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 |   The Good Life. |
I am a professional musician  , worship leader , small business owner , songwriter , aspiring author and freelance nonfiction writer with a chemical engineering degree . But that's just my resume. My profile of qualifications is only one of the ways in which I am unique. Here I chronicle my personal and professional goals and my efforts to achieve them. Occasionally I fail. Mostly, I take daily baby steps toward all my long-term goals. Much like the stories I pen, the songs I compose, and the businesses I run, I am always a work in progress. ![Merit Badge in Music
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To a dear friend whose talent for writing music is sensational. May you have a fabulous New Year, (((Brandi)))!!! *^*Kiss*^*
Big hugs,
Sherri *^*Heart*^*](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/genre-Music-1050.gif) ![Merit Badge in Organization
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I don't know how you do it, but I assume there's magic involved *^*Bigsmile*^* I have really enjoyed this month of planning and preparation for NaNoWriMo and I love how organized it all is. Thank you for hosting a great challenge and for your dedication to helping so many of us prepare with confidence and trepidation for National Novel Writing Month (known to sane folks as 'November' *^*Laugh*^*) at your [Link To Item #1474311]](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Organization-1150.gif) ![Merit Badge in Leadership
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For your hard work, commitment, talent and innovation in running the October NaNoWriMo Preparation each year, which helps many of us get our scattered thoughts together for November's novel-writing. And also because this badge has ducks on it.](https://images.Writing.Com/imgs/writing.com/writers/badges/general-Leadership.gif) |
| It's been awhile, O Blog O' Mine, but I can't say that I've missed you. I've been cheating on you: I've turned microblogging into an art form, particularly on Facebook and Twitter. I get more personal satisfaction out of that because I get more response. But I suppose I'm due for an update here, since I haven't posted in three months. 1. MTMS has exploded. Not literally, of course. --- Gahanna Campus is at 372 students for March, versus a plan goal of 366 by 3/31. --- Polaris Campus is at 82 students for March, versus a plan goal of 80 by 3/31. --- It's only 3/3. It can only go up for the month from here. 2. I'm addicted to Minecraft. Yes, it's a sick obsession. 3. I'm gaining weight. Fast. And it has to stop. Now. 4. Poor Witch is almost through rough editing and may be publication-ready this year. 5. I'm still gigging weekly and leading the praise band and youth praise band at church. 6. I'm reading. Voraciously. Need recommendations to feed my hunger. 7. I'm learning violin, and I'm practicing 20 minutes per day like a good little girl. 8. I've been teaching. That's good because it saves payroll. It's bad because I'm flippin' busy! I hired a new instructor today but need one more, so at least I'm moving in the right direction. 9. Must. Write. Performance. Evaluations. 10. Why must people be negative and insulting? Can we have a little positivity, please? 11. Check it out, if you dare (and don't mind the bugs): "Invalid Item" That is all. At least, that's all I could find, but I haven't gotten through the whole pile yet. |
| I won, yippee!! More importantly, I actually finished my manuscript this year, and because I was editing as I went, it's in decent shape. Yippee!! Now to keep up the good work. For that, I have a plan. I know you're shocked.  1. I will write every morning at 6:30 am WDC for at least 30 minutes. Anyone like to join me? I'm thinking of creating an accountability forum. Since I have nothing prepped, my plan to start is to rewrite last year's novel, since it's already prepped. I'll have the manuscript up on one screen and basically copy it into my sprint. This will serve two purposes: - I can fix errors in plot, setting, characterization as I go. - It will force me to re-read and remember where I was at the end of last year. Once I catch up with myself, I'll continue with the scenes I didn't get to. When I finish last year's novel, I'll continue doing the same thing with this year's novel. When that's complete, I'll start prepping the sequel, and my morning sprints will be prep assignments. 2. At 9am Mon-Fri, I will shift my focus from writing to work. Difficult!!! I get so focused on projects and won't want to break away from writing. But my analytical skills are strongest between 9am-1pm, so that should be work time. 3. Mon-Thu evenings, I will hang out in my new music school lobby and socialize with clients, if I'm not teaching. I think that's missing from the equation. I did that when we opened my first music school campus, and enrollments skyrocketed. What can I say? Doggone it, people like me. Heaven only knows why.I still have to keep up with church and family, but I'm keeping my new goals simple for now, so I can concentrate on building good habits. That is all. I gots stuff to do, people. |
