Writer Mama Success Rhythms

By Christina Katz

Now that all thoughts are turning towards 2010, l’d like to point out the key change I think all writers, including writer mamas, need to make. We all need to diversify our skill sets or we won’t be able to compete in the new marketplace. So as we enjoy the holiday season, think about how you will diversify your writing portfolio in 2010.
 
Craft: Try new forms. Your writing is going to be read in ways that have not even been discovered yet. How can writers prepare for this? By getting your needle unstuck and busting out beyond your most comfortable literary forms.
 
Never forget that attention spans are shrinking and that everyone is overworked and underpaid. So solemnly swear right now: I will not waste other people’ time. I will only write what is compelling, necessary and needed. Otherwise I will keep my words to myself until they are polished and targeted enough to share.
 
This, after all, is what writers do: we nurture clusters of words until they are ripe for the reading. Nurture ’em first. Share ’em only when they are ready.
 
Pitching: Diversify your income streams. You’re going to have to pitch more people more often just to earn what you were earning before or simply to generate enough leads to earn. So, don’t get your needle stuck on just this one editor or that one editor.
 
Yes, ongoing relationships are still great when the opportunity comes along, but don’t hope for that. Become gig-minded instead. Focus on landing and executing one gig at a time and then move on. Go for more gigs.
 
If an ongoing relationship with an editor yields steady results, great, but write for the sake of the writing well, not to hook your cart to one particular publisher or editor’s cart in hopes of regular assignments. And even when you get a stream of steady assignments, be sure to write for others in case that stream dries up.
 
Platform Building: Streamline your platform-building efforts and specialize. The future of platform-building is going to involve streamlining. I’ve certainly learned this from personal experience.
 
You are going to have to keep your platforms simple, sisters. Don’t overlook specializing as a crucial preliminary step. And partner wisely with others, not just with anybody. It’s a crowded, cluttered, noisy Internet out there now. Rise to the top of the Google list by sounding one, clear, strong note, not by running bumpy scales instead. Okay? You’ll need to do your footwork to figure out your specialty.
 
Professional Development: Be choosy and select only the best. Just like you can’t be everything for everybody, you also can’t go everywhere and do everything. So, be picky. Don’t join just any associations. Join the best associations for you. Don’t attend too many conferences (or none). Attend those that will assist your career most. And don’t base your decision on price tag alone. Pay more for the right association, the right conference, etc. in order to preserve your time and energy. Above all, invest in your own career first, before assisting others.
 
Hope your Writer Mama Success Rhythms continue into 2010 and beyond, mamas.

 

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.

All About October!

For me, back-to-school marks the beginning of my new work year. I’ve decided (after working a bit less this past summer) to work more during the school year and less during the summer from here on out. So next summer, I plan to attend some writing conferences and that’s pretty much going to be it so I can enjoy quality time with my immediate and extended families.

And there are more changes in the works. Soon, I will only be offering four e-mail classes (instead of six) and will convert my platform classes into audio or video courses.

In January, I will launch two “Dream Teams” for former students who are interested in more support, encouragement and guidance on an ongoing basis. These Dream Teams will be linked up by a monthly conference call, weekly accountability assignments, and a group interface for sharing among participants. I was going to switch up the groups every three months but now I’m thinking that six months will be best for everyone.

I’m going to be working with Judy Miller, my intern/assistant over the holidays to create some e-books. Topics you might be interested include: “Author Mama,” “Write An E-book & Build a Following,” and “Grassroots Self-promotion for Authors.” I’d love for you to meet Judy, if you don’t already know her. You can read more here.

There’s going to be more news to come as the New Year gets closer, but suffice it to say that I am streamlining and focusing all of my online efforts to make room for book number three, which I’d like to start in January.

I wonder if there are classes, services or products you wish I would offer that I don’t currently offer. I’d love to hear your feedback on this via e-mail. Please write to me at writer mama dot earthlink dot net and let me know your thoughts.

The Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway is now over. I consider it a huge success. Big thanks go out to Judy Miller, for her help creating the posts, to Jane Friedman for providing many books, and to all of the authors who participated. The giveaway continues to be a popular opportunity for self-reflection and self-discovery for those who participate. It is always so gratifying for me to hear what everyone have to say about the process. You can read more on that here.

Harvest time is here in earnest, mamas. And it’s time to separate the wheat from the chafe. What will you keep? What will you let go of? How will you streamline your time to be as successful as you can be while safeguarding your quality time with your family?

Writer Mama Success Rhythms: September 2009

By Christina Katz

I’ve been reflecting on some of my successful former students lately. When I say “successful,” I mean they have made major strides in advancing their writing careers over the years I have known them. Let’s take a look at how they get published, share what they have to offer, gradually build a platform, and keep on learning.

Craft: I was recently asked by a writer if she should sign up for my beginning level platform class. She hadn’t established herself as a published writer yet, so I suggested that she focus on this goal first. You can’t really establish a platform if you don’t know what your specialty is. And there is only one way to improve your writing craft — and that is repetition.

So, it won’t matter if you read books and take classes if you don’t apply what you learned and repeat it over and over again to develop the muscle memory. You’ll need that muscle memory to write a longer work, like a book. Former students I’ve taught, who have books coming out, have primarily focused on progressing their craft. Improving the quality of your writing through execution and repetition is the foundation of a solid career for any writer.

Pitching: I think the word “pitching” is intimidating. Let’s call it “sharing” instead because when it comes right down to it, selling is simply sharing what you have to offer with others. Sharing can happen verbally or in writing (aka a “query”). Now, here’s the key. When you have worked long and hard on your craft, you want to share your skills with others. Pitching is how this sharing happens.

But, contrary to popular belief, pitching is not usually innate; it’s learned. So if you think only natural salespeople can share their work effectively, think again. I can teach anybody how to query effectively, though, it’s more complicated than most writers think. When I reflect on my former students with books or book deals in the works, I can see that they worked consistently to develop pitching skills and then used them.

Platform Building: At the point where you are writing, pitching, and selling your work-congratulations! You are building your platform. Of course, there’s a lot more you need to do. I’ve outlined the process in a checklist of forms you can write to describe your writing career in Get Known Before the Book Deal. It’s your job to be your own publicist and report on your steady progress or else nobody else is going to ever hear about it.

This is just the beginning of platform development but if you start here and come back and revisit this exercise often, you will always know intuitively what the best platform directions are for you. Some great examples from my among my former students are Cindy Hudson (http://motherdaughterbookclub.wordpress.com/) and Jenny Kales (http://www.nut-freemom.blogspot.com/).

Professional Development: One part of professional growth that is key to success is networking with other professionals in your field. Cindy Hudson is a great example. Over years of platform development for her forthcoming book, Book-By-Book, The Complete Guide to Creating Mother-Daughter Book Clubs, Cindy has met lots of authors and mother-daughter book club leaders, who have gone on to participate in the research for her forthcoming book. You can do this online by targeting specific interest groups or you can create your own community around your book-in-progress over time. It’s the community you build before, during, and after the book-writing that is going to spread enthusiasm about your book to others.

Remember, writers, there’s truly nothing to be gained from daydreaming about overnight success. Lasting success happens slowly and steadily and builds over time in a way that amplifies the integrity you’ve established. When integrity is the focus, success in inevitable.

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 Success Rhythms: July is for Just Walk Away

By Christina Katz

Since it’s summer, I thought it might be helpful to look at how a break can benefit just about every area of a writing career.

Craft
When you take a break from writing and do other things like walking or swimming or playing croquette, what you are really doing is resetting your brain for the next writing session. So if you are already a prolific writer, don’t balk when the opportunity to get out of the house and play comes along. A break might be just what your writing needs to improve on the next draft. Take a break and see if it helps, no matter what stage of the writing process you are in.

Pitching
If you pitch your work and yourself often, how might a refreshing vacation help you pitch better when you return? Walking away from your work means that when you come back you can review your pitching strategy with fresh eyes. Maybe it’s time to update your bio, or craft better leads, or include more details about what you are proposing. Try to read your last query soon after you return and I bet you will notice several ways you can improve all of your queries moving forward.

Self-promotion
Heaven forbid you should take a break from promoting yourself! Just kidding. Of course, you should. If you are going on vacation, don’t follow the advice of some and bring work with you. I’ve read plenty of advice that says to work while you are on vacation and then write off the trip as a business deduction on your taxes. But that sounds deceptive to me. Do you really want to mess with the IRS? I say work when you are working and rest when you are resting. Don’t blur the line too much or you might soon be working all the time. I try to get my self-promotion done on a regular basis so when it’s time for R&R, I don’t even think about dragging my work into my vacation time (okay, except for e-mail)…tax deduction or no tax deduction.

