Most professionals are required to attend at least two conferences a year. By doing this, they gain new information in their field, get to network with other members, and acquire tools that help them advance in their career. It’s the same for writers. You can read all the books on writing and meet regularly with your writers’ group, but one of the best ways to develop as a writer is by attending writer’s conferences. Maybe you  already know this and are planning to attend a conference this year or the next. In order to get the most for your money, here are some things you should know.

1. First decide what you want out of the conference. Conferences offer a lot of sessions on different aspects of writing. Depending on the type of conference, there may be workshops on everything from fiction as well as non-fiction writing, social media networking, website design and, of course, opportunities for pitching to agents/editors. Some conferences also offer critiquing and mentoring. What do you want? Maybe you are a fiction writer with a manuscript you would like to pitch, and you’re also interested in social media. Zero in on the one that’s more important – you may not have time for both – then prepare accordingly.

2. Register early. The early bird catches the fattest worm doesn’t only apply to hungry birds. If you want to get the most benefit for your money, you should register early. Reason is, workshops, especially those that are most in demand, fill up quickly. Also, if you are looking to pitch your manuscript, by registering early you are more likely to get the appointments you want.

3. Do your research. After you register, you should receive a packet with a list of presenters, editors and agents who will be at the conference. A well-organized conference will indicate the learning level of the workshops. You don’t want to waste precious dollars sitting in a session that is beneath your knowledge level. Also, and this is very important, if you plan to pitch to an agent/editor, study their bios listed on the conference website so you know what they are looking for. Don’t pick a fantasy editor if you are a romance author.  When you have found some you’re interested in, visit their websites or Facebook pages to see what kinds of books they deal with.

4. Prepare for your appointments. Once you have selected the people you want to pitch to, get your manuscript(s) ready. Most agents don’t want a whole manuscript at the conference – not even a proposal – but they will look at your one-sheet or outline and if they’re interested, they would request a proposal. However, what I found at the last conference I attended is that after I’d pitched my story, they all asked to see the first five pages of my manuscript, which they read before giving it back to me. So, if you’re having multiple appointments, make sure you walk with several copies of your one-sheet and either the first five pages or the first chapter of your manuscript.

5. Practice your pitch. Katherine Sands in her book Making The Perfect Pitch says when practicing your pitch you should interview yourself. What would you say if you were on Oprah? What would you want your viewers and readers to know, not just about your book, but about you. I remember an agent’s first question to me at a conference was, “What kind of books do you like to read?” Now, that’s a loaded question. If you are a writer, you should love to read, and you should be reading some books – not all –  in the genre you write. Fortunately, I love to read, so I was able to answer that question comfortably, but I hadn’t prepared for it. Practice your pitch in front of the mirror and with someone until it sounds perfect.  Remember you only have five minutes to impress the agent or editor.

6. Dress professionally. At the conference you want to impress others, but a writer’s conference is not the place for your stilettos and low-cut blouses. Leave those for the gala night. Most conference brochures will emphasize business casual as the dress code. Why is this important? The people you meet with will be forming their own impression of you. Do you look like someone they would want to do business with in the future? By dressing professionally, you will demonstrate that you are serious about your work and can be taken seriously.

7. Give them something to remember you by.  Every writer should have business cards. You can either make them yourself, or have them made very inexpensively from Vistaprint in a color that matches your website or one-sheet. A word about one-sheets. In case you don’t know, a one-sheet is literally one sheet. It gives the hook and a brief description of your novel, along with your bio, a professional-looking headshot of yourself, and a photo that depicts the essence of your book. Most agents will keep this so when you send your proposal, they will remember who it came from.

Keep your business card in a neat little case so you don’t have to hunt for it when you need to give a card to someone.

8. Take notes. Obviously, you will take notes during your workshop sessions. Don’t depend on the outlines the presenters hand out because by the time you get home, you may have forgotten everything else. Also, take notes at your appointments. Each agent may request something different. One may ask for a query, synopsis and the first chapter; another may want a full-scale proposal. Make sure you understand and give them what they require.

9. Network, network, network. At one conference I attended, we actually had a workshop on networking. We were made to work the room with our business card in hand and talk to as many people as possible. To some attendees, it was no big deal, but to the more introverted ones like myself, it was intimidating at first. However, once I got the hang of it, I had fun doing it, and made quite a few friends. So when you go to that conference, don’t sit at the same table for every meal. And if possible, try to sit at the agents’ table at least once. They always leave a few extra seats for attendees. You never know, your next contract may come from an informal meeting such as this and not from your appointment.

