Writer Mama Riffs on Raising A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

Still plenty of room in the October 3rd Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff Class.

And still room in the August 15th Pitching Practice Class.

Here’s the list:

1. I went to my mailbox at the post office today and it was like Christmas! Full of great giveaways for the Writer Mama Back-to-School Daily Giveaway that starts September first! I am giddy with excitement. Hope you are too.
2. If you’d like to post the badge for the giveaway in your blog or on your website, I made an even smaller size that should (fingers crossed) fit in any blog sidebar. You can find the badges, in assorted sizes, here. Thanks for spreading the word!
3. Less than one week until the next round of classes starts. There are a few spots left in Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff and several in Pitching Practice. Please register right away as I’m my own administrative assistant around here. I will firmly shut the door on registrations on Tuesday, August 14th at midnight.
4. Fair warning: The October 3rd Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff is filling up ALREADY. These moms are on it. I love that. Saves me time and frustration of doing things at the last minute.
5. I’ll be away this weekend, and back atcha on Monday! We’re doing a trial run with our now nine-month old pups at a local kennel and hitting the beach! Hopefully it won’t be too cold. (Sorry, all you folks in a heatwave, not trying to rub that in but it is like Fall here already. Hope I didn’t just jinx us.)

Happy end of summer weekend everyone!

Back-to-school time is coming What actions will take your career to the next level, when the kids head back to school (if you’re so lucky)?

I will be working with writers for six weeks starting August 15th and October 3rd.

Here are the classes I’m currently offering:

Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff (Starts in August—almost full and October!)

Pitching Practice: Write Six Queries in Six Weeks (August15th)

Platform Building Basics for Writers (October 3rd)

All the details can be found on the Writers on the Rise website. If you have questions, please feel free to contact me.

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.

MY SUMMER 2007 SCHEDULE

JUNE 2007

OWC Presents! Me.
How to juggle writing with your already busy life
Monday, June 25, 7 p.m. @ Powell’s, Oregon Writer’s Colony Presents, Beaverton, OR, Info at Powell’s Events: http://www.powells.com/cgi-bin/calendar, Free

JULY 2007

Pacific Northwest Writers Conference
Chutes and Ladders of a Writer’s Career: Healthy Habits of Productive Writers
Saturday, July 28, 2007, from 8:30 to 10:00a.m. Hilton Seattle Airport & Conference Center, 17620 Pacific Highway South, Seattle, WA 98188
Registration required

AUGUST 2007

Willamette Writers Conference: Registration Required
Portland Airport Sheraton Hotel, Portland, OR

Thursday, August 2nd: Writers Faire 2007, 7:00 - 9:00 pm
Willamette Writers and Oregon Writers Colony join forces to feature local writers and their published works. Come speak with these talented authors, buy their books, and get them autographed. I’ll be signing copies of Writer Mama!

My presentations at the conference include:

Friday, August 3rd: 10:30-12:00 a.m.
Forget Non-fiction Features: Write Short and Get Published!

Sunday, August 5th:
1:30-2:45 p.m. Part 1: Get Known Before the Book Deal: Platform Building Basics
3:15-4:30 p.m. Part 2: Get Known Before the Book Deal: Platform Building Basics

August 18th: Two six-week Writers on the Rise e-mail classes begin!

• Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff

• Pitching Practice: Write Six Queries in Six Weeks

Here’s what a recent student from Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff had to say:

This was the most helpful writing class I have ever taken. The way Christina structured the assignments got me over some mental hurdles about what I’m capable of. I liked how some of the assignments built upon the previous ones, allowing for a painless trip to a great final outcome. I also appreciated learning how to submit finished work because I feel more ready to do that vs. querying at this point. Christina is knowledgeable, organized and an excellent teacher. I felt very comfortable under her tutelage. The class is well worth the cost.

Complete details available here. Classes fill quickly, so register early to save your spot.

Whidbey Island Writers Association Fall Residency
August 21-23rd
I have been invited to the Whidbey Island Writers Association Fall Residency where I’ll be teaching alongside Andrea Hurst (of Andrea Hurst Literary Management), Marvin Bell (the prolific poet), and Holly MacArthur (managing editor of Tin House literary magazine). My topic is “Creating Your Writing Career From the Ground Up.” To learn more about the only MFA program in the country not affiliated with a college or University, click here.

Happy summer/almost summer, moms!

I sent this list of tips out in my Writer Mama e-zine the other day. If you don’t want to miss a single writer mama tip, click on the little envelope at the top right of my blog and join my e-mail list.

And please, share your suggestions for getting work done with kids at home by commenting here.

I realize that spring-into-summer is a bittersweet transition for many mamas, who may be wondering, “How the heck am I going to get my work done with the kids off from school?”

So, here are a few tips:

1. Make sure you know what you need and don’t need to accomplish. If you are like me, you need a break as much as you need to get more done. So be sure to prioritize vacation and down time. Then prioritize what you will write this summer in a numbered list. You may not get it all done, but aim to get your top priorities done, at the very least.

2. Communicate how things will be to the tribe. No doubt the kids are curious about what’s happening this summer. Resist the urge to just highlight the fun stuff. Instead tell them about the fun stuff AND THEN paint them a clear picture of how they can help you accomplish your goals. If they don’t know what you have in mind, they can’t help you (in an age-appropriate manner, of course).

3. Build in a system of rewards. For example, if the kids go out to play in the backyard in the morning, you can write on the back porch (or whatever works). Then they can watch a movie or you’ll take them to a movie in the afternoon (or whatever reward they’d appreciate). That’s win-win-win.

