Blisscraft Life With Christina Katz

Still Time To Order For Christmas Delivery!

I tackle tough topics in The Writer’s Workout that most other writing teachers and coaches would not touch with a ten-foot blog post.

For example: your career, if you’re going to have one, is your job. Don’t look to others to take care of what is already your responsibility.

I have learned some big lessons throughout the course of a ten-year writing career about my role in other people’s creative processes. And in order to set a good example for my students, I have taken those lemons and I turned them into lemonade. (I ask them to do this all the time, so it seems only fair that I should do it too.) The results are in The Writer’s Workout.

I hope you will order the book and read it and get to work in a thoughtful, productive manner. If you can read this book all the way through without bopping yourself on the side of the head and saying, “Doink. Yup. I’ve done that,” or “Yes! I already do that–one less thing I have yet to learn,” let me know.

You don’t have to trade in the life you already have for someone else’s idea of what your writing career should look like.

You can just start carving out a writing career from right where you are in a calm, sane manner starting today.

And I hope you will.

Show us how it’s done.

Tessa Lemos Del Pino for the WPSS Writer Mama Scholarship

&

Denise Rovira Hazlett for the DYS-LYP Writer Mama Scholarship

Hearty congratulations, Tessa & Denise!

I look forward to working with both of you in classes in a few weeks.

Thanks to EVERYONE who applied! Choosing scholarship recipients is  extremely difficult because I always receive so many applications from worthy writers. And this time around was no exception.

Watch this blog, christinakatz.com and/or subscribe to The Prosperous Writer e-zine for all the details on future offers. I’m very happy to be able to grant one scholarship for each of these classes each time I offer the class.

If you have not checked out my classes, you can learn more on the “Register” page. I am still accepting students for the January 4th Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff class and the Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform class.

I am also still accepting students for the January 5th Pitching Practice: Writer Six Queries in Six Weeks class and the 60 Ways To Flex Your Content & Prosper in Your Niche class.

Classes will fill up, so don’t wait! Space is limited.

Also please keep in mind, if you hope to participate in the January – May 2012 Dream Team, you needed to complete Writing & Publishing the Short Stuff class. If you have, I hope you will join us. More info on Dream Teams here.

Congratulations again, Tessa and Denise. I look forward to working with you!

When you work on something for almost two years, you get pretty darn excited when you learn that the kind folks who pre-ordered it well over six months in advance will have their copies in time for Christmas. Yay!

So, yes! The Writer’s Workout will indeed be “home” for Christmas (or Hannukah or Kwanza or by the New Year), if you placed an order or if you place one now.

Don’t dilly-dally if you want a copy or a gift to arrive by Christmas. Place your order right away!

A little reminder, given the tight budgets at most brick and mortar stores, I would not necessarily expect them to all have my book (or books) on their shelves. So if you support the indies, be sure to call now and ask them to place an order for you to guarantee arrival by December 24th.

I have been as busy as a little elf with a pre-launch blog tour for the book, but this mama needs to switch into Xmas/Hannukah high-gear prep or this whole holiday season is going to pass the Katz family right by.

So thanks for helping me spread the word about my new book. It’s as simple as sharing your enthusiasm about your purchase. I would love for you to share your enthusiasm about The Writer’s Workout before, during, or after you read it.

Here’s a short phrase you can use to describe the book on social media:

Christina Katz’ third book from Writer’s Digest Books is now shipping in time to put a smile on writers’ faces this holiday season. The Writer’s Workout contains daily career-building prompts addressing challenges contemporary writers face in the gig economy in an encouraging yet no-nonsense tone.

I know you will all shop your values. I’ve listed all the ways to order that I know of here.

And for two more days only, you can order copies of The Writer’s Workout for just ten bucks from WritersDigest.com. Just click on the banner below:

Thanks to everyone who has already ordered and thanks to everyone now ordering in time for the holidays.

Don’t forget to save your receipt! You will need to email it to me to be admitted to the “Flash Class” on January 10th.

Happy Holidays, writers!

