Writing Archives - Page 46 of 50 - Addicted to Writing

What Non-Fiction Topics Don’t You Like Writing About?

Posted on July 28, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Writing Topics — Writing experts keep discussing whether a writer should be a specialized writer or a general writer. No need to worry. None of us can be that general anyway:)

There are so many writing markets out there, but it is hard to find the ones that are just up our alley. The thing is, even if you enjoy writing about a variety of topics (I know I do), there just seems to be plenty of publications that want queries in areas that exclude a lot of writers.

Obviously a writer can’t and won’t write about everything. But it can be frustrating to realize that there is a huge number of outlets you won’t be able to pitch to.

I’m Not Pitching to Publications On:

• Parenting/Family

I am not a parent, and I am not thinking about becoming one in the near future. I don’t have a degree /certificate in anything regarding parenting or children. And guess what? I don’t know any experts in these areas either. Which is a shame, because there are many high-paying publications that are parent/family-oriented.

• Brides/Wedding

I might be tempted to submit an article to a brides/weddings magazine if I get married and want to share the experience. But right now, I am just not interested. Plus, I really do have nothing to say…

• Fashion

As much as I love shopping for clothes, shoes and accessories, I just don’t like or follow fashion. I am against the idea of someone else telling me what is cool and what is hot. It is my style, my wardrobe and my body. So frankly, only my opinion counts (to me).

And being a bit of a shopaholic, I am more interested in quality, and quantity, than brands. So paying $100 for a T-shirt seems outrageous. So I guess being a huge fan of Sex and The City, doesn’t qualify me for fashion writing…

• Technology/Gadgets/Computers

While I might be considered somewhat of a geek when it comes to movie and rock trivia, I am just a clueless soul when it comes to computers and gadgets.

I like my laptop and other home office equipments, as well as my cell phone and mp3 player. And that is pretty much it.

• Technical Music Stuff

I might know my favorite bands by heart, but as to which musical instrument is better than which and why…Have no idea.

• Boy/Girl Scouts or Cheerleaders

Never been one.

• Ultra-techy WordPress Stuff

I’m a self-taught WordPress user and I know a lot about blogging on this platform. However, I’m a stranger to coding or web-design. So if a publication covers more of these, I’m out of my depth. But this is totally OK, because there still tons of stuff I can write about blogging and WordPress that don’t require me to be extra tech-savvy.

• Cooking

I rarely feel like performing my abilities in the kitchen. And when I do, it is usually to make uncomplicated desserts and vegetables, whose recipes are typically born from my imagination. Unless there are cooking magazines for people who hate to cook 95% of the time, I am not meant to write about this.

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So far these are the most popular subjects I can’t/don’t write about. What don’t you write about? And do you feel like your writing income would have increased, had it not been for those topics?

10 Things You Need to Do After You Sent That Awesome Query Letter

Posted on July 21, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

waiting for the editor to reply, writing cartoon — You can't just wait for the editor to reply to your query. If you do, you'll die an unpublished old maid/dude...:) Excuse the cartoon, my first creation ever:)

We all know it’s essential to craft an intriguing, easily readable query letter. That’s how we (hopefully) get the editor’s attention. And if you need to polish your query skills, I suggest reading 7 Great Query Letter Resources: A List of (E-)Books, Articles and Blog Links.

This post is about what happens after having sent that great query letter.

1) Keep track of your query. I prefer a simple excel sheet. I note when I sent it, when I should follow up (should I not hear from the editor before), what other publications the idea might fit if the query is rejected or doesn’t get a response after the follow-up. I also include a section for brainstorming for other ideas for the same publication. After all, I want to write for this magazine more than once.

2) Keep researching other markets and their guidelines, and make sure you take notes about the guidelines, payment terms, topics and articles already published on the publication. After all, your querying days are never really over.

3) Write for, market & optimize your blogs. If you’ve a writer’s blog, work on it. If you don’t have a writer’s blog already, it’s time to start one. You don’t need to write about writing related topics, but you need to post article samples and links to your published work. The blog will serve as a portfolio, so take full advantage.

Plus, the more you know about blogging, the easier and more fun it will be for you to get blogging jobs, and/or monetize your own blogs.

