One of the things that is extremely important to a modern writer’s style is something called “word conservation.” In other words, how can you say what you need to say in the fewest number of words possible? Most people understand word conservation intuitively; ask someone about any legal, insurance, or financial documents and you’ll hear […]
Year: 2007
Freelance Writing Tip #18: Unpublished? Unread
Whether you freelance write as a hobby or professionally, when you’re a novel writer, your business model is based on attracting and retaining readers. Simple, right? You’d be surprised how many “new” novel writers state that they are “holding out” for the best deal–no matter how long it takes. Unfortunately, when you’re an unknown author, […]
Freelance Writing Tip #17: Don’t Get Too Personal
Many writers “write what they know,” that is they use personal experiences to fuel their stories, articles, and essays. Believe it or not, this happens quite a bit because some authors intentionally get personal to use “writing as therapy.” Generally speaking, this isn’t a good idea, unless you’re an established writer, because it’s infinitely harder […]
Freelance Writing Tip #16: Write to Sell
All too often, it’s easy to write a short story that you absolutely love–only no one wants to buy it because it doesn’t fit within the confines of their publication. One trick you can use to get around piling up flash fiction pieces that are hard to market is to pick a few markets that […]
Freelance Writing Tip #15: Play
When you’re frustrated with a project, or you can’t quite think of what to do next, schedule some “play” time. Play allows you to be creative and free–whether it’s playing with kids, playing a game, playing with art supplies, etc.–to recharge your creativity. Play is especially important if you’re doing editing work; flipping out of […]