What Can Writers Learn from the New York Marathon?

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Back in 2006, I ran the New York Marathon. It changed my life. For years, I would go to the finish line and find myself with moist eyes, tearing up from looking at the faces of the people completing the race. Then I ran it and it was an even more emotional and esteem-building experience than I'd imagined. This Sunday, there I was, back in Central Park, watching it again. I live about a block away from the park so I feel intimately involved in the marathon experience.

This year the weather was optimal: sunny and cool. The top three male finishers all beat the course record. They ran in a pack until the last four or five miles. The women's race was much more interesting. A few miles in, one woman, Mary Keitany of Kenya, took the lead and ran most of the way without any serious competition. Then a follower caught up to her and passed her in the last two miles to win the race: Firehiwot Dado. Then a second woman passed Keitany and won second place. All these women gave a spectacular performance. I feel so inspired by their example!



We can draw lessons from the Marathon for how we conduct our creative lives.

How is writing a book like a marathon? First, let's say we do put our hearts out there and step ahead of the pack. If we are the one who is taking the lead in a particular subject area, we may feel alone. The people watching may ask if we are making a mistake to set ourselves apart with no one to pace us. They may not know the conditions we sense that inform us internally that the way we are racing is appropriate. Common wisdom is that we should only do the same as others. On the sidelines, they'll wonder if we have the stamina to finish the race we have defined for ourselves. Some will cheer for us, hoping we can pull it off. Some will hope we crash and burn. The lone runner out in front of the herd has to run in a manner that's based on instinct, training, and intention. It definitely takes heart and will power to be out front on your own.

Writers and entrepreneurs define our own goals. It's vital that we sense the rightness of our own speed for the distance we are traveling. How can we run the best race in stride with our purpose, abilities, and resources? In some respects we are visionaries and must learn to see the course in front of us through our own eyes. No one can run the race for us. It's a moment by moment experience. They can't live our lives; they cannot write our books. Even when I have worked as a ghostwriter, I could not define the vision for my clients, because at the end of the day I had to pass the material over to them to market. They had to live it as their truth and use it to help them realize their goals, not mine. I have great respect for the boundaries involved in ghostwriting.

When I write my own books, the parameters around my achievement are self-motivated. That's different. Often I see opportunities where others do not. Dare I run the course with those ideas? How far am I willing to go--and how fast--without being surrounded by peers? Can I sustain my vision and bring it to completion under my own steam? I don't enter the race of every idea.

Second, even if we are not in the lead on an idea, we must nonetheless trust that we can win the race we've set for ourselves. If we keep putting one foot in front of the other as writers, we eventually cross the finish line. There are rewards for coming in first, yes. But this does not detract from the rewards of running the race for its own sake. Or, like Firehiwot Dado, coming along second while we're putting a book together on a familiar subject does not mean we won't win in the end.

Third, we sometimes need help to cross the line. One of the most moving moments on Sunday was when I saw a competitor who had lost the strength to complete the final half-mile lifted by four race volunteers and two policemen and carried through the remaining course and over the finish line. There was so much humanity reflected in that moment. Those volunteers understood how important it was to come that close and make it all the way, even if it was not on foot.

I saw a woman whose left knee had been taped at a first aid station hobble the final distance with a crutch in hand, determined to finish her race. I saw senior citizens finish. I saw blind people finish. I saw people in wheelchairs do the race successfully with their arms alone. Writing has its own challenges, which are not physical, but we sometimes think we can't make it because of a limitation, perceived or real, that we let stop us. It doesn't have to. And there is help available to get you across the finish line: You could hire a coach, an editor, or a writer. You could ask friends, colleagues, and family for support. You do not have to go the distance alone.

Ignorant spectators yelled out, "Go, go, go," as if the racers they saw walking across the finish line were not trying hard enough. I knew they didn't understand how walking across the line at the end of the race reflected the runners' tremendous commitment, and was the culmination of months, perhaps years, spent training. If the runners could have continued to run, they would have. They weren't "lazy" for God's sake, they had just run 26 miles! They were exhausted, depleted, spent.

For myself, I tried to be encouraging, clapping and yelling, "You're home. Good job. You can do it with a smile on your face." I understand that crossing the line is the main event, more than how you get there.

A fourth lesson from the Marathon is this: When you're writing, don't let critics and bystanders dictate how your process looks. Remember, you're doing a great and meaningful thing! You're expending the effort while they are on the sidelines. Let them lace up their own shoes and try to do better than you if they think they're so knowledgeable. Most people don't know squat!

