This is not just my optimism talking, folks. I am seeing publishing promise in action.

And it’s not just infinite creativity & prosperity for me; it’s infinite creativity & prosperity for any writer who wants to go for it.

However this vision does not look much like the old model of publishing.

It looks more like a new type of author, a type of author who isn’t “all author.”

And there is no publishing “house.” Publishing has moved “in-house.” And by that I mean it has moved to your house.

It looks like a type of author who plays harder than she works, who lets creativity lead, and who knows and maximizes her strengths, while addressing her weaknesses has a publishing house right in her house…if she wants it.

If this sounds familiar than you probably were in attendance at the Writer’s Digest 2012 Conference in New York, AWP 2012 Chicago, Mad Anthony 2012 in Ohio, or the Missouri Writers Guild Conference in Missouri. You heard me verbally kicking all the writers in attendance in the butt while simultaneously inviting them to wake up from the fantasy of getting discovered.

You have probably read all about this type of “empowered writer” in all of my books from Writer Mama to Get Known to Author Mama to The Writer’s Workout to Build Your Author Platform.

If you know my work, then you know exactly what I’m talking about because you have likely experienced the magic of getting in touch with your creative instincts and training that horse until you can ride it to publishing success.

I know empowered writers are out there, because I hear from you every single day. You are my students, my former students, my dream team members, my readers, attendees of my author series, and members of audiences where I have recently taught or trained.

You listened to what I said. You did the things I asked you to do. And you are seeing results. You are changing, you are growing, you are taking charge.

You are embracing your power in a humble way.

This professional empowerment is causing you to pay better attention to your instincts. And now you trust your instincts and follow them. And they are leading you to exciting places of creative expansion and prosperous growth.

Not that empowered writers don’t have any down days. Of course we do. That’s just part of being human. Being a writer or an author does not make you exempt from life.

Writers are not perfect. I’ve never met a perfect writer. In fact, I’m going to say that the less focused you are on perfection, the more likely you are to succeed (except when it comes to a final draft, of course, but you can get help with that).

And I don’t know about you, but I like the sound of infinite creativity and prosperity. It has a nice ring to it, doesn’t it?

I like the silent sound it makes when it is happening. I like the quiet power it has.

Make this inner work your reality if you want to see the results later. The future of publishing comes down to a series of pretty simple questions that any writer can ask herself:

Is this a book?

If it is a book, which formats make the most sense?

Whether it is or isn’t a book, what else might it become?

THIS is the future of publishing. Don’t let anybody tell you anything different.

There has NEVER been a more exciting time to be a writer. I hope you get that. I hope you make this statement your daily reality.

I hope you are ready to roll up your sleeves and show us all how it’s done. How you do it. How you write. Who you write for. And that change you create by putting words on…something.

There’s no reason to settle for anything else.

So get to work. Read my work. Grow your skills. Seek the help and mentoring you need to get on top of your game.

Your readers are waiting. And they might not wait forever.

~ Photo by Amontei

These are some examples of Tech-savvy Writers for our discussion at AWP 2012 in Chicago today.

Get this, writers: traditional media is the circulatory system. But new media is the nervous system. And the two work great together.

The circulatory system makes sure all your everything gets nourished. But the nervous system means you get to have the perception to appreciate that nourishment.

When you want awareness about your book, you want the extended nervous system of humanity to know it.

Just make sure you bring the circulatory system along too, if you possibly can.

These writers do. Check ‘em out!

Cheryl Strayed

Most recent book: Wild, a memoir from Alfred A. Knopf (March 2012) and forthcoming Tiny Beautiful Things: Advice on Love and Life from Dear Sugar coming this summer.

It’s never too late to get techy!

Strayed is not the most tech-savvy writer you’ll ever meet, by any means. But remember this, writers—better late than never!

Strayed is appearing at AWP this year and you will be hearing her name a lot in the upcoming months if you haven’t already. She has a feature interview in the latest Poets & Writers magazine and also recently had a feature in my hometown paper, The Oregonian. In a rising tide of publicity genius, Strayed timed the big reveal of her role as “Dear Sugar” on The Rumpus to tie in with the launch of her two new books.

Wild will be released in March (you can pre-order it here) and another book that chronicles her columns from The Rumpus will be released this summer.

Strayed wrote a memoir about hiking the PCT, that’s the backstory.

Strayed wrote the line: “Write like a motherfucker,” for therumpus.net. That’s the lead-in story to the backstory.

The end of the story is that more people will read her memoir in the long run because she wrote that top-secret Rumpus advice column.

So put your judgement aside, writers, and see the Internet and technology as your allies, not your enemies.

Learn more about Cheryl Strayed. And buy her books!

Cory Doctorow

Science Fiction writer and activist, Cory Doctorow is one of the smartest people I have ever met. If you are also intelligent, I hope you will follow his proactive, provacative example.

What I’ve learned from Cory is that it does not matter how intelligent you are; it matters what you DO with that intelligence. Your intelligence is either serving your heart or imprisoning it (or something in between). I hope, for your sake, dear writer, that your intelligence is not only serving your heart, but also serving the world.

You can have an ego, that’s fine. Cory certainly has one. But as long as you use your ego in service of the world and others, we are going to cut you a lot more slack than if you just sit around indulging your pride.

