I met someone who likes people

Five years ago I wrote about a guy who's in the people business, who I assumed was helping people and speaking to groups of people because he liked people. But when I met him he was quite unfriendly and didn't want to talk to anyone. He had no problem talking on a screen or lecturing to a group, but after he was finished, he was squeamish and avoidant, which didn't match his public persona. So I concluded that he was a phony and was only pretending to be people-oriented to help him sell books and get a following online to appear to care about helping people. It was disappointing and a turn-off, and I regretted buying his books, and decided to no longer spend time looking at anything else of his online or engaging with his content in any way. So I concluded that people who are in the people business should actually like people.

Then a couple of years ago I wrote about how I like people who like people, and I still feel that way. I've worked with people who don't like people and they think it's weird and obtrusive if anyone tries to be friendly or tries to connect. I thought I was going to meet such a person recently because they said they're outgoing, but of course it turned out to be false, which made me think about this topic again. At this point, and especially since the pandemic is over, I really don't have time for posers or people who show fake enthusiasm only to cancel at the last minute because something better came along or they've decided I'm not as important as someone else. Why waste my time? But amazingly, around the same time, I met someone who is outgoing, works with people, actually likes people, and follows through. I was surprised that the person is authentic. Especially with social media, there are so many people who craft a public identity or act like they're accepting but are really selective and superficial.

I was eating breakfast in a hotel restaurant and saw someone doing an interview on his phone, and afterward I walked up to him and asked if he had just done a livestream. He said he was recording his podcast, and we chatted about digital content and other things, then I gave him my contact info and returned to my table. Then he came to my table and asked if he can join us (my husband and me). Of course! Because we'd already gotten along, had already established a connection, sitting at our table was a logical and natural continuation of what had been previously established. There aren't many people who would do that, but it's no big deal for people who like people. We continued our conversation and talked about a lot more, then he went to a conference and I went elsewhere. He even invited us to go out that night with a group from the conference, but I thought I had plans, so I didn't go. But of course, the plans I had were cancelled at the last minute by someone who I thought would be people-oriented, so it was too late to go out with the seemingly fun group. It was one of those situations where I should've trusted my gut; sometimes I can tell if someone is going to follow through or not, but I ignored my instincts (and this has happened other times, and has even led to a Tonya Harding-type of situation, but I won't blog about that unless I become so rich I don't care anymore).

Since the guy was friendly, sincere, and interesting (and such a combination is rare), I texted him about breakfast the next morning. I didn't expect him to show up, but he did, which again seems rare in the 21st century (unless you're rich, famous, and/or powerful; then people will show up). We had another interesting conversation, and I told him I wanted to interview him for my livestream. I figured at this point he'd flake (because other people have agreed to interviews but then disappeared), but he didn't. At first, it looked like he wasn't going to show up because I heard nothing from him for half an hour. Then, just after I deleted the meeting and went to another room to watch TV, I got a text saying he was available to do the interview and was sorry for being late because he was with a client. So I reestablished the link and we did the interview for more than an hour. So again, he followed through and he was the same kind of friendly, people-oriented, authentic person he'd been when I first met him.

So all of this is to say that I still like people who like people, and people who like people follow through and aren't fake or opportunistic, and communicate appropriately and respectfully. Hopefully I'll keep meeting such cool people as the year progresses.

p.s. the e-book version of my debut novel is still at Amazon, and the price for the print version has been reduced: buy at the Eckhartz Press site.

Interview with Roger Badesch: author of "The Unplanned Life"

Roger Badesch, who I interviewed almost a decade ago for my podcast (when WGN Radio was still in the Tribune Tower), has written a really good autobiography called The Unplanned Life that is descriptive and interesting, and really got me choked up towards the end; I'm still thinking about how his busy life has included incredible challenges, including his cancer and his wife's health issues as well. He's worked in media, communications, and education, and taught in one of the toughest areas of Chicago, where he obviously made a huge impact, despite difficult circumstances and unfair workplace politics (and that was after he'd already worked in a toxic company and other drama-filled schools). 

Below is an interview I did with him about writing, and he elaborates about the experiences he described in his book:

• How did you get the book done?

I had a lot of difficulty with motivation. As I mentioned in the beginning of the book, I never thought my story was interesting enough to tell, let alone write in book form. I’m no one special. My only claim to any sort of recognition is that I’m on the radio. I still feel that without that, my story, like so many million other life stories, would go untold. 
 
Everyone has a different motivation. Given my belief that I was on a fool’s mission trying to write the book, my motivation had to exist in near perfect—no interruptions, no computer issues, no guilt that I had more important things to do. It was a serious struggle for me. Normally I only found those conditions right one or two days a week for only about three or four hours a day.
 
And it became more difficult to finish sooner than later when I’d run into an issue with memory. Often I remembered the incident but I couldn’t verify the situation or condition or even the time of day.  
 
For example, I spent several days at the Evanston Library looking through old issues of the Evanston Review from the early 60s trying to find mention of the accident where I was hit by a VW bus on Asbury. The memory of the accident is still so vividly etched in my mind but I wanted to be accurate on the date and time to give it context—and to fill in those bits of memory lacking in my recollection of the event.
 
I never did find the information as those issues of the Review were not on microfiche or easily searchable. I’d already gone to the Evanston Police to ask, but they said records from back then don’t exist. 

• How did you figure out what to cut from the original manuscript?

Much of what I cut was easy to do—a lengthy detailed description of every inch of our home in Evanston being one.
 
Plus, now that the book was finished, I felt I now had a focus for the book—it wasn’t about me. It’s about a regular person who has gone through things everyone else has gone through.  
 
The only difference, as I’ve mentioned, is that I’m on a pretty big radio station and more people know of me than they would some regular, everyday guy from Chicago.
 
That put the purpose of the book in perspective for me. So anything in the first draft that didn’t enhance that feeling, that emotion, that experience, had to go. 

• Why did you decide to include Facebook posts instead of just writing a narrative? 

Putting my Facebook posts in book form was my original idea after I was approached to write my book.
 
I’ve used Facebook over the years to write lengthy expressions of my feelings and experiences and I felt I’d already written a book.
 
