The Beginning Was a Struggle

Back then, I was struggling to make it as a writer. I’d gotten exactly one short story published, and was among the throngs at the conference desperate to pitch to a literary agent. I had been working hard, but it felt like I was never going to get where I wanted to go. That was the mental place I was in when Gabriela started to speak. And somehow, even though it wasn’t even about my project, she said exactly what I needed to hear. She showed me that there was a path— a path that others had taken before me, a path that could illuminate my next steps. She showed me that it was normal to feel discouraged, but that there were places to draw courage from. She inspired me so much that when I left that room, clutching my worksheet with the DIY MFA logo on it, my gut instinct was screaming at me: “This is important. I want more of this.”

I immediately bookmarked the DIY MFA website. Then I thought up a question from the conference presentation to email Gabriela, solely for the purpose of establishing contact. I started reading the blog regularly. When Bess, then-editor of the site, published a post requesting submissions for their “5 on Friday” series, I jumped at the chance to write for DIY MFA. After a few of my posts were accepted, Bess and Gabriela invited me to join the team as a columnist. At subsequent Writer’s Digest Conferences, I wasn’t just an audience member. I went to DIY MFA gatherings, had dinner with the team, and once even recorded a podcast episode. 

DIY MFA Helped Me Build Community

This sort of inclusivity affected me deeply. I began to call myself a writer. I felt braver about reaching out to agents and publishers, and my writing resume grew. Gabriela showed me a path, and she showed me that I wasn’t alone, and that was all I needed to get where I am today. A place that I’m proud of. 

You may wonder why I’m telling this story, after nearly six years of writing the “Be Well, Write Well” column for DIY MFA. Sadly, this is to be my last column. Just as I felt compelled back then to reach out, I feel compelled now to move on. But I couldn’t leave without expressing my gratitude to Gabriela and DIY MFA, or imparting a few last pieces of wisdom. 

Be Well and Write Well

So, for the last time, here’s how to Be Well and Write Well: 

Keep your eyes open. Try new things. When in-person conferences happen again, go to them, and meet people. Listen to a new podcast; follow a new writer; reach out to an author on Twitter. Trust your gut. If your gut tells you that someone inspires you, stick with that person. If your gut tells you, “This is important. I want more of this,” go out and get more of it. Deepen your relationship until you’re a part of the conversation too. 

As you grow, inspire others with what you’ve learned. Be kind to those who come to you for help. Mentor whomever you can. Instruct with empathy and encouragement. Teach from the heart. 

When your writing life stagnates again— as it will, because it does for everyone— repeat the cycle. Keep your eyes open. Trust your gut. Deepen your relationships. Help others. Repeat, repeat, repeat. It all pays off, even when you can’t see it yet. It all leads somewhere, even when the path isn’t fully illuminated from the start. 

DIY MFA readers, team members and friends— thank you for allowing me a voice in this incredible community. I value each and every one of you, and I will carry all of your voices with me as I move forward. 

And Gabriela— thank you for being the first writer to show me the path. 

Leanne Sowul is an award-winning writer and music teacher whose work has appeared in such places as JuxtaProse Magazine, Barnstorm Journal, Rappahannock Review, Hippocampus, and Mothers Always Write; her live readings include Read 650’s “Gratitude” show at Lincoln Center. As an elementary band director, Leanne can play every woodwind, brass and percussion instrument (just don’t give her a cello!) and has directed over two hundred student performances. She also coaches adults in the art of creative practice through her newsletter, The Joyful Creative. In 2017, Leanne won both the Scott Meyer Award for personal essay and the All-American Dream Champion Award for music teaching. Leanne lives with her husband and two children in the Hudson Valley. Connect with her at leannesowul.com or on Twitter and Instagram @sowulwords. 

The post Trust Your Gut: My DIY MFA Story appeared first on DIY MFA.

The Writer’s Digest Conference is a stellar place for all three of these benefits. It was also both exhilarating, and exhausting—as good conferences usually are. Like any good conference it was jam-packed with great nuggets of wisdom.

