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As a teacher, I know firsthand the value of using visuals to catch my students’ attention and move them from the printed word to a higher level of engagement. Therefore, as I pondered ways to attract potential buyers of my debut novel, The Bottle House, it occurred to me that brief videos could interest and engage potential readers. Short videos on Facebook ads work well, but I wanted to get the most “bang for my buck” when it came to buying advertisements. The lessons I learned were these: Choose a video-making website   As a classroom teacher, I have used PowerPoint for video work, but I found some places that made video making simpler. Needing a company that could help me produce videos in a download form; one that would not have to be hosted on YouTube, I found InVideo. I chose this company for a few reasons. They have great tutorial videos both on their site and on YouTube. They have many templates that allow you to change pictures, movements of words, graphics, and music tracks that you can upload into your video. You can sign up for one of two different plans to make videos and the monthly More

Most of you will say both, but that is not true. You may not even realize it’s not true. Truth is, we all start writing with a purpose in mind. . . to either make money writing, or to have our work loved. And whether you admit it or not, you favor one mindset over the other. This is going to be a very opinionated piece, so buckle in for the ride. The biggest frustration to most writers, any type of writer, is not being read. Whether that means being read to earn royalties or commissions, or being read to be loved for the art of the story, the bottom line is you write for words to be appreciated. You love the thought of words being powerful. But when you think you’ll make a million dollars with cozy mysteries, or your beautiful talent will be appreciated in a blog post about buying the best earbuds, you have your priorities become mixed up. You become your own worst enemy. First, if your main desire is to earn a living as a writer (whether you have to or want to, doesn’t matter), then accept that and look for writing niches that earn More

Access to TV/film producers and directors has never been easier through direct access pitching. It is made possible through a variety of online venues (below) that have sprouted up over the years in an effort to bridge the gap between screenwriter and TV/film decision-makers, with the prospect of getting it produced. While traditionally securing a film agent can offer you advantages—like better access to opportunities—direct access pitching offers shorter wait times and the chance to create one-on-one relationships with producers, that can ultimately lead to selling your work. Whether you’re a professional screenwriter, newbie, or looking to build your credits, direct pitching can offer you opportunities to expand your portfolio to include short scripts, TV, web-series, or even podcasts. More often, when submitting to producers through a direct pitch, you’re connecting with someone who not only has a budget in place to pay you, but is reading for their current production slate, or one in the very near future, increasing your chances of success and securing a paid contract. Since you are directly pitching a decision-maker, if you receive an outright ‘no,’ you might be able to ask what they are more apt to say ‘yes’ to—they may also return More

The publishing industry is never going to settle into a norm. Frankly, it never has, it’s just we, as members of different generations, enter the business at different times, with different books, in different genres, with different styles of publishing, and with different concepts of marketing, and as a result we establish our own sense of norm. However, serious change occurs almost monthly, at least seasonally, so if you enter this profession, get used to change. The adaptable types wind up the most successful. In other words, no hand-wringing and crying about how things are not fair. In still more words, you chose this gig. On to the changes of late: 1) Library lending through OverDrive is up 16 percent. Partly due to the infusion of federal COVID funds and partly due to the increase in library patronage. Publishers appeared more sympathetic to libraries in terms of costs. 2) Reading was up around the world last year, but it’s sluggish this year. 3) Print sales were up in 2021, with adult fiction the primary catalyst. 4 )The majority of sales in 2021 were due to backlists, justifying why an author always ought to be writing on the next book. 5) More

It’s difficult providing estimates and proposals for creative writing services. As writers, we often sound vague when walking the client through the scope of our writing work. It seems sketchy to tell them that we curate, create, collate, read, mull over, write, rewrite a million times, edit vigorously and then only reluctantly submit. While reality plays in the back of your mind, you find it a daunting task to quote the right price and obtain quick client approval. Invariably from the client side there are negotiations, promises for future work, repeat orders, and similar such.  Hear them out and heed them but make your own decision.  As an independent writer for the last six years, I have had countless good and bad incidents when it comes to ‘quoting well and getting paid.’ Here’s a three-pronged approach that helps you get more projects that pay, if not handsomely, at least decently. Cement the Work Scope Everything starts and ends here. In your initial client informational call ask probing questions to understand what exactly he or she means when they seek writing support. Is it editing, rewriting, creating, or just collating? You must nail this, because when a client says ‘improve this More

