Writing in Public - No Excuses

Put up or Shut Up is the Ultimate Focus Group

Master Class 8: The Proving Ground: Testing Your Writing in Public

WHEN: October 26, Thursday

REGISTER: Here

So you’ve got a story you’re proud of, you think it has legs. You’ve edited it, and maybe others have, too. It is ready for impact.

But you haven’t got a publishing deal, darn it. No one is throwing money at you, and you’re sick of waiting, like Snow White, to get kissed.

One of the best ways— maybe the ultimate way— to prove your writing’s worth, is to go public with it, or a piece of it. Get actual readers give you unvarnished, spontaneous feedback.

The reading public doesn’t owe you anything, they’re just hungry for new material and they’re discerning. It’s not a class or an assignment, no one’s being paid. How does your work hold up in real life? You don’t need permission to find out.

When I was teaching undergrads at our state universities, it would boggle my mind, as a working writer, what most of the students turned in as homework.

I would say, “If you couldn’t get this published ANYWHERE, not even an internet bbs— if it would be thrown in the trash— what makes you think I want to read it?”

They hid behind the notion that only their immaterial professor would lay eyes on their paper. No way. As far as I’m concerned, your pen is going to live and die by the sword of public opinion.

I would also give my best students my highest praise: “Let’s see if we can get this published. It’s really good. It deserves a bigger audience than this classroom.”

That’s what I want to teach in my upcoming class. Small publishing steps, at any stage of a career, can open up opportunities and connections that you could never stumble upon otherwise.

Let’s break it down:

• Test new material with real readers

• Find out what’s working

• Get leverage and credibility through small published pieces

Your first readers will determine a great deal.

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This section of my blog is called “Publishing Chops.”

It’s all about writers, journalists, and publishing. I’m speaking to my peers.

However! If you want turn off email notification for ”Publishing Chops,” you can.

Go to your account page and under “Email notifications” uncheck, or check, whichever email notifications you’d like to stay abreast of.

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Let’s examine how and where to self-publish small works with dignity, strategy, and sanity. There’s pros and cons to them all. And you’ll probably try more than one.

• Newsletters

• Blogs

• Social Media

• Magazines and Journals

• Mailing Lists

• Writers Groups/BBS’s

Can’t wait to see you; let’s roll up our sleeves!

Register here.

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