CultureFeast » writing

Freelance Writing Struggles

Jenni Hammitt — Wed, 26 Aug 2009 11:35:23 +0000

By Jenni Hammitt

August 26, 2009

Sometimes it feels like finding freelance writing gigs is a full time job on its own. I have these grand dreams of having enough gigs to make this writing my full time occupation. I know it will be a long road. I know I will have to keep applying and making a name for myself. I know I can’t give up or “take a break” or it will just take longer. There are weeks where I spend more time on the search than I do actually working on content.

When you are just starting out, you know things won’t just happen over night. You know it will take time to build a client base and to become one of those bloggers that can work from home and pay all the bills. What many writers do not realize is breaking into this market is very hard. I know I have had many false starts and put my goals and game plan on hold over the years. Sometimes the set backs were for good reasons, sometimes they were just bad choices on my part. However, I have learned that even short breaks can lead to basically having to start over. That is why I am not giving up this time.

Everyday I come home and spend at least an hour looking at job leads. At first, I just flag all the ones that at first glance seem like a good fit. Then I go back and look at each lead more closely. Applying or submitting a query for a gig that I am not qualified for or have little to no interest in is a waste of my time. If I can research the company, I take time to do that. If the add seems sketchy, I go with my instincts and just avoid applying.

When you apply for jobs, remember that many times it requires more than just a cover letter and resume. They may ask for writing samples. They may ask you to put specific things in your cover letter. They may want specific things listed in your resume. It helps to have a couple different resume templates ready to go. That way you can pick the resume that best fits your needs, and make the additional changes as needed.

I have a detailed resume, a shorter “one page resume,” a writing CV and a CV that combines my resume and my writing CV. I want to be sure to give the potential client or employer exactly what they request. Your goal is to first make it past the recycle bin and onto someone’s desk. Not giving them what they ask for is a good way to fail. Yes, just putting together the information needed to apply can take well over an hour, but each time you make a information packet, you get practice.

The worst part for me is the waiting game after you apply. Sometimes you never hear back. Sometimes you do get a positive response, but the editor is flaky and the whole project never takes off. Sometimes once you do hear back and you get more details on the project, you realize it may not be as good of a fit as you thought it would. Rejection is just part of the game.

The biggest challenge is to not get lazy. Don’t neglect your blog. Be discerning and avoid scams and jobs where the costs are less than the rewards, but also do not snub jobs that could be a great networking opportunity. Like consumertraveler.com (formerly Tripso) is an unpaid site, HOWEVER your post will be published along side posts from heavy hitters in the Travel writing world like Christopher Elliot and Janice Hough. Your post may be featured on MSNBC or another high profile site. If you want to be a successful travel blogger, you want these people to know who you are, take their advice and have them on your side.

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New Internet Talk Show Launches for Indie Authors

Bobby Ozuna — Wed, 27 May 2009 13:19:40 +0000

By Bobby Ozuna

May 27, 2009

Earlier this year, Ozuna Publications, in conjunction with Artist First Radio Network, launched an Internet talk show designed specifically for the independently published author, also known as self-published authors. If you take into account the vast array of new publishing houses and books released each year, it is no wonder why so many are swarming to get in line for a full feature interview on a program that in less than six months, has made headway and is impacting and representing the world of indie publishing on a grand scale.

What started as a means to promote my own work has taken on a life of its own. After my humble beginnings in book promotion here with the CultureFeast family and my work to help others via my blog, Drawing Stories…With Words , I received a blessed opportunity to begin sharing some insight via Artist First Radio Network. Having no real radio background but many vast years of experience talking out of line, I managed to conjure the attention of some 3,200 listeners on my very first show. In the early stages the show was called, The Soul of Humanity and it was originally designed to feature indie artists–musicians and authors alike–and has since featured some literary experts. As I have labored to build a brand for my name and establish true identity and credibility with the literary world, I have since changed the name of the program to: The Bobby Ozuna Show .

Every week we feature a new indie artist or field expert. The shows stream live for one full hour, commercial free, and during that time we discuss various aspects of the person behind the art. The Bobby Ozuna Show streams LIVE every Wednesday night at 7PM CST via Artist First Radio Network and is staking its claim with the online listening community, collecting an average listening audience of 10,000+ listeners per show. Every show is archived for later listening, which offers both the guests and the sponsors to have their shows and ads run continuously as each guest can post links back to the archived recording.

Get Exposure through Advertising

The Bobby Ozuna Show offers help to those not ready for the full-feature interview. “The Author Book Plug” feature is a low-cost marketing alternative available to anyone wishing to promote their work online. Everyone who signs up for this feature gets their book’s Amazon widget featured on Bobby’s blog: “Drawing Stories…With Words ” and during the live broadcast they get their name, book’s title and a brief 2-sentence description read during the opening monologue session of the show. In one month’s time an author can get air exposure for their book to some 40,000+ LIVE listeners.

