Whether you write articles or stories for money or your primary focus is promoting your book through article/story-writing, you’ve probably found specific magazines, ezines and websites that use the type of material you write—that have been relatively easy to work with, etc. Don’t lose contact with them. When you locate or write for a promising publication log the magazine title, editor’s name, contact info, type of articles/stories they publish and other pertinent information in your computer or handwritten log.

Spend a day or so seeking out appropriate publications and add them, as well. When you have submitted something, note in your log any particulars related to the transaction—“Long waits between responses.” “Prefers receiving material via snail mail.” “Uses 500-word pieces.”

Now look at the time you’ve saved yourself. When you next want to submit an article related to the theme of your book, in order to build on your credibility or simply to establish your platform as a freelance article/fiction writer, you can take a quick look in your log to locate the right publication.

I keep and maintain a log of writing-related publications. It’s a really effortless task now to locate the best outlet for a particular piece I’ve written. Sometimes I pick the publication and write the article for them. This log certainly makes life easier for me. And I recommend that you establish one pertinent to the types of articles/fiction you write.

But don’t get too comfortable with your log. Always be on the lookout for new and obscure markets for your work. Continually add new ones. And don’t forget to update the old ones from time to time. Things change in editorial offices and you want to be the first to know so you are always addressing the right editor, suggesting the most pertinent topics, etc.

I spend a lot of time with writers who are at all stages of their craft or their profession and I never walk away from an encounter without having learned something I can use in my own writing/publishing business.

This week, I’m organizing a networking opportunity for SPAWN members. I’ve invited members of SPAWN who live locally to be SPAWN’s guests at a Book Tea to be held in conjunction with the 2nd annual Ojai Writers Conference June 23 in Ojai, CA. So far, we have one table for 6 filled. I’m hoping we can fill another one with SPAWN members who are eager to meet other authors, editors, publishers, freelance writers and artists.

What an opportunity to learn more about SPAWN and the leaders in this organization, to learn about innovative book marketing ideas, to meet someone you could collaborate with, to enjoy being with others who understand your passion for writing and your challenges as a writer.

SPAWN, by the way, is Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network. http://www.spawn.org

Do you accept the invitations for networking that your local writers groups provides or that your neighborhood library or community college sets up? Do you sign up for or offer to volunteer at writers conferences or book festivals? Do you attend book signings for local authors or those who are signing or speaking at venues during your travels? Do you join writers groups and/or organizations and then participate?

If so, then you know the benefits of hanging out with other writers. You’ve, most likely connected with those who could further your career, help you make a few sales or introduce you to someone who could. And, perhaps, you have helped others in return by warning them about a company whose ethics are below standard, or recommending an editor you like a lot, or telling them about a blog site that you find valuable, or sharing your list of book review sites, etc.

The next time you are presented with the opportunity to network with other freelance writers, authors or small publishers, etc., I suggest you seriously consider attending. And then use your best networking skills in order to get the most out of the experience.

Learn more about networking as well as writing, publishing and promoting your own book by reading my latest book: Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s at Amazon.com and other online and downtown bookstores. You can also order it here: http://www.matilijapress.com

I would love to hear some of your best networking-with-other-writers stories. I know one prolific writer, for example, who finally began following her passion after talking to writers at a local book festival.

You wrote the book for a specific audience. You had a mission in mind when you planned your project. And it seems that some people miss the point of it.

I wrote the history of the Ojai Valley in 1983. I put a lot of thought into the organization of this book, what I would add and how extensive each section would be. I considered my target audience—what they needed and wanted and what I could provide within the space of a reasonable-sized book. As it was, this book included photos and went 360 pages.

Once it was produced, most people responded extremely positively. This was the first comprehensive history ever written about the Ojai Valley, and it was designed to entertain and inform history buffs, long-time residents, former residents, relatives of early pioneers, tourists and researchers. They loved it. But there were a few people who would say, “Why didn’t you include more about this…?” or “I’d like to see more about that.”

