RITA ® Award-Winning Author of Fantasy Romance
//Some schooling today on business, things authors should really know, and arcania on how traditional publishing decides how to handle releases. Also, the “new” genre term Romantasy and why I think it came to be coined.
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//Author branding for the long game, being original instead of trying to draft off of someone else’s success, authors using gimmicks to get attention, and the audacity of a woman failing to laugh at a man’s joke.
//How do we feel about Alexander Skarsgård being cast as SecUnit in the upcoming Murderbot series? Also the advantages for creatives of working in a corporate environment and Taylor Swift: dedicated businesswoman.
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This week at the SFF Seven, we’re talking the business side of being a writer.
In our fantasies of being famous and beloved authors, we envision many things: bucolic writing sessions, romantic candlelit garrets with wine- and quill-strewn desks, celebrations with adoring fans, bookstore windows filled with our bestseller. (What’s yours? I’d love to know!) We (or, at least, I didn’t) don’t picture ourselves slaving at the computer, going cross-eyed over royalty statements or struggling to ramp up on the newest social media trend.
Many of us creatives don’t love the business side of being a writer. I mean, there’s a reason we took literature, theater, and art classes in college instead of Economics, and that we only knew where the business school was because we occasionally had to meet one of our friends there. With a few exceptions, as creatives, business is not our favorite learn.
But we have to learn to do it and we have to learn to do it WELL.
If we don’t, people will take advantage of us and, believe me, there are plenty lined up to do just that. There are ample cautionary tales of authors handing over the business aspects of their careers to someone else and losing everything. Even if it doesn’t go that badly, we run the risk of making foolish choices out of ignorance.
How much time do I spend on the business aspect of my writing life? A lot. At least as much time as I spend actually writing, possibly even twice as much, or even three times. Because I’m a hybrid author, self-publishing my books counts as me running a small, highly exclusive publishing company. It takes hours every day. On the trad publishing side, even though I have an agent who is amazing and efficient, I still have to spend a fair amount of time on back and forth with her – all business. And then there’s conventions and conferences, which are basically all business. Chatting with my author friends is fun and social, but also? Business.
The way I see it, since I write full-time and have no other job, anything I spend my time on that isn’t drafting or editing words counts as business. I take it very seriously.
//What to do when an author’s editor leaves the house, the one question to ask career authors, studying movies made from books to understand theme and what subplots/side characters aren’t important.
//Today’s topic is planning conferences, specifically how contracting with hotels works, what it costs, what you have to commit to, and how inexperienced con organizers can end up owing tons of money.
//The business of self-publishing, especially ISBNs, and retail platforms for print. Also, raving about Star Trek: Strange New Worlds and what creators can learn from it on prequels and riffing within the canon.
//I’m talking about debut author expectations, how to learn about the industry, and (hopefully) dispelling the myth that excellence = success = money. Also, exciting upcoming episode with Grace Draven!
//I’m back from vacation, which gave me time with my head out of the book to think about some business stuff, so I’m sharing my New Plan for Social Media and promoting my backlist. Also: an RWA mystery!
Transcript
00:02.12
jeffekennedy
Good morning, everyone! This is Jeffe Kennedy author of epic fantasy romance I’m here with my first cup of coffee. And my Hummingbird friend. Ah delicious. Today is Monday July twenty fifth I am back in the saddle at least temporarily. I am um refreshed from my vacation for the most part you all the joke about how you need a vacation to recover from your vacation but we had fun. It was lovely time. Enjoy it very much and um, it was good. Just to take a break from things but busy catching up as always and and I don’t know what all I have to say I didn’t make notes today. I’ve started using Tiktok a little bit I’ve been playing with it putting up little reels and a friend asked me if I was going to post a podcast to Tiktok and she said you know there’s mosquito buzzing around here. She said you know you can put up um up to 10 minutes now on Tiktok. She said are you thinking about doing that I’m like oh I’d have to confine the podcast at 10 minutes which I feel like I’d have to be succinct which let’s face it that wouldn’t necessarily be a bad thing. It might be good for me to be more succinct but I don’t know. It comes back to my whole um measurement of like when the podcast becomes more of a pain to do than than a pleasure. so um so yeah I paused you so you wouldn’t have to watch me kill the mosquito. In case, any of you are tenderhearted enough to worry about the mosquitoes mosquitoes are the one thing that I don’t mind whacking. So let’s see um this week will be kind of funny because I am.
