Eric Kent Edstrom's Blog, page 11
March 22, 2013
Stop, Start, Continue (with downloadable worksheet)
Sometimes life gets murky. Time to clear things up. I recommend doing this exercise with others and then sharing the results. Hit up the link below to download the word doc.
Stop
These are the things in your life that you need to bring to a close. Stop doing them. Outsource them. Don’t think you can stop something? Why not? You’ll be amazed by how freeing it is to stop stuff.
Start
These are the things you want to bring into being. Activities you want to do, things you want to learn. Think big, but make sure you make room.
Continue
This is the stuff you are doing now that you plan to keep doing. Most of your planning time should be spent evaluating what you are doing now and deciding whether to stop it or continue it.
Download the worksheet and fill it in.
Execute.
Oh, and don’t forget to put an appointment in your calendar for three months from now to do it again.
Download
March 21, 2013
When Crap Succeeds
Sure, you may have a refined palate when it comes to wine, or coffee, or peanut butter, but that doesn’t mean that everyone who is buying the stuff you hate is wrong.
I never cared much that people disliked Dan Brown’s or Stephanie Meyer’s books. I liked them just fine. I was intrigued by one and engaged in the other.
On the other hand, when I was a kid in the 80′s, I never could understand how anyone could like Twisted Sister or Motley Crue. I’m mean, come on! They were a joke. Horrible music with comically bad lead singers. Twisted Sister actually dressed up pretty much like clowns!
And they laughed all the way to the bank. I’m not their market. In fact, I’m probably the necessary anti to make their posi (their fans) more powerful.
So now when something I dislike succeeds, I have to take a look at it and try to understand what’s going on. I have to say to myself, “Huh. That art doesn’t work for me. Is it because millions of people have been tricked? Or is it that I don’t understand those millions of people?”
March 20, 2013
Getting Unstuck
Write that paragraph, that scene, or that chapter.
Rework the hook, try a new melody on the chorus, send it off for a critique.
Stuckness is rarely about not knowing what to do. It’s about not wanting to do what you know you have to.
March 19, 2013
Cool Books and Gadets I’m into Right Now
Here’s the run down. (Note: All these are affiliate links, but you can easily get around that by searching for these items on Amazon.)
Books
Don Quixote
by Cervantes: this is a looong novel. Fortunately, each chapter is relatively short and the story is very episodic. That means you can read it in bits. The book is hilarious!
Sandman Slipcase Set
I had never read Gaiman’s masterpiece. Probably because I never had a history of reading comics at all. I’ve heard it referenced so many times, I decided to educate myself. It’s great!
The Sketchnote Handbook Video Edition: the illustrated guide to visual note taking (includes The Sketchnote Handbook book and access to The Sketchnote Handbook Video)
I wish I’d had this taught to me in school. I was terrible note taker all the way through college. Sketchnotes offers a different—and far more engaging—way to take notes, using pictures, typography, and page structure. The best thing is, you don’t have to be a good artist. A finished page of sketchnotes looks cool, too.
Gadgets and Things
I’m loving my SONOS PLAY:3 wireless speakers. I put one in the living room and now I have the playbar for the bedroom tv. I can send music from Pandora, Spotify, iTunes, etc to it using my iPhone, computer, iPad, kindle fire, wirelessly. Easy to set up and sounds great.
I’ve been walking around in my Merrel Barefoot shoes. They take a bit of getting used to because they don’t have the high, cushy heel most sneaks have. They’re extremely lightweight and comfy.
Dropcam is the best wi-fi security cam I’ve found. High quality video, easy to set up.
March 18, 2013
That Can’t be Right
But it is!!!!
Bookbub is offering my second novel for only $.99 from 3/18 – 3/22 through all the major ebook retailers. If you don’t have it, go get it!
March 17, 2013
Where I Spent 50% of My Summer at Age Ten
On this tractor.
Okay, so I exaggerated. It was probably more like 5% of my time. But that 5% dragged out due to insane hay fever and boredom.
I put a lot of miles on that ol’ 110.
I love the bare feet.
March 15, 2013
I Write the Posts to Myself
In recent weeks I’ve been blogging a lot.
