Poetry Friday: “Worm Tale”

Some poems almost write themselves; the idea pops into your head, you start writing, and before you know it a perfect little masterpiece is smiling back at you.

And then there are poems like this one.

I wrote the first draft of this back in 2011. No sooner had I lifted pen from paper, when I decided to make some changes. And then a couple months later I made some more changes.

Then I thought about those changes…and made some more.

Do you see where this is going?

Well, I just finally completed what I believe to be the final draft – but of course, at this rate, that’s a rather tenuous statement. Many thanks to the Poet’s Garage, my online critique group, who helped me fix a few sticky lines. As with most advice, I took some of it to heart - and ignored the rest of it (no offense, folks!).  Hopefully what I ignored won’t come back to bite me!  For all of today’s Poetry Friday fun, be sure to visit Betsy at Teaching Young Writers!

“Worm Tale”

Mommy worm
was very firm;
she sternly warned her baby worm
to be aware of where one squirms
and stay away from dirty germs.
She said, “Where earth is warm and firm
is no place for a worm to squirm,
so do not go near sunny ferns
or you’ll get dirty, germy burns!”
But baby worm was unconcerned,
and one day from the dirt returned
with fern stains on her wormy shirt
and germs upon her dirty skirt.
Her eyes were sore, her head – it hurt.
She couldn’t even eat dessert!
So mommy worm told baby worm
it only takes one dirty germ
to make a tiny tummy turn.
But baby worm showed no concern
for mommy’s warning where to squirm;
next day, a naughty little worm
was back to squirming under fern.

I guess some worms will never learn.

- - © 2013, Matt Forrest Esenwine

If you have a great message and no one hears it, does it make a sound?

As a children’s writer still searching for that first publishing deal, I know what it’s like to write and write and write and wonder if anyone knows or cares.

This blog is helpful in making known my name, abilities, and style…but still, if I only posted once every couple of weeks, it would not be as effective. I wouldn’t have the number of people, like you, visiting, reading, commenting, and sharing.  Conversely, if I was to post more than twice a week, my blog could, perhaps, gain more followers, acquire more voiceover or copy writing clients, and pique the interest of an agent or publisher.

I mention this to make a point. No matter what type of promoting you’re doing – marketing a book, promoting your blog, advertising a business – what you say is only important if other people read it. And the only way others will read it is if they know it’s been written.

I know, I know…this is all pretty self-explanatory. But let me explain where I’m going with this…

The necessity of advertising

Many of the folks with whom I correspond hate the idea of advertising. They know it exists and they know I make a pseudo-living out of it, but they feel like advertising is a 4-letter word. That it’s somehow subversive, mind-altering brainwashing that I’m involved in.  They hate Facebook ads and Google ads and TV & radio commercials and billboards – and act like they’re above it all because they don’t fall for any of corporate America’s ploys.

They’re too cool to be influenced or swayed by a message provoking them to turn over their money.

They don’t realize how ubiquitous advertising is, nor how effective it is, even on people like themselves.

No matter who you are, advertising affects you. We wake up in advertised beds, brush our teeth with advertised toothpaste, drink advertised coffee or tea before we leave our house or apartment (which was advertised before you bought it), and head off to work wearing advertised clothes while driving advertised cars, advertised bicycles, or walking on advertised shoes.

Nearly everything we own in our lives has been advertised, and we choose one product over another because of the benefit(s) we perceive from that product.

(Keep in mind, also, that advertising doesn’t necessarily involve money. Jesus advertised everlasting life, and never asked for a penny.)

Psychological egoism and why we’re all looking out for #1

English philosopher Thomas Hobbes (1588-1679), a proponent of psychological egoism

Psychological egoism is a richly debated theory that states that every voluntary action one undertakes is done for that individual’s self-gratification. In other words, everything that each of us does is done for our own self-interests (you can learn more about the specifics of this doctrine here).

Why do we buy a red car instead of a blue? Because we like red more. Why do we choose the steak over the haddock filet? Because we like steak more.

Why buy Colgate instead of Crest? Because of the perceived benefit of using Colgate.

Of course, some folks will argue that selfless acts of kindness or sacrifice negate this theory; however, one can argue that engaging in a selfless act of kindness is also done for one’s own gratification. For example, if I have $100, I could pay some bills, donate it to a local food shelter, or go to a strip club for a few hours.  The choice I make ultimately depends on which option brings me the most satisfaction or happiness.

And chances are, I’d be paying bills for products or services that were advertised, donating money to a food shelter that had been advertised (perhaps via a news article or Public Service Announcement), or going to a strip club that was advertised.

Now, about that message…

It’s not what you said, it’s how (often) you said it

Getting back to my initial thoughts, what if you had a great message and no one knew?  You could create the world’s greatest widget and develop a unique, effective commercial ad campaign…but if no one hears or sees it, you might as well not have bothered, right? That is where frequency comes into play.

In radio and TV, the more often you air your commercial, the better – because the more people will see or hear it. Run one commercial a day on radio and a few solid potential customers might take notice, but run it several times throughout the day – at various times in the morning, midday, afternoon, and evening – and then you’re really connecting with lots of potential customers.

But that many commercials costs a lot of money, right?  Well, let me give you a real-life example of how running on a low budget doesn’t mean you can’t attract big-budget numbers of people.

Many years ago, when I was working in Vermont as a radio producer, our sales manager met a restaurant owner who wanted to advertise but didn’t think he could afford 4 or 5 spots (commercials) every day. So we suggested doing something unusual: we would run 10 spots one day a week – Friday. While this wouldn’t give him the weekly exposure of a more expensive schedule, he would pretty much own the airwaves that one day, with his commercial airing almost every hour all day long.

Within just a few weeks, he told our manager that customers were telling him they not only heard about his restaurant on our radio station, but they were telling him they were hearing him all the time!

“I’m always hearing your commercials!” one person told him.

“I hear you every day!” said another.

In the battle of perception versus reality…perception won, again.

Get your message out there!

Are you selling cars, furniture, or fertilizer? Are you selling yourself, your abilities, your experience? Whatever it is – whether you realize you’re selling something or not – spend some time determining the best way to promote your message. If you’re a business, a writer, a job seeker…you have to let people know you’re there!

And if you’re the type who doesn’t like promotion, advertising, or marketing…enjoy your obscurity!  You might think your message is awesome, but it’s only awesome if someone hears it.

Your product might change the world, but only if the world knows about it.

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I’m obviously happy to talk to anyone who has questions about advertising and copy writing and that sort of thing…if you have questions about creating a commercial or getting voice work (like on-hold messaging or video narration) done for your business, feel free to contact me at matt(at)mattforrest(dot)com!

Commercials: The little things are starting to pile up

Last week, I wrote about details in writing - whether it’s for commercials or creative writing. I spotlighted a couple of commercials that I thought could have been improved and one that I felt was well-done.

And because there seems to be no end to the number of TV commercials that annoy me…I present ’Part 2.’

I hadn’t planned on doing another post on commercials today – or even on advertising in general – but soon after I had finished writing last week’s diatribe, I felt another one welling up inside me.  So please forgive me for indulging in a second little rant; heck, it’s my blog, after all!

