Bill Conrad's Blog - Posts Tagged "advice"
New Author Advice
A friend recently asked me about what it takes to become a successful author. (Like I am an example!) I cautioned the potential wordsmith that this road is long and arduous. As I thought about this negative moment, it occurred to me that I had become jaded. So, I thought it would be a fun exercise to describe the positive aspects of my adventure.
But first, some housekeeping. Authors live in a competitive space with thousands of classic works (which continue to be enormously popular) and hundreds of new books coming out every week. As a result, an unknown author faces tough odds.
My first piece of advice is to develop a long-term plan that begins with a fundamental decision: Are you writing for fun or profit? This is a substantial first step with significant ramifications. I have explained the rest of the writing process in a previous blog:
https://interviewingimmortality.com/b...
My biggest piece of advice is to use outlines:
https://interviewingimmortality.com/b...
Housekeeping done. So, let’s get into the heart-to-heart advice. I feel it is a privilege to write because I get to express my ideas. Someday, I would like to fly a spacecraft. Look at that. I expressed one of my desires to the world. Now, this thought will be digitally stored for all eternity. Quite a powerful concept.
Being an author is empowering, and it is great to see my mental creations come to life. Writing also helps a person speak, organize thoughts and interact with others. After I became an author, I noticed other improvements. I now pay more attention to how people act, talk, write, dress, and think. A whole new side of life opened up.
Writing also helps me organize my thoughts, life, and projects because, as an author, I need to visualize the beginning, middle, and end of a story. In addition, my knowledge of Microsoft Word and vocabulary has dramatically improved. I also have taken an interest in new subject matters. Plus, I consciously and unconsciously examine words, sentences, and paragraphs. This sentence dissection gets me thinking about the author’s intent and choices.
One surprising improvement is more social interaction. To further my marketing attempts, I joined Facebook and made many online friends. They have been supportive, helpful, generous, and understanding. What a fantastic gift! I never would have expected this benefit.
The major downside to being an author is the critics. Haters have to hate, and that is part of life. However, a book is like a child, and we want our children to succeed. It hurts when I see my daughter publicly fail, and a critical review feels the same. Honestly, in the beginning, I did not think this would be an issue. My thought was, “I will write a splendid book, and everybody will love reading it.” Clearly, I was too optimistic. Finally, on this topic, there is a rainbow of critical reviews. Critics can point out true or untrue problems. Why do critics point out nonexistent issues? Sometimes people make mistakes or do not get the point. But a review is public and will be out there forever.
I imagine each author has their own personal frustrations. For me, poor grammar and spelling top my list. However, my writing efforts have dramatically improved my abilities.
My other frustration is marketing. I am not a natural marketer, and the concept of: “Hey, look at me! I wrote a book! Buy it!” Such an activity is not appealing. Yet, I know that to be accepted, I must adopt this mentality. Hence, I coined the phrase, “Writing is 99% marketing and 1% other.”
Other changes are not categorized as good or bad. Writing made me more liberal. Why? Authors must connect with their characters, and to do so, they require compassion. I also spot writing mistakes everywhere. Plus, I critically analyze books and movies. “The plot has to make sense!” Yes, I am referring to the recent James Bond movie. “Why did the villain want to destroy the world? What was his plan to disperse the toxin? How did he pay for his world-ending technology? He somehow got an entire island in contested waters? Why did so many people around him believe in his mad scheme?” The actors were great, but the plot was dismal.
While I have had many setbacks and devoted many hours to my craft, I would say the experience has been rewarding. Would I recommend this path? Hmm. A person needs to understand what they are getting into before jumping into this pool. The odds for success are drastically low, but there are many nontangible rewards. I am glad I undertook this journey, and I am grateful to my four blog readers. This blog was a privilege to write.
But first, some housekeeping. Authors live in a competitive space with thousands of classic works (which continue to be enormously popular) and hundreds of new books coming out every week. As a result, an unknown author faces tough odds.
My first piece of advice is to develop a long-term plan that begins with a fundamental decision: Are you writing for fun or profit? This is a substantial first step with significant ramifications. I have explained the rest of the writing process in a previous blog:
https://interviewingimmortality.com/b...
My biggest piece of advice is to use outlines:
https://interviewingimmortality.com/b...
Housekeeping done. So, let’s get into the heart-to-heart advice. I feel it is a privilege to write because I get to express my ideas. Someday, I would like to fly a spacecraft. Look at that. I expressed one of my desires to the world. Now, this thought will be digitally stored for all eternity. Quite a powerful concept.
Being an author is empowering, and it is great to see my mental creations come to life. Writing also helps a person speak, organize thoughts and interact with others. After I became an author, I noticed other improvements. I now pay more attention to how people act, talk, write, dress, and think. A whole new side of life opened up.
Writing also helps me organize my thoughts, life, and projects because, as an author, I need to visualize the beginning, middle, and end of a story. In addition, my knowledge of Microsoft Word and vocabulary has dramatically improved. I also have taken an interest in new subject matters. Plus, I consciously and unconsciously examine words, sentences, and paragraphs. This sentence dissection gets me thinking about the author’s intent and choices.
One surprising improvement is more social interaction. To further my marketing attempts, I joined Facebook and made many online friends. They have been supportive, helpful, generous, and understanding. What a fantastic gift! I never would have expected this benefit.
The major downside to being an author is the critics. Haters have to hate, and that is part of life. However, a book is like a child, and we want our children to succeed. It hurts when I see my daughter publicly fail, and a critical review feels the same. Honestly, in the beginning, I did not think this would be an issue. My thought was, “I will write a splendid book, and everybody will love reading it.” Clearly, I was too optimistic. Finally, on this topic, there is a rainbow of critical reviews. Critics can point out true or untrue problems. Why do critics point out nonexistent issues? Sometimes people make mistakes or do not get the point. But a review is public and will be out there forever.
I imagine each author has their own personal frustrations. For me, poor grammar and spelling top my list. However, my writing efforts have dramatically improved my abilities.
My other frustration is marketing. I am not a natural marketer, and the concept of: “Hey, look at me! I wrote a book! Buy it!” Such an activity is not appealing. Yet, I know that to be accepted, I must adopt this mentality. Hence, I coined the phrase, “Writing is 99% marketing and 1% other.”
Other changes are not categorized as good or bad. Writing made me more liberal. Why? Authors must connect with their characters, and to do so, they require compassion. I also spot writing mistakes everywhere. Plus, I critically analyze books and movies. “The plot has to make sense!” Yes, I am referring to the recent James Bond movie. “Why did the villain want to destroy the world? What was his plan to disperse the toxin? How did he pay for his world-ending technology? He somehow got an entire island in contested waters? Why did so many people around him believe in his mad scheme?” The actors were great, but the plot was dismal.
While I have had many setbacks and devoted many hours to my craft, I would say the experience has been rewarding. Would I recommend this path? Hmm. A person needs to understand what they are getting into before jumping into this pool. The odds for success are drastically low, but there are many nontangible rewards. I am glad I undertook this journey, and I am grateful to my four blog readers. This blog was a privilege to write.
Rabinow’s Laws
I downloaded Sidewinder-Creative Missile Development at China Lake by Ron Westrum two years ago. It is about product development, technology, history, and work politics. The book was a fantastic read, and it had an additional gem.
Ron listed three laws (advice) by the famous inventor Jacob Rabinow. One rule was, “If the boss is a dope, everyone under him is (or soon will be) a dope.” I wanted to know more about Jacob and learned he wrote Inventing for Fun and Profit. So, I downloaded that book.
Jacob was an electrical engineer for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the United States Post Office, and a company he started. His book described his life, work, inventions, and marketing. His approach impressed me, and I will keep the book as a reference.
Yet, there was a problem. Jacob’s book only had two more laws, but he described writing 25. Bummer! Finding the rest became a quest worthy of song and drink, leading me to contact Keith Martin, Supervisory Librarian at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He did an extensive search and sent me a copy of the laws. Way to go, Keith!
I thought it would be fun to share the list, but there was a minor problem. Law # 21 had a sexist example. I omitted the example but kept the law.
