Agent Reality Check: 5 Top Things We Learned

Ruth E. Walker

At our annual fall retreat, Turning Leaves, we always invite a special guest to offer a workshop and hold a fireside Q&A session. Usually, we ask an author to join us and our writers have been delighted by the insights and inspiration from our generous guests.

This year, we thought we’d try something different. We invited literary agent Hilary McMahon, Vice-president of Westwood Creative Artists. Come join us, we said.

And join us, she did.

From Friday dinner to Sunday breakfast, Hilary was a full participant. She delivered a wonderful Friday evening chat on the role and challenges of the agent and gave a great Saturday workshop on preparing compelling query letters.

We’re happy to share a few tips from the many she offered throughout the weekend:

1 Do your research:

Visit the agency website to get details on each agent’s submission guidelines, and the correct spelling of the agency name and the agent’s name. Pay attention to each agent’s information. You don’t want to send a query about your fabulous fantasy sci-fi steampunk graphic novel to an agent who only is seeking nonfiction manuscripts.

Go to book launches or read the acknowledgment pages of books similar to yours to find out who the agents are who represent those writers. See “Be strategic” at the end of this post.

2 Be professional:

Dear agent — you are writing to a person with whom you hope to have an important relationship, so use their name. But remember that this is a professional relationship, so no first names here. And get that name right. Hilary’s has been sent queries with another agent’s name in the salutation…a copy-and-paste oopsie!

Submit a clean query and clean sample in manuscript format without any typos or grammatical errors. Hilary was clear: it all affects how the agent views your manuscript in comparison with the 500+ others received that year. No agent will ask for the full manuscript if your query doesn’t demonstrate you can write well and convey the flavour of your style. And for the same reason, your writing has to be the best possible writing you can submit. See “Be ready”…

Last, but not least, daily follow-up calls and emails will likely ring warning bells for any agent — it’s annoying and the sign of someone very, very needy. Sure, you’re on pins and needles waiting, but give the agent some time to get to your query.

But Hilary says that if you have a valid reason for a follow-up email, by all means fire away. Valid reason? If you receive a writing award or grant, follow up. If you have a short story coming out in a literary magazine or national publication, follow up. In short, if you have important writing news, follow up. An agent will want to know.

3 Be ready:

It’s a competition and most agents receive hundreds and even thousands of queries each year. Of those, a few dozen get chosen to submit their work. Of those few, even fewer get picked for a second or even third read. Of those, one or two may get a contract. So when an agent asks for your full manuscript, you want to have something that’s polished and ready to submit.

4 Be realistic

A contract with an agent does not equal a contract with a publisher. Agents don’t earn a penny until you do, so naturally a good agent will be working hard to secure the best possible publishing deal. But it’s a tough climate right now, especially for fiction. Hilary talked about having manuscripts that she absolutely loved but nonetheless, couldn’t land a publisher that felt the same. But she offered hope when she recounted the story of one writer. She couldn’t land a home for the writer’s first manuscript but secured a publisher for the next one.

5 Be strategic

An agent can represent a writer for many years. Like a marriage, it is an important kind of partnership, so you want that relationship to be strong and effective. You want an agent who really likes (loves!) your manuscript, and believes in you and your creative ability. Someone you can work with.

So, this is more than just “Do your research.” Think carefully about who you send your query to. A top literary agent would be a great coup but you will be competing for attention with international bestselling authors. Would an intermediate-level agent have more room and time to focus on developing your career? What about a new agent? They might be even more high-energy on your behalf…but does that agent have the contacts in the publishing field? And the same goes for the agent’s agency.

We know that landing an agent is a goal of most writers, so isn’t the point to get one? Of course. But our weekend with Hilary McMahon gave us plenty to think about and we all left with at least this one piece of advice. The point may be to get an agent, but an even better point is to work at getting the right agent…at least the right agent for you.

Did you know…

Registration is now open for Spring Thaw 2017, our all-inclusive retreat at Elmhirst’s Resort on Rice Lake in Ontario, April 21 to 23, or 21 to 25. Receive feedback from both Gwynn Scheltema and Ruth E. Walker on 10 ms pages submitted in advance, as well as one-on-one consultation on your writing project.

Morning warm-up exercises and follow-up private discussions in the afternoon offer support when and if you need it.

Private room accommodations in cozy lakeside cottages: wood-burning fireplaces and full kitchens stocked for in-cottage breakfasts. Join the group for lunch or take it back to your cottage if you’re on a roll. Relax in the casually elegant dining room for candlelight dinners.

Stay for 3 days or Extend Your Pen for 5 days. Either way, you escape to write…with Writescape.

