Sunday, May 23, 2010
Sunday, April 4, 2010
Sunday, February 28, 2010
It's all about marketing
OK. You probably won’t want to hear this—I know I didn’t—but it’s a fact that you must accept as a writer.
It’s all about marketing.
See…..I knew you wouldn’t want to hear it!
Writers aren’t generally gregarious marketing types, are they? We’re solitary folks who are satisfied to sit in front of our computer screens as long as people will let us. Some of that time we’re actually writing. The thought of putting on real clothes—you know the kind I mean, the ones that match and aren’t full of cat hair or holes—to leave the house and promote our work is….well, scary, and takes a lot of energy that is better used on Facebook, I mean writing.
No one else is going to do it for us, though. We have to make connections with others who can help us. It can become overwhelming, though, unless we have a plan.
One tactic that will let us wiggle our toes in the shark-infested waters of marketing is to attend one or two writer’s conferences in our immediate geographic area. Most conferences offer about two days of workshops and other opportunities to meet those who have some stake in the literary world. Local conferences are reasonably priced and you won’t have to spend money on a hotel room and a lot of over-priced food. Many colleges and universities put these events on every year, so check out the institutions near you as a place to start.
Another important reason to attend is all the editors, agents, and publishers that show up there, too. They have their own reasons for attending, but I’m not here to give tips to them. What YOU need to do is go and talk to everyone you meet. Everyone who sits in the bar like you, trying not to be noticed. All the people who gather outside by the pool and smoke. And most of all, those agents and other people necessary to our world that you run into during the day in workshops, in the banquet hall during lunch, and on the elevators.
Exchange contact information with anyone who is willing. This type of networking is essential in any business. You never know who knows someone who can help you. Create a distribution list for the conference after you get home. Follow up with a short email making nice comments about them, suggesting you all stay in touch, and generally being sociable. You can do this. You’re a writer.
For an additional fee when you register, you can sit at a tiny table and meet one-on-one with the editor, agent, or publisher you feel will be most useful to you and your career. It is true that these face to face meetings are VERY short, but you can maximize this time if you are well-prepared with your pitch, a proposal, and some samples of your work. If they suggest you follow up with them after the conference, DO IT. Remember, they are there for a reason, too. You might be their next big discovery. You can make them famous and they can make you rich, and vice versa.
While you’re choosing your workshops, pick at least one that stretches your limits a bit. You might fall in love with poetry or children’s literature, romance novels, or personal essay writing. This enlarges your writing opportunities. Plus, it makes you a better writer to struggle within a new genre.
Marketing means much more than attending conferences. But I don’t want to scare you right now with all the other stuff you should be doing to promote your work. We’ll worry about that later, as Scarlet says.
Start out small and then follow all the contacts and leads that you gather as you attend one or two conferences in 2010. It won’t hurt to pry yourself out of your comfy office chair and actually turn that computer off for a weekend! Commit to yourself and your craft that you will do it this year.
Here are some links to find conferences in your area:
http://writing.shawguides.com/
http://writersconf.org/
http://www.newpages.com/writing-conferences/
Have you attended any writing conferences? What has been your experience with them? Share your comments with the group below.
We can help each other choose good conferences and share ideas on how to make the most of our time and money.
Keep writing!
It’s all about marketing.
See…..I knew you wouldn’t want to hear it!
Writers aren’t generally gregarious marketing types, are they? We’re solitary folks who are satisfied to sit in front of our computer screens as long as people will let us. Some of that time we’re actually writing. The thought of putting on real clothes—you know the kind I mean, the ones that match and aren’t full of cat hair or holes—to leave the house and promote our work is….well, scary, and takes a lot of energy that is better used on Facebook, I mean writing.
No one else is going to do it for us, though. We have to make connections with others who can help us. It can become overwhelming, though, unless we have a plan.
One tactic that will let us wiggle our toes in the shark-infested waters of marketing is to attend one or two writer’s conferences in our immediate geographic area. Most conferences offer about two days of workshops and other opportunities to meet those who have some stake in the literary world. Local conferences are reasonably priced and you won’t have to spend money on a hotel room and a lot of over-priced food. Many colleges and universities put these events on every year, so check out the institutions near you as a place to start.
Another important reason to attend is all the editors, agents, and publishers that show up there, too. They have their own reasons for attending, but I’m not here to give tips to them. What YOU need to do is go and talk to everyone you meet. Everyone who sits in the bar like you, trying not to be noticed. All the people who gather outside by the pool and smoke. And most of all, those agents and other people necessary to our world that you run into during the day in workshops, in the banquet hall during lunch, and on the elevators.
