Monthly Archives: November 2011

Friday Fun: “New” Way to Get Published

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Publishers have always preferred authors with a “platform” — a group of people who already know about and will buy things they write. That’s why celebrities keep getting million-dollar advances to write advice books on topics where they have no expertise.

One way to cash in on this fact is to create a platform using social media, then come to the negotiating table with a list of customers. For today’s Friday fun, I’ll point you to the web pages that started successful authors on their way.

Keep in mind that humor seems to be one of the best ways to “go viral” with social media. These sites are funny, which means some people might find them offensive. Don’t say I didn’t warn you.

Shit My Dad Says started as a Twitter feed of funny statements by Justin Halpern’s cantankerous dad. It turned into a major book deal and a TV show starring William Freakin’ Shatner.

Things My Girlfriend and I Have Argued About is an example of truth in advertising. Author Mill Millington’s reports from the domestic front. Three books later, the relationship — and the laughs — are still going strong.

27b/6 is the work of David Thorne, a designer who started publishing his more frustrating email exchanges. He makes these exchanges extra frustrating by venting his impressive hostility on the poor saps who inconvenience him. He apparently has a book deal now.

Tucker Max is not for the faint of heart, or the good of sense. The two books from his website (so far) are I Hope They Serve Beer in Hell  and Assholes Finish First. If you like drunkenness, womanizing and general bad behavior, you’ll find it funny. If you don’t, avoid clicking on the link.

How about y’all? Anybody have some similar sites to add to the list?

Staying Motivated

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Business guru Michael Gerber notes that the people who want to be in business for themselves are often the least qualified people to do so.

It seems the traits that make you unhappy working for the man are the same traits that make it hard to run a business or contracting service effectively. One of these traits is the ability to stay motivated.

If you’re strongly self-motivated in a regular job, your boss rarely has to come provide that motivation for you. This means you don’t clash with your boss, and you have less reason to go out on your own. If your boss is always riding you, one possible reason is that you’re not as self-motivated as he would like.

Without your boss, you have less stress in that department — but there’s nobody to motivate you but yourself. If you’re not great at self-motivation, you’ll need to find an outside source.

  • Set deadlines, even when your client hasn’t provided you with one. Meeting your deadlines is a valuable skill on its own, and gets you in the habit of staying motivated.
  • Finish the day with notes and planning. This will mean you occasionally think about your work over the rest of the day — and leaves you excited about sitting down to write in the morning.
  • Find an accountability partner, somebody who you report your progress to and who ride you if you fall behind. In general, your spouse is the worst possible person to fulfill this role.
  • Give yourself time off, whether it’s a day in the week or a week every quarter. When you have a job, your vacation time burns a hole in your temporal pocket. As a freelancer, it’s tempting to work all the time.
  • Write down your goals someplace visible — such as a piece of paper at your desk, or in dry erase marker on your bathroom mirror. When you feel unmotivated, look at your goals.
  • Remember why you’ve set the goals you’ve set. I’m lucky enough to have a 21-month old reminder crawling about underfoot right now. Maybe your reminder is a photo of your next big vacation, or simply a dollar amount.
  • Schedule your workday. If you wake up with a general idea of “write,” you’ll have little motivation to get started and no benchmark to celebrate success. My workday gets broken down in 2-hour chunks, each with its own specific assignments. I get a charge out of crossing off each item in turn.

There are plenty more. I’d love to see a comment or two on how you all motivate yourselves.

While you’re at it, check out this interesting video on motivation.


Thanks for listening.

Recursive Request

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Hey all, I’ve been blogging out into the universe for the better part of the year. You’re kind enough to give me feedback from time to time, and I’ve gotten a few offers for sponsorship. I guess that means I’m occasionally reaching people. So that’s good. As a professional writer, I deal with requests and instructions from editors every day. Sometimes it makes the work better. Sometimes it’s frustrating*. Either way, it’s part of the work. I’d like to ask you all for some editorial advice. Since January, I’ve covered topics ranging from finding clients to organizing finances to resources for writers. What topics would you like to see me cover more of? Less of? What would you like to see that you haven’t seen before? I’m looking to y’all for advice. Comment down below and I’ll do what I can. ________________ 

*For example, an editor on a health and fitness website who wanted me to eliminate a source I used. Seems the editor thought Arnold Schwarzenegger was a "politician and actor, not an expert in bodybuilding."