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 To the point where a writer is basically unpublished, unfocused, and unsure how to get from not writing to getting paid and published.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 -

Hooray! April is finally here. This means I am traveling to three conferences this month. I’ll give you the 411 on each one in turn.

Up first: I am moderating two panels at the AWP 2010 in Denver, Colorado.

Thursday, April 8 at 12:00 p.m. (noon) – 1:15 p.m.

What’s Your Platform? What Agents & Editors Are Looking For in Writers.

Location: Rooms 401, 402: Colorado Convention Center, Street Level

Panelists: Christina Katz, Jane Friedman, Robin Mizell, David W. Sanders

Yes, the quality of your writing still matters. But becoming visible and influential is more crucial to landing a book deal than ever, according to agents and editors in every facet of the publishing industry. Aspiring authors need to develop a platform in order to get noticed. Fortunately for emerging writers in all genres, there are more affordable, accessible tools available for platform-development and building, which make this important responsibility a pleasure and not a chore.

Saturday, April 10 at 1:30 p.m. – 2:45 p.m.

The Prosperous Writer: Career Strategies for Staying Flush.

Location: Room 111, Colorado Convention Center, Street Level

Panelists: Christina Katz, Jane Friedman, Ericka Lutz, Wendy Burt-Thomas) When you fuel your writing career with prosperous thinking, partner with like-minded others, and keep long-term success in mind, navigating a professional path becomes a pleasurable, expansive process. Four traditionally published writers/editors share strategies that pay the bills and make publication more likely. Learn how to balance enough inspiration and perspiration to get the writing done with enough career planning to create ever-expanding opportunities and achieve writing goals.

Also be sure to stop by the Writer’s Digest table in the Bookfair and you just might chance to meet Writer’s Digest magazine editor, Jessica Strawser, and Publisher, Jane Friedman. They publish pretty good books, too.

Woo-hoo, I love me some Rocky Mountain highs.  Shortness of breath, hugeness of conference, here I come!

Look forward to connecting with everyone!

• Follow me on Twitter
• Find me on Facebook
• Connect with me on LinkedIn

~Photo by RaSchi

The New Year is almost here. Can you believe it?

Happy holidays, everyone!

Here’s all the exciting stuff I have coming up in January:

I’ll be making an announcement on Monday, January 4th about the direction I’m heading in 2010. I’m going to keep you hanging until then. But I’ll give you a hint: it’s exciting!

I’m launching three Dream Teams of former students in January (more). We are going to lay out our goals for five months and then slam-dunk them. And then we’ll do it all over again in the fall? Not one of my students yet? Keep reading.

On Tuesday, January 5th, novelist Therese Walsh will come by to discuss her debut, The Last Will of Moira Leahy (Shaye Areheart Books). More here.

On January 13th, the first round of 2010 classes will begin. I’m offering Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff and Turn Your Specialty Into Course Curriculum. Abigail Green is offering Personal Essays That Get Published. You can learn more about classes here.

On 3:30 p.m. on January 24th, I’ll be hosting the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon featuring children’s author Amber Keyser on How to Use a Critique Group at the Wilsonville Public Library.

On  January 26th and 27th, I’m attending Digital Book World in New York City. I’ll be on a panel called: Teach Them to Fish, Empowering Authors to Market Themselves. Seems fitting, right? Learn more about Digital Book World.

And on Sunday, January 31st, I’ll be offering a live, three-hour workshop at the Wilsonville Public Library called Power Up Your Platform  for the Internet Age. I offered this workshop in Eugene in October and it went over really well. I can’t believe how much work we were able to get done in such a short time. Is your platform ready for 2010? Learn more here.

Photo by cobalt123