In the shadow of a calling I found myself . . .
Welcoming Spring with open arms and anticipation.
Musical Moment ~ “Why You Treat
Me So Bad” Club Nouveau
Yup, that's me skydiving - Right after the ripcord was pulled.
I missed last week’s blog because I was in New Orleans attending the
RT Convention with over 3,000 book lovers and writers and the weekend before
that I was at the New England’s Society of Children’s Book Writers &
Illustrators conference. My brain and body are too pooped to do anything other
than think of rest and relaxation, so I thought I’d give you all a fun new game
to play at home.
About a year ago, my husband and I were watching Netflix scrolling
through all the movies we have in queue and all the new ones we wanted to add
to it. We looked through hundreds of titles. Some we weren’t in the mood to
watch, others meh...the pictures
looked interesting, but the blurbs about them were not so enticing. While
scrolling through the new releases, I accidentally played a movie. I had no
idea which one – no name, no blurb – until the movie came on. I think it was an
independent film and there was a lingering male crotch shot as the first shot.
No problem, but the storyline was not interesting enough and my husband said in
a very confused voice, “No”. Without hesitation or discussion, I stopped the
movie, no questions asked.
Thus the Ripcord Game was born.
The next time you are watching Netflix. Look at the movie cover
picture and just hit play. Don’t read the blurb. Just watch the screen. If
there are multiple people, you get one
“can we watch it for a few more minutes...just in case it gets good”;
otherwise, you pull the ripcord and go to the next movie. The single “just a
little bit more” works well with just the two of us, but if there are more
people watching TV, set your own rules. (One small caveat, if someone likes the
movie makes sure you add it to the queue so they can return to it at a later date
when they can watch it solo.)
You will get through your queues as well as a ton of other movies.
Don’t be afraid to mix it up. Watch genres you usually pass up. You never know
what gold movie nuggets you will find out there.
By now you’re asking yourself, “What does this have to do with Going Indie?” Quite a bit, actually.
Going indie is a lot of work. A lot of
work– research, website design/upgrades, manuscript revisions/edits, deciding
on your book cover -finding an illustrator, graphic designer or, if you’ve
chosen to create your own book cover, a lot of time looking through stock
photos or drawing/painting. We mustn’t forget about blogging, networking,
attending conferences, creating a marketing plan, etc. Frankly, it’s
exhausting, but that’s what you must do if you want to launch or continue a
career as an indie author.
Treat yourself kindly throughout this process. Give yourself breaks.
Go on walks. Don’t ignore your family and friends as you focus on your Going Indie. The Ripcord Game will
provide you with moments filled with laughter, wonder, confusion, and maybe
even anger (some of those documentaries are amazing and thought-provoking). You
may also be inspired to write a new novel, short story or even poetry. The
Ripcord Game can be a part of your creative process as mind candy is some of
the best candy out there. Plus, you more than receive what you pay for using
Netflix service and since this is Memorial Weekend, what better time to play. Enjoy!
Next week, we’ll chat
about the benefits (and craziness) of attending conferences.
Do you have any games
you play to relax and have fun? Please share and don’t hesitate to share this post. We all need more fun
in our lives and movies are just one avenue to a new adventure.
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