Writing and Publishing News from

May 29, 2012

Find a Job as a Writer Part II

Filed under: Article-Writing,Writing — Patricia @ 4:47 am

Yesterday I blogged about how to work as a freelance writer. Today, I will continue with additional ideas.

If You Want a Writing Job in the Corporate World
• Study the materials from companies for which you’d like to work and see if you can improve upon them. Show your ideas to the appropriate department head.

• Join business organizations and service clubs where you can network with businessmen and women who might hire someone with your skills.

• Sign with a temp agency as a writer. This may be your foot-in-the-door.

If You’re Hoping for a Job With a Major Newspaper
• Hire on at a small newspaper while waiting for your big break. There’s an ongoing turnover at newspapers, so they’re always hiring. This is not a glamorous job, but it’s a step in the right direction.

• Cover a story on speculation for the newspaper of your choice. Watch for the opportunity to write about a local high profile issue and offer it to the newspaper for a fee. Attend meetings and events that aren’t being covered by staff and offer to report on them. Your effort is bound to get the editor’s attention.

Create Your Own Work
• Write articles for magazines. For this profession, you’ll need writing, organizational and research skills as well as patience and a great deal of self-discipline. You’ll also need the following tools: a computer, Writer’s Market and A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles for Book Promotion and Profit (Matilija Press, http://www.matilijapress.com

• Become an editor. Start by approaching busy freelance editors and see if they need help accommodating their clients. The editors I know often turn clients away because they’re too busy.

• Find a mentor and be willing to do the work necessary to reach your goals. Many people who ask me for guidance in the writing field are not willing to take the necessary steps.

• Don’t give up your day job. If you need the money and can’t keep waiting for THE job to come along, go to work and write in your spare time. “What spare time?” you might ask. This may be one of those situations where you have to make some sacrifices. I once wrote an entire book in 8 months while working full-time. How? I got up at 4 every morning and wrote for two hours before going to work. I also devoted my weekends to writing.

Use this checklist to generate other ideas. The point is to keep on keeping on. One writer friend earns a living for herself and two sons writing technical manuals. After struggling long and hard to find this job, she advises other writers, “You cannot win if you do not play.”

May 28, 2012

How to Get a Writing Job

Filed under: Article-Writing,Authorship,Writing — Patricia @ 4:54 am

I followed up my speech for the California Writers’ Club members in Sacramento last week by sending an article to be published in their newsletter or at their website. Since I spoke on freelance writing, I decided to continue with that theme. I thought you might be interested in my checklist for job hunters:

General Advice
• Subscribe to online writing-oriented newsletters and join online writing organizations that offer job listings for writers. Many of them also keep you current on publishing trends. Here are a few resources to get you started:
SPAWN http://www.spawn.org
Writer’s Weekly Newsletter and website http://www.writersweekly.com
Freelance Writer’s Report http://www.writers-editors.com
Writing-World http://www.writingworld.com
Working Writer http://www.workingwriter1.com

• Become familiar with job search sites for writers. These include,
http://www.sunoasis.com
http://www.writejobs.com
http://www.mockingbird.creighton.edu/ncw/jobs.htm
http://www.tjobs.com/new/writers.shtml
http://www.freelancewritinggigs.com

I often include new job boards and directories for writers in issues of the SPAWN Market Update. Join SPAWN at http://www.spawn.org

• Network constantly. Attend writers/publishers’ events and ask people how they got their jobs/assignments. Participate in interactive web sites for writers. Find local organizations through your library, bookstores and in the calendar section of the newspaper. Locate online sites using your favorite search engine. Type in “writers groups” or “writers,” for example.

• Volunteer your writing services. A little volunteer work might land you the job you seek. Offer to write the church bulletin, a company newsletter or a press release for a charity organization, for example. Not only are you gaining experience and adding to your portfolio, but you’re showing off your talent and skills to all of the right people.

