5 Great Essay Collections

As Writer Abroad puts the finishing touches on her Swiss essay book in order to send it to her editor in the best possible condition on Monday, she’s been referring to other essay collections regarding structure and organization. Here are some of her favorites:

I Feel Bad About My Neck by Nora Ephron. If there’s a better essay collection on women’s issues, Writer Abroad doesn’t know what it is. Unfortunately, another book of hers, I Remember Nothing, which Writer Abroad also bought, doesn’t live up to the Neck collection. Maybe the author got too big of head when writing it? She name-dropped in it so much that Writer Abroad couldn’t even finish reading it.

Hypocrite in a Pouffy White Dress by Susan Jane Gilman. Wonderful coming of age best-selling essay collection whose final chapter is a bonus—at least to those of us in Switzerland—since it takes us to Geneva.

I Was Told There’d Be Cake by Sloane Crosley. If you like a life served up funny and self-deprecating, then this essay collection about being a young person in New York City is for you.

Me Talk Pretty One Day by David Sedaris. Learning French is fun when you’re in class with Sedaris. While you might not learn to conjugate the past, you’ll learn what’s so funny about the present.

Tales from the Expat Harem edited by Anastasia M. Ashman and Jennifer Eaton Gökmen. If you often feel stuck between two worlds, then this book will introduce you to 32 foreign women living in Turkey who are trying to find themselves somewhere between East and West.

Any great collection of essays you've read recently?

Why Writers Should Get Digital

Writer Abroad loves printed books so she just didn't know if she could bring herself to do the unthinkable: Read an e-book.

Nevertheless, Writer Abroad got a Kindle in December. But like any good traditional book lover, she procrastinated. She didn’t read her first e-book until May.

Call it desperation because she was not only traveling, but also sleeping in the same room as Baby M. And a book she could read in the dark? Perfect.

The day she was leaving for her trip, a friend recommended Let’s Get Digital by David Gaughran: How to Self-Publish and Why You Should.

It was a self-published e-book and it cost less than $4. Writer Abroad didn’t even read the blurb. She bought it and read it in two days. It was wonderful. It was wonderful to read on the Kindle as she could hold the Kindle with one hand and Baby M with the other. It was wonderful because this book wasn’t even available as a print book so she couldn’t have read it any other way. And it was wonderful because the book itself was inspiring.

Let’s Get Digital was well written, informative, and made Writer Abroad believe self-publishing and e-books just might be the best things to ever happen to writers. The book gave an overview of the troubled traditional publishing industry and how the internet has revolutionized publishing to make it easier than ever for writers to find audiences and make money from writing. It also discussed how to self-publish: how to find editors, create book covers, format, and more. Finally, 33 bestselling self-publishers shared their inspiring stories. They made Writer Abroad wonder, what the heck is she waiting for?

As a reader, writer, and international traveler, Writer Abroad has decided an e-reader may just be of the best inventions this century.

What do you think about e-books as a writer and/or reader?

Reader Appreciation Day

If it weren’t for readers, there would be no writers, so today Writer Abroad would like to celebrate her readers and also highlight the things they write. If you’ve left a traceable comment this year–and you have a blog or website—you are listed below. Please check out the sites of these fellow readers and writers. Thanks for being a part of the Writer Abroad community.

Creating Van Gogh: A blog about writing historical fiction 

Expat Mum: Observations from the U.S. of A. 

The Good Shufu: A Wife in Search of a Life Between East and West

Empty Nest Expat

A Woman in her Thirties

Lisa Romeo Writes

Life in the Expat Lane: Foreign Fun in Exotic Places 

The Urban Muse: Adventures in reading, writing, and the creative life

The Perpetual Passenger: Sit back, relax, and enjoy your flight

Kelly & Wojtek’s Blog

I was an Expat Wife 

Milchtoast: Living, learning, eating in Switzerland and beyond

Bicontinental Dachshund

Queso Suizo: An expat-life travelogue turned mommy blog 

The Dubious Hausfrau: When life gives you expat living, make it an adventure

Fear and Writing

Writers have a lot of fears:

No one will read it. Everyone will read it.

It won’t get published. It will get published.

My mother will read it. My mother won’t talk to me.

But maybe the biggest fear is this: hey world, my soul is showing.

The best writers get over this fear. Because if they didn’t they wouldn’t be the best writers.

Writer Abroad has put off her memoir for awhile. Mainly because she wanted to make sure she had perspective on it, but also because she was scared.

