Category Archives: social networking

The Business of Managing a Business

Hey there everybody, long time no see.

Do you know that feeling happens when you wake up all bright-eyed and bushy-tailed, excited to get some solid work done?

So you get up, take your meds, and decide to start your day by wrapping up some small projects. Get a nice clean slate. Clear your desk so you can focus on getting the really important stuff done.

But when you open up your e-mail, you realize that first you need to catch up on e-mail. Because when you look up from the bottom of your inbox it’s such a deep hole that all you can see is a faint a circle of light like they talk about in The Ring.

So you’re doing e-mail, clearing out the chaff, making progress, apologizing to the folks you’ve meant to reply to for months. Then someone texts you with a quick question looking for clarification about a contract, and then someone *else* pings you on Signal asking if you want to be on a panel at a convention. Then you have a skype call so you can do some art direction about the illustrations for the upcoming French edition of your book…

(Yes. Seriously. Art by the Amazing Marc Simonetti.)

So you get that about 73% finished before you have to jump into a meeting about who is going to be your literary executor just in case you get hit by a bus the next time you go out for coffee, and it’s an important meeting, but it’s really complicated, and you don’t *quite* get it finished before you have to have a conference call about copyrighting certain parts of your IP…

Then, eventually, you realize it’s 11:00 at night, and despite spending your whole day doing things, you feel like you haven’t gotten anything done.

If you *don’t* know what that’s like. I’m delighted for you. But that pattern has been my default for… like… a really long time.

None of you will be shocked to hear that I am not a natural organizer. Sure I make lists. I make lots of lists. Then eventually I have to find and organize the lists that were meant to keep me organized in the first place. So I make a list of the lists I need to organize.

As a friend of mine very correctly said recently: I am a chaos generator.

So. We here at Rothco are finally biting the bullet and hiring a business manager. Or rather, we’ve been going through the laborious process of figuring out what exactly we want/need from a business manager. In order to do this, we’ve been creating some sort of arcane document called a… Jorb Listing?

Surprising no-one, even this step of the process has been a bit… chaotic. As shown by this screencap of an early draft of the google doc:

(Please help me.)

In a nutshell, I need someone to help manage my… everything. Someone with experience and training to help my team handle the day-to-day business of things so I can focus on doing the things that only *I* can do. Like write books and spend time with my kids.

I’ve been deliberating for a long time as to whether or not to mention this job on the blog.

On one hand, I want to get the word out. I want as many applicants as possible, because I want to find someone *amazing* for this job. (Also because I don’t want to have to go through the time-consuming and excruciating process of doing a second job search later.)

And, truth be told, y’all are pretty amazing, so it only makes sense that I’d like to open the door for you to apply. What’s more, I’m guessing a lot of you know some amazing people that you might want to mention this job to. Being a fan isn’t a requirement for this job, so if y’all know any great organizers/managers with experience who are either looking for a job, or looking to change jobs…

(My expectations are super reasonable.)

But here’s the problem, posting the job here might lead to some real hassle. It takes a long time to go through applications, and if we get 300 people applying just for shits and giggles, it’s going to waste a *ton* of time. And time is in short supply here.

So here’s the thing. I vouched for you. I told my team that y’all are cool. I’ve reassured them that even though some of you might be tempted to throw in a joke application, you wouldn’t actually do that. Because yeah, sure, one joke application might be funny. But 200 of them will waste a week of my team’s time, and make it *harder* for me to actually find the person I’m looking for.

So here it goes:

*****

  • Elodin Enterprises Seeks Full-Time Business Manager:

Elodin Enterprises is a Stevens Point-based company that works with the intellectual property, licensing, and merchandising for the author Patrick Rothfuss. In addition to this, we collaborate closely with Worldbuilders, the non-profit founded by Pat. We are looking for a business manager who will be able to plan and lead varied projects, manage employees, act as liaison and coordinator, and generally ensure everything Elodin Enterprises works consistently, efficiently and smoothly. 

