We are in the midst of the "silly season" where politics get in the way of everything else. From now through the August 3 primary (especially) in West Michigan we will be subjected to the slings and arrows of not-too polished campaigners who, up until now, have been fairly civil. There have been a few debates. I've heard some radio and tv ads. A couple of ironically similar stuffers have been carefully not put inside my mailbox but rather tucked into the screen door. I've seen little if any print advertising yet. Candidates I don't even know suddenly want to be my "Friend" on Facebook and follow me on Twitter.
Some minds are made up, even if voters have no idea who they are supporting or what they believe in. And there are plenty of good reasons to vote for each candidate:
"Heck, he played pro-football. That's good enough for me!"
"She goes to my church."
"He's pro-life and that's my only issue."
"He's an outsider and not a party hack."
"He's a veteran lawmaker who knows how to get things done."
"She's a TeaParty member."
"He's the only Democrat in the race."
So far, so good. But it's July. It's too damned hot. And the gloves are coming off.
Suddenly, men I've known and respected a long time are pointing out each other's flaws. And they're pointing out that others are pointing out each other's flaws. The endorsements are coming in. Candidates will jockey to explain how being on a list of "qualified" candidates right alongside their opponent somehow makes them more qualified. Some will accuse others of vandalizing their signs. Overzealous volunteers will make mistakes. Tired candidates will say something stupid. Yes, it's the silly season. Term Limits did this to us. For years now, candidates at all levels simply played musical chairs while newcomers hung out on the sidelines waiting for a chance. 2010 is that chance.
I have been asked to support a number of candidates. In all too many races, an acquaintance of mine is running against another acquaintance. I choose not to play. Is that wrong? I will cast my vote in the semi-privacy of the rickety voting stand with a black marker and then slide the giant card into the machine watching closely to make sure the little number increases by one as I do so. Only God and I will know.
Wednesday, July 14, 2010
Friday, February 5, 2010
On writing a book...
A book I wrote is being printed as I write this.
My book, "For Those In peril: Shipwrecks of Ottawa County Michigan," will be available at bookstores throughout West Michigan by March 1, 2010. While it's not exactly Pulitzer material, it took a lot of work and has been a tremendous learning experience. I thought I'd try to capture some of that experience here. Whether you are fortunate enough to find a publisher that will take all the risk (and most of the profit), you co-publish with a smaller publisher or self-publish, I hope these thoughts will help.
1. Even if you are not planning to write a book-perhaps just work on a web page or PowerPoint presentation-always record your sources. This obviously is advice for the non-fiction writer. It's a whole lot easier to do that "as you go" than to try to recreate things weeks or even years later. I know.
2. Decide up front what style you will be using, lest various editors make you change things back and forth later. Whether you choose CMoS, the AP Stylebook, MLA or APA doesn't really matter, as long as you are consistent. Check with your publisher to see if they require one particular style.
3. If you are not a designer, hire one. Let a professional design your cover, format your pages and create a "look" for your book.
4. Don't bother formatting things as you write. Just write. I wasted a lot of time making it look "like a book." The publisher probably will just want you to send MS Word docs to them anyway.
5. Keep a style guide handy. Learn the basic rules of English grammar and apply them. Punctuation is all important. Know the rules.
6. Learn about active vs. passive voice.I was driven nuts by this. This drove me nuts at first, then later become second nature.
7. Depending on what you are writing, keep the style easy to read. I found it hard not to un-split my infinitives, but following that rule rule every time made the book a very stiff "read."
8. Get ready to be a marketing maven. Writing the book is only the first step. No one's really going to sell it unless you do. Contact libraries, bookstores and other appropriate venues. Schedule book signings in your area. Contact the local radio stations and newspapers.
9. Use new media and social networking to get the word out. Your book (or you, or both...) should have a web page, a facebook "fan" page and a twitter presence at the very least. decide early if you are going to sell through Amazon.com and similar sites that will pay you only about 35% of your list price. Start creating the buzz before your book even is available (should I un-split that infinitive?)
10. You most likely will lose money your first year-especially if you paid for the printing yourself. If you break even, celebrate!
It's a rewarding experience.
My book, "For Those In peril: Shipwrecks of Ottawa County Michigan," will be available at bookstores throughout West Michigan by March 1, 2010. While it's not exactly Pulitzer material, it took a lot of work and has been a tremendous learning experience. I thought I'd try to capture some of that experience here. Whether you are fortunate enough to find a publisher that will take all the risk (and most of the profit), you co-publish with a smaller publisher or self-publish, I hope these thoughts will help.
1. Even if you are not planning to write a book-perhaps just work on a web page or PowerPoint presentation-always record your sources. This obviously is advice for the non-fiction writer. It's a whole lot easier to do that "as you go" than to try to recreate things weeks or even years later. I know.
2. Decide up front what style you will be using, lest various editors make you change things back and forth later. Whether you choose CMoS, the AP Stylebook, MLA or APA doesn't really matter, as long as you are consistent. Check with your publisher to see if they require one particular style.
3. If you are not a designer, hire one. Let a professional design your cover, format your pages and create a "look" for your book.