Wanna come run some laps around the blogosphere with me?

Wednesday–Today!

I am over at Jungle Red Writers today, Wednesday, December 7th. Come on by and chat with us!

Thursday — Tomorrow!

Tomorrow, Thursday, December 8th, I am over at agent Robin Mizell’s blog Treated & Released. The conversation continues, swing by!

Friday — TGIF!

Friday, December 9th I am over at Writer Unboxed. It’s a TGIF gab-fest. I hope you can make it on over!

Next week: I collapse into a heap of frantic holiday preparation that has been postponed by my book launch. So catch me this week while you can!

And pssst! We are giving away a couple of books. I won’t say where. You’ll have to exercise your click-finger to find out. Remember, there won’t be many. Catch ’em while you can!

I’m offering TWO scholarships, one for each of the following classes that begin on Wednesday, January 4, 2012!

Each scholarship has a value of $275. (Pretty good, right?)

If you’d like to apply for a scholarship, you have to choose one. Please do not apply for both.

The first scholarship is for the newly updated Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff class.

The second scholarship is for the newly updated Discover Your Specialty & Launch Your Platform class.

Be sure to make it clear in the subject line which scholarship you have selected. I’ve listed the guidelines for each below. First WPSS and then DYS&LYP.

Best of luck!

[Begin WPSS Scholarship Info]

One full scholarship is granted each time the class is held. Please read this post  completely and double-check your application before submitting. The recipient will be announced on Wednesday, December 14th in this blog.

Please feel free to spread the word about the scholarship, even if you do not intend to apply. This is a full scholarship. The recipient commits to participating fully in the class and delivering all six assignments on time.

Please do not apply if you cannot make the commitment to participate in the class, which involves reading the weekly workbook, completing your assignments, and learning from your classmates work. (To learn about what you will get out of the class, please read the full class description.)

No additional time or special coaching is offered with the scholarship. It’s up to the scholarship recipient to make the most of the class.

Please note that this is a scholarship, not a giveaway. This scholarship is only for moms and is offered by class instructor, Christina Katz (that’s me).

One scholarship is available per WPSS class. The scholarship is not transferable if you fail to complete the class. The scholarship is also not transferable in the case of illness, family emergencies, a move, etc. If you have already paid for the class, you do not qualify for the scholarship. If you have already taken the class, you also do not qualify.

What is written in your application is private and your personal information will never be shared or sold beyond announcing the name of the recipient. The only way to qualify is to apply each time. No one else will view your application.

The application questions are below. Copy and paste them into a Microsoft Word document (to take the class you must be able to create and read Microsoft Word documents—no exceptions). Attach your application as a Word doc to your e-mail. Please answer each question concisely and completely.

Send your application to: “christina at christinakatz dot com” – this the only email address for the scholarship. If you do not receive the scholarship, save your application for future scholarships and re-apply. Always add in your most current publication credits, since they are important. Put “WPSS Scholarship Application” in the subject line.

The scholarship recipient will be chosen based on the following criteria: demonstrated effort, need, and enthusiasm. The most important consideration is demonstrated past effort, so please don’t skimp on details of your past writing efforts. Applications accepted from U.S. residents only at this time.

Please Note: The Writer Mama Scholarship is only for moms who legitimately cannot afford class tuition for whatever reason. So if you work at home, earn money, receive money, or your spouse or partner earns enough money for you to afford the class, please expect to regular pay  price. My classes are kept affordable specifically so moms can afford them!

To register for the class as a non-scholarship candidate, please visit the registration page. Space in the class is limited.

Here’s the application:

[Copy and paste the following application form into a Word doc >>>]

Name

Address

Email

Phone

Have you read the book, Writer Mama?

How long have you been reading my blog(s)?

What version of Microsoft Word software are you currently using?

Have you applied for The Writer Mama Scholarship before?

Write a short paragraph in response to the following questions:

1. Please write one short paragraph about why you want to take the class, Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff.
2. Please list by publication name and date only, any publication credits you’ve accumulated thus far. Briefly list any other experience you think is relevant.
3. Please briefly state why you are unable to afford the tuition for the class at this time (see note below).

