Two types of people you need to know about

Whether you like to think so or not, people you know have a profound influence upon you. No matter how much you hold fast to your belief that 'no one tells you what to do', other people's thoughts, suggestions and hints will influence how you do certain things or cause you to back away from other things or trouble your mind even if you do your best to refuse to let it happen.

Ever heard of the 'seeds of doubt'? Well these 'suggestions' are much the same thing. Probably because they're masked with the guise of friendship, people tend to take suggestions, good or bad, on board.

For the artist, this can often be their downfall.

It's often said that there are many different types of people in this world. The 'go-get 'em' types, the conservative types, the shy types...etc, etc... But there are also the crazy and insane types, too. All these 'kinds' of people break down into two larger but separate categories: Good and Bad. What delineates people are their motivations - their motives can be good or bad regardless of their personality. For example, a crazy person may have good intentions, just a crazy way to go about turning them into reality. On the other hand, a conservative person may be bad intentioned but appear very, very respectable. Good people will help those around them, bad people will hinder those around them - it's pretty simple. The trouble is that sometimes, for the above reasons, we can't tell them apart. Seemingly well-intentioned people may approach you, and you may accept their help, but their help is disastrous. So, naturally, it pays to keep an eye on your associates: do they help or hinder you?

As a writer, the most important thing you have is your ability to communicate. That's pretty much your magic wand...it's your tool of the trade. If you took everything else away from you, that'd be what you're left with. Actually, it's the crux of what makes you a writer. Certainly, you back this up with other things, like your ability to put words together or to tell a story. But these are really an embroidering of the very basic first thing: communication.

Certainly, there are shy writers and there are loud obnoxious writers, too. But when it comes to telling a story, the shy writers are just as adept at communication as are the loud ones. At the end of the day, a writer's best weapon is his ability to communicate.

And that, unfortunately, draws the attention of the not-so-nice types - the bad-intentioned people I mentioned earlier. You see, as a writer you have a very high potential for communication; your work could be read by people far and wide. You can create an effect on people that you may never meet and that you will never know. Many people want this ability to create such an effect but have not the skill to actually do it. Hence, when they see someone with this keen communicative ability, they want it and will leech onto it. But, they may also feel threatened by it and will seek to pull you down by attacking your craft.

You don't need to look too far in history to find that artists or other creative people (athletes, etc) have drawn the attention of these leech type people.
Musicians and actors are a great example of this at work. These nasty types usually latch themselves onto the creative person and find out a way to make a cut out of the hard work that the artist has achieved and then, at the end of it all, leave the artist dry of their hard-earned money and move onto the next victim.

If you don't believe me, let history tell the story. Sadly, the list of victims is not short: Elvis Presley, Jimi Hendrix, Jim Morrison, Michael Hutchence, Michael Jackson...the list goes on and continues to. If you guessed that they all died young you'd be right. Boxer Mike Tyson gives an excellent account of his relationship with Don King in a recent documentary about his life and describes the latter as (if on other words) a leech.

The thing to understand is that this type of person wants rewards but for little or no work. They're like sponges and if you ever balk at them feeding off you, they tend to point an accusative finger at you and tell you it's you who are the greedy one. They have subtle ways of confusing those around them so that no one knows they're there lurking and so can be completely unnoticeable.

But if you're lucky enough to become even mildly successful, they'll be around you.

It takes more than a few guts to first look for and then find and deal with this type of person. But, if you're a creative type, you can bet that you have a person like this around you, making you doubt your moves or your activities or making you think that you're just not good enough. If you think that that little doubting voice in the back of your head is you, I can assure you you're wrong. It's just that seed of doubt that I mentioned earlier, which was laid by one of these bad-type personalities.

The idea of this type of person isn't new, it definitely isn't mine, either...it's just that I've had the misfortune to run into a few lately. L. Ron Hubbard called them the "Antisocial Personality" (He wrote probably the best book I have read on this subject is called "Science of Survival" New Era Publications). While the rapper KRS1 is a little more direct, labelling them 'Negative Mother F-----s' and recommending rather colourfully that we should not 'hang' with them. Fair enough, too. No one would want these nay sayers among their associates.

