Writers on the Rise

Are you lighting some fireworks under your writing career? For me, summer has always been a good time to create excitement about my work. And this summer is no exception. Read on for lots of news.

Check out “Dear Christina” my first podcast
The first one might be a little bumpy but they will definitely get better. One thing is certain, I will not run out of my former student’s success stories any time soon. They just keep rolling in! So I thought, why not feature them in a series of short podcasts? And now I am. I hope they inspire you as much as they inspire me.

July 20th: Deadline for Applications for the Fall Writer Mama Scholarship
The next available Writer Mama Scholarship is coming up for the August 20th Writing & Publishing The Short Stuff Class. Applications will only be accepted from Saturday, July 12th - Sunday, July 20th. One full scholarship will be granted with a value of $199.00. The scholarship application will be posted on Friday, July 11th in the Writer Mama Riffs Blog. Please feel free to post the badge in your blog or e-zine with a link to the Writer Mama blog so others can take advantage of this opportunity. (If you are planning on signing up for an August class, I wouldn’t dally. They are filling up!)

September 1 - 30: The Writer Mama Back-to-School Giveaway
This giveaway was a huge success last year. You don’t have to be a mama, just a writer. This year we’ll have more books to give away and more thought-provoking career questions for you to answer to qualify to win. Participants last year commented on how much they learned both from answering the questions as well as from each other. Don’t miss it! Please share the WM Back to School Giveaway badge with all your friends with a link to the Writer Mama blog!

September 22: Get Known Before the Book Deal Amazon spike on the first day of Fall
Order Get Known Before the Book Deal from Amazon on the Autumn Equinox and receive a great platform-development freebie! Details coming in the September issue. Please mark your calendar and tell all your friends. (More about why authors do stuff like this in September too, in case you are curious.)

October 22: Publication Date for Get Known Before the Book Deal
Lots of books talk about what to do once you become an author. No other books go into as much depth about how to position yourself to become an author before you have a book and even before you have a book deal! If you are local, I’ll be speaking at the Wilsonville Public Library on November 16th. I’ll also  be speaking about at the Willamette Writers Monthly Meeting in Portland on Tuesday, December 2nd. Final tour dates TBA in The Writer Mama blog.)

Purchase Writer Mama & Receive a Free List of Markets
But wait! Before we move on to my second book, Writer Mama is still selling strong. In fact, I  appreciate all the word-of mouth you  can put behind it, whether that means suggesting Writer Mama to your friends, your writing association, your writing conference bookseller or your local library. For the months of July and August only, there are two ways to get the list of free markets (because I know many of you own Writer Mama already): you can either purchase the book and e-mail me a copy of the receipt or you can  act on any of the word-of-mouth suggestions above. Let me know that you have helped spread the word and that you already own Writer Mama, and I’ll send you the list of markets. Send all request e-mails on this topic to writermama2@earthlink.net.

That’s enough about me. Shooting off some fireworks of her own lately, columnist Gigi Rosenberg is now writing for Parenting Magazine, among other national publicaitons. She has also been recently published in the Seal Press Anthology, The Maternal is Political, Women Writers at the Intersection of Motherhood and Social Change, edited by Shari MacDonald Strong. Congratulations, Gigi! (You can order a copy of the book by clicking on it.)

Cindy Hudson will have some exciting news about her writing career in September. And don’t forget, former columnist Abigail Green, now a columnist over at The Writer Mama e-zine, has stepped up to teach Personal Essays That Get Published. Abby is a skillful and widely published essayist and I know that anyone who takes her class is going to be so glad they did. (More info below or stop by Abby’s blog Diary of a New Mom.)

There is a time to go into your cave and get your work done and then there is a time to crank up the excitement factor and reach out to others. Are you cranking up some excitement for your writing career? I sure hope so! If not, don’t worry, there’s still plenty of summer left.

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

P.S. You can always refer back to the Writers on the Rise blog, where these articles will be archived over the course of the upcoming month.
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It’s June. Hooray! We’ve almost reached the half-way point of the year.

This month is the perfect time to assess how you are progressing on your annual goals, rechart your course to achieve those ever-elusive goals and celebrate what you have already accomplished.

As for me, let’s just say it’s been an extremely busy year so far. I’ve been pouring heart and guts into my second book, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform (October 2008 Writer’s Digest Books).

