Chapter 33.4: Worry Warts

I was just reading a piece about marketing one's small business. The sixth of the six tips spoke of not letting yourself worry -- to think positively. Sounds good, of course, but it's not that easy. Not to go into too much detail on what is a worldwide billboard, but I can relate to worrying too much.

Perhaps the thing I'm most positive and optimistic about currently is my novel, which I've barely touched since finishing 10 days ago. Mentally, I've eliminated some scenes and chapters, though I've got to physically do it and resolve the potential timeline holes that creates. I honestly expect those particular scene changes to not be so difficult. The primary purpose of those scenes is to create a reason for the wife to be out of town at a particular time. I can do it more succinctly without losing the story or the reality those scenes convey.

As any writer should, I recognize that I'm a small business. I need to have a product to bring to market -- articles or novels or scripts, editorial services as well -- and I need to let potential customers know about me, my talents, and what I can do to help their business grow. I hope to grow my business, and along with that will come other business partners. Of course, there's more to a business plan than those things. I have to know my market and show how I am focusing my strategy to meet what the market needs while differentiating myself. And I suspect that each new book will have a new "management team" of readers who have the skills and background to show me what I'm missing in the product -- whether it's my understanding of a specific setting or line of work or, God forbid, grammatical structure.

I was watching snippets of tonight's Project Greenlight, where the producers (including Matt Damon and Ben Affleck) selected a script and a director. What intrigued me was that neither the script nor the director were unanimously accepted. Serious issues of art versus commerce arose. I was a bit surprised that the less commercial director was selected, for he will present some obvious challenges. He doesn't seem to prepare well, and it's not clear what his vision is of the film he's to create. For him to succeed, it will take more than artistic talent.

One comment I found interesting was that the safer selection could have created a "double" on a baseball scale, while this guy could hit a home run but just as likely strike out. (Is it any surprise that Affleck and Damon are Red Sox fans?) In part, the safe selection was based on personality, and the antagonism toward the selected director also appeared based on personality. The director who presented himself as the weaker "small business" was selected, but how much slack will he be given before the leash is yanked back and possibly chokes him. I hate reality shows generally, but I might actually watch this one.