Becoming a Published Writer

June 2, 2011 By Leave a Comment
The Damsel of the Sanct Grael, by Dante Gabrie...

Image via Wikipedia

Being published is seen as the Holy Grail of writing, the Medal of Honor of authors. To be published is to have arrived, to have ascended the peak and reached the summit. In actuality, it’s just another step, although engratiating, on the road that writers walk.

First, you need to have a good product. That could be a screenplay, a novel manuscript, a book of poems, or a play. This needs to be in tip-top shape, the absolute best it can be. Once the actual, final product is in hand, you can start shopping around to publishers.

There are any number of good publishers, and obtaining lists of these establishments isn’t hard at all, especially given the ease with which the Internet allows us to access information. This next step calls for some fortitude and nail-biting patience.

Send your manuscript off to them. Send it to lots of these publishers. Include a cover letter summarizing your manuscript and explain why they should publish it. Then sit back (it’s recommended you start working on something else) and wait. And wait. And wait. If you are anything like most writers, you will not hear back for a bit. You won’t hear back at all from many of these publishing houses. But hopefully one, and maybe just the one, will get back to you and say they are interested in publishing it. And then you start the process of meetings and discussions and final copies that makes up the home stretch of publishing.

And after you are published….you start the process all over again.

Filed Under: Books, Copywrighting Tagged With: , ,

6 Productivity Tips for Freelancers

June 1, 2011 By Leave a Comment
As a freelancer, you’ve likely found that keeping yourself busy isn’t that difficult, but keeping yourself productive is another story. From time drains and stress to poor concentration and loss of focus, anyone even considering going the freelance route should take some time to learn about the seven habits and tools of effective freelancing. Integrating some of these productivity tips and tools can help keep even the most easily distracted freelancer on track.

1. Carving Out Your Space: Freelancers work from home and those who fail to find a space they can dedicate to work often have a more difficult time keeping on track. Spend some time carving out some work space that is your office in your home.

2. Creating Better Storage: The Internet has made freelancing a much easier proposition for people. Instead of relying on the Internet solely for communications, utilize tools like GoogleDocs to create an online depository for documents you need to share.

3. Easy Apps for Easy Days: Take the time to look around at the various apps available and see which one’s will work for you. For example, EchoSign is a great little app that will make it easy for you to create documents, like contracts, that your clients can sign. Use apps to make your day easier.

4. It’s All About The Plan: In order to be successful you have to have a plan each day. Spend a few minutes each week planning the events for the upcoming week and break it down into manageable chunks – do the same each day and you will soon find it easier to get everything finished. Consider using an online calendar if that works well for you, but don’t be afraid to use the old tried and true pen and paper to make your plan.

5. Don’t Forget The Goal: You started working as a freelancer for a reason – never forget that reason. Whether you are replacing lost income or working towards building a full time business, always focus on that goal. Keeping it at the forefront will help you stay on track.

6. Finding Balance: Many freelancers fall into the trap of working as much as possible, every day. It may seem logical, but in reality, if you do not have a balance between your work and your personal life, you will crash and burn. Part of your daily plan should include a clear start time and a clear end time.

Engaging in freelance work can be profitable and an engaging way to work. It presents new challenges each and every day. By taking the time to learn the tips and tricks used by successful freelancers and implementing them into your work schedule, you may soon find that freelancing can be just challenging enough.

Are you doing everything you can to be successful at freelancing? Which of these tips and tricks will you implement into your daily work plan?

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer

Motivate Yourself to Write

May 25, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Hands collaborating in co-writing or co-editin... 

Image via Wikipedia

When it comes to writing, motivation can be difficult to find. Writing a story takes time and effort, but the end result can be extremely satisfying. Many people have fragments of stories floating around in their heads that just need to get down on paper. There are several ways to get motivated when you know it is time to write down your story and share it with the world.

1) Say it out loud.

A story can sometimes seem disjointed when it is still in your mind. It is not until you start structuring the story that you see the potential. Get a small tape recorder and record yourself telling the story and making any changes to it. Let the recordings sit for a week, and then listen to them again. The inspiration to organize them could hit you at that point.

2) Use an outline.

When you have parts of a story in your head, you avoid writing it down because it may be missing key pieces. Create an outline of your story, and then start filling it in. Once you have the main ideas on paper in outline form, your mind can start to see what is missing and help you get your story off the ground.

3) Get a collaborator.

Sometimes it just takes the ideas of another person to make your ideas start flowing on to the page. Work with a close friend or family member to bounce ideas off of her or get input that will help your story come to life.

Everyone has a story to tell. It is the ones that find motivation that get their stories heard.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: , ,

Reading is Your Gateway to New Worlds

May 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

 

Park Street Elementary School, Atlanta, Ga. (D... 

