The Perfect Mother’s Day Gift for Moms Who Want to Write

It’s a simple, inexpensive equasion:

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Writer Mama Success Rhythms: April 2009 Tips

By Christina Katz Never has a first quarter seemed to fly by as quickly as this one did! And though I’ve already started making adjustments to my somewhat over-ambitious goals for 2009, I could stand a more discriminating look at how I’m doing so far. How about you? Get in the habit of using April first, not to be foolish, but to assess your progress in relation to your goals so far this year. First stop: Go back and review your written goals for the year. Then… Craft What steps have you taken so far this year to improve your writing craft? Possible answers might include reading books, practice forms, writing for publication, taking classes or attending workshops or lectures. Improvement in craft equals improvements in pride, if not profits. What will you do next to improve your writing craft? Pitching I know a group of eight women who are working really hard at it right now in my Pitching Practice class. They are expanding their base of knowledge through reading workbook chapters, exploring ideas, conducting research, and interviewing experts to write the query that will land the assignment. What do you need to do to improve your sales skills? Who can help you? What’s it worth? How much do you stand to gain from making strides in selling your work? Invest to expand your profits. Self-promotion What have you done to become more visible so far this year? I’ve done an anniversary blog tour for Writer Mama, scheduled and attended a conference, spoken at multiple events including my own author series, updated my online presence, started a new e-zine (the Get Known Groove), and sent out gobs of books for review and as giveaways. This is just a handful of the things I’ve done so far this year. How about you? Professional Development I attended the Tools of Change Conference in New York City and the Associated Writing Programs Conference. I’ll also be attending the Writer’s Digest/BEA Conference on May 27th and the Writer’s Digest Business of Publishing Conference the first weekend of September. I’ve joined several writing organizations. I’m hosting an author series. I receive three trade magazines each month. I keep up with relevant blogs and online magazines with Google Reader. And I’m having a monthly marketing group with my fellow authors once a month. Your turn! Quick reminder: If you are still working on getting those first few clips, stick with craft and pitching until you find your stride and then expand from there. Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer’s Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she started her platform “for fun” seven years ago and ended up on Good Morning America. She teaches writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country.

Writer Mama Update

Well, mamas, things have been pretty busy around here as usual.

I just got back from mailing all the gifts and the last round of books for the winners and hostesses of the Writer Mama Tw0-Year Anniversary Blog Tour. (Finally!)

I just want to say, WOW, that was a lot of work. And so, so worth it. 🙂

Thanks for participating! Here’s a link to the hostesses and winners again.

And special thanks to my editor, Jane Friedman. You can RSS subscribe to her blog here or follow her on Twitter @JaneFriedman.

You can follow me on Twitter too, I’m @thewritermama.

Here’s what’s on my plate for this week:

Pitch AWP Panels for April 2010 (Okay, it’s weird to actually type “2010”)

Prepare for Trip to Seattle to speak at three King County libraries

Wrap up two classes, WPSS & PP (both offered again this fall, in August and October respectively)

Prepare for classes that begin May 6th, Craft a Saleable Nonfiction Book Proposal & the first Turn Your Specialty Into Course Curriculum

Turn in draft of webinar: Are you a specialist or a generalist?

Draft letter of rec for Northwest Author Series Student Intern

Write, polish, & submit two articles

Prepare the May issue of Writers on the Rise for publication

Set goals and May schedule with new assistant 🙂

Get ready for my trip to NYC to participate in the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference

And…prepare for interview with Cory Doctorow

No problem, right?

In the meantime, here’s some happy news:

Debbie Simorte placed two articles she drafted in my January WPSS class. Read about it and other success stories by clicking the “Success” tab and scrolling down. Way to go, Debbie!

Jenny Kales and Mary Jo Campbell both scored some press for their respective passions. Jenny was featured in the Pioneer Local Press (link is to her blog) and Mary Jo in www.mysuburbanlife.com.

Hear what a mother of six thinks of Writer Mama: Nicole O’Dell plugged Writer Mama in her blog, Trivial Pursuits and Other Ramblings.

LOOK! My first Amazon UK review for Writer Mama. Many thanks to Amanda for such a thoughtful review.