Of course I hope, as always, that some of points I make about copy writing and production can be directly correlated to other types of writing such as poems, stories, and books.  Continuity errors, misleading untruths, and confusing messages are hardly confined to the advertising realm.

Which unravels faster: the clothes or the message?

Some things get better with time: wine, cheese, friendships. A sales message should not be one of them. In the case of the following commercial, it took repeated viewings – and an explanation from my wife – for me to understand just what’s going on. This is a perfect example of a message getting lost in creativity:

Here’s your trivia question: what’s with the yarn?? Why is this car unraveling all these clothes? If you don’t know, go ahead and watch it again and see if you can figure it out.

Now then, if you have the answer, congratulations – you did better than me.  I had seen this TV spot innumerable times and never knew what was going on.  It took my wife at least seven viewings before she suddenly announced, “I finally figured it out!”  She explained that the clothes are unraveling because winter is over and the car is bringing spring to the world. In actuality, after I paid close attention to it, the commercial is advertising a sale.

No prices, no features, no Unique Selling Proposition…just an announcement for a sale.  This commercial basically takes half a minute to say, “We’re having a sale.”  I could be way off base here, but wouldn’t it be nice to know why I should care about the sale – or why I should want an Infiniti? Is it too much to ask for a few little details? Perhaps, if one can afford to own an Infiniti, one already knows all about the features of the Infiniti and therefore one needn’t concern oneself with the price of an Infiniti.

But that negates the need for a sale now, doesn’t it?

Fun with science

Every time this commercial comes on the TV, my wife sighs. Not because of the commercial itself, but because of my reaction to a mere 1.5 seconds of it:

This isn’t a bad commercial…but it is misleading. Check out what’s happening :15 in. See those little yellowish critters, squiggling around in the sewage? Those are supposed to be enzymes, breaking down the waste.  Well, guess what?

Here’s a news flash:  enzymes are MOLECULES, folks!

They are naturally-occurring chemicals - not living creatures that scoot around inside your septic tank, chewing up your poop like Pac-Man chasing after a cherry.

This is what drives me nuts.  I know this dramatization has nothing to do with the true efficacy of Rid-X, but when I see this blatant error (or misleading animation – I’m not sure which), it makes me wonder what else I’m being misled about.  Be true to your subject! Whether you’re writing a commercial, poem, or novel…remember that suspension of disbelief only goes so far.

A good commercial, made better

This spot, by contrast, is a fine example of a clear, compelling message:

Zero Water TV spot: ‘The Waiter”

Zero Water filters are so good, they can filter out wine from tap water! I have no idea if that’s true, but it only took me one viewing of this commercial to understand that message. Like most good commercials, it’s a story: wine is poured into tap water, tap water is filtered, the Zero Water filter filters out the wine while the competition fails. And the genuinely surprised reaction by the man in the audience is a nice touch – a small detail, like we talked about last week - that makes a big impact.

But the commercial wasn’t always this good. Here’s how it first appeared:

The two biggest changes the ad agency made were the most important. First, they took the focus off the waiter; his goofy expression takes away from the straightforward, realistic style of a more-or-less-serious spot. And the reaction of the woman was, well, uhh – almost a non-reaction. She’s just sort of…there.  The gentleman in the newer spot appears to be honestly surprised and impressed, and that air of realism is important to the overall tone of the spot.

Be honest, be clear!

Don’t muddle your message with some cutesy ‘hook’ – like pulling strands of yarn off people to sell a luxury car in the spring. “Spring” is not the message, and “yarn” certainly isn’t, either.  And don’t assume your potential customers are too stupid to know what you’re telling them, such as enzymes that go chomp-chomp-chomping around your septic system.  Be honest, be clear, and make sure viewers (or listeners, if you’re in radio) know what you’re selling and why they should care.

Those two things – the product/service and the benefit of that product/service – should be first and foremost in your mind.

I’ll take “highly effective” over “highly creative” any day.

Commercials: It’s the little things that mean so much

After spending April celebrating National Poetry Month, I’m glad to get back into one of the other aspects of this blog: advertising! But as you might know, I try to offer something for all writers when I discuss voice work, commercials, or copy writing.  In past posts, I’ve touched on a variety of topics that, although they are about commercial production, the insights I try to impart can be utilized in various forms of writing.

I hope I can say the same for this post – because it’s all about details.

You see, I’m a stickler for them. Some might say I’m a perfectionist, but I don’t think so.  I am, to use an overused cliché, very detail-oriented. And although I admit some things get past me, I will usually pore over the details of the scripts and audio I’m working on to make sure everything is as it should be. Which is why I am constantly surprised that glaring inconsistencies get past entire boardrooms and committees made up of advertising execs.

Are you sure that’s the Downward Dog?

Take, for instance, this commercial that’s been going around for a few months:

On the surface, there isn’t really anything terribly wrong with this spot. It tries to connect with the viewer by offering scenarios that might be familiar with potential clients. It has some good clips of average hotel customers engaging in a variety of activities one would might expect. But what’s going on there, 10 seconds into the spot? Go ahead and watch it again, and pause at exactly :10.

Now, I’m no yoga expert, but I’m pretty sure that woman is attempting a pose that is NOWHERE CLOSE to the pose on the TV. Aside from the fact that I can’t imagine anyone eating cereal while doing yoga…what is going on there?? Who was in charge of continuity? How did this get past everyone – from producers to director to editing crew to boardroom to client – and get the green light? Perhaps they all hoped that this gaffe might give them some additional exposure by being spotlighted on Matt Forrest’s Radio, Rhythm & Rhyme blog, in which case, I suppose it paid off.

The seafood commercial that’s not:

Now let’s take a look at a great example of why it’s important that the imagery you use in your “highly creative” commercial should directly relate to your product:

OK, so what’s the one image you recall from that commercial? Most folks would probably say bears, which aren’t popularly known for eating vegetables. Or perhaps fish, since that’s what the mother bear was trying to catch for dinner. I doubt most people would say the first thing they remember is “new flavours of seasoned vegetable blends that can be microwaved.”

Did you realize those are new vegetable blends? Did you know the bags can be microwaved?  Did you realize these blends are seasoned? Do you know any of the flavours?

Now, maybe I’m way off base here, but these seem to be pretty important points, wouldn’t you say? I mean, if you’re selling bags of seasoned frozen vegetables that don’t need to be opened before cooking, and they come in all sorts of new, chef-inspired flavours, shouldn’t you be telling people this – instead of leaving them with the image in their head of bears fishing for salmon??

By the way, while preparing this blog post, I mentioned this commercial to my 18-year-old daughter, who was aware of it and told me there’s also one featuring wolves (you can view that here).  But hold on there, Jethro – even though I said she remembered the commercial, I didn’t say she remembered what it was for.  She knew it was advertising frozen vegetables, but couldn’t recall the flavours, the benefits, or the brand.

Which is good news for Green Giant, Hanover, Pictsweet, and any other frozen vegetable brand out there.

The beauty in realism

When one considers all the times that ad agencies lose sight of their message, goof up their continuity, or get bogged down with trying to be funny instead of being effective…it’s nice to see spots like this:

This commercial fulfills all its obligations.  It immediately draws the viewer into a story involving a number of different types of people - young folks, adults, men, women – all of whom are potential customers. It creates interest in the product, deftly showcasing the Galaxy’s new features by showing, not telling (something all those creative writers out there know more than just a little about). And it not only showcases the features, but more importantly, it demonstrates the benefits of those features.

