The Writing Life: A Report from the Field

Now on-line: the podcast of the May 22 LitArtlantic panel discussion "The Writing Life: A Report from the Field," with Yours Truly, Alan Elsner, Kevin Quirk, and David Taylor, moderated by Jessie Seigel, at the Writer's Center.

P.S. For more resources for writers, click here.

The Writer's Life: A Report from the Field on May 22, 2010

On May 22nd, from noon to 1:00 p.m., AIW is hosting the panel, The Writer’s Life: A Report from the Field, featuring documentary film maker David Taylor; novelist C.M. Mayo; journalist Alan Elsner; and memoirist Kevin Quirk, in a lively discussion about their lives as professional working writers.

David Taylor co-wrote and co-produced the film "Soul of a People: Writing America’s Story," about the country as seen by people on the WPA Writers’ Project, aired on the Smithsonian channel and nominated for the 2010 Writers Guild Award. C.M. Mayo is the author of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, an historical novel named one of Library Journal’s Best Books of 2009. Alan Elsner is the author of Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons, praised by the late Senator Edward Kennedy as making “an overwhelming case for reform.” Kevin Quirk is the co-author of Brace for Impact: Miracle on the Hudson Survivors Share Their Stories of Near Death and Hope for a New Life, 25 first-person accounts of passengers and first responders from the January 2009 plane crash and rescue that riveted the world.

This panel is one of many entertaining and educational events at Lit Artlantic, a regional three-day festival celebrating cross-currents in the arts. The festival is scheduled for May 20-22, 2010, at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, just a few blocks south of the Red Line’s Bethesda Metro stop. All festival events, including the AIW panel, are free and open to the public. For more information about the panel, visit the AIW web site, www.amerindywriters.org. For information on the festival as a whole, call The Writer’s Center at (301) 654-8664 or visit their web site at www.writer.org.

Blogs Noted: A Commonplace Blog; Privilege; A Walk Around the Lake

->Confessions of an Aca-Fan (Henry Jenkins)
->A Commonplace Blog: On books, Bookmen, and Other Rapidly Aging Notions
->Blog of the American Independent Writers Association
->The Norman Nation: A Blog of Devastating Wit and Life-changing Insight
->Latayne Scott
->Privilege: A High WASP Stops to Consider
->A Walk Around the Lake
More anon.

Frank S. Joseph's Notes on the June '09 American Independent Writers Conference

Novelist Frank S. Joseph recently shared with his e-mail list his notes on the excellent June '09 American Independent Writers Conference, and with his permission, I herewith share them with you:

Dear Writer List:

Following is from my notes of the American Independent Writers annual meeting last Saturday 6/13 in D.C.:

FICTION AGENTS ROUNDTABLE
Panelists: Four fiction agents

You must sell 100,000 copies in one week to break into national best-seller lists.

Panelists agreed on a number: 75% of projects they represent get sold (eventually).

Blog by Chuck Sambuchino was mentioned approvingly, "Guide to Literary Agents"

A self-published book must sell 5,000 copies to get an agent's attention, panelists agree.


NON-FICTION AGENTS ROUNDTABLE
Panelists: Four nonfiction agents

What's Selling Now:
* Barnes & Noble's shelf categories, and Amazon's ways of characterizing books, have had a big impact on editors in terms of genres they are looking for

* So books that cross or combine genres are more challenging to sell

* "Practical" self-help categories are selling well -- children's, cooking, health, gardening, home, "retro" subjects related to the down economy

* A great "platform" is great to have (viz., Harvard Medical School); 'Get famous first, then write your book'

* For major publishers, 20-30,000 copies is a viable hardcover project; for university presses, 15,000 copies.

* Big sales of your first book are crucial for your subsequent career as an author.


