L.R. Giles
FAKE ID in stores NOW
It’s been a long time coming, folks. My novel, FAKE ID, is now available all over. Click HERE to purchase a copy from your preferred bookseller.
Many of you have asked how you can show your support, and I want to thank you for that. Below, you’ll find a few things you can do to help the book (and me) succeed:
1) Buy a copy of FAKE ID (http://www.harpercollins.com/books/Fake-Id-Lamar-Giles/?isbn=9780062121844): This is the best way you can help. Good sales numbers prove to my publisher that I am a good investment, so they will continue to invest. Awesome sales numbers open up the possibility for bestseller lists, which increases visibility, which…well, it goes back to the return on investment thing. Sales keep writers employed.
2) Encourage a friend to buy a copy of FAKE ID: See point 1…
3) Post a review of FAKE ID: FAKE ID has a page on Amazon, B&N.com, Goodreads, or wherever books are sold or reviewed. More reviews increase visibility on those sites. More visibility leads to more sales.
4) Come out to a FAKE ID event: For those in the DMV (D.C., Maryland, Virginia) area, I’ll be doing several events over the next few weeks. Come out and say hi. The first event will be Saturday, Jan. 25th from Noon to 3 at the Greenbrier Barnes & Noble (1212 Greenbrier Pkwy, Chesapeake, VA 23320). The second event will be on Saturday, Feb. 1st from 2PM – 4PM at the Hopewell branch of the Appomattox Regional Library (209 E. Cawson Street, Hopewell, VA 23320). Books will be on sale at the events, so if you’d like to wait and purchase your book on those days, me and the booksellers would greatly appreciate it.
5) Promote Literacy: When I was growing up, I often heard the term “RIF”—Reading is Fundamental. It was true then, it’s still true now. Let’s make sure no one forgets.
Thanks everyone. I’m going for the win in 2014 and I hope you join the team. I will see you on the other side of this crazy and exciting season! Take care.
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
FAKE ID, HarperCollins, L.R. Giles, On Sale, publishingShhhh…(kinda top secret)
Hey gang, just doing my usual drive-by posting. News and updates are going to be coming faster and furious(er?) since FAKE ID debuts in LESS THAN A YEAR!!! It’s been such a long journey that it’s hard to believe we’re so close now. HOWEVER, this post is not about my current project. It’s about my NEXT project.
Can’t give you details yet because it’s still in the classified phase (black bars and all), but here’s a glimpse at how things are progressing.
BTW – Everything’s not blacked out.
More soon…
Speak up:
2 comments| TAGS:
books, L.R. Giles, StoryMemoirs of a Drowning Man
Hey Gang. Yep, it’s really been 7 months since my last update. SIGH…
THEN
I gotta be honest with you. It’s been a crazy year, and, unfortunately, my site maintenance fell by the wayside. Since my last update, I was:
- Laid off from my day job of 10 years (Boo! Hiss!)
- Given a new title for my
Summer 2013YA debut novel. WHISPERTOWN is now FAKE ID - Bumped. Meaning my Summer 2013 YA Debut novel got pushed back to early 2014 (not necessarily a bad thing)
- Asked to revise said novel twice (1st time was a MAJOR overhaul, completed in July, 2nd time is LESS MAJOR, currently in the works)
- Getting my ass kicked by my demanding new day job
- Completing 2 new novel proposals that I can’t talk about yet
- Blogging here and here (doesn’t mean I don’t love you all)
- Catching up on my sleep deprivation (Yes, I am fully deprived now)
Like I said, CRAZY!
NOW
Going Forward: As soon as I get an idea of what the FAKE ID cover will look like, I’m going to hire a designer to redo EVERYTHING! Obviously, there will be announcements when these changes are in the works.
I want you to keep coming to the site, but I don’t want to make empty promises about how often you’re going to see updates here. I’m struggling to keep up right now. I can guarantee you’ll see big changes on the site this year. In the meantime, if you haven’t LIKED my FB Fan Page, or followed me on Twitter, I kindly ask that you do so.
I provide a lot of micro-updates through those social media sites because it’s easy for me to send a short message from my phone, as I’m much more mobile these days.
So, I apologize (again) for the neglect, and if you’ve enjoyed my work in the prior years, I ask that you stick with me a little longer. Big things are in the works, but big things aren’t always fast things. Your patience and support is always appreciated. I wouldn’t be here without you.
