Angela Booth's Writing Blog

Today's writing tip: Wolfram|Alpha sparks your creativity

Wolfram|Alpha is a great resource for writers. It has an enormous words and linguistics database that writers can use for such things as word definitions, origins, synonyms, hyphenation, and Soundex lookups.

Type “word contest”, and Wolfram|Alpha will retrieve the word data for the English word “contest”. The results tell you many definitions of the word, that its first known recorded use was in 1603, that it rhymes with “conquest”, and a wealth of other data on just that word.

via blog.wolframalpha.com

Excellent if you're stuck for ideas. I just entered "word clever", and the network synonym map at the bottom of the page is wonderful. Try it yourself -- I'll bet you couldn't get from "clever" to "chicane" without this tool.

Today's writing tip: how to Get Your First MAJOR Writing Sale

One: Give yourself a deadline

Although I’d made writing sales I didn’t sell a book until I gave myself a deadline. I gave myself a long deadline, ten years. I didn’t need that long, it took a year. However setting a deadline turned selling a book from a dream into a goal. If I hadn’t given myself a deadline, I would have fudged for years: making outlines, doing research, writing a chapter here and there, and convincing myself that I was trying to sell a book, when I wasn’t doing anything of the sort.

Give yourself a deadline to make your BIG first sale. You’ll know how long the deadline should be. Don’t make it ten years unless it’s something where you need to learn a lot of skills first before you can produce a product.

Your deadline must be serious. The ten years I gave myself was the absolute cut-off date. If I hadn’t sold a book by then, I intended giving up writing book-length material forever.

via writinghacker.com

I just came across this article I wrote a while back. If you've yet to sell your writing, following the process should give you confidence.

Today's writing tip: make money blogging

Make a list of your skills. Even if you’re a college student, you have skills. If you’re a retiree, you have a lifetime of skills.

Also, list subjects you know well enough to write about.

Although blogs can be about anything at all, the companies which hire you operate in a particular industry. The more you know about the area in which a company operates, the greater the chance they will hire you to blog for them.

Chances are your most marketable skills stem from your working life.

via dollars2blog.com

Looking for ways to make money writing? One of the easiest ways is via blogging. The above article outlines a process you could follow.

Today's writing tip: inspiration is scary, but you can trust it

Inspiration is scary.

Perhaps you're trying to write in a new area (writing a book seems to frighten the wits out of many writers), or perhaps you're trying a new market. Whatever -- you're inspired by a project, but you're also scared of it.

Over time, as you continue to write, you become accustomed to dealing with fear. You learn that everything you write is written one word at a time, so you write one word, and the next, and the next, and before too many minutes have passed, your inspiration has crowded out the fear. You realize that being scared is natural. Your fear arises, and then it dissipates. If you pay too much attention to it, you'll never get anything done. :-)

If you're scared of a project, it doesn't mean that there's anything wrong with you. It doesn't mean that you should give up the project.

Inspiration may also scare you because you can't give yourself reasons for what you're inspired to do.

For example, in around 2001, I felt inspired to create a blog. At the time, blogging was new. It seemed like a colossal waste of time. So I ignored the impulse. It returned. I ignored it again... and it returned. So, feeling a little put upon and very annoyed, I gave in to the inspiration to blog... and I'm very glad I did. Blogging has done a lot for me, and I'm grateful.

Here's another example. In 2005 I gave in to impulse (inspiration) and decided to buy a Mac computer. This was illogical, because I write for PC magazines. What earthly use would a Mac be to me in the world of PCs? It turned out that buying the Mac was the best thing I ever did. My Mac made creating Web sites ridiculously easy. Using RapidWeaver, I could set up a site in hours, and that ability has made me a LOT of money since 2005. :-)

Here's the bottom line: as writers, we're creatives. We rely on our inspiration, and because inspiration comes out of left field it can be scary. If you follow your inspirations however, you'll reach many pots of gold. So when you're inspired, trust that inspiration.

