Choose just one prompt a day or combine several prompts each day and come up with a new short story.

1. The girl knocked on the door in the middle of the night. “You must come with me,” she said.

2. “Meet me under the old olive tree at 2:00,” he told her.

But when she got to the olive tree at precisely 2:00, he wasn’t there.

3. He was so cold. He must have fallen asleep in the snow. And now…what was that he saw? A tiger?

4. The horse’s name was Majestic and the princess was determined to make him her own.

5. The beach was more crowded than she had ever seen it. How will I ever find him here, she wondered.

6. She decided to light a candle for her dear friend, Jack.

7. Running away would be fun. Now…where should she go?

8. She’d never seen anything like this place. Flamingoes were everywhere!

9. “Don’t go near those three sisters,” everyone told him. But he couldn’t help himself.

10. It was just a normal afternoon in the city.

For more prompts check out these 101 Creative Writing Prompts.

The post 10 New Writing Prompts appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

a guest post from Elaine Loeser

Mysteries are fun. They are puzzles with lots of strange pieces. There are story pieces, people pieces, and lots of objects from real life. And it’s all written down so that it is fun to read. You keep reading a mystery because you want to know how the story ends. You want to know who did it and who was smart enough to figure out who did it.

The first thing that you need to write a good mystery is a good story. You need to know the basic story before you start to write even one word. A story has three things: a beginning, a middle and an end.

The beginning is where the story starts. It tells us where in the world we are, who is there with us,</strong and what is happening at that very moment. Starting a story in a special place is a good thing to do. And it should be someplace you know so you can be very clear how it looks and feels. It doesn’t have to be far away or mysterious to be interesting. It has to be written in words that let us see it. That is what makes it interesting. Lots of details. For example, if you started a story in your mom’s kitchen, it would be interesting if you told us all the things that are in the kitchen. Some of them are fun, some we have in our own kitchens, and some are special to this kitchen. She might have flowers from the garden in a green bowl, or a blue parakeet in a cage, or big French cookbooks. These things tell us about the lady who owns the kitchen. Some of the things in the kitchen may be dangerous. That is a good thing for a mystery story. Something always goes wrong in a mystery story. And the beginning tells us what might possibly go wrong. Everything you put in your story is important. Remember that.

Other details you might want to include at the beginning of the story are the season of the year, the time of day, the weather outside. Is there loud music? Are there children outside playing hide and seek? Everything helps to make the story mysterious. Everything helps to tell the story. There are people in the kitchen, or about to come into the kitchen. We need to see them, which means they need to be described. How do they look? How are they related to each other? Are they happy or hungry or mad about something? Are they looking for something to eat or just coming home from school? Are they sloppy or neat or covered with mud? Did something happen today that one of them doesn’t want to talk about? Does somebody know a secret? Did something bad happen? There’s a reason we are in the kitchen. Something is going to happen there that will start the story. Somebody has a problem. Something important is missing. Somebody needs help. The kitchen is the place everybody comes to see Mom. Mom will know what to do. Now the story is started.

The middle of the story is how it gets mixed up. Things get confused. The mystery can’t be solve because two people saw different things at the same time. One of them could be mistaken, or one of them might not be telling the truth. One person saw something he doesn’t want to tell. One person saw who did it, but nobody believes him because he told a fib last week. These are complications.

In a mystery story there is always one person who wants to find out what happened. We call that person the detective. Sometimes that person is a police officer. But many times it is just a person in the story who is curious and smart. It could be a mom or dad or a boy or girl. It could be a teacher or a crossing guard. It could be a best friend or neighbor. It could be the family dog. It is someone who cares about the problem and wants to find the answer to the mystery. It is someone who takes the time to find out the facts from all the confusion. It is someone who takes time to think about the problem. That is how the middle of the story works. It is where the confusing facts are straightened out by the detective.

The end of the story is where the mystery is solved. The detective has figured out the answer and can tell people who did it, and why. The detective can show what happened, how it happened and make things right again. Sometimes the detective gets credit for solving the mystery and sometimes he doesn’t. People don’t always appreciate the effort the detective puts into the mystery. But usually the detective doesn’t care. The detective is glad to know he or she was right. That is why the detective is the detective.

