When writing fantasy, you have enough traps to fall into. Most of them are of your own making. Don't go out of your way to borrow any more. One of the traps when writing is to concentrate on the main story to the exclusion of everything else. It can make a perfect plot look boring. What you might need is a supporting side story to weave into your yarn.
Many authors and writers choose to self-publish. There is a wide spectrum of reasons for this trend. Many of the reasons that induce an author to self-publish turn out to be draw-backs in hind-sight. And many warnings flagged up to people intending to self-publish reveal themselves as empty threats. Time to look at a few favorite myths that surround self-publishing.
You have finished writing your first manuscript. You have done your own proofreading and competently edited it yourself. What is your next step? I assume that someone besides yourself has read the book as well and given some feedback. Family and friends are there to do these little favors. Ask them to read the book and be honest about what they think about it.
Writing dialogue is an art. You will know that if ever you stumbled onto one of those books where it doesn't work at all. Worse, you might remember when you wrote something yourself and your family collapsed in universal mirth. To save yourself from humiliation, and the world of some more atrocious dialogues, there are three things to keep at the forefront of your mind.
Often you see writers' blogs that are nothing but lists; the ten best, worst and everything. They were told that lists are best suited to attract readers. Converting everything into lists means they have stopped writing. They are listing. There are useful lists like your shopping list, and then there are millions of useless lists like the ones you find on the internet.
What has castrated rain to do with writing? Maybe it's feeling a bit sheepish or just undecide. This is an example of what wrong spelling can do to a sentence. And read me, it is not always your spelling that leads you astray. Your spellchecker program can do it to you just as well or even better and with much more conviction. Join me in the rain to look at some undecided sheep.
When reading, you will stumble over Greek words that have been absorbed into the English language. When writing, you will be tempted to use them yourself. Using words alien to the language you're writing in can be useful; beware the traps, though. It's a minefield and the traps are made to catch a grown elephant. Avoid Greek expressions if you aren't sure about how to use them correctly.
Writing about most things includes writing numbers. Even fairy-tales contain numbers: Remember Snow White and the seven dwarfs? Some people claim that there are rules on how to write numbers but lets call them recommendations. Different countries have different rules, and consistency is not part of the deal. When writing numbers, use common sense.
Writing is a nice thing to do. It is also a dangerous thing to do. The English language is a minefield. Things are used that aren't really words at all, but somehow are in the process of becoming words. There are plurals that look like singulars, there are singulars that look like plurals. And then there is a plural or two relating to a singular you wouldn't have dreamed of associating with each other.
Cliffhangers are the spice in a book's story. They are the glue that holds the story together. If applied correctly, they are like wings carrying readers through a book. If done wrong, they can line the pages like tombstones, a miserable reminder of what could have been. When writing, make sure you'll find right amount of spice to add to your story. Too sparingly may leave the reader bored. Too hot might burn you instead.
Do you prefer Harry Potter or CSI? Or is it the other way round? I like both equally well, therefore what I write about here works for me either way. It can be magic, science, or whatever. But you can decide yourself where you want to place my tips in this article. Just as long as it works for you, who really cares? And don't forget to put the magic word on the fridge.
For writers, blogging is a niche market. What makes it interesting is that it is a niche market made up of uncounted niches. Blogging in itself is a specialized branch for writers. You are allowed more freedom there than in any other form of writing. What you want to write about is also left up to you. That is where you can find your niche within that niche market. Your options are limitless.
If you want to make a living as a writer, this writing blog is for you. Why? Because I’m sharing whatever I find useful. A lot of the things I write about might seem desperately obvious; but obvious for one person doesn't necessarily mean the same for your neighbor. And often it comes down to pull all these obvious things together, and that might not be that obvious at all. Therefore, I agree, emails are obviously useful, but are you making the most of them?
Blogs are online journals. They can be personal diaries, a collection of articles with information, or a series of jokes. The list could go on. They are frequently updated, sometimes even several times daily, with new material. Updates can come in all forms and sizes, they can be short texts or just photographs with some description. Blogs usually have a comments box for people to respond or comment. When writing a blog, you're blogging and transmute from writer to blogger.
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This is an excursion into life's reality for all writers. You have to face up to rejection. Rejection comes in many forms to a writer. All of them must be dealt with in a way that makes you stronger and better at what you do. Rejection is not the way down, it is your ladder up to success. Get that, and you can't fail.
If you want to be a writer, then you should behave like a professional writer. If you want to be taken seriously, then you should take it seriously, too. There are some tricks to get your writing job sorted. It has to do with organization and psychology. If you sort out time, place, and mood, nothing can really stop you from making a success of it.