We are looking for a business manager to plan and lead varied projects, streamline workflow, and facilitate a workspace where Pat is able to pursue his creative work productively. Our long-term goal is to separate the creative elements of Elodin Enterprises from day-to-day operations. 

We’re looking for a leader who can manage initiatives on time, oversee employees to ensure that they are functioning at optimum levels, and provide an efficient, flexible structure around which our ideas and people can continue to grow. 

Our ideal candidate is a talented individual who is self-motivated and committed to making the world a better place. This position will involve a high level of communication, organization, planning, and problem-solving. As someone in a high-level position in the organization, you would also be responsible for supporting a positive work environment. 

Key Responsibilities:

  • Project oversight and management 
  • Oversight and management of employees
  • Setting and completing productive business goals
  • Ensure long term financial stability 
  • Understand, develop, and operate within our brand

Required Skills

  • Very skilled with Google Apps (Calendar, Drive, Gmail, Groups, etc)
  • Meticulous and detail oriented
  • Critical thinker who makes good, informed, and ethical decisions
  • Extremely good at writing and email communication
  • Task driven and able to work independently
  • Extraordinarily organized
  • Fast learner at new programs and processes
  • Maintaining complete and accurate files
  • Working with company accountants
  • Managing a small team of full-time employees
  • Valid driver’s license and reliable transportation

Helpful, but not required experience:

  • Familiarity with Android phones
  • OBS and other streaming software
  • Discord, Slack, Skype, and other communications software
  • Contract reading and negotiation
  • Familiarity with Microsoft Excel and Microsoft Office
  • Property/Facilities Management
  • Product development

The position will require the ability to oversee many projects simultaneously, maintaining timelines and deadlines for all of them, while ensuring that the rest of the team is doing the same. As a small organization, we may ask that you pitch in as odds-and-ends tasks come up.

This position is full-time and is based in Stevens Point, Wisconsin. Pay will be commensurate with experience. Position includes health care benefits, vacation and holiday time off.

Elodin Enterprises is an equal opportunity employer.

To apply for this position, please submit a cover letter and resume to jobs(@)patrothfuss.com.

Deadline for application is July 25th.

*****

Okay folks. I’m trusting you. Please share this around with anyone you think might be legitimately interested and qualified.

I’m also trusting you *not* to apply just because you hate your current job and were totally an assistant manager at a Pizza Hut that one summer.

On the other hand, if you’d like to apply for OTHER jobs in the comments below, I’d love to see what you have to offer Rothco. Think you’d be a great minion? List your unique skills below. Want to be my Dolphin wrangler? Food taster? Court Jester? Lovely. I’m eager to see what qualifications you bring to the table.

Just make sure to do it in the comments below, not in the e-mail above.

Share and enjoy,

pat

Also posted in a ganglion of irreconcilable antagonisms, calling on the legions, I am completely fucking serious, The Art of Letting Go, the business of writing | By Pat228 Responses

A Happy Ending…

Those of you who follow my Facebook page might have caught wind of a little adventure I had out at San Diego ComicCon this year.

Specifically, you might have read this post I made on Saturday night.

*     *     *

Okay. Everybody, I need your help.

I’m at ComicCon. I met a lovely Swedish fan who said that she’d flown out to the con mostly to see me.

I said, Wow. Really?

She said, Yes Really.

So I got her phone number, and told her that when I had a spare couple hours I’d call her so we could grab coffee or something. My thought is, you come from Sweden to see me, I can spare time for coffee.

But when I called her an hour ago, someone else answered the phone. She’d left her phone on a bus, and a stranger had found it.

So I tracked that person down and got the phone.

So here’s the deal. Swedish fan. I have your phone. I was an idiot, and I didn’t write down your name, so I can’t find you on facebook.

You should call your phone, and we’ll arrange to get it back to you. Plus maybe grab coffee.

Or you should message me here on facebook, and we’ll get in contact that way.