I’d tell them, in order to write the complete history of oil exploration in the valley, the geology of the valley, early businesses, early residents, the history of each village in the valley, the postal service, the tourist attractions, art in the valley, the transformation of the village, the fires that swept through here, the churches, etc., it would be in several volumes like a set of encyclopedias.

Over the weekend, I had two new reviews posted at amazon.com for Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. One of them complimented the book, but also had some criticism because I wasn’t as thorough in the area of technology as she thought I should have been. I thought about her comments and she’s right. The book is not strong in the area of technology. But there are entire books on using technology in producing and promoting books. There are entire books on writing a book proposal, promoting books, getting reviews, etc. Each chapter in my book could be expanded into another complete book. It’s true. But that wasn’t my focus for this project.

As you will see when you get a chance to study this book, it is a crash course for the new and struggling author. It is designed to educate authors on how to more successfully navigate the publishing industry. It touches on everything you need to know. It covers the basics rather thoroughly. And it provides tons of resources, including recommended books and websites, for those who desire additional information in any one topic.

How many books and other resources do you use when studying a subject of interest to you? When conducting research for a book or an article, you don’t use just one source, do you? If you’re a writer, you have more than one book on writing, publishing, book promotion, etc. in your library. And you subscribe to more than one related newsletter, right?

Why is that? Because everyone has a different perspective, level of knowledge and interest. Each author or newsletter publisher has a different focus. And they may all be important to all or a segment of the basic target audience.

I know an author who started writing a book for seniors way back in the early 1980s. She would finish a draft and start showing it around to people. Everyone had a different idea of how the book should be organized. (No surprise there!) And each time she would listen to one of her critics, she went back to the drawing board and rewrote this book. I saw her do this a number of times. Soon the book wasn’t hers, at all. It became a distortion of her original idea and it kept changing with each critique.

I sternly suggested to her one day that she write the book she believes is needed and stop showing it around to other writers (who were not her audience to begin with). Finally, in 2008, she finished writing her book and produced it her way—providing what she knew her audience wanted.

If you’re ready to start your education about the publishing industry and how to fit into it—something you really must understand before you write your book—order Publish Your Book today. It’s at amazon.com and other online and downtown bookstores. It’s on Kindle, Nook and other devises.

I’m taking the day off to spend with my mother. But first, I want to talk to you about your next speech. You are going out and speaking about your book, aren’t you? It’s a great way to get exposure for your published book and to create an audience for your upcoming books. You are the best ambassador for your books, after all.

Who else cares as much about your books as you do? Who else knows as much about your story or the information you have compiled as you do?

Here’s a tip that I use when I plan a presentation. In fact, you may recall that I involved you in this technique recently.

I’m planning a talk to a group of writers in Sacramento next Saturday. The theme of this talk is freelance writing. I asked my blog followers to share some of the questions they would like to ask with regard to this subject. And I got some great ideas for my presentation.

I also contacted the writers’ group organizer and asked her to poll members with regard to their freelance writing challenges—what would they ask about this topic?

So now I have a great outline for my talk reflecting those very things someone just starting out as a freelance writer as well as those who are involved in a freelance writing business want to know.

You could do the same, whether your topic is hang gliding, grammar tips, how to conduct research, gourmet cooking, catering, how to start a small business or your life story as a preacher’s wife, for example.

If you are talking about your latest novel, find out what members of your audience want to know about novel-writing or publishing. Do they have a curiosity about a writer’s life or how to conduct research for a historical novel?

Sure, you’ll generally offer a Q and A session after your talk (or allow questions during your presentation), but you’ll have a more attentive audience if you are addressing the things that really matter to them. And one way to find out what matters is to ask.

Sometimes they say, “Yes,” but I can tell that, if they do, they aren’t learning much from the experience.

Their writing shows that they don’t have a handle on the nonfiction how-to book, memoir or children’s book they are attempting to write. Along with a few editorial suggestions, I will often recommend that they go to their local library and bring home several books designed for their particular audience and start studying them.

I ask them to study the way dialog is handled, to pay attention to vocabulary (especially for children’s books), and to notice sentence structure, transitions, tone, flow and organization.

I didn’t think much about the importance of this activity at the time, but before I started my writing career, I read the magazines I wanted to write for—many issues. I was rather fascinated by the article—the various ways you could organize the material, the different types of articles you could write on the same topic, etc. I read a lot of articles and paid attention to what made an article work and what didn’t, what type of articles different magazines used and how to change one article to fit within another magazine’s requirements.

It seemed to pay off for me. The first article I wrote, I sold. And, when I approached the local newspaper publisher about writing a weekly column, he hired me based on the sample columns I presented to him.

Some people still think that writing is inspired. Sure, it can be. But if you are writing for publication, you also have to take your audience into consideration.

You’ve heard me say this before. You are probably tired of “reading” me harp on this topic. You notice that it comes out in a variety of blog posts focusing on a variety of different aspects of writing for publication. I say it, maybe, too often—identify and then write for your target audience.

And one excellent way to know you are writing what your audience wants in an enjoyable and/or organized, easy-to-follow way, is to study what they read.

Now here’s your assignment for the weekend: Go to your home library and pick out three books like the one you are writing. Spend at least an hour with each of the books. If you happen to pick up one of the many books that are being published today that is poorly written and full of errors, put it back. I want you to study well-written, well-received books in your genre or topic. Write down the similarities you notice between the books. Check out the differences between these books and the one you are writing. Does your manuscript have the qualities you notice in the books you are reviewing? Is there something lacking?

Maybe there is a technique that you haven’t mastered yet—how to put more emotion and interest into your story through showing as opposed to telling, for example. Read books and articles on this topic. Sign up for an online class or a workshop at an upcoming conference in order to get up to speed in this area.

After you’ve done this task in earnest, report back to me via the comments link at this blogsite. I’d enjoy hearing what you learned in this process. And I think you will be ecstatic when you return to your manuscript and see how masterfully you have improved it.

So what do you do with a great media list like this?
• Announce your new book.
• Publicize writing awards.
• Share news of appearances.
• Make news and report it to a region or the world.

I list several other newspaper sites as well as dozens and dozens of other resources for writers and authors.

Do you do PublishersLunch? It’s a great place to keep up with trends and happenings within the publishing industry. You can visit the site and get a FREE peek into the current news. To glean even more from the experience, you can join for $20 month. Here’s the new address: http://lunch.publishersmarketplace.com

Here are some links for freelance writers. These are just some of the resources I’m including in the SPAWN Market Update for June. I’m also offering some freelance fiction and nonfiction markets you may not know about. Yes, they are paying markets.

Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) here: http://www.spawn.org

Or simply subscribe to our FREE enewsletter and receive a FREE ebooklet on how to market your writing or art.

Resources for Freelance Writers
Assignmint.com (yes, this is the correct spelling), is forming as we speak in order to “fix freelancing.” They plan to create a site that will digitally manage a freelance writer’s work, assignments, editorial calendars, pitches, invoices, expenses and contracts. All of this, according to everything I could find, is free. And the owners, including Jeff Koyen, plan to include other types of freelancers in the future. How will they make their money? Evidently, through extra services they offer such as tax preparation, collecting on invoices, etc. There’s nothing to look at yet, but their website is simple. While some reports indicate that they will be ready for business this month, others say it won’t be until later in the year. If you want to be among the first to be notified when the business is up and running, there is a sign-up option at the site. http://www.assignmint.com

Are you familiar with Freelance Writing Organization, International? This is a website full of resources for writers and it is FREE. Here, you have access to calls for submissions, forums and contests, publishers’ guidelines, articles, a reference library, writing jobs and more. In fact, they boast over 5,200 writing resources and links. You really ought to check this site out at http://www.fwointl.com

Here’s a blog for freelance writers. I found it quite informative and helpful to the freelancer. http://freelancewriterroad.info

If you are planning to write a book or are in the process of writing one, read my book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Available at amazon.com and other online and downtown bookstores. You can also purchase it here: http://www.matilijapress.com

This book will help you avoid the mistakes that nearly 80 percent of new authors make. This is the percentage of authors who fail, by the way.

