GWP institute

Well, I’m getting ready to leave town for a few days and feel honored to be leaving Girl with Pen in the able hands of a number of wonderful guest posters who span that popular/academic divide with grace and style! Stay tuned this week for posts from bloggers extraordinaire Elizabeth Curtis, Joie Jager-Hyman, Helaine Olen, and Renee Ann Cramer, plus some of the usual fare of research/popular reality thrown in in between.

I haven’t quite figured out that auto-post feature, but I’ve found a solution in the meanwhile — his name is Marco. While I won’t be able to respond to comments while I’m gone, I’ll be checking in from time to time and look forward to responding upon return on Sunday. Have a great rest of the week, all, and a heartfelt thank you in advance to you amazing guest posters!

I’m starting 2008 by taking myself on a mini writing retreat upstate. So during the next few days, I’ll likely be posting on process–as I continue to tweak my own!

Having trained in lit crit, rather than as a journalist, interviewing people–you know, the live ones–is a new skill for me. While the best way to learn is by doing, for those of you who, like me, obsess by reading about it first, here’s some wisdom gleaned from those who’ve been at it for a while (mostly culled from Telling True Stories):

• Find examples of unfolding action; try to experience something interesting with your subject. Try drafting scenes immediately after reporting.

• Don’t ever lead your sources by thinking that you already know what the story is.

• Trust your material – what people actually do, what people say can be quirky, dramatic, humorous, painful.

• “People’s voices are like found poetry—raw, uncrafted, imperfect. Still, we do them the greatest justice when we choose carefully and get out of the way.” –Debra Dickerson, TTS

• “The overall interaction is more important than the particular questions. I try to make the interaction as enjoyable as possible. No one wants to be grilled for hours on end. A formal interview isn’t conducive to soul baring.” – Isabel Wilkerson, TTS

• Think “guided conversation,” where the overall interaction is more important than the particular questions

• “The natural impulse is to ask questions. Sometimes that is wrong. It makes the reporter the focus of attention. Be humble. It honors the person you’re trying to observe.” – Anne Hull, TTS

• “Journalists tend to be very self-centered: our questions, our answers, our timetable. Field reporting isn’t about that.” – Louise Kiernan, TTS

• “Ask people what they worry about most or who matters most to them or what makes them most afraid. Always follow these abstract questions with concrete ones to elicit specific anecdotes. . . . Your job as an interviewer is to turn the subject into a storyteller. Ask questions so layered, so deep, and so odd that they elicit unusual responses. Take the person to places she wouldn’t normally go. Ask questions that require descriptive answers. If your profile hinges on an important decision the subject had to make, ask her everything about the day of the decision. What kind of day was it? What was the first thing you did when you woke up in the morning? Do you remember what you had for breakfast? What were you wearing What did you think about that day? Walk me through the first two hours of your day. These things might not seem relevant to the story, but they serve to put the person back in the moment. Push a bit. Make some assumptions that require the person to validate what you say or to argue with you.” – Jacqui Banaszynski, TTS

• “One way to get people to say interesting things is to ask dumb questions….If they don’t talk, I sometimes remain silent. Silence makes people uncomfortable and people keep talking to fill the space.” –Debra Dickerson, TTS

• “Don’t worry about your list of questions, your editor, and your story lede. Worry only about the person in front of you. A friend of mine calls this full-body reporting. If you do it right, you will feel exhausted when you leave the interview.” TTS

(Image cred)

Next semester, instead of doing a webinar (or bloginar, rather), I am taking the “Making It Pop: Translating Your Research for Trade” workshop on the road. Here’s the description, which I’m happy to email to folks interested in passing it along to their departments or organizations as an attachment:

“Making It Pop: Translating Your Research for Trade,”
with author/blogger/journalist Deborah Siegel, PhD

Are you an academically-inclined writer who wishes to extend your reach? A researcher who longs to write something other than tenure reviews and grant proposals? A scholar who dreams of publishing a popular (“trade”) book, a magazine article, or even an op-ed? You’re not alone.

