We wanted to get to know Karin Beery (NAIWE’s Fiction Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

Do beta readers define themselves by genres?

It can be helpful to find beta readers in your genre, but it’s not necessary. If you know which questions to ask, you can assist anyone to become a useful beta reader.

 

Do you suggest working with more than one beta reader on the same project?

Absolutely. Even if you’re working with an experienced beta reader, everyone has personal preference. I recommend at least three: if one person doesn’t like something, that could be taste; if two people don’t like it, there might be a problem with the writing.

 

At what point do you begin to work with beta readers?

After you’ve finished editing and revising your first draft.

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Beta readers can help authors clean up and strengthen their manuscripts without hiring an editor, but like editors, not all beta readers are the same. In this webinar, find out what to expect from beta readers, how to find good ones, and how you can help them help you polish your manuscript.

You can join in this conversation on May 20 at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on turning your friends and family into beta readers. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Karin Beery is a published author and editor with experience in traditional and self-publishing, freelance editing, and editing for publishers. She is an active member of Advanced Writers and Speakers Association, Christian Authors Network, and the Christian Proofreaders and Editors Network, as well as a PEN Institute instructor. Her specialty is substantive fiction editing with an emphasis in romance and women’s fiction.

We wanted to get to know Marcia Rosen (NAIWE’s Public Relations and Book Marketing Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

What is a characteristic of a detective that will aid in developing a memoir?

Persistent, determined, willing to ask questions to anyone who might have answers to knowing the truth. A good detective needs to be tenacious, patient, look at the truths of a situation and ask questions that get to the heart of the matter. These qualities are exactly what is needed to write a good memoir. How do you search for clues about your history and their impact on your life?

 

Are there characteristics or situations for a detective that do not align with developing a memoir?

Of course, being involved in murder cases for example. Putting your life in danger when working on a case.

 

Is there a particular detective skill that is essential in the prep work for a memoir?

Willingness to spend time searching for answers to your questions about your life and history. Asking serious questions about your life.
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A good detective needs to be tenacious and patient. A good detective needs to look at the truths of a situation and ask questions that get to the heart of the matter. Those same skills are needed to write a good memoir. How do you search for clues about your history and their impact on your life?

You can join in this conversation on April 30 at 7:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on becoming the detective for your novel. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Marcia Rosen (aka M. Glenda Rosen) is an award-winning author of eleven books including her newest one, An Agatha, Raymond, Sherlock and Me Mystery: Murder at the Zoo plus The Senior Sleuths, Dying To Be Beautiful Mystery Series, and The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus (menus by her son Jory Rosen). She is also author of The Woman’s Business Therapist and award-winning My Memoir Workbook and has given memoir writing presentations and classes for close to 20 years. She has assisted many authors in developing, writing, publishing, and promoting their books. For 25 years, she was the owner of a successful national marketing and public relations agency. Marcia has frequently been a speaker or program moderator at organization meetings and conferences, bookstores, libraries, and Zoom programs. Topics she has taught and presented over the past 20 years include Encouraging the Writer Within You, Marketing for Authors, Writing Mysteries…Not A Mystery, Writing Your Memoir, and recently Anatomy of Writing a Murder. Many articles on these topics have been published on mystery reader blogs and in newsletters and magazines and her newest articles include Location, Location, Location: Murders Have Their Places; Hearing Voices of Past Famous Detectives: Their Impact and Influences; and Writing Mysteries at a Zoo: With Caution. She is a member of Sisters in Crime National and New Mexico (Croak & Dagger), Southwest Writers, New Mexico Book Association, Women Writing the West, Public Safety Writer’s Association, Women’s National Book Association, and National Association of Independent Writers and Editors.

We wanted to get to know Susan Treadgold (NAIWE’s Personal Energy Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

Are the contents of this webinar just for women?

The content of the webinar is targeted at women, but men are welcome and will also benefit.

 

When many of us think of energy, we relate it to physical activities. What makes up the energy that you will be talking to us about?

Everything is energy. Anything that we come in contact with — be it food, a thought, or another person — it all either enhances or detracts from our energy.

 

Is it true that taking small actions are better than taking no actions? How do you recommend starting to build energy in our day?

Taking action and creating small habits that we continue to “stack” is the path to exponential energy. It all starts with a morning routine — to set up your day, week, month, and life — that you don’t need a vacation from!

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Join us for a masterclass with best-selling author Susan Treadgold as she unveils the secrets behind the six habits of high-performing women, with a focus on ENERGY. Susan Treadgold, international executive coach and an award-winning speaker, will share her wisdom gleaned from two decades in investment banking and a phenomenal 15-year coaching career.

Are you tired of feeling drained and overwhelmed? Ready to banish burnout once and for all? Drawing on a pool of extensive research driven, science-backed tools and strategies, Susan Treadgold will equip you with the keys to identify, master, and turbocharge your energy levels.

Brace yourself for a live event that will change the game.

You can join in this conversation on March 27 at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on developing more energy for every day. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Susan Treadgold is a holistic high-performance coach, speaker, and multiple #1 best-selling author with nearly two decades of investment banking experience at Morgan Stanley, Merrill Lynch, and Citigroup. She empowers women to have more energy and success with the use of science-backed high-performance habits, executive presence, training and a personally curated longevity portfolio of cutting edge biohacking products. She is an award-winning artist, host of The High-Performing Woman talk show, and on the leadership committee of 5050 Women on Boards. She is a proud mother of two teenagers. Family is her love language, and as a board member of Roots of Promise, she is passionate about helping less fortunate kids.

We wanted to get to know Jennia D’Lima (NAIWE’s Creative Nonfiction Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

Do all types of life experiences make for good material for a memoir?

They all have the potential to be used to write a riveting memoir. On the other hand, even the most extraordinary life events can fall flat if style falls flat, the voice reads as inauthentic, or the pacing is off. Much like when writing a fictional narrative, these story elements contribute as much to a story’s readability as the plot or events do on their own.

 

At what point in an individual’s life are they ready to write their memoir?

Readiness is dictated by the intensity of the emotions that still surround the events being written about and has nothing to do with an author’s age or their life circumstances. It’s important to note that an honest emotional assessment needs to come before any outlining or writing. Writing before the emotions have settled and been processed has the potential to harm the author rather than help them find catharsis or share their story in a way that could benefit others.

 

Are there different types of memoirs?

Yes! There are multiple types or sub-genres when it comes to the memoir category. Summarizing each one would take an entire article, but popular subgenres include the celebrity memoir, the travel memoir (Bill Bryson is one of my favorite travel memoir authors, though he’s written books in other creative nonfiction categories as well), and the transformational memoir (overcoming some type of addiction is a popular theme seen in this subgenre). Many memoirs will fit into multiple subgenres, so I advise authors to not worry about figuring out which one is the best fit for their manuscript.

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You’ve lived through some harrowing, unique, life-changing, or otherwise fascinating events. You’re certain that a memoir is the best way to share these experiences and maybe even change someone else’s life or become their source of inspiration. But before you begin, it can be helpful to ask yourself a series of questions to determine whether writing a memoir is right for you. This webinar will use these questions to define what a memoir is and what it isn’t while also addressing an individual’s emotional readiness to share their story.

You can join in this conversation on February 13 at 7:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on determining if writing a memoir is right for you. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Jennia Herold D’Lima is a full-blown logophile. She joined her high school’s newspaper in ninth grade, winning statewide awards for her writing, and expanded her journalism skills by continuing to write and edit throughout her high school years and as a college freshman. While earning her BA in psychology (and minoring in cultural anthropology with a focus on precolonial Mesoamerica) and her MA in applied developmental psychology, her writing and editing naturally skewed toward all things academic. Writing for and publishing in peer-reviewed journals, editing papers for classmates, and writing parenting resource guides honed her research skills. Jennia joined multiple professor-led research groups and completed four internships throughout her academic career. After graduating with a master’s, she worked at a national nonprofit in Washington, DC, and as an assistant researcher at the University of Washington in Seattle. Jennia gradually transitioned to full-time editing. She is the host of the Writing & Editing podcast. Jennia enjoys traveling, volunteering, and taking creative photos of books and book-related items in those rare moments when she is not reading or editing.

We wanted to get to know Laura Pennington Briggs (NAIWE’s Business of Writing Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

Consistent client service and automation, how do these align for today’s freelancer?

It’s important to provide a good client experience to everyone, but it’s hard to do when you’re busy marketing and also serving clients. When you get more of your time back, you show up more effectively for your clients and also feel better about your work.

 

Most freelances may not know that a sales pipeline system and outstanding client service go hand in hand, but do they?

They do! The more you can automate and systematize your pipeline and how you handle current clients, the more you maximize everything you do and get the most out of your time.

 

Is there a routine yet creative way to drive clients to your services/products?

It’s actually not super creative. Pick a platform or method of marketing and show up to do it everyday, even if only for five minutes. This can really help build consistency and snowballs over time. It doesn’t matter if it’s cold pitching, scanning job boards, TikTok, LinkedIn, or circling back with a former client, they are all valuable when you take little actions over time.

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In this training, we’ll discuss key ways to provide outstanding and consistent client service while building automation or systems that save you time, as well. We’ll discuss three big ones worth upgrading or creating for 2024: sales pipeline systems, onboarding, and offboarding. Make a better impression on your clients and earn repeat business and referrals while spending more of your time on billable work.

You can join in this conversation on January 17, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on streamlining your client service to save you time and make clients happier. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Laura Pennington Briggs is the founder and CEO of the Freelance Coach. A two-time TEDx speaker on how freelancing is changing the economy and the host of the weekly Advanced Freelancing podcast, Laura has helped over 15,000 freelancers start and scale their business. She’s an expert on systems, project and client management, marketing a solopreneur business, delegating to team members, retainers, and developing multiple income streams for writers of all stripes. Laura is the author of five books, including the Six Figure Freelancer and How to Start Your Own Freelance Writing Business. She’s also the founder of Operation Freelance, a national nonprofit providing free entrepreneurship training to military spouses worldwide.

We wanted to get to know Jeanne Grunert (NAIWE’s Branding & Marketing Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

What is personal branding?

Personal branding is the art and science of developing a brand presence online. It’s an intentional effort to position yourself as an expert in a specific niche area to help generate positive awareness for your work, talents, and services. Just like a company builds a brand so that its brand recognition acts as a sort of shorthand for their products and services, your personal brand becomes a shorthand for what clients can expect from you.

 

What are the components of personal branding?

Many people think of branding as just a logo, or a visual identity, or a logo and a tag line — the slogan a company uses along with the logo. But branding encompasses much more than that. It is not just the visual representation or the written slogan, but the interactions and delivery on the brand promise itself that encompass a full brand.

There are many components of a personal brand, but the very first step is to understand yourself as a brand. Who are you? What do you deliver? What makes your services or writing unique? Who do you sell it to?

From there, you can develop your own “brand statement” and a “tag line” that sum up your brand promise, along with the ideas you wish to convey that accurately represent YOU. A personal brand must be a strong, clear, and true representation of yourself and your services to be effective. (If you put on an act, it won’t stick — it won’t feel right to you or to your customers if you try to be something you’re not or build a personal brand around attributes you just don’t have. I made this mistake for years until I learned how to find my authentic self and build a brand around it.)

 

What are the benefits of building a personal brand?

There are many benefits of building a personal brand as a writer, editor, or service provider in our industry. Whether you publish fiction, nonfiction, ghostwrite for others, or write commercial copy, personal branding will help you to:

• Increased Visibility: Personal branding helps you stand out in a crowded marketplace, making it easier for people to notice and remember you, whether you’re a job seeker, entrepreneur, or professional.
• Career Advancement: A strong personal brand can enhance your career prospects by showcasing your expertise and unique qualities, leading to more opportunities and promotions.
• Trust and Credibility: Building a consistent personal brand builds trust and credibility with your audience, as they come to rely on your expertise and authenticity.
• Networking Opportunities: A strong personal brand can attract like-minded individuals and open doors to valuable networking opportunities, enabling you to connect with influential people in your industry.
• Monetization Potential: A well-established personal brand can lead to various income streams, such as speaking engagements, book deals, sponsorships, and consulting, turning your expertise into a profitable venture.

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Jeanne Grunert will lead Part 2 of the workshop. In Part 2, participants will be encouraged to review their results from Part 1 and identify their own unique personal branding “calling cards”. Then, through various exercises, participants will develop their personal brand profile and leave the workshop with several ideas on how they can share their personal brand profile.

You can join in this conversation on November 9, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on branding your freelance business. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Jeanne Grunert is the president and founder of Seven Oaks Consulting, a business-to-business content marketing agency. She is an award-winning writer and direct marketing expert with over 30 years of writing, marketing, and business experience. Prior to founding Seven Oaks Consulting, Jeanne led marketing for divisions of McGraw-Hill Education, Teachers College Columbia University, The College Board, and retail, publishing, and financial service companies in the New York City area. Known worldwide for her exceptional leadership and communication skills, Jeanne works seamlessly across cultural and corporate barriers to achieve outstanding results. She holds an M.A. in writing and an M.S. in direct and digital marketing (awarded with distinction) from New York University, as well as certifications in social media marketing, content marketing, adult education, and personal branding. Originally from the New York City area, Jeanne currently resides with her husband, John, and many pets on a 17-acre farm in rural Virginia. When not leading marketing teams through her work at Seven Oaks Consulting, she enjoys gardening, reading, cooking, and writing mystery novels.

We wanted to get to know Suzanne Sherman (NAIWE’s Memoir Coach Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

How is writing a memoir different than writing a fiction work?

Memoir is interested in the power of the personal. Memoir is a genre known also by the name creative nonfiction. Memoir is nonfiction; it is not fiction. Memoir does, however, share some of narrative tools fiction uses, such as the inclusion of both scene and narrative, the use of character development, plot that drives the story, and narrative arc (the protagonist, or author’s, growth journey from start to finish). Memoir is not autobiography. Autobiography is a story OF a life. Memoir is a story FROM a life, usually one with relatable aspects readers can learn from. Memoir has a theme, usually a focused topic or time period, such as overcoming an addiction (Drinking: A Love Story by Carolyn Knapp), coming to terms with the death of a loved one (Wild by Cheryl Strayed), carrying a child with Down’s Syndrome while in graduate school at Harvard (Expecting Adam by Martha Beck). Writing memoir is different from writing fiction in part because authors are drawing on their experience and animating that core truth with believable characters in unfolding scenes that move the story from beginning to end.

 

Does an author need permission to write about those who may have caused harm to the author?

Memoirists are not required to receive verbal or written permission by anyone mentioned or even featured in a book. In this webinar, Methods for Managing Exposure of Self and Others in Memoir, I will discuss this important detail, sharing information supplied by an attorney who specializes in self-publishing. Authors can choose one of several options if they are concerned about revealing someone’s identity in their book.

 

Why do some authors of memoirs use pen names?

Using a pen name is one of the ways authors sometimes publish to avoid revealing their identity if they are concerned about that, for personal or professional reasons. There can be relief for some in knowing their identity isn’t known when their book is published. There can, however, be drawbacks with this too. In the webinar, I’ll discuss the pros and cons of using a pen name.

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Different from fiction, memoir can often lead a writer into some emotionally challenging territory. Writers often have to spend time exploring material that is essential for their book but is uncomfortable to dive into deeply to craft scenes and write an engaging narrative that includes what’s needed.

How do successful memoir authors do it? Jeannette Walls (The Glass Castle), Caroline Knapp (Drinking: A Love Story), and Vince Granata (Everything Is Fine) are just a few writers who have published critically acclaimed memoirs with emotionally challenging material in recent years. Cheryl Strayed (Wild) and Elizabeth Gilbert (Eat, Pray, Love) wrote bestselling memoirs that showcased their vulnerabilities without shame.

Suzanne Sherman will give you helpful tips and tested methods for navigating the emotional territory that can come with writing memoir so you can successfully include what is essential if you want to write a memoir. She will address self-exposure and the exposure of others and show ways other authors work with it. Suzanne will provide information about relevant legalities and discuss the pros and cons of pen names.

Take advantage of this unique opportunity to benefit your writing.

You can join in this conversation on November 14, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on feeling vulnerable in writing your memoir. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Suzanne Sherman is an author, book and magazine editor, and writing and publishing coach and consultant. She specializes in memoir and nonfiction and offers a weekly memoir writing class on Zoom. Her latest book is Girlhood in America: Personal Stories 1910–2010.

We wanted to get to know MJ Courchesne (NAIWE’s Copyright & Permissions Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

How can one identify when content is AI generated?

This is still difficult to do. The best practices I have seen so far include running a manuscript (or content) through plagiarism software like ithenticate.com or other such tools. Other than that, a well-read human or editor is likely to catch non-sensical statements and grammatical errors that don’t make sense. I’m sure the proper technology will be developed to make this easier.

 

Are AI and authors, and AI and editors competing for the same jobs?

I would say not. From what I have learned, authors and editors are generally using AI for ideation and some initial work. With that said, at the moment AI is not wholly replacing anyone.

 

We hear about all the negative news around AI and the publishing industry. Is there any positive news to share?

Of course. Publishers are looking at ways to make sure that the author’s voice comes through, and that it is a human author. Importantly, the US Copyright Office has posted guidance that AI-generated materials cannot be copyrighted. As the human requirement is necessary for copyright, publishers are seeking ways to ensure they are not publishing wholly-AI generated materials. I do not see the industry becoming wholly AI very soon.

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Join us for this round-up of current issues surrounding artificial intelligence (AI) and the world of creative content. We’ll review pending cases, as well as what the Copyright Office, publishers, creators, and some of the major associations representing creators and publishers have to say about generative AI. We’ll also explore some language you might see in contracts going forward and review some tips, tricks, and tools that may serve you as we move into a future where AI-generated content becomes more ubiquitous.

You can join in this conversation on September 26, at 7:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on artificial intelligence and author works. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Mary Jo (“MJ”) Courchesne is the owner and principal consultant of Gryphon Publishing Consulting. A publishing veteran with more than 20 years of experience in trade, academic, and direct-response publishing, she has spent nearly two decades specializing in licensing, subsidiary rights, and permissions. MJ is a frequent and polished presenter on licensing and copyright, instructing future publishing professionals in the George Washington University’s Masters in Publishing program for the last 16 years. She currently serves on the Board of Experts for the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors, serves on the Advocacy Committee for the Independent Book Publishers Association, and holds memberships with the Book Industry Study Group and the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators.

We wanted to get to know Amy Waters Yarsinske (NAIWE’s Nonfiction Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here are some thoughts she shared with us.

Do you interview people for your nonfiction projects?

Yes, I’ve done hundreds of interviews (often 100+ on a single project with a significant research and investigative requirement), which I am quite sure are well into the thousands over my 35+ year career.

 

How do you manage controversial topics, or perhaps topics you disagree with?

It is not whether I concur or not with the subject matter but present it fairly and pointedly for the reader; I am not baited into controversy and believe it unprofessional to make something personal. Narrative nonfiction provides ample opportunity to parse controversial subjects. Investigative subject matter is a good example where getting into the controversies can be enlightening for the writer and the reader. Stories should be told honestly and with all the bark on. I don’t shy from that aspect of my writing, and readers and reviewers respect that by and large.

 

Do you come up with the ideas/topics for your manuscripts?

Yes, I do pick the subject matter for my books. The best work comes from what you know and what drives your interest.

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This webinar starts with a short introduction from NAIWE nonfiction expert Amy Waters Yarsinske followed by a time for attendees to ask Amy whatever you wanted to know about the multifaceted aspects of writing nonfiction and being successfully published.

You can join in this conversation on August 24, at 2:00 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on refining your public speaking skills. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Nonmembers can join for $30. Register today!

 

Amy Waters Yarsinske is the author of several best-selling, award-winning nonfiction books, published regionally, nationally, and internationally. Amy’s proposal technique was featured in literary agent/author Peter Rubie’s Telling the Story: How to Write and Sell Narrative Nonfiction; she also did a National Press Club panel with Rubie during the No One Left Behind press tour. She has been a regular contributor with international, national, and regional media, to include continued guest spots on national radio. An American in the Basement: The Betrayal of Captain Scott Speicher and the Cover-up of His Death won the Next Generation Indie Book Award for General Non-fiction in 2014, and No One Left Behind: The Lt. Comdr. Michael Scott Speicher Story earned her literary awards, an incredible press tour, and national/international recognition. With over 30 years in the publishing industry, Amy has published over 85 nonfiction books, most of them spotlighting current affairs, the military, history and the environment with a few biographies and corporate histories interspersed. Amy graduated from Randolph-Macon Woman’s College in Lynchburg, Virginia, where she earned her bachelor of arts in English and economics and the University of Virginia School of Architecture, where she earned her Master of Planning and was a DuPont Fellow and Lawn/Range resident.