When you employ yourself in writing, there are three cardinal sins you can commit. None of them gets you admitted to hell, but they make hell out of writing. Avoiding them should be your priority. If it helps you, put the writing on the wall. It helped Nebuchadnezzar, sort of. Keep your head on one thing your doing at a time and jot everything else down to chase up later.
Do you want to get your writing noticed? If you advertise your writing and don’t have a homepage or blog, you’re wasting your time. These websites are online business cards with much more information than the printed ones. It shows editors and publishers what you do, gets potential readers interested and makes you accessible. Anyone who is looking for a writer for a book or article assignment can be referred there. If you don’t have your website in place, it is time to seriously think about it.
The main problem for new writers is to get samples of their writing to where they can be seen. Being able to write and having some great ideas is a good start. Knowing where to find clients is a good second step. The problem starts when everyone wants to see samples of your work and you don’t have anything to show. It's the classical story of the egg and the chicken: You can't get work without samples and you can’t get samples without work.
As a writer, you must be looking for a specialized niche to write in. While your hobbies are an easy way to find such a niche, your employment (or former employment) might be another option. Writing about what you know will make it easy for you to produce articles about any theme within your area of prior knowledge. There is a third option: White Papers are a highly lucrative niche market for writers. What are White Papers?
We all have our pet hates in one area of our lives or work or another. Mine are all concentrated on writing, reading, and not understanding. I have collected a few of them here; I'll get to more later on, I'm sure. As they are pet hates, I try to blend them out of my life to help me stay calm. But they keep on intruding persistently.
If you are dreaming of becoming a freelance writer, you alone can make it come true. If you have any doubts about it, it won't happen. Don't start finding reasons why it can't work, because if you really want it, it will happen. It is a lot of work; don't expect customers to run down your door. Your webpage won't get swamped with either views and even less requests. You are the one who has to reach out and get people in.
Is it a good idea to go into revenue sharing with a professional publishing site? For some writers, revenue sharing can be a good opportunity. It can also be a total waste of time. If you are just starting out with writing and publishing online, there are points to be made for such an option. Once you feel comfortable with handing over your articles into the public domain, you will have to give it more thought and maybe reconsider.
Boring is a word that no one should ever be using when talking about any article. To let readers die of boredom is the one way of career suicide the writer alone can prevent. Readers may die of heart attacks brought on by shock, they may choke on envious bile, they may asphyxiate on their hatred, but they may never exit an article feeling bored. Boring topics don't exist, only boring writers and authors.
There are thousands of books giving advice on how to be a freelance writer. Most of these books are a total waste of time. Some of them are only a waste of time. A few of them are worth reading, maybe one of them, actually. The Well-Fed Writer by Peter Bowerman is one that might teach you a thing or two. But as with every advice you get, personally or in book form, you'll have to adapt it to your personality for it to work for you.
Have you ever read an article and looking at the shares had a bout of jealousy? Social networking can do this to an article. The Facebook button reads 10K+ and the Twitter one might read the same or more for retweets. The question that must come to mind is, how do they do it? That article obviously went viral.
Fantasy writing comes with a label warning: Magic is dangerous and can imperil your writing career. Because for writers, and namely fantasy writers, magic is real. It has to be real to hook the readers. But Magic can get out of hand. Instead of making the story, it may destroy it. Magic in books enters reality through the editor's office. Be careful, therefore, to keep it under control.
Good writing is based on good research. Doing your research online is handy and allows you to copy and paste relevant results into your notes. Your online research is also dangerous. You could miss the salient points when doing so. Companies and public figures are the reason for that very real danger. They manipulate Google search results to their liking with targeted SEO.
If you want to earn your money as a writer, should you have your own website to promote your writing? The question can be answered with a qualified yes no matter what kind of writing you plan to do or are doing. If you want the writing jobs that get advertised, you need it to promote yourself and pack in the information you can't get on a business card or into a CV. And as an author, you want to promote your books to help sales and to impress future publishers. If you're dabbling or starting out, there is time to think about.
Some years ago, Swiss Television homepage thoroughly embarrassed itself over a news item. It concerned the arrest of it-boy Carl Hirschmann, the owner of the most renowned celebrity club venue in Zurich. The story started with a rumor that was reported wrongly. This made a follow-up post with a retraction of the previous information inevitable. Instead of calming things down, they managed to dig themselves in deeper and deeper.
Online reputation is a critical factor for companies’ business success online as well as offline. Large social networks, more and more blogs, and a plethora of comparison portals attract users to consult them in their decision making. If these sites portray a company in a negative way, the damage done to their reputation will affect their overall business success. The management of German clothing company Jack Wolfskin knows how that mechanism works. In hindsight, they could do without that particular experience.
