Kenneth Atchity's Blog, page 190

Guest Post: Memo to a Successful Writer by Dennis Palumbo

Hollywood on the Couch
The inside scoop on Tinseltown, USA.
by Dennis Palumbo

How to keep making it after you've made it


I’ve heard from a number of my Hollywood writing patients who are new to the business, as well as some successful veterans, ask me to write a column about them. People who are doing well, having their TV scripts and screenplays produced, being offered good deals.

So here goes.

It doesn’t suck. When they option your work, when your film is opening or your pilot is picked up, it can be very sweet indeed.

There are still challenges, of course. Like keeping your focus on the writing, and not getting caught up in just having meetings and developing pitches. Not to mention the effort it takes, in the midst of all the business concerns, to remember why you wanted to write in the first place.

Success in the industry can be as terrifying as it is exciting, as complicated as it is gratifying. But it’s worth it. Seeing your words transformed into feature films and TV episodes, getting to communicate what’s in your mind and heart to countless others, is a profound joy.

That said, here are some things to remember to help keep you grounded...and keep you writing.


YOU ARE ENOUGH. You have everything you need—right now—to be the writer you want to be. As Emerson said, “To know that what is true for you in your private heart is true for everyone—that is genius.” Which means each writer has within him or her the entire range of human experience. If you feel it and think it, pretty much everyone else does, too. So keep mining your own particular thoughts and feelings, what excites or worries or intrigues you, and you’ll have an inexhaustible supply of things to write about.

STAY CURIOUS. One of the great gifts that creative people tend to share is a sense of wonder. The best way to keep your writing fresh and your ideas unique is to be open to new experiences, concepts and situations. Moreover, smart writers are always reading new things, discovering new films or innovative TV programs—in other words, keeping their eyes and ears open to what else is going on around them creatively.

BE IN THE WORLD. I don’t mean you have to watch CNN 24/7, but an understanding of the issues and stresses confronting the people around you is crucial to keeping your writing relevant. Whether you write the broadest of comedies or the most sober of dramas, the best writing is informed by the context in which it is created. Our own culture—political, social, economic—is and has always been the well-spring for the most creative story-telling. It’s what makes a narrative or a collection of characters—and their concerns—relatable to the audience.

DON’T PANIC IF YOU GET STUCK. What does it mean if, in the midst of a script or treatment, you get stuck? It means you’re a writer—and that’s all it means. Writing is hard (and good writing is harder!), so getting stuck, or having doubts about which direction to take the narrative, is just part of the job. Writers only get in trouble when they give their writing problems a personal meaning—when they think it’s evidence of some defect or inadequacy in themselves. It isn’t. In my experience, once I help patients challenge the notion that a writing problem indicates something deficient in them, they tend to be better able to grapple with the actual problem itself—and work through it.

TRUST YOURSELF. Your talent, instincts and hard work have gotten you this far, so it’s unlikely that this skill set will abandon you. No matter how things are going, trust yourself. Every writer, regardless of success, has to navigate the ups and downs of the business. This is a lot easier to do if you can trust yourself—creatively, professionally and personally. You’re the one knows best how to tell a story, craft compelling characters, build to a suspenseful moment or the pay-off to a joke. You know best how to thrill an audience, how to make them laugh and cry and think.

Which means, no matter what, remember who you are and what you can do


Reposted from Psychology Today

Author 101 University event in Los Angeles March 6- 9, 2014 Early bird special until Jan 15th at midnight. $100 off.

----------------------------------------------------------------------Early Bird till Jan 15th- Save $100. Use coupon code earlybird14-----------------------------------------------------------------------

 Are you a bestseller yet? -

Is your book written yet?
If it is written, is it a bestseller yet?
If it is a bestseller, is it getting you the opportunities you'd dreamed of?

Let's make sure this is the year all of that happens for you.

For the last dozen years Rick Frishman has hosted an event called Author101University.

New and established authors from around the globe all come together for 4 amazing days to learn from some of the world's leading marketing and publishing experts so they can become bestselling authors, highly-paid speakers and coaches and respected authorities in their niche.

Everyone has a lot of fun and most importantly, everyone walks away with what
they need so they can grow their success as an author.

Come to the next Author 101 University. Here's what can happen for you there...In one weekend, you'll:

-- Connect with literary agents who want to represent you
-- Get your new book published or your old book revitalized
-- Make your book a bestseller
-- Learn how to turn your online promotions into huge exposure (and sales)
-- Transform your message into a mega success business
-- Meet and network with amazing people
-- And so much more...