1) Everything falls with the same velocity for the first six inches.
2) Everything is equally difficult. (Designing a new paper clip or a guided missile).
3) By spending ten times as much, you can cut the time in half, once.
4) Everyone knows that I should have built the second model first.
5) Everyone want’s improvement s without any changes. (Fix it, but don’t change anything.)
6) The ultimate selling price of an item, in large scale production, is twice the cost of its raw materials.
7) As an art develops, the price range always increases in both directions.
8) Things that are done illegally are done efficiently.
9) The opposition to a new idea is directly proportional to its novelty.
10) If you want to be different, you better be good. If you want to make a different product, it better be very good.
11) There are a few correct ways of doing anything, there is an infinite number of wrong ways.
12) If the boss is a dope, everyone under him is (or soon will be) a dope.
13) In judging a manager, the opinion of his or her subordinates is more important than the opinion of his or her superiors.
14) When you have enough money to tell the boss to shove it, you never have to do it.
15) The optimum size of an organization is 35 people.
16) The most efficient conferences are held in corridors.
17) The highest quality of talent that you can find is that which you can get for nothing.
18) To promote inventions (or any art form), just love inventions (or the art form).
19) An idling professional in your employ loses money 20 times faster than he earns it.
20) When a purchaser, who doesn’t know the difference between good technology and garbage, orders “good technology,” he will always get garbage.
21) You can tell a brilliant person that he is an idiot.
22) If you want a 50-50 deal, offer the other party 60 and ask for 40.
23) If you know how the college kids think today, you know how the country will be tomorrow.
24) If you talk a lot, you will say more stupid things than clever things.
25) An invention is often funny because it is like the punch-line of a joke - completely logical and completely unexpected.
26) If I have to be bored, I’d rather be bored at home.
27) A good book is one that states what I have always believed.
I thought there were 25 laws. I guess Jacob added two more. Analyzing the above, rules 4, 26, 27 are first person, rules 3, 10, 14, 17, 19, 23, 24 are second person. Rules 12, 19, 20, 21 are masculine, while rule 13 has both genders. Jacob needed a little editing to remain consistent, but Grammarly and ProWritingAid did not complain too much.
These rules provided great insight, and I refer to them when evaluating a project or needing advice. I was glad to find them all and hope you enjoyed reading them.
You’re the best -Bill
January 24, 2024
Ron listed three laws (advice) by the famous inventor Jacob Rabinow. One rule was, “If the boss is a dope, everyone under him is (or soon will be) a dope.” I wanted to know more about Jacob and learned he wrote Inventing for Fun and Profit. So, I downloaded that book.
Jacob was an electrical engineer for the National Institute of Standards and Technology, the United States Post Office, and a company he started. His book described his life, work, inventions, and marketing. His approach impressed me, and I will keep the book as a reference.
Yet, there was a problem. Jacob’s book only had two more laws, but he described writing 25. Bummer! Finding the rest became a quest worthy of song and drink, leading me to contact Keith Martin, Supervisory Librarian at the National Institute of Standards and Technology. He did an extensive search and sent me a copy of the laws. Way to go, Keith!
I thought it would be fun to share the list, but there was a minor problem. Law # 21 had a sexist example. I omitted the example but kept the law.
1) Everything falls with the same velocity for the first six inches.
2) Everything is equally difficult. (Designing a new paper clip or a guided missile).
3) By spending ten times as much, you can cut the time in half, once.
4) Everyone knows that I should have built the second model first.
5) Everyone want’s improvement s without any changes. (Fix it, but don’t change anything.)
6) The ultimate selling price of an item, in large scale production, is twice the cost of its raw materials.
7) As an art develops, the price range always increases in both directions.
8) Things that are done illegally are done efficiently.
9) The opposition to a new idea is directly proportional to its novelty.
10) If you want to be different, you better be good. If you want to make a different product, it better be very good.
11) There are a few correct ways of doing anything, there is an infinite number of wrong ways.
12) If the boss is a dope, everyone under him is (or soon will be) a dope.
13) In judging a manager, the opinion of his or her subordinates is more important than the opinion of his or her superiors.
14) When you have enough money to tell the boss to shove it, you never have to do it.
15) The optimum size of an organization is 35 people.
16) The most efficient conferences are held in corridors.
17) The highest quality of talent that you can find is that which you can get for nothing.
18) To promote inventions (or any art form), just love inventions (or the art form).
19) An idling professional in your employ loses money 20 times faster than he earns it.
20) When a purchaser, who doesn’t know the difference between good technology and garbage, orders “good technology,” he will always get garbage.
21) You can tell a brilliant person that he is an idiot.
22) If you want a 50-50 deal, offer the other party 60 and ask for 40.
23) If you know how the college kids think today, you know how the country will be tomorrow.
24) If you talk a lot, you will say more stupid things than clever things.
25) An invention is often funny because it is like the punch-line of a joke - completely logical and completely unexpected.
26) If I have to be bored, I’d rather be bored at home.
27) A good book is one that states what I have always believed.
I thought there were 25 laws. I guess Jacob added two more. Analyzing the above, rules 4, 26, 27 are first person, rules 3, 10, 14, 17, 19, 23, 24 are second person. Rules 12, 19, 20, 21 are masculine, while rule 13 has both genders. Jacob needed a little editing to remain consistent, but Grammarly and ProWritingAid did not complain too much.
These rules provided great insight, and I refer to them when evaluating a project or needing advice. I was glad to find them all and hope you enjoyed reading them.
You’re the best -Bill
January 24, 2024
Pain Is Temporary
I recently finished reading Be Useful by Arnold Schwarzenegger. It is a self-help book with examples from his life to back up the wisdom he attained over a successful career.
One central theme is “pain is temporary,” meaning that while achieving your goal, there will be hardship. Yet Arnold is more direct. His fundamental wisdom comes from years of bodybuilding. While “pumping iron,” his muscles got sore, and he pushed through the pain. As a result, he won bodybuilding contests.
Arnold applied this wisdom to other parts of his life. Working hard to be an actor, getting elected, and suffering through personal trauma. “Tough it out!” And the results were exceptional. Pain is indeed temporary.
Arnold’s book impressed me, but the idea that pain is temporary has rattled around in my mind. Something was off, and it took a while to get my thoughts lined up. I can summarize my feelings by examining a recent and old issue.
I have allergies and have been going to get allergy shots once a week for the last four months. The logic behind an allergy shot is that the nurse injects a patient with material their bodies are allergic to. Over a year, the shots increase in strength, which forces the patient’s body to react. When successful, the immune system no longer responds to low doses of the material that is present in daily life. This means that if a patient is allergic to a dog, they can pet it without a reaction.
I have been going once a week to get my shot for six months (I still have eight to go). After each shot, I must wait 30 minutes to make sure my body does not get anaphylactic shock. The experience takes time, but I have already seen a positive result. Yay! But…
The nurse injected me six weeks ago, and a day later, my arm muscles, elbow, and shoulder were in severe pain. Unfortunately, the pain did not subside. My arm hurt for weeks, and it took hours to go to sleep.
Today, the symptoms have faded, but sleep is still challenging. I estimate it will take another three weeks to return to normal.
Was it worth it? Umm. Not sure. Well, how do we answer this question? Let’s take a high-level view. I began the treatments because allergies had taken over my life. I was always coughing, had significant issues with my parent’s dog, and had to run out of stores with a perfume department.
Now, I can walk out of stores (do not need to run), no longer have coughing spasms, and my parent’s dog only makes me sneeze. So, the answer is that I am better off than before. The shots worked. If I had known about my intense arm pain, would I have had the procedure? Yes. So, pain is indeed temporary, but there is a flip side.
When I was about 25, I purchased a 10,000 RPM hard drive for my computer. Why? To improve my productivity. Wow, it was fast, and the result was worth the price.
The problem was that the noise was at a specific tone. Soon, my ears started ringing. Did I get rid of my drive? No, I pushed through the pain. This is called Tinnitus, and I now suffer every day, which means that sometimes pain is not temporary. It can have long-term, unforeseen, undiscovered consequences. Also, it has been my experience that pain exists to tell us something important.
