You are currently browsing the category archive for the ‘Authors’ category.
Title: THE WRITER’S WORKOUT
Author: Christina Katz
Pub date: Jan. 10, 2012
As many of you know, one of the books I consistently recommend is GET KNOWN BEFORE THE BOOK DEAL by Christina Katz. I personally believe it’s one of the best reference books for building a platform, let alone experiencing a good writerly experience. From the first page of that book, it’s evident that Christina practices what she preaches; that she wants to make sure other writers have the best experience possible with their own personal writing paths.
So imagine my excitement upon receiving her newest book, THE WRITER’S WORKOUT. Over the last week I’ve taken the time to read Christina’s book, and am extremely impressed with the thoroughness of its content. So much information is covered, with every single idea and suggestion very accessible.
You can read the book from front to back, open at random pages, or read the specific sections (Spring, Summer, Fall, Winter). It’s your choice. One entry a day = the perfect addition to one’s daily writing routine. Yet another reason to add Christina’s book to one’s writing reference library.
There is much to be appreciated about THE WRITER’S WORKOUT. The “sticky brain” approach, the 500-word dash, the suggestion of saving documents and blog posts that inspire you (to be read again later), honoring introspection (during the writing process), the benefits of “social artistry,” and more. Christina even includes various exercises for developing one’s book ideas, one’s network, and more. I especially like her “Take 25 Actions” exercise. (A great idea!)
THE WRITER’S WORKOUT is an interactive book that only requires you the writer, and a willingness to learn and execute new practices to one’s writing routine. In the long run, one’s writerly life will benefit from these exercises.
So, do know it should be no surprise that THE WRITER’S WORKOUT will be required reading for my future clients – and highly recommended to my current ones too.
<
Last but not least, here are some pages I highly recommend from THE WRITER’S WORKOUT:
#14 – Solvency Plan
#19 – Culture a Body of Work
#21 – Writing Markets
#33 – Target Specific Markets
#38 – Dismantle Dismal Thinking
#49 – Awaken Your Senses
#62 – Lead Later
#81 – Serve Up
#83 – Unblock Yourself
#85 – Settle In
#107 – Prospect From Yourself
#110 – Dig Deeper Say More
#117 – Transform Impatience
#141 – Stockpile Resources
#144 – Stay Strong, Carry On
#177 – Don’t Rush Ripe (seriously folks, a must read)
#186 – Evaluate Your Visibility
#237 – Personal Not Egomanical
#266 – Keep it Professional
#280 – Benefits of Traditional Publishing
#285 – Benefits of Self-Publishing
#295 and #297 – Strut Your Social Side (pts. 1 & 2)
#308 – Go Global
#321 and #323 – Update Your Platform (pts. 1 & 2)
#364 – Flex Your Ideas
So enjoy! And go find Christina’s book, as it hits bookshelves this week! :)
In September, Craig Thompson came to the Twin-Cities to speak at MCAD (The Minneapolis College of Art and Design). His newest work, HABIBI, had just been published, and many of us had long been anticipating his follow-up book to BLANKETS. To say this was a magical lecture would be an understatement. I’m still reeling from this book event – even two months after the fact. I know I’m not alone here.
This experience was so awesome, that I felt it would behest me share some of my notes regarding Craig’s thoughts on being a writer (& the overall experience), magic squares and easter eggs. Yes, easter eggs.
His thoughts on the Writing Experience:
Craig Thompson emphasized how Comic Art can be the best of both worlds – writing stories and creating illustrations. He reminded us that either would be a singular challenge; and that doing both would be doubly difficult.
Observing Craig’s process on how HABIBI came together was amazing. He implemented calligraphy throughout the book, going as far to state it was “music for the eyes.” So much that comics can be the figurative sheet music when one adds this special touch.
I especially appreciated his commentary of pen vs. pencil during the illustration process. He seems to prefer pen & ink, as it will “confirm” the words and images in one’s book, i.e. keeping the “mark” that’s been made. Irrevocably this process will take a writer one step closer to finishing a work in progress. Thereby, allowing the book (and art) to take a life of its own.
