Let’s move into a new decade

I’m ready to make some adjustments in Griffith Publishing that will widen the sphere of work we cover and add to the list of services we offer.

The biggest challenge is to continue learning Dreamweaver and to offer content-rich interactive web pages to authors, physicians, and other clients. BSU is offering exactly the classes I need, but a 50-mile round trip for every class makes it seem unreasonable at this time.

Web design will put my clients on the breaking edge with their competition and will give me the breadth of experience I need in this rapidly changing, fast-growing area of advancement.

Too soon for an ode to the linotype machine

How does one install a free virus protection software on a computer that can’t access the web?

Only one of my computers is working properly. Two of my computers can’t access the Web. One computer isn’t protected.

Oh, well. Who needs computers? I would be working just as hard if we were still in the days before computers and maybe I would be doing at least this well financially. I would be rewarded for being able to type very fast without mistakes.  But I’d be writing papers and reports and books that would be printed or copied from camera-ready pages. I remember starting my publishing career about 1961 submitting text that was transferred mechanically via a machine known as a linotype to “hot” metal and made into frames that were inked and impressed on paper. The headlines were set by hand on the “Ludlow” machine.

It’s time for a tribute to the good old linotype machine.

And to the remarkable man with an even more remarkable name, Ottmar Mergenthaler, from Germany. He is acclaimed for being as important to printing as Gutenberg, the man who invented “movable type” and made printing presses possible.

The invention sounds strange in the perspective of computer-generated files, but to combine stamping letters and casting them in metal in one step was a major breakthrough. I remember walking into the press when I was a college student eager to produce the next edition of the college newspaper and watching the linotype operator entering the text I’d brought over on half sheets. I can’t remember his name, but I can remember how he would sit with back ramrod straight and pound the keys in rapid sequence, seldom hitting the wrong one.

Each line of type that was set ended up in a mold filled with liquid metal where the stamp was made. For a great explanation of how it all worked, Woodside Press has created a delightful, well-illustrated website with easy-to-understand explanation of the linotype. Based in New York City, Woodside Press is one of the few printing companies that still use hot metal. Linotype, Monotype, and Ludlow are key tools at this press.

The secrets to my success

It was twenty years ago last summer when I settled in the family house in Southwest Idaho and began producing books for people. I’d like to tell the world (although the world is not listening) that it’s possible to make a good living doing what I do: writing, editing, web content, some design. The secrets to my success in sticking it out since 1988 are also open to the world and are as follows:

1. Love it. The more you love your work the easier it is to stick to it and do a good job.
2. Do it. It takes a lot of effort to build clientele, to sell services, to set prices and schedules. It’s hard to deal with cranky people or people who learned English in India. Just do it.
3. Go steady. One business that can give you enough income for 25 or 30 percent of your living expenses is a big boost. Try to fill up your client base so you don’t receive more than 30% from one client because it’s too much like being an employee except that you can lose your job a lot easier.
4. Lean on people. I couldn’t have done what I’ve done without great printers, a wonderful designer (my niece) who has been working with me for about 25 years or so. Luckily, she doesn’t depend on me for a huge chunk of her total income. Clients who give me repeat business (90% of my volume), community supporters who let me participate with them, relatives who invite me over, people at church who share fellowship. It’s okay to lean on people!
5. Plan to roll with the punches. Don’t set ironclad “rules” for how you will do business. Study trends. Pay attention to what’s going on. Listen, read, watch, learn. Change your way of working as you identify new ways that work better or pay off sooner.
6. Keep learning. Study, read, and collect all the knowledge you can about topics that interest you. Attend meetings, take classes, subscribe to magazines. When you stop loving the process of learning you might as well strap yourself to a wheelchair and vegetate.

That’s all there is, folks! Do your best. If you stumble, offer to make it right. Never pretend you know it all. Smile a lot. And stick to it.

JG

Work list

Projects on deck at Griffith Publishing…

Ghostwriting:

Sexual abuse, almost finished with changes by the author of record, and he says he’s almost finished with additional stories he wants to put in the book.

Escape from Poland, waiting to hear from the author of record.

Other projects:

HealthWorks newsletter: story list due Friday

Yellowstone Gazette: stories ready to research and write:

Highwaymen in the Gold Rush

The Reality of the Donner Summit Tragedy

COMPASS notes and information

Cornell University geochemistry textbook, pro bono

Next week I have meetings just about every day.

From Griffith Publishing

Work first, plan second…

It’s easy to plug along doing the jobs that scream the loudest for attention and never settle down to do some honest planning. Well, I want to get out of that trap and start planning every Monday morning. That’s what it is today, Monday morning—the day before national elections, whoopee!

1. Blogs. Do a blog in the morning and another one at night so they are renovated on a regular basis.

2. Working hours.

1. 8:30 to 12 noon Work on office stuff and email etc
2. 12 to 1:30 Do some housework and exercise. Run errands.
3. 1:30 to 3:30 Work
4. 3:30 to 4:30 break for lunch
5. 4:30 to 5:30 Review writing that needs to be done
6. 5:30 to 9 pm Try to put in 2-3 hours of heavy writing
7. 9 pm Slow down, draw, read, play the piano
8. Asleep by 10:30

That’s about eight hours of focused work every day. Now…What needs to be done this week?

