Jen's Writing Journey

My goals for this month:

• Finish my two nonfiction books
• Write 10K words on my novel
• Finally create the submission tracking spreadsheet I keep talking about

So that is what I need to accomplish this month. It’s a lot, but I can do it.

What are you planning to achieve in June?

The Business of Writing

Effectively Combatting Piracy
DRM is a contentious issue in publishing. Many industry bigwigs seem to think that crack-proof DRM will stop piracy. But how well has that worked for the usic industry? At Dear Author, Jane presents her plan to combat piracy.

Stepping up Your Game
I love that agents go out of their way to tell us how to get their attention (in a good way). And I love that Nathan Bransford channeled his inner Coach Taylor to help we writers work through the despair this economy may be causing for us. (I’m a huge fan of Friday Night Lights.) Right now, money is tight, and editorial standards are tighter. We need to work even harder and polish our work even more to help it stand out.

Some BEA Observations
Agent Kristin shares her experience at BEA last weekend, with a articular focus on how spartan it seemed because of the economy.

Rules for Writing
An honest and amusing list of the rules we all need to follow. I would add another rule that had something to do with drinking copiously, but maybe that’s just me.

Craft

Does Editing a Manuscript Help It Get Published? Part 1
Robyn begins another good series on her blog, this time focusing on the importance of editing.

Developing Your Writer’s Voice
Voice is that certain je ne se qua that sets you apart from the myriad other writers out there. But developing it and describing it can be a real challenge. Camy Tang shares a series of posts on the topic of voice.

Fiction

I Scrapped It and Skinned It and Scored!!
Inez Kelley tells the story of cutting out more than half of her current WIP, cutting out the hero entirely. It sounds really scary, but it was the right decision for her story, and she is ready to rock with it now. I’m actually leaning toward cutting out one of my characters–it was an idea that came to me while I was listening to Philip Margolin speak on Tuesday–so reading Inez’s story was very useful to me this week.

Romance: The Same Old Same Old?
In this guest post at the Novel Journey, romance novelist Cheryl Wyatt discusses how she keeps her books from just being the same thing over and over again. It is particularly challenging in romance, where we all know there will be a happy ending, but her tips apply to other genres as well. I’ve certainly said that there are no ideas, just new ways of presenting them.

Freelancing

Monthly Marketing Mix: June 2009
Ugh, marketing. Who wants to market when the great late spring weather makes us all want to go outside and have fun with friends and family? Certainly not Jennifer Mattern, who provides us with easy ways to market our freelance services and have fun this month.

30 Sites Every Freelancer Should Visit and Utilize
The folks at Freelance Folder have compiled a good list of resources for freelancers. The only thing I don’t love about this post is that they listed their site first. I mean, come on, at least bury the blatant self-promotion. Well, that, and use “utilize” when “use” would have done just as well. The copy editor in me will never shut up about that one.

Happy writing!

• Writing Roundup, Aug. 14 So many great resources, so little time. Thus, I avoid preamble and move directly into this week's links. The Business of Writing 5 Reasons Pitches Can Be Detrimental Rather Than Helpful Jane Friedman, who took pitches at the Willamette Writers Conference, offers a little advice to writers making pitches: Don't......
• Writing Roundup, July 31 Ah, another month draws to a close. We are nearing the end of a stretch of record warm weather in the Portland area, and the heat really sapped my energy. I did not do as well this month as I had hoped. What keeps you from meeting your goals? I've......
• Writing Roundup, October 23 The Business of Writing Craft Fiction Freelancing Platform The Business of Writing Before You Sign That Publishing Contract Diane Craver guests at Writers Weekly to remind us to take time to read our publisher contracts, assess the points, and decide whether the contract is really right before we sign.......
• Writing Roundup, May 1 Can you believe it's already May? I can't either. Here are some good resources to help you start your writing month off right. The Business of Writing Perception Is Truth Writing Career Coach Tiffany Colter takes a fresh look on book marketing. She reminds us that readers don't make decisions......
• Writing Roundup, August 28 Lots of good stuff out there as we look toward the fall. The Business of Writing How a Book Gets Published Agent Nathan Bransford gives a great, easy-to-follow description of how a book goes from finished clean copy on the author's desk to a shiny new book on the shelves.......

• Audio Review: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident (Book 2) by Eoin Colfer by First Mate Keira, guest reviewer. Title: Artemis Fowl: The Arctic Incident, Book 2 Author: Eoin Colfer Narrator: Nathaniel Parker # CDs (Minutes): 5 CDs...
• Blogging Basics for Business People Blogging basics for business people is a post I should have done months ago but have been too busy to attend to. But I can't...
• How to Write a Love Letter to a Woman: If you're a man looking to do a little old fashion courting I suggest writing a love letter. It's free and means more to her...
• Why I Read and Review Romance by Lynn Spencer, guest blogger and contributor to All About Romance. Follow her on Twitter @LynnAAR. So, why romance? Unless you've been living in very...
• Are Romances Built On Hormones A Good Thing? by Tracy Cooper-Posey, guest blogger and author of Betting with Lucifer. I’ve been touring Betting With Lucifer around a few stops now, and a lot...