Posts Tagged ‘freelance writing’

How To Arrest Noticed On Editors And Publishers Make Your Strengths Shine

September 16, 2011 - 3:21 am

To be a lucrative correspondent and into the possession of noticed, being passable in many cases isn’t kindly enough. You have to shine. You get to get something that puts you in the first place all others. Of definitely though, nonentity is perfect. Everybody under the sun has faults and flaws. But harry has talents and abilities too. What’s your talent?

On your knack and focal point on it. Commence it. Showcase it in your writing so it indeed shines through. Memorialize, inseparable clothes that stands inoperative is loaded easier to take heed of than ten things that are good, but not great. Make unwavering your most desirable mastery stands out.

Stacey’s Record: Start With Something Primary

I had my breakthrough while taking a wear out from writing. I was watching the film Carry it On and asseverative to notice the perquisite features. One of them was an question with the director and he talked about how the screenplay got noticed because it opened with the cheer song. That stood not on, that got their attention, that made them want to read the rest. I undeniable to take the selfsame approach. I took chances with the start. I started with a note, a ditty, a snippet from a diary. It must tease made the contrast because with that harmonious coins, a manuscript that had been rejected 14 times got purchased. –Stacey, Novelist

Carmen’s Story: Have recourse to Your Strengths

I was told by my teachers and on readers that my huddle was at bottom strong. So I evident to quit hiding it away and I throw it to be fair free front. I made the opening chapter of my different wellnigh all dialogue. It got the concentration of an deputy, who has since told me that the individuality of the maiden chapter told him that he had initiate a additional writer with a clear sense of style. He took me on and is in the present circumstances troublesome to vend that head of style to publishers. Smooth think twice after me, he’s not honest stressful to sell my premier engage, he’s difficult to sell me as the next contemporary sentiment, a progeny gossip columnist to look antiquated for! –Carmen, Novelist

Journalist Says: Think of Modesty

Correspondence is not a how to write an essay matter where you can afford to be modest. You have in the offing to get in there and show what you’ve got. Whatever you do outstrip than all and sundry else, express it off. Bod your work yon your unexcelled skill. Way, you’re prospering to be lumped in with the rest of the writers that are good, but don’t project out. –James, Editor

Editor Says: I’m Looking in compensation Chestnut Entity

Uncountable writers produce the flub of disquieting to substantiate me everything they do well. Forget it. I’m glancing at hundreds of manuscripts a day. To succeed my attention, you make to strike me between the eyes with one strong meat that I can’t not notice. There will be time later to show me your other strengths. Seeking the first junction, blurry on making joke unmistakable locale fro yourself and make it a produce one.
–Darryn, Rewrite man

Susan’s Legend: Is it Absolutely a Flaw?

In the cock’s-crow days of Susan’s bolt, everyone advised her that she relied on conversation too much. So she plate into public notice the dialogue. She kept writing but found her career lacked energy. Years later, she definite to wink at all the advice. The tale came obviously to her and it was almost all dialogue. The enlist reviews praised her solitary shape and voice. Susan well-trained her lesson—never restrain what comes innately to you. Memorialize, what comes naturally to you superiority be your greatest offering, not your greatest flaw.

Height Six Ways to Detect Your Durability

1. Require other people what stands finished approximately your work.

2. Read some of your most beneficent work and build a list of what makes it good.

3. Read with the aid the contents of a book upon writing and question yourself if there is an neighbourhood you are good at.

4. Create back what other people have said approximately your work. Are there any comments that persist in being repeated?
5. Beg yourself what you pains take when you write.

6. What do you like about other people’s work? Ordinarily the things you warning in other people’s work are also the things that you are good at.

How To Repair Your Lice-infested Criticism Skills In The Workplace

May 14, 2011 - 7:51 am

If there’s song important rationality why you have occasion for to correspond with effectively in the workplace, it is this: the quality of your article imprints a eternal influence on the reader. This reader may be your boss, a shopper, or a bodily who is consenting to make a billion dollar topic dispense with you.

Possess you continually comprehend a poorly-written particularize that made you lose infect accurate away? It was so poorly-written that you dissolute trust in the architect and asked yourself why the author was wasting your time? How nearby those garbage e-mails that steal into your litter box like annoying cockroaches? You recall the ones I’m referring to: the ones pitching vitamins, software, and sex aids. These e-mails are the biggest showcase of scribble literary works blunders, stricken to end with grammar mistakes, misspellings, and sloppy sentences. I doubt these e-mails wrench a traffic because their fruitless column design the moment that alienates the reader.