If you have several blogs, work on them too. They all serve as your portfolios as well, proving your writing skills in those niches.

4) Keep networking with other writers (and bloggers).

5) Assuming you heard from the editor before needing to follow up, go ahead and start working on the article – keeping the editor’s notes in mind. Sometimes writing a killer article that will satisfy your editor might be harder than writing the query.

If the editor liked the idea but requests a few tweaks, or another query based on these tweaks,

Do so.

If the editor tells you they liked your style but can’t use that piece, keep querying .

6) Assuming you didn’t hear from the editors, follow-up on your old queries at the suggested time period. Many publications offer their response time and when you should follow up if you don’t hear from them in that period. If no specific time is given, follow your gut. If it is a massive magazine, you might want to wait for a couple of months. If it is a website, 2-3 weeks before following up should be fine.

7) Read about the topics you are writing on. This is great for self-improvement, discovering markets you weren’t aware of, getting to know the markets you know better, finding authors to network and giving you new article ideas.

8) Query other publications, and keep track.

9) When You Get An Answer or No Answer After the Follow-Up:

If you haven’t heard up from your follow-ups after a couple of weeks, feel free to pitch the idea to other publications. But to be on the safe side, notify the first editor nicely. This is to be on the safe side, and not to burn any potential bridges.

Of course, keep tracking queries and their responses.

If you got a no with some suggestions from the editor, keep them in mind. But there’s nothing much you can do after a “no, thanks”. You cross your fingers for the next publication.

10) Use this list in order and/or mix things up. Add your own points and apply them at a pace that suits you best.

Best of Luck.

7 Great Query Letter Resources: A List of (E-)Books, Articles and Blog Links

6 Reasons Why Every Writer Should Blog

Challenges of Writing A Novel & Some Great Resources for Tackling Them

Posted on July 11, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

I used to think that there were two challenges about writing a novel: 1) finding a great story, and 2) trying to get that great story published.

While I still believe these are the biggest challenges a writer faces, I realized there are 4 more challenges that came along my way:

1) Novel or Screenplay?

You love reading novels. You love watching movies. And you love creating dialogue-heavy stories. So how do you decide whether your story works best as a novel or a screenplay?

As a writer with no connections to Hollywood, I realized that I had a better chance of finding a publisher that might be interested in my novel. Now, please notice that I said easier, and not easy.

Getting a novel published seems to be relatively easier than getting a screenplay to Hollywood. I had a sneaking suspicion this might be the case and this is the article that helped me make up my mind: The Novel vs. the Screenplay: a Tough Love Guide for Talented Writers.

2) POV : Point of View

So you decided you’d rather write a novel. You have your characters, and you have your story. But from which point of view are you going to tell everything?

I really struggled with this decision. I tried different ones through several chapters, and then saw what worked best. I also looked at my favorite books in the same genre to see what other authors did.

Remember your options:

Third Person Limited

Third Person Multiple (or Author Omniscient)

First Person

Second Person

Articles That Helped Me With POV

Whose Point of View?

Picking the Perfect POV

Good reasons for multiple POV

Point of View, Parts 1 & 2

3) Order of Scenes

Which chapter will you start with? How do you order your scene?

I think that with all the other decisions regarding your novel, you have to decide what works best for you. I rewrote, reordered and rewrote again. And, I did eventually go back to my first order. It provided the best flow.

4) Quantity of Dialogue

Since I was originally planning to write a screenplay, my chapters are filled with dialogue. I am not saying it is all dialogue, but my characters talk a lot. And because I decided to go with Third Person Omniscient, I think the amount of dialogue works for the story.

But of course I have to remind you that I am only in the writing stage. I haven’t finished the story, and haven’t sent queries to any literary agents. Right now, my only concern is to put my story on paper. There might be many changes along the way. And of course we don’t know if agents/ publishers are going to be interested yet.

However you should keep in mind that you need to have a story to be able to get a rejection or approval. So come on! If you have a story to tell, start writing it. Then you can deal with formatting and querying.

