Author looking for consultant

[Just Plain Ruff]

Nice ... what are your consulting fees like ?

And is the novel scary ... I like scary .

I am actually reviewing two novels.

One is for BenBella books and the other is for a pastor friend of mine who is writing his second book. The first was published a while ago.

I do not charge consulting fees but for my current work I do charge consulting fees depending on the client and whether I'm working as a employee or a consultant.

I doubt you could afford my consulting fees though.

[Chief1C]

I've read dozens of books by pre-hospital aid givers; from combat medics to EMS. There have only been two that I enjoyed. Medic: The Story of a Conscientious Objector in the Vietnam War by Ben Sherman; and EMT by Pat Ivey. One a Vietnam, clearly, army medic; and the other an EMT from rural Virginia. On the case of Ben Sherman, I sat in the chair beside my bed, and only got up twice to.. well.. you know.. I read that book from cover to cover, took me ten hours, but I did it in one day. He's an amazing writer, and I stuck with it like someone was narrating it to me. Then there are authors who jump around, show their glory and ego. I just threw away a bunch of paperback books that I never finished. Because everyone who writes a book, based on what they feel was an amazing, enlightening, single year career in EMS.. pisses me off.

[paramedicmike]

On the contrary. You were treated with the same suspicion that others who've come here with the very same request as yours were treated. If you think you've encountered malice or unkind treatment you are sorely mistaken.

It seems that if you were a true author on a real quest for information you would have at least done some basic homework about EMS and its structure before asking for the information you requested. Failure on even the most basic level is enough to raise an eyebrow.

Please understand that so far you are an author without a name and without even a publication to your credit that can be used as verification to your identity. People have come here under the same guise as you requesting information for a book only to turn around and admit they're looking to steal stories. Worse than that, people have attempted to gain information in an attempt to sue the very EMS providers who provided assistance to them.

Try to look at it from our perspective. You know who you are. We don't. While I can't speak for others, although judging by some of the responses so far I don't think I'm too far off base, you've given us no reason to believe you are who you say you are.

So please, if you're serious, do your homework before asking questions. Be honest and up front with who you are. Simple things like your name and an email address readily available to those from whom you're requesting help is a bonus. It also lends to your credibility.

Besides, if you're honestly looking for an advisor, I highly doubt you could pay any of us what we're worth.

[HERBIE1]

Honestly, I'm nearly speechless. The level of malice leveled at me for asking nothing more than an EMT's perspective is scary. That kind of behavior diminishes us all. I spoke from the heart with an honest request. I was respectful, yet treated unkind.

Also, I did indeed provide a valid email, as herbie1 has already proven by contacting me through it.

Well, I think you should have done a bit of homework before you jumped into a forum such as this- it would have somewhat prepared you as to what to expect. I have no idea what your background is, but most folks in public safety- police, fire, and EMS- are pretty cynical. It's part of the job, but it's also a defense mechanism. Most people have no idea what really goes in in this business, and would be flabbergasted if they knew the truth of what we see and what we do. As such, outsiders who ask pointed questions are looked at with a healthy skepticism.

We also tend to be very protective of our own, and if we gave perfectly honest answers to questions about what we do, most folks would not understand the context the of the answers.

You see malice, I see an abundance of caution.

Nothing personal, I assure you.

[tcripp]

Honestly, I'm nearly speechless. The level of malice leveled at me for asking nothing more than an EMT's perspective is scary. That kind of behavior diminishes us all. I spoke from the heart with an honest request. I was respectful, yet treated unkind.

Also, I did indeed provide a valid email, as herbie1 has already proven by contacting me through it.

Please do not rate us all by the few. I can assure you we are not all of the same mind set. I for one would be more than happy to provide the information you need, if I can.

[RobertsFiction]

Thank you,

I suppose my feelings do bruise quite easily. I will try to remember that not everyone is a cynic. I have already received a couple of great offers from others, and I appreciate yours none the less.

[tcripp]

Thank you,

I suppose my feelings do bruise quite easily. I will try to remember that not everyone is a cynic. I have already received a couple of great offers from others, and I appreciate yours none the less.

The offer stands. And, I've read up on your novel. I might just have to give it a read. I have always been a fan of Stephen King myself...

[HERBIE1]

Thank you,

I suppose my feelings do bruise quite easily. I will try to remember that not everyone is a cynic. I have already received a couple of great offers from others, and I appreciate yours none the less.

Depending on how you want to portray the character, to be accurate, many folks in this business ARE cynical and/or skeptical. It comes with the territory and what we deal with every day. In many ways it is why we are perfectly suited for this field. Speaking for myself, I take very little at face value- I need to see proof. We like facts, signs and symptoms, and concrete evidence, although we also know sometimes those details are hard to come by.

As a writer, I'm sure you can also understand the difference between "healthy" cynicism/skepticism, and a lack of compassion. In our business, they are not the same thing.

[RobertsFiction]

I want to portray the character as a father first. Everything else, including his career, are just details to give him depth. The story is about a father, who's daughter contracts a very unpleasant disease, (a fictitious diease) and the lengths he will go to in order to give her a normal life.

It's not about being a paramedic. That's just incidental. I could make up the details and fake it all. Most people wouldn't know the difference, but I would and you would. I just wanted to get the details right so that the one chapter that this guy is actually doing his job looks authentic to people in the know.

[HERBIE1]

I want to portray the character as a father first. Everything else, including his career, are just details to give him depth. The story is about a father, who's daughter contracts a very unpleasant disease, (a fictitious diease) and the lengths he will go to in order to give her a normal life.

It's not about being a paramedic. That's just incidental. I could make up the details and fake it all. Most people wouldn't know the difference, but I would and you would. I just wanted to get the details right so that the one chapter that this guy is actually doing his job looks authentic to people in the know.

Well, speaking as a father of 3, I can assure you that regardless of what happens at work, family does come first. In fact, because of what we do, we are acutely aware of how fragile life is, and how important family and friends are. Lives can and do change literally in the blink of an eye, and too often through no fault of our own.

Our second family is those we work with. Many times, we spend as many hours with a partner as we do our spouses. Often times we know as much- if not more- about our partners as do their spouses- especially in the case of long term partners. I am intricately involved in the life of my partner, and he in mine. If there is a family issue, we discuss it and ask for advice. You develop a bond and level of trust that is far deeper than a standard work relationship, and think nothing of dropping everything to help him or his family out. It's in our make up to want to fix things- it's what we do.

Just food for thought for your character...