A basic story is a very simple idea. For example: Jamie’s science experiment disappears from the classroom over a holiday weekend. Jamie will not be able to enter the science fair and win a trip to Washington, D.C. At the science fair, Harvey, a student from another school enters an experiment that is similar to the stolen project, and wins the prize. Natalie, Jamie’s best friend, finds an element in the winning project that could only have come from Jamie’s project. When Natalie makes this known to Jamie he wants to tell the judges. But before he does this, he and Natalie confront Harvey with the facts. Jamie discovers that Harvey needs to go to Washington to watch his father receive a Silver Star for combat bravery. Jamie lets him win.

Once you know the simple story, you can tell it with lots of details and people and action. You would figure out what kind of experiment Jamie had made. You would think about Jamie, Natalie, Harvey and the other students and teachers involved, what they are like, how they talk, what they think about what happened to Jamie. There might be a student who doesn’t like Jamie who is suspected of doing this. Natalie would be determined to find out what happened. She is the one who takes charge of the investigation. You need to know how the experiment was stolen, what the special element was that gave it away to Natalie. You would create the school room, the complications of trying to find the experiment, to find out how someone got into the classroom, and whether Jamie could redo the experiment in time. Then the science fair would need to be described in detail. The judges need to be described as well as all the attention Harvey gets for winning. Then the dilemma of whether to turn Harvey in to the judges. Then the final dilemma of whether to allow Harvey to win the prize he needs so much. Finally the satisfaction of knowing that doing the right thing is better than winning a prize. Jamie knows he won. That is enough.

Telling a mystery story is not easy, but it is not hard either. Knowing the basic story makes finding out the details almost as much fun as reading a good mystery. Objects and places and people you see all around you are all you need to create a good, interesting and complicated mystery. Being a detective is fun. And when you write a mystery, the real detective is you.

About Elaine Loeser
Elaine Loeser is the author of The Case of the Pinched Stradivarius: The Adventures of Miles and Fargo, Turtle Detectives (Ampersand, Inc.) Learn more about The Case of the Pinched Stradivarius on Facebook. Available on Amazon.

Loeser wrote for Law Order and other television dramas, and taught television writing at the University of Michigan, Ann Arbor.

Note: This post may contain some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure and privacy policies...

The post For Kids – How to Write a Little (or Big) Mystery appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

Have you been thinking of finding a literary agent?

Someone who will sell what you write?

It can be difficult finding an agent who will take you on.

That’s because every agent won’t want to sell what you write.

Instead, agents want to find authors who write what they know they can sell.

And different agents sell different types of manuscripts.

All this means is, you need to find the right literary agent for you and the types of things you write.

Here’s how to find that agent:

1. Make a list of recently published books that are similar to the types of things you write—the same genre and style (humorous picture books or YA fantasy novels, for example).

Next, find out who represents the authors of these books.

You can usually find out who an author’s agent is by looking at the acknowledgments page in the front or back of one of her books.

But if you can’t find an agent’s name that way, try google.

For example, if you’d like to know the agent for Suzanne Collins (author of The Hunger Games), just type in “Who is Suzanne Collins’ agent” – in the search box at google.

If nothing comes up that way, you can call the publisher (talk to someone in the publicity department) and ask who agented a particular author’s book(s).

2. Once you have a list of agents you think are right for the type of things you write, look for their professional website—it will usually be for the agency they are part of, so look for that agency’s website.

Once you’ve found the website, look for a submissions page that let’s you know if the agency (and sometimes even that specific agent) are accepting queries, new clients, etc.

You should also see how these agents wish to be contacted. Most will want just a query before they want to see your complete manuscript, so follow their initial contact guidelines to the letter.

Tailor each query to each agent.

That is, let each agent know why you think she is the right agent for you and the types of things you write.

3. If an agent responds favorably to your query, you’ll need to send her your full manuscript or at least a few sample chapters and a synopsis.

Again, check out this agent’s submission guidelines to find out exactly what and how to submit your materials.

