Writing

Stumbling into a Freelance Writing Career

When people find out that I’m a freelance writer, one of the first things they want to know is, “How did you get into that?” Sometimes it’s just passing curiosity. Other times they want to know because they aspire to quit working for “the man” and go out on their own and writing seems like an easy way to do that. (Before I continue this story, let me tell you that it isn’t an easy way to make a living. Sure, I work from home, but I have deadlines and responsibilities just like any other profession. I also get the joy of handling all of my own marketing, accounting, taxes, and office expenses, whereas someone else handled all of that when I was working for “the man.” So if you think being a freelance writer is all easy and fun, think again. It’s a job just like any other job.)

Anyway, people always seem to assume that I had some definite plan that I was following when I decided to become a freelance writer. They want my roadmap so that they can follow it, too. The thing is, I never had a definite roadmap and I haven’t met very many freelance writers who did. It’s rare to find someone who came out of college saying, “Yeah, I’m going to be a freelance writer!” At best you might find a freelance writer who came out of college saying, “Yeah, I’m going to be a journalist or PR person,” who then stumbled into freelancing after putting in a few years in the corporate world. Those of us who had road maps are rare. Most of us just sort of fell into the occupation, but that’s not a bad thing.

If you want to know how it happened to me, here’s the story: I came out of college with a degree in “Communication.” Not quite as useless as a degree in Philosophy, but close. I’m still not even sure how I picked that major. My first job was as an administrative assistant at a small software company. Fortunately, it wasn’t long before the company discovered that I had some ability with words, layout, and design and put me to work writing and designing some brochures. Next thing I knew, I was writing marketing materials, too. I got really lucky when one of the writers in the software department quit and I got tasked with writing online help files. I also got to write grant proposals and, once the infant Internet came to town, I got to write the website copy. If it needed words, it seemed to find its way to my desk. That’s the benefit of a small company. You can be asked to do anything and everything, building skills as you go along.

Unfortunately, the company was a horror show. I eventually found another job. I was actually hired as a “Technical Writer” at that company where I stayed for another couple of years gaining experience and practicing my skills. (Not that I really considered myself a writer at that point, despite my job title. I just knew that somehow all these projects involved writing. I still wasn’t thinking in terms of making writing a career. It was just a job.)

When I was laid off (thank you, dot-com bust), I had a little time to think about what to do next. I could go and look for another technical writing job or I could do something else. Coincidentally, one of the people from my old job also had his own consulting business on the side. He called and asked if I’d help him with some promotional materials. I did. Then he asked if I’d help him with a consulting job that he had. He had the software end under control but needed someone to write the online help files. I did. When a friend of his asked for help with his website, he referred him to me. I helped him, too. All the while I was getting paid for all this “helping,” and I was getting way more than I ever had at a “real job,” even after I accounted for taxes.

It was about six months later that the light bulb went on. Dang, I was a freelance writer. People were constantly referring me to other people. I had plenty of projects to work on. I was paying self-employment taxes and buying my own supplies. I was in business! A career was born and the rest is history. I’ve been flying solo now for about fourteen years and it’s been great. It’s still a little weird to think of myself as a freelance writer, but there aren’t any other words for what I do.

So what’s the moral of my little story? If you want to be a freelance writer it might be easier than you think. Of course, you have to have an ability with words. And you have to be disciplined and organized enough that you impress your first clients (referrals are really helpful). But you don’t really have to set out with a defined road map from the time you enter college. It’s not a career that’s closed to you if you didn’t get the right degree or the right first job. It can happen to the scientist who starts helping other scientists write up reports for journals, or it can happen to the teacher who gets asked to write curriculum guidelines for the school administration. It might happen when you’re young or when you’re retired and looking for something to do. Being a freelance writer isn’t restricted to those “in the know” or who got an MFA. Articles, manuals, reports, guidelines, brochures, etc. are needed in every field. If you can write, you can carve out a niche for yourself.

Most writers tell stories similar to mine. They were simply asked to write something in their regular job, and then something else and something else until suddenly other people were asking them to write stuff, too. And then one day they realized that they were making a living at this thing called writing. Of course, if you have a plan you might get there faster and certainly your light bulb moment will happen long before mine did. If, though, you prefer to fall into the career, just say, “Yes,” whenever someone asks you to write something and then watch what happens.

(Photo courtesy of Shawn Rossi)

Writing Advice for Older Freelance Writers

Writing doesn’t suffer from quite the same age bias as other media occupations, but there is sometimes a tendency to favor younger writers over older writers. Why? Because younger writers are viewed as having a longer career ahead of them (which means more money for the publisher). Also, the sad truth is that younger writers are viewed as more “marketable.” They look better on book jackets, in magazine pieces, and in TV interviews. They also may be willing to work an absurd amount to break into the business. And, let’s face it, our culture is youth-obsessed. Those “Who to watch under 30,” lists and articles about the teenage wunderkinds sell magazines and fill news hours.

Despite this bias, there is still a chance for older writers to break in and make money. A great story or book is still valuable to a publisher, even if the author has one foot in the grave. Publishing is still a business whose object is to make money and a great book equals money, regardless of the author’s age. That’s the first thing an older writer needs to do and it’s fully within your control: Write the best story or book that you possibly can. Make it impossible for them to say no, no matter how old you are. Beyond that, you don’t want to handicap yourself any more than necessary. Here are some tips to skirt the age bias in publishing.

Don’t mention your age unless asked

Don’t bring it up in your query letter. Don’t send a picture of yourself. Most agents and editors will not admit to an age bias, but if you put it right there in front of them you may trigger their unintentional bias against you. Let your manuscript do the talking.

Don’t mention that you are “retired”

You may have taken up writing in your retirement, but don’t mention that in a query letter. You don’t want an agent or publisher to think of you as old, or as someone treats writing as a hobby. The only time retirement should be mentioned is if it’s relevant, but even then you should try to find a way to avoid it. For example, if you’re written a book about a Navy Seal and you are a retired Navy Seal, you might want to mention that, but rather than saying you are a “retired Navy Seal,” refer to yourself as a “former Navy Seal.”

