Complacency Kills Careers in Publishing | Self-Publishing
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- čas přidán 20. 05. 2020
- Thanks so much for watching! A few links to things I referenced in the video!
Live 4000 Subscriber Q&A on Friday, May 22, 2020 at 7PM CST - • Video
Writing Sprints on Brooke's Channel Saturday, May 23rs at 11:30PM CST - • Witching Hour Writing ...
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If you have any questions, please feel free to post them below!
Looking forward to chatting with you in the comments section.
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//A B O U T M E//
Pen names: Lyra Parish & Kennedy Fox (we're an author duo!)
I've been in the indie scene since 2011. I published my first romance novel in 2014 (Weak for Him). Under Kennedy Fox, we've made USA Today 4 times since 2017. With Lyra Parish, I've made top 100 several times on Amazon.
I'm currently a co-host for the monthly youtube show Publishable (Self-publishing versus Traditional Publishing) You can watch our videos on this playlist:
• Playlist
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Want to learn more about my books?
Lyra Parish - amzn.to/2rOHn9D
Kennedy Fox - amzn.to/2BEbpfG
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//J O I N T H E 1 0 K G R O U P //
groups/write10kinaday
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//2020 R E L E A S E S C H E D U L E//
Always Mine - January 2020 - Released
Always Yours - February 2020 - Released
Catching the Cowboy - April 2020 - Released
The Two of Us - May 2020 - Released
Pushing You Away - July 2020
Holding You Close - August 2020
Wrangling the Cowboy - October 2020
The Best of Us - December 2020
Keeping You Away - February 2021
Needing You Close - March 2021
//2 0 2 0 U P C O M I N G S I G N I N G S & T R A V E L//
Talkbooks Author Event - April 18, 2020 - Boston, MA - CANCELLED
Wild & Windy in the City - May 9, 2020 - Chicago, IL - CANCELLED
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//S O C I A L M E D I A//
→ website:
www.thecourtneyproject.com
→ instagram:
lyraparish
kennedyfoxbooks
→facebook:
/ lyraparishauthor
/ kennedyfoxbooks
→ twitter:
lyraparish
kennedyfoxbooks
→ email: lyraparish@gmail.com
#authortube #writingtips #selfpublishing
This happens a lot with the marketing aspect of being an indie. I know, because it happened to me five years ago. When the whole publishing world changed I whined about it at first. Now I understand it is all about constantly learning and being willing to change with the times. You have to work hard. Authors who complain "why them and not me" need to look at themselves and understand those other authors are working hard at marketing. They earned that success!
Yessss!! We have to be adaptable to change and continue forward. ❤️❤️ Absolutely! 👏👏
You freaking out about Shane Dawson and Colleen Hoover being instagram friends in the middle of this video is one of my favorite things ever bahaha.
I really loved this as a pep talk to continually push and strive for more, even if I'm not close to publishing.
SERIOUSLY! Like, I stopped her at a signing, and was like okay, I need the details about this. She gave me the story and they legit are friends. I’m just like 😳😳😳😳😳😳😳. Colleen Hoover. Shane Dawson. Brain exploded. Still exploding. Haha! You’ll get there! It took me 3 years before I published my first book. It’s about the journey! 🙌
My wig has been SNATCHED. I loved this.
Oh how I wish I could reply with a GIF! 😂
Publishing is such a damn yo-yo. I hit the NYT and the USAT twice in 2015 (2014? It’s one of those.) and five years later, i basically make my grocery bill each month... 😂
A big part of that was taking 2 years off for personal mental health issues but yeah, I think complacency had a little bit to do with it as well. I still probably don’t do enough for marketing releases now, but I’m getting better about it. Learning and growing.... hopefully. 😂
Also?? I sent the comment too early because I love all that stuff hanging over your desk. So cute!
You’re not alone!! Ahh, yes, but mental health is so important. I don’t count that, because you have to take care of yourself to take care of yourself, you know what I mean. I always say, the next release can be better, and if you’ve done it once (making lists, making financial goals, etc) you can do it again. ❤️❤️ haha, I do that too. I’ll leave a comment then be like oh wait. Thank you!! It took years to get all that collected and finally hung. 😂😂
Some writers are good and other are not - but it is extremely subjective. What people enjoy is subjective. So, there are people who don’t like E.L. James (she wasn’t my speed) but that doesn’t make her less successful. And, enough people put down authors, we don’t need to put each other down too. Critical is okay, putting down is not. And, I EXTREMELY respect that you didn’t put her down Courtney :) You really are good person atop being an amazing author.
