For next week (March 8th)
Posted by kscott on March 1, 2007
Please blog about the event with Wendy Lalli – what you learned, etc. Continue to add to the resources blog.
Send me the final copy of your resume (microsoft word attachment). Make sure you are up to date on all work to this point.
March 2nd, 2007 at 9:49 pm
today i met with joanna mackenzie. we talked about what i want to do with myself as a writer who refers to her writing as a career. it was mostly very weird for me, but she had a lot to say that made me feel relieved and excited to have chosen this oftentimes ridiculous path. consequently, i thought about a lot of things. thing #1: she is an agent and really nice. somehow this is a surprise to me. thing #2: my gut is really smart. it might know me even better than my mom does. thing #3: i am not scared as i am depressed. both things i can get over. exciting. thing #4: i don’t have to be a wunderkind to be happy or successful? yes!
and here is something i scribbled in response to yesterday (thursday):
what is yr passion, cristina?
i want to say sex, but i say writing. the word passion makes me feel silly. it reminds me of justin’s sister who chidingly asks him if i’m spicy because i’m latina and give him attitude.
i think of the color red and how two-toned it is when i wear it. what does that mean? it means i subscribe to a “religion” that, in short, has disallowed me from using red food or clothing because the color itself is so prominent in me. it is something like working very hard to achieve a position of power and then becoming consumed with it, leading yrself to ultimate demise.
passion is something that is either a cliche joke or the warm churning my gut has been doing since i picked up this pen. i want to always feel this calm sense of belonging, this security blanket that writing gives me. but lately even writing unnerves me. writing is growing a shadow named career, with whom i am not friendly. now i sit at my computer and immediately feel the need to come up for air. work art love passion career money livelihood cushion next step = words that make me nervous, part one.
my passion, as i told joanna mackenzie today, is to find an audience who will listen to me and understand. to some extent, i have found these people. now all i need to do is create. right? but it’s not right. what i want to do is curl up under the desk i’m sitting at and sleep until it’s time to go. and i want to go far away from this place so i can finally see myself in it. i don’t know what i’m doing with my words, written and oral, or my feet, standing and moving. i don’t know where my train is headed because i haven’t gotten on it yet because i can’t see the tracks. i feel like these words are not accurate enough. and it doesn’t matter anyhow because as soon as they leave their egg, they fall and splatter.
mfa programs, study abroad opportunities, two-bedroom apartments, and graduation audits are my current language. they are not my passion, though. coming up with ideas for scenes or essays and reading embarrassingly gorgeous syntax makes me feel passionate. making out with justin and demanding he build me a portal makes me feel passionate. so does the train-ride home after a class discussion that twisted my brain around its own knots. so does listening to a beatbox that makes beautiful lyrics sound like a powerful speech.
i have written the beginnings of stories about my grandmother who disowned us, my religion that many people think is a cult, the way my mother’s cooking smells to an empty belly, and why i’ll never get caught stealing again. it is my passion to finish these stories and publish them so that new yes will absorb them. and then i will write more endings to the things i have begun. my passion is to keep on ending so i can begin again. my passion is to be a full circle that never stops rolling.
what am i saying? does it matter if i know or not? and for that matter, should i care if you understand me or not? should it make me cower to believe that even one of you might think that i am full of shit and wasting my time? well, it does matter. and i suppose that adds to my passion. or maybe i care because i am passionate… about sewing words together and creating prosaic outfits for myself to make you think, “yes, beautiful.”
my passion is to impress myself with the depth at which i can move you. and hopefully the source of all that ego will be something i wrote.
March 6th, 2007 at 10:54 am
Man, things are getting intense. I’ve got pages due for Advanced Fiction, I’m trying to rewrite this novel in case the agents who have it actually want to see more and I’ve got to keep on top of this stuff. Oh, and did I mention that we’re building a kitchen at Sheffield’s where there was never any food in the past; essentially we’re starting a new restaurant. So I’m not busy.
Anyway, looking over my notes about Wendy, it strikes me that the keys to success are the ones that we already have.
1) Write
2) Network
3) Perservere until something comes through.
Wendy had some good ideas about alternative avenues to explore for income, i.e. proofreading, direct mail writing, etc. But I don’t want to do any of that, not really anyway.
The way to do what I want to do is to network like mad, go to all the conferences, shake babies, kiss hands; do all the nonesense that it takes to find someone who wants to take a flyer on a new novelist. Like there aren’t fifty thousand others out there already. But what are you going to do? Even the big names had to start somewhere.