Your dream doesn't have to be just a dream.

Come to the next Author 101 University event in Los Angeles March 6- 9, 2014.


GET ALL THE DETAILS HERE


You'll meet top publishing and marketing experts and discover their proven techniques to get your book published and double or even triple your income.

If you're an aspiring or accomplished author, speaker, entrepreneur, small business owner, or simply someone who wants to network with and learn from bestselling authors and experts in marketing...

Guest Post: How to Get More Reviews on Amazon.com by Penny C. Sansevieri

These days, we hear a lot about book discovery. As more and more books hit the market, readers are deluged with choices and authors are struggling to get in front of new readers and even existing fans. Recently Bowker announced that the number of books published each day in the US is up to 3,500. This does not include all eBook data since many eBooks are published without ISBN numbers that Bowker can track. What this has done is create a strong need for a reader's voice. Reaching these readers, however, is another matter entirely.

What's an aspiring publisher or author to do? Well, it's time to get serious about being seen in places where your reader will find you. It's time realize the things that are important to your reader: reviews and engagement. Authors who focus on those two things alone are head and shoulders above the rest.

More Reasons to Love Reviews

The other reason to love reviews is that the more reviews you get on Amazon the more visible your book becomes. This is largely due to the Amazon algorithm which is based on a few things, one of which is the number of reviews you get to your page. It's called Social Proof and Amazon loves it. More reviews on your page push your book higher in search ranking when someone enters your book's search term into the Amazon search bar.

Different Types of Reviewers, Do They all Matter?

Reviewers, like anything in marketing, are very relationship based. That's why it's often easier to get reviews for your second or third book, but first-time authors, don't worry - I'm going to show you a tip in a minute that can help you double or triple the amount of reviews you get.

There are a few different types of Amazon reviewers. Let's look at each:

Top Amazon Reviewers: These folks can review anything, not just books, and they often do a lot of reviews. I had one reviewer tell me she once posted 100 reviews a month on Amazon. These reviewers also get a lot of credibility in that their reviews are often accompanied by attributes such as Hall of Fame Reviewer, Vine Voice and Top Ten Reviewer.

It's a great thing to get a top Amazon reviewer to consider your book but they are tough to target. Does it mean you should ignore them? No. We'll talk more about how to creatively target them in a moment.

Amazon Reader Reviewers: These are readers who just love books. They aren't part of the top list like the high profile Amazon reviewers, but they can also review a lot of books. Their reviews are thoughtful, insightful, and thorough. They tend to be very genre focused, which means that they stay true to one genre, possibly two. Many of them are also on Goodreads, which is another reason why it makes sense to be on that site, too.

Consumers: Do consumers review books? Yes, but according to a review statistic I read recently they don't review a lot. Often only 1% of consumers will review a book they read, but I'll show you how to quadruple that number for your next book.

Bloggers: We love bloggers. They have this tireless passion for books and if you can get them to review yours, this relationship can last the length of your career. But keep in mind that while book blogger relationships are great, not all of them review on Amazon so if your goal is to really populate that page with reviews, you'll want to make sure they do.

Curious about how to find great book bloggers? You can search for many of them on Google and search "book blogger" + Your genre. You can also go to sites like: http://bookbloggerdirectory.wordpress.com/ or http://www.blogmetrics.org/ to find bloggers in your genre.


Different Ways to Find Amazon Reviewers

A quick Google search will take you to this link: http://www.amazon.com/review/top-revi.... The problem is that this link takes you to an endless list of reviewers you now have to ferret through.

As you will see, the list has two tabs on it, Top Reviewer Rankings and Hall of Fame Reviewers. The Hall of Fame list is really the top of the top. If you can get picked up by one of those folks, you're golden. Not all of them review your genre, and some don't even review books. There are other ways you can reach them, though.

Some authors I know will just find reviewers based on other, similar titles. You can do this by going to books that cover the same or a similar topic and see who has reviewed their book on Amazon. You follow the reviewer's link to his or her Amazon profile page, look for an email address, and send a pitch. It's a very time-intensive way to get reviews, though it's 100% worth it. If you start this process early (i.e. before your book is published), you'll be able to target these folks as soon as your book is ready to go.

The other way to find reviewers is to use the following search string, which I've seen a few times in various formats. Keep in mind that this search string isn't an exact science, and I've also found that it works better for some genres than for others. First, let's take a look at the search string structure:

Search String in Google:

http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers "Top 500 reviewer" "Romance"

Or you can also use:

http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers "Top 1000 reviewer" "Romance"


The string is broken down as follows:

1. First is the site you want to search: http://www.amazon.com/review/top-revi... this is the profile link on the Amazon page--that's the URL you are searching from so you must include this in your search string.

2. Next you want the Top X reviewers, in this case I recommend putting in 500 or 1000. You won't pull up that many, but it's a nice high number to shoot for. Why the difference in the number? Because I recommend that you search it both ways. Oddly, though you're just changing a number, each of these searches may produce different results.

3. Next up is the genre. I put in romance here but yours might be mystery, sci-fi, etc. Whatever your genre is (fiction or non-fiction), put it there.

When you do this, you still have to sift through the results. Keep in mind that not all Amazon reviewers list their email address on their profile so you may have to hunt for them by searching their name and their blog (most Amazon reviewers have blog sites they repost their reviews to).

If you're willing to continue your search, you can also try this search string:

http://www.amazon.com/review/top-reviewers "Top 500 reviewer" "Young Adult Fiction" "E-mail:"

Note the spelling of the term e-mail. For the purposes of finding the right reviewers, we want to mimic how the term e-mail is referenced on the reviewer site.

This process, while time-consuming, can help you start building your top Amazon review list.

How to Double the Amount of Blogger Reviews You Get

You've now identified the bloggers you want to pitch and they also review on Amazon. You know that they get a lot of review requests, so how will you make yours stand out?

Last year I conducted an experiment. I wanted to see if there was a way I could double or triple the amount of reviews I could get if I were an unknown, newly published author. If you've ever attempted to get reviews, you know it's never easy as a first-time author. You're lucky to get one or two at the most. I always tell authors to personalize their pitches whenever they can because it'll net more review requests. Most of the time authors sort of nod in agreement, but I suspect that very few actually do this. I mean let's face it; it's a big time suck to personalize pitches, right? You have to go to their blog, find their name, look up some of the books they've done reviews on, see if they're right for your book and then pitch them. Seems like a lot, right? Now I'm going to ask you to take this a step further. I want you to include some personal information on them, too. I did this anytime I could and, as I said, I tripled the amount of review requests I got for this unknown author. In some cases I quadrupled the amount.

Turning Your Book into a Review Machine

We all want to turn our book into a sales machine. Now I'm not taking about turning your book into a cross-promotion tool (though that's good, too) I'm speaking about getting your book to work for you in other ways.

We've worked with many first-time authors, but earlier this year I had an idea I wanted to try. I wanted to find a way to encourage readers to review the book by adding a specific request. We asked the author to include a letter in the back of her book asking for reviews. She reminded readers how important their voice is. Did it work? Yes. In fact she's got well over 70 reviews of which only 10 were solicited. Remember, this is a first-time author with no history online and this book was self-published. All of these things worked against her and still she succeeded in getting tons of reviews. Were they all five-star? No, but that's not the point. Let's face it, a book page that's populated with tons of five-star reviews is pretty suspect anyway. All of the reviews are authentic, written by real readers the author engaged with. Want to know another secret? These readers are now part of her "tribe;" she stays in touch with them and lets them know when her next book is out.

How did she ask for reviews? She crafted a letter to her readers. Here's a sample of the letter we included in the back of her second book. You can see the letter here: http://www.amarketingexpert.com/getting-reviews/

Keep in mind that as I mentioned earlier, generally only 1% of consumers review books on Amazon. Using this letter helped to beat that average by a lot.

A Little Known Amazon Tool

Did you know that you can respond to a review on Amazon? Using access to your Author Central account you can now write a note thanking the reviewer, or, you can let the various reviewers know that you have another book out and ask them if they want a free copy for review. To gain access to your Author Central Page, go here and log in using your regular Amazon login: https://authorcentral.amazon.com

Once you're inside you'll see a header. Click on Customer Reviews. Once you click that button, it'll take you to this page where you'll see a bunch of your reviews. Under each review you'll see "Add a comment"--this is where you want to click. That will let you respond to the reviews. It's a great way to connect with your readers on Amazon!