Too often, in addition to the standard institutional obstacles, academically-trained writers encounter obstacles to writing for popular audiences for which they are unprepared. To write for popular media in a competitive publishing climate, you must be able to craft engaging, accessible, non-technical prose that appeals to an audience far outside your area of expertise. These skills can be learned.

The Making It Pop Workshop takes the Making It Pop Webinar on the road. This 2-3 hour on-site workshop is designed to help researchers, scholars, and policy “wonks” bridge the translation gap and is tailored to meet participants’ needs. Participants are encouraged to come with ideas for research- or policy-based stories they aspire to turn into books and/or articles for hands-on workshopping.

Each workshop covers:
• Techniques for de-jargonizing and enlivening your prose
• Common pitfalls academic writers make when trying to write for popular audiences
• Why “making it pop” does not mean “dumbing it down” or “selling out,” and how to deal with institutional scorn

Tailored Options (each workshop can cover 1-2):

A. Writing a Book Proposal That Sells
• The difference between a book proposal for an academic press and a trade (or commercial) press
• How to know whether your book idea has commercial potential
• What’s entailed in rewriting a dissertation into a trade book
• The elements of a strong book proposal
• The importance of narrative, and what else editors look for
• The role of an agent

B. Publishing Shorter Pieces
• Genres for shorter writings (features, profiles, op-eds)
• How to submit pitches to newspapers and magazines
• How to work with a newspaper or magazine editor

C. Of Books and Blogs
• How to start a blog and/or participate in a blog community as a way to create a platform for your book
• Other ways to use the Internet to help promote your book

See what past participants have said about the workshop here. For additional information or to book, please contact Taryn Kutujian at taryn.kutujian@gmail.com.

My “Making It Pop: Translating Your Ideas for Trade” bloginar has come to a close, and I miss those gals already. In the spirit of cntinuing to share some of what goes on in the course here on GWP, here are some resources.

Looking for a place to bone up on your nonfiction writing technique? Try these:

Nieman Conference on Narrative Journalism – March 14-16, Boston
Associated Writers and Writing Programs Annual Conference – Jan 30-Feb 2, NYC
Mediabistro – jobs, classes, community, and news for media professionals (they have excellent classes, are based on both coasts, and also offer courses online)

Looking to find out who’s publishing what? Try:

Publisher’s Lunch – book publishing news (including news about which editors are buying which books and from which agents)

Want to start reviewing books? You first need to know what books are currently in the pipeline and not yet released. Here’s where to go:

Kirkus Reviews
Publishers Weekly

Remember that magazines need a 3-month lead time, so look for books that list their publication dates as being at least 3 months away. To pitch an editor, find their email address and send them 2-3 brief paragraphs proposing your review. Mediabistro offers great classes on writing pitch letters, writing features, writing reviews…pretty much everything. I took a class from them soon after I decided to pursue a popular writing career and will likely be teaching a 1-day intensive in 2008 on doing anthologies. Stay tuned…

So it’s the part of my Making It Pop seminar where participants are starting to really work on their book proposals. Thought I’d post the questions here that I urge folks to answer BEFORE sitting down to write, for those of you working on your props right now, too. Here we go:

1. In one sentence, what is this book about? (If you’re an academic or wonkily-inclined writer, be careful to phrase this in a way that will appeal to nonacademic readers)
2. What is your argument? (What is your thesis?) If you don’t yet have an argument, for now, answer this instead: What is the main question driving your book?
3. What’s new about this book? How is it different from existing books?
4. Why are you the person to write it?
5. Why is now the time to publish it?
6. Who is going to read it? Why will they find it appealing?
7. How will your book be organized? What is its structure?

Very likely however, you, like me, are thinking about turkey and stuffing right about now, and, in case I don’t get back here much over the next few days, I wish you all a very Happy Thanksgiving!!!

(Image cred.)

Just wanted to gush for a moment about the participants in my current “Making It Pop: Translating Your Ideas for Trade” class. I’m jazzed by the book projects they’re working on, and last night we had Seal Press managing editor Laura Mazer as our guest via conference call, fielding their questions. She was, as always terrific, and I definitely learned a thing or two (or ten) myself.

Meanwhile, I thought I’d start sharing here some of the “advice” that my guests and I are dishing out on the private group blog I’ve established for participants of the course, in the hope that it might be helpful to others of you out there. For what it’s worth!

A few participants asked me the question the other week, “What if I get scooped?” Meaning, what if you find out, as you’re working on your book proposal, that someone else is coming out with a book that sounds frighteningly similar to yours. Here’s my response:

NO one else has your brain, your particular constellation of experience and perspective. So even if you hear of someone else writing about the very topic that has become your heart and soul, TRY not to let it get you down. It’s hard, I know. I learned this the hard way.

Let’s say, however, that you just learned through the grapevine about something in the works that feels way too similar to your vision. There are infinite ways to regroup. Say you were working on a proposal for a cultural history of single women, structured chronologically from the early 20th century-present, and you just heard about a book coming out called Bachelor Girl, that is already in galleys, and that follows, gulp, the very same structure. (This happened to me. My cousin knew the book’s editor.) Instead of folding up your tent in defeat–which is, ahem, exactly what I did–you could considering transforming your idea into an anthology. Or into a compilation of writings about singleness written by single women through the ages. Or you could ask to see a copy of the galley and find out what that other author is *not* covering and make that your jumping off point. There is never just one book that can be written on a subject. If the topic is worth one book, chances are it’s worth more.

Reviewers like to review books in twos and threes, so overlap sometimes works to your advantage, if the timing is right. Also, remember that a newspaper or magazine article is not the same as a book. Often, the journalist who writes a piece that’s close to your topic, or your perspective, can become your ally (and review your book later on!). Chances are, he or she is not already writing your book. Because your book is YOUR book. It’s you.

That said, there is, as they say, very little that’s truly new, under the sun. Much of what we write and think and teach is a continuation of what’s already out there. So the trick is to tap into your particular contribution–from the start. What perspective/experience/angle do you have, because of who you are, that others don’t? Answer that, and you will never, ever, be “scooped.”

…but can’t envision your next step?

Once again, something–or rather, someone–I’ve come upon who is too good not to share. Her name is Shari Cohen, and she’s the Principal at Intersections Resources, her coaching firm.

I know Shari through her work at Demos, where she currently heads up the Fellows program. Shari has been helping leaders (including thought leaders) solve problems more effectively for ten years and brings the depth of a political sociologist, the breadth of a scenario planner, and the insight of a coach and a teacher to her work coaching individuals and organizations. And let’s just say she “gets” academics who decide to leave academia. She has a Ph.D. from Berkeley in political science.

Shari has worked with individuals in international development, health, philanthropy, advocacy, market research, technology, and publishing. (Organizational clients include the World Bank, Charney Research, Demos, SHARE, and the Carnegie Corporation.)

If you’re wondering what it’s like to work with a career coach, do give her a shout at sjc@intersectionsresources.net. Shari is generously offering a 20-minute sample session and a special rate on her five session package to readers of Girl with Pen. (Just mention that you heard about her through this post.)

I’m going under for a few days! But while I’m under, GWP will be alive and kicking. Stay tuned for some savvy commentary from a slew of hand-picked smart-n-feisty girls with pens: Patti Binder, Elizabeth Curtis, Helaine Olen, Alison Piepmeier, some amazing women who work at one of my fave organizations (Catalyst)…and maybe more!

PS. If anyone who has guest posted here on GWP before would like to sign up to post next week, please email me by the end of today at deborahsiege@gmail.com and we’ll set you up. (Guidelines for guest posting available here.)

Photo cred: Wolfs Den Crafts

Are you an academically-inclined writer with a great idea for a book but aren’t sure how to write a trade book proposal that sells, or whether your idea is ready for primetime, or how to think about things like “market” and “platform” in this age of new media? Sign up NOW for my fall bloginar,“Making It Pop: Translating Your Ideas for Trade” which consists of six Tuesday evening conference calls (8-9:15 PM ET) beginning Nov. 6 and an accompanying online forum.

Read more about MAKING IT POP (and its instructor) in Women’s eNews and the New York Times. And see what past participants are saying about the course here.

Next week is the last week to register! I’m jazzed about the format this time. The online component is going to be a private group blog, where participants post as we go, and I will comment. Participants will also “meet” with my by phone (aka weekly group conference calls), during which I’ll interview editors, agents, academics-turned-journalists, and publicists and then open it up for Q&A. To whet your appetite, here are bios for just a few of our fabulous interviewees:

Tracy Brown is President of the Tracy Brown Literary Agency. Tracy held senior editorial and executive positions in book publishing for 25 years before becoming a literary agent in 2003. He was Editor in Chief of Book-of-the-Month-Club, Editorial Director of Back Bay/Little, Brown, Editorial Director of Quality Paperback Book Club, Executive Editor at Holt, and Senior Editor at Ballantine. As an editor he acquired such New York Times bestsellers as Real Boys by William Pollack, and The Six Day War by Michael Oren. He worked with such esteemed writers as Larry Brown, Rikki Ducornet, Barry Gifford, Greil Marcus, Stewart O’Nan, Salman Rushdie, Jeff Shaara, and Alison Weir. In 2003 Brown began his career as an agent in association with Wendy Sherman Associates. His clients include Esther Perel (MATING IN CAPTIVITY/sold to HarperCollins), Courtney E. Martin (PERFECT GIRLS, STARVING DAUGHTERS/sold to Free Press), Deborah Siegel and Daphne Uviller (ONLY CHILD/sold to Harmony), Clifton Leaf (WHY WE’RE LOSING THE WAR ON CANCER/sold to Knopf), Joie Jager-Hyman (FAT ENVELOPE FRENZY/sold to HarperCollins), and Jessica Valenti (FULL FRONTAL FEMINISM/sold to Seal Press). In January 2007 he opened his own agency: Tracy Brown Literary Agency (TBLA).

Jean Casella is a freelance book editor who offers a full range of editorial services to authors, publishers, and non-profit organizations, from project development and “book doctoring” through line editing and copy editing. Previously she worked in independent publishing for more the twenty years, most recently as publisher and editorial director of the Feminist Press at the City University of New York, a publisher of international women’s literature, U.S. literary classics, and nonfiction for the trade and academic markets, where she oversaw acquisition, editing, production, and marketing of twenty new titles annually and backlist of 250 titles. Jean is co-editor of two anthologies, Almost Touching the Skies: Women’s Coming of Age Stories and Cast a Cold Eye: American Opinion Writing, and is currently collaborating with journalist James Ridgeway on a book about the political fallout of Hurricane Katrina.

Laura Mazer is the managing editor of Seal Press, a trade imprint of Perseus Books. Previously, Laura edited Op-Ed columns for nationally syndicated writers, including Tony Snow, Molly Ivins, Arianna Huffington, and Hillary Clinton, and lifestyle columns by writers such as Ann Landers. She was a senior editor at Brill’s Content magazine and the special sections editor for the Los Angeles Times. She also managed the bestselling Rick Steves series of travel books.

To register, shoot me an email at deborahsiege@gmail.com and we’ll take it from there.

People often ask me about media coaches. I’ve worked with a fabulous one, Karen Braga, who is more of a “performance coach.” Karen helps writers with book talks as well as media appearances. (And graciously fielded my “I’m-going-on-MSNBC-help!” call last week.) She works with writers individually and in groups. Her method is more mind-body than put-your-arms-here-and-your-eyes-there. She helps you feel like you, but on stage, and writ large. If you ask me, the woman works magic. Interested? Email me and I’ll send you her email. Happy to share a good thing.