Don’t mention your limitations

Publishers and agents need people who can get out there and help promote their books. If you have limitations that make that difficult, don’t bring it up until they are so in love with your manuscript that it won’t matter. If you aren’t technologically savvy, don’t bring that up, either, and work to correct it. Publishers expect you to be conversant in the world of Twitter, Facebook, email, and the like, and admitting that you aren’t isn’t a badge of honor, it’s a strike against you.

Draw on your experience and maturity

If you’ve spent any time in the working world, you should have a good idea of how to conduct professional conversations and write professional correspondence. You should be able to turn in projects on time and return calls promptly. You should be able to proofread and turn in error-free work. Not to say that younger writers can’t do these things, but older writers know how businesses work and “how to play the game.” Publishers like writers who are professional, prompt, and reliable.

Don’t date yourself

Along with not mentioning your age outright, don’t make reference to anything that might allow an agent or editor to figure it out. Don’t say, “I spent thirty years with XYZ Corp,” or, “I served in Korea.” Anyone with a brain can figure your probable age from that. Querying isn’t like writing a resume. Publishers don’t need your dates of employment. Leave anything that can date you out of it.

Don’t lie

While you don’t want to put a number on yourself early in the process, you don’t want to lie, either. If someone asks you directly about your age, fess up. The truth will always come out and you’ll be in trouble if you’ve fudged. Chances are, though, that if they’re asking about your age, they’ve already read the book and are seriously interested. Age matters less when the agent or editor feels like there is a salable project in the room. It’s that whole money thing, again.

Demonstrate commitment

While there are plenty of one-hit authors, publishers are usually looking for writers who are committed to producing multiple books. While this may be your first book, don’t mention it. A publisher can read between the lines and know that you’ve never been published if you don’t mention publishing credits, but you don’t need to say, “This is the first thing I’ve ever tried to write, it took me twenty years, and I feel like I’ve left it all on the table. This is my one great masterpiece.” Try to get some stories published in magazines or win some awards for other work to demonstrate that you’re active in the craft. You could also mention that this book is the first in a projected series (if it’s true).

Stay away from projects that scream, “Senior Citizen”

Unfortunately, memoirs and family histories not only give away your age but are often pegged as one hit wonders, if they’re a hit at all. The agent or editor sees these and thinks, “This person just wants to see this one project published before they die. They’re not a serious author.” Worse, the history or memoir that seems momentous to you is seen by the agent or editor as ho-hum. Unless your memoir or history is about something truly spectacular, you’ll probably want to stick with self-publishing for that.

Older writers can certainly break in, but they have to first write a book or story that is beyond reproach. Give a publisher something valuable and age starts to matter much less. Beyond that, though, it can’t hurt to keep your age out of the process for as long as possible. You don’t want someone to write you off before they even read your work. Sure, we should all be judged solely on our work, but it’s a sad truth that you have to outwit those who carry a bias against older writers.

(Photo courtesy of Aurelio Asiain)

Why You Should Avoid Writing for Content Mills

Many freelance writers work or have worked for a content mill at some point. Many have regretted the experience. Content mills are websites devoted to posting tons of articles on almost every subject imaginable (and some that aren’t, see number six, below). Quality standards vary and most pay very little for the work required. While some writers hope that content mills will help them break into freelancing or be a way to make some extra cash, both are unlikely. There are many good reasons to shun the mills. Here are some of the best:

Paltry pay

There are two issues with this. First, content mills pay pitiful rates, some as low as a penny per word. This means that a 700-word article would only net you $7.00. The federal minimum wage is higher than that. To make just $20,000 a year you’d have to write 2,857 articles. That’s nearly eight articles per day. Every day. No vacations or weekends. Even if you can crank out one per hour, that’s an eight-hour workday every single day of the year. And you’d still only make $20K. There are much better ways to make money.

Second, the low pay of content mills contributes to a growing problem for writers: The desire of content providers to get quality work for low pay. When other content providers see the mills paying such paltry rates they figure, “Hey, why should we offer more? The low pay model seems to be working for them.” It gets harder for writers to command the rates that they deserve when there are so many low paying markets out there having no trouble filling writing positions. Stick up for yourself and your worth and refuse to work for less than you legitimately deserve.

The mills stifle creativity and quality

Content mills are oriented toward one thing: Search Engine Optimization, or SEO. This means that your articles will be crammed with specific keywords that will try to bounce that article to the top of any search for those keywords. The problem is, it’s difficult to do this well and still produce a high quality, creative article. You’ll be churning out work that fits a very narrow set of requirements. There’s no room for your unique voice or any facts or issues that deviate from the narrow focus required by the mill.

You probably won’t gain any respect

Some writers believe that the mills are a way to “break in” and gain writing credits that can be parlayed into higher paying gigs. This is rarely the case. Because these pieces are rarely your best work (written quickly, skimpy on details, etc.), you may not even want to submit them as credits. And even if you do, most reputable, higher paying markets will not view them as quality credits. You may be able to get away with listing some content mill pieces in an otherwise robust portfolio of work, but as your sole credits those pieces will not gain you the respect you need to get ahead.

Hoop jumping

You’ll likely have to jump through a lot of hoops (submit an audition piece, articles have to go through an approval process before being accepted, there may be a probation period where you have to submit articles but you won’t get paid, etc.). You may play their game and go through all of their processes and still not get paid or hired on as a contributor. You’re probably better off writing for publications that have much clearer acceptance and employment processes.

Frustrating guidelines

Many content mills have a lot of guidelines for their writers, and some are not clear or are ever changing. For example, they may place limits on the sources you can use for research to keep you from using competing publications. However, you may not be provided with a list of banned sources until your turn in an article that includes one. Then your article gets rejected. You probably won’t work with one editor all the time, either, and each one may have a different set of expectations and standards. What is accepted by one may be denied by another, even within the same section of the website. Formatting may be another area where one segment of the site follows one set of rules while another follows something else. These formats may not be expressed clearly in the beginning leading to more rejected articles. Sometimes it can feel as if the mills are doing everything they can to make your job harder.