Image via Wikipedia

If you have ever passed by a magazine stand, you may have noticed dozens of magazines about topics that you know nothing about. The wonderful thing about reading is that it can introduce you to something brand new through your own imagination. Magazines often provide pictures to go along with the text, but the pictures only heighten your interest in this new topic. There are simple ways in which you can improve your reading comprehension while opening up new worlds to your imagination as well.

1) Buy one new magazine a month.

Rather than pass that magazine stand by every day, stop once a month and buy one magazine on a topic you know nothing about. If you see a photography magazine and you have never taken a professional quality picture in your life, then buy the magazine and read it. Your financial investment will make sure that you at least look the magazine over, and your imagination may get the best of you and allow you to learn something new.

2) Read the book before seeing the movie.

One way in which people can become more open to reading is to compare a book to a movie. In some cases, movies are advertised months before they open. When you see an advertisement for a movie you would like to see that is based on a book, then the buy the book and read it before the movie comes out.

Reading forces us to use our imagination, and that can sometimes open up brand new worlds. When you start comparing movies to books, you may find that your imagination makes for a good movie director.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: , ,

Improve Your Vocabulary through Reading

May 9, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Improving your vocabulary through reading requires a little work. But as it becomes easier for you to find the proper words to express yourself, you begin to realize how important a good vocabulary is. There are several ways in which you can improve your vocabulary while reading. By employing just one of these methods, you are improving your ability to communicate.

1) Use the dictionary.

It is common for people to come across a word or phrase when reading that they do not understand, and pass it by. Welcome the opportunity and grab a dictionary when that happens to look the word up, and understand its meaning. Re-read the sentence until you understand what the author is trying to say. It may slow down your reading speed, but it will increase your vocabulary.

2) Audio books can help.

One of the problems in reading comprehension is in pronouncing the word correctly. When you prepare to read a book, find the audio version of the book and read along with it. When you come across a word you have never seen before, the audio book will pronounce it for you. When you look the word up, you will know how to pronounce it when you use it at a later time.

3) Move up to harder reading.

Strive to move up to books you never thought you could understand. As your comprehension gets better, you will be able to read more complicated books and really expand your vocabulary.

A strong vocabulary can be a tool you use for your success. Take the time to improve your vocabulary every time you read.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: , ,

Top Five Tips for Auto Loan Refinance

March 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There are two instances when a good book can help you. One, when you are bored and have nothing much to do and, two, when you’re under tremendous stress due to bad auto loans and money problems. If it is the second, an Auto loan refinance enables you to avail a new auto loan at a lower interest rate. If you are right in the middle of paying off your current auto loan and find a lender offering better rates, you might want to take up a refinance option with them so that your monthly loan repayment amount reduces. Here are a couple of tips that can help you in the process of getting an auto refinance loan:

* Find an appropriate lender – Check out different lenders and select one who is experienced and who offers the best loan features and reduced interest rates.
* Read loan refinance terms carefully – It is vital to be aware of the full implications of all loan terms and conditions before availing the loan because you can be sure of what to expect from the refinance program.
* Get documents ready – You would need details such as income statement, previous loan contract, social security number, car appraisal value and so on. Get the entire paperwork ready before meeting up with staff for availing the loan program.
* Apply for the refinance loan – Get into the process of loan application by filling out the form, specifying the date when you would like to start new repayments and giving the necessary document for application processing.

Though a good book can alleivate your stress levels, it will not make your money problems disappear. A better option would be to take a sensible auto refinance loan. Reading is much better when your mind is uncluttered anyways.

Filed Under: Books

The Habit Of Reading

March 17, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Most people learn to read and write at a very young age. This capability continues with them throughout their lives, unless there are serious issues with eyesight etc. Apart from the formal studies required by students, people read for all kinds of reasons. Some read for business, some read for pleasure, while some read purely out of necessity.

The process of reading involves the eyes through which the written or printed matter is seen, and the mind which analyzes and makes sense of what the eyes are reading. For the mind to comprehend the matter, it is necessary for eyesight as well as brain functions to be normal.

The capabilities to read, write, and speak are necessary for most functions required in today’s environment. Out of these, the capability to read is perhaps the most important and basic requirement. During the earlier days, when literacy levels were not so high in many regions, people were merely able to speak a language, since the skills of reading and writing did not exist at a broad level. With increasing levels of education, and the widening of the reach of education in all societies, the capabilities to read and write have become increasingly important. There are awareness campaigns conducted in many countries to make the illiterate elders come out and learn the skills of reading and writing. Many of these campaigns achieve a good success, since they are able to motivate people to even study at late hours after finishing their responsibilities for the day. Awareness is a prime motivator that makes people do many things which they would otherwise not be interested in.

A basic awareness of how reading skills can improve the daily life is enough to grasp the attention of many illiterate people, and they are very keen to learn.  This is a great encouragement for their governments who can then deploy more resources in terms of teachers and money to carry the literacy campaign forward with increased vigor. It is a matter of pride for any government if a larger percentage of their population is fully literate.

Filed Under: Books, Reading Tagged With: , ,

Human’s Best Friend

March 15, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Have you ever wondered which is more of a friend to a person – is it dogs, or is it books? The answer might not be so complicated, since both are equally important to a person, and both are also not substitutes for each other. Nevertheless, books occupy an important position in every person’s life. A child in today’s world starts acquiring books at a very early age, even before entering school. From then onwards, the journey of people with books continues almost throughout the whole life. Books can be found on any subject that humans can think of, and it is not a question of existence, but more a question of availability of any particular book.

During the early stages, books were written on leaves or cloth, or some such surface, since paper was not invented during those days. These books were then bound and kept in some well attended place. Duplication of books was not a practice, and only one book of any kind was in existence. The invention of paper has transformed the entire situation. It became possible to write on paper. Further, mass production of books has become possible with the advent of printing technology, and advancements in printing. With mass production, it has become possible for millions of people to read all kinds of books, on any subject,

In the present environment, where global warming is a hotly debated issue, cutting of trees has become a major point of discussion globally. It is widely known that several trees are to be cut to produce each ton of paper. Efforts are continuously made to use recycled paper so that the cutting of trees to produce fresh paper can be reduced. This pressure on the availability of paper has resulted in increase in prices of paper, and accordingly the prices of books has also increased.

Since this price increase should not affect the learning of students, several governments subsidize the price of books which are meant for students. The advent of e-books, which do not need paper, will reduce the dependence on paper for printing books.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: , ,

Literary Magazines

March 13, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Literary Magazines are considered to be the most important role in defining the literature in the broad sense. Literary magazines usually publish small stories, poetry, essays, along with literary criticism, book reviews, authors profile, interviews and letters. Nowadays people are loosing their interest in studying books , novels etc people are so busy in their day to day life that they cannot even got time to listen or watch exactly the current running situation or condition around the world, what is going on around their house they don’t bother about any thing other then their work . People are becoming workaholic and getting themselves busy in their profile without taking care about anything in their life.

You can find so much to read through Literary magazines in bulk of different varieties and flavour which you can actually enjoy  and  can get  some knowledgeable things too with full of variety in reading a single Literary magazine. There are magazines available online , If people don’t have time to buy and get the magazine for reading then while doing his work he can also find some minutes to go through the online magazines where he can do any time any where without any special dedicated time required for the magazine..

There are many literary magazines being published  to all the parts of the around defining their culture, history , nature, behavior, politics, letters, interview of the big people or ideals , informative featured articles etc. Reading magazines, books, literature ext is also help in getting confidence while talking or communication.

The most important skill that will help you in getting success in your life in your workplace or anywhere is communicating with each other. We talk to people face to face, and we listen when people talk to us. We write emails and reports, and we read the documents that are sent to us. Communication, therefore, is a process that involves at least two people – a sender and a receiver. For it to be successful, the receiver must understand the message in the way that the sender intended.

Filed Under: Professional Writing Tagged With: , ,

Writing For Kids

March 11, 2011 By Leave a Comment

We all have budding authors within us. Some where or the other we all want to be famous and well known. Writing allows you to express your mind and all that runs through it. There are several genres for you to write about. These include love, thrillers, horror, action etc. Self-help is one of the most emerging trends now-a-days. There are several kinds of writings too, these include fiction, non-fiction, short stories, novels, etc. All we need to do is realize is the kind of writing we are capable of.

For people who wish to begin their careers as writers it is essential that you begin with something simple. What could be simpler than writing books for children? These books call for simple language and easy to imagine ideas. You don’t need to use any kind of ornamental language or theorems to prove your ideas. All you must do is keep it simple and easy to comprehend.

While writing for children, you must make sure that they can connect with your ideas. Putting ideas about super heroes, cartoons or animals, will help your books in gaining popularity. Your books must have appropriate language and correct usage of words. Young children tend to follow what they hear or read. Your books must be such that parents readily buy it for their children.

While writing for children, make sure you use simple and short sentences. These sentences must be connective and convey their true meaning. It is essential that you sentences have only one meaning. Using words which are easy to pronounce, will encourage children towards your books to read it. Being a book writer for kids is a great responsibility. You must understand that your words are shaping the future generations. Writing is surely the most important factor for the kids. You just cannot ignore it. Isn’t it? What do you say about it?

Filed Under: Writing For Kids Tagged With: , ,
« Older Posts
Newer Posts »