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How Does Your Customer Service Stack Up?

Workshop Customer Service Contest alternate photo low resby Mike O’Mary

When they talk about a service economy, they don’t necessarily mean good service.

I recently came across some examples of customer service that indicate to me that if we are becoming more and more a service economy, we may be in serious trouble.

For example, I went to a fast food establishment and approached the counter. There were several cash registers spaced out across the length of the counter, and I stopped at the first one I came to. It wasn’t a busy time. As a matter of fact, I was the only customer in the place. There was one cashier behind the counter. After a few moments, the cashier approached me and asked if I had been waited on. I said no, at which point the cashier walked all the way to the register at the far end of the counter and pronounced, to no one in particular, “Can I help someone?” No wonder there was no one else in the place.

I wasn’t too surprised to receive that kind of service from adolescent counter help at a fast food place, but I was surprised to hear about the owner of a local restaurant who treats his customers well when they’re patronizing his establishment, but doesn’t extend the same courtesy to them elsewhere. In this case, the restaurant owner apparently had a problem with his bank statement. He took the statement to the bank, threw it on the desk of a bank employee, and started berating the employee. The mistake wasn’t the employee’s fault, and she did everything she could to help, but that didn’t seem to matter. What the restaurant owner neglected to consider was the fact that the bank employee, her parents and some of her friends–including me–were all patrons of his restaurant. Now, none of us are.

When it comes to customer service, the old adage applies: Do unto others as you would have them do unto you. Endeavor to treat EVERYBODY as your customer or prospective customer. That adolescent kid at the fast food place might need a freelancer some day.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, an independent book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

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The End is Near

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Tropical landby Mike O’Mary

The universe is about 10 billion years old. A few years ago, two astrophysicists predicted that the stars will start to die en masse in about 5 billion years, and in 20 or 30 billion years, our own sun is expected to die. After that, black holes will take over, swallowing up everything over the next 60 billion years. The universe will be totally black.

No wonder I feel like driving right by the office some mornings.

Another group of scientists recently claimed to have found “proof positive” of a massive asteroid that destroyed nearly all life on earth–including the dinosaurs–65 million years ago. Incredibly, new species began appearing only 5,000 years later, and eventually, human beings evolved. It’s nice to know that if life were wiped out tomorrow by another big asteroid, it would only be another 50 million years or so before America would once again be teeming with discount stores and fast food chains.

Hearing about the ultimate fate of the universe and the havoc that a single falling rock can cause can make it difficult to go on with your daily routine. At the same time, such scientific discoveries help put everything else in perspective. So some morning when there are no asteroids in the forecast and when the sun looks like it will shine forever, have a hot cup of coffee and ask yourself, “Why am I here?” and “What am I doing with my life?” The answers aren’t always easy to come by, but you’ve only got a few billion years and you owe it to yourself to contemplate the questions.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, an independent book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

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Becoming a Writer

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becoming a writerby Mike O’Mary

I am editing a book about creative writing. I’m very excited about it. It’s more of a “why” write, rather than a “how” to write. But in the process of talking about why write, the author sheds a lot of light on how to write, as well. I think it’s going to be a great book. I’ll tell you more about it as we get closer to publication later this year.

For now, I want to tell you about another book about writing. Editing this current manuscript prompted me to refer back to one of the first books I read about writing: Becoming a Writer by Dorothea Brande. If you are familiar with Brande’s book, you know the story…written in the 1930s by a woman whose teaching techniques incorporated right-brain thinking and transcendental meditation long before those concepts were popular…long before there were even names for those things! The book went out of print, but was brought back to life and light in 1981 with an introduction by John Gardner. The book is a treasure.

I said earlier that the book I am currently editing isn’t about how to write; it’s about why we write. Similarly, Becoming a Writer isn’t about how to write; it’s about how to be a writer. It’s very inspiring. If you’re not familiar with it, give it a read.

Another great book about writing is The Artist’s Way by Julia Cameron. But more on that book another day. In the meantime, I’m curious: what books do you turn to for inspiration or instruction or motivation when it comes to your writing?

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, an independent book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

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Speechwriting Secrets

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iStock_000007686598XSmallby Mike O’Mary

For most of the past 20 years, I’ve made my living writing speeches, presentations and annual reports for CEOs and other executives. It can be stressful sometimes, but the pay is decent, and it’s not really all that difficult – not if you know the two little secrets I’m about to tell you.

Secret #1: I’ve been asked many times about writing for executives. Here’s how I usually approach the task: I take inventory of all the information that is available to me…past speeches and presentations, newsletters, news releases, notes from interviews, etc., — anything that might be useful. I immerse myself in the material, take copious notes and absorb as much information as I can. Then I put it all aside, kick back and ask myself, “WWCD — What Would the CEO Do?” That’s Secret #1. You have to be willing to put all of your notes aside, trust your judgment, and put yourself in his or her shoes.