02:28.79
jeffekennedy
Hear podcasting today and tomorrow. Um Wednesday I fly to DC for Apollycon very interested to see how Apollycon goes I’m excited to see my friends that it’s starting to hit me that I’m going to see these people I haven’t seen. Since um, three years or before a lot of them. It was ah RWA convention in July 2019 I saw a funny thing David found this kind of bizarre movie from 1990 on Paramount plus called. The um, the boyfriend, the boyfriend something I think if you look for the boyfriend. You’ll find it um boyfriend test boyfriend experiment something like that. Um with Shelley long and Steve Gutenberg and ah oh Erin um she was in a lot of those late eighty s movies hang on – The Boyfriend School and it’s Jamie Gerrtz who was in Sixteen candles and the lost boys. Ah, so ah, what was funny is so the movie was originally released back then back in 1990 as Don’t Tell Her It’s Me and I’m sure I don’t think I ever saw it. Ah. It’s from the book called The Boyfriend School which apparently that title tested badly. But then when they re-released on Dvd they went ahead and went with that because apparently don’t tell her. It’s me was an even worse title which I think the boyfriend school is good title. Anyway, this movie got so panned so panned and um, we’re finding it funny ah I don’t know why people hated this movie so much but the interesting part I promise there is an interesting part see this is why I couldn’t do this in 10 minutes right admittedly might be a good idea. Just not going to happen. Ah Shelly long plays a romance author and while there are a few cringe worthy lines here and there for the most part. It’s ah, a solid defense of being a romance author. Ah, Jamie Gertz comes in as a journalist making disparaging comments ah about at this conference that says romance writers of America and it’s all of this There’s the banner that says romance writers of America.
05:11.24
jeffekennedy
And on one of the author table there tables there. There’s the Harlequin brand so I feel like the movie makers must have gotten permission to use this stuff but there’s nothing in the trivia I’m I’m going to have to do some research and find out was this an actual Rw a conference that this movie. Ah, filmed this scene at there are things that seem not Rw a that seem more like RT, but it could be that rwwe was like this in the late 80 s you know if the film came out in 1990 it could have been one of those conventions in the late eighty s. And maybe they were like that because they had like a male model walking around basically wearing a thong. Um, that was our tea but not Rw so I’m going to hit up some of my um older Rw a ladies and see what they say. Yeah I want to know what they think and then if if I find out that it was this may be what finally catapults me into logging into I am db and creating an identity just so I can upload that trivia and then I might have to go in and like. Counter some of these horrible reviews I think people trashed it largely because of the romance. Um I mean there’s I mean it’s not a brilliant movie but it’s certainly far better than than many and it has a promising romance. We didn’t finish watching but um. I mean just did to see how it goes but it’s funny seeing the ah r wa stuff in there. Oh and and Jamie Gertz comes in talking to Shelley long and doesn’t realize that Shelley long is interviewing her as a potential ah love interest for her brother Steve Gutenberg who is recovering from. Treatments for Hodgkin’s disease was always bald and puffy I think apparently this is this is sort of like how time moves. Ah I did read in the trivia that at the time Steve Gutenberg had played entirely suavet roles up until then. I like in 3 men and a baby and um I don’t remember what all, but and that this was the first time that he you know here, he’s being bold and puffy and kind of um, a recluse and unhappy and it’s funny because. I do not think of Steve Gutenberg as a suave guy. Um and I think that’s because later he leaned more into being pitiful loser guy.
