Booklife: Strategies and Survival Tips for 21st Century Writers

Here's a partial TOC to Booklife, without revealing the next level of detail in the subsections and obscuring some additional subject matter I'm still moving around--titles to sections are often still non-parallel placeholders, too.The book is about the struggle to find balance--how do you achieve a sustainable career and sustainable creativity in the current new media environment? It tackles all kinds of traditional topics, but each is infused with the context of the new paradigm even as it also addresses universal issues that have remain unchanged over the centuries.I think another unique aspect of the book is that I'm in the process of getting permissions from Penguin UK for quoting from relevant passages in translation from their Great Ideas series, intermingled with the voices of many of you who have commented here over the last couple of years (I have been contacting people for permissions in this arena, too). Many of my posts on writing tips had a secondary purpose of testing out ideas for the book.In the spirit of new media, I am also including a Creative Commons piece by Colleen Lindsay, andadditional notes on new media by Matt Staggs, to cover a few things too technical for the strategic/tactical nature of the main body of the text. As well as some other material I'm not at liberty to discuss yet--the appendix set out here is deliberately very incomplete.I'm still messing with the structure, but I'm excited with how it's coming together. I've poured into this book everything I've learned on these subjects since I first published a story back in 1986. That includes many strategies and tactics, as well as information, that will erase a few natural advantages I've built up over the years. The point of that is not just to pay it back to the community, but also to force me to get out of my ruts and find new ways of doing things. (Although there is some specific craft of writing material in the book, I am holding much of that back for a full-on general writing instruction book.)Tachyon is publishing Booklife in September.***INTRODUCTIONPUBLIC BOOKLIFE (Career)The Three Pillars of Your Public BooklifeBuilding Your BooklifeWhat is a “Professional” Writer?Learning to Be YourselfCreating and Managing GoalsChoosing Your Level of InvolvementPublic Platform(s)Public Platform Example: The BlogNetworkingDealing with Editors and PublicistsUnderstanding Creative PRYour PR ArsenalLeveraging Your IdeasPutting it All Together: Your PR PlanMaintaining Your BooklifeTransparency—and Its LimitsBrandingImportance of PersistencePaying it Forward/CommunityAgainst TrendsBOOKLIFE GUT-CHECK: PERMISSION TO BREATHEPRIVATE BOOKLIFE (Creativity)The Seven Pillars of Your Private BooklifeMaking Space for Your BooklifeAttitude and CreativityReasons to WriteBeing ReceptiveRelinquishing All FetishesEstablishing a Work ScheduleHabit versus ProcessSupport From OthersLiving Your BooklifeHaving Confidence in Your PassionThe Concept of InspirationFinding InspirationPermission to FailIn the MomentRe-envisioning the MomentRecharging Your ImaginationMulti-purposing Your CreativityProtecting Your BooklifeDistractions and AddictionsMulti-tasking and FragmentationUnderstanding RejectionMonitoring EnvyDealing with DespairThe Long ViewBOOKLIFE: IN THE FLESHEVIL MONKEY'S CODAAPPENDICESAppendix A - The Life Cycle Of A BookAppendix B – How To:Write a Press ReleaseChoose an AgentPresent Your PR Plan to Your PublisherCreate a Press KitPerform a Successful ReadingDeal with Fans/ReadersWrite a Novel in Two MonthsAppendix C – Other Creative/Career OpportunitiesSpeaking at Conventions and ConferencesTeaching Creative Writing WorkshopsBook ReviewingAppendix D – Additional Notes on New Media, by Matt Staggs