4. If one of the agents you query offers you a contract, find out as much as you can about this agent (and agency) before you sign it.

For example, find out if this agent will allow you to submit materials to editors on your own if you write something this agent doesn’t wish to represent.

Who knows? You might write something in the future that is much different from what this agent usually represents and she won’t want to market it.

You want to be sure you can still market it yourself (or find another agent for it), even if you’ve signed on with this particular agent or agency.

You also want an agent you feel comfortable with.

You might even ask how often he/she will want to see new material from you.

Both you and your agent want to make money from your writing, but you might be uncomfortable with an agent who expects to see new material from you too often.

Also, how well does this agent explain things to you?

Once your agent gets an offer for your manuscript there are many complicated details to work out.

You want an agent who will take the time to explain all these details to you without making you feel like you should already know his stuff.

For More Info about Agents

If you feel you need more information about literary agents, consult Jeff Herman’s Writer’s Guide to Book Editors, Publishers, and Literary Agents.

Also read this post Two Ways to Find a Literary Agent for some additional links, details, etc.

Finding the right literary agent for you and the type of writing you do will take time and effort.

But in the long run, it will be well worth it.

Try it!

The post How to Find a Literary Agent Who’s Right for You appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

If we read the newspapers or watch TV we know that advertising sells.

But even those big guys who do all the advertising aren’t sure what works best when it comes to advertising.

A huge retailer once said that advertising works, we just don’t know how, why, or where it works best.

Publicity is advertising’s less mysterious cousin.

It is the more reliable relative because it is judged on its merit alone and carries the caché of an editor’s approval.

It also is surrounded by the ever-magic word “free.”

The two are easily identified as kin.

They often walk hand-in-hand and yet they can be incompatible.

The editors of good media outlets will not allow the advertising department to influence them.

Still, in an effort to be completely impartial they reserve the right to use advertiser’s stories editorially if they deem them newsworthy.

That is why it is helpful to use advertising in a vehicle that plays to the audience you would like to see standing before your cash register or clicking on your Amazon buyer page.

Advertising can be an entrée to the decision-makers.

A contact in the advertising department may be willing to put a news release on the desk of one of his editors, maybe even encourage her to look at it.

They can make no promises, but it does sometimes work.

If you’re going to try this route, choose a “little pond”, a bookish brochure or an “arty” weekly so that the dollars you spend will be noticed.

Sometimes a magazine or newspaper runs a special promotion called advertorial.

These are sections where you pay for an ad and then the newspaper assigns a reporter to cover the story you want told.

The article carries some of the prestige of editorial copy—that is the general reader may assume the article has been chosen only on its merits because of its copycat character.

The writer or editor you meet can be approached later when you have an exceptional story to tell.

Publicist Erin Shachory handles consumer publicity and consults on advertising strategies.

She knows that her clients hire her—at least in part—for her “great database.”

It is something that, over time, you can build for yourself.

Still advertorial isn’t FREE when you have to pay to see yourself or your book featured.

If you can’t really afford to approach a publicity campaign this way, carve out some time to do it yourself and follow these 15 tips for doing it yourself:

1. Educate Yourself

Study press releases that come to you from suppliers, stores and other authors.

Read books like the multi award-winning Frugal Book Promoter now in its second edition.

Take a marketing class especially designed for people in your field.

Authors will find online classes given by most universities these days.

Why take a chance with the vagaries of the Web when these classes have been vetted.

2. Read, Read, Read

Your IBPA and writers’ groups’ newsletters. Your newspaper. Your e-zines.

Even your junk mail.

My daughter found a flier from the local library in the Sunday paper stuffed between grocery coupons.

It mentioned a display done by a local merchant in the library window.

Now we’re going to install one for my book, too!

Rubbish can be the goose that laid the golden egg.

3. Keep an Open Mind for Promotion Ideas

Look at the small details in your book.

There will be angles there you can exploit when you’re talking to editors.

My first novel, This Is the Place, was sort of romantic (a romance website will like it) but it is also set in Salt Lake City, the site of the 2002 Winter Olympics© and, though that’s a reach, I pitched it to sports desks, and as a related idea to feature editors as Olympic © fervor grew and after the Olympics when editors needed still needed stories but they weren’t receiving as much information in their e-mail boxes. (I use the past tense here because it is out of print and available only through Amazon’s new and used feature.

