#need to buck up and read Margaret Atwood's book on writing

[twistednuns]

October 2019

Looking up the etymology of archaic words. The witches' dialogues in Macbeth are a gold mine when it comes to finding the nicest words... Thrice the brinded cat hath mew'd.

Kitchen stories: making the best Thai curry in a long time. Bread with butter and jam. Making my favourite pizza multiple times: capers, black olives, onions, mushrooms, peperoni and mozzarella.

Micha sending a cute, smiley picture of him eating deep dish pizza in Chicago.

A hedgehog crossing my path one night. I love the way they move.

Spending an evening with Andre at FLEX. Hanging out on the big black sofa in the corner. Cuddling, my head in his lap. He's got really soft forearms.

Touching my own forehead really lightly and slowly with one finger when I have my eyes closed. And yeah, touching other people's foreheads and forearms. I'm weird like that.

Reading a picture book. The sound of turning pages (really nice, thick paper), looking at all the detailed illustrations.

Playing board games with Frank in his kitchen. Movie nights on his sofa.

Buying a Ficus Lyrata at Pflanzen Ries. Managing to get it home in an IKEA bag dangling from my handlebar. I actually have a favourite lady at the garden centre now. We sometimes chat when she doesn't have too much going on.

Lying in bed when it feels sooo good.

Going sailing with the students in the Netherlands. I loved staying up late with Lauritz, Stina and Leoni. Playing stupid drinking games. The view, the air, the sun. Chatting with Dutch seamen. Playing semi-violent bell games. Our day on Texel was my favourite. I took off my shoes to walk into the sea, took pictures with the girls. I actually saw real dunes for the first time, I think. We had rented bikes to ride to the Ecomare, a shelter for ill/hurt sea animals, mainly seals. Later we walked through Den Burg, a beautiful little town on the island. I got a midnight blue velvet pencil case. Best souvenir.

The STEK concept store on Texel island blew me away. Such a pretty interior and amazing offers. Posters, flower pots, rare plants. I finally found a Begonia Maculata cutting - for just a few bucks! And I managed to bring it with me to Germany safely.

Thornhill by Pam Smy - a gorgeous graphic novel.

Returning to yoga class with Lucy. I'm incredibly out of shape and too heavy for a shoulder stand at the moment but I'm willing to work on it.

The big grey cat I startled the other night. He climbed up the tree in front of our house and it took him forever to come down again. The next morning I saw him sitting in front of the entrance again. Catspotting ist the best.

Building a giant Twister game with Yanic for Lena's and Christian's wedding.

Writing the seating chart on a black board with chalk markers.

Getting a space-themed 'maid of honor' dress.

Buying whole bags of flowers with Lena one day before the wedding. Accidentally making the shop assistant think we were the actual couple.

And yeah, the actual wedding. I was stressed out of my mind that weekend but obviously there were some amazing moments. Secretly taking a picture of the couple holding hands on the car ride to the ceremony. Being the hostess and in charge of the games made me anxious but honestly, it was fun, too. Well, maybe not the speech, but the rest. I had a good time with Tobi, Maike and Barbara. And Matthias. That man. Oh my. I've never met a more fascinating guy before. I LOVE talking to him. Dancing with him. Just staring into his handsome happy face.

Drinking hazelnut schnapps with Michi at Oktoberfest.

Making Kaspressknödel.

Buying a new Dieffenbachia on my way home from school. I just needed a treat.

Cheese fondue and tapas night with Barbara, Maike and Lena.

Reading The Testaments by Margaret Atwood on the subway one morning when I discovered that the man across from me was reading The Handmaid's Tale. I LOVE coincidences like that.

One of the last really warm and sunny days of the year. Walking through the Nymphenburg castle grounds with Lena. Discovering the lake and the Amalienburg. Walking along the castle wall, chasing the geese in the orchard.

The last scoop of lemon ice-cream before the ice-cream parlours close for this year.

Playing Monarchies of Mau with Steffen, Sophia, Em and Maggie. It was my first time joining a pen and paper round. So many (un)intended puns, lots of mystery and fun. In the end we even ordered pizza from downstairs.

Going on a little hike with a llama/alpaka herd - a birthday present from Lena and Christian. My alpaka was a real hillbilly - some straw hanging out his mouth, constantly touching the others' butts with his snouts... but he made the cutest little blök-sounds and he's sooo fluffy.

The Bitchface paintings at artMUC.

Drawing a jungle picture for the sixth-graders. It turned out so good and I had very much fun drawing it.

Autumn putting a colour gradient on the wine leaves growing up the walls at school.

The book A Little Life by Hanya Yanagihara. Finishing it (it's very good but it's got more than 1000 pages...)

All the plant cuttings turning my apartment into a jungle.

Halloween: Frank's Jesus costume. Dressing up as a dead Goth Barbie with incredibly long soft pink hair. Seeing my first Burlesque show in Germany with Andre, Margit and her friends (who wore wrestler costumes, so cool). The woman in androgynous clothing won my heart. And I met a student's mum there. Making out with Andre here and there. Past midnight pizza snack across the street from Beverly Kills.

Making a really cute and kissy GIF with some Halloween snapshots.

#things i love #october #2019 #october 2019 #present perfect #personal

[goodra-king]

Transcript of What’s Podcasting Got To Do With Marketing?

