The Cameron Call
by Kelly Coleman-Potter
My feet pounded the pavement as I ran home from my tanning bed appointment so I wouldn't miss the phone call. With a winded hello, I answered the phone.
"Hello, is this Kelly?"
"Yes, it is," I answered still out of breath.
Once I got over the shock that a published writer would take time out of his busy schedule of deadlines and book signings to call me, I relished in the chance to pick the mind of such a success.
If it was one thing I learned from my conversation with Bruce was that in order to be a successful writer, one must be determined.
I had done my homework on Bruce reading everything I could come across about his publishing history and recent success with his first book, 8 Simple Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter. What I had not realized was that this wasn't the first book he'd written.
In 1995, when Bruce's online column first appeared, the tally on unpublished novels had reached eight. At this point, he saw the opportunity that the Internet seemed to offer. Being a relatively new technology, or at the least, more accessible to anyone who owned a home computer, he took a chance by offering something to readers who had grown weary of the same old forwarded jokes.
Like many times during our conversation, my curiosity was piqued. I asked Bruce what prompted him to start writing weekly and mailing his column out to those who subscribed. Quite simply, he stated that he didn't feel like he was ever going to be published. Like those who are destined to be writers, he was writing for himself. It's hard to believe he doubted ever being paid for his efforts, but it worked.
Luckily for him, the Internet was a much different place when the Cameron Column made its debut. Years before spam, mass mailings, and abuse of email, people were eager to sign up and find his weekly column in their mailbox. He pointed out now people are more leery of signing up for things to appear in their in-boxes.
The timing was right.
Now, the Cameron Column averages twenty new subscribers per day. With great interest, I asked how he went about promoting it since I was up to 40 subscribers on my own list. Through word of mouth, his subscriber list steadily built, but it was a slow process.
He said he remembers vividly the day his list reached 300 because he'd planned on hiring a service to manage subscriptions. Up until this time, he'd been taking care of it himself with a computer program he'd written.
Inquisitive about his writing habits, I asked about his writing schedule, and if having a schedule is imperative for a writer. Yes, he does keep a schedule. This is relatively a new concept to me, so I was intrigued.
While working on his first book, he sat down with a spreadsheet manipulating numbers to compute how many pages should be accomplished per day to reach his goal. He stressed how important discipline was for him to carry out what needed to be done.
As his deadline approached, he could easily see where he stood on the project and knew when he must work harder and write more. Not only does one have to be determined, but also organized and disciplined.
Speaking of discipline, I naturally assumed all columnists worked weekly on their impending deadline. Not true with Bruce as he shared that he's eight weeks ahead on material. "The least I've ever been is four weeks. The most was six months."
Bruce shared that by the time he'd written his ninth novel, something started happening. He paraphrased the responses he began receiving, "Enjoyed it. Needs to be shorter. Cut it in half and we'll publish it. It was good. What else do you have?"
He mentioned his weekly Internet column. His agent asked if he had ever thought of trying to get it into a newspaper. He hadn't. With the help of his agent, Jody Rein of Jody Rein Books, Bruce landed a spot in the Rocky Mountain News.
The key to finally being represented by an agent was his graciousness in accepting rejection. He didn't get angry or frustrated. "I had been getting rejected since 1974. I was used to it," Bruce commented.
He also admitted that he spent more time rewriting his book proposal than he spent writing 8 Simple Rules. "I think I rewrote every single word of it." Once Rein was happy with his proposal, two weeks later, Bruce had a book deal.
I asked if he ever thought he'd bitten off more than he could chew. I explained my own fears about trying to self-syndicate, and how the pressure of a huge audience expecting me to be witty, entertaining, and wonderful on a weekly basis would make me crack under the pressure.
Without any hesitation, he answered no. Other than column length limited to 700 words, he has free reign over what he writes. "I have been writing for myself. Whatever I feel like writing. I have complete freedom. My only restriction is length."
I shared with Bruce that many times I've seen his work plagiarized on the Internet. At one time, he had hired a person who did nothing but follow up on copyright infringements. Eventually, it became too much to keep up on.
Not that there wasn't something good that came out of being the author of one of the most forwarded pieces in e-mail history. It actually opened the door to being picked up by a syndicate.
Oliver North, yes the one and only, found the original essay so entertaining that he put Bruce's "8 Simples Rules for Dating My Teenage Daughter" on his Web site. When Bruce brought it to his attention, North promptly removed it. This wasn't the end of the story, though.
North, obviously impressed with Bruce's talent, asked if he was syndicated, and offered to put in a good word for him with his syndicate, Creator's Syndicate. The rest as they say is history. Now his best-selling book is the basis for the show with the same name.
I noted how impressed I was when I read that John Ritter recorded the audio version of 8 Simple Rules. "Ritter is behind 8 Simple Rules 100 percent," Bruce said.
As a wide-eyed hopeful writer, I asked Bruce what advice he would give a would-be aspiring writer. "Stop aspiring, start perspiring. The only way to get there is through hard work."
At the Erma Bombeck Writer's Workshop, I heard Bruce referred to as a "Cinderella story." I have to admit, I wondered if the moon and stars aligned perfectly, or if his fairy godmother waved her magical wand.
After a wonderful conversation with such a talent, I honestly see nothing in his publishing history that even loosely resembles a fairy tale. Unless of course, one rereads the story of Cinderella and notes all the grueling, hard work she did before she met her prince.
Kelly Coleman-Potter is a weekly columnist, wife, and mother of two boys. When she's not conquering dustbunnies the size of St. Bernards, her hobbies include searching for lost change in parking lots for her lobotomy fund, ranting incessantly, "You kids are going to drive me to drinkin'," and tormenting idiots in chat rooms. Visit her at Off-Kelter.
