In Other Words

I’ve come to love tea enough that I will no longer conveniently buy it from the grocery store; instead I’ll drive a bit farther or seek out the most attractive (judging by looks and atmosphere and clientele and the like) tearoom in town (as my sister and I did in Pateley Bridge). How far would you go for a cup of tea?

If there are any of you who would visit my shop once it’s open, I am happy to assure you that this will not be the path to Biblio. But how on earth to match that utter sense of relief and safety and thankfulness when my customers sit before their steaming cup of tea?

The other day I had an interview at a publishing company to see if I could freelance for them. (It was a fun interview and they really wanted me on board but couldn’t figure out in what capacity: they don’t have an editorial dept.)

This company also has an impressive three-floor open-concept art gallery (oooh, I could have spent thousands if I had had the cash, and that would have been on only two pieces! Check out Brian Lorimer, pieces “Missing You” and “Forest in Yellow,” although I also love “Alone in a Big World” and several others. Heck, I love all of them) and an ad agency. While there, I picked up one of the ad agency’s rack cards.

Seemingly unrelated, but not

I also just finished reading a critic’s review of Audrey Niffenegger’s recent novel Her Fearful Symmetry, in which the critic actually, appallingly, used a certain dreaded term for the book. If ever my novel was described as such, I’d likely cry, for what does it mean anymore, given out so unthinkingly, so unoriginally?

The two together

One of the things that most perplexes and vexes me is the repetitive use of certain terms and images in order to set something apart from whatever is similar. This in itself is utterly oxymoronic (how can you be unique if you’re the same as everyone else?) but no one seems to notice, or at least they seem unable to do anything about it. Particularly guilty, in my mind, are copywriters for advertising companies, and book critics.

If one more ad or design agency is declared fresh and innovative, in the sense that they are unlike any other, while displaying splashy images of fruit and water or fruit in water, particularly apples and citrus, and if one more book is dubbed a veritable tour de force, I shall truly have no choice but to believe that there are regretably no more original thoughts in this world and that we are doomed, doomed, to read or look at nothing new. The fact that this problem is rampant in mostly the creative fields completely boggles my mind.

I have a weird and wonderful sense of history repeating itself, or something akin to that. If you’ve been reading here for a while, you know my first encounter with Tolkien and The Hobbit was in grade three, when my 23-yr-old teacher Mrs. Henderson, on whom I had a giant crush, took us out to the cemetery next door (I went to a Catholic school that was situated next door to the church of the same name), where we all gathered under a large tree and she ceremoniously opened a large format hardcover book covered in plastic and began to read.

If I thought I was in love then, I was mistaken. Under that tree, surrounded by mossy headstones on midsummer afternoons, I adored Mrs. Henderson and I love her still for fostering my love of hobbits and the magical land of Middle Earth. Those books have been formative for me.

So imagine my absolute delight when the very same book was discarded from the library years later and my mom brought it home for me!! And then imagine my absolute horror when the friend I lent it to lost it. And THEN imagine my wonder when, years later, this boy named Colin VanderMeulen produced the very same edition, only softcover, from his personal collection of books. I think I proposed to him then and there.

And now, almost 10 years later, imagine this: Colin-boy and Lucy-girl lounging on the couch across from me, their backdrop my wall of books, and me, copy of Tolkien’s and my beloved Hobbit in my lap. I’m finally reading it aloud to my little family!

Really. Can there be anything better?

This site is getting changed around a bit. Again. (Stop laughing, Friar!)

Although EditQuest has got more traffic on this blog than it did on its own, I’ve found it difficult and restricting to have it on my personal blog. Thus, I plan on getting EQ back on its own, with its own design, so I can be free to do what I like with this blog both with the design and content. I hope to do that very soon. I’ll still link to EQ from here, though.

Bear with me as I get all this stuff sorted, will you, please? I hope that once I do I’ll be content enough for a very long time to leave well enough alone.

A main reason for my constant changing here has been boredom and a lack of focus. But a lovely chat with the hubby over tea and coffee (he had coffee, I had Lady Grey) this morning in the living room, a rare and wondrous occurrence, has given me the impetus I need to begin grounding myself with some sort of resolve and deciding what I truly want to do with my life.