Writing is hard work, for me, but publicizing and promoting my books feels more expansive and gives me a chance to share the value I’ve worked so hard to create with others. So I know what I’m going to be doing this summer. An online presence revamp, including a much overdue website makeover for writersontherise.com.

Sharing my hard work with others gives me a chance to celebrate. And when you share your work with others I hope you will celebrate too. What are we celebrating? Our hard work, our commitment to our topic, our service to our readers, and the synergy that occurs when the writing finally ends up in the reader’s hands (or on the reader’s screen, as the case may be).

Since I haven’t had a lot of time this year to sit around and pat myself on the back, I plan to set aside some time this month to do just that. It’s a job every writer really needs to do for herself. I can’t wait to re-connect with writer friends, to catch up on all that we are celebrating so far this year and to spend some quality down time with my family.

What are you celebrating? I hope it’s something satisfying.

One of our contributors is celebrating a major milestone. Columnist and editor, Kristin Bair O’Keeffe is cheerfully expecting with her husband Andrew over in Shanghai, China. You can follow their adoption journey over at Kristin’s blog, Shanghai Adventures of a Trailing Spouse. Congratulations to the O’Keeffe family!

In further WOTR news, former columnist Abigail Green (who is now a columnist over at The Writer Mama e-zine has stepped up to teach Personal Essays That Get Published. Of course, we have many excellent essayists who write for WOTR. I asked Abby to teach this class because she had a real knack for helping students as a former TA for my Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff class. Abby is a skillful and widely published essayist and I know that anyone who takes her class is going to be so glad they did. (More info below or stop by Abby’s blog Diary of a New Mom.)

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz

Editor and Publisher

Writers on the Rise

P.S. If you have a special writer mama in your life, feel free to swing by my blog for some great gift ideas for moms who love to write. And I hope you’ll consider my first book, Writer Mama, too.

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May is the month to honor mothers. That means celebrating the mothers among us (that’s Wendy, Tiffani, Lori, Cindy, Gigi, Hope and me), the mothers-to-be (that’s Sage!), the dog moms (that’s Sue, Sage, Wendy and me — those are just the ones I know off the top of my head!) and the folks who have mothers (that’s all of us or we wouldn’t be here). And I have not even mentioned all of the moms who are yet to come, the former dog moms, and those who voluntarily mother others.

I would also like to give a shout-out to the single moms, the moms of children with special needs, the moms with special needs, and any moms who have been hit by hard times lately.

I’d like to give a wave to my mother–Hi Mom!–who was a big influence on me as a writer when I was growing up. She tooks us to the library, was always reading herself (and therefore set a great example), and she and my dad always made sure we had the very best educations hard-earned money could buy. My mom has a great vocabulary and surely helped me excel in language arts and later English classes. (I was one of the few kids in school who was crazy about the weekly Worldly Wise workbook.)

Did your mother influence you as a writer? If so, how?

Every day that I’m a mom, I appreciate all the little (and big) things my mother did for me. (Not to mention the things she didn‘t do for me and made me do for myself.)

Happy Mother’s Day diverse mamas everywhere!

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

P.S. If you have a special writer mama in your life, feel free to swing by my blog for some great gift ideas for moms who love to write. And I hope you’ll consider my first book, Writer Mama, too.

Time to spring forward!

What are you doing this Spring that’s new and different for your writing career?

Once the Spring cleaning is done and the taxes are paid and everyone has had a ball over Spring break, there’s only one thing left on the list. And that’s to start something new that energizes you and helps bring your writing career to the next level.

I’m cooperating by announcing a new blog, “Christina Katz Recommends.”

If you’ve been a longtime subscriber, I bet you’ll recognize some of the names over there. If the success of other writers inspires you, you will definitely want to check it out.

If you are a former student of mine and you are interested in writing book reviews (typically books on or about writing or writers that you procure for free as “a review copy”) for this site, please contact me at writersontherise@earthlink.net and let me know.

I often receive requests to write for my zines, but columnist selections are made by September of each year for the entire next year. So review-writing is a great way to get your pen in the door, so to speak.

In further news, Managing Editor Sage Cohen is expanding her class offerings to include Personal Essays That Get Published. I’m pleased that Writers on the Rise now offers a total of seven classes.

