Every so often, a friend will hand me a children’s book manuscript and ask if I would review it and offer an honest opinion. I’m always delighted to do so, but, over the years, I’ve discovered that almost every one of those potential book projects suffers from a critical and quite frequent mistake. When I ask them about it, they will often hang their head and sheepishly admit that, yes, they are guilty of breaking this rule: If you are going to be a successful children’s author, you MUST read children’s books on a regular basis! Interestingly, many novice writers think that just because they’ve raised some children or read a book to their grandchildren, they are ready to write their own children’s book. Unfortunately, that alone does not adequately prepare one for writing juvenile literature. Prospective authors need to soak themselves in the culture of children’s literature, regularly! They need to know the language, the themes, the concepts, the tenor, and the presentation of children’s literature. And, the ONLY way to do that is to read children’s books on a regular basis…every day…every week…every month. If you are not reading children’s books, then you are putting yourself at a More
The Ins & Outs of Corporate Ghostwriting
/ 2018-03-21While I’m known as a journalist, writer and editor, I’ve also done a lot of corporate ghostwriting behind the scenes. It’s a potentially lucrative market for writers who don’t mind skipping the by-line. Here’s how to track down your clients. Defining Corporate Ghostwriting “Corporate ghostwriting” can include website content (blog posts or static pages), press releases, articles for print, advertorials and even inter-office letters. You are hired to turn source material – gathered through interviews, researched or sent by your client – into a shining end-product. Finding Clients through Referrals The key is contacts. Most of my corporate jobs were referrals – from previous clients, referrals or people I’d previously interviewed who needed something written. Build a library of writing clips and get to know your editors; sometimes sources will also pass on a good lead – but you have to ask, or nobody will know you’re looking. Job Boards When not referrals, clients are often hiding on job boards, message boards, forums, and newsletters. MediaBistro, All Indie Writers, ProBlogger, Freelance Writing, Writers’ Job Board, Craigslist, Indeed and Journalism Jobs are some up-to-date ones that I’ve met clients on. Other times, cold pitch a company by contacting them with some writing More
How to Connect with Book Clubs
/ 2018-03-12It can be difficult to find sources that allow authors access to book clubs. Clubs often like to choose their own books. So what’s an author to do if she doesn’t have a Top 5 publisher promoting her to clubs? Here are a few proven options that use a variety of methods and budgets to reach book clubs, plus free tips if you can’t afford the cost. For Book Club Lists: Where Writers Win Shari Stauch is CEO and creator of an online marketing site for emerging writers, Where Writers Win. The site puts authors in charge of their own marketing for a reasonable annual fee. “Winner Circle is a place where you can find a list of vetted book clubs that you may approach and pitch your book as a book club selection.” The clubs on this site are up to date and open to pitches, and a template for querying clubs is provided. Writers such as William Lobb and J.C. Sasser have used it successfully. Both were picked up by multiple book clubs, and Sasser’s book was selected for the popular Pulpwood Queen’s Book Club. Stauch is offering a discount: $20 off the first year of membership; use code More
Making Six-Figures as an Indie Author
/ 2018-02-24It may seem like a pipe dream, but indie authors can make serious cash. I know quite a few who bring in six-figures, and by next year I should join them. But how do they do it? What’s their marketing secret? After much research and observation, I’ve come up with seven key things needed to bring in the big bucks. 1. Treat writing like a job. If you want the money, you have to put in the time. All of the authors I know making six-figures have many books in their backlist. Most have thirty books or more. To get there, you need to be writing every day. Make a daily word count goal and make yourself accountable to it. It might seem impossible to publish as much as they have, but don’t cut yourself short. Writing is a skill. The more you do it, the faster and better you’ll get at it. 2. Stay positive. It’s going to take a lot of motivation to publish thirty books. Just remember, with every book you publish, you’re adding to your monthly paycheck. Don’t expect to get rich on one book. Take a more measured strategy and go for the long tail. More
How I Funded My Mission, Wrote My Book and Made Bulk Book Sales with Grants
/ 2018-02-03I started with a heart centered mission and a newly published book, How to Raise Respectful Parents: Better Communication with Teens and Parents. Like all new authors, I was proud of it, but I soon learned writing and publishing a book are only half the journey. I had to market, and I wanted to market it to those who needed my message the most. Grant writing is my day job. I knew funds were available for the kind of materials and workshops I wanted to offer. Often authors think that they can only apply for grants directly to fund themselves as writers to write their book. While that is possible; it’s rare and highly competitive. I sought a large entity/business with which my mission aligned with theirs: the school district. I offered to write grants for school programs for FREE. Yes, for FREE! In exchange for this service, I requested that I be allowed to write my workshops and books into the grant budget. School programs hurt for time and dollars. Since there was no expenditure of time and effort on the part of their personnel, they agreed. First Grant to Write the Book I interviewed the parent engagement coordinator More
