Interview: Anything is Possible with Richard Dedor

Recently I had the opportunity to interview Richard Dedor, the author of Anything is Possible, on his writing, publishing and life philosphies. Richard first rose to fame when he ran for mayor of his home town, Mason City, Iowa, at age 18. Even though he lost, he remained committed to his campaign slogan, The Time is Now, and he continues to live each day dedicated to leading, achieving, and affecting the world around him. Read the interview below for writing and life inspiration, and check his book out on Amazon or at his own website: www.richarddedor.com

Questions:
One part of your life that you are very open about is your decision to run for mayor of Mason City, Iowa, at age 18, finish third, and yet still proclaim that your campaign was victorious. This ties into one of your philosophies that failure equals success. Could you explain more about that philosophy?

I know it sounds simplistic and seven years after the loss, it is pretty easy to be positive about the results, but knowing in my heart that I did all I could at 18 to win, that I wore my heart on my sleeve, that I stayed true to my ideals and my vision, that makes me a winner in my eyes. I also know I had people who didn’t care about politics, especially city politics who were energized by my candidacy which goes to show how important passion is in whatever you do.

You also emphasize the idea of trying anything and everything. How does that open and bold attitude increase one’s chances of success and happiness in life?

When you live life with every option on the table, anything is a possibility. When you start tossing this and that off as options, you limit exponentially the opportunities and possibilities. All we know is what is in front of us – our next choice – our next decision. We have no idea how the next five minutes will impact the next five years of our lives, so I advocate and try to do anything and everything I can. Of course this comes at the price of being overcommitted, so it is definitely a delicate balance.

You write in the opening to your book, Anything is Possible, “The moment to do something is now.” How does this apply to aspiring authors? How does this apply to your life on a daily basis?

I will probably be chastised by my future agent and publisher by what I say next: I am not the best writer out there. I am only personally striving to do a few things as a writer. First I want to get better with each word. I also want my words to challenge me personally. Finally, I want my writing to challenge the reader. But I and other writers can’t do that if we don’t write. A painter can’t sell a painting if they don’t risk it all and brush their first stroke. There is no reason to wait. Absolutely none.

You also state that in the last few years you have met “amazing and inspiring” people. Who is one of the most inspiring people you’ve met and why?

I could list of a whole bunch of people. Jim MacLeran. Nathanael Porembka. Paul Wesselmann. Stephen Barnes. The list goes on and on. Each person is obviously different and has affected me in a different way, but the thing I’ve learned from them all is that I am a unique person of value and I should spend my life sharing my passion with others. I should never let “no” get in my way. And I should certainly not stop myself.

When and why did you decide to write an inspirational book?

I think I made the initial decision to write a motivational book seven or eight years ago. I’ve always been an emotional person and the stories of humanity have always touched me and I wanted to do the same. You can do that with fictional characters, but to me, there is nothing like seeing and reading about a real-life person who has either done great things because they were passionate and didn’t quit or to read about someone who had every chance and every reason to quit, but didn’t. I wanted to tell a story like that. In the acknowledgements I say that my greatest achievement in life will be if the people who read the book end up believing that anything is possible.

After you had written Anything is Possible, what influenced your decision to publish your book through CreateSpace?

I submitted the book to various agents and publishers through their stipulated procedures just to gauge the interest level. I’m a rookie writer in the cull-length book sense. I knew I had that against me. I’m young writing a non-fiction book and I knew I had that against me. However, I have thought about this project for seven years and I believe in it so much that I wanted to get it out to start changing lives. My goal isn’t to make it on the New York Times Best Seller list. Of course that would be amazing and awesome and I would certainly enjoy that, but my goal is just to change one person’s life. CreateSpace gave me a perfect and seamless avenue to do that.

In what ways might your book appeal especially to writers?

Any artist knows what it is like to create something and have no one like or appreciate it. We’ve all been there. Building a house is easy in the sense that you have a plan and you stick to the plan and you’re going to get what’s on the blueprint. Writing a book is quite different. You have an outline or a vision, but you just have the hope that the characters or the vision is strong enough to carry you through. This book seeks to get you past that initial, “I can’t possibly write a book.” But the thing is, you are correct in that you can’t write the book. You first have to write a sentence. Then a paragraph. Then a page and a chapter and soon, you have a book. This is the kick in the butt we all need from time to time.

Authors, whether self or traditionally published, are necessarily involved in marketing their work nowadays. What is one marketing technique or tool that you have used that you would recommend?

You definitely have to use social media that is relevant to your subject. You have to talk about it. You have to be passionate about it. Writing a good book is a big deal! Share it wherever you go! Be proud of it. People who are proud and passionate about their work will find success. For me, I have former and future speaking clients and they are really excited that I finally have a book they can take with them and for me, that has been the best marketing.

We writers can sometimes be our own worst enemies, especially when the little devil of doubt sits on our shoulders. How do we “overcome ourselves,” so to speak?

