I Get By With A Little Help From My Friends

Success is not a solo journey. Milestones aren't achieved in isolation. They're shared and co-created. I know that I would never have made it to where I am now alone. Collaboration has been a key component in every step of my evolution. From my career as a safety professional to my emergency management era, and now my current reinvention as an author, technical editor, podcaster, and speaker, I've had the help of friends to thank for my success.

This thought is ever-present in the back of my mind when another author, podcaster, or creator reaches out to me for help. I do my very best to find a way to provide them with a solution to whatever the issue is.

Need to write a log line like my friends Jon & Peggyanne? Jon messaged me yesterday morning and asked if I could hop online and help them out. So, I did. We started out with what a good logline includes. The key elements are: 1. Who is the protagonist? 2. What is the inciting incident that sets the story into motion? 3. What goal(s) does the protagonist need to acheive? 4. What conflicts or obstacles stand in the way? and 5. The ticking clock that drives the story and keeps things moving. I spent a little less than an hour looking at comperable titles, their loglines, and generally hashing out the story. Then, I left them to come to their own conclusions and get that logline written.

Could I have charged for that hour of my time? I could have, but that's not why I do what I do. Someone helped me out when I was just getting started, and I like to pay it forward. My mother always said, "We are given two hands. One to lift ourselves, and one to reach back and lift others." Those words of advice are what keep me going.

I have been thinking about starting a coaching business, but I haven't figured out how to monetize something that is seriously lacking in the world - kindness and generosity. So I've found other skills I've been able to monetize, and only when it's to the benefit of everyone involved. I don't recall if I mentioned this, but I took on a part-time contract job as a technical editor for an engineering firm. It's good money, well within my wheelhouse, but not a huge time commitment, which leaves me plenty of time for hiking, kayaking, book fairs, and, oh yeah, writing books! It lets me be useful, and keeps some extra money coming in so I can travel to book fairs, pay for things I need as an author, and not touch the family funds.

Yeah, it's a good thing. It lets me help others and helps me,

too.

Speaking of, JB Caine & I are currently getting ready to launch Book 2 of The Manifest Destiny Series, THE NIGHT DOCTOR'S BLADE, on November 11th (a month away!) We'll be doing a cover reveal on social media later this week, so be sure to check it out.

And while we're at it, we're already five chapters deep into Book 3! (Don't tell JB, but I got an idea for Book 4 today. I'll tell her about it next week.)