Hands-free answering and viewing?  Cool.  Sharing pics simply by touching phones back-to-back, or taking multiple quick-action photos and seeing a time-lapse of all the action in one picture?  Way cool.  Remote-control of your TV?  Now we’re talkin’ ice cold.  But the best part of the spot?  Four magical words that come at the :40 mark.  Right after a young woman takes a photo and shares it with her friend by placing the backs of their phones together, the grandmother asks that same young woman if she’d mind sharing the photo on her phone, too – to which the young woman replies:

“Yours doesn’t do that.”

Ouch.  Harsh, no?  Yet we’ve all been there. We’ve either been the young woman or we’ve been the grandmother, in some circumstance or another, where we really, really, wanted to do something, but couldn’t. Being left out sucks – and this commercial reinforces that feeling gently but powerfully, with just four little words.

Creative writers, take note!

Details.  Show, don’t tell.  Relatable characters.  The same things that make commercials work (or not work) make your writing work or not work, whether it’s a picture book, poem, or novel.

If you are a creative writer, none of this is news to you – but hopefully it serves as a reminder how important these sorts of things are. If you’re a copy writer or producer, none of this should be news to you, either – but obviously a couple of these points got past at least a few people at Bird’s Eye and Homewood Suites.

Frozen veggies, hotel rooms, or smartphones…vampires, love triangles, or puppies…no matter what you’re writing about, no matter why, be good to your subject.  Draw attention, create interest, tell your story – and pay attention to the details!

“Love means swallowing your heart” – and eleven other things you would have learned at the 2013 NE-SCBWI Conference

This past weekend was a long one. I spent Friday through Sunday at the New England chapter of the SCBWI’s (Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators) 2013 conference in Springfield, Mass, catching up with friends and fellow writers and filling my cranium with knowledge and inspiration. It was a fun time, but very educational, as always; unfortunately, three days of picture books, chapter books, and YA novels goes by extremely quickly.

Against this backdrop of serious discussions and goofy conversations, slick PowerPoints and old-fashioned pens & papers, door prizes, open mics, and wine & cheese socials…all of us who attended learned a great deal about the industry, our craft, and ourselves. Listing everything I gleaned from the conference would be impossible; however, I thought I would share a few choice tidbits that stuck in my mind.

Here, then, are one dozen of the many things I either learned – or was reminded of – at the 2013 NESCBWI Conference, “Word by Word: The Art of Craft:”

1) It’s OK if your first draft sucks. Yes, we all know that first drafts will go through innumerable changes before they ever become final drafts…but this is good to remember. Just because you don’t like your first draft doesn’t mean it’s destined for the circular file; revise, revise, revise!

2) Having an intimate knowledge of the rules is important if you want to break them. Author Chris Eboch (The Eyes of the Pharaoh, The Ghost on the Stairs) taught a workshop titled, “The Elusive Voice” and outlined some ideas and methods for giving your characters their own unique voices.  During the course of this 2-hour intensive, she reminded us  that once one learns the rules, understands the rules, and masters the rules…one can break the rules. Good advice for poets, too!

3) Every story has a voice. Chris said that it doesn’t matter who the narrator is.  It might be a strong voice, a poetic voice, or an awkward or clunky voice – so remember that just because your story has a ‘voice,’ doesn’t mean it’s a good one!

4) If you realize you forgot to bring your business cards 20 minutes after you leave for a conference that is 2 1/2 hours away…take the time and turn around and get them! Still kicking myself over that one.

5) Becoming an overnight success takes a lot longer than you might think. So many published authors had such similar stories: it took five years to land the first contract, took 10 years to write the first manuscript that was sold, it took over 50 rejections before getting an acceptance.  Knowing this doesn’t really make things any easier for people like me, but it is a little reassuring to know I’m not the only one beating my head against the wall, trying to find an agent or publisher.

6) Bacon is like sex. Even if the bacon isn’t all that good…it’s still bacon! (This came from one of those “goofy conversations” to which I alluded earlier. And no, we weren’t drinking.)

7) Love means swallowing your heart. This was perhaps the coolest thing I learned all weekend, thanks to author/illustrator Grace Lin (Where the Mountain Meets the Moon, Ling & Ting).  She explained that the Chinese language – which, of course, consists of characters representing complete words – is actually made up of multiple words or concepts. For example, the Chinese character for “peaceful” is a combination of the characters for “house” and “woman,” and literally means “woman in the house.”  Similarly, the Chinese character for “love” is made up of characters representing three separate concepts: “to swallow,” “heart,” and “person walking.” Literally, love means swallowing (or taking in) one’s heart. Very poetic, yes?

8) It’s OK to sell your soul to corporate America to pay the bills. Well, Grace didn’t exactly say that – I’m paraphrasing – but that was the takeaway. She admitted that, while she was struggling to make her path as an illustrator, she designed kitschy products like coffee mugs and T-shirts that declared, “World’s Greatest Dad!” and that sort of thing. She said she was simply doing her part to help keep America’s landfills full!

9) It’s also OK to not write poetry in syllabic verse. Aspiring writers like Yours Truly are constantly being told to write poetry in perfect meter and rhyme, but that’s not necessarily true. Children’s poet/author Leslie Bulion (The Universe of Fair, At the Seafloor Café) shed light on this during her 2-hour intensive workshop, “The Art and Craft of Poetic Form.” Perfect rhyme…yes. Unless you have a really good reason for a slant rhyme, it better be perfect. (See Rule #2, above!)

Meter, however, is something else. Leslie writes in accentual verse, meaning she concerns herself with the stressed beats per each line, but not the specific meter. This means that, for example, a line she writes in trochaic tetrameter may or may not have four precise metrical feet of two beats (stressed/unstressed) each. I’ve always tried to be very tight with my metrical syllabic verse…but thanks to Leslie, I feel I can lighten up a little!

10) Just because hotel beds are uncomfortable doesn’t mean you won’t oversleep. I tossed and turned all Friday night, yet I still woke up with barely 15 minutes left before breakfast ended. I made it there with 5 minutes to spare, not because I was wide awake and full of energy – but because no one messes with my breakfast.

11) Verse novelists are not mentally unstable. If you are a verse novelist, this may or may not come as a surprise to you.  Padma Venkatraman (Island’s End, Climbing the Stairs) had one of the best lines of the conference when, during a panel discussion on historical fiction, she announced that verse novelists, like many writers, hear multiple voices in their heads. The only reason they are not clinically diagnosed with schizophrenia, she said, is because they only listen to the voices and don’t start up conversations with them.

12) If a hotel is going to serve lunch to hundreds of people all packed into one large ballroom, serving black bean soup is probably not the best choice for an appetizer. Good thing they opened the doors. Just sayin.’

My thanks to everyone at NESCBWI for their hard work and success with pulling off another terrific conference, and I’m already looking forward to next year’s! I had a chance to chat with old friends and meet new ones, and am eager to get working on a couple of new projects…which I’m predicting will be written in accentual verse. Thanks, Leslie!