I loved the runners who waved to the crowd and asked for applause and mutual celebration. Some raised their arms in triumph and approached the line with a smile on their faces. When they did, the spectators roared for them. It reminded me of my own ability to endure challenges. This lesson is obvious. Persistence in anything you do in life and art is a key to success. You may stagger and fall, but as long as you then crawl, walk, or otherwise move in the right direction--for writers that could be one sentence or two paragraphs at a time--you are not defeated.

Writing a book will introduce you to your own character. This is the aggregation of personality traits that make up the whole of your identity--your strengths and weaknesses, your desires and fears, your courage and ethics. Perhaps my favorite aspect of writing is discovering more about myself in the process. Doing a book is a transformational process, and it can be liberating! You can free yourself from false beliefs, embrace your shadow, and resolve your past through writing. Just as a runner meets the voice of survival that lives inside the head, so will you. You can push through "the wall" of negativity or you can succumb to its wishes. It's up to you.

Get a Book Deal® Editorial Coaching Tip: Batch Your Manuscript To-Do List

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The lazier you are, the more efficient you should be. But even if you're not lazy (because let's say, for the sake of argument, you are a super busy person), this tip will save you time.

Wouldn't you like to make your book writing process both easier and faster? The current model I advocate for my editorial coaching clients is based on creating with greater ease. It starts with breaking projects into bite-sized chunks and doing alike things together (aka batching).

That being said . . .

What's a To-Do List for a Book?

Once you have a solid idea for your book, you will set up an outline of your chapters. Each chapter has a purpose related to the overall theme. These need to be structured in an order that makes sense not only to you, but also to your prospective reader. The to-do list I'm referring to comes into play when you're ready to actually write those designated chapters.

==> Item #1 Set up your chapter folders: Make capturing ideas simpler by creating computer folders to dump all your great thoughts into as they come up. This way when you have an insight or flash of genius you don't have to switch gears. Save it and come back to it later. You'll never forget anything again since making a notation tells your brain, "Store this in long-term memory."

==> Item #2 Features: Are you going to have inspirational quotes at the top of each chapter, for instance? Then you can do those all in one sitting. Research them, and then input them, in one day's writing session. Of course, you can always play around and switch them later, as a polishing touch, however once they are input you can check them off your to-do list.

Other possible features are end-of-chapter summaries or exercises, sidebar quotes, top-of-chapter stories, bullet points, boxed tips, and so on.

==> Item #3 Build your endnotes as you go along: A big sob story I often hear from authors is how much they hate going backwards and trying to figure out/recreate their sources toward the end of their writing process. "Do I reaaaaaaaallllly have to include page numbers in my notes, Stephanie? But I just can't remember the video I watched/article I read/website I visited nooooowwwww." Boohoo. (Here's my tiny violin playing just for them: rrrereereerererererere.) Keep track as you go along in separate files organized by chapter, which you revisit and perfect at the completion of writing THAT chapter.

AND . . . and this one more thing is very helpful . . . highlight the numbered notation where it is located in your manuscript so that if you rearrange the chapter later you can swiftly find it. Every time you rewrite the chapter, redo your endnotes in the correct new order.

==> Item #4 Get signed releases at the TIME OF the interview: If you're interviewing subjects for case studies/book anecdotes, have them sign the release right at the time of the call or meeting. This way, they know going into the conversation that everything is on the record. They can raise any objections and state their preferences for being referred to by a certain name or pseudonym or otherwise state how they would like to be credited in the acknowledgements. Keeping things above board puts them at ease and helps them trust you going into the call or meeting. Offer to send them a free copy (or two) of the printed book when it comes out, and tape record the interview, including where they talk about their preferences for what is told or not told about who they are. Believe me, this can save you time, because getting releases signed at the last minute is like herding cats.

Batch your interviews: Make your requests all at once for scheduling appointments, and knock them out in the same week for each chapter.

==> Item #5 Do your research by the chapter: Some people don't research until the moment they get stuck, others distract themselves by jumping around from chapter to chapter. It doesn't matter which chapter you finish first (you should feel free to follow your flow), but once you set out to write a specific chapter, do all of the research for the sections of that one chapter at once before sitting down to write. This way, once that chapter is done being written, it is done to the best of your ability and you can check it off your table of contents. In the writing process you may ultimately discover gaps in your knowledge that you hadn't initially considered. These are happy discoveries which are easier to make if you don't have missing pieces. Handle filling in the gaps after drafting all the sections that are thoroughly planned.