Soon, gang. Soon.
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
books, L.R. Giles, publishing, revisionsFor Writers: What you can learn from the MAD MEN
Courtesy of USAToday
Last night I caught INSIDE THE ACTOR’S STUDIO and the special guests were the talented creator and actors behind one of TVs most popular series, MAD MEN. If you aren’t familiar with the 1960s period drama about an advertising executive who is a portrait of duality, no worries, this lesson won’t be lost on you.
Towards the end of the episode, during Q&A, a drama student recounted her experiences in amateur productions, explaining how invaluable she found the weeks and weeks of rehearsals her troupe participated in before a performance. She asked how much rehearsal time the MAD MEN cast had before they shot their scenes. The answer shocked her and most of the audience.
There were no rehearsals on the MAD MEN set.
Jon Hamm, the show’s star, explained that they participated in a weekly table read (think middle/high school English class, where everyone takes a role and reads Shakespeare aloud from their desks), then the next time they got to practice was during the lighting set up right before they shot. No true rehearsal, just a chance to familiarize oneself with the material, then go home and make sure you knew your #&$* before the cameras rolled.
As important as that fact is, it pales to the reasoning behind it. Matthew Weiner, the show’s creator, explained that every minute they’re on set costs money, so there’s no time to waste. Although he pointed out that if a guest actor doesn’t know their lines, he will fire them (at costs of up to 100,000 dollars for the time it takes to replace them and reshoot) because unprepared people cost more in the long run.
Consider that. The amateur actor (that’s not meant as a dig, just pointing out that the student who asked the question is not yet a professional) admitted that extensive rehearsals increased her comfort. The pros let her know that they don’t get that luxury. Yet, MAD MEN is one of the most critically acclaimed, award-snatching shows on television. A lot of that has to do with stellar scripts, but without talented (and prepared) people to do the work on a tight schedule, the scripts wouldn’t mean a whole lot.
How’s this relate to you, dear writer? After all, you won’t be dressing up in a retro suit and pitching ads for LIFE cereal and Vick’s Cough Syrup. You’re not performing.
That’s where you’d be wrong. You’re not an actor, but your profession requires that you perform on demand. Or, it will. When you crossover from amateur to pro. Think about it. Deadlines. Proposals. If you want to be a book-a-year writer, then you have to be prepared to write fast, fast, fast.
You have all the time in the world to write book 1, your baby, that masterpiece your Muse faxed you from Heaven. As soon as you sell it to Massive Publishing House X, you’ve got people to answer to. Deadlines to hit. It’s a role you better damn well know.
If not, you will be replaced. It will cost them less in the long run.
But, if you can manage to do the job in the time allotted, not second guessing, and trusting that preparation is better than comfort, then who knows…maybe when they come up with INSIDE THE WRITER’S STUDIO*, you’ll be able to shock a few amateurs with what you’ve accomplished.
*Yes, I’ve fantasized about it. And yes, I’m the first guest. 😉
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
Actor, Advice, For Writers, Inside the Actor's Studio, Jon Hamm, L.R. Giles, Mad Men, publishing, student, writing adviceWhat you can learn from Sam Jackson (other than cool ways to say f***)
courtesy of IMDB.com
I just read this incredible NY Times article on Samuel L. Jackson and felt the need to wax philosophical on the benefits of preparation.
It was a quote by director William Friedkind (Rules of Engagement) that stood out to me initially (a lot in the article stands out and I could base a series of posts on the phenomenal actor’s life, but for now…), “Sam is a director’s dream. Some actors hope to find their character during shooting. He knows his character before shooting. Sam’s old-school. I just got out of his way. I never did more than two takes with Sam.”
I put the emphasis on ‘before’. For a reason.
For Spring 2012, Jeremy Lin has been the international poster boy for ‘readiness’, the idea of maximizing a singular opportunity even when you’re at the low point of your career. It’s a great in-the-moment story, but it remains to be seen if we’ll be discussing Jeremy in the same breath as the greats (or even next year).
Sam Jackson’s longevity stretches back 40 years. HE DIDN’T GET HIS BIG BREAK UNTIL 1994! But he’s maintained the same level of preparation and professionalism through feast AND famine. Let’s be real…the last 2 decades have been a fantastic feast for him. He averages 4 movies and 300K in residuals per year, he’s the highest grossing actor in history, this guy could phone it in for the rest of his life and still be a BAMF (go to any crowded theater/fanboy flick and anticipate cheers if he should pop up…it happens every time).
