Articles with the book Tag

When Angela and Jodi first approached me to host Sue Silverman on her book tour I saw the word, “Memoir” and thought, “I don’t write Memoir and I don’t ever plan to.” But, Sue is a writer and “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir” is not a book about memoir, it’s a book about writing.

Sue is incredible. After our initial contact she got a copy of her book into the post for me and it arrived within days. That was over two months ago, and while at the time I promised to move “Fearless Confessions” to the top of my reading list, I put it off, and off. Some deep, secret reserve held me back from opening the covers. Fear and perhaps an inner knowing kept the book at arms length. I would glance at the cover, feeling guilty because I knew that I would be reviewing the book this month and I really needed to have read it to do that.

Fear comes at us in all areas of writing, be it memoir or fiction, because, ultimately, with each word we write we tell the story of ourselves. I’ve struggled with my current novel because I know that there are elements of myself in each of my characters and I don’t know them. I don’t know myself enough to know these characters. Knowing that in finishing this novel I will have to truly learn who I am creates gargantuan writer’s blocks built of fear.

Perhaps, that is why “Fearless Confessions” found its way to me. I opened the pages and began to read and I could see myself in Sue’s words. I knew, from the first page, that this book would force me to look at my own situation, and, if I could muster Sue’s courage, it would force me to explore who I am. In turn, perhaps it would allow me to finish my novel.

Toward the end of each chapter, Sue William Silverman asks us to participate. It is not enough to be actively engaged in her voice and the heart she shares on her pages. Sue pushes her readers to take action, to begin now, to grasp courage and move forward. In book form it is tempting to skip over these writing exercises. It takes courage to commit to the exercises just as it takes courage to begin reading. But in claiming that courage with each exercise, it becomes easier to do the next.

Although there is a definite slant toward memoir writing through the book, “Fearless Confessions” is about all writing, particularly fiction writing. The techniques Sue shares are cornerstones in all excellent writing. Learning these skills and developing the craft of storytelling will improve your writing in every aspect of your life.

When we are first learning to read and write we are taught to distinguish facts, “An apple is red.”. As we grow older we’re told to expand on this, “An apple is red and round.”. As we discover writing as an art we learn that there is far more to every aspect of our lives then the simple facts. “Red” and “round” are no longer descriptive enough to truly convey what an apple is.

Sue Silverman’s “Fearless Confessions” asks us to look deeper. To see with adult eyes the complexity of life and express that complexity, in full, rich, evocative color, on the page. She asks us to discover ourselves in our writing and in turn, discover our writing within ourselves.

If you’ve ever wondered how to develop your writer’s voice, how to put emotion on the page, how to tell a story that readers live and won’t want to put aside, then you need to discover your own “Fearless Confessions“.

Now, it’s time to return to my own story.

Please, don’t forget that Sue will be visiting Writer’s Round-About on the 21st of August and you still have a few days to ask your questions and enter the draw to receive your very own copy of “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir“.

Later this month, Sue William Silverman, author of “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir” is visiting Writer’s Round-About as she travels the Web on her August Blog Tour hosted by Wow! Women On Writing. But before she gets here, I need YOUR help!

When Angela and Jodi of Wow! asked if I would take part in Sue’s blog tour this August I knew I wanted to be involved but I wanted to do more than just review “Fearless Confessions”. I wanted to give Sue as much launch as WRA could offer and not just for her book but the whole idea of writing fearlessly! As many regular WRA readers know, I’m a writer frequently plagued by fear and the idea of taking fear out of the writing experience appeals to me. What is the real secret to writing Fearless Confessions and can Sue’s guidance regarding memoir be taken into other writing genres?

Questions! The questions that sprung to mind compelled me to ask Sue to meet with me for an interview. But, to be honest, I’ve not had much experience with interviewing. That is where you come in. Sue is making herself available to our questions, I have a few of my own but would love to include your questions in my interview. What would you like to ask Sue? Do you have any questions about writing with fear?

As if having this opportunity to ask you questions might not be enough I want to give a copy of “Fearless Confessions: A Writer’s Guide to Memoir” to one special WRA Reader. I don’t know how many of your questions we will be able to include in the interview (hopefully Sue will have time to answer any that are not covered when she visits) but one of the questions submitted and selected for the interview will earn a copy of Sue’s book.

