Independent Book Store Elliott Bay Book Company Navigates the New World of Publishing

Posted on February 2, 2012 by admin

Ebooks. Kindles. Nooks. Ipads. Wave after wave of change rocks the publishing industry as tech titans Apple, Google, and Amazon carve lucrative new businesses from the digital world.
Amid the turmoil, many traditional book stores are closing or declining (witness the recent implosion of Borders), while others like Seattle’s celebrated Elliott Bay Book Company find ways to survive and thrive. How has Seattle’s iconic independent book store succeeded where others have failed?
It did not come easily. Despite its iconic status as one of the best independent book stores in the country, Elliott Bay was losing money in its former location in Pioneer Square, forcing a move in 2010 to try to revive it. Finding a new location in the bustling Capitol Hill neighborhood and using new media like Facebook and Twitter proved critical to turning things around.
“The new move has felt good,” says head book buyer Rick Simonson, who spoke to The Writer’s Workshop writing class. “But we’re still learning our way. It’s a volatile climate with ebooks and everything else. Will people read both ebooks and paper books? What will they read as ebooks? What as traditional books? We still don’t know what people are going to do.”
As the store finds its way in the new publishing world, they draw even larger audiences to the store’s signature reading series. Formerly, they would draw five to six people; now they draw 15 to 20. Well-known authors pack the store to standing room only. With some 500 author readings a year, the store continues to bring in customers.
Independent book stories like Elliott Bay are critical to the literary and intellectual life of the Seattle as well as that of the nation. David Guterson’s Snow Falling on Cedars, for example, gained national traction in part from the early boost the book received from Elliott Bay. Similarly, first-time authors often develop their audiences through independent bookstores, even if they later gain national attention.
For all these reasons, it’s heartening to see Elliott Bay thriving amid all the transformations in the publishing industry. their reading series continues to be one of the best in the country, a great, free introduction to the riches of the literary world.
For more on Elliott Bay Book Company and other great stories, please look for the next issue of www.thewritersworklshopreview.net, which will be out shortly.

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Writing Class in the North Cascades: The Art of the Quest Narrative

Posted on August 25, 2011 by admin

I just returned from teaching a writing class on The Art of the Quest Narrative at the North Cascades Institute on Diablo Lake in the heart of the North Cascades. As usual, the class went very well as students had a chance to unplug from busy lives and spend some time getting black on white.

Nick O'Connell of The Writer's Workshop on top of Pyramid Peak in the North Cascades.

Prior to teaching the class, I embarked on my own quest to climb Pyramid Peak, a steep, snow-clad summit that towers over the institute. Fortunately, the quest was successful as you can see from this photo of me on the summit with the amazingly wild Picket Range in the background.
Climbing Pyramid put me in a great frame of mind to teach the writing class, which addressed human aspiration in all of its myriad forms, whether seeking to find the perfect peach or reach the summit of a mountain. Here are some comments from the writing class participants: 

I learned about the structure that underlies any good story. Nick provides a lot of information in clear, simple terms. He is encouraging, helpful and open with his knowledge. Taking this writing class makes me want to keep writing!
Carolyn Adams, Kirkland 

I arrived with some material I found in a 1927 diary written by my mother when she and her mother moved from Indianapolis to L.A. in a Franklin roadster. I’m leaving this writing class with a method for structuring this quest story, but also a process for structuring other types of stories. Most importantly, I leave with a process for keeping me writing. Thank you, Nick!
Mary Brown, North Bend 

I’ve taken four other writing classes with Nick and always come away with new learning, encouragement, help toward publication, and a fairly well-worked new story, with ideas and tips for many more. Nick is always positive and helpful and can be trusted to help, not harm, each writer’s progress. I now have a good model for structuring and developing many more stories, and the setting for this class at NCI made it especially enjoyable.
Linda Lockwood, Seattle 

I thought the format for the writing class was excellent: well organized and the information helpful. I took your class 16 years ago and it was good to renew your acquaintance and now I’m inspired to take more writing classes. I especially appreciated the individual critiques — always very positive. The setting for this class is terrific. I think you’re a great teacher!
Terrie Britt, Seattle 