But when I had to actually sit down and start putting a book together, I felt that much of the context for those posts was missing. Plus, my publisher encouraged me to tell a fuller story than what I’d hinted at with those Facebook posts. 
 
That’s why you see so many of them starting in the teaching chapter. I didn’t join Facebook until about 2009 and didn’t start posting on Facebook recollections of my earlier life until much later.

• I noticed that your writing style for much of the book is factual (recounting facts) more than reflecting or giving an assessment of the experiences; was that intentional?

Good question. Not really intentional. Again, for much of the first part of the book, I still lacked focus of the overarching purpose of the book.  
 
I felt that the publisher wanted me to write about what I’d done in life—”you’ve had a very interesting life” is something he said and that I’ve heard from others over the years.
 
Again, I wasn’t convinced that it was anything more than interesting conversation. But then I went back and read the comments to many of my Facebook posts, especially those from when I was going through my cancer. And I think the tone of the book hits its peak in that section—I’d started to come in touch with my humanity, my purpose in life when I became a teacher.  
 
That period of time found me suddenly learning more about myself than any other time of my life. I was using so much more of my experiences and thoughts about life with my students than I had in any other job.
 
I’m not sure if I adequately conveyed in the earlier chapters about how alone I felt growing up because I feel I embraced my “aloneness,” I accepted it, and learned how to live within it.
 
So, opening myself up to examination and judgement as a teacher as I tried to motivate my students was a huge moment in my growth as an individual. I think that’s why you notice a shift in tone in the book.

• Why did you feel alone? 

I think that many more people than we think have grown up "alone." There’s a distinction between growing up alone and feeling lonely.
 
In my case, as the youngest, with both parents working, with my brother being six years older than me, I always felt left to my own devices. Thinking about it now, all three of the kids were pretty much left "alone"—but not in a bad way.
 
Both of our parents worked after we moved to Evanston. To make sure the kids could carry on without constant supervision, we were taught (read: made to do) how to do everyday things: cook, clean, sew, yard work, fix things, and so on. I think (without any scientific evidence at all) that most of the "boomer" generation went through this—our parents wanted us to be able to be self-sufficient in order to better make our way in the world. 
 
But I think being the youngest and with few friends, I felt more comfortable being alone—reading, hitting rocks in the alley with my White Sox baseball bat, skating at the neighborhood outdoor ice rink by myself instead of joining neighborhood kids in a hockey game, going to movies by myself instead of meeting up with friends. It was kind of a conscious choice as opposed to circumstances.
 
Those times when I was in groups I felt awkward, lacked self-confidence—to be able to carry on a conversation, share similar likes and dislikes, dance (if there was a dance party), speak my mind. 
 
I think that for many young people those feelings exist as they make their way through life. But their feelings of "alone" may be triggered by other circumstances than what I experienced. Maybe my having gone through such feelings made me more empathetic to students I felt were going through similar things. While I had to teach an approved curriculum, I found it more important to make sure the student was in the right frame of mind to want to learn.  

• What's your writing advice? 

Oh, I’m not one to give advice on writing. Seriously. I can give advice on writing a news report for radio. But for writing a book—I’m still clueless. Honestly. 
 
I know I can write, and I have a bunch of ideas. I have a couple of stories from several decades ago that I started, but I’ve lacked the confidence to complete them. Maybe in a few years, if I’m still alive, I’ll feel like I’m in a place in my life where I CAN just sit down anytime, anyplace and just write without self-judgement.

• Why weren't you a good student?

Probably several reasons—most of which never got analyzed. The main reason I think was not being able to read long passages because I probably needed glasses early on. I kept falling asleep from what was later diagnosed as eye strain. And, to be honest, not everything interested me in school. I think, without understanding it, I learned that I wasn’t going to need to use a lot of what was being taught. I tried to learn what I needed to learn in order to pass. And I had “test-phobia”—probably from a fear of being judged, being compared to my older brother, who was brilliant. I wasn’t a good test-taker.

• Why did you feel like your dad didn't respect you?

It took me a long time to understand my father. He was a very strong-willed person, even as a boy, and that carried through his war years and afterwards. He was always in charge and required everyone to do their part. It wasn’t until after I got married that I realized I was the same way—like father, like son? I think it was more of me emotionally pulling away from him, to search for and set my own course, that caused much of the difficulties between us over the years. But when I became a teacher and, even more so, when I got the job at WGN Radio, I sensed an opening up on his part and a sense of pride that he allowed to show publicly. Plus, I think that he saw my brother, Rick, in me when I went to work at the radio station—something Rick really loved doing at SIU [Southern Illinois University] before he was killed. 

• Sounds like you went with the flow in your life, in terms of career, and it worked out. Did you "plan" to go about work that way, or did you have professional goals?

Honestly, I didn’t have a plan at all. There were things I wanted to do—kind of like a bucket list—but it changed with the wind. It would even change day to day sometimes. Often I’d get a feeling at a job that either I didn’t have anything else to prove, or to make better, or that the winds of change were coming through and it was time to move on. Mix into that was my commitment to my family which changed the longer we were married. At first I felt I had to be a workaholic, again taking after my dad, I guess. But as our relationship and family grew, my views of family and personal life changed, so, often, my jobs changed. Unfortunately, since graduating college I’ve never had a job where you clock in and out and don’t take the job home with you. The majority of my responsibilities at these jobs were middle-management requiring outside hours of supervision or preparation—and that cut into family time. 

• How did you get all those jobs? Seems like you went from one thing to another easily (eventually).

There were a few gaps, one that had us literally going without for weeks at a time because we had no money until the first of the month—this was the period between leaving Gloria Jean’s and going back to school. I had started my own public relations company and only had a couple of clients. But I was pretty much a stay-at-home dad at that point. I remember having to run over to drop stuff off for a client one night and had both kids with me as Bridget was working nights. I asked the doorman of the building to watch the kids while I ran in. He did, and the kids were fine. I think maybe they were 11 and 1. It was very stressful during that time. But, for the most part, it was a matter of being in the right place at the right time—might even call it dumb luck. I’ll also add to that the following: having a good reputation and knowing the right people at the right time. 

• Was there corruption in the City of Chicago departments when you worked there? Sounds like CPS (Chicago Public Schools) was more corrupt than the mayor's office. 

