Essay Online

You know? When you publish a book and send it out into the world, it’s like giving birth to a baby. Everyone checks out your baby. Is it breath-taking? Does it have ten toes and ten fingers? Is it pink and sweet or does it look like an extra from “Alien?” We writers are baring our souls, our deepest thoughts, and our feelings lay open like a cavernous wound. We can’t hide anymore. They know us inside and out. Now they see our baby, and they get to pick it to pieces, bit by bit, until the only thing left is a fuzzy blanket.

Oh, hell, we know that and go right on writing, don’t we? It’s in our DNA. We can’t help ourselves, we’re masochists.

When I started this whole book-writing process, I had full intentions of finding an agent and/or a traditional publisher; they’d do all the work while I sat back and listened to “Ca-ching, Ca-ching.” However my journey to that end has been long and stress-filled and I ended up doing just the opposite…I’d kept a daily journal while living in Thailand in the 90s. When I returned to the States, I copied my journal onto a floppy and had it printed, spiral-bound, and mailed it out to friends and family so they could read about all my trials and tribs while abroad. One of the friends who read it insisted that I make a book out of it.

“You know,” she said, “like the book ‘A Year in Provence.’” I immediately ran out and bought the book and was amazed at the problems that the author had endured in a short year. I just knew that if his book sold, then mine would also, however, life got in the way of living and I put it aside.

I joined some creative writing classes a few years later, and with encouragement from my peers I began the long road of putting the journal into book form. In 2003, when I finally thought I’d finished it, I entered it into the Southern California Writers Conference in San Diego. While there, I read chapters from my story in the Read and Critique groups and the attendees laughed in all the right places and even clapped, (I’d hoped it wasn’t because they were happy I’d finished). At the end of the conference I was notified that I’d won the Best Nonfiction award for my story and an agent asked for my manuscript. Wow! That just doesn’t happen unless they love it! I knew I was ready for the Pulitzer.

Then I began to panic. What if it isn’t perfect? I had talked to a “book doctor” at the conference who advised me that my story “…needed some conflict. Who really cares about a housewife who’s having a good time in Thailand? Give them a reason to turn the page.” Okay, that’s what I’ll do. There certainly was plenty of conflict in my life in Thailand, but I’d left it out; it was painful to relive and I wanted it to be a humorous book. I emailed the agent and told her I wasn’t ready. Take your time, she’d said. It’s not time sensitive.

So began the journey of “weaving” the conflict into my story. It was the hardest thing I’d ever done. It was three years before I felt it was good enough to be a real book. But, those three years were not only spent rewriting. I took online writing classes and signed up at the local college for creative writing classes, I attended a critique group every week, putting my chapters up to their scrutiny as they tore it apart and helped put it back together. The rest of the time I was editing my life away. But as Stephen King says in his book On Writing: edit, edit and edit. And when you think it’s perfect, edit some more. My husband had a name for my constant editing: “Paralysis by analysis.”

When I felt I had everything in place, I looked for professional editing. I first paid the book doctor $500 to tell me that it needed help. He didn’t give me any, just told me it needed it. I found a line-editor in Canada, who did a great job, and then I hired a freelance editor; total for both $600; quite inexpensive in today’s editing market.

During those three years, I also did a lot of reading on the publishing world; agents, print-on-demand (PODs) and off-set printing companies. I attended conferences specifically on “How to get published.” The more I heard and read, the more I thought: From all the conferences I’d attended, the agent panels were the most disillusioning. I learned that agents don’t want you if you’ve not been published, and publishers don’t want you if you’ve not been published, or don’t have an agent, who doesn’t want you either. Who needs ‘em?

Publishers don’t want you if you don’t have a “platform!” A what? To my dismay I learned that I needed to have my own buying public. There was no publisher that was going to run out and sell my book for me, pay for my cross-country book signings and hotel rooms, unless of course I was a King or a Grisham or a Joyce Carol Oates. Then of course, there’s the eighteen month wait for the book to appear on the shelves after the publisher accepts it (if the publisher doesn’t decide to pull the plug at the last minute), and don’t forget the two years that it takes the agent to shop around for a publisher who might decide to pull the plug at the last minute. Who has that long? I don’t even buy green bananas anymore.

