I’ll Be at Third Place Books on Friday, May 4th

Yes, that’s right. I said “May.” Can you believe it?

Where did April go? (Oh, right. Taxes!)

But good news, this means Mother’s Day is right around the corner. If you’ll be near Lake Forest Park, Washington, come on by and pick up a signed copy (or two)!

Here’s the details:

Third Place Books
Friday, May 4th at 6:30 p.m. @ Third Place Books, 17171 Bothell Way NE, Lake Forest Park, WA 98155, 206-366-3316, www.thirdplacebooks.com, Free

Dealing with Actual Rejection

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.

Dealing with Fear of Rejection

Heiddi asked if I could address this topic. So I thought I should break it down in two parts. This part is about dealing with the fear of rejection and I’ll do another on dealing with actual rejection, later.

Fear of rejection is a cunning and baffling block for many writers, both aspiring and seaoned. An aspiring writer might allow herself to write (like in a journal or a blog) but never submit her work to paying markets because of this fear. And an experienced writer might have some publication success and then balk at taking her career to the next level where rejection is surely more likely.

If I have learned one thing in the past seven-plus years that I’ve been writing for publication, it’s this: You are going to get rejected. It’s a fact and it’s helpful to develop the capacity to roll with it. For some, dealing with rejection takes more practice than others, but there is really no shame in however much time and energy you need to invest.

The proactive way to respond to a fear of rejection is to identify it, address it, and work on it until it is no longer, or is at least less of, an issue. Who can say if these things ever really go away completely.

I can promise you this. If you are willing to deal with your personal challenges as a writer, they won’t dog you the way they will if you avoid them. That’s just like everything in life, right?

I don’t think fear of rejection is an easy issue to contend with because it’s very personal and quite emotionally loaded, for some folks. Think about it, your fear of rejection as a writer may go all the way back to a childhood memory or even a recurring pattern of rejection that you have experienced throughout your life. (I’m not saying this is true for the person who asked the question, I’m just saying it’s possible for anyone.)

So I just don’t want to give some kind of blithe response that makes it sound like, “Oh fear of rejection? That’s no big deal. Get over it and move on.”

Maybe, for you, a fear of rejection is a big deal. And it won’t go away until you look at it more deeply. I can’t help you with that per se because I’m not a doctor. But I can recommend some books for creatives that can help quite a bit.

Keep in mind that these books are not insta-cures. You may wish to work with them over time. And as I always recommend, you may want to not only read them but also engage in the exercises to experience the full benefits.

But whatever you do, don’t park your writing dreams until you are “cured” of your fear of rejection. Because, as I said, you may never completely recover from it, but you may certainly learn how to manage it so that it is no longer a block for you.

Okay, here’s those titles:

By Eric Maisel

Toxic Criticism

and/or

A Life in the Arts

By Julia Cameron

The Right to Write

and/or

The Artist’s Way

I hope this is helpful. Does anyone else have any book suggestions or personal experience to share?

Narrow Your Focus Before Pitching Your Book in WritersWeekly

That’s the topic of my “success story” that appears in today’s issue of WritersWeekly.

View the entire article here.

Subscribe to WritersWeekly here. You’ll receive a free e-book on how to become a freelance writer with over 100 markets!

Why not send in your own success story? Editor and publisher Angela Hoy pays $30 for each one, miraculously, upon acceptance (!!!). I believe she is always looking for good success stories.

I can almost guarantee it will be the fasted paycheck you ever get for writing, once your piece is accepted, of course. Send your submissions to: Angela Hoy

As always, before you submit, read and digest some success stories that have already achieved publication. It will make all the difference.

And hey, if you know about other fast-paying editors, please, list them in the comments section! 😉

I (Heart) My Publicist!

Here’s why…the coolest postcard EVER!

Your Career, Your Way Challenge: Words That Describe You

Friend and fellow writer mama Wendy Burt passed this quote on to me today, and I felt compelled to share it here.

I have written eleven books, but each time I think, “Uh oh, they’re going to find out now. I’ve run a game on everybody, and they’re going to find me out.”

~ Maya Angelou

I’ve heard this called “Imposter Syndrome” by Valerie Young. When she became aware of the feelings of not being good enough no matter how much she accomplished, she decided to become an expert on the topic and help others.

And so she has. She is also editor and publisher of the newsletter Changing Course, which I’ve been reading for years. Valerie is a great example of a person who has identified, clarified and grown her expertise into a solid platform. She has been a great role model for me.

Does anyone else relate to the Angelou quote or the idea of Imposter Syndrome?

