Blogger: Wendy Lawton
Location: Central California Office of Books and Such
I’ve been preparing the sessions I will be teaching at the Mount Hermon Christian Writer’s Conference Career Track on writing the nonfiction book. Janet Grant and I led a great session on it last year, taking a look at attendees’ material and helping them recast it into a number of different formats. I think we all learned from the exercise. It’s always such fun to think out of the box. This year we’re going to go even deeper.
The nice thing about a blog with comments is that it is a conversation. I figured if I put some of my ideas out there, you’ll come up with comments and questions to help me refine and reshape my ideas.
So, I shamelessly plan to use you if you’re willing.
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By Wendy Lawton on Feb 8, 2010 in Blog, Nonfiction | 7 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Wikipedia talks about “burnout” this way:
“The most well-studied measurement of burnout in the literature is the Maslach Burnout Inventory. Maslach and her colleague Jackson first identified the construct ‘burnout’ in the 1970s, and developed a measure that weighs the effects of emotional exhaustion and reduced sense of personal accomplishment.[3] This indicator has become the standard tool for measuring burnout in research on the syndrome. The Maslach Burnout Inventory uses a three dimensional description of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy.[4]…Maslach and her colleague, Michael Leiter, defined the antithesis of burnout as engagement.[6] Engagement is characterized by energy, involvement and efficacy, the opposites of exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy.[7]“
Too much stress leads to burnout. Relief of stress opens up important floodgates–energy, involvement and efficacy–for those involved in creative pursuits such as writing.
I find it interesting that burnout is expressed by exhaustion, cynicism and inefficacy. Especially in light of some stress-relievers I’ve written about this week such as maintaining a spirit of hopefulness and optimism.
Here’s a list of burnout symptoms. You might do a personal inventory to see how you rank on the burnout continuum: (more…)
By janetgrant on Feb 5, 2010 in Blog, Life, Publishers, Writing Life | 5 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Each of us is wired differently, but one aspect we all have in common: Certain activities relieve stress. When life overflows with tension, we need to make a conscious decision to partake in stress-relieving. But often, instead of pursuing some action that will minimize the affects of stress, we become so bound up in the situation, that we stop doing what helps us.
For me, the list of stress-buster activities is pretty short:
- Exercise. My dog, an Australian Shepherd, lives for stimulation. Give him a job, or he’ll find his own work–usually gnawing on a baseboard or tearing up a rug, or de-stuffing a toy. Given his disposition, I’m pretty much required to walk him. Oh, the miles we’ve covered together. Being out in nature gives me time to take a deep breath, pause from concentrating on whatever is producing stress for me, and a chance to take pleasure in the change of seasons and small things like spotting a heron fishing in a lake. (more…)
By janetgrant on Feb 4, 2010 in Blog, Life, Reading | 9 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
The same prisoner I wrote about yesterday was in solitary confinement the majority of his eight years as a Vietnam POW. He and other prisoners developed a “Morse” code using taps on the wall to communicate with each other. They conducted French lessons, had engineering discussions, and sent simple messages like “GBU”–God bless you. Studies show that creating that sense of community was a key factor in the men’s survival, both mentally and physically. (more…)
By janetgrant on Feb 3, 2010 in Agents, Authors, Blog, Life, Writing Life | 8 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
I’ve found when dealing with long-term stress that the best posture for me to take is one of hopefulness and optimism but not unrealistic. In other words, it’s a waste of energy to just wish the situation would go away, or that the tooth fairy can solve your problem. But you need to believe it can be solved and to feel optimistic that it will be.
I recently saw a television program that was so scattered in the theme I can’t even remember what it was, but certain aspects of it were fascinating–and memorable. One segment told of a Vietnam War POW who, during eight years of imprisonment and torture, mentally created plans for building his family’s dream home. He didn’t just work on the big ideas of how many rooms, but he figured out how many nails were needed, how many bricks, etc. Then he would decide to move a room to a different part of the house, which would affect the rest of the design and keep his mental gymnastics going. (more…)
By janetgrant on Feb 2, 2010 in Blog, Life, Writing Life | 9 Comments
Blogger: Janet Kobobel Grant
Location: Books & Such Main Office, Santa Rosa, Calif.
Last month I wrote about how publishing is ranked high among the most stress-filled occupations one could be involved in. I believe that’s not just true for those who work at a publishing house but also for authors, agents, and free-lancers of all stripes–publicists and editors, etc.
A reader of our blog suggested I devote a series of posts to how to handle stress and avoid burnout. When I recounted that suggestion to our office staff, they burst out laughing since, yes, I have survived decades of being connected to publishing, but I’m livin’ a high octane life, with stress levels rising daily. But, as I pondered the idea, I thought, Who better to write about stress than someone who is in the thick of it? So I’m raising my hand and volunteering, as a sufferer along with the rest in publishing, to write about what relieves stress for me and helps me to stay in this game long-term. (more…)
By janetgrant on Feb 1, 2010 in Blog, Life, Writing Life | 10 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: 30 and snowy
When did you begin writing your first book?
