Organize and Thrive

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Periodically the books, random papers and magazines pour into my office. After a while they stack up and I have to stop some activities and spend time organizing and throwing. If I don't organize, then I find the mess will will overwhelm me. I will get stalled and unable to function and be productive. Do you ever have this experience or feeling in your own writing life?

 

In the last several months, I've traveled to three live events and while this change of pace is welcomed, it does interrupt my schedule, normal reading pattern and ability to process things that come into my mailbox and inbox. Things tend to stack up and fall behind.

 

My physical mailbox and my inbox often involve exchanges which provide opportunities for exposure (marketing) and making money. These opportunities do not happen without clear communication with the other person and a steady stream of communication. Sometimes I can handle these issues on the road but on other occasions I have to be sitting in my office on my desktop computer. Your skill to organize your computer files, your desk, your bookshelves and much more is a critical part of this process. Your organization system will be different from mine. If you don't have a plan or system for these areas of your work, then I encourage you to create one.

 

As a writer, we have multiple projects in motion and need to keep it organized to be able to move forward. For example, at a recent writer's conference, I promised some people that I would send them a piece of information. At the time, I made a little note about this promise on their business card, then when I got home I sent through these cards and followed-up and handled these various situations. Do you have a plan in place to handle these types of situations? If you do follow through, you will be one of the few who do it and it is a way to standout and enhance your reputation in the publishing world.  Yes, it is that simple to standout.

 

As my files, desk and other areas of my office are better organized, I can increase my production and what I accomplish each day. If it is disorganized and I have to spend a bunch of time to locate something, that is a poor use of my limited time and energy. Each of us have limited time and energy whether we realize it or not. Just so you know I am not obsessive about organization and still have areas of my office which are disorganized but in general, I have a good handle on where things are and how to move things forward. I understand that increased organization will help me to be more focused and thrive in the days ahead.

 

How are your organization skills? Do you have some insights for us? Let me know in the comments below.

 

 Other Blogs With My Recent Writing:

 

As I've mentioned in these entries, I regularly write articles for other blogs. Here's some of those recent articles:

For the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog: Build A Body of Writing Work

For Writers on the Move: Why I'm Still Blogging (and You Should be too)

 

For Almost An Author: Four Ways to Support Other Writers

 

Tweetable:

Organize and thrive is the counsel from this prolific editor and author. Get his insights and the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Does your fiction or nonfiction book have a business plan? Every type of book needs a proposal—even if you self-publish. Get this resource. 

How to Prepare for a Conference

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

Some of my most significant relationships in the publishing world started at a writer's conference. These events can be a huge boost to your writing life. As a writer, you can pitch your book ideas to editors and literary agents during these conferences. Also you can gain insights from their workshops, sit with them at meals and learn from them. Each event is different but many of them have keynote speakers who give inspirational messages. Often they have panels where the audience can ask questions and you can gain additional information. I've been attending and speaking at these types of events for years. With the pandemic many of these events turned virtual but as I've written about recently, live events have returned.

 

This coming week I travel to Chicago and the campus of Wheaton College for Write to Publish. I've met a number of writers at these events and Morgan James Publishing has published their books. It's also an opportunity for the various faculty members to reconnect and catch up with each other during the event. If you want the best results from attending such an event, then you need to prepare for them. In this article, I want to give you some ideas about what steps I take for preparation to help your writing life.

 

Several weeks ago, I noticed I was low on print copies of my latest book, Book Proposals That Sell. I ordered more some more copies which arrived before I'm leaving for the conference. The supply chain issues have affected the amount of time for books to print and reach you. I take books to sell at these events and it is an important part of the preparation process.

 

At every conference, it is important to have business cards to exchange with attendees and faculty. Earlier this spring, I created a new business card and got them printed. I will pack a qualtity of these cards and other print material to bring to the conference. Countless times during the years, I've met a new faculty member and exchanged cards. The other person will often dig through their wallet or purse and tell me they have forgotten business cards and give me one of the few they happened to have. No matter what your role at the conference, I encourage you to bring plenty of cards to exchange.

 

At Write to Publish, I'm teaching three workshops. While I've taught these workshops in other places, each time I review my handout to make sure all of the websites and extra material are up to date and working properly. I'm teaching on five ways to build a platform, social media and also understanding an negotiating contracts. These workshops are recorded and I always attempt to build great value into my handouts through links to extra material.