[<<<Stop copying this application form]

Thanks for applying for The Writer Mama Scholarship!

[End WPSS Scholarship Info]

[Begin DYS-LYP Scholarship info]

[End DYS-LYP Scholarship info]

Look forward to announcing the scholarship recipients a week from tomorrow. 🙂

It’s been a while since I asked anyone to nominate me for a blogging competition.

I don’t want to be greedy. I’m already asking everyone I know to purchase a copy of my new book, The Writer’s Workout. (And yes, I’m asking you too. Please order soon!)

But what the heck, I have been blogging steadily and multiply since January 2007.

If you would like to nominate me for as one of the Top Ten Blogs for Writers, please do!

I’m going to be blogging more often than ever this year, since I’ll be promoting my new book all year, and responding to all of the questions and concerns that writers bring up while I’m around and about.

So let’s see if we can still get me in the game. What do you say?

If we are going to do this thing, we’d better hurry, the nominations end by December 10th (so I think that means by the end of the day on the 9th, I’m not sure, let’s go with that).

Here’s the rules (taken from this post):

How to Nominate Your Favorite Writing Blog:

→ Nominate your favorite blog in the comment section.
→ You have only one vote (only your first will be counted).
→ Please include the web address of the blog.
→ Explain why you think the blog is worthy of winning this year’s award.

To make the cut, a blog must be nominated more than once.

Need ideas? Here’s the 411 on me as a blogger over the past four years:

I’ve been blogging continuously since January 2007.

I started blogging my The Writer Mama Riffs blog and my Writers On The Rise blog.

I ran each of those blogs for two years, not only blogging regularly myself but also featuring many co-contributors such as Kelly James Enger, C. Hope Clark, and many more.

While I was already running those two blogs, I started my Get Known Before the Book Deal blog in January 2008 and ran it for two years with more great contributors such as Meryl K. Evans and Cindy Hudson, and many more.

Eventually running all of these overlapping blogs proved to be too much time and creative energy away from my paying work, so in November 2009, I built THIS blog and started phasing out my old blogs and pouring everything into this one.

I’m not sure that I have been the most perfect blogger in the extended writing community (if there is any such thing), but I have definitely experimented a lot, been pretty darn consistent for FIVE years, and I have learned a ton.

Along the way, I have helped to expand the reach of many writers, who have worked with me. Quite a few of them have gone on to get book deals and ramp up substantial platforms as experts. At some point I realized that I needed to either focus on expanding my classes and taking good care of my students or being the most popular blogger on the block.

But you know what? When I let go of being the most popular blogger on the block, that’s when I feel like I found my blogging legs.

When I stopped focusing on pointing the spotlight on others and just started standing in the spotlight myself and taking the mic and letting whatever I wanted to say come out, that’s when things got cool.

I hate to see blogging become something with too much peer pressure and parameters and unspoken rules.

I think the highest path for a blog is for it become what it wants to become according to what makes the most sense for the blogger, the audience and the topic.

That’s what I teach my students anyway. Because I don’t want them to have to spend years blogging “right” before they finally start blogging real.

My blog is a work in progress. I change the name as often as I change my hairstyle. I don’t blog only about writing because I don’t like that rule. In addition to blogging, I also write books, ebooks, curricula, articles, and things in forms that don’t even have names yet.

I blog because I want to blog. Because I love to blog. Because it’s a natural extension of who I am and what I do.

If you think any or all of this is worth a vote, then thanks for voting for me.

Hop on over to WriteToDone, Unmissable Articles On Writing and nominate me accordingly.

I always appreciate your support. Thank you for reading.

You may have heard, it’s my birthday today.

I have been around the sun 45 times. That’s a long way to travel and I’ve got the weathered vehicle to prove it.

I’m fairly happy by nature but I’ve had my tough go-rounds in life, just like anyone else. I was lucky enough to get a couple biggies over with when I was younger.

