RERUN WEEK #6: Write with half an eye on the market

The Darknight Academy for witches, wizards, troubled vampires and tragically abused children was just waking up when the screaming started. Secret Agent Sam Glowingly sprang athletically from his bed and immediately reached for his pistol. He had been undercover for three weeks now and this was the first sign of trouble, unless you counted the theft of the Holy Grail the previous week, which he didn’t.

‘McSleet. Wake up,’ he hissed. His grizzled, cynical, alcoholic yet oddly sympathetic Scottish colleague mumbled an unintelligible curse at him and went back to sleep. Fine, thought Glowingly. He would just have to tackle this one alone, with only his gun and his mysterious otherworldly powers to help him. He knew he could do it. He had faced seemingly impossible odds before, like that time his wife had been forced to choose which of their two daughters to donate a kidney to, even though the girls were twins and one of them had accidentally killed their younger brother in a shocking yet poetically haunting accident at the old lake.

30 Chic Days - Day Thirty

Day 30: Put it all together

I thought I would end this series by asking you to choose one or two of your favourite Chic Days, or a chic habit you would like to cultivate to improve, beautify or enjoy life more with, and put it into practice.

Have you ever found you are forever researching and gathering information? And you don't have time to read back through the computer files saved, magazine articles torn and documents printed out? I do this all the time. It wasn't until I started going through what I had gathered, weeding out the rubbish and actually putting into place that I started making headway into my chic life.

I'm not saying I've suddenly turned into Audrey H, Amelie or Carole Bouquet, but a lot of the time I find myself making good decisions towards being a chic and stylish woman. Lots of the things I have written about in 30 Chic Days I already do (or partially/sometimes do and want to do more often). And it's only by dreaming, writing and reading about them that I have brought them into my reality.

By choosing a chic habit like wearing my nice things and using my nice dinnerware, in fact enjoy all the lovely items I already own, I can elevate my day to day life right now. If I decide to moisturise my body every single morning with the beautifully scented body lotions I have in my bathroom cupboard, all it costs me is a little time, and I have a 10 minute pampering session to start my day, and silky soft skin all day.

Focus on one thing and add to it as time goes on. What are you going to add to your daily routine or way of thinking to make your life more chic, starting right now?

Going into this holiday season which can be a bit nutty, my plans are to be very organised both at home and at work, go to bed earlier more often than not, limit drinks to very little (choosing sparkling mineral water) and generally look after myself well. Oh, and read lots or knit while listening to calming music. Delicious.

A chic life is what you make of it.

RERUN WEEK #5: Learn about syllepsis, then refuse to stop employing it

Joe Stockley was in an expensive sports car and deep trouble. This time, he had really let his mouth and his exotic foreign lover run away with him and it was getting beyond a joke and his immediate circle of friends in the form of rumours and speculation.

As he ran a red light, the conversation back in his mind and away from his troubles, he couldn’t help but feel a sense of rising panic and the soft matte finish of his hand-stitched leather steering wheel. Angelica had been absolutely right and his wife for fifteen years, so why was he running scared, these kind of risks and this deadly gauntlet of illicit entanglements?

30 Chic Days - Day Twenty Nine

Day 29: Use your good stuff

If there's nothing else you take from 30 Chic Days please take this: use and wear your favourite everythings. Last year when I was drying myself after a shower I wondered why, when we had beautiful new organic cotton towels which we had received as wedding gifts, was I using a towel that while being 'good enough', I had zigzagged along the edges to halt the fraying.

Immediately that day I sorted through our linen cupboard, downgrading those towels to gym towels and gym towels to cleaning towels. Now we have a lovely selection of thick, fluffy towels in shades of white, cream and chocolate, and it didn't cost a cent as we already owned them.

With clothing, I periodically downgrade going out/to work clothes to home loungewear, and beyond that it is given to a thrift store if it's still in good nick and I just don't like (or fit) it, or cut up into rags for cleaning if a little threadbare. That means I only wear my favourite, newest and nicest clothing.

One thing I never hoard are beautiful soaps. Everyone I know knows that I love good soap, and I often receive it as a gift. Additionally I always scan a sale table at the chemist or places like L'Occitane, and check out markets with handmade soaps. And of course I always stick the last tiny piece to the new bar. I don't like to waste lovely soaps.

Also, I use all my good dishes and glasses. Last year in my decluttering fit, I got rid of my clunky everyday dinner set and used my two good ones (plain white, and white with a dark-Greek-blue inch-wide rim) which I alternate and inter-change. I also enjoy using our Krosno expensive wine glasses. I put them in the dishwasher too.


The soap pictured top and above is a gift from Adrienne from The Rich Life (on a budget). Adrienne is one of the most thoughtful, kind-hearted and generous personages in the blogosphere. She posted me from California to New Zealand a gift package which included a bag of Vanilla Cookie flavoured dog treats for rescued poodle Atlas, and some 40th birthday goodies for myself.


Unfortunately our border security confiscated Atlas' American dog treats. He can't really argue with biosecurity though; he respects what they do, but it's a shame they didn't get here.

What did arrive safely here was a divinely scented Sonoma Lavender soap, a gauzy bag filled with lavender, beautiful boutique chocolate and the piece de resistance, purchased-in-Paris '40 and sexy' sign in French. It now graces our fridge. Adrienne bought it for herself, and once she turned 41 took it down and it has been tucked away for a year or two. How lovely that she thought to pass it along. I vow to do the same when I leave 40 for the lush pastures of 41.


The dark chocolate, oh my goodness. It was amazing (and I hope I don't use that word lightly). It was just the ticket with a cup of steaming tea of an evening.


Below is Atlas keenly opening the parcel at work. He's a handy little dog with a Stanley knife.



Merci beaucoup Adrienne!

End of the Year To-Dos

Believe it or not, it's the end of the year again. Christmas is only four short weeks away, and I honestly can't believe it. The time has flown by, and as I look back I can see a lot of opportunities seized and a lot of opportunities missed. And it's important to recognize and understand both, so as not to lose one and to be on the lookout for the other.

As the name of this post implies, we've got some end of the year starting a law firm to-do's. There are two that I am thinking of, neither one of which I've done yet, but both of which I'll be doing very soon. They are goal setting and reviewing and revising the business plan. Let's talk a little bit about both.

Goal Setting

At the end of the year last year I set some law firm goals. And, sadly, but truthfully, I hadn't really looked at them when I set them until now. What's the point of setting goals if you aren't going to check them and work toward them, right? Here's a recap of my goals for this year:

1. Gross $100,000. I actually have reached this goal I think (though I don't know for sure - something that will be fixed in 2011).

2. Pay down half of my current debt. I wish I could say I'd done that, but I'm not even close. That's a personal goal rather than a professional goal, but still, not reached.

3. Travel with my wife. Again, more personal than professional, and I again, not really met. We went to Cabo for a wedding, but that's about it. I could do much much better in this department.

4. Play some golf. I played a fair amount of golf this year. I'd love to play much more. Nuff said about that I think.

5. Begin saving money to buy a house. Not done at all. Don't have any excuses except the money just isn't there for this. I'm pouring most of it into paying down debt. When that's gone, the house saving gets much easier (and grows much faster).

6. Strictly adhere to my internet marketing plan. I don't remember what the plan was exactly, but I'd say I did it. I'm number one for several of my targeted keywords, and continue to work on that every day. That is one of the things that's contributed to my success.

7. Give one talk a month to people about how to deal with cops. I think I gave three of these this year, and not month to month. We'll talk about this when we talk about my goals for 2011.

8. Track and tweak my marketing efforts to get the best ROI. Can't say that I've done this very well. For quite some time I got caught up in the day to day of the firm - that means a lot of busy work and not much else.

9. Work every day to become the best DUI attorney there is, which includes 5 trials. I'm not going to reach my goal of 5 trials. I'm not even going to get close. But that isn't for lack of trying. Each time I thought a case was going to go to trial something happened and it ended up resolving. I know I'll have at least two trials in January though, so that should get me off to a good start.