 

The conference has arranged pick me up at the airport and transportation to Wheaton College. I've been given the name of my driver and their cell number (which I put into my phone). It's all a part of the preparation for the conference. You may have to make travel arrangements or other important aspects to make sure you arrive and leave at the right time.

 

Another key in your conference preparation is to review the various faculty and their workshops. There are a number of other possibilities for attendees during each of my workshops. If you have reviewed these options ahead of time and made your selection, then you will be prepared for the conference. Also this review helps you know what the different editors and agents are looking for and who to pitch and what to pitch them during the event.

 

I'm looking forward to this event and the unplanned yet special conversations which happen during each of these conferences. I hope this article has given you some ideas and action steps to take as you prepare to attend a conference. What additional steps do you take or what feedback can you give me about this article? What steps are you taking? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

To successfully attend a conference, you need to prepare. Get the details here about how to prepare for a conference from this prolific editor and author. (ClickToTweet)

This week Terry will be teaching on social media, contracts and platform building. Also he is speaking at the closing banquet and and meeting with authors at Write to Publish. Hope to see you at this wonderful event.

Does your fiction or nonfiction book have a business plan? Every type of book needs a proposal—even if you self-publish. Get this resource.

On The Road Again

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

After 14 months off the road, when I publish these words, I will be traveling again. Like many other people, a worldwide pandemic has changed my writing life. I want to celebrate the return to normality and in this article talk about the advantages to attending live events.

 

On the surface, publishing looks like a simple business but from my experience it is complex with many options and possibilities. What people don't say is much of it is outside of the author's control. There are active steps you can take as a writer (which has been my focus for years and what I encourage you to do as well). Who you know is often as important as what you know. A random conversation at a conference can turn into a book deal or a writing opportunity—if you are aware of it, follow-up and take action.

 

Live events are a break in your normal routine and provide opportunities for your writing. These events will be coming back and I encourage you to plan them into your writing life. I'm in a Facebook group of writers preparing for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I've seen several people say they attended in the past but spent most of their time in their room. While I understand the majority of writers are introverts, don't hide in your room during a conference. You have to pace yourself not to get exhausted because they are intense—but I encourage you to be outside of your room with others as much as possible.

 

It might not seem natural to you but smile, greet others, start conversations and exchange business cards with as many people as you can throughout the event. Each person you meet can be an opportunity—for you to help them and for them to help you—no matter if they are a first=timer or have attended multiple conferences. Beginning and building relationships take time and you are offered this opportunity during a conference. These events are active (and at least for me) nonstop from early in the morning until late at night. They provide opportunities for me to tell people about my books and sell a few books plus even give books to key people who have influence in the publishing world.

 

I am teaching a continuing class which picked up on a key publishing buzzword: platform: What Is A Platform and how can I get one? I'm teaching about things that I do day to day but rarely teach these details to others. Conferences provide a wonderful opportunity to give back to others through your teaching and handouts. Years ago, I learned the importance of handouts in my classes and I put extra effort into providing handouts which have high value to the reader with additional links and resources.

 

The challenge I have attending these live events is to keep up (in some ways) my life as an editor and writer. The majority of my authors have no idea I'm away from my office and on the road. I will still get the regular stream of email and phone calls. Some of those emails I can put off until my return but others will require processing them on the road. The consistent communication with authors and others never stops and is a key part of my writing and editing life. Like everything, we make time for what we need to do—even on the road.

Some Recent Other Articles

 

In these articles, I've encouraged you to guest blog for others to reach new readers.  If you follow my Twitter feed, you will see that I regularly write for other places. Here's a couple of my recent articles for Writers on the Move (Why Writers Must Follow-up and Searching for a Magic Bullet)  and the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog (Writer, Use the Power of Asking and Why Writers Do More Than Write). I hope you will follow the links and read these articles then apply them to your own writing life.

 

How do you handle attending a live event? Are you planning on attending some live events this year? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

What happens when you take your writing on the road? This prolific editor and author is on the road again and gives the details here. (ClickToTweet)

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Learning On the Road

For many years, I’ve been traveling on airlines to different events and conferences. Admittedly traveling is hard on your bags and suitcases. I’ve had to replace bags and once I even had to send my my laptop bag sent off for repair.