I never knew of any corruption at City Hall. I was too involved in doing my job and trying to serve the public. I know that sounds “pie-in-the-sky,” but I actually believed that. There were a lot of people like me working for the city government trying to do their jobs and provide for their families, AND do good for the public. It’s the somewhat jaded reporter in me (and the political science minor college student) who tries to “follow the money” and has come to the belief that governments always seem to have more money than they know what to do with but always seem to be broke. Makes me go “hunh?” And I’m not sure about CPS and corruption, though there are more than enough news stories about such things. 

One of my jobs teaching Radio-TV at Vocational [Chicago Vocational Career Academy] (as was the job of all vocational teachers throughout the system) was to put together a shopping list of equipment we needed each year. The funds for equipment came from the federal government jobs training programs. We had to use the “approved” CPS vendors unless what we wanted was only available through a sole source vendor. You’ve heard stories about things like a $1,000 screw that the military buys? I had to deal with the same thing with the approved vendors. But instead of playing their game, I was like Captain Kirk and the Kobayashi Maru exercise—I figured legal ways around the requirements and was able to get a “bigger bang for the buck” in equipment and other needs in building the best equipped Radio-TV program in the system. 

• What was Mayor Washington's "kitchen cabinet;" what does that mean?

I think every “leader,” be it local, national, or internationally, has a small group of friends or family that helps the leader with advice and maybe even helping to “move mountains.” This small group stays behind the scenes, usually out of the public view, and is often not elected officials, though they do get in the mix at times. That’s a kitchen cabinet—named so, I imagine, for their private meetings at someone’s home sitting around a kitchen table eating, having drinks, whatever. When Mayor Washington was in office, I’d read news stories or watch the TV news and sometimes read about or see pictures or video of some of the members of his “kitchen cabinet.” The names escape me now, but I do remember that I recognized about half of those sitting in the front room the night I put together the stereo system as being among the “kitchen cabinet.”

• Why did you still keep working for a toxic company and toxic school? Or was that common in your career?

Yeah, I’ve noticed that too over the years. I think it was because I was so focused on doing the best job I could, doing the right thing, that I was able to excuse the atmosphere and work for little successes. But over the years, in nearly each job I left, the “atmosphere” became too overwhelming—affecting my job performance, my family life, my mental health. I still haven’t analyzed myself for an answer to that character trait.  

• Did having cancer make you believe in God more? How have you stayed strong, including your wife's ordeal? She sounds incredible.

Now you’ve hit a really deep subject. I continue to try to analyze how I reacted to that phase (which I still consider myself to be in). Bridget comes from a fairly religious Irish Catholic family. One of her close aunts was a nun (and a very cool person!). So, though she hasn’t gone to church in quite a while, the beliefs and ways to live one’s life are firmly ingrained in her. And my upbringing reflects that too, as I wrote at the beginning of the book, about knowing the difference between right and wrong. 

No, having cancer didn’t make me believe in God any more than I already did. I believed, had to believe, in my doctors and the love of my family. Some would say that God was working through the doctors and the love I felt is God’s love—I’m okay with that. But that’s not what I was thinking. I spent a lot of time asking tons of questions, doing lots of research, and trying to “get my head straight” for the treatment and life after. I’ll be honest, I was scared. Scared I wouldn’t see anyone anymore. Scared that things would end on the operating table. But I didn’t, couldn’t, let it overwhelm me. 

It was in my nature to stay positive. It may have harkened back to my childhood where I was pretty much left to my own devices. I had to learn how to take care of myself to survive. I learned early on how to analyze situations and figure out the best course of action—I think that mindset really helped me through the treatment, surgery, and now afterwards. Did I, do I, like it?? He’ll no! Who in their right mind would like to go through that—to go through what I have to now, with an ostomy system that needs replacement every four days. But, just like all those jobs where I’ve had to get used to the “normal,” I’ve gotten used to this normal.  

You’ve asked about Bridget—we’re a good team because I like taking care of people and she likes being taken care of. But don’t let that fool you—she’s got that country can-do spirit in her (she was born in rural Illinois and spent summers on family farms). And she’s always looking on the bright side of life. I know it sounds “hokey,” but it’s true. Both of us keep plugging through—helping each other as best we can and accepting help from our family and friends when needed. 

• How could you eat all the rich food when you were battling illness? 

Well, on certain days going through chemo, I had to be really careful about what I ate. Early on, I didn’t fully understand how the drugs would affect me physiologically, but I learned quickly. And when I could “stomach” richer foods, it was out of comfort that I’d eat them—comfort foods that would cheer me up, make me feel good. Even Jello.

Unfortunately, I don’t eat well naturally—very few, if any, vegetables and fruits—mainly what would be classified as junk food. Over the years our bodies change, and some foods we couldn’t stand as kids we eat now, and some foods we couldn’t get enough of as kids we can’t eat now. For example, I grew up on hamburgers—any chance I had I’d eat a hamburger. If not hamburgers then steaks—sirloin, skirt, tenderloin, whatever. Nowadays, my body tells me it doesn’t handle meat very well. When I splurge on skirt steak (a comfort food), I do it fully, accepting the consequences. Being raised on rich Jewish cooking as a kid, I now welcome them as comfort food—so while I was recovering each week from a chemo treatment, a bowl of chicken soup with kreplach or a matzo ball was very comforting, filling and, shall we say, non-invasive.

Interview with author Dave Berner

Dave Berner (I should actually say "David W. Berner") has written several books, is a professor at Columbia College, a news anchor on WBBM Newsradio, and is currently the Writer in Residence at the Ernest Hemingway Foundation.

I met him at my good writing gig (he gets off the air when I arrive to work, but I’ve written intros to his recorded news stories during my shift) and read his book Night Radio because I like radio and wanted to see what kind of fiction writer he is. In spite of me telling him my honest opinion about the book, which wasn’t totally effusive (though Part 2 makes it especially worthwhile), he still agreed to be interviewed (I'm joking; he had no problem being interviewed, whether I was crazy about the book or not). He seems to be a very friendly guy, and I feel like I should really get my act together now that I’ve found out more about his productive, creative life.

How long did it take you to write Night Radio?

