Amid all the euphoria of getting published for the first time, and all the good wishes from friends and family, it’s easy to forget that your book is now out there in the world, alone and unprotected, and must sink or swim on its merits. Soon enough, all that positivity will be challenged by your first negative review. It stings, of course, especially as it’s your first. But what happens next is up to you. Here are a few ideas. Feel what you feel. It’s perfectly natural to be upset by a first bad review, and to feel hurt or even angry about it. Don’t try and stifle the feelings, or they could become toxic or disproportionate. Just process them fast so they don’t take over your head space. Go for a walk or a swim, smash a few balls around, cry on the shoulder of a pal, whatever works for you. Then move on. Congratulate yourself. Why not? Getting published is a massive achievement, and only a fraction of those who claim that their ultimate ambition is to write a book ever manage to do it. A bad review is a milestone that many will never get to enjoy! More
When You Have an Editor’s Ear
/ 2020-06-12Editors juggle a lot of balls in finding literary material for publications. They have multiple deadlines for multiple editions and all the administrative nuts and bolts that come with putting a publication together. When finally obtaining the ear of an editor, keep your moment(s) brief, because others just like you are vying for that editor’s attention, too. A few words of advice. Although we are a small-time publication and only online, FundsforWriters’ editorial issues apply to most editors of any type of publication. 1. Send one version of your submission. An editor receives so many emails that say, “use this version” or “I forgot something so use this instead,” adds to an already hectic day. For all you know, the editor has already edited the original submission to their satisfaction. These subsequent versions also show you don’t proof properly. 2. Include all requested information with the submission. Sending one email with the article, then another with the bio makes for double work. Forgetting the method of payment (in our case PayPal) in the submission adds more work. Worse yet is not sending all the information and making the editor ask for it. Because the editor is easy to work with More
Four Important Lessons About Magazine Writing
/ 2020-06-05Having worked in the book industry my entire career, I decided that 2020 would be a great time to not only broaden my writing repertoire but also add another revenue stream by writing for magazines. So, in January, I pitched article ideas to a local magazine publisher. I felt confident about the topics and assumed it would be easy to obtain the requisite interviews and source material. Shortly after being assigned my first article, however, I learned several important lessons about writing for this genre. Lesson #1: Never assume and always confirm. I scheduled a meeting with the founder of a nonprofit I was to write about. On the dhe day of the interview, I arrived ten minutes early to discover the front door locked. Having noticed several cars in the rear parking lot, I assumed the founder was inside and had merely forgotten to unlock the front door. I reached for my cell phone and dialed her number. She informed me that the organization had experienced an emergency situation two days prior and that she and the volunteers had been working almost around the clock ever since. She was at home trying to catch up on some sleep and More
Use LinkedIn to Find Your Next Writing or Editing Job
/ 2020-05-29Undoubtedly, LinkedIn is the work world’s primary search engine and yet most job seekers do not maximize it. Instead, they copy and paste their resume thinking someone might reach out to them. As a former introvert, I needed to manipulate LinkedIn if I wanted to prove my marketability. I have gotten assignments, requests for interviews and networking meetings, invitations to do presentations, calls for pitches, paid tests all through LinkedIn. It’s a gem of a free resource, but only if you know how to use it. Typical writing and editing jobs (remote, contracted, freelance) include: • white paper writer • freelance (digital/content) writer/editor • brand writer/editor • junior/senior copywriter/editor • SEO (content) writer • web writer • copywriter • blogger • communication specialist • creative writer • technical writer Use these insider tips to leverage your job search using one of the work world’s most undervalued search engines. 1. First, continually expand your professional network. The more contacts, the higher your visibility and credibility. Using the “people filter” add people to your network by niche, location company, 1st, and 2nd tiered connections. After a while LinkedIn will begin to make suggestions based on your searching history. 2. Search jobs by position, More
Top Tips for Projecting a Professional Video Presence
/ 2020-05-22Virtual meetings are becoming the new normal for job interviews, writing groups, workshops, author talks, readings, press calls and more. Finding a way to be as professional and effective on screen as you are in real life is a bit of a learning curve. Here are a few pointers… Video Platform There are lots of platforms to try now, many with features like screen share for free – here’s a useful overview. If you’re using someone’s else platform always do a dry run, to check you’ve downloaded the software OK, and sound and connection work. Watch out for sessions that are time-limited, as with Zoom. (Remember that poor sound will be far more frustrating for your audience than poor visuals.) If possible, have a back-up plan too – another password or login that people can use, or another platform to try. Wardrobe Avoid jangly earrings and bright make-up. Avoid bright colours, stripes, logos and other distracting clothes and accessories. Wear a smart-casual outfit in a darker shade, something that you feel comfortable in. Tuck the tail of your jacket under your rear to keep it looking tight-fitting and to stop it riding up as you speak. More tips on how to presentable here and here. Posture Prop your More
