Make Every Word Pay – The Way to be a Successful Writer

You don’t have to be A. J. Rowling to make your writing pay – although you probably earn as much as she does. So how do you do it?

1) First of all you must write, anything, everything, every day.

2) The more you write, the easier it gets.

3) You must always read, anything, everything, every day.

4) Reading is the spark that will ignite your writing and make it burn.

5) Find publications that inspire you and aim what you write at them.

6) Before you submit what you have written to the editor make sure it is polished and professionally finished.

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How Publicise Your Book

List all the organisations which might be interested in the subject of the book. This will include local radio, national radio, newspapers including local freebies, TV, magazines, local shops (not just book shops – Tourist Information and small village stores might be interested in carrying a small stock of books of local interest).

Now write some Press Releases to be sent out. If possible find their email addresses. Use these in the first instance but prepare an information pack to be sent as a follow up.

Send review copies to newspapers and magazines.

Put a box of your books in your car and contact bookshops direct.

One important thing to remember is that you are not selling a book, you are selling information or entertainment. People must feel that they can enjoy the success or emotions portrayed in your book.

They want to feel that your book is an upward step towards success. In other words you are selling dreams.

Another thing to remember is that many books, particularly hard backs, are sold as presents. Advertise as ‘The Perfect Present for – dog owners, bird watchers, train spotters, thriller readers, romantics or whoever.’

How to promote your book.

Free advertising

Reviews

Interviews – Start with local newspapers and radio and TV. Local stories are always popular with the media. Make sure the title of your book is mentioned often.

Profiles – again you can send these in the form of Press Releases to the local media. If your book deals with a specific interest try relevant magazines etc.

Feature articles. Submit articles to magazines and newspapers relating to the subject of your book and make sure the book is mentioned in the credits.

Paid advertising in newspapers and magazines.

Offer you services to interested organisations as a speaker.

How to approach these people.
Send a Press Release, a photograph (not a snap), and a copy of the book.
If necessary follow up with a phone call.

For ideas to write articles that will improve your profile Click Here! or visit www.BAwriter.co.uk

What you must have to market your book successfully.

Enthusiasm for what you’ve written.

The knowledge that you have done your best.

Belief that what you have written is good.

Commitment and determination.

Understanding that only very rarely as authorship goes will readers beat a path to your door to buy your book.

Determination to do everything in your power to promote your book.

Above all write with passion.

Every writer knows the feeling. You have something to say, facts to impart or a story to tell. You know you can do it and so you get started.
Some people never get further than that.

But you have. Not only have you finished it, you want people to read it.
Believe me, writing your book is the easy part. Marketing your book is a different matter.

Computers have meant that many more people are writing. Publishers and agents are inundated with mss from hopefuls. Some work is so badly presented that it is returned to sender unread – provided they enclosed return postage. Work presented through an agent stand a better chance of being read, but finding an agent is something of a problem until you have some published work under your belt.

But there is light at then end of this tunnel of gloom.

Technology has made it much easier and cheaper to self-publish.
So you’ve got your books – not too many, I hope. Most of the short run printers will offer you advice about follow-up runs, etc. Many of them offer marketing facilities but don’t feel you can rely completely on their services. You must play your part too.

Nobody will buy a book they don’t know about.

If you haven't written your book yet Click Here! for helpful suggestions or visit www.BAwriter.co.uk

Seven Ways To Write For Success

The perfect piece of writing.
Your wonderful idea won’t work unless it’s cut and polished to perfection.

Get paid for your work.
To be a professional you must get paid for your work.

Use your imagination.
Be rich, poor, old, young, human, animal or alien on this world or anywhere in the universe.

Beware the difficulties!
Writing might be fun – getting published is difficult.

Present your work professionally.
When the editor picks up your ms or puts it up on the computer it should LOOK professional.

Self Publishers also need to follow the rules.

1. Every piece of writing, whether it’s a short filler article or a lengthy Aga saga, should be like a perfect piece of jewellery. You wouldn’t buy a lump of gold and some diamonds that still looked like small pebbles. You would expect the finished article – say a pretty brooch. You might have a wonderful idea for an article, short story or book but, like the diamond, if it hasn’t been cut and polished to perfection, it won’t sell.

That isn’t all that matters. Just as the diamond won’t sell unless it’s in a well prepared setting, you masterpiece won’t sell if it’s not presented properly.

2. You should aim at producing material for which you will be paid. Too many hopefuls are so desperate to appear in print that they will let their work go for nothing. This is only acceptable very rarely for the would-be professional writer who wants to build up a portfolio. For many years now I have refused to agree to the publication of any piece unless I receive a fee – even if it’s only a reader’s letter to a magazine or newspaper. If an editor hopes to publish for free I point out very pleasantly that actually my words are my living. In all cases they have acknowledged this and we have come to a satisfactory financial arrangement.

Writing should be your paid profession. You wouldn’t expect a plumber to repair a burst pipe for nothing just because he enjoyed plumbing would you? Think about it.

3. Writing is one of the most rewarding things to do. We can give free rein to imagination and move in whatever realms we choose. We can live lives totally different from our own. We can be rich or poor, old or young, travel the world, even travel the universe. Creating and controlling characters and make us the gods of our own worlds. Create the environment that your readers will want to visit. Create a storyline they will want to be in. It can be beautiful, thrilling, scary, familiar or alien but it must ‘painted’ in words so that your readers can visualise it.

4. Doing what we like, when we like and how we like is fine – unless we want to get published. Getting published can be difficult, often painful and necessitates conforming to certain patterns.

If you want to be a real published writer you must ask the important question, ‘Who am I writing for?’