10. Follow up. After the conference, be sure to email the contacts you made and let them know you enjoyed meeting them. Get your queries or proposals ready and send them off to the agents who requested them during the timeframe they stipulated. Attach a cover letter stating that you met them at the conference, state date and place, and you are sending your query per their request. If you had an appointment with someone and were not able to keep it, send your query and explain what happened. Also, if your agent suggested changes, be sure to make those changes for that particular query.

Attending conferences is one of the things I enjoy about being a writer. I get to visit a strange place, most of the time, and meet other writers. Most of all, I increase my knowledge about the craft of writing, and return home energized to keep on writing. What has been your experience at writer’s conferences? Please leave a comment in the box below, and if you enjoyed this post, please subscribe to my blog.

As writers, we pride ourselves on our creativity, but researchers have found that creativity can be linked to depression. Many famous writers such as Mark Twain, Stephen King and Virginia Woolf suffered from depression. But one factor needs emphasizing: researchers also found that while writers are at a greater risk for depression, their relatives are not. Therefore, writers may be able to avoid depression by following the tips below:

Cover of Stephen King

1. Avoid isolation. Most writers are introverts by nature, and once we begin to write, it’s easy for us to turn down invitations for spending time with others. We need to guard against this. We have to forsake the company of our characters and our ideas and get out for a while, maybe just to browse through the mall or chat with a friend.

2. Work with the clock, not against it. Deadlines are the bane of most writers. In order to maintain a good reputation with clients and/or editors, you need to be able to meet your deadlines. Work out a system you can live with. Keep projects, newspaper clippings, calendars etc. in labeled folders (on or off screen) so you can find them when you need them. Schedule activities in blocks of time so you don’t become overwhelmed trying to meet those deadlines.

3. Manage your time wisely. Airlines overbook all the time, and then they bump passengers. As writers we don’t have that luxury. We need to have enough work to pay the bills, but at the same time we don’t want to take on more than we can handle, because this can lead to stress which leads to depression.

4. Take regular breaks. Whether you are a full time or part time writer, you should schedule regular time away from your computer. This is not exactly the same as #1. In this case, you are taking a break from your writing so when you return to it, you can see it from a different perspective. You will also be much more relaxed and reenergized to tackle your writing.

5. Avoid alcohol. You might think this is a given, but many famous writers such as Ernest Hemingway and F. Scott Fitzgerald drank heavily and were plagued by depressive episodes. Alcohol is a depressant. It tricks the brain into making it feel it’s having a good time, but when the effect wears off, depression sets in. After a while, you develop a tolerance for the substance and have to use more and more.

6. Observe proper nutrition. Feed your body the right stuff and it will reward you. As writers, we can drift from one end of the spectrum to the other. Either we get so engrossed in our work that we forget to eat, and only live on coffee, or we nibble constantly while working so we become overweight and unhealthy. Plan ahead so that you always have a supply of nutritious foods in the refrigerator. If you are prone to overeat, schedule and stick to your snack time rigidly.

7. Exercise regularly. This goes hand in hand with proper nutrition. Regular exercise not only tones your body, it tones your mind and fuels creativity. When you exercise, your body releases endorphins that make you feel good and fight off depression.

8. Have a creative outlet. I’m a writer, I already have a creative outlet, you say. That’s true, but you should have something else besides your writing to help you relax when you are feeling tense over a project. Music, painting, gardening or simply walking has been found helpful.

9. Develop a positive attitude. As writers we deal with criticism and rejection on a regular basis. If we take them the wrong way, we can become very depressed. We begin to doubt our ability and we may even give up writing altogether.

10. Reach out to others. This can be linked to #1. Instead of isolating when you get discouraged or depressed, reach out to people who will help to lift your spirits. Belonging to a writer’s group has been a wonderful blessing to me over the years, as I believe it is to many writers. We don’t only critique each other’s work, but we also share in each other’s joys, fears and disappointments. If you don’t belong to a writer’s group, I encourage you to find one as quickly as possible.

The writer’s life is full of ups and downs. As writers, we have to take the good with the bad, learn from each, and not allow ourselves to become depressed when things don’t go the way we would want them.

If you enjoyed this article, please leave a comment below and share it with your friends on social media.

