Month: October 2014

One of my romance pen names
is known for having a light tone
with a certain heat level.

My agent came to me
with a project.
It required me to write
under this pen name
with a different heat level.

That wasn’t that big
of a compromise, was it?

I drafted a proposal for the project.
I wasn’t excited about it.
I knew in my gut
I was messing with my brand
but the project was too good
to walk away from.

The agent then came to me
with more feedback.
The publisher wanted a darker tone.
That wasn’t that big
of a compromise, was it?

Of course, it was.
The FIRST compromise was too big.
I walked away from the project.
(and promptly was offered a different project)

Your brand HAS to stand for something
or you don’t truly have a brand.
Don’t compromise on this something.

I pitched a project
to a group.
The pitch was detailed.
I knew exactly what I wanted to do,
how they could help me,
and
how we’d both benefit.

The leader of the group
replied with
“Let’s talk.
We’ll bounce some ideas around.”

While I was open to modifying my offer,
I wanted any suggestions given
to have been as well thought out
as my original idea.
Suggesting that
we ‘bounce some ideas around’
was insulting.
It was dismissive
of the work I’d done.

A serious offer
warrants a serious counteroffer.
Put as much thought
into your response
as your valued partner
put into her pitch.

Every year during NaNoWriMo
(National Novel Writing Month
in November),
I host a month long workshop
on romance writing.

I contacted one Facebook group.
They hemmed and hawed
over the project,
a project all they’re doing
is providing a home for.
After the 5th request
for more information,
I told them ‘forget it.’

I contacted another Facebook group
and they were super enthusiastic,
offering to help
rather than finding reasons
to say no.

In this extremely connected world,
it makes zero sense
to partner with someone
who isn’t enthusiastic
about your project.

Take the time
to find the right partner.
It will influence
whether or not
your project is a success.

An expert
recently advised

“There’s no such thing
as communicating too much
when you’re working on a project
with multiple people.”

That’s bullsh*t.
There IS such a thing
as communicating too much.

I’m part of a marketing project.
My first clue that the project manager
was an over-communicator
was when she set up a Yahoo loop
for the project.

I receive over 100 emails a day
from this Yahoo loop.

At first,
I read everything.
Once I figured out
that most of it didn’t pertain to me,
I only read the one or two a week
marked important.
The rest of the emails are deleted.

If you have talent on your team,
that talent is likely involved
in several projects,
not just yours.

Don’t waste his or her time
with unnecessary communication.

I was asked to participate
in a writer’s retreat.
This is a weekend
away from distractions.
Writers can concentrate on
banging out words
and getting sh*t done.

After some consideration
(I’m on tight deadlines),
I agreed
to participate.

Then I was told to
bring my swimsuit,
shoes for hiking,
warm sweaters for nights
around the campfire.

WTF?

That’s not a writer’s retreat.
That’s a girls weekend.

I don’t have any problems
with girls weekends.
I do have a problem with
a fun-filled weekend
disguised as a working weekend.

If you’re pitching an event,
be clear which type of event it is.
If participants expect to get sh*t done,
ensure sh*t gets done.