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| Courses (Fall 2003) |
Business of Writing |
The following are pieces of advice from Laura Lent, Adult Collection’s
Coordinator for the San Francisco Public Library,
Laura Moriarty, of Small Press Distribution, and Brent Cunningham, also of Small
Press Distribution, and treasurer on
the board of Small Press Traffic, as recorded by students in Bob Gluck’s
“Business of Creative Writing” class. Their
advice is of particular pertinence to distribution of literature outside of
the mainstream.
Try contacting your local library and speaking with the librarians about your
interests and the types of books you would like them
to acquire. You might be surprised at how helpful and responsive to your concerns
library employees are.
-Antoine de Fridman
Cooking, sex, and France are the big sellers in today’s book market, so
rent a villa in France and get started on that torrid memoir
of aphrodisiac recipe testing.
-Janice Wickeri
Perhaps the best thing a writer can do is get a job as a librarian.
-John Montesdeoca
If your concern is the selling your project, make sure that there is a community
who will be interested in it. Knowing that there is
a market / community to whom a book is directed is what persuades libraries
and small press distributors to agree to take a book on.
-Roxanne Barber
Never underestimate the smaller press publishing houses.
-David Bettencourt
If you should ever find yourself frustrated by the publishing industry, consider
alternate channels of distribution. It may prove as
difficult to market your work as it is to create it, but you have options.
-Dana Zellers
The San Francisco Public Library is an invaluable resource for doing online
research. Their files include numerous things that
can’t be accessed through the internet, including full text journal articles.
-Charlene M. Janzen
The following are pieces of advice from John Bergez, who has worked in independent
publishing and editing since 1976,
Diana Cage, an accomplished writer and editor in the field of lesbian literature
and periodicals, and Laural Mainard,
also an editor and writer, who works in the technical field, and as an editor
for Chronicle Books, as recorded by students
in Bob Gluck’s “Business of Creative Writing” class.
If you want to be an editor, there are certification programs through Berkeley Extension, Media Alliance, and Editcetera.
-Danna Zellers
Learn how to speak well at job interviews. You might practice by phoning places
you have no intention of working at and engaging
in a dialogue with a supervisor.
-Tom Andes
Decide what you really want to write about and find work in that field. If
there’s something you’re interested in enough to write about,
there is probably someone out there who is interested in reading it too.
-Matthew Karle
The best way to land a job is to prove that you are a solution to someone else’s problem.
-Tiffany V. Evangelista
Pair your writing interests with an area of expertise of yours, but don’t
expect to get an editorship with Incredibly Humiliating Sexual
Failures magazine the first time out though.
-Mateo Burtch
Update your resume every six months so that it’s ready to go at a moment’s notice; learn to package yourself and talk to people.
-Janet Wells
To lose the attention of fifty college students, try passing around numerous pornographic lesbian magazines.
-Susan Parker
Writers need editors to kill off their darlings.
-Janice Wickeri
As a writer, having a job that entails bossing around other writers can be very rewarding.
-Baruti Armstrong
Take a proofreading and copyediting test before looking for work in these fields.
You can send away for one from Media
Alliance in San Francisco, or simply go to their office and take one.
-Rob McLaughlin
It is not important for an editor to have a great knowledge of the subject
matter with which a book deals. What is important
is for an editor to know how to get inside of an author’s head and how
to craft a work for an audience.
-Dylan McGrath
The following are pieces of advice gleaned from the film Rich & Famous
by students in Bob Gluck’s “Business of Creative
Writing” class. The advice regards aspects of the “writerly”
life style and considerations successful writers may find
themselves losing sleep over.
Always keep a bottle of scotch (J&B if you’re a serious writer) on hand.
-M. Alcaide
Does this book jacket make me look fat?
-Mateo Burtch
Don’t be afraid to jeopardize a close friendship by insisting that your
friend help you get published, even if your friend
has won respectable awards and believes your work is crap.
-Dana Zellers
Publishing your first book entitles you to; a cabin in upstate New York &
a swank Park Avenue apartment for the next
ten years, an appointment to a pseudo-literary coven, frequent flyer miles,
seX-sEX-SEX!
-Haljam
A writer is someone who writes.
-Bree LeMaire
For God’s sake, not the coral blouse!
-Mateo Burtch
The following are pieces of advice from James Kaas of Youth Speaks, and
Elizabeth Treadwell of
Small Press Traffic, as recorded by students in Bob Gluck’s “Business
of Creative Writing” class.
