It's been just a little over two weeks since Writer's Digest was re-organized within F+W Media as a community-category (rather than as separate media/business units). Hands down, it's the most exciting time I've ever experienced at WD (and not because of the frenetic energy and craziness of Q4 environment in a poor economy).

Here are the major projects I've been working on these first 2 weeks:

• Releasing our books with new-media tools, delivering the same information or concept across all Writer's Digest-related properties in a way that makes sense for each one
  (see Donald Maass example below).
  
• Launching new educational sessions (live webinars) through WritersDigest.com by end of year.
• Planning an all-new writers conference in Fall 2009 that focuses on the business of being a successful author in a time of great change.
  
• Developing a business plan for digitizing all of our backlist books so that writers can choose, chapter by chapter, what content they want and personalize it for their needs.
• Creating a unified brand identity that helps everyone immediately recognize any kind of Writer's Digest experience.
• Designating an Online Brand Editor who oversees and creates a strategy for our online content, no matter what its source (magazine, book, event, community/forum), and makes sure it all works in concert with each other. (And also evaluates what YOU visit and enjoy!)
  
• Evaluating WD magazine's editorial plans for 2009: what should our feature packages be and how should the columns/depts change?
• Launching of a new community site at community.writersmarket.com (kind of like Facebook for writers), for subscribers of WritersMarket.com

The immediate benefits I've noticed:

• We're starting to use our content in smarter ways and distributing it in different ways
• We're making better use of our internal talent (editors), who can contribute and be involved across all writing-related properties, not just their formally designated piece of the pie
• We're beginning to develop a more integrated and valuable online strategy that better serves writers

I think one of the best examples of our brave new world is how we plan to launch Donald Maass's new fiction-writing book next spring, Fire in Fiction. If this book had released a year ago, we would've run a couple ads, maybe scored an excerpt in the magazine, and that would be it.

Today, with WD run as a community-category, here's what's slated:

WD Magazine
Original article on fiction writing from Don to run in spring/summer 2009

WritersOnlineWorkshops
Original online courses (regular courses plus brief webinars) built around the book, offered in the months prior to and following the book's release

Digital Products
Simultaneous Kindle and other e-book editions

Online at WD.com
Sneak preview chapter posted before publication
E-launch party on WD.com blogs/forums, featuring exclusive live chat with Don

WD Newsletters
Free chapter download and advance purchase incentive (buy book early, get access to exclusive online chat)

Conferences
Feature Don as a speaker for at least one event in 2009

Of course, all this change doesn't come without its challenges, and you'll no doubt get to experience a little of that rough road with us, as we figure everything out. As we boldly move forward, I hope you will come to our aid with ideas and suggestions (and perhaps a sprinkling of patience).

Everyone has been so helpful in giving feedback on magazine content, so here's a sneak peek at our issue themes for the coming year. This is a very broad-stroke outline, but gives you a sense of our focus each issue.

If there's a particular technique, topic, or area that you've always hoped we'd cover, let me know!


April 2009
EVERYTHING YOU NEED TO KNOW ABOUT SELF PUBLISHING

• The new perception of self-publishing; emerging tools and models
• Resource chart on POD companies (what they offer, fees, rights, etc.) and reader feedback on self-publishing experiences.

WORKBOOK: Revision and Self-Editing

• How to turn a first draft into a salable manuscript
• When and how to work with freelancers to get a book into shape

June 2009
GET KNOWN BEFORE THE BOOK DEAL (MARKETING & PROMOTION ISSUE)

• How to market and promote yourself before and after you make the sale
• The most effective way to use social networking tools to sell yourself & your book
• Hands-on guide to online viral marketing tools (blog tours, book trailers, reading groups, podcasts)

WORKBOOK: Writing Memoirs and Life Stories (when you’re not a name)


August 2009
PUBLISHING 101: WHAT YOU NEED TO KNOW BEFORE YOU WRITE A WORD

• Visual guide to how your book moves from proposal to print to on the shelf—all the steps, all the things you need to know ahead of time
• What to expect from your publisher (editorial, marketing, publicity)
• How the industry has changed and new steps you need to take to ensure successful publication

WORKBOOK: The Art & Craft of Storytelling; Hooking Your Reader From Page One


October 2009
AGENTS AND EDITORS SPEAK OUT (THE GATEKEEPER ISSUE)

• The new roles of gatekeepers and how to be an equal partner in publication
• The anatomy of a book deal and a book contract: what you must know and ask about even if you do have an agent

WORKBOOK: Novel-writing related


December 2009
THE FUTURE OF PUBLISHING

• The changing economic model of media and the emerging role of writers as content providers—five essential rules to follow to stay in the game
• How to negotiate the smartest deal for digital rights and e-rights (and when to keep all such rights for yourself)

WORKBOOK: Writing Groups & Critique Group Guide; A Fresh Start in the New Year

I thought you might be interested in reading some of the personal responses I received when I asked what you'd like to see in the magazine in 2009.

