Writing and Publishing News from

Are you writing your memoir, a children’s book, a how-to or a young adult fantasy? When is the last time you read a book in this category? Many of you can only answer that question with—“never” or “a long time ago.” And, in case you’re wondering, this is the wrong answer.

You need to read what you write. Why?
• In order to see what’s out there in this category, topic, genre.
• To understand all you can about the genre.
• So that you are more apt to write the right book for your readers.

What elements are a must in a children’s adventure book? What should you avoid? What type of memoir is most popular? What makes a memoir interesting to read? What techniques turn readers off? How is a successful how-to or self-help book organized?

Yes, you want to be creative. You don’t want to copy other writers. However, neither do you want to confuse or turn off readers.

Before you launch out to write your memoir or your first children’s book, study books in this genre or topic—lots and lots of them. Get a feel for what works, what’s appropriate and what readers want/need and will accept. And then you will be more apt to write the right book for the right audience.

For more about writing and publishing your book, read my book, “Publish Your Book.” It’s at Amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. You’ll find it in print, Kindle and audio. Or purchase your print copy here: http://www.matilijapress.com

Yesterday, I shared three tips for jumpstarting your writing career. Here are three more. I can’t tell you how many people I meet every year who ask me how I organize my time so that I can write. Well, for me, writing is my full-time work. It’s what I do and what I’ve been doing for forty years. It’s a lifestyle that I take for granted now. But in the beginning, I had some of the same challenges you have when it comes to finding time to write, disciplining yourself to write and so forth.

I once worked at a regular job outside the home, for example, but I still found time to write. Here are three more tips for you:

4: Use your time wisely. Becoming a successful freelance writer or to write a book takes discipline and realistic scheduling. Failure comes to those who procrastinate, who have trouble prioritizing tasks and who are easily distracted. Those who succeed in this business have found a way to organize their lives and discipline themselves.

5: Just start. It isn’t easy to transition from full-time office worker to full-time writer. Most of us don’t have the funds to support us while we build a new business. I didn’t always have 12 or even 8 hours each day to spend working my freelance writing business. I built it over time. For any of you who are interested, here is my story:

I started writing articles for magazines from a corner of my bedroom using a manual typewriter in 1973. Thirteen years later, however, it became necessary for me to take a full-time job. I’d just spent 5 years researching and writing a comprehensive local history book and self-publishing it. So funds were low and my lifestyle was in transition.

How I missed writing. While I had a good job with lovely people around me, I disliked working for someone else—on someone else’s agenda. And it looked as if this would be my future. I became despondent. That’s when I realized that I had to find a way to write no matter what else was going on in my life.

I started getting up at 4 every morning and writing before I went to work. Then I would write on weekends. I completed an entire book in 8 months on that schedule. I can’t even begin to describe how happy and fulfilled I felt. But I wanted more. I wanted to come home and establish a writing business that supported me spiritually as well as financially. So I began using that time in the wee hours of the morning to submit articles to magazines—remember, this was before the ease of the Internet. Within a year, I was able to quit my job and come home to write. And I’ve never looked back.

6: Write what they want. You have to go where the paying work is and accept the jobs that are available. While I never compromised my values in order to get paying work, I have certainly had to take some challenging and sometimes not very interesting jobs in order to keep the flow of money coming my way.

I’ve seen too many writers so bent on making their own personal statement or doing things their way that they get nowhere in this business. If you want to make a living or even earn some part-time money as a writer, you have to go where the work is and write what is needed/wanted. Write about things that are current, popular or even a bit provocative or controversial.

It takes more to become a full-time writer than just dreaming about it. If writing full-time is your dream, read and reread the above six points and use them to finally fulfill your passion.

Would you like to establish a career as a freelance writer? Do you dream of writing full-time? Follow the suggestions below and your dream could become a reality.

1: Spend time writing whether it’s convenient to do so or not. Your routine is important to you. In fact, it probably represents your comfort zone. To step outside of this zone, even to pursue something you want to do, often causes some discomfort. You have choices. You can give up your dream of writing or try easing into the writing realm. How? Make writing a priority and you will find the time.

2: Make time to write. Usually this means making some sacrifices. What are you willing to give up in order to write? Sleep, TV, Internet surfing or perhaps overtime at work?
Get up an hour earlier or stay up an hour later and spend this time writing. Turn off the TV more often. What may feel like a sacrifice at first, will become part of your new writing routine. If writing is your passion, you will soon feel blessed to have the time to write rather than feeling deprived of time in front of the TV.

3: Be realistic about your writing choices. Perhaps your true dream is to support yourself by writing stories for your favorite romance magazines. Or maybe you’d like to become a novelist. It is extremely difficult to break in as a career writer of fiction. If fiction is your writing bag, I strongly urge you to set that dream aside for now and pursue a mode of writing that is more likely to produce the monetary results you are seeking.

