In the thirty-some years I was an active songwriter, one of the most important lessons I learned was that, at some point, you have to consider your latest “baby” finished and let it sink or swim on its own merits.  A good song can survive your having used “the” instead of “an”, or “if” instead of “when”.  A terrible song most likely can’t be saved and isn’t worth your time (Just learn from it and move on).  The problem is, when you’re creating something, you want it to be just right.  I’ve never met a songwriter who had the attitude “ah, close enough” and enjoyed any success at any level.  So, we tweak and we tweak and we tweak some more.  And then, years after, we still wish we could change something.  I released my CD in 2006 and, to this day, if I listen to it, I’m always thinking, “Crap, why didn’t I say blah blah instead of blah?  It’s enough to drive you nuts.

And now I find myself doing the same thing with stories I write.  Even after I’ve released a book, I think about things I could have approached from a different angle; be it the way I set a scene, or ended a chapter, or any other of a million details.  What I’ve found, though, much as I found with songwriting, is that sometimes your first instincts are right.  I remember a teacher telling my class -I think I was in Junior High at the time- that on a multiple choice test, you’re usually better off going with your first answer.  It’s when you start second-guessing and over-analyzing that you get yourself in trouble.

So, how to decide when something is “done”?  (The quotes on “done” reflect my belief that nothing is ever truly done, but it gets to a point where it’s as done as it’s going to get.)  Let someone -or multiple someones- read it.  The same principle applies to songwriting; for eight or nine years I ran a workshop where we spent the vast majority of our time critiquing one another’s songs.  It’s amazing what a fresh pair of ears -or, in the case of writing stories, eyes- can do.  We’re all familiar with the adage, “Opinions are like belly buttons; everybody’s got one”.  You’d be amazed, no matter what type of writing you do, how many different ways there are to interpret and relate a situation, a conversation, etc.

As far as getting opinions, a writer has options.  You can join a writers’ group and let others read your work, you can submit it to someone (publisher, editor, agent), or you can have beta readers.  My problem with writers’ groups is that you can’t go to a meeting with your entire manuscript.  You usually would bring a chapter or two, at most.  So what about the rest of the book?  Who knows?  Submitting something to a professional (publisher, editor, agent, etc.) before it’s as good as you can make it is either, A) a mistake (publisher, agent) or, B) not free (editor).  If you happen to know an editor and can get a good deal, you can go that route but, personally, my budget isn’t next-to-nothing, it’s nothing.  That leaves us with beta readers.  A beta reader is someone who will read an advance copy of your book and give feedback.  Beta readers are not paid (to my knowledge), nor are they necessarily people you know.  Personally, I think it’s more beneficial to get feedback from a stranger than from friends and family anyway.

For my next project (a new collection of short stories), I’m going to give beta readers a try.  If you are interested in reading for me, please contact me directly ([email protected]) and I’ll put you on the list to receive a copy once I have some proofs made up.  I anticipate that being in late February or early March, but no promises.

Until next week…

THINGS WE TAKE FOR GRANTED THAT I WOULDN’T WANT TO LIVE WITHOUT (AND WHY)

1.  Microwave - We recently found ourselves between microwaves.  Every time I took something out for supper, I had to thaw it.  Without a microwave, a 5-10 minute process turns into an hour or more.  I got creative, putting sealed packs of chicken in hot water or heating frozen stuff wrapped in foil in the oven at 200°, but the microwave is so convenient.  And popcorn is so easy.

2.  Pellet Stove - Sometimes I think the pellet stove is kind of a sissy version of a wood stove, but I wouldn’t trade ours for anything.  Well, I would trade it for a large sum of money, but I’d just use that to buy a new pellet stove, so what’s the point?  This little wonder can raise the temperature in our (13x20) living room by 7 or 8 degrees in an hour or two, which comes in handy because the heat in that part of the house doesn’t work and I can’t afford a plumber.

