Get Known Before the Book Deal

Hope to See You at the Willamette Writers Conference, Portland, Oregon August 1-3, 2008

I’ve been re-invited to the 2008 Willamette Writers conference are August 1-3rd at the Portland Airport Sheraton Hotel. You can now register online.

I've been invited to be the Friday luncheon speaker. Here's a schedule of where I'll be when.

I highly recommend this conference and I hope to see you there!

Thursday night, July 31st, Writer's Faire

This is a free event! 5-7 p.m.

Come network with published authors! I'd love to see you at the Writer's Faire!

Friday, August 1st:

Workshop: 10:30-12:00
Your Roadmap to the Non-fiction Book Writing Process
Do you know about book graveyards where editors at publishing houses bury the books that don't ever see the light of publication? As an aspiring non-fiction author, you need to be forewarned about these types of pitfalls. This workshop will serve as the roadmap-in-hand that you'll need to tread the traditional book-publishing road wisely. You'll walk out knowing what to expect from the glimmer of an idea all the way through to your book's publication date. This workshop will grant you the courage to control the things you can and the wisdom to let go of the things you can't, so you can focus on writing the best book possible. Learn about the role of agents and editors, the non-fiction book publishing process, how to make the best choices for your book, and how to form win-win-win relationships with the publishing industry players on your book's team.
Level: All
Format: Presentation, Q & A

Luncheon Speaker: During Lunch 12:15 - 1:30 p.m. Come hungry, leave inspired!

Book Signing: I'll be signing copies of Writer Mama in the afternoon.

Friday & Saturday: Nonfiction Book Proposal Critiques. Request me when you register.

Silent Auction Participation: I'll be auctioning off a free scholarship to my class Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff (Especially for moms) and a copy of Writer Mama!

In November 2008, I'll be touring for my second book with Writer's Digest Books, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Strengths to Grow an Author Platform coming out in October 2008.

If you would like to invite me to speak at your conference or event, please email me at "writer mama at earthlink dot net."

Or you may wish to check out my upcoming e-class schedule here.

Another Good Platform Article Featuring Fellow WDB Author Sharlene Martin

The Bainbridge Island Review featured an article on agent Sharlene Martin by Lindsay Latimore. This one is definitely worth reading.

Also interesting to note that this is not an article in one of the big Seattle newspaper but look how much exposure you can get for one short article in your local paper thanks to the Internet.

This article rolled in on my daily Google Alerts.

Are you tracking your niche with Google Alerts? It's a good habit to get into, if you haven't yet.

Food for thought.

Good Reads on Platform Development

I stumbled across a few excellent blog posts on platform development that I'd like to share.

Editor Adam Rinzler has some great tips on "Build Your Author Platform: Ten Tips from a Pro."

Penelope Trunk offers practical advice on a still impractical topic, "How to get a six-figure book deal from your blog" over at the Brazen Careerist.

Of course, you'll still need to choose a platform topic and about thirty-five other things, which is where my forthcoming book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform comes in.

I wish I could cross my arms, blink my eyes simultaneously and move up the pub date. But I'll have to wait for October 22, 2008 along with everyone else.

Now Available for Pre-Order on Amazon.com

Check it out. Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform is officially published as of October 20, 2008. Through Amazon.com on November 17th.

I can't wait! Now I need to go find one of those count-down things...

Could the recession be good for book sales? Wouldn't that be nice!

The celebrated novelist Ethan Canin, at the [book] expo to promote his new book, "America America," believes the staggering economy will foster interest in books. "Movies cost half as much, but books last five times as long, so they're a bargain," he said. "I think this could be good for everyone, in a way. What with the price of gas, everyone I know is riding bicycles more, and even the teenagers I know are backing away from Facebook and MySpace and all that stuff, saying they want something more substantial. Who knows? This recession could be a blessing in disguise for books and for people in general."

I swiped this graph from "Would you like some books with that tote bag?" an article on Salon.com by Laura Miller.

View the entire article here.

Book Hype vs. Book Buzz: Stephen King Sheds Some Light

In an excellent article in June 6, 2008 issue of Entertainment Weekly, columnist Stephen King illuminates the difference between "hype" and "buzz" for writers.

King says, "Buzz is not hype and hype is not buzz. Hype is paid for: full-page ads, luxe websites, logos on the sides of buses, billboards on Sunset Boulevard, carpet-bomb TV campaigns. Buzz is free."

King goes on to say that hype is not only sometimes unreliable, it's often unreliable.

He says that buzz is almost always reliable.

When you think about how you are going to get known as a writer, whether before or after the book deal, do you think in terms of hype or buzz?

I think it's worth thinking about because we're all starting to recognize the difference.