Self-care for Mom Writers: July & August are for Water

Swimming lessons are very different for my boys here in the south than they were for me as a child growing up in the north. I remember standing at the edge of the pool in Vermont shivering, my teeth clacking together, before I stepped-one foot at a time-into the freezing pool water. My boys plunge headfirst into the pool for their swim lessons in July and August in order to escape the cloudless, white, saran-wrap heat of the south.

I float alongside the lanes to watch, cheer and pretend I’m a mermaid mama. Water, whether it is lakes, oceans, rivers, ponds or the creek, has always soothed me so that when I emerge, I am renewed. Water seeps into my essay writing in the form of metaphors; I am “kicking to keep my head above the water,” or “drowning in the sea of my son’s worries” or, “my passion for books is steady and unchanging like the pull of the tide.”

My book-in-progress is called, “Dreaming About Water.” So, if water is as soothing for you as it is for me, go to the beach, or the lake or the river with your children, submerge yourself in water. You will all sleep better that night.

Get Watery:

·    I know I can use a few reminders on the proper breathing techniques and since swimming is an excellent workout (good for the whole body and the mind), why not take swimming lessons with your kids? Come home and write about your first swimming lesson and compare it to your child’s, how was it different or the same?
·    Curl up on the beach while your children splash in a gully and read one of the following books for examples of water metaphors: The Sea by John Banville, Salt Water by Charles Simmons, or The Seas by Samantha Hunt. When you come home that night, read your children one of these wonderful water stories: Dear Fish by Chris Gall, The Fish Who Cried Wolf by Julia Donaldson and Axel Scheffler or Flotsam by David Wiesner.
·    Take a walk on the beach in the early evening, get the blood flowing to your brain, bring your kids and let them collect shells while you wander ahead or behind, seeking inspiration.
·    Take surfing lessons, train for a triathlon, put your body in water and see what inspires you. Invent your own water metaphors.

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Amy S. Mercer is a freelance writer living in Charleston, SC with her husband and two sons. Her writing has been published in skirt! Magazine, Literary Mama, Diabetes Forecast and A Cup of Comfort for Writers. Amy is Blog Editor for Literary Mama and Associate editor for The Writer Mama Zine. More at Dreaming About Water.

The Northwest Author Series 2008-2009 Lineup

After much careful consideration, I’m pleased to announce the lineup of authors for the Northwest Author Series in our second season. You can see the list of 2008-2009 presenters for yourself here.

If you are local and you think you might like to attend, please click on the little envelope in the upper right hand corner of the blog and sign up for the Northwest Author Series reminders.

My little charges

Back from another night at the show. It would have been my eighth night straight watching Seven Brides for Seven Brothers but I only caught the second half. (Any former drama kids in our writer mama ranks? If so, you might enjoy these photos of the show.) There’s just one of my daughter about half-way through. She’s not on stage much, but she sure makes the most of it when she is. 🙂

My second little charge these days is that little “kitten” I posted about a couple of weeks ago.

Turns out she is indeed pregnant and now we are fostering her until eight weeks after the kittens are born. Wish us luck. I’ve never had a pet that has had babies before. I just hope they don’t decide to come while I’m away at the Willamette Writers Conference! Especially since my husband and daughter already have our five other pets to care for without good ol’ mom around to help.

I’m a little nervous.

Bookmark These Sites, Mamas! Renee’s Pages

Keeping it real: Renee’s Pages

Freelance writer and mom Renee Roberson likes to share. In her blog, Renee’s Pages, she passes along information she’s learned along the way, “so other writers may not have to go through as much ‘trial and error’ as I have in my journey.”

She’s not afraid to admit her mistakes and how she bounces back from them. “I try not to let those mistakes bring me down and keep me from doing what I love the most – writing.”

Roberson’s humor also shines as she shows readers that you can balance motherhood with writing.

Swing by her blogspot and see what you can learn from her.

