Podcast Interview: Joey Garcia 04/05/2023 - The big career impact of high concept essays

Carla King interviews Joey Garcia about how high concept essays can make a huge impact on your author career.

Nonfiction Authors Association Podcast | April 5, 2023

“I think from a platform building standpoint, it’s really essential to have more than your book to prove your expertise. And essays are one way to do that.”
-Joey Garcia

About Joey Garcia

Joey Garcia is an editor and author platform coach. She helps writers get known while they’re writing their book, so when it’s published, there’s an audience waiting to read it.

Joey’s clients have been interviewed by, or have bylines in, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian magazine, Ms. magazine, CNN, and The Tamron Hall Show, among others.

Joey is the indie author of When Your Heart Breaks It’s Opening to Love and has been a featured Relationship Expert in HuffPost, USA Today, Deutsche Welle, KVIE public television, Global Woman TV Sweden, Australia’s Ticker News and Slate’s Dear Prudence podcast.

In 2017, Joey established the first-ever literary fellowship in Belize, her birthplace. She also partners with literary agents to co-lead an annual retreat in Belize for writers from all over the world.

Nonfiction Authors Podcast: Joey Garcia

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Show Notes

Links

In this episode…

The definition of a personal essay and a high concept essay.
Where to publish high concept essays.
The timeline to expect when submitting high concept essays.
Things to consider when contemplating the need for a high concept essay.
Various platforms that may be seeking high concept essays.
How to format a high concept essay.
Why it’s important to make sure your high concept essay is relevant/targeted to what editors are looking for.
How to start searching for publications that might be a good fit for you.
What Joey will be sharing during her presentation at the 2023 Nonfiction Writers Conference.

Transcript

Hello and welcome to the interview series for the Nonfiction Authors Association. Today’s session is with Joey Garcia and we will be talking about the big career impact of high concept essays. I’m Carla King, your host, and I’m happy to have you with us today. This interview will last only 30 minutes and you can find the replay on our Nonfiction Authors Association website and social media platforms including YouTube, and wherever you listen to podcasts.

And now I’d like to introduce our guest.

Joey Garcia is an editor and author platform coach. She helps writers get known while they’re writing their book, so when it’s published, there’s an audience waiting to read it.

Joey’s clients have been interviewed by, or have bylines in, The Wall Street Journal, Smithsonian magazine, Ms. magazine, CNN, and The Tamron Hall Show, among others.

And next month–in May 2023–you’ll find Joey at the annual Nonfiction Writers Conference in a session about how to write articles for promotion and profit. Thank you for being on the podcast, Joey.

Joey Garcia 2:12

I’m thrilled to be here. Thank you for having me. I’m excited to talk about essays.

Carla King 2:17

I am, too. And let’s start with a definition, because the essays I really am familiar with are the old Ralph Waldo Emerson essays. And now people–it feels like they’re talking about articles, and it’s really an essay or a story. It’s fuzzy to me, and probably a lot of people. So can you help us understand what a concept essay actually is?

Joey Garcia 2:38

Well, let me start first by saying what a personal essay is. So a personal essay is a piece of nonfiction that shares an interesting, thought provoking, entertaining and sometimes humorous story for readers that’s drawn from the writer’s personal experience. So it relates the author’s experience to the reader by offering some kind of universal insight, something to think about–often something that resonates long after they finished reading. So that’s what a personal essay is. And then there’s different kinds of essays in general, and different kinds of personal essays. And one kind of personal essay is what’s called the high concept essay. And that’s what I have found is like rocket fuel for a writer’s career–or can be.

Carla King 3:27

Okay, well, thanks for that. I’ve never heard a call for submissions for a concept essay. So where do we publish them? Who do we look for?

Joey Garcia 3:40

So it’s high concept. And that actually is drawn from the film industry. So high concept film. So for example–we all know Jaws, right? Jaws was a blockbuster, and still is a very popular film. So when the film Alien with Sigourney Weaver was pitched in Hollywood, it was pitched as Jaws, but on a spaceship, right? So that’s high concept. We can understand the concept very quickly. And the concept is what drives the story. So high concept means, in general, creative work that’s easily pitched and is pitched with a really succinctly stated premise.

So the high concept essay is just that same idea, but in essay form. So one high concept essay that was recently very popular was an essay about a man who was getting through the loss of his mother–getting over grief–by doing what he would have been doing with her, which is watching Sex in the City. So that’s the idea of high concept essay, in the sense that it often draws from pop culture–something that’s already existing in pop culture. So that’s one thing to think about. There aren’t really calls for them, but they are the essays that we find getting published and getting shared, right? Getting shared quite a lot–sometimes going viral. So can I say a little bit more about that?

Carla King 5:19

Absolutely.

Joey Garcia 5:22

Okay, so one of my clients, Sharon Spaulding, has a fabulous high concept essay. And I want to talk a little bit about how that came to be, because I think that’s pretty interesting. So high concept essays have a lot of entertainment value. And they’re pretty original–the premise is pretty original. And remember, again, it’s concept driven, not character driven–not driven in other ways. I was watching The Marvelous Mrs Maisel for the second time–watching the whole thing through. Have you ever seen it?

Carla King 5:52

Oh, I have. I love it.

Joey Garcia 5:58

I love it. I love it. Right? Yes. And she happened to mention suffragettes. And that’s a key aspect of the novel that Sharon’s working on. And Sharon has found a relative of her husband’s who was a key figure in sex education, and was more famous at the time that she was living than Margaret Sanger. More famous than Margaret Sanger, but we remember Margaret Sanger’s name. So she’s writing about this person. And I thought, ‘Wow, what if?” Because ‘what if’ is one of the questions that helps us conceive of a high concept essay. “What if The Marvelous Mrs Maisel met the dynamic Mrs. Dennett?” So Mary Ware Dennett is the real person that Sharon was writing about. How might we be dealing with sex ed and censorship? Those are issues that both women have dealt with in various ways, right? Mrs Maisel through her comedy.

So we conceived of this essay. Sharon wrote it, I edited it. We pitched it to Ms. Magazine, and they took it right away–they were thrilled. But, as often happens, because magazines are full up–so many of us are pitching them–and also because the Mrs. Maisel series was in production. So it was going to be some time before it actually hit the screens again. It took nine months before it was published.

Carla King 7:44

Wow.

Joey Garcia 7:44

Yeah, that’s a long time to wait. And it was very hard for Sharon. She was thinking, ‘Should I wait and try to get it published somewhere else?’ And I was like, ‘No. Ms. Magazine–wait for it, wait for it.’

Carla King 7:55

That seems really important–not just because she’s a historical fiction author, right?

Joey Garcia 8:00

Yes. But she’s actually building two careers, right? As a writer. So she’s writing nonfiction–historical nonfiction–and fiction, right? So she’s got both going. And I think that–for some writers–both are important.

Carla King 8:17

So how did that fit with her book launch timeline? Was it worth the wait?

Joey Garcia 8:21

Definitely worth the wait. Because what it did is give her credibility in the eyes of agents who are now interested in her book, right? So one of the things that is interesting–because often we’re told that agents say, ‘Oh, if you’re writing fiction, you don’t have to have a platform.’ But it really helps if you do. And one of the first things a couple of the agents that she pitched said is, ‘Do you have any bylines on this topic?’ And she said, ‘Yes, as a matter of fact.’ And she’s been published also, since [then], in Smithsonian and other publications as well.

Carla King 8:52

Yeah. And in doing research for this episode, I went to her website, I read the Ms. Magazine article–it’s very long. And some essays are short, some are long. I don’t know if there’s a word count. If every magazine is different?

Joey Garcia 9:19

You know, it does vary. And shorter essays are often the norm, but some of the larger, more formidable mainstream online publications–like Ms. [Magazine] –do still like long form essays. The Atlantic, you know–they want to go really deep into a topic. And some of the literary magazines do as well. The other thing I think it’s really important to consider about high concept essays is they have mass appeal. Right? They have wide appeal. And so I think that’s important for us to remember as we’re writing something. They’re also highly visual and usually include something unique, something unexpected.

Carla King 10:10

Yeah, it did have a twist. And it did go very deep. And we’ll put the direct link to it in the show notes so that everybody can go look at it. I was also looking–I think she wrote something in Brevity. And I really love Brevity because they have very short, very wonderful essays as well.

Joey Garcia 10:30

That might have been me.

Carla King 10:32

That was you. Yes. You have quite a number of clips as well.

Joey Garcia 10:36

Yeah. But I love the idea of high concept essays. I actually came up with that, by the way.

Carla King 10:45

The name?

Joey Garcia 10:47

Yeah. I kind of came up with the idea of high concept essays, as opposed to the whole Hollywood thing. I’m sure somebody else thought of it before me, but I’ve been using it. And I think that it’s kind of where we’re going. because pop culture is such an important part of our culture and our interest levels. So pitching a high concept essay can really boost your career.

Carla King 11:11

What was the timing on that? I know, Ms. had its own reasons for delaying it. But should you try to time it with a news story?

Joey Garcia 11:24

Well, I think that it really does help to have a news hook. Most of us are more interested in reading an essay when there is a news hook–when it’s already connected to something we care about or interested in. So noticing what’s trending in the news can be very helpful in determining whether you have a news hook, or whether you should write one into your essay. But don’t try to force one.. Don’t put one there just because something’s trending, and you feel like you need to connect to it. It has to be a natural alignment. If it feels forced, you’re just going to turn the editor off. They’re not going to be interested–they’re not going to think you have the writing chops.