It really is that easy. Ask your questions in the comments between now and August 17th and you could win!

An Interview with Christina Katz, author of Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform

Q: What is a platform?
CK: Long story short: Your platform communicates your expertise to others, and it works all the time so you don’t have to. Your platform includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership. If others already recognize your expertise on a given topic or for a specific audience or both, then that is your platform.

A platform-strong writer is a writer with influence. “Get Known” explains in plain English, without buzzwords, how any writer can stand out from the crowd of other writers and get the book deal. The book clears an easy-to-follow path through a formerly confusing forest of ideas so any writer can do the necessary platform development they need to do.

Q: Why is platform development important for writers today?
CK: Learning about and working on a solid platform plan gives writers an edge. Agents and editors have known this for years and have been looking for platform-strong writers and getting them book deals. But from the writer’s point-of-view, there has not been enough information on platform development to help unprepared writers put their best platform forward.

Now suddenly, there is a flood of information on platform, not all necessarily comprehensive, useful or well organized for folks who don’t have a platform yet. Writers can promote themselves in a gradual, grounded manner without feeling like they are selling out. I do it, I teach other writers to do it, I write about it on an ongoing basis, and I encourage all writers to heed the trend. And hopefully, I communicate how in a practical, step-by-step manner that can serve any writer. Because ultimately, before you actively begin promoting yourself, platform development is an inside job requiring concentration, thoughtfulness and a consideration of personal values.

Q: How did you come to write Get Known Before the Book Deal?
CK: I already had a lot of momentum going when I got the deal for a very specific audience. I wrote a column on the topic for the Willamette Writer’s newsletter. Then I started speaking on platform. When I gave my presentation, “Get Known Before the Book Deal”, at the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference in May 2007, Phil Sexton, one of my publisher’s sales guys, saw it and suggested making the concept into a book. Coincidentally, I was trying to come up with an idea for my second book at that time and had just struck out with what I thought were my three best ideas. My editor, Jane Friedman agreed with Phil. That was two votes from people sitting on the pub board. They converted the others with the help of my proposal, and Get Known got the green light.

Q: Why was a book on platform development needed?
CK: Writers often underestimate how important platform is and they often don’t leverage the platform they already have enough. At every conference I presented, I took polls and found that about 50 percent of attendees expressed a desire for a clearer understanding of platform. Some were completely in the dark about it, even though they were attending a conference in hopes of landing a book deal. Since book deals are granted based largely on the impressiveness of a writer’s platform, I noticed a communication gap that needed to be addressed.

My intention was that Get Known would be the book every writer would want to read before attending a writer’s conference, and that it would increase any writer’s chances of landing a book deal whether they pitched in-person or by query. As I wrote the book, I saw online how this type of information was being offered as “insider secrets” at outrageous prices. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars for the information they can find in my book for the price of a paperback! Seriously. You can even ask your library to order it and read it for free.

Q: What is the key idea behind Get Known Before the Book Deal?
CK: Getting known doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take an in-depth understanding of platform, and then the investment of time, skills and consistent effort to build one. Marketing experience and technological expertise are also not necessary. I show how to avoid the biggest time and money-waster, which is not understanding who your platform is for and why – and hopefully save writers from the confusion and inertia that can result from either information overload or not taking the big picture into account before they jump into writing for traditional publication.

Often writers with weak platforms are over-confident that they can impress agents and editors, while others with decent platforms are under-confident or aren’t stressing their platform-strength enough. Writers have to wear so many hats these days, we can use all the help we can get. Platform development is a muscle, and the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Anyone can do it, but most don’t or won’t because they either don’t understand what is being asked for, or they haven’t overcome their own resistance to the idea. Get Known offers a concrete plan that can help any writer make gains in the rapidly changing and increasingly competitive publishing landscape.

