Libby Fischer Hellmann's Blog, page 26

Repeat After Me: Try Not to be Cynical… Try not to be…

Just read today’s Progress Report from Think Progress and am trying not to be cynical. For those who wonder why, here’s what they are reporting:

ALEC: The Exodus Continues

by CAP Action War Room Posted on March 24, 2015 at 5:28 pm

Oil Giant BP Cuts Ties With Koch-Backed Lobbying Group

Yesterday, Oil Giant BP announced that it is cutting ties with ALEC, the conservative free-market lobbying group that has been largely funded by the Koch brothers. ALEC, or the American Legislative Exchange Council, connects corporations with state legislators and drafts model legislation to push a conservative agenda in the states.

BP is the latest in a long line of corporations that have severed ties with ALEC. In 2012, dozens of companies, including household names such as Coca-Cola, Kraft, Walmart, Amazon, Johnson & Johnson, and MillerCoors, cut ties with ALEC in the wake of the group’s support for voter ID and “Stand Your Ground” gun laws.

More recently, Google ended its relationship with ALEC after Chairman Eric Schmidt accused ALEC of “just literally lying” about climate change, later noting it was a “mistake” to fund the organization. While ALEC has insisted that it accepts the science behind climate change, its model legislation suggests otherwise – there’s even a bill that says climate change could be beneficial for our planet.

The group is also behind model legislation to undo successful renewable energy policies in the states and has condemned the Environmental Protection’s Agency’s plan to cut carbon pollution. As it became increasingly unpopular for companies to be associated with climate denial, Yahoo, Facebook, and Yelp also abandoned the group. BP is the third—and largest—oil company to sever ties with ALEC; Occidental Petroleum left the council a few months ago, about a year after ConocoPhillips did the same.

While BP did not note if it broke ties specifically over the group’s views on climate change, as the largest fossil fuel company to exit the council, their departure is symbolic. It’s one thing for tech companies to drop the conservative lobbying group, but it is much more significant for an oil giant, who could stand to benefit from ALEC’s anti-climate agenda, to do the same.

BOTTOM LINE: Climate change is happening and humans are causing it. BP’s decision to end its relationship with ALEC sends a strong message that being on the wrong side of science has serious consequences.

Will wonders ever cease? Good move, BP.

 

The post Repeat After Me: Try Not to be Cynical… Try not to be… appeared first on .

50 Tips For Fiction Writers

Whew!

It took over a year to do, but my 50 Free Tips for Fiction Writers is finally complete. You can find them over at Pinterest. They’re also scattered among my blog posts over the past year, but they’re all together in order  here. Here’s what they look like:

 

 

 

 

 

 

Feel free to peruse at your convenience. I hope you find them helpful!

 

 

The post 50 Tips For Fiction Writers appeared first on .

Writing Lite Tip 50: Never pay for a review

Enough said? You don’t need to pay for reviews. You can find reviewers online, on Facebook (Check Reviewing groups), Twitter, Google+, and more. Some kind souls have even made lists of reviewers who will review self-published books, but you’ll have to check to see how timely they are.

Make sure you craft a respectful, polite query letter that you send BEFORE you send them your book. After all, you’re asking someone to invest a lot of time in your work. The query doesn’t have to be long, but make sure they know how much you’ll appreciate their effort.

You can see all 50 of my Writing Lite tips here on Pinterest.

 

The post Writing Lite Tip 50: Never pay for a review appeared first on .

Writing Lite Tip 49: Pay for a professional cover & interior

You probably already know how important a good cover is. Save your pennies for a graphic designer who has experience and knows what he’s doing. And don’t forget to have them create a back cover and a spine, whether or not you’re planning a paperback release. You might want one at some point.

Covers are one thing; but interior design is also important. A novel, even an ebook, can and should have a flow and design. It should be graceful, easy on the eyes, and consistent from chapter to chapter. Joel Friedlander has some wonderful interior book design templates for print that are very affordable. And if you’re doing several books, consider PressBooks. They’ll give you BOTH a print and ebook version.

You can see all my Writing Lite tips thus far here on Pinterest.

The post Writing Lite Tip 49: Pay for a professional cover & interior appeared first on .

My China TV Interview– Ferris Bueller was Right

Remember when Ferris Bueller says to the camera “Life moves pretty fast. If you don’t stop and look around for a while, you could miss it?” Well, I just had one of those days.

It started Monday evening with an email from a producer who works for CCTV America. What’s that you ask? “CCTV News” is a global English language, 24 x 7 news and current affairs channel based in Washington, DC. It’s one of 42 television channels produced and broadcast by China Central Television, the world’s largest broadcaster with a reach of more than 1.2 billion people. The English channel, CCTV-America, can be seen in more than 100 countries and territories, including the US. I’ve heard them described as the “CNN of China,” albeit with a tilt toward China in its editorial stance.