Lights, Action…TV interview primer

Ruth with Tom Taylor on Readers & Writers, Rogers TV

Ruth E. Walker

I used to imagine what it would be like to be interviewed for TV. I knew I’d be nervous. And I still am…each time. But being prepared in advance was my key to surviving and appearing calm.

There are differences between a live and taped production, (in a taped show, you can make horrible mistakes and they can edit them out…usually) but the basics for both scenarios are the same.

Look good

You are pretty much on your own for hair, makeup and wardrobe. So choose your “look” well in advance.

Dress to keep the attention on the conversation. Avoid plaids or busy stripes/polka dots. Lots of fringes. Clunky, dangling jewellery. Super shiny fabrics. Clothing gaps (think too tight, too short, too low cut) or baggy outfits. (and fellas, if you think I’m just talking to women here, think again…)

Shine your shoes. Maybe the camera won’t pick them up but good heavens, everyone in the studio, including the host, will see those mud-spattered runners.

On the Telling Stories set with host Jules Carlysle

You will likely be wired for sound. Commonly, a lavalier microphone clips onto your clothes somewhere around your upper chest. The wire hides inside your clothes and the transmitter (a small box unit) is clipped somewhere on your back, out of view. Easy peasy if you wear a suit jacket or sweater. Remember, production staff need to snake the wire through your clothes.

Take a minute in the washroom when you first arrive at the studio to make sure that cowlick is behaving and any loose hair/dandruff is brushed off your shoulders. Washroom quiet can also help calm your nerves.

We all have certain physical tics—I clench my jaw. These tics intensify when you’re nervous. Practise being relaxed in front of a mirror, hands in your lap or gently active when emphasizing a point. Maintain slow and easy breathing. Bring that attitude into the studio.

Telling Stories host Jules Carlysle & guest poet Ingrid Ruthig

Keep your focus on your interviewer; don’t look around the studio or directly into the camera—even a quick glance away can be distracting. If you need a break, look down at your book on the table or at your hands in your lap.

Yes, I said your book on the table. Remember always to bring it along. And if you have any attractive promotional material, such as an upright banner or portable book display unit, ask in advance if you should bring it to the studio. On Jules Carlysle’s Telling Stories (Rogers TV), a children’s author brought along a colourful display that showcased her series of books for young readers. Effective!

Be professional

Be on time. Better yet, be early.

Television production is costly and a late guest is never appreciated—especially for live TV. But if something happens to delay you, make sure you have the production team’s number to call or text.

Email in advance any important information you want the host(s) and the production team to know and/or promote:

your full name and contact info: website address, social media, telephone, etc.
date, time and place of next book launch/appearance, etc.
bookstores that carry your book
the name of your book and publisher

Remember to bring a hard copy of all these details with you, in case

Say thank you. You are an invited guest to the program, given an opportunity to speak publicly and provided with an audience. Of course you say thank you. If you have book published, give a copy to the host(s).

I still get people recalling various times I’ve been interviewed on TV so be assured the power of on-screen promotion has long legs. All the more reason to appreciate each opportunity.

Know why you are there

You are there to showcase or sell something. So be prepared. Think in terms of images and metaphors—sound bites create quickly recognizable images/ideas in the viewer’s mind.

“My book is a quest story with a modern twist.”

“Writing is easy; it’s the editing that slows me down.”

“When I sold my first story, the kids had to peel me off the ceiling.”

Most televised shows have a specific focus. Daytime shows are generally informational with an upbeat tone; if there is more than one host, there’s friendly banter and lots of smiles. Feature interviews (single host; often longer interview times) are also themed. An arts-themed show will have an arts-focused audience. A TV program that features historical writers…well, you get the point. Know before you go: what are they looking for? Do your best to provide it.

Same goes for you. You have a focus: is it selling your latest book? Promoting a diverse body of work? Look for opportunities in the interview to use those practised sound bites:

“Yes, it was a challenge writing the book. That’s why I’m gratified that so many bookstores have “My Book” on their bookshelves.”

See? Sell yourself. Easy peasy.

Did You Know:

Ruth’s interview with Jules Carlysle will be broadcast on Rogers TV in Durham Region:

Tuesday, November 15 – 1:00pm, 4:00pm

Wednesday, November 16 – 10:30am, 12:30pm, 3:30pm

Thursday, November 17 – 11:30am

If you watch it, see if she managed to look calm or if her nerves betrayed her. Jules is a charming and excellent host and Ruth enjoyed the opportunity very much.

