Blog

“Daddy, are you writing your story?”

Aria asks me this question at six in the morning. She should be sleeping, even though I’ve been up for an hour working on my next novel, but I can’t resist this little moment to talk with my daughter about writing. Aria sits on my lap as I sip coffee and the sun starts to rise outside our home in Ohio.

“Can I work on my story with you?”

I smile, treasuring this moment as both a father and a writer. I save my story and open hers. Aria has only written three sentences in the past three days, but she came up with the idea all by herself. A new tooth fairy tries to protect her first assigned child from an evil fairy who wants to steal kids’ teeth. It’s cute—slightly creepy—and good. Really good. Like Neil Gaiman’s Coraline, which we’ve been reading together at night. I try not to edit as she types, speaking only if she asks me questions about the craft.

Aria taps her next sentence on my keyboard one letter at a time. I love watching her think about what happens next, then bring that thought to life through nothing but words on a screen. One letter at a time. One word at a time. One sentence at a time. Three sentences in three days—progress.

We’ve been doing this now for the past few mornings, her getting up each day a little earlier before school starts to write her next sentence. Each one she drafts makes her stronger, more creative, and more excited about the craft. As Aria keeps writing, I’m reminded of the letter she recently wrote for me on my old typewriter:

“You are the best dad ever … You and I both love to read and write. We both love to read Coraline and write stories. I will love you forever.”

This—all of this—makes me so proud. Aria’s second grade teacher recently told us that she has “a writer’s voice.” I don’t say that to brag, but because writing is such a solitary craft I’ve been pursuing for years mostly by myself and with a few core friends. I come from a family of writers, including my brother, mother, and grandfather who have all encouraged me along the way.

But for the first time, I may have found another writer in my own family.

“Daddy, can we write again tomorrow?”

I save Aria’s story, looking forward to the next day and sentence we author together.

Writer’s Digest University just invited me back to teach my second webinar, this time about How to Crowdfund Your Book and connect it to a cause. Here’s a brief overview of my session, which will take place on May 26:

It can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars to produce a high-quality, self-published book that competes with its traditionally published counterparts. While some authors may be independently wealthy, most of us don’t have those funds lying around to spend on a professional developmental editor, graphic designer, and every other piece of the self-publishing puzzle. Even if you do have those dollars, the lack of exposure to any readers outside family and friends will probably limit your sales. If planned and executed well, a crowdfunding campaign can provide self-published authors both the funds and exposure you need to kickstart your writing career.

WHAT YOU’LL LEARN:

• What crowdfunding is and the main platforms available
• Why you should consider crowdfunding
• How to lead a successful crowdfunding campaign
• Examples of crowdfunding campaigns: the good, the bad, and the ugly
• How to transition from crowdfunding to publishing and marketing
• How to connect your campaign to a cause

WHO SHOULD ATTEND?

Writers who want to:

• Self-publish fiction or nonfiction, but don’t want to spend thousands of their own dollars on that process
• Expand their reach of potential readers and reviewers beyond just family and friends through an online community and platform
• Understand what crowdfunding is, the main platforms available, and the core benefits of each
• Learn how to lead a successful crowdfunding campaign—and common pitfalls to avoid
• Get best practices for transitioning from crowdfunding to publishing and marketing
• Connect their campaign to a cause

I taught my first Writer’s Digest University webinar in December about How to Research Your Novel like a Reporter, which provided writers with best practices from the three years of research I conducted for my award-winning debut novel The Black Lens. Writer’s Digest Magazine also published a related article about that topic in their 100th anniversary issue.

Register today: How to Crowdfund Your Book (writersonlineworkshops.com).

Writer’s Digest just accepted and agreed to publish my fourth article in their magazine, which reaches about 70,000 subscribers across the country.

My new article will appear in the May/June issue, specifically in the regular IndieLab column that follows trends in the self-publishing business. This article focuses on three simple strategies for marketing your book, drawing from my own experience as both a senior marketing consultant for a Fortune 100 company and an award-winning author of The Black Lens novel. Here’s a brief summary:

Many authors who self-publish focus more on publishing their book than they do promoting it. While the reasons vary, some have no clue where to start. Others don’t want to waste hundreds to thousands of dollars on marketing that may not result in any sales. But probably most of us would just prefer to sit back, write, and hope the book sells itself.

All those reasons make sense. Yet unless you hit the publishing lottery, your book won’t sell itself because you’re competing against millions of others. That’s why—assuming you want to sell copies to more than just family and friends—you must build a strategic marketing plan for your story.

While that may sound daunting, this article will demystify the complex world of marketing by breaking it down into three simple strategies for promoting your book. Drawing from my own experience as both an award-winning author and senior marketing consultant for a Fortune 100 company, I will teach you the fundamentals of earned, owned, and paid strategies. You will learn how to earn free publicity for your book (earned), promote it through the channels you control (owned), and pay to increase that exposure even further through digital media (paid). 

Writer’s Digest published my first article in 2019 about how to craft the perfect media pitch, my second article in 2020 about how to create successful book media kits, and my third article in the 100th anniversary edition of their magazine about how to research like a reporter.

