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Using the Sims to Facilitate Writing

Use the Sims to help with creative writing

I confess: I’m a huge fan of the computer game, The Sims. I’ve played it since the first iteration and have spent an embarrassing amount of money and time on the game. It used to be a guilty pleasure until I discovered that I could use it to further my writing. I could play and work at the same time! (Well, sort of.)

The Sims lets me quickly create characters and let them live through situations (well, most of the time they live, sometimes they die) that would take me weeks of outlining to accomplish. I can experiment with various personality traits. I can give them jobs (they can even be writers), let them run their own business, keep them unemployed, or get them fired or promoted at work. They can be criminals or good guys. I can make them rich, or keep them poor. I can make them happy or mad. I can put them in relationships with other Sims (both hetero or homosexual), leave them unattached, or I can make their relationships go bust. They can even have affairs. I can give them pets or kids. Heck, in the latest iteration of the game I can even experiment with zombies, vampires, and witches and even send my Sims into the future or off to college. All of this is fodder for my creativity and stories.

More than once I’ve created a character and let them go about their business with very little assistance from me, just to see what they’d do. I’ve taken notes and used their actions and reactions in my work. If things get completely out of control, I can just exit the game without saving and go back to a time when things were better. That’s hard to do after you’ve spent a hundred pages going down the wrong path in a novel. Even better, I can save a pristine version of my character and use him or her over and over again in new games to create new stories. I can then pick the story I like best and write about it. That’s a lot easier than working through four or five stories on paper.

The Sims is a great way to spark my creativity when it’s at a low ebb. Sure, I still sit down with paper and pencil and sketch out characters and novel ideas. There are some things a computer game can never address, after all. But it is fun and different and it goes beyond just superficial details like looks and jobs. For example, I can create characters that are “made for” another character, or I can create characters that I know are going to antagonize or even hurt other characters. (These can later become supporting characters in a novel.) I can reform bad characters, or make good characters go bad. And then I can sit back and see what happens without having to slog through pages and pages only to discover that it wasn’t such a great idea after all.

I’ve even taken some of my characters and their stories and posted them to the online Sims community and let other Simmers give their input as to what the character should do next. It’s amazing what other people think of and getting their input expands my work even further. I can also take characters that others have created and add them to my game, creating even more mayhem. In a way, it’s a form of fan fiction that spills over into “real” the novels and stories that I’m working on.

Even if you don’t use it for your “serious” writing, The Sims can be a big help during NaNoWriMo (National Novel Writing Month) if you participate. When you get stuck, just boot up the game and play for a while (but not too long or you’ll waste too much time). You’ll quickly have lots of fodder for your story that will push you toward that 50,000-word goal.

If The Sims isn’t your thing, or if you need more of a fantasy element for your character creation, there are other options. There are plenty of MMORPG’s that allow you to create your own characters and situations, or you can try traditional paper and pencil role-playing games like Dungeons and Dragons or Pathfinder.

Okay, so The Sims is never going to qualify for a tax deduction as a “business related expense.” But it has helped my creativity and given me a chance to explore new characters and situations while having some fun in the process. I just have to be careful not to spend too much time with the game because then it just becomes a tool for procrastination.

(Photo courtesy of Eurritimia)

Word Counter Auto Save Option

We do our best to continually update word counter to provide new tools the users request. One of the most common emails we get is from users who have lost something that they have written, and they’re hoping we have a copy of it so that it’s not completely lost. In response to this, we added a function to the word counter that will leave the words you have written in the word counter text area unless you specifically deleted them from the site.

To do this, we use a cookie on your computer and is not saved anywhere on the website meaning only you can access the article again. This has helped a number of users regain articles they thought they had lost, but it’s not perfect. We still get quite a few emails from people who have cleared their writing before leaving the website, and when these people need the article they wrote, there is nothing we can do to help them. Anyone who has lost an article knows that feeling, so we wanted to give users the option of having their writing saved a bit better. It’s with this in mind we have created the option to sign into the website through Facebook.

For those who sign into the website through Facebook, they’ll now have an autosave for what they write. When signed in, a “Revision” drop-down tab will appear at the top right of the word counter tool. This will save anything you have been writing in word counter every minute for 60 revisions (it will only make a new revision if there is a change to what you have written into the word counter box in the last minute). That means if your computer crashes, the window closes, or even if you clear the page, you still can go to the Revision tab and restore anything you have written in the recent past.

In order to do this, what you write is saved onto our servers. Since your writing is linked to your Facebook account, no other users will be able to see what you write. Since the writing is being saved, technically the site admins (there are two of us) can see what you have written, but we don’t do this. We have no interest in what you’re writing and we’re far too busy on other projects to be looking through that information. Your work is yours and we will never use it or sell it. We have simply implemented this save option so we can decrease the number of emails we get where users have lost their writing. If you absolutely want to make sure nobody can see what you have been writing, then you shouldn’t use the Facebook sign-in option.

It’s important to note that this tool should not be used to replace saving your writing on your own computer and backups that you usually make. It’s an emergency tool to hopefully retrieve an article that would have otherwise accidentally been lost. There is no long-term storage of the article and after every 60 revisions you make, the writing will disappear. This method also isn’t foolproof, and it’s still possible a technical glitch could happen where revisions aren’t saved properly, so you shouldn’t rely on this as your only method to save your work. It is, however, another layer that may help you recover your writing if something unexpected should happen.

10 Common Writing Submission Mistakes

Writers are sometimes their own worst enemies. We complain endlessly about being unable to get published or make money, but yet it’s often the case that we’re sabotaging our own success. Sure, sometimes you get rejected because your writing isn’t good enough. But often rejections happen because you made a mistake at the submission level and the gatekeeper turned you down before ever reading your work.

Remember that editors, agents, and hiring managers are swamped. They get tons of submissions every day. To quickly cull the pile, they look for any obvious reason to discount your submission. That may be something as simple as a misplaced comma or a misspelled name. You don’t want to go out this way. You want your recipient to at least read your work and then debate its merit, not dump you on the reject pile before the first sentence is even read. With that in mind, here are some common mistakes that writer’s make when submitting their work.