It was so exciting and validating to hear what C had to say. First he said he had had an idea about me going to see the parents of a friend for advice on what to do about Biblio. These people are millionaires because they once owned MacDonald’s, which they sold, and now own a chain of pizza places. They would certainly have experienced input as to how best to pursue my business idea. (Who knows, C pointed out, maybe they’ll even like your idea so much they’ll fund it.) I’ve already been to see the local business consultant people and it was that brief meeting that freaked me out and convinced me I could never do this, even though my proposal was good. I’m ready, though, to explore other options.

I wish I could have recorded what C said to me; it’s quite interesting and pleasing to hear yourself described in a positive way by your significant other, I’ll tell you. Knowing that person observes you in such a way and pays attention to what he or she sees is so cool!

All the time he’s known me, C said, he’s seen me irrevocably committed to and passionate about one thing—books. He recalled my time working at Chapters, how I had always prattled on about what books had come out and what was going to come out and how excited I was. He remembered how I gushed to the customers about the books I loved and how I made them fill their baskets with novels because of my enthusiasm, and how every moment of the day I had free I had my nose in some new book. I studied books for five years in uni, I’ve worked in a bookstore, libraries, for a publishing company. I constantly keep up on what’s being published and by whom. I collect books. I know books. I have a good background with which to start.

Most significantly, he said he felt sure, from observing me in my different jobs, that I should be buying and selling books, not signing them out for people, not repairing them (as cool as I think being an antiquarian book expert and restorer would be. I stole the idea from Geraldine Brooks’s People of the Book, an excellent novel). He didn’t think editing books was what I should do, either. For now it’s okay, but obviously, with the waffling back and forth I’ve done over the years, it’s not IT.

Books and me are intertwined, C observed rather poetically. That was one thing I could say was consistent all of my life, one thing I should know for sure. And it wasn’t true that I couldn’t commit to anything: I’ve had the idea for Biblio for three or more years now and he reminded me that I can’t stop thinking about it, fleshing it out in my head, imagining it so perfectly I want to cry in frustration that it doesn’t actually exist for us to go there. I have to admit, the thought of it, picturing me so clearly doing it, makes my heart pound.

And in the end, he said, who cares if you  change your mind? All you do then is sell the business. Or who cares if we want to move from Belleville? You sell the biz and move on and open another, or you have two. It’s okay to change your mind, he said. But you have to commit to something at least for the time being or you’ll float around feeling frustrated forever.

The conversation we had left me feeling pointed in a certain direction because I found myself constantly agreeing with what C said. First I need to convince myself that just because I can’t see all the options, establishing Biblio is not impossible. There are several options, and if I decide that I’ll never have the money to open my bookshop tearoom, I’m closing off those I don’t yet know about. Second, I need to prepare. My sister actually has her master’s in coffee and tea (she passed with distinction, I add!) and this is something I think I should look into. I also need to flesh out my business plan further, or rather finish it: I stopped at the financial part because I got freaked out.

Anyway, I won’t bore you. But I thought I’d put this on paper, so to speak, because that seems to make things more concrete. And now, since it’s after one in the morning, I’ll sleep on it, too.

I sip my tea the way you’re supposed to when tasting it (did you know you’re supposed to slurp?), but only because I’m trying to drown out the song on the radio. I am sitting conspicuously at my desk at the clinic, grossly aware of the diminutive elderly patient waiting across from me and the embarrassingly inappropriate and bitchy demands of “Give it to me right” coming through the radio here in the common room. This is when I realize that drinking tea at work is not at all the same as drinking it at home.

Part of it is the ugly forest green mug I’m using, which I associate with seriously ill people getting IVs. I usually serve them water or tea in these mugs; the room often smells off and their disease stares me down like a butch. And I’m very particular about what I drink tea in—at home I mostly use either bone china or pottery. It depends on the kind of tea. I really have to remember to bring in my own mug, but a brand-new one altogether. One I buy especially for here. I don’t like to mix work and home in any way.

That said, it’s really mainly my agitated state of mind that’s affecting my tea drinking here. Never mind the ugly mug, or the completely different atmosphere from home: those are a given. If I was sipping loose leaf from the queen’s tea service here things wouldn’t be the same, even though I sometimes sneakily change the music from rauchy pop to zen and, when no one’s in, burn a little incense to clear the air.

No, the lack of proper taste, materials, and atmosphere isn’t the only thing causing my discontent during tea time today. I’m bone tired, for one, and I can’t seem to shake that. It’s a no-brainer, of course: I’m working way too much (editing has been fantastic lately) and going to bed at least two hours after I feel I need to.