| Hello to all of you who are on my list of contacts of Facebook. I haven't wanted to do this, but I must bow to social media peer pressure. After finding the contents of my undergarments located on another anonymously implicated site that probably doesn't actually exist, I would like to ask a favor of youā¦. You may not know that Facebook has changed its privacy configuration once again. Thanks to the new āGraphic appā, any person on FB anywhere in the world can see us naked under our clothes, unless we're wearing lead underwear. During the next two weeks, I am going to do everything in my power to make this post go viral so I can get my fifteen minutes of fame, albeit anonymous fame, but it's probably better than I'll get anywhere else. Therefore, please do the following and comment "DONE". Those of my friends who do not remind me to wear my lead underwear will be eliminated from my list of friends, because I want the contents of my lead underwear to remain among my friends and not be available to the whole world. Unfortunately we cannot change this configuration because FB has made it like this. 1. So, please, click "Comment" below. 2. Place your cursor in the "Comment" box. 3. Now type the words "This is your Lead Underwear Reminder!!!" 4. Click "Submit Comment" 5. Stand on your tippy-toes and perform three pirouettes. 5. Yes, I said 5. Now, copy and paste this text on your own wall. Once I see it published on your page, I will send your reminder in turn. |
| The most interesting revelation solidified in my mind yesterday: Being a public figure and performer does not necessarily make one an extrovert. I think I'm more of an introvert than I ever realized. A recent article about the surprising traits of introverts (because I believe everything I read on the Internet) and a false-extrovert employee of mine who declared himself actually an introvert got me thinking about my own possible false-extroversion. It gelled at the grocery store when, like always, I headed straight for the self-checkout with my overflowing basket of goods. Why would I deliberately do all that work myself? I'm not faster at it than the cashier. In fact, the thing usually pisses me off. But self-checkout, like Internet shopping and email, allows me to avoid talking to anyone. That got me thinking about how I hate talking to strangers, how I'm downright rude to telemarketers and door-to-door salesmen, how I can't stand being hit on at bars. People probably think I'm a bitch, if not just aloof. Could it be that I'm an introvert in disguise? It also got me wondering if the Electronic Age isn't creating a new generation of introverts, or at least encouraging the natural introverted tendencies in all of us. But then, at Keith's mom's 75th birthday party on Saturday, I hid inside with the 15-year-old and played video games while everyone else sat on the patio and deck drinking and watching the ball game. I only came out when Keith asked me to break out the guitar and play for the crowd for an hour or two. I was all about that, and I had fun doing it. I didn't just sing, either. I cracked jokes and interacted with the crowd. I've always liked to be the center of attention. I just don't like talking to people one-on-one, I suppose. |
| The Indigo Girls are performing a symphonic concert with the Columbus Symphony Orchestra at the Ohio Theatre in April, and I have no words to describe the awesomeness. Must. Attend. |
| Keith is in the UK, for the first time ever, alone, on business. He has two days in London before he needs to be at the customer site. While texting about his plans, he told me about a bus tour that the hotel concierge recommended. Because I cannot figure out how to capture a screen shot, here is the transcribed version: Keith: The puss is good for 24 hours and you can get on and off as you like Keith: Pass Michelle: Hahahahahaha good one Michelle: That's a steal at 30 pounds!!!! Keith: Good ole auto correct I told him to enjoy the tour tomorrow.  Alan Philps  , Acme - see what you're missing??? LOL. |
| Ohio Idol Lawsuit: Court day came and went with no court. Long story short: * According to a complaint filed with the Franklin County Small Claims Court, Steve Wise of Ohio Idol owed Michelle Tuesday and Leann Lindsay of Michelle Tuesday Music School (Columbus, Ohio) and Diane Lawson of Talent Fusion (Indianapolis) a total of $1,200 in exchange for judging services rendered, parking, and court fees. Since last June, Mr. Wise has claimed on several occasions that he never promised payment for judging services. He went so far as to tell MTMS Office Manager Chris Fredenburg over the phone that he would never have asked Ms. Tuesday and Ms. Lindsday to judge had he known he was expected to pay for the service, because he had "far more qualified judges lined up to volunteer." Both Ms. Tuesday and Ms. Lindsay have email documentation that Mr. Wise did, indeed, promise to pay for judging services. * On June 13th, MTMS contacted Mr. Wise via email and offered to dismiss the case should payment in full be received prior to the scheduled hearing date of Wednesday, June 19th. * As of June 18th, 2013, the day before the scheduled hearing, Mr. Wise still had not paid the past due amount. He also claimed that he did not owe this money, but for different reasons than previously submitted: specifically, that MTMS and Talent Fusion had solicited the business of Ohio Idol contestants. * On June 18th, an attorney representing Mr. Wise contacted MTMS requesting a continuance. MTMS replied that they would be happy to accommodate a continuance if Mr. Wise or his attorney were willing to pay for the filing AND could convince the court to waive the 10-day-notice requirement for continuance filings. Not surprisingly, MTMS never heard back from the attorney. * On June 18th, Mr. Wise replied to the MTMS June 13th email and stated that he did not owe the money listed in the small claims complaint, but that he would be willing to pay half ($600) via mailed check in exchange for dismissal of the pending case. * MTMS replied that mailed check was not acceptable, as the check would not be received prior to the 1:30pm hearing scheduled for the next day. We countered with a settlement of 75% ($900) if received via electronic payment on June 18th (the current day.) * Mr. Wise replied that he would not negotiate, repeated that his offer of 50% was a "one time offer." * MTMS countered with a settlement of 67% ($800) and stated that it was our final offer. * Mr. Wise replied with a deliciously detailed explanation of how he intended to change the name of his company (due to a legal battle with American Idol), and that even if we would win judgment, we would never receive the funds because we would be collecting against a company that no longer existed. He announced that we had "two choices" - we could accept his offer (which he claimed he should not even be offering since he did not owe us any money) or get nothing. At the advice of my attorney, I shall avoid calling Mr. Wise an idiot or anything similarly derogatory. However, I will point out that Mr. Wise sent a detailed explanation IN WRITING the day prior to a hearing of how he intended to skip judgement. I have to assume that the magistrate would have enjoyed reading that email at our hearing. I know for a fact that I would have enjoyed allowing her to read it. And since Mr. Wise copied his attorney on the email in question, and since I was courteous enough to forward emails to the attorney in which Mr. Wise promised compensation for judging, I postulate that the attorney may have strongly suggested Mr. Wise consider our settlement offer. On the other hand, the same attorney requested a continuance on a hearing that was one day away in a court system that requires ten days notice for continuance, so who knows what the attorney recommended or did not recommend to Mr. Wise. Obviously I was not privy to any conversations that took place between Mr. Wise and his attorney, but this is what I do know for a fact: * MTMS did not reply to the final June 18th email from Mr. Wise in which he explained the "two choices" available, and we made plans to go to court on Wednesday, June 19th. * On the morning of June 19th, MTMS received an email from Mr. Wise offering to "split the difference" and pay $700 via electronic payment in exchange for case dismissal. * MTMS replied and insisted on $800, stating that the plaintiffs (the three judges) had discussed our bottom line in advance. * Mr. Wise paid $800 via electronic payment, and MTMS contacted the Franklin County Small Claims Court to dismiss the case. Lessons learned: - the judicial system is a bitch, but I know how to navigate it now. - always follow your gut. I had a bad feeling about agreeing to judge. - call their bluff and hold out for a higher offer. Moving I moved. Keith and I sold our house, Keith's mother sold her house, and we moved in together into a larger house. We have all the furniture in place, all the boxes unpacked, and almost everything put away where it belongs. We bought new appliances, which are partially installed, and we're installing a full bath and kitchen in the basement apartment for Keith's mom, which would be done by the end of July. We don't have a fence in the back yard yet, so Sammy still needs a lead, and my outdoor cats both took off when I brought them to the new house, and they eventually returned (Penny within the day, Dante within the week.) It still feels cluttered and chaotic, and Keith's mom suffers from bouts of depression over moving out of the house she lived in for forty years, where she shared a life with her now-deceased husband and raised her three children (one of whom is also deceased.) It's hard on her, which makes it hard on us, because we're trying to make the transition as easy as possible for her and make her feel like a valued and legitimate part of the family and household. I'm taking her recliner shopping today, because we moved her living room furniture into her basement living room, but we want her to have her own recliner in the first floor family room, too. Hopefully, she'll be up to the shopping trip. Polaris: If you don't know, Michelle Tuesday Music School is expanding into a second campus in the