Nadine Feldman, Author

celebrating strong female characters and whatever else strikes my fancy

writing business

Doing and Not Doing

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The past month has been crazy as I prepared for the Agents’ and Editors’ conference, but I came back fired up from all that time with fellow writers.  I plowed into my current projects: revising, laying out, and organizing. I set up my calender for the next several months.

I love when I get that much energy and fire to do my work. However, I also know that to be most effective, I need to take a certain amount of time off. Otherwise, I get burned out, cranky, and obnoxious (well, more than usual).

A few days ago we hopped a plane and are visiting family in Illinois. We are away from the searing Texas heat, and the pace of our visit allows us a lot of downtime.

Somewhere deep in the recesses of my brain, neurons are firing, solving problems with manuscripts, thinking about changes to the layout, and dreaming of new writing. I know that when I get home, rested and refreshed, I will have new and better ideas for my work. It never fails.

For me personally, part of being a writer has been to give up my Puritanical work ethic and to focus more on flowing with the writing. I value my ability to be consistent and organized–these qualities keep me on track. But cultivating the qualities of pacing, rest, and gentleness will make the writing I do better and more pleasurable.

Generosity and Business

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I listen to a lot of podcast authors, and they all say the same thing: be willing to give some product away, and you will build an audience of paying customers. This runs counter to everything I learned in the olden days when dinosaurs roamed the earth, but they tell me it’s true. Last weekend I became convinced that they are on to something.

While at the Agents’ and Editors’ conference, I attended a seminar on social media (hence my new enthusiasm for blogging). The two ladies who presented the seminar were knowledgeable and eager to share their wisdom. The result? I am seriously keeping them in mind for the near future to help me with the business end of my work.

I’ve taken other seminars in which the presenter was clearly protecting his or her self-interests and being selective about what information to reveal…telling just enough of the story to encourage dependence on their services. Needless to say, these are not the type of people I want to do business with.

As I proceed with this blog and other media, I hope to share meaningful information and dialogue. I love the new paradigm of building online community so we can help each other succeed. And I love the idea of hiring generous people when I need help.