==> Item #6 Establish an internal "rulebook" for your book: Set up a checklist of concepts that have to be touched upon in each chapter and review the list while you are drafting. For instance, if your book were on pet care and you were mainly hoping to appeal to people who have dogs and cats, but there were secondary markets with rodents, reptiles, and birds, at the end of writing a chapter you would ask yourself: "Have I done a section relevant to each type of pet owner?" "Is there a special case that applies to any of these categories?" In a chapter on feeding your pet you'd talk about special dietary needs for cats, dogs, etc. In a chapter on grooming, you'd talk about the furry ones, the feathered ones, and the fleshy ones, but you might have something special to say about molting birds or shedding snakes. If one chapter applies only to people in one category, you could even title it separately: "Exclusively For Bird Lovers."

When I am working with my editorial coaching clients, we talk through the mission and purpose of each chapter prior to the writing of it, and then a second time when we review the first draft, even before grammatical editing is undertaken. These kinds of consultations translate very well when it comes to the stage of marketing the published book, as you can set yourself up to hit the salient points that would most appeal to journalists or when speaking from a podium.

If you're interested Editorial Coaching for your Self-Published Book, please contact me: abundantwords@aol.com.

Inside the Making of My First EDITED YouTube Video

Last week I made a movie that runs just under three minutes. I'm calling it a "movie" to distinguish it from a "talking head" video, which is the only type of video I've done before that relates to my business. This one has a soundtrack, captions, still images, and footage of me talking. I made it over the course of two late nights, and frankly it probably could have been done in one if I hadn't been simultaneously learning to use the editing program on my computer.

Making my edited video was fun! For over a year I have been stalling in regards to videos. How silly my procrastination seems in hindsight. There's certainly a lesson in that. Especially now that my small production has been shared with a public audience and I've received positive feedback for it, I am thoroughly psyched to do more of them. Video is a powerful medium, one that I now highly encourage you to explore as a means of spreading your message. Fortunately writers are storytellers, so this won't be that big a stretch for you once you get started.

My equipment was a Flip Camera and the Windows Movie Maker software that came on my PC with the Windows Office software package.

Let me share my creative process, with the caveat that, of course, you must develop your own way of working. My example is only useful in the sense that I am a novice in this area--and if I can do it, so can you. Seriously! . . . And I mean SERIOUSLY.

First, a request was made of me to share a short description of my business and to offer a testimonial about what I had learned in the business mastermind in which I've participated in 2011. So my purpose was clear, which as a rule of thumb is a good place to start: Set a goal.

Next, I started brainstorming. I am in the "word business," so I asked: What are fun, expressive ways to film actual words? I pulled out my Scrabble set and began forming word combinations on my living room carpet, things like my name, the name of my business, short phrases. Then I remembered how much fun I'd had as a kid spelling words in my alphabet soup. The picture came to mind of a soup spoon that read, "I love words." It made me chuckle.

On a break, I went to the grocery store and bought alphabet pasta. I pulled out enough letters to write a whole bunch of short sentences, boiled some water, dumped the pasta pieces in it to expand the letters, and then wrestled with those little suckers on a plate. Finally I decided just to use two short sentences on two silver tablespoons. They looked a little bland in their natural state, so I found my paint kit and painted the letters in bright colors. To complete this segment in a playful way I pretended the words were edible and filmed my hand picking up the spoon with a voice-over of me going, "Yum yum yum." The purpose was to express my emotions.

Then, I decided to pull copies of books I've written and edited off my shelves and film a big pile of them. In practice that concept looked rather strange, so instead I made four displays of three books each and shot them with voice-overs. Because these would be static images, I wanted to show each quickly. The purpose of that segment was to demonstrate my credentials.

Keeping in mind that my ideal client is someone who has an idea for a book, I added an intro about having ideas that lead people to need my services. In running through my photo album, I found pictures of a lightning bolt over a mountain, a hand holding the sun, a patch of purple irises, and a full moon. I used royalty-free sound effects to give each photo its own soundtrack: rolling thunder, a cadence, and a jazz riff on a drum. Each had a matching caption that I wrote to evoke the sensation of an inspired idea. I used my headshot to complete this segment.

As you can see, I was not developing my segments in order of their final appearance. I was creating from a stream of consciousness. When I was assembling the pieces it was clear where there needed to be segues between the segments. My rhetorical arc was working itself out as I was already in the process of production. I didn't really "storyboard" this video, though filmmakers normally do, and I believe it is a best practice. Mine by contrast was a fly-by-the-seat-of-your-pants video production. I used what I already had! Only a few of the key elements were newfound or newly made.