Write on, mamas! And don’t forget to make good things happen…

Fit to Write Tips: Get Your Brain Moving

By Kelly James-Enger

Suffering from writer’s block? Can’t get the words to flow? Get away from the computer and move your body.

I find a good workout or even a short walk is enough to clear your head and give you a new perspective. Better yet, take a portable tape recorder with you. When I’m feeling stuck, I often grab my tape recorder and my dog and head to the park. I walk for a while, thinking about what I’m working on, and then dictate into the recorder. By the time I come home, I’ve got a good start on the piece, or at least some notes I can transcribe into my PC.

Sure, some people may wonder if you’re scouting for Neighborhood Watch, but consider this a great way to exercise your body and mind-and boost your productivity as well.

Author, speaker, and consultant Kelly James-Enger is a certified personal trainer and the author of books including Small Changes, Big Results: A 12-Week Action Plan to a Better Life (with Ellie Krieger, R.D.). Her book, Ready, Aim, Specialize! Create your own Writing Specialty and Make More Money, is aimed at novice freelancers; Six-Figure Freelancing: The Writer’s Guide to Making More Money helps experienced writers boost their bottom lines. Visit www.becomebodywise.com for free articles about freelancing and more information about her.

The Freelancer’s Phrase Book: Lead Time

By Abigail Green Who, besides Santa and seriously organized people, starts thinking about Christmas in July? Freelance writers. That’s because they know if they have any hope of selling a holiday-themed article, they’d better keep the magazine’s editorial calendar in mind. Most magazines decide on their editorial line-up months or even a year or more in advance. How far ahead they work is called “lead time.” A magazine’s lead time is usually spelled out in the writers’ guidelines, and it varies greatly from publication to publication. For instance, Yankee magazine requests that seasonal topics be pitched one year in advance so photos can be arranged. The Christian Science Monitor, on the other hand, will sometimes publish a timely article the week it’s submitted. This means that for most publications, you can’t send out a timely piece a month or even two months beforehand and hope the editor will find a slot for it. By then it’s too late-unless you’re submitting to newspapers or you’re pitching a magazine for next year. But even then, it helps to consider a publication’s lead time. Some magazines make their editorial calendars available to writers. Hint: On a magazine’s Web site, if you can’t find the editorial calendar in the writers’ guidelines, look in the “For Advertisers” section. You might learn, for example, that a special vacation issue is planned for June and that the deadline for editorial copy is in March. Then you can fire off your “Teen Travel Tips” article at the end of February and have plenty of time to follow up with the editor. Sending the right idea-at the right time- just might make the difference between selling your story or not. Abigail Green has published more than 150 articles and essays in regional and national publications including American Baby, Baltimore Magazine, Bride’s, Cooking Light, and Health. Her work also appears in the new book, “A Cup of Comfort for New Mothers.” (Adams Media, 2009). Abby holds a B.A. from Vassar College and an M.A. in publishing from the University of Baltimore. She writes the “Crib Notes” column for The Writer Mama e-zine and the “Understanding Personal Essays” column for Writers on the Rise. A mother of two boys, she blogs about parenting, publishing and more at http://diaryofanewmom.blogspot.com. She also teaches the six-week e-course Personal Essays that Get Published.