Grammatical Errors

Whenever you submit something, be it a story, letter, resume, article, or full manuscript, make certain that it is error-free. You’re asking someone to trust that you are a competent writer, yet if the first page has the word “You’re” in a situation where the word “Your” should have been used, you’re not coming across as competent. Always look to improve your writing so that there are no mistakes with it.

Submitting to the Wrong Person or Place

Don’t submit to houses or agents that don’t handle your type of work. Don’t submit to Editor A and Editor B at the same publishing house. Don’t address Mrs. Smith as Mr. Smith. (If you’re unclear on gender, a quick phone call to check is fine.) Don’t submit to the department manager if you’re supposed to go through human resources. Figure out exactly who should receive your work and send it directly to that person or department.

Mass and Blind Submissions

It’s irritating to get an email addressed to fifty agents or hiring managers. Such submissions often read, “Dear Sir or Madam,” and then proceed to describe, in very generic terms, why this person should accept your work. It’s efficient, but the problem is that your recipients don’t want to be part of a herd. They want to know why you chose them. They want to know who referred you, or to which ad you are responding. They want to know how you learned of them and why they are the best fit for your work. They want you to demonstrate that you’ve done some basic research into who they are and what they represent. Mass submissions are impersonal and only demonstrate that you know how to use the multiple recipient functions in your email program.

Failure to Follow Convention

Yes, convention can stifle creativity. However, every field has its norms that must be followed. You have to demonstrate that you understand the rules of the “club” and that you can follow them. If convention dictates that your submission be double spaced, single spacing can get you disqualified. If a certain format is required, you’d better follow it. Breaking convention won’t get you accepted, it will get you rejected.

Sending Dirty Work

No, I don’t mean pornography. I mean work that’s stained, crumpled, or torn. In this day and age of quick printing and copying, there’s no excuse for sending out anything other than pristine pages.

Looking Like a Paranoid Amateur

Many writers submit work with copyright symbols on it, or mentioning in the query letter that the submission should not be shared or forwarded for fear of idea theft. Similarly, don’t be vague about your work because you’re afraid it will be stolen. “I have a great idea, but I can’t share it with you until you commit to publication,” is ridiculous. This isn’t the way copyright works and no legitimate publisher or agent is out to steal your work. You’re only coming across as paranoid and no one wants to work with a nutcase.

Failure to Follow Directions

Send and do only what the recipient asks for. No more, no less. Send only what’s requested in only the format in which is it requested. Do not send snail mail if only email submissions are accepted, or vice versa. Doing exactly what is asked of you demonstrates that you can follow directions. To a gatekeeper, this increases the chances that you are someone they want to work with, not someone who is going to cause problems during every step of the process.

Failure to Include Contact Information

No matter how much someone likes your work, you’re going on the rejection pile if they can’t easily respond to you. They aren’t going to send a sherpa and a yak out to track you down. They don’t have time for that. Be sure to include your name, address, phone number, and email address.

Overpacking

Yes, you want your submission to arrive safely. But you don’t want to use so much tape that someone has to hack into the package to get to your work. Nor do you want to use packing peanuts that will explode all over someone’s office. Having to exert too much effort to get to your work means that the reader is already frustrated with you when they sit down to read your work. (Assuming they even bothered. Make it too difficult to get into a package and it might go in the trash unopened.) Keep the packaging to a minimum.

Failure to Properly Check Email Submissions

Email submissions are convenient, but they pose potential problems. If you’re asked to attach a file, make sure you’re attaching the correct one. No one wants to read your tax return when they thought they were getting your first chapter. If you’re using a submission page on a website, make sure you’re putting the right information into the right boxes. If you’re copying and pasting into an email or submission site, make sure you’re doing so correctly. You don’t want things to end up out of order, or discover that you pasted from the last draft of your novel when you meant to paste from the current version. Don’t use “Reply All” if you only mean to reply to one person and make certain you’ve got the correct recipient(s) in the address section. Double check everything before you hit the Send button.

You want to be judged on your work, but the only way that’s going to happen is if you successfully navigate the submission process. Think of the submission process as the first step to publication, because that’s exactly what it is. It’s time consuming and a chore to make sure everything is perfect, but that’s what the gatekeepers want to see. You won’t get past them with a half-assed effort. You’re being judged from the moment your envelope crosses their desk or the email shows up in their inbox. Be perfect.

(Photo courtesy of Aaron Davis)

Title Capitalization, Spell Check and More New Word Counter Tools

This word counter tool originally counted words, characters, and letters. As more people found it, we started to get requests of what the users would like to see added to the tool. Over the years, we have added many of these suggestions. We continue to strive to keep this tool updated and to add new features which users have requested which make word counter more beneficial to all. We recently added the following features which you can now use:

Spell and Grammar Check

We’ve added a button to the top left of the Word Counter tool which says “Spell Check” Once you have finished writing, you can click this button and a spell and grammar check will be performed on what you have written and will highlight areas of the writing that may be grammatically incorrect or have spelling issues. It’s important to note that this shouldn’t be exclusively relied upon, and as with all writing, you should proofread what you have written, but it may catch some minor errors you missed or show you an area of your writing which may be able to be more clearly rewritten.

Different Cases

There may be instances where you want to have your writing (or certain portions of your writing) displayed in a certain way. The “Case” button just to the right of the “Spell Check” button gives you four options to display your writing in different ways. There are two ways to use this. You can highlight a certain portion of your writing, and only the highlighted portion will be affected by your choice. For example, if you highlight your first paragraph and choose “Uppercase,” then only the first paragraph will be turned to upper case and the rest of the writing will remain as it was. If you choose one of the options without highlighting any of your writing, the entire writing will be formatted by the choice you made. The four choices available are:

Uppercase: WHEN YOU CHOOSE THIS OPTION, ALL WRITING WILL BE DISPLAYED IN UPPERCASE LIKE THIS. iT’S THE SAME AS PUSHING THE CAPS LOCK ON YOUR KEYBOARD.

Lowercase: when you choose this option, all writing will be displayed in lowercase like this. even after periods, the letters will all be in lowercase.