Take the next step

Learn more at christopherstollar.com, buy a copy of The Black Lens on Amazon, or book me as a speaker.

Writer’s Digest University just invited me to teach my first writing webinar. Titled How to Research Your Novel like a Reporter, this class will provide writers with best practices from the three years of research I conducted for my award-winning debut novel The Black Lens. Here’s a brief overview of the webinar, which Writer’s Digest Magazine also published a related article about last year in their 100th anniversary issue.

About the webinar

Too many fiction writers start their stories without any research. And those who do some research barely scratch the surface, sticking to what they can find on Google or watch on TV. This unique session will teach you how to interview actual sources and research primary documents that can enrich your stories, whether you’re working on a crime thriller, a cozy mystery, or even science fiction that involves new technologies.

As a former reporter with a master’s degree in journalism, Christopher will share with you best practices from the three years of research he conducted for his award-winning debut novel. He’ll also show you how that research helped convince more than a dozen media outlets to publish stories about his book—and how you can do the same.

What you’ll learn

• What research is—and is not
• Why you should research
• How to research, especially through interviews, exposure, and travel
• Common pitfalls to avoid when researching
• How to incorporate research into your story
• Key resources for research

Who should attend

• Writers who want to understand more of the value behind research
• Writers who want to learn how to research
• Writers who want to get techniques for conducting interviews
• Writers who want to incorporate travel into their research
• Writers who want to see how they can weave research into their novel
• Writers who need additional resources for conducting research
• Writers who want to avoid common research mistakes

Register for my webinar, buy a copy of my book on Amazon, or book me as a speaker.

It’s not too late to register for the virtual Writer’s Digest Conference, where I will be speaking alongside Chris Bohjalian, Nicole Blades, and more than a dozen other incredible storytellers.

This is my fourth year speaking at the conference, which is normally held in New York City. I will be discussing my experience crowd-funding The Black Lens and plans for my new novel, Real Girl, which my agent is currently pitching to publishers. Here’s a brief summary of my presentation:

How to Crowd-Fund Your Book and Connect It to a Cause

Two of the biggest challenges for new authors who want to self-publish is a lack of exposure and funds to pay for hiring professional editors. That can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the level of quality you want. If planned well, a crowdfunding campaign can provide you both the funds and built-in exposure you need to launch your career and connect it to a cause readers care about. This class is taught by an award-winning author who convinced more than 70 donors to pledge $3,694 on Kickstarter to bring his debut novel about the important social justice cause of human trafficking to life—surpassing the original goal by 48 percent. It will teach you the fundamentals of planning a crowdfunding campaign, relying on those donors as readers for reviews, and connecting your book to a cause regardless of whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

I am also writing a related article about crowd-funding for the November/December publication of Writer’s Digest, which reaches roughly 70,000 subscribers across the country. The magazine published my first article in 2019 about how to craft the perfect media pitch, my second article in 2020 about how to create successful book media kits, and my third article in the 100th anniversary edition last November/December about how to research like a reporter.

Learn more

Register now for the  Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, buy a copy of The Black Lens, or book me as a speaker.

For the fourth year, Writer’s Digest has invited me to speak at their Annual Conference in New York City.

This time I will be talking about my experience crowd-funding The Black Lens and building a strategic marketing plan for my new novel, Real Girl, which my agent is currently pitching to publishers. Here’s a brief summary of my two main presentations:

How to Crowd-Fund Your Book and Connect It to a Cause

Two of the biggest challenges for new authors who want to self-publish is a lack of exposure and funds to pay for hiring professional editors. That can cost hundreds to thousands of dollars, depending on the level of quality you want. If planned well, a crowdfunding campaign can provide you both the funds and built-in exposure you need to launch your career and connect it to a cause readers care about. This class is taught by an award-winning author who convinced more than 70 donors to pledge $3,694 on Kickstarter to bring his debut novel about the important social justice cause of human trafficking to life—surpassing the original goal by 48 percent. It will teach you the fundamentals of planning a crowdfunding campaign, relying on those donors as readers for reviews, and connecting your book to a cause regardless of whether you write fiction or nonfiction.

How to Build a Strategic Marketing and Public Relations Plan for Your Book

Many authors who self-publish spend more time focusing on publishing their book than they do promoting it. But if you want to sell copies to more than just family and friends, you need to build a strategic marketing and public relations plan for your book. Taught by both an award-winning author and marketer for a Fortune 100 company, this class will give you the fundamentals of earned, owned and paid marketing strategies. You will learn how to pitch your book to the news media (earned), promote it through all of your channels (owned), and pay to increase your exposure through digital media (paid).

Writer’s Digest also asked me to author a related article about crowd-funding for their November/December publication, which reaches roughly 70,000 subscribers across the country. The magazine published my first article in 2019 about how to craft the perfect media pitch, my second article in 2020 about how to create successful book media kits, and my third article in the 100th anniversary edition last November/December about how to research like a reporter.

Take the Next Step

Learn more about the Writer’s Digest Annual Conference, buy a copy of The Black Lens, or book me as a speaker.