Blisscraft Life With Christina Katz

I am putting out a call for success stories. Thank you in advance for responding to the call between now and November 8th.

Has my work made a difference in your writing career?

Large or small, subtle or grand, I am interested in collecting actual proof that my hard work with writers over the past eleven years has made a difference.

Maybe it was something I did or said ten years ago before I even so much as had a newsletter. That’s okay, too. I have a poor memory, so if you remember something I said or did or shared that long ago, I would love for you to share it with me.

If you have hard evidence, like a before and after of a head shot or a before and after of your website, go ahead and send me a low-res image. I am genuinely interested.

I’m not going to be picky about how you share the info with me.

You can share it here in the comments. You can e-mail me. You can FB message me. You can DM me.

Just give me a detail. A single thing I have done, in all that I have done that has made a difference to you and your writing career.

This is going to be educational for everyone, especially me. And I promise to share the wealth, if you will share your wealth of feedback with me.

And if you don’t want me to share your story for any reason, simply let me know that your feedback is private and I will make sure it stays private.

Thanks in advance! Look forward to hearing the stories and sharing them in December.

I’m a teacher. That means I champion writers, one individual at a time, in small goal-focused groups called classes and dream teams.

I specialize in working with mom writers. I also specialize in training expert journalists. Most of the expert journalists I train are mom writers. Go figure.

We do things differently than what you will learn anywhere else. We have priorities that make sense for busy moms in the gig economy.

We have quit the who do you think I should be? club and joined the build a powerful career-from-scratch club.

I don’t have everything to offer everyone. But I have a wealth of help that can make a world of difference for one writer at a time.

If you are looking for less general advice and more specific attention to your strengths in the actual building of your body of work and the deepening and expanding of your professional reputation, then I would love to work with you.

If you want to learn from me, but you don’t actually wish to get your butt kicked by me personally, that’s fine. You can always find the principles I teach in my books and e-books.

But if you are ready to work with me, you really should. If for no other reason, just to see how much harder you could be pushing yourself and what kind of results that might create.

Here’s what a few folks say who have recently worked with me:

I really enjoyed taking WPPS with Christina. Having a seasoned professional critique my assignments was invaluable and helped me take my writing to the next level. ~ Laura L.

Thanks to Christina’s courses and dream team, I have a real plan for my writing career. “What is the next step?” Christina asks students this question throughout the course of the class, which, along with her expertise and genuine support and encouragement, has helped me turn ideas into actionable results and published work. ~ Heather V.

Practicing pitches week after week with a knowledgeable instructor to give her wise advice and critiques is just what I needed to break out of my rut and break into bigger markets. Thanks, Christina! ~ Deanne H.

If you are new to query writing and would like to produce six polished, editor-ready queries in six weeks then take this class. Writing a query each week may seem like a stretch, but it sharpens your skills and best of all you finish the class with six queries ready to go. ~ Lisa S.

I came to this class completely new to the world of platform-building. In six weeks Christina took me from having a vague idea of what direction I should head to a concrete plan for the immediate future. I can’t wait to take other classes with her! ~ Sarah P.

Christina is like having a personal trainer for your writing; she encourages you and pushes you harder than you might like, because she sees untapped potential that you don’t. But if you get past your grumpiness, you’ll find your writing in better shape for it. ~ Kim T.

The 60 Ways class allows you to get into the flow of your ideas while setting aside personal insecurities and worries about perfection. Christina shares a process that you can use long after the class is over to shake off the dust, explore and dig deeper into your ideas. I came away feeling energized and enthusiastic about the possibilities and confident that I could use what I had learned long into the future. I highly recommend this class to anyone feeling stuck and unsure about how to move forward. ~ Christa H.

After the final week class, it’s like a Writer’s Christmas – you have all these packages of writing to open and play with. ~ Lela D.

If you are ready to uncover your unique professional potential, then I’m ready to help you do just that.

Register today for your last chance for 2012 classes that begin Wednesday and Thursday.

