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With a Ph.D. in American literature, Marc D. Baldwin has been writing, editing and teaching for 37 years. He’s published a scholarly study of Ernest Hemingway and numerous articles in various literary journals, and is president of Edit911, Inc.

3 Tips for Success in Graduate School

DR. WILLIAM SAYS: Expect lots of reading and writing.

You may read a book per week per class, and have to discuss it in depth, or even turn in a paper each week.

Learn the basics of how to dissect a book’s content and get a quick overview of its thesis.

My history professor wheeled a cart full of books into class one day, a different book for each student in class. He handed out the books and announced, “At the end of this hour, I want you to turn in a one page book report on this book!”

Talk about a crash course in how to get into the content of a book without actually reading it.

This is what I learned from that experience:

Read the basics first
Start with the summary on the back cover
Peruse the table of contents and chapter titles
Scan chapter titles and subheads
Read the forward and introduction
Then move into reading chapter one or the first page of each chapter.

You’ll be amazed how much you can learn about a book and its thesis from these basics.

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DR. DAN SAYS: there’s a veritable litany of suggestions that people will give:

Work hard
Make good use of your time
Socialize
Find a balance
Find a really good coffee shop/Indian restaurant that delivers, etc. etc. etc.

These are all excellent pieces of advice, and I encourage you to take them all to heart.

That said, though, I would recommend treating grad school like college (unless you had one of those “Four-year-house-party-with-a-$50,000-cover-charge” kind of experiences) in that you should get involved.

It can be tempting to see grad school as your first entry into the ivory tower, calling you to countless hours in the library/lab, but your experience will be richer if you embrace the fullness of where you study.

Depending on your role, you will be a teacher, a student, and a researcher. In this trinity, recognize that your identity and the expectations leveled at you will be fragmented.

Sequestering yourself in one role alone can result in a soul-sucking experience.

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DR. SANDY SAYS: Just Do It!

I have yet to meet any person thrilled with the dissertation process. It is one of the most frustrating endeavors we go through to earn our credentials. And to some extent, it is designed that way! The best way to handle it is to just do it!

My dissertation topic was on professional development for educators, a relatively new specialization at that time. I was the coordinator for such programs in my school district and hoped to use my dissertation to help my colleagues throughout the state benefit more from the new state requirements for professional development.

As with many new things in one’s field, most of my professors, including my advisor, didn’t really understand what I was trying to do. The old notions of what constituted professional development were too embedded. No matter how much research I presented on the various theories and principles that formed the basis for effective professional development, that old concept of the speaker on the first day of school and workshops on nothing particularly related to the classroom needs of teachers colored his understanding of my design.

I had reached the point of deciding to be an ABD when my superintendent came to my office for a chat. “It’s an exercise,” he reminded me. “Forget trying to break new ground. Forget everything except meeting the expectations of your advisor and committee and just do it!”

I ruminated on that for a few days before acknowledging the truth of his statements. Then I resubmitted my original proposal, tweaked the way my advisor wanted it, and within two weeks it was approved and I was on my way. Six months later, I received that coveted letter from the dean’s office acknowledging that I had fulfilled all requirements for my doctorate.

So when you’re frustrated with rewriting your proposal for the umpteenth time, when you can’t make your advisor understand what you’re trying to do, when your desire to make breakthrough contributions to your field get the better of you, remember that this is all an academic exercise. It is your admission ticket so that you can do what you really want to do in your chosen field. It is the beginning of the next phase of your career, not your ultimate contribution.

Take a deep breath, refocus on the goal—earning your doctorate—and JUST DO IT!

How to Write a Constructive Book Review: The Art of Positive Literary Criticism Part 1: The Use and Abuse of Ambiguity

Anybody can say nasty things about anything. It takes no talent or knowledge to rip people or their writing apart. That’s easier than cold-cocking someone in the chops.

I don’t like critics who criticize out of some deluded sense of superiority or delusions of their own grandeur. Sure, some people know more than others about various subjects. That’s a given.

However, what’s harder to do, and infinitely more humble and kind, is to note both a book’s strengths and weaknesses, praising the former and proposing various solutions to the latter—assuming the author may consider a revised 2^nd edition. That’s rare, of course, but maybe authors can learn something from your reviews to help them with future books. There’s a novel thought!

The Ambiguity of Art

Ambiguity means having multiple interpretations and invoking multiple reactions and opinions in the reader. It’s the foundational premise upon which we should evaluate and judge art. If we all read the same book, you’re reading it one way and I’m reading it another.

