What I learned from the class of 2009

This last weekend I was in Dallas, TX with Chip MacGregor, Jim Rubart, and 6 authors at the first Master Seminar. I have spent the last year working with Chip and Jim to put these seminars for writers together and thought I knew what to expect.

I knew that there would be excellent content, which there was. What I didn’t expect was the incredible chemistry among all the participants. As I sat in the back corner of the room and watched the event from the outside I saw a group of 8 people become a single unit. That may sound extreme, but that is exactly what happened. The first hour was an overview of the event and, as you’d expect, people were wondering what to expect. By 10 am, however, I saw a noticeable shift. I saw people leaning forward and taking notes. I saw engaged smiles and nods of recognition.

We had lunch together and talked about things that were not writing related like our families, favorite recipes and one man talked about his incredible car business. As the afternoon session began we were no longer participants or attendees—we were friends.

Day two came and Chip told me he thought this might be the part that people liked least. As we sat together as a group we focused on one person in the room at a time. Chip and Jim asked about their book and then shared suggestions for ways to market that particular work as well as the person as a brand. We were surprised to learn that this was everyone’s favorite part. No one got bored because everyone learned from everyone else. At one point a participant offered to write a story on another participant in a magazine. There were networking connections back and forth as each of us realized that we all had gifts that could strengthen the other person.

I wish I could fully convey in this single blog posting what this Seminar meant to me. I was the coordinator which meant I ran and made sure everyone had food, that the meeting room was set up properly, that the room rates were negotiated well and that handouts were prepared. I was the one that Chip and Jim looked to when there were small errands needed to be done. I arranged Jim’s shuttle and answered questions. Even with my outside role, I learned about myself as a writer and a person. I made new friends this past weekend and I reinforced my friendship with Chip and Jim. We had so much fun I started calling them “Seth and Matt” [those are the names of my two brothers] because they kept teasing me like my brothers did when I was a kid.

With all the fun, I still left with great ideas. Jim’s explanation of branding opened my eyes to realize who I really was as an author and what I really wrote. I had been on the right track, but this weekend it finally clicked what the promise is I put in each story. What my underlying theme is.

The participants were excited about the event too. I have asked them to come over and comment on this post, and I hope they will. They are in the week following a conference and all of us have experienced that before. However, since each of you found 2 or 3 things you’ll do immediately to market your writing, you will see real results this time.

The next seminar will be in Indianapolis Dec. 4-5. I won’t be at that one, but I hope most of you will be. Car pool, share a room and pack sandwiches to be sure you are there. It is very worth it. Also, for those of you who are unpublished Susan May Warren has a great event to help you improve your craft. January she’ll be in Phoenix and February she’ll be in Atlanta. These events will, NO DOUBT, be life changing as well. Details are at http://www.themasterseminars.com/.

Writer’s conferences are great, but you can sometimes get information overload. Writing retreats are nice, but they are usually more focused on putting words on paper than building skills. What was great about this weekend’s seminar is you got both: A day of information and a day of practical application.

In my comments I’d love some of the participants to share your experiences, those of you registered to upcoming events to tell what you hope to get out of it and for those of you who have been to other writing conferences, what is the best part of getting together with other writers. Our free update lists will tell you about discounts, new events, venues and other important information on The Master Seminars. Sign up here.

The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! After the first of the year we will only be posting to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/. There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more. In order to receive or continue to receive these postings by e-mail, subscribe here.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/

Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.

Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.

Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.

Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.

Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.

She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.

Practice your scenes

Here is an exercise to help you with your craft today. In the comments write the following scene but within your genre. Let the tone, description and pace of this small scene be guided by the time period, mood of the scene, genre of the book, etc.

A man and woman are walking outside. Both are hungry.

How much tension can you make of this prompt? How many problems could you realistically throw at them? Will it even matter at the end of the scene that they were hungry or is that just what brought them to the place of conflict? Or will a new secret be revealed over dinner.

