Writing and Publishing News

What are your writing/publishing expectations for 2007? Will you finally write that novel, start your freelance writing career, find a publisher for your memoirs, organize the self-help book that’s been nagging to be written or launch a serious promotional plan for the book you produced last year?

Do you envision yourself meeting a long-held writing or publishing goal in 2007? Then start now taking the necessary steps toward your dream. How?

Make a commitment. Promise yourself that you will accomplish your goal no matter what. Of course, it won’t be easy. In fact, you should expect to make some sacrifices.

Devise a plan. Outline the steps necessary to complete a book, find a publisher, sell 5,000 copies of your book or establish yourself as a freelance writer, for example.

Create a schedule. If you write for two hours every weekday and five hours on weekends, you could conceivably finish a book within twelve months time. Make 25 contacts per week and you might get enough freelance work to support you this year or meet your goal of 5,000 copies of your books sold in 2007.

Take action. The last step toward meeting your goal is to follow through and actually take the action necessary to accomplish it.

Let’s say that you want to write a book. What are the logical steps? If you have to ask, you really need to read my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. This 312-page book will guide you through the entire process of writing, publishing and promoting your book. The first 60 pages are designed to help you understand the publishing industry—a must, if you want to succeed in this competitive field. You’ll become aware of your publishing choices and the consequences of those choices. You’ll learn how to choose, approach and work with a publisher or an agent; self-publish your book and write a book proposal. This book also covers everything you need to know about distribution, book promotion and so much more. If you buy just one writing/publishing-related book this year, make it The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. You won’t be disappointed. http://matilijapress.com/rightway.html. Over a dozen reviewers have given this book 5-stars. Read the reviews at http://www.matilijapress.com/mediacoverage.html

Maybe you plan to start a freelance writing business this year. If so, let me offer my book, The Successful Writer’s Handbook. You can order it from me or get it free when you join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) http://www.spawn.org. This book offers numerous articles to help you determine the type of freelance writing work you want to do (for businesses and individual clients or writing magazine articles, for example.) This 180-page book is designed to help you find the time to write, write more successful query letters, sell more articles, find more clients, successfully network with other writers, find your writing niche, develop a writers’ Web site, recession-proof your writing business and much more. http://www.matilijapress.com/writershandbookpage.html .

If you dream of supporting yourself or at least supplementing your income though magazine articles, you must read, A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles., by Patricia Fry. I started my writing career writing articles for magazines and supported myself this way for dozens of years. I wrote this book in order to give a leg-up and encouragement to other writers who would like to be more successful in the world of article-writing. http://www.matilijapress.com/writingpage.html

Whatever your writing/publishing goals for 2007, education is key. You cannot expect to shift from creative writing mode into the competitive world of publishing without a shift in awareness. Folks, writing is a craft, but publishing is a business. In order to succeed in publishing, you must have the right information and the appropriate tools.

I started my writing career over 30 years ago writing articles for magazines. I eased into the world of publishing during the 1970s and have since produced 25 books. I’m dedicating the fourth decade of my career to you—hopeful and struggling authors and freelance writers. How? Most of my time these days is spent teaching through my writing/publishing-related books, seminars and workshops presented throughout the U.S. and beyond and the hundreds of articles published in writing/publishing-related magazines, newsletters and Web sites all over the world. My writing/publishing-related articles have appeared in Writer’s Digest Magazine, PMA Independent, SPAN Connection, Freelance Writers Report, Writers Journal, Writers Weekly, Absolute Write, Publishing Basics, Fiction Fix, Forward Motion for Writers, Writing-World, Author-Me, Writing for Dollars, Authorship, Christian Writers Fellowship Newsletter, Byline and others.

Further, I add information and resources to this blog almost weekly. I frequently update the massive articles and resource lists at my Web site http://www.matilijapress.com. And I write the meaty monthly SPAWN Market Update (posted in the member area of the SPAWN Web site). http://www.spawn.org

If you want to succeed in the world of writing and/or publishing in 2007, don’t go it alone. Reach out and grasp the hand that is extended in your direction. Purchase and read my books. Study the articles published on my Web site. Join SPAWN for added camaraderie, information and resources. Attend my workshops and seminars. (Keep up with my schedule at my Web site.) Or contact me to help you complete your project. Plfry620@yahoo.com.

It’s a week before Christmas and I’m ready. I really am ready and I’m still enjoying the preparation process. I’m also staying caught up on my client work, article writing, book promotion and shipping.