Work every day. No matter what has happened the day or night before, get up and bite on the nail. ~Ernest Hemingway For months, maybe years, you write on a project. Then you publish it. We won’t get into the pros and cons of self-publishing versus traditional, but let’s just say you have some say-so into how much your books are sold to the public. You price it down, in hopes of snaring eager readers for whom that matters. A few months go by, and you get impatient at your book sales and decide you need to offer something for free. After all, so many blogs out there talk about the catalyst of a bait sale, where you entice someone for free so that they’ll buy your other work. Since you have more than one book for sale, you hope it balances out . . . give away one to sell one, or two, or three if you have a series. But you have forgotten the impact of a sound first impression. You started out with a lower priced book. You followed up with a free one. The first impression of a reader, bookstore owner, or librarian is that you More

Your freelance writing business works well offering one-off services and monthly retainers, but your earnings haven’t changed. Of the many techniques I’ve used in my business, the best results came from adding a few additional lines to my proposals. This effortless technique is what I call the art of the upsell. 1—The Deadline Upsell   When we book clients, we don’t always give them the absolute soonest date we can complete the project. Adding in some cushion allows us work on other projects or create a safeguard should any obstacle or emergency get in the way of completing the project on time. But, as you know, many clients would prefer to receive their projects finished yesterday. Take advantage of their immediate need to add a rush fee on top of your normal project costs. This can increase your earnings exponentially, depending on how quickly they prefer to finish the project. 2—The Revision Upsell  Most freelance clients will want to make changes to the first draft, and some clients might want to make even more revisions. If your main project fee only calls for two rounds of edits or writing, this work lands outside your contract. You can solve this challenge More

I received a LinkedIn notification of a book release, from a man I respect. The premise was intelligent, and I perceived the plot to be in-depth and a challenge, which thoroughly tempted me. The problem was: 1. About six other authors I already read have books out. Some were released the end of 2021, some just coming out, some due out in the next couple of months. 2. I belong to a book club, and that’s about ten books I’m obligated to read. 3. I have a dozen books to be read on my nightstand that I seriously want to read and digest to groom my own genre. 4. That doesn’t count the bookcase in my bedroom that holds the secondary TBR (to be read) stack that I’ve hoarded for a couple years. Books I refuse to give away because they showed a crazy amount of entertaining promise. So, here is a book I want to read. I suspect it falls into the bookcase category in terms of priority, which pains me, because I want to read it now. I just can’t because of the others that hold MORE promise to me, or that I’m more obligated to read. Which means More

“Having the freedom to read and the freedom to choose is one of the best gifts my parents ever gave me.” ― Judy Blume, bestselling children’s author Book banning is back in vogue. I don’t care which politics people adhere to or whether or not they have children, but I am not fond of book banning. Years ago, every six weeks when my children received report cards, I took them to the bookstore where they were allowed to buy whatever book they wished. I did not care if it was age appropriate. I did not care if it had a warning on the cover. I did not care if the person at the register looked sideways at me for allowing my children to read something that might lean too adult. Why? Because the rule was whatever book my sons purchased,  I would be reading it, too, and they had to be willing to discuss it with me. I want the liberty to read anything. I want the liberty to try and understand why other people think differently. I want to read about worlds I probably won’t enter, or read about the ones I may be faced with some day. I want More

“Sorry, but we’re in crisis mode over here. Everything nonessential is getting cut. But call us when this COVID thing is over.” Just like that, my two-year university contract doing international education strategy development vanished. Worse still, my consulting business appeared to be sliding straight toward a cliff. Higher education was on the skids, and my source of income had flatlined. Could I wait this out, or was it time to cut bait? In March 2020, no one knew how things would play out. What I did know is that I was 62 with no evident skill set that I could, in a pinch, or a pandemic, leverage to generate revenue. My background included a PhD in political science and a lackluster academic career that I had left 15 years earlier to run an educational foundation, which I then parlayed into consulting work in international education. But with existing gigs evaporating and universities concerned for their survival, the prospect of hustling new clients looked bleak, not to mention exhausting. It was time to move on. I just needed to find a talent that I could monetize, was good at, could do anywhere, and was in demand. Being late in life More