Charlotte Rains Dixon

Make Money Writing Online, The Long Anticipated Continuation of Chapter Three

Its early yet here on the west coast, and not even dark yet, so I have a wee bit of time before the trick-or-treaters descend upon us.  Actually, there probably won't be much descending as certain of my neighbors have the utter gall to turn out their front porch lights and head to the bar down the street.  How rude is that? 

The good news is that it is not raining in Portland tonight, and this is rarity on Halloween.  Generally you can count on it raining on Halloween and Fourth of July here, like clockwork.  Today was the kind of day where the entire population of the city was hanging out at sidewalk tables of coffee shops.  Oh wait, I forgot, that's what the entire population of the city does every day, rain or shine.

But you didn't tune in to learn about the weather in this beautiful slacker town.

You tuned in to read the second half of Chapter Three of Make Money Online, I know you did.  When last heard from, we were in the middle of a rousing post on the benefits of internet freelancing, but the list got too long and onerous to be continued in one post.  So here's the last five benefits.

Internet freelancing is open to newbies.

The web is a hungry, hungry beast and its favorite food is words.  Thousands and thousands of 'em.  A lot of experienced freelancers are still relying on the pain and misery of a traditional freelance career and so there is a constant need for writers all over the internet.  This means there is plenty of room for newbies.  You'll work for less than peanuts at first, but that's true in with the traditional media, too.

You can create your own content and make lots of money. 

Or so they tell me.  I'll let you know about that.  It is the point of this series I'm writing after all.  Not to make money, but to create my own content in the form of an Ebook.  Okay, once I start selling it, it will be to make money.   Ebooks generally present very specialized information that can thus be sold at a relatively high price and disseminated with low overhead.  Thus, the opportunity is there to make more money than in the traditional publishing world.  Like I said, I'll keep you posted on that.

Blogging can be career making.

It takes a lot of time (oh lord does it take time) and a focused effort, but writing a blog that becomes popular can lead to all kinds of other opportunities.  I get clients from my blog all the time.  Many other bloggers have gained the attention of traditional publishers and been offered book contracts.  It happens. 

You will write learn about many fascinating (sometimes odd) topics.

I love internet copywriting because I've learned about some topics I never would have known a thing about otherwise, such as Voodoo and How To Grow a New Gut (as in stomach) and odd facts about credit cards, and that is only just for starters.  I've also written about art schools and pre-fab houses and quilting and bathroom decor and kitchen remodeling. 

You'll learn how to write fast while maintaining quality.

Internet copy writing is often done on short deadlines.  But don't let this scare you--you'll get the hang of it.  There's something inherently satisfying in banging out some good quality copy on a deadline.  Which leads directly to the last benefit:

It is an excellent way to improve your writing skills and gain writing experience.   

I've seen a huge improvement in all of my other writing because of the need to produce quality copy quickly.  When you write fast you let the good stuff out, the stuff that your editor or critic will squelch if you are laboring over a piece. 

It is also a great way to get writing clips, those all important samples of your work that you'll be sending to prospective employers.You'll need clips and writing samples to get work, and as you start to amass more and better clips you'll start climbing up the pay scale.  These clips can also be used for traditional freelancing, should you so desire.

Okay, so it has long since turned dark and the trick-or-treaters have come and gone (not so many of them this year.)  Oh, and I have a Halloween trick for you.  On the first half of my post on the benefits of internet freelancing, there are several words that have been linked to Amazon.  And guess what?  I didn't do that linking.  As far as I know I didn't download any code that allowed them to do that, either.  Gotta go figure out what is going on...

Here are the links to the previous chapters:

Introduction

Chapter One

Chapter Two

Chapter Three, Part One

And I Should Also Mention...

That the wonderful Pablo featured me a few days ago.  Thanks, Pablo!

I'm a Featured Blog

Halloween news flash:

My wonderful friend Don Williams has featured Wordstrumpet as his site of the day. 

Don is a children's book author who lives in St. John, New Brunswick, a city which fascinates me, and looks beautiful, if a bit cold. 

Don has a great blog which you should go visit, and I'd say that even if I weren't the site of the day.  And I say that despite the fact that Don is an avid Mac user.  As I always told my children, sometimes we have friends who have unfortunate tendencies, and we have to love them in spite of that.   So we'll forgive Don for that one tiny little problem of his and keep reading his blog anyway.

Happy Halloween, everybody.  Be safe.  And remember that tomorrow is the first day of Nanowrimo!

Writing Tip: Second Best of the Week

Okay, this is a quickie, folks.  I've been writing all day, and all day the day before that, and all day the day before that, and, well, you get the idea.

The bad news about all this writing is that I'm exhausted.

The good news is that I keep remembering useful writing tips.

