Pearl Writing Services Blog

City of God, E. L. Doctorow

2011-08-29T18:43:00.002-05:00

City of God by E.L. Doctorow

My rating: 4 of 5 stars

Complicated, intricate intertwining of several faith traditions and metaphysics. Stunning writing, but the ideas and the storyline sometimes diverge too greatly to make sense to me. Overall, though, the individual narratives are lush, beautiful, and thought-provoking. I highly recommend. City of God

View all my reviews

Flash Fiction at Metazen

2011-08-08T17:20:00.000-05:00

I fell in love with Metazen, an online publisher of flash fiction, after reading this line from their "About" page: "metazen does not believe in non-fiction, both in a literary sense and an existential sense."

These writers make every word work its arse off in tight, tense prose and poetry. Just reading it will make you a better author, I promise.

Growing Windowsill Plant Book

2011-06-01T10:43:00.012-05:00

My latest book, The Complete Guide to Growing Windowsill Plants: Everything You Need to Know Explained Simply, is now available at Amazon.com. If it sells as well as The Complete Guide to Food Preservation, I'll be a very pleased author!

Fiction published in Red Shoes Review!

2011-04-25T11:02:00.003-05:00

I'm pleased to announce that Red Shoes Review, the literary arts journal from The University of Illinois at Chicago, has published two of my works. "Jumpers" is a short story about a neurotic young woman obsessed with the carnage of 9/11; "Summer" is a tragic love poem.

I'm on the radio!

2010-06-19T13:10:00.001-05:00

Today I spoke on Doug Stephan's "Good Day" show, a live radio program, to promote my upcoming book, The Complete Guide to Food Preservation. I talked with Doug Stephan and Phil Lempert, known as the "Supermarket Guru".

This interview was a great opportunity to raise awareness about the benefits of organic and locally-grown foods, as well as the economical and fun process of preserving your own food supply.

The Complete Guide to Food Preservation will be available July 31, 2010.

My interview begins about halfway through the show. Here's a link to the full program: Doug Stephan 06/19/10.

Read Like a Writer

2010-05-29T11:46:00.000-05:00

When new writers ask me how to get started on a writing career, they often tell me that they have an idea for a book. Fantastic! Sometimes finding the right idea is the hardest part. And then they ask me for advice on writing the book.

First, I ask them if they are writing something to be treasured in private, or if they are actually interested in trying to get the story published. If someone is writing for their eyes only, or for dear family and friends, my advice is easy: write from your heart and make sure you say all you have to say. Writing a novel or book for publication is a different matter.

In my opinion, writing for publication starts with reading. You must be able to identify good writing (versus Vogon poetry, as I've mentioned in this post) and know what sells. You must know which publishers are interested in the type of book you're writing.

This starts with book selection. You may want to write a children's book but you have a taste for Tom Clancy. So you put Tom aside and do your children's book research. Find all the current bestsellers and prize-winners in your genre. Check the New York Times Bestseller list. Ask your librarian and bookseller what they can't keep in stock. Immerse yourself in the writing that is selling. Sure, this is some work, but you would have been reading anyway - you're just adding research to the process.

When you read, read once as a consumer and once as a writer. Figure out why this particular book is an award-winner. Even if you don't personally enjoy the book, there is still a reason why thousands of people have purchased it. You must identify what is selling and why it was published. In addition, you must train your brain to consciously analyze good writing. If a passage made you laugh out loud, go back and figure out how the author constructed it. If a scene can make you taste the villain's last meal and how the dust smelled on the back of her neck, stop and pick apart the entire scene. Figure out exactly what the author has done to pull you through chapter after chapter in the middle of the night when you had to get up early in the morning.

You may consider using several highlighters to mark examples of good humor, dialog, description, flashback, etc. These highlights can help you in the future when you're struggling in a particular area. Re-read someone else's excellent writing, and your pump is primed.

Remember, bad writing can happen without effort, but good writing rarely happens by chance.

How to Choose a Print on Demand Publisher

2010-05-13T16:11:00.000-05:00

Print on demand (POD) publishing is an enormous field - I've heard of at least a hundred companies that provide self-publishing and marketing services for books. In traditional publishing, you found an agent willing to represent your book, worried and prayed while the agent shopped the book around to publishers, and then eagerly waited for the day the book was published (as much as a year later).

POD offers a quicker, more customized option - for a price. Most companies offer a package that allows you to upload your manuscript, choose formatting and layout options, and provide marketing services to promote your work. The books are usually printed as a customer orders them.

I've assessed five of the biggest and most popular POD companies on their services and costs. See my POD comparison file at Pearl Writing Services. Once you are familiar with the basic options and terms, however, there is still an analysis to be done. Each of the POD publishers I documented have benefits and disadvantages, but all are excellent resources. How do you choose the right POD for your project? Consider these questions:

Does your work have broad appeal or will it appeal to those in a specific niche? If your work is for a niche audience, and you have access to promote to that audience, you may not need some of the promotional services offered by some PODs.
How much self-promoting you want to do? Some POD companies offer standard packages that provide for promotional items such as bookmarks, posters, free websites, and business cards; other PODs offer these as extra selections. Don't pay for what you don't need!
Will you also try to sell your book through table sales at conferences, trade organizations, or book readings? If so, you might choose a publisher that offers a steep discount to the author, and then bring those books with you to the event.
How much hand-holding will you need through the process? Some services provide a representative to walk you through each stage of the process. If you are familiar with the publishing world, you may not need that level of service.
What distribution channels will the publisher use? Make sure that these are the channels that your readers will use to find and purchase your book!

"What-ifs" for Writers

2010-03-28T13:08:00.000-05:00

Today's writing suggestions are both intended to help you think of "what-ifs". I hope they truly do inspire you!

Fiction
A woman escapes the World Trade Center towers on September 11, 2001. And then she disappears. She's counted as one of the missing, presumed dead. Where does she go, and what does she do next?

Nonfiction
What if you didn't have to support yourself or your family? What kind of writing would you love to do? My personal favorite would be travel writing. Think about your dream writing job, and then research that genre. How can you break in while still bringing home the bacon?

Handle Paper Only Once

2010-01-03T13:03:00.000-06:00

It's easy to get caught up in administrative tasks - reading email, handling paper mail, filing information, managing accounts - that pull you away from writing and making money. One principle to help reduce administrative tasks is to handle each correspondence and piece of paper as few times as possible. How do you do that?

Sort your snail mail right over the shredder or recycle bin. Throw away junk mail or any unneeded enclosures or envelopes at that time.
Limit yourself to checking email only six times a day. Then respond to emails as you read them.
When you read an an email or letter, be prepared to file it in the appropriate place as soon as you have finished reading it.
Designate a particular time and place for handling receipts, mileage logs, invoices, and bills. Allow the supporting documentation to accumulate at that place until the time you have designated to work on it for that week.

Work smarter, not harder.

Feedback is Invaluable

2009-09-12T15:07:00.000-05:00

My husband is currently in the 360 degree review process in his job. He's been telling me that some of his people feel uncomfortable about giving feedback, and that all of them find the process a boring task.

I see it in a completely different way! Feedback is golden. Feedback will put more money in your pocket. Feedback is your friend. For freelancers, feedback is imperative.

When you're asked to review yourself, the information you add to your review lets your leaders know about triumphs they may not have known about otherwise. This is your sales copy. Go ahead and brag.

Thoughtful feedback from intelligent colleagues is like a free management seminar. Think about this: if you implement the suggestions for improvement, you will be a better, more effective leader or entrepreneur in 12 months from now. Growth in professional skills means growth in pay (even if you have to go somewhere else to get it). Just make sure you thank your reviewers for the service they're performing for you.

Freelance writers and entrepreneurs can also get that career-enhancing feedback. And it's even more valuable to us, because our income is even more directly related to our professional skillset at any given moment. Ask respected business partners or key clients to answer the following question honestly for you: "What one thing would you change about my work skills (style, etc.) if you could?" Don't let them answer right away. Give them a few days to think about the best possible answer. Then take action based on the suggestions.

They'll make you a better leader, and it won't cost you a thing!

Style Sheets - Why do You Need Them?

2009-08-30T13:07:00.000-05:00

Big corporations and publishers use style sheets - guidelines for writers - to be sure that each document has a consistent style and look. The editors of these companies don't want a mishmash of voices, designs, and standards. But what about a freelancer with a staff of none or few? Style sheets, or general guidelines, should be just as important for three reasons:

- You want your style and voice to be consistent throughout a manuscript;
- You want the style and voice to be consistent with your client's expectations; and/or
- You want to have a clearly-defined characteristic style in all your work.

I once wrote a long training manual of several hundred pages. Each of the chapters was a separate file. As I worked on each file, I found myself forgetting some of the formatting I'd decided to use. Was I using "e-mail" or "email"? Which titles has special formatting, and which titles were simply bolded? How many blank lines did I put between each section? Though I had set up special formatting in Miscrosoft Word, I still found it useful to jot down a few guidelines, and refer to them while proofreading.

Style sheets also help you define a particular voice or look. If your client doesn't have style guidelines for your use, examine the materials they have given you. Identify characteristic spelling, paragraph and sentence length, color choices, voice, and formatting of the source materials. Viewing the client's website, promotional materials, or any other work can also help you define their style. This can also be useful to you in forming a consistent style for your own company. Eventually your clients will come to recognize your "look and feel" - leading you to brand recognition.

Don't neglect your style - it says a lot about you and your business!

Great Wordpress Plugins from Men with Pens

2009-04-13T10:53:00.002-05:00

Men with Pens have done it again - they've put together a list of useful plugins for Wordpress blogs. While these plugins aren't specifically intended for writers, there are a bunch of functions I can't wait to try! Find them here: Rockstar Plugins for Wordpress.

Use your hometown landscape

2009-04-08T14:11:00.004-05:00

In a few previous posts, I've mentioned that I grew up in the rural Midwest. But for the last twenty-odd years I've lived in a suburb of Chicago - the largest Midwestern city. At a recent writer's conference, I began thinking about what images, smells, sounds, tastes, and textures are stored in my memory because of the landscapes of my life.

For example, I could think swimming, and immediately I remember the warm breakers pushing us towards the seaweed-crusted pier on a Lake Michigan beach, or huddling under blankets on sand that was still warm, waiting for the Fourth of July fireworks to burst overhead. Or the rope swing we'd use to fling ourselves out over Big Paw Paw Lake and, with an excess of courage, let go and plummet before the rope returned us to our friends and their contempt.

Think picnic. For me, it was the summer picnic hosted by the public library, with three-legged races and the tug-o-war over the creek. There was always macaroni salad and lots of watermelon, with seeds, RC Cola and probably three different kinds of jello. I lost at all the games but always won one prize: best reader. My summer reading card always had more stickers than anyone else's; sometimes they had to put the excess stickers on the back.

Autumn. I believe the world was most fragrant in autumn, with the musky-earth smell of dying leaves and the smoky burn piles; apples piled up and oozing cider in the basement, and the shockingly tart and sweet burst of flavor of concord grapes that looked like green mucus once you pulled off the skins. And in autumn, there was the delight of finding a dried-out puffball mushroom to stomp, releasing a rusty cloud, or a dried milkweed pod that had saved its silky parachutes just for you.

Ordinary stuff, do you think? I read about people in Costa Rica, Tibet, Dublin, or Nigeria, and it's all so exotic and strange; caffeine for my imagination. Yet this world of my childhood is exotic to some people, too.

Now that I've lived in suburbia so long, I realized that my perspective has changed about rural Midwestern life. I'm currently on a writing retreat in rural Ohio, and a girl down the road just brought me some freshly-laid eggs. I asked if I could see her chickens, and she let me pet them as we talked. She asked so many questions about my life and where I live, and I tried to let her know how special and interesting I found her world. She laughed at me. At twelve, her world is old news, and I was a glamorous writer from Chicago. I can hardly write that without snickering.

Both suburbia and farmland color my view of the world, and allow me to write with detail and specificity about the Midwest I know. Some people will read my stories and immediately plunge into their own memories, triggered by the authenticity of my descriptions. Others will read and wonder at the world my characters inhabit - and maybe they'll see a side of the Midwest that they hadn't known before.

We often write books that require a flight of inspiration and some amount of research. But try using your hometown landscapes when you're writing; not necessarily every time, but when it suits your stories. I guarantee that the associations you recall will be sweet and painful, sour and savory - and others will savor it, too.

Starting Your Own Writing Business, Part 5: Sign on the Dotted Line!

2009-04-05T19:25:00.000-05:00

Once you've identified clients, and have worked lined up, it's crucial that you have a contract or work agreement in place, to protect you and help the client know what to expect. I've had a few client experiences, good and bad, that will help illustrate this need.

I've been working with several clients for years and we have a great working relationship. At the beginning of our first project, we talked by phone and I told them what they could expect in terms of project updates, rewrites, and other matters. In each of these projects, we both signed an agreement detailing the expectations. Because of this, they provide clear requirements at the beginning of the project and like the end result. After a couple of phone conferences we've gotten on the same wavelength so there are very few revisions afterward. They trust my research and love the way I represent their ideas in the blog posts I write for them.

In another situation, I did monthly work for a client who signed a similar agreement with me. However, she did not provide source materials on time, requested rewrites beyond the agreement and did not want to pay for them, and was unpleasant in correspondence. Because she couldn't comply with our agreement, I eventually withdrew my contract with her.

My worst experience came last summer. I found what looked like a great opportunity with a firm that would give me a variety of projects and would cultivate other clients. The owner of the company stated he was swamped with work and wanted me to start immediately. We started with an informal written agreement, and he kept promising a formal contract. Unfortunately, I quickly discovered his company was in serious trouble and had a history of many dissatisfied clients. As I pushed for a formal contract to protect myself against a potentially difficult situation, he terminated our agreement and refused to pay for my last week of work. It wasn't fun getting lawyers involved.

Interestingly enough, I found that this last company eventually lost many of their clients (which was inevitable) and that the owner also laid off most of his work force. He decided who to lay off by looking in the parking lot to see who had an Obama bumper sticker on his/her car, and fired those people.

A tight contract is a writer's best friend. Many good ones can be found online, and a lawyer familiar with "intellectual property" laws will be able to provide you with good advice on the contract you choose. Be safe, and write well!

Starting Your Own Writing Business, Part 4: Finding Clients

2009-03-31T19:20:00.000-05:00

You may have started your business because you had people lined up to write for. Or you may have started out from nothing, as I did when I started my business. In either case, your success will depend on how well you find and cultivate clients. Each genre of writing has a different clientele and therefore a different method for finding work. I'll start out with some generalities and then more onto specifics.

When you're ready to look for clients, you should have already completed a market analysis, given yourself a self assessment and written down a business plan. These formal-sounding documents are the tools that you need to target the right customers with the best you have to offer. You now know how your skills, the market, and your business direction intersect.
You then do research online and in the library to find the people who make hiring decisions for your target. You may have already noted some organizations or individuals who will serve as good contacts or clients for your work - contact them right away!

By networking with other businesses in your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club, you'll develop good contacts and business skills. Connect with other writers and ask them where they find their clients - since the writing field is so wide, chances are pretty good that you won't be competition for each other.

If you look at your market and business plan and don't have a specific client base defined, brainstorm about the types of businesses you can help on both a local and global basis. For example, if I wanted work as a technical writer, I would contact local corporations such as Grainger or Abbott to see if they're looking for freelance writers. I'd also contact smaller businesses such as machine shops, call centers, and factories to see if they need someone to write things like technical manuals, employee procedures, or product information. On a global basis, I'd do some internet searches to look for job postings - on sites like Monster.com, Elance.com, Sologig.com, Craigslist, and free-form searches.

If I wanted to help people connect to their faith (which I do) I would contact local churches (which I have). Churches are often begging volunteers to help them put out a newsletter, create bulletins, write information for their websites, and put together reports. You could suggest to a church that you will do all that work for them (or provide X number of hours a month) for a set fee. On a larger scale, you can contact the overall church organization, such as Catholic Charities or the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Or whatever charities or faith-based organizations you feel passionate about.

If you're writing fiction or poetry, you'll likely spend less time in assessment and business planning, and more time in writing at the beginning. Fiction authors and some types of non-fiction authors write first and then find someone to buy what they write; other types of freelancers find clients first and then write what the organization needs.

A lot of good material has been written about how to publish your work in magazines or newspapers, so I'm not going to re-invent the wheel in this article. I regularly read the blogs on my blogroll, and all of the writers there teach me something new. The basic process is to target a publication with a unique, interesting idea that fits perfectly with their demographic and style, find the right editor to contact, and contact them with the idea or story in exactly the way they want to be contacted. If you're writing fiction or poetry, you write it first, and then find the best market for the completed work. Fantastic resources for finding markets include the annual Writer's Market, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Writer's Digest, and Absolute Write.

When you're working with small or local organizations, they may not have the perspective to understand what a writer can do for them. Your job is to imagine the problems they might face (poor communication, outdated procedures, lack of expansion due to old marketing materials or an uninformative website) and then dazzle them with solutions to their problems.

Lastly, I want to urge you to go for it today. You never know what opportunities might pass you by if you wait. An example? I've been meaning to send out a query to my local paper on a travel article. Last weekend my article idea was published in that paper - by someone else. You know what really kills me? I know I could have written it better.

Starting Your Own Writing Business, Part 3: Planning

2009-03-25T19:18:00.000-05:00

Once you have evaluated yourself and analyzed your business opportunities, it's important to plan your business. This is helpful in two ways: it becomes your yearly road map, and it officially documents your direction for partners, employees, or investors.

Business planning sounds dull, especially when you'd rather be writing, but it can actually be a lot of fun. Using your self evaluation and your SWOT analysis, write down a summary of what your business is and what it will offer. This summary will also be used as a 60-second personal commercial when someone asks you what you do, so be creative and descriptive. When I first opened my business, people asked me about it and I would say, "I'm a freelance writer." They would give me a blank stare until I actually explained what I did.