As writers, we want cheerful, encouraging and supportive people around us. People that will, when the chips are down and we have our backs against the wall, be right there next to us fighting on our side. Not pretending to be helping us while actually pulling the rug from under us. These are the people that will read your work and tell you 'honestly' as a 'friend' how bad your writing is and that perhaps you should consider another path in life that better suits your intellect and ability. Or remind you regularly how hard your career path will be and that you should brace yourself for a crash because 'people like you' don't usually make it. You, as an artist, do not need these characters around you. If you find any, don't excuse them as your friends by saying 'oh...that's just Bill', but get rid of them and get better friends.

Recently, I came across such a person. I didn't realise it at the time but when I was thinking of achieving big dreams, he was reminding me how impossible my goals were. He was reminding me at every opportunity just how impossible what I had in mind was. Fortunately, I cut them loose and the moment I did, things changed for the better.

These are the people that make you second guess your own abilities or tell you to take notice of the critics and what other people say about you and your work. Personally, I don't care about critics: factually, they're the ones that 'can't do' what they're telling you you can't do and so, perhaps out of jealousy, become hypercritical of those that are trying. Ignore the critics, but don't forget to get rid of these negative types from the ranks of your friends.

If they're a business associate, get rid of them swiftly because you'll notice your association in the hip pocket. They'll tell you how hard it is to make money and certainly you'll soon start to believe it. Sure, they may call themselves the 'voice of reason' - but they're not. You already have your own voice of reason and, if you make a mistake, you'll soon let yourself know about it. You don't ever need someone else telling you that you should be careful for this reason or that reason. You see, that's making you hesitant and uncertain of your own abilities and dreams and it's when you're hesitant that you make the worst mistakes. Then, afterwards while in similar situations, you'll find yourself uncertain when you need to be decisive.

Personally, I think the hardest thing for good people to do is to accept that there are 'bad' types of people around, to confront the idea that not every person has your best intentions at heart and that you may already rank some of these 'bad' people among your 'friends'. It's not a nice thing to know that there are people like this...but it's something good people need to know about, even if it is a bit hard to swallow at first.

Keep an eye out for them.

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Book Review - Get Your Book off the Ground - The Australian Writer

By Daan Spijer
From: The Australian Writer Magazine
Issue #364

As writers, we are (or should be) avid readers of others’ work. This gives us insights into howother (good) writers write. It does not, however, tell us much about the craft itself: what, apart from sweat and tears, went into creating this eminently readable piece of
composition.

We could, of course, attend writing groups and classes, listen to writers on the radio or on stage and read books about the craft. Many of us do. Get Your Book off the Ground is a welcome addition to the last of these options. It is written by two experienced and accomplished
practitioners of the craft.

Anthony Santoro is a professional writer with a number of crime novels and a ‘serious’ book under his belt, as well as experience in editing and, critically, experience in selling what he has written.

Suzanne Male is a journalist, writer, editor, publisher and marketing professional. She is the founder of Smink Works Books (publisher) and has written a number of books, including for children.

Together, they have put into this book (the first of a series) a wealth of advice and supportive information for all writers, whether starting out or already accomplished. They cover such topics as story planning, making characters believable, dealing with writer’s block, surviving rejection, and ‘The sure-fire way to get published’.

In total, there are seventeen very readable chapters and a comprehensive index for finding your way around the book, or returning to something you read earlier. Often in co-authored books, there is no indication of who wrote what. In Get Your Book off the Ground each author’s contribution is clearly identified, making digestion of the information and advice easier. The book is well organised, making it possible to read it from start to finish, or delve into individual chapters, or even in to well-identified parts of chapters. In this, it is in itself a prime example of how to write and construct a book aimed at assisting others to work towards all they are capable of.

The publisher, The Writers’ Resource Centre, is an Internet portal to link writers and writers’ resources. It also publishes books and articles on writing and runs a short story competition; .

The Australian Writer Magazine is a publication of the Fellowship of Australian Writers (www.writers.asn.au). We recommended you visit this site and read about their aims, which include bringing "together all those interested in writing for their mutual professional, cultural and social benefit, and to provide information and advice to them".

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The Overlooked Writing Fundamental - Planning

Don't cringe if you read this thinking..."hey, is he talking about me?" I'm not, don't worry. We've all suffered with the curse of the 'unfinished manuscript', there are few writers who haven't.

But, what's missing is the understanding of "WHY?" Why do some writers -- well many, many writers, actually -- begin writing a manuscript only to never finish it? Hands up who has done this very thing... If you did raise your hand, it's okay, you're not alone. There are few writers who could attest to not having a filing cabinet draw with at least one or two unfinished masterpieces in it, myself included.