English: Jordan Sonnenblick doing a book-signing at the Eldersburg Library in Eldersburg, MD. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

I think it might be true to say that for most of us our desire to become writers grew out of our love for reading. And that love for reading grew out of our visits to the library. For many of us, those book-lined buildings were like a second home. Now as authors, we still treasure our local libraries and visit them often (I hope) either to satisfy our hunger for good quality reading material, or to do research. But did you know that your local library holds other benefits to you as an author?

 
Below are some ways we can benefit from our library:

1. Submit your book. As an author, one of the best ways to gain exposure is to have your book included in the library system. Unfortunately, it’s difficult for indie authors to get in because of the overwhelming number of indie titles being churned out in the US alone every year. But now there is hope. If you have written an ebook for which you hold the rights, you can submit it to SELF-e, a library curation process open to ebooks written in the English language. Your book has to undergo a vetting process by the Library Journal’s evaluators, and if selected, it will be made available to librarians nationwide. You can get more information  here

2. Hold a book signing or library reading. If you have a print version of your book, holding a book signing or library reading is a great way to get the word out. After I self-published my book Women For All Seasons, I plucked up my courage and approached my local library to do a book signing. To my surprise, the librarian was very pleasant and helpful. She gave me all the information I needed and even made a large poster for me with my photo and the title of my book and placed it at the library entrance on the day of the event. I felt like I was a famous author. Read about it here.

3. Participate in group discussions. Writers’ groups, book clubs and other community groups hold regular meetings in the library. Getting involved in these events not only helps you get known, but it may help you establish valuable contacts. Readers also love to see the face behind the wonderful book you have written.

4. The ideal environment. Above my desk, I have rows of bookshelves. Whenever I look up from my computer screen, I see books, and even though I’ve had most of them for a long time, they still inspire me and help to keep me anchored. If you are not blessed with the right environment for writing, what better place to go than your library? It’s usually quieter than a coffee shop or bookstore and has all the books you may need for research right at hand.

5. Donate your print book. In #1 I stated that it’s difficult for indie authors to get their books in the library. Difficult, but not impossible. Marlene Harris, a librarian with 15 years experience, advises that you call or email the person in charge of Collection Development or Acquisitions. He/she may request two copies, but Marlene warns there are always exceptions – textbooks, fill-in-the-blanks books and books with spiral or comb bindings may not make the cut. You can also check to see if your library’s website has a blog. They may be happy to help you promote your book there. But, say Marlene and a librarian I spoke to, the best way to get your book noticed by libraries is to have it reviewed by a reputable reviewer like Library Journal, Publishers Weekly, Kirkus and others. Get more information here.

 
So, the next time you visit that revered building to return or check out books, look at it with a new pair of eyes. Think of ways you can use your library to promote yourself and your writing. Best of all, make friends with your librarian. Let them know you are a local author and what you write. You never know what unexpected benefits may come your way.

How do you begin writing a novel? How do you build the plot, recruit a cast of characters, place them in an exotic setting and do all that in a way that will keep your readers turning the pages? In other words, where do you get your ideas? At a conference I attended, one of the presenters suggested that authors browse popular magazines for stories that interest them and build a plot based on that. She actually had us draw up a simple outline during the session. I came up with a few other fountain of ideas.

From other novels.  As a writer, you should be reading – a lot – especially in the genre you want to write. Even famous novelists report that they have been influenced by other authors, especially the classical ones like Hemingway, Dostoyevsky and others. One editor suggested you summarize a novel you enjoyed, but change the entire premise. Instead of the good guy riding off into the sunset with the girl, have her marry the bad guy instead. It could mark the beginning of a series.

From your life.  What kind of life experiences have you had? Have you ever stumbled on something you were not supposed to witness? Have you ever found yourself in a place you were not supposed to be? How did you get out of it? At the last conference I attended, one of the hosts mentioned that the fourth floor of the hotel in which we were staying was not accessible either by elevator or escalator. Why was the fourth floor cut off like that? What was on that floor? The mystery writers among us all had their antennae up.

The media. One thing we can be assured of is, people love bad news. Every book on writing will tell you that an effective story begins with someone facing a disaster or conflict of some sort. Therefore, if you want bad news, where do you turn? To the media, of course. They dole out mini plots everyday. Think of the stories that dominated the headlines last year. The disappearance of the Malaysia Airlines Flight 370, the Ebola outbreak,  the Bill Cosby rape allegations, ISIS, police shootings, and other less popular stories can all provide us with enough material for many books.

