Coaching For A Successful Writing Career

By Author: keith barton
Total Articles: 4
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A monthly newsletter for new mainstream fiction writers is offfered. Topics include: character development, plot design, setting, pacing, hooks, editing, and marketing your manuscripts.
A little bit of news first. I've started two discussion groups: one on Yahoo.com under the following link http://groups.yahoo.com/group/writers_connection/?yguid=71763685 And one on classmates.com under the following link http://www.classmates.com/user/groups/group.tf?circle_id=168452 Additionally I have enrolled in MentorCoach as a coaching candidate to work with first-time authors who want to know how to start, edit, polish, or market that manuscript that has been an idea or collecting dust for a long time. I have learned that my passion for the past five years has been my writing as I enjoy putting printed word to page. Sure, I've made mistakes along the way: like picking the wrong agent, not researching my books for the right agent or publisher. Past newsletters have ...
... talked about marketing for the print-on-demand (POD) or self-published author who scrambles to put his/her work before the public. It's a scary thought, but it's the initiative that's important—not the result. My credibility for coaching in the literary field is my passion and commitment to turning out quality manuscripts for publication. A review of my website will show that I've grown as a writer over the past five years and continue to learn daily. I believe my last book, The Kauai Connection,, is a much improved product: the dialogue, characters, setting, pacing, plot development all flow more smoothly than my first novel,High Rise. So what do I have to offer folks? A commitment to make your book a success? While I may share your goal of publishing that manuscript, I cannot do the work for you. I am not a book-doctor; I am not an editor. I've got my own staff who help me with my books and they are great. What I do promise you is that my questions will be probing, nonsensical, and goal-directed to keep you focused on your manuscript from someone who has been there and continues to balance a hectic life between being a grandparent, 40—hour a week job as a clinical psychologist, and part-time author. If you haven't already, I would encourage you to join Mystery Writer's of America, a national organization for mystery writers. Their address is: 17 East 47th Street, 6th Floor, NY, NY 10017. The staff and newsletters are great and you will join your respective regional MWA: for me it's the SW group and we meet twice a year with periodic luncheons where we hear the latest on forensic investigations, ballistic analyses, what actors look for in a novel adapted to the screen, plus good fellowship with folks interested in storytelling. I might also encourage you to take notes and photos of interesting places you visit—who knows, your vacation may serve as the setting for your next novel. That's precisely how The Kauai Connection was conceived; add a little WW II history, mix with some interesting characters and dialogue and like magic, you've got the idea for a book. The other thing I would recommend is that you not get bogged down on details in the beginning. Just start with an outline; make a notebook for your characters and their physical, emotional, psychological makeup. Remember you are the storyteller and you want the dialogue to define your characters. I will try to put out a monthly newsletter. In the meantime feel free to email me at kbarton@hal-pc.org if you have questions about your writing. Barnes and Noble has some great writing books in their reference section—books that speak to finding an agent, market, improving dialogue, and what publishers are looking for in new authors. Although the publishing market is tough (only about 2% of writers find an agent to represent them and of that number only another 5% get published) don't be dissuaded by the numbers. Only you can tell your story; so tell it, and don't worry about results. Good writers need skill, perseverance, and luck. I want to coach you on the perseverance part of this equation, which I believe is the major roadblock to success. About the Author The Creative Process of Writing is a Creative and Therapeutic Experience!