At noon on Saturday, May 22, I will be moderating AIW’s panel, The Writer’s Life: A Report from the Field, at the LitArtlantic Festival, at the Writer’s Center in Bethesda. The panelists are film maker David Taylor, novelist C.M. Mayo, journalist Alan Elsner, and biographer/memoirist Kevin Quirk.

Each of these authors is well established, but no one starts out that way. So, in part, we will, in our short hour, address how they got their starts and how their careers evolved.

Each of these impressive authors has worked and published across genres, not always an easy feat in these days of “specialization” and writers being boxed into a niche. We will talk about how they managed to accomplish that. Was there a plan? Did it evolve in an organic fashion?

And if there is time, it would be nice to hear a bit about their creative processes.

I will not, here, get into these authors’ accomplishments and awards, which are many and impressive (you can check our website or an e-mail that was sent to the list-serve for that). But I do want to tell you a little about some of their extraordinary work.

David Taylor has created both a film and a book on the WPA Writer’s project, entitled A Soul of a People. Though I have not yet had the pleasure of seeing the film, I have read the book and found fascinating the story of writers (Nelson Algren, Richard Wright, Zora Neale Hurston, Ralph Ellison, John Cheever, and Studs Terkel among them) collecting the stories of Americans of every cultural heritage, in every walk of life, and in every nook and cranny of our country. Also fascinating are the strong parallels between the New Deal political battles and those we face today.

While many historical novels use an historical period as the backdrop for fictional protagonists, C.M. Mayo’s novel, The Last Prince of the Mexican Empire, tells the stories of actual historic personages—the Mexican Emperor Maximilian; the Iturbide family; the American, Alice Green, who married into Mexican aristocracy and was half-bribed/half-strong armed into giving her infant son to Maximilian to raise as the heir to his “Mexican Empire.” Mayo has used extensive research combined with the imaginative leap to try to reconstruct the motivations—political, emotional, and psychological—behind their actions.

In my view, Alan Elsner’s Gates of Injustice: The Crisis in America’s Prisons is straightforward, hard-hitting journalism at its very finest. Elsner is not telling sob stories, not playing on your sympathy, but hitting you with cold, hard facts—right between the eyes. I found this book painful to read, found myself getting angry, feeling that many of those running our prisons should themselves be in them.

Finally, Kevin Quirk’s book, Brace for Impact: Miracle on the Hudson Survivors Share Their Stories of Near Death and Hope for New Life, presents 25 first-person accounts of passengers and first responders from the January 2009 plane crash into New York’s Hudson River. Quirk’s focus is not the crash itself but on the ways in which coming so close to dying affects people’s faith and/or lack of it and their approach to their daily lives. Having worked as a ghost writer and with people who want to set down their own stories, Quirk is well-positioned to draw these stories out.

I hope this taste of these authors whets your appetite as their works have whet mine, and that you’ll join us on the 22nd to hear their stories!

Details: The panel will be held from 12:00 p.m. to 1:00 p.m., Saturday, May 22, at The Writer’s Center, 4508 Walsh Street, Bethesda, Maryland (just off Wisconsin Ave., a few blocks south of the Bethesda Metro station, Red line).

Further information: For information about the entire LitArtlantic Festival, of which AIW’s panel is a part, go to www.writer.org. The entire festival, including Story/Stereo: Hybrid Literature/Music Event (Thursday, May 20); Creativity Crossing Borders and Works in Progress Film Screening (Friday, May 21); Young Songwriter’s Showcase, Workshop for Children, and Hive@LitArtlantic(a resource fair) (Saturday, May 22), should make for an entertaining time.

If you’re pondering these questions, I strongly recommend an upcoming event (it’s free) called Generalist vs. Specialist: Which Is Better in a Tough Economy? coming on September 17.

This is going to be a head-to-head debate between two copywriting superstars—one who is the king of a big niche and the other who is a very famous generalist.

Here are the two opponents.

• Taking the side of the specialist is Michael Stelzner (author of the bestseller Writing White Papers) and the man MarketingSherpa calls “The Grandfather of White Papers.”
• In the opposing corner is the generalist, Peter Bowerman (author of the bestseller The Well-Fed Writer), the man who has helped tens of thousands of writers break into business copywriting — whom you may remember from previous AIW annual conferences.

These two copywriting pros will take opposing positions and make the case why their focus is best.

Go here to check it out.

In this free class, Michael and Peter will examine the pros and cons of being a specialist or a generalist. They’ll also take your live questions.

Go here to grab your seat before they’re gone. Remember, this is a free event, but you must register to attend (and there is a limit on the number of attendees).

Hope to see you there!

P.S. Michael and Peter have given me an early heads-up on this free event. They’ll be notifying their more than 50,000 fans in the next few days. Once they do, the free seats will be gone for sure. Go here and register right away.

Remember, this online event happens on September 17 (and will be recorded)—but you must register in advance.

THE GROWSMARTBIZ CONFERENCE

Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson to Keynote the Conference

Enter code NSFRIEND or SHASHIB at checkout to register for the $299 conference for just $99, courtesy of AIW friend Shashi Bellamkonda, NetSol’s Social Media Swami.

Hosted by Network Solutions®, the GrowSmartBiz Conference will bring small businesses, from startups to well-established companies, together with industry experts through group learning discussions and networking opportunities.  Well-known industry leaders will share their insights on propelling small business growth and marketing small businesses effectively and efficiently, regardless of business sector and business longevity. Wired Magazine Editor-in-Chief Chris Anderson will serve as a keynote speaker for the first-ever GrowSmartBiz Conference, to be held on Tuesday, September 29, at the Renaissance Hotel in Washington, D.C. Registration information can be found at: http://growsmartbusiness.com/small-business-conference.

