• Undeniable Recap of 2013

    It’s been an incredible year. I’ve had so many things happen that I had to start keeping notes months ago to keep up with all the awesome things that were happening – personally and professionally.  It’s really hard to pare the list of top events from the year down to the top five but here goes.

    1. Seeing my Gymnastics Family at Rocky’s Memorial.  I had a lot of achievements this year, but by far the best day was hanging out with my teammates and coaches from my gymnastics days. I hadn’t seen some of these people in 20 years and it was like no time had passed. It’s unfortunate that it took the death of my coach and mentor, Rocky Kees, to bring us together again.

    REG-Reunion

    2. Speaking at SXSW.  I was shocked when I saw that I made the list of people who were invited to speak at South by Southwest this year. Over 4400 applications were submitted for 450 slots. I had a blast in Austin at the conference and just taking in the city. Doing my talk on copyright in digital media was an incredible but so was meeting Improv Everywhere’s founder Charlie Todd (and doing the MP3 Experiment with his crew) and running into/inviting myself to coffee with three of the captains from Deadliest Catch.

    3. Book Contracts with the American Bar Association.  It was a very busy year of writing. I signed contracts to write two books for the ABA – Flash Mob Law and The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers – so I basically was brainstorming and writing from mid-February until mid-August. And then my publisher asked for a rewrite one of my manuscripts in October so that was another two weeks of whirlwind writing. Flash Mob Law was released in July and The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers is due out in February 2014. I’m really pleased with these books.

    4. Minimalism Project.  I was inspired to clean out my life this year – to go through everything I own and get rid of the things I don’t use and don’t add value to my life. Since I started this project, I got rid of at least a quarter of my wardrobe, cleaned out my files and memory boxes, and I’m in the process of downsizing my Star Trek collection. I feel much more clear-headed when my surroundings are simple and uncluttered. I plan to maintain my minimalistic perspective when it comes to bringing new things into my life and continue to regularly examine my life to make sure I’m only keeping useful things around me.

    5. Carter Law Firm went Brick and Mortar.  One of the last significant things I did this year was sign the lease for my law firm’s first brick and mortar office. It’s an office space with seven offices – all attorneys – who share a receptionist. Almost everyone is a solo practitioner. I’ve only been there about a month but it’s been great so far. I love that Rosie gets to come to work with me.

    International Go Topless Day by Sheila Dee from Flickr (used with permission)
    International Go Topless Day by Sheila Dee from Flickr (used with permission)

    Firsts in 2013
    First trip to Austin
    First mission with Improv Everywhere
    First time running with a headlamp
    First bike ride with my iPod
    First Go Topless Day Protest
    First road trip with Rosie
    First trip to the Google ‘Plex
    First bad bike accident – flipped over my bike’s handlebars
    First ASU tailgate party
    First Arizona State Fair, including a first ride on the Zipper
    First trip to Ford Theater
    First ASU football game in Sun Devil Stadium
    First night parade
    First Phoestivus – with airing of grievances
    First office space
    First ASTYM
    First dry needling
    Food Firsts: bacon maple bar, hush puppy, brownie in a mug, fish tacos, scrapple, hot pot

    Ruth & CharlieCelebrity Sightings in 2013
    Best-selling author Gary Vaynerchuk
    Captain Keith Colburn from Deadliest Catch
    Captain Jonathan Hillstrand from Deadliest Catch
    Captain Sig Hansen from Deadliest Catch
    Improv Everywhere founder Charlie Todd
    Bully Director Lee Hirsch
    Dr. Drew Pinsky

    In Memoriam
    Rev. Charlie Coppinger
    Jerry Grucky
    Rocky Kees

  • ruthcover smallerI’ve had the privilege of becoming a book author. I self-published my first book The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed last year (and published a revision of it this past summer). That book led to me getting a book contract with the American Bar Association to write Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans, which came out this summer and The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers, which is due to be published in February 2014.

    Both types of publishing come with their joys and frustrations. I love the independence of being an indie author but then the responsibility is on me to do everything (or find people to outsource to). On the flip side, I’ve had a mostly great experience working with my publishing teams, but that also means more cooks in the kitchen and having to play by their rules.

    In regards to my next book, I turned the first draft in to my publisher in August with the expectation that it would be published before the end of the year. (I turned the first draft of Flash Mob Law in to my publisher in May and it was published in August.) I did not expect to hear in October that they wanted a major re-write. In the big picture, it was the right thing to do, but definitely required me to rearrange my calendar a bit. I busted my ass to get it done by Halloween so they could get it out, or at the very least get me a galley, by December.