upscale Columbus community called Polaris. The architect and engineers have finished the drawings, which are being reviewed by the landlord and (theoretically) me prior to submission to the township and county for permits. We already have our zoning and signage permits approved. Right now, the space is an utter mess, because the contractor ripped out all the nasty drywall, FRP, and ceiling tiles. Meanwhile, we've been "shopping" like crazy at Amazon and stocking up our "Wish List" with items we plan to buy as soon as we have a relatively clean space in which to store our inventory. The most urgent thing at the moment is to get the michelletuesday.com/polaris website up and running before our first round of "Grand Opening" advertisements and announcements comes out on July 1st. That, and, you know, review the stupid drawings in my inbox. ...and that's all she wrote. I haven't even talked about church (which keeps on truckin' amid my personal chaos.) I'm just glad to have the Ohio Idol bullshit behind me. Please feel free to express your colorful and hopefully entertaining opinions about Ohio Idol and Mr. Wise, since your comments do not necessarily reflect the opinions of Michelle Tuesday, Michelle Tuesday Music School, Diane Lawson, or Talent Fusion. Peace, Michelle |
| The movers are coming to my house today, although there's not much left to move. Just the big stuff: beds, sofa, dining table, entertainment center, dressers, the big TV. We're mostly moved into the new house. Today is also Court Day. This is technically the third court date, and I've been at both of the previous hearings, though the defendant was not because he did not receive his official service. We know he received service this time because (1) the court says so, and (2) he tried to propose a settlement via email yesterday. I am very much looking forward to sharing some of the... um... fascinating things the defendant has said and tried to do, but for now, I'm keeping my nose clean. Even afterwards, at the advice of my attorney, my publications regarding this lawsuit will be strictly factual. ...but that doesn't mean they can't be thorough, and it also doesn't mean that commenters and journalists can't express opinions in the most colorful of language.  Luckily, commenters and journalists tend to be colorful by nature, so I'm looking forward to that.Today is also Day 3 of Rock Band Camp, which I'm teaching this week. I *love* teaching kids how to be a rock band. Love, love, love, love. I'm just a little busy this week though, so the stress is a bummer. Wish I could concentrate more on just having fun with the kids. I'm off to load up the Jeep, truck, and trailer with one last load of miscellaneous whatevers before the movers arrive for the big stuff. Writing? What writing? Peace, Michelle |
| Last week, this week, and next week: * Signed lease on the new music school campus, effective June 1st * Architectural and engineering drawings for new campus started last week * Held our annual Graduation Party (luau theme) for student performances all afternoon this past Sunday * Demo at the new campus started Wednesday of this week * Closing on the new house this afternoon * Moving boxes and small items all weekend * Teaching a Rock Band Camp all week next week * Ohio Idol court date next Wednesday afternoon * Movers coming to our house next Wednesday to move furniture to the new house * Movers coming to the mother-in-law's house next Thursday to move furniture to the new house * Cable (and, more importantly, Internet) company coming next Saturday for installation at new house Meanwhile, in the last month, I/we have: * hired a new teacher, two receptionists, and two lab leads, one of whom promptly quit when she realized she was in over her head * promoted four employees into new positions and started holding weekly meetings with each of them * redesigned and relaunched the church website * designed and trained volunteers on the upkeep of a charity website * designed and trained volunteers on the upkeep of a small section of the church website * started a major revision campaign on the back-end of the school website * promoted and planned summer camps * withdrawn more than fifty students * enrolled at least half that * worked on Grand Opening ad campaigns * designed an exterior sign and signed an agreement with a sign company * subbed for half a dozen teachers, since May is symphony season and June is vacation season At least I'll get a break while waiting for permits Then it starts getting busy again in mid-July. Then we'll be: * overseeing construction * buying pianos, guitars, violins, furniture, wall hangings, computers, screens, coffee pots, office supplies, cleaning supplies, etc. * planning a Grand Opening event * hiring new teachers, receptionists, and lab attendants But the good news is that effective August 1st, my recently promoted employees completely take over management of the current Gahanna campus, freeing me up for all the other stuff. For those of you who are interested: The MTMS Polaris Campus Grand Opening is scheduled for Sunday, September 15th. I'd love to see you there.  Peace, Michelle  |