Photo credit

Today's writing tip: knowing how much to charge for your writing services

Setting your fees: know yourself

How do you put a dollar value on your writing? Are you charging too much? Too little? In your writing services business, pricing issues will come up again and again. I struggled with them for years, until I managed to get them straight in my own mind.

Now I price my writing and writing services to ensure that the buyer is getting MORE than his money’s worth. When I’ve set the price to my own satisfaction, I’m happy to negotiate, because I know my base price. I know what I’d like to get, and I know the lowest price I will accept. This makes for peace of mind.

via writinghacker.com

If there's one sentence which strikes fear into the hearts of baby writers, it's this: "So, how much do you charge?"

Last week I received several questions on this theme, so please read my article above.

Bottom line? You'll get more confidence in pricing your services as you gain experience, so don't sweat it. Remember, YOU decide how much you charge, no one else.

(And it should go without saying that there's no "standard" rate. Anyone who tells you there is is trying to snow you.)

Manage your writing time, increase your productivity (ezine)

In Tuesday's issue of our writing tips ezine the theme is time management -- managing your writing time so that you're effortlessly productive.

Here's an excerpt from the Editorial:

My super-simple process

Here's my time management process in a nutshell:

• Set writing goals with deadlines

• Create daily tasks which will lead to the accomplishment of those goals by the due date

Earth-shattering, right? :-)

You've heard all this time management stuff before, and you've either set goals already, or have done so in the past… and the process didn't work for you.

It's important however that you realize that it CAN work, once you determine that you want it to work, and develop a strategy to ensure that it does work for you.

Last week, I talked about the importance of setting word-count goals, and working towards them. In other words, to coin a cliché, WRITERS WRITE. Every day.

Therefore, that's one of the first of my daily tasks… no matter what else happens on that day, I know that I must get my daily word count done. I've been writing to a daily word count goal for so long that it's a habit, so I don't even need to think about it; I just do it.

And that's the key… changing your behavior, so that you develop efficient habits. I've just looked at Things, my time management tool on my Mac (I commend it to you) and I have six tasks which are scheduled for every single day – yes, weekends too.

No matter what, I get those six tasks done. That's become a habit: to schedule the tasks that I MUST get done, every day. If they're on my schedule, they get done… because it's a habit for me to do it.

Read more in the issue on Tuesday. Issues are free, of course. Each week's is in PDF format; the download link is sent to you.

Tip: please remember that issues are not archived. Download yours asap, because the issues are removed from the server within two weeks, and once they're gone, they're gone. :-)

Subscribe to Angela Booth's fabulous free weekly ezine for freelance writers: get a free report just for subscribing. Even if you're a new writer, you can freelance your way to a fantastic writing career.

Join the thousands of freelance writers who are making great money freelance writing, using Fab Freelance Writing Ezine as their guide.

Today's writing tip: stop writing articles and start making money

Let me be a little clearer: stop writing articles FOR OTHERS (articles make great promotional tools when you write them for yourself) and start making money.

How?

I'm glad you asked. :-)

Since thousands of writers can write decent articles, this makes articles as much a commodity as wheat, barley and corn. I come from a long line of primary producers, farmers, so I know all about commodities.

When what you're writing becomes a commodity, the price drops through the floor.

I'm not saying that you can't make great money writing articles. You can. You can get $1, $2 and $4 A WORD for your articles when you write for major magazines. Sadly, magazines in their present form are suffering challenges, and I'd rather be paid for my writing up front, with a retainer, than wait months (years, even) for payment from a magazine.

Speaking of which, Brazil's Cosmopolitan magazine still owes me $800 USD from 1988, but I digress. I mentioned that only to show you that when a magazine doesn't want to pay you, they won't. All you can do is gnash your teeth for decades on end. :-) And in today's climate, when a magazine closes up shop owing you money, you're done. You won't get paid, ever, since you're now an unsecured creditor.