Next, write down an overview of the freelance writing industry, especially any genres that you expect to target for work. There are many internet sites, as well as the current Writer's Market book, that can help you describe this. This section is important because you will mine these areas for work, and will continually evaluate to see if you're expending effort in the right direction.
Next, you write down your credentials, which is where the business plan becomes fun. You get to list all your accomplishments and strengths - don't be afraid to brag a little about awards, training, and experience. If you're a little light in any of these credentials, don't worry - next time I'll discuss how you can build credentials and experience.

Finally, you write a financial analysis of one, three, and five year's earnings. This may sound daunting but can be fairly easy. Sources like the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, or the Writer's Market books can offer advice on rates to charge for your targeted work. Estimate the hours you'll be able to work and multiply by your expected rate, then project that income for a year. It is realistic to assume that your first year will be a ramp-up period, and then your income goals can become steadier after that point. If you plan to start part-time, your ramp-up year may cause you little to no financial pain. In fact, writing is the perfect part-time job because with a little equipment and good abilities, you can write anywhere, anytime.

Pull all this information together and keep it in a safe place. On a monthly basis, check back with your plan to see if you are on the right track. Your business plan might change, or your course may need to be corrected. With a detailed plan, you can keep your business focused.

Starting Your Own Writing Business, Part 2: Analysis

2009-03-15T19:15:00.000-05:00

We've all heard the saying, "Fail to plan, and you plan to fail." Good planning will start your writing business off on the right foot; continued planning will keep your business running well. But planning isn't necessarily the most fun in starting a new business. Here are a few techniques.

SWOT Analysis
Here's where you analyze yourself and the possibilities in your business. First, write down all the strengths you bring to your writing business. Next, list your weaknesses - things that may get in the way of business success. Finally, list the opportunities for your business and the threats to those opportunities.

Your strengths will help you focus your services on the the things you do best. Weaknesses aren't necessarily things to avoid, but rather areas where you may need training, mentorship, or extra help. Opportunities are areas that you can focus to achieve best results, while you will need to do some planning to mitigate the threats to your business.

As you look at this information as a whole, you should see some common threads that give you overall direction. For example, I knew I was a strong writer whose weakness was difficulty in handling rejection, a common facet of writing. I saw that one of my opportunities was that I had a large network of friends and mentors who could provide support and feedback, but a threat to that opportunity was that I wasn't using that network effectively. This led me to set a direction for personal growth by cultivating mentors. As I perform SWOT analysis on a yearly basis, I will see new themes appear that help me set a course for my business and my professional growth.

Market Analysis
You know what you want to do, and you know your talents. The world is hungry for good writing. Now you need to match up your skills to demand. You do this by analyzing the market for your services. If your target is local businesses, contact your Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau to find out how many people offer the same services in your area. Is there enough market for all of your businesses?

More often, freelance writing is not location-specific. Through Google searches, global yellow pages, writing associations, blogs, websites, and organizations for freelancers, you can find a wealth of information on pay rates, volume of jobs, and types of employers. While writing can be a competitive field, you may also contact other writers to ask for advice. Many of us want to help along someone who is getting started as a writer!

Once you've determined who your target market is, and what you can offer that target market, write it down and keep that focus. It's easy run off on a tangent and get into work that doesn't fit your core services and market, but that can distract you from the real focus of your business. Be prepared to tell people who you are targeting. If you can clearly and quickly explain your ideal customers, your friends and family have a better chance of referring you when the right client comes along.

Join me next time for more advice on starting your own business

Starting Your Own Writing Business, Part 1

2009-02-28T19:09:00.002-06:00

Since I've had quite a few people ask me about how to get started in a freelance writing career, I'm offering some advice I've written about in the past.

When I started my freelance writing business, I was given the huge blessing of an enormous severance package from my corporate job, and I was determined to never return to a corporate job. I didn't know much about being a small business owner, but I learned it all as I went along. Thinking of starting a full-time freelance writing business? I'm here to give you a hand up with posts on how to start a business.

Traits of a Writer
To be a freelance writer, you must be able to write, edit, and research your work. You must be able to handle rejection, because there will be plenty of "no's" between each "yes". You must develop a network of people who are willing to refer you or act as advocates for you. You must nuture mentors that will help you learn to run a business and hone your writing. Finally, you must cultivate in yourself traits of persistence, time management, and discipline.

Self-Evaluation
First, and most importantly, decide what you want to do. Take a realistic look at your skills and interests. If you've written newsletters in the past, think about what you liked about it. Did you have fun planning the graphics and layouts? Did you enjoy interviewing people for the articles? Was the act of blending stories and news satisfying to the writer in you? Analyze work you've done to determine what you love to do. Do you like researching medical facts? Writing creative non-fiction? Or putting together clear procedural documentation? Good writers can write about anything, but why not stick to the subjects and types of writing that are fun for you?

Develop CredentialsI
had much credibility within my organization, but when I started my own business, I had to develop a new kind of credibility. I didn't have a master's degree in fine arts or an extensive publishing background. But I knew I could write, and I just needed to develop some new credibility so that potential clients would notice me. So I joined writer's organizations and professional associations, and advertised this fact on my website and publications. I learned all I could about my field through online and library research, as well as through friends I made in the literary organizations.When I met with clients, my research and knowledge showed. I never had a client question me about my educational background or experience in their field, because I showed them I was adaptable, professional, and enthusiastic about writing for them.

Prepare Samples of Your Work
As I said earlier, I started my freelance career after a layoff from a corporate job where I'd been a writer for decades. I soon learned that people interested in hiring me were looking to see what I'd done in the past. Unfortunately, I many copies of my work were still at the company I left. However, I maximized the samples that I did have. I had a file of a training manual I'd written for a software rollout, and I took several pages from that manual as examples of business writing, procedural documentation, as technical writing. I had also written for years for my church, and I pulled together all the articles, newsletters, and interviews. Though I wasn't paid for those jobs, it still showed that I had the ability to write.I took a big leather portfolio with clear sheetcovers and put several copies of each type of writing inside. When I met with a local client, I would leave a sample of my writing behind. I also posted files on my website so that people could see samples there, too. It wasn't a lot at first, but each job I finished added to my portfolio. At this point, the portfolio is almost full, and I routinely take out old samples or inapplicable projects.

My job is one in which I look forward to getting up each day and doing what I love. The flexibility, freedom, and opportunity surpass anything I imagined back in my corporate days. Stick with me, and I'll keep showing you how it's done!

Building the Framework

2009-02-12T14:59:00.000-06:00

While I'm enjoying the AWP conference, here is another post on good fiction writing for beginners. Enjoy!

Halfway through my first novel, I stopped writing for weeks. I couldn’t stand to think about my story, because I knew I was stuck. I couldn’t remember how the sister met the boyfriend, and I forgot why the story of the bass player passing out on the pool table was crucial to the character development. I also forgot some names and critical dates. Worst of all, I knew how the story was going to end but I couldn’t figure out how to get there. My characters had taken over the plot and we were drifting somewhere else. How was I going to end this piece?

It’s perfectly valid to use the “drive by your headlights” method to write an entire book; you start with a plot and just take off writing your fingers to nubbins. However when you get stuck with a problem like mine, stepping back and applying a structure to the story can be especially helpful. Some writers can’t write at all without building an outline or brainstorming the story first. Here are a few techniques.

Write a Story Synopsis. On no more than two pages, summarize your story. This is nothing more than a description of the main characters and action, similar to the text you read on the back cover of flyleaf of a book. By paring down the story to a synopsis, you can identify problems with the plot – or you can fall in love with your idea once again.

Build an Outline. This step provides the benefit of structure before writing, as well as a good start on the chapter summary that an editor is going to require for a novel. An outline is especially helpful for giving you a roadmap for each of your chapters, so you can see how your characters are going to get from point A to point Z. Remember, though, that this is your outline. Don’t stress if you have an item #1 but no item #2, the way we were all taught in language arts classes. Write down what’s essential and don’t make something up if it’s not necessary.

Dump Your Brain. This method is helpful when you’re fresh out of ideas or are struggling to make a relationship between different elements or events. There are several ways to wake up the genius lurking inside you. You can free-associate and write down ideas on sticky notes, then group the notes together in related strings that are structurally related.

In another method, you write down an idea, concept, or event (such as “Dominic strips onstage”) and circle it. Then write down something that is related to it, such as the following string of events or consequences (“The band gets notoriety”, “Sheila dumps Dominic”, etc.), circling each one and connecting it to the main idea with a line. Continue adding events or ideas and relating them with lines to other ideas, until the structure is complete or the ideas start popping.

A satisfactory, workable story structure is like MapQuest for your story: it tells you how to get where you’re going and what your destination is going to look like. Depending on your needs, you can outline turn-by-turn directions, or just a general map. Whichever you choose for your story can eliminate writer anxiety and get your characters where you want them to be.

Plot Your Story

2009-02-11T14:49:00.000-06:00

While I'm away at the AWP Conference, here's an old post to encourage other writers.

One of the most essential – and difficult – elements of your story is a good plot. Even books for the youngest children must have a plot that children can grasp.A plot must have a minimum of three stages: the introduction (of characters, scene, problems, etc.), the climax, and the resolution.

In order for a story to have a workable plot, there must be some sort of problem or conflict for the characters to deal with, and the main character must be changed in some way (good or bad) by the end of the story. I used to tell my writers’ group that our job was to make the hero’s life miserable. By the end of the story, the characters will either overcome the problems or be overcome by them. Without problems, there is no story.

Some literature professors will tell you that there are no new plots – that all stories derive from a handful of distinct plots, such as:

• Individual versus individual (The assistant vs. the editor in The Devil Wears Prada; Henry Higgins vs. Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady)
• Individual versus God (Orual vs. the Wind God in Till We Have Faces, Satan vs. God in Paradise Lost)
• Individual versus nature (Captain Ahab vs. the whale in Moby Dick, the fisherman vs. the ocean in The Old Man and the Sea)
• Individual versus society (Father vs. the white townspeople in To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet vs. their families).

Obviously, there is overlap between plots, since a story about a struggle between two people can be a microcosm of a struggle in society. The genre that you choose will also have an effect on your plot. For example, a young children’s story is likely to have a simple, non-threatening problem, while a thriller or crime novel is likely to have many twists and turns.

Examine gripping, interesting plots and identify what you have enjoyed about them. Figure out how the author has caused the main character to change and how the denouement was accomplished. Determine what your hero wants and what you are willing to make him or her do to get it. Plan out what nature, society, or another individual is likely to do to thwart your hero’s desires, and you are on your way to planning out a fascinating story.

The AWP Conference - Chicago

2009-02-10T14:43:00.003-06:00

This week I'll be attending the conference of the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, in downtown Chicago. I haven't attended before, so I'm a little nervous and a lot intrigued about what I'll experience. Next week, I'll write some of my experiences for future attendees.

So far, I'd have to say that while the organization is devoted to writers and writing programs, I've been a little disappointed with the lead-up to this conference. Though the registration process is simple, you receive no information beforehand and there is no "newbie" track or even a discussion in their forum for people attending the first time. The only advice I have received is to pick up my badge and materials the day before the conference begins.

Still, if it fulfills my agenda of meeting writers and editors, it should be a worthwhile weekend.

Rejection: is it you or the agent?

2009-02-05T18:46:00.003-06:00

If you're not having luck in finding an editor for your masterpiece, does it mean you're a poor writer, or maybe that your agent isn't doing his/her job? Ask Allison has some excellent insights in her Feb. 5 blog post, "Who's the Culprit?"

Managing Your Time as a Freelancer

2009-01-31T14:56:00.000-06:00

One of the questions I'm asked most often is how to manage time when you're not working on a timeclock or a schedule. Working from home certainly has challenges. Here is my response, from a previous post.

When you work for another employer, your time is not your own – you must keep the hours they set and work when you are told. When you work for yourself, setting your hours and planning your work schedule can be troublesome. Some people find that the freedom to work from home and choose their work hours can be a temptation to do other things and become distracted; others find that they end up working too many hours and sacrificing family and leisure time. Each temptation requires self-discipline to make the home office work. There is always something that can distract you from your business when you work for yourself. On a particularly nice day, you may rather plant flowers in your garden or go for a long walk. Your children may run in and out of the office with papers for you to look at, friends to meet, or arguments to overrule. Stay-at-home friends can drop by or call for a lunch date. You have a dozen errands to do and there’s a sale at the department store.

Each of these distractions of daily life can de-rail your business. Careful planning must be employed to handle these problems. Some people even use daily calendars to block off work time, family time, and self time. Different colored pens can let people know, at a glance, which activity is your priority at that moment.

When I started my business, I realized that one of the major reasons to leave a corporate job and work for myself was the ability to blend my work and home life. I wanted to be available for my children when they stepped off the school bus. I wanted to cultivate my friendships and take advantage of those beautiful spring days. That meant that I had to set boundaries on when I could be disturbed during work hours. I told my family and friends when I was available for phone calls and shut the office door when I could not be disturbed. I even shifted my hours to take advantage of school schedules and night-time hours when my husband was able to take care of the kids. And I developed the mindset that if I was disciplined and worked hard during hours I set for myself, I would be able to take advantage of my flexible schedule and take an afternoon off once in a while.

Even though you are working from home, it’s important to set regular hours for your work. Otherwise it can be all too easy to become distracted by throwing a load of laundry into the washer or fixing that wobbly ceiling fan. Remember, when you worked for someone else, you weren’t able to run off and take care of a few things at home very easily. And once others know you’re home, you might have to field calls from the school asking you to help the teachers each morning or run the food drive. Consider whether these activities will eat into your work time, and whether you are willing to sacrifice your business for these activities. If you aren’t, just say no – no matter how much you want to help.

Dedicate yourself only to work during your work hours, and when your work day is finished, mentally (and physically) close your file drawers and office door and be present for the other parts of your life. Don’t take paperwork out to work on while watching TV or handle phone calls during family time. It’s important to your health and your family’s well-being to be present and focused, without living, breathing, and sleeping your new business.

Top Ten Ways To Market Your Web Site: Get The Traffic You Need

2008-09-15T16:39:00.002-05:00

Millions of people are online, and all those people mean you’ve got hundreds of thousands of potential customers who are looking for your products and services. Your site should get around 500 visitors a day without spending a cent on advertising. However, the number one question I get from Web site owners is: how do I get more traffic?

Here are the top ten ways to market your Web site. I guarantee you, if you use all these tactics you’ll get at least 500 visitors a day within a couple of weeks. From there, if you keep implementing the tactics, your traffic will grow into a flood, and you’ll have more business than you can handle.

=> 1. Send out press releases
Word for word, press releases give unbelievable value — more value than any other tactic you could use to promote your business. And yet, many business owners don’t use press releases. One owner told me: “It makes me look as if I’m begging for attention…”
I’ve been a tech journalist for years, and as a journalist, I scan news releases eagerly. I want a story! I need news, and I need it every day. If you send me a news release, I’m grateful. I might not use your story, but the next time I hear your business’s name, I’ll remember it. If you keep sending me story ideas, sooner or later I will get in touch, either to interview you for a story I’m writing, or to do a story on your business.

Sites like PRWeb will publish your news release free. Use this incredible publicity resource.

=> 2. Write articles
Articles are content, and the Web thrives on content. If you write an article a week, and publish it on several of the many article directories online, you’ll drive traffic to your business.

=> 3. Network — use your friends, family and colleagues and THEIR friends etc
Got friends? Of course you have. You’ve got friends, acquaintances, and colleagues. Use your address book. Send out a message which says: “Hey — have you seen my new site? I’m trying to get the news out about it, and would appreciate it if you’d visit, and would let your friends know about the site too. Thanks.”
See? Easy.

=> 4. Classified ads in newspapers
Take out a weekly classified ad in your local newspaper with your site’s name and URL, and a one-sentence description of the site.

=> 5. Get more content onto your site: blog
The search engines are indexing software. They need words to index. Google especially loves blogs. So start a blog on your site, and blog several times a week. Think of your blog as a “News” page for your site.

=> 6. Run a contest
Everyone loves contests. Run a contest on your site, with an Apple iPod as the prize, and you’ll get lots of traffic.

=> 7. Use the social networking sites
There are dozens of social networking sites online. The best known is MySpace, but there are many others, like Gather and Ryze. Join one of these sites. Network.

=> 8. Word Of Mouth (WOM)
There’s a saying that you can’t buy WOM. Well, guess what? You can. Develop a process in which you reward WOM. You could offer ten per cent off your services to anyone who introduces three friends. Or ten per cent off a product, if the buyer buys a gift token too. There are many ways you can encourage people to spread the word about your site.

=> 9. Join barter networks
Barter networks are deservedly popular. Join a business barter network, and barter products and services for what you need. You’re doing it not as much for the benefits of saving money, you’re doing it to spread the word about your business and Web site.

=> 10. Barter advertising
There are many business networks which barter advertising through the network. You can run banner advertising on others’ sites, and run banners for them on your own.
“Banner exchanges” were all the rage five years ago, and people went mad with them. This led to banners becoming ineffective. Don’t join a large network. Join a small network, or start a small network yourself. Don’t run more than one banner on any page.

There you have it. Ten ways to get traffic to your site. These methods work. Please try them, and become a business owner who has no trouble generating traffic.

Angela Booth is a veteran copywriter and marketing expert. She writes Web site copy and content, and develops marketing plans for Web sites. Visit her creative copywriting site at http://angelabooth.com/ and her Creativity Factory marketing copywriting blog at http://www.angelabooth.com/wp/

Find Your Best Credit Card - Today!