And all this is making me once again consider what I’m doing with my life. (Are you tired of me doing that yet?) I mean, now we’re in 2010 and, damn it all, it feels the same!!

WHAT DO I WANT? I wish to God I had a clearly defined goal, something I could unreservedly commit to. This is why I never make resolutions. I can’t even decide what to resolve! The only thing that makes me feel any sort of right is opening up Biblio, preferably in Yorkshire but anywhere nice, I guess. Now there’s a place I could drink tea and enjoy it! As time goes by without an inkling of my ability to do that, I become aware of feeling otherwise goalless, which is somewhat akin to feeling homeless—or rootless, rather.

It’s not that I lack ambition but more so that I can’t seem to find anything that really, truly interests me, at least to do. I do enjoy editing and I’m hearing more and more that I’m quite good at it, which is always nice. And I would rather work from home or have my own successful business, so I guess what I really want, if I can’t have Biblio, is to be able to get my editing flowing so well I don’t need a second job.

In that case, then, I need EditQuest to be redone (siriusgraphix will be doing it!) and given its own site again (though it has received more traffic from here than where it was before), and I need to contact more people regarding subcontracting, and dedicate more time to finding more clients. I need to sit down and decide just what I want to put my energy toward and how I am going to do that.

By the time I get ready for England this year, I need to be sitting full time in my proper place for tea.

Isn’t it amazing how quickly a day can change? Probably we pay more attention when it’s a great day that abruptly becomes shitty, but today was not that day for me.

I have been fighting a cold and exhaustion and I was certainly in no mood to go back to work so soon after Christmas. I have editing deadlines to meet and 11–7 at the clinic is not really my favourite shift.

It was a good thing Colin had already scraped off the car and shovelled the driveway because I was dragging my ass out of the house at precisely the time I was due at work. The driving was slow and though I tried to speed things up, no amount of cursing was going to make the half-wit in front of me care that I was late and therefore drive faster than 30km an hour. Poor baby Jesus. His name was used a lot this morning!

Needless to say, I arrived at work simultaneously riled up and tired. But something weird happens to me as soon as I step through that office door. I’ve made a rule for myself that I never take a bad day to work, and that seems to have stuck without me making much effort. Even though I was mad enough to spit, instead I made my boss laugh when I described to her why I was late. She seemed to brighten up herself and forget her frustration as she was trying to book a ticket to Florida online.

And then she said, “Well, to brighten up your day, I brought you a little something. I wanted to give you a special extra thing [she'd taken us to lunch a few weeks prior as our Christmas gift], because, well, you’re the best receptionist I’ve ever had.”

My jaw dropped. And then it dropped further when her card revealed a quite substantial gift certificate to Chapters. I was so thrilled I actually jumped off the floor and did some weird Elaine dance kick. I thanked my boss profusely and excitedly and she made everything even better by saying it was well worth it.

After chatting about our holidays (because the first patient had cancelled and we had time), we got down to work, but my day had changed so significantly by then—a burst of sunshine on an otherwise dreary, stressful day.

But it wasn’t over yet. To top it off, my time at the office lasted all of three and a half hours, since most of the patients cancelled due to bad weather. I left almost four and a half hours early.

Although I can’t stop thinking about my boss’s surprise gift and how much it means to me, I also can’t help but think about how much such a thing can really alter someone’s output. I drove home in an excellent mood after putting my best foot forward in getting as much as I could done beforehand. I totally believe in random acts of kindness, and my boss’s thoughtfulness has made me feel very inclined to pass on the good will, if even in some small way.

Today is Boxing Day, as you know, and I’m still discovering how quickly a festive season can pass, just like that, seemingly in the blink of an eye.

It feels very wrong to me.

Today my eyes are red-rimmed and tired. It is 6:41 pm and I’ve had a small breakfast, a small lunch, a few cups of tea, and still no supper. I’m (still) in my pyjamas. I feel down and exhausted and empty, not unlike the feeling you get when your best friend has just left after a fun-filled sleepover.

