Writer Mama Riffs on Raising A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

I write a monthly column on platform development including how to pitch and how to get the most out of a writer’s conference, but since the Willamette Writers Conference is coming up this weekend (!!!), here’s a quick pitching primer reminder for the folks I look forward to seeing there:

Within ten seconds of your verbal pitch or one half page of written text, I need to know (or the person you are pitching needs to know):

1. What is your very specific book topic

2. Who is the very specific market for this topic and how big is it (the number)

3. Why the timing is perfect for this book concept

4. Why you are the very best person to write it (include quick proof)

5. What your current platform is right now (not what it will be in the future)

These are all of the things that agents and editors are listening for right up front, so be extremely concise.

For more information about pitching, please see chapters 22 and 23 of Writer Mama.

You can also read month’s January-July of my Willamette Writer’s column on Writers on the Rise:

http://writersontherise.wordpress.com/tag/wotr-columns/platform-development-101/

There is actually still plenty of time to nail your pitch. And that’s what you want to do, if at all possible.

Good luck!

Move over 2007 version, the 2008 Guide to Literary to Literary Agents is about to hit the shelves!

I contributed an article called, “Almost Famous, Start Building a Platform to Garner More Attention and Respect.”

Here’s a teaser from Editor Chuck Sambuchino’s GLA blog.

I met Chuck at the BEA and Writer’s Digest/BEA Conference and he is a super-nice guy, who enjoys seems to genuinely enjoy helping writers seeking publication.

I’ve also been writing about platform development for The Willamette Writer this year. All of these columns are reprinted in Writers on the Rise. If you are interested, you can pull up the whole series by clicking here. (It will come up in reverse chronological order, so scroll down to the bottom to read the series in order.)

I also started teaching a class that focuses on platform called Platform Building Basics for Writers that I’ll be offering again starting October 3rd. If you are interested, you can find more info here.

You may be wondering, “What’s all the fuss about platform? Can’t I just write well and let that be enough?”

Well, I’ll let Writer Mama editor Jane Friedman from Writer’s Digest answer this question for me. Not too long ago she told me this:

Platform development is more important than ever for writers seeking publication.

More important than ever. You might not like hearing this. You might feel like developing a platform on top of everything else you have to learn is simply asking too much. But I’ve been growing my platform alongside my writing career for years and I am here to tell you that not only is it fun, it’s also extremely gratifying.

So, as I teach in my platform class, try to keep an open mind. No one is asking you to do anything that compromises your integrity.

It’s just that the days of the isolated writer slaving away in obscurity are over and a new day has already dawned—the day of the multi-tasking writer, who keeps introversion and extroversion in balance.

And to that, I say, Amen.

Well, I have just finished reviewing the 2007 Willamette Writer’s Conference schedule and I all I can say is, “WOW!”

If you are a writer in the Pacific Northwest, simply put, you do not want to miss this learning and career-growing opportunity.

In fact, if I had to say what has made the biggest difference in my writing career, ever, I would have to give credit to my membership and participation in Willamette Writers and the Willamette Writer’s Conference.

As a member, I go to informative monthly meetings, keep tabs on the all the latest publishing industry breaking news, keep up with local goings on via weekly e-mail announcements, and get to enjoy hanging out with new and old writer buddies!

I write a column on platform development for the monthly newsletter, which is a valuable resource for both traditionally published and self-published writers.

As a presenter at the conference, I get to give workshops, critique manuscripts, have a signing for Writer Mama, hang out at the Writer’s Faire with fellow authors, meet attendees, spend time with awesome folks from the publishing industry (like Writer’s Digest Books Writer Mama editor, Jane Friedman) and so much more.

I think that the organizers of this year’s conference deserve a standing ovation!

And this year, Retrofit Films will be making a documentary film of the agent and editor pitching process! How totally awesome. I can’t wait to see it!

If you are thinking about coming but you are on the fence for any reason, all I can say is:

Do not miss the Willamette Writer’s Conference.

You’ll thank me later.

And if you are not in Portland or the Pacific Northwest, I suggest that you find a writer’s conference near you OR make plans now to be here for next year’s Willamette Writer’s Conference.

And be sure to look me up if you come.

Here is a Microsoft Word download of the one-pager that I refer to in Writer Mama.

One-pager for Christina Katz from August 2005

Your one-pager should be a simple summary of your bio as it relates to your active platform, as much as your current platform is relevant to the book concept you are pitching. This is one of the three document you can share with agents or editors at a conference, if they are interested, that I discuss in much more detail in my book, Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids.