Here are my top five takeaways:

1) “It’s a marathon, it really is.”

After Emily St. John Mandel’s closing keynote on the last day of the conference, I waited in line to get my copy of Station 11 signed and told her how much it meant to me to hear her say that it takes her roughly two and a half years to write each book. This was her response.

With one book in a developing series out for sale, I’ve become fixated on writing pace as I pressure myself to get the rest of the series out for fans. It’s easy to get caught up in Stephen King’s 2,000-word-a-day pace or Chuck Wendig’s seemingly constant new releases.

But not everyone writes this way, and not everyone has to. This was a great reminder to write at a pace that works for me.

2) Treat Service Vendors Like Partners

This came up in a talk about publicity with bestselling author Emily Liebert. She advised writers to be persistent with publicists—don’t just think that you’ve hired them to do a job, and now you don’t have to think about it.

It’s best to touch base with a publicist (or any ongoing professional you hire) on a regular basis—at least weekly. And don’t sit on your laurels—take ownership of your author brand by bringing your own ideas and input to the table. You are always a key partner in shaping your author career, regardless of what you have hired someone else to do.

3) Honor Your Reality

This nugget of wisdom is from our own Gabriela. She brought this up throughout the DIY MFA Insiders Program sessions, and it’s definitely worth the repetition.

Every writer struggles to find that balance between the writing and the other demands in our lives—whether it be work, family, promotion, or something else altogether. Be persistent in your writing, but also be realistic about the need to balance it with the rest of your life. After all, without all those life experiences, what is there to write about in the first place?

4) Learning Happens Everywhere

The Writer’s Digest Conference is an amazing place. It’s stuffed with hungry writers and awesome publishing professionals, and everyone is eager to talk shop.

Anywhere you go, from group lunches to cocktail hours to the line for the bathroom, is a potential opportunity to learn from someone else. I had some fascinating conversations in very unexpected place at the conference.

5) Even A Conference Full of Introverts Can Out-talk Me

The more conferences I go to, the more I learn my own limits for social time. Even at the Writer’s Digest Conference, where temperaments are decidedly bent toward the introverted side, I was impressed by others’ ability to keep on chatting it up while my own energy drained to emergency empty.

It can be hard to peel myself away from the action, but I’ve learned how incredibly important it is to look out for my need to recharge while at a conference—it’s okay to check out a little early at the end of the day if it means you’ll be ready to go again when morning comes. Really!

By day, Emily Wenstrom, is the editor of short story website wordhaus, author social media coach, and freelance content marketing specialist. By early-early morning, she is E. J. Wenstrom, an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author whose debut novel Mud was named 2016 Book of the Year by the Florida Writers Association.

The post #5onFri: 5 Writer’s Digest Conference Takeaways appeared first on DIY MFA.

But I also had time to make my way to other sessions, too, and I paid special attention to the platforming focused sessions so I could bring back a few insights for you.

Many of the presentations covered the same best practices we cover here in the column—tips like:

• People need to know about your book in order to buy
• Share your personality on social media, don’t be a sales robot.
• Make it as easy as possible for readers to buy your book/leave a review/share a social media post or they might not do it
• When your book gets published, your work is only beginning
• Use any angle you can think of from your book to develop relevant ties for media coverage and other opportunities.

Quite frankly, it’s a good thing that we’re all on the same page about these basic best practices.

If these basic best practices were different according to each individual professional in the industry, then they really wouldn’t be best practices so much as a crapshoot. Consistency and agreement on what basic, foundational practices are effective for authors is a good sign for all of us.

But I did find a few really great, fresh ideas at the conference this year. And I’ve collected them all up for you!

Form Creative Business Partnerships

Emily Liebert talked about earning publicity with a business partnership, and I thought this was a pretty intriguing tip. What’s this look like? For Liebert, it meant pitching a nail polish company to create a special set of three polishes and naming it after her book, and each color after one of her key characters.

The product’s relevancy matters, but really, it’s about the credibility the association with the company gains you, which can help you earn more media attention.

So how can you partner? You’ll have to get creative, but go ahead and think outside that box a bit.

