Strong writing requires strong verbs. That’s nothing new. It’s far better to say enraged than angry and exhausted rather than very tired. There are tons of articles about that on the net. What isn’t talked about as often is the ways we soften language.
Blogging is fun. I love writing my blog. But it is more than that. It’s a commitment to my readers and my industry. It’s a commitment I take seriously.
Writing a blog takes discipline. You owe your readers consistently good content that can be found on a regular basis. As a working writer, it’s not always easy to honor that commitment. Life gets in the way, which is why discipline matters. It helps to be organized too.
Writers write. It’s what we do. These days the easiest way to do that is to write a blog. Most writers have one. Some use it to post news and updates on their work. Others write about their families and lives. Then there are those, like me, who write about writing, which makes sense since writing is my passion. It’s also a great way to give back to the industry and share what I know while meeting other writers and writers in training.
There aren’t rules for being a writer. No requirements to get the job. No employer or client requires a certification, test or degree. But there are things every writer should avoid in order to be successful. Most of them are common sense, or perhaps common business sense. Others are industry specific.
Here are some of the top things you should never do as a professional writer.
No matter what you write, earning money from your writing means you are running a business. If you want to be serious about having a writing career, one that will allow you to pay your mortgage and eat, then you need to know what you are getting into and plan accordingly. Here are 15 tips for setting up a professional freelance writing business.
Through the years, I’ve known a lot of people who were freelance writers. Some of them did it on the side and others wrote for a living. The big difference between the two groups was how they approached the work. The ones looking at it as extra money, typically didn’t approach it like a business. It was just a part-time gig that brought in a bit of extra cash. It was not how they paid the mortgage or put food on the table.
Working with an editor is like any other business relationship. It requires professionalism and courtesy. Never forget that writing is a business. Just as you would hire a lawyer to negotiate your contracts, you need an editor to publish your work. They are there to partner with you to create something better.
The traditional view of a freelance writer is someone who spends her day querying magazines and writing articles and many do. But the majority of independent writers earn their money through client work. It’s more consistent and offers more opportunity than the magazine market.
Setting is key in any story, whether you’re talking novels or films. Setting is what gives a story a sense of place, ambience, mood and texture, so picking the right location is everything. Stories set in New Orleans are vastly different than those set in New York or Hong Kong. Even neighborhoods have different nuances—think Chinatown versus Greektown or Queens versus the Bronx.
There are those in freelance writing who advocate (loudly, I might add) to choose a niche and stick to it if you want to make money. I get it. It’s easier to market yourself if you have a specialty. But being a freelance writer should be about more than the money. It should be about the writing. Choosing a niche is not always the best option.
I am often asked why I don’t read ebooks more? Especially given my space issue with my large library. What can I say? I prefer paper. I want to hold the book in my hand and feel the pages as I turn them. I want to browse my shelves and pull books down to flip through old favorites and to search for my next adventure to read. Scanning electronic shelves is not the same. There’s no anticipation of seeing titles from across the room and remembering the moment I found it waiting in a book store for me.
Today’s blog is a bit of a rant about my library—my personal library. Now, I am the first to admit I own a lot of books. Just over 7,000 at last count. But that does not make me weird or a hoarder. I simply refuse to believe that books can be hoarded. A library is a treasure of stories, worlds and knowledge, not a pile of rotting papers moldering in the corner. There’s a difference.