There’s been a flurry of activity on the gig ticket purchasing scene in the last 24 hours. Suddenly I can look forward to the last ever Supergrass gig (Barrowlands), Gorillaz (SECC), Limp Bizkit (Academy) and Biffy Clyro (SECC); four awesome gigs, all by bands I’ve never seen but have been high on my would-love-to-see list for a long time.

Edinburgh is into its third day of high temperatures and sunshine and it’s fabulous. Early morning is a real treat going to work, with a cool but not unpleasant air lifting the clear blue sky and welcoming one into another day. The birds are all chirpy when it’s like that and even better is the silence in the streets—I love dawn with a warm promise.

I love, too, the summer twilight evenings. That point where it’s been a hot day and the sun has fallen but it’s not quite dark yet. Very often I sit in the garden at this time or lie with the windows open and just listen to the quiet of the street and the city in the distance. It was better in Glasgow where you could feel the summer buzz under your skin; Edinburgh is more open and less congested, and I miss that feeling of feeling as though I was inside something alive. London is the same—I miss London.

Anyway, fingers crossed the weather stays like this over the weekend.

I completed and sent off the interview I was working on for the Edinburgh Uni PhD student. I turned 17 questions into 6 pages of in-depth answers from the soul. Hope it’s what the guy wanted.

Worked some more on GATECRASH and began the process of wading through all my submissions that can go back out. I also filtered out the competitions that I want to enter either some fiction or poetry to over the next month or so. It’s a rich time in fiction compos so I intend to make the best of it in the lead up to my Writing New Year in August.

I’m on a real high just now; my life is in tip-top shape. Much of this energy comes from being so busy and productive in my writing life and at work, peace and tranquility at home, and having the freedom to be able to do many of the things I want. I think, somewhow, I’ve managed to achieve a balance between all three.

All that’s missing now is the confirmation of a Shed Seven gig and a summer holiday booking, neither of which, I suspect, are that far off from becoming reality.

Have a great weekend, all. Peace, out!

The Scruffy Dog Review – SPRING ISSUE OUT NOW!!

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It was one of those days where the more small items I managed to tick off my GDR list, the more of the bigger ones followed on thereafter. By the end of play late in the evening, I had achieved rather a lot of juicy work.

I got right back on track with Ranfurly Review submissions. I hate sending out rejections and I try to make them informal as I can but this backfired when I was met with a slew of confused responses as to the terminology I’d used. As if rejections aren’t bad enough, I had to do the damn things twice!

That done, I can now start piecing together which acceptances will go into which issue. I think I may be looking ahead quite far now but I’ll have to allocate all the contributions first to get a clearer picture.

I made a few outstanding website updates for one client and I also have some major work coming up for my main client (my wife) who is moving forward with her photography business as if there is no tomorrow. It’s good fun, though, because her site has quite a specific feel and tone she wishes to achieve, which makes it interesting to work on.

I’m in the middle of doing a correspondence interview for a PhD student at Edinburgh Uni. I finished it last night but I’m trying to make it as thorough as I possibly can so I’ve taken a bit of time over it. Hope he doesn’t mind.

I worked through a few more chapters of GATECRASH—got to keep that ball rolling at all times. It really is the edgiest story I’ve worked on and I think it might need a fair amount of rework. It’s very exciting, though, and by far the best fun I’ve had on a manuscript for quite a while.

Speaking of manuscripts, I’m going to print off BACCARA and GREENER later on so I can work on them; the latter almost ready for sending out, the former I don’t want to hang around with because I want to get it to the publisher after a reasonable time. I’m taking King’s advice to the letter and just doing it with the aim of seeing the full picture and picking up the smaller errors too. His book really has got me charged up both in my approach to my writing and reading also.

I’ve been invited to an album launch next week in the Usher Hall of all places. It’s through my freelance writing capacity so I’m hoping to be able to pitch it to a few venues that might be interested.

My darling wife is going away for a few days on a Hen weekend. Originally the 15-strong group were meant to go to Spain but Globespan folded leaving them fighting for their money back. A trip to England was the upshot and she leaves tomorrow, so last night we had a special family meal at the big table: sweet and sour chicken for the Galbraiths, because tonight she will be far too busy eat what with all the last minute packing she will no doubt be doing.