SEVEN! Count ‘em:

1. Writing and Publishing the Short Stuff
2. Targeting Your Best Writing Markets
3. Pitching Practice
4. Platform Building Basics for Writers
5. Craft a Saleable Nonfiction Book Proposal
6. Poetry for the People
7. Personal Essays That Get Published

You can learn all about them over at the good ol’ classes page.

What other types of classes would you like to see offered through Writers on the Rise?

Please e-mail me at writersontherise@earthlink.net and let me know.

And finally, if you live in Oregon, you might be interested to learn about the Northwest Author Series that I created and host in Wilsonville, Oregon. It’s not new, but I feel like we’ve finally hit our stride, so I’m starting to shout it from the rooftops just a little bit more. You can sign up to get on that newsletter list at:

http://northwestauthorseries.wordpress.com/

Hope everyone has a new win-win-win project to launch this spring!

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

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Christina Katz, author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, is working on her second book for Writer’s Digest Books, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform. She has also written over two hundred articles for magazines, newspapers, and online publications and has appeared on “Good Morning America.” Christina is a popular writing instructor who has taught hundreds of writers over the past seven years. She blogs daily at The Writer Mama Riffs and is publisher and editor of two zines, Writers on the Rise and The Writer Mama. More at http://www.thewritermama.com/.

Dear Fellow Writers,

“March!” It’s not a word I’m unfamilar with.

As a writer, I ask my words to march their way onto the page time and time again. Although, sometimes they are about as willing as toddlers and then I have to cajole them instead.

(Personally, I prefer it when they march.)

As a business woman, I often ask myself to march. March to the post office and get the mail. March to the store and get more paper and pens. March to the bank and deposit some money.

(Okay, that last one is really not so hard. But getting myself to march to the beat of the IRS, well, let’s just say…I’m always happy when that particular job is done.)

As an author, I march myself at all sorts of different paces for different aspects of my role. In one hat, I’m marching as a speaker. In another, I’m marching as a workshop leader. In another, I’m marching as an administrator.

As a teacher, I march my students around so they can tackle assignments and make their deadlines. This suits the taskmaster in me just fine. And most of them actually appreciate it.

March is the name of this month and it’s a helpful word, not one we should shirk from because of a military connotation or because it isn’t politically correct.

It sure comes in handy on a Spring day, when the sun is shining and the birds are twittering and the last thing I want to do is march on over to my computer, march some words across the page, march some tasks off my to-do list, march my face out into the world, march my students into more consistent writers, and then–finally!– march myself out the door, grabbing my daughter and my dogs on the way, and marching out into the sun-shiny day.

Or whatever is left of it.

Wishing you a very March-y month!

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

P.S.
You can always refer back to everything you read here in the Writers on the Rise blog, where these articles will archived over the course of the upcoming month.
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Christina Katz, author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids, is working on her second book for Writer’s Digest Books, Get Known Before the Book Deal, Use Your Personal Strengths to Grow an Author Platform. She has also written over two hundred articles for magazines, newspapers, and online publications and has appeared on “Good Morning America.” Christina is a popular writing instructor who has taught hundreds of writers over the past seven years. She blogs daily at The Writer Mama Riffs and is publisher and editor of two zines, Writers on the Rise and The Writer Mama. More at http://www.thewritermama.com/.

Dear Writers on the Rise Subscribers,

This is your year to see your byline in print here and there and, we hope, everywhere!

The columnists at Writers on the Rise are commited to helping you rise higher than ever before so that your actions will naturally lead you to the next level of success.

We’ve got the freshest insights, inspirations and ideas for contemporary writers on the web and we always strive to be the most well-written zine in your inbox.

You can refer back to everything you read here in the Writers on the Rise blog, where these articles will archived over the course of the upcoming month.

No matter how you read us, once a month or a little at a time, we’re sure that by the time you’re through you’ll agree that Writers on the Rise is a team of thoughtful writers, dedicated to our readers’ increased success. Feel free to share us with your writer friends.

Please help me welcome our 2008 team. I think you will agree that they are doing a terrific job already.

Cheers to you, your career, and the New Year!

In the writing-for-publication spirit,

Christina Katz
Editor and Publisher

The Final S-T-R-E-T-C-H of the Year
By Christina Katz

I’d say, “I cannot believe it’s time to wrap up 2007,” but, in fact, I can.