10. Set up a tracking system to make sure I'm tracking these goals. I've already confessed to not doing this.

As you can see, I met some, and I didn't meet others. But I think all in all I'm moving in the right direction, and that's the point, right?

Actually, that isn't the point at all. The point isn't to set goals so you might meet them. To "try hard" but not lose any sleep if you fall short. The point is to meet or exceed your goals. I need to do better.

I'm not going to tell you my goals for next year yet. Honestly, I haven't come up with them. But I can tell you that my goals are going to look dramatically different than they do here in this post. Part of what makes goals so hard to attain is often you only describe the big picture, end result. For example, I want to lose 40 pounds. Okay, great. That sounds wonderful to say, and is a great goal. But just saying it isn't enough. You need to have more details if you want to succeed. Maybe you break it down like one hour in the gym a day and no McDonald's french fries. Whatever it is, unless you break it down you have little hope of achieving success. So I'm going to break it down for me.

Revising the Business Plan

When I started my firm almost exactly a year and a half ago I wrote a business plan, and I think it was one of the best things I did. Not only did it make me think about what I was going to do before I did it, but it helped give me direction and make choices when they needed to be made. And I haven't done anything with it since.

So, I need to revise it. I guess now it would be more aptly described as a strategic plan or something like that, but at the heart of it it's a business plan for a business that's already up and running. This will help me with the goal setting described above, because it's natural design will force me to map out where the business goes in the future. But it will also make me plan long term, something we should all do.

Don't worry, I'll let you know what I've done with that too. But remember, all this stuff about me won't always apply to you. I just tell you what I'm doing so you can see an example of how it's been done. Hopefully you take away from it what you like, leave the rest behind, and avoid some of the same mistakes I've made.

Hope you all had a happy turkey day, and I'll talk to you again on Friday. I think we're going to talk about my laziness and affinity for television - in other words, how to deal with the things that steal our time.

Guest Post at Une Vie Chic

Recently Kalee at Une Vie Chic invited me to write a guest post for her food month. Kalee is doing a fantastic job at showing how good cooking at home is, and I particularly like her lists of kitchen essentials. She's anti-most-gadgets like I am.

Have a look at her entire month of November while you're there.

Thank you Kalee for asking me to be part of your food month!

RERUN WEEK #4: Find the bone mote

As he sat discomfortably on the chase lounge, Dan realised he was the centre of attraction. Something was a rye. He had a feeling that in this particular click, he was to be the scrapegoat. Had it been wreckless to come into this den of thiefs? If the worse came to the worse and the yolk of responsibility rested on his shoulders, wherefore would he turn for assistants?

When he had set out on this long sojourn, he’d known it would be risqué, but no one had appraised him of just how risqué, or even eluded to it. Even if they had, he would have been suspect of them having an anterior motive. But that was a mute point now. These viscous criminals would test his medal irregardless of weather he wanted them too – he just had to keep his moral up in the mean times.

30 Chic Days – Day Twenty Eight

Day 28: Don’t talk about being chic

Nothing is less chic than someone constantly speaking or complaining about their appearance or some other aspect of their life. Practice the art of mystery. If someone compliments you on a top you are wearing, say ‘thank you’ and ‘I’m glad you like it’. You do not want to say ‘oh, I’ve had this for ages, but it’s getting a bit old now’ or ‘I just bought it today, it was on sale’.

I had birthday drinks with a friend recently, who in detail explained to the entire group how her new diamond earrings given to her by her boyfriend came from a cut price place AND she got them cheaper because one of them was bent. Now I’m all for a bargain, but it’s for you to know and them never to find out. Whenever I see her in her diamond earrings, do you think I’m going to remember ‘Cut Price Discount Store’? Or if she had only said they were a lovely gift, I would look at them and think ‘lucky girl’.

Also, do not in conversation bring up your current diet or insecurities. You are only drawing attention to parts of you that you don’t want people to see or know about. By pointing them out you are shining a spotlight on them. Much better to glide into a room confidently and serenely, and make conversation with people by being interested in them and asking questions.

Of course I am doing exactly what I am saying not to do on this blog, but this, along with your closest girlfriends in a private setting, are the exceptions. In all other cases French-style mystique is the goal.

Enough, Already! Is It Time to Start Revising Your Manuscript?

The relationship of writer with book-in-progress can be likened to a marriage as opposed to a date.  Poems, articles, columns, and short stories are all creative commitments, to be sure, but even if they linger unfinished for a while, they are short relationships compared to 350 pages of manuscript.  With a book, you regularly re-evaluate your progress, your purpose, and your plans.  You recommit again and again.

 But is it ever done? When is enough, enough?  These questions come up at two particular stages,
I've found.  One marker is when the writer is ready for revision.  The other is when revision is finished and the book is ready for final editing.

A writer from New York, who has been working on his nonfiction book for several years, sent a very good question about this:   "At what point does one realize what they are trying to write is the final 'version'?" he emailed me.  "My subject/point of view has changed several times.  When do I stop?  I know the book evolves but it seems like I'm always evolving.  I struggle with having new ideas that change my point of view."

As You Evolve, So Does the Book
Unfortunately, there's no predicting exactly how long it will take to really "get" your book.  And then, after you do "get" what you're really writing about, how long it'll take to manifest that on paper.  Most first-time book writers (as well as veterans) can relate to the question When will it ever end?  There are certain ways of telling where you are in the continuum.

How much time have you really put in on the book?  Two hours a week?  Less?  After two years at two faithful hours a week, it would be possible to have a good rough draft.  But unless you have a lot of writing experience already, you may only have that--a rough draft.  Why?  A writing colleague put it this way:  "After three days of not writing, it takes a while to get back into my story."  The book disappears from your consciousness after three days, so you may not be able to spend the next writing session actually moving forward.  Rather, you may be spending half or more of it reacquainting yourself with the book.  That's OK--as long as you're aware of it and don't expect miracles.

When I began writing books in the 1980s, I expected miracles.  But I was lucky back then--I worked with editors at the publisher's office.  They helped me evaluate where I was in the journey.  I learned from them, wise souls that they were, about the re-acquainting time that's required after not writing.  I learned that more time goes in to building the first draft than new writers prepare for.  They told me not to be surprised if my books, all nonfiction back then, took two to three years before a solid draft was formed, one that could stand up to revision.  I learned with each book I published that most need at least a year or two of attentive planning and writing, discovery and exploration of both voice and topic, before a writer has enough of a manuscript to begin revision.

Obviously, if two years goes by, you won't stay the same.  Why expect your book to?  If you're prepared for that too--and I wasn't, for my first books, but editors wised me up--you won't be frustrated with the changes that naturally occur.  Because during this planning and writing stage, books are supposed to change.  They evolve as we get to know them better, as our skills grow, as we get clearer about what is the book and what is not.

Each time I felt my book was ready, each time I got to that point when I thought to myself, Enough! Get the thing out the door, I had an editor to check in with.  Most of the time, he or she pointed out the blind spots that I'd overlooked in my inexperience.  Slowly I let go of my cherished idea: that a book took just months from inception to publication.  When I cited writers who churned out two volumes a year, my editor said I could probably do that after I had four or five books under my belt.  And that became true.

So how do you find out, without a publisher's editor, whether your planning and writing stage is indeed over and you're ready to move on to revision?

Revision Is Not Just Editing
First you need to understand just what revision actually is.

This is another lesson I learned the hard way, working with a publisher's editor:  Revision is not simply substantive or copy editing:  cleaning up sentences, fixing typos, and massaging the passages a little.  My editors taught me that copy editing is like the final touch.  It comes just before publishing, only after a manuscript is strong and complete in its content, structure, and language.

Before the editing, comes the revision.  Although it's very important to create clean copy, if a writer tackles  technical work before the book is solid, it's like embroidering curtains on a barely framed house.  Not at all a useful exercise. 