Here’s what I recommend: start writing articles for magazines, seek freelance writing work in corporate offices or on the Internet or produce some how-to booklets on topics related to your expertise, for example.

If, however, you are submitting fiction in order to support your upcoming novel or the novel you are currently promoting, by all means stay on this task. If you need some resources listing fiction markets, let me know and I’ll send those to you.

Tomorrow, I will provide the additional three tips for freelance writers.

Guest Blogger: Stuart Horwitz

As a writer who writes about writing, I can get just as fancy as the next guy when it comes to discussing techniques, and shades of techniques, with clients and students. But sometimes I think it’s worthwhile to go back to basics and ask ourselves: what do we really need to get started writing and to do a good job? What are the essentials?

Since I am not very handy, I think of the five basics in the writer’s toolkit as the only tools I wish we ever needed to fix things in real life:

THE HAMMER: Action. People love to see things happen. The action doesn’t have to be as extreme as in a movie, but it has to be just as intense. When something happens then the state of events changes, and it is these changes that drive the narrative forward to the end. If nothing happens, in that quiet you can hear your book being closed up gently in the night all over town.

THE DRILL: Dialogue. Human beings do a lot of speaking, so it would be odd to read a book without dialogue. Along a continuum from method acting “give it to ‘em straight” dialogue to the more formal “we all speak in complete sentences like it’s an Aaron Sorkin show,” you will have to find your way. Just make it like something someone would say.

THE SCREWDRIVER: Point-of-View. point-of-view always stems from two overlapping sources, a narrator and a character. We want to see whatever the narrator wants us to see, but we want to think about it like the character. However many of those you can pull off is how many points-of-view you can have. If you can pull off one, that’s enough.

THE NAIL: Description. And by this I don’t just mean description of physical objects, but also description of everything from emotional states to patterns of people and society — choosing the right words for both the way things look and what they mean. This basic tool places an importance on word choice, but that doesn’t mean have to create an artificial vocabulary. Like a good tool, the right word is usually within reach.

THE TAPE MEASURE: Narrative Arc. This is by far the least taught—and least understood—of the five tools presented here. It seems like 100 years since people have discussed repetition and variation or improvement and deterioration, the formal properties of structure. Yet we need to be able to construct a narrative arc to give the reader something to follow and, better yet, to care about.

What about you? Does one of these come more easily than some others? Is there one that you really struggle with? There are a variety of resources available once you know what the problem is. That’s always the problem isn’t it? Finding out what the problem is?

Stuart Horwitz is the founder and principal of Book Architecture, a firm of independent editors based in Providence and Boston http://www.BookArchitecture.com Book Architecture’s clients have reached the best-seller list in both fiction and non-fiction, and have appeared on Oprah!, The Today Show, The Tonight Show, and in the most prestigious journals in their respective fields. His new book Blueprint Your Bestseller: Organize and Revise any Manuscript with The Book Architecture Method (Penguin/Perigee), was named one of 2013’s best books about writing by The Writer magazine.

Yesterday, I finally took time to straighten my workspace. I dusted and cleaned and organized. I even tackled the piles of paperwork, statements, receipts, emails, notes to self, research material, orders, bills and so forth and filed it all in my massive filing cabinet. Much better. I don’t know about you, but when my surroundings are clutter-free, my mind follows suit—well, to some degree.

I generally tackle office clean-up after I’ve completed a large project. It helps to prepare me to start something new.

Along with my occasional office organizing and sprucing, I often take care of other business that I’ve neglected while focused on an editing job or serious writing work. And yesterday was no exception. I actually posted a new article at my Catscapades blog site, did a little research I’ve been putting off and took care of some other business I’ve neglected.

It feels good to work in a more orderly environment. Each time I spiff up my office, I vow that I will file as I go—handle all incoming requests upon receipt, etc. And that lasts for three or four days, until I get engrossed in another large project.

So what is on the horizon in the Patricia Fry/Matilija Press/SPAWN offices? We’re considering a contest for authors with prizes related to book marketing and publicity. I have two more novels to finalize, have covers designed for and to publish. I have another book in mind for authors. I am putting together some articles for publication as we speak. And I am considering running some workshops locally. Oh yes, and I have some presentations coming up that I am preparing for. And there are some editing jobs in the wings—coming my way soon.

I predict that it will be December or January before I see the surface of my desk again. Sigh!!!!

Now that I am dabbling in the area of novel-writing, I can understand a bit about why authors change the names of their characters. Sometimes it takes a while to settle on a name that fits the character’s personality and that doesn’t conflict with other names you use throughout your story.