I can feel it in the number of times my fingers have hit the keys on my keyboard, in the ink cartridges my G2 pens have gone through, in the reams of paper I’ve recycled, in the number of e-mails I’ve sent and received, in the number of posts in my blogs, in the newsletters I’ve published and subscribed to, in the articles and press releases I’ve written, in the travel reservations I’ve confirmed, in the number of new people I’ve met, in the writing conferences I’ve enjoyed, and, finally, in the speaking and book signing events I’ve attended and organized.

At the beginning of 2007, I’d just turned in the final manuscript for Writer Mama and had spent the holidays requesting endorsements on a very short turn-around. I knew the steeplechase ahead of me as a newly published author was going to be a live-and-learn kind of experience. This was on my mind when I chose my keyword for the year, in response to a favorite blogger’s New Year challenge.

The word I chose was “Stretch.” And I spelled it like this: S-T-R-E-T-C-H, just to make sure I really got it.

On the stretchy front, my 2007 calendar did not disappoint. Whether it was my idea, my publicist’s idea, or a surprise invitation I received, my “dance card” from January through October was consistently full-to-overflowing. Frankly, I sometimes struggled to keep up with myself and with all of my professional obligations.

I even, out of absolute necessity, turned a few opportunities down or asked for better timing. Goodness knows how many opportunities I never heard about for a lack of time to explore the possibilities. A few times I over-committed and then had to back-pedal. And that’s how I learned that I sometimes needed to say, “Not now but maybe later.” Some people were flexible. Others may have chosen to be offended. What could I do? I’m a mom and a wife and a pet owner and a lot of other things as well as an author.

While juggling it all, I was aware that I could always take advantage of whatever opportunities I missed next time. And as a result, I was able (just barely) to keep up with my commitments and let it be good enough. As we all know perfection is unattainable but by consistently pushing myself, I grew. As I approach the end of this calendar year, I am not, professionally speaking, the same person I was when the year began.

And I feel pretty darn proud of myself. Writer Mama is still (as of this writing) on F+W’s top sellers for the year list and has been on it since it came out. My first royalty statement arrived and was totally respectable. Thousands of people now own Writer Mama and are clearly spreading their enthusiasm

They tell me (and I overhear) how much they appreciate the book as a writing instruction tool. They say it’s “a quick read” and that they go back to it or plan to return to it as a reference over and over again. They say, in short, that a book I wrote makes an encouraging companion along the writing road.

I wish I could put into words how gratifying it is to hear these kinds of comments from folks I’ve never met. I feel like readers really “get” the good intentions I poured into Writer Mama. And this is an incredibly satisfying feeling. What more could I ask for?

At the end of this very rich year, I want to share my gratitude and joy with all of you and wish you a strong sense of satisfaction for hard-won accomplishments you’ve achieved this past year (as well as the many years that led up to it). If I’ve learned one lesson this past year, it is this:

In writing for publication, you will reap precisely what you sow…and usually so much more. But you don’t get to coast. You have to hustle.

So thank you, readers. I know that Writers on the Rise subscribers and supporters have been a major force behind the success of my first published book. Many books actually fail, right out of the gate. Some never make it that far. I appreciate your readership. And I feel like now that Writer Mama has been successfully “planted” and is taking root, this is a natural time to let go a bit and switch my attention to the next book. And that’s exactly what I plan to do. I’ll be sure to keep you posted on what happens next.

Happy holidays, everyone!

Christina Katz

Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books, March 2007). She is a featured presenter at the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference, The Whidbey Island Writers Association MFA Residency, and the Willamette Writers Conference. She’s been teaching writing-for-publication classes for six years and has appeared on Good Morning America. She is also publisher and editor of this e-zine and another called The Writer Mama. Christina blogs daily at http://www.thewritermama.wordpress.com/. For more about Writer Mama, visit Christina’s website at http://www.thewritermama.com/.

Re: When Good Things Happen to Good Writers

I love when good things happen to good writers, don’t you? I especially love when all of a writer’s efforts accumulate over time and then––seemingly suddenly––something wonderful results.

No matter how writing success manifests, I’ve noticed that good things tend to happen as a result of effort over time and not from mere luck or chance. A phenomenon that is particularly awesome is when one good thing is followed by another and then another and then another.

