What do you crave in your creative life?

by Maria

Remember last year when we had so much fun with the annual survey?

Let’s do it again! … she says with an overly cheesy grin.

Last year we discovered:

  1. That you guys are the best ever. Your responses to the last survey cracked me up, and I don’t know how I ever got so lucky to be able to online-hang with all of you.
  2. We don’t have enough time to read. And we’re not going to be quiet about it. Riot for reading time!
  3. We read fiction, nonfiction, food labels, road signs, the fine print. We read it all, and we’d do it full-time if it were up to us. (Current reigning comment: “I wish someone would pay me to read.” I dare you to unseat that one.)

I know you guys are busy and juggling a million things—full-time jobs, kids, side hustles, cooking, writing, endless TBR lists, breathing when you get a spare minute i.e. never. So this year I want to hear all about what could make that better—what do you crave this year?

The survey is just 5 multiple choice questions that won’t take longer than 3 minutes.

And I Girl-Scout-swear to try to make this space a place that gives you more of what you crave. A space that’s going to help you get where you’re going and make us all a little less frenzied and anxious on our way there.  

So if you’ll take just 3 minutes to tell me what’s on your mind, I’ll love you forever. (You know I already do, but THANK YOU, THANK YOU, THANK YOU for your time. I know it’s precious and in high-demand.)

 

Click here to take the survey!

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. Austin Kleon on why jealousy needs to be your worst enemy.
  2. Try to put your anxiety to bed with the sun–easier said than done, sure, but can save you a lot of stress-ridden bedtimes.
  3. My author, Tiffany King, wrote this wonderful piece on the 13 ways libraries are holding us all together.
  4. Trying to sell your book to everyone is a big task; follow these tips to narrow your marketing strategies.
  5. An oldie but a goodie: 3 strategies to amp up your productivity.

What we’re eating this week

WE ARE IN OUR NEW HOME! …she shouted from the rooftops. Apparently I’ve taken to voice-over narrating my own life and maybe that’s because it just feels too good to be true that we’re in our new house. It is so peaceful here, and I can already sense all the possibilities and productive vibes wafting through the air. (Or maybe that’s new-paint smell? I should open a window.)

Speaking of new paint, we horribly and laughably messed up a mini bathroom makeover that ended with a broken mirror and torn drywall. Here’s the before-and-after, and I’ll spare you the in-between shots of me weeping and gnashing my teeth.

Of course, now that we’re settled, I’m cooking because—hallelujah chorus—I have a new kitchen! It even has a fridge, finally. Here’s what’s coming in and out of it:

Monday: The Bombay Frittata from Season, which I am very mad I didn’t make before this because it was very incredibly good. Like, weeping in joy kind of good. (You do have your copy of Season, right?) 

Tuesday: Balsamic pulled pork in the Instant Pot. Me and IP’s one-year anniversary is coming up, and the love is still strong and delicious.

Wednesday: Spaghetti Bolognese in the Instant Pot (because see above referenced LUV). I am nervous about this one, though, because I cannot abide overcooked spaghetti. Wish me al-dente-ness, please.

Thursday: Lentil soup in the Instant Pot. Why did we buy a stove for our house again?

Friday: The Sweet Potato Fries with Basil Yogurt Sauce from Season, because I haven’t been able to stop daydreaming about them since Nik roasted some up for us at the Bon Appetit test kitchen. I shall be weeping happy weeps and gnashing my teeth on some sweet potato fries until further notice.

Cheers!

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How to write a book that sells

by Maria

How to write a book that sells: a literary agent on how to find and research a book idea that can sell.

In my house, I have one big white bookshelf where I keep all the books I’ve ever worked on, either as a literary agent or an editor. Some have sold well; some haven’t sold well.

My greatest wish? That they were all bestsellers.

Each of those books took 2+ years of my life to work on, and I know that the time and energy and love I put into them is only a tiny fraction of what the author put into them. So with all that hard work, shouldn’t they all have found their perfect readership? Should every author be able to write a book that sells?

It’s heartbreaking, but the truth is: most books don’t find their perfect readership. And most don’t sell as much as they could.

write a book that sells

There’s no magic bullet to fix this–in the nearly 10 years I’ve been working on books, I haven’t figured out the perfect algorithm to spit bestsellers out every time. (If you have it, send it to ME @ sell all the books .com.)

But one thing I’ve noticed…

The one thing I have noticed is that there are all kinds of ways–big and small–to inch your book closer to that zone of bestsellerdom. And so very many of them happen before one word is ever written. They happen before I sign an author, or a publisher offers a book deal, or a marketing team brainstorms a campaign.

They happen at the idea phase and at the platform phase. When you’re deciding “what is my book?” and “who am I as an author?” Those are questions no agent, editor, or publisher can answer for you, but those are the answers that will fuel each action you’ll need to write a book that sells.

So where do I tell my authors to start?

At the bookstore.

Nine times out of ten when I’m chatting with a potential author, I ask them to take a field trip to a bookstore and see what’s happening in their category or genre. I do this, too, when I’m researching a book idea or trying to help an author with positioning their book.

So today I’m sharing exactly how I research a book idea and how I tell my authors to research their own book ideas so they can write a book that sells.

Read More

How to get more readers with less struggle

by Maria

The best blog writing workshop: this is my #1 pick for a blog writing workshop that will teach you how to hook readers and not let them go!

Yesterday morning I sat down at my computer and wondered why I didn’t pick a job that could be—I don’t know—easier? I had to draft comp copy for a proposal, and I could not get the words to flow. It was painful.

This happens to me Every. Time. I get it bad when I’m sitting down to write sections of a proposal. Or drafting a pitch letter. Or writing a blog post.

And that? That is sad. Sad like my inability to contain coffee inside my cup.

blog writing workshop

It doesn’t matter if we know, intellectually, that it’s just resistance staring back at us, trickling fear into our veins drip by drip. I’ve read every book in the genre—The War of Art, Big Magic, Bird by Bird—and I still get a turn in my stomach at the thought of sitting down to write.

Only two things have helped me woman up and write what needs to be written each day:

  1. Terrible first drafts. (The first drafts of my book projects are a horror show.)
  2. The Sticky Blogging Brainstorming worksheet.

That brainstorming worksheet lives in a folder on my computer called “Start Here Before Writing,” and it’s the PDF equivalent of smashing the glass case holding the fire extinguisher. (That is, if you were allowed to smash that case every time you turned on the stove. Apparently I really rely on my emergency devices.)

Now, when I’m thinking about the 10,000 reasons I should check email again instead of drafting that pitch letter, I turn off my wifi, open my brainstorming worksheet, open a Word document, and start doing some terrible drafting.

blog writing workshop

Because terrible drafts turn into better drafts which turn into good drafts which turn into Done.

And Done is a beautiful feeling.

But I will admit that the brainstorming worksheet wouldn’t be the game-changer it is without all the other methods I learned in Kelly’s Sticky Blogging blog writing workshop. That class really helped me understand the science behind hooking a reader and not letting them go—something I wish I could teach all writers as well as Kelly does.

That’s why I love to sing the praises of Kelly’s class far and wide, and why I’m excited she’s finally opening up to new students for the first time this year. Honestly, I’m tempted to sign Jarrett up this year, but he’d kill me.

But if you won’t kill me for being a bit bossy: you should sign up for Kelly’s free blog writing workshop! It’s called How to Get More Traffic with Fewer Posts, and this is the last week she’ll be offering it this year. You can learn a ton from her in just 1 hour, and she’s running her free sessions this Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, and Saturday.

I’m going to be re-watching her blog writing workshop this afternoon as a reward for hitting my proposal writing goals for the day. I hope to see you there!

 

Click here to learn more and register for the free workshop!

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. I have plenty of time to write, said no one on the planet ever. Here are 3 ways to fix it.
  2. Laundry is the first thing I would set on fire if I actually had a fire extinguisher. This makes it slightly easier.
  3. “Writing nonfiction is not about telling your story.”
  4. I am ELATED that my wonderful author, Nik, made it on this New Yorker list of the top 3 fall cookbooks.
  5. I know you’ve lied about reading some of these classic novels; haven’t we all?

What we’re eating this week

This week is a tirefire! But a good tirefire! The first half of this week we’re puttering away in Alexandria and doing our regular normal boring things. On Thursday: WE’RE MOVING.

Well, almost. We’re closing on our new house this Thursday and then moving in a bit later in the month. But it is a doozy because not only are we moving from an apartment to a house, we’re also moving to an entirely new cute little town.  

blog writing workshop

So here’s what you eat when you sort of have two kitchens but one of them does not have a refrigerator yet:

Monday: Baked drumsticks and Greek salad. See? Regular, normal, and boring.

Tuesday: Burgers with coleslaw and corn on the cob. What could be more mundane?