My point: this isn’t a guy who shows up on set hungover, with an assistant making up cue cards because he doesn’t know his lines. He could. But he doesn’t. He’s still treating the work like he’s struggling, like he’s not the most memorable character from Pulp Fiction, or Mace Windu, or effing Nick Fury.
After all his massive success, he’s still ready BEFORE.
Are you?
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
L.R. Giles, writing adviceWhat’s it worth to you?
My friend Aimee Salter recently posted a year-by-year breakdown of what it took for me to score a book deal with HarperCollins. It’s a lengthy piece, though, and I’m often contacted by people who are looking for more condensed answers. I’m going to tackle a few of the questions I’ve received lately (look for some of this to make it to the FAQ section of this site), and I’ll continue to do the these brief Q&As as I get more diversified questions. Here we go:
What does it take to be successful in publishing?
I can’t say for sure yet. I’ve been selling fiction for a little over ten years, I’ve been an independent publisher for less than a year, and since my YA Thriller Whispertown won’t debut until 2013, I won’t know how that’s going to measure on the success scale for awhile. Also, the term ‘success’ is relative. I won’t feel like I’m successful until I’m generating full-time income from fiction. I’ve got a long way to go. However, some writers are happy to see just 1 of their stories in print. There’s nothing wrong with that. Just understand that you first need to define success before you can achieve it. Anything else is a dart game in a pitch black room.
What do I have to do to write a book?
The most obvious answer is ‘write a book’. But, that’s a smart ass response and more than a little condescending. I bring that up because I remember being a teenaged newbie and having the opportunity to ask a respected writer about the mysteries of being a novelist. The guy was a total jerk. He actually called me a stupid college kid who asks silly questions which were a waste of his time. He’s still respected among his peers, but I never bought another of his books (I didn’t like his writing that much anyway). My point: I will never treat you this way, Dear Reader. You’re not stupid and there’s no such thing as a silly question. If you ask, I will try to answer. Please note, if you ask me a question that I get a lot I may refer you to the FAQ…it’s just a matter of logistics; I’m not blowing you off. Now, about writing that book…
There’s no concrete method. It takes persistence and consistency, and much like success, you have to define what that means to you. When I’m in the middle of a project with no deadline I shoot for 1,500 – 2,000 words a day, written in the morning under the influence of 1 cup of coffee until it’s done. Once I have a 1st draft I print it, revise on paper, then key in changes until I have a clean 2nd draft. I send the 2nd draft to a handful of trusted readers, wait for their notes, then make more changes. I keep at this until I’m satisfied. I speed it up and write in the evenings if a deadline is pressing. Your mileage may vary.
I have trouble finishing the writing projects I start, do you have any advice?
This is one of those questions where the answer seems so simple to me that I have to be careful how I answer it because I may SOUND like the jerk I described above without meaning to. The problem I have here is that everyone sees the world through a slightly different lens, and it’s easy to fall into a trap of thinking your lens is better than the next guy’s when nothing can be further from the truth. There’s no better or worse…there’s just ‘is’. So, when I hear writers say they have trouble finishing projects, I see the problem through my lens, and from that view the answer reads like this: You don’t want to finish.
It’s not fair to tell others what they want or don’t want, for only they truly know that, but I do believe action is a better indicator of a person’s desires than what they say. In this regard, I’ll speak about my own actions, and the times in my life when I had trouble finishing projects.
When I was in high school I was more concerned with my clothes, shoes, and girls to spend time fully fleshing out a project. In college I had to study and maintain my GPA. After college I had a job and that bit into my time. Through all that, I kept saying to myself and others that I really wanted to write a book. I’ve got good ideas. I’ve started stories. I have the tools, but…I’m just so busy.
I wasn’t too busy to become the best NBA Live player in my college apartment. Wasn’t too busy to catch a movie at the cineplex every weekend, or buy (and watch) the hottest DVD release every Tuesday. I made sure I caught all of my favorite TV shows. And I was always well-rested, 8 to 10 hours of sleep every night.