07:52.66
jeffekennedy
So perhaps I’m more willing to accept that than audiences were at the time there was I also saw when I was trying to look up who that little girl is who plays Shelley Long’s daughter who’s like 3 ah. And actually does kind of a brilliant job of it. She’s this very solemn little girl who were apparently a pair of twins but um, ah, let’s see what led me down that path I was trying to remember when I was looking it up. Oh. I found like this l a times review of the movie that mentioned this little girl’s name Susan Lund I think she must have been. Someone’s daughter you know well of course she’s someone’s daughter. But. Not a professional actress I think this was the only thing she ever did and it was like you know like the costume designer’s daughter that kind of thing so the um but this scathing scathing review written by a woman which I’ve always feel like is telling um. Really slammed the romance aspects but then she also said um that they failed to take advantage of the beautiful Charleston location and I thought really that’s a criticism of the movie that they didn’t choose to show the. Pretty Charleston south carolina stuff but instead chose some of the more rural landscape anyway, I didn’t mean see this is why we can’t do 10 minutes of this because I just spent almost 10 minutes talking about this movie. Anyway, we’ll see if we if I can upload this to Instagram I’m I haven’t tried obviously in a week so I was giving you my schedule going to Apollycon Wednesday. Um, Thursday Friday maybe I’ll do some podcast interviews. Maybe not. It. It’ll be potluck. Maybe you’ll get lucky maybe having a podcast interview with somebody will be unlucky. You never know. Ah, um, and then I come back on Sunday and next Monday I have um, and dum dum dum jury duty magistrate court. They think it’ll only take one day but they summoned me at the beginning of summer and I’d said well I have travel and they came back which I thought was interesting and asked for.
10:31.46
jeffekennedy
Um, documentation of my travel dates like hotel stays and plane tickets and they had a nice um interface on the website where I could upload. Those documents so I sent them. You know here’s my travel schedule here’s my plane tickets and hotel stays and so then I got a notice that I have to appear on August first and I was like you all are correct I will be in town. So it’ll be interesting I’ve been called for jury duty before never in New Mexico but I’ve never served I always get dismissed. Ah I’m apparently not an ideal jury member probably because I think it would be interesting to do so um. You know, like no cell phones nothing like that. So I won’t be out of contact next monday try not to set the world on fire without me people. Um, and after that it should be a fairly normal ish schedule for a little while. Hoping to get back into making progress on shadow wizard I’ve been looking at the covers going through the cover iterations with my fabulous cover artist Robin and Suku I’ll just love this cover. Um, just love. Discover the the model she found for Jadren is um, it’s perfect. So so it was interesting I wrote on Monday and then I just decided I was kind of pondering it I think on. The podcast last week but um I just decide to take the rest of the week off writing I decided it would be more stressful than anything trying to get my word count in and it would have been so I did do some. Um, pondering on the drive thinking about just some business e things and so while I was there I did work on some business-y things I researched a couple of things. And one thing I’m going to do and this this feels like a big transition for me a milestone for me I realized that it is not for other people. But for me, it’s kind of a big deal.
13:15.22
jeffekennedy
Not many people know this. But I’m kind of a big deal. Love that line. Thank you Jim Sorenson for pointing it out to me from cheers. So I’m going to I think use SmarterQueue ah. SmarterQueue as in making a line ah to schedule social media posts and this is a transition for me because I have never used a scheduler I have um, always believed that social media should be. Authentic and in the moment and that I should engage directly hence this podcast.
14:06.34
jeffekennedy
Um, and I did like the I give scheduling. Um I’ve always thought that social media should not be like a billboard but I’m feeling like things have changed that there are. Aspects of all of the social media platforms that are like billboards that there’s room for both and I really need to get into promoting my backlist more Um, and so smarter queue will apparently allow me to. Ah, schedule on all the social media platforms and I can just put up evergreen posts to promote the backlist. Um and and that’s what I’m going to do so that that step’s just always out there because what I’m finding is. That my whole thing about posting in the moment and so forth that it creates this. Um sorry I just had an idea of something I want to do on Instagram but because i. I do the podcast in the morning I exercise do the podcast get this uploaded try not to look at social media as I upload it. Ah, don’t look at email write get my words in while my brain is still fresh. Then I come out and. Deal with email social media sif web business business of life. Ah that that is when I would like do other kinds of social media posting problems with this are it’s not necessarily the ideal time to post um and. I’m not necessarily full of bouncy social media energy at the end of the day and I was talking with I consulted a few other people that was part of what I was doing when I was you know like downtime at the resort when everybody else was sleeping off being in the casino all night um I got on some of my. Author groups and stuff and just ask people what they use and and and it’s a thing because people were like yeah you know end of the day I’m just not social media friendly and you know the world has changed It’s amazing to think about how how long it’s been. Um, we were talking about someone who I’m trying to think of how to phrase this we were talking about this gal and I said you know that person’s um, someone to keep an eye on because.
