At first I thought she was stealing my ideas, but now I realize it’s just that great minds think alike, so I’ll cut Oprah some slack and share this with you as well. I’ve been working on my journal project for awhile now and was happy to see this on her website:

http://www.oprah.com/spirit/Oprahs-Private-Journals-Diary-Excerpts

I have this quote cut out from her, an entry from her journal where she asked herself the night before her first show: I wonder if this will change my life?

I will forever try to convince people to record their own journeys and this is yet another reason to do so. How cool to have a written record of what you thought/wondered/worried about before life-changing events?

Write as you go … learn as you live.

I have no idea why I’ve been getting hourly spammy email notifications of comments on a blog post I wrote nearly a year ago, but after my initial confusion and subsequent irritation, I am grateful. Truth is, I’ve been busy keeping up my personal blog and neglecting this one because I didn’t love the stock style and didn’t know how to navigate the site.

This year I’m taking things on even if they intimidate me, things like re-designing this site into a more authentic reflection of me and my work. This may not be the most professional looking writerly blog but it is 100 percent me. And those real-deal authors are the ones I prefer to meet anyway. Speaking of which … I was incredibly inspired at yesterday’s Northwest Author Series event featuring April Henry.

I do this thing, though, when I’m excited about meeting a real-life published author I admire and end up talking too much, too fast and use the word “ummmmm” to describe a writing project I can normally spend hours discussing.

When I finally got my chance to meet Anne Lamott, I mostly just tried not to vomit from excitement. True story.

So, today, while I didn’t puke on anyone, I did geek out on author April Henry. First of all I took 12 pages of notes in my journal full of her ideas, quotes and jumping off points for my own writing projects inspired by her talk.

I also for some reason felt compelled to show her the pages of notes I took. It’s not at all that I wanted some gold-star for being a good pupil, my notes are hardly legible so it’d be a B+ at best, but I wanted her to see how inspiring she was to me, how much I thought she had to say worthy of remembering. I also thought that if I were in her shoes, which I intend to someday be, it would be wonderful to see that what I said mattered so much to someone. I remember once another favorite author of mine, Christina Katz, posted a picture a reader sent in of her book marked up with sticky tabs. I thought it was so cool that it still mattered to her that her words encouraged someone else.

After all, nerdy or not, it’s kind of the point, right?

In addition to spending the afternoon surrounded by creative people with goals like mine, I loved that this lovely, smart, creative person in pursuit of her own passion looked me in the eye and said she believed I would be published. My heart soared. When I got home I saw she’d written this in my new copy of her book: Circles of Confusion -

“Nathalie – I hope next time I see you you sign a book for me!”

For anyone who lives their dream in real life, these words carry a lot of weight … it doesn’t hurt my feelings that she’s a New York Times best selling author either.

I've been working toward clarifying my writer's platform for over a year. Ever since I read Christina Katz' "Get Known Before the Book Deal." She advised me to be patient with the process. She even talked me out of an idea that was a good one, but not for me, not at that time in my life. I'd just had Baby Jake and was a little mental with the whole post-partum/no-sleep combo meal.

So here I am, with a baby old enough to eat solids {made his first food cubes last night!}, a toddler mostly sleeping through the night, a move under my belt and ready to get back to work in earnest. Since Jake's been born, I've kept up on my column , sold another one and started writing a new novel, 300 words at a time and all the while, in the back of my mind I've been considering the question: What is my thing? What is my platform?

Imagine my surprise to find out the thing I'd been searching for has been here the whole time. The whole time. Like since 1982 when I first started writing in my purple unicorn and rainbows diary. As I worked on my draft for my Baby on Board column last month, I couldn't edit it down. I was writing about my favorite subject (besides my adorable babies of course) and had so much to say I couldn't cut down to 600 words. I submitted a different column and kept working on this one. Finally, it was ready to submit for August and it ran this week. And there it was. My thing. My thing that I am so passionate about I could go on about it as long as someone would let me.

Except that I can't keep writing about journaling in a column about parenting ... luckily I have this cool blog and you faithful readers who I'm sure will be willing to be open to some of these ideas even if you think you're not a writer!