Extremely helpful writing class that helped me understand and apply narrative structure. Nick was incredibly encouraging. I appreciated that we were given a deadline to produce a short, manageable story. Knowing I can complete a first draft in such a short period of time has reinvigorated me to get back to work! I appreciated that this workshop took place during the week, which works better for my schedule than weekends. My only suggestion is that I would have enjoyed one more day to polish, revise, and take advantage of the location. Thanks Nick!
Laura Johnson, Olympia 

My goal for this writing class was to overcome my dread at seeing a blank page. I produce and edit technical legal and regulatory documents…I’ve became very bored with my writing. The Quest format gives me lots of ideas for revitalizing my work. The writing class was well organized, fairly stress free and full of information. I really enjoyed working with the other students in the class.
Karen Terwilleger, Lacey


I took this writing class because I wanted to get back into freelance writing after a 5-year hiatus. The structure of the Quest Narrative offered the perfect way to reorganize my thoughts and files, and sort through the overwhelming process of choosing what to write first. I appreciate your low-key and organized process, and the time for actual writing. Thanks!
Pat Hughes, Seattle 

This writing class appealed to me because I had been writing, but felt my work needed more structure and purpose. I have been hoping to take a workshop with Nick, but the schedules never worked out. This 3-day experience gave me a chance to understand the structure of different types of articles, but gave me the time to work on pieces. Thanks for being approachable, fun, and informative! I can’t wait to take another workshop.
Reisha Holton, Sammamish

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The Perfect Pitch

Posted on August 16, 2011 by admin

Pitching is an essential skill for all writers. If you want to get assignments and or have someone publish your book, you need to make a pitch. David Remnick of
The New Yorker will not magically find the brilliant manuscript hidden in the bottom of your desk; you have to send it to him along with a pitch letter describing why he should publish it. Ditto with your novel or memoir or nonfiction book. You need to write a short, succinct, winning pitch to get an agent or editor for it.
I’ve been doing this for years; it’s all part of writing for newspapers and magazines and publishing books. Pitching is not a skill much discussed in MFA programs, but it’s one I always explain in my Seattle writing classes and my Travel, Food and Wine writing classes in Europe. And I ask expert editors to speak about what they like to see in a pitch
Recently, I asked Kristen Russell, the Managing editor of Seattle magazine, about what she likes to see and not see in a pitch. She came up with a very useful list of mistakes to avoid when pitching magazine editors, which I’ll include below.

1. The vague pitch: “I would like to write something about the locovore food movement.”
2. The resume builder: “I am passionate about this topic and would love to see it published in Seattle magazine.”
3. The not-really-Seattle trend pitch: “More and more people are skipping their vacations because of the economy.”
4. The why-now? pitch: “For three years, this program has been putting bikes into the hands of at-risk kids.”
5. The off-tone pitch: Match your pitch to the “voice” of the publication. Do not be overly formal or overly slangy, unless that’s the style of the magazine.
6. The “it’s your problem” pitch: Don’t throw an idea out there without suggesting a possible use for it. The best pitches make it easy for the editor to see where the story fits into the publication.
7. The irrelevant-to-the-magazine pitch: “I propose an article on my son’s first day of kindergarten” only works for magazines with a focus on parenting or education.
8. The mistake-ridden, typo-covered pitch: Don’t do it. Editors will notice.
9. The redundant pitch: Search the magazine’s website to make sure it hasn’t just run a similar article.
10. The so-last-year pitch: “How about a story about Seattle’s food trucks?”

For more about pitching newspapers, magazines and book publishers, please consider enrolling in my fall class, Revising Your Life, http://thewritersworkshop.net/classes_seattle.htm

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Planning or Spilling?

Posted on May 6, 2011 by admin

Are you a planner or a spiller? Do you like to think ahead about your writing or do you simply like to get black on white and let the Muse take you where she will? Though there is much to recommend in both approaches, it really pays to be something of a planner when it comes to writing. You don’t need to know everything in advance about your story or book, but it’s good to know the broad outlines of it; this will allow you to focus on characterization, details and dramatic scenes.

Structure is the biggest challenge for most writers. While most have mastered sentence structure and paragraphing, they have trouble organizing individual paragraphs into a larger coherent story.
One of the best ways of structuring a story is to begin with an outline. This needn’t run pages and pages: sometimes even a simple three or four sentence outline can do the trick, such as the one I’ll explain below.
By using this outline, whether for a story or book, you’ll have a good chance of figuring out the larger shape of the story in advance. If you fail to do this, it’s like building a house without a strong foundation; it can easily collapse.
The dramatic outline allows you to chart the emotional peaks and valleys of the story so that you’ll know where you’re heading when you sit down to write.
The five short statements below describe the major actions in the story. There is one statement for each major focus.
This is not like the outline you wrote in English composition class; these statements highlight on the dramatic actions in story. They help you focus on what’s essential to the story.
This is a conflict-resolution outline, with the conflict introduced in the first statement, developed in the next three statements, and resolved in the last statement.