He said with the Ocean movies, there are so many name stars, if they paid salaries, nobody could afford to make them. Instead of salary, he takes a percentage of the back side—the profits. He lives on that money while he makes the movie that costs 32 million because it’s a story that needs to be told. It won’t make an immediate difference in the lives of the people it’s about or change things in a big way but unless people are aware of what’s happening, nothing will ever change. He took no salary for this movie and even used his house as collateral for the insurance needed to make it.

From that interview, this is what I learned:

You do what’s practical so you can do what matters.

Because I write for magazines, I’ve been accused of writing just for money. I’m told non-fiction is “non- creative”. It’s not imagining a character, giving her a family, friends, a job and a place to live. Non-fiction is easy. Fiction is hard.

Non-fiction writing is a place to learn. I write about topics I’d never research on my own. I meet new people. I juggle different styles of writing for different magazines. Articles were 1,000 word counts just a few years ago. Now editors ask for 750 words. I make every word matter.
I’m able to stay on top of trends, work on a short deadline, and research at lightning speed. I see the results of my efforts, in print or online, in a matter of weeks. Working on assignment, I don’t have to wait for reading periods or an editor’s response to my submission. I get paid, on acceptance, after the final edit or on publication.

A book? If I had a clean copy, ready to go to print today, when would I see the first money? Even the short fiction stories I’ve written took months to get published. My first royalty check was $2.78.

So yes, I am practical. I keep cat food in the cats, the lights on, and the computer connected by writing for magazines. I write short fiction for fun and send it off to Untreed Reads where it gets published sooner or later, and then I promote the heck out of it. In my head, I create characters, dialogue, and settings for later use.

In the meantime, I’ve established myself as an expert, worked on building a platform, and learned what it takes to be a successful writer. I study the publishing industry and have a marketing plan. I’m doing what is practical so I can do what matters because, like Clooney, I have a story that needs to be told.

It occurred to me that there is another reason why some of us write. We’ve done it for so many years that it has become a habit.

For example, I get up early every morning, feed the cats, pour a glass of water and orange juice, turn on the coffee pot and off I go to my office where I spend most of the morning writing, editing, compiling the SPAWN Market Update or…

It is rare that I bypass my office on any morning, even when I am traveling that day. I may even plan ahead—get up extra early—so I have time to write a blog post before I head out.

How many of you have developed this sort of habit? Is it one that you would like to break or are you happy with it? Do you sometimes wonder how you will ever retire? Or do writers ever retire? How do you stop writing and walk away from a home office? Have any of you retired from writing? I, for one, would like to know how you did it without being forced out due to health or other circumstances, for example.

I guess you could move into a place without home office space. You could take all of your hard copy files to a landfill or shredding company. Then you could set up your computer in a corner of your laundry room or kitchen. But how would you restrain yourself from writing? I don’t think it can be done.

Most of you reading this probably can’t even imagine ever not writing. Others wonder when you will ever find the time to write as much as you want. I plan to have one more guest blog on the topic of writing for passion or for money and then we’ll move on to something else. Any preference for a topic you’d like me to address?

My sister-in-law earns a little extra cash selling her art, a friend does photography for a fee and I know people who groom and board animals. Each of these home-grown businesses stemmed from a strong interest. It’s probably the same story for the kite-maker, chef, cabinet builder, cattle rancher and teacher, don’t you think?