Wow! I remember my table mates and I frowning as we listened to the dire answers of this panel of agents and publishers. So how do we get published? Well, we have two options so it seemed: 1) have an agent living next door who loves your home cooked brownies or has a crush on your husband, or 2) know a publisher whose kid mows your lawn or has a crush on you. Not living in New York was going to be a definite drawback. Should I move? Okay, how about a POD? I was fortunate to have a friend who is a small press publisher of railroad books. He offered to put my manuscript into a Quark Express PDF file (which is the format printers prefer). He did an incredible job putting it together for me. He felt that if I had the print setup taken care of, I could approach a POD and save some money.

I signed up for the POD classes at the conferences I attended, where they explained everything I needed to know about their business ─ except how they kept most of the author’s money while they got big and rich and the author got $3.09 per book. Okay, well, $3.09 a book is not that bad. Maybe I could make it. But, wait, I had to pay them to print my book, and then pay them to buy my book back from them; too many “thems” going on here. Something didn’t compute. Maybe I should chuck the book and go into the POD business.

Well, I succumbed. I bought a book called The Fine Print of Self Publishing by Mark Levine, an attorney, then sat down to do some homework. After going over all the PODs he listed with a fine-tooth calculator, I realized that I could pay as much as $30,000 to one such POD group, but hey, my books would be free. How generous of them. Or, I could choose a POD group charging as low as $299, but I’d still have to buy my own books back at about $8.00 each.

I finally settled on a firm I’ll call “Dewey Cheatem & Howe” (name changed to protect the guilty), and thought I’d finally get on with this damn book printing. They sent me a sample of their work that was done beautifully. I signed on the dotted line, waited three more weeks and then my author’s copy was delivered. And there it sat. On my desk. Opened to the first page, which I couldn’t read. I started bawling. Where is my baby? The font was so garbled that it was illegible. There was a space after every capital letter and the other letters were so piled on each other you couldn’t make out the words.

When I’d used all the Kleenex in my desk drawer, I called them. Of course, no one was on the other end, save for the automated voice of their mailboxes. But at least I got rid of my postpartum anger. I cried and said very imperiously, “HOLD THE PRESSES! I will not accept this book. I will call Visa (of course they already had my money) and stop payment and …” I felt like an inner tube impaled on a sharp rock. Then I called my friend, the publisher. “Of course you can do this on your own. You have the file, just find a good printing company.”

I inquired around and found out that I could get my book printed overseas at half the cost of stateside. I began to get phone numbers and surfed websites. There were some good deals to be made overseas; however, the problem was I needed a broker. So after the broker took his cut, and the shipping charges were added, a stateside printer looked better. Plus, the thought of having a problem and not being able to connect at once with your printer was worrisome.

I searched the Internet and found many websites where you could input the details of your book, number of pages, size of book, print run, etc., and within a week I got a bid from ten printing companies. After picking one printer (not the cheapest), I felt we had a fit. I spoke to the owner, who offered to throw in a hundred free books, which might have had something to do with my decision. He checked out my website while we were speaking, loved the site and the look of my book and of course, he had me. He also offered storage and order fulfillment. Now, all I had to do was put our house on the market and clear out our 401K.

I know what you’re thinking. Sure, maybe she has it, but not everyone can come up with that much money. Yes, you can if you want to. We took an equity line on our home and as the money comes rolling in, I’ll be making payments on the equity line. We authors must be optimists. Really! If you don’t believe in your book, who will?