Anyway, they were doing a story on self-publishing and wondered whether I’d do a live interview with them Tuesday evening. Unfortunately, I happened to be teaching a workshop (on self-publishing) so I wrote back and said probably not.

The producer wrote back they could pre-tape it during the day. But I’m in Chicago, not DC, I said. No problem, they replied. They had facilities all over the country. And they’d send a car for me. As some of you know, I used to work in broadcast news myself, and I remember ordering cars for our guests. Never in a million  years did  I ever think anyone would send a car for me.

What could I say? I said yes.

Sure enough, little more than twelve hours later, they picked me up, took me downtown to 10 S LaSalle, where, on the 35th floor, was a tiny production house.  I mean it was small. The control room was average size, but the room I did the interview in was no larger than a closet. It contained a nice Chicago skyline background, lights, and one camera. It turned out this was a place that mostly does remote feeds to other TV stations and outfits when needed. Boy, have times changed.

The anchor/host was in DC, but through the magic of those earpieces– I always wanted to wear one since William Hurt told Holly Hunter in the film Broadcast News “What a feeling… having you inside my head! – and I did. They also told me to look at the camera even when I wasn’t speaking because I would be on air in a two-shot.

Everything ran smoothly, we taped the interview, and then it was over. Less than 24 hours from start to finish.

So, yes, Ferris, I agree that life moves pretty fast. But even though fame is fleeting, what a trip to be on other side of the camera for a change!

Here’s the interview. The beginning is slightly upcut, but I’m talking about the benefits of crowd-sourcing. Let me know what you think.

The post My China TV Interview– Ferris Bueller was Right appeared first on .

Writing Lite Tip 48: Use characters’ actions instead of dialogue tags

You already know you don’t need dialogue tags other than “he/she said” or, occasionally, “he/she asked.” Often, however, you don’t need a tag at all, if you couple it with a character’s action. That action, BTW, will tell you more about a character’s frame of mind than a bunch of words. Examples:

Ellie ran a hand through her hair. “I don’t know about that…”

Or

“What do you mean you’re not coming?” Georgia planted her hands on her hips.

Or

“I can’t.” Dar backed away from Alix. “I just can’t see you any more.”

The post Writing Lite Tip 48: Use characters’ actions instead of dialogue tags appeared first on .

Letter to the Chairman/CEO of AT&T

To: Mr. Randall L. Stephenson

Chmn and CEO AT&T

From: Libby Fischer Hellmann

Re: Atrocious Customer Service

March 3, 2015

Dear Mr. Stephenson,

 

I had hoped I would not have to write this email for two reasons:

— I have been a loyal AT&T customer for nearly 45 years, and

— There is a very competent manager trying to sort out what has become an untenable situation.

The problem is that she can not solve the problem if she doesn’t have the proper support, and it is clear she does not. It is also clear that the left hand of AT&T (ie the wireless division) has NO idea what the right hand (the land line division) is doing. I assume that is why the manager told me it will take two weeks to sort it out. That is unacceptable and ridiculous, particularly for a company that prides itself on its technological innovations.

I’m not going to go into the history of the entire situation… You can read it in my two previous blog posts at libbyhellmann.com The posts are the ones with the AT&T logo prominently featured.

As I said, I wasn’t going to write, but the last straw occurred today. Because of mistakes made on your end, my cell service was cut off last week, but the manager was able to restore it promptly. She said she would open a NEW case to deal with the problem. Apparently, your wireless division does not know that, and once again, I am now getting nasty phone calls threatening to cut off my service unless I pay you for the past three months.

I have no intention of paying until we sort out the issues involved, which again, were the results of mistakes made by AT&T, not me. And about which I was never informed . (Please refer to my two prior blog posts for reference.)

Bottom line: Your customer service, particularly in the wireless division, is abominable. Your people do not listen when a customer tries to explain, preferring to repeat the same thing over and over again. They don’t even have the intelligence to treat a customer with dignity and respect.

This is not a company with which I want to do business. If this is not resolved quickly, I am severing all ties with AT&T.

I hope this message reaches you.

Sincerely,

Libby Fischer Hellmann

The post Letter to the Chairman/CEO of AT&T appeared first on .

Thank You, Librarians!

 

Just wanted to say thank you to Librarians and Sisters in Crime. For those of you who don’t know, Sisters in Crime has a monthly “I Love Libraries” program in which libraries can win a significant grant from SINC for their library. All they have to do is send a photograph of books in their libraries written by Sisters in Crime members.

I was thrilled to see the books that the February library winner included in their photo. Hint: It’s the book on the far right (the fourth Ellie Foreman mystery).