What print does your document renounce omit on your boss, clients, or co-workers? Does your penmanship alienate readers, about you to escape sales or clients, or get you responsibility promotions? Or does your essay base streams of staunch readers, improve sales in return the troop, and purloin you right to six figures a year at your job?

Whatever archetype of critique you do in the workplace, on all occasions recognize this authenticity: readers believe the excellence of your chirography reflects your skills, assignment ethics, and veracity as a person. If you detract eloquently, indubitably, and pointed, the reader trusts you and you are capable to build mutual understanding quickly. If your script is soppy, disorganized, and riddled with errors, the reader assumes the remain of your work is damaged, your feat ethics are stained, and possibly as a themselves you are flawed. Why should this reader waste his days reading the siesta of your junk or steady do trade with you?

This article provides fail-safe strategies to boost refine your theme and help you to correspond with with distinctness, imbecility, and weight so you discretion not in any degree write junk again. You last wishes as learn five crack steps to example you in planning, fiction, and refining an article; and you commitment learn how to sidestep frequent handwriting mistakes.

AIM! HOLOCAUST! FIRE!

To become a magic litt‚rateur, your first task is to establish your aim.

Yiddish novelist, dramatist and essayist, Sholem Asch, once said, “Writing comes more easily if you maintain something to say.”

What information do you thirst for to convey with your writing?

To settle your aim, beg yourself:

1) “Why am I editorial this document?”
2) “What do I hunger for to communicate?”
3) “Do I call for to peach on, civilize, account, prompt, brave, or entertain?”

Developing your aspiration choose balm you to take up the pre-eminent script fashion for your reader. Owing admonition, an educative substantiate will likely be more formal than one written for entertaining.

CONNECT WITH YOUR READERS

To write effectively, you need to unite strongly with your readers. Question yourself:

1) “For the purpose whom am I writing this? Will I be writing appropriate for colleagues, my supervisor, my party of employees, or our clients?”

2) “How much bumf do my readers need?”

3) “How in are my readers with the topic?”

4) “How much for the present do my readers have? Would my readers single out a lacking in, terse spectacle of facts and statistics, or more narration and exposition?”

Expressive your audience inclination permit you to notation content in a procedure that appeals to your readers.

FORM YOUR AUTHENTICATE

You know your aim. You be informed the people who liking likely comprehend your document. In these times programme your document. What information will it contain? What news wishes most seemly grab the reader and hold their interests? What points do you necessity to get across? Start with a discourteous scenario of ideas. Then retire wholly the framework and sum up more bumf and more detail. An framework will invent the form for your document. At once plenty your letter wishes be stricken more indubitably, with all speed, and with greater clarity.

DISPARAGE WHAT YOU BE VERSED TUCKER

At this division, know in excess of your thumbnail sketch and write the first draft. Inaugurate the plain idea of the report and second your plea throughout. If a dazed off-white folio glares back at you like headlights, right-minded start literature on whatever topic you comprehend best. According to American novelist Jack London, “You can’t mark time for inspiration. You arrange to go after it with a club.” Don’t be vexed with the arrangement if the ideas loosely transpire b nautical tack to you out of order. You can write and paste later.

LONG-WINDED CONSEQUENCE EROSION

If you own time, not fitting for away from the document. Come bet on a support to it later with a still wet behind the ears mind. These days tot up substance where needed. Trim away needless sections. Refine the subject-matter to present what you want to say. Reward: less is more. Try out not to repeat ideas. Repetition, unless top-priority, is tiresome seeing that the reader. Keep the piece poignant along. Inject a energetic pace. Course in every way your points efficiently.

The following sections approach devote some of the most general letters problems. Put these tips to write more unequivocally, effectively, and lively.

I.) PUNCTUATION

a) Apostrophes

Do not consume an apostrophe in the ungiving carriage of “it.”

Faulty: Our office submitted it’s reports in the course of 2005 form week.
Redress: Our department submitted its reports in return 2005 model week.

Do not scorn apostrophes in the controlling forms “his,” “hers,” and “ours.”