Be creative and tell us the genre and time period you're writing in. Have fun with it. I cannot wait to read what you write.

The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! After the first of the year we will only be posting to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/. There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more. In order to receive or continue to receive these postings by e-mail, subscribe here.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/
Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.
Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.
Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.

Ingermanson Communications Inc. announces the release of Snowflake Pro

Randy Ingermanson, known to many in writing as The Snowflake Guy, has released new software that takes the snowflake method of story writing and helps writers craft their stories, proposals, character sketches and other aspects of the writing process. He offers a number of free articles on his website including on outlining the snowflake method. [www.advancedfictionwriting.com] He is running a special through Friday, November 20, 2009 at midnight where he is offering this new product at 80% off. Details here: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/links/96.php


According to his website Ingermanson holds a Ph.d in physics from U.C. Berkeley and is the author of six novels and one non-fiction book.


Randy’s Advanced Fiction Writing E-zine is the world’s largest electronic magazine on fiction writing craft. Hundreds of people sign up for the free e-zine each month. He also speaks regularly at a variety of writer’s conferences.


More information on Ingermanson’s e-zine, The Snowflake Pro or for contact information you can visit the Advanced Fiction Writing Home page.


In the interest of disclosure: I personally purchased a copy of this product and found it to be extremely easy to use and exceeded expectations. In about an hour I had the skeleton of a book project I’d been working on. The series of prompts makes the process of prewriting like a Q&A session. I was thinking about character arcs, motivation and take away. I was so thrilled with it I wanted to pass this information along. I received no compensation or free products for this endorsement.


The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! After the first of the year we will only be posting to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/. There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more. In order to receive or continue to receive these postings by e-mail, subscribe here.


Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.

Interview with Fred Waren

Today we are interviewing author Fred Waren. His first novel, The Muse, is available through Splashdown Books.

After a 22-year career in the U. S. Air Force producing innumerable military reports and analyses, Fred Warren decided to cut his imagination loose and try his hand at writing the science fiction and fantasy that he’d enjoyed reading his whole life. With over fifteen works of short fiction appearing in a variety of print and online publications, and his first novel, The Muse, debuting in November 2009, he’s feeling pretty good about that decision, though he admits he’s still got a lot to learn. Fred works as a government contractor in eastern Kansas, where he lives with his wife and three children.

The Muse: Stan Marino needs a muse. He’s written himself into a corner…again. A shot of inspiration is all he needs to finish his story…where is he going to find it? Stan doesn’t realize that inspiration has found him, and it’s about to take over his life. Ripped from reality, he must lead a band of lost souls into a life-or-death battle with a merciless enemy. Stan has found his muse, but will he survive it?

Fred took a few minutes to talk about publishing from a writer's perspective with Writing Career Coach.

Writing Career Coach: What are some ways you prepared to market your book before you were published?

Fred Waren: Frankly, marketing was the last thing on my mind before Grace told me she wanted to publish my book. I figured I was in for at least a couple of years shopping it around to agents and publishers, if it sold at all. Suddenly, I had to think about things like cover art, and press packages, and conventions, and signings, and, of course, blog tours. I was completely unprepared.

WCC: Tell us about your book.

FW: The Muse is about inspiration. If creativity is the vehicle that allows us to do great things, inspiration is the fuel that makes it run. In my story, we meet Stanley Marino, an aspiring writer who's run out of inspiration. He's hit a brick wall. We often say that someone in this situation "needs a muse," or is "looking for his muse," but in this case, Stan literally finds a muse and discovers that reality is a lot stranger, and more dangerous, than he ever imagined. What seems at first to be the solution to all his problems becomes a battle for his soul and for the lives of the people most dear to him.

WCC: How do you plan and write your book?