So what should you write instead of articles?

Anything for which there is an on-going market, and which is sufficiently specialized that it affords a real barrier of entry to others who want to jump on the bandwagon. In other words, you've got to write what people want, and what not every writer can write.

Copywriting has been the bulwark of my writing career for decades, because no matter what the economic climate, or the competition, I can always write copy. I love writing copy: it's easy (once you know how), it's sufficiently challenging so that I don't get bored, and your clients stay with you for years.

If you're writing articles as a commodity, realize that you need to find a form of writing in which YOU can shine, and which pays real money. You can join me in writing copy, the more the merrier. :-) Millions of businesses need expert copywriters, so there's room for all.

Today's writing tip: your writer's website

Start by adding content to your site which tells your visitors what you do, and for whom you do it. Describe your products and services, and the benefits they provide. Tell site visitors how long you’ve been in business, and who past customers are.

via angelabooth.com

Who are you?

That's the first question your website visitors ask themselves, and you need to provide the answer asap. Your "About" page should provide the answer, since that's the first place people will look.

Important: please don't waffle. Be straightforward. If you're a writer, say so, and tell your site visitors a little about your writing journey.

In the above article, I explain that while you may know what you do and how you do it, your site's visitors only know what you tell them.

So tell them. :-)

Read my article "Beyond Your Writer’s Website: Achieve Your Writing Goals" for more info on your writer's website.

Love mind mapping? Be quick for this

Mind mapping is an incredible productivity tool. I use mind maps every day, both hand-drawn, and on my computers.

I've had many questions about iMindMap, and several writers have purchased the program on my recommendation. They're thrilled with the difference it's made both in their creativity, and in their productivity.

Now my favorite mind mapping application is running a special for 24 hours only, so if you've been hesitating because iMindMap seems a little pricey, you'll want to take advantage of this offer.

You have around 19 hours to go... :-)

Happy mind mapping. :-)

Mind maps: my #1 productivity tool

1. Controls information overload. Freelancers – especially writers – often have to do a fair bit of research. Information overload can be a daily problem, but when using mind maps, it’s easy to build a reference map of articles, group and regroup information as necessary.

via geekpreneur.com

I use mind mapping constantly. It's my #1 personal productivity tool. It's not too much of a stretch to say that mind mapping keeps me sane.

Currently, my favorite mind mapping tools is iMindMap; I've got two other commercial programs on my Mac and PC, but iMindMap wins. (Not a surprise, since it was designed by Tony Buzan, who's popularized mind mapping.)

I love iMindMap for many reasons; not least because the program makes it easy to write while you're mind mapping. The notes window opens up into a large word processing window, and turns your notes into HTML, all ready to paste into a Web page or blog post.

Read the above article to discover how mind mapping makes freelancers (especially writers) more productive.

Here's the notes window in iMindMap:

Here's the HTML, generated, ready to paste into a Web page or blog post:

 
 

Super-useful. :-)

Today's writing tip: there's ebook-cash in your passions

My friend Dora owns a pug called Stanley. He’s her first dog, and in his first year, developed every illness and disease known to dogdom. Dora saw Stanley through all his troubles, and in the process, learned a lot about dogs in general, and pugs in particular.

One day I winced as she told me about Stanley’s latest painful and expensive veterinary treatment, and asked why she didn’t write an ebook for dog owners on common dog health problems and their cures. Dora loved the suggestion and is happily writing the ebook. I’m sure it will do well, helping many dog owners and their dogs.

via topebookwriter.com

I LOVE ebooks, both reading them and writing them. Many of the ebooks I write are for writers, because I love writing about writing.

Here's one of my secrets: if I don't love a topic, I won't write about it. That's one of the benefits of being an independent writer, you write what you want to write.

With ebooks, not only do you write what you want to write, you make money from your writing for years to come. It's residual income, and as I'm fond of saying, with an ebook you write it once and sell it forever.