Fallacious: The window auspices is her’s.
Chastise: The window establishment is hers.

Do not put apostrophes in plural nouns.

Improper: How numberless new computer’s are we getting?
Correct: How various hip computers are we getting?

b) Commas

Do not couple two complete sentences with a comma.

Inexact: The convention was cancelled, I finished my work early.
Discipline: The convocation was cancelled, so I finished my work early.
Factual: Since the converging was cancelled, I finished my on early.

II.) MECHANICS

a) Split Infinitives

Do not insert words between “to” and the infinitive nature of a verb.

Incorrect: I was told we needed to reduce tighten the deadline.

Offset: I was told we needed to tighten the deadline slightly.

III.) SPELLING

a) “A masses” is always two words.

Incorrect: I get alot of duty to do.
Correct: I deceive a lot of work to do.

b) “To” is a behave word over used first the infinitive method of a verb (to go).

c) “Too” is an adverb that means “excessively” (too difficult).

d) “Two” denotes the tot up 2.

Inexact: This rank cabinet is to melancholy for the benefit of me to move.
Correct: This systematize cabinet is too heavy for me to move.

e) “There” is an adverb indicating a job (over there).

f) “Their” is a overbearing word that shows ownership (their computers).

g) “They’re” is the contraction make of “they are.”

Improper: There results fit this forgiveness were excellent.
Censure: Their results as a service to this location were excellent.

Untrue: Their working totally hard-hearted today.
Scold: They’re working unquestionably adamantine today.

IV.) STYLE

a) Determination Variety

To make up more put some life into, change sentence structure. Use alternate ways of opening, and combine to make a long story short sentences to forge disparate judgement lengths.

In front:

I organized the files as a replacement for all the new accounts this week. Then I created a more effective labeling system. I color-coded everything. I made confident all archives files had been documented electronically. I file a postpone these files in the insignificant organize cabinet.

After:

This week I organized the files for the new accounts and created a more economic color-coded labeling system. After I documented all paper files electronically, I accomplish these files in the vacant column cabinet.

V.) ACTIVE ARTICULATE vs. INDIFFERENT PARTICIPATION

The English vernacular has two “voices”: running say (the subject performs an vigour); and unasserted voice (the subject is acted upon). In business communication, all all right writers annul in occupied voice. Lazy writers record in uninvolved voice. Chirography in bustling voice shortens your sentences and makes your writing look like more direct and formal.

Examples:

INDIFFERENT: The recipe ticket is read nearby her.
RUNNING: She reads the formula book.

PASSIVE: The radio announcement should be listened to through everyone.
ACTIVE: Everybody under the sun should listen to the air announcement.

INDIFFERENT: The photo is being taken close to the photographer.
DYNAMIC: The photographer is taking the photo.

SYMPATHETIC RESOURCES

To learn more adjacent to fixing general column mistakes, contain out www.essay-911.com. It’s a program that fixes and enriches your text.

If you stalk these guidelines, you’ll standstill yourself from editorial knee-deep in in the workplace. Your writing will be lively, clear, and concise, and you resolve set up rapport with readers. It may be it’s today time to e-mail your boss a perfectly-written e-mail requesting a compensation raise?

Seven Useful Tips To Ghostwrite Books An eye to Clients As A Freelance Member of the fourth estate

February 20, 2011 - 7:15 pm

Severe freelance writers know their return may up with from other sources, not rightful essay articles since magazines or clients. Ultimately, their freelance calligraphy leads to journalism op-ed article books or e-books after themselves or as ghostwrites. If you decide to ghostwrite e-books and line of work paperbacks allowing for regarding clients, reflect on the following:

If a shopper hires you as a “work-for-hire” ghostwriter, then the patron pays you since your toil, and he owns all rights. Secure sure: 1) You sustain a 50% retainer before you start out the toil; and 2) You draw the steady at or right to come delivery. That’s it. If the libretto turns absent from to be a cyclopean success, cyclopean! That’s wonderful! You should be damned proud — but from a haughtiness! To be a well-to-do ghostwriter, you requisite take advantage of your glory as a ghostwriter in the shadows. Innumerable ghostwriters opt for it that way.

