GWP institute

Calling all ye changemakers with an idea, an organization, a project, a book, a brand—but no interactive web presence! If this describes you, please read on.

Traveling around, I’ve observed that far too often, otherwise visionary female thinkers can overlook an essential aspect of their work: getting it online and building a virtual community around it. Sometimes the obstacles are generational. Other times, it’s a matter of Technology Overwhelm. But getting more of you to embrace the digital tools that will help you think in public is a mission I feel passionately about. (You can read more about my philosophy and approach at the New York Times, the Women’s Media Center, and in On Campus with Women.)

And so, the consulting team over here at GWP has decided to get concrete by offering some online platform consulting. Here’s the deal: In tailored individual or small group sessions, Girl w/ Pen Consulting demystifies the elements that go into creating a successful individual or organizational presence online. The ideal client for this kind of coaching is a thought leader, author, advocate, philanthropist, or social entrepreneur who is ready to migrate her real-world activities online, expand her reach, connect more directly with a broader audience, and is hungry for hands-on training. Sessions can take place one-on-one or in small groups, depending on clients’ needs.

In today’s crowded marketplace of ideas, an “online platform” is no longer an add-on. It’s a necessity, both virtual and real. Ready to join me?! For more info about how this coaching works, please feel free to email me at girlwpen@gmail.com and I’ll tell you more.

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For anyone who has taken my “Making It Pop: Translating Your Research for Trade” workshops, here’s a great way to keep it going: I’ll be doing a day-long workshop on nonfiction book proposals at Woodhull’s upcoming writers’ retreat. Tell them Girl with Pen sent you and receive a $50 discount. Details below.

Raise Your Voices: An Intensive Nonfiction Writing Retreat for Women
May 9 – 11
(Retreat starts Friday at 1PM and ends Sunday at 3PM)
Ancramdale, New York

Why: Women are underrepresented as nonfiction authors and opinion writers. In a long weekend of writing instruction and one-on-one critique, participants gain fundamental knowledge of: Op-ed pieces, features, book proposals and pitching ideas. Tuition covers lodging at Woodhull Institute retreat house, food and materials.

More info here. Contact: Elizabeth Curtis at ecurtis@woodhull.org

I’m subverting blog post/comment convention in order to share the Q&A that’s been going on in comments on Laura’s inaugural post here this past week (Book Smarts), because the questions GWP readers posted so far are ones I hear a lot, and I know everyone’s going to benefit from Laura’s responses. Have at it! And please feel free to post in comments book publishing industry related topics you’d like to Laura to address in a future post. – GWP

Blogger Ralphie said…
That marketing thing is difficult. Is it really true that the authors of all those terrific, sensitive, gorgeous-writing-filled books I read were out there “selling themselves” to get their first book published? I guess so, but it all just seems so… sad.

Blogger LauraM said…
I entirely agree, Ralphie. Marketing CAN be hard, and luckily for all of us, there are still editors and agents in this industry who are committed to finding those terrific, sensitive, gorgeous-writing projects without needing all the buzz. But the reality of book publishing is that it’s a narrow-margin enterprise. Want to guess how many books actually earn a profit for the author and publisher? It’s fewer than you think, and the pressure is on editors to champion the books that will make money, not lose it. So if you can offer your editor terrific, sensitive, gorgeous writing AND a solid marketing pitch, then you’ll have a huge advantage. And take heart—these days, having a web presence is very easy, and that’s a great first start to creating a platform for yourself. Start a blog, post on others’ blogs, be active in your writing. Let the rest follow from there. —Laura

Blogger Jay said…
Great advice, thanks! It’s a bit daunting to go back to my proposal and give it the overhaul you suggest but I can see how your suggestions will make it so much better. Do you think it’s worth hiring a professional look over/edit the proposal before I submit it?

Blogger Ericka said…
My problem has been Right Freeway, Wrong Lane. I’ve been in the “industry” a long time, a solid midlist nonfiction writer. And, I’m good at the marketing thing — I have website, blog, lots of PR experience and reading experience and radio and even TV — but my career has largely been for my non-fiction. And now I’m about to send my LITERARY NOVEL out there (in a month or so) and I fear that all that experience in the non-fiction realm won’t translate to the literary world. My “platform” has been parenting writing, and my novel is not that. (Though it is family-based.) Suggestions for how to spin my experience? I’m afraid it will seem like Apples and Oranges.