Fortunately, the half-written story does have a cure: planning.

Other than a good grasp of the language in which you write, story planning is so key to story writing, so fundamental, that perhaps it has also become the most overlooked step in writing. Definitely, there are experienced writers who can write without a full plan, but their negligence of the plan is really a matter of their experience.

For the rest of us planning is a very, very important matter. Do not neglect it.

Planning must also take into consideration another point: the component parts of a novel. Naturally, any novel has a beginning, middle and an end. But, these can be further broken down in a book: firstly, any novel has an 'introduction', then an 'assemblage' of the characters and plot, then the 'climax', followed by the 'dénouement' and, finally, the 'conclusion'. The more accustomed you are to each aspect of your story, the more you will be able to negotiate and better handle the telling of it (We write more about these components in the book "Get Your Book off the Ground"; but we can at least discuss them briefly here). But most importantly, if you make a plan of your story you will prevent finding yourself, half-way through your story writing, wondering what you should do next or where you should take your story? With your story already 'planned', you've already worked that out. A writer's plan, encompassing what their characters will do in each part of the story - from beginning to end - will go a long way to preventing writer's block, something which generally precedes the packing away of an unfinished story into a filing cabinet.

So, how do you do a plan? Easy - it should not take more than a few hours, if that. You can do it on a piece of paper, or more thoroughly on a computer. You can make it as complex or as basic as you like. But, as advice, I would suggest that you make it as simple as possible. Remember, you're not actually writing the story...only planning it...roughing it out.

Some may thumb their nose at the above, saying that it's too simple, that no way could story planning handle writer's block or prevent the story from being completed. Well, my personal experience is, naturally, quite the opposite. Analogous to writing a story without planning it would be going on a day-trip without knowing where you are going. Sure, this is okay if you don't plan to end up anywhere in particular. But for a writer it's not this way - a writer wants, at least, to get to the end of the book. Best you, the writer, have some idea where the 'end' is and what basic shape it may take.

Story planning is not a rote process - so don't be robotic about it. The plan is only a thorough guide for your story - it's not set in concrete, ever. You may choose to change it as the purposes of characters become more clear to you. If so, change it; the plan is only there so you can keep your eye on the mountain which, for a writer, is the end of the story. The plan will stop you becoming bogged down in the jungle on the way to the top of that mountain; when you get stuck and don't know what to do next, simply refer back to the plan, find your path, then continue.

Sure, I've oversimplified the story writing and planning process. But then...this is only a blog. If you want to know more, you can...the catch is, you'll have to get a copy of our book: "Get Your Book off the Ground - What You Need to Know to Write and Publish Your Book". Planning deserves all the pages we devote to it, we even give you a complete example of one, start to finish.

Good luck with planning and story writing. I've never written a book without one!


Anthony Santoro's new book, 'Last Decent Man', is due in stores in September 2009. His first novel, 'The Deception' was published in 2005. He co-authored 'Get Your Book off the Ground' with Suzanne Male. Anthony is the founder of the Writers' Resource Centre. www.writersworld.com.au. To get a copy of 'Get Your Book off the Ground', click here.

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Life before getting published

After I had my first book published, many people became interested in what I did before I got into writing. This amused me because, certainly I wasn't always a 'published' writer, but I was always writing and always considered myself a 'writer'. Retrospectively, I think, what they meant was, "what did you do before you were published?"

Now, this, I can answer. Before I was published, I was a contract debt collector. Aside from it not being the most glamorous career in the world, it was at least interesting. Companies would hire me to collect debts that they had tried everything to collect themselves, but failed - the really, really tough debts. I'd work on commission and an hourly rate. It was good because it paid well and it also meant I was my own boss. Being my own boss, I gave myself every Wednesday off to write my book.

The book would later be released as "The Deception". I like to think of it as a gritty, real Australian crime-fiction. But recently I read a critique of it that said something to the effect of "too many Australianisms and unrealistic swearing and language". I didn't ponder on it and decided that the critic wasn't from the same part of town I was from. Truthfully, the language was actually tame compared to what I was normal in my line of work, which the book reflected. I suppose she (the critic) is entitled to her opinion, too.

