Saturday Evening Post

In a week filled with detours and advancement, the time has come to grab a cuppa and snuggle into a rocker. The wind has picked up, and the storm will arrive soon. Frank and Clyde are having a discussion. Let’s talk.

Friday Follies

There are a number of the M3 Readers who have protested the failure to produce Friday Follies consistently over the course of the last two months. I shall be entirely frank.

With the workload I have and the ruthlessness of the hatemail these days, it is difficult for me to spin the stupidity. As with everything else I do, my level of commitment to a superior production necessarily means I shall not be producing something merely to put up another post.

This does not mean FF will be on the chopping block; however, it does mean until such time as there is appropriate content I shall spare my own mind and bloody eyeballs with the delete key.

Beta Testing

Tomorrow, the rework of the software should be live. I may well be difficult to raise, as I will be doing all in my power to destroy it. In a Sadomasochistic dance of developer and user, we are striving to have a stable platform which will support all who come to use it.

I need to give a heartfelt thank you to all of those who have been providing feedback on the software. Your comments and suggestions are helping us build a better product.

Aside

Some people have questioned me openly about my delay based on software malfunctions. Their premise is I should go with something I know works, even if it will not do what I want it to do and if it requires additional software for me and the RP users.

MORE FRANKNESS:Β I absolutely will not “make do”. Only a select few in my inner circle have any idea how many hours have gone into the development of the RP site and the platform. To those disinterested parties who are neither partaking in the project now or planning to do so in the future, you are welcome to keep your opinions to yourself.

There is an overarching theme on M3 which disparages companies who fail to consider their end users when making corporate decisions. While I do not hold the opinion any company should attempt to kowtow to every customer request, I do consider delivering a stable product a non-negotiable. (Evidence both here and here.)

Right Turn, Clyde!

By a show of hands, who has ever fallen prey to a Catch-22? If you raised your hand, you are going to love what follows. If you did not, you may want to rethink keeping your hand down. No one here bites if you raise your hand, except when we ask, “Who wants to be bitten?”

Right turn, Clyde.

The SIB correctly delivered some hatemail which contained personal manifestos. People are willing to tell me why they are not willing to visit RedmundPro or to engage with those who are currently on the boards. While arguably these could be Follies material, I am holding off for the moment.

The SIB has also coughed up some email it was certain was misaddressed. It was a series of concerned emails for my sanity and the amount of sleep I am not longer engaging. While this is not at all unusual, what was odd was the point of view the emails took.

We have long discussed the definitions of success and the myriad ways there are to gauge success. Mantra has had a say. Even Clyde has had some say on success. The main concern of my worried emailers was the lack of support to this venture.

Before

Before the supportive get their knickers in a bunch, there are a number of people who are being tremendously supportive. While it may not be publicly evident, without them much of the work being completed now would still be in my to-do stack. To be perfectly frank, their public silence is not a convicting factor… for me.

Then

It is a convicting factor for those who are onlookers. Of the more than 17,000 people who have been by the log in page for the RP forum, very few have ventured into the area. It looks as though there is no support. Let’s change my name to Frank: It is unsupportive.

One of the corporate decisions was to open the RP forum first for those who are developing books, trailers and audio for the launch palette. Some authors are there and very busy helping others. Some were content to send me a manuscript and do nothing else.

No, not wanting to help anyone else is not the convicting part, exactly.

Viewers=Rubberneckers

By design, the forum is a logged in area only. I am not interested in having someone be a full time moderator to remove all the spammy comments from people who have “great informations about this topic”. It is set to members only. This theme continues to the main site. There will be a few areas open to the public, but the core of the site will be for those who choose to be part.

Contrary to popular belief, this is not unusual. On how many sites have you created an account? Let me just name the ones I have visited in the last 4 hours:

  • Amazon
  • Bank 1
  • Bank 2
  • Blogger/Blogspot
  • CreateSpace
  • Credit card
  • Credit Union
  • Facebook
  • Go Daddy
  • Google
  • HootSuite
  • RedmundPro
  • Twitter
  • Verizon
  • WordPress

What do all of these have in common? They have something I want. What else do they have in common (except RedmundPro)? Thousands and millions of users. What do they not have in common with RP? You cannot talk to the developer or owner when something is amiss.

Enter Ape

The main reason the engagement is low is the hold outs are waiting to see if this will be a success. More than a dozen authors said they were not willing to launch because they wanted to see how successful everyone was going to be before they “risked” their manuscripts.

