Thank you for checking out the Longest Night Watch 2!
Longest Night Watch 2
The Longest Night Watch 2 is the second indie author anthology dedicated to fighting Alzheimer’s. All of the writers are independent authors. And we all hate Alzheimer’s.
Thank you for checking out the Longest Night Watch 2!
In the United States, 5.4 million Americans have the disease. That number will rise in the next few decades as the population continues to age. We are not doctors. But we are writers. And so we are offering this work. All of the proceeds go to research. Because we don’t keep a dime of it.
Who Are We?
The team consists of:Â Amanda Parker Adams, Andrew Barber, AR Harlow, Becca Bachlott, Brittany Tucker, Carol Gyzander, Cayleigh Stickler, D.R. Perry, Debbie Manber Kupfer, Fiona Teh, Georgette Frey, and Janet Gershen-Siegel (that would be me). Also, Jennifer Stibbards, Joshua L. Cejka, Kate Post, Katelyn Scarlett, L. Anne Wooley, Michael J. Medeiros, Michael Walton, R.R. Virdi, Ryn Richmond, Skye Hegyes, Thomas E. Harper, Trine Jensegg, Virginia Carraway Stark and the team of The Longest Night Watch.
So this is our second time doing this. Last year, we all came together because of Sir Terry Pratchett’s death. That book was a success. Therefore, now we are going to see if lightning will strike again.
This Year’s Urgency
Last year, it was Terry Pratchett. But this year it was Gene Wilder. And now we have also learned Terry Jones of Monty Python is afflicted. Because this disease shows no mercy. As much as we love these entertainers (and Jones is a medieval studies scholar), Alzheimer’s just plain does not care.
But we do.
My contributions
For this year, I added two stories. Cynthia is about the decline as witnessed by a rather unexpected narrator. Wilder Bloom was written rather quickly and was, of course, about Gene Wilder.
Where You Can Get The Book
Right now, the book is listed on Amazon (currently it’s Kindle only, but that will change) and on GoodReads.
How You Can Help
Please buy the book, and leave a review. Even bad reviews help, as they put our link in more places. So you don’t have to love the book. That’s okay.
The Before Time, Where There was Weeping and Wailing, and Gnashing of Teeth
One aspect of my career transition consists of writing a lot more.
And I found that IÂ had truly missed it.
Sure, I had typed tons and tons of stuff before. But a lot of it covered such thrilling topics as documenting queries, or making lists of terms used by public service officers. It very rarely encompassed topics with wit, or style. And I certainly did not have permission to make up any of it.
NaNoWriMo, I Love You
I had known about NaNoWriMo for a while, but hadn’t thought I had anything to offer.
In 2013, I woke up with an idea during the last week of October. I created a wiki and an outline for it, and signed up.
And I wrote. And wrote.Â
Then about halfway through the month, I had finished. By the end of the month, the story was edited.
It was and is the right thing to do, and the right path.
In addition, it feels fun. And it feels exciting. It feels like it’s a fit.
Furthermore, it does not feel like something where I’m stretching to fit into someone else’s idea, or parallel someone else’s vision. And I certainly don’t feel like I was going through the motions. In addition, it does not feel like ho-hum, same old-same old.
Furthermore, it releases a pent-up inner artist who was shouted down by pretty much everyone I knew for way, way too long in my life. And that is exceptionally freeing.
It feels right. And it feels honest. So it feels free. It feels good.
And it feels like it’s about damned time already.
My personal writing process may or may not help you. After all, mine differs from, say, Stephen King‘s. And while he is a bestselling author several times over, that still doesn’t mean his method is better than my own.
Furthermore, his method will not work for me. And that’s not a failure on either of our parts. Because we are, simply put, rather different writers.
Plotting
For longer stories and novels, I find planning to be essential. And this can take the form of everything from an outline to some random notes. Either way, though, I create what I refer to as a ‘wiki’ although I am the only person who contributes to it.
‘Pantsing’
The term ‘pantsing’ refers to flying by the seat of your pants. So essentially you write with very little idea of plot or structure. And the intention is to fix it later. For the most part, I write shorter stories this way. However, they might be part of a larger overall story arc. Hence the actual writing might end up a tad haphazard but the scene or scenes fit into a greater whole, which has been planned.
See, I’m a planner. Usually.