Wednesday: Salmon with cauliflower mash and brussels sprouts. Yawn!

Thursday: Closing on our house, after which we will glamorously celebrate with a rare bottle of Foggy Ridge Final Call and even more glamorously dine at Lemaire. Good thing I saved up all my Excitement Points this week so I can cash them in BIG TIME now.

Friday: Cup-o-noodle soup because—ha! —we have no refrigerator yet. Please send us positive, temperature-controlled vibes. And if you want live-action updates on our new house and our exciting new microwave-ramen lifestyle, follow along on Instagram.

Cheers!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!

What’s your writing goal for the rest of the year?

by Maria

One of the best blogging classes for writers: this is my favorite blogging class to learn the nitty gritty of writing!

It’s back-to-school time! Meaning that it’s time to check in on those 2018 goals and light a fire under your buns to get them checked off.

One of my goals last year was to take a copywriting class, because even though I’ve been writing copy for books for nearly a decade, I’d never been formally trained.

And there’s something about “formal training” that’s more fun and effective than just cobbling tips together from online articles, right?

best blogging classes

So last year, I took Kelly Holmes’s Sticky Blogging class and learned a crazy amount. I will admit that I was a little doubtful that I would learn that much—Smug, Annoying Maria thought she was already pretty good at copywriting.

But NOPE. Smug, Annoying Maria is also Perpetually Wrong Maria.

I was really surprised by how much I learned in Kelly’s class, and how it made me rethink so much of the writing I was doing. I loved that her process helps you get off the hamster wheel of chasing page views so you can build true fans for your work. But I also I realized that basically everything I learned in her class also applied to writing more effective and persuasive book proposals, book descriptions, cover copy, etc.

It’s essentially a masterclass in making readers feel things. And isn’t that what we’re all here for?

It’s easily one of the best blogging classes I’ve taken, and the checklists and worksheets are also primo for making sure you don’t forget what you just learned. I still look at Kelly’s Brainstorming checklist nearly every time I sit down to write anything, and I have once or ten times shoved it in Jarrett’s face when he’s writing. (That’s luv.)

Unfortunately, Kelly is only opening up her class to new students one time this year, so if it sounds interesting to you, this is your chance!

You can sign up for the free intro workshop, How To Get More Traffic with Fewer Posts, here, and there are several time slots to choose from.

And if you end up registering for the class, I’d love to hear what you think of it!

 

Click here to register!

 

5 quick reads for the week

  1. Ever read a full page and forgotten it all? (Gulp.) Here’s how to retain more.
  2. They’re really stepping up the door prizes for raffles in the small Welsh town of Cardigan.
  3. 10 Instagram tips for writers (plus one more from me: follow this account!)
  4. Nonfiction is all about niche.
  5. Anne Bogel of Modern Mrs. Darcy and I had THE most fun conversation about cookbooks and fiction on her podcast, What Should I Read Next. (And what a unique horror it is to hear your own voice played back to you. 🙉)

What we’re eating this week

You know those complicated weeks when you have oddly timed and unavoidable events at dinnertime, and you can’t for the life of you figure out what you could possibly cook? We’re having one of those weeks our life is one of those weeks, which is why I was SO excited to finally get a finished copy of my author Tiffany’s book, Eat at Home Tonight.

best blogging classes

It’s organized by obstacles that stand in the way of dinner, and it’s literally the book I’ve needed all my life. See?

best blogging classes

Here’s how it works in real life:

Monday: We’re volunteering at 7, so we’re cooking Eggs Run Through the Garden from the “I Only Have 15 Minutes Tonight” chapter. And you won’t believe this, but it really did only take 15 minutes, and it really did taste better than if you had left me alone with a cartoon of eggs and my own brain. Praise hands up!

Tuesday: We are maybe-ish fishing with a friend after work but definitely-ish low on groceries, so we’re making Black Bean Burgers from the “My Fridge is Empty Tonight” chapter. (Does anyone else feel outnumbered by the cans of black beans in their pantry? I can’t stop buying them, and it makes no sense.)  

Wednesday: Out! I think? Or maybe we’re in? I’d like to opt out of Wednesday from now on, please.

Thursday: Some nights I actually have time to cook a big batch of something, but then I want it to magically not be the same boring thing the next day. Hence, the “I Want to Cook For Tonight and Tomorrow” chapter. So Greek Soup tonight becomes…

Friday: Greek Nachos that I barely did any work for, because: Friday! 🙌🏻

Cheers!

Get one free tip for reading more + living better each week!