Exchange contact information with anyone who is willing. This type of networking is essential in any business. You never know who knows someone who can help you. Create a distribution list for the conference after you get home. Follow up with a short email making nice comments about them, suggesting you all stay in touch, and generally being sociable. You can do this. You’re a writer.
For an additional fee when you register, you can sit at a tiny table and meet one-on-one with the editor, agent, or publisher you feel will be most useful to you and your career. It is true that these face to face meetings are VERY short, but you can maximize this time if you are well-prepared with your pitch, a proposal, and some samples of your work. If they suggest you follow up with them after the conference, DO IT. Remember, they are there for a reason, too. You might be their next big discovery. You can make them famous and they can make you rich, and vice versa.
While you’re choosing your workshops, pick at least one that stretches your limits a bit. You might fall in love with poetry or children’s literature, romance novels, or personal essay writing. This enlarges your writing opportunities. Plus, it makes you a better writer to struggle within a new genre.
Marketing means much more than attending conferences. But I don’t want to scare you right now with all the other stuff you should be doing to promote your work. We’ll worry about that later, as Scarlet says.
Start out small and then follow all the contacts and leads that you gather as you attend one or two conferences in 2010. It won’t hurt to pry yourself out of your comfy office chair and actually turn that computer off for a weekend! Commit to yourself and your craft that you will do it this year.
Here are some links to find conferences in your area:
http://writing.shawguides.com/
http://writersconf.org/
http://www.newpages.com/writing-conferences/
Have you attended any writing conferences? What has been your experience with them? Share your comments with the group below.
We can help each other choose good conferences and share ideas on how to make the most of our time and money.
Keep writing!
Saturday, February 13, 2010
Charity
Charity is both an attitude and an action. And in reality, the attitude alone is not enough. We can have the best intentions to help others, but those intentions are empty unless we follow through in some way.
Children learn empathy and a sense of community through lessons in charity. Parents can instill this altruism in their families in a number of ways:
• Begin by discussing the concept of charity toward others, and start within the family unit. How can we each be “generous and helpful” to one another every day? Make a poster and put it in a visible location, Refer to it often, especially when sibling rivalry takes over.
• If your children receive an allowance, ask that they put a portion in a “Service Jar.” Allow them to decide the recipients of the money and distribute it periodically. Include them in taking the fund to the charity so they can see the results of their generosity.
• Organize a “Closet Clothing Drive” every few months—in their own closets! Children can sort through clothes and toys that are too small or no longer wanted, and donate them, even if it is to a younger sibling. Parents should do the same.
• Discuss the needs in your neighborhood. Are there elderly or disabled residents on your street who could use a helping hand? Children can pull garbage cans out on pick-up day, mow and rake or walk pets, for example. These tasks are perfect for instilling a helpful attitude followed by action. The immediate feedback children get from the recipients of their charity will encourage them to continue.
• Finally, your family can get involved in a community service project at least once a year. Food baskets, holiday gift trees, and baked treats are part of many local charities’ needs on a seasonal basis.
No matter what your family’s spiritual framework, charity is a traditional virtue and an integral part of many religious traditions. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and many other faiths revolve around charitable works. Incorporate some of these suggestions into your family routine, and the results will help not only others, but your children as well.
Discuss the following with your children:
Is it necessary to identify yourself to those receiving your charity? Why or why not?
Book that build charity:
For children:
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Abuelita Full of Life by A. Costalese
See You Tomorrow, Charles by M.
Cohen
Gift by H. Coutant
For teens:
Life Is Not Fair by G. Barger
Willie Bea & the Time Martians by
V. Hamilton
Rabbi’s Girls by J. Hurwitz
Animal Family by R. Jarrell
See http://charactercounts.org/resources/booklist_search.php for more choices.
Further Reading on teaching children charity:
Character Matters by Thomas Lickona, p. 19-20.
Raising Good Children by Thomas Lickona, p. 407.
Helping Your Children Become a Responsible Citizen, by US Department of Education, www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html, p. 1- 2.
(This is a free publication that can be ordered at the above named website.)
What Teens Need to Succeed, by Peter L. Benson, Judy Galbraith, Pamela Espeland, see references to Volunteerism.
Books of Responsibility by Young People’s Press, http://youngpeoplespress.com/home.php?cat=315
Lessons in Character by Young People’s Press http://youngpeoplespress.com/home.php?cat=299
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, http://www.actsofkindness.org/
Quotes to live by:
“Charity sees the need, not the cause.”
German Proverb
“In charity, there is no excess.”
