National News: Great Review of Get Known!

August is over but I still wanted to give a shout out to Karen McWilliams for her wonderful review of Get Known Before the Book Deal in the July/August issue of the SCBWI Bulletin. Here’s an excerpt:

“I recommend Get Known Before the Book Deal for every author to study whether you in the beginning stages of your career, somewhere in the middle, or seasoned but need to know more about publicizing yourself through the Internet.”

Local News: Time to Launch Season Five of The Northwest Author Series

Our first presenter this season is The Oregonian’s very own, Jeff Baker, speaking on the “Qualities of Critically Acclaimed Books: How To Write for Raves.” Jeff will address:

What’s the difference between a good book and a great one? How do editors select books for review, and how do reviewers combine enthusiasm and critical judgment to create a balanced review? Examples will be discussed, real-world situations will be explored, and any and all questions will be answered. A quiz will be given with prizes for correct answers. If you love literature and have ever wondered what goes on in the book department of a newspaper, this is your chance to find out.

Jeff Baker is the book editor at The Oregonian. He also writes about music and popular culture. He has won awards for criticism, feature writing, sports journalism, and arts and entertainment writing, most recently a first-place award in the Best in the West competition and two awards from the Oregon Newspaper Publishers Association.

Not only is Jeff Baker an awesome speaker to kick us off. We will also be doing a massive door prize giveaway on our series launch day. I will choose twenty attendees to win twenty books. (And there’s always coffee and cookies, of course.) Hope to see you there!

Writing Conference Corner: Another Keynote Invite!

I have been invited to keynote at another writing conference in 2012. I look forward to announcing it as soon as I have a signed contract (can’t overlook these important details). I’d like to take this opportunity to let every know that I may be able to come and speak at your favorite writing conference in 2012 if my schedule allows. If you are interested in finding out if your conference can fly me in, please recommend me to the current board member in charge of arranging speakers. So far, I’ll be at Associated Writer’s Conference and the Missouri Writer’s Guild Conference and this other one that I will announce soon. I always enjoy meeting folks at every writing conference I attend! Hope I get to meet you, as well, in 2012.

Writers On The Move Are Losing Unwanted Pounds & Inches All Around the Globe!

I hope that didn’t sound like an infomercial because I’m quite serious. I started a Facebook group called Writers On The Move in June and the inspiration factor is incredible. Furthermore, I was getting way too chubby from writing all these books. Now I’m running 2.5 miles three times a week. We range in commitment levels all the way from just getting back to exercising or getting in shape for the first time all the way to serious training like what Susan Ito is doing. So, if you need a supportive network of writers to help cheer you on as you commit to getting in shape and actually do it, feel free to join us. Just type “Writers On The Move” into your Facebook search bar.

New Twitter Practice: Watch for the Tag #DailyPlatform

I am getting tired of clicking through a million links on Twitter. So I commit to posting more meaty tweets with less links. I’ll still RT, but by far my favorite thing to do is listen to people who actually have something short and powerful to say. My new practice is called #DailyPlatform. I’ll use this tag to share a daily platform tip that is something I actually do that is helpful for platform building for writers. I’ll try to share at least one a day, but some days even more. And if you like what I have to say, feel free to forward my tweets. Thanks!

More news soon. Go inspire yourself!

I always think of September as the beginning of my work year.

With the harvest and back to school and the fresh chill in the air, it just feels to me like time to start anew…even though I’ll start anew with everyone else on January 1st, as well.

This year, September is exciting because it marks the time to revive my e-zine The Prosperous Writer. Hooray! Stay tuned to your inbox. It’s coming soon.

It’s time to plan classes and Dream Teams for the remainder of the 2011-2012 school year.

Time to plan the festivities to accompany my third book launch in December.

And time to kick off the Northwest Author Series at the Wilsonville Public Library.

And I have lots of surprises up my sleeve this fall. Subscribe here for the e-zine if you want to be the first to hear about them.

I just love fall, inwardly and outwardly. Do you?