Everyone else, could you Like this and share this around so she has a decent chance of seeing it?

Or, if you know who this is, can you send her a message to let her know what’s up?

Thanks everyone,

pat

*     *     *

I felt really bad for her, how much must it suck to be in a foreign country and lose your phone?

This was all I could think to do. Not much of a master plan, but it’s the only thing I could think to do.

I would have looked though her phone for a number or some information I could use to contact her. But it locked itself down and required a password. At least, I *think* that’s what it was asking for. It was in Swedish, after all.

On top of that, I felt jerky that I couldn’t remember her name. True, I’d signed about a hundred books before we swapped numbers, but I still felt jerky about it. That at least would have given me a place to start trying to track her down.

Thankfully, my lovely readers backed my play on facebook, liking and sharing my message-in-a-bottle post to a ridiculous degree. Thousands of folk helped out. This provides further proof for my “People are inherently good” theory.

And you know what? It worked. When I got back to my hotel room late that night, I had a message:

Hi Pat, this is your Swedish fan with the lost phone!

Have to admit its a bit surreal though, first meeting you, my absolute favorite author and getting your phone number plus possibility of a having a coffee at my first ever stay in America. That was really more than my little fan heart could take. Then the feeling of hitting rock bottom when I lost the phone with said number a day later. Now finding your message on the fb, it goes way beyond surreal and into the realms of things that just don’t happen in real life!

Her name, it turned out, was Jenny. I remember it now.

We messaged back and forth, set up a time and place, and the next day I got together with Jenny and her traveling companions.

We got our coffee and had a lovely conversation about many things, including how we Americans have serious problems with women, sex, and women’s sexuality. This is a favorite topic of mine, and it was nice to discuss it with folks who aren’t part of American culture. It was a good time.

Jenny also gave me a picture she’d drawn of Kvothe. I’d post it up here, but I don’t have access to it on this computer. I’ll scan it in and post it up later.

So there you go. Those of you who were curious have the end of the story. And it’s a happy ending to boot.

We all need a happy ending every now and then….

pat

Also posted in cool news, European Adventures, Tales from the Con | By Pat63 Responses

New Year’s Resolutions

I’m not the sort of person who makes new year’s resolutions.

In fact, I don’t think I’ve ever made any new year’s resolutions. Ever.

But yesterday, I wandered onto goodreads and fired up this little “reading challenge” widget they have. There’s not much to it. You set a goal for how many books you want to read over the course of the year, then this thing tracks your progress.

Last year I tried it on a whim and made my goal of 150 books even though I was sloppy about keeping track. This year I decided to shoot for 250, which is probably closer to what I actually read in a year.

Ever since I fired up that silly little widget, I’ve been thinking about new year’s resolutions. Which is odd, because, like I said, I don’t typically go in for that sort of thing.

Philosophically, the concept of making a resolution has never made much sense to me. It seems to me that if you really want to do something, you should just fucking do it. Resolving to do it is sort of a bullshit intermediary step. If I’m hungry, I don’t *resolve* to go eat lunch. I just find food and put it in my mouth. Simple. Problem solved.

So why am I thinking about New Year’s Resolutions?

I think the main reason is that I had a really great New Years. Some friends came to visit. We played board games, did some tabletop role-playing, and just hung out.

It was the most fun I’ve had in ages. And after everyone went home, I felt good. Not just happy, but physically and emotionally healthy. I felt like a million dollars.

No. I felt better than that. I felt like a second season of Firefly.

Seriously. A full 22 episode season. I felt that good.

Ever since then, I’ve been rolling it around in my head. 2011 was a pretty good year for me. Book two was finally published. The Wise Man’s Fear hit #1 on the New York Times. I met Terry Pratchett, got to perform at Wootstock, and attended some very cool conventions.

(Speaking of conventions. I’m Guest of Honor at Confusion later this month. You should swing on by if you can. Jim Hines is going to be there, as is Joe Abercrombie, Peter V. Brett, Brent Weeks….