FW: I normally would want to enter a project like this with a fairly well-defined roadmap, and I tried to do that. I had a one-paragraph summary, chapter synopses, a list of characters and their descriptions, historical background, and so on. Unfortunately, I’d planned for an entirely different story. About three days before I planned to start writing, the idea for The Muse just hit me out of nowhere, and I knew I had to write it instead. It was a very non-mechanical process, like watching a flower grow. In a sense, I lived the story along with the characters, discovering it as I wrote. I guess it's appropriate that a story about inspiration happened that way. I don't expect to always get hit by a bolt of lightning, but it's nice when it happens.WCC: Do you have a tip for finding and working with an agent?FW: No, I haven't had the chance to work with an agent yet. While I like the growing trend toward a sort of democratization of the publishing process, I still think it's important to cultivate professional relationships with people who are experts in making connections between authors and publishers and know which buttons need pushing.

WCC: What do you do other than writing? How do you maintain balance?

FW: That’s a great question. My whole life has been an unending search for balance—spiritual, emotional, physical, work, and family. It’s tough keeping all those balls in the air at once. I know my relationship with God has to be in order, or nothing else will work. Close behind that is my family, and of course, work pays the bills. I try to stay active…I run for exercise, and I find just getting out in the woods every so often does wonders for my peace of mind.

Read more of Fred’s interview here at Examiner.com

YOU COULD WIN!

Leave a comment on this posting and you could win a copy of The Muse. The drawing will take place on Nov. 24, 2009. This give away is for US residents only. There is no fee to enter.

The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! In order to offer you more services and a central location for all information I am moving this blog to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/ There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/
Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.
Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.
Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.

Interview with Grace Bridges

Today we are interviewing author Grace Bridges. Her most recent novel is, Faith Awakened.

Grace Bridges is a sci-fi author (Faith Awakened, 2007, and Legendary Space Pilgrims, coming in 2009) and owner of Splashdown Books, an independent publisher of inspirational sci-fi and fantasy. She's a Kiwi of Irish descent living in beautiful New Zealand, and a chocaholic cat-lovin' Trekkie, Jesus freak, web designer, and all-round DIY gal who also takes care of the Lost Genre Guild blog.

Grace took a few minutes to talk about publishing from a writer's perspective with Writing Career Coach.

Writing Career Coach: What are some ways you prepared to market your book before you were published

Grace Bridges: I joined a lot of social networks online, of all types: mailing lists for authors and readers, sci-fi fan groups, Shoutlife, Facebook, Myspace, Twitter and more, and even started one of my own where readers can get updates and previews if they sign up: www.gracebridges.com/signup. I also created a series of video trailers to promote the book, and released them during the run-up to publication, to build the buzz. You can view the first one at http://www.socuteurl.com/jiffyfuzzledo - and look for the Playlist on the right for the others.
WCC: Tell us about your book.GB: Which one? LOL. Probably the one that's out as opposed to the five or six that wrestle within my hard drive and my head. FAITH AWAKENED was first published in 2007 and is now re-issued in a new edition from my own company, Splashdown Books.

A deadly plague with a political greed background destroys most of Earth's population, leaving just a handful of genetically immune survivors. When they realise their immunity is not permanent due to mutations in the virus, they decide to activate a prototype cryogenic system enabling the user to live on in virtual reality while in hygienically isolated suspended animation.

But after flicking the switch, the supposed virtual reality feels a lot more real than the supposed real life. Which one is real, and which one is true? Could there be something supernatural behind this? And how come Mariah's virtual stasis keeps on crashing?
You can find more about this book at http://www.faithawakened.com/.

WCC: How do you plan and write your book?

GB: I use a number of steps from Randy Ingermanson's Snowflake Method, available here: http://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/art/snowflake.php - namely, steps 1 (one-sentence summary), 2 (one-paragraph summary), 4 (five-paragraph summary) and 6 (four page summary), and then a scene list which only vaguely resembles step 8, containing one-sentence descriptions of what must be accomplished in each scene. However, these descriptions are still pretty vague.

For example, in my WIP - "Godspeed," the sequel to Faith Awakened, I'm currently working on a scene I described in planning as "Dave breaks Naomi out of jail." But the details of exactly how he did that - getting past the guards through a maintenance corridor, blowing a hole in the cell wall, getting caught while she escapes, then she sneaks around behind and rescues him again - all that was purely SOTP invention, and that's a really fun part of writing that I wouldn't want to be without. Also, my characterisations tend to be SOTP also, deepening and developing as I delve further into the story.

WCC: Do you have a tip for finding and working with an agent?

GB: Actually I don't believe in agents. No offense to those wonderful people who do that work and those who work with them - but it just doesn't work in my genre. Science fiction and fantasy is notoriously difficult to get an agent for, especially for newbies. That's why I founded my publishing company Splashdown Books, to pick up wonderful new authors who wouldn't get a chance by traditional means. We don't even have submission guidelines - I call them Acceptance Guidelines, which you can find on the Authors page at http://www.splashdownbooks.com/. You see, I don't take submissions at all - rather, I interact with other authors in critique groups, swapping edits, and if I find something I want to publish, I will approach the author. I grant you it's not the usual manner of proceeding for a publisher, but it allows me to gauge their editing skills and consider publication without having the author on tenterhooks waiting to hear what I decide, and without having to reject anyone directly.

WCC: What do you do other than writing? How do you maintain balance?

GB: I'm a freelance translator, so that's very flexible and irregular work. Otherwise I'm kept busy doing things for Splashdown Books - I love all the periphery of publishing, such as graphic design, interior typesetting, filming book trailers, planning blog tours, etc. All these things provide the perfect balance to offset the mental intensity of the writing itself. I'm also a hobby photographer and am learning to play the bodhran (Irish hand drum).

Read more of Grace’s interview here at Examiner.com

YOU COULD WIN!

Leave a comment on this posting and you could win a copy of Faith Awakened The drawing will take place on Nov. 23, 2009. This give away is for US residents only. There is no fee to enter.

The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! In order to offer you more services and a central location for all information I am moving this blog to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/ There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/
Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.
Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.
Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.

Using what you live to deepen character conflict

"That will end up in a book."

If you spend any time around a writer you will hear that phrase. That is because so much of our writing is drawn from our personal experiences in one way or another. While most of my stories are not autobiographical [I don't stalk women based on a misinterpreted scripture, nor am I a college student in a small town trying to solve a murder], I have to admit that things that I experience do find their way in to my writing in one way or another.

Maybe it is the way I personally reacted to a breakup or disappointment. It could be that one of my characters is afraid of the same thing I am. These are all obvious and easy to do.

Have you ever considered bringing the dual nature of your personality in to your writing?

I am really a dichotomy. On the one hand, I am a successful speaker who really enjoys speaking to large groups. On the other hand, I am a total nerd who gets excited at the idea of doing research and looked forward to every term paper in college. My idea of a dream job would be sitting in a room full of ideas, articles, news reels, historical data, etc. and making sense of it all. Pecking away at a keyboard and discussing the implications with a coworker of similar temperment. Trying to find a pattern and constructing possible scenarios from it.

How do you reconcile the two? One is extremely extroverted, the other introverted. One thrives on feedback and the energy of a crowd, the other the quiet solitude of one's own thoughts.

I guess you become a writer. That's what I did.

Think about the contradictory things in you. Then take time to discover and deepen the contradictory nature of your main characters [including your villain]. Doing that will deepen your writing and create a more relatable story.

Learn how to get readers to pick you and your story by following these links:
Getting readers to pick you
How readers decide what to read
Presenting yourself well
Getting noticed by readers
Going on the hunt

The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! In order to offer you more services and a central location for all information I am moving this blog to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/ There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/

Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.

Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.

Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.

Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.

Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.

She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.

Interview with Anita Higman

Today we are interviewing author Anita Higman. Her most recent book, Love Finds You in Humble, Texas, is available through Summerside Press.

Award-winning author, Anita Higman, has twenty-four books published (several coauthored) for adults and children, and she has been honored as a Barnes & Noble “Author of the Month” for Houston. Anita has a B.A. degree, combining speech communication, psychology, and art. Some of her favorite things are exotic teas, going to the movies, and all things Jane Austen.
Anita latest novel, Love Finds You in Humble Texas, is now in its second printing. She’d love for you to pick up a copy at your local bookstore, Wal-Mart, or Sam’s Wholesale Club.

Please visit Anita online at http://www.anitahigman.com/.

Love Finds You in Humble Texas: Trudie Abernathy is a little inelegant, and she’s never had much luck in love. To makes matters worse, her thirtieth birthday is fast approaching and her sister, Lane, has decided to “treat” her to a makeover and a blind date. Trudie is about to protest, but then she meets the kind and devastatingly handsome Mason Wimberley. In spite of Trudie’s humble manner, Mason finds her attractive, funny, and smart. But there’s one obstacle in the way of the budding romance: Lane suddenly decides that she’s in love with Mason! Trudie has never been one to compete with her glamorous sister, even when it means giving up the things she wants. Will she be able to stay true to her humble self and find her heart’s desire in the process?

Anita took a few minutes to talk about publishing from a writer's perspective with Writing Career Coach.

Writing Career Coach: Tell us about your book.
Anita Higman: In a nutshell, my latest novel, Love Finds You in Humble Texas is about two sisters who love each other very much but happen to fall in love with the same man.

WCC: How do you plan and write your book?
AH: I do a combination of both SOTP and an outline. I write a basic synopsis of the story, but then I let the characters take it from there. I rarely hold strictly to the synopsis. So, I have a destination and a roadmap, but I take lots of side trips along the away, which is also the way I love to plan my vacations.

WCC: How do you market yourself and your writing?
AH: I do a lot of marketing, but I’m not in love with it. I love to write, but I know marketing is very important too, so I try to do my best and get out there and spread the word about my books.
Here are a few of my marketing ideas: I pay for a blog tour, a book trailer, and then distribution for that book trailer. With this latest novel I had a book launch party with sponsors, which was a happy success. I recently put up a TV interview on my website, which came from The Harvest Show. It was live TV in front of eight million regular viewers. Whew! A little nerve-racking, but lots of fun. I hope having that interview available to watch on my site will generate more interviews. If you’d like to watch it, go to http://www.anitahigman.com/ and then click on the little TV screen. In addition, my promotions include giving away a ton of free books to influencers and reviewers. Those offers have helped gather 40 reviews on Amazon. I do traditional promotions as well, such as book signings and monthly contests. I wish I could tell you what the most effective publicity ideas are. I’m never sure, but I do know that promotion is no longer an option for a writer. We must see publicity as a team effort along with the publisher.

Read more of Anita’s interview here at Examiner.com

YOU COULD WIN!
Leave a comment on this posting and you could win a copy of Love Finds You in Humble Texas. The drawing will take place on Nov. 9, 2009. This give away is for US residents only. There is no fee to enter.

The Writing Career Coach blog is moving! In order to offer you more services and a central location for all information I am moving this blog to our main website: http://www.writingcareercoach.com/ There you will find the blog, information on my speaking topics, FREE articles to help you with your writing and more.

Tiffany Colter is a writer, speaker and writing career coach who works with beginner to published writers. She can be reached through her website at http://www.writingcareercoach.com/
Tiffany is a speaker and teacher. Find out about available topics for your group’s next event.
Tiffany is a National Examiner. Read her articles here.
Learn more about Tiffany’s Marketing techniques on her main blog.
Common-sense money management is free at The Balanced Life website.
Read Tiffany’s award winning manuscript “A Face in the Shadow” on her fiction blog.
She writes a blog for the Christian writer Tuesdays at Writer’s Rest.