You have to surround yourself with at least one other person who has bought into your vision and will keep you on focused on the end goal. I am glad I had that. Without it, I wouldn’t be talking about the book today. I would have quit writing it. When you have that team around you, they keep you going, they keep you focused, and they can also tell you the honest truth. Plus, they will be there with coffee on the late nights and a beer at the end of the journey.

In your book and work with motivational speaking, and now, what is a final thought you’d like to leave readers with?

Write. Plain and simple – write! I’m in the process of deciding my next project, but through it all, through the searching to find my next inspiration I haven’t quit writing. As I said, my goal is to impact one person; what happens after that for me is just gravy on the mashed potatoes.

Apologies, Engagements, and Updates

So, my blogging has become a little sparse lately. I feel bad about that, and I feel a little worse knowing that while I will maintain roughly a blog a week, my posts themselves may be a bit weaker for awhile . . .but I'm going to be honest about why and in doing so let any guilt or self-reprimanding go . . .

The S.O. and I are engaged! I hadn't been expecting it any time soon, but it happened, and, unfortunately for my blog and Twitter, avoiding the work I get paid for by obsessively reading writing tweets and writing blogs has been replaced by bride sites and wedding articles.

The other reason that I haven't blogged as much lately builds on a previous blog. The S.O. and I are in a good position with his writing, but not in a position where there is much new to report on. Recently there were 3 library talks that went well. The libraries advertised his appearance, there were a good number of people who showed at each appearance, the talks went well and books were sold. Now he has a number of librarians who can serve to recommend him and his book to other libraries, which is one new plus. His writing has been steady and the goal is still to finish draft one by the end of February, then revise until it is ready to be sent out to agents, hopefully by the summer of 2010. Kindle sales of the self-published novel have been steady without us paying for advertising. We know that if we paid we could get it ranked in the top 50 or even top 10 temporarily, but we don't have the cash to spend on it right now. As it is, it has been successful overall and did make it into the top 100 a few times in the category of Men's Adventure fiction.

Bottom line: I will continue to share our experiences with getting published as well as other great information, blogs, and links that I find, but you'll have to forgive me if the blog is a bit sparse for awhile. ;)

Writing, Reviews, Blogging, Etc.

Latest update on all things writing and promoting the self-published novel:

1) eBook Architects, which I previously wrote about, is scheduled to have both a Kindle copy and a Smashwords premium copy (that can be sold to and read on Sony eReaders, through Barnes and Noble, etc.) of the S.O.'s self-published novel ready for launch on Dec. 7th. Exciting!

2) He is plugging away on the 2nd novel. He is a little over half way done. Once finished, the novel will undergo significant revisions before being sent out to agents for traditional publishing. Goal for Ready-to-Send-Out= Summer 2010.

3) Today I emailed Odyssey Reviews and Front Street Reviews to see if they have the interest/ room in their queue for reviewing said self-published novel. It was published in 2008 and is still selling well, but every bit of free advertising/ positive review helps! I haven't been able to help out much with marketing lately, so getting these two emails out felt really good. I will also be looking for reader review blogs whose owners would be interested in reading the book and reviewing it for their blogs.

Publetariat- Check it out!

As a follower of thecreativepenn on Twitter, I was directed today to a wonderful post on a site called Publetariat: People Who Publish.

The post is a wonderful post to read for food for thought. It's called "Should You Blog? And If So, What are Best Practices?" The post is geared toward newbie writers (whether newbie published or still unpublished), and is a great read for those of you considering blogging or somewhat timid about the idea.

This is the second time I have clicked on an interesting link to Publetariat, so I took a bit more time today to look through the site. I recommend that readers of my blog do so as well in case it is a site you would like to follow. The group is dedicated to burgeoning small press authors and publishers, and if you go the "About" page, you will see this impressive list of contributors:


John Backes - co-founder of The Children's Book Insider

Alan Baxter - Blade Red Press

Mark Coker - Smashwords

Nick Daws - freelance writer/consultant

Guy LeCharles Gonzales - Spindle Magazine & Loudpoet.com

April L. Hamilton - author, and founder of Publetariat

Michael R. Hicks - author

Highspot, Inc. - consultants to authors and publishers

Jude Johnson - Scorched Hawk Press

Hugh McGuire - Bookoven, Librivox, earideas & datalibre.ca

Joanna Penn - The Creative Penn

Dana Lynn Smith - The Book Marketing Maven

Joshua Tallent - Kindleformatting.com

Heidi M. Thomas - author, writing instructor, consultant

Zoe Winters - author and indie publishing consultant


Reading the above list made me positive that I will be checking in with this site from time to time for some great advice!

Lemonade Award

I am excited to announce that follower coffeelvnmom, Jessica Brooks (Thanks, Jessica!), has nominated me for the Lemonade Award, a feel good award for blogs that show gratitude or a great attitude. Check out her blog, My Thoughts Exactly, and the posting.