• Read the classified employment ads every week and apply for every job that has “writing” in it. Post your resume on some of the major Internet recruiting sites such as monster.com. And search their databases for job opportunities.

• Create a portfolio and keep adding to it. Make copies of your published articles, brochures, etc. to show prospective employers/clients.

• Build a website and post your portfolio and resume there.

• Keep writing. Write every chance you get. Practice, practice, practice.

• Be open to all types of writing. You may have your heart set on becoming rich and famous writing your own novel or landing a job as the editor-in-chief for Reader’s Digest. In the meantime, however, accept the work that comes your way. Do some PR work for your neighbor, ghost write a book for a client, revise some technical manuals. Get paid and learn new skills.

Tomorrow I’ll continue by adding how to get a writing job in the corporate world or a newspaper and how to create your own writing job.

In the meantime, if you want to write articles for magazines, order my book, A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles. If you are thinking about writing a book, you’ve written a book for publication and/or you want to know more about how to promote your book by submitting articles and short stories to publications and the web, order my book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. Both are available at my website: http://www.matilijapres.com, at Amazon.com and other online and downtown bookstores.

And if you don’t think an author must be enterprising, that he or she does not need key resources and that he or she need not use or concern themselves with strategies, you are sorely mistaken.

May 27, 2012

50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book

Filed under: Authorship,Writing — Patricia @ 4:45 am

Did you download your FREE copy of “50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book?” If not, you can do it this week. I’m working on a new FREE report to replace it. http://www.patriciafry.com

What can you learn from this report?
• Why it is soooo important to study the publishing industry before writing a book for publication.

• Whether or not you have a viable product. Many a successful book was changed before released in order to address the true needs/desires of its audience.

• The importance of targeting a particular audience and keeping that audience in mind throughout the writing process.

• Whether you are the person to write this book. Do you have the information, expertise, skill to write this book?

• The importance of establishing your platform—your following, your way of reaching your readers.

• Steps you can take to establish and build on your platform.

• Why you must think commercially rather than emotionally when producing a book for publication.

• The value of considering your marketing plan early on. Without an understanding of book promotion, your book will fail.

• Why you need to put aside money to hire a good book editor.

• How to understand your publishing options.

• How to choose the right publisher.
And much, much more.

Download your copy today: http://www.patriciafry.com

And this is a good weekend to follow through and order your copy of Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. (Formerly The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.) It’s at amazon.com and most other online and downtown bookstores. And it is going to the Book Expo America this year with the publisher, Allworth/Skyhorse. Learn more about this book here: http://www.matilijapress.com

May 26, 2012

Failure in Publishing Can Be Avoided

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 5:57 am

Just because you have a computer, you can string words together to create sentences and you can produce a book doesn’t mean that you can write.

When I was in the early stages of honing my craft (so to speak)—I was writing articles for magazines and continually studying the publishing industry. I came across a statistic that said, “Over 81 percent of the population believes they have a book in them.” At that time, very few of you were actually doing any writing for publication.

It wasn’t until the advent of the home computer that teachers, homemakers, attorneys, physicians, nurses, pilots, grocery clerks, ministers, dog walkers, postal carriers, etc. and a whole lot of retirees and disabled folks began putting their stories on paper. And the huge trend continues. Every year hundreds, if not thousands more ordinary people become authors, whether deserving of that title or not.

Few of them have paid their dues. They decide in March that they are going to write their memoirs or a children’s story, a novel or, perhaps, an informational book on a topic dear to their hearts. Today’s typical author has never written anything before—except maybe letters to the editor, a contribution or two to his church bulletin and/or technical material at work. He has time now to write, as he recovers from knee replacement surgery or now that he has retired. So he sits down and writes nearly every day for three months and finishes a book.

He shows the manuscript to his wife and sister (who is a high school English teacher). Once he incorporates their suggestions, he begins the search for a publisher. Wow! With one click of the mouse, he has found a goldmine of them—all eager for manuscripts. And the cost isn’t much, when you consider the potential for earnings once the books start selling.

