Resistance vs Reality vs Reasonableness

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: is it about the work or is it about the wrench thrown into it?]Homeless, wandering the desert, the intrepid writer of Chandleresque cozies inched toward the final chapter of his book.

There he’d been, plugging away, over 4,000 words a day, when the house he lived in was sold, with circumstances forcing his family to move out and plan for a month-long “workation” in only 5 days.

They did it, and drove south.

It was warmer than he likes in Phoenix.

He picked up a cold in Santa Barbara.

He’s generally been busy enough, disrupted enough, tired enough to stop writing for a while. Wouldn’t be entirely unreasonable, right?

One of the places Resistance shows up is at the end of a project. … more … “Resistance vs Reality vs Reasonableness”

Peter Bowerman – The Well-Fed Writer

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: Peter Bowerman's Well-Fed Writer] You might be interested in Peter’s free reportMr. B has earned more money writing than I have, in part because he’s good at writing for others. (I’m only good at writing for me — but don’t let that sway you; I’ve turned down loads of copywriting work simply because it doesn’t interest me. If it interests you, know that it’s out there waiting for the right writer. Right?)

I’ve only read a little of Bowerman’s work, but between that, Tom’s recommendation, and that of a dozen other writers I respect, you’d be smart to investigate the Well-Fed Writer if you’re curious about writing commercially.

Tom says:

Peter Bowerman is another great writer, strong writer’s counselor, and also a great guy, one whom I’ve had the pleasure to meet in person. His The Well-Fed Writer and The Well-Fed Self-Publisher are essentials for the freelancing life. Check out his Well-Fed Writer blog.

Ginger and the Mouse

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

This is an excerpt from an unpublished work.

[image: Ginger's ship]It was summer and they were crossing the sea. It was pleasant sailing. There was nothing exciting going on. Which meant that after napping 18 hours a day, Ginger was bored. When he got bored he looked around to see if anything exciting was happening. And if nothing exciting was happening, he looked around to see if he could make something exciting happen.

… more … “Ginger and the Mouse”

Jon Morrow of Copyblogger

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: Jon Morrow] Jon MorrowIf you’re tired of me parroting Tom‘s recommendations, you’d best turn your head away because here comes another one:

Jon Morrow is the agent provocateur who regularly kicks writer’s butts with his posts on not just thinking or talking about writing but actually taking writing risks and getting real work done. He was the associate editor of Copyblogger (a marketing/copywriting site I can’t recommend enough), and now throws lightning bolts from his site at Boost Blog Traffic.

Copyblogger, including Jon’s work with them, altered my perception of writing on the web. If you’re marketing without consulting Copyblogger and Jon Morrow, you’re making it unnecessarily hard on yourself.

You’ll Feel Like Giving Up (Only Moreso)

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

This was originally at Finding Why and written for entrepreneurs in general. That was before I realized my mission was to help authors.

[image: I will not get out of bed you can't make me” width=”256″ height=”149″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-3629]Once in a while someone will warn an aspiring writer that “you’ll feel like giving up.”

That’s a bit like describing drowning as “you’ll have trouble breathing.”

Here’s the truth:

There will be days when the only reason you don’t turn in your Writer’s Badge in a miasma of frustration, anger, and disgust is because you can’t find the flipping phone number of whoever takes the “I Surrender!” calls, and that’s because you can’t bear to crawl out from under the covers to go look for it.

Y’know, like yesterday.

Then sleep, with its magical power to strip us of reason and pour beautiful dreams back into our souls, will gently wipe away the smudges and push you out the door to do it all again.

Y’know, like today.

Wanna Sell Books? Learn Marketing from the Master, Seth Godin

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Most of you don’t know how marketing should be done.

It’s not your fault. You’ve seen it done wrong your whole life (especially if you’re my age and grew up in front of a television.)

We confused the possible correlation between Coke ads on TV and the Coke in our fridge with a causation: ad => purchase.

If you intend to sell books, you’re going to do marketing.

In order to succeed, you have to do marketing right.

Nobody knows marketing like Seth does. Nobody.

He’s doing his second online Skillshare marketing class soon. Read about it at his website or at Skillshare.

For $16 you can get a million dollars’ worth of knowledge. Learn at your own pace. Soak in it.

An Online Skillshare Class by Seth Godin

Writer Unboxed

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

Another from Tom Bentley‘s stash. He’s gonna have to ante up another pile if I keep this up.

Don’t go here if you don’t want to get sucked in. I was just checking Tom’s link below, and had finished the entire article I landed on before I remembered that wasn’t what I was there for.

Writer Unboxed is not a single writer, but a site that hosts daily posts on issues of writing craft, the business and the vagaries of the writing life. [image: Tom Bentley” width=”222″ height=”285″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-3605] The posters run the range from aspiring writers to authors with decades of experience and decades of publishing success. And the spirit of the site is open, generous and deep. (And they’ve even let me post a few times, despite my hairdo.)

p.s. Tom studiously and modestly avoided providing a link to his articles at Writer Unboxed so I’m doing it for him. Or to him.

p.p.s. I like Tom’s hair. Don’t you?

The Music – Excerpt from an Unpublished Coming of Age Novel

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

The Music

When he first realized that no one else heard the music, he went to his room, sat on the bed, and stared at the closet door. It had never occurred to him that he was a freak, walking around with this noise in his head all the time.

[image: the music]

When his father used to tell him to turn off the record player and enjoy the peace and quiet, he’d been too baffled to respond. … more … “The Music – Excerpt from an Unpublished Coming of Age Novel”

Porter Anderson and Publishing Perspectives

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

[image: Porter Anderson] Porter AndersonAnother smart voice trying to keep up with all the changes is Porter Anderson (who is not related to Anderson Cooper no matter how my brain wants to link them. You’ll also note, from the images, that neither of them resembles the Mini Cooper, now made by BMW.)

[image: Anderson Cooper] Anderson CooperAnderson (Porter, not Cooper) points us to stuff like this great read on a traditional publisher overcoming the “stigma” of self-publishing because the extra $5,000 a month made it seem like a good idea. (That’s one thing I love about Anderson’s writing: sometimes, the tongue just might be in the cheek, but it’s not obvious. I could be wrong.)

[image: Mini Cooper] Mini CooperBest Beloved pulled this snippet from one of Tom Bentley‘s recent newsletters:

Porter Anderson is one smart cookie, who writes with insight and wry wonder at the crazy minefield of the publishing industry. He blogs seemingly all over the durn place, but prominently at Publishing Perspectives, Jane Friedman’s site and Writer Unboxed.

That Frustration and Despair You Feel Right Now Will Pass. Honest.

Posted on by Joel D Canfield

This post originally appeared at Finding Why.

[image: poorly trained sea lion” width=”222″ height=”222″ class=”alignright size-full wp-image-3589]It feels like no matter how many ways and times you try, you measure your progress in millimeters, not miles.

Every time you stick your finger in one hole in the dike, another leak appears.

What you knew was a work of genius yesterday, today looks like the work of a poorly trained sea lion.

You feel drained, physically, mentally, emotionally, spiritually, creatively. If you read one more story about some emerging genius who’s running a $20 million company at age 25 you’ll explode. You’d just like to make the car payment on time. Or at all.

Know this: it gets better. Really it does. … more … “That Frustration and Despair You Feel Right Now Will Pass. Honest.”