With all of my travel, I’ve never gotten my bag off the plane with damage—until this month. My travel goes in spurts and during the month of March I am making four different trips and a series of flights each time. On the first flight to celebrate the 89^th birthday of my mother, I landed in Lexington, Kentucky and pulled my suitcase off the baggage carousel. Several hours earlier in Denver when I checked in the bag, the suitcase had four rotating wheels. Now in Lexington, my suitcase had three wheels. With the missing wheel, it wobbled.

My sister suggested I file a damage bag report with American Airlines. I learned these damage reports have to be filed immediately before leaving the airport. I went to the ticket desk and filled out the report, then went on with my trip to celebrate time with my Mom. A few days later, I returned home with my broken suitcase then noticed the bag sustained additional damage—a missing zipper. With a damaged bag, you have to give it back to the airline empty. Then they will either repair it or replace the bag. 

I emptied my suitcase and  took it with me to the Denver airport on my second of four trips. American Airlines took my bag when I checked into the airline with my bags for travel. I made my second trip and returned home. Then I called American to check on my bag repair. They told me it could take as long as three weeks so I assumed I would not have my suitcase for my month of travel. Also they told me the broken zipper (which happened on the return trip) was not on the original claim and likely would not be repaired. I wondered what would happen with my bag.

Between my second and third trips, the FedEx man delivered a huge box to my front door. It held my repaired suitcase and everything including the broken zipper was repaired.  I hear a lot these days about the challenges of travel and the poor customer service from the airlines. I believe it is also worth praising the airlines when they serve their customers well and do something exceptional. It’s why I believed I should include this article.

Several things:

1. If your bag is damaged, report it immediately to the airline.
2. Praise and thank the airline for their good customer service when you receive it. 

I love having a good news travel story to report to you.

Tweetable:

Catch a new lesson this experienced traveler learned on the road. (ClickToTweet)
 

Laugh Out Loud Funny

I love reading about unusual experiences and occupations. You learn the inside of the hotel industry in HEADS IN BEDS. Tomsky started in the New Orleans hotel business and during this lively book moves into New York City.

The book is peppered with advice and yet the writing is exceptional. Yes, at times a bit profane but still fascinating writing.

On my way to New York, I was reading HEADS IN BEDS. Many people try to use a story to get an upgraded room when they check into a New York hotel. According to the author, these stories do not work. He worked for years as a front desk manager and heard all of the stories about birthdays, special events and first time experiences. What works? Cash.

I used the advice in my recent trip to try it. When I checked into my hotel, I didn’t ask for any upgrade. When I gave the clerk my driver’s license and credit card, I also gave him a $20 bill (called a baby brick in the book). 

The man at the desk said, “Mr. Whalin, thank you very much. You need a better room. I’m going to upgrade you to a junior suite.”

I don’t know where they planned to put me in this 16 story hotel but I was moved to the corner room on the 15th floor. 

My view of the city was outstanding and I had a little larger room—all without asking and for a $20 tip. Remarkable. The advice in HEADS IN BEDS works. I recommend the book and the practice

Another Travel Adventure

It is a solitary task to write. I find tremendous value in getting to a writer's conference and interacting with writers and other professionals about the business.

With this sort of anticipation, I went to the Florida Christian Writers Conference. I had not attended this particular event in many years and was unfamiliar with the location. As instructed, I flew into Orlando. What I didn't understand is the conference is located almost two hours away from the airport. 

I live in Southern California and scheduled an afternoon flight, changing planes in Houston then going on to Orlando. I knew I would arrive in the evening but also knew with the time change it would be OK. You can't predict what will happen when you travel. I faced the unusual on this trip.

When we boarded the plane, I noticed a passenger who reeked of alcohol and I wasn't even near him. He struggled to find his seat on the plane. Everyone boarded and they pushed back from the gate. Yet before they left, the plane returned to the gate and they took off the drunk passenger.

The delay meant we left a few minutes late but they made up the time in the air and we arrived in Houston on time. My connection to Orlando was only 30 minutes and I made it to my gate and the flight. Yet none of the six people who went from Southern California to Houston to Orlando had our luggage. The suitcases were still in Houston and would not come until the next day. 