KEYNOTE SPEECH, KEITH DONAHUE, AUTHOR, 'THE STOLEN CHILD'
(This was a terrific, inspiring address -- KD is one great speaker)

* Be a good liar

* Learn how to read

* Workshop or don't as you prefer ("you can't be taught to be a writer" -- you just have to practice, fail, then "fail better")

* Write what you want to write; write for love; write for yourself

* "Literature is an endless source of courage and confirmation"

* Don't be afraid

* Be stubborn, persistent; "take no for an answer with dignity and grace"

* Publishers Marketplace is now available online for a fee -- searchable database

* Poem: "Expect everything, and anything is nothing/Expect nothing, and anything is everything"

* Pay attention to publishing as a business

* A great deal depends on nexus/circumstance/chance

* Find a champion; a VP of Amazon fell in love with "The Stolen Child" and made the novel a success before it was ever published

* "In the end, nobody in the publishing business knows how to do this, especially in fiction"

* Be willing to(self) promote your book

* "Remember how and why you are a storyteller"

-- Frank S. Joseph

P.S. I also posted some notes about the "Other Times, Other Places" AIW conference panel I moderated with novelists Wayne Karlin, Olga Grushin, and Frederick Reuss. More anon.

Writing Historical Fiction: Washington DC AIW "PubSpeak" and Library of Congress

Here's what's next: two talks in Washington, D.C. about the story behind the very Washingtonian story of The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, and why it has been obscured for more than 130 years.

Thursday JULY 16, 2009 AIW PUBSPEAK
Details here.

Monday JULY 20, 2009 LIBRARY OF CONGRESS
Details here.

Who knew that Mexico once had a half-American prince? Or that this little boy’s future was hotly debated not just in Mexico but in Washington D.C. and in every court in Europe? Set in the mid-19th century when Maximilian von Habsburg was Emperor of Mexico, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire is based on the true and never before completely told story about a half-American boy who, as in a fairytale, became the heir presumptive to the throne of Mexico and then, when his American mother wanted him back, a pawn in the struggle-to-the-death over Mexico's destiny. This novel incorporates original research into what is also a very Washingtonian story, for the prince's mother, née Alice Green, was from a prominent Washington family, and his father, Angel de Iturbide, second son of Mexico's first deposed emperor, Agustín de Iturbide, had come to Washington as a young boy and eventually served as the Mexican legation's secretary.

Photographs, excerpts and more can be found at www.cmmayo.com.

"Epic in scope...impressively researched...Mayo's reanimation of a crucial period in Mexican history should satisfy history buffs and those in the mood for an engaging story brimming with majestic ambition."
— Publishers Weekly

More anon.

American Independent Writers: The Summer Membership Drive

For anyone (especially but not necessarily) in the Washington DC area who is serious about their writing, whether it be fiction, speechwriting, journalism, or freelancing of all stripes, here's a great offer: If you join American Independent Writers (previously Washington Independent Writers) in July or August, they'll waive the $45 initiation fee. I've been a member for several years now and highly recommend it. Read more about AIW and its many benefits here.

P.S. I'll be speaking at AIW's July 16 "PubSpeak" about The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire. And ASAP, I'll be posting something here on this blog about the AIW conference in June, and the amazing panel I moderated, which featured novelists Frederick Reuss, Wayne Karlin, and Olga Grushin.

American Independent Writers Conference and Techniques of Fiction

This Saturday: The American Independent Writers conference--- editors, agents, writers of all stripes and more--- is all day at George Washington University's Cafritz Conference Center, Washington DC.

This Sunday: Techniques of Fiction, my one day only workshop, 1- 5 pm at the Writers Center, Bethesda MD.

More anon.

Marita Golden to be Keynote Speaker Washington DC's AIW Fiction Seminar Feb 28th

This is a terrific opportunity for anyone interested in writing fiction. For full details, visit the American Independent Writers website, www.aiwriters.org More anon.