Today's writing tip is: start far in.

Start as far in to the scene as you possibly can.  This actually applies to non-fiction, too. 

For instance, if you have a character in a scene who is having a phone conversation, skip the phone call itself and show her hanging up the phone, remembering briefly what was said.  Of course this brings up the topic of how to choose what to lend weight to by mounting it in a scene, or what to gloss over a bit by writing in exposition.

I generally do this by intuition.

I know, that doesn't help you much.  A friend who I haven't seen in ages, used to always quote the late Gary Provost on this: "fast is slow and slow is fast," and that is a pretty good guideline.

For instance, if when you are writing fast, as in glossing over in exposition, you are generally writing about something that would have been slow in real life, or if mounted in a scene--like the above-mentioned phone call. 

When writing slow, as in a scene, you would be writing about something that happened quickly in real life--such as a car chase or a sex scene (I guess the relative quickness of that depends on the participants), or important dialogue.  The point is, you write something that takes longer or is slower when the information is more important and deserves being presented in the fine detail of a scene.

One of the best ways to sharpen up a scene is to start as far in as possible.  When I wear my editor's hat, one of the most common problems I see is that people spend page after page warming up.  Cut to the chase.  Get to the good stuff.  Start far in.

PS--Next installment of Make Money Writing Online (which is actually the second half of Chapter Three) coming up later on today.

Writing Tips: Absolute Best One Ever

I'm not exaggerating, this is one of the most valuable tips I can give you.  I've rediscovered it accidentally the last week or so, as I work on rewriting my novel. 

I wrote about it in the early days of this blog, in a post called Writing While You Sleep.  (a wee bonus for those of you who go check out the post is a photo of my pug, Igor.)

But here's the gist of it:

Our minds work in mysterious ways (news flash, I know) and they actually do quite a bit of that mysterious work while we sleep.  So last thing before you go to bed, read over a few pages of whatever project is uppermost in your mind.

Odds are good you'll be rushing to your computer, ideas firing, first thing in the morning.  Be a good writer, be kind to your subconscious and go right to the computer.  This encourages your mind to keep producing ideas.

I've been practicing this with stellar results.  I wake up in the morning and rush to my office to write down all the ideas that come to me.  And all from re-reading my most recent pages the night before.

Its a pretty simple way to keep the writing flow going.

Nanowrimo Prep

We interrupt our regularly scheduled Ebook presentation to remind you that Nanowrimo starts in four days.

What, you ask, is Nanowrimo?  It is National Novel Writing Month and it is a kick ass way to get that novel you've always wanted to write jump-started.  The idea is that you complete a whole "novel" in a month.  For Nanowrimo purposes, a "novel" is 50,000 words.  If you manage to produce that many words over the course of November, you can send your manuscript in to be validated and end up with a cool little banner proclaiming yourself a "winner."

The rules are that you can do as much prep work as you want to before hand, but technically you are not supposed to write one word of the novel.

So what are you waiting for?  You have three whole days to get your act together.  In truth, if you are interested in writing a novel, you might have an idea in your head.  You might even have jotted down a few notes here and there.  Now's the time to organize them.  For Nanowrimo purposes, and in order to get yourself started, its important to think about the following:

• Character
• Setting
• Plot

There is more, so much more, that goes into a novel, of course.  But we are talking here about writing a lot of words in a month and so we're hitting the high spots.  Besides, you only have three days to get yourself organized.  So think about the following and you'll have a great start:

Character

• Name
• Age
• Appearance (height, weight)
• Mannerisms, quirks, traits
• Inner conflict
• Outer conflict
• Character arc (if you know it--this may be a bit ambitious for this stage of the game)
• Role (ie, protagonist, antagonist, etc.)

Setting

• Overall setting, such as region, whether it is rural or urban, time, etc.
• Settings for each character:
• Home
• Work
• "Third Places" ie, places he or she likes to hang out such as a coffee shop or bar
• Frequent haunts

Plot

Admittedly, this is where it gets tough.  Remember: you have to force it some.  All plots start out lame and mechanical.  But it is in the writing that you figure out the nuances and the arcs that make them come alive.  The key is to just get started.  Here are some helpful things to remember:

• All plot comes from conflict
• Conflict comes from characters wanting something they can't get or from having to face a fear
• If you characters get what they want right away, you don't have a plot.  You have a bunch of happy characters, and
• Happy characters do not make interesting reading, so
• GIVE YOUR CHARACTERS A BURNING DESIRE, and
• DENY THEM. Make things really difficult as they try to attain their burning desires.
• One good way to start is to just make a list of things that might happen as your character is denied her desires.  Then start to envision scenes.
• Also remember that plot comes from a combination of scene and exposition.  You really don't want too much of either one.