You may end up churning out ridiculous, nonsensical work

Content mills often come up with the title and then expect you to write the article to match. Since most of the sensible titles have been used, you get some strange titles that are largely just hot SEO keywords lumped together. They may make no sense at all and there may be no way to write an article that makes any sense. Writing about “Clay Aiken The Pokemon Earthquake” would be a stretch for even the most gifted writer.

You’re not building a network that you can draw upon later

When you’re writing for the mills, you’re not working with reputable professionals who can help you make contacts or navigate the publishing world. You’re not working with publishers, agents, and editors that garner respect in the writing world. They won’t make useful references or help you further your career.

You don’t care, and it shows

Writing for a content mill is about one thing: Generating a lot of words quickly. It doesn’t matter whether you care about the topic or not. It doesn’t matter whether you know anything beyond the basics or not. All that matters is the words. As a result, the articles show no passion and no depth. They read like what they are: Something rushed together without a care about the subject. If you want to be known as a writer who writes compelling, accurate, engaging, and informative pieces, a content mill is not for you.

You’re not learning anything

There are no professional editors helping you polish your work and teaching you how to become a better, more engaging writer. They may check for basic grammar and spelling errors, but that’s it. You’re not learning how to research or conduct interviews because you’re simply culling the most basic information off a list of pre-approved sources. You’re not learning how to market your work because the site is doing that for you. You’re not learning any of the skills that a professional writer needs to succeed. All you’re learning to do is write to a specific formula that is useless in any field other than the content mills.

The ratio of time to money is way off

You’ll spend the better part of a day churning out an article that might pay you $5. Even if you’re super fast at writing and researching, you’re still going to put in a lot of time for very little money. Time is the one resource you can’t get back. It’s generally better to spend your time working on things that will grow your “brand” as a writer and lead to better paying work. Work on your own website/blog that you can monetize, pitch articles to well-paying publications and sites, seek out corporate clients, work on that novel, or get that non-fiction book proposal together. Sure, not everything you try will lead to big bucks, but if you’re only going to earn pennies anyway, it might as well be in the service of something that you can build on and control rather than a content mill that is taking your labor and giving you nothing in return.

The mills are like quicksand

It’s too easy to get sucked in. You start out just trying to bridge the gap so you can make rent this month or put aside a little fun money. Before you know it, though, you’re working day and night for the mills because you need the income. You think you’re making some sort of progress in your career, but all you’re really doing is wasting time that could be better spent putting together higher quality gigs. You can’t get out because you need the money, but the mill is sucking up all of your time that you could use to look for better work. It becomes a vicious circle.

Opportunity rarely knocks

When you write for reliable, reputable publications and websites you’ll probably be surprised at the opportunities that surface. People see your work and ask you to write for them, or ask if they can obtain the rights to publish your piece elsewhere. This doesn’t happen with the mills. People may see your work, but they aren’t likely to care.

You have no protection or control

If the content mill folds, you’re out of work and you likely won’t be paid for any outstanding work. They can terminate your account at any time and for any reason. They can refuse your article for any reason and not pay you. As a professional freelancer, you should have more protection than this. Most legitimate freelance projects come with contracts that cover what happens in the event your article is rejected or needs more work, the editors/owners change, etc. There is more protection for you than you’ll ever get with the mills.

The only reason to write for a content mill is if you really enjoy the process or you’re just killing time and want a little extra cash. That might make all of the other hassles worth it. If you’re looking to advance your career, however, the mills are largely a waste of your time. There are far better ways to make money, improve your writing, and build your writing “brand.” Spend your time wisely by seeking out legitimate clients and working with true industry professionals. The mills will simply take your time and give you little in return.

(Photo courtesy of Johann Dreo)

How to Make Sure You Hit Your Writing Deadlines

Ever notice how you tend to deal with things that have a due date or an expiration date (and a punishment for missing that date) first while you let other things slide? You read your library books before the books from your own collection because they’re due on a certain date. If you don’t return them you’ll owe money. You eat the food that’s about to expire even if it’s not what you’d prefer because the uneaten food is a waste of money. You hurry up and finish the project for which you borrowed a neighbors’ power saw because if you don’t return the saw on the date you promised, you’ll jeopardize the friendship. You write the article that has a deadline because missing it means no paycheck (and probably no further work from that publication).

All of these scenarios have a due date and a punishment attached for missing that date. The deadline and the punishment combine to motivate you to do these things, even if you’d rather be doing something else. This aversion to punishment can be used to further your writing career and help defeat procrastination. But what about the problem of not all writing projects having due dates? When you’re working on your first novel, non-fiction book proposal, or collection of short stories and you don’t have a contract, how do you impose due dates and punishments?

There are a couple of ways to do this. First, you can simply write the date on your calendar and come up with a punishment that you will impose on yourself if you don’t make it. Maybe you won’t take that weekend trip you’ve planned and for which you’ve already paid a non-refundable deposit, or you won’t go to that concert for which you’ve already bought tickets. Whatever punishment you choose, it has to hurt. You can’t just say, “Oh, I won’t watch my favorite TV show.” That’s not enough pain because, really, you can catch the show later. The punishment has to hurt monetarily or emotionally. Or you have to also attach the risk of hurting other people, such as by skipping that family trip or backing out of a an event that you promised to organize.

And the biggie: You have to stick to the punishment. You can’t let yourself off the hook even once. Do it once and you’ll do it every time. You have to go through with whatever punishment you choose or it won’t be an effective way to boost your output. You have to choose a punishment that not only hurts, but one which you will actually impose. “I’ll throw myself off a cliff if I don’t finish this book by July 22nd,” isn’t realistic. (Unless you have some serious issues, in which case you need a mental health professional. Right now.) “I’ll sell one-third of my beloved jazz records if I don’t make the deadline,” is more realistic.

If you’re not willing or able to impose your own punishments, enlist someone else to help you. Make yourself accountable to a friend or family member. If you set a due date and miss it, have that person come stand over you until you complete the punishment. Make them stand over you until you make the call to cancel that trip. Have them stand over you while you run those concert tickets through the shredder. Make them stand by while you tell those people who were counting on you that you won’t be able to do whatever it was you promised you’d do. Choose your person wisely. They have to be tough enough not to give in when you beg and pushy enough to make you do what you need to do.