A year later, this author and many, many like him are wondering what went wrong. Oh so many things. The book isn’t selling. The reviews are either negative or non-existent. So what went wrong? For starters:

• He didn’t take any time to hone his writing skill.
• He didn’t hire a qualified editor.
• He didn’t check his competition.
• He didn’t study books like the one he wanted to write.
• He didn’t study the publishing industry.
• He knew nothing about book promotion.

There’s more—oh so much more. If you’d like additional information on this topic—if you’d like to enter into the world of publishing with a more professional approach—download my FREE ebooklet, “50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book.” At http://www.patriciafry.com

May 25, 2012

Sell More Books By Listening to Your Readers

Filed under: Book Promotion — Patricia @ 6:00 am

How do you talk to your potential customers? Do you speak their language? Do you tell them what they want to hear? Do you give them the information that is most meaningful to them? Most of all, do you listen to your customers and potential customers?

As authors, we know more about our books than anyone else does. We know why we wrote the book, for whom and with what purpose in mind. We have certain goals and aspirations. We envision people reading our books for the entertainment value or in order to learn something of value. And we think we understand how to present our books to our audience. However, sometimes we miss the mark.

Not everyone you peg as a potential customer will be interested in your book. And no amount of talking will change their minds. Some of them might develop an interest at a later date—after they’ve seen the book around and heard others talk about it several times. I tell you this so you’ll know how important your initial and subsequent promotional efforts can be. A “No” on one occasion doesn’t necessarily mean an absolute, forever “No.” It might translate as, “Not now.”

Along your bookselling path, you’ll discover that some people are impulse buyers—they’ll purchase your book on the spot. You’ll catch some people just at the right moment—they have money in their pocket, they’re looking for something to read, something to help them resolve an issue, or for a gift. Others have something else on their minds, they’re broke, they are in a hurry or they just don’t have an interest in western romance stories, science fiction or learning to sky dive at the moment.

Sometimes, you meet up with someone who is on the fence about your book. They come up to you at a book signing, a book festival or after you’ve given a talk. They’re curious about your book and have a few questions. But something holds them back from jumping in and purchasing the book. There are more questions. There’s more contemplation. What can you do to turn the tide—to create a customer/reader from a hesitant browser?

Listen to what this person says.
• Has he indicated that he has many books on this topic and he’s not sure yours offers anything new? As him or her what they are working on and how it is going. Often, you’ll get a clue as to the information they are seeking and you can steer your sales pitch in that direction. If this person has obvious connections—he is the leader of a group related to the topic of your book, for example—consider dropping the price for him in exchange for a review published in his club bulletin.

• Did she say she is new to the profession or topic of your book and not ready for a book on the topic? Explain (if this is true) that your book is for beginners as well as those with some experience in this topic. Give a few examples of how the information and resources in this book will make her journey easier.

• Perhaps he is concerned about the price of your book. Suggest that he consider ordering the Kindle or Nook version. Offer to email him the PDF file for a lower price.

• Is the potential customer focused on one aspect of the topic? Let’s say that your book features tips and resources for hiking in areas of Central California. You’ve presented the potential customer with an overview of the book, but he puts the book down and begins to tell you about some of the hikes he’s taken in the area. You listen intently and pick up his concern for camping, lodging and seasonal information. If your book includes the details he is seeking, show him the pages where he can find this information and demonstrate how easy it is to locate using your masterful table of contents.

• Maybe you’ve described your story as a contemporary romance, but the reader says she loves romance, but also wants high adventure in the stories she reads. This is your opportunity to describe one of your action scenes.

Book sales are often lost solely because the author neglects to listen carefully enough to the potential reader. Yes, you know more about your book than anyone else. But the customer knows more about what he or she wants than you do. Make it your duty, from now on, to listen and to respond to the needs/desires of your customers.