Today, as promised in the first issue of The Writer Mama, we are going to choose words that describe us. Perhaps, like Valerie Young, those words will lead us in the direction of an authentic, organic, and sustainable platform.

Here are my words:

Intense

Positive

Creative

Motivating

Spiritual

Independent

Sensitive

Synthesizing

Encouraging

Shy

Discriminating

Expansive

Wholeness-oriented

Critical

Verbal/Blunt

Down-to-Earth

Inspirational

Notice that some of my words seems to contradict each other. Well, that’s just human nature. People are complex and contradictory. Let’s each celebrate that about ourselves and each other.

I found this exercise to be eye-opening. Feel free to post your words in the comments and see what you notice about yourself over the course of the week, as a result.

Thanks for sharing! I’ll have more at the end of the week.

Writer Heaven: The Sylvia Beach Hotel

Thanks to the Sylvia Beach Hotel for hosting me after my presentation with the Willamette Writers Oregon Coast Chapter last week!

Here’s a sneak peek into the Alice Walker Room, where I stayed (yes that’s me in the mirror). And what a coincidence, Alice Walker is one of my favorite novelists and that was the room they offered me.

The hotel was everything it was cracked up to be and even more inspirational than I imagined. I could have stayed for a week…but I needed to get back home to my big, fat, messy life. That’s how I’ve been thinking about my work-home balance lately. It’s the only thing that makes me feel better about how utterly imperfect it all is (and yet so perfect in all of its imperfection).

Cut to a photo of the Henry V. Miller Memorial bathrooms plaque from the basement of the hotel. I cracked up when I saw that. The ladies room is “Tropic of Cancer” and the mens room is “Tropic of Capricorn.” That’s life, right? It’s messy and you just roll with it. Then they name a couple of bathrooms after your books. Ha-ha! 🙂

If I want to recall a more zen-like moment, I can always flash back to my breakfast in the dining room of the Sylvia Beach Hotel. Here’s what I saw while I munched on homemade banana bread and nut bars. Ahhhh….

So the laundry is piled sky-high. So the kitchen floor is filthy again (and I just mopped it—at least it seems like I did). So I have not cleaned out the refrigerator in a really long time (my mom asked about that).

So what!

It’s a gorgeous, sunny spring day and my husband’s birthday tomorrow. When I’m done here today—you can probably tell I’m pooped—I’m going to turn off this computer and walk away for forty-eight hours. I mean really shut it off and enjoy some quality time with family this weekend.

Really, I’m not kidding.

I’m going to do it. This is not an idle threat.

Okay, tease me later when you catch me online.

I’ll just say, in my own defense, I plan on barely being online this weekend.

That sounds about right.

I leave you with an amazing “portrait” of all of the authors who have rooms at the Sylvia Beach Hotel named after them. I wish the photo was better. They will be getting a postcard version soon. And I’ll be back with the painters name…it’s around here somewhere.

  Hope you have a great weekend!

Thank You Willamette Writers, Oregon Coast Chapter!

Here I am with organizers Sue Like and Dorothy Mack at the Newport Public Library…

It was gorgeous sunny day for the drive from I-5 to Newport.

And I really enjoyed meeting the coastal members of Willamette Writers. Hope to see some of them at the Willamette Writers Conference in Portland this August!

BTW, Sue Lick has a terrific book coming out soon from Quill Driver Books in May, Freelancing for Newspapers, Writing for an Overlooked Market. We’ll be sure to review it in Writers on the Rise.

Cindy Hudson is the Proofreading Queen!

Back in March, I proposed the Find-the-typos-in-Writer-Mama Challenge.

And we have a winner. It’s Cindy Hudson of Portland, Oregon!

This is not the first time you’ve heard of Cindy in this blog (or Writers on the Rise, for that matter.). She is not only an amazing proofreader, but one heck of an interviewer. See her interview with Brook Warner of Seal Press and her interview with Tracey Ryder of the “Edible” publications.

Congratulations, Cindy! I appreciate your eagle-eye and look forward to offering you a career consult.

I announced the next Writer Mama contest in the first issue of The Writer Mama e-zine, which went out Monday. Here’s a recap:

WRITER MAMA CIRCLE KIT CONTEST
Who Better to Start a Writer Mama Circle Than You?

You may enter our latest contest by ordering TWO copies of Writer Mama (one for you and one for a friend) and sending me a copy of the receipt from your favorite bookstore or online shop. You’ll earn a chance to win a “Writer Mama Circle Kit,” which contains: two more WM books, four t-shirts, a reading list, a brainstorming worksheet, Wendy Burt’s accountability sheet, and gobs of helpful resources so you and your fellow writer mamas can  help each other get your words into print. The deadline is May 31st. One mama will win!

