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Dilemma of the Multi-Genre Author

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It’s great fun for a writer to wear many different hats: to write effectively on a variety of fun topics. It keeps life interesting. But how does the multi-genre author effectively manage their brand, website, and social media pages?

That’s a trick I confess I’ve yet to manage properly. I’d love reader feedback on this dilemma!

When I began writing, it wasn’t quite so tricky. My first website I managed myself was in the 90s, on Tripod (no longer in existence, but oldies may remember it) under my author name.

Next came WordPress blogging. For parents, I had (have) my Parenting by Faith blog. For writers, it was (is) my Sell Your Nonfiction blog, on how to sell magazine articles. My articles on parenting and writing are still there; most on perennial topics, thankfully.

Well eventually my old WordPress themes became unsupported: the graphics went wacky. The switch from free WordPress.com to fee supported WordPress.org made sense, for more personal control over my material. The creation of CrossConnect Media to merge (ideally) all the weird parts of my brain on one site seemed possible. I chose the Get Noticed Theme, which had/has quite a learning curve. (It is no longer supported by the designer, but still seems to work … for now).

NOW here I go, turning into a history nut! At least a nut revolving around 95-year-old letters found in my own attic, written from an American mom in the Indian jungle, a remote island convict colony with an elephant logging camp in the 1920s. How could that NOT be irresistible to a writer?

So here I am. As if my sites are not complicated enough. It may not be as much a disconnect as it seems: a good portion of the historical biography I’m writing has to do with motherhood. And writing, of course. But if I’m not careful, this website could turn into a very strange medusa.

For now, I just keep running my old blogs and hope my social media pages add clarity to what I do, in addition to my Bio. History buffs may enjoy my Facebook page, Laurie Winslow Sargent: for Parents, Writers and the Eternally Curious with links to my Twitter page. There I’m posting some fun historical tidbits related to my research of the 1920s-1930s in British Raj India. Here, I will continue to post tips on the writing business.

If, perchance, you are a multi-genre author like myself and have successfully figured out a one-size-fits-all website for yourself, I’d love to hear about it!

Laurie

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Finding Stories in Vintage Family Photos

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Are you a writer? A reader? Or a history buff, curious about your ancestors? Regardless, stories intrigue you.  Here’s the first post in my series, Researching Your Own Attic Mysteries. Learn how to dig into your vintage family memorabilia to uncover stories and the personalities behind them.

I  thought of titling this post “I See Dead People”.

Not that it has anything to do with apparitions. Instead, it has to do with those Ahah! moments: when images of people in musty sepia-toned images in your attic suddenly become people who intrigue you. With a little digging, you end up seeing them in whole new light.

Take, for example, this image of my great-great-grandpa, John Martin Gose (1825-1919). My grandma’s grandpa.

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A year ago, this photo meant nothing to me. Even seeing his name marked on the back meant little. But now I know his story, I’m impressed with this guy!

What an adventurer he was. He traveled via covered wagon — from Missouri to California — to take part in the gold rush. He then moved back home, started a family, and brought them all on the Oregon Trail. The journey took nearly a year until they settled as as pioneers in early Walla Walla, Washington.

If that doesn’t beat all, although a farmer, he managed to raise a whole passel of young’uns who became lawyers, a judge and a doctor. All his children prized education so highly that one, my great-grandpa, made sure all his own kids –including four daughters—were university educated before 1920.

One of those girls, my Grandma Gladys, (1897-1994), was also an athlete. She scandalously swam across a lake at U-Dub in a men’s swimsuit to beat the fraternity guys, became a PE teacher in San Diego, then lived in British Raj India for seven years.

It seems that apple Gladys didn’t fall far from the family tree — adventurers begetting adventurers.

Do you now see John, in this photo, a little differently?

Naturally you’re wondering how I learned so much about him. No, I didn’t make his story up imaginatively out of whole cloth. Playing armchair detective, I combed through a combination of oral family history, online ancestry programs, photos, census records, diaries, and letters. A fuller picture of John emerged. It’s amazing, once you have online tools and documents at your fingertips, how quickly you can pull facts together about people in the past.

Old census docs contain a lot of cool details, including occupations, i.e. blacksmith or farmer. Perhaps someday your own great-grandkids will look at a census record about you, and say, “I didn’t know great-grandma was a writer!”

As an author currently writing Gladys’ biography (about her time in India), my exploration of John is more about understanding her backstory. But Gladys is a sum of DNA parts, of her parents and grandparents and their attitudes towards life. It’s nice to not only know her better but also the people who raised her.

I’ll explain more detail in future posts how to use various resources to uncover fascinating family details, which can be used in nonfiction stories, as elements of fictional characters,  or simply help you learn more about your own ancestry.

To not miss any future posts here,  subscribe to CrossConnectMedia.com (upper right of this webpage), and follow my Facebook page, (Laurie Winslow Sargent: for Parents, Writers & the Eternally Curious). I’d also love it if you’d join me on Twitter at @LaurieSargent with #MyAtticMysteries.

I’d love to know if this inspires you to drag some boxes out of your own the attic! Let me know also if you have any questions about this process of exploring old family items.

Feel free to comment with your own tips on researching family documents, to encourage us all in our fun history explorations.

Write on!

Laurie

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Starting Small: Writing Your First Magazine Article

Getting started may be easier than you think.

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Do you have an urge to write, but have not yet started  — and can only imagine writing a whole book someday? Someday when you are less busy? Or when you know more about writing?

Try Nonfiction Article Writing

Think smaller, and you can start writing earlier than later.  Perhaps not as early as the author in this photo (my brilliant 8-month-old Grandbaby Lu). But earlier, as in NOW.

The key is to write something short and sweet: a magazine article, for example. Nonfiction articles (which can include true personal experience stories) are a great way to dip into the writing world. Articles can also produce income for the long haul. One can be sold more than once, included in book material later, then used as a book excerpt to help promote that book. With one article you can reach hundreds of thousands of readers at one time, unlike most books.

Granted, it does take three things: finding one great idea, finding the right audience & magazine, and writing your article well.

As for finding an idea, I’m willing to bet you’ve had one stirring about in your mind, but haven’t been sure what to do with it. Most people who want to write have some idea they are wrestling with already. What shape could that take? An inspirational or dramatic Chicken Soup style story? A how-to article? An interview or investigative piece?

Finding the right audience and magazine in which to be published requires some exploration. Laurie’s Lessons  can help. In blog posts at SellYourNonfiction.com I share some information I’ve taught for decades through writing workshops at community colleges and writers conferences.  Those posts explain a bit about how the magazine writing world works, including how to find and contact editors, how much articles pay, etc.

As for writing well: that’s an ongoing process. If you struggle with grammar, you will obviously need to get a leg up on that before trying to write professionally. But if you are reasonably proficient with words and willing to be a continuous learner, a writing critique group can help tremendously. There  are also great books and magazines available through Writer’s Digest addressing all aspects of the writing process.

The nice thing about starting small, with perhaps a single article, is that you can learn about the entire publishing process in a nutshell. You will learn how to write an article proposal, acquire and meet a deadline, work with editors, then get to see the finished piece in print, which for a first-time author is a thrill. That whole process might take a few months or a year, depending on the publication.

Just don’t let little Lu beat you in getting published; she has a good head start on you!

Laurie

Delight in Your Child’s Design: Second Edition (Kindle + Kindle for PC & Android) by Laurie Winslow Sargent (EA Books Publishing, Inc. , 2016)

Delight in Your Child's Design, Second Edition

Delight in Your Child’s Design: Second Edition is available for Kindle/Kindle for PC/Kindle for Android (using the Kindle app).

The original paperback by Laurie Winslow Sargent was published by Tyndale House Publishers, receiving at that time wide international radio exposure including via The Moody Broadcasting Network. It has now been updated to reach a new generation of parents.

BOOK DESCRIPTION

You love your child, but do you sometimes feel frustrated, worn-out, or just plain overwhelmed?

Even as a “good” parent, you may become discouraged if you don’t understand why your child behaves as he or she does. Add other complicating factors, such as a busy schedule or a child’s learning difficulties, and you may feel disconnected.

But don’t give up. You can nurture a richer, more satisfying parent/child relationship. Laurie Winslow Sargent will help you identify and appreciate your child’s unique, God-given temperament and abilities. Her tips on relating to your child—no matter how much alike or different from you he or she is—will increase your confidence. And Laurie offers many practical suggestions that will inspire you to show affection and appreciation in ways most meaningful to you and your child.

You’ve been given an exclusive opportunity: the chance to nurture a child who is like no other. So learn to choose the child you’ve been given—and discover the joy of parenting all over again.

Updated for a new generation of parents, this digital second edition from EA Books Publishing was impacted by suggestions from enthusiastic readers of the first edition paperback, which had been produced and beautifully designed by Tyndale/Focus on the Family. Loyal readers of the first edition may enjoy seeing how children profiled in the first edition grew up to choose careers and endeavors reflecting personality traits seen in them as infants, toddlers, and teens: offering yet another reminder that God truly designs each child uniquely from inception.