Because the demand for exposure and guest appearances is growing, Ozuna Publications will launch a second show, a spinoff dedicated entirely to independent publishing: The Independent Author . This show will stream via the Blog Talk Radio Network and will feature articles written exclusively by indie authors, about indie publishing, marketing and book promotion. We will discuss the aspects of the article with each week’s guest, offering them an archived recording to help build their credibility as they work to create success with their careers.

This week Bobby Ozuna will feature marketing guru and literary expert, John Kremer, author of “1001 Ways to Market Your Books.”

For information or to book your author interview, have your book plugged LIVE on the air or gather details about corporate sponsorship, you can query Bobby Ozuna here.

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How Twitter Has Helped My Writing

Jenni Hammitt — Tue, 28 Apr 2009 19:20:44 +0000

By Jenni Hammitt

April 28, 2009

Twitter has improved my writing…no really it has. It has made me work harder and be more focused on my business. I know Twitter doesn’t seem like an obvious writing aide, but it has helped make a difference in my writing.

Of course, I joined Twitter to network and to direct more traffic towards my work. I’m not a huge blogger, and the words “social media guru/expert” make me want to gouge my eyes out with a spoon, but I have started to make good connections. That has driven more traffic to my blog and other work. That has also made me more motivated to keep creating new material. It also pushes my inner perfectionist to create a better product.

It also gets me writing. I get new ideas directly and indirectly from the people I follow. Sometimes the discussions we have or comments that are made just send my mind off in the right direction. When the writer’s block is hitting hard it is nice to have a resource. It also gives me more feedback. Now I have more people letting me know the things I do well along with the things I’m not doing so well.

My fiction work has also benefited from Twitter. I joke that I take a little piece of each person I meet and put it into a character or a storyline. Twitter introduces me to many different types of people and ideas. It gives me a bigger pool of ideas, personalities and observations to work with. I love having the new perspectives and vibrant personalities to help me bring my ideas to life.

The last reason Twitter has helped my writing was an unexpected side effect. As an English teacher, I am always telling my students that the best way to write is to be precise and concise. Say what you need to say in the shortest and most direct way possible. Take a look at a sentence word by word. If the word isn’t integral to the meaning or the grammatical structure, it doesn’t need to be there. I strive to meet that standard myself. Twitter is helping me practice my own rules. With Twitter, I only have 140 characters to say what I need to say.

Now while Twitter is almost as bad as texting in throwing punctuation out the window, the character limit forces me to be short and to the point. If a tweet is too long, it is time to cut out the fluff.
Actually…maybe I can start using Twitter as a tool in my classroom…

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A Little Encouragement to Keep Writing

Jenni Hammitt — Sun, 10 Aug 2008 11:38:22 +0000

By Jenni Hammitt

August 10, 2008

I wrote my first book when I was 8 (Glasses for Shelly…really it should be a children’s bestseller, but my illustrations need some help), and from that moment on writing has held a special place in my heart. I’ve been a writer for 21 years, and I have loved every minute of it. I like doing it, I like to think I am somewhat good at it, and someday I want to be a writer full time. I’m still working on this goal. Sometimes it goes well. Other times I feel like I’m just spinning my tires.

When those rough times hit, it is very tempting to just give up. I think about just walking away and forcing myself to be content with my regular 8-5 job. Then I remember I gave up once before. I wasn’t nearly as established as I am now, but I decided to just focus on my career in the education sector and move on. That only lasted a few years. Soon I was ready to resurrect my writing career from the ashes.

I took that plunge about two and a half years ago. After being discourage, distracted and nearly derailed by an abusive relationship, I was able to get my freelance and novel writing career back on track. Things have been progressing nicely, but it has been slow coming. Really, I had made a good deal of progress considering I was working full time, teaching part time, beginning to work for my friend’s karaoke business on top of my writing career.

This past summer, I did not teach evening classes. This opened up my schedule quite a bit, and I was able to use that time for my career. By mid summer I had many paid gigs and networking and exposure gigs. My book sales were starting to pick up. Plus I had just landed my first webmaster gig, and it was looking like I had another one on deck. Things were looking up, but now I had a decision to make. Did I want to start teaching again? I debated it through most of July, and I still didn’t have a clue. I love being in the classroom, but going back meant putting my writing back on hold. If I didn’t teach, I had to make sure to have enough paying gigs to make up for the income.

In late July, my writing work slowed. I had spent so much time working a my new website job, I had hardly any time to focus on paid work . I didn’t want to close the door on that part of my life. Plus, if things didn’t start picking up again, I could really be shooting myself in the foot. Yes, my writing career is doing well, but was I good enough to make it work? My friends don’t really get what I do, or how much I have to work to keep it all going. Going to them for advice wasn’t my best plan. I was starting to think maybe I should just keep my writing as some hobby and stick to the “real” jobs.

I was just about to send off the e-mail to my program chair, when another e-mail came through. It was from one of the websites I write a monthly editorial for. The editorial is about moving on after an abusive relationship. I love writing it because it is therapeutic for me, and really I hope that someone reads it and realizes they aren’t alone. It gets a decent amount of traffic, but until today I had only received comments or feedback from my friends. The e-mail notified me I had a new comment on my site, so I went to the page to check it out.