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Tiffani Hill-Patterson is an award-winning journalist with thirteen years of writing and editing experience. She’s a regular contributor to The Writer Mama zine and Birmingham Parent magazine, and her articles on health, parenting, fitness and pop culture have also appeared in The Huntsville Times, The Moulton Advertiser and The TimesDaily. She lives in Alabama with her husband and daughter. Read more at http://www.tiffanihillpatterson.com.

Write Like a Pro: How to Spend Summer Vacation

Mid-summer and your well-intentioned plans to launch a writing career have officially stalled. But it’s not because of a lack of talent or motivation; it’s because your kids are home on summer vacation.

What to do? First of all, we’re into July so you can kiss June goodbye and stop fretting over the “lost days.” Consider it a break before your next creative frenzy. The good news is that most publishers practically shut down during the summer months so you’re not alone in your pool time. The bad news is if you continue to slack, you’re at risk of losing any hard fought momentum you may have gained since spring.

Begin by organizing your workspace and materials. This is something you can do with the kids at your side. You can even pay them to be runners between your filing cabinet and the recycle bin. Kids love whiteboards. Have them help you make a project list on a whiteboard and then assign a “percentage complete” value next to each title. You’ll get a snapshot of where your writing is headed; they get a refresher in math that’s masked as “helping mommy.”

Do you like your neighbor and her children? Arrange a swap where you take all the kids one day, and then she takes them the next. When I was in a new moms’ group, we created laminated “Baby Bucks,” good for one hour of babysitting time apiece. We would use them like money and it created an equitable and efficient way of paying each other for services. I wrote many of my first essays this way.

Can you afford camp? Block out one week to send your kids and then make that time boot-camp week for your writing. I did this when I sent my girls to a local church summer preschool program. For one week I packed lunches for all of us and after dropping them off in their rooms, I retreated to another room in the church. At the end of the camp day, I walked over to their rooms and picked them up. I wrote the first forty pages of my first book that way. If you’re going to send your kids to camp, don’t use that time for running errands or cleaning house or even for the business side of writing. Just sit down and WRITE.

Summer is also a time of rejuvenation. Look back and see how far you’ve come at the calendar’s half-way point. Celebrate as a family any “win” you may have had, regardless of how small. I was elated when I found out I had taken “Honorable Mention” in Writers Digest’s annual writing competition. Then slather on the tanning lotion and keep at it.

Oh, and if you get a chance, go to a summer writer’s conference. I’ll be at the Willamette Writers this conference soaking up all the good advice and industry updates I can. If you’ll be in the Portland, Oregon-area, I hope to see you there.

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Mary Andonian is the agents and edtiors coordinator for the Willamette Writers Conference, one of the largest writers’ conferences in the United States. In past years, she was Co-chair and Program Coordinator. She just completed her second book, Bitsy’s Labyrinth. Contact Mary at maryandonianwwconference AT yahoo.com.

The Write Attitude: Learn from the Best

One of the best ways to figure out the real ins and outs of this business is to learn from the “pros.” Even without personally knowing them, picking their brain is easier than you think. It may be as simple as gleaning info from their websites (such as the names of publications you didn’t know exist) or actually sending them a quick email asking for their advice. Just don your networking hat and get to work. Here are some suggestions to consider:

– Do seek out any information they already offer. This may be in the form of online classes, seminars, e-zines, blogs, books, and writing forums they belong to. Don’t stalk them, but access the knowledge they readily share.

– Don’t ask questions they’ve already answered. You may be excited to learn from someone who has been there, done that, but do your research first. Check out their blog archives. Read their entire book. Make the best use of the generosity of their time by only asking questions they haven’t already addressed.

– Do remember that while many writers like to help out newbies, not all do. We’ve all been fledgling writers at some point and many of the pros remember this difficult time and want to help. Still, others will view you as competition and won’t be interested in giving you a helping hand. Don’t take this personally. They may feel that they had to learn the hard way and expect others to do the same.

– Don’t namedrop unless you’re given permission. Networking is important in this business, but just because you’re given an editor’s name doesn’t mean you should mention said gracious writer. Keep the sentence, “[Successful writer] said I should contact you,” out of your query unless you’ve specifically asked permission to use her name.

