Writing for Change: From Passion to Publication, Part 2

Today agent Michael Larsen, author of How to Write a Book Proposal and How to Get a Literary Agent, and co-director of the San Francisco Writing for Change conference, is back again to provide the second part of his post on the road from passion to publication–a topic close to my heart.

Writing for Change: From Passion to Publication
By Michael Larsen

Give Voice to Your Ideas

Speaking to groups enables you to get feedback on your ideas and connect with supporters and potential readers.

Endow Yourself With a Higher Form of Authority

When you have a book’s worth of information, and the visibility and plan to promote it, you’re ready to sell your book. Write a proposal with an overview about the book and you, an outline, and a sample chapter. Find an agent or sell it yourself.  A published book will give you instant credibility with anyone. It will bring followers to your banner and opportunties to speak and write.

Communicate with Your Communities

Ask your communities of writers and people in your field to help you write and spread the word about your book. Reciprocate.

Stay Committed to Your Goals

Relentlessly communicating the change you want will help make it happen. You must  persevere and continue to grow in your ability to help your cause.

Expect Resistance

People and institutions tend to change only when the promise of more pleasure or less pain convince them it will be worth the effort. The greater the change you propose, the greater the resistance it will encounter and the longer it will take. But the fall of the wall, the peaceful revolution in South Africa, and the irreversible drive to clean energy prove that anything is possible.

You can accomplish far more than you think you can. Can your life serve a better purpose than trying bring about a change you believe in?

About the Author

Michael Larsen is a literary agent and consultant to nonfiction writers. He and his partner Elizabeth Pomada are co-directors of the San Francisco Writers Conference and the San Francisco Writing for Change Conference. He is the author of the third editions of How to Write a Book Proposal and How to Get a Literary Agent, and coauthor of the second edition of Guerrilla Marketing for Writers: 100 Weapons for Selling Your Work.

www.larsenpomada.com

The Third San Francisco Writing for Change Conference: Changing the World One Book at a Time / November 13-14, Hilton Financial/Chinatown / www.sfwritingforchange.org / Keynoters: Dan Millman (Way of the Peaceful Warrior) and John Robbins (Diet for a New America)