The Gift of Rejection

I’ve written ideas for humorous greeting cards for more than twenty years. Acceptance letters from Hallmark, American Greetings and other greeting card companies always brightened my day. My heart skipped a beat whenever I saw an envelope from one of them in the mail. It was exciting to rip it open and find out which of my card ideas had been accepted.

The rejection letters? I liked them too. They provided a constant source of inspiration. If the editor rejected all of my ideas, I’d get even more determined to brainstorm even better ideas that he or she couldn’t resist. Either response—home run or strikeout—inspired me to step my game up.

It’s a head-scratcher to me why virtually every writer I know sinks into the dark depths of despair at the slightest hint of rejection. What a waste of time, energy and productivity! Is your goal to become better at your craft or do you just want people to fawn over you and tell you how wonderful you are? If you want unconditional love,

Amy Tan Video on Creativity

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Amy Tan

I was aware of Amy Tan through her books like The Joy Luck Club, but I had never seen her or heard her speak before. I was impressed with this twenty-two-minute presentation for TED, in which she spoke about her life history and how her experiences prepared her for a career in creativity. She was articulate, wryly funny and thought-provoking.

Tan’s humor is vividly on display in the following biographical essay from her website:

MYTHOLOGY

From Merriam-Webster:

Main Entry: my·thol·o·gy
Pronunciation: mi-’thä-l&-jE
Function: noun
Inflected Form(s): plural -gies
Etymology: French or Late Latin; French mythologie, from Late Latin mythologia interpretation of myths, from Greek, legend, myth, from mythologein to relate myths, from mythos + logos

1 : an allegorical narrative
2 : a body of myths : as a : the myths dealing with the gods, demigods, and legendary heroes of a particular people b : MYTHOS 2 3 : a branch of knowledge that deals with myth
4 : a popular belief or assumption that has grown up around someone or something

Between writing my first book and today, the Internet did the equivalent of the Big Bang, and the World Wide Web expanded into the Ubiquitous Uncontrollable Universe. As a result, certain factual errors about me began to circulate and became part of my unofficial biography now often used by students, interviewers, and university public relations staff before I come to give a talk.

At first, there were only minor mistakes, for example, that I had received my

The Whimsical World of Amy Krouse Rosenthal

AMY KROUSE ROSENTHAL (1 OF 5)

Amy Krouse Rosenthal

It was a real pleasure interviewing Amy Krouse Rosenthal, an author and filmmaker who’s built a loyal following through her many books and videos. Amy is a true Renaissance woman and a clever, creative purveyor of wisdom, wonder and whimsy. She is a maker of movements and creator of community. I find her fresh ideas and light-hearted, good-natured videos tremendously appealing.

Amy’s  latest project with Chicago Public Radio is MISSion Amy K.R., for which she creates an interactive mission every week. Amy’s children’s books were featured in a profile piece in the New York Times and her

The Joy of a Perfect Sentence

Just like Garth Brooks, sometimes I thank God for unanswered prayers:

"Man Writing" by Oliver Ray (oliverray.ca)

Like today, when I was writing a profile of a local college professor for the school’s magazine. I saw a connection between a couple of unrelated comments so I tied them together with a little word play:

While he strives to make his students comfortable in class, he’s also determined to make them uncomfortable with being too comfortable. “My greatest challenge as a teacher is to get students out of their comfort zones,” he says. “Many people would rather hide and be anonymous in class. That isn’t a good way to learn.”

Any writer will tell you this: Finding just the right words to say just the right thing is the very definition of satisfaction. I can’t think of anything I could do or say that would

My Interview With Author Harrison Solow

Harrison Solow

It was a treat to interview Pushcart Prize-winning author Harrison Solow. She is the author of Felicity and Barbara Pym, which is about to be launched in London, and then in the entire U.K. in late July. Her eclectic life includes stints as a Franciscan nun and the editor of a Jewish Hassidic Magazine. She’s written for everyone from celebrities and astronauts to Canadian prime ministers and NASA. Harrison has also lived a Hollywood life with her husband Herbert Solow, the former head of MGM, Paramount and Desilu Studios. A lover of all things Welsh, Harrison accepted a lectureship in the English Department of the University of Wales in 2004 and was appointed Writer in Residence in 2008. She was also invited to lecture at Harvard and Cambridge.

