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On a whim, and since I have a book coming out this week, I asked this question on Facebook: List the top three conditions required for you to buy a book at full retail price. It didn’t take long for 250+ commenters to come forward with 426 replies. The trends popped up early and maintained their leads throughout the exercise. Several posters begged me to reveal the results. After counting and recounting, here are the reasons someone will throw down money and pay full price for a book. 110    Author 39    Topic/genre 33    Will keep for rereading/keep for research 30    Cover/cover copy/cover blurbs 26    Reviews/recommendations 24    Series 23    Support a bookstore 22    On a whim/want it now/super convenient at the time 21    Available money at the time 20    First page/content/readability 18    Format (font, ebook, audio, hardback, etc.) 16    Event/signing/autograph 10    Gift 7    Not available in the library 7    Book club read 7    Local emphasis 5    Airport purchase 4    Need something to read/TBR list is low 2    Publisher identity 2    Fundraiser purchase Number one, the author, flew out of the chute and stayed ahead the entire race. Readers love settling in with an author, developing a relationship with the author, feeling More

Part of every day, I scan newsletters, reference sites, suggestions, and requests to post markets, contests, grants, and freelance gigs in FundsforWriters. One would think that the title FUNDS FOR WRITERS would ring a bell to most, but amazingly, some do not grasp the concept that we ONLY consider opportunities that pay. In my humble opinion, or not-so-humble opinion for that matter, publications that ask that you submit and not expect payment, are engaging in thievery. They can call it a generous donation. They can promise you notoriety. They can profess to be fledgling, independent, nonprofit, or all-volunteer, but to ask you to spend hours penning a piece and send it to them for free . . . and them make even one dime on the results . . . is theft. One journal had this posted on their submissions guidelines: “(SAID PUBLICATION) is independent and non-profit-making, thus we do not make monetary payment to contributors.” And they went on to say, “If you are so kind to make a donation to (SAID PUBLICATION), please mention it in your submission that you have done so. We will then give you a more speedy (usually within a week) and personal reply.” Can More

In the summer of 2021, as COVID slowed, I found myself with spare time, so on a whim I started a cancer memoir. In addition to the writing, I awoke one night, husband snoring beside me, with an original concept on how to structure the book. Lesson #1:  When the spirit moves you, record your discovery right then. I had breast cancer twice, once in 2011 and once in 2016. Last year in 2021, my oncologist “fired” me, saying I was done with treatment, and having reached the end of that journey, I felt compelled to write about cancer. I was thankful, and my memoir concept had to do with the gifts I’d been given during my cancer journey. Friends gave me tangibles such as hats, food, cards, religious jewelry, and books on cancer, but they’d also given me intangible, or spiritual, tokens of their support and love. Such intangibles included their humor, their conversation during chemo, and memorable rides to radiation. The book came out quickly, and by August, I’d completed over 12,000 words, but the length was too short for a traditional book. Most books are at least 50,000 words. It wasn’t a short story; it wasn’t a More

“Man is born as a freak of nature, being within nature and yet transcending it….The human being would indeed go mad if he did not find a frame of reference which permitted him to feel at home in the world in some form and to escape the experience of utter helplessness, disorientation, and uprootedness. There are many ways in which man can find a solution to the task of staying alive and of remaining sane. Some are better than others and some are worse. By “better” is meant a way conducive to greater strength, clarity, joy, independence; and by “worse” the very opposite. But more important than finding the better solution is finding some solution that is viable.” ~ humanistic philosopher and psychologist Erich Fromm, The Revolution of Hope: Toward a Humanized Technology (public library) As writers we seek satisfaction in our work. We love doing it. We love having done it. However, there are parts of the process that are not very palatable, like marketing for some . . . and editing for others. To listen to some writers, one would think they are in agony, from beginning to end. They want an easier way to be good, be More

I joined the Chapin Chamber of Commerce this week. I used to belong to it, but they weren’t very receptive to folks who worked from home and had no brick and mortar storefront. Very old school. Well, four years later, two years of COVID later, and two chamber CEO’s later, they are welcoming everyone with an entire category of work-from-home members. Then after I saw them do the ribbon cutting at my son’s gym this week, I recognized a fresh approach. I bit the bullet and joined the chamber, feeling pretty good about it. In my area, I’m becoming more known for my books. I’ve even been called “the Chapin author.” How fun. So why not join the chamber and become a more active member of the community? I already belong to the Edisto Chamber which does a good job promoting my book signings around the beach and island. When is it a good time to join a chamber of commerce? 1) Speak to a few members and ask if they believe it’s run well. 2) Look at the meetings and scheduled events, the breakfasts and working lunches, and see if the topics as well as the attendees might be something More

