New Venture: Chipman Creative

A few months ago, I decided to make a giant leap... one without a safety net. I decided to leave my 13+ year teaching career and try something new. I loved teaching. I still love teaching. But I have so many, many passions. I figured it was about time to see if I could turn some of those other passions into something... bigger.

I've been a writer ever since I was a child. In high school, I wrote my first novel-- forever lost in the great Macintosh Crash of '96. In college, I wrote melancholy poetry (who didn't?) but was chosen to study with the late, great, wicked Kenneth Koch all four years, so I must have had "something." I majored in English at Columbia, and I got my Master's in English from the University of New Orleans. I'd completed close to half of my credits for an MFA in Fiction at UNO, when the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina blew me to Louisville.

As a teacher, my passion was working with students on their writing. In my extracurricular life, writing has been my constant. I've been to countless writing workshops, retreats, and residencies. And as a result of being a teacher and student of writing for so very long, I've become a crack editor, proofreader, and writing coach.

I've parlayed those skills into freelance writing and editing work over the past decade-plus, but in a very spotty, haphazard way. Shortly after college, I ghost-wrote a YA horror novel that was published by Harper Collins (thankfully, long out of print). I edited a self-help book written by a businessman/race car driver. For years, I was the go-to editor for an annual $52million+ government grant application by a financial company in New Orleans. I've been writing freelance for The Louisville Paper off and on since the paper's inception.

When I took my giant leap, I knew part of that leap had to be finding some way to make this passion I have for writing and working with writers something more concrete.

So, welcome to the world, Chipman Creative, my new writing/editing/social media freelance business.

Storytelling has always been an integral part of my life. And I believe, passionately, that storytelling is becoming more and more integral to the decisions we make as consumers and to the way we market as businesses and brands.

When I talk to someone who has eaten at Harvest for the first time, usually the first thing they mention is what they thought of the meal. But what everyone talks about after that-- without fail-- are the gorgeous photos on the walls of the farmers who supply the raw ingredients of their meal. They talk about the giant map that tells them from which farm various ingredients are sourced. I have no ties to Harvest-- this is just an unveiled compliment. Harvest is doing it right. They're telling a fantastic story. And it's a story that builds loyalty and confidence.

I follow the blogs and tweets of my favorite businesses and brands. My loyalty soars when they tell me a good story or give me good, usable information. My heart sinks when their blogs or tweets are trite, ineffective, irrelevant, or full of errors.

In addition to standard writing and editing services, Chipman Creative offers ghost-blogging and ghost-tweeting subscriptions. I want to help you tell your story. Every business has a story to tell, whether you're a store, a restaurant, a lawyer, or a dentist. A well-written and researched blog or twitter feed can be an invaluable marketing tool.

If you follow this blog, you've been following my story and my brand... some of you for years. I hope you'll check out Chipman Creative and think of me when you have writing/editing/proofreading/social media needs.

Email me at lou [at] loueyville.com if you would like to see a rate sheet or my resume.

I'm super excited about this new venture. I look forward to working with you.

Rosanne Cash: Kentucky Author Forum

The only time I've seen Rosanne Cash live was in the mid-90's in NYC at the Bitter End or the Bottom Line (I can never get those two straight). She was playing in support of her album 10 Song Demo, but all I really knew about her was that she was Johnny Cash's daughter and that was good enough for me.

I must have been feeling flush at the time. After all, I was working three jobs just to make rent and ramen noodles at my East Village apartment. There was never extra money for things like concerts at clubs, unless my friends were in the band and my name was on the list.  And as I was living with a musician (sometimes two or three depending on who needed a place to crash), that wasn't all that unusual.

But I was definitely not on the list for Rosanne Cash, and I'm relatively sure I'd never heard her music before that night.  But it was love at first listen.

And from that night for the next couple of years-- a move to Tampa, then a move to Baton Rouge, then a move to New Orleans-- 10 Song Demo was on regular rotation in my cd player. Some song or another from the album made it on every mix tape/mix cd I made for every boy or man I dated. I vaguely remember wallowing over a broken heart listening to "Price of Temptation" on repeat and singing my heart out through sobs.

I can still sing the entire album by heart.

Flash forward a decade and a half. Now @RosanneCash is probably my favorite celebrity I'm following on Twitter.  From her mock feud with @SusanOrlean about who exactly is Mrs. Colin Firth to her Hurricane Irene tweets from "Zone B" in Manhattan, I've fallen even more in love with her. She's smart, funny, and responsive to her fans.

I enter into evidence her tweet from ten minutes ago:

rosannecash Flipping channels: Miss Universe 2011, Tea Party debate, Hoarders. I'm confused. Which ones are the potential world leaders? 9/12/11 9:42 PM

And now she's coming to the Kentucky Author Forum at the Kentucky Center in two weeks in support of her memoir, Composed (which I tried to pick up at Carmichael's this weekend, but it was nowhere to be found).

The last Kentucky Author Forum featured Billy Collins interviewed by Garrison Keillor, and it was utterly delightful.  As I mentioned in that blog post, both Collins and Keillor are polarizing figures, but I adore both of them.  This time, the interviewer is Nick Spitzer, host of American Routes, one of my favorite NPR music programs.  

I'm not on the list again for this Rosanne Cash show.  And instead of working three jobs, I work one and some odd jobs to make mortgage and a more well-balanced meal plan.  But that one job yields only a teacher's salary, so $20 is still a bit steep for an hour-long visit with Ms. Cash.  ($100 gets you a VIP experience including dinner with Cash and Spitzer.)

But I will be there.