Needless to say, my platform has grown tremendously in the past two years, as it should. So my one-pager today would look very different than it did in 2005.
When I get back from vacation in July, I will add the one-pager to the Writer Mama website, as promised.

Actually, some of these are from Tuesday and others are from Wednesday night, in addition to tonight, Thursday.

Tomorrow, it’s BEA.

Well, I’m here! Although I felt a bit like Alice-down-the-rabbit-hole at first, I am starting to feel right here at my hotel only a couple of blocks from Madison Square Garden and Macy’s.

Stumbled off my leavin’-on-a-JetBlue-plane red-eye at about 8:00 a.m. And it only took me three hours to arrive at my hotel in Manhattan. (Okay, so I got on the Airlink tram for no reason, my shuttle was right in the same terminal. In my own defense, I was a wee bit tired.)

Checked in, opened my bag to unpack, and discovered that yes-indeed my shampoo and condtioner bottles had exploded. Fortunately, it was a small mess and only my workout clothes were effected. Whew!

I thought my response to all of this was very urbane. I decided it was time for a nap.

Nap taken, I had a lovely meeting with my agent for Writer Mama, Rita Rosenkranz at her home on the Upper West Side. (More about how great she is later.) Then grabbed a bite and walked back to my hotel through Times Square, which would not have been complete without the three-some of “I (Heart) New York” t-shirts for my family to wear all matchy-matchy.

It’s about eight o’clock, and since I am in The City That Never Sleeps, I think I’d better get some shut-eye.

Big conference tomorrow! Can’t wait to see everyone.

Will Schwalbe, senior vice president and editor in chief of Hyperion

Judy Hottensen, vice president and publisher of Miramax Books

Shaye Areheart, vice president and editorial director of Shaye Areheart Books/Random House

Obviously, the WDB/BEA Writer’s Conference is a stellar experience for writers, who write in any genre. And, of course, I understand that for any number of reasons, you may not be able to attend (but maybe next year!).

Maybe now is a good time to take a look around for a writers conference and writers association a little closer to home. I am a big advocate of baby steps, so why not start by attending a writers conference in your area and then plan on moving on to bigger and better conferences next time?

For a complete list of writers conferences that you can search by state, please visit:

Shaw Guides 

I’m feeling calmer about my trip to NYC the more I prepare to leave. I typed up a list of who’s on first while I’m gone and that made me feel a lot better.

“Grandma Cindy” is flying in on Wednesday and on Tuesday and Wednesday, for sanity’s sake, Samantha will miss two days of preschool.

I imagine I am not the only mom who has trouble replacing herself when she is out of town. For all the moms who have to travel frequently, my heart goes out to you!

I tried on all my clothes and discovered there is only a couple things I need to run out for today. I’m so glad I shopped for this trip gradually over the past couple months. Three cheers for advance notice!

When I was invited on Good Morning America, I had absolutely nothing to wear. None of my old clothes fit any longer.
Why? Because I’d had a baby, that’s why. My weight fluctuates so much more now than it used to. But I don’t get hung up on it. I just make sure I have clothes that fit!

I’m rambling instead of packing (and meeting that deadline that pops up while I’m gone). Here are a few more interesting folks I’ll meet at the Writer’s Digest/BEA conference:

Peter Selgin, By Cunning & Craft: Ten Lessons for Fiction Writers (this is an nice site to check out…love the color!)

Linda Swanson-Davies, co-editor of Glimmer Train Stories

Writer’s Digest Editors: Robert Brewer, editor of Writer’s Market, Chuck Sambuchino, editor of Guide to Literary Agents, Lauren Mosko, editor of Novel & Short Story Writer’s Market and Alice Pope, editor of Children’s & Illustrator’s Writer’s Market

John Truby, Screenwriter/Director

G. Miki Hayden, Mystery author (bio)

This session, I have had ten amazing women in my Platform Building Basics for Writers class. It’s truly exciting to hold a space where writers have time to reflect on what is meaningful to them in a broader context. Thanks to the Internet, once you know what topics you are truly passionate about, it doesn’t take very long until you are putting them out there and generating a platform that can sustain, not only a book, but a whole slew of offerings for your niche audience like classes, speaking opportunities, and consulting.

What a pleasant discovery for me to find this work so exciting! My enthusiasm only confirms that I am on the right track in my own niche, which has actually broken into two audiences over the years—freelance writers in general and writer mamas.

