When you feel compelled to create change in the world, your writing–and your writing success–flows out of that purpose and out of your passion for your work. Some of the most successful nonfiction authors are change agents following their purpose and passion down the road to publication as they try to create change on some level.
If you see yourself as a change agent, or if that is what you would like to become, and you want to use your writing to help you achieve your goals, author and agent Michael Larsen has returned today with the second part of his post about writing for change. If you missed part 1, you can read it here.
Writing for Change: From Passion to Publication
By Mike Larsen
Here is the rest of the road from passion to publication:
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 opportunities 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 to 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.
The Eighth San Francisco Writers Conference / A Celebration of Craft, Commerce & Community / President’s Day Weekend, February 18-20, 2011 / Mark Hopkins InterContinental Hotel on Nob Hill / Keynoters: Dorothy Allison & David Morrell / Pitch your book to agents and editors from both coasts / More than 50 breakout sessions / 100 presenters / Indie Publishing Contest / www.sfwriters.org / sfwriterscon@aol.com / blog: http://sfwriters.info/blog / free MP3s at www.sfwriters.info / open to anyone: a day of in-depth classes on Monday, February 21st
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