    I was frustrated as hell when I heard that wasn’t possible, especially after I worked so hard to keep things on schedule. How long does it take to format, copyedit, and print a book? It’s already cleared legal review and I know I can review edits in 24 hours if I have to. My publication date is only delayed by a few months and in the long run everything will be fine but I definitely had a few expressive moments while I was adjusting to that information.

    Here’s my compilation of the joys and frustrations that come with being an indie author and having a publisher.

    INDIE AUTHOR PUBLISHER
    PUBLICATION DATE I pick it. They pick it.
    WRITING My work. My way. They can require re-writes.
    DEADLINES No one’s holding my feet to the fire but me. Hard deadlines.
    COPYEDITTING I’m responsible for hiring a good copyeditor. They take care of it. I have 5 days after receiving a draft to approve edits.
    COVER ART I’m responsible for hiring a graphic designer and describing what I think I want. They have a team of artists and I get to pick the final version from the options they provide.
    MARKETING That’s my job too. They have a team for that.
    EBOOK OPTION Of course! They say they’re going to do it.
    PAPER OPTION I got frustrated trying to figure out CreateSpace and gave up. Available on the ABA website.
    PRICE I decide ($3.99). They decide ($39.95).
    ROYALTIES Monthly. Annually.
    SALES I work for every sale. Minimum sales guaranteed.
    MY WORK Never ends. Basically done once the final draft is done, except for reviewing galleys.
    COPYRIGHT Guaranteed mine. Had to negotiate to keep it.

    Created with the HTML Table Generator

    There is no one right way to be an author but it’s good to understand what you’re getting into when you decide which path you’re going to take.

  • Just When I Thought My Book Was Finished . . .

    Everyone who knows me or follows me on Twitter knows I’ve been writing up a storm this year. I did a revision of my self-published ebook The Legal Side of Blogging: How Not to get Sued, Fired, Arrested, or Killed and published Flash Mob Law: The Legal Side of Planning and Participating in Pillow Fights, No Pants Rides, and Other Shenanigans through the American Bar Association (ABA). (I’ve got to get shorter subtitles.) I finished the first draft of the manuscript for The Legal Side of Blogging for Lawyers in August and I thought the majority of my book writing obligations were done for the year. I was wrong.

    Editing a Paper by Nic McPhee from Flickr (Creative Commons License)
    Editing a Paper by Nic McPhee from Flickr (Creative Commons License)

    My book is being published by the Law Practice (LP) section of the ABA. (For you non-lawyers, this is the section that’s all about how to run a law firm more effectively.) When you write for them, you get a team of people who work on your book. Here’s a glimpse of who I’m working with:

    • Shawn my project manager
    • Evan and Dennis my peer reviewers (who make sure everything I wrote is legally sound)
    • Tom the head of the LP publishing department (who makes himself read everything before it gets published)
    • The copywriter (who will fix all my bad grammar)
    • The marketing team who is charge of my cover and promotions

    I got to see a lot of my team at the recent LP fall meeting in Phoenix. When I turned my manuscript over to them, I thought I was basically done except of approving my cover art and proofreading edits. The team loves my book and said it’s a great first draft, but they’ve asked for a re-write which might include a re-arrangement of chapters, a new forward, and changing the forward into an afterword. I appreciated the feedback and I’m all for putting out the best book possible, but it’s going to be a challenge timewise.

    The LP section wants my book done and published by the ABA TechShow in March 2014. I responded that I’m meeting Gary Vaynerchuk in person when he does his book signing for his new book Jab, Jab, Jab, Right Hook in Arizona in December and I promised him a paper copy. (Yes, I’m fully aware and embrace the fact that I have a massive professional hard-on for Gary Vaynerchuk.)

    My mug from the Space Age Cafe in Gila Bend
    My mug from the Space Age Cafe in Gila Bend

    My calendar is pretty full for the rest of October and November that I’m at the point where I have to think hard before agreeing to go to any events or activities that aren’t already on my schedule. And now I need to figure out how I’m going to do a re-write by Halloween on top of all that so it can get through peer-review, copy editing, and get a galley printed and shipped to me by December 5th.

    This is going to be fun . . . and by fun, I mean high-caffeinated. 😉

    I had a chance to speak with Tom at the LP fall meeting. He said he really liked that my first draft was easy to read and then he asked if I had more books in me. That was a very flattering statement coming from him, but at the same time my first thought was to punch him in the face. After working on three books this year, I’m going to need a break from book writing once this book is done before I start thinking about the next one.