Learning from those who have been where you are and have grown to where you want to be is a good business practice. Their accomplishments can also be a great source of inspiration and learning. Just be considerate and remember that everyone’s path to success is unique, so heed all they have to offer, but pave the way that works for you.

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Jennifer Applin is a freelance writer living in Ohio with her husband and four young children. Aside from writing for many regional publications, she is regular contributor to eLearners.com and Projectworkingmom.com. She spends her days cooking, cleaning and caring for little ones, and her nights writing about pregnancy, parenting, and the quest for peace (as in peace and quiet). You can also find her at Managing the MotherLoad.

What I’m up to

Phew! It’s summer and yet it doesn’t ever get any less busy in my home office.

Especially now that we are officially in, what we call hell week for the play my husband is directing and my daughter is playing a small role in.

So, it’s official. I’m a stage mom. I’m spending 4-5 hours a night over at the theater, along with the other parent volunteers.

And I’ll tell you what, even though we’re not big on too many activities for Samantha,  she has sure loved being a part of “Daddy’s show.” I have a feeling this is just the beginning…so I’d better get used to it. 🙂

On the writing front, I am putting a big push into spreading the word about Writer Mama before back to school time, which means back to writing for many mommies. Is there anything you can do to help? Feel free to drop me a line with the name of any mama-related media contacts you have in your Rolodex. Be sure to let  me know if I can use your name. Thanks in advance for your ideas at writer mama at earthlink dot net.

I’m also organizing my Northwest Author Series for the upcoming seaosn. Looks like we are going to have a great line-up, wonderful door prizes from Writer’s Digest, supportive sponsorship from the Wilsonville Public Library, the Friends of the Wilsonville Library, and the Wilsonville Arts and Culture Council. Now all I need are refreshments…

Something else I’m organizing this week is the Writer Mama Back to School Givewaway for the month of September. It’s going to be a blast again! I’ve already lined up dozens of books from dozens of authors. Please help spread the word! I’ll announce the list of giveaways in early August. Special thanks again this year to Writers Digest Books.

I just wrapped up my new class, Crafting a Saleable Nonfiction Book Proposal, which will be repeated in January. I’ll tell you what, it’s a good thing I can still remember how intimidating/challenging/confusing drafting that first book proposal can be. It might be easy to forget after writing and selling a few books, but I assure you, I remember. The students did great. They each finished the class with a clearer understanding of what they need to do to ready themselves to pitch their book concepts and land the deal.

And last, but not least, I’ve got a new blog banner and a new blog badge to match. Feel free to post it willy-nilly all over blog land. 🙂

That’s it for me and it’s only Wednesday. I’m off to the next task on my three-page list.

What are you up to this week?

Crib Notes: Naps Are Non-Negotiable

At this moment, my 23-month-old son is upstairs in his crib, wailing miserably. He is complaining because he does not want to take a nap. Until three days ago, Miles was a solid afternoon napper. You could set your watch by his schedule: lunch, then a book or two, asleep by 1 p.m. No muss, no fuss. Usually I wouldn’t hear a peep out of him before 3 p.m. On rare occasions, he would indulge in a three-hour nap, leaving me with a whole hour of unexpected free time. Hallelujah!

As a work-at-home mom, I have come to count on my son’s naps. I schedule my life around them-literally. The minute he’s tucked in, I usually head straight to the computer and get to work. If I have phone interviews to do, I schedule them for 2 p.m., smack dab in the middle of naptime so I can be assured some peace and quiet. Except now, all bets are off.

Wouldn’t you know it, the very day my child decided to give up naps was the very day I had taken on a big assignment with a tight turn-around time. Two assignments, actually. I thought that between his two mornings at the babysitter’s and those daily naps, I could surely get my work done. Ha!

I used to be able to take on as many writing assignments as possible. Supporting myself as a single, self-employed writer, I was well aware of the feast-or-famine nature of freelancing. I never wanted to pass up an income opportunity lest I be faced with a “famine” the next month. So maybe I was extra busy for a little while. It wasn’t a big deal; I had nothing in my life that couldn’t be put off in the short term.