16:56.80
jeffekennedy
They had a big social media meltdown and I went to look up the links on it and it was 2009 2009 so thirteen years ago and so so so I added to it I said here’s what’s happened here’s what the person. You know, got into and I said um and it’s entirely possible that my memory is way too long. Um, because wow, but you know that is one of those things is that people don’t forget and I said I don’t believe that. People should be held accountable forever for a mistake like that. Ah, but this person did not handle the social media meltdown. Well um, threatening to call the Fbi on readers who had given their books bad reviews. You know it was like a little on the emotionally wonky side and I said you know it could be It was a bad time. A one time thing but just keep an eye on this person and you know it’s It’s been my hope my point and I do have one is that it has been a long time. Ah, you know when we first started using social media a lot I think I got on Twitter in 2009 um, Facebook might have been like 2007 and it was mostly promote my blog. So I think you know that is the thing is that we have to continue to roll with the times and um, so that’s going to be a big thing that I’m going to do. It’s smarter q you have to pay for but I’ve been thinking out paying for a publicist and instead I’m going to pay for this and I’m also going to set up. A blog tour for shadow wizard. Um, so that’ll be interesting. Oh and other news is rogue’s possession releases tomorrow. So how how could I forget. So so yeah, um, release day tomorrow and exciting changes for some of these business things I’m I’m excited to to implement these particular tools and see how this works for me. Um, one thing that’s going to have to happen with that smarter cue is it’s gonna there’s gonna be some ramp up right? I’m going to have to spend some time getting all of that stuff queed up as it were ah but otherwise I’m hoping to get.
19:47.00
jeffekennedy
I hope to get a full writing week this week I hope that’s not unreasonable. Um I’m glad I didn’t write last week now I need to get my head back in the book. Um I don’t leave to Wednesday afternoon so fingers crossed I should have three good writing days and then. Um, a polykon stuff doesn’t start till Thursday night. So I should have good writing time Thursday morning and then also um Friday morning I don’t have anything until that afternoon. So thinking good thoughts that I’m not distracted by other stuff should. Should work out so um, regardless I will be here in the garden tomorrow morning and it’s ah it’s nice to talk to you all again? Um I would say I missed you but it’s kind of weird because I don’t hear I mean I guess I get your comments and stuff. So. But yeah, it’s nice to be back on the podcast nice to be back in my garden if only for a few days and I will talk to you all tomorrow you all take care bye-bye.
//
Transcript
00:00.00
jeffekennedy
Good morning everyone this is Jeffe Kennedy author of fantasy romance and romantic fantasy I’m here with my first cup of coffee. Ah, wonderful suck that puppy down That’s what she said is what she said today is Thursday April Seventh Twenty Twenty two and back in my home temporarily anyway, heading out this afternoon. So sorry that I did not do a podcast Tuesday or Wednesday my mother already gave me the heavy sigh of disappointment. But I was kind of impressed I did one from the hotel on Monday I also got my 2000 words from the hotel on Monday so that felt like a real win. Um, that was kind of followed by then successive of not wins. But oh it wasn’t so bad. Um, we had a really nice time I had a wonderful body treatment Monday afternoon my skin is soft again I told the girl who gave me the body scrab and herbal wrap that I needed to be de-lizarded and. Afterwards she said you know you had a lot of dead skin on your arms and I’m like I know ah this is why I’m telling you why can’t we do this at home I don’t understand why I don’t have an effective way to do this at home I do try those body scrubs and stuff and. Doesn’t do the same thing anyway. so ah yeah so that was great. We had a wonderful time. We decided Tuesday morning just to get up and go um which is usually. But we want to do we. We don’t like hanging out in the morning’s delaying. We’d rather just get on the road and go so that’s what I did um, we probably let the hotel by about 7 um the upshot was is I did not get. Podcast done on Tuesday I did not get words done I um, we got home now about a quarter to 2 something like that and then um, the cleaning ladies arrived which is just always chaotic.