If you can’t legitimately satisfy the customer—if your book does not contain the information or the focus he wants—say so. Certainly, you should not promote an aspect that your book does not contain. However, perhaps you’ve written stories more along the vein that this customer likes to read or articles with the information they’re seeking. Offer to send him one or give him a link where he can read it. Invite him to your blog where you’re currently posting chapters of a book along that vein or information and resources on the topic. Ask for his contact info so you can let him know when your next book will be completed, if it fits his or her requirements.

For additional information and tons of resources on writing, publishing and promoting your book, order 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. Or purchase it here: http://www.matilijapress.com

Do you have a manuscript that needs editing or you would like a free editorial evaluation, check out this website: http://www.patriciafry.com

May 24, 2012

Be a More Successful Author. It’s Up to You!

Filed under: Authorship — Patricia @ 3:53 am

Authorship is not a science. There is no formula for producing a bestselling book. However, many authors turn to publishing consultants hoping for explicit instructions.

Often, they want to know, which publishing option to choose, which publisher, whether to get an agent, should they produce a book including all of their stories or publish them in separate books, etc.

These are not questions for a consultant. These are things you need to figure out based on knowledge and research. This is why I always, always suggest that you study the publishing industry at some point BEFORE you publish your book. The best time to read books like my latest one, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author is before you start writing your book. Keep it at your elbow throughout the writing process, refer to it often during the editing process and while preparing for publication. And then use it for book promotion strategies and resources.

This book is designed to empower the author to make the best choices for his or her particular project. At some point, you’ll understand that the best publisher or publishing process for someone else’s book may not be the best one for yours.

Authors have a lot of decisions to make on behalf of their book projects. Wouldn’t you rather make educated decisions than emotional ones? You’ll experience greater success as an author if you understand something about the publishing industry and the full impact of your responsibilities as a published author before you get involved.

A huge majority of authors make serious mistakes when producing a book. For example:
• They write the book they want to write without regard for their audience.
• They don’t realize how important it is to hire a good book editor.
• They sign with the first pay-to-publish company who shows an interest.
• They publish a book without any regard for promotion.
• They don’t understand the huge responsibility of book promotion.

Ultimately, they don’t have a clue as to why their book failed. Most of them will be among the nearly 80 percent of authors who fail, and all because they didn’t think it was necessary to study the publishing industry. They weren’t aware of the possible consequences of their choices and they didn’t know about their responsibilities as a published author.

If you are thinking about writing a book, you’re in the process of writing one or you have one ready to publish, don’t go out in search of a consultant hoping that he/she can chart your course for you. Don’t try to make tough decisions on your own. Take the time NOW to read books, newsletters and articles on publishing and attend writers’ group meetings and conferences. Be proactive. Learn how the publishing industry works so you can more intelligently and successfully navigate the shark-infested waters. And I suggest starting with my all-inclusive book, which I wrote just for you—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 at my website: http://www.matilijapress.com

Sign up today for my FREE ebooklet, 50 Reasons Why You Should Write That Book. http://www.patriciafry.com

May 23, 2012

Your Blog Comments and MORE

Filed under: Announcements,Writing — Patricia @ 5:21 am

Do you have a blog? Is your comments section open or do you have it closed? Do you comment at other blog sites? Do you know the value of the comments option at your blog site?

1: You get some idea of how many people are reading your blog posts and who they are? However, the large majority of your followers will never or rarely comment.

2: You’ll find out what topics are of the most interest to your readers.

3: You’ll get ideas for blog posts.

4: You’ll meet potential guest bloggers.

5: People are more inclined to read a blog where there’s a lot of activity—interesting comments from others.

I have a couple of blog followers who comment fairly often about my blog. But not in the public forum. They comment to me. They email me. I love it, but I’d love it more if they would share their great comments with all the others who read my blog.