Sometimes you decide to change the name right away and sometimes it takes a while before you realize the name isn’t working. When you change a character’s name, always, always do a search to find all instances of the original name so you make the change in all places.

I can’t tell you how many novel manuscripts I see that have a random name or two tucked in here or there. In chapter twelve, I might come across a new-to-me name and wonder, “Who is that?” Come to find out, it was the name the author originally used for one of the characters.

Another name-related mistake I see is using the same name for two different characters. If the jail warden is Sam Jenkins, it can get confusing if you give a main character’s next door neighbor the name Mrs. Jenkins. And you want to avoid using the same given name for two characters unless there is a reason.

If you have changed names of individuals or place names, pet names, store names, etc. in the process of writing your novel, be sure to use the “find and replace” feature in your word processing program to make sure you have not left a reference to “Patsy” when her name is now “Gwen,” for example.

I teach several online courses. One of them is a Freelance Article-Writing Course. This course is designed for those who want to make money writing articles and for those who want to promote their books through article-writing. Check out the course here: http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

What my students learn through this course is that freelance article-writing is not always fun. Writing (the fun part) is just part of the equation. You must constantly come up with viable article ideas. You have to pitch those ideas to editors who are not always open or even cordial. There’s a lot of rejection. There’s also a lot of bookwork involved and, sometimes, you have to become a hard-nosed bill collector.

Many writers fail because they find some of these tasks so torturous. For some, coming up with ideas and pitching them is pure agony. Some balk at the necessary bookkeeping. Still others hate the research.

I tell writers that if they truly dislike some aspects of their work and feel that they are no good at it, hire someone to handle those tasks. Throughout my career, I’ve hired help. I hire printers, of course and book and cover designers, but I’ve also hired a secretary to print out and send query letters for me. And recently, I’ve hired a researcher to help me discover new promotional opportunities for some of my books. I also used to hire my grandchildren, when they were younger, to help with bulk mailings, large shipments and such.

These days, most article-writers are supplementing their income by taking on corporate work or editorial jobs. Actually, those writers who have landed jobs with organizations, companies and/or agencies typically have less stress and make more money. You have to be assertive enough to sell yourself and land the job, but then you simply do what is commissioned. Typically, there’s no pitching, waiting, rejection, etc. The corporate representative simply contacts you with assignments.

As a corporate freelance writer, you might write newsletters, rewrite business manuals, compose letters, edit business plans or contracts, design brochures, write or rewrite copy for their Web site or even compile the company history. I’ve done all of the above.

What’s it like being a freelance writer? After 40 years, I can say that it has been and continues to be a great ride. This lifestyle has suited me nicely. I like being at home. I am disciplined enough to actually work at home and, most of the time, I’m pretty good about balancing my work with a little play, as well.

If you are interested in any of my online courses, Article-writing, How to Write a Successful Book Proposal, How to Build Your Author’s Platform or Book Promotion Workshop, let me know. I am now offering these courses on demand. If someone is interested, I will set a date to start and begin promoting the course to get additional students in order to make it worth my time.

http://www.matilijapress.com/courses.htm

I sometimes get to teach my online article-writing course. I love helping good writers channel their energies and talents in a way that computes into cash. More than that, I like watching writers finally see their work in print—to hold a magazine with their article and their byline right there on the printed page.

Is being published in periodicals your dream? Maybe you want to jumpstart a freelance writing career or simply supplement your income by writing articles or stories for publication. Perhaps you’re an author and you’d like to use article/story-writing as a means of establishing your platform and promoting your book. Now there’s a great idea and one that I highly recommend.

I write articles for publication to accomplish all of the above. I supported myself through article writing for many years. I’ve established a platform (a following) for my writing/publishing-related books through my articles published in such magazines/newsletters as this one, Writer’s Digest, Writer’s Journal, IBPA Independent, Authorship and numerous others.

People would see my articles in numbers of magazines and newsletters on a wide variety of topics and ask me, “How do you find the time to do all of that writing?” What most non-writers don’t understand is that writing is my full-time job just like accounting or real estate sales or running a retail business is theirs. It’s what I do.

And if you want to benefit in the ways outlined above, you will need to make some commitments. The first one is a commitment of time. If finding time is an issue, then make time and discipline yourself to stick to a simple schedule. Discover your motivation and discipline will become easier. What motivates you? It might be money, the desire to change careers or your passion for writing. Whatever it is, cling to it and honor it.

If you are interested in writing articles or stories for money or in order to get added exposure and credibility for your published book, tune into this blog tomorrow. Another excellent aspect of yourself that you really should encourage if you want to sell copies of your book is public speaking and communication.

Sign up today for the FREE ebooklet I’m currently offering at my website. Download “50 Ways to Use Your Personality to Sell Book.” http://www.patriciafry.com