I appreciate this so much! I love your channel, being very new to this field while I try to pursue it alongside a job, having someone as reliable willing to share their experience means so much to me.
You’re welcome! Thank you so much! Glad I can help!
It always breaks my heart when I’m in the Facebook new author space and I see so many authors doing this. They’re okay with never trying improve covers, never trying to hire editors, okay with never taking critical feedback and applying it. They want it to come without the work & get upset when it doesn’t. And, often you can’t get through to them, which is what breaks my heart.
Thank you. I needed this. I sooooo needed this. -Kat Kenyon.
Yay! I’m so glad it was helpful! ❤️❤️
As someone who works for a press and went to school for a publishing degree; often author’s do not sell all of their books. On average, it is the 3-5th book that an author has written that we end up signing. Agents might take someone on their first book, but timing is everything, and often people’s first book are never timely to the market needs. So, to everyone, don’t feel bad if you have a book that doesn’t get signed. Keep going. It is rare a first book gets signed to a publisher.
Your live streams......are the BEST!!!
Courtney! We just had a conversation about what to do when you're not able to write and this is the video that is kicking my butt back into gear! I haven't been wanting to write, even after our talk, but I've been trying my best to figure out what the root cause is. I'm still working on that, but this video is making me want to get back to it! Thank you for being so wonderfully you!
This is one of the best messages ever for authors. Complacency is the death of careers, and I've seen so many.
Absolutely! ❤️❤️❤️❤️ Thank you!!!
This was a must watch today. No time to sit back and let it ride. It's time to take risks and push the envelope.
You’ve totally got this. I tell people I’m no unicorn. It’s just a lot of hard work! ❤️
You're always kicking my butt into productive gear! THANK YOU!
Yasssss!!!!! 😘😘😘
I have that sign too!
I like this, it's good to be reminded that complacency is a dangerous and easy trap to fall into. It's hard to keep challenging yourself, but it's a way to keep learning and keep growing, and yeah you make mistakes, but it's worth it. At least for me. :) However, I think it's also dangerous to always push harder and harder and it depends where your "top" is. Mine is gonna be different from yours. All I'm saying is, we should be wary of our mental health, because I have burned myself out one too many times to know better.
Congratulations on 4,000 subscribers, Lyra.
Thank you so much!!
Thank you, Courtney! I needed this!
This is the kick in the pants I needed. Thank you for always giving me that extra motivation. Also, I have that same saying as my phone screensaver. I strive to grow with each book and when I hit a block in my writing, I notice myself becoming complacent with not writing like I was.
Aww, you’re welcome. It’s a perfect screen saver! You’ve got this! ❤️
I am bad at complacency because I write for myself without an audience in mind. This is one of my big issues and I’m trying to break out of it because I do want to self publish one day. The process of fixing my stories to fit what is appropriate for others, and it is harder. What I’m saying is that I’m pushing myself to grow into an author who says what’s good enough for me isn’t good enough for others..... Your channel and others like yours have helped me see that writing is more than gathering creepy stories for the campfire or giving myself a great magical escape to far off lands. Thank you for hosting live sprints and having other helpful videos.
Writing for yourself can still be helpful in that you can take characters you've developed and use them in future books. That's what I've done. I wrote a seemingly endless soap opera-type story in my late teens that will never see the light of day, but the characters I developed while writing it are so fleshed out that I've given them their own new socially acceptable story to live in lol.
Angelica Pickles thank you. I appreciate your advice, but for me it is difficult to get motivated when I’m writing for others. My nieces and nephews love my stories that were written for myself. I had to leave some of the darker elements out of my retellings because it’s to graphic for the kiddos. When I try to write for any specific audience I clam up and stop writing. It’s easier writing for myself and reading my work to the kids because they understand my whimsical stories and sometimes they give me better feedback than some critique partners. They even gave me tree words a piece to build a story off of, that is 21 words. It’s fun and all, but if I were to scale it down to a specific audience I would find every excuse in the world to not write. I need to break this habit if I truly want to self publish.
