Turning things around. A writer’s perspective.

A writer’s space is sacred. The familiar chair, the favorite pad and pen, the computer screen and keyboard positioned precisely at the place where natural sunlight illuminates without glare. The scented candles, the coffee mug, the family photos, the random trinkets that only make sense to you. And of course, the books. Shelves and shelves of books that you’ve read, re-read and hold onto, just in case. All of these elements fuel a feeling that makes you want to write, and write your very best. So, why mess with that Feng Shui, right? Well, I didn’t mean to. It just happened.

My desktop computer had been acting up. Blacking out when I’m on a deadline, freezing up when my writing is feeling most fluid. Nearly three years old now, I figured she was entering the terrible toddler years. Off to the Apple store we went. Some Genius determined that she would need to check in for a few days for complete diagnostics. A few days? Yes, I still had my laptop, but it’s not the same. The laptop is a drifter, a free spirit. She doesn’t care that I need to feel grounded in my workspace. Still, I had to make do, and make deadlines, but in between doing so, I used the 72 hours as a chance to turn things around. Literally.

It was like tugging on a loose thread from your most comfortable sweater. First I picked, then I pulled and pulled until the entire thing had unraveled into a heap of yarn. My office. My writing space. Without the desktop there to keep me grounded (the wires and plugs help), I somehow got this crazy idea to shift the position of my L-shaped desk. I was like a curious toddler myself, left home alone with the safety locks and gates suddenly removed. First a little shift, then a complete 180. And in doing this, I suddenly realized that my back was to a beautiful big window for years. Then came the bookshelves because they clearly dominate my office. I removed every book from every nook until the shelves were bare enough to slide the cases around the room. Suddenly, the choppy theme of case here, case there was one solid wall of shelving filled with all my favorite books. How IKEA. How beautiful.

As a result, all the stuff on the walls had to shift, too. But instead of scraps of paper, post-its, reminders and deadlines, photos, quotes and daughter’s drawings that hung in pure random order, they now collected on one big wall that I have dubbed “Wall of Inspiration.” Way to put focus around chaos.

I relocated the trinkets on my desk. Created even greater order with my job folders. Moved the lamp. After a few hours of shuffling around the elements, the room felt bigger than ever. Calmer, even. And more conducive to great writing. Feeling like I had just opened the sunroof to let the fresh air pour in, I felt revived and recharged. I had no idea how much these simple changes were inspiring me. I had turned things around and didn’t even know that I needed to. Shook up the juice to mix the pulp back in. I couldn’t wait to bring my desktop home.

When I picked up my computer at the Apple store, I tucked her under my arm. I didn’t want to spoil the surprise, so I kept the foam covering her until we arrived home. No peeking. I carried her into my office, placed her gingerly on her new spot on the desk, perpendicular with the window, and slowly peeled the wrapper off so she could see the space we would be sharing.

Her reaction was priceless. A huge smile, a bright glow, an expression that said, “cool, let’s start writing!” Oh wait, that was me reflecting in her screen.

Nice new view 

Promoting the year of the dragon.

This guy has advertising legs2012 is officially here and suddenly my inbox and mail box are filled with a flurry of perfectly-timed pitches to finally lose the weight and tighten the tummy; increase my ROI for the first quarter; embrace a “New Year, New [fill in the blank]” mindset; save 20% on this spring’s extra-sneaky sneak peek at fashion; and to make 2012 the year I finally get discovered! Even I sent a “Happy New Year” email. (Hopefully, you received it. I tried for a unique angle. Let me know if I achieved that.) But I have not yet seen one promotion that taps into a theme that we are told to embrace for the next 360-something days. No one argued that it’s the wrong Chinese zodiac animal to represent the New Year. I didn’t hear a peep about ROI, P&L, RTBs (reasons to believe) or USPs (unique selling propositions), unless there were meetings I was not invited to attend. There was no creative brief to follow. The theme is all about tradition…and simply following the Chinese lunar calendar. Whether the rat, ox, tiger, rabbit, dragon, snake, horse, sheep, monkey, rooster, dog or pig is next in line, is completely out of our control.

So, this year’s “hook” is...the dragon. Yes, 2012 is the year of the dragon. Chinese New Year is January 23^rd and that date kicks off a year’s worth of longevity, wealth and prosperity, dragon-style. If you were born in a dragon year, 2012 should be filled with excitement, unpredictability, exhilaration, intensity, and maybe even a bit of drama here and there. (I was born in the year of the horse. No wonder I liked the TV show Mr. Ed growing up.)

If we run with the “year of the…” theme and turn it into a dynamic marketing promotion, here are a few concepts we could kick around.

Let’s start with a PSA on PBS, the TV station that airs the wholesome children’s animated show, Dragon Tales. Four friendly dragons—Ord, Cassie, Zak and Wheezie—are spokespeople for the year of the dragon. “Hey, kids, moms and dads,” they say in unison. “It’s the year of the dragon and that means for the next 365 days remember to keep watching our show so long-tailed creatures like us can take you on fun-filled tours through Dragon Land!” Theme song plays, viewership increases, advertising increases, TV executives are happy, kids are happy, innocents shows like this one don’t get replaced by weird reality TV where people eat paper. Life is good.