In the Middle
Sometimes, I’m in the middle. Mettle was a lot like that, where I had a detailed outline for the first three quarters or so and then I had absolutely no idea of how to finish the piece.
There’s also the act of going in the middle by writing a far sparer outline. That’s another idea, to know the arc of the chapter and maybe even the first and last lines of it. But nothing else. So you have both the planning and the flying by the seat of your pants.
Story Arcs
Currently, aside from the Obolonk stories (which are still deep in beta reading hell), the only real series and arcs I write tend to be fan fiction.
Easter Eggs
One piece of my process is the addition of Easter eggs. Stories include the following (usually – Untrustworthy has very little of this, due to the nature of the story):
Boston, somehow, although sometimes it’s just an accent.
Somebody named Shapiro (a cousin had this as her maiden name, but I also think of the character from Stalag 17).
Jews, and often not just Shapiro. They aren’t necessarily terribly religious. But they are there all the same.
Dreams, but I am relying on them less as a crutch these days. Characters have inner lives but that’s not necessarily front and center in a story anymore.
Takeaways
Planning can’t really be avoided. Even if your personal writing process is 100% pantsing, you usually end up paying for that with a lot more time spent editing. This does not mean that planners don’t edit! Of course we do. But the scenes are better ordered or at least they should be. So that can save on editing time.
This is what works for me. It may or may not work for you.
First quarter 2018 proved to be a good time to write. Since this is the first of my writing progress reports, here are the details.
I write all the time or at least I work on something to do with writing. The process generally runs from idea to percolating that idea or combining it with other ideas, outlining, drafting, preliminary editing, and reading aloud to my husband (a HUGE help for spotting flow errors). Then it’s beta readers sending feedback which I work out, off to the pro editor, write the query letter, query, wait for acceptance or rejection.
Accepted work? Then it’s time to work on promoting it. Rejected work? Then it’s time to regroup. This may mean more editing on my part, or changing the query or just shelving a work for a while.
Finished Works
First of all, I worked on a number of new short stories. A lot of these had been drafted on paper and so I spent some time fixing and polishing them.
Here’s what I created and improved.
January
I wrote well and regularly this month. It was a great kickoff to first quarter 2018.
January 1 – 7
During the first week of first quarter 2018, I wrote a piece every day. there are two pieces over 2,000 words long: The Resurrection of Ditte and A True Believer in Skepticism. Another four are under 2,000 words: Short, Sharp; Dragon for Sale, Cheap; Too Tired (tiny!); and The Landing. The seventh was also under 2,000 words and is a little scene from The Real Hub of the Universe trilogy: Snowy Allston.
Of these seven short stories, Dragon and Landing are both comedies. Allston is kind of melancholy. Tired was really just so I could get something written that day. The other three are somewhat ironic and all of them give off a Twilight Zone sort of vibe.
My favorite for this week is a tie between Ditte and Skepticism. They both having something to say about the human condition.
January 8 – 14
Then I wrote more stuff during the second week of first quarter 2018. All of the pieces are under 2,000 words. I wrote: The Forest; I Used to be Happy; The Star; I Hate Promises; A Kitten; The Outside World; and The Meeting.
Of these seven short stories, The Star; I Hate Promises; and The Meeting are comedies. The Forest and The Outside World are more like fables, with the former being about helping a stranger and the latter about being curious about freedom. A Kitten is heartwarming and could be read to a child.
My two favorites for this week are I Used to be Happy and A Kitten. Both should make a reader think, and I love writing like that.
January 15 – 21
And I wrote even more during the third week of first quarter 2018. These are all under 2,000 words: The Other, Canada Saves the World, Worthy, Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM, Who Do We Blame for This?, None of this is real, and Inventory.
Of these short stories, The Other is another fable. Canada Saves the World and Inventory are comedies. None of this is real is more of a nascent romance. Nothing Good Ever Happens at 3 AM and Who Do We Blame for This? are both tragic first contact stories. Worthy is kind of an odd story about what is a sort of dystopian society that has lost its way.
This week, I had a lot of favorites. In fact, the only one that wasn’t a favorite was Canada Saves the World as it was just kind of silly. Even Inventory was better.
January 22 – 31
So I wrote a lot more during the final ten days of the first month of first quarter 2018. Everything was under 2,000 words long. And there stories were: Soul Rentals, And the Horse You Rode in On, The Guitarist, The Metuchen Mystery, So Long, Will’s Dog, I Used to be Cruel, Just Married (sequel to The Meeting), Justice, and This is My Child.
Of these short stories, Soul Rentals is kind of spiritual. And the Horse You Rode in On is historical. The Guitarist is YA. The Metuchen Mystery is fantasy. So Long is tragedy. Will’s Dog and Just Married are more fluff pieces. Justice is dystopian. I Used to be Cruel and This is My Child are both drama.
For these last ten days, my favorites were pretty much everything but The Metuchen Mystery, which felt too light and silly. I’m not a fan of dragons, even if they are in New Jersey. The Guitarist was a particular fan favorite. I wrote almost 29,000 words during this month.
February
By design, I did no writing. However, I edited Mettle and The Enigman Cave. I didn’t do any promotions although I was busy with some work for Wattpad (I’m an Ambassador there). Working with beta readers was iffy/spotty at best. Since I do my best to nurture those relationships, but I also need to get a lasso around version control, I created a Facebook group and started using Google docs. So far, that’s had a mixed reception. Plus I didn’t work on promotions. It’s not so much that I was busy; it was more that I’m just kind of burned out on that.
Beta readers, so far, have enjoyed The Guitarist, The Obolonk Murders, None of This is Real, and The Forest. Who Do We Blame For This? got a mixed reception, as did So Long and This is My Child. I’ve been trying not to be too pushy but unfortunately Facebook algorithms require a lot of activity. I’m still trying to find a good groove there while, at the same time, respecting everyone’s time and interest levels. And my own, too!
Plus I worked some more on the plot for Real Hope of the Universe.
March
There was even more writing!
March 1 – 7
I started off the month with a bang, writing Kelvin 505.928, Oh Little Town, Almost Shipwrecked, Courage, Hot Mess, Enchantment Street and Clay. These were under 2,000 words long.
So of these short stories, Kelvin 505.928 is science fiction. Oh Little Town is horror. Almost Shipwrecked is humor and is a lot like The Meeting. Hot Mess is a prequel to Almost Shipwrecked. Courage is a romance with a twist. Enchantment Street is kind of dreamy and it’s one of the more positive stories I’ve written this quarter. Clay is a kind of odd deep future type of time travel story. Yeah, it’s weird.
My favorites this week included the one-two punch of Hot Mess and Almost Shipwrecked, plus Courage is a sweet story.
March 8 – 14
And then I kept it up by writing Blue Card, Protection, Shadows, The Path, Guinea Pigs, Loud, and It’s Five O’clock Somewhere  …. These were under 2,000 words long.
Hence of these short stories, Blue Card is dystopian and might even be the Nazis or something like that. Protection is a bit of a true crime story. Shadows and It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere are both time travel stories and they are representative of how I’ve been thinking about that premise lately. The Path is another dystopian story but there’s a bit of hope in there. Guinea Pigs is a weird science fiction story that’s kind of underdeveloped.
My favorites this week included Blue Card as it’s evocative and creepy at the same time. I also liked Shadows and It’s Five O’Clock Somewhere.Â
March 15 – 21
During the following week, I wrote Space Con, Daybreak, AM/FM Ghosts, The Interview, Modern Sonnet, The Witness and How Much?…. These were all under 2,000 words long.
Therefore of these stories, Space Con is something of a science fiction true crime story. Daybreak is a medical miracle. AM/FM Ghosts plays with some urban fantasy I’ve been considering. The Interview and How Much? are both truly creepy science fiction. Modern Sonnet is a touch of poetry. The Witness is a little crime drama.
This week’s favorites included the matter-of-fact vibe of Space Con and the creepiness of How Much? But the big winner is also the fan favorite: The Interview. Beta readers told me they wanted to see more, which is always a great sign.
March 22 – 31
During the final 10-day period, I wrote Appealing, The Cause, The Invaders, Halfway, Merciful, Wicked Ways, and A Trip (there are three more but they’re being posted after this blog goes live)Â … These were under 2,000 words long.
Hence of all of these, Appealing is an after-prison story which I admit I cribbed from my own fan fiction. The Cause and Halfway are historical. The Invaders is a little bit of unexpected humor. Wicked Ways and Merciful feel like they relate to each other, as an oppressive society turns to good. A Trip is similar to a work I did for an Alzheimer’s charity Anthology, called Props.
