Why You Need The "Right" Help

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Earlier this year I wrote about my Frog in the Kettle experience. In a very slow process, my computer and browser continued to grow slower and work poorly. I turned to the Geek Squad and they took over my computer and fixed it. Then a few weeks later, it slowed again and I was back to the same process. I could not understand what was going on and causing continual problems with the use of my computer.

 

Finally I got to the “right” technical person on the Geek Squad. He looked at my situation and realized I needed something additional that I did not have: a firewall. As an individual, I had never thought about needing a firewall but I did to prevent the computer attacks from others. I don't understand why others would want to install malicious material on my computer but it is definitely a part of our world. A few days ago, I had the Geek Squad install this firewall protection.

It's been a few days since I made this change and the experience has transformed my desktop computer (and the firewall helps all of my devices including my phone). My computer is more responsive and I'm getting more done without the frustration of my browser spinning on my screen. I've been doing this long enough to realize I will still have glitches in this process. Overall this change has resulted in less stress and better performance. It happened because I persisted and finally got to the right technician who could help me with my situation.

 

My lesson for you is to stress the importance of asking for help but in addition, you need to find the “right” help for your situation. Keep asking and looking until you find it. As writers, we are on a constant search for answers. We have many choices along the path and you need wisdom and insight to make the right choices in this process.

 

We are looking for the right editor, the right experienced person to guide you in the publishng process, the right marketing effort for your books, the right publisher and even the right topic for your book in the first place. Each of us have numerous choices. in this process. Last year, as an editor, I met a writer who had a well-done nonfiction book which she had professionally edited. I offered her a Morgan James Publishing contract but after numerous emails and conversations, she decided to publish with another company. I wished her well but I knew this other company. This company touts their connection to a well-known publisher but that's not the “whole” truth. In reality, this company is a part of a larger entity which is only online and publishing over 50,000 titles a year. I've met authors who have spent $20,000 with this company (something they will never earn back through book sales)—essentially a scam. My reason for telling you this story is to encourage you to be careful with these choices and get the right help.

 

There is no single best path for each of us in this publishing journey. Every writer has to experiment, fail and keep trying in this process. Let me know about your experiences finding the right help in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

Every writer needs the “right” help during their publishing journey. This prolific editor and author tells about his experience and gives some ideas for your path. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

 

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

Like A Frog in a Kettle

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It happened over months so I didn't notice it. I'm talking about the slowness of my computer. In the mornings, it took forever to get on a website and other functions. My computer was acting like a frog in a kettle. Let me explain. Many years ago, I interviewed George Barna about his book, The Frog in the Kettle (which has a subtitle with the year 2000 so you know it is dated).  George told the story in his book. If you put a frog in water, the frog will not notice if you raise the temperature of the water. Eventually the frog will die because he is unaware of the rising temperature of his water.

 

I was having a “frog in a kettle”-like experience with my computer. Without being aware of it, the computer was getting slower. Finally last weekend, the slowness built to a crisis. My Google Chrome browser crashed. I could not get on a single new website. Thankfully I had a version of Internet Explorer on my computer and it allowed me to get online.

 

Several years ago I began to use the Geek Squad. In fact, every year I pay them an annual fee. They are on call 24 hours a day seven days a week. I called their toll-free number then followed the instructions to reach them online.  I explained my tech problem and the technician remotely took over my computer. He analysized my problem, cleaned up my computer and reinstalled Google Chrome. The process took several hours but everything was working when he finished.  Also I knew the Geek Squad would probably need to reboot my browser. Before I reached out to them, I made sure I saved open files on my computer so no matter what someone else did, I would not lose any information in this process.

 

The surprising result is my computer came back to life. The slowness disappeared and everything is workng faster and better.