2008-09-07T17:27:00.005-05:00

Have you seen how much interest the credit card companies are charging these days? I had a business credit card that was a good deal three years ago, but I've been looking for something a little more competitive. Today I ran across the site http://www.ezpreapproval.com/, a credit card search and application tool that does all the research for me.

This site provides all the information I need to find the best card for my situation. The card offers are sorted by different categories, such as by limit, rewards, specific banks, and offer details. Actual card users place a vote to determine the best overall card, best card by fees, etc. There's even a side-by-side comparison tool. Once I use the search tools to find my perfect card, I can simply click a link to an online application at that financial institution - and an approval process begins instantly!

EZ Pre-Approval offers more than just tools to find credit card offers, though. There's a section providing credit news, and articles with solid advice for users. For example, the site recommends not applying for cards you may not get, as that will damage your credit rating. Honest advice like that, along with easy-access tools and a pleasant design, gets my vote.

What we can learn from successful leaders

2008-07-31T11:19:00.000-05:00

Many organizations have studied the traits of exceptional leaders. These studies have shown that leaders generally possess the same types of traits, whether these were innate behavioral traits, or characteristics learned in the course of their careers. Whether we lead many other people, or just act as leaders of our own businesses, we can learn from these leaders by studying their characteristics and adopting them ourselves.

In surveys of many successful leaders, researchers noted that all leaders were efficient, aggressive, persistent, and proactive. They also possessed “soft” skills such as being flexible, a good listener, open to criticism, and a team player. And many of the leaders had traits that not only helped them be successful but also helped them adapt in high-pressure situations, such as being persuasive, organized, analytical, and calm. Interestingly, these characteristics were not related to either age or gender.

The most successful leaders possess exceptional leadership traits, and they can communicate these traits to others through mentorship. However, the right environment is the other key predictor in whether a leader will achieve great success. When both of these factors come together in one company, the result is success for the business as well as the leader.

Help for Hearing Damage

2008-06-26T10:03:00.004-05:00

The first and last time I took my daughter to a rock concert, we both came out complaining of ear pain and ringing in our ears. When I was a teen myself, the creed was, "If it's too loud, you're too old!" But now that I'm a mother, and a professional who needs her hearing, I began wondering who is liable for the damage that live bands do to our ears. After a little bit of internet searching, I found a hearing loss lawyer, Evan Aidman, that actually represents people who have suffered hearing loss.

I recognize that we choose to attend live music concerts, but isn't it reasonable to expect that our bodies don't incur permanent damage as a result? Now, I can't say that I'd personally go up against the lawyers for Green Day or Justin Timberlake if my hearing was damaged; I'd guess my chances of collecting damages would be pretty small. But this hearing loss attorney works on contingency - you don't have to pay anything until he wins a settlement.

Also, I would never sue my uncle for the probable hearing loss that resulted from him ineptly shooting off illegal Kentucky fireworks too close to my right ear during one of his visits to our farm. But I might file a hearing loss claim if the traffic and incredibly loud jackhammer outside my office window causes me any permanent damage. I need my hearing, folks.

Now that I think about it, I'm starting to wonder if I might incur eye damage by sitting at this computer staring at the screen everyday. My eye doctor asks me about my computer habits at every visit - couldn't this be harmful? If research someday points to computer radiation as an eye health hazard, I'll know who to sic on Compaq - Evan Aidman specializes in eye damage, also.

Photo courtesy of twenty_questions.

An unfortunate written experience

2008-06-04T17:15:00.005-05:00

While reading apartment reviews with my daughter, I was shocked by the level of writing incompetence I saw people displaying on the web. In fact, I saw a level of basic inability to write that I don't think I've seen in any of the other basic skills that modern Americans are expected to master by adulthood. If these people behaved at work, operated motor vehicles, or performed normal hygiene routines with the same level of care and attention to detail as they use in writing, satellites would fall from the sky and the economy would crumble in upon itself. Hey, wait - that's already happening. I'm here not a moment too soon.

So to help our economy and keep satellites and other machinery of modern man functioning in our society, I've decided to be a part of the change I wish to see in the world by selecting bits of Internet and print writing, and assisting others in understanding what's wrong with this writing.

A few disclaimers:

I understand that people write in an informal manner on the web.
I have no complaint with the shortened words used on the web and in text messaging.
I understand that people usually write much more quickly on the web, resulting in a greater number of typos.
I KNOW that English grammar has a lot of confusing rules. I'm going to work on only the most grievous errors. I'll try to avoid discussing gerunds and split infinitives.

That said, here are tips to help all of us avoid looking like fools while sharing our pithiest comments, and prevent others from imagining us as slovenly low-class illiterates who don't bother to comb their hair, and who wear curlers, old polyester sweatsuits, and fuzzy slippers in public. You're welcome.

Original Text:

"Why are you faulting the management company for goose poop. It happens. You are all so stupid. What do you want them to do' Put diapers on all the geese. Idiots. The management staff is not there to make your life easy. They are there to provide housing, and they do a great job. Just all of you stop whining and get over yourself."

Let's break it down.

"Why are you faulting the management company for goose poop." When you ask someone a question in the English language, you MUST end the sentence with a question mark. Just one. A question is a question, and does not gain gravitational force from having additional question marks placed beyond the initial one.

"You are all so stupid." It's never a good idea to call anyone names when there is no true anonymity on the web; you may actually find yourself living next door to someone who feels insulted by your name-calling of three years ago on some website you don't even remember. In addition, if you begin telling people they are stupid, they will begin to question your own intelligence; if the rest of your writing is faulty, they will have endless entertainment at your expense.

"What do you want them to do' Put diapers on all the geese." The stray apostrophe in the place where a question mark is required (see sentence number one) might well be a typo, so I will extend benefit of the doubt. However, the following amusing idea is actually a suggestion based on the question, so the sentence should read: "What do you want them to do, put diapers on all the geese?"

"Idiots." See "stupid" above.

"The management staff is not there to make your life easy. They are there to provide housing, and they do a great job." While the author did an excellent job of following American standards in giving "staff" a singular verb ("is"), the author then stumbled when he/she got to "They" and "your life". The writer has already identified a singular group titled "staff", so should the least awkward next sentence should start with, "The staff is...". The person also addressed "you all", which is more than one person, so he/she should have said "The staff is not there to make your lives easy."

"Just all of you stop whining and get over yourself." Again, if our dear author is addressing all of us, he or she ought to also address all of ourselves, like this: "Just all of you stop whining and get over yourselves."

See how easy it is to attain basic competence in English? As long as there's sentences grating on my mind, I'll be here to show you how to improve them. Happy writing!

101 Best Websites for Writers

2008-05-20T16:49:00.003-05:00

There are literally millions of websites devoted to the craft of writing - and not enought time to sift through all of them! Never fear, Writer's Digest has just published its list of the 101 best sites for writers. You can review all of them here. I'm looking forward to checking out some agent's blogs. How do agents think, anyway?

Bi-Monthly? Twice a Month?

2008-05-16T14:42:00.003-05:00

Does a term like "bi-monthly" sometimes confuse you like it does the rest of the world? If not, beware - someone might be using "bi-monthly" to mean every two months, when you interpret it as twice a month. This makes a big difference when, say, you think you're going to be paid twice a week but the employer used bi-weekly to mean every other week.

Best practice? Don't use these terms if they are likely to cause confusion (which they will!). Write out the actual time period, and give the "bi"s a rest.

Top 8 Free Online Tools for Freelance Writers

2008-05-11T16:29:00.002-05:00

Today's guest post is written by freelancer Heather Johnson.

Thanks to the Internet, managing a career as a freelance writer has never been easier. Whether you are looking for help with the actual writing and research or the business end of things, you can find countless resources on the Web. Even more exciting is the fact that many resources are completely free to the public. Below are the top eight free online tools for freelance writers.

1. Google Docs & Spreadsheets – Never worry about losing your written work again. With Google Docs & Spreadsheets, you can write from any location with an Internet connection. Securely save your work online and pick up where you left off from another location. Not only can you save your work online, you will never again have to pay for commercial word-processing software. Also, you can share any of your online docs and spreadsheets with others for collaboration.

2. Citing Sources – This handy online guide from Duke University will help you to cite any source using MLA, APA, Chicago or Turabian style. If you have any doubts about whether or not you are citing something correctly, it is better to double-check than to accidentally plagiarize another writer.

3. OneLook Dictionary – Why use one online dictionary when you can use a dictionary search engine that combines hundreds of reference texts? Not only can you find definitions on this site, you can also translate any word.

4. The Elements of Style – Every writer should have this bible nearby. If you don't have a copy handy, Bartleby actually hosts the book online for free. Never again will you have to second-guess your sentence structure.

5. PayPal – This is the easiest way to invoice a client and to collect money. PayPal is used by millions of people worldwide and is considered to be a very secure way to conduct online transactions. The free invoicing tool couldn't be easier.

6. Morguefile – Need a free stock image to go with your latest written masterpiece? Look no further than Morguefile, a free resource for public domain imagery.

7. U.S. Census Bureau – When you are in need of a reliable statistic to back up your writing, you can always depend on the U.S. Census Bureau. You can find many studies and survey results on this site and they are all categorized by subject for your convenience.

8. Writeboard – This online collaboration tool is free of charge and comes in very handy for freelance writers. With this tool, you can view and edit work with people from around the globe in real time. For telecommuters, nothing could make collaboration easier.

By-line:

Heather Johnson is an industry critic, as well as a regular contributor on the subject of business credit cards. She invites your questions, comments and freelancing job inquiries at her email address: heatherjohnson2323@gmail.com.

Words you shouldn't end your sentence with.

2008-05-01T10:06:00.003-05:00

Does the title sound a little funny to you? It should. It ends with a preposition - a word that links nouns, pronouns and phrases to other words in a sentence, and tells the place of the noun, pronoun, or phrase in space or time.

Examples: in, behind, with, within, past, beneath, along, under.

In English the preposition usually comes before or very close to its object. And generally it's considered a no-no to end a sentence with a preposition.

However, that rule is not ironclad. If the sentence would be more awkward and confusing if you re-wrote it to put the preposition in its usual place. I would give you an example, but I haven't had enough coffee to think of an awkward sentence.

Keep this in mind when you're writing: in general, the more formal your writing, the more closely you will need to follow the rules of the English language. By contrast, when you are writing dialogue, you will be much more likely to murder the rules, since we relax the rules when speaking in real life.

For this rule, as well as all other parts of English, write in a manner that is appropriate to your subject, audience, and purpose.

Twelve Most Persuasive Words In The English Language

2008-04-28T14:55:00.002-05:00

According to a Yale University study, the twelve most persuasive words in the English language are:

You
Money
Save
New
Results
Easy
Health
Safety
Love
Discovery
Proven
Guarantee

Why should you care? Because whether you write query letters, articles, or ad copy, you need to include effective words that will motivate your reader to hire you, buy products and services, etc.

To that list, I'd also add the words "tips" and "secrets". Check any magazine - you'll often see those words used in the titles. What other effective words do you like to use in writing?

Editing in Color

2008-04-14T17:20:00.003-05:00

I've been working on an editing project, and came across an old memory from my former life in Corporate Hell.

My job title was "Project/Process Consultant" for payroll purposes and "Quality Management Consultant" to the rest of my industry. This meant I spent my life auditing IT professionals about their compliance to our ISO 9000 Quality System and writing reports about said compliance. If you're guessing I was about as popular as the tax man, you'd be exactly right. People shunned me in the hallways.

In one interview, I asked a guy to produce evidence that he was doing whatever he just said he did. He pulled up a blank document. When I mentioned that, in fact, that was a blank document, he said (with a straight face!) that it was actually a white document using white text.

I knew I had to get out of that job when I started imagining me leaping over a desk and stabbing someone with my ball-point pen.

Look! Look! It's my book!

2008-04-07T14:44:00.003-05:00

My first non-fiction book is in pre-order status at Amazon: How to Operate a Financially Successful Pet Sitting Business. If this is a topic that interests you, the pre-order price is a great deal. Shipment will begin in May.

Happy reading!

AdSense Craziness

2008-03-31T10:31:00.003-05:00

This morning, I found a cryptic note in my inbox from AdSense, stating that my site represents a risk to AdSense advertisers and my account is suspended. There was a link to more information, but that information was all about click fraud.

What???

I can only assume, then, that my account was suspended for click fraud. There was no contact information, only an appeals form for me to explain why my site is not participating in click fraud. The information provides no statistics for me on users or link clicks, yet I had to explain why I (or anyone reading my blogs) have not done anything wrong.

Here's the kicker. Since I haven't used Adsense for long, and the policy is to only pay a blogger once the account reaches $100, I was looking forward to my first check this month. I have not been paid a cent up until now.

And if my blind appeal about some mysterious wrongdoing is not accepted, they never will pay me a cent.

Novel Synopsis Help Roundup

2008-03-27T16:59:00.002-05:00

If you're writing a novel and hope to have an editor publish it someday, you're going to have to write a synopsis - a couple of pages of riveting summary about your story. This can be a painful task, but Vanessa Giunta has put together a list of Internet resources to help. Check out her resources at Synopsis Fun on the Internet.

Unexpected Opportunities

2008-03-26T12:06:00.003-05:00

Sometimes opportunities to promote my business come from unexpected places. For example, I'd posted photos from last year's study trip to Ireland and Scotland on Flickr, a photo sharing site. An online mapping service called Schmap found the photos and requested the use of my photo of the Dublin Museum of Natural History! Though I wasn't paid for the the photo, the exposure is worth it.

On this Schmap Ireland Guide, you can view my picture scrolling by the Natural History entry, along with several other photos. Interestingly enough, as soon as I snapped the photo of the lobby's ceiling, a concerned security man told me that no pictures were allowed. I wonder how the other photographers got their interior shots?

I'm moving!

2008-03-17T14:24:00.001-05:00

Within the next week, you'll see my Pearl Writing blog has a brand-spanking-new look on a new site! I'll be interested to hear you feedback, so let me know what you think.

Making Money Blogging

2008-03-06T17:58:00.002-06:00

Good copywriters have the ability to write just about any kind of content, and the Internet is full of advertisers and companies looking for blogging talent. The website www.hongkiat.com has put together a helpful list of sites that pay writers to blog: 26 Sites that Pay You to Blog.

Hongkiat also has some other helpful advice on making money online; it's worth checking out. Happy writing!

2008 Iowa Summer Writing Festival

2008-02-26T17:17:00.002-06:00

My catalog has arrived! The University of Iowa holds a summer writing festival each year,
This is a fantastic opportunity for writers to learn from great teachers and network with other writers who share their passions, all on a beautiful (but hilly) campus along the river. Each year I have a tough time picking a workshop, whether I plan to go for a weekend or a full week. Your writing will be better for having gone!

Click here for the Writing Festival website.

Fanstory.com contests

2008-02-21T09:48:00.002-06:00

Fanstory.com is an online writing community recommended by Writer's Digest as a helpful resource for new and experienced writers. The members offer feedback on your posted stories, nonfiction, and poetry; motivation and support; a ranking system for posted stories, and best of all, writing contests!

Each month offers dozens of contests, but I'm highlighting only the contests that award cash prizes. Remember, you should always be paid for good writing!

Upcoming Fanstory Contests (as noted on the Fanstory website)

Struggle The theme for this non-fiction contest is "struggle". Write about a time in your life when you struggled. How did you (if you did) overcome this period in your life. Incorporate the topic of "struggle" in your non-fiction work. This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Feb. 27th.

This Sentence Starts The Story Write a story that starts with this sentence: "There was a knock at the door." This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Feb. 28th.

Reviewing Contest Every month we make a cash prize available to the reviewer that writes the most detailed and helpful reviews. This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Mar. 1st.

Faith Poetry The theme for this poetry contest is "faith". We are looking for poems that in some way pertain to this theme. It doesn't matter if it's spiritual, political, intellectual or emotional as long as faith is clearly represented. This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Mar. 6th.

Strong Character A strong character can make a story. Write a story based on the character pictured in this announcement. This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Mar. 23rd.

Tanka Poetry For this contest you are challenged to write a Tanka poem. Tanka is a form of poetry with a specific syllable count. See the announcement for an example. This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Mar. 29th.

Flash Fiction The challenge of flash fiction is to tell a complete story in which every word is absolutely essential. A writer must take away the excess until the story is left with nothing but the clean-scraped core of a story. The topic is "the dance". This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Mar. 30th.

Poetry Imagery This poetry contest challenges you to write a poem that incorporates the artwork provided. View the announcement to see the image. This contest offers a $100 cash prize to the winner! Deadline: Mar. 31st.

Marketing ideas for writers

2008-02-08T12:28:00.000-06:00

Ever wonder how some writers have ups and downs in their workloads, while other writers have a continuous stream of work (and income)? Sue Marquette Poremba, from the blog I Breathe, Therefore I Write, has written a thoughtful blog post on ideas to keep the clients coming. Check out this post titled Busy, Busy.

Is your novel your baby?

2008-01-25T11:23:00.003-06:00

Plenty of novelists have likened their novel to a baby. Read this funny, thought-provoking post from Merry at Mom and More for a different view - not my baby!

Teen Tamer

2008-01-18T14:30:00.000-06:00

My very first post on my new blog, Teen Tamer, is now published. Teen Tamer is a parenting advice blog on Capessa.com, a marketing venture for Proctor & Gamble. Enjoy my post on what the wonderland of post-teen life looks like.

While you're at it, have a look at what happens when I let my husband take a picture of me.

Time to Say Goodbye

2008-01-11T16:09:00.000-06:00

This was a dream client - crystal clear specifications, a style manual, pleasant, helpful coaching through the start-up phase, and ongoing feedback throughout the writing project I've been working on with them.