4. Don't bother formatting things as you write. Just write. I wasted a lot of time making it look "like a book." The publisher probably will just want you to send MS Word docs to them anyway.
5. Keep a style guide handy. Learn the basic rules of English grammar and apply them. Punctuation is all important. Know the rules.
6. Learn about active vs. passive voice.
7. Depending on what you are writing, keep the style easy to read. I found it hard not to un-split my infinitives, but following that rule rule every time made the book a very stiff "read."
8. Get ready to be a marketing maven. Writing the book is only the first step. No one's really going to sell it unless you do. Contact libraries, bookstores and other appropriate venues. Schedule book signings in your area. Contact the local radio stations and newspapers.
9. Use new media and social networking to get the word out. Your book (or you, or both...) should have a web page, a facebook "fan" page and a twitter presence at the very least. decide early if you are going to sell through Amazon.com and similar sites that will pay you only about 35% of your list price. Start creating the buzz before your book even is available (should I un-split that infinitive?)
10. You most likely will lose money your first year-especially if you paid for the printing yourself. If you break even, celebrate!
It's a rewarding experience.
Tuesday, January 12, 2010
The sorry state of local radio
Don't get me wrong. I love radio. I cut my teeth on radio. In high school when others were toiling away at mundane office jobs, I was an afternoon radio Deejay on my family's radio station WZND in Zeeland, MI. It was a "co-op" job whereby I receved high school credit for garduation and was paid something like $2.50 per hour. I attended classes from 8-noon, then did a radio show from 2-6 p.m. That led to a 5-9 a.m. morning drive gig after high school graduation, which lasted until the station was sold 15 years later. During that time I served also as program director, music director and news director.
Looking back, I am happy to have escaped before the whole "corporate" thing happened. Consolidation and buyouts created situations where one owner or group had perhaps a half-dozen stations in the same market. Competion for excellence in news, traffic and other services withered away. The emergence of computer generated playlists programmed by "consultants" soon made every station sound the same. "Bob & Tom" type syndication even killed market personality. Atlanta sounds just like Chicago which sounds just like Boston. Talk radio was a boon to AM, but again, sounds exactly the same in hundreds of makets across the nation. The advent of satellite radio means you can drive 2,500 miles and never experience the "local" flavor of radio.
Now, with the current recession killing off local ad budgets everywhere, radio is being overtaken by faceless advertising for investments and medical cures. I assume many of these are what we used to call "PI's" - ads that the station gets paid for only if they generate a call (Per Inquiry). Personally, I immediately switch stations every time I hear an ad selling "gold" as an investment. If I have to sit through one more Beta Prostate ad, I just might crap my pants (ironically). I don't have a sleep number, thank you very much. I don't want to hear about your colon cleanser - especially around my lunch hour. I am quite comfortable with my hair loss and do not need your stupid Avacor. And any ad that features someone repeating their phone number four or five times in an ad earns my lifelong disdain. Again, the real downside to these network-fed or syndicate-mandated commercials is that they are exactly the same in every market.
Sure, we used to run Slim Whitman record album (and 8 track tape!) PIs during the overnights to fill un-sellable time. Those were bad enough. But these trashy commercials for faceless products having nothing to do with my community are actually running inside the most popular programs in the middle of the day--some even voiced by the "star" who, of course, is an avid user of the product. Some of them run two to three times per hour.
Maybe when the economy shapes up we'll get back to those good old local car dealer commercials where the owner screams really loud and... Oh. Wait. Never mind
Looking back, I am happy to have escaped before the whole "corporate" thing happened. Consolidation and buyouts created situations where one owner or group had perhaps a half-dozen stations in the same market. Competion for excellence in news, traffic and other services withered away. The emergence of computer generated playlists programmed by "consultants" soon made every station sound the same. "Bob & Tom" type syndication even killed market personality. Atlanta sounds just like Chicago which sounds just like Boston. Talk radio was a boon to AM, but again, sounds exactly the same in hundreds of makets across the nation. The advent of satellite radio means you can drive 2,500 miles and never experience the "local" flavor of radio.
Now, with the current recession killing off local ad budgets everywhere, radio is being overtaken by faceless advertising for investments and medical cures. I assume many of these are what we used to call "PI's" - ads that the station gets paid for only if they generate a call (Per Inquiry). Personally, I immediately switch stations every time I hear an ad selling "gold" as an investment. If I have to sit through one more Beta Prostate ad, I just might crap my pants (ironically). I don't have a sleep number, thank you very much. I don't want to hear about your colon cleanser - especially around my lunch hour. I am quite comfortable with my hair loss and do not need your stupid Avacor. And any ad that features someone repeating their phone number four or five times in an ad earns my lifelong disdain. Again, the real downside to these network-fed or syndicate-mandated commercials is that they are exactly the same in every market.
Sure, we used to run Slim Whitman record album (and 8 track tape!) PIs during the overnights to fill un-sellable time. Those were bad enough. But these trashy commercials for faceless products having nothing to do with my community are actually running inside the most popular programs in the middle of the day--some even voiced by the "star" who, of course, is an avid user of the product. Some of them run two to three times per hour.
Maybe when the economy shapes up we'll get back to those good old local car dealer commercials where the owner screams really loud and... Oh. Wait. Never mind
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