start to question their belief in your helplessness. Once that occurs you will need to make them regret ever worrying about your development by getting into everything. They will think that it is now time to challenge your authority. Show them who is boss by breaking something they treasure. This will also help them to devalue material possessions. They will thank you in the long run.
Exert your personal style everywhere. Walls will be made better by your art. If those papers your older servants left out were so important they would have already been attended to. The servant called Mom doesn’t need to be distracted by magazines. Tear them up. They take attention away from you.
Step 4: Exude Irresistibility
After you conduct the required level of destruction, you will need to act quickly to stop the vein from pulsing in their forehead. Grab a stuffed animal, cock your head, and bat your eyelashes. No toys nearby? Placing leftover food in your hair also seems to work. Parrot their words while changing one or two syllables will win them back over to your side in a heartbeat. You will know you have achieved success when the camera comes out.
Step 5: Continuously Cultivate Allies
If you find yourself in a home with an older child, attempt to mimic a handful of things he or she does. He or she will then believe you want to be just like them. When the older servants attempt to challenge your authority, a well trained older sibling can be relied upon to sneak you toys and treats, and serve as a convenient scapegoat.
Finally, the greatest secret is to never, ever show any signs of disobedience in front of the servants’ parents (grandparents). This will ensure that the grandparents, who are more naturally prone to cave in and give you anything you want with minimal manipulation, will not believe your servants’ complaints about your behavior. Lacking allies, your Mom and Dad will be further forced to do your bidding.
By following these easy tips, you have a household running to your satisfaction in no time.
Cropped transparent version of Image:Olympic flag.svg (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
Its time once again for the Olympics, and the difference between the last few host cities couldn’t be more apparent. Alleged human rights and environmental abuses aside, you cannot question that the Chinese knew how to put on a good show when it was their turn to host the games. They knew that the world would be watching and squashed anything at all that might tarnish their stage presence. The Chinese built entire cities leading up to the Olympics and even took a stab at beating Mother Nature at her own game.
And then there came the 2014 Winter Games. Hotels lack hot a/o clean water, pillows, lobbies, and in some cases floors. My particular favorite has been reports of toilet stalls that fit two+. I love my husband, but even still we like to maintain some degree of mystery in our relationship. At this point, I believe it might be fair to assume that the games themselves are really only going to be memorable for the athletes and their loved ones.
Where did the planning commission for the Russian games go wrong. They obviously didn’t skimp on the budget. Was there a lack of market research? A lack of accountability regarding missed due dates? Or did they just try to do too much with too little resources?
There are universal constraints to any project: scope, cost, time, and quality. Pull at any one and you affect the rest. Assuming you don’t allow for any scope creep. You can offer a low-cost product in a short lead time, but don’t try to sell anyone on its quality. If quality is most important, it will either take significant time to be ready to market, or it will be expensive. It is extremely rare to have all and still succeed in the marketplace. In order to execute your plan well, you need to identify which of these three attributes is most important, but at the same time, identify those you are willing to sacrifice as needed. Even more importantly, once you’ve identified your priorities, you need to stick to them come hell or high water.
Comparing the prep work (not the games themselves) what can we learn? Execution matters. It doesn’t matter if you have the world’s best product in the world. If you can’t deliver no one is going to trust you long enough to buy it. The same goes for story ideas. Without proper execution, you can have the most compelling characters the world will never see.
I’ve had ABBA’s Take a Chance on Me stuck in my head for the past two days thanks to a video sent to me in support of the local chapter of the SPCA. Luckily for me I enjoy the song and so found myself dancing to my own mental soundtrack as the song looped on endless repeat, particularly to the lines:
“Gonna do my very best, baby can’t you see
Gotta put me to the test, take a chance on me…”
I may also have been dancing because I received a message from Reader’s Favorite advising me that I had received a five star review for An Uncertain Faith.
I often hear from friends and family that they didn’t know that I wanted to be a writer, and I don’t blame them. For the past several years I had dreamed about writing a novel, but you don’t exactly brag about the number of stories you start, but never make it past a page or two. It is extremely easy to hit the delete button on the keyboard. Each time I would tell myself this time is going to be different. This time I have a solid idea that is screaming to be written. Then life would happen. So no, writing didn’t exactly enter into my personal 30 second elevator speech.
But this year it was different. I decided to really take a chance on me. Could I force myself to have the discipline to keep writing even when I hit the wall? Yes. Could I actually hit the send button to submit a manuscript to a professional reviewer? Gulp yes… and could I actually risk my own ego by opening their response?
Yes, because the surest way not to get your book read is to never submit it at all. I did my best. I took a chance on me.
This site contains affiliate links, which means I may receive compensation when you click on a link to a third-party site. I am also a participant in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program designed to provide a means to earn fees by linking to Amazon.com and affiliated sites.
Image via Flickr Creative Commons, courtesy of Tim Simpson. 
Allie Potts 