Imagine your writing career (back in the day) as a little fruit seed with the path of a tree ahead of it. The seed germinated in the ground until the timing was right to extend itself beyond what it knew. Then it reached up and down and sideways through the dirt, setting up root systems to hold it steady as it reached up, up, up into the sky.

The wider and deeper the roots, the more branches it can send out, creating a sapling that will eventually become a sturdy young tree that is ready, after many seasons, to bear fruit.

This phenomenon is called “entelechy.” It is the entelechy of the apple seed to become an apple tree. It is the entelechy of a writing career to bear ample fruit. Once fruition is accomplished one time, fruition is repeated season after season after season, often with increasing ease and abundance.

I’ve noticed that this kind of proliferation of success often happens with writers who have been working steadily over a period of time, usually with clarity, sustainable passion and in win-win-win partnerships with others (qualities I’ve been writing about in this column all year).

How long does a writer have to work before his or her efforts come to fruition? Who knows! Perhaps it depends on how intensely and consistently the writer has been working. I know from personal experience that writing career success is the fruition of many inter-related efforts, usually consciously pulled together to prepare for the next opportunity.

And speaking of fruition, while writing this letter to you, I received a phone call from one of my alma maters, Columbia College Chicago: Would I like to come and be a featured speaker at their creative non-fiction event this fall? You’re darn right, I would! See you in Chicago in October.

The cooler weather welcomes the harvest season—mine, yours, and, in the case of this e-zine, ours. October is our anniversary month. Writers on the Rise is celebrating four years of service to our writing community. I would like to honor our slow, steady growth over the years and wish us many more years of the same. I also want to congratulate you on whatever success is coming to fruition from your writing efforts thus far. I wish you continued prosperity in the future. Happy harvest, writers!

Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books, March 2007). She is a featured presenter at the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference, The Whidbey Island Writers Association MFA Residency, and the Willamette Writers Conference. She’s been teaching writing-for-publication classes for six years and has appeared on Good Morning America. She is also publisher and editor of this e-zine and another called The Writer Mama. Christina blogs daily at http://www.thewritermama.wordpress.com/. For more about Writer Mama, visit Christina’s website at http://www.thewritermama.com/.

Who decides what you do and when?

I bet you were not raised to think that you could change the calendar to suit yourself. Seasons happen when they are supposed to and holidays come and go whether you like it or not, right?

Right! However, no one but you can choose how to respond to what happens and when. Just as the year has unique rhythms, individuals have unique rhythms too. Of course, there are times when we all need to align our efforts with those we work for and with––and participate in the seasonal events happening around us, but I wonder how much we abandon our own personal direction in order to go along with what the rest of the world seems to be doing. Probably a lot.

For example, every January, magazines, newspapers, TV talk shows, and websites inundate us with information about setting goals, making us think that’s the best time to make resolutions. Maybe it is for some people, but not for all. I personally believe that the way we set and execute goals and intentions is unique to each of us.

Last January I was swamped. It was the peak of my work year––not a good time for me to pause and take stock. The publication date of Writer Mama was fast approaching, and the last thing I wanted to think about was planning for the New Year. It quickly became clear to me that what works for many didn’t work for me.

Recently I had a freeing thought: I prefer my New Year to start in September. For me, summer is a much better time to regroup and assess, as some people may choose to do at the end of the calendar year. It makes far more sense to adjust my planning to suit my business needs instead of forcing myself to conform to the norm.

Not long after this realization, my friend Sage Cohen, our managing editor, reminded me that the Jewish New Year begins in the fall, not on January 1st. Of course, I knew this because my husband is Jewish, but I’d never really thought about it.

Growing up, I got used to the new school year starting in September, and this natural sense of starting when the weather grows cooler and easing up when the weather gets hotter is still hardwired into my rhythms. Now that my daughter’s inner clock is getting set to the academic year, my own clock has recently been reignited.

Starting the New Year in the fall just makes sense to me, so that’s what I’m doing this year. I’m wrapping things up in July and August, assessing my past year’s progress, setting goals for one, five and ten years, lining up my calendar, and starting fresh in September. Not coincidentally, my husband, a teacher, is doing the same.

I have editorial calendars to thank for giving me back guilt-free autonomy over my year. As the publisher and editor of this zine, I’d already planned in September 2006 for the 2007 year.

