"I Know Joy Lives 'Round the Corner" - Getting Interviews

Bear with me; I am operating on a few hours of sleep. Last Friday, I finally resumed sending queries to a list of people whom I want to interview right now. Frequently, I don't hear anything back. After all, a lot of people affiliated with Prince have signed non-disclosure agreements. However, I was surprised to get responses over the last several days, even if they weren't exactly what I was looking for. Here is what I heard this past week:

1. "I don't think I can help." My subject matter is very specific. Some people will not be able to speak about Prince's religious journey or the spiritual content in his music. Still, it's valuable to interview them  to confirm general facts about Prince's life and career, so it's always a bummer when they say no right away.


2. "I charge for interviews." This is the second time I've heard this since I started the project. Some people want a lot of money, too. In order to remain as objective as possible, I do not pay for interviews.


3. "Call me back." This is always exciting to hear, but you really can't get your hopes up. Sometimes, the person just doesn't pick up. In fact, I called the person today and that is exactly what happened. However, there is always tomorrow.

The silver lining is that for every handful of "no's," there is someone who is willing to talk. Hopefully, I will have another interview to share with everyone soon.

"Take a Picture, Sweetie!" - Odds and Ends from the Past Week

Sorry for the late post. My sister is in town and we were catching up yesterday.

Here is a peek into my writing process...

Work Space

Files

More Research

Snack

Napping Spot

"My Only Competition is, Well, Me..." - Prince and Michael Jackson

During my research, I came across this fun article about Prince and Michael Jackson via Vibe magazine. It's not relevant to my book, but I wanted to share because it's such an interesting read.

"Michael Jackson Vs. Prince: An Oral History"

The article chronicles the so-called rivalry between the two artists, and features interviews with several people who worked with them. I especially liked reading comments from Michael Jackson's engineer, Bruce Swedien; I remember seeing his name in MJ's CD booklets when I was younger. 

I won't ask you which artist is better; I honestly don't think you can compare the two. They are different types of musicians and entertainers. 

I hope you enjoy the article! 

"In this Digital Age..." - Online Activities this Week

Quick post this week. I'm just trying to focus on rewriting chapter two. However, I did take some time out to tend to a couple of online activities related to the book:

I FINALLY signed up for Dropbox! After the computer crash of 2012, I've been backing up my work on two drives, but one of my blog readers suggested that I also store my book online (privately). I finally took the advice.

Also, it's time to renew my domain for apurpledayindecember.com. I'm so glad that it's automatically renewed each year. However, I took time to write down the renewal dates for the website, along with ericawrites.com, just so I'm in the loop.

Pretty boring stuff. Back to writing...

Do you use Dropbox?