How Do I Find Money to Write a Book
/ 2018-01-27People love to ask this question, a frequented question in my email, but I understand that every day new people decide to become authors. Folks who love reading, or have this burning story inside them, and want to see their work in print. Oh, only if that was all there was to it, right? Many of these sweethearts ask me where to find money to pay for that book. First, I tell them to seriously research whether to self-publish, hybrid publish, or traditionally publish, and if they don’t understand the differences, then they are not ready to publish. Writing is only half the job, but then you’ve heard that before. That and it really costs nothing to actually write the book. Then we talk where money can be found. While this tiny editorial cannot begin to go into detail on each financial availability, it can list the possibilities to at least let you realize your options. One day I’ll write a book on all of this. Places to gather money to write a book: 1) Save from your other income. Tithe to your book fund. 2) Take out a loan. If you really believe in yourself and your writing, why More
Five Steps to Blogging for Businesses You Frequent Anyway
/ 2018-01-27Even successful freelance writers find themselves in lulls at times, their pitches readily declined. By making some simple choices, however, writers can access long-term clients without competing with a large pool of freelancers on a job board. By following these five steps, you can gain clients by showing them how your services will benefit them before they even know they need you. 1. Find businesses – The ideal company will either have a small, underdeveloped blog or no blog. Select businesses you already care about: brands you love or businesses operating locally. Consider businesses connected to your writing niche as well. If you know someone personally at the company, take advantage of that connection. In the past year, I pitched a start-up health and fitness company, a phone application company, and a local brewery for blogging work. 2. Make first contact, but expect mixed responses – Search the website for a contact form or email. Send a quick, clear message stating that you avidly use the product or service. Mention you are a freelance writer and link to some of your closely related published work. Occasionally, you will catch a company at a point where they want to expand their web More
How Writers Can Become Songwriters
/ 2018-01-12I am lucky to make a living as both a songwriter and a “regular writer.” When I tell other writers about my songwriting, they typically respond with, “I wish I could do that!” My response is always, “Why don’t you?” I hear reasons like, “I don’t know how,” or “I can’t sing.” These excuses seem reasonable, but I’m here to tell you that if you’re a writer, you CAN be a songwriter and you CAN get paid for it! Here’s a step-by-step process to becoming a songwriter: 1. Analyze your strengths If you’re someone who doesn’t use a lot of creative writing, you’ll want to start putting some work into this. Songwriting is all about emotion. Take your latest piece of writing and see how it could be a song. If you’re thinking, “nothing I write could be a song,” here’s an example: Let’s say you’ve written an article about online shopping. It’s a straight-forward, how-to guide. What if the person shopping is buying things to care for a sick loved one? What if they have a spending addiction and need to stop? Use imaginative stories to find your lyrics. 2. Practice lyric writing Having a great story won’t matter More
The Good Ones: Hitting the Higher Paying Markets
/ 2017-12-01By Alex J. Coyne One of my first high-paying features sold to The Investor for $170 (Six String Stocks, October 2015). I’ve sold others since, including a piece for Catholic Digest that earned $500. I sure didn’t think it was possible when I started out with $20/article rates. Here’s how I got to higher rates and why you should. Searching terms Use search engines to find work, contacts and guidelines. Use quotes (“) to search for specific terms, minus and plus-signs (“-“) and “+”) to include or exclude them and asterisks (“*”) as wildcards. Include terms like “pay”, “rates”, “$200” and “guidelines” to dig for new markets – or add terms like “co.uk” to search abroad. Try other engines like DeeperWeb, DogPile,GigaBlast and DuckDuckGo. Get out of the rat race Say no to content mill-like rates of $5 per 1, 000 words, even when desperate: Your time is more valuable elsewhere, and realizing that early on will ensure that you get to writing for better rates and stronger markets sooner. Going up Many markets offer low starting rates, but higher rates or bonuses with more exposure and experience. These are worthwhile over time, but don’t put all your eggs in More
Are There Grants with No Strings?
/ 2017-07-28One of the most common questions that FundsforWriters receives is where can someone find a grant to self-publish a book, ninety percent of the time their first book. No mention of genre, where the author lives, the purpose of the book, or why anyone would want to fund such a book, much less read it. They just want the money with nobody asking questions and no strings attached. There is no such grant for that purpose, anywhere. Just like every publisher publishes certain genre, every agent prefers certain writing, and every magazine emphases certain topics, grants have their niche as well. And most of the time it has absolutely nothing to do with whether your pockets are empty and you are in need of money. To apply and receive a grant, you have to understand the grant…intimately. 1) Why does the grant even exist? 2) What does the grant provider hope to accomplish by giving out grants? 3) What does the grant provider want in return for giving out grants to applicants? 4) What do you have to prove to the grant provider to show you are kindred spirits? 5) What are the qualifying requirements in terms of your experience, More