Invest In Your Writing

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Many editors and agents are difficult to reach. These gatekeepers play an important role in the publishing community. This aspect of publishing is rarely discussed but your connection to this person is important aspect of publishing. As I’ve written in these articles, every author needs a champion for their submission. 

As a new writer, how can you connect with these important gatekeepers? Many publishers don’t take electronic or mail submissions which is sometimes called a slush pile. They are not on LinkedIN or interested in developing new connections. These professionals are busy with their current books and authors. It’s the same story with the literary agents and often more difficult to get their attention much less to have them represent your work. In fact, it’s rare for them to sign a new author. 

If you want to break into the publishing business, what are your options? They are limited but one of the best ways to make connections with an editor or literary agent is to attend a writer’s conference. For many years I’ve been teaching and attending various writer’s conferences. In detail, this article gives the reasons why you should attend a conference. At the bottom of the article, there is a link to learn about various conferences.

Next month I will be teaching at the Blue Lake Christian Writer’s Conference. This particular event is a smaller conference (about 100 people) which gives each person the opportunity to get to know the faculty, talk about why you want to do what you want to do, then get their ideas and input. 

I understand that attending such an event is an investment in your writing. It will cost you time and money to make this effort but it is an investment that I’ve seen return many fold through my years in publishing.

I encourage you to invest in your writing and attend a conference--even plan to come to Blue Lake next month. Take the time to get prepared, select your classes and the people you want to meet at the event. Also create a business card and bring lots of them to exchange with people. Create a one-page pitch with your article idea or your book project. Then go to the event with an open heart. You never know who you will met and what door of opportunity they will open to you during your conversation. I find often what happens is not what you expect or anticipate. At these events, I’ve made life-long friends who have read and reviewed my books. I’ve also met editors who have called or reached out to me when they have a writing need or a project for me to tackle. These relationships often began at a writer’s conference. 

As writers, we spend a lot of time alone but we need each other to accomplish this work and reach others. Some of these connections happen at a writer’s conference. I look forward to what will happen at Blue Lake next month. I hope to see you there. In the comments below, let me know what steps you are taking to invest in your writing. 

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Use of Time Choices

Each of us have the same time and space limitations. Yet each of us can continue to grow and improve in this area. I know I have a lot to learn and continue to learn about how to manage my time. As I speak with writers, some of them want to write and do zero marketing. I understand this bent toward writing. They get their greatest joy and satisfaction for pouring their words into their computer and telling stories.

Groups of writers have taken personality tests and the majority are introverts. It makes sense they would rather write on their computer or in a journal instead of stand in front of a group of people and teach. Through the years, many people believe I am an extrovert because I've been a keynote speaker at large and small conferences.

Also I've taught continuing classes where I teach for five or six hours with a group of people. For example in May, I will be teaching a continuing class at the Colorado Christian Writers Conference in Estes Park. Last week I was talking with a friend about doing this teaching and he whether I had enough content for this session. I reassured him I had done this type of teaching in the past. Yes I have plenty to teach during these sessions. Is it my natural bent? No but like other writers, I have learned to rise to the occasion and do this type of teaching.

Several basics in this area of time choices:

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1. Connect to your readers. Every writer needs to devote some time to building their presence in the marketplace. Some people call this connecting with your tribe or readers. Others call it platform building and marketing. (Click this link to get my free Ebook, Platform-Building Ideas for Every Author). Publishers and literary agents are looking for writers who are connected to their readers. Why? Publishers may create beatiful books and get them into the bookstores (online and brick and mortar store)—but it is the author who drives readers into those stores to actually purchase the books.

2. Whatever you begin, be consistent. Some people build their following on YouTube while others do it through a social media network like Twitter or Facebook.  In my view you don't have to be everywhere but wherever you are, be consistent. For example, since 2008, I've consistently written about once a week on these blog entries on different aspects of writing and the publishing world. I've written nearly 1,500 entries and it did not happen overnight. It happened one entry at a time. You too can do it.

3. Spend regular time on your marketing efforts. Over the years I have built a large body of work. Just search for my name on Google and you will see what I am talking about. I have tweeted thousands of times on Twitter. I consistently tweet 12=15 times every day. Yet in these articles, I've also been transparent about the tools that I use for these tweets.