From concept to publication? Probably eight years. I wasn't sure about the idea or the approach, so I batted around a number of forms and narrative structures, writing then stopping, then starting again. But once I was sold on a rough story arc, I started writing with the full manuscript in mind. From that point on, it took about a year. I'm a regular writer, meaning I try to write everyday. So, the first draft was done in about 8 months. Then more edits and changes and fixes.

How do you establish a story arc, and what is considered an effective arc?

Frankly, I don't think about this too hard. Not in the traditional sense, at least. But what I do pay attention to in either nonfiction or fiction is to be sure something is happening to those in the story. Focus on what is motivating the characters, and if it is memoir or creative nonfiction, that "character" is me or the narrator. It can be subtle, and many times that is best. Or it can be dramatic. Still, there must be some sort of action—physical, emotional, and/or spiritual—some movement in the story.

What makes a good story?

What touches us. I'm not of the belief that there must be conflict or action or a crossroads. I think these are good in a story and many times they are essential, but to me it's about the heart. What moves us.

For this book, what was your method? Did you have an outline?

This was my first book of fiction. I wasn't sure at first how to approach it. Generally I do not work with an outline, at least not a formal one. I might have notes and bullet points about major turns or drama in a story, but I tend to just write and see where the story leads me. Joan Didion said that she writes to find out what she's thinking. I like that. Plus, I really believe the story is already there inside me somewhere—I just have to write to get it out.

Is there anything that's based on your real-life radio experience?

It is impossible to write any fiction without parts of your life seeping in. People who are fiction writers who tell you otherwise are fibbing. But let me make this clear: Night Radio is fiction. It is not a memoir. It is not a nonfiction narrative of life in radio. Still, there are characters, scenes, and narrative turns that definitely are linked to real events. Are they word for word, piece by piece? No. But there are elements of things that did occur. I'll let the reader figure out what they think is based on some truth.

What do you want people to gain from reading Night Radio?

I have found that nearly everything I write has the theme of redemption intertwined in it. Someone has to come to grips with something or find peace. Maybe not discover some ultimate "answer," but some level of acceptance. I think I want that from Night Radio's readers, too—to see that all of us are flawed. But it's how we develop after those discoveries. I think the protagonist in Night Radio is not very likeable at first, but then begins a journey that changes him forever. That can happen for all of us.

How has the response been so far?

I've been fortunate to have had good reviews both from readers and critics. It's, to some extent, an unconventional story narrative. But as one critic said, "it works." I hope so. I'll permit the reader to decide. It may be MY story when I'm writing it, but it is THEIR story when they are reading it.

WRITING METHOD

When do you write every day? What's your favorite time and place?

I'm a coffee shop writer. I don't like total silence or what I call the tree house approach, to hide away somewhere. I like energy and people and the clinking of coffee cups and even the whir of an espresso machine. Most of all I like conversation around me. Don't get me wrong, I don't want to be writing in the middle of chaos, but I do want life around me. Time for writing? Anytime. But I do like mornings, when I have that opportunity. But I have written at every hour. If I had to pick a time I do not do well writing, or don't like, it would be after dinner. I prefer mornings— even early, early mornings, just as the sun is rising—or afternoons. Two to three hours. Rarely more. Take a break, come back to it, but never 4 to 5 hours straight. And always quit for the day knowing where you are going with the story. That way you’ll come back with a place to start.

How are you able to write books in addition to teaching at Columbia and doing radio news?

I really do think it has something to do with my broadcast background. We write fast in radio; we write on very hard deadlines. Plus, as I mentioned before, I work hard at trying to make writing a priority. I think of it as working out—got to go to the gym and get the work done. I carve out time here and there—an hour here, two there, fifteen minutes on a train. Writing for me is at the top of my list of things to do; I always make time.

What's the difference between writing fiction and nonfiction?

I had a friend in a writing workshop one time ask me what I wrote. At the time it was all creative nonfiction, memoir. "Creative nonfiction," I said. "Oh," he said, "you write the hard stuff." He was a fiction writer. He truly believed writing what was real was tougher than making it up. For me, that seemed ridiculous. I come from a journalist background, and to make it up seemed very odd. But now that I have written fiction, along with memoir, I see what he meant. All my fiction has come from someplace real, but I can change and tweak the story to fit a narrative. Creative nonfiction or memoir is real, or at least the essence of truth, and that sometimes can be raw. I really like the raw stuff, the good and real emotions below the surface, but I have to say, I also like "making it up" more than I thought I initially would. The difference is permitting yourself to be free of restraints. You can be utterly free in fiction and only marginally free in memoir.

Do you write by hand?

Laptop. But I do take notes in a journal that I refer to sometimes. It's a Moleskine.

Why do you like writing so much?

I have always been a creator. Wrote songs, some bad poetry, but when I started writing more regularly, it became my go-to outlet. It's life-affirming. It gives me peace and energy at the same time. I am compelled to do it.

What other books have you written?

I have four books and a fifth coming out in 2017. Accidental Lessons was my first, a story of my time teaching in a public school system at a very tumultuous time in my personal life. Any Road Will Take You There is also a memoir, probably my most intimate book. It was named the 2012 Book of the Year by the Chicago Writers Association for non-traditional nonfiction. I was quite humbled. And There's a Hamster in the Dashboard, which is a collection of essays about living with pets. I was pleased to have the Chicago Book Review name it one of the Best Books of 2015. Night Radio is my first novel. And October Song, due out in April of 2017, is about holding on to dreams when we age, a road trip story about music and the passage of time.

Do you wish you could go back and rewrite any of them?

I'm laughing thinking about your question regarding rewriting a book. Here's all I have to say about that: I believe it was Leonardo da Vinci who said or wrote, "Art is never finish, only abandoned."

What have you learned over the years in writing your books?

If you are writing memoir, don't hold back. Be willing to open your heart and be brutally honest because the reader will sense, will know, when you are not giving it all up. And in fiction, never answer the question fully when you are asked, "Did any of this really happen?" But above all, I've learned, at least for me, don't write to a genre or a particular market; write what matters to you. Please yourself first. Your readers will come. Writing is zen-like, spiritual, personal. When you turn art into a business or exclusively into an act of commerce, it loses something very special.

