I’m offering TWO scholarships, one for each of the following classes that begin on Wednesday, February 22, 2012!

Each scholarship has a value of $275. (Pretty good, right?)

If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, you have to choose one. Please do not apply for both.

The first scholarship is for the newly updated Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff class.

The second scholarship is for the newly updated Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform class.

Be sure to make it clear in the subject line which scholarship you have selected. I’ve listed the guidelines for each below. First WPSS and then DYS&LYP.

Best of luck!

[Begin WPSS Scholarship Info]

Are you a mom, who would love to take the Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff Class that starts February 22nd, but you would not otherwise be able to afford it?

Then you qualify for The Writer Mama Scholarship.

The application process for the next available scholarship for Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff Class begins today! I am accepting applications until Sunday, February 5th at midnight.

One full scholarship is granted each time the class is held. Please read this post  completely and double-check your application before submitting. The recipient will be announced on Monday, February 6th in this blog.

Please feel free to spread the word about the scholarship, even if you do not intend to apply. This is a full scholarship. The recipient commits to participating fully in the class and delivering all six assignments on time.

Please do not apply if you cannot make the commitment to participate in the class, which involves reading the weekly workbook, completing your assignments, and learning from your classmates work. (To learn about what you will get out of the class, please read the full class description.)

No additional time or special coaching is offered with the scholarship. It’s up to the scholarship recipient to make the most of the class.

Please note that this is a scholarship, not a giveaway. This scholarship is only for moms and is offered by class instructor, Christina Katz (that’s me).

One scholarship is available per WPSS class. The scholarship is not transferable if you fail to complete the class. The scholarship is also not transferable in the case of illness, family emergencies, a move, etc. If you have already paid for the class, you do not qualify for the scholarship. If you have already taken the class, you also do not qualify.

What is written in your application is private and your personal information will never be shared or sold beyond announcing the name of the recipient. The only way to qualify is to apply each time. No one else will view your application.

The application questions are below. Copy and paste them into a Microsoft Word document (to take the class you must be able to create and read Microsoft Word documents—no exceptions). Attach your application as a Word doc to your e-mail. Please answer each question concisely and completely.

Send your application to: “christina at christinakatz dot com” – this the only email address for the scholarship. If you do not receive the scholarship, save your application for future scholarships and re-apply. Always add in your most current publication credits, since they are important. Put “WPSS Scholarship Application” in the subject line.

The scholarship recipient will be chosen based on the following criteria: demonstrated effort, need, and enthusiasm. The most important consideration is demonstrated past effort, so please don’t skimp on details of your past writing efforts. Applications accepted from U.S. residents only at this time.

Please Note: The Writer Mama Scholarship is only for moms who legitimately cannot afford class tuition for whatever reason. So if you work at home, earn money, receive money, or your spouse or partner earns enough money for you to afford the class, please expect to regular pay  price. My classes are kept affordable specifically so moms can afford them!

To register for the class as a non-scholarship candidate, please visit the registration page. Space in the class is limited.

Here’s the application:

[Copy and paste the following application form into a Word doc >>>]

Name

Address

Email

Phone

Have you read the book, Writer Mama?

How long have you been reading my blog(s)?

What version of Microsoft Word software are you currently using?

Have you applied for The Writer Mama Scholarship before?

Write a short paragraph in response to the following questions:

  1. Please write one short paragraph about why you want to take the class, Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff.
  2. Please list by publication name and date only, any publication credits you’ve accumulated thus far. Briefly list any other experience you think is relevant.
  3. Please briefly state why you are unable to afford the tuition for the class at this time (see note below).

[<<<Stop copying this application form]

Thanks for applying for The Writer Mama Scholarship!

[End WPSS Scholarship Info]

[Begin DYS-LYP Scholarship info]

VALUE: $275.00!

Are you a mom, who would love to take the Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform that starts February 22nd, but you would not otherwise be able to afford it?

Then you qualify for the Writer Mama Platform Scholarship.

The application deadline for the Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform class  begins today! I am accepting applications until Sunday, February 5th at midnight.

One full platform development scholarship is granted each quarter. Please read these guidelines completely and double-check your application before submitting. The recipient will be announced on Monday, February 6th in this blog.

