Playwright and novelist Saul Bellow once said, "I discovered that rejections are not altogether a bad thing. They teach a writer to rely on his own judgment and to say in his heart of hearts, "To hell with you." …
Are you a pizza connoisseur? An expert cookie maker? Maybe you've visited a winery, know the best diners in 10 states, or your town hosts the world's largest strawberry festival. Even if the extent of your food expertise lies only in your grandmother's recipe box, you have an angle for an article. You just need to know where to sell it. …
There are a few steps you can take which will turn your great idea into a fantastic query letter, and, hopefully, a well-written, attention-grabbing article. …
Attention all you editors: That is NOT a typo in the above headline. I did mean "singing," not "signing." But if it's any consolation, the term "Book Singing" and the book marketing concept it represents did originate from a simple typographical error. …
Ah, good old writer's block. Those moments of utter frustration, when you are stumped for ideas. Can't write a ******* thing. If you tell a fellow writer that you are suffering from a case of writer's block, chances are you will get your hand held. Sympathy follows. Then, tips galore on how to overcome your dreaded block. I rarely suffer from writer's block. I suffer from something far more insidious. Something I call it "writer's brick". …
The more thought you put into your book-signing the greater the chance of profitable results. At my last signing, I sold all 100 copies I'd arrived with. Angela asked me to share my hints with WritersWeekly.com readers. Here are quick tips for turning your next book-signing into a successful event. …
Seeing my name in print gives me a boost to keep writing and to keep pitching. On a whim, several months ago, I Googled my own name along with the words "Rome" and "Italy" to see if anything I had written was still online. I lived in Rome for two years and most of my published work has come from that experience. When two unsold entries popped up in two different publications, I was shocked, then furious. My work had been stolen! …
I'd held onto the brief guidelines for Landscape Magazine for months with the intention of dreaming of …
I've been practicing the power of saying "No!", no to low paying markets, unfair deals and crazy time constraints and work loads. …
The wisdom that rests behind checking a publication's guidelines is self-evident. One is more likely to encounter success by following a publication's stated rules and meeting its declared requirements than not. Sending a completed manuscript by e-mail attachment when the guidelines clearly state that only postal queries are welcome is an excellent strategy - if your goal is to dramatically reduce your chances of freelance success. …
Whenever the 'P' word -- PAYMENT -- gets a mention, writers are frequently up in arms. There appear to be two camps of thought: those that think we should all write for free, 'because it is our art', and those who want to get paid what they are worth as a writer. Of course, you yourself, might fall somewhere in between where you prefer to get paid, but will write for free for good causes or if it is to promote yourself. …
Kids and history often don't mix, especially when it comes to getting history into their heads. But that doesn't have to be. Though it may surprise most parents and teachers, kids actually do like history. …
One of my favorite lifelong non-writing excuses has been, "But I'm not cooked yet." Although I showed promise as a poet, humorist and playwright as early as age 10, and had some essays published in my twenties, I largely delayed my writing career until after 40. …
There are many advantages to writing with children in mind. For one, they and those who assist them, are often seeking advice. Parents, especially of young children, are usually very inexperienced when it comes to caring for a family. What should they look for in a good family doctor? What activities, books, magazines, or music will best entertain and educate the very young? And where can potential writers of children's fiction go to get help honing their talent to meet the needs of grade-schoolers? …
Your book title is very important. It encapsulates the essence of your book in just a few words. Like choosing a name for your child, selecting a title for your book is a critical decision. Just as your child is known by his name for a lifetime, your book will be known by its title for its entire publishing history. Even before you sell your book, its future title can help attract the interest of a literary agent or publisher when you include it in query letters. It will also appear on the first page of your book proposal. It's never too soon to start creating a possible title for your book. …
When our family relocated from Tennessee to Vermont, I was confident I could keep landing assignments from my southern editors. I wasn't so sure, however, if I could successfully continue teaching creative writing to homeschoolers-something I had been enjoying for five years. By asking myself the 5 W's and the H, I found answers that not only satisfied my itch to teach, but also met a legitimate need in my new community. …
Award-winning novelist Jeffrey Marks is the newest instructor at WritersWeekly University. His class, Intent To Sell - Marketing Genre Fiction Works In Today's Marketplace, helps first-time novelists create the materials they need to start marketing their works. In today's article, Jeffrey details his introduction to marketing genre fiction. …
One day last year, I had an hour left of writing time but wasn't getting anywhere. Instead, I spent about 20 minutes jotting down a 'reader tip' I'd had inside my head. Without further thought, I mailed it to a magazine I frequently read, and called it a day. Several months later, I was surprised by a call from the magazine saying they'd like to print it, and soon received a check for $75. Not bad for 20 minutes of work on a dry day. …