Sir Francis Bacon
“Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous.”
Sir Thomas Browne
“Charity begins at home.”
Terence
“The charity that hastens to proclaim its good deeds, ceases to be charity, and is only pride and ostentation.”
William Hutton
“The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and willing service.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Children learn empathy and a sense of community through lessons in charity. Parents can instill this altruism in their families in a number of ways:
• Begin by discussing the concept of charity toward others, and start within the family unit. How can we each be “generous and helpful” to one another every day? Make a poster and put it in a visible location, Refer to it often, especially when sibling rivalry takes over.
• If your children receive an allowance, ask that they put a portion in a “Service Jar.” Allow them to decide the recipients of the money and distribute it periodically. Include them in taking the fund to the charity so they can see the results of their generosity.
• Organize a “Closet Clothing Drive” every few months—in their own closets! Children can sort through clothes and toys that are too small or no longer wanted, and donate them, even if it is to a younger sibling. Parents should do the same.
• Discuss the needs in your neighborhood. Are there elderly or disabled residents on your street who could use a helping hand? Children can pull garbage cans out on pick-up day, mow and rake or walk pets, for example. These tasks are perfect for instilling a helpful attitude followed by action. The immediate feedback children get from the recipients of their charity will encourage them to continue.
• Finally, your family can get involved in a community service project at least once a year. Food baskets, holiday gift trees, and baked treats are part of many local charities’ needs on a seasonal basis.
No matter what your family’s spiritual framework, charity is a traditional virtue and an integral part of many religious traditions. Judaism, Christianity, Islam, Hinduism, and many other faiths revolve around charitable works. Incorporate some of these suggestions into your family routine, and the results will help not only others, but your children as well.
Discuss the following with your children:
Is it necessary to identify yourself to those receiving your charity? Why or why not?
Book that build charity:
For children:
Those Shoes by Maribeth Boelts
Abuelita Full of Life by A. Costalese
See You Tomorrow, Charles by M.
Cohen
Gift by H. Coutant
For teens:
Life Is Not Fair by G. Barger
Willie Bea & the Time Martians by
V. Hamilton
Rabbi’s Girls by J. Hurwitz
Animal Family by R. Jarrell
See http://charactercounts.org/resources/booklist_search.php for more choices.
Further Reading on teaching children charity:
Character Matters by Thomas Lickona, p. 19-20.
Raising Good Children by Thomas Lickona, p. 407.
Helping Your Children Become a Responsible Citizen, by US Department of Education, www.ed.gov/pubs/edpubs.html, p. 1- 2.
(This is a free publication that can be ordered at the above named website.)
What Teens Need to Succeed, by Peter L. Benson, Judy Galbraith, Pamela Espeland, see references to Volunteerism.
Books of Responsibility by Young People’s Press, http://youngpeoplespress.com/home.php?cat=315
Lessons in Character by Young People’s Press http://youngpeoplespress.com/home.php?cat=299
Random Acts of Kindness Foundation, http://www.actsofkindness.org/
Quotes to live by:
“Charity sees the need, not the cause.”
German Proverb
“In charity, there is no excess.”
Sir Francis Bacon
“Be charitable before wealth makes thee covetous.”
Sir Thomas Browne
“Charity begins at home.”
Terence
“The charity that hastens to proclaim its good deeds, ceases to be charity, and is only pride and ostentation.”
William Hutton
“The life of a man consists not in seeing visions and in dreaming dreams, but in active charity and willing service.”
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Olympic dreams
I can’t help it. I watch the Olympics and get choked up every time.
There is something about people from all over the world coming together to compete that appeals to my sense of community and belief in the inherent dignity of men and women regardless of national origin.
We know that opportunities for athletes differ widely from country to country. But when the Opening Ceremony begins and the flags are held high, carried by young men and women who are the best in their sports in the world, my eyes well up and any modern-day cynicism falls away.
During the 16 days of competition, I watch the events I like the most, such as figure skating and skiing. But I always learn about other sports that I have never paid attention to before, and I enjoy the segments that highlight the lives of some of the athletes. It is amazing to learn about the obstacles that many of them have overcome in order to pursue their passion.
My daughter and I travelled to Atlanta to attend the Olympics in 1996. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass us by, so we stayed with a friend while there and attended what we could afford. We still talk about that trip with fond memories all these years later.
I also used the Olympics as a teaching tool when I was a geography teacher. What better way to symbolically travel around the world than through the spirit of the Olympics, with its focus on all the countries, their cultures, land, and history? I can’t help but think those lessons might have also taught a bit of respect for those who are different from us.