You can write for yourself and publish what your heart wanted to produce. Who says you can’t? Writing is personal, and it’s hard to share that with the world, and almost expose yourself in a way. It sounds more like fear than complacency to me. ❤️
The Courtney Project thanks
I was today years old when I realized Courtney is a patron saint of writing. I’ve never hit a like button so hard.
Bwahahahahaha #dead
Great video today. If you have a dream, you are constantly working toward it. Never assume, always strive to do better than your last project. That also keeps you interested in your own work by doing something a little different each time. Doing thing the way you always have sounds boring.
🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Needed this today. You have no idea. Thanks.
Aww, yay! That makes me happy!!
This message is so true! Thanks for sharing! Now I need to get my butt up and finish revisions. lol
You’ve got this!!!
This is something I think about all the time. I am nowhere near this point, but I do fear becoming complacent if I actually started making decent money.
I feel like a lot of the people I see go full-time actually write and release fewer books than they did before going full time, and/or it becomes way less about the books. I don't want that to be me, ever. I'm not saying it has to be a rat race of "release the most books" or anything. If I could go full time I would want it to free-up my time because right now all bookish pursuits are done in my "down time". But I would want to show up for "work" as normal. Work the 8 hour day, do the 9-5 thing, run to a schedule, etc. I think personally, I would be the most productive like that. One failing I see of people that work from home full-time on books is they feel guilty when they don't work but have long periods of the day when they procrastinate. They can get trapped in a cycle that lacks balance. I want to be able to have a weekend and have the evening to put work "away", and by making strict "working" hours I think it gives you more freedom, not less. It allows you to put the work aside without feeling guilty.
Yep! I’ve seen this too. It was one of my big fears going full-time because I’ve watched people allow their career slip through their fingers. I’m overly aware of how much work I put in, but I’m more of a night writer than a daytime writer so it’s hard to switch my brain. I think it’s because the last decade I was forced to write at night! Honestly, it’s work, but doesn’t feel like it all the time. ❤️
I needed this video! Thank you
Omg I love you 😭♥️ the vibes are strong in you
Awww!! ❤️🙌❤️🙌❤️
Thank you for the tough love. It helped me look at the whole thing with a more business mind rather than a passion project.
❤️❤️ Oh man, when writing it, let it be a passion project! That’s when all the fun stuff comes out. When you go to release, that’s when you need that mindset shift of thinking of it as a business.
Totally thought you were going to sing this to the Don't Be Suspicious beat at the end: Don't be complacent, don't be complacent.
OMG NOW THAT’S IN MY HEAD. Damn tiktok! 😂😂
I really needed to hear this today
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Thank you. I needed this nudge :)
❤️❤️❤️❤️
Hi Courtney as a writer and future author this video hit me hard. I'm definitely working very hard to get to there to reach my goals. Taking good advice from great authors! Thank you🥰💜
I like that you said writer and future author. I think there's a difference that a lot of people don't realise.
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Okay, first thought: I LOVE YOUR BOOKSHELVES. Seriously, they are stunning.
Also: I didn't realize how badly I needed this today! Thank you.
Aww, thank you!! So glad I could help! ❤️❤️
Oh my goodness this hits home so much for me. When I first published last year I had so many stories I wanted to write, but kept putting them off because my freelance business was doing so well. I got complacent. Fast forward to now in 2020 when all my freelance clients have pulled back due to the pandemic, I’m now seeing how harmful being complacent is. But you are so right! Dreams don’t work unless you do! Time for some serious business analysis and work. Dang, this was just the kick in the rear I needed.
You’ve got this!!! 💯 Sometimes you just need that one moment to catapult your thinking to the next level. The sky is the limit, go after those goals! ❤️❤️
Wow! That was brutal to hear, but in the best way possible. I am definitely not complacent but certainly heading in that direction. This was just what I needed to hear today. ❤️❤️❤️
❤️❤️❤️ So glad you found it helpful!
