Writer Mama Riffs on Raising A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

Poetry For the People with Sage Cohen
Next Class Begins on June 4th
Prerequisites: None
Have you always wanted to write a poem but didn’t know how to begin? Maybe you’re already writing poetry and want to connect with your muse more often, or brush up on your poetic prowess? Poetry for the People takes poetry off of its academic pedestal, making it accessible to and enjoyable for everyone. Six lessons with six assignments completed in six weeks.
Cost: $175 [Last time at this price.]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Personal Essays that Get Published with Sage Cohen
Next Class Begins on June 4th
Prerequisites: None
Everyone has a story to tell. Would you like to tell yours exceptionally well–and then share it with a wider audience? Personal Essays that Get Published equips you with the basic knowledge you need to write personal essays that connect-and the market know-how to get them published. Six lessons with six assignments completed in six weeks will take you from writing magnetic leads to cultivating meaningful and memorable narratives to researching markets and sending out your work. Plus, each week’s lesson will include two recommended publications for placing your essays.
Cost: $199
Register at Writers on the Rise

By Abigail Green

Here in Baltimore, spring is in full swing. Birds are chirping, flowers are blooming, and my toddler is learning not to pick the ones in the neighbors’ yards. Unfortunately, not many flowers grow in our yard because I have a black thumb. You might say gardening and I go together like kids and cauliflower. I like to think that I do my growing in other ways — say, by continuously growing as a person, a mother, and a writer.

When you are self-employed — as freelancers are, by nature — growing as a writer is not a given. Most of us don’t have editors pushing ever more challenging assignments on us, or suggesting we mix things up by penning poetry along with our standard nonfiction fare. So it’s up to us to seek out opportunities on our own.

I know a magazine writer who challenged herself to write a novel. She signed up for a night class, got some books out of the library, and joined a fiction writers’ group. A year later, she had a finished manuscript that she’s now circulating to agents. Another colleague keeps her humor writing fresh by performing stand-up comedy now and then.

When I have felt my own writing getting stale - starting every story with a question, ending every article with a quote, using the same phrases over and over -I know it’s time to shake things up. So I got into travel writing as a way to learn how to write descriptive prose. I got into blogging as a way to develop material for my essays and find out which topics resonated with readers. I even attempted some fiction to learn the art of writing dialogue. Alas, I abandoned my budding novel before it began.

But that’s OK, because each new venture helped me grow as a writer. By reading and studying and listening and writing, whether on my own, in a class or at a lecture or workshop, I learned new skills to bring to my work. I learned that captivating leads are essential whether you write fiction or nonfiction. I learned that dialogue can spice up an essay. I discovered that unusual comparisons are key to humor - for instance, “My new baby keeps me busier than a one-legged man in a butt-kicking contest” is much funnier than “My new baby keeps me busy from sun up till sun down.”

Sometimes growing as a writer might mean taking on an assignment that’s outside your normal range. Maybe you could try your hand at a book review, a how-to article or a feature-length piece if you usually write shorts. Maybe writing press releases or web content could teach you to be more clear and concise in your magazine or newspaper writing.

Give something new a shot this spring, writer mamas. Yes, it might wither and die on the vine (like my would-be novel), or it might flourish and grow into something more beautiful than you ever imagined.

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Abigail Green is a freelance writer in Baltimore. Over the past 10 years, she has written for national, regional and online publications including AOL, AAA World, Bride’s, Baltimore Magazine, Cooking Light and Health. Her latest project is raising her first child, which she chronicles in her blog Diary of a New Mom http://diaryofanewmom.blogspot.com/.

By Christina Katz

Just about every writer is acquainted with other writers. Chances are good that you hang out with fellow members of the writing clan, even if only virtually, every chance you get. And if you don’t, then sister, get thee to a writer’s conference and start connecting with your fellow writers!

Full participation in a conference will accelerate your career by helping you:

• Learn about the latest industry trends and what the trends mean to your career
• Rub elbows with published authors, agents, and editors for networking
• Digest timely, relevant techniques taught by highly qualified instructors
• Make new writer friends everywhere you go

Create a game plan in advance, so you don’t spend all of your time there trying to decide what to do next. Like every opportunity you invest in, you will get out of a conference what you invest. So, if the best you can manage is to get yourself there and just show up, that’s good enough. But even better if you can sign up early (and get a registration discount), join the association (and receive member benefits), and study up on who is attending and what interests them (so you’ll be able to participate in conversations with ease).