Transcript of What’s Podcasting Got To Do With Marketing? written by John Jantsch read more at Duct Tape Marketing

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Transcript

John Jantsch: This episode of The Duct Tape Marketing Podcast is brought to you by Klaviyo. Klaviyo is a platform that helps growth-focused eCommerce brands drive more sales with super-targeted, highly relevant email, Facebook and Instagram marketing.

John Jantsch: Hello, and welcome to another episode of the Duct Tape Marketing Podcast. This is John Jantsch. My guest today is Guy Kawasaki. He’s the Chief Evangelist of Canva, a great online design service, and executive fellow of the Haas School Of Business at the University of Cal Berkeley. And he has the distinction of being on my show for about the sixth time, probably. I think we talked about this last time you were on my show. I think I’m the only podcast or to interview you for both versions of Art of the Start.

Guy Kawasaki: And that and a nickel will buy you… Well, not even a cup of coffee, but yeah.

John Jantsch: So, we’re going to talk about a number of things today. It’s been far too long. Guy’s most recent book is called Wise Guy: Lessons From a Life, so we’re going to touch on that. But I always like to get a little update on Canva, so why don’t we start there? As an evangelist, this is your only job, right, is to talk about it?

Guy Kawasaki: Well, I also have four children, but who’s counting? So, I’m the Chief Evangelist of Canva, and for those of you who may not have heard of Canva, it is an online graphics design service based out of Sydney, Australia. And the essence of Canva is that it has democratized designs that basically anyone can create beautiful designs for social media, posters, business cards, presentations, t-shirts, whatever you want. And I’ll just tell you that, in the month of October, Canva made 139 million images, so we make about four or five million images per day at Canva for people all around the world.

John Jantsch: So, there are dozens of folks that have tried to crack that nut. Why do you suppose Canva was so successful? I mean, there are other online design tools that are been around a long time that haven’t been that successful.

Guy Kawasaki: Well, I think that one of the key decisions was that we decided that we’re going to make every conceivable design type, and within a design type, hundreds of templates. So, what I mean by those two words is that, a design type is a square Instagram image, right? A design type is a 16X9 presentation. A design type is a Kindle book cover. So, when you come to Canva you say, “All right, so I want to create a Pinterest pin. I want to create the Etsy store. I want to create the eBay store cover photo. I want to create the cover photo for my LinkedIn account.” And all of those, we have the optimal dimensions already figured out, and within those design types, we have hundreds of templates. So, you find a template that you like, you upload your own photo or you use one of our stock photos, you change the text, and I promise you, in the time it takes to boot Photoshop, you could finish a design in Canva.

John Jantsch: I totally agree with you. I mean, the ease of just saying… For example, if you’re working with a small business client like we do and they are on six different platforms, and you need a header image for each and all the things, every single one is a little different size, and so it’s just so convenient to just go boom, boom, boom, boom, boom. So, I know [inaudible 00:04:04].

Guy Kawasaki: I mean, John, I don’t know if you realize this, but even more convenient than going boom, boom, boom, boom, boom, we have a feature called Magic Resize. And what Magic Resize says is, “Okay, you did the basic design for one. Now, we will resize this for all the other five platforms.”

John Jantsch: Oh, but I don’t know about that because that’s the $10 a month one, right? I’m not going to pay $10 a month [inaudible 00:04:29].

Guy Kawasaki: Oh, John, you’re killing me, John, bro. Your books are free, right?

John Jantsch: No, that’s awesome. So, are they going to stay true, do you think? Or would there be a temptation to say, “Let’s get into audio and video editing,” and all those kinds of things?

Guy Kawasaki: Well, certainly video because we already do that. Going to 16X9 presentations, we’re trying to make it so that mere mortals can have beautiful PowerPoint-like presentations. I don’t know. We would like it so that every graphic in the world is produced by Canva. We’re not shrinking violence at Canva.

John Jantsch: All right, well I guess you just sold me. I’m going to pony up the 10 bucks a month.

Guy Kawasaki: Okay. We can end this now.

John Jantsch: All right, so this is, what, your 14th, 15th book, Wise Guy?

Guy Kawasaki: Yeah. Wise Guy’s number 15. I truly do think it will be my last, also.

John Jantsch: Yeah? Is that because you’re out of things to say or because you’re tired?

Guy Kawasaki: Well shit, I was out of things to say on my third book, so… Well, it’s partially retired, but switching to the next topic, I am now convinced that podcasting is the new book writing. Because, well, the advantage of podcasting is, well, you can be in front of your audience a minimum of 52 times a year. You can change on a dime. So, next week if John Ives says, “I want to be in your show,” you can put them on, right? Whereas, in your book, it takes a year to write a book, it takes six to nine months to publish it, so let’s say two years, and then, it’s done. It’s laid in concrete, and you’re never going to touch it again unless you fix typos. So, you get that initial burst of, I don’t know, maybe for you, five million people buy your first version. But then, some people read it, but it’s never picked up again. Whereas, a podcast, man, you’re in their face every week. That’s so much better.

John Jantsch: Except for What the Plus! I mean, that one lives on forever.

Guy Kawasaki: Well, What the Plus! may have lasted longer than the service, but I digress.

