Category: Community

One of my goals this year is to focus more on “being there.” On showing up, in person at physical locations with other human beings. For me, this means attending publishing and writing conferences, having coffee and lunch with writers, on opting to choose conversation over email.

With social media becoming such a useful tool to communicate, I find that we sometimes overlook the value of showing up to events, conferences or meetings. If you are someone trying to forge meaningful relationships, trying to differentiate yourself from an thousands of others screaming for attention, showing up in person may be the answer.

When chatting with someone in person, I am always pleasantly surprised where conversations go in between what we were “supposed” to be talking about. I always remember where I have been, but rarely remember a Tweet from 8 months ago. I love the serendipity of what happens when I commit to showing up somewhere.

Here is a series of posts that I have shared to help you get the most out of in-person events:

• How To Get The Most Out Of A Conference
• How to Extend the Value of In-Person Events with Social Media
• The Importance of Meeting Your Peers

And here is my speaking schedule so far for 2013, some amazing events that I feel privileged to be a part of. All are in New York City. I provide details for my sessions below each:

MediaNext (formerly Folio: Show), Jan 8 – 10
Panel: The Two Paths of Social Monetization: Audience and Advertiser, Jan 8 4pm
Social media is the media of the future. It’s created great new opportunities for engagement and business development. Join our speakers for a look at hyper-successful initiatives in generating revenue from both advertiser and audience through social media.

Digital Book World, Jan 15 – 17
Workshop: How to Create the Content Your Audience Desperately Wants, But Doesn’t Know to Ask For, Jan 15 1:30pm
This workshop shows you specific ways to understand exactly what your audience wants, and how to translate that knowledge into compelling content. Whether you are creating books, a product strategy, or content for marketing campaigns, you will learn how to do deep research and analysis.

Authors Launch, Jan 18
9am: Communicating Your Purpose: Developing and Managing an Effective Author Brand
“Branding is… about communication. Effectively understanding your own purpose, that of your audience, and the ways to connect the two,” writes Dan Blank of WeGrowMedia. Dan has worked with hundreds of authors and leading book and journal publishers like Workman, Perseus Books Group, Library Journal, Springer, and F+W Media. In this presentation, he will cover the basics of establishing an author identity, building a brand, and connecting to an audience of readers.

3:30pm: Maximizing and Managing Your Brand
Dan Blank will follow up his main stage presentation with a deeper look at how to develop your author brand and create consistent messaging to better align with your target readership. Your audience has preexisting needs and a worldview long before they hear about or read your book. Dan will outline what you need to do to tap into what your audience might be looking for—information, inspiration, an escape, a solution, a good story—and how to make sure they know what value you represent to them as an author.

Book^2 Camp, Feb 10
I will be an attendee, and likely propose a session discussion. For a peek at what last year’s event looked like, here is my recap.

Tools of Change for Publishing Conference, Feb 12 – 14
Feb 12, 9am: Books at the Block Party: The Economics and Outcomes of a Local Literary Economy
Why does it make national news when Laredo, TX (pop. 250,000) loses their only bookstore and not their only flower shop or car wash? This discussion gets at why. Acknowledged out loud or not, we view books, authors and literature as emblems of a vital community. “Books at the Block Party” will explore the economic and cultural value of a thriving writing/book/publishing culture . Experts from urban planning, library, and nonprofit space will share data and case studies of what has worked, how and the benefits and challenges of making books part of a community’s lifeblood. The takeaway: An action plan and the supporting evidence for why books not only enrich a community but how that enrichment shapes the business and place of authors, publishers, booksellers and organizatons in the publishing ecosystem.

Author (R)evolution Day, Feb 12
I will be an attendee.

Columbia School of Journalism Social Media Weekend, Feb 15 – 17
I will be a “social media doctor” on Feb 16th, available to consult with any attendee on how to develop or rework their social media strategy.