The comment was from a woman who recently escaped from an abusive relationship. She was having a really bad day, so she was searching the internet for something to affirm her decision to leave her abuser. That is when she ran across my editorial. My words struck a chord with her. She was able to gain sight from my lessons learned. She thanked me for my editorial and encouraged me to keep writing.

I know it is just one compliment from a stranger. I know she has not read any of my other work, and she really isn’t a good judge of my career. However, she encouraged me. Sometimes we just need someone to believe in us AND tell us they believe in us. I needed to hear that. This stranger thanked me for making a difference in her life, but she will never know the difference she made in mine.

I did send an email to my program chair. Instead of asking for an assignment, I asked to make an appointment. I want to take one more semester off, but I don’t want to close the door on my teaching completely. Hopefully, I will have a better sense of what the future holds by the end of Fall Term.

Remember, use your words wisely. You never know who is listening and how it will impact his or her life.

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Do All Writers Write Books?

Daniel Dessinger — Sat, 12 Jul 2008 20:30:47 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

July 12, 2008

Do you hear that sound of smacking lips? That’s me trying to get the bad taste of Austin out of my mouth.

That sounds really negative, doesn’t it? It wasn’t all bad. I’m just let down. In my previous post, I wrote with excitement about going to Austin to the Agents and Editors Conference. The trip really was worthwhile. I met some interesting (in a good way) writers and even made a couple of friends.

So what was it that brought me down? The keynote speaker at the luncheon, Sara Nelson, Editor-in-Chief of Publishers Weekly, also wrote a memoir called “So Many Books, So Little Time.” At the beginning of her speech, Ms. Nelson promised to bust some myths about the publishing industry. There was one myth she didn’t really need to bust for the majority of us. She said aloud that only 1% of all books submitted to publishing houses become published. Most writers know this but saying it out loud is enough to drain anyone of hope. Ms. Nelson went on to say that even though she had connections in the publishing business, as well as a mother who would do anything to promote her daughter’s book, her book sold well, several thousand copies, but it still wasn’t a runaway blockbuster hit. And she made okay money from it but not a huge amount.

A pall settled over the tables. I don’t think we were truly prepared for someone to tell us the God’s honest truth. I’ve been to other conferences where keynote speakers gave more of an, “If I did it, you can do it” speech. A couple of years ago, I had the pleasure of hearing brand name author Debbie Macomber speak. Ms. Macomber told us that she once had a contest judge read her anonymous entry in front of people as an example of someone who should never, ever write again. Macomber recounted how she didn’t let that one person’s comment stop her. She kept at it, writing and rewriting, all while staying at home raising six children, until one day Simon and Schuster called and wanted to publish her book.

At the A&EC, I guess I wanted hear a fairy tale. That all it will take is for me to publish my book and sell thousands of them is to believe in myself and all my dreams will come true. As I talked to people afterward, most seemed to be asking themselves, “Why the hell am I busting my ass writing? Am I stupid for doing this?” However, I did meet a pragmatic lesbian couple who saw it differently. “Well, the lady told the truth. If you’re getting into something, don’t you want to know what you’re getting in to?” I admit, they had a point.

After the luncheon, I underwhelmed my appointed agent with my pitch. I gave a snappy, five sentence sales job, delivered with a lot of enthusiasm. “Ms. X, I wrote a light-hearted women’s fiction book about….” She stopped me and said, “No one reads chick lit anymore.” (For those of you who may not be aware, according to publishers in the know, the term “chick lit” is as dead as Latin.) To which I replied with a smile, “Well, that’s why I wrote a light-hearted women’s fiction book.” However, she did ask to see my first fifty pages so I really can’t complain. I compared notes with another writer who pitched to the same lady and heard the exact same thing she had told me. But when my friend pitched to a different agent with the same schpiel, that one was very enthusiastic and had the opposite reaction.

On Sunday, everyone seemed morose. Subdued. For many of the three hundred attendees, this conference was their first ever. They were new writers who thought this would be a good place to start and give them direction. Some were authors who had poured their hearts and souls into ONE self-published book and hadn’t written a sentence since. Of course, no one would be cruel enough to tell those people that they really didn’t have much of a chance of getting an agent or becoming published if all they’ve written is one book. It takes years of writing and tons of rejection to become a better, worthy writer.

I think all of us left the hotel reevaluating what we want and how serious we are about writing.
I don’t mean to harsh everyone’s mellow so I’ll end this post with something positive I heard an agent say. “There will always be readers. There will always be writers. And there will always be agents.”

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Don’t Underestimate Your Readers

Daniel Dessinger — Mon, 19 May 2008 10:25:19 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

May 19, 2008

(Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons)

Don't write what is obvious.

Eliminate all redundant words and phrases.

Your readers will still get your drift without any over-explanations.

EXAMPLE: The judge sentenced the thief to six years in jail.

BETTER: The judge sentenced the thief to six years.

EXAMPLE: The house was painted green in color.

BETTER: The house was painted green.

EXAMPLE: The whistle had too loud a sound.