My Thoughts Exactly is also a great blog for links to writing and publishing related sites and for finding links to other great blogs by authors, agents and other writing-minded bloggers. Enjoy!

p.s. My apologies for the light blogging this week- I'm back to teaching and home sick already!

Beware: Publish America

Publish America has recently been receiving a lot of negative attention for being a "scam" publishing company, in the sense that they are considered by many to be a vanity publishing company, known for bad business practices, masquerading as a traditional publishing company. Read this Publisher's Weekly article for more info, or check out this dialogue on Absolute Write.

Do you have experience with Publish America or any other company that you believe readers/ writers should be warned about?

OR Can you recommend sites with more info for interested parties?

Great Blogs and Writing Inspiration

So . . . since I will be on vacation, and the "writer-partner" will also be on vacation for the next two weeks, I won't be posting as much on the topics of publishing and marketing. However, I will recommend Nathan Bransford's Guest Blog for today on blurbs- great stuff for burgeoning writers! It was a great entry and you can link to it on the left-hand side of my page under Nathan Bransford.

On the topic of writing, I am in New York City and I have to say I can see stories all around me. I walked through Central Park today and saw a couple lying down in the shade. The man was casually reading a book while the woman was lying on her back with her legs draped over his waist as he read silently. I surreptitiously snapped a photo and plan to use it as inspiration for 2 poems later. So, in that vein, I ask, What have you seen recently that has inspired you?

Querying from the Publisher's Perspective

Have you ever considered querying a publisher directly? Although you will have a higher probability of success working through an agent, some people are successful submitting directly to a publisher. The following advice is from the blog Editorial Anonymous: A Blog of a Children's Book Editor:

THURSDAY, MARCH 26, 2009

The Autobiographical Portion of Our Program
When submission guidelines ask for a bio of the author to be included in the submission packet, what are editors looking for in general? I have no previous publications to list in the bio, I'm still trying to get that first publication.
1. Don't be cute. At this stage, the bio is about information, not personality. (The bio that eventually goes on your book's backflap might have some touches of personality, but that's later.) So don't tell me you're a "former kid" or that while you're not an expert on a subject, you have "a lot of theories" about it.

2. Don't be weird. Discretion is the better part of valor. You're making a good first impression, so don't over-share. If you're a mother, it's ok to say you're a mom and leave it at that. If you're a mother of seventeen children (twenty-two if you count your husband's other wife's kids), then it's ok to say you're a mom and leave it at that.

3. Try not to veer off topic. I really don't care how many pets you have. Or their names. Or their recent surgeries.

4. Tell me if you are a teacher (not a homeschooler), a librarian, a bookseller, or if you work in publishing. I do not care if you are a nanny, professional clown, swim coach, or ventriloquist. I don't care if you're a fricking play structure-- it's not about how many children you come in contact with, it's about how many children's books you come in contact with.

5. Tell me if there's anything that will help you market the book-- a blog, a lot of experience giving entertaining presentations, whatever. Keep this to the things that will look good on paper-- if you happen to have a cousin with a van/loudspeaker setup, you're going to have to talk us through how driving through the city streets broadcasting "Come And Sit On My Lap and Other Stories! A Magical Trip to the Funny Spot!" is going to help, and that's a conversation for later, possibly with our lawyers.

6. If you are writing nonfiction, tell me if you're a specialist in the nonfiction topic you're writing about. Do not tell me you're in insurance if your manuscript is about caterpillars or teddybears. And if your manuscript is about insurance, well, your manuscript had better not be about insurance.

7. Tell me about your previous books published at houses that paid you for your work. If there aren't any, say "I am not previously published."

8. If you can't say anything else, tell me what inspired you to write about this subject, while strictly adhering to rules (1) and (2). Do not tell me that writing about unicorns is your "dream vision." Do not joke that the idea for your novel about mail bombs came to you after a particularly vexing experience with a publisher's submission process. Do not tell me you're writing about china dolls because you have a collection of 379 of them from around the world and they line the walls of your writing room and with them watching you, you "never have to feel alone."


As I have said before, every query, every cover letter, every submission, is really just trying to get across two big things: (1) How great your manuscript is. (2) What a yahoo you are not.

If you can get those two things across, you don't really have to worry about anything else.

Link to original posting: http://editorialanonymous.blogspot.com/2009/03/autobiographical-portion-of-our-program.html

Sarah Rees Brennan- Author to Watch

As I work to teach myself about writing and the publishing industry, I am always interested in finding new blogs that are interesting/ entertaining to read and also informative. The most recent blog I've discovered is that of Sarah Rees Brennan. She is a longtime writer from Ireland who is finally having her first novel published- The Devil's Lexicon. She writes a blog that has had a popular following for some time, though I must say her archive may be thin right now as her blog was recently hacked and erased (see Pub Rants blog today). She has rallied though, took back control of her space with help from tech-saavy friends, and is continuing to write. You can follow her journal as she talks about getting this first novel published.

http://sarahtales.livejournal.com/