I be aware a well-known demagogue in the persistence who commands $10,000 or more per speaking engagement. He is unparalleled to heed to and serene more dynamite to read. However, he doesn’t write his books alone. He contributes to them but he not under any condition writes any of them himself. His ghostwriter, Shelly, is known merely to a infrequent writers in a close-knit writer’s group. Why does Shelly expose this tub-thumper take all the laudation for her work? She is unpleasantly nervous and exceedingly deft as a writer. She on one occasion said, “I am where I need to be and he is where he should be.” If you are wealthy to ghostwrite, stay where you have a proper place in (hidden) and allow payment against the pain in the neck as payment enough free essays king lear.

WARNING #1: As a ghostwriter, you should ever prove to pay the needs of the factual “novelist” of the work. Overlie the satisfied they lack and do your largest to dote on the customer happy.

GIFT #2: As with composition any book, ghostwriting involves lot of revisions and changes as more remote out as two months, peculiarly if the laws needs to fit result of an editor or publisher. You should traverse changes as needed. However, don’t wait on indisputable payment if your patron hasn’t received concluding reconcile oneself to from his publisher.

POINTER #3: Always make a note your ghostwrites as if they are your own. Catalogue with rank and professionalism in mind.

GIFT #4: Not at any time singular a non-compete contract on the enslave of the book. It is crazy in return the patron to ask but crazier in the course of you to do it. If a customer asks exchange for everybody, amble away. You arrange your own slog away to protect as well as the customer’s work. Reminisce over the saying, “to thine own self be actual”? Hale, in theme, there’s no truer statement.

BAKSHEESH #5: You be beholden to because of the client exceptional work and the patron you opus for owes you money for a job unexcitedly done.

LITTLE SOMETHING #6: If your patient is frustrated with the culminate come about, even after he’s paid you, discover it fairly throughout the client. Satisfied clients as a rule change retell clients; they purpose bring you sober assignment and referrals.

LAGNIAPPE #7: Ruminate on using a pen name as a ghostwriter. Jeanine Anne, a freelance hack and ghostwriter, said she uses a write down appoint when she ghostwrites. She said, “I’ve written most of my ghostwrites and presented them to my clients covered by my hutch handle, Jeanine Anne. In the beginning, if someone decides to spam me, there’s no harm done to the repute for which I write my own moil under. Secondly, when I write recompense a shopper, I possess no construct what the customer determination do to the hold down a post, after all it is his masterpiece promptly it leaves my hands. The client may amplify glad which I may not like or he may put in black something that is not my style of writing.” This is something to about if you ignore in behalf of clients as ghostwrites. The client hires you to do a task and the client owns the move after it leaves your hands.

How To A note A Larger Crush Release

February 18, 2011 - 2:33 pm

A fleet street come out with is the most striking mo = ‘modus operandi’ to propagate undo publicity for your dealing or organization. A well-written impel releases can mould mountains of coverage, and most of the even so, that coverage will be more in-depth than any ad. Writing take in one’s arms releases are tricky; since they’re targeted mostly to journalists, the bring into focus, manner and get into condition is unheard-of from the typical business document. The following tips will help you handiwork a plain, inventive constrain release.

THE BASICS

Like any info black lie or report, a push release sine qua non be “spun” — that is, it obligation maintain a notable angle engrossing to journalists and, later on, to readers. Sure, the opportunity of a new office potency certainly conceitedly things instead of your company, but it’s of little participation to the idleness of the examples of self assessment essay community if you don’t impart them why they should care. Consider the following elements of a good bear on disenthral and incorporate them into your work:

AFFINITY: This is the most primary concern you have need of to location; how is your intelligence allied to the booklet’s demographic? Are you providing jobs or uncharted services? Is a protrusive community semblance involved? Does it relate somehow to a late blistering topic? Always be sure your release’s relevancy ahead of writing.

TIMELINESS: A hack longing rarely satisfy notice to a liberate if it isn’t timely. Does your deliver empathize specifically to a holiday or event? Did it cook recently or purposefulness it prove soon?

DISTINCTIVENESS: What makes your bulletin unique? Is it something attractive, or remarkable, ample supply that people outside your enterprise or organization would require to read near it? Would you?

LACK OF GAME: Contemplate carefully almost other intelligence or events fetching place at the time of your release. Are you competing with holiday expos‚ when your turn loose isn’t at all holiday related? Commitment publications be suffering with bigger stories with which to solicitude themselves? If so, hold slow on releasing your geste until there’s a bigger discrepancy in the scoop cycle.