Okay, that is more than enough to get you started.  So what are you waiting for?  Hit the computers!

Make Money Writing Online, Three--The Benefits of Internet Freelancing

Okay, class.  We've looked at the dream of freelancing and the reality.  We've decided traditional freelancing is not for us, because it is a pain in the rear, what with all that printing and SASEing, and standing in line at the post office, and all that fun stuff. 

So is there an alternative?  Of course there is, and that is why you are reading these posts that are soon to be a book.  The alternative is internet freelancing.   Writing for online markets gives you all the afore-mentioned benefits of freelancing and some that are peculiar to the field. 

So, drumroll please, here  (in no particular order, because I'm not that clever) is my list of the Top Ten Benefits of Internet Freelancing:

1. The internet never sleeps.  You really can work at all hours of the day and night.
2. Your can have clients all over the world.
3. You often get paid immediately, or within a day or two.  (I see your eyes lighting up!)
4. There's a quick turnaround on most jobs.
5. The internet is driven by content.  There's always another job out there.
6. Internet freelancing is open to newbies.
7. You can create your own content--as in an Ebook or online class--and make more money than through traditional publishing channels.
8. Blogging can be career making.
9. You'll write about fascinating topics and learn new things.
10. You'll learn how to write fast, and I do mean fast, while maintaining quality.
11. It is an excellent way to improve your writing skills and gain writing experience.

Oops, apparently that's eleven benefits.  Ah well, consider number eleven a bonus reason.  In truth, given a bit more time, I could come up with a lot more benefits.  And I'll add them as I think of them in the coming days.  If any readers have more input on this, comment away.

Let's take a look at a couple of these:

The Internet Never Sleeps

It really doesn't.  Because when you're asleep, people in other parts of the world are awake, working and blogging and writing and creating writing assignments for you.  This means you can awaken and find the job boards full of new jobs, or your inbox full of emails from prospective clients.   If you get an urge to communicate with and editor or client at a strange hour, odds are good he'll be at his computer, too.  It truly is a 24 hour world and you can choose to work any of those hours you want.

You Can Have Clients All Over the World

This is related to the above reason, obviously.  I've worked with clients in Norway, New York City, LA, Idaho, and Italy, to name only a few, and currently I'm working with people in San Francisco, South Carolina, and Florida.  (And that does not include all my students in the beloved city of Nashville.  And one in Huntsville, when she's not long-haul truck driving.)

You Often Get Paid Immediately

I am not kidding.  Some internet job companies will pay you as quickly as you turn the job in.  I've literally been paid within an hour.  Unfortunately, these companies are often relatively low on the pay scale.  However, if you need some quick cash, they are a Godsend.  Even companies that don't pay quite so quickly often will pay you through Paypal, which, can I just say, is God's gift to the world?  It is SO much better to have the money go directly into your Paypal account and have immediate access to it than to wait for the proverbial check to come in the mail.

There's A Quick Turnaround on Most Jobs

This may not be a benefit, depending on your outlook.  But I like it.  I like to get a job, spend a few days learning everything about the topic and then batting it out.  Then, off it goes to its new home, and off I go to work on my novel or write some more on this blog.  Works for me.

There's Always Another Job Out There

I worked for one company in Victoria, B.C., which had a spectacular rise and fall.  Strong start, lots of work, and then a stunning flame out when allegations starting coming in from writers who weren't getting paid.  But for every company that dies before its really gotten going, there are 10 more.  And that's not even mentioning all the small business owners who need copy written.  According to this article, there were nearly 30 billion web pages in existence as of February 2007.  That, my friends, is a lot of websites.  And what is the one thing they all have in common?  Words!  They are all full of words! So you might as well be one of the ones who writes some of them.

Okay, the thought of all those web pages has worn me out.  I'm going to finish going through this list tomorrow.  And after that, we'll move on to examining more closely the types of internet writing opportunities that are available.  Here's the links to the introduction and the first two chapters in this series:

Introduction

Chapter One--Freelancing: The Dream

Chapter Two--Freelancing: The Reality

Friday Night Round-up

So, I had hoped to post another in my series on Making Money Online tonight, but that isn't going to happen.  Why?  Because I am tired.  Lame as that sounds, it is true.  I'm too tired to think tonight.

The truth of the matter is that I am currently writing three, count 'em, three books.  I am regularly posting (well three times so far counts as regular, don't you think?) chapters on the Make Money Writing Online book, I am doing a spiff-up on my novel to send it to an agent, and I am writing a book for Atlantic Publishing.

And let us not forget that November starts this Thursday, and I am committed to writing a novel for Nanowrimo.  By the way, for anyone who is interested, I've started a Nanowrimo group on Blog Catalog, and they've started this great new feature where you can invite non-Blog Catalog members to join groups.  So if anyone is interested, write me a comment and I'll send you an invite.

I'd thought I'd write a round-up of interesting writerly things that I've found or learned this week, but I can't think of any.  Oh wait, here's something I've learned from working on my novel this week:  you can't just string a bunch of scenes along a plot line like pearls on a necklace.  You have to have some connective tissue, and sometimes, as you get farther along in the novel, that connective tissue becomes the heroine or hero doing a re-cap of where she's been since the beginning of the story.

I mean, I knew this, but I didn't know know it, if you know what I mean.  You don't truly learn things in writing until you are in the thick of it.

I think that sometimes we novelists are so concerned with moving the pace along and writing in scene that we forget that a little exposition is a good thing.  It gives the reader a break, for one thing.  And it gives the writer a chance to remind the reader where she's been.  It's like hiking along a steep mountain path, getting almost to the top, and sitting down to take a break.  You look back down the path to remind yourself how far you've come--and then, reinspired, off you go again.

Okay, okay, I know, bad hiking/mountain metaphor.  I told you I was tired. 

More on making money online this weekend. 

Make Money Writing Online, Two--Freelancing: The Reality

We're talking about freelance writing in this Ebook I am writing, and specifically internet freelance writing.   In chapter one  (it feels a bit presumptuous to title a post a chapter, but forgive me, I'm a fiction writer at heart) we discussed the dream of freelance writing.

So now it is time to take a cold, hard look at the reality.  Feel that cold water splashing over you?  That is the wake-up call flowing about you, drenching everything.  Sigh.   That is the chill you feel as you print out yet another manuscript, try to figure out how much postage it AND the SASE require, and then realize you have to go to the PO after all because those stupid Homeland Security rules mean you must hand the heavier envelopes to a postal employee.  There goes the dream of working in your jammies all day.  As a reward, you get to sit back and wait to hear from the editor. 

If you're lucky, you won't have turned 80 by the time you hear back.  No, if you're lucky you'll only be 79. 

Because we're talking about relying on snail mail here folks.  About sending a manuscript to an editor who is likely so overwhelmed with manuscripts she hasn't seen the surface of her desk in years.  About keeping fingers crossed that an article you've slaved over, interviewed people for, written and rewritten will be accepted when the odds of that are really pretty low.

Traditional freelancing requires heavy use of your computer printer.  You'll be printing out query letters and manuscripts and sending them by snail mail.  You'll be dealing with publication requirements that say "no simultaneous submissions" (which is the biggest load of bull ever)and editorial assistants who lose your work and people who for the most part don't care you exist.

Sounds like fun, eh? 

When I did most of my freelancing the traditional way, it was just such a damned hassle.   Checking magazine guidelines, trying to figure out the correct editor to send work to, poring over magazines and newspapers to see if my story idea fit.

And then, half the time it fit so well I got back the response that they'd just done a story on that topic.

Or, I never heard back from them and when I contacted the publication, I was told they'd get right on it--only to never hear from them again.

Or, I heard back from an editor TWO YEARS after I sent the query--and they wanted the story in two weeks.

To me, the hassles of traditional free-lance writing career way outpaced the benefits and I was never very good at it.  It was the little things that bugged me: 

• I hated contacting people for quotes and information for a query, not knowing if the thing was going to be published or not.
• I hated waiting in line at the post office and trying to explain to the clerk how I needed to figure out return postage for a SASE.
• I hated getting those thin envelopes that signified a rejection in the mail.
• I hated printing out multiple copies of stories to send to literary magazines with a subscription base of 10: the editors, their spouses, and a stray parent and cousin.   
• I hated trying to get the flow of the work established: I never could figure out how many queries I needed to send out to get an assignment and it was such a flippin' hassle to send out the queries I never got enough assigments.

But all that changed when I discovered the world of internet freelancing.  Now I own a Mercedes and a mansion make more than I ever did when I was doing traditional freelancing.  And it isn't a hassle.  I love it. 

My family would probably tell you I love it a bit too much, because I spend a wee bit too much time at my computer.  I have to tell myself, "step away from the computer" at regular intervals or else I'll look up and realize that hours have gone by.

Like right now.  My dog is pacing in the kitchen because it is past his dinner time, which is my cue to end this post/chapter.

Next time, we'll look at some of the benefits of internet freelancing.

Meanwhile, if anybody has an freelance horror stories, they'd like to share, post a comment.  I'd love to hear them.

Go Read This Fabulous Story

So, I really am working on the next installment of the Make Money Writing Online book, I promise.  I was actually going to post it tonight.  But then something better came up.