Hopefully you won’t ever mistakenly think that just because I am “successful,” I don’t have any challenges in life. Because, of course, that’s absurd.

Everyone has challenges and goes through tough times. Transcending (and okay, sometimes just surviving) them builds character. After all, if we’re not growing than what’s the point of being here?

In the past, whenever I would go through tough times, I would joke, “Well, since I’m learning all of this stuff now, hopefully I will get to skip the mid-life crisis.”

And guess what? It looks like I get to skip the mid-life crisis. (But check back with me at 50, just in case.)

In the spirit of my birthday, and because I have been instructed to be happy at least 200 times already today (thanks Facebook friends!), I thought I’d share a few things I have learned about being happy.

This way, if the mid-life crisis starts to rear its ugly head, I can come back and find this post and read it. Here goes:

The Keys To Happiness: At Least For Me

Choose to be happy. Happiness is a choice.

Eschew cynics and cynicism. Cynicism is like a deadly mildew that can potentially smother authentic happiness.

Happiness comes from within. A wise person once said that there is a kingdom within…there is a queendom, as well, and her name is happiness.

Happiness has nothing to do with perfection. Happiness is actually very wabi-sabi.

Everyone likes a person who is self-content. Nobody really enjoys being with a miserable person (except other miserable people seeking consensus).

Remember that your happiness is your job. Don’t expect others to make you happy, unless you want to embark on a lifelong pursuit of the elusive and unattainable.

Don’t always expect happiness to do cartwheels. If you can sit on the floor in an empty room and be peaceful and still, you are likely happy.

Know what makes you happy. For me, some classical or jazz music, a lit candle or fire, some comfty clothes and something to write in and with can pretty much make me happy any time, any where.

Once you know what makes you happy, do it. Don’t be a martyr or a masochist. Nobody asked you to. Besides, righteousness is a close cousin to cynicism.

If you are unhappy, unselfish giving almost always creates a happy uptick. However, if you are unhappy and you give just so you can get, that’s manipulation. It might work for you in the short run, but it will probably blow up in your face in the long run.

Once you discover your sources of happiness, grow and expand them. Don’t get carried away, though, a gradual approach works just fine.

If you have people in your life who cause you to feel persistently unhappy, take a closer look. What are you tolerating from them that you would never tolerate from someone else? Stop tolerating it and you’ll immediately feel happier. (But don’t try and change them, just change you.)

Remember that happy people are loving people. You can’t help but love others if you love yourself. Be on the lookout for ways to share your happiness with others.

This one is big: all those people who came with the package you were born into, accept them for who they are. You should change and grow and improve with time. They don’t have to. Deal with it.

Once you become happy, befriend others who are happy. When people are unhappy, give them space and let them work it out. Other people’s unhappiness is not your project. Try hobbies instead.

If someone you care about is dangerously unhappy, ask if there is anything you can do to help. But don’t rescue because it’s disrespectful.

Do what you can for others within reason, but don’t make needless personal sacrifices because you think it’s holy. There are no shortcuts to lasting happiness.

And this above all: never apologize for being happy. Your suffering is not a prerequisite to some future prize. The door to happiness is within. You were born with it. We were all born with it. Open the door and find out what’s inside. Make it bigger and then share your joy.

Happiness is your job, after all. Imagine what kind of world we would be living in if everyone believed they deserved to be happy.

Happy birthday to me! I’m going to go build a fire now. Because that’s my job.

~ Home fire 5 photo by anoldent

Available December 2011!

When I set out to write The Writer’s Workout, I wanted it to be my best book yet. So I worked hard on it for almost two years, pouring everything that I’ve learned over the past ten years of teaching writers, and twelve years of writing for publication (not to mention all that expensive, fancy, artsy education before I set up shop).

I tried to set the bar high with my two previous books, Get Known Before the Book Deal and Writer Mama. To give credit where credit is due, those books are as good as they are because of the efforts of the entire Writer’s Digest team who worked on them, especially influenced by the editors who championed and nurtured them (and me) from start to finish.