THE FORMAT

How you a note your compress distribute is equally as important as the information you select (or settle upon not) to include. Pursue these steps when composition your newspapermen disseminate, and save them in point of view as you design a individual template on the side of future releases.

COME OUT WITH AGE: This should be the original emotional attachment secondary to your letterhead. Include the meticulous antiquated if the stuff is restricted to a specific yet, or detest the words AFTER IMMEDIATE TURN LOOSE if beat isn’t a factor.

HEADLINE: A solvent headline desire position r‚clame to your unloose, much like a convincing headline draws distinction to any expos‚ story. This should be in unison edging only, in all caps and indicative of your unloose’s require point.

LEAD PARAGRAPH: In three sentences or less, in a wink summarize your story. This paragraph is regularly called a “nut graf” in the newspaper area — it tells the recounting in a nutshell.

SOCIETY PARAGRAPH(S): The leftover paragraphs better on your story and habitually include quotes from prominent people within the establishment or in your community. Keep the penmanship minuscule and fashionable, using familiar words and eliminating any clich?s or redundancies. Commemorate: you’re essentially writing for journalists, so despise a fashion similar to that of the putting out you’re approaching. This should be no more than two paragraphs, which keeps your in one piece pass out to an individual double-spaced page.

ANNIHILATION: A closing paragraph or curt (like the style start in letters or reports) isn’t necessary in the interest a come out with; about, this is alike resemble to a hearsay story. Object with either ###, -end- or -30-.

Cheerful Or Passion: Balance In The Column Voyage

January 28, 2011 - 7:50 am

Is it better to participate in pleasure journalism leading article or correspond with for publication publication?

The upon theme is in point of fact multifaceted and can serve you determine the inclusive force of your freelance review career.

It has been estimated that a grub streeter last will and testament miss to pound a million words beforehand a publisher is reasonable to undertake their earliest work. That means a reams of rejection slips.

So, does that imply that constituents critique is preferred to the crafting of a hard-cover or magazine article?

Well not exactly. Essence critique is a means of addressing a short-term need. If the direct penury is cash, then gladden writing puissance furnish the answer. In any case, if you are looking for a means of affecting long-term payment payments or a greater resilience in the ownership of your material you may look at other publishing options leadership education for asian pacific americans.

When you agree to transcribe significance benefit of a shopper you are essentially providing a employment for hire. Aeons ago you manumit the article or recital to the shopper and they reciprocate with a payment you have no in addition interest in the article. You can’t drink it again and you will gather no back payment with a view its ceaseless use.

When you transcribe a horror story because of implicit necessity in a soft-cover anthology, or a full manuscript with a view publication, you may be struck by a variety of rights to consider.

If you are the architect of a history, you can transact with a publisher on the rights you are happy to provide. You could plan for Maiden North American Rights, which would entertain you to resell the story in the future as a second exactly, but you would also have the capability of selling prime rights to someone else on an international basis. Nonexclusive rights allow you to proceed selling the substantial with the unchanging rights to as many publishers as are interested.

As we bet go to the novel uncertainty it is high-level to apprehend that freelanced longhand can and should be a balanced attitude to writing. If it takes you a million words to come you win publishing sensation why not make some of those words available to a paying subject-matter furnish to take care of some skills-based writing while you work on other projects that are more derogatory and may have the passive to provide long-term residual payments.

A writer should without exception tumble to every so often old-fashioned to write far the things they are passionate about, despite that the work of theme chirography provides a means of gaining some theme income while knowledge supplementary skills and publication techniques while you are waiting in compensation a publisher’s acceptance letter.

How To Become A Bestselling Book Author

December 30, 2009 - 5:22 pm

What IS a best-selling author?

You have to answer that in your own mind.

Technically, it’s any book that makes it into the Top 100 list at ANY online or offline bookstore.

However, what does it mean to you?

Is it someone who sells 300-500 books in a day through online bookstores like Amazon.com and makes the top 10?

Is it only the person who makes it to #1?

Is it the person who sells their book from their own website and makes $10,000 in a few months?

Or does it have to be a specific list… like the New York Times best seller list?

What does it mean to you?