Until I had a baby, that is. I quickly discovered that infants aren’t all that flexible about waiting for their next feeding until Mommy’s finished sending out one last email. They don’t seem to understand the concept of deadlines and how unexpected illness can affect Mommy’s ability to meet them. And frustratingly, babies refuse to alter their sleep habits to fit your schedule. For the first time in my life, I was turning down assignments, asking for extensions, and working evenings and weekends. It’s only by the grace of God and caffeine that I still haven’t missed a deadline.

Now, my son is almost two. I’ve settled into a new work routine as he’s gotten more predictable and adaptable (though no more patient). And then, as children tend to do, he goes and changes again. So I’ll have to figure out a new way of working around my family’s schedule. Maybe I’ll hire a sitter a few more hours a week. After all, more assignments equal more income. Or maybe I’ll simply continue to enforce naptime, despite my stubborn toddler’s protests. Come to think of it, I don’t hear any more squawks coming from upstairs.

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Abigail Green is a freelance writer in Baltimore. Over the past 10 years, she has written for national, regional and online publications including AOL, AAA World, Bride’s, Baltimore Magazine, Cooking Light and Health. Her latest project is raising her first child, which she chronicles in her blog Diary of a New Mom http://diaryofanewmom.blogspot.com/. Abby teaches the class, Personal Essays that Get Published for Writers on the Rise.

The Writer Mama Scholarship Recipient for the August 20 WPSS Class is…

…Kristen Benoit from New York state.

Hearty congratulations, Kristen!

Thanks to everyone who applied. It was a very well-written batch of applications. I encourage everyone to apply again for the October WPSS class.

Subscribe to the e-zine to stay abreast of when I’ll be accepting applications next time around.

And congratulations again, Kristen!

FALL CLASSES START AUGUST 20TH!

Writing and Publishing The Short Stuff
Especially For Moms (But Not Only for Moms)!
Next Class Begins on August 20th
Prerequisites: None
Finally, a writing workshop that fits into the busy lives of moms! You will learn how to create short, easy-to-write articles-a skill that will make it easier to move up to longer, more time-consuming articles when you’re ready. Try your pen at tips, fillers, short interviews, list articles, how-tos, and short personal essays-all within six weeks. Now includes markets!
Cost: $199.00. [Almost full!]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Personal Essays that Get Published with Abigail Green
Next Class Begins on August 20th
Prerequisites: None
The popularity of reality shows, blogs, and tell-all books proves that it pays to get personal these days. Whether you want to write introspective essays, short humor pieces, or first-person reported stories, your life is a goldmine of rich material that all kinds of publications are pining for. Personal Essays that Get Published will teach you how to get your personal experiences down on the page and get them published. Students will learn how to find ideas, hone their voice, craft solid leads and endings, reslant their work for different markets, and submit their essays for publication.
Cost: $199.00 [Almost full!]
Register at Writers on the Rise

Platform Building 101: Discover your Specialty
(Formerly “Targeting Your Best Writing Markets”)
Next Class Begins on August 20th
Prerequisites: Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff is recommended or Permission from Instructor
Identifying your writing specialty is one of the trickiest and most necessary steps in launching a writing career today. This class will help you find your best audiences, cultivate your expertise, manage your ideas, develop marketing skills, claim your path, serve editors and become portfolio-minded. You’ll learn how to become the professional you’ve always wanted to be and, most importantly, how to take your writing career more seriously. This class is discounted so that anyone who wants to take Platform Development 102 in October will take advantage of this important preparation stage.
Cost: $175.00. [Last time at this price. And last time in 2008.]
Register at Writers on the Rise

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Take All Five of Christina’s Classes:

• Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff
• Targeting Your Best Writing Markets
• Pitching Practice: Write Six Queries in Six Weeks
• Platform Building Basics for Writers
• Craft a Saleable Nonfiction Proposal

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Blast From the Bloggy Past: July 2007

Still loving the magenta wall in my office…although my desk is new (from IKEA) and over by the windows now

The ever-embarrassing 8 Random Things About Me post.