The problem? I looked at the per-hour earnings for this project to date, and I see that it's abysmally low. I could earn more working at McDonald's. And though I could probably adjust this, there was a second problem. I really disliked the work.

When I worked in Corporate Hell, I was a writer and project consultant who was assigned to Corporate Finance, Human Resources, and Technology projects. My team did not have much say over the projects we were assigned. Some of them were fun, like the corporate digital newsletters and website content. Others were horrible, never-ending, tear-inducing projects like the Sarbanes-Oxley compliance and documentation project.

The amazing thing about being a freelance writer is that I can now pick my projects. If I can afford to let a project go because the work is not right for my business, I have that freedom. And this week I'm putting that principle into practice. Even though I really loved working with that client.

Hear Me Roar!

2008-01-07T15:17:00.001-06:00

The very talented (and fellow Chicagoland resident) Merry has awarded me a Roar for Powerful Words! I'm honored.

My mission in the Roar award is to offer three writing tips to other writers, and to pass along the Roar award to five others. So here goes...

Tip # 1: Wake up and pay attention!
The world around us is teeming with the beautiful, grotesque, odd, and wonderful. Wherever you are, practice your best powers of perception and memory. Record what your kids' clothes smell like when they've been out playing in the snow. Remember the quirks you noticed in that tough-looking band of pierced and black-clad teenagers in line at the Dairy Queen. Write down the peculiar things you hear people say on their cell phones. You'll have an unlimited vocabulary for description in your writing, and you'll probably come up with some great story ideas, too.

Tip #2: Write creatively every day.
I know, I know, you hardly have time to brush your teeth every day. Writing? That may be far down your everyday list of tasks. But it is essential to your talent. You need to let your inner artist express itself daily - or when you want to tap into your talent, you may find it dry and rusty. Try writing down 3 lines in a journal or a short anecdote about something funny that happened yesterday. Write down a poem - it doesn't even have to be a good poem. A blog is a great place to prime your pump before jumping into your day's work, whether or not it includes writing.

Tip #3: Don't let life get in the way of your living.
The days you're living now are the only ones you get. If you focus exclusively on the job, the laundry, wiping the kids' noses, you are only part of who you were made to be. Make sure, then, that you don't get so caught up in your life that your dreams are crushed out of existence.

Listen, for almost twenty years I worked at a company I didn't like just because I had to pay the bills. I worked on fiction writing in my spare time, after the kids went to bed, and I looked for opportunities within my company to use my writing skills at work. I never gave up on my dream to be a full-time writer, even when that dream seemed light-years away. If I had to do it all over again, I would have pursued my dreams even harder. And I would have looked for more joy in the everyday.

I need a few days to think of the fantastic writers I know that I'd like to present with this award. Stay tuned!

2007: My Year in Books

2008-01-03T11:13:00.000-06:00

Last year was an eclectic one, as I tried to continue reading the classics and catching up on more contemporary novels. I'm not sure I can remember everything I read, but believe me, the ones I mention below are memorable for a reason.

White Oleander: A Novel Janet Fitch. Recommended by my teen. After her mother is jailed for poisoning her lover, a girl struggles through a series of foster homes. As she suffers starvation, loneliness, and a shooting by a jealous foster mother, she begins to see her own mother clearly, and define for herself what motherhood means. This gorgeous novel had memorable, quirky characters and a twisted plot. The ending draws the heroine's experiences together into an epiphany about mothers and daughters. Without a doubt, the best book I read (or listened to) last year.

The Human Stain: A Novel Philip Roth. Recommended by a former English prof. As a teen, I found "Portnoy's Complaint" to be laugh-out-loud funny. As an adult, I couldn't stomach the moral poverty of this story and Roth's typical misogyny. I put it down after a few chapters.

The Time Traveler's Wife Audrey Niffenegger. Recommended by my women's book club. With an unusual take on time travel, our hero cultivates a relationship in the past with the child who will someday become his wife. Niffenegger has that much-coveted ability to get readers turning the pages. However, I was a little disappointed by the heroine; I wanted her to have more power and definition.

Diary: A Novel Chuck Palahniuk. A former art prodigy starts a diary while her husband lies in a coma after what looks like a suicide attempt. She gradually becomes aware that she's the target of a sinister plot that spans generations - and artists from other times. This book was bitter, glittering, and riveting.

Crooked Little Heart: A Novel Anne Lamott. This is an honest, sensitive, and painful story about a thirteen year old girl who deals with growing up and her best friend's pregnancy by cultivating some secrets on the tennis court. Anyone parenting a teen will feel the anguish of a mother losing touch with her daughter and the struggle to keep her safe.

Gone With the Wind Margaret Mitchell. I vaguely remember the movie from my teen years, and I didn't expect to like this story as much as I did. Mitchell draws a consistent, psychologically sensitive portrait of a self-centered girl caught in the turmoil of war. She navigates the changes in Southern culture and the contemporary expectations of women in ways we would consider thoroughly modern. But Scarlett, as strong as she is, has a fatal character flaw that keeps her from being a saccharine-sweet role model.

Tropic of Cancer Henry Miller. In the interests of full disclosure, I should say that I like stories with a plot. Miller's ugly treatment of every human he romps around with in the seedy backstreets of Paris turned my stomach. I did finish this book, but I shouldn't have bothered.

The Future of Blogging

2007-12-18T11:19:00.000-06:00

Sarah Lewis, of Blogging Expertise, gave an interesting interview on the future of blogging. Most interesting to me were the comments on up-and-coming technology for bloggers, and audio blogging. Read the article here.

The word of the year

2007-12-15T15:51:00.000-06:00

Have you heard? Merriam-Webster's voters have selected their word of the year, and it is..."w00t". An exclamation. With numbers in the middle.

I personally think the world could have tried a little harder to find a word for 2007, but I didn't vote so I guess I have little reason to complain. Anyway, if you're interested in reading the whole story (except for any pronunciation guide for the word), here it is: whole story on w00t.

Good Client/Bad Client

2007-12-04T15:29:00.001-06:00

With a new month comes new deadlines and some monthly commitments. So in the interests of sharing my work life with all you freelancers, I thought I'd tell you about my favorite good and bad clients.

In the good category, there is a client who provides clear requirements at the beginning of the project and likes the end result. After a couple of phone conferences we've gotten on the same wavelength so there are very few revisions afterward. He trusts my research and loves the way I represent his ideas in the blog posts I write for him.

In the bad category, there is a monthly client who has pointed out that I don't follow the expected format for the project, even though I made one mistake one time and have never made a formatting error since then. As this is a small project each month, I'm considering withdrawing my services from her. Some work is just not worth the irritation.

And the worst client is actually a non-existent client. Writers beware! Here was his solicitation email:

Hello there, My name is Harry curbishly.Iam 35 years old and I am based
in the UK where I run a medium scale consultancy firm. I need your
services urgently.I need you to write a speech for me as I will
be delivering a lecture at a business gathering.The title of the paper I
will be delivering is ECONOMIC UNDERDEVELOPMENT OF AFRICA,CAUSES,EFFECTS AND SOLUTIONS.The speech should be about fifteen pages long,persuasive in nature and my audience will include governments representatives,members of chambers of commerce,businessmen and so on.Kindly get back to me with your fee and any other questions you might want to have answers to.I hope hear from you again.
Regards, Harry.

This note sounded fishy but I thought I'd ask a few more questions. Further questioning brought out the fact that he'd like to pay me by bank draft and asked for my address. I gave him Pearl's Post Office address. He then wanted my bank account and routing number, but offered no more details about the actual job. So I realized this was indeed some kind of scam, responded that I was not available, and never heard back from this fraud.

Because I rarely work with people I actually meet in real life, I could become an easy target for unscrupulous people. It's always smart to be careful on the Internet.

Do you have any good client/bad client stories? Please share with the class!

Managing your time as a freelancer

2007-11-25T15:31:00.000-06:00

When you work for another employer, your time is not your own – you must keep the hours they set and work when you are told. When you work for yourself, setting your hours and planning your work schedule can be troublesome. Some people find that the freedom to work from home and choose their work hours can be a temptation to do other things and become distracted; others find that they end up working too many hours and sacrificing family and leisure time. Each temptation requires self-discipline to make the home office work.

There is always something that can distract you from your business when you work for yourself. On a particularly nice day, you may rather plant flowers in your garden or go for a long walk. Your children may run in and out of the office with papers for you to look at, friends to meet, or arguments to overrule. Stay-at-home friends can drop by or call for a lunch date. You have a dozen errands to do and there’s a sale at the department store. Each of these distractions of daily life can de-rail your business. Careful planning must be employed to handle these problems. Some people even use daily calendars to block off work time, family time, and self time. Different colored pens can let people know, at a glance, which activity is your priority at that moment.

When I started my business, I realized that one of the major reasons to leave a corporate job and work for myself was the ability to blend my work and home life. I wanted to be available for my children when they stepped off the school bus. I wanted to cultivate my friendships and take advantage of those beautiful spring days. That meant that I had to set boundaries on when I could be disturbed during work hours. I told my family and friends when I was available for phone calls and shut the office door when I could not be disturbed. I even shifted my hours to take advantage of school schedules and night-time hours when my husband was able to take care of the kids. And I developed the mindset that if I was disciplined and worked hard during hours I set for myself, I would be able to take advantage of my flexible schedule and take an afternoon off once in a while.

Even though you are working from home, it’s important to set regular hours for your work. Otherwise it can be all too easy to become distracted by throwing a load of laundry into the washer or fixing that wobbly ceiling fan. Remember, when you worked for someone else, you weren’t able to run off and take care of a few things at home very easily. And once others know you’re home, you might have to field calls from the school asking you to help the teachers each morning or run the food drive. Consider whether these activities will eat into your work time, and whether you are willing to sacrifice your business for these activities. If you aren’t, just say no – no matter how much you want to help.

Dedicate yourself only to work during your work hours, and when your work day is finished, mentally (and physically) close your file drawers and office door and be present for the other parts of your life. Don’t take paperwork out to work on while watching TV or handle phone calls during family time. It’s important to your health and your family’s well-being to be present and focused, without living, breathing, and sleeping your new business.

Lazy Phrases

2007-11-12T12:09:00.000-06:00

I've become more aware lately of laziness in writing and speaking - I'm certainly guilty of this, and notice it in others as well. There seem to certain phrases that we tend to spout without really thinking or without making the effort to say something original. While we can't all command the language with flair and creativity, I've recently pondered some common sayings. Here's what I've been thinking:

Can we say "in this day" without "and age"?
Can we cease without also desisting?
Can't we think outside the box to come up with a replacement for the phrase "thinking outside the box"?
Is it enough to say "each" without including "and every"?
How far away is it "to Kingdom Come"? If you don't know, why bring it up?
Can you be "sick" without being "and tired"? My mom never could.
Do we really have to go through "in order" to get to "to"?
If someone says, "to be honest," does that mean they've been lying up until now?
If we say we're "sweating like a pig", aren't we really saying we're not sweating at all?

Lake Superior State College actually has a list of overused words and phrases that they would like to ban from the English language. Read the complete list, and I'm sure you'll agree. Two of my worst verbal tics are on there, "Awesome" and "Cool". I'm working on removing them from my mental files right now.

What are your verbal pet peeves?

Christian Writers' Guild 2008 Conference

2007-11-02T11:59:00.000-05:00

The Christian Writers Guild will be holding its annual conference January 31-February 3 in Colorado Springs. This is your chance to meet with editors from the big publishing houses, like NavPress and Tindale House, talk with writers such as Jerry B. Jenkins and Lee Stroebel, and learn from some of my personal favorites, like Sally Stuart and Dennis Hensley.

The conference is held at the Broadmoor Hotel, which is another fabulous reason to attend, as if I haven't given you enough reasons already. Hope to see you there!

The absurd has happened.

2007-10-31T15:54:00.000-05:00

Today I sent my usual month-end invoice to a particularly exacting editor, and he returned it with edits. No, he didn't edit the amount or description of the work. As he has done with work assignments, he waited until I'd submitted several invoices, and then edited the format and style of the invoice itself!

Thoughfully, he enclosed a copy of the preferred formatting for electronic invoices. So I could see how I should have been doing it for several months now.

Starting a Writing Business Part 4: Finding Clients

2007-10-23T16:02:00.000-05:00

You may have started your business because you had people lined up to write for. Or you may have started out from nothing, as I did when I started my business. In either case, your success will depend on how well you find and cultivate clients. Each genre of writing has a different clientele and therefore a different method for finding work. I'll start out with some generalities and then more onto specifics.

When you're ready to look for clients, you should have already completed a market analysis, given yourself a self assessment and written down a business plan. These formal-sounding documents are the tools that you need to target the right customers with the best you have to offer. You now know how your skills, the market, and your business direction intersect.

You then do research online and in the library to find the people who make hiring decisions for your target. You may have already noted some organizations or individuals who will serve as good contacts or clients for your work - contact them right away! By networking with other businesses in your local Chamber of Commerce or Rotary Club, you'll develop good contacts and business skills. Connect with other writers and ask them where they find their clients - since the writing field is so wide, chances are pretty good that you won't be competition for each other!

If you look at your market and business plan and don't have a specific client base defined, brainstorm about the types of businesses you can help on both a local and global basis. For example, if I wanted work as a technical writer, I would contact local corporations such as Grainger or Abbott to see if they're looking for freelance writers. I'd also contact smaller businesses such as machine shops, call centers, and factories to see if they need someone to write things like technical manuals, employee procedures, or product information. On a global basis, I'd do some internet searches to look for job postings - on sites like Monster.com, Elance.com, Sologig.com, Craigslist, and free-form searches.

If I wanted to help people connect to their faith (which I do) I would contact local churches (which I have). Churches are often begging volunteers to help them put out a newsletter, create bulletins, write information for their websites, and put together reports. You could suggest to a church that you will do all that work for them (or provide X number of hours a month) for a set fee. On a larger scale, you can contact the overall church organization, such as Catholic Charities or the Evangelical Lutheran Church of America. Or whatever charities or faith-based organizations you feel passionate about.

If you're writing fiction or poetry, you'll likely spend less time in assessment and business planning, and more time in writing at the beginning. Fiction authors and some types of non-fiction authors write first and then find someone to buy what they write; other types of freelancers find clients first and then write what the organization needs.

A lot of good material has been written about how to publish your work in magazines or newspapers, so I'm not going to re-invent the wheel in this article. I regularly read the blogs on my blogroll, and all of the writers there teach me something new. The basic process is to target a publication with a unique, interesting idea that fits perfectly with their demographic and style, find the right editor to contact, and contact them with the idea or story in exactly the way they want to be contacted. If you're writing fiction or poetry, you write it first, and then find the best market for the completed work. Fantastic resources for finding markets include the annual Writer's Market, the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, Writer's Digest, and Absolute Write.

When you're working with small or local organizations, they may not have the perspective to understand what a writer can do for them. Your job is to imagine the problems they might face (poor communication, outdated procedures, lack of expansion due to old marketing materials or an uninformative website) and then dazzle them with solutions to their problems.

Lastly, I want to urge you to go for it today. You never know what opportunities might pass you by if you wait. An example? I've been meaning to send out a query to my local paper on a travel article. Last weekend my article idea was published in that paper - by someone else. You know what really kills me? I know I could have written it better.

I'm Done!

2007-10-19T17:22:00.000-05:00

My week of marathon blogging for a client is finished. Whew! I can't wait to take a hot bath and have a glass of wine!

Posting has been light here, my apologies. However, I just found the most hilarious response to a rejection letter at Random Acts of Unkindness. Authors, go read it and take a stand against rejections!

I'm still here!

2007-10-17T16:41:00.000-05:00

Though I haven't blogged here lately, Pearl is doing well! So well, in fact, that I'm overflowing with projects. I've contracted to write two books in the next month, and have several articles to produce. And today I signed on for another large project that will pump up my blogging skills.

I'm so blessed to have reconnected last weekend to an old writer friend who encouraged my dreams early on. Read all about it over at angelawd - my other voice. And all you writers out there - look for writing novices and nurture their dreams!

Starting Your Own Writing Business Part 3: Business Planning

2007-10-05T13:11:00.000-05:00

Once you have evaluated yourself and analyzed your business opportunities, it's important to plan your business. This is helpful in two ways: it becomes your yearly road map, and it officially documents your direction for partners, employees, or investors.

Business planning sounds dull, especially when you'd rather be writing, but it can actually be a lot of fun. Using your self evaluation and your SWOT analysis, write down a summary of what your business is and what it will offer. This summary will also be used as a 60-second personal commercial when someone asks you what you do, so be creative and descriptive. When I first opened my business, people asked me about it and I would say, "I'm a freelance writer." They would give me a blank stare until I actually explained what I did.

Next, write down an overview of the freelance writing industry, especially any genres that you expect to target for work. There are many internet sites, as well as the current Writer's Market book, that can help you describe this. This section is important because you will mine these areas for work, and will continually evaluate to see if you're expending effort in the right direction.

Next, you write down your credentials, which is where the business plan becomes fun. You get to list all your accomplishments and strengths - don't be afraid to brag a little about awards, training, and experience. If you're a little light in any of these credentials, don't worry - next time I'll discuss how you can build credentials and experience.

Finally, you write a financial analysis of one, three, and five year's earnings. This may sound daunting but can be fairly easy. Sources like the Association of Writers and Writing Programs, or the Writer's Market books can offer advice on rates to charge for your targeted work. Estimate the hours you'll be able to work and multiply by your expected rate, then project that income for a year. It is realistic to assume that your first year will be a ramp-up period, and then your income goals can become steadier after that point. If you plan to start part-time, your ramp-up year may cause you little to no financial pain. In fact, writing is the perfect part-time job because with a little equipment and good abilities, you can write anywhere, anytime.

