How to Write Comic Books

Blogging as a Career

Building a Bigger Blog Audience in Less Time

Michael Hyatt on How Publishing Has Changed

How to Write Fiction Stories

Ann Rice on Writing

How to Write a Book and Self-Publish

How to Write a Book for Beginners

How to Have Two Blogs on One Wordpress Site

How to create two blogs in a single WordPress site from Bob Dunn on Vimeo.

7 Tips for Marketing Your Book

Top Blogging Mistakes

Book Marketing on a Budget

Using a Blogging Template to Write Posts Faster

Facebook Marketing for Authors

How to Self Publish a Book on Amazon

The Bookbinder

Learning to Write Well

An Effective Beginner's Guide to Writing Books

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Character Development

How to Write a Better Blog Post

How to Write a Query Letter

How to Build Your Platform

Q & A With Veronica Roth

Tips for Christian Authors

Top Ten Writing Rules

How Write a Book Review

How to Write a Blog Post in 70 Minutes or Less

How to Write an Essay

2015 Writer's Market

Are you serious about writing? Are you looking to be a successful freelance writer? Are you hoping to get your book manuscript published?

You need pick up the 2015 Writer's Market guide.

What is it? It is almost everything you need to be a successful writer. The first part of the book is a collection of short chapters by experts in various areas. It touches on things like queries, blogs, social media, financial tips, writing tips, building platforms and so much more. Just that would be worth the price but it has much more. It has a comprehensive list of book publishers that gives you all the information you need. It also has (and this is my favourite part) a list of magazines and other publications. It tells you the types of articles they are looking for, what they pay and who to contact. I can't imagine being a freelancer with out it.

Do yourself and pick up a copy of the 2015 Writer's Market in paperback (USA) (Canada) or in Kindle (USA) (Canada).

Interview with Neil Gaiman

Neil Gaiman is a fantastic writer who has worked in numerous genres. Enjoy this interview where he shares some of his thoughts and experiences from writing.

5 Tips for Writing Fantasy

Scott Berkun on How to Write Well

Scott Berkun teaches us some of the techniques he uses to write well. In the background is a timelapse video of him writing an essay - from start to finish!

 

Looking for Freelance Gigs?

If you are just starting out, you need a couple of things. You need experience and you need some jobs. The more experience you get, the easier it will be to find jobs.

One way to do this is to sign up with Fiverr. Fiverr is one of the best kept secrets on the internet. It is a place where people sell and people buy all sorts of services for $5.

How does this help you as a writer? You can offer your writing services for $5 a project. I know that doesn't sound like much but it can make a difference. You will likely be able to do a job in fifteen minutes. Get enough of them and you are making some money.

More importantly, it helps you to develop your skills as a writer. You will get the experience you need to get bigger jobs that will actually pay the bills.

I also suggest Fiverr as a place for you to buy services. Are you self-publishing a book? You can get a book cover designed for $5. I have had a logo designed there. You will be amazed at what you can find.

So go and check out Fiverr.

7 Tips to Improve Your Writing

On Reading Well

We all want to write well. But perhaps we also need to learn to read well. Bill Fledderus, senior editor at Faith Today magazine, shares about the importance of reading well. You can find the post here.

Writing Courses at the University of Toronto

Are you hoping to improve your craft? Formal education is one way to help. The University of Toronto offers some great courses in their continuing education program. Many are available online for those who don't live near Toronto. You can find out more here.

This Sentence Has Five Words

How to Write a Newspaper Article

William Zinsser Wrote Well

I was sad to hear that author William Zinsser had died. Although he was in his nineties, it always unfortunate to lose a person who has had an impact on so many people.

The first book on writing that I ever read was his On Writing Well. Whenever I ask people what books on writing they recommend, his book is always the first on the list. If you have not read it yet, go and get a copy.

Here is the writeup in the New York Time on his passing.

Writing Tools

If you are going to build a shed or fix a car, you better have the right tools. It is no different when it comes to writing.

What tools should you use for writing? It is different for every writer. In this post, Barnabas Piper shares the tools he uses. You will see that it is not as complicated as we make it.

5 Writing Tips

Author Lisa Jewell shares five writing tips on how to write a book. I really liked tips 3-5!