John Jantsch: I completely agree with you on the pod… I mean, there’s so many… You mentioned an obvious benefit, but I mean, the first time you and I met was through this format and I’d like to at least call you a little bit of a friend. You’ve been a [inaudible] of my career over the years, and I think this is where the introduction happened the first time. And I’ve done that with most people.

Guy Kawasaki: But see, I’m an idiot because it took me… I’m just a late bloomer. I took up hockey at 44. I took up surfing at 61. I took a podcasting is 65. I don’t know why people listen to my advice. I clearly don’t know what the hell I’m doing.

John Jantsch: I don’t even have to ask you questions because you’re just going along my proposed questions here, but I was going to ask you that. Was their resistance or was it just literally a matter of, “I just didn’t get around to it”?

Guy Kawasaki: What, the podcasting? Okay. So, there’s the high road answer, and there’s the low road answer. Which answer do you want?

John Jantsch: I want them both, and we’ll balance them out.

Guy Kawasaki: Okay. So, the high road is, I’m at the end of my career, I’ve made a lot of connections. I’ve made a lot of friends. I can tap into that so that I can interview a Jane Goodall, a Margaret Atwood, a Steve Wozniak, Steve Wolfram, Bob Cialdini. I can get to these people because I’ve been dealing with them for years and years. So, I have this tremendous competitive advantage to interview people that many people could not get unless you’re Terry Gross maybe Malcolm Gladwell. And now, I have a much better filter system because I’m so much older that I, theoretically, have acquired some wisdom, so I can ask them the right questions. So, my time has come to do a podcast featuring remarkable people. That’s the high answer. You want to hear the low answer? Well

John Jantsch: Well, let me let you think about the low answer for a minute. So, your podcast is called Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People, and that’s, ultimately, what you’re doing. So, the chances of me actually being a guest are pretty minimal, I think.

Guy Kawasaki: Well, I have a test that if somebody asks to be on the podcast, they’re not remarkable enough.

John Jantsch: Yeah. Fair test. So, let’s have the low answer then.

Guy Kawasaki: So, the low answer is, when I came out with Wise Guy, I was a guest on many podcasts. Okay? So, I got to talking to somebody’s podcast where I say, “So, how often do you do this?” One guy said 52 times a year., Another guy said 156 times a year. And I said, “So, what’s your model?” “Well, it’s advertising and sponsorship.” I say, “Okay, so where does the advertising go?” He says, “Well, there’s one or two ads in the pre-roll, there’s one or two ads in the middle, and there’s one or two ads at the end.” And I said, “Well, how many people listen to these things?” “A quarter million.” “How much do you get per ad?” “Well, the ones in the front get 20 grand, the ones in the middle will get 15 grand, and the ones at the end get 10 grand.” So, I’m sitting there doing the math. So, let’s say there’s six of them and they’re doing like 15,000 bucks each on average, and I say, “So, six times 15 is 90. Ninety times 52 is fricking four and a half million bucks. That’s 10 times bigger than any advance for a book I ever got. What the hell am I writing books for?

Guy Kawasaki: Simultaneously, at 65, I just don’t want to travel anymore. I would just like surf, and so I said, “Okay, so maybe I can make my podcast successful. Basically podcasts and surf. I don’t know if I’ll make four and a half million dollars a year, but if I come…” Well, I don’t even need to come close to that to be happy. So, maybe this is my path to retirement and a better life and more surfing. So, that’s the low answer. I did it for the money.

John Jantsch: I want to remind you that this episode is brought to you by Klaviyo. Klaviyo helps you build meaningful customer relationships by listening and understanding cues from your customers, and this allows you to easily turn that information into valuable marketing messages. There’s powerful segmentation, email auto-responders that are ready to go. Great reporting. You learn a little bit about the secret to building customer relationships. They’ve got a really fun series called Klaviyo’s Beyond Black Friday. It’s a docu-series, a lot of fun. Quick lessons. Just head on over to klaviyo.com/BeyondBF, Beyond Black Friday.

John Jantsch: So, we’re recording this in December of 2019, depending upon when people are listening to this, you’ve launched the show already, your first guest, or at least the first show I was able to see was Jane Goodall. A lot of people know her work for years with the apes in Africa. What’s the basis of your relationship with her and that interview?

Guy Kawasaki: Okay. So, about a little more than a year ago, the person who runs the TEDx in Palo Alto, out of the blue asked me if I want to interview Jane Goodall for her at TEDx. And that’s like, “Well, duh. Of course I want to interview Jane Goodall at TEDx.” So, it actually cost me a lot of money because I turned down a speech. I could’ve got paid speech for the same time. I said, “No, I can always get another paid speech, but how often can you interview Jane Goodall?” So, I interviewed Jane Goodall for TEDx, which is on YouTube if people want to see it, and I really became friends with her. Sometimes you just hit it off with a person. Right? And so, we’ve been communicating and stuff like that, and I communicate with her staff. And [inaudible] Fitzpatrick and I, we always help Jane Goodall when she wants to raise money or make something go out on social media.

Guy Kawasaki: And then, I decided to do this podcast, and I said, “Well, I need a spectacular, remarkable person as the first guest. Who could be,” and you weren’t available, “so, who could be better than Jane Goodall?” And so, she was going to be in San Francisco, I recorded her, and yeah, I mean, life is good. It’s good to be Guy Kawasaki sometimes.

John Jantsch: Yeah. Well, I know what you have a good relationship because I’ve seen pictures of her grooming you.

Guy Kawasaki: Yeah. She’s looking for lice in my head.

John Jantsch: Which, I think, was reminiscent of her work in the jungle, wasn’t it?

Guy Kawasaki: Yes. Yes.

John Jantsch: So, who else is up for the show? Who else do you plan to talk to in the upcoming weeks?

Guy Kawasaki: Yeah. So, Jane Goodall is out, so is Phil Zimbardo. Phil Zimbardo is the Stanford psychology professor who did the Stanford prison experiment where kids simulated being guards and prisoners. Next week is Stephen Wolfram. He is the creator of Mathematica and Wolfram Alpha, the search engine. Got a PhD at 20, MacArthur Award at 21. The next week after that is Margaret Atwood, the author of Handmaid’s Tale. And then, believe it or not, we have Wee Man, Wee Man from Jackass, the MTV series and movie. And then, I have Bob Cialdini, who I’m sure you’re heard up because you’re into sales and marketing like I am, so I have Bob Cialdini.

John Jantsch: He’s been on this show. Yeah.

Guy Kawasaki: Yeah, he’s great. So, basically, that’s the kind of people I have. I mean, they pass the remarkable test.

John Jantsch: Yeah. So, what do you have to learn to do this? This is a different format. This is different technology. This is maybe a different skill. What’s it going to take to get Guy Kawasaki to the Remarkable Podcast host?

Guy Kawasaki: Well, I’ve done a lot of panel moderation and stuff and fireside chats, where I’ve been on both sides, so it’s not like, to use a Jane Goodall analogy, it’s not like I was Tarzan and I got off a ship from Africa and now I’m in London and I have to figure everything out. So, I’ve been to this rodeo, maybe wearing a different hat, but I’ve been to this rodeo. And have you listened to the Jane Goodall one?

John Jantsch: I listened to about half of it. Yeah. In preparation for [inaudible 00:15:22].

Guy Kawasaki: Okay. So, you could see that… Well, one is, to tell you the truth, I believe that the role of the podcast or is to make the guests look great. And I also believe that, if you look at the minutes spent who’s talking, it should be about 90/10, or 90 is Jane and 10 is Guy. And so, that’s something, and a lot of people have said, “I really like your podcast, Guy, because you let Jane talk.” I think a lot of podcasts, it’s all about them, right? They’re just talking and talking and talking, and then, finally, the guest gets to say something and then the podcaster gets back on a riff. So, I don’t step on my guests. Now, honestly, I don’t know how to get subscribers or advertisers, but I figure, if I get all these guests and I produce a great podcast, I’m a big believer in, “If you build it, they will come.”

John Jantsch: Well. I think that’s a lot of it. And you’re also doing the networking. You contacted me to tell me about it, and you contacted a lot of people to tell them about it. I mean, that’s kind of Marketing 101, right?

Guy Kawasaki: Well, nothing is easy, right? Well, if you’re Michelle Obama and you started Michelle Obama Remarkable People Podcast, I’m pretty sure you’ll get 5 million subscribers in the first day, but I’m not Michelle Obama.

John Jantsch: Do you listen to podcasts?

Guy Kawasaki: Yes.

John Jantsch: Yeah. What are some of your favorites?

Guy Kawasaki: I listen to Malcolm Gladwell’s Revisionist History, who I’m trying to get as a guest. I listened to Wait Wait… Don’t Tell Me! I listen to Freakonomics. I listen to Joe Rogan. I listen to Terry Gross. I’m a big NPR fan, basically.

John Jantsch: Right, right, right. Yeah. Yeah, you can [inaudible] a lot of those shows have moved to the podcast format, but obviously, there’s still broadcast, as well. Where do you think this is going? The audio… And again, maybe you’re not in the position right now where you want to future cast trends and things because you’re just trying to figure it out to make it work for you, but it seems to me like audio content right now… I mean, podcasts had been around a while, but it seems to me like audio content is really hot and it’s going to get hotter.

Guy Kawasaki: Yes. I think that podcasting is like artificial intelligence. So, artificial intelligence for the last 30 years was going to be the next big thing, right? And finally it is. So, I think we may be there with podcasting. A lot of it is… It’s critical mass. I mean, in a sense, Apple has created a critical mass for podcasting. In the same sense, I think, one of the things I’ve noticed is QR codes, which was supposed to be a big thing, Apple finally made it a real big thing because now when you just put your camera on a QR code, you don’t have to download a QR reader, right? So, all of a sudden, yeah, QR codes makes sense. And I think Apple did the same thing with podcasts, that now that they’ve done so much and they put a podcast player on every iOS device, Apple has created another market.

John Jantsch: Yeah. And I’ve been doing this before, that was the case and that was one of the initial challenges with podcasts. It was hard to show people how to listen.

Guy Kawasaki: Yeah. Yeah.

John Jantsch: Where do you think Spotify fits into this? It seems to me like Spotify is really gaining some traction in the podcast space. Do they take on Apple, or is it just broaden the universe for everyone?