National Poetry Month: “The Bubble Collector”

This year, I’ve had the good fortune of being able to interview two extremely talented and beloved children’s poets, Douglas Florian and Charles Ghigna.  Today, on the last day of National Poetry Month, I’m pleased to present this interview with one of our country’s newest writers, Vikram Madan, whose first book, “The Bubble Collector,” has just been published.  Madan wrote, illustrated, and self-published the book, so it’s been a major project for him; I thought it might be interesting to get some perspective on how this project came to be, and the path he has taken to publication…

Vikram Madan was born and raised in India, where he developed an early love for poetry and cartooning. Arriving in the U.S. for graduate studies, Vikram found himself drawing editorial cartoons for a Seattle newspaper, The Daily, garnering multiple awards in the process from the Society of Professional Journalists, the Washington Press Association, and others. Vikram subsequently worked in the Seattle hi-tech industry for many years while continuing to cartoon and write poetry on the side. The Bubble Collector, a collection of original, self-illustrated humorous poetry is his first book. (view the trailer for the book HERE.)  Vikram currently studies traditional art technique at the Gage Academy of Art in Seattle.

Vikram, you have said that growing up in India, you had “fairly limited access” to books…so tell us, how did you come to not only appreciate reading, but writing, particularly for children?

My mother was an elementary school teacher and instilled an early love for reading in my family. At the time I was growing up, books were a rarity in that few people I knew could afford to buy them. I was a voracious reader as a kid, but most of the time I was usually reading the same book over and over again! It was hard to come by books that you actually wanted to read, particularly poetry. I still remember that the first time I read Edgar Allan Poe’s ‘The Raven’, was inside – of all places- a dog-eared copy of MAD Magazine!

I am an engineer by training and learned to write by doing it, primarily through trial and error. It was after my children were born that I discovered the delightful world of kid’s books and it felt like a natural evolution to write for younger audiences, particularly since I never really grew up myself after all.

How did children’s poets like Jack Prelutsky and Shel Silverstein influence your writing or artistic style?

When I first started reading aloud to my kids, Dr. Seuss was an early favorite. I hadn’t really thought about writing/illustrating kid’s poetry till the day I accidentally wandered into a travelling exhibit of Dr. Seuss manuscripts at a local mall and was amazed to see the struggle and rework that had gone into each of his books.

It was an epiphany to look behind the curtain and realize that genius is indeed 99% perspiration! For the first time I felt that if I ‘worked hard enough at it’, perhaps I too might be able to create some decent illustrated poetry for kids.

Jack Prelutsky’s work propelled me from thinking about ‘poetry’ to thinking about ‘humorous poetry’. Mr. Prelutsky’s work also set forth a whole new high bar (for me) for where I needed to take my rhythm, meter, and use of language.

Shel Silverstein’s work was (pardon the mixed metaphor) the final missing smack to my head. Here was humor sculpted out of the mischievous interplay of funny poems and cartoon-like drawings! I finally saw a way to pull my three interests – humor, poetry, cartooning – together.

I’m sure the connection of you and Silverstein both being cartoonists is not lost on you!  How does it feel when people make that comparison, and how do you make your own work unique?

Somewhat ironically, one of the most common bits of advice out there for fledgling poets is “Don’t say your work is ‘Just like Shel Silverstein’ unless you’re actually Shel Silverstein.”  Shel was a master of the medium (and much, much more fabulous at everything he did). I don’t think I’ve earned the right to even occupy the same paragraph as himJ. His voice remains unique – I can’t replicate it even if I try (so I don’t have to worry about differentiating myself).

While most poetry collections these days focus on one subject, The Bubble Collector covers a variety of different topics.  Many are silly rhyming poems like “Ballrus” and “I Poked a Cyclops in the Eye,” but then you throw in more contemplative pieces like “Shark,” that elicit more thoughtfulness than humour.  How did you determine which poems to include?

My understanding is publishers prefer thematically-linked collections because this makes for an easier sales pitch to buyers – and buyers in turn know exactly what they’re getting (“Cat Poems”, “Poems about Robots”, etc.).

When I started working on ‘The Bubble Collector’, I found it hard to restrict myself to one particular topic or theme because the vision I had in my head was closer to Jack Prelutsky’s and Shel Silverstein’s collections (“Pizza the Size of the Sun”, “Everything on It”, etc), in which the endless variation is what, IMHO, makes them such fun to read.

Poetry is always open to interpretation and poems are what you personally make them out to be. What’s contemplative for one person may well be humorous for another.  (For example, the title poem in my collection is a light-hearted, silly poem on the surface, but reads very differently if you treat the ‘bubbles’ as an allegory for ‘happiness’ or ‘dreams’).  I tried including poems that span a wide range of styles, language-levels, and ‘angles’. It’s been particularly gratifying for me that every single reader of the book seems to have a different favorite poem, so there truly is something for everyone in there.

Vikram, you and I have both been part of the Kidlitosphere phenomenon that is Poetry Friday, where poets and bloggers share their material, interviews, and thoughts with the world.  How has Poetry Friday helped you, and what have you learned from the relationships you’ve developed?

I was excited to discover the Poetry Friday (PF) community last year and amazed at how quickly they welcomed me into their fold. Prior to this, I had a hard time calling myself a ‘poet’ (because I didn’t know who all these people were who called themselves ‘poet’ were). Now I proudly call myself one (Thanks, PF!)   The ongoing feedback from the PF community really helped me keep my momentum going, especially when it came to the slog it takes to finish the book. I’m looking forward to getting to know more and more of the PF folks better.

Why did you decide to self-publish? Had you tried submitting to agents or publishing houses, or was that never a consideration?

Based on my past experiences (i.e. several years spent contributing to slush piles everywhere), I knew that pitching ‘The Bubble Collector’ – a non-thematic, self-illustrated, eclectic and large poetry collection targeting a wide range of ages from a previously unpublished author/illustrator – was going to be a tough sell to any editor or agent. I made a few agent queries early in the life of the project and wasn’t surprised by the response.

I had also been tracking the growth of the self-publishing industry over the last few years, and had been intrigued with the possibility that it would allow me to get the book out not only sooner, but also in the way I envisioned it. At some point I just decided I would give self-publishing a shot for this particular book. If nothing else, it would be an educational journey that would inform my future choices.

FAIR EXCHANGE
I bith intho an apple
For I love the tasthe of fruith
Now I have a bith of apple
And the apple has my tooth

I chose the print-on-demand (POD) model, where the books themselves aren’t actually printed till someone places an order. This saves authors from having to make large upfront investments.

I went with CreateSpace.com as they offered: good templates; a free ISBN; automatic listing on Amazon sites; predictable author royalties; ‘expanded book distribution’ (so books can be ordered through any bookseller anywhere); and a thriving user community forum (essential for getting help).

At no point in the process was I irreversibly bound to utilizing their services, which gave me the option of changing my mind if I needed to.

I decided on black & white illustrations for the book to keep the overall print costs low. CreateSpace requires books be submitted as print-ready PDFs. I used Microsoft Word for laying out my book and created all the images digitally. After ~8 months of writing, drawing, editing, adjusting, tweaking and reaching my goal of 100 acceptable poems. I submitted my files and was excited to shortly thereafter hold a physical copy of the book in my hands. Up until then the entire effort had been a leap of faith but I’m happy to say I was very satisfied with the end result.

