28,000 subscribers

Every day I keep my writing career strong by logging in to social media. I often use Facebook Messenger to communicate with other writers, but chats alone are not enough. Your Profile Just as a website must make a writer or author stand out as an authority, so must a social media profile. For example, my social media profiles state that I am a freelance writer, author, newsletter publisher, book reviewer and editor. My Twitter/X profile notes I’m a disabled writer. An editor contacted me on there when looking for disabled writers to submit to an anthology. Include your link as well as hashtags with keywords specific to your specialty, such as #SEO or #Excel. Group Chats Personal group chats created on social media sites contain a selection of people with like interests, only drilled down more specific. I belong to many group chats; one for a publisher of my books, one for an anthology I am submitting to, and one for writers seeking calls for submissions. These were all created by the respective editors who added me. A group chat in a social media message center can help you stay more on top of a discussion. It’s usually more detailed, more instant, More

I was surprised when a copywriting client pointed out “weird phrasing and spelling mistakes” in my work, then I worried their concerns were true. Writing tired had become the norm for a while, and the stress of late nights was beginning to show. This pushed me to hire a single, permanent beta-reader—someone who could brainstorm some ideas and check drafts with me. Here’s how writers can improve their flow by working with one particular back-up reader. Writer’s Block (Or Desk Fright) Writer’s block is the inability to write what feels good enough for submission. I sometimes call it desk fright—and like stage fright, it takes the pressure off to imagine that you’re only performing for one person instead of a whole audience. What if I only imagined a single reader while writing? Could my style return to its former quality? About Beta-Readers and First Eyes I asked DJ and producer Flash Wrldwide if she would be my primary reader and brainstorming partner in 2025. We’re from different worlds, but a disc jockey has particularly sharp eyes and coordination skills. Mixing music means you have to be fast with your eyes, keys, and mind. Flash fit in with my thought processes, my pace, More

A reader queried me this week, asking how to send their word to a traditional press. Big ask, because they write entire courses and books on the subject, but I tried to give them an abridged version. First, you don’t send the entire manuscript. He asked if he needed a dedication page, the front matter, etc. and I had to explain to him that they have to like your writing first. This isn’t about formatting and the extra material of a book nor your bio. It’s about sending one to three chapters (sometimes only a first page) to a publisher to see if they like what they see. Not the full manuscript. Second, you prepare a query letter where every word counts. EVERY.WORD.HAS.TO.COUNT. That query has to make an editor (or agent) want to read more. Even if it’s talking about who you are or the brief 100-word synopsis of your book. They might never read that one to three chapters if the pitch letter doesn’t sing. Third, you only get one chance with each publisher and agent. If they reject you on this book, the book is pretty much forever rejected. Unless they reply with suggestions and leave the More

Last year, I realized my submission process was extremely inefficient. I’d write an essay or short story and then begin searching for somewhere to submit it. It was a time-consuming process that meant I could spend up to two hours researching markets just to submit to one or two publications. Although I subscribe to newsletters like FundsforWriters and The Practicing Writer, I often get behind in reading them, which means I miss important submission deadlines. Also, because some magazines limit the number of submissions, if I don’t send to those within the first couple of days after they open submission portals, I have to wait until their next reading cycles. To address these issues, I switched my process to something closer to an old-fashioned “tickler file” system. In the era before digital calendars sent reminders, a “tickler file” system consisted of folders where you’d put letters that needed to be sent that month, bills that needed to be paid, and other such timed tasks. When the month started, you opened the folder and “tickled” your memory about what needed to be done that month. Using a Tickler File System For my new system, I created one Word document for each month. Each document More

Okay, so you’ve written a screenplay and are shopping it around town. What now? Well, if your work generates interest from a studio or producer, you may soon be handed one of several agreements to review. Understanding the key differences and commonalities between each one will be essential to protecting your work, accomplishing your goals, managing expectations and avoiding pitfalls. Let’s first look at each one so you’re clear on what they entail and under what circumstances they might appear. Option/Shopping Agreement An option is most often used by a producer who doesn’t currently have the means to get your picture made, but believes in the work and wants a chance to shop or package it. The option period is the length of time you agree to give that producer to purchase the script outright, during which time she has the exclusive right to attach talent, secure distribution, raise financing and/or engage in other measures that result in a greenlight. If the producer fails to purchase the script by the end of the option window and you choose not to renew, all rights revert back to you. The producer’s rights during this window are exclusive because she doesn’t want you More

