From TRR to ...

After a bit of research into the lottery game of publishing with the big-time players and many hours contemplating the situation mentioned previously, I found this curosity to consider.

Now, TRR begat in a time when plenty had not yet arrived to the masses but was just on the teetering edge. In our current world, TRR is a nice little blip on the radar.

I say all this to say that when I'm sitting over here mulling over the current publication system, the trend towards free, that there are worlds of plenty out to explore in the vast conquest of the mindscape, there arose three key points we should go over together.

* TRR isn't mass market. It doesn't need to be.
* TRR is still young and growing.
* The nature of content consumption is changing. Fast.

Our current fan base is evolving with the technology and the technology is drifting fans in and out of the theme. I've had requests for more phone content and others have asked me about other multi-media projects tied in. Owning a nook and reading books on the phone is now more of a family affair in my home as indicated by the checkbook register showing that our purchase of traditional print literature is nearing the zero line.

I bring us here because our digital download purchases by TRR fans are getting very close to outmatching the print copies--a trend I considered on the surface was simply because of price. TRR is not cheap in the print realm for a handful of reasons not the least of which is overall distribution cost for print. However, considering my nook library is starting to outpace one of my bookshelves, I'm starting to realize this isn't a price point consideration, but a fundamental shift in how we consume content at the indie level.

Earlier I gave thought about publishers and gaining favor with larger firms. I don't see that as a natural fit for TRR. So, yes, long post previously with a very short answer.

Looking now to the future for TRR and the rise of digital content, in a world where we don't re-read, and become a nation of skimmers, what does that mean for the fictional universe that we play in? Should TRR grow to support multiple small mixed media projects? Sponsor more independent artists? Or yet something else, something that's mixed in with all these things. And lastly, how exactly does one keep something like TRR moving at a more regular release cycle in a world where we release ideas before the QA and marketing team ever really touches them, where threaded discussions are limited to 140 posts and crpytic shortkey, and sites now have more links to social networking sites than links that matter.

Filling a cup with liquid gold has nothing at all to do with this post.

I made an arrangement with myself about a year or two ago that I wouldn't resume blogging of anything beyond "helping others" because, well, hawking the latest in diet fashion, some internet application, or the latest youtube video showing kittens taking over the world ... just seems unethical. Seriously, wouldn't you just rather watch some videos on kittens than reading anything written by these careless fingers?

Clearly not ... because you are still here.

Lately, I've given myself the luxory of fleeting thought. OK, let's explain. "Giving a gift to yourself of fleeting thought" isn't something to be taken for granted. Most of the time I'm lucky to have a thought that isn't obsessed with something to do with my daily adventures, which are quite time consuming and I'm bound by six documents (at last count) that say I more or less can't talk too much about them. Except to say that I can't talk about them.

Probably already said more than I should have.

However, today something weird happened....

So let's do this. Let me take you through my day today so you can have a bit more appreciation for why it is that I've decided to set aside, for an unknown amount of time, this crazy thought that maybe I'll try blogging again here and there with material that takes you backstage into the general craziness that began on this Sunday the 13th of June.

Sunday:

0. Awakened
1. Rain
2. Donuts
3. No rain
4. ... oops, more rain
5. Clam chowder
6. Technology conference material review
7. Take some paperwork up to the office
8. Return home, hear from wife that my books are being sold on ebay
9. Review book sales, discover they're up again
10. Swear
10.125 Check websites
10.250 Walk around in circle
10.750 Check other webistes
11. Swear a little bit more
12. Start blogging!

Back-out plan: Videos of kittens!

As you can see, my plan is perfect.

So, after an investigation of research into whether an author should blog or not and trying to figure out why blogging authors were somehow different than print authors, I decided that the best thing to do would be to encourage more book sales, get the other TRR books out, maybe start working on a new set (gasp) and maybe work on finishing up those philosophy books (double gasp) by getting connected to a real publishing house who could get my silly yet short name on the shelf.

One of the small footnotes buried inside the linkity-link above is a quote indented four levels deep from technologically obsolete punctuation (tx twtr!) is this thought that there is a certain authorial benefit to sharing the backroom with the userbase who is interested in the style, mannerism, and prose of their favored authors and the enduring struggles that they go through in order to see their work pushed to print.

Sharing the backroom is all well and good, but it'd be doubly good if I could use this platform as a vehicle to land some sort of publisher deal and with that in hand go from "they're hawking my books on ebay for ebay rankings" to "they're hawking my books for BMWs". I'm all about helping my fellow man.

So, I posted this on my blog.

The Five General Steps for Acquiring a Skill

1. Observe the skill to be learned as a whole.

- Assess its prerequisites and learning curve

- Verify the perfect end result that the skill aims to accomplish

- Determine the sequence of steps done when performing the skill

Ex. the skill of good writing

Fundamentals: Spelling, grammar, vocabulary

Perfect end result: well-written stories, poems, essays

Steps: Learn basic spelling and grammar, read good literature, expand vocabulary, write 4 hours a day, edit you work after a short interval of time


2. Segregate the skill into steps and diligently train in each one.

- Determine a reasonable amount of time for each training session. Make each training sessions short and intense.

- Plan a system for training, allotting the time and energy to each step

- Perform your regimen and stick to it.

- Repeat the sessions until a habit is formed

- Remember to focus your attention and energy with each training session so as to embed your skill into your conscious and unconscious mind.

- Remember not to overtax yourself, as a tired brain is less efficient in learning.


Ex. Read four hours a day, write fours hours a day


3. Connect the steps into a seamless whole

- Put your steps together and aim to create the skill’s perfect end result

- Continue practicing diligently until the skill is second nature

Ex. Write your first novel


4. Obtain expert feedback

- Show your work to someone else, as practitioners often have a blind spot for their work’s weaknesses.

- Value the opinions from people who understand and practice your skill above those who do not.

Ex. Allow an editor to look at and clean up your writing after you finish it.


5. Re-assess your results and your regimen, and make adjustments to your training where necessary.

- Kaizen: Learning a skill is a continuous process; there is always a better way to do things.

- Use your skill continuously. As with any muscle, a skill unused wastes away.