Some months ago, I finally, finally received a modest payment for a couple of articles I’d written for a well-known outlet. It took me almost a year from submitting the first piece to getting paid, and the whole process involved endless emails, chasing different people, lots of silence, and false dawns – a great deal of frustration and wasted time. The irony is that the venue in question prides itself on being a resource for writers! Many a time I would stew on the situation, planning sarcastic emails in which I deplored the publisher’s hypocrisy, bemoaned the complacency and the inaction of the editors involved, threatened to demand that my articles be taken down, and imagined myself broadcasting the whole sorry saga all over social media. In the end, I did none of these things. I managed to refrain from selecting the nuclear option, and eventually the payment came through. The identity of this payer is not important – I’ve had several such experiences over the years, and it’s often the very biggest companies that are the worst at paying. But what was interesting for me here was learning how to deal with a bad payer that I still very More
How to Run a Short Story Competition
/ 2020-08-21Writers love competitions. There’s the creative stimulus of an interesting prompt, the promise of kudos, validation if you do well, and, of course, publication and prizes. Running your own competition is fun, too. It can develop your network and author brand, and may lead to other offers of work such as reviewing or webinars. Best of all, anyone can start one, and it’s pretty easy to do. Here are a few pointers. Goals. Competitions are great for building your profile, supporting other writers, and networking. Better to focus on goals like these, rather than money-making or direct sales. Partner. Your competition will need the oxygen of publicity and the reach of a ready audience, so look to your network for a partner with a mutual interest. A publisher or magazine might offer some goodies, as well as the all-important reward of publication. If you have a blog or a website that could publish the winning stories, well and good, but the bigger the platform, the better. Judges. You may choose to be the judge of the competition, especially if tying it in with a new book of yours, but a panel of two or three judges, especially if they have More
Start Local and Move Out
/ 2020-08-21We’re stuck at home and sick of Zoom. How do we tell the world we are open for business as commercial or freelance writers or editors? We start at home and work out from there. Meaning, we start with who knows us, who lives near us, and who understands where we come from. This is an election year. People need copy for websites, social media, speeches, and advertisements. Start with your local school board, mayoral, or town council candidates. Let them know you are a hometown person, and you like what you see. Offer your services. Offer to write something for them, then after that, offer to write for pay. Do a remarkable job for them, and the campaign manager will remember you for other candidates. . . maybe in this, the same election cycle. There’s a lot of virtual learning out there. Offer your school district, schools, or teachers to write whatever they need, of course, knowing the platform from which they will teach. If the district isn’t interested, contact homeschooling and online entities. You can discuss potions ranging from writing curriculum to tutoring students in writing and English. With all these hybrid and virtual educational configurations going on, More
A Letter to a Friend and Fellow Writer
/ 2020-08-15Tom – Let’s put this into perspective. Yes, it’s difficult to sit across the table from your friend and be exposed to his success while you struggle. Hearing how much he pays for editors and the travel he’s able to do is difficult. But your friend didn’t start off hiring line editors for $7,000 when he entered the business. You are not at his level. And you have to think about why you are writing. Yes, the world is crazily glutted with books. Self-publishing and Amazon upset the apple cart and upended the entire business. Competition is incredibly difficult and keeps getting worse. Thinking about being a writer isn’t enough. You have to hunger for it. It used to be that one could write a book as a hobby and post it out there, maybe with a blog or mediocre online presence, and make a few thousand dollars with minimal effort. Now it’s a very feast or famine environment. Platform is everything. There are too many writers and not enough readers, and the writers themselves hardly ever read. Self-publishing pioneers are eating their young, in my opinion. Literary agents are snobbier than before. And publishers are running in circles wondering More
Becoming A Writer for A Digital Marketing Agency
/ 2020-08-07I’ve been working as a content manager, freelance writer, and editor for the Barcelona-based digital marketing agency Vime Digital for over four years. In fact, there are dozens of agencies out there and they’re all eager to recruit new writers. Read on and learn how to make your bones in the agency world. Let’s quickly define what a digital marketing agency is, so we’re all on the same page. A digital agency is a business entity that provides online marketing services for external clients (they’re called “accounts” in the agency lingo). These services include blog and news-related content writing and publishing, with a major focus on search engine optimization (SEO). What do clients expect from an agency like this? They want higher levels of traffic on their websites and top positions for specific keywords in search engines like Google, Bing, or Yahoo. How is this achieved with your help? You’ll need to write articles for a variety of blogs and news outlets, and link them up to your employing agency account’s website using a specific anchor text. This is called a “link building campaign” or “sponsored posts campaign,” and to be successful at it, you need to have a solid understanding of SEO, in More
What If You Were the First?
