Writer Mama Riffs on Raising A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

Hiya writer mamas,

Please pop on over to Writing White Papers and nominate this blog as a Top Ten Blog for Writers 2007/2008.

I sure do appreciate your nomination!

Also, the WM e-zine is going out this week. So please subscribe if you haven’t yet (just click on the little envelope in the upper right-hand corner).

We are going to have a whole team of contributors in 2008 for the Writer Mama, who will knock your socks off!

I’m healthy again and working my buns off this week. Hope you are too.

Writing in the Dark, in the Basement, in the Bathroom, or at the Park
A Panel Discussion of Mom Authors

Moderator: Diana Page Jordan
Panel: Chelsea Cain, Heather Sharfeddin, Elizabeth Rusch, and Christina Katz
What do a thriller author, a contemporary western author, a children’s author and a how-to author all have in common? They’re all women writers who mix literary life and motherhood. Come hear about the ups and downs of raising a writing career alongside kids.

Chelsea Cain is a columnist for The Oregonian and the author of The New York Times Bestseller Heartsick (St. Martin’s Minotaur). Heather Sharfeddin is the author of the contemporary westerns, Blackbelly and Mineral Spirits (Bridge Works Publishing), which both earned starred reviews and were chosen “Best of the Northwest.” Elizabeth Rusch released four books in 2007: Will It Blow? (Sasquatch Books), The Planet Hunter (Rising Moon), A Day with No Crayons (Rising Moon), and Girls’ Tennis (Capstone Press). Panel organizer, Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books). Moderator, Diana Page Jordan is an award-winning broadcast journalist and a published writer.

December 9th, Barnes & Noble / Willamette Writers Books for Kids Fundraiser
4 p.m., This event is FREE at the Clackamas, Oregon Barnes & Noble, All book purchases on this day benefit Books for Kids!

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.

Thanks to Merry Jelinek for naming me as a thinking blogger! I feel smarter already.

Reminds me of the clever title, Brain, Child, the magazine for thinking moms.

Okay, so blogs that make me think. Hmmm…

Okay, got it:

1. Confessions of a Perfectionist…in pursuit of satisfaction makes me think. It makes me think that it would be so great if the whole world could hop on this bandwagon.
2. Dreaming About Water…Diabetes and Women makes me think. It makes me think about a disease I might not otherwise know about and that’s a good thing.
3. Discussing Breast Cancer…while waiting for a cure makes me think. Ditto above.
4. Mother-Daughter Book Club makes me think, “Oh my gosh, some day I can do this with my daughter. Cool!”
5. Agnostic Mom…Raising a Healthy Family Without Religion is an interesting blog to think about and explore.

Okay, tag! You guys are it! Try not to take as long as I did. Let’s see…actually only one month on this one, not too bad!

Here’s the rules if any of these bloggers choose to accept their mission to share their thinking bloggers of choice:

*Should the bloggers choose to participate, please make sure to pass the rules on to the next Thinking Blogs you tag.

The participation rules are simple:

1. If, and only if, you get tagged, write a post with links to 5 blogs that make you think.

2. Link to this post so that people can easily find the exact origin of the meme.

3. Optional: Proudly display the ‘Thinking Blogger Award’ with a link to the post that you wrote (here is an alternative silver version if gold doesn’t fit your blog).

This award was began by ilker yoldas at The Thinking Blog. I hope to follow the links to some more great bloggers out there who make us think.

What’s a creative couple? I’ll define it later…but I know one when I see one.

Who says career and platform development can’t be fun? Phooey on them!

Check out Kim and Jason. They are tons of fun. And it’s summer, everybody, so be on the lookout for fun in all of it’s guises!

And now…heeeeeere’s Kim and Jason!

Kim: http://www.kimandjason.com/kimsblog/

Jason: http://www.kimandjason.com/kjhome.html 

A terrific article demystifying carb cravings during pregnancy by Shannon McKeldon appears in iParenting.com. And guess who’s quoted?Yup, that’s right…me.

Also, really, really big news! Forget me. Forget Writer Mama (well, just for a minute).

Today writer mama Sharon Cindrich’s book, E-Parenting, Keeping up with your Tech-Savvy Kids (Random House, 2007). (!!!)

Sharon is a writer mama friend of mine and we’re pitching a book together this summer. (That’s all I’m going to say about that for now.)

We were phone buddies all last year while we endured the roller-coaster ride otherwise known as writing your first book.

Thanks to Sharon, my ride was a lot less lonely and a lot more funny, ‘cuz that’s the kind of gal that Sharon is practical, down-to-earth, and very fun.

For her I am truly, deeply grateful.

Congratulations, Sharon! You wrote an awesome book. Here’s a brief summary:

E-Parenting is light-weight, reasonably priced and maybe the best tech investment you can make for your family. E-Parenting: Keeping up with your Tech-Savvy Kids is the only guidebook for families that covers all the technologies that affect family life - cell phones, video games, the Internet and more - and offers ideas, tips and suggestions on how to connect with today’s tech-savvy kids…and have fun as a family, too.

E-Parenting is available at the Writers on the Rise aStore, where every purchase supports our free monthly e-zine. Don’t miss it!

Working on my presentation, “Get Known Before the Book Deal,” for the Writer’s Digest Books/BEA Writing Conference.

No problem with the presentation but the excitement is causing butterflies in my belly that could probably fly me to New York without any help from JetBlue!

I have heard that excitement can be as hard on the ol’ body as stress. After all the excitement I have had this year, I can testify…it’s true. You have to take it easy and slow on this stuff.

I’ve been so busy, I hadn’t been able to bring myself to look at who-all is going to be at the BookExpo itself. It’s pulse-quickening, I’ll tell you. And it’s hard to work afterwards.

Breathe. Breathe. Okay.

Here are links to the online homes of some of the folks who I’ll see there and can’t wait to meet:

Keynote Speaker: Novelist, Jodi Picoult

Other presenters:

Donald Maas, Donald Maas Literary Agency

John Warner, editor of McSweeney’s Internet Tendency

Moi!

Keith Flynn, founder/editor of the Asheville Poetry Review, author of The Rhythm Method, Razzmatazz and Memory

Les Edgerton, author of Hooked, Write Fiction That Grabs Readers at Page One and Never Lets Them Go

Maria Schneider, editor, Writer’s Digest

Okay, that gets us through the keynote and the first round of breakout sessions.

More later. Must go plant feet back in ground. I am feeling like just about the most blessed writer on the planet!

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!

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.

Parent Bloggers Wanted (Comp: Competitive weekly rate) (telecommute) job-321563357@craigslist.org : http://boston.craigslist.org/gbs/wri/321563357.html

Date: 2007-04-30, 11:14AM EDT Leading parenting site is hiring bloggers to write about all aspects of parenthood. We’re looking for writers with wit, honesty, and original voices. Bloggers will be paid a weekly rate and will work remotely.

Here’s what we need:

• Engaging writers who will blog candidly about all aspects of the wonderful and challenging job of parenthood. We’re interested in writers who will share their stories about school issues, feeding battles, family relations, pregnancy, health, entertainment, social issues, travel, products, and all aspects of family life.

• Parents who are already blogging are preferred.

• Will write at least 5 blog posts per week, about 200-400 words per post. Please email your resume and links to your blog and/or writing clips.