But, my job would go something like this: I'd get a list of all the customers that owed my client money. I'd send them all a letter to say that a "Debt Management Consultancy" (AKA, take-no-sh#t debt collectors) was taking over the debt and that all measures would be taken to recoup the money. "All measures" really meant that I'd harass the hell out of them, within the confines of the law, of course, and if I couldn't collect it after a few months, I'd tell my client to write off the money and send the delinquent customer a letter saying "You are, and will always be, a loser and we hope you choke on the money you owe us!" but in more formal words.

One day, a sunny cold afternoon in mid-2003, I finished writing my book and started calling publishers to see if they could publish it. Naturally, they let me know there was a 'procedure' for getting published, one that didn't involve 'calling' up and asking publishers to 'please publish my book'. It was suggested that I become a member of a local writing guild and to get from them the details of what the 'procedure' was. Of course, I knew there was a procedure, but I was in a hurry, I wanted a new job.

Why? Well, a week prior to this day, I had received a death threat. The death threat, in itself, is worth elaboration. The guy that made the threat had tried me a number of times, each time calling me with a blocked caller ID. Being a debt collector, I didn't answer calls with blocked IDs for just this very reason. After a few weeks of missing me, this guy got frantic one day and called me...but forgot to block his ID. When I didn't answer, he forgot his standard protocol of hanging up without leaving a message and left a voice mail that said: "You're dead...you're as good as dead. I'm gonna kill you. You're stickin' your nose in someone else's business..."...blah...blah...blah. You get the idea. So, I listened to this message and to my surprise, at the end of it, my voice mail says: "If you would like to call this person back, please press 6". Which, I did.

Our conversation was brief, but went something like this: "Hello."

Me: "Hi. Who's this?"

Death Threat Guy: "Er...Who are you?"

Me: "You just called me, left a message that said you were gonna kill me?"

DTG: "Me?! Noooooooo I didn't!"

Me: "Yeeeeeeeeeees you did. But, idiot, you didn't block your number."


Fortunately, we both had a laugh about it and agreed to let bygones be bygones. Soon afterwards, I decided debt collecting wasn't really my thing anymore.

A bit of luck came my way and, in 2004, I signed my first publishing contract and the following year my book came out. I still kept working, just not in debt collection. See, to be a full-time writer, your book needs to sell in large, large quantities or publishers need to pay you large advances. Even if I had both, I'd still keep working. I had a family, expenses, etc, plus, I started in a new line of work, which I liked. No reason to quit my day job...just yet.

There are many other stories, this is but one...and not one of the funnier ones, either (I could also tell you about the day I was late for court and the judge made repeat after him, 'I am sorry for being late...').

A good article to read about working a day job and being a writer it by Scot Gardner called (http://www.scotgardner.com/woodandwater.htm) from the Writer's World Ezine from way back in mid-2006.

My advice to you is, never hate your day job. Enjoy every opportunity you have to be productive in whatever line of work you do.

Anthony.

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On Getting Published

When I was signed up by a publisher, I remember telling a friend of mine about it and saying "I hope people like my book when it comes out". His response was, "Who cares, you're a published writer now!" Sometime later, I went to another friend's house, he'd just had a baby and was kind enough to let me have a hold of his little girl. As I held her, he stood back, folded his arms and smiled proudly. "There you are," he said, "Now, you can say you were held by a published author."

Don't gag, please. I could tell you more trite stories that would make you lose your lunch...but I'm not that cruel.

I'm trying to make a point: to some (not all, by a long shot), getting published is like the Mecca of all achievements. I thought it was, too, until I signed the publishing contract and felt exactly no different to the moment before I scribbled my signature on the dotted line.

My friends, bless them, were so proud of me; especially those that had tried, but failed to get their work published. To them, I was different. But to me, I was the same. The next day, I still had to go to work, I still had to pay bills, I still had to fill my car up with petrol, I still had to do the usual day-to-day stuff any other person at my job did. It was here, at my job, that I really noticed that things hadn't changed.

One day, I was introduced to a woman through a friend. She told me she was trying to get her book published but had been cut down by a very, very nasty rejection letter from a publisher. "What did it say?" I enquired and, after literally pulling teeth to get the answer, she replied, "(sniffle)...it said 'thank you but we're not publishing this genre at the moment'. Can you believe their cheek?!"

No big a deal, right? Obviously, by her long face, it was to her. "Well, why not publish it yourself and--"

She held up her hand. "Oh, please," she said, "no thanks." Naturally, I walked away shrugging. Incidentally, she is still 'trying' to get her book published. Actually, it's a good book.