After another 2 months of correcting proofs I finally went ‘live’ earlier this year. Since then I’ve been spending a lot of time on publicity and marketing. They say the real work starts after the book is written – it’s certainly beginning to feel that way.

What surprised you most, along the way?

One surprise was how few obstacles I actually ran into in the process of putting the book together – the tools, technologies, and processes are maturing quite well. The other (bigger) surprise was how much I had underestimated the challenge of marketing and publicizing the book. I should have given the post-book phase more thought much earlier in the project.

So with 100 poems and 150 illustrations in this book, how soon do you think it will be before you’re ready to put another one together?

It’ll probably be a while – another book like this will take a minimum of a year from when I start, which won’t be till I’m done promoting this book, which will be a while.

Any plans to write in any other genres?

I have a few ideas for kid-friendly graphic novels that I hope to get to someday.

What advice would you offer other writers and poets who are trying to get published, either traditionally or via self-publishing?

This self-publishing experience has filled me with a lot of respect for the traditional publishing process. When you’re self-publishing, you’re wearing all the hats yourself, and have to ramp up on a lot of areas in order to make informed decisions – it is very much like doing a one-person startup! Traditional publishing automatically brings the expertise of dozens of specialists to the table, freeing the creator to focus on the creation itself.

What I would tell aspiring writers is that, if a project falls into an established category, and you have the patience to wait for decisions, there are definite rewards to submitting your work to the big publishers (e.g. credibility, quality, time to focus on future works). If, on the other hand, you believe strongly in your work and/or your work doesn’t fit in a defined category, you aren’t intimidated by technology and tools, and are willing to do – and learn – whatever it takes to get your work out there, then by all means look into self-publishing.

Just be aware that self-publishing today is a bit of a ‘gold rush’ – there’s only a handful of success stories - but because of the low barriers to entry, just about everybody is doing it. As a result one has to work hard to rise above the ‘noise’. In a recent interview on this blog Charles Ghigna (Father Goose) talked about the need for having a ‘platform’. I have to agree – building up an audience before you publish will make you more likely to succeed with self-publishing.

In the end, whichever path you choose, you have to hold a high bar for yourself and … just keep on writing!

Well, all the best to you, Vikram…and thanks for stopping by to chat!

If you’d like to learn more about Vikram’s book, visit Goodreads.com or Vikram’s website,  1000Poems.com!  It’s available to purchase via Amazon.com.

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Can you believe today is the last day for Irene Latham’s 2013 Progressive Poem?!?  This poem started with one blogger April 1 and has beentravelling from blog to blog all month long, with a different blogger adding a new line to the poem every day.  Finally, today, we have a completed poem, thanks to April Halprin Wayland!

Here’s the list of all the participating bloggers:

April 1  Amy Ludwig VanDerwater 2  Joy Acey 3  Matt Forrest Esenwine 4  Jone MacCulloch 5  Doraine Bennett 6  Gayle Krause 7  Janet Fagal 8  Julie Larios 9  Carrie Finison 10  Linda Baie 11  Margaret Simon 12  Linda Kulp 13  Catherine Johnson 14  Heidi Mordhorst 15  Mary Lee Hahn 16  Liz Steinglass 17  Renee LaTulippe 18  Penny Klostermann 19  Irene Latham 20  Buffy Silverman 21  Tabatha Yeatts 22  Laura Shovan 23  Joanna Marple 24  Katya Czaja 25  Diane Mayr 26  Robyn Hood Black 27  Ruth Hersey 28  Laura Purdie Salas 29  Denise Mortensen 30  April Halprin Wayland

Poetry Friday: “The Gnat and the Gnu”

Have you ever had one of those times where you think you’re being totally original, only to discover your ‘uniqueness’ has all been done before?

Yeah…this is one of those times.

During a critique group meeting in 2010, a fellow member had written a short rhyming PB manuscript about a fly and a gnat.  It was a cute story, and the word ‘gnat’ got stuck in my head.  After a week or so of mulling ideas over, I wrote the first draft of this poem. I revised it, revised it, and revised it some more. And the day before I planned to bring it to the critique group, I discovered…

Shel Silverstein had written a poem with a nearly identical title.

>sigh<

Now, I don’t think I’d ever seen his poem before (of course, anything’s possible, with my memory being what it is) so my heart sank, knowing a title like this would be a tough sell to an agent or editor.  I read Shel’s poem, which you can find HERE, and was relieved that is really wasn’t similar to mine at all – but still, titles are important things, and I’d be mortified to think that someone might read my poem and get the impression I was trying to rip him off.

And no, ‘mortified’ is not too strong a word.

I never want someone to read my material and think I’m trying to ‘be’ someone else. Not only do I want to be my own person as a writer and poet, but I take pains to try not to write similarly to anyone else, for that very reason.  So, having said this…I present to you:

The Gnat & The Gnu

Gnat said, “Hey there, what’s up, Gnu?”
Gnu said, “not much— how ‘bout you?”
Gnat sighed, “Nothing, kinda blue.”
Gnu asked, “Something I can do?”

Gnat said, “No, just wish I knew
why I’m small - not big, like you.
I have no horns, and no fur, too;
no one wants me at the zoo.
Nothing special, nothing new,
just a gnat without a clue
how to feel and what to do.
Oh, I wish I was a Gnu.”

Gnu thought hard, then said, “It’s true
I’m large, but all I do is chew;
never sprouted wings and flew,
never bathed in morning dew,
just grazed on grass and grew and grew.
Things I do are pretty few,
but I’m glad that I’m a Gnu –
so I’ll be me, and you be you.”

Satisfied, Gnat bid ‘adieu,’
happy he was not a Gnu;
And as he flew away, the Gnu
watched longingly

and Gnu…felt blue.

- © 2010, Matt Forrest Esenwine

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Not only is Laura Purdie Salas is hosting Poetry Friday today, but all month long she has been providing video ‘poem starters’ – suggestions to get your brain working!  So be sure to visit her blog and check out all of today’s Poetry Friday offerings as well as all her terrific ideas for creating poetry!

Irene Latham’s 2013 Progressive Poem is winding down!  This poem started with one blogger April 1 and is travelling from blog to blog, with a different blogger adding a new line to the poem every day. (By next Tuesday, April 30, we’ll have a completed poem!)  Here’s a complete list of all the participating bloggers, so you can follow along:

April 1  Amy Ludwig VanDerwater 2  Joy Acey 3  Matt Forrest Esenwine 4  Jone MacCulloch 5  Doraine Bennett 6  Gayle Krause 7  Janet Fagal 8  Julie Larios 9  Carrie Finison 10  Linda Baie 11  Margaret Simon 12  Linda Kulp 13  Catherine Johnson 14  Heidi Mordhorst 15  Mary Lee Hahn 16  Liz Steinglass 17  Renee LaTulippe 18  Penny Klostermann 19  Irene Latham 20  Buffy Silverman 21  Tabatha Yeatts 22  Laura Shovan 23  Joanna Marple 24  Katya Czaja 25  Diane Mayr 26  Robyn Hood Black 27  Ruth Hersey 28  Laura Purdie Salas 29  Denise Mortensen 30  April Halprin Wayland

Interview with Father Goose, Charles Ghigna

 As part of a month-long celebration of national Poetry Month, I am very pleased to bring you an interview with one of this country’s leading children’s poets!

Photo courtesy of Brigid Galloway

Charles Ghigna (pron. GEEN-yuh), a.k.a. Father Goose,  is the author of more than 5000 poems and 60 books of poetry for children and adults from Random House, Disney, Hyperion, Scholastic, Simon & Schuster, Abrams and other publishers.  His books have been featured on ABC’s “Good Morning America,” PBS, and NPR.  His poems appear in hundreds of textbooks, anthologies, and magazines from The New Yorker and Harper’s to Cricket and Highlights.  His poems also appear in the national SAT and ACT tests.  He serves as editorial advisor for the U.S. Kids magazines and is a former poetry editor of The English Journal for the National Council of Teachers of English, and nationally syndicated columnist for Tribune Media Services.

He is the recipient of grants from the National Endowment for the Arts, the Rockefeller Brothers Fund, and the Mary Roberts Rinehart Foundation.  He has presented poetry readings at the Library of Congress, The John F. Kennedy Center for the Performing Arts, the American Library in Paris, the International Schools of South America, and at hundreds of schools, conferences, libraries, and literary events throughout the U.S. and overseas.

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Ghigna lives in Homewood, Alabama, with his author wife, Debra, and their artist son, Chip.  Ghigna’s writing studio is in the attic of their home, a 1927 red brick English Tudor.  He calls his writing space his “treehouse.”

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It’s a pleasure to be able to chat with you, Charles. I mean, Father Goose! Or is it Mr. Goose? OK, so how exactly did you get that moniker…was it after your book, Tickle Day: Poems from Father Goose (Disney-Hyperion Books for Children, 1994) came out, or had you already been using the name before that?

Kids and teachers began calling me Father Goose sometime during my early days of making school visits.  My editor at Disney and I decided to use that moniker in TICKLE DAY: POEMS FROM FATHER GOOSE.  Artist Cyd Moore created the first image of Father Goose for that book.  Other illustrators began playing off the original image with their own interpretations, often including their new images of Father Goose in some of my newer books.

Sometimes my illustrators show Father Goose peeking out from behind a tree or hiding among the scene.  Readers tell me it’s fun for them to search for Father Goose in my books. The scary part for me is I’m starting to look more and more like my moniker every day!

You were born in Bayside, Queens, New York, but your folks moved to Fort Myers, Florida, when you were quite young, correct?  Looking back on things now, how did your childhood shape your interest in writing and career path?

Growing up in Florida in the 1950s and 1960s provided me with an abundance of outdoor activities, as well as an appreciation for Nature and animals; subjects I still write about today.  My early interest in writing came from a a couple of different sources.  My mother was one of the most creative people I’ve ever known.  She would make up stories and we would often act them out with homemade costumes and props.  Later she gave me my very own hand-me-down typewriter, an old 1923 Underwood.

I used to love watching the words magically appear on the paper and hearing the rhythmical clicking of the keys and the sound of the ‘bing’ at the end of each line.  It was fun getting lost in my own little world, making up my own stories and poems.  It still is.  I still have that old typewriter.  It sits here in my treehouse reminding me of that boyhood magic that got me started so many years ago.

I was recently asked why I wanted to write for children; I replied, because I feel like I still am one, in many ways! How important do you think it is, to keep that connection to our childhood? Or is it more important to try to connect to today’s children and their wants, needs, and interests? Have the basics even changed at all? 

Great questions!  No, I don’t think the basics have changed at all.  The trappings and contraptions that fill a child’s world today may be a little different from those of previous generations, but the human need for adventure, curiosity, and wonder are still the same.

When I speak to writers groups, I like to remind them to look at today’s world through the eyes of their inner child, as well as their own past experiences as a child.  It is the voice of the inner child that other children want to hear.  Children know that voice.  They trust that voice.  All other voices are inauthentic to children.

I tell them they can find their writer’s voice by simply listening to that little muse inside that says in a low, soft whisper, “Listen to this…”    I tell them that when you write for children, don’t write FOR children. Write FROM the child in you.  I tell them that the act of writing brings with it a sense of discovery, of discovering on the page something you didn’t know you knew until you wrote it.  I invite them to enter the writing process with that sense of wonder and discovery, and let it surprise you.  If it does, it will surprise your readers as well.

Your recent My Little Planet series (Picture Window Books, 2012) is geared toward younger readers, while other books, like Halloween Night: Twenty-One Spooktacular Poems (Scholastic, 2003) for example, are geared for older kids.  As someone who writes for such different age groups, how do you keep your audience, vocabulary, and subject matter focused?

Writers are actors!  The only difference is, we get to make up our own lines.  We try to get inside the minds and imaginations of the age group for whom we are writing.  We become them, then we act out on the page what we are feeling, seeing, hearing, and saying.  When I write for toddlers, I am four years old.  When I write picture books, I’m five or six or eight.  When I write for YA, I become a teen again.  When I write for adults, I am myself.

I try not to think too much about “audience, vocabulary, and subject.”  Many years ago when I first began writing early readers for Random House and other publishers, I was given charts of vocabulary appropriate for each age group and lists with the number of words appropriate for each age group.  I was encouraged to read the latest books to see what subjects were popular.  I put all of that nonsense in a drawer and forgot about it.  I didn’t want all those facts and figures getting in the way of what little confidence and inspiration I could muster.  I began writing from the only way I know how, from the inside-out, rather than from the outside-in.  I knew I could go back and edit AFTER the creative process cooled off.

More than sixty-some books later, I think my contrary techniques seem to be working out just fine.  Now having said that, I do hope my editors are not reading this. 

As writers, we can find inspiration anywhere: our families, nature, the kitchen sink, you name it. Is there a well you go to for inspiration, like your wife, son, daughter, or back porch…or do you follow the B.I.C. rule of Jane Yolen and J. Patrick Lewis (“Butt In Chair”) and eschew inspiration for good old-fashioned hard work?

Both.

Simple enough!  Now, you have said, “Style is not how you write. It is how you do not write like anyone else.” So how does one keep themselves from writing like all the folks who inspired them in the first place?

Enter your own world.  Listen to your own voice.

As much as I enjoy writing for children, I also write for adults, as well – it’s sort of a spontaneous release of maturity I need to do to clear my mind and sharpen my skills.  Why do you write for adults, and how is the process similar or dissimilar to writing for children? Are fans of Father Goose surprised when Charles Ghigna publishes a book of adult-oriented poetry, like Returning to Earth (Livingston Press (AL), 1989)?

I like to think of writing in different genres as cross-training.  Each genre exercises a different set of imagination’s muscles.  Those reinvigorated muscles bring new strength and flexibility to each new genre, from one to the other.  By staying open to writing for different age groups and in different genres, we are able to write about any and all ideas that come our way.

We never have to discard a good idea just because it might not be right for a certain age group or for a certain genre.  I enjoy writing poetry and prose.  I enjoy writing rhymed verse and free verse. I enjoy writing light verse and serious verse.   I enjoy writing for children and adults … and pets when they sit still to listen.  I get excited whenever any new idea pops into my head.  Then I try to write it out as best I can.  If I like it and it surprises me, I submit it.  If it falls short, I delete it and move on to the next idea.  Like you, I’m lucky.  I have more ideas than I have time to write!

