Spring forward in your writing career. Take the first step today and purchase The Writer’s Workout!
Ready to leap forward in your writing career?
Then I have to ask: have you purchased and read my new book, The Writer’s Workout, yet?
If not, you are really missing out, based on the feedback I have been receiving from readers.
In case you are not convinced, here are ten reasons why you don’t want to deprive yourself of The Writer’s Workout for even one day more.
1. Spring Training for your Career
Spring is almost here! And the first section of The Writer’s Workout is titled… Spring!
The book is divided into four sections by season. Here’s a teaser from the introduction to the spring section:
Getting started and finding a workable writing rhythm are big steps. Just like baseball players go to spring training every year, writers need to recommit year after year to getting into the game. This means getting off the couch and getting warmed up, loose, and strong again. The tips and exercises in this section are designed to help focus your energy and get your writing career off to a solid start so you can eventually write, sell, get published, specialize, and promote yourself. A lot of eager writers never get past the reading-about phase, but you will be different. You will not only be prepared, you will be encouraged. You will channel your wishes into actions. You will get on track and stay the course. You will realize your creative potential. You will be a winner, whatever winning means to you.
2. Discouragement Antidote
Suffice it to say, writers have multiple challenges in this day and age. I have written three traditionally published writing how-to books for Writer’s Digest, but this one is probably the most encouraging of the three. The book covers a lot of ground, which allowed me to address as many challenges that writers face at all levels of career growth as I could squeeze into 366 chapters.
Here’s what one reader shared in a personal message (reprinted with permission):
Today I was blue regarding several things including a recent rejection which I deserved. In the Writer’s Workout, #127, Monitor Your Attention, was on target. All day I tried to write but could not focus. After reading your passage, I gave up trying and tuned into something away from writing. Your message was timely and the shot in the arm I needed today. Thank you for a great book full of wonderful messages. ~ Lila J.
3. Magic Eight Ball
Writer Nathalie Hardy says that she uses The Writer’s Workout like one of those toy Magic Eight Balls. You ask it a question, you open to a page, you read it, and…we’ll have to see what Nathalie has to say in her blog post on the subject.
4. 366 Reasons to Buy This Book
Every once in a while, we have a Leap Year.
According to Dictionary.com a Leap Year occurs “in years whose last two digits are evenly divisible by four, except for centenary years not divisible by 400.”
Leap Years are why the title of my book refers to 366 chapters rather than 365 chapters.
I think it was conscientious of us to go out of our way to include Leap Years in the book, don’t you?
But who knew that the year following publication would actually BE a Leap Year? Not me.
I was paying attention, but I was not paying that much attention.
So, yahoo! We have 366 chapters for a year that has 366 days. I feel a nerdy sense of pride about this.
If you have ever experienced nerdy pride over something like this, then you should probably buy my book.
5. Get Your Butt Kicked Here!
My reputation started out as “a gentle taskmaster” but I confess, sometimes, and certainly with my most advanced students, I can be something of a butt-kicker. However, I’m not hanging my head in shame because here’s the truth of the matter: sometimes it’s hard for us to recognize our own strengths.
Leading with your strengths is not only good advice for your writing career, it’s good advice for your life. Here’s what #amwriting Twitter hashtag creator and community leader, Johanna Harness has to say about the book in an Amazon review:
The Writer’s Workout provides a full year of tough-love advice. This is not one of those namby-pamby inspirational books that finds new ways to say, “don’t give up” on every page. This is the real thing. If you buy this book and follow Christina’s advice, you will see a visible difference in your writing career. She doesn’t tell you what you want to hear. She tells you what you need to hear. I can’t recommend this book enough.
6. More Thoughtful Than Most
I did not write this book off the top of my head. I took my time and drew from ten years of teaching experience and twelve years of writing-for-publication experience. The book took about two years of work from conception to publication.
You might think that’s old school, but when you really pour your guts into a project, it makes for a better book in the end.
I have been exploring the topics in The Writer’s Workout for years whether through this blog (example), through my feature articles for Writer’s Digest (example), through my books (example), ebooks (example), workbooks (example), training groups (example), and online classes (example).
This book was not born yesterday. And neither was the person who wrote it. In fact, according to an Amazon review by Lela Legit:
Katz cracks open many of the often unrealized hesitations and pitfalls that prevent writers from prospering. She offers concrete guidance for focusing and realizing career goals. She emphasizes certain key concepts throughout the book, much like a personal fitness trainer reiterates, session after session, the mantras of physical fitness to clients. The Writer’s Workout constantly leads the reader to return to purity of intention and expertise cultivated by good old elbow grease.
7. NOT About The Publishing Industry (Phew!)
Is anybody else getting weary of the never-ending play-by-play on the publishing industry, besides me?
That’s why The Writer’s Workout is about the state of the successful writer, not the state of the publishing industry.
It will show you how to grow your career regardless of what’s happening out there.
In the big picture, I suggest you work with the industry and independently for a balanced and lasting approach to writing career success.
I think we can safely toss the “indie” concept and the “traditional” concepts in favor for the hybrids that we have already become.
The Writer’s Workout shows you how. I have more to say on the topic here, in the #amwriting community blog, in my post, “Stop, Drop, and Micro-publish!”
8. A Writing Workout With…Soul?
The Writer’s Workout takes a holistic approach to writing, selling, self-promotion, specializing, and professional development and all the other things that go into raising a writing career alongside the rest of your life. This is not another 101 ways you can sacrifice your personal happiness for success. This is 366 ways you can learn that who you are and what you care about is a great place to start growing writing career success.
So, yes, I admit it, I wrote about soul in a writing how-to book.
I have a soul and so do you. We may as well take them into account. I don’t think I got carried away, but you let me know if you think I did.
I believe we will enjoy the creative process more if we are allowed to have a soul while we’re in it.
Maybe that’s just me.
9. There Are No Great Writers
There is only great writing.
We have a tendency to place writers on pedestals and then knock them off when it’s convenient for us.
To make matters worse: I have met writers who have devoted their lives to the pursuit of being declared “great writers.”
You can’t cure low self-esteem with acclaim. Writing will not deliver you from your humanity today or tomorrow. You will be just as imperfect the day after you write something well, as you are today. And this goes for everyone, including me.
I gave up trying to be “great” a long time ago, and a funny thing happened—I started writing well enough to make strides.
People are calling my latest book “great,” “masterful,” “a wealth of practical advice,” and “an invaluable resource.”
That’s not about me. That’s about how hard I worked on the book. It’s about the quality of the work I invested. I am certainly not taking it personally.
So can we can all stop vying for greatness now, and get back to work?
10. Intended To Raise All Boats
Don’t let everyone else read TWW first while you sit back and watch their careers leap forward. There is something to be said for being one of the first to discover something genuinely helpful and then leading others to it.
I wrote this book to raise all boats. However, you have to read it to benefit from it.
I hope you will. I hope you will share it with your writing pals.
I find that it’s a rare pleasure these days to discover something worth a rave recommendation.
I think if you try The Writer’s Workout, you’re going to like it.
Game?
Here’s a list of places where you can purchase the book in paperback or digital formats: