Time to Write

Writing: One Project or Many?

For writers it's always a challenge to know how many projects to try to juggle at the same time. At what point is there a danger that we are spreading ourselves too thin and losing focus? "Psychology Today" asked Natalie Jeremijenko, who is an artist and assistant professor of visual arts, "Do you jump from one project to another out of impatience?" She replied:

"Yes, and I don't think that's entirely bad, though I felt bad about it for a long time. Juggling many projects and having all these accidental collisions that you can't predict enables a kind of comparative thinking. To focus on a single project from beginning to end is extremely difficult, not just for me, but for many people."

Of course, when you're a free-lancer, focusing on a single project is also impractical if you're looking for a steady(ish) stream of income. But it's nice to hear an endorsement for the benefits of our special kind of juggling, isn't it?

Getting a Writing Agent

It's tough finding an agent these days and when you do find one, it has to be a good fit. I was reading about how Jane Ganahl, author of "Naked on the Page:  The Misadventures of My Unmarried Life," had three tries before she found one that understood and agreed with her intentions for the book. (I don't mean that two turned her down and the third took her on; she had signed with the other two.

In an interview, she says, "I had differences of opinion with my first two agents as to how the book should be...she [the 3rd one] was the one who got what I was going for and just suggested a few small changes in the proposal I'd been working on with these two other agents...My second agent wanted to bend it in the direction of self-help, and I think most self-help books are crap."

She was brave enough to stick to her guns and it worked out--she got a $50,000 advance from Viking and has had serious interest from a TV company in the series rights.

It's always difficult to know when you are being true to yourself, vs. just being stubborn. I have a somewhat similar situation, in that the book agent I was working with for my novel has told me he loves the writing, but publishers don't want show-biz/Hollywood novels unless they're written by big name celebrities. Furthermore, he has a few rejections from publishers that also praise the writing but basically say the same thing: too many Hollywood novels out there already. And yet...for me, the Hollywood setting happens to be what I know and I see it as a means to telling a story that's really about people and how they sometimes take a long time to discover who they are. And it's funny. Anyway, I'm still working on that puzzle, I'll keep you posted.

Writing Pays Off for the Wicked--Eventually

The New York Times magazine recently featured a long article about Gregory Maguie, who wrote the novel, "Wicked," and the success of the musical of the same name.

First, the success: Since it opened, the Broadway production and 3 national companies have grossed nearly $500 million.

Now, the wait: It took ten years for the book to reach the N. Y. Times best-seller list. Maguire has told the story of one book store reading at which seven people showed up. Four were homeless people sheltering from the snow, two were friends of his brother, and one was a genuine customer who did buy one copy of the book."

It was gradual word of mouth that did make the book a success--by the time the musical opened in 2003, the book had sold half a million copies. Of course the theatre production has spurred sales even more.

Not all slow beginning have a happy ending, of course. But some do.

Keeping Inspiration Alive

I read that the web design company Happy Cog (happycog.com) does a weekly show-and-tell, and it struck me that this might be a great way for writers and other creative people to remain alive to the world: team up with one or more others and agree to send something for show-and-tell to each other, either in meetings, or by sending stuff through the mail, or by email.

I guess this blog is my way of doing show-and-tell with you, and it's the inspiration behind a lot of blogs and podcasts, but if you don't have the time or inclination for these formats yourself, it might be fun to do it on a small basis. Give it a try!

Self-Promotion for Writers

One thing newspapers and magazines hate is boring headshots, but since we're writers, what kind of photo can we provide? We can sit at a computer but that's not very much more exciting, is it?  I did some brainstorming about this and decided to focus on two things that I think are unique about my approach to teaching writing, both in my new book and in my workshops. One is that I call on a lot of techniques that are based on psychology. That led this this photo:

The other is that I help people to overcome their harsh inner critic (the usual source of writer's block). That led to this photo:

I'll let you know how they're received. Any comments: [email protected].

