Get Known Before the Book Deal

Dear Groovers (June Issue Begins...),

Even though I told the readers of my other newsletter (The Writer Mama) that I'm taking things down a few notches this summer, I'm actually still accomplishing a lot. Summer may be here, but I won't be taking the summer off by any means.

I'll just be working more efficiently than I have in a long time, while taking advantage of some extra R&R opportunities.
 
Here's what I am currently up to:

• Planning the Northwest Author Series for the 2009-2010 season (see my article below: "You Wanna Start Something?").

• Featured in a podcast interview with Deb Schneider for King County Library System (Shh! Don't tell Kati I didn't do it myself).

• Sharing a summer blog tour interview that helps me overcome writers' resistance to platform development (I think Sage will approve. Feel free to contact me if you are interested!)

• Working on a distribution plan for the book trailer for Get Known Before the Book Deal (Gregory! Look at me!).

• Gearing up to apply for a RACC grant this summer (Gigi is going to be very proud of me, I just know it!).

• All over Facebook (as evidenced by my quote in Meryl's article).

• A long-time Kelly James-Enger fan. In fact, she is referenced in both of my books because she sets such a great example for writers (Hi, Kelly!).

This platform stuff gets easier and more fun the longer you do it!
 
Make good things happen, writers!
 
Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor

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What I Learned At BEA 2009 Regarding the Future of Writing

This is not a play-by-play of my BEA experience. I think there are plenty of those out there already. Rather these are my impressions of where writers stand as we look towards the big question mark called the future and wonder: what's to become of us?

Writers Will Still Get Published
Publishing isn’t over by any means but we are in the midst of a revolution and evolution in the publishing industry. A revolution because I think it’s inevitable that readers (the customers in the industry) are going to become more vocal, demanding, and insistent upon getting their needs met. Even though what seems to be happening is that readers don’t necessarily know what they need and want until it’s basically a done deal. For example, nobody anticipated that they be reading on their iPhone and yet today many are. So it seems to me that a certain amount of trial and error is going to be required, no matter how backwards that might seem from a traditional business perspective.

What writers need to remember is that publishing isn’t over just because readers are finding more ways to read. Publishers who can figure out how to provide readers with more options and specifically the options readers want will succeed and they will need writers, specifically writers who are keeping up with the times. Though I imagine we will have less publishers to choose from (there are over 200 thousand now). I don’t think they are all going to make it.

Writers Need To Work With Impeccable Agents
Contracts will become very different in the future if publishers are going to be able to leverage their content to take advantage of multiple formats. So plan on getting a reputable agent, who is aligned with the best agent associations (AAR), is an excellent contract negotiator, and understands and keeps up with developments in new media (like mine, for example). I don’t think I could emphasize the importance of this more. So plan to invest plenty of footwork into not just getting any agent but getting the best possible agent you can get. The writer-agent relationship is a business partnership and you do not want to enter into a contract with a publisher without a knowledgeable partner.

Writers Need To Hone Four Key Skills
Trust me when I say that this business is far too complicated for any writer to get very far merely because he or she writes well. Writers need to treat a writing career like any other business and recognize that there are four essential skills that we all need to have. These skills are so essential that you really should develop them rather than trying to hire them out. The four skills are cultivating your writing craft, selling your work & yourself, professional development & continuing education, and platform development.

These are four distinct skills that writers can build up over time with small, gradual investment of time and energy. Keep in mind that there are many people who would like to take advantage of a person who writes well, so work on having all four key skills so you won’t fall prey to scammers trying to lure you in by preying on your weaknesses. All four skills can be learned. All of them are cultivatable. Every writer needs to cultivate all four skills to be successful in the short and long runs.

Writers Need to Keep Up with the Times
If you are stubbornly holding the position that you do not need to keep up with the times because you are a writer and therefore writing well is your only job…I think you are headed for extinction or exploitation. The only writers right now who can afford to only focus on the quality of their writing are the already published bestselling authors, who already have contracts. So, again, while the quality of your writing is still important, remember what I just said about cultivating a broader skill sets that will help you be and stay more viable in this marketplace.

As a writer, your desire to become a published author makes you vulnerable to folks who would love to take your money and not be accountable for their share in your success. So, it’s crucial that you stay abreast of the changes in the industry as well as what self-publishers, social networkers, entrepreneurs, and universities are doing to stay viable in the rapidly evolving marketplace. And every time you partner with someone, it’s so important that you only partner with the most reputable, ethical professionals you can.

We’ve already arrived at a future where everyone is a writer, everyone is a publisher, everyone is a bookseller, everyone is a librarian or at least has an archive. But by far the best news of all is that so many are readers and readers are reading in so many ways.

I’d bet we’re collectively reading more than ever. And I have a theory that the person / business / publisher / agent / bookseller / librarian, who can find ways to make good things happen amongst the players—while respecting and partnering with all of us—will succeed most.

The May/June Issue of Writer's Digest is going, going...

Last chance to check Out the May/June Issue of Writer's Digest magazine!

I have a six-page feature, "Build Your Power Platform" appearing in the May/June issue of Writer's Digest magazine. My article is part of a twenty-page feature section on how to stand out to agents and editors. Other contributors in the feature section include M. J. Rose, the Writer's Digest Staff, Jeff Yeager, and editor Jessica Strawser. The May/June issue features an interview conversation between Stephen King and Jerry B. Jenkins and the announcement of the annual 101 Best Websites.

Dear Get Known Groovers (May Issue Begins):

My objective for the Get Known Groove is for the e-zine to be as helpful as possible during rapidly changing times in the industry. These are times when every writer needs to learn to how stand in their own spotlight and produce themselves. The age of writers being discovered is over and the age of 100% responsibility for your writing career is upon us.

However, it's not easy to navigate a rapidly changing playing field, especially when it concerns something you care about as much as your writing career, your reputation, and your future. So I carefully chose columnists I thought could help you keep abreast of all you need to know without overwhelming you.

I'm happy to say that I think this issue demonstrates my intention very well. I was all ready to hit Google to answer several questions in my mind that were all addressed by our contributors in this month's issue.

I was pondering questions like:

What's the best microphone to use with my computer? Kati Neville's article this month, "How to Sound Your Best" shows me where to go to find out.

Which teleconference services should I use? Gregory Kompes' article this month, "Profit from Teleconferencing" has just the suggestions I was looking for.

Should I apply for a grant even if it's the last minute? Gigi Rosenberg's article this month, "Featured Money Magnet, Michele Glazer," suggests that I go ahead and apply anyway.

I know that the Get Known Groove is pointing me in the kinds of directions I want to go in. I hope it's doing the same for you. And if it is, I encourage you to take a few seconds to forward the e-zine to your writing friends.

Make good things happen!

Christina Katz
Publisher & Editor

Subscribe to the Get Known Groove here.

Publishers & Agents Need to Partner with Writers for Our Future Mutual Success

There are many ways publishers can work with their authors for mutual success. I always encourage first-time authors to partner with their publishers as much as possible. But really the advice works both ways.

I see the role of publishers shifting from publicist for a select few high-profile authors to platform educators for first time authors, context builders among the authors on their current and backlists, and content facilitators for readers.

Publishers can do more to help empower their authors using methods that have become quite inexpensive thanks to improved technology and the ease of networking online.

If agents and publishers aren’t viewing authors as partners, it’s just not good for the business of selling books in an increasingly transparent marketplace.

Guy LeCharles Gonzalez recently said--and I felt his comment was apt--Publishers need writers to stay in business, but the reverse isn’t necessarily true.

Maybe we aren't totally there yet, but this sure seems to be the direction we are heading in. Food for thought.

To Succeed Next Year, You Have to Ramp Up This Year

The sheer daily-ness of consistent platform development is the key to success. The other key is focus.

Just because someone is blogging or social networking, doesn’t mean that they are focused or creating community. They might just be killing time. I think anyone who has ever participated in athletics understands the concept of getting into “game shape.”

Do the guys playing in the Superbowl start working out a week before the playoffs? And yet, writers sometimes make the mistake of thinking that they are going to get discovered eventually rather than simply working slowly and steadily over time. I think a writer’s expectations, attitude, and willingness have everything to do with his or her success.

Fantasies are nice, but they are not business strategies. Unfortunately the media (and now the Internet) perpetuate myths about overnight success that cloud the truth, which is basically the old adage: no pain, no gain.

Once writers recover from hoping to be discovered, there is really only one thing to do: get to work on a viable platform that you can commit to for a period of years. That’s the kind of platform that’s going to support a book. That’s why I wrote Get Known as a progression of steps that any writer at any level can use as a guidebook.

Show me a writer who is willing to do a little bit of work steadily over time and I’ll show you a writer who is going to get known and eventually get a book deal.

Context Trumps Content or Without Context, Content Is Lost

Everyone keeps saying that the future of publishing is all about content. But without context, content is just a bunch of words. And an excess of words just creates static. After clarifying a platform, creating a context becomes the next step.

Creating context is key to platform development because writers need to attract a base of readers…and naturally this takes time and patience…and eventually content. But without a context for your content that resonates with readers, a writer is really missing a wonderful opportunity to create community. Content and context really go hand in hand and feed each other.

What forms will your content take to address readers’ wants and needs? Once you are creating appropriate content for your specific audience, you’ve very likely created a context where something exciting can happen between you and your audience.

A common mistake I see that pertains to context is writers teaming up with other writers to create a group presence but then neglecting to establish their personal online presence. Guys, it's just not helpful to ask people who are interested in you to go on a wild link chase to find out more about you. You need to name and claim and build your own site about you too.

When this happens to me, I'll click a couple of times, but once I realize the person has no central home-base of info about who they are, what they offer, and why I should care, I'm done.

Use the five-second rule. If I can't find out all the WWWWWH about you in five seconds, you've lost my attention. Start with Google. That takes about five seconds. Plug in your name and hit return.

Okay, now at a quick glance can I see exactly where to go to find just the right amount of details about who you are and what you offer? (Hint: The place I'll find this info is probably your website or blog.)

If not, then back to the basics. You'll find them in section three of Get Known. The very first thing your context should do is make my life easier when I want to find out everything about you and I have no time to do it.

That's just one example of context in action. I'll say more on the topic later because it's obviously a big and complex topic. And the Internet is a big and complex place. So keep some of your most crucial contexts simple.

Integrate Platform Development Into Every Workday

Some writers feel frustrated once they learn that platform development is an additional job to add to an already pretty hefty to-do list. And I can certainly understand this frustration because platform development is a specific skill set that every writer must learn.

But this doesn’t mean that building your platform can’t be integrated into your daily work rhythms with practice over time. Isn't that how we learn pretty much everything?

Yes, writers have to wear more hats today than in the past, so focusing on all the noise out there will only take a writer further away from what’s truly important—choosing the platform that comes naturally and building the most authentic platform possible for you.

Platform is not an act or a show you put on for the benefit of others. It’s a natural extension of your own curiosity, exploration and discoveries that you share with the world. It’s taking things writers traditionally love—stories, process and creativity—and making them public. Platform is aligning your niche topic and unique expertise with the appropriate audience to create a unique context and forge relationships and community.

Becoming visible won't be an overnight occurrence. Trying to rush platform development is a surefire path to frustration, not to mention publishing failure. When you allow yourself the time you need to build momentum, things tend to go faster than you expected. And then your platform momentum is positive and contagious.

But anyone can make good things happen in their writing career and the careers of others, no matter where they are in the platform-development process. Just begin today and take it one day at a time.

Get Known Buzz and a Couple of Brief Rants

First, I would like to thank the King County Library System, and especially Deb Schneider, for inviting me up to speak at three branches. The audiences were great. I learned so much from interacting with them. And I'm already hearing from folks who are mid-read in Get Known and are already off and brainstorming ideas for their platform development. Thanks, Deb, Mary Jane, and everyone who attended!

Now THIS is really cool. Violette of Violette's Folk Art (which is wonderful btw) shared this illustrated response to the May/June issue of Writer's Digest Magazine. I feel proud and humbled to have played a small part in the issue. >>>

Lindsey over at The Write Words says "Nonfiction is good for the mind, Fiction is good for the soul." I think that's an apt sentiment, don't you? She keeps her copy of Get Known in the kitchen. Where do you keep yours? (Don't say the bathroom!)

Agent Robin Mizell mentioned not only that I will be at the Writer's Digest/BEA conference in NYC on Wednesday, May 27th, but that I am "charming." I believe what she is referring to is my lack of tolerance for baloney and my commitment to keeping the platform conversation based in reality for the sake of writers.

More on that, in a short rant, tomorrow. :)

Get Known Now! The Joy of Teaching!

The Joy of Teaching
By Christina Katz

One of the greatest joys in my life over the past eight years has been teaching writers. For me, teaching and writing are inextricably connected and they are both organic, creative processes that can't be and shouldn't be rushed.

What I have done as a teacher is simple: I've learned for myself and then taught what I've learned to others. Sure, I've offered options and expanded on my own limited ideas. But ultimately, all I've done is try and share my success with others in an orderly, structured way.

I am not special. Anyone can do this. In fact, I teach others how to write about what they know in my writing classes. And now, beginning May 6th, I'll be teaching writers how to share what they've learned as teachers. I love that we are becoming a society of creators and I truly cannot wait to help writers expand their professionalism through teaching.

The combination of the writing and teaching have essentially given me the career that I enjoy today, which is the same career I have been enjoying steadily for the past eight years. Here are a few ways to identify a body of material you might teach on:

Just Got the Hang of It: Often the best teachers don't have the most years of experience in the topic they teach. Maybe this is because after a while anyone can become bored of just about any topic. So don't go that way. Choose something fresh for you instead. And then dive into your experience as a source of teaching material.

Muscle Memory: What do you know how to do so well that's it's become habitual? You might take this topic for granted but don't underestimate how your mastery can be tapped for teaching material.

Be Specific: You want your teaching topic to be specific enough to make the most of your unique expertise without being so specific that your class becomes esoteric to the masses. Think this is an easy balance? Nah. You might find that you find your niche as you teach. So give your topic your best guess and then get started. You'll learn as you go.

Or Generalize: If you already have very specific experience or expertise, you might find that it makes more sense to generalize it to appeal to the audience right in front of you. Consider whether your audience is international (this will lead to a more specific teaching topic) or more localized (this will lead to a more generalized topic) so as to appeal to the people who will show up.

When Stumped, Just Ask: With years of teaching and writing under my belt, I have gotten pretty good at identifying what topics are of interest to my audiences, writers and writer mamas. However, at the outset you will benefit from working with someone who has the experience that can help you make important decisions about what to include and what not to include in your classes. Feel free to check out my upcoming class, Turn Your Specialty Into Course Curriculum.

Teaching offers something that writing will never be able to offer. Teaching offers an alchemical process among a group of people in real time. I love the context of my teaching experience as much as I enjoy developing curriculum.

If you are going to take the time and energy to teach, make it a process that grows your mind as much as it grows your students' minds. And you will always prosper.

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Build an Author Platform and Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (both for Writer's Digest Books). A platform development coach and consultant, she teaches writing career development, hosts the Northwest Author Series, and is the publisher of several e-zines including Writers on the Rise. Christina blogs at The Writer Mama Riffs and Get Known Before the Book Deal, and speaks at MFA programs, literary events, and conferences around the country.