And even more importantly, once a work is sold, have the support network ready on my side. Have the web-site up and kickin’. Be ready to tour around and press the flesh. Put some dough into this thing myself. Because the publishers, if I do land one, aren’t going to do much more than put a pretty binding on it and send my little manuscript off with best wishes. And then forget about it.
It’s all about selling a widget, sadly enough that’s what it boils down to. The salons of Dorthy Parker and her New York wits, where art lives simply for arts sake may still exist, but they don’t sell books much anymore. So we can rail, rail against the dying of the light. Or we can hitch up our pants and get in there and work it. To mix a few metaphors and hack up some quotations.
I’ve got my interview with Joanna this evening, who seems to be the advisor of choice for our little group. I’ll post on that after the fact. So, until Thursday, onward. And I’m still hacking away at a resume and artists statement.
Ric
March 6th, 2007 at 12:30 pm
My interview is going to be with Joanna as well. She stays busy, I guess, but my appt. is for next week (Story Week).
I found some sites that were helpful in seeing what designs and layouts work best:
http://www.hylercommunications.com, http://www.onceawriter.com, and http://www.speechwriter.net all look very different from one another but present professional people. Give them a look.
My business card search turned up http://www.will-harris.com/design/biz-cards.htm. There are some really great designs here, some that fold open to sit on a desk with info on both sides. Look at all the samples and see if anything appeals to you. To top it off, the guy has a sense of humor and has a blog and personal rants on rodents and other things to keep you busy while you’re there. Fun site.
I bought the domain names (for 2 years) to ‘JosephMarceau.com’, ‘JosephMarceau.net’, and ‘TranscendWords.net’. I want to force visitors to ‘TranscendWords.net’ if they put either of the other two in a search. I have more ideas for a Flash Intro to the site, but need help figuring out what to put inside. My resume will not be the first thing anyone sees, that’s for sure. (See blog on “Frosting-Covered Turd.”)
On second thought, as I think about business cards, maybe I should just get my information printed on a razorblade. That way I can scare people into hiring me or I can kill myself.
My interview questions have gone unanswered at New City, so I’ll just use my time with Joanna to serve both purposes. She should probably have all the answers because she’s heard all the questions from us…lol
Feedback?
March 6th, 2007 at 3:25 pm
um… i’m planning on buying some domain names in the next week or two, but first, Joe, I’d like to hear what you have to say about it in class.
Wendy Lalli: she offered me some really helpful advice… mainly that registering with the AMA and becoming a certified editor is more lucrative than registering with the CMS. I think an investment of five-grand to get through the classes would be worth the lifetime of non-stop work. Don’t you agree? I actually have some hope in the freelance world… And, Boy! is her family accomplished! Anyone planning on reading her husband’s books? I’m pretty curious myself…
Cristina, I’m bringing you the MFA issue of Poets & Writers on Thursday. There’s a 30 page spread full of helpful advice and questions you should be asking yourself.
I’m feeling pretty low about my networking as of late. I missed some key events in the past few months… and to make things even worse, I’m missing the Hair Trigger release party at the end of Story Week because I’m going on a stupid vacation. I cannot express how disappointed I am; I put six months into that book and now I don’t even get to see the release. Balancing 20 credits with all the extra shit I do is barely manageable, but, as Ric said, perservere.
Finally, I’m starting a magazine. Please email me at GhostFactory.Magazine@gmail.com if you’d like to be put on the mailing list. I’ll send you the submissions guidelines.
March 6th, 2007 at 4:49 pm
The meeting with Wendy. She had some great ideas, like the one where someone wants to meet interesting but much more professionally distinguished people so they host a talk or something at a library and invite them. That’s the kind of genius we need in a leader. What else…something smaller…Oh, just the idea of never losing track of people and seeing what comes of it. For some reason, ideas like that never occur to me. I’ll take a nap on it and write more later.
March 6th, 2007 at 6:24 pm
after some research i have come up with these cheap options for webhosting/domain purchase: 1, 2, 3 and 4. i will probably wait until i have a well-designed page and internet at home before i purchase anything, though.
if i didn’t clarify this before, here are some pluses about wendy lalli and joanna mackenzie: they made perserverence (a popular word this blog around that sounds frightening similar to the word “severe”) seem doable, even for me. though both meetings brought out the pessimistic defensive old lady that lives inside me, i tended to believe most everything they had to say. it isn’t over until it’s over. it’s possible for me to make a living from working at a non-profit organization. and there’s really no reason for me to know the exactitude of my career/creative path right now. yay!
david, thanks. i will hug you when i see the article.
ric, i would like to see a dorothy “pulled” porker sandwich in the new menu, please. (or an ezra poundcake?)