I learned that revision literally means "re-seeing," and this all-important stage is about taking what you've created and seeing it anew, from a new viewpoint.  Whose viewpoint?  The reader's.  Revision is where writer invites reader into the room where the book lives.  Then, once the book and the reader get acquainted, the writer leaves.

Robert Olen Butler, who wrote the well-loved writing book From Where You Dream, talks about how hard it is for most writers to actually leave the reader alone with their stories.  Most writers feel the strong need to interpret and tour guide their work to the reader.  You can just feel the presence of a hovering person, wanting to make sure you really understand what this or that passage means.  In revision, this has to go.  You as the writer must let your work live and breathe on its own.    


It's very hard for most writers to tell when they are hovering, interpreting, and otherwise annoying their potential readers.  For this, most of us need feedback.  When I am questioning if my manuscript is ready for revision, I will find three kind readers and formulate three questions for each reader to answer.  I don't need to know if the writing is good or bad--that's irrelevant at this point.  I need to know where the reader stumbles, senses too much of a hovering presence of the writer, loses interest.  These passages exist in all early drafts and readers, if asked, will help you find them.

Then you look at these passages and try to "re-see" them.  What were you intending just there, in the manuscript?  Why didn't your intention reach the reader?  Did you get scared, omit something important, bluster your way through to try to hide it?  This is very common.  Finding these unconscious places is the first step to revision. 

These places are where you lost heart.  You need to go back and put it in, before you go any further. 

Early Drafts Come from the Heart, Revision Comes from the Head
One of my favorite scenes of writing instruction comes from the movie, Finding Forrester.  Forrester, the famous recluse writer, played by Sean Connery, puts a typewriter in front of the young writer Jamal.  Forrester begins to type.  The young writer doesn't.  So Forrester asks, "What are you waiting for?"

"I'm thinking," says the young writer.

Forrester shakes his head.  "No, no.  No thinking.  That comes later."

As they start to type in unison, Forrester slips in these simple instructions.  They explain so clearly the difference between drafting and revision:

"You write your first draft with your heart," Forrester says.  "You revise with your head."

So many of us get this backwards.  We think so much about our early drafts that the pages don't actually contain any heart.  We get down plenty of words, often good words, but unless the writing has meaning, unless it reveals the heart of the writer, we're not going to reach our readers. 

Feedback prior to revision lets me know if there is more heart needed, more revealing that can be done.   It's only after I have given everything I have to the manuscript, that it's ready for the head part, the thinking.

This Week's Writing Exercise
1.  Rent the movie, Finding Forrester.  Watch it again, from a writer's point of view.  What can you learn from this fictional character about the process of writing?

2.  If you have a completed draft and you wonder if you're ready for revision, take a deep breath and find three readers to help you.  Avoid choosing immediate family and close friends, especially those who know your book pretty well.  Look for people who can give you an overview.  You're going to ask them to read the manuscript and mark in the margins any place where they (1) stumble or (2) want more.  Tell them you aren't looking for fixes, you just want to see where you've lost heart, lost the reader's perspective.  You're asking them just to respond as readers. 

3.  From this review, you'll learn a lot about your book and where it is in the continuum.  

30 Chic Days - Day Twenty Seven

Day 27: Look after your skin

I have read that at the age of 13 or 14, a French girl will be taken to her local beauty therapist by her mother and asked to prescribe a skincare regime, which the young girl will then use.

A regular twice daily routine is the best thing you can do for your skin from a young age (as well as wear sun protection).

Even though I’m not French, I was lucky enough that my mother did the same thing for me. In my early teens she took me to a department store and helped me choose a good quality three-step cleanse, tone and moisturise regime.

More than 25 years later and I still do these three steps twice a day.

I am often complimented on my skin and who knows if my skincare routine helped. I have actually had people stop me on the street and say I have beautiful skin.

I wasn't a big sunbather and I think that has been beneficial. And even though I dabbled with cigarettes in my teens, I have never been a smoker. That's a huge one. I don't care what the French say on smoking.

The photo above was on our wedding anniversary last year, age 38 and a half.

RERUN WEEK #3: Describe the wrong things

Carol stands absolutely still. In front of her, not more than ten feet away, is a fully-grown black bear. The ferns beneath its feet are crumpled and slightly browning, their delicate fronds pressed into the thick, wet mud of the forest floor. Carol hesitates. Slowly, very slowly, she looks around for a possible escape route. The light falling through the canopy of leaves has a pale, thin quality to it and the air is brackish with a faint scent of the stagnant water from the nearby estuary.

She decides to make a dash for it. Her shoes are slightly too tight, pinching at her toes and digging into the soft skin just above her heels. If she had put on thicker socks this morning, this wouldn’t be a problem, but in her haste to leave the house, she had grabbed a thin white cotton pair designed to sit low on the ankle, hidden below the line of the shoe. Seeing her move, the bear leaps forwards. A plane is flying directly overhead and the sound of its engines is like the rumble of a distant washing machine. It is a passenger plane of some sort – most probably an old 737 with a good few years of service still ahead of it. The bear eats Carol.

RERUN WEEK #2: Start your novel at least three chapters before the first significant event of the plot

Alan picked up his slice of toast and bit into it thoughtfully. The crescent shape left by his teeth was like a smaller version of the shark bite Julia would suffer next week, but at the moment, Alan knew nothing about that. Wiping the crumbs from the corner of his mouth, he reached for his coffee. As he lifted the mug, the surface of the drink rippled like a deceptively calm ocean which, any moment now, sharks would come leaping out of. He slurped it, completely unaware.

So far, today had been disappointing. The arrival of the post hadn’t brought the parcel he’d been waiting for – the new scuba mask with anti-fog coating which would eventually (although not for some days) save his life. There wasn’t even a postcard from Julia, despite her still, at this point, having enough fingers to write one. He wanted to know what the weather was like out on the west coast before he set off to join her there on Thursday.

Of course, today was Monday, so there was still plenty of time. Maybe a postcard would come tomorrow, or the day after. Until then, reflected Alan, he just had to get through his last few days at work, which promised to be mind-numbingly repetitive and predictable, exactly unlike a shark attack.

30 Chic Days - Day Twenty Six

Day 26: Embrace thrift

You may or may not know that my husband and I own a small retail footwear business which we work in every day. You'd think I'd be the last person to advocate not spending money. People spending money sort of keeps us going.

I will always try my best, in a non-pushy way, to help someone find the perfect pair of shoes. But I can’t help but think sometimes that people should just put their wallet away and go home.

It can be a slow boat to turn around, but once you stop spending it's actually quite hard to start again. The best way I found to stop spending (apart from when I was younger and couldn't pay my credit card bill) was to start decluttering. When you start making piles of 'good' stuff to get rid of, you begin to rethink just how much 'fun' shopping is.

Cherie from Renaissance Garden had the best quote on her blog recently:

"Every increased possession loads us with new weariness."
~John Ruskin

Truer words have never been spoken. I’d not heard it before but immediately had to write it down in my quote book.

Nowadays I find pleasure in shopping for an item I actually need. And that's after I've exhausted all avenues finding something at home that I have already to fit the purpose.

My mythical ideal French girl Sabine wouldn't cruise the mall after work on a Friday because she is bored and wants to buy something to excite her. Sabine doesn’t spend more than she earns and then faint when the credit card bill comes in. Nor does she squander and fritter hard-earned cash on trinkets, baubles, chocolate bars and cheap tops.

Non, she shops a couple of times a year, buys good quality at bargain prices and, when she does pay top dollar, it is for a classic, dark denim pair of jeans that fit her like a glove, and she wears them for many years in the future.

RERUN WEEK #1: Skip blithely between tenses

I sit at my desk with my head in my hands and sighed. It is only three days until the deadline, I think, and I’m going to have had to finished everything before then. If only I have finish this now, I thought and lean back on my chair. Just then, the phone has rung. I am answering it.

‘Hello?’ I am going to have said. It is my editor; he was angry, but not as angry as I remember him being when I am handing in the work late, four days from now.

‘Is this work going to have been finished when it is currently the deadline which, at present, is in the future?’ he demanded. ‘I am planning to have been waiting for it, as I presently am.’

30 Chic Days - Day Twenty Five

Day 25: Plan ahead

At this time of year there are many social events on. In the past I have found it quite helpful to plan ahead what I am going to consume, both food and drink, either on a normal day or going to a party or family gathering.

It's so easy to look forward to an outing as an excuse to eat (and drink) to merry excess, and be fatter the following week. I have had success walking myself mentally through an outing and planning what I am going to eat (or not eat) and what I will drink (or not drink).

For example, this Christmas day which I will spend with my inlaws, I am thinking about not eating any snack foods, chocolates or sweets, no matter what might be nestling enticingly in bowls. That way I will enjoy my mid-afternoon Christmas lunch and dessert.

And because it is likely to be quite warm, I will drink plenty of water and only a few glasses of wine over the meal. I often find wine on Christmas day, a glass here, a glass there, over the day ends up making me feel blah and slothlike. Definitely not drunk, too much time has passed between each glass, but it makes you want to go to sleep.

I've been rereading my Anne Barone 'Chic & Slim' printouts from her old website (unfortunately she took all her supplementary writing down when she redid her website recently) - specifically the section on surviving Christmas in a chic and slimming manner.

She has some great ideas, like imagining you are a chic French woman spending the holidays where you live. You have been invited to a New Year's eve party at the home of some locals. Anne says to think about this role, how you act at the party, how you are picky with the buffet, avoiding the processed foods (which you don't understand, being French), and tasting tiny bits of different foods to see what you like.

Because you are French, you don't eat with your hands, so everything you do choose to partake in has to be eaten with a knife and fork, so, sitting down. You will also remember to keep your posture perfect, and not eat anything that might smudge your lipstick (potato chips can make lipstick disappear within minutes). You will also think about what current events, latest books or movies you wish to discuss with people.

I also like Anne's thoughts on drink: 'Being French, you will also opt for a small glass of beverage of your choice, sipping slowly from it all evening. You won't want to overindulge because then you will not feel well the next day. And especially you will not look your most attractive, if you drink too much alcohol. A healthy look is the basis of an attractive look.'

Some of information in the printouts is from her books, which, if you don't have, I heartily recommend. I have reread mine over and over (and over), and love them. The first three (Chic & Slim, Chic & Slim Encore and Techniques No. 1) are all worth having, but unless you really want more, I wouldn't bother with the other two unfortunately.

I wish I liked her 4th and 5th books more but they are just not enjoyable reading. They seem like they are from a totally different author. If anyone has them and loves them, please point out what I am missing here! I would love to love them.

This planning ahead technique also applies to the everyday. I find it quite helpful if I sit down at breakfast and plan what I'm going to have for lunch and dinner, along with fresh fruit (making sure there is some available in the fridge at work) and even things like choosing green tea over black tea, or coffee.

I create a picture in my mind of a day of chic eating and look forward to and enjoy it.

Law Firm Marketing | Creating an Identity

This is the second in what will hopefully be a long line of Wednesday law firm marketing posts. Today we're going to talk a little bit about getting creative - thinking outside the box to get more customers. Here we go!

One of the things I find the most frustrating about marketing my law firm is the fact that everyone so often seems to do the same thing. Don't believe me? Google DUI attorney and start clicking around. Everyone is "aggressive," everyone is "dedicated," and everyone is "experienced." I even have that stuff on my website. The problem is, I have no idea if that kind of talk helps. Honestly, I don't think it does. But I'm at a bit of a standstill on what I can do that is different to get my name out there.

Yesterday I took some time and I wrote down a long list of law firm marketing ideas. This is what I came up with:

Billboards;

Creating a brand - who is my firm?;

Radio ads;

Print ads;

Matchbooks;

Coozies;

Keychains;

Television ads;

A website with less "friction" - that is easy for people to take action on;

Booth at the local farmer's market;

Lunch with great known referral sources;

Better business card;

Getting some press;

T-shirts (funny/catchy/true slogans);

Magnets;

Wrapping the car in an ad; and

Get more customer reviews (seek them out instead of waiting for them to come in).

As I looked at this list, I began to realize something that I've been avoiding for a long time because I think it's a little uncomfortable - my law firm has no true identity. And that sucks.

Sure, I know I want to give great service and yada yada yada, but I don't have all of that wrapped up into a tight, clearly defined package so that when people see me, my firm name, or my firm logo they know exactly who I am and what I do. That's not good. And that's the key to differentiating yourself from everyone else in a world where everyone seems to be the same - figuring out exactly who you are and then not being afraid to tell everyone about it in every way you can think of.

I read a lot of emails from the personal finance guy, his name is Ramit Sethi. He's got a blog called I Will Teach You to be Rich and he sends out a monthly newsletter about personal finance and going after your goals full throttle. His newsletter this month was about the power that we let failure have over us. And while I know it applies to starting a law firm, I also think it applies to marketing a law firm, in the sense that I know I feel apprehensive about whether or not my ideas are going to work out (and whether or not they are going to get me laughed at by my peers in the process). Here's the part of the newsletter that I really liked:

People think failure is a bad thing, which always makes me laugh. Failure can be managed, planned for, and even eagerly anticipated.

For example, I have a "failures" tag in Gmail where, if I'm not adding 5 NEW FAILURES PER MONTH, I know I'm not doing enough.

Another data point: for every 10 marketing initiatives we do at "I Will Teach You to be Rich," 7 will fail. And we are pretty freaking good at what we do.

You can treat rejection as a normal step in the process. Expect it. Manage it. Own it.

I think the point of that is that it's okay to go out on a limb. It's okay, and in fact is critical to success, that new marketing ideas are consistently created and tested. And it's okay if you fail, because in the end you'll be laughing all the way to the bank.

Here's my challenge to you. Create an identity for your firm. Who are you? What do you do? Why are you different? And then own that identity in every part of your business. Once you do that, come up with 5 creative marketing ideas and implement them. Don't just think about them - actually try them out. If they fail, at least you know. And if they succeed, you've probably just substantially increased your business.

If you'd like to share your ideas in the comments, please do. Next week I'll tell you what I've come up with.

Use your characters to work through your problems

‘I know, I know,’ Dash Gallant sighed, running a muscular hand through his perfectly coiffured hair. ‘The truth is, I just haven’t had the time.’

‘Time?’ Doctor Hadrian laughed. ‘Captain, with the Temporal Reflux Engine on this ship, you’ve got more time than you think.’

‘That’s not what I mean and you know it. The Mhal-Evol’Unt hyperborder has been breached, saboteurs have infiltrated the fleet and Fumblebot is still missing.’ He grimaced manfully. ‘With all that going on, how am I supposed to find time to update my spacelog?’

Doctor Hadrian thought for a moment. ‘Well,’ he said, ‘if you were to accelerate to five times lightspeed and slingshot around...’

‘Wait.’ Dash silenced him with a wave of his hand. ‘I’ve got it. For the time being, I can republish old spacelog entries. Just for a week or so.’

‘A spaceweek.’

‘Yes, a spaceweek. That’s what I meant. Rerunning old material will keep things ticking over until I’m less busy.’ He turned to the plexi-viewport and smiled. ‘Well done, Dash old friend,’ he whispered to his reflection. ‘You’ve done it again.’

30 Chic Days - Day Twenty Four

Day 24: Be grateful, be compassionate, be interested in the world around you

I was planning to include an item on gratitude in 30 Chic Days, as I think being grateful for all we have is a very chic way to live.

Today there was a tragedy in New Zealand. 29 men died in a coal mine explosion on the West Coast of the South Island. Talking about chic things pales in comparison to such an awful event. I have been thinking about their families a lot.

I am grateful every day for having a home to live in, a loving husband, wonderful family and friends and a job that pays the bills, but today I am grateful to still be on this earth.

May these men rest in eternal peace.