8 Awesome (Free & Paid) Places to Find Market Guidelines

Posted on July 4, 2011 Written by Pinar Tarhan

Writer’s Market – (from Writer’s Digest)

Writer’s Market 2018 can be found at the newsstands, or you can access the online Writer’s Market database. It is a paid resource, and some writers complain that it is not as up-to-date and extensive as it should be. I agree to a certain point, but I wouldn’t give it up on it just yet.

It offers some solid information, such as when the magazine was established, how to submit, who to submit, how much of it is freelance written, its response time, length and much more. However, you need to check the information yourself, as publications change editors/websites/pay rates, and many even cease to exist.

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I bought the VIP program which cost me $49.95 – it gives me a year’s subscription to the Writer’s Digest Magazine, a year’s access to the database, The Essentials of Online Marketing & Promotion Webinar, 10% off all Writers Online Workshop courses and 10% off all Writers Digest Shop purchases.

Remember that Writer’s Digest also works with freelancers, and you can find the submission guidelines here.

Susan Johnston’s The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets

Susan Johnston is a published author who runs her own blog The Urban Muse. Her e-book, The Urban Muse Guide to Online Writing Markets. She offers the website’s name, its attitude and who it targets. It also includes its pay rate (if it is specified), the topics covered and a link to the masthead/contact page/submissions page wherever possible.

At the very least, you have the link to the magazine’s main page where you can do your own digging. The book also features the reasons you might want to write for the web, how to approach the editors, and Susan’s own successful e-mail queries, including the background stories of these queries.

The book costs $17.99. I bought it after seeing it recommended on Carol Tice’s Make a Living Writing blog. I think it is a must for web writers, as her listing includes online publications in diverse areas, including web design, social commentary, relationships, parenting, stock markets, writing and more.

She also lists other resources where you can search for online writing markets.

Writing for Dollars

Writing for Dollars has its own free guidelines database, as well as a free newsletter that comes with useful articles on writing. The newsletter also contains a group of markets, but to find more, you need to dig in to the database. As far as free resources go, it is pretty good. For instance some of the publications writing you can find on the database include Freelance Market Writer’s News, FundsforWriters, WOW! Women on Writing, The Write Markets Report and more.

You can search according to the subject, market name, pay rate, submission style (simultaneous or not) and payment time (on acceptance or publication).

The markets are divided into three according to their pay: High (over $500) Medium ($125-$500) and Low (less than $125).

Writing for Dollars is itself a low-paying market. It starts from $10 (for reprints) and goes up to $25 for solicited articles. You can read its guidelines here.

Freelance Writing

Freelance Writing.com is a wonderful website that it comes with its own free (albeit) small markets database, job listings, writing contests and resources (such as useful articles and free e-books). If you subscribe to the newsletter, you will get freelance writing jobs. Currently they have free e-books on writing persuasively, writing good sales pages, online copyrights, time management, creativity and many more.

Towse’s Links to Online Submission Guidelines

Towse’s Links to Online Submission Guidelines is a quite comprehensive (and free) guide to submission guidelines (listed alphabetically) and agents (also listed alphabetically).

Writer’s Weekly

Writer’s Weekly is a wonderful e-zine that comes with a free newsletter, free guidelines database, news from the industry and free articles. Just like Writing for Dollars, it is also a paying market itself (in the subject of writing of course). It pays more than Writing for Dollars.

Freelance Market News

You can subscribe to Freelance Market News Magazine at £17 for 6 months (6 issues), and £29/year (11 issues). The site offers a free sample issue. The magazine is also a paying market. You can find its guidelines here. The pay ranges from £40 to £50.

Worldwide Freelance

WorldwideFreelance.com offers a free newsletter with useful articles, links and some market guidelines. Their premium database costs 24.95/year and 39.95/2 years, and it is supposed to have 2.500 writing markets. The site also offers e-books on writing, blogging and writing markets. Market List E-Books (such as 50 Women’s Writing Markets or Travel or 50 Traveling Writing Markets) cost $6.95 each.

As you can guess from the website’s name, you can find info on markets from Canada, Australia and the UK as well.

This is all from me for now. Please feel free to add your favorite resources.

*Note: Only Amazon links and Susan Johnston’s e-book link are affiliate links, so I make a small commission when you buy through them.