James’s and Elizabeth’s comments concern the operation of non-profit
spoken word and literary
organizations respectively.
After graduating with your B.A., M.A., or M.F.A., get some teaching credentials
and grant writing experience
to put on your resume.
-Rob McLaughlin
The foundation world is like the rest of the world- much of your success is
determined by who you know, so
go out and make friends.
-Tom Andes
Getting a grant is like romance; you have to look needy, but also like you can live without it. (Bob Gluck)
-Bridget Cannon
When writing a grant proposal, imagine yourself reading it. It’s not like
another species will be evaluating
your solicitation.
-Janet Wells
If you get involved with an organization from the ground up you won’t
have to answer to board members or
CEO’s. Your efforts will be entirely you own ambition, and you if you look
for it, you will find support.
-Elizabeth Palmore
When applying for grants, get to the point, i.e. tell them what you intend to do with their money.
-Susan Parker
Get involved with an organization that you like, and look to gain support through events.
-Ron Stewart
When running a small, non-profit arts or literary organization, be prepared
to write several grant proposals
per month. Funding accumulates in dribs and drabs, and you will rarely receive
the full amount you request
from any given endowment or fund.
-Susanna Kittredge
The world of grants is an exercise in catch-22ism; those who are needy must
demonstrate that they will do
just fine without support in order to obtain it.
-Jessica Sand
Get on the mailing list for small press traffic. They have great “literary soirees” and parties.
Small Press Traffic
1111 Eighth Street
San Francisco, CA 94107
http://ww.sptraffic.org
-Bree LeMaire
The following are pieces of advice from Jay Schaeffer, as recorded by students
in Bob Gluck’s
"Business of Creative Writing" class. Jay works as an editor for Chronicle
Books, one of the
largest publishing houses on the west coast, and is a former student of San
Francisco State University.
The presentation of your work and cover letter are very important. Make sure
that even the envelope is neat
and organized. Direct your letter to a specific individual, and don’t list
obscure publications your work has
appeared in. Keep your cover letter short and sweet.
-Mira Pasilkov
A job as an editor doesn’t allow one much time to focus on personal work.
You should keep this in mind
when shopping around for a writing career or day job.
-John Montedesdeoca
When choosing an internship or entry-level publishing job, don’t limit
yourself to a single department. You
should do some research into areas such as PR, marketing, sales, and editing.
-Susanna Kittredge
One internship is good, two is even better, but three is too many. You don’t
want to become a career intern
and leave potential employers wondering why no one hired you on as a staff member.
-Tom Andes
A publisher should not only sign a book, but follow through with all the aspects
of its marketing well. He
should ensure that it is well received, reviewed, and made available to the
public.
-Dylan McGrath
To be an editor is to be a midwife to genius.
-Bridget Cannon
"My own career started when I dropped out of San Francisco State, which I highly recommend."
-Ben Lilly
If you are able to write a good synopsis, that’s great, but if you’ve
written a bad one you’ve shot yourself
in the foot, leg, and abdomen.
-Lisa Blenis
You don’t have to start your novel with a catchy, eye-popping scene, like
a helicopter plummeting to earth,
however, a helicopter plummeting to earth while the pilot struggles against
an eleven ton man-eating crocodile
is sure fire.
-Mateo Burtch
Don’t submit your manuscript with a cover letter that is a long, drawn
out description of your accomplishments
and / or a lengthy description of your piece. Cover letters should be brief
and interesting, mentioning only a few
facts about your education and experience, and a short synopsis of your work.
-Roxanne Barber
The following are pieces of advice from Heather Woodward, Dana Teen Lomax,
and Sara Rosenthal,
as recorded by students in Bob Gluck’s "Business of Creative Writing"
class. All of these women are
successful writers and educators who teach in a wide variety of forums, ranging
from alternative high
schools, to prisons, to San Francisco State University. They provide a unique
perspective, and helpful
advice to those interested in teaching as a profession.
Be prepared, but don’t count on your preparation. Acknowledge that anything
can happen, and be willing to
accept this fact. Students can be both wonderful and unpredictable at the same
time.
-Kamal Fox
If you want to teach, teach something that you like, something that is your
passion as well as your job. Otherwise,
you’ll get burned out fast.
-Joscelyn Meneken
Some of the people you teach might not want to be there, but if you work hard
you can find a way to engage them.
Devise a curriculum that compliments your students.
-Matthew Karle
Be proactive. Find the school you want to teach in and then find the grant
money. You need to have a specific plan
in order, and you may be able to take advantage of a school’s non-profit
status.