An email campaign runs to boost subscriptions for a host of health and fitness magazines. “Feel like you’re draggin’ your bottom out of bed every morning? Myths about what really makes you healthy seem to dragon and on? It’s time to breathe fire into your life…get those six-pack scales…tails of steel…and discover the latest tips for living millions of years!” Call to action is a special promotion of $20.12 for one year of your soon-to-be favorite health and fitness magazine. Subscriber rates triple, magazine sales are up and the dragon saves the paper publication from extinction.

A postcard is mailed to every person who has a plan with a wireless carrier. (A lot of people, huh?) The front of the postcard features a cool, mystical illustration of a dragon with oversized wings and a state-of-the-art cell phone floating near his face. The headline reads: ”It’s the year of the dragon. The perfect time to give your cell phone wings when you drive!” The marketing objective is to get cell phone users to start using a new-fangled levitation field that floats their phone near their ear for true hands-free use while driving. Finally, both hands safely on the wheel, no matter what state you live in. The field is $99.95, no shipping and handling fees (since the field is basically air anyway), plus a money-back guarantee AND a free vanilla-scented car air freshener just for trying. Check or money order made out to Safrantasticals, LLC.

Branding the year of the dragon could be so much fun and it could really impact so many products and services, on a real social-conscience level. Movie releases, book promos, sky’s the limit. But the year of the ox? Good thing I have quite a few years to ponder that one.

Snail mail may be slow but it’s still direct.

One day will I hear, "Grandma, what's this?"

Is anything fragile, liquid, perishable or potentially dangerous? Actually, yes. It’s called the United States Postal Service. The mantra you hear from the clerk or postmaster with each visit to your local post office is indeed a mouthful. It’s also predictable, almost melodic, and sometimes even a humorous tagline of sorts if he who is reciting trips on the words. (Trying saying it a few hundred times each day and you too shall trip.) But now, the very words asked to clear a package, are ironically labeling the system itself, emphasis on the fragile and perishable parts and quite possibly, potentially dangerous to those whose jobs could be lost.

Way over 200 years ago, the concept of the USPS first began.  It was a time of freedom. We were a nation bound together by a system of postal roads and offices. A free flow of information between people and government. Sending a message from point A to point B was unprecedented. This was big.

Flash forward to today when people still need to get their message from A to B. In fact, they need to do so more frequently and with lightening speed. Enter emails.

So, a system that used to be associated with the Pony Express is now mockingly called Snail Mail. Our association with the USPS has gone from speedsters to champions of sluggishness. Yes, we’re in a serious paradigm shift. And yes, the trajectory of our messages has changed and while that’s wildly exciting, it makes me sad. Is the post office, a system I’ve grown up with and relied on, a system that delivers many of my clients’ promotional materials, about to become obsolete?

If so, I have to rethink a few things.

On a personal level, how will I send thank you notes to my 82-year-old aunt in Florida who doesn’t have email? How will I sneak a postcard to my husband and daughter when we’re on vacation? (Thanks for the best time ever! I write on cards with Grand Canyon sunsets and beach scenes, secretly popping them in the mail so it’s waiting for them when we return home.) What about my taste buds? After years of toughing it out, will they lose the ability to lick yucky envelopes closed? And how about Santa? Are kids going to start texting the North Pole? What reason will I have to walk down the driveway in anticipation of what could be there in that little black box with the red flag that lifts up and down? I can hear the squeaky springs of the latch opening and closing right now by my postal carrier, Stan. (Stan, wait! What did I get?)

On a professional level, what about direct mail? What about all those packages and postcards, self-mailers and catalogs that still find their way into my mailbox? Into your mailbox? Yes, they are dwindling, but that’s what makes them stand out even more these days.  Direct mail just doesn’t work without the mail part.

In January 2012, the price of a stamp is going to be raised from 44 to 45 cents. Yes, I know emails are free, but you can’t hold them in your hand. You can’t yank them out of your physical mailbox, tear open the envelope, and delve into the contents. Maybe it was a greeting card from your old college roommate. Maybe it was a check. Okay, maybe it was – dare I use the term – junk mail – but so what. Maybe it enticed you, interested you, targeted you in a way that positively impacted your life.

Here’s a call to action to consider. In between your flurry of emails and reading this electronic post, put something in the mail this week. (Even if it’s a letter to me to tell me to bug off.) Together, we can change the world.  Or at least help the USPS be like a stamp and stick.

First job. Steve Jobs. And a funny thing called a Mac.

Telling you that I have over twenty years experience as a direct marketing writer easily dates me. Unless I started in the fourth grade, you have a general idea that I began my career in the late 1980s, early 1990s. Starting out, I was thrilled to land my first job as a junior copywriter at Doubleday Book & Music Clubs in Garden City, NY, where I was going to be writing. Yes, writing! No one cared how fast I could type, or how well I brewed a pot of coffee. (I grew up watching my parents make instant, so I didn’t even know how.) Granted, I wasn’t working on the high-concept projects that I delve into today, but I did learn the art of writing tight.