When my wife is gone it will mean a lot more silliness and carrying on in the house than normal. I intend to do quite a lot around the home while she’s away and there will be a DVD and Pizza night on one of the evenings. I will also get some good writing time if I play my cards right but the rest of the time I will just be my normal idiotic self.

Have a great Thursday—the weekend is getting closer. Peace, out!

The Scruffy Dog Review – SPRING ISSUE OUT NOW!!

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Yesterday didn’t quite work out as planned, but in the end it worked out better. My intention was to head up town early but after growing suspicious about the overhead helicopters, I caught sight of the reason on Twitter: the Edinburgh marathon was on. This would mean the buses would be screwed so I changed my plans for the day otherwise I wouldn’t be getting anywhere fast.

I gave my day over to three things:

1- I watched Brian Taylor interviewing Alex Salmond in depth about his policies and ended up wishing Brian Taylor was running for something instead of Salmond. I’ve seen Taylor in action at the Edinburgh Book Festival and his ability to get to the heart of the issue and under a politician’s skin, while still retaining humour and the respect of everyone in the industry is a joy to watch. He had Salmond contradicting himself on several issues and came across to me as an egotistical politician who claims to have Scotland’s interests at heart, but in my opinion he will only (and already is) harming it.

I’ll give him one thing,  he’s managed to shift my opinion slightly on the hung parliament issue. I said before I was against it if it happened and I gave my reasons why, but I’m now prepared to also see that in some cases a balanced parliament might work and be a good thing. My position with regards to this GE hasn’t changed, though, i.e., I hope we don’t get a hung parliament in this case and at this moment in time. It would be a bad thing for us just now.

2- I finished reading The Butt by Will Self and had to stand back afterwards and simply admire what a skilled author he is. This was the first of his books I’ve read, and although I found it slow going in a couple of places towards the start, in the end I had to admit it was a lesson in the craft. Yes, at times it seems he has swallowed a dictionary, but reading it alongside On Writing by Stephen King may not have worked out a bad thing; advice and the purest result coming together to form a perfect example.

3- I gave the last few hours of the day to working on GREENER IS THE GRASS. After reading King and Self, I found the quality of my own manuscript to be strangely shite in comparison. Tuning back into some of King’s advice, though, I carried on in the hope of maybe tapping into it and that just perhaps, some of it might have worn off on me.

I made dinner for Gail coming back from her studio: sweet and sour chicken with basmati rice, and with tomorrow being a bank holiday and Laura away for the night, I suggested to Gail that we go out somewhere for the evening. After a short debate we settled on the flix and went to see Clash of the Titans–although if you believed our ticket stub you would have thought we were off to see a lesbian wrestling movie; Clash of Tit being our chosen perversion for the evening.

Of course, had I been paying more attention, I would have realised the reason we went to the 7:20pm showing was because it was the 3-D version of the film. If I’d known, I would have placed my contact lenses onto my eye balls before going, but as it was, I had to wear those ridiculous spectacles they give you over my own glasses. I spent most of the movie adjusting them and fiddling with the angles they were slipping into.

Today brings me mush joy and a wondrous love-filled heart. It’s the 3rd of May and that means I am off work for a whole week. I have a full one planned out, too, among the obvious things like writing and reading massively—I want to complete GREENER and make a good start on GATECRASH, raising my personal bar as I do so. I have all this time to work on my own craft I want to push the barriers a bit, test myself out, see what occurs.

I also have some external activities to look forward to:

• Edinburgh Writer’s Group meeting
• Trip to Perth to see my sister and her family
• Trip to Paisley to see St Mirren
• 40th birthday party to get bollocksed at
• Couple of trips into town
• There may be more… I’m open to ideas

To a great week y’all. Peace and out!

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Check out my interview with Blazing Trailers, which was posted on their website yesterday. There were some good questions

Also, if you missed it, check out my gig review in Sunday’s News of the World, this week Theoretical Girl.

Good day’s work yesterday all round. The management have recognised my writing skils and have asked me to start writing a Department blog with a view to publicising ourselves in a “humorous but helpful” manner. It’s right up my street and should roll off the presses very easily, but my problem will be, as usual, knowing where to draw the line. Banter is permitted but to a degree so I’m working with one of the other guys in the department to pull all the background together. Then it’s off I go. It should be a lot of fun, actually.