The Secret of Writing for Children

In an article in the Sunday Times, London, successful children's author Giles Andreae reveals some of the secrets of writing children's books (my additional comments are in brackets).

The two most important elements, he says, are substance and charm. By 'substance' he means that the book has to have some kind of message that will grab attention--but not come off as a sermon or homily.

[Usually writers employ some kind of metaphor to get their point across, so instead of adults there might be giants, and instead of a naughty boy stealing cookies, it might be a naughty young chimp stealing bananas, etc.]

He points out, "verse is difficult because of translation issues, creating memorable characters is important because you can develop a series, and a narrative structure is crucial in order to play an emotional arc within the reader.

[Creating memorable characters means you have to go beyond the all-purpose Little Mouse or Kitty Kat you might use when making up bedtime stories for your children or grandchildren--publishers groan at the appearance of yet another little mouse.

A successful series is a goldmine for the publisher. Consider, for example, the 'A Series of Unfortunate Events' line of 13 books, augmented by puzzles, games, toys, the movie, etc. If your idea has series potential, you don't want to have your character grow up or transform or do anything else too permanent at the end of the first one!]

As for the narrative structure, Andreae says he discovered it in a how-to book and describes it this way:
1. Create a character with a fault that makes him likeable.
2. Give him something extremely hard to do but that he really wants to do.
3. Set him on the path to doing it, but throw more and more obstacles in his way.
4. Finally, let him do it in the most spectacular way possible.

As he points out, this is also the basic structure of a lot of movies. He also says, though, that his latest book, "More Pants" breaks the rules: it's in verse, there are no characters, and there's no narrative structure. Well, when you're as successful as he has been with books like "Rumble in the Jungle," and you're Britain's best-selling contemporary cartoonist-poet (in the guise of "Purple Ronnie" and "Edward Monkton") they let you break the rules.

If you're going to the Oxford Literary Festival, you can hear Giles Andreae and illustrator Nick Sharratt talk about "Pants" on Saturday, March 24 at 11.30 and 2pm.

People Want Stories

Another confirmation that what people really want is information + emotion. Writing in in the Body and Soul section of The Times (London), Vivienne Parry University of Northumbria study of web use. She says, "The researchers found that we consistently favour websites that display the human touch above those with authoritative information."

She adds, "What we're looking for is real life stories: websites with faces, people expressing feelings and experiences...there's something about personal experiences that seems more trustworthy; it appears there's no agenda that can corrupt the information."

Of course, a danger goes along with relying on anecdotal information. One person's experience may not be typical, and while they don't necessarily intend to mislead, people do have hidden agendas. So this strategy may not in fact be the best one to follow with looking for information, but it's certainly another confirmation for those of us who communicate for a living that nothing beats using a personal story.

I would add that images that suggest a story or a relationship (like the one at the left) are more powerful than conventional headshots. At the moment, I'm putting together a press pack to help announce the publication of "Your Writing Coach," and have been brainstorming how I can make the author picture that goes with the press releases more interesting. When they're ready, I'll give you a peek here so you can see what you think.

For Days When Writing is (Extra) Hard

Here is an observation from Dr. Don Meyer, President of Valley Forge Christian Collage, in an editorial from PhoenixvilleNews.com

"Iris Murdoch said, 'Every book is the wreck of a perfect idea.'

Imperfection and failure are twins that hover around every work of art. Starting out. Editing. Revising. Deleting. Waiting for more time. Trying again. Looking at it tomorrow. Doing it all over. There must be a better way to say it. Failure? Sure. But does the writer stop? No. 1000 times no. He must write. She must keep going.

And so the artist continues to make art. Excuses evaporate. Possibilities formulate.

Writers write. Painters paint. Singers sing. Builders build. Counselors counsel. Teachers teach. Judges judge. Climbers climb. Preachers preach. Sailors sail. Seers see."

A good quote for the bulletin board, don't you think?