BETTER: The whistle was too loud.

EXAMPLE: He was over two hundred pounds in weight.

BETTER: He was over two hundred pounds.

EXAMPLE: Each tire lasts for a predetermined number of miles when the car is driven.

BETTER: Each tire lasts for a predetermined number of miles.

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Passive versus Active Voice

Daniel Dessinger — Fri, 16 May 2008 15:00:06 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

May 16, 2008

(Photo courtesy Wikipedia Commons)

You've heard it a thousand times that "passive voice" is bad and "active voice" is good.

In general, I also agree with that advice.

For example, "I wrote this e-mail" (active voice) is a much better way of stating the fact than "this e-mail was written by me".

However, as with everything else under the sun, there are exceptions to this rule as well.

Sometimes passive voice is better because it does not always make sense to identify the agent of an action.

For example, consider the sentence "The patient was transferred to the surgical service," provided as an example by Lester S. King, M.D., the esteemed former Senior Editor of the Journal of the American Medical Association (JAMA), in his great book Why Not Say It Clearly: A Guide to Scientific Writing (Little, Brown and Company, 1978).

"Does it really matter for us to know who exactly transferred the patient to the surgical service?" King asks.

Of course not because what we are really interested in is the kind of treatment the patient receives.

Here is the "Lester Rule": if the identity of an agent is not crucial to the meaning of a statement, then it is permissible to use passive voice construction (like I just did).

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Top 10 Rules of Success for a Young Writer (Part 3 of 3)

Daniel Dessinger — Thu, 08 May 2008 11:55:23 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

May 8, 2008

Rules 7 – 10

7) Repeat after Kenny Rogers: “You got to know when to hold’em; know when to fold’em…”

Sometimes we all get stuck on a track that leads to nowhere but for some reason we keep banging our heads on the same wall.

There ARE alternatives in life, especially for writers. Remember that.

I was a newspaper reporter for four years in Washington DC. The first couple of years I thought my career was going somewhere.

During the last two years I realized, nope, it wasn’t really going to add up to anything. I was on a treadmill repeating the same old things for the same old results. No progress.

After looking around for six months, someone suggested “technical writing” – something I didn't even think before. I wasn’t even sure what tech writers exactly did. But I decided to take a calculated gamble anyways.

I gave myself six months to see what would happen. And I never looked back since. Am I glad I did not try to hold on to my “journalism cards”! I would probably be on welfare roll by now, God forbid.

So be aware of the many alternatives waiting for you out there.

If sports writing doesn’t work, perhaps you should try catalog writing. If your newspaper job is going nowhere, perhaps you should try writing a novel or try direct marketing copy.

Move sideways to move forward.

Have a web site. You have to have this one.

I have a blog for sure. Who doesn’t have one these days?

But my main web site is a non-blog type of traditional site, designed to display my “wares” to prospective clients. People who’d like to hire my services can find all kinds of pertinent information there to help them make up their minds.

One other thing I have on my web site is a Subscription Form for those who’d like to receive my free monthly newsletter (currently in its 73^rd issue) packed with useful information and tips about copywriting, information design and marketing.

You must also have a similar site to communicate with your audience, clients, editors, employers, while displaying the samples of your work.

Google offers FREE web hosting and web site building tools, for quite a few years now. I’ve actually built my web site on Google Pages. I may have to move it soon to a dedicated server but it has served me pretty well so far, since 2006. So, free server, free web space, free HTML editor – what excuse do you have not to build your web site right away, like today?

9) Join, connect, participate, collaborate. Writing is a solitary job.

We usually sit in our own cubicles and rooms, creating worlds never imagined before. But there’s also a professional side to writing; a business side.

You need to be in the know; you need to connect and communicate with your other writers, and stay in circulation to follow the trends and hear about the opportunities. Become a member of your local writing organization.

I’m a member of a pretty good writers club that regularly offer classes of all kinds. I end up taking about one class a year. But I also am a member of many on-line communities and newsletters.

I regularly exchange e-mails with selected writer friends and acquaintances whose judgments and good will I respect.

I sometimes end up collaborating with them on special projects; like the last screenplay I’m working on right now. The idea of writing it came from my co-author and after a year, we’re working on our second jointly-written script. We both know that neither of us would be able to write these scripts if we tried to do it solely on our own. So we are lucky in that respect. But we couldn’t have known anything about that luck if we did not choose to get in touch and stay in touch in the first place.

You are a precious fish in a vast ocean. Swim a little in a school of fishes and see how faster you can stream.

10) Take care of your health. I can’t emphasize this strongly enough.

Most people learn late in their careers that writing is actually an athletic event. You burn a lot of precious calories and brain cells when pounding out anything.

When we write we use a lot: proteins, vitamins, amino acids, carbon and nitrogen, and God knows what else. Eat well, fresh and organic, if possible.

Take it easy on the red meat. Go generous with fruits, green veggies, and fiber. Stay away from booze and junk since they all dull the mind and drop a curtain of haze over your clear skies.

Charles Bukowski was an alcoholic, and wrote some great poems.