 

Freelance Writing Jobs

Are you interested in writing? Freelance writing is a great way to go. It gives you a taste of what writing is like and you get some money along the way. Some people are able to make a full-time living writing freelance.

If this is something you are considering, I strongly recommend this site as a starting point. There are loads of resources and you will find opportunities to write.

Scrivener for Writing

Many writers assume you have to write with Microsoft Word but you don't have to. There are other options. Many writers like to use a program called Scrivener for writing. The attraction for this program is it takes away all the bells and whistles and lets you focus on writing.

You can find a free mini-course on Scrivener here that may give you a sense of whether this is something for you.

Writers and Editors

Writers and editors do not always feel like they are on the same team. There can be frustration on both sides. I know this from being on both sides of the fence.

But it doesn't have to be that way.

I found this great post by Gavin Ortlund that gives very helpful advice for the writer-editor relationship. It is definitely worth reading.

Write Canada - 2015

For those who are interested in writing for the Christian market, you might be interested in the Write Canada conference. This is Canada's largest Christian writing conference and it has lots of helpful workshops. It will be taking place on June 11-13, 2015.

How to Write Science Fiction and Fantasy

Some great advice from David Butler on how to write science fiction and fantasy. Much of what he has to say is applicable to other genres as well.

Kindle Deals for Writers

Here are some more Kindle deals that writers might be interested in. I need to remind you that the prices listed are those that were at the time of this post and may change over time.

Anti-Procastination for Writers by Akash Karia - $2.99

Writing a Kindle Book a Week by Alex Foster - $2.99

7 Step System for Writing Your Story by Casey Keller - $2.99

Freelance Writing on the Side by Joshua Slone - $2.99

How to Write Poetry by Cynthia Sharp - $2.99


Don't own a Kindle? Download the app!

Finding Your Voice

You know that famous author who really inspires you? You are not them. So why do you try and write like them?

One of the most difficult aspects of writing is finding your voice. You start writing because you believe you have something to say. But when it comes to seeking publication, you feel pressured to say what the editor wants you to say. You have lost your voice.

This is exactly what Les Edgerton seeks to solve in his book, Finding Your Voice. Edgerton speaks from a career of both writing and teaching. He has seen over and over people trading in their real voice for a "beige voice" that pleases nobody.

One of the things that I enjoyed about the book is that he navigates between using other authors as inspiration and speaking in your own voice. You will notice right away that Edgerton writes in his own voice and does not care if you like it.

The goal of the writer is not to invent a voice that an audience will like but to find an audience that will like your real voice.

You can get this book very cheap, and I would encourage you to pick it up.

Jerry Seinfeld on Writing a Joke

If you want to be funny, learn from one of the best.

Not Just a Writer

You may have felt the call of writing since you were a child. Your passion is writing that special article or exciting novel. You live firmly in the world of the creative.

There was a time when that was enough. Once your book was in the hands of the publisher, you showed up for the book signings and collected your royalty cheques.

Those days are gone.

The book industry has enough financial difficulties that it cannot take on the full burden of marketing. Of course they do marketing, but the expectation is that the author will share in the work. With social media and blogging, there is no excuse for the author not be involved in the marketing.

So what should you do?

Before you finish that next great novel, start building your platform. Create a website. Seek fans on Facebook and followers on Twitter. Make as many connections as possible. In this new world, showing the size of your social media presence will likely be a strong consideration for your book to be published.

You may want to be just a writer, but this publishing world is going to require that you be involved in marketing as well.

Neil Gaiman on Writing

Neil Gaiman shares some advice to aspiring authors.

Kindle Deals for Writers

One of the best places to find affordable resources for writing is on Kindle. You can often find Kindle deals for less that $5. Please note that I am quoting the US Amazon store and that the price may change after the time of the posting. Also, I am not necessarily endorsing any book. They are affordable enough for you to decide for yourself.

Writing: Make Money Writing! by William Wyatt - $2.99

250 Things You Should Know About Writing by Chuck Wendig - $0.99

Writing Genre Fiction by Charles Christian - $0.99

Write in Steps by Ian Stables - $2.99

The Elements of Style by William Strunk Junior - $2.99

Don't own a Kindle? No problem!
Download this App.

When Not If You Get Rejected

If you are just starting out on your writing career, I hope you are not aiming at never receiving a rejection letter. The only way to not receive a rejection letter is to never submit any writing.