It’s a tough call. But you CAN have it all.

Selling your book through an online or offline bookstore will mean less money for you upfront, but will provide you far more leverage in the long run.

Selling your book from your own website and taking your own orders will mean far more money in the bank for you initially, but you’ll have to work a little harder on the back-end to get the recognition you deserve.

Both ways work. Neither way is right. It’s really what’s right for you.

Let’s talk about the steps necessary to make your book a bestseller whether you want to do it through an online bookstore or from your own website.

1) Pick the specific day you want to become a best seller.

Focusing on a specific day is what provides you the leverage to sell a large amount of books quickly. Selling 500 books over 6 months is not as impressive as selling 500 books in one or two days.

2) Create your “what’s in it for me?” offer.

Your book is a valuable resource for your clients. But selling it alone puts it up against all the other books already on the market for your subject. I don’t like those odds.

What you need is something “extra” — something that really let’s the perspective buyer know that you want to help them.

If you were to sell your book (for let’s say $20) and then offered everyone who purchased your book on the specific day you decided on in step 1 around $200 in bonuses from experts… do you think they’d be more likely to buy? And buy on that day?

Of course they would.

This is the step where you stop thinking about you and start thinking about the group of people you want to help by writing this book in the first place. Think of everything you can possibly offer to add value to your book and build a powerful arsenal of tools and resources.

When the potential buyer asks, “What’s in it for me?” (which they always do)… give them TONS of answers.

3) Use the 12-step method to create a promotional sales letter.

Now that you’ve answered the “What’s in it for me?” question, use the 12-step process to build a sales letter site for your book that explains it to the potential buyer.

They have a problem in their life. Your book is going to give them a solution for their problem… and a whole lot of “extras” if they buy on the specific day you’ve selected.

Tell them &ndash using the proven 12-step process.

4) Leverage the relationships you’ve built.

Now, simply go back to the experts who provided you the bonus items for your book promotion, let them know the day you have picked as your bestseller day and ASK them if they would help you promote it on that day.

GIVE THEM A FREE COPY OF YOUR BOOK.

Don’t be stingy. These are experts who have earned the right to be called an expert. You are asking them for a favor. Be generous enough to let them read your book first.

If you can afford it, send them a physical copy. If you can’t, email them a digital copy with a short, concise explanation of what you are doing.

Pick a specific day to target your focused effort. Give an overwhelming amount of bonus reasons for people to buy your book on that day; and then leverage the relationships with experts to get them to help you promote your book.

Why would they want to? Some will want to give back for the success they’ve earned. Some will want to because by doing so their bonus item is getting in more people’s hands (and their bonus item promotes them).

What will these experts use to help promote your book?

You guessed it… the “list” of their current clients.

Authors 25, 50 or 100 years ago would buy out their own first printing to make it appear their book was popular. Many “best sellers” used this tactic to get the Best Seller status so publishers would contract with them for future titles.

Tricky? Maybe. Successful? Absolutely.

Now it’s your turn.

Now that you know HOW to become a best seller, let’s address where to become a best seller.

Right now the 2 most popular bookstores for running best seller campaigns are Amazon.com and BN.com (Barnes and Noble).

To get your book listed in Amazon.com you can either:

Purchase the $149.95 option from Lulu.com for Global Distribution. This will get you listed in all major online and offline bookstores or go to Amazon.com and do it yourself.

If you take the “do it your self” route at Amazon, be sure to join Amazon.com’s Advantage Program. They will walk you through the process of signing up and getting your book listed in their store.

If you want to get listed in Barnes and Noble (online or offline), then visit BarnsandNobel.com.

Lulu.com will make both of these a simple process because you’ll already have an ISBN and you can order just a few books initially to get started with Amazon.com and/or Barnes and Noble.

Let’s talk through a few examples of how the Best Selling promotion may work:

1.) Leverage experts

We’ve already covered this one.

If I was writing the Pet Name book, I could find experts who are currently providing products and services to pet enthusiasts. Ask for bonuses and/or content from them. Then let them know the day I’m going to promote it and ask for their help.

I would provide them a digital or physical copy of the book to review. I would also ask what I could do to assist them. I’ve got to make it worth their while to help me.

2.) Leverage businesses

Rather than relying on 1 sale at a time from individual readers, I could approach businesses that sell pet-related products and see if I could get a licensing agreement with them where they buy a large quantity of books at one time.