What do YOU love? Read the above article to find out how to mine your life for ebooks you can write and sell.

Posted via web from Angela Booth's Life Stream

Today's Writing Tip: Increase your productivity and earn more

Not happy with your productivity as a writer? It's easy to write more; all you need to do is set a daily word count goal.

Once you've set your goal, you need to track it. I use a spreadsheet. 

As I said in the Editorial to this week's writing tips ezine:

You can keep your daily word count in a word processor file, or in a spreadsheet. A spreadsheet is probably easier. What matters isn't so much the number of words you write, but the fact that you're actually counting them. What you focus on increases, so you won't need to do much beyond tracking to find that your daily word count gradually goes up. 

For example, if you write just 50 words today, you'll be amazed that tracking will increase your word count to 500 and 1000 words a day within six weeks. 

Tracking your  daily word count is powerful and it's easy, so do it.

I set a relatively high word count goal: 2000 words. This is because I have a lot to write each day, for clients, blogs, ebooks, and on and on.

If you're a new writer (that is, you've been writing for money for less than five years) set a low daily word count goal. Make it a word count you could exceed, even on your worst day, when the car breaks down, your kids act like maniacs, and you have a migraine: LOW. :-)

When you set a low goal that you can easily exceed, it gives you confidence and builds your writing habit. Once you've exceeded a word count for three weeks, set it slightly higher. 

Set your word count today: you'll be earning more within weeks.

Posted via email from Angela Booth's Life Stream

You are not your writing

While coaching a couple of writing students this morning, I found myself repeating: "YOU are not your writing". This is an important point, and it's worth discussing.

If you can't stop yourself identifying closely with your writing, you'll get bent out of shape easily. 

For example:

* If someone tells you "Not for us at this time", you'll tend to read stuff into the statement, rather than taking it at face value, and moving on.

* If a buyer, or agent or editor ignores your email message, you'll tend to think they're ignoring you, rather than realizing that they're either too busy to respond right now, or they didn't receive your message.

* If a prospective client rejects your proposal, you'll wonder what's wrong with you, instead of thinking there's something wrong with them, and moving on. :-)

* When someone critiques your writing, you'll get defensive, instead of considering their comments objectively.

* When a client or editor asks you to revise, you'll get annoyed, instead of simply shuffling the project onto your To Do list and revising it when you have time.

Big Tip: When you're a new writer, it may be impossible for you to develop a professional's equanimity until you have more experience, so be patient.

As you become more experienced, you'll gain perspective and will identify much less with your writing.

You'll realize that:

* Any piece of writing can be improved, and you'll value others' comments and input;

* Editors are just people, and they're wrong at least as often as they're right;

* You know much more than you think you do;

* You wrote yesterday, you'll write today, and you'll write tomorrow, because writing is what you do. 

Posted via email from Angela Booth's Life Stream

Today's writing tip: find writing jobs on Twitter

Get Social: Use the Social Networking Sites to Make Contacts

The social networking sites like Twitter and Facebook are amazing tools for writers. However do realize that these sites are only a tool. You need to market yourself as a writer, and get your name known, before you can use these tools efficiently.

via fabfreelancewriting.com

If you're a beginning writer, the above article will help you to get hired for writing jobs.

Here's an additional tip for finding writing jobs on Twitter. Do a Twitter search using hash tags such as #writing, #writing job, and #freelance.

Posted via web from Angela Booth's Life Stream

Today's writing tip: write more articles

Outline, draft, write - become an article production factory

Develop an article writing workflow. Here’s my workflow step by step - copy it, and adjust it to your needs.

via fabfreelancewriting.com

Want to write more articles? You can. Just copy my step by step article writing workflow above, in "Article Writing - Seven Steps to Write More and Sell More Articles".

Becoming prolific will have a huge effect on your career as a writer.

Posted via web from Angela Booth's Life Stream