8 Topics and 10 Tips on Presenting  a Workshop 

If you are a published writer or an aspiring writer, you should think about presenting a workshop.  Giving a workshop benefits other writers and helps to introduce yourself to the public.  Workshops can be held at a local library, a literacy center, bookstores and even gifts shops and local restaurants.

So...you have some excuses.  You say you're too shy and you have nothing to talk about.  If you talk about a topic you feel passionate about, you will feel comfortable giving a workshop.  And it you're stuck for ideas, then here are a few topics worth presenting:

• How to get published: traditional presses versus small presses
• How to write a picture book
• How to build an author platform 
• How to give a school presentation
• How to get published in children's magazines
• How to develop a website or a blog
• How to query agents
• How to edit and proofread your work

Tips on presenting a workshop:

• Practice beforehand and time yourself
• Practice using inflections as you speak (avoid flat monotone speaking)
• Look in a mirror as your practice
• Start the workshop with a brief intro which includes your credentials
• Start the workshop by asking participant's experiences and goals
• Begin with a personal anecdote
• Have visuals
• Bring water 
• Get the participants involved by asking them questions or their opinions
• Handout a list of resources the participants can use at home

Presenting a lecture builds your platform. And building a platform should ideally begin before your book is published.  Believe me, you will be plenty busy trying to market you book when it is released, so if you can present workshops as well as get on social media, create a blog and develop website beforehand, you won't be as frantic.  Presenting a workshop is a smart and easy way to begin to develop your platform.  It is a perfect stepping stone for people to get to know you. 

Surprisingly audacious reflections of a humble writer

VENTING

I'm a venter.  I am vocal about things that bother me.  Just mention submitting and you'll get me going.  Submitting to agents and publishers is frustrating.

It wasn't always like this.

Twenty years ago, a writer would simply send a submission in a 13 x 9" envelope with a cover letter and SASE (self-addressed stamped envelope) to an agent or an editor.  Within about three months they'd receive a response in the mail.  Writers would get a definite yes or a no about their manuscripts.

Now days writers submit electronically, and most publishers respond only IF they are interested.

Professional writers put thought, care, and time into every submission.  And, we want to hear back.  Instead, we wait three months wondering if our submission has even been received.  We wait three months wondering if our submission has been read.  We wait three months wondering if someone likes our work.  We wait three months and hear nothing at all.

Whenever I used to discuss submitting with my mother-in-law, she would answer with an expression that rhythmically and rhetorically rolled off her tongue, "What are you doing to do?"  Which meant: there's nothing you can do.

But that was not me.  There was something I could do.  I could vent about it.

Given the submission situation, I have found that I'm not alone.  Other writers feel the same way.  They're not happy about the way submitting has changed.  They vent, too.  And with all of this venting, you may wonder if it is healthy.  So, I did a little investigating, but I found that the subject of venting is complicated and thorny.

Brad Bushman, professor of communication and psychology at Ohio State University and the lead author of the 2002 venting study says, “When people vent their anger, they want to hit, scream or shout, and it feels good to do that, and so they think, Oh, it feels good it must work,” says Bushman.  “But it also feels good to take street drugs and eat donuts. But just because something feels good doesn’t mean it’s healthy.”  

David M Reiss, M.D., a San Diego-based psychiatrist weighs in.  He states, “There’s certainly an advantage to acknowledging your emotions and being able to express them.”  Reiss believes there's a right way to vent.  The key is finding the right person.  “It has to be someone who is not just going to join you in the anger but is also going to help you to come to terms with it and help you calm down,” he says.

According to Psychology Today, there are positive and negative features to venting.  While venting can increase level of distress and antagonize others, it can discharge negative emotion and can help you feel better.  Dr. Leon F Sheltzer, Ph.D., an anger management specialist says, "Generally, it’s better to let things out than hold them in. And doing so feels almost akin to problem-solving—in the moment, at least. Venting your frustrations alleviates tension and stress."

For me, venting allows me to express my frustration and to let of negative energy.  Regardless of what some experts say, I think it's healthy to let off steam.  I'm all for venting.

Especially when I don't hear back from an agent about a manuscript that I love.


SO, COME ON NOW.

I'VE SENT YOU A PROFESSIONAL QUERY.

ALL I ASK IS FOR A LITTLE COURTESY.

DO YOU LIKE THE MANUSCRIPT OR NOT?

COMPOSE A ONE SENTENCE RESPONSE.

TELL ME FOR CRYING OUT LOUD.

LET ME KNOW.

IS IT YES OR IS IT NO?

FOR THE LOVE OF GOD, HOW HARD CAN IT BE?

SEND  

A

DAMN

EMAIL.




I'm glad to get that off my chest.

À la prochaine! 

Keeping a Submission Log

Do you keep a log of your submissions?  I'm betting most writers do so.  But, I learned that some writers aren't interested in keeping records.  I was shocked.  How do writers keep track of their submissions if they are not written down or recorded?  

Keeping a submission log doesn’t have to be complicated.  A notebook or a word doc. will suffice.  List the title of your manuscript and the agents or publishers that you’ve contacted, their email addresses, and the date that you sent your submission.  You can format it anyway you like, even use color coding.  (I use orange for dates of submission, green for acceptances, and purple for rejections). 

Then in a few weeks, mark your submission to indicate if it’s been accepted and the date it will be published. You can even note the amount of payment.  If your submission was rejected, note that date, too.  When you have a record of your submissions, you will know when to follow-up if you haven’t heard back from an editor. And, with a complete list of your submissions you will be able to refer to it as you continue to submit new work.  