Your job. Regardless of where you work, your job can be a treasure trove of interesting stories. Your co-worker who is going through a divorce, a grandmother whose son has just moved back home, a woman who has just been diagnosed with cancer, an accountant who is cooking the books to keep his mistress. The list is endless. The idea for my first novel Coming Out Of Egypt came from when I worked as a schoolteacher. There were two sisters who, it was rumored, were being abused. In my novel, the older girl kills her father.

Your imagination. Of course, no matter where you look for ideas, you will not have a salable idea without imagination. You cannot rewrite a news item and make it read like a novel without infusing it with some imaginary details. If the situation you now come up with intrigues you and makes you want to keep on writing, then you can be sure your readers will want to keep on reading.

After you hit on an idea that sparks your creativity, draw up a plot then run it by a few friends. Listen carefully to what they say, but go with your gut feeling. You will write many drafts before you type The End. Drop me a line in the comment box below and let me know where your ideas come from.

With January just half-way through, you may still be trying to refine your resolutions, craft new ones or just reflect on what improvements you can make to your life this year. I haven’t made any resolutions. I simply prefer to reexamine my values and set my goals  based on those values.  And one of my values as a writer, and I daresay, that of most writers, whether you are a veteran or a newbie, is to grow and improve. How you translate that depends on what stage you are in in your writing life.

I have been writing for as long as I can remember, and have been fortunate to have some short stories and articles published. However, I still have not realized my dream of having my novel Coming Out Of Egypt published. And it’s not for want of trying. I have queried agents and publishers, attended conferences, pitched to agents and editors, obtained paid critiques as well as having my work  critiqued by my writers’ group. Most of the feedback I received has been positive, but still no contracts.

So this year I’ve decided to take the plunge and self-publish.  I know, most people say it’s always too soon to give up. I am not giving up. I am simply using a viable option available to me in this brave new world of publishing. I think my book is as good as, or even better than, some of the traditionally- published ones, and I expect it to do well in the marketplace. Meanwhile, I’ll be editing and pitching the second book in the series, In The Wilderness. So please follow me on my novel journey. Maybe you’ll pick up a few tips, and if you see me going the wrong way, please advise me to make a U turn.

Why not share your novel journey with us in the comments box below?

Hope everyone had a lovely Christmas and is looking forward to the New Year. With my grandchildren around me, my Christmas could not have been better. I am now looking forward to what 2015 holds.  Which brings me to the reason for the headline above. Actually, it came about as a result of a post I read this morning, one that had nothing to do with writing. The author was speaking about expectations in general and she stated that expecting too much from others can lead to disappointment. And she was right. We should only set standards by ourselves.

So, what expectations do we have of ourselves as writers? I know for myself, I set my expectations very high. I want to be the best writer I can be. I want my work to stand out from among the others. There is a trend in writing and publishing toward producing work that is quite similar to what is already on the market. One person writes a successful vampire story and hundreds flood the market. One person writes  a dystopian novel and we get hundreds more.  And I wouldn’t even touch on the romance market. I suppose we are afraid that no one would read our books, or, worse yet, we would not be able to find an agent. The latter may very well be true, but whatever happened to originality and creativity and uniqueness?  Where are the Shakespeares, the Jane Austens, the Faulkners of our day?

A friend of mine who is a voracious reader told me recently that Agatha Christie, who wrote 91 books, 82 of which are mysteries, has a unique plot and unpredictable  ending for each one of her mysteries. Now that’s what I call creativity. I read Agatha Christie when I was growing up, so I may have to go and reread some of them through the eyes of an author.

In 2015, my expectation is to be my creative best, and if I get only one reader, then so be it. What are your expectations? Please share them in the comments box below.

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Yesterday the world said good-bye to an icon of American literature. Maya Angelou is best remembered for her memoir, I Know Why The Caged Bird Sings. Much has already been written about Maya’s turbulent, early years and her rise to phenomenal success in the arts, literature and political activism.  Many young people met Maya through her memoir, which was required reading in high schools, and for decades, Maya continued to educate  us with her wisdom and mesmerize us with the magic of her words.

Maya Angelou with Bloomberg and Nadler (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

As a writer, I am always looking for words that stir my soul, quicken my pulse and thrill me beyond measure. Maya Angelou’s writing does that to me. This excerpt, taken from the poem Still I Rise is one of my favorites, and I daresay, the favorite of many:

Out of the huts of history’s shame
I rise
Up from a past that’s rooted in pain
I rise
I’m a black ocean, leaping and wide,
Welling and swelling I bear in the tide.
Leaving behind nights of terror and fear
I rise
Into a daybreak that’s wondrously clear
I rise
Bringing the gifts that my ancestors gave,
I am the dream and the hope of the slave.
I rise
I rise
I rise.