Underneath all those distractions was the core of the problem. I was afraid that I’d spend years and years toiling away on writing (and I did) only to fail (which is still a risk based on my definition of success), so I avoided the fear with manufactured tasks and too much leisure at the expense of my writing time. I didn’t really want to finish because I might then come face-to-face with my own inadequacies. At some point I had to ask what’s worth more to me? My prowess as a gamer, being up to date on the latest film and TV, or achieving my lifelong dream of being a professional writer (meaning I actually wrote things to completion then sold them)? Once I understood that the potential reward outweighed the risks, I had no problem finishing projects. That’s not to say I didn’t have slow days (or years), but I got over the first stumbling block of simply not writing enough, and once I started I quickly got over the second stumbling block of thinking I’m not good enough. Newsflash: there will always be someone who thinks you suck. Take constructive feedback from these people when it’s there, otherwise focus on those who like your work.
Once I flipped that switch in my head, I was on my way. It started with a question: what is my writing worth to me?
If you’re having trouble finishing projects, I ask you the same. What’s it worth to you?
Ongoing
Like I said, I’ll probably condense these and get them into the FAQ at some point. I hope you found some of this helpful. Feel free to send more questions to lrgileswriter [at] gmail [dot] com, or hit me up on Twitter. Later, gang.
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
Advice, L.R. Giles, publishing, Q&AMe + HarperCollins = A HOT Summer 2013
I’ve been waiting a lot of years to say this.
It’s official! Summer 2013…look for my debut Young Adult Thriller (working title: WHISPERTOWN) in bookstores nationwide courtesy of my new publishing family, HarperCollins. It took 3 months to finalize everything and it’s been AGONIZING to not speak publicly about it all. But, I’ve just been given the green light and speak I will.
I’d like to give a special shout out to my incomparable super agent Jamie Weiss Chilton for all her hard work brokering this deal, and I’d like to say thank you to my new editor Phoebe Yeh who I can’t wait to work with. There are a ton of others I owe thanks to because this has been a long, long road, but I’m going to save all that for the acknowledgements page. 😉
Look for more news soon. In the meantime, here’s a little taste of what’s coming…
Nick Pearson is pretending to be someone he isn’t. Not high school pretending. Witness Protection pretending. And the #1 rule is “stay low-key”. But, when his sole friend Eli dies in the school’s journalism room under mysterious circumstances, and Nick stumbles upon the conspiracy Eli planned on exposing, staying low-key takes a backseat to staying alive.
Newspaper Nerd Eli had a secret, an in-the-works story codenamed “Whispertown”. And it’s got a lot of folks interested. Like corrupt cops, the town’s shady mayor, and certain high-ranking government officials. Teaming with Eli’s estranged (and gorgeous) sister, Nick sets out to unravel the mystery and still maintain his cover. He’ll have to use all the deviant skills he’s gained from his racketeering dad, assassin godfather, and their Serbian gangster boss to find the truth. However, each clue brings him closer to answers he may not want. Whispertown is bigger than he could have ever imagined, and in its shadow stands a killer…a killer Nick fears may be his own father.
I’m off to celebrate…later, gang!
Speak up:
5 comments| TAGS:
Debut, HarperCollins, L.R. Giles, publishing, Summer 2013, Whispertown, YA ThrillerCalifornia here I come…
I will be in LA for the rest of the week attending the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) 40th Anniversary Summer Conference. It’s my first trip to the West Coast and I couldn’t be more excited.
I’ll be posting pictures throughout the weekend to my Facebook Fan Page. “Like” me and tell your friends to “Like” me, too. You can see what sort of silliness I get into over the next few days.
Also, follow me on Twitter (@LRGiles) and keep an eye on the official conference hashtag for a lot of cool stuff from the numerous writers in attendance: #LA11SCBWI
I may blog a bit while I’m there, otherwise I’ll catch you when I’m back in my timezone…
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
books, ePublishing, eReader, Fun, Hollywood, L.R. Giles, publishing, SCBWI, TwitterType A Lamar and the Business Card Debacle…
It’s rare that a post can be random and relevant, but that’s kind of what this is. The relevant part involves the trip I’ll be taking later this week to attend the Society for Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators (SCBWI) 40th Anniversary conference in Los Angeles. I’ll get to rub elbows with some industry folks and attend cool and informative workshops, which is always a plus. But, more importantly, I’ll get to meet my very good writer friend Jennifer Bosworth and my Super Agent Jamie Weiss Chilton in person for the very first time (this alone is worth the price of the plane ticket).
