What’s New, CWG?

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Hi all!  A little late with this because my life has been busy!  The great news is, the Guild has been busy, too!  We’ve been going strong with several of our projects, and a couple that have been on hold took off this month.  Here’s the scoop:

Catholic Writers Conference-LIVE: Arlington, TX, Aug 29-31 (http://catholicwritersconference.com/index.php):  Are you going?  It will be an awesome time, as usual.  In addition to the workshops on writing, the opportunity to promote your work to publishers and bookstores on the events floor, and the in-person pitch sessions, we have secured a special deal with SPQN!  They are having their conference next door to ours, and for an extra $25, you can attend their Friday workshops on blogging.

Ann Lewis still needs some volunteers to help her out.  Contact her at president(at)catholicwritersguild.com.

The Catholic Arts and Letters Award:  We hope eventually this award, also known as the CALA or the Lilly, will become the premier award for Catholic writing.  After a small start, we had to put it on hiatus for a year because of lack of volunteers to help out.  (Folks—we need you!)  However, Michelle Buckman has courageously taken it on, and is gearing up to do an award in 2013 for books published in 2011 and 2012.

In addition to fiction, the 2013 award will have nonfiction categories.  We’re tentatively thinking theology, devotionals, biographies and self-help/misc.  We may also be able to offer a cash prize to the winner—someone has offered a grant, and we are talking with that person about details.

IMPORTANT NOTE FOR THOSE WHO MIGHT ENTER:  You must have an Imprimatur or the CWG Seal of Approval to qualify.  That means if your book is published in late 2012, you must get the manuscript approved (if you are a member) or the book submitted no later than Jan 2013 to the CWG committee.  There will be no exceptions!

Right now, we have a committee of three and could use some more folks to help.  Of special need are a couple of people to receive and distribute the books to the judges (CWG will pay for postage), and folks to help promote in conjunction with the publicity committee.  Please e-mail MichellePBuckman(at)gmail.com if you can help.

Catholic Writers’ Retreat:  April 19-23, Indianapolis, IN:  Things are looking good as far as getting a grant to help us keep the costs down on this.  We’re putting a down payment on the Our Lady of Fatima Retreat House in order to hold the dates.  Mark your calendar!

Steady as she goes…

Catholic Writers Conference Online: March 4-13, (http://catholicwritersconference.com/index.php).  We’re already lining up presenters and publishers.  If you know someone who could do a workshop (or want to do one, yourself), contact Laura Lowder at laura.lowder(at)gmail.com

Blog:  If you’re here, you know it’s awesome.  However, it’s getting BIG!  Jennifer would like someone to help her with the tech side of wordpress to make sure it doesn’t get out of hand.

Note for Paying Members Only:  We are taking poetry submissions for the blog.  No pay, just credit, and do remember that publishing on a blog does count as publication to some magazines.  If interested, send your submission and a short bio to:  poems(at)catholicwritersguild.com.  If you can devote an couple of hours a month to tweaking and some simple tasks, e-mail her at blog(at)catholicwritersguild.com

Seal of Approval:  We’re in our second quarterly cycle, and things are running smoothly.  Please note that we have a new PO Box for sending hardcopy books to.

CWG Book news:  We send out a monthly newsletter to bookstores and interested readers.  We’d like to expand this list.  If you know any stores, libraries, schools, etc. that might be interested in learning about new Catholic books, please send a note to Ellen Hrkach at vicepresident(at)catholicwritersguild.com

CWG newsletter:  Maria is always looking for new writers!  She especially wants some help with book reviews, the saints column, and news.  Please contact her at mariarr(at)comcast.net

 

Vice President’s Column/SOA

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The Catholic Writers Online Conference has come to a close. There have been 34 presenters with nearly 50 chats and many different forums.  Attendees of the online conference heard about marketing, writing tips, self-publishing and various other topics.  I attended many of the chats and, as usual, learned a lot and enjoyed every moment.

I feel blessed that I can network with fellow Catholic writers from the comfort of my own home.  Another reason to love the 21st century.

If you missed the online conference, I highly recommend you attend next year (March 4 -15, 2013).

Besides serving as Vice President for the Catholic Writers Guild, I am also the editor and creator of the Catholic Books News, a monthly newsletter that is sent out to nearly 500 Catholic bookstores and libraries all over North America.

