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How to Write a Deal-Clinching Book Proposal

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

The world of book publishing has changed the way it operates. There was a time when a writer with a brilliant story idea could approach a dozen or more publishing house in the hope of successfully selling his proposal and bag a contract. Today, the same writer has a lot of publishing options both in the traditional non-traditional publishing market to sell his proposal.

Though traditional print publishing houses are reserved only for experienced best selling novelists, a new comer with a good idea and an impeccable writing style can publish their own works with ease these days.

The non-traditional publishing option include publishing e books or electronic books. This particular option has thrown the publishing door wide open for beginners who can write a complete novel, a reference or how-to book or even a promotional pamphlet in the form of an e book. You can make these books downloadable in the computer, can be read on the screen or even be downloaded for printing if the reader so desires. Though this form of reading is more popular with the modern tech-savvy generation, the traditional book lover still would like to hold the book in his hands and feel it before sitting down to read it in his private library. The ‘real’ book still holds its charm for this crowd. The evolution of the e book has enabled numerous publishers to churn out equally large number of books in a short time incurring very minimal costs.

The compensation for the author is also less than traditional printed books. For writing a 50-page e book, the author would only receive a fraction of what he would have got writing a real book. Of course writing e books cost the author less time and effort, which makes it possible to write more that two books per month. On the other hand, a traditional book would take even the most prolific writer a couple of years to complete.

Irrespective of the publishing option you take to publish your book, a publisher still needs a water-tight proposal from the author which proves that the author knows what he is doing and can deliver what the publisher wants in time and in good order.

Thus a good proposal which a writer ought to present the publisher must convince him that you are fully equipped to handle the project. It must be a presentation of your ideas in a clear and concise way, so that there is nothing left to ambiguity or guess work. The following critical elements must be incorporated when you are making the book proposal to the publisher:

The Introduction: This is the most important part of your proposal which sell you as well as your idea. Write it with the publisher in mind. Why will he accept your proposal? What’s in it for him? So, your proposal must contain the major selling points: the market need for such a book, your unique resources for doing the research back up for writing the book, the angle of your presentation that you wish to adopt; the target audience of the proposed book – who will buy the book and why; the financial viability of the book – what the publisher can look forward to from your book; and finally a short biography of your self, for the publisher to get to know your credentials better.

The Chapter-wise Outline: Through this, you can really tell the publisher how well you have planned out your book and the process or order which you will follow for completing your book.
Some sample chapters: Considering that you have been able to successfully come this far with the publisher, present him with a few sample chapters of your book. Give the first chapter – as this is also the chapter which your readers will read first, followed by another two chapters from the book. It is entirely up to you which chapters you choose – it could be first second and third or first then somewhere in the middle and then the last. Whichever sample chapters you choose, give him the best written pieces. Remember, the \proposal however well written it may be, can not proceed further if the sample chapters do not win his head and heart.

Author’s Bio: This is the final piece where you do your own selling. an extensive resume along with some of your previous writing work can do the work for you satisfactorily. Prove it to the publisher that you can add more value to this project which he can not expect from anyone else. Sell your uniqueness and you can expect to seal the deal then and there.

Today’s writing world, like any industry, is filled with competition where thousands of writers are trying to sell thousands of proposals to publishers. While the market is large enough to accommodate many writers, thanks to alternative publishing options, it is still mandatory for a budding writer to submit a well-documented proposal to achieve success in his writing career. A book proposal written with care and diligence can go a long way in striking a lucrative deal for an author.

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Follow these Don’ts to Become a Writer

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

Like many before you, you are dreaming to forget that 9 to 5 job and get into full time freelance writing. Before you know how to achieve your dreams, it would be wise to know what you should not do – it will help you reach your goal faster.
Don’t bank too much on your income: If you are planning to sustain a family, go for vacations abroad, buy that brand new Ferrari and more all with your freelance writing income, stop day dreaming now. Statistics say that an average full time freelance writer makes about $20,000 a year. Sure, you can spend long lonely hours in front of your computer, churning out one masterpiece after the other, but it is not going to make you very rich, unless you supplement your needs through another source of income, probably from a well-earning spouse! With full time freelance writing, you can expect a steady income, but definitely not a huge income.

