In today’s Journal
* As it turns out
* Change One to the Basic Plan
* Topic: Licensing Intellectual Property
* Daily diary
* Of Interest
* The numbers
As it turns out, someone gave Ryan Pelton (The Prolific Writer) my name as someone he might want to interview as a prolific writer. Who knew? (grin)
In part, Ryan wrote, “I think your lessons on writing would be super helpful to our community. Would you be up for coming on the show some time?”
Of course, I said, “Sure.” (grin) Kind of exciting.
So here are a few links about Ryan and his stuff:
The Prolific Writer Website: https://theprolificwriter.net/
The Prolific Writer Podcast: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/the-prolific-writer/id1185387038?mt=2
On Twitter: https://twitter.com/ryanjpelton
On Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/writerprolific/
Change One to the Basic Plan
In yesterday’s Journal I posted a segment titled “More Mentoring Options Now Available.”
I priced two of the options wrong. The corrected pricing for all levels is as follows:
Level A is $150 per month.
This includes abstracts (overcoming fears, scheduling, etc.), personalized instruction on specific writing techniques and manuscript review, plus IP inventory and personalized licensing instruction. Whatever you need.
Level B1 is $90 per month.
No abstracts. This includes personalized instruction on specific writing techniques and manuscript review, plus IP inventory and personalized licensing instruction.
Level B2 is $50 per month. No abstracts, no licensing instruction. This includes only personalized instruction on specific writing techniques and manuscript review.
Level C is $50 per month. This includes only personalized help with your IP inventory and personalized licensing and marketing instruction.
I’ll be posting this same offer to a broader audience on Tuesday, August 20. For any readers of this Journal who want to take advantage of these mentoring opportunities, I advise you to jump in soon.
Topic: Licensing Intellectual Property
Show of hands… how many of you have IP that you could license right now if you wanted to?
Wrong.
Every one of you do.
And I’m not talking about lightning striking as some Hollywood producer knocks on your door. I’m talking about things that are completely within your control.
Let me say that again. I’m talking about current licensing opportunities that are completely within your control.
And it isn’t always the book comes first, then you wait to be overwhelmed by a stampede of licensees begging to sell your IP in other ways.
My apology to whomever dreamed up that ridiculous line, “Good things come to those who wait.” But no, generally they don’t. Good things come to those who are willing to get off their duff and go looking for good things.
It doesn’t matter how many book sales you have. It doesn’t matter even whether you’ve already written the book.
All that matters is that you have IP and you’re willing to allow others to use it in all sorts of ways in exchange for a percentage of their sales.
If you’ve dreamed up one character, one interesting setting or one title, you have IP to license. Again, even if it isn’t in a story yet. Even if the story hasn’t been written or published yet.
If you have one unique prop that would lend itself to (or already is) a line of clothing (Karen, I’m looking at you), you have licensable IP. (Personal note: TWC is a slap-your-forehead natural fit for this.)
For that matter, I’m also seeing a really unique logo that would be a HUGE seller on t-shirts, sweat shirts, hoodies, etc. You could even license the TWP world to other writers who want to write in it. And that’s only three ideas in about as many minutes. Email me.
If you have a larger-than life but affable character whom people like or WOULD like (Gary V. and Robert S., I’m looking at you now), you have licensable IP.
You can even license your own image or a caricature of it. Say you look good sitting in a sportscar, smiling at the camera, your elbow propped on the driver’s side window well. The caption could read “There’s a New Duke in town.” Or just “The New Duke.” (You know who you are, right?)
And yes, I could go on.
But the thing is, so can you.
Do you write “only” poetry? Or only haiku or senryu? Perfect for t-shirts or sweat shirts or calendars or stationery or various types of greeting cards. You could change the world, one person at a time. And make money doing it.
The possibilities really are endless, folks. The one thing those possibilities have in common is that 99% of them are within your control. Right. Now.
As ol’ Wes Crowley might say, “Dreamin’ is good. But if you want it, sooner or later you gotta saddle up and go after it.”
*
I wrote the above topic in about ten minutes. Think of how many ideas you could come up with for your own IP in a half-hour. Give yourself that time. Then saddle up and go after it.
***
Rolled out way late at 4:30, which makes me kind’a glad I wrote the topic above yesterday. That being done will help get my day back on track.
I also modified a blog post for the big blog and came up with a few new ideas for topics for this one.
A thoroughly enjoyable writing day today. A lot of cycling and a lot of minuscule, in-the-POV-character’s-head psychological stuff. Which was a great deal of fun because the POV character is an assassin.
I also wrote a short story (as part of the novel) titled “Empirita Sanchez de Uvalde.” It’s a love story, sort of. You’d have to be there.
When I transition HarveyStanbrough.com all the way over to being an author site, I’m thinking of reinstating the Free Short Story of the Week feature. Then every now and then I’ll also post an interview with a character, another event that happened in an important setting in one of my novels and so on.
I’d love to hear your thoughts on this. If you have an author site, what do you offer on it to keep readers returning? Please share. If you’re a reader, and especially if you’re a fan of my work, what would you like to see?
Talk with you again tomorrow.
Of Interest
See “Editor’s Toolkit” at https://www.thepassivevoice.com/editors-toolkit/. This is not an endorsement of the product (I don’t and won’t use it personally) but I enjoyed PG’s extensive take. I also don’t use or recommend Grammarly as even their own national advertisement displays their lack of knowledge re… (wait for it) grammar.
See “Why do readers remember?” at http://prowriterswriting.com/why-do-readers-remember/.
Fiction Words: 1374
Nonfiction Words: 1080 (Journal)
Total words for the day: 2454
Writing of Blackwell Ops 7: Glen Marco (novel)
Day 1…… 3222 words. Total words to date…… 3222
Day 2…… 1170 words. Total words to date…… 4392
Day 3…… 3191 words. Total words to date…… 7583
Day 4…… 1374 words. Total words to date…… 8957
Total fiction words for the month……… 7583
Total fiction words for the year………… 366320
Total nonfiction words for the month… 15150
Total nonfiction words for the year…… 233220
Total words for the year (fiction and this blog)…… 600914
Calendar Year 2019 Novels to Date…………………… 7
Calendar Year 2019 Novellas to Date……………… 1
Calendar Year 2019 Short Stories to Date… 2
Novels (since Oct 19, 2014)…………………………………… 43
Novellas (since Nov 1, 2015)………………………………… 8
Short stories (since Apr 15, 2014)………………… 195
Short story collections……………………………………………… 31