Reb MacRath's Blog, page 26
December 15, 2013
The Empty Restaurant Syndrome: Or Eat Here Before We All Starve!
My latest post on Authors Electric discusses ways of beating The Empty Restaurant Syndrome: the natural reluctance to enter empty places...or read unreviewed books.
It's never easy but with careful strategy, you can whip the ERS.
http://tinyurl.com/mycuwxj
It's never easy but with careful strategy, you can whip the ERS.
http://tinyurl.com/mycuwxj
December 14, 2013
The Day My House was Set on Fire: Part 1
Disaster can strike in the time that it takes to move from one table to another one in Starbucks. Five minutes after booting up my laptop, favorite table opened. I shut down...moved over...and got the Blue Screen.
With time and persistence and pluck, I can retrieve most of the files that I lost--except one: I'd failed to make a backup copy of my work in progress. And I was just days away from sending the 'show copy' to my beta readers.
I did find a saved second draft on a flash--but this was from a half-year ago and the book had been through many drafts since then.
The work I faced was staggering--assuming that I could remember enough of my changes to start.
Also, I had a new challenge: once again I'd been left without a laptop, having to rely on one-hour sessions on library computers. I felt tempted to quit--and yet I had to try before abandoning what I believed was the best of my Boss MacTavin novels.
I had proven persistence and pluck. But I had no strategy for coping with computer time restraints.
So, that became the first all-important step.
Stay tuned for updates as I go. The Boss Recovery Copy is already underway, forty-odd pages completed.
The next report will tell you how--with my house burned down--I returned to the house of my youth...the way I used to write/revise before there were computers.
This is shaping up to be one of my life's great adventures.
With time and persistence and pluck, I can retrieve most of the files that I lost--except one: I'd failed to make a backup copy of my work in progress. And I was just days away from sending the 'show copy' to my beta readers.
I did find a saved second draft on a flash--but this was from a half-year ago and the book had been through many drafts since then.
The work I faced was staggering--assuming that I could remember enough of my changes to start.
Also, I had a new challenge: once again I'd been left without a laptop, having to rely on one-hour sessions on library computers. I felt tempted to quit--and yet I had to try before abandoning what I believed was the best of my Boss MacTavin novels.
I had proven persistence and pluck. But I had no strategy for coping with computer time restraints.
So, that became the first all-important step.
Stay tuned for updates as I go. The Boss Recovery Copy is already underway, forty-odd pages completed.
The next report will tell you how--with my house burned down--I returned to the house of my youth...the way I used to write/revise before there were computers.
This is shaping up to be one of my life's great adventures.
December 4, 2013
Reb MacRath, Action Manifester! Flash Bulletin #4
Following up on FB #3, regarding the one-year top secret weapon that I began to use on 11/10:
The heart of the weapon is Action--big and bold as day.
Issues: I still hadn't had any results from the staffing agency I'd contacted. When I called them back, I learned that one reference had not returned their call and the phone number I'd been given for a second reference was bad.
Strategies: I began digging for contact #'s for previous managers at my night job. Good people who knew me and my work, but who'd been transferred suddenly. They agreed to come through for me. I passed the info on to the agency.
Results: Received an excited call from the agency manager, asking me to come in.for another interview. Whatever the problem had been with the first interviewer, she'd made no record of the ID I presented and there didn't seem to be any notes. I clicked with the agency manager--and he called back the next day with a strong possibility...at a significant bump up in salary. A longer commute is involved. I convinced him I could handle it--because I had handled an identical commute in Portland--for six years. I may have an interview with this company by the middle of the month.
Conclusions: The weapon worked, and worked quickly, because I acted quickly, persistently and in a focused way. I dug, and kept digging, for A-list references. I redid my resume, giving the agency manager what he wanted. I agreed to a second interview with the agency--and nailed it. Ronald Reagan-style, I transformed my age into a powerful asset.
This is just one example of the weapon at work. Similar results are coming in already on selected other fronts. Stay tuned for the next report.
The heart of the weapon is Action--big and bold as day.
Issues: I still hadn't had any results from the staffing agency I'd contacted. When I called them back, I learned that one reference had not returned their call and the phone number I'd been given for a second reference was bad.
Strategies: I began digging for contact #'s for previous managers at my night job. Good people who knew me and my work, but who'd been transferred suddenly. They agreed to come through for me. I passed the info on to the agency.