• Work on Cliff’s book. Just get in there and do it!
• Roy is going to call me about 6 pm
• Clean off my desk
• Request senior discount with City of Caldwell
• Qualify for COMPASS work
  • Listen to CD
  • Study material on the Web

• Plan next HealthWorks (story list due Friday)
• Call Toshiba re problems with email (first identify the problems)
• Earthlink is still billing me. Call Qwest.
• Vote: McGee, Minick, LaRocco, Obama and guess on the rest

Work hard. Don’t complain. Work is fun!

Griffith Publishing

Blogging directory

Here is my up-to-date list of blogs that I maintain via WordPress. I visit some more than others, but I try to share helpful information in all of them.

NEW! Physician Publishing. Doctors make good authors. Here’s why–and how.

NEW! Ghostwriting. Avoid the perils but hire a ghost when you need one.

NEW! The Author Publisher. Unraveling the mysteries–and rewards–of self-publishing.

NEW! The Newsletter Doctor. Online consulting for producing a newsletter that meets your goals.

Practice Building: Using communication tools to build your medical practice client base.

Griffith Publishing: Find out what’s going on at our publishing service.

It’s JG! Just Me! Personal comments about life as JG.

Money to Smoke. How greed trumps health in the world of tobacco.

Pills ‘n’ Potions. Updates and commentary on the world of pharmaceuticals.

HealthWorks. Free tips and information for health and safety directors.

BeWell! Suggestions for enjoying health to the fullest.

Brought to you courtesy of Griffith Publishing.

Stirring up a plan

I’ve decided to turn each of my websites into a blog. This would include a new one on…

Self-publishing

Physician publishing

Ghostwriting

Snake River Aquifer

I will augment and drain my websites until I have a good audience for both the sites and the blogs. However, I am NOT buying any more new websites no matter how inexpensive they may become.

Will post progress here as I set these up one at a time!

J Griffith, Griffith Publishing

Sure, something else could go wrong

Three days ago I was working with four computers, and everything was wonderful. I had my old laptop in the sunroom, the new laptop upstairs, and my two desktops here in my home office. They were all working fine except for email.

Then one by one they all crashed. Last night the computer I’m using for this message reached the point that neither mouse nor keyboard would work. This morning this computer is fine except for the email problem. I can send but not receive email.

My main computer is at the repair shop, and Lynn said he’d work all night on it. I told him not to do that, to get me a new operating system instead. We’ll see.

My author is calling me to make corrections in his book at 9 a.m., and Lynn’s building doesn’t open until about 8:45, but Lynn said he’d have my computer ready to take home whether it’s fully repaired or not.

Meanwhile I’m writing HealthWorks stories in Word on the new laptop, which is working fairly well.

I feel like I’ve been hit in the stomach, but I know I can climb out of this and that all will be well soon.

JG

An invigorating entry for October 08

This week I hope to accomplish the following:

1. Finish thorough cleaning my upstairs apartment
2. Write first draft of HealthWorks
3. Upgrade one blog every day
4. Talk to John Jones
5. Send urology book to printer based on new questions
6. Send residency match book to the printer
7. Install my new wood stove
8. Call Ken Watson
9. Empty car
10. Clear as much of the garage as possible
11. Move office stuff to make room in closet for firewood
12. Load firewood so it can dry

To a grand-slam finish

Ghosting. The final 20,000 words of the ghostwriting project I’m working on have to roar and run and come to an exhilarating conclusion! I’ve found a local Marines vet who is reading the first pages of the text and has agreed to help me fill in details to complete the book. I’ll start working with him as soon as he’s finished the pages I gave him.

HealthWorks. Time to plan, write and produce the next edition of HealthWorks. What can I do to make this publication helpful and interesting? What can I put in there that people will want to keep permanently?

BeWell. My other big newsletter should be ready to deliver tomorrow or the next day. We’re now printing 6,500 copies per edition. I know it costs a lot, but I think it makes a good impression and helps build confidence in the primary care clinics. I wish I knew a way to prove that.

Urology book. My author wasn’t happy because of the problems we had last edition with the wire-O binding, and then when I goofed on the size of the book getting him prices for this edition, he was understandably upset. When he told me he could get the job done for a good price at a local printer’s, I told him I understood. Then he said he’d decided to use my services. Close call! Too close.  

Residency book. The author of the residency book said he’s sending me $$, but I haven’t seen the check yet. Still waiting for his assistant editor to plow through it and dig up things never pointed out before. It dawns on me that I have two books with 400+ pages each. That’s nice.

Blogs. I set up a brand-new ”building your medical practice” blog Saturday night and within 24 hours had 23 hits. Wow! I thought maybe I’d stumbled onto something, but today received only 1 visit. I think it was a streak of good luck!