| I believe I've forgotten how to write anything longer than a Tweet. That is all. |
| As both a writer and a business person, I may have a unique take on this New York Times article called "The Slow Death of the American Author" in which the writer, bestselling author and Authors' Guild President Scott Turow, laments the newest stream of challenges facing authors today: * The US Supreme Court ruled in favor of importing foreign editions of domestic books (with no royalties) * Public libraries offer free e-books over an easy Internet connection, discouraging the purchase of e-books * Offshore pirates offer free e-books to consumers, and search engines are permitted to point to them * While e-books take over the literary market, Amazon drives book prices (and therefore, royalties) down * E-books typically pay lower royalty rates than print, which means the shifting market equals lower pay for authors * Most recently, Amazon has proposed the re-sale of "secondhand' e-books at deeper discounts I'm sure most of you have heard that the US Department of Justice sued Apple and five of the "big six" publishers over anti-trust allegations last spring. In case you're not aware, here's the watered-down version: Apple and the publishers supposedly met in private to discuss how to raise book prices from Amazon's stubborn $9.99 pricing to their desired price points, in the range of $12.99-$14.99. The case never went to court, because the defendants all settled, offering concessions that basically allow Amazon to continue to sell at discounted rates for the next two years. Turow's article considers this a failure for the author and for humankind in general, fearing that the concessions will allow Amazon to return to its monopoly position in the e-book market, driving the price of books down. Turow points out that as copyright is continually devalued, the American author loses more and more income, and I completely agree and understand his position. However, I can't help but think his complaints scream of "Who moved my cheese?! "Here's the thing: Yes, I'm a writer and a business person, but I'm also a consumer, and I buy books. I'm all in favor of driving prices down. Though Apple and the publishers claimed no wrongdoing, stating that they settled to avoid a lawsuit rather than as an admission of guilt, I believe, from a 30,000-foot perspective, that they are, in fact, guilty of antitrust. Did they, or did they not, drive the price of books up from $9.99 to $12.99-$14.99? I've purchased books from Amazon over the last few years and saw it with my own eyes. Turow claims that the lawsuit has diminished competition rather than strengthening it, but I disagree. It's Amazon who came along and competed with the decades-old big boys, throwing new business models around (how dare they!?), and Amazon has given the publishers a run for their money. The publishers need to find new ways to be profitable or start digging their graves. The more time I spend in business, the more I realize that consumers are a fickle crowd. Yes, literature is art, science, progress, forward thinking. Yes, literature is important to our culture - to every culture - and to the advancement of humankind. But Turow is not talking about progress or importance. He's talking about money. I am an author. By that I mean that I write, not that I earn a living as an author. I've earned a meager income as a freelance nonfiction ghost writer, and I may have strengthened my business position at MTMS through semi-regular blogging, which drives traffic to my website. It would be nice to earn a living at writing "someday," but the possibility or lack thereof has no impact on my decision to write today. In fact, I don't expect to earn a dime from documenting this very commentary, yet I choose to express my opinion and have my voice be heard without compensation.I am not saying that authors should write for free. I'm saying that authors, like the big publishers, should take their feet off the brakes. Sorry, people, but you can't stop a shifting economic culture. You can either stand in front of the train and let it barrel you over, or you can hop on and take it for a ride. In real terms, that means authors need to let go of old paradigms and find new ways to make money. Perhaps the old royalties-through-traditional-publisher methods are no longer going to work. When the printing press came along and put bards out of business, I'm guessing they bitched about that. But the smart ones learned to write... and access to literature skyrocketed. Today, we have more literature at our fingertips than one person could read in a million lifetimes. How can Turow argue that this is bad for society? He stated that lack of viable income for authors in Russia (the birthplace of Chekov and Tolstoy) has resulted in not a single contemporary author whose name is known within The Motherland herself, let alone around the world. But is it about the author, or is it about the literature? Don't misunderstand: I think we have problems. We've grown bigger than our britches - too big, too fast. We went from books to computers to Internet to e-readers to phones that can