Showing posts with label NASCAR. Show all posts
Showing posts with label NASCAR. Show all posts

Monday, June 24, 2013

Getting endorsements

If you on LinkedIn, you're almost certainly aware of endorsements. Your contacts endorse you for various talents.

In my case (writer and editor), I get endorsed for writing, editing, copy editing, publishing, publications, proofreading and much more. That's all good, since I'm good at those things. I've edited everything from novels and non-fiction books to business and academic writing and more.


It's ironic, but everyone ignores one of my strengths (probably second only to copy editing), and that's motorsports. I've written four books about auto racing and have written about the subject since 1979. My first racing stories were about a guy who raced a Peter Bilt truck on weekends.


Oh, I'm not complaining. It's just strange that I have 40 endorsements for copy editing, 25 for editorial and 12 for editing. And I have one for motorsports.


My first big-time interviewee was the great David Pearson, and I've interviewed everyone from Dale Earnhardt Sr. and Darrell Waltrip to Richard Petty and Davey Allison to Alan Kulwicki and Jeff Gordon. And many more.


When I first started covering auto racing on a regular basis, NASCAR great Cale Yarborough said, "You don't know much about auto racing, do you?" He'd just told me the story of him going over the wall at Darlington in a race car, and I excitedly said, "Really?!"


Anyway, after Cale's question, I answered, "Come back in 10 years. I'll know a LOT more then."


It's been more than 10 years, and I do know a lot more. If Cale and I were linked on LinkedIn, he might endorse me for motorsports. And, yes, I'd endorse him for it, too.

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ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)

Friday, April 6, 2012

The NASCAR book

I've been pretty quiet on this blog lately, and it's all because of the book.

I recently sent in the final anecdotes for "Then Junior Said to Jeff...", a non-fiction book of NASCAR stories. I didn't write "Then Junior Said to Jeff..." Jim McLaurin and the late David Poole wrote the book in 2006, but Jim asked me to update it for Triumph Publishing.

I kept up with my other duties — I write sports stories for the Winston-Salem (N.C.) Journal and auto-racing stories for the Hickory (N.C.) Daily Record, and I edit when I find the work. But the book has dominated my thoughts.

I added nearly 20,000 words of stories for the book.

My deadline was April 15, and I made it by April 5. And now I can think about other things.

And, yes, we're in the editing process.

(NOTE: The book is available here on Amazon.com.)

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ENTRIES FROM THE DOG BLOG

BLOG ENTRIES FROM THE AUTO RACING JOURNAL
(a book of great stories about the Intimidator)
(the book of great NASCAR stories)