The airline gave me a little survival kit which contained a toothbrush, some toothpaste, a comb, some deodorant, a razor and some shaving cream. I met my driver to the conference and arrived in my room about 1 a.m. EST.

Off and on throughout the next day I was checking with the airlines about my bags. They arrived in Orlando and were not delivered to the conference until about 6 p.m. I learned a few things through the experience:

Pack some essentials in my carry-on bag. For example, I didn't include any business cards in my carry-on bag and at a conference, business cards are critical. Besides cards, I needed a few key items from my suitcase. Next time I can tuck them into my carry-on bag and be more prepared.

Finally my bags arrived and I had what I needed for the event. Also I relearned the old lesson that anxiety doesn't help you one bit. There was nothing I could do to speed up the delivery of my bags or my missing material. Instead I made light of it and carried on with the business of meeting and helping writers at the event. 

I taught a single workshop at the conference which was well-received. Through my attendance at this event, I met more passionate writers with great material to get into print. I look forward to the days ahead to see how I can help them. The roots of our relationship often begin at a conference.

Despite the adventures of travel, I continue to have high expectations about my forthcoming speaking events. Thursday will begin my time at Author 101 University which is in its eleventh year. Because of where I live this year, I don't have to get on an airplane to reach this event but only make a short drive. I look forward to seeing some of you readers on the road in the days ahead.

Let's Meet This Fall

“What was I thinking?” I wondered when I took a serious look at my schedule for this fall. If I'm honest I can tell you my speaking schedule was not very well planned. 

People asked me to come to their conferences and events at different times over the last few months. Each time, I looked at the specific dates and if they were available, then I agreed to come to their event.

Here's the important step that I missed in this process. I did not look at how the dates fit into my other plans for the month or weeks around that event. My calendar has a feature of being able to look at the entire month at once. If I had looked at the month, I would have noticed the events were stacked close together.

With moving and other factors, I've not been traveling out of state to many conferences in recent weeks. That situation is about to radically change. You can see my speaking schedule (follow the link). 

This Thursday, you can catch my next teleseminar. Get Published Now Sharon Jenkins will be interviewing me. I will be answering your questions about the difference between traditional and self-publishing in this free teleseminar. Just follow the link to listen to the live webcast or dial this Phone number: (206) 402-0100 and PIN Code: 107325# As a printed reminder, you can download this PDF. This telesemminar will give you another example of my teaching.

September 21 and 22, I will be at the Southern Colorado Christian Writers Conference near Durango. I've glanced at their schedule enough to know they will keep me very active for those days.

Then I come home for a few days and the next weekend, I'm teaching at the American Christian Writers Conference in Spokane, Washington. I get the next weekend off to spend with my family.

In October and November, my schedule grows in intensity. In fact, I will be out speaking five weekends in a row.

October 11 and 12th, I will be giving a couple of keynotes at the Breathe Conference in Grand Rapids, Michigan. I've never been to this conference so I'm excited to have this opportunity.

October 19^th and 20th, I'm at the Fall Conference of the San Diego Christian Writers Guild. It's been several years since I've been to this conference and since I moved in mid-June, I'll be able to drive to it.

October 25, 26 and 27, I'll be at Author 101 University in Las Vegas, Nevada. I'm excited to be with other members of the Morgan James team at this terrific event.

November 2^nd and 3^rd, I will be back in Phoenix for the American Christian Writers Conference.


Yes, it is a busy time of year for conferences—and I'm excited to have each opportunity. I'm already planning on getting plenty of rest and taking care of myself in terms of exercise and eating right during this intense period of activity.

Some of you may read this list of conferences and wonder why I do it. Yes, I can be productive sitting at my computer and not traveling to different conferences.

I teach because it is my way to give back to other writers. When I look back at my own writing career, I've gained insight and information from the various instructors at conferences that I've attended. These professionals have built incredible information into my life and experience. Also I've made life-long friends at these events. We exchange business cards and contact information and it's a chance for me to reconnect with old friends and make new ones.

At each of these conferences, I will have many one-on-one, face-to-face meetings with individual authors. I'll be listening as they pitch their book and I'll be asking some clarification and prodding questions about their manuscript or book proposal. Because of my role as an acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, I'm actively looking for great nonfiction and fiction books that I can champion to my publication board and help them move into the marketplace. I'm actively searching for new authors and I know I will find some of those authors on the road.