Title Case: Also referred to as title capitalization, this gives the proper way to capitalize titles for your writing, articles and blog posts. It can often get confusing which words should and shouldn’t be capitalized in the title of the paper, and by choosing this option, it will automatically give you the correct way to display it. For example, the title of this article, “Title capitalization, spell check and more new word counter tools” gets transformed to “Title Capitalization, Spell Check and More New Word Counter Tools” when the title case option is used.

Sentence Case: This options will turn all the writing to a typical sentence construction. This can be convenient if you happen to forget to capitalize after periods, or if you tried some of the other case options, but decide you want to back to normal.

Reading Level

On the right side under “Details”, there is now a section at the bottom that displays Reading Level. The reading level is calculated by using the Dale–Chall readability formula based on 3,000 common words fourth graders understand. This can be useful if you’re writing to a certain age group to make sure your writing isn’t above or below their level.

Keyword Density Options

Under “Options” (top right corner) you can now choose the number of keywords you want displayed for keyword density. The default has been 10 words, but you can choose as few or as many as you wish to fit the particular type of writing you’re doing.

If there are other tools you’d like to see added to word counter, feel free to contact us or to leave a comment. We try to continue to add and update WordCounter.net with things the users would find beneficial.

20 Helpful and Fun Products for Writers

Most writers don’t need a whole lot to practice their trade. Once you have the basics like a computer, software, paper, and pens/pencils, (and oh, yes, space in which to write), those are the only tools you really need to be successful. That being said, there are many more products writers may find both helpful and fun. If you’re looking for a gift idea, or just looking for something that may help you in your writing life, take a look at the following list.

A Writer Tshirt

Giving a writer a fun writer Tshirt that can be proudly worn is a great way to show your support his or hers writing. It gives them the opportunity to show the world what they do with a bit of humor. If you’re not sure what to give as a gift to a writer, this is a great default.

A journal (maybe more than one)

A journal is a place where you can do your free writing, or where you can work through problems that are impacting your work. They can also be places to keep ideas and experiment with forms like poetry or lyric writing. You can have one journal for everything, or get a few and dedicate them to different types of writing.

Whiteboard (maybe more than one)

I tend to be forgetful and I tend to come up with good ideas when a pen and paper or my laptop aren’t available. Bad combination. To help, I got a couple of small whiteboards and put one in the bathroom and one in the kitchen. Now when I get a great idea in the shower or while making dinner, I can jot it down on the board. These are more water and damage resistant than electronics or paper and are great for messy environments.

Dictionary

Yes, I know the computer has a dictionary function, but many are not as robust as a large, old fashioned, print dictionary. Plus, if you’re a word nerd, there’s just something fun about looking up random words in the dictionary.

Thesaurus

See Dictionary, above. The same idea applies because most computer thesauri are not as comprehensive as their print counterparts.

Cork board

Some writers like to “storyboard” by writing or drawing elements and scenes from their books on index cards and then arranging them to see how they fit together. You can move the cards around if you think of a better arrangement. It’s a more visual form of outlining. A cork board makes this easier than laying everything out on the floor, only to have to pick it up to vacuum, or having it blow around when people walk past.

Spiral bound notebooks

During the back to school shopping season, you can find packs of four or five notebooks for less than $1. They’re great for jotting down ideas, research notes, and character descriptions. Keep one by your bed for those ideas that come to you late at night. Yes, you can use your computer or cell phone, and many people do, but I find that writing some things out longhand clarifies my thoughts more than banging away at a keyboard.

Calendar

Whether you go digital or get a wall calendar or weekly planner, a calendar is a must to keep track of deadlines and to-do’s,

Spreadsheet software

Good spreadsheet software can come in handy for creating submission trackers and expense/income spreadsheets.

Financial software or ledger

If you don’t want to use a spreadsheet to track your income and expenses, get some good financial software. At the very least, get a ledger and make sure you write everything down. It’ll make tax time much easier.

Basic grammar/style guide

The Elements of Style, by Strunk and White remains the gold standard grammar and style guide. If you are a technical writer or business writer, you may find The Chicago Manual of Style useful, as well. There are also guides for academic writers and other specialties.

Apps

There are tons of apps that you might find useful, too many to list here. There are apps for note taking, calendars, word processing, script writing, storyboarding, and many other things you might find useful. Spend some time shopping the app store for your platform of choice to see what you might find useful. There are also plenty of games to help you waste time, so shop carefully.

File cabinet and files

No matter how digital you try to be you will always have paper to file. It keeps drifting in even when you actively try to avoid it. At the least you’ll probably need a file drawer in your desk or an accordion file. At worst, you’ll need a full blown file cabinet or some banker’s boxes.

Amazon Prime membership

For $99 per year, you get free two day shipping on most things that Amazon sells. (You also get free movie rentals and book loans, but those are just perks. The real value is the shipping.) It’s so nice to be able to order ink, toner, paper, envelopes, and other supplies (plus not having to take time away from writing to go to the store) and have it on your doorstep in two days.

Digital recorder

There are apps for this, or you can buy a more old school recorder. Either way, these come in handy for recording interviews and making notes to yourself on the fly.

Lap desk

A lap desk is great to have on hand for those times when you want to write or do research on the bed or couch. It keeps your laptop from burning your legs and lets you get into a variety of positions so you can work in comfort.

Amazon gift card

This comes in handy for buying those deeply discounted Kindle books, apps, and MP3’s that Amazon sells. Having a gift card balance on your account eliminates the need to put bunches of those $1.99 or $0.99 charges on your credit card, which can get your card shut down for suspected fraud. If you have Prime, listed above, it’s also great for all those $5.00 shipments you can now order without paying for shipping.

Page flags

These are great for marking passages while researching or editing. They’re perfect for marking passages and making short notes in library or borrowed books in which you cannot make your own notes.

Personalized note cards

Yes, much of life is digital these days, but there is still something to be said for the power of a handwritten thank you note on a nice note card. They’re great for sending to agents, editors, and others who’ve taken the time to help you.

A good coffee machine

If you’re a coffee drinker, you can save a fortune by making your own instead of hitting Starbucks every day. You might like a Keurig or similar single cup coffee maker that lets you rotate through a variety of flavors (tea and hot cocoa, as well) every day. Or you might prefer a good espresso machine or a simple regular coffee maker.