4. Cull Contacts

Develop your Rolodex by adding quality recipients from media directories.

You reference librarian can help you find amazing resources that list every newspaper or every magazine in the US.

A good research librarian is like a shark; she’s tireless and once she has her teeth in something, she won’t give up until she has what she wants.

5. Etiquette Counts

Send thank-you notes to contacts after they’ve featured you or your book. This happens so rarely they are sure to be impressed and to pay attention to the next idea you have, even if it’s just a listing in a calendar for your next book signing.

6. Partner with Your Publicist and Publisher

Ask for help from their promotion department—even if it’s just for a sample press release.

7. Publicize Who You Are, What You Do

Reviewers aren’t the only way to go.

What if you’re very young?

What if writing a book is a new endeavor for you?

What if you are a senior and therefore qualify for the many sites and weekly newspapers aimed at that demographic?

Several editors have like the idea that I wrote my first book at an age when most are thinking of retiring, that I think of myself as an example of the fact that it is never too late to follow your dream.

8. Develop New Activities to Publicize

Don’t do just book signings.

Use your imagination for a spectacular launch.

Get charities involved.

Think in terms of ways to help your community.

All the profits from my newest poetry book, Imperfect Echoes, go to Amnesty International. And I let my audience know about that.

9. Send Professional Photos with Your Release

Request guidelines from your target media.

It never hurts to send a Kodak (or iPhone) moment—properly labeled—along with your release.

10. Frequency is Important

The editor who ignores your first release may pay more attention to your second or twenty-fifth.

She will come to view you as a source and call you when she needs to quote an expert.

This can work for novels, too.

I received a nice referral in my local newspaper because I am now an “expert” on prejudice, even though my book was a novel and not a how-to book.

I am now writing poetry with tolerance as a theme and that adds to my credibility as a source.

11. Follow Up

Shel Horowitz, author of Grassroots Marketing: Getting Noticed in a Noisy World, reports that follow-up calls boost the chances of a press release being published.

Voice contact builds relationships better than any other means of communication.

12. Keep Clippings

Professional publicists like Debra Gold do this for their clients; you do it so you’ll know what’s working and what isn’t.

13. Evaluate

One year after your first release, add up the column inches.

Measure the number of inches any paper gave you free including headlines and pictures.

If the piece is three columns wide and each column of your story is six inches long, that is 18 column inches.

How much does that newspaper charge per inch for their ads?

Multiply the column inches by that rate to know what the piece is worth in advertising dollars.

Now add 20% for the additional trust the reader puts in editorial material.

Now compare the stories that you pitched that got published vs. the ideas you pitched that didn’t and figure out how to make that work better for you in the coming year.

14. Set Goals

You now have a total of what your year’s efforts have reaped.

New publicists should set a goal to increase that amount by 100% in the next year.

If you already have a track record, aim for 20%.

15. Observe Progress

Publicity is like planting bulbs.

It proliferates even when you aren’t trying very hard.

By watching for unintended results, you learn how to make them happen in the future.

About Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program. All her books for writers are multi award winners including both the first and second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and her multi award-winning The Frugal Editor won awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award. Her newest book in the series is How To Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically: The ins and outs of using free reviews to build and sustain a writing career.

Howard-Johnson is the recipient of the California Legislature’s Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award, and her community’s Character and Ethics award for her work promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly’s list of “Fourteen San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen” and was given her community’s Diamond Award for Achievement in the Arts. Her first novel mentioned in this article is out of print but is still available using Amazon’s New and Used feature (http://bit.ly/ThisIsthePlace) and her agent is shopping her second, This Land Divided, already a prize winner in WriterAdvice.com’s Scinetiallating Starts contest.

The post 15 Tips for Getting Free Publicity for Almost Anything appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

Choose just one prompt and use it to write a complete short story this week, or pick a different prompt each morning and just write about it for 15 minutes or so and see what you come up with.

Try it!

