Back in the mid to late 1980s I was a security guard. The pay was lousy, but it gave me many hours in seclusion to write short stories and novels. However, I usually worked over 80 hours a week. No one can write that much. Well, at least not me. Thus I discovered the joys of my local libraries. Recently, I decided to look up an author who gave me great pleasure in those days. Most of his books are now out of print, I’ve learned, even the one that became a movie. I found that two of his were books available, so I ordered them. One I’d enjoyed before. The other was a straight thriller from the days before he created the “Appleton Porter” spy spoofs, re-released in 2001 in POD. I didn’t know this before it arrived at my home in China. Since I’m giving away THE plot spoiler, I won’t identify the author or title. A man who deeply loves his wife buys her a hotel outside London. She is very happy there, at first. This is a fine suspenseful read as she notes oddities and eventually appears to be losing her mind and such. Suicides, an eventual murder. Finally, her husband pays a doctor to kill her. The husband arranged all this, we learn at the end, because she was dying of a horrible and incurable illness. Rather than let her suffer the indignity, he tries to give her some final days filled with wonderful memories. He never realizes that he ended her days with a living hell. The writing was fine, aside from some stupid typos of the sort common in unedited POD titles. He’s obviously a sincere, hard-working, talented author. The plot was wholly consistent and everything “worked. ” So why is it a weak book? Because the plot I described is all there is. It’s a one-plot wonder. As an author, if you find yourself floundering, if you find your work-in-progress failing to make progress, ask yourself. Is it a one-plot wonder? Here are some best sellers I’ve read over the past thirty years. During the Cold War, a Soviet commander steals a top-secret submarine and tries to defect to the US with it. A good and idealistic young law graduate accepts a job too good to be true, only to eventually learn he’s working for the Mafia. An alcoholic ex-author and his family become caretakers at an old Maine hotel, alone during the winter, and he eventually goes nuts. A US President declares war on drug dealers, a “clear and present danger” to national security. A crippled author is kidnapped by the ultimate fan. I choose these titles because all were made into movies I’ve seen. None of my plot summaries are wrong. But with some of those novels, there are many more plots and subplots at work. These are the novels that didn’t always translate well to the big screen due to time constraints and/or loss of non-objective voice. I love a well-conceived “what if” scenario, and none of these books lack that. But more importantly, I love a novel that’s rich with the fabric of life. That’s where multiple plots come into play. Very rarely will a movie capture this as well as a novel can. A one-plot wonder is a boring read. It’s a boring write. It’s not realistic. And, it’s a hard sell. All your eggs are in one basket. If the editor isn’t enthralled with that sole plot, you aren’t published. If the reviewer isn’t enthralled with that sole plot, he pans you. If the potential reader isn’t enthralled with that sole plot, he doesn’t buy your book. Or if he does, maybe you don’t get any repeat business from him. You don’t get mine. Plus, we should be setting the bar a bit higher for ourselves anyway. We entertain, but we also enlighten and educate. Or at the very least, provide needed escape. But it’s hard to escape to a one-plot wonder. I keep taking coffee breaks between chapters. I single out no writing medium with this. All are guilty. Come on, Terminator 2 has more subplots than many successful books these days. And it’s not just “these days,” incidentally. The title I reviewed early in this article is from 1979. Published, successful, well-written, flat. Craftsmanship is fine. Craftsmanship is wonderful to behold. Craftsmanship is a necessity. But, it’s not enough. Do you want to build a horse barn that never leaks or do you want to build a two-story A-frame home that survives five hurricanes undamaged? My carpenter did the latter and I can’t do the former. But if I had the ability to build a leak-proof barn, I certainly wouldn’t limit myself to barns. I’d try to build houses. I’m not talking about weighty tomes. Times change, readers change, and most people don’t read them any more. What was once considered gripping is now considered boring. But one-plot wonders also bore readers. They read it, enjoy it moderately, then go look for something else to do. There’s little satisfaction at the end. Rarely the big “wow” that probably made you start writing in the first place. I’m talking about shooting for five stars instead of two or three. I’m talking about richness of story, raising the standard, writing your absolute best instead of settling for adequate. I risk oversimplification here, but I’m seeing far too many one-plot wonders. People are buying them, too. But it’s time for us, the authors, to quit writing them.
Tag Archives: writing
Interview with Suspense Author Peter Abrahams
Peter Abrahams is the author of thirteen novels, including “The Tutor,” (Ballantine Books) “A Perfect Crime,” (Ballantine Books), “The Fan” (Fawcett Books), and most recently, “Their Wildest Dreams” (Ballantine Books). Known for his sharp wit and incredible gift for keeping readers on the edge of their seats, Abrahams has been entertaining readers for more than two decades–spinning multi-layered tales involving ordinary people who find themselves in horrific situations. Nominated for the Edgar Award, and known for his memorable, unique characters, colorful writing style, and non-stop suspense, Peter Abrahams seems to have it all–even the praise of horror author Stephen King. Here is what he had to tell Writer’s Break. THE INTERVIEWWB: What formal training did you have before becoming an author?Peter: I had little formal training. My mother–who wrote television drama–taught me a lot about writing when I was very young. For example–don’t use linking words between sentences (however, nevertheless, etc. ), but use linked ideas, mood, rhythm. WB: What’s a typical writing day like for you? Peter: Typical writing day–I drive my daughter to school, hit the gym, then breakfast and finally the office, where I work from about 10 to 5. Late in a book I sometimes do more after dinner. WB: How long does it typically take for you to complete a novel?Peter: The actual writing of a book takes me 5-6 months if everything is going well. I wouldn’t call myself fast, just steady. WB: What inspired you to write your latest novel, “Their Wildest Dreams”?Peter: I don’t know if inspired is the word. I’ve often got little ideas drifting around in my mind. In the case of “THEIR WILDEST DREAMS,” I was thinking a struggling woman and a Russian immigrant and a heist gone bad. Then, on Don Imus’s radio show, I heard Delbert McClinton singing a song called When Rita Leaves. Most of the story–Mackie, the southwest, the dude ranch, Buckaroo’s–came to me in the next five minutes. WB: How did you decide to become a full-time novelist? What were you doing before?Peter: The short answer is that I finally started doing what I was designed to do. The long answer isn’t that interesting. Earlier, I worked in radio. Before that, I was a spearfisherman in the Bahamas. WB: What would you say is the “best” and “worst” aspects to this job?Peter: The best is that hard-to-describe pleasure that comes with making something out of nothing. The worst? A toss-up between the business aspects and the solitary nature of the job. WB: Who are some of your favorite authors?Peter: Lots of dead favorites, and a few living ones, including Stephen King and Saul Bellow. WB: What can fans expect from you next?Peter: My next book, “OBLIVION,” comes out next year. It’s my first detective novel. I think I can safely say that the detective, Nick Petrov, faces challenges unlike any previous fictional detective. I’m also involved in another new thing for me–a young adult mystery series that I’m really excited about. WB: Do you do a lot of research for your books?Peter: Research–it depends what you mean. A lot of it just comes from living. But as for all the little facts, I do what I have to to get them right. I visit places I write about–some, like southern Arizona in “Their Wildest Dreams,” have a deep effect on me. WB: What would you like to do if you weren’t a novelist?Peter: If I wasn’t a novelist, I’d like to be a musician. WB: What advice would you give to aspiring writers?Peter: My advice to writers, at least those of the narrative kind: Don’t watch TV. There’s nothing for you there.
