Writer

All about Writer’s Organizations

November 18, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

Writing is a craft where you only need to depend on yourself to create high-quality content. You find a cozy spot to isolate yourself and finish your work away from the distractions of the modern world. There are many others out there like you. Those interested parties often join writer’s organizations to improve their skills, socialize with other brilliant minds and network.

Learning in a Group Setting

Information within writer’s organizations is passed in a group setting and can be quite valuable. Even if you are a passive attendee, you can still gain pertinent information. However, those that organize, brainstorm and fully participate in the meetings will get the most out of them. Meetings allow the free flow of information to be communicated to others within a structured and friendly environment.

Types of Organizations

There are many types of organizations available covering different forms of writing including, freelance, creative, fiction, non-fiction and much more. These groups can be large or small. The larger organizations have more information passed along to its members and may provide more functions. Many offer more services than only writing including illustration and editing. Also, the largest groups have legal services that protect writers from excessive taxes, improve copyright laws and fight for an improvement in writer royalties.

Writers Must Have Proper Resumes

November 13, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

: Image via Wikipedia

It’s easy to assume that your work speaks for itself, but it often doesn’t. If you’re just sending a two-line email to prospective clients and asking them to click the links to see your work, you’re missing out on a lot of clients and a lot of money. Most people who’re looking for writers aren’t very interested in clicking all around the Internet, doing research to see what a person has done. They want to be able to look at a strong resume and attached samples, so they don’t have to spend a lot of extra time making a decision.

If your resume doesn’t sing and it isn’t professional and well-polished, you’re losing out. There are a lot of writers out there, and the only way you’re going to stand out is by being a complete professional. That means always meeting deadlines, having good communication with your clients and potential clients, and having a resume that truly speaks to what you can do. If your resume is brief and doesn’t have much to say, you won’t be seen as someone who takes his or her work seriously. On the other hand, a six-page resume isn’t going to be read by many people, because it’s way too long.

Try to keep your resume down to two pages, if possible. You should be able to say everything you need to within those two pages. If it stretches to three, there had better be a seriously good reason for it, because most people who are hiring someone off of a resume don’t want to see that much information. The resume should be a snapshot of the best and more important things that you’ve done as a writer and/or as a person. Keep in short, simple, and with good information about the things you can do best.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books Tagged With: Employment, Résumé, Writer

Getting a Writing Mentor to Help You

November 10, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

When you’re just starting out as a writer, one of the things that can really help you is having a mentor. Of course, getting a mentor isn’t always easy. If you’re fortunate enough to be friends with people who are already established writers, perhaps one of them will be willing to take you under their wing. If you don’t have that luxury, though, you can try joining writing groups. You can also offer to pay for instruction, but a lot of aspiring writers don’t have much money – and a lot of established writers won’t work for free. It can become a bit of an impasse.

If you’re serious about getting a mentor, though, don’t give up. Keep going to writing groups and writing forums, and keep asking questions. Join organizations that are specifically designed for writers, so you can talk to people who are already in the business. That way you’ll have a better chance of connecting with someone who would actually like to help you, and who will be willing to do so for less money than you might otherwise have to pay. If you can get help for free, so much the better. The more friends you make in the writing world, the better.

Even if you don’t find that one person who will stop what they’re doing and mentor you, you may still be able to get a lot of help from other writers. They often have suggestions for places where you can write a little for some extra cash, and you can get good experience there. Don’t stay there, though, or you’ll get stuck writing inexpensive content. At some point, you have to make the changeover to higher-paid work, so you can move your career forward.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Professional Writing Tagged With: Mentor, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing circle

Imagination Costs A Lot

November 9, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

Most writers struggle to make ends meet and the public does not always see their talent as early as one might hope. Writers are artists the freedom from stress let their imaginations flow. This means that artists are free to write just about anything that is important and entertaining. While you may feel that you work is perfect for everyone, there are bound to be critics who will find your work offensive. But as an established writer, you should be able to handle criticism and use it to your advantage to improve your skills.

However we all know the kind of suffering any talented artist goes through, especially financial, so even as a writer you need to find a way to protect yourself. If you were ever in legal trouble for expressing your thoughts or for an unfortunate mistake, you could end up with extremely high legal fees and fines. While you may not have the kind of money you need to pay these fines, you should consider a protection plan to handle such an unfortunate scenario. Try to get professional indemnity insurance, which will protect you so that in the event there are problems, you will have a solution.