Writers Digest Conference, April 5 – 7
April 6: How to Build An Audience For Your Books
How do you find and develop an audience for your book? In this session, Dan Blank of We Grow Media helps you understand the key steps to understand where your audience is, what engages them, and how you can connect with them in ways that are meaningful, not promotional. Whether you are already published or years away from sharing your work, the time to begin developing and growing your audience is always NOW. This session will review how you can make use of online resources, social media, events and other avenues, while protecting your time to write.

April 6: Marketing Panel (description to come)

Backspace Writers Conference, May 23 – 25
Details to come.

BookExpo America, May 29 – June 1
Details to come.

Thrillerfest, July 10 – 13
Details to come.

I will add more events to this list as the year progresses! I can’t wait to “be there” with writers and publishing folks this year.
Have a great day.
-Dan

I work with writers, so I always consider how we are each able to inspire others to find new visions, new possibilities, and provide an identity that is meaningful.

And I think of the relics that we leave behind. The physical objects that we create that inspire others day in day out. For some, it is a book. Others, a song. A painting, perhaps. A poem. But today, I want to talk about a ride. A journey into the future that Disney created at EPCOT Center in 1983. How that vision inspired many, even after it was destroyed.

This story fascinated me so much because it illustrates how fans capture, honor and appreciate something that inspires them. It reflects on the legacy of inspirational experiences. If you are a writer consider not just what you create, but how people continually experience it and how they grow because of it. That there is a relationship between the work itself and people’s lives – one that lasts for decades, or longer.

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The story is this:

From years 1983 to 1999 Disney had a ride at EPCOT called Horizons. As Wikipedia describes: “it took guests past show scenes depicting visions of the future.”
This is what the pavillion looked like on the outside as it was being constructed:

Here it is in full operation:

In the late 1990’s, the sponsor of Horizons (GE) pulled out, and Disney said they were closing the ride. This was the eventual fate of Horizons:

On the inside, you were taken through the exhibit in a ride vehicle. You traveled through a series of life-sized sets with animatronic figures, showing the possible ways that people will live in the future:

Photo via Mike McInnis

Photo via Mike McInnis

Photo via Jeff Bergman

When the ride sponsor dropped out, Disney closed Horizons. But then, in the time between Disney’s announcement of the impending destruction of Horizons to make way for a new attraction, they reopened it to the public for a few months in 1998 into January of 1999. In that time, two Florida residents who were OBSESSED with Horizons captured every aspect of the attraction on video.

They go by the names Hoot and Chief (yes, these are real people as you will see in the videos below), and they made it their mission to document everything they could about the ride. In the process, they ventured off the ride and explored every nook and cranny of what Disney called “backstage.” They through the sets, under the ride, into the scaffolding high above it, learned how it worked, and found hiding spots so security wouldn’t find them. Yes, they took big risks doing this. Don’t try this at home.

A decade later, in 2009, they began sharing the images and video of their story and what they experienced on their blog and YouTube.

Here is a video of them jumping off of the ride to wander around on their own:

They detail their process of finding a “gap” – they needed enough empty cars before them and after them to allow enough time to jump off the ride without being seen:

They share every aspect of their many adventures within Horizons over the course of three years on their blog, along with lots of video. They describe their purpose:

“We’re Hoot and Chief. We love Horizons and did our best to document it before it was destroyed. We left our ride vehicles repeatedly and even spent hours crawling around in the guts of the attraction.”

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Why did this story inspire me? How does it relate to what you may be creating in your life as a writer? I ask you this: Are you inspiring people with a vision of what is possible. Not just a vision, but a feeling. An experience. An identity that they make their OWN?

Because something about the Horizons experience allowed its many fans to dream a bit wider. New possibilities opened up. We live life by narratives. Horizons afforded its fans a particular narrative of what is possible.

It also placed you into the situation, to feel that YOU could help create this vision of the future. When I visited EPCOT as a kid, I basically viewed it as a career-fair. I walked away wanting to be an astronaut, a scientist, and oceanographer. This was not just edutainment, this was deeply embedded in my identity and vision for my life through much of my childhood.