Write a Better Technical Article in Half the Time
Good technical articles are challenging to write. They’re time-consuming, demanding to research and hard to organize. But they’re valuable weapons in the PR and marketing arsenal, and you need them. If you can outsource the article, great. That’s what writers like me are here for. But if you can’t or don’t want to — then read and apply the tips below to save time and energy on research and writing, and come out with a much better product. Get Ready1. Review your resources hard copy like books and articles, Web access, interview contact information. 2. Arrange for interviews if you need them, it always takes a while to track down the interviewees. Note: If you’re ghostwriting an article for a company, you may not have an interview past the initial meeting. 3. Make sure you know the following: a) the reader’s challenge, b) the key message relating to their challenge, and c) the type of reader you’re writing to. 4. Understand the main message the client want to communicate. Many technologies are similar, but your client will have a defined slant on their implementation. (If they don’t, they should this is your chance to offer them your strategic message building services. )5. Even “vendor-neutral” articles are written with a point of view either the writer’s or the company the writer is working for. This is only a problem if the article bias makes for a misleading article, or tells a whopping big lie. Outline6. Never skip this step, for your own or your readers’ sakes. Outlines speed up your writing, and readers will follow your argument much better. 7. Organize your research into three themes. Some thematic organizations are obvious for example, I wrote an article on three steps to optimizing your storage. In other articles, there may be several possibilities. There is probably no one right choice, so if two or three seem fine to you, just pick one and go with it. 8. Remember your junior high school/high school/college outline lessons? They apply. If you don’t remember your lessons, here’s a reminder: I. Introduction (Outline problem, introduce solution, state theme) II. Body A. 1st major point B. 2nd major point C. 3rd major point III. Conclusion (short case study/example, restate solution, concluding paragraph)9. Put your outline on paper and let it guide you as you go. It’s not iron-clad if a new organization presents itself while you’re writing you can change it but don’t do it too much or you’ll defeat the outline’s purpose. Writing the Rough Draft10. Here’s the key to writing your rough draft: Just Do It. Write without thinking about it. Paste in random chunks of text from your research. Write some more. Write in any bizarre, random order. All you want to do at this point is get down large masses of information onto paper. 11. Keep going until you’ve got 2-3 times the words you actually need, then you can stop. 12. Once you have your mass of information on paper, you can organize it into your outline. No big deal just cut and paste paragraphs under the points they best fit. 13. Now that you’ve slapped all of your rough text and research into your outline, guess what? The draft is done. Congratulate yourself and take a break. Subsequent Drafts14. Now it’s time to whip this rough mass into shape. Start by saving your rough draft under a different name. You’re going to be doing a lot of deletions in this stage, and you don’t want to accidentally delete something you meant to use. 15. Working with the new copy, start your edits. Paraphrase the notes you have from other sources — memos, product briefs, other articles, brochures. (Journalists do it all the time. It’s called “research. “)16. I’ll often download online research but mark it in a different color, so as not to commit the embarrassing not to mention illegal — mistake of repeating someone else’s writing. When I’ve learned what I need to from the research, I capture the facts in my own words and delete the original notes. 17. Borrow freely from your client’s Website and other materials. Don’t repeat the text that’s bad policy and bad writing but you’re not going to be accused of plagiarism. Laziness maybe, but not plagiarism. 18. Music can be helpful on writing assignments. Personally, I like Vivaldi for drafting and movie scores for revising. Quite the combo. (As I write this sentence, The Last of the Mohicans is playing. Baroque is better for the draft stage. )19. You might find that dictating works better for you at the rough draft stage. Probably not the old-fashioned kind, where the hard-bitten boss called in his trusty secretary to “Take a memo!” You’re more likely to use an application like Naturally Speaking. This type of application needs a lot of training beforehand the application, not you but can be very helpful for writers who try to critique themselves out the gate. Writing the Final Draft20. You’ve done the rough draft, 1st draft, and are into the 2nd draft. You’ve put everything in your own words and are observing your outline structure. The article is starting to sound less like something you’ll get blamed for, and more like something you might actually claim. 21. Edit for readability, grammar and style. 22. Use active voice in all your writing. “Active voice” is a sentence construction where the subject performs the verb action. Don’t go to sleep on me, this is important. Example: “The dog bit the boy. ” Quick, active, easy. Here’s an example of passive voice: “The boy was bitten by the dog. ” Yikes! 23. Technology writing is full of hideous passive voice construction. Here’s another example from a technology marketing document: “This successful vendor interoperability was demonstrated at the Summit in Chicago. ” Ack! Instead, write: “Vendor teams successfully demonstrated interoperability at the Summit in Chicago. ” See how easy that was? PLEASE use active voice. Everyone will be so much happier. 24. If you learn nothing else about business writing in all your born days, learn to write in active voice. Subject all of your sentences to this simple little exercise and you will improve your writing 100%. 25. Please don’t be boring, but don’t get too cute. I will stick in something funny every once in a while — mostly because I get a big kick out of myself — but don’t get too chummy. Final Draft26. You’re almost there you see light at the end of tunnel, and it isn’t a train. Now is the time to polish sentence structure and word choice, and punch up your paragraphs. 27. Polish your opening paragraphs. Add a snappy lead, define what you’re talking about and why it’s important, and list the three or so points you’re going to make. 28. Read through your article and make sure you’ve made those points. If you did an outline, the main points should already be subheads. (See why an outline is so great?) 29. Polish your conclusion. The conclusion doesn’t have to be undying prose, but do restate your points and conclusions. 30. Read through one more time for overall readability. 31. Run your spelling and grammar check. 32. Save and send but be careful to send the right file! I accidentally turned in my rough draft once instead of the completed final. Luckily this was with one of my oldest clients, so they contacted me and asked me for the real article. A new client would simply have assumed complete incompetence on my part. 33. And for the final tip: everything gets easier with practice. Good thing, too.
Hooks, Lines & Sinkers
Hands up if the title to this article made you think that you’d strayed into a fishing feature?
Perhaps you didn’t quite go that far, but hopefully you were puzzled or curious enough to wonder what on earth those three angling associated words have to do with writing. The answer of course is nothing at all if you are thinking of metal barbs, yards of tangled nylon and blobs of lead weights.
Think, however, of the good opening lines used to begin most successful short stories, novels and articles then the “hook” in our title takes on a whole new range of meanings and equates very well with the world of creative writing.
What most beginners fail to understand when they first begin writing, and this applies as much to articles as it does to short stories and novels, is that when they submit their work to an editor, competition judge or publisher there is only a brief moment to impress which is why a lot of attention needs to be paid to that first opening sentence.
Hooking your reader with a good beginning isn’t a guarantee to success, but it will serve to focus attention and make the judge, publisher or editor take more notice of the rest of the article, story etc. If nothing else, it presses an subconscious alert button in the reader’s mind that marks up the writer as a professional who knows his or her craft.
This in turn builds expectation and again focuses attention. As long as the rest of the piece lives up to its early promise, you can be sure that your effort will at the very least receive close inspection and hopefully much more!
So, just how do you come up with a good hook? It would be nice if I could say that there was some magic formula available but unfortunately I haven’t found it even if it does exist! Still there are several things that you can do to get things moving.
First of all don’t sit staring at your screen trying to think of a good opening line when you have a mind boiling with ideas struggling to spread themselves over the page! All this will do is make you tense up with frustration and dam your creativity.
Instead, start hitting the keys and slap those ideas across the screen! Once you have the basic outline down then you can start the editing process, including the opening sentence. If at this stage you are still stuck, try leaving the work for a few days, there’s a good chance you’ll come up with something when you’re mind is focused on something else and the first flush of enthusiasm has cleared from your brain.
Analogy, such as I’ve used to the fishing world, often provides a good hook. In the case of this article I used it in the title but hooks are used just as often or more so in the opening sentence. My actual opening “hook” made use of a question, which again is a very good way to start, as questions by their very nature demand a response from the reader, even if it is only to read to the end of the sentence!
I took this a step further by demanding physical action, “hands up”, which of course is a ridiculous thing to expect a reader to do when there is no way of knowing whether they have complied or not! It is this stupidity that hopefully grabs attention and carries on from where the title left off. PR writers are well aware of this process and often mis-spell words to create a similar effect .
Quotations and deliberate mis-quotations also make good hooks either from songs, proverbs or other literary works, but also try putting together unusual combinations of words.
For instance, you wouldn’t think that brussel sprouts could possibly have any effect on good or evil and I’m sure they haven’t! One of my son’s however has different ideas and his annual grumble during our recent Christmas meal gave me a marvellous opening line, or hook, for what will be a festive article taking a close look at this, in my opinion, much maligned vegetable!
What was it? Oh yes, when faced with a heap of those shiny green gems he muttered murderously, “If it wasn’t for brussel sprouts there’d be no evil in the world . . . ” now is that a hook or what?
Which brings me on to another point. Hooks, I’ve found seem to have a power in their own right and often serve as a catalyst to the story or article itself which is why you should be on the alert for when they occur.
The brussel sprout incident is a prime example. Writing in any shape or form was the furthest thing from my mind, but the startled looks and laughter from the rest of the family were enough to confirm what I’d immediately thought, here was a hook begging for exploitation and with a enough power of its own to begin generating several lines of thought.
Being aware of hooks and the power they have on the reader is something every writer has to get to grips with if they want to achieve success so it is a good idea to train yourself to both generate hooks and be on the alert for them by listening to what other people say.
Having a small notebook handy makes a lot of sense, but reading what other people have done before you will also pay dividends. Try this quiz of opening lines to famous novels. It’s not easy, but don’t worry about your score, the real benefit of the quiz is seeing what worked for the author.
The scent of slaughter, some believe, can linger in a place for years.
When Mr Bilbo Baggins of Bag End announced that he would shortly be celebrating his eleventy-first birthday . . .
In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth . . .
Scarlett O’Hara was not beautiful, but men seldom realized it when caught by her charm as the Tarleton twins were.
The stranger came early in February one wintry day, through a biting wind and a driving snow . . .
“The marvellous thing is that it’s painless,” he said. “That’s how you know when it starts. ”
Last night I dreamed of Mandalay . . .
A wide plain, where the broadening Floss hurries on between its green banks to the sea, and the loving tide rushing to meet it . . .
Mr Jones, of the Manor Farm, had locked the hen-house for the night, but was too drunk to remember to shut the pop-holes.
“Tom!”