This week’s favorites included Appealing (one beta reader liked the main character’s strength) and Halfway. I also like Merciful; it’s a hopeful story. During this month (apart from three stories which won’t make it to this blog post), I’ve written just under 19,000 words. The big drop-off in production makes sense as work ate me alive.
Milestones
Also, I have written over two and a half million words (fan fiction and wholly original fiction combined). So right now my stats on Wattpad for wholly original works are as follows:
How to NaNoWriMo – 5,662 reads, 74 comments
My Favorite Things (like kibble) – 969 reads, 133 comments
Social Media Guide for Wattpad – 11,870 reads, 587 comments
The Canadian Caper – 436 reads, 37 comments
The Dish – 248 reads, 24 comments
There is a Road – 188 reads, 28 comments
WattNaNo’s Top Picks 2018 – 236 reads, 8 comments
WIP Corner
The current WIPs are as follows.
The Obolonk Murders Trilogy is a futuristic crime story where our society is divided into three parts – humans, semi-sentient and sentient robots, and aliens. I may end up writing a sequel trilogy. I’m not sure, so stay tuned.
The Enigman Cave takes place about a half a millennium from now and imagines a first contact where the aliens are at the level of Australopithecus.
The Real Hub of the Universe Trilogy takes place about 140 years ago and covers an Earth overrun by alien factions during the Victorian Era.
Mettle takes place only a few years from now and is the story of how society crumbles when metals begin to disappear.
Prep Work
So currently, I have been working on some writing prompts to keep me sharp and keep the words flowing so first quarter 2018. My intention, for this year’s NaNoWriMo, is that I will probably write the third novel in the Real Hub trilogy. But I need a plot! So a lot of this year will be spent on that. And – heh – I might actually have a different plot for this year’s NaNo, taking place in, of all things, the Obolonks universe. But I really should finish Real Hub. Really. Shut up, plot bunnies!
This Quarter’s Productivity Killers
Work, and what else during first quarter 2018? I am working on a ton of things and since that is also writing, it can sometimes burn me out. Plus I have all sorts of offline junk going on, including house renovations and the inevitable lousy New England weather which means shoveling snow and also running the car when it’s really cold out so it won’t stall.
Another productivity killer was my own mood. Not only does winter do it to me (I get Seasonal Affective Disorder), it’s also that, as I mentioned above, I’ve got some burnout. Sometimes the writing days did not come so easily.
Sharing Less can help you out in dozens of ways. Because there is something to be said for mystery.
Buchaechum, one of the Korean traditional dances for Royal court of Joseon Dynasty (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
For a fan dancer’s artfully concealing fans, if you will. For a dark corner where the camera does not go, and where we do not allow others to see. Perhaps not even our lovers, our mothers, our children and, most assuredly, not our government.
Origins
This post is a riff on Learning Not to Share, an article by Rich Barlow in my alumni magazine, Bostonia.
Wait a second, oops! I just told you where I went to college. Better cover that up, and sweep it out of the way.
Oh no, wait! I just told you it was undergrad. Good thing I didn’t tell you one of my professors studied under Wittgenstein.
D’oh! I probably just gave away that I majored in Philosophy! Wait, I’ll come in again.
We Keep on Sharing
It is like this, over and over and over again online. We share. And we share again. And then we overshare. While the above few tidbits probably don’t tell you too much about me, there is plenty of additional information out there. There are plenty of minefields. So I might accidentally drop something whereby someone could steal a password, stalk me, take my identity, burgle my house while I’m away, etc.
Digital Nosiness
Stephen Baker, the author of The Numerati, talks about what essentially amounts to digital nosiness – too much information out there, and we’re all inviting it in. And we do so in the name of greater security, or peace of mind. We want to make sure our teenagers are driving safely so we agree to put a black box in the car.
And we want to know that our elderly parents are all right (but we are not committed enough to move them home with us, or move to their homes or cities, even briefly), so we install sensors in their beds to make sure they get out of them every day. So then, as privacy erodes, we accept more and more of these intrusions until they are no longer seen as intrusive. And a privacy (and shame!) tradition that harkens back to biblical times is canned in favor of The Age of TMI.