So, here I am again, watching the Opening Ceremonies and trying not to weep in front of the cats. I hope we can set aside our national rivalries for the duration (I don’t even like the medal count) and bond as human beings who revel in excellence, sacrifice, and hard work.
Let the games begin!
There is something about people from all over the world coming together to compete that appeals to my sense of community and belief in the inherent dignity of men and women regardless of national origin.
We know that opportunities for athletes differ widely from country to country. But when the Opening Ceremony begins and the flags are held high, carried by young men and women who are the best in their sports in the world, my eyes well up and any modern-day cynicism falls away.
During the 16 days of competition, I watch the events I like the most, such as figure skating and skiing. But I always learn about other sports that I have never paid attention to before, and I enjoy the segments that highlight the lives of some of the athletes. It is amazing to learn about the obstacles that many of them have overcome in order to pursue their passion.
My daughter and I travelled to Atlanta to attend the Olympics in 1996. I couldn’t let the opportunity pass us by, so we stayed with a friend while there and attended what we could afford. We still talk about that trip with fond memories all these years later.
I also used the Olympics as a teaching tool when I was a geography teacher. What better way to symbolically travel around the world than through the spirit of the Olympics, with its focus on all the countries, their cultures, land, and history? I can’t help but think those lessons might have also taught a bit of respect for those who are different from us.
So, here I am again, watching the Opening Ceremonies and trying not to weep in front of the cats. I hope we can set aside our national rivalries for the duration (I don’t even like the medal count) and bond as human beings who revel in excellence, sacrifice, and hard work.
Let the games begin!
Monday, January 25, 2010
A Year of Courage
Where do we find the courage to do what is right?
Peter Gadol
American author Peter Gadol was not focusing on families when he wrote these words. However, his sentiment is going to propel us into 2010 with a challenge to all parents to strengthen and protect the character of their families.
Many parents are losing their children. Everyone may still show up under the same roof at night, but the reality is that the hearts and souls of the young people who live in some of those homes are wandering adrift in a coarsening, unhealthy society. We are being poisoned by the shark-baiting media that thrives on drama, both real and invented for the sake of 24/7 “news.” Our children are pawns of an economy that demands more and more of everything just to fuel the bottom line. And in all of this, our humanity as members of a democracy has somehow gotten lost.
We can step aside and allow it to happen or we can fight back. Let’s challenge each other as parents to tackle the problems one character trait at a time for the next year:
February: Charity for those less fortunate
March: Honesty and integrity as the very foundation of our lives
April: Self-control
May: Patience in all things
June: Forgiveness
July: Citizenship
August: Responsibility for ourselves and others
September: Respect for life, liberty, authority and property
October: Cooperation
November: Leadership
December: Kindness and Caring
January: Tolerance
Character education is merely a systematic way of helping our children practice the habits of good behavior. But first parents must model the desired behavior themselves and then they must explain every step of the way. We provide the instruction, encouragement, role model, and training and thus immerse our children in an environment of good character. By expecting the best of ourselves and then of our children, we have a chance of actually getting better.
To that end, we will address each of these issues throughout the year, providing specific ideas for strengthening the character of our children and our families. The suggestions will be based on the work of leaders in character education in our country, people like Philip Fitch Vincent, Kevin Ryan, Michael Josephson, B. David Brooks, and others. Suggested readings will be provided to accompany each month’s task.
Parents are also encouraged to send in their own suggestions and the experiences that come with having the courage to do what is right for their families, especially in the face of a society that often ridicules doing the right thing. We can learn much from each other.
Let us determine that 2010 will be the turning point in our families. We will no longer allow negative influences to be our default position. We will commit to having the courage to do the right things for our children and our families. It will be a difficult journey and it will be misunderstood by many.
However, the examples we set just might instruct and encourage those who mock us, creating a ground swell that can drown the negativity around us.
Peter Gadol
American author Peter Gadol was not focusing on families when he wrote these words. However, his sentiment is going to propel us into 2010 with a challenge to all parents to strengthen and protect the character of their families.
Many parents are losing their children. Everyone may still show up under the same roof at night, but the reality is that the hearts and souls of the young people who live in some of those homes are wandering adrift in a coarsening, unhealthy society. We are being poisoned by the shark-baiting media that thrives on drama, both real and invented for the sake of 24/7 “news.” Our children are pawns of an economy that demands more and more of everything just to fuel the bottom line. And in all of this, our humanity as members of a democracy has somehow gotten lost.