If you show up with a large bag or backpack, a notebook, plenty of pens and don’t forget your business cards, you’ll be in a great position to get the most out of a writer’s conference, and you’ll leave feeling like your tribe of writers just got a whole lot larger.

In fact, if you plan to attend a conference, why not give your existing tribe of writers a holler, meet up and get some quality face-to-face time to share the wealth of knowledge. But don’t be afraid to stick your hand out, introduce yourself and make some brand new friends because you will have plenty of opportunities.

Most importantly, have fun! Writer’s conferences are a chance to relax and hang out with old and new friends. Be sure to schedule down time in your busy schedule.

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Christina Katz, author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, is working on her second book for Writer’s Digest Books, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform. She has also written over two hundred articles for magazines, newspapers, and online publications and has appeared on “Good Morning America.” Christina is a popular writing instructor who has taught hundreds of writers over the past seven years. She blogs daily at The Writer Mama Riffs and is publisher and editor of two zines, Writers on the Rise and The Writer Mama. More at http://www.thewritermama.com/.

With Christina Katz

Writing and Publishing The Short Stuff
Especially For Moms (But Not Only for Moms)!
Next Class Begins on August 20th
Prerequisites: None
Finally, a writing workshop that fits into the busy lives of moms! You will learn how to create short, easy-to-write articles-a skill that will make it easier to move up to longer, more time-consuming articles when you’re ready. Try your pen at tips, fillers, short interviews, list articles, how-tos, and short personal essays-all within six weeks. Now includes markets!
Cost: $199.00. [This class fills fast and is already filling!]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Targeting Your Best Writing Markets
Next Class Begins on August 20th
Prerequisites: Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff is strongly recommended or Permission from Instructor
Learning to sift through and analyze markets is one of the biggest challenges of launching a writing career. This class will help you tackle the markets head on while covering: idea management, how to discover your best audiences, how to allow those audiences to lead you to fresh ideas, how to break a magazine down into the key areas that matter most to freelancers, and how to start specializing right away so your career will achieve lift-off faster. And how to determine your speciality or specialties so you can earn more.
Cost: $175.00. [Last time at this price!!!]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Platform Building Basics for Writers
Next Class Begins on October 8th
Prerequisites: Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff, Targeting Your Best Writing Markets, and Pitching Practice all strongly recommended or Permission from Instructor
Be the first to sign up for the companion class to my forthcoming book, Get Known Before the Book Deal. Picking up where Targeting Your Best Writing Markets left off. This class helps you go position yourself as a seasoned professional, who isn’t afraid to let the world know what you have to offer. This is an advanced class, for people who have taken classes with Christina Katz and who are ready to take their writing career to a more professional level with a blog, Web site and newsletter. By the end of our six weeks, you will have a clear vision of your platform, and a plan for first and future steps. You will be ready to anchor your book proposal to that all-important online and in-person presence, agents and editors are looking for.
Cost: $199.00 [This class fills fast and is already filling!]
Register at Writers on the Rise

I had some headshots taken over the weekend. With this guy…

As in real headshots in a real photo shoot with a real (professional) photographer.

Shout out to Shelly Lipkin for recommending Mark Bennington of Bennington Photography.

I was impressed with Shelly’s headshots when he spoke as part of the Northwest Author Series I host. He recommeneded Mark, even though Mark lives all the way in L.A.

What do you know, shortly thereafter, Mark scheduled a trip to come up to Portland. How lucky is that?

Or should I say, how lucky am I?

I went into the two-hour process nervous. I came out amazed. And with an all new appreciation of photography as a science and an art.

When I arrived Mark put me immediately at ease (Did I mention I was nervous? Oh yes, I did.).

He came up with some totally great shot ideas. And I was thoroughly impressed with the results.

Do you want to see the results?

Yes?

Okay, here’s a few…

If you live in the Portland, Oregon area and you need some headshots, why not call Mark? He’ll only be here for about ten more days but you might still be able to schedule a shoot. You’ll find contact info at his website:

www.benningtonphotography.com

An E-class Taught by Christina Katz

Class Begins on June 4th
Most writers underestimate the comprehensiveness needed in a book proposal that will garner the interest of agents and editors. They also mistake the definition of platform and importance of alining their proposal to a solid track record. A two-time author, Christina has helped hundreds of nonfiction writers succeed over the past seven years. Now she’s making her proposal-writing advice available in a six-week e-mail course to aspiring authors who want to nail the proposal the first time around.
Cost: $199.00. [Only time at this price.]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi from Inkygirl.com with permission. Please read the re-posting policy prior to posting here.