Click on the audio player below to listen to our

Breaking Rules Like an Artist

I like Caroline Myss‘ anecdote about her epiphany regarding creative writing. She included it on page 43 of her book, Sacred Contracts, to make the point that some people may come into our lives only briefly yet still have a significant impact.

I can still recall a brief exchange with a high school English teacher who cornered me after class one day to offer me some advice on both my writing style and my attitude. At the time I was carrying on a love affair with

Nathaniel Branden on Passion and Soulfulness

Nathaniel Branden

I was interested in Nathaniel Branden‘s essay on spirituality, particularly because of his longtime association with Ayn Rand‘s philosophy, Objectivism, which is decidedly atheistic. I like what he has to say on the subject. I also liked reading about his epiphany regarding the process of writing and living in the present moment. I hope you enjoy it too!

Click here to visit Nathaniel’s website.

PASSION AND SOULFULNESS
By Nathaniel Branden, Ph. D.

When I think of nourishing the soul, I think of nurturing the ability to respond positively to life—that is, the ability to sustain passion for our interests, values, and projects. I believe that the worst of all spiritual defeats is to lose enthusiasm for life’s possibilities.

Every life has its share of setbacks and disappointments—of tragedy and loss. So the question we all confront, in the face of negatives that may assail us, is: How do we keep our inner fire alive?

Two things, at minimum, are needed: an

The Case of the Clueless Copy Editor

Wednesday morning couldn’t come fast enough. It was October 1987 and I was itching to experience the thrill of opening City Pages, a free weekly Minneapolis newspaper, and finding my very first byline.

My first published piece was a short one, only six paragraphs long, that recounted the story of Pat Anthony, a 48-year-old South African woman who gave birth to her daughter’s test-tube triplets. As the world’s first surrogate mother of her own grandchildren, Anthony signed a lucrative deal with The Mail on Sunday, a British newspaper, which granted it exclusive rights to the story.

I was excited to see this particular story in print because the Minnesota Twins were in the thick of a pennant chase that would eventually culminate in their first World Series title. The confluence of these two seemingly disparate stories presented me with a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to pull off a rare triple pun. Cackling at my cleverness, I closed the piece by

Here’s Why Your Book Is Unpublished

Mystified that your terrific manuscript hasn’t been snapped up by a high-powered literary agent? Guess what, it’s not them, it’s you. Before you drop another manuscript in the mail, hunker down and do these two things:

#1: IMPROVE THE QUALITY OF YOUR WRITING

Even if you’ve been making a living as a professional writer, do not assume that publishers will swoon over the quality of your work. I spent ten long months writing a business book with Tom Gegax, founder of the Tires Plus chain, only to hear from publishers that the writing was mediocre and that they weren’t interested in our magnum opus.

Yes, that criticism stung. I had been writing magazine articles for the last dozen years, and consistently heard from editors, interviewees and the general public that I was a wonderful writer. And I was a good writer! In hindsight, however, I wasn’t good enough.

After some indignant wailing and gnashing of teeth, I finally realized that

Learn How to Write Greeting Cards!

Writing greeting cards is a great way to satisfy your creative urges and earn some extra money to boot. If you’re like most people, you’re convinced that you could write Birthday cards just as good as the ones down at the local drugstore. But, like most people, you don’t know how to get started.

By the time you finish reading this eBook, you’ll not only know how to get started in greeting card writing, you’ll know how to be successful at it too.

Click here to order the complete 12,000-word eBook on Amazon for just 99 cents! In it, you’ll find:

• Nine basic rules that must be followed when writing greeting cards
• Eight insights that will help you better understand the greeting card business
• Eleven business tips that will help you present yourself as a professional
• Sixteen techniques that you can use to write greeting cards that sell
• Techniques for writing T-shirts, buttons, coffee mugs and Post-it notes
• Dozens and dozens of examples of cards and related products I’ve sold to all the major greeting card companies

Below are excerpts from the book to give you an excellent idea of what to expect.

Unless otherwise noted, all the card ideas presented in the book were written by my weekly card-writing group or an individual within the group. All these ideas were sold to a major greeting card company. Click here to gain some insight into how our group operated.

Click here to read my Q&A interview about greeting card writing with the Renegade Writer website.

Click here for a funny story about me hearing Wayne Dyer mention one of my birthday cards during an interview.

Okay, let’s start with the nine basic rules that must be followed when writing greeting cards. Some are more important than others but all of them must be taken into consideration.

RULE #2: The card has to have a “me-to-you” sentiment. You’ll be much more successful at writing cards if you get in the habit of using the word “you” more often than the word “I”. Sure, you’ll see some cards where the joke is about what happened when “I” went looking for a present or what “I” think about getting older. There are always exceptions but the vast majority of successful cards have a strong me-to-you message because greeting cards are about relationships. Here are some examples:

COVER: Happy Birthday! I’d like to borrow your secret for looking so young.
INSIDE: I mean, since you’re not using it.

COVER: Know what I find attractive in a man?
INSIDE: Just

My Life as a Greeting Card Writer

COVER: On Valentine’s Day, I’m going to fill my bathtub with hot milk, toss in a few jars of cocoa, then take off all my clothes, jump in, and pretend I’m in a nice big cup of hot chocolate.
INSIDE: You’d make a great marshmallow.

I sold that greeting card to Chicago-based Recycled Paper Greetings nearly twenty years ago. Since then, I’ve sold more than 1,300 ideas for greeting cards and related products such as T-shirts, coffee mugs and post-it notes to eighteen different ‘social expression’ companies in the United States and England.

In case you’re wondering, yes, writing greeting cards is a blast! When I first hooked up with Recycled, in fact, the excitement of it completely consumed me. I was thinking of birthday ideas on the way to work, Father’s Day ideas in line at the grocery store, coffee mug ideas in the shower. I asked a lot of questions, did a lot of browsing at card stores, and put a lot of time and effort into understanding the psychology of the market.

I learned that about 95 percent of

An Online Strategy for Building Awareness of Your Life’s Work

Have you written a book that you know will make a difference in the world? Are you an artist or musician who wants to make a positive contribution and touch people’s lives? If so, here are some tips that can help you share your gifts and build awareness of your work.

If you have a book, CD, artwork or other product you are trying to market, you need to build a platform: a multifaceted marketing approach that efficiently and effectively reaches your target audience. Building a platform is a make-or-break factor for publishers considering a book proposal. Authors today are expected to perform the majority of the marketing and promotion for their books.

Starting a blog is your all-important first step. A blog is the linchpin around which every other component of your platform will revolve. The more valuable the content on your blog, the more apt a reader will be to visit again and eventually become aware of your offerings.

What do you write about on your blog? Anything and everything that relates to the work you’re trying to do in the world. Include whatever you feel will add value to people’s lives. Write what you yourself would be interested in reading.

Whatever you write, write from the heart. Be genuine and authentic. Social media is all about building relationships. If you use this strategy simply to sell products, it won’t work. People will see right through you. If you’re not interested in connecting with like-minded people one on one, do not read any further.

Don’t Sweat the Big Stuff

Not long after I started my freelance writing career, I was asked to write a script for a non-linear video presentation, which essentially means that the viewer would be able to jump from segment to segment. Kind of like clicking on links on a website in 2008.

I listened carefully to the instructions but since this was brand-new territory for me, I was a bit confused. When I got home, I stared at the computer screen, not knowing how or where to begin. Panic began creeping in.

Did I mention this was a rush job? A draft had to be completed in just a couple of days. I took a deep breath and plunged in, not sure that what I was doing was what needed to be done. I called the client to get clarification but hung up the phone more confused than ever. Still, I managed to put together some semblance of a script and showed up at the appointed time, project in hand.

To my horror, the client’s face began souring as he read the draft I handed him. Finally, he looked up with an expression that I interpreted as, “I can’t believe I trusted this project to such a bozo.” Heart pounding and palms sweating, I tried to remain calm as he explained that what I had given him was off target. Somehow, I managed to restrain myself from bolting out the front door.