I ran off my own bookmarks and saved a few hundred dollars. I used the cover of the book, wrote a short synopsis on the back, and had 500 printed. I have handed out those bookmarks on airplanes and in airports; Seattle, Palm Desert, San Diego, Portugal, New York, Australia, New England… well maybe not personally, but I’ve given them to people who live in those places and they were happy to have them and said they’d pass them on. I’ve handed them out in restaurants to women sitting around me; two of them bought my book right on the spot. My friends call me “A self-promoting slut.”

I have to leave you now, as that’s where I am in this wonderful world of the written word, where the writing was easy… now comes the hard part ─ marketing!

One of the biggest misconceptions about getting a book published is that the publishing company will take care of the marketing. Generally speaking, that’s not true. There are basically three different ways to get your book published. You can self-publish your own book. You can use a small independent publisher or if you’re an established author, you can use one of the big publishing houses like Penguin or Random House. Regardless which of these options you use, you will still be left with the responsibility for the marketing.

There are a lot of different things you can do to promote your book and Tactical Execution has made a business out of helping you see real results out there. But this article will give you a few pointers to help you get started. For more detailed information, visit the website. There’s a ton of free information available there and I hope you take advantage of those resources.

One of the best ways to promote your book is to offer workshops and seminars around the country. It’s not that difficult to do that. You can quickly contact the major Adult Education providers and submit a proposal for a workshop dealing with the same topic as your book. Include the release of your new book in your proposal. The people reviewing workshop proposals love having things like that to include in their marketing.

These Adult Education programs are a hidden treasure to say the least. These companies send out small catalogs of courses to huge mailing lists, trying to attract students to their courses. Submitting just one proposal can get you on the schedule and they do all the marketing for you, leaving you with great exposure for very little cost.

Your book should definitely be featured on your website along with a way for people to buy a copy. Assuming that’s in place, article marketing presents another great opportunity to generate website traffic resulting in book sales. In fact, you’ve already done all the writing too. Just take your book and break it up into a hundred small segments; a hundred small articles. Then publish them individually on the web, each with a backlink to your website.

Article marketing is the primary website traffic strategy I use to promote the Tactical Execution website and you can see all my published articles right on the site. In addition, the site provides specific implementation guidance to get your article marketing campaign up and running. Any seasoned internet marketer can tell you that article marketing is one of the most powerful tools available to attract not just human visitors but search engines as well.

The last tip I’ll share in this article is a paid public relations service called PR Leads. This is a tremendous opportunity to get a ton of great exposure and credibility for yourself and your business. For just $100 per month, you can be on a database journalists use to get quotes for stories they’re working on. You simply identify the areas where you’re an expert and wait for the emails to come in. If you’re quick to respond, you can find your own quotes in major news media within a single week. Give it a try.

Marketing your own book is no easy task. But if you know something about marketing and have some good implementation guidance, you can stage a successful campaign from your own home. Visit the Tactical Execution website to get specific step-by-step instructions so you can do it too.

Many of the best stories in fiction have both an antagonist and a protagonist.

The protagonist is the main character or hero that we cheer on and hope conquers all.

The antagonist is the story’s villain. The best bad guys are the ones we love to hate. We don’t need to know why they are bad, we don’t need a play by play of the choices they made early in life, we simply recognize they are bad and we don’t want them to win.

A story can operate without an antagonist; however the use of an antagonist is the best way to demonstrate conflict within a storyline.

Conflict in a well executed work of fiction provides the friction that keep readers tuned in. In most cases the antagonist reigns supreme through the majority of storyline. The reader wants the forces of good to triumph, yet the villain remains in charge of the bulk of events that thread through your tale.

This combination of good versus evil creates suspense and causes your reader to wonder how exactly the protagonist will gain an advantage.

One of the primary benefits fictional conflict is the reader is often forced to consider how they might respond against such odds and in similar circumstances. In a best case scenario the story assists the reader in learning more about themselves.

Conflict can also be used to disrupt a normally predictable plot. By presenting conflict that is, in many ways, worse than the previous conflict you can instill a greater desire for evil to be defeated while keeping the reader guessing where the story may be headed next.