Well, what did you think? Some were definitely intriguing but others in my opinion left a lot to be desired which just goes to show that the proof of the pudding is in the eat. . . er reading so don’t fall into the trap of thinking that the beginning is the be all and end all!
Oh and before you ask, I haven’t forgotten the lines and sinkers either, call those plots and twist endings and to find out more sign up for the WriteLink Short Story Writing Workshop, it’s free! writebytes. co. uk
ANSWERS:
The Loop by Nicholas Evans
The Lord of the Rings by J R R Tolkein
The Bible
Gone with the Wind by Margaret Mitchell
The Invisible Man by H G Wells
The Snows of Kilimanjaro by Ernest Hemingway
Rebecca by Daphne De Maurier
The Mill on the Floss by George Elliot
Animal Farm by George Orwell
The Adventures of Tom Sawyer by Mark Twain
How To Break Into Print Publishing
The big question. Do you submit directly to the publishers, or do you find an agent who will do that for you? Based on anecdotal evidence I’ve heard, it can work either way. The bottom line is, if a publisher reads what he can sell, he’ll buy it. It doesn’t matter if it comes from an author or an agent. The trick is getting him to read it. That’s always your focus. Some people swear by agents because they’re the ones who will get you larger percentages and advances. I’ve decided I don’t care quite so much about that. In the case of a new author, I sincerely doubt that’ll happen anyway. I’d hate to lose my first sale because some greedy agent asked for too much money. Not that I believe that’ll happen either. There are also those who swear by agents because many publishers won’t look at an “unsolicited manuscript. ” That’s true enough. They ain’t got time. They’re using agents as a preliminary screening process. Someone recommended that once you’ve selected some potential publishers, phone each one and ask how they would like to be approached. Ask whom specifically you should address your work to. Then you can honestly call it a “solicited manuscript. ” (Always be honest in your correspondence. ) If this doesn’t work, because you can’t phone or the secretary refuses to cooperate and tells you things like “we only accept material from reputable literary agents,” then mail your query letter, bio, synopsis, and sample chapter(s). They can only say no, or they can say your query looks interesting and they want to see the rest of the manuscript. If you hook a publisher this way, odds are the publisher will like for you to have an agent. So this is when you call one, after you’ve hooked the publisher. The agent gets 15% for doing practically nothing, so he’ll take the job. The publisher will become more interested when your agent phones saying he’s (or she’s) looking after your interests in this matter. The most important step is to get your presentation looking as professional as humanly possible. No mistakes. None. Zero. Nada. The vast majority of rejections aren’t because the story is bad, but because the Acquisitions Editor concludes that it’ll be too much work to make it “ready to read. ” With new authors, publishers usually lose money. Advertising, print inventory. . . don’t ask them to invest a great deal of editing time as well. They won’t do it. It’s just that simple. The Selection Process The most important part of getting your error-free manuscript published is choosing the right market. The best way to do this is to read books that are aimed at the same target audience as your own. If you want to approach publishers directly, look at who published those books. Preferably one who publishes lots of books in that genre, not just one or two authors. Their marketing machine is already positioned to announce your manuscript to your target audience, and they want more books of the type that you write. They are your best bet. Some authors thank their editors. If you’re going straight to the publisher, note the editors’ names and use those, preferably after a phone call to ensure the editor still works there. If you can, just phone the publisher and tell whoever answers the phone something like “I’m writing a letter to so-and-so, and I want to be sure I’m spelling the name correctly. ” If you want to approach an agent first, look in the acknowledgements sections of those books. Some authors thank their agents. Look up those agents and start with them. Tell how you found them. This will impress them. You know they’ve got a track record in your genre. They know how to sell to publishers who are aimed at your target audience, so let them do it. allaboutliteraryagents. com/articlep1003. html offers some additional advice on selecting an agent. Whichever method you use, go in fully prepared. Meaning, work through all the steps below before you submit anything. Overview Your aim is to convince someone who not only does not know you, but does not want to know you, and has read too many bad books, that your book is different. For this you need a cover letter, bio, synopsis, and sample(s) chapter of such sublime wit, wisdom and genius that even the most jaded and cynical editor can take pleasure in it. Take your time. Don’t just whip up something in a day and send it out. You’re probably looking at a one or two year gap between acceptance and publication. So in the grand scheme of things, taking the time to make your presentation really shine won’t matter. EXCEPT, that it’ll ensure you get published in the first place. Every publisher has “writer guidelines. ” Get them. Read them. Follow them. They’re using the process of elimination to get out of reading these submissions. The first step in that process is, bump off everyone who can’t follow the guidelines. Don’t be one of them. Preparing Your Query Letter This will be the first impression that they get of you. Make it a good one! Edit that letter as hard as you would a manuscript, and make the damn thing perfect. Make it good writing. Sum up your book in such a way as to make the recipient of the letter say, “Wow, I want to read this book. ” The first page of your book, along with the jacket text, are what usually determines whether a browser buys your book or puts it back on the shelf. As you write your query letter, think of what you’d put on that book jacket, and work that concept into your letter. Never address your query letter To Whom It May Concern, Dear Editor, or any of that. Get a name. When you find the books that you really like, and are searching them for potential publishers, call those publishers. Ask who edited those books. If you want to approach the publisher directly, write to those editors. You can find advice on writing your query letters etc. at:
adlerbooks. com/ allaboutliteraryagents. com/article1002. html fearlessbooks. com/PublishingGuide. html suite101. com/welcome. cfm/writing_marketing_fiction wga. org/craft/queryletter. html writergazette. com/articles/article299. shtml
The “query letter clinic” in the 2001 WRITERS MARKET is well worth reading. If you’re not going to buy the book, go to the library and read that section of it. With a simple bit of good writing, and we all know you can do that since you’ve already written and polished your manuscript, you’ll make it past this first hurdle. The editor reads your letter, sees nothing in it to stop him from continuing, and has no choice. What would stop him? Typos. Grammar. Spelling. Boredom. Or anything that says “I write so much better than Stephen King that he’s not fit to hold my jock strap. Buy my book and we’ll both get rich. ” Writing Your Bio Don’t lie. That’s the first rule. The second rule is, don’t forget any writing credits. List everything relevant you’ve got. Publications in decent magazines or newspapers. Credits in TV, films, theaters. Any literary prize you’ve managed to get in adulthood. The fact that you’re a Professor of English or an editor on a sports journal. If you have no literary background, no education, or no respectable publications, but you spent fifteen years in solitary confinement in a Siberian Work Camp, that might indicate that you have a story to tell. But if you’re writing about cuddly koalas to entertain the under-five crowd, this piece of information may be more than anyone needs to know. You can list your credits either chronologically or from most impressive to least impressive. Just whichever puts you in the best light. You want to look like you’re already a successful author. You don’t want to sound arrogant, but you do want to sound confident. Keep it to a single page. You