As one’s work-in-progress evolves, the next challenge is maintaining one’s personal life, of which Craig deftly handled that topic. Being a person who gets to work with writers, it astounds me that ANY writer is able to accomplish such a fine balance. From my point of view, creating a book (which is very private process) and maintaining life’s daily challenges amid the interruptions is an incredible feat.
Magic Squares
During his presentation, we learned that HABIBI was inspired by 1001 Arabian Nights. Craig wanted to write a book that was more political, more realistic. A book with a slight edge of fantasy. A book bigger than himself. He accomplished all of these goals; taking it a step further within HABIBI by reflecting “human ugliness and sacred beauty simultaneously.”
One of the tools in ensuring this success was the use of magic squares, otherwise known as mathematical narratives. Showing the audience a 3×3 square, Craig stated this was how he laid out the laid out HABIBI’s storyline. At that point, the crowd even seemed to do a breath intake.
Beyond. Amazing.
I won’t go into how this method influenced Craig’s overall writing process – just know we all agreed it was sheer genius. (I’m still in awe of this portion of Craig’s lecture btw)
Finding that “Easter Egg”
Have you ever attended a book lecture where the world seems to open up – and an entirely new perspective is imprinted on the brain? If not, I hope that day arrives for anyone who is reading this post.
My moment happened of clarification happened at Craig’s lecture; for many others in attendance, they stated the same thing. Yet again confirmation of the how incredible a writer Craig Thompson is; plus a piece of wisdom every writer should aspire to.
What is the “Easter Egg” in a book? It is a special hidden element that some readers will recognize and connect with on a hidden level. Maybe it’s a particular plot, character, theme, etc. The end result is the narrative reaching the reader at an entirely unexpected new level; becoming a catalyst in regard to one’s life decisions, reading habits, creativity and more.
Since I’m going to put everyone on the spot about this concept, it’s important that I mention my Easter Egg experience, which happened at the age of 14. The book was THE AWAKENING. It forever changed my outlook on adulthood, on major life decisions, on what one wants (or doesn’t want), and on the effects of societal influences. THE AWAKENING represented another important thing too; that the talented author, Kate Chopin, probably never imagined she’d polarize readers with her only published book– let alone never write another novel again. I could ramble incessantly about this book, and how it forever changed her life – and my own. Instead, I now realize it was my “Easter Egg” moment as a reader.
My question for you. . .
For readers: What are your Easter Egg moments with books? Did it happen in early childhood, or did it happen with maturity (as a reader, as a person). What was that book? What insights did you gain from it? Did others feel the same way?
For writers: Have you been able to connect to readers at such a level? Is your creative work reflective of only YOUR experience(s), or is there a universal appeal to readers?
I’m going to close out for now, as once again I have magic squares and easter eggs on the brain. What are your Easter Egg moments? And for anyone who has seen Craig Thompson speak, what was your experience like?
Here’s my kind reminder, if there was ever a time to purchase books, it’s now. Do you like the convenience of being able to swing into any local bookstore, and finding the book(s) you’ve want to read? Sadly, the less foot traffic we make into brick and mortar bookstores, the harder it will be in the future. Here’s a blog posting that really struck a chord with me today, by Liz Colville – Documenting the Fall of Borders Through Its E-mail Newsletters
I admit, I’ve used Amazon.com like everyone else. Yet, I also make an effort to go into any bookstore locally when needing books too. In fact I combine these visits with my regular agency meetings (locally) and occasional research.
Everyone has been talking about the downfall of Borders. I had my own life (career-wise) with Borders too, during the early days (pre-internet taking over our lives). There are vivid memories of people browsing and purchasing books because they liked them, because the stories seemed interesting. The only mention of cost would come down to one’s preference or ability to afford the full cost of a hardcover or paperback book. It was that simple. Choose the book(s). Go to the counter. Pay for them.
There were no deep discounts. No coupons. No paid memberships with additional discounts.
It was a good time for publishing. It was a much better time for authors.
Several years ago, one of the big mistakes Borders made was implementing coupons, sometimes to the point where they would lose $$ on a book being sold vs. coming even on a transaction. It seemed that Borders hoped other books would be purchased, that people would linger longer in the bookstore. This did not happen.
Instead the coupon would be used, with a store losing money on the books purchased, and the same person more than likely returning home to purchase even more books online (that were also discounted).