Confession: I rarely get excited. It’s like my brain secrets Prozac, I’m so even keel. However, this trip excites me. It’ll be my first time on the west coast, and I can’t wait to see LA for myself. I’m from Virginia and the farthest west I’ve been is Texas…all I know about LA comes from ENTOURAGE and KEEPING UP WITH THE KARDASHIANS. My only regret is that my wife can’t make this trip with me, but she’s demanded that I bring her back something “decidedly LA”. I’m thinking a jar of smog.
That was your dose for relevant, time for the random…
I’m a Type A all the way, an obsessive PLANNER. So, uncharacteristically, I made a misstep in my conference prep. See, it’s good protocol to have business cards with you when you attend these things because you meet so many people there’s no way to keep everyone straight in your head. And I have A METRIC TON of business cards already. The problem: the cards are specific to my Indie Pubbed adult paranormal novel LIVE AGAIN, which maybe doesn’t matter too much, but it’s not the impression I necessarily want to make at conference centered around books for children and young adults. This didn’t occur to me until Thursday night, exactly 1 week before I get on a westbound plane.
The Type A in me panicked. While all of my relevant contact info was on the LIVE AGAIN business cards, I’d simply be MORTIFIED to hand those out at SCBWI…it’d be like, I don’t know, wearing white after Labor Day. I needed something representative of my young adult work. Since graphic design is a hobby I’ve dabbled in for the last two years, I got the bright idea that I would DESIGN A NEW BUSINESS CARD IN ONE HOUR, so I could make a rush order with Vista Print and get new cards before I leave.
If you’re a planner, too, you probably already see what’s wrong here…
It was close to midnight when I started my ambitious design project. I’d been up since 5 AM. I discovered SLEEP-DEPRIVED DESIGNING is kind of like DRUNK DIALING YOUR EX…you wake up the next day with one thing and one thing only on your mind, “What the hell did I do?”
I completed my design, all with a snazzy, unique color palette (not the problem), and this cool little ink-in-water accent along the bottom left to highlight all my social media logos (not the problem). I even added a custom logo (problem).
The logo I’d been working on was meant to represent a character I’d created for a YA project. It’s essentially the silhouette of a guy wearing these big ’80’s style headphones because the character was really into music. I got the basic logo from istockphoto and planned to tweak it (which I never got around to) so I could throw it on some promotional stuff. Really, there’s nothing wrong with the idea on paper. The problem comes in when you consider the following (something my sleep addled mind was not able to do…at the time it seemed like the best idea ever, freaking award-worthy):
1) The character changed, and music isn’t as big a part of his makeup as it used to be. The headphones are insignificant now.
2) I can’t say too much about this project yet. And I can’t say WHY I can’t say much about this project yet.
3) Since the character changed, and I’m not supposed to discuss him too much, the logo is meaningless. It’s like painting a Pepsi logo on a prehistoric rock for the dinosaurs to stare out.
4) This is the worst part – It’s a kid wearing BIG ASS HEADPHONES. That doesn’t exactly scream WRITER. It screams DJ!!!!!
And I paid fifty bucks to get my new DJ business cards in time for my WRITER’S conference. <Insert Joke Here>.
So if you happen to be at SCBWI next week and you’re looking for me, I’ll be the guy saying, “Hi, I’m Lamar. I’m a writer…but I also do weddings.”
Speak up:
comment| TAGS:
business cards, conferences, DJ, L.R. Giles, SCBWI, Type A, Writer, Young AdultHe who cares less wins…
Sorry for the long delay folks, been a busy month but I hope to share some huge news with you soon….
In the meantime, I depart from my typical writing/movies/pop-culture spiel to share a little lesson that may serve you well in all endeavors going forward, particularly where money is involved.
Some backstory
In a former profession that relied heavily on negotiation and sales, I had an incredibly talented boss who taught me one of the most valuable lessons I EVER learned.
“When it comes to negotiation,” she said, “he who cares less wins.”