1) Complication – Make it simple and active. Have you chosen active verbs to show action? Is the main character included statement? How will you illustrate the main action? Do you have the source material for this? Is the action dramatic enough?

2) Development Action – Clear, cogent, related to complication.

3) Development Action – Clear, cogent related to complication, tied to previous development, tied to main character.

4) Development Action — Clear, cogent related to complication, tied to previous development, tied to main character.

5) Resolution – Must fit the complication.

Writing this outline will save you a lot of time. You’ll be able to figure out in advance where the story is going. You can still change it as you go, but at least you’ll have a clear direction when you write the first draft of your story or book chapter.
For a more in-depth look at storytelling, please consider signing up for ones of my summer Seattle writing class, Writing for Story, or one of our online classes.

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Writing for Story: The Secret Sauce of Compelling Narratives

Posted on April 15, 2011 by admin

When I conduct an interview, I never know exactly what I’ll find. Yes, I may have researched the person’s life in detail, perhaps even read their books, but I won’t know exactly what I’m looking for until I conduct the interview itself.
When I sat down with the winemaker Robert Mondavi, I sought to steer the conversation towards good stories. Mondavi, a saavy marketing man, sought to give me the standard PR pitch about his winery, which was interesting, but lacked the drama of a true story. By focusing on the moments of his life that made for good stories–his differences with his brother Peter, early problems with money, and the challenge of taking his business public-I made the profile of him much more intriguing than the PR version of his life.
But to do this, I had to know what I was looking for. Stalking the true short story requires that you understand the patterns of a story and then seek to find them in your subject. In Writing for Story, Jon Franklin defines story as the following:
A story consists of a sequence of actions that occur when a sympathetic character encounters a complicating situation that he confronts and solves.
Franklin’s definition sounds simple, but it contains the essence of a memorable nonfiction story. Writing is an art, and to succeed at it, you to need to use the artifice and elements of storytelling to enhance your work.
Let’s break down the definition. A sequence of actions. Stories are based on chronology, one of the oldest and most effective ways of organizing a narrative. They are part of a sequence; they are related to each other, not strung together willy-nilly.
Action brings readers into a story more quickly than any other technique. Vivid actions get things moving quickly. Hook the reader with your opening action and then save most of the background and description for when the story is underway.
These actions should lead to reactions, reflections on the action by the main character in the story. This focus on action will provide pulse and momentum. By including both exterior action and interior reflection on it, you’ll have a story that will succeed on two levels. Not only will readers be impelled by the action, they’ll learn something from the person’s reflections and be changed by them.
In every good story, a reader starts in one place and ends up in another place, changed and enlightened in some way.
For a more in-depth look at storytelling, Seattle writing classes and online classes that will help you acheive this in your own work, please take a look at my website, www.thewritersworkshop.net.

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What Makes Washington Wine Unique?

Posted on March 31, 2011 by admin

Washington State’s star is rising. Awards flood in from Robert Parker’s Wine Advocate, the Wine Spectator and many other publications. But what’s distinctive about the region’s wine? Is there a style or flavor profile that sets it apart? Is there a standout varietal? And is it riesling, merlot, cabernet, syrah or something else?

Sandy Block, Master of Wine, and Drew Hendricks, Master Sommelier, discuss the unique qualities of Washington wine.