02:39.41
jeffekennedy
And and I dealt with business stuff. There was SFWA stuff that it piled up. It’s I knew I talk about this lot a lot but it’s just amazing to me how many people. Um, if you don’t respond to their email within a day or two that they just like. Have have fits and they send you additional emails saying did you get my email and they that I had 1 person saying something well since there’s been radio silence I want to move ahead with this decision and I’m just going to make this decision and it’s like. I’m offline for two days and it’s radio silence I don’t think so I saw an interesting thread yesterday that I shared on Twitter this guy talking about the characteristics of gen x and you know it’s. Funny being part of gen x and I’m on the the older end of gen x and you know for a long time. We thought we weren’t really gen x that we were generation jones but that got lost. Um, you know so okay, fine gen x. Whatever. But I sure do share a lot of characteristics with Nx and they were talking about one of the things this guy was coming at it. He gives them business advice dealing with colleagues and so forth and a lot of it was really decent advice. But 1 thing that he mentioned is he said you know gen x is often forgotten that we are 20% of the population and he talked about how gen x grew up in a time when. Institutions failed us and that we are very cynical about institutions and it’s funny because I always thought that I was just naturally cynical about institutions that this was like something inherently me. But apparently it’s generational. But he was talking about that. A lot of the people in your organization who are probably head down and getting the work done ah are probably generation x and there were it was interesting. In fact, let me share with you hold on. So I know I don’t have to tell you guys to hold on when I pause I know we’ve been over this but here we are okay so this is interesting because he says these 42 to 57 year olds are so strange it presents golden opportunities here are 10 mind hacks to use with gen x and then he.
05:24.20
jeffekennedy
Comments at the end of this. Let me go down. Um, he says hilarious how every gen x reply was I was skeptical at first and I don’t like the words mind hack because that’s what institutions do It’s just funny. Um and he says that not everybody is like this of course. But gen x prefers to do it their way and don’t want to sweat the rules I’m so much you guys I oh isn’t that like what I talk about all the time on here is like just. Don’t sweat the rules just get it done. Um I’m trying to keep looking into the camera. Oh I know I could blow this up big – zoom is your friend Jeffe here we go. Um. Ah, this one I don’t get right? They say he says acknowledge gen x as emails quickly they will love you. Um, they grew up in a time when institutions weren’t to be trusted so well and so here we are allow gen x a balanced life. Gen x grew up with workaholic boomer parents seeing that gen x thinks work is part of life. But not why they live give them data genx says tell me how it is and cuts out the fluff for generations like millennials. This is hard because millennials want the ship. Sandwich for feedback and I’m not good at giving the shit sandwich feedback he he shares this great graphic which you know talking about gen x feeling forgotten which shows like the generation guidelines on they have the silent generation baby boomers millennials post millennials. So they like literally left out generation. Ah, which ah we’re all just in back going? Yeah, we know? of course they did um first generation not to do as well financially as their parents are their kids. Um. And so he has like doing these things with generation x say do it your way use. Well-w writtentten emails. He says that we grew up with grammar and we don’t like the shorthand of texts which I don’t I never like put you instead of y o you say I got it. Focus on the mission with them allow life balance bond as people but I mean isn’t that a thing ah be direct acknowledge that they exist expect pessimism expect work work life celebration. Ah my friend Kelly Robson
08:05.62
jeffekennedy
That’s the one who retweeted that into my timeline and she commented that she wonders how much of this just general enough to ring true like a horoscope which maybe but I don’t know and it was interesting Anyway I do feel some of those memes. Ah, the Generation X means when like the bloom the boomers and the millennials are fighting and the millennials are doing the whole okay boomer thing at its the as 20% Generation X are just sitting back with our glass of wine going. Okay. I’m just gonna enjoy my wine.