My evening was devoted entirely to the website of one of my photography clients. I’ve taken a PHP script that configures the gallery and tweaked it beyond recognition. It looks great and allows for some great customer interaction, and it’s also very easy for me to upload new images when they come along, which is a huge time saver when working with a busy photographer.

The next step is to integrate it all with a shopping cart/e-commerce solution so customers can order and pay on the spot. One step at a time, though. This website has been a huge learning curve for me since the day it began.

That’s about my lot for yesterday. Today will be more of much the same but with the website out the way I can get back to some writing. I missed the deadline for the cover image competition, but the story has grown so I’m going to use it for my submission to New Writing Scotland.

I’ve still got a lot of work—achievable work—to get done before the end of the month. It’s been a good one so far but I want to end my “first writing month of the new year” on a high.

Finally, Madness’ latest album, the re-packaged release of Total Madness, hit the shelves today. It comes in 2 discs, one with all 23 of their chart hits, the other a spiffing DVD and comes in at a very reasonable £9.98 from Amazon. Gail, if you’re reading, my borthday is in a few days…

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Glasgow was brilliant this weekend; family, laughter, food, drinks, and the weather held up, too. Not that it mattered once my posterior found its way onto my sister’s couch. It could have snowed a blizzard and I wouldn’t have noticed.

It was a relaxing journey through on the bus early on Saturday, listening to various Book Fest podcasts and a selection of reggae and rock tracks, and landed in good old Glasgow at around 11am. I took a walk through city streets, taking in that feeling one only ever gets while in the Dear Green Place, and then hopped a train out to Mount Florida on the south side. Even that train journey holds memories, as it was a train I often got while heading home if I’d missed my usual one, and it was also the train I would get when visiting my Gran on my mother’s side.

My folks soon joined us at my sister’s flat and we headed out for a pub lunch. I didn’t want to eat too much what with a big dinner impending for the evening, so I kept myself to a lean plate of macaroni and cheese with garlic bread and salad, with a pint of Guinness to wash it all down. Nothing heavy you understand.

It was a hilarious lunch; my parents were in fine form and much laughter emanated from our table for the couple of hours we were there.What we would term a “typical Galbraith gathering”.

Back at my sister’s flat we had coffee before my parents headed home, leaving my sister and I to chill out for the rest of the day. We watched a couple of movies and some West Wing on DVD, and later on tucked into a mighty Chinese meal. I had my old favourite of Chicken Maryland (chicken breast in breadcrumbs, pineapple fritter, banana fritter, onion rings, tomato and large portion of chips) with Irn-Bru.

Something tells me a Glaswegian had an influence in that particular Chinese meal. One might safely say my digestive system was pretty much defucked—sorry, defunct—after eating all that, but I still had some room for a bag of popcorn later on.

Eventually it became too much and I keeled over and fell asleep on the couch, where I remained until 11am yesterday morning; such a delight as hardly every do I get such an unbroken, long, and undisturbed sleep. It was bliss!

We got ready and headed round for lunch to the new-look Ludovic’s Cafe. It has moved to new premises since we were last there and is much more modern, large and slick in appearance and service. But to me it’s lost that Glasgow charm. It’s now on it’s way to becoming a chain, and one of the reasons I loved it (apart from the food) was the traditional Glasgow sensation when you were inside it. Gone is the intimacy, the homely feel and the rawness; in is professionalism, cleanliness, and top class service. Change isn’t always a good thing, but the food was still great and it still has a very friendly feeling. I think I might just need time to get over it.

My journey back through to Edinburgh was eventful thanks to Scotrail diverting us to the Forth (yes, the river). I had got on the 3pm train, due into Edinburgh at 3:45, but the conductor sent my blood pressure soaring when he announced: “due to a diversion and subsequent delay, we are due into Waverly at 16:50”. I could have screamed, but it turned out he said “16” instead of “15”. Lucky for him.

Back home and with Laura at her Gran’s, Gail and me spent the rest of the day together. I took part in a photo shoot under her new studio lights; not something I particularly enjoy after about five minutes but the results were worth it. Then we just chilled and watched some TV with a pizza (not a good weekend for the diet).