Storytelling's Long Reach

Here's one of the more unusual examples of how story-tellers are having an increasing role in more and more aspects of society: tax preparation specialists H & R Block hired a feature film visual effects director to help them re-design their customers' online tax experience.

Rob Legato, whose credits include "The Departed" and "Apollo 13," told H & R Block they needed to construct a story with conflict. Not too hard when you're talking about the IRS--it's easy to think of them as the enemy (even though the company carefully avoided using any such terminology).

The H & R Block website gives the pitch: "Every week the IRS takes one-third of your paycheck. Now it's your turn to take it back!"

For people who wish to sell their writing services, it makes a great model of how story-telling can be useful and relevant in new contexts.

Diary of a Non-Fiction Book - March

I'm keeping a little diary of my efforts to promote my forthcoming book, YOUR WRITING COACH, in hopes that any of you who are (or will be) promoting your writing can learn from what works for me--and what doesn't.

Last year I made up a "Writer's First-Aid Card" with tips on what to do when you get stuck, and offered them free to writing conferences, workshops, and groups. At the bottom of the list of tips, I included the name of my site (www.timetowrite.com), in hopes people who liked the card might be curious enough to go to the site as well. I have no way of knowing how many site visitors came from that source, but we did give away about 5000 cards.

This year I've come up with a similar card, but this time the tips are on how to pitch well (which also applies to writing good query letters). The front side shows the cover of the book, and you'll see the other side below. And if you want copies for your group, workshop, or conference, just send me an email at [email protected], telling how many copies you want and where you'd like them sent (anyplace in the world).[PS: the web site noted at the bottom of the card goes live at the start of April; you can pre-order the book from Amazon.co.uk or from Amazon.com now.]

What is Great Art?

I always enjoy Seth Godin's reflections on marketing (and other topics). On one of the recent posts on his blog, he muses about a topic that has long bothered me, too:

"What makes a great work of art? Almost entirely, it's how much it sells for. An expensive avant garde painting that breaks through a price barrier will define an entirely new school for years to come. We do the same thing with music... if a song takes off, sells lots of copies and makes the musician rich and famous, we assume that there's some sort of inherent 'quality' in what they did, as opposed to deciding that our definition of quality in that field is: what sells."

He adds:

"The critic in me cringes to write this. After all, what makes a great work of art should have nothing at all to do with how much it sells for and everything to do with how it makes you feel. I think the game here is in the definition of 'great.' And what society has chosen--for a coffee shop, a song, a poem, a new kind of workman's comp insurance--is that 'great' means successful. Not the other way around."

If you need proof, last month a piece of graffitto spray-painted with a stencil by an artist called Banksy sold for £96,000 (about $175,000). By the way, I think some of his images are clever and enjoyably ironic...but so are the cartoons drawn by, say, Steve Bell, and I don't think he's making two hundred grand per cartoon...

Writing for (Not Enough) Money

  A recent survey by the Author's Licensing and Collecting Society shows that in the UK, the average wage for writers is £16,531 (approx. $32,000) per year. Not great, right? Wait, there's more...the typical (median) income is only £4000 ($8000). Hmm, maybe they figured in J. K. Rowling's income when they did those 'average' calculations. In fact, the survey did state that the top 10% of authors account for more than 50% of total income.

Author Maureen Duffy, honorary president of the ALCS attacked this situation, saying that falling advances and royalty rates were hurting writers. Another factor is that gradually authors' agents have increased their take from 10% to 12.5% or 15%--shouldn't they be increasing their income by getting us more, rather than increasing their commission rate?

According to the survey, 60% of professional authors generally don't make enough from their books alone to live on. Increasingly, the books are a calling card to activities that bring in more money. These include teaching, magazine writing (not fantastically well-paid either, of course), lectures, etc.

In the middle of this, the notion of copyright is under attack. We have to be alert on this one, because copyright is all we really have. Fewer than 15% of authors have received payments for online uses of their work, the ALCS says. (Although all these figures apply to UK authors, I suspect the US figures wouldn't be very different.)