Basically, in any deal, you have to remove emotions from the equation and simply make yourself not care about the outcome. Whether you’re talking about 100 dollars or 100,000 dollars. I learned the lesson firsthand when I worked for the company and was dealing with a seller who had a subpar product. My company still wanted the product, but needed some improvements made, improvements that would’ve cost less than 5 thousand dollars. The seller fought tooth and nail to not make the changes we requested, but we held strong and got what we wanted. When we finally completed the transaction and saw all of the balance sheets we learned the seller STILL MADE 90 THOUSAND DOLLARS!!
My point…all that moaning about a five thousand dollar change and they still walked away with 90K. So, it didn’t hurt them to make the change, but they were trying to see how much we cared. If we’d been emotional and felt we really needed to accept their terms because we just LOVED their product so much that we were willing to look past the flaws, then we would’ve essentially paid more for less. But, by stating what we wanted, and being willing to walk away if we didn’t get it, we actually got the exact thing we needed/loved/had to have, and the seller STILL made money. Everybody wins.
FAST FORWARD
My wife and I have been car shopping, a miserable experience that I rank just above Moving. Thanks to all the various online tools and mobile apps available today it’s easy to do all the necessary research before you walk onto a car lot (something car salesmen probably loathe) and make informed decisions. Using said tools, my wife and I were able to narrow our car choices down to a Top 3. Not only that, we were able to determine what sort of interest rate we should be eligible for, the price we should expect to pay for the car, and the value of our trade in.
Of course the dealer had other ideas.
It was no shock that the salesman tried to low ball us in every conceivable category because that’s his job. Part of the technique involves making you miserable while you haggle back and forth over figures. The longer you spend in a dealership trying to get 500 dollars here, and a percentage point there, you get worn down. You don’t want to keep going through this, and you don’t want to start over at another dealer. They mean to wear you down so you take a garbage deal.
But that only works if you care…
I don’t. So this is how my deal went.
I test drove my top choice vehicle. Sat down to talk numbers. The minute they started in with the lowball figures I told them exactly what I expected in every category (sales price, trade in value, loan APR). They tried their hardest NOT to meet my terms.
If you’ve been through this, you know how it goes…typically you’ll do 2 or 3 iterations of haggling with the salesman. Each time you refuse to accept his offer, he makes a show of “going to speak to his manager to see what he can do”. He’s really getting coffee or taking his turn in an ongoing Scrabble game while you sit for 20 minutes. If you’re able to hang on that long without going into a Wolverine Beserker Rage, they’ll eventually bring out some guy who’s dressed slightly better than your salesman. He’s supposed to be the mysterious manager your guy’s been fighting with to get you the “best deal”, he’s probably just the best Scrabble player. This guy is meant to represent the Final Offer, he’s the “Okay folks, i’m doing all I can for you here and this is what I’ve got…” guy. He’s still giving you a s****y deal, though.
When I reached the “talking to the manager” point of the negotiation, I did what few people are willing to do. I sprang from my seat and walked out. Because I don’t care, and because I know something else…
Homecourt advantage is hard to beat.
You can’t win on their court and on their terms. As long as you’re sitting in that uncomfortable chair, and you keep playing the haggle game, they KNOW you want the car. When you suddenly storm out, seemingly unprovoked, hell, they think you might be on your way to get your Uzi. Let them think that.
That was a Saturday.
On Sunday, when the dealership was closed, I sent an email directly to my salesman. See, email is writing, and that’s MY homecourt. I told him the exact terms I was willing to accept, and if he (or his manager) couldn’t meet them, then I’d take my business elsewhere. However, I would not return to the dealership until I had confirmation that I’d get what I want.
By Monday I had a message on my answering machine stating that each and every one of my terms would be met.
Here’s the thing, my terms were fair, and I’m sure they’ll still make more money that I should’ve allowed, but I’m not interested in nickel and diming THEM. I just want a reasonable price…and boy did I get one.
I put a deposit on a brand new 2012 vehicle that’s coming straight from the factory and I’m paying less than I did for the last Used Car I bought. All because I cared less. Really, I cared more about not cheating myself. Funny how alike those two things are.
I tell you the story because there will come a time in your life where you’ll have to negotiate, and you should really consider that getting whatever that deal offers is not worth selling yourself short. Ask for a little more than what you want (because you’ll likely have to negotiate down to what you REALLY want), know what the other side of the deal can feasibly offer and what they’ll gain by dealing with you, and understand that within the parameters of FAIR VALUE, you should never agree to less than what’s right. You’ll regret it later if you do, and I guarantee that you’ll care much more about that…