Ultimately the story must provide resolution. For the fiction writer of faith this resolution process often provides the simple message that good will triumph over evil although other threads of faith will likely work their way through your text &ndash sometimes without you being consciously aware of their presence.

If you allow the antagonist to loose the struggle too early in your story it becomes anti-climactic and the fire in the story is reduced to an ember that may leave your audience cold.

The use of a villain (may not be a human, could be an animal, ideal, political agenda, etc.) goes a long way in conveying a story with elements that emotionally involve your reader.

While mulling over what to talk about in my last blog, my husband had a suggestion I found irresistible! More joking than serious, he said, “Why don’t you talk about the sex appeal of older men, and call it ‘Who’s Your Daddy’?”

He never thought I would take him seriously. Well, as you can see, I did. By older, I am specifically talking about men past fifty. Yes, I have an eye for young stud puppets, cut and lean sex machines! But many of those to die for men look that way to attract other men. Although nice to ogle, it’s rather like pressing your nose against the candy store window. Drooling over the goodies is as far as you get.

The rugged virility I am talking about in older men I know about first hand. Working in the shipping industry as long as I have, I know sailors. These are not Navy sailors, they are Merchant Mariners. They have spent a good part of their lives on commercial ships, sailing all over the world. Once they came ashore, they continued to work with ships in a variety of roles.

Because of the requirements of my job, I have to travel occasionally. I have been to Singapore, Tokyo, Copenhagen, Barcelona and Norway. In all of these places, I have met sailors. I’ve talked to them, drank with them and been accepted by them. They’ve told me stories that have made me laugh until the tears ran. In fact, I’m writing an anthology called Hello, Sailor which will be released sometime in 2008. It is a collection of three novellas based upon the stories I’ve been told by my sailor friends.

These men are career mariners. They are strong individuals, free wheeling, opinionated, wickedly funny, and sexy. Most of all &ndash God bless them &ndash they LOVE women! You might be surprised to hear that they not only love women, they respect women. Of course they tell dirty jokes! They’re sailors after all. But whenever I have socialized with them, individually or in a group, I am treated with such courtesy it borders on gallantry. Not even my husband (don’t tell him I said this!) is as courteous and mannerly as they are.

They aren’t pretty boys. Far from it. They carry themselves with an aura of masculinity that can only be achieved with years of self sufficiency. Being a sailor is not an easy life. Hard work and hard living show on their faces, rugged character etched in every line. Perhaps they wouldn’t be considered classically handsome. They are nonetheless attractive in their manliness, maturity and individuality.

In our youth oriented culture, it is a refreshing reminder to know that sex appeal doesn’t diminish as the birthday candles increase. Both men and women remain sexual beings for as long as the fire burns inside. I have every intention of keeping my fire stoked for many more years. I think my sailor friends feel the same way.

As a final note, the piece below eloquently summarizes how I feel about my life, and my writing.

In 1981, Lena Horne did a one woman Broadway show called “Lena Horne &ndash The Lady and her Music.” In the show, she referred to herself as a late bloomer. I find I am appreciating her comment more now than I ever have before.

Early in the show, she sang her signature song “Stormy Weather”, much like she sang it in the movie. Late in the show’s second half, she announced her next number by saying ‘’I had to grow into this song.’’

And then what does she do? She sings ‘’Stormy Weather’’ all over again. Only this time she sings it as if she had just grown into it, as if she had never sung it before. The words poured out of her, with a gospel fervor that covered her, and the audience, with sweat and tears.

I am growing into my song as Lena did hers, learning to sing it all over again, in a new way, with a new perspective. Who knew it could be this good!

When an author decides to write fiction one the primary methods of storytelling is through a first person perspective. For many writers this is the most comfortable manner of storytelling.

In a first person narrative the reader is allowed to relate to the story one dimensionally. The story is presented to the reader from the viewpoint of a character in the story. The narrator might be the main character attempting to relate their own story. The story might also be told from the perspective of a bystander who may not be overtly involved in the storyline.