Secrets of a Good Radio Interview

Gwynn Scheltema

The other day, this message came up on my Facebook stream:

Well, I may not have a word for that, but I do understand it. I’ve been interviewed as a writer several times on the radio, and I’m a co-host for a weekly radio program, Word on the Hills, that airs on Northumberland Radio 89.7FM. In the three years we have been running, I’ve learned a thing or two, and here’s the tips I have to offer:

Understand why are you doing the interview.

Why did the radio station ask you? Why did you agree?

Our station promotes all things local. We want to showcase people from our region doing interesting things. Word on the Hills narrows that focus to local people connected with the writing world. We love personal stories, relaxed chatter and slice-of-life humour is always welcome. We don’t just want to hear about the book. We want to hear about you. Your writing journey, your struggles, your triumphs. We want the human face on the book.

You are presumably looking at the interview as a promotional opportunity. But are you clear about what it is you want to promote? Yourself as a writer? An upcoming event? Your new book? All these things?

We are happy to be a promotional outlet for you, but you need to give us entertainment in return.

Arrive early

Before your program can air, we need to settle you in the studio, get you set up with your mic and test your voice quality. I like to go over the format with my guests and make sure all their questions are answered. Even if you are doing the interview by phone, we still need to prepare you and test the voice quality of the connection. At your end you need to minimize background noise and get comfortable.

Understand the format

Our half-hour show is really 22 minutes. Done in two 11-minute segments. Occasionally we can go over that a bit, but we need to leave 5 minutes at the start for news and weather updates and ads, and then a 3 minute ad break in the middle. Now consider that during the show, we need a couple of minutes up front to introduce the show and you our guest. At the end we need wrap-up time, and before and after the break we need to reacquaint listeners with what they are listening to. All that takes time too.

What this means is that you really only have 8 to 10 minutes per segment devoted to you.Use it wisely.

Use your time wisely

The first step in using your time wisely is being prepared. We always offer our guests the opportunity to supply any questions they want to be asked. It’s a win-win that way. We know that you will be enthusiastic about your answer, and you will feel more in control and we will both be serving our goals.

If the radio station you are dealing with doesn’t make this offer to you, then make it to them.Or ask them what they will be asking you so you can come prepared. At the very least, arrive at the interview with some questions prepared in case.

Of course, hand in hand with that, make sure you prepare your answers. Don’t rote learn a script or plan to read. That is deadly! Instead know the points you want to make and practise talking about them out loud to yourself in a mirror, or with a friend or family member. Bring your notes with you. Radio is “blind” so no one will know you are using cues.

Most importantly, link whatever you talk about to what you want to promote. Almost any question can be steered to the topic you want to talk about provided you are clear about what that is.

Especially come with factual information written down. Event dates and times. Contact info. Website URLs. Not only will this help you remember during the interview, but it makes it easier for the radio host to echo the information because it’s handy.

Choose appropriate readings

If your interview will include readings, keep to short complete excerpts. Pick the same kind of things that you would for a live reading: funny bits, action and suspense. Not long descriptions or introspective musings. Make sure your piece is in context. If you have to supply a lead in, fine, but count it in the allotted reading time. If you are promoting your book, choose a bit that represents it so we get a flavour of the rest.

Always practise your readings out loud at a slower pace than the speed you talk. And time them. I’ve had to cut people off in mid-reading because the program was out of time. I’ve also edited recorded pieces so they will fit, and the author didn’t get a say in my edits.

Although people love to hear stories, their listening focus isn’t very long. If you have been allotted more than 5 minutes of reading time, break your reading into two shorter pieces. And make them different. Leave them wanting more.

If you are reading from typed pages, bring them in plastic sleeves so they don’t rustle. If you are reading from a book, mark the pages so there is no dead air or mindless mumbling while you find your spot.

It’s all about you

The most important thing to remember is that this is about you—not the radio station, not the presenters—you! Take control. Know and push your agenda. Just do it in a way that pleases listeners, and you’ll have the radio hosts—and listeners—eating out of your hand. And with any luck, buying your book.

Have you ever been interviewed on radio? Any more advice to offer?

Expert advice

Heather M. O’Connor

When Richard Scrimger came to Turning Leaves a couple of years ago, he told us, “Writers are liars and thieves.”

He meant, of course, that the best stories are partly made up, and partly built on stolen bits of real life. Readers want to believe your lies. You can tell the most outrageous whoppers, from a theme park with cloned dinosaurs to a school for wizards. As long as the stolen bits ring true.

Steal what you know, research what you don’t

Take my novel Betting Game, for instance. It’s the story of an elite soccer player who gets mixed up with illegal gambling.

I could lie and steal with panache about soccer. I play. My kids play. I watch the sport on TV. But illegal gambling? That was a central part of my novel’s plot and characters, and I didn’t know a thing about it. Nada. Zip. How could I make my story believable?