You’re currently in the process of melding those two styles with the creation of a Young Adult novel in verse – a new genre for you. How’s it coming along, and what inspired you to do it?

I have two YA novels in verse in the works, both with different voices.  One grew out of a series of prose poems and the other grew out of a series of short poems.  In the second one,  I imagined two young people texting messages back and forth to each other via their phones.

Will that be your next published project, or will something else be coming out sooner?

My next project is a series of four books for toddlers that will be published this fall by Capstone.

The series is titled MY LITTLE SCHOOL HOUSE.  The individual titles are THE WONDERS OF THE COLOR WHEEL, SHAPES ARE EVERYWHERE, NUMBERS IN THE PARK, and THE ALPHABET PARADE.  The trade edition of the series is titled THE LEARNING PARADE.  The illustrator is the wonderful artist Ag Jatkowska.

(Matt’s note: for a sneak peek at some of the illustrations, click HERE!)

I’ve also written two series of books for a new independent publisher, and working on a third series for them, as well as a picture book for another publisher.

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By the way…not many women can say their husbands wrote them a poem – much less an entire BOOK of poems. What was your wife’s reaction to Love Poems (Crane Hill Publishers, 1999)? 

It’s funny how that book came to be.  I had been writing little love notes to Debra since we first met.  After we married, I began leaving them on her breakfast plate in the morning and on her pillow at night.  Most of them were personal hand-written notes never intended for publication.  Unbeknownst to me, Debra kept them in a folder and after a year or two she began typing them up and submitting them to magazines.  They began appearing in Good Housekeeping, McCall’s, The Ladies’ Home Journal.  Later a book of them was published by Crane Hill.  I think she likes them.

Ha, well I’m glad she didn’t run into any copyright issues with the person who wrote them!   So tell me, how have life changes like fatherhood – and now grandfatherhood – altered your writing. if at all?  Have they changed your perspective of how you approach your projects, and what you want to write about?

Oh yes!  My grandchildren provide much of the inspiration for my books. Their names are proudly displayed on the dedication page of a dozen or so of my latest titles.  It is from their young perspectives of the world that I learn to re-see my own.  Their joy, innocence, enthusiasm, and curiosity are contagious and endless.  How could I not find new, inspiring things to write about each day?

One last question I have to ask: how has writing – and publishing – for children changed since you began? OK, make that two questions. What advice would you offer to those poor unpublished souls who continue to write and write, with nothing to show for it but folders upon folders of revised manuscripts and rejection slips?

These are exciting and scary times for writers of all stripes.  The business model is changing fast.  Only those with crystal balls dare predict the future. I think it is probably more difficult to get published these days without an agent.  Self-publishing is an option, though one I do not recommend unless you work hard to build what is known in the business as a “platform.”  I’ve been reading a lot lately about how important it is for writers to build a “platform” to make it in today’s market.  I think that means spending time developing social media with websites, blogs, videos, and other items and outlets, along with a good email list.

I probably wouldn’t make it if I were starting out right now. I do not have an agent and I tend to spend most of my time writing, very little time on social media.  I have a Facebook page because I like to keep up with pictures of my grandchildren, and I have a couple of blogs where I post poems for teachers and kids each week. That’s about it.

All I know is, when I started out in this business years ago, I discovered right away that I had to be as creative in getting my work published as I tried to be in creating it.  I think that’s the trick.  First try to find out how everyone else is doing it, then create your own new way of doing it.  I guess that’s true for creating the work itself, as well as trying to get it published.  The most important thing, of course, is following your heart, doing what you love enough to totally immerse yourself in that pursuit.

I’m one of the lucky ones.  I get up every morning, climb the steps here to my treehouse, turn on my computer, look out the window, and write.  I still can’t believe I’m allowed to do this.  I provide for my family and myself by doing what I love.

And that’s something one can certainly not put a price on.  I appreciate your time, Charles…many thanks so much, and best wishes with your new books from Capstone, your YA novels, and all of your upcoming projects!

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Don’t forget, Irene Latham’ 2013 Progressive Poem wraps up this week!  This poem started with one blogger April 1 and has been travelling from blog to blog, with a different blogger adding a new line to the poem every day. (By the end of the month, we’ll have a completed poem!)  Yours Truly added his line back on April 3, but here’s a complete list of all the participating bloggers, so you can follow along:

April 1  Amy Ludwig VanDerwater 2  Joy Acey 3  Matt Forrest Esenwine 4  Jone MacCulloch 5  Doraine Bennett 6  Gayle Krause 7  Janet Fagal 8  Julie Larios 9  Carrie Finison 10  Linda Baie 11  Margaret Simon 12  Linda Kulp 13  Catherine Johnson 14  Heidi Mordhorst 15  Mary Lee Hahn 16  Liz Steinglass 17  Renee LaTulippe 18  Penny Klostermann 19  Irene Latham 20  Buffy Silverman 21  Tabatha Yeatts 22  Laura Shovan 23  Joanna Marple 24  Katya Czaja 25  Diane Mayr 26  Robyn Hood Black 27  Ruth Hersey 28  Laura Purdie Salas 29  Denise Mortensen 30  April Halprin Wayland

After years of hard work, it’s time to cut corners

Why is it some folks feel that advertising is simple stuff?

I subscribe to a number of blogs, news feeds, and online groups, and recently came across a question an author had posted, which made me pull the last few remaining hairs on my head completely out of ther folicles. This person had a new book coming out, so had asked a college student to produce the trailer (commercial) for it – and was wondering what the going rate was.

I’m not mentioning the author’s name, because it’s irrelevant to my point; the person is actually very good and has published numerous books already. But there were so many things wrong with the question I didn’t know how or where to begin my answer.

So many questions, so little patience…

My first thought was, why even ask a college student to do something this important? Assuming we’re talking about a traditional, 19- to 22-year-old student, what skills could they possibly possess to be able to market a book effectively?  Other than knowing how to stick video images together and add audio, what do they bring to the table? Does this person understand what a USP* is? Does he/she know the five things every commercial should create – attention, interest, connection, desire, action? Has he/she even written a commercial before?

Then I started thinking about other aspects of the question. Why would you ask an amateur to produce a commercial…then ask around to find out what a rate should be? Do college students even have standardized rates?? Why not ask some professionals what their rates are?

And why not have a professional do it, anyway?

Oh, that’s right…because anyone can write and produce a commercial.

I know, I know, everyone’s on a budget

If a professionally-produced book trailer is going to cost you a thousand dollars and you’re paying for it out of your own pocket…then I completely understand why cost is so important. Believe me, I’m a voice actor/copy writer and father of four who’s been struggling for years to get a book of children’s poetry published; I’m constantly living on a tight budget. Money is always a concern of mine.

I get it.

But think about this:  if your book was written by a professional, edited by a professional, proofed by a professional, illustrated by a professional, agented by a professional, and published by professionals – why entrust the advertising and marketing of it to the lowest bidder? We’re talking about the final step in the long, arduous process of publication…and you’re going to cut corners now?