Having your book turned into a film or series offers fans the chance to engage through a different medium, opens the work up to an entirely new audience, and creates an additional revenue stream. But how do you get your book in the hands of a Hollywood producer who can bring it to the screen? While there’s no one-size-fits-all strategy, some best practices that will give you an edge. Write a Visual Book The first step is to write a book that Hollywood finds adaptable. Some stories are more attractive in this regard than others. Those featuring strong visual elements, hooky concepts with high commercial appeal, and flawed characters with compelling arcs are catnip for producers, directors and stars, as are books based on true stories. For inspiration, read books that have already been adapted into movies and follow industry trade magazines like Variety or Hollywood Reporter to gauge trends. For more info on judging adaptability, read my article here. Protect Your Work The first thing to do before shopping your book around Tinseltown is to make sure it’s copyright protected through the U.S Copyright Office. Clearly adding a copyright notice to the beginning of the book, watermarking pages and using More

In 2021, I had the idea for a book in which I’d celebrate a different fake holiday every day for a year. (You know, Talk Like A Pirate Day, National Cabbage Day, Bubblewrap Appreciation Day and all the rest.) My publisher of the time loved the idea and commissioned the book – to be called Awareness Daze – paying 50% of a small advance up front. I did the work, spending a grueling but fascinating year doing silly things and finding out about all sorts of worthy causes. My first draft came in at 210k words which, unsurprisingly, my publisher wanted to cut in half. That took me several more months. But it was all good: the book was scheduled for publication, we had a marketing plan and a great cover design, and I even sold an article to a national paper about my silly challenge. Then, about three weeks before going to press, my publisher went into liquidation. End of book, no more advance. All the interest generated by the article fizzled away. After a few days of stewing, I tried to salvage something from the debacle. I approached various other publishers but no joy. But then, out of More

A lot of writers are losing their minds about the article in The Atlantic about a pirate site illegally taking copies of titles, posting them, and letting Meta use them to train their AI program. The Authors Guild has already joined with publishers and the federal government in pursuing this. (See AG article here.) (quote from AG article) Legal action is already underway against Meta, OpenAI, Microsoft, Anthropic, and other AI companies for using pirated books. If your book was used by Meta, you’re automatically included in the Kadrey v. Meta class action in Northern California without needing to take any immediate action. The court is first deciding whether Meta broke copyright laws, with a decision expected this summer, before officially certifying everyone as a class. If your books have been pirated and used (you can tell on The Atlantic article where they have designed a place to search for your titles), you are already included in the lawsuit. I am reading all sorts of comments by authors. Someone ought to do something. (Somebody already has. Read above again.) This is the government’s fault because it has been dismantled by Trump. (Um, big no. This predates Trump and has nothing to do with politics.) Who More

I heard this line at a writers group, no less. This line is turning into a common remark that I hear each and every time I appear somewhere. I’ve heard it from people you’d never imagine, too. Teachers, librarians, parents who wonder why their children don’t read, and, yes, other writers. Who has time to read? The remark stuns me each and every time. You make time to read. Like you make time for anything else important. If your job involves books, reading, or learning, why are you holding yourself back? Why are you refusing to better yourself? Why set the bad example? Why don’t you want to read? Not to read tells yourself and those around you (ahem, parents and teachers) that it isn’t important. You are setting the example that books are what you do when you don’t have time for anything else. My grandson asked me just yesterday why I was reading a different book that day. We were on our way to Ju Jitsu and I read in the lulls between lessons. I told him that I finished the last one. He asked how many books I read, and I said I try for one book every week More

Because of job cuts, I’ve recently returned to the freelance hustle in my mid-50s – and I’ve encountered lots of negativity and defeatism. My fellow 50-somethings are lacking confidence, can’t cope with new tools and software, think editors only want young talent, that AI is making them redundant… I felt all this, too, at first. But after a few weeks of putting myself out there, the work has started to come in. Persistence paid off, and even some patchy networking with old connections made a difference. And it occurred to me that older people have quite a few advantages in this game: •    More contacts to draw from.  Having worked as a writer my entire career, I realised that I have amassed lots of contacts and different networks to tap. One potential new client is someone I worked with about 10 years ago, whom I messaged out of the blue via LinkedIn. Another is the client of the brother-in-law of a former coworker whom I first hired at an agency 16 years ago! •    An awareness of the cyclical nature of content  The longer you’re in the game, the more you see that ideas come round again. They can be re-purposed or More