Writing Conference Success: Even More People You’ll Meet

By Mary Andonian We’ve talked about all the people you’ll meet at a writers’ conference, including agents, editors, presenters, and manuscript critique specialists. Here are other folks you won’t want to miss the next time you attend a conference: Authors At the conference to share their expertise and to promote their work, authors can typically be found either signing books, teaching/presenting, or critiquing. Look for the ones who are in between activities, make an introduction, and then ask them about their journey to success. Listen to their feedback and count yourself lucky that you get this personal workshop that wasn’t listed in the brochure. Attendees This is you. Find others whose company you enjoy and stick with them at the conference. You might already be part of a critique/networking group. If so, encourage your peers to attend the conference with you. You’ll feel more confident walking into a pitch if the last person you see is your writing bud giving you the “thumbs up” sign. If you go alone to the conference, make friends by approaching the people who asked good questions in your workshops. They just might become your future “thumbs up” writing buds. Conference Committee These are the people who labor away all year to make the conference a reality. Look for an opportunity to help them. Do you have a skill set they can use on next year’s committee? Is it your secret desire to make copies of handouts at 3:00 a.m.? The committee can use you. Find a way to meet them and offer your services. Not because you want to sell conferences for a living, but because it will help give you an insider’s perspective to the writing conference realm. Action Steps this Month 1. Target a writing conference you’d like to attend. Contact the conference committee and ask if any volunteer positions are available before, during or after the conference. 2. Encourage your writerly friends to register with you. 3. Scan the brochure and find authors you’d like to know. E-mail one of them and ask if you can buy them a cup of coffee and “pick their brain” at the conference. Attitude Is Everything Don’t go into the conference with an attitude of “What’s in it for me?” Instead, think of every interaction with every person as an opportunity to be of service. Your successful writing career will be the result of many people working together to bring your words into the world. Someone’s counting on you to help them do the same. Mary Andonian is former agents and editors coordinator for the Willamette Writers conference, one of the largest writing events in North America. In past years, she was also program coordinator and co-chair. Mary is represented by the Reece Halsey North Literary Agency and is a monthly columnist for the hit e-zines, Writers on the Rise and The Writer Mama. She has completed two book: Mind Chatter: Stories from the Squirrel Cage and Bitsy’s Labyrinth and is currently at work on her first screenplay, a romantic comedy. Mary is the mother of two girls and is the Brownie Girl Scouts leader for Troop 1102. Please visit her at: www.maryandonian.com.

Writing the Life Poetic with Sage Cohen!

Order you copy today!

Q&A with Sage Cohen, Author of
Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry
a new book from Writer’s Digest Books

How does poetry make the world a better place to live?
I think poetry fills the gap left by the so-called objective truth that dominates our media, science and legislation. Many of us want to comprehend and communicate the complexity of human experience on a deeper, more soulful level. Poetry gives us a shared language that is more subtle, more human, and—at its best—more universally “true” than we are capable of achieving with just the facts.
How has integrating the reading and writing of poetry into your life impacted you?
I will risk sounding melodramatic in saying that poetry saved my life. I stumbled into a writing practice at an extremely vulnerable time in my early teenage years. Poetry gave me then, as it does today, a way of giving voice to feelings and ideas that felt too risky and complicated to speak out loud. There was a kind of alchemy in writing through such vulnerabilities…by welcoming them in language, I was able to transform the energies of fear, pain and loneliness into a kind of friendly camaraderie with myself. In a way, I wrote myself into a trust that I belonged in this world.

Do people need an advanced degree in creative writing in order to write poetry?
Absolutely not! Sure, poetry has its place in the classroom; but no one needs an advanced degree in creative writing to reap its rewards. What most people need is simply a proper initiation. I wrote Writing the Life Poetic to offer such an initiation. My goal was that everyone who reads it come away with a sense of how to tune into the world around them through a poetic lens. Once this way of perceiving is awakened, anything is possible!

Why did you write Writing the Life Poetic?
While working with writers for the past fifteen years, I have observed that even the most creative people fear that they don’t have what it takes to write and read poetry. I wrote Writing the Life Poetic to put poetry back into the hands of the people––not because they are aspiring to become the poet laureate of the United States––but because poetry is one of the great pleasures in life.”

Who is Writing the Life Poetic written for?
Practicing poets, aspiring poets, and teachers of writing in a variety of settings can use Writing the Life Poetic to write, read, and enjoy poems; it works equally well as a self-study companion or as a classroom guide. Both practical and inspirational, it will leave readers with a greater appreciation for the poetry they read and a greater sense of possibility for the poetry they write.

What sets Writing the Life Poetic apart from other poetry how-to books?
The craft of poetry has been well documented in a variety of books that offer a valuable service to serious writers striving to become competent poets. Now it’s time for a poetry book that does more than lecture from the front of the classroom. Writing the Life Poetic was written to be a contagiously fun adventure in writing. Through an entertaining mix of insights, exercises, expert guidance and encouragement, I hope to get readers excited about the possibilities of poetry––and engaged in a creative practice. Leonard Cohen says: “Poetry is just the evidence of life. If your life is burning well, poetry is just the ash.” My goal is that Writing the Life Poetic be the flame fueling the life well lived.