Jenn, over at Before I Am Famous, (and she will be) has this great thing she does.  You provide her with a name and a gender for the character and specify a genre and she writes a story.  Isn't that too much fun?

Head on over there and read the story she wrote based on my character.

The name I suggested was Ruby Begonia, the gender female, and the genre Western.  The results are fabulous!

Should I confess?

No.

Oh, okay I will.  Years ago, (more years than I care to admit) a bunch of us decided we all needed prostitute names.  Why, I don't know.  Remember, we were teenagers.  I was Sadie and my last name escapes me.  But my friend Julie got the good name--Ruby Begonia.  So that's where I came up with the name.

Speaking of prostitutes and names for them, my father, may he rest in peace, was in the navy during World War II.  He was a master storyteller and for years he told me, my sisters, and our cousins what he called Agnes, Mable, and Becky stories.  We would beg him, "Tell us another Agnes, Mable, and Becky story!" because they were long involved epics.

Years later we learned that Agnes, Mable and Becky was a sailor's euphemism for prostitutes. 

OK, that is all the stories I have about prostitute names, I promise.  Go read Jenn's story, its much better.

And check back tomorrow for installment three of Make Money Writing Online.  See, the way I make myself do it is by proclaiming I'm going to.  That should be another writing tip--announce publicly your intentions and then you have to do it.

Writing Tips: The Rosters of Fives

What do you do if you are in the middle of writing your novel or short story and your brain needs some prodding?  How do you go about trying to expand a scene?  Say, for instance your writing teacher or your critique group has said, "more" or "go deeper" or "explain?" on your manuscript but you are not exactly certain how to go about that.

Well, one of the reasons you might not know how to set about going deeper is because you don't know the information.  For instance, if your readers yearn to know more about your character, you might not have put that information in because you, the author, do not know.  Ya can't write what you don't know about, correct?

Ah, but you are a god when it comes to creating and populating the world of your fiction, right?  And you know everything about that world? Not always.  Even gods and goddesses need some help goosing their muse.

Enter my handy writing tip, The Roster of Fives.  I actually have two of them, both easy to remember when you are stuck.  Should this happen, grab a piece of scratch paper or the spiral in which you keep all the notes pertaining to your fiction, and go through the Roster of Fives.  Here they are, so very obvious you'll be smacking your head in dismay that you didn't remember them.  And yet, it is always for me the most obvious and basic things that I need to be reminded of.  Repeatedly. 

The Roster of The Five Ws:

• Who
• What
• When
• Where
• Why
• And, if you must ruin the symmetry of the Ws, you can add How.

Told you it was obvious.  Yet you'd be amazed at how often just clarifying these basic things in your head can make all the difference.  90% of the time when I'm blocked it is because something is unclear to me in the scene I am trying to write.  Going through the five Ws helps make it clear.

And, wait for it, here's the next one:

The Roster of The Five Senses:

• Sight
• Smell
• Sound
• Touch
• Taste

I know, I know, its even more obvious that the Roster of The Five Ws.  But ever so useful, too.  If you are attempting to write a descriptive scene that is falling flat, go back to the five senses and write out every single one as it pertains to the character in the scene.  What is she smelling, hearing, feeling, tasting, and seeing?  This is an excellent way to get yourself into the character's head.  And once you are in the character's head, you can then report what he sees to your reader.

Give the Rosters of Fives a try...and report back on how they work out for you.

Self Publishing Redux

I had a brilliant post on the subject of self publishing half finished when my computer burped (its been doing that a lot lately, as it is Mercury Retrograde--back up your computers!) and I lost it. 

The two posts I did this week on writing and self publishing garnered lots of comments, and not the usual, short, zippy, cheery ones, but long, and thoughtful ones.  (Not that the short zippy posts aren't thoughtful, but you know what I mean.)

It is worth it to go back to those posts, not to read my brilliant words, but to check out the comments.  Hey, there's even one in a language I don't understand!  You can read the posts here and here.

One thing I wanted to add.

I should have defined vanity publishing.  Traditionally, vanity publishing was the lowest of low in the publishing world, lower even than self publishing.  Wikipedia has a good article on it here.  I think the definition they offer is great: that a vanity press makes most of its money from the author, not the public.

Self publishing does not necessarily fit that definition.  You could write a great local guidebook, come up with the money to print it yourself, distribute it, and earn a nice little sum from it.  Or not.  Lots of people have gone broke trying this.  But the point is that your goal is to earn money from the public.

Not so with vanity presses.

I-Universe and Publish America burst upon the scene with the internet boom, positioning themselves as the writer's salvation.  When in truth, it appears they are nothing more than the most recent incarnation of vanity presses, with their main goal to make more money from the author than the public.