March 7th, 2007 at 2:50 pm
Joanna was very nice and very professional; she liked my query letters and accepted a sample of my novel, (although, sitting in the interview room together, with me between her and the door, what else was she going to say?) But as far as query letters go, here’s an okay link that talks about some of the fundamentals: http://www.poewar.com/archives/2004/10/24/how-to-write-a-query-letter/
There’s a better one from Michael Curtis from the Atlantic, but I can’t track it down for some reason.
And here’s a great place to check out what contests and open submission calls are coming up: http://www.pw.org/mag/0703/submissioncalendar.htm
So, that’s it for now. Talk later.
Ric
March 7th, 2007 at 9:42 pm
I can’t believe how behind I’ve gotten, even though I haven’t been working at all…
Anyhow, Wendy had some great pointers about staying in contact – it’s a routine I’ve needed to work out, myself. I’ve only started to carry a day planner since I got one on Xmas! So between the constant band practices, physical therapy, weekly dental visits, and the one thousand other things people keep asking of me, I need to hammer out a checklist: email this person, call that person, mail so-and-so a MS, etc.
I was going to meet with Phoebe Connolley, editor of In These Times on Tuesday, but it’s been postponed until further notice because she’s gotten the flu.
I’ve looked into the semester in LA (going to info session on Friday), mostly from the interest of getting over there and networking with industry people, and slipping scripts under their doors at night. However, after looking at the Semester in LA website, it looks like I haven’t fulfilled the prerequisite classes. Right now, I’m thinking that I’ll wait on moving to LA, probably under the guise of going to UCLA for an MFA in Screenwriting. That’s right – getting even further in debt.
One of the things I love about collaborating with other writers, is that if one of you “makes it,” then you can ride on the coattails of the collaborative work. Right now I’m working on a comic book series with someone, which we’re going to turn out a novel trilogy for, plus possibly screenplays. I’m taking a cue from a company a friend of mine worked at: don’t just write in one form, do the shotgun method on all fronts, and develop the story as an intellectual property (ip). It doesn’t hurt – comic books don’t make money, but I think Frank Miller isn’t worried about that, anymore.
Something I’ve thought about for a long time is a pen name. It’s not modesty, but somehow “Teddie Goldenberg” doesn’t sound like a writer’s name to me. “Ted Goldenberg” sounds more professional, I guess, but since nobody calls me “Ted,” it’s sounds unnatural. “Carl Goldenberg” is the obvious choice, but what the hell?
Okay, so I just registered carlgoldenberg.com.
It’s a start.
-Teddoe
March 7th, 2007 at 10:51 pm
Okay, pen names. So, I’ve thought about, for thriller stuff that I’m not married to but just doing for the work and the dough… Ready?
Ric West
Huh? Wadda ya think?
Ric Hess, or Rick or Richard or Richard G. sound like Siddartha to me.
Bunch of lunatics at RUI as usual. I escaped, intact.
March 8th, 2007 at 6:07 am
Okay, is this any closer?
Artist’s Statement:
I am a Chicago based novelist who crafts works of literary fiction with an eye toward future development into film. Story telling is the way our culture conveys its unique mythology, stories are the way we communicate larger truths. Novels are a more complete vehicle for that task, however, for better or worse, most people hear their stories at the movies. I’m also a realist.
I write with an eye toward providing my audience with an enjoyable diversion. As Graham Greene used to call them, I write entertainments. But even entertainments can develop themes and ideas that inspire or provoke. Novelists are, at base, good liars with an ear for discerning the essential core of a situation or conversation. I try to discern and enhance those core moments. I also welcome opportunities that invite collaboration, to help others who want their essential stories told.
March 8th, 2007 at 6:58 am
Wow, looks like I missed an interesting meeting at the Portfolio Center. Glad I could glean what I could from the blog responses while I recovered from my one day of sickness last Thursday brought on, probably by, smoking too much, drinking too much, not eating well, working 50 hrs a week at the job, taking four courses, writing for Reservoir, doing my own writing, seeking out and applying for internships, and sometimes I even get to enjoy a nap. This is not an excuse for not being at class, because, as my boss has been known to say, “Unless you’re dying and can provide a doctor’s note, you’d better show your ass up to work.” It is simply the reason I wasn’t in class and couldn’t benefit from the, by all accounts, informative and inspiring presentation by Wendy Lalli, that I am sorry I missed.
