Jen's Writing Journey

We’ve got some great resources this week–summer hasn’t slowed down any of the bloggers!

The Business of Writing

Money, Money, Money, Money
Author Lauren Dane shares her thoughts on the RWA president’s position on e-publishing. It is a well-thought-out argument that asks the RWA to put the focus back on writers and their needs rather than on the publishing medium. Also read parts 2 and 3 of this series to find out more about the nuts and bolts of book deals.

Textbooks: A Market Begging for Change
Students (and their parents) could benefit a great deal from the move from print to electronic publishing–their backs wouldn’t bend under the weight of their books, and their school expenses could be greatly reduced. Joe Wikert presents some ideas about why textbooks need to change their delivery model and what obstacles the change faces.

Straight from the Source: A Book Editor Helps You with Those Five Little Words
“It doesn’t fit our needs.” We’ve all seen those words, and we’ve all wondered exactly what they meant and what we could do to better meet their needs. Kristine Meldrum Denholm went to a book editor to find out more.

How to Write a Marketing Plan and Promotion Timeline
This is a two-fer from L.J. Sellers. As the release date for her new book looms, she is sharing her marketing info. These posts could serve as the skeleton as you plan your own marketing efforts.

Craft

Discipline
What strategies work for you when you write? Do you need to write at the same time of day? In the same location? Do you think a long time before you binge-write? Or do you chunk away at a project? Author Nancy Kress shares her thoughts on the discipline needed to write.

Internal Dialogue
Author L.J. Sellers shares a recent editing note she received regarding her use of internal dialogue. How do you treat your characters’ thoughts? Do you use internal dialogue narration? How do you handle editing marks or critique notes that you don’t quite agree with?

My Prediction Is…
Jennifer Hubbard gives tips to help you avoid being too predictable. You don’t want actions or choices to be completely out of character, but you also don’t want your readers to guess the end on page 2. Strike a balance.

Fiction

June Writing Tip: What I Learned from Movies and TV
Writers can learn a lot about pacing, character development, and narrative devices from tv shows and movies. Author Joe Finder shares the lessons he has learned and put into practice in his books.

The Vampire’s Influence on Teenage Self-Identification
I know, a lot of us are sick of vampires. But, this piece goes into some of the things current vampire stories are doing right when they target their audience. How are you targeting your audience with your stories?

There and Back Again: Five Reasons Tolkein Rocks
Author China Mievelle shares his admiration of Tolkein’s work. What can we learn from Tolkein’s techniques? How can we shake up familiar story archetypes?

Freelancing

Contacts Pay Off Again
Writer Sue Lick shares a recent tale of networking success. Knowing the right people–and making a favorable impression on them–is key to finding new freelance clients.

Reader Question: Specializing in Article Writing
Specialization typically equals higher pay, because the more you know about a topic area, the more valuable you become. But, it can be hard to break into a new field of specialization. Jenifer Mattern provides some ideas that will help you.

The Reckoning
Michelle Rafter discusses the changes she is making to her business model to compensate for the recession and for the changes to the landscape of publishing.

Freelance Tips
Lyndon Antcliff shares some of the realities of freelancing. Good for a laugh and a reality check.

• Short Stories Can Improve Your Writing Skill Finally! Here is a tidbit I picked up from the Willamette Writers Conference. A few months back, I questioned whether writers can work on short and long pieces at the same time. Published writer Eric Witchey says not only can you, but you should. Witchey offered some great ideas in......
• Writing Roundup, December 4 The Business of Writing Craft Fiction Freelancing Platform The Business of Writing What Can I Expect of My Agent? Moonrat posts a nice description of what you can expect in your relationship with your agent. Read this post, then visit agent Kate Schafer Testerman's blog for a follow-up and......
• Dealing with Rejection On Monday, I talked a little about the stigma attached to vanity presses. We all seemed to be in agreement that self-published books are not viewed with the same level of respect as traditionally published books, even if the writing is of the same or better caliber. Writer's Digest has......
• Writing Roundup, September 11 Here is a handy table of contents that will help you quickly reach the topic of your choice. Let me know if you like it this way. The Business of Writing Craft Fiction Freelancing Platform The Business of Writing Freemium for Writers Is Two Debates Don Holloway provides interesting insight......
• Writing Roundup Reasons to Write: Writing for LoveChristina Katz reminisces about the romantic notions of a writer's life she held when she was younger and dreamed about being a writer. Then she provides an easy-to-follow road map to move beyond dreaming into doing.Tips for Recognizing Great Article IdeasIn the current economic climate,......

• Have You Seen Your Soul Lately? How are we aware of our soul?  Well, awareness of the soul is scary. Like in the Egyptian book of the dead, it’s the encounter...
• Hack Your Credit Score? When I was at Prosper's annual conference, CEO Chris Larsen flashed through an interesting slide. It showed a borrow with a grade D credit score...
• Start Treating Your Finances Like a Bank If you want to start making money, you’ve got to stop looking at your finances like a regular person and start treating your checkbook like...
• Cash Money Life Is My Hero This Week Remember my post We Will Retire? In that I talked about my financial goal of how my wife and I were going to fund our...
• Personal Finance Links ("Big Sign" Edition) Whenever I'm driving, I hand my wife navigating duty. I'm directionally challenged and I know it. Well, she'll make a comment that there's a "big...