Rory’s Story Cubes

These are “dice” that you roll which act as story generators. They are available in the original set, plus two newer sets that add actions and voyages to the mix. You can use them alone when you’re stumped for ideas, or play with others using the game rules that come with them. The cubes are also available as an app so you can roll on the go.

Not every product is ideal for every writer. Some prefer old-school solutions, some prefer high tech, and others like a mix. Think about how you work best and choose products the help, not hinder, you.

(Photo courtesy of John O’Nolan)

Please, Don’t Ask a Writer to…

Plenty of people ask writers for all kinds of favors and connections. While it’s sometimes flattering to be asked, the constant deluge of requests creates problems for writers. Even lesser-known writers receive many requests to do things they just don’t have the time or inclination to do. There are a lot of people out there who think writers are fair game for all kinds of crazy requests.

Partly this over-familiarity is because writers seem so accessible. Their pictures and names are on their books, often with a little blurb about their life. They have a website where they may talk about some personal things or invite fans to comment. There’s also an element of “He made it, he should help me get a leg up in this business.” While many writers do want to be accessible and pay their success forward, they do so through carefully chosen opportunities, not by responding to demands and requests from random strangers who may or may not be insane. So, please, don’t ask a writer the following:

Read your book or screenplay

There are several reasons we don’t want to do this. First, it just takes a lot of time. If we read everything we’re asked to read, we’d never get our own work (which pays the bills) done. Second, if we criticize your work you’re going to hate us and then feel free to tell everyone on the internet what a complete asshat we were for criticizing you. If we tell you it’s great, you’re going to demand numbers 2, 4, and 8, below, taking even more of our time. Third, there may be legal reasons why we can’t read your work. We don’t want you suing us when something we write is ever so vaguely similar to your magnum opus. There are plenty of writer’s groups and workshops where you can find people to read your work.

Give you the name and number of our agent or publisher

If we do this without reading your work or knowing anything about you, then we risk angering our agents and publishers by having people submit crummy work under our referral. This is not a way to further our own career and is, in fact, a quick path to getting dumped by an agent or editor. To put you in contact with our agent/publisher would involve reading your work to make sure it’s not crap and you can see in number one, above, why you shouldn’t ask that, either.

Teach you how to write

There are plenty of classes and books to teach you how to write and most will do a far better job of it. What works for one writer may not work for you so you might as well learn on a “neutral field,” so to speak, rather than getting the specifics of what works for one person.

Ask for reviews or book blurbs

Some writing advice books trot this one out as a way to get “name brand” reviews for your work. You should just send your work to random writers and see if they’ll review it! Please don’t. Most of us don’t have the time, inclination, or legal freedom to read your work. There are only two exceptions to this rule: First, you can ask if you have some personal relationship to the writer. (For example, he was in your writing group, you took a class together, met at a conference, or your agent(s) introduced you.) Second, if the writer invites submissions on their website. Some writers are also reviewers and will invite other writers to submit items for potential review. Most won’t promise that yours will be chosen, though.

Ask us to work for free

It probably seems like writing isn’t much of a job so you probably feel no shame in asking us to write the copy for your brother’s website, or that article for the alumni magazine, and not offering us any compensation. It’s even worse if another professional or a corporation asks for a freebie. “Hey, if you could just write a few lines for our catalog we’ll give you credit in the back of the book!” The thing is, writing is work. It is a skill that should be compensated, just like any other skill. There are times when writers may work for free, but those are carefully chosen volunteer opportunities or chances to advance our careers. No matter how little time you think the job will require, trust us, it will take a lot longer and that’s more of our time down the drain. If you ask a writer to do something for you, at least offer to pay. If the writer says, “No problem, I’ll do it for free or just for the credit,” then great. But at least offer.

Ask us to help with a school assignment

Teachers often send kids out to find and interview a writer. These requests usually come under the guise of “Find someone who has the job you want,” or “Find an expert on something and interview them.” Since most writers are on the internet, we’re crazy easy to pester. While we hate to say no to little kids, if we spent time answering every kid’s questions we’d never finish anything. There are plenty of books and websites devoted to the craft of writing, specific writing types, employment opportunities for writers, and so on. There’s no need to find a specific writer to answer these questions. Any website can provide the same generalities that you’d get in response to an assignment. Now, if you’re friends with the writer you might be able to get away with this, but just blindly emailing every writer with a web presence is annoying.

Ask us to help you get a job

If we’ve worked with you before we might be willing to act as a personal reference should you survive the initial screening process for an advertised job. Most of us are not willing to call our publisher and ask if you can have an internship, or to ask our editor at the newspaper to give you your own column. We don’t know what kind of employee you are and we’re not willing to risk getting fired because you turn out to be a bonehead.

Ask us how to get published

There are plenty of books and websites dedicated to just this subject. You’re better off reading these and following industry standards than asking a writer how they did it. They may have “known someone” or done something unconventional that worked for them but which would fail miserably for you.

Ask us to edit or “polish” your work

Along with the pitfalls that come along with reading your work (see number 1, above), editing is it’s own special form of hell. Most of us don’t even like to edit our own work, let alone that of others. If you need an editor, by all means hire one, but don’t ask a writer to edit your work. You might as well be asking us to endure a root canal.

When a writer says, “No,” to these requests, people say they’re mean or cruel or just want to keep newbies out of the field. Nothing is further from the truth. The truth is simple: Writers need to write (and occasionally promote their own work) to make a living. They cannot do that if they are reading unsolicited manuscripts, looking for jobs for their cousin’s kids, or writing the neighborhood newsletter. Most writers have adopted a policy of saying, “No,” out of necessity. We don’t enjoy being the bad guy, but it’s fairer to say no to everyone than to pick and choose and then be accused of favoritism.

Writers are professionals and deserve to be treated as such. Just as you wouldn’t ask your doctor for a freebie or ask your own boss for a job for your shiftless brother-in-law, you shouldn’t ask writers (especially writers that you don’t even know) for freebies and favors.

