Julie Artz works with both award-winning and newer authors across the publishing spectrum from Big Five to small and university presses to indie and hybrid. She is an Author Accelerator-certified Founding Book Coach, a sought-after speaker and writing instructor, and a regular contributor to Jane Friedman and Writers Helping Writers, and a regular instructor for AuthorsPublish, IWWG, ProWritingAid and more. Her work as a Pitch Wars and Teen Pit mentor, a former SCBWI Regional Advisor (WWA), and her memberships in The EFA, the WFWA, AWP, and the Authors Guild keep her industry knowledge sharp. A consummate social and environmental justice minded story geek, Julie lives in an enchanted forest outside of Redmond, Washington, with her husband, two strong-willed teenagers (when they’re not off at university!), and two naughty furry familiars. She’s built a thriving book coaching business based on her values, her editing chops, and her knowledge of story. Check out her weekly newsletter, Wyrd Words Weekly, and subscribe today.
[Wyrd Words Weekly] - Deep revision
|
Hello Reader, I'd like to give a special welcome to folks just joining us from ProWritingAid's Romance Writers' Week. I'm so glad you're here (and just in time to celebrate!). There's nothing better in the life of a book coach than witnessing a hard-fought client win, which is one of the reasons it's been a pretty fabulous week around here. My friend, client, and fellow book coach Suzette Mullen celebrated the release of her heart-wrenching, vulnerable, empowering memoir, The Only Way Through is Out, on Tuesday. I'm not the only one crowing about this memoir, though. Lambda Literary Review named it one of the most anticipated titles of February 2024 and Foreword Reviews called it "Candid, inspirational. . . . An emotive memoir that issues a stirring call to women to choose self-actualization." So you might be surprised to hear that Suzette almost gave up on this story. When her first round of submissions didn't get the response she'd hoped for, she circled back to me for help with her query. What we found was not a query issue, but a story-level issue that would require another deep revision to fix. And after multiple years and multiple rounds of revisions, Suzette wasn't sure she had it in her. I get it. I've been there. And if you're there too, I can help! Often the thing that separates successful writers from the hopefuls is just being brave enough to dig in one more time. I'm so glad she stuck with it and now readers will be too. You can learn more about our journey together in this interview or this chat Suzette and I recorded the week before her book came out. Congratulations, Suzette. Your hard work and perseverance paid off. I'm so excited to see readers fall in love with this story just like I did! Get The Only Way Through is Out from your local independent bookstore or from Bookshop.org. Up Next: Story ScaffoldingIf you've been struggling with the story of your heart and maybe even thinking you might have to give up and shelve your story, maybe you, too, just need to dig in one more time. Learn more about the types of tools I used with Suzette as we revised her memoir in March when I teach Story Scaffolding for IWWG. This four workshop series teaches you how to plan and execute a deep revision aimed at strengthening your story's scaffolding. This hands-on four course series is $179 ($159 if you are an IWWG member). Register today! What I'm Reading!I've read many iterations of this story since Suzette and I started working together years ago. And even though I was alway moved by Suzette's powerful story, it's incredible to see it in this final, polished form. If you've ever wondered if your life is good enough while ignoring the secret longing of your heart, you'll love this empowering story that reminds us it is never too late. Told in a combination of heart-wrenching scenes and lovely, moving vignettes, this story is a rallying cry for those looking to make a big change later in life. Get it today and let me know what you think. Happy reading, friends! Warmly, Julie PS - Over 140 lucky writers met their new CP Cohort as part of Round Seven of CP Meet Cute this month. But enough folks missed the matchmaker survey deadline that I've decided to run a bonus Second Chance Romance, CP Meet Cute Round 7.5 in March. If you don't want to wait for Round 8 in July, register for CP Meet Cute now. |
Julie Artz | author, editor, book coach, dragon
Julie Artz works with both award-winning and newer authors across the publishing spectrum from Big Five to small and university presses to indie and hybrid. She is an Author Accelerator-certified Founding Book Coach, a sought-after speaker and writing instructor, and a regular contributor to Jane Friedman and Writers Helping Writers, and a regular instructor for AuthorsPublish, IWWG, ProWritingAid and more. Her work as a Pitch Wars and Teen Pit mentor, a former SCBWI Regional Advisor (WWA), and her memberships in The EFA, the WFWA, AWP, and the Authors Guild keep her industry knowledge sharp. A consummate social and environmental justice minded story geek, Julie lives in an enchanted forest outside of Redmond, Washington, with her husband, two strong-willed teenagers (when they’re not off at university!), and two naughty furry familiars. She’s built a thriving book coaching business based on her values, her editing chops, and her knowledge of story. Check out her weekly newsletter, Wyrd Words Weekly, and subscribe today.
Hello Reader, Recently, I listened to a podcast with “Deep Work” advocate Cal Newport that talked about the impact of social media, email, and, more broadly, distraction has on our creative work. But he also mentioned a philosophical war of sorts between Deep Work denizens and those who adhere to Mihaly Csikszentmihali’s theory of "Flow" or what he calls "optimal experience." In a world obsessed with these sort of ideological cage matches, I often start thinking in the dialectic—what if it’s...
Hello Reader, It's been a busy spring around here! I offered my first-ever free three-hour workshop to the public. I migrated my course materials to a brand-new platform with robust features to support writers. And I even spruced up my look with a months-long rebranding process. Then last week, we onboarded the next cohort of writers to the Wyrd Writers Collective. I'm absolutely energized by all of this, but I've also been woefully neglecting my novel. It can be so hard to prioritize our...
Hello Reader, One of questions that emerged from Story Scaffolding Live! last week was around a question that appears in my course materials and those of other writing coaches as well, as well as on several editor and agent submission forms: Why are you the right person to tell this story? I love asking this question because it gets to the heart of your bigger "Why" for writing the story--what it means to you on a personal and emotional level, moving beyond the events that happen in the story...