It’s scary to reveal parts of yourself to others, but at this point, Writer Abroad figures if you are scared, that means your work is something others will relate to. Because writing is about connecting with people. And something that scares you has probably scared them too.

So after she’s published the essay book (less scary because many of the essays have already appeared in print), she’s ready to take on the memoir again.

Here are a few more thoughts from Copyblogger on Why we need to write, even when we’re scared.

Top 10 Things I Learned at the Zurich Writers Workshop

As the co-founder of the Zurich Writers Workshop, Writer Abroad also has the benefit of learning from these events. At the spring workshop, From First Draft to Bestseller with Lee Weatherly, here are ten things Writer Abroad learned about writing fiction:

One: Draw out dramatic moments/moments of tension. If a car crash happens in one sentence, you have a problem.

Two: Get inside the character’s head and stay there. Would they be thinking what you’re describing? If not, get rid of it.

Three: A novel synopsis consists of the main plot points only. It should mainly focus on the action story arc but should also touch on the emotional story arc. (For more on how to plot a novel, see here.)

Four: Every scene should center around tension and the scene should start as close to the tension point as possible.

Five: To discover your character’s backstory, come up with contradictions in your character. If they are stubborn, maybe they are also compassionate. And why? Perhaps because when they were young they were bullied so they won’t be able to tolerate others being treated that way.

Six: Holding back information is just as important as telling it. Even if characters know things, they don’t necessarily say them. Resist the urge to explain everything on page 2. Hold back as much as possible until later. It keeps readers hooked.

Seven: When revising, look for emotional words, like happy or sad. Then take them out and figure out how to get across that the character is happy or sad without saying those words.

Eight: Always stay in the moment.

Nine: Let the reader make their own connections/interpretations about what’s going on. For example, you shouldn’t have to say something like “she is in danger.” The reader should get that.

Ten: Use specific nouns. For example, instead of saying “expensive car” say “Ferrari.”

For those who want more information on these topics, check out Lee Weatherly’s book (co-written with Helen Corner) called, Write a Blockbuster and Get it Published.

To hear more about events with the Zurich Writers Workshop, join our mailing list.

Build a book promotion plan you can be proud of

Writer Abroad recently got an e-mail from a writer who self-published a novel set in Switzerland. How should he promote it?

Since Writer Abroad is in the process of determining this for her own essay book about Switzerland, here are five things to consider:

Appear at an expo in the country your book is set in: For instance, in Switzerland, Writer Abroad would probably consider renting a table at an Expat Expo, since she believes expats in Switzerland will make up a big part of her readership.

Tap into a blog network. In Writer Abroad’s case, it makes sense to ask fellow expat bloggers to review the book or allow her to write a guest post for their blog. This strategy is best if you already have a relationship with certain bloggers versus contacting them cold once you have something to sell.

Get reviews on amazon and Goodreads. The more (and better) the reviews, the better chances your book will show up in the search results and therefore be considered for purchase. For more info on this, check out book marketing master Joanna Penn’s blog.

Connect with publications. Write an article or press release about your book (or offer up an excerpt) and send it to editors you already have a relationship with. For instance, Writer Abroad has written for almost all of the English-language magazines and radio stations in Switzerland. She plans to contact them when her book is ready.

Teach a workshop. Two years ago, Writer Abroad taught a workshop at the American Women’s Club called “Make a living as a writer abroad.” She would consider doing something like this again, or perhaps teaching a course through her own Zurich Writers Workshop. A more subtle approach, maybe, but one that will still get your name out there as an author.

Anyone have book promotion ideas that have worked for them?

International Writing Round-up

Expats Blog is hosting a writing contest this month. Every two weeks there is a new topic. Entries must be previously unpublished. Topics include Education & International Schools, Working Abroad, and more. The winner of each topic receives a $200 Amazon gift voucher.

The Association for the Study of Literature and Environment is seeking poetry and creative nonfiction, written by women and inspired by the natural world. 

Canadians or expats living in Canada are invited to submit stories for a new Chicken Soup for the Soul book called, Oh Canada, The Wonders of Winter. Deadline is June 15. Chosen stories receive $200. 

The New York Times had an interesting article on why even Pulitzer-Prize winning authors are choosing to self-publish.

The Glimpse Graduate Program at MatadorU is looking for talented writers, photographers, and filmakers who are living abroad. The application deadline is July 31st. There is a processing fee of $25.