Q: What is the structure of the book and why did you choose it?
CK: Writer Mama was written in small, easy-to-digest chunks so busy new moms could stick it in a diaper bag and read it in the nooks and crannies of the day. Get Known is a bit more prosaic, especially in the early chapters. Most of the platform books already out there were only for authors, not writers or aspiring authors. To make platform evolution easy to comprehend, I had to dial the concepts back to the beginning and talk about what it’s like to try and find your place in the world as an author way before you’ve signed a contract, even before you’ve written a book proposal. No one had done that before in a book for writers. I felt writers needed a context in which to chart a course towards platform development that would not be completely overwhelming.

Introducing platform concepts to writers gives them the key information they need to succeed at pitching an agent either via query or in-person, making this a good book for a writer to read before writing a book proposal. Get Known has three sections: section one is mostly stories and cautionary tales, section two has a lot of to-do lists any writer should be able to use, and section three is how to articulate your platform clearly and concisely so you won’t waste a single minute wondering if you are on the right track.

Q: At the front of Get Known, you discuss four phases of the authoring process. What are they?

CK: First comes the platform development and building phase. Second comes the book proposal development phase (or if you are writing fiction, the book-writing phase). Third, comes the actual writing of the book (for fiction writers this is likely the re-writing of the book). And finally, once the book is published, comes the book marketing and promoting phase.

Many first-time authors scramble once they get a book deal if they haven’t done a thorough job on the platform development phase. Writers who already have a platform have influence with a fan base, and they can leverage that influence no matter what kind of book they write. Writing a book is a lot easier if you are not struggling to find readers for the book at the same time. Again, agents and editors have known this for a long time.

Q: What are some common platform mistakes writers make?
CK: Here are a few:

• They don’t spend time clarifying who they are to others.
• They don’t zoom in specifically on what they offer.
• They confuse socializing with platform development.
• They think about themselves too much and their audience not enough.
• They don’t precisely articulate all they offer so others get it immediately.
• They don’t create a plan before they jump online.
• They undervalue the platform they already have.
• They are overconfident and think they have a solid platform when they have only made a beginning.
• They become exhausted from trying to figure out platform as they go.
• They pay for “insider secrets” instead of trusting their own instincts.
• They blog like crazy for six months and then look at their bank accounts and abandon the process as going nowhere.

I’ll stop there. Suffice it to say that many writers promise publishers they have the ability to make readers seek out and purchase their book. But when it comes time to demonstrate this ability, they can’t deliver.

My mission is to empower writers to be 100 percent responsible for their writing career success and stop looking to others to do their promotional work for them. Get Known shows writers of every stripe how to become the writer who can not only land a book deal, but also influence future readers to plunk down ten or twenty bucks to purchase their book. It all starts with a little preparation and planning. The rest unfolds from there.

Q: Couldn’t any author have written this book? Why you?

CK: I have built a career over the past decade empowering writers. I’ve developed and built my own platform as a writing-for-traditional-publication specialist, and I’ve worked with others as a writing and platform-development instructor. Many of the people I’ve been working with are landing book deals and while the other hundred-or-so writers I work with a year are developing their skills, I notice patterns of behavior—what leads to success, where writers get stuck, and how I can be helpful in these rapidly changing times in the industry.

I’ve witnessed too many writers, who were off to a great start, hopping online and quickly becoming very lost. I started to write about platform in Writer Mama, How To Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, but I quickly noticed that more details on platform development were desperately needed. My platform is based on helping others. I have a vested interest in seeing the people I work with—and those who read my book—succeed. Writers are my tribe.

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal: Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books). She started her platform “for fun” seven years ago and ended up on “Good Morning America.” Christina teaches e-courses on platform development and writing nonfiction for publication. Her students are published in national magazines and land agents and book deals.

Christina has been encouraging reluctant platform builders via her e-zines for five years, has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. A popular speaker at writing conferences, writing programs, libraries, and bookstores, she hosts the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon. She is also the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books).

I really love having an opportunity to share this fantastic interview with Christina Katz. I’ve been a fan of Christina’s for a long time and was fortunate enough to meet her at the Writer’s Digest Writer’s Conference in L.A. last year. She really is as lovely in person as she sounds in her books.

While I was at the conference, I picked up an extra copy of her book, Writer Mama: How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, and I’d love to give it away to a lucky Writer’s Round-About reader!