4. Be conscious of how you spend your time. Are you wasting hours looking at Facebook or in front of the television or monitoring the news? Any of these things can consume hours of attention and time. Choose to limit it or eliminate it. Such choices will open more time in your life.

People wonder how I've written over 60 books. I've written these books one page at a time and one chapter at a time and one manuscript at a time. Like one of my novel writing friends told me years ago, “No little elves come out at night and write her pages.” She does it one page and one story at a time.

How are you making time choices? Let me know in the comments below.

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Don't Be an Unreachable Author

Last night I came home from another terrific writers' conference. In addition to teaching three hour-long workshops, I met one-on-one with over 35 writers.  Each of my workshops had a good attendance and after each one, numerous people came forward to get my business cards and give me their information. Besides these moments of interaction. we ate three meals together during this event.

During one of the meals, I spoke for a while with an author who works with other authors in editing and copywriting. I enjoyed this conversation and wanted to reach out to this author. The conference had a bookstore and while I didn't get a lot of time to look at these books, I noticed this author had copies of a how-to-write book on a topic I had not seen. I searched Amazon and saw this author had only three reviews for her book. Since I have written many reviews for books, I did not purchase this how-to book. Instead I wanted to reach out to this author. I intend to ask for a “review” copy of her book and offer to review this book. It is a book that I'm interested in reading. This exchange of books for my review is a common one in the publishing community.

This author told me that she had given me her business card. I dug into my business cards and located her information. It was an attractive card which included her name, a title or two of her book and her website. The card was missing an email address or a phone number or an address. One of the hardest elements to proofread and think about is something not on the page (or card). Your email address is one of the critical elements which should be on every business card.

I continued my process to try and reach this author. I looked at her website.  It was a clean and crisp site but included no contact page and no contact information. Some sites have a form you can fill out and it goes to the author's email. I've filled out these forms in the past to reach authors but this one didn't have such a page or form. I searched for her on Facebook and noticed we are Facebook friends. I have over 4,900 Facebook friends (almost the maximum of 5,000). I wrote her a little Facebook message.

Finally I thought about LinkedIN where I have a lot of publishing connections (over 5,200). I signed on to LinkedIN and searched for her name. Turns out we were connected there so I downloaded her profile and finally located her email address. I will reach out to her in a bit with my request to review her book.

I'm writing about this experience because I want you to look at your own situation as an author. How easy are you to reach? Is your contact information on your website? If not, are you using a contact form which goes to your personal email address?

I understand how you may be a private person and don't want everyone to have your contact information—but you do want people to be able to reach you when they have a legitimate need or request. This situation of the unreachable is not unusual and you'd be surprised how often it happens working with authors and going to conferences. After the editor or agent returns home, you want them to be able to reach you and follow-up. It can't happen if your contact information is not easily available. Don't be an unreachable author.

Are others able to easily reach you? What techniques are you using? Let me know in the comments below.

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5 Ways Writers Profit from a Conference

I know it is June. I took this photo on May 19, 2017 in Estes Park, Colorado at a conference.

For many years I’ve been attending conferences. My time at the recent Colorado Christian Writers Conference was unusual because in mid-May, we had over three feet of snow. It snowed for almost two solid days after we arrived at the event. Some faculty members who arrived late were stuck at the Denver airport. The snow made for an unusual and memorable event.

Some people wonder how I’ve published such a range of magazine articles and books. I’m not the best writer in the room but I am one of the most consistent. If I pitch an idea and an editor says, sounds good, send it to me. I make a little note, then go home, write the article or book and send it. Yes you have to write what the editor wants but overall I’ve found such a simple strategy works.

Just attending conferences is a financial investment of money, time and energy. In this article, I want to highlight five ways to profit from a conference.

First, listen for opportunities then take action. For example, one editor I met told me about a forthcoming series of Bible studies that his publisher will be doing. I’ve written Bible studies in the past and enjoy this type of writing. I noticed the opportunity so I made a point to email this editor and affirm in writing my interest in the project. The editor was grateful for my interest and said at the right time he would be in touch. This type of follow-up work leads to additional writing opportunities. You have to be listening for them.

