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 Hello, and welcome to my freelance writing blog, “A Bunch of NounSense.”
Make sure to visit regularly to catch my thoughts on the joys and challenges of working as a freelance writer. I’ll also be blogging about the interesting journey associated with the book business, including a behind-the-scenes look into my new true crime effort, “Torture at the Back Forty – The Gang Rape and Slaying of Margaret Anderson.”
For those of you looking to get into the freelance writing business – even on a part-time basis – you might pick up some tips here that will help you dive into the pool. I invite you to ask questions and post comments.
Ready? Here we go…
-Mike
 Welcome to Mike's Blog
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Posted by Mike Dauplaise on February 6, 2010 at 10:22 AM under
• 0 commentsSometimes we “old-school” types get so caught up in traditional mindsets when it comes to books that we fail to see the opportunity forest for the trees. Count me among those slowly opening their eyes.
The new social media world has turned out to be a great venue for promoting all things books, including author appearances and promotional videos.
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Posted by Mike on January 1, 2010 at 12:27 PM under
• 2 comments
After one of the more eventful years of my life in 2009 – both professionally and personally – it’ll be interesting to see what 2010 has to offer.
From a writing standpoint, 2009 was the year of View entire article ►
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Posted by John on September 28, 2009 at 2:59 PM under
• 1 commentI hope you do a sequel. I remember back then and have always wondered how her son got through it all and if he's okay now.
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Posted by Mike on September 15, 2009 at 8:17 AM under
• 0 commentsUntil you experience it for yourself, it’s hard to imagine how much time and effort goes into the promotional efforts surrounding a book release. There’s the push for media attention, the requests for bookstores to carry it, and various online promotions – such as writing this blog entry!
Part of the post-release festivities include distributing and mailing copies of the book to friends and family, along with some of the people who helped out during the research phase of the book.
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Posted by Mike on September 15, 2009 at 7:17 AM under
• 0 commentsUntil you experience it for yourself, it’s hard to imagine how much time and effort goes into the promotional efforts surrounding a book release. There’s the push for media attention, the requests for bookstores to carry it, and various online promotions – such as writing this blog entry!
Part of the post-release festivities include distributing and mailing copies of the book to friends and family, along with some of the people who helped out during the research phase of the book.
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Posted by Mike on July 5, 2009 at 10:34 PM under
• 0 comments
The final step in completing a book project is collecting comments from authors, media outlets and other credible sources for use in a variety of different formats, including the book’s cover. It can be an intimidating experience the first time through, but not as difficult as you might think.
I was fortunate to collect six blurbs from outstanding authors in the U.
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Posted by Mike on June 8, 2009 at 4:15 PM under
• 2 comments
I know Green Bay is a small city, but it’s nevertheless amazing how many people I encounter who either played a direct role in the Margaret Anderson case I cover in my upcoming book, Torture at the Back Forty, or know someone who was.
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Posted by Mike on May 28, 2009 at 10:41 AM under
• 0 comments
As much as we writers like to think our abilities enable us to adequately paint a mental picture with our words, nothing can top actual photography in helping the reader really “see” our story. That’s especially true in the true crime genre, where readers want to see what the main characters looked like and not just imagine them.
We’re dealing with real people in true crime books, and actual photos serve to connect the reader on a more emotional level with the victim and other primary participants.
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Posted by Mike on May 19, 2009 at 8:41 AM under
• 0 commentsPutting the final touches on a book manuscript requires one of the most challenging aspects on being an author – setting your ego on the shelf.
For as many hours as you spend, as much sweat equity as you invest, as careful as you try to be, you’re just too close to the project to look at it objectively. Spellcheck helps catch many minor miscues, but it’s not perfect and certainly does nothing in terms of checking the overall flow of your manuscript.
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Posted by Mike on May 12, 2009 at 6:56 AM under
• 0 commentsAs I was wrapping up work on my first book a year ago, “Bodyguard to the Packers,” with former Green Bay Packers security director Jerry Parins, we were searching for a photo that would help the book jump off the shelves. Jerry owned a great photo of Brett Favre giving him a hug after a game in which both men wore grins of pure joy and affection for each other.
It was a great photo, and we decided that with Brett’s unprecedented popularity (he had just “retired” from the Packers), it would help sales more than any marketing campaign ever could.
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Posted by Mike on May 7, 2009 at 7:30 AM under
• 0 commentsIn the world of freelance writing, the ability to garner at least a couple of regular clients is the key to success – and lower stress. I’m fortunate to have two clients that supply me with a steady stream of work and remove the pressure of wondering where my next project will from.
