The forever recession (and the coming revolution)

The future of work?

Today's blog post by Seth Godin is an important summary of his thoughts about the nature and future of what we call "jobs" and "work."

Everything I've learned in the past five years while learning how to set up a book writing
business tells me that today's post by Godin is exactly right.

The forever recession (and the coming revolution) by Seth Godin

Get drunk with bloggers to hit Amazon Best Seller list?

After Timothy Ferris's book made the Amazon Best Seller list, Ferris gave an interview to GalleyCat in which he briefly described the publicity plan for his book.

Blogger Robert Scoble said of Ferris's plan, "It sounds like get drunk with bloggers." Ferris replied, "sounds about right..."

In reality the Ferris interview is very good. He lists four easy steps you can take to publicize your book, and he also tells how to connect with bloggers. (You don't *have* to get drunk with them, but...)

H/T to Jason Boog of GalleyCat

Every book we write is based on a myth.

Unfortunately it is almost impossible for most of us to see the mythic structure of our work. We are too close to it.

While waiting for the lunch truck at the Future of Story conference last month, I was talking to author Pamela Jaye Smith about mythic structure, and how it influences daily life, politics and the books we write.



I told Smith about a nonfiction manuscript that I've been struggling with for the past year.

As we waited for the chefs to fix sandwiches, I absently tossed off the question, "So what is the myth of my manuscript?" Her answer floored me.

"It's the myth of Job," she said.

I immediately saw what my manuscript was missing, and why it didn't work.

In the myth of Job, Job loses everything he has, through no fault of his own. Then he goes through increasingly awful problems, and is rejected by everyone. Eventually he regains everything he has lost and more.

My manuscript was missing the the final chapter in which the central character regains everything he has lost! (I am rewriting the book now, to include this chapter and appropriate foreshadowing.)

If you are writing a book, screenplay, or nonfiction book, call Pamela and schedule a consultation. She may be able to save you months or years of painful rewrite.

Thanks Pamela!

Pamela's contact info:
Website: http://www.mythworks.net/
Phone: 323-874-6042
Email: pjs@pamelajayesmith.com

Smith's books:
Pamela is the author of INNER DRIVES: How to Write and Create Characters Using the Eight Classic Centers of Motivation, THE POWER OF THE DARK SIDE: Creating Great Villains and Dangerous Situations and SYMBOLS, IMAGES, CODES: The Secret Language of Images in Media.

Cat sunday

Erica Reitman's 11 blogging tools

Useful stuff from a thoroughly entertaining webinar with Erica Reitman during a recent MediaBistro Social Media Marketing Bootcamp. (Good course. You should take it.)



Uber blogger Erica Reitman says the key to successful blogging is having the right tools. She is the founder and owner of the highly successful blog, Fuckedinparkslope.com. Her blog gets over 500,000 page views per day. She employs 14 writers, and one managing editor.

The tools Reitman uses, ranked in order of importance:

1) Skitch
Skitch is a screengrab and lightweight photo editing software. Skitch is a Mac and Android tool. Use Skitch to make your photos fun and interesting. Reitman is obsessive about using an image in every blog post. (TL Note: TechSmith's' Jing is a roughly equivalent tool for the pc.)

2) Evernote
She says she uses Evernote to organize her life. It is like an "online notebook on crack." You can tag stuff as you capture it online. In addition to capturing online notes as you surf the web, you can use Evernote to:
- store scanned copies of driver license and passport.
- store passwords
- collect story ideas, information for blog posts
- brainstorm future projects
- links for useful tools.
With a $5 account you can share notebooks with other Evernote users.

(TL Note: I think the Evernote Essentials book is required reading. You can install and use Evernote instantly, but to get the most out of it, I suggest you plan on setting aside a day or two learn how to use Evernote. Later, you might decide to start using some of the cool programs and tools that work with Evernote.)

3) Pinterest
An addictive visual notebook. Reitman says it is a cross between a photo album and notebook. Space to save ideas. Also a social network. Good for lifestyle blogging. Save images for blog posts, image search tool. Social network for lifestyle focused folks. Images inspire post ideas.
(She says she is "a super fascist about including a picture with EVERY SINGLE POST".)
Reitman likes Pinterest as a place to search because the photos are curated. It's also a good way to discover neat blogs and people.

4) Outbrain
Outbrain is a tool for publishers and marketers that ensures none of your site's content is dead RIP. When you publish a lot of content, valuable content can disappear into the "old" category and never be seen again. Outbrain reposts "old" content on the front page of your blog. Site visitors have access to content even after it has cycled off page. All posts link back to other related posts on blog. You can make $$$ off Outbrain by selling ad space.

5) Zinio
Zinio is a Mobile reading app for magazines (ipad, iphone and online.) Reitman likes to keep all her magazines on her ipad. You can transfer your existing magazine subscriptions to zinio and have your magazines with you at all times.

6) Morguefile
Free photos by creatives for creatives.


You can use these images on your blog without permission or attribution. Morguefile is a public image archive by creatives for creatives. When you use Morgue file you can stop worrying about photo credits.

7) Flickr pool
Flickr.com is a way to let your readers, friends or family take photos for you. Then you sit back and relax. You can start a group (pool) around any topic you want.

8) Disqus (prounounced discuss)
Social media commenting system. Add photos, etc. across social media. Disqus helps you build a community on your site. Strangers don’t see all your comments. (Do I need a Disqus account to use or view the disqus home page? See the Wikipedia page for disqus details.)

9) ISocketSelf-service tool for selling ads on your site. Easy way for bloggers to sell ads. With Isocket you can manage your own ad sales. You can set up a self service area for people to set up their own ads and check stats, etc. The system is super easy from a blog publisher's standpoint. A good way to get exposed to people who want to buy ad space on your site.

10) Kapost
“A way to manage content when you have more than one writers on your blog.” When you have several people working on columns and stories on your blog, managing all this quickly becomes a second job. Kapost is an "online newsroom for web publishing that handles everything from pitches to payment."

11) Editorial calendar.
An editorial calendar can be a simple as an excel spreadsheet. On the calendar, mark the days and times when you intend to publish. Reitman says you must have an editorial calendar for your blog. The goal is to make sure that you post at regular times . The calendar gets more important the bigger you get.

Portable MFA in Creative Writing - excellent eBook

The eBook version of the New York Writers Workshop's Portable MFA in Creative Writing is (no longer free) on Amazon and on Barnes & Noble. H/T to Jason Boog at GalleyCat.

The Portable MFA in Creative Writing is a remarkable book. It contains excellent, practical advice on plotting and writing your novel.

The introduction honestly describes most creative writing programs, and why they come up wanting. I've attended dozens of creative writing classes so I know a tiny bit about this world.

If you want an MFA's worth of knowledge in writing and you don't have $50,000 and a couple years to attend university, this book is for you.

Interactive story app -- walking tour of Paris

This clever iPhone app takes you on a walking tour of Paris. Using an app to tell a story is a challenging and potentially game-changing option for writers. Become a backer, and for a few dollars you can follow the progress of the project and learn how it's done.