I wanted to show how long I've been at the book business, and so I showed a "book" I wrote on paper and bound with staples as a kid. My dad had saved it in a box somewhere and gave it back to me recently. But I didn't want to be maudlin, so I filmed it in a funny way--as a "reveal"--by unpacking it from a beloved object in my home: My Wonder Woman lunch box. Again, this was amusing for me. Perhaps the "purpose," though it was not conscious, was to inject my personality into the video here, by being authentic about my inner landscape and history. I have to point out, if I were worried about being perfect and coming across to you as some sort of guru on a mountain I would NOT have shown you this. It may feel risky to be seen, but it's much more fun to be transparent.

Now, I knew a whole bunch of things I wanted to say about my discoveries this year, and I really wanted to share the latest and perhaps greatest of these, which is to act right when you have an inspired idea, not later after the moment has passed. I had a perfect series of photo stills of me on a trapeze that I knew I could create a slide show from, to physically demonstrate my point about making the leap and hitting those perfect "weightless" moments in business/creation. These also went with what I had to say in my testimonial about my coach. So I created the ending, and then I filmed the middle, which was my talking head. In editing, I set this series of pictures to tango music-tahh, dum, dum, dum, dummmm, tah dah dah dumm, dumm, dumm dummm. And I played with how many seconds each stayed on the screen. I finished it with a surprise ending that you have to watch the video to see.



To shoot my testimonial segment (about 1:28 in length) took me eighteen tries. About ten were discarded as verbal flubs on my part. Three ran too long. A couple were poorly framed (oops--I wanted my head in). One had a handprint smeared on the lens (oops--I fumbled). The final one was "good enough."

The hardest part for me was technical. Windows Movie Maker documents cannot be uploaded to YouTube. After a bit of consternation (read: short temper tantrum) I discovered that by simply storing the file to my computer it was translated into a .WMV file that uploaded fine. I already have a TV channel set up on YouTube (it takes only a few minutes to create an account there) so in about 20 minutes it was up and viewable.

Think what you like after you watch it; for myself, I feel darn proud of my maiden effort in video editing. I did not know my coach would show it at her conference, but she did--right on the first morning--and people laughed in the places I hoped they would, applauded at the end, and came up to me in person telling me wonderful inspirations they took from it. More than I anticipated. It gave me a way to connect to unfamiliar people on a genuine level, and that was a sweet, sweet experience.

While words are the medium of a writer, storytelling is one of the skills of a writer that translates well on-screen. Make a video to spread your inspiration around your book's concept and don't be afraid to share it. The power of your imagination is always unleashed by sharing what's inside you. Pictures evoke emotion. And people actually think in pictures. So it could be a great way for you to create a circle of connection or deeper connection with your audience.

The Feng Shui of Marketing Your Book: Which Elements Do You Use?

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Mother Nature is a powerful presence, as has been demonstrated: Earthquakes, tsunamis, hurricanes, and other natural events show us that we are not in charge here. But we are not separate from nature; nature is within us as well around us. Ancient philosophical and healing traditions teach us to work with the energy of nature in our bodies and in our environments. Having worked as an editor on several books about feng shui (including Nancy SantoPietro's book Feng Shui & Health) I feel inspired today to see if there might be something we can draw upon as we consider the daily activities involved in book promotion. The main thing to remember is that the four primary elements must always be harmonized. In deference to Hurricane Irene, let's start this exploration with the element of air.

Air: Air is the invisible element. As we breathe, it sustains us. The act of breathing is to take in and to expel, which is the most essential of patterns in our lives--receiving and then giving, and then receiving again. Without oxygen-rich air, we cannot generate energy. In writing we receive ideas and we give ideas; we circulate those ideas just as the wind circulates air throughout our planet's atmosphere. In terms of marketing, it is the capacity of air to be a medium for the transmission of sound waves that we need to think about: Where are we speaking?

Any balanced book marketing plan should include person-to-person communication. Whether that is a one-on-one talk with a reporter, lecturing to groups, or broadcasting your message on the radio or TV, speaking must be included in your plan. Just try not to be a blowhard, full of air without substance, or someone who never receives fresh input or inspiration.

Water: Flow is the primary quality of the element water. Persistent, drop by drop, immersive marketing takes place on the feeling level of our engagement with our readers. Beginning with our choice of the title of our book, our deep understanding of the needs of our target audience must always be considered as the basis of our efforts. In marketing behavior, water relates to the pace and frequency of interactions: steady and yet flexible, spontaneous and adaptive to market conditions. Learning to trust your instincts and impressions from your subconscious mind that show you what to do on a daily basis means you can swim and not drown in your efforts.

With your book promotion plan, seek to find the niches where you flow into--the spaces that are thirsty for some cool refreshment or the benefit of cleansing or immersion in what you offer.