(Photo courtesy of Nic McPhee)

40 Ways to Make Money as a Writer

When people think of someone as being a writer they often think in terms of books. Fiction, non-fiction, memoir, and scholarly books all come to mind as “writerly” pursuits. And certainly books are a noble goal and worth writing if that’s what you want to do. However, there are many more ways to make money as a writer. In fact, there are so many ways to make money writing that it’s possible to make a very good income as a writer without ever penning a single book. Here are forty ideas to get you started.

Blogging

It seems like everyone has a blog these days, but there is still room for well-crafted blogs that serve their readers with useful, unique, and timely information. If you don’t want to start your own blog, you may be able to write for someone else or sell yourself as a guest poster to several different blogs. It’s also important to remember that a lot of blogging these days is promoting yourself.

Greeting Cards

You can get paid to craft those pithy sayings inside the cards.

Magazine Articles

Print magazines aren’t dead and there are thousands of them out there for just about every interest, hobby, and demographic.

Scholarly Publishing

If you have academic credentials or want to boost your credibility within the academic community, you might look into writing for scholarly journals in your field, or publishing books with an academic press. If you don’t want to enter the market under your own name, plenty of academics need help with their articles, books, dissertations, and course materials.

E-Books/Self-Publishing

It’s easier than ever for an author to self-publish their books, either electronically or in print. The positives are that you retain control of all of the content and any income you generate is yours to keep (after taxes, of course). The negatives are that you are responsible for all of the marketing of your book, as well as any expenses incurred to publish it.

Traditional Publishing

Some consider having a book accepted by a traditional print publisher to be the “holy grail” of writing. However, you will likely have to compromise on some of your content and you will still have to do a lot of your own marketing and publicity. Your publisher may also not give you a large advance and your royalties may not match your dreams.

Textbooks

You can either write whole books (see scholarly publishing, above), or write individual sections. Many publishers hire writers on staff or on a freelance basis to write sections of textbooks.

Technical Writing

Online help, user manuals, training manuals, scientific documents, research notes, and other forms of documentation fall under the heading of “technical writing.” It can be dry, but lucrative. Experience in the field about which you are writing is often helpful, but may not be required.

Marketing Copy

Businesses have to move their products and advertise themselves. They need writers to write brochures, advertisements, catalog copy, slogans, marketing emails, and direct mail pieces.

Poetry

While not (generally) a huge money-maker, poets can publish their own collections, or publish individual poems in anthologies or magazines. Also, poets may find work in the greeting card and lyricist markets.

Contests

There are contests for almost every form of writing and many offer cash prizes. You might not be able to make a living from contests alone, but the recognition you get from winning can open up additional opportunities for you.

Teaching

Many people need to learn how to be better writers. You can teach at workshops, through community education classes and private tutoring, at corporations and corporate retreats, in job training programs, and even in prisons. It’s not true that those who can’t do teach. Many writers supplement their incomes through training and teaching programs.

Content Mills

These are companies that rely on a small army of freelancers to churn out online content that will result in huge numbers of hits for the company, thus bringing in revenue through advertising. Pay is usually dismal, creativity and lovely prose are sacrificed in favor of search engine optimization, and the clips you get from working there may or may not net you additional opportunities, as more “serious” markets sometimes look down on content mills. Only you can decide whether or not a content mill is for you.

Ghostwriting

Some people have stories to tell, but not a writerly bone in their body. You get paid to tell the story, but you will receive no byline or credit for the work. It can be lucrative, but contractual limitations may prevent you from cashing in on the work should the book become a bestseller.

Short Stories

You may be able to have several published in book form, but the larger markets for stories tend to be magazines or niche websites.

Newspaper Reporter/Columnist/Editorials

Print journalism isn’t dead, yet. There are still openings for reporters and columnists. You might have the best luck breaking in at your local paper, rather than going straight for the state or national papers.

Script Writing

Sure, everyone wants to pen a movie, but scripts are also required in television, advertising, and in the corporate world.

Write the News for TV

You can write the news bits that the newscasters will read off the TelePrompTer.

Articles for Trade Publications

Sure, the big glossy magazines are a dream market, but steady, well paying work can be found writing for trade publications. These are the magazines that cover such exciting topics like plumbing, landscaping, and fish pond management, among many others. They need content, too.

Grant Writing

Helping other people secure money can be very lucrative. There is an art to grant writing, however, and you need to learn how successful grant proposals are crafted before you can expect to succeed in this market.

Travel/Tourism/Chamber of Commerce Publications

All of those brochures in the visitor’s center, the articles in the coupon books you find in the hotel lobby, and local magazines need writers. You can also write for the glossy travel magazines, but you’ll have a better chance getting in if you’ve perfected your craft at the local level.

Newsletters

Churches, businesses, neighborhood groups, and many other organizations publish newsletters. Some keep writers on staff, but many hire freelancers or talented members of the organization.

Press Releases

When a business or government organization has something to say to the public, they don’t just blurt it out. They craft a carefully worded press release that casts them and the issue or product in the best light. If you can make anything sound wonderful, you’ll likely succeed here.

Corporate Writing

Annual reports, business plans, legal documents (if you have that background), internal newsletters, catalogs, training manuals and scripts, and presentation scripts are some examples of the writing types that businesses need. Some businesses have dedicated writers and others hire on a freelance basis.

Government Work

Legislative agendas, new laws, requests for proposals, reports, meeting notes, and distilling scientific or other research into language that can be understood by the public and elected officials are all government writing jobs. Some are hired for a specific department, others work state or countywide. Small towns and counties may hire freelancers to do their writing for them.

Book Doctor

Alas, someone has written a book and it’s terrible. But they won’t give up the dream of seeing it in print. You could be hired to resuscitate the book (which may mean anything from a little editing to a full blown do-over or ghostwriter gig). You may also help the author find an agent or publisher, or help with their self-publishing plan. You’ll have the satisfaction of seeing the project live on, but you won’t get the joy of a byline.

Children’s Markets

Kids have more of a place in the world today than they used to. There are many magazines for children and teens, as well as a booming Young Adult market for books. Many corporations also hire people to write marketing and advertising copy that appeals to teens and kids. Writers are needed for kid’s TV programs, educational books, and games, as well.

