Escape the Catch-22 of Publishing

For many years, I've known about the Catch-22 of publishing. The Merrian-Webster dictionary defines Catch-22 as “a problematic situation for which the only solution is denied by a circumstance inherent in the problem or by a rule.” Last week in Spokane, I taught a workshop on 12 Ways to Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams and the details are in my Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams book.

Here's the problematic situation for every new writer: they want to get published yet professionals (editors and literary agents) are looking for people with publishing experience. It's the same sort of situation you face when you enter the job market and need to create a resume which lists your job experience (yet you have nothing to list). What is the best way for writers to gain publishing experience? It is not in book publishing. Books are lengthy writing projects and sometimes reach a limited number of readers (yes even when traditionally published). The easiest way for a writer to escape the Catch-22 of Publishing is to write magazine articles.

I have an ebook called How to Succeed As An Article Writer. Also I've gathered a series of articles about writing for magazines at this link. Every month, I write a new article for A3 on different aspects of writing for magazines. I began my writing career in the magazine area and continue to often write for magazines. For the last several years, I've written a column for Southern Writer Magazine about book proposals called Book Proposal Boot Camp.

In this article, I want to tell you about a new resource to help you succeed in the magazine writing world. My long-term friend, Linda Gilden, has recently published ARTICLES, ARTICLES, ARTICLES! Subtitled, “A Comprehensive Guide.” This book is an excellent resource and Gilden has done a great service to the writing community publishing this book.  In the introduction, Gilden tells how as a stay-at-home mom with small children, writing articles seemed her best option to get published, “My children were small and still required a lot of hands-on attention. So, my writing sessions were short, very short or nonexistent. Much of what I wrote took place in my head until naptime, then I wrote furiously hoping the children were exhausted and would sleep a long time.” (Page 11)

This book contains a cornucopia of information for every writer.  Here’s some of the topics covered: where to get started, how to break in, types of articles, elements of articles, the rights to sell, marketing your articles and even how articles are a great way to market books and build an author’s presence in the marketplace (commonly called a platform—and follow this link to get my free ebook on the topic).

In addition to Gilden’s own depth of experience writing for magazines, throughout the book, she includes tips from other editors, authors and professionals called “Expert Word.”  Also key phrases are scattered throughout the book to remind reader of key lessons such as, “A kill fee is a fee that is paid when a contracted article is never published.”

Whether you are brand new to the writing world or an experienced professional, you will gain insights and ideas and action steps from ARTICLES, ARTICLES, ARTICLES! I highly recommend this well-crafted book.

Are you actively writing for magazines? If so, let us know about how you are escaping the Catch-22 of publishing in the comments below. I look forward to your feedback.

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Are You An Evangelist?

Many people assume an evangelist is an occupation for someone like Billy Graham. I'm using the word in the secondary Webster definition: “Someone who talks about something with great enthusiasm.”  Pause for a moment and consider what topics you face with enthusiasm and are actively telling other people about it.

In recent weeks, I've been an Overdrive evangelist. Using Overdrive on my phone has raised the amount of books I'm consuming—audio books. Overdrive is a free app that I downloaded on my phone and it is tied to your local library. You can check out the audio book from your library for 21 days then download the entire book on your phone. Now that I have the audio on my phone, I can use it anywhere. I listen to the book while I walk on the treadmill. Because of Bluetooth, I listen to the same book in my car—even when I drive a short distance. Recently I've been traveling and I've listened to these audio books in the airport or on the airplane. If I have my phone, then I have access to the audio book.

You can have different library cards on Overdrive. Each library has purchased different books so you can access a different selection. Currently I have three library cards and recently drove into Denver to get a Denver Public Library Card because they have a larger selection of books on Overdrive.

I listen to a great deal of nonfiction—business books, biography, memoir and how-to books. You can see many of these books just checking this location on Goodreads. After I hear a book, I will write a short review and post it on Goodreads and Amazon. This practice doesn't take much time but increases the number of reviews I post because of the increased volume of audio books I've been consuming.
In my conversations at writers' conferences, I've been asking people if they use Overdrive. If they say, “No.” Then I pass along my experience and how they could use it as well. I've become an evangelist for this program.

Passion and enthusiasm is important for every writer. It is your passion that sustains you for the writing and marketing of a book. For example, for many years I've been passionate about teaching writers how to craft a great book proposal or pitch for their book. I've written a book.  I've taught the material at various writers' conferences. I continue to write about book proposals in my Book Proposal Boot Camp column for Southern Writers Magazine. I have a free teleseminar on the topic and also my free book proposal checklist.

My passion for book proposals has been actively passed on to others. Others have recommended my Book Proposals That Sell or my Write a Book Proposal course or other resources. It's been encouraging to see the Amazon reviews for the book and the feedback from other writers who have used my book to locate a literary agent or get a publishing deal.

How is your passion for your writing translating into action? A book? An online course? A teleseminar? A workshop for a conference? The possible ways for you to pass on your enthusiasm are endless.

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