If you read my December 6, 2006 blog entry, you know that I tried a new tactic this year in order to create a more joyful holiday experience for myself. And guess what? It is working!! I am doing all of those Christmassy domestic things I used to enjoy, my house looks adorable and festive all lighted and decorated up and I am actually feeling a part of this most joyous season. I’m convinced that my attitude has made the real difference in my experience. But I had to purposefully slow down and smell the pumpkin pie.

I guess I’m not the only writer who has been writing through the holidays instead of participating in the festivities and fun. Several colleagues contacted me after reading that early December blog entry to say that they, too, have been holiday drop-outs. Like me, these writers have come to resent the intrusion of the holidays while also mourning the loss of old traditions. Like me, some of them planned to take a week off from writing this year and immerse themselves in the warmth and wonderment of the season.

You might be happy to know that I accomplished a lot during my week off and that, because of that week spent mostly away from my writing and editing work, I have adopted a greater sense of joy that is carrying me entirely through the Christmas season. Yes, I am a walking/talking, one-woman advertorial for Christmas this year.

This morning I was waiting in line at the downtown post office when the woman behind me started grumbling, “This is the busiest mailing day of the year, so I got here when they opened and here I am standing in line. They really should have more than three clerks—people really do need to be more prepared when they arrive at the post office…Grumble, Grumble.” Do you know what I told her? “You know, the fact that you’re standing in line at this moment might be saving your life. Because you’re here, you may be avoiding a horrific accident that’s happening right where you would be otherwise.”

I say that often while waiting in line with grumblers. Some people will look at me as if I am crazy and sometimes even move to another line or simply leave. Others will think about it for a few moments and then say, “Gosh, I never thought about it that way.” And I can actually see them start to relax a bit.

Sometimes I mention to impatient grumblers that it helps to think of waiting as an opportunity to meet people, to learn something new or to just be quiet and meditate. Of course, many people make waiting an opportunity to complain.

Speaking of complaining, you hear folks say that Christmas is too commercial—that all of the mystery and magic is gone. And I say to these people, “Christmas hasn’t changed as much as your approach to Christmas has changed.”

People say that kids don’t appreciate the simple things about the season. They’re too greedy and want all of these expensive things. And whose fault is that?

Just as you can learn to once again enjoy the magic of Christmases past, you can teach your children to appreciate the sweet and charming things about the holiday. I hope I have helped families to put more joy into their Christmas celebrations through the articles I’ve written over the years on this subject. Here are a few of my ideas:

1: Don’t cave in to your children’s demands for expensive electronic gadgets throughout the year and they won’t have such high expectations during the holidays.

2: Limit TV watching so they aren’t as likely to get caught up in the commercial hype.

3: Arrange for your kids to buy or make gifts of their own to give. One year, I took a 9-year-old neighbor boy shopping at the 99 cent store with a $20 bill and a list of about 11 family members he wanted to buy for. He spent over an hour carefully choosing just the right gift for each member of his family. Back home, we sipped hot cider while wrapping each item. Boy was he proud. He’d never had the experience of giving before. Later, when we talked about his Christmas day, he didn’t even mention what he received. But he shared with delight, stories about his family members’ responses to the gifts he handed out. He told me that day, “This was my best Christmas ever.”

4: Plan quiet moments during your busy holiday weeks. Take your children to see a Christmas pageant, attend a church program, walk along candy cane lane or drive around looking at the decorations in your community. When you return home, gather around the fireplace or the Christmas tree and sip hot chocolate with peppermint sticks and marshmallows to warm up.

5: Invite a few special neighbors in for refreshments. Take turns reading Twas Night Before Christmas or another holiday classic. Or organize a neighborhood caroling stroll.

6: Adopt a less fortunate family for Christmas. Encourage your children to help choose gifts, box up the food and deliver the package.

7: Visit a nursing home with the children and hand out candy canes or homemade holiday cards.

8: Invite someone who will be alone to join your family for Christmas dinner.

9: Take a plate of food to a shut in on Christmas day.

10: Let the kids participate in the tasks related to Christmas preparation. Explain the reason for the various traditions—putting up the nativity scene, for example. As you decorate the tree together, share stories of some of the special ornaments you’ve collected over the years.

11: Recapture some of the old family traditions that make sense and embrace new ones that come of necessity because of divorce and other creative family situations.

12: Make some of your holiday gifts and encourage your children to do the same. Watch for gift ideas throughout the year. Maybe you can learn how to knit or crochet scarves, make living wreaths, do quilting or arrange dried flowers attractively. Help the kids decorate little boxes with seashells, make note cards, make pot holders from rags, cook doggie treats or bake cookies, for example.