Wallace Stevens was the Vice President of Hartford Accident and Indemnity Company. He was an insurance guy; a suit and a "square."

He wrote even greater poems while walking during his lunch hours to his home.

Guess who has left a deeper imprint on American Literature today?

Get your sleep well and exercise well. Get those glands and ligaments moving. Get that life juice in your veins circulating, carrying fresh oxygen and bubbling ideas to your brain. When your body is not complaining, the mind will be a more pliant servant.

Take good care and just feel how lucky you are to be a writer, bringing hope, joy and love to our troubled world!

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Visit Akinci’s web site http://www.writer111.com to subscribe to his free Monthly Success Update Newsletter, packed with information and tips on copywriting, information design and marketing.

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Top 10 Rules of Success for a Young Writer (Part 2 of 3)

Daniel Dessinger — Sun, 04 May 2008 11:48:40 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

May 4, 2008

Rules 3 – 6

3) Know your heart and your inner voice.

WHY are you writing? Money is fine, but what else? What are your beliefs and core values? What is your Truth?

The answers to these questions do not come easy and they change over time too.

I’m for example still formulating my answers and refining them, re-configuring some of them. But the questions are smoking alive, burning while illuminating my way.

Without that inner sense of who you are, you’ll never have the courage to make the necessary investment and sacrifice. You need that to create the kind of writing that will benefit you and the world. We can talk more about this important point later if you’d like.

4) Develop your craft. It sounds basic but you’d be surprised…

I was an editor and jury member at certain points in my career and I’d regularly be surprised at some of the materials submitted for review; stuff that was not even spellchecked by God!

Know your spelling and grammar, and have the courtesy in this day and age to spell-check your stuff before submitting it to anywhere.

Learn how to develop an idea, link it to supporting arguments and bring it to a conclusion within the allowed word limits. Learn all the basic writing skills and techniques like “parallel construction” or how to avoid “dangling participles" and "misplaced modifiers” etc.

Enroll in a writing program, if necessary. Put aside some money for your professional training even if it’s just enough to buy one educational book or training CD a month.

Your knowledge is your power; your ONLY power. Feed your mind well to write well.

5) Develop a niche, an expertise, a driving point and an edge. The more the better.

But keep it real and under control. Don’t lose your wheels while trying to develop a dozen of such specialties.

You’re human. Act like one. But don’t hide your light either. The more you write on your specialty, the easier it’ll get and the richer your material will be. It’ll smell roses from a mile. People will feel your authenticity and authority the minute they start reading the first sentence.

As your expertise deepens your preparation time will shrink as well. You’ll be able to turn out well crafted and well-informed articles, speeches, books in no time. That’s what editors love – a writer who knows her stuff and can roar with an assignment like a souped-up Mustang on a speedway.

6) Guard your time jealously for your art and craft. Make choices and live with them.

Isaac Asimov hardly had a day in his life when he was not writing in his room, curtains drawn. But to him it wasn’t torture because that was the most pleasure he had in life.

I’m not saying become a monk but recognize that you’ve got only 24 hours to live.

If you keep watching your football games and soap operas and reality shows 6 hours a night, you’ll never be able to finish that novel after you come back from a full-day at the office.

It happened to me this past Sunday. A friend of mine invited me to a Film Festival, with free tickets. I’m a freak for cinema. But I told him I couldn’t go because I was in the midst of a screenplay I’m currently writing. Either I’d go out, have a “good time,” or sit at home and write another twenty pages. It’s as simple as that.

If you want to be a working writer, get accustomed to making those kind of choices at the drop of a hat, every day.

(To continue…)

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Visit Akinci’s web site http://www.writer111.com to subscribe to his free Monthly Success Update Newsletter, packed with information and tips on copywriting, information design and marketing.

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Top 10 Rules of Success for a Young Writer (Part 1 of 3)

Daniel Dessinger — Wed, 30 Apr 2008 11:31:28 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 30, 2008

Rules 1 and 2

I've been working as a professional writer for almost 20 years now.

It’s been a long haul, and fun too. I always enjoyed sitting at my keyboard and click-clicking the keys. Remember that B.B. King classic, “The Thrill Is Gone”? I never had to sing that one, knock on wood.

God knows I tried many genres and styles in the past, including academic papers, journalism, desk top publishing, screen writing, short stories, blogging, copy writing, and technical writing.

Let me tell you right away — nothing beats copy and technical writing in terms of income.

If you’re a young writer entering the field today and you want to secure yourself a steady income before you sail out to more choppy waters, I’d say go with either copy or technical writing. And that would make a good topic for another article.

But today, I’d like to share with you my Top 10 Rules of Success for a Young Writer:

1) First off, be aware that you are a part of a very noble and ancient tradition that is indispensable for our sanity, joy and survival.

If you’re apologetic about what you’re doing, if you think you’d be leading a better and more useful life as a _______ (fill in the blank), then don’t even think of becoming a writer for a single moment. It’ll do you or the ones you love no good but bring much friction, resentment and misery.

Be happy, feel privileged and empowered even when you’re not making much. This is the most important rule to become a good and successful writer.