Small is beautiful and important too: It is extremely important that you may attention to the minutest details of your writing – including the commas and full stops at the right places. It also means that you may not depend on that spell checker completely, which sometimes can not differentiate between a ‘there’ and a ‘their’. So if your editor is rejecting every alternate piece that you are sending for publishing or your webmaster sacks you with a couple or warnings do not be surprised. These small details matter in writing.
Love thyself less: Like painters love their paintings, writers often fall in love with their own creative output. There is nothing wrong with loving your own work, but at the same time be prepared for rejections for unknown reasons as well as criticism from editors. Every writer can do with a bit of constructive criticism if they are meant for your own good. Remember every editor is a customer, and where have you heard that before, that customers are always right!

Be consistent: if you are trying to make a living out of full time freelance writing, you have to increase your opportunities to write. To do this, do not stop by sending only a couple of proposals and wait for fortune to turn to your favor. Bid for as many projects as possible, and contact as many publishers as you can and keep your contacts consistent. May be there will be a time when a whole lot jobs lands on your table. If this happens work double time to finish them. Who knows you may not get any job during the next few weeks. Whether you write features, blogs, articles, web content or forum postings – go on bidding at as many places as you can. Do as much work is possible. With freelance writing, assured income is as good as it lasts.

Following these tips may not make you the richest freelance writer but it can guarantee a steady income for a long time and reduce lean periods to a minimum.

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The Personal Essay – How to Write and Sell it

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

It is not uncommon to draw inspiration from other peoples’ experiences and obstacles which they overcame successfully. Personal essays are essentially personal accounts of experiences (good or bad) which we write and publish to share with the rest of the world. The aim is not only to share but offer valuable help to readers to go along the journey called life.

Personal essays, where you are recounting memories of an event, a situation or a person, can be of any type: serious, dramatic, funny, outrageous, sentimental, etc. Topics are not difficult to find – simply look hard at your own life and there are hundreds of situations which form part of your good or bad memories. There could be various trials and tribulations which you have crossed successfully or there could be similar amazingly funny incidents which still make you laugh. Look around you and you will find an outrageous neighbor who is irritating but helpful too. The things which your children would do years ago, some of which still make you laugh. Or, some sad events like the death or struggle for life of a dear one which affected you deeply. We are all the time absorbing experiences of our daily lives, which are engraved in our minds – why not take the trouble of sharing them with strangers? Who knows, you could make some one laugh or even change the way some one looks at life and its myriad ways.

The essentials of a good personal essay:

The first aspect of a personal essay is that it is not a chronological account of any event. It is a story and must be written as such. The style must be as if someone is narrating the event sitting in front of the reader, where every scene, is coming alive with its vivid imagery and description. Make the situation and its people come alive, where your reader can actually hear some one speak or visualize the train moving, or see the sun setting. Irrespective of whether you are describing a dramatic, tragic or a hilarious event, the same rule applies.

When you are describing an event, you do not have to give a ball-by-ball account of the flow of events. This might bore the reader; simply narrate the points which add to more color and spirit to the story you are trying to tell. This will give more impact to the first person narrative. Since it is a personal essay, you could change the names of the characters to retain the privacy of your family members if they are part of the story. Omit details which are not relevant to the story, like a description of a cook, who does not feature in the story at all. The golden rule of writing good personal essay is there should be good amount of drama, characterization, action and intrigue. These things keep up the readers’ interest while reading.

Give your readers a reason to read your personal essay: While writing personal essays can have tremendous therapeutic value both for the writer and the reader, never make your essay as if you are offering free counseling to your readers, as what to do in times of a crisis. Simply narrate your experience in the most interesting fashion and let the reader draw his lesson from your successful conquer of your personal adversity. Do not be condescending or even over-bearing and judgmental in your writing style. Let the readers come to their individual conclusions – your job is to tell a personal experience.