“We are excited to bring together the best and brightest minds in small business, and are thrilled to have Chris join us for the first ever GrowSmartBiz conference,” said Roy Dunbar, Chairman and CEO of Network Solutions. “He has a tremendous background in technology and innovation, and truly understands the importance of small business, as well as the unique challenges small business owners face.”

The small business sector is responsible for more than 40 million jobs and a reported $6 trillion in revenues in 2008. The GrowSmartBiz Conference was created as a result of the Small Business Success Index (SBSI) – an ongoing measurement of the overall health of small businesses commissioned by the University of Maryland’s Robert H. Smith School of Business and Network Solutions. The conference will focus on key areas of business that small businesses view as critical to their success, including:  access to capital, marketing and innovation, and computer technology.

Through keynote addresses, panel discussions and networking opportunities, attendees will leave the conference with:

• Insights into best practices of successful small businesses,
• Proven strategies for business growth despite the current economy,
• Executable, cost-effective ways to market and promote their businesses,
• Knowledge of what banks believe is the key to securing small business financing, and
• Actionable ideas for integrating and leveraging social media into existing marketing and communications efforts

Registration for the event is open and all attendees who register before August 7 will receive $100 off the registration fee. For more information regarding the GrowSmartBiz Conference, please visit the conference site at http://growsmartbusiness.com/small-business-conference.

Enter code NSFRIEND or SHASHIB at checkout to register for the $299 conference for just $99, courtesy of AIW friend Shashi Bellamkonda, NetSol’s Social Media Swami.

DATE: Tuesday, September 15, 2009
TIME: 6:30 pm for networking and 7 pm for the event
COST: $15

LOCATION:
Project Performance Corporation
1760 Old Meadow Road, McLean, VA 22102

These days, a great resume just isn’t enough. To build your platform, snag an awesome job, and win lucrative clients, you need a strong personal brand to back up your official credentials. Think of it this way: personal brand = street cred.

On Tuesday, September 15, Kristen King, MPS (of Inkthinker and KristenKing.com), will discuss how she used social media to craft a strong brand online and share actionable tips you can use to build your personal brand. Kristen has been blogging since 2006, is an avid user of Twitter and Facebook, and has taught about websites and social media at American Independent Writers, The George Washington University, Virginia Press Women, and the National Press Club, among other venues.

Attendees will learn how to:

• Identify your social media goals
• Pick the right tools for the job
• Work social media into your business routine
• Build a targeted online presence
• Increase your network of followers and friends

SIGN UP FOR THIS EVENT

About the sponsor
Project Performance Corporation, part of the AEA group, is a management consulting firm integrating world leading expertise in the areas of environment and energy with cutting edge IT and global management. Their customers include top government and Fortune 500 decision makers.

Are you an AIW member with a news item to share? Are you involved with an event for writers? E-mail the details to MarCom Committee Chair Kristen King.

Peter Bowerman and 9 other top authors share tips to help grow a freelance writing business

Successful writers share one common trait: They market themselves using very easy-to-implement tactics. Yet even as demand for writers is skyrocketing, many freelancers would rather spend their time walking the dog or washing the dishes.

“What we’ve got here is a major disconnect. Never before in the history of words has the demand for freelance writers been so high. Yet I constantly hear from copywriters, journalists, technical writers and copyeditors that ‘marketing’ is a four-letter word,” says Michael A. Stelzner, one of America’s top-paid freelance writers.

There’s plenty of work for the taking. According to a recent Junta42 study, 6 in 10 businesses are spending more for content production. The need for case studies, ebooks, newsletters, articles, websites, white papers and press releases is growing at an unprecedented rate.

For the writer who applies a few simple techniques, work is plentiful and money is good.

To land more work from higher-paying clients, Stelzner and 9 other top-billing freelancers suggest the following easy-to-employ tactics.

How 10 of America’s Top Writers Keep the Money Flowing In

#1: Stop Billing by the Hour: “Pricing projects by a fixed fee, not by the hour, increases your chances of landing the job. Don’t say, ‘My fee to write your e-newsletter is $75 per hour.’ Say, ‘My fee to write your e-newsletter is $800.” — Steve Slaunwhite, author of Start & Run a Copywriting Business.

#2: Write About Your Target Industry: “Identify some of the biggest names in your target industry. Interview a few of them, create a great article and shop it to a few major online or offline publications. The free press will help you gain exposure and be read by an audience of prospective clients. Plus, the experts will be happy to help you again in the future.” — Michael A. Stelzner, author of Writing White Papers.

#3: Stay Top of Mind by Keeping in Touch With Clients: “It doesn’t matter how good a job you did for a client before. When even a little time has passed, if you’re out of sight, you’re out of mind. Pick a way to stay in touch-by phone, personal email, newsletters or social media. Doing so may even remind clients they need to get started on a project — and they’ll call you.” — Casey Hibbard, author of Stories That Sell.

#4: Leverage Social Media Marketing: “In this age of Google and social media, your prospects are even more distracted, cynical about sales messages and rightly motivated by their own self-interest. Make your promotional content brief, attractive and to the point. Always offer significant value before asking for anything. When making a request, frame the action as a way for the prospect to get even more benefits.” — Chris Garrett, content marketer and co-author of ProBlogger.

#5: Ask for Referrals From People You Know: “Whether or not you’re new to freelance copywriting, approaching people you already know about your freelance business, such as previous employers, is always the best place to start prospecting. These folks know and trust you. Even if they can’t hire you, they’re usually more than willing to introduce you to those who can.” — Ed Gandia, author of Stop Wishing and Start Earning.

Click here now to read writer marketing tips #6 – 10 from Peter Bowerman, Marcia Yudkin, Pete Savage, Chris Marlow and Nick Usborne.