Stop Volunteering Information
Is it possible to shut the barn door, when the horse has hightailed it for the next county? Sadly, probably not. But this oversharing is nothing new. I well recall, when I was practicing law (uh oh, another identifier!), prepping witnesses for depositions. E. g. if the opposing counsel asks, “Were you driving?”, the answer is yes, no or I don’t remember. It is not, yes, and the car is blue. If the lawyer wants to know the color of the car, she’ll ask. Don’t volunteer anything.
Yet, inevitably, people would do just that – they would volunteer all sorts of stuff. The vast majority of it was completely harmless. However, every now and then, it opened up different things, and drew others into question. Or it got the whole thing onto some wacky tangent and it then became hard to throw a lasso over the proceedings and get them back to the matter at hand.
And a deposition, once, which was going to take maybe 45 minutes took the better part of a week as a witness and opposing counsel kept feeding one another more digressions – even after I repeatedly told the witness to just stick with getting the actual questions answered and nothing more. This tactic, by the way, did not, ultimately, harm my client or help the opponent. All it did was make the matter stretch out that much longer. And, I am sure, it nicely increased my opponent’s bill (I was salaried – a deposition could take three years and I would not be paid any extra. Dang, there I go again, oversharing!).
Wiping Away Shame
Some sharing, particularly in the face of things that have been taboo for too long, seems to be, to me, to be a very good thing. Take, for example, the physical demands and changes that go along with weight loss. In the interests of full disclosure, this is a subject rather near and dear to my heart. So I put it out there – the fact that stretch marks don’t really go away and what post-weight loss plastic surgery is really like and how sometimes, no matter how much you want to convince yourself otherwise, the oatmeal just does not taste one bit like fried chicken.
I think that this kind of oversharing can have a true benefit. Give hope, or at least some amusement and information. And trample away shame until it’s gone.
But there is plenty more out there where that came from, and it is often all too much, and it can be damaging. Give away too much and you are the naked fan dancer, all out of fans.
How to Strike a Balance
So my suggestion is: tread lightly, and as wisely as you can, and ask yourself: will this information do more harm than good? Will it hurt me or my family? So even if the answer to both questions is no, my advice is: consider it and weigh it anyway. And decide, one way or the other. Do this based upon reasoned understanding and not on expediency, or going along to get along, or trying to be cooler than everyone else in school. Above all, do not sleepwalk and step backward into these kinds of giveaways. If you are going to toss aside that last fan, at least look your audience in the eye when you do so.
Reinvention is such a lonely word, isn’t it? We are so used to being one way, and the world is used to it, too. But then there we go, screwing it all up.
I mean, changing it up.
Oops, I mean, improving ourselves.
Changes
For quite a while, Adventures in Career Changing ended up somewhat stagnant. At the same time, I ran a blog for independent writers called Lonely Writer. The numbers for that other blog were not so great, and they fell off dramatically after I graduated in the summer of 2016. Furthermore, it was costing me some bucks. Hence I decided to simply not allow that URL to renew when it came up again.
Instead, I decided to combine the two works, back here, on Adventures. Because career changing, for me, has also been about writing.
Cosmetics
You may have noticed me making some housekeeping changes. There is a lot more color. The theme is considerably livelier. But beneath the surface there is another change, and it is not merely a cosmetic one. For these changes also contain adding the Lonely Writer videos, updating what I post here, and what I put on Facebook as well. And Twitter (or Twitter here). Plus of course there is still a YouTube channel, although I may eventually figure out a way to rebrand it.
Some things cannot be changed (such as the audio in preexisting YouTube videos). But for the most part, I have changed anything that can possibly be changed.
Going Pro
These transformations are folding Lonely Writer into my professional social media brand.
But please do not worry! What is free is still free! Rather, I want to introduce you to what I can do. So, that is another purpose behind this particular blog post, okay?
I can blog about virtually any topic. I can create WordPress sites, and I can develop and manage them. See, I can get you started on social media platforms. And I can help you with SEO.
As a freelance blogger, my job is to write about maritime law one day and ad retargeting the next, and then about real estate a few days later.
In the old, pre-Internet days, people like me would put out a shingle.
The future? Well, more specifically, I mean the future of the Lonely Writer website.
The Future of the Lonely Writer
Wait, what?