Who will buy your personal essays? There are several newspapers, journals and specialty magazines who are always on the look out for well-written personal essays. Appearing usually on the last pages, the topic would usually hover around what their individual philosophies of publication are. If you are targeting a particular magazine, read their past issues as much as possible. This will give you some idea about their approved style and topics. This research is necessary before you send your essays for publication for a particular magazine. While magazines and journals are looking for well-written articles do not try to send them something which is dramatically different. This might throw them in a bit of confusion whether to publish or not.

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How to become a News Article writer

June 7, 2011 By Leave a Comment

There is something interesting in the biographies of some of the famous writers of the world. Many of them began their careers as news writers! Undoubtedly one of the best ways to begin a career in publishing news writing is fairly simple and straightforward. Just answer the first questions that come up in the mind after an event: how, why, who, what, where and when.

The reporting order could be compared to an inverted pyramid where you put in the most important fact first followed by facts which are less relevant or important. Start with an attention-grabbing opening paragraph, also called the lead, which sets the mood and tempo for the entire article or story.

You must begin with the most critical fact about the story. This is when you answer the most important question that will crop up in the mind of your reader. Then fill up the article with more generic information and finally end the article or story with the least important detail. It is not uncommon for editors to edit several paragraphs from the story, for the want of space; so make sure that you have not included any vital information towards the end of your story.

The fundamentals of writing good news articles:

The fundamental fact about a good news story is that it must be clear to understand, brief to hold reader interest and provide the most accurate information. This is the most common demand of all editors. While dailies run at breakneck speed for publication, weeklies are not too slow either. Correspondents are often required to cover an event at 7 in the evening, go back to the office and write about it to meet the midnight deadline. To collect the most important facts of the event and then write an interesting and informative article during this small time period is a must for every reporter. Accuracy of information is mandatory for any news information. Quoting wrong inflation figures or writing the wrong timing of an important event could mean a bad reputation for you in the world of reporting or even result in dismissal from your job.

The job demands that you can express a long-drawn event in the shortest and most concise fashion, considering space is always at a premium with newspapers. A verbose and flowery style of writing is not for news reporting where you have to be able to express all the relevant facts taking the minimum space available. Keep your article short, to the point and accurate. Avoid prolific use of adjectives, superlatives and frills in your writing. If you can do this, you could also become a news writer who is always in demand.

Writing feature stories on the other hand might give you time and space to think, dig deeper in to the story and write in a more elaborate style which a news article does not normally allow. As feature story could allow you to play with 1000 to 5000 words and is a good way to try your hand at writing in a different style. News writers do get a chance to write feature stories once in a while. So you should be ready to jump into the foray of feature writing where you will get a chance to do more research and write in a more elaborate style.

Finding employment as reporter with a newspaper : Getting employment as a news reporter should not be very difficult since every community should have at least one daily and one weekly to serve as the news center for the area. To begin your career as a news reporter the best place to try your hand at are these local dailies, etc. Weeklies usually run with less staff and should give an opportunity to start with your writing skills. Their need is to cover events and meetings and you will probably be paid per story, which is not much, around $35 per story approximately. Though the pay is small, these arte good places to start getting experience as well as valuable clips which get added to your resume.

Once you have gathered some initial experience with smaller newspapers and magazines, you can try your hand with larger newspapers and publications. While the pay is higher at these types of publications, the quality of the news reporting is of paramount importance. You could get paid between $25 and $100 depending on the positioning of your news story and the length of the article published. But before applying for these types of jobs, make sure that you are ready with your style and quality of writing.

There are also full time job opportunities available with daily and weekly news papers and magazines. But you must remember that there is a recession in the print media globally which is resulting in many beginners or writers without much experience finding it extremely difficult to land with such employment. Freelance news writing however still remains a viable employment option as with time and practice you can develop the quality of your work and have chances for an ongoing and regular income.

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