How to Work with a Professional

I'm sitting here right now trying to decide if I should continue the title of this post. How to Work with a Professional...Editor, Book Publisher, Web Designer, Graphic Artist, Plumber. Could be anything, really, because what I'm about to tell you should apply to any type of professional service you are requesting. And it should be common sense. But with a few recent potential clients who've come upon me for assistance, I'm seeing that that is not always the case.

You reach out to a professional because you want good, quality work done at a fair price. And many times you are a little unsure of where to begin, which is completely understandable. A doctor needing a website, a writer needing a book cover designed, a truck driver needing an editor for his first work of fiction are all perfect examples. It's not your forte. So you need help. But you need to have at least some basic understanding of the end result.  Here are my tips in working with a professional that will greatly improve your experience.

1. Have money to spend

No matter how much you want something for free, professionals are there to make a living. Just like you. So the worst thing you could do is bog them down with a ton of questions when you have no means to pay for the work you are requesting. Picking someone's brain is like picking their pocket. In the end you are taking them away from other clients who are willing to make a commitment.

Maybe you will have money in the future to pay for a service, but you need some idea now of the cost. That's fine. So when you first contact a professional, be clear on what you are looking for and ask for a range. Ask what is covered in the work. Even ask for a work quote. But leave it at that.

2. Commit to your appointments

Don't tell a professional that you'll call them at 6 p.m. and never do so. Don't tell a professional that you'll meet or stop by after work and not do so. Professionals are shifting their days around to accommodate you. And if you haven't paid them a cent yet, this is a HUGE NO-NO. But paid or not paid, professionals are not your servants. Do it once, it strains the relationship. Do it twice, and the professional will have no faith in you. Do it three times, and you deserve a baseball bat upside your head.

The only legitimate excuses for not meeting an appointment are death, birth, or some sort of physical incapacitation. Forgetfulness is not an excuse. Treat every appointment as it were a plane departure. Be on time. Because you know that if you aren't at the gate at 5:45, that plane is leaving without you.

3. Don't be a Big Ole Mess

I can spot it a mile away: someone who has overloaded or overextended him or herself in every possible way that they are like a big ball of chaos rolling toward me. They've joined a million groups, have a dozen projects going on at once (none of them actually finished) and are social media butterflies. I just know once we start talking they're going to drop their life load on me like an anvil. Professionals are not there to hear your life story (unless you're writing a memoir, of course).

A nice meet and greet, whether in person or on the phone, always helps break the ice so you can get a feel for each other. But leave it at that. Get to the point. Know in finite detail what you are looking for. Write it down. Email it. Only spend time talking about what you are hiring the professional for. Save the other stuff for later, if you should develop a deeper relationship in the future.

4. Listen to the Professional

I can't tell you how many times I've told an author one thing, and they do the exact opposite. I designed a truly wonderful book cover for an artist, only to have that artist have a non-designer friend produce a very bland cover. So I asked if I could post both covers on Facebook, without revealing which one was mine, so we could get other opinions. Hands down my cover design was the most liked, some reviewers even offering comments like "Oh, hell no" to the other. But he didn't listen.

It's not always true that the customer is always right. I give them what they want, of course, but you came to a professional for a reason. Put some amount of faith in them. You're paying for it. Look at their past work. Look at their credentials. Look at recommendations from other clients.

5. Don't drag out a project

A project's completion date is often dependent on how quickly you respond to questions from the professional. If something is requested of you, like text for a back book cover, or photos, get to it. This is an equal partnership, the goal being a wonderful finished product that you can both be proud of.  By dragging it out because of laziness or excuses, you risk straining the relationship and the quality of the work. And it also takes away from other work a professional needs to acquire. Get 'er done.

6. Good working relationships reap rewards

Whenever a client and I work well together, meaning they pay up front, give me what I need, and are quick to respond with answers to my questions, I return the favor in many ways. I will promote their new book or new website through my own social media. I will refer others to their businesses. I will talk them up in social gatherings.

When you treat a professional professionally, and with common courtesy, you will most always have a wealth of rewards come back to you. It pays to be nice. It pays to be on time. Don't ever forget that.

Guest Post: Morgan Hazelwood on Time Management

Enjoy this guest post from author and vlogger, Morgan Hazelwood. I completely understand her methods and the "guilt" aspect of not moving forward on a project. That's what also provokes me to get stuff done.