Instead of my resume and clips, I should market this description for freelance work. In spite of my credentials and experience, or should I say because of it, I have been "taken" again by another bogus editing test. Although I am not a novice (with over 13 years of experience), I am still amazed that I get scammed by this old trick after watching for all apparent signs. …
Any business might occasionally take on contracts that it later regrets having accepted. Other companies may offer too-good-to-be-true terms in the hopes of obtaining free labor. Avoiding these risky "opportunities" is a challenge, especially for the freelancer. The following warning signs should make you think twice about pursuing a particular freelance assignment. …
For most gardeners, winter is the time to pore over seed catalogs and plot (figuratively, at least) next year's garden. It's a time to both assess the past and plan for the future. Writing gardeners can do the same. Since it's too cold in many parts of the country to be outside playing in the dirt, now is the perfect time to dig up new writer's guidelines and craft succulent queries. And assignments landed now will lead to articles published during the all important sowing, growing and harvesting seasons, when any gardener worth his or her salt would rather be outside, anyway. …
Are you a poet who wants to spend hundred of dollars on a fruitless quest to be published?…
Most seasoned freelancers know the rules on keeping an editor happy. Read the guidelines, never exceed the word count, Meet deadlines and go the extra mile. But what if you do all that and you still get treated like something that stuck to her shoe? Then it's time to fire your editor. …
Does your filing system consist of random piles scattered throughout your home? Do you waste too much time looking for that lost idea or the missing interview notes? Do you have markets and guidelines in a stack on the edge of your desk, a few more bookmarked in your favorites and still others saved in Outlook? …
If you haven't noticed, "shelter" (home design) magazines have grabbed a strong seat in the magazine-publishing arena, offering writers many opportunities to report on the latest in, for example, pillow shams, kitchen tiles or lawn furniture. …
You've done your research, lined up your contacts and written a killer query. You know you're the perfect person to write this particular article and you have faith that your targeted editor will know that, too; after all, you've got the clips to prove it. But wait, before you hit that "Send" button, thus rocketing your pitch into cyberspace and onto your editor's virtual desk, think for a minute about presentation. Are those precious clips easily accessible or are they spread all over the Internet; two on one site, one on another and three on a site that no longer exists? Editors are far too busy to go scavenging the net looking for proof of a writer's professionalism. The edge will go to the freelancer who can provide such evidence at the click of a mouse, and one of the best ways to do that is via your own website. …
Many professional groups and industry trade associations hold conventions and trade shows. These can be huge events, such as the annual International Home Builders Show with an attendance of 92,000, or much smaller groups numbering in the dozens. While big conferences are held by necessity in major cities, smaller groups often meet in cities of less than 100,000 in population. So, whether you live in a large or small city, you can add to your writing income by covering conventions and trade shows for newspapers, magazines or websites. …
Let's talk about ideas. Ideas exist in a soup in your brain, and like all good soups, ideas need time to stew. The trick is to keep stirring. As the idea churns around in what passes for your creative capacity, you should periodically review it and ask yourself some questions. …
If you're a shy writer, you should know that shyness is who you are, as much a part of you as eye color and lobed ears. Learn to incorporate it into your writing world. Learn how to recognize your limitations and your abilities and define your ills and your cures. …
Many writers are so afraid of rejection that they jump at whatever fee an editor offers. Don't do it! Writers are notorious for not getting paid what they deserve, especially when they are first starting out. We need to think more like my therapist, who advises, "Honor the work you do." His weekly therapy bill also motivates me to ask for more for my writing work. Whatever your motivation, stand up for the work you do and make more money. …
How often do you find yourself reading through the posts of an Internet writing board only to be caught in a series of complaints? We writers sure can write, but sometimes our focus doesn't seem all that - how can I say this delicately? - productive. …
It's a sad but true fact. Authors need to learn some marketing basics because publishing houses don't do enough PR for all but their biggest or hottest books. Last week, one of the students in our Create a Buzz Plan class and I had a half hour phone call (which is offered to all Buzz students now) to do some more brainstorming. During the call he told me what was going on with his book. He'd landed a traditional contract and received a $175K advance. But, his publisher was doing nothing to get the word out. Absolutely nothing. …
Recently I sat in on a self marketing seminar for young jobseekers. Traditional methods of looking for work are out of favor, and the seminar leader drew up a graph to show why - only 20% of available jobs are advertised, he said. What the jobseeker should be concentrating on are the 80% that aren't advertised. …