4. When you get an assignmnet due to their cooperation, celebrate! Cupcakes after dinner or some such achknowledgement of your hard work and their cooperation really just means more excuses for parties. And it’s summer, so there’s nothing wrong with that!

5. A deal is a deal. Speaking of deal-making…get your partner to double-dog dare you to make a certain amount of money this summer from writing to help keep you focused on the bottom line when a day at the beach sounds more fun than a query letter. But after you send it, go and enjoy the beach!

Yes, writing is often hard work. But it’s deeply satisfying too. And mothering is fun + summers are wonderful. So let some of the playful spirit of summer spill over into your writing career instead of putting it aside for three months!

I think you will be pleasantly surprised by the results.

And if all else fails, go ahead and take a break. But first sign up for one of my classes that begns in August or October. I’ll help you get your writing career in gear, so you can rekindle your writing rhythm.

I bet you’ve already got one foot out the door for the long weekend. Yahoo!

However, before you turn your thoughts turn completely to sunshine, barbeques and the beach, you might want to get a jump on registration for Writers on the Rise fall classes.

Why? Well, for one thing, our e-mail classes are the best value for the best price on the Web. Seriously, if you can find another class that offers as much for as little I will eat my eMac.

This fall is your last chance to take advantage of these classes at these prices. Effective January 2008, the price for all WOTR classes will go up to $199.00 (except for first-time classes).

Check out this awesome line up and then don’t drive off into the sunset without saving your place. I feel quite certain that every class will fill (as has been the case regularly).

2007 WOTR Classes:

Poetry For The People

An E-mail Class with WOTR Managing Editor Sage Cohen

October 3 - November 14, 2007

Jump to Course Description

Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff

August 15 - September 26, 2007

October 3 - November 14, 2007

Jump to Course Description

Platform Building Basics for Writers

October 3 - November 14, 2007

Jump to Course Description

Pitching Practice: Send Six Queries in Six Weeks

(Prior query experience suggested)

August 15 - September 26, 2007

Jump to Course Description

How Pitching Practice Works (Word Doc Download)

For more information and to sign up, visit:

http://www.writersontherise.com/classes.html 

I have been invited to teach at the Whidbey Island Writers Association Fall Residency this summer where I’ll be teaching alongside Andrea Hurst (of Andrea Hurst Literary Management), Marvin Bell (the prolific poet), and Holly MacArthur (managing editor of Tin House literary magazine).

I’ll be teaching “Creating Your Writing Career From the Ground Up” in three, one-hour sessions. I cannot wait!

To learn more about the only MFA program in the country not affiliated with a college or University, click here for the program description.

Linda Formichelli asked me to pass this info on to you about her upcoming class. Linda has been a great example of freelance success and authorship for me over the years.

In the spirit of full disclosure, I have not taken Linda’s class, so I cannot answer questions about how the class is structured or whether it is like the classes I teach. If you are interested in registering or learning more, please contact Linda directly. I’m sure she’s happy to answer any and all questions. Here’s the course description:

Linda Formichelli, co-author of The Renegade Writer and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock, teaches an 8-week e-course on how to break into magazines. The next session starts on Monday, May 21. In eight weekly lessons, Linda will walk you through:

• Coming up with a salable idea
• Finding markets that would be interested in your idea
• Finding the right editors to send your idea to
• Interviewing people for the query letter (the proposal that sells the editor on your idea and yourself as a writer)
• Writing a winning query letter
• Getting your query out the door!

Students have landed assignments with Writer’s Digest, Woman’s Day, For Me, E: The Environmental Magazine, Pizza Today, Michigan Out-Of-Doors, and more. For more details, please visit http://www.lindaformichelli.com/course. To ask Linda questions about the course, e-mail linda-eric@lserv.com.

[Please note: Maybe this goes without saying, but I'll say it anyway since we are living in a new world of affiliate marketing, paid reviews, and referral fees. I am recommending Linda based on her terrific track record and integrity and not because I'm getting a kick-back. This is also not a paid advertisement.]

This is a hodge-podge of announcements and news, since the next e-zine won’t be going out for several days. I’ve got a really, really busy schedule, mamas. I bet you can relate. For example, in the next three days I will:

• arrange my airline ticket and make reservations for my trip to NYC, where I will present at the WDB/BEA Writer’s Conference
• drive like the wind into Portland (about 20-30 minute drive) after I drop Samantha at pre-school so I can be interviewed on KBOO radio (more about this Mother’s Day show soon)
• drive like the wind to the Seattle area for my presentation at Third Place books on Friday (then drive back on Saturday because my husband has another play opening next weekend—Much Ado About Nothing!)

Yesterday, I turned in my monthly platform development column for the June issue of The Willamette Writer newsletter (you can subscribe here). I am really liking working on all things platform-development related lately and I’ll be teaching workshops on the topic at upcoming summer conferences. I also currently have 10 students in the very first Platform Building Basics for Writers class. And I’m loving it!

I have 20 students in my Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff class. I am also loving that. It’s also great to see former students who have taken this class move on to the platform class. I love having repeat students and I am blessed that this happens fairly frequently.

There was a really nice post about Writer Mama in the Book of Kells blog recently that I want to mention.

And Sue Lick, author of the forthcoming, Freelancing for Newspapers (Quill Driver Press, July 2007) did a review of Writer Mama in her newsletter.

Oh, and today, my editor from Country Sampler Magazine was so kind as to send me an e-mail offer for another assignment with them. I love it when that happens! This will be my fourth home profile for Country Sampler. The next one comes out in the July Issue.

And finally, I’ve been invited to be a presenter at the Whidbey Island Writers Association Summer Residency. I feel so lucky that the director sought me out for a three-day presentation. I’ve heard great things about this MFA program and the Whidbey Island Writers Conference.