These relationships provide the very definition behind the benefits of using a freelance writer from the client’s standpoint: I’m someone for whom they don’t have to provide office space, computer resources, pay benefits or even budget for an FTE (full-time equivalent) staff person.
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Posted by Mike on May 3, 2009 at 2:16 PM under
• 0 commentsProbably the most attractive aspect of being a writer is the freedom to work on your own and contribute to a variety of clients.
I worked in a newspaper or corporate setting – real jobs – for more than twenty years before taking the plunge and going solo.
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Posted by Mike on April 30, 2009 at 6:55 AM under
• 1 comment
I’m only 46 years old, yet it’s amazing the changes I’ve seen in technology with regard to the writing profession in my thirty years in the business.
When I interviewed to be a member of the part-time sports department staff at the Green Bay Press-Gazette in 1979, I took my writing test on one of the many manual typewriters in the office.
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Posted by Mike on April 26, 2009 at 10:01 PM under
• 0 comments
I can still remember the day, thirty years ago last week, when I was hired as a part-time member of the Green Bay Press-Gazette sports department. It was a month past my sixteenth birthday, and I was paid a whopping (for that time) $4.50 an hour to take phone calls from high school sports events and write up short summaries for the next day’s paper.
I was very excited and my work felt important.
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Posted by Mike on April 22, 2009 at 10:03 PM under
• 2 comments
Every once in a while – OK, more often than you’d think – being an extrovert pays dividends. That was the case in early December 2007, when I was introduced through a third party to Tracy Ertl, owner of TitleTown Publishing, while waiting through a fog delay at the Green Bay airport.
I told Tracy about the book project I was finishing up with Jerry Parins, and it turned out she knew Jerry.
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Posted by Mike on April 20, 2009 at 10:54 PM under
• 0 commentsNo one tells you this in “author school,” but writing a manuscript is the easy part of the book business. That part you can control; it’s getting a publisher to think enough of your project to invest time and money in bringing it to reality that’s the challenge.
Jerry Parins and I had invested more than three years of on-and-off work on “Bodyguard to the Packers” with no guarantee our efforts would ever see the light of day.
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Posted by Mike on April 19, 2009 at 2:00 PM under
• 0 comments
Despite the fact I’ve been a professional writer for 30 years, I never set out to be an author. My world was newspapers, magazines, corporate communications and video scripts – the type of projects in which someone with a limited attention span can find comfort.
That all changed one day in the summer of 2004, when my dad informed me he had offered my freelance writing services to an acquaintance of his named Jerry Parins.
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Posted by Mike on April 16, 2009 at 9:04 AM under
• 1 comment
You wouldn’t think coming up with an imaginative title for a blog would be that difficult of a task, but it was.
In fact, I struggled so much with alliterations and other lame attempts to be catchy that I finally opened it up to an online brainstorming session. The result is a combination of my friend Robin’s suggestion and a little addition from me to produce, “A Bunch of NounSense.
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Posted by Mike on April 14, 2009 at 6:56 AM under
• 1 commentIn nearly everyone’s home town, there seems to be that rare murder case where everyone has virtually same reaction many years later: “Oohh, I remember that one.” It’s stated with a tone of dread and apprehension, almost as if the mere mention of the case will  somehow make it happen all over again.
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Posted by Mike on April 13, 2009 at 9:45 AM under
• 0 comments
The true crime story that would become “Torture at the Back Forty” began the night after Christmas, 1983. Margaret Anderson was a divorced mother out on a date in Green Bay, Wisconsin, when she met her tragic and horrific end.
Her story would dominate the local news for the next three years as local law enforcement agencies and the Brown County District Attorney’s office worked to bring her killers to justice.
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Posted by Mike on April 13, 2009 at 8:34 AM under
• 1 comment
I’m fortunate to have the resources of Midpoint Trade Books and TitleTown Publishing supporting the promotional efforts for my books.
Until you dive into the book business for yourself, it’s impossible to comprehend the difference a publisher and distributor can have on your book’s success compared to going the self-publishing route.
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Posted by Admin on December 28, 2005 at 1:00 AM under
• 0 comments
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 "Bodyguard to the Packers""Bodyguard to the Packers" takes you inside the world-famous Green Bay, Wis., franchise to a time when Security Director Jerry Parins roamed hotel hallways and watched tavern back doors to enforce player curfews.
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