Quips and Tips for Freelance Writers

Sometimes you’re so enmeshed in your writing, you can’t tell if you’ve improved, gotten worse, or are treading water! Here’s a list of qualities of excellent writers, to help you measure your writing progress and objectively and honestly assess your writing progress. 

First, a quip for writers from Doris Lessing: 

“Advice to young writers? Always the same advice: learn to trust our own judgment, learn inner independence, learn to trust that time will sort the good from the bad - including your own bad.” 

With time, you’ll get better at distinguishing between good and bad writing. It’s easier to judge other people’s bad writing (just like it’s easier to spend other people’s money!), but you’ll become skilled at recognizing not only your own poor writing, but how you’ve improved over time. Continued

I’ve made a few guest appearances on the Kim Iverson show on Z99.5 in Indianapolis, and lived to tell about it! Here are several tips on radio interviews for freelance writers - things I wish I would’ve known - plus some information from radio producer Ron Freshour’s “How to be a Great Radio Guest” tip sheet. 

First, a writing tip from a history professor and Pulitzer Prize winner: 

“I’m one of those people that believes you should start writing before you think you’re ready,” said Joseph Ellis, author of Founding Brothers: The Revolutionary Generation. (Click on the book cover for more information).

And I’m one of those people who believes you should start accepting invitations to be a radio guest before you think you’re ready! I turned down a BBC radio interview several months ago and will probably always regret it. But, if I’d known then what I know now, I probably would have accepted that opportunity. So, to help you avoid that mistake here are several tips for radio interviews for writers (or anyone else!). Continued

Want to write an article for a magazine, but aren’t sure how to package it? Here’s help: brief definitions of eleven article formats, from round-ups to research shorts.

But first, a writing quip from guru Natalie Goldberg about writing discipline - because having the discipline to write is more important than learning these article formats.

“I hear people say they’re going to write. I ask, when? They give me vague statements,” writes Goldberg in Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft. “Indefinite plans get dubious results. When we’re concrete about our writing time, it alleviates that thin constant feeling of anxiety that writers have - we’re barbecuing hot dogs, riding a bike, sailing out in the bay, shopping for shoes, even helping a sick friend, but somewhere nervously at the periphery of our perception we know we belong somewhere else - at our desk!” 

To find the discipline to write, take Natalie Goldberg’s advice: Make a writing schedule, and stick to it. 

Okay, on the eleven types of articles to write for magazines - which I summarized based on info from Frank Peterson’s The Magazine Writer’s Handbook (click on the book cover for more info). Continued

I just finished reading We Need to Talk About Kevin by Lionel Shriver - one of my favorite books ever, it’s perfect for book clubs. At the end in the “About the Book” section, Shriver describes how difficult it was to find an agent, even as a published novelist. This is fabulous encouragement for struggling authors. 

A writing quip from Lionel Shriver: 

“Fictional creatures are fragile. On bad days authors can’t suspend their own disbelief,” says Shriver. “The characters seem plainly fabrications. The story feels made-up.” 

Lionel Shriver struggled not only to write this book, but to get it published - I was surprised to hear how difficult it was to find an agent for this, her seventh book. Here are a few lessons for struggling authors on book publishing and selling your manuscript, based on Shriver’s experience. (Click on the book cover for more information about We Need to Talk About Kevin). Continued

When you send story ideas or book proposals, you don’t want to drown in the slush pile. New research reveals one way to get people to remember your writing - and it’s a tried-and-true literary technique. 

First, though, a quip for writers: 

“Even in literature and art, no man who bothers about originality will ever be original: whereas if you simply tell the truth (without caring twopence how often it has been told before) you will, nine times out of ten, become original without ever having noticed it.” - C.S. Lewis. Click on the book cover for information about two literary giants: CS Lewis and Tolkien.

Fellow scribes, don’t worry about being original. Focus on being authentic. 

Okay, on to the new research about making readers remember your writing.  Continued

As a full-time freelance writer without a Journalism degree, I’ve learned things the hard way. Here are 8 lessons I’ve learned from writing for magazines. 

First, a quip for writers from Natalie Goldberg: 

“A student in a workshop walked up to me swinging his briefcase. “Hi, I’m an engineer. I make $46,000 a year. How long do you think it will take me to earn that much with writing?” 

“Keep your job,” I told him.”  But wait, there’s more: 

“Know that you will eventually have to leave everything behind; the writing will demand it of you. Bareboned, you are on the path with no markers, only the skulls of those who never made it back - over and over again. I will act as your guide.” Natalie Goldberg wrote this in Thunder and Lightning: Cracking Open the Writer’s Craft. Click on the book cover for more information about Natalie Goldberg and other books about writing.

Okay, the writing quip has done its work. Now on to the writing tip… Continued

Here are a few hints on pitching fresh, unexpected, interesting story ideas to magazines. 

“The writer must believe that what he is doing is the most important thing in the world. And he must hold to this illusion even when he knows it is not true.” - John Steinbeck. 

To believe in your writing, you have to believe in yourself. Your belief in your skills and writing abilities will shine through in your pitch - and will make editors believe in you, too. To be a successful freelance writer, you must believe in yourself with all your heart…even when you don’t. 

Here’s how to successfully pitch your freelance article to magazines. Some information is from David Taylor’s Freelance Success Book: Insider Secrets to Selling Every Word You Write. For more info, click the book cover.  Continued

Before I created my website - theAdventurousWriter.com - I really struggled with whether it was worth the effort. Plus, I thought it was a little egocentric. “Look at me, everyone! Look what I can do!” It was only after creating my website that I realized how important it is. 

Here are the benefits of creating a website for writers. But first, a writing quip from Barbara Kingsolver. 

“Close the door. Write with no one looking over your shoulder. Don’t try to figure out what other people want to hear from you; figure out what you have to say. It’s the one and only thing you have to offer,” said Kingsolver. Click on the book cover for more information about Kingsolver and her bestselling The Poisonwood Bible.

She’s talking about fiction writing, but I think the same could be said about your non-fiction articles, poetry, and blogging. Okay, on to why you as a writer need a website (or, to borrow from Virginia Woolf, “a space of your own”). Continued

You’ve probably heard how difficult it is to get your book published, and maybe now you’re considering self-publishing your manuscript. These six reasons to self-publish will help you decide whether publishing your own book or approaching a traditional book publisher is the best option for you.

Ah, but this wouldn’t be “quips and tips for freelance writers” without a quotation from a published author:

“I didn’t have time to write a short letter, so I wrote a long one instead,” said Mark Twain. Good writing takes time and effort, fellow scribes.

Say you’ve found the time and energy to write a tightly focused book, and you’re now wondering about book publishers. Should you query one publisher at a time, or several at once? Should you send the whole manuscript, or just the first few chapters? Do you need an agent? Good questions. I won’t answer those in this article, but I might help you make the self-publishing decision, based on Self-Publishing Fiction: From Manuscript to Bookstore and Beyond by Gavin Sinclair. (Click on the book cover for more information).

Okay, check out these six reasons to self-publish your manuscript… Continued