These are some of the wonderful things I wish for you this fall…

1. Autumn by George Winston

2. Harry and David 16-Ounce Jar Candle, Large, Crisp Mountain Apple

3. A basketful of the most grotesque gourds you can find

4. A clothesline in your office where you can hang your latest published work

5. A community of writers real and virtual, who like, accept and respect you

6. An assortment of fuzzy throws and cuddly pillows

7. A Netflix subscription with all your favorite fall films in the queue

8. Tarot or angel cards to pull for comfort in bumpy moments

9. Carving a pumpkin or two with a child or two

10. Access to a fireplace (indoors or out)

11. Biting into a fresh Ginger Gold apple

12. A pot of chili on the stove

13. A stack of nice thick fall magazines to peruse

14. Mrs. Meyer’s Liquid Hand Soap – Orange Clove – 12.5 oz,12.50,Orange Clove Scent

15. Attending the theater on a rainy evening

16. Little acts of kindness towards others for no reason like you will find in One Good Deed a Day

17. Homemade apple crisp fresh from the oven

18. A collection of stories about successful people overcoming adversity like Extraordinary Comebacks: 201 Inspiring Stories of Courage, Triumph and Success

19. As much creative self-expression as you can muster

20. A Jane Austen action figure so you can prove that, of course, you weren’t talking to yourself LINK

21. A steady flow of ideas, some of which you actually execute

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So much inspiration, so much time! Please subscribe to the Create, Share, Prosper blog and sign up for The Prosperous Creative ezine for exclusive discounts you won’t find elsewhere. Click on the Enter School tab above to put your creativity to prosperous use right now. Join my monthly pep talk video series because all the other prosperous writers are doing it. Like words? Check out my Etsy shop. And you haven’t seen anything, if you haven’t seen all the helpful offerings in my online shop. Thanks for reading and thanks for sharing this post with fellow creatives!

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Here’s a few observations, for writing in these times.

Demand for quality content is not down, it’s up.

There is no shortage of outlets looking for qualified journalists.

More people are demanding quality content, so what the market will bear may pay less per item.

You can work with this writers, if you can ditch your all or nothing thinking.

If you can’t, join the ranks of the many bemoaning that things have changed.

I you can, start thinking differently, adapting, and becoming a pioneer.

The pioneers look at the horizon and see only opportunities.

Those who were married to the old ways, spy only things to complain about.

Things have already changed in publishing and they have changed radically. I doubt we are ever going back to precisely the way it used to be.

We have some of the old ways still around, but the only way to make them work is to combine some of the old ways with new ways of thinking, being, and doing in your writing business.

So, if you have been unwilling to adapt, I suggest you consider adapting now.

It’s never too late. The same opportunities that are available to those who have been willing to adapt are still available to you.

It all starts with putting your writing skills through the paces, selling your words, specializing as you go, building a platform, and keeping your eye on the bottom line.

If you want to be a prosperous writer, you have to learn these skills. There is simply no other way, unless, perhaps, you have a huge publishing imprint taking care of you. Or maybe a trust fund?

So, start taking care of you. Produce your own success. I can show you exactly where to start. And you will learn a lot about yourself and your business in the process.

Join us! We’re the happy few in an ocean of discontents.

• • •

Get Known Before The Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths To Grow Your Author Platform is written by Christina Katz for Writer’s Digest Books. For sale everywhere quality books are sold, including: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, IndieBound and Writer’s Digest. Watch the book trailer. Read my Writer’s Digest article, “50 Ways To Build Your Platform In Five Minutes A Day.” Check out the companion workbook, Discover Your Platform Potential. Ready to build your writer platform? Let’s uncover what sets you apart from the crowd…together.

My students don’t wait to be discovered.

They don’t write for ego gratification.

Their self-esteem boost doesn’t come via other people. It comes from taking pride in doing consistent good work.

My students do their own work.

They don’t piggyback their work on anyone else and call it theirs.

They build writing careers one polished piece at a time.