Please feel free to spread the word about the scholarship, even if you do not intend to apply. This is a full scholarship. The recipient commits to participating fully in the class and delivering all six assignments on time.

Please do not apply if you cannot make the commitment to participate in the class, which involves reading the weekly workbook, completing your assignments, and reviewing (but not critiquing) your classmates work. (To learn about what you will get out of the class, please read the full class description.)

No additional time or special coaching is offered with the scholarship. It’s up to the scholarship recipient to make the most of the class.

Please note that this is a scholarship, not a giveaway. This scholarship is only for moms. The scholarship is offered by class instructor, Christina Katz (that’s me).

The scholarship is not transferable if you fail to complete the class. The scholarship is also not transferable in the case of illness, family emergencies, a move, etc. If you have already paid for the class, you do not qualify for the scholarship. If you have already taken the class, you also do not qualify. Otherwise one scholarship is available per class.

What is written in your application is private and your personal information will never be shared or sold. The only way to qualify is to apply each time. No one else will view your application except me.

The application questions are below. Copy and paste them into a Microsoft Word document (to take the class you must be able to create and read Microsoft Word documents, no exceptions). Attach your Word doc to your application. Please answer each question concisely and completely.

Send your application to: “christina at christinakatz dot com”– this the only email address for the scholarship. If you do not receive the scholarship, save your application for future scholarships and re-apply. Put “DYS-LYP Scholarship Application” in the subject line.

The scholarship recipient will be chosen based on the following criteria: demonstrated effort, need, and enthusiasm. Applications accepted from U.S. residents only at this time.

Please Note: Writer Mama Scholarships are only for moms who legitimately cannot afford class tuition for whatever reason. So if you work at home, earn money, receive money, or your spouse or partner earns enough money for you to afford the class, please expect to pay full price. My classes are kept affordable specifically so moms can afford them!

To register for the class as a non-scholarship candidate, please visit the registration page. Space in the class is limited.

I am pleased to offer one scholarship per semester to one deserving mama. Best of luck to everyone who applies.

Here’s the application:

[Copy and paste this application form into a Word doc >>>]

Name

Address

Email

Phone

Have you read the book, Get Known Before the Book Deal?

Have you been reading my blog(s)? How long?

What version of Microsoft Word software are you currently using?

Have you applied for any Writer Mama Scholarships before?

Write a short paragraph in response to the following questions:

  1. Please write one short paragraph about why you want to take the class, Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform.
  2. Please list by publication name and date only, any publication credits you’ve accumulated thus far. Briefly list any other experience you think is relevant.
  3. Please list any platform work you have accomplished thus far. Briefly list any other experience you think is relevant.
  4. Please briefly state why you are unable to afford the tuition for the class at this time (see note below).

[<<<Stop copying this application form]

Best of luck!

[End DYS-LYP Scholarship info]

Look forward to announcing the scholarship recipients on Monday, February 6th!

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I train writers to stretch beyond their comfort zones and grow their writing careers.

I train writers to focus on opportunities that earn and that will likely keep earning.

I train writers to focus on targets they can hit and to hit them over and over while they build up to targets they might not hit as often or as cleanly.

I teach classes on topics that have proven through much trial and improvement to be the most helpful and prosperous to writers.

Upcoming classes I am teaching to writers all over the country include these two six-week email classes turn around on Wednesdays:

  • Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff, Especially For Moms LINK
  • Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform LINK

And these two six-week classes that turn around on Thursdays:

  • Pitching Practice: Write Six Queries In Six Weeks LINK
  • 60 Ways To Flex Your Content & Prosper In Your Niche LINK

My classes were recently updated and improved. They will updated and improved again over the summer of 2012. Therefore February and April are your last two chances to take these classes at these prices.

In a moment, I am going post the scholarship application to the following two classes:

  • Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff, Especially For Moms LINK
  • Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform LINK

I was going to teach Micro-publishing for Mom Writers in February and 60 Ways to Flex Your Content in April, but I’ve flipped the order, so now 60 Ways starts in February and Micro-pub starts in April. Sorry for any inconvenience this change may have caused.

