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Online recently, someone spoke of almost making it as a writer in Woman’s World Magazine. For those who do not know, WW has a layered process of acceptance. I, too, have made it to the final round and been rejected. On the other hand, I have a short story writer friend who has to have published in that magazine fifty plus times. That writer understands the magazine and has the flavor down pat. They love working with him. Someone responded on the heels of that discussion that traditional publishers operate the same way. They don’t like debut authors. I gave a brief response, but in that moment this editorial was born. Yes, traditional publishers (and magazine editors) maintain a stable of authors. These authors have proven themselves. They’ve written well and had a good response when their works were launched into the world. If they are prolific in their writing, even better. The publishers will be more likely to swoop them up without much vetting, and choose them over anyone new. Publishers have finite budgets. Authors/writers provide the income to keep them alive. The authors who are good at providing said income will be the ones who get the most attention More

Just this week, someone asked if they could pick my brain about appearing at book clubs. She sent a list of questions for me, and I realized this was going to be a piece on telling debut authors how to latch ahold of book clubs to launch their books. In a nutshell, here’s a bulleted list of the myths and realities with which I responded. There is no list of book clubs. Reality is most book clubs want to remain anonymous. They want to carefully choose their members, their books, and their guest authors. To post somewhere who they are would mean being inundated with queries that they don’t want. Book clubs normally want guest authors who have proven themselves, not debut authors. Unless the author is local and fairly known, or the topic of the book is very appropriate to the area, book clubs aren’t necessarily going to want debut authors until they have proven themselves. Book clubs are noted for selecting books that have been on bestseller lists. Presenting at a book club is not like presenting at a library or conference. You are exposed and open to questions and criticism at book clubs, so be prepared to be More

I became a book coach because helping people realize their writing dream lights me up inside. When I first started out, I accepted books across all genres, but over time, I limited my clients to children’s book authors, adult self-help authors, and non-fiction books about craft. Authors of most genres have a general sense of what goes into their style of book. That is, most genres except for picture books. The reason is usually because the book ideas come from a place of wanting to tell a story from their own adult perspective rather than from a child’s experience. After five years of working with first-time authors, I created a 20-point checklist for first-time picture book authors to ensure they are hitting all the right beats before they move forward with their manuscript. Part of creating the list was self-serving, as it’s so much easier to hand an author a checklist before they come to me with a manuscript. But the points also helped me narrow down what I was looking for in a manuscript and helped me hone the advice I give. I’ve presented the list to several audiences of aspiring picture book authors and compiled it into a More

All writers have hopes, dreams, and stories. Realistically speaking, professional authors and freelancers also have expenses to meet. In 2023, I realized the future of my writing business could look better (and earn more) once I analyzed what was going on inside all the loose ends. Here’s how to demystify writing expenses, ranging from accounting to pay-rates. Digital Sticky Notes Digital sticky notes are great for authors, especially those getting used to better expense-tracking. Apps like Simple Sticky Notes aren’t fancy – but they keep your thoughts in the right place, recording quick bits of data that you’ll return to later. The simplicity helps for pitches, amounts, or who-pays-how-much. Payment Systems Clients want the easiest payment systems, and fees can discourage clients from paying your rates. Use several payment systems for ease, such as PayPal and Skrill. A provider like Wise.com lets you set up international bank accounts, which could have less transfer fees or waiting times for payments. When it’s accounting time, a total statement can also be downloaded from these sites as well. Graphs A pie-chart can show expenses versus income, or showcase how much of your income has been proofreading versus article publication or royalties. Charts can show whether three months ago looked better (or More

A new writer in my area recently announced to various groups on Facebook that he had published a mystery. What caught me was the title, which I won’t list, for his sake and mine. It included wording I have in a work-in-progress title, so of course it caught my eye. I almost bought it. That is, until I found his post saying he had a fulltime job, and this book was his hobby, and that he didn’t have enough money to hire an editor so excuse any mistakes. That convinced me not to buy the book. For him to compromise his effort into the book does not mean I compromise the quality I wish to read. All too often, writers tell me both in confidentiality and in the open on social media (big mistake), that they cannot afford an editor, don’t have the time to workshop a book through a group, don’t have the  years to wait to get traditionally published, or they are anxious to get a book out in short order, for any of a zillion reasons. A lot of writers get on social media and whine about how long it takes. They complain about not being able More