Let’s be honest – how is this fair to writers? Most writers have to fit a 40-hr per week job into their writerly lives. Let’s say you discover a new writer whose writing really rocks your world. How is it fair to this talented author that his/her book is being sold at 50% cost at a bookstore? Ultimately if everyone purchases a creative work by an author at a discount, the likelihood of the royalties being enough to sustain a full-time writing career are next to nil.
I’m not against discounts on books, but when readers become dependent on deep-discount coupons to purchase their books (online or via a bookstore coupon) - the lives of bookstores will be 110% affected. So much that it will be harder to get readers to purchase books at the full price again, due to this dependence on heavy discounts/coupons. Sadly this can be the figurative straw that could break a bookstore’s back. I’d like to not see that happen.
A seed worth planting: ONE company who has yet to go the route of deep discounts and the “coupon trail” is Apple. Look around you, there’s a large majority of readers who seem to own a Mac, iPhone, iTouch, iPad, and/or iPod. We all paid for these items at full price without blinking.
Here’s my challenge: Try to at least purchase 1 book/month at your local bookstore, and pay full price for it. Just one, that’s all I’m asking here. If everyone at least makes an effort to give additional business to our local bookstores, they’ll still be around 100 years from now. Yes, I’m that optimistic. 
Personally, I would’ve never gotten where I am today without the benefit of working the frontlines of the bookstores. ( Heck I remember using a Microfiche to look up book titles during my early days.) Not only have local bookstores helped develop strong readers, they’ve also produced many writers, librarians, and people who work in today’s publishing industry.
I’ll see you at the bookstore…and soon I hope!
There are many facets to my job as a literary agent, as it’s my life all-rolled-into-one. Everyone has heard me state (numerous) times that a literary agent needs to love books, like meeting/working with their authors, and be able to handle (and hopefully enjoy) the large amount of time it takes to do the job.
However, there’s another added benefit – surprise visits with my authors at the most random times. Whether it’s me accidentally showing up in their cities, or them coming to MN, it’s always a pleasure. The time spent hanging out in-person can confirm an already good working partnership, as well as add to the overall value of the larger publishing experience.
That’s all I wanted to say, time to get back to work.
It was one of those weeks. Way too much to do, a bout with a nasty head cold (that is still around sadly), and lots of fantastic things happening for Red Sofa Literary!
Several of the brights spots this week involved several of my authors and their current projects. From one signing his book contract (for a future roller derby book), to working with a new author signed onto the agency (who queried me through WEBook-her book is incredible!), a current author with a very interested publisher, and the addition of new author yesterday (can you say Zombies?) – it was a very productive, memorable week! It made the nasty head cold seem like nothing. That’s always a good sign
Next week will be even better. There are meetings with two more of my authors, discussing their upcoming projects. It’s nice they happen to live in the Twin-Cities, as it’s rare to be able to see my clients (in person) on a regular basis. And I of course have to mention the Literary Death Match FINALLY coming to Minneapolis/St. Paul! I hope anyone who claims to like books, and our local literary community, will take the time to go to this awesome event. If you go, find me, I’ll be sitting on the edge of my seat, cheering on both Brian Beatty and John Jodzio.
The benefits of receiving (and reading) The Bulletin by the Authors Guild:
1. Isabel Howe presents an informative commentary in “State of the Industry” – with the debate of e-books vs. printed books, and the impact they will have on publishing. This is an article that can’t be ignored.
2. The Reader’s and Writer’s view of the Google settlement is presented by Roger Boyes.
3. A reprint of the fantastic post by Ellis Weiner in the New Yorker on Oct. 19, 2009, titled “Subject: Our Marketing Plan.” Really enjoyed it.
4. An interview with Leah Komaiko by fellow agent, Andy Ross, of the Andy Ross Agency – discussing the sometimes elusive writer’s “platform.”
5. The Children’s Book Publishing Trends symposium (in print) from July 2009. Featuring five smart, highly-respected children’s publishing veterans- Kim Brown of B&N, Lisa Desimini (children’s author/illustrator), David Levithan (children’s author/Scholastic Press), Marcia Wernick (children’s literary agent), and Rachel Vail (children’s author/YA author).
And more. . . .
For further information, please go to the Authors Guild website.