13: Keep writing throughout the season even if you are spending your allotted time journaling, writing personalized Christmas cards or Christmas letters. Log your holiday experiences, thoughts and especially your realizations, insights and awarenesses. This material could develop into articles or even a book.

14. And don’t forget to promote your book everywhere you go. Carry at least one copy of your book with you. Show it to the owner of the new gift shop in town. Mention it to someone you meet while waiting in the long line at the post office. Talk about it to the old friend or colleague you run into downtown. Take a stack of books with you to meetings and other gatherings. I placed copies of my local history book with a new tourist store this month and I’ve sold about a dozen copies of my writing books, local history books and my newest book on my adventures in Dubai, just by having them with me when I happen to run into someone.

Will you enjoy the holidays this year? You can approach the many tasks begrudgingly and with resentment. Or you can choose to enjoy every moment of the season. Remember, the joy is not in the day, it is in your heart. And it is up to you to find it and embrace it.

Happy Holidays everyone.

If you are thinking about writing a book or you are at any stage of the process, be sure to consult my book, The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book. http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

How do you handle Christmas now that writing is your life? Do you write right through the holidays? Or can you easily tear yourself away from work in order to participate in the season?

I’m celebrating one year of blogging. Last year at this time, my entries related to my struggles, my failings and my few successes with regard to juggling my work and holiday tasks. Each year, I seem to adopt a different approach to Christmas. BFTW (Before Full-Time Writing), I sewed, I knitted and I did needlepoint projects for Christmas giving. I made ornaments for our tree and advent calendars of felt, beads and sequins for all of the children that I knew. I wrote poems and designed my own Christmas cards. I baked. I entertained. And each shopping trip was an event. I loved the holiday season—in fact, you might say that I made love to the holiday season or let it make love to me.

And then I became a serious writer and established a full-time writing, publishing and editorial business. The month of December suddenly shifted from joyful to stressful. How would I get it all done?

Every year, as December approaches I contemplate the challenges of working full-time while doing it all. I fret. I try bargaining for extra time. I’ve attempted all sorts of creative maneuvers in order to find that loving feeling for the holidays once again. It seems that no matter what I do, the whole Christmas season is a blur. I feel deprived either because I don’t get to do everything or because I try to do everything. It is a lose/lose situation for me.

Last year, as you may recall, my strategy was to do something related to Christmas every day during the last few weeks of countdown. And I attempted to focus totally on that task—to be in the moment with that task—because that is the only way you can truly enjoy what you’re doing. This was fairly successful.

This year, however, I’ve become even more brazen. I have taken an entire week off. This IS bold, considering there’s writing work to be done and when I don’t do it, there’s no money coming in to pay for all of that shopping, creating and entertaining I want to do. Sigh.

This is my week off. It’s Wednesday and things are going well. I am enjoying the season. So what am I doing at the keyboard? Well, it’s only 7: a.m. I’m still working in my office during the early morning hours because I have clients to take care of and article ideas that must be jotted down, lest I lose my edge. So far this week, I’ve put up our tree—an artificial one so I don’t have to worry about it drying out by Christmas. I have decorated the house and I’ve started addressing our Christmas cards. Yahoo.

I have most of my shopping done, but will go out one day this week to pick up a few things, but mostly to enjoy the ambiance in the mall.

I’m doing some bead work, which I love. I’m making felt stockings for the two new babies in the family. I’m taking it slow and easy so that each task is enjoyable—so that I’m feeling fulfilled rather than rushed. And I’m getting enough work done in my office each day to quell any random stress/pressure. Life is good.

Today, I’m wrapping gifts. Among the gifts, this year, are copies of my latest book, Adventures in Dubai and a book I published through Matilija Press this year for another author, Johanna’s Journey. I will also give a few copies of a book I edited earlier this year for Gary Spivey, Keys to Heaven.

And once I’ve immersed myself in those Christmas dreams of sleigh bells, sugarplums and Bing Crosby’s Christmas carols, I will resume my writing/editing and promotion work with a joyful heart and many wonderful holiday memories.

What’s on your heart this month? Are you finding ways to enjoy the season while continuing the flow of writing? I’d love to hear how you do this. Plfry620@yahoo.com

Do you need some good books for holiday giving, order Adventures in Dubai (the story of my visit in this fascinating Middle Eastern emirate in May of 2006), Johanna’s Journey (the true story of love and loss. This book also includes my story of inheriting four adult cats and how God orchestrated their purrfect placement), The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book (for anyone who is thinking about writing a book or who is in the process of writing a book). http://www.matilijapress.com.com