Yes, this is a harsh way to improve productivity and make sure you reach your daily word count. Not everyone will respond to these tactics, but it is human nature to do those things with due dates first. This is simply a way of making human nature work for you. If you have trouble completing open-ended projects because they can always be done “later,” try imposing due dates and punishments on yourself. Remove “later” from the equation and see if you don’t work harder and smarter to avoid those punishments.

(Photo courtesy of Alan Cleaver)

Don’t Forget Offline Writing Research

It’s great that we live in an age where information is just a couple of mouse clicks away. Gone are the days when we had to slog through the stacks at the library for even the simplest research. Unfortunately, too many of us have become excessively reliant on the Internet for our research needs. It’s so convenient that we are often reluctant to take the time leave our comfy chairs and go out into the world to do our research. There are some things, however, that the Internet cannot give us and to exclude them from our work for the sake of convenience is to produce a weaker work, one that is devoid of sensory details and the personal touch.

If you want to produce a rich, true account of your character’s experiences or fill your non-fiction work with the details and facts that will set it apart from competing work, you’re going to have to go offline for at least some of your research. Here are some offline places and methods that will bring that spark of life into your work.

Libraries

Even though all kinds of books and references are online, there is still no substitute for an old-fashioned library. Not only do they have resources that you may not be able to get online (microfiches of old local newspapers, locally published books/histories, and out of print books that are no longer available, for a few examples), they are filled with people who can help you. Employees may be well versed in local history, for example, or have already helped someone else track down that obscure fact that you’re looking for.

Museums/national parks/preservation efforts

If your work requires a trip into the past, there are no better places to see actual battlefields, historic homes, artifacts, clothing, and artwork than at museums and parks dedicated to preservation. Sure, you can see that clothing, artwork, or artifact in an online catalog, but getting up close to it will reveal the tiny details you can’t see in a picture. And there’s nothing like being in a historic place to give you a sense of what the people who lived there experienced as far as weather and scents. They are also great places to get writing ideas.

Personal interviews

Never underestimate the power of actually talking to someone who knows what you want to know. Whether you’re interviewing a CEO for an article about life behind the desk, or a zookeeper about his work (since your novel’s main character is also a zookeeper), there is no substitute for the experience of actual human beings. You’ll not only hear about what their life is like, you may also get to watch them in action.

Universities

Colleges and universities are a treasure trove of information. Their libraries often subscribe to journals and newspapers that municipal libraries don’t carry and which may not have an online presence (or, if they do, you as an individual will have to pay to subscribe). You can talk to professors that teach and research the topic you’re working with. If your work is fiction and set at a college, you can spend a few days observing the students and their activities. Some larger universities also have collections of artifacts or documents related to local history, art, and culture.

In-person visits

Sure, you can Google the location for your next novel and see pictures and maps, but there’s nothing like being there. When you actually visit a place, you can experience the people, traffic patterns, weather, and architecture in a way that pictures and maps can’t convey. You can hear the sounds and smell the smells, as well. All those details will lend an authenticity to your work that you can’t get from the Internet. If your desired location is too far away, try setting your book closer to home or at least let a native of the area read your work to see if it feels authentic to them.

Support groups

If your character is an addict, an abused spouse, going through a divorce or dealing with grief, it can be hard to put yourself in those types of situations. If you’re writing non-fiction about these tough topics, you’ll need more of a personal experience than books can give you. Support groups, though, are full of people dealing with those types of situations. You may be able to sit in on some group meetings if you ask in advance and mention that you are doing research for a book. You’ll likely be asked to keep in the background and to keep anything you learn confidential, but hearing the stories and seeing the emotions can give you what you need to make your work authentic.

Reenactments

Reenactments aren’t limited to just the battlefields, although those are invaluable if your work covers historic battles. Places like Williamsburg, Virginia and other “living history” museums reenact everything from the nightly lamp lighting in a village to butter churning. Seeing how a process actually worked is better than reading about it and then trying to recreate it on the page.

Observation

This is simple. Get out and watch what people do. If your character is a teenager, spend some time watching what they do and how they act with each other. If your character is a teacher, ask if you can shadow a class for a day. Is your character a farmer? Tag along with a farmer for a day. Find ways to observe the people you want to write about. It’ll make for a more authentic work and it may take your character beyond the stereotype that you would have otherwise created.

Businesses, organizations, and associations

There are all kinds of organizations that might have the information you need. Whether you’re looking for information on how a product is made or how a rescue organization does its work, for example, you can find it by visiting various organizations and asking for information or observing how things work. Unless the information is proprietary or confidential, many organizations are wiling to share.

Hobby groups

If you need to know what it’s like to be someone who flies model airplanes, scuba dives, restores old cars, or plays Dungeons and Dragons every weekend, you might want to visit some local hobby groups. Many don’t require membership and are happy to show off their hobbies to others. You don’t have to learn how to do the activity yourself, but watching other people do it and asking questions can yield a deeper understanding than simply reading about the hobby online.

Veteran’s groups

Want to know what a certain battle was like, or what the uniforms of the time felt like? There are no better people to talk to than those who were there. While you can only speak directly to veterans of more recent wars, you can find groups dedicated to preserving the memories and information gleaned from those who served in older wars. There are also groups dedicated to the experiences of women on the home front.

Courthouses

Courthouses have records of births, deaths, real estate transactions, and business filings. Not to mention all of the criminal files. Much of this information is public record. They also house some historic documents and records that are open to the public. If your character is a lawyer (or criminal) you can even spend some time in the courtroom watching actual cases unfold as many trials are open to the public.

The Internet can be a good place to begin your research or gather general facts, but when it comes to the small details and personal experiences that make a work authentic, there’s no substitute for getting out into the world and observing how actual people live their lives. And who knows? Maybe in the process of researching one work you meet someone or hear a story that is just so fascinating that it becomes the idea for your next work.