Who ya gonna call?

I needed a subject matter expert. Someone in the biz. But not the gambling biz. A “reliable narrator” if you know what I mean. Someone in law enforcement. It took time to track down an expert, but what he told me was invaluable.

Looking for an expert of your own? Here are the steps to follow.

Go surfing

Begin your search online. I started by studying news stories. Who was quoted on the topic? Who went to court?

Your expert may speak at industry events and conferences. Check continuing education classes and LinkedIn, too.

Tap your network

Have you asked your friends and family if they know an expert? I was stunned to learn that one of my teammates was once a CSI investigator in New York City. (She now teaches forensic science and invited me to a crime scene class. Coolest writer field trip ever!)

Don’t forget your local librarians—they’re walking encyclopedias.

Do a little digging

Once you locate subject matter experts, don’t waste their time. Pick your own brains before you pick theirs.

Prepare a list of open-ended questions that require more than a yes or no answer. Try to think up a couple of questions they may never have answered.

Email your questions and a short synopsis of your story a day or two before the interview. This gives the person time to mull over answers and think of interesting anecdotes.

Don’t be shy

Relax. Chatting with a subject matter expert is easier than it looks.

People like talking about their jobs. Though they find their work fascinating, their friends and family may not. You provide a rare treat—an enthusiastic audience.

Take note!

I prefer to interview in person or by phone. People have more to say when they don’t need to write it all down. You also have a chance to ask follow-up questions when you’re talking live. Email interviews are very limiting. They’re best for confirming facts.

I usually record my interviews, as long as there’s no objection. Most smartphones have an app for that. I also take detailed notes.

Say thank you

Remember to thank your expert for taking the time to share their knowledge and expertise. Send a thank you note. If their help was significant, include them in the acknowledgements, and consider sending them a copy of your book.

In Conversation with…literary agent Hilary McMahon

Today, we chat with Hilary McMahon, Executive Vice President of Westwood Creative Artists (WCA), one of Canada’s oldest and most respected literary agencies. Hilary maintains an extensive and diverse list of adult and children’s writers. She also represents WCA authors on trips to American and British publishers and the Frankfurt and London Book Fairs.

Why did you become a literary agent?

I earned a degree in journalism and English, but soon realized that I wanted to read other people’s stories far more than I wanted to write or teach. I’m an obsessive book reader, an extrovert interested in people and relationships, and a tough negotiator with a head for details and numbers. This job allows me to combine all those different skills.

Being an agent is a tough job. So what is it that has kept you in the field for more than 20 years?

Nothing compares to the magic of being engrossed in a great book. I love being part of the process that begins with an idea or rough manuscript, and ends with a finished product that can be shared, enjoyed, discussed around the world. And working with writers can certainly be challenging at times, but it’s never dull…

If we were to spend some time in a typical day with Hilary McMahon, what would it look like?

That’s one of the many wonderful things about this job, there is no typical day! It’s an illusion that I read all day. Today for example, I have reviewed a section of an author’s revised novel and then shared it with an interested publisher, worked on some blurbs for our Frankfurt catalogue, checked a film contract and sent it off to the author, given a non-fiction author feedback on her proposal, spent time crafting a tactful rejection letter, done the deal memo for a middle-grade series I’ve just sold, addressed a picture book writer’s concerns about the illustrations for her new book, and followed up on some projects out on submission. I had hoped to make a dent into my towering pile of submissions but I don’t know if I’ll get to it…

What do you like to see in a query from a writer? And is it different for a fiction versus a non-fiction query?

You’d think it’s obvious, but I need to see excellent writing! A skillful, original, compelling pitch.

For fiction, you need to hook me with a brief description of the work and draw me in with a short sample. It certainly doesn’t hurt if you include some details about places you’ve been published and any relevant awards or education.

For non-fiction, your expertise in the field is going to be important, to me and to publishers – I need to know that you have some authority about your subject. Most simply, I need to be compelled to move from the query to a writing sample.

What is the one piece of advice you want writers to know once they land that elusive agent?

That just because you have an agent it doesn’t guarantee your work will sell! There’s still a lot of hard work ahead, but at least you aren’t doing it alone.

What are you reading now and how do you feel about it?

I’m reading a really intriguing submission, clever and sparely written and definitely original in story and in the telling. But I’m still trying to decide if it’s something that I could sell…

If time, place and money are no object, who is the one person or character you’d like to have dinner with…and why?

I’d love to have dinner with Jane Austen, after she’d spent a bit of time in 2016 – I would love to hear her take on this modern world!