If you want to get published it is vital. Your target market will only use stories or articles of a certain length and of a certain type. You can find this information from ‘The Writers’ and Artists’ Year Book’ or ‘The Writer’s Handbook’. To find out the style the editor prefers you should study several issues of the publication. This will show you the age range of the readers, their interests, hobbies, what sort of jobs they do and their lifestyles. Don’t just look read the stories and articles. If it’s a magazine or newspaper look at the adverts. They will tell you about the target market.
That all probably sounds obvious but editors could tell you of the sack loads of unsuitable material they receive each year. E.g. Fiction when they never use it. Pieces which are several hundred words too long. Subject matter which is of no interest to the readers of that particular magazine. Poorly researched work which contains misinformation.

5. It isn’t always the content which results in manuscripts being rejected. Some won’t even be read. Sloppy, badly presented work with spelling mistakes, poor grammar and a generally unsatisfactory appearance will be cast aside.

Work should be presented on A4 paper and should only be printed on one side. Decent sized margins and double spacing leave plenty of room for the editor’s pen.

If you are presenting your work digitally you must make sure that it is prepared in a programme that the publication can use. Always find out whether the publication prefers digital or hard copy. Some like both.

6. Remember to write regularly. Set yourself a timetable and stick to it! Programme your brain into automatically going into writing mode. Even if you don’t feel at all inspired and the last thing you want to do is sit at your desk and write you MUST go through the motions.

Write the first thing that comes into your mind and keep writing. It’s surprising how often you will find that your brain has engaged gear and you are starting to write publishable material.

7. Some of you might decide that you are going to self publish your work so all the regular rules for successful writing can be ignored.

Wrong! The rules are the same no matter who publishes the material. The self-publisher has to be even more careful because they haven’t got the might, advertising and publicity budget or reputation of the existing publishers.
But it can be done!

If you are reading this the chances are that you are a writer. That means you HAVE to write. You can’t help it. It’s a great feeling to be able to make a living from your passion and answer the question “What do you do?” by replying “I’m a writer.” And really mean it.

Ten Ways To Become A Successful Writer.
Anyone can call themselves a writer. All you have to do is write – a story, an article, a journal, a novel, a poem.
But that is rather like being called a plumber because you sort out the central heating and replace washers. Or a dressmaker because you make your own clothes. Or a bricklayer because you built your own garage.
These are hobbies you enjoy. They aren’t your main source of income.
The difference between writers and the other examples is that people who write are usually passionate about what they do.
If you are one of these why not become a real writer who gets paid for their work? It gives great pleasure to answer “I’m a writer,” to the question “What do you do?”
It gives even greater pleasure to add “For a living.”
So what must you do to become a full time writer?

* 1. Get paid for your work.
I’m afraid that there are many people who are so anxious to see their work in print that they will write for nothing. There is only one acceptable reason for doing this and that is to build a portfolio of published material.
Unfortunately editors know which publications use such material and sadly some of these publications will print material which would not be of a standard to be paid for. If your work is good enough you will get published.
I operate with two guidelines. I only offer material for which payment will be made if it is accepted – even if it’s only a letter to a ‘Reader’s Letters’ page.

* 2. Never dispose of anything you write even if it’s been rejected.
It can be re-worked and represented to another publication or at another time. Maybe it can be incorporated into another piece. While you decide what to do it can safely sit on file in your computer ready to be summoned when you’ve got writer’s block or a spare moment. Sometimes just re-reading it will set you off on a more productive line of thought.

* 3. Write every day.
Set an achievable target for doing this. Even if it’s only an hour a day at first you must stick to it no matter what else happens. Choose your time of day. Get up earlier if necessary. Make it a habit so that you feel uncomfortable if you don’t do it.

* 4. Don’t give in to writer’s block.
There will be days when you sit down at your desk and your mind goes blank. Don’t sit there doing nothing or, even worse, decide to end the session and do something else. Just write anything. Even if it’s gibberish. Write about the fact that you can’t think of anything and how cross that makes you, etc.
Before you know it your writer’s block will have disappeared.

* 5. Start small.
A good place to start submitting work for publication is the letter page of magazines and newspapers who pay for the items they publish.
Warning! Don’t be tempted to present something you dashed off on the spur of the moment.
Prepare the items you submit to editors with as much care as you would if it was a short story or article. It is good practice for working on longer items and will sharpen your skills.

* 6. Study your market before you submit anything at all whether it is a letter, an article, a short story or a novel.
Show professionalism by choosing a suitable subject and style.

* 7. Edit, revise, rework and edit again until you are sure you’ve got it right.
Some writers study the market before they decide what to write about. When I’m writing short pieces, unless I’m working on a commissioned article or story, I prefer to write whatever is in my mind at the time.
Then I work on it so that it is suitable for whichever market I have chosen.
One piece of writing can often be adapted and edited to suit several different publications. But beware of the next point.

* 8. Never send the same article to more than one publication at a time.
You will end up in any editor’s black book if after publishing your piece of work it is then printed in a rival publication. Wait until your ms has been rejected before submitting it elsewhere. Before re-submitting it, re-read it. Especially take note of any comments the editor might have made. (They do sometimes do this.)

* 9. Do not alienate editors.
To most people that would seem to be pretty obvious but there are still tales of hopeful writers sending angry letters or making abusive phone calls when their submissions are rejected.
Remember that there are hundreds (at least) of hopeful authors sending in material. Don’t pester any editor for a decision for at least a couple of months, and then a polite enquiry by ‘phone, letter, or email is acceptable.

* 10. Never give up.
There are very few writers who were successful from the start. Keep a list of how many rejections the best authors had. Read it every time the heavy sound of a rejection landing on the mat depresses you.
Before long it won’t be that heavy thump, it will be an acceptance or a cheque. At last you’ll be on your way to being a real published writer.


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