These were the questions raised during a lively seminar at the 2011 Taste Washington on March 26 in Seattle. The panel included winemakers, journalists like yours truly and retailers who debated these questions.
“What the hell is Washington?” asked moderator Bruce Schoenfeld, the wine editor at Travel & Leisure magazine. “Do you define yourself by a grape or a style?
Schoenfeld compared Washington’s diversity with the more unified image of Chile and South Africa, whose regions are making very different wines, but have been forced to work together for marketing.
“Any viticulture district has to be defined by its physical characteristics,” replied Bob Betz, of Betz Family Winery and a Master of Wine (MW). “It’s climate and topography. I’m a terroiriste; the conditions where you grow the grapes lead to sensory expression.”
This begged the question: what are Washington’s distinct sensory impressions? Is there a commonality between Chelan, Red Mountain and Walla Walla?
“We have the ripeness of the new world, and the earth and the elegance of old world regions like Bordeaux and Barolo,” said Shayn Bjornholm, Master Sommelier (MS) of the Washington State Wine Commission. “But we don’t have a sound bite. It’s difficult to give people an elevator pitch.”
Some of the panelists disputed the need for such a pitch, saying all consumers really want is a great bottle, no matter where it comes from.
“Consumers want something delicious,” said Sandy Block (MW) of Legal Seafoods. “If it has a story, a clear identity, the staff will form a picture of how it will work with food. If it’s hazy, with a vague story, it’s a harder sell. What is the story? People don’t have all day to pick out a wine. What causes people to look at the Washington section?”
Part of the reason the story may be hazy is that it’s still unfolding. The region is still in its infancy. Much of its growth and development still lies ahead. After years of leading Travel, Food and Wine Writing Classes to established wine regions like Bordeaux, Provence and Montalcino, Italy (http://www.thewritersworkshop.net/travel.htm), I’ve come to understand just how long it takes regions to develop such distinctive styles and traditions. It will be a while before Washington gets there, no matter how high its quality.
“Old world structure with new world fruit,” said Betz, summing up what he finds distinctive about the state’s wine. “But sometimes the best gauge is the two-point scale—yum or yuck.”
The panelists may not have been able to define exactly what makes Washington wines unique, but they all agreed on its quality. Yum!
Are you a fan of Washington wine? What do you like or dislike about it? What is your favorite house or varietal? I’d love to hear your thoughts.

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The Art of Wine Writing and Blending Wine

Posted on March 23, 2011 by admin

I enjoy writing about wine in part because I get to participate in the wine making process. I always find elements of beauty, discovery and ancient ritual in wine making. My story about Napa Valley wine touring appears in the March issue of Alaska Airlines Magazine, and includes a section on visiting Conn Creek Winery’s blending facility, which allows visitors to participate in the art of making wine. For those who haven’t already seen it I’ll include below:

WINEMAKER FOR A DAY


The last morning of my Napa visit, I stop in at Conn Creek Winery. After the advice I’ve heard from wine makers, I’m eager to craft my own blend, especially with cabernet, Napa Valley’s most highly regarded varietal. The winery’s AVA Room Barrel Blending Experience provides a rare opportunity to taste and blend wines from the many regions of Napa. Conn Creek’s winemaker Mike McGrath does the hard work of fermenting cabernet from all the regions of Napa including Oakville, Rutherford, Spring Mountain, St. Helena, Stag’s Leap, Yountville and Carneros. Now I get to try my hand at blending them into a perfect bottle, a critical step in the wine-making process . I’ll play winemaker for a day and take home my own blend of cabernet.
“Today, we get to play with wine,” says Karen Trippe, the cheerful hostess at Conn Creek. “We’ll learn the blender’s craft.”
Trippe discusses the uniqueness of the Napa Valley: elevation, temperature variations, variety of soils, which together yield extremely balanced fruit. The blending room houses dozens of 60-gallon French oak barrels, each with a 2008 cabernet wine from a different district of the valley.
It’s simply too much to resist. I systematically sample every wine, from the softer, red berry fruited wines of Oakville, to the bold, ripe, tannic wines of Calistoga. The problem is I like all of them. Where to start?
“Some people want to use all of them,” advises Trippe. “But it’s like using all the crayons to draw a picture; it turns out brown.”
She advises choosing one and building from there. I love the Rutherford wine’s spicy nose, and deep, rich complex fruit, but the wine is very tannic. Trippe advises adding the Oakville sample to round out the blend.
I take out the 100 milliliter graduated cylinder and pour in half Rutherford and half Oakville. I smell and taste it. Rather than enhancing the Rutherford, the Oakville has obscured it.
I change the proportion to 80 percent Rutherford, 15 percent Oakville. Now, the Oakville sample enhances the blend. I taste and sniff. Almost there. I add a dash cabernet franc for aromatics. The blend comes alive as if someone has passed a wand over it.
“A good blend is greater than the sum of its parts,” she says. “That’s the magical part of wine making.”
I sniff the blend, savoring its intoxicating perfume. As much as I enjoy the castles, cathedrals and traditions of Europe, I’ve come under the spell of Napa. I love its friendliness and informality and the conviction that there are new wines to make and new ways to make them. After bottling my blend, I store it carefully in my luggage. I’m already thinking about when to open it and what to serve with it so I might recapture the magic of Napa I’ve enjoyed on this trip.

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Fifth Issue of Writer’s Workshop Review is live!

Posted on March 10, 2011 by admin

The fifth issue of The Writer’s Workshop Review is now live! Please take a look: www.thewritersworkshopreview.net.

The issue features an excerpt from Bird Cloud, Pulitzer Prize and National Book Award-winning author Annie Proulx’s new memoir and other literary riches: “Stuck in the Sacristy,” Dave Buchanan’s hilarious account of serving as an altar boy at a historic turning point in the Catholic Church; “Last Days: The Bitter and the Sweet,” Alexandra Garfield’s moving memoir of helping loved ones prepare for death with dignity; “Glencolumcille,” Robin Curtiss’s dark tale of retribution among the troubles of Ireland; “True Power,” Paul Lewellan’s highly original story of prisoner rehabilitation through the Great Books and exotic dancing; and, finally, “The Heart of Hospitality,” my Dispatches column on Domaine Tempier, the Provençal winery that served as inspiration for Alice Waters’ Chez Panisse Restaurant and much of the American organic cuisine movement.
We hope you enjoy the fifth issue of The Writer’s Workshop Review. Please let us know what you think. We look forward to hearing from you!

All best,

Nick O’Connell
Publisher/ Editor
The Writer’s Workshop Review
www.thewritersworkshopreview.net

nick@thewritersworkshop.net

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Amazon: Friend or Foe of Book Publishers?

Posted on March 3, 2011 by admin

Jon Fine of Amazon talks about book publishing to The Writer's Workshop writing class.

Everyone knows that Amazon.com sells lots of books. In fact, a recent Los Angeles Times article reports the Seattle-based company now accounts for 22 percent of the total U.S. book sales for key stores, thumping rivals Barnes & Noble and Borders. And that’s just print books; Amazon’s share of the fast-growing e-book market jumped to a whopping 90 percent as of last year, according to the Author’s Guild.
The Author’s Guild and others have sounded the alarm over Amazon’s dominance of book sales, arguing the company has become a near monopolist. This controversy over its retailing practices has often obscured its forays into the publishing world, which are of particular interest for authors, aspiring and otherwise. To learn more about these programs, I invited Jon Fine, director of author & publisher relations for Amazon, to speak to my winter Seattle writing class. Fine provided a fascinating overview of Amazon’s publishing programs.
“We saw this ability for people to write and make their voice heard,” says Fine. “I embrace the idea that everyone should have the ability to express themselves. We have a wealth of tools and services for authors at any point in the career, or any point in the life cycle of a book. Whether you’re an aspiring author, or you’ve published in digital or in print, at any point in that spectrum we hope to have something to help you with.”
Fine discussed Amazon’s three publishing programs in detail. For more, see the forthcoming issue of The Writer’s Workshop Review, www.thewritersworkshopreview.net.

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Publishing Opportunities

Posted on January 28, 2011 by admin

Publishers occasionally contact me looking for writers to contribute to their publications. Here are two that you might consider as homes for your stories:

The editors at City Arts Magazine are now accepting submissions for Ampersand, City Arts print and online showcase for original work by emerging Northwest artists and writers. We want to see fiction, poetry, essays, film, painting, music, lyrics, scripts and whatever else you can think of. In particular, we are looking for under-celebrated work that demonstrates innovation, superior craftsmanship and, as much as possible, a healthy sense of humor.Explore Ampersands new home on our Web site at cityartsonline.com/ampersand.

Pink Pangea, the first online community for women travelers, is seeking travel writers! Pink Pangea is the place where women travelers share their experiences abroad, connect to fellow travelers, and inspire other women to explore the world. Pink Pangea’s goal is to make travel easier, safer, and more fulfilling for women of all ages. We are looking for adventurous and eloquent students who have traveled abroad and want to document their experiences while discussing issues that are relevant to women travelers.

Contact Jaclyn@pinkpangea.com for more information, and visit www.PinkPangea.com to read current articles.

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