Results: Received an excited call from the agency manager, asking me to come in.for another interview. Whatever the problem had been with the first interviewer, she'd made no record of the ID I presented and there didn't seem to be any notes. I clicked with the agency manager--and he called back the next day with a strong possibility...at a significant bump up in salary. A longer commute is involved. I convinced him I could handle it--because I had handled an identical commute in Portland--for six years. I may have an interview with this company by the middle of the month.
Conclusions: The weapon worked, and worked quickly, because I acted quickly, persistently and in a focused way. I dug, and kept digging, for A-list references. I redid my resume, giving the agency manager what he wanted. I agreed to a second interview with the agency--and nailed it. Ronald Reagan-style, I transformed my age into a powerful asset.
This is just one example of the weapon at work. Similar results are coming in already on selected other fronts. Stay tuned for the next report.
December 3, 2013
Scoundrel Time!
Hi, the chipper Tweet says. Please Like my FB page and I'll Like yours!
Well, part of you may recoil from the prospect of wheeling and dealing with strangers. But it's a jungle out there and we haven't seen even the tip of the iceberg of Online Popularity Games. Plus, Amazon does note the number of Likes. So what you may do in this instance is be upfront and above board, Liking as requested then sending back this Tweet: Glad to Like. Will you in turn Like my Author (or FB) page at (link provided).
You might be surprised to receive a Tweet in response, thanking you for Liking...but ignoring your own request.
What to do? You might send a followup, stating that you were pleased to do it...but that you've noted that s/he hasn't reciprocated. Why not? You made what you regarded as an honest deal and don't want to jump to conclusions.
When hours pass and you've still gotten no response, it's not looking good. Why not check the Tweeter's FB page and see what you see? What if you see a dramatic increase in the number of Likes since the first Tweet?
'
You could do worse than conclude that many others were approached with the same offer. You have three courses of action:
1) Let it slide and shake your head at such childish shenanigans.
2) Withdraw your Like and say nothing.
3) Withdraw your Like and send a DM stating that you've done so.
I opt for the third door--with the caveat of keeping the note civil. And you?
Well, part of you may recoil from the prospect of wheeling and dealing with strangers. But it's a jungle out there and we haven't seen even the tip of the iceberg of Online Popularity Games. Plus, Amazon does note the number of Likes. So what you may do in this instance is be upfront and above board, Liking as requested then sending back this Tweet: Glad to Like. Will you in turn Like my Author (or FB) page at (link provided).
You might be surprised to receive a Tweet in response, thanking you for Liking...but ignoring your own request.
What to do? You might send a followup, stating that you were pleased to do it...but that you've noted that s/he hasn't reciprocated. Why not? You made what you regarded as an honest deal and don't want to jump to conclusions.
When hours pass and you've still gotten no response, it's not looking good. Why not check the Tweeter's FB page and see what you see? What if you see a dramatic increase in the number of Likes since the first Tweet?
'
You could do worse than conclude that many others were approached with the same offer. You have three courses of action:
1) Let it slide and shake your head at such childish shenanigans.
2) Withdraw your Like and say nothing.
3) Withdraw your Like and send a DM stating that you've done so.
I opt for the third door--with the caveat of keeping the note civil. And you?
November 30, 2013
You can pay it forward with two clicks
If you follow and enjoy this blog, you can pay the pleasure forward with only a couple of clicks.
The first click will take to you my Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Reb-MacRath/e/B007WJQKYM
The second click in the top right corner will register a Like.
The seconds it will take you to do this will show growing interest to Amazon. This in turn will lead to more exposure and the sales that will enable me to produce more of the books you enjoy.
Two clicks. You can do it. And you never know: Lady Luck may like your style and come around to goose you.
The first click will take to you my Amazon author page:
http://www.amazon.com/Reb-MacRath/e/B007WJQKYM
The second click in the top right corner will register a Like.
The seconds it will take you to do this will show growing interest to Amazon. This in turn will lead to more exposure and the sales that will enable me to produce more of the books you enjoy.
Two clicks. You can do it. And you never know: Lady Luck may like your style and come around to goose you.
Meet the Real Reb MacRath: Part 5
Childish and even ridiculous pleasures also define Reb MacRath.