Holy shit. Robin Hobb is going to be there too. I didn’t know that until I just checked their website. How awesome is that?)

But anyway, yeah. 2011 was my first official signing tour. I met thousands of my readers all over the country. (Though I realize now, as I go looking for a link, that I never got around to blogging about that. I probably should at some point.)

For now, a picture will suffice. Here’s a shot I took from the podium at my first signing of the tour in Seattle.

(They were a great crowd.)

If you look at the highlight reel of 2011, it looks like I’m living the dream.

I’ve actually had people say that to me over this last year: “Congratulations! You’re living the dream!”

I know they’re just excited for me. But whenever I hear that, I think, “Whose dream? I don’t ever remember dreaming this….”

Now don’t get be wrong. Parts of this year have been profoundly cool. I love conventions. I love talking about writing and hanging out with readers. I love getting to meet authors that I’ve been reading my whole life.

But the fact remains that a lot of times, after going to a convention I feel exhausted and hammered flat on both sides.

On the other hand, after hanging out with my friends on New Years, I feel like I could lift a truck over my head with one hand, then go write for ten hours straight.

Looking back over these last couple years, I realize that most of my close friends left town back in 2007, just as my first book was getting published. They were getting jobs in other parts of the country, going to grad school, joining Americorp….

I missed them, of course, but I was plenty busy getting used to the whole published-author life. I started writing this blog. I signed up for Facebook. I did some signings, started attending conventions….

At the same time, I quit teaching at the University. Quit coaching fencing. Quit acting as advisor to the College Feminists.

When I look at things with the clarity of hindsight, it’s blindingly obvious what the end result of all this is: I’m suffering from a rather specialized sort of social isolation. The sort of isolation where I can go online at any point and interact with 10,000 people.

I never thought of it like this before, but hanging out with friends is psychologically healthy. Facebook and blogging and going to conventions is the social equivalent of eating Pringles. It’s fun. It’s tasty. It’s relatively harmless in moderation. But if you eat nothing *but* Pringles, you die.

Similarly, lack of genuine hanging out with real friends must lead to a sort of psychological scurvy.

This is the situation I’ve accidentally backed into.It wasn’t until I hung out with my old friends again that I realized how much I missed that. How much some part of me was starving.

So. Over these last couple days I’ve been thinking about my life. I’ve been thinking about the difference between things I do that are fun, and things I do that actually make me happy.

For example, playing some stupid flash game on my computer might be fun, but playing board games with my friends makes me happy.

Or, for another example, it might be fun to do a reading at a convention, but hanging out with little Oot makes me happy.

The difference seems to be this. If something is merely fun, it’s mostly enjoyable while you’re doing it. Something that makes you happy is different. It’s enjoyable afterwards, too. Minesweeper and cocaine are fun (reportingly.) But talking with Oot about ducks or watching Buffy with friends make me happy.

Now don’t get me wrong. I’m not saying that fun doesn’t have its place. I plan on playing the hell out of Skyrim when I have the chance.

What I’m saying is that my priorities have gotten seriously out of alignment. These days, flying to San Diego for a convention don’t just feel easy, it seems like a  professionally responsible for me to do. At the same time, driving down to Madison to hang out with friends, have dinner, and watch Avenue Q seems like an extravigant and impractical use of my time.

That’s some fucked up mental arithmetic.

So, in an effort to de-kink my thinkings, I’ve decided to make some changes to my life.

In fact, I’ve done more than merely *decide* to do these things. I’ve built up bad habits in these last years, and it’s going to take some effort to break them. So I’m going to *resolve* to do them.

Here they are:

1. I’m going to hang out with Oot at least two hours every day. I’m going to make it a priority, rather than something I try to fit in around the edges of the other stuff I have going on in my life.

2. I’m going to do my damnedest to hang out with my friends at least twice a month for the express purpose of playing games, hanging out, watching movies, and just generally dicking around.