Pull all this information together and keep it in a safe place. On a monthly basis, check back with your plan to see if you are on the right track. Your business plan might change, or your course may need to be corrected. With a detailed plan, you can keep your business focused.

Starting Your Own Writing Business Part 2: Analysis

2007-10-03T12:38:00.001-05:00

We've all heard the saying, "Fail to plan, and you plan to fail." Good planning will start your writing business off on the right foot; continued planning will keep your business running well. But planning isn't necessarily the most fun in starting a new business. Here are a few techniques.

SWOT Analysis
Here's where you analyze yourself and the possibilities in your business. First, write down all the strengths you bring to your writing business. Next, list your weaknesses - things that may get in the way of business success. Finally, list the opportunities for your business and the threats to those opportunities.

Your strengths will help you focus your services on the the things you do best. Weaknesses aren't necessarily things to avoid, but rather areas where you may need training, mentorship, or extra help. Opportunities are areas that you can focus to achieve best results, while you will need to do some planning to mitigate the threats to your business.

As you look at this information as a whole, you should see some common threads that give you overall direction. For example, I knew I was a strong writer whose weakness was difficulty in handling rejection, a common facet of writing. I saw that one of my opportunities was that I had a large network of friends and mentors who could provide support and feedback, but a threat to that opportunity was that I wasn't using that network effectively. This led me to set a direction for personal growth by cultivating mentors. As I perform SWOT analysis on a yearly basis, I will see new themes appear that help me set a course for my business and my professional growth.

Market Analysis
You know what you want to do, and you know your talents. The world is hungry for good writing. Now you need to match up your skills to demand. You do this by analyzing the market for your services. If your target is local businesses, contact your Chamber of Commerce or Better Business Bureau to find out how many people offer the same services in your area. Is there enough market for all of your businesses?

More often, freelance writing is not location-specific. Through Google searches, global yellow pages, writing associations, blogs, websites, and organizations for freelancers, you can find a wealth of information on pay rates, volume of jobs, and types of employers. While writing can be a competitive field, you may also contact other writers to ask for advice. Many of us want to help along someone who is getting started as a writer!

Once you've determined who your target market is, and what you can offer that target market, write it down and keep that focus. It's easy run off on a tangent and get into work that doesn't fit your core services and market, but that can distract you from the real focus of your business. Be prepared to tell people who you are targeting. If you can clearly and quickly explain your ideal customers, your friends and family have a better chance of referring you when the right client comes along.

Join me next time for more advice on starting your own business!

Starting Your Own Writing Business Part 1

2007-10-01T12:26:00.000-05:00

When I started my freelance writing business, I was given the huge blessing of an enormous severance package from my corporate job, and I was determined to never return to a corporate job. I didn't know much about being a small business owner, but I learned it all as I went along. Thinking of starting a full-time freelance writing business? I'm here to give you a hand up with posts on how to start a business.

Traits of a Writer
To be a freelance writer, you must be able to write, edit, and research your work. You must be able to handle rejection, because there will be plenty of "no's" between each "yes". You must develop a network of people who are willing to refer you or act as advocates for you. You must nuture mentors that will help you learn to run a business and hone your writing. Finally, you must cultivate in yourself traits of persistence, time management, and discipline.

Self-Evaluation
First, and most importantly, decide what you want to do. Take a realistic look at your skills and interests. If you've written newsletters in the past, think about what you liked about it. Did you have fun planning the graphics and layouts? Did you enjoy interviewing people for the articles? Was the act of blending stories and news satisfying to the writer in you? Analyze work you've done to determine what you love to do. Do you like researching medical facts? Writing creative non-fiction? Or putting together clear procedural documentation? Good writers can write about anything, but why not stick to the subjects and types of writing that are fun for you?

Develop Credentials
I had much credibility within my organization, but when I started my own business, I had to develop a new kind of credibility. I didn't have a master's degree in fine arts or an extensive publishing background. But I knew I could write, and I just needed to develop some new credibility so that potential clients would notice me. So I joined writer's organizations and professional associations, and advertised this fact on my website and publications. I learned all I could about my field through online and library research, as well as through friends I made in the literary organizations.

When I met with clients, my research and knowledge showed. I never had a client question me about my educational background or experience in their field, because I showed them I was adaptable, professional, and enthusiastic about writing for them.

Prepare Samples of Your Work
As I said earlier, I started my freelance career after a layoff from a corporate job where I'd been a writer for decades. I soon learned that people interested in hiring me were looking to see what I'd done in the past. Unfortunately, I many copies of my work were still at the company I left. However, I maximized the samples that I did have. I had a file of a training manual I'd written for a software rollout, and I took several pages from that manual as examples of business writing, procedural documentation, as technical writing. I had also written for years for my church, and I pulled together all the articles, newsletters, and interviews. Though I wasn't paid for those jobs, it still showed that I had the ability to write.

I took a big leather portfolio with clear sheetcovers and put several copies of each type of writing inside. When I met with a local client, I would leave a sample of my writing behind. I also posted files on my website so that people could see samples there, too. It wasn't a lot at first, but each job I finished added to my portfolio. At this point, the portfolio is almost full, and I routinely take out old samples or inapplicable projects.

My job is one in which I look forward to getting up each day and doing what I love. The flexibility, freedom, and opportunity surpass anything I imagined back in my corporate days. Stick with me, and I'll keep showing you how it's done!

Free books on the writing biz, anyone?

2007-09-27T16:18:00.000-05:00

Eldon Sarte at Wordpreneur.com is giving away free ebooks at this link. The books include Article Writing Secrets, Make Your eBook Sell, and Blogger’s Guide to Profits. Enjoy!

Writing Competitions and Seminars!

2007-09-26T11:17:00.000-05:00

I have just looked into several items that you may be interested in. If you're not interested, well, I think you should be!

Item one: Looking for an agent? Have I got the place for you! The Backspace’s Agent-Author Conference is being held on Nov. 6 & 7 in New York City. There's an amazing list of special agents that will be there, and a great line-up of talks to help newbies learn how to promote their books.

Item two: Haven't actually written that book yet? Nanowrimo is a great start. Never heard of it? In a nutshell, the National Novel Writing Month is in the month of November, in which all writers that participate pledge to write 50,000 words in one month. I am mentioning it now because registration begins October 1st, and then you have the entire month of October to plan your strategy. I'll be right there toiling with you on my latest!

Item three: Not interested in writing a novel in November? I understand. There is an alternative: Nablopomo. The invention of Ms. Kennedy, aka Fussy, this is an event in which each blogger commits to writing one personal blog post each day in the month of November. Prizes are offered to writers. I don't see any news about this for 2007 yet, but I feel sure that news is on the way. Here's a link to last year's event.

Writing Press Releases Part 4: Why Use Press Releases?

2007-09-25T17:10:00.000-05:00

I started this blog series by talking about how to write press releases, and then talked about formatting issues and where to submit your releases. In this last post of the series, I want to talk about why you should care about press releases.

Press releases are free publicity. When you open your business, you ask the newspapers and online sources to announce it to the world. Anytime you (or an employee) win an award, receive an accreditation, open a new line of business, or achieve something brilliant, you want the world to know. Sometimes, the very uniqueness of your news may trigger interest from the newspaper or another writer to run a feature article on your business.

News releases help you stay in the public eye. If newsworthy and positive things continually occur in your business, people will be much more likely to remember your name and see you as an expert or a valuable resource. The type of news you release will also help your public image. If you, as a business leader, are often involved in charity work, announce what you're doing. This shows your humanitarian values as well as also bringing attention to your favorite charities. If you partner with other businesses for a larger purpose, such as building a think tank of business leaders, you will emphasize your role as a leader and an essential member of the community.

Press releases are a perfect tool to shape customer perception and to gain recognition. Don't miss this chance to toot your own horn!

Do I Use "I" or "Me"?

2007-09-23T11:18:00.000-05:00

In planning for future Pearl Writing blog posts, I wrote down an idea for when a writer should use "I" versus "me". Great minds truly do think alike, because Theda K over at Crayon Writer has written a similar post. Rather than re-creating the same topic, I urge you to have a read there.

She says, "So many people use “and I” because they think it’s proper English. I know. I know. We were taught in grade school to say, “Jane and I are best friends,” instead of, “Me and Jane are best friends.” Were we told wrong? No. But we weren’t told enough. So now, perfectly sane adults run around saying, “So-and-so and I” in very insane sentences." Read the rest of her helpful post here.

Friday Inspiration

2007-09-21T14:19:00.001-05:00

Today I'm celebrating the gorgeous Indian Summer afternoon by offering some writing inspiration. Whether you like to write fiction or nonfiction, these ideas can get your creative engines running.

Fiction
What do you know about your grandparents' love story? Was it a sappy romance, a chick flick story, or a romantic comedy? Write down what you know, and if possible, ask them to fill in the blanks. Then use the details as the bones of a story - or as true-to-life flourishes in another story.

Non-Fiction
Think of a place, a landmark, or an attraction you've always wanted to visit in your town. Take an afternoon off and go visit it, noting all the facts and sensory details of the place. When you return, come up with 5 ideas for story angles - and then go pitch them!

Writing Press Releases Part 3 - Submitting

2007-09-20T15:28:00.000-05:00

In recent posts, I have talked about writing press releases and formatting releases. Today I want to talk about how to submit them.

It is possible to submit your well-written press release to both print and internet media sources. Local and regional papers should have information about how to submit releases located on the masthead page, where information about editors and the newspaper itself are located. Alternatively, your paper may have a website listing information about how to submit, sometimes with an online submission form.

Keep in mind that when you submit to a newspaper, your writing will be handled by an extremely busy person who is always, always on a deadline. Make sure your work is perfect and submitted as requested; these editors and journalists usually do not have time for hand-holding or taking up the slack for others.

Additionally, you can submit your press release to online PR sites. Since these sites are usually not regional, you may reach many more people with your message. Some sites require payment while others have varying levels of subscription to defray costs. The sites have an online form for you to fill out. Once the release has passed a human review as rigorous as any publication, the release will be published in its database. A few popular sites are listed below. If you know of others, please add them to my comments!

I-NEWSWIRE.COM
http://www.i-newswire.com/
No login required for free submission

PR LEAP
http://www.prleap.com/

PR URGENT
http://www.prurgent.com/login.php

PR WEB
http://www.prweb.com/

PR9.NET
http://www.pr9.net/

Not interested in writing your own press releases? A professional writing company such as Pearl Writing Services can help.

Handle Paper Only Once

2007-09-19T10:10:00.001-05:00

Sort your snail mail right over the shredder or recycle bin. Throw away junk mail or any unneeded enclosures or envelopes at that time.
Limit yourself to checking email only six times a day. Then respond to emails as you read them.
When you read an an email or letter, be prepared to file it in the appropriate place as soon as you have finished reading it.
Designate a particular time and place for handling receipts, mileage logs, invoices, and bills. Allow the supporting documentation to accumulate at that place until the time you have designated to work on it for that week.

Work smarter, not harder.

Writing Press Releases Part 2 - Formatting

2007-09-18T09:58:00.000-05:00

In my last post, I talked about the basics of writing press releases. Today I’ll be talking about formatting your release.

Editors are accustomed to particular formatting for press releases, and it’s important to follow formatting norms carefully. You want your news release to stand out, but not because it looks like it was written by an amateur. The following questions are a helpful way to be sure you’ve covered all the important formatting expectations.

Is the release written in third person?
Is the release double-spaced?
Is the release free of jargon and unexplained acronyms?
Does the event include both the day and date (for example, Tuesday, September 18, 2007)?
Have you included the city and state of the event/story?
Have you included quotes from prominent citizens or businesspeople, to enhance credibility?
Have you allowed sufficient time for the release to be posted?
Have you indicated the date the release should be published (for example, “For Immediate Release” or “Release on 9/20/2007”)?
Is the release free of errors and typos?
If you plan to submit your release to online sites, have you ensured that the headline is no more than 65 characters? Search engines may not handle more.
Have you ensured that there are no words in all caps, and that there are no exclamation points?
Is each sentence short, containing no more than 16 words?
Are words short and action-oriented?
Have you included a phone number so that journalists can contact you if more information is needed?
Have you included the end signal ### or 30 (depending on the publication’s preference) to the bottom of your release?

By following the editors’ expectations, you can be sure that they will want to work with you in the future, rather than cringe when they see your next piece on their desks. Press releases are a great tool, but you must use them correctly.

Next time: how to submit press releases for maximum effect.

Not interested in writing your own press releases? A professional writing company such as Pearl Writing Services can help.

Writing Press Releases - Part 1

2007-09-17T14:39:00.000-05:00

Anyone can write and submit a press or news release; the media will choose the ones they want to publish. News releases often address angles such as local news, human interest, new business, prominent people, or unusual happenings. Companies write press releases as great advertising, as they offer visibility for the business. However, the release should offer readers an interesting news angle and should not be written as an advertising piece. Instead, the release should tell the news story.

Many editors don't read past the title line of a press release - if the title hasn't caught his or her interest, the rest of the release will not be read. However, the title should be short and concise and contain the name of the organization. That's a lot to pack into one sentence!

Press releases are written in the "inverted pyramid" style, with the most important information within the first paragraph, and the least important information in the final sentences. It must answer all the basic journalistic questions: who, what, where, when, and how. The entire release should be no more than two pages and the writing should capture the reader's attention from the first line. In the last paragraph, write a brief overview of your organization, labeling it "Note To Editors" or "About (your organization)."

The press release writer should be sure that all typos and spelling mistakes are corrected before sending to an editor. It is also important to review the contact information, such as addresses and phone numbers, to be sure those are completely accurate. If a reader wants to contact you, it's important for you to make it easy for him or her!

Here's an example of a press release written by Pearl Writing Services:

"FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Angela Williams Duea
Pearl Writing Services
P.O. Box 8601
Gurnee, IL 60031-8601
847-924-0710

World Tractor Challenge 2007 Highlight of New Irish Vacation Tour!
Dublin, Ireland – March 19, 2007

On Sunday, August 5, 2007, the Irish attempt to create a new Guinness Book of
Records record with 2500 vintage tractors working at one time in a field. This
event takes place on the Cooley peninsula in the Republic of Ireland, and is the
highlight of a new vacation tour offered by DM Tours, an Irish Touring company.
“This is a once-in-a-lifetime event,” says Damian McKenna, owner of DM Tours.
“This charity event will allow people to experience the power of thousands of
pre-1977 tractors.” Previous records have been set by South Africa, Australia,
and England.

On the specially-designed DM Tours trip, vacationers will
visit farms, machinery dealers, and places of interest to all tractor and
vintage enthusiasts, such as a visit to the homestead of Harry Ferguson, who
helped design the Massey Ferguson equipment. The tour also includes Ireland’s
most beautiful and exciting cities: Shannon, Dublin, Waterford, and Belfast.

Tour Director Damian McKenna has a wealth of experience in agriculture,
history, and the culture of the Irish people, as well as being a keen collector
and tractor enthusiast. More information about this tour can be found on the
website www.mckennatours.com.
Note to editor: Pearl Writing Services is a freelance writing business dedicated to helping individuals and companies communicate more effectively."

Not interested in writing your own press releases? A professional writing company such as Pearl Writing Services can help.

Copyediting Articles from an Expert

2007-09-13T14:47:00.000-05:00

Angela Booth has written an excellent set of articles on time management tips for writers. Her articles are encouraging, with topics like: carry index cards, get a routine, and daily review. Good reading!

Glimmertrain

2007-09-10T20:35:00.000-05:00

The deadline is looming for Glimmertrain's Short-Story Award for New Writers (Sept. 30). I've entered, and so should you!

Then, on Oct. 1, their next competition opens - the Family Matters story contest. Surely you have a story about family in you. When you are chosen, will you send me a signed copy?

Happy writing!

What's Up, Chuck?

2007-09-05T12:55:00.001-05:00

You may have noticed that the past month's posts have been few and far between. What's up with the not-posting? Plenty. It's been a busy month! Pearl Writing is working on a couple of really interesting projects.

I've partnered with the Caffeine Alliance to produce medically-oriented newsletters on the dangers of caffeine. I'm pleased to work with this group, since I've been working on cutting out unhealthy foods from my diet. This project has been a challenge as I translate scientific case studies into user-friendly articles.

Another exciting project is blogging services I provide for Abundant Media. In the past few weeks I've been writing blog reviews, press releases, and articles for a plastic surgeon, learning some interesting, horrifying, and gross things about plastic surgery. Believe me, you don't really want to know what gynecomastia is, but if you needed it, you would be glad there are surgeons that perform it. Did I say this was exciting? Yes, and not just because I spent a lot of time looking at pictures of celebrities' surgery trainwrecks. This project was exciting because I was paid to learn about blog promotion, a topic that interests me professionally.

I'm on assignment to read and review books for the Atlantic Publishing Company, a job so cushy that I'm almost embarrassed to tell you about it. What do I do? I read books from my laptop in the shade of my crabapple tree, then write a one-page review. While enjoying the rose-scented breeze in my outdoor office, I am learning about several topics that may be useful to me later, like pool maintenance (I can dream!), condo real estate, and selling on EBay.

I've also continued to work for the U.S. Trager Association, and have learned much about healthy movement and alternative therapies. Work I've done for Rotary International has translated into free publicity in the form of a sponsored hole at the organization's annual golf outing this fall (I even had company shirts made for Pearl Writing Services' part-time staff!). It's also translated into referrals to other organizations!

I have a couple queries out to magazine related to my Caribbean adventures earlier this summer, and if published, I will be able to write off part of my travel charges as business expenses. And finally, I'm working hard at making friends in the blogging world, and learning from other writers. More on that next time!

Tone Up Flabby Writing

2007-09-04T16:04:00.000-05:00

Authors are not the only ones responsible for good writing - everyone should be able to write a clear sentence. Bonnnie Trenga, at WritersDigest.com, has a great article on toning your writing by editing flabby nominalizations.