The point I'm trying to make is that it's a hell of a lot easier to get published than many people think. Fortunately, people are starting to recognise this little gem called 'self-publishing' but it's a long way off total acceptance.

I actually tried to self publish my second book. But, if you remember that little thing I said I signed at the beginning of this rant - the publishing contract - well, in doing so I also gave my publisher the first right of refusal on my next work. When I asked to go my own way, they had me send my next novel through and, lo, they loved it. Now, please don't think I hate my publisher, quite the opposite, actually. They were great, and are great, but if you need to, there is more than one way to skin the proverbial cat. There are lots and lots of people who have tried every which way to get published and have found out some brilliant avenues for the newbie to travel down.

As a new writer, you need to 'get in the know'. I used to be one for thinking that writing groups, centres, guilds and associations and were...well, 'stuffy'. Fortunately, I've been disabused of this. Groups of writers are best and they don't have to be formal, either. Just a bunch of people who like writing is perfect. But, it's better if some of them have walked the road to publication so they can help you with some advice, if that's what you choose (not everyone strives to be 'published' either!).

Quite factually, I needed these groups and the help and services they provide. Instead, I did things the hard way
and re-invented the wheel on my way to getting a book published. It worked for me, but I was very lucky.

If you're just starting out, you don't need to travel such a hard path. In Australia, there are heaps of groups. You
only need to pick up the Australian Writer's Marketplace to see that there are hundreds of them from retreats to
centres.

I suggest to all that they get in a group. Online is a great place to start. Try our one: www.writersworld.com.au and sign up for the 'writer's community' (see the left tabs). The people on it are an absolutely great bunch of people.

Cheers.

Anthony Santoro
www.writersworld.com.au
Author: Get Your Book off the Ground; The Deception; Last Decent Man

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Balance and the Economy - The Global Crises, a rant

I started punching out this rant about a week ago and, since then, much in the social forum has changed but not by way of improvement. Over the weekend much my state was devastated by bushfires – the likes of which I have never seen.

For my part, I assisted where I could. But, there is no need to report more upon the carnage for that is the realm of the media who have canvassed almost all outlets with updates and figures and tolls.

Living in the city as I do, I too could not but notice the mood on the streets today: Numbness. A numbness that would become someone who, while already grappling with a terrible loss, was the then told of another. Literally, the midday streets of suburban Melbourne were Sunday-like quiet. At the shops, sales assistants all wore long faces.

The bushfires are just more ill tidings as we grapple with the fallout from the economic crisis. And, as the loss of the weekend is still too close and because I think that writing more on it will proffer little or nothing of value, I will continue on with the point of the economy, for that, at least, is something which can be addressed and handled.

That’s right, handled.

Words we hear to the contrary, that the economy is ‘out of control’ or that there is nothing anyone can do to prevent the loss of jobs or the decline of the economy are, in fact untrue. This economic crisis, whether intentional or unintentional, has been manufactured – make no mistake. And, hence, it can be repaired...though not easily.

The economic crisis is not like the weekend’s wild fires that roared and raged according to the whims of wind and weather. Rather, it is a social situation and one that was created by the co-relations of business and the regulations (controls) put upon the enterprise of the people by governing bodies.

The free-market and unfettered greed have been labelled the culprits of the fiscal collapse, at least by the PM and other politicians. And, perhaps many jobless men or women have found comfort in such statements for they give, at least, a reason for their hardship. But this is not wholly the case. For the culprit is far more devious and, as witnessed by the 600,000 job losses in the USA just recently, far more callous in its wrath.

The market is a natural thing suffering with an affliction: Unnatural elements have tainted it and corrupted it from its pure form. The market climate has been given haughty names like “neo=economic liberalism” and been made an esoteric thing only understood only by university graduates (who, yet do not truly understand it) and sent into decline.

And, just as forest can be killed by pollution or a sea can be killed by overfishing, the economy is being slain by overborrowing, overspending and very bad financial governmental policy. None of which are qualities of a free market. Essentially, the fundamentals of the market (discussed below), have been violated. Though the free market has been targeted as a thing of greed, overborrowing and overspending have been things sanctioned by governments, not free marketeers. And now, our PM advises us that tighter market controls are needed, intimating that the old system must go and a new regulated system must supplant it.

This is throwing the baby out with the bathwater.