Professional Development
On the other hand, mamas, sometimes the only way you get an opportunity to truly relax is by leaving home to attend a professional conference or workshop. So, I’d say, if you are a mom and you haven’t had a working vacation away from your family responsibilities, why not treat yourself? Yes, it’s hectic both when you are getting ready to go and when you return. But while you are gone, your time will be 100% your own. And when the last time that happened? And as an extra bonus, in this case the trip is legitimately tax deductible.

Happy summer, mamas!

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.

CATCH MY FIRST WRITER’S DIGEST WEBINAR!

Please Note: Date Change

Tuesday, Oct. 13th
Author Webinar:
Are You a Specialist or a Generalist?
Evaluating Your Skill Set to Get Published in the New “Gig Economy”
by Christina Katz (60 minutes)

What are your skill sets as a writer, and how do you evaluate them? How do you decide whether to specialize or generalize?

You need to establish a strong direction for your development as a writer to survive in the changing times of publishing.

All registrants will take a pre-quiz called “What’s Your Specialty?” designed to help you start identifying your strongest sources of expertise.

This live event will offer:

Tips and paths for both specialists and generalists, and how to get started

Examples of writers’ websites (both specialist and generalist)

How to combine a specialist and generalist approach

Your chance to jump-start your career using the same strategies as the pros

Opportunity to ask Christina Katz your questions about platform development

Bonus: All attendees receive a copy of Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz.

I bet many of you have not done a webinar before but there is really nothing to it. You just show up in front of your computer at the scheduled date and time and watch the images I display on your computer screen while listening to my voice in real time. You can even type in questions for me to answer during the Q&A period.

More info

 

 

Dear Writer Mamas (July/August Issue Starts Here),

I’m getting pretty good at this slowing down stuff.

Of course, I realize that my “slowed down” work schedule is busier than some people’s “high gear” schedule.

For example, today I worked on planning the 2009-2010 Northwest Author Series, while supervising a sleepover, taking the dogs on their walks, and otherwise holding down the fort while my husband is away for a few days at yearbook camp.

Tomorrow, I’ll get up, drop my daughter for an early playdate, go for a powerwalk with my walking buddy, take care of the dogs, and then host #platformchat, the new Twitterchat I started.

Did you catch that?

Twitterchat I started…? Does that sound like slowing down to you? (You can learn more about #platformchat here.)

How about planning for the Third Annual Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway?

Getting excited about Cindy Hudson and Kristin Bair O’Keeffe’s book launches?

Overseeing three e-zines?

Switching rooms for my office?

Planning my daughter’s fall activities?

Selling a pile of stuff on Craigslist?

Scheduling fall appearances?

Am I fooling anybody? Besides myself, I mean.

My husband claims that I am such a good multi-tasker, I sometimes make him feel slow. (He’s not.) I don’t do it on purpose. Of course I don’t. I’ve always been a quick-minded, somewhat impatient, foot-in-my-mouth-can’t stop-the-words-from-tumbling-out kind of person.

No, I may never slow down to other peoples’ paces. But I’m slowing down for me and that’s going to have to be good enough.

And when fall arrives, after all of this “rest,” look out! I just might be unstoppable.

Happy summering, mamas!

Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor
www.christinakatz.com

Friend me on Facebook
Follow me on Twitter
Search on Twitter for #platformchat

Writer Mama Success Rhythms: June is for the Joy of a Writing Career

By Christina Katz

Will you work straight through the summer? I typically use some time in the summer to think about plans for the following year. I usually begin setting those plans in motion in August so they can be ready to fly by January 1st. This summer will be no exception. Even though I’m taking more time off for R&R than during previous summers, I’ll still be planning ahead. How about you?

Craft
Here’s the difference between writing for fun and writing practice, for me. Writing practice implies that…

• you are writing for a specific audience.
• you are writing frequently enough to see improvement in your  craft.
• you are working with an editor or at least some kind of editorial process, even if it’s one you’ve set up for yourself.
• you are seeing improvements in your writing as a result of your efforts, not just writing lots of words that will never see the light of publication.

Pitching
What if you are uncomfortable pitching yourself or your work? Here are some strategies to employ if pitching doesn’t come naturally:

• Create a query form letter you can use over and over.
• Verbally bounce your idea off someone you trust before you commit it to paper.
• Have a set checklist you use to go over your pitches and make sure they are as thorough as they can be.
• Writer Mama contains resources for all of these steps.

Self-promotion
Got platform? I worked my buns off for over a year to write a step-by-step guide on how to grow a platform from scratch alongside your writing career that would help every writer. I sure hope you have a copy!

A key point of the book is: we are all 100% responsible for our writing careers. Does this describe you? If not, and you’d like to work through the platform process with me step-by-step, Platform 101 starts in August.