-Rose Offner
There are some people who seem made for teaching, and some who do not. Take
care to evaluate your skills,
goals, and interests before jumping into the field.
-John Montesdeoca
To motivate difficult, or uninterested students, connect the assignment or activity to something relevant to their lives.
-Roxanne Barber
You’ve got to do what you can to make kids feel comfortable in class.
If a kid is comfortable in class, that "other
stuff" (behavioral problems, awkwardness, etc.) will work itself out.
-Dylan McGrath
Part of becoming and being a writer is learning how to create assignments and follow them.
-Crystal Daily
If you are interested in teaching creative writing, but don’t have the
required university credentials, get your feet
wet by devising a workshop you can run out of your home.
-Rob McLaughlin
The following are pieces of advice from David Kipen, book reviewer, critic,
and editor, from the San Francisco Chronicle, as recorded by students in
Bob Gluck’s “Business of Creative Writing” class. Mr. Kipen’s
column appears
every Tuesday.
Every time your work is reviewed, no matter how good or bad that review is, it’s a small victory.
-Ben Lilly
When attempting to get started in the field of book reviewing, never tell the editor what you want to review.
-Rob McLaughlin
As a book critic, you don’t want to second guess yourself. Don’t
try to like a book just because
you believe the audience will. You need to be confident. Pay attention to your
own reactions and instincts.
-Lisa Blenis
Always build your vocabulary. Words are the building blocks of writers, and
if we do not use them and
understand them than we can not hope to be very effective architects.
-?
Get a blurb from Thomas Pynchon, and prepare yourself for Gravity’s Rainbow by reading his other books first.
-Tom Andes
When writing a review, do not waste your time with an extended plot summary
of the book or piece you are
reviewing. The best critics interweave plot summary and critique so deftly that
the reader does not even notice.
-Dylan McGrath
The best reviews are mixed reviews.
-Antoine de Fridman
Start small, writing for the school or local papers, and use the clips from
these to show what you are capable
of as you work your way up to bigger papers.
-Matthew Karle
The most important paragraph in a review is the one immediately preceding the closing paragraph.
-David Bettencourt
The following are pieces of advice from screenwriter Brad Henig, who’s
scripts include Eve Was Framed and Childproof, as recorded by students in
Bob Gluck’s “Business of Creative Writing” class.
If you intend to be a screenwriter, go see every movie in the genre you’re
writing for. Whether it’s a commercial or independent film, you need to
know
what’s popular, what’s good, and what’s bad.
-Danielle Drake
You have to make the mental leap and say, “I am a writer,” even if
you work
full time at your day job. This is a very important psychological step.
-Dylan McGrath
Don’t be afraid to take a shot at what you really want to do in life,
and
live where you are most comfortable.
-Joscelyn Meneken
Any contact you may have is golden. Getting exposure and getting read are
10% talent and 90% who you know.
-Matthew Karle
Be willing to let go. Screenwriting is a solitary craft until you sell your
screenplay. Then, your work passes through many hands, which requires a
willingness to separate from your screenplay and allow it to take new forms.
For some this may be a cathartic experience, for others, maddening.
-Jessica Sand
Before you sell a script, make sure you are ready to commit to that
particular genre. It’s hard to switch genres once you’ve been associated
with one.
-John Montesdeoca
Get yourself a good hairstylist, one with lots of connections in the movie
industry.
-Baruti Armstrong
The best form of education for a writer is writing badly and being made to
recognize this.
- Tiffany V. Evangelista
If you know your market and still break rules that are associated with it,
be prepared for this to impact the marketability of your product.
-Dana Zellers
There are no rules in Hollywood, and they are strictly enforced.
-Crystal Daily
The following are pieces of advice recorded by students in Bob Gluck's
Business of Creative Writing class, from recent S.F.S.U. graduates who have
gone on to publish works of fiction and poetry and are presently engaged in
literary endeavors of a professional nature.
Scott Landers's novel Coswell's Guide to Tambralinga is scheduled for release
in
summer of 2004. Carl Soehnlin won the Lambda Literary Award for his novel
The World of Normal Boys, which has been optioned to Telling Pictures.
Meliza
Banales has won numerous awards for her poetry, and her first full-length collection
of poems Say It With Your Whole Mouth is set for release on October tenth.
It is important to become part of a community of writers; people engaged in
similar struggles, whose moral support and friendship can sustain you
through the long slog, and who will inspire and re-inspire you.
-VJanice Wickeri
The creative muscle needs to be exercised to keep in shape. The more you
write, the more your skills will progress.