(You are welcomed to laugh. I have.)

The reasons have ranged from trust issues to vanity. How about some excerpts?

I have to see what they [the books] look like before I am willing to let you see my manuscript. You could mess it up, and all of my work would be lost.”

What good does it do to let you publish it when I could do it myself?”

My other books have only sold about 100 copies. [Two years in production.] You can’t possibly do better than that. If you do, I will think about it.”

Catch-22

The overall commonality of the emails was until I could prove I was going to be successful, the authors and writers were not willing to take a chance. The biggest hang up was with the guarantee of editing. Most were vain enough to believe what they wrote was sufficient without anyone “messing with it”. This includes those who sent me sample chapters with misspellings, little or bizarre punctuation and protracted use of grammatical errors. Said chapters were excerpted from manuscripts declared “ready for press”.

So, if we grant them they want to go with someone proven, how do we go about the proving when few to none are willing to “risk” even becoming a member of the site to see how it works?

In a rare turn of events, I am going to withhold my opinion. Instead, I am going to give you the floor.

Until next time,

Red Signature

I hope you are having a restful weekend. From credit ratings to publishers, how do you build a reputation when seemingly no one will give you a chance? Is it possible writers believe a WIP folder inhabitant is better than a book? When do you make the change in profession from writer to author?


(c) Red Dwyer 2012
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Copyright and Privacy Policy available in The Office.Β 
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23 Comments

  1. When it makes enough to make a living, after you’ve had a few dozen books published. OK so Friday Follies has to wait, but it is coming back…hmm, lack of sleep. It’s a familiar friend, as long as I can still walk and remember what I’m doing (which I can’t do rested making it an irrelevant measurement) I’m fine. Just no driving until the twelve hours of straight sleep that forces itself on you have passed successfully.
    πŸ™‚
    Laurie recently posted..Tuesday FTPMy Profile

    Reply
    • I have had some relevant epiphanies about the distinction between writers and authors. Perhaps, I can dedicate a post to them. I can do both-think with and without sleep. I just get more distracted by the shiny things when I am tired πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  2. My first criteria for choosing a publisher is the character of the developer, and the character of the venture. Period. I have built a repututation for my creations built upon honesty and the desire to do well. There was no risk to me when you offered the slots for books on the debut launch of Redmund Productions. I felt I had a quality book, but I needed a LOT of help to see it born, and I know my instinct is good. I trusted enough, that if the manuscript couldn’t be fixed, I would hear that from you. I would accept that. I trusted that any people working on the venture would have the momentum of developing the ONLY community based publishing company of its kind EVER. I said I decided by character. I also decided by commitment to excellence, and at every step of the process, the validity of those decisions have been validated.
    Gail Thornton recently posted..Flash Fiction 3 – Hot FlashMy Profile

    Reply
    • That is what is so interesting, Gail. It is the only Tigger. There are a great number of authors who believe there is no work other than the writing. While I am anything except a glory hound, I do not like to have my work dismissed as inconsequential. Truly, as with everything else I have ever done, Redmund is headed somewhere. Its third generation will be a blast. <3 And thank you for the endorsement.

      Reply
  3. I’m not really sure what a lot of this post is actually about. You mentioned the storm. I saw the report of the hurricane on the news tonight. Hope you aren’t too affected by it. It looks huge. Would be scary to be in it’s path.
    Tony recently posted..Masters Of The PoodleverseMy Profile

    Reply
    • The storm is far enough away to be of no consequence. The sunshine is streaming onto the keyboard as I type. I was on the dry side of the storm. Hurricanes are old hat to me. I lived on the Gulf of Mexico for thirty years (and will be returning there shortly). Hurricanes are home for me. πŸ˜‰

      As to the rest of the post, you were busy moving house and missed the announcements. I am opening a publishing company. Stop by and join the community. http://forum.redmundpro.com/index.php/

      Reply
  4. It’s far better to delay something and do it right, than to launch it prematurely. Richard Branson has delayed his space flights again, probably for a very good reason. He generally seems to know what he’s doing.
    Binky recently posted..The Dog HouseMy Profile

    Reply
    • I am not good with delays. I have the attention span of a Mediterranean fruit fly. Waiting is not one of my virtues. Overall, the crash test today has gone well. That makes for a very productive week this week.