read books aloud to you while you drive, all in about twenty years. Today, I read more junk on the Internet on a daily basis than quality writing. But that's just growing pains. My point is that consumers drive demand - not publishers, not Amazon or Apple, not the justice department, and not authors. And as a consumer, I demand better quality writing. As a consumer, I will find what I'm looking for. When I get tired of bad service and connectivity from AT&T, I switch to Verizon. If Amazon doesn't provide me with the quality writing I seek, at a price I'm willing to pay, then Apple will. If not Apple, then some new company, who may be in its infancy today, but whose foresight and understanding of consumer needs will drive some new business model that makes writing again be profitable. I guarantee that company isn't concerned with the location of his cheese. As authors, neither should you be. |
| ...is pissing me off. When you highlight and "delete" (using the delete key) text attached to a bullet, all it does is remove the bullet (not the text.) Then when you "undo" (using cntrl-Z), it doesn't go back the way it was before you tried to delete the text. It didn't used to do this, and I'm uber annoyed. It used to be perfect. Now it's just sub-perfect. Has anyone tried Workflowy? I gave it a shot, but you can't easily move items from one heading to another. For example, I categorize my to-do list under subheadings "urgent," "today," "tomorrow," and "long-term." In Workflowy, there's no easy way to move an item from tomorrow to today to urgent. Stuff should just work. |
| Today is the second funeral in less than a week. Luckily, they're not both mine. Some of you know I sing professionally (at restaurants as well as funerals), own and operate a music school, direct a church praise band, and write freelance for a copy mill. And that's just what I do for a living. As hobbies, I also write fiction and design websites for churches and charities. So you can imagine I'm pretty busy. It wasn't enough, apparently. I decided I needed a second music school, so I started looking at commercial real estate. Then I decided our church needed a youth praise band, so I formed one, picked music and started new rehearsals. All of this seemed like a good idea at the time, until I saw my mother-in-law's office this weekend. OMG. Her finances and the office are a mess. An absolute, stinking mess. She cannot keep up. She's incurring debt, getting late fees for forgetting payments, and simply not earning enough to pay the bills. A woman who worked her entire life, up until about ten years ago when she finally retired (she's 74), now does not have enough funds from a pension and a social security check to pay for a mortgage on an $80k house that she's lived he most of her adult life, the utilities on said house, a modest cable package, Medicare supplemental premiums, groceries and insurance. She doesn't even drive anywhere and *maybe* fills up her gas tank once a month. It's pathetic that we allow our elderly to live like this. And to make matters worse, she's losing her short-term memory, which is making it more and more difficult to keep up with the bills logistically, even if she had enough funds. So I have another project on my hands. Because I needed another one. Stuff like this always happens right AFTER I decided I had enough time to expand my business and start a new music group at church. Of the children and children-in-law, I'm the most financially savvy, so I'll be helping her clean up the office, figuring out what's in all the piles of paperwork, getting her taxes filed, and helping her make sure she doesn't get $35 late fees she can't afford. Perhaps she can afford her bills, and we just need to get her financial house in order, but Keith and I are taking it a step further. She's in fairly good health, but she's getting forgetful about things like whether she took her medication today. So we've offered to cohabitate. Since both our houses are tiny, we're house hunting. Because I need yet another project. Just to be clear, all of my projects - each and every single one, including helping my mother-in-law figure out her budget and looking at future music school locations and personal residences with streams and acreages and decks and walk-out basements - are all wicked fun. The kids in my new youth praise band are amazing, and I can't throw new songs a them fast enough. The clothing and furniture ministry loved their new website and tore up the training to maintain it. I just can't find time to play video games, watch the actual movies that go with the Oscars I watched last night (it's all about the jokes and dresses, really), ...or keep up with it all. And that's the real bummer. So, I prioritize, and things fall to the bottom of the list or off altogether. I let people down, which is the worst part. The pastor must have asked me a dozen times in the last three months how the church website revision is going, and I have to keep apologizing that it's not done, after how much I hyped it. I've written nothing but one Cramp entry and half a dozen blog posts since NaNo. I need two of me. I'm taking volunteers for the second me. Seriously, just read back over that list again. You know you wanna do all that. |
| The publishing industry is really getting diluted. My friend - NOT a WDC friend, but a local friend - announced on FB he's getting published by this company: http://www.alphawolfpublishing.com/ With no disrespect to him or his book, I was skeptical, because I've experienced too many small publishers. So I loaded the publisher's website and browsed through their categories. I found Children's (nothing), Drama (nothing), and Fantasy (two books.) It seems like everyone and their brother is trying to be a publisher. Or a self-publisher. Or get published. As an aspiring author, how does one compete with that? How do you get your books FOUND and SOLD? The market is flooded, and a lot of it is junk. Anyone can publish, really. It's a logistical thing. You hire a printer, you get copies of books, you list them for sale somewhere. Voila. Published. You can even skip the editing step and still call it published. In fact, you can post a link to a .pdf or .mobi on your website, and it's now available for public consumption. Published. Hell, you can print it directly on a website. Published. It's good and bad. On one hand, the big-boy publishers have been colossal giants with too much power for too long, and this is going to be humbling and hurt their bottom lines. But if it keeps trending like this, where self-publishers and little-boy publishers get a rap for being low quality, will it push consumers back to the big boys, because they'll know that's where the quality product is? On the other other hand, people go to Walmart even though they know the products are lower quality, because it's cheap, and they can afford it. Walmart still makes billions because of their volumes. They take that volume out of the hands of the likes of Macy's and Big Bear grocery stores and put big boys into bankruptcy. Or at least the middle boys. But the difference between Walmart and small publishers / self-publishers is that Walmart requires overhead - big buildings, utilities, employees, and INVENTORY. Publishing takes like ZERO overhead. You pay for the lack of overhead in your margins, since self-publishing and small-volume publishing is so expensive per-book, but there's no up-front investment. That's very attractive to wannabe's and makes them very willing to give it a try. It doesn't establish a market that weeds out those who don't belong. The market is all screwed up right now. It's just not working properly. Maybe one could compare it to a flea market. I buy handmade items because they're cool and unique. But handcrafted almost never equals higher quality. Even my made-in-China items last longer. Like it or not, the manufacturing industry has taken strides in quality control since the industrial age began. They invest in quality, and they have the trial-and-error of years of production and million of widgets going for them. The individual flea market salesperson who handcrafted my jewelry or bag or clothing has probably only made as many as "hundreds" or even "tens" of the items they sell, and chances are, they have very little feedback on their products, because, let's face it: who ever sought out a flea market vendor two months later to complain that their widget broke? I suppose the publishing industry is like any other. The higher the investment, the higher the return. I wonder if I could open and run a successful publishing company if I started with, say, $1k, or $10k, or $100k? Could I compete with the dilution of all the little guys? Could I compete with a billion-dollar company like Amazon? Would it even be worth it? I used to think I wanted to be an author so my name would live on. I read the classics and thought, wow, some of these authors died hundreds of years ago, and I still know who they are. Now I think it would be nice to earn a paycheck and pay my bills. I remember thinking I could earn a living if I were like Stephen King (you know the guy... that quintessential example of a successful author), because I would keep making money on royalties long after I actually wrote the book. My whole entire life, actually. Then I learned how publishing really works: While there may be some residual income on long-term sales, all the real money is made within the first month or two of publication. You're just a flavor of the month. So not only will I never be Shakespeare or Dickens or Austen or Tolstoy, but now, I'll probably also fail to pay my bills if I don't keep producing new books regularly. I wish my friend the best, and I hope he makes lots of sales. I hate to be such a Debbie Downer. But I just don't see it happening. |
| Are you bored? Have too much free time on your hands? I am STRESSED OUT and could use your help. Comment or shoot me an email, and I'll find a way for you to help me catch up. In exchange, you get my devotion, verbal or written recommendations for your college entrance or employment seeking endeavors, my advice for whatever advice you might need that I can provide, and possibly a kick-ass line item on your resume, depending on what you end up doing for me.Peace, Michelle |
