Tom Cornett – Writing Humor and Satire

Posted on July 23, 2011 by Victor Volkman
On July 21, 2011 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with humorist and songwriter Tom Cornett. He is a Midwestern writer who has collaborated with country singers in Nashville as well as writing and co-writing novelty (comedy) songs and parodies.  Tom is a student of the observational school of comedy and enjoys putting a twist on reality.  He releases his comedy music under the pseudonym “Twisted Tom“.  He spoke with us on a variety of humor writing points including:

  • Basics of comedy songwriting
  • Observing human nature as the source of the absurd
  • The importance of collaboration
  • Humor vs. satire
  • Parodies
  • Point-of-view in comedy
  • Handling rejection effectively

Tom Cornett

Tom Cornett
 Tom also writes a blog in addition to his music sites on ReverbNation and MySpace
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Posted in Humor, Songwriting | Tagged , , , , , | Leave a comment

Copyright Camp 2011 in Ann Arbor, MI

Posted on July 11, 2011 by Victor Volkman

Are you interested in how copyright affects your professional life? Do you miss the fun and welcoming atmosphere of summer camp? Then join us at Copyright Camp, where we’ll provide a forum to discuss copyright and how it affects you on a daily basis. Copyright Camp will be an unconference-style event with an introductory plenary by Deborah Wythe, Director of the Brooklyn Museum’s Digital Collections and open access pioneer. After the opening plenary there will be a large board with open time slots for any attendee to add any topic they want to facilitate, or submit your suggestions in advance on our website.  An Antiques Roadshow style “Open Content Roadshow” is also planned, where you can bring an “item” (like a presentation, publication, photo or other copyrightable material) for our panel of experts to review and make recommendations for making this item open and adaptable. Copyright Camp is sponsored by the U-M Library’ MPublishing office and the Open.Michigan Initiative, and is free and open to the public.
Date: July 29th, 2011
Time: 1:00 PM ­ 5:00 PM
Location: Hatcher Graduate Library, Library Gallery (Room 100)
For more Info and to Register (no charge): http://copyrightcamp.org/

Susan Topol
OER Publication Manager
Office of Enabling Technologies

University of Michigan Medical School
stopol@umich.edu
(734) 998-0218

Posted in Book Development | 1 Comment

Dion McInnis – Turning Memories into Memoirs, Autobiographies, Short Stories and Nonfiction

Posted on July 8, 2011 by Victor Volkman
On July 7th, 2011 Tyler R. Tichelaar and Victor R. Volkman spoke with writing coach and author Dion McInnis about how anyone can learn to write an engaging memoir.  He teaches Memories to Memoirsworkshops at a variety of outlets, as well as teaching photography.  He fell in love with writing by the time he was 12 and photography at 6.  During the day, he is a university administrator, and every moment of every day he is a writer/photographer/speaker/poet.   We covered a range of topics on memoir including

  • Using writing cues to jog your memory
  • The Horizontal Timelines and how they can co-ordinate the story of your life
  • The importance of preserving your point-of-view while recovering memories
  • Choosing fiction or non-fiction as your final product
  • Using old photos to stimulate memories and discover context
  • Non-verbal methods of bringing yourself back in time
  • And much more!

Dion McInnis

Dion McInnis
Dion McInnis has always loved the stories of his life and the lives of those he encountered.  He believes in the richness, wisdom and humanity of stories.  Over time, he realized that it is harder to rekindle memories and find the ways to turn them into stories, whether for memoirs, autobiographies, short stories and so on.  So, he developed a way to find the memories and turn them into words.  His most recent book is entitled Daddin’: The Verb of Being a Dad.

Daddin': The Verb of Being a Dad

Daddin': The Verb of Being a Dad
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Posted in Memoir, Tyler Tichelaar, Writer's Block, Writing | 1 Comment

Bill See – From Indie Musician to Indie Author: Every you need to know to DIY

Posted on June 18, 2011 by Victor Volkman
On June 16th, Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with legendary punk rocker Bill See about publishing and marketing his own memoir. Bill See was the lead singer for critically acclaimed Los Angeles indie rock band Divine Weeks before continuing on as a solo artist.He shared his D.I.Y. know-how from his band days now to promote and market his own book and covered several topics:

  • How the music industry was revolutionized and is still trying to adjust to the changes and speak to the theories and similarities to the literary world.
  • The pros and cons of self publishing vs. traditional publishing.
  • Marketing/promoting: Traditional media vs. underground, blogging and social media, etc.
  • Pros and cons of hiring a publicist as a self published author. What is money well spent in promotion.
  • Most important aspects of promotion before actually starting the campaign (i.e. title, keywords, metadata, keywords, social media, book trailers)

Bill See, from the band Divine Weeks

Bill See, from the band Divine Weeks
Bill See has just released his first book “33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream,” a memoir about breaking away from a turbulent upbringing and going on tour in a tiny van across the U.S. and Canada in the summer of 1987. Bill has a unique perspective having watched the music industry revolutionized by the internet, and with the advent of self publishing hitting the literary world, he sees a lot of similarities.

33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream

33 Days: Touring In A Van. Sleeping On Floors. Chasing A Dream
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Posted in Marketing, Print On Demand (POD), Self-Publishing | Leave a comment

Patrika Vaughn – The Right Mentor for Your Book?

Posted on June 3, 2011 by Victor Volkman
On June 1st, 2011 Irene Watson and Tyler R. Tichelaar interviewed writer, publisher, and marketing guru Patrika Vaughn on how to choose the right mentor. Patrika Vaughn has 25 years of experience include every aspect of writing, publishing, and marketing. She is a columnist with articles published in more than 100 national journals and magazines. She spoke with us today on these key points: 

  • Know your audience and what potential mentors know about that audience
  • Interview them:  find one who is ‘on your wavelength’
  • Know what type of help you need
  • Be able to take criticism
  • Don’t choose a dictator!

Patrika Vaughn

Patrika Vaughn
Patrika Vaughn’s books have appeared in print, audio books, and eBook formats. As a ghostwriter she has written books of both fact and fiction for industrialists, psychiatrists and psychotherapists, world travelers and international executives. As a Literary Agent, Patrika has placed writers with Prentice-Hall, McGraw Hill Publications, Harcourt Brace Jovanovitch, and other top tier publishers.  She is currently publisher and  President of Acappela Publishing

Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish and Market Your Book

Everything You Need to Know to Write, Publish and Market Your Book
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Posted in Coaching, Writing | Leave a comment