That’s like an NBA team putting their third string in during the last two minutes of a championship game because heck, they put so much time and effort into the first 46 minutes, the last two minutes really don’t matter.

The ‘Instantaneous Expert’ phenomenon

I’ve worked with numerous businesses over the years, from car dealers to restaurants to mortgage brokers to strip clubs.  Some actually trusted me to write and produce an effective spot for them. (Spots are commercials, in radio jargon) They would tell me to go ahead and do my job because I was the professional. I loved those clients.

Others, unfortunately, would suddenly and mysteriously become radio advertising gurus, even though they had never advertised on radio before. Upon signing a contract to run their very first basic 13-week schedule ever, these business owners miraculously understood all the nuances of copy writing. They would tell me how to start the commercial, they would tell me how to write the commercial, they would tell me the ten million different pieces of information that just had to be included in the commercial.

And, given enough time to write, re-write, re-write, and re-write…I would present them with a highly ineffective commercial. Because the customer is always right, even when they’re wrong.

I hate admitting that, to be honest; I’m a perfectionist with a disdain for mediocrity, let alone outright failure. But working as a production director for a large company, I was in no position to excuse myself and walk away from the deal. These days, working for myself, I have the latitude to be able to do that, if I feel it’s necessary.

“Make it wildly creative!  Then again, don’t!”

I recall one commercial in particular that was supposed to be fresh and unique, a bold departure from what the client had been running for years. They wanted something that would immediately stand out from the pack. Something funny, ear-catching, different. A campaign of two or three different spots that all worked together, that they could create some buzz with.

It took awhile, but I came up with three different scripts. Because they utilized multiple voices and sound effects, I went ahead and produced all three so the client would be able to hear – and hopefully better understand – the commercials instead of just reading the scripts. I was quite proud of them.

The client, however, thought they were too creative; could I edit them down and include this, that, and this other thing in the script?

Uhh…ok.

So I rewrote the scripts. They were still too ‘confusing,’ according to the client. Oh, and could I add this and this to the script, as well?

After four rewrites, we were left with a bland, over-stuffed, one-voice commercial – very similar to many of the forgettable spots you hear on the radio and nothing at all like what had been initially requested. And it was approved.  Ironically, the client kept the catch phrase I had created for their original commercial.  This, of course, was pointless, because the catch phrase had everything to do with the original commercial’s concept and nothing to do with the one we were left with.

Advertising. Anyone can do it.

If anyone can do it, let me do your job

If you’re a car dealer, I doubt you’ll let me try to sell your vehicles without training. If you own a restaurant, you’re not going to ask a copy writer to cook your food (although you could ask me, since I’ve done that before). If you value your skills as a plumber, lawyer, book author, or widget salesman, why devalue the skills of others? If your rationale is, ‘anyone can write a commercial’ or ‘how hard can it be?’ then you are seriously underestimating the value of advertising.

Now, don’t start thinking that I’m trying to push my own particular service here. Yes, I write copy. I’ve written hundreds of commercials over 25+ years. And I have voiced and produced probably thousands of radio commercials during that time, as well…so I do know a little something about this.  But I don’t produce videos. I know how to write for video, I have voiced videos…but I don’t produce ‘em. So I’m not trying to get anyone to hire me to produce their TV commercial or book or movie trailer.

As a matter of fact, I’m going to need to find someone to produce a video demo for me this year – basically, a series of clips of commercials and videos that showcase my voice to prospective clients – and a college student is the LAST person I’ll ask to do it for me.

This is my life’s work we’re talking about, and it’s worth more than what a college student can offer…no matter what their rate.

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* USP = Unique Selling Proposition! Learn more in THIS POST.

Of one-armed strollers and turkey dinners

How often do you do things without thinking about why you do them?

Recently, I took my 3-year-old son out for a walk. He doesn’t usually need the stroller for these little jaunts, but today he felt like riding.  After awhile of relaxing and enjoying the scenery, he asked to get out and push. I obliged. He got behind the stroller and started pushing as best he could. The stroller veered to the right and careened to the left and got stuck in the ruts of the road. It was tough going.

I kept telling him it would be easier if he’d use both hands.

But, no – he insisted on using his right hand, and his right hand only.

Why? I wondered.

Then it occurred to me:  he was doing it the way I had taught him.

Immitation ≠ Flattery

You see, I’m a fairly tall fellow, and pushing the stroller with both arms is uncomfortable because I have to hunch my back slightly to reach the handlebar. But I found that by standing upright and just using my right hand – positioned near the left side of the handlebar – I could control the stroller fairly easily and still walk normally.

He had seen me do this, and figured that was the way it was done…and no amount of exhortation to the contrary was going to change his little steel bear trap of a mind.

This was the way dad does it, he probably reasoned, so this is the proper way to do it.

This rationale, however, is not only the bailiwick a 3-year-old.

Doing something just because someone else did it?  You’d never fall for that…

I was reminded of a (supposedly true) story I heard several years ago about a young wife who was preparing Thanksgiving dinner for the first time. When the turkey was about to be carved, several guests were surprised to see the bag of gizzards (liver, kidneys, etc.) inside the bird.  Rather than take the bag out and cook them separately, she had roasted the bag right there where it was when she bought it.

When asked why she did that, she said it was the way her mom had always cooked it. But since her guests seemed taken aback at the concept, she decided to ask her mom a few days later.

Her mom’s answer? Because that was the way her mom had always done it.

So the young wife went to her grandmother and asked again: why cook the bag of gizzards inside the turkey, instead of taking it out of the bird and cooking them separately? Her grandmother laughed and explained that it had only happened once, when the young woman’s mother was just a child – the grandmother had accidentally forgotten to take the bag out. The experience, however, had stuck with the child, and that was how she subsequently prepared every Thanksgiving turkey.  Consequently, that was how her daughter, this young wife, had learned to do it. Like mother, like daughter.

Two generations of families,preparing their Thanksgiving meals based on a mistake.

Don’t accept the premise

Don’t always accept things at face value. Some things are exactly as they seem – speeding on a highway and spitting into the wind rarely yield positive results – but there are many circumstances we come across every day that could use a closer look:

Do we speak a certain way because that’s the way we were told to? Are there processes or systems where we work that seem cumbersome? Are there family issues that might be resolved by trying something different?

If you’re a voice actor, do you always position your mic the same way? Is it hanging down or standing up? Do you speak to the top, to the front, to the side, which side? Do you get so close you’re eating it, or do you back off 10 inches or more?

If you don’t like poetry, is it because you can’t understand it? Is the poet writing above his/her audience? Does the poetry use antiquated language? Or do you feel like you could write the same kind of thing? Then find poetry you can understand, find poetry that’s more contemporary, or write your own!

When confronted with an issue, ask yourself why…consider an alternative…and then ask, why not?

If I’m told a client always runs a particular type of commercial, I question why I can’t completely change it around the next time.  If I’m told that something has to be done a certain way, I ask why. If I’m told, ‘that’s just the way it’s done,’ I look for answers.

Sometimes they’re good answers. Sometimes I need to come up with new ones.

Don’t settle for the answers you’re given. Don’t assume there’s only one way to do something.

And don’t roast your turkey with the giblet bag.