1. When Janice dropped off her daughter at school, she saw them.

The green frosted cupcakes that Hailey’s mother had brought for Haily’s birthday.

She’d baked them in ice cream cones, no less.

2. “Have a glass of wine, Margot,” said Ethan.” What harm could it do?”

3. Linda had always wanted to take one of those European river cruises, and now, here she was.

4. Bethany hardly ever left the lab these days. She worked night and day.

5. When Bradley suggested drinks on the beach, June had no idea this is what he meant.

6. The streets were deserted and the café was closed. Where was everyone?

7. People were all around her, yet Caitlin felt all alone.

8. Tara wasn’t afraid of Mitchell. But perhaps she should have been.

9. Every morning Carlos tossed the net from his small fishing boat into the sea.

10. “Let’s find out what’s at the end of this little path, shall we?” suggested Michael.

The post For This Week’s Creative Writing Practice appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

Note: This post may contain some affiliate links for your convenience (which means if you make a purchase after clicking a link I will earn a small commission but it won’t cost you a penny more)! Read my full disclosure and privacy policies...

If you’re a freelance writer, an author, or any other type of solopreneur, you’ll probably want to start a blog and learn how to blog.

But it can be difficult to continue blogging, week after week, year after year.

Yet to develop a readership for your blog you need to post at least 2 to 5 times a week.

People won’t want to come back to your blog regularly if they can’t expect to find new content there all the time.

Here are six tips to help you keep up with your blog and post on a regular basis:

1. Decide from the start who you want to attract to your blog.

That is, decide who you want your readers to be. This will be your target market. For example, the target market for writebythesea is freelance writers and authors.

The reason this will help you post regularly to your blog is because you’ll always have it clear in your mind who you are writing for.

And that will make it easier to focus on the content you need for your blog.

2. Decide from the start how you will serve your intended readers.

Many beginning bloggers set up a blog with no real purpose or intended readership in mind.

It’s no wonder they find blogging difficult or they just don’t keep up with it.

Their blog posts tend to be rambles, or daily accounts of their business activities, which don’t serve readers in any way (unless these accounts are particularly humorous, or also offer something for the reader to consider regarding his or her own life).

Develop a purpose for your blog.

What will you post each day that will be of use to your intended readers?

For example, the purpose of  writebythesea is to provide freelance writers and authors with writing and marketing tips, a variety of helpful resources, and information about various coaching programs for writers.

3. Develop a regular weekly schedule for posting.

It’s much easier to keep up with your blog if you decide right away that you will post only 3 days a week, for example, and those 3 days will be Mondays, Wednesdays, and Fridays.

You won’t have to feel guilty the other 4 days of the week when you aren’t blogging either.

4. Develop categories for your regular blog posts.

If you know you’re going to post every Monday, Wednesday, and Friday, set up categories for each of those days.

For example, you might blog about new products or special offers on Mondays.

On Wednesdays you could post tips that would be of interest to the people who use your types of products and/or services.

On Fridays you could post answers to questions you receive from customers or clients.

Categories can also help you organize your blog.

Take a look at the categories in the top menu bar here at writebythesea, which show how this site is organized.

Every post comes under one or more of the categories in the menu bar.

5. Plan ahead whenever possible.

Once you have established a regular blogging schedule and developed categories for your posts, you’ll find it easier to plan ahead and set up your editorial calendar.

You can even enter your articles ahead of time and have them scheduled to post on the days you want.

When you do this it makes it much easier to keep up with your blog as well as your other business activities.

You can post your articles to your blog over the weekend, then not have to worry about blogging again until the next weekend.

6. You don’t have to write every single post for your blog yourself.

Your blog should be a resource to serve your readers.

However, that doesn’t mean you need to write every bit of the material posted at your blog yourself.

As long as you provide helpful information, your readers won’t care who wrote that information.

So check out some of the article directories that offer free articles, and once a week or so select an article that would be helpful to your readers.

You might also have guest bloggers periodically.

Invite another business professional who writes about your topic of interest to supply a post for your blog.

If this person can post a link to his/her site within the post, he/she will probably be more than happy to provide you with content for a day.

