Interview with
Carmen Leal
Interview by Jenna Glatzer
Carmen is
the author of WriterSpeaker.com (Shaw Books), a writers' and speakers' guide to
the Internet. She is also the author of Faces of Huntington's, a book for
and about people with Huntington's Disease. Carmen is also a professional
singer and speaker popular at conventions, conferences, and church groups.
She is the mother of two teenage sons.
How did you get your start as a writer?
I never wanted to be a writer, although, looking back, I was actually getting
paid to write for many years before I officially decided to be a writer. I owned
my own marketing firm back home in Hawaii before I moved to Florida. To me, ad
copy, direct mail, newsletter articles, and press releases was just what I did.
In 1994, my then-husband, David, was diagnosed with a rare neurological disease
called Huntington's Disease. We relocated to Florida so I would be better able
to afford to care for him and my two teenaged sons. Out of frustration, because
there was nothing written about this disease and how it affected families, I
decided to write a book. I actually started with essays and then moved onto my
first book, Faces of Huntington's.
Which came first for you, speaking or writing?
Speaking came first.
I don't think most writers are aware of the
opportunities that exist for speakers. Can you give us a few tips for how
to get started as a professional speaker?
Let me tell you how I started. I've always been a story teller and I actually
got started speaking by reading books at the local library. From there, I
started telling stories without benefit of a book to hide behind. Somehow, kids
are an easier audience as long as they like your story.
I've had lots of sales and marketing jobs that required me to speak for a
living, so I have to admit a lot of training came from those jobs. Probably the
best advice I can give is to find something about which you are passionate and
become a volunteer. For years I spoke for the United Way, Huntington's Disease
causes, America Cancer Society, and other charities. These charities all gave me
credibility. I was able to get a nice "thank you" note for my files, a
lot of speaking experience, and I made some great contacts. This is a wonderful
way to start speaking and charities are quite forgiving if you make mistakes
along the way.
Churches are other wonderful training grounds. Most churches have a number of
different ministries and need volunteers to speak, lead bible studies, and
generally get involved.
The next suggestion is to join a Toastmasters in your area. Toastmasters is an
international organization committed to training individuals to become better
public speakers. They have a complete program. Visit several in your area before
choosing one that is right for you. Some groups are all highly polished,
competitive professionals and others are filled with speaker wannabes. Finding a
nice blend of both will allow you to learn from those who are already polished,
but not be as intimidating as being in a roomful of hyper-competitive speakers.
What kind of fees can speakers make?
That's like asking how much can you make as a writer? It varies wildly depending
on so many factors. Are you speaking only locally at small venues around town?
You probably won't make very much. Are you a well-known expert with a best
seller? The sky's the limit in that case.
I'm sort of in the middle of those two extremes. I tend to speak for a lot of
Huntington's Disease related groups. I speak to caregivers, Alzheimer's, nursing
homes, etc. Often I don't make a speaker's fee at all. On those occasions I sell
a lot of books. I spoke at the national Huntington's Disease association
convention the first year Faces of Huntington's came up. I sold about 600
books so it was well worth it even without a fee.
I also speak for a number of churches and so gain, my fees aren't as high as for
when I speak to secular audiences. Who you speak to will make a difference. I
sell a lot of books and CDs (I'm also a singer) to my audiences and that is
where I earn the bulk of my money when I speak to groups. I've been paid as
little as $50.00 for a one hour presentation, and as high as $1,000 for that
same presentation. $500.00 seems to be what the majority of my fees are these
days.
I do a number of writers' conferences and those are different and based on how
many sessions I teach.
If you want to make a lot of money as a speaker, write and speak about get rich
quick schemes, or health topics, or something like that. My business, my
speaking, writing, and music, is a ministry for me and I choose topics about
which I care. That limits my income but it's what I know I'm called to do.
Your first two books were self-published. How did
you sell WriterSpeaker.com, your third, to Shaw Books?
I was attending the Christian Booksellers Association convention in Orlando, FL
in 1999. I found myself answering questions from other writers. "How do you
make a Web page?" "Do you really sell books from your site?"
"I can never find anything on the Internet; how do you do research?"
After the second day of answering the same questions over and over I said,
"This is crazy. I should just write a book."
I chose Shaw because they publish Sally Stuart's Christian Writer's Market Guide
each year. Because I wrote so much for the Christian market I thought I it was a
nice fit. Shaw had also recently signed two other authors to do writing books so
I thought it would make a nice addition to their line of books. I just walked up
to the publisher and pitched an idea off the top of my head. He was gracious and
listened and I could see he "got it." I got an email a few weeks later
from the senior editor asking me to submit a book proposal. I'd never written a
book proposal so I got a book to help me, wrote the proposal and sold the book.
Let's say I'm a lonely little writer, and I want to
make some writer-friends. Where should I go online to meet them?
