Writing and Publishing News from

How many of you would like to hear me say that suddenly publishing has become easy. It’s no longer a business. It no longer takes a left-brain approach in order to succeed as a published author. You can just write to your heart’s content and publishers everywhere will gladly accept your manuscript, quickly turn it into a lovely book and promote it forevermore to eager readers worldwide.

What if I told you, there is no need to hire an editor, your writing is wonderful the way it is. The publisher thinks so and your readers are crazy about it. All they want are more of your books. Your books are selling so fast that you have nothing to do but write, write, write. There is no need to dirty your hands promoting your books. Your audience doesn’t particularly want to meet you or receive promotional messages from you. They want more of your books. You’ve realized your dream. You have enough money coming in and your books are in such demand that you can spend the rest of your years writing anywhere you desire—tropical islands, an ancient city, in a rich forest someplace exotic…

There, are you happy now? Is this your dream? It sounds like a nice life for a while. But wouldn’t you miss having a connection with your readers? Wouldn’t you become weary of doing the same thing day in and day out? Wouldn’t you crave some of the challenges you’re no longer facing?

Each of us has a fairytale living inside. We all have our real lives and then our phantom lives—those involving unrealistic dreams and desires. For some of us, the two lives are worlds apart. Others live a mix of both the real writing life and the one that is only wishful thinking. Do you notice when you are actually living partially in your dream world? I feel it when I am having a really good writing day—my writing flows as if it has a mind of its own and I am loving every moment of the process.

I feel it when a client calls to tell me his manuscript was picked up by the publisher of his choice. I notice it when a customer lets me know how much one of my books helped her. I experience it when I’m facing a group of people who are each sitting on the edges of their seats listening to what I have to share with them. And I feel it when a publisher issues me a contract for one of my books.

I am even aware of it when I am walking on the beach on a glorious blue sky day or experiencing a new city where a writers’ conference is being held.

So what is my advice today? This is my roundabout way of reminding you all to enjoy the path you are on and to take it seriously, but remember to live a little of your dream along the way.

I would like to hear from those of you who resonate with my message today. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

I hope you are fired up after yesterday’s blog post—that you are gearing up to seek your fortune in the writing field. If article-writing isn’t your forte, consider doing some freelance writing for local businesses and organizations.

When my work shows down, I will send out letters to local companies offering my services to revise their company manual (I rewrote a bunch of manuals for Toastmasters), write the history of the company or agency (I did this type of work for a couple of local water districts), develop and write a company newsletter (I took over the newsletter for a local company), rewrite their website text (I did this type of work for a local real estate woman) and other such jobs a company might want to outsource.

There are numerous writing jobs within companies and agencies. I once rewrote a contract for a publisher, I’ve done ghostwriting for heads of corporations, I’ve written speeches and commentary for fashion shows and I’ve composed letters for companies.

These are the types of jobs you could get, as well. See if you can find out what a company needs, send them a letter or set up an appointment with the manager and convince him that you are the person to do this work. Supply proof of a track record, letters of recommendation and samples of your work. Here are some additional ideas for finding jobs:

• Check Craig’s List for writing jobs in your area.

• Sign up for Help a Reporter Out (HARO). http://www.helpareporter.com.

• Talk to your friends, family and acquaintances about the writing needs of the companies they work for.

• Read the classified pages in your newspaper.

• Search local companies online. Visit their websites and see if you can determine a need that you can fill.

Good luck! And let me know what comes of your efforts. Remember, though, nothing will open up for you unless you are out there flaunting your skills. Sometimes a company manager doesn’t even know he or she needs a position filled until you point it out to them. Your pitch might get them to thinking that the person they have working double time to get out the company newsletter is really struggling under the pressure of the job. It isn’t actually part of her job description. She is frequently late getting the work done. And it might be cost effective to free up this employee to do her own job and outsource the newsletter to a professional.

The thing is, if you sit home and complain about having no work, you will continue to have no work. If you get out and try to drum up some opportunities, you have a 100 percent better chance of finding work. Contact company and organization heads this week and you might be bringing in an additional $500 or $1,000 or so a month from now.

Let us know how it goes.

Visit me at my websites:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

In one of my discussion groups, we’ve been discussing how to jumpstart your writing work in a slow economy. The ideas have been flying in all directions. There are those who simply don’t believe there is hope for the working writer and others with an abundance of optimism. Who should you listen to? I guess it depends on whether you see the glass as half empty or half full.