They've prettied up the message and added editing packages (that the writer PAYS extra for, unlike with traditional publishing houses) but its basically the same old dog doing the same old tired tricks.

So approach these outfits with caution.

Make Money Writing Online, One--Freelancing: The Dream

So, you're ready to learn how to make money writing online. 

Me, too. 

No, just kidding I really am going to share everything I know about this with you in this series of posts that is going to become an ebook.  (You can read the introduction here.)

I want to start by talking about the dream of freelance writing.  Why are writers drawn to the freelance life?  Because, lets face it, anyone who enjoys writing has probably dreamed of chucking the day job and going freelance.  Do any of these reasons ring a bell?

• Independence
• Prestige
• Meet cool people
• Write about interesting topics
• Make your own schedule
• Flexible lifestyle
• Work as much or as little as you want

All of these, and more, are excellent reasons to turn to freelance writing.  Isn't it a wonderful fantasy to see yourself getting up in the morning and heading to your computer to work in your jammies?  To not have to fuss with work attire, or hassle with the commute?  To work at a career where you can choose how much or how little time you spend on the job?  Or what topics you can write about?

Freelance writing can give you all of these benefits. But before you quit your day job and cash in your 401k, you might also want to consider if you are suited for freelance writing.  Think about the following:

• Do you have money stashed away to live on while getting started?
• Are you a self-starter?  Can you work on your own?
• Are you organized?  Can you keep track of things?
• Do you have room in your home for an office?
• Are you flexible?
• Do you have a curiosity about the world?
• Do you have basic writing skills?

Possessing some or all of these attributes will help you in your freelancing career.  But if you don't have any of them, you might want to just look for a better full-time job.  Freelancing is not for everyone, and it is definitely not for the faint of heart.  (Ask anybody in my family, who will tell you first hand how often they've heard me complain about waiting for a check or a paypal payment!)

Now I'm going to get specific, and make the distinction between a traditional freelance career and a career writing for online markets.  The good news is that the internet is a hungry, hungry beast, and what it is hungry for is words.  Pages and pages of 'em.  Somebody has to write those words, and why not you?  So the good news is that there is a huge demand for online writing.

You knew there was bad news, right?  Well, here it is: some online writing is so poorly paid that you might as well work in a sweat shop or iron clothes for a living.  I'm not kidding. 

However, there are ways around the pesky matter of low pay, and I'll tell you what I've learned about them we go along.  And, let me tell you right here, right now, there are also benefits that set a career writing online apart from a traditional freelance writing career.

I'll talk about those benefits in the next post, when I look at the reality of a freelance writing career.  Where does the dream actually intersect with the reality?  Where does that fantasy bubble get burst?  Why focus on internet writing as opposed to traditional print media? 

Stay tuned.  And feel free to post questions or comments.

Writing and Self-Publishing

Well, you know what they say, great minds think alike. 

Today my writing colleague Anne Waymans sent out her newsletter, and guess what the topic was?  Yup, self-publishing in general and I-Universe in particular.

Read it here.

Should Writers Self Publish?

So, Roy and Cathy and I have been emailing about self-publishing.  Well, really Roy and I have, since we seem to be the most loud-mouthed and vociferous in our opinions.  (Shocking, I know.)

The impetus (or inciting incident, if you want to use fiction terminology) for this discussion was Roy and Cathy's visit to the Southern Festival of the Book.

Let me first announce loudly that I should have been in Nashville this past weekend for this event.  But, alas, I wasn't.  So I relied on the reports from Roy and Cathy.

And they were not good.  In the past the festival has attracted huge southern writers (not huge in size but in stature) and seemed to have tons of amazing speakers and workshops and that always made me hugely jealous.

But apparently this time the only huge speaker was Rick Bragg, and according to someone who shall remain nameless, he is recycling his speech from previous years, when he actually had a book to shill.  (If, um, the book on the Jessica Lynch story counts.  I didn't say that!  No I didn't!  I'm still upset with the man for his uncredited use of stringers when he was at the New York Times.  And, guess what?  I'm not from the south, so I don't have to engage in knee-jerk adoration of the good ole boys.  Not that that is a problem down there.  Just sayin' I don't do it.)

But I digress.  Lord, how I digress.  Kinda like a southerner.

He who shall remain nameless, but is the father of two children named Seth and Eryn, said that the festival was also disappointing because most of the booths featured self-published books.

And this provoked a passionate defense of all authors, even if they have written books about Jessica Lynch, from moi.  Because I KNOW how damned hard it is to write a book, any book, even if it is a crappy romance or a mystery without a dead body.  And if said authors can't find a publisher but feel so compelled to present their tomes to the world, then I say more power to them.

