Nice to meet you. What do you do?

It seems to me that when you are introduced to a person for the first time you should ask them something about themselves. Something personal, I mean. Unfortunately, the most common question is, "What do you do?"

I do a lot of things. I quilt, I paint, I walk my dog, well you get the idea. But that's not what they're asking. They really mean, "What kind of work do you do?" Somehow a person's employment has come to define the person. That doesn't sound reasonable to me.

What is even less reasonable is the response most people give. "I work at ??? Company." The question wasn't, "Where do you work?" It was, "What do you do?" So now we're taking it one step further--defining a person by what he/she does and where he/she does it. If the answer to the first question is, "I'm an engineer," does it matter where? Is the question meant to define the value of that person's worth?

As most of you know, I'm a writer. Or at least that's my job. For whom do I write? I write for Central Florida Lifestyle Magazines. Would you think more of me if I was a technical writer? Or if I wrote for Vanity Fair? (Or maybe less of me, depending upon your opinion of those examples.)

Here is a link to my articles in the September issue of Central Florida Lifestyle Magazines.

http://bit.ly/axcJh5

My point is that people who clean toilets are just as important as the President of the United States. After all, without them, we'd all be sitting on dirty tiolets! (Anybody who was in NYC during the garbage strike knows what I mean.)

What happens when a writer finishes writing?

When To Type 'The End'
By Susan Cross

At what point would a writer be considered no longer writing? My book is gaining momentum and going into final edits. That feels good.

Suddenly I am faced with the question: What will I do when the book is completed?

When I started working on Leroy 'Hog' Cooper on Sax, I was already a contributing writer to several magazines. I did interviews with local and national celebrities and then wrote articles about them. Often, it was my good fortune to attend a concert or a show as part of my job. Afterwards, I sat tapping away at the keys happily.

Each month, magazines would be delivered and I would look for my articles and their placement. I also checked to see if there were editorial changes. I was pleased to see that most of them passed my editor's tests. I have built a nice, thick portfolio in which I take pride, but things have changed. The magazine business has been transitioning from print to web. I have watched Rolling Stone, a music bible, go from a volume to something resembling the size of a Bed Bath & Beyond Catalog.

In mourning Mary Travers, I found myself singing, "Where have all the magazines gone?" I don't mean to make light of Mary's passing. I learned to play guitar while listening to Peter, Paul and Mary records. Looking out my window, however, I see flowers blooming in the garden (here in Florida) and magazines disappearing from book store shelves.

So, back to my original question: What will I do after the book is published? Market the book I suppose. At that point, will I stop being a writer and become a marketeer? (No, silly, not a Muskateer; no Disney ears here, although I'm close by).

When I'm reading I always hate turning that last page and finishing a book when it's really good. I want to drag it out and make it last. I don't feel that way about writing this book. I just wonder, what next?

Copyright © 2009 Susan Cross – All rights reserved

Avoiding cliches in writing

It's so easy to fall into the habit of using cliches that are used in everyday speech at the work place and TV. They have become part of our daily dialogue. Then add in the text-speak and before you know it you're mixing apples (your grandmother's old sayings) with oranges (your kids' new ones).

The practice comes naturally when I'm writing and I have to go back and edit them out of my blog posts and written work. That can be challenging when I'm over-exposed to the latest trends in newspapers, people and contemporary fiction. I'll give you an example. When titling this blog, I had to resist using the words, "What not to do when..." How often do you see that in the title of a magazine article or post?

Here are some of my favorites, most taken from talking heads (oops!), I mean panelists on news shows. Pay attention next time you're watching. "At the end of the day" you'll see what I mean. "Take a listen" to what the Senator said in a meeting.... During the Clinton days, every change in opinion was referred to as "waffling." Now, the current administration "flip-flops" on policy decisions. This is not intended to leave out the Republicans. Last year, I thought I'd choke if I heard one more person refer to Cheney's whereabouts as an "undisclosed location." With Bush, well, I can't think of a particular one. Every time he opened his mouth I thought, "Has he ever heard of Toastmasters?"

But I digress (oops)! Excuse me because I have lost my train of thought (oops!) Now that I'm off topic (oops!). Writers are supposed to convey original thoughts, not regurgitate the slang of the day. That's what differentiates us from people in other professions. Imagine picking up a book 30 years from now and expecting someone to know what a BFF is? If you want your work to have a life span of more than a year, think before you write.

Ghostwriters in the wind

May We Have A Word
By Susan Cross

There is a great distinction between a ghostwriter and a co-author. In my case, I was never hired to be a ghost (I'm not transparent and I'm still alive) which is good. On the other hand, there is a benefit to being a ghostwriter. Ghostwriters exchange their services for money -- up front before a project has begun. In addition to selling their services, they give up the right to use their name on the book cover or get any credit for what they've done.

I suppose if I were offered an up front payment that covered the cost of my time and expenses, plus compensated me for lost income during the course of the interviews, editing and writing process I might have considered accepting the job and taken no credit -- just money. However, my services included much more than simply interviewing and transcribing.

I spent countless weeks researching and corroborating stories. It occurred to me that there would be added value to interviewing my subject's friends and colleagues to add substance to the person that he was from the perspective of others who knew him. A complete discography needed to be provided and I had to verify everything on the list. I was fortunate to find an expert who could help with details and professional photographers who could provide excellent photos going back to 1975 during the peak of Cooper's career.

Putting everything in order, making sense out of disconnected memories, deciding what should go into the index...well I won't bore you with the specifics, but in retrospect, whatever payment I would have received up front would simply have covered my being a ghost. None of the other work would have been done. The result would have been a relatively short, one-dimensional transcription of memories. The memories are good, and they are entertaining but the additional material transforms what might have been a memoir into a well-rounded, full-length book, based upon conversations with Leroy Cooper about his life and the wonderful contributions from his old friends of whom he talked so fondly.

By the way, if anyone knows the origin of the term ghostwriter feel free to leave me a comment. I really don't think Caspar, as smart as he was, could do the work I'm doing.

Note: Most of you are too young to remember Jim Morrison's song, "Riders in the Wind" (ref. title to this post) so forgive my reference (but check out the song, now I can't stop singing it).

Copyright © 2009 Susan Cross – All rights reserved

Writing memoirs

Someone Else's Memories
By Susan Cross

Think it's easy? You sit down with a subject and a list of interview questions. Place the recorder on the table between you. Ask the first question. Now comes the fun part. The subject, especially if that person is a celebrity, answers the question and his response triggers a memory so he keeps talking. Before you know it 3 hours are gone and you have a lot of very valuable information that was related in stream of consciousness in no chronological order.

In my case, my subject, Leroy Cooper, legendary blues, jazz and big band musician rambles on about his 20 years with Ray Charles, most of those years as bandleader. While speaking about one member of the band, David "Fathead" Newman, he wanders back through his childhood when he and Fathead were in the school band together in Dallas. Now we're back in Leroy's childhood, school days and college stories, all of which are interesting and relevant. Guess what? Leroy's old childhood friend was the one that got him into the Ray Charles band?

Somehow this brings him back to Dallas and picks back up at when Leroy got his first big break with the Ernie Fields Big Band, going to New York and then having his musical career being interrupted when he is drafted into the Army during the Korean War.

Well, you get the idea. Obviously, this information didn't all come out of one session, but still, only one interview question has been answered. Starting out with the expectation of spending a few weeks together and gathering the information you need for your book, you suddenly realize that this is going to be a long, long process. You could just stick to the interview but in a case like this, so much would be lost: gigs with other famous musicians; leaving Ray Charles -- the first time, the second time and the last time; the stories of segragation; touring Europe, etc.

Two years later, the recording sessions are done. Another month or more goes into the transcription. You put all the files together and read the draft of the manuscript as it was originally recorded. How did this happen? There is absolutely no order to all of these wonderful stories, and now the work begins.

When a memoir is written by a "ghost writer" the contract between the subject refers to him as "writer" and you as "editor" although it hardly seems fair. He has spent many afternoons telling stories to an interested person (who by now has become a family member) and you have months of intense work to do just to transform the draft into a manuscript that will capture your reader's interest from page one and maintain it through to the epilogue.

There are a lot of steps in between. You have to do fact checking; interview key people who are 'characters' mentioned throughout; find photographs that will be used to illustrate the subject's experiences and get permission from the photographers to use those pictures; approach professional editors (hopefully friends who are successful authors) who will see if your manuscript makes any sense; then decide whether to submit to a traditional publisher or go the new and popular self-publishing route.

Ah, and did I forget to mention the marketing? Yes, you are also responsible for marketing your work. Most tradtional publishers don't have large budgets to market the work of first time authors so that next, very important step is to create a marketing plan and execute it.

And you thought writing a memoir was easy? Maybe it is if it's your own memoir and starts out with, "I was born in (year) in (place) to middle class parents. . ."

There are still other considerations along the way but I'll save that for my second book: How to Write a Successful Memoir.

Copyright © 2009 Susan Cross – All rights reserved