Freelance Writing Tip #18: Unpublished?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 #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 #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 #14: Don’t Deviate from Writer’s Guidelines

Most publications know what they’re looking for and offer writer’s guidelines either posted on their website or will mail them to you upon request. These guidelines are specifically put there to weed out what the publication doesn’t want; they have also been written to provide formatting guides so that if you’re work does get chosen […]

Freelance Writing Tip #12: Exercise Diplomacy with Editors

If you exchange angry words with one editor, you run the risk of tarnishing your reputation with other editors. (Just like writers befriend other writers; editors talk to other editors.) That’s not to say you shouldn’t stand up for yourself if you feel you are in the right about something. Speak up carefully, politely, and […]