You do not have to be perfect, dear writer. Perfection is unattainable and unsustainable. But there is no excuse for self-indulgence and laziness. Got off your rump and write something. Than do something with it. Isn’t that what we’re all here for?

I recommend any of Cory’s books hand’s down (especially to sci-fi fans) because they are so acclaimed and he is so adored by his fans. However, since I am not a sci-fi gal, I particularly like his two collections of essays, Content and Context. Tons of food for thought in there for any writer today and you can listen to them on audio for free.

Seth Godin

If every writer read all of Seth Godin’s marketing books, we would need to have this panel because marketing and self-promotion would be a required class in every writing MFA program in the country. And I know we are doing better but we are not there yet.

So don’t wait for your writing program to get schooled. School yourself. Seth’s books are remarkably accessible and east to digest. You can read them while you are on the bus or waiting to pick up the kids. Just read them!

Godin has saved my career more than once. He is a strong influences in my two recent books, Get Known Before the Book Deal and The Writer’s Workout Coach, both from Writer’s Digest Books.

You can buy them new or used and thank me later. Here’s the most recent list. Read them all is what I recommend.

Here’s an introduction to our panel, the panelists, and an opportunity to follow the panel via the panelist blogs as well as on Twitter.

Here’s the details of our panel on Thursday, March 1st at 1:30 pm

R175. The Tech-Empowered Writer: Embrace New Media, Experiment, and Earn
(Christina Katz, Jane Friedman, Seth Harwood, Robert Lee Brewer)
Boulevard Room A,B,C, Hilton Chicago, 2nd Floor
What can a professor, a journalist, a novelist, and a poet teach you about new media? Using real-life examples from our own experience and that of other tech-savvy writers, we’ll construct a composite of how working writers use technology to invest in their careers, experiment and launch new works, and grow their income opportunities. Whether you need a day job, a part-time job, or just enough gigs to pay a few bills, there have never been so many ways for tech-savvy writers to earn.

Come back to this blog on Thursday, March 1st for some great examples of writers who are using technology to grow and empower their careers.

In the meantime, check out Jane’s blog: JaneFriedman.com (her post on our panel)

Visit Seth Harwood’s blog

Visit Robert Lee Brewer’s blog

And check out our tweets:

@thewritermama

@JaneFriedman

@sethharwood

@RobertLeeBrewer

Here’s a little more about us:

Moderator: Christina Katz
Genre: Nonfiction
Specialties: Writing career how-to from beginning to traditional book deal (craft, sales, platform, specializing, niche development, ebooks, book proposals, and income stream development)
Christina Katz is the author of three books from Writer’s Digest: The Writer’s Workout, Get Known Before the Book Deal, and Writer Mama. Her writing career tips and parenting advice appear regularly in national, regional, and online publications. A “gentle taskmaster” over the past decade to hundreds of writers, Christina’s students go from unpublished to published, build professional writing career skills, and increase their creative confidence over time. She holds an MFA in creative writing from Columbia College Chicago and a BA in English from Dartmouth College. A popular speaker on creative career growth, Christina presents for writing conferences, literary events, MFA writing programs, and libraries. She is the creator and host of the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon, where she lives with her husband, her daughter, and far too many pets. Learn more at www.ChristinaKatz.com.

Panelist: Seth Harwood
Genre: Fiction
Specialties: Writing fiction, how-to build a fiction platform, and podcasting
Seth Harwood received an MFA in fiction from the Iowa Writers’ Workshop and went on to build a large readership for his first novel, JACK WAKES UP, by serializing it as a free audiobook online. After Jack Wakes Up was published by a small press and reached #45 in Books on Amazon, Three Rivers Press (Random House) bought it to re-release in 2009. In 2010, Harwood published his second novel, Young Junius, with Tyrus Books.
Episodes of Harwood’s crime fiction podcasts have been downloaded over one million times across SethHarwood.com and CrimeWAV.com. In 2011, Harwood raised over $7,000 using Kickstarter to build publishing costs and an advance for his third novel, THIS IS LIFE. He’ll be teaching an upcoming Author Promotion online class through Stanford Continuing Studies starting on 4/16. You can contact him to learn more at SethHarwood.com and AuthorBootCamp.com.

Panelist: Jane Friedman
Genre: Nonfiction
Specialty: Future of publishing, writing and technology, and writing how-to
Jane Friedman is an assistant professor of e-media at the University of Cincinnati, and the former publisher of Writer’s Digest. Her expertise on media and the future of publishing has been featured on NPR, PBS, and Publishers Weekly, among many other media outlets. She has also consulted with the National Endowment for the Arts and the Creative Work Fund in San Francisco. Her website and blog (JaneFriedman.com) was recently named one of the top 10 blogs for writers in 2011-2012.

Robert Lee Brewer
Genres: Poetry and nonfiction
Specialties: Poetry, chapbook publication, and blogging
Robert Lee Brewer is Senior Content Editor for the Writer’s Digest Writing Community, focusing specifically on Writer’s Market, Poet’s Market, and WritersMarket.com. He was voted Poet Laureate of the Blogosphere in 2010 and hosted as a National Feature Poet at the 2011 Austin International Poetry Festival. In 2011, he self-published two limited edition chapbooks, ENTER and ESCAPE–both of which sold out within weeks of their release dates. Robert blogs about poetry at Poetic Asides on the WritersDigest.com site and everything else at My Name Is Not Bob. He is married to the poet Tammy Foster Brewer, who helps him keep track of their five kids (four boys and one princess). Learn more at http://robertleebrewer.blogspot.com, www.writersmarket.com, and www.writersdigest.com/editor-blogs/poetic-asides.