Try these tips and see if they don’t help you keep up with your blog on a regular basis!

The post How to Blog – 6 Tips to Help You Start (and Keep) Blogging on a Regular Basis appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

When you get the idea for a blog, you really want to start off on the right foot.

You take the time to find out which platform is best and which plugins will help you make the most of your visitors’ experience – but then you get stuck when it comes time to create the actual content for your blog.

Yet it can be embarrassing and it can hurt your blog traffic if you start abandoning your blog frequently to wait for inspiration to strike.

You have to take a three-step approach to blogging.

Step # 1: Organize Your Blog.

If you’re scattered on your blog, it confuses the readers, search engine spiders – and even you—so you want to be sure the content on your blog is well organized.

Decide which categories of information you’ll include on your blog.

For example, look at the categories here at writebythesea, which are in the top menu bar on this page.

Each article posted here comes under one or more of those categories—Fiction, Nonfiction, Freelance Writing, etc.

Next, create a tagline for your blog, so it’s apparent to anyone who lands on your blog who the site is for and what it will provide for those readers.

Again, using writebythesea as an example, our tagline is simply, “Tips, Resources, and Coaching for Writers”, so obviously the site is for writers and they will find a variety of content here related to this tagline.

Step #2: Map out a schedule for your blogging efforts.

Having a deadline for yourself can help you work towards a specific goal, not just something vague.

Look at the categories you created for your blog and then decide when you will create a post for each category.

For example, you might decide to create posts for a specific category every Monday.

Every Wednesday you might post something related to a different category.

And every Friday you might post something under another category.

Step #3: Begin creating your content.

You’ll want to create content that will appeal to your specific readers (your target market) in some way.

If you’re an author, your content might be based on your books and/or your writing techniques, routines, etc. if your readers will benefit from this type of information.

It’s usually easier to figure what to write about once you’ve created the categories for your blog and you also are clear about who your readers are and what they will want from your blog.

Two Simple Tools to Help You Get Organized

There are two simple tools you can use to get organized.

The first is a planning calendar and the second is an editorial calendar, which is for completed work that you are doing on your blog.

You can either buy a calendar or print one out from a site like this: http://www.pdfcalendar.com/monthly.

Print one out for the current month, and possibly the next month.

You can schedule it as far out as you like.

This is your planning calendar.

You can use this to fill in the days with whatever you’ll be blogging about.

This helps you plan what needs to be written, and when.

This is perfect for using yourself or for whenever you’re using a freelance ghostwriter to create your blog content and you want to share it with them so that they can plan for publishing dates.

Once you have the blog posts created, you can use a different type of organizer to help you schedule them for publication.

A free plugin called WordPress Editorial Calendar makes this a simple drag and drop process.

As soon as you upload a new post, you can drag the post around on your calendar to wherever you want it to be for it to go live.

This can help if you have some timely information that needs to bump a previously scheduled topic.

By using a calendar plugin, you can glance quickly at your blog schedule and see where there are gaps.

It’s important to have a consistent publication schedule.

Plus, it helps you get more consistent traffic to your blog because your readers know when to expect updates.

Now, read part 2 of this article, How Often Should You Be Blogging, at WritersontheMove.

The post Filling Your Blog’s Editorial Calendar appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

For example, Jennifer Lopez launched a perfume line; 50 Cents was immersed in Vitamin Water; and Liz Clairborne sits “pretty” not just from her designer labels, but also due to her popular fragrance for women.

Well, as writers you may not have a formula that you can “bottle,” but you can certainly harness your creativity, launch your own line and “show your shine” if you write e-books.

That’s right.

Your know-how can increase your net worth, while serving to support your branding efforts.

And I should know.

Weary of waiting for editors, agents, and publishers to validate my work and improve my economic forecast, I ventured a different path.

I recently decided to address some common pain points for writers through publishing various how-to titles, collectively identified as “Bank on Success” Series–or B.O.S.S. for short.

It includes (so far):

THE SUCCESS CHECKLIST

SMART BRANDING 4 BUSY BLOGGERS

THE SCIENCE OF CHOOSING THE “WRITE” CLIENTS

SMALL BLOG, BIG RESULTS!