AND FINALLY...

What authors do you like?

Oh, there are a lot. Creative nonfiction writers—Joan Didion, Philip Lopate, Dinty W. Moore, Abigail Thomas, Annie Dillard. Fiction—Jack Kerouac, Hemingway, Tobias Wolff, Dave Eggers, Michael Chabon. I'm missing a ton. Poets, although I don't claim to know poetry, but I know what I like—Billy Collins, Dylan Thomas, Yeats, Whitman.

In 2014 you were Writer-in-Residence at The Kerouac House in Orlando, and now you are Writer in Residence at the Hemingway Birthplace home through next summer. How did you get those?

In both cases, I had to apply for the positions. They are vetted through writing samples and history of publication, and your vision of what you want to do with your time there.

About video production

I took my second digital video class this semester, and the instructor said we can get extra credit if we talk to someone at a video production company and write an essay about it. So I contacted an established business in Chicago: Big Shoulders, which is a full-service production house. They do all kinds of production for various clients, and do live broadcasts as well. They have three locations: one in the Hancock building, one on Wacker and Michigan, and a warehouse in Alsip. On the day I visited the Hancock location, they were broadcasting a live satellite tour. A man was sitting in front of an image of the Chicago skyline, and he spoke to TV outlets throughout the country.

Big Shoulders doesn’t own any shows but provides whatever is needed to get projects done. Several people work there, so the company usually doesn’t have to hire freelancers, unlike other production companies that are headed by one or two people who staff each project with lots of freelancers. Usually employees are assigned to one aspect of a project, including motion graphics, camera crews, audio engineering, editing, and graphic design.

I talked to Jeff Tudor, who is an executive producer. He has worked in TV news with CNN, and also freelanced with crews in Chicago. As part of managing projects at the company, he has to set the budget. In order to efficiently budget a project, he has to know the day rate of the employees, overall labor costs, how long it will take to shoot and edit, and allow for extra time in case there are problems at the location (such as sound) or if the talent makes mistakes. A project includes a budget, production schedule, shooting which takes 10 to 12 hours a day, photography, building sets, and post-production. Editing could take up to two weeks, and the company usually uses Avid (by the way, he said if you don’t know Avid, skills from other computer programs translate). If clients have a smaller budget, more inexperienced people are assigned to work on it and cheaper cameras are used.

He said that video is a small community, so it’s important to network and get to know people in the industry. A good way to build relationships is to make friends and to listen, and as you work on crews, you can meet people who will tell you about opportunities. Big production houses have cocktail parties and seasonal events, so people can connect there, too. He said the best way to build a network is to do an internship. Big Shoulders has internships for students and an extern program for people who are already out of school. Doing an internship or externship is a great way to gain skills and demonstrate your proficiency because that’s how they usually hire people. He also said people should get to know the scheduling departments of production companies to find opportunities.

He said a person’s reel should be a one-and-a-half minute compilation of their best, most recent segments. If you work behind the scenes and aren’t involved in imaging or other work that can be represented visually, then use photos that show you working in a studio. If you’re too busy to update your reel, you should compile notes about what you want to put in the reel when you have more time to do it. It’s also important to be on LinkedIn so that potential employers can easily see your experience.

Overall, you should be professional, easy to work with, and open to new opportunities. Jeff said his friend was a boom operator on many shoots, and because he was always on a set, he was able to watch people work. He learned a lot, and is now a director. So just observing the whole process helped him move ahead. What I found interesting was that Jeff said the industry in Chicago isn’t really competitive. People get along and just focus on doing their jobs. He said that Chicago is a friendly, hard-working place, and people are open to sharing information and talking about projects. That is very different from radio, which is a competitive, shrinking business full of insecurity. He also said that while LA is more entertainment-oriented, Chicago is varied, where people do independent and corporate films. He said he likes working in the business because it’s collaborative, fun, creative, and every day is different.

Interview with JC Corcoran

J.C. Corcoran has been working in the media for several years, and he's also a very good writer. His book Real Life Stories of J.C. and the Breakfast Club...or 20 Minutes in the Dark with Madonna is mostly about his radio (and TV) career in St. Louis, but you don't have to know that market or even his show to appreciate the book. His stories are entertaining and he offers interesting insights into the radio and media business. I previously interviewed him for my podcast about his career.

Why did you write the book?

I should answer this question, then duck...because it'll drive people who are trying to get published absolutely crazy. I was asked to. I was off the air at the time ("between jobs" as they say in the business), and was sending out a weekly newsletter called "JC Mail," which was a collection of random thoughts and sort of a text version of the show, really. A guy who owns a publishing company here was a subscriber, and sent me a note that said, "I think you should write a book!" I responded, "I think you're right!" About ten months later I did my first of about twenty book signings for Real Life Stories of JC and the Breakfast Club...Or Twenty Minutes In the Dark with Madonna. (The title refers to an interview I was doing with Madonna when a power failure hit.) That book went on to become the fastest-selling book in the publisher's history.

How did you write it? Was it hard to remember all the anecdotes and experiences you had?

The mistake most creative people make is that they don't record or write down their ideas. The greatest idea in the world is useless if you can't REMEMBER it. At the time I carried one of those little voice-recorders around religiously. When I had an idea or recalled a story I thought might be usable I'd bark it into that recorder. Then I transcribed and organized the hundreds of entries and started writing.

When you started writing, did you do an outline? How did you organize all those stories? Did the publisher help you?

The publisher didn't really contribute. I outlined things. The first book was a lot easier because there was a chronology of sorts. It was, in essence, part autobiography, so you start at the beginning, talking about how you got into the business, who your early influences were, then trace the development of your career and take everyone right up to what was, at the time, present day.

Your book makes the radio biz seem really intense and difficult. How would you describe it?

Cut-throat. Radio might be on the bottom rung of the show-biz ladder but it's still show business. And show business is a cut-throat racket.

How is it cut-throat?

ANY form of show-business is cut-throat. Radio is no exception. If you're successful at something, there's always a bunch of people observing who don't think you deserve it and think they can do it a lot better than you can. Radio and show-business is no place to go looking for friends. Now, you may MAKE some friends along the way, but I've found it's the exception to the rule.