When love and pride of the craft is there, the rest follows on its own accord.

2) Dare to write, every day. Dare to climb that wall and then fall on your face, over and over again.

Drivers drive. Pilots fly. Writers write. It’s as simple as that. “I’m a writer but I can’t write” is a contradiction in terms.

But writers do not always write “excellent” stuff. A lot of times they write rubbish. (Remember what Hemingway said about the "first draft of anything"?) But their pens keep moving and their keyboards keep clicking.

Remove the concept of “writer’s block” from your mind for once and for all. Writing every day, no matter what (a blog entry, diary, a note on a calendar, two paragraphs of a story, a dialog, letters to your local paper, a well-argued e-mail to your professor, etc.) should be your passion. Give that word to yourself and keep it.

That’s the minimum sine-qua-non condition of becoming a good writer.

(To continue…)

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Visit Akinci’s web site http://www.writer111.com to subscribe to his free Monthly Success Update Newsletter, packed with information and tips on copywriting, information design and marketing.

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2 Tips for Writing Better Prose

Daniel Dessinger — Mon, 28 Apr 2008 11:55:48 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 28, 2008

(Photo courtesy of Wikipedia Commons)

Tip 1: Vary Your Sentence Length

One sure way to put your readers to sleep is to write with constant-length sentences. Change the length for a better copy.

SHORT SENTENCE Copy:

"Times are bad. Economy's tanking. Latest figures are not good. Government published a report. It confirms the rumors. We're in a recession."

LONG SENTENCE Copy:

"We are going through some turbulent times these days. Our economy, which is supposed to be doing well according to some indicators, is showing strains of high unemployment and the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. The latest figures quoted in leading industry journals and publications do not instill confidence in analysts and consumers alike. The Department of Commerce has just published a White Paper citing several Wall Street observers who claimed that we are nowhere near the end of this current impasse. Whether we like to admit it or not, the facts are staring us in the face: we seem to be sliding headlong into a recession the likes of which have not been since the '30s."

Let's mash up the two styles:

BETTER Copy:

"Times are bad. Our economy, which is supposed to be doing well according to some indicators, is showing strains of high unemployment and the effects of the sub-prime mortgage crisis. Economy's tanking? Perhaps. The latest figures quoted in leading industry journals and publications do not instill confidence. The Department of Commerce has just published a report which confirms the worst: we're in a recession."

Tip 2: Use Parallel Construction

When you are drawing up lists or forming compound sentences with multiple clauses, maintain the same grammatical structure in all parts.

If, for example, you start a list item with an action verb, start all the other items also with action verbs to ensure maximum comprehension and retention.

Here is a good example of a list:

Before you embark on a trip, make sure you:

* make a hotel reservation;

* take your pills;

* suspend paper delivery; and

* withdraw cash from the bank.

Make, Take, Suspend, Withdraw are all verbs in imperative (order) mode. The construction is "parallel."

A bad example:

Before you embark on a trip, make sure you:

* make a hotel reservation;

* your pills should be with you;

* paper delivery must be suspended; and

* have you visited the bank to withdraw some cash?.

Items start with a verb (make), a personal pronoun (your), a noun (paper), and another verb. The construction is not parallel. Such a list is harder to follow and remember.

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Book Review – “The Writer’s Rules” by Helen Gurley Brown

Daniel Dessinger — Sat, 26 Apr 2008 12:44:38 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 26, 2008

Helen Gurley Brown has been a force of nature in the magazine publishing circles for decades.

Her name became synonymous with the name and success of the Cosmopolitan magazine as its longtime editor. She is the author of many bestsellers, including Sex and the Single Girl.

“The Writer’s Rules: The Power of Positive Prose – How to Create It and Get It Published” is one of my favorite reference books on writing for 2 reasons:

1) Its “Fifty Rules for First-Class Writing” is really a list that all professional writers should read at least once a year. I do.

2) The insight into how to get your articles published in magazines is unmatched. If you listen to HGB, the chances are you’ll be a publishing success no matter what your chosen field of specialization and expertise is.

Since I’m not much of a magazine article publisher, for me, the main value of the book is in the 50 rules that Brown lists and explains with appropriate examples.

Here are the Top Six Rules that she says are her favorite:

Rule #4: Stay with the subject.

Rule # 7: Vary sentence structure so you don’t keep seeing the same pronoun.

Rule #12: Avoid IT or THIS or THAT to refer to a situation a few sentences back … say this or that WHAT?

Rule #18: Eliminate as many THE’s, AND’s, A’s as you can.

Rule #19: Root out THERE IS at the beginning of the sentences.

Rule #43: Kill all the clichés and tired phrases.

Where else would find a list of “Forbidden Words and Tired Phrases” by topics, like “Animals” or “Money” or “Geography”?

Here are some of Brown’s rules for those trying to see their bylines in prestigious magazines; each rule explained in detail:

Research the market.
Send a query letter.
Make the deal.
Request an assignment letter.
Become intimate with your subject.
Write it right.
Pay attention to the deadline.

