Entering contests is a no-brainer for me. I can directly attribute my entry into the realm of traditional publishing (albeit a small press) to winning a contest. Many authors could say the same. In 2012, I entered my unpublished manuscript, working title Probable Cause, in the Public Safety Writers Contest (PSWA). I won third place in the unpublished novel category. Re-named, By Force or Fear, I self-published it on Smashwords as an ebook, hoping to work up to a print version. Meanwhile, I mapped out the second book of the Nick and Meredith Mysteries (I’m a compulsive plotter). After months of writing, querying, submitting, and all-around frustration, I entered my novel in a contest at Oak Tree Publishing (OTP). Oak Tree had recently published an anthology for the PSWA. I was stunned when I won. First prize was publication of the winning book. I’d entered my second mystery, Intent to Hold, which had just won second place in unpublished novel category in the PSWA’s 2014 Writers’ Contest. My new publisher also agreed to publish the first novel. Why Enter Contests? They can provide a publishing contract or the cash to enable your dream indie publishing. (We all know editors don’t edit our work More
The Mistakes I See
/ 2021-05-15I love receiving questions from readers. They arrive via Messenger, email, Facebook, even the occasional text. Sometimes by snail mail. All too often, however, the questions come to me prematurely, meaning the cart gets positioned well ahead of the horse. For instance: 1) “I have this story idea that’s so remarkable. How do I sell it once it’s written?” Do not even think about publishing if your book is still in idea form. Just don’t. Your energy needs to be completely committed in telling the story and learning how to do that well. What new authors do not understand is that it’s not the story itself that necessarily sells, but instead the voice that tells it. 2) “I’m almost done with this book. How should I publish?” Many established authors feel that the first book written is not the one that merits publication, yet few fledgling authors are willing to leave the first one behind, or worse, throw it away. However, in many cases, that’s exactly what needs doing. While self-publishing is a grand tool, it is also a mighty temptation to prematurely publish. When you are almost done with the first draft, then go back a dozen times and rewrite More
Synchronicity
/ 2021-05-10All writers have experienced synchronicity—two or more people coming up with the same idea at the same time. If you write long enough, synchronicity will happen to you, too. Historically, many inventions and theories have surfaced simultaneously, often from people on opposite sides of the globe. For example, two scientists came up with the theory of the evolution of species in 1858. Darwin just published his version first. And in 1876, both Elisha Gray and Alexander Graham Bell filed patents for the telephone on the very same day. For freelance writers, this phenomenon occurs when several others have already published articles based on that fabulous idea you just pitched. In the world of fiction writing, this unlucky coincidence happens when you’re chatting with another writer and figure out that you’re both writing novels with similar plot lines and characters—or worse—your book is launched and a similar title hits the shelves in the same month. For essayists who write about the human condition and current times, synchronicity may be even more common. Recently I opened my computer to find a published essay frighteningly similar to the piece I’d submitted the night before. My essay, “An Open Letter to the Mom with More
How to Find and Pitch Websites that Actually Pay
/ 2021-05-10Freelance writers know to pitch articles regularly to get their name out into the ether and gain recognition. But when many publications pay little or nothing for your work, where do you start? Which publications are worth the time and effort? Here’s how to find and pitch high-paying websites. Narrow Your Focus Find the right place to pitch the first time. How? Research publications and cold pitch ideas. Browse the directory from All Freelance Writing and its list of markets by category to find your niche. Writer’s Write is another source with a submission database and Writer’s Market list. Every market listed on these tools pay. I used Writer’s Markets to find condensed information on Writer’s Digest. The magazine pays $0.30 to $0.50 per word for accepted contributions. In rare cases, they also pay $50 to $100 for online articles and guest posts. Although Writer’s Digest includes their rates with submission guidelines, using Writer’s Markets helps find what you need faster. (NOTE from HOPE: I am collecting freelance pay rates for a feature in Writer’s Markets. Please feel free to fill out the questionnaire and help us collect an accurate database of rates currently being paid. ) Research Rates Seek a publication’s submission guidelines, More
Self-Editing
/ 2021-05-10<<I’ve heard of writers saying they are afraid to submit something as it never seems good enough to submit. I know we have to get over perfection paralysis to submit. But even if I proofread something two to three times and submit it, it seems that if I look again, it’s like, ‘Oh, I missed that.’ Given you submit weekly newsletters, how do you proofread so as to be the best possible? ~Thanks, Roy>> Most of us, whether we admit it or not, believe we can proof our own work and get by. Who better to spot the mistakes than the person most familiar? Frankly, the reality is quite the opposite. This quote from a piece in Wired Magazine says it well: “We . . . take in sensory information and combine it with what we expect, and we extract meaning. When we’re reading other peoples’ work, this helps us arrive at meaning faster by using less brain power. When we’re proofreading our own work, we know the meaning we want to convey. Because we expect that meaning to be there, it’s easier for us to miss when parts (or all) of it are absent. The reason we don’t see our own typos More
