Writer Mama Riffs on Raising A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids

I have not just one but two feature-length profiles in the November 2007 issue of Country Sampler Magazine.

“Handcrafted Harmony, A crafty couple discover do-it-yourself ways to merrily make ends meet in their Washington home” is about the Hicks home in Olympia, Washington.

And “Colonial Comfort & Joy, A Virginia Homeowner inexpensively blends period-inspired stencils, textiles and paint with natural seasonal accents to create a contemporary Colonial that shines with the spirit of Christmas past,” about the Condon home in Virginia.

I am doing some housecleaning today…on my websites and blogs.

I’ll tell you what, there are a lot of tasks that are website and blog-related that I find fun. The kind of stuff I am doing today (transferring data) does not fall under the “fun” category.

But there are some real bright spots. Like this short article, “Pitch it Good” by Abigail Green that comprehensively answers the question: “How do I pitch my article ideas?”

If I were you, I would turn it into a checklist (like some that I offer in Writer Mama) and use it to check your work before you submit.

Need more help than this with query writing? Sign up for my Pitching Practice Class that begins on August 15th. In it, you’ll write six queries in six weeks and, as a result, you will master the art of pitching…your way, not according to a rote form.

Okay, I’m not allowed to blog any more until I get this drudgery done. Back I go. Pinching my nose…

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.

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.]

As promised, this is part two on the topic of rejection…

Let’s assume you get past your fear of rejection to the point where you are sending out enough writing to garner plenty of rejection.

This is great!

Why would I say that?

Because once your writing is rubbing up against the folks who may wish to buy rights to your work, you actually have a chance of being published.

But what if you are sending plenty of work out and receiving plenty of rejection in return, but not as much success as you would like?

There are several things you can do to change this:

1. Pay close attention to what you are submitting. Does it represent your best writing efforts? Does it sparkle, sing, and shine? If it doesn’t, I can tell you as an editor that second-best is never as good as best. An editor will always go for the polished piece of writing that is ready for publication rather than the piece that has “potential.” I know, for me, as a writing instructor, I deal with potential all the time. But as an editor, I’m looking for “good to go.”

2. Analyze the comments are you receiving back. If nothing or at least nothing that tells you anything about your writing (this is common, btw), you may wish to enlist the services of a professional editor or teacher, who will work with you to help you identify and overcome your weaknesses so that you can submit the kind of work that gets selected for publication.

3. Solicit feedback from other sources. Mentors may help you by critiquing your work from time to time, but it’s probably a better idea to ask your writing buddy or writing group to critique your work, if this is something you need on an ongoing basis.

4. Consider the frequency of your submissions. I have discovered in my Pitching Practice class that the more students put themselves through the query-writing paces, the better queries they write. And the more, generally speaking, they just start to “get” the way the relationship between writers and editors works.

5. Consider the level of professionalism you employ when submitting your work. Perhaps you write well and appropriately, but your submission methods could use a little spit-shine. This is an area that requires your attention, as most editors and agents I know appreciate a certain amount of formality. They also definitely appreciate being treated with respect and with consideration for how hard they work.

So, if you are thinking, “What have editors done for me lately?” You might want to pull a J.F.K. and ask instead, “What have I done for editors?”

In case you haven’t heard me say it before, there is not anyone in the publishing industry—and this goes for writers, agents, editors, sales folks, and everyone—who is not working extremely hard in a very competitive environment.

Writing is hard work requiring concentration, effort, thoughtfulness, and so much more. Are you willing to devote that kind of energy to your writing career?

If so, you will lick that bad boy, rejection, eventually.

If you’d like a second opinion on this topic, Wendy Burt has written about it recently in Writers on the Rise.

Greetings! I’m Jennifer Applin, one of the Writing Career Consult Winners. I recently had my phone consultation with Christina and I thought I’d tell you a little about it. First, I should point out that I’m fairly new to freelance writing. I researched (okay, actually procrastinated) for about a year and then got serious about it in the summer, a few months after my fourth child was born. At that point my oldest was only five years old, so with four little kids running around I knew starting a freelance writing career was not going to be easy. I read about Christina’s class, Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff, and it sounded perfect!

The class was just what I needed and the articles I wrote for the assignments became my first few clips. Just as the class finished up I won the Renegade Writer Career Makeover Contest (seriously I’m usually one of those people who never wins anything). So adding this experience to the essential basics I learned in Christina’s class has helped me go from saying I want to be a writer to I am a writer.

Now fast-forward a few months to finding out that I won the phone consultation with Christina. I was definitely thrilled, but as I prepared a few questions for our conversation a thought crossed my mind. What in the world would we talk about for an hour? After all, I had taken her class and read her book (which I LOVE). Isn’t there a limit to the amount of advice one person can give? In a word-NO!-at least when you’re talking about Christina Katz J

