Jen's Writing Journey

I hope you are all having as productive a month as you would like it to be. This seems like such a good time to take a breather and go light on the writing projects. Not me, I always seem to have big deadlines in the summer. Maybe next year, I will schedule things differently…

The Business of Writing

How Blogs Changed Everything
Scott Rosenberg looks at the heavy influence blogs had on our desire to engage in two-way communication with our media. I will admit that in the early days of blogging, I thought it was quite narcissistic to think that anyone would want to read what amounted to an online diary. I am glad to see that blogs have grown into truly useful tools for conversation and information dissemination.

A Writer’s Guide to Social Networking
The only thing not covered in this piece is how to make the time for it! Great overview of the tools out there to connect you to the editors and agents you need to meet. After you read this piece, visit Q4U: Social Networking Anyone? and share your experiences with online networking tools.

How Do You Know?
Agent Jessica Faust explores the author-agent relationship. No matter how much homework we do before even querying an agent, the thought of putting our careers into someone else’s hands to some level can be scary. I think you should do your homework and follow your gut. The relationship will grow and change over the years, and there will be bumps. But you’ll know if it is right.

Dreams
Another compelling question: How do you know when it is time to give up on your dreams? Travis Taylor explores this question and asks for commentary.

Craft

How to Combat Writer’s Block
In this article in Women on Writing, Sue Bradford Edwards shares her recent experiences with writer’s block and how she fought it.

Everything You Need to Know about Writing a Novel
Victoria Mixon shares her writing truths in a guest post on agent Nathan Bransford’s blog. Lots of great information distilled into a nice, concise piece.

Interview with Randy Ingermanson
If you aren’t familiar with Randy Ingermanson’s Advanded Fiction Writing site, please take a moment and visit it right after you read this interview at So You Want to be Published?

Fiction

Scholarly Writers Empower the Romance Genre
You can’t go anywhere without hearing about how the romance genre is now respectable and how much economic clout its readers hold. In this piece, USA Today provides some historical context and shares the experiences of the Smart Bitches.

Where Do You Get Your Ideas?
This post at the fictionistas allows us all to share a bit of our process. Visit the site, post your comment, then direct your readers there to read your and other writers’ responses.

Best First Book Nominee: Private Arrangements
In this interview with Dear Author, Sherry Thomas shares a bit about her book, some of the background of her publishing career, and her writing process.

Freelancing

Freelance Writing in Piss Poor Shape? I Don’t Think So
A lot of us get down about the plethora of low-paying freelance gigs. Truly, it seems as if $1 a word is the American dream of 2009. Jennifer Mattern puts it in perspective and gives advice for what we need to do to ensure that we can make a  living off our writing.

Self-Publishing Books: An Interview with Peter Bowerman
Remember how I like to mention the need for multiple income streams? Peter Bowerman, the author of The Well-Fed Writer, shares his rationale for self-publishing nonfiction books to not only create income but also build your reputation of expertise in your chosen specialty.

Does Working More and Earning Less Hold You Back from Success?
James Chartrand makes an argument for working less and charging more. See what you think.

• Writing Roundup, July 17 How is this collection working for you? Do you have any categories of posts you'd like me to include? Any blogs you think I should be following for potential inclusion? The Business of Writing Distance Insulates Journalists Have you ever gotten your hands on some ill-gotten research? Do you think......
• Creating a Group Blog Pulling together a group of like-minded writers for a collaborative blog is more than just picking a name and setting up a bunch of authorized users. First you need to decide what your common thread will be. For The Romantic Journey, I wanted to bring together romance writers who were......
• Writing Roundup, May 15 [digg=http://digg.com/educational/Essential_Links_for_Writers]We're halfway through the month already. How have you done with achieving your writing goals so far? The Business of Writing Where Have All the Bookstores Gone? Obviously, you must sing this title to the tune of Paula Cole's Where Have All the Cowboys Gone. No? That's just me? Anyway,......
• Writing Roundup, September 4 Public Service Message: If you are affected by the Google Books settlement and you want to opt out, today is the deadline. Here is the link to opt out. The Business of Writing Books: The Big Story Is Consolidation This Financial Times article argues for further consolidation of book publishers......
• Diversification The main reason we are in this whole writing game is that we love to write, to tell stories. But we also have real needs--bills must be paid, food must be purchased, and so on. Thus the desire to earn money for some of these ditties we write. I've written......

• weekly linklings, october 24, 2007 I did decide not to run daily link roundups, so here's the new format - I'll try to cover all of my carnivals, picks, guest...
• Tips for Writing Your Blog Whether you are blogging for business applications, or for personal growth, the process of writing daily is a rewarding activity in many ways. The individual...
• Gaining Easy Blog Traffic Do you want to spend every day smashing the previous day's traffic record? There is no reason why you cannot achieve this, but it is...
• What is the Difference Between Blogging and Content Writing? Sometimes it seems like articles and blogs are so similar to one another in content that it can be difficult to tell what the difference...
• Be a Blogger: Set Your Post Frequency The following is part of Frugal Dad’s weekly series, “So You Want to Be a Blogger?” which chronicles the development and optimization of a blog’s...