You never expect to be sued for your own work, but the reality is that there are people out there who don’t share your opinions and beliefs. You, like any other writer, can easily become a victim and without the proper support, you could be left on the street. Get the insurance you need to protect yourself and your work so that you do not have to worry about how you choose to express yourself as a writer. Your imagination and talent must be protected so that you are always able to pursue your craft.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer Tagged With: Arts, Writer, Writers Resources

Querying Magazines – Do It the Right Way

October 26, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

If you want to write for magazines, you’ll generally need to query them with the ideas you have for stories. Unless you’re a very in-demand writer who’s a household name or you’ve been writing for that magazine for some time already, you’re probably not going to be contacted by the magazine, asking you to write something. Querying can seem very daunting. The idea of ending up with a rejection from someone you don’t even know can also seem like something you want to avoid. If you truly want to be a writer, though, you’re going to face rejection.

It’s part of life, and it’s a big part of the life of a writer. To cut down on the number of rejections that you’re getting, though, there are things you can do. First of all, learn how to query the right way. You don’t want to send something that’s sloppily-written or unprofessional, because you’ll get rejected. You want to send something you would send if you were applying for a job – professional, to the point, and clear. Make sure you know what kinds of stories the magazine prints, and that you tailor your query along those same lines.

That way, the magazine’s editors will see how what you want to write fits in with what they already have – but yet is unique enough to be valuable. Proofread your query. Read it out loud. It’s much easier to catch mistakes when you do that. Once you’re sure that you’ve caught everything and your query is the best it can be, get a trusted friend or family member to read it. He or she might catch something you didn’t. Then, send it the right way, and to the right person to give yourself the best chance of a positive response.

Filed Under: Books Tagged With: Magazine, Publishing, Writer, Writing

What Kind of Writer Do You Want to Be?

October 23, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

For people who love to write and want to make it their career, there are serious considerations. One of the biggest ones is what kind of writer you actually want to be. Some people are generalists and can write about all kinds of things, but most of them are more specialized in what they focus on. They might write Internet content with great SEO skills, or they might be a copywriter. Maybe they write sales letters, or they work only on fine literature. They could write book or movie reviews, too, or go to places and review them when they get home.

Some writers make more than others, but it’s not just about the money. It’s also about liking what you do and being able to do it on a consistent basis. If you choose a writing specialty that you really don’t like, you may find that you burn out quickly and don’t enjoy what you do. Most people who work as writers get into it because they have a serious love of the written word. They aren’t writers because they get paid for it. They’re writers because they have to write. They can’t imagine doing anything else.

Because they’re so dedicated to their craft, they gravitate to the specialty within their field that they feel the most comfortable with. You should do that, too, if you’re going to work as a writer. If you don’t do the kind of work that you’re comfortable with, you won’t be as good at it and you won’t have as much fun. A job can’t all be fun and games, but working as a writer should never, ever stop you from loving to write. If it does, you’re doing the wrong kind of writing.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books Tagged With: Arts, Writer, Writers Resources, Writing

Writing is a Difficult Business

October 21, 2010 By Emily Green Leave a Comment

If you ask around, you’ll hear a lot of people say that they’re writers. That’s mostly because everyone who has a blog today calls themselves writers. Technically, they’re right, but there’s a major distinction between them and people who slave over written words all day long to pay their bills. Many bloggers don’t realize this, which makes ‘real’ writers – those who do it for a living and pay all of their bills that way – very angry. They feel as though their profession is being devalued and no one is taking them seriously. Blogging for fun and saying you’re a writer is like saying you’re an actor when you’re really just a waiter who’s hoping to break into the biz.

It keeps people from taking professional writers seriously and understanding that they work in a legitimate profession. This is less common for writers who work for a particular company. For self-employed professionals, though, the frustration can really mount. That’s part of what makes writing such a difficult business to stay in. Another difficult part is rejection. Whether it’s the publisher who turned down your book or the client who didn’t like your work enough to hire you, rejections happen to all writers.

Even the best out there faced a lot of rejection before they got their start. They still face rejection, even once they’ve made a name for themselves. It’s a tough, demanding business, and if you work from home it’s easy to feel as though you’re never really finished and can just relax. For those who love the written word, though, it’s also the most enjoyable and interesting job that they’ve ever had, and they cannot possible imagine the idea of doing anything else with their life.

Filed Under: Becoming a Better Writer, Books Tagged With: Blog, Writer, Writers Resources