Turn the Page Blog
Thoughts, Musings & Advice on All Things Writing
Whether you're writing a book, a journal, a blog, or simply a list on a notepad, taking the time to write can be a powerful way to promote self-reflection, mindfulness, and personal growth. Writing reduces stress, boosts your mood, improves mental clarity, strengthens your relationships, and enhances creativity.
Do you feel like you’re going struggling to churn on the pages? Or get published? Or even to get started? More than likely, you’re making a common mistake – and even more likely, it is a misstep that even the best authors out there make, too. You may have heard me talk about the 16 Mistakes and Missteps That Even the BEST Writers Make – I’ve spoken at conferences about it, written articles about it, and even have a product related to it.
The COVID pandemic has changed everything, and the world of writer’s conferences are no exception. With that being said, many conferences have pivoted to doing things online, and they can still be a terrific resource for authors at all stages of their writing and publishing journeys. (Poets & Writers Magazine has a great database of conferences and residencies – check them out.)
The Chapter Summaries section is basically an annotated outline of the structure of your book. The point of the Chapter Summary section is to give the editor an idea of your content and your method of presenting that information, AND to make sure you are organized and know what you are writing about. Most books are around 60,000 words, and most have 12 chapters (each chapter is usually about 5,000 words long, including 2,000 words in stories/anecdotes/case studies).
Much like the Overview, the Author’s Bio is pretty self-explanatory. This is where you tell the reader (the literary agent/editor) all about you. However, it is important that the information and qualifications you share relate to your expertise as an expert on your book’s subject matter and/or as an author. (With an emphasis on the former). It doesn’t matter if you are an award-winning gardener, unless you are writing a gardening book.
My career has been a bit of an adventure, beginning in the entertainment industry before finding my home in the world of publishing. After working in business and legal affairs in television and film production, I realized I needed to follow a new path. I had already been editing book and script projects, so publishing felt like the logical next path – a path I’m so glad that I took.
I used to dread January, which always seemed like the rainiest, darkest month. The anticipation and excitement of Christmas is over, and January always represented the return to the same old, same old. Over the years, however, my perspective has changed. Now January is all about finding that spark - spark of hope, spark of creativity, spark of beginning. It's not just about resolutions but about goals - dreaming them, defining them, and putting together an actionable plan to achieving them.
How are you doing? Are you hanging in there? This is one crazy (scary/frustrating/sad) time to be alive, huh? There have definitely been some adjustments here - two parents are working from home now, we have a stir-crazy toddler, and another baby is due just next month. Of course I am thinking about you and your book projects. Have you made any progress? Or have you been focused on other things? The editor in me wants to say, "WHY ARE YOU READING THIS EMAIL? USE THIS EXTRA TIME AT HOME TO WRITE, WRITE, WRITE!" Turn off Netflix and get busy churning out those pages!
If you’ve haven’t yet struck gold yet in your quest to be published, here is my advice: Keep with it! Make sure you are constantly evaluating what is working and not working – can you tweak your query letter? Are people requesting your proposal or manuscript and then rejecting after that (perhaps your first few chapters are lacking something)?
Is it worth it for me to go to conferences like these? What would the main benefits be? Do you think I could definitely find an agent at one? This is a great question. I speak at writers conferences all over the country, and I enjoy doing it quite a bit. So let me begin by telling you why I attend conferences.
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