It takes time to build a career this way. Talent is not a factor. Effort and determination are the greatest indicators of success.

The time goes by fast when you are happily engaged. It’s more fun to work hard if you are part of a team of fellow writers who are also working hard.

Writers I work with gain confidence by doing, by learning, by growing, by trusting, by overcoming setbacks, by working smarter, and by succeeding over time.

It sounds so simple. But few writers are up for this kind of straightforward approach.

Writers are complex people. I should know. I am one.

A lot of writers get into writing for the ego.

Others get in it for the supposed glory.

Some writers seem to be trying to write their way to redemption.

Meanwhile, there are those of us who simply write to serve. We serve others. We serve readers. And in serving readers, we also serve ourselves.

Maybe that is redemption. Maybe redemption comes from putting the ego aside and from putting pursuit of glory aside. Maybe it comes from just trying to be of service. From writing your way towards a contribution well made.

Maybe it’s not for everybody. But it certainly works for anybody.

And it sure beats being creatively blocked.

If you want to say something, you have to start by finding something to say.

You have to learn how to take the raw material of your ideas and polish it into finished forms.

You have to learn how to make the most of your individual strengths.

You have to learn how to sell your words and promote yourself.

You have to learn how to maintain your career success and keep building on it.

And each of these steps is really gratifying.

Sure beats not making progress!

The Writer’s Workout is a touchstone for writers on a career-long journey.

If you are ever feeling lost or distracted along your merry writing way, you can pick up The Writer’s Workout and crack it open to virtually any chapter, and come right back home to yourself.

This was my clear intention when I wrote the book–to help you get in your own process and stay in your own process.

It’s always refreshing to meet a creative person who is present, grounded and authentic. I want you to be that creative person. And every chapter of this book will remind you what I’m talking about. Every chapter is a complete workout that gets you one step closer to professional form.

From Chapter Ten of The Writer’s Workout, 366 Tips, Tasks & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach by Christina Katz for Writer’s Digest Books

GET WARM

Every athlete knows this: Warm up before playing or you’ll pull a muscle. If I am warm, I feel I can do anything.  ~ Twyla Tharp

Ready to brainstorm some writing ideas? On a fresh piece of paper, answer these questions and use the answers as starts for future writing.

Who are you? When I ask this question, what are three key values you’d like me (and the world) to know?

What jobs have you held? List them briefly. Any expertise in that line of work you would like to write about? Any lessons learned that might help others? If so, make notes.

What are your hobbies?

What would you love to learn more about? What topic could you immerse yourself in, sharing information with others as you go along?

What subject are you an expert on that is also a hot topic right now?

Finish this sentence ten times: “I know how to ______________________.

(Number one through ten and come up with ten different answers to this one question.)

If you had to choose one topic, and only one topic, to write about for one year, what would that topic be?

If you were going to create your own publication, what would it be called and whom would it be for?

A collection of poetry you wrote about your life thus far has what as the theme?

After you have passed away, in the biography of your life, you will have made great strides for which group, how?

• • •

The Writer’s Workout, 366 Tips, Tasks & Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach is written by Christina Katz for Writer’s Digest Books. For sale everywhere quality books are sold, including: Amazon, Barnes & Noble, Powell’s, IndieBound and Writer’s Digest. Listen to the introduction. Download an excerpt from Scribd. Get motivated by The Writer’s Workout Motivational Poster. Ready to get your career into shape? Let’s write the future…together.

I am excited to be participating in Portland, Oregon’s very own Wordstock Festival 2012.

Wordstock is a nonprofit literary arts and education organization that believes in the power of writing to change lives.

Writing has changed my life, utterly. Writing has in fact given me back my life, which might have otherwise been lost. So Wordstock is a cause I can definitely get behind.

And the fine folks at Wordstock don’t invite just anybody. They are extremely selective and you have to be board-approved to get this gig. So, I am flattered and humbled to be invited to participate in two events at this extremely well-organized event.