Guy Kawasaki: Hell if I know. I mean, based on two episodes, I don’t consider myself an expert. But Spotify has taken a different position. In a sense, they’re like Netflix, right? So, Netflix just doesn’t share stuff anymore. Netflix has its own series. Right? So, similarly, Amazon Prime, I watch Jack Ryan on Amazon Prime. Amazon Prime owns Jack Ryan, right? And so, Spotify is trying to create content, not just distribute content, and so they’re supposed be making this huge investment in podcasting. And I guess we’ll look back and say, “Wow, that was a genius move,” or we’ll look back and say, “Well, what a dumbass move.” And I don’t know. If Apple said we’re going to be a content creator… Well, they they do that, right? They created that Morning Show for Apple TV and all that, so I guess we’ll see. I don’t know.

John Jantsch: Yeah. I think that’s the direction a lot of people are going ahead, and I wouldn’t be surprised if, just like you are playing the evangelist role for Canva, I’m wondering when companies like that start bringing in somebody like you to be their podcaster or to be their spokesperson as a podcaster.

Guy Kawasaki: Well, funny you should mentioned that because I’m Chief Evangelist of Canva, and I told Canva, I told you know the other people at Canvas, like, “So, right now you have your Canva social media, the Instagram, Facebook, all that, and you have your email lists, but there’s a limit to how many times you can send an email to someone in your registered user database. And that limit is not 52 times a year.” So, I’m making the case that, if we could get my subscriber base up to a million or so, that is a fricking tremendous weapon. So, if Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People has a million subscribers and Guy Kawasaki’s Chief Evangelist of Canva, so at an extreme, the pre-roll, the midway, and the end ads could all be for Canva. So, imagine, 52 times a year you can hit a million people with an ad three times. Oh my God. I mean, life is good.

John Jantsch: Absolutely.

Guy Kawasaki: So, yeah.

John Jantsch: So, I think that’s going to be a role that, I think, you start seeing is that whether they’re media companies or just companies seeing it as another channel, I think are going to start buying up people’s reach with the podcast.

Guy Kawasaki: Yeah. Because, I mean, for the very simple reason that you could hit people much more often with a podcast than you can with an email, MailChimp campaign. Accenture did a five or six podcast series with will.i.am, right? And you couldn’t hit your Accenture database six times, or probably maybe 18 times, because there are multiple ads inside the six episodes. There’s no way you could have hit your installed base with 18 email campaigns. Well, first of all, there’s not 18 interesting email campaigns you could do.

John Jantsch: Yeah. And I think that’s the key point, too, is it’s far more engaging content than an email ever will be.

Guy Kawasaki: Well, I mean, in a sense, how does NPR raise money? I mean, you don’t enjoy the pledge drive, right? So, you feel a moral obligation to reciprocate. And similarly, with Wikipedia, you don’t like to see that ugly banner where Jimmy Wales is asking you for money, but because Wikipedia provides such great information and content, you feel a moral obligation to donate. So, you could make the case that if Guy Kawasaki’s Remarkable People has all this great wisdom and advice and inspiration, and then it’s sponsored by Canva, you might feel, “Oh geez, I should help Guy out and use Canva.” That’s the theory anyway.

John Jantsch: Yeah. I think it’s a good theory. Well, Guy, we’ve exhausted our time. It was great catching up with you again, and I wish you luck in this new venture. And I will not ask to be on the show, I will just wait by my email for the invitation, if it should come.

Guy Kawasaki: Well, I hope someday to send you that email.

John Jantsch: All right, well-

Guy Kawasaki: Let’s hope that you have four files.

John Jantsch: Yeah, we’re recording with some new new technology here that I think is going to just be awesome, so I-

Guy Kawasaki: If you don’t have four files, it’s my fault for convincing you to do this, and I will appear again.

John Jantsch: That’s right. All right. Well, I get to say to you, mahalo, then.

Guy Kawasaki: Take care.

from http://bit.ly/2O719G4

#Marketing Plan

[char27martin]

After the Debut: 3 Things I’ve Learned, with Emily Littlejohn

[Can you impress us in 1500 words or less? Enter the Short Short Story Competition today! Deadline January 15, 2018]

by Emily Littlejohn

You’ve signed off on the final edits to your debut novel. Your agent and your editor are already hearing positive early reviews and a couple of big name authors have offered glowing blurbs. You pour a celebratory glass of champagne and kick back on the sofa. You did it. You wrote a novel and landed a two-book contract. It’s easy street from here on out, kid.

Then your eyes stray to the calendar hanging on the wall, the kind that with a single glance shows you the next twelve months. Twelve long months to write the next book. Plenty of time.

Of course, there is that two-week European vacation in the spring, not to mention the lengthy out of state work conference you’re chairing. And to be honest, between the day job, the kids, and all the shows the family is streaming, it’s hard to get much writing done during the week. You’ll write on the weekends. No problem.

Lately, though, the weekends seem to fly by.

Still, surely you can squeeze in a few hours here and there.

Suddenly twelve months seems like a very short time.

***

I wrote my debut novel, Inherit the Bones, over the course of three long years. It was a hobby, a lark. At the time, I was working forty-plus hours a week at a regular day job and spending most of my free time with friends and family. I’d go weeks without touching my laptop and then when the muse struck, I’d sometimes wile away entire weekends puttering around in the fictional world I had created.

Long story short, I finished Bones and signed with an amazing agent, Pamela Ahearn of The Ahearn Agency. To my complete astonishment and joy, Ahearn sold Bones in a two-book deal. Before I knew it, what had been a private hobby was suddenly very public, with deadlines and schedules. Most mind-boggling of all: I had to submit a second book, in less than a year.

