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In
My Humble But Expert Opinion When
I started writing books in 1990, it never occurred to me I might one day be
considered an "expert," let alone an expert in several categories. But
consider this: A nonfiction book takes one to two years of research to come to
fruition, your subject area is narrowed for clarity and focus, the author reads
everything in a similar vein to present a comparison market, and he or she also
saves articles for future reference. The final book stage then, is about
creating an original title to distinguish it from other titles, while making it
interesting enough for readers to want to plunk down twenty dollars or more to
learn something new. The
end result -- general expert status. More consideration is needed before you don
the expert moniker, however I belong to professional organizations and continue
to educate myself, no matter the assignment. Currently,
I am an authority for Pitsco's “Ask An Expert” website (http://www.askanexpert.com/)
in four different categories: criminal law, forensic science, author, and party
games. How did it start? As part of the foundational plan for my book, Great
Games for Great Parties, I collected and tested out party games on my
friends and others for ten years. Obviously, that kind of in-depth commitment
gave me reams of information on how to play games, in addition to a cache of
actual games to use. In
addition, as part of my marketing plan, I decided to take a chance on announcing
myself as an expert -- someone who knew a lot more about games than most anybody
else. Even though what I was offering would garner no real income (expert advice
is free on this site), I knew it would establish a personal connection with
someone who needed guidance, that they would be steered to my website, and I
could repeat the attention to my work with the signature message at the end of
my e-mail reply to them. (After all, aren't you going to read books written by
someone who has helped you personally?) The
instructions on Pitsco's site provide good directions. It suggests that the
reader find an expert by searching the categories, visit the expert's website
for possible FAQs, then submit their question and wait one week for a response.
The site also has information on how to proceed. It says: be nice, be patient,
search first -- ask later, and get real! The "get real" part means
their experts are not amenable to doing homework or writing reports. As
I sit here looking at the four-inch-plus stack of questions I've answered, I
feel a sense of pride as this represents years of outreach.
In this pile are people's needs, thoughts, and sometimes even expressions
of desperation. For example, I get a lot of mail in the criminal law/justice
category. Typically these folks cannot afford an attorney, do not know what kind
of trouble they are in -- or the ramifications of it; in general, folks who fall
through the cracks. Let's face it: If you are indigent and charged with an
offense, your options are almost nil. The public defender's office is often
over-worked, understaffed, and unwilling to train people in the law.
That's where I come in. My
pat introduction for criminal justice questions states: "To begin, I am not
an attorney and cannot dispense legal advice. That said, I do have some
suggestions…" This caveat protects me, but allows me to interject
opinions and give advice the questioner might not hear from other sources. The
process continues as I find the exact wording of the law in question. I feel the
offender needs to know about the charges filed. Then I explain how to proceed by
providing certain steps to follow, and send them to other websites for
additional information and free counsel. An
expert offers the questioner something no one else can, objective and unbiased
answers. I don’t know what these folks look like, how much money they have, or
even if they're lying to me (although I can tell a great deal by their language,
syntax and how they express their feelings), and I am not affected by extraneous
influence. I’ve received mail from men in upper management, women who feel
trapped, and teens who want me to do their homework. I’ve written to children
as young as six and men as old as seventy. With all groups, I am never afraid to
provide "real" advice. Readers get an unvarnished assessment of the
situation, the kind of truth they will never receive from others in their
circle. It's interesting, sometimes a little freaky, and always serious. Every
question gets equal weight. I write in a clear, colloquial language and don't
need to prove how smart I am; that's not the mission. Seekers appreciate my
non-judgmental responses because their own mothers and fathers will cry, preach,
and get defensive, their girl/boyfriend will get panicked, and the general
population will yawn. Acting
as an expert is a timely endeavor though, as I try to respond to questions
within a day or two. I spend about a half-hour's worth of time looking for the
best answer, find documents to either back-me-up or to teach, and I often share
letters with my husband. This is not a job for wimps, people who have moments of
indecision, or writers who simply want to aggrandize themselves. These are real
lives with real problems (although there are a lot of children writing
reports—mostly about CSI-type questions and an unrealistic infatuation with
forensic science). But in this dawn of the information age, more and more
computer users will find the best ways to get information and, by my outreach, I
hope I am filling that need. Some
important ideas: *
Weigh what you read; not everything on the Internet is true. *
If you want to become an expert, make sure you know your topic and continue to
stay abreast of new developments; although this may seem like common sense,
believe me, the questions will test and expand your knowledge. *
E-mail other website owners for more information or to ask to use them as a
resource, even if they aren't listed with an expert service. *
Continue your education and certification, if offered. *
Look at government sites when doing research, our tax dollars at work. *
Get more than one opinion on really important matters. Andrea
Campbell is the author of nine nonfiction books on a variety of topics including
forensic science and criminal justice. To subscribe to her author's newsletter,
Soup's On, just send an email to: campbell@arkansas.net
and please put "Subscribe newsletter" in the subject line. |
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