In the movie, “Charlie and the Chocolate Factory”, the story is narrated by a deeper male voice. It is only at the end that we discover the story was related by one of Willie Wonka’s Oompa Loompas. This is an example of first person storytelling.

This type of story telling is well used in cinema. Many early filmmakers used first person narrative to present their stories. The reason this type of format was used is primarily due to early filmmaking technology that required some help in the transition between scenes. Narration provided that transition. Film noir and other detective dramas relied heavily on first personal narratives to further their storylines.

Today’s authors are more adept at relating a story from other perspectives such as second or third person which will be dealt with in other articles.

A first person narrative allows you to understand the specific character of the narrator. You are likely to find yourself identifying with the storyteller in a variety of ways. You will either love or despise their mannerisms, but it is their character that provides the strongest connection to the storytelling process.

Because your narrator is finite they will never have all the details of the story they are unfolding for you. Sometimes this creates a unique perspective because the story can sometimes become more about the narrator (at least for awhile) then about the actual storyline. This can occasionally provide a comedic touch to the novel or at the very least some rabbit trails to follow just for the fun of it.

Interestingly some first person narratives are actually related from the perspective of a consortium. The premise is that a group of individuals are relating the story. This is identified by the use of ‘we’ or ‘us’ as part of the narration.

Many people claim that they want to write. Most won’t because of a giant monster called FEAR. It looms over individuals and paralyzes them. “What if I’m no good?” “ What if I’m wasting my time?” “What if…” “What if…” “What if…” Fear creates these never-ending questions, but fortunately the beast can be conquered. It’s conquered every day. Here are ten ways to get over fear and start writing:

1) Handwrite. There’s something informal about writing longhand. Just grab a piece of paper and jot notes down. They do not have to be anything brilliant. What you write could be something as simple as “I wish I had an idea about…” Don’t worry what your handwriting looks like, just fill the page with free thought.

2) Send yourself an email. An email isn’t “real writing” so use this format to jot a story down. You can write about an imaginary day or a neighborhood event. This is a great exercise to get in the storytelling mode and you don’t have to worry about the recipient &ndash it’s you!

3) Commit before you’re ready. Tell someone you’re a writer and let them give you an assignment. Anything from writing a menu to a libretto. There’s no grading involved and to encourage yourself to accept the challenge promise yourself that you get a prize when you start.

4) Write out the fears. I know it can be scary to face them, but you can’t defeat what you don’t acknowledge. List all your fears. After you’ve finished writing them down, come up with ways to get rid of them. For example if you wrote, “I’m afraid I’m no good.” You could counter this statement with “I don’t have to be. It’s only a rough draft.” Counter “My ideas are stupid.” with “No, I’m trying to be perfect and I don’t have to be.”

5) Pretend to be someone else. Write in a different style, say an 18th century writer or one of your favorite bestselling authors. Mimic their rhythms and patterns. It’s not for you to compare, just to experiment. Write your article as Mark Twain would. Or start a short story about a kitten, first in the style of a horror writer then as a literary one. As children most of us didn’t have a problem with make-believe, it works for us a adults too!

6) Find a postcard. Look at the image on the front and jot down ideas about it on the back. You don’t have to fill up the entire space, this exercise is about getting ideas flowing.

7) Come up with a mantra that allows bad writing. “I will succeed as long as I write.” “Bad stories can be rewritten. A blank page can’t.” Keep these mantras (you can have as many as you want) close by and say it/them out loud when fear raises its ugly head.

Remember you’re reading the finished product. When you’re reading a published book or article you’re rarely (if ever) reading someone’s first draft. The book or article has gone through who knows how many revisions, editorial review, copyedits, etc… Once your work is finished, it will go through the same process before it’s shared with the public. So relax, you don’t have to be perfect.

9) Fear means you care. Far too often a writer may become too egotistical and ignore the benefit of being fearful. Not to the extent of being paralyzed, but using fear as a guide. By caring about your work and being concerned that your readers like or accept it will help you make sure your work is the best that it can be.