Hoot and Chief captured and honored that experience, and were able to share their story with us. It is important to note, that even as they ventured through every set of the ride, up until they knew it was going to be destroyed, they didn’t take (eg: steal) a single part of the ride. Not the tiniest momento, even though they knew it would all be going in a landfill very soon.

In their first blog post, Hoot and Chief reflect on telling their story of the Horizon’s ride this way:

“So sit back, relax, and enjoy looking back at tomorrow.”

The experience of Horizons is now gone. Viewing the entire ride on YouTube is not the same. You miss the sensory experience, the feeling of expectation, the smell, the immersion, and the memory that “you were there” in this very special place.

It makes me consider how in-person experiences can be so inspiring; how the effect of what we create lasts decades after people experience them; and how all physical things are impermanent. Even books.

It makes me consider how the work of a writer extends beyond the book.

This is a giant mural that was within the Horizons exhibit, an idealized vision of the future:

Click here for large version of this image

While what you create likely doesn’t involve cities of the future, you may want to consider this: would someone jump into the work that you create to capture it for future generations to experience?

Thanks.
-Dan

This week I am attending the Advanced Publishing Institute at NYU, featuring workshops for those working in publishing on how to better manage the many transitions we are going through.

Whenever I go to an event like this, I reflect on the value of taking time away from regular tasks to break routine, learn from peers, and meet passionate folks in publishing. Two days is a lot of time to give up, and often, the benefits you receive are not realized right away.

The information you hear is always overwhelming because it comes as a fire hose, speaker after speaker, hour after hour. But weeks, months, and years later, you find yourself pulling nuggets out that provide context and insight.

People often say these events are all about the “networking,” a word that sounds somewhat mercenary. I do find that inevitably, I meet folks at an event like this that signifies alignment – we are passionate about the same things – and the in-person nature of our chats builds trust immediately. I walk away with the feeling of: “We are in this together. We are dedicated to the same goals.”

Too often, I see conferences and events promoted based on star power. Some uber famous person was hired to give a speech. I don’t really get that. Sure, it is nice to see these folks in person, but I find that the thing I value most is meeting and learning from the “doers.” Those folks who are in the trenches, often at mid-levels in an organization, and figuring this stuff out day to day.

Do you remember Fraggle Rock? My favorite characters were the Doozers, funny little creatures that were always building. “Doozers Do” was the motto from them that I remember.

I like meeting up with the doers. Those within companies who don’t always get the glory, but are actively sludging through to figure out the future of publishing. The authors who work tirelessly to not just create great books, but build meaningful connections with their audiences.

They started the day at NYU by saying: “This is a course, not a conference.” There was more focus on hands-on work than just listening to lectures. I even had the privilege of teaching a session on web analytics for editors & marketers. Here are the Doozers I met this week:

Showing up differentiates you in your career. Too many professionals spend all day, everyday, working with the same 5 people. When they eventually want to move jobs or get laid off – they have no network. No one outside of their tiny group TRULY appreciates their skillset and value. Suddenly, they are a commodity on the market, another resume in the inbox of an HR rep. It costs time and money to get out and show up, but I feel that the value greatly outweighs the cost.

What I still think is needed more at all events and conferences is more reasons to work in small groups. To get to know names, to make connections. To put your brain to work solving problems, not just acting like a sponge listening to speakers.

A special thanks to the entire team at NYU Center for Publishing, especially Andrea Chambers and Jennifer Goodwin. And of course: thanks to the many speakers and attendees who made this event so worthwhile!
-Dan

I was just on a website trying to reach out to an author, using the “contact me” form they supplied. As I hit “submit,” it became obvious that the form was broken. No matter which web browser I used, or how I filled out the form, it wouldn’t submit.

Invariably, I find that “contact me” forms are the least reliable way to reach an author. So today, I want to explore this topic, and the potential negative effects of making it hard for others to reach you.

Thanks!
-Dan