Use Amazon Series Pages

I’d actually never heard of this before. When adding your books to your Amazon profile, be sure to note if they’re part of a series—Amazon will automatically create a landing page for the all the books in it.

Even better, Amazon customers have the option to buy the entire series together with a single click, making it very easy to make multiple sales with a single customer in one fell swoop. Writing a series never looked more appealing.

One caveat to bear in mind: If the books are released by different publishers, they won’t show up on the same series page, so sticking with the same press (or sticking with self-publishing) through the full series gives you an advantage.

Be a Proactive Partner

I knew this one, but it’s the kind of thing that is easy to know but not practice. Even if you hire a professional for support on something like press promotion, social media, or a blog tour, remember: This is yours to own, and you need to be an active partner in the work they are doing for you.

Check in frequently, keep an eye out for opportunities, and collaborate with your publicist to make sure no stone is left unturned. Don’t be shy about asking for lists of where they have pitched you, either.

There’s Always Something to Learn

The 2016 Writers Digest Conference was an awesome event with a lot to take in. The basic best practices for author platforming remain the wide consensus, but there is always room to learn a new thing or two. Beyond that, I got to meet a lot of great writers and industry professionals, with a lot of fun thrown in for good measure!

By day, Emily Wenstrom, is the editor of short story website wordhaus, author social media coach, and freelance content marketing specialist. By early-early morning, she is E. J. Wenstrom, an award-winning sci-fi and fantasy author whose debut novel Mud was named 2016 Book of the Year by the Florida Writers Association.

The post Platform Takeaways from the Writer’s Digest Conference appeared first on DIY MFA.

In the coming weeks, we’ll have a full recap of WDC 2015, including a glimpse at some of the conference’s recurring themes and a #5onFri with reasons why writers should attend next year. For now, here are some of this year’s most memorable quotes, from the authors, agents, and other industry leaders who spoke there:

“Writing is an art. It’s an intimate conversation between you and the reader.”

– Jonathan Maberry, author of the Joe Ledger series

“Let the passion for your book shine through in your pitch.”

– Alec Shane, literary agent

“The fear of worldbuilding is why we see so many similar worlds done to death. Worldbuilding is really what makes speculative fiction unique. Embrace it.”

– N.K. Jemisin, author of The Inheritance Trilogy

“‘Black or white’ advice – do this, or don’t do that – isn’t good advice. Trust your voice. Learn what’s best for you.”

– Therese Walsh, author of The Moon Sisters

“By creating comic books and reading as a kid, I learned how to tell the stories I wanted to read.”

– Tim Johnston, author of Descent

“It’s necessary to use our imagination and think creatively when it comes to selling books.”

– April Eberhardt, literary agent

“Writers don’t have control over their own stories. The stories often know where they’re going better than we do.”

– Jacqueline Woodson, author of Brown Girl Dreaming

“You are your best advocate.”

– Phil Sexton, Publisher of Writer’s Digest

“Write more. Worry less.”

– M.J. Rose, author of The Witch of Painted Sorrows

Did you also attend this year’s Writer’s Digest Conference? What were some of your favorite quotes from the event?

…………….

Sara Letourneau is a Massachusetts-based writer who practices joy and versatility in her work. In addition to writing a fantasy novel, she reviews tea at A Bibliophile’s Reverie and is a guest contributor for Grub Street Daily. She’s also a published poet whose works have appeared in The Curry Arts Journal, Soul-Lit, The Eunoia Review, Underground Voices, and two anthologies. Learn more about Sara at her personal blog, Facebook, and Twitter.

The post Writer’s Digest Conference 2015: Top Quotes from Authors, Agents, and Industry Leaders appeared first on DIY MFA.

This is one of the best conferences around, and I’ve been to A LOT of conferences so that’s saying something. To give you an idea of how much I love this event, in 2012 I braved the January snow to go to this conference while *ahem* 9 months pregnant. In all fairness I live in NYC so all it meant was taking a cab crosstown, but still that’s how badly I wanted to go.