• I'd like to see more focus on writing and editing fiction (less on other types of writing), and I'd love to see regular articles on innovative book promotion—not just the basics or the same things we've all read, but how to really promote your book—most especially novels, because they're not as obvious about how to promote them as non-fiction is.

• As someone who is writing a non-fiction social history/reference guide, I would like to see more information about breaking into non-fiction for and by writers of non-fiction when one isn't a celebrity or "name."

• What about including more stories from authors about their initial path to publication. Aspiring writers want to know how other writers got started. I think WD does a pretty good job of profiling bestselling authors, but I think aspiring writers want to hear more about numbers of rejections—in other words the struggle involved and how it ultimately paid off.
  

• More news/features on alternative and self-publishing. Thanks to the Internet, the publishing industry is transforming right before our eyes. Today's writers have so many other options other than the traditional publishing routes, and I'd love to read more about these options. Everyone is always worrying about query writing and how to get an agent, when the Internet gives true self-publishers the marketing and distribution tools once reserved only for the big publishers.

• I definitely vote for more on self-publishing. I don't see it as a "game" as much as an effective strategy to getting a formal book deal, if one desires it. That's what worked for me. I also see self-publishing as a strategy to experiment with new ideas to gauge the market response. Again, very effective and efficient for me to
  test out new ideas with my audience on a smaller scale and monitor impact,
  modify, what have you, before courting taking the idea that next step.

• I hope the new technological tools you're planning to discuss will
  include podcasting.
  

Thanks to everyone who took time to comment both here on the blog and those of you who e-mailed me personally. Your input is invaluable in helping shape our direction!

We're in the midst of planning the 2009 editorial calendar for Writer's Digest magazine, and I'd love to have your ideas and opinions on what you want to see in the coming year. Writer's Digest editors from across the brand gathered earlier this week to brainstorm of list of potential ideas. Feel free to e-mail me directly or use the comments area of this post to give us your feedback.

Craft & Technique Topics

1. A comprehensive guide to starting or finishing your novel
2. A step-by-step guide to revision and self-editing (all genres)
3. How to write a successful memoir (for the non-celebrity)
4. The art and craft of timeless storytelling; how to hook your readers
5. How to be a successful critique partner and how to incorporate feedback into your work
6. How to make poetry a part of everyday life (even if you're not a poet)
7. A crash schedule for getting a first draft of your book done in 4 weekends
8. Master plots that work time and time again
   

Business Topics & Timely Topics

1. Everything you need to know about self-publishing, and how the self-publishing game is changing
2. Why and how to get known before the book deal (to attract editor and agent interest, to ensure book sales)
3. The changing role of the gatekeepers—editors and agents—and how it changes your steps to publication and beyond
4. The new economic model of publishing/media: how it impacts your career and what you need to change today to remain relevant
5. How to make a sustainable living with your writing (in tough times)—a freelancer's ultimate guide
6. The most effective technological tools for marketing and promoting yourself
7. How to use social networking to reach readers and avoid a waste of time/effort
8. Negotiating contracts and payments with editors in a digital age; what are digital rights worth and when should you keep them?
9. How bookstores work, both online and offline, and what the future of bookselling looks like
10. How to get the most out of writers conferences, both business-wise and craft-wise
    

New Department/Column Ideas

1. How I Write: Spotlights a celebrity author in his/her writing space, talking about necessary practices/objects/environment
2. Popular Fiction Report: Special reports, news, tips, and marketing information in today's hottest genres, including romance, mystery/crime, thriller/suspense, horror, and science fiction/fantasy
3. What's Selling and Why: A visual list of top-selling books (according to Nielsen Bookscan reports), why or how they made the top of the list, and insider info from authors-agents-editors on how the books came to life

What would you add to our list of ideas?

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