Carla King 12:10

Right. That might be something for letters to the editor instead, right?

Joey Garcia 12:16

Or an Op Ed, right?

Carla King 12:18

Right. So is this kind of essay you’re talking about for creative nonfiction writers? Or could an environmentalist, or a how-to author, sports, tech, business–could they take advantage of that kind of publicity and create essays as well?

Joey Garcia 12:39

Absolutely. Any kind of nonfiction author would find their footing in this kind of essay– a high concept essay. If you’ve written a business book, for example. I haven’t seen the TV show Succession, but I understand it’s about the business world. If I’m wrong, I’m sorry. But taking something like that–that’s in its last season–and maybe writing an essay about what you’ve seen is true or not true. Or again, coming back to, ‘What if the character in Succession…?’ Connecting it to something in the news. So those are easy ways to make natural connections and promote your work. So you can be a geologist–there’s nothing to hold you back.

Carla King 13:31

You have to wait for an earthquake for that, right? I suppose–I’ve had clients who were in cryptocurrency, and now AI–there seem to be a lot of really in-depth essays about AI right now. And crypto. And we kind of can’t get enough of it, especially from experts. And nonfiction authors who write prescriptive and how-to books are experts. So I would think that, if you read Forbes and if you read Wired, you might want to look at those formats for inspiration.

Joey Garcia 14:13

And I think from a platform building standpoint, it’s really essential to have more than your book to prove your expertise. And essays are one way to do that. And one of the important things to keep in mind is–if you do a really good job, which is you’ve written it really well, and you’ve hired an editor to help you–because most of us cannot see our own shortcomings in our writing.

So you’ve hired an editor to look it over and give you some tips, and then you pitch it–and you’ve done a good job writing a pitch and pitching it–then what will happen is–that one essay, one published, will lead to other opportunities. Because that’s what’s so powerful about doing your work well–is that other opportunities will open up. And for nonfiction authors, that’s really key to building their expertise, solidifying their expertise, and creating more avenues, and opportunities, and audiences for their books.

Carla King 15:07

Right. And once you get one good byline, it just proves that you’re trusted and other editors are going to trust you to come through on the deadline, etc. And do you have to come to them with a whole essay, or do you pitch them?

Joey Garcia 15:21

It depends. Some platforms–some online publications–prefer to work with you. So they like you to pitch an idea so they can be a part of shaping it. Others like to see a draft. The instructions vary, so you can find out by checking the submission requirements for each publication.

Carla King 15:45

We should always do that. And what about the format? I just remember the old university essays–the thesis paragraph, and your proof one, and proof two, and your conclusion. Do you see it hold true for these kinds of essays as well?

Joey Garcia 16:04

Not necessarily–that’s more of an academic style essay, and it’s preparation for writing in academia. It’s not really preparation for writing for mainstream publications. But what we can take from it that is valuable is that–there is a need to prove whatever you’re saying, whether that’s by linking to a valid survey or valid research–something that’s done by an organization like the Pew Research Center, that actually has ground in these sort of things–that has standing in these sorts of things. So that’s, I think, really important to consider. But in academic writing, we’re not encouraged to write about our own experience. And at this time in history, writing about our own experience is one of the key ways that people do build a platform for themselves, right? So that’s another way it differs.

Carla King 17:05

And I did notice that in the essays–yours, and Sharon, and others that I’ve read–you tell stories. You don’t always tell your own story–you bring in other stories.

Joey Garcia 17:17

It depends. I think most of what I’ve written has been my own stories, because I’m really interested in coming to understand myself by writing about my experiences. But I know with clients–when I’m helping them build a platform–it is about solidifying their expertise. And so we might be telling a different story, we might be coming from that essential question, ‘What if?’ That launches a lot of a lot of great essays, and especially high concept essays.

Carla King 17:50

And I understand they do pay a little bit of money–or sometimes a lot of money.

Joey Garcia 17:56

It depends on the particular publication. And it may depend on whether your essay is accepted for print or online. But bear in mind that the freelance writing career isn’t as easy as it was in the past–it doesn’t mean it’s still not possible. But it’s not quite as easy to be a full time freelancer. And a lot of publications are inundated by great, great work to be published, right? Great publishable essays. And so the more competition, the less likely that they pay.

Carla King 18:37

Yeah. I made a living as a travel writer one time in my past. And that is really almost impossible now.

Joey Garcia 18:46

Yeah, things have really changed.

Carla King 18:50

And thankfully, I’ve had enough experience to write books. So that helps a lot.

Joey Garcia 18:56

And to help other people be successful. Because I really love bringing forward my background in media to help authors be successful. It’s really fun to see them advance and see their dreams come true.