1. All writers are publishers now. If you are an author, tap into your backlist now. If you are an aspiring author, plan on it before, during, and after you are published.

2. Publishers are leveraging their backlists to the hilt. Watch for it, authors, if you have not seen it already. Check your contracts to make sure you get paid what you are due. If your publishers are not leveraging your best work, you should be.

3. Indie publishing is over. It was over last year. See #1 if you are unclear. In a world where publishing exists on such a long spectrum, there is no longer any room for black and white thinking.

4. It’s still great to be a published author. However, you want to understand the differences between old-world traditionally published and new world traditionally published before you start climbing this particularly steep mountain. Get informed before you get your hopes up.

5. Not only has publishing changed; the entire economy has changed. We are now living in a new gig economy. This is great news for writers. This is by far the best news on this entire list.

6. You probably still need an agent. Publishing industry contracts are more complicated and rights-grabbing than ever. But don’t be surprised if your publisher is less flexible to your agent’s requests more than they would have been in the past. Hopefully this will change as more authors leave publishers and refuse to grant all rights. Bestselling authors, we’re counting on you!

7. Just because publishing has evolved so dramatically does not mean you don’t still need skills. You need more skills than ever. Learn them from reputable individuals, who are genuinely interested in helping you cultivate and grow your unique strengths. But don’t be in an unholy rush. It won’t help you learn any faster.

8. Consider each dollar you invest in your career the equivalent of a vote. As always, you need to steadily invest in your writing career if you want it to grow. But in an economy like this one where most budgets are tight, it’s important to invest according to your values. Each dollar you spend is a vote of support. Support the folks who have earned your respect and take your eyeballs away from folks you do not or no longer trust.

9. Blogging is a tool, not a career choice. I’d rather see you become an expert in something specific and blog in an effort to support your mission than spend all your money trying to learn and leverage “insider blogging secrets” that put you right back where you are now a year from now. And always have your own home base online before you call another blog your home away from home.

10. Think ebook. Used to be, most writers first big goal used to be working their way up to a traditionally published book deal. Today, the first big finish line has become a successful ebook. This means learning the skills you need to have to write an ebook that will sell itself (not as easy as it sounds) so you can compete in the new economy.

And if your ebooks are not up to professional snuff, you’d better take ‘em down and take ‘em down fast. You’re best career move is to get them up to snuff before you re-post them. Otherwise your reputation is going to suffer in comparison to all the quality content that is coming down the pipe in 2012.

Need help navigating all the changes in the publishing industry?

Check out my new book, The Writer’s Workout, for an idea for every day of the upcoming Leap Year.

Has this post or any of my past work been helpful to you? Thanks for letting me know in the comments!

Well, folks who live in the Pacific Northwest, you are in luck. And anyone who wants to beat the heat and come to Seattle or Portland the first weekend in August is in double luck.

Yes, that’s right, I’m talking about the return of the Pacific Northwest Writer’s Association Conference and the Willamette Writers Conference.

There’s only one snag. They are both on the same weekend. I’m not sure who thought this was a good idea, but I’m going to cast my vote for restoring the conferences to two separate weekends next year. All in favor, say aye!

By now you’ve already made your selection so I am not caught on that particular hot seat (phew! that was close). Here’s a quick list of who you won’t want to miss at each conference.

PNWA: August 4 – 7th

Register Online Here

PLEASE NOTE THE NEW LOCATION

Don’t miss a chance to get your headshots from Mark Bennington

***Don’t miss an opportunity while you are PNWA to stop and chat with my friend, photographer Mark Bennington. Mark is a great guy and you will enjoy meeting him even if you don’t need a new headshot. (But chances are good that you do need a new headshot, right? I mean we all need a fresh one every couple years.) Mark is a total pro and he’s offering an outrageously low price for his services. If you swing by please be sure to tell him I sent you.***

And while we are on the topic of Mark. Check out this awesome photo book project that he’s working on about Bollywood actors in India (and America). He’s already got interest from a publisher in India and I bet he’ll have an agent and US publisher very soon.

Thursday:

6:30 p.m. – 7:30 p.m. Don’t miss “Self-promotion for the Introvert” with Lorraine Wild and Kim Kircher.

Friday:

8:30 a.m. Show up early to catch Writer’s Digest’s Chuck Sambuchino talk about “Pitch Perfect” (Chuck has a new book out, ask him about it!)

11 a.m.

Agent’s Forum: Listen with particular care to what my agent, Rita Rosenkranz is looking for because she’s awesome.

3:30

Catch Chuck Sambuchino again for a session on “Everything You Need to Know About Agents.” (Ask him after about his book.)

4:30

Be sure to attend the author book signing. Chatting with authors as they sign your books is always fun. (You can get Chuck’s books.)

11:30 a.m.

Don’t miss another chance to learn from my agent, Rita Rosenkranz. Her topic will be, “How to Write an Irresistible Nonfiction Book Proposal.”

Saturday:

8:30 a.m.

Sorry to keep asking you to show up early but you will want to catch Michael Larsen and Elizabeth Pomada’s preso on “13 Ways to Make Yourself Irresistible to any Agent or Editor”

10 a.m.