Want to get up close and personal with one of Canada’s top literary agents? Come to our fall retreat, Turning Leaves 2016.

Hilary is our special retreat guest, joining us for meals, evening chats and sharing insights and expertise in a Saturday morning workshop on catching and holding an agent’s attention. She’ll also review Turning Leaves 2016 participants’ query letters in advance and hold private one-on-one feedback sessions.

Prenatal care for your book baby

Last fall, Orca Books published my debut novel Betting Game. I had nine months between signing a contract and delivering my book baby. It seemed like plenty of time. It wasn’t.

Here are a few lessons I learned along the way.

Start early

Next time I’m expecting a new book baby, I’ll sit down right away and make a plan of action.

What do I need to do, and when? How much time will it all take? What are my priorities?

Get organized

Keep everything. Edits. Images. Ideas. Promo materials. Information from your marketing team. You will use, reuse, rework and re-purpose these files again and again, so find a logical way to organize them for easy retrieval.

Scrivener worked for me. I stored all the flotsam and jetsam in one project, using labels and keywords to make the project super-simple to view and search. Of course, you can also store everything traditionally in folders and subfolders. Just be sure to file and label wisely.

Sure, it takes a little longer to be meticulous, but it saves you time every time you need to find something. And bonus! The next time you publish, you have a ready-made road map instead of starting from square one.

Gather the building blocks

The first items my publisher asked for were basic promo items: an author bio, back-cover blurb and a professional author photo (more on author pics in a future post.)

I tucked these items in my Scrivener project, and as time went on, I added more elements:

book cover image
reviews
book trailer
copy for my website and media kit
author’s note for the teachers’ guide
author spotlight on the Orca blog

I also collected a variety of links and bits of code:

book page links to Amazon, Chapters Indigo, Barnes and Noble, GoodReads
my book page and author profile on the Orca site
YouTube embed and shortcodes for the Betting Game book trailer

Raise your profile

My memberships came in handy. I belong to national writers’ organizations like CANSCAIP, SCBWI, The Writers’ Union of Canada and the Canadian Children’s Book Centre, and locally, to the Writers’ Community of Durham Region. They offer a variety of promotional opportunities.

book and event pages
school visit and speaker pages
member profiles

You can also create author pages on GoodReads and Amazon.com, as well as social media channels like Facebook, Twitter and Instagram.

Prepare these pages and profiles well in advance. Unfortunately, it’s not as simple as uploading the same bio and photo to each site. But they all start with the same basic building blocks.

Don’t forget to update them along the way. I kept the most recent version of each profile in Scrivener. It was easier than viewing each website one by one. (Aren’t you glad you started Scrivener project or folder system now?)

Ways to work smarter

Front-end-load the tasks. For example:

write newsletter announcements and media releases early so they’re ready to go
prepare your website, blog and social media platforms so you can trickle out your good news

Make a book trailer

One of my best investments was Rich Helms’s Book Trailers 101. This 5-week workshop taught me the elements of a successful trailer, as well as the specialized knowledge to make one. Basic tech like how to use Animoto and Movie Maker. A bit of Audacity. Where to find reasonably priced voice talent, music and images. Tricks for uploading the final product to YouTube.

Step by step, my book trailer grew from concept to finished video. The weekly group critique helped me figure out what worked and what didn’t. I came out with more than a video. I also came up with strong tag lines and blurb text. Which, of course, I tucked away in my promo folder.

Book a launch date

Book your launch as soon as you get a publication date. I launched Betting Game at Blue Heron Books in Uxbridge. They’re one of Canada’s best independent booksellers. As a result, they get booked up quickly.

Like many indies, Shelley Macbeth and her staff really care about promoting Canadian books and authors. They gave me great advice and support. But that’s a post of its own!

Got any prenatal advice of your own for authors expecting their first book baby? Please share it below!

The value of keeping random ideas.

Gwynn Scheltema

Ever write a story that seemed to go nowhere? Ever thought of a brilliant opening line, but never wrote the story? Ever found a line that you thought might make good dialogue, or a line in a poem, or the premise of an entire novel and lost it?

Rummaging around in discarded ideas will invariably turn up something unexpected, surprising, fun or usable.
That’s not to say that every word you write is gold – saleable gold – and that none of it should go to waste. But ideas don’t always come at a time when you are ready for them, and if you have no way to revisit them, then even the good ideas will go to waste.