It seems that those who are struggling tend to believe in the doom and gloom. Those who see the light at the end of the tunnel are working hard toward their goals. And these writers are earning a living—or, at least, supplementing their incomes. And these writers have a much more realistic outlook.

You’re probably not going to make any quick or reliable money writing books. This is a fact in any economy. Sure, there are exceptions. If you are producing and expertly marketing booklets related to a certain field, you can probably make some fairly quick money. Booklets, on a topic you know well and in your field of interest and involvement, are easy to write and convenient to market. To sit down and start writing novels in order to make some money, would not be a smart business move.

I always advise writers to think small in order to make it big. In other words, rather than spending ten months, a year or more writing a business book, break your subjects down and write several booklets. Instead of building a business around a full-blown book, slice and dice your ideas and create articles. Once you have a more steady income, you can still write that book.

Some people claim they have tried submitting articles and it just didn’t work out. One actually told me recently that he contacted the editors of one magazine and was told that they no longer publish articles, so he has decided to give up on that idea altogether. What???? Does he know how many magazines are out there?

In the latest issue of the SPAWN Market Update (appearing in the member area of the SPAWN website monthly), I listed 20 trade magazines that pay between $1,000 and $2,000 per piece.

Sure, maybe you don’t typically write for trade publications. You figure that if you don’t know anything about welding, running a hotel, finance and business management, for example, you can’t write for these magazines. But you might be surprised. I have sold article on intuition in the workplace, office politics, family-run businesses, how to run a business with your spouse, teen businesses, office organizing tips, networking, vacation tips, garage and basement manufacturers, how to survive shift work, power napping and others to trade magazines over the years. I’ve also had success writing for religious, regional and association publications. Religious/spiritual magazines publish pieces on family issues, for example, and there are numbers of them a writer could explore.

When the economy slows down, it’s time for the writer to gear up. Take chances (is rejection really that horrible?), try something new, think outside the box, get creative. Do what you do best in ways that may be unique to your style and that challenge your comfort zone.

No one ever got ahead in this profession by shrinking away from the challenges, making excuses for NOT trying something different, avoiding the research necessary to move forward or giving up.

If you’ve been knocked out of the game by shifts in the economy—your book isn’t selling, your bank account is dwindling and you don’t know what to do next, don’t give up. If writing is your passion, explore new writing opportunities. If you want to enter into the article-writing business and you need help, sign up for my article-writing course:
http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

I’m planning a business trip soon. I know that it isn’t cool to announce over the Internet that you will be gone from home. In this case, someone will be here with the cats. I’m going it alone.

I thought that some of you might have questions about how to continue a daily blog even when you are traveling. Here are some of my ideas.

1: Sometimes I compose blogs ahead of time and leave them for someone else to post to my blog site.

2: If I’ll be gone for three days or more, I take my computer with me. I try to write blogs ahead of time to quickly post each morning that I am traveling.

3: When I plan a major trip of a week or two, I lower my standards and post every other day or every third day.

I attended a writer’s conference in Santa Rosa recently. It was basically an overnighter. I decided not to carry my computer—it felt weird going through the airport with only a small purse. I wrote two blogs during the week prior to the trip and posted one in the wee morning hours before heading for the airport that first morning and the other one the next day in the early afternoon when I returned.

This week, I am preparing for my travel next week by creating a series of blogs to plug in each morning before I rush off to partake of or to participate in the conference. I’ll post one the morning I leave. I’ll post the second one as I prepare for the first morning of the conference. I’ll hurriedly post one the morning of the third day—my absolute busiest day of the conference (I’m speaking, signing books, attending a luncheon and a banquet and working two stints at the bookstore) and I hope to have time to post the last one the day I fly out.

The subjects of these posts are specific ways to build your platform. Each post focuses on a different aspect of your platform and how you can strengthen it both before and after the publication of your book. Watch for these posts the 18th, 19th, 20th and 21st of November.

As I understand it, there are services that post your blogs for you. Do any of you use them? I’d like to know how they work.

I’m also interested in the publishing/writing/book promotion blogs you follow faithfully. Which ones are they? How do you follow them—Google Alerts? A feed? Or do you just go there on your own every day—every few days?

Also, what subjects are you most interested in reading here at my blog site?

To learn more about me, my services and my books, go to:
http://www.matilijapress.com
http://www.patriciafry.com

I discovered recently, while having a conversation with some young people, that what we consider clichés are actually new to some of them.