And then I told him that I myself had gone over to the dark side, what with my recent foray into the Ebook world.  (Okay, it is just a beginning foray, but still.)

Whereupon Roy He Who Shall Remain Nameless begged me to come down off my high horse because what he was really talking about was outfits like I-Universe and Publish America.

And then I had to shut up because I agree with him.

His point is that these businesses lure you into their publishing web by promising distribution and publicity, when in truth the books they produce are sneered at as little more than vanity publishing by the industry.  And he is correct.

Nobody is going to take these books seriously, folks.  Why?  Because there is no editor.  And what does an editor do?  He or she functions as an objective person who can read and comment on a manuscript.  We writers may not like this, but this vetting is a necessary part of the process.  We cannot be objective about our own work, period.  We need another set of eyes.  You won't get this at one of these publishing houses.

I do so understand the frustration of pounding your fist against the door of a publishing house and not having anyone answer.  And I also understand why you might want to just say, enough, and publish your book yourself.

Honestly?  I think you'd be better off to start a blog and publish the book yourself, post by post.  Dedicate yourself to publicize it and network and you might just attract yourself a publisher.  Or take the money you'd spend with one of these publishing houses and publish the book yourself.  That's what Richard Paul Evans did.

And , um, he's rich.  He writes sentimental slop, but people love it and he loves it and he's made millions.

Like I said, I respect even the authors of sentimental slop.  And those who write about Jessica Lynch. And I respect your impetus to share your words with the world.  Just don't sell your soul in your rush to publish, okay? 

Make Money Writing Online

Did that title get your attention?

I thought it might.   Anything that says "make money" nabs me.  And, it seems that everyone and his or her uncle is currently writing blogs and websites about making money online. There is a lot of great information about making money on the internet available to you.

Most of that, however, has to do with monetizing blogs, affiliate marketing programs, advertising and so far. All great stuff, to be sure.

But did you ever stop to think about what fuels all those blogs and websites?

Yep, you guessed it—writing. Or, as we like to call it these days on the internet, content.
Because, content is king, doncha know?

And anytime something is so important as to be called kingly, you can make money off it.

Don’t you just love that suddenly writing is so important again? Because if you are a writer and you love to write then the idea of doing it all day long and making money at it is just about the best thing you can think of.

And, luckily, that’s where I come in.

I’ve been freelancing in the print media for years. But over the last year, I’ve discovered a whole new world of writing for the internet, where the game is completely different and a lot more fun. I want to share the tips and tricks to internet freelancing that I’ve learned with you.

I have wanted to write an Ebook for a long time. And it shouldn’t be any big deal. After all, I routinely crank them out for assignments all the time. But, of course, it is way easier to write a book for someone else than yourself.

So, here’s my solution: I’m going to write the Ebook as a series of blog posts. You guys get the advantage of reading it as I’m writing it, and I’ll get the advantage of having you make comments and ask questions.

The plan is to post one or two (or, God help me, even three) segments of the book a week. Now, I know better than to promise to do something on a particular day, so you’ll just have to keep an eye out.

The price of this baby when I finish it and format it and fit it all together will probably be $37 to $47. So read it here first, and tell all your friends about it, too. You know everyone is desperate to learn about freelance writing online.

Or better yet, subscribe to my feed. I just added a cool Feedblitz widget so you can easily subscribe by email, which is the way I prefer to subscribe to other blogs.  I'm having some issues with my RSS subscriber, but I'm getting those worked out.  I hope. 

Okay, I’m excited. If you any questions to get started, feel free to post ‘em any time.    Look for the first installment later on this week.

Another Character Arc Post, Sort Of

So, I had plans to write another post on redemptive character arcs tonight.  I planned to write about Jenna Bush, who has a new book out about a young woman with AIDS.  It seemed to me that Jenna's story told a classic redemptive tale.  It is always instructive for writers to study stories like this, and hers seems to have captured lots of attention. 

She started out as a screw-up college student constantly getting busted for MIPs, moved on to become a teacher at an inner-city school, and finally, now she is the author of a best-selling book and newly engaged.

I read a good, if a bit name-droppy, profile of her in the latest issue of Texas Monthly, written by Skip Hollandsworth, who I met when I was at the Mayborn last summer.  And, yes, her redemptive character arc is impressive.

But she is the daughter of George W. Bush and tonight that taints any warm, glowy feelings I might have had about her.

Because last night we learned that a friend of my son's died from injuries received in Iraq.  I don't know the full story yet, and so I won't yet talk about names or any other details.  His mother was an acquaintance of mine and I can't even begin to grasp the pain she is going through tonight. 

I'm stunned and I'm horrified and I'm grieving.

I'm sorry, but sweet little blond Jenna just isn't very appealing anymore, seeing as how her father is a war criminal.   