The "Just 15 Minutes" Approach to Achieving Your Goals
by Morgan Hazelwood

How to make yourself work when you just don't want to work.

When I first start a project, I'm all fired up and ready to go. But writing takes longer than I can sustain my enthusiasm. As the weeks, months, (years) slip by, progress periodically stagnates.

There are many people who only write when they feel their muse talking to them, then the words flow out of them. Full chapters, books come out in states not-so-far from a finished product.

I am not one of those people.

I've spoken before about my marathon-style writing. In a world of hares and turtles, I am a turtle. A turtle who's been known to take breaks and binge on tv, as though the race itself were on pause.

But, eventually, shame and guilt kick in. I've been slacking off and disappointing the one person I can't avoid: myself.

That's when I tell myself: JUST FIFTEEN MINUTES

If I just sit down at my desk, pull out my manuscript and do something, it'll count myself as having made some progress, as having not skipped yet-another-day of working on my novel. I could do a great variety of things:

• write
• edit
• read
• take notes

as long as I do it for at least 15 minutes.

Sometimes, that's all I do. I inch forward with the tiniest bit of progress, just enough to claim credit.

But you know what?

Most of the time? I get a lot more than just 15 minutes of work done once I actually get my butt into that chair.*

________________________________

What tricks do you have for getting work out of yourself?

*Note: This technique also works on laundry, dishes, office work, learning to play guitar, playing with small children**, and a variety of other tasks!

**Note 2: That's a lie, after 15 minutes with small children, I'm ready for a nice, long nap.

Morgan Hazelwood is a fantasy novelist who blogs about writing tips and writerly musings.

She likes taking pictures of the sky, reading a good book, and ambiverting from her living room. She's also a voice for the fairy-tale audio drama: Anansi Storytime and its sister podcast: Legendsmith.

She's been known to procrati-clean her whole house and alphabetize other people's bookshelves.

Stress Management for the Self-Employed

I know stress management.

This year marks my 20th anniversary as a self-employed entrepreneur. It was all fun and games back in 1998, when I was making the same on my own as I was in the last year of my salaried job. Then the recession hit in 2008. And ever since then many of the avenues that used to bring me income have dried up.

No matter what the news tells you, the economy has not recovered. Fewer people are buying luxury items. I’ve pretty much halted all non-essential purchases just to stay afloat. A $30 home decoration used to be a no-brainer. Buy it if I wanted it. Now I’m selling those same items on Craigslist so I can pay for groceries and the electric bill.

I have so many skills to offer people: website design, book design, graphic design, photography, videography, and more. And I’ve had a lot of happy clients. But people are stingier with their purchases and, frankly, too many people don’t have their shit together before they contact me. So I’m constantly producing reasonable quotes and dishing out my knowledge for potential clients that are ill-prepared to make any sort of decision to move forward…which leaves us both at a loss. I like people that know what they want and take action to get it done. Action is the key word.

So how do I manage my stress level when this, plus what’s going on in the news, leaves me feeling a little heavyhearted?

I go outside.

Nature is free. It’s my daily staycation. It’s just a few steps away from my computer and beyond the big red door. It offers sunshine (good for Vitamin D), fresh air, and a glimpse at what’s going on in our natural world. I can watch the squirrels playing, their little heads bobbing up and down while tenants pull in and out of the parking lot. Or the birds fluttering between the berry trees below my balcony. And if I have time, I like to extract myself from my living space to go on photography hikes.

There isn’t a trail in Northern Virginia that I am not familiar with. I’ve traversed nearly every path with my Panasonic Lumix in hand. But that doesn’t mean I won’t discover something new each time I go out. On the contrary, indeed. It could be a species of butterflies that I’ve never seen before mating on a stump, a wild turkey strutting in the deep underbrush a dozen yards away, or a group of deer grazing in an open field. All bring a little calm to the chaos around me. And as I snap away, I am also compiling tangible product that people can purchase. One is my Calmness of Woods DVD, which I call a Photographic Journey into Nature. Set to music are some of my best nature photos, along with tips on how to take better outdoor pictures.

Walking alone and away from the crowd also allows me to think in a different way. I can more easily recognize the “big picture”—the overall tasks at hand. Being out in the wide open almost forces you to do that.

But I’ve also learned to reduce stress just by sitting in my car. Three of my books were written in the shade of a tree at a McDonald’s parking lot. Ever notice how truly quiet the world can become just by rolling up your windows?

On that note, I’d like to end this blog post with a poem I wrote for my Poetry Pizza book. Everyone should try it:

Sitting in Silence
by Victor Rook

Television off
Radio down
Everyone gone
An empty town

Windows all up
Fans not spinning
Phone disabled
No constant dinning

Alone in my room
Minus all sound
In the center I sit
And look around

Slight hum remains
Like sound debris
But that will pass
Then I'll be free

From all that noise
That invades my mind
An inner peace
I soon shall find

It's really a treat
To remove that crap
Unleash your head
From the clamor trap

Like a different world
When you close it out
Not a peep to be had
A chaos drought

The places you go
When silence arises
Your quiet thoughts
Are full of surprises

Feel your heart beat
As time seems to stop
Like a pause on life
Then you're back on top

Try it once a day
Or twice a week
Discover a calm
And you shall seek

This better way
I give as guidance
To reset yourself
By sitting in silence


#BackOnTrackNow, #WbtR

I Wanted to be a Music Video Producer

It was 1981 when MTV launched, and it would soon become a household name. We couldn't wait to view the latest music videos from our favorite artists. Do you remember those days? I was mesmerized. Below is one of the videos that I would later produce to Madonna's "Rescue Me" for fun. Read on to find out how it all began, and to watch another teaser video I created for the same song.

WATCH MY VIDEO TO "RESCUE ME"

MY STORY

I was already in college pursuing my degree in Mechanical Engineering when I happened upon the campus RHA (Resident Halls Association), which allowed you to check out a camera/VHS recorder combo. The VHS deck strapped over your shoulder, and then you'd attach the camera to it. Very cumbersome. But, hey, it was free! Through the use of this equipment, I made my first music video to the song "Games People Play" by the Alan Parsons Project. With the help of the cable TV public access studio down the street, I taught myself how to edit on 3/4" Sony tape-to-tape decks. I was hooked.

In the summer of 1984, I interned at IBM in Endicott, New York. With my summer savings I purchased my own RCA camera and recorder. That following year, dozens of my college dorm mates would usher themselves into my room and we'd shoot one-take videos while they lip-synced to the music track input from my Technics cassette deck. I also produced another music video to the song "Fantasy" by Earth, Wind, and Fire. The State newspaper wrote an article on my endeavors titled, "Vic Video is Student's Alter Ego." After graduation I put snippets of those videos together in one long montage for a keepsake. It also got me to practice my editing skills.

Cut to 1991 and I was able to purchase my own Sony Hi-Band Beta (remember Beta?) editing decks. Though I worked in the technical field, I still had a passion to create. Luckily, a couple of my jobs required someone with a technical background who could also produce video training and marketing materials. I produced some demo videos for a CAD/CAM company for large trade shows, and I was the scriptwriter for a video magazine on manufacturing technologies.

In 1992 I gathered together a few of my old college mates and produced a video to Madonna's "Vogue" for the MTV "Make My Video" contest. I didn't win, but somehow the video got entered into a Detroit radio contest and I won a trip for two to Disney. To this day I don't know how it was picked. I think someone told me they played it at a bar or something.

THE MAKING OF "RESCUE ME"

Jim and Gayle performing in my video to Madonna's "Rescue Me"

The last music video I completed was in 1992 to Madonna's song "Rescue Me." As you can tell, Madonna was big at the time. I asked a Michigan State University dance instructor if she could put out a word that I wanted two dancers. The only two that showed up, Jim and Gayle, are the two you see in the video. Christine, the lip-syncher, did an excellent job. I shot her portion under an overpass in Troy, Michigan, and also way up on the cliffs of Tobermory, Ontario. I almost fell off one of those cliffs while filming.  A friend of ours, Pam, came along to help. I owe her my life for warning me.

What I remembered most was directing the two dancers. We filmed under an overpass in East Lansing, Michigan, next to some train tracks. They only practiced a few moves, but in between the chorus sections they'd start this slow, seductive dance with each other. I guess it was some form of modern dance, and I instantly realized it worked great for the lyrics. It wasn't until a reshoot a few months later that I decided I wanted to end the video with a long kiss. Gayle had cut her hair a bit shorter by then, and her boyfriend wasn't all too keen on her kissing another guy, though she convinced him it was just acting. Jim and Gayle grew up together and they were great sports.

THE "RESCUE ME" TEASER
The video below I produced to get Jim and Gayle excited about going back for the finishing shots. They hadn't seen anything until that point. I also wanted to make a long-form video to the extended version of the song, but that never happened. I moved back to Western New York for a bit, and the last thing I remember is trying to get a group of women from a church choir to perform in it.

Music is such an important part of any video production. I'll even venture to say that it's the most important part. To this day I spend hours looking for the right pieces for film trailers and short edited pieces. I consider documentary and film trailers to be mini music videos; so, in a way, I have achieved my dream of becoming a music video producer.

WATCH THE "RESCUE ME" TEASER VIDEO

Poem: The Surveyor

The Surveyor (From Poetry Pizza)
by Victor Rook

Surveyor moves along woodland’s edge
With measuring gear in hand
I watch from a distant parking lot
How he sizes up the land

I’ve sat in this same spot before
About a thousand times I’d say
To witness the wondrous nature show
That unfolds there every day

I’ve seen bluejays skirt from tree to tree
And cardinals courting in view
Robins roosting on leafy branches
And gawked as their babies grew

A red-tailed hawk in a winter’s snow
Shook her wings and fluffed each feather
I filmed her one day from across the way
As she held off the stormy weather

Squirrels, too, have made it their home
Chasing up and down each tree
Hungry all day and playful in ways
Like children in groups of three

Geese stop by every now and then
They fly from a nearby pond
One pair each year, a couple so dear
Graze on the grass beyond

I’ve viewed this land as if it were mine
Through each and every season
Now I see this man walking about
But what could be the reason

Will he try to protect this sacred site
A haven we ought to preserve
So others can see and enjoy like me
This bountiful nature reserve

Or will it become a new strip mall
For judo, haircuts, and pizzas
Gouged by rent until it ends up
Empty shops with vacant leases

Or another spot for big box homes
That people seem to keep buying
For as I peek up the nearby street
They appear to be multiplying

Councilmen run on bold platforms
That promise to curb development
But what I see as I drive around
Is precious habitat envelopment

I wonder how many days are left
As the surveyor quietly leaves
Before this gift is taken away
By greedy men and thieves

Order Poetry Pizza and other great books.

How Will We Live With A Trump Presidency?

2021 Update: The original title of this blog post was "How To Live With A Trump Presidency And Not Murder Your Republican Friends." I wrote this a day after the 2016 election. I predicted it all in my last paragraph.

Words. Words, words, words. How do you express yourself when you’re swirling in a sea of fear, disappointment, disenchantment—and for me at this very moment—Pinot Grigio. I’ve been this way (sans wine until my abrupt trip to Walmart for the $2.97 bottle this afternoon) ever since I witnessed the slow, agonizing defeat overnight. It was brutal, sad, sickening, and it was as if a dark cloud suddenly dropped over us and will remain above our great country to forever block out all light and hope.

Trump won. Trump won the electoral vote, but Hillary holds on to the popular vote, meaning more Americans voted for Hillary Clinton than Donald Trump. But, that is not how we elect our new president. Not at this moment in our democracy, at least.

So where do we go from here? Where do I go after I finish off this bottle, or two, recover, and wake up tomorrow? Let me digress for a moment.

I grew up in a very rural town in Western New York: population 1,806. My father was a hunter and fisherman, and I had my hunting, fishing, and bow hunting licenses at one time. Turns out little Victor couldn’t bear the sight of Bambi being slaughtered, so I became a nature photographer and filmmaker instead. But I love my rural roots.

I love the outdoors. I have the greatest respect for people who farm, and who work outside under the brutal sun and during the chilling winters. I love growing facial hair, slipping on a flannel shirt and jeans, and talking with similar folk at a bar with three to four beers in my belly. And if I’m challenged to a fun wrestling match or romp in the hay—guy or girl—at two in the morning and three sheets to the wind…I’m there. As a matter of fact, I pray for those occasions. It’s what makes us human.

But I’m also college educated. I have a degree in Mechanical Engineering. I’ve won awards for films I’ve produced. I work very hard as a self-employed person (since 1998) to obtain business and do the best work I can. So every day I wake up trying to figure out how to make a living. I don’t have a steady paycheck. It’s all up to chance…and a lot of hard work. And many nights I don’t sleep well, or I get stomachaches, and I worry and think about my future a lot. Almost hourly.

So my concerns with a Trump presidency are how can a man, who literally sits up in a tower within a gold-lined room, help me? How can someone who has never known how to live with little be able to understand what it’s like? When those days come when bologna is your only affordable food choice, and trimming $200 off your price so you’re basically working for minimum wage is what you need to do to survive. To eat. To pay the rent. To not be homeless.

To me, the Trump win felt like the Chick-fil-A Appreciation Day all over again, only it could last for years. That was the day when CEO Dan Cathy offered up Chick-fil-A discounts to all who believed they had a religious right to hate gays. And when I saw the line of cars at the one store within walking distance from my home, I was heartbroken. These were people in my community…celebrating…their hate. It wasn’t about the right to believe what you believe…it was far worse. You have to stop and think about it from the other person’s point of view. It made me so sad.

But I agree with some things Trump has promised. I wholeheartedly believe that manufacturing should stay in the U.S., and companies that outsource overseas should be fined and publicly ridiculed. Yes, I would go that far. To look beyond the people within your own country to save a dollar is absolutely disgusting. It’s un-American. And really, who enjoys talking to “Dave” in the Philippines when your cable goes out? Not me. Not anymore.

I also agree that illegal immigration is a huge problem in this country. And I would feel the same way if millions of pasty-white Irishmen like me showed up on our soil without going through the proper channels. But it disheartens me to think that so many of our Latino friends may face what is equivalent to a mass purge. Let’s face it, we need a bit more color in our skin tones. Protect our borders, encourage those who are here to come forward, and work on paths to citizenship. And, yes, keep English our official language.

But I’m worried what Trump will do for our healthcare system. People don’t understand, and I have to remind them constantly, that Obamacare is not what Obama wanted. It is a watered-down mess—a compromise—that was all Obama could push through a divided Congress. I’ve paid $48,000 in premiums over the past 17 years to basically cover an ear infection. That’s ridiculous.  The Affordable Care Act offered me some relief from those high premiums. The solution isn’t to open up state borders to offer more choices and competition among insurers (Trump's plan); the solution is to remove insurers from the picture altogether. Healthcare should never be a for-profit industry. We are Americans. We need to treat each other with respect, and that includes loving and providing for each other in sickness and in health.

So, you voted for Hillary, but you are finding out—or knew all along—that some or many of your friends and acquaintances were secretly or already staunch Trump supporters. How do you speak to them? How do you not get caught up in political babble that hurts both of you and takes away from what is good in your relationship? And how do you give Donald Trump a chance?

It’s simple. You tell your friends that you are worried about the future of the country. You meet, you bring out the food and booze—because nothing brings people together better than awesome food and spirits—and share your fears and hopes. You try to get inside each other’s heads to really understand where the “other side” is coming from. We lift the clouds over our heads when we meet and come together, when we communicate. It’s as simple as that.

And if Trump doesn’t live up to his promises, or if people in his cabinet resign after six months because they can’t get along with him…or if Trump totally botches up the responsibilities he’s been given…we learn. They learn. We all learn together that that was not perhaps the best path. And so, we find a new one and move forward. And then we strive to travel on it together with a common goal: to make America the place that we can all be proud of. We must never lose sight of that.

Poem: Halloween for Adults

Halloween for Adults (from my book Poetry Pizza)
by Victor Rook

Fall erodes the summer heat
Colored leaves drop to our feet
Once they wither to a crisp
Chilly winds will be their whisk

Evil dwells below the ground
This time of year it comes around
We welcome up the living dead
And celebrate the need for dread

It’s funny how we like the scare
To let our minds seek all we fear
While children crave what is sweet
Adults need more than trick or treat

Something in us reaches out
For the thrill that comes about
It could be signals in the air
Harvest moons say you beware

Of what lurks near every corner
Prepare yourself for the horror
Or better yet be caught off guard
By what looms deep within your yard

Hands may reach up for your foot
And pull you through the soiled soot
Then close you off inside a tomb
To suffer in the devil’s womb

Walking through a cemetery
With lanterns lit we feel leery
We put ourselves within this plight
To conjure up our nighttime fright

Halloween and Poltergeist
Scary films that feed our vice
With babysitters home alone
Or in a house where spirits roam

Bats and bones and wicked charms
Goosebumps running up our arms
Blood and guts and false alarms
Spooky roads and haunted farms

Perhaps we need this time away
Before the Merry holiday
Halloween serves as our hiatus
From the chaos that will await us