Keeping submission records is an important part of the writing life.  It's what writers do. Don't expect (or even ask) an editor will find your submissions.  She doesn't have the time and it’s not her job to keep track of submissions for you.  It’s your job to keep good records. 

 

                                                                                                                                          Photo: Gabrielle Henderson 

LETTING GO OF REGRET

I don't always make good decisions.  And as a result, I end up having regret.  

To illustrate, last month I entered one of my manuscripts in a pitch party.  Minutes after submitting it, I knew I screwed up.  The text could have been stronger and it did not reflect my best work.  

I sulked over the manuscript for days because this submission opportunity only happens once a year.  Talk about feeling down.  And stupid.  A chance to have a select group of picture book agents request my work—gone.

When I looked back at this misfortunate circumstance, it became apparent to me that a lingering migraine had altered my reasoning.  Being foggy-brained is an effect of having a migraine.  But since I was pain-free, I hadn't realized that making good decisions was impaired.  If I had been thinking clearly, there would have been no way I would've submitted this version.  My migraine brain deceived me into thinking the manuscript was in good shape.  And I made a bad choice. 

Now, it's water under the bridge (or the toothpaste is outta of the tube, as my husband would say) and now I know (most likely) that a silent migraine served me a heaping helping of regret.    

Feeling miserable, I turned to the internet to find articles on remorse and regret.  I found a helpful post written by Gila Gam titled Reframing Regret: from Hindsight to Insight 

Since I can't do this piece justice by rephrasing, I quote Gila: 

"Beating yourself up about the things that went wrong, doesn’t help things go right. Don’t regret anything that has taught you valuable and worthwhile lessons. Replace regret with reflect. To reflect is to try and understand what your regrets are trying to tell you. It means looking for insights in order to draw lessons from the experience. The goal of reflection is to move away from regret to make better decisions and take action toward better future outcomes. 

"Remember: life is meant for exploring and experimentation. You are likely to fail many times, but    

“nothing ventured, nothing gained.” When you accept that risks must be taken and setbacks must be   

experienced in order to achieve anything meaningful, then you recognize the futility of regret because there’s a valuable lesson in everything you do. Your life’s lessons allow you to grow. The biggest risk is not to take any risks, and the greatest regret is an unfulfilled life, or a life not lived fully. 

"As you reflect upon your wins and losses, accept the whole package and seek the lessons to apply in the future. Take intentional action to keep doing the things that really matter to you. Be open to change and new opportunities along the self-actualization journey. And most importantly, once you reach success, don’t linger in the comfort zone for too long. Celebrate your accomplishments but beware of resting on your laurels. Move on to something new and continue to be relevant and have impact.

"Life is made up of a series of changes, choices, and consequences. The choices you make today will make sense in retrospect with time and reflection. The road is windy and slippery. Embrace the wobble. Keep walking and trust you will figure out your own way. So, turn the insights into foresight."

Turn insights into foresight.  That's perfect, isn't it? 

For me, that would mean paying closer attention to the effects of a migraine:  recognizing mental clarity can be lacking after an attack and then refraining from making important decisions until the headache symptoms have subsided.  But even if I'm aware, there are other ways to f*ck-up a submission: typos in a manuscript, misunderstanding the submission guidelines, or misspelling an agent's name.  So, to lessen regret, I try to turn the negative feelings into positive feelings by visualizing mistakes as stepping stones that will lead me closer to my goals. 

This wonderful submission opportunity seemed to be the chance of a lifetime and it hurts that I messed up.  But there's always next year.  Until then, I will keep going.  I will remember this situation for a long time, but without regret.  It happened for many reasons:  To learn and to improve.  To understand my limitations.  To revel in my tenacity.  I will keep moving forward along those stepping stones.  And if things backfire or don't go as smoothly as hoped, I will reflect.  I forge on to make things better next time.

À la prochaine!  

Online Submission Forms

When it comes to submitting a children’s book manuscript, you can usually query an agent or a publisher by email.  A few publishers and agents however, have online forms that you must fill out.  Most of the time, the forms will only take a few minutes to complete.  But, some require more time and thought.  

This topic comes up because I found a publisher who requires writers to fill out an extensive online submission form.  The form consists of two parts:  an author section and a book section.  Both parts ask detailed questions.  Halfway through, I was ready to give up.  The clock was ticking away, my brain was getting numb, and I was beginning to think why bother.  Would my submission be taken seriously?  But, I continued to answer questions about hobbies, education, publications, awards, things that inspired me, and what makes a great book.  (This is just a sampling of the questions. There were many other questions that needed to be addressed).

Then, it was on to the book section.  Here, my manuscript had to be formatted as specifically described in the guidelines and uploaded.  Next, a description of the book had to be stated.  Then the hook, a quote from the book, a synopsis, and the intended audience were required.  Lastly, the publisher wanted to know why I chose to submit to them.  

All in all the entire process took a good part of an afternoon.  When I finally submitted my project and author profile, I felt proud to have completed the time-intensive form. Though there is no telling how successful my submission will be, the submission process forced me to think about my book in new ways:  how would the book be marketed, how do others feel about my book, and how strong is my platform?   

If you find a publisher that has an online form, try to read through the questionnaire before typing in answers. Judge how much time you’ll need to answer the complete form. Create thoughtful answers to the questions beforehand.  Then, don’t rush as you fill out the form.  Review your answers before you hit 'send.'  

Congratulate yourself when you’re finished.  You completed a submission form that few writers would have the patience or the time to tackle. Your dedication may pay off and you may have found a publisher who will be interested in your work.