/ 2020-08-07Black authors’ work is surging, which is a great, great thing. Long overdue. Not long ago, LGBTQ authors made a comeback, and their work came into its own. Harry Potter taught the world that Young Adult was important for all, not just kids. All the books labeled with GIRL or WOMAN over the last three or four years have shown us that women can be incredible protagonists as well as remarkably deep antagonists. FIFTY SHADES brought erotica out from behind plain covers. In the publishing industry, each publisher or agent wants to discover the next best fill-in-the-blank, and usually it involves a cause or an underrepresented group. Then typically a myriad of up-and-coming writers shadow that great discovery because they want to be part of something bigger as well. Not just a story, but a piece of a cause. Why can’t we just write a story that gives a reader a chance to escape? I’m trying to say: 1) Not all black writers have to write about racism. 2) Not all LGBTQ authors have to write about their physical/sexual affiliation. 3) Not all YA authors have to write fantasy. 4) Not all female books have to have GIRL or WOMAN More
How to Get Two (or More) Assignments Out of One
/ 2020-08-01Building a career as a freelance writer takes more than talent and tenacity. While editors seek superbly written articles and essays, it’s what you do after publication that can make the most impression, leading additional assignments or acceptances. I have a strategy that has worked for me for the past year. These five easy steps have given me the opportunity to write more than one article for the same publication and have also opened doors to other publications. 1. Share published work with your social media network. While publications have built-in audiences, you should also do your part to reach readers in your own sphere. Make sure to tag the publication so they’ll know you actively promote what you’ve written. Additionally, if you have a website, you should also list your publications. I have been asked for a list of previously published articles and having it prepared came in handy. 2. Pay attention to social media comments. My most recent publication about having an invisible disability stirred up a hornet’s nest and brought out strong opinions on the topic. After studying the comments, I immediately pitched a follow-up article to the publication that would allow me to address the issues. The article More
When You Talk to People…
/ 2020-08-01When you open a discussion with someone, do you lead with “Once upon a time I lived in Michigan. I was twenty-four. I was working at the mall and was trying to figure out my life.” No. BIG YAWN. You don’t start with the backstory. Frankly, I’d bet you’d be embarrassed to start with the backstory, because you know before you spit out the words that nobody really cares. No. You start with some sort of energy, because after all, you want someone to listen to you. “On the way home from work, a car sideswiped the van in front of me, running us all off the road!” “In my first job I found myself in a room full of people twice my age, and without notice the boss asked me to sing because his wife heard me in the restroom.” What do you lead with? Do you lead with the action or the introduction that put you in that position? When figuring out how to write a story, imagine yourself telling it aloud at a party. Which do you think will work best? Same goes for the written word, whether you’re talking novel, nonfiction, or a magazine piece. People expect More
How to Create and Pitch a Television Show
/ 2020-07-17Series programming continues to be a desirable source of content for buyers around the world, even as the entertainment landscape shifts and evolves. And the proliferation of newer platforms like Netflix, Hulu, Amazon and others means more places for writers to pitch their shows. In the marketplace of ideas, a good one will rise to the top. The key is knowing how to develop and present that idea like a pro. For beginners out there with a million-dollar idea, here are the most important steps in the process: Work Out the Concept Flesh out your idea with a logline. This is a simple one- or two-sentence description of what your show is about. Consider whether the idea is truly original and what would make viewers want to tune in. Think about who the audience would be, the length of each episode (half or full hour?), which networks would air it and in what time slot. Then solicit feedback from people you trust. That could be members of a writers’ group, industry colleagues or really honest friends. Develop the Story If the idea passes muster with your test group, it’s time to jump into the development process. Come up with a More
12 Phrases NEVER to Use in Your Freelance Writing Pitch
/ 2020-07-10To help make the best impression, avoid this dirty dozen. ‘I hope you don’t mind me dropping you a line…’ / ‘Apologies for emailing out of the blue, but…’ Phrases like these have a defeated air. If you don’t sound like you believe in yourself, why will anyone else? Don’t brag but be confident. Say what you’re good at and back it up with facts and examples. ‘For as long as I can remember…’ This phrase will dismay editors and commissioners, who don’t have time for you to go through your life story. Instead get to the point, and show that you respect your recipient’s limited time. ‘I don’t know whether you remember me, but…’ So, you met an editor and they agreed to look at some of your ideas. This gives you an in, and there’s no need to agonize over how well they remember you, especially if you’re following up promptly, as you should. Just say: ‘We met at the BookBiz event last week and you offered to look at a few of my ideas, so here goes…’ ‘Are you looking for…?’ Starting a cold email with a closed question is a risky strategy, because the recipient is More