Others would be more inclined to follow suit. Then those stopping in for the first time would see that we’ve established a bit of a community of writers/authors here and they would want to feel a part of it.

Do you see how that works?

Of course, I would get more comments if I wrote in a more controversial vein. When I do get gutsy and bring up a hot topic, I get comments. But I guess sensationalism isn’t my nature. I’d rather offer the tips, techniques, perspectives and resources that I think can benefit you the most.

SPAWN’s Generous Donation and Opportunity for Members
On a new topic—most of you know I am the executive director of SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network). This month SPAWN has donated $500 to the Ojai (California) Library while providing a dozen SPAWN members the opportunity to network face-to-face. During the month of June, here in Ojai, there will be almost daily, day-long workshops. On Saturday, June 23, the Ojai Writers’ Conference will kick in and the opening event is an elegant Book Tea. Organizations can sponsor entire tables (seating for 6) for $250 and individuals can attend for $30 each. All proceeds go to the Ojai Library. SPAWN is sponsoring 2 tables and SPAWN members will be our guests. For additional information about the Book Tea, go here:
http://www.ojaiwritersconference.com/booktea

Waiting List for Seat at SPAWN Table
To go on the waiting list for the free SPAWN networking opportunity, contact me at Patricia@spawn.org. You must be a SPAWN member. It’s $65/year to join. Sign up here: http://www.spawn.org

For the writers conference: http://www.ojaiwritersconference.com

For the month-long workshops: http://www.ojaiwritersworkshops.com

Patricia Fry Keynote Speaker at Luncheon June 23
I will be the keynote speaker for the luncheon following the Book Tea. I’m speaking on the ABC’s of Self-Publishing. The luncheon is $20. Sign up here: http://register.ojaiwritersconference.com/Literary-Events/Writers-Luncheon-Saturday-JUNE-23.html

Patricia Fry Workshop Leader in Ojai
I’ll also be presenting a workshop on writing a book proposal at the writers’ conference that afternoon.
http://www.ojaiwritersconference.com

May 22, 2012

How to Turn Writing Into an Excuse for a Vacation

Filed under: Writing — Patricia @ 1:09 pm

I’m home again after a five-day, 1,000-mile road trip almost the length of California.

The reason for the trip was to address the California Writers Club in Sacramento on the topic of freelance article-writing. While so far from home, however, we decided to see some of the state that one of us had never seen and the other one hasn’t visited in many years. We experienced the excitement of the cities as well as the wonders of California’s more natural and casual areas along the rugged coastlines of Monterey and the amazing Big Sur redwoods, for example.

Our encounters with nature were many—on purpose—and fascinating. And we learned quite a lot about areas of our state that we formerly took for granted.

You can’t leave your home office or your daily writing routine for any length of time without gaining something of value. If you return with exactly the same mindset, focus and material, you didn’t vacation to the best of your ability.

I’m still sorting out the benefits of my get-away. But I can tell you that ten writers could take the same trip and all come home with something different. What are some of the possibilities?

• Just think of the potential for new writing topics. If you train yourself to see articles and stories practically everywhere you look, you will return from even a trip to the grocery store with a handful or a bagful of ideas.

• A visit to a tourist site should generate many ideas for articles or stories. The facts they document for your information at these places can be priceless fodder for writers.

• People-watching is practically expected when you’re traveling. Use this opportunity to develop interesting characters as well as new perspectives.

• Most tourist sites have historical aspects. Pick up on some of the history and use it in your novel or create an article based on an obscure character of the past.

• Have you noticed that you behave differently when you are on vacation? You sometimes even dress differently. You certainly keep a totally different schedule when you’re on the road or visiting in an unfamiliar area. How does this impact your life—even if on a temporary basis?

• Vacations are also a time of reflection. What did you learn about yourself while traveling or while relaxing? What new perspective did you gain through introspection?

• When you step outside of your comfort zone, you are around people you don’t know. Often, you interact with and observe others in a whole new way. Write about what you learned about others—and what you have learned about yourself.

