When I told a friend about this book, he asked what advice I could possibly offer writers that hadn’t already been written.
“There are books on craft. There are books on ‘the business of writing.’ But I have yet to see a book that incorporates all the building blocks: commitment, community-building, and confidence as integral to becoming a winning writer,” I told him.
In the past few years, books on building a platform, constructing compelling plotlines, and making good scripts great have flooded the market. Books on screenwriting, playwriting, the craft of the novel, and television writing advise writers on how to get their books written in a timely and successful manner. I’m a fan of many of these books, and, in the resources section, I provide a list of recommended reading.
You Can Be a Winning Writer might very well be the only holistic approach to becoming not just a writer with a publishing credit, but a writer who relishes success.
What do I mean by holistic? Holistic is defined as “incorporating the concept of ‘holism’ or the idea that the whole is more than merely the sum of its parts, in theory or practice.”
By incorporating the four key aspects of the writing life, You Can Be a Winning Writer provides practical and real-world instructions on becoming a successful author.
With discussions by experts, published authors, and successful writers on the thrills, the challenges, and the vicissitudes of the writing life, I believe that this book will inspire you to aspire to greater heights, to think bigger and to reach for the brass rings of your dreams.
I’ve lectured on how to be a winning writer for over ten years at literary festivals, writer’s conferences and universities. And I’ve coached writers individually to great success.
The goal of You Can Be a Winning Writer is to eliminate the drama, the emotional slowdowns, and the self-doubt that hinders and keeps you, all the talented authors, from publishing success.
Joan Gelfand
June 2018
Early in my career, after some moderate success as a poet, I got bitten by “novel fever.” Post-college, I had had a fair number of poems published in literary journals. I had performed at prestigious venues like the Oakland Museum, Litquake and the Beat Museum. I had even had the excellent fortune to have a poem turned into a song and recorded by a rock band. The song was aired on the local radio station and nationally. But I still didn’t feel like a winning writer.
I didn’t set out to write a novel. I mean, really? I had cut my teeth on Simone de Beauvoir, Virginia Woolf, Willa Cather, Kurt Vonnegut, Gunter Grass, and Wallace Stegner. I was satisfied being a poet, known to my local community.
Writing a novel seemed like a terribly pretentious, misguided idea. No. I did not start out to write a novel. I started out with a story that, after two years, and much encouragement from my writing instructor, grew into three hundred pages. I had written my first novel without planning to do so.
It was with that first novel that I began to understand that becoming a successful writer wasn’t just about writing. It was several years after my first attempt to find a publisher for that first novel that I understood the business of writing.
I learned that the letter I got back from an agent asking me to revise my manuscript was a serious request, not a rejection. And, I learned the hard way that without confidence, without commitment and community, I was never going to become a winning writer.
While the Four C’s approach encourages you to improve your craft, it also provides suggestions for the design of a productive work practice, recommends ways to cultivate a supportive network, and gives clear and practical examples of how to build your confidence. What makes the Four C’s approach unique is that I will teach you how to develop all these skills at the same time.
Does it sound like a lot of work? It is.
Over the years, I’ve coached innumerable writers who start out insisting that they barely have time for the actual writing. Just getting to their desks, crafting a piece of writing, and finishing it is a tremendous challenge. And it is. But just finishing a piece of writing is not enough.
After just a few sessions of working with me, these same writers find their priorities shifting as they begin to understand the importance of cultivating a network and building community. They realize that sending out their work one or even ten times is not enough. Soon, they find themselves more confident about every aspect of their work.
I’ve worked with clients who, after secretly aspiring to see their work in journals that publish their “writing heroes,” find themselves side by side those very same heroes.
I’ve worked with professionals who do not consider themselves writers, but manage to get the help they need to tell their story and get their important books into the hands of the public.
The Four C’s system: Imagine that your writing career is a stove with four burners.
Craft. Commitment. Community. Confidence.
Each burner has a pot on it that needs to be watched. Each pot is cooking up something tasty.
Craft is bubbling while commitment is on a low simmer; you are out in the community, seen everywhere! That pot is on full boil. While you were out, confidence has scalded; that last manuscript rejection has you wondering if you’ve got what it takes. Who said you could write your way out of a paper bag anyway?
As the Head Chef de Cuisine, your job is to fire up all burners at the same time. Your job is to attend to them to make sure one is not boiling over while the others are stalled.
Juggling is involved. Timing is essential. But this is your piece de resistance! You can do it.
What Are the Four C’s?
On the front burners are craft and commitment. On the back burners are community and confidence.
Whether you are a seasoned cook, or have never donned an apron, whether you are Cordon Bleu trained or a self-starter who learned to steam fish from a YouTube video, you are about to create this special meal. Winning writers keep all burners warm.
It is not an easy task. It’s demanding. It requires an exacting sense of timing, keeping a keen eye on the clock and the intuition to adjust the seasoning just right. It might also require a last-minute replacement of a burned dish, a broken plate, or repairing a malfunctioning burner.
Why work so hard?
Your project at hand is a book, right? You’re not really preparing a meal for twenty. Or are you?
Let me explain: In the past, writers, many of whom self-identified as “introverts” could sell a manuscript to a reputable publishing house. The editor and the house believed in them, supported them as a member of that house’s family. The publisher assigned a publicist and a marketing budget. New books were added onto a publisher’s list which book reps reviewed with book buyers when they visited bookstores. In the past, the marketing department kicked into gear, and, if everything went according to plan, the book was well reviewed. Voila! Book sold. Self-identified introverted author didn’t have to go on book tour if he/she didn’t want to. If all went well, that author could have a shot at another book. If the book didn’t sell, it was remaindered.
Fast forward to 2018. On the one hand, publishing is in a sea change and on