Fire: The heat of passion and inspiration are the fire that keeps us going. In book marketing, there are always specific efforts made whose essential purpose is to light a fire in the potential book buyer. Think of these as calls to action, trigger points, decision points, offers that ignite. Ready, aim, fire! Push the button, click this link, sign up here. Come to this event. Use this coupon.

Another place where the element of fire is present is in electronic marketing efforts. Your plan must include online networking and spreading, through a combination of e-mails, social media interactions, blogging, and websites. Each of these tools gives you an opportunity to catalyze prospective readers to purchase your book and possibly engage with you further.

Earth: Stability and structure are earthly qualities. No determined book marketer can survive for long without establishing support systems and infrastructure. Fortunately, many of these systems are pre-existing and we can access them for a fee, or for free by the design of their creators. As an example, Amazon.com has created an infrastructure to support authors in marketing their books as a collaborative act because both the company and the author benefit whenever a book is sold on their website. The same is true for all other online bookstores: Most understand how valuable the author presence is to their success. Stability comes from having in place the right equipment (a computer, a smart phone, an online shopping cart), the right people to form your team (e.g., a virtual assistant, a search engine optimization expert, or a graphic designer), and the right plan of action to guide you. Without a skeleton the body would collapse. Without a strategy to follow as a framework for your activities your marketing will lead you to collapse. Amorphous marketing leads to amorphous results.

Any element alone is not sufficient. Passion without flow is an explosion waiting to happen. Flow without structure is like rain in a field of crops without irrigation channels. High winds that blow without ceasing in the mind dry up the juice of the imagination. Ideas that are disconnected from the heart cannot ever fulfill or soothe the soul. The elements temper one another.

The Evil of the Semi-Colon: A Rant on Pompous Punctuation

I try to have a sense of humor about grammar. Otherwise certain punctuation marks would cause me tremendous grief, anxiety, and suffering. Specifically, I’m referring to commas, exclamation points, and semi-solons. Please don’t even get me started on the whole hyphen vs. en dash controversy, or the average spiritual authors’ irresistible Love of Capitalization. I might groan so loudly I’d disturb my next-door neighbors. I’m going to vent now—just getting it off my chest.

Commas appear to be travelers. They just won’t stay put. I put them in a manuscript in one place, and then my clients move them elsewhere. Why? I don’t know. Some writers seem to disdain them. Others seem to crave them. But hardly anyone wants to let them rest. They’re tired. All those poor, misunderstood commas are trying to do is help us take a tiny breath between ideas. They don’t want to travel. Give them a break, writers! You need them for lists (x, y, and z) and, YES, they precede the word “and.” Help preserve the endangered commas.

What! Is! Up! With! Exclamation! Marks?! Seriously, folks . . . you’re coming across little prepubescent girls writing notes to each other in elementary school. Next we’ll have to start coping with tiny hearts and stars. Even bestselling authors of my acquaintance (who shall remain nameless to protect their privacy) indulge in unbridled expressions of their enthusiasm. Grow up!!! When I see an exclamation point I hear one of two sounds in my head: either a high-pitched squeal or yelling. In my body, I feel it like a slap across my face or a poke in the ribs. Intellectually, it’s like you don’t believe I can form my own opinion. And possibly you are trying to control me emotionally, but you don’t believe you yourself actually possess the technical skill to capture my attention with your words. This is not good for our relationship.

Semi-colons are the spawn of the Devil. I simply advise you to resist their lure until you are an accomplished writer. They are the single most pompous piece of punctuation ever invented. You may think you appear intelligent when you use them, but using them wrongly gives the opposite impression. It’s that whole issue of lists again. Where does a comma go? Where a semi-colon? I’m not saying I’m perfect and all . . . because I still regret the semi-colon on the first page of the first book I wrote (Barker’s Grub, 2000). What was I thinking when I crafted that sentence?

Live and learn.

My advice is to use semi-colons sparsely, if at all. Better to end a sentence with a period than to stick in a semi-solon and continue it by joining it with another full thought. It’s really okay to write short sentences. This makes them chewable, digestible morsels for your readers. Be simple. Be direct. Be clear. Writing is all about communication, and the goal is to be understood.

And, of course, all of the above being said, do not let your punctuation define you as a human being. Punctuation is not where you value comes from . . . at least not to me. Some people fret that they'll be judged on the merits of their commas. Or feel miserable for making typos. Not me. And one sucessful client whom I called an "over-exclaimer" yesterday, and said he reminded me of an excited teenage girl, told me, "Perhaps I should begin my next book with OMG." We laughed and laughed.

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