Increase your wheat-to-chaff ratio with an Ideas File and pop them in there. Actually, have several ideas files:

Ideas Files

hard copy file folder: for ideas scribbled on napkins and other scrap bits.
computer file for the same. Make sure you develop a way to easily navigate through them. Naming each one “good idea” won’t be too helpful when you have 400 “good ideas.” Make use of “version” and “date” options if you have very similar drafts of an unfinished story:
- horrornovel_v2_2016
- babypoetryRev3March
- trilogy_idea3

Personal coding system

Create a personal coding system to mark up journals or notebooks for easy browsing retrieval. I use coloured highlighters: I underline or asterisk possible poetry ideas with yellow, novel snippets with blue, non-fiction article ideas with green, etc.

Other people’s ideas

Expand the concept to ideas beyond your own writing

In another hard copy folder keep cuttings from newspapers and magazines, old letters or theatre tickets or postcards or photos. Expand to new subfolders as ideas begin to consolidate.
In computer folders, keep ideas suggested by blog posts, or anything internet related, including email copy. Be sure to include URLs if you want to reference later.
Create a Pinterest board. This is especially useful in the early stages of a novel. Pin pictures of faces, buildings, landscapes, objects, or anything that stirs up ideas or cements a visual for you. Here is one I started for my MG novel.

Scrivener users can likely consolidate all of these methods into a dummy project called “Ideas” and harness Scrivener’s reference tools.
- Go to https://www.literatureandlatte.com/ for a free-trial download. If you want guidance on using this power program, Heather O’Connor is Writescape’s resident Dr. Scrivener and she makes house calls.

Of course, having all these ideas is pointless if you don’t do something with them.

Here is a creative exercise to try:

Take these two random pictures and write a scene that will somehow link them together.

When pairing ideas, don’t worry if they seemingly have nothing in common when you begin– that is the point of the exercise. The struggle of creating the link is what gets your brain going.

What’s in your writing drawer?

Gwynn Scheltema

There’s plenty of advice out there on how to prepare your work for submitting, but what if, like me, your problem with submitting—is you!

Do any of these statements apply to you?

· You have completed work ready to send out that hasn’t been submitted ever.
· Many of your completed pieces have been waiting to go out for years.
· You have several projects that are “almost ready” to send out.
· You have pieces that you sent out once, had rejected and never submitted again.

“You must keep sending work out; you must never let a manuscript do nothing but eat its head off in a drawer. You send that work out again and again, while you’re working on another one. If you have talent, you will receive some measure of success – but only if you persist.”

— Isaac Asimov

Facing fear

You likely already know that the prime reason for not sending your stuff out is fear:

· of rejection (I‘m not as good a writer as I thought I was)
· of success (now I’ll have to do it again)
· of someone stealing my ideas (lack of trust of new people or situations)
· of facing the reaction of readers (don’t like to be judged)
. of rewrites and edits (what if I can’t do what they want)

What separates artists from ex-artists is that those who challenge their fears, continue; those who don’t, quit. Each step in the artmaking process puts that issue to the test.
― David Bayles, Art and Fear

Like eating well and exercising, you know what to do and why you should do it, but you can’t bring yourself to do so. So here are a few ideas to help you over that hump:

1. Join the club

We can’t control fears and feelings. Likely they are deep-rooted in our psyche. But we can find ways to move forward despite the fear.

Accept that pretty much every writer has these fears at one time or another. The trick is to accept it as part of the writing process. Embrace it and face it.

You will get rejected. It’s a given. But you will survive. You will live to write another day.

2. Let go

Ironically, the greatest feelings of self-doubt seem to come at the moment when the task is almost done. You want it to be perfect; the pressure to finish increases, and the knowledge that you will have to put it out there sits menacingly on your shoulder. But there comes a time when you must fight self-doubt and have faith in what you’ve created. You must let go.

If you don’t? What happens? Nothing. Your writing stays in the drawer. You beat yourself up for not moving forward. Nothing gets resolved.

3. Trust the Process

Fear focuses on unknown results of possible action. You can’t control unknown and possible. You can control process—and action. So start on the process of submitting; create a forward motion as a way to outwit, outrun, outsmart fear.

It’s hard, sure, but it’s the writing life. You can either face it or not. You can trust the process or live in fear. Your choice. The solution in your hands.

4. Get started!

· Set yourself a target date to have just ONE piece sent out.

Writers live by deadlines, so harness that attitude to help you submit. Make yourself publicly accountable—tell your writing buddy, your critique group, anyone who will call you on it.

· Break the process down into actionable tasks.

Submitting your work can feel overwhelming. But like any process, breaking things down into bite-size actionable pieces helps you to get started so that once begun, the task takes on a momentum of its own.