I enjoy giving away content via this blog, and my websites (www.timetowrite.com and www.brainstormnet.com) and my forthcoming podcast, but that's by choice, and with the hope that some of my readers will at some point also buy my books or ebook or other products, or come to my workshops. However, when it comes to publishers and others wanting to pay the same as they always have paid, or less, but to get additional uses of the material, we have to draw the line. To the ramparts! (Bring sandwiches.)

Do You Write With Your Head or Your Heart?

Top producer/writer Stephen Cannell pointed out that most people plot with their head and write with their heart. I think this is an important clue to what sometimes goes wrong with our writing projects, and how to fix it.

In "head writing" (that is, plotting or planning a writing project) we are in a dissociated state. That is, we are outside the story or the structure, analyzing how it would best work. In this mode, we are aware of the rules or guidelines for the genre in which we're working, and perhaps thinking of the commercial demands of the project as well. These might include how long it should be, the tone of the piece, the nature of the ending, and so forth.

In "heart writing" we go into the associated state, meaning that we enter the thoughts and feelings of the people we are writing about and vividly imagine the actions we are describing.

If we use head writing for both, the outcome is likely to be precise, correct--and bloodless.

If we use heart writing for both, the outcome is likely to be colorful, vivid, passionate--and chaotic.

So, head first, then heart is a good prescription. But sometimes when we're writing, we get the feeling that what we planned isn't working, or doesn't feel right.  The problem may be that our heart is alerting us to the fact that what we planned doesn't ring true. Cannell's suggestion is to ask yourself, "If this was really my problem, would I do what I'm saying this character is doing?" If not, use your heart to give your head the answer to what to write instead. Often we find we have overlooked the what the character would really be feeling in the scene. When we get in touch with that, it's easier to figure out what the character would be doing.

The Hottest Category of Writing

Writing in The Independent, Arts and Media Correspondent Anthony Barnes reveals that "misery is the book world's biggest boom sector." He's talking about the advent of the misery memoir--childhood or spousal abuse, addiction, poverty, etc. etc. In the UK, more than than 10% of the top-selling non-fiction titles were in this category. In fact, Waterstone's book shops have added a "painful lives" section.

Barnes quotes punblisher Carole Tonkinson: "They are appealing mainly to women with young children, so for readers there is a material pull to these stories, which often have a child in peril, and a lot of the covers feature children." If you want to sample the misery, some of the top titles are "Behind Closed Doors" (Jenny Tomlin), "Don't Ever Tell" (Kathy O'Beirne), and "Ghost Girl" (Torey Hayden).

I've often said, jokingly, that if I ever write my life story I will call it "My Parents Ate My Pets and Other Reasons I Turned Out This Way." Maybe I should start working on it for real. (The clue is in the photo. Don't ask.)

Great Writing...and Not Great Writing

In our culture we are constantly bombarded with two opposing messages: nothing counts except first place, and the more recent arrival: it's OK to fail (as long as you learn from your failure). For writers, the first message creates a lot of pressure and feeds a savage inner critic. Unless we are improving with every single piece we write, by definition not every project can be the best we've ever done. Here is some advicefrom Peter Elbow, the author of "Writing With Power," on what to do when you're up against a deadline and you have the sudden feeling that what you've done is flawed:

"Settle for cut-and-paste revising or quick revising. Get done. Don't make any major changes. Get rid of what's absolutely impossible, sweep the extra pieces under the rug, touch up the blemishes, and wipe up the blood and be done with it. Have the courage — the wisdom, really — to settle for something less than terrific, perhaps even something second rate. If you insist that everything you write be your best work, that tells the demons they can shut you down whenever they feel like it."

That feels almost subversive, doesn't it? But the reality is that sometimes good enough has to be good enough. (And if a savage inner critic is a problem for you, I have a downloadable trance that can help; you'll find it at www.timetowrite.com)