Embracing Life: With "French" and "Bonjour" Author, Jamie Cat Callan

Author Jamie Callan at Cafe del Industrie

Engaging author, instructor and happiness expert Jamie Cat Callan was inspired by her French grandmother to return to France and discover the secret to joie de vivre — at any age. She shares those secrets in her latest book, Bonjour, Happiness!, which serves up the latest adventures of one woman on a quest to rediscover her ooh la la through all things French and some things not so French. Bonjour, Happiness! will be released on March 29 by Citadel, Kensington.

Submit a comment on your writing ooh la la to Word for Words. The winning selection receives an signed copy of Jamie's French Women Don't Sleep Alone.

AMA: You already lead a well-traveled, experiential life. What was the most influential lesson you learned while researching your prior book, French Women Don't Sleep Alone?

JCC: The French taught me how to let go of the sometimes debilitating idea of perfection.

AMA: That's a tough task in a demanding world. What's the secret?

JCC: I've learned the art of the French shrug! Rather than apologizing (something I used to do for a lot — often, for no real reason), I will now lift my shoulders, look heavenward, smile slightly, even mysteriously, and pronounce "c'est la vie!" This tiny gesture has truly changed my life. I believe I am a kinder and more forgiving person — to myself, to my friends, to my family and to the world at large.

AMA: Sounds like a great approach, especially to the writing life, and very French. How do they embrace life in general?

JCC: Things happen. We live. We learn. C'est la vie!

AMA: Living, learning and life — not a bad way to embrace Valentine's Day, and the rest of the year.

Jamie Cat Callan is also an expert in drawing out the writer's creative side with The Writer's Toolbox: Creative Games and Exercises for Inspiring the 'Write' Side of Your Brain.

 

The Arrogance of Writing: New Author Talks Turkey About His Foray Into Writing

Former Fortune 40 exec Garrett Miller talks about the impetus for his new book, Hire on a WHIM: The Four Qualities that Make for Great Employees, on the qualities every job candidate must have and every hiring manager must look for. Read Garrett's surprising take on what pushed him to write and keep writing — successfully.

AA: With your extensive sales and training background, what got you started writing?

GM: Having time on my hands after a job change and starting a company [Garrett is president and CEO of CoTria, a productivity management firm] led me down a foreign path. I found myself with a very rare commodity — time. With this hopefully brief window of time, I decided I would write, and with excitement I poured the first of many cups of afternoon tea and stared. I had dozens of ideas and years of kinetic energy ready to be unleashed onto the keyboard. Then the doubts began to creep in, and my thoughts began to attack me. On what authority are you going to write? Who would ever read your book? Despite the doubts, I pressed on, knowing the creative process would be better than sitting idle — and to tell you the truth, I did think I had something of value to say.

AA: What was your next hurdle?

GM: Once I was committed to writing, my second obstacle was what I would say, and whether it was new and valuable in the marketplace.

GM: I enjoyed the process of discovering what I would write about. I pulled back my life's camera so that I was looking at my career from a 10,000-foot perspective and asked, "What did you do well, and what did others think you did well?" The answer came quickly — hiring. I hired terrific talent into the company, and others took notice as well. That was a great feeling. So, I had my subject matter; now what would I have to say?

AA: Sounds like the roller coaster all writers go through, but how did you figure that out?

GM: The next step took a few days of hard thinking, and that was figuring out why I hired well and why anyone would care. I began to unpack my experiences and looked for common threads that ran through each of my hires. I still remember sitting alone in a restaurant waiting for my client and just writing down ideas and qualities. I rearranged my thoughts, rewrote them and then boiled them down to four words. Then I played with the words, found synonyms and rearranged them until I had a cleaver acronym — WHIM. It was at this point that my book was born. I had direction and purpose, and a foundation on which to build. Most important was a new-found confidence in my subject matter — that it was new and valuable. Now I could write with confidence.

AA: That's hugely encouraging for any writer — fiction or nonfiction. But the title of this post — which is your title — is the "arrogance" of writing. What do you mean that?

GM: I still found myself amazed at the arrogance needed to write as a "subject matter expert." When I doubted my expertise, I began to bounce my ideas off people I respected. I listened and watched as they heard and processed my ideas. Most of the time a smile would slowly form on their faces as I described my concepts, and then they would give a nod of agreement. What I valued most was when they challenged my ideas and I had to defend them. It was in the successful defense of my subject that I truly grew in confidence. I was energized by these conversations and reconverted to the subject matter expert I needed to be in order to write with assurance.

AA: That's one of the most encouraging things a writer could hear, especially in an age of easy rejection. What advice would you give to other aspiring authors?

GM: Once you set out on this glorious task of writing, be convinced of your subject and the creative process of writing. If you begin to lose your swagger, call on your friends and respected colleagues. Be reinvigorated through lively discussion and debate about your subject matter, and then return, born anew.

Garrett Miller is a feature author, productivity expert and instructor. His Hire on a WHIM is a must-read for job seekers and hiring personnel. Read more about the book at the Editor's Bookshelf. The book is also available at Amazon, at Hire on a WHIM: The Four Qualities that Make for Great Employees.

Writing Well and the Writing Conference

Writers' conferences, seminars, retreats, workshops—I can't seem to let a year go by without one. But in this tough economy, a conference can be hard to justify. Still, cost doesn't have to be a deterrent. Libraries offer free workshops, and adult education courses are usually great buys; so are those at community colleges. The key points to ponder in deciding depends on what you're looking for:

• Conferences: Best for a soup-to-nuts approach to the writing world
• Workshops: Focus on one aspect of writing or the writing life
• Retreats: Offer a place to write
• Seminars: More business-oriented, and a how-to focus

One of the best conferences for me was the National Writers Workshop sponsored by the Hartford Courant and the Poynter Institute. I loved it (it's now offered in Florida) for lots of reasons:

• Proximity: Affordable hotel, within day commuting or a weekend stay, early arrival available
• Speakers: From the keynote to breakout session leaders, the speakers were topnotch. Examples include David Baldacci, Arthur Golden, Sebastian Junger and Morely Safer.
• Writing opportunities: We were given assignments onsite and looked them over there, too.
• Networking: There were tons of opportunities over the weekend to meet the writers and speakers.

Since we're pressed for time and funds, it's key to shop around and select what best fits gaps in your writing experience—craft, publishing, marketing, the pitch, blogging. Whatever you need, there's a venue for it. One caveat: The venues mentioned here aren't virtual; there's still something to be said for the irreplaceable human dynamic.

This year, I'm attending LWC } NYC, Literary Writers Conference New York City. It's co-sponsored by the New School graduate writing program and the Council of Literary Magazines and Presses, and partners with lots of places: Sobel Weber Associates, The National Book Foundation, Sterling Lord Literistic and Poets & Writers. It's two days for fiction, poetry and creative-nonfiction writers to meet other experts—writers, editors, agents, publicists and publishers. Participants include Publishers Weekly, Oxford University Press, Scribner, Hachette Book Group, Graywolf, the Poetry Society of America, Bloomsbury, Knopf, the Academy of American Poets and more.

The conference promises a lot—let's see if it delivers. I'll let you know in November—and pass along tips and resources.

Tips:
To make the most of any event—workshop, retreat, conference or seminar—think in three phases: before, during and after:

• Research the presenters' and sponsors' websites. Consider dropping a simple—and brief—e-mail to those of interest.
• Meet everyone you can, and bring items that represent you—business cards, bookmarks, brochures—e-versions are fine, but giveaways are great. Tailor what you offer to the type of contact.
• Follow up with thank-yous, invites to guest post, etc., Don't just go to get; go to give.

Resource: ShawGuides