Let me tell you why I'm smiling now.
On my week off from my main job, I'd been scheduled to work crazy hours at my part-time gig: 10 hours on Black Friday and 8 more today, starting at 6:45 a.m. Both days had been 'locked', meaning that I couldn't trade or give up the hours. Calling out might have meant getting fired. Apparently, I had no way around the loss of all that writing time.
For some reason, my instinct told me to check on Thursday morning. To my surprise, the days no longer showed as locked. I 'advertised' my Saturday shift, not hopeful of anyone jumping at the chance to start work at dawn. But, Friday morning, when I checked, I saw that someone had.
So I get to play Hookey today without hurting anyone. The store won't be affected. And someone who needed the money enough to start work at that hour struck gold. Best of all, though I do lose the money, I remember the childish thrill, years ago, of taking off from school.
What will I do with my day? I began with a cab ride to my favorite Starbucks at 6 a.m. to ensure I got the one table with an electrical outlet. And here I'm enjoying the delinquent delight of rewriting the new Boss MacTavin novel. Around noon, I'll mosey on down to the library to take care of other business. But--hey, this is Hookey day--I'll also take a walk, maybe go to a film, stop to smell a few frostbitten roses--or whatever's in bloom at this time of the year. I'll read. I'll do more roadwork on Action Manifesting. (A day job interviewing's scheduled for Tuesday!) And at home this party animal will do 800 crunches, then savor his favorite oatmeal and watch some Prison Break.
Though films aren't made about days such as this, I'm here to tell you, bubbas: I've got to play Hookey more often in the upfront way I've done. As the kids say these days:
Sweet!
Let me tell you why I'm smiling now.
On my week off from my main job, I'd been scheduled to work crazy hours at my part-time gig: 10 hours on Black Friday and 8 more today, starting at 6:45 a.m. Both days had been 'locked', meaning that I couldn't trade or give up the hours. Calling out might have meant getting fired. Apparently, I had no way around the loss of all that writing time.
For some reason, my instinct told me to check on Thursday morning. To my surprise, the days no longer showed as locked. I 'advertised' my Saturday shift, not hopeful of anyone jumping at the chance to start work at dawn. But, Friday morning, when I checked, I saw that someone had.
So I get to play Hookey today without hurting anyone. The store won't be affected. And someone who needed the money enough to start work at that hour struck gold. Best of all, though I do lose the money, I remember the childish thrill, years ago, of taking off from school.
What will I do with my day? I began with a cab ride to my favorite Starbucks at 6 a.m. to ensure I got the one table with an electrical outlet. And here I'm enjoying the delinquent delight of rewriting the new Boss MacTavin novel. Around noon, I'll mosey on down to the library to take care of other business. But--hey, this is Hookey day--I'll also take a walk, maybe go to a film, stop to smell a few frostbitten roses--or whatever's in bloom at this time of the year. I'll read. I'll do more roadwork on Action Manifesting. (A day job interviewing's scheduled for Tuesday!) And at home this party animal will do 800 crunches, then savor his favorite oatmeal and watch some Prison Break.
Though films aren't made about days such as this, I'm here to tell you, bubbas: I've got to play Hookey more often in the upfront way I've done. As the kids say these days:
Sweet!
November 27, 2013
On Drafting: Why More of a Good Thing is Better
For a long time I believed that the third draft was my 'show copy': when the manuscript had lost gross weight and been purged of typos, grammos and infelicities. Beta readers could now see the book in my head. And though I'd continue to fine-tune for months, I regarded the real work as done.
I've done a 180 on this point. The third draft, I now believe, is where I can get down to business. By this draft I'll know if the structure and pacing are sound, if the characters are breathing.But the devil's own work lies ahead of me still and there's no way any reader can envision the book that I have in my head.
From the third draft on, I refer to passes through the novel. For a mystery I'll need a few passes to fine-tune the placement of clues and the advances in detecting. I'll devote another pass to tracking the timeline and another to weaving research into the spots I'd left blank. Then I'll want to make sure the main imagery is well-developed and sustained. In my book Nobility, for instance, colors played a major part: the book begins with the word 'black' and ends with a 'rainbow of colors'. I'll need a slow and careful pass to focus on the transitions.