Happily, not only did I meet my deadlines and complete the follow-up to my debut novel, A Season to Lie, I learned a few things along the way.

Meet Deadlines

One of the first things I learned while writing my second book is that deadlines exist for a reason. Traditionally published novels have many moving pieces to them; pitches, edits, cover design, printing, creating advance reader copies… all of these and more are steps along the way as a book marches from an author’s word document to the final version in the reader’s hands.

What does that mean for an author?

Making those deadlines is critical.

And make no mistake: writing a novel to a deadline is very, very different from tinkering around on a manuscript here and there. Life, in the form of regular employment, family obligations, and heck, even meals, has a funny way of interrupting your writing. If you haven’t already carved out dedicated time to work on your second book, it is imperative to do so now. For some, that means waking up early to get a few hours of writing in while the kids are still asleep. For others, weekend activities like movies and sporting events need to take a backseat to plotting and drafting.

[Online Course: 12 Weeks to a First Draft with Terri Valentine]

What helped me tremendously was setting a goal of about 1500 words per writing session. I knew there would be days when I simply would not be able to sit down and write; a daily word count goal, then, would have been frustrating. Instead, I promised myself that on those days when I did get to my laptop, I would write at least 1500 words. Most of the time, I found that I exceeded the goal. And page by page, my novel grew in length. As my page count increased, the deadlines didn’t seem so… deadly.

Fall in Love with Your Characters 

While meeting deadlines as you write your second novel can feel like added pressure, getting to better know your series’ recurring characters is downright fun. In my mysteries, like many others, murder and mayhem move the plot forward… but the characters are what readers return for. In A Season to Lie, I loved exploring the relationships and back stories of Detective Gemma Monroe, her loved ones, and her colleagues on the police force. For instance, things that are hinted at in Inherit the Bones between Monroe and her romantic partner, Brody Sutherland, became necessary to tease to the forefront in A Season to Lie.

[6 Tips for Creating Believable Characters That Win Over Readers]

Coincidentally, one of the greatest things about writing a series in the mystery genre is possessing the ability to kill off characters you fall out of love with… or those that you never liked to begin with. My husband is always relieved when he finishes one of my books and sees that the romantic interest is still kicking… though he knows that I’m an equal opportunist and should the story demand it, well… let’s just say I believe everyone’s a suspect and everyone’s a potential victim.

The second book of a series is truly prime real estate for character development. You’ve laid the groundwork in the first book yet you’re still early enough in the series that your characters aren’t so formed that they are unable to change. I encourage you to have fun with that, to add in bits and pieces of backstory as you move the story forward.

Publicity is the Name of the Game

Debut authors are like pizza… everyone wants a slice. As you are writing towards completion of your second novel, marketing will be ramping up for the publication of your debut novel. That translates to invitations for guest blog posts, guest articles, interviews, author events, and so on. All wonderful things that can take your attention away from finishing the second novel.

I said yes to every invitation I received, as will you. Of course you will. There are few things more exciting for an author than getting to talk about your work. A word of caution, though, especially if you are writing mysteries: keep your storylines straight. You are perfectly aware that the beloved butler introduced in the first book is brutally disposed of in the second book… but readers of your interview-blog post- Facebook status update haven’t even read the first book yet.

Spoil nothing yet provide enough intrigue to entice all. And before you know it, you’ll be working on your third novel with an eye towards your fourth.

EMILY LITTLEJOHN was born and raised in southern California and now lives in Colorado. If she’s not writing, reading, or working at the local public library, she’s enjoying the mountains with her husband and sweet old dog. She has a deep love of horror stories, butter pecan ice cream, and road trips. A Season to Lie is her second novel, following Inherit the Bones. Follow her on Facebook.

Writer’s Digest Digital Archive Collection: Iconic Women Writers

For nearly 100 years, Writer’s Digest magazine has been the leading authority for writers of all genres and career levels. And now, for the first time ever, we’ve digitized decades of issues from our prestigious archives to share with the world. In this, the first of our series of archive collections, discover exclusive historic interviews with classic women authors including Maya Angelou, Pearl S. Buck, Margaret Atwood, Joyce Carol Oates and Joan Didion—and much, much more. Featuring five stunning issues spanning more than 60 years, this collection is perfect for writers, literary enthusiasts, educators and historians. Explore what’s inside.

The post After the Debut: 3 Things I’ve Learned, with Emily Littlejohn appeared first on WritersDigest.com.

from Writing Editor Blogs – WritersDigest.com http://www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/guide-to-literary-agents/breaking-in-writers-digest/debut-novel-things-ive-learned-emily-littlejohn-meet-deadlines

[wordswithwayman]

Interview w/ Poet Bethany Moore

Recently, I got a chance to interview Bethany Moore about her works of poetry. Bethany is a Denver based poet who recently published two books of poetry. Hope you enjoy this format, and be sure to let us know what you think of it, on Twitter and Facebook @wordswithwayman

