The Real Problem with Being Behind

The other day I went to a salon looking for some new beauty-consultant-type people. When you’re new in town, and really don’t have any recommendations, there’s no way to really know where to start when you need to get your hair cut, or your nails done or whatever whatever. So basically, I went in blind.

No big deal. What I was having done wasn’t life altering in any way. Superficial beauty treatments usually aren’t. Especially the ones that take an hour or less. (Unless it’s a bikini wax, but we won’t go there!)

As we got started, I asked the sweet lady about a part of the service which I mistakenly assumed she would either include, or at least be able to offer. It wasn’t any different from what I was having done, except for the type of product she was using. (No, it wasn’t purple hair color, though we all know that could come up again at some point.) To my great surprise, and extreme disappointment, she’d never seen, nor heard of this product (as well as a few others), even though it is something I’ve been using for at least a decade.

I asked how long she’d been in her current profession, to which she replied more than twenty years.  

In my head: “What? How can you possibly have been doing this for so long and NOT know about this?”  (I would like to point out that this was in my head, because I was so stunned, I didn’t really know how to respond politely, so I just smiled.)

She followed up with: “No one’s ever asked for anything new before.”

And there, my friends, is the REAL problem. Not because no one has asked for anything new, but because she is sitting around WAITING for someone to ask before she bothers to:

A.      Train in new techniques

B.      Try new things

C.      Experiment with new ideas

D.      Attempt to better her own skills

E.       Keep up with current market trends

As a writer, it is my JOB to keep up with all of those things I just listed. Not because someone asks, or because someone else thinks I should, but because progress = each individual person taking the initiative to move forward of his or her own accord. That’s how we succeed, no matter our chosen profession.

The cute lady in question didn’t do a bad job. In fact, except for her inability to offer that one thing, I found her rather skilled. Unfortunately, I’m afraid I won’t be returning to her for the service, because she simply cannot offer what I need. I’m a regular customer who will, sadly, have to keep searching for my beauty people.  

Don’t be the person who loses a job, or a publisher or agent or client or whatever, just because you don’t keep up.

*climbs off soapbox*

What are you doing to better yourself or your skills this week?

The Controversial Ebook vs Paper Book Discussion

(Also, some FRAWESOME deals of the week.)
*I inadvertently scheduled this blog to post on Monday instead of Wednesday. No idea why, but clearly the universe wanted this out before then, so I'm just going to go with it. Count this as my regular Wednesday post, okay? Thanks!

A couple weeks ago, some friends and I had that inevitable discussion about ebooks versus the ink-and-paper versions. I’ve had this talk before with a number of people, and have come to some personal conclusions (which are solely my opinion and feelings).

1. There is nothing quite like holding an actual book in your hands, smelling the paper, turning the pages, stroking the cover, etc. I will ALWAYS prefer paper books to ebooks, no matter how convenient or inconvenient. And I will ALWAYS *heart* libraries and bookstores.

2. I love my Kindle, and also the Kindle app on my iPhone. I love that wherever I go, I can pull up a book and start reading. Ereaders are possibly the best invention ever.

3. I love books. And when I find one that resonates with me, I buy it. More often than not, one copy to keep, and one to give away or loan out. And if I really, really love a book, I have been known to buy both the hardcover copy AND the ebook. That’s right, I BUY BOTH. (And no, I am in no way rich.)

4. I have an extensive library of ink-and-paper titles in my house. I also have a growing ebook library. If you were to walk into my house and compare the actual books to my ebooks, you’d find a lot of repeated titles.

5. My actual book library is still bigger, and continues to grow faster than my ebook library.

In conclusion, I believe that while ebooks seriously ROCK, there will always be a place and purpose for their ink-and-paper counterparts.
Yes, I know publishing is changing. I understand that the market is constantly evolving and growing and becoming something completely unpredictable. I’m okay with that, because I think avid readers will adapt with it. But I also think that goes both ways. I think the market will adapt with the needs of people. And scary as that sounds, it’s also exciting to see how much more easily accessible great books will become for those who need them.

So what do you think? Is one market-type going to overtake the other?

*Also, dudes, if you’re a fan of Elana Johnson’s Possession, don’t miss out on this FANTABULOUS, AWESOMESAUCE opportunity to win an exclusive (never to be released digitally) character booklet filled with beautiful illustrations based on the next installment, Surrender. Also, you can read the first two chapters of Surrender here. All you have to do is preorder Surrender by Elana Johnson. You’ll find all the details here.

**And if you love reading like me, don’t miss the amazing deal on the ebook versions of Lani Woodland’s Intrinsical and Indelible. 


Yay for fun opportunities! And guess what? I just found a bunch more awesome deals, including some free stuff,  all listed here. Be sure to check them out.