(Photo courtesy of Ellen Forsyth)

1000 Words a Day Writing Challenge

If you find yourself in a position where you aren’t writing as much as you would like to, a great way to push yourself to do more is to do a 1000-words-a-day challenge. The actual number of words you choose to try to write daily doesn’t have to be 1000. It can be any number that fits your writing goal, and it can be higher or lower depending on your circumstances. 1000 words a day is a good starting numner if you aren’t sure how much you have been writing.

If you have taken one of these challenges in the past, you may not have managed to complete it. What often happens is a writer sets a daily goal, but something happens one day which prevents them from achieving the number of words they set. They then try to make up for the words they failed to write the previous day in addition to their normal daily goal. The result is many get behind to the point where they don’t feel they can make up for the past days and quit. This is a complete shame because, in many cases, they were still writing more than they were before the challenge, just not their predetermined goal.

There is a simple solution to this which will greatly increase your chances of completing the challenge without quitting in the middle. In addition to your daily goal, you want to set an absolute minimum number of words you will write each day. A good number for this is 10% of you daily word goal. For example, if you want to write 1000 words a day, the absolute minimum you will write in a day would be 100 words. While this may seem like a silly little thing, it can make a huge difference when it comes to the way you process the challenge.

The biggest change is that it redefines failure. Instead of failing by not writing 1000 words, you only fail if you don’t write 100 words. If you can’t write 100 words one day during the challenge, then one of two issues is going on. You either aren’t truly committed to writing 1000 words a day, or 1000 words a day is too ambitious a goal for you.

The 100-word minimum is a failsafe. Again, if you are barely making 100 words each day, then your original goal of 1000 was unrealistic. This minimum should only come into play when something unexpected happens to prevent you from writing, not because of writer’s block. What it allows you to do is to be disappointed you didn’t reach 1000 words one day without thinking you failed the overall challenge. It also means you don’t have to make up the words the next day. It keeps the challenge going instead of giving you an excuse to quit.

So why have a daily minimum number of words at all? Having that daily minimum number means that no matter how hectic a day may get, you have made writing a big enough priority that somehow, someway, you’ll find 10 minutes to sit down to write those 100 words. It also prevents you from beginning to form the bad habit of having days where you don’t write at all, and reinforce the habit that no matter what, you will write at least a little bit each and every day. This will help to reinforce the fact that writing is a priority in your life, and something you are determined to do on a daily basis.

Below are the steps you need to take to set up your challenge:

Step one: Determine the goal of how many words you want to write each day.

Step two: Determine the minimum number of words you must write each day (10% of your goal amount is a good number).

Step three: Determine the length of the challenge. It could be a month, 100 days, six months or a year — whatever best fits your circumstances. If you are trying this for the first time, a month is a good place to begin.

Step four: Determine if there are any off days. Some people may not have any at all while some may exclude weekends or one particular day each week. Again, make the challenge fit best to your particular circumstances.

Step five: Let others know about the challenge to keep yourself honest. When you let others know you are attempting a challenge, even if it’s only your family, you usually make a more concerted commitment, and hold yourself more accountable, than if you don’t tell anyone else. it’s harder to quit when you’ve stated to others what you’re going to do.

Step six: Keep track of your daily word count throughout the challenge, and record it somewhere. If you’re truly committed to reaching your daily word count goal, you’ll find the challenge will greatly increase the amount you’re able to write on a daily basis, and over the length of the entire challenge.

(Photo courtesy of Andres Nieto Porras)

10 Approaches to Writing Revisions

Most people think of revision as painful and something that should be avoided. It’s much more fun to play with a first draft than to try to take something half-baked and shape it into something publishable. If you want to make money writing, though, you have to revise. No one’s work is perfect on the first try, and no one is going to pay you for a half-complete idea filled with errors. Revision is essential.

During revision, you’re looking for more than just typos and grammar mistakes. You’re looking for continuity issues (does the character look and sound the same throughout the book, is the timeline consistent, do the scenes advance the work, does your non-fiction make sense and proceed in a logical order, etc.), things that can be cut or shortened (unnecessary scenes, redundant scenes or topics, lengthy descriptions, etc.), and things that need fleshing out (too-short character descriptions, scenes that come to an abrupt end and make no sense, and topics that aren’t fully covered). That’s not everything that will likely need to be fixed in your work, but these are some of the main items.

There are many ways to revise. If you want to excel at revision, you have to find the method that works for you. Here are several different approaches. Try a few and find which one (or a combination) works best. Personally, I prefer to read things aloud. I always find the most mistakes and “clunks” in the writing this way. My way doesn’t have to be your way, however.

Read it aloud

Reading a work out loud reveals unrealistic dialog, repetitive sentence structure, and many other errors. When you read something silently (especially for the umpteenth time) your eyes tend to see what they want to see. Reading it out loud, however, forces you to focus on what the words actually say, rather than what you think they say. If you feel stupid reading to an empty room, you can read your work to another person or to your plants or pets.

Let it sit

Some people find that putting the work away for a time (a couple of weeks to over a month or more) gives you some distance from the project. When you do come back to it, it is with fresh eyes that see all the flaws you couldn’t see when you were wrapped up in it.

Revise immediately

While letting your work sit may lead you to look at it with fresh eyes, there’s something to be said for jumping right into revisions while the work is still fresh, especially if you tend to be the type to procrastinate. You’re still immersed in your world and you haven’t forgotten where you’re trying to go and what you’re trying to say. You might also be more likely to finish the project if you revise immediately. (While waiting for something to “sit” you may get involved in other projects and never come back to this one.)

Let someone else read it

It’s nerve-wracking, but letting someone else read your work can be a good revision technique. An impartial third party can see places where things get confusing, where characters act inconsistently, or where contradictions or continuity issues appear. They can also give you valuable feedback about what “works” for them as a reader and what does not. Pick someone you know who can be both constructive and kind in their feedback. You don’t want someone who says, “It’s great,” if it’s not, but neither do you want someone who’s so harsh that they crush your dreams.