How interesting! A year ago, the Market books from Writer’s Digest were just getting their own sites. Now they each have their own blog too. Go to last year’s post for the sites and here’s the link to all of the new Writer’s Digest blogs. They are all really helpful (especially my editor’s, There Are No Rules). And this fall, I’ll be a guest blogger on The M-Word.

Indeed, Chuck Sambuchino invited me to participate in the 2008 Guide to Literary Agents. Soon to be replaced by the 2009 Guide to Literary Agents. Ah well, I had my year in the sun. Congrats to whomever is in the latest!

Well, I have to say, looking back a year is really fun and interesting! I was offering gold stars to the authors of posts and articles I like, and now I finally have the badge to go with the honor! In fact, I’ll be handing those out to those who earned them later on tonight. (Look for the post later this week.)

Looks like last year I wasn’t afraid to promote Writers on the Rise in all of its excellence. And guess what? The e-zine is even better than ever! Check it out for yourself here.

Interesting. A year ago, I had a lot to say about Connecting vs. Networking. And I continued to have more to say in Get Known Before the Book Deal (coming in October!).

I’m going to pull this book back down off the shelf again. I really want to order Eric Maisel’s book, Writer’s Space. And I simply must resubscribe to Mary Engelbrieit’s magazine, Home Companion. It’s so inspiring!

Hmm. Last year I set the expectation for the Best Willamette Writers Conference ever! But this year I’m a lunch speaker, so I might need to amend that. 🙂 Are you coming? I’d love to see you there!

Have you taken a moment to go back and reread your blog from last year? I highly recommend it! 🙂

Invest & Prosper: #7 Your Professional Identity

I consistently notice writers succeeding or not succeeding to the degree they are willing to claim their professional identity, clarify their professional mission and promote themselves.

Before you establish a platform and start promoting yourself, first you should determine your professional identity. Otherwise, you’ll risk wasting an awful lot of time without getting any closer to the goals near and dear to your professional heart. Simple questions to help you get started are:

Who am I as a professional?
What kind of professional am I already known as?
What kind of professional would I like to be known as in one year?

And then you’ve got your work cut out for you to make your actions match how you’d like to be known.

In other words, the difference between a published novelist and an unpublished novelist is that the published novelist spent time seeking publication, not just writing the novel. If becoming a published novelist is your goal but the steps for seeking publication aren’t on your to-do list, then the two paths, what you hope to accomplish and what you’ll actually accomplish, won’t synch up.

In order for the fiction writer to become the published novelist, she’ll have to manage all the jobs connected with seeking publication, which includes selling.

Let’s say you are a freelance writer. Do you plan to work your way up from a freelancer to an author?

If yes, then it makes sense to start attracting a wider readership even before you get a book deal.

But if you never plan on writing a book, your time might be better spent developing your freelancing business and nurturing your relationships with editors without the public peering over your shoulder. Perhaps it would make more sense to spend time participating in peer forums to share leads rather than promoting yourself online.

After all, for busy moms, there are only so many hours in a day. That’s why you need to clarify and communicate your professional identity. First to yourself and then to the rest of the world.

Professional identity is a big topic in my forthcoming book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books, October 2008). I hope you will find it to be helpful. In the meantime, if you’d like to explore your specialty, consider signing up for my upcoming class, Platform 101: Discover Your Specialty, which begins on August 20th.

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Christina Katz, author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, is working on her second book for Writer’s Digest Books, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform. She has also written over two hundred articles for magazines, newspapers, and online publications and has appeared on “Good Morning America.” Christina is a popular writing instructor who has taught hundreds of writers over the past seven years. She blogs daily at The Writer Mama Riffs and is publisher and editor of two zines, Writers on the Rise and The Writer Mama. More at http://www.thewritermama.com/.

Comic By Debbie Ridpath Ohi

Comic by Debbie Ridpath Ohi from Inkygirl.com with permission. Please read the re-posting policy prior to posting here.