10) Procrastinate. You can always worry later. Write now.

Many people dream of writing their own book. The sad fact is that for every 500 people who want to write a book, there might be only 1 or 2 who actually do it. Somehow, we get it stuck in our minds that we “can never do that” and that writing “should be left to the professionals”. Nothing could be further from the truth! I am 100% convinced that anyone … even YOU, can write a book successfully if they just understand a couple of basic principles. In this article, I’m going to cover the exact steps that anyone, including you, can use to write a book, essay, or article of any length.

Step 1 &ndash Collect

Collect what? Collect everything. If you are writing nonfiction you will collect information about your topic. You might collect magazine clippings, newspaper articles, along with various notes and quotes from any variety of sources. You might also collect things like sights, sounds (record audio), and smell (take notes about how things smell). If you’re writing a novel the things you collect will be differ a little from this. Instead you’ll collect thoughts, ideas, character ideas, and scene ideas, along with any information (similar to the above) that involves research for your novel. If you’re writing a crime novel you might collect information above the criminal justice system. If you’re writing a romance you might collect notes and ideas from relationship books, dating websites, and your own relationships and experience. The important thing to do is to collect, and to do nothing but collect at this phase. Don’t analyze stuff; don’t try to figure out the order of things too early. Just collect!

Step 2 &ndash Categorize

In this step, you are free to unleash your inner control freak. Organize, categorize, analyze, criticize, hypothesize… I think you get the point. The whole purpose of this stage is to take what you collected in the previous stage and organize it into an order that makes sense. Read the articles and books, sift your notes down to the finest details, and sort it all out into related areas that make sense together. Once you have the related areas grouped together, put those “categories” into an order from first to last. If you have a ton of notes and other collected stuff, don’t stress about trying to tackle the whole pile at once. Just take part of it, and work on ONLY that part until you have it organized and sorted. Then grab some more notes and do the same thing with those. You can add to either if you need to later. Once you have everything analyzed, described, and sorted you can then move on to the third step in the process.

Step 3 &ndash Communicate

This is the fun part! This is simply the act of actually communicating everything that you’ve put together from the first two steps. In other words, write it down! The sorted, organized collection that you have from steps one and two is now your outline. All you have to do is follow your notes in order and write about each note and topic in turn. If you have your notes broken in to sub-categories, treat each one as a book in itself. This allows you to focus on just one small part at a time rather than trying to tackle an entire book all at once. Just get through one section, and then, move on to the next.

If you have done this right, by step 3 your book is practically written for you.

“What about grammar?” Here’s a little secret about grammar and punctuation: 90% of your grammar and punctuation problems will go away if you will keep your writing (and by writing, I mean your sentences) short, concise, and to the point. Keep it short. Keep it simple. The best writers aren’t the ones who have sentences three paragraphs long. The best writers are those who can get the same information across in just a few words&ndashno matter how complex the topic might be. As for novels, if you can “move” people with 5 words as opposed to 50, you are doing a great thing.

Knowing and applying these simple steps can be the difference between having a dream of writing a book and having a stack of books that you’ve written. I have written five books so far using this method.

You’ve just learned one of the easiest systems of writing in existence. Whether you’re 40 years old or 10 years old you can use these steps to accomplish just about any writing task that is set before you. Go ahead and try it and you’ll see. Your new writing career starts now!

Many struggling writers come to me asking what they can do to improve their writing. They continually face problems with sentence and paragraph structure as well as surface errors such as spelling, grammar, and punctuation. They know the basic rules of English and can often be very effective helping other writers revise their work but somehow manage to overlook the errors in their own drafts.

It is a common problem and the solution is a dirty little secret among writers. It is a dirty secret because it is so simple and writers often feel foolish practicing the method — read your writing out loud.