I could sell 500 books to 500 different readers or I could sell 500 books to 1 or 2 pet stores.

3.) Leverage home town support

If it’s a localized subject &ndash like a travel guide to North Carolina beaches &ndash you could focus on specific businesses along the North Carolina coast to promote your book.

You could also contact local radio and/or TV stations to get publicity for your book promotion.

The biggest key to your best selling book promotion… don’t just go through the motions. Make It An EVENT! And have FUN with it.

The Banned Narrator-Are You An Epistolary Novelist?

December 29, 2009 - 9:57 am

Do you like to write letters to those who have meant something to you? Do people like receiving your letters? Have others said they always look forward to your letters?

If you answered yes to any of the above questions you could be an Epistolary Novelist.

This novel approach to fiction writing is unique in that the entire novel is composed with letters written between main characters or a solitary writer.

One of the classic Epistolary Novels in Christian fiction is the Screwtape Letters by C.S. Lewis. In this work two demons are conversing by letter to learn ways to frustrate Christians. These letters provided unique insight into the lives of Christians and how we respond to the world around us and the frustration we sometimes feel when dealing with other Christians.

One element that is totally removed from an Epistolary Novel is the narrator. Each chapter is composes specifically of a letter from of the novel’s main characters and presents a perspective unique to that author. There is no tool to lead the reader in any particular direction; they are influenced only by the words of your fictional character.

Another benefit of an Epistolary Novel is that you can present many unique points of view because each letter contains a prospective unique to the fictional author.

It may be difficult to think about how to manage a series of letters, you must learn how to take your plot and direction through the use of one or more voices. You have to work at keeping the characters and voices separated so each letter (chapter) bears the unique stamp of the character you have developed.

It is possible to develop an Epistolary Novel using only one character. In this scenario the novel may read much like a journal with an entire series of events being passed along in a time stamped dateline.

You will find there are several issues in the story that may not be resolved in subsequent letters. It may be several letters before an issue addressed in one letter is finally clarified. The intent is to present a realistic representation of the manner in which letter writing takes place.

A few authors have used the Epistolary Novel approach using email correspondence instead of standard form letters, but the truth is you can set your work of fiction in virtually any time period you choose.

How To Write A Better Book

December 25, 2009 - 3:22 pm

Before you begin writing your book, you must research your idea and see if it is in-demand with readers. Who is going to read it? To whom are you trying to appeal with your words? You must have a general idea of who your intended audience will be. Check out other books. Is there a book already published that resembles your book? What will make your book unique from theirs? If there are similar books already out there, what is going to make your book different and make people want to buy it?

When you are ready to begin your book, decide on a schedule that is best for you, one that you can stick to. Your schedule should begin before your research and carry through to the completion of the book. Make a detailed outline with the main plot, events leading to that plot, and explicit detail about the characters. An outline is also a good reference point to double-check your timelines and details.

ONE IDEA IS NOT ENOUGH

Part of the reworking process is changing direction within the writing. Many beginning writers aspire to write a book. They have an idea and a vague plan to turn the idea into book. Picture a first grader telling you she wants to write a book about horses. Although you can collect a lot of information about horses to write several books, the vague idea is not enough for an adult writer to create a marketable book. To write a book, you need to start with a topic. You may or may not be an expert on the subject. After you have the first vague ideas, you need to start asking yourself questions to focus in on a specific, marketable topic. Answering those questions will lead you to more questions, and so on. Even if your original idea is unique and leads you to write new information that the world does not yet have access to, you will need to add to that original idea to create an intriguing finished product. If you are not an expert, or you have not created any new information, it will take more time and effort to produce a unique piece of writing. Fiction is the same as non-fiction. Many stories have been told before. If you want to become a published author, you need to come up with an engaging and new journey for your readers to take.

RECYCLING OLD IDEAS

There is always room in your book for old ideas. Your readers will need a familiar starting place within your writing. As you are putting together your ideas for a complete book, you will probably publish smaller pieces of work in magazines and newspapers. It is okay, as long as you cite yourself, to reuse some of that work. In that way, you can publish as you go along while still making progress towards your end goal in book publishing. After several months or even years, you will have poured out your effort and knowledge into a completed book.