On Saturday at 3 pm, you can find me at the National Endowment For The Arts Stage (OCC D-137), where we will be talking about Getting The Word Out: Self-Marketing Panel. This a panel for writers of all levels, who are interested in learning more about what it takes to grow visibility as a writer/author today. LINK

On Sunday at 10:30 am, you can find me at the Minuteman Press Team Writer’s Workshop Stage (OCC D-139), where I will be presenting a workshop on Mailbox Full of Money: Find & Flex Your Most Prosperous Writing Ideas. Registration is required for this workshop. You can register here: LINK.

You can find copies of my latest book, The Writer’s Workout, 366 Tips, Tasks, and Techniques From Your Writing Career Coach LINK for sale at Wordstock from Broadway Books.

Thank you, Wordstock Team! Hope to see you there!

I have been part of a movement, a micro-publishing revolution, for many years now. And now that the topic is starting to get some mainstream press, I think it’s time to talk about what I have learned about micro-publishing thus far.

I would never have had the guts to get involved in micro-publishing if it had not been for the support and insights of my publishing mentor, Jane Friedman, who once upon a time, reassured me repeatedly (because I kept bugging her about it) that publishing my first self-published e-book, Author Mama, How I Became A Published Author & How You Can Too LINK would not be the end of my traditional publishing career.

What I know today, despite my anxieties back then, is micro-publishing does not have to be an all or nothing proposition. So that’s how I teach it.

I don’t want to be misunderstood or lumped in with others who use the term micro-publishing to mean things other than what I mean. There is no “stick it to the man” in my revolution. There is simply: empower the writers. This micro-publishing is more of an inner revolution than an outer revolution.

So let’s start with a definition. I hope that what I have to share about micro-publishing will be helpful to you. I would be most appreciative if you could give me credit for any ideas that you find helpful here or in any of my works on the topic.

Micro-publishing means that every person is a publisher. It takes away the whole idea of “us” vs. “them” that comes part and parcel with indie publishing and establishes that there is only Us, all of the people in the world, and we are all publishers. Therefore there is no “them,” since every individual, even publishing execs and agents and traditionally published authors, are also micro-publishers, at least potentially.

Every person has the right to micro-publish. Naturally this does not mean that every person who micro-publishes will do it well or gain respect by doing it. However, micro-publishing can be used to effectively accomplish any publishing or business goal, often more cheaply, quickly, and with considerably less stress and wear and tear on writers and readers.

Micro-publishing can either refer to the size of the publisher or the size of the published work or both. For me, when I use the term “micro-publishing,” I am referring to both the size of my publishing “house” and the length of the publications I create, which are shorter and more niche-oriented than traditional books. I am the publisher and I use my name, for example: Christina Katz, as the brand nexus. I don’t go to great lengths to disguise the fact that I am the publisher. I want my name at the center of everything I do in my writing career. Just claiming ownership, breaks a lot of dysfunctional patterns in self-publishing because it holds me, a person, accountable for what I say and do, rather than attempting to deflect accountability to a brand.

Publishing is on a spectrum now. Micro-published works come in every genre. They come in any publishing format. They also come in every price point under the sun. Micro-publishing can also more deeply and effectively serve specific types of readers rather than focusing on pleasing the masses. Micro-publishing covers topics in ways tradition publication would never bother to cover. Micro-publishing serves authors and readers across every increment of the content spectrum instead of merely serving readers of bestsellers.

Traditional publishers pursue the masses. Micro-publishers pursue likely readers. In micro-publishing the author becomes and remains the publisher and as such has complete freedom to make all business decisions related to the writing, production, and marketing of products within the laws of commerce and copyright. The micro-publisher can choose to personally distribute books or use book retailers such as Kindle Direct Publishing and CreateSpace.com to distribute products. Micro-publishing does not exclude booksellers, so long as they are open to curating quality books regardless of where they come from. It also does not preclude future traditional book deals for any micro-publisher, should the micro-publisher/writer aspire to go that route.