During the phone consult Christina was great to talk to and she offered excellent advice. At this point in my career I’ve kind of been doing the “which way do I go” dance. I have a few published credits to my name and my career is starting to move along, but I reached the point of total confusion when it comes to the next direction. Most of my success so far has come from writing for regional parenting publications. I’ve enjoyed writing for these smaller publications and the work has been fairly easy, but I was wondering if it’s time to focus my attention on the national markets. My concern was that this would take a while and I wouldn’t receive any sort of payment for quite some time. Christina helped me realize that I have found something that works really well for me right now and there is nothing wrong with continuing to write for the RPPs. Through research I have a list of about 250 e-mail addresses for these smaller publications. Since I’m selling one-time rights it’s pretty easy to sell one article many times over, which makes each article fairly profitable. Since I’d still like to break into the national publications Christina suggested that I spend the majority of my time writing for the RPPs (since this is helping to pay the bills), but still dedicate a certain number of hours each week to submitting queries. I loved her suggestion that my time dedicated to querying should just focus on one publication. If I haven’t received a favorable response after submitting about four queries then that may be the time to move on to the next dream magazine on my list. She pointed out that successfully pitching a national magazine requires a lot of time analyzing it. Since I’m only allowing a few hours a week I’ll be more successful by focusing on just one publication at a time.

The rest of the consultation consisted of Christina and I discussing a variety of article topics I was thinking about. She offered excellent suggestions for formatting these articles and even suggested ways I could start establishing a platform (specific to me). I felt so motivated when the conversation ended! I looked at the clock and was shocked that we had talked for well over an hour because I am NOT a phone person.

It has been a little over two weeks since the consult. This time has been very productive and I feel great about my writing plans. If I could offer any advice to other writer mamas out there I’d say follow your instincts and go with what works for you. It can be very confusing when you hear about one person who became successful doing things one way and another by doing the total opposite. Writing careers are as individual as the writers themselves and so is the path to success. So take a look at where you are and where you want to be, and map out your own path to success. Keep Writer Mama handy as a reminder that you aren’t alone in this journey and YES you too can be a writer!

Jennifer Applin
www.jenniferapplin.com

If you would like to sign up to receive it in your inbox, simply click here and you will be directed to a page where you can subscribe.

This will also serve as the location in the blog for your comments on the first issue.

I look forward to reading your comments!

Of course, the real work is about to begin. And that’s what I prefer in my classes: Students who are not afraid to work.

And by “to work” I mean “to write.” There is nothing better than watching writers wrap up a class after six weeks with work that is ready for publication.

I have heard that some people think that writing for publication is the equivalent of” selling out,” (whereas others wonder, Why else would someone write?).

If you read Writer Mama, you will discover a path where writing and profits meet in the middle without compromise and with your authenticity, integrity and sincerity intact. We’re not going to have any “selling out” going on around here. But we are going to have plenty of writers getting their bylines in print.

There is still room in the Platform Building Basics for Writers class, which also begins April 18th. Please visit http://writersontherise.com/classes.html if you wish to learn more. This is going to be a great class with lots of experienced writers to share and learn from.

Here are dates for the next round of classes:

August 15, 2007:

• Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff
• Pitching Practice, Write Six Queries in Six Weeks

October 3rd, 2007:

• Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff
• Platform Building Basics for Writers

More info is at: http://writersontherise.com/classes.html

As of today, you may now register for summer and fall classes. And good news—these classes won’t conflict with the holidays! Prices will remain the same until the end of the year. And finally, in case you didn’t know, we’ve got some of the lowest prices on the Web.

On the new Writers on the Rise zine/blog.

What’s a zine/blog?

It’s a zine that posts a new column every other day to a blog. That way you can choose how you wish to read it.

You can either RSS subscribe, Feedblitz subscribe, or have Constant Contact deliver it twice a month as a e-zine into your e-mail box.

Pretty cool, eh? We want you to have options ‘Cuz let’s face it. Some people just don’t blog and maybe never will. And other people just want to blog, blog blog. So now you can do either or both. I’ll keep you posted on the techno details. I’m ALMOST there.

In the meantime, if you haven’t subscribed to Writers on the Rise, you now can at www.writersontherise.com.

And you can now subscribe to The forthcoming The Writer Mama zine at www.thewritermama.com.

I think writer mamas will  appreciate the writer mama perspective in Wendy Burt’s column, “Why Am I Getting Rejections from Editors?” and C. Hope’s Clark’s column, “Who’s the Boss at Home?“

Check ‘em out!

Okay, I was just saying earlier today in this blog that I am not comfortable with a lot of labels (generally those fashioned by others—I like the ones I come up with!). But here’s one that was a total fit. In fact, just last week, I was reflecting on my experience as a mother compared to what I could recall about my mother and the word “hybrid” actually sprung to mind to describe modern moms. I think because we are so diverse! Not easy to pigeon-hole at all, which is a good thing!

So I’m thinking this new publication, Hybrid Mom, is onto something. We all keep what we want for our identity and leave the rest. The result is a hybrid mom. Not your mama’s mama. Not your mama. But multi-faceted, diverse us.

I first discovered the magazine in Meg Weaver’s Wooden Horse Database e-newsletter. Here’s what she said:

HYBRID MOM is all about connecting at an interpersonal level with “real deal” articles on the “fusion of roles represented in motherhood today.”  That includes the balance of work, family, home, and life.  Stacey Smith and Linda Shapiro are the co-founders who oversee this quarterly title, which is set to debut with the Spring issue in April.  Published by Moms-for-Profit, the magazine will be distributed to 300 nationwide Gymboree Play and Music locations.  The initial circulation is 100,000, with 50,000 increments planned for each subsequent issue in 2007…