A small local coffee shop advertised an author signing. Since I had to be in the area, I attended, to make a fellow author feel better. Having sat in that chair and been through that stress, I vowed to buy a book, regardless how good or bad it was. After all, it takes guts to do a signing. I walked in and felt instant pity. If she sold a book to other than me or one of her family members, I would be surprised. Walking away, I saw lessons worth mentioning in this newsletter. 1) The books were overpriced. People will ask, “How much are they?” Be prepared to answer and don’t elaborate further unless you can offer a better price for multiple books. The answer this dear lady gave me was “They are $24.95.” The books were maybe 50 pages and paperback. She launched into a soft rant (she was sweet and soft-spoken) about how books are expensive and that an author cannot make any money selling books anyway. I told her I was an author (and I stopped there, not wanting to steal any of her spotlight), and I understood how expensive the business was and the low-profit More

Recently, the president of Freelancers Union said that one of the biggest challenges for freelancers is “getting paid on time, if not getting paid at all,” noting that the majority of freelancers get stiffed by their clients from time to time! That was me once, but let’s cut to the happy ending because I don’t recall the last time I didn’t get paid or received payment more than a week late. Here are the payment terms and phrasing I use now. I haven’t changed it in years because it has been so effective. I extend credit to all clients on the simple agreement that they pay on time. I bill once a month, with payment due in 15 days of billing (checks, credit card, or PayPal accepted). I allow for late payment once. After that I require payment in advance for all work. Here’s what else I’ve learned: Set your terms. Even as a solo freelancer, you’re running a business, so act like one and set your payment terms. Be flexible. Your clients are also businesses with their own terms. Advocate for yourself, practice negotiating, but also think win-win. Get it in writing. You don’t always need a formal contract, but don’t start More

Serialized fiction is a story told in parts and unveiled in installments over a period of time. Think of a television show where a new episode is released each week, just instead with a story and a new chapter published each week.  This concept has been around for nearly two centuries.  Charles Dickens kicked off this idea of a serialized novel with 19 installments of the Pickwick Papers in 1835, and Uncle Tom’s Cabin, by Harriet Beacher Stowe published in 40 installments in a newspaper in 1851. Newspapers and consumer magazines like Harpers and The Atlantic Monthly were popular avenues for this type of fiction. Not so much anymore, but some literary magazines like Narrative, still accept serialized novels. You can serialize a story on your blog or in your newsletter, but technology has brought new options. Platforms like Radish, Wattpad and the new Kindle Vella provide opportunities for writers to publish a completed novel in serialized form. Readers read the episodes on their computer or through an app. Some are free and with others, there is a fee. Why serialize? Serialized fiction provides a different avenue for you to publish your novel. You can build your audience, reach new audiences, revive your backlist, pre-release upcoming books, or test More

I can’t teach you a surefire way to earn money as a writer, but I can offer you hope, assuming you’re willing to work hard and put yourself out there. This is my story. The income that accompanies my journey starts at zero, goes up to $150,000 at its peak, and then back to zero when I retired. During the past year I made $180. My retirement is secure. I wrote as a hobby for years, collecting a stack of published pieces that ranged from editorials to poetry. But my bachelor’s degree was in Medical Technology and my first two jobs were as a lab technician, a career I grew to dislike. So with a meager portfolio in hand I arranged an informational interview with the manager of a newly formed writing company. That’s where serendipity helped me along. Her career path was similar to mine. We connected on a personal level despite my lack of “fit.” At length she told me, “Here’s what I want you to do. Go out in the lobby and write me a story.” She handed me a legal pad and a pen. “About what?” I asked. She shrugged and looked up at a poster More

Some of us are more logical in our writing, the thrill of publishing sitting on our shoulder like the devil, pushing us to make the words earn their keep. Others of us are more spiritual, the joy of creating our only drive, with publishing not a worry. The grand majority of us fall on the spectrum. Some would like to make money but love the creativity, that lack of material need directing us toward writing as a hobby. Others spend an hour or two a day writing solely for certain markets, payment defining the value of the work. I am a big fan of The Marginalian, previously Brain Pickings, and it often serves as my Sunday paper, taking in good writing about the philosophies of life. Maria Popova often talks of writers, and why they write. Recently she wrote so succinctly, that her concepts stole my breath away. “In the end, the measure of our strength is in how we face the fact that we. . . mortal, vulnerable creatures of uncommon creativity and courage, body-minds born to die and to make meaning of our fragile existence not by clinging to the self but by practicing our various arts of unselfing: More