3.  Hot Water Heater - Yes, I know it’s not a hot water “heater”, because who needs to heat water that’s already hot, but you know what I’m talking about.  Over the years, due to either running out of oil or hot water tank problems, I’ve experienced cold showers in the winter.  ‘Nuff said.

4.  Air Conditioning - We actually went almost 2 full summers without A/C because I didn’t want the horrific bump in the electric bill, relying instead on fans.  Last summer I finally caved during a prolonged heat wave and never looked back.

5.  Dishwasher - Doing dishes by hand is a pain.  That about sums it up!

6. TV remote - Who’s old enough to remember having to get up, walk ALL THE WAY across the room, and change channels by turning a dial?  This was inevitably followed by Dad yelling, “One at a time!”  Hey, if I knew I was going from 2 to 12, why stop at 3, 4, 5, et al?

7.  Speaking of TV, although this doesn’t support my topic, one thing I’d love to live without is cable.  I miss free TV, even thought there were only a handful of channels.  What the heck, with hundreds of channels I only watch a handful anyway.  Yes, I know I wouldn’t have those channels on free, over-the-air TV, but I was making a point.

So that’s my list.  What can’t you live without?  Leave a comment.

There are things about me that everybody who knows me knows.  There are things about me that only my family knows.  There are things about me that nobody knows.  Since I want people to read my books, I figured I’d give a behind-the-scenes look at the man behind the books so potential readers can get to know me a little bit.  In that spirit, here are 20 things you may or may not know about me.

1.   Laughing babies make me laugh.

2.   I have 5 tattoos.

3.   I’m a very good cook, even though I hate doing it.

4.   I like naps.

5.   I spoil my dog.

6.   I have a hard time finishing what I start.

7.   I secretly enjoy grocery shopping.

8.   I own a Harley, but I haven’t ridden in 4 years.

9.   I’ve had songs pitched to several major acts in Nashville.

10. Every one of those songs was “on hold” at one time or another, each one at least five times.

11. I sleep with an extra pillow that I call my “hugger”.

12. I let the dog get comfortable on my bed before I do, then I sleep “around” her.

13. I tear up when the King and Queen are reunited with Rapunzel in “Tangled”.  Every time I watch it.

14. I absolutely love Disney World and my favorite ride is “Peter Pan’s Flight”.

15. I’ve been a Providence College basketball fan since the late 60’s and a Yankees fan for even longer.

16. I hate to be cold and I hate to be wet; I REALLY hate to be cold and wet.

17. I’ve written over 500 songs.

18. I was obsessed with Linda Blair in the 70’s and once called Directory Assistance to try to con the operator into giving me her number.

19. I love model trains.

20. I’ve been playing the guitar since the late 60’s and once performed for my 5th grade class.

21. When I was a kid, I wanted to be a teacher until my 8th Grade English teacher wrote “Think twice about teaching” in my yearbook.  To this day, I regret that decision.

22. My recurring character, Dan McNulty, has that surname to honor my 11th Grade History teacher, the best teacher I ever had. 

23. I once had 2 songs stolen by a Portuguese musician from New Bedford/Fall River.  He included them on an album and gave me co-writer credits (although he spelled my name wrong). 

24. I’ve attended 5 colleges (New Hampshire College, Barrington College, Union (KY) College, Rhode Island College, and CCRI).

25. I love that alleged “cheese” that comes in an aerosol can.

I have a list of possible topics to blog about, culled from several sources as well as my own original ideas.  Honestly, I don’t go to the list all that often, but for today’s piece I decided to.

I don’t know if this is considered cheating or not in the “blogosphere”, but one of the prompts was “Share an excerpt of your writing”.  I almost dismissed it out of hand, but then I figured it might be a good way to introduce my writing to people who only know of me through this blog.  So here, without further ado, is the prologue to my novella, “Cornflower Road”, from my book, DARK GLASSES  and Other Tales.  Enjoy & feel free to comment.