I was surprised to learn that my generation’s tried and true, overused phrases might actually be fresh to today’s young readers. Unless their parents or grandparents used terms such as, “don’t throw the baby out with the bathwater,” “what’s good for the goose is good for the gander,” “got hitched,” “born with a silver spoon in his mouth,” “Dutch treat,” “penny wise, pound foolish,” etc., subsequent generations won’t hear them growing up. And when they read them in books, they’ll consider these phrases and terms new and unique.

And think about this—after a few more generations of not using these old clichés, they will go by the wayside and, perhaps, disappear, only to be replaced by new phrases that will eventually become clichés. In the meantime, we’d be losing some very clever and poignant ways of relaying our thoughts and moving our stories forward.

I think you’ve heard/read me say that I love clichés. I use them more than I probably should in my speaking. I try not to use them in my writing. However, some of them are so meaningful and powerful, I would be among those fighting against eliminating them altogether.

Clichés are considered old, tired phrases that have no place in our writing projects. But some would disagree. The arguments for clichés include the fact that sometimes a cliché is the best way to convey a message or mood in writing. And most of us certainly use them as shortcuts to understanding in our speaking.

A cliché used for the sake of ease is frowned on. But the clever use of a cliché is often applauded.

Where do the clichés come from? Some of them are “as old as dirt.” They come from literature such as Shakespeare and the Bible. Some clichés we use have come into being in more recent years through political messages, presidential presentations, the military, sports, etc.

Right along with clichés as passé for writers are puns. I love puns, too. A pun is a play on words. And they can be freshly created by an author of merit and still be considered trite. You see (and hear) puns everywhere. But writers and speakers try to keep them to a minimum. I guess that is wise—too many of them certainly could spoil an article or a chapter in your book.

Here’s your assignment today—for fun, use a cliché or two. Or at least recognize and acknowledge when you automatically use a cliché in your speaking throughout the day. It may do your heart good and you know it is easy as pie to come up with no brainer clichés. And remember time flies when you’re having fun.

Learn more about me and my work, books and courses here:
http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com

A season of distractions is upon us. And distractions can be a writer’s nemeses. It’s not enough that we must try to write when there are others in the household at least periodically requiring our attention—“Mom, can I go play at Brittany’s house?” “Honey, where do we keep the peanut butter?” or “Hi, neighbor—wanna hear some gossip?”

Some of us have pets that require attention, phones that ring off the hook, dishes piling up in the sink, committee members or colleagues who want a moment of our time and an active social life.

Of course, there are routine things that distract us—our daily meditation, our work out, meal preparation, errand-running trips and so forth.

Now add to this the hustle-bustle of the holidays—meals to plan, shopping to do, lists to make, additional events and activities, guests coming in (so more attention to housecleaning detail), meal preparation… You know the drill. It happens every year. It seems that we just get back to serious work after a busy summer and the Thanksgiving/Christmas holidays begin to intrude in an already busy writing life.

Maybe we can get some ideas from each other as to how to maintain a good writing pace despite the distractions. Please leave your comment here.

For me, it is in the mindset. If I have to (or decide to) take time off, I must justify it in my mind—sort of give myself permission. When I realize that I work most weekends, it becomes easier to allow myself a day off during the week to shop, make Christmas gifts, visit with out-of-town guests or whatever. I do many of my holiday tasks after hours—write Christmas cards, work on my holiday gift list, plan menus and grocery lists, and so forth. For me, the mindset is important so that I will pour myself into whatever activity I am pursuing and enjoy it. If I feel torn—that I really should be writing—I just make myself miserable. I figure that if I make the decision to leave my writing room in order to pursue a different activity, I ought to embrace it—enjoy it. If I face the activity with regret and resentment—wishing I was writing, instead—there is no joy in what should be a joyful activity.

Another way I have adjusted so that I can have my cake and eat it too is, we invested in an artificial Christmas tree. This way I can do the decorating any time of the month without worrying about the tree wilting before Christmas day. There is no longer a tight schedule with regard to putting up the tree. That has removed a huge burden. (Why have a tree at all? We have our family Christmas in my home. Plus we still have small grandchildren.)

I also plan to buy our fresh turkey dinner already prepared for Thanksgiving this year and just add some of our favorites—sweet potato casserole, fresh-baked pies, etc. This will save tons of time and stress as we will be serving around 20 this year.

How do you approach this busy season? Have you cut back on holiday activities since you started writing? Do you give yourself permission to pursue those things you have always loved doing this time of year? Have you established a different schedule to accommodate your writing project? Have you had to change your mindset to get through the holidays?

http://www.patriciafry.com
http://www.matilijapress.com