Start at the back (or in the middle)

Reading from the beginning to the end is the common way to revise. But some people have success if they start in the middle and work to the end, or start at the end and work to the front. Reading out of order can force you to think about the overall structure of the work and it takes you out of the zone where you’re seeing what you expect to see.

Read and outline

Some writers like to read their work and make an outline as they go. When they’re finished with the outline, they go back and read it to see if it “hangs together.” The outline may reveal places where the story becomes redundant, or where things are not explained clearly or left out altogether.

Revise as you go

Some people like to write a few pages and then go back and revise them before continuing on with the story. They make those pages as good as they can make them before moving on. There is some benefit to this as mistakes that could snowball (strange subplots or unnecessary characters) are caught early and eliminated before they become major issues that have to be eradicated in the next draft.

Talk to yourself (either on paper or actual speaking)

When I revise, I have conversations with myself. Sometimes I write these out in a notebook (for example, “What is this character trying to accomplish and how is this getting her there?”) and then I answer the questions, sometimes making notes about where this is covered elsewhere, noting something that isn’t clear, or making lists of things that I still need to show or do. It’s messy because I end up going back and forth in the notebook, checking prior “conversations,” adding to them and making new ones as I go along, but it keeps the flow of the book moving for me and keeps me in the mind of characters.

Keeps notes as your write the first draft

Sometimes you’ll write something that you know isn’t really working, but you keep going just to keep the first draft moving. Make a note before you move on. That will alert you during revision that you need to pay particular attention to that place.

Color it

You can use several different colored highlighters and sticky notes to mark various sections and problems. One color for technical issues. Another for character issues and another for plot. Use still another color for continuity problems. When you’ve got everything colored, it’s easier to see what you’re working on and work backward and forward in the manuscript to address everything.

Revision isn’t as bad as some writers make it out to be. It does require more discipline than the freedom of a first draft requires, but it can still be fun if you approach it in a way that works for you and is effective. Just think about the ways you work will be so much better when you’re finished.

(Photo courtesy of Denise Krebs)

Action Is Required to Be a Good Writer

Action is needed to be a become a good writer

My parents were cleaning out their house the other day and decided to get rid of the old piano. Seeing it go to my young cousin brought back memories of my attempts to learn to play. I didn’t take lessons, at first. I just banged away on the thing, sure that I was creating masterpieces. I was sure that I was the one in a million prodigy who didn’t need lessons. I could create and compose beautiful works without any formal education, thank you very much. (I’d like to apologize now to my parents for subjecting them to that!)

Then came the lessons. I hated them. Lessons did not jibe with my image of myself as a prodigy. Practicing scales and simple pieces felt like going backward. It was boring and frustrating. Did I really need to learn how to place my fingers on the keys? Did I really need to practice Chopsticks again? I did not (I thought to myself). So I rebelled. I whined. I dragged my feet. I refused to practice what was assigned and went back to creating my “masterpieces.”

Thankfully, my parents insisted that I stick with the lessons for a year. The first six months were a battle, with one or both of them hovering over me making sure that I did what I was supposed to do. Then something happened. I started to get better. I progressed to better pieces. I played in a couple of recitals and found them fun. The practice became something that, while I still didn’t look forward to it, I didn’t hate because I could see that it had value. I started to enjoy learning the rules of piano playing. And I gave up on my masterpieces because I realized they were really crap. Once I understood the “rules” of the piano, I understood that I was breaking them all to no good effect.

Today I’m still not a prodigy or even particularly gifted on the piano. (Others in my family have the gift and I know that I don’t have it compared to them.) But I am proficient. I may never play in Carnegie Hall, but I can hold my own. I know the rules and I sometimes break them, but now I understand what rule I’m breaking (and why) and it sometimes turns out well. I occasionally compose my own work for fun and it’s not completely terrible because now I know what I’m doing.

So why am I telling you this story? Because learning to be a better writer follows much the same journey for most of us. When I started writing, it was pretty much the piano all over again. (Possibly worse because in this case some well-meaning teachers had told me that I was a good writer, fueling my prodigy fantasies even further.) I churned out poetry that I thought was deep and wonderful. It wasn’t. I churned out novels that I believed would make me millions of dollars. They didn’t. I churned out articles that made no sense and had no focus. None of this was because I had bad story ideas or nothing interesting to say, but because I had not yet mastered the basics of the craft. My grammar was poor and my punctuation was worse. I didn’t know the first thing about novel or article structure. I didn’t have the discipline required to learn the rules (and I didn’t really think I needed it because, hello, prodigy here). I just banged out whatever caught my fancy and thought it was wonderful. Agents and editors were less than enthusiastic.

The good news is that those piles of crappy manuscripts were practice. I learned something from each of them (primarily that poetry should be left to others because I am really bad at it). At first I thought, “Phooey. Those people who are rejecting me don’t know anything.” But then I slowly realized that they were right. I needed more practice before I would be even close to publishable. So I wrote more crap and gradually found that it got better. I got some low paying assignments and won a couple of contests. I took some courses and read a lot of how-to and reference books. In other words, I learned the rules of writing and publishing and I practiced.

My writing career has progressed, although I’m still not where I want to be. But I’m closer. I still don’t know all there is to know, and I likely never will. Through practice, I understand the difference between good work and bad. I know that I cannot just slap words on the page and expect them to be good. I have to learn the craft and master the rules (and then play by the rules when seeking work). Only then will my work be good enough to earn money and support me.

We all want to believe that we are the exception, the prodigy, the “gifted one.” We want to believe that we will succeed on the first try and be the overnight success story; that everything we churn out is gold. The truth is that most overnight success stories have often spent years laboring in obscurity before hitting it big. The media conveniently leaves out their failed attempts and years of struggle in an effort to make the story more glamorous. Success in anything, be it writing, piano, or painting, requires lots of practice. The oft-quoted number is 10,000 hours of practice to become an expert at anything. You have to learn the fundamentals before you can progress.

It’s not always fun or glamorous and sometimes it’s downright painful, but practice is the only sure way to succeed. If you think you can skip it because you’re that, “one in a million,” you might be right. Likely, though, you’ll simply find yourself having to go back and practice like the rest of us. Welcome to the club.