So as some readers may recall, I started this website as my capstone project at Quinnipiac University. I needed the project in order to graduate with a Master’s in Science in Communications (social media). Well, graduation happened in August of 2016. However, I had paid for the domain until the end of March of 2017. It seemed silly to try to cancel early.
But now it’s March of 2017.
Changes
Hence I want to change things up. My life has gotten considerably more busy since I graduated. I currently work four part-time work from home jobs, all centered around various tasks having to do with blogging. I also podcast every month and I blog for that podcast and for its parent podcast. Furthermore, I still blog about social media and even about fan fiction.
In addition, I still write and still work. I always try to get more of my work published. As a result, I just plain don’t have the time for yet another domain. Most noteworthy, I’d also like to save a few bucks. This project does … okay. Yet Adventures in Career Changing does better.
Therefore, I realized: I should combine the two.
What Will Happen?
The Lonely Writer YouTube channel and Facebook groups will both live on. And the Twitter stream won’t be going away, either. They do not require as much work as a separate blog. Plus, they are also free of charge. I am only talking about this domain and the blog posts.
So, where are they going? Why, they are off to Adventures in Career Changing! As a result, the blog URLs will change, and the blog posts themselves will be removed for later re-posting. I will change them up, too, so they will be more up to date. That’s all. So don’t worry, okay? This advice and this work will not be gone. It’ll all just move down the street.
The Future of Lonely Writer and Adventures in Career Changing
The Future
The future? Well, more specifically, I mean the future of the Lonely Writer website.
Speculating about the Future
Wait, what?
So as some readers may recall, I started that website as my capstone project at Quinnipiac University. I needed the project in order to graduate with a Master’s in Science in Communications (social media). Well, graduation happened in August of 2016. However, I had paid for the domain until the end of March of 2017. It seemed silly to try to cancel early.
But now it’s March of 2017.
Changes
Hence I want to change things up. My life has gotten considerably more busy since I graduated. I currently hold down four part-time work from home jobs, all centered around various tasks having to do with blogging. I also podcast every month and I blog for that podcast and for its parent podcast. Furthermore, I still blog about social media and even about fan fiction.
In addition, I still write and still work. I always try to get more of my work published. As a result, I just plain don’t have the time for yet another domain. Most noteworthy, I’d also like to save a few bucks. This project does … okay. Yet Adventures in Career Changing does better.
Therefore, I realized: I should combine the two.
What Will Happen?
The Lonely Writer YouTube channel and Facebook groups will both live on. And the Twitter stream won’t be going away, either. They do not require as much work as a separate blog. Plus, they are also free of charge. I am only talking about the other domain and those particular blog posts.
So, where are they going? Why, they are coming here! As a result, the blog URLs will change, and the blog posts themselves will be removed for later re-posting. I will change them up, too, so they will be more up to date. That’s all. So don’t worry, okay? That advice and that work will not go away. It’ll all just move here, down the street. I am excited about the move. I think it will help to freshen up Adventures without losing the focus, which is altering my career and also embracing social media. And the writing-related posts, of course, will give that more of a writing bent. That’s all.
Independent writers can sometimes be rather lonely indeed. You can feel as if it’s just you in a sea of promotions, prompts, social media, and writer’s block.
Green
I’m here to help you. I am getting my Master’s degree in Communications (social media), and this is my capstone project. Yeah, I’m being graded for this! I might just continue after graduation. Furthermore, I can see there is a need out there, for a sharing of this sort of expertise.
I seem to have a pretty balanced brain, in that I am not too far over on the artistic side (right) or the analytical side (left). However, I tend to split the difference. Or maybe it’s just my genetics. Because my father is a retired engineer and an inventor, several times over. And my mother is a retired reference librarian. This stuff is in my DNA.
So with such an odd and varied background, I have become what you, too, need to be:
Organized
Artistic
Persistent
Legally savvy
Open to all sorts of possibilities
Help
I know you need some help, or maybe just a sympathetic ear. And believe me, I know! Just between you and me, we have to wear a ton of hats. Writer. Marketer. Accountant. Lawyer (or at least paralegal). Editor. Cover artist.
Fortunately, you are not alone.
And I am more than willing to share my expertise and my experience. So let’s explore, together, how to navigate the waters of being an independent (no agent yet) author, whether published or not. I’ll provide videos and cheat sheets for you to refer to, so you’re no longer in the dark.