What do you think of radio's future?

As for radio's "future," I'd say it's not good. And outside of a few rah-rahs, consultants and industry proponents whose very existence depends on a thriving broadcast industry, I don't know too many people IN the business who think much of it anymore. And, really...why WOULD they. The people calling the shots, by-and-large (and many of them ARE, btw...) are running what's left of it into the ground with ridiculously long commercial stop-sets, a great-diminished on-air staff, decidedly UN-exciting music programming, talk show hosts more interested in what THEY have to say than what their listeners have to say...and all of this at a time when radio is facing its most challenging competition in history. It's all a recipe for disaster, really.

How did people respond to the book when it came out (people in the media and fans)?

Even some of my biggest detractors praised the book because it really was good! I didn't see a single, rotten review. They saved all their venom for the SECOND book! But I think people were really surprised to see I could write. Even my dad, who was a voracious reader, was just stunned.

Why did they save venom for the second book?

I think I stunned everyone, even including my greatest detractors, with the first book's "quality." Nobody saw it coming. When the second one came out they had "recovered," righted themselves, and got their claws out again. In their defense, the second book wasn't nearly as good. But you can only tell your life story once, and I did that in book #1.

How did you have the energy to do so much in your career and keep those crazy hours?

I've never been afraid of hard work. I won't say it was the most difficult thing I ever did, but it required tremendous focus. I was newly-divorced so I was pretty much able to write, for the most part, every day for about eight months.

What about when you were working in radio? I noticed you did morning radio which required waking up very early, plus you did promotional and other activities.

There were really long days and I worked really hard. If you're going to sign on to do these kinds of jobs you have to understand it just comes with the territory. But I really enjoyed being as prominent in the market as I was at the time. I mean, the new "Batman" movie comes out and you're one of a small handful of people who's seen it? That's exciting to know hundreds of thousands of people are listening to and watching what you say, and wondering how YOU got to be sitting across from George Clooney and kidding around with him. There is an incredible rush that comes with that. It's like being handed the baseball to be the starting pitcher of the World Series.

What kind of reaction did you get from the people who you wrote about in the book, such as Emmis management, the head of KMOX, and others?

Much to my surprise, I think most people derived a twisted sense of "enjoyment" over having been referenced in the book. But the thing I really had going for me is that I was very much a "pack-rat" back in those days. So I literally had the newspaper clips, letters, memos, videotapes and other documentation for every story I told, every claim I made and every person or group I called out. It's sort of hard to challenge the validity of a story when you include the clip from the newspaper or a transcript of an encounter.

What kind of feedback did celebrities give about your assessments about them in the back of the book?

Well, I knew they'd never see that stuff because they're all in California and New York, so I was real brave about the things I wrote. Now, I also wrote about some local "celebrities," but I don't recall much reaction. Frankly, in most cases it was a lot of more-detailed back-stories of things, events and people most of my readers already knew about and had an opinion about.

This book was published about 15 years ago. What would you change, omit, or write differently?

I'm embarrassed to admit there were sixteen errors, typos or mistakes. I got the most guff about referencing the address of "The Munsters" address incorrectly. I'm serious. Also, I had a lot of issues with the editor that was assigned to my project. She was a 40-ish, single, very Catholic type and I just don't think she got it. So I'd want a different type of editor. I may also have wanted to "slicken" up the production values. We had an awesome cover and introduction, but the font, resolution and other curb-appeal aspects of the book could have been better. But, in terms of content, I was pretty pleased at the time. It was a first venture. You learn a lot.

What did you learn, and what advice do you have for people who want to write a similar book or another non-fiction book?

Advice: Take notes for six months to a year. Along the way, write down specific phrases and/or short thoughts about exactly HOW you want to write certain passages. WRITE DOWN your ideas!!! Test out some of the stories on friends and family. See if they react with interest and curiosity to the extent you anticipate. Remember, when Jay Leno was at the absolute peak of his popularity and making twenty-five million dollars a year, he was still out every Sunday night at a comedy club in Hermosa Beach testing out new material.

What did I learn? That writing a book is hard. At least it is if you want to write a real good one.

Getting unstuck

I haven't posted here in a while because I've been reading a variety of books to blog about, and was asked to interview businessman and writer Barry Moltz for another blog. So I spent time reading his new book called How To Get Unstuck: 25 Ways to Get Your Business Growing Again, formulated questions, and worked with the answers. I could've easily asked him questions by just skimming his book or didn't really have to read it at all, but if someone wants me to do an interview about a book, I read the entire thing.

So I read the book, asked him questions, wrote an introduction to the interview, and submitted the post to the blog. Unfortunately, it didn't fit the blog's format, so instead of trying to rework it to make it fit, I decided to post it here with a more expanded introduction that fits *my* format, which is not business-y or agenda-driven (which a lot of blogs have become--stiff, impersonal, self-serving, over-functional, etc).

I've done work for Barry over the past year and have had a good experience working for him. He's also a consultant who knows what he's talking about because he's experienced failure and success, and is honest about his struggles. That's why the book he wrote is helpful. You also don't have to read it from beginning to end because it's set up to solve a variety of business problems, so you can just look up the issue you're dealing with and read that part.

One chapter that stood out was about understanding financial statements. Some people are really into numbers, so they take the time to check their balance sheets and other statements to make sure their cash flow is good. But many business owners find it tedious and intimidating to analyze the numbers, so they continue along in ignorance. Then when they notice that they have major financial problems, they are surprised. Checking financial statements isn't as exciting as doing the business, but if a business owner doesn't understand them, they're going to end up broke or not making what they should. Barry says in the book that he sold a business for way less than it was worth due to such ignorance.

I haven't read every business book and blog out there, but there isn't a lot of advice that includes understanding financial statements. It's not a sexy topic and seems really dry, and the lack of such information really makes me wonder if those "experts" understand their *own* financials. After reading Barry's book, I realized that an enterprising person can create a niche by giving financial advice to business owners who are afraid or uneducated about financial statements. The person can break down the complexities for any kind of entrepreneur to understand through books, lectures, and various media, then create their own successful business through that! So take this idea and run with it because I'm not numbers-minded.