      Reply
  5. Red – Seriously – I dunno how you do it – You are more than a Trooper ……… Super Trooper ….
    I wish You all the best with Redmund and all the awesome stuff You are doing …….

    I am not blogging for a while – and i saw your response ——– thx xx
    this Hurricane Sandy is crazy – even in Toronto –
    You know when you don’t feel like writing and wanna focus on other stuff …… That’s where i am at …………… Tons o love
    You have my email and
    Love you xo
    IT’S WINDY WINDY ……..the building i live in is swaying πŸ™‚ lol
    keep the faith in all You do
    xx
    I do for You xxx
    C xx
    Cat Forsley recently posted..Bloggy Break – Cat Forsley Β©My Profile

    Reply
    • I will check in on you from time to time. Stay safe. I am far enough inland, we have been unscathed. I took a gorgeous picture of the pink sky with the full moon tonight. Hurricanes are Mother Nature cleansing. They are to be welcomed to wash away our ills.

      Much love, mon Chat Doux <3 Enjoy what you are doing in your off time. Fill up that creative consciousness of yours with art and love and yoga and music and all the things which make you happy.

      Much love,
      xxx

      Reply
  6. That’s really wise — Hurricane wisdom —— πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚ πŸ™‚
    and i will my sweet xxx
    much much Love …….
    xx C
    Cat Forsley recently posted..Bloggy Break – Cat Forsley Β©My Profile

    Reply
  7. I didn’t know what friday foolish is because I am still new here…what surprises me is the fact you got hatemails!! how is that even possible?

    Reply
    • Nov, Friday Follies is where I parade out the hatemail and we collectively laugh at the stupidity of it. There is a tab under the header picture titled “Friday Follies”. If you click it, you will see some of the foolishness I deal with on a regular basis. Click one of the ones before “No Daddy Follies” or go see this one for an example of how so many people just get it wrong.

      I have always gotten hatemail. Part of it is I deal with subjects many people are not willing to talk about except in therapy. Another part of it is readers do not always understand what I am saying. Either way, they are willing to comment and send me email which lets me know they do not get it or they really are on another planet from the rest of us <3

      Reply
  8. Red you have taken a story written in fun and made it (almost) ready for publication.

    Thanks you for that my friend, but PLEASE look after yourself!

    I take no pleasure in seeing you burn yourself out!

    Love and hugs always! πŸ™‚

    Prenin.
    prenin recently posted..Sunday – Hurricane Sandy causes concern.My Profile

    Reply
    • Oh, Pren. I took the weekend off. We had a lovely time. And yours is nearly ready! I cannot wait for you to see the images for the cover. I think you will love it as much as I do. See you in the forum. πŸ˜‰

      Reply
  9. My Dear Red… I can’t say why, but I have had an unchanging and deep faith in you from even before MFM was released. You have the integrity of Ghandi and the drive of a HEMI!!! (hope the sound effect came through with the caps – it’s me growling in my most male octave, hhheeemmmiii!)
    And the fact that your patience is still in the belly of that whale is a miracle, considering whatall you have to deal with!
    I guess I don’t get the timidity that would not allow one to jump on an exciting opportunity such as your launch and pull out all the stops and work like a TEAM, not for Your success, for OUR success.
    Even my naysayers (read pessimists) try to shake my strong belief that what you are working toward is, indeed, exactly what I would want!
    I guess some folks are afraid their commitment could cause them to lose something, though, what, I do not know!
    Not everything is too good to be true!!!
    I truly wish there were more of me to go around, so I could be of more help!!
    Glad to hear you took a weekend to recreate yourself!
    love and hugs
    janet

    πŸ™‚
    BuddhaKat recently posted..FridayFractalFeature for a Flurry of Fetching, Fresh FinesseMy Profile

    Reply
    • You are such a doll! You are helping by reading. I have read all of them and really need other eyes on them. Otherwise, the readers will see what I may have missed. It circles back to the writing takes a long time, but it is one of the easier steps. I am going to have to break down what really goes into a book. Sounds like a series is being born. <3 Thank you for all you do and have already done. I appreciate it from the bottom of my heart <3

      Reply
  10. I will enjoy the follies whenever they come. I have missed them, but will not boycott over their loss.
    Derek Mansker recently posted..The Tipping PointMy Profile

    Reply
    • Thank you. I chalk a good deal of it up to hatemail. There are a ton of things going on around here at any given point in time. Meh. Not a big loss in my book.

      Reply

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