Guest-blogger Solveig Eggerz on 5 Works of Historical Fiction

As a writer of historical fiction myself, when I got the announcement that my fellow American Independent Writer Association member, Solveig Eggerz, was to give a "pubspeak" on history and fiction, I was intrigued. And when I mosied on over to her website, http://www.solveigeggherz.com, I was fascinated. The author of the just-released novel, Seal Woman, set in World War II-era Iceland, Solveig Eggerz is a native Icelander with some impressive literary roots. In her own words:

"My great-great grandfather, Friðrik Eggerz, a farmer and a protestant minister, wrote his autobiography when he was in his eighties, a book that documented 19th century Icelandic regional history; my grandfather, Sigurður Eggerz, twice prime minister, wrote plays and essays. My father, Pétur Eggerz, a foreign service officer, wrote fiction and non-fiction until the day he died at age 80."

I'm about to delve into Seal Woman, which is sure to be good, for none other than Margot Livesey has lauded it as "rich in vivid detail and psychological understanding" and a "beautiful and suspenseful debut." I was out of town for her "pubspeak," alas, so I asked her to share with me--- and you--- some of her thoughts about writing historical fiction. With my warmest thanks, over to you, Solveig!

In reading fiction, I like two different ways of examining the past. One focuses on how the past can pervade the present. Charlotte in my novel, Seal Woman, carries the past within her heart to the point where it guides actions in the present. The other approach involves capturing the essence of the past—but without sacrificing the characters to the details of history.

Two examples of the past pervading the present: A Gesture Life by Chang-rae Lee presents a character who leads a routine life in a California suburb, but his imagination pulsates with violent memories from World War II in Korea, edged by his own culpability.

The Feast of the Goat by Mario Vargas Llosa brings two time periods together, 1961, the year of the assassination of the brutal dictator of the Dominican Republic, Rafael Trujillo, and 1996, the year when a fictional character, a Trujillo victim wreaks revenge on the tyrant. Vargas brings the timelines ever closer until they finally collide, laying bare the unsavory truth.

How did capturing and shackling humans in Africa corrupt the character of the crew members on an 18th century slave ship? Sacred Hunger by Barry Unsworth offers the bitter lesson: “it could have been me” from several points of view.

Charlotte Gray by Sebastian Faulks and Suite Francaise by Irene Nemirovsky both describe German-occupied France in World War II, especially its deadly impact on foreign-born Jews. The difference lies in the author’s proximity to the events. Faulks describes the occupation and the resistance from the hindsight of the present. Nemirovsky records events as they are occurring, ceasing only when the French police knock on her door July 13, 1942. She dies August 17, 1942 in Auschwitz.


---Solveig Eggerz

P.S. Here's a link to a recent interview with her about Iceland and the novel.

--->For the archive of Madam Mayo guest-blog posts, click here.

Pushing the Electronic Envelope

The American Independent Writers Association (which used to be Washington Independent Writers) has announced a Saturday Seminar at George Mason University in Fairfax VA on September 6, 2008. Here's the scoop:

WRITERS — PUSH THE ELECTRONIC ENVELOPE:
Sharing Your Writing and Selling Your Work in Cyberspace

The proliferation of online tools, social networking sites, and Web markets has created a lot of opportunities – and revenue streams – for writers. But along with the possibilities may come some confusion. Do you need a website? What is Twitter? What’s the difference between a blog and a vlog? Why do writers need Facebook?

In this all-day seminar, we’ll walk you through some of the most popular and writer-friendly Web tools to help you find new work, promote your services, sell your book, and build your platform.

Breaking into the Blogosphere: Blogging, Vlogging, and Microblogging

Writing for the Web: What You Need to Know to Sell to Online Markets

Social Networking: Facebook, LinkedIn, Plaxo, and More

What Every Writer Needs to Know About Professional Websites

Member cost is $89, Non-members cost is $129, and Students cost is $49. To RSVP, call (202) 775-5150, send an e-mail to rsvp@washwriter.org, or register online at www.washwriter.org. Please mention the event for which you are responding and your membership status.

P.S. Last winter I chaired the panel on blogging for their winter fiction seminar and also did a workshop on same for the Maryland Writers Association. Here's the handout (with links): "Writers Blogs: Best (& Worst) Practices". More anon.