More specifically, I’m talking about how your book should present to the public on any venue. I recently spoke to a writer who spoke of only doing their book in ebook format. Another only wanted their book in print. I responded, “No, no, no.” The credibility of your book is reflected in its presentation, delivery, and availability. The same standards also help dictate that book’s sales. What I’m talking about is the variety of book formats. 1) Ebook 2) Paperback 3) Hardback 4) Audio We won’t get into the types of paperbacks (trade, mass, etc.), but the truth is, people are so diverse in how they read that they can easily judge your work by its format availability. But you are also judged by the gatekeeping algorithms out there on both search engines and Amazon. Ricardo Fayet of Reedsy.com recently made a comment that resounded with me. “Think about it from Amazon’s perspective. If a customer searches for ‘romantic suspense,’ they might want to buy an ebook for their Kindle, or a paperback, or a hardback, or an audiobook… Amazon doesn’t necessarily know which format they’re looking for. So to increase the chances that the search will result in a More
Insights from Judging a Short Story Contest
/ 2021-07-16I just wrapped up serving as one of the judges in the Hemingway Shorts contest sponsored by the Hemingway Foundation of Oak Park, and I thought I’d share some of the insights I came away with: Don’t start your story with a weather report unless the weather is the main topic. This is my number one pet peeve from judging this contest. About 80% of the stories submitted began with a weather report, and about 95% of them had nothing to do with the weather. Beginning with the weather is not the way to distinguish your work from a pile of submissions. Weather reports are boring, so even if the weather is the topic, get on with it. Have your protagonist appear in your first paragraph. Readers relate to people, not things. Ditto the weather issue. If I couldn’t figure out who this story is about by the first paragraph, chances are I didn’t read on. Too many actors spoil the story. A short story is, after all, short! Too many characters diffuse the action and tension, plus your reader gets easily confused if there are a lot of names to follow. It’s another way to lose the reader’s attention, More
Where Do You Find Freelance Work?
/ 2021-07-16You’ve decided to be a writer, or decided to add freelancing to your writing skills. After all, selling those books is hard work and a long-term wait in terms of return on investment. Sprinkling freelancing amidst your creative short stories, novels, and poetry can help fund your passion. Yes, it’s work, but it’s also quicker income. Let’s start with putting on our common sense hat. Where can you find this freelance work? 1) Talk to everyone you know – your peers. 2) Speak to local businesses you know. 3) Join the local chamber of commerce to get to know those businesses you don’t. 4) Join job boards. (I especially recommend the paid versions of LinkedIn and Write Jobs PLUS.) 5) Publications themselves. (Print, online, and blogs – many potential clients are on all three.) 6) Social media. (Facebook groups like Female Freelance Writers or Freelance Content Writers, Content Editor, Proofreader, & Digital Marketers) 7) Belong to a writing agency. (Reedsy.com is an example.) 8) Ask for referrals from those who know you as a writer. 9) Through your own professional website (with careful SEO optimization infused in it). 10) Professional organizations (indexers, copywriters, editors, etc. have organizations). Don’t have clips? More
Repurposing Content
/ 2021-07-02I’m talking fiction, nonfiction, copy, blog material….all of it. When it comes to fiction, it’s called the backlist. When it comes to commercial copywriting, it’s called repetition or repurposing. Whatever you write, because you released it once does not mean that others saw it or shouldn’t be used again. ClearVoice.com is a savvy site about writing copy for a living. That includes ads, social media, blogging, branding, whatever. They also hire out writers and editors, and they talk intently about how to be successful in niches. “It makes sense to republish and reuse existing content because there is a high likelihood your audience never saw it in the first place.” When it comes to copywriting, you refresh the work, often putting it on the same blog, in the same magazine, on the same Instagram page, maybe on a Facebook group instead of a page. . . in a new voice or new light. The point is to deliver the message. Just because I’ve posted before on FundsforWriters about writing for anthologies doesn’t mean I cannot post about it again. I can repeat an article that came out two years ago. I can come at submissions from a different angle. And frankly, as I’m More
Ten Unusual Places for Freelance Ideas
/ 2021-07-02Anyone who pitches articles or writes stories is always on the lookout for more sources of ideas. There are lots of well-trodden sources, but here are a few I use that might be less obvious. Foreign titles. Publications from other countries, readily available online, can be a rich source of ideas. Based in England, I get lots of ideas from titles in the US, Australia, Canada, Scotland, and more. But I also look at European titles. I once found a French health magazine with an article called ‘Why are you always late?’ I sold a piece looking at the psychology of lateness to a British title. Ideas from ideas. One idea can often be cut different ways. I realised lateness was an interesting topic, for example, and was later able to sell a different piece on the changing etiquette of timekeeping in the digital world to a woman’s magazine. Answer the Public. The many tools for generating search keywords are great for content ideas. I like Answer the Public, which scans autocomplete data from search engines ‘then quickly cranks out everyuseful phrase and question people are asking around your keyword.’ You get limited free daily searches, so choose wisely. Eavesdropping. Listening More
Repurposing Content
/ 2021-07-02I’m talking fiction, nonfiction, copy, blog material….all of it. When it comes to fiction, it’s called the backlist. When it comes to commercial copywriting, it’s called repetition or repurposing. Whatever you write, because you released it once does not mean that others saw it or shouldn’t be used again. ClearVoice.com is a savvy site about writing copy for a living. That includes ads, social media, blogging, branding, whatever. They also hire out writers and editors, and they talk intently about how to be successful in niches. “It makes sense to republish and reuse existing content because there is a high likelihood your audience never saw it in the first place.” When it comes to copywriting, you refresh the work, often putting it on the same blog, in the same magazine, on the same Instagram page, maybe on a Facebook group instead of a page. . . in a new voice or new light. The point is to deliver the message. Just because I’ve posted before on FundsforWriters about writing for anthologies doesn’t mean I cannot post about it again. I can repeat an article that came out two years ago. I can come at submissions from a different angle. And frankly, as I’m More
Who’s On Your Team?