For the last few weeks, my suitcases have not received a lot of use. In fact, I've purchased new suitcases since my old ones were badly beat up on the road. 

Where will we meet this fall? I look forward to it.

If It's Thursday Then...

I must be headed to the Phoenix airport for another conference. I'll be going out to the She Speaks Conference in Charlotte, North Carolina this coming weekend.

Several of my friends are road warriors and travel almost weekly or several times a month. It's not my normal travel schedule to have three weekends in a row in three different areas of the United States. In each place, I've had some good meetings and opportunities.

I'm excited about the potential in Charlotte and we'll see what happens. I've been learning how to be very productive during the long airplane trips. I'll have my AlphaSmart in my laptop bag. I continue to get some weird comments but it's been a lifesaver for getting work done on the airplane--yes even in the coach section when the person in front of you puts their seat in recline. Because the AlphaSmart has a much smaller screen, it doesn't have the difficulties of a laptop in that same situation.

My entries here will be scarce for a few days. If you ever wonder, just check my schedule and it may give you the answer.

The Weekend Traveler

For the next few weeks, I'm turning into a weekend traveler. I'm out on ether Thursday or Friday and back on Sunday. It's one of those schedules that looked good on paper but as the dates approach, I'm wondering what compelled me to agree months ago and some times well over a year ago. I'm committed to helping new writers and training other professionals.

Tomorrow I'm headed to Amarillo, Texas and the Frontiers in Writing Conference. I met some great folks there several years ago and look forward to seeing them again and making new friends. If you check the link you will see that I’m teaching a couple of workshops. I could have pulled out my old notes and handouts and used them with the group. It's tempting since it is in a different part of the country from where I've taught the information in the past. I've attended such workshops where it feels like the speaker has pulled out their shop-worn notes to try on a new audience. As an audience member, I don't like it so I'm not going to do that to others. Instead, I've put some extra effort into reworking my materials and bringing new information. It takes more effort but I believe it will pay off in the long run.

On a completely different topic, from time to time I read the Church of the Customer blog and enjoy their information. I found this post fascinating about how a blogger took a customer service matter and turned it into a PR nightmare for CompUSA.

If these entries about the writing life are some times sparse during June, just remember that I'm a weekend traveler this month--and on the road the next three weekends in a row.

Drinking the Koolaid

I've been challenged to get another entry written this week. It's been wild with activity—good activity.

Yesterday I traveled to a lunch meeting but it consumed the entire work day. I had more than a little concern about how this commitment was going to throw off some of my writing production. I've signed up for some steep deadlines recently and need to be producing each day to meet those deadlines. It's one of those necessities in the writing life.

While my non-technical wife thinks I have a bunch of gadgets, I'm a relatively gadget-free person. I don't have a blackberry or an ipod or some the other more common gadgets. Several years ago, other writers were telling me about their great accomplishments on their AlphaSmart. I went to ebay and purchased one. I tried it a few times but never invested enough energy to learn how to transfer the material to my computer or any of the simple features in it. That barrier changed this week.

For my day trip, I pulled down my AlphaSmart and tucked it into my travel bag. During each flight when they sounded that bell to allow electronic gadgets, I reached under my seat and pulled out my AlphaSmart and began to pound the keyboard. The keyboard feels better than my laptop and it's a funky-looking thing with only four lines of type--but oh, can you crank on it!

This morning, I transferred the material to my desktop computer in a matter of seconds. It's a matter of taking off my printer cable and plugging it into the hole on the AlphaSmart. Then I open a document in Microsoft Word and hit the send button. Each file pulls right into my desktop. I created several different ones and combined them into a single double-spaced document which was nine pages. My initial draft isn't perfect yet this entire project is much further along than if I had not written anything--which is normally the case for me.

It looks like something out of the stone ages but who cares? I went over to ebay and typed in a search for "AlphaSmart" and you can purchase these machines for very little money. My AlphaSmart has done little for me tucked on a shelf in my closet. It's like many other things that only pay if you use them. I'm a convert and have drunk the koolaid on this one.

In less than a week, I head to Los Angeles for Mega Book Marketing University. Instead of a bunch of books, I'm going to slip my AlphaSmart into my laptop bag and use it on the flights. I'll have my laptop along on the LA trip. Now I can see why my writer friends have been raving about this gadget.