I was uninspired, and didn’t want to just subject all two of my readers to my ramblings. Plus, I was looking for an actual day job.
Well, I found one. It’s a temping gig for a large financial services company which shall remain nameless. I am a Financial Analyst, preparing and running database reports. The job is rather similar to several other gigs I’ve held. And then I will be back in Social Media full time.
In the meantime, the Bot Boys are not forgotten, and I actually blog more for them that I had been. The need for Social Media exposure does not diminish just because I’ve got a new gig.
But I wanted to reach out, on this blog, for the first time in quite a while, to offer up some of the things I’ve learned along the way. So gather ’round, and hopefully I can help someone else to navigate the wild world of startups.
The best gift that anyone can offer startups is money. Advice and expertise are great, and they are helpful, but it all pales in the face of do-re-mi. And while startup competitions may not want (or, truly, be able) to part with too much of it, it is money that is most needed because, to truly succeed, someone has to quit their day job. You know, the thing I just got a few weeks ago? Yeah. Someone has to take a flying leap into outer space – but that person still needs to be able to afford ramen and a futon.
Speaking of ramen and futons, the startup game is, often, played by the young. This is not to say that those of us who were born during the Kennedy Administration have naught to offer. Rather, it is that we have mortgages. We may have children. We have lives that often require more than minimal Connector-style health insurance. We may have aging parents, credit card debt or any number of things that make living off ramen, on a futon, nigh impossible.
However, this does not mean that the not-so-young do not have a place in the land of startups. But that place is often a different one. The enthusiastic feel of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney
Cropped screenshot of Judy Garland and Mickey Rooney from the trailer for the film Love Finds Andy Hardy. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)
(now I’m really dating myself) yelling, “Hey, kids! Let’s put on a show! We can get the barn!” is replaced with “Let’s see if we can get this thing to work before defaulting on the mortgage/Junior needs braces/gall bladder surgery is required/etc.” Our needs are different, and we may be more patient with setbacks. This does not necessarily spell being less hungry but, perhaps, less able to truly go for broke. The not-so-young person’s role in a startup is often more advisory. We are the ones who can’t quit day jobs until the salaries are decent. And that day may never come.
Startup events are best when they have a focus. Mass Innovation Nights, I feel, is something of a Gold Standard. There is a coherent beginning, middle and end to each event. It’s not just a lot of business card trading. The participants and the audience get good conversational hooks. Making contacts is vital – I hooked up with the Bot Boys at an event like that – but it can’t just be “Hey, let’s get a bunch of startups together, eat pizza and trade business cards!” The startups that are succeeding are too busy for such activities. And those that aren’t ….
Cloud computing, apps and software companies are everywhere in the startup space. With the Bot Boys, we can stand out a bit as we are a hardware company. Having a product that people can see and feel is valuable amidst a sea of virtual stuff.
The downside to that is that hardware companies have spinup problems that cloud computing companies just don’t have – app companies do not have to worry about shipping and packaging. They do not have to perform quality control checks on shipments. They do not have to work on product safety.
No one wants to talk to the job seeker, but everyone wants to talk to the entrepreneur – and those are often the same person! Human nature is a bit odd in this area, but I have seen people who are barely past the “I’ve got this great idea I’ve sketched on the back of a napkin” stage where there is a flock of interested people swarming around, whereas a person honest about looking for work is often overlooked.
Charisma counts. While one founder is going to be the inventor or the developer (the idea person), the other pretty much must be the socializer. Otherwise, even the best ideas are all too often buried. Someone must be willing and able to do public speaking, elevator pitching and sales. This need not be an experienced sales person, but that person has got to be a lot friendlier and a lot more fearless than most.
Most startups and most entrepreneur groupings will fail, morph, coalesce or break apart before succeeding. And perhaps that is as it should be, for being nimble is one of the characteristics of a successful startup. If the product sells when it’s colored blue, but not when it’s colored green, dip it in dye, fer chrissakes!
We all work for startups, or former startups. Even the large financial services firm was, once, a gleam in someone’s eye. Every invention started off as an idea. Even day jobs were, at one time, in places where the founders were living off that generation’s equivalent of ramen and sleeping in that era’s analogue to a futon. Yet somehow, against the odds, they made it.
