July 29, 2009

Of writing and iPhones

Remember the King Crimson song, I Talk to the Wind? The line that says I’ve been here and I’ve been there and I’ve been in between?

Well, that’s been pretty much me for the last ten days or so.

Typically, July is a quiet month for me. Not this year though. While trying to squeeze in a few days taking in some theatre and a comedy festival, I’ve been in steady contact with Jane (my new editor) and Alison (my new publicist and coordinator of all things bookish).

There are times, I’ll admit, that coupled with other projects on the go (more on that later) it all seems a little overwhelming. And, late last night, I figured out why.

Have you ever been in a car driven way too fast? I have. While the expert driver I was riding with knew what he was doing, it was, to me a mind-numbing experience—complete sensory overload, in fact, with everything moving too fast to comprehend.

After General Store told me, just last week, they liked my book, it triggered, I believe, that same reaction of sensory overload.  Why? Because I had given up on finding a publisher, that’s why.  And I had already mapped out my own self-imposed, self-directed, self-publishing strategy.

What I’m really saying, I guess, is the pace of my self-directed strategy was somewhere between lethargic and glacial.

Now, thanks to Jane (who continues to surprise me not only with her efficient speed, but also the quality of her editing), we’ve already got 20% of the book edited. And, thanks to Alison, we’re planning media-outlet promotions and a whole bunch of other stuff.

Which reminds me, by the way, if you or your spouse, parent, sibling, best-friend, happens to do something, with books, at the Globe and Mail, New York Times, Amazon, Publisher’s Weekly or any other similar organization, can you, you know, put in a good word?

Oh yes, I nearly forgot.

While the above was happening, I also got word that something I wrote, maybe two months ago, is getting published in Sports Car Market magazine. It’s a piece on old American cars in Cuba and it should be out next week.

What’s funny is, while I was visiting Niagara, the magazine sent me an email requesting—right now—a brief bio and a head shot. Because I had no computer with me, I searched my smartphone’s memory and sent them the only available photo. “Won’t do,” they said, “too far away.”

So my wife and I spent twenty minutes in a park, with my chintzy cameraphone and its meager 2 meg resolution, trying to capture an acceptable promo shot.

Which brings to mind….

Maybe now I can rationalize the desire for an iPhone. Hmmm, it might be tax-deductible too…

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July 21, 2009

We have ignition

First of all, forgive this post’s corny reference to NASA’s famous pre-launch expression, and secondly, please understand that I use it with sincerity. Because, not only does the title make a timely reference to the fortieth anniversary of Apollo 11′s lunar mission, it also succinctly describes some exciting pre-launch news of my own.

The news is that, today, I signed a deal with Tim Gordon of General Store Publishing House for the publication rights to The Net Present Value of Life.

Maybe because it was so unexpected is the reason that it feels so good. Or maybe it’s because I can now rely on professionals to oversee editing, design, publicity, distribution, and all the other “stuff” that needs to get coordinated.

Whatever it is, all I can say with certainty is that I’m thrilled, a little relieved and very keen to get started. I’ve already been assigned an editor (hello Jane!), and I met Alison who will coordinate the publicity side of things.

Alison & Michael at GSPH offices

Alison & Michael at GSPH offices

I hope you will stay with me over the following weeks and months as I document the publishing journey that my book is embarking upon. If you do, I hope I’ll succeed in revealing interesting insights on my first-ever foray into the making of a novel. Keep an eye, too, on the Announcements tab of this site. It’s where I’ll post periodic updates about release dates and book launches (two venues – Ottawa and Halifax – are in the works already).

Finally, I’ll be away for a few days and, before signing off, I’d like to thank everyone for their comments, words of encouragement and support. And finally, a big thank you to the team at General Store for believing in my book.

Talk to you soon…

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July 3, 2009

What, another one already?

Imagine this. A young lad—let’s call him Joshua—travels through time (I know, I know, it’s been done to death, but hear me out, this one’s different).

While some kids are strong baseball players and others perhaps musically inclined. Joshua possesses no such talents. His innate skill is time-projection, and he does it on a whim, sans the prerequisite time capsules or flux capacitors.  From his concerned parents, his flummoxed teachers, and his curious doctors, the consensus is that Joshua simply zones out. While he’s physically present—at a classroom desk, at the dinner table—it’s obvious that his mind is elsewhere, up in the clouds, pie in the sky.

All of which is no big deal really. Hell, there are dozens of other kids in Joshua’s school twice as bad. The unfortunate thing is, it gets worse. The unfortunate thing is Joshua is argumentative, scoffing at concepts and factoids that, by rights, he should not be challenging. In history class he avows, with unshakable fervor, that Columbus never found America. That discovery, so Joshua asserts, was the handiwork of a lowly shipmate named Bonifacio. In geography, Joshua forcibly contends that Atlantis was no myth; that island, and those gods, really did exist. On and on it goes, one outrageous claim after another; Newton was feeling mischievous when he drafted his laws, it was all a lark, really. Shakespeare, while admittedly a gifted actor and strong orator, was illiterate. Couldn’t write his own name, that Sir William.

Imagine the consternation. Imagine the ridicule. And all of it made worse by Joshua’s inability to explain any of his outbursts (it’s not until much later that he realizes his remarkable gift), he just knows he’s right and that everyone else—historians, especially—plain wrong.

Finally, it’s the ridicule that sets things in motion, instilling both anger and the blind need for revenge….

What do you think? An interesting story? There’s a bunch more too, a lot of other ideas I’m thinking about and haven’t yet told you. Now some of you might wonder why I am even thinking about another novel, with my current one still unreleased. Shouldn’t I be working on that one instead? The truth, you see, is I don’t even want to think about the first novel right now. In fact, I’m trying very hard to put it out of my mind. At least until I hear from the two editors of the publishing house—the one considering it for publication. Because to do otherwise is, simply put, going to drive me crazy. Even crazier than Johsua.

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June 21, 2009

The muck and mire of decisions

It’s getting close. The decision on editing and printing, it’s getting close. And here I am, like a driver on a grimy road, oh so close to getting bogged down in the mud and the mess.

It’s not that there aren’t enough choices, it’s that there are too many. Do I use an editor and printer who are local? Should I go with PODs like Lulu, iUniverse or Createspace? Lulu wants six bucks per copy and Createspace four-fifty. But Lulu offers editing and design while Createspace doesn’t. Can you picture the mud and muck slowly starting to rise?

And why? All because of what I’ll call ‘the optimal decision’. Whenever it’s decision time, I find myself lost in the details–running Excel spreadsheets and over-analyzing every last factor and scenario.

And that’s when I remind myself that it’s not really about the decision, but rather the psychology of the decision. You see? It’s not about making the right choice, it’s about being satisfied about the choice I made.  Let me put it another way; once I filter out the obvious egregious examples, they’re all right choices. Ever bought a car while your like-minded neighbor bought the model you eschewed? You’re pretty sure you made the right choice. And your neighbor? Hell she’s pretty sure she made the right choice too. It’s about the psychology and not the choice. And that especially holds true whether you perceive yourself as someone who usually makes the right choice (which I do) or someone who inevitably makes the wrong one (which I don’t). It’s the psychology, that’s all.

So here’s maybe what I’ll do. Go next door. Ask my neighbor.

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