Professional Development
A lot of mom writers are telling me that they are attending writing conferences this summer — hooray! So what can you do before the conference to get the most out of it?

• Re-read Chapter 22, Count Down Days to a Conference, in Writer Mama for tips on conference preparation.
• Read Mary Andonian’s “Writing Conference Success column in The Writer Mama archives.
• Take care of all your logistical issues far in advance of the conference (i.e., babysitter, transportation, etc.) to insure that you’ll have some time before the conference to plan which sessions to attend and otherwise create a personal plan to get as much as possible out of the conference. After all, if you are going to invest your hard-earned money into your writing career, you’ll want to get as much out of it as possible.
• Trust what happens and the people you meet. Make the most of every encounter and learning opportunity. Have a great time and you are sure not to be disappointed!

Happy summer, mamas!

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.

CATCH MY FIRST WRITER’S DIGEST WEBINAR!

Please Note: Date Change

Tuesday, Oct. 13th
Author Webinar:
Are You a Specialist or a Generalist?
Evaluating Your Skill Set to Get Published in the New “Gig Economy”
by Christina Katz (60 minutes)  

What are your skill sets as a writer, and how do you evaluate them? How do you decide whether to specialize or generalize? You need to establish a strong direction for your development as a writer to survive in the changing times of publishing. All registrants will take a pre-quiz called “What’s Your Specialty?” designed to help you start identifying your strongest sources of expertise.This live event will offer: Tips and paths for both specialists and generalists, and how to get started Examples of writers’ websites (both specialist and generalist) How to combine a specialist and generalist approach Your chance to jump-start your career using the same strategies as the pros Opportunity to ask Christina Katz your questions about platform development Bonus: All attendees receive a copy of Get Known Before the Book Deal by Christina Katz. I bet many of you have not done a webinar before, but there is really nothing to it. You just show up in front of your computer at the scheduled date and time and watch the images I display on your computer screen while listening to my voice in real time. You can even type in questions for me to answer during the Q&A period. More info

Dear Mamas (June issue begins here)

Summer has finally arrived in the Pacific Northwest even though it’s not yet official. The waterparks in town (we have two) are flowing, people are out exercising, playing, and gathering, and gradation is tonight over at the high school.

Soon my daughter will be out of school, followed by my husband, and then…well, I don’t get “out of school” exactly, but I will have a couple of months off from teaching and I look forward to spending more time with my family, taking a couple of trips to visit extended family, and just generally chilling out more than usual.

This is something I haven’t really done since 2005. In 2005, I was preparing to pitch Writer Mama at the August Willamette Writers Conference. In summer 2006, my deadline for Writer Mama was still pending. In summer 2007, I was working on pitching Get Known, and my final deadlines were at the end of summer 2008.

So, with the exception of a long family road trip that we took in summer 2006, I haven’t really taken any extended R&R during summer in four whole years.

I’ve written before about how creativity needs to take a rest but it bears repeating. When you are in a creative field like we are, and you are juggling raising a career alongside your family, if you don’t take time to rest, relax, and reflect, you’ll run the risk of burning out, or worse, making poor choices.

I feel like I’ve made sound choices so far but I’m starting to see some signs of wear and tear. For one thing, I’ve gained a bunch of weight and I don’t like being heavy. For another, I’ve developed a couple of nagging health issues that are no doubt also related to too much butt-in-chair time in front of the computer. These are all nothing serious but I see them as “flags”–indicators that need my attention and action.

Now I think you guys know me well enough to know that I’m not really going anywhere. I’m starting something on Twitter called #platformchat, where I will basically “talk platform” with anyone between 11-12 a.m. PT the first Friday of each month. I’d love to chat with you then.

If you are not already “following” me on Twitter, you can follow me at @thewritermama. Follow me and I’ll follow you back.

I’m showing up at a lot of blogs this summer, sharing some of what I’ve learned about platform development and answering questions and participating in discussions with all kinds of writers. I’m really looking forward to this and, if you have an active blog, I hope you will invite me over.

And finally, I always use summer time for future planning and organizing and this summer is no exception. I have an author series to organize, a class schedule to create, three e-zines to plan for, writing deadlines (look for my interview with Cory Doctorow in a fall issue of Writer’s Digest magazine), a busy fall schedule of guest gigs including The Writer’s Digest Business of Publishing Conference and a Should You Generalize Or Specialize Webinar? (which has been moved to October 13th from June 14th).

