What really matters is what you do with what you have. ~ H. G. Wells As a writer, you will hear the word no. Or at least some of its cousins, like, “not interested,” “cannot use this at this time,” or “this is not for us.” That’s expected. Here is where writers have a crossroad decision to make. My advice is this: Do NOT let a single, solitary excuse fall out of your mouth. NO is part of this game, people. And the more NOs you receive, the more defined a direction you can make. NOs are just as good as YESses. FundsforWriters receives articles queries daily. Most are rejected. Most are rejected for the following reasons: 1) Word count is wrong. 2) Topic isn’t anywhere on the FFW radar. 3) No bio, no website, no link to the writer. 4) Plagiarism. (Yes, it’s common. Yes, I check.) 5) No takeaway value for the reader (it’s more about the writer and their feelings). But one rejection that most submitters don’t see coming is when they emphasize the negative of writing. “How to cope with rejection.” “How to get past the negativity of nasty agents and editors.” “How to cope with writer’s block.” More
Can I Write About Parenting When I Don’t Have Kids?
/ 2021-08-07A friend recently emailed a link to an essay that he had published in Motherwell, an online parenting magazine. The essay was about an old dish and how it got passed down through the family and repurposed over the years. I could write something like that, I thought, but shoot, Motherwell is for parents, and I am not a parent. But wait a minute. The guidelines state, “Motherwell is a publication that tells all sides of the parenting story.” They list a number of topics for which they’re currently seeking articles or essays. Even though I don’t have kids, I found many of them intriguing. And doesn’t “all sides of the parenting story” imply that I can come at it from a non-mother point of view? Hundreds of publications aimed at parents offer a big paying market for writers. National, regional, Christian, special needs kids, special interests. Are we barred from writing for them if we’re not parents? We are not. Writers can write about anything as long as they can gather the necessary material by interviewing the right people and asking the right questions. Maybe we don’t have our own children to write about, but we can certainly weave someone else’s experiences More
We Are All Busy
/ 2021-08-07Why is it we worry about whether we think other people think we are busy? If someone asks what we’ve been doing, we have to make sure it sounds terribly busy. Too-much-to-do-in-a-day-type busy. We feel we have to sound like we’ve been too busy to write, or that we’ve been hard at it, just not published yet. A nonwriter usually thinks of writing as synonymous with publishing, and we feel inclined to make it sound like we sweat feverishly over a keyboard 20 hours a day with publishing right around the corner. Everyone who wants to be busy is busy. But are they productive? Busy is doing, one minute to the next. Productive, however, is strategic. And productive means you reached a goal, producing something of value. Do not confuse being busy with being productive. In many cases, the former interferes with the latter. “A writer writes. Always.” – Billy Crystal in Throw Momma from the Train That is the first mantra. Once you develop that habit, then you decide what’s considered productive. Polishing a Harper-Lee-type, once-in-a-lifetime novel is perfectly fine, as long as that is your goal. Some work on the same novel because they are afraid of doing anything More
Success as a Disability Writer
/ 2021-07-17Successful authors seem born to write. Masked by the ability to put words on paper, (or on screen) it seems these authors have never struggled at all. But in fact, many writers have a disability. Sometimes it’s even the reason they write. According to online blog Mental Up, people like George Bernard Shaw and Jules Verne, are said to have had ADHD. I have been formally diagnosed with ADHD and dyslexia. I struggle with concentration, readability of text and sticking to one theme. Others have written about disability equipment that aids the writing process. Similarly, I use various avenues for my own more neuro-oriented disabilities. Places and mediums for writing When I started to write, I even had to grapple with the concept of where to write. Writers are often told that certain environments are conducive to creativity. Forget that. “22 Places to Write When You’re Tired of Working at Home” outlines how to diversify workspaces, especially where they become stale. For those with disabilities, unusual environments are even necessary to creativity. As I need stimulating, dynamic environments to maintain my attention, I work productively amidst the bustling cacophony of cafes or outside amidst the trees. The throb of life seems to resonate with me. I More
Presenting Your Book Online
/ 2021-07-17More 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