Thank you, Librarians! The love is mutual.

 

 

The post Thank You, Librarians! appeared first on .

AT&T — This is becoming Surreal

Thought I’d give you some updates on my situation with AT&T. There was one bright spot, but then the light was snuffed out. For those who don’t know what’s going on, my post from Feb. 24 explains it, although you are not required to read it.

Update 1: By the evening of Feb. 24, an AT&T Social Media Manager called me to tell me she was on the case. Yay! She even sounded like she knew what the problem was and said she’d been working on a couple of similar problems. For the first time in 5 days, I was optimistic.

Update 2: She emailed me the morning of Feb 25 to tell me that resolving the situation might take 5-7 days. Well, okay. As long as someone was working on it.

Update 3: On Feb 26, my cell phone service was cut off. I hit the roof. I emailed a second Social Media Manager who was filling the shoes of the first one (they have staggered weekends). Within 30 minutes, my cell service was back on. Progress!!

Update 4: I received a message from the wireless people on my cell asking me to call about my “case resolution.” When I called, I was connected to someone who had NO IDEA about my case and asked me why I called. I told him AT&T had asked me to call, but I was NOT going through the case from the beginning. NOT GOOD.

Update 5: I emailed the Social Media Manager to tell her about this latest episode. Waiting to hear back. This has now passed from the realm of reality into the surreal.

At this point, questions need to be asked: Who’s in charge here? Why is a company that used to be so well respected now filled with robots who can only read a prepared script? Why doesn’t the land line division work with the wireless division? Why doesn’t the left hand know what the right hand is doing? And, how long until I can change telephone providers? I never EVER imagined that Comcast might do a better job than AT&T… but… now I’m not so sure.

AT&T, if you’re reading this, you are welcome to respond to any of the above.

The post AT&T — This is becoming Surreal appeared first on .

AT&T: Even Yossarian would go nuts

I am so angry and frustrated with AT&T I dont know where to begin. I have spent the better part of this week trying to fix a screw-up that THEY made. With no success. Finally, I decided to do a chat, so I would have a written transcript. I don’t expect you to read the whole thing, unless you’re a masochist, but let me assure you that the Catch-22 is perfect. The number they referred me to at the end of the chat is the SAME number I’ve been calling for the past two days — a number which, when I explain the situation,  they tell me they can’t help.

This is absolutely unbelievable. The Chat starts now:

 

Thank you for choosing AT&T. A representative will be with you shortly.

You are now chatting with Sarah G.

Sarah G: Hello my name is Sarah G. Thank you for allowing me to be your specialist today. How may I assist you?

ELizabeth Hellmann: I am at the end of my rope. I have tried to fix a problem that you made and have literally talked to 8 different people, none of whom could fix the problem. I hope you can.

Sarah G: I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced.

Sarah G: Please feel free to share your concern.

ELizabeth Hellmann: THat’s what everyone said, but the problem remains. I have combined billing for my home phone and my cell phone. I’ve had it since it became available 10 years or so ago.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Suddenly, the wrieless people are sending me  increasingly nasty letters saying I owe them money, but, at the same time I am STILL receiving combined bills from you. I dont know what happened to “decombine” the phone bills in the wireless deivision, but they can’t seem to do anything about it unless I get it cleared up with “Combined Billing.” whoever they are. I have been trying to contact COmbined Billing in Illinois for the past 48 hours and have never reached someone.

ELizabeth Hellmann: As I said, I am at the end of my rope. I have been an AT&T customer for almost 40 years, but if this isnt settled, I’m going to cancel my service.

Sarah G: I apologize for the inconvenience you have experienced.

Sarah G: I can help you with that!

Sarah G: Please allow me a moment, while I access your account.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Okay

Sarah G: I’ll be right with you.

Sarah G: Thank you for waiting, I appreciate your patience.

Sarah G: Your inquiry requires contact with a specialist who handles billing and payment requests for wireless accounts.  I apologize that I do not have access to your records to assist you in my office.   Allow me a moment to connect you to a representative who will be able to assist you.  In that event that you may be disconnected, please contact a representative at 1-800-331-0500 or visit the wireless website at: http://www.att.com/wireless

One moment while I transfer this chat to a representative that is better skilled to handle your concern.

Welcome! You are now chatting with ‘Mhel Niño Milton’.

Mhel Niño Milton: “Hi” it’s a short, simple word but it’s how love starts.Hi Elizabeth, I am more than happy to help you with your wireless account.

Mhel Niño Milton: May I know your wireless number?

ELizabeth Hellmann: xxxxxxxxxx.  But before you tell me I owe you money, please read the above transcript. I do not want to re-explain the situation.