don’t want to waste anybody’s time. They don’t have enough. (Who does?) If your bio is so bare of details that it’s more of a liability than an asset, forget about it. Maybe your “bio” equals only a sentence or two, in which case you can work it into your query letter instead of a separate document. Your goal, remember, is to get that editor to read your synopsis or manuscript. To judge it on its own merits. If he reads your writing and rejects it, you gave it your best shot. Try a few more, and if they all reject it, then think about improving your writing. But you don’t want that editor to stop reading your submission before he gets to your writing. So, take the time to do the query letter and bio correctly. Writing Your Synopsis To quote one agent, “There is no such thing as a good synopsis. ” And how can there be? How do you sum up 50,000 or 100,000 words in a page or two? I’ll tell you how I do it. Very badly. Having said that, this is your first chance to show the publisher that you can write. Some publishers want a minimal amount of information on first contact (query letter, bio, synopsis). Others want to see the first chapter or two as well. Nobody wants to see the whole manuscript at first, except those who say so in their writers’ guidelines. If you include sample chapters, the chance of them being read depends largely on the quality of your query letter and synopsis. Keep your synopsis short, two pages maximum unless the writers’ guidelines say differently. Shorter is better. Pick out the theme and the strengths of your book and, in as clever a fashion as possible, relay these qualities in a brief chronology. The chronology is less important than the theme because, in truth, your only hope with a synopsis is that your theme or concept will strike a chord with the editor or agent reading it. If your story is funny, your synopsis should be funny. If it is a romantic story, then your synopsis should be a romantic synopsis. You are a writer, and here is where you can be creative. A lot of the great works of literature do not have easily defined stories, just fine writing and good characters. If you have no story, then you have to sell your idea. The synopsis must have fine, clear writing. Say how your book starts, how it ends, and what is the interest in the middle. This isn’t the time to employ cliffhangers. Your sample chapter should do the main talking, but your synopsis should offer up those clever memorable sound bites that will linger in the editor’s mind and convince him to read the sample chapter. Preparing Your Manuscript Did I mention that your manuscript must be flawless? I’ll mention it again. Your manuscript must be flawless. Especially be sure that the first chapters, the “hook” which you will submit, will be the type that grabs the reader and makes him/her/it wonder what happens next. Beyond that, some mechanics: If the publisher you’re submitting to lists all this information in its guidelines, you’re in luck. Do what they say and they’ll read the manuscript. Fail to do so and they’ll set it down unread, even if you’re the next John Grisham. Remember, they’re budgeting their time and trying to get out of reading this stuff. Once they read it, they’ll be fair. (If not, you don’t want them. ) If it’s good solid writing, you’re in. But until they get to the writing, they’re always expecting the worst. If you’d seen some of the crap that comes their way, you’d be just as pessimistic. But in the end they do love good writing or else they’d quit that job. If the guidelines don’t tell you how to prepare the manuscript, consider the information below as a “generic template. ” Otherwise, ignore my guidelines and use theirs. Fonts – UK publishers prefer Courier New 10pt, US publishers prefer Times New Roman 12pt. Both are trying to ease their eyestrain, so don’t be fancy. Paper sizes – This one’s easy. Letter (8 1/2″ by 11″) in the US, A4 in the rest of the world. (Hong Kong residents can find letter-size paper in Admiralty. City Office Supplies in Tower 1, Admiralty Center, sells it by the ream. Jumbo Grade on the first floor of Pacific Place sells packs of 50 or 100 sheets, I forget which. You can get to either store by taking train/bus/taxi/your car to Pacific Place. ) Binding – US publishers prefer none at all. UK publishers prefer that you punch two holes in the side and use simple brass fasteners to hold it all together – ugly but effective. Use one type of paper throughout your presentation, preferably plain white. (If you have personal stationery that’s not too funky, you can use that for the query letter. ) The title need not appear on the beginning of every chapter, but it’s a good idea to put it on each page, along with your name and the page number, in case the manuscript is separated or mislaid at the publisher’s. Double-spaced text, unjustified right margins, one-inch margins all around. Include a stamped, self-addressed envelope (or self addressed envelope with IRCs) of the appropriate size if you want your manuscript back. Package it so it’s easy to open but not all wrinkled and nasty when it arrives at your publisher’s office. No folded manuscripts hastily stuffed into a manila envelope. No envelopes that scatter hundreds of little brown paper shavings all over the desk. They’re opening far too many of these things, and anything that looks “amateur” gets bumped unread. Publisher List freereads. topcities. com/publisherdirectories. html contains the websites of almost 100 publishers. I recommend visiting this after you’ve gone through the selection process, either from books you read or from a book such as WRITERS MARKET. Agent List When you select an agent, forget about who’s closest to you. Think about who’s closest to the publishers you’re targeting. Those agents are more likely to know which publishers want which types of manuscripts, and they’re also the ones who can lunch with the publisher instead of handling everything by mail or email or telephone. Here’s some advice from the Agent Research and Evaluation website. They define an agent as: “. . . someone who makes a living selling real books to real publishers. No one representing himself as an agent should also claim to be a book doctor, an editor-for-hire, a book ‘consultant’ of any kind. They shouldn’t charge any type of ‘upfront’ reading fee, marketing fee, evaluation fee or any other fee apart from a commission on work sold. “With the possible exception of certain MINIMAL office expenses, legitimate agents NEVER handle [the expenses connected with submitting manuscripts] as an upfront cost. Only as a billable expense after being shown to have been incurred. “Remember, real agents live off the commissions they make from selling their clients’ projects. Scammers live off up-front fees for unnecessary, inadequate, or non-existent services. ” This is excellent advice. Anyone can call himself an agent, get himself listed somewhere, and tell every author who sends him a manuscript “This is excellent. Send me some money and I’ll sell it. ” Then he can pocket the author’s money and do absolutely nothing. Agents work for a percentage of your sales. It’s usually 10%-20%. An agent’s source of income must be the books he sells. If the author pays him before he closes a sale, where is his incentive to close the sale? Insist that your agent send you copies of all rejection letters. A great agent should offer this without you asking, and those rejection letters shouldn’t all be undated “Dear author” or “Dear agent” letters that don’t mention you or your agent or your manuscript by name. Your agent should also involve you in the selection process without you asking, even if that just means telling you “I’m sending to this, that, and the other place. ” Don’t let him/her send your gothic romance to a children’s publisher, etc. If your agent is sending your stuff to the right places and it’s still getting rejected, you’ve done all you can do, except write better. freereads. topcities. com/literaryagentlist. html contains my list of resources for finding an agent in the US or the UK. If you’ve been reading my other advice, you’re already talking to other authors. If you know one who’s made it into print, especially one who writes in your genre, ask which agent (and which publisher and editor) he or she used. Warnings Once you have narrowed down your list of prospects, visit the following sites to learn about the latest scams and such:Bewares Board absolutewrite. com/forum/index. htmlEditor Report geocities.
How Ghost Writing Articles And Booklets Can Earn You Big Money!
Do you want to make $5000, $10,000 or more every month as a freelancer? Does your current published materials earn you that much or are you still struggling looking for new jobs every month? Well, ghost writing articles and books for businesses could earn you a lot of money and end your painful quest for writing jobs.
Making money as a freelance writer can be tough especially for newbies with no samples or prior experience. Most editors want published writers with a proven track record. And the few acceptances you will receive may get you paid $50 or $100 an article. With these figures you can only imagine whether you can make a living freelancing.
Well, its not all doom and gloom as there are other better alternatives. One of these, is ghost writing of articles, books, manuals, e. t. c. for business for fees ranging from $500 to $5000 or even more for big work. A single how-to article could be ghost written for businesses for a fee of $1500 or $3000 depending on the work involved writing and the publications placed in. Surely this is much more than many magazine and newspaper editors pay for single articles from newbies. Sell four or five articles per month and you can consider going full time into freelancing.
GETTING STARTED
To begin with, you need to identify a niche area of you expertise . It could be in medical writing, business writing or a narrow area which you are knowledgeable in or you can make easy inroads into. Not that this limits your market potential but having a niche area of specialization would make it easier to operate, as you will be constantly drawing ideas from a rich and ready knowledge base.
Next, you should research a few ideas and convert them into a few how-to articles in your market niche. Post the finished articles to article submission databases such as:
ideamarketers. com
marketing-seek. com
goarticles. com
ezinearticles. com
articlecity. com
Use the published articles as samples of your writing ability and work. At the same time the articles will be picked and published in hundreds of ezines and high traffic sites, thus gaining free publicity for you and your business.
FINDING BUSINESS
To get business you will need to send letters or e-mails to your local businesses and even those beyond with proposals to write articles for them. Explain to them the benefits of your business such as boosting their business’s image and credibility as well as generate leads for later follow – up. Enclose a few samples, a tentative contract agreement and a cover letter.
You can also purchase or rent business names and addresses from direct mail list brokers, fish out names from your business and yellow pages directory.
Before writing to them, you could do some background check and find out the status and details of the business. If they have a website, you could check it out and get the name of their marketing executive. Address your letter to him/her and offer to call or visit for a detailed business presentation. For businesses which are far away, you could refer them to you website or offer to send them more information by post or e-mail.
WRITING THE ARTICLE
Once you have secured the business’s acceptance and you have signed a contract, you should ask them to send to you brochures, press releases, manuals, e. t. c. Write down a list of questions and send to the marketing executive seeking answers about the business or industry.
You can also do further research at the local library, online libraries and databases and read trade and industry publications for further information to write an outline for a how to-article.
However, do not make a mistake to think that the article will be about your client or load it with so many facts that bore you reader. That could be suitable for a custom -made booklet, manual or newsletter for the client. For articles, it is a different matter. Offer tips, solutions to consumer or business problems or give a valuable insight into a common issue or problem. The article could be about self-improvement, making more money, improving health, planning finances, training e. t. c.
The article would contain the client’s by line and bio. The bio would explain briefly who the client is, the client’s websites URL and e-mail address. This is very useful and will be the centrepiece of the credibility and viral marketing campaign.
Once you have written the article, you need to send a draft to your client for suggestions and revisions. Adopt the suggestions, proofread it and prepare a final draft. Send the final draft to your client and post it to article databases, ezines and syndicates online and offline. In the course of time, the article will be distributed and circulated online and off generating wide publicity for you client.
How long should the articles be? For how-to articles 500-750 words is the standard but where the subject needs exhaustive treatment 1000 to 1500 words is good length. For a higher word count, you should advice your client to consider an ebook, booklet or book. Of course, the longer the article, the higher the fees.
SETTING YOUR FEES
There is no standard way of pricing your article writing services. You should set your fees based on the research work involved, the hours you spend on the work, and expenses involved in producing and publishing the article and a profit.