Happy writing. I hope to work with you!

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Yes, it’s never been a better time to be a writer. I keep saying this and so do others. We all seem to agree on this point, however, there has likely also never been a more challenging time to be writer because of the spectrum of choices available to writers on a daily basis.

From the perspective of the writer, which seems to often take a backseat to the points of view of publishers and pundits, writing career growth is on a spectrum. It’s on a spectrum from the moment you start trying to sell your work when you begin to see how many possible targets you have for your best writing.

  • Writing exists on a spectrum of lengths (from a tip to a magnum opus).
  • Publishing options exist on a spectrum of options (from self-published to big six).
  • Partnering options are also on a spectrum (from indie and unagented to traditional and agented).

Just because you are traditionally published and agented, does not mean that you can’t also make the most of micro-publishing opportunities. And just because you are not agented, does not mean that you can’t also make the most of micro-publishing opportunities.

Increasingly publishers agree. They won’t turn down work just because it has already been published.

So what are you waiting for, writers? I’ve been telling you to produce your own careers for seven years. Barry Eisler calls it be the CEO. I don’t care what you call it. I just care that you step up to the podium and start orchestrating your own success because no one else is going to do it for you. There are no more good reasons not to write your best work and get it out there in multiple formats.

I know it’s a bit overwhelming because there are so many choices at any one given moment. I wrote The Writer’s Workout to aide writers during these tricky times (Amazon link). It’s a great tool to help you get focused and stay focused on your journey.

The thrust of the four season sections are listed below:

  • Spring: Find your writing  momentum
  • Summer: Sell your words
  • Fall: Work your platform dynamic
  • Winter: Build a body of work and a life-long career

I have said that indie publishing is dead. Indie publishing isn’t dead because it’s no longer an option. What’s dead is the idea that you have to choose us or them–indie or traditional. Every writer is a publisher now, and once we all accept that, likely by the end of 2012, we won’t need the distinction between the indies and the traditionals any longer. Every writer will be an author. Every author will be a publisher, even if they are also traditionally published.

There will be a spectrum of choices at every decision-making juncture. That’s what we are seeing in the news with best-selling authors already. And perhaps that’s how it should be.

Thoughts? Comments? Objections?

~ Photo, revolution, by Peej’s Photos

{ 2 comments }

I’ve never been a person who gathers up things that are “fun” and puts them in a blog post.

But now I’m wondering, why not? There is so much positive to partake of right before our eyes on a regular basis. Isn’t some of it blog-worthy?

Let’s try it for a few weeks and see. Cuz that’s how I roll. :)

Who Needs a Good Laugh?

Let’s start with the artistically absurd. Want to see what my husband and daughter were watching on the Internet while I was in NYC last weekend? It’s a show performed in 1996 that merges Star Wars and Les Miserables.

The fun part, for my family, is that my husband is a big SW fan and he produced Les Mis at Wilsonville High School last year. Our daughter, Samantha, played one of several Little Cosettes. She was singing this in the backseat of the car when they picked me up at the airport. If you watch long enough you will see Han Solo singing a tune to “Greased Lightning,” as well!

P.S. If you are drinking something, you might want to take pause because this is pretty funny. At least, it cracked me up.

Celebrate People Who Are Thoughtful & Kind

Something caught my eye on Twitter a week or so before the Writer’s Digest Conference. The fine folks at WD were buzzing that the somewhat controversial Mr. Barry Eisler would be speaking at the conference. Someone in the ethers piped up and said, “And Christina Katz will be there too, right?” And that just made my day. I have nothing against Barry Eisler, of course. As it turns out, he may ruffle feathers online and in the news, but in person he is completely unassuming and friendly.

But back to the guy who wanted to make sure I was still coming. Turns out his name is Karl Sprague and you can learn all about him in his blog. I appreciated that Karl posted this poem by James Michener on his “about” page.

Karl says, I strive to be what James Michener described as a “Master in the Art of Living.”

Master in the Art of Living

A master in the art of living

draws no sharp distinction

between his work and his play,

his labor and his leisure,

his mind and his body,

his education and his recreation.

He hardly knows which is which.

He simply pursues his vision

of excellence through whatever

he is doing and leaves

others to determine

whether he is working or playing.

To himself, he always seems

to be doing both.

-       James A. Michener
I think you can learn a lot about a person quickly by noticing what they appreciate. In this case, I think we can learn a lot about what Karl is all about because he is so generous in sharing his appreciation. I guess what I’m trying to say is, if you want people to get to know you and enjoy knowing you, share a little more with us about what you appreciate and we’ll pay closer attention.

Make Good Things Happen

Okay, forget “fun” for a sec. I knew there was one more point I wanted to make at the end of my talk on Micro-publishing at the Writer’s Digest Conference. And this is it. Bottom line is this: you are either one of us: a person who makes good things happen. Or you are one of the others: a draining, whining, what-have-you-done-for-me-lately energy vampire.

Now, obviously, it’s not nearly this black and white. But honestly, sometimes, for me, it is. I can spot a person who has decided that I owe them a favor a mile away. I can see them coming at me before they are even coming at me. This is probably because I could not always tell and have been duped several times. I was so busy being generous with absolutely everyone that I was not using good discretion. My bad. I had to go back and analyze the difference between genuinely delightful people and those who put on that front so they can advance their own agenda. And I get it now. I’m not likely to forget either. (I have a lot to say on the topic of practicing good professional boundaries in The Writer’s Workout, specifically chapters 115, 297, 334 and 359.)

So, back to Karl’s blog. I love this post Karl wrote about his experience from the 2011 Writer’s Digest Conference where he describes in detail, nay, even analyzes the friendly leadership qualities of a person he’d met at the conference. That person is George Davis. I’d noticed him online as a positive force to be reckoned with last year and I was not even at the conference. I didn’t get to spend much time with George this year. But that’s not the point. I can tell that he and Karl and Barry are going to go far. Why? Because they are people who make good things happen. And if you focus on nothing else in your writing career, making good things happen would be enough. Because it all comes around eventually. And those who give the most good, reap the greatest rewards, each and every day.

Happy weekend, everyone!

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On Sale Until January 31st: My Build Your Author Platform Workbook

January 26, 2012

This is a special offer I made to my newsletter subscribers earlier this month and now I’m making it available to all, but only until January 31st.
You don’t need to spend a small fortune to cultivate your author platform, but you do need to think like an author. An author is the composer of a [...]

Read the full article →

There Has Never Been A Better Time To Be A Writer

January 25, 2012

After attending the Writer’s Digest Conference in New York last weekend, I discovered I am not the only one who feels this way about writing careers right now.
Why is this the best time ever to be a writer?
Because writers have increased choices for how to publish. Because we have increased choices of how and where [...]

Read the full article →

Please, please, please learn and use permission marketing

January 17, 2012

I have a chapter in my new book, The Writer’s Workout, on permission marketing. It’s chapter 198 and it’s called, “Get Permission.”
I also discuss permission marketing in chapter 217, “Safeguard Your Rolodex.”
The other day, a gal I vaguely know popped on over to my page and posted her book promotion with a message to me [...]

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Pssst! Seen & Heard Around the Web

January 16, 2012

Write, sell, learn, specialize, self-promote, micro-invest in your writing career, and succeed. In other words: produce your own success. That’s what I teach no matter where I go, what I do, and what I have to say. I have have had several new posts and buzz around the extended writing community lately…
Commit To Micro-publishing Something [...]

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Christina Katz Reads Chapter 119 From The Writer’s Workout: “Cultivate Confidence”

January 15, 2012

Yesterday, I said that my mission for 2012 is to help writers get back to writing so we can all feel more creatively confident and prepared for what lies ahead in 2012.
Need a pep talk on the subject? Here’s a short audio from The Writer’s Workout:
Chapter 119 From The Writer’s Workout Cultivate Creative Confidence
To order, [...]

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My 2012 Mission: Get Writers Writing & Feeling Creatively Confident Again

January 14, 2012

If you have read any of my new book, you know that it focuses on putting your writing at the center of your writing career, and allowing everything else to follow from there.
Yes, you need to learn more skills than ever to succeed at a professional writing career, but the writing must come first and [...]

Read the full article →