I’ve got a lot on this week, from deadlines, to website work, to potential gig reviews, to other GDR tie-ups. I’m going to be busy, or rather I need to be busy, and with it being my quiet week at work I should be able to get through a lot of it.

Later today my interview with Blazing Trailers will be online on their website. You will be able to view it here: http://blazingtrailers.blogspot.com

Also, if you missed it, check out my gig review in yesterday’s News of the World, this week Theoretical Girl.

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Check out my review of this week’s Ray LaMontagne gig in today’s News of the World A-Listed music supplement, or online here.

Also, one of the interviews I did last week has been published. Check it out over at A Biblio Paradise, where my great pal Devon Ellington asks me some very interesting questions!

It took slightly longer than I intended to clean the house yesterday. I got a bit carried away wanting to have the place looking ship shape for Gail returning on Monday, that I got right into it and did more than I probably needed. House looks great, though, even if I say so myself. By the time I finished it was after 4pm, but with the rest of the afternoon and evening all to myself I still had plenty of time to get lost in the prose.

With the rest of my time I got some great work done on BACCARA BURNING. Bringing the characters to Edinburgh has opened up so many possibilities there are maybe too many options open to me. A bad thing? Probably not, but I can’t possibly have them all happen—can I?

Just before nine o’clock I had to logon to the company network but couldn’t get access through the network. The implementation I was to work on had quite a high business priority, and with me having to do the work from home, and therefore unable to go to the office, I started to panic. When I eventually got logged in I checked the project sheet and realised I was an hour early. Relief doesn’t begin to cover it!

After a LOT of problems—as there always is with this type of implementation—the work was finally done by 2am. Half way through it I realised I hadn’t eaten so took advantage of Domino’s any size pizza for £9.99 offer. As I said yesterday, it’s a bachelor’s writing life!

Right now I’m about to shower and dress then head round to get my copy of today’s NotW for my clippings. Then it’s back to the keyboard.

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It’s a belter of a day outside. The sun is out, there’s no wind, and it puts me in mind to take a book out the back and read for the day. But there is work to be done—a lot of it.

I’m just back from my usual Saturday morning jaunt up town. I didn’t do a lot since my time was pushed by other factors, but I enjoyed a hot cappuccino and chocolate pastry in Rose Street while reading the Guardian book review.

Rankin got a good write up on his new book The Complaints and there’s a fascinating interview with William Boyd, who I unfortunately missed at this year’s Edinburgh Book Festival.

I’m about to make lunch for the “wee one” then set about giving the house a shine. I know if I do it today I can keep it looking this way for Gail getting back from London. I think I might even buy some ingredients and make Marzetti on Monday, then leave her a big portion for her coming in late off the flight.

I want to get some decent work done on BACCARA BURNING today—oh, there’s a thing. I only noticed this morning that the coffee shop I go to on a Saturday has a pub next door called The Black Rose!! They should rename it The Baccara.

I also want to finish off the spine-tingler story, work through some Ranfurly Review submissions (I’ve not had to put out a call for months now) and maybe write up some poetry.

Later tonight I will have to logon to the Company network and complete a mainframe installation I was working on during the week. There will be people in the office that I need to coordinate with but I have the luxury of being able to do it from home. Might even get a pizza while i’m at it; it’s a bachelor’s writing life.

My editor at NotW emailed me yesterday afternoon to let me know my piece on the Ray LaMontagne gig was being upped from online publication into the actual paper. Good news, but it also meant a re-write to double the word count. It wasn’t hard to do given that cutting these reviews back to 200 odd words is usually quite a difficult task. The article ended up being much more like I intended, and will now appear on page 5 of the A-Listed supplement in tomorrow’s paper.

I also finished up the two interviews I’d been doing during the week, one for Blazing Trailers and one for Biblio Paradise. I’ll let you know when they’ve been published.

I ended up watching a programme last night about phone calls made from the Twin Towers when they were attacked eight years ago. Of all the documentaries made about this atrocity, I found this one more heart breaking than most. To hear those terrified people and the effect still felt by the ones they spoke to, or in some cases, never reached, it just doesn’t compute.

I’m off to get some work done. Have a great Saturday!