When It Isn’t Fun
/ 2020-05-22Each time to ascend to a higher rung on the ladder of personal evolution, we must go through a period of discomfort, of initiation. I have never found an exception. – Dan Millman, author of Way of the Peaceful Warrior and 16 other books of inspiration During this Time of COVID-19, we have learned to make do with less. While some are chomping at the bit to get back into the world and renew their busy-ness, there are just as many who’ve learned to maintain their simpler way of life. This isolation was discomforting for many. We learned to practically forage for our needs. So we adapted. We studied the pantry and got creative with what we had. We took online classes, and we wrote more words. But we did so with worry in our minds. Throughout all of this quarantine, we grew concerned. Some of us took stock of what we had and who we were. We might have even decided that the path we were on wasn’t the one we wanted after all. Some businesses have taken off. Some businesses were created. But none of this happened without us experiencing change and loss. When I posted on More
The Journey of Editing Autobiography and Memoir
/ 2020-05-15Are you an editor of fiction who would like to venture into editing autobiography and memoir? When I took my first autobiographical editing job in June last year, I soon recognized a whole different ball game – and a fresh learning curve. Autobiography… Or Memoir? An autobiography recounts the whole story from beginning to end (“Long Walk to Freedom” or “I Know Why the Caged Bird Sings”), whilst a memoir tells of a certain section, time or series of events (“My Booky Wook” or “My Squirrel Days”). It’s Not Quick Some editing jobs are cut-and-dried in a few weeks, but a developmental autobiographical or memoir edit can take months. Prepare for this or prepare to let the client know as soon as possible about any apparent change in delivery date. It’s the Lack of Mistakes Spelling errors are easy to edit, but clients with flawless spelling are harder to edit. You assume they won’t make spelling errors, and you can miss them. Look carefully and don’t assume. Meet Your New Friend: Style Sheets Start keeping (1) style & punctuation sheets, (2) a sheet for every change made, and (3) a chapter sheet. Save every single version of the manuscript as More
Easy Tracking
/ 2020-05-07Submitting queries and manuscripts nowadays is as easy (and cost-effective) as a single keyboard click. But while programs like Submittable keep a list of e-submissions sent to certain sites, not every publisher uses such a program. Without it, can you pinpoint exactly where and when you sent out every piece, query or pitch in the last five or ten years? I can, and so can you. Starting out as a writer, my submissions, a huge paper chase of labels, letters and receipts, and it could get expensive. It also could get confusing trying to keep track of what I sent, when and where I sent it, and whether it sold. Often sales were “payment upon publication,” with a dangling future, and once I forgot about a promised check, unable to recall if I had gotten paid or not. After an embarrassing phone call where I was informed I had been paid months before, I developed my system. A good tracking system is even more critical today. Because electronic submissions are easy and inexpensive (reading fees, when applied, are still cheaper than postage), we tend to submit a greater volume of work to a greater number of publishers. That increase means More
The Race to the Bottom
/ 2020-05-03The problem with freelance sites where you compete for work is that the low price usually wins. Same goes for pitching to magazines and customers . . . the lower you value yourself, the more likely you’ll get stuck with that price. Not only will you get paid for less than you are worth, but you get labeled as someone who works on the cheap. The problem with racing to the bottom is that you might win. You do not have to lowball your value in order to work. Unfortunately, in the publishing industry, we seem only to think we can either be the cream rising to the top or the lowball, scrambling for quantity instead of quality. You can ride the middle ground, always striving to rise, but starting at the very bottom, working for pennies, means you have further to go to reach a respectable wage. Why do that to yourself? Why compete with third-world companies where engineers and doctors are freelance writing to make ends meet and are satisfied with writing 2,000 words for $10? You compete against way more competitors at the bottom. That’s where way more people underestimate themselves and hang out. You compete against More
Backing Into Large Publications
/ 2020-04-24Freelance writers have to be motivated to reach for the brass ring. To some of us, that means publishing in a major magazine or national newspaper, a difficult achievement even with a substantial number of clips. A plethora of authors vie for the top spots, and once they’re in, they hold onto them. Fortunately, there is a back door to many of the major publications that offers a way to at least get your foot on the bottom rung of the ladder. Vox, The New York Times, Writer’s Digest, The Writer’s Chronicle, Good Housekeeping, and even The Boston Globe offer opportunities for writers to submit low word count essays or blog posts about personal experiences, your writing journey, and even career advice. Writer’s Digest looks for 600-word essays for their 5 Minute Memoir about the writing life, and the payment is $300. The guidelines are specific, including the email subject line, so be sure to read them before you submit! It can be difficult to pry open the door to Vox, as it’s one of the premier websites for explaining the news. Fortunately, they are looking for first-person narrative essays. They don’t have a word count listed, but they do More