For a 300 to 500 words article $200 to $300 is fair but as the word count leaps into the hundreds, figures of $1500 to $5000 are reasonable. To convince your customers to cough such amounts, you will need to tell them the benefits of your service and business promotion through articles. You could also offer them various packages laden with bonuses and offers. For example, I offer a package, which includes paid placements to article databases and syndicates, ezines solo ads and press releases writing and posting. All this is done to assure the client cheap maximum and wide exposure no matter what. For booklets and ebooks of less than 50 pages, rates of $3000 to $10,000 are not uncommon. For books a ghostwriter may be paid anything from $20,000 to $100,000 depending on expertise, length and research involved.
At those rates obviously, you will not get everybody in, but for prospective clients who are used to paying hundreds of thousands in advertising dollars they would see it s reasonable and beneficial in the long term.
To ensure that you do not miss business from those who have small budgets to spend on promotion, you can structure your packages according to ability to pay. Those who pay less would get good exposure with no assurance of leads while those who pay more will get an almost guaranteed response.
BENEFITS
Everyone wants to know how he/she will benefit from a product or service. For yourself as a freelancer, you will get booming business and enjoy making money as a freelance ghost writer. You will get more business by collecting and showing testimonials of your satisfied clients and establish a reputation as a prolific writer.
For the clients, you will need to explain to them the benefits of your service. Here are some benefits you can tell them:
Free publicity to millions of prospects online and offline.
The published articles may be used by the client to mail to existing and prospective customers as a free service, building credibility and a positive image of the business in the process.
Leads will be generated for future follow -up. Enquiries will be made about the business and some sales will be made.
The publication of the article online which contains relevant keywords with the clients website URL will increase its link popularity and improve its search engine ranking. This may bring in more targeted visitors to the website.
The client will be given progress reports for at least six months on the places where the articles has been published . You can inform him/her to also search for it on search engines using his/her by-line or article title.
The article could provide spin-offs for other article ideas, which you could slant for various businesses and markets. You could also write new articles every month, post them to article databases and send to prospective clients with a cover letter to market your services.
This ghost writing service could be very lucrative. You could earn tens of thousands of dollars every month from it. You could even get clients worldwide through your website and e-mails to direct response mailing lists.
Only the sky the limit!
Becoming a Writer
The urge to write fiction seems God given for some, a learned skill for others.
One thing is certain it requires practice and a particular mindset. But, if you’re a beginner, where do you start?
The following 10 tips will help kick-start your writing habit, whether you’re a complete novice, or perhaps a pro who has lost their way!
1. Step Away From the Car, Sir.
Slightly detach yourself from your surroundings. Stop participating and begin observing. In social situations, watch people, see how they act and more importantly – interact.
Don’t pass judgment. Take it all in and draw on it later when you write.
2. Look Harder, Homer
Stop and look around you. Consciously notice the buildings, what’s underfoot, overhead, and what’s right in front of you.
At home, look at something you take for granted. An iron, for instance. Find yours and study it.
3. Write Thinking Will Be Rewarded.
A simple technique. Your mother is making tea and you are chatting to her. Take a mental step back and describe the scene.
Similarly, when you’re outside, describe your environment as though you were writing it down.
4. What Reasons Do You Need?
Don’t wait for inspiration just write!
Force yourself to write anything at all. A shopping list. An overheard conversation. Describe your bedroom.
It doesn’t matter how personal it is, or how trivial, just get it down!
5. Wakey Wakey!
Set your alarm clock for an hour earlier than normal.
When the alarm goes off, get up. Don’t dress, bathe or eat. Don’t even make coffee. Just stagger to your writing space and write the first thing that comes into your head for five minutes.
6. Oh God Not That!
Think of the most awful and embarrassing thing you’ve ever done – the more cringe-worthy the better. Now write about it. All of it, in all its gory, horrible detail.
Then hide it away for a year or so before you read it again!
7. Like Your Style, Baby.
Don’t limit yourself. Write poems, songs, dialogue, fact, fiction, even practice writing advertising copy or horoscopes.
Your expertise improves in all areas an improvement in one area can reap benefits in another.
8. The Sincerest Flattery
Take out a classic book from your bookcase. Copy out a paragraph. Think about the words as you write them. Don’t get intimidated!
9. Wanna See My Invention?
When you’re not writing, string together stories in your mind. Think of plots, characters, settings, dГ©nouements.
Ask yourself what you should do next to improve your writing.
Develop this technique into a habit.
10. It’s A Goal!
When you start writing regularly, set yourself small goals. Anything from 200 words a day, or just a commitment to writing in your diary.
Later extend to finishing a short story, or an article or a poem. Perhaps one in a week.
The trick is to set goals you can achieve easily.
That way you’ll get the writing habit – and you won’t forget to enjoy it!
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. It runs behind several houses then up a hill and ends at some very high priced home sites that are, as yet, unbuilt. In the winter this is a beautiful trail lined with small waterfalls and lush green trees, in summer it is a trail overrun by wildflowers that the neighborhood children enjoy picking. This trail, used regularly by its neighbors, is in danger of disappearing. The developer of the homesites is petitioning the city to repave the trail and make it once again an automobile thoroughfare. This trail is a vital part of our neighborhood, and losing it to another street (that would benefit only the future homeowners of 5 homesites) would distress those who use it regularly to walk the dog, teach their children about nature, or to escape the concrete jungle for a moment of peace.
Choose Your Topic
But, of course, the city planners won’t know this unless we tell them. That is what a letter writing campaign is about. telling the people in charge what is important to us. And it is up to each of us to determine what is important, and then appropriately express that opinion. Leaders of government as well as corporate leaders value our opinions, because it is our opinions that keep them in power. Their power to do right (or not) is given to them by us! So, use your power to help create the world in which you want to live. And don’t limit yourself to local issues. There are global organizations that conduct letter writing campaigns to create change socially, politically, environmentally and economically around the world. These organizations need us to speak up.
Verify the facts
Before you begin your letter, do your homework. Who is in charge? Get the correct name and title. Find out what has been done to date regarding this issue. Do an internet search on the topic, visit the library and use the very underused and extremely knowledgeable reference librarian, call the local governing body to determine the status of the issue. If you are writing as part of a globally organized letter writing campaign, the organization conducting the campaign will provide thorough background information for your use. Read this information. It is vital that you are knowledgeable on your topic if you want your letter to be read and taken seriously.