Micro-publishing is the grand equalizer. It is not against anything or anyone. It changes the playing field forever by inviting every player onto the field. It embraces the idea that every person is a writer and that every person has a voice and the potential to communicate in a compelling way with focus and effort. Micro-publishing has the potential to change publishing forever, and it already is. We should not fear micro-publishing and the changes it can bring, we should embrace and celebrate the potential of a micro-publishing movement.

Micro-publishing has the potential to revolutionize writing and publishing in ways that “indie-publishing” never could. Even in ways that the publishing industry never could. Perhaps the best news of all: failure today does not dictate failure tomorrow. Those who fail in the short run can regroup, reassess, and redeem themselves in readers’ eyes by doing better next time.

I teach and coach nonfiction writers to understand what micro-publishing means and put it to prosperous use creating and growing a micro-publishing businesses from scratch. So far, so good.

Anyone who wishes to participate in micro-publishing can. Quality will curate the long-term results of micro-publishing. All of the skills I have always taught: craft, selling, specializing, self-promotion, and sustained career satisfaction and growth play major roles in the success or failure of micro-publishers.

I have been speaking on the topic of micro-publishing for over a year now and I will be speaking about it again this weekend in a workshop at Wordstock Festival 2012 in my workshop, Mailbox Full of Money: Find & Flex Your Most Prosperous Writing Ideas.

I am also moderating a panel on Getting The Word Out: Self-marketing with other writer platform development thought leaders.

I have been teaching my Micro-publishing For Mom Writers class for over a year and it has been going very well. On October 25th, I am launching my first Become Your Own Imprint: For Serial Micro-publishers class.

I have a lot more to say about micro-publishing. But this is enough for today. There’s always tomorrow.

My question for you is: what is holding you back from micro-publishing starting today? When I spoke to writers last week, fear was the predominant reason for not micro-publishing. How about you? Are you micro-publishing? Has my work inspired you? How do you define micro-publishing?

Many people have been asking me about my schedule for January 2013 and beyond. Thank you for asking!

I am happy to announce that the class schedule is now updated through June 2013.

I run my classes on the same schedule as public schools, since most moms prefer to take classes while their kids are in school (although some of my students have their kids in private school or home school them).

I think I was having a little trouble wrapping my head around the whole idea of 2013, but now that it’s October, I guess I’d better get used to it!

Where will we all be with our writing by the end of the school year? It’s kind of exciting to think about.

I will be teaching four classes simultaneously. I taught five this September because I thought I could handle it. But I have to admit, by the time I get to that third day in a row of teaching, I am mentally fatigued from all the reading and reflecting and critiquing. Not that the fatigue stops me from doing a good job, I simply  don’t enjoy feeling mentally exhausted by Friday night. I’d like to have a modicum of brain power left for the weekend. So two days of teaching for me from now on. 🙂

I’ve been doing four classes for a while now and this schedule allows me to help advance as many other writing careers as I can alongside my own without burning out. I want every student I teach, no matter what level to see and feel the progress she is making while working with me. And I’m proud to say that this usually happens.

I love teaching. It has been an inherent part of my writing success for eleven years. Through teaching I have  had the privilege of being part of the success of hundreds of hard-working students. I get a little weepy thinking about how successful my long-time students are and how proud I am to know them and work with them.

I recently received an e-mail from one sharing that these three month would be the highest grossing of her career. When you teach writing for publication to hard-working moms, who value and appreciate the opportunity to stay home and work while they raise their kids, it doesn’t really get any better than this comment.

Can I give every mom I work with the kind of commitment and tenacity this writer has? No. Of course not. That’s about the student, it’s not transferable. Every mom writer has to either bring her best writing game to the table or develop it over time.

I don’t hold anybody’s hand. I don’t baby or mother any of my students. But I do ask them to expect the best they can from themselves. And most of them surpass their expectations…and mine!

So here’s to 2013, my writer friends! I hope I get to hear you say that you pushed your writing career to new heights. I hope I get to work with you.