No time to write an article? Yeah, that’s what I used to say. That is, until I started using little pockets of time to jot down an article between meetings, phone calls, projects, etc.
I wrote an article this morning before eating breakfast because I wanted to feel as though I had accomplished something worthwhile before heading out for a meeting. In fact, I actually finished an article I started yesterday and wrote a new one this morning. Total time spent on both articles: about 90 minutes. That’s around 45 minutes each.
How can I write articles so quickly? First of all, these are articles related to what I know best—writing and publishing. I am very familiar with my market and have an organized list of several dozen publications that are always seeking brief (300 – 1,500-word) articles.
I went through the magazine list, checked my article log to see when I last submitted something to them and what type of article they accepted from me. Then I studied their audience and their magazine focus for a few minutes.
Sometimes I go to their letters-to-the-editor section or their forum to find out what their readers and site visitors are interested in, are concerned with or want to know. I check articles they’ve published recently and then I come up with a topic and a slant. When you do this as a regular practice, this can take anywhere from 5 to 10 minutes.
I title the article (sometimes the title changes, usually not). I note the points I want to make and then I start writing.
Yesterday, I wrote a piece featuring how to write the Market Analysis for your book proposal. This morning’s article featured 5 top types of magazine articles and how to write them.
Hopefully, you will be reading these articles in Publishing Basics and in Writing for Dollars soon. And hopefully, I will sell some books and maybe gain a student or two for my online book proposal workshop.
See how it works?
Learn more about the articles I write by visiting my website http://www.matilijapress.com. Click on “Articles.” And enjoy. You’ll also see my wide array of books for sale at my home page and you’ll learn more about the courses I teach and the services I provide. That’s part of what my articles and this blog are all about—building my credibility so that when someone needs a product or service I provide, they will consider purchasing it from me. The other part of why I do so much of what I do—blogging and article work—is, of course, to share and teach and inform. I hope you are gaining as much from my efforts as I am.
Time to head off to my meeting.