I’m a sucker for marketing and self-promotion topics and although I’ve not met Susan Wingate, we’ve corresponded. (I called her one time when her Facebook account got hacked.) Her session “Get on Board the Starship of Publishing” sounds interesting.

9 p.m.

Don’t miss the author autograph party! Fun, fun, fun! (And another chance to get Chuck’s books.)

Sunday:

10:30 a.m. I don’t know Bob Mayer personally but this workshop in “The Warrior Writer” sounds right up my alley. I’d check it out. (And you could sleep in a little after the big party the night before.)

• • •

Willamette Writer’s Conference: August 5-7th

Register Online Here

Be sure to swing by the Barnes & Noble Book Table and pick up copies of my books. They give back a percentage of profits to support Willamette Writers in supporting writers. Be sure to tell Page Jordan I sent you.

Also, if you plan to follow the conference on Twitter, then Porter Anderson (@Porter_Anderson) is your guy to follow. He’ll be live-tweeting the entire conference and he’s darn good at it.

Thursday:

Don’t miss your chance starting at 7 p.m. (Get there early to sign up.)

Agent/Editor Pitch Practice (This is how I got the attention of Jane Friedman for my first book Writer Mama in 2005—at the Pitch Practice. Let those pitches rip, people!).

Friday:

8:30 a.m.

Definitely check out Sharlene Martin’s “Crazy Queries” workshop. Sounds fun.

10:30 a.m.

Ooo, I would not miss this panel on “E-media—E-books, Self-publishing, and Twitter” with Jane Friedman as of panelists. (Jane is one of the foremost thinkers on e-media and the future of publishing. I’d shadow her all conference if these are topics that interest you. Full disclosure: Jane has also been my editor and publisher. )

For fiction folks, check out Laura Whitcomb’s “It’s Just So Crazy It Might Work.” Laura has spoken at my author series and she has some great tips and strategies, you won’t want to miss.

1:30 p.m.

Don’t miss “Blogging 101″ with Jane Friedman. Have you seen her blog, her guest blogs? Her interviews? The woman is omni-present. Nuf said.

Ooo, fiction folks, don’t miss Hallie Ephron on “Plotting a Page-Turner.” Hallie is great. You will love her and everything she says.

I like Roseanne Parry and her topic, “Character & The Seven Deadly Sins,” sounds truly helpful for YA folks.

3:30 p.m.

Don’t miss Gigi Rosenberg’s “Fund Your Writing Projects,” if you are thinking you might ever want to seek funding for any of your writing projects.

Fiction folks will want to head straight on over to Hallie Ephron’s “Details to Make Or Break a Character.”

Children’s writers won’t want to miss Roseanne Parry’s “What Makes It A Children’s Novel?”

Saturday:

8:30 a.m.

I’d be interested in “Words & Pictures: Writing for Comics,” with Anina Bennett. I don’t know the presenter but the topic sure sounds interesting.

Ooo, have you seen Eric Witchey’s handouts? They are thi-ick! Fiction writers won’t want to miss them and him talk about “Mythic Power From Your Life.”

I don’t know Kim Cooper Findling, but this is a good kind of workshop for any nonfiction writer to attend, “Anatomy of a Magazine Article.”

If you are writing a picture book or thinking of writing one, definitely go to Addie Boswell’s “Picture Book Pacing & Poetry.”

10:30 a.m.

Nonfiction writers, I’d definitely check out Peter Bowerman’s session on “Taking The Reins Of Your Own Publishing Journey.” (Moms may want to check out my new e-mail class Micro-publishing for Mom Writers.)

Hallie Ephron’s “Mixing Internal & External Dialogue” sounds really interesting for fiction writers.

Leigh Anne Jasheway is funny, and this session looks to be both entertaining and useful. I’d check out “Comedy As A Nonfiction Tool.”

1:30 p.m.

Definitely do not miss “Three Models for Using Twitter to Grow Your Career,” with Jane Friedman. Why? This is why.

Fiction writers, don’t miss another chance to get one of Eric Witchey’s big, fat handouts (but don’t just pop in and ask for a handout b/c that’s not cool). His topic this time is “Partying Your Way To Publication.”

Ooo, fiction writers, tough call in this slot b/c Bob Dugoni’s session, “Getting Started And Staying Headed in the Right Direction,” sounds really good, too. I would not want to have to make this choice.

Kim Cooper Fielding tackles a topic that every writer wants to learn more about in “Engaging the Senses in Travel Writing.”

Addie Boswell’s “Illustration Techniques for Writers” sounds interesting for children’s book writers.

3:30 p.m.

Once again Peter Bowerman and I are on the same page (although, full disclosure, I’ve never read his work) with his “Build Your Own Writing Empire.”

Fiction writers, once again you have a terribly tough choice between Eric Witchey and “Ed Ace and the ABCs of Fiction” and Robert Dugoni, “You’ve Got the Power.”

Leigh Anne Jasheway’s creativity workshop, “How Thinking Like A Five Year Old Can Help You Become A More Creative Writer,” sounds fun, if you are feeling a bit information overloaded at this point of the conference.

Sunday:

8:30

I’d catch Monica Drake’s session, “What Can A Sentence Do?” Sounds interesting.

Also Robert Dugoni’s “Catching An Agent’s Attention,” is a must-learn topic.

And if you are writing YA, don’t miss Christine Fletcher’s “Talk To Me” session on voice. She’s great.