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All That’s Coming Soon!

For me, summer has always been a good time to create excitement about my work. And this summer is no exception. I’ve been BUSY. Read on for lots of news.

Check out “Dear Christina” my first podcast
The first one might be a little bumpy but they will definitely get better. One thing is certain, I will not run out of my former student’s success stories any time soon. They just keep rolling in! So I thought, why not feature them in a series of short podcasts? And now I am. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

July 20th: Deadline for Applications for the Fall Writer Mama Scholarship
The next available Writer Mama Scholarship is coming up for the August 20th Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff Class. Applications will only be accepted from Saturday, July 12th – Sunday, July 20th (that’s THIS week). One full scholarship will be granted with a value of $199.00. The scholarship application will be posted on Friday, July 11th in the Writer Mama Riffs Blog. Please feel free to post the badge in your blog or e-zine with a link to this blog so others can take advantage of this opportunity. (If you are planning on signing up for an August class, I wouldn’t dally. They are filling up!)

September 1 – 30: The Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway
This giveaway was a huge success last year. You don’t have to be a mama, just a writer. This year we’ll have more books to give away and more thought-provoking career questions for you to answer to qualify to win. Participants last year commented on how much they learned both from answering the questions as well as from each other. Don’t miss it! Please share the WM Back to School Giveaway badge with all your friends with a link to this blog!

September 22: Get Known Before the Book Deal Amazon spike on the first day of Fall
Order Get Known Before the Book Deal from Amazon on the Autumn Equinox and receive great platform-development freebie! Details coming in the September issue. Please mark your calendar and tell all your friends. (More about why authors do stuff like this in September too, in case you are curious.) Read the full book description here!

October 22: Publication Date for Get Known Before the Book Deal
Lots of books talk about what to do once you become an author. No other books go into as much depth about how to position yourself to become an author before you have a book and even before you have a book deal! If you are local, I’ll be speaking at the Wilsonville Public Library on November 16th. I’ll also be speaking about at the Willamette Writers Monthly Meeting in Portland on Tuesday, December 2nd. Final tour dates are still rolling in.

Purchase Writer Mama & Receive a Free List of Markets
But wait! Before we move on to my second book, Writer Mama is still selling strong. In fact, I appreciate all the word-of mouth you can put behind it, whether that means suggesting Writer Mama to your friends, your writing association, your writing conference bookseller or your local library. For the months of July and August only, there are two ways to get the list of free markets (because I know many of you own Writer Mama already): you can either purchase the book and e-mail me a copy of the receipt or you can act on any of the word-of-mouth suggestions above. Let me know that you have helped spread the word and that you already own Writer Mama, and I’ll send you the list of markets. Send all request e-mails on this topic to writermama2@earthlink.net.

There is a time to go into your cave and get your work done and then there is a time to crank up the excitement factor and reach out to others. Are you cranking up some excitement for your writing career? I sure hope so! If not, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of summer left.

Downshift Spending & Keep Your Writing Career In Grow Mode: Part Five

Give When, How & What You Can

While bad news for the economy is coming at us every which way, there is only one sure-fire way to stay out of fear. And that is to give. People have all kinds of ideas about what giving means, so let’s look at that. Sometimes we give out of habit. We give out of duty. We give out of sense of obligation. We give because it might make us look good to others. We give because we were or are told we should.

But I suggest a slightly different approach to giving. How about giving when, how and what you can. In other words, don’t give for any of those other reasons, if you don’t want to. Instead examine where you are plentiful and overflowing and give from that supply. We are all plentiful somewhere or somehow. So even as our grocery budgets are feeling the penny pinch. And even as we cut down on the number of miles we drive. There are infinite ways to be generous.

Get creative. You needn’t only give in the same old ways. Or feel badly because belt-tightening means a decline in giving the way you always have. It’s amazing how when you start with what you have plenty of, ideas flow in about how to share it, and the next thing you know you are having fun and feeling prosperous.

Need more ideas on how to keep your spirits and your bottom line up in a down-turning economy? You can read the first four parts of this serial post by clicking here.