| In case you're wondering what the heck I've been up to: And then there's all this: http://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUyE5yh_soMOGmJsDKS0MqQ ...and all that's just since Friday. We started with Christmas caroling on Friday afternoon, followed by our adult-only recital on Friday evening, praise band practice on Saturday morning, recitals all afternoon Saturday, church Sunday morning, recitals all afternoon Sunday. I crashed hard last night. There's also this: http://michelletuesday.com If you never saw the old website, this one is much more polished and professional, but it also has some snazzy new features that I'm still trying to iron out. I can't even put into words exactly how much time I've invested in that project. I also did simple website for a local charity, formed a team and brainstormed a major website revision for my church, bought Christmas presents, decorated the music school, led Advent worship, caught up on Prep leadership requirements, and got in touch with my commercial real estate broker to established specifications for our planned 2013 MTMS expansion, and that pretty much covers my December thus far. (It's only 12/17.)In November, I wrote 50,412 of my own words in addition to devising, implementing and recruiting volunteers for a Writing Sprint competition (my gratitude to the volunteers!) Sadly, 50k didn't even get me 1/3 of the way through the book I have now decided will likely be a trilogy. Somehow. I just don't have time to think about that right now. I'm not sure what comes next. I'm sort of losing my mind, but I need to keep it intact through Christmas Eve, because I naturally lead worship that night, and then I have to catch a plane at noon on Christmas day. I have a lot to do before then. I'll try to keep in touch. Peace, Michelle |
| Now that I'm 25 days into NaNo, I have realized a startling fact: My novel will probably clear 200,000 words. They should call it NaNoWriQua. Because it's going to take at least three months to write the stupid book. |
| November is a bad blogging month. I have an excuse, and it's called NaNoWriMo. But it's not a good thing. When I'm not blogging, I'm not taking regular inventory of my achievements. I'm not keeping up with my to-do list. I'm not focusing on all the things in my life that require my focus, which are family, work (MTMS, church, and gigs), health, and writing. So, here's a quick status check: 1. Family Doing well here. I spent a lot of family time this weekend:  Chores:  Groceries Sunday. Family dinner: Made bean soup and cornbread muffins Sunday. Reconcile bank accounts. I'm two months behind again. Finish cleaning garage. Time with Blaine: We caught up on the last five Revolution episodes. Time with Abby: Surgery Monday morning, which went spectacularly. Time with Keith: Spent the day after surgery taking his mom to visit assisted living places. Mom-in-law still has no interest in assisted living, she can take care of herself just fine thank-you-very-much, and we now know we have no money for assisted living anyway (holy high fees, Batman!) The other option on the table is cohabitation  , which would involve selling both our houses and buying a bigger house with a floor dedicated to her apartment. At least we could keep an eye on her.2. Work (MTMS) We're closed this week, but I still have a hefty to-do list: Order custom guitar picks. Order Christmas gifts for staff. Leaning toward logo harmonica keychains. Tweak lab training, reschedule and implement! Gah! Pushed back twice already. Ohio Idol lawsuit - so close to ready to file! I just need to do this. Review business plan for 2013 expansion, full-time teachers, etc. Electronic progress reporting and student sign-ins Tablets for computer lab and lesson rooms3. Work (Church) Need to catch up on emails and publish this week's bulletin. Praise choir and band in good shape for Advent, which starts in two Sundays. ! Visited another church. Need to write up report and ideas.4. Work (Gigs) New Mexican gig on Tuesday nights. Need to schedule 2013 dates with the nursing home. Need to contact other nursing homes. Those are easy gigs for decent pay.5. Health Sleep: Not sure why, but took a four-hour nap on Sunday and a two-hour nap on Monday. Eating: Atrocious. Not gaining weight (yet) but not losing, either, and despicable choices. Exercise: Not even couch aerobics.6. Writing NaNo: On track and into my story, but it's distracting me from life (aka the rest of this list.)- I finally feel like my novel project is organized, so the writing part is coming easier. - Sprinting is fun, and I'm thinking of running regular contests. - Compiling Prep survey data for publication and analysis for next year's calendar. - One serious Unblock cashed in, and it felt good to help someone get back on track. Others have faded off their NaNo projects without a word, and I'm sad that they didn't ask for help. Yep, so that's my to-do list. I typed it up not to bore you (sorry about that!) but to remind myself to get my butt in gear and do this stuff. REFOCUS! {e:sternlook} |
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