A cat is the “purrfect” writing—and reading—companion, whether sitting on your lap or warming your computer keyboard. Even if you’re not a cat person, you’ll love the funny felines in these GIFs. We’ve only begun to scratch the surface of the lessons cats can teach creative writers about staying curious, being flexible, … [Read more...]
FABULOUS Gifts For Writers
Gifts range from great little stocking stuffers all the way up to career changing tools for those who are writing and publishing pros! PUT YOUR MOUSE OVER THE IMAGE to find Amazon purchasing information and the link If your favorite writes gets their best ideas in the shower, they will LOVE this Waterproof Notepad! Don't LAUGH ... just look at … [Read more...]
INSTANT Gifts for Writers
In addition to being a godsend when you are in a rush, these are some of the most LOVED gifts any writer wants. There are literally hundreds of fabulous "instant" gifts you can give your favorite writer. Here are a few of my all time favorites. If you want to give your "instant" gift in person, print out the Amazon Description Page and … [Read more...]
Creative Ways to Promote your ebook
Success in self-publishing is determined by a variety of factors. The biggest struggle first-time authors have to overcome is finding the most effective way to spread the word about their brand new ebook. Fortunately, with the help of useful strategies and impactful promotional actions young writers can make a name for themselves, even in today's … [Read more...]
10 Top Horror Fiction Resources
Here are ten great resources about and for writing horror fiction ... short stories, novels and screenplays. Please DO tell us about your favorite sites and horror fiction books or movies. 1. Horror Factor Horror Factor offers great resources for almost all levels of horror writers; from enthusiasts to well known authors. At Horror Factor, … [Read more...]
Narrative Tension
Guest Post by Bill Johnson Narrative tension is the tension characters in a novel feel about unresolved and unfulfilled events and needs. When characters in a story are blocked from gaining what they want, they experience narrative tension. When acting to gain something increases a character's pain (because the story/storyteller increases the … [Read more...]
Give Me A Dramatic Truth or Give Me Death!
Guest Post by Bill Johnson To satisfy an audience a story must ring true. One way to create a story that rings true is for the storyteller to understand the promise of a story and how to create characters and situations that act out that promise. This happens when characters embody what I call dramatic truths. Dorothy in The Wizard of Oz … [Read more...]
The Proposal Kit — The EASY Way to Write Proposals
It wasn't long ago the only ones writing formal proposals were government contractors. Nowadays, writing business proposals is usually a requirement for any business, especially to stay competitive and stay in business. If you've never used a formal proposal or contract for your business, then this product will get you started doing it fast and … [Read more...]
Banned Books Mug
Banned Book Mug I had NO idea that some of these books were ever banned ... Huckleberry Finn? WOW! Take a look at the books on this list ... I was absolutely flabergasted! Banned Books That Shaped America The mug comes in a dozen different colors. Get it for your favorite writer CLICK HERE … [Read more...]
Is It Too Late For Me To Become A Writer?
Is it too late for me to become a writer? This question is likely to be just one of a long stream of worries and doubts that can plague the mind of a would-be creative. Creatives worry about everything. Is my work any good? Is my work getting worse? Was this success just a one-off? Will I ever repeat my last success? Should I even bother … [Read more...]
Valentines Gifts for Writers & Publishers
Yikes forgot to order a gift for your favorite writer, author or book publisher? Here are 9 fabulous gifts they will love. If computers, tablets or Kindle devices are out of your budget range consider getting a git card or Kindle book. Kindle books can be read on computers, laptops, tablets and smart phones ... NO need for a Kindle device, just … [Read more...]
Blank Page Syndrome
I have Blog posts to write, I have newsletters to write, I have a list of books to write for myself and for my clients and I have to write all the marketing material to make sure what I write, gets read! The problem is, when I face that blank piece of paper, or computer screen, my mind goes blank. Duh. I can stare at the screen for an … [Read more...]
Getting a Publisher & Getting What You Want
In the basic scenario of book publishing, a writer finishes a book and then finds an agent who helps sell the book to a publisher. When someone asks, "How do I find a publisher?" they're often looking for the details of this scenario. But let's backtrack a little. The answer to this question has to do with what you as a writer want out of the … [Read more...]
Proofreading and Copy Editing
Technology has changed the standards for proofreading and copy editing, and even caused the roles to overlap in some situations. "Traditionally, proofreaders are responsible for finding errors during the typesetting or formatting of a final document," notes Darryl Brunsvold, The AVS Group's technical writer and copy editor. "On the other hand, copy … [Read more...]
Tips for Improved Proof Reading
Proofreading is one of the most important steps to consider while writing a blog or an article. Before publishing your blog online, you must make sure you proofread it thoroughly. Proofreading does not mean skimming over your article, instead it refers to reading the post carefully, word by word. When you are proofreading your article, read it from … [Read more...]
How to Make Money in Greeting Cards and Calendars – Part Two
In Part One of this series we covered three main points: 1) The Greeting Card Market is HUGE and is opened to photographers, illustrators and writers. The Calendar market is mostly open to photographers though the daily desk top line can be something that writers have access to. 2) The pay range for photographers is $50 to $1200 per photo and … [Read more...]
How to Make Money in Greeting Cards and Calendars – Part One
The Paper Products Market is a multi-billion dollar industry and covers everything from calendars and greeting cards, to napkins, paper plates, stationary, frames, gift wrap and posters. In this article I am going to focus on the two biggest sectors and talk about how to sell to these markets. Writers, photographers and artists can all sell to … [Read more...]
Greeting Card, Calendar and Poster Markets
Here is a list of over 50 companies that purchase photos, illustrations, concepts, verse or prose for their products. Some of them have artist information or submission pages. If there is no direct contact page you will need to do a bit more homework ... email the company or find their contact information and phone number. It is curious that … [Read more...]
How to Get 50% of Your Freelance Fee Up Front Each and Every Time
One of my copywriting colleagues, Susan Fantle, asked me for a discussion of the topic since she had recently encountered some difficulties with clients. In her own words: "I've been in this business for 23 years and only in the last two years do I finally see the need to have a contract with new clients." Now I've seen a lot of contracts in my … [Read more...]
Making Money from Home with Freelancing
Making money from the comfort of home is the dream for a lot of folks. Plenty of people want to earn an income without having to leave the house. For many people, they try to find jobs where they can telecommute. There aren’t that many jobs where one can work from home, particularly entry level jobs. The best way to find a job you can work from … [Read more...]