Gifted person that she was, Maya has left us a treasure trove of words that we as writers can live by.  As I reflect on the life and passing of this “great light,” her words inspire me to remember that my beginning does not dictate my end.  Maya’s light shines on.

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English: Image at the beginning of Chapter 34. Darcy proposing to Elizabeth. Austen, Jane. Pride and Prejudice. London: George Allen, 1894. (Photo credit: Wikipedia)

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Some time ago I wrote a post about how important it is to create characters that your readers will love and will come to think of as friends. Think of Elizabeth in Pride and Prejudice, or Katniss in The Hunger Games. How can we forget these characters? According to Donald Maass in Writing The Breakout Novel, what makes a character memorable is their inner conflict.

Donald Maass says, “In creating genuine inner conflict, it is not enough simply to create inner turmoil.  True inner conflict involves wanting two things that are mutually exclusive.  It is most effective when it tears your protagonist, or any character, in two opposite directions.” In other words, if she gets one, she may have to give up the other.

In my novel, Coming Out of Egypt, I tried to do this with my protagonist, Cicely. She is a schoolteacher, a Christian, whose only desire is to go on living a Christian life, take care of her ailing father and help two of her former pupils get over the effects of their abusive past. Despite her best intentions, Cicely falls in love with the detective who is investigating the murder of the girls’ father.

Her conflict now becomes both internal as well as  external when the detective, now her fiance, tells her he may have to arrest the older girl for her father’s murder. Cicely doesn’t want to see her pupil arrested for murder because she suspects the abuse is what may have driven her to kill him, if in fact she did.  Also, if her fiance ever finds out that she too was abused as a child, would that mean the end of their relationship?

What conflict does your character face?  Does he/she have to deal with external as well as internal conflict? Share with us in the comment box below.

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Today I heard a sermon in church that had me thinking how the phrase above may apply to writers. We have all heard it in connection

Physical Fitness Test (Photo credit: The U.S. Army)

with physical fitness, but this sermon had to do with the parable of the talents. In case you’ve never heard it before, here’s what it is in a nutshell. Three servants were given 5 talents, 2 talents and 1 talent respectively. In the parable, the talents referred to money. The first two men worked their talents and doubled them, but the third man hid his in the ground. When their master returned, he rewarded the first two men for their accomplishments, but he rebuked the third man strongly. Not only that, he ordered that the one talent be taken from him and given to the one who had the most.

Use it or lose it! As I listened to the sermon, I wondered why the third man had done nothing with his talent. Was he lazy? Afraid? Indifferent? Whatever the reason, we as writers cannot afford to be like him. Many times I hear would-be writers say, “I can’t just bring myself to sit down and write.” Or, “I started, but I stopped.” Or some other excuse. If  writing is something you want to do, do it.  Don’t bury your talent in the ground.

Well, you say, I don’t know if I have the talent. You may not have the talent, but if you have been thinking about writing, then you have the desire. And writing is a craft that can be learned.  Going back to the story above, I believe the master gave them talents according to their ability. The third man was not expected to produce as much as the first one did, but he could have produced something. You may not be able to sit down and write a 400-page novel right now, but you can begin by writing a blog post, an article, a poem, a short story. Whatever your level of ability, use it or lose it.

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I can’t believe it’s almost a month since I wrote my last post, but 2014 has opened as hectic as last year was. It seems like there are more people everywhere, more traffic on the roads, and less time to do everything. Or maybe I’m just getting older. I know that last one is definitely true. So, this is a reminder to myself, as much as to you, to slow down and speed up. Huh?

Sounds like a paradox, but what I’m trying to say is  if you want to accomplish your writing goals in 2014, you may have to slow down on the things that don’t really matter and speed up on the things that do.  What are the things that slow you down and clog your day? Is it phone chats, texting, web surfing, social media? Take a look at your day and see what you can chuck in order to have a more productive life. When you have found them, throw them out or cut down the time and spent on them.

Then you would want to increase:

a. Writing time

b. Researching time

c. Marketing time

Try it this week and see if this doesn’t improve your productivity. Do you have any other thoughts on the subject? Leave me a comment below.

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