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Did anyone else choke on their cornflakes yesterday morning when BBC News announced that the Taliban have called for a human rights investigation into a recent air strike in Afghanistan? HUMAN RIGHTS—THE TALIBAN—there’s two phrases you wouldn’t normally connect on any level of human decency or respect.

Quite a day yesterday; I have hit a major high in the writing stakes. Despite coming home from work to find two rejections—well, one of them from a magazine that has now sadly folded, but at least the editor took the time to read my work and say he had enjoyed it nevertheless—it was a most accomplished day.

I got a lot finished in the day job, and back at home I worked on the interview, the spine-tingler story, and a little more on BACCARA BURNING. The short story is now almost complete; wish I could say the same for BACCARA but it’s getting there.

I heard about a live webcast by taking place at 7pm by Mitchell and Webb, so I logged on. David Mitchell, who also writes for The Observer, is running a campaign to save said paper as it is being threatened with closure despite not being in any financial or sales figure-related trouble. Half way through the webcast I typed into the little box: “COLIN GALBRAITH SAYS SAVE THE OBSERVER!!!”

Webb read it aloud as it passed over their monitor and turned his nose up at it. “What the fuck’s he on about? Save The Observer?” To which Mitchell jumped in and backed me up, initiating a debate about why the paper in question should in fact be saved.

I like to do my bit.

Later on, I moved onto some technical issues. One of my web clients needs a client login facility, where her wedding customers can login to their own individual section of the website and view their own personal wedding photographs and place orders. Without actually buying a solution, this is complicated stuff.

It took me a while—I’ve been working on this for a few weeks actually, to find a way of doing it that fits the bill—but last night I finally made the breakthrough. It meant learning up on PHP coding, but last night I delivered the client login, and it comes complete with a spiffing new gallery layout. I’m very pleased with it.

I struggled to get out of bed and into work toady, but I’ve got a few things on that should shake me out of it. As well as my usual writing requirements, I found out late last night I’m on the guest list for tonight’s Ray LaMontagne gig at the Usher Hall. Not sure what to expect, but from the small amount of research I’ve done this morning, he lives on a farm in Maine, has released three albums, and is only two months older then me.

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It’s been a while but here’s another guest blog spot for you! Christina Katz is currently on a blog tour for hew new book, and I’d like to welcome her here to Freedom from the Mundane for a special interview.

So without any further ado, here’s a little about Christina…

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).

So without any further ado, here’s the interview!

What is a platform?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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?

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 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?

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.

ABOUT CHRISTINA KATZ

“Make the most of what you have…to author!”

Nonfiction Writing-for-publication Classes From Beginner to Book Deal

http://christinakatz.com

christinakatz@earthlink.net

Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (Writer’s Digest Books, October 2008)

http://getknownbeforethebookdeal.com/

http://getknownbeforethebookdeal.typepad.com/

Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books, March 2007)

http://thewritermama.com/

http://thewritermama.wordpress.com/

Writers on the Rise E-zine

http://writersontherise.wordpress.com/

The Northwest Author Series

http://northwestauthorseries.wordpress.com/

Sponsored by the Wilsonville Public Library, The Friends of the Wilsonville Public Library & the Wilsonville Arts and Culture Council. Created  and hosted by Christina Katz

Follow Christina on Twitter: http://twitter.com/thewritermama

Find Christina on Facebook: http://www.facebook.com/people/Christina-Katz/716153807

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No matter how much I eat, I’m hungry all the time. Anything I consume seems to be getting processed quicker than ever, and the energy from it is being burnt up and expelled faster than my metabolism can handle. I just want to eat, but thankfully, I’m not ramming food down my throat at every opportunity.

I don’t know what it is. This morning I had a bacon roll with a cup of coffee. It was a nice and filling when I ate it shortly after 8am. It’s now approaching 11 o’clock and I feel nauseous with hunger. It’s ridiculous. Normally I would start to feel mild hunger by the back of noon then go for lunch at 1pm, but at the moment I’m almost sick with hunger by twelve o’clock.

And I’m definitely not putting on weight. My trousers are slacking slightly, which is good, because I’ve never exactly been Mr Slimmer of the Year.