2011-2012 Season

September 18th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Jeff Baker
Qualities of Critically Acclaimed Books: How To Write for Raves

October 23rd
The Northwest Author Series Presents Emily Chenoweth
Memoir or Fiction? Make The Most of Your Choice

December 4th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Christina Katz
The Writer’s Workout: Whip Your Literary Ambitions Into Shape

January 29th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Karen Karbo
Passions Into Paychecks: Make A Living Without A Brand

February 26th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Bill Johnson
A Story Is A Promise: The Essential Elements of Storytelling

March 18th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Pamela Hill Smith
For The Love of Research: How To Write Biography

April 15th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Kevin Sampsell
The Book World: From Reader To Published Author

May 6th
The Northwest Author Series Presents Heather Vogel Frederick
Much Ado About Middle Grade: Mastering Setting, Character & Plot

Presentations take place in the Oak Room at the Wilsonville Public Library
Time is 3:30 – 5:30 pm
Cost is $5.00 for all ages
More info and subscribe for e-mail reminders: http://northwestauthorseries.wordpress.com/

I’m wrapping up some projects and classes this week and next and then taking a bit of a break for the rest of the month of June.

I’ve kept up a heightened work pace all year long in an effort to write and edit The Writer’s Workout, teach classes, train my Dream Teams, run my author series, do a few gigs, write a few articles, host my month-long author mama giveaway, and more.

My husband, Jason, also worked really hard this year, teaching over-sized classes, producing and editing the WHS yearbook, running the theatre department and the drama club, and juggling all the other commitments that go along with being a full-time public school teacher.

Samantha was busy growing three and half inches this year, going to school, enjoying recesses with her two BFFs, not to mention playing Little Cosette in Jason’s production of Les Mis, taking three dance classes two days a week, reading Wimpy Kid books, and watching lots of her dad’s old favorite movies.

We are ready for a break and some family time. And then I’ll be back in July, energized and refreshed.

If you are interested in working with me this fall, please check out my Class and Training offerings. Both start up in August.

Classes and Dream Teams are already filling up, so you’d might want to register now. I’m happy to send you a confirmation within 24 hours after you register. I am happy to answer any questions you might have.

I’m offering three classes beginning in August: Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff, Pitching Practice, and Micro-publishing for Mom Writers. You will also find info on essay writing classes with Abigail Green on the Classes page.

If you feel that you miss me so much you can’t possible go on without hearing my nagging voice (at least in your head), please feel free to purchase my books or e-book (Writer Mama, Get Known, and Author Mama).

If you miss me already and you you want me to know it, you can pre-order The Writer’s Workout now and forward me your receipt for a chance to win a a one-hour phone coaching consult.

Three winners will be selected from the first first fifty purchasers. Forward your receipt to katz christina at comcast dot net to enter.

And if you really miss me and you want to say hello, you can probably find me on Facebook, even though I’ll be trying my best to stay mostly offline.

Happy June, everyone! See you in July…

~ Photo by dalechumbly

I’d like to thank the weather for being so crummy this spring, so that I could stay on task and not get lured outside prematurely. And now that summer is almost here, here’s what’s coming up!

The Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway

I am so happy that I revived this book giveaway (even if it is something of an administrative monstrosity). Nothing could be more worthwhile, for me, than celebrating hard-working author mamas. I have been so inspired by the stories of everyone who has participated. And the inspiration continues because May isn’t over yet. So I hope you will come by and join in, if you haven’t already.

What does it take to become an author mama? If you are an aspiring author mama, you might be interested in checking out my e-book on the topic, Author Mama, How I Became A Published Author & How You Can Too.

Stick around until the end of the giveaway on May 31st—there are nine drawings left!

• • •

PacNW Authors: Apply Now For Season Five of the Northwest Author Series

Eric M. Witchey did a great job wrapping up NAS season four to very full house last weekend. I want to thank Pat Duke, Malia Laughton, Burton Haun, Alyssa MacPartland, Jane Friedman, Andi Erickson, the Friends of the Wilsonville Public Library, Writer’s Digest, Wilsonville Starbucks, and Lamb’s Thriftway for all of their help and contributions to season four. I think everyone agrees that it was our best season yet. (Not that our prior seasons were too shabby.) If you are a Pacific Northwest Author with at least one recently published traditionally published book, then you qualify to apply for one of our eight available spots for season five. Full details on the application process are available here.

• • •

Register Now For Classes That Begin In August With Myself Or Abigail Green

This fall Abby and I are both updating and enriching our classes. My classes will be more comprehensive, more chock-full of resources, and will contain more examples from experienced writer mamas than they ever have before. Our classes already turn out tons of published writers, but my goal is to make sure that every writer who takes any of my classes has every possible resource I can provide to help her get published and all in one focused, structured, manageable six-week experience. I’m looking forward to launching my updated classes in August.