But it's not like no one talks about financials. In one business reality show called The Profit, Marcus Lemonis will look at a failing business' books and let the owner know how off the mark they are with their own estimates. Even restaurant reality shows like Kitchen Nightmares and Restaurant Impossible talk about the economics of running a restaurant and tell the owners to think about what they're actually spending on each meal.

Anyway, below is the Q&A I did with Barry, who's super-busy but seems to still enjoy non-work aspects of life.

What is the biggest problem that causes business owners to get stuck?

Companies only do sales and marketing when business is slow. They need to have a systematic way to always do marketing so they can be there when customers are ready to buy.

What are your suggestions for creating a system?

You’ve got to watch my videos or take my class :-)

I was surprised to read that many business owners don’t understand financial statements. Why is that, and what should they do?

They do not get an education on how to read financial statements. It is not intuitive and they are afraid to ask their CPA for help.

Why are they afraid, and what do you suggest for learning how to read the statements?

They are afraid they should understand the statements but don't. Read about how to learn in my book How to Get Unstuck.

How can business owners avoid complacency?

Always ask, “Am I still solving a real pain for a customer who can pay to fix it?”

What if you've discovered that you're no longer solving a pain?

Morph the business to find the pain.

What’s a good way to stand out in a down economy when there’s also so much competition?

Connect personally with customers. This can be done through some pretty slick tech to show that you really care.

What slick tech do you recommend?

No slick tech but using CRM [Customer Relationship Management] and Social Media work--be personal.

How can business owners maintain their passion and productivity?

Ask yourself, “Why am I really doing this, and how do I want to make a difference in the world?”

Do you have suggestions to go through that reflective process?

Ask everyday, “Why am I in the business I am in?” Take time off during the week, month, year to reflect.

Why Rick Kogan deserves his success

I've been wanting to write about Rick Kogan for a while, but I've been too busy working and too tired during my downtime to clear my mind enough to do a post, but this is something that has to be put out there.

If you've noticed my masthead (the top part of this blog), you've seen Rick Kogan's quote for a while. He's been a newspaper writer for several years, and has worked at the Chicago Tribune for the last chunk of his career. He's also authored several books, has been on TV and radio, and has hosted events all over Chicago. Bottom line: he's a very successful media guy, and I'd say he has the best gig in town.

The fact that he submitted a supportive quote of my blog shows what an open-minded person he is, who cares about quality more than celebrity. Sure, he knows everyone, even powerful people in politics, but he doesn't judge people on their resume or pedigree. For example, not only is the quote in the header an example of his generosity, but he also was very cool when I first met him around eight years ago. I first met him at an appearance he did at the Harold Washington Library for his Ann Landers book, and he signed the book for my mom and wrote that I'm very smart. I barely talked to the guy, but he was complimentary in that way. Then I met him at another book event at the Chicago History Museum, and he asked me to come on his radio show to talk about a book that he actually bought for me! So I went to his show, went on the air, and he said I could come back whenever I wanted. Which I did. I ended up going to the radio station several times after that, and would just hang out in the studio and watch him do interviews.

What's important about his invitation is that he *never* asked me what I did for a living, didn't ask me what my educational background was, where I was from, who I knew...nothing. All he did was meet me, liked me as a human being, and invited me to his show. Then after that, while still never asking me anything, gave me an open invitation. Seriously, who would do that? It seems like something out of fiction, but that's the way he operates. He even let me come on his show a few times to promote a reading for the book (anthology) I published and for a podcast seminar I did, in addition to just making comments on the air once in a while (you can hear a couple interviews he did with me on my media page).

Also, when I eventually got work at the radio station he was on (which took several attempts and rejections btw), I ended up filling in for his producer a few times. Rick always got the producer, the news guy, and the engineer whatever they wanted from Starbucks. Every single week. I've worked with various radio people, and I haven't seen such generosity from others, even the ones who earn a lot more than him. But that's how he is: he thinks about other people and has a truly giving spirit. Maybe it's how he was raised, or that he's retained that 1960's attitude, but he has helped many people throughout the years. He has paid attention to those musicians, writers, artists, and others who don't have the slick PR campaigns or the insanely huge followings and has promoted them, and given them exposure that has helped them.

Also, through the years I've been writing and working in radio, he has been consistently encouraging. I've had my disappointments and have encountered people who haven't given me a break or who have been discouraging or downright rude, but he's always complimented me and has even told me that I should be tapped to do more than I'm doing now. It hasn't happened, but even if it never will, I can keep his words in my mind to remind me that he's one of the talented, successful people who believes in me. And I'm sure others who've met him would say the same as what I've said.

Right now he's filling in at another radio station, and he continues to write and have an interesting life. If anyone deserves continued success and a dynamic social life, it's him. There's a saying, "What goes around comes around," and he's helped so many people who have been toiling in obscurity like me, so he *should* be getting the good things that come his way.

I did an interview with him for my podcast last year...you can listen right here.

Indian Breakfast

Right now, I'm at Williams-Sonoma watching Anupy Singla from Indian As Apple Pie cooking a vegan Indian breakfast! She was a TV reporter who became a cookbook writer: Vegan Indian Cooking and The Indian Slow Cooker. Update: I interviewed Anupy about her career and books for my podcast.

Interview with Rick Kaempfer and Brendan Sullivan, authors of The Living Wills

Recently, I read The Living Wills, which is a novel that at first seems disparate because it opens up with various characters that you think are disconnected, but in the end have some important connections. Also, you find out what is up with Henry, a Vietnam vet, whom you meet at the beginning of the story and who seems like a minor character, but he is not, and you see how people and events swirl around him. Basically, he had an experience in Vietnam that changed him forever, and he affected other people along the way.

At the beginning, the story seems slow and details unnecessary, but they end up making sense because mysterious elements are revealed as the story unfolds. The book is written well and is entertaining. I wouldn't be surprised if it ends up becoming a movie.

I interviewed the two guys who wrote the book together: Rick Kaempfer and Brendan Sullivan.

Why did you choose to write a book together?

Brendan: I pitched the idea to Rick to use the collaborative creativity techniques I teach my corporate clients to use, to apply these concepts to create a novel. It was an experiment. We used improv, brainstorming, mind mapping and other ideation tools.