Great video! Thanks so much for the insight and the valuable reminder. I think consistency and complacency go hand in hand. I struggle to be more consistent with my productivity to avoid complacency.
Oh totally!!!
This is being filed as a "replay as needed" must-watch when complacency comes knocking!
Loved this video. I am always afraid of "being left behind" or being complacent. This felt like a pep talk.
Thank you! I so needed this today!! I’m going to be analysing my last few releases to step it up. (Ps. Fellow stay-up-until-5am-gal here!)
Yay! It’s always fun to look back on things with a critical eye. I’d make a list of what you did that worked and maybe what didn’t go so well. Break it down to the micro level, then list things that you could try to make the next release better!
This was just the video I needed! I've been feeling this way and I know my career has suffered because of it. Thanks for this!
I GOT YOU, BOO!
@@TheCourtneyProject THANK YOU!
This video was the motivational speech I needed today. I had a book release today the 3rd in a series and this just hit home. VIDEO IDEA: I'd to know know what Kennedy Fox does for your releases, tips and tricks, what has worked for you, what hasn't.
❤️❤️❤️ It’s never too late! We had a book do better a year after it released then when it first published. ❤️ And yesss, I’m rereleasing my backlist later this year and I’m going to go through everything I do for that. It’s pretty much the same.
I never realized it, but I am in a complacency ditch. Wow. Time to look at what I can do differently to make this better for me. Thanks for this video, Courtney.
❤️❤️❤️❤️ It’s not forever if you recognize it!
It's pretty harsh, but your advice is really good and is helping me change my mindset and make a better plan for what I want, so thank you!
Harsh? 😬 I like to think of it as being real. 🥰🥰 And you’re welcome!
Nailed it 🙌🏼
🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
Omg I totally relate to your love of red lipstick 💄 💋
Yasss!! Maybelline $7 a tube, #20 pioneer. Best stuff EVER. And stays on for 12+ hours!
The Courtney Project omg you’re totally feeding my obsession! I have so many reds... do i need one more? YESSS! Btw I’m very inspired by your hard work and attitude. Not sure why but it also feels great to know a fellow Texan DID IT! i know writing can happen anywhere but something comforting about knowing it’s happening in your backyard 🤗
Girl, we know about editing hell. We all have that stamp in our passports.
I wish we got t-shirts. 😂😂😂😂
That was great! Thank you
I hear this (complacency) a lot from authors that did well early on but resent that the industry changed. More so with publishing methods or things like stepping up covers and editing. Even in my five years, things have changed a lot and it can be frustrating but you have to accept that things will always be changing and embrace the challenges. Great pep talk.
I will say that sometimes the idea of “I have to write better” can get into my head and grind the whole process to a stop so I have to walk the tightrope.
Yes, absolutely! A lot of the people I know who are suffering now were a big deal years ago and didn’t adapt to a changing market. Oh and me too, the having to write better mentality is equivalent to wanting it to be “perfect”, which I suffer from too. I’ve gotten much better over the years, and have noticed that as long as I’m happy with it before release, that’s what matters most. People may hate it, but I tried my best and didn’t half-ass it. 😊😊😊
@@TheCourtneyProject , I used to think that "once I knew what I was doing" writing would be easier. hahahahahaha, instead it gets "harder" every book. But rewarding. And an amazing career.
Jealousy is a nasty B*tch. I am not jealous, but I'm in awe and I want that life. Hard work and all. I'm not afraid of putting the work in. I'm just trying to learn as much as I can while finally writing a book I feel I can release. Have you and Brooke thought about maybe writing a How-To book about how you guys do your releases and marketing? Haha I'd buy that sucker tomorrow! Thank you so much for all of the information you do share though. You rock!
This is so true! And no, we’ve not talked about writing a how-to book. LOL, I literally have no desire because the industry is always changing, and what works for us, might not work for someone else. Ya know? There’s the basics, but I think that’s been done so many times already. ❤️❤️
I'm in editing hell right now but it's worth it!
Yes, totally! Also, good luck! 🔥
YAS GIRL.
🙌🙌🙌🙌🙌
I have a question, but no pressure to answer or give thoughts.