Don’t vacation or even take a business trip without opening yourself up to what’s around you, who’s around you, how others are behaving, how things affect you differently than when you are at home, etc. Pay close attention to where you are led and the situations you find yourself in. Look at these experiences as potential articles, books, stories or poems.

I remember a period when I wrote poems about the things that I noticed while out and about—the things that touched me, inspired me or angered me, for example. I once wrote a poem about the plight of a majestic elk in Yellow Stone Park who I witnessed being taunted and challenged by idiotic tourists. Another time, I captured the beauty of a jet shimmering against the blue, blue sky of the desert in a poem. I wrote a situational memoir about my four-day visit to Dubai. Many years ago, I wrote the story of one of our family horse pack trips. And many of my other observances and experiences while traveling have been recorded over the years.

I would love to hear about some of the stories or other writings that have emerged from your travels.

May 20, 2012

Write What You Know and Then What You Don’t Know

Filed under: Uncategorized — Patricia @ 5:07 am

Write what you know. Isn’t that what we’re told? And it’s what I teach.

Yesterday, I spoke to a group of writers in Sacramento, California on freelance writing and I shared this bit of wisdom with them. In fact, I shared with the group of around 30 that I started our writing about horses and horse care because our family was involved with horses at the time and that was something I knew. I described my early article-writing success, which I attribute to the fact that I knew my topic, I knew my audience and I knew my market.

I went on to explain the importance of expanding your horizons, if you hope to establish a career as a freelance article writer. I talked about the steps I took in order to branch out and begin writing on many other topics.

One writer evidently missed my second point as he raised his hand and said that he doesn’t agree that you should only write about what you know. And neither do I. This should be a starting point—a way to break into the writing game. But, if you want to establish a career, you will need to write on many different topics—many of which will require research and interviews with experts.

There are so many writers emerging and way more approaches to writing than ever before. I urge you to order a copy of Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author to help you make more of the right decisions on behalf of your project(s). Available at Amazon.com, Barnes&Noble.com and most other online and downtown bookstores.

May 19, 2012

Are You Easy to Find?

Filed under: Authorship,Book Promotion — Patricia @ 5:20 am

Do you screen—I mean, really screen your incoming emails? Do you do the polite thing and respond to those that are legitimate? Or do you assume too much when reviewing your email list daily, weekly or hourly?

Do you assume that those emails from people whose names you’re not familiar with are spam? Not necessarily. It could be that an editor saw your article published in a popular ezine and is writing to ask if they can reprint it. I once got paid over $1,000 for a reprint in just this way. (It wouldn’t have happened if I hadn’t opened the email, though.)

Perhaps someone read your book and wants to hire you as a speaker for an upcoming conference with all expenses paid. This has happened to me, as well. If I hadn’t checked out the curious email address, I would have missed out on a dream trip to Dubai.

Maybe someone is trying to reach you to order cases of your book for an event related to the theme of it. Or they want to ask you to judge a contest in your genre, accept an award, attend a gala event, or??? Use your imagination.

If you consider every email with an unfamiliar address spam, your life experiences and opportunities will be greatly limited. And this is true also if you neglect to have your own website.

I’ve harped on this before. Every author and every freelance writer should have an Internet presence of his/her own—in their name, such as I do with http://www.patriciafry.com

For years, I had just one website. It evolved as my business did and was doing triple duty as a book showcase, resource center and introduction to Patricia Fry. It did the job, actually. Anyone typing in “Patricia Fry” found my Matilija Press website, which meant they found me. My email address is prominent at both of my sites, so anyone who knew my name could locate me without any trouble and still can.

Learn more about how to become more visible and how to promote yourself by reading my book, Publish Your Book, Proven Strategies and Resources for the Enterprising Author. It’s available at my website, the publisher’s website, Amazon.com as well as most other online and downtown booksellers.

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