Did quite a lot of reading last night. Not only am I WAY behind in my blogs, I also have a small stack of required reading from authors I made promises to. I’ll get there, but I need to stop saying yes to everything that comes my way. Some of them are in genres that hold no interest at all for me, but I feel obliged to read them now, and I have to try to remain objective about them and give them a fair crack without being prejudiced that way.

I still have a load of books I wanted to get through before the festival and no matter how much I do read, my pile of pending books just seems to grow by the week. Maybe I should stop buying books for a while?

I was sorry to read of the end of The Fabulist Flash today. Founder and Editor, Gregory A. Kompes, issued a final email to all of us subscribers, saying goodbye as he moves onto pastures new.

Of the many newsletters I receive into my inbox each week, The Fabulist Flash was one of the better ones; not too long, insightful, useful, and entertaining. Gregory was a friendly and professional editor to work with, too, and I wish him all the best for the future.

It was with delight when he published an interview with me a few years ago under the 18Q section of the site. Read my 18Q interview here.

As I rode home on the bus last night something struck me as I followed the bend half way down Leith Walk—the lower portion of the street was practically devoid of red cones and barriers!! I remind myself not to get too excited, because although it was nice to see the wideness of the road in all its glory for the first time in almost 3 years, it’s all about to be dug up again to lay the tram tracks that have blighted all our lives.

The first set of tracks was laid on Princes Street several weeks ago. They chose the main thoroughfare in a bid to get everyone excited at the “awesome progress” they have made. All they have done is added a new row to my list of reasons why Edinburgh isn’t all that it’s cracked up to be.

I’m sure I had something more substantial to say in today’s post but I can’t remember what it was.

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Many thanks to Diane Parkin for having me over at her blog yesterday. If you missed it, head on over for what was an in-depth look at the development of STELLA.

Today I am feeling rather polarised. On one hand I am excited about my impending trip to Blackpool with my best mate, a trip we have re-enacted faithfully for the past 18 years. And on the other hand, I am mourning another death, this time, a family one.

I couldn’t mention it in yesterday’s blog post because not all my close family aware, but my aunt on my mother’s side passed away on Sunday morning. It’s another blow, and having been through the process of being told—accepting the death—waiting for news—attending the funeral, already this month, it comes with a heavy emotional tag.

Yesterday was as hot a day in Edinburgh as I think we’ve had this year. It was roasting, and not a day to be stuck in the office working. Thankfully, I wasn’t on the BAU shift so after starting the day at a cheery 10am, I was able to work out the doors at 3.30pm. The delightful wonder that is flexi-time.

I went straight home and stripped off, then after cooling down suitably, jumped into a pair of shorts and went out into the back garden. I let the bunnies out for a run and did some gardening until the girls got back home, and quite naturally, enjoyed the glorious sunshine.

In the evening I tidied my office, organised my anniversary meal with Gail for August (we’re going to The Witchery for our celebratory meal), made everyone’s dinner, wrote a chapter on BACCARA BURNING, and continued reading a couple of e-Books I am working through.

None of this was particularly enjoyable in my stuffy office, but one could only work for so long outside as it was. In the space of about 10 minutes, the sunshine was blocked out by cloud, which then sank to the earth on the most dramatic way. At one point we looked out of the window, and he clouds were drifting by so fast it actually looked like fine sheets of rain. Dramatic stuff, and so it remained throughout the night.

Today my priorities are to get everything organised for the weekend, do a bit of reading if possible on my friend’s e-Book, write some more on BACCARA BURNING and prepare the newsletter for next week. Oh, and I really should find a new desk at the day job because Dave is sitting far too close for my liking!

I you missed it, the penguins at Edinburgh Zoo have their very own web cam to show off to: Click here to watch the penguins!

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Check me out today over at the blog of freelance writer, photo journalist, and long-time cyber buddy, Diane Parkin!!! I’ll be answering questions all day after what was a very different and interesting interview to do, so please check it out.

I seemed to be running late by at least 90 minutes to the rest of the world yesterday, and not once did I come close to catching up.

I had intended on being in the office by 7am, but never woke up until 8:30am. When I realised the time I bounced out of bed and logged on, because yesterday was the first day of ticket sales for this year’s Edinburgh International Book Festival.