Anyone curious?

Encouraging others to use journaling personally and professionally is the most natural way I can think of  to combine my passion and skills.

http://www.newsregister.com/article/45102-baby+board+practice+selfpreservation

"Really? Two blogs?" Friends ask while giving me that look. You know the one that suggests I should rethink things.

I waited for a long time to get going on this one for two reasons. 1) I wanted to crystallize my plan and it needed to be an organic process as opposed to forced. 2) I don't love the look of this blog. Turns out I don't have the skills, or time, right now to deal with that so now that I've got the first part dialed in ... away we go.

I intend to keep up with my first, personal blog because it's my online net to capture all sorts of ideas, memories, impressions, stories and starts of essays until a later date when I can go through and mine for gold. It's a place for me to share my writing in a raw form and get feedback from people I like and trust to be gentle, but honest. I love blogging and don't apologize for it.

So why this one, too? Well, I feel I need a more professional one focusing specifically on my work. Since my work seems to be living inside out, on paper people can read my professional blog and easily find my personal one -- by easily I mean there's a link to it right at the top -- but they don't have to.  So, when an editor checks my clips they can see I'm legit without reading about how charming it was when Sam threw blocks at his teacher today ... or whatever the delightful detail of the day is.

My Nathalie's Notes writing blog will focus more on various aspects of writing (process, clips, angst, building community and inspiration). I invite you to check back often and hope you'll chime in.

p.s. Wow! Does anyone else think it's cool that it is exactly a year to the day this site, a life-long dream went live?
Okay, maybe not life-long since I wasn't aware of the Internet for the first half of it, but still ...

Q: What is a platform?

CK: Long story short: Your platform communicates your expertise to others, and it works all the time so you don’t have to. Your platform includes your Web presence, any public speaking you do, the classes you teach, the media contacts you’ve established, the articles you’ve published, and any other means you currently have for making your name and your future books known to a viable readership. If others already recognize your expertise on a given topic or for a specific audience or both, then that is your platform.

A platform-strong writer is a writer with influence. Get Known explains in plain English, without buzzwords, how any writer can stand out from the crowd of other writers and get the book deal. The book clears an easy-to-follow path through a formerly confusing forest of ideas so any writer can do the necessary platform development they need to do.

Q: Why is platform development important for writers today?

CK: Learning about and working on a solid platform plan gives writers an edge. Agents and editors have known this for years and have been looking for platform-strong writers and getting them book deals. But from the writer’s point-of-view, there has not been enough information on platform development to help unprepared writers put their best platform forward.

Now suddenly, there is a flood of information on platform, not all necessarily comprehensive, useful or well organized for folks who don’t have a platform yet. Writers can promote themselves in a gradual, grounded manner without feeling like they are selling out. I do it, I teach other writers to do it, I write about it on an ongoing basis, and I encourage all writers to heed the trend. And hopefully, I communicate how in a practical, step-by-step manner that can serve any writer. Because ultimately, before you actively begin promoting yourself, platform development is an inside job requiring concentration, thoughtfulness and a consideration of personal values.

Q: How did you come to write Get Known Before the Book Deal?

CK: I already had a lot of momentum going when I got the deal for a very specific audience. I wrote a column on the topic for the Willamette Writer’s newsletter. Then I started speaking on platform. When I gave my presentation, “Get Known Before the Book Deal,” at the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference in May 2007, Phil Sexton, one of my publisher’s sales guys, saw it and suggested making the concept into a book. Coincidentally, I was trying to come up with an idea for my second book at that time and had just struck out with what I thought were my three best ideas. My editor, Jane Friedman agreed with Phil. That was two votes from people sitting on the pub board. They converted the others with the help of my proposal, and Get Known got the green light.

Q: Why was a book on platform development needed?

CK: Writers often underestimate how important platform is and they often don’t leverage the platform they already have enough. At every conference I presented, I took polls and found that about 50 percent of attendees expressed a desire for a clearer understanding of platform. Some were completely in the dark about it, even though they were attending a conference in hopes of landing a book deal. Since book deals are granted based largely on the impressiveness of a writer’s platform, I noticed a communication gap that needed to be addressed.

My intention was that Get Known would be the book every writer would want to read before attending a writer’s conference, and that it would increase any writer’s chances of landing a book deal whether they pitched in-person or by query. As I wrote the book, I saw online how this type of information was being offered as “insider secrets” at outrageous prices. No one should have to pay thousands of dollars for the information they can find in my book for the price of a paperback! Seriously. You can even ask your library to order it and read it for free.

Q: What is the key idea behind Get Known Before the Book Deal?

CK: Getting known doesn’t take a lot of money, but it does take an in-depth understanding of platform, and then the investment of time, skills and consistent effort to build one. Marketing experience and technological expertise are also not necessary. I show how to avoid the biggest time and money-waster, which is not understanding who your platform is for and why – and hopefully save writers from the confusion and inertia that can result from either information overload or not taking the big picture into account before they jump into writing for traditional publication.

Often writers with weak platforms are over-confident that they can impress agents and editors, while others with decent platforms are under-confident or aren’t stressing their platform-strength enough. Writers have to wear so many hats these days, we can use all the help we can get. Platform development is a muscle, and the more you use it, the stronger it gets. Anyone can do it, but most don’t or won’t because they either don’t understand what is being asked for, or they haven’t overcome their own resistance to the idea. Get Known offers a concrete plan that can help any writer make gains in the rapidly changing and increasingly competitive publishing landscape.

Q: What is the structure of the book and why did you choose it?

CK: Writer Mama was written in small, easy-to-digest chunks so busy new moms could stick it in a diaper bag and read it in the nooks and crannies of the day. Get Known is a bit more prosaic, especially in the early chapters. Most of the platform books already out there were only for authors, not writers or aspiring authors. To make platform evolution easy to comprehend, I had to dial the concepts back to the beginning and talk about what it’s like to try and find your place in the world as an author way before you’ve signed a contract, even before you’ve written a book proposal. No one had done that before in a book for writers. I felt writers needed a context in which to chart a course towards platform development that would not be completely overwhelming.

Introducing platform concepts to writers gives them the key information they need to succeed at pitching an agent either via query or in-person, making this a good book for a writer to read before writing a book proposal. Get Known has three sections: section one is mostly stories and cautionary tales, section two has a lot of to-do lists any writer should be able to use, and section three is how to articulate your platform clearly and concisely so you won’t waste a single minute wondering if you are on the right track.

Q: At the front of Get Known, you discuss four phases of the authoring process. What are they?

CK: First comes the platform development and building phase. Second comes the book proposal development phase (or if you are writing fiction, the book-writing phase). Third, comes the actual writing of the book (for fiction writers this is likely the re-writing of the book). And finally, once the book is published, comes the book marketing and promoting phase.

Many first-time authors scramble once they get a book deal if they haven’t done a thorough job on the platform development phase. Writers who already have a platform have influence with a fan base, and they can leverage that influence no matter what kind of book they write. Writing a book is a lot easier if you are not struggling to find readers for the book at the same time. Again, agents and editors have known this for a long time.

Q: What are some common platform mistakes writers make?

CK: Here are a few:

• They don’t spend time clarifying who they are to others.
• They don’t zoom in specifically on what they offer.
• They confuse socializing with platform development.
• They think about themselves too much and their audience not enough.
• They don’t precisely articulate all they offer so others get it immediately.
• They don’t create a plan before they jump online.
• They undervalue the platform they already have.
• They are overconfident and think they have a solid platform when they have only made a beginning.
• They become exhausted from trying to figure out platform as they go.
• They pay for “insider secrets” instead of trusting their own instincts.
• They blog like crazy for six months and then look at their bank accounts and abandon the process as going nowhere.

I’ll stop there. Suffice it to say that many writers promise publishers they have the ability to make readers seek out and purchase their book. But when it comes time to demonstrate this ability, they can’t deliver.

My mission is to empower writers to be 100 percent responsible for their writing career success and stop looking to others to do their promotional work for them. Get Known shows writers of every stripe how to become the writer who can not only land a book deal, but also influence future readers to plunk down ten or twenty bucks to purchase their book. It all starts with a little preparation and planning. The rest unfolds from there.

Q: Couldn’t any author have written this book? Why you?

CK: I have built a career over the past decade empowering writers. I’ve developed and built my own platform as a writing-for-traditional-publication specialist, and I’ve worked with others as a writing and platform-development instructor. Many of the people I’ve been working with are landing book deals and while the other hundred-or-so writers I work with a year are developing their skills, I notice patterns of behavior—what leads to success, where writers get stuck, and how I can be helpful in these rapidly changing times in the industry.

I’ve witnessed too many writers, who were off to a great start, hopping online and quickly becoming very lost. I started to write about platform in Writer Mama, How To Raise A Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, but I quickly noticed that more details on platform development were desperately needed. My platform is based on helping others. I have a vested interest in seeing the people I work with—and those who read my book—succeed. Writers are my tribe.

Tune in tomorrow for an Interview with Christina Katz

Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform

Bio:

Christina Katz is the author of Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books). She started her platform “for fun” seven years ago and ended up on “Good Morning America.” Christina teaches e-courses on platform development and writing nonfiction for publication. Her students are published in national magazines and land agents and book deals. Christina has been encouraging reluctant platform builders via her e-zines for five years, has written hundreds of articles for national, regional, and online publications, and is a monthly columnist for the Willamette Writer. A popular speaker at writing conferences, writing programs, libraries, and bookstores, she hosts the Northwest Author Series in Wilsonville, Oregon. She is also the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books).

My characters are talking to me at night again. So exciting. Some, I know, would take medication for that but I am thrilled. I think they're back because I'm making space for them and my writing again.

I don't know how the whole Muse Industry works, really I don't. I just know there are a few things I'm doing differently that have my head and heart back in my work and I couldn't be happier about it. Even if it does keep me up at night.

My critique group met last night and once again I held my breath as A. read all 13 pages of Chapter 2 out loud. Which of course, means the draft of Chapter 2 is finished. I assure you that would not have happened without the deadline of wanting to have it ready for the group.

• Co-starting the critique group - because it holds me accountable for moving forward with the book and gives me a place to practice sharing my work and getting honest feedback.

• Attending Northwest Author Series events - the inspiration from the speakers as well as identifying myself as a writer hanging out with other writers talking about "writerly" things.

• Shifting from using my Outline as an oppressive crusher of spirits and more as a springboard, or guide. Essentially opening the door for inspiration and listening to my characters.

• Not being quite as concerned about publication and genre and allowing myself to ENJOY the process of writing. I feel like I'm writing this for me again and that makes all the difference.

• Putting together a support system of people who ask about the book and support me in writing it. Because the process is this crazy combination of fun and brutal.

Man's self-knowing mind is the instrument which perceives reality, and cognizes, or realizes Truth - Ernest Holmes

One of my favorite moments as a reporter was when I was training my replacement at the Coast. He was fresh out of school and super eager. I loved how interested he was in the people, and stories, I'd become quite attached to. I knew I was leaving my beat in good hands.

As we were driving up Highway 101, M. turned to me and asked, "What if I run out of stories? Where will the ideas come from?"

"Oh, they'll come. Trust me, your problem will never be I have nothing to write, only that you can't fit it all in."

This has turned out to be as true in my fiction work as it was in my reporting. This morning I was thinking about the name of the town in my book, Vineyard, and it occurred to me to look it up. I realized the town itself is, in a way, a character. I had no idea about the second part of the definition, but it couldn't be more perfect.

The American Heritage® Dictionary of the English Language, Fourth Edition
Copyright © 2006 by Houghton Mifflin Company.



"Whenever I have a piece of work to write, I flex my often-used spiritual muscle and quietly go about my day, knowing that the ideas I need will soon pop into my thoughts. They always do. Inspirations usually don't just happen. They gain admittance to the mind with a clear means of receiving them." - Margaret Stortz