That’s one of the reasons why Seth Godin encourages companies and groups to buy his books in bulk, have everyone read them, and then enjoy a company-wide discussion of its contents. In fact, General Electric just bought [as of June 4, 2011] 5000 copies of Poke the Box to have such a corporate conversation.

Why do we all read the same book a bit differently? Lots of reasons: definitions and connotations of words, our own educational level and worldview, our aesthetic values, preconceptions, misconceptions, and ignorance.

Strong word, “ignorance.” But it informs or misinforms everyone’s lives. The key is to be aware of your ignorance, though many people are too ignorant to even recognize their ignorance. And ignorance leads to nasty, mean-spirited criticism. So if you’re ignorant about something, try to realize that fact and keep your mouth shut until you remedy your ignorance.

Good vs. Bad Ambiguity

The fact is that art is inherently ambiguous. If it’s art, that is. In the world of non-fiction discourse and writing, ambiguity is usually a vice. We have a need to know exactly what each of us is thinking and saying. Ambiguous business transactions, contracts, and negotiations are a vice.

There’s an exception here, however. Sometimes in non-fiction writing, authors make statements or ask questions that may be ambiguous. They do so—that is if they know they’re doing so—to involve the readers, to make the readers examine their own lives and positions by considering multiple angles.

Knowing what you’re doing is a key. If you intentionally mess around with ambiguity, that’s artistic—provided it’s well-executed. But if what you say or write is unintentionally ambiguous, you’re just flat out mixed up and/or a bad communicator.

Ambiguity in a non-fiction work should be used sparingly, for that effect, otherwise we don’t know what to think. And that’s not good.

In art, however, ambiguity is a virtue. Making the reader not know what to think is an element of the greatest fiction. Novelists should absolutely play with readers’ heads, actually. Shake them up. Spark strong emotional responses that confuse them and force them to examine their own feelings and opinions about the subject matter and the dialogue.

When Mrs. Hawthorne read her husband’s new novel entitled The Scarlet Letter, she said it gave her a terrible headache and sent her to bed for a few days. Nathaniel was delighted. He knew then that he’d written a masterpiece.

In most cases, the more ambiguous a work of art, the better it is. Think of Picasso’s paintings. Or Dali’s. Or Beethoven’s symphonies or Frank Lloyd Wright’s architecture. There are as many possible reactions to them as there are people experiencing them.

Ambiguity is Your Friend

In the analysis of art, in this case novels, plays and poetry, you can interpret them differently and not necessarily be wrong. So, be comfortable with ambiguity. Ambiguity is your friend. Since art allows for multiple interpretations, the chances are increased that your interpretation is valid and defensible. The problem is when people get frustrated and see one definite interpretation, or need closure to a story, wanting to know what the ending “means.”

Negative Capability

The great Romantic poet John Keats had some good advice. He had a theory called “negative capability,” which he described as the necessity of “being able to live with doubts and uncertainties without any irritable reaching out after facts.” In the analysis of literature—and life—you will find many uncertainties and have many doubts about what it all “means.” Don’t get irritable and stressed looking for definite answers. There often aren’t any.

Reader-Response

There are many different critical theories, or approaches to analyzing literature, but the one most accessible and natural to most of us is Reader-Response. As I’ve suggested, since art is ambiguous and consumed by an audience, its ambiguous character invites and empowers the reader to go with her gut response to the work.

The Reader Response approach, thus, encourages and allows your intellectual and intuitive reactions to the stories. You may bring your own life experiences, your knowledge base, generously to bear upon the material. It’s a very self-aware, self-reflexive approach, allowing you to draw analogies to, insights from, and suppositions about the stories from the stored wisdom of your own life.

MARKETING YOUR BOOK (Part 1)

Congratulations! You’ve written or are on the path to completing your manuscript. It’s been a long journey; yet in many ways the life of your book is just beginning. At this stage it’s important to begin looking ahead and planning how you will market your book–to consumers, to retailers, to workshop attendees, and more.

Who?
Before you can market your book, you need to know who your readers are. To what age group are you reaching out? Is your readership specific to a certain geographical location? Do they share a certain passion, like woodworking or knitting? Are they lovers of a certain genre, such as sci-fi or romance? Are there certain professional groups that are likely to be interested in your book?

The better you understand who you are trying to reach, the better you can plan where and how to reach them. For example, while a recent Pew Research Center study found that 13% of online Americans use Twitter, the same study found that the largest percentage of users are in the 18-29 age group. So, if you are marketing a book about paying for college, Twitter might be a bigger slice of your overall campaign than if you were marketing a book about financing a home.

Different blogs and publications have different readerships; by having a clearly defined picture of your reader, you can ensure that you properly allocate your resources (including your time) so that your campaign is as effective as possible.

Also, think beyond consumers at bookstores: Are there organizations that might be interested in purchasing your book? Attendees at workshops or speaking engagements? Think about everyone you are trying to reach, and then plan on how best to reach them.

What?
What will your marketing plan look like? What materials will you need for your campaign? Every book is different, and goals differ as well.

For some books (typically nonfiction), an active ad campaign on Google makes sense. For others, a press release sent to specific areas and industries is an effective approach. For other books, an aggressive social marketing campaign is the right focus. And if you are planning to approach traditional media and websites that review books, then you will need a well-written pitch letter and press kit.

A well-rounded marketing plan–whether created and executed by BBP, a publicity firm, or you the author–will incorporate some or all of these elements.

Ultimately, the materials you will need depend upon where and how you intend to market your book. We encourage comprehensive online outreach, through your website, your WordPress blog, social networks, relevant blogs, news sites, and Google and other search engines. We also encourage you to actively promote your book on Amazon, Barnes & Noble.com, and Google Books, and to immerse yourself in online communities (more on that below).

When?
Timing is a crucial element of book marketing. Decide when you want to release your book–your “pub date.” Is there a specific time of year or an event around which it makes sense to release your book? For example, if you’ve written a diet book, you probably want to release it in January, when many publications and retailers are focusing on “New Year, New You” themes. Or perhaps you’ve written a novel that is perfect for beach reading, or an in-depth exploration of a historical event that has an important anniversary coming up. Tying your book to events that are already getting media attention can be a great way to generate buzz for your book.

Another consideration is giving bloggers and editors enough time to review or feature your book. Certain national newspapers and magazines are considered “long-lead publications,” and require lead times of 3-6 months to schedule reviews or features. Many blogs and websites, on the other hand, require less time, as they don’t plan their stories or posts so far in advance.

Also, while publications want a review to come out on the heels of the book’s publication, a news story or other feature does not need to be linked so closely to the book’s publication. For example, if you’ve written a book on solar energy, and a new solar energy incentive is introduced in your state, your pitch to write a related article for an environmental blog would still be relevant after your book’s publication.

–by Meredith Hale, Marketing Manager at Edit911, Inc.

“An Uprising of Angels” Now on Sale!

Please check out my new novel “An Uprising of Angels” @Uprising_Angels. It comes with a 100% money back guarantee. If you don’t think it’s one of the best books about gangs and riots, racism and race relations that you’ve ever read, drop me an email on the website and I’ll refund your money in full.

Set in the 1992 L.A. riots, it’s a gritty, realistic work of true fiction. It’s unlike anything you’ve ever read, I can assure you of that: alternating narrators caught in the horror of the worst riot in American history.

Check it our here: http://bit.ly/kcDy77

While you’re at it, please check out my profile on Linkedin (http://linkd.in/jBb6n9) where there’s info about my career & my editing business (www.edit911.com/category-blog).

Thanks for connecting!

Marc

Review of Engaged, by Brian Solis

In his definitive book, Engaged, Brian Solis argues that “We must produce and promote compelling material in the communities where our customers, peers, influencers and prospects are active–using the consumption methods and means they prefer.” From creators to critics to spectators, Solis rates the engagers and concludes that to be seen and heard, to be successful in the online world, you have to know and master the rules of engagement.

Social media can make or break a business. It’s as simple as that. In Engaged, Solis (www.briansolis.com) –blogger, analyst, consultant and new media maven extraordinaire–conducts a university course in how to “build, cultivate, and measure success in the new web.”

If you want a complete guide to the social media world, this is it. From the Manifesto, to the university course titles of each chapter (“The New Media University 101” and “201” and “301” all the way to “1101”), to nuts and bolts specifics, Solis covers all the bases.

Just flipping through the table of contents, index, and glossary alone would be enough to convince the novice he’s a novice and the so-called expert he still has a lot to learn. Want to blog better and more effectively? Want to enhance your brand or even rebrand your business? Want to find the influencers, map your social media strategy, increase your ROI, ROA, or SEO? It’s all here–with charts and bullet points, lists, action plans, and success stories.

Read Engaged and share it with your staff, friends, colleagues, and clients alike. It’ll stimulate and inform a thousand productive conversations. Just a great book, that’s all.

Review of Upstarts

The title’s play on words tells it all: the mentality you need for a startup is a bit arrogant, bold, nervy, and forward–in both thinking and action. You’ll get nowhere, Donna Fenn (www.upstartsrock.com) argues, if you haven’t got the moxie and drive to get started–today.

Those who want to start a business or even start themselves up need to keep their eyes open and look for the opportunities in other people’s or program’s (businesses, technologies, agendas) pain. In pain, people seek relief. Look for painful issues and see if your plan, your company can remove the pain and give the client pleasure.

And don’t delay. You don’t have to have it perfect to get started. Launch it. Whatever it is, start it up and get in going. You can always keep improving and rolling out new iterations.

Fenn packs Upstarts with a wealth of great advice–from how to “disrupt the status quo” to urging you to market “fast and furiously” to how best to build your brand.

One way to do that is to show people what you’ve got and what you know. Start a forum with your business: “establish yourself as a trusted and knowledgeable source of information.” Tell your story and, by all means, “call in the reinforcements” when you need them.

Fenn practices what she preaches, having already written the wildly successful Alpha Dogs: How Your Small Business Can Become a Leader of the Pack. If you’re in business and need more business, or starting a business and want to launch it fast and right, read Fenn’s books. She’s got game.

Uprising Release Date

My new novel An Uprising of Angels has been cleared for print and will be for sale on Amazon, with press releases and a mass distribution and publicity campaign launching it in early June. It’s about the L.A. riot of April 1992. It’s a fast, graphic read. Advance readers are loving it, so I’m excited about its prospects. Check the website (www.anuprisingofangels.com) for details.

READER WARNING: it’s a true story of race relations, the Crips & Bloods, gang banging, and all that happened in the worst riot in American history. Lots of vulgarity, violence, and disturbing scenes. Not for the squeamish or children.

New Site, New Blog, Same Old Me

It’s a new dawn, it’s a new day, it’s a new site for me–and I’m feeling good.

Greetings, one and all: students, clients, friends, and visitors alike!

This blog’s website will eventually contain my body of work. Not my body, just my work. I can’t fit my body in a blog, darn it. Maybe someday. Then I could just kindof live in the blogosphere. It might well be where I truly belong.

But for now, this site will just contain details and documents related to my teaching career, my businesses, and my writing. But not my kids. I can’t blog them either. Would if I could because they’re my greatest creations (thanks be to God, of course) and what life’s all about. Truly.

Whenever students have asked me through the years, that’s what I’ve always answered.

“Excuse me, Dr. Baldwin,” they’ve said. “What’s life all about, may I ask?”

Smiling sagely, I’ve always answered, “Raising your kids to be better than you.” In my case, that hasn’t been so hard for my kids, actually–since I’m pretty damn flawed.

So I’ve always followed up by telling my students what’s really hard to do in raising your kids, and for yourself as well: “Love life, love God, love yourself, and love others. Always give everything you’ve got, every day and in every way. Live a principled, decent life where no one can say too much bad about you. Be good, kind, loving, and busy. Work hard, play hard, and never give up.”

As I’ve alluded, I’ve failed at just about all of that advice at one time or another. But I’ve gotten better over the past decade, I think. Trying to learn from my mistakes and pass that wisdom on to my kids. That’s all any of us can do, right? Keep trying to be better.

So, check out the bare bones facts in my bio, if you like. Briefly, here’s a bit more of what I am and do:

Professor: Since 1975, I’ve taught English comp and lit, reading and writing. Check out some of my lectures in Powerpoint. You may need to use the Safari browser for them, since I made them before 95% of my students had even heard of online classes. So the programs I made them with (Impatica and the like) are dinosaurs. I just don’t have the time to redo them all. Sorry.

Businessman: Edit911 Editing Service has become one of the world’s best editing services since I started it in 1999.

Writer: I’ve written a bunch of scholarly articles I’ll be posting here, in addition to information about a novel I have coming out soon–An Uprising of Angels. That’s just the first of 3 more novels and a short story collection I’ll be publishing. I’ll also have links to many free books about writing and publishing. All kinds of good stuff. Hope you enjoy it!

Visit often. Join the Tribe on Facebook, Twitter, and Linkedin (see the homepage). I welcome suggestions or constructive criticism. Working hard and always learning is my life. Here’s the inscription I want on my tombstone: “His first day off.” Or as R.W. Emerson said: “Produce! Produce!”