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Jonathan
money from writing, be it amateur or professional, please drop me an
email at jone...@webmailstation.com
I will send you by return an email outlining just how to do this.
Jon
Here are the first few chapters of the book I am wanting to hopefully
sell to you ;
(Seen here in text only format of course)
FREE Bonus Book 1 Begins on Page 37
FREE Bonus Book 2 Begins on Page 41
We hope you enjoy your reading, please return to
us at www.Topbooks.info for further e-books.
HOW TO SUCCEED AS A WRITER
CONTENTS
INTRODUCTION
LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING
WHAT PROBLEMS HAUNT THE BEGINNING WRITER?
IDEAS AND WHERE TO GET THEM
READERS' LETTERS AND FILLERS
ARTICLES - THE LARGEST MARKET OF ALL
SHORT STORIES
NOVELS
NON-FICTION BOOKS
POETRY
PLAYS
SUBMITTING ARTICLES AND SHORT STORIES....
USEFUL INFORMATION, RECOMMENDED READING,
WRITERS' MAGAZINES, ADDRESSES, ETC
INTRODUCTION
Have you heard that little voice inside of you? The one that tells
you, year in year out, about the book - your book, waiting to come
out. For many people, the little voice will never be heard above a
whisper, and a potentially good and satisfying writing career will
fail to ever see the light of day. But the little voice will keep on,
and on, and on.
That little voice is the one to listen to. If you feel the need to
write, you owe it to yourself to come out of your shell, and write.
If it isn't so much an ambition to write for the satisfaction of
committing words to paper, as a need to earn your living from your
efforts, then again you will accomplish nothing by ignoring that
encouraging little soul inside of you.
Inertia is the prime reason for the world being robbed of another
brilliant writer - that and the fear of failure. And even though so
many of us know about that book we owe it to the world to create, for
the vast majority the dream will never materialise. The dreamer, and
the reading population, will be so much the poorer.
Now, I'll let you into a secret. Until that word 'Introduction' at
the top of this page was actually typed, I spent days - no weeks,
anguishing over whether I could actually come up with enough essential
information to fill a book of the type you now are reading. In
addition I doubted my ability to write it adequately, for I do not
profess to be one of the more brilliant writers of our times. My
subsequent research, with batteries recharged from the mere placing of
that word 'Introduction' on the page confronting me, convinced me that
not only had I sufficient information to fill this particular book,
but rather I had so much as to necessitate my selecting only those
pieces of utmost importance.
To allow you the benefit of my remaining research material, I will do
what most writers do, and draw your attention to the many highly
specialised books on the market, most of them written by experts in
the field concerned. I must sadly content myself with imparting
sufficient information to convince you that you most certainly do have
a future in writing, and to point you in the direction for success.
Inertia, as we've already discovered, can often be overcome by
committing that first word to paper, thereby starting the momentum
that will gather speed as you discover more things to say, and better
ways to say them, until your work is finished and ready for flight.
Fear of failure can be defeated before you have time to say:
'rejection slip'. Rejection, despite what they say, is not something
the beginning writer must learn to accept. There are ways to minimise
rejection, even to eliminate it completely, the secret lying primarily
in not setting your sights too highly as you learn your craft. Write
for the lower paying, lesser known markets, and you won't face
opposition from writers with many years' experience to their credit.
Market study is of paramount importance to writers at all levels of
creative ability. Without it, even those who regularly earn fat
cheques from glossy magazines, will find their income drying up
quicker than a prune basking in the heat of the desert.
Give every piece your best. Never hope it is saleable - know it is.
And know in advance of writing it, to which market it is aimed.
Analyse that market, and tailor your
work towards fitting its exact requirements. This is market study -
perhaps the most important part of the writing business.
The market for freelance writers is huge and always ready to receive
talented newcomers, particularly those who keep constantly up-to-date
with editorial trends, whilst maintaining an ongoing vigil of the
changing world around them. Ideas are everywhere, waiting for you to
bring them to the eyes of the reader. You owe it to yourself to read
on!
Quotes
'Don't sit around thinking about what you might like to write someday
- just do it. Right now'. Bob Greene, American writer and novelist.
'There is no such thing as genius; anyone can write if they approach
the craft with an open heart and a dedication to the task. Even the
greatest writers of our time have to keep at it and at it, and if they
don't, their work will fall short', E. Stacy Creamer, Editor and
short story writer.
LET'S START AT THE VERY BEGINNING
The beginning writer's world is fraught with difficulties and
obstacles which he must overcome before he is ever to make a place for
himself within it. Right? Sorry - Wrong!
These problems he envisages are entirely of his own making, and
perhaps result from the glamorous image accorded to the successful
writer, as he or she sits autographing piles of new blockbuster novels
in a prestigious city centre bookshop, or is interviewed on breakfast
time T.V. about his or her wonderful new play, the one that had
viewers telephoning in by their thousands to congratulate its creator.