What makes a poem a poem?
This is one of my favorite questions! I’ve answered it in my book, but it’s a question that I’m answering anew every day. And that’s what I love about poetry. It’s a realm where invention is not limited entirely by definition; there is room enough for the endless possibilities of the human. Every time we try to draw a line around what a poem is, something spills over into the next frame, shifting the point of view and demanding new names: olive, token, flax, daffodil. A poem is all of these, or none of them, depending on the quality of light and how the blade in the next room stirs the night.

What do you think people’s greatest misperceptions are about poetry?
I think the three greatest stereotypes about the writing of poetry are:

1.    That one has to be a starving artist or deeply miserable to write great poetry.
2.    That reading and writing poetry are available only to an elite inner circle that shares secret, insider knowledge about the making of poems.
3.    That poetry does not fund prosperity.

I hope very much that Writing the Life Poetic helps offer alternatives to some of these attitudes and perceptions.

I’d love to conclude with a poem of yours. Would you be willing to share one?
Of course! Happy to!

Leaving Buckhorn Springs
By Sage Cohen

The farmland was an orchestra,
its ochres holding a baritone below
the soft bells of farmhouses,
altos of shadowed hills,
violins grieving the late
afternoon light. When I saw
the horses, glazed over with rain,
the battered old motorcycle parked
beside them, I pulled my car over
and silenced it on the gravel.
The rain and I were diamonds
displacing appetite with mystery.
As the horses turned toward me,
the centuries poured through
their powerful necks and my body
was the drum receiving the pulse
of history. The skin between me
and the world became the rhythm
of the rain keeping time with the sky
and into the music walked
the smallest of the horses. We stood
for many measures considering
each other, his eyes the quarter notes
of my heart’s staccato.  This symphony
of privacy and silence: this wildness
that the fence between us could not divide.

About Sage Cohen

Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry (Writers Digest Books, 2009) and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. An award-winning poet, she writes four monthly columns about the craft and business of writing and serves as Poetry Editor for VoiceCatcher 4. Sage co-curates a monthly reading series at Barnes & Noble and teaches the online class Poetry for the People. To learn more, visit www.writingthelifepoetic.com. Drop by and join in the conversation about living and writing a poetic life at www.writingthelifepoetic.typepad.com!

The Articulate Conception: The Truth about Happily Ever After

By Sage Cohen There’s a good reason that all fairy tales end immediately after the hero and heroine arrive at Happily Ever After. The truth is, Happily Ever After is not exactly a cakewalk. When one has spent a lifetime imagining how it might be to achieve a certain goal, the shock can be to discover that life on the other side isn’t a whole lot different. In fact, once fantasy transforms to reality, the hard work really begins. And so it was with my fledgling book and relationship. On the heels of nearly a decade of living alone as head-of-household, I had to quickly figure out how to share my turf in the “I” to “we” identity transition. For example, I was quite attached to a sleeping rhythm that included my dog Hamachi, a large German Shepherd mix, spooning with me in bed, her head comfortably cushioned beside mine on the “his” pillow. The cats had a seven-year tradition of filling in the gaps–between my legs and arms, and around my head. Jon liked animals, but was slightly allergic; and sleeping with a large dog between us and several kitty sandbags fixing us in place wasn’t his idea of a good time. To make matters even worse, Diablo became passionate about batting Jon’s earplugs around the bedroom as we slept, and this kept Jon awake long into the night. Eventually, I agreed to something I never thought I possibly could endure: the cats were banished from the bedroom and Hamachi was demoted to the foot of the bed. Other similar adventures around creating work and play spaces for Jon, incorporating his décor and schwag, and reinventing systems in the kitchen, garage and front hallway gave us many opportunities to learn to collaborate, and cultivate a home and way of life that reflected our shared values and expectations. As “Project We” was humming right along, “Project Author” was revving up its engines right alongside it. I found myself in a parallel identity stretch–one in which I was stepping into the role of “expert” in a way that would ultimately be very visible to many people–as an author. I was glad I had negotiated a nine-month writing schedule. This gave me a buffer of freak-out time at the front end of the project, which I employed with gusto. After signing my book contract on the dotted line, I spent the first month or two trying to emotionally and logistically prove to myself that I could actually do such a thing as write a book. I created a master schedule that detailed how I would squeeze writing into the evening and weekend margins around my full-time job. I assigned myself a number of chapters-per-week (there were 36 weeks and 80 chapters), and built in a process by which I would reward myself and celebrate meeting each milestone. I decided to put my big-picture blinders on for the first draft phase and instead think of each chapter as an individual essay. This helped me manage my panic around how to get my arms around something as large and unprecedented as a nonfiction book. With a structure in place, I finally settled into the exhausting, euphoric rhythm of writing. A few weeks into tentatively inhabiting my author identity, the little plastic wand in the bathroom boasted a big, blue plus sign. A book wasn’t all that would be coming through me this year; we were going to have a baby. Next month, facts and myths about the joys of being a pregnant author. Sage Cohen is the author of Writing the Life Poetic: An Invitation to Read and Write Poetry, forthcoming from Writer’s Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her poetry and essays appear in journals and anthologies including Cup of Comfort for Writers, Oregon Literary Review, Greater Good and VoiceCatcher. Sage holds an MA in creative writing from New York University and teaches the e-mail class Poetry for the People. In September 2008, her son Theo Luchs-Cohen initiated Sage into the life of the writer mama.