We can step aside and allow it to happen or we can fight back. Let’s challenge each other as parents to tackle the problems one character trait at a time for the next year:
February: Charity for those less fortunate
March: Honesty and integrity as the very foundation of our lives
April: Self-control
May: Patience in all things
June: Forgiveness
July: Citizenship
August: Responsibility for ourselves and others
September: Respect for life, liberty, authority and property
October: Cooperation
November: Leadership
December: Kindness and Caring
January: Tolerance
Character education is merely a systematic way of helping our children practice the habits of good behavior. But first parents must model the desired behavior themselves and then they must explain every step of the way. We provide the instruction, encouragement, role model, and training and thus immerse our children in an environment of good character. By expecting the best of ourselves and then of our children, we have a chance of actually getting better.
To that end, we will address each of these issues throughout the year, providing specific ideas for strengthening the character of our children and our families. The suggestions will be based on the work of leaders in character education in our country, people like Philip Fitch Vincent, Kevin Ryan, Michael Josephson, B. David Brooks, and others. Suggested readings will be provided to accompany each month’s task.
Parents are also encouraged to send in their own suggestions and the experiences that come with having the courage to do what is right for their families, especially in the face of a society that often ridicules doing the right thing. We can learn much from each other.
Let us determine that 2010 will be the turning point in our families. We will no longer allow negative influences to be our default position. We will commit to having the courage to do the right things for our children and our families. It will be a difficult journey and it will be misunderstood by many.
However, the examples we set just might instruct and encourage those who mock us, creating a ground swell that can drown the negativity around us.
Sunday, December 27, 2009
The Writer's Group: Come and join us!
“The time for listening is over. The buzz word now is ‘engage.’”
But I want to know what happened to “reading.” As someone who has written since I could hold a pen in my sweaty little hand, I am appalled at how few people actually read these days.
Writers sit down every day and go through the agony of spilling their thoughts onto paper (or, more likely today, splashing them on a computer screen) for many reasons. One of those reasons is to have someone actually READ what we have written. (We get cranky when no one reads what we have sweated mightily over.) We believe that we have something to say, something that might resound with a stranger out there who is facing life in ways that we have already experienced. But people are not only NOT reading printed work, they have used all the flashy new technology to take them very quickly through listening to that material and they have moved on to “engaging” with it via their web-enhanced cell phones.
It’s all too much technology for me.
So, I have a proposition for you. I will show up here once a week in this newly-formed Writer’s Group and we can discuss the craft of writing and share some of the things that spill out of us. Much like my writer’s group that meets once a month (yes, we meet face to face and TALK and write….in person, no cell phones involved!), we can challenge ourselves to become better writers and discuss trends in the world of writing and publishing, among other things. We can share information on writer’s conferences, grants available (yes, I have heard they’re out there….somewhere), and anything else that appeals to our literary senses.
If you’d like to post your response to the following prompt during this week, feel free (keep it clean and suitable for on-line posting, and please restrict yourself to THIS topic!):
What about your New Year’s Resolutions? Do you make them? More importantly, do you KEEP them? What have you learned over the years about your resolution-making?
So, start writing, and I’ll be back next week. We can begin the discussion about resolutions and take off from there.
But I want to know what happened to “reading.” As someone who has written since I could hold a pen in my sweaty little hand, I am appalled at how few people actually read these days.
Writers sit down every day and go through the agony of spilling their thoughts onto paper (or, more likely today, splashing them on a computer screen) for many reasons. One of those reasons is to have someone actually READ what we have written. (We get cranky when no one reads what we have sweated mightily over.) We believe that we have something to say, something that might resound with a stranger out there who is facing life in ways that we have already experienced. But people are not only NOT reading printed work, they have used all the flashy new technology to take them very quickly through listening to that material and they have moved on to “engaging” with it via their web-enhanced cell phones.
It’s all too much technology for me.
So, I have a proposition for you. I will show up here once a week in this newly-formed Writer’s Group and we can discuss the craft of writing and share some of the things that spill out of us. Much like my writer’s group that meets once a month (yes, we meet face to face and TALK and write….in person, no cell phones involved!), we can challenge ourselves to become better writers and discuss trends in the world of writing and publishing, among other things. We can share information on writer’s conferences, grants available (yes, I have heard they’re out there….somewhere), and anything else that appeals to our literary senses.
If you’d like to post your response to the following prompt during this week, feel free (keep it clean and suitable for on-line posting, and please restrict yourself to THIS topic!):
What about your New Year’s Resolutions? Do you make them? More importantly, do you KEEP them? What have you learned over the years about your resolution-making?
So, start writing, and I’ll be back next week. We can begin the discussion about resolutions and take off from there.
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