How do you win? It’s easy, just leave a comment here and you go into the draw. It really is as simple as that. Of course, if you tweet the contest you’ll get a second entry into the draw and if you add a comment to Christina’s interview you’ll earn a third. Entries close May 31st, 2009 so act now!

Earlier this month I promised you all a chance to win a copy of George Singleton’s newest book, Pep Talks, Warnings & Screeds. You might have noticed I’ve been missing-in-action for the past couple of weeks. I had a number of posts planned to compliment the book and this contest but have not had the energy or focus to actually write them. Of course, with March nearing her end it is definitely time to get the contest happening so, without further ado, welcome to your chance to win “Pep Talks, Warnings & Screeds“!

This contest is simple. Share a pep talk, warning, or screed of your own on your website or blog for a chance to win. Don’t forget to link to this contest in your post and leave a comment here with a link to your entry.

Enter between now and March 30th. I’ll announce a winner on the 31st of March.

Coming into the final chapters of my current novel’s first draft, I build to the highest peak of climatic plot and feel like I’m barely holding all the threads together.

Writing a novel is a completely unique experience because, unlike short stories, articles, or blog posts, a novelist holds a complex weave of plots, sub-plots, and character growth in their quivering fingers. Each element introduced from the first page to the last must tie into every other element. Every aspect of the novel must have a purpose, every action an outcome, and every sliver of information must have meaning.

When writing a novel we begin by creating a scenario that begs questions within the reader’s mind. This is a vital stage, the development of the hook. In a way this hook is the crochet hook of our novel, it gripes the initial thread, weaving the first knot of our books intricate pattern. With this original hook we write on and at each juncture in our novel we must pick up and tie into the design one of the threads that make up the final design.

As a novel reaches it’s summit there are loose threads from a multitude of sources in an array of colors, lengths, and texture. The novelist needs to maintain tension and keep a firm grasp or risk the entire creation unraveling into a tangle of knots.

This stage of the novel creates an inner turmoil. Anxiety builds. With a project as significant as the writing of a book, fear of it falling apart is real and turgent.

A First Draft Is Just A First Draft

While feeling tangled in the threads of my novel I try to remind myself that, “a first draft is just a first draft”. As with a crocheted design, if a thread is dropped it is possible, although not always easy, to weave that thread back into the pattern after the other threads have been tied. It is the same with a book and indeed, this aspect of the novel process is expected. No one gets it perfect in the first draft.

Still, the risk is very real. While I can later labor over each chapter and line, carefully collecting and restoring loose threads of plot, at this stage it is easy to introduce weaknesses to the tension of the novel in whole. If you’ve taken the time to write a detailed outline you know how your novel should come together. An outline can help you keep the pace of your novel and, just as you would follow a pattern when crocheting, you follow the pattern of your outline.

A Book Is A Puzzle

I recently finished reading Christopher Paolini’s latest installment in The Inheritance Cycle and was charmed by his Acknowledgments in the back of the book. He revealed the same sensation I currently face with my own novel, “Brisingr was a fun, intense, and sometimes difficult book to write. When I started, I felt as if the story were a vast, three-dimensional puzzle that I had to solve without hints or instructions. I found the experience to be immensely satisfying, despite the challenges it occasionally posed.”

Christopher, who had already pulled the threads of Eragon and Eldest together knew the truly daunting task his third book presented. In that way, every book is a puzzle. The pieces vary in shape and size needing a sharp eye, a bright mind, and long patience to find and place each piece to reveal the image.

Be it a Puzzle or a Web, a novel is challenging and difficult to write. The author puts their very essence into the pages, breathing life into the characters, and sharing their hardships.

As I face the final chapters of my current novel I experience the very real fear and confusion of my characters and I suppose they feel mine. They do not know the fate that awaits them and to be honest, I’m not entirely sure how I’ll get them to it. These threads are complex and if I can gather my courage, continue with patience, and push onward, we might just see the completed design.

In fantastic news, friend and author, Hope Wilbanks, released a beautiful little book, just in time for Christmas.

Hope has flourished through some of life’s most challenging adversities and comes out the other side with a message of Hope, Love, and Joy. Her book, Cup of Hope, shares spiritual insights, personal reflections, and compassionate inspiration to guide and protect readers as they face the road ahead.