Jason and I dashed Samantha over to a friends and then zipped up into the city to see the fabulous Marc Acito perform Marco, The Musical!

Actually, we zipped a bit too much and overshot our turn. Someone who knows please tell me why men get so upset about getting lost?

Fortunately, I finally asked my (exhausted, so I cut him some slack) husband to please stop so I could ask a nice fellow who was loading his bike into his car (this is Portland after all) where we went wrong.

And, what do you know, we got there. On time and everything. (Honey, I hope you are reading this but somehow I think you are too busy with your play that opens this week.)

Anyway. We got there. And we were so glad we did. Even Jason has to admit that it was totally worth getting slightly lost for the pleasure of an evening of laughing uproariously.

My absolute favorite part was a song that Mark sang (and wrote, I imagine) called, “I’ll be there for you.”

OMG, hilarious! I was dying!

So, my dear reader. If you live in any of the following places, I hope you will cancel all of your plans and make an evening of enjoying time with Marc Acito: [These dates edited on May 5th to just the list of "singing," complete list of appearances here.]

Seattle - Elliott Bay Book Co; May 6 at 6pm (book “singing”)

LA - A Different Light Books; May 7 at 7pm (book “singing”)

NYC - Barnes & Noble; May 12 at 7pm

Menlo Park, NJ - Barnes & Noble; May 13 at 7pm

Beaverton - Borders; May 20 at 7pm (book “singing”)

Cannot WAIT to read Attack of the Theater People. I will definitely post an Amazon review as soon as I do.

I hope you will read it and post a review too. And definitely see Marc, if you get a chance.

We all need to laugh uproariously sometimes.

If you just can’t make it to an appearance, you can always read Marc’s hilarious blog or just check out his Hair Museum at his website.

Go, Marc! Hope to see you on the bestseller list soon.

Well, it official. I’m a stage mom.

“My baby” has official left the baby hood and joined the ranks of “kids.”

Kids with busy school schedules. Kids with social calendars. Kids with activities. That kid has become my kid.

Only I don’t worry about overscheduling. Because I’m letting activities be an extension of what is. After all, busy isn’t love. Love is love. And fun is pretty darn close.

Since Samantha already thinks she is living in a musical (constant singing, dancing and dressing up), we let her try out for her dad’s summer production of Seven Brides for Seven Brothers. And along with about ten other little kids she was cast.

This is not a kid’s play, of course. So “my baby” is making her big debut as…a townsperson. Rather, a townkid in the 1850s.

Since, speaking figuratively, I’m a Theater Widow throughout the school year while my husband produces and directs show after show, by having Samantha in the play, we actually get to see Daddy more than we otherwise would this summer.

Smart mommy.

And if you haven’t gotten to the active kid phase yet, just wait. There is a whole world of activities out there for our kids. And oh, the things we mothers will put ourselves through for our families. Whether you are a soccer mom, a little-league mom, a martial arts mom, a dance mom, or a chess club mom, I’m sure you can relate. Multiply the responsibility by however many kids you have and that adds up to a whole lot of time in the car shuttling.

I think I’d better charge up the ol’ laptop. As much as I love being in my newly redecorated home office, I’ll be away from it more this summer. But I’m going to approach it all like a writing adventure.

If I can just get the songs out of my head…which is unlikely.

The good news, in a culture that would have our kids activitied to death, is that as the mom, you get the final word. You know your child best and it’s all your call. So, despite the fact that I might think Samantha might love swimming, soccer and dance, as well, I think we’ll wait and see how one commitmemt goes. And then take it from there.

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
The Writer Mama

P.S. I haven’t forgotten about those of you who volunteered to write reviews, but I lost my reviews editor before we had a chance to get started. So, this summer, I will have time to pick that ball back up and run with it. But I’m booked through the end of May. Sorry for any inconvenience!
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In the spirit of full disclosure, Jane Friedman is my editor over at Writer’s Digest Books

Jane has a new blog called “There are no rules” in conjunction with www.writersdigest.com.

Working with Jane has been not only a true pleasure but also a very educational experience for me, as a writer and an author.

If you want an informed perspective on what is really going on in the publishing industry these days, I hope you’ll check out Jane’s blog. Because she’ll give you food for thought about what the heck is really going on.

And I know we all want to be informed so we can succeed, hard-to-swallow as the news may sometimes be.