Reviews and the process of getting them has gotten more challenging and time intensive as new books continue to flood the market. Reviewers have a lot of choices. But if you're smart about your efforts, and leverage Amazon's features wisely, you can really boost your book's exposure, and your sales. One final note on Amazon reviews. Sometimes in order to get reviews, you need to become a reviewer. I'm not suggesting you compete for their top review spot, but instead help other writers in your market by reviewing their books. It's not only a great way to pay it forward, but they may offer you a review, too.

Reposted from The Huffington Post

Your Brain on a Thriller [via David Angsten]

 

"Being pulled into the world of a gripping novel can trigger actual, measurable changes in the brain that linger for at least five days after reading, scientists have said.  The new research, carried out at Emory University in the US, found that reading a good book may cause heightened connectivity in the brain and neurological changes that persist in a similar way to muscle memory.

"'We already knew that good stories can put you in someone else’s shoes in a figurative sense. Now we’re seeing that something may also be happening biologically,” said neuroscientist Professor Gregory Berns, lead author of the study."

 
The key word is "gripping."  Read the full article HERE.

Book Marketing: How 4 Authors Are Finding Success With Social Media

By Andy Meek


Andy Meek is a senior business reporter for The Memphis Daily News. You can follow him on Twitter @AndyMeekTN.
The book industry is in upheaval. The recent news that Borders will liquidate and shutter all of its 399 stores is the latest sign of print’s unstable market.

In many ways, tech advancements have forced the industry’s deterioration. While print struggles to catch a foothold, tech-savvy authors are managing to bridge the gap. Therefore, I’d like to introduce four tech-savvy authors whose statuses range from rookie to bestseller. Thanks to social media, they're writing their own rules about branding and fan engagement.

 1. John Green – The Fault in Our Stars Author: John Green
Twitter: @realjohngreen
Facebook: John Green
Website/Blog: JohnGreenBooks.com

John Green’s latest book, The Fault in Our Stars, is riding high on the charts. It recently landed the number-one spots on Amazon.com and BarnesandNoble.com. But here’s the thing – his story won’t be published until 2012.

Green promoted the book to his 1.1 million Twitter followers, according to The Wall Street Journal:

On (a) Tuesday afternoon, he posted the title of his new book on Twitter, Tumblr and the community forum YourPants.org. An hour later, he upped the stakes by promising to sign all pre-orders and the entire first-print run, while also launching a YouTube live show. Mr. Green discussed his plans for signing the book and also read a section to give viewers a sense of what The Fault in Our Stars would be about.

On the same day of the WSJ article, Green responded by tweeting, “I am genuinely uninterested in marketing, but I am VERY interested in being part of awesome communities.”
Publisher @penguinusa also tweeted the news: “did you hear? @realjohngreen’s new #ya novel THE FAULT IN OUR STARS is #1. One catch, he’s still writing!”

To which Green could not resist shooting back: “@penguinusa HAHAHAHAHA Don’t make fun of me corporate overlord or I will refused to finish it! ;)” 2. Laura Hillenbrand – UnbrokenAuthor: Laura Hillenbrand
Twitter: @laurahillenbran
Facebook: Laura Hillenbrand
Website/Blog: LauraHillenbrandBooks.com

Earlier this year New York Times bestseller Laura Hillenbrand – the author of Seabiscuit – participated in a new media experiment to promote her new book Unbroken, which follows a WWII pilot who was shot down, only to survive a Japanese prison camp.

NPR produced what it described as a “book club-meets-social media experiment” across its Facebook, Twitter and web presences -- places where Unbroken was widely discussed. On the NPR Books Facebook Page Hillenbrand also contributed to the discussion.

By achieving direct access to the author, readers like Robin Politowicz became inspired to write back:

Laura,
Was there a moment in your research that just stopped you in your tracks? A particular incident or injustice or cruel twist of fate (of which there were so many) that gave you pause?
Wonderful book – listened to the audio version on a long vacation drive, and had to think of errands to run once we got home so that we could finish listening :-)
–Robin Politowicz

Dear Robin,
Good question! There were so many breathtaking moments in Louie's story. I think the one that was most striking to me was the one when he was on the raft, and the Japanese bomber began strafing him and his raftmates. This was incredible enough, but in seeking cover under the raft, Louie ended up having to fight off sharks, striking them in their noses while the bullets showered down. I can't imagine that there's been another man in history who has been simultaneously fired upon and attacked by sharks. That he survived it continues to amaze me.
–Laura

 3. Blake Northcott – Vs. RealityAuthor: Blake Northcott
Twitter: @ComicBookGrrl
Facebook: Vs. Reality
Website/Blog: BlakeNorthcott.com

If you’re a new writer who’s looking ahead to a seemingly daunting publishing task, take a tip from Toronto writer Blake Northcott.

