The Business of Writing

Perseverance
Without the ability to stick to our goals and complete our writing projects, all of the talent and study in the world won’t mean a thing. How do you keep your motivation up even when you are facing a seemingly endless string of rejections?

Two Roads Diverged: Understanding Traditional and Self-Publishing Differences
Todd Rutherford discusses the differences between these two publishing paths at great length. This post is a great resource as you decide which path is right for you and your work.

Special Focus on the Amazon-MacMillan Battle
Last weekend, the fight between Amazon and MacMillan over ebook prices was seemingly the only topic worth following on Twitter. Here are a few posts that discuss what happened and the results fo the dust-up:

• Dispatches from the Ebook Wars: MacNMillan vs. Amazon
• Amazon’s Response, and My Insta-reaction
• Zinc Blinked
• The Kindle Missile Crisis

Fiction

Is Your Scene Cluttered with Inconsequential Blather?
Author Roz Morris discusses the problems inherent with too much text cluttering up a scene, using an example from her husband’s graphic novel to illustrate.

Tune In, Turn On, and Drop Out with T.C. Boyle
In an interesting interview with Powells.com, Author T.C. Boyle discusses the fictional world he created in Drop City.

Are You Using Setting to Deepen Your Characters?
Author K.M. Weiland discusses how to assess your setting and ensure that it adds to your overall story.

Freelancing

10 Actions for Writers in Providing Great Customer Service
As writers, it is so easy for all of us to focus on our writing and hope that the business side of things just takes care of itself. But, when we work as a freelancer, we are not just the talent. We have to function as the accountant, the business manager, and he customer service staff. How do you ensure that you provide customer service that keeps your clients coming back for more of your talent?

How to Work Less
When we want to earn more money and find more clients, we usually think we need to work more. Linda Formichelli has a much better idea: Work fewer hours, but make sure that those hours count. Don’t tweet or read blogs or sit on the computer waiting for an email response when you are supposed to be working. Work or leave the computer.

20 Writing Mistakes that Make Any Freelancer Look Bad
Whatever you do, don’t make these mistakes. Unless, of course, you never want to work for that client again.