A lot.
I’ve categorized most of these posts as “Missives”, which technically means they should be long letters. I guess I write short missives.
Even though I often say “you” as if I’m addressing the reader, I’m actually writing them to myself. The reason? Because I’ve learned that I don’t know what I think—heck, I don’t even know what I know, until I write about it.
So I’m going to continue talking to myself. Feel free to listen in.
March 14, 2013
Security vs Certainty
When I was a kid, thieves broke into my grandma’s house and stole her silver cutlery. I remember the cops showing up and telling her not to expect anything. She was understandably upset, and I remember the ishy feeling I had realizing that strangers had been in her house.
I’ve had security cameras in my house for a while. I say “security,” but what I really mean is ”peace of mind.”
The cameras themselves can’t protect me or my family. They are in highly visible locations, and the hope is that they will deter bad guys from breaking in. They will certainly help identify them if they do try to come in. It’s regular sci-fi stuff nowadays: night vision, records everything to an offsite location, and I can monitor it from my phone.
I also have a so-called “security system.” It’s a very nervous system. Every time a door opens, it beeps. And when we’re out of the house, the system gets set to a higher level of nervousness, ready to call the cops at a moment’s notice. Even so, “security” is a misnomer. The best it can do is sound an extremely loud alarm and call the dispatcher. (Which it did once when the cat set it off.)
If I really wanted more security I could build a fortress. But there are always guys with bigger guns. Seal Team Six wouldn’t have too much difficulty getting into whatever structure I built.
Fortunately, I’m not wanted by the US government.
The point is that no matter what measures you take to reduce risk, you can’t get to certainty. You can get to peace of mind, however.
The same can be said for everything in life. You can’t get to certainty, but you can get to peace of mind.
I really like the dropcam cameras, which are easy to set up if you have wi-fi network. Works great with ipads, iphones, kindle fires, and other android devices. Amazon affiliate link|Non-affiliate link.
March 13, 2013
Tutorial: Getting Goodreads Reviews to Show up on Kobobooks (simplified)
A while back I posted a tutorial for accomplishing this feat, and it helped a lot of writers. Since then, I’ve learned of a simplified method that is fast and avoids having to create a new edition of your book on Goodreads.
Instead of creating a new Goodreads edition for your Kobobook, we’ll modify an existing edition of your ebook on Goodreads. Most people seem to add their books to Goodreads using their Amazon ASIN numbers, therefore this tutorial will use that edition.
If you want to keep your Amazon ebook edition separate on Goodreads for some reason, then follow the long-form tutorial.
1) Go to Kobobooks.com and get the ISBN that Kobo assigned to your ebook. See the red rectangle in the image below.
Next, let’s go over to Goodreads and find your book. In this case I’m looking for the edition that uses Amazon’s ASIN number. I’ve highlighted what the ASIN looks like.
If you click “Edit Details”, you’ll get the screen below.
See where the ASIN is? And next to is is “click for ISBN”. Click that and the ASIN field will disappear and two ISBN fields will take its place.
Put the Kobo assigned ISBN number in the ISNB 13 field.
Save your changes and then go to Kobobooks and see if your Goodreads reviews are showing up. When I did it, they showed up immediately, but others have had to wait. Your star ratings might not populate over on Kobo right away either, but they should fill in eventually.
I hope this tutorial was helpful! If you have any questions or suggestions to improve this tutorial, please leave a comment.
On Party Crashing
The cool kids are having a party and you’re not invited.
Thing is, none of the attendees were invited either. At least not at first.
No one there is saying, “Gee, I wish we had more people here. Let’s call up Bob, or Breanna, or Maria and see if they’re free tonight.”
So if you’re working away at your art or your business, dreaming of the day that someone will discover you and invite you into the party, you’re going to be waiting a long time.
There’s a reason why people speak of “breaking into the business.”
Oh, and if you’re thinking, “I’m not quite ready to make my move; I just need a bit more practice to perfect my art before I risk showing up uninvited”—then you’re making a mistake. The reason that many talented artists and worthy businesses are unknown is that nobody knows who they are.
Go. Sneak in through the kitchen. Pretend you belong there.
Introduce yourself.