Register by August 16 for classes that begin August 24:

Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff

Pitching Practice: Write Six Queries In Six Weeks

Micro-publishing for Mom Writers

Personal Essays That Get Published

• • •

Fall Dream Teams For Former Students Begin August 1st

I have three levels of dream teams, and the next round launches in just a short few months! My Dream Teams are a context that creates “pod-pressure” — just the right amount of support, encouragement, and accountability to help you get from wherever you are now to where you’d like to be. Participants enjoy sharing resources and cheering each other on, while still staying on course with individual goals. If you are a mom who has worked with me in the past, you can sign up for a dream team and you will be placed in one of the following groups:

1. Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff Article-writing Dream Team
2. Advanced Article-writing /Beginning Platform-building Dream Team
3. Advanced Article-writing & Advanced Platform-building Dream Team (Invitation Only)

Learn more here.

• • •

Mark Your Calendar For The Global Launch Party of The Writer’s Workout

The Writer’s Workout, 366 Tips, Tricks & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach from Writer’s Digest Books is coming down the publishing track. Please mark your calendar for the all-day global publication party on Tuesday, December 6, 2011.

Need help growing and nurturing your writing career? How about tending your career over time in a world driven by distraction, stress, and superficiality?

The Writer’s Workout contains 366 ideas for expanding your craft, sales, self-promotion, and professional development process, without repeating all the same old advice.

If you think you will need a party reminder, please subscribe to my The Prosperous Writer e-zine or to my blog.

If you are a really big fan of my work, feel free to go ahead and pre-order your copy of The Writer’s Workout now.

You can now pre-order The Writer’s Workout on Amazon at a deeper-than-usual discount. To grease the pre-order wheels, I will enter the first 50 writers who pre-order the book via Amazon into a drawing for a free one-hour phone coaching consultation in December 2011 (either before or after you read the book, your choice).

I will select three winners from those who turn in their receipts. You can start turning in your receipts by e-mail to “katz christina at comcast dot net” — I will hold onto them until  the December drawing.

Thanks for being among the first to order The Writer’s Workout!

Happy spring into summer (finally)!

]]> http://christinakatz.com/whats-coming-up-may-december-im-planning-ahead-i-think-you-know-why/feed/ 0 http://christinakatz.com/whats-coming-up-april-into-may/ http://christinakatz.com/whats-coming-up-april-into-may/#comments Tue, 19 Apr 2011 15:31:34 +0000 @thewritermama http://christinakatz.com/?p=2452

Come To The Terroir Creative Writing Festival in McMinnville, Oregon on April 30th! Only $35 for a full day of literary enrichment ($50 at the door)!
I’m the kick-off speaker, so I am sure you will want to arrive bright and early.
Other speakers at the festival include Monica Drake, Jean Auel and more! (…more info)

Don’t Miss The Writer Mama Every-Day-In-May Book Giveaway!
I’m almost done with the lineup for the entire month and I will be posting it next week. Thanks to the sun-shiny weather and our terrific line-up of all-mom authors, all generously giving away books, this promises to be our most exciting month-long book giveaway ever! I appreciate your help spreading the word! Grab the badge and learn more here!

The Final Speaker for the Northwest Author Series Season Four is Eric Witchey!
Eric Witchey wraps up the Northwest Author Series on May 15th with a workshop on: The Short Story: How To Write It & Sell It In 90 Minutes. This is going to be fun, so bring your paper and pen or laptop! More info at the Northwest Author Series site. More here.

Enjoy the sunshine and hope to see you soon.

On Stands Thru Mid-April -- Don't Miss It!

On Wednesday, March 30, all day long, F+W Media is donating 50% of the profits from all of bookstore sales across all communities to help aid Japan. So, if you would like to purchase copies of my books, or any of the wonderful F+W books currently in print, head on over the Writer’s Digest Shop and shop until you drop. It’s all for a good cause.

• • •

And speaking of Writer’s Digest, you can still catch my article, “50 Way To Grow Your Platform In Only Five Minutes A Day” on stands through mid-April. Better hurry, though. I’ m sure they are selling fast.

• • •

On April 1st, the e-book we’ve all been waiting for on the future of publishing by former Writer’s Digest Publisher, Jane Friedman, launches. I’ll be posting an interview with Jane here in this blog on April 1st and I hope you will come back for it. She says the book is fairly irreverent, as I am sure you will probably notice. While we are all in suspense, here’s a little teaser:

The Future of Publishing: Enigma Variations is a definitive and comprehensive view on how book publishing will evolve and transform. It analyzes the future of not only authors, but also agents, editors, publishers, bookstores, and reading in general. If you’ve been curious, fearful, or anxious—or if you just want to know the future ahead of everyone else (and who doesn’t!)—then don’t miss this excellent and informed perspective.