I have read many self-help books, and they all do their best to distill the concepts into simple statements. Trying new things, pushing through difficulties, and recovering from mistakes are good. These books also teach us to recognize long-term consequences.
We are not as powerful as we imagine. The Covid pandemic proved that a simple virus could destroy health, life, jobs, families, economies, the truth, and people’s trust and faith in the medical system.
Pain is direct feedback. In fact, it is the definition of negative feedback. Yet we must remember that “Life is pain. Anyone telling you differently is selling something.” -The Dread Pirate Roberts.
Perhaps Arnold could have worded his philosophy. “Be prepared to make sacrifices and push through difficult times. The pain you receive will usually be temporary, but sometimes it can last a lifetime. Plan carefully.”
You’re the best -Bill
July 31, 2024
One central theme is “pain is temporary,” meaning that while achieving your goal, there will be hardship. Yet Arnold is more direct. His fundamental wisdom comes from years of bodybuilding. While “pumping iron,” his muscles got sore, and he pushed through the pain. As a result, he won bodybuilding contests.
Arnold applied this wisdom to other parts of his life. Working hard to be an actor, getting elected, and suffering through personal trauma. “Tough it out!” And the results were exceptional. Pain is indeed temporary.
Arnold’s book impressed me, but the idea that pain is temporary has rattled around in my mind. Something was off, and it took a while to get my thoughts lined up. I can summarize my feelings by examining a recent and old issue.
I have allergies and have been going to get allergy shots once a week for the last four months. The logic behind an allergy shot is that the nurse injects a patient with material their bodies are allergic to. Over a year, the shots increase in strength, which forces the patient’s body to react. When successful, the immune system no longer responds to low doses of the material that is present in daily life. This means that if a patient is allergic to a dog, they can pet it without a reaction.
I have been going once a week to get my shot for six months (I still have eight to go). After each shot, I must wait 30 minutes to make sure my body does not get anaphylactic shock. The experience takes time, but I have already seen a positive result. Yay! But…
The nurse injected me six weeks ago, and a day later, my arm muscles, elbow, and shoulder were in severe pain. Unfortunately, the pain did not subside. My arm hurt for weeks, and it took hours to go to sleep.
Today, the symptoms have faded, but sleep is still challenging. I estimate it will take another three weeks to return to normal.
Was it worth it? Umm. Not sure. Well, how do we answer this question? Let’s take a high-level view. I began the treatments because allergies had taken over my life. I was always coughing, had significant issues with my parent’s dog, and had to run out of stores with a perfume department.
Now, I can walk out of stores (do not need to run), no longer have coughing spasms, and my parent’s dog only makes me sneeze. So, the answer is that I am better off than before. The shots worked. If I had known about my intense arm pain, would I have had the procedure? Yes. So, pain is indeed temporary, but there is a flip side.
When I was about 25, I purchased a 10,000 RPM hard drive for my computer. Why? To improve my productivity. Wow, it was fast, and the result was worth the price.
The problem was that the noise was at a specific tone. Soon, my ears started ringing. Did I get rid of my drive? No, I pushed through the pain. This is called Tinnitus, and I now suffer every day, which means that sometimes pain is not temporary. It can have long-term, unforeseen, undiscovered consequences. Also, it has been my experience that pain exists to tell us something important.
I have read many self-help books, and they all do their best to distill the concepts into simple statements. Trying new things, pushing through difficulties, and recovering from mistakes are good. These books also teach us to recognize long-term consequences.
We are not as powerful as we imagine. The Covid pandemic proved that a simple virus could destroy health, life, jobs, families, economies, the truth, and people’s trust and faith in the medical system.
Pain is direct feedback. In fact, it is the definition of negative feedback. Yet we must remember that “Life is pain. Anyone telling you differently is selling something.” -The Dread Pirate Roberts.
Perhaps Arnold could have worded his philosophy. “Be prepared to make sacrifices and push through difficult times. The pain you receive will usually be temporary, but sometimes it can last a lifetime. Plan carefully.”
You’re the best -Bill
July 31, 2024