Blogger Caroline said…
This is so helpful to read right now, Laura, and I’m sure I’ll have questions for your future posts! As you know, I sold (modestly) one book, but now I’m working on something I’m hoping will have a broader audience, and your tips about presenting the proposal are perfectly timed for me. I’ll keep checking in for more!

Blogger LauraM said…
Hi Caroline, I’m so happy you posted! How are you, and how is your book coming along? I’d love to hear. And do ask any questions, I promise I’ll answer them if I can.

Ericka, hi! You know, I think you’re underestimating the value of having had previously published books, even if they are in a different category. The trick is to use those books to show that you have a solid foundation as a publisher writer. Make sure that your bio includes any and all positive reviews, blurbs, and media coverage for anything you’ve published before. And keep in mind that unless it’s a very high-level editor who is looking at your work, it’s not likely anyone is going to expect you to have had previous bestsellers. Midlist is a good place to be … dependable, successful. Just replace “midlist” with “backlist” (read: My books are STILL selling even after several years!), and you’ll be surprised what kind of attention that can get you. —L

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Hi, Laura Mazer here. As Deborah mentioned, I’m a longtime editor and book consultant, and I’m very happy to be joining the crew over here in the girlwithpendom! Deborah has asked me if I’d answer some questions for her readers, and I will do my best. Starting with this first one Deborah has tossed out, which is a great one: What do editors really look for in book proposals?

Well, let’s start out with the obvious: gorgeous writing, a fascinating book idea, more gorgeous writing. But of course. However, before I let those things get me invested in your book, I’m going to want to know 4 things:

1. Are you a Mac or a PC? Or, what’s your authorial sensibility, your creative look and feel? Consider: Your proposal is your client deliverable. Are you going to give it to me single-spaced, Times New Roman 10, no subheads, no cover page? I get word-wall weary really, really fast, so I love when authors take it up a level—by boxing essential facts and impressive quotes, using subheads to draw attention to important sections, and writing in a voice that represents the book’s narrative itself. If I see that a writer has put creative energy into the complete development of her proposal, I’ll know she understands (though she may not actually celebrate—fair enough) that to succeed in our contemporary marketplace of ideas, it takes more than interesting words, or smart words, or important words, or gorgeous words.

2. Is your bio degradable? Your author profile can be even more important than your pitch and your writing sample. It tells the reader if you’ve been test-driven in the marketplace. Have you been published before, either with a previous book or in magazines, newspapers, or visible blogs? What’s the big picture of your career: Is your book topic a whim or a cause? Can you articulate your expertise and your ideas in an accessible, reliable manner? Impress me with whatever you’ve got that’s impressive about you—even if it’s not directly tied to your subject. Show me you’re worth investing in.

3. What’s your mantra? What’s your “thing,” your sexy sell, your elevator pitch, your conceit? Put it right there at the top of your proposal in three sentences or less, in a way that can make me think right away: “Yeah, sure, I see that! Cool.” If you can nail your book description, really Ezra Pound it into the ground, you’ll have a much better chance of hooking an editor’s attention from the get-go. Editors—and agents, for that matter—have scary-big piles of manuscripts to review, so it’s not likely they’ll stick around for Vague or Complicated. And yes, go ahead and get your Hollywood on, you can definitely compare your book to others, as in, “It’s like Eat Pray Love but set in Canada and drawn as a graphic novel.” “It’s like Rebecca Walker’s Black, White, and Jewish but funny and with a sub-theme about CIA corruption.” Etc.

4. Where’s the ammo? We eds need big guns. In other words, some serious data points supporting your project’s creative and monetary potential. Your editor is probably going to have to champion you and your book to a whole lot of people before she can offer you a contract, so give her as many selling points as possible. What comparative books have performed well, proving this is a popular topic? How big is your target readership, and how will your publicist reach those readers? Examples: If you’re writing a parenting book, include a complete list of parenting magazines, websites, specialty baby stores, and other outlets that reach your audience. If your book is a sci-fi novel, include a complete list of all sci-fi conferences where your readers will congregate. Think like a marketer, and help your editor to do the same on your behalf. (Here’s one more tip: Make it clear you’re willing to pound the pavement to promote your book. Plenty of authors go AWOL after the book ships to the printer, and that’s a drag for the marketing department, which is counting on you to be out there advocating for your work.)

On that note, I’ll sign off. Readers: Send me your questions in comments! I want to hear what you’re thinking about.

Cheers til next time,
Laura

Tonight I’ll be teaming up with my lovely (and very pregnant!) coeditor from Only Child, Daphne Uviller, for a workshop at Mediaistro on “Breaking into Anthology Writing.” There are still a few slots left, so if interested, please join us!

WHEN Monday, April 7, 6:30-9:30 pm
WHERE mediabistro.com, 494 Broadway (Spring & Broome), New York, NY 10012
DIRECTIONS subway directions, map
PRICE $65 ($50 for )

Here’s the description:

Anthologies are among the most powerful and poignant records of the times in which we live. As a writer, anthologies are also a superb way to break into the business, learn the ropes , and get your name on the book. Publishers are more likely to take a chance on your proposal because you’ve got the weight of other established writers behind you. But with so many currently on the shelves, the market for selling anthologies has become highly competitive. You may have a great, funny, important, and original idea for a collection of essays that has an obvious audience, but what do you need to do to make your anthology stand out?

In this seminar, you will learn how to:

• Write a proposal
• Find contributors
• Manage and edit submissions
• Work with purchasing editors
• Make the best use of your in-house publicist
• Self-publicize

Participants will leave with a timeline in hand detailing the process by which they could reasonably expect to complete a salable anthology.

A few weeks back I threw up a call for regular guest bloggers here on GWP, and I’m THRILLED to announce that you’ve taken me up on it! I’ll be introducing you to our regulars one by one soon, but I want to whet your appetite by sharing the news that Laura Mazer, editor at Counterpoint Press (and formerly at Seal Press), will soon be posting a regular feature called “Ask the Editor.”

Laura is a font of publishing wisdom–I learn every time I listen to her–and this is your chance to ask her anything you’ve been wanting to know but had no one to ask. Ok, I’ll start. First question for Laura: “What is it about a good book proposal that *really* turns you on?” (Laura’s response, coming soon!)

Just wanted to share a bit more about a new 2-session workshop I’m teaching this month with fellow writer Alissa Quart. There are still a few slots open, so if you are interested, please either shoot me an email (girlwpen@yahoo.com) or simply register this week, over at the Woodhull site! I’m really excited for this one. Here’s the description:

FINDING YOUR SUBJECT, FINDING YOUR VOICE
A Seminar in Personal Nonfiction
April 13 11am -3pm, April 17th 6-9pm
NYC – locale TBD

So many of us want to put our ideas or personal experiences down on paper, but don’t know how to find our medium or shape our raw material into stories. In two intensive sessions, we will seek to find the topic, style and genre for that which we most wish to express. We will start by asking ourselves questions about what we have experienced in our lives. What’s notable about us and what are we experts in? What are our motives for writing? What specific goal are we hoping to achieve by writing about our lives? After taking a hard look at our interests, work and life experiences, we will figure out whether they will intersect with an audience, what sort of audience, and how to position our ideas and ourselves in order to reach that audience. With this accomplished, we will build out our best article, essay, blog, or book ideas. By the end of the class, each student will have either a story pitch, an outline for a short article or an oped, a start on a personal essay, or an idea for a book or a blog. These written frames will serve as the culmination of our in-class exercises, group conversations, and at-home writing in between the two sessions.

In order to get a better sense of voice, story and topic in non-fiction, we will read a selection of modern essay writers (among them Joan Didion’s Goodbye To All That, a selection from Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight, Mary McCarthy, Luc Sante and Jonathan Lethem). In order to get a better sense of blog personae, content, and voice, we will look together at range of blogs with strong personal voices and discuss. For those who decide to create their own blogs as a means of personal expression, we will create them on-site, along with names and domains, learning about blog style, purpose, and community along the way. We will discuss how blog writing differs and overlaps with more traditional forms of personal writing as well.

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Well, I’m back in NYC after a month of traveling for Women’s History Month talks and both my cat and my fiance seem to still recognize me, so all is well. Phew! April is all about book proposal writing for me, so I will definitely be trying to practice what I preached at the session I moderated at WAM! this weekend, on Writing Book Proposals. Can’t wait to read the books those in that audience are going to write one day, as I heard a ton of great ideas. Folks have been asking where I’m teaching next, so I thought I’d post the Spring workshop roster again here:

April 7 – Breaking into Anthology Writing (with me and Daphne Uviller)
MediaBistro @ NYC

April 13, 17 – Finding Your Subject, Finding Your Voice: A Seminar in Personal Nonfiction (with both me and Alissa Quart)
Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership @ NYC

April 26 – What You Should Know about Blogging and Why
Council on Contemporary Families Conference @ University of IL, Chicago

May 10 – Writing Nonfiction Book Proposals
Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership @Ancramdale (Retreat center)

June 7 – Strategic Blogging for Organizations, Women’s Centers, and Feminist Experts
National Council for Research on Women Annual Conference @New York University

While I’m on it, thought I’d post an updated list of where I’ll be giving workshops, too. Thanks, as always, for spreading word! And hope to see some of you there, soon!

As always, there a full listing available at:
http://www.deborahsiegel.net/events.htm

March 28-29 – Writing a Book Proposal That Sells
Women and Media (WAM!) Conference
Cambridge, MA
More info: http://www.centerfornewwords.org/wam/

April 7 – Breaking into Anthology Writing
MediaBistro
NYC
More info: http://www.mediabistro.com/courses/cache/crs3683.asp

April 13, 17 – Finding Your Subject, Finding Your Voice: A Seminar in Personal Nonfiction
Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership
NYC
More info: http://www.woodhull.org/classes/

April 25-26 – What You Should Know about Blogging and Why
Council on Contemporary Families Conference
University of IL, Chicago
More info: http://www.contemporaryfamilies.org/

I’m excited to share that in April, I’ll be teaming up with journalist Alissa Quart (author of Branded: The Buying and Selling of Teenagers and Hothouse Kids: The Dilemma of the Gifted Child) for a two-session on-site intensive on personal writing (essay writing, blogging, and more!) — offered through the Woodhull Institute for Ethical Leadership.

FINDING YOUR SUBJECT, FINDING YOUR VOICE: A Seminar in Personal Nonfiction

When: Sunday, April 13 at 11 am – 3pm, April 17 at 6 pm – 9 pm.
Where: New York City
To see more details and RSVP, click here, call 6464350837, or email ldavis@woodhull.org.

And here’s our course description:

So many of us want to put our ideas or personal experiences down on paper, but don’t know how to find our medium or shape our raw material into stories. In two intensive sessions, we will seek to find the topic, style and genre for that which we most wish to express. We will start by asking ourselves questions about what we have experienced in our lives. What’s notable about us and what are we experts in? What are our motives for writing? What specific goal are we hoping to achieve by writing about our lives? After taking a hard look at our interests, work and life experiences, we will figure out whether they will intersect with an audience, what sort of audience, and how to position our ideas and ourselves in order to reach that audience. With this accomplished, we will build out our best article, essay, blog, or book ideas. By the end of the class, each student will have either a story pitch, an outline for a short article or an oped, a start on a personal essay, or an idea for a book or a blog. These written frames will serve as the culmination of our in-class exercises, group conversations, and at-home writing in between the two sessions.

In order to get a better sense of voice, story and topic in non-fiction, we will read a selection of modern essay writers (among them Joan Didion’s Goodbye To All That, a selection from Alexandra Fuller’s Don’t Let’s Go To The Dogs Tonight, a Mary McCarthy personal essay etcetera). In order to get a better sense of blog personae, content, and voice, we will look together at range of blogs with strong personal voices and discuss. For those who decide to create their own blogs as a means of personal expression, we will create them on-site, along with names and domains, learning about blog style, purpose, and community along the way. We will discuss how blog writing differs and overlaps with more traditional forms of personal writing as well.