To my utter disappointment I was unable to get through either online or over the phone, and by 9:30am I had to stop to start getting ready for work. The plan was to shower and dress in quarter of an hour, call a cab, and be in the office for 10 so I could re-start trying to get those treasured tickets I was after.

Only, the taxi never came. They sent three different cabs before one finally showed up, meaning I never made into the office until half past 10. I thought my chances were screwed by this point, but eventually, after much browser refreshing and URL typing, I finally managed to get onto the booking system.

I worked my way through my list of events, entered my card details, and hit the PAY button. Result! For the third year in a row I managed to bag tickets for every one of the events I had pulled out of the festival programme.

I never realised at the time, but all of my events are squeezed into the first 9 days of the festival. The rest of the time I have earmarked for networking, promotion, and any other events that still have tickets I may want to attend. Here’s my list of events – It’s going to be a great August!

Kate Atkinson Sat 15/08/2009 11:30 AM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Iain Banks Mon 17/08/2009 6:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Alan Bissett & Ewan Morrison Mon 17/08/2009 8:30 PM at: PEPPERS THEATRE
Ian Rankin Tue 18/08/2009 8:00 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Neil Gaiman Wed 19/08/2009 4:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
William McIlvanney Thu 20/08/2009 3:00 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Griff Rhys Jones Fri 21/08/2009 1:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
The Art of the Short Story Sat 22/08/2009 5:00 PM at: SCOTTISHPOWER STUDIO THEATRE
Alexander McCall Smith Sat 22/08/2009 6:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Irvine Welsh Sat 22/08/2009 9:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Will Self Sun 23/08/2009 6:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Quintin Jardine Sun 23/08/2009 8:00 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE
Frank Skinner Sun 23/08/2009 9:30 PM at: RBS MAIN THEATRE

With all my attention diverted towards book festival tickets, I forgot two vitally important things I had to do this morning.

First, I forgot to make the draw for the winner of the free copy of STELLA over at http://catemasters.blogspot.com. I did this in the evening, and am proud to say a copy of my new book will be winging its way via e-mail to Loretta Canton.

The other thing I forgot to do, which was way more embarrassing, was to send in the copy for a guest blog spot I am on today. Having had all well to write it I wanted to make sure it was as close the remit as possible, then forgot to send the damn thing in with all that was going on. It all worked out in the end, and I’m delighted to say that you can find me over at Diane Parkin’s Blog.

One thing that did come in on time was the approval of my own author web page by the kind people at Amazon. Click here to check it out.

And finally, better late then never, those cheeky little scamps, the penguins of Edinburgh Zoo, now have their very own web cam to show off to. Click here to watch the penguins in live action!

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Yesterday’s blog tour stop over at Cate Master’s was a great success. Cate gave me a special interview plus the spot came with a free giveaway of a copy of STELLA. It’s open until Sunday so you can still be in with a chance of winning, you only have to point your browser to http://catemasters.blogspot.com.

Day job yesterday was totally manic. I seem to have hit a rich seem at the moment and am juggling several projects all at once, moving them all towards successful completion as well as being on what we call the BAU shift, i.e., it’s my week for dealing with all the regular tasks, daily system problems, and admin stuff.

When you feel yourself in the groove like that, being able to absorb everything that’s thrown at you, produce quality work and answer every single question that’s thrown at you, it gives you a great buzz. It’s not dissimilar to the feeling you get when you’re writing and you hit an almost out of body phase, where the words just come, you’re working on auto pilot, and anything that the characters throw at you, you can handle. There’s a great sense of satisfaction and relief when it’s over, mind you, and it takes quite a while to relax and come down off it.

The mate I was supposed to be meeting for drinks in the evening cancelled on me. He’s going through a bit of a marital crisis at the moment and he needs another man’s view on life and some support, so I’m pressuring him already to rearrange. It’s a case of must do rather than feeling obliged, because there’s a lot at stake and I love them both dearly.

That left my evening rather spare. I didn’t need a dinner because I’d gone for lunch myself in the work canteen. Thursday’s are macaroni & cheese day, and the trick is to wait until later in the lunch slot to go down because they throw the stuff on your plate instead of sticking to the rations. I had a massive plate of the stuff with chips (to provide my tummy with a lining since I thought at the time I was going to be out drinking), and sat and read The Guardian in a corner of the canteen. Think I might do that more often; most relaxing.