If you are struggling with spelling and punctuation, don’t despair. Jane Austen failed at both. Oxford research revealed that her work had to be heavily edited prior to publication. All you have to do, therefore, is getting yourself a really good editor to catch those little mishaps. Nothing will hinder you swooning away over your own Mr. Darcy even if he misses a point or two.
The way you think about yourself influences the way others will think about you. It also influences you in showing the right attitude. Thinking of yourself as an author or as a writer influences your writing style and the way you present yourself to the reader. But it is also a matter of branding. Writer or author might appeal to different audiences. In fact, the difference is almost nil and yet profound.
Search engine optimization, or SEO in short, is the term describing the conscious designing of web pages. These pages are geared for a better placement in the search results with major search engines. The substantial majority of SEO experts use Google as a relevant guidance tool. Depending on these search results, consumer decisions are made in favor or against a company and its products.
Back-links bring in views and add to the ranking of your page. That is what the professional SEO gurus tell you all the time. The principle is right, but how much of your time is it worth investing? There are back-links, and then there are back-links. Some are worth the trouble, some are not. Quality back-links over quantity must be the credo.
Links are important to the quality of your content. That at least is the perception of the Google Search Engine. But piling in links wantonly works against you. Put in too many links and your article loses in relevance rather than gaining from it. Put in too few links, and the same applies. As with everything you do in writing, the matter is one of balance. As to the placement of the links, that is a matter of contention between experts.
In principle, you may write whatever you like. You may also post the pictures you like. That's in principle. After that, reality sets in. Your limitation for publishing is defined by what the site you are writing for allows. If you are running your own blog, you've set the limitations yourself. The question is, should you write about whatever comes to mind? Establishing a brand that is all over the place is impossible. Intelligent limitation is the motto when you start off.
You have created your brand as an author. Now it is time to promote this brand. Promotion is best done by networking and showing your presence on social media. There are certain rules you should follow that are essential to the success of your brand that you are creating with your writing persona.
Google Translate is a practical tool. But it is only a tool. Using it may help you access information available on the Internet in other languages. But Google Translate does not write articles for you in any language. It is intended to help you understand, not to do your work for you. Do you know how horribly wrong things can go in such a translation?
Before you let anything leave your desk, it is essential that you check it beginning to end. Make sure you deliver quality in everything you write, even a note to your editor. An email going out with faulty spelling is a fail. It isn't consistent with the brand you have been building. Never send out or publish anything in haste. Nobody is perfect, but try to be as near to perfection as possible.
A regular discussion between online writers concerns article quality and quantity. If you want to build a brand as an author, the question doesn't arise. Your brand requires that you produce the best possible quality in writing. If you don't, your brand becomes worthless. Any quantity produced won't get you out of that. You have to produce quality in quantity to make an impact, to be precise.
The idea of running your own blog is to get more money out of it than you would with an online advertising income sharing publishing site. To this end, you can join up with one or more advertising agencies like Google Adsense. I'm naming this one, because it is as dominant as the Google Search Engine. And you are income sharing again, but at least it is one partner only.
The relevance of a positive corporate reputation on all levels can never be underestimated. German insurance group Ergo showed in 2011 how a single news event can destroy a good reputation. The negative headlines date from May 2011 and their negative impact hasn't disappeared from the net. The company has paid millions to fixers to drown the articles, memes, comments, and videos.
Building an online presence and establishing your writing persona as a brand is getting readers to come back to your articles to read your new ones. It is part of this process to establish you as an expert in one or several fields of knowledge. What is your field of expertise? What do you know most about?
Successful brands use visuals to jog the memory of existing and potential consumers. The visual element for writers publishing online is limited to the avatar picture in their profiles. Choosing that picture with care and making it memorable is one way of increasing recognition value for your present and future readers. Once established, you'll just have to be brave enough to stick with it.
When writing online, your aim is to attract as many hits or views as possible. Should you do it by writing about what everybody else is writing about as well? Or should you rather go for something nobody is writing about?
British media use abbreviations more and more sloppily. Standards are slipping there, in spelling, and in grammar. This is probably just a further fall-out from the excellent British education system where most pupils leave school unable to read and write. No need to blame lazy pupils when more than 50 per cent of teachers are unable to properly spell even basic English words.
Travel articles are among the most read articles on the web. Beautiful and interesting places are presented in travel blogs. Travel stories take you to strange and exotic views, into far away regions, and let you visit foreign cultures. They can serve in lieu of a holiday and hold attraction for just about anyone. Does that mean these places always need to be far away from your own home?
Miles and kilometers, meters and yards, Celsius and Fahrenheit, ounces and grams, liters and gallons; don’t we all get lost at times? Your readers will get lost as easily in your article when it contains measurements they don’t understand; and they might never come back. By using tools to convert your measurements you offer the readers a valuable service.