30 Chic Days – Day Twenty Three

Day 23: Do something creative

I love handcrafts like sewing, knitting, crochet, embroidery, quilting and patchwork. Often these pursuits can look old-fashioned and fusty though, so I work out ways to enjoy creating in a modern and simple way.

If you've ever made anything you will know the feeling of satisfaction which is gained by bringing an item into existence from a ball of wool or a piece of fabric.

You don't have to learn how to cast on knitting stitches to be creative though. My Auntie literally cannot sew on a button to save herself, but keeps a beautiful and welcoming home, and throws dinner parties for big groups in a relaxed and capable manner (the food's pretty good too).

Some other ways you might choose to express your creativity:

Tend your garden or a potted garden
Bake scrumptious goodies
Cook a delicious dinner, try a new recipe
Decorate your home in a manner pleasing to yourself and your family
Rearrange the furniture every once in a while, move artwork and decorative items around
Paint a picture, choose a couple of acrylic tester pots and be inspired by artwork in home magazines
Look at new ways to combine clothing items, jewellery and accessories
Write in a journal that no-one else will see

Pictured above is the quilt I made for my niece A's first birthday.

Three Writers on Writing and Creativity

Happy Thanksgiving to those of you who celebrate this week.  In honor of the holiday, when maybe we all can get a tiny bit more leisure time (ROFL), I'm sharing three videos and articles on writing.  So look, listen, and read . . .and enjoy!

I'll be back next week with a new discussion on revision--how to know when you're ready for it.

A video presentation by writer Elizabeth Gilbert on creativity:  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=86x-u-tz0MA&feature=related.

Vivian Gornick, author of The Situation and The Story, on the writing life:  http://therumpus.net/2010/08/conversations-with-writers-braver-than-me-1-vivian-gornick/

 Jill Bolte Taylor on the brain and creativity:
http://www.ted.com/talks/jill_bolte_taylor_s_powerful_stroke_of_insight.html
PS  Do you have favorite videos, podcasts, or online articles on writing that you'd like to share with me?  Send them along.

30 Chic Days – Day Twenty Two

Day 22: Have a dress-up day

Maybe once a week, have a day where you take extra time with your appearance. If you wear a uniform to work maybe add high (or high-ish) heels. If that’s not possible, wear earrings if you normally don’t, style your hair differently or wear a scarf tied just so.

Even just choosing something from your wardrobe that you’d normally save for ‘better’. I’m not talking ‘best’, like a dress you would wear to a wedding, but wearing some of your nicer everyday clothes.

On a day at home I try to take the time to put on a tiny dab of makeup, spend five minutes more on my hair and spray on a little fragrance. Just because I'm not going out doesn't mean no one is going to see me. The most important person in my life is going to see me!

When I have taken a little extra effort (and normally it’s more about effort and only a little bit about time) my husband comments, people are nicer to me and the world is a sparklier and brighter place. I think it’s a combined effect of my outer appearance but also my inner radiance which comes from that. Conversely, on a day when I’m feeling frumpy and grumpy, my outer and inner Fifi produce the results you would expect.

I love this Laura Bennett quote (that type-a lady from Project Runway, the one with red lipstick and an architect husband):

"Get dressed everyday a little bit nicer than you would have and see if it makes a difference in your day. See if you feel better. See if people treat you better."

30 Chic Days – Day Twenty One

Day 21: Spend more time on your eye makeup

Being fair in colouring, I need more eye makeup than I think. Oftentimes I put on a bit of mascara and maybe some eyeliner (along with neutral eyeshadow) and think I look OK. Then I am at work in the loo and realise under the harsh lights that I look so naked and washed out. It's like I put nothing on at all.

Since I began making a concerted effort to put a bit more on around the eyes, I have been less shocked and disappointed at what's in the mirror. It's still not tons but I feel happier. I remember a boss about 10-12 years ago tell me I should 'wear eyemakeup'. At the time I was a bit miffed because I did!

It's taken me a while to follow the alcoholic old tart's advice. Better late than never though.

The great thing about wearing more eyemakeup is that I don't need as much of the other stuff. I only wear a dab of foundation which I put on areas which look awful first. When I run out of the tiny blob on my hand I don't allow myself any more.

This looks much better to me than a full coverage of foundation (which I have worn since I was about 14). A light dusting of loose powder, blush and a neutral pinky lip gloss is almost all I need.

The final bit of making up my eyes is brows. They are so important. Brows really frame your face. I watched an Oprah ages ago with Anastasia the brow queen from LA. Watching her work her magic I really wanted to visit her salon, alas I haven't been to LA lately and I bet she charges a fortune too.

I listened to her tips though and now do my own. I don't go to a professional brow plucker or waxer, I tidy my own every couple of days. It's just a matter of keeping them in a neat, natural shape and don't take too much off. Her claim to fame is the slight arch to the outside centre of the eye which supposedly makes you look wide-eyed and youthful.

I also use an eyebrow pencil which I sketch in lightly and then brush up the eyebrows. Finding the right colour is really important. You don't want to look like a freak. I find blonde ones can be a little orange for me, and grey ones (like at Bobbi Brown) are better. It must be because of the ash tones in my hair.

I don't have a favourite mascara brand but I prefer 'wet' lengthening mascaras over dry and flakey volumising ones. It's a matter of trial and error. And my best makeup tip is to have cotton buds handy for tidying up. A cotton bud and tiny bit of liquid foundation is perfect for erasing mascara where it shouldn't be. Finally dust under your eyes with a clean blusher brush to sweep away any fallen particles of eyeshadow or eyeliner.

Believe me you will feel tres French with your piled on mascara that flicks up at the sides.

30 Chic Days – Day Twenty

Day 20: Write a list

Part of living your own life is deciding what you want in it. I don’t know about you, but sometimes I find myself just floating along taking whatever turn is offered to me, not actually making decisions for myself, either little ones or big ones.

I am a big fan of going with the flow, but I also think you need to direct the flow.

By writing a list, not only are you putting ‘it’ out there (into the Universe, for magical things to happen), but you are reminding yourself what is really important (these are the same things actually, I have realised).

And the great thing about your Perfect Life list, is that you can add (and subtract) as time goes by, thus tweaking your desires to reflect the changing you.

I know all this doesn’t sound terribly French, but I am reminded of the French Chic yahoo group’s welcome message. It includes the motto ‘A French woman consciously designs her life, and makes daily choices to carry out that design.’


I named my list ‘C’est Moi’ and started it on the computer, but then printed it out and carried on adding to it in pen. It has sections for different areas such as looks, manner, home, dining, personal style, personal grooming, travel, finances, creative life and inspiration, relaxing, going out, health, important people and beauty tips.

Under the headings I listed things I like about myself and ways I would like to be. For example, my ‘home’ heading has under it:

Uncluttered and organised
Candles
Tidies up often
House – breezy, calming, relaxing, bookshelves
Boudoir – spare, calm, sensual
Inspired by others homes
View of the ocean
Leafy back yard
Courtyard off bedroom
Home traditions
Relaxes / eats in courtyard under pergola, trees and ivy around – cool and serene
Small dressing room/walk in wardrobe in boudoir
Home is like a boutique hotel suite
Simple, luxurious

Some of these things I already do in the home sector, such as candles, bookshelves, home traditions, and a tidy, spare bedroom. Others I would love to have, like a courtyard off the main bedroom (french doors, old brick cobbling, zinc table and two chairs surrounded by private trees/bush) and a small dressing room.

It is quite a fun exercise to compile these lists (if you are a list-maker like I am), and reading them later on is even more enjoyable.

30 Chic Days – Day Nineteen

Day 19: Moisturise your body

A while back I made the commitment to moisturise my entire body every morning. Not just lower legs once a week and not just when my elbows felt dry. Every morning, the whole body. Even if I was running late, even if I couldn’t be bothered.

I told myself it would become a habit, and it has now. If I miss a day (maybe once a month when I’m really late) I notice it. It would be like not brushing my hair or teeth before leaving the house.