Mhel Niño Milton: Sure… let me first read your previous chat here

Mhel Niño Milton: May I know your wireless number?

ELizabeth Hellmann: I just gave it to you above.

Mhel Niño Milton: Oh my bad, thanks for the info.

Mhel Niño Milton: Sorry to know your frustration… I understand that you want to separate your current combined billing, correct?

ELizabeth Hellmann: NOOOO I do NOT want to separate the billing… I want the combined billing to continue and I want the wireless people to understand that it IS combined billing, has been for 10 years or more, and to stop sending me suspension notices. I ALWAYS pay my combined bill promptly. Clearly something went awry with YOUR system and you disconnected the combined portion of my wireless bill. Why I dont know, ESPECIALLY since I am STILL receiving combined bills. Thus, you are invoicing me for a double payment on my wireless bill. MAKE THIS STOP.

Mhel Niño Milton: Oh my apologies for this… let me verify the detail of your current bill statement here.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Which bill are you talking about? You need to get the Combined Bill. Not simply the wireless one. And you are now going to tell me you cant do that, arent you? You will now be the 10th person to tell me that. Can you understand why I’m disgruntled?

Mhel Niño Milton: I can completely understand. If that happened to me I’d be really upset too. I can imagine how frustrating that must be.

(Long pause)

ELizabeth Hellmann: Well?

Mhel Niño Milton: Just to be clear what are the accounts that is supposed to be combined if I may ask. In that way I can look for way to help you

ELizabeth Hellmann: The accounts are my land lines: xxxxxxxxx, xxxxxxxxx, and my cell xxxxxxxxxx. But they are ALREADY combined. In fact I just got a combined bill two days ago and paid it. But I am ALSO receiving nasty bills and notes from the wireless division saying that my account is past due and you are going to suspend my service. If that happens, I will definitely be cancelling my account.

Mhel Niño Milton: By the way we no longer have a combined billing available for our AT&T customers just to make sure to provide you the best option, I think it’s best to coordinate to our Customer Relation department for the best assistance for your needs. Just stay with me in this chat.

ELizabeth Hellmann: So what happens now?

Mhel Niño Milton: Our Customer Relations department will provide the best option for your needs that is beyond my capabilities… rest assure that they will help you with this one.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Are they going to enter this chat?

Mhel Niño Milton: Yes…

Mhel Niño Milton: I will get you in touch to them right away.

One moment while I transfer the chat to a representative that is better skilled to handle your concern.

Welcome! You are now chatting with ‘Imani Lelani’

Imani Lelani: Hello Elizabeth, I will be more than happy to assist you today, while I access your account tell me a little about how your day is going.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Please read through the transcript. I do not want to re-explain everything.

Imani Lelani: Allow me a few moment to review your account and bring myself up to speed on your needs so that I can better assist you.

Imani Lelani: Thank you for your patience. From what I see here you are on the combine bill and are receiving messages about your wireless account being due, is this correct?

ELizabeth Hellmann: Yes. I do not know why… or how.. this began. But it needs to stop.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Please communicate to the wireless division that I already pay my bills to them via the combined billing.

Imani Lelani: Okay, I am glad we are on the same page with this. Do you remember when you made the payment and for how much?

ELizabeth Hellmann: What payment are you talking about? I have been paying my combined bill every month. I did make a payment diretly to the wireless people when they first started haranguing me, but that was a few months ago.

ELizabeth Hellmann: ANd I should not have had to pay that bill. So, technically, I believe AT&T actually owes me a refund.

ELizabeth Hellmann: No.. you are incorrect. I have had combined billing for as long as it has been available… probably about 10 years. Nothing on my end has changed.

ELizabeth Hellmann: I pay my land line and my cell bill together every month with one payment.But suddenly, the wireless people are telling me I owe them money. And they continue to. SOMETHING IS REALLY WRONG HERE.

Imani Lelani: Okay, well I am looking at your account and I do not see anything here showing that you are on combined billing.

ELizabeth Hellmann: Well, that is NOT my problem. That is YOUR problem. I have been paying combined bills for YEARS. You need to fix the screw up.

Imani Lelani: I can going to give you a number to call. You can call this number and they can further assist you. My systems are showing that you are not on combined billing so I cannot further assist you. 800-288-2020]

ELizabeth Hellmann: You know what? I am not going to waste more time on this. I’ve already spent hours and days on this. YOU have YOUR manager Call ME at xxxxxxx. Otherwise, this goes on social media, and I contact your CEO. I’m done.

ELizabeth Hellmann: And THAT happens to be the number I called in the first place. WHere no one could help me.

ELizabeth Hellmann: You guys are impossible.

The post AT&T: Even Yossarian would go nuts appeared first on .