(This all goes for page count, right? {I’m just kidding. [I know it does.]})
Moving right along, thanks, Joe, for putting up that one visual designer’s website. His business cards certainly were able to grab the eye quickly. The exact opposite of standard (centered listing of all things pertinent, maybe the companies logo, maybe with foil lettering) that reminds me so much of American Psycho. I thought much the same thing after looking at each of his 40 something cards. The kind of visual styling that went into the cards he designs all made me realize that, “This doesn’t remind me of any other business card that I’ve ever seen.”
I don’t think I would pay him or anyone else to design a business card for me, but I did get some good ideas from looking at his samples.
Since anything, that any of us writes, that anyone, who is in a position to publish, reads, will be judged in the first small fraction of the total work, it seems vital to grab their attention right away. As with business cards and writing, it is true with many other situations. Buyers walking into a house know if they want to make a serious bid within the first 30 seconds. Women will decide, (I’ve heard some estimates as low as), in the first seven seconds whether they want to sleep with someone or not. Less than an instant after looking at a car people tend to make up their minds, whether the car fits them or not. The card design I have in my head is the info written around the border of the card, with a heavily contrasted black and white image inside of that edge.
We are selling commodities, and unfortunately those commodities are ourselves. But since that’s the way it works these days, might as well get good at it, start forming calluses. I don’t see myself ever enjoying it, however I recognize it is more beneficial, than how horrible I make it out to be. That being said, I’ve taken the opportunity during this, my last, semester to begin networking, (just typing the word makes my skin crawl,). Good thing, I got an early jump on it, like I didn’t, three and a half years ago. Still not sure how to approach some of the visiting writers during Story Week, as well as the publishers and agents, (cringe again), and finding a way to give them my card, without coming off as a total douche.
Resume that I should have posted on the blog last week:
Michael Kane
2420 N. Kedzie Ave. Apt. 202
Chicago IL, 60647
(773)489-1372
myno_duesp@sbcglobal.net
Writing Experience:
Contributing Writer, Reservoir, 8/06 to present
“Nerd’s Night Out” 8/06, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/sample_whats_going_on.php
“Science and Technology: Future Friend or Foe” 9/06, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/science_and_technology_future.php
“Drummer’s Paradise” 10/06, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/drummers_paradise.php
“Several Chicagoans Forget That It’s Winter” 2/07, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/several_chicagoans_forget_that.php
“‘So, who are you?’ A Review of ‘Returns’” 3/07, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/so_who_are_you_a_review_of_ret.php
Other Work Experience:
General Night Crew Clerk at Jewel Osco, Chicago. 2/04 to present. My duties include stocking 200 to 350 cases of stock per night, filling out company mandated paperwork, and writing the majority of dry grocery orders in an extremely fast paced environment.
Red Cross Certified Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard at YWCA, Plainsboro NJ. 6/00 – 8/03. I taught classes in basic and advanced swimming skills. Left to attend Columbia College Chicago.
Personal Assistant for Nancy Davidson (artist and professor at SUNY Purchase) and Greg Drasler (painter and professor at Prat), New York, NY. 6/99 – 8/99. Responsibilities included procuring raw materials, running errands, researching and compiling files of newspaper and magazine articles concerning their work and shows. Left because my family moved out of state.
Education:
Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Creative Writing, Columbia College Chicago, expected graduation date: 5/07.
Other Applicable Experience:
Community service at the Salvation Army, Chicago – 6/06 to 9/06
Completed a Fulbright research grant proposal – 2006
High School Student Board Vice President – 2003
Associations:
Associated Writers and Writing Programs – 2003 to present (www.awpwriter.org)
References available upon request
Artists statement: (I think I want to make this short enough to put on the back of my business card with the same visual image as on the front but with the black and white reversed, possibly narrowed into just a portion of it and instead of the words around the edge of the card, this time they appear over the image.)
My work strives to navigate the dry, dark humor of the struggle, and often, desperation of those who want what they need as opposed to needing what they want. I write stories that rebel against the crushing weight of society, as I perceive it to be; it is like lying under a ten foot snow pack, after an avalanche, immobile. Not dead, but definitely dying, and knowing, there’s no one up there looking, and if they are looking, it is only for a corpse. Being read from that vantage, as the air gets thinner underneath it all, my writing could be characterized as comforting…but not.
