I’ve been thinking a lot about food stories lately. They’ve been on my mind for a lot of reasons: Thanksgiving is coming up and I’m hosting for the first time; we celebrated my Yayo’s legacy of paella at the Paella for the World Festival a few weeks ago; I’ve been reading Heritage and binge-watching Mind of a Chef.
All those reasons plus, well, you know, working on cookbook proposals. But even all the proposals I’ve been working on lately that aren’t food-related have made me think about stories.
Stories are the magic behind books. It doesn’t matter if it’s a romance or a diet book—stories are what bring it to life and make it worth reading.
Yet stories are often the most difficult thing to coax out of authors, especially in the nonfiction world I work in. I’m convinced that it’s because storytelling is beaten out of us in school. We’re told to avoid “I,” and that what we have to say isn’t interesting enough, and that writing is just about the accurate conveyance of information.
5 Ways to Impress a Book Publisher in Half a Second (Chad R. Allen): Yes, you really can impress a book publisher (or Literary Agent) in half a second. And it all comes down to (you guessed it) Google. As Allen writes: “Book deals are business partnerships, which means authors are not only artists but business partners. I Google authors’ names because I want to know something about them. And Google can tell me very quickly–in about half a second, actually–whether to keep my interest alive or walk away forever.” I do this same thing. In today’s world, it is absolutely essential to have an online presence. No ifs, ands, or buts about it.
The 4 Platform Secrets No One Has Told You (Carly Watters): “You’re not a satellite circling alone, you’re a compass pointing visitors to your brand. A vacant platform can be a sign of fear: are you afraid to follow other people because you’re afraid you won’t be any further ahead? It’s also a sign of disinterest: are you too “busy” for your brand? Then a publisher isn’t going to make time for you. Many of today’s success stories revolve around authors who have understood what their fans expect and want from them.”
Why Do People Share What They Do? Here’s What Neuroscience, Psychology, and Relationships Tell Us About Highly Shareable Content (Mridu Khullar Relph of Buffer): “If you want your content to be shared and shared regularly, understanding the “why” and “how” behind social shares can go a long way in showing you how to craft the perfect post for your audience.” This is a long post, but it’s chock-full of information that will help you dig deeper into understanding the social environment of the Internet. Plus there’s good news buried in there: positive content trumps negative content when it comes to shareability. So keep up the cheer!
“Don’t Read Books!” A 12th Century Zen Poem (Maria Popova of Brain Pickings): Another wonderful find from the ever-interesting Maria Popova: a poem called “Don’t Read Books” written by Yang Wanli in the 12th century. It’s just what it sounds like: a plea to avoid the brain-rot of book-reading. “It might seem like a ridiculous notion to us today, loaded with heavy cultural irony, but it offers a poignant reminder that if books, which we presently worship as the most meditative form of media, were in the twelfth century what video games or Twitter are in the twenty-first, then a few dozen generations into the future — provided humanity still exists — the very forms we dismiss as spiritually worthless distractions today may come to be seen as the strongest anchors to the fabric of cultural history.”
Eat & Drink:
I’m handing the writing reins over to Jarrett, for a very awesome announcement:
I know it’s technically September, but I have unanimously agreed with myself that we could use one last article in August’s The Good Stuff series. In case you missed the last few posts, you can catch up on them here:
One of my very favorite cities in the country is Richmond, Virginia. It’s where I went to college; it’s where I met some of my best friends; it’s where I met Jarrett (and also where he proposed to me last weekend—more on that in Friday’s roundup!); and it’s where I’ll be back for another year at the James River Conference on October 17th.
The James River Conference is such an especially fun one for me, since it’s usually a smaller and more intimate experience than the big mega conferences like the Writer’s Digest Conference (although I had a blast there, too!). The JRW organizers asked me to put together a quick little “5 Things About Anything” list to include for their newsletter subscribers, and as I was writing it, I realized it’d also be a great send-off to The Good Stuff series.
As September kicks in and the publishing industry comes to life again, you’ll probably be doubling down on the platform-building and picking up your regular writing schedule again. Even as things pick up speed, here are the 5 things you just shouldn’t waste your energy worrying about:
As I wrote about here, August is the month of The Good Stuff around these parts. Every week I’m going to be focusing on something worth celebrating in the publishing journey, whether it’s stories about new deals and successes, or writing inspiration, or platform-building encouragement…
Well, here’s a newsflash: no matter where you are, you’re on your way. The real publication journey starts far before signing a book contract—it starts with years of building skills. And the most important skill to build in order to succeed in publishing? Patience.
I know that sounds groan-worthy, but it’s the truth. You’ll need patience with yourself when you sit down at your computer and all the words come out wrong. You’ll need patience when you try to build your online presence and can’t figure out why people aren’t flocking to you. You’ll need patience when you want results now, but all that’s in front of you are new, confounding challenges.
And all that patience you’ll be building? That’s A Good Thing.
“This season of waiting is a present—a gift that allows us to deepen our commitment to why we do what we do. Whatever our why is, it alone helps us to keep writing, keep speaking, and continue building while we wait.”
The person who has seemingly instant success with anything in life probably spent years building the foundational skills—both the tangible skills and the character strengths—necessary to execute on that creative vision. Those years were also the incubation period for a deep connection to the why that fuels us in our most challenging moments.
When we accept the reality that it takes time, we can start enjoying that time. We can also stop yearning for that mythical “one day…” when everything is finally easy and perfect and comfortable. When everything will suddenly be changed. That “one day…” will never arrive.
As a reminder of that (because it’s the easiest thing to forget in this industry!), you can download a free printable art print with Jack Kerouac’s famous quote:
“One day I will find the right words and they will be simple.”