Carla King 19:12

You’ve been a media pro, and been on TV, and radio, and podcasts. So you’ve rejected plenty, right? I remember when I first met you, you were telling us how you would get pitches for guests. I mean, you really know from experience what works and what doesn’t. And you have a stack of books in your hallway.

Joey Garcia 19:44

Yeah, most publications–most TV, radio stations–have free-for-all piles, or piles of books that have been sent in by publicists or authors that are just going to the dump, because they were not really targeted. They would be sent in and they would have nothing to do with the kind of shows we have. That kind of problem.

Carla King 20:08

So how does an author even start? I was looking around going, ‘Okay, where would I start? Would I look at the travel magazines? Would I just read a lot? Are there any steps that you can help us with to start to dip in, and get inspired, and pitch?

Joey Garcia 20:33

So if you’re gonna pitch a high concept essay–Can we just play it out? You and I? So you’re a really seasoned travel writer, and a terrific writer. So there’s two things, right? Two things. Because sometimes people have great ideas, but their writing chops are not there, but they think they are. So that’s something you have to be honest with yourself about. But you’re there. So let’s go with that. So let’s look at one of the top shows that is sort of a travel show, unexpectedly–White Lotus, right? They were in Italy, and they were in Hawaii, and we don’t know where they’re going next.

So taking a show like White Lotus, that is already making all of us salivate for these long, fabulous vacations, and then maybe connecting with some memory that you have of traveling. Some of the scenarios are really outrageous in White Lotus, but maybe somebody has an experience of pickpockets, so dealing with pickpockets. How to protect yourself better than you ever have before. Or why you shouldn’t travel with friends, or why you should. Why you should have to take a separate vacation from your spouse or partner, or why you shouldn’t. There’s lots of ways to play it out and make it really fun, and then still circle back to you and your work as a travel writer, or as an author of travel books, for example. That’s just one example. And just do a, ‘What if?’ Brainstorm a list. Open a Google Doc and brainstorm. And that’s one way.

But the thing to remember is–it isn’t just the essay. Because again, some editors are going to read your pitch and not your essay. A lot of authors are seasoned in writing pitches, because they may be trying to get an agent at some point. There are similarities and differences. But learning to pitch is one of the most important things that any writer can learn. Because, as my friend, Katharine Sands–a literary agent–says, ‘Everything we do is a pitch.’ You want someone to go on a date? That’s a pitch, right? So everything we do is a pitch. So get really good at pitching.

Carla King 22:45

Great advice. And finally–you’re presenting at the Nonfiction Writers Conference on a similar topic. Can you tell us more about your session?

Joey Garcia 22:55

Well, one of the things I think is so important–and we talked a little bit in here about–is just using your essays to promote your book and yourself. I think it should be sort of a two pronged effort. So we’re going to look at how to write an essay for promotion and profit, and profit for your career. Maybe you’ll make money with the essay too, but profit for your career as well. And we’ll actually be doing hands-on work. It’s more of a workshop. So people have a chance to really come up with good ideas that they can further polish and hone, and hopefully get some traction. Because that’s what’s exciting–is actually hearing that somebody has had some success.

Carla King 23:43

Yes. Oh, that sounds fun. I love workshoppy stuff.

Joey Garcia 23:47

I do too. I think it’s great to listen to somebody smart talking. I enjoy that as well. But when I get a hands-on opportunity, I learn so much more.

Carla King 23:56

Yes. And I’ve seen you do that and you’re very good at it. Well, thank you for giving us a preview. And I’m inspired. Now I’m gonna start looking at these TV series now with an eye to creating a high concept essay. I love that. And thank you again.

Joey Garcia 24:19

Thank you, Carla. I really appreciate this opportunity. I can’t wait to be at the conference–it’s one of my favorites.

Carla King 24:26

Me too. I’ll be there too, so see you then. And thank you to our listeners for joining us today and every week. For a list of guests and topics just check our schedule on the site, use your favorite search engine, or better yet, sign up for our mailing list at NonfictionAuthorsAssociation.com.

Quotes from our guest

“And the concept is what drives the story. So high concept means, in general, creative work that’s easily pitched and is pitched with a really succinctly stated premise. So the high concept essay is just that same idea, but in essay form.”

“I think from a platform building standpoint, it’s really essential to have more than your book to prove your expertise. And essays are one way to do that.”

“That’s what’s so powerful about doing your work well–is that other opportunities will open up. And for nonfiction authors, that’s really key to building their expertise, solidifying their expertise, and creating more avenues, and opportunities, and audiences for their books.”

“But learning to pitch is one of the most important things that any writer can learn. Because, as my friend, Katharine Sands–a literary agent–says, ‘Everything we do is a pitch.’ You want someone to go on a date? That’s a pitch, right? So everything we do is a pitch. So get really good at pitching.”