I completely agree that you always need to try and level-up your craft and work hard. However, it's also true that not every book you write is going to be better than the last. Eventually, despite the hard work, you will write something that doesn't land as well. How do you deal with that internally? How do you tell the difference between writing complacently and the inevitable and occasional flop?
I think that when you break it down, you have to be proud of what you’re publishing and know you put the work in it even if it doesn’t benefit you financially or see public success. Does that make sense? I always think about books the day before they release, before other people have them, and there’s all the outside noise distorting release. And that’s the moment I ask myself, was this the best thing that I could’ve written with my current skills? Did I do everything I could to make sure it’s successful? If you can answer yes, then I don’t think that’s complacency. It’s you actually trying. And not every book flies off the shelves like hot cakes. And sometimes it’s because of timing or other outside factors you can’t control, but other times it’s because of things you *could* control. And noticing the difference between those two scenarios is what matters. Sometimes newbie authors just don’t have the experience to see where things could’ve improved and that comes with publishing more books.
I always said before writing under KF, that my best work (at that time) wasn’t read. A book that I worked hard on, that I was really proud of, no one really bought. And I can’t say it wasn’t because of effort in the writing, but rather my execution of that release. At the time, I thought, well, it’s me. Plain and simple. But I wasn’t experienced enough to see that I was missing the mark with marketing, months and months prior before release. At the time, I would’ve said I did everything I possibly could. Now though, I realize how wrong I was.
There will be flops, for sure, and it’s disappointing. It’s all about making the mistakes and learning from them. And there will be a lot.
At the point where you don’t care about what happens, and you don’t take a step back and reevaluate your brand, books, blurbs, marketing, etc, is when you’ve lost touch and become complacent. Does that make sense?
Also, let me say, I’m really good at failing. REALLY good at it. But I think at some point you just keep pushing forward and learning more and all of that comes with the experience of failing.
Gah, let me know if that answers your question. Great one! ❤️
@@TheCourtneyProject No, that was really helpful, thank you! I actually haven't heard many people talk about the difference between the objective things you can control: cover, blurb, marketing, editing, verses the subjective things, such as story content (though I'msure there are still objective things about this you can work on). I think I understand what you mean: It has a lot to do with giving that book its best chance with what you can control.
I love this video. Here's my question, because I am getting ready to publish a couple of books this year and do you distinguish between someone who is being complacent and someone who is trying not to be a perfectionist. I only ask that because I am trying not to go so hard at the releases but it's not because I don't care or want to do well and sell tons of books, it's because I have to work really hard at not over thinking and therefore second guessing EVERYTHING! For instance, the reason it took me so long to start an author tube channel was because I kept wanting everything to be perfect before I did it but then I realized if I didn't just do it I would never do it because perfect doesn't exist. I just wanted to ask if you think there is a difference between someone who is complacent and someone who is trying not to over think things?
I think when you stop caring is when you become complacent. But what you’re describing re:perfectionism, I’ve found is more of the “fear of failure”. We can strive for perfection but will never be perfect, so at some point, you have to let it go so you can move forward, make mistakes, and learn. It’s hard, but at some point whatever you’re working on will be the best that it can be (at that point in your life) and when you release those projects, whether it be videos or short stories or books, you’re giving yourself permission to learn and grow. Hopefully that makes sense!
@@TheCourtneyProject yes it makes perfect sense! And I do have a profound sense of fearing failure, particularly since things have just been so rough for me personally and I just want everything to do well and I have that whole "what if no one likes it, or what if no one likes me" thing going on and I could've sworn that I had gotten past that feeling but right when I'm about to do something it creeps up. I just have to keep reminding myself that nothing is ever perfect and that I can only do my very best and then I have to let go and let God! Your videos do help though so I want to make sure you know how much you help so many people with what you do and with how openly you share. Thank you ❤
Thank you for posting this. I know I’m not complacent but I also have no clue what to do. I don’t know what’s the best way to level up. I know I’m not complacent because I’m always thinking about what’s next. What should I be doing to make sure my next release does better than the last? But I also don’t have the funds or the expertise for marketing. I don’t want to just throw money into marketing and not get any results. I’m stuck to be honest and I don’t know where to start to figure anything out. I’ll have to figure it out and I don’t ever want to become complacent or blasé about my career.
