Brother Can You Spare a Dime?

In 2002 when American Idol first appeared on Fox, many of my friends suggested that I should try out. I opted-out stating that I was no longer in love with the idea of singing and that I had found a new passion, writing. But I could not help wonder how well I would do on a show like Idol. Back then, I definitely had the chops to compete and maybe even make it past the first couple of rounds with the judges but what about when it came time for the audience participation.

In the 80s when we had shows like Star Search, the only people you had to wow were the judges. These days you have to not only wow the judges, but hope that you can also win favor with the audience. So I ask the question—for the ones who won was it all because of their talent?

I’m sure there were factors on why singers like Jennifer Hudson or Clay Aiken didn’t win and I wonder if one of those factors had anything to do with the amount of family or friends, or friends of family they had or didn’t have. Winning by popularity has been around for a long time. In the 1930s, the Apollo Theater was one of the first venues to have a talent show winner be picked by an audience and most times it had a lot to do with how many friends and family you've invited.

Now, what does this have to do with writing…?

Take self publishing. Although I went that route with my non-fiction, Seasons of Writing, I decided that I do not want to go that route with my novel. When you self publish you have to take care of everything including: design and interior of your book, formatting, pricing, distribution but most of all, marketing and public relations. And yes I know there are writers, who have been successful with self publishing, but I also believe the old adage—it’s not what you know but who you know that often applies.

Self-promotion is extremely hard and for a writer it’s even harder. Unlike a singer who is often given a couple of minutes to do a song, a writer may only have the opportunity to put what might be a 300-page novel or a two hour script into a short synopsis or a logline or if you’re even luckier, show a short trailer with hopes that you’ve grabbed your audiences attention.

Screenwriters and filmmakers can now utilize sites such as, YouTube and Kickstarter but you still need to promote. I am not good at self-promotion and if I’ve already said that a couple of paragraphs ago please forgive me, but it bears repeating. But I have no problem in helping others like director, Graham Cribbin and writer/producer Roger Lewis and producer Clinton Allen promote their work, Grisly. I know what type of labor it takes to putting together a short-film or trailer. Hell, I even know what it takes to put together a Kickstarter package. But even if I were not a writer I would still be able to understand what it takes to work on a passion and for that alone I will donate and help whenever I can. I hope you will do the same.

Please donate at: https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/1611058915/grisly-the-movie