Whatever writing question or challenge you have, there’s one answer: write more. You need to become prolific. When you become prolific, you’ll sell.
Here’s a response I wrote to a scriptwriter this week who’s spent a year trying to sell her script:
Keep writing, and marketing. In my “Writing To Sell In The Internet Age” ebook and workshop I emphasize CREATE AND PROMOTE. You have to do both, and you have to do them EVERY DAY.
This is because it’s hard to sell fiction, whether novels or screenplays, if you’re unpublished/ unproduced. However, the more you write, the more accomplished you will become.
When you do get someone interested enough to read something you’ve written, they’ll ask: “Is this your first novel/ screenplay?” and “Are you a member of a critique group?”
If you say: “No, this is my third,” they will see you as someone who’s serious about writing and learning their craft. And if you ALSO say: “Yes, I’m a member of X critique group,” they’ll know they can safely discuss your story with you without you feeling as if you’re being violated. (You need to be able to divorce your work from yourself. This is NOT easy, and no one does it perfectly, but you have to learn to do it. :-))
>>>
It’s important to complete projects and to market them, and it’s also important to have someone read your work and critique it.
Let’s look at these three points.
=> CREATE. WRITE
As the old saying goes, writers write. They complete projects. Many writers find this hard to do. However, unless you complete projects you:
1. Won’t get paid;
2. Won’t become a consistently selling writer;
3. Will damage your self-esteem.
Whatever project you begin, whether it’s a novel, nonfiction book, article, short story or poem — complete it. Here’s a rule of thumb: if you’ve written more than 20 per cent of the project, grit your teeth and complete it. No matter what! Even if you think it’s garbage and you’re wasting your time, you must complete it.
Completing the project (whether it ultimately sells or not) will boost your self-esteem. Never or seldom completing what you start will damage your self-esteem.
Unless you complete projects, you can’t become prolific, and you can’t go on to the next step, which is marketing your work.
Note: if you have problems with marketing, it’s because you have low self-esteem. Complete a few projects, and I guarantee that your self-esteem will rise.
=> PROMOTE. MARKET
The Marketing Articles section of Digital-e —
http://www.digital-e.biz/articles.html#marketing
Has lots of FREE information on marketing. So if you’re at all uncertain about how marketing works, please study these articles and apply the information you’ll find there.
Beginning writers stumble over marketing, because it doesn’t fit their image of what a writer does. Surely a writer should be above hucksterism?
Well, no. Writers have always needed to market their work. Even Charles Dickens gave public readings. Nowadays the Internet makes it easy to promote and market. You can do it in your PJs or stark naked if you wish.
The first step is completing your work. Then market it. In a nutshell, marketing means sending your work to someone who can buy it. That’s all there is to it. You can get creative with your marketing efforts, of course. You can develop your own Web site, self-publish, give away first chapters, articles, or entire books as promotional tools, and much, much more. But essentially, all you need to do is send your work to someone who can hand you cash in return.
=> CRITIQUE. GET CRITIQUED (Join a group)
When I started writing, a quarter of a century ago, editors critiqued your work. If you showed a spark of creativity, worked hard and were prolific, editors taught you to write. I’ll always be grateful to my first editor, Marjorie Chapman, because of what she taught me.
Unfortunately, these days editors at major publications and publishing houses don’t have the time to do this. This means that you need to take your courage in both hands and join a critique group, either online or off.
The good news is that even if the first group you join is a total bust, you will learn from it. You’ll learn to deal with having your work read and discussed.
Painful. Very. BUT —
You will learn from any critique, good or bad, and that makes it worthwhile.
Whatever writing challenge you face, remember there’s one answer: write more. If you need help with this, our free daily writing ezine, Your EveryDay Write, gives you a daily writing prompt and writing tip to get you into the writing habit —
http://groups.yahoo.com/group/YourEveryDayWrite
YourEveryDayWrite-subscribe@yahoogroups.com
Enjoy your writing, write every day, and you’ll become prolific, and you’ll sell your work.
*Pro Write: Professional Writing Secrets* turns your a love of
writing into a highly paid career. For both novices and
experienced, selling writers. A new interactive writing workshop
every month, for fiction, nonfiction and copywriting, plus
writing coaching and writing manuals. Subscription includes
access to writer’s forum, three ezines, and writing markets. JOIN
TODAY —
http://www.prowrite.biz/