10:30

Gary Corbin is a fun guy and if you are interesting in staging any of your writing, I would definitely check out his “Get Your Story A Stage.”

I would be loathe to miss Jane Friedman’s, “Thinking Beyond the Book.” This is necessary medicine, writers, and I promise, it won’t hurt.

Oh, man. Another impossible choice for fiction writers. Bob Dugoni on “Playing God” or Bill Johnson on “Spirit of Storytelling.” Good luck!

See what Christine Fletcher has to say about plot in YA in her session, “Then What Happens?”

1:15

Don’t miss Jane Friedman talking about “Audience Development 101.” This goes for writers in all genres, not just nonfiction.

Fiction writers won’t want to miss Hallie Ephron’s “Fly High, Fly Low Revision” session. After all, so much of writing well is rewriting.

If you are interested at all in Playwriting, Cynthia Whitcomb is a always a great teacher.

3:00

Sage Cohen marries two topics she excels at poetry and productivity in “The Productive Poet.” You probably don’t have to be a working poet to get a lot out of this session.

This panel moderating by Ellen Urbani on writing critique groups sounds interesting, “How To Find Or Create Your Ideal Writers Critique Group.” If you are interested in this topic, you may also wish to check out Becky Levine’s book on the topic from Writer’s Digest, The Writing & Critique Group Survival Guide.

At this late point in the conference, “Improv Your Writing” with Gary Corbin sounds fun.

Children’s writers or anyone interested in Laura Ingalls Wilder should definitely check out, Pamela Smith Hill’s session, “Writing YA in Hard Times.”

• • •

The end. All the attendees collapse in a giant, brain-bursting heap.

This was a lot of information to cover, but I hope, if you are attending either conference, and I hope you WILL pick one and attend it, that this list is helpful and saves you some of that writer’s conference there-are-so-many-choices-that-my-head-is-spinning feeling.

Have a great time! Buy lots of books! And then put everything you learn into action!

While we were attending the Association of Writers and Writing Programs Conference earlier this year, I challenged Jane Friedman to write a book on the future of publishing. Much to my surprise, she took me up on it.

On April Fool’s Eve, I posted an interview with Jane just prior to the unveiling of “The Future of Publishing: Enigma Variations” on April Fool’s Day.

I thought readers would be interested in hearing first-hand what it’s like to self-publish a short, smart, humor e-book, so I asked Jane for another interview this time with a behind-the-scenes look at the e-book creation process. I hope you enjoy it.

Christina Katz: Okay, so I challenged you to write an e-book and you agreed. Why in the world did you say, “Yes”?

Jane Friedman: Ha! My first thought was: No one cares what I think about the future of publishing, and I’m personally and professionally tired of speculation.

But then it occurred to me that I might have fun with the topic. I do know the issues inside and out, so once I decided to engage in a little satire, I got excited about the idea.

I also came up with a strict framework. Having a structure to play off of was important to idea generation and my enthusiasm. In this case, the framework was “14 variations on the future,” inspired by Elgar’s work, “Enigma Variations.”

I was also curious to see if an online (and real world) following would translate into people who’d pay money to read my writing. At this point, people can read most of my advice online for free. They may have to pay to hear me speak, but the writing itself is delivered free of charge, with the exception of the Beginning Writers’ Answer Book from 2006.

Christina Katz: But writing an e-book that is high-enough quality to charge money for is not an easy undertaking. You must have had some concerns at the outset. Would you be willing to share some of them?

Jane Friedman: Yes, I had 3 primary concerns.

1.     Even if by reading the entire work you had a better understanding of the issues at play in the publishing industry, I was still writing humor. Humor is not something people often pay for, no matter how high quality it is.

2.     People will pay good money for information that benefits them. But they rarely pay for speculation—at least in the publishing field! And since I was writing about the future of publishing, what else could my e-book be called except pure speculation?

3.     I knew the work would be quite short, especially given the fast turn-around time. It ended up being 40 pages, and that’s with images and a generous design. (Still, though, it probably takes 20-30 minutes to read.)

Christina Katz: How many folks helped you with the e-book production process and what roles did they play?

Jane Friedman: The only help I needed was editing. I had two very good friends—who I later treated to a celebratory launch-day dinner!—help me with the content development, punch lines, and line editing. I did the design and production work myself, which was not difficult. I’ve been doing that kind of work for 15 years.

Christina Katz: Can you give us a quick thumbnail overview of the phases you had to take the e-book through to go from zero to published in just a couple of short months?

Jane Friedman: This is how I’d describe the stages:

• Inspiration and planning stage. I came up with the structure and started outlining what I would write.
• Draft stage. In one sitting, I wrote the entire work longhand. (Not typical for me, but that’s how it worked out.)
• Revision stage. When I typed out my longhand manuscript, I also revised and added content as I went.
• Editing stage. I sent my manuscript to two trusted friends (who are also editors, yay!), who turned it around in less than a week.
• Production stage. While my friends edited the manuscript, I set up the design templates and created the front and back matter. I also created the images at this stage.
• Final production stage. After I had all the edits back, I incorporated them into the final manuscript, dumped the copy into my design template, and took care of all layout/design issues. Then I proofread a printed copy with a friend in one evening, made final corrections in the file, and outputted a PDF that I made available for sale within minutes on Scribd.