The forest and the lake, if left to its own devices, would flourish and require minimalist human intervention. So too would the market and the economy should only the impurities be eliminated.

Put simply (and very simply, because this is a can of worms I’m opening here and one which requires much more clarification on the subject) a businessperson could not operate his/her business as a government runs the economy and experience any sort of viability or longevity.

To be clear, this is not an anti-political or anti-governmental essay, either. I believe our government is intent on ending this crisis – it is only their methods of which I object.

Dabbling both in the fields of art and business has proffered me an interesting perspective of the current economic crisis that, right now, sweeps the globe like a flood.

To the naked or un-indoctrinated eye, art and business appear to lie at opposite ends of the creative spectrum. In art, there is of course creativity in some expressive form; whereas in business, there is creativity usually in a functional or structural form. An artist could be forgiven for describing business as ‘boring’ just as a businessperson may be excused for describing art as ‘airy-fairy’. Hence, the two fields rarely cross paths except, perhaps, in the form of management or organisation.

As I have had a hand in both fields, I am fortunate to have bridged the gap between the chasm of art and business...at least for myself, anyway. And, in the course of my travels over the last ten or so years, I discovered that these two seemingly polar entities – art and business – have one common thread: They are both philosophically based.

If you have ever had the good fortune to meet a successful businessperson, you will note immediately that they are very philosophical in their approach to the world and its affairs...even if they don’t admit it. Of course, there are always exceptions.

Particularly, at this time of economic crisis, these two fields are more closely related than ever before. It is within these two fields that common threads can interweave to provide some solutions to the doomed path our local economy is treading. For both the causes and the solutions to this situation are, in fact, philosophical and social and not scientific (though economics defines itself as a science, it is not of the order of physics and chemistry, but rather a social science like politics and history because it studies and defines the fluid [not rigid] rules of human exchange, distribution and monetary social interaction).

One key thing to understand is that economies (which are essentially organised markets) were founded by business and people, not by governments or by economists – they came later. Markets were created out of the necessity of people to exchange commodities with one another to enhance their own survival potentialities. However, the running of the economy, in Australia and most other states, is a governmental faculty. For example, last October, the Federal Government injected $10.4b into the economy to stimulate it.

But, though retail spending did increase, the IMF’s prediction as of January 2009 was that the Australian economy would shrink. Hence, presently, another package of five times the October ‘08 amount is being hurried through parliament.

Such figures give the impression that there is a federal bank account with an abundance of money in it...but, sadly, there is not. So, where does this money come from? If I said thin air you wouldn’t believe me, but it wouldn’t be too far from the truth.

Now, an economist would argue with me here. Perhaps they would say something in the order of: ‘But, this money is accounted for and is based upon the purchasing value of the dollar’ or ‘bonds will be created to stimulate investments...’

Naturally, people are chary about spending money that we don’t have and the opinion polls are now reflecting this. As I said earlier, a businessperson would not operate their business by spending money they didn’t have to boost viability. Rather, they would demand production increases while curtailing spending in every sector. So, what makes a country so different? Well, this is the billion dollar question.

Much more must be said about from whence this stimulus money came, but, sadly, not here. For your own investigation, ask yourself this question: If Australia’s foreign debt was $1 trillion as of June 2008, where would an extra $50b come from? Certainly not our national bank accounts.

To put it bluntly, this is money that the government does not have and that Australia does not have.
I am dramatically oversimplifying the situation here, of course, and you are invited to state as much on the blog (We also understand that there are many more words that could be written on this subject and, in fact, are writing a book on it right now for release next month).

So, what is the government’s job when it comes to the economy? It should be the protection of the rules of business where needed but, for all intents and purposes, to let the market proceed relatively unhindered. The market is not and never has been a thing of politics – so, politicians should leave it be.

The economists? In a way, they are scientists, however economics is not a laboratory science – although the manner in which interest rates, the Reserve Bank and such are talked about, you’d be forgiven for thinking otherwise. Rather, it is a social science based upon the laws of human interaction and endeavour which, in the case of the economy, is business.

In its pure form, despite it being a social science, economics is an exact science. It is based upon the phenomenon of balance...and, you can’t get more arty than ‘balance’.

Like any such balance in this universe, of which nature is one, if one part of it is tampered with, another part of it will be affected in some measure (witness the introduction of rabbits, foxes, cane toads, etc – all such introductions created imbalances after which destruction ensued).