If you have written a book and would like to promote it to Catholic bookstores and libraries all over North America, consider submitting it to the Catholic Writers Guild for the Seal of Approval.  If your book is approved, it will be showcased in a future issue of the Catholic Book News.  To find out more information about the Seal of Approval, check out this blog post by Sarah Reinhard: http://blog.catholicwritersguild.com/2012/02/the-new-and-improved-seal-of-approval-process.html

Each issue of the Catholic Book News showcases one non-fiction book and one novel, a short synopsis of each book, information on how to order each book and endorsements and reviews.

If you would like to receive the Catholic Book News, please leave a comment below or email me at [email protected] and I’d be glad to add your name to the mailing list.

Rejection: A thorn by any other name still stings…

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Ouch.

I don’t care who you are, rejection hurts. But as writers, we all experience it, so it behooves us to learn to deal with it.

It’s tempting to pitch a fit, sulk, or even threaten to quit writing altogether. But when we take a look at these responses, it’s clear they are self-sabotaging…and ultimately ego driven.

This is what I’ve learned about rejection. It’s not about me. It’s about the needs of the publisher, or timing, or the quality of the writing – but it’s never about me, the author (unless I’ve made such an @$$ of myself that no one wants to work with me, no matter how brilliantly I write. But you’re too professional for that!)

Some factors that lead to rejection are out of our control. If a publisher just signed a contract for a story involving a blind golfer, and my story is about a blind golfer, it’s unlikely they’ll buy mine, even if it’s more brilliantly written. Or the editor hates stories about blind golfers. Or the editor just got sued by a blind golfer. Or… Well, you get the idea. None of these are within our control, so we cannot take the rejection personally, even when it’s unlikely we’ll ever find out the underlying why.

The other two reasons are within our control. Maybe I’ve pitched my epic poem about a blind golfer to a house that doesn’t publish poetry. Do your homework. Use Writer’s Digest or other resources to see what a specific publisher is looking for. Read your target publisher, then tweak your work to fit their needs and style.

Finally, maybe the quality of the work is an issue. (Ouch, again!) I look back on my initial submissions and cringe at the amateurish mistakes I made. Yet, at the time, I thought my work was brilliant! We all need to continually work on improving our craft, no matter our level of experience. Read books on craft. Check your local library. Take online classes, get involved in the CWG forums, the CWG online conference, or a writing group. Volunteer to judge contests. (That’s a real eye-opener, a glimpse into an editor’s life.) Find or create a critique group; it’s much easier to see someone else’s blunders, and eventually you’ll learn to recognize and fix those weaknesses in your own work.

If you’ve done all those things and still get rejected, what next? Bounce back. Is there is a lesson in a particular rejection? Learn it. Don’t give up. Keep writing. Keep submitting – but don’t beat a dead horse. If a project doesn’t sell, either re-work it or move on. Keep a positive attitude. Thomas Edison invented the light bulb on his 1000th try. He did not view the first 999 attempts as failures, rather as the 999 ways to not make a light bulb. Each step was necessary for his eventual success. Each rejection we receive brings us one step closer to our success.

What are your favorite ways to deal with rejection? How do you turn rejection into a positive element in your writing life?

Changing Roles

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Last week was one of my favorite weeks of the year: the Catholic Writers Conference Online.

I’m in a season of life where traveling isn’t feasible very often, which makes this chance to network and share with other Catholic writers even more meaningful for me.

You see, I’m an extrovert trapped in an introvert’s calling.

How many writers do you know who love socializing, thrill for get-togethers, long to get out?

Yeah, that’s what I thought: not many.

Back when this online conference got started (has it been four years already?), I was a writer-in-secret. This year, I came to the conference with a more seasoned attitude, a passel of my own experience, and in a new role.

This year, I was a presenter.

It strikes me as hilarious. My prayer, over the last four years as I’ve discerned first, whether I should write and then what and how I should write, has been to be an instrument.

Who knew God listens?!?

In that new role this year (with a baby on my lap for much of the time, and heavily depending on my saintly mother-in-law to help me with my little kids), I discovered something that I knew back in my undergraduate days: I love teaching.

Apparently God knows what He’s doing.

Why am I surprised, again and again, when my life experience reinforces this truth?

Next week, I’ll share some of my blogging advice in my column here. If you weren’t able to participate in the CWCO, what would you like to know?

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