Tag Archives: writing

“Do it by the Book”

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So you think you want to live the True Writing Life. You’re working hard on your craft. Of course, one must eat. Whether it’s books, stories, poems, or songs that are ruling your life, you want to figure out a way to monetize it, right? Well, the True Writing Life knows that to monetize ones words takes discipline. It is a dogged pursuit in the face of everyone telling you it will never happen. Oh, their reasons vary, but one oft-recurring reason is this: You can only succeed if you “do it by the book.” Want to know what “do it by the book” really means? It could mean two things. One is negative. One is positive. Let’s look at the positve first. Positive “doing it by the book” means this: 1. Learn your craft 2. Study the industry into which you want to sell 3. Identify marketing methodologies 4. Continue reading “Do it by the Book”→

Why are You Giving it Away?

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First piece of advice. Stop writing for pennies. Just STOP IT. If your writing has value, why are you giving it away? If you obviously do not value it, why should others? That being said, getting publishing credits is a good thing when your first starting out. But there comes a point where you must eat and pay the bills. Publishing credits are only good if they can then lead to a paying gig. Writing is a tough life. There are a lot of ways to make money doing it, but with so many people giving it away for free, it is even more difficult than ever. I stopped writing for free (and cheap) many years ago. If a writing gig cannot make me money, then I have to ask: What other benefit is it bringing to me? If I write for a publication and I get no money, will Continue reading Why are You Giving it Away?→

The True Writing Life

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The True Writing Life ain’t easy. If you get into it for the money, you’ll not be happy, that’s for sure. My passion is words. Has been since as far back as I remember. But it wasn’t until the last few years that I removed obstacles to allow that passion full rein. In practical terms, what does that mean? I’ll tell you. The True Writing Life means my bosses are the words, the sentences, the paragraphs, and chapters, and whole books…and now songs, too. When they are ready to come out, they must come. Their time rules. “Write me…now,” they say, “or else you’ll be sorry.” Yes, I’m punished with headaches and blues. The True Writing Life means you have bosses whose agendas come first. Characters tell me their stories and I must tell their stories, not as I want them to be, but as they are: True to that Continue reading The True Writing Life→