Cambridge Dictionary defines “celebrity” as someone famous. Celebrity interviews can make for an easy sell of articles, too. “Accessible” celebrities are anyone reasonably within the author’s reach without the complication of press junkets or bodyguards. What’s not “accessible” Could you reach George Clooney or Brad Pitt in minutes? Probably not. Restricted access means they only give interviews for official press junkets or approved media conferences, and little else. These interviews are much harder to secure. An accessible celebrity is someone easily reachable, often directly. Pitch the idea to an editor first A detailed pitch containing suggested celebrity contacts made to an editor sells easier, particularly to editors you’ve worked with before. It’s not enough to tell an editor you’d like to interview three famous people – tell them who and why. With an editor’s approval in hand, you can more easily approach celebrities with a tangible idea: “I’m writing about ferns for Plants Weekly.” sounds better to busy celebrities than a general, “I’d like to interview you.” Spokesperson(s) and companies When interviewing Treasurer General of the Economic Freedom Fighters (EFF), I went to the entity’s spokesperson first. A spokesperson (sometimes public relations officer or media representative) handles all media that More

Children’s television host, Mr. Rodgers, said that whenever he watched scary news as a child his mother would tell him to “Look for the helpers.” He said knowing people were helping was a great comfort. His words inspired me to write about my volunteer experiences. I’ve been a mentor to women in difficult marriages for several years. Last year, I pitched pieces on some of the wisdom I’d gleaned to Opinion (womanalive.co.uk) a Christian magazine in the UK. They accepted several pitches including I’m forever grateful to the woman who saved my marriage – I think we all need a mentor | Opinion | Woman Alive and I swapped my To-Do list for a Ta-Da list and now I see God’s presence in the everyday | Opinion | Woman Alive. The opinion section is open to female and male writers of all levels and seeks articles of 500-750 words connected to news ideas or relevant to faith. Payment is £50. My training with wives and PEN America, an organization that pairs incarcerated writers with mentors, gave me the confidence to offer my services to beginning non-fiction writers. I am currently on my 4th project, with my last client self-publishing her first memoir, Starseed to Jesus: Chasing 5D, finding More

I hear this over and over, people asking me what is the magic potion that made people buy my books. 1) I made appearances. 2) I published a weekly newsletter. 3) I answered every email, text, and message. 4) I freelanced every chance I could. 5) I guest blogged. 6) I kept writing. That sounds so simple in theory but is difficult to practice. . . consistently. Consistency and diligence are key to becoming known. Note that I left adverbs out of the above list. To be consistent and diligent you have to do things regularly, often, habitually, expectedly. The fact is, you have to show up to work. Whether writing or putting material out or telling people who you are, you have to do it. You have to do it to the point people go, “Hey, I’ve heard of you.” That doesn’t happen overnight. The trouble these days is that people think that marketing involves shouting, hyping, and hustling. It isn’t the loudest heard. It’s more about being frequently seen. And it isn’t talking about yourself. It’s about delivering to the reader what they want, when they want it, such that they tell their friends and family about the More

If you have a full-time writing job and want to write a book, you may wonder how you will accomplish both. You likely spend most of your time and energy on paid work. How do you complete a book AND maintain quality work for clients at the same time? I know this challenge well. I am a content writer and recently completed a 340-page book. Doing both was tough – at first. I nearly burned out halfway through. Thankfully, some hacks helped me maximize my productivity and maintain energy and focus. Best of all, the same hacks improved my professional writing. I achieved a 100% satisfaction rating and a top-rated writer badge on Upwork, which led to higher income. These tips will help you, too. Try Time Blocking Many successful people have used time blocking, including Elon Musk, Jack Dorsey (of Twitter fame), Steve Jobs, and Benjamin Franklin. By designating times for your work initiatives, you reduce mind clutter so that you can focus more intently on each task, completing it faster. You also notice initiatives that took too long and require refining. Maintain Firm Work Hours Take a close look at your daily routine, establish your work hours, and stick to More

As you might expect, I get deluged with books. From publishers, fans, wannabe writers, published-yet-still-struggling writers, my book club, and friends and family as gifts. My to-be-read stack is two columns of a dozen books each, and that doesn’t count my bookcase with books I still told myself I would read. Don’t even ask me what’s on my Kindle. I’ve long forgotten those. In my career as an author, I’ve heard so many schools of thought about what you should read. 1) Only read your genre, to improve what you intend to publish. 2) Read across the board of genres, to get introduced to variety and new thought. 3) Read bad books as well as new books, so you know what to write and what not to write. 4) Read whatever book you pick up, all the way to the end. 5) Read only when you are not writing, so you don’t accidentally plagiarize. 6) Read even more when you are writing, so you feel more motivated. Bottom line, read a book that makes you wish you had written it. You will absorb more of it and take it seriously. But to finish a book because you started it? Nope. More