| |
| |
|
Writing Information |
|
|
|
Becoming A Successful Author: The Price!
So you want to be a successful author? You want to be up there with Brown, Archer, King, but what price are you prepared to pay? You might be lucky and your first book could be an overnight success but the chances are you'll be hacking it for years before success knocks. If you decided to become a lawyer, an accountant, a bricklayer, or even to start an 'ordinary' business then you would be prepared to make sacrifices, to invest in the future. Why expect it to be different?? The amount of effort you put into your apprenticeship will dictate how successful you will be as a fully fledged tradesman, a successful author! Are you prepared to spend a year putting a novel together to have it rejected by not one, not two, not three but four publishers? Are you prepared to take the novel sit down and do a major rewrite! If you are then you might, just might, be more successful second time around. Harder still are your prepared to accept that the book just doesn't hack it and bin it! There are very few real overnight successes: role up your sleeves and do some hard graft, learn the trade. Then you'll succeed. Competitions are a good starting point. You are continuously challenged to meet deadlines. You should aim to enter at least one competition a month and you should aim to enter all the major competitions for new writers. For details on current competitions see my website http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk/competitions.htm Remember that as far as major competitions are concerned you can 'win' without collecting the first prize, though that would be nice! Get a good mention and it will do your career the world of good. Publishers are often asked to judge competitions, think name recognition. Competitions also help you understand what it is you are doing wrong, and what it is you are doing right. Contact the winner, congratulate them on their success, ask them for a copy of the winning entry and see how it differed from yours. When entering a competition you are effectively asking someone's advice, you are asking them is my entry the best in the bunch. And they will say either yes or no! The price here is rejection. If possible get your own personal critic. Your wife, husband, girlfriend, boyfriend, sibling. Anyone as long as they are prepared to give you a good, fair, honest opinion and not just say for an easy life, 'that's a fantastic story.' If they're not prepared to give it to you, warts and all, then let them wait until they eventually see your name in print. A good place to find honest critics is at your local writing group. Join one, join two - but join! Some people underestimate these groups; think that they are just a bundle of middle age women playing at writing. In many cases that is correct but there is always one or two serious authors there and it is those you want to meet. Together you can knock ideas of one another. Believe me you will learn and grow. You wouldn't dream of becoming a lawyer or a doctor without buying the books necessary to study. Granted you'll not buy them all, you'll borrow some, perhaps most, from the university library but there are key books you'll need throughout your career and these you will buy and use again and again. Why on earth are you not prepared to invest in your chosen career by buying your own trade books? I've given a list of the most popular ones over on my website. They're not all essential, like all reference books there is some cross over. But please: beg, borrow or steal (no skip that last one!) at least three of them. I've suggested the main ones. It's all part of the price. You've decided on the genre you're going to specialize in. You have, haven't you!! Well then make it a point to read at least one, if not two, books in that genre each week. We all like to go to our local library and borrow books, and I'm all for supporting my local library. Be honest though, they are totally under-funded and while my librarians are wonderful they can't come up with the goods. I'm not suggesting buying a new book every week but I do suggest buying one every four to six weeks. You must keep up with what the market is producing. My site carries information on what is current - http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk/reviews.htm. For those of us who are forty plus tax there is the added danger of reading what we like: be careful, ask yourself the question would your favourite author hack it today? Consider collecting the works of a particular (modern) author who you appreciate and admire and don't be afraid to use the yellow marker, after all they are text books, not collector's items. What ever you do, don't try to be the same.. Why be a second rate Stephen King, or Jeffery Archer when you can be an original! © Kevin Hart MA BA(hons) ABC Writers Network 2005 http://www.abcwritersnetwork.co.uk
MORE RESOURCES:
Writing - Google News |
|
|
|
RELATED ARTICLES
Dont Make This Huge Writing Mistake! You can create a great headline, a dynamic first sentence, and a brilliant lead paragraph. But if you can't hold readers during those middle paragraphs, they'll never see your conclusion. Beginners Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as a Freelancer Beginner's Blues: How to Collect Samples, Testimonials, and References as a Freelancer by Brian S. Konradt of BSK Communications and AssociatesMy samples are self-selling. Writing Made Them Rich #4: Paulo Coelho Paulo Coelho was born on August 24th 1947 in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil.At age 17 he announced his intention to be a writer. The Top Five Mistakes That Companies Make with Regard to Technical Documentation I've seen it time and again. One of the most common weaknesses that I've seen in engineering companies-indeed, an almost universal fault-is the lack of proper technical documentation. Starting a Local Writers Group My husband is no poet, so when I offer my carefully pruned poetry for him to review, I get the usual and unsatisfying reply: "That' nice sweetie." Furthermore, he could care less about whom the Poet Laureate is and why I love his smoke pit conversation type poems. Publisher Ethics For Reprint-able Articles Let's Discuss Publisher Ethics:If you are an ezine publisher or webmaster that likes to use supplemental content from the many free articles available for free reprints on the Internet, this article may save you from a very expensive copyright infringement lawsuit. Stealing articles by violating the posted reprint rights is copyright infringement theft. A Freelancers Journey, Part One Today it begins.I have always known I was a freelancer. Its All About YOU! The Hottest Word on the WebDid you know marketing people and copywriters are developing a science about writing for readers in this new medium called the Web? In fact, they use carefully selected words to catch a reader's attention. Here are a few:NewTrueAuthoritySexualGuaranteedBonusFirstQuickNowCatchFastPersonalSpiritualSuccessFreeThese words are not in any order of importance or frequency. Good Writing Good writing is like sex. Two people are involved - the writer and the reader. That Cute Lil Ol Apostrophe Have you ever had a student write to tell you they've achieved Grade A's at exams? I have, and one of them was a grade A in English!The apostrophe seems to be the most misunderstood punctuation mark in the English language, and yet its use is really very simple.There's really only one rule: an apostrophe is used to replace one or more missing letters. Become the Writer You Always Dreamed of Being So you want to be a writer, except you don't know where to begin. Heck you can't even think of something to write about let alone how you're going to get paid for writing. Passionate About Writing? I'm a writing fool! 2 book proposals, 1 user's guide, a business technology analysis paper, and a FileMaker Pro 7 application! Can you say, "RedBull?" Actually, my preferred energy drink of choice is Monster. But I'll save my energy drinks discussion for another time. Write a Letter, Make a Difference Today I took the dog for a walk and realized that there is a letter that I must write. Near our house, we walk up a once paved road that is now mostly rock and mud. How To Write Your Book Within A Week Everyone has a book inside them, or so the saying goes. But few people get that book out. Written Communications - 6 Tips on Language & Tone In most aspects of business, we will be expected to write a message to a client or customer, in the form of a letter, memo or e-mail. Language and tone in these communications is vital to the relationship with the recipient, and can mean the difference between a sale and a lost prospect. 7 Devastating Writing Mistakes and How to Avoid Them Writing engaging articles and energizing ad copy takes more than just typing out what you want to say. By correcting these major mistakes, your copy will soar to newfound heights. Taking the Free Out of Freelance Writing When you run an online agency for freelance writers, editors and proofreaders you'd think the biggest problem would be attracting employers who are willing to pay a decent hourly rate for freelance writing. You'd be wrong. Make Your Readers Cry You know, I really hate it when someone catches me crying over a book.I surreptitiously dab at the corners of my eyes with a finger. Effective Collaboration - Working With Your Ghostwriter Using a ghostwriter to craft your free reprint articles and marketing materials is an excellent way to maximize your time and profit. The fastest and most effective way to find a freelance ghostwriter or editor is to post your writing projects on an on-line service like Freelance Work Exchange at http://tinyurl. 6 Ways to Jump-Start Your Writing Day 1. PLAY A GAME LIKE SOLITAIRE.
|
| home | site map |
| © 2006 |