08:49.87
jeffekennedy
Okay, actually found the meme I wanted so I will put that on the post. So anyway, back to the ostensible topic of this podcast. Ah but you know here at first cup of copy. We talk about anything. Would say anything you guys want to, but it’s what I want to which is probably a very generation x thing. So yesterday yesterday was just busy. You know 1 thing about being a an author. And I think this is you know, but bla not being articulate, um, especially self-publishing is you wear a lot of different hats and so yesterday I was supposed to post my blog to the SFF 7 blog. Um I was tired. I ah had to kind of stomach upset Tuesday night and didn’t sleep all that well slept too long Wednesday morning and I’d been thinking about doing a podcast and so that was the first thing that went sorry mom. Ah, but then I didn’t end up getting the blog post done. Ever yesterday. Um, and I didn’t get that many words I was just a little creaky I got 1247 words yesterday which kept me on track anyway and then i. Had other things that I had to do because obviously being president of Sawa comes with certain obligations I had to go sit in on the author’s coalition call to discuss an issue with them that has come up with our members and that was at 11 my time which cuts into my writing time I almost never accept meetings during my writing time and all of these people were clearly um, much more used to having long meetings than I am I am very much the could this meeting have been an email kind of gal. And I’m also a let’s move this meeting alone and the people on this call spent a lot of time talking very slowly and thoughtfully about things which was great but at the same time I was thinking I need to get off this call and then because I’d ask to be put on the agenda I was at the end. In fact, i. Really very much considered just popping in at the end and skipping ah the risk. But then I thought well that would be rude since I’m coming in asking these people for help. So but it’s funny because I’m heading out this afternoon to go to the Jack Williamson lectureship and.
11:42.90
jeffekennedy
1 of the the first official events is going to be Walter John Williams in conversation with Connie Willis 2 2 wonderful greats talking about Walter’s career and I’ve heard walter talk about his career before and this is at Eastern New Mexico University so this can be great for the students and everything and. And there’s a dinner afterwards. So his thing starts at five thirty and I like really really wanted to get there at like six fifteen so I didn’t have to so I could leave here later and sort of waltz in and not listen to the rest of Walter talking about his career again. It’s not that I don’t. Like Walter I think he’s a great guy but that this is how I am and and I was talking with Darynda Jones because she lives in portalis where this is going on and we were talked about scheduling and I’m like sorry you going to this thing and she’s like well yeah i. I thought I would to be nice to be supportive and I’m like oh is that a thing I was so awful you guys so reader I am going to these things to be nice because dorda is making me. So anyway I had to be in on this call I finished the call came off got another hour of words and then I had to spend an hour I successfully got another SFWA meeting canceled. So go me. But. then you know so then I was like going through emails and dealing with stuff these emails that people were annoyed that I hadn’t answered. Um you know it’s funny. This is probably like another tangent but I got an email from an unnamed person whose famous author parent died. Some time ago and they wanted to know about having that parent named SFWA Grandmaster and that it had been explained to them that it is sefwas policy longstanding policy not to name dead people grandmasters and there are a number of reasons for this. Partly because it’s the intent behind grandmaster to have them interact with the community and be you know, share their wisdom and so forth. It. Also um, we have lots of living authors to celebrate and if we start. Going back and celebrating the dead ones you can imagine I mean it’s just going to create a backlog. Um, we also don’t take away grand masteror because that’s so fraught so this.