On Christmas Eve C and I and Lucy and my parents (they were with us for a few short days) drove to Barrie to have Christmas celebrations at my sister’s house. Four of us even made it to midnight mass, which I haven’t done in years. We were ten people altogether; only my sister in England and her family were missing. There’s always someone missing, but we did make videos and take lots of photos to send and I read aloud her card and emails from overseas. It was a good time. But we drove home last night because I had to work today to keep on schedule.

I miss my parents, I miss my family, I feel upset that already—ALREADY—the days off are over, and I go back to work at the clinic on Monday, and back to attending to deadlines, the stress of which never really left me. So short a time not working I feel I haven’t had it.This is why I’m tired and down, not because of the holiday toll, though it was emotionally draining for me.

I think people should get two weeks or more off work for Christmas. I wish it were possible. In fact, my personal grown-up Christmas wish is that Christmas could be officially two weeks long, no working at all, everyone in my immediate family plus the kids in a huge house. Then we do all the meals prep together, even shop for gifts together, and there’s no driving back and forth and bickering over who gets to see whom and so on. It would be so ideal Thomas Kincaid would paint it.

I’ve been told I have unrealistic expectations of life. And the depression of that is hitting me today. Christmas is over. Religiously, I guess it’s not (we were always taught that Christmas is not only one or two days ), but I am also struggling with religion, among other things.

Today has passed the way the time with my parents passed, the way Christmas passed. The hours went by so fast I felt like Scrooge on hearing the quarters chime—confused that I had somehow lost a day.

I don’t want to edit papers today. I’m so blue that all I want to do right now is curl up with the dog and C and sleep as though I hadn’t a care in the world.

Over the past few days, I’ve visited this blog and attempted to write a new post. I want to. I miss writing here regularly, and I miss writing well and about meaningful things. But I’ve been cursed with a lack of ideas, the usual problem, and I’ve deleted each attempt because, frankly, it sucked and I already feel my posts have been declining in quality. No need to worsen that.

I’ll tell you what’s on my mind, though, aside from the regular stuff. As I said, I miss writing, and in my few spare moments when not editing or at the clinic I’ve been reading stories online, a few fiction journal submissions, etc. I’ve been feeling very motivated to get something out I can publish. The question is, as always, when can I make time, and what do I write about when I don’t have any ideas? I think my failure to prioritize writing time stems from my fear of wasting that time chewing my fingers and writing twaddle.

And then I think of something I watched JK Rowling say in a documentary that covered a year of her life. In fact, I saw this on Saturday and I haven’t stopped thinking of it since. She said she was lucky to have had the idea of Harry Potter. When asked how she got it, she said, “I was taking a long train journey from Manchester to London in England and the idea for Harry just fell into my head.” Another time she answered, “Harry just sort of strolled into my head, on a train journey. He arrived very fully formed.” (Note the ease!) The rest you already know.

Twilight author Stephenie Meyer had a dream one fortuitous night about a vampire and a human girl in love. The rest of that story I assume you know as well.

I have thought that, yes, these women were lucky to have been hit with their ideas, and then smart to have seized the opportunity to develop and write them. But now I’m bothered by that word lucky. Words and their meanings are important to me as an editor, and luck is a word often thoughtlessly used. I keep asking myself, what does luck really mean? In this case, does it mean there are chosen ones, Lucky Ones? That I am not lucky because I haven’t had a good story idea? That I have to wait to get lucky or that I might never? Suddenly, things don’t seem very fair. And since I was kid, fair has been a big deal to me.

To a great extent I do believe that we create our own reality, that our choices dictate our lives. Luck, then, doesn’t seem to have much to say, although I admit I slip and let feelings of victimization and unluckiness overwhelm me. But if we determine what happens, if life does not just happen to us, I suppose that would mean that authors like Rowling and Meyer came upon their ideas by maintaining a state of creativity, being observant, as good writers are, and focusing on how they’d rather their lives were. Neither of them imagined the fame that would result; the important thing is that they recognized opportunity and followed through.

Of course, then, this means I have to do the same thing in order to succeed. I have the basic requirements met: some writing talent that can be worked with and the extreme desire to write something really satisfying that is also publishable and marketable. I think that while not wanting to believe in luck because it seems so unfair, I have been believing in it anyway, waiting for it to strike, holding out for that bolt of inspiration to hit that I can act on, when all along I should instead be fostering the right conditions that would allow my brain to conceive something brilliant.

I don’t want to believe that writers who get published are lucky. As an editor, as someone who is aware of how difficult it is to not only be published but be successful, as someone who knows how much work goes into writing and the publishing and marketing process, I’d like to believe luck has nothing to do with any of it. As Thomas Jefferson said, “I’m a great believer in luck, and I find the harder I work, the more I have of it.” Even the author who is accidentally discovered when an agent happens to walk into her workplace and she happens to mention the novel she’s working on and the agent happens to be the kind sort who says, well, send it to my office and I’ll have a look, and then he loves it and she gets published—even she is not lucky. It’s something else. It must be.

Yet part of me still struggles with the idea. What of the girl who gets discovered while shopping at the mall and becomes a supermodel? Sure, she had to have the material to work with first, as did the author who met the agent at her work, and it might have been as a result of healthy eating and regular exercise—or smoking a gazillion cigs and drinking litres of coffee and getting no exercise, whatever—but what of the girl who was simply born with good genes? Luck seems to be rearing its smug head right about now.

The thing is, I need to believe I’m in control, even if that means (much) more work. As much as I would love to be lucky, I can’t stand the thought of thinking I might not be so fortunate. My idea might not come upon me while I sleep and I might not be visited by a character while riding the train. I might not be in the right place at the right time. Instead, I have to work hard at not only the writing but also the development of an idea. Just in case.

So I conclude, while damning myself for it because now it means I have to follow through and work at not writing twaddle, there can’t be any such thing as luck. Luck just isn’t fair. As Seneca said long ago, “Luck is what happens when preparation meets opportunity.”

Since EditQuest is a very important part of this site, and since people come here looking not only to be entertained but to seek out an awesome editor, I have decided to include posts here that those particular people might be interested in, although you may find yourself reading as well.

On Wednesdays, now most seriously dubbed Working Wednesdays (does that sound as though I don’t work any other day, or as though I don’t take my work seriously except on Wednesdays?), I will post pieces that pertain strictly to the business of publishing, writing, editing, freelancing, or just business in general. I’ll write tips, resources, ideas, and guidance, though the posts might be also peppered with a few personal tidbits based on experience. Some days, like today (even though today is not Wednesday because I’m a day late), I’ll introduce you to a person or company I am acquainted with in the hope that you may find benefit.

Sirius Graphix for Serious Results

Recently I’ve written hints about a possible new source of editing work I’ve been quite excited about, and the time has arrived when I can reveal the identity of this new source. May I present for your perusal Sirius Graphix, a company that took me very much by surprise, not least because they contacted me out of the blue (if you take a look at their site and also see where their name came from, you’ll realize how punny I just was!) but mostly because it is populated by people with whom you may already be quite familiar. Today I have the opportunity to post an interview I conducted with the head of Sirius’s team members: Deborah Dorchak.

It is my hope that, becoming acquainted with the company, you may be able to take advantage of their services (it might even be me who edits, if that’s what you require!) but also that you can get to know these kind and talented people better. They really do have much to offer. In addition, you’ll see their design for this very site in about a month. Woohoo!

Interview with the Designer: Meet Deborah Dorchak

SV: One of the things I’ve learned as a freelancer is that when people ask me what I do, I am supposed to answer in about one to two sentences, concise yet accurate and attractive. Keeping this in mind, how would you describe Sirius Graphix?

DD: Sirius Graphix is a full service design company that offers graphic design with a full marketing department right at your fingertips. From the initial strategic marketing consultation to the finished product, your style, brand, and message are combined with our experience in marketing and design to produce striking imagery that draws viewers in. No matter what ideas you have in mind, our team will create symbols, images, and copy to make those ideas a reality.

SV: How did you come up with the idea for Sirius Graphix?

DD: It started the way most of my ideas do, with that little voice in my head going “What if?” In this case, Rose (one of the writers of the Sirius team) mentioned an idea for an ebook. I said, “Great, you write it, I’ll design it.” I then mentioned it to Wendi (co-founder and marketing director) and she saw the potential for something bigger. From there it was a maelstrom of ideas and networking.

In our first week we had our first client. We had no site of our own yet, nothing to show at all, but we had a client. If that wasn’t total encouragement I don’t know what is.

SV: What is Sirius Graphix’s mission statement?

DD: Our mission is to provide excellent service, guidance, and education for all our clients while providing a one-stop shopping experience for all their design needs. No matter what the medium—be it writing content, designing e-books, banners, brochures, a complete PR package, or even just a few images for a project they need—if they need it, we provide it. The ultimate goal is for Sirius to be the place they come to first—and last.