Now here I must admit that very few writers will find themselves at
the receiving end of such adulation; an even greater number would
cease writing today, or else adopt an untraceable pseudonym if the
chance were ever so much as to flicker on the horizon. Some writers
you see, work happily away, in the privacy of their own homes or
libraries, never wanting fame, certainly never courting it, but all
the while carving for themselves careers offering personal fulfilment,
and often highly attractive financial rewards.
In the very early days, the writer owes it to himself not to dedicate
his efforts to one form of writing, at the risk of missing out on the
very many other writing categories that might prove more challenging,
more financially rewarding, and at this stage in his career, a more
likely proposition for his longed-for break into print.
None of us know at the beginning of our writing career just where our
talents lie, unless of course only one category of writing interests
us, in which case it is likely that the writing is more important than
the prospect of financial reward.
That in itself is an admirable philosophy, but we seek here to analyse
the path to earning a living from writing, and we must always keep
that aim in mind. To accomplish our goal we must not tie ourselves
down to any category, even one that offers hours, perhaps years of
enjoyment, but with no financial incentive at our labours' end.
There are very many areas open to the beginning freelance writer, and
so initial fears of being blocked by the professionals who supposedly
hog the scene, should be silenced here and now. There simply aren't
sufficient so-called professionals to fulfil the requirements of each
and every category, and remember too, that even professionals were
once beginners. Were they privileged to more inside information than
you? Did they work for years, gathering rejection slips, and not a
bean to show for their efforts? Was each and every one of them just
that little bit more talented or educated than you are. I doubt it!
But I bet the vast majority didn't restrict their efforts to one
writing project, and I'm sure too that the really successful ones in
terms of the speed with which they broke into print, and subsequently
maintained the flow of acceptances, prepared for themselves a strategy
that minimised or alleviated potential rejections. Later we'll look
at strategies for success, and I hope too to dispel a great many
myths, like the one about writers papering their walls with rejection
slips, and the common misconception that a great skill with words is a
pre-requisite for a financially rewarding career. I hope too to prove
to some extent that writer's block either doesn't truly exist, or else
that it's nothing more than an excuse to take a well-deserved break in
an otherwise punishing schedule.
Let us first of all consider a few of the many avenues open to the
writer, that must surely convince even a hardened cynic that there's
more to the wordsmith's world than short stories and articles:
Advertising copy, articles, audiovisual scripts, books (fiction and
non-fiction), brochures (for products, holiday firms and many other
services), children's books, columns in magazines and newspapers,
comedy, educational and training literature, feature articles,
articles and columns in local and county magazines and periodicals,
ghost writing, greetings cards, crosswords and other puzzles, readers'
letters, fillers, handbooks for specific organisations, newsletters,
poetry, press releases, public relations material, sales letters,
short stories, biographies, speeches, sports commentating, teaching
other would-be writers, business and self-improvement manuals, writing
up material for correspondence courses, journalism, trade journals,
radio and television, comic strips, travel writing, plays, and of
course: ETC, ETC, ETC!
Now if you can find sufficient 'professionals' to supply the amount of
material that lot requires, then you're a better man than I am! It is
worthwhile considering what constitutes a 'professional'. Is it
someone trained in his field or fields of writing; perhaps someone who
never gets a rejection slip; how about someone who writes from dawn to
dusk? I think it's unlikely you'll ever come up with an adequate
description of this creature much revered by the beginning writer. I
would even venture to suggest that such a species doesn't in fact
exist. He or she will doubtlessly have broken into print, and will
have discovered where his talents lie in the writing world. He or she
will almost certainly not seek to make a living in those areas which
offer no intrinsic satisfaction, since a lack of interest in a chosen
subject almost always reveals itself in one's manuscripts, robbing
them of the freshness and enthusiasm which are required if you are to
present the reader with something which will lead him to read your
work to the very end, hopefully leave him wanting more. If the writer
is insufficiently interested in the topic concerned, you can bet your
bottom dollar the reader will find the piece similarly boring, if that
is, you can find an editor to consider printing the manuscript in the
first place.
'Stick to writing what you know' is a very good piece of advice, even
if the world and its uncle drum it into you at every possible
opportunity. But I would qualify the maxim a little, and suggest that
certainly developing writers should write about what they know; it
adds a touch of sparkle and a freshness to one's work. But I would
add to it: 'or write about what you would enjoy getting to know, or
could get to know without those demons, 'Stress' and 'Hassle' raising
their ugly heads'.
The beginning writer with no knowledge of how to get to the coast
without a map and compass, should not of course offer a personally
researched analysis of the wonders of the deep, or seek to photograph
the burial sites of ancient wrecks if in addition to his problems, the
art of swimming has long since proved beyond his capabilities.
But we all like Christmas, don't we? And even though we might know
absolutely nothing about the origins of the many traditions behind
this most enjoyable festive occasion, I'm sure few of us would shrink
from putting in the necessary research, to prepare an article for a
glossy magazine, offering a nice fat fee for the privilege of printing
our findings. As we start our careers in writing, dealing with what
we already know, lessens the time we need spend undertaking research
and leaves more opportunity for practising the mechanics of actually
putting words to paper.