JUNE, 1965

It was an unusually hot June day on the island, the fourth in a row in which the temperature soared to over ninety-five degrees.  Storm clouds gathered in the western sky, and the freshening breeze indicated the heat wave was nearing its end.  Police Chief Billy Aubin was out patrolling on the eastern side of the island.  He had just left the marina and passed by Archie’s bait shop.  As he did, he raised a hand to two men in the parking lot, then continued to the intersection of Marina Avenue and Cornflower Road.  He made a right onto Cornflower and drove toward the island’s cemetery.  As he passed by it, he saw two boys standing next to a parked car in front of a long driveway:  The Rock Estate.  As he got closer, he could see that one of the boys was Landon Rock, Jr., who lived in the huge house up on the bluff.  He recognized the other, a summer resident, but he didn’t know his name.  Aubin was like most of the year-round islanders; he didn’t much care for the ‘summer folk’, as they were known.  He pulled his unmarked cruiser to where Rock’s car was sticking out into the road from the end of the driveway.  He hauled his bulk slowly got out of the car, then pulled a handkerchief from his pants pocket and wiped the sweat off his brow.  Hitching up his gun belt, he approached the two boys, who were circling each other in front of the car.  The Rock boy had what appeared to be a crowbar dangling from his right hand while the other was empty-handed.

“What’s going on here, Landon?” the Chief asked.

“Nothing, Chief.  Just gonna teach this boy a lesson.”

“Is that so?  Well, it seems to me that you have a distinct advantage.”

The second boy glanced away from Landon long enough to read Aubin’s expression.  In that instant, he knew the chief had no intention of intervening in a fight between a local and an outsider.  And just at the exact moment he realized that, Rock swung the crowbar.  It caught him on the left side of the head, but it wasn’t well-aimed; it was a glancing blow.  It was enough, though, to send him crashing to the ground.  As he lay there, momentarily stunned, he saw two shiny black shoes and the bottom of a policeman’s pants legs inches in front of his face.  Aubin squatted and looked at him closely, his sweaty moon face momentarily taking up the boy’s entire field of vision.  He could see the broken blood vessels in Aubin’s nose and smell alcohol on his breath.

“I don’t think you finished the job, Landon,” he said.

©2012 Rick Marchetti - All Rights Reserved

I’m a cranky old man.  I’m sure it’s not a shock to those who know me well -especially my wife- but when did this happen?  I remember when I became invisible to young woman; that happened in my thirties.  Okay, okay, I admit that I’ve likely always been invisible to most young woman, but that’s not the point.  The point is, when did I become cantankerous?  Someone referred to me that way recently, albeit jokingly.  I think.  The definition of cantankerous from Dictionary (dot) com is “disagreeable to deal with; contentious; peevish.”  Ah, now we’re getting somewhere!  “Peevish”.  I have to admit that I probably have more pet peeves than most people.  Yeah, “probably”.  I’ve noticed lately that absolutely everything annoys me.  A lot of people are aware of my obsession with people not returning their shopping carts to the rack when they’re done with them, but did you know I also hate the vast majority of commercials?  Not dislike, hate.  To the point where I change the channel or, at the very least, mute the sound?  For example, I can’t stand any commercial with precocious kids.  I want to reach into the TV and…never mind.  And I absolutely hate the commercials with the two old people who find a Swiffer on their doorstep.  The woman takes it out of the box and says, “…some kind of mopping device?”  Seriously, lady?  It’s not some incredibly intricate, high-tech gadget from the future!  It’s a freaking mop!!  There, see what I mean?  To paraphrase Gomer Pyle, “cranky, cranky, cranky”.  I can’t pinpoint the moment I became that old guy across the street who keeps your ball if it goes in his yard, but I seem to have arrived at that very spot.  I’ve also noticed that, as I get older, I’m more likely to just say whatever I’m thinking, too.  It’s like my filter isn’t filtering any more.  I accept that I’ve lost a step (or three) as I’ve gotten older.  I accept that my hair is deserting me.  But, cranky?  Me?  Oh yeah.