Um, flabby what? Her example:

"The recommendation of this inspector is that the removal of all birds' nests should be done to avoid the plugging up of the roof's valleys.

This particular sentence contains three nominalizations: "the recommendation of," "the removal of" and "the plugging up of."

Read more of her nominalization article here.

How Do I Get My Ideas in Front of an Editor?

2007-08-22T11:37:00.000-05:00

This week, I'm working on pitching ideas to new markets, so query letters are on my mind. Query letters are the ones we writers send to newspaper, magazine, and book editors, telling them about our fantastic story ideas and our amazing writing skills, so that they feel their publications will be woefully incomplete unless they have purchased our story or article. For a lot of money. Using checks with commas in the "amount" box.

Paul Lima over at the Six Figure Freelancer's Blog, has an informative entry on how to write query letters. He provides a helpful template and a sample letter. Check it out, and get those letters out there!

By the way, his sample mentions clips - copies of the published work you've already done. If you don't have any of those pesky things, send the query anyway. Someone will take a chance on you, just like someone gave you your first job at the Dairy Queen. Just make sure you emphasize why you're uniquely qualified to write the sotry you're pitching.

Ain’t Ain’t a Word

2007-08-20T22:36:00.000-05:00

In elementary school, we used to giggle over that sentence. So illogical, so forbidden, since our teachers and parents taught us that ain’t wasn’t a word used by educated people. Later on, I had a friend who took great delight in using ain’t, by claiming he could use it because it was a word found in the dictionary. He was obviously unclear on the concept of using vocabulary to create a good impression.

The bible says, “’Everything is permissible for me’—but not everything is beneficial. (1 Corinthians 6:12)” Loosely put, this means that although a word is in the dictionary or in common usage, that doesn’t mean that we should use it – or that we should use it in a business context.

I hear people use words like ain’t, y’all, yeah (instead of “yes”), and – one of Merriam-Webster's newest words – ginormous. Sure, these are actual words used by real people, but by choosing these words rather than their more business-like synonyms, we sound common and uneducated. Instead, boost your professional presence by using words appropriate to your status.

Lutheran Writing Festival

2007-07-30T20:37:00.000-05:00

My friend Lisa pointed out an exciting conference scheduled for this autumn!

The first-ever gathering of Lutheran-affilliated writers will take place November 2-4, 2007 at Luther College in Decorah, Iowa. The conference is intended to "cultivate a spirit of community among Christian writers and to learn from each other's walks of faith".

The keynote speakers include the fabulous writer (and winner of the National Book Award) Walt Wangerin, author of Jesus: A Novel, and the National Book Award finalist Rene Steinke, author of The Fires and Holy Skirts.

The festival aims to support and encourage serious writing in the Lutheran world, through readings, lectures, panel discussions and open-mike events. You can find out more information at http://www.blogger.com/www.lutheranwriters.org.

Come with me. It'll be fun!

Writer's Digest Short Story Competition

2007-07-28T11:47:00.000-05:00

Here's the important stuff: first prize in this short story competition is $3000. It's Writer's Digest, the Writer's Digest. The deadline is 12/3/2007, which gives you plenty of time to whip up a page-turner or dust off that old beloved story.

I'm reading the 2007 competition winners, and I want to see your stories in there next year. C'mon, get busy!

Playing With Invisible People

2007-07-23T14:34:00.000-05:00

I love a girl named Lisa. I think about her favorite food and the goofy things she does when no one is looking. I worry about how cold she is in the abandoned building where she is currently staked out, across the street from the lover who just dumped her. I feel sad for her sister, who is caring for their dad while he dies of emphysema. The thing is, I love someone who has never existed.

I know how odd that sounds. But a writer becomes involved in the story of her characters, and works to create real, breathing creatures from pen marks on a page or lighted letters on a computer screen. Today I’m going to talk about how we play with these invisible people to make them seem as if they are actually someone you could run into at the corner coffee shop or in the furniture store.

Passing Out Character Flaws
When I talked about building a fascinating plot, I stated that you should think about what your hero wants more than anything else, and what they are willing to do to get it. That’s just the beginning. Next, you must build attributes that make the person loveable or at least likeable. Main characters are generally likeable, while villains often have few good attributes – though there are exceptions to both rules. However, to make someone realistic, they must always have flaws and virtues, or they run the risk of being boring and ridiculous; just think of all the romance novels where the women are tiny, soft, heart-stoppingly beautiful, and morally upright, while the men have rock-hard chests and flowing locks, and are supernaturally endowed. As a partygoer says in Fitzgerald’s novel “Tender is the Night”, “I prefer people whose lives have more corrugated surfaces.”

Give Your Characters A Back Story
If your heroine had a terrible scare as a child being pursued by a creepy man in a park, you know how she feels today having to cross the park at night…and hearing a sound from the woods. The father in the novel “Ordinary People” who drives his family so hard is much more touching when you learn that he grew up as an orphan, and craves family togetherness. Make sure you provide details that help your readers understand why they are the person they are today.

Little Details Make A Big Difference
One reason I love Charles Dickens’ novels is that his characters are so wonderfully quirky – and Dickens reminds us of those quirks throughout his stories. For example, in “David Copperfield”, the unforgettable Uriah Heep has slimy hands and an ingratiating smile; Miss Dartle insinuates nasty things through vague half-sentences and has an old scar across her mouth that blushes every time she goes into a rage; the Micawbers take us on a rollercoaster of emotions and grand speeches as their fortunes go up and down.

Don’t have any ideas about details that can make your people come alive? Look at the people around you. We’re all odd in some way. One of my embarrassing quirks is that I involuntarily smile when I hear terrible news – though I don’t find the information funny at all. Last weekend I saw a teenager who plays drums begin drumming his fingers against his thighs once he got nervous. Most memorably, in a business meeting one day I saw a dignified man lick a finger, and then proceeded to poke the wet finger into each of his nostrils. People are bizarre – you just have to watch them long enough in order to be surprised at what you see. Watch the people at your kid’s sports games; check out how people act in the cafeteria; remember the funny things you see people doing at the mall. Then add these quirks to your characters.

Don't just describe habits, though. Make sure people can see your people by providing clear, memorable descriptions. Avoid boring illustrations such as "She combed her long, blonde hair." What is blonde? My salon provides roughly two dozen shades of blonde, not including all the permutations of highlights and lowlights that are possible. Dirty blonde? Lemony highlights? Yellow with glints of red in the setting sun? How about the color called "bad box of hair dye turning her from auburn to orange?"

What’s In a Name?
Naming your character is no small thing. Sometimes you want your character to have a name that fits them – like Chili Palmer in Elmore Leonard’s story, “Get Shorty”, or Steve Austin in the TV show “The Six Million Dollar Man”. Other times, it may be more appropriate to have a character’s name not fit them, such as a biker named Tiny, or a minister named Butch. Be careful that you don’t name different characters with letters or spelling that is similar, since this will just confuse your readers.

Many people have complained about Russian novels where the characters are called different names depending on their relationship to each other. Unless you are writing about the complex interplay of relationships and how that affects the characters’ responses to each other, don’t give your characters a variety of names. If you do, I guarantee you will have them flipping around your book in confusion, trying to sort people out, and possibly becoming frustrated enough to put down your story.

Walkin’, Talkin’ Fiction
Many writers will tell you that once they have created believable characters and compelling plots, the story takes over and the characters have a life of their own. Not only do I believe this is true, but I also believe this is evidence of well-designed characters. Once you have breathed life into them through the ideas mentioned above, they will walk and talk on their own. The more your readers believe in your heroes, the more they will cheer for them until the last page is read.

Pursuing Truth, and Other Silly Pastimes

2007-07-11T10:40:00.000-05:00

The staff of Pearl Writing Services has spent the majority of the last month in exotic places like Antigua, Barbados, and Puerto Rico. One thing that I love best about traveling is the opportunity to experience completely different ways of living and responding to the world. However, the in past month of traveling I have come to realize that one of the different ways of living and responding to the world consists of clinging to your own beliefs and perceptions, reducing the impact of new input.

I know that truth and reality are subjective ideals, and while we can come closer to the ultimate truth, we will never be completely objective on this side of Paradise. Writers especially must be able to think critically about the input they receive and absorb the character of new places. We want to see the world in specific ways, and some people are better than others at witholding their judgement at least until they have a reasonable amount of perspective. And yet here are some interesting examples I observed from the people around me, as ways for me to ponder our ability to see a thing for what it really is.

We were on a trip through the rainforest, admiring the patterns of long palm leaves against knockout magenta-and-yellow hibiscus flowers. We were up in the mountains after passing through a town of rusty corrugated tin shacks and streets with open sewers. A passenger on the bus mused, "So much beauty...and they just don't appreciate it." How on earth did anyone know that they don't appreciate it? I asked our tour guides if they ever got tired of the scenery and they said they loved it here, but maybe this was a professional response they were trained to say to silly Americans so that we would tip them well. My years of IT work and scientific testing kicked it. Could we sample opinions from people? Would they be honest? Could it be that some people were generally happy with tropical living, others didn't like the rain and heat in the way that I like the pretty snowfall but winter in Chicago can be a little to long and brutal for my taste? Could it be that they appreciated the scenery in much the same ways that I have moments of pure joy and satisfaction in my garden, and other times when I do my daily walkabout where all I think is, "Damn, look at all those weeds?"

I mused on all those things while soaking in a hot sulfur spring, and was again reminded of my tendency to analyze things beyond all reason or purpose. The tourist's comment probably had more to do with how that person saw the island natives than how the natives saw their home. Hmmm...

I learned that Puerto Rico has been settled by waves of different people in the last millenium, including Taino Indians, black Africans, the Spanish, British, Americans, and (surprising to me) Chinese. On any street, even in small towns, there is an amazing diversity of faces and complexions. For this reason I was absolutely astonished to hear one of the mission trip leaders state that during his week in Puerto Rico he had believed he could identify Puerto Ricans from others. The more I think about that comment, the more I realize that I have no idea what he meant. I asked him if there were many Puerto Ricans where he lived in West Virginia, but he said that the area was not culturally diverse. I wondered what he would make of the idea that our youth leader Tina, who is paler than even MY blonde German/Irish self, was actually a Puerto Rican?

While riding along a highway, two mission trip workers were commenting on the differences in vehicles on Puerto Rican roads. I perked up; I hadn't specifically noticed anything different but I was interested in learning any new observations.

"There are hardly any luxury cars," one guy remarked, just before we were passed by BMWs, Lexus sedans, and Lord knows what else.

"Their cars are so much smaller. I haven't seen a single big truck other than our Tahoe." We all looked out the window where there were minivans, SUVs, and big cab trucks dotting the rush-hour traffic. I politely refrained from pointing them out.

"They don't use any semis at all. Their trucking business must be smaller scale."

Uncomfortable silence, then someone pointed ahead of us. "There's one right there."

I learned last month that my ways of viewing the world are as persistently incomplete as anyone else's. My team was given the much-prayed-for task of helping a poor, elderly woman. We were to do yardwork and housework for her. Zenaida was a mostly bedridden woman in a crumbling home; I was shocked to learn that though she looked about eighty, she was actually only one year older than my own mother! As we began to clean her home, my heart cried out to see the squalor and loneliness she lived in. She talked about her son and daughter-in-law coming to visit, but we didn't see anyone and concluded that this was wishful thinking, rather than reality. She gratefully gobbled down any food we offered and took food from our cooler whenever we walked away from her. She had two refrigerators in her tiny kitchen, one that didn't work and was used as storage for maggot-infested old takeout containers and used paper bags. The other one had an energy drink and some plastic spoons, but not a single, solitary speck of food. Her cupboards were equally bare - not an old box of crackers, not a stale package of oatmeal, not a container of flour. Nothing.

I tend to have the subtlety of Peter, leaping into the water and later on realizing what I am doing, and I came back to the workcamp headquarters that night to appeal to all the church groups. During our worship time I told the teens and staff about her and asked for a free-will offering to buy her some food. I was in tears the next day when I counted out $150 that was donated to Zenaida. As the team leaders discussed that day how we would present Zenaida with the money, a few new details emerged in our picture of Zenaida's reality.

Her daughter-in-law came by several times and brought her food and cleaned her house. I saw her dressed in nice middle-class clothes, and as I looked from her to Zenaida I realized that she wore decent and fairly new clothes as well. Further cleaning showed me the persistent problem of rats and bugs within her house, and the other leader suggested to me that this may be the reason that no food was stored in the house. I still asked myself why this woman lived the way she did, in a falling-down house and in such apparent loneliness.

As our crew finished the exterior painting, I sat down and talked with her for a while. She told me that her mother lived with her until she died recently. She missed her mother a lot. Zenaida bought this house all on her own when she worked as a seamstress in a factory in Mayaguez along the coast. While she talked, I thought about my own grandmother's struggle to stay in her own beloved lakeside home even as she became sicker and lonelier, and how my aunt and uncle cared for her while she remained as independent as possible.

Is that Zenaida's reality? I don't know her. I can't know her life in a week. All I can take from this is the reminder to keep my eyes open and be slower to draw conclusions. That's a good way to embrace anything new. And as writers, we get closer to the truth by careful consideration of our experiences.

Why Can't English Evolve the Way I Want it to?

2007-06-20T09:31:00.000-05:00

Sitting on a Caribbean beach with a local beer (Banks, I think it was, in this photo of our beach on the island of St. John) gives you the right frame of mind to become philosophical, if that's your tendency. I started to think about the oddness of the English language and the contributions of many linguistic traditions that make our spelling so difficult. Why is salmon pronounced "sammin"? Why is philosophical pronounced "filosofikal?"

Maybe it's my appreciation of Spanish, with its clear pronounciation and spelling, that has me thinking such things. And yet, I see people misspelling and simplifying English all the time. Think about how often you see "easy" spelled "EZ". Words like "drought" and "draft" used to be spelled "drougth" and "draught", respectively, but have evolved into a simplified American spelling. Since so many experts are moaning about the lack of literacy in our country, doesn't it stand to reason that people will begin to spell phonetically and without all those silly silent letters cluttering up a word?

This reminds me of a short-lived teaching experiment in my daughters' elementary school. They felt that children would learn to spell better if they weren't hampered by the rules of spelling as they began to write. This little program was called Invented Spelling, and thankfully, only my older daughter was subjected to the experiment. My younger daughter learned phonetics, like I did, although she was not subjected to the repetition of reading aloud the Phonetic Cards I suffered through in first grade (The vowel A: ay, ah, uh...the vowel O: oh, oo...). The result of these teaching philosophies? My older daughter has absolutely no ability to sound out an unfamiliar word. But she can make up spelling like you wouldn't believe. My younger daughter can do both.

But I digress. Why can't we get rid of all the crazy English spelling and spell things like they sound. And while we're at it, why can't we convert to the metric system? Oops, another digression.

I think I've made my point. I tried to find a foto of sammin from my Caribbean trip, but I didn't have any. So here's a foto of a delicius musels apetizer I enjoyed in Ostra Cosa, a wonderful restarant in Old San Juan, Puerto Rico. Mmmm...

Come sail away...

2007-06-08T14:33:00.000-05:00

The staff of Pearl Writing Services will be in the Caribbean through the next week. Bon Voyage!

The Angels Wept with Joy Today

2007-06-06T13:43:00.000-05:00

One year after moving into the new office, Pearl Writing Services is finally completely settled in. Lots of paint, a helpful husband and cat, and plenty of file drawers were involved. Below are photos of last night's adventures; the first photo shows the fully-functional office of today.

As promised last week, here are a few of the thoughts and ideas captured in my writer's notebook:

"She wears the same turquoise terrycloth jogging suit every week. She has frizzy red hair and pink-blemished white skin."

"How does someone look when your back is turned?"

"Glasgow is built on 26 drumlins (hills). River Clyde runs through it. A Victorian city. Sauchiehall (suckyhall) means Willow Way - main street. Many streets named after industrialists."

"Neighbor said, 'We still have the biggest snowblower on the block.'"

What's in your notebook?

Building the Framework

2007-06-04T09:10:00.000-05:00

Halfway through my first novel, I stopped writing for weeks. I couldn’t stand to think about my story, because I knew I was stuck. I couldn’t remember how the sister met the boyfriend, and I forgot why the story of the bass player passing out on the pool table was crucial to the character development. I also forgot some names and critical dates. Worst of all, I knew how the story was going to end but I couldn’t figure out how to get there. My characters had taken over the plot and we were drifting somewhere else. How was I going to end this piece?

It’s perfectly valid to use the “drive by your headlights” method to write an entire book; you start with a plot and just take off writing your fingers to nubbins. However when you get stuck with a problem like mine, stepping back and applying a structure to the story can be especially helpful. Some writers can’t write at all without building an outline or brainstorming the story first. Here are a few techniques.

Write a Story Synopsis
On no more than two pages, summarize your story. This is nothing more than a description of the main characters and action, similar to the text you read on the back cover of flyleaf of a book. By paring down the story to a synopsis, you can identify problems with the plot – or you can fall in love with your idea once again.

Build an Outline
This step provides the benefit of structure before writing, as well as a good start on the chapter summary that an editor is going to require for a novel. An outline is especially helpful for giving you a roadmap for each of your chapters, so you can see how your characters are going to get from point A to point Z. Remember, though, that this is your outline. Don’t stress if you have an item #1 but no item #2, the way we were all taught in language arts classes. Write down what’s essential and don’t make something up if it’s not necessary.

Dump Your Brain
This method is helpful when you’re fresh out of ideas or are struggling to make a relationship between different elements or events. There are several ways to wake up the genius lurking inside you. You can free-associate and write down ideas on sticky notes, then group the notes together in related strings that are structurally related.