Christina Katz: Which part of the e-book creation process was your favorite? Which part was your least favorite?

Jane Friedman: The transition from production stage to final production stage was nerve-wracking. I had a deadline to meet that wasn’t negotiable in my mind (April Fool’s Day), but I was depending on the good graces of my friends to serve as editors (for free), and I was reluctant to start selling without their feedback. Lucky for me, they finished up in time to go live April 1.

My favorite part—as it is with every project—was the idea generation stage. I love coming up with the premise and structure. Ideas are always lovely. Once you make them concrete, you have to struggle through making them live up to the ideal that’s in your head.

Christina Katz: You are pretty tech-savvy, which technologies did you make use of to create the e-book and how user-friendly were they?

Jane Friedman: I used Adobe InDesign to design and layout the book, and to export the PDF file. InDesign is a program that I used for many years while working in traditional publishing, so there was no learning curve. But it’s expensive software for a writer to buy, and not easy to learn without formal instruction.

I used no other technology to create the e-book, aside from taking pictures with my iPhone and adjusting them in Apple’s Preview, a very elementary photo-editing software.

Christina Katz: Any pros vs. cons to approaching the short-form e-book vs. the long-form book? Which do you think you prefer?

Jane Friedman: I don’t think I prefer either at this point, speaking as an author.

However …

Projects that extend over a period of many months or years do have a tendency to get boring for me. It’s probably why I’ve stuck with blogging for so long. It’s fast-paced, there’s lots of fun and value in it, it gives me a writing outlet, but I don’t have to keep revisiting the same material again and again. I get to vary the topics/issues and suit some of my own whims.

On the other hand, I like building things of solid quality and substance. And a long-form book does that. So I still look forward to those projects as well—it just requires me to be disciplined and passionate about what I take on.

Christina Katz: Are you hooked? Will you write more e-books? Or will you be too busy following through with this one for a while?

Jane Friedman: This e-book project gave me a tight deadline, and it kept my interest. And while I’ll spend a bit more time nurturing it—producing a Kindle edition, for instance—I consider myself through.

I am indeed considering what new e-book project might be next. I’m sure I’ll attempt another, but something more information-driven—not humor or speculation.

Probably the No. 1 topic that I’m asked about is online and social media. So perhaps I’ll do a full-length e-book addressing that. That said, if I’m contracted to write a long-form book for Writer’s Digest, all bets are off.

Jane’s Bio:

As the former publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman is an industry authority on commercial, literary, and emerging forms of publishing. She has spoken at more than 200 writing events since 2001, and is known within the publishing industry as an innovator, cited by sources such as Publishers Weekly, GalleyCat, PBS, and Mr. Media. She has been a speaker at BookExpo America, an adviser to Digital Book World, and recently served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, to review 2011 grants in literature.

You heard it here first, if you didn’t know it already.

Former publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest and current visiting professor of e-media at The University of Cincinnati, Jane Friedman, knows more about publishing than your average industry authority.

I first met Jane in 2005 at the Willamette Writers Conference. I was there to wow her with my verbal book pitch, which I stood up and gave to her and a panel of industry gatekeepers the way most writers do, with my hands shaking and my pulse racing.

And on that fateful day a book (Writer Mama—the title was Jane’s idea and ten times better than the title I pitched) was born. But more importantly, a friendship commenced.

Over the past five and a half years, I have never ceased to be amazed by the depth and thoughtfulness of Jane’s intelligence and perceptiveness. She has taught me a great deal about publishing, more in fact, than I ever intended to learn over these years.

At some point, it occurred to me that more people should really be listening to her insights and heeding her wisdom. So, I did what any friend would do: I dared her to write this e-book.

Secretly and, I suppose, not so secretly, I wanted everyone who didn’t already know how informed Jane is to get a demonstration of the wit and wisdom that I have been benefiting from all of these years.

And so, Jane took me up on it. She wrote “The Future Of Publishing: Enigma Variations” in record time, with a little help from some of her friends, and putting much of her own advice for writers into action.

I think you will be amazed, entertained, and possibly even enchanted when you read it. And now, I hope, you can consider yourself (almost) as lucky as I have been all of these years.

Here’s a little taste of what you can expect from the e-book:

Christina Katz: Is the future of publishing bleak? Go ahead and tell us. We can take it.

Jane Friedman: The future of paper-book publishing is bleak. Paper books will become talismans, souvenirs, collectors’ items, or something that “paper sniffers” will insist on buying. I don’t buy into all the sentimentalism for paper books, but there will be a cabal of those types—just enough people to ensure that paper books are an enthusiast or niche product, much like vinyl.

The future of writing, reading, and literacy is bright. But it won’t necessarily take the shape YOU want it to. Many people have idealized fantasies about long-form reading and the experience of deep immersion in a book. That’s not dying, but times are changing. We’re becoming a more visual, interactive culture.

Christina Katz: Are there going to be any big money makers in the future of publishing? How about big money losers?

Jane Friedman: There will be far more losers, particularly in the form of start-ups and other new media ventures related to tech trends as well as new models of publishing—everything from e-book and e-publishing distribution services to multimedia apps to community publishing and editing sites.

Anyone whose business is driven solely by selling print books should be nervous, except for antiquarian booksellers. I don’t buy the argument that indie bookstores can now flourish with Borders out of the way—or that Google eBookstore affiliate sales will save them.

Money makers? Apple, Amazon, and Google.