So I’ve decided that, since we’re starting a new year, I’m going to make a serious effort to lighten up.  I don’t think I’m technically old enough to be this cranky.  This is the year I’m going to let all those things that annoy me just roll off my back.  HEY, YOU!  PUT THAT SHOPPING CART WHERE IT BELONGS!!!  Hmmm.  I can see this isn’t going to be as easy as I’d hoped.

One of the songs on my CD (It was released in 2006.  Don’t feel bad if you didn’t hear it; you’re in good company!!)  is called “Good Times (Go By Too Fast)”.  It’s basically saying enjoy what you have when you have it because, before you know it, it’s gone.  When my kids were really young (now they’re almost 25, 23, 18, and 17), it seemed like they were going to be living under my roof forever (I don’t mean that in a snarky way; just that it’s where they belonged).  Now, though, the oldest is living, not only out of my house, but over an hour away.  We don’t see him very often.  Would I like to see him every day?  Of course, but I know from what happened when I left my parents’ house, that Life gets in the way.  You move out, you have your own life apart from the family, especially when you start your own.  You work, you maintain your own place, you have your own things to do; it’s not conducive to getting together.  If I had given that any thought -the fact that I wouldn’t see him all that often- when he was a little boy, I would have lost it.  Now it feels natural, like it’s always been this way.  In the interest of full disclosure, since he went away to college, he’s lived out of the house for 9 months out of every 12, so I suppose I’ve had time to get used to it.  Maybe if he just moved out permanently right from the get-go, it would have been worse.  He also spent a year in Germany during college.  He managed to get home a couple of times and, although I feel a little weird saying this, each time he left was just a little bit easier on us.  We got used to his being away.

My oldest daughter spent 5 years away at college also, including a semester in Japan, but when she was at URI, she came home way more often than my son ever did when he was there.  And it was hard letting her leave the country, but it was something she wanted very much to do.  We weren’t about to stand in her way, but watching her go through security at Logan the day she left, I was struck by how young and small she looked.  But, she went and we all survived.

Even my age seems “normal”.  When I was twenty or twenty-five, I couldn’t imagine what it would be like to turn fifty.  Now fifty is a rapidly-dwindling dot in my rear view mirror, but it seems like what it’s supposed to be.  My younger daughter is away at school now and my youngest son will be going away next year.  Between school and work and friends, I find myself home alone more and more.  But, it seems like it’s the way it’s supposed to be.  I guess we just adapt as things change and I suppose that’s the way it’s meant to be.  But, truth be told, I’m shocked at just how fast the good times have gone.  Luckily, there are always more.

I can’t believe another year is drawing to a close.  I also can’t believe how much faster they go as I get older, each one passing quicker than the one before.

The end of the current year and beginning of a brand-new one hold special significance to many of us.  “Out with the old, in with the new” is a common sentiment.  One thing people do at the end of the year is make resolutions for the new one coming up, usually along the lines of self-improvement:  I’m going to (fill in the blank); lose weight, exercise daily, eat right, you know all the usual suspects.  I was surprised to find “Make time for family and friends” as the number one most popular resolution on more than one list.  I would have suspected either lose weight or exercise.  They usually appear as numbers two and three, so I guess I wasn’t far off.  I make resolutions every year, but more because I’m enamored of lists than anything else.  Oh, I’m a great list-maker.  Traveling?  I make a list.  Having a cookout?  I make a list.  Things need to be done around the house?  I make a list.  Of course, then I usually lose the list, but that’s not the point.  What was the point?  Oh, yeah.  People like to start a new year with a renewed sense of…something.

Every year, I resolve to do something about my weight.  This year, I actually did it.  Between January 1 and now, I gained four pounds.  Not exactly what I intended, but I did do something.  Right?  Maybe not.  The problem I see with resolutions is that, in many cases, the person making them has unrealistic expectations.  If you need to lose a bunch of weight, how about making a resolution to lose a manageable amount each month?  If you want to walk for exercise every day and your goal is twelve hours every week, start out with six, or four, and work your way up.  My own experience has been, when my goals are too lofty, I fail.  Usually quickly.