/ 2021-06-26While researching for an article, I came across a quote from Proverbs 31:15: “She gives portions to her servant girls.” The context was a wise woman looking after her household and business. Two questions came to mind. Who’s on my writing team? How are they rewarded? As I considered the answers, I knew it was time to break away from the “solitary writer” mindset and get the help necessary to succeed. I made a list of my needs and what compensation I could offer. This resulted in identifying four key roles that have enhanced my writing and increased my income. Readers I asked a former college professor if she’d read some of my work. She had the skills and knew me on a personal level. Opening myself to her feedback helped hone my voice, made my writing more succinct, and brought clarity to my message. I went from publishing op-eds in local outlets to writing in the Belfast Telegraph, one of the UK’s top newspapers. This helped open the way to a recent job writing memoir pieces for a leading marriage ministry. Though she did not expect payment, I sent a handmade thank you card with money for lunch More
Right and Wrong in Your Story
/ 2021-06-25Genuine tragedies in the world are not conflicts between right and wrong. They are conflicts between two rights. ~Georg Wilhelm Friedrich Hegel, 19th century German philosopher While we like to think that the world is comprised of clear lines between good and evil, right and wrong, it is not. My opinion may differ from yours, with neither being totally right. The world just isn’t that clear and interpretive. This issue must clearly be considered in your writing. Any sort of writing. Whether fiction or nonfiction, memoir or magazine feature, you will find yourself having to depict something as the “right” way, either through the writer’s eye or the character’s. In fiction, or memoir since it’s written in a similar vein, the characters think they are right. The protagonist, the sidekick, the antagonist, or the guy who wanders on and off the screen, doesn’t matter who. . . think that what they say, do, or think is anchored in some sort of truth. Of course we cannot begin to know all sides of issues in our own lives, so our characters most assuredly do not have all the facts. . . or options. That is how conflict happens. That is how good More
Do You Read Your Reviews on Amazon?
/ 2021-06-25Some industry gurus say never read your book reviews. Maybe if you are selling tens of thousands of copies and the reviews come in too fast to read, sure. Put your assistant on the task to pick out those snippets you want to use in blurbs, in ads, and on covers. But for those without assistants, those still climbing hard in this business, and those still seeking sure footing, you may want to measure the pulse of things. I, for one, believe in reading reviews. Do I awaken each morning and rush to Amazon to see if there’s another review since I went to bed? No. But once or twice a week, I might slip in and read them, and this is why. 1) Out of respect for my readers. If they took the time to read my book, then took the time to post a review, I can darn well take the time to read their words in return. 2) To learn what DID NOT work. One has to learn to accept the scorching, stinging barbs of criticism in this business, and nothing tells you what didn’t work better than a person scorned because they bought your book and did not like it. Sometimes these More
Diversifying Your Writing Livelihood
/ 2021-06-19To earn money as a writer it helps if one can pivot from one genre to another—and then another. I’ve been writing for newspapers since I was 17 years old. Since then I’ve worked as a reporter/photographer on two daily newspapers and have written freelance stories for a large regional daily, for United Press International wire service as well as a host of trade and general interest magazines. I’ve done extensive curriculum writing and my lesson plans have been published by the University of Wisconsin-Madison, University of Iowa and the Bureau of Indian Affairs, Dept. of Education. Most have been paid assignments, some have not, but all have kept me polishing and improving my writing skills. I taught high school English on an Indian reservation in Michigan’s Upper Peninsula for 15 years. Many of my students struggled with reading and writing. This spurred me to earn my master’s degree in reading instruction. But one central issue remained. My students wanted to read a story about them, one that reflected their daily lives and the unique issues they faced. This led me to write Cady and the Bear Necklace. I typed out a rough draft and polished subsequent drafts at Highlights Foundation writing workshops More