Christina Katz: What demographic group within publishing folks is going to have the easiest time adapting to the future? Which group is going to have the hardest time?

Jane Friedman: Frankly, I haven’t seen any demographic that is adapting more quickly or more easily than others. Part of the problem is that anyone working at a “legacy” publisher or agency is tied into working for and saving (to some extent) that legacy structure and business. They’re not positioned well to adapt while working within the demands of that business. People who are able to work outside of it, with models that aren’t dependent on keeping legacy profit margins and revenue models intact, will have an easier time adapting. Read this post that explains the big-picture theory behind this; it’s brilliant.

Christina Katz: Have we reached a tipping point in publishing yet, or is there still a big tipping point yet to come? Can you imagine what will cause it?

Jane Friedman: Some think we reached a tipping point when Barry Eisler turned down a $500K deal from his publisher because he anticipates making more money over the course of his career by self-publishing electronically through Kindle.

It’s not a tipping point, exactly, but it’s a huge wake-up call for established authors. Those who are dissatisfied with their editor and/or agent relationships will more seriously consider abandoning their legacy deals.

The real tipping point is when e-books reach a majority of book sales. No one agrees when this will happen, and some argue that it will happen only within a certain category or genre of books. I do believe that certain genres (e.g., romance, mystery/thriller, science fiction/fantasy) will get to that tipping point first. And, yes, it will probably take longer for the literary work to follow—but not that long.

Christina Katz: You worked for over a decade as an editor and a publisher for Writer’s Digest, and you are also a writer, and now a blogger, professor, and social media maven. So which team are you on? Where do your sympathies lie? Or is the whole idea of “teams” becoming obsolete?

Jane Friedman: I’m not on anyone’s team. I prefer to look at the situation from all perspectives. While I am progressive in my own approach to my career and platform, and advocate that authors use every tool at their disposal to advance their careers, I also empathize with people who don’t want to see the industry change, and have no love for new media. There’s room for all people in the future of publishing, and if you’re the kind of person who wants to only write and publish PAPER books, by god, you’ll be able to find publishing partners and an audience who are OK with that. That’s the magical thing about the world we live in. All the eccentrics can very easily find each other and commune.

That’s why I don’t think the idea of “teams” will ever become obsolete, since that’s part of human nature, and how we all work. But who or what an “author” is, or what defines them—that’s changing.

Christina Katz: Do you believe, as I have heard whispered around the Internet most recently by Russell Jones at O’Reilly Media, that publishers are going to shift from imposing process on to authors to offering services to authors? What does this mean? It’s hard to imagine what this might look like.

Jane Friedman: I read the thread, and I don’t understand why the process they’re describing would be best served up by a traditional publisher—or even if it could be a viable business model.

If an author wants to work with someone who will really be a partner in making their book the best possible book it can be, I’d argue that person is probably an independent contractor—OR we’re looking at a very different kind of company that provides those services, with a different value proposition and business model, than today’s traditional publishers. (I’m thinking of a company like Amazon or Google, or others that have yet to be created.)

The discussion cited above is taking place among people who work within a publishing company. Granted, it’s probably one of the most critical thinking and progressive set of publishing people anywhere in the world, and O’Reilly does more things than just publish books (they do events, online education, etc), but it’s hard to work in that environment and say, “Whelp! Guess we’re not of value any more!” They come close to saying that, to some extent, and that’s where I agree most with their conversation. And it’s why publishers feel anxious. I don’t think publishers will vanish, but there will be a winnowing.

Christina Katz: Should rising writers attempt to self-publish their way to a traditional book deal? Or can this strategy still be held against them by publishing insiders? Or is previously sold content less appealing to traditional publishers?

Jane Friedman: Any publishing insider who continues to look down their nose at self-publishing, especially considering recent news, baffles me. Who are these people? Do they still exist?

Previously sold content is NOT less appealing to traditional publishers. If agents or editors see money in your work, they will want it. Hello, Amanda Hocking? She was a bestselling self-published author. Did that turn off the agent, editor, and publisher who paid her millions? No, they saw even MORE money to be made on her work than what she was able to collect on her own. And that’s the case with just about every self-publishing author who finds success.

Christina Katz: Do you think the day will come when rising writers will turn down traditional book deals because they are doing so well on their own or with publishing teams of their own creation? (Not like Joe Konrath, I am referring to non-traditionally published authors, meaning self-published authors.)

Jane Friedman: Yes, that day is coming. It is already happening. It has the potential to hurt publishers if authors are regularly partnering with companies that work as competitors to publishers, e.g., Amazon. Amazon IS working as a publisher, essentially.

If the traditional publisher is seen as a middleman who provides no value to the editorial, design, or marketing process, then how will publishers attract either rising writers or traditionally published ones who would like to pocket more money, or have more control? Everyone complains that traditional houses don’t edit or market any more. So what do they provide an author who doesn’t want, need, or care about their stamp of approval? Some authors will continue to want that, for sure, but how many will need it?

Thanks for purchasing a copy a of “The Future of Publishing: Enigma Variations” on April Fool’s Day. It may just end up being one of the most whimsical and profound things you ever read on the full systems change going on in the publishing industry right now. Let me know if you like it.