-Lisa Blenis
You've got to have faith. You need to know that the novel is going to get
finished, that the story will get finished, that the poem will get finished.
Without faith, you might as well throw it all out.
-Tom Andes
Use your time in the university to make contacts in the publishing field,
especially with your fellow classmates.
-Ron Stewart
A writer-s life is about patience and luck.
-Charlene M. Janzen
Even novels that are published and sell won't likely support you. However,
writing well is a skill that can be applied in many areas.
-Ben Lilly
When approached by a publisher regarding your work, you should ask
questions. Make sure you understand the terms of publication and that you
are comfortable with how your work will be handled.
-Adam Root
Find a writing group to buffer against discouraging experiences. Writing
groups give a writer the chance to expand and write for the sake of writing,
rather than for the sake of production.
-Kamal Fox
Network! In order to get exposure you must become part of a community and
make contacts. If you don't market yourself and your work, you won't make
it.
-Denise Padilla
On reading: Go deep instead of wide. In other words, re-read the books /
poems / stories that you like repeatedly.
-Susana Kittredge
Pay attention to the market. If getting published is your goal, tailor your
writing to market trends.
-John Montesdeoca
Ask everyone you meet to go skinny-dipping with you. Sooner or later, one of
them will turn out to be an agent.
-Mateo Burtch
Edited by Stephen Marchand
Advice collected from Frances Phillips, Grant Administrator of the Haas
Foundation.
These pieces of advice pertain to seeking grants for your artistic endeavors.
A good arts proposal has the voice of the writer in it. Don’t make it
so
formal that you disappear.
-Ben Lilly
Telling personal stories in your grant proposal is important – there is
a
lot of juice you can point to in your own life that can give you the edge.
-Lisa Blenis
For any given project you might find it benefits you to send three types of
grant applications out; one to a retreat, another to an award, and the last
to an organization.
-Ron Stewart
Sometimes all you really need is time to finish the novel, some piece and
quiet. You’d be surprised at how much you can accomplish when you are away
from everything else. For this reason, residencies and retreats are very
useful.
-L. Reynaldi
There are many grant opportunities out there, but persistence is the best
way to ensure that you are awarded one. Keep looking, keep trying.
-Baruti Armstrong
You have a better chance of securing a grant if you can demonstrate some
public good in your project, rather than simply a penchant for
self-exploration or self-indulgence, no matter how central those two are to
your oeuvre. That is, instead of saying, “I plan to slap myself silly with
a
can of Pringles for sixteen hours as a means of demonstrating my resiliency
after my divorce,” say, “Pringle have a rich and varied history among
tubercular Polynesians, and by exploring the Pringles-Polynesian
relationship in my work, I hope to bring to light this fascinating
interplay, and, hopefully, empower younger generations of Polynesians and
Pringles lovers. I will need seventy-five thousand dollars to cover the cost
of my Pringles expenditures.”
-Mateo Burtch
Although in much grant writing, professionalism and following the formula
are crucial, in grants related to the arts it is important to deliver your
voice through the application itself as well as through the project
supplied.
-Dana Zellers
When you are writing a grant, you don’t want to sound like you would in
a
fundraising letter. Don’t be melodramatic. Make the tone of your grant
a
confident one. The best grants are always full of the grant writer’s own
voice. If you are aware in advance that your proposal has a flaw, point it
out. Don’t let the reader find it for himself.
-Dylan McGrath
If you are not a published writer, the opportunities to receive awards and
recognition are infinite! Being a good writer is important, but it is
equally as important to make the effort to expose your talents. Have
confidence!
-Alexandria White
When applying for a grant, be concise, clear, and direct. Don’t be afraid
to
ask for exactly what you need. Nobody wants to have to guess what you are
asking for.
-Joscelyn Meneken
The San Francisco bay area is a great place to get project-based grants for
the arts, but offers
fewer opportunities for individual grants. New York and Minneapolis are both
great cities to live in for artists seeking individual funding. Boston is
also a good place in this respect.
-Susanna Kittredge
The following are pieces of advice from literary agents Randi Murray of
Randi Murray Literary Agency, Inc. and Catherine Fowler of the Redwood
Literary Agency. Both of these women have extensive experience in
publishing, and have worked with numerous successful writers and publishing
houses.
Be sure your work is ready before you send it to an agent. You can’t send
a
revised version of a piece to the same agent.
-Antoine Fridman
Don’t give up too quickly! Expect to submit your work to between twenty
and
fifty agents before finding one who is interested in representing you.