What I love about Writer’s Digest is that it inspires action. Every time I leave this conference I’m pumped and motivated to get to work on my writing. I always get tons of practical advice and actionable tips, but also just enough inspiration to push me to follow through. In a way, you could say I’m the poster child of what a writer can achieve through this event. After all, it was at Writer’s Digest 2011 where I met one of my mentors and got that first push I needed to start DIY MFA.

Why Attend a Conference?

Time and money are invaluable to everyone, but most especially to writers. So many of us struggle to fit writing around day-jobs as well as family, friends and other obligations. Even full-time writers find it’s a tug-of-war to get words on the page. This is one of the reasons I founded DIY MFA–as a way to make writing work on your time and budget, because not everyone can take out two years to attend an MFA program.

Still, there’s one thing that MFA programs still have going for them and that’s the community aspect. As writers on the do-it-yourself track, it can be hard to find like-minded friends who understand what this writing life is all about. It’s also a challenge to meet people in the book industry like agents, editors and industry pros who can help you make that publishing dream a reality.

Conferences are a great way to supplement your writing life and help you make those important connections. Here’s a few reasons why:

1. Meet other writers — Conferences usually draw people from all over the United States and, indeed, the world. You’ll find other writers in your genre, at your level, and from your area. It’s a great way to swap stories, exchange advice and maybe meet your next critique partner! I myself have met several writers at the Writer’s Digest Conference who have become trusted colleagues and close friends.
2. Meet professionals — At writing conferences, agents, editors and writing experts teach the classes so you can hear straight from the experts. The speakers also mingle with writers at lunch and in-between sessions. Conferences are a great way to meet the speakers and make connections, whether you’re just starting out, looking for an agent or marketing your published book.
3. Learn — Conferences have so many classes to choose from and Writer’s Digest is no exception! Many conferences have different tracks, for fiction writers, non-fiction writers, new writers, experienced authors and everyone in-between. You can craft the perfect learning experience and focus on only the topics that apply to you.
4. Be Inspired — We are often toiling alone at our desks. Writing conferences are a great way to step away, draw inspiration from other writers, and refuel. You’ll leave bursting with new ideas and a new drive to write.

Why the Writer’s Digest Conference?

Writer’s Digest is a particularly fabulous conference for many reasons. Here’s three particular to this year:

1. Eight New York Times Bestselling authors — Harlan Coben, Kimberla Lawson Robey, Jacquelyn Mitchard, Dani Shapiro, Cheryl St. John, Dan Hampton, Barry Lyga and Hugh Howey will be speaking at the conference this year.
2. Four Different Tracks — There’s something for every writer. Getting Published, Platform and Promotion, Craft and Self-Publishing. You can plan your schedule to best suit your needs and only attend sessions that are relevant to you. At the same time, I strongly recommend going to one session in each track, to give yourself a well-rounded conference experience.
3. The Pitch Slam — This is Writer’s Digest’s signature event. More than 50 agents and editors are slated to be on hand scouting for new talent. This is chance for you to get face-time with an industry professional and talk about your book. Even if you’re not ready to be published, it’s a great chance to practice and hone your pitch.

On a personal note: I pitched the DIY MFA book concept at this conference in 2012 and it was the overwhelming response that gave me the confidence to approach my current agent with the proposal. Even if you don’t find your agent during the Pitch Slam, it’s a fantastic way to get fast feedback on your concept and get a sense of whether you’re going in the right direction.  It’s also great practice for talking about your book, which is something you’ll have to do a lot once you’re published.

If you’re going to the Writer’s Digest Conference, don’t miss my session on the Seven Steps to Stronger Middle Grade and YA Novels. Even if you don’t write children’s books or YA, the 7 Steps will totally apply. Also, leave a comment below letting me know you’ll be there so I can look for you. I LOVE meeting other writers!

Also, as a special bonus for DIY MFA readers, if you sign up using my code, WDSPEAKER when you register, you can save an extra $50.

Hope to see you there!

The post DIY MFA Will Be at the Writer’s Digest Conference appeared first on DIY MFA.