What made you think you could do that?
Was it reading another book?
Knowing someone else who read a lot?
Was it a life experience?
How old were you when you started that book.?
I started writing my first book after a tip from a longtime friend and author who knew I had some time on my hands and he had had a call from a publisher wanting someone to fill in a title in a series. I discovered that writing is work!
Eager to hear about your first experiences.
By Etta Wilson on Jan 29, 2010 in Blog, Writing Life | 31 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: Low 40s and Rain
I’m still thinking about all those junior high students in the “Letters to Authors” contest I was judging last week –I’ve blogged a bit about their responses on gender and race. Today I’m wondering what they believe. What is their faith stance in our increasingly secular society? So much of teaching and setting an example about faith is left to parents, but when kids reach to junior high, they start that trek toward independence which often means they look to their peers and teachers and what they read and see for direction. For some kids, it’s a time to rebel against what parents teach.
Out of the total 75 letters I read, two had explicit Christian content. Perhaps a better criterion would be the content of the books, speeches, and poems they selected. If a kid reads A Wrinkle in Time by Madelyn L’Engle or the “I Have a Dream” speech by Martin Luther King, Jr. (both of whom we know as Christian authors), is that child more inclined toward a Christian faith response to life?
I think these questions are important for authors of adult books, not only because they indicate something about the next generation of adult readers but also because they challenge us to think of the relation between our faith and our creativity. This morning I read a snippet in Julia Cameron’s The Artist’s Way Every Day which she begins with, “Creativity requires faith.” She’s writing about faith in one’s self, but it’s encouraging no matter how we take it.
How do we weave our faith into our writing without slamming readers in the face? Junior high students aren’t the only ones who resist being told what to believe. Kids growing up need some answers, and maybe we adults do too.
By Etta Wilson on Jan 28, 2010 in Blog, Children's books, Life | 8 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: Cold and Wet
In Monday’s post on judging the “Letters to Authors” written by junior high students, a couple of other items caught my attention. One of those was the large number of outstanding letters written by boys. You know–that gender that we and editors at publishing houses are constantly bemoaning because they don’t read. While there may not be a great many boys reading, I found close to half of the letters were from young male readers, and they are in that age bracket where we surmise boys are playing either sports or video games.
In addition, most of these boys were not writing about books we’d call easy reading, and the schools they represented were a good mix of public and private, large and small. Somehow these boys had become engaged with books such as Salinger’s Catcher in the Rye and Adams’ The Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. So much for any gender bias I had!
It did set me to thinking about the gender of authors, particularly fiction authors. Of the 15 Hardcover Adult Fiction Bestsellers in the January 11 issue of Publishers Weekly, ten were written by males. The ratio is about the same in the report of the Hardcover Bestsellers for all of 2009 where seven of the ten are male. Now there’s some difference between readers and writers, but I want to suggest that we keep those males in mind when we write–either as well-rounded characters or as interested readers. Who knows, the future John Grisham may be reading our words!
By Etta Wilson on Jan 27, 2010 in Blog, Children's books, Reading, Writing Life | 8 Comments
Blogger: Etta Wilson
Location: Books & Such Nashville Office
Weather: 42 and dreary
Another impression from my recent foray into judging the writing of junior highers is the diminished racial identity and perception among young readers. Several entries were in response to Warriors Don’t Cry, an autobiography in which author Melba Beals describes her experiences when she was taking part in the integration of schools in Little Rock. A young student in a private school wrote about how foreign all that seemed in today’s world. (Some of student’s comments made me think they were written by an African American.) Other students wrote after reading Martin Luther King, Jr.’s “I Have a Dream” speech. They also seemed a little surprised about the situation that had given rise to such words, and they forced me to realize how much has changed in 50 years or so.
It wasn’t just the changes in black/white culture that got my attention. There were entries from students with Chinese and other unpronounceable names. These kids live in Tennessee for heaven’s sake! What do they think this is–a melting pot? Seriously, I think it’s terrific that they are all reading and responding to books like Cynthia Lord’s Rules and Lois Lowry’s The Giver. Perhaps it’s in reading such books and getting to know their authors that the American ethos is built and passed on.
How would it feel to imagine you were writing for a Korean reader? A Somali reader? A Guatemalan reader? Are any of our characters, even the minor ones, newly arrived from South Africa or the Philippines? Do we need to consider at all racial origin and situations as we write? Something to think about here in the 21st century.
By Etta Wilson on Jan 26, 2010 in Blog, Children's books, Reading, Writing Life | 9 Comments