My first assignments were to write blurbs for the 100-plus books that were featured in the direct mail packages for book clubs like The Literary Guild and Doubleday Book Club. But the tricky part was that I had to write a complete synopsis for each book in twenty words or less. I quickly learned that every word mattered, that there was always fat to trim, that words could influence readers, and that this process was fun!

 Learning to write teeny blurbs that packed a punch

I worked on a word processor in a cubicle the size of a Chinese food container. I shared that space with a junior art director named Jennifer. I called her Yennifer, or Yen, and through our relationship (a friendship I still hold dear to this day), I learned how magical writer/art director chemistry could be. I also learned about something completely foreign to me: a Mac.

After hours one night, Yen brought me to a room down at the end of the hallway. “Lis, you’ve got to see these new computers. They’re amazing,” she said. I thought it was a broom closet, but it was a media room inhabited by only the young, brave creatives. Much like a mad scientist’s lab, it was filled with objects I had never seen before: a few, modern-looking computers with lights glowing from the screens; hands holding a quirky little thing called a mouse and it moved rhythmically along the desk, as if playing the board game Ouija; faces transfixed on the amazing things happening on the screens in front of them. Yen sat me down, and for a few hours, walked me through funny-sounding things like Quark, Adobe, Word, scroll, drag, copy, paste. I remember feeling overwhelmed and excited, as if I had just been let in on the secret to the creative person’s universe.  Yen, the pioneer that she continues to be in her thinking and spirit, introduced me to a new world, a world created by a man named Steve Jobs. Back then, I had never even heard of him.

A sleek, graphic, partially eaten apple is staring me right in the face as I get to the point of this blog: life is an ongoing series of connect the dots.

I am presently reading the hefty biography of Steve Jobs. I am typing this post on a Mac. The Danielle Steel and Nelson DeMille books I used to write about in twenty words or less are now read on handheld devices created by Apple. Like pixels, or DPIs (which I’m sure Yen taught me about back then), individual dots continue to come together to broaden, enrich and expand an experience. It may not be obvious at first, but it’s happening. I draw from my foundation of writing tight to recognize when I’m rambling. (Like now.) I employ the timeless principles of direct mail when creating the latest electronic means of communicating. I take what I learned and continue to add it to what I’m learning. Looking back to move forward. No dot left behind.

Facing my blogos-fear

Staring down the blank screenI love helping my clients to build their brands. It’s both an honor and a challenge to further an identity, making it sparkle like Grandma’s sterling silver on the holiday dinner table. But build my brand, as in rewrite/redesign my own website, and start blogging? That’s a bear of a challenge no matter how many years I’ve been doing this for others. Still, in my book, challenges are for tackling, so in true wrap-my-head-around-the-process style, I planned out my new website, this website, starting with an explanation of my brand essence. (A shout out to Squarespace, which is the service I used to create and manage everything here at my new site. In the past, I’ve worked with a great web designer and a programmer to help me in areas where I felt like a complete dork, such as html coding. So, it’s cool to have complete access to my site, 24/7. No excuses.)

Back to the topic of branding.

I asked myself: Who am I? What am I? How do I want others to perceive me?

I began to talk out loud, via the keyboard, thinking through the “freelance writer” part of me, and came up with the following: I am a writer. I am a good writer. I have integrity. I care about my projects. I care about my clients. I am original and unique. I have expertise and skill. Now, all I have to do is get all that down into a tiny electronic glimpse of me, which includes a headline or two and a few paragraphs of copy. Is that even possible? (Wait. Didn’t I just accomplish that with the last few sentences?)

Which leads me to where we are right now: my blog.

I’m being completely honest in saying I’ve been avoiding it like the plogue. (Lame attempt at being “punny.” Sorry.) On my old website, in the blog section, it said, “coming soon” but when months went by without posting something, it really should have read, “ain’t happening.”

I haven’t blogged up until this point for one main reason: fear. It has everything to do with messing up, sounding stupid, being lame, exposing too much, no backsies, and so on and so on.

But as a writer, I feel it’s time to face my fears and start blogging. So rather than posting posts all willy-nilly, I am here now attempting to lasso a framework around the process. Here goes.

I will:

-       Blog at least once per month (or more, but not less)

-       Remain focused on the following topics:

• The writer’s life
• My experiences as a writer for the last 20+ years
• Trends, events, interesting things in the world of direct marketing and advertising

-       Strive to inspire/entertain/inform my reader

-       Create reasons for you to keep reading my posts – otherwise, you will righfully ask, “Why do I care?”

I will not:

-       Skip weeks at a time. (I might as well go back to the "coming soon" approach then)

-       Write about mundane stuff in my life (sandwiches, sleep patterns, scrapes and cuts)

I’m all a-Twitter thinking that tweets are something I should be doing too, which is why I started a Twitter account a long time again, but I haven’t yet fully connected with that social media tool. But again, I will try not to should on myself too often. It's not healthy.

Someone decided that tweets must be 140 characters or less. What are the parameters for a blog? Since there are none, I will strive to fall somewhere in between the length of a tweet and a novella. Promise. Thanks for being here, and please tell me what you think. After all, you are my reader.