So now we know that the market for our work is almost without bounds,
and we hopefully realise that in the beginning we should seek to deal
with topics that at least hold some degree of interest for us, let us
now look at a few of the other problems seemingly confronting the
writer at the threshold of his career. I say 'seemingly' because I
hope in the course of this manual to dismiss most of those 'problems'
as nothing more than teething troubles, with pain greatly exaggerated
simply because of a lack of some co-ordinated strategy for success.
WHAT PROBLEMS HAUNT THE BEGINNING WRITER?
First and foremost, must be the fear of failing. None of us wants to
find our efforts subsequently receive nothing but an avalanche of
rejection slips. So why do editors send rejection slips? Is it
because your writing is poor? Not always! Is it because there is no
room for you in their organisation? Almost certainly not, unless of
course you've sent your work to a market which doesn't consider
unsolicited freelance contributions, in which case the fault lies
entirely with your market study, or lack of it! Is it because no-one
wants a beginner? Well hardly! We're all beginners at some stage and
if we let the fear of rejection get too strong a hold on us, then
'beginners' are what we will stay. Remember too, though the newcomer
views the professional as an almost God-like being, they are like the
rest of us, mere mortals, and sadly the day will come when their names
will no longer appear in the publications they seem to have patronised
for so long. Without beginners who would fill the subsequent gaps?
'But I don't have time to write' - the claim of many an apprehensive
frustrated writer. 'Then get up an hour earlier, or put the telly off
an hour earlier, or use your dinner break, etc, etc...' There's no
answer to that excuse is there? With the exception of certain stages
in our lives when time is at a premium, perhaps when looking after
very young children, or taking examinations, or starting a business,
we almost always can make a little time in which to fulfil our
ambition of a life time - to become a published writer!
'But I don't know where to start!' Great! Then you'll have no
pre-conceived notions as to what lies in store, no worries to deter
you from picking up your pen or plugging in the typewriter this
minute. So let me just say, writing is one of the most rewarding of
careers, and yes the first few months will need to be spent reading,
studying, learning, and above all practising for that career. After
that induction period you'll wonder why on earth you didn't make the
move years ago.
'I'm afraid no-one will like my work'. By this you mean you're afraid
of the dreaded rejection slip, and you too have heard those stories of
would-be writers papering their living rooms with the pesky things.
No-one was ever overjoyed to receive a rejection slip, unless of
course they'd received a better offer for their work elsewhere.
Anyone who repeatedly finds themselves at the receiving end of such
rejections must be doing something wrong, and that something can be
corrected. Please don't let me convince you that your work will never
be rejected; almost no-one can achieve such excellence. But a
strategy can be devised for minimising the chance that your work will
prove unsuitable.
The methods for safeguarding against rejection include:
• Prepare a list of potential markets for every piece of work,
arranged in your descending order of priority for publication. If the
first market rejects it, send it to market number two, and so on.
• Start your writing career by submitting to the lower paying
and lesser known markets, which the majority of experienced writers
will long since have abandoned.
• Write about what your know, or what you will enjoy getting to
know. Make yourself an authority on your chosen subject, and the
relevant markets will be clamouring for your work. BUT writing about
what you know is, in itself, insufficient for any sustained degree of
success. You must also present your facts or opinions in an
interesting manner.
• Always make your work a little DIFFERENT. Even a subject
almost worked to death by your contemporaries can gain new life if
presented from a different angle. Always look for the less obvious
facts on the topic concerned.
• When you've 'finished' your work, don't send it off hoping it
is of an acceptable standard, know it is.
• Think and behave like a writer, and a professional one at
that. Read as much as you can on the subject of writing. Read the
work of other writers. Present your work in a professional manner.
And above all stop thinking of yourself as an amateur; if you can't
convince yourself you are a professional writer, you'll stand no
chance of convincing an editor.
• When you get your 'foot in the door' with a particular
magazine or publisher, keep the relationship alive and submit work at
regular intervals, always making reference to past dealings.
• Wherever possible undertake solicited work. For this you
query the editor or publisher in advance of preparing your article,
story or whatever. You can save yourself a lot of time and
disappointment if you subsequently find he or she does not as yet
require what it is you propose.
Quotes
'Dabble. I've published everything from op-ed to verse to colouring
books to fantasy to non-fiction. If you keep doing the same things
forever.........you may miss your area of greatest talent'. Mary Lou
Carney, Authoress.
'Don't forget that a magazine or book publisher wants to publish books
and stories: that's what he's in business for. And if he can
discover a new talent, he is happier than
anything else can make him. They do not reject manuscripts they can
accept'. John Steinbeck, Pulitzer Prize winner.
To receive the rest of the book drop me an e-email at
jone...@webmailstation.com
I will send you by return an email outlining just how to do this.
Good luck !
Jon