Order Info: Visit Jane’s Website to order the e-book

Jane’s Bio:

As the former publisher and editorial director of Writer’s Digest, Jane Friedman is an industry authority on commercial, literary, and emerging forms of publishing. She has spoken at more than 200 writing events since 2001, and is known within the publishing industry as an innovator, cited by sources such as Publishers Weekly, GalleyCat, PBS, and Mr. Media. She has been a speaker at BookExpo America, an adviser to Digital Book World, and recently served as a panelist for the National Endowment for the Arts, to review 2011 grants in literature.

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.

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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.

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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)

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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.

I am seeking short quotes on the future of writing and publishing. I will choose three quotes to go in The Writer’s Workout.

I will select three quotes (that are not already in the book, duplicate quotes will not be selected) to use in the book. If people select the same quote and it is one that is chosen, then the first one I receive will be the winner.

The three winners will receive a signed copy of either Writer Mama or Get Known Before the Book Deal.

Quick Rules:

• Select quotes not longer than three sentences.
• Quotes must be verifiable by Internet search or Google Book search.
• Please quote someone other than yourself.
• Continental US only for free books but you can still participate if you are International.
• Due by Wednesday, March 9, 2011 March 16, 2011 [Updated deadline]

Please submit no more than three quotes to me copied and pasted into the body of your e-mail and sent to “katz christina at comcast dot net” with “The Writer’s Workout Quote Contest” in the subject line. Thanks for your input!

Now that Oprah’s 25-year-old show is going away and even Oprah is leaving the television network and going her own way, I think it’s time to break apart two very old and entrenched aspects of a writing career: creativity and fame.

For many, many years, the plague of a writer’s imagination has been, “I am going to finish this book and then maybe Oprah will like it.”

Then you know how the rest of the fantasy goes. Lights, action, camera, that writer is delivered from obscurity, the book becomes a huge international bestseller, and the rest is history.

Right?

Because that’s the experience most writers have, especially with their first books.

Of course it isn’t.

And now there is a new pressure that goes like this: We have social networking so now we no longer even need Oprah.

To this, I’ll simply say, “Oprah, if you happen to be reading this, I am always available, any time, any place.”

And don’t think I’m kidding because I’m very serious. I’d love to meet Oprah. She is an amazing, empowered creative person.

As for the rest of us, it’s time to excuse this elephant from the room and with its exit relieve the inordinate pressure of the overnight success strategy myth as enviable, preferable, or even plausible for the average publishing writer.

Here’s what I want to say to writers, who feel discouraged, badgered, and even kind of battered by folks in the biz and their blind obedience to the overnight, over-the-top vision of literary success: it’s over.

The insanity of overnight success is over and it’s been replaced by something much more sane, human, and rational. It’s been replaced by author ownership.

Every writer in the world is now a publisher, just as Oprah is now a television network. And what this means is that the creativity that has always been in writers’ hands can now be leveraged and shared appropriately.

Creative power can now be tapped and exercised by authors in a fashion appropriate and proportionate to the experience of the creator, and not anyone’s absurdly over-the-top perception of what is humanly possible for, say, a first-time author.

Now, I am a platform expert. So perhaps you are confused.

How can I tell writers not to go for overnight success?

Well, I am not the kind of platform expert who goes around encouraging people to abandon themselves for overnight success. I am the kind that teaches people to cultivate their own creative power and grow it over time, because this is the only kind of success that is ever lasting. It’s the only kind of success that is worth having at all.

Instead of saying something absurd — like now you get to spend every minute of your life online, isn’t that great??? — I want to say: write for the joy of it.

Let the creativity that you experience every day be half of the reward, writers. That’s where so much of the personal satisfaction comes from anyway.

Realize how many people walk around in this world cut off from their own incredible source of joy. While people who write every day get to splash around in the waters of joy every single day.

Then afterwards, we can channel some of our leftover creative energy into platform development because platform development is just as creative and joyful as writing. And sure, when you have a book coming out, work extra hard. Put your whole self into it. Why wouldn’t you? Be creative. Be visionary. Do something big. Make as big of a splash as you can. Launch that baby into the world with as much fanfare as possible.

But remember that platform development means connecting how you serve to an increasingly and incrementally larger audience over time, all the time. And anyone who doesn’t talk about the joy and creativity that comes part and parcel with this effort simply doesn’t know about it and also perhaps has other plans for you and your creative resources.

What I am saying is that you can cultivate and nurture your writing career success the same way you would cultivate and nurture a garden. Steadily. Slowly. With lots of care and effort. With the personal joy and satisfaction that comes just from the doing. And with a lot less insanity.

The micro-publishing revolution is here. It’s been here for a while and it’s maturing faster than most individual authors’ career do. Every day that goes by it is getting easier and easier to produce yourself and cultivate your own unique writing career.

But don’t use these networking tools as just another way to destroy yourselves, writers. If you are moving faster than the speed of light and you think that’s a good think, than you are moving too fast to see how you are going to be in pain as soon as, and if, you ever slow down and start to feel again.

Start to see instead that authorship equals ownership. And ownership equals creative power. And creative power is where all of the joy is. It’s where all the joy has always been.

And the promise of joy only comes to those who use it. And you can activate your joy as soon as your creativity begins to matter to you. Because without this creative power, there is no point. Without your authentic self-expression, all the success in the world would be about as valuable as ash.

After even an hour of experiencing your own creative power, you can have joy. And then you become one of the richest folks alive.

And why would you want to have it any other way?

~ Photo by Nikki3130