You can preview the book and find out more at Lulu. Buy a print or download copy for yourself or share this little treasure with your loved ones.

It’s amazing how behind the times I can be when it comes to events around the web and beyond. Today for example, I was all set to tell you all about my friend, Erika-Marie Geiss’s book launch. Then I discovered that it happened a few hours ago while I was fast asleep. I missed out, which also means I didn’t get the word out in time. So, enough is enough, I’m asking you, Do you have an event coming up?

As freelancers there are all manner of events we can attend. National Novel Writing Month begins November 1st, Jen Nipps recently came home from a writer’s retreat in Eureka Springs, Dawn Allcot’s baby Ashley finally arrived, Michelle Goodman launched her book “My So-Called Freelance Life”, Blog Action Day came and went, Anthony Tran won an Australian Festival Award, and as I mentioned, Erika-Marie Geiss launched her latest book, “The Right Words for Any Occasion”. So much is going on around the world and it’s easy to miss out if you’re not in the know.

Do you know of an event coming up soon? Hosting a launch party? Having a birthday? Nominated for an award? Releasing a new product, book, or site? About to set out on tour? Going to a conference? Please share your upcoming events in the comments or send me an email with the details! I’d love to share your news with others and, if possible, get out there to attend local or online events with you. Got An Event Coming Up?

The book’s intriguing title is explained in the introduction. It’s about having your hero do something that makes the audience sympathetic. The book is subtitled ‘The Last Book on Screenwriting You’ll Ever Need’. Although I wouldn’t be so bold, suffice it to say that by the end of the book, I felt I know enough about planning a screenplay to turn out something credible. So, what’s inside?

Inside Save The Cat

Eight chapters of straight talk, that’s what. Chapter 1 helps you to take your idea and formultate it into a logline, giving four ways to make it better. It also shows you how to test your pitch before doing it for real. Chapter 2 tells you about genre. Blake Snyder uses his own titles here, such as Monster in the House, Dude with a Problem and so on, helping us to see how different movies are examples of the same thing.

Chapter 3 is about your hero: how and why the hero works with your idea and which archetypes you need to think of in creating a hero. Chapter 4 shows the beats of a movie. According to Snyder there are 15 of them and he gives an example of how these appear in a popular movie. The following chapter shows you how to create a frame for your screenplay using these beats.

Getting To Grips With Writing

Chapter 6 shows us how to get to grips with the writing, using techniques such as Pope in the Pool (distracting the audience from necessary exposition) and the Covenant of the Arc (which is all about character development). Chapter 7 is about checking your work and chapter 8 is about marketing it. There’s also a handy glossary at the end.

My Verdict

Blake Snyder is either loved or loathed by critics, but the proof of the pudding for me was that I was able to see how various bits of script and writing techniques were used in a recent film, 88 Minutes. I could see how the writer created sympathy at a crucial moment and where necessary distractions were included. I learned a lot from Snyder’s book and it’s made me seriously consider writing a screenplay.

The Writer’s Digest and Book Expo America have gotten together to host a fantastic conference and expo for industry professionals, publishers, and book sellers that launches in L.A. later this month. This formerly Aussie-bound writer is finally taking to wing and I’m very excited. Have you booked your place to experience a fantastic list of events and mark your place in the publishing and book industry?

Registration is now open for the 2008 BookExpo America/Writer’s Digest Books Writers Conference

The conference begins Wednesday, May 28, 2008 with a remainders session on Thursday, May 29, 2008 and then the book expo continues Friday, Saturday, and Sunday. It’s set to be a big event at the Los Angeles Convention Center with authors, publishers, and book industry experts gathered in busy hustles.

Since I’m flying in the Friday before the conference begins I wonder if any writers would be interested in gathering on Monday or Tuesday (26th and 27th) for an impromptu gathering. We could put together a time, bring our laptops, and share a coffee, chat, and writing session together, each focused on our own novels or freelance writing. What do you think?

So, who is coming to this years Writer’s Conference and Book Expo? I know I’m coming and I hope you’ll join me. I’d love to get a chance to meet you in person and talk writing with other talented writers from the States and beyond. Join Me!