So, if resolutions are your thing, go for it.  But I would recommend making them doable.  Think of things in steps, not as an all-or-nothing process.  I’m going to try that strategy this year.  How about you?

“You can’t turn back Time, make purple rhyme, and you can’t teach a rock to swim”.  That’s part of the chorus to a song I wrote ten or fifteen years ago.  I suppose I could have thrown in “You can’t teach an old dog new tricks” as well, but I was striving for originality.  The point of the song was we are who we are; you can’t change to fit someone else’s idea of who you should be.  But, can we change?  I think it depends on what we want to accomplish.  I don’t advocate changing for someone else’s sake for the most part, but I do think that, no matter how old a dog you are, you can make changes that will improve your life.  For the sake of this post, I’m referring to things I’ve had to learn to do as an independent author to make me more organized and, as a result, more productive.

The reason I qualify being an author by using the word “independent” is because, when people think of authors, they tend to come up with names like Patterson, King, Koontz, and Grisham.  They write a manuscript, then others take over with many of the endless details.  Their work isn’t done, of course, but their primary concern is the book itself.  As an independent, or indie, an author has to do everything him or herself.  There are exceptions, of course, but, everything associated with the book has a cost attached to it.  In my case, after I finish the story I have to read through and edit it, usually several times.  For example, my last novel went through about a dozen revisions.  I have to go through it and correct spelling, punctuation, grammar, etc.  I have to design the cover.  I have to come up with some sort of marketing plan.  I have to find beta readers, if I’m using them.  I have to maintain my website, my Facebook page, and my Twitter and LinkedIn accounts.  In other words, I’m a one-man band.  And having all those duties means I have less time for what authors do:  Write.

That means that I have to budget my time.  I have to make time for all this book-related stuff, and still do whatever else has to be done.  But what do you do when you need to do all these things and you’re a procrastinator by nature?  I’d be the first one to admit that I’m not the most organized person in the world.  I constantly write myself notes so I won’t forget this or that - and promptly misplace the notes.  I like to chalk my lack of organizational skills up to being “creative”, as if the two are intrinsically linked somehow.  That’s probably absolute nonsense, but hey, if it makes me feel better…

Case in point.  I received a royalty payment recently.  From a site I couldn’t remember ever putting my books on.  How can an author not know who’s selling his books?  In the interest of full disclosure, I feel it necessary to mention that the payment was for 69 cents.  And PayPal charged me 37 cents in fees.  Net amount, 32 cents.  But, to not remember, or keep track of, who’s selling my books; that’s just pathetic.  So I had to devise a plan to make myself more organized.  Here are a few tricks I discovered that may help you if you suffer from this same “affliction”.

I straightened up my work area.  Simple?  Yes.  Effective?  You bet.  You know all those lost notes I mentioned earlier?  I found quite a few of them.  Note to self:  When using Post-It notes, they may wind up stuck to something you never meant to stick them to!

I began organizing all my writing stuff.  I now have a file box that contains a separate index card for each character in all my current projects.  And all my reference books are lined up against the wall, rather than stacked here and there.

I set up an accordion file for business receipts, orders, research, labels; everything I waste time looking for when I need them.

Once I was (fairly) organized, I made a schedule for not only writing, but whatever else needs to be done as well.  Chances are if I’m sitting in the living room watching TV, I’m not doing whatever is on my schedule.  As a result of these few minor changes, I’ve been writing more and recently finished two of the short stories for my upcoming book within a day of each other.  (Note:  I said “finished”, not “wrote”; they were well along, but I hadn’t found the time to wrap them up.)

So maybe the rock isn’t swimming, but it’s not just sitting on the bottom of the pond, either.

Sometimes small changes get big results.