Also recommended are the excellent chapter on the lost art of letter writing and a collection of sample resumes that you can use when querying the magazine editors.

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How to Pulverize “Writer’s Block”?

Daniel Dessinger — Mon, 21 Apr 2008 11:25:08 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 21, 2008

I heard people say I'm “lucky” because (knock on wood) I almost never had a “writer's block” throughout my career as a professional writer.

But it's not luck really. The truth is much more simple and obvious: I write only what I feel strongly about.

Sometimes I puzzle people with 800 words about a movie shot back in 1956 or 1934. Why? Because I happen to love that film with a passion, regardless of when it was shot.

If, by contrast, I try to write about anything that does not really move me, then I'm “blocked” too because then I'd be just pretending. And when I pretend, I can't write.

I usually write easy because I choose topics that carry me a hundred miles a minute.

Sometimes it's politics. Sometimes it's a building. And many times it's a work of art or a thing of beauty.

But I start with emotions, always. And then shape it up with what I know.

At one point I of course re-write and edit. But reason and analysis usually come afterwards.

When you write from that deep core of adrenaline, enthusiasm, or “shakti,” you are never tongue tied. You never have a “writer's block.” The spirit in the air just takes over.

My opinion is, people have a “block” only when they try to write about things that really don't move them at all.

Some writers try to be respectable above anything else. Or they perhaps just try to make a few bucks to pay the bills. I understand that because I've been there. Quite a few times.

But when that's the case, there's no adoration, no infatuation, no bells ringing. The words just don't float to the surface like lilies.

If you dip your keyboard into that pool of passion within, then not writing, but STOPPING is usually the problem.

Here is the proof.

Imagine something that you HATE with a passion.

Start by filling up the blanks: “I hate … because …”

See how quickly you wrote that sentence? You already have a sentence in the bag! Just like that.

Then you may want to give a whole LIST of reasons why you hate X.

Next, you may dial up the things that you never forgot: “I never forgot the day when…”

The house burned down? Papa left you? Won the lottery? The first time you made love? Found that puppy by the side of the road on a rainy day? Received that letter announcing… (fill the blank)? Ran into your lost … (fill the blank) while waiting at the airport?

Right there it's another quick and easy list.

You can try the same with the things that you love; drive you crazy; disappoint you; things that you are jealous of; things that you dream about day and night; or the people that broke your heart…

Make a list, cry your brains out, and suddenly you have sentences piling up out of nowhere. Feels like Heaven.

Granted, not all that writing will get you a Pulitzer or Nobel prize.

But my whole point is, when you (to use a wonderful metaphor that belongs to writing guru Natalie Goldberg) “open a vein” and then start to write, words and sentences flow like liquid lightning. All of a sudden you are flying in orbit without leaving your chair.

Start with your own emotional truth and the rest will follow (actually, chase you) like prairie fire.

Recommended reading: Writing Down the Bones: Freeing the Writer Within by Natalie Goldberg.

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My 4 Favorite Columnists in American Media

Daniel Dessinger — Sun, 20 Apr 2008 12:17:28 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 20, 2008

(Photo: Peggy Noonan)

Here are some my favorite American journalists who rarely fail to amaze me with their wit and erudition, powerful prose, and clarity of thought.

Peggy Noonan

She writes for the Wall Street Journal. Her Friday columns is a must reading for me. She used to be Ronald Reagan’s speechwriter. A devout Catholic and a committed Republican that I trust, despite the fact that I’m neither.

Her recent comments on Hillary Clinton’s turbulent candidacy should be enough to give you a sense of her depth and brilliance as a political commentator:

“She'll need more than four years to shake off the impression she made in 2008. And this is how you'll know she's making another bid for the presidency. She will wear skirts. Gone will be the pantsuits that made her look like a small blond man with breasts. It's the new me, I wear skirts! Her first impulse is to think cosmetically. A long and weary life in politics has left her thinking this is the way to think.”

Rex Reed

Friends, Rex Reed can write movie reviews like nobody's business. His New York Observer columns are honest and generous in dishing out both praise and punishment.

If you are in the receiving end of his accolades, you don’t need to die to go to Heaven.

Just makes sure you don’t get caught behind that red cape of excuses as his thousand pounds of linguistic fury is launched against your latest movie fiasco or acting shame.

REED HEAVEN: “Without a stick of makeup, in off-the-rack clothes and hair that needs a steam iron, Halle Berry is still the epitome of beauty and grace. But it is Benicio Del Toro who shocks and enthralls. This character actor with pasty skin, bags under the eyes the size of teacups, and a face like a map of the San Jacinto Valley is always deeply committed, astonishing to look at and full of surprises, but in Things We Lost in the Fire he is a total revelation.”

