Jason Landry's Blog, page 12
December 31, 2013
What will 2014 bring?
“Opportunities will come at the unlikeliest of times. Sometimes they’re because of instant connections.” ~ Jason Landry
The biggest event for me in 2013 was getting my book published. I’m sure you probably figured that out by now. What will 2014 bring? I am not going to bore you with any New Year’s resolutions, rather, I’m going to tell you a few things that I will be doing for certain:
1.) I will be cooking more. Late in 2013, I got the cooking bug. I never really cooked much in our house. Either my wife cooked, or we’d go out. Okay, I would cook pasta once in a while––that’s not that hard. I’m also a master at making peanut butter & jelly sandwiches. What I’m talking about is cooking real meals, ya’ll––and desserts too! We just purchased a whole new set of pans and I’m ready to get my chef on! If any of you have any recipe suggestions or good mobile app suggestions to find the best recipes, let me know.
2.) I will be spending more of my time helping others make connections. This is one thing that I learned from the people who have mentored me. They gave me direction over the last couple of years and helped me create the network that I currently have. I wrote about these mentors in my book Instant Connections ––it’s now my turn to give back. It’s not like I haven’t given back. It’s just in 2014, I’m really going to give back. This is something that makes me feel good.
3.) I will begin to write a new book. I have a few ideas brewing, but nothing that I can share with you at this time.
I hope that you all have a great New Year.
Try new things.
Set some achievable goals.
Meet some new people.
Shake some hands.
Break some rules.
Read Books.
Give back.
That’s all.
The post What will 2014 bring? appeared first on Instant Connections.
December 29, 2013
Read More. Pretty Please.
I hope you read more in 2014. I read a statistic somewhere that said that Americans are reading less and less, and we are also buying fewer and fewer books.
Boooooooooo!
Image via www.webneel.com
I don’t like these statistic for a few reasons:
1.) I just wrote a book and I want people to buy books.
2.) You can learn a lot from reading.
3.) Without books, life would be boring.
4.) Reading a book is a great way to decompress after a long, busy day.
5.) Bookstores need readers.
6.) Having a bookstore in your neighborhood is good for the community.
7.) You will learn more from reading a book, than you will from watching those crappy reality television shows (I had to put this one it in there!)
Think back to the last book that you read. How did it make you feel? Did you learn something new? Did you get inspired?
I hope you consider buying another book soon. Maybe it’s a paperback, maybe it’s an eBook, or maybe it’s even my book, and then I’d be excited and honored.
Whatever book you choose, enjoy it thoroughly.
The post Read More. Pretty Please. appeared first on Instant Connections.
December 28, 2013
Pinning and Winning on Pinterest
If Pinterest is your jam, I’ll be pinning some writing, reading, and photography related images up there once in a while. You can follow along here: http://www.pinterest.com/panoptgallery/
The post Pinning and Winning on Pinterest appeared first on Instant Connections.
December 26, 2013
December 22, 2013
30 Days After Your First Book Gets Published: A Reflection
It’s been a little more than a month since my book Instant Connections: Essays and Interviews on Photography was released. I have been pleasantly surprised by the comments that I have received––both emails from people that I know, and some that I do not know at all. When I read things like, “the things that you talk about in your book I am experiencing right now in my own life”––these words strengthen my belief that I was meant to write this book.
Although I would like the book to be for everyone, I know that it won’t be. I’ve heard that some people like the interviews better than the essays, while others said they didn’t care about my personal stories, and at least one person was bothered by my potty mouth. I didn’t think using the F-word 34 times in a book with 85,000 words was a big deal. I do hope however, that those who have read the book (cover to cover) found the importance of the word “connections”. The other thing that I hope you took away was that I tried to make the reading effortless and down to earth, as if we were having a conversation in a bar or in a coffee shop. Although I am a collector, gallery owner, writer/author and educator, I tried to speak to you from the same level––never above you.
Instant Connections may not have landed on the New York Times Bestseller List nor the Wall Street Journal List, but for a brief period it was #2 on Amazon’s list for Critical Theory > Photography books––I’ll take that, even through it IS NOT critical theory.
Usually books are cataloged in book stores under a certain type like non-fiction, or fiction, or essays, or interviews. These “types” are usually printed on the back cover of the book. One person suggested the other day that it should have been categorized under “cool shit”. I’ll take that as a compliment.
If you haven’t picked it up yet, I hope that you do.
Happy Holidays, from Me to You.
The post 30 Days After Your First Book Gets Published: A Reflection appeared first on Instant Connections.
