Attracting Speaking Invitations - What's Your Approach?

How do you go about attracting speaking invitations? Some writers are really good at this. While I enjoy making talks and connecting with readers and with writers, I haven't attracted as many speaking invitations as I would like to have. That's why I was I was so drawn to an article I saw about the best ways to garner those invitations.

*One of the important factors the article points out is having a good quality, professionally-taken, engaging photograph of yourself on your internet site. I assume that goes for your web page, blog, Facebook, Twitter, and much more. I fail there because I seldom find a photo of myself that I like. Several years ago, I got professional photos taken at a Romance Writers of America conference. They were "Photoshopped" to a point that I probably should never have used them for my first books. The ones I have now are taken by family members and are certainly not professional. Perhaps I need to have more real professional photos taken, but that's far down on my to-do lists. What about you? Are your photos professionally done?

*Having a brief description of you and your career, about 40 words, is the next suggestion. I fail again because creating a capsule description is really hard for me, so I put off doing it. What about you? Do you have that in your grasp and on your site?

*Briefly describe your lectures and titles of your talks. I like that one and have them somewhere, but not where I nor anyone else can readily find them. Failed again! Do you have those topics readily available for everyone to see?

*Do you provide evidence of your speaking experience on your site(s)? I don't. At least not enough.

*Having one-sentence descriptions of your books is another biggie. I fail once again. No wonder I'm not a sought-after speaker. Do you have this available on your site(s)?

*Do you have a video of yourself giving a speech or presentation? I don't, but it sounds like a wonderful idea.

The bottom line here for me is a lack of focused promotional efforts. I will never get speaking engagements nor book sales without them.

Focus.

I tell my young art students that all the time, yet I fail to do it. So I fail.

In one of those notebooks I suggest everyone keep, write down, in order of importance, what you need to do to attract speaking invitations. Then, do them. (The photo goes to the bottom of my list.) See what you can attract. I'd love to know about your success.

Down Pen - Losing Other Writers Hurts A Lot

Yesterday when I visited the Chesapeake Bay Writers Club Web site, I saw that Ruby Lee Norris was a Down Pen. What a sad feeling to realize she is gone. She was a founding member of the organization as I am as well. That's where I first met her. I will always remember Ruby Lee with a smile on her face. She was special.

Then I started to think that while the loss of a writer is dramatic, it is not total. Their accomplishments are still there. I can go back and read Ruby Lee's contributions to Pleasant Living Magazine and other pieces of her writing as well.

So many writers have had an impact on my life. There were high school English teachers who inspired me. They are Down Pens now as well. Probably as much as any one else, Lon Dill (A.T. Dill, author of York River Yesterdays) had a major impact on my writing life. As a young, very fledgling reporter, I was writing in-depth feature articles that were helped by the background materials and suggestions he would sometimes offer me. I enjoyed watching him with his two photographer/helpers dig up the materials for his book that meant much to the town of West Point at the time and which means even more today long after his pen went down. Sometimes I think I would like to call him on a phone and ask a question to which he would certainly know the answer. Writers sometimes leave a presence and a space no one else can fill.

I hate to see a Down Pen. But there are memories.

Seeing Art Everywhere - Photos From an Art Diary

Atrium Milwaukee Art Museum    MMSikes

Patterns and design intrigue me, especially when it comes to photography. You can imagine my surprise when I turned on my computer this afternoon, and up popped an image on Bing similar to those pictures I took last summer in the atrium of the Milwaukee Art Museum. The designer of the scenic structure was careful to allow the addition to the museum to appear almost like a boat floating along on Lake Michigan. The two days I was in the museum, numerous sailboats passed just outside the dramatic glass that reveals the lake view to visitors. I couldn't find those photos in my files today, but I'm certain I took them and will keep on looking for the lost files.

Seeing the Bing photo and reviewing those that I took reminded me of my post last week about using art and photos in diaries for memoirs. These pictures tell far more than words ever could about the majestic beauty of art especially when it is found in the monumental structure of a building.

Milwaukee Art Museum - Photo Through the Windows  MMSikes

When I was researching my coffee table book, Hotels to Remember, I visited the art museum. The construction of the new wing was underway but had not been completed. Seeing the magnificent finished product is awe-inspiring. If you are in Wisconsin or visiting Chicago, it is worth the extra effort to get to the museum.

You can start your own photo notebook. You'll never regret it!

Guest Blogging with Morgan Mandel

Today, and for the rest of the week, I'm a guest on Morgan Mandel's Sweet Not Spicy blog. I'm discussing my latest book, A Rainbow for Christmas. Thank you, Morgan, for having me.

It's refreshing to see how others handle their blogs. I enjoy reading comments from new people I haven't met before on the Internet. One commenter mentioned keeping a notebook next to her bed, so she can jot down thoughts and ideas that come to her in the night. That jogged my brain, and I remembered keeping a notebook there, so I could write down the dreams I can never recall in the morning. I don't know what happened, but I no longer have a notebook there. I'm going to get a new one and leave it nearby.

Do you keep a notebook near your bed? Have you gotten good ideas from it?

Please visit Morgan's blog and leave a comment if you can!

Keeping a Journal for Memoirs

"Dark Angels" Copyright 2012 MMSikes

Although I like to find and read the journals and diaries of other writers, I've never kept a diary myself. Strange because I've always been a writer.

But perhaps that's why I haven't kept one.

As a freelance journalist I've always been involved writing something. Because I spent so many hours interviewing, composing, then editing, there was no time and no energy left to write down my own activities and thoughts. I've kept up calendars of events and have stacks of these little datebooks. I've filled notebooks and sketchbooks while on trips, but these were about the places I visited. Nothing personal was entered. I only wanted material for travel articles and books.

When I read about impressive memoirs like Phylllis Theroux's The Journal Keeper, I wonder if I should have been more diligent about keeping a personal diary. My grandmother didn't write anything about her life for me to see. Neither did my mother. The books I've written are novels, travel/hotel stories, and a how to market your writing book. Nothing even resembles a memoir.

Still I have my paintings and wonder if these might tell a story. Could they be my memoirs? I have no idea how many paintings I have created over the years. Many of my early paintings are of my children. As a visual person, I find these more important to me than my writing. The other day I found some small sketches I had forgotten about making. That was an exciting and amazing find.

Will I regret not keeping a journal? Maybe. Should I start one right now? I don't know.

Perhaps this blog is a journal...

What about you? Have you kept a journal for your memoirs?