• • •

April 17: The Northwest Author Series Presents Gigi Rosenberg on Fund Your Projects: Grant Writing for the Literary Artist at the Wilsonville Public Library. I will be hosting. Writer’s Digest Market Book door prizes will be awarded to two lucky writers.

In this hands-on workshop you will learn to write compelling and lively grant applications to fund your writing projects. You will discover how to research funding, decode application questions, and let the grant writing process focus writing goals. You will also find out how to enlist colleagues and friends to help write a successful proposal and leave knowing whether grant writing is the best use of your time or if you would be better off continuing to build a body of work. (…more info and check out Gigi’s new book)

• • •

April 3o: I’m a featured speaker at the Terroir Creative Writing Festival. I’ll be kicking things off and making sure all the writers are wide-awake…at least to the necessities of platform. Other speakers include Monica Drake, Jean Auel and more! (…more info)

• • •

Abigail Green and I have classes coming up that begin on May 4th (register by April 27th). You might think, “Classes in May, really? But for many fall and winter are hectic times and their creative sap runs a lot faster during brighter, longer days. I know I am sure feeling it lately. So if you want to spring forward in your writing career and put all that extra energy to good use, now’s the time to sign up for Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff, Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform, and Personal Essay That Get Published Level 2.

Scholarships are available for BOTH of my May classes. Apply by Sunday for consideration for a $250 class!

Happy bunnies, daffodils, and sunshine, everyone! And happy writing.

Over the years, I have cultivated ways that work for me and for my students. To date, six of my students have had seven books published. Another student’s book is forthcoming in 2013 and another has an agent and they are seeking a publisher for my student’s nonfiction proposal.

Additionally, I’ve referred two of my writing pals for three books deals and I share a wonderful agent with four students/friends.

If you know my work, then you know that it’s not merely all about traditional book deals, although I am always thrilled to help those who can commit to working steadily over the long haul to accomplish a big goal like a book deal.

I also facilitating writers’ professional growth on a daily basis across a wide spectrum of goals. How many paid articles have my former students published? Probably over a thousand at this point. How many assignments have my former students landed? Likely hundreds. I’m going to try and take an actual count this summer.

These are the short-term goals I help writers accomplish in my classes, which can add up to expanding rewards in the long run:

• Writing short, original nonfiction pieces for publication (more)
• How to accumulate a significant number of clips and the professional confidence that comes from writing for money (more)
• Writing personal pieces for publication (I refer these folks to my colleague, Abigail Green) (more)
• Writing queries that get noticed and result in assignments from national publications (more)
• Identifying a specialty that registers in your soul and compels you to share the best of what you have to offer (more)
• Articulate your professional identity and launch your platform (more)
• Draft your first course curriculum and get ready to share it with the world (more)
• Draft a nonfiction book proposal that will actually be saleable (more)
• Take your personal writing to a more professional level (with Abigail Green) (more)

These are the best practices I help writers learn in my dream teams:

• How to be prepared, practiced, professional, and poised throughout the writing and career-building process. How to work up the publishing ranks and rack up paid clips. (more)
• How to become a thought leader in your field and generate multiple income streams from your specialty (prereqs required, invitation only)

My favorite part of this work, truth be told, is working with beginners, often folks who have read my books, Writer Mama and/or Get Known, who are ready to get to work turning their professional writing dreams into reality. (more on my books)

I don’t have a magic wand nor am I a fan of rushing the process. Although I provide ample information and support in each class and training group, I don’t believe in information overload and I can’t do your work for you. Instead, I create safe learning contexts, usually for groups of women writers, who are often moms, and we all focus on getting our own work done.

And whadda ya know? This seems to work well for those who are ready and willing to apply themselves one step at a time, until the day they eventually look back and can’t believe how much they have accomplished.

After seven years of formal education, twelve years of writing for publication, and ten years of teaching, I feel the same way about my own writing journey. The whole process has taught me a ton and I’m eager to share all that I’ve learned with those who work with me.

I enjoy working with writers who have big aspirations and are ready to do the work to turn those aspirations into actions and ultimately results.

As my writing career grows, so do the ways I work with folks. However, I am always aware that if I don’t keep all that I juggle manageable, then I am not helpful to anyone, especially myself. And I value my own creative growth too much to sacrifice it on the alter of self-sacrifice, as is espoused by far too many these days.

Don’t sacrifice your creativity in a mad rush for empty promises. Cultivate your creativity slowly and surely instead.

Feel free to contact me with questions after you review my classes and training groups.

In August 2005, I pitched a book concept at the Willamette Writer’s Conference and landed, eventually, my first book deal.

In March 2007, that book, Writer Mama, How To Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids was released by Writer’s Digest Books.

I tell the beginning of the story of how I grew my writing career to the point where I was ready to do a thing as scary as standing up in front of a room full of people to propose a book in Writer Mama. (I even include the pitch I used.)

Then, I finish the story of what it’s like to write a first book proposal and write a first nonfiction book in my recently released (and first) e-book, Author Mama, How I Became A Published Author and How You Can Too (available in PDF now and coming soon to Kindle and POD).

But I want to reminisce a bit about Writer Mama. Because just like the seed becomes the sprout and grow and forms a bud which becomes a flower that eventually bears fruit, which is harvested, Writer Mama was the seed of an idea that has born infinite joy and possibilities for me as a writer and a teacher.

Of all of the things that I love most about my writing, teaching, and speaking career, my relationship with my students is the greatest source of happiness for me. You might think that my favorite part of being a teacher would be to look back on the people whom I have taught and bask in the glow of their successes. But that’s not really where it’s at for me. That’s not what really pumps me up.

For me, the biggest source of pride always goes back to the very beginning. To the point where a writer is basically unpublished, unfocused, and unsure how to get from not writing to getting paid and published. Saying it so briefly makes it sound like a piece of cake. But it’s not so easy that some specific guidance and support can’t help and speed up the process. And if it’s done in a foundational way, the work I do can (and often does) lead to the launching of a professional writing career for many mom writers.

The beginning part of the process, assisting in the launch, continues to be my most satisfying role. Although lately, I confess, another favorite part of the process has been helping writers become regularly published, after they’ve gotten published once or twice in my Dream Teams. Because once a writer mom has gotten published and gotten the hang of getting regularly published, she has lots of options in her future.

Writer Mama has been around for 39 months, with almost fifty reviews on Amazon, and new moms still discovering it every day. In the meantime, some of its original readers have gone on to grow their writing careers to the point where they have a book out or coming out or in the process of being pitched. They are building platforms, landing agents, and just basically producing their own careers, which makes me really happy.

I’m going into my fifth year of working with mom writers. Okay, sure, I love to get the e-mails saying that the first piece was published or that one piece has been published ten times now or that the student has decided to take their career to the next level or that the student just landed an agent or that the student created a class or got a book deal or any kind of good news. But I just love hearing from my students period. At the end of the day, my role is being helpful and helping mom writers find their momentum. It’s simply what I do.

Frustration is a common feeling for moms who want to launch or grow writing careers.

And something I’ve been reminded of over the past five months is that frustration can be transformed into productivity.

But only if you are patient and only if you are paying close attention to your own process.

People often think that productivity has to do with superb organization or planning ahead or goal setting.

But it doesn’t.

It has little to do with all of those things and everything to do with accepting frustration and channeling it to accomplish the single next most important thing that needs to be done right now.

I am sure it is not news to you if you are reading this blog that creative people have a tendency to feel frustrated. To spin their wheels. To surf the web too much. To have draining or distracting “friends.” And to pine for something that they think is going to be magically bestowed upon them rather than earned.

And that’s why frustration is our friend.

Frustration burns in you when you see someone else succeed at something you wish you had succeeded at.

Frustration burns in you when you wonder why you should have to start at the beginning and work your way up when everyone else seems to just have opportunities handed to them.

Frustration burns in you when you finally do accomplish a goal only to find that the satisfaction is short-lived.

Frustration is our friend because we would be complacent without it.

We might become overly involved in other people’s concerns to distract ourselves from pursuing our own dreams.

We might be deathly afraid of being “selfish” enough to pursue our dreams because blindly following the status quo has been ingrained in us instead of the alternative…expressing our authentic selves.

For me, helping a student channel her inherent creativity in a prosperous way means helping her turn her frustration into productivity. It is not an easy feat but it can be accomplished. (I’ve been doing it for ten years.)

And when it happens, I feel like a matchmaker.

Not the kind of match-maker who introduces a person to someone else. But the kind of match-maker who introduces a person to a part of herself that she may not have previously been using. Perhaps a part of herself that was dormant, ignored or even feared.

I’ll be working with a new-to-me group of writers in two classes beginning September 8th.

And I will be training groups of former students in my Dream Teams starting in August and running through December.

And I cannot wait.

Bring me your frustrations and I will teach you to put them to work.

~ Photo by – Reuben -