So when you receive your rejection letter, take it as a learning opportunity. Instead of getting angry and ripping up the letter or firmly clicking on delete, ask yourself these questions.

• Why did it get rejected?
• Was their a major problem with your article?
• Was it the wrong article for the wrong magazine?
• Did you look at the kind of articles that the magazine does publish?
• What could you do better?
• If you had the chance to resubmit it, what would you do differently?
• Are you going to submit the article to another magazine?
• Is there something that you can do to making it more likely to be accepted?

When you get your rejection letter, take a good 10-20 seconds for a pity party. Then start asking these questions and use the rejection as an opportunity to become a better writer.

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Stephen King on Writing Short Stories

Vampire Stories Don't Have to Suck

Count Dracula. Everyone knows the story of Count Dracula. Except a lot of people have not read Bram Stoker's Dracula novel.

I am just finishing reading it and I am absolutely loving it. I will confess that I did not expect to enjoy it as much as I am. I actually find vampire stories rather boring and I have not really enjoyed the Dracula movies that I have seen.

So why am I enjoying the original novel so much? It is actually a very fresh manner of storytelling. This novel is not a straight forward narrative. Rather the novel reads as a collection of diary entries, newspaper articles, letters and other reports arranged in chronological order. If someone in the story did not write the events down on paper, it does not make it into the novel.

This creative way of storytelling is helping me to enjoy the story more than if it was just put down in a traditional narrative style.

That is fine for Bram Stoker but what about you? I am not suggesting that you copy Stoker (although a story made up of Twitter tweets, Facebook updates and Pinterest images could be interesting). Rather I would like to encourage you to think (or write) outside the box. What fresh ways are available for you to tell your story? Don't jump straight into tradition. Plan out your plot and imagine what ways you could express this story to your readers.

I hope that you have found something in this post that you can sink your teeth into.

5 Reasons Why Writers Should Blog

I personally find blogging to be very enjoyable. But what about writers who do not currently blog? Is there any point in starting to blog? I would like to share five reasons why writers should consider blogging. This is especially true for those just starting out but it is applicable to more experienced writers as well.

1. Blogging is writing. Don't take the attitude of sticking with "real" writing rather than blogging. Why wouldn't blogging be real writing? Is it because it is unpaid? I hate to tell you this but there are people who make way more money blogging than some others who sell to magazines or get their books published.
2. Blogging is practice. Becoming a better writer requires practice writing. Imagine what that would do for your writing if you blogged every day.
3. Blogging gives ideas for other forms of writing. Blogging requires you to think up topics for blog posts. You need to be doing the same thing for writing articles. You may find that writing a blog post gives you an idea that could turn into a more in-depth magazine article.
4. Blogging gets your name out there. Your blog probably will get out to more people than many of the articles you write. At the very least it will get out to a wider range of audience. You may find more opportunities for writing through blogging. I have had magazines contact me through my blogging.
5. Blogging provides a platform for your other writing. Imagine that you finally get your first book published. Wonderful. But where are the sales going to come from? It is not enough to just have copies in a warehouse somewhere. Publishers do some marketing but there is more and more expectation that authors will promote their work. Blogging is one of the best ways to do this.

Are you a writer or do you want to be one? My suggestion would be that you start a blog. Even if you cannot blog every day, blog as consistently as possible.

Image by pixaby

John Irving on Writing

For John Irving, the need for a daily ration of solitude was his strongest "pre-writing" moment as a child.

The First Step on Your Writing Career

So you want to be a writer but you don't know where to start. The starting point is actually the easiest part of the entire process. Are you ready for it? Here it comes.

Write!

It may sound too simple but that is really what it takes. You can read all the best books, attend the most amazing conferences and hang out with the most talented authors but if you never write, it is impossible to be a writer.

So what should you write? That is also an easy answer.

Write anything and everything!

Don't start by seeking out that top magazine or writing the next bestselling novel. Just write. Write letters to the editors. Write for local newspapers and magazines. Write for newsletters. Write book reviews. Write blog posts.

Just write.

The point is to hone your skills and while you are doing that, just maybe someone will read your stuff and be impressed and help you to the next level. The more you write, the better you will be able to write.

So your homework is to start writing. Find something and put pen to paper or finger to keyboard. Just write.

Image by pixaby