Please Don’t Feed the Writer

Creating your own ebook need not be difficult. In fact, if you are perceived to be an expert or an authority in your field, then you can probably have an ebook ready for the “presses” within a week or so. This article will cover some of the topics you need to consider when you have actually decided to write your own ebook. The All important strategies of getting it noticed, then getting it to sell.

I could cover all of these topics myself but honestly, it’s been done before and by people who are making six-figure incomes doing just that (as opposed to my non-existent ebook income, because I discovered this information in the planning stages of doing just that.), so I’ll refer you to those articles and just dish the highlights here.

Alexis Dawes, an ebook author with an income that most of us only dream of gives some absolutely wonderful advice in her article titled “5 Short-Term strategies to Building Long-Term eBook Sales“. Her methods are concise and come from years of experience. Her action plan is simple on the surface:

• Always think “Is this an eBookable Topic?”
• Pick a passion and study it periodically
• Don’t hesitate to dictate
• Read a sales letter a day
• Build name recognition before you need to.

After each action plan, Alexis goes over the methods she used to achieve these actions, something most articles on this topic fail to cover well. I’m labeling this a s a must-read if you’ve thought about selling your own ebook, and these are methods that can help fiction authors as well as informational authors.

Bluedolphin Crow has a wonderful article for the more technical aspects of creating a marketing timeline for your ebook sales. In her article titled “Secret #2: Creating your Marketing Timeline for Success!“, Ms. Crow lets us in on her organizational methods and action plans:

… goals present and future, Action plans for today and tomorrow as well as next month, and last but definitely not least you have a sales tracker as well.

Having worked in Internet development for the past 20 years, I appreciate the fact that Ms. Crow is covering a topic that most people never approach, and I can tell at a glance that they are viable, I’ve used many of the same methods in promoting web properties over the years. They work.

In conclusion: If you are still wondering whether or not you can manage writing an ebook David Hallum, publisher of the eBook Catalog would like to “…Ask you a few” questions that might just help push you in the right direction. While possibly the least informative article listed here, it is thought provoking and the site has more information that you will undoubtedly find helpful.

you haven’t started writing your eBook yet? What are you waiting for? The only person losing out here is you…

One of the most necessary and most often overlooked parts of your web presence is the “About” page. It doesn’t matter whether you are a blogger, an author, a journalist or a company, the “about me” page can either entice the casual reader into returning for another round, or it can send them permanently in the opposite direction, never to be seen again.

I’ll be linking to the most concise article on the topic I’ve yet seen at the bottom of this entry, but first I would like to cover what an “About” page should not be.

Your about page should NOT:

• Read like the author bio in the back of a novel: This format is reserved for books, where it works well. If the format fits what you are doing on the web (i.e., if you are a fiction writer or other form of published author) expand upon the concept. Give your readers more than they will find in the dust jacket of your books, or there is no reason at all for them to read it. In fact, you’ve created an an even better reason for your readers to feel that they’ve gotten all they need from the dust jacket and they will stick with that, not your web site.
• Be a sales pitch: Your about page is there to identify who you are and what you know. It is not there to make a sale. It should only link to a product if said product or publication is relevant to establishing your value to your reader. Don’t make the mistake of trying to turn what should be informative into a push to make a buck. If you do you will be rewarded… By a loss in readership.
• Speak down to your readers: Do not attempt to come across as a “super expert”. This usually results in people feeling that you are being arrogant or pompous. They’re history, and you’re out readership.
• Be Boring: The last thing you want your about page to do is put your readers to sleep! Try to keep it interesting, but not overly long-winded. A little humor goes a long way, Make someone smile today and they will be back tomorrow. Make them snore and well…

Having said all that, I realize that my “About the Author” page is defintely not where it should be. (it’s always good to have a new project!)
For a great example on what your your “About Me” page should address, check out this article on ProBlogger.com

For a few excellent about me pages, see:

• John Chow’s About John Chow
• About Dosh Dosh
• About the Kitchen Wench
• About Simply Recipes

There are many more, but these should get you started. I know they’ve got me thinking.

The chatter in the writing world is still focused on the issue of plagiarism.  The issue currently revolves around authors in the world of fiction, but the truth of the matter is, it’s a real problem for you if you’re writing for the web as well.

I’ve heard some people grousing that no one should care.  I don’t know where they get their idea of fairness , or of ethic, but to me the thought of citing another author that has taken the time to put down original information is more than a little appalling. Weren’t we taught not to do this in grade school?  It is not only inconsiderate but rude, and leads to substandard work on our part, therefore it should never be done.