There's nothing boring to me about the process of rewriting. The first three drafts are brutal work, about as exhausting as digging a ditch. Then the jeweler's art comes into play in the various passes that follow. After three drafts and a half-dozen passes, I can show the work in progress to my beta readers. But, as a perfectionist, I want more fun.
I'll go through the book for more months still, stalking parts that still aren't clear and prose that doesn't crackle. I have at it, committed to making each page a party for the reader.
Why settle for anything less?
I've done a 180 on this point. The third draft, I now believe, is where I can get down to business. By this draft I'll know if the structure and pacing are sound, if the characters are breathing.But the devil's own work lies ahead of me still and there's no way any reader can envision the book that I have in my head.
From the third draft on, I refer to passes through the novel. For a mystery I'll need a few passes to fine-tune the placement of clues and the advances in detecting. I'll devote another pass to tracking the timeline and another to weaving research into the spots I'd left blank. Then I'll want to make sure the main imagery is well-developed and sustained. In my book Nobility, for instance, colors played a major part: the book begins with the word 'black' and ends with a 'rainbow of colors'. I'll need a slow and careful pass to focus on the transitions.
There's nothing boring to me about the process of rewriting. The first three drafts are brutal work, about as exhausting as digging a ditch. Then the jeweler's art comes into play in the various passes that follow. After three drafts and a half-dozen passes, I can show the work in progress to my beta readers. But, as a perfectionist, I want more fun.
I'll go through the book for more months still, stalking parts that still aren't clear and prose that doesn't crackle. I have at it, committed to making each page a party for the reader.
Why settle for anything less?
November 24, 2013
A five-star review...from Lebanon
Talk about eye-opening experiences! I'd received a message from a reader who wanted to read and review Southern Scotch. The correspondent lives in Lebanon, though, with no Amazon account to allow me to send her a Kindle gift copy.
Now, at the start of our ebook careers, getting reviews is a serious challenge. Not that long ago, sending out manuscript copies was a process involving both time and expense. But times have changed for the better in some ways. The correspondent was able to read Word documents. So I sent her a Word copy--and two days later this review appeared in Goodreads:
http://tiny.cc/7uz26w
Well, a 5-star review is a wonderful thing. But in this case I also had a strong, direct connection with a reader thousands of miles away. Reviews like this help our sales. But readers like this keep us going--for this sort of connection is why we all write.
Now, at the start of our ebook careers, getting reviews is a serious challenge. Not that long ago, sending out manuscript copies was a process involving both time and expense. But times have changed for the better in some ways. The correspondent was able to read Word documents. So I sent her a Word copy--and two days later this review appeared in Goodreads:
http://tiny.cc/7uz26w
Well, a 5-star review is a wonderful thing. But in this case I also had a strong, direct connection with a reader thousands of miles away. Reviews like this help our sales. But readers like this keep us going--for this sort of connection is why we all write.
November 21, 2013
The Whichamacallit of the...Huh?
John Fowles' highfalutin' phrase 'the relativity of recompense' has stuck in my mind for decades. That's a mighty fancy handle, yes, but the idea behind it is well worth remembering. And it can help you in your life or in the business of writing.
Here's what it means in plain English: While we can't control all that happens, we can adjust our perspective to see the good side of things as they are.
Examples:
1) You wake up one day, suddenly fifty or sixty, and realize with horror that your dream of writing has fallen by the wayside. Fowles wouldn't have denied the advantages of succeeding while still young. But he would have listed the relative windfalls of succeeding later on in life: You'll have cleared much crap out of your system and be able to bring a rich harvest of life experience to bear upon your work...You'll be driven in powerful ways no twenty-year-old can equal...You'll be far less likely to make fatal mistakes with agents, editors or your fellow writers.
2) You've just quit smoking at age 40. On the one hand you feel justiably proud. On the other, you're tormented by all the times you've failed before and the twenty odd years you spent smoking. Once again, Fowles wouldn't have counseled denial. Yes, it would have been terrific if you'd never started at all or had succeeded the first time you quit. Then again, you've learned something from every prior attempt. You have an arsenal of skills to use against a formidable foe. And today you have something else you wouldn't have had twenty years ago: online support groups you can reach in minutes. One last point: when you were twenty, with a forever before you, you were beaten by the part of you that whispered that you could always quit tomorrow. Today you know that you don't have forever--and that you don't need the pain of failing and starting all over again.