Another editor at the conference has worked on a publication that I’ve never written for. It has a large circulation and I wanted to write for this publication for the exposure as much as a new writing credit. I’ve emailed the editor and we are corresponding about some ideas which I believe will lead to an assignment and eventually publication. You have to listen for the opportunities, then take action.

Advanced preparation before the event is a second way to profit from the conference. Study the faculty and see what they publish and then write pitches and book proposals. Most publications have writer’s guidelines and other information easily available online. Several writers at the recent conference brought flash drives with the electronic copy of their material. I appreciated the effort of these writers and it moved their submission to the top of my stack. I put their material into our internal system and moved it forward through the consideration process. In one case I’ve already turned in a writer’s project to my publication board and I’m hoping to get a contract for this author in a few weeks. The germ of this activity was her arrival at the conference prepared for her meetings. You can learn and mirror such actions when you attend an event.

Most conferences have a freebie table with magazines and writers guidelines. These publications are looking for freelance writers. You have to pick up the publications, read the guidelines then make your pitch or query or follow-through. This consistent action of follow-up is the third way to profit from a conference. When someone mentions an interest in your material, make sure you exchange business cards with them. Then when you get home, send them an email and follow-up.

At the conference, I met many people and came home with a large stack of business cards. I’ve been following up with writers and encouraging them to send me their proposal and/or manuscript. Yet few of them have reached out to me—and this type of situation is typical from my experience. If you reach out to the editor and take action, your actions will receive positive attention and you will get publishing opportunities. This is the fourth way to profit from a conference.

One of the reasons to attend a conference is to learn a new skill or a new area of the writing world. The fifth method to profit from a conference is to take action on these new skills. Are you learning how to write fiction or a magazine article or tap a new social network? A variety of skills are taught at conferences.

It’s easy to put away the notes and never look at them again. The writers who get published take a different course of action. They review the notes and apply it to their writing life. At the Colorado event, I taught an early bird workshop about Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams (my book). I worked hard on my handout which had many additional resources and links for those who used it. Here’s my handout for your reference: http://terrylinks.com/js I encourage you to download the handout, print it and follow the extra material to profit for your own writing life. I'll be at the Philadelphia Christian Writers Conference next month and other events this year. Check my speaking schedule link to connect and I hope our paths cross later this year and I can help you one on one.

As writers we are continually learning and growing in our craft. A conference can be a huge growth area if you take action and follow-up.

Have I given you some ideas? If so, let me know in the comments below.

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Why Attend a Writers' Conference?

Every year for the last 25+ years, I've been going to writers' conferences. Sometimes I'm teaching at these events and other times I am an attendee. No matter whether you are on the faculty or attending, conferences are key events to grow as a writer and meet new people. Why is this important?

We work with people that we know, like and trust--have a relationship. Relationships are formed and developed at conferences. I've written over 60 books and for more than 50 magazines. The roots of those books and magazines came from meeting an editor or agent at an event. My first book--a children's book with David C. Cook--happened because I met an editor at a conference.

From my perspective, there are several important aspects in going to a writers' conference:

1. Commit to attending a conference (large or small) on a consistent basis. I have had great experiences at small events and also large events.The bigger conferences have more editors and agents and more opportunity but also the competition for these people's attentionis also greater. There are many terrific events and you can follow this link to get more details about specific conferences.

2. Come prepared. You are investing time, energy and money to attend so you can meet an agent or a publisher. You can make it worth that investment if you do some homework ahead of time such as studying the faculty and their photos. Being aware of their photo and background will help you as you interact with them. Also bring lots of business cards to exchange with everyone you meet. Also as you study the faculty, you will be able to create specific pitches with your ideas. Your efforts to prepare will show to the faculty members and help increase your possibilities of getting writing work from the event (a common goal for many writers).  

3. Throughout the event, meet as many people as you can. You will be able to meet people at meals, coffee breaks, waiting for a class to begin and any number of other places. Introduce yourself and ask questions about what they write and what they are learning.  Make a point to exchange business cards with everyone and offer to help them. You never know who you are going to meet at these events. I encourage you to make the first move and reach out to others around you. Remember, many writers are introverts (and you may be as well). You will have to push yourself but it is worth the effort. 

