I have had success condensing essays to fillers, expanding devotionals into expository compositions, and re-working a serious article into a poem. I even combined several un-sold manuscripts into an article about a sales drought and sold it to a writing magazine. Generating a manuscript in various forms for various audiences increases its marketability. Whether the original piece has been sold or is sitting in your hard drive, consider whether it could be worked into a different genre.
Just as revising the angle of an article can make it viable for multiple sales, consider re-writing your manuscript for a different publication genre. The concept of writing for diverse genres can initially be intimidating. Taking the crux of an essay and condensing it to the conciseness of poetic form, or working a serious article into a humor or how-to piece stretches a writer’s skills. Working in an unfamiliar and difficult genre, and then experiencing its sale, is particularly gratifying and profitable.
Taking a manuscript that was produced with a specific intent and manipulating that idea into some odd counterpart can be an amazing experience. Like the caterpillar turning into a butterfly, there is mystery within the confines of its chrysalis. The mystery within the folds of our brains can take a narrow line of thought and produce unexpected agility in creativeness.
Developing writing skills, increasing market targets, and building confidence are a few of the benefits of this exercise. Another positive aspect is the potential for generating more income. I have found the basic advantage to revamping manuscripts into numerous genres is that the process has broadened my base as a writer. Often we are successful in a particular area of writing and we hesitate to explore genres that are less comfortable. Yet, we can’t win if we don’t play. And, since we like winning, let’s play more!
As a freelance author based in Wisconsin, by Rebecca MacKenzie’s work has been purchased by writing, parenting, teaching and Christian publications. As an award winning essayist, she also writes short stories and poetry, which have been included in anthologies and literary journals. As a seminary graduate (Trinity International University, Chicago, IL – MAR), Rebecca writes Christian Studies curriculum as well.