On a side note, last night Roommate and I saw Le Petomane's 5 THINGS, finally.  I can't recommend it highly enough.  I desperately wanted the show to be good after spending a couple of hours with the actor-writers for my preview for The Louisville Paper; I liked all three of them so much, it would have been awful if the show had been just so-so.  Trust me, it is not.  It is, as I'd hoped, brilliant.  And you'll be so sorry if you miss it.  There are four more shows-- Sep 14-17.  Go go go.

The relavent tangent is this: 5 THINGS is a play that is a play on the whole "desert island discs" concept.  If I were stranded on a desert island and could only have five albums to keep me company, 10 Song Demo, would be one of them. Even though, as the characters in 5 THINGS realize eventually, all of the songs are already with me... in here. *taps her noggin*

"Commuter" Rates offered for Breakout Novel Intensive

A couple of days ago, I blogged about the exciting Breakout Novel Intensive with Donald Maass that is coming to Louisville September 19-25.  After I posted, I emailed the lovely Lorin Oberweger, program director, and asked her: "What if Louisville folks are interested in attending the event but would rather stay at their own homes?"

Her (wise) response was:

I do offer a limited number of commuter spots... [but] It's such an all-day kind of affair that I hate for people to miss out on anything, and on opportunities to socialize with Don, staff, and other students... I think people, even locals, should come and let themselves "retreat" a bit and get away from family and pets and bills, etc.

Good advice for sure.  But, locals, she's offering $400 off the workshop if you'd rather commute.

My experience with these kinds of intensive retreats is that the socializing and networking does, indeed, extend way beyond the normal workshop hours.  And while I have no doubt you'll come away from the workshop with loads of new insight into your writing, sometimes it's those personal connections you make during those off-hours that matter most.  Those extra hours are why I now count Roommate and Lorin as two of my dearest friends.

Will Lavender at Carmichael's

New York Times best-selling novelist (and Louisvillager), Will Lavender, will be appearing at the Frankfort Avenue Carmichael's this Thursday at an event celebrating the release of his newest thriller Dominance.

The brief blurb on the Carmichael's website has me intrigued:

Set on a college campus in 1994, with a controversial night class, Unraveling a Literary Mystery, taught from prison by literature professor Richard Aldiss, who was serving a life sentence for murdering two female grad students 12 years before, Dominance is an outstanding psychological thriller.

Lavender is a friend of Roommate's and has taught at Writers Retreat Workshop.  I haven't had the pleasure of meeting him, but I look forward to seeing him on Thursday.  I plan on taking his first book, Obedience, which has been on my to-read list forever, with me on my month-long trip.

The event starts at 7pm and is, of course, free.  Hope to see you there.

Breakout Novel Intensive: Coming to Kentuckiana Soon!

So, y'all know I'm a (kind of) closet novelist-wannabe. And loyal readers of this blog know that Roommate is the Big Kahuna of Writers Retreat Workshop (WRW), from which I recently returned (We met there, in fact, in 2002, and we've been BFFs ever since).  This year's WRW was especially good-- a great batch of passionate writers, some exciting visiting staff, and of course a core group of returning staff and students that keep this writers' boot camp vibrant each year.  

Through my friendship with Roommate and my affiliation with Writers Retreat Workshop, I've gotten to know some fabulous people in the fiction-writing biz: writers, editors, publishers, mentors, and teachers.  One of the best teachers of fiction-writing I've met is Donald Maass, head of the Donald Maass Literary Agency in NYC and author of a number of books on writing, including Writing the Breakout Novel and Fire in Fiction. His agency's client list features best-selling authors like Todd McCaffrey, Anne Perry, and Jim Butcher. Don is not only an excellent teacher, but he's a really good guy and a good friend.

Lorin Oberweger, writer, program director, and independent editor, is also a dear friend and a fantabulous cheerleader when it comes to inspiring creative-types.  And this year Lorin's company, Free Expressions, is bringing Donald Maass's Writing the Breakout Novel Intensive Workshop to our neck of the woods, September 19-25.

From the website:


This retreat and workshop includes:

• All meals and comfortable, private sleeping accommodations with private baths.
• Morning classes with Donald Maass, geared toward building students’ specific projects using concepts covered in his popular, Writing the Breakout Novel book and workbook.
• A private thirty-minute consultation with Donald Maass, who will read the first fifty pages of each student’s manuscript.
• A private consultation with Editor-in-Residence and Program Director Lorin Oberweger.
• Opportunities to confer with other professional writers on staff.
• Afternoon and evening writing time and voluntary critique groups.
• Group follow–up discussions and pitch practice with Donald Maass.
• Complimentary copy of the Writing the Breakout Novel Workbook.

In order to ensure an intimate and productive environment for our students, enrollment is strictly limited to thirty–five writers. Participation is on a first-come, first-serve basis, so please register early.


If you enroll by July 15, you receive $75 off.  For more information, visit the Free Expressions website.

If you're a fiction writer or if you've got a fire in your noggin about being a fiction writer, this is truly an amazing opportunity.  As an aspiring novelist, I can't tell you how valuable it is to have the chance to have a Big Time New York Agent read 50 pages of your novel.  Usually it takes a barrage of query letters (that you've edited and adjusted a dozen times) just to get an agency to give you the time of day (no offense to my agent friends).  For a lot of us, this service is almost worth the price of the entire workshop.

Not only are Don and Lorin a power duo of teacher/mentors, but the always awesome Roommate is on staff too.  If I could take the time off from work, I would be there for the whole thing; as it is, I'm certainly going to try to capitalize on my friendships with these folk to take advantage of some of the after-work and weekend activities.  I hope to see you there.

Brief gripe: How can the Sheraton Louisville call itself the Sheraton "Louisville" if it's in Jeffersonville, Indiana? Ugh, that bites my butt.