14:25.80
jeffekennedy
This person wrote to me and it was perfectly fine. You know, write me an email and say I understand this is policy I’d like to see it change for my parent my deceased parent and everyone will appreciate it and it’s like well we’re probably not going to change this policy because of the aforementioned reasons. But then there may be some ah something else. We could do so I was going to investigate that and then this person sent another email the next day reiterating same but sent it to the entire board and say well I emailed Jeffe Kennedy yesterday but I’ve not received a reply and so now I’m emailing. Everyone looks like really. Anyway, so I then spent an hour on the phone with a cover artist because I’ve been doing this rebranding for the Sorcerous Moons’s covers which have not been up for sales since like November because I’ve been doing this cover rebranding and. She um, did an amazing amazing first cover and then the second cover is I mean it’s taken a long time shit like she couldn’t do it December because of life and all of these things going on and then. She said can we get this done in January instead you know, thank you for being understanding. You know it was moving and her grandmother was sick and all of these things and anyway now it’s April and we still have only 1 cover you should disappear in the middle of March. And this series is one that I sold to Scribd for audiobook conversion and so they want the rebranded covers so they’re like where are these covers. That’s how they their emails say they come across from that voice where are these covers. No, they don’t. They’re very nice. They’re very patient but they do want these covers and so I this gal had not come back to me for two weeks and I sent her a couple of emails saying we have to get this done. She didn’t reply so I opened a Paypal dispute and so then. 1 of the things I found when I got back Tuesday was she did reply and she’s like she family and had taken her to Mexico because she was so stressed and all of this and anyway so ended up the easiest thing for me is to ever finish it and she does great work. And I I’d like started to line up other people but there are these intricacies of dealing with covers that if you don’t have the layers file which is a Psd file a photoshop type file for that first cover. It’s very difficult for another artist to go in and and.
17:14.92
jeffekennedy
Replicate because they can’t see exactly how they created the effects they kept you know they’re like do you know what font used and like no I don’t know what font she used. It’s it’s remarkably arcane and and I get it. This is not made up stuff because I hear this from different cover artists when they’re. Trying to replicate what someone else did or at least match the style. So. It’s definitely to my advantage to to get this gal to do it and so I’d suggest I said maybe we should just set up a Zoom call so we could. Just talk through because I could tell we were not communicating well and because I would say things and emails that she would you know like apparently not have process so she said actually that would be amazing. So we spent over an hour on the Zoom yesterday afternoon. Thrashing through the design of the next 5 covers. So at least it’s done but it was like you know that’s a whole lot. You know I was sort of musing over all of the things that I spend my day on that aren’t actually putting words down on the page. So. The good news is is that these covers will be done in a week she and she was she was very sweet and she started out and and maybe I’m winding back around to this generation x thing I have no idea how old she is. She is not english is not her first language I think she is um I don’t know sure it it seems like eastern european type name and that might be the accent I’m not great with accents but it was amazing because she just shared her desktop. It was amazing watching her put this together on photoshop I mean she’s incredibly skilled and talented but she started out the calls apologizing. Get again, you know and saying how much she appreciated me being patient with her and how the last three months have been so difficult and all of this and it’s back to me. Having to force myself to be nice because I kind of want to just move past that. It’s like ga yeah yeah, whatever I appreciate that you’re sorry um I actually don’t need any more apologies I just want the work done which to me drives exactly with what he was saying in that thread about generation x right? as opposed to the. Shit sandwich that millennials want for those of you who don’t know what that means it means that you if you have negative feedback you you take the shit and then you sandwich it between nice stuff so you start out with like a compliment and tell them how great they are and then you give them the shit and then finish up with how great there and what’s going right.
19:57.10
jeffekennedy
Which I am not good at doing and but you know I I think I do tend to just cut to the data and it’s like thank you for the apology. Um all I care about is getting the stunt. Let’s just get it done So That’s definitely in line with that thread Right. Maybe not just general like a horoscope. So Anyway today I am didn’t try to get words done I’m not doing writer coffee they asked and I was like I’ve got to focus on work and then get out of here by about one and do the lectureship stuff tomorrow Morning. We are going to have a very special podcast I don’t want to over promise but the plan is for me to be broadcasting from the home of the Lovely Darynda Jones So we will do a joint video session and if you have questions if you have anything you want us to discuss. Yeah, it’s your opportunity. So I will talk to you all tomorrow and yeah otherwise um, hope things are going well in your lives and that you are juggling all of the balls. Ah big balls. That’s what she said you all take care Bye bye.