Is my husband supportive of my writing career? How about yours?

My husband, Jason, making a cheesy face.

There has been a lot of discussion online lately about the role of significant others on a mom’s writing career.

So, I thought I would answer the question that Maria Schneider asked last week:

Does your partner support your writing goals?

I imagine that readers of my books and blogs already know the answer: It’s a resounding YES.

He is also the keeper of the steady paycheck, so that I can have a more erratic one.

And thanks to his support, my income continues to grow steadily as it has for the past ten years.

So, do I think a supportive partner is key to helping a writer mama establish a solid foundation and a steadily growing writing career?

What do you think?

I go into detail in Writer Mama about how to initiate and sustain good communication with your partner about your wants and needs and how to balance your wants and needs with your partner’s and children’s wants and needs.

I also talk a bit about the fact that your partner’s and kid’s wants and needs are equally important. Let’s not forget that part.

Lisa Romeo rounded up a list of complaints she’d noticed around the Internet in her blog. Check it out and then come back and chime in: do you feel supported in your writing career for the long haul?

Because this is going to take awhile, mamas. And impatience or pressure aren’t likely to help. In fact, if everyone can maintain their sense of humor, it will help a lot.

However, it’s equally important to be realistic and mindful. Times are economically challenged. Emotions are running high. Don’t focus overly on what you don’t have yet. Focus on what you do have, be grateful for it, and take care of basic needs first.

It’s unwise to try to build a writing career on a shaky foundation of any kind. If you take care of your basic needs while working steadily on increasing your writing career skills over time, you WILL succeed.

That’s what I did. That’s what I continue to do.

That’s my two cents on the topic.

And if you are not partnered, or you don’t have kids, it’s equally as important to surround yourself with what Julia Cameron calls “believing mirrors.”

Try to have people around you who affirm that succeeding at what matters to you, matters to them. 🙂

Start Saving Time Online, Mamas: Google Reader

Tip #1 comes from my editor at Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman.

Tip #1. (For the love of God): Start using an RSS reader.

About a month ago, I took Jane up on her suggestion and started using Google Reader. And I’m so glad I did. I can keep up with an amazing volume of material (I skim a lot more than I used to) and I feel so much better informed.

You can do it too. Follow the suggestions in this post from Jane’s blog, There Are No Rules.

Be sure to add both of our RSS feeds to your reader after you get set up. 🙂

Busy Parent Writer: How to Generate Quotes from Real, Live Sources

By Sharon Miller Cindrich Moms-we cook, we clean, we carpool. We are parenting experts-and often good ones-on everything from potty training to puberty, and we love to share our experiences with fellow comrades. When I first started writing, I looked to my fellow parental comrades as just that-a juicy pool of parenting experts. Many of my article ideas were sparked by conversations with other parents about how much TV was too much or how to handle bedwetting on vacation. Not only would these conversations trigger a great story idea, but they came complete with juicy quotes and enthusiastic experts. Using real, live parents in your writing adds credibility. Your connections with parents who are willing to share their stories with the world may be very appealing to an editor. When plunking in real moms (and dads), follow these guidelines: Mother, may I Make sure you ask permission before adding another parent’s quote or experience to your article-even if you are keeping her name anonymous. Don’t forget Grandma Parents, grandparents, care givers, aunts, uncles and even teachers-whether they are parents at the moment, for the day or were parents years ago, may have valuable insights that you can share. Don’t forget to draw on those less obvious resources that work with children regularly or deal with parents on a daily basis. They’ve got e-mail E-mail is easy, convenient and offers interviewees some time to compose an answer they are comfortable with. Send out a call for interviewees through e-mail, and always state the publication that you’re writing for, the subject of the article and the policy on using real names in the piece. Privacy, please The mom who told the whole playgroup about her great new birth control method may be happy to share her insights with friends, but reluctant to put it in print. When writing articles with sensitive topics, it is sometimes best to search for sources outside your immediate circle. Post a call for interviews on your blog or the “Magazine Rack” here at www.mommasaid.net/magazinerack.aspx. As your reputation as a “parenting reporter” grows, your network of experts may even start coming to you with new ideas that could trigger great articles. Sharon Miller Cindrich is the mom of two, a columnist and author of E-Parenting: Keeping Up With Your Tech-Savvy Kids (Random House, 2007). Her next book debuts in the fall of 2009. Learn more at www.sharonmillercindrich.com.

Writing for the Web: Link With Care

By Jennifer Applin One neat aspect about writing for the web is the ability to use hyperlinks. Used correctly, they can enhance or further support your text. They can also be a great shortcut tool for pointing the reader in a different direction. Although the use of hyperlinks is generally a good thing, the following considerations can help make them work most effectively: Placement is important. You want the link to benefit your text and not turn into a form of competition. Whenever you include a link, you run the risk of losing the reader. They may click to the new location, see more information they want to check out and not come back to your site. Therefore you may want to place the links towards the end of the article rather than the beginning or middle so your text is read all the way through. More is not always better. Try not to get carried away. Reading an article with a lot of links can be overwhelming for the reader. They may get tired of the constant clicking back and forth and just abandon your article entirely. Make it easy on the reader. Be as accurate as possible with your links. If you are sending the reader to a specific blog post or page on a website then link to that specific location. Try to avoid linking to the home page of a website and forcing your reader to search for the pertinent information. Check for accuracy. If you are going to link, you want to make sure you’re doing it correctly. It is really frustrating for a reader to click on a link in great anticipation only to find an error message. If you’re copying and pasting it’s pretty easy for things to get messed up so check and double check that you’ve linked correctly. Business-Boosting Tip I can’t imagine how lonely writers must have been many years ago before the Internet. Connecting with other writers is extremely beneficial and the web makes it pretty darn easy with all sorts of writers’ forums, websites and blogs. Here you can share useful information on every aspect of this business and get great insider tips. It’s really hard to put a dollar value on the benefits of this sort of networking, but it will definitely play a vital role in boosting your business. It’s also a great way to make lifelong friends. 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.

SPRING E-MAIL CLASSES START MAY 6TH

LAST CHANCE FOR CHRISTINA’S ADVANCED 2009 CLASSES

If you have read Writer Mama, you know that I have always taught preparation, practice, professionalism, and poise as THE ways to succeed as a writing professional. None of my advice has changed. These skills are just as timely and necessary as ever. In fact, they are probably more crucial than ever since writing for publication has never been more competitive than it is right now.

Our classes offer moms the best combination: information, encouragement, opportunities for self-examination, and just enough deadline pressure to take your skills to the next level. Our classes focus on integrity, life-balance, and reasonable growth. I hope you will join us for an upcoming session.

If you need more individualized writing career advice, I’m now offering half-hour as well as full-hour coaching sessions for those who want it.

Write on, mamas!