SV: You’re no stranger to business ventures like this, mainly as the designer. Now that you’ve started your own business, what will be different?

DD: The difference this time is before, as you said, I worked mainly on design. I wasn’t able to focus my time and energies on creating the types of projects and ideas I had in mind. And believe me, the ideas are non-stop. I doubt the rest of the team was expecting such a barrage of concepts.

Through it all there were long hard hours of work that, while profitable, seemed empty. There’s nothing sadder than having a sock drawer full of Great Ideas and never letting them out to see the light of day.

Now with the Sirius team working so efficiently, we’ve breathed new life into those ideas. Not only am I able to provide a higher quality of service and creativity for our clients, but the work is much more enjoyable for everyone involved. In fact, I can honestly go as far as to say, I don’t think of Sirius as a job. It’s a labor of love for us. Wendi and I love what we do so much the time just flies by. It’s really hard to put it down and shut the computer off at the end of the day.

SV: How would you describe your ideal client?

DD: Our ideal client is one who takes the time to think through all the needs and wants of the project and communicate those specifications effectively. We are more than happy to help in that communication process by providing the tools, thoughtful questions  and consultation to help each client really focus on getting the right questions answered. So far, every client who’s participated in the consulting process has been our ideal client.  Taking the extra time upfront to really listen to each other goes a long way toward creating that ideal client every time, I think.

SV: As lead designer, what’s your pet peeve when you look at themes designed by others?

DD: Can’t really say. A theme, like any other creative endeavor, all comes down to personal preference. What might be great for one person might be a royal pain for another. Cosmetics aside, from a purely technical standpoint, I would have to say my biggest pet peeve is sloppily written code. When its clean and readable, at least you stand half a chance of making the mods you want.

SV: Although you design with each client’s preferences in mind, what would you say is non-negotiable for a good theme, if anything?

DD: I don’t think there is anything non-negotiable in a good theme. As I said above, different things work for different people. This is why we build all our themes from scratch, starting with the design itself, taking each client’s specific needs in mind. One person might need a highly specialized sidebar with all the bling, but the next person may not. They may not even need a sidebar at all. Why should they pay for extra features if they are never going to use them?

SV: What inspires you?

DD: Movies. I watch a lot of movies and often get my best ideas from there. Music, too. Sometimes all it takes is one line of lyrics and I’m off and running—and so is my team. Actually, I think they have a bomb shelter somewhere they’re not telling me about.

SV: Tell me a little about the Sirius team.

DD: Ahhh…my team. I have never had the opportunity to work with such a talented group of women in my life. Wendi Kelly is my friend, business partner and co-founder. She’s the fire to my water and keeps me going. And vice versa. She’s a talented writer and strategic marketing consultant and after running several successful businesses of her own, I highly value her opinion.

Rose Redelfs is a vivacious spark with plenty of drive. She’s the comedienne of the group and she infuses her writing with a marvelous sense of humor. As the youngest member of the team, Rose brings a fresh, youthful perspective, which can be very important for clients needing to appeal to the younger market.

Allison “Sushi” Day is our code goddess. Over the past couple of years I’ve watched her skills grow and knew that one day she’d be kickin’ ass and taking names—although she might blush while she’s doing it. Sushi is one of the sweetest girls I’ve ever had the pleasure of meeting and I just know she’s destined to do great things.

And I didn’t say all that because she sends me cookies on a regular basis either.

SV: What do you hope to see from Sirius Graphix in five years?

DD: We want to continue to expand on our one-stop shopping experience by offering additional services. One of the additions we have planned is to expand our ebook writing division. In five years we hope to see Sirius as an established publishing house. We’d like to be able to help future authors go from manuscript to an actual book on the market. I have no doubt we’ll be able to do this. It’s going to take careful planning and research, just like everything else we do, but it will happen.

Thank you, Deb.

Now, if you haven’t already done it, go check out the commendable Sirius Graphix. If you need a design for your site, an overhaul for your blog, a spectacular looking ebook, look no further.

It’s time to get Sirius!

First, I think this would make more sense if it were edited to ask: What would you do if you knew you could not fail?

As for my answer, I’d write a novel and open Biblio. And that’s just for a start…

What would you do?