REED HELL: “Everything seems designed to please and fascinate 10-to-12-year-old girls without encouraging stress or premature hormones, and I see no reason why this harmless trend should end now. But nothing I have come across even begins to sink to the amateurish, rock-bottom, brain-dead bilge Warners has dusted off in the corny, boring and sleep-inducing 2007-style escapades of Nancy Drew redux, called, unimaginatively enough, Nancy Drew. I know this junk is marketed for pulsating pubescents, but why? That’s the only mystery in it worth solving.” [Review of Nancy Drew]

Warren Brown

Warren Brown is proof positive that you can write about ANYTHING you want and can still bring beauty and grace to our lives IF, that is, you actually know how to write well.

Mr. Brown continues to brighten my days with his Washington Post automobile reviews; not that I’m a car nut. Far from it.

But I can’t help enjoying the obvious affection with which he approaches all devices reaching a hundred miles on four wheels, and the social and cultural layers with which he qualifies his reviews. He is a master wordsmith at work, worth emulating.

A sample:

[Describing the control buttons on a BMW 325Ci]: “The entire choreography — for it is nothing short of that — takes place in less than 60 seconds. It is technology as haiku, drudgery transformed into ballet.”

Continues: “The 325Ci thus is the perfect guilt-free car for enjoying and living contradictions — pursuing clear skies and fresh air in a gasoline-powered chariot, enjoying the open spaces paved with concrete and asphalt, and obeying posted speed limits in a car, even with its smallish 184-horsepower engine, designed to shatter them in seconds.

Life is good.”

Frank Deford

My favorite sports writer, hailing from Sports Illustrated and NPR every week.

Usually Deford is so right, so to the point, that I end up wondering how come I couldn’t think of such an “obvious” point myself, on my own.

If clarity of thought was his only strength, Deford could’ve been a mathematician too. But the man has his artistic side as well, as evidenced by his many best-seller novels.

Deford is one of my favorite writers for generating prose like the following:

[About Beijing Olympics]: “The reflected heat from the torch uproar will also help expose what a humbug the International Olympic Committee can be. This is the organization that loves to call itself a "movement." Come on, would we accept it at face value if Commissioner Bud Selig stood up and crowed about the "Major League Baseball Movement"? Would we bow our heads if Mayor Oscar Goodman asked us to pay homage to the "Las Vegas Strip Movement"? Get serious.”

[On Mixed Martial Arts]: “Boxing is the only major sport where the object is to hurt your opponent. Surely there can be no place for such an exercise in a more enlightened 21st century. But what has happened? Boxing has indeed lost favor, not because it's too violent for the modern civilized world, but because it's not violent enough.

Boxing is being superseded by what is called the mixed martial arts — emphasis on martial — which apparently is especially attractive because it's like a video game, only featuring flesh-and-blood human beings. Emphasis on blood.”

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How Much Do Novelists Make? (Part 3 of 3)

Daniel Dessinger — Sat, 19 Apr 2008 13:45:44 +0000

By Daniel Dessinger

April 19, 2008

(Novelist Norman Mailer during his salad days. Photo courtesy of Wikipedia.)

Have you heard about the Justine Larbalestier Survey?

Justine Larbalestier, a novelist from Down Under, conducted his own informal survey and asked his 18 "fellow Aussies, folks from the UK, Canada and the US" how much they got for their first novel. Seven of those who responded are full-time writers.

Here are the results:

1962: $1,000

1965: $3,000

1970: $10,000

1976: $700

1982: $7,500

1984: $7,500

1985: $2,500, $8,000

1989: $3,000

1990: $15,000

1995: $4,000

1996: $4,000

1997: $7,500

1999: $2,500

2002: $6,500

2003: $13,500

2004: $350, $10,000

Average advance: $5,920

Note that a writer in 2004 earned the same amount of advance as he did back in 1970 ($10,000) !

Adjust that by inflation, and you'll realize the dire odds most novelists are battling against. Despite a handful of stellar novelists who make big bucks, overall, novel writing is a sure way to the poor house.

Here is Larbalestier's advice for those who are thinking to become novelists:

"So my sage pieces of advice to someone contemplating a career as a novelist who begins by trying to find out what the average advance is? First I'd like to congratulate you—if you're in this game for the money it's a good idea to find out as quick as you can that there's not a whole lot to be made writing novels. Find another way to make dosh. Personally I'd recommend plumbing."

You can read the full details of his revealing and candid report by clicking here.

*** Discussion Thread

To read more about the financial "bread crumbs" with which an average novelist needs to make her peace, please read this discussion thread.

*** BOTTOM LINE

If you are an unknown fiction writer like me, your chances of both getting published through traditional publishers AND making money at the same time is not that good.

From the time you start shopping around for a traditional literary agent to when you see your book in the bookstores it will be an average of TWO years. Think about that…

Keep writing your novel but try such non-traditional channels of marketing as self-publishing and print-on-demand solutions like Lulu.com or Amazon's BookSurge.

There are quite a few literary agents and traditional editors trolling such sites to discover new talent that did not cost them a penny. So if you're good, trust me, the world will be happy to beat a path to your door.

Write well and from the heart, frequently.

Get them printed whenever you can.

And let your readers and the market place separate the wheat from the chaff, not the top-heavy bloated publishing dinosaurs of yesteryear. Whether you're going to sink or swim, let it be on your own terms and not on somebody else's.

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