December 20, 2013
December 14, 2013
Santa Speedo Run 2013
Next year I plan to raise money to do the Santa Speedo Run in Boston. Here’s a video from this years run for your enjoyment! It was cold. Very cold!
The post Santa Speedo Run 2013 appeared first on Instant Connections.
December 7, 2013
The Good Men Project
The Good Men Project recently featured one of the essays in my book Instant Connections. Have you ever asked yourself: Who’s In Your Top Five?
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December 6, 2013
Island Creek Oysters: They Believe in Aquaculture
South Shore Magazine recently published my 4-page story and photographs about Island Creek Oysters and their aquaculture initiatives. It was a great experience to be down on the farm, to learn about how they operate, and learn about the life cycle of an oyster.
My interest in Island Creek Oysters may have started in the restaurant, but it has grown exponentially when I found out that they are not only growing oysters for restaurants, but have expanded their overall mission to make oyster farming more of a sustainable and renewable resource in other countries through their aquaculture initiatives.
Through the three pillars of sustainability, Island Creek Oysters has created a model that shows the ability to focus on the needs of the economy, society and the environment. Their outreach continues to grow beyond the bay in Duxbury in an ongoing effort to help teach the world to feed itself.
Note: A digital version of this issue can be found HERE. The story starts on page 114.
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December 4, 2013
How do you define self-publishing?
How do you define self-publishing? I’m not sure the term “self-published book” is accurate. I struggle with this term because there is so much to do in order to get a book published. I learned this first hand when I began to query agents and publishers about my first book. In order to “self-publish” a book, you would have to be a jack-of-all-trades and cover everything from A to Z. And when I mean “cover everything’, I mean:
a.) Be able to write a book
b.) Then edit the book with a critical eye
c.) Know when to tell yourself that the story you just wrote sucked and you need to go back to the drawing board.
d.) Know how to create track changes in Microsoft Word, then decide which ones to fix and which ones to debate against yourself to leave in the book.
e.) Know how to layout a book in Adobe InDesign
f.) Know which fonts are best for readability and then find out that some aren’t good for eBooks.
g.) Know how to design the cover art
h.) Know why you should have a color cover
i.) Know when to say that your cover art was a bad choice, and select something different.
j.) Know how to create and edit eBooks
k.) Know that there is a difference between the files that you have to make for the Kindle, Nook and iTunes.
l.) Know how to purchase an ISBN number or numbers, since you need more than one if you plan to have a hard cover, paperback and various eBook editions.
m.) Know how to hire a company to print your book
n.) Know how to hire a company to distribute your book
o.) Know how to get your book listed with the Library of Congress
p.) Know how to get the press to notice your book
q.) Know how to market yourself so people will know about your book and buy your book
r.) Know how to build a website for your book or for you the author
s.) Know how to contact bookstores to set up book signings
t.) Know how much to discount your book so that book stores will carry your book
u.) Know how to prepare yourself to give an artist talk.
v.) Know how to design an advertisement for your book
w.) Know how to use social media sites in order to promote your book
x.) Know how to convince book stores to short order your book
y.) Know what to say when bookstores won’t carry your book because it’s “self-published’ or “print-on-demand’
z.) Know how to stay calm and carry on, even when someone gives you a bad review on Amazon.com.
Do you see what I mean? Everything from A to Z. There are probably more things to add to this list. These just happen to be things I had to learn about or research when I started writing. This is why I worked with a TEAM of professionals on my book Instant Connections: Essays and Interviews on Photography. You need to have many sets of eyes on everything that you do when taking on the challenge of writing a book and actually seeing it through to the end. I am grateful to my amazing editor, to my proof readers, and for the design team who worked on the layout and cover for the paperback, Kindle. Nook and iTunes eBook versions. And I shouldn’t forget the friend who took the photo for the cover. I couldn’t have done this without my team. I think when you have a good team, you come away with a great end product. Whether you’re working with a large publisher or an indie publisher, there is always a team of people working with you every step of the way. And when you have a great end product, less people will care who the publisher is. Am I bummed out that one of those big named publishers didn’t pick up my book––of course––who wouldn’t want their large marketing budgets. Am I happy with how my book came out in the end––absolutely.
If you know anyone that has every single one of the qualifications that are listed above, kudos to them. In the meantime, please support all authors, whether they are published by a large publisher or an indie publisher. The publishing industry has changed dramatically over the past few years. You can no longer dismiss the little guys. And by the way, all big publishers had to start somewhere, right? And this holds true for bookstores too. Support those indie stores as much as the big box stores and Amazon.
Keep writing. Keep reading.
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