Post 17 – The UnBlog – A Different Perspective
Posted on | December 23, 2009 | 9 Comments
It is always interesting to see how different writers approach the same subject or idea. There have been several books published where an editor gave several authors the same opening line or the same theme or circumstance to build a story around, and the books are filled with such diverse stories it’s amazing they all came from one idea.
I am involved in something like that and I’m very interested to see what the other participants do. This post is my entry in that endeavor.
A little background first. Steve and I have studied marketing, specifically marketing on the Internet, for many years. We wanted to have what tools we needed to get our writing out to the world. Some of what we learned was very valuable, and with that (and, of course, a good product) we were able to propel our book, Weeping Willow: Welcome to River Bend, to #10 on the Barnes & Noble best seller list. Not bad for a couple of Gumbas.
Most of what we learned, however, didn’t fit with how we wanted to interact with our readers. It was all about pushing people, convincing them they need you, or at least that they need your stuff. It made us very uncomfortable and we weren’t good at it.
Then we met a fellow named Pat O’Bryan. He’s a laid back guy, was a musician most of his life, with several albums to his name. He left that part of the biz and took his music into a whole different realm. He started using it to solve problems. He now makes meditative music, music to clear your mind. He also markets it on the Internet and teaches people how to do that.
He has marketing seminars that he calls the UnSeminar. Now the whole “Un” thing has taken on a life of it’s own.
In Pat’s classes, Steve and I realized finally that what we had to give was more than just fiction, it was the process of writing itself. We’ve studied it and learned it from the roots to the leaves, and think we have something to offer other writers and “wannabe” writers. We understand the processes and we understand what can hold people back.
To a very large degree, this blog, Tips On Writing, exists because of what Pat calls his Portable Empire Coaching Program. Since starting the coaching, Steve and I have written two books on the process of writing. Our latest, On Writing a Short Story, has sold quite well. We’re very proud of it and have gotten some very nice comments about it. The best feedback we can get, though, is when people tell us they followed our book and written their first short story. That’s happened several times and it makes us unbelievably happy.
That book is also part of a group project with some of Pat’s students. There is a page where many of the people in his program have put the stuff they’ve developed; everything from Tai Chi instruction to meditative music and hypnosis to books on how to set up a WordPress blog. We’re a diverse bunch. There’s a DVD on how to make soy candles. A book on how to put your small business on the Internet. One on how to make videos for YouTube. Two ladies in the class created sticky notes with affirmation on them. They call them “Affirmations that Stick”!
There are even a casino gambling strategy and a book on how to make your own, natural person lubricant.
And, of course, a book on writing a short story that takes you by the hand and guides you through the process from idea to a finished first draft. (Full disclosure, that one’s ours.)
All this great stuff can be found at http://portableempirecoaching.com/products.html
Now for the whole “UnBlog” thing. Several of the people in Pat’s class decided to blog about this group project. I think it’s a brilliant idea. All the posts will go up today, December 23rd, 2009, and they will all touch on the group product page and the individual’s thoughts about creating things or working with the group. I don’t know what form they will take, and I very much look forward to finding out. If you’d like to get different perspectives of the whole process, you can read it on some of their blogs. Besides that, some of these blogs are wonderful places in themselves with great stuff to read but today it is an opportunity to see how different people approach the same subject.
Some of them can be found:
- MJ Schrader at http://loverockstar.com/
- Kelly Maria Clark (who teaches pole dancing) at http://kellymariaclark.com/
- Mountain Jim Fisher at http://mtnjimfisher.com/
- Trapper John Sherwood at http://thesleepsecretebook.com/blog/you-want-what-for-christmas.php
- Andy Dolph at http://andydolph.com
- Claus Jensen (who lives in Denmark! I did a guest post for his blog about the practical side of Law of Attraction) at http://www.clausdjensen.com/my-portable-empire.html
- Chuck Pennington at http://harmonicthought.com/harmonicblog/
- Connie Green: http://ebookwritingandmarketingsecrets.com/creating-your-portable-empire-it-takes-a-village/
- Karen Kay: http://internetworkcafe.blogspot.com/
- Martha Giffen at http://marthagiffen.com/
- And Laureen Falco (her first blog!) http://lyricalconcepts.com/?p=1
Please let me know if you do read some of the other blogs and what you think of them. Also, go take a look at our group page: http://portableempirecoaching.com/products.html
Tomorrow, I will write about my oddest Christmas ever. Hint: it involved a seedy apartment and Disneyland. Then, on Christmas day, a warped Christmas story. Then back to the process of writing.
~Geoff Hoff
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December 23rd, 2009 @ 12:02 pm
[...] http://www.TipsOnWriting.net/blog [...]
December 23rd, 2009 @ 12:20 pm
This is a blast, Geoff! Thanks so much for spearheading the project for us! It is fun to see the different take we all have. I for one, having only read a few so far, am really impressed with how different we all are. Hooray for diversity!
Karen Kay´s last blog ..The UnDeniably Awesome "Uns"!
December 23rd, 2009 @ 12:51 pm
Geoff´s last blog ..Flying with Toothpaste
December 23rd, 2009 @ 1:54 pm
You Da Man Geoff!
We’ve had a bit ‘o fun so far, eh? And posssibly, just a tad more to come LOL.
Very appreciative to hook up with you thru Pat. Looking forward to rocking 2010 with the gang!
Happy Holidays to you and yours my friend,
Mtn. Jim
Mtn Jim Fisher´s last blog ..Time, Freedom, and Choice
December 23rd, 2009 @ 2:52 pm
And to you, Jim! Thanks.
December 23rd, 2009 @ 3:36 pm
Hi Geoff, I’m so glad to have met you in the Reds! Let’s all rock in 2010!
Claus
Claus D Jensen´s last blog ..My Portable Empire
December 23rd, 2009 @ 8:05 pm
Hey Geoff!
Good stuff! You covered quite a of ground here!
It’s so cool to see an Unseminar, turn into an Unlaunch project which lead to an UnRadio Show, then Unblog day was born!
How cool is this!
We are our own trend setters!
This is just the beginning of our launch, watch out 2010!
Be an UN in Twenty-Ten!
Happy Holidays my friend!
Trap
December 27th, 2009 @ 3:38 am
Thanks Geoff for inspiring all of us to be a part of this “unblogging” project! Yes, everyone here is so supportive and we’ve all created such great products! Thanks for always being there for me, and always offering to help!
January 1st, 2010 @ 8:13 pm
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