And let me tell you: it has increased my visibility and my confidence.

And it can do the same for you, too.

Here’s why I’m sold on E-books to build your business and bottom line.

• Pride in ownership.

Ask any sales person and they’ll tell you that it’s much easier to sell and promote something you believe in.

And it’s natural to share a product or service you’re vested in, and feel is a positive reflection on you and your business.

The easier it is to talk about and promote, the greater the likelihood and frequency of getting the word out.

Translated?

Mo’ money.

It’s simple math here, my friends.

• E-Books can help to keep your name and your Blog in front of future fans and potential buyers.

Whether it’s a reference in your guest post Bio, or periodic Tweets to your Peeps.

Remember, repetition reinforces.

• It provides an additional income stream.

Though it may not pay the mortgage, E-Book publishing can finance a weekend shopping spree, a cable TV upgrade, extra groceries, a writing conference, a spa day, or other cool indulgence.

In fact, I was able to generate right-now-money before my books were ever released, through pre-orders.

Sweet!

• Being a published author elevates your status.

It helps to establish your expertise and communicates to potential clients that you are resourceful and serious about your craft.

So if you’d like to reach new audiences and reach new levels in your freelance business, write e-books!

It can start a new chapter of success!

About Jennifer Brown Banks
Jennifer Brown Banks is a veteran freelance writer, author, ghost writer and an award-winning blogger.

Learn more about her Ebook series and her blog at Pen and Prosper.

And, if writing nonfiction e-books is not for you, try writing Kindle Singles!

Earn more writing! Learn how to become a six-figure freelance writer.

The post Why You Should Write E-books appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

I recently spoke with Steve Bustin (at SteveBustin.com), a speaker colleague from Brighton in the United Kingdom.

I learned from Facebook that he had written his book in one week, so I had to talk with him to learn his secrets.

While he used many of the same strategies that I outline in my book, On Your Mark (in fact, he had purchased a copy of my book beforehand), there was one central idea of his that stuck with me.

He cleared the decks.

What does it mean to “clear the decks”?

Outlined here are some of Steve’s techniques, but I’ve also added some of my own that help you to get focused and get it done.

Work ahead.

If you’re going to write at the beginning of the next month, what will need to be done NOW to give you time to solely focus on your book?

You likely have some commitments that must be attended to: client appointments, speaking engagements, revenue-generating activities.

What can you do now to prepare in advance?

Do you need to pull together your meeting materials?

Print handouts?

Get out those invoices?

Determine what is essential, and do it NOW.

Decide what can wait.

Not everything on your plate is an A priority.

What can be delayed a month?

What can be eliminated entirely from your “to do” list?

What can be delegated?

Sometimes, when you prepare for a vacation, some items get put on hold; the same should be true for your writing project.

Turn off electronic notifications.

Unplug your landline.

Turn off your cell.

Adjust your settings so that you don’t receive notifications when you have new mail.

It can all wait.

Your top priority is writing.

Steve adds: “To remove distractions completely, I removed the Mail app from my dock and used a desktop app called Rescue Time (rescuetime.com) which blocks your most-visited websites for a set period of time . . . it’s stopped me sneaking off to waste time on Facebook!”

Notify friends and family.

Put a “Do Not Disturb” sign on your door.

Let friends and family that you are totally busy.

You don’t have to say why; if they don’t understand the importance of your book, you only have to say that you are unavailable.

You may need to define what constitutes an “emergency” with close friends and family.

Use noise-cancelling headphones or white noise.

To totally clear the decks, block out unwelcome noises and sounds.

I can’t listen to music when I write (I’m a music lover, so I find it very distracting).

Steve used noise-canceling headphones, then played white noise through them.

You can get soundtracks of babbling brooks or gentle ocean waves—whatever puts you in that space ready to write.

Steve recommends tinyurl.com/jpk9xhh.

Go away.

Some of my clients and author friends find that the best way to “clear the decks” is to just escape for a few days, even a couple weeks.

A writing vacation can be both fun and productive.