Most of my online groups are with Christian writers. Yahoo Groups and Topica.com
are both excellent sources to find online connections with writers. Just visit
their search function and type in key words for specific genres.
Here are two excellent lists for Christian writers.
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/FCW
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/CWG
Here's one for secular writers.
http://www.topica.com/lists/AwesomeWriters
iUniverse has chats and other community events that writers might enjoy.
http://www.iuniverse.com
You wrote in your book that 60% of your book sales have
come from the Internet. How do you publicize your books online?
I have a great Web site that gets a lot of traffic, so that's one way. Mostly I
am active in e-mail discussion lists and chats for both Huntington's Disease and
writers. My signature at the bottom of each email encourages readers to visit my
site. I also speak at a number of conferences and always drive traffic to my
site with the promise of a handout or something of interest. I am currently
running a contest on my site as well.
You speak at a great deal of writers' conferences.
What are the benefits of going to a writer's conference?
Meeting editors and hearing what they need is a big plus. With more and more
houses refusing unsolicited manuscripts it's becoming increasingly important to
attend conferences. Writing for publication is all about relationships and
conferences is where you begin to make those relationships.
A writers' conference is one answer. Conference organizers work hard to present
a variety of writers and editors with opportunities to talk about their writing.
Publishing houses also use these conferences to benefit themselves. They send
their editors to them, each hoping to discover any hot new talents rising in the
meter. Besides workshops and presentations, meeting with editors and networking
with other writers, writer's conferences yield dividends like catalogs,
magazines, and current submission guidelines.
Connecting with other writers is another benefit. Some of my closest friends are
other writers I met at a conference
What's proper protocol at a conference? Should I
bring my book proposals or queries? How should I dress?
The best thing to do at a conference is to go with no expectations. Guaranteed
if you decide this is the conference where you'll meet "the" editor or
sell a manuscript, you won't. And that expectation will cloud your vision for
the entire conference. Instead, go and be a sponge and soak up everything you
can.
The brochure should detail most things about each conference. I've found casual
is the norm at a conference but most people don't wear shorts. I'd bring
proposals and queries, but I'd also be sensitive to the faculty and what they
can or can not handle. Most conferences will tell you in advance if you get free
manuscript critiques or editorial appointments. I've found, in general, that all
conferences have some format, but often it includes an additional fee.
Most Christian conferences, unless they are only a one day event, seem to
offer greater opportunity for the evaluation and meeting with editors. It could
be I haven't been at the right secular conferences, but the number of editors is
far less and the extra cost is a factor to consider. Make sure you do your
homework on the publishing houses being represented and choose conferences with
editors in attendance that you would be interested in submitting to.
If you had one piece of advice to offer to writers,
what would it be?
Be a big picture writer. By that I mean don't focus on this one book or this one
article. Everything takes time and it all builds on each other. Look at your
writing as a business, a career and a passion. Understand that unless you are
just the worst writer in the world, you'll eventually have success if you follow
the rules of the publishing game. Be realistic and don't forget marketing. If
you don't submit you won't sell.
Anything else you'd like to add?
I recently read a quote by Orison Swett Marden, past editor of Success
Magazine. Lest you think his thoughts are new, let me explain that Mr.
Marden died in 1924.
Marden said, "A lobster, when left high and dry among the rock, has not
instinct or energy enough to work his way back to the sea, but waits for the sea
to come to him. If it does not come, he remains where he is and dies, although
the slightest effort would enable him to reach the waves, which are perhaps
within a yard of him. The world is full of human lobsters; men stranded on the
rocks of indecision and procrastination, who, instead of putting forth their own
energies, are waiting for some grand billow of good fortune to set them
afloat."
And there we have too many writers. I've watched some of these lobsters wait
around for that "grand billow of good fortune" to set their writing
career afloat, and it doesn't happen. Sometimes these indecisive,
procrastinating or even lazy dreamers are excellent writers. In fact, they are
often better than those who do get published. But no matter how good they are,
they have yet to learn there are rules in this industry just as there are in any
other. They wait for luck while they whine about unfairness, commercialism, bad
editors, and any number of other things.
I've spent hours crafting e-mails filled with answers on mailing lists and to
those who come upon my site or meet me at conferences. I've directed people to
incredible Web sites where they could do their homework and find answers. Most
people were grateful and are diligently learning the rules and will one day be
published. A few people, though, refused to dig into books and Web sites. They
instead prefer to wait for "that grand billow of good fortune."
For years the United Negro College Fund slogan has been, "A mind is a
terrible thing to waste." I agree wholeheartedly and would like to add that
talent is also a terrible thing to waste. Get off the rocks!
ORDER
THE BOOK BY CLICKING HERE.
Visit Carmen's website at http://www.carmenleal.com.