Write an Effective Letter
A letter to any corporate or political official must be professional, concise, and personal. Your goal is to get your letter read, and that will not happen if you don’t maintain these standards. When you are ready to begin your letter, get out a nice white piece of paper and type your letter. Begin with the correct name, address and title of the official as well as the date. Be sure to include your return address on the letter (not just on the envelope) so that you can request and receive a response. Now organize your thoughts (on a separate piece of paper) and begin writing. Keep the following in mind:
Your letter should be short while covering all necessary information.
Be polite and constructive, never inflammatory or accusatory. Presume that the person to whom you are writing is reasonable and treat him or her with due respect.
Be certain of your facts. One incorrect or insufficiently researched fact will render your entire letter useless. Communicate your understanding of the context of the overall situation as well as the specific issue at hand.
Be specific about the action you are looking for, don’t speak about vague or theoretical ideals.
Personalize your letter with information about why this issue is important to you, and how it affects you.
If the organization or person to whom you are writing has taken positive steps on this issue, compliment their action.
Finally, respectfully request a response to your letter and sign your letter by hand.
If you follow these steps, you can create a dialog between yourself and the official in charge. Become a respected member of this official’s community whose opinion is welcome and desired, and you have made a difference.
Follow Up
If appropriate, send a copy of your letter to the local newspaper. Generating more interest in the issue creates better opportunity to create the desired action. Then, keep track of the result of your action. If you receive a response, acknowledge the response and thank the official for his or her consideration. If the action you requested is carried out, send a thank you letter expressing your appreciation. If you hear nothing and the issue seems to be unresolved, send another letter. We have a voice, but it is only heard if we speak!
Checklist for Writing Articles That Get Read
When writing articles for publication, it is important that you bear certain matters in mind. If you want to write a good article that stands a good chance of publication you need to take the following into consideration before, when you are in the process and after completion:
Have you formed a full idea on what you want to write about? Which subject? Which topic?
Do you know where or how to find facts or material for your article?
Have you collected sufficient raw facts/data for your article?
Have you considered the article’s audience / market? Will it interest or captivate your readers?
Does your article have a main idea and secondary ideas?
Have you written enough to give readers quality and credible information?
Does the article offer any new, refreshing and useful advice or ideas?
Are paragraphs short, well arranged and flow smoothly from each other? Are sentences short and well constructed? Is punctuation all right and there are no grammatical mistakes?
Is your article descriptive? Is it sensational, thought provoking, emotive or inspiring? Does it evoke happy memories, sadness or inspire readers to action?
Have you revised the article to flush out irrelevant ideas, strengthen your points and checked it for any errors?
Does your article content infringe any law? Copyright? Libel?
Has the article undergone rewriting through several drafts to polish it?
Does the article make sense?
How to Have an Effective Writing Group
The works you’ve written are numerous, ranging from short stories to even the novel, hidden in a storage bin (under the bed) collecting dust. But there comes a time when you must wipe away that dust, regain your pride, and prepare your babies for publication! But, how do you get such a critical, unbiased eye to analyze your works, offering both praise and criticism?
It’s simple start a writing group!
Creating a writing group is the easy part, but creating a functioning and beneficial writing group can be quite a task.
Writing groups are age-old sessions where writers obtain helpful evaluations for their works. Nowadays, though, writing groups seem to be a fad, and for many a status symbol reassuring them of their writerdom. Don’t create a writing group simply for the sake of saying, “I belong to a writing group”. Create or join a group because of the numerous benefits that come along with them.
Keep Number of Members Limited. You don’t want just one other person in this group. So shoot for 3 or more members. On the other hand, you don’t want to have 30 people in the group either. Try approximately 8-10 members. If one person leaves the group, replace that person with a new recruit. Keep the same standards for all members. Make it standard that members can only join by an invite. Allowing your group to be very exclusive brings the group more pride.
Select Randomly. It’s okay to have a friend in this group, but you chose to create this writing group for unbiased opinions. So don’t allow ALL the members to be your best friends in which you see on a daily basis. Perhaps one member is 18 yrs old, while the other is 35. Keeping age, sex, ethnicity, and educational levels of your group will allow a diverse critique which is ultimately what you’re seeking. A diverse group will only make you and the group much stronger.
Meetings. We’re all struggling writers, so most often the other members of the group will have jobs to attend. So finding an appropriate time for a meeting is crucial. I’ve found that one Sunday per month, after 2 p. m. is great. Make it an odd time. Creating times such as 2:07 p. m. will stand out and allow members to remember. Where are these meetings held? Keep switching locations. Allow the members to rotate the location to each of their homes. If homes are not available, then a select person should discuss where they choose the next meeting should be held. This is the reason membership should be limited to a few members. It’s much easier to meet with just a few people.
Text. Focus your group on either poetry or prose try not to mingle the two. If the text is prose, and the writer wants his novel critiqued, suggest that the novel be submitted on a “per chapter” (or two) basis. Don’t overwhelm the members with too much to read at one time or you’ll end up with no members. The month before your work is critiqued, each writer should submit photocopies of their manuscript to each member.
Know your intentions. Make sure that, for the most part, members have similar goals: to be published or for sheer enjoyment of writing. This will eliminate time wasted if you know this upfront.
Critiquing. When critiquing the text, encourage the members to speak as if the writer isn’t present. In the meanwhile, the author can sit back, take notes, and write down questions the critics may have posed. Encourage the critics to write on their versions of the text before meeting. Allow approximately 20 minutes to discuss each member’s work. Upon completion of the critique, critics should give the author their “corrected” versions. Complete the critique by allowing the author to explain any unanswered questions and to thank the critics.
If members can’t keep up with reading that much work per month, then divide it up. Four writers submit one month, while the remaining four submit the following month. Above all, writing groups should be a relaxed environment away from your significant other, your children, and your job. Let this be a time where you hone your writing skills with the assistance of others who simply seek the same thing.
writing book article 