3. I’m going to start exercising at least three times a week. Because, y’know, I don’t really want to die from author-related sitting-on-my-ass-ness.

At this point, the righteous self-improvement impulse starts to gather steam and I’m tempted to continue adding things. Turning this into a laundry list of me-betterment that include things like, “pet more fluffy kittens,” “smell even better,” and “floss regularly.”

But no. I’d rather pick three important things and actually do them, rather than list 50 things then get frustrated and quit after a month.

Why am I posting these things here on the blog?

The simple answer is because… well… writing things out helps me figure out where exactly my head is on a particular subject.

In fact, I just now realize that’s a lot of the reason I bother with the blog. If my friends still lived in town, I’d hang out with them and chat about this stuff in my living room, using them as a sort of sounding board. But since they don’t, I kinda hang out in my head with y’all and write blogs.

Which, now that I’m thinking about it, might be kinda crazy behavior.

The other reason I’m posting this up here is because I know myself pretty well. I’m prideful. If I make a public declaration like this, I’m much more likely to follow through with it.

Lastly, I figured I might as well post my musings up here with the hope they might be interesting/helpful to anyone else who is having trouble adjusting to this whole living life as a grown-up thing. I was really good at being a broke, mouthy, irreverent college student. But this being-an-adult shit can be really hard sometimes….

Feel free to post up your own resolutions in the comments. Especially if you’re like me, and think that going public might help you keep them.

Keep on tranglin,

pat

Also posted in meeting famous people, musings, the man behind the curtain, things I shouldn't talk about | By Pat96 Responses

Various and Sundry things.

A couple days after watching Prince Caspian and going all frothy about it, I watched Wall-E.

Pixar never fails to amaze me. I can’t help but wonder how, as a team, they manage continuous brilliance. Well… to be fair, Cars was merely great. But other than that, everything they do is just a different flavor of incredible. Constantly manufacturing a good creative product is hard enough. But constant excellence produced by a changing team. That’s nigh-impossible.

Frankly, I expect some manner of pact with dark powers.

Or, more likely, Pixar has something like cull-the-heard Wednesdays. Where once a week someone quietly wanders through the office and has a close look at everyone. Susan is doodling a palindromic sestina on her napkin at lunch – Check. Terry is spontaneously reciting pi to a song of her own creation while using the Xerox machine – Check. Dave is humming the theme song from “Land of the Lost” while sending out zombie invitations on Facebook….

On Thursday, when the other workers ask why Dave’s desk is empty, management explains that they transferred him to a nice animation studio out in the country where he’ll have plenty of room to run and play.

So… yeah. Suffice to say that if Pixar wanted the rights to make a movie of the book, they wouldn’t have to fight very hard.

Sarah and I have almost managed to put the fundraiser to bed. Tomorrow should be our last busy day. After it’s all done, I’ll post up some pictures, give the final donations totals, and talk about our plans for the future.

I won’t be posting up a list of winners and their prizes because that would involve me putting folks’ personal information up on the web without their permission, and that isn’t cool.

Also, I didn’t e-mail everyone who won, because it would have taken WAY too long. So you might have won something even if you haven’t heard from me. But don’t e-mail me and ask about it. Seriously.

In other news, I’m on Goodreads now. I’m not planning on spending a huge amount of time there, but you can add me as a friend if you’re into that sort of thing.

And lastly, could some tech-savvy person out there do me a bit of a favor? Namely, could you change my Wikipedia picture, preferably to one that makes me look slightly less like a serial killer?

I appreciate that someone went through the trouble of uploading a photo. And I don’t deny that it’s a fairly accurate depiction of how I look most of the time. But still, if there is going to be a picture of me, I’d rather it not look like something that was pulled from a pamphlet titled “How to Spot a Sociopath.”

Later all,

pat

Also posted in Goodreads, hodgelany, recommendations | By Pat31 Responses
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