The human brain is very sophisticated. When you read to yourself then it will automatically make corrections for you. This means that you will read the words, structure and meaning you intended to create whether or not you actually achieved your goal. However when you read out loud your brain cannot trick your ears and you will hear awkward sentence structure. The process of reading out loud will also allow your eyes to catch surface problems that you might skim over when reading to yourself.

While employing the simple technique of reading your work out loud to catch your writing errors can help you improve your work, it is only one technique. Often the root cause of many writing problems lies with the writer’s individual writing process — or the lack of one. Spending time developing a process for your writing is the single most effective way to improve the quality of writing experience as well as the work it produces.

Even after you have developed your personal writing process you must also allow yourself time to brainstorm, write, revise and edit. Too often the reason that revision and editing are not effective is because the writer attempts these processes too close in time to the initial draft. Allow yourself at least a day but preferably longer between drafts, revision and editing and you will be amazed at the results you can achieve.

Today most writers tend to draft electronic versions of their paper. I do so myself. However I know that I can more effectively revise and edit on the printed page. When I complete a draft I print it out and then set it aside to let it ferment. After returning to the project I am able to bring a fresher eye due to our time apart as well as different perspective because the words are in print rather than on screen. Give it a try and see how it works for you.

The technique of reading your work out loud may be simple but it is extremely effective and employed by writers at all levels and of all ages, however it works best when you combine it with an effective writing process, allow enough time for an adequate drafting and revision process, and revise and edit drafts on the printed page. You can become a better writer if you employ these simple strategies and tips.

Philosophy books tend to be large tomes of incomprehensible concepts, no doubt designed this way to limit readership to those already involved in this ethereal endeavor at the academic level. Very occasionally a book comes along that breaks out from the norm, in 1971 R. D. Lang published his ground breaking work Knots, a Book that could be taken on many different levels, and more importantly, enjoyed by a wide audience.

Although using a different style Erik Quisling has produced a similar work with Fables From The Mud. Using relatively simple concepts we are introduced to some very human conditions. Whereas Lang used the nursery rhyme Jack and Jill characters, Quisling uses a Clam, an Ant, and a garden Worm to explore his theories. And as we get to see, these lowly creatures have the same wants and needs as humans. Often our wants and needs are hard to explain, and by modeling those concepts into the life of creatures with a seemingly simple lifestyle, those concepts can be boiled down to ideas and needs that can be readily understood.

Each page is adorned by a simple line drawing, it took me a while to catch on. The starkness of the drawing actually enhances the message.

Our first encounter is with an Angry Clam, he is angry because of his inability to change the world, what can a mollusk do? We watch as he moves through a variety of emotions, becoming increasingly disillusioned with his life. Maybe manic is a word that we can effectively use. As with all three of these entertaining stories, Erik Quisling has a twist in the tale.

Next up is the Ant, a hard worker, and an important member of society at the worker level, blue collar through and through. By taking a wrong fork in the road, he discovers the ‘stone garden’, a place talked about in ‘Ant Hill’ mythology, a land of wonder. But is it really?

Lastly is the Worm, this aging warrior has seen it all! He has achieved great things in his life, and we meet him reflecting on his past battles. The adrenalin highs, the taste of victory, and the knowledge of campaigns well conducted, still do not make up for the aching emptiness he now feels. Residing in the now completely decomposed skull of General Grant, the worm realizes that all the battles mean nothing. The achievements of the past are no more than a passing memory. He has one last purpose in his warrior life, but can he fulfill it?

Erik Quisling uses some very, very dark humor in Fables From The Mud. It may be a quick read, but it is a very contemplative work, and one that once you finish it, you will want to reflect on the stories. Minimalist it certainly is, but it is well worth the price of admission. There is something for everyone in this book.

Fables for the Mud is slated for an October release and you can order a copy through various online booksellers.

The User-Product Life Cycle (U-PLC) is a powerful tool for the User Document writer. Use the U-PLC to generate the high-level topics for your User Document.