In 2001, I became clear that I wanted to not only write, but to work with other writers. At the time, I was barely using the Internet, but I started teaching writing classes at Whatcom Community College in Bellingham, Washington. After my family moved to Wilsonville, Oregon I was able to use the e-newsletter that I’d started there to stay in touch with my students, no matter how many miles between us.

I just got an e-mail from one of those folks saying that she’s been highly recommended to one of the top editors at one of the biggest publishing houses around. This kind of message just makes my day. Because every writer who works hard on their craft and sales skills deserves recognition and success. I firmly believe that. And I also firmly believe that success will come to every writer who perseveres and continue to nurture her career. That’s what happens when you stay with it and don’t give up.

There are no longer any hard and fast “rules” about how publishing success happens. But you’d better believe that your online presence matters. My former student was recommended to a publishing executive (who is on the marketing side of the biz!) by an independent bookseller who reads her blog (one she just started this year)! Talk about finding a side door nobody knows about! But these kinds of stories are cropping up every day.

And the beat goes on, because platform development is an integral part of being an author today. And the way I teach platform, it’s about connecting with something essential in yourself that can carry on as long as you like. The way I teach platform development offers a writer ownership of her unique talents while maintaining an awareness of the needs of others.

I want every writer to develop a platform or platforms and own his or her power as a professional communicator. And really get that when you partner with an agent or publisher, you are meeting them on equal ground. I don’t think the folks on the publishing side expect anything less from writers anyway.

Every aspiring author today is expected to be a self-starter.

Are you a self-starter? Are you taking your writing career into your own hands?

Let the answer motivate you to higher expectations of yourself, so that others will want to partner with you.

I was talking to fellow writer mama Sharon Cindrich yesterday about our daily uniforms. My daily uniform includes: sneakers, sweat pants, a t-shirt, and a baseball cap.

That’s what I was wearing today at the dog park while being interviewed by David Jagernauth for the Wilsonville Spokesman (our local paper). To be a little more dressy, I skipped the baseball cap, but still opted for the pony tail.

Sharon’s uniform up in Wisconsin is a black turtleneck and jeans for winter and a t-shirt and jeans in the summer. I tend to save the jeans for the weekend and upgrade right to a colorful skirt, sandals and a white-shirt for business lunches, like the one I had today with WOTR contributor Lori Russell, who was passing by on I-5 today.

We stopped in for lunch at my favorite local restaurant, Abella Italian Kitchen. Apparently there is a new book out called, Nobody Cares What You Had For Lunch. It’s a book about blogging, so perhaps I will not divulge the exact ingredients of my delicious lunch.

It was a chicken parmasean sandwich!

Oops. That slipped. Somebody buy me that book.

The coffee there is excellent too, btw.

Anyway, the reason for my casual uniform is because I take the puppies to the dog park twice a day and it gets darn dirty down there. David Jagernauth was a good sport about not being spared the muddy paw prints.

He said he’d put in a word for the author series I am hosting this fall with the Wilsonville Public Library and the Wilsonville Arts and Culture Council. Hooray!

And then it occurred to me that I should too.

I’m excited that Marc Acito, the author of How I Paid for College, A Novel of Sex, Theft, Friendship and Musical Theater will kick us off on September 16th. I bet it will be standing room only—Marc is hilarious! His first novel won Oregon Book Awards Ken Kesey Award for the novel and was voted a Top Ten Teen Favorite by the American Library Association, and is currently being adapted for film.

Here’s a photo of Marc and me at the 2005 Willamette Writers Conference (which is where I pitched Jane Friedman from Writer’s Digest Books the idea that became Writer Mama). She’ll be there again this year, btw, in case you want to pitch her.

I’ll be giving a couple presentations at the annual conference this year. And you’ll see some other familiar faces from Writers on the Rise in this year’s conference workshop lineup, including Sage Cohen, Gregory Kompes, and Mary Andonian. Shout outs to friends Gigi Rosenberg and Julie Fast, as well!

And finally, speaking of Sage Cohen, I have scoop! She was engaged to Jonathan Luchs this past Wednesday. (!!!) Sage is Managing Editor of Writers on the Rise and a good friend. Congratulations Sage and Jonathan!

Well, gotta go. I’ve swapped my skirt for my sweats, traded my sandals for my sneaks, and I’m back off to the dog park. Happy weekend, everyone!