She recently self-published Vs. Reality, a work she’s calling a “comic book-inspired urban fantasy novel.” The Kindle version is now available through Amazon.com.

During the nine months spent writing her comic and movie blog, she amassed a 16,000-strong Twitter following, and collected more than 1,700 personal Facebook friends. Furthermore, in the space of one week earlier this month, her re-launched blog got 4,500 page views.
To put the numbers in perspective, her Twitter tribe is roughly the same size as that of publisher Image Comics. And a few days ago, Goodreads.com notified Northcott that she is the tenth most-followed Canadian on the site.

Northcott’s social media presence includes what she describes as an “instant feedback mechanism that tells me people are listening.”

“People are so passionate about books, comics and movies,” says Northcott. “When you connect with them on their level, and they know you’re legitimate, they respect you a lot more. Social media facilitates the ‘secret handshake’ where you get into the club, and people know you’re one of them.”

4. Duane Swierczynski – Fun and GamesAuthor: Duane Swierczynski
Twitter: @swierczy
Facebook: Duane Swierczynski
Website/Blog: Secret Dead Blog

If Quentin Tarantino ever decided to put down his camera and pick up a novelist’s pen, the result might read like the action-packed work of Duane Swierczynski. He writes hard-boiled thrillers that have the inventiveness, colorful characters and crackling dialogue of comic books.
His latest book, Fun and Games, was released a few weeks ago. To coincide with the release, Swierczynski devised a promotional contest that met with great fan approval.

To boost his pre-order numbers, Swierczynski invited fans to send him a confirmation once they had pre-ordered the book. In return, he randomly picked winners to which he sent personally chosen prizes - for example, signed copies of his five previous novels, a copy of Rockstar Games' recent title L.A. Noire, and even the right to name a minor character in the third book of his current trilogy. Additionally, he sent everyone who pre-ordered his book an offbeat postcard he picked up from the road, complete with a handwritten note of thanks.

“I was just talking to a friend the same age as me [late 30s] about how much harder it was to find like-minded people back in the early '90s,” says Swierczynski. “Sure, there was 'zine culture, but other than that, you couldn't help but feel kind of all alone in the universe ... Social media makes it so much easier, and so many people I've met online have turned out to be good friends in real life. So [social media] is not really a ‘strategy’ – it's a matter of craving that hive-mind experience. And as part of that hive-mind, you should give as much as you take.”


Reposted from Mashable.com

Guest Post: January 1, 2014 -- 55 years after Castro's reign of terror began, 3 brave dissidents give me hope by George J. Fowler III

January1, 2014 marks the 55th anniversary of Fidel Castro's reign of terror on the island of Cuba.

The country is so close that perhaps if you stand on your tippy toes in Key West, you can see Cuba.

On January 1,1959, I  was a little boy in Cuba. It was a great country. I was awakened by celebratory gun shots. I  knew they were not New Year's firecrackers.

That day bearded men in green fatigues came to my home and acted like they were in charge. Ten days later they stripped the people of all weapons and ensured that control.

But today I have hope.

This op-ed is about three brave Cubans: Berta Soler, Yoani Sanchez and Guillermo Fariñas.

They lead Cuba's growing but isolated dissident movement. I write about them because it is sadly clear that, after 55 years, our government (whether led by Republicans or Democrats) is going to continue to ignore the people of Cuba.

    Because of Berta, Yoani and Guillermo, 55 years later I have hope.

This op-ed is also not about Castro's 17,000 political assassinations, his legendary dungeon prisons,or his prolific torture methods. It is not about my uncle, who, deceived by Castro, first fought for him and then against him in the Bay of Pigs invasion. President Kennedy reneged on his promise to assist the invaders.

After my uncle ran out of ammunition, he was captured and tortured.

I am not going to detail the story of the brave American, William Morgan, who rose to the rank of Commandante in Castro's army then turned against him. His executioners, ordered him to kneel. Morgan spat back "I kneel for no man". They blew off one knee but somehow the big American still struggled to stand. Then they blew off his other knee and massacred him.