THE USER-PRODUCT LIFE CYCLE (U-PLC)

Usually, when we think of a Product Life Cycle, we think in terms of the development and production of the Product itself. When writing User Documentation, consider the U-PLC to help you generate all the topics necessary for a complete document. User Documentation should support your Users in all of their interactions with the product.

The User-Product Life Cycle refers to the full range of interactions between the User and the Product itself. This is more than simply “how to use the product.” As you will see below, “Use the Product” is only one stage in the U-PLC.

STAGES IN THE U-PLC

Here are the stages IN the U-PLC (assuming that the User as acquired the Product):

– U-P LC Stage: Transport the Product to its working location

– U-P LC Stage: Unpack the Product

Transport and Unpacking of the product are listed here just for completeness. These are currently displayed on the packaging itself, usually in pictorial form, and do a good job.

– U-P LC Stage: Overall knowledge about the Product.

This is information that is presented to the User early in the User Documents.

Topics here include safety, legal, and disclaimers related to the product.

The description of the product should indicate how the product may change the way that the User currently does things. For example, an analog voice recorder will require the User to listen to all the stored items to find a particular one; a digital voice recorder will enable the User to quickly jump from one message to another.

– U-P LC Stage: Set up or Install the Product

* Environments

It is important for the writer to think of the various environments where the product will exist. For example, how should a computer program be installed in a Windows, Mac, or Linux environment?

“Environments” includes other things that the product must work with. For example, how should a DVD player be installed in a system currently composed of a TV and a VCR? How about installation to a TV & VCR system where the TV has only one video input?

* User Capabilities.

The capabilities required for the User to set up the product are also important. Since the assumptions related to the User for set up may be different from the assumptions about the User in using the product, the wise writer will present the skills (and perhaps regulations) needed to set up the product. A section entitled “Can You Set Up This Product?” will enable the User to make the decision about whether to set the product up themselves, or find outside help.

For example, suppose the product is an electrical light dimmer that is intended to replace the light switch in the User’s home. Using the product merely requires adjusting the dimmer’s single control to set the desired light level. Installing the product requires experience with home electrical wiring–does the User have these capabilities?

Sometimes, the limitation may be legal. In some jurisdictions — Quebec, Canada, for example — only qualified electricians are permitted to install or modify electrical circuits in the home. Thus in Quebec, the general User of the dimmer will not be able to (legally) install the light dimmer.

– U-P LC Stage: Use the Product

This component is the focus of most User Documentation. It should contain at least these three sub-topics:

- Starting the product

- Actual Use of the product

For most products “Actual Use” is the central focus of the User Document.

Ideally, this should be divided into basic or common product functions, and advanced functions. A good example is photo-editing software. Most Users want to crop, rotate, and adjust the brightness and contrast of the image. These are basic functions. More advanced functions might be combining the parts of one picture with another.

- Shutting down the product

Is there any maintenance to be done at shut down? List it here and in the “Maintain” section.

– U-P LC Stage: Maintain the Product

Consider breaking this down into time periods, such as: after each use, weekly, monthly, yearly, as applicable.

– U-P LC Stage: Move the Product

For a computer software program, how the User should move the program and its data to another computer; computer users often upgrade their computer hardware. While it is often assumed that the User should re-install the product on the new computer, there always is the question about moving the data related to the product: where is it located, and how should it be moved so the newly-installed program can recognize it on the new computer?

For a physical product, are there any special considerations in moving the Product to another location?

– U-P LC Stage: Discard the Product or its By-Products

Here I would like to mention only selling the used product. It might be wise to mention that by keeping the User Manual, the seller may find it easier to sell, and possibly get a higher price, for the used product.

USING THE U-PLC IN YOUR WRITING

As you generate the topics for your User Document make sure that you keep the U-PLC in mind. Ensure that you include topics in your User Document Outline to assist your User in all phases of the U-PLC.

Great User Documents can assist in the UP-LC section that I did not present here: acquisition of the product. Your marketing department may be able to use your GREAT User Document as part of its marketing campaign.