Friends & Stomach Upset

Friends can be such a mixed blessing.

Last night my friend Ed and I went to hear our mutual friend Pamela King Cable speak to a rotary group about her journey, "Out of the Darkness & Into the Life of a Writer." It was a moving talk and Rotarians flocked (as they rightly should) to purchase Pam's new book, Southern Fried Women.

The club meets at a Thai restaurant and we were served a small but delicious salad with peanut dressing. After the talk, Ed, Pam, myself and Pam's husband Michael moved to a table in the restaurant for drinks and appetizers. Pam and I had wine, the men beer.  We all ordered spring rolls but instead of being served the fried delight we were hoping for, we were presented with shredded lettuce wrapped in a rubbery, transparent, and completely tasteless substance.

"A patty melt sounds good," sighed Pam.

"So do pancakes. Hey, there's an I-Hop up the street," said Ed.

Mike grabbed the check. "Let's go."

We downed our wine and trooped out to our cars, forming a mini-caravan to I-Hop. Once seated, we ordered chocolate-chip pancakes, a patty melt, fries, and coffee. Mind you, this is on top of peanut salad, spring rolls, and wine.

After two hours of laughter and conversation we stepped outside. "This was fun," said someone. "We should do this more often." We all nodded our heads and agreed.

"I think I'm going to barf," said someone else. We all nodded our heads and agreed.  

Would I ever eat such a gross combination of food on my own? Never!

Thank God for friends. They surely keep life interesting... 

Seeking Feedback On My DSI

As you will recall from Tuesday's entry, I'm captivated by a new book called Why Johnny Can't Brand. I've spent some time this week, alone and with others, brainstorming about my DSI or Dominant Selling Idea. I'm going to share that here and ask for your feedback, but first some background.

Right now, 90% of my work comes from writing for magazines. Since I've joined my leads group however, I'm gathering a steady stream of leads for what I'll call corporate writing - web sites, brochures, phone scripts, etc. I've been slow to follow up on these leads because I lack marketing materials. I don't have a brochure to send out (magazine writing doesn't require it) and right now my primary website at www.denaharris.com screams out "cat writer!"

But even though I'm revamping my website and creating a brochure based on appealing to corporate clients, a little perspective is in order. I don't plan on corporate writing being more than 25-30% of my work. But to garner even that, I'll still need to find my speciality within the industry of freelance writing.

The Why Johnny Can't Brand book suggests completing this Speciality Statement:
(Name of Company) is the #1 choice for _________ (speciality). That's because only (company name) has ___________________ (unique reason why, a process or service that others don't.)

So, here's my DSI. I'm looking at positioning myself as the "go-to writer." If you're on a tight deadline or have a last minute project that needs to get out the door, I want my name to come to mind. So sample Speciality Statements for me are:

Dena Harris is the #1 choice for down-to-the-wire writing projects. That’s because only Dena delivers when you need it.

Dena Harris is the first choice for last-minute writing projects. That’s because Dena offers the fastest turn-around time on high-quality work of any writer in the Triad.

These statements are for internal use only...just to get on track.  Now, for a company name, I've got:

• Dynamic Communications by Dena Harris
• Dena Harris - Dynamic Communications
• Creative Communications by Dena Harris

Possible tag line: "Your Procrastination is My Priority." 

I've run this by a few people and here are some options they've thrown out:

• "Deadline Dena" (too cheesy for my taste, but what the heck, I'll throw it out for consideration)
• Tagline: "We deliver the words before you need them"
• Dena Harris Communications
• Dena Harris Communications - Lightning Fast Wordsmiths
  

Here are my questions to those of you who care to respond:

1. Is the niche of being the "go to writer" a strong one? Is it an area that is important to customers?
   
2. Do you like the  "Dynamic Communications" name? Why or why not?
3.  Your feelings on the "Your Procrastination is My Priority" tagline?
4. Any other comments you'd like to add?
   

"I Feel..." (Or do I?)

Last night in Dale Carnegie the focus was on overcoming arguments and then learning techniques to agree to disagree with others.   There was discussion on avoiding words such as "but," "however," and "nevertheless" when in conflict with someone. ("I hear what you're saying, BUT...")

Instead, the benefit of using phrases such as "I think," "I feel," and "I believe" were discussed. For example, someone says something you disagree with. You come back with. "You raise a good point. I believe ..."

I remember reading quite a few business books that advise people--especially women--to avoid using the "I think, I feel, I believe" phrases because these phrases make you appear indecisive and/or weak.

Here's my question--do you agree? Admittedly, those business texts I'm referring to were books I read years ago.  Is it true the new "Emotional Intelligence" indexes encourage rather than discourage the use of these phrases in business?

Not a life or death question, but still kind of interesting. Would love to hear people's thoughts on the matter.

Making Time to Read

I'm not doing much reading these days. That's a problem, as reading is by far my favorite hobby and an intrinsic part of who I am. Yet I can't remember the last time I lost myself in a good book. It's been close to two months, at least. Most of the reading I do now is informational or by assignment. I just read two Dale Carnegie books and while they were good, it's not the same as disappearing into a different world.

When we were traveling this weekend, I found a couple of great books I'd like to read. One was a biography of Marie Antoinette and the other is a book called "The Colony: The Harrowing True Story of the Exiles of Molokai."  It's about the leper colony established on the island of Molokai in Hawaii and the people (lepers and non) who were forced there. That book had blurbs from Tracy Kidder and Paul Theoroux, two writers I admire, and I'm kicking myself for not just having bought it in the airport. I balk at paying $30 for a book though--that's why God made libraries and Edward McKay's (2ndhand bookstore).

I've got meetings most of today but should be home around 4. I'm marching myself straight to the library and checking out no less than 4 books and I am going to make finding time to read more of a priority in life.  If I can find time to watch, "My Name is Earl," I can find the time to turn the pages of a book.

Do you go through reading stages? For years, all I read was history and biography. Then I spent 6 months on archeology (having it to do over again, I'd study forensic archeology in school). Then there was the chick lit stage (not a pretty period), then the classics, then sci-fi, then two years of almost solely non-fiction. This past year or two has been a mish-mash of reading--young adult, middle grade, fiction, non-fiction, cookbooks (I like looking at the pretty pictures), and reading the manuscripts and stories of fellow writers.

I just hopped over to Amazon and they have The Colony for $12 so I'm going to buy it. A little reward for...well, I don't know but I'm sure I'll think of something.

Book suggestions, anyone? I love to know what people are reading.