In another method, you write down an idea, concept, or event (such as “Dominic strips onstage”) and circle it. Then write down something that is related to it, such as the following string of events or consequences (“The band gets notoriety”, “Sheila dumps Dominic”, etc.), circling each one and connecting it to the main idea with a line. Continue adding events or ideas and relating them with lines to other ideas, until the structure is complete or the ideas start popping.

A satisfactory, workable story structure is like MapQuest for your story: it tells you how to get where you’re going and what your destination is going to look like. Depending on your needs, you can outline turn-by-turn directions, or just a general map. Whichever you choose for your story can eliminate writer anxiety and get your characters where you want them to be.

Next Time: Character Development – Playing with Invisible People

Plot Your Story

2007-06-01T10:01:00.000-05:00

In my last entry, I talked about the excitement of developing a story idea. Today we’ll talk about developing that idea into an excellent plot. One of the most essential – and difficult – elements of your story is a good plot. Even books for the youngest children must have a plot that children can grasp.

A plot must have a minimum of three stages: the introduction (of characters, scene, problems, etc.), the climax, and the resolution. In order for a story to have a workable plot, there must be some sort of problem or conflict for the characters to deal with, and the main character must be changed in some way (good or bad) by the end of the story. I used to tell my writers’ group that our job was to make the hero’s life miserable. By the end of the story, the characters will either overcome the problems or be overcome by them. Without problems, there is no story.

Some literature professors will tell you that there are no new plots – that all stories derive from a handful of distinct plots, such as:

• Individual versus individual (The assistant vs. the editor in The Devil Wears Prada; Henry Higgins vs. Eliza Dolittle in My Fair Lady)
• Individual versus God (Orual vs. the Wind God in Till We Have Faces, Satan vs. God in Paradise Lost)
• Individual versus nature (Captain Ahab vs. the whale in Moby Dick, the fisherman vs. the ocean in The Old Man and the Sea)
• Individual versus society (Father vs. the white townspeople in To Kill a Mockingbird, Romeo and Juliet vs. their families).

Obviously, there is overlap between plots, since a story about a struggle between two people can be a microcosm of a struggle in society. The genre that you choose will also have an effect on your plot. For example, a young children’s story is likely to have a simple, non-threatening problem, while a thriller or crime novel is likely to have many twists and turns.

Examine gripping, interesting plots and identify what you have enjoyed about them. Figure out how the author has caused the main character to change and how the denouement was accomplished. Determine what your hero wants and what you are willing to make him or her do to get it. Plan out what nature, society, or another individual is likely to do to thwart your hero’s desires, and you are on your way to planning out a fascinating story.

Next Time: Outlining: Building the Structure

Where Did the Ideas Go?

2007-05-25T12:13:00.000-05:00

Just read a good entry from The Writing Mother on recording your ideas. It reminded me that my red journal, the one given to me by the first writer to encourage me (a stringer for The Chicago Tribune), has been missing from my purse for some time now.

When it's with me, I am constantly writing down the crazy things that people say, the sights that make me laugh, the things I wonder about and want to look up on Wikipedia, or the story ideas I will write about someday when I am finished with my current project.

Without it in my purse or by my bed, I'm missing all kinds of stuff. Sadly, it's packed away in a box ever since the Pearl Writing Services office remodel. These boxes have yet to be unpacked because the desk in the downstairs office still has to be brought upstairs, and it takes 2 to move it, and Dear Husband has been preaching and running youth ministry functions and moderating ministry problems and hasn't had time for office moves. So I forgotten about my little journal until the reminder today that ideas are trickling away because I'm not pinning them to the page.

So this afternoon I will dig through my boxes and find my old red journal, and write down something new. I'll share some of my funny entries if you share with me! Just write me a comment below.

Rising to a New Standard

2007-05-23T10:56:00.000-05:00

Last week I attended a conference for my Primerica financial services business. This conference, held at the Cincinnati home of one of our leaders, was led by several millionaires within our business. They shared stories of turning their ordinary lives into ones of greatness and success - not just through the amount of money they've earned, but through the numbers of people they have helped and the good that they can do with their earnings. Their leadership ideas have inspired me ever since.

I've never met a millionaire before or entered one's home. I have never met anyone who has two soccer fields and a volleyball court in their backyard, or who have a built-in racquetball court in their home. I was impressed by these things, but even more impressed by leaders who were willing to offer days of motivation and business insight to up-and-coming young entrepreneurs.

One thing I learned from the speakers is to surround myself with the type of people I want to become. To become a success, I need to cultivate friendships with people who are farther down the road to success in my field.

Andy Andrews, the motivational speaker and author of Seven Decisions That Determine Personal Success: The Traveler's Giftsays that we often define friendships as "People who accept us the way we are." He says that's nonsense. The person at the McDonald's drive-thru accepts us the way we are, because she doesn't care about us.

True friends encourage us to be more that we would have been otherwise. Greater success is found by seeking out people like these, who will support us in ever growing and expanding our capabilities. We grow as leaders by following leaders we admire, and by building relationships with those who lovingly lead us to greatness.

Copyediting Horror Story

2007-05-17T13:48:00.001-05:00

Back in my Corporate Hell days, I spent a few years in a role labeled Project/Process Consultant. In this role, I often wrote documentation and manuals for people using our financial and IT systems, and our group of writers were required to follow the most Byzantine process to complete the documentation. At the risk of sounding like I stole this from a Dilbert cartoon, let me share with you the copyediting process we endured. This exercise in the ridiculous must surely make you grateful for the process you follow.

A consultant would interview someone who knew the process or system and write down everything they said, using our 20-page stylesheet to be sure every word produced by our group looked and felt consistent with everything else we wrote. Once the consultant and the expert agreed the document was correct, the document was then passed to another consultant who copyedited it using the aforementioned 20-page stylesheet. This led to many fun conversations, like:

"Hey, what's with all the red edits on this page?"
"Didn't you get the memo on the word email? We're not hyphenating it anymore. Corporate standard."
"How long did it take you to mark each word in red strikethrough and then type the correct version after it? Why didn't you just fix it?"
"No no no. I'm supposed to edit. You're supposed to fix it. Otherwise you can't learn from your mistakes."

These reviews would sometimes pit one miserable consultant against another as disagreements would sometimes erupt about such things as whether a sentence was clear and fully understandable.

"It is understandable. You'd have to be an idiot to misunderstand that sentence."
"I didn't understand it."
"Well, you're an idiot."
"I think we need to bring a manager in on this discussion."

Many discussions raged over the issue of whether a manuscript should be written so that anyone coming in off the street could pick up the manual and follow the directions, or whether we could assume that someone had some initial information about the application, such as how to login or how to navigate the menus. Really. Energy was spent on such monumental issues.

Once the writer completed the quality-checking leg of the process, the document then went to our manager, who ostensibly checked it again for consistency and readability. Unfortunately, our manager was often drowning in other work and the document could languish there for weeks, corners curling up and pages turning yellow, until she would ask us to print her off another copy because she couldn't remember what she did with the previous one. She always did her edits by hardcopy and often used (ACK!) a red pen. Even more unfortunately, she didn't possess the slightest understanding of these processes, so she often edited out perfectly good copy.

When our manager was satisfied with the changes we had made, she would send along the document (with a cover sheet signed by her) to the manager of the content expert. This manager was expected to read the process either agree that the manual was correct and optimal, or make changes to reflect what should be done. The consultant would integrate these changes into the document, and if the changes were substantial enough, the entire review process would begin all over.

Finally, the director of the content expert's area would take a ride on the review carousel. He or she was expected to review the manuscript to ensure the procedure aligned with the philosophy of the area (what??). What usually happened was the director had no idea what the process was or why it was done in a certain way, and so as soon as this document surfaced at the top of their priority list (usually at the speed of molasses in January) they would just sign it. At last the poor consultant could publish the document in a database where it was promptly ignored by all the people who were expected to follow it.

As you can imagine, there were many things that would go wrong along the way. And when they did, I'd often vent to my husband in an email with a subject line like: "Aaauuughhh!!"

There is a better way.

Freelance writers have the freedom to follow a better process. While we are ultimately responsible for the quality of our work and less frequently ask for outside copyediting help, this frees us from countless hours of reviews by others. Theda K Communications, aka CrayonWriter, has written these great tips for planning and completing a copyediting job.

Stimulate Yourself!

2007-05-09T12:16:00.000-05:00

Whether you're a copywriter, a journalist, a poet, or a novelist, as a writer you are required to constantly think of fresh, creative ways to communicate. An excellent blog post in ProBlogger.net, titled 5 Ways to Enhance Your Creativity, has great tips on maintaining a creative edge. The first idea struck a chord with me - stimulating yourself to keep the fountain of ideas flowing. I found that one way to continue stimulating myself is by constantly talking with new people, reading new books, and considering new viewpoints.

Last night I attended a Chamber of Commerce grand opening for a new, delicious, non-chain restaurant in the county: Monkey Dish bar & grill. I spent the night sipping excellent pinot noir and meeting a group of people that had the writer in me salivating to run off and take notes, while the businesswoman in me offered up my 2-minute commercial and looked for ways to help them with business writing. I met John Sarantakis, the president of People's Choice Entertainment, (a mega-chain video and gaming company here in Lake County). He told me that he and his partner started working together in high school by selling toys and novelties to classmates. My response? I need a pen! I just can't make this stuff up!

I talked music and modern bands with the hard-working grill cook, a young guitar player who loves Linkin Park and who was less impressed with the two-piece blues band than I was. I met allergy experts and professional scrapbookers, and the new owners of the Monkey Dish. Our applause encouraged the band to come sit with us, so I had the pleasure of meeting Barrelhouse Chuck, aka Chuck Goering. He's actually a long-time Chicago blues pianist who used to open for the likes of BB King and Willie Dixon. He has about a hundred recording credits and a dozen albums of his own. Chuck's memories are a Wonderland of 70's-era blues stories; I could have listened to him all night. He was practically in tears as he told us the old generation of blue masters is gone, and no one is taking their place in originality and passion. Passion? Talk about a passionate musician! Darn, where's my notebook?

Each person that I met last night had a passion for something, a unique outlook, a new perception that stimulated my own creativity. Something in each encounter will make it's way into a character in one of my novels or provide insight that I'll use while writing an article or website content someday. I'll likely never be a great blues musician or an entertainment magnate, but I can talk to the people who do those things and find out what it feels like, how they think, what their world is like.

Keep your eyes open for the unique and the special in each person you meet. These encounters will stimulate you to look at the world with ever-fresh and new eyes. We need to keep nurturing our creativity in order to write effectively; other people's experiences widen our own.

Leave me a comment and tell me your favorite way to stimulate your creativity!

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I'm Back at it Again

2007-05-08T14:06:00.001-05:00

After a particularly discouraging flurry of rejection notices the past two months, my novel writing ceased. Outwardly, I was mature and responsible as I told people I was focusing my freelance writing where God was blessing my efforts. Inwardly, I was actually a little scared. Was I going to finish my novel just to have it rejected like my recent short stories?

I'm very familiar with this cycle of rejection and doubt and re-dedication to writing. I have been here many times before and I know that when I keep writing in spite of my doubts, I find the right publisher or client. So this week I started to bolster my courage yet again with the fantastic book The Artist's Way: A Spiritual Path to Higher Creativity. Here's a little excerpt that will help you gauge the level of encouragement:

"For most of us, the idea that the Creator encourages creativity is a radical thought. We tend to think, or at least fear, that creative dreams are egotistical, something that God wouldn't approve for us...This thinking must be undone."

I'm picking myself up and dusting off the dirt. I'm crawling back into my novel, at the place where I've left my heroine: homeless, camped out in the abandoned townhouse across the street from her ex-lover, dumpster-diving for food, and wondering if her dad has died yet. I love this girl and I love writing, and so I'm going back at it.
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Flowers of Evil - Gardening with Baudelaire

2007-05-07T13:23:00.000-05:00

Everything is blooming this week, which reminds me of a delightfully dark article I read on gardening with Charles Baudelaire (by Frank Gannon - originally published in the Atlantic). If Charles were alive and living in America, he would of course provide us with gardening advice such as the following:

''Q: The crowns of my veronicas are rising above the surface. Can I do anything about this?

A: If your heart is set on it, move the veronicas in a large soil bag. Then return to your life of error and sin, until you, too, die and fester in a very large soil bag.''

Here is a link to the article: http://www.xprogramming.com/xpmag/FlowersOfEvil.htm

The photo shown above is of one of my Queen of the Night tulips from a visit to Holland, Michigan last spring. Appropriate.

Business Tips for Freelancers - Part 2

2007-05-02T11:04:00.000-05:00

Working as a professional writer takes skill and determination. As a continuation of last week's tips, here are additional ideas to help you build your freelance business:

Tip #6: Prepare a business commercial.
When I first built my business, I began passing out business cards to everyone I knew. People are truly thrilled to meet a writer - they think we lie around in pajamas all day smoking French cigarettes and drinking whiskey while we type out inscrutable words of brilliance. Then they would ask..."what do you do?"

At first, I stumbled over this question. I knew what I was good at writing and I vaguely knew my target audience, but it didn't flow off my tongue. To be sure I gave the best possible answer, one that would make my questioner itch to work with me, I wrote down a commercial about my business. Conversations can be long or short, so I made sure I could enticingly explain my work in 30 seconds and two minutes. This is also called the "elevator presentation". You should be able to interest a potential client in your work in the amount of time that it takes you to reach your floor in an elevator. Believe me, the questions will come - be ready for them!

Tip #7: Build a portfolio of work.
When starting a freelance business, many people do not already have a body of work to show potential clients. Whether a customer is looking for published clips or just samples of your work, a new writer is often stuck in a catch-22: you need samples in order to be taken seriously, and you can't provide samples until someone hires you.

Thankfully, there are many organizations and alternative methods to building your clips list or portfolio. Non-profit organizations, small newspapers, and park districts often do not have the staff or the talent to communicate well. Within your target niche, there may be additional opportunities. Approach these organizations with an idea for work you can offer them, and do the work for free or a reduced cost. You'll build up contacts as well as fattening your portfolio.

Tip #8: Determine how much work you'll do primarily for recognition.
This tip is related to Tip #7. Once you have built up clips and start receiving job offers, you may be offered jobs that pay very little but give you the opportunity to brag far and wide. If you need the recognition, take it! But if you have built your business and your name is recognizable, you may turn down non-lucrative jobs even if you will gain publicity. To determine whether you should take the job, ask yourself these questions:

Can I afford the time it will take to do this job?
Will I be recognized in the right places (such as within my targeted audience)?
Will I gain new knowledge or a new skill that will make this job worth it?
Will the recognition lead to additional, more lucrative work?

Tip #9: Determine how much you will charge.

This is difficult to answer and varies with each writer. You must consider factors such as your experience and skill level, and the market in your area. Most people have an idea of how their local economy rates with the national average - for example, a writer working for a local Chicago publication will likely make more money than a comparable situation in a small town in Montana. The type of work you do will also be a factor: copyediting generally pays less than writing a new, original piece; website designers writing content will often make more than a website content writer, since they also design and build the website in question.

A good place to start is with the Writer's Digest Writer's Market book. There is a table listing each type of writing and the high, low, and average charge for each. Find your work and your skill level, and you have a ballpark idea on what to charge. Next, adjust the figure for your particular circumstances. Is your job for a friend who needs communication help? You may want to adjust the price downward. Is the job likely to require more work, patience, or hand-holding than the usual job? Add to the figure. You will soon be able to do the estimating without a degree in Calculus.

Tip #10: Keep records of your estimates and final costs.

On your first few jobs, estimating the amount of work and pay may take some guesswork. But once you've completed a few jobs, you have real-life data that will help you determine what to charge and how profitable your business is. Keep track of all your original time estimates. As the work is completed, log the actual hours and final cost alongside your final pay for the job. Over time, as you become more experienced and work more quickly, you will see which jobs are most lucrative and which clients take more time than they are worth. Your business will prosper as you analyze and use this information!

Vonnegut's Son Carries On

2007-04-28T19:24:00.000-05:00

No, he's not hysterical. Found on the Internet: Kurt Vonnegut's son walks in his father's footsteps. Just FYI, the city of Indianapolis has declared 2007 the "Year of Vonnegut".

Business Tips for Freelancers - Part 1

2007-04-27T18:02:00.000-05:00

Since starting my freelance writing business, I have learned a lot about business and writing, things that I would not have learned otherwise. A wise friend of mine once said, "You pay for experience, but if you are smart, you only pay for it once." For the price of a few minutes of reading, you can learn some of the business tips that I have discovered the hard way.

Tip #1: Determine exactly what your client wants.
Before you perform any work for your client, consult with them to understand all they have in mind. Other than the obvious questions, such as the topic, length, and format of the writing they would like you to produce, determine the more subtle factors: what tone do they expect from the document (funny, professional, casual)? Who is the audience for the writing? What do they want people to feel, think, or do differently after they have read your work?

Tip #2: Get it in writing.
A good agreement or contract states what the finished product will be, and also determines important milestones and payment terms. This is important to protect both the writer and the client, and is a good reminder during the job if you disagree on expectations. Though I am not a lawyer, I don't believe that all agreements need a signature - an emailed or written acceptance can be sufficient, depending on the magnitude of the job and the amount of pay at stake.

Tip #3: Have clearly-defined tasks and delivery dates.
One of my first jobs seemed to never end. The client called for round after round of reviews and edits, performed in person at the client site. When I completed what I thought was the final round of fixes for the website, I sent an invoice for the final work and stated in a cover letter that I was turning over maintenance to the client. A month later, I received an email from the client asking for more updates, and wondering why she hadn't heard from me in so long!