 

Be aware of these types of issues for your own computer. I'm going to make a note in my reminders to contact the Geek Squad for a general maintenance at least every quarter. I'm paying annually for their expertise but I need to proactively ask for their help.  Take a few minutes to think about your own writing life. What frog in the kettle experience are you having? Maybe your writing is getting harder to do each day. Maybe you are struggling to sell your book and need to change something in this area. There are several keys in this process:

 

1. Awareness. Without awareness, you will continue on the same path.

 

2. Asking for help. Many situations we can't handle on our own and need to ask others for help.

 

3. Taking action to make a change. You need to take action to change your situation.

 

4. Regular maintenance. Take preventive steps so this situation does not happen in the future.

 

No one wants to be a frog in a kettle but it happens. Have you ever had this situation happen to you? Let me know in the comments below.

  

Tweetable:

As a writer, have you ever been like a frog in a kettle? This prolific editor and author gives his “frog in the kettle” experience in this article and how he took steps to change. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

 

Three Actions When You Hit a Tech Snag

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

It happens to me daily and sometimes several times a day: I hit some snag with a technical issue. I don't like it when this happens to me. Sometimes getting through the tech issue can consume hours of time and energy.  Yet it is a reality of our world and culture—whether we like it or not. In this article, I want to give you several illustrations of tech snags and then several actions to take when it happens.

This coming week for several days I'm attending a bootcamp (an intensive conference). As a part of the preparation, the leaders asked us to survey our target market with a specific question. I crafted my question but then needed to figure out which online tool to use for collecting the input. I know about several of these tools but each tool I tried, I ran into technical snags where when testing it, I could not get it to work properly. It was frustrating and time consuming to resolve. To resolve it, I reached out to one of the leaders of this bootcamp and asked for help. In a short time, I got a response and worked through the issue and made my survey.

One of my relatives struggles with technology issues—like when I want to send this person some photos from my phone. Each time when I speak with her, she claims, “I'm dumb with _____.” When I hear these types of statements, I explain to her that everyone struggles with these issues and it has nothing to do with being dumb or smart. It is a part of our world and culture. I hope my explanation helped her work through the tech snag. My caution to you is not to speak such things to yourself because they become self-fulfilling. There is a solution to whatever issue you are facing, you just need to persevere and find it.

This week I found a charging device for my phone. I had purchased this device months ago but never used it and the charge had worn out so it wasn't working. As I looked at this device, I could not figure out how to charge it. I was inclined to throw it away—yes that frustrated with it. Eventually my wife found a connection on the device (which was not immediately obvious to me). This connection was different from anything I had seen before. Instead ot throwing it away, I looked to see where I could possibly plug this connection. With a couple of attempts, I found a place to start recharging this device and got it to where it is a useable tool again. I'm glad I didn't throw it away.

My hope is you learned some insights with each of these three recent tech snags. The overriding principle I want to emphasize is: there is an answer to your tech snag. You have to use different resources and persist to resolve it. Here's three possible actions when you hit a tech snag:

1. Ask Google to help you. Yes this one is obvious but many of us forget to use the obvious tool called Google with tons of technical help for you.   

2. Go to YouTube and search for videos that will help give you the answer. Whether basic or advanced, there are often resources here to help you with your tech issue. 

3. Ask someone for help.  Is there an online help tool? Can you fill out an online form and write support to resolve it? Is there a friend you can email or call and ask for help? I pay an annual fee to the Geek Squad and don't use them often but when I need them, they readily come to my help on some technical issues. Also use inexpensive tools like Fiverr.com.  I have a designer with a good rating that I use for some small design issues occasionally. Maybe Fiverr would be a route to help you through your technical issue.

4. (Bonus Action) Keep working at it until you find the solution. It may not be something you can resolve in a day or two, but keep chipping away at it and you will find the answer. You can't be the only person who is having such an issue that needs resolution. You have to be persistent with these tech snags to get them resolved. 

These tech issues are going to continue. We live in a technology driven world. Do you have another resource or maybe another action item? Let me know in the comments below. 

Tweetable:

What actions do you take when you hit a tech snag? Get ideas and insights from this prolific editor and writer. (ClickToTweet)