Christina Katz

Craft A Saleable Nonfiction Book Proposal
With Christina Katz
Class Begins on May 6th
Prerequisites: Former student or Permission from Instructor
Most writers underestimate the comprehensiveness needed to craft a saleable book proposal that will garner the interest of agents and editors. They also mistake the definition of platform and importance of aligning their proposal to a solid track record. A two-time author, Christina has helped hundreds of nonfiction writers succeed over the past seven years. Now she’s making her proposal-writing advice available in a six-week e-mail course to aspiring authors who want to nail the proposal the first time around. The best way to craft a short, tight proposal that will impress agents and editors is with the help of a seasoned professional. Class not offered again until 2010.
Cost: $299.00 [Last time at this price!]
Register at www.christinakatz.com

Platform 103: Turn Your Specialty Into Course Curriculum
With Christina Katz
Class Begins on May 6th
Prerequisites: Former student or Permission from Instructor
You have worked long and hard to discover your specialty, narrow the focus of your expertise, and build your credibility, so shouldn’t you also develop a course curriculum that you can use as the starting point for years of teaching and learning from your students? Christina Katz has been doing this for eight years and in this six-week class, she’ll share all of the insights she’s learned so you can create your own class, including strategies for cultivating a following of students who succeed. Class not offered again until 2010.
Cost: $299.00 (Special Introductory Rate, Regularly $399.00.)
Register at www.christinakatz.com

Writing for the Web
With Jennifer Applin
Class Begins May 6th
Prerequisites: None
These days virtually every business and industry needs to have an online presence. With a growing trend in Internet marketing, e-commerce and online publications, the need for creating well-written web content is more important than ever. If you are looking to make a name for yourself, and a living, writing for the web, then this course can help you. Students will learn how to develop a writing style that is suitable for the web; provide a variety of services (online articles, website content, blogging, editing, etc.); establish a fair rate and avoid scams; find paying assignments and secure steady accounts.
Cost: $199.00 [Last time at this price!]
More/Register at www.christinakatz.com

Personal Essays that Get Published
With Abigail Green
Class Begins on May 6th
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 [Last time at this price!]
More/Register at www.christinakatz.com

Invest In Your Writing Career Today & Reap Greater Rewards Tomorrow.

A Few Quick Announcements from Writer Mama

I’m Seeking An Administrative Assistant: I will mentor this person in his or her writing career in exchange for 10-20 / week of administrative work. This is a perfect opportunity for someone who is not feeling a money crunch right now but realizes that they can benefit both by assisting me and through my consultations on writing for publication and platform development. This is job for a nonfiction writer, since nonfiction writing is my specialty. The right person for this position will be organized, conscientious, and cheerful about administrative work. (Please do not apply if this does not describe you.) Beginning fall 2009, this person will have access to free classes with me. Details will be negotiated upon selection. A minimum one-year commitment is required and you do not have to live in Oregon. Send a short cover note and a resume to me at: writermama2@earthlink.net. Resumes will be accepted for the rest of the month. The postion begins May 1st. I will announce when the position has been filled.

I’d LOVE Your Help Promoting My Books!
I went into great detail about how you can help me promote my books in the most recent issue of Writers on the Rise. What? You are not a subscriber yet? Well, you can address that here. Don’t let another issue chock-full of craft tips from seven professionals get by you!

There are a few things I’m asking readers/subscribers to do to help me promote my books as I try to reclaim my life a bit:

• Ask your local library to order my books
• Post rave reviews of my books online wherever you usually check reviews of books
• Support indy bookstores by purchasing my books through them
• Spread your enthusiasm about my books to key people

You can read the detailed request here.

Thanks in advance for your support!

Writer Mama Quotes

“It’s hard to find the balance between the real life and the imagined life, because real life is always there, and I think the writer wants to go down into the well and the little children, they’re always interrupting you, so you have to climb up out of the well and deal with their needs, and then there’s this moment of peace, and despite yourself, you tend to go back into the well.”

~ Jane Hamilton

“Stories are around us everywhere, like fireflies, and the writer must be ready to grab them as they fly by. Use a net with a very small weave. Ideas are small-what we do with ideas is the large part of the equation.”

~ Jane Yolen