I’m still working on the draft for a blog spot I’m on next week. It’s rounding itself into a more coherent piece but it wasn’t easy, such was the size of the remit; enjoyable though, and a good challenge. Also got some editing done on that final short story I have going through the processor.

A friend and writer I spent some time with at last year’s book festival returned an email I sent him. He’s jacked in his day job to take sabbatical year doing various writing and publishing courses, as well as working on some projects. He’s also just completed the first year of the Diploma in Creative Writing and Literature at the OU. It’s a brave move but he’s done it before so I have faith.

We’ve arranged to meet for beers if not before August, certainly while the festival is on. He’s one of the few people I can talk to sensibly about writing instead because he isn’t living in dreamland like so many writers I meet seem to be. You know the ones; he actually does it instead of talking about how great it’s going to be when he’s famous. We had some great in-depth discussions about writing, publishing and books last year so I’m looking forward to meeting up with him again.

Plus he likes to drink so we’re a good match there also.

Today I MUST finish up all my outstanding work – day job and elsewhere – then tonight (straight after work actually) I’m off for drinks then to see The Beat who are playing at the HMV Picture House in Edinburgh. They’re a 2-tone band also touring for the 30th anniversary, and while I’ve seen them many times before I’m looking forward to some good skanking. I’m also writing it up for News of the World but it might not get used due to space issues this week. Fingers crossed.

Wondering what the image at the top is? If you’re fed up of the political mess the country is in just now, the get behind the campaign to put make Boris Johnson the next Prime Minister of the Great Britain. As the camapign slogan goes, “can you imagine the fun?”

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I spent most of yesterday trying to lift myself out of a lag. My back was sore, my eyes tired, and I just felt like lying down and never looking at another computer screen ever again. But, STELLA won’t sell itself so it’s on with the show and on with the promotion wagon!

The weather here in Scotland isn’t helping either – it’s too nice! Today was another lovely day and if it keeps like this I think we are in for an extraordinary summer. Of course, I keep forgetting I have a Netbook now and can sit outside and write and email whenever I like. That’s a culture shock I’ll have to get used to.

Can you believe I got pitched a book about depression and getting out of debt because I Twittered about how tired I was after the book launch yesterday? Unreal! Ideally it should have been a book about how to come down off cloud nine without hurting yourself.

I had a total blast over at Sage Cohen’s blog, Writing the Life Poetic – stop two on my World Blog Tour for Stella! If you missed it why not pop back over and have a read at what you missed? It includes a competition for a free giveaway of STELLA and it runs until Friday.

Next stop on my World Tour for STELLA is over at Ye Olde Inkwell tomorrow, where my host for the day will be the awesome romance fiction writer, and personal friend of mine, Michelle Miles – you might remember her from last week as she was a guest here!!

I’ve bagged myself a fantastic promo opportunity at this year’s Appolo Con in Houston, Texas. A fellow author on the Eternal Press Authors’ Forum offered the chance to have promotional material included in goodie bags at a stand she managed to secure at the convention. Fifty STELLA postcards will shortly be winging their way to the States along with much grateful thanks.

My whole evening was spent on the phone or typing up written website interviews. People are sending me different sets of questions to add to the ones in the media kit, which is great, because it helps to vary things and keep it interesting.

I couldn’t believe it when I read that Rubina Ali, one of the child stars of the Oscar-winning film Slumdog Millionaire, is to publish her LIFE story! Transworld Publishers said the girl’s book will tell the story of her life in the shanty town where she grew up. She’s nine years old – how much is there to tell? It’s things like this that take the piss out of the publishing industry and what serves to make it harder for non-celebrity writers to make a go at it.

I finally caught up with my old pal whose brother died on Friday. My friend’s funeral is on Thursday morning, which will mean some jigging about of schedules at work and home. I’ve been asked, if I was needed, if I would mind helping to carry the coffin, which is an incredible honour.

On a brighter note, The Specials are touring again in November!! This time the lads are coming to Edinburgh’s Corn Exchange on Thursday 12th November, tickets for which go on sale on Friday morning. Oddly enough, Friday 13th is blank, so I reckon there’s the chance of another gig just like they did in Glasgow.

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