Sometimes the hardest part of being a writer is knowing where to start.
During January 2020, we will look at things we can do to get started.
We aren’t multi-taskers. We might think we are but physically and mentally we cannot be in more than one place doing more than one thing at the same moment in time. To make up for our inability to do several things at once, we can make lists. We can prioritize the lists.
For example, we have an idea for an article or short story. Maybe, it is already in progress, maybe not.
The Idea can go on the List.
Who is buying articles of this kind in the next six months? Well, we start a Second List. We do a bit of market research.
Who is buying stories like ours? Market Research again. Who buys from new writers? Who accepts only agented work? Yes, another list.
Market Research includes a lot of reading. Fiction or non-fiction, it can’t do any harm to know who has been buying what during the past year. Visit a bookstore or a magazine stand. You can even contact editors for back issues and be right up front that you are considering a submission. Keep a list.
You are going to need to write items for your Submission Packet. You’ll need a query letter or a cover letter, a bio, a sample or clips, the first three chapters, a synopsis and any other item indicated by the publisher’s guidelines. Yet another list.
Social Media, Websites or Blogs, Press Releases, Editing and Formatting need to go onto a list, somewhere.
All of these things, together, can stop any writer in her tracks. Prioritize your Lists and Sub-Lists. You can Network during gap time and start working on the contents of your Submission Packet. Carve out bits of time, an hour here, twenty minutes there. Maybe, Tuesdays are devoted to Market Research and its Sub-Lists. Thursday may be
set aside for future blog posts ideas.
You may have more than one project going on at a time. Maybe, you have five short stories and two article ideas ready to go out. By working 10 or 20 minutes or an hour at only one item from your list will make the process a lot less overwhelming.
Let’s sort it out in Topic Chats.
Check out the article of 6 Tips for Submitting I found on Think Written.
Join us Sunday, January 5th at 7PM ET at The Writers Chatroom
KNOW THE STANDARD POLICIES FOR MANUSCRIPT SUBMISSIONS
By using these 6 tips you will be able to find the appropriate publisher for your manuscript and tailor it to their requirements, setting you up for success and a real shot at being offered a contract.
-- think written
Come back on Wednesday at 8PM ET and catch up on what you missed.
Read Deeply and Write Like The World is Going to End
Image by
Jason Leung
A new year is ahead of us.
I just received my 2020 edition of Pushcart. It reminded me that Writer’s Market has just released their 2020 books on everything from Fiction to Magazine Writing
to Poetry. I buy them just often enough to remind myself I am not doing the vast quantity of writing I thought I would.
There are many things a writer needs to consider as part of the process and Marketing is probably the Publishing World’s best kept secret. No, wait, Contracts are
very mysterious. Query Letters, Synopsis’s and Manuscript Submission Formats also bear some consideration.
There are two, very easy things a writer can do and should be doing.
We should all be reading deeply and writing steadily. Pick up a book in a genre you seldom read. Enjoy what you are reading. If it is exceptional, try to figure
out why. Read like a reader. Later on, during sleepless nights, go ahead and read like a writer.
When you are writing, write with wild abandon. Write as though your life depends upon it. Experiment with your writing. Try poetry. Write an article for a Trade
Magazine. Jot down that memory that doesn’t need to be shared.
Add some fun things to next year’s writing goals. Bring Joy to your keyboard. Be adventurous. Take a chance. If it doesn’t work out, you have at least discovered a
new way to write badly.
Not everything we write is meant to be read. Practice is the best teacher.
Join us on Sunday December 22nd. The Chat Room will be closed between the 23rd and
January 4th 2020
A Little Snip Here
When I wrote articles and submitted them and the stars aligned, a magazine editor would accept on the condition that I cut it back by 200 words or 35 or some percentage.
I understood that they built a magazine on paper, an unyielding rectangle of writerly real estate. It think being asked to cut words is a right of passage in an author’s world.
The Following Articles May Get Us Started Cleaning Up
Another rule I swear by is the Third Paragraph Rule. This rule states that the best opening for any story is typically the third paragraph. Try it. You’ll be surprised. The theory is based on writers not getting into voice until after framing the first two paragraphs.Take a look at some of your
work to see if this holds true.
Chris Jones
I am constantly on the verge of overwriting and starving my story to death. I think too much cutting may actually be too much, but I don’t know.. this is turning into a long nonsensical sentence.
How to Write With a Knife
Writing involves two separate but closely intertwined mindsets: crafting their message and then cutting away everything that’s not their message.
It isn’t easy. As writers, we all have a tendency to fall in love with our words. So here are seven tips to help you cut to the chase.
Michelle Russell
Watch out for “creep-in” words
These are the unnecessary words you use without even realizing it. Two of mine are “just” and “actually.” And yes, it’s actually true that when I read through my first draft of this post, I just went back in and removed several of each
I think Brevity is one of my Long Suits. Many of the Editing Tips in this article will tighten up almost anything I write.
A few chat room participants suggested we could cut or edit some real examples. I am looking into where to find examples, how to present them and in what format we might edit them. Suggestions are welcome. You have my email. (Maybe, we could work with editing in the Forum Area of the
Chatroom.)
Join us on Sunday. Let’s talk about using sharp things.
7PM ET
Goal setting for Writers
A new year is a time when we can stop the clock and reset it to ground zero. But, not really.
We bring victories and failures along with us. We can use those experiences as we begin to make new goals.
Let’s talk about 2019 Writerly Goals and new goals for 2020.
Personally, I have trouble planning more than 3 months ahead. Last year I met my goals. In 2020, well, I’ve got nothing.