Secret #2: People often say to me, “Wow, you did a really great job of capturing the CEO’s voice. How did you do it?” The answer: I listened to what the CEO said. That almost sounds facetious, doesn’t it? But it’s not. That’s my secret. You would be surprised at how many people hear what they want to hear instead of what is said. Or they hear what the CEO said but they don’t agree with it — or they think they can say it better. And sometimes an idea can be expressed more clearly or more eloquently (eloquentlier?). But one of the keys to being a good writer is being a good listener. Don’t ever forget that. I can’t tell you how many times I’ve been in meetings with a CEO or other executive, quietly listening and taking notes while other people are blabbing away, making their opinions known. I come away with pages and pages of notes. I weave those notes into speeches, often giving the CEO’s words back to him or her verbatim, and the CEO reacts by saying, “Yes! This sounds like something I would say!”

Don’t make your job as a speechwriter harder than it is. Use what is given to you. Then your job is simply a matter of figuring out how to put it together.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, an independent book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

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Avoiding the Paper Bin

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iStock_000009310130XSmallby Mike O’Mary

Dream of Things has a Fan Page on Facebook, and a while back, somebody left a message for me on the Dream of Things wall: “Ever time try write storys use go in paper bin because stoys not at good.”

At first, I didn’t know what to say. But I thought about it, and then I wrote back: “I think I understand. I have days like that, too.”

Actually, I have a lot of days like that, and recently I kind of hit a wall. Which is why this post is about taking care of yourself and making sure you get plenty of rest and relaxation.

I hit a wall mentally and physically after four months of working 70-80 hours a week. I launched a new publishing company and online bookstore, published two books, started soliciting submissions for 15 anthologies of creative nonfiction, recruited and retained seven editors to edit those 15 anthologies, started contributing to The Freelance Zone, and began editing two book-length manuscripts. And that was in my spare time because I also have a day job. This past weekend, I couldn’t think any more. So I took the weekend off. I went for a walk on Saturday, then spent the afternoon cleaning out my closets, trying on old pants (I had somehow accummulated about 40 pairs of pants) and setting aside anything that didn’t fit for donation to charity. Then Sunday afternoon, I went to the Green Mill in Chicago for some live jazz and to celebrate my girlfriend’s birthday. It was a much-needed break.

When I was freelancing, one of the things I found most challenging was battling the feeling that I could never completely relax. I always felt I needed to be looking for the next assignment, and I never told a client “no” because I never knew when the client might call again. But relaxation is critical to your well-being. Otherwise, it is very difficult to do the very demanding work of writing and editing. So turn off that laptop, put on some music and try on some pants (or try on whatever you like to try on to relax), and live today so you can write again tomorrow.

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, an independent book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.

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A Larger Truth

Didionby Mike O’Mary

Twenty years ago, when I got an MFA in creative writing, fiction and poetry were the only options when it came to areas of emphasis. Since then, creative nonfiction has gained equal footing with fiction and poetry in the eyes of academia, and many MFA programs now offer an emphasis in creative nonfiction.

Of course, readers are less interested in the views of academia than in a good read. Consequently, readers have known for decades what MFA programs have finally figured out: creative nonfiction is hot! And there are many places to publish -– everywhere from Harper’s to your local paper. In fact, before I published creative nonfiction “essays” in the Sunday Magazines of the Chicago Tribune, Baltimore Sun and others, I got my first breaks with newspapers like the Peoria Journal Star and the Joliet Herald.

In a www.creativenonfiction.org article, Lee Gutkind, often described as the “Godfather of creative nonfiction,” says creative nonfiction “offers flexibility and freedom while adhering to the basic tenets of reportage. In creative nonfiction, writers can be poetic and journalistic simultaneously.”

In that same article, Gutkin quotes Gay Talese, who described creative nonfiction this way: “Though often like fiction, it is not fiction. It is, or should be, as reliable as the most reliable reportage, although it seeks a larger truth than is possible through the mere compilation of verifiable facts.”

There are lots of great examples of authors who sought “a larger truth” in their creative nonfiction. Some of my favorites are Joan Didion (The White Album and Slouching Toward Bethlehem), Michael Herr (Dispatches), Barry Lopez (Arctic Dreams), Frank McCourt (Angela’s Ashes), Tom Wolfe (The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test and The Right Stuff), Maxine Hong Kingston (The Woman Warrior), and Mary Karr (The Liar’s Club). Who are your favorite authors of creative nonfiction? And when do you plan to join their ranks?

Mike O’Mary is founding dreamer of Dream of Things, a book publisher currently accepting creative nonfiction stories for anthologies on 15 topics.