By the end of summer, I will have a third book idea and be ready to pitch it. It would also be great if I could be thinner, tanner, and healthier (smile). I realize that it’s up to me to make all of these goals happen.

Happy summer, mamas! Thanks for spreading word of all the good hard work The Writer Mama columnists do around here. We always appreciate it!

Make good things happen!

Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor, The Writer Mama

P.S. Looking for content to keep your blog lively this summer? Get in touch with Christina, Wendy Burt-Thomas, and Sage Cohen and we’ll send you guest posts for your blog. Just send us an e-mail and we’ll send you back all the stuff to post in your blog on a weekday. Let us know when you are posting and we’ll swing by and answer questions from your readers on our topics.

Writer Mama Success Rhythms: May is for Managing Your Time

By Christina Katz

Everyone’s a writer now, right? That’s the way the tide is turning. However, writing is always going to be primarily an inside job, no matter how many people jump on the bandwagon. So, it’s important to monitor your time as carefully as you manage your spending, your children’s nutrition, or the amount of gas in your tank. To become more productive, take stock of how you are spending your time and then try to spend it as wisely as you possibly can.

Craft
Practice is what leads to better writing. Sure, reading about writing is educational, inspirational, and a great way to kill an hour. However, for every hour you read about writing, commit to another hour-an hour of writing time. By bookending your writing between stints of quality reading, you’ll see a definite improvement in quality. Be a reader. And then, be a writer.

Pitching
The best thing you can do to get in the habit of selling your words is pitch yourself regularly. The next best thing you can do is to turn the rhythms that work into systems that you can sustain over time. Pitching success is the best teacher. When you succeed, notice what worked, turn it first into a rhythm and then into a system. In this way, pitching success will become a no-brainer.

Self-promotion
What’s the rush all about? Suddenly the world is full of desperate, frenetic people. Maybe it’s the economy. But mamas know that there are some things you simply cannot rush. So slow down. Promote yourself steadily. Have a plan. When you are in an unholy rush, others sense it and get turned off. Attract success; don’t repel it.

Professional Development
Book deals typically happen when everything is ripe. Ripeness is the fruition of many different types of effort, coming together, steadily over time. Keep taking steps to move forward as a professional and you will become ready for the book deal. Read my book, Get Known Before the Book Deal (Writer’s Digest Books 2008), but don’t try to do everything at once. Perhaps find your strengths and lean into those first. Then address your weak spots, too. You can go far as a writer just by following these two tips.

What is the single next most important goal for your writing career?

Focus on each one, one at a time. It’s enough.

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.

Dear Mamas (May Issue Starts),

I’m traveling a lot this month, for me. I’ve recently returned from a trip to Seattle to visit three King County Libraries and in a couple of short weeks, I’m off to New York for the 2009 Book Expo America / Writer’s Digest Conference.

Normally, because I’m a mom I try to keep my travel to one trip per month, but I couldn’t resist both going for both opportunities this time. I love connecting face-to-face with fellow writers!

I’m also preparing for a June 16th Writer’s Digest Webinar, “Should I Specialize or Generalize?” If you want to evaluate your strengths, analyze your skill sets, and answer this question as it pertains to you, this will be a helpful learning experience.

I’d say this webinar is about as close as you can get to seeing and hearing me speak at a writer’s conference. And everyone who participates will receive a copy of my recently released book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform.

I bet many of you have not done a webinar before but there is really nothing to it. You just show up in front of your computer at the scheduled date and time and watch the images I display on your computer screen while listening to my voice in real time. You can even type in questions for me to answer during the Q&A period. If you’ve never done one before and you are curious, check out the FAQ’s here.

If you’ve not yet had a chance to pick up the May/June issue of Writer’s Digest with the feature section on platform development for writers, there’s still time. But don’t wait. I’m sure the July/August issue will be out before we know it. I’m so pleased to be partnering with my publisher to create so many excellent learning opportunities for writers, not just in New York, no matter where you live! I hope you will partake as your needs and budget allow.

Make good things happen!

Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor, The Writer Mama

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 Success Rhythms: March 2009 Tips

By Christina Katz I’ve been getting many questions lately from writer mamas about how to create a writing career. Of course, I discussed this in Writer Mama but I think I need to restate. Possibly, because I have a second book out now, it may appear that I have changed the advice I offered previously, but I have not. In fact, I am recommitted to the “baby step” approach I sketch out in Writer Mama the more I see moms getting all tangled up in the self-promotion web (pun intended). To have a successful writing career, carefully choosing where to devote time and energy can create quicker success than not making any choices at all or trying to do everything at once. While, there is no one “right” way to build your way up to professional writer status, the following general suggestions can give you a baseline from which to find your own way: Craft A commitment to writing craft should come first and remain a high-priority throughout any writer’s career. I recently made The Elements of Style a required text for my Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff Class because we have been spending too much time on basic grammar issues. I feel like a bit of a broken record on this topic lately, but I feel strongly that if you wish to have a professional writing career, step number one is read Strunk & White cover to cover. After that there is still a ton to learn about writing craft. Prose forms. Specialized writing skills for different genres. Formatting. Rewriting and polishing skills. But whatever else you do, start with a solid awareness and understanding of basic grammar. From there, you can really go anywhere as a writer. Pitching When do you need to start learning how to sell your work? If you want to write professionally and you either don’t already know how to sell yourself or you are unsure at all about your ability to pitch your work, then this is something you need to work on from the get-go. Now, in my WPSS class, we start with the writing forms for three weeks and then start thinking about pitching after everyone has a little bit of confidence about their writing. This seems to work well. If you are reading Writer Mama, after you’ve read the first two sections, you are ready to begin writing for publication, especially if you are pitching regional parenting publications. Don’t feel like you have to try and learn/understand every single thing. Just learn the basics and begin! Small successes build the confidence required for the challenges that follow. Writing for publications is challenging! Don’t let anyone convince you otherwise. Self-promotion Frankly, if you are working on writing for publication, self-promotion can wait. Freelancers, who earn gigs by submitting and pitching their work, don’t need a fancy website or blog just to write an article and send it out. Trying to build the website or blog while writing your first articles can actually be a hindrance. And hey, I wrote a whole book on this topic. So if I say don’t worry about the platform, then really, it can wait. I wouldn’t give you bad advice! Once you are writing and getting published fairly consistently, that is a good time to start thinking about self-promotion. Ditto if you have and offer other services that need to be promoted. Obviously, if this is the case, online promotion is the easiest way to get the word out. Just be sure your other offerings compliment your writing goals rather than derailing them. Professional development Like platform development, can professional development wait? No. It really can’t. So here’s what I suggest: as soon as you start earning money, invest a percentage of it into your professional development. I’m not talking about purchasing supplies. That’s just the cost of doing business. I’m talking about classes, joining the best associations for you, and eventually getting to a live conference to benefit from the immersive learning and networking that takes place in these brief yet intense learning experiences. You might think you should wait and only focus on professional development when “you are further along.” The irony is if you want to get further along, professional development can speed things up exponentially. So don’t rule out professional development. Prioritize it and succeed! 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.

Dear Writer Mamas (March 2009 Issue Archive Begins…)

I think March weather is a good metaphor for the writer mama life. You know how the weather is supposed to come in “like a lion” and go out “like a lamb” in March?

Isn’t this what real life is like for moms most of the time? I mean, let’s not sugar-coat it. Some days are brutal and others are nice and calm. But after the sweet moments, one of your kids can suddenly get the flu and spread it to the whole family. And seemingly overnight what was all good 24-hours ago can suddenly feel like a complete disaster, chaos included.

I’ve noticed since becoming a mom that sometimes it really only takes about 24-hours for things to fall completely apart. Sometimes even less time than that.

And when thing do go south, you’re allowed to be a lion. I mean, when you feel like SON OF GUN, I’M GOING TO FREAKIN’ LOSE IT! you are allowed to roar. And if you do you’ll feel better, and you probably won’t lose it.

So, when disaster strikes in the form of nasty flu or a school cancellation or a root canal or, heaven forbid, something more serious: ROAR!

Here’s how you do it:

You calmly explain to your child/children that mommy is angry right now and she needs to roar.

Then you roar as loudly as you can.

It’s easy!

Yes, I mean like a lion. You have children and you are allowed to act silly once in awhile. You can even be absurd. Trust me, your kids will  like it if you act completely ridiculous instead of losing your squash.

Okay, the first time your try roaring, your children might think you are nuts. But you can invite them to roar with you. You can even invite whatever adults are around to roar too.

And after you have roared your brains out for a little while, and everyone has roared their brains out, I guarantee you will all feel better.

Because the bottom line is this: if you’re a writer mama, you’re going to have to be a lion sometimes. Because if you are a lamb all the time, the world is going to bat you around like a little cat toy.

So, every once in a while, when you’re good and mad, practice being a lion and roar as loadly as you can. You’ll see what I mean when you try it.

Happy roaring, mamas!

Make good things happen,

Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor