My apologies, everyone, but real life is kicking my ass and has been for the last few weeks. I’ll be honest, I simply don’t have the mindspace right now for a post. So, I’m turning the blog over to you until this afternoon when the Kilted One takes over. Ask your questions, suggest topics, just do me a favor and steer clear of politics unless it deals directly with publishing. I think we all need a break from it right now.
Until next week.
Mad Genius Club 
Open floor? Finally! *trots off to get dustmop, broom, and dustpan* I can’t believe the pollen, and bits of popcorn, and— Leaves? Who forgot to put the window screen back on after they left, hmm?
Oops! Sorry, I was out in the garden and may have tracked a few things in!
There are a few items of publishing politics I’m interested in, but they’ll keep, and it’d be pretty much useless to discuss them again already.
Misha is has a writing advice/commentary essay thing going on, and I’m planning to put something together for it. I have a vague idea what I want to say, but now isn’t the time to flesh it out.
Moe Lane is apparently managing to make a kickstarter work for his first book. I know the kickstarter/patreon angle is not one much favored here. Perhaps an analysis at some point, or even a guest post by him?
Something that came mind, that I’ve been short on the spoons to outright say: Thank you. There’s a lot of economic uncertainty right now, a lot of potential chaos. I think everyone has a problem of how to navigate economic activity right now. Y’all have been working hard at identifying paths for authors. That may be needed every field now, so stepping up to the plate for authors is a great thing. Not every field has a good resource for that. I think y’all are doing the Lord’s work here. I appreciate it. Even if it is not my income, seeing people plugging away is great for my peace of mind.
I participated in Bryan Cohen’s Amazon Ads Challenge. It came at a good time for me this moneth while I wait on comments and edits from my beta readers.
I’ve been using Amazon ads to advertise for a couple years now, but I learned a number of new things, including how to make lists of keywords in Excel. His exercises were useful, and he offered a new way of looking at things for me that I’m looking forward to trying. I recommend it to anyone who is starting out with ads or trying to improve performance on them. And, it’s free.
He’ll be offering it again this year. It’s worth the time.
Open Floor? Does that mean that there’s a big hole in the middle?
(Bad humor but don’t have enough coffee.)
The one that used to be under the carpet? (Someone came for the floor show but not the hole show.)
I admit using that solvent was a bad idea, but the stain’s gone.
You can’t deny that.
Open floor, no politics….
Did y’all notice the USA declassified some UFO videos? Imagine getting the news that Erich von Däniken -wasn’t- crazy all this time, and all those “I wuz captured by Alienz!” victims were telling the truth. ~:D
Imagine Trump on the phone with Alien Leader dude: “We TOLD you guys to keep those things on the ground, but did you listen? Now look what you’ve done.”
Remember when Hillary! promised she’d open up the secret archives and give us all the details of the UFOs once she was elected?
Yesterday, I was talking with my gift-from-God, happily-ever-after trophy-wife Vanessa, the elegant, foxy, praying black grandmother of Woodstock, GA,
and our 15 year old Kenneth and almost-14 Alicia Ann
about whether in the context of current WuFCI events,
we are more like David,
or more like Goliath, and
how do we prepare in either event.
SO I went back to the source material, and checked David’s prep.
(That’s because I really didn’t think I was going to be Goliath, and;
I didn’t WANT to be Goliath, and;
So I didn’t want to find out if I was accidentally doing Goliath-prep as a part of my daily routine.)
David’s prep consists of a total of: three verses. That’s it.
SO here’s what we learned:
1. Know what battle you are fighting.
2. Listen to the experts. Give their advice a try, because they ARE the experts.
3. Be confident enough to disagree with them; what works for experts doesn’t necessarily work for non-experts.
4. Reflect upon your prior experience, and identify what has worked for you in similar circumstances.
5. Know where to go to find five smooth stones.
So Vanessa and I decided our battle is the kids, and
we found five situation-specific smooth stones, and
then we hit the kids with them.
It was GREAT! I love family time!
Today, a smooth stone is a nap.
We’re about to take one.
Peace be on your household.
Maybe we could talk about strategies to manage not just the stress of these uncertain times, but the effects they’re having on executive function. Yesterday, I needed to discontinue an insurance policy that’s been replaced by one that better serves my needs. As I expected, the agent started trying to talk me out of it, and I just told him I did not have the spoons to field objections and defend my choice, so I wasn’t going to engage, just say that the decision was made. Probably not the best way to handle it, but it was the only way I could get the conversation closed without being outright rude. And then $SPOUSE came back to my office and started asking questions about some of my books and I blew up at him. Intellectually, I know he was probably making conversation, but at that moment it felt like being put on the spot and having my book selections criticized, and I just wanted it to Stop, Now.
I know a number of people on my FB f-list have been mentioning struggling with various executive function issues. Struggling to make basic decisions, struggling to start and carry through a project to the end, etc. A lot of people procrastinating about things that provoke anxiety, or that require an uncertain amount of time to complete, etc. So it’s not just me struggling with these problems.
I completely agree with the idea that higher function brain activities – executive functions, you called them – deteriorate badly under continued stress. When my eldest was just born, she had medical issues that might affect her mental functioning. Over the next few years, as we coped with worries about her skills, fielded off comments (“What’s wrong with her?”), and dealt with doctors from various specialties, I had considerable difficulty managing bills, home tasks, and even simple remembering things. I thought I was going batty.
A few years down the road, at a meeting with a psych professional about school issues, she mentioned that all of the above were common for parents of kids with issues. She also said that, when most of the issues were resolved (as well as they could be), the brain would bounce back, assuming that the interim hadn’t left the parents with substance issues.
Son of a gun, she was right. I did recover, and managed to finish college, hold down demanding jobs, and experience a normal life – well, as normal as any parent.
I think the C-19 mental anomalies will be the same. While in the worst of it, horrible. As things improve, we’re gonna snap out of it, and go on to have developed mental and emotional muscle that helps us deal with lesser crises much easier in the future.
That’s very heartening. Thanks for sharing that.
Moo.
I’se out heah in de woods nearish the West Coast, and it’s afternoon, so SOMEBODY needs to get in gear and do some wheelies.
In the last several weeks there has been mention of Serif Affinity Photo, and how it’s a good value. I’ve bought it, and played around with it, and it certainly seems like a useful tool if you take the time to learn it. For those that are interested in it, it’s on sale now for $25 for a digital download from B&H Photo. No, I don’t work for B&H photo, although I’ve bought a few things from them in the past. I wish I had waited till now to buy, as I paid full price. Oh well, I was satisfied with the price when I bought it, so I can’t complain.