Try making a list for each stage of the process (which you can use again and again), and then tackle just one item on the list at a time. Tell yourself you only have to do one thing on the list. Chances are, once you get started, you’ll do a lot more. And each action you take will build your confidence. Focus on the idea that each small item is doable.

5. Don’t Stop!

By the sheer law of averages, the more submissions you make, the more publishing success you will likely have. Think of rejections as “acknowledgments” that you are doing what real writers do. You are submitting!

A good place to start is writing contests. Join Ruth E. Walker and Dorothea Helms in May for their popular workshop Write to Win.

If you want to start the process now, make a public commitment in the comments below to a date to have ONE submission completed. We’ll follow up and see how you did.

Grants: Straight to the Source

Heather M. O’Connor.

When I didn’t know something in school, I was never afraid to put up my hand. Call me curious. Call me nosy. I like answers.

When I started applying for grants for writers, I had lots of questions. I studied the application and searched for reliable resources on the Internet. But grant applications are complex and slippery beasts. You don’t have any examples to follow, and there’s no teacher to ask.

Or so I thought.

Call me!

Most grant applications give you a contact name or an email address. The person on the other end is ready and willing to help you. As one program administrator explained, granting organizations want you to apply. If the number of applicants falls off, so do the funding dollars.

What can these problem-solvers do for you?

Answer questions

“What exactly is a project description?” (Marion Hebb Research Grant)

Offer helpful tips

“There’s nothing wrong with asking for the maximum amount. The recommenders can’t give you more than you ask for, but they can give you less.” (Writers’ Reserve)

Share the jurors’ preferences

“They often prefer to read your first chapters.” (OAC Works in Progress)

Tell you news

“Graphic novels now have their own category.” (OAC Works in Progress)

Explain why you were unsuccessful

“The level of writing this time around was very high.” (Canada Council)

Encourage you

“Be persistent. A lot of good writing goes unfunded.” (Every writing grant ever offered.)

Go for it!

The grants are there for the asking. So apply, and do the asking!

I promise you, getting a writing grant feels a hundred times better than getting straight As on your report card. And you can take that–and the grant money–straight to the bank.

What would you use a writing grant for? Education? A writing retreat or conference? Research? Writing time? Let us know in the comments.

Get That Grant workshop

If you think writing grant applications ranks right up there with getting a root canal, Writescape can ease your pain. Gwynn Scheltema and I are offering a hands-on workshop that will walk you through the steps. From finding grants to submitting a polished and convincing application, you’ll be ready to Get That Grant (runs April 16 in Oshawa and April 17 in Bracebridge.)

Blogging for Authors: Must We?

Guest blogger: Kimberly Moynahan

Back in January, this article came through my Twitter stream: Blogging for Authors: Why You Need a Blog and How to Get Started, posted on the Nonfiction Authors Association website. In that article, e-book author Stephanie Chandler recommends that every author have a blog.

She advises you “contact your webmaster” to add a blog to your site; she talks about “keyword concentration”, how blogs are good for SEO and how content is king; she explains how to choose a blogging platform, why you shouldn’t host on a secondary domain and…well…are your eyes glazing over yet?

Here’s the thing: Starting a blog is like joining a gym. Eighty percent of people who begin will not last three months. Okay, I made that number up. But in fact, the realty for bloggers is probably worse. In 2008, a blog search engine company found that of 133 million blogs only 7.4 million had been updated in the last 120 days.

That translates to 95 percent of blogs being essentially abandoned, left to lie fallow on the Web, where they become public remnants of a dream — or at least an ambition — unfulfilled. — Douglas Quenqua, New York Times, June 5, 2009

So before you jump onto the “every author needs a blog” bandwagon, ask yourself if blogging is really for you. Because frankly, having a sad neglected blog is probably worse than not starting one at all.

Here is what you need to be a blogger—

A Bit of Technical Ability

Even if you have a webmaster, she’s only going to set up your site. You still have to put up your own post, format it, add graphics and tags, and publish the thing. It’s not difficult, but if you are the kind of person who gets faint at the idea of formatting an Excel column, you might want to think twice about blogging.

Time. Lots of it.

Stephanie, in her article, advises that you blog five times a week. It’s good writing practice she says.

First off, no, it’s not. You know as well as I do, if you are dashing off five quick posts a week, you are not practicing good writing. You’re just adding “content” which is great for attracting search engines bots and random strangers, but not so much for engaging readers and impressing publishers.

Blogging five times a week is a herculean task. Even filler posts – YouTube videos and “Wordless Wednesday” images – take effort to pull together. Recruiting guest bloggers helps, but there is work around that as well. And these stopgaps will only entertain your readers for so long. Your audience wants to hear from you.

How much time does blogging take?