The simple way to give credit if you are writing fiction is to acknowledge the source of your research in the opening credits of the book.  A line as simple as “I could not have accurately recreated Paris in the 1900’s without the brilliant work of Steven Zdatny from his book “Hairstyles and Fashion, A Hairdresser’s History of Paris, 1910-1920″ is usually enough to stoke another author’s ego and to properly credit your research…  But was it research or plagiarism?

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Fellow writers, it’s that time of year again. Time to commit to be committed and sign up for NaNoWriMo 2007. for those who don’t know what I’m talking about. November is National novel Writing Month, or NanNoWriMo. a wildly popular yearly event that urges writers to attempt the incredible, writing 50,000 words in 30 days.

The theory behind NaNo is simple… Just write it. don’t stop, analyze, or worry where the story takes you. Just dive in and crank out 1,667 words per day for 30 days. The goal is to increase the speed at which you write, and perhaps to spawn one or more story ideas along the way.

Sound impossible? It did to me, too. Last year I entered and only made about 12,000 before life, the universe and everything else got in the way. By the time the month was over I would have sworn it was a completely impossible task.

I’ve since found facts that prove it isn’t.

You see, as the owner of 5 different blogs, I write every day on one or another, if not all of them. My posts average about 550 words per blog per day, which totals to something like 2,750 words per day. There are days when these numbers are considerably less, of course, but then there are days where they are considerably higher than 500 words. (The cooking blog averages about 1,000 per post, since recipes tend to require a few more words to get things right.) So it seems that it is in fact quite possible to write 50,000 words in one month. I’ve been doing it myself since January 2007, and I see no reason to stop now.

Will I be a part of NaNo this year? Unfortunately, no. This year I’m participating in NaBloPoMo, a 30 day event aimed at blogging once a day, every day for one month. (You may find me and friend me here, if you’d like!) That to me would be quite an accomplishment, especially for a cooking blog, which is the blog I’m participating with.

What’s the challenge there? you say? Let me tell you. While it’s true that everyone has to eat every day, it’s also true that humans are creatures of habit, and we tend to eat what we like, which means there’s nothing new to blog about if I’ve made another batch of tomato basil soup. It’s still gonna be the same soup, unless I get in and get creative, and let me tell ya, sometimes I just want the same thing I had last week, with no changes!

So, if you’re a glutton for punishment and you think you can tell your story from start to finish in 30 days, hop on over to NaNoWriMo.org, sign up, and crank out that great American Novel you’ve had simmering on the back burner of your mind for the past few years. Who knows, you may just surprise yourself, get the story written and become the talk of your family, friends and the New York Times best seller’s list!

What!?! It could happen! I have complete faith in you!

Oh, and for those of you who think I’ve been blowing smoke up certain orifices that you most likely possess, the final word count for this post, including this line, is 576 words.

If I can do it, so can you! Go on.! Join in the madness. If it doesn’t kill you, it only makes you stronger!

As an editor and copywriter, I have personal pet peeves.  Words that drive me crazy, especially if used improperly.  Yes, I know I’m not perfect, but no one is.  Think about the irritating girl in class who used to snap her gum all the time or the “I’m not touching you” jibe your irritating little brother used to throw your way. 

What works for some does not work for me.  I can ignore and/or easily correct some things: a lot being spelled as one word, anyways as a word (it’s anyway, if you’re interested), or informal IM conversations that have l33t strewn throughout (LOL for example).  What really burns my bacon or chaps my hide is the misuse of Your, You’re, It’s, and its.  So lets discuss:

Your refers to something belonging to you.  Your car needs an oil change.  You left your purse in my car.  Your dog is quite the yipper.   

You’re refers to the contraction: you are.  You’re going crazy!  You’re very sure? 

If the word you’re can be subsitituted with “you are”, then it needs the apostrophe. 

It’s  refers to the contractions: it is and it has.  It is NOT used as a possessive spelling.  It’s raining outside.  It’s going to be a long day.  It’s been a long time. 

If the word it’s can be subsitituted with “it is” or “it has”, then it needs the apostrophe. 

Its refers to the possessive use of it.  The dog lost its will to live.  The sun turned its face from the world. 

Soapbox rant over. 

I’ve added this into the writing tips category, but it should be considered tips on what never to do!

Every year, English teachers from across the country can submit their collections of actual analogies and metaphors found in high school essays. These excerpts are published each year to the amusement of teachers across the country. Here are last year’s winners…..

1. Her face was a perfect oval, like a circle that had its two sides gently compressed by a Thigh Master.
2. His thoughts tumbled in his head, making and breaking alliances like underpants in a dryer without Cling Free.
3. He spoke with the wisdom that can only come from experience, like a guy who went blind because he looked at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it and now goes around the country speaking at high schools about the dangers of looking at a solar eclipse without one of those boxes with a pinhole in it.
4. She grew on him like she was a colony of E. Coli, and he was room-temperature Canadian beef.
5. She had a deep, throaty, genuine laugh, like that sound a dog makes just before it throws up.
6. Her vocabulary was as bad as, like, whatever.
7. He was as tall as a six-foot, three-inch tree.
8. The revelation that his marriage of 30 years had disintegrated because of his wife’s infidelity came as a rude shock, like a surcharge at a formerly surcharge-free ATM machine.
9. The little boat gently drifted across the pond exactly the way a bowling ball wouldn’t.
10. McBride fell 12 stories, hitting the pavement like a Hefty bag filled with vegetable soup.
11. From the attic came an unearthly howl. The whole scene had an eerie, surreal quality, like when you’re on vacation in another city and Jeopardy comes on at 7:00 p.m. instead of 7:30.
12. Her hair glistened in the rain like a nose hair after a sneeze.
13. The hailstones leaped from the pavement, just like maggots when you fry them in hot grease.
14. Long separated by cruel fate, the star-crossed lovers raced across the grassy field toward each other like two freight trains, one having left Cleveland at 6:36 p.m. traveling at 55 mph, the other from Topeka at 4:19 p.m. at a speed of 35 mph.
15. They lived in a typical suburban neighborhood with picket fences that resembled Nancy Kerrigan’s teeth.
16. John and Mary had never met. They were like two hummingbirds who had also never met.
17. He fell for her like his heart was a mob informant, and she was the East River.
18. Even in his last years, Granddad had a mind like a steel trap, only one that had been left out so long, it had rusted shut.
19. Shots rang out, as shots are wont to do.
20. The plan was simple, like my brother-in-law Phil. But unlike Phil, this plan just might work.
21. The young fighter had a hungry look, the kind you get from not eating for a while.
22. He was as lame as a duck. Not the metaphorical lame duck, either, but a real duck that was actually lame, maybe from stepping on a land mine or something.
23. He was deeply in love. When she spoke, he thought he heard bells, as if she were a garbage truck backing up.
24. It was an American tradition, like fathers chasing kids around with power tools.
25. The ballerina rose gracefully en Pointe and extended one slender leg behind her, like a dog at a fire hydrant.

*Note: I got this in email, and assume that this is an actual communication. Aside from most being terribly wrong, (and pretty funny!) I find I may actually use #19 as the beginning of a short story.

Enjoy the day!

No, I didn’t make up the concept.  There’s an extremely insigtful article at PaperBack Writer that sums up these ideas.

Have you ever wondered what you’ll find once you become a professional writer?  What you’ll gain?  what you’ll lose?

You can find one writer’s thoughts on the subject here:

 http://pbackwriter.blogspot.com/2007/09/lost-and-found.html

And have a super day, Brad!

Can magazine writing help you as a writer? I’ve always thought so, especially if you write nonfiction. Apparently W. Terry Whalin thinks so too. His article on right-writing.com titled Magazine Writing Leads to Book Publishing covers the topic in an informative and no-nonsense way that I’m sure will benefit a lot of writers out there.

While you’re there, be sure to look over some of Mr. Whalin’s other articles, and take the time to check his research materials.  Everything is incredibly well thought out and definitely worth the read.

I came across an article the other day that covers the basics of writing an outstanding article. While the information is primarily geared towards writing web content for blogs, I think that the information provided there translates equally for freelance article writers as well.

So pop on over and take a look at Writing an Outstanding Article. It’s worth the read.

We’ve all heard that we only have the first three chapters to capture an editor’s attention. While that’s all well and good for a novel, it’s not going to get you anywhere with a short story.

You’re going to have to catch the reader with the first line.

I feel that this applies to any work of fiction, but the short story or novella relies on this principle even more heavily than a full length novel. With a short piece, your reader expects to be immersed in the tale quickly, which stands to reason, since the story is going to end pretty quickly.

Honestly, I sit around just thinking up first lines for stories. My wife is a writer as well, and her notebooks are full of lines I’ve blurted out while watching T.V. or working on another writing assignment. She’s using at least three of them as a basis for stories of her own right now, and has kindly asked me to sop distracting her until she’s finished something.

Say you’ve decided to write a story about an outbreak of zombies in a small Georgia town. There are a lot of ways to open a tale like this, depending on the tone you’d like to set. Let’s assume that we’re going to go with something a bit campy, since the zombie genre is a bit flooded, and hey, what’s more fun than poking fun at zombies, they’re not exactly the brightest bulbs.

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