Rick: Honestly, it was an experiment in my mind. I knew that Brendan and I got along, that our writing styles were similar, and that we were both pretty open minded. It seemed like a good pairing to me.

How long did it take you to write the book?

Brendan: I first pitched the idea to Rick in January 2009. The book was published in December 2011.

How did you know how to edit your ideas into a coherent story?

Rick: That first few times we met at the Catalyst Ranch we really hashed out which parts of the story worked together, and which parts needed to be dumped. From that point on, we were on our way, although we still required...

Brendan: ...Lots of editing, reading one another's stuff, having pre-readers give us feedback, and then feedback from a professional editor.

What inspired you to write this story?

Brendan: My mother was a strong inspiration. She always told me I could do whatever I set my mind to, and she instilled in me a strong sense of family, which is a theme of the book.

Rick: And for me, it was my dad. He died when I was in my 20s, before I was married or had kids, and I didn’t really start writing until he was gone. I wanted to chronicle things for my own kids so that they would know what their father was thinking—if like my own dad—I’m not around when they finally care what I have to say. That process unleashed a passion for writing in me. That’s why Brendan and I dedicated the book to his mom and my dad.

How did you come up with the plot?

Brendan: We generated way too much initial content and lots of three-dimensional characters, then filtered it. We had long ideation sessions loaded with wild ideas, we filled flipcharts with all sorts of possibilities, and then chose those that fit together the best.

Rick: That’s true. We really did create the characters before we created the plot. I think that’s probably an unusual way of doing it. But by the time we started working on the plot, we knew these characters like the back of our hands. That made the plot easier to create, and took us in directions that we never would have gone if he had written the plot first.

Did you know the ending before you wrote the whole thing?

Brendan: We had all 60 or so chapters beated out before we began to write a first draft of the novel. This helped us avoid painting ourselves into a corner. It was crucial that we knew where we were going. We made some changes along the way, but the main structure of the story was set in the first six months of the process, before we typed "Chapter One" on a page.

Rick: Right. We knew the ending, but as it turns out, we didn’t really know what we would find during the writing process. We found all sorts of things, including the main message of the book, which emerged organically. That was a real revelation to me.

The book seems like a weaving of different people and stories that eventually come together and make sense. Why did you decide to have it unfold like that?

Brendan: That structure evolved from the creative process. We began by generating a LOT of story lines, and then we considered which ones were most viable and how these might intersect. We chose three stories. It loosely follows the improvisational theater form called the "Harold" where three scenes begin separately and over the course of a live performance, intersect to become one piece.

Rick: I’ve always been a fan of the kind of novels that have intersecting story lines like this. One of my favorite things about Dickens (my favorite writer) is that he has his characters turning up in unusual and unexpected parts of the story. That appeals to me as a reader, so I thought it would be fun as a writer too.

Did you wonder if the reader would be patient for the story to unfold instead of including a clear inciting incident that fiction seems to have?

Brendan: There was a concern that some readers might read the first few chapters and be confused because each of those early chapters appears to be disconnected from the others. The payoff is for those readers who have stuck with it past the first three chapters. Readers have consistently told us that the slow unfolding and connecting of the stories was an enjoyable revelation.

Rick: We have heard from a few people that it took awhile to get into it. It’s a pretty complex story. But if you trust that your questions will be answered, you will not be disappointed.

Why have several characters instead of one main one?

Brendan: Well, again I don't believe it was a conscious choice but something that evolved from the process. If there is a lead character, it would be Henry, whose life touches all of the others in a profound way. The story is about relationships, and how everything is connected. Three story lines required a lot of strong characters.

Rick: That’s true. I consider Henry the lead character too. He is the glue to this story—the thing that ties them all together.

How did you know readers would be able to relate to the story? Did you have an audience in mind?

Brendan: The story is about normal, real people dealing with real challenges. These are the people I have observed all my life, doing things anyone can relate to. We didn't have a particular audience in mind because we didn't want to change anything just because it would be "more marketable." That didn't seem honest. So there are no teenage vampires in the book, as much as we knew that it might sell a few more copies.

Rick: Shhhhhh! There are all sorts of teenage vampires in this book. I don't know what Brendan is talking about. Teenage vampire fans should buy hundreds of copies of "The Living Wills" and distribute it to their friends.

Why did you choose Vietnam as a prominent part of the story?

Brendan: Our character, Henry, needed to be affected by a powerful event to explain his ensuing actions and decisions throughout his scattered adult life. Vietnam fit. I've also always been impressed by the 'silent warrior' who does his duty for his country and doesn't want to be treated as a hero, who would rather just move on. Of course Henry can't really move on, although he would also never admit that.

Rick: Both Brendan and I are a little too young to have been in Vietnam, but our generation was definitely influenced and touched by it. We all know people that served. For me, it was my Uncle Manny. We used to send him audio tapes so that he could get a taste of home. I’ll never forget the day he came home safe and sound.

The book is good--how did you learn how to write so well?

Brendan: Thanks! Personally, I read a lot. I think a writer learns from other writers. I've always enjoyed the power of the written word to move people, to make them laugh and cry. One way or another, I've been writing for over 40 years now. I couldn't have written this when I was 20 or 30 or 40 years old. I wasn't ready.

Rick: It’s funny, but English isn’t even my first language. I couldn’t diagram a sentence to save my life. But I’ve always been able to tell a story, and to me that’s what writing is all about.

What did you learn from this creative process? Is there anything you learned not to do?

Brendan: I learned that it can work. Two independent, professional, creative individuals can come together and create a novel. Two heads, in this case at least, are indeed better than one. I learned not to get too attached to any material, and to not let my ego get in the way.

Rick: I also learned how valuable it could be to have another set of eyes looking at it the entire way. We do look at things slightly differently, and he saw some things that I didn't see--and vice versa. As for what not to do, don't try to start giving names of characters to nieces and nephews and in-laws. You're bound to forget someone, and then you'll just have to write another book to make up for that.

Do you plan on writing another book together?

Brendan: I would very much like to try it again, knowing what we know now.

Rick: I’d like to give it a shot too. I think first we’re going to tackle the screenplay to this book. We’ve already had a few inquiries from filmmakers, and that has given us the kick in the pants we need to get going on that.