Economics is the science of trade and distribution of goods. These are the realms of business over which goes the economic umbrella. In a way, economics is a study of balance, just like the environment. For example, a person manufactures a car and, in exchange for that car, they are provided money to the value of that car. The car manufacturer works hard to maintain a balance within their workshop to ensure that cars are made at a lower cost than they are sold for. This way the manufacturer turns a profit and can continue to make cars.

And, thus, there is balance. The manufacturer receives money for their hard work and the buyer receives a car. One side is equal to the other – balance. People may argue that this is business and not economics, but as there is exchange and change of position of valuable products and thus, distribution, we’ll call it economics.

Economics goes one step further than mere exchange and enters the realm of money. Again, this is balance – money was once gauged against gold. Then, one day (mid last century) it was decided that money would be valued differently and not against gold, but against (and this is putting it very simply indeed) the amount that a nation could raise for its taxes...so, actually, how potentially rich the country was. As taxes were based upon production, this made sense: The higher the production of the country, the richer it was.

The maintenance of this balance is the key role of economics and central banks (like the Reserve Bank of Australia), but the maintenance of this balance, as well as being a science, is an art. How well the RBA and other central banks do this is determined by the state of economies. It would be fair to say that, presently, they may have slipped – globally, economies aren’t in that great shape.

However, economists and politicians are not necessarily business people and, rarely, economists and politicians are artists. However, in Australia, when there is a problem with the economy, it befalls politicians and economists to solve the problem of imbalance.

Recent events are illustrating for us the results of mishandling the economy and the misunderstanding of this ultra-fundamental term ‘balance’.



This is a very brief outline of a very, very complex problem. Perhaps, for the expert, this is too simple, but this was not written for them. This was never intended to be a thesis – only a blog. There is absolutely no intention to oversimplify the issue; of course I realise that I have made this error. Then, this was a rather hastily written piece.



An artist sees the universe as it is; even if distorted by imagination, there is still a foundation of reality to any creation.

Do not shy away from this crisis. Investigate it and get your own questions answered.

In a very short time, we will be releasing a book that dissects the recession in Australia – its causes and solutions. In it you will find the sources of items referenced in the above text.

If you would like to know more about the root causes of our economic crisis, written in terms anyone can understand, or to purchase an advance copy of the book, please contact us via the Writers’ Resource Centre: globalfinancialcrisis@writersworld.com.au.

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Marketing a book when the Internet brings grief

When you think of what a writer needs to get published, you probably think that they need good writing skills and a good story. What comes as a minor shock to some first-time authors is the fact that a published author also needs strength and resilience and an unlimited reserve of positivity.

The ultimate reality for authors is that it is impossible to write a book that appeals to everyone, so there are going to be some naysayers. In the old days, before the Internet, this might have meant a few verbal negative comments and one negative review in a newspaper. But these days, it's an entirely different story.

With the anonymity and easy comment-publishing of the Internet, often the author doesn't only have to deal with one lousy review in a newspaper, but lots of comments, reviews and thoughts posted on the Internet. These are often ill-considered, flippantly administered, uninformed comments. But they are still there, and unfortunately stick around a lot longer than that one printed review in a newspaper or magazine.

You may think "but if my book is good enough everyone will like it", but the nature of the Internet has proved this a naive thought.

For people who have never put themselves out there - started a business, launched a new product, or made anything like a film, book or art exhibition, it's impossible to know what it's like to do such a thing. But it would be good if they did. For people wield their negative reviews, flippant comments and cutting remarks with abandon and little or no understanding or empathy.

The Internet has fostered this comment-without-responsibility situation. A derisive comment could come from a 12-year-old, an 'anonymous' competitor or someone who hasn't even read the book, or used the product, for all you know. And yet this 'customer feedback' can make or break a product. Plus, we often only hear from the critical. The satisfied often say nothing.

One way to counteract this, is to encourage people who say they like your book to post their positive comments on the Internet. You could also ask them for permission to put them on your own site.

A word of warning - never ever start a 'flame war' where you criticize a negative-comment writer. It is best not to comment at all in this situation. And, never ever pretend to be someone else posting a comment in response to their negative comments -writers have been exposed doing this and this is far from positive publicity.

If your book is the subject of some negative comments, try to think about them rationally. Are they worthwhile comments from people who deserve your respect? If so, perhaps the feedback is something you can take on board. Then dismiss those that come from anonymous commenters or the obviously uninformed.