Tell your clients what you will do on each date, and make sure that he or she understands what final tasks indicate the job is completed. It's not a bad idea to call the client on completion and make sure they are satisfied with your work and that all deliverables have been met. You can then slip in the job-closing sentence, "Now that this job is completed, I hope you will consider me for future jobs."

Tip #4: Identify all assumptions in advance.
I worked with a fantastic client who defined his assumptions about the job in a well-written contract. However, as the job progressed, I didn't receive source material from him in time to meet my deadlines. Since our contract had an assumptions clause, that would have been the perfect place to indicate that my work depended on him providing content by a particular date.

Other assumptions might state the format of the finished manuscript, the method of staying in touch during the project, or the expected turnaround time when you have given the client a manuscript for review.

Tip #5: Always meet your deadlines.
This one may be obvious, but it is key. Always, without exception, do what you say you are going to do, when you say you are going to do it. So many authors consider deadlines to be guidelines, and if your client has a deadline of their own that is dependent on your work, they are brewing ulcers while waiting for your work of art. Deliver early, your editor or client will never forget you. Deliver on time and they will want to work with you again. Deliver late, and next time they will likely find another writer.

Next: 10 more tips for running a freelance writing business.
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Our Words Have a Complex Power

2007-04-24T11:16:00.000-05:00

God never tires of trying to make me a better person. And yet, sometimes it hurts. I have learned in a new and painful way how much power our words can have.

I recently found out that someone I know has a wildly popular blog with huge readership - as a matter of fact, it is actually listed in the top blog sites by companies that measure such things, and she has been on national TV shows related to her blog work. Thrilled by this information, I began reading her current posts and archived ones as I have the time.

Then I found a post that she wrote about me, and my wedding. A post in which she made fun of my ceremony - not, as she indicated in her post, for the purpose of being genuine in her writing, but simply because the funny things she was thinking were too funny to keep inside her own head.

I was not OK with this. Her words hurt me, and I was also hurt by the many comments to her post in which people also laughed at the story and not a single person said, "Gee, I'm glad you didn't talk about me that way."

I thought of many snide, sharp comments that I could make to her about her post. Then I realized that the best response is no response at all. But of course, God loves me too much to leave me where I am. God showed me the times that I have said, written, or thought things primarily because they were funny, even though I had a great potential to cause pain with my humor. God reminded me that my job as a Christian is to rise above my own feelings and show love when I am hurt (though I don't want to, sometimes).

Through this experience, I am reminded of the complex power of our words. There are many who would claim that to censor ourselves is to sell out or to water down our work. I believe that we, as professional writers, have a heavy obligation. Our words can hurt, can give voice to the truth, can empower, can instigate trouble. Words have sparked revolutions and reconciliations. We do not always get to see the end result of our words. Writers know that a simple statement can be crafted to slight someone, to rebuke them, or to embarrass them, as well as to neutrally offer information. We can trigger many things in each other by what we say, and writers know how to say it to best effect, even if there is no overt message that someone can point to as an intention to hurt someone.

I would like to propose that writers should consider whether a thing truly needs to be said before it is communicated. Of course, we are not responsible for another person's actions. Like the wind, we have no control over where our words go or who they might touch - especially when the words are written. This should make us doubly cautious about what we write and how we write it. I would like to encourage writers to question their motivations. Is this writing honest, kind, and genuine? Is it written or said to impress others with our wit or intelligence, or does it truly serve a purpose? If the writing is likely to hurt someone, are we willing to accept responsibility for that hurt and to make amends?

God has given writers the talent to communicate, and we should always use that talent responsibly. Since God has given us our gifts, we should honor God in what we write.

Think Like a Writer

2007-04-19T11:45:00.001-05:00

This month marks a special anniversary for us - one year since the inception of Pearl Writing Services, after leaving corporate life and founding my own business. I have learned an incredible amount about freelance writing in the last year. In thinking over the past year, I want to share tips that can help other new freelance writers start their own businesses. To begin with, I'd like to share a few tips from some of my best teachers, on how to think like a professional writer.

Tip #1: Make sure your audience 'gets' it.
Early in my writing career, I was fortunate to study under many exceptional teachers and artists. My first college writing professor was the talented Paulette Roeske, a poet and former editor of the Willow Review. At the time, my contributions to the literary world were an 18-year-old's musings on alienation and middle-class values. In a poetry workshop where my most beloved poem (and still one of my favorites) was torn apart and badly misunderstood by the class, I could be silent no longer.

"I'm trying to describe a person's disassociation with modern life," I protested.

"That's a worthy goal," Ms. Roeske laughed. "But as you can see, your audience isn't getting that out of your poem."

The goal of writing, simplistic as it sounds, it to communicate. We can write the most personal, lyrical, clever piece ever penned, but if our audience doesn't extract the meaning, we have failed. More importantly, it's unlikely that an editor will ever publish writing that is understandable and relatable only to the author. If your goal is to pour out your feelings and personal viewpoints for your own enjoyment or release, that's a fine goal. But if you are writing for others, be sure that your thoughts and imagery are accessible to the reader.

And don't take the attitude that your readers are uneducated boors whose imaginations were surgically removed at birth. They don't have the luxury of crawling inside your head and tapping into your personal imagery and ways of describing the world. All they have is the words you've put down on a page, and they have to extract meaning from only what you have written, not what you intended to write. Granted, you may lose a reader here or there, but if you receive regular feedback from readers that indicate they have missed your ideas, it's time to go back and edit your work.

Tip #2: I'm a writer, what do you want me to write?
Many people limit themselves by believing that they can only write one thing - religious devotionals, poems, press releases. I once took a seminar from the fantastic writer and editor Dr. Dennis E. Hensley of Taylor University in Fort Wayne, Indiana. He reminded us that a talented writer has an ability that can't be learned, but that can be developed further. A skilled poet can learn how to write magazine articles, and a journalist can learn to write e-books. Talented writers can research previously-unknown topics and communicate new ideas with flair. As Dr. Hensley said, "I'm a writer, what kind of writing do you need done?"

I found this to be true when I began freelancing. Before accepting new projects in the past year, I knew nothing about Gaelic football, jewelry-making and beading, or physician recruiting. But my years of experience in writing and researching led to lucrative jobs in which I also expanded my horizons and learned about many new fields. Each time I was asked about a job, I didn't stop the process by telling the client, "I'm sorry, but I don't know anything about writing promotional flyers for theraputic movement." I relied on my talent and learned the rest.

Other people limit themselves by believing they "sell out" if they write for pay anything less than what they are most passionate about. It is not my intention to add further heat to this argument. I can only offer my perspective on writing, which is this: I have been given a talent from God to write, and I love writing. To be able to make a living doing something that is so easy and enjoyable is, to me, bliss. Furthermore, I work as a freelance writer, not a corporate writer, which means that I decide what jobs I accept and who I work for. If I absolutely hate a particular topic or feel that to write about that topic would cause me to fall asleep in the middle of a line, slumping over the keyboard with my forehead pressing the letter "Y" several thousand times, I can decline that job. If I work for a client that proves to be difficult, I can choose to never work with that client again. I never had that freedom working in Corporate Prison - nor did I usually have the opportunity to meet people from the various walks of life that I have encountered since freelancing.

When my children were little, we used to play a game in which we identified some of the worst jobs available. We decided that being a Port-A-Potty cleaner or working on a road-tarring crew in the middle of a 100-degree heat wave were some of the most miserable jobs we could think of. By that perspective, what I do as a freelancer is unbelievable fun, and most of the time it pays the bills very nicely, too. However, most of the time I find myself lost in my work and forgetting to eat lunch or running late for something else because I enjoy what I do. When I am not on a tight deadline, I also have the time to write other things that I am most passionate about. I am a writer, and I love to write.

Stop by soon to read the next tips about writing: how to manage your business.

Don't Try This at Home

2007-04-12T14:44:00.000-05:00

Ever had one of those conversations that don't leave your mind afterward? I'm still having an internal conversation that in reality ended a year ago...but I am still thinking of pithy responses.

During a conversation about our respective (and vastly different) professions, someone said to me, "I think in some ways I'm actually a better writer than you."

Ummm...yeahhh.

This person offered no evidence of this statement and I was hard at work thinking of a Christ-like response, so this statement remained unverified. I am still thinking of a Christian response. And yet...

For the past twelve years I have spent approximately eight hours each day writing, and getting paid for what I write. Before that, I wrote on a part-time basis for many years. I have taken numerous college courses in writing and literature, during which my writing was highly praised by the professors and in which I earned a 3.9 GPA. Several editors have bought and published both fiction and non-fiction work from me. I spend part of each summer's vacation time in workshops at the highly-regarded University of Iowa Summer Writer's program, and have attended numerous other writing conferences such as the Write-to-Publish Christian Writer's Conference. I have excellent grammar, spelling, and punctuation skills, and more importantly, I know how to write a catchy opening, riveting dialogue, and well-plotted stories.

I know there is no sense in arguing that maybe the statement about writing was really all about whether someone thinks Stephen King is a better writer than Shakespeare. Heck, I happen to like both. But in stewing over this conversation and what I should have said, I realized that this is a problem that professional writers struggle with all the time. And I realized that another conversation gives me the analogy that I need to put this all in perspective, even if I don't get a chance to pursue my thoughts with my better-writer-than-you friend.

I have a bassist friend who plays the occasional bar gig and who hates Karaoke with a deathless passion. He believes that Karaoke is killing live music. He feels that karaoke causes physical pain to the innocent bystanders. He tells people that karaoke should be banned.

"Yes," I say, "But the singers are enjoying themselves."

He does not care. Why should other people have to listen to amateurs amusing themselves with a microphone?

"They aren't doing it for you," I suggest. "They're doing it because it's fun for them."

"Then why can't they sing at home and let the professional musicians get paid to do what they're trained to do?"

Yes. The lightbulb goes on for me.

We all have some ability, more or less, to sing, even if it is only in the shower or the car. The average person can appreciate music and generally sings for his or her own enjoyment. The same goes for writing. We all have some abilities, more or less, to write, and most human beings had to endure basic training in both music and language arts in school. Yet, as my friend points out, there is usually a vast difference between the skills of the amateur and the professional. Why not let the professional do what he or she has been trained to do?

One obvious point is that the professional costs money, but mediocrity can be had for free. Yet if your clients or competitors see reader-unfriendly text and layout, grammar and punctuation mistakes, and boring copy, you have just made an ugly and unprofessional impression on them. And then we must consider the painful situation when a celebrity writes an insipid, plotless story that is published solely on the basis of their celebrity, or someone reads some Vogon poetry* memorializing dear, dead Fluffy the cat. Of course amateurs should write, or sing. But we don't all have to experience it.

* If you don't know what Vogon poetry is, drop what you're doing right now and go read Douglas Adams' "Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy." Hurry, run!

If you would like to join in the quest to keep amateurs in their place, here are two tshirts you should buy:

Bad Poetry
Shakespeare

Should you want to support your local artist, I wear a size large.

Let the professionals do their job. Kids, I am a trained professional. Don't try this at home.

Things I Wish Someone Had Taught Me

2007-04-10T10:22:00.000-05:00

At my first professional job after school, I was terrified (and terrorized) by the corporate culture and my lack of corporate skills. I worked in a tape library. For those of you who have never heard of such an obsolete thing, a tape library in those days was filled with large round reel-to-reel tapes. My job was to label and catalog these tapes, to provide sufficient blank tapes for computer mainframe back-ups, and to rotate tapes in and out of archive storage in an offsite warehouse. My job was made much more terrifying by my incompetent supervisor, who felt no need for an assistant, especially since it was clear to both of us and the entire computer operator staff that I was hired in the hopes that they could get rid of her. Which they did as soon as I was fully trained.

As I said, I had no corporate skills. My first meeting was a humiliating experience. We worked in a beautiful corporate park with woods surrounding the meeting rooms, and floor-to-ceiling windows that allowed the wildlife to examine with curiosity the indoor prisoners. At our late-evening discussion between me, my supervisor, and her manager, in which she was complaining that I didn't answer the phone correctly and I didn't file tapes quickly enough while she smoked in the break room, I saw a pair of enormous eyes loom up outside. I shrieked. They looked at me the way you'd look at a potentially dangerous elf. I explained that I'd seen a deer gazing through the window. After another moment of disdainful looks, they returned to their agenda. They didn't say a word about my outburst. They pretended I had never made a sound!

Clearly I had a lot to learn about acceptable meeting behavior, which apparently included becoming emotionless and unflappable in the most bizarre situations. I wish someone had taught me that ahead of time.

Over the years I had a few phenomenal managers, one of whom became my mentor for several years. Cathy taught me an incredible amount about professionalism, writing, and believing in my own abilities. In memory of that wonderful relationship, I have a few things to share, information I wish I had known at age twenty-two. This excerpt is from a recent business writing project - an excellent 80-day training program by Eskridge & Associates on physician recruiting.

"Pay attention to the skills involved in proper verbal communication. Learn how to project your voice; it is one of the best tools you utilize daily. If you’re not certain of the quality of your telephone voice, record yourself. This will not only help improve your voice projection, it will also improve your presentations.

Vocally you should strive to convey the qualities people expect from a professional: enthusiasm, confidence and sincere interest. You also want your personality to come across. You can achieve this by varying your volume, inflection and rate of speaking.

• Confidence is conveyed by projecting with a full voice
• Intelligence is conveyed by speaking clearly and distinctly
• Sincerity is conveyed by lowering your voice and being relaxed
• Enthusiasm is conveyed by your smile and spirit."

I have worked with training programs for many years, and I have found very few programs that are as comprehensive and success-inducing as this program. Bob Eskridge designed a motivating and upbeat a 3-month course that teaches a new physician recruiter how to find and cultivate clients and how to recruit candidates. His program also teaches a trainee sales and marketing skills, business behavior, technology skills such as how to set up folders and reminders in Microsoft Outlook, and planning and organization skills. The course develops the whole individual by teaching him or her to handle rejection and cultivate effective time management skills.

I wish someone had taught me these things when I first started my business career, lo these many years ago. Kudos to Eskridge & Associates for valuing their associates so highly!

My 5-Second Commute

2007-04-06T12:58:00.000-05:00

Today I actually got dressed for work, rather than working in my pajamas until lunchtime. I kept my fuzzy slippers on, as you can see. Then I kissed my husband goodbye and walked the five steps across the hall to Pearl Writing Services' main office. I have a five-second commute.

It wasn't always like this. In my corporate life it took me at least 45 minutes to drive seventeen miles to work, a drive that I detested each and every day. Rush hour begins at 6:30 each morning and makes us all crazy until about 10 a.m., and then begins again around four and lasts until six. If you're going downtown, it's even worse.

Yeah, yeah, I listened to books on CD, I sang along to the radio, prayed out loud (and prayed that people wouldn't notice me praying out loud, or if they did, that they would think I was talking into my Bluetooth), filed my nails, updated my planner, learned to play the harmonica, learned to speak Italian, and flossed my teeth. The summer before my wedding, my commute time was Project Status Time, a teleconference meeting with my then-fiancee to discuss milestones, to-do lists, outstanding deliverables, and the critical path to September 5th. It was his favorite time of the day, a time to show me the fullness of his love by indulging my extreme need for planning, while thankfully missing out on a daily grumble about the traffic: "Why are we slowing down now? Keep moving! Ohhh gosh I can't believe this, it's sucking my life away."

BC (before corporate), I worked at restaurants while going to school. My commute often consisted of me hoping (because I didn't pray back then) that the cops had suddenly gone blind while I sped through orange traffic lights and squealed around corners, predictably ten minutes late. At times I had someone else drive so that I could get dressed in the car - and if you have never pulled on pantyhose, falling all over the seat and trying to stay below the sight-line of truck drivers while the driver swerves through traffic, you have never truly lived.

I love my five-second commute. I don't even go out during rush hour if it is humanly possible to avoid it. I love my AC (after corporate) life. My boss sometimes requires me to work odd hours but she never makes me wear pantyhose, and she understands if I just have to run out to buy some picture frames or meet a friend to plan tomorrow night's sushi dinner...which is the engagement I am late for right now. I hope the cops are still blind. But I know that my boss understands that I have to go, because she loves me.

A Green Office

2007-04-02T18:40:00.001-05:00

A week without blogging is the result of a Spring Break week partially consumed by painting and organizing Pearl Writing Services' home office. We are now officially moved into the spring green office that reminds me of the green shoots and new leaves outside. Spring is here!

Speaking of green, one of our goals for this year is to reduce our ecological footprint. What's that, you ask? It is the amount of the earth's resources you use, pollute, or waste. I found information about ecological footprints on the Earth Day Network. Though I thought the lifestyle changes we'd made after I studied Environmental Biology were sufficient, I learned that if everyone lived as I did, we would need 4.5 planets! So further changes are underway. Want to know how you score, and how you can become more earth-friendly? Take the quiz at http://www.myfootprint.org/.

The past few months of my blogs have often concentrated on Ireland and Scotland, and all things Irish. However, Pearl Writing Services has two summer trips scheduled that will provide months of entertainment and edification for all my loyal readers. The first trip is a Caribbean cruise; the second trip is a High School Mission Trip to Puerto Rico. To prepare, I am learning some Dutch and brushing up on my Spanish. I also love to read fiction about the places we will visit. Have a recommendation? Just reply to this post or email Pearl Writing Services.

This month, I continue writing and editing lesson plans for Eskridge & Associates Physician Recruiter training. Last week I was blessed with the opportunity to work with Pastor Marvin Bembry of New Beginnings Ministries of Lake County on an inspirational book. Pearl Writing Services is working with Shepherd of the Lakes Church to produce newsletters and promotional materials for the Youth Ministries, which include grades 5 through 12, and our company is also consulting with the Saline Community Church of Saline, Michigan on website design and content management. All this, plus a class in Adobe Photoshop. What a blessing to be able to do work that I absolutely love, and serve God as well!