I’ve often found that two hours of writing per day on vacation is like writing 8 hours at my desk in my home office.

And on vacation, I have the added benefit of being rested and relaxed so that I do my best work for those couple of daily hours.

Activity: Plan a retreat or schedule a few hours for which you will clear the decks. What will you need to do to ensure you have a time block without external distractions?

About Cathy Fyock
Cathy Fyock is The Business Book Strategist, and works with thought leaders and professionals who want to write a book to gain more credibility and visibility, to close more sales, and to generate more revenue. She is the author of the forthcoming book, Blog2Book: Repurposing Content to Discover the Book You’ve Already Written (she practices what she preaches—this post is excerpted from her book!). She can be reached at 502-445-6539 or Cathy@CathyFyock.com.

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The post Write a Book in a Week appeared first on National Writing for Children Center.

a guest post from Carolyn Howard-Johnson

Sighhh. I so hate to see an author or publisher send out bare-bones review copies to a reviewer who has committed to reviewing a book.

Here are a few ideas from my newest book from my HowToDoItFrugally Series of books for writers, How to Get Great Book Reviews Frugally and Ethically, to dress that copy up a bit.

The idea is to help your reviewer without violating ethics standards.

• Affix a review label to the inside front cover of the review copy you are sending. It should have all your book’s key data: contact information including name, phone, fax, email, and Web site. This can be done on a 3.5 x 5 inch label. Print enough for your projected needs.

• Enclose a media kit or a help sheet (sometimes called a sell sheet) about your title. It should include your media release. It might explain the benefits of your book or why someone would be interested in reading it and a bio of the author. Include the same information on this as the review label mention above. By doing this, you assure that your reviewer has the information he or she needs and that your name is spelled right. Further, if you include a nice synopsis, you may even be able to influence the reviewer to highlight what you find most valuable about your book.

• Enclose a cover letter stating that this review copy is being sent in direct response to their request and how to reach you if they need any additional information. This information can also go on the outside of the envelope you are using to send your ARC. Do not say that anywhere, though, unless it is the truth.

• Send the reviewer a brief e-mail and remind him/her of the request and that the copy is on its way. Double-check the address you have at that time.

• Some reviewers, bloggers, and other media outlets use the information you send verbatim. In The Frugal Book Promoter, I advise that your media kit include a review with permission for them to cut and paste exactly as it is. Be sure to give them guidelines for its use from both you and the original reviewer (Midwest Book Review, as an example, always extends permission for unlimited use as long as they are credited.)

• Let your contact know—as part of the letter and the release and even the review slip—that cover art, interior art, and/or author photos are available electronically or as black and white glossies. Make the cover of your book and an author photo available on your Web site so they can be downloaded in either color or black and white, in either high or low resolution.

• Don’t try to talk the reviewer into an e-copy if he or she request real paper.

Thanks to Independent Book Publishers Association (IBPA) for these suggested resources:

• Protect Yourself: https://www.ibpa-online.org/article/protect-yourself-from-bogus-reviewers/#.USgDIY5KHe5
• The Two Kits: https://www.z2systems.com/np/publicaccess/neonPage.do?pageId=2397&orgId=ibpa&amp;
• Anatomy of a Review: https://www.z2systems.com/np/publicaccess/neonPage.do?pageId=3038&orgId=ibpa

More articles of interest on these topics can be found at the IBPA website in the articles section of IBPA’s Independent magazine online.

About Carolyn Howard-Johnson
Carolyn Howard-Johnson brings her experience as a publicist, journalist, marketer, and retailer to the advice she gives in her HowToDoItFrugally series of books for writers and the many classes she taught for nearly a decade as instructor for UCLA Extension’s world-renown Writers’ Program.

All her books for writers are multi award winners including first and second editions of The Frugal Book Promoter and The Frugal Editor including awards from USA Book News, Readers’ Views Literary Award, the marketing award from Next Generation Indie Books and others including the coveted Irwin award.

The newest in the series, How to Get Great Reviews Frugally and Ethically, was launched as part of a promotional program to more than 20,000 new readers.

All are available in print or as e-book. Learn more at http://howtodoitfrugally.com.

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