Writing a book is a lot of work.  It’s fun, but it’s work.  Editing and rewriting is even more work, but they’re fun, too.  Not as much fun as writing, but still enjoyable.  Marketing is NOT fun.  Not even a little.  I think it’s fair to say I hate marketing.  I have a website, I blog on several sites, I’ve made a couple of personal appearances; in short, I’ve used several methods that those “in the know” recommend.  I even did a giveaway on the book site, Goodreads.  The purpose of a Goodreads giveaway is to get your book to a number of people who, in turn, are asked to write a review.  I called mine “10 Books in 10 Days”.  From July 1 through the 10th, 932 people entered the giveaway.  Goodreads selected 10 winners and I shipped the books.  In all, between the buying the books, having them shipped to me, then shipping them to addresses in the US, Canada, and Australia, I spent around $100.  I got 3 reviews.  3 out of 10 might get you into baseball’s Hall of Fame, but it didn’t seem like a very good percentage of people who asked for a free book, so I tried to think of another way to get my books in the public’s hands.

A couple of months ago, I was trying to come up with ways to get my books to potential readers.  I remember finding a dollar bill one time that had “Where’s George” stamped on it.  Curious, I went online and found a website where you can track a specific dollar bill, wherever it goes.  The bill I had come across had started being tracked in Florida, turned up in Ohio, then New Jersey.  I received it in my change at the grocery store here in Rhode Island.  So, when I was trying to think of ways to get my book out there, I came up with a similar plan that I called “Where’s My Book Now?”  I made up a label that I would stick inside the front cover of some copies of my books and then just leave them in places where people gather; the waiting room at the doctor’s office, a bus or train station, restaurants.  Anyplace that draws crowds of people who might be there a while.  The label asked people to read the book, then pass it along.  I also requested they go to my website and add their location so I could track the books.  I was very proud of my “brilliant” idea.  Then, last night, I was doing some marketing research and I came across a website called BookCrossing.com.  It does exactly what I wanted to do with my “Where’s My Book Now?” campaign, but it’s organized and has a central website.  In short, it’s fantastic, just like the “Where’s George?” site. 

Starting in the next couple of weeks, keep your eyes open for my books lying about in public places.  If you find one, please go to Bookcrossing.com and log it in, then either leave the book somewhere (after you read it, of course!!) or give it directly to someone else and encourage them to keep it going.

I know my books have made it to several states, the UK, Canada, and Australia.  I’d love to see where else they will go.  Hopefully, one or more will find themselves on a bus, or a train, or a plane, to be discovered by a new reader.

Comments?  Questions?  Maybe you’d like to serve as the “starting point” for one of my books.  I can be reached at - rick (at) www (dot) rickmarchetti (dot) com.

I found out recently that an independent film maker in New Jersey is working on an adaptation of my short story, Dark Glasses, from my short story collection, DARK GLASSES and Other Tales.  That got me thinking about my other works.  One, the novel Iris, seems to be well-suited to a movie.  In fact, several people have mentioned to me, after reading the book, that they think it would make a great movie.  At the risk of sounding immodest, I have to agree.  That got me thinking about who might star in the movie version of the book.  After scouring the internet for possible stars, I came up with a list of who I think would be perfect in the major roles.  Here are my picks:

6.  In the role of Mike Lewis, the first detective the character Steve hires:  Gerard Butler.

5.  In the role of Ramon, Iris’s drug dealer boyfriend:  Jesse Garcia.

4.  As Detective Dan McNulty, who tracks Iris down:  Richard Jenkins.

3.  As Catherine “Cat” Miller, Steve’s wife:  Amanda Peet or Jennifer Connelly.

2.  As the male lead, Steve Miller:  Paul Rudd

And last, but certainly not least…

1.  My choice to play the part of Iris:  America Ferrera.

I certainly don’t expect a movie version of Iris to be made, but I have to agree with the people who have brought it up to me that it seems like the kind of story that would work well in Hollywood.  If you’ve read the book, I would love to hear from you A) about my picks and B) about whom you think would be good in these roles.  If you haven't read it, (well, you know what I'm going to say, right???)

If nothing else, compiling a list like this makes for some cool daydreaming.