4. After the event, this step is one of the most important: follow-up and follow through on the requests and ideas. If someone asks you for something (magazine or book), get them the material as soon as possible while your meeting is fresh in their minds. 

You may wonder how I've written all the material that I've done over the years. It's not any secret. I go to conferences, listen to the editors and agents, then do what they asked me to do. In other words, I send these professionals the requested proposal or article. Also I follow-up these submissions with solid writing. It's not that I'm the best storyteller or the best writer in the room. I am one of the most consistent in my follow-up and determination to meet the needs of the editor.

No matter whether you are writing your first magazine article or book or whether you've written dozens, the teaching, insights and relationships from conferences are critical to propel your writing life forward. Now as an acquisitions editor at a New York publisher, I go to conferences to make new connections and find new authors. If you haven't noticed, Morgan James Publishing had their first fiction book on the New York Times list (#12 right behind The Shack at #11) On The Clock, by Tim Enochs and Bruce Tollner. Be watching for this book and I encourage you to read it.

Plan your action steps today to get to a conference. It can be a life-changing event for your writing life.

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Easy Children’s Books

Last week at a writer’s conference, I met with writer after writer in back to back 15 minute sessions. It amounts to an editor’s marathon when you have six or seven appointments in a row. After three or four of them it is a bit of a challenge to listen to these new ideas. Yet these appointments or pitches is the main reason that I attend these conferences. I'm actively looking for new writing talent. The prepared author is always easy to spot. They have their manuscripts ready—some of them have even brought the material on flash drives. Several authors submitted their manuscripts via email right after our session.

A number of the authors I met were writing children's books.  Several of these writers came from a teaching background and showed a passion for their manuscript and work. I'm a former instructor for the Institute of Children's Literature and have published more than a dozen children's book. I understand these feelings. Reading a pile of picture books, some writers have the impression that it's easy to write these children's books. Nothing could be further from the truth.

It's not easy to get a children's book published. I've been reading a new memoir from Robert L. Bernstein called Speaking Freely. Bernstein was president of Random House for 25 years. One of the best-selling children's authors was Ted Geisel, otherwise known as Dr. Seuss. As Bernstein writes, "There are more than 220 million copies of his books now in print--but he was not an instant success. And to Think That I Saw It on Mulberry Street was rejected by twenty-seven houses before an old Darthmouth friend who worked at Vanguard Press got it published there." (page 60). 

As a child, I loved Mulberry Street and it was my favorite children's book--and to think it almost didn't get published without the persistence of the author. Every author has to find their place to be published. In particular children's authors need to study and understand the marketplace. The marketplace is specialized into different age categories. For example if you are writing a children's picture book, then you need to understand whether your book is 24 pages, 32 pages or 48 pages (the standard lengths).  As the book grows in length, your book will need more illustrations so the preference is for 24 page books.

Your number of words are limited and each word has to be carefully selected. Also you don't have the ability to write on all 24 pages because each book has a title page and a copyright page. The prepared children's writer is encouraged to create a dummy or sample layout of the book. When you do this process, you will begin to see how your book will layout and it will help you rework the book into the proper format and length.

I met with one children's book writer last week who thought she had a picture book but from the length fo the story, it was an early reader book (which has more words and less illustrations). As a writer, the more work you do on refining your manuscript into the proper length and format, the more interest you will generate from editors in your work. Then your pitch sessions or appointments with the editors will be more productive and have more potential.

If you are writing children's books, I encourage you to study the market for your type of manuscript. Also create a book proposal for your children's book. Because children's books are short, the writer often comes with the complete manuscript. Writing a book proposal will help you pinpoint the distinctions of your book, the market for your book, and also the competition for your book. A book proposal will help your submission  stand out with an editor from the other writers. It will help you make a lasting and positive impression. 

My Book Proposals That Sell has never been so inexpensive and comes with a series of bonuses and extras. Whether you get the book or not, I encourage you to step up your preparation before you head to a writer's conference or email your pitch to an editor. It will help you succeed and get published.

Whether you are writing children's books or adult books or fiction or nonfiction, you need to give the best possible pitch to an editor or agent so you capture their attention.

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