Video Game Writer

Sure, the programmers make the characters appear on the screen, but it’s often writers who put together the story lines and dialogue for those games. They also write the manuals.

Resume Writer

You can help job candidates stand out by crafting a well-written resume that presents their skills in a readable, professional format.

Speaking

If your writing has qualified you as an expert on anything, you can turn that into extra income by giving talks or seminars about your areas of expertise.

Eulogies and Obituaries

It sounds morbid, but people will pay to make sure their loved one, corporate chief, or political ally gets a proper send off.

Humor

Joke books, humorous memoirs, funny advice books, captions for cartoons, funny bumper stickers, scripts for comedians, and poster captions are writing types where a good sense of humor is required. All of those things you see around town that make you chuckle were written by someone.

Editing and Proofreading

While not “writing” per se, this can be a great way to earn a little extra on the side.

Lyricist

If you have a musical bent, you can write for musicians and corporations. Sometimes they have no trouble getting the notes right, but they can’t write a decent lyric or jingle.

Web Copy

Sometimes this is synonymous with marketing copy or blogging, but there are people and companies who need writers to write the various sections of their websites. Those “About Us,” “Corporate History,” “Employee Profile,” and product pages get written by someone.

Reviewer

Books, movies, and products all get reviewed on websites, in magazines, and on TV shows. If you have a knack for criticism, you can make a living as a reviewer.

Domain Name Writer

People will pay you to come up with a great domain name. It’s not as easy as it sounds since, at this point, all of the common names have been snatched up.

Translator

If you’re fluent in another language, you can make a living translating books and articles. It may not be writing your own stuff, but often some editing and rewriting is required to make the translation read correctly.

Speech Writer

Many business people, politicians, and activists don’t write their own speeches. A gifted orator is not necessarily a gifted writer and vice-versa.

Online Articles

If you don’t want to work for a content mill, a blog, or the Internet site of a print magazine, there are still plenty of places online that need content. There are some web-only “magazines” that cover a variety of issues, and there are plenty of niche sites. Some businesses also post articles related to what they do or sell.

Social Media Writer

There are businesses that are (or need to be) on social media, but have no clue how to go about it or what to say. They need someone who can write Tweets that make sense, or Facebook postings that attract potential clients. This might be the province of someone in marketing, but some businesses have created dedicated social medial jobs, or you might be able to offer yourself up as a freelancer.

Writing skills are valuable. Everything you see around you that has words on it was written by someone. That means that whatever you’re looking at could be a potential market for you. The good news is that while some markets require a large number of clips or a solid portfolio of work, many are open to beginners. Especially local, community publications and organizations. They may not pay much, but you can get in, build up your reputation, and network your way to higher paying opportunities. If you can write well, doors will open.

Even better, you can do several types of writing at once. You can be both a technical writer and a marketing writer, if you want. That way, if one market temporarily slows down, you have others to fall back on. The more types of writing you can offer clients, the higher your income is likely to go.

And here’s a final piece of advice: Don’t get hung up on the idea that you’re not a writer if you haven’t published a book. I used to hem and haw whenever someone asked me, “What do you do?” because I didn’t want to say, “I’m a writer.” It seemed as though I couldn’t claim that title if I hadn’t written a book. Fortunately, I got over it. I write many different types of articles and manuals. I put my rear end in the chair every day and write something for someone. And I get paid for it. If that doesn’t make me a writer, I don’t know what does. So now, when someone asks, “What do you do?” I proudly say, “I’m a writer.”

(Photo courtesy of Tony Hall)

22 Great Reasons to Write

We all have our reasons for writing, but a surprisingly large number of us have probably never articulated them to ourselves. Being a writer isn’t quite like growing up wanting to be an astronaut or a doctor, for example. “I want to go to space,” or “I want to help sick people,” (or “I like mucking around in blood and guts,”) are clear reasons for choosing those occupations. Even, “I want to make a boatload of money,” is a clear reason for choosing something like medicine or law.

But being a writer is different. We may have always felt an affinity for words and reading, but a fair number of us sort of stumbled into writing as an occupation. That’s how I ended up as a writer. One job led to another and then another and before I knew it, I was a writer. I never clearly set out on that path and I never really considered my reasons for gravitating toward this occupation. Obviously if I’d hated it I could have quit, so on some level I was enjoying it. And that may be the only reason I need. But there are so many other reasons to write (or not).

You certainly don’t have to know why you write, but knowing why you want to do this can make it easier to find work, to choose a specialty for your work, to find inspiration, and to know when it may be time to walk away, either from the occupation as a whole or from certain jobs/projects (i.e., if you’ve achieved the goal you set out to achieve and you’re no longer enjoying the work, knowing that can make it easier to say, “Enough.”)

Enjoyment

This is obvious. Some people write simply because they enjoy it. They like putting words on paper, creating stories, or informing people. Enjoyment can keep you motivated even if your writing doesn’t generate an income.

To influence people or change the world

Many writers hope to change government policies, raise awareness about issues, or to influence people to consider their point of view on a subject. The ability to change people’s minds about issues and to bring lesser-known issues to people’s attention is a powerful motivator.

Because you love a topic

If you have a passion for a certain topic, writing about it can be a great way to pursue and share that passion. Writing gives you a chance to learn about the topic, to interview people who are experts, and to bring awareness to the topic you love.

Money

Stop laughing. It’s true that forms such as poetry and fiction (unless your name is Patterson or Grisham) don’t generally make a lot of money. But commercial forms of writing (marketing, technical writing, speech writing, etc.) can be very lucrative. Self-publishing can also lead to a respectable income.

To heal

Some people write to heal themselves or others. Maybe you’re dealing with grief and you want to sort out your own feelings or help others to deal with their own. Perhaps you want to bring hope to people with chronic illnesses or conditions, or you have an inspirational story to share that will help others heal their hurts and illnesses.

To help others

Helping others can take many forms. Some writers feel compelled to help by bringing awareness to an issue, by educating others about a topic, or by helping other people deal with emotions or situations.

To leave a legacy

Many writers want to create something that will live on after they are dead. Very few things are as enduring as a book on a shelf or a scrapbook full of magazine articles.

You’re good at it

Many people do things that they are good at, even if they don’t love it. Writing is a skill and if you’re competent there’s nothing wrong with monetizing that skill, even if it’s not your passion.

To use your creativity

It’s fun to sit at the blank screen or page and fill it. When the day is through, you’ve gotten the satisfaction of having made something. You’ve created something from nothing. You’ve used your creativity to fill that page.

To give something to your kids

Some writers write for their children. They write stories for them. They write textbooks that fill a perceived void in the child’s educational curriculum. They write non-fiction about causes and issues that affect their children. However they do it, they’re giving something to their kids.

To use your brain

Writing is a great way to exercise your brain. It’s creative. Research gives you a chance to analyze data and information. Even the act of writing uses your motor skills. Writing can help stave off cognitive impairment as you age or keep your brain active if your “real job” is mind numbing.

Recognition/respect

Being a writer conveys a certain amount of respect, particularly if you’re published. Having a publisher agree to put out your book is a form of validation and forevermore you can tell people that you are a published author.

To boost your visibility/credibility in your chosen field

There’s a reason why academics and researchers must publish, even if their primary job is something else. Doing so boosts their visibility and credibility in their field. This applies to almost every field. Writing about your field in magazines, books, and on the web makes you an expert (or at least people think you are).

You can set your own schedule and wear what you want to work

If you work for yourself, writing is an occupation that generally lets you set your own schedule and work in your PJ’s if you want to. Sure, you may have to agree to some meetings, do some research at the library, or show up for interviews, but your time is largely your own which is perfect for introverts and those who dream of no longer working for a boss.

Fame

While few writers achieve the name recognition of James Patterson, J.K. Rowling, or Nora Roberts, many dream of it. Many writers dream of the day when their books are made into movies and the subsequent red carpet premieres, interviews in major magazines, and having Oprah pick their book for her book club.

You crave solitude

This is one of the things that attracted me to writing. I’m a huge introvert and I hate anything to do with “teamwork.” Writing is often a solitary occupation which suits us introverts fine.

To answer a calling

Some people feel, “called” to write. Whether it’s to write about a global issue, to preach their religion, or to churn out a novel that changes peoples lives, a calling can be a powerful motivator.

Revenge

If you write fiction, there’s nothing more fun than naming a character after a boss or bully and then killing them off or torturing them so badly that they beg for death. It’s a legal form of revenge. And in the case of non-fiction, there’s some truth to the saying that a life well lived is the best revenge. If your writing is meaningful to you and others or if you become famous, it’s a subtle way of sticking it to those who tried to hold you down.

Because someone else said you should

Maybe writing isn’t really your thing but your parents or teachers always wanted to see you as a writer. It’s not my first choice reason for becoming a writer, but many people choose occupations to please others.

It can lead to interesting opportunities

Writers, more than any other occupation I know, have some of the most interesting opportunities drop into their laps. Travel writers get asked to visit new and exciting destinations. Technical writers are sometimes asked to play un-released games or test software. Reviewers get great books to read. Writers who are experts in their field get asked to appear at conferences and conventions and maybe give a speech. Some get to meet cool fans, are asked to ghostwrite something interesting, or are asked to contribute to larger works like anthologies.

To educate

Many writers hope to educate others. Non-fiction is a great way to teach others how to do things, but fiction can also teach, albeit in a more subtle way.

You can’t do anything else

Many writers just can’t do anything else. Writing is the only thing they want to do, or which they are good at. Even if they never make any money, it’s still the only thing they want to do. While this leads to starving artists, it’s also a powerful reason for writing.

If you’re unclear about why you write, take some time and figure it out. Knowing why you write will make many aspects of your writing life much easier and rewarding.

(Photo courtesy of Pedro Ribeiro Simoes)

Become a Better Writer: Preserve and Improve Your Reading Skills

It’s no secret that reading and writing go hand in hand. Most successful writers are avid readers. We learn our craft by reading and dissecting the works of others. We take inspiration from them and we learn from their failures. But our reading skills may not be what they once were. New research shows that the Internet, with all of its links, short paragraphs, and volumes of information may be changing the way we read and the way our brains process information. And not for the better.

Many people now report problems reading more challenging works, or concentrating on a book for a sustained period of time. Even easier works are getting skimmed and major plot points and facts are being missed. We’re becoming so used to skimming for key words and hopping from a link to a video to an image that we’re losing our ability to process information in a deep and meaningful way.

This presents a problem for writers. Since our ability to write is so closely tied to our reading skills, deteriorating reading skills equal deteriorating writing skills. Think about it: If you can’t read a challenging work, or concentrate long enough to read anything longer than a grocery list, what makes you think you can write anything that’s lengthy or challenging? What makes you think you can edit your book if you can’t concentrate or stop skimming long enough to make sense of what you’ve written and detect the flaws in it?

Deteriorating reading skills might not be a problem if you’re writing for the web and you can get away with always writing small bits of information and editing tiny chunks, but it’s a problem if you’re writing novels, non-fiction books or long manuals. To write well, we writers need to actively preserve and improve our reading skills. If you find yourself struggling, here are some ideas to sharpen and protect your ability to read deeply.

Read without distractions

Don’t read with the TV on or your cell phone beeping next to you. Turn it all off and just read. If you’re looking up and down at the TV every five minutes or checking your messages, you’re simply further fragmenting your attention span. Find a quiet place, turn off the distractions and just read.

Take it offline once in a while

The Internet makes it easy to research a topic very quickly. But to preserve your ability to make sense of information you need to take it offline once in a while. Check out some actual books about your topic and study them. Not only will you be improving your reading skills, you might find that you end up with higher quality research and a better understanding of the topic when you engage deeply with the material instead of just hitting the high points. This understanding will translate on the page in the form of higher quality work.

Observe yourself

If you find yourself skimming a work, stop, go back to where your concentration faltered, and begin again. Become aware of when your reading turns to skimming, or when you find yourself thinking about what to make for dinner while you’re simply scanning a work. Turn your full attention back to the work.

Take breaks

Reading deeply is like exercise. It’s easy once you’ve gotten in shape but it’s hard and sometimes painful if that muscle isn’t up to it yet. Pace yourself and take breaks if you need to. Fifteen minutes of total concentration is better than an hour of frustration, frequent skimming, and telling yourself that it’s almost over. If you need a break, take one. You’ll be able to engage for longer periods after you practice for a while.

Reread

After you’ve read something, particularly something that really challenges you, go back and read it again. You’ll probably be surprised to find that there are still areas that you skimmed, or pieces that you missed entirely. The more you read, the less often this will happen and the less rereading you’ll have to do, but in the beginning of training or retraining your brain, rereading can be a valuable way to improve comprehension.

Take your time

We’re so busy today that it’s hard to simply sit down and read but that’s exactly what you’ll have to do. Reading fast is not the way you improve your understanding and concentration. You have to slow down.

Take notes

You probably haven’t done this since college, unless you were researching an in-depth project. Note-taking can increase your comprehension by forcing you to slow down and identify key pieces of information.

Go deep

Read several books about the same topic. Read several of one author’s books. The more you read on one subject or study one author, the better you become at seeing connections amongst the concepts, or noticing what makes this novelist successful (or not). Flitting from author to author or subject to subject can be fun, but it can also contribute to some of the same problems that the Internet presents.

Regurgitate

When you finish reading a work, take the time to write out a summary or a review of the work. Again, this is probably something you haven’t done since your school days, but writing out what you remember from the work shows you how well you’re comprehending it. If all you can say about “Watership Down” is, “It was good. There were bunnies,” clearly you’ve got a problem. If you can describe the characters and the themes of the book and summarize the whole plot, you’re on your way.

More than ever our reading skills are not something we can take for granted. It used to be that when you finished school you were pretty well set for a meaningful reading life. You didn’t have to do much to keep your skills sharp. Simply reading for pleasure and reading the newspaper was often enough Now, though, deep reading skills are harder to maintain. The Internet is a great thing but if we’re not careful, it can actually rewire our brains in ways that are not favorable to writers who depend on reading comprehension and concentration to work. Practice your reading the same way you practice your writing. It’s the only way to ensure that your reading activities can help, not hinder, your writing efforts.

It’s Okay to be a Writing Sellout

A long time ago I had high artistic ideals. I wanted my work to change the world, to bring awareness to important issues, and to be “great.” That lasted until I was out of college. That’s when I realized that I had to eat, pay rent, and fill up my gas tank. High ideals went out the window in favor of any job that paid. And since I graduated in the middle of the 1990’s recession, the bar wasn’t all that high. I took a fair amount of advertising and marketing work, shilling useless products to people who probably didn’t need them. But I got the bills paid, even if my work wasn’t world-changing in any way.

A few years out of college, I met a former friend who was still clinging to his ideals. You can guess the state he was in. He didn’t have a job and was living with his parents. He had no social life or real work. But, dammit, his ideals were still pure. He was still cranking away on his “literary masterpiece.” In his parents’ basement. While I was far from rich, I’d managed to cobble enough money together to have my own place, a car, and a few extras. I felt superior to him in just about every way.

“You sold out,” he accused me.

“I had no choice. Work of high artistic merit doesn’t pay the bills.”

“That stuff isn’t important. Your work should change the world. Be important. Not just be some drivel on the side of a cereal box.”

“Yes, but I also need money to live. These jobs pay my bills.”

“Sellout,” he said, shaking his head.

I think I was supposed to be insulted. I wasn’t. While I don’t live for money and I don’t chase the Joneses, I’m well aware that everyone needs money to exist in this world. Earning money through legitimate work isn’t a terrible thing to do. In fact, it’s pretty darn noble. I’m sure if you’d asked my friend’s parents they would have preferred having a sellout for a son over a mooch.

There is nothing wrong with taking jobs to pay your bills. You may not be crafting life altering prose when you write that ad for weed killer, but you are earning money with your skills. You only become a “sellout” if you let that kind of work permanently derail your higher dreams. If you’re writing marketing brochures by day and working on your novel or Pulitzer winning article by night you haven’t sold out, you’ve just made a realistic decision to keep your head above water and feed yourself/your family.

You might even find that “selling out” can be a good thing. Work that gives you a credit can be a pathway to better things. You never know who will see your work and ask you to work for them. One job may lead to another until you are suddenly being paid to produce work of high artistic merit. (Incidentally, some of the greatest artists in history became famous after they sold out.) The money you earn from selling out can also be used to buy more education or better supplies which may speed you on to that ideal job. Getting yourself out there and earning money is rarely a bad thing.

The exception is that you should never take work which goes against your moral principles. Sometimes you have no choice but to work against your beliefs, as when your jerk of a boss demands that you work on a campaign for fur or be fired, even though you’re vehemently opposed to the fur trade. You may have to do it because you don’t have enough money saved to tell the jerk to shove it. (But you’ll quickly learn to save money and find a better job so that you’re not in that position again.) If you have a choice, though, don’t sell your soul. Try to find jobs that align with your beliefs, if not your definition of great writing.

And try not to take work that will impact you negatively later. Writing that script for a hard core porn movie may net you a boatload of money, but chances are someone down the road is going to frown on that one. Just try to look forward and think about how this job will be seen later when you’re applying for another job. Most employers won’t care that you took “sellout” work like advertising, low budget movies, brochures, and infomercial scripts, but they may not look so favorably upon things written for certain industries or fringe causes. (In other words, if you have to write the porn script to pay for groceries, for heaven’s sake, use a pen name.)

Artistic snobs like to call those of us who get paid for less-than-ideal jobs sellouts. But there’s nothing wrong with selling out. I’d rather be a sellout with a place to live, food to eat, and a cared-for family than a parasite living off of my parents or society. High ideals and great writing have their places and are certainly worth striving for. The reality check is that you have to pay your bills. Fortunately, we live in a world that requires a lot of words to explain (ads, manuals, web sites, easy to read books, brochures, etc.) and offers a lot of jobs for those who are willing to do the work. I’d rather work than not. I still work on my idealistic projects, but I admit that I took the money and ran a long time ago. I’m a sellout, but a sellout with a good life.