(Photo courtesy of Pedro Ribeiro Simoes)

What to Do If You’re a Victim of Plagiarism

how to deal with plagiarism of your writing

You’re trawling the internet one day and you see one of your articles or blog posts posted on someone else’s website. Your byline is missing and there’s no reference back to the website where the original work was posted. Or, you’re reading a book and you notice that one section seems familiar and then it dawns on you that it’s so familiar because you wrote it. Yet there’s no citation listing you as the author. Yeah, you’ve been plagiarized. You might have a moment where this makes you secretly happy. In some ways, it’s a twisted validation of your work. Hey, my stuff was good enough to be worthy of stealing! But then you get angry. “What right does this person have to use my hard work without compensation or credit?” Answer: Absolutely none.

You can let it slide, but the plagiarist will likely just keep stealing. If not from you, from someone else. You need to take action to put a halt to this behavior (or at least make yourself a less attractive target). If you’ve been victimized, here’s what you need to do to uphold your rights.

Document the plagiarism

This is especially important in cases of online plagiarism where the content in question can be easily removed when the plagiarist senses trouble brewing. Print the page in question (keeping the headers intact), or do a screen capture of the work in question showing the URL. Keep a physical copy of the work of any books or magazines in which your work appears uncredited.

Figure out how much work was stolen

This may be time-consuming, but try entering paragraphs from several of your articles into search engines to see if you get any matches. Search through the site where you found the first offense to see if there are any others. Often a plagiarist doesn’t stop with just one piece. If you find your work on multiple domains, do a WHOIS search to determine who owns those domains. It may be that one person owns several websites and is posting your stuff on all of them thinking you won’t connect the dots.

Figure out who you’re dealing with

Are you dealing with a company, a famous blog, or an individual? If the piece in question has been posted on a large company website or a famous blog, you may have more recourse simply because the company isn’t going to want to have their reputation sullied by accusations of plagiarism. The owners of the website will likely be responsive to your request for compensation and will probably go after the author. At the very least they’ll remove the work in question.

If you’re dealing with an individual who simply lifted your stuff for their personal blog, you’re probably dealing with someone who does not have the money to pay out on any claims. And the person may be a jerk who tries to claim that you are actually the thief (more on this below). The best you may hope for is an apology and the removal of your work. You’ll be lucky to get any other compensation.

Contact the appropriate person

If your work is posted on a large website or in a book/magazine, you need to contact the publisher, not the author. The author will do nothing to help you and may try to hinder you by reverse-claiming you as the plagiarist. Contact the publisher and demonstrate proof that your work has been stolen. If you’re dealing with an individual, you have no choice but to contact them directly. They may be apologetic, or they may want to fight. You have to decide how hard you’re willing to fight if it comes to that. In either case, send the contact person a cease and desist letter, along with an invoice (if appropriate) and details about what you expect them to do next (remove the content, pay up, stop printing books, etc.). Send all correspondence by certified mail, if you can, since this will provide a record of your contact.

Figure out what you want

Is it enough that the offending content is simply removed from the site, or do you want monetary compensation? Will a link back to your original article suffice? Do you want the publisher to immediately cease and desist printing books that contain your content? Tell the contact person what remedy you want. If you want to be paid for your work, you can try submitting an invoice with your initial communication demanding your standard fee. Sometimes that’s enough to scare an individual into paying up or at least removing the content.

Be willing to negotiate

If the person can’t afford to pay you, consider other remedies such as a public apology posted on their site. If the site gets relatively heavy traffic, you can ask that they post a link back to your original site in the apology or in the purloined content. That may bring in enough visitors to act as compensation for your work.

Go to the web host and/or search engines

If you’re not getting help any other way, report the offender to the company that hosts their website and/or request removal from search engines. Website hosting companies and search engines fear getting sued for hosting stolen content, so they may be willing to help you.

Lawyer up only as a last resort (and only if it’s worth it)

A lawyer is expensive and should only be invoked after everything else has failed. And only if they can do anything for you. If you’re fighting with an individual, the chances are good that you would pay more in legal fees than you could ever recover from the plagiarist. Even if you get them to agree to pay you for the work, that amount will likely pale in comparison to your legal costs. You might make a point, but you have to determine whether making that point is worth it financially to you. If you’re dealing with a company, however, a lawyer may be able to recover significant damages for you. Talk to a reputable attorney and see what they say.

Keep records

Keep records of any and all contact with the plagiarist or publishers. You’ll need it if you have to escalate your efforts beyond the first contact point, or if you get a lawyer involved and you have to go to court.

Contact your network

If you have a network of other writers that you know (either online or in real life), alert them to the plagiarism. They may want to check to make sure that your plagiarist isn’t stealing their stuff, too. If several of you are affected by the same plagiarist, you can band together as a group and you may get better results than if you each approach the thief individually. If you want to pursue legal action, splitting the legal fees can make such action a more appealing option than going it alone.

Plagiarism is serious business. Reputable companies and websites will be horrified to learn that they are posting stolen content and will likely do all they can to get it removed and punish the plagiarist. It can be harder to get any resolution from an individual, but it may still be worth it to simply let them know that you know what they’re doing. It may not stop their activities entirely, but they may remove you from their target list.

(Photo courtesy of Dave O)

12 Things NOT to Include in a Query Letter

If you want to be published in a magazine or by a traditional book publisher, the chances are that you’ll have to submit a query letter at some point. At its most basic, a query letter is simply a letter that details your project and your writing credentials to a prospective editor, agent, or publisher. Yet the query letter is a source of great angst for writers because it is often the only piece of information that a gatekeeper will see before either rejecting your work or asking to see more. When one piece of paper controls that much of your destiny, the pressure to get it right is enormous. It’s the first step on your way to getting to submit your work.

Tons of books and online resources exist to help you write the perfect letter. However, in addition to the things that you should do, there are plenty of things you need to avoid, as well. Here are twelve things that you should never put in a query letter unless a fast rejection is your goal.

Mistakes

This is the first contact that an editor or agent has with your work. If it’s riddled with typos and grammatical errors, they aren’t going to take a chance on anything more from you because you’ve already demonstrated that you are not capable of submitting error-free work. Proofread, rewrite, and polish that letter until it’s perfect, and then have someone else (or several someones) read it, too, to make certain that you’re not overlooking something. You want your letter to show you as a competent, careful writer, not as someone who dashes off stuff and submits it without a care. You always want to be improving your writing skills.

Gifts or bribes

Writers will sometimes include items like tickets to shows, homemade items, or even money in an effort to get an agent or editor to look at their work. This strategy will always fail. First, it’s unethical for an editor or agent to accept any sort of gift or bribe. Even if they accepted the gift and swore that it didn’t influence their decision about your work, the perception would be there, should word of the transaction get out. (And publishing is a small world, so word would get out!) A reputable agent or publishing house would not risk their reputation by accepting any sort of “gift.” Second, since they aren’t accepting it, it becomes something for them to deal with, either by returning it to you or throwing it away. See number 9, below, for more about why agents and editors don’t want extra “stuff.”

Anything that reveals your stalker tendencies

It’s recommended that you mention in your letter where you heard about the agent or editor, or any personal contact you may have had, such as a meeting at a conference. What isn’t recommended is that you mention that you know the person has three kids, that they go to such-and-such church, and that you know that their family went to Barbados last year. If you Google the agent or check up on them on Facebook, keep your findings to yourself. Keep any mention of what you know about the agent or editor to the professional realm, only.

Arrogance

Yes, you should give the agent or editor some clue about where your work fits into the marketplace. If it’s similar to a certain successful work, or if it combines elements from two or more successful works, it’s okay to mention that briefly. What’s not okay is to talk about how your book will be the next bestseller, how it will outsell anything by J.K. Rowling, or how it will make millions for you and anyone lucky enough to publish your work. Keep it real, please. If you’re this arrogant and unrealistic in the query letter, the agent or editor is already thinking that working with you will be too much trouble.

“Over the top” language

You want to avoid all “over the top” language, cuteness, rudeness, or crudeness just to get attention. Your book or article may rely on crude humor, bad language, or a unique voice and you want that to show through in your letter. A little of this can be fine if it is truly needed to represent your work and if it is handled well. But when you resort to this type of language and/or style in an effort to shock or get attention, it will fail. If your whole letter is nothing but F-bombs, baby talk, or crude jokes with no purpose, expect to be rejected.

Your age/photo

You want your work to be judged on its own merits. That means removing yourself from the equation as much as possible. You don’t want an agent or editor to know how old you are or what you look like until they are so captivated by your work that age and looks don’t matter. Most gatekeepers will disavow that age or looks sway their decision but bias, even if unintentional, can play a role. It’s somewhat true in our visual world that younger, better-looking, TV-worthy authors are in demand. If an editor knows how good (or bad) you would look on TV, on a book jacket, at appearances, or in a book trailer that may sway their decisions. Send only your work and don’t include any mention of your age or a photo that you think would be “perfect” on your book jacket.

Anything not relevant

When you talk about yourself and your credentials in your query letter, only mention credits and accomplishments that are relevant to the work in question. Don’t include the fact that you won your 8th-grade writing contest. Don’t list your work history unless your work is relevant to the book or article. Don’t mention your hobbies, favorite foods, movies, or books, either. Agents and editors do not care that you love Twinkie’s and Pretty Woman. They only care about the project you are pitching.

Bizarre fonts, papers, and formatting

You think you’re making your submission stand out by submitting it in a 14-point calligraphy font on hot pink paper. The agent or editor thinks you’re being annoying and hurting their eyes. Stick to the accepted conventions.

Anything not requested

Agents and editors are drowning in paper. The last thing they need from you is anything that they did not specifically request. This means no complete manuscripts or even chapters, no copies of your self-published book, no resumes, no cute drawings that would make “perfect” cover art, a DVD of your ideal book trailer, and no head shots. You may think you’re saving the agent time by making all of this available to them, but they only see more crap they have to dispose of or send back to you. Only submit what is requested. If an agent or editor wants more, they’ll ask for it.

Multiple projects

A query letter should be for one article or book. Don’t submit one letter that covers the three manuscripts you’ve got stuffed in a drawer, or the fifteen articles you’ve got on your hard drive. One letter = one project. Always.

Incomplete projects

Only query a finished manuscript or a fully fleshed out article/non-fiction book proposal that you are ready to write if given the go-ahead by an editor. No editor wants to read a fantastic query letter only to hear the writer say, “Great. I can have the completed manuscript to you in three months. Maybe four.” You’re not querying a half-baked idea here, or a book of which you’ve only written the first three chapters. You’re not feeling an editor out on whether or not you should continue with the work. You’re querying something which is complete and ready to go, or you need to wait until it is.

Anything personal about you

I’ve already mentioned that you shouldn’t include a photo or mention anything irrelevant in your query letter, but you should refrain from mentioning any other personal information, as well. You may think you’re “bonding” with the agent if you tell him or her that you have three dogs or that you volunteer at a hospice. You may think you’re gaining a sympathy vote if you mention your spouse’s recent death and lack of life insurance, or if you mention that you are disabled. Agents and editors aren’t cold, unfeeling people, but the bottom line is that they do not need to know these things about you. Mentioning things like hobbies or pets only takes up valuable space in a letter that needs to be as brief as possible. Worse, mentioning things like disabilities or tragedies brings up the bias argument again and a gatekeeper will likely steer clear to avoid the perception that their decision was somehow influenced by your tragedy. Talk only about your project and leave out anything personal.

A query letter is a professional introduction of your work to an agent or editor. As such, it needs to be kept professional in both tone and appearance. It is not a place to showcase your “creativity” or lifestyle choices. It’s not a place to expound upon your literary greatness or to discuss all the things that you and the agent have in common. Since it shouldn’t be longer than one page, typed, single spaced, and in 12-point font, you have limited real estate with which to work. Make every sentence count and don’t waste them on things that are not relevant or which may actually hurt your chances.

(Photo courtesy of Andy)