As he has often said, he has no trouble sleeping at night.  But yet another mother will be up all night long weeping and wailing.

I wish I lived in a country where mothers didn't have to mourn their sons who were killed in a fruitless war.

Al Gore's Character Arc

Well, unless you live in a cave, you know by now that Al Gore won the Nobel Peace Prize today.

I'm thrilled.

But what I've been thinking about all day, me being the writer that I am, is Al's character arc.  It pretty neatly follows the path of the hero's journey, made popular by Joseph Campbell.  He wrote Hero With a Thousand Faces, which I contend is one of those books everyone talks about with vast seriousness--but nobody has actually read.

The hero's journey is the mono-myth which underlies all story in all cultures.  It got a lot of play because what's-his-name, George Lucas followed the mono-myth of the hero's journey to plot the first Star Wars movie.

Here, in a wordstrumpet nutshell, is the idea:  we see the hero in his beloved ordinary world.  But then something is awry in that ordinary world and there is an inciting incident which propels the hero onto a journey--generally a quest of some sort.   He must find something or do something to save himself, his people, his kingdom, or all three.

Along the way, our hero faces many tests.  He finds helpers and wise old sages and people who will do anything to oppose him (because, of course, there is no story without conflict, right?)  He fights and he searches and he faces harder and harder tests until he faces the absolute bleakest moment--when it appears that all is lost.  But then, through an act of personal heroism, which generally involves casting off the shackles that have bound him and being true to himself, he turns the story around.  And marches on to the triumphant end.

So, let's look at Al.  He is concerned about the environment from his college years.  That, and the ordinary world of his father's respected political career, propel him into a life of politics.  With much success, and eight years as vice president under his belt he runs for president.

And wins.

But the evil opposition denies him his rightful crown.  And Al faces his bleakest moment.  All is lost.  He turns tail and heads back to the farm in Tennessee.  But then a funny thing happens.  Al casts off his advisers and begins to be true to himself.  And being true to himself is returning to his original passion--the environment.

He begins lecturing about the dangers of Global Warming and makes a movie.  And everyone can tell that Al doesn't really care about what others think anymore.  Not the Democratic party, or the Republican party, or the electorate, or the Supreme Court.  Or even Tipper.  Al is on a personal quest to inform the world about global warming.

And then a funny thing happens.  Because Al doesn't care what the world thinks anymore, and because he is filled with passion for his cause, suddenly the world beats a path to his door.  He is now considered personable and relaxed and funny, when previously he was wooden and had the personality of a plank.

All of a sudden, the world is paying attention.  Al is a hero.  And his heroism peaks when he wins the Nobel Prize for Peace.

It is a classic hero's journey, and it is why Al's story resonates with so many of us.  We're hardwired to understand stories like this.  When someone in public life follows the path so strongly we recognize the heroism and applaud it.

I mean, even Republicans, God love 'em, are starting to get the whole global warming thing.  Ya think the alarming rate the north pole ice caps are melting have something to do with it? 

For more information on the hero's journey, I recommend reading Christopher Vogler's The Writer's Journey.  He takes Campbell's seminal work and makes it understandable.

For more info on Al winning the Nobel Prize, go here or here.  And his An Inconvenient Truth website is here.  For more information on story, you can see my page about The Power of Story here.

Doris Lessing: List of Books

Just found this link with an extensive (she's prolific) list of Doris Lessing's books.  You can access it here.

A God Is Nominated

This is a good week for us literary freaks, what with Doris Lessing winning the Nobel Prize for Literature today, which you can read about in my previous post here, and the National Book Award Nominations being announced yesterday.

So, let's just cut straight to the chase here--Denis Johnson was nominated for Tree of Smoke.  Have I mentioned that the man is a god yet?  Well, he is.  Tree of Smoke is the definitive Vietnam novel that you didn't know you were waiting for.  I've got the heavy tome waiting for me to read by the side of my bed.  I've read the first few pages of it, and the way the man writes is pretty amazing.

You can read a little more about him here, and the NYT review of his book here.

Plus, I think he lives in Idaho and that automatically qualifies him for coolness.  No, the state is not only home to white supremacists.

And now, for my National Book Award brush with greatness moment.  When I was working on my MFA, I got Brad Watson as my mentor.  He is the author of The Heaven of Mercury and the story collection Last Days of the Dog Men.  It is customary at brief residency MFA programs to have a meeting with your mentor to discuss what you will be working on for the semester.

Well, moments, and I do mean moments, before I had my meeting with Brad, he got a phone call telling him that he had been nominated for the National Book Award. 

Now is that a brush with fame moment or what? 

Not sure what Brad is doing now, but I'm hoping he comes out with another novel soon.