After my shower and moisturising my face, I apply sunscreen to the décolletage area (summer and winter), then start on body lotion – arms and shoulders, lower legs, feet and knees, thighs and even bum cheeks. Sometimes I do my stomach, but mostly not. It seems to be the extremities (arms and legs) rather than the torso that lose moisture the most.

I feel très French and chic doing this self-care routine every day, and all the massage must be doing something. My skin will be smooth and my blood will be flowing around delivering goodness to every cell.

At first it may feel like it takes forever, you’re wasting valuable time, you’re late... but persevere and do it every day, and your skin and your serenity will thank you. Maybe you’ll get quicker at it or maybe you’ll just get used to the time it takes. Like hair washing and shaving your legs, it will become part of your personal care regime.

30 Chic Days – Day Eighteen

Day 18: Make notes

A few days ago I met a real live French person. She was tiny, with a petite bust and a pixie haircut light-brownish-red in colour. Having just moved to New Zealand she was moving into a new place with her husband and children, and at that moment buying shoes for her children.

You can bet I took lots of notice of how she spoke, what she said and how she presented herself. What did she wear you ask? A pair of lightweight dark-indigo straight-leg jeans with black flats and a soft cotton blouse in a similar indigo-blue colour.

Her earrings were like little silver starfish and I think she wore only her wedding rings, no other jewellery except perhaps a watch. Her makeup was very natural to the point that I wonder if she had any on.

It was so charming listening to her and her children talking to each other in French. I even picked up a few words. I noticed her children were very well-behaved in a nice, friendly way, grown up as in normal, not being silly and making fools of themselves.

Did I mention this woman was tiny? I’m not sure if French women are just naturally petite (slight shoulders, dainty wrists) or if it’s food-loving people like me who feel like a giant next to them.

There is a fantastic chapter about halfway through Lunch in Paris, which I am reading at the moment, where the author describes the women in the French family she is marrying into. ‘They don’t diet’, she observes, ‘they just don’t eat’. At last, the secret.

The most interesting thing I found about our brief conversations in the shop was hearing why her and her family decided to leave France to travel a long, long way to settle in New Zealand. She told me when she was growing up her family travelled a lot and she had lived all over the world. When she went back to France she said she didn’t feel French anymore, as they were all so insular and thought France was the best at everything.

There’s nothing wrong with being proud of your country of course, but she said not being open to other ways of doing things got to her. And of the books I’ve read I would add that there are prescribed ways of doing things in France.

Also in Lunch in Paris, the American author’s French fiancee told her he always wanted to be a film director but when he went to a guidance counsellor he was told ‘you won’t make any money from that and it’s hard to get in’, and was given a list of alternative careers to pursue instead. They lived for a bit in New York City where he was encouraged by his fiancee to send out demos, which got great feedback and some good leads. This showed him how different America was to France.

So what am I trying to tell you here with my real French person sighting? a) my ears are always peeled for any hint of a French accent, b) observe everything about the person when you do detect one and c) living in France is not the be all and end all (oh, but imagine those cobbled streets and wooden front doors on Parisian side streets...)

Do as I do and take what you like best about France and the French, and adapt bits and pieces to make your own life, exactly where you are right now, as chic as you like.

Law Firm Marketing | Why Have a Blog?

I like to talk about law firm marketing, and I used to have a different site devoted to it. But I just decided I should combine everything here. So I am. Starting this week you should be getting one post devoted more to marketing a law firm and one devoted more to the other areas of starting a law firm. Sound good? Not hearing any responses from the crowd I'll assume that's a no (by the way, that's kind of a bad trial lawyer joke - I heard someone ask and respond to about fifty voir dire questions like that once - why not ask the question so you get some answers?!).

Today's post is about blogging. We all feel like we should be blogging, right. We are all blogging, right? But are we doing it correctly, that is the question. And is there even a way to do it incorrectly?

If you didn't know it, what I'm doing write now is blogging. The term originally came from weblog, which was supposed to be like a diary for a lot of people. Weblog was then shortened to blog, people found out that people would search out and read what they were writing, people found out they could make money from it, and it's been a little bit art and a little bit science ever since.

I could probably create a 300 page book on the art and science of blogging. There's really that much to it. But today, according to the title of my post, we're just here to answer "Why Have a Blog?" particularly in the law firm marketing sense. The other answer to why you should have a blog is because it's a great place to make yourself feel more important than you really are.

From a marketing perspective, you want your blog to do a couple of things when people find it. First, you want it to make a personal connection with the people that are reading it. For example, with this blog, I'm not stuffy. I tell you what I'm thinking in my own language and in my own style. Though you may not know much about me personally, I bet you kind of have a picture of who I am, at least from a law firm owner's standpoint. That's what you want. It will make it so when people call you to get help you won't need to sell them on what you can do. They'll just be verifying what they already feel from experiencing your web presence.

Second, you want to show people you know what you are talking about. If I got on here and told you about my dog Rufus all day, you probably wouldn't be relying on me very much for information related to marketing a law firm. So you have to talk about your topic, and you have to talk about it in a way that either answers people's common questions or invokes thought. I like to do a little bit of both. By blogging you can build up a perceived level of expertise that people will enjoy. It's a way of "showing" what you can do instead of "telling" what you can do.

And, by the way, don't talk about how experienced you are or how good you are (that's the "telling" I was referring to), that works about as good as telling a judge they should rule in your favor because you "believe it's the right thing." Show the judge why you're right, position yourself so there's only one way he can rule - yours - and you'll win the case. Same thing with clients. Position yourself so when they pick up the phone and call you they are thinking "this guy knows what he's doing - I want him to help me." That's effective law firm marketing.

Finally, you should have a blog because it is a cheap, easy way to significantly increase your web presence. Every time I write a post on this blog you see that I have links pointing all over the place - I do that on purpose. And every time I write a post on here I create a new web page. In some places, because of the way these posts set up as their own web pages, I've been able to the first, second, and third result in a Google search. Think about how much exposure you could create if you did that for your blog or website. The possibilities are endless. I'm not going to talk about blog set up here today - I've already talked about it before. But it's definitely a reason to have a blog.

Still not convinced you need a blog for your new law firm? Don't believe some of the things I'm saying? Have some follow up questions? There's a nice little spot for comments right below here. Instead of sending me an email, put in a comment. And if you read a comment and have an idea, respond. Maybe we can have an old fashioned discussion on here!

Happy marketing. Talk to you Friday.

Starting a Law Firm | General Practice or Niche Practice?

So we've had our law firm marketing post of the week. Now for the practice management arm of the blog. Today, as the title implies, we are going to talk about a general practice vs. a niche practice, and we're going to do so in the context of a comment I got a couple of days ago. Here it is:

Hi. I've been enjoying your blog. I've been trying to get the courage to set up my own law firm, and your blog is one of the most positive sources online. It should be said however that I'm here in Ireland, where the economy has completely tanked, and lawyers professional indemnity insurance is prohibitively expensive - a new sole practitioner is looking at €10,000+ which I think is about $12,000...Unlike in the US its not really feasible to practice solely as a DUI or Road Traffic Offense layer. Here, we tend to offer services across the board, from property work to wills and Probate to crime. Nonetheless, I think the key is to keep overheads low, market agressively and make sure you get paid for any work - those principles apply here too. Keep up the blogging. You'll probably be pleased that you,ve gone global!

To do this right we are going to break down each of these statements and really see if there are problems to be solved or if there are assumptions being made that may or may not be true out there in real life.



Here we go!



Before I get too far I want to point out that I'm not being critical of what the commenter said. In fact, I'm glad he or she had the guts to write in - that means they are serious about exploring starting a law firm. But if you are going to do this right, you've got to be open to hearing new ideas and having your ideas challenged. I'm going to do it for you now and I urge you to do it for me in the future (and trust me, I have people that do this for me now).