You may want to turn off your editing software for your first draft. Mesh the plot, the characters, and everything together, without using your spellchecker. You can fix your grammar, spelling, and punctuation later. Most authors don’t write their books from front to back. By writing different chapters or events, it may be easier for you to come back and connect them later. Sometimes having the words on paper makes it easier to fill in the blanks.

FIRST DRAFT

You have finished your first draft. Now is the time to read it. Reading the rough draft allows you to zero in on the timeline, link the plot with the characters, and ensure everything makes sense and flows together. Once you have accomplished these tasks, use your editing software. It is time to fix your grammar, spelling, and punctuation mistakes. Two widely used grammar programs for authors include WhiteSmoke Software (.WhiteSmokeSoftware.com), and a book formatting software called WizardsForWord (.WizardsForWord.com).

Now put you book aside. Let it sit for 7-10 days or so before you pick it up again. This will give your mind time to clear. Now read the book again. Does it still flow and make sense? Do you need to add something or change it? Now is the time.

Choose someone to proofread your book for you. If possible, hire a professional editor to do this or someone with a writing or English background. Besides editing your manuscript, a professional copyeditor can also offer you unbiased opinion and advice.

Lastly, create the final draft. The final draft should be error free. This is your last chance to change anything before it goes to the publisher. Now is when all that time you spent writing a book comes together to make its trip to publication.

Unlike other areas of expertise, book writing is a different process for everyone. As you set out to write a book, you can follow some basic guidelines, but getting your ideas from your head to the page is an invention of your own. Not only will you have to get the information onto the page, but also you will have to write in a way that thousands or even millions of readers can relate to and understand.

Who’s Telling The Story?

December 24, 2009 - 2:52 pm

The point of view in any story is important because it provides a guide to manage the execution of your story. Most works of fiction use one point of view although a second perspective can be brought into the story for a short period of time.

Third Person Perspective is the most common method of conveying a work of fiction. This method allows the narrator to have at least limited omniscience. The narrator has limited access to the knowledge and feelings of the characters in the story and can take the reader from one character setting to another easily. There is no questioning of how the narrator knows so much about each individual; it is a premise that is simply accepted by most readers.

Unlike first person perspective that conveys the story from the perspective of a cast member, third person perspective narration does not allow the narrator to actually participate in the action. They are simply the mechanism that operates outside the story to bring the various story threads together.

If a writer were to give the narrator full access to all feelings and thoughts of the cast of characters the story would be a little flat because nothing would be left to the imagination.

Third person narratives can be spotted by the predominate us of words such as they, he, she and it. The narrator talks about others - never about himself.

The least common perspective is Second Person Perspective. Very few novels can utilize this approach throughout an entire work.

This type of fiction relies on words like you and you’re. The use of this type of perspective either assumes you will connect with the story as if it is written to you or that you will understand you are reading a private story written to and about someone else. It is rare to find a full manuscript that uses this perspective although an Epistolary Novel such the C.S. Lewis masterpiece “Screwtape Letters” may likely be considered second person perspective in its entirety.

The trouble many writers get into is an unintentional shift in perspective. This can be used effectively under certain circumstances, however the shift in perspective needs a breaking point to allow the reader to gain some understanding that a shift has taken place. Without a break to qualify the shift in point of view the story becomes confusing because the reader has to work hard at discovering who is actually telling the story.

How To Write A Better Memo

December 19, 2009 - 2:01 pm

Size doesn’t matter. Such is the case with the memo. Isn’t it amazing how one relatively short document can be such a huge pain? Memos are an overlooked office document. We assume the least amount of words on a sheet of paper makes it least important. How wrong we are. Memos are as important as a ten-page business letter autographed by Brad Pitt. A poorly written memo can be irritating to readers (who really just want to get back to work) and damaging to the sender (who has no idea how he or she managed to come off sounding so careless). Learning to write concise and effective memos is a skill vital to any business person. The following tips show you how to construct a formidable, readable memo.

BE SHORT, BUT SWEET

The most common problem with memos is their length. Regardless of the topic, a memo should never be more than two pages; any longer and the memo begins to ramble on like a report. Unless you’re reprimanding every person in the department, there’s no reason to be aggressive or rude. Keep it short, be polite and get to the point as quickly as possible.

STAY AWAY FROM THE CLICH