How to Create a Portfolio from Scratch
/ 2021-04-26After I decided to stop practicing law and try something new, I discovered the world of freelance writing but did not know how to start this new career path. I didn’t have a portfolio, a journalism degree, contacts, or experience with non-legal writing. My lack of a portfolio was my biggest obstacle. Publications often required writing samples to accompany pitches. How was I supposed to get writing samples if I couldn’t get anyone to publish my writing in the first place? Below are four strategies I used to create a portfolio from scratch. Catchafire I joined Catchafire, a website where people can volunteer to help nonprofit organizations with a variety of projects including writing and editing. I had wonderful experiences on Catchafire and completed several copywriting projects. After a project, I always asked the organization for permission to use the piece in my portfolio, and everyone allowed me to include it. Professional associations I also joined professional writing associations for their networking and training opportunities. When I realized the associations were seeking submissions for their newsletters, I was unsure what I could contribute. As a newbie, how was I to advise others? So I looked to my other interests to find More
They Ought to Like Me
/ 2021-04-26A woman posted on a Facebook group recently how insulted she was that some of her friends and family do not appreciate that she writes romance. She commenced to explain why she wrote it and loved it and how it was the largest selling genre, therefore, it deserved respect. Others on the group echoed her concerns. Everyone was hating those who did not appreciate the romance genre. They had no business complaining. None at all. As a matter of fact, they were convincing people NOT to read romance with behaviors like that. The people they were fussing about had just as much right to dislike romance as the complainers did to like and write it. You might as well convince someone who doesn’t like broccoli that they ought to like broccoli. It makes that much sense. I’ll be wide open honest right here and now. I do not like to read fantasy, scifi, dystopia, cozy mystery, AND romance. However, I am friends with writers who write them and readers who read them. Just like not everyone eats broccoli, nobody reads all genres. That is their right and their choice. They are just trying to make their lives enjoyable by doing More
Scheduling Habits
/ 2021-04-23I just read a piece by Seth Godin (love him!), in which he talks about choosing what we do in our day-to-day existence. I preach something quite similar; just ask the people I teach at conferences. (Conferences…remember them?) We are somehow hardwired to plan our days. The only days we don’t is when we take a vacation, and even then, I would bet most of us still have to “plan” the vacation time. But there is an art to planning our time, and a lot of it has to do with serious thought. Most of us forget that part. All too often, we list everything we feel must be done, then jump into the list, beginning with those items most critical or have the nearest deadline. Procrastinators will often do the shorter tasks first, delaying those requiring more investment. Some start with those tasks that give the quickest positive results, because, after all, we love feeling good about our accomplishments. We often call it efficiency. But what’s missing out of all of this so-called planning is the thought process of creating that list. What often gets omitted are the things that matter more in the long run. Our dreams and More
The Niche of Paying Parenting Markets
/ 2021-04-09Being a parent, grandparent and now great-grandparent, has honed my niche as a writer. My children, grandchildren, and great grandson have been awesome food-for-story fodder which has also increased my earning power. The parenting market booms with magazines, both digital and print, blogs, and parenting anthologies. Parenthood, in all its myriad forms, single parents, same sex couples, interracial couples, etc. have one essential commonality. Parents want the best life for their children and ultimately want to mesh it together to groom the best life as a family. Parents don’t want to feel alone, either. They have insecurities and fears, especially now during a pandemic that has caused so many of us sleepless, fretful days and nights. After published personal essays and nonfiction articles in paying parenting magazines such as Scary Mommy, Parent Co., Guardian Angel Magazine, and Brain, Child Magazine, I have garnered nine tips to breaking into parenting markets that pay. Become familiar with the parenting magazine you submit to. Get to know the readership and the demographics. Are they young, affluent baby boomers living in the Midwest or are they hip urban New York couples? What are their interests, their lifestyle, and their values? You may feel your More
Notebooks of Your Talent
/ 2021-04-09I love notebooks. I keep three ongoing at all times. When I started out, I used one. It served me well then, and at the end of the year that notebook went into my income tax records. Then I evolved. Today I keep one for my business side of writing which incorporates ideas, phone calls, resources to check out, advertising, speaking engagements, and things to do by the end of the week. A weekly calendar sits near it, a week at a glance. I keep another notebook for the novel in progress. Ideas, dialogue snippets, plot twists, red herrings that I need to bring around, when I read that notebook, there are no other distractions from just that story. Often I throw those away, though admittedly, I keep them around for a year or two after the book comes out. Sentimental reasons, I guess. The third one, however, holds two things only. One is names I like. I’ve published 12 novels, written two more that will be published in the near future, and plan several more, and finding unique and applicable names without repetition or confusion becomes challenging. The majority of that notebook, however, consists of phrases that resonated so More