1. When did you get your start in poetry and how did you find it? I’ve been writing poetry since I was a really young child, and thankfully I feel I’ve improved in my style and technique over the years! It was one of the ways I entertained myself as an only child, in addition to writing and singing songs and dancing and other theatrics. I’ve always been one of those expressive types. I remember writing little stories in Kindergarten, and later being strongly encouraged by my 5th grade teacher in Southern Maryland of Hollywood Elementary School, Ms. Betty Brady, to pursue seriously writing poetry. As a teacher and member of the community, she was a great leader for literary programs like poetry festivals in our school. I was so impacted by her encouragement in elementary school that I remember her influence all these years later, and I included her in my dedications in my second poetry book, “Weather Magick”. Thanks to the magic of Facebook, we’ve been able to stay in contact after all these years (I was her student in 1992-1993) and she was so pleased to hear I’m still writing and that I’ve published some of my work. I sent her a copy in the mail recently, too, and it was a nice feeling to see that kind of positive influence come full circle in a way after, oh, twenty-five years. Throughout high school, I was all about the after-school poetry club, which we all referred to as “The Writer’s Society” - and yes, we were certainly a crew of eccentrics and misfits. Then, in my early twenties, I participated in open-mic poetry events in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, D.C., for many years. I lived in Portland, Oregon, for a stint in 2009-2011 and enjoyed checking out open-mic readings and even hosted a couple of “Retro Speakeasy”-style poetry and jazz events during my time there. For the last three years here in Denver, Colorado, I sometimes hit the mic on Sunday evenings at the Mercury Cafe and other venues like Mutiny Information Cafe. Poetry has always manifested as a quintessential part of who I am in my identity all along, to be honest.

2. You’ve released two books of poetry lately “The Cicada and the Firefly” and “Weather Magick", how did these books come about and why now? It was always my intention to publish my collection of poetry from throughout the years I’ve been writing, at least since I was an adult. Last year, in January, I finally set a goal to publish my first collection on or before my birthday in late September. So I researched online self-publishing tools and settled on Amazon’s CreateSpace platform and began going through my collections and formatting the pages. It was the end of March last year in 2016 when I got very sad news about a close friend of mine that I’d known since I was fourteen years old. His name was Benjamin Johnson, Benny, and he was very influential on my life as a kind of soulmate. Unfortunately, he struggled with demons such as drug addiction, and met his untimely death last spring when he was struck by a car. Honestly, this was the first time someone close to me had passed away, and I grieved deeply for quite awhile. During the grieving process, I dug up every poem and journal entry I could find that referenced my feelings for Benny, or our experiences together, over many years, dating back to when I was a teenager. I compiled them and formatted them into their own collection as a way to honor him and our relationship together. It was important to me to prioritize this collection first. I published by mid September. My soul had to release it out to the universe. Because of the nature of how he came in and out of my life, which you can read about intimately, you’ll understand the reference to insects in “The Cicada and the Firefly: a study of love and insects” when you read through the storyline in real-time poetry and prose. As for second book published on October 31, 2016, titled, “Weather Magick: a collection of poetry and witchcraft”, it is a selection of 31 poems from my general collection, which you’ll find references to nature, both serene and disastrous, and the emotional turmoil involved in growing up and maturing in a world of life, love, and spiritual journey. I reference ritual and alchemy, and other Pagan concepts are easy to find in my writing if you’re an adept. As this writing is an outlet that helps with my spiritual and mental balance, it’s just as important to share this writing with others as it is to produce it for my own catharsis to begin with. I hope and wish that this display of my journey, the joy and pain and everything between, provides a realm of understanding and language for others seeking to know that they’re not alone in this world.

3. Who are your poetic influences? My quick three responses are Emily Dickensen, Sylvia Plath, and Dorothy Parker. I also find myself inspired by Margaret Atwood, and then a dive back into the works of the Sufi poet Rumi. When I was younger, back in Ms. Brady’s fifth grade class, I remember being greatly inspired by the work of Langston Hughes.

4. How do you write? Do you have a time of the day that you are most productive or do you wait till it comes to you? It’s difficult for me to write at home, actually, so I find myself at coffee shops and local brew pubs to get that time out of my daily routine and usual pattern of function in order to get the headspace to reflect and write in my handwritten journals. So, weekday evenings at pubs, for sure, and weekends give me more flexibility for the coffee shop writing sessions. Bonus if the weather is nice and I can sit outside for the writing process.

5. How does being a witch influence your poetry? Being a witch influences my writing more and more as I accept it as not only a part of who I am, fully embracing this part of me while being brave against a world that may not understand me, and also allowing my poetry to channel the voice of the witch without fear or perhaps concern that the symbolism or concepts won’t translate to the general public. I’d like to think that those who gather Pagan spiritual concepts will recognize those patterns and references in my writing, but also that those who aren’t adept in such practices will still be moved and perhaps intrigued by the archetypes and metaphors presented enough to find inspiration.

6. How do poets look at the world differently from other people? I can’t speak for other poets, but for me, I know I feel this world, every experience, every insecurity, every possibility, every dynamic, more intensely than most in this world. For those of us who need to express ourselves and be heard, to bear witness to the complicated suffering of this world; words, prose, and poetry is our gospel to the universe.

7. How did you find and begin to practice paganism as a child? The short answer is that I was an odd child who found the cool part of the bookstore in Barnes and Noble at an early age. I was easily interested in subjects like astrology and faery lore and animal magic by the age of ten or so. By age twelve, I was reading books on more intermediate subjects like Celtic magic and crystal healing and the Tarot, mostly a self-taught solitary student, though by age fourteen, I started working and studying at the local Wiccan shop in my small rural town that opened up called ‘Keepers of the Moon Garden’, and there I was mentored under the wing of the shop owner, Theresa, and thus began my more formal and serious study of Paganism by a state-recognized circle. My parents were, thankfully, very supportive. My father does woodworking as a skilled hobby and even built my spiritual altar which has a dark-wood inlay of a pentacle on the surface. I am blessed to have had such support when so many of my peers were being rejected by their families and loved ones for their ideas and beliefs along the Pagan path.