As I read the comment I noticed one thing immediately - excuses. Read it again, and imagine that he started by saying "I really want to start a law firm. But insurance is too expensive and there isn't enough work doing what I really want to do so I'm going to have to do a little bit of everything" instead of the way that he did. That's really what he's saying, right? So this is thought number one - try not to look at things as roadblocks or reasons why you shouldn't do something, particularly if you haven't thought out potential solutions to those roadblocks. Look at them as opportunities if you can.



Let's talk about the insurance first. So you have to pay $1000 a month for insurance. That sucks. But I wouldn't call it prohibitively expensive. And have you looked into what it costs if you tell the insurer that you practice one area of law specifically? If I were an insurer and you told me you did everything I'd charge you a bunch too. In the states our rates are based on our practice area - some are understandable riskier than others. Call your insurer and see if they'll adjust the rates if you promise to stick to a couple of specific areas of the law. The worst they can say is no.



Next, practice area. When you are starting a law firm, or thinking about it, one constant that runs through your mind is "what if no one calls." To subdue that fear you may plan to take whatever case comes in the door. If they pay you'll play. But I can tell you first hand when played out in the real world the opposite is true. If you are a general practitioner you end up making less money, getting less clients, and hating what you do.



The easiest way to put this into perspective is with an example. Let's say you are a potential DUI client or criminal client. You've just been charged with a crime and you need help. You start looking around and you find five attorneys that look at least outwardly promising. Four of the attorneys advertise that in addition to criminal defense they do wills, trusts, business planning, contracts, divorce, personal injury, transactional work, and trademark work. The fifth advertises that he's a criminal defense attorney. He's got a niche practice. His marketing materials are informative and provide a depth and level of information that the others just don't. This attorney actually answers your questions. Who would you choose if you needed criminal defense help?



So will your clients.



Let's take it one step further. Now the potential client comes in to talk to you. You tell him about your practice, answer all of his questions, and can tell him honestly that you focus specifically on criminal defense so that you can provide your customers the best opportunity for success. And then you tell them that your fee is double whatever anyone else charges. And then they pay it!



Let me break out here for one second. Clients will pay you higher fees for two reasons. First, they want someone who knows what they are doing. And they want someone who has an expertise in the area of law they need help with. The fact that everything about you says you are focused on this area of law is great for that. But second, and no less important, the higher fee conveys the exact same message! Believe it or not, people will pay more something if they see the value in it. And the higher price itself implies higher value!



Here's another advantage of choosing a practice area and sticking to it - you can identify your perfect client and then begin to go after them. You can also let others know who your perfect client is so they can start sending you business. General practitioners will take anyone. That means you have no target audience. If you focus on a practice area you can determine who your ideal client is and target them.



And finally, one last great thing about specializing, particularly in a market where no one specializes. Whatever practice area you choose it's not going to take you very long to become known as "the" guy that does whatever you do. The more you market yourself as a criminal lawyer as opposed to a lawyer, the more people will start to know you for that, and send business your way.



This whole discussion goes back to another important point I'd like everyone to consider when putting together your law practice and thinking about which direction you are going to take your practice - just because everyone does, or doesn't, do something doesn't mean it's the right, or wrong, thing to do. People love the status quo because it's safe. Everyone must be doing it because it works, right? Wrong. Everyone's doing it because they are too scared to be left behind instead of thinking about whether or not it works for them. A perfect example of this is the thought that specialized practices won't work because one else is doing it. The way I see it, that's exactly why it will work!



That's it for me for now. As always, if you have questions, let me know. If you disagree, let me know.

30 Chic Days – Day Seventeen

Day 17: Start a personal style journal

One of my 'books' I enjoy reading the most is my style journal. It has been grown over the years with torn out pages and advertisements from magazines, printed out blog posts and website articles, handwritten quotes, photocopied book passages and more.

The image above is an example of a snippet.

Interestingly, there are very few pictures of clothing in my style journal, and if there are they are quite classical. It's always been words and feelings that get my mind and inspiration going rather than pictures. I think that's why I don't get fashion magazines often, but string some evocative words together and I'm in heaven.

I don't read my style journal every day, but save it for every so often. That way it doesn't get stale. I throw away pages sometimes and add in new ones too.

Another reason why I don't have tons of pictures in my style journal is that I consider personal style more than just what you wear. I love reading articles or interviews of famous (and chic) people in which they detail the way the live.

What they do with their time, what they read, little things like perfume worn and their views on varying topics to name a few. Personal style to me is the whole package, and by creating my own style journal over time, it gives me a reflection back of what's important in my life.

30 Chic Days – Day Sixteen

Day 16: Tidy up as you go

On Sunday I had a long over-due day at home while my husband was at work. It was just me and the poodle. I pottered and tidied and did laundry and it was wonderful. I had missed my previous day off as a day-at-home because little Atlas had his vet check-up. We only have one car so I drop my husband off to work and pick up him afterwards. So my day at home included the home, but not me.

This meant nothing got done and because we’ve been busy at work I haven’t felt the motivation to get stuck into doing things when we’ve arrived home. Evenings are for relaxing! Not so relaxing though when the table by my armchair (under the reading lamp) has magazines piled piggledy, a layer of dust, extraneous extras (such as a knitting pattern I printed out for a ‘small dog’ jersey, our rescued poodle feels the cold being so thin).

Not to mention laundry accumulating and the bed haphazardly made.

I woke on Monday morning after such a good sleep, and a clean and tidy house only added to my well-being as I got ready for work. When a home is organised and neat, it’s so much easier to put something away. When I let things slide, what’s one more thing on the ‘to put away’ pile?

I am now being very diligent with tidying up as I go, as I have a few more of my days off work in the future where I won’t be able to be at home.

Just a simple thing like clearing out the living area before we go up to bed in the evening, putting remotes and tv guide in the basket by the sofa, wiping off the coffee table, putting cloth napkins in the washing basket, tea cups in the dishwasher and straighten my end table, removing things that should not be there. It’s much nicer to come down to in the morning.

30 Chic Days – Day Fifteen

Day 15: Act as if

Something I try to remember on a regular basis is ‘Act as if’. By pretending you are the person you want to be in certain situations actually helps you become that person. You must have heard the great advice that says ‘dress for the job you want, not the job you have’? Acting as if goes along with that.

To stand up for yourself act as if you are more confident than you already are.

To become slimmer, act as if you already are by making slim-person food choices and identifying yourself with slender people rather than overweight ones.

Some ways I 'act as if':

When I am overwhelmed at work with many tasks to undertake along with a ringing phone, customer emails and actual customers in the shop, I try to remember to act as if I was the most organised and charming person in the world, carrying off everything with ease.

If I come home after work tired and grumpy, ready to pour the wine and blob, I act as if I am motivated and chic, putting away whatever we’ve brought home with us, tidying up, changing into my relaxing clothes, starting dinner and pouring a glass of sparkling mineral water.

In the morning feeling too lazy to iron a cotton shirt even though I love the look, act as if I am my ideal French girl Sabine, breezily ironing in her Paris apartment (with lavender-scented air coming in the metal window frames overlooking the Parisian courtyard of her building), before getting dressed and running out to catch the Metro to work.

If you’ve read even one post of this blog, you’ll know I like to daydream and make up pretend-Paris scenarios in my head in order to motivate myself to live my chic dream life.

I would love to hear how you might turn around a dreaded task, situation or time into an enjoyable one and what you might do. How would you act as if?

Preparing for Hibernation--Building a Winter Writing Rhythm

Where I live in northern New England, it's getting toward winter.  The trees have lost most of their leaves, and it got so chilly last night, we almost didn't open the window in the bedroom.  The change of weather is bringing to mind vast snowy landscapes, the uncluttered look of deep winter.  My best writing time of the year.

As a painter and a writer, I've
learned to juggle the seasons according to what's most natural for each.  I'm grateful to live in a land of four seasons, which forces me to change tasks at least twice a year.   I like to paint outdoors, so the garden's full bloom is when I get easy inspiration.  Getting on winter?  Nothing happening outside?  It's time to write. 

Step One:  Clear the Decks
Like an animal preparing for hibernation, I have ways to get ready for the creative possibilities of winter.  I clean up the garden, getting the summer bounty harvested, everything but the last kale, Brussels sprouts, and cabbage, which sweeten with frost.  Or, on a beautiful October afternoon, I might start washing windows--I truly appreciate the clear views all winter when I sit at my writing desk.  I may sort through errant paper piles in my office, filing away the summer's teaching notes.  I start collecting books to stack by the bed for winter reading.  If I'm really ambitious, I attack the clothes closets and toss stuff I haven't worn in a year.

Mindless activities, to get my creative brain in gear, to get me thinking about what I want to explore on paper.  Metaphorically clearing the decks.  Step one of building my winter writing rhythm.     

Step Two:  Wish Lists
Once the cleaning-up cycle is completed as best I have time for, I begin my wish lists.  I dream on paper about the writing ahead.  This winter I am in final revision for my next novel, so I'm sketching out deeper questions about the characters, the theme, the pacing--all revision activities.

Lists help me focus the interior of my winter writing life, remind me about the benefits of writing regularly, with purpose and rhythm.  When I don't like linear lists, I draw big circles and make a cluster of my ideas.

Step Three:  Building a Writing Rhythm
A few weeks ago, I learned about a glorious little book on writing rhythm.  It's called One Continuous Mistake by the Buddhist writer Gail Sher.  Sher simplifies her writing life down to regular practice; what you write is not as vital as the fact that you do write.  Regularly.  Sher offers great steps to building a writing rhythm.  As I read her short chapters, I feel my anxiety decreasing.  The distractions of a full and rich life won't ever go away, but I'll be able to write anyway.   

I've learned the anticipation and anxiety about writing is much harder than the writing itself.  Sher reminds us to just sit and pick up the pen.  Just begin.  Again and again, it's that simple.  Despite the house, my teaching job, wonderful clients and students who need manuscript help, my beloved spouse and teenager, the dust on the stair corners, only two onions left in the bowl, snow tires, that unexpected dentist appointment, a call from a teacher about late homework.  Despite it all, I write. 

This Week's Writing Exercise
1.  Take some time to design your writing this winter.  What would you like to focus on?
2.  See where you might be able to clear some distractions.  Anything you can clean up, put away, throw out to give yourself more inner and outer space?  Clear one unnecessary thing from your life this week.
3.  Take out your calendar and make a date for yourself this week.  You and your writing are going to take an hour away, just the two of you.
4.  When the time comes, just begin.  Take up the pen and start. 

30 Chic Days – Day Fourteen

Day 14: Make your husband, and sex, a priority

I don’t really have much to say about this subject as I’m quite a private girl and I would be blushing. A romance writer I am not. Just do it often and have fun.

Some sexy French inspiration is available from two books by Kirsten Lobe - Paris Hangover and the rather more racy French Trysts (Secrets of a Courtesan). Goodness me, this American author will make your hair curl, but she’s funny and tells a great story of living in Paris.

Law Firm Marketing | Getting Your Money

We all know this blog is about starting a law firm. There are tons of questions when you are starting out that need to be answered: what kind of business entity do you want; where are you going to have an office; are you going to have an office; how are you going to set up the phones; how much is insurance? The list goes on and on. But the more I talk to people about starting a law firm and the more I grow in my business, the more I see it coming down to two things - law firm marketing and getting your money. So I'm going to talk about both of them today, and I'm going to probably lean more toward talking about them in the future. Here we go!

Law Firm Marketing - Matchbooks and Internet Marketing

I had lunch with this guy this week, we'll call him Alphie. I met Alphie about a year ago. He'd just gone out on his own and wanted to hear what I had to say about internet marketing. So we met. I told him what I did, which involves about two hours of work a day (or at least it did at that time) and he was blown away. I knew right away he wouldn't put the work in - it just didn't seem like a priority for him.

So we met, and I asked him how he was doing, and I don't even remember what he said but on his face I could see that he was struggling. I asked him if he was doing the law firm internet marketing stuff like we'd talked about and he said no, he just didn't have the time (we'll get to that aspect of the talk in the getting your money portion of this post). So I asked him what he was doing to get new business. Know what he told me? Matchbooks.

Turns out he talked to some old lawyer that told him about a guy he knew that used to drop off a bunch of matchbooks with his information on it around town and the guy was getting all kinds of clients off of it. "Okay," I said. "What's your plan when you get the matchbooks?"

"Oh, I think I'll just drop a bunch of them off at a couple of bars around where I live. I've gotten to know some of the guys there and they are always telling me I should leave a couple of cards."

Timeout. Do you see the problem here? Or, I mean, problems? Take a couple of minutes to think about it before you read further. What is wrong with his approach here?

Did you think about it?

Really? Come on, don't just skip to the end!

Okay, let's break this down. First, the matchbooks for law firm marketing. I have no idea if that idea works. Maybe it does. The way I see it, the only way you are going to get someone to call you like that is if you get people to put them in their cars or their house. No one is thinking about which DUI lawyer they're going to call when they are in the bar. They are thinking about hanging out with their friends or hooking up with that chick.

Let's assume it does work. Problem number one with what he's doing is that he's got absolutely no plan to utilize the matchbooks. "I think I'm going to drop a couple off at some bars around my house." Really? Maybe you should think about it a little bit more. Maybe instead of just feeling good because you dropped a couple hundred bucks on matchbooks you should think about how that couple hundred bucks investment is going to pay off for you.

Problem number two with what Alphie told me was he could have just dropped off some cards! Not only are the cards better than matchbooks because they would probably be given to the patrons with a personal referral ("use this guy, he's good") but the cards are something anyone can throw in their wallet and keep. If anyone ever tells you to bring over a bunch of business cards, by all means do it!

I hope the matchbooks work for him. The problem is I don't think he's really thought about how to use them so he actually gets some clients from them. If you haven't thought of that or can't come up with an answer for that, then you should think twice about letting go of your hard earned money to pay for it.

Starting a Law Firm | Getting Paid

Another thing that struck me in my conversation with Alphie was how busy he seemed compared to how much he was struggling financially. He told me he was having a hard time getting people to pay. Now, before I get too far on this subject, I want to tell you the golden rule of opening a successful law firm - if people don't pay, you don't work for them.

The sooner you learn this lesson, the faster you will become successful. That means if you don't have a credit card number, post dated checks, or some other way to collect money, you better be damn sure the client knows if they don't pay you will be off the case immediately. And then when the time comes to get off the case, you've got to get off the case. Cut your losses. If you don't people will milk you and milk you until their case is over and you have no leverage to get your money. Get your money up front.

And here's lesson number two that goes right along with this - you don't need work to be successful. Most attorneys I know feel like if they aren't doing work they aren't successful. To achieve this feeling of success they'll take clients they know won't pay and do work they don't want to do. This is a recipe for disaster. In reality it erodes your confidence, makes you hate your job and your clients, and leaves you broke. Who really wants that?

When Alphie described this exact problem to me I told him what I did when these feelings crept up - I worked harder at marketing and executing my plan. If someone couldn't afford me, I sent them to someone cheaper. If someone needed help in an area that I didn't want to work in, I referred them to someone that worked in that area. And if the phone wasn't ringing I kept busting my ass doing law firm internet marketing. The phone started ringing, my clients pay, and it's all good.

The bottom line is, if you want to get paid, you either have to get it up front, get a credit card number, or get some post dated checks. If the credit card goes bad, the checks don't clear, or something else crops up, you can't call the client and say "there must be a mistake, the card isn't working," because they'll just give you an excuse. You've got to instead say (politely), "we have an agreement. I'm busting my ass for you in your case and I deserve to be paid for it. If you don't meet your obligations by x date, our arrangement will be over." And then if they don't pay, end the arrangement.

It's extremely scary when the phone isn't ringing and you're not sure if you are ever going to have a steady stream of clients. At that point you have one of two choices - you can take on the bad client or you can put more work back into your firm. I don't have to tell you which decision yields the best results.