I am not going to explain why our State Department annually recognizes Cuba as a state  sponsor of terrorism.

Nor will I address the fact that a few months ago a Cuban ship was detained in Panama carrying nuclear missile parts and weapons from Cuba to North Korea. Our media seemed to have glossed over that story.

I  am not too troubled because our president hopped two steps and cheerfully shook the Bloody hand of Fidel's brother, Raul. Raul has always been a bug in the shadow of his brother.

Moreover, I don't think our president recognized Raul because two weeks earlier he had met with Berta Soler and Guillermo Fariñas in Miami and cheered them on.

So let's talk about hope.

First, there is Berta Soler. This brave,black woman leads the ladies in white,the wives and mothers of Castro's political prisoners.  Every Sunday after mass Inst. Rita’s church,Berta parades the ladies in peaceful protest, wearing white and carrying flowers.

Every Sunday, Castro sends his thugs to beat them, stick them with needles and recently, strip them of their clothing. But every Sunday there are more ladies in white.

Yoani Sanchezis the famous blogger who, in a country that prohibits the Internet, reaches millions  throughout the world. She denounces Castroism. When I asked her, she told me she was very afraid of the violence against her and showed me a hole in her mouth where they had knocked out a tooth. She admitted that she was most afraid when Castro’s thugs threatened to hurt her only son. But Yoani blogs on.

Guillermo Fariñas is tall, dark and bald. Because of 24 anti-Castro hunger strikes she has the countenance of a concentration camp prisoner. But he has the heart of a lion.

This November while in Miami, I noticed fresh scars on his bald head. I begged him not to go back. I reminded him that last year  Cuba's leading dissident, Oswaldo Paya had been publicly murdered by Castro's men.

Guillermo told me his group now numbers 7,000 and he was going back no matter the consequences.

He is back in Cuba.

So, because of Berta, Yoani and Guillermo, 55 years later I have hope. I would be even more hopeful if America decided to really support them. They are so close to us.

George J. Fowler is author of the recently published book, "My Cuba Libre: Bringing Fidel Castro to Justice." He is Vice President and General Counsel of the Cuban American National Foundation. He can be reached at fow@frfirm.com.

Reposted from Fox News

Author 101 University event in Los Angeles March 6- 9, 2014

 Are you a bestseller yet? -

Is your book written yet?
If it is written, is it a bestseller yet?
If it is a bestseller, is it getting you the opportunities you'd dreamed of?

Let's make sure this is the year all of that happens for you.

For the last dozen years Rick Frishman has hosted an event called Author101University.

New and established authors from around the globe all come together for 4 amazing days to learn from some of the world's leading marketing and publishing experts so they can become bestselling authors, highly-paid speakers and coaches and respected authorities in their niche.

Everyone has a lot of fun and most importantly, everyone walks away with what
they need so they can grow their success as an author.

Come to the next Author 101 University. Here's what can happen for you there...In one weekend, you'll:

-- Connect with literary agents who want to represent you
-- Get your new book published or your old book revitalized
-- Make your book a bestseller
-- Learn how to turn your online promotions into huge exposure (and sales)
-- Transform your message into a mega success business
-- Meet and network with amazing people
-- And so much more...

Your dream doesn't have to be just a dream.

Come to the next Author 101 University event in Los Angeles March 6- 9, 2014.


GET ALL THE DETAILS HERE


----------------------------------------------------------------------
Early Bird till December 31st- Save $100. Use coupon code earlybird14
-----------------------------------------------------------------------

You'll meet top publishing and marketing experts and discover their proven techniques to get your book published and double or even triple your income.

If you're an aspiring or accomplished author, speaker, entrepreneur, small business owner, or simply someone who wants to network with and learn from bestselling authors and experts in marketing...

A New Christmas Brings to the Vatican Fisherman's Shoes Instead of Red Slippers

With a new pope in office whose facts are almost harder to believe than fiction, I head for Rome on Christmas Day to see what the new look of St. Peter's Square might be. I can't help thinking back decades to a visionary novel by Morris West called The Shoes of the Fisherman. In this inspiring book, made into the 1968 film starring Anthony Quinn as the supreme pontiff, a Roman Catholic pope, against all odds, walks the talk of faith, hope, and charity even offering to sell the treasury of the Vatican to feed the hungry.

Today's new pope, born as Jorge Mario Bergoglio, humbly does not even sign "P.P.," pontifex ponteficum, high priest of high priests, after his papal signature, breaking yet another Vatican tradition in his determination to follow in the unclad footsteps of the saint whose name he assumed upon election. Just a simple, Franciscus, thank you.

Nor does Francis wear the red slippers embroidered with gold thread worn by his predecessor, Benedict XVI, choosing his own practical orthopedic shoes for most occasions.

Other parallels between fiction and fact abound: the novel's Pope Kiril Lakota, taking the name of the saint who spread the gospel to Russia, is the first pope from a communist country. Francis is the first pope from South America, taking his name from the merchant's son from Assisi who renounces even clothes to bring himself closer to nature and his maker.

Both assumed a hitherto unused papal name. Like Pope Kiril, Francis leaves the security of the Vatican bastion to minister to the poor of Rome.

Both popes broke precedent immediately upon election, with Francis descending to the level of his fellow cardinals to greet them instead of waiting for them to ascend to his to offer obedience; then preferring to appear on St. Peter's balcony without the traditional red cape and wearing a simple iron cross around his neck versus the solid gold cross worn by his predecessors -- as though mindful of Chaucer's line, "What if the gold rusts, what will the iron do?" referring to the corruption of the clergy in medieval England. He began his first address as, not pope but "bishop of Rome," by asking for the assembled throng to bless him.

As his namesake Francis ministered to lepers, Francis I embraces a man whose skin is covered with boils.

Both popes face the daunting task of restoring confidence in a religious institution rocked with scandal both sexual and financial. Can he restore the faith of fallen-away Catholics like myself, who could no longer bear the dichotomy between institutionalism and morality?

Both pontiffs respond to the excesses of the hierarchy by renouncing clerical privilege, with Francis washing the feet of female convicts, the first pope in history to wash a woman's feet. Abandoning the bullet-proof Popemobile, he moves into crowds to kiss infants and invalids and join in selfies.

Unafraid of the mafia, both move against corruption in the Vatican.

Who else in this wacky world could be both Time magazine's "Person of the Year" and The Advocate's as well?

When millions of Chinese face starvation, Pope Kiril offers to sell off the riches of the church to feed the hungry, and asks that all wealthy countries do the same. Pope Francis attacks global capitalism, and castigates bishops who drive Mercedes. Overnight he's tendered a vision of the world's most powerful ecclesiastical institution as the humble champion of the poor.

From estranged divorcees to atheists to gays and lesbians to good people of other faiths, Francis ministers equally on the simple Christian platform, "Who am I to judge?"

He's asked the cardinals to exchange their bright red robes for simple priestly black. Let's see how that one goes. He referred to them not with the traditional "Lord Cardinals" but as "brother cardinals." No wonder there's already mumbling in the high ranks of churchly courtiers.

Breaking with tradition at every turn, Francis drives himself around in a beat-up twenty-year old Renault with 190,000 miles on it, phones -- on a land line -- to cancel his own newspaper, is an avid soccer fan, drinks Argentinian mate in public, and pays his own hotel bills. He chose a used ring (made for Paul VI's secretary) instead of ordering his own papal ring. After his first meeting with journalists, he waved away the papal limousine and walked back to the Vatican.

He celebrated Holy Thursday Mass not in the Vatican, but in a juvenile prison, extending his apparent determination to embody all the "corporal works of mercy." He returned to facing the people during his celebrations of the Holy Mass, rather than turning his back to them and facing the altar like his predecessors.

When he met the Jesuit general, titularly his superior, he apologized for not keeping protocol and insisted on being treated like any other Jesuit with the "tu" informal rather than "Your Holiness" or "Holy Father."

West's pope Kiril insists on the power of words to change the world. Francis is doing the same, but with equal insistence on the exemplary power of deeds. In doing so he transcends the very institution he heads. Here's rooting for him to continue his march toward becoming a living saint.


Reposted from the Huffington Post

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Informant Media's Judy Cairo Talks With the PGA on Creative vs. Financial Producing

Produced By: PGA East
Edited By: Diana Lampiasi
________________________________________
The Producers Guild of America protects and promotes the interests of all members of the producing team in film, television and new media.

The PGA has over 5,000 members who work together to protect and improve their careers, the industry and community by facilitating members health benefits, encouraging enforcement of workplace labor laws, the creation of fair and impartial standards for the awarding of producing credits, as well as other education and advocacy efforts.

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