8. What do you want your books to do for people? This is a great question to consider. Somewhere between the exhibitionist expressive artist, and the confessional, sometimes commanding mystic, I suppose I simply wish to share my experience as fully and wholly as I can with anyone who seeks to commiserate or feel they are not alone in this complex human existence. Perhaps to learn from my pain and my experience, so that others can maybe suffer a little less.

9. Have you ever performed your poetry in front of people? And if so, how did it feel to perform words you wrote to an audience? Yes, many times, in many capacities, and I still feel that nervous reaction each time I begin, blushing cheeks and quivered-voice, worry of sounding ridiculous or worse, but I’ve continued to be brave and follow my truly fiery inner need to share my words with the world, so I power through, sweaty forehead and all. The reward begins with the release, and then anyone who relates to you therein gives you reassurance on occasion. The most important part, however, is that you are brave and give your voice the volume of sound it deserves.d

10. Denver is getting more and more expensive, is it hard to be a creative person there these days? Are you full-time poetry or do you work a day job? Yeah, definitely, I think about it often and it’s difficult to know where the benefits of the rental versus ownership market lands for most of us here. I proudly and very gratefully have been a full-time employee of the National Cannabis Industry Association since January of 2014 where I do communications, media, and public relations projects. It’s a non-profit trade association, so I don’t make big corporate bucks, but I do make a decent living and love working hard in an industry where I have roots in the activist movement before it even really became an industry. There are good people shaping the roots of the cannabis industry, and as a healer and activist, doing this work is greatly rewarding in my path. I enjoy multimedia production, managing website content, managing and hosting our weekly podcast, and working with video content, so that allows me a path of creative expressiveness in my routine work, which is pretty exciting. My career in non-profit political and social justice issues as well as my personal activism and artistic endeavors have kept me busy through the years, and I certainly prefer it that way. “Idle hands…” and so on, perhaps. So I do my best to make time to show up at open-mic nights when I can, and I am planning more opportunities to reach out to various venues and book stores to share my work. It’s so cool to see the culture of Denver in particular with the cornerstone neighborhood bookstores that create welcoming environments for local authors to participate in the literary economy. So I’m selling poetry books independently as an artistic revenue income stream in my spare time. I self-publish through Amazon’s CreateSpace. Through that platform, the revenue percentages that I see are about half the retail price the author or creator assigns. Author’s copies can be ordered for a reasonable charge which allows for direct personal sales, though shipping charges apply. There’s math involved, and it basically comes down to an occasional flux in a boost of sales which gives me a nice few dollars of sales here and there. But I’m also issued tax-related forms from these sales which are accounted for when I file my yearly taxes. But there you are, marketing yourself, responsible for all your sales and taxes when ordered online. It’s just one avenue to get one’s art out there, knowing the risks and losses and work involved. But I just couldn’t wait anymore. It was time for me to publish. It was overdue, so I made a resolution to do it, and I did. I set out to publish one book of poems, and as it turned out, I published two. And it feels right.

11. Five years from now, best case scenario, what does your life look like? I appreciate the gravity and hopefulness of this question so much. I’ve been blessed to have on my resume several roles throughout the years as I grew at companies and organizations that have facilitated great change and impact on our society in America, and perhaps beyond. And in my growth as a person and spiritual being, advocate, activist, artist, and whatever else I think I am, I just hope to continue to find roles and opportunities where I can have an impact for the greater good. I know I’m an odd duck, a strange bird, but I think most people by this time in my life understand what I stand for and what kind of help and strength and offerings I have to give. I just want a role in five years where I can give all my best talents and skills and strengths into some greater good. I’d also like to see more progress toward my goals of “house, hound, husband, and happiness.”

12. Where can people find your stuff on the internet? Well, I’m active on most social media including Facebook, Twitter, and Instagram, and I’ve also created a Facebook author page specific to my poetry publications. I’m very active, I always have been, on social media and I do post about my professional role in the cannabis industry as well as my Pagan-centric spirituality. It’s in my nature as a communications and media person, as well as an artist and activist through the years. So, to find me on most social media platforms, I go by ‘Beatnik Betty’. And I love to connect with friendly like-minded artists and activists.

Twitter: @BeatnikBetty Facebook:  /BeatnikBetty Facebook:  /BethanyMoorePoet Instagram:  bqatnikbetty

I’d also love if folks interested in supporting my poetry by purchasing my publications would please find them on Amazon.com.

Weather Magick: a collection of poetry and witchcraft  

The Cicada and the Firefly: a study of love and insects Thanks so much for allowing me to share my work with your audience. My message is that there are many of us out here that want to create a better world, who wish for healing and transformation, and you are not alone. Just as I seek my particular flavor of love and purpose, I hold sacred space, and know of many who hold sacred space at this time as well, with all pointing toward a greater reality. Now is the time when we must find each other and connect and share now more than ever before.

Be well, and Blessed