The Writer’s Workout is no exception. Even though the publishing climate has shifted dramatically, and even though I have definitely felt more “on my own” with this book, the book would never be as substantial as I feel it is without the ongoing and conscientious help of my publisher, Writer’s Digest.

And now, after many moons, the books are finally on their way to retailers. I would love to have your support getting the word out about the book. If you are a reader or a fan, I’d like to invite you to order your books now.

I can promise you that you are going to feel like you missed something truly helpful if you don’t factor reading The Writer’s Workout into your 2012 goal-setting plans.

Here are some of the initial comments thus far:

“You have written a great book…I am sure that others have told you that.” ~ book reviewer, review forthcoming

“I started reading your book and I love it so far!” ~ reviewer for multiple publications

Beyond mere freelance business strategy, THE WRITER’S WORKOUT addresses the writer’s soul, strength, and stamina. In other words, its lessons are heartfelt. ~ Amazon review from agent Robin Mizell

For writers like me, who do not lack for ideas, but sometimes need direction, Katz’ methods are priceless. ~ In a book review from Lela Davidson, author of the essay collection Blacklisted from the PTA

I love the book. Really inspiring. It’s helping me focus on 2012 and on making things happen for me. ~ current student

Thank you for supporting the launch of The Writer’s Workout in any way you can this busy holiday season.

The book makes a refreshing holiday gift for writers, aspiring writers, publishers, agents, publicists, and anyone else in the business of managing and supporting writers.

I hope you will read it and give it and share it and talk about it and enjoy it. I hope it will bring you comfort and joy, strength and determination, hope and appreciation for all your own hard work in your writing career thus far.

If you want to cultivate your professional power as a writer, don’t merely add The Writer’s Workout to your holiday wish list, just order the darn thing for yourself right now. It’s a tax write-off, after all. You can always stick it under the tree, if you feel you need to justify the purchase.

Happy holidays, writers! And a very prosperous New Year.

Check out the very first review of The Writer’s Workout

I’m very excited to see the very first review of The Writer’s Workout appearing online today, written by Lela Davidson in her blog After The Bubbly.

If there is one thing an author always appreciates after spending years working on a project, it’s a thoughtful, thorough, intelligent review of her work. And this is definitely one of those kinds of reviews. So, thanks, Lela.

Are these kinds of reviews harder to come by in today’s zoom-zoom-zoom, click-click-click Internet? I’m about to find out and I’ll keep you posted.

I have certainly learned from writing two previous books, as most authors do, that not every reviewer takes the time or expends the energy to give a fair and professional quality review. Most do, though. And thank goodness for that.

Swing by bestselling author Allison Winn Scotch’s blog today and answer a question for a chance to win my book!

I’m going to break the news to you right now: there will not be very many giveaways of my new book. This is the first of those rare few. Why? Because Allison Winn Scotch has been so incredibly generous with my readers, giving away copies of her awesome books and taking the time to share her wisdom with my readers. Like Lela, Allison is very funny, so please follow her on Twitter right now, if you are not following already. Because who doesn’t need a good laugh on a daily basis? I know I always do. 🙂

And finally, guess what? The books are in! The books are in!

The first paperback copies available for purchase of The Writer’s Workout will be sold at my event at the Wilsonville Public Library on Sunday, December 4th at 3:30 pm. I will be speaking about The Writer’s Workout, Whip Your Literary Ambitions Into Shape. If you want a copy you’ll want to come early because there are only going to be a limited number available. I will make sure to send the pre-order info to my list of local attendees within 24 hours. If you are local and you are not on the list, you can sign up here.

If you are not local and you wish to be among the first to get your copies, order from the online retailer of your choice or call your local bookstore right now and ask them to order. Writer’s Digest should be shipping books to retailers within a couple of weeks. So you might even get your pre-order copies by Christmas. Yahoo! [And remember, after you order, send me your receipt for access to the flash class at the January 10th Global Launch Party, right here!]

2012, here we come. And we are going to crush it!