This year I’m going a little bit further and adopting this strategy for all my business endeavors. Dog days are good for resting and playing, but at the same time I can put aside a little bit of time each workday to plan for a great 2008.

And come time for Auld Lang Syne, I will definitely have a New Year worth celebrating.

Happy New Year, rising writers! No matter when you celebrate it.

In the writing for publication spirit,

Christina Katz

Share your two cents! When do you plan for the New Year and how? Comment to this post…

Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books 2007). She is a presenter at writers conferences, teaches writing-for-publication e-classes and has appeared on Good Morning America. She blogs daily at http://www.thewritermama.wordpress.com/ and is currently writing her second book for Writer’s Digest. To learn more about Christina visit http://www.thewritermama.com/.

Connecting vs. Networking

I find the word “networking” to be somewhat tired and on the brink of cliché-dom. When I hear or read this word, I immediately think of the local Chamber of Commerce breakfast meetings, people wearing suits and/or desperate-to-impress souls who carry an excess of promotional materials to conferences and work a room like the shark from “Jaws.”

Seriously, yuck.

I think a better word for the new millennium is “connecting” — a more feminine word that suggests maybe it’s less important to impress absolutely everyone and more important to identify and share common ground with the person standing right next to you.

Chances are good that it’s probably not a coincidence that you are standing right next to each other in the first place, right? So why not initiate a conversation and see what comes out of the situation? You’ll never know until you stick out your hand or make a comment about the weather.

In my experience, when you do just that, trusting that the “right” person or people will cross paths with you, everything is so much less stressful and so much more enjoyable. I entertain myself so much more when I stick my neck (or my hand) out than when I just face the front of the elevator, silently, with my hands folded in front of me.

According to Webster’s, the word “connect” means to link or join two or more parts, things or people or––even better––to make a psychological or emotional association between people, organizations, or places. The eighth and final definition in my electronic dictionary says, “to have a good rapport with somebody.”

Let’s look up rapport. That seems like the perfect word to describe the intention to set when you want to connect with a total stranger. Webster’s says it means an emotional bond or friendly relationship between people based on mutual liking, trust, and a sense that they understand and share each other’s concerns.

Aha. You might want to read that again. Rapport is the key to any meaningful connection. It’s not a preconceived notion; it’s what arises naturally when two or more people allow it. I hope this takes some of the edge off for any of you who might break into a cold sweat at the mere sight of the “N” word (networking).

My willingness to connect when I was in New York City at the Writer’s Digest Books/BEA Writer’s Conference and the Book Expo trade show helped me meet some very interesting people like Jodi Picoult (we are both moms and have puppies), Scott Ritter (author of Waging Peace and parent of two daughters who want to write), and author Meg Cox (a writer mama, fellow journalist, and author), and many others too numerous to mention.

The bottom line when you want to connect is to be curious, forthcoming, and relaxed. Trust whomever you bump into and explore your commonalities according to what feels comfortable and appropriate in the moment. Most importantly, forget the “rules” often attributed to “good manners” and tune into your gut instead. This will help you connect better with others and feel less self-conscious while doing getting to know each other.

I was once a shy child who would freeze up and blush profusely when the attention of others turned towards me. Those who know me today might not believe it. I am not kidding, folks. I was painfully, uncomfortably, self-consciously S-H-Y. But today, I know how to relax and trust. It’s so interesting what can happen when you stay alert, present, and tune in to the new and engaging connections that are bound to transpire.

Some might call this serendipity, synchronicity, or their lucky stars in action. I think it’s simply the way things are supposed to happen. Or perhaps the way things can happen, if we let them.

I hope your summer travels lead you to some very interesting places, people, and connections. Enjoy!

Christina Katz is the author of Writer Mama, How to Raise a Writing Career Alongside Your Kids (Writer’s Digest Books, March 2007). She is a featured presenter at the Writer’s Digest/BEA Writer’s Conference, The Whidbey Island Writers Association MFA Residency, and the Willamette Writers Conference. She’s been teaching writing-for-publication classes for six years and has appeared on Good Morning America. She is also publisher and editor of this e-zine and another called The Writer Mama. Christina blogs daily at http://www.thewritermama.wordpress.com/. For more about Writer Mama, visit Christina’s website at http://www.thewritermama.com/.