-Susanna Kittredge
Figure out what your specific genre/genres are, then familiarize yourself
with what other writers are doing in that particular genre.
-Gabe Ryan
You are not ready to send out your work unless you are physically nauseous
when you look at it.
-Lisa Blenis
Never write a cover letter that says, “My book starts slowly, but it gets
better.” If your book gets better at the end, put it in the envelope
backwards.
-Mateo Burtch
Good agents will probably insist on some revisions as a condition of
representation. Be wary of an agent that says, “This is perfect.”
-Dylan McGrath
Research your competition. Find out what other books share your
topic/genre/style, and see who published them, who reviewed them, who their
literary agent is, how well they sold, and what bookstores carry them.
-Elizabeth Palmore
Flexibility and a willingness to listen to an agent’s advice radically
improves the chances of a manuscript getting published.
-Adam Root
Since your agent, ideally, is someone who you will work with over a long
period of time and will help foster your career, it is worth taking the time
to find the right fit. It is not simply a matter of finding someone who is
willing to represent your work; it is essential that you feel comfortable
that your agent will put as much effort and energy into representing you as
you put into your writing.
-Jessica Sand
Make sure you read the guidelines for submissions before you submit a
proposal to an agent. Check to see if they take submissions for your genre
and if they already handle writers who write about the same things, and / or
represent authors that you admire.
-Susan Parker
A good way to find an agent that might be right for you is to look in the
“thank you” section of a book by an author you admire; most likely,
the
agent is thanked.
-Rob McLaughlin
If you want to make money as a writer, write a cookbook.
-Dustin M. Buckner
The following are pieces of advice from playwright Anne Galjour, as they
have
been recorded by students of Bob Gluck’s “Business of Creative Writing”
class.
If you aren’t getting rejection letters, you aren’t working.
-Janice Wickeri
The difference between successful people and unsuccessful people is that
successful people take action in spite of fear, and persist despite failure.
-Reynaldi
Be nice to interns, for one day they will rule the world.
-Danaa Zelles
Frustration is really your higher self speaking to you, telling you to write,
to just do it.
-Tom Andes
GET A PLAN FOR WHEN YOU GRADUATE!!!!
-Bridget Cannon
Set goals for yourself as a writer and do everything you can to achieve those
goals. Be proactive and promote yourself whenever you can. Being a great
writer is not enough.
-Roxanne Barber
The business of creative writing is also the business of relationships. Good
connections will open doors for your work.
-Antoine de Fridman
It’s all right to be frustrated. Disappointments and failures are part
of the
journey to success.
-Tiffany V. Evangelista
It’s never too soon to figure out what you’re going to do with yourself
and
your work once you graduate. Nothing will happen unless you take action.
-Myrna I. Alcaide
Read up on your folk tales!
-G. Ryan
The following are pieces of advice from Don Waters, Jocelyn Saidenberg,
and
Patrick Ryan. Each of these individuals own and operate their own press or
on-line publication. Their advice to writers and those interested in the
commercial aspects of writing.
Keep query letters short and sweet. E.g., for a novel, write a brief
paragraph about yourself, and a brief paragraph describing (but not
over-explaining) the novel.
-Susanna Kittredge
The publishing business requires a lot of time, energy, effort, and money.
Don’t begin your own small press with the expectation of profit. Start
your
own small press because you have genuine dedication, and a drive to do the
work it involves.
-Tiffany V. Evangelista
Be familiar with a press before you submit to it.
-Bridget Cannon
To start your own publishing venture you must have passion for the work and
confidence in your success.
-Roxanne Barber
“What is really going to grab my attention is when you read my submission
guidelines and do EXACTLY what they say.” -Patrick Ryan
-Lisa Blenis
“It’s good for your writing to take those little breaks, to take some
time
away from the computer and look at other people’s writing.” -Patrick
Ryan
-Tom Andes
"Don't be afraid to make cold calls. Go out and get your
work in people’s faces."
-Rob McLaughlin
Editors are not going to put their energy into your work when you have not
put any into theirs. You must show editors that you’ve paid to their
publication, and know what their work is about.
-Bree LeMarie
When you’re small, word of mouth is your best friend, especially when you
have to take a guerilla approach to marketing.
-M. Alcaide
Don’t explain the work you are submitting in your cover letter. Let the
editor interpret it for himself. Stick to the basics, keep it short, and
don’t staple anything.
-Dylan McGrath
It is important to make beautiful things.
-Kamal Fox
Edited by Stephen Marchand