And just like the artist, photographer, quilter, great cook, gardener and groomer, there are writers who care little about creating an empire through their craft. They just want to write—or to get their story out to those who might be interested.

In today’s world of advanced technology, however, since it is so easy to write and produce a book, and with the faltering economy creating a need, more and more and MORE would-be and wanna-be writers are following their publishing dream. If you’re going to publish, you had better be prepared to sell what you’ve written in order to recoup your investment and, hopefully, make a little money. Most authors who go to the trouble and expense of publishing their memoir, story or informational book, etc. are not inclined to follow-through and promote it. They have no passion for commerce. They draw lines that they are not willing to cross—“I want to be a published author, but I don’t want to be a bookseller…”

I find it interesting that in the 1980s, there was a statistic that said, “Over 80 percent of the population believes they have a book in them.” But it wasn’t until recently that they started writing those books. Now, nearly 80 percent of those who do write a book fail. It makes one wonder if those would-be/wanna-bes from the 80s should have stuck to cooking, bicycle racing, quilting or raising African violets.

If you plan to or are thinking about entering into the fiercely competitive world of publishing, please do so with the education and information you need. Read my book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Available at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores, as well as http://www.matilijapress.com

Read the reviews at Amazon.com to see how incredibly valuable this book has been to some of those who have read it. I have been in this business for a long time and I wrote this book primarily to help you through it. Read it!

You’ve come to a difficult place in your project and you are finding ways to avoid it. Or you are close to finishing and you have issues with that. Either you are attached to the process and don’t want to look for another writing project or you are fearful of what comes next—rejection, hard publishing decisions, etc…

Have you ever examined your reasons for dodging the writing work that’s waiting for you in your office or the corner of your bedroom or den? Do you convince yourself that it is because you have more important things to do—a lot on your plate?

I meet writers often who admit they just don’t have the time to write. Some simply can’t seem to carve out the time to write. One such writer attended a conference where I was speaking. She came up to me during a social event and said, “I just can’t figure out a way to fit writing into my schedule. Do you have any ideas?” I said, “Maybe writing isn’t a high enough priority in your life. If you want to write, you must be motivated. What motivates you to write? What motivates you to do what you do instead of write?”

She looked blankly at me and moved on. Later, I heard her bring up the same subject to a group of attendees.

I have often wondered, what did she want to hear? Was she seeking permission to spend time writing? Maybe she was told as a child that writing was a waste of time and she should be doing something more constructive. Perhaps she loves writing so much that she believes she doesn’t deserve to pursue it. Or maybe it is just hard work for her and, unconsciously, she continually seeks ways to avoid it.

Do you wish you could spend more time writing? Are you clear about the reasons why you don’t? Are there more pressing priorities? Do you have your priorities rather confused? If you look at your daily schedule (or lack of), are there things you could omit? How much time do you spend in front of the TV, for example? Do you typically sleep more than 8 hours at night? What type of activities do you engage in when you get up early or stay up late? Could you be writing then? Are you like I was when I started writing and you must have everything else done before you can spend time writing? Is there something you are doing that is not contributing to your health and well being? Could this activity (or lack of) be eliminated to make time for writing?

I’d like to hear from those of you who have trouble finding time to write and those who are motivated to write. I’d like to know what motivates you? Why do you sit down every day or a few times each week and write? What things have you changed or eliminated in order to write?

When I started writing for publication, I was motivated by my passion for writing. I tell people that I couldn’t not write. When it became necessary that I had to make a living, my motivation shifted a little. Now I was motivated by my passion as well as my need to earn a living. This meant making sacrifices and establishing new priorities. What about you?

My book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author provides support and guidance for authors who need help establishing a writing lifestyle—no matter how extensive their desire. It also provides the education you need in order to more successfully navigate the publishing industry—covering every aspect of publishing and book promotion. Order your copy at Amazon.com or any other online or downtown bookstore. It’s also available at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com