Cedar Fort Conference Rocked!

By Nichole Giles

On Saturday, June 6th, I had the opportunity to go to a writer’s conference put on by a local publisher, Cedar Fort—otherwise known as CFI.

Originally, I wasn’t sure I’d take the time. I go to conferences pretty regularly and since (up to this point) I didn’t have any specific plans to submit to this publisher, I wasn’t positive I was willing to give up my Saturday to go.

The cost for the conference was minor. They only asked $25 to help cover expenses. But a lot of my friends were going and I love socializing with other writers. Still, I’ve had lots going on and could think of several other things I could do with my day. In the end though, I decided I should go because every conference has something to offer, I’ve never regretted going to one, and I am not so over confident in myself that I believe I have nothing left to learn. So the day before we left town for a family vacation, I stuck a check in the mail and registered.

Let me just tell you that I have never in my life got so much out of $25. The conference started at 10:00 am—with plenty of drinks and snacks provided—and the speakers were amazing.

First, Doug Johnston made us feel sincerely welcome as he introduced the first speaker of the day, Acquisitions editor, Jeffery Marsh.

Jeffery gave us several tips on how to write a publishable book including writing to an audience, learning the art of storytelling, and writing in order to teach and touch many people. After his speech, Jeffery spent the rest of the day in pitch sessions with anyone who was willing to sign up for a time. (A huge undertaking, I understand.)

The next speaker, Author Abel Keogh, author of Room for Two, talked about starting a website, writing blog entries, and the hows and whys of both. He was interesting and informative, and by the time he was finished, I was excited to go home and figure out how to make my website more interesting. Plus, before I left, I HAD to buy his book. (I started reading it when I got home that night—so far it’s awesome.)

Janet Jensen, author of Don’t You Marry the Mormon Boys, then taught us about marketing, putting her emphasis on creating an attractive media kit. Now, most of us write just for the sake of writing. We don’t necessarily have a clue what it takes to actually sell our book—which is why this conference was so informative and wonderful for so many of us. I’d bet that more than half the people in the room didn’t have a clue what a media kit even is. But Janet made sure we all knew, and by the end of her speech, we had some ideas about what we needed to do to help sell our books—as well as ourselves as authors.

Let me tell you a little bit about Doug Johnston. He’s the publicist for CFI, and also a member of our writing group, Author’s Incognito. He was the driving force behind the entire conference, from setting it up, to advertising, to arranging speakers and lunch—Doug was the MAN of the day. On top of everything else he had going that day, Doug gave an incredible lesson on publicity—complete with a PowerPoint presentation with an endless supply of lists. For his speech, I was ultra, way, so super glad I had my laptop booted up because he was short on time and there is no way I would ever have gotten all four pages of notes I took as he spoke. (I could have gotten more except he ran out of time and had to skip over a few things.)

Did I mention lunch? The box lunches were catered—I believe the company was called Apple Spice Junction—and I don’t know about anyone else, but I was thrilled with the different choices offered. I chose whole grain bread with a mix of sandwich meat, a fruit salad, and a chocolate chip cookie. I noticed that they offered several other bread and salad choices to accommodate the wide range of people in attendance. And I have to send out a huge thanks—Doug must’ve read my mind—because in one of the many coolers filled with drinks I found a can of Dr. Pepper, which is something I’ve never seen provided at any other conference. Woo hoo! Candace Salima and I both cheered.

The last speaker of the day was author and motivational speaker, Eloise Owens. By the time it was her turn, I fully understood why they left her for last, and gave her a four-hour time slot. Oh. My. Gosh! She was fantastic. I realize that she is a professional motivational speaker, and that is what she’s trained to do. But boy, she does it well. I was so inspired by the things she said, by the stories she told, and by simply being in the room with her. Not only did I come away having decided to someday learn how to surf (to figure out this part, you’ll have to read her book, Get Off The Beach!), but also I walked out of that place absolutely determined to be uncommon. Different. And in Eloise’s words, weird.

A few of Eloise’s words of wisdom: “You always go where you look…We are writers. We have the opportunity to move people. In topics where you might never expect it, to impact people in profound ways. Get clear…get excited…tap in…write from the right!”

After an entire day of learning and being motivated, we were gifted with our very own copy (part of our conference fees) of Eloise’s book, Get Off The Beach!

WOW! Okay, let me say that again. Wow! That was a great conference. It was an excellent value for my money, lunch was good, the speakers were informative and motivational—not to mention entertaining—and books were provided too. I went home hoping to someday get to work with that publishing company. Way to go, CFI (and Doug). I’m already wondering when you’re planning to do it again.

To learn more about CFI visit their website at: www.cedarfort.com