I think that’s about it…
(This all goes for page count, right? {I’m just kidding. [I know it does.]})
Moving right along, thanks, Joe, for putting up that one visual designer’s website. His business cards certainly were able to grab the eye quickly. The exact oposite of standard (centered listing of all things pertenant, maybe the companies logo, maybe with foil lettering) that reminds me so much of American Psycho. I thought much the same thing after looking at each of his 40 something cards. The kind of visual stylings that go into the cards he designs all made me realize that, “This doesn’t remind me of any other business card that I’ve ever seen.”
I don’t think I would pay him or anyone else to design a business card for me, but I did get some good ideas from looking at his samples.
Since anything, that any of us writes, that anyone, who is in a position to publish, reads, will be judged in the first small fraction of the total work, it seems vital to grab their attention right away. As with business cards and writing, it is true with many other situations. Buyers walking into a house know if they want to make a serious bid within the first 30 seconds. Women will decide, (I’ve heard some estimates as low as), in the first seven seconds whether they want to sleep with someone or not. Less than an instant after looking at a car people tend to make up their minds, whether the car fits them or not. The card design I have in my head is the info written around the border of the card, with a heavily contrasted black and white image inside of that edge.
We are selling comodities, and unfortunately those comodities are ourselves. But since that’s the way it works these days, might as well get good at it, start forming calluses. I don’t see myself ever enjoying it, however I recognize it is more benificial, than how horrible I make it out to be. That being said, I’ve taken the opportunity during this, my last, semester to begin networking, (just typing the word makes my skin crawl,). Good thing, I got an early jump on it, like I didn’t, three and a half years ago. Still not sure how to approach some of the visiting writers during Story Week, as well as the publishers and agents, (cringe again), and finding a way to give them my card, without coming off as a total douche.
Resume that I should have posted on the blog last week:
Michael Kane
2420 N. Kedzie Ave. Apt. 202
Chicago IL, 60647
(773)489-1372
myno_duesp@sbcglobal.net
Writing Experience:
Contributing Writer, Reservoir, 8/06 to present
“Nerd’s Night Out” 8/06, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/sample_whats_going_on.php
“Science and Technology: Future Friend or Foe” 9/06, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/science_and_technology_future.php
“Drummer’s Paradise” 10/06, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/drummers_paradise.php
“Several Chicagoans Forget That It’s Winter” 2/07, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/several_chicagoans_forget_that.php
“‘So, who are you?’ A Review of ‘Returns’” 3/07, http://cms.colum.edu/reservoir/whats_going_on/so_who_are_you_a_review_of_ret.php
Other Work Experience:
General Night Crew Clerk at Jewel Osco, Chicago. 2/04 to present. My duties include stocking 200 to 350 cases of stock per night, filling out company mandated paperwork, and writing the majority of dry grocery orders in an extremely fast paced environment.
Red Cross Certified Water Safety Instructor and Lifeguard at YWCA, Plainsboro NJ. 6/00 – 8/03. I taught classes in basic and advanced swimming skills. Left to attend Columbia College Chicago.
Personal Assistant for Nancy Davidson (artist and professor at SUNY Purchase) and Greg Drasler (painter and professor at Prat), New York, NY. 6/99 – 8/99. Responsibilities included procuring raw materials, running errands, researching and compiling files of newspaper and magazine articles concerning their work and shows. Left because my family moved out of state.
Education:
Bachelor of Fine Arts with a concentration in Creative Writing, Columbia College Chicago, expected graduation date: 5/07.
Other Applicable Experience:
Community service at the Salvation Army, Chicago – 6/06 to 9/06
Completed a Fulbright research grant proposal – 2006
High School Student Board Vice President – 2003
Associations:
Associated Writers and Writing Programs – 2003 to present (www.awpwriter.org)
References available upon request
Artists statement: (I think I want to make this short enough to put on the back of my business card with the same visual image as on the front but with the black and white reversed, possibly narrowed into just a portion of it and instead of the words around the edge of the card, this time they appear over the image.)
My work strives to navigate the dry, dark humor of the struggle, and often, desperation of those who want what they need as opposed to needing what they want. I write stories that rebel against the crushing weight of society, as I precieve it to be; it is like lying under a ten foot snow pack, after an avalanche, immobile. Not dead, but definitely dying, and knowing, there’s no one up there looking, and if they are looking, it is only for a corpse. Being read from that vantage, as the air gets thinner underneath it all, my writing could be characterized as comforting…but not.
I think that’s about it…
March 8th, 2007 at 11:37 am
Okay the party is Sat night at 1710 S Union St apt 2, in pilsen (one block east of halsted) orange line or parking available. call at 402.598.7376. seven or eightish. byob. PLEASE COME!