Even despite all of this, you can feel proud that your book has gotten big enough to attract attention from the Internet version of a 'griefer'- the name given to a digital game player who plays a game simply to aggravate and harass other players.

Suzanne Male is publisher at Smink Works Books. She is co-author of The Writer's Therapist: Essential advice for the Author and author of A Year of Writing Inspiration: A Prompt a Day for the Creative Writer. Smink Works Books runs an annual short story contest. Deadline December 1.

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Is the end nigh for the book business as we know it?

This article is a take on the current state of the publishing industry from the New York Magazine. It's a must-read for authors and industry workers alike.

The End
The book business as we know it will not be living happily ever after. With sales stagnating, CEO heads rolling, big-name authors playing musical chairs, and Amazon looming as the new boogeyman, publishing might have to look for its future outside the corporate world.

Read the entire article on the New York magazine site

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Time for a new book genre - Firality

When she wrote her book Sex, Scars and a Superheroine with Scoliosis, Kremena didn't even pretend the story was 100% true. She dubbed her style 'Firality' - the fusion of fiction and reality. That was okay by me – Smink Works Books published her story because it was a rollicking good tale, not because it was ‘true’, even though it is drawn from the author’s life … and the author has had a very interesting life.

With the popularity of the memoir in the past few years has come a flood of exposés about authors who have 'made up' their book or parts of their book. While I think it's wrong for a writer to portray herself as an Iraqi Muslim wife when she’s never lived in Iraq, I am getting tired of the latest tabloid news story about an author who has duped us into believing their tale when it is in fact ‘a lie’. The thing is, a writer who has penned a memoir has no opportunity to say that parts of it are embellished, or completely fictional, or they are not sure they remembered the events correctly, because it's being marketed as a 'memoir', which promises 100% truth. Yet as soon as it's dubbed 'fiction', it loses its marketing power as a true story.

Personally, I loved reading A Million Little Pieces and it didn’t matter one jot to me when James Frey got stamped upon for fabricating parts of his book by Oprah, who had previously selected his book as part of her Oprah book club, and others. Frey himself says he shopped his manuscript as fiction to publishers without success. It was only when he labelled it memoir that a publisher agreed to take it on.

If we look at this on a basic level, memory is a very individual, very subjective thing, and is often fallible, and therefore there is going to be a little bit of ‘fiction’ in any memoir. So the question is whether it really matters that there is fiction in memoirs. I read books for entertainment, to prompt contemplation about life and philosophy, or for self improvement, and I love a good story. If I can get any or all of these things out of a book - even if it is a professed memoir with 'fabrications' - then I am satisfied.

Perhaps the question then should be whether there is truth in the work. I am a firm believer that each of those books condemned for being fabricated has some element of truth within - whether that is something as simple as some new observation on life, or an insight into another world or reality.

It seems to me that there is a need for this new genre in the world of publishing ... if only so authors can finally publish their part-memoir part-fiction books without the fear of backlash.

Suzanne Male is the publisher at Smink Works Books. She is contributing to The Writers' Resource Centre's book The Writer's Therapist, due out this September.

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Story writing wisdom from the marketer

Seth Godin aims at the marketer when he writes, but his piece How to tell a Great Story has wisdom for every storyteller. Besides, if you look at it on a basic level, every writer is essentially 'marketing' his or her story to readers.

In his article, Seth says:

A great story is true. Not necessarily because it’s factual, but because it’s consistent and authentic.

Any story does need to ring true and make sense so that it resonates with the reader.

Seth says:

Talented marketers understand that allowing people to draw their own conclusions is far more effective than announcing the punch line.

When writing a story, most of the time you don't need to spell things out like a Hollywood movie. Explain things using metaphors or anecdotes, or use a character's mannerisms or body language to explain their reactions. Try alluding to the ending or finishing your story on a slightly cryptic note. This is also useful for leaving a seed in your reader's mind. This thought seed stays and the reader will continue to come back to the unsolved conundrum.

Seth says:

Great stories are rarely aimed at everyone ... If you need to water down your story to appeal to everyone, it will appeal to no one. The most effective stories match the world view of a tiny audience—and then that tiny audience spreads the story.

This is true. Don't aim mass market with your story. You can't and won't please everyone.Write something original and unique and it will resonate with someone.
Read the entire post here.

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