Are there no online digital marketing courses that you could get a student grant for?
@@23daughters I'm not sure. I'll definitely look into it. I didn't even know where to start or what to search for if I'm being honest.
You have to give yourself permission to make mistakes and move forward. You learn by doing! As long as you’re trying, I don’t think that’s being complacent. It’s when you just don’t care anymore.
The Courtney Project Okay! That makes a lot of sense. I’m so scared of messing up and losing money that I’m overthinking it and not testing anything. I’m going to find some courses that can give me tips and learn to give myself permission to try and fail. I will learn it eventually.
My first thought: E.L. James had a post-50 shades release? I'm 100% NOT her audience, but still, I would have thought I'd at least have heard of it.
Great motivational video! Though it's totally okay to stop supporting JK Rowling in 2022 haha. She has officially flushed her career down the toilet with her bigotry. Even if that weren't the case, everything you said about author complacency I'm realizing still stands about her. ESPECIALLY about the Fantastic Beasts movies. She has just become totally complacent and stuck with things she thought worked in the past. Thanks again for the vid, really opened my eyes to how many authors have fallen into this trap!
Ahh yes, RIP JK. I moved her down on my bookshelf this year and packed up a lot of my HP trinkets just because each time I look at it, I get annoyed by her all over again. Indies are just as guilty when it comes to complacency.
hi quick question if your writing a fiction and you have a chapter about a night club can you mention that an actual song, that exits by your favorite artist, was playing?
You can mention song titles, you can’t use lyrics without permission from the copyright holder.
So, I'm most known for my rockstar series. Should I continue with this? I tried writing a couple others and they aren't as well received, but all rockstars gets stale for me and my creativity doesn't flourish.
That’s a hard one! People love our Bishop Brothers, so we did a spin off of all the kids to keep it different, and are releasing other things inbetween. I don’t know what the right answer is because it’s such a hard decision. 😕
Drop everything Courtney posted a video!!! 😀😀
😂😂😂😂😂
Underwriting is my biggest problem.
It happens to the best of us! ❤️ I’ve found letting projects sit then going back to then allows me to see it differently and add key details.
A-FREAKING-MEN.
I think it comes down to relevance. If you ever choose to rest on your laurels, then you're going to be irrelevant in a constantly changing market. And yeah. Some of the writers you grew up reading in the 1990s and early 2000s built a career just doing the same thing over and over and NEVER shifted how they wrote their books. But the market doesn't have room for that anymore, especially with how flexible the digital market has become.
Absolutely! Gah, yes, this x 100! We’re totally living in the digital age of publishing and it’s not the same. And it will never go back to what it used to be either. 🙌🙌
@@TheCourtneyProject YES! I cannot stand the people who think it will all go back to the way it was back in the 1980s. Like, if it didn't revert to non-digital in 2000, it's not gonna happen in 2020! FREAKING PEOPLE, MAN!
Do you use a marketing company for your releases? Or do you do it all yourself?
We started off doing everything ourselves then moved to hiring a PR company to help so we could focus on writing more. ❤️❤️ I’d recommend doing it on your own so when you hire someone you understand how it all works. But that’s me. 😊😊
@@TheCourtneyProject I have done it on my own for a while but never seem to make money back. I want someone who is a marketer who knows books, not just another author looking for another revenue stream. As bad as that sounds, people have a tendency to hang up their shingle for certain jobs before they are qualified so I'm wary and want to spend my money where it will make the most impact.
I thought Kennedy Fox was agented and traditionally published
Nope, we’re self-published but have an agent for subrights management.
The Courtney Project Ahh ok that’s what it is because i knew about the agent but didn’t realize it was for subright management. Very impressed with the self publishing because you are your own team. 👏 👏 👏
J.K. Rowling and Shane Dawson... Those names in this current time didn't age well.
I think we can all agree that 2020 is unpredictable. Age well...lol, the video is like a month old. 😂
The Courtney Project
Like milk left in the sun then? 😉 However, it's not really about the literal age of the video. In this case it's more about specific names that in this current time causes arguments and is like salt to an open wound while when you made this video of course there was respect and wonder connected to those names. Although I must say that so much has happened in such little time.