Today Hotmail is down. I went into a funk. But then I did a mental pivot: I now had time to write this post and return to the rewrite of the third Boss MacTavin novel.
Try tipping your own hats today to the Fowles' wondrous Whichamallit of the Huh.
Here's what it means in plain English: While we can't control all that happens, we can adjust our perspective to see the good side of things as they are.
Examples:
1) You wake up one day, suddenly fifty or sixty, and realize with horror that your dream of writing has fallen by the wayside. Fowles wouldn't have denied the advantages of succeeding while still young. But he would have listed the relative windfalls of succeeding later on in life: You'll have cleared much crap out of your system and be able to bring a rich harvest of life experience to bear upon your work...You'll be driven in powerful ways no twenty-year-old can equal...You'll be far less likely to make fatal mistakes with agents, editors or your fellow writers.
2) You've just quit smoking at age 40. On the one hand you feel justiably proud. On the other, you're tormented by all the times you've failed before and the twenty odd years you spent smoking. Once again, Fowles wouldn't have counseled denial. Yes, it would have been terrific if you'd never started at all or had succeeded the first time you quit. Then again, you've learned something from every prior attempt. You have an arsenal of skills to use against a formidable foe. And today you have something else you wouldn't have had twenty years ago: online support groups you can reach in minutes. One last point: when you were twenty, with a forever before you, you were beaten by the part of you that whispered that you could always quit tomorrow. Today you know that you don't have forever--and that you don't need the pain of failing and starting all over again.
Today Hotmail is down. I went into a funk. But then I did a mental pivot: I now had time to write this post and return to the rewrite of the third Boss MacTavin novel.
Try tipping your own hats today to the Fowles' wondrous Whichamallit of the Huh.
November 17, 2013
How to Become a Stud Muffin or Yum Muffinette
So here I am writing a new novel about a wild action hero while the damnedest changes seem to be happening within me. While I get high writing about Boss MacTavin--this athlete, Corrector and fighter--I've begun to focus in my daily life on different sorts of courage.
--I'm logging in far more writing hours a week while working in more time for correspondence and social media.
--I've redoubled my efforts to ace my writing goals: to thrill, delight, move, astonish and inspire .
--I'm persisting as never before in my search for a job with a M-F day schedule.
--I'm experimenting with new ways to win ebook visibility and online klout.
--I'm devoting more time to my family and friends.
--I'm proceeding with a bold new plan to nail a set number of goals in one year.
It's all too easy to drift, we all know. Anyone who's tried to quit smoking or drinking or whatnot and failed knows that we usually fail by degrees if we can't keep the wind in our sails. But Stud Muffins and Yum Muffinettes sport the same charged faithful look whether they row or breeze on with good winds. They don't do this when they're in the mood or when they're in the presence of a Major Movie Moment.
No. When they're doing the laundry or cutting the lawn, they've got the same look in their eyes that you'll see when they shooting photos, writing books or lovingly pounding the keys.
The magic word: Congruence. Their lives and their work are cut from the same cloth.
For me, no time for Boss-style flips or brawls with bikers today, not even a roll in the hay with a Yum Muffinette. I'm off on an adventure--at the library.
--I'm logging in far more writing hours a week while working in more time for correspondence and social media.
--I've redoubled my efforts to ace my writing goals: to thrill, delight, move, astonish and inspire .
--I'm persisting as never before in my search for a job with a M-F day schedule.
--I'm experimenting with new ways to win ebook visibility and online klout.
--I'm devoting more time to my family and friends.
--I'm proceeding with a bold new plan to nail a set number of goals in one year.
It's all too easy to drift, we all know. Anyone who's tried to quit smoking or drinking or whatnot and failed knows that we usually fail by degrees if we can't keep the wind in our sails. But Stud Muffins and Yum Muffinettes sport the same charged faithful look whether they row or breeze on with good winds. They don't do this when they're in the mood or when they're in the presence of a Major Movie Moment.
No. When they're doing the laundry or cutting the lawn, they've got the same look in their eyes that you'll see when they shooting photos, writing books or lovingly pounding the keys.
The magic word: Congruence. Their lives and their work are cut from the same cloth.
For me, no time for Boss-style flips or brawls with bikers today, not even a roll in the hay with a Yum Muffinette. I'm off on an adventure--at the library.
