As in guillotine...

What’s Next? So many questions.

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:May 14, 2019
Post category:Media
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To be honest, my experience with consultants over the years has been mostly negative. Overpriced pundits promising more than they've ever actually delivered for anyone, who often knew less than the staff they were brought in to advise, offering templated solutions to complex problems, inevitably leaving behind incomplete work and unsatisfied clients. But I've also worked with a few amazing ones who not only delivered effective, customized solutions, they also left the staff they engaged with smarter and better equipped to implement and iterate on those solutions without them.

Some (Belated) Personal News: Writer’s Digest

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:April 9, 2019
Post category:Personal
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There was no announcement back in August because celebrating a new gig in that context felt wrong, and as subsequent events would confirm, it honestly wasn't all that clear how long it would last. WD is and always has been a strong brand, but when your parent company is headed towards bankruptcy, the path forward is anything but clear.

Does it [still] spark joy? On Mallory, #ComicsDNA and book publishing.

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:February 15, 2019
Post category:Media Personal
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Thinking about my early days with comics, I realized they were the gateway to my interest in publishing, my first real awareness of people and a process behind the scenes that connected me to the stories and characters I enjoyed so much. I read "regular" books just as voraciously as comics, but Marvel and DC were meaningful brands while book publishers weren't. I had no idea (and didn't particularly care) who published Encyclopedia Brown or Stephen King until my first job in a bookstore (at 19 years old), and even then they were just vague corporate logos with no personal relevance.

Subaru, Red Bull and Rabbit Holes—How I Got Sucked into Rally

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:January 8, 2019
Post category:Personal
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There's nothing like the buzz of delving into a new passion and I've thoroughly enjoyed my serendipitous and circuitous journey into the world of rally. I've also realized my interest in rally had always been hiding just under the surface, an influence on almost everything I've ever found interesting about cars—it just took an unpredictable confluence of events to suck me in.

My Favorite Movies of 2018

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 31, 2018
Post category:Pop Culture Reviews
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2018 was a pretty terrible year by many measures, but it was a damn good year for movies. While big budget sequels of varying quality continued to dominate the box office, there was still room in theaters for new and original stories to stand out while streaming options give them a shot at reaching the wider audiences they deserve—including me, in a couple of cases. My top 10 favorites (plus 4 honorable mentions) were unexpectedly tough to sort out, but they represent a more varied list than I would have initially guessed at the beginning of the year.

Five Trustworthy Sources for Media Business News & Insights

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:December 26, 2018
Post category:Media
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Since Google Reader shut down back in 2013, there's arguably been no worthy replacement, partly because it helped accelerate the death of the individual blog and relegated RSS feeds to a tertiary distribution channel that most sites barely pay attention to these days. Over the years, I've used an unwieldy combination of Instapaper, Feedly, Twitter lists and Gmail filters (for the most useful email newsletters I subscribe to) to stay connected to my primary sources, and only a handful make the cut heading into 2019—including one social network that became unexpectedly useful in 2018.

Get A Clue(train) — Sustainable Digital Strategy for Author Platforms

Post author:Guy LeCharles Gonzalez
Post published:October 2, 2018
Post category:Media
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In reality, markets consist of human beings and the conversations they have with each other, and those conversations can be messy and involve multiple points of influence. For authors trying to develop an effective and sustainable digital strategy, that means you’re not just competing with similar authors and books for readers’ attention—hello, myopic comp titles!—you’re competing with readers themselves and the various channels they use to connect with each other. With the right strategy, though, you're not competing with anyone—you're authentically engaging with and contributing to a dynamic community.