My advice to potential bloggers is this: Write your first five posts before you commit. Time yourself from the moment you start thinking about what you’re going to write, to the moment all five are written, formatted for the web, proofed, have catchy titles, and have legal-to-use images with credits and captions.

Now add an hour a week for site maintenance and improvement, another hour for responding to commenters, and fifteen minutes a day (at the very least) for promoting your blog on social media. Now how’s your week shaping up?

Social Media Savvy

Blogs cannot live in a vacuum. It will be up to you to find your audience and make them aware of your blog. Sure search engines will find your blog so people will stumble upon it, but you will have to do the real work of alerting your followers and attracting new readers every time you post. This means mastering and diligently usingTwitter, Facebook, and other forms of social media.

Something Unique to Say

What are you going to blog about? Here’s a subject that could take up a whole post. But in short, if your blog is to rise above the babble of a million author bloggers all doing the exact same thing, you are going to have to deliver something unique.

Rule #1 is reward the faithful for showing up. Your readers are your most valuable promoters. Feed and nurture them accordingly. Talk to them. Give them something they can’t get anywhere else. What that is depends on your target audience – readers, writers, or both.

Rule #2 is that blogging is not all about you, The Author. If you want to connect with your readers, you must show a bit of you, The Person. No need to throw your entire personal life onto the screen (please), but talking about your passion for 1940s jazz, your daytime job as a dog trainer or the crazy thing that happened at the grocery store this morning goes a long way towards making your readers feel special and welcome.

Thick Skin

You’re a writer. You’re used to editors pointing out flaws in your manuscripts. You’re used to rejection. You might even be used to negative book reviews (if one ever gets used to that). So already you are stronger than most.

But how are you when your ideas are attacked? How will you respond when your credibility is challenged? When a reader comments (shouts!) in UPPER CASE that you are not worthy of the pixels you are printed on?

If you blog well, your comment section is going to be more than just people heaping praise and thanks upon you. It can become the lifeblood of your blog, an exciting place where people debate and discuss ideas. It can also become a place where people criticize, even attack you.

For instance, these are actual comments from my blog:

Are you on drugs? You clearly lack journalistic skills on top of empathy for life…

This article is the biggest piece of SHIT I’ve read so far …

I leave them on my site for my own amusement and also so I have great examples for posts like this.

You have many choices in how to handle individual commenters and your comment sections as a whole – another topic that could fill a post. But the two choices you don’t have if you want to build a vibrant community on your blog, are turning off the comment sections and screaming back in UPPER CASE. (This never goes well.)

Stephanie Chandler is right. Blogging can help you connect with your readers. It can be a way to increase your following and possibly book sales. But so can meeting with book clubs, starting a newsletter, giving workshops, having a Facebook page, engaging on Twitter, posting on Instagram and doing the most important thing of all – finishing your book.

In the end, the answer to “Should I blog” is, it depends.

But the answer to “Must I blog?” is, no.

L.L. Barkett: It’s Time for (Many) Experienced Writers to Stop Blogging

Jane Friedman: Reasons to Keep Blogging

Kidlit.com: Do Unpublished Writers Have to Blog?

Huffington Post: 5 Reasons Authors Should Blog

Joe Bunting: What Fiction Authors Really Need to Know About Their Platform

All images CC0 Public Domain via Pixabay

BIO

Kimberly Moynahan is a freelance science, nature, and interpretive writer. She blogs on the natural sciences, animals, and the writing life on her site Endless Forms Most Beautiful. She has been published in Scientific American’s Best Science Writing Online and WOLVES Magazine. Kim serves on the Leadership Team for Science Borealis, the Canadian science blog network and is a regular blogger for the Canadian Science Writers Association. Find her on Twitter and LinkedIn.

Did you know…

Look good

Be professional

Know why you are there

Understand why are you doing the interview.

Arrive early

Understand the format

Use your time wisely

Choose appropriate readings

It’s all about you

Start early

Get organized

Gather the building blocks

Raise your profile

Ways to work smarter

Make a book trailer

Book a launch date

Ideas Files

Personal coding system

Other people’s ideas

Facing fear

1. Join the club

2. Let go

3. Trust the Process

4. Get started!

5. Don’t Stop!

Call me!

What can these problem-solvers do for you?

Explain why you were unsuccessful

Encourage you

Go for it!

Here is what you need to be a blogger—

A Bit of Technical Ability

Time. Lots of it.

How much time does blogging take?

Social Media Savvy

Something Unique to Say

Thick Skin

For instance, these are actual comments from my blog:

In the end, the answer to “Should I blog” is, it depends.

But the answer to “Must I blog?” is, no.

Read More: