What I’m Up To

I have a few articles in print this week. One’s part of the cover story in The Writer magazine that talks about how to add to your income in this economy. The article will be online later, but you can find it in the July print issue for now.

A piece that is available online takes a look at the US educational system, and is titled, “Worlds Apart: How the Educational System is Failing to Prepare US Youth to be Competitive in the Global Economy.”

If you’re in India, get your hands on a wonderful new publication called The Caravan. The current issue carries my piece on the recent trend of Indian-Americans returning to India for better opportunities.

I’m striking off deadlines on a daily basis. Because I’m currently a marketing machine, I have three articles due this week and two the next. Part of what I’m hoping to do for the remainder of the year is work on writing faster. I’m painfully slow, even without the procrastination and over-rewriting, so I’m trying to boost my speed without losing quality.

The three deadlines a week thing really does help.

Of Ideas and Markets

I finally broke down and asked Sam what he thought of a book idea I’ve been thinking about. Sam is the most market-savvy person I know– a marketing God. It’s what he does for a living. He looks at a piece of writing and tells you in five seconds flat whether or not it has any selling potential and how much money you might be able to make from it.

Talent, that.

Fortunately for me, he thought my idea has huge sales potential. This is new to me. Usually, my book ideas fall flat, because even I know, deep down, that they’re not going to appeal to a mass audience.

The reason I’ve been resistant to books so far, is that I haven’t been able to find something that I would want to write AND that would sell. I’ve come up with a lot of book ideas that I’d love to write, but I’m not the writer who wants to write for an intellectual audience or a feminist audience. I want these issues to be presented in a format that appeals to a mass audience.

One of my friends has a fascinating life story. He’s been asked several times by several big publishers to write it. He’s resisted so far, because he’s uncomfortable sharing his deepest thoughts with the world. I explained to him how his book was going to bring the issues of his country to light, how it would give other people who’re struggling and hopeless, strength. I think it was the first time he’d thought of it in that way. If it was going to help and inspire others, then maybe it wasn’t such a bad idea to do it.

He came over yesterday and we got to talking about our writing careers. He said I should consider writing a book about a certain topic I’m interested in.

“Who would read that?” I asked.

“Well, maybe it won’t be on the NY Times bestseller list,” he said, “But it will be read.”

And that’s my problem, I guess. I can’t go in already knowing that it’s not going to appeal to a mass audience. What’s the point of talking about things that matter with people who already know they matter? Feminists talking to feminists. Human rights activists telling other human rights activists what’s going on. What’s the point? What’s that going to achieve?

Instead, now I’m thinking of this new idea, this new book that I could write. It’s something that I’ve always been interested in talking about, and something that, if done well, could certainly be widely read.

Now if only I could sit down and write it.

Juggle, Juggle

“Success!” I wrote to my editor this morning. After days of sending out feelers, asking friends for help, and e-mailing every organization I could find, I was able to find three perfect sources for my article.

I’d have been happy just to find sources, period. But to find the perfect three was icing.

It was the timing of the work that was so crucial. Two assignments came my way recently, almost simultaneously. Both were wonderful topics that I was very interested in, and very eager to start working on. But both came with short deadlines, high stress levels, and tough-to-find sources.

This morning, I’ve sorted both the stories out. I’ve found people willing to speak on record about their experiences, and I’ve found experts with long-term expertise on the not-often-spoken-about topics. I’m very pleased.

In all these research and writing though, I’ve managed to neglect one of the most important parts of the business– the marketing. So, here I am yet again, with deadlines coming up, work almost finished, and no new assignments once these are submitted. The marketing machine hasn’t been oiled in a while. Time to do it now. Editors, here I come!

Selling Yourself

I decided to write a new Letter of Introduction last week, since I was bored of the one I’d been using for the past year, it hadn’t really brought in any results, and I felt that my personality didn’t really come through.

I wanted a Letter of Introduction that sounded confident but not arrogant, that listed my accomplishments without apologizing for them, and that told editors what I was really interested in. I didn’t want to bother being the writer who’d write anything. I said in my LOI that I focused on two main issues, and if they’d like to hire a writer for those, I was their gal.

Well, what do you know. Not only did it work, it worked tremendously well. I received eight responses asking for ideas (a 50% rate so far). Of those, I found, some editors were low-paying. I’ve sent ideas to the others and already received two assignments. Not bad.

Part of writing this LOI was knowing that I had something to offer. For a while now, I’ve avoided marketing because selling myself is not something I’m completely comfortable with. When I can avoid it, I do. And I did.

But this whole incident has reminded me once again how important it is to tell people what you’re about and where your passions lie. If you don’t find them, how will they hire you?

The Hard Sell

I reserve the right to change my mind tomorrow, but today, right now, I hate query letters. Truly detest them.

I like thinking up brilliant ideas, I like discussing their potential with friends and editors, I love engaging in stimulating conversation about why they may or may not not work. I do not like thinking about their marketability. I do not like thinking about why they’re important now. I do not like having to sell them to people. I like them to stand out on their own.

Distilling down an important story to one sentence about its marketability is, in my opinion, a completely ridiculous concept. Writers should be allowed to play and experiment with ideas that interest them.

Unfortunately, real life doesn’t work that way.

Tonight, I get to figure out why a story I’m writing about a certain food trend needs to be told now. Or at all.

I have a feeling it will be a tough question to answer.

Index to A Month of Marketing

For easier viewing, here’s the index to the free e-course “A Month of Marketing.”

Introduction:
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/amom/

Day 1: Update Your Writing Portfolio
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/portfolio/

Day 2: Letters of Introduction
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/loi/

Day 3: Check in with Your Regulars
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/regulars/

Day 4: Send out the Rejects
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/rejects/

Day 5: Market Ideas that Never Got Off the Ground
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/ground/

Day 6: Ask the Source
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/source/

Day 7: Market Your Reprints
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/reprints/

Day 8: Find Specialty Markets
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/specialty/

Day 9: Exchange Info
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/exchange/

Day 10: Ask for Referrals
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/referrals/

Day 11: Expand Those Sidebars and Fillers
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/sidebars/

Day 12: Tell People What You Do
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/tell/

Day 13: Revive Old Contacts
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/contacts/

Day 14: Get on the Phone
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/phone/

Day 15: The Dream Project
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/dream/

Day 16: Go Bio Hunting
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/bio/

Day 17: Fix a Meeting
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/meeting/

Day 18: Reslants
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/reslant/

Day 19: Pitch Your Dream Market
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/dream-2/

Day 20: Get Linked In
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/linkedin/

Day 21: Follow up on Your Correspondence
http://www.mridukhullar.com/journal/2008/05/correspondence/