To enter, forward your receipt to writermama2@earthlink.net by May 31st, 2007.

Three runners-up will receive one Natalie Goldberg audio cassette book from my home-office spring-cleaning efforts. Those titles are: Old Friend from Far Away, Long, Quiet Highway and Thunder & Lightning. Perfect for upcoming summer travels!

Moment of Silence for the Virginia Tech Tragedy

What can you say about a tragedy of this magnitude…especially when so much is being said already?

All we can do is process it in the way that feels right for each of us.

I will be having several moments of silence today.

And giving my family lots of extra love and hugs.

How about you?

Guest Writer Mama Columnist: Jen Applin

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

The Writer Mama E-zine Launches on Monday!

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!

April’s Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff is FULL!

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.

Come see Christina at the fifth annual BEA/Writer’s Digest Books Writers Conference

The fifth annual BEA/Writer’s Digest Books Writers Conference will be held on Wednesday, May 30 at the Jacob Javits Convention Center in New York.

The all-day event, which takes place prior to the BookExpo America trade show, offers information sessions and workshops on the business and craft of writing.  The keynote speaker is best-selling author Jodi Picoult.  Breakout sessions on writing novels, screenwriting, humor, young adult, poetry, short story and magazine writing, featuring Don Maass, Christina Katz, John Warner, Sharlene Martin and more!  Will Schwalbe, senior v-p and editor in chief of Hyperion and Judy Hottensen, v-p and publisher of Miramax Books will also be speaking.  Plus, the editors of Writer’s Digest Book, Writer’s Digest magazine and Writer’s Market!

You’ll also have the opportunity to pitch your book idea and get instant feedback from the largest collection of agents of any conference in our famous PITCH SLAM SESSION!

The registration fee is $199, which includes a 6 month subscription to WritersMarket.com.

For more information, visit www.writersdigest.com/bea.  Registration is at www.bookexpoamerica.com.

Guess Where I Get to Stay Tonight?

Writer tours may sound glamorous, but the reality is that they are a whole bunch of work, often for limited or no return-on-investment, at least in the short run. However, there are many good reasons to do a book tour, namely to get out and connect with other writers and readers, to spread the word about your book, and share your expertise.

I don’t know about you, but I find that I feel most at ease in social situations that involve gatherings of writers. Whether they are seasoned or aspiring writers, I just feel most comfortable hanging out with my fellow writers.

I usually prefer to go either alone or with other writer friends. In fact, I made a pact for 2007 with two writer friends, Jon and Susan, that we would drive together to Willamette Writers meetings each month, so we can avoid the temptation to ditch at the last minute. Having a carpool works really well for us (and I don’t have to drive from the suburbs to the city, which I truly appreciate.).

I find hand-selling signed books to be particularly gratifying because people will often share why they are buying the book or for whom they are purchasing it as well as why they thought to purchase it for this particular person.

I tell readers-to-be of Writer Mama to let me know how they like the book or to please pass on to the person receiving the gift not to hesitate to get in touch with me. After all, one of the unique aspects of being an author today is how much more accessible we can be thanks to the Internet.

Another perk of book tours that I’ve discovered that I didn’t see coming is that it gets me out of the house, away from my office, the laundry, the puppies, my daughter, and my husband.

At first, I thought this would be awful. Why would I want to get away from the ones I love? Wouldn’t I be lonely on the road? Wouldn’t I be homesick?

But I’m getting used to it. 🙂

And my experience, at least thus far, is quite the opposite. Let’s just say that I got to be quite a homebody during the fourteen months I was working on Writer Mama. And I’ve got the extra “body” to show for it. 🙂

But all this getting out to book events is doing me (and my waistline) a lot of good. It’s spring after-all. And the sunshine has been beckoning me outside anyway. How about you. Would it do you and your writing career some good to get away?

If you’ve ever felt like the swan in the ugly duckling story, you might want to try getting together with and hanging out with other writers through writing associations, local literary events, and writer’s conferences to boost your morale. I always feel refreshed by any of the above.

I have a really special treat tonight. Guess where I get to stay after my presentation to the Coast Branch of Willamette Writers? The Sylvia Beach Hotel, a hotel on the Oregon Coast devoted to writers.

Yahoo! I can’t wait. I might not even mind the drive.

Here’s a recent write-up about the hotel that Oregonian Columnist Margie Boulé did on March 18th, Beachcombing through 20 years of a hotel’s journals.

Enjoy! And hey, if you’re out this way some time, maybe stop by and check it out. Oregon is a great state for writers. No doubt about that.