A full-time living from writing doesn’t happen overnight. In the interim, we need to earn a living, help support our families and honor our ongoing obligations.
Even when life gets in the way, here are some simple things you can do daily to help keep up your creative momentum, promote your work and drive revenue writing opportunities…
COUNT TO 10...!
See what's topical.
Watching the news, setting up Google alerts, reading the latest Twitter Moments… there are hundreds of ways of keeping up to date with what’s happening in the world, and in the areas that interest you and are relevant for your career. The news is a perennial source of angles for article ideas – for example, if you’re a wellbeing journalist and a well-known celebrity discusses a fear of flying, that article on phobias you wanted to write is suddenly topical. Or if an event happens that mirrors an event in your latest novel, you now have a great excuse to pitch an article on that topic that will also help to promote your work. Remember, an angle explains to a magazine editor: ‘Why should we write about this NOW.’
Keep an eye on your social channels.
Be a good social citizen
– make a point of following people back, responding to comments and sharing useful content. Don’t forget to add a comment when you share things, to underline your own talent/expertise and add value to the conversation. Make a point of boosting people in your network that you’d like to develop working relationships with too.
Always be subbing.
When it comes to submitting book proposals or stories and poems or ideas for articles and guest posts, let ‘little and often’ be your mantra. Send out a few at a time; making a point of personalizing each message and carefully following all submission guidelines. (Some agents reject attachments, for example, while some prefer you to use their own online submission system.) That extra care will pay off in a higher rate of acceptances.
Keep an eye on your favorites.
That is, all the publishers, magazines and contacts who have published your work in the past. See what they’re up to, amplify their social and blog content, and look for opportunities to contact them again and cultivate your relationship further. Remember: it’s always easier to sell to people who’ve bought from you before, because of your existing track record.
Keep an eye on deadlines.
There are loads of competitions and submissions windows out there, any of which could lead to a profile-boosting acceptance or listing. Make sure you are on top of all the dates that matter to you, so you can prepare entries and submissions in good time.
Comment on posts and articles.
Make a point of contributing to conversations inspired by new posts on blogs and in forums on topics that relate to you and your work. Find the outlets where your target audiences are likely to live online, and start to develop a helpful online presence in discussions so you gradually get your name associated with the sort of subjects you too write about.
Even when life gets in the way, here are some simple things you can do daily to help keep up your creative momentum, promote your work and drive revenue writing opportunities…
COUNT TO 10...!
See what's topical.
Watching the news, setting up Google alerts, reading the latest Twitter Moments… there are hundreds of ways of keeping up to date with what’s happening in the world, and in the areas that interest you and are relevant for your career. The news is a perennial source of angles for article ideas – for example, if you’re a wellbeing journalist and a well-known celebrity discusses a fear of flying, that article on phobias you wanted to write is suddenly topical. Or if an event happens that mirrors an event in your latest novel, you now have a great excuse to pitch an article on that topic that will also help to promote your work. Remember, an angle explains to a magazine editor: ‘Why should we write about this NOW.’
Keep an eye on your social channels.
Be a good social citizen
– make a point of following people back, responding to comments and sharing useful content. Don’t forget to add a comment when you share things, to underline your own talent/expertise and add value to the conversation. Make a point of boosting people in your network that you’d like to develop working relationships with too.
Always be subbing.
When it comes to submitting book proposals or stories and poems or ideas for articles and guest posts, let ‘little and often’ be your mantra. Send out a few at a time; making a point of personalizing each message and carefully following all submission guidelines. (Some agents reject attachments, for example, while some prefer you to use their own online submission system.) That extra care will pay off in a higher rate of acceptances.
Keep an eye on your favorites.
That is, all the publishers, magazines and contacts who have published your work in the past. See what they’re up to, amplify their social and blog content, and look for opportunities to contact them again and cultivate your relationship further. Remember: it’s always easier to sell to people who’ve bought from you before, because of your existing track record.
Keep an eye on deadlines.
There are loads of competitions and submissions windows out there, any of which could lead to a profile-boosting acceptance or listing. Make sure you are on top of all the dates that matter to you, so you can prepare entries and submissions in good time.
Comment on posts and articles.
Make a point of contributing to conversations inspired by new posts on blogs and in forums on topics that relate to you and your work. Find the outlets where your target audiences are likely to live online, and start to develop a helpful online presence in discussions so you gradually get your name associated with the sort of subjects you too write about.
Jot things down.
Keep an eye open for ideas wherever you go. Scribble scraps of dialogues, funny thoughts, ideas for plot points, ideas for future projects – anything that bubbles to the surface of your mind while you’re out and about. Often the best ideas come when we least expect. so we have to be on hand to capture them any way we can – with a notebook by your bed, or just recording thoughts into your phone.
Chase proposals and submissions.
Whenever you send off a proposal, whether you’re pitching a book, a poem, or a guest post, set up an alert in your calendar to chase after a polite interval. Then, if you’ve heard nothing when the day comes round, you can send a friendly nudge to see if a decision’s been made.
Chase payments.
Cashflow failure is the #1 reason that start-up businesses fail, and if you're going to be a writing business you need to step up to the credit controller part of the job. Again, make a note in your calendar when payments are due, and send polite reminders if they fall overdue.
Conclusion: Every day, in every way…
As you can see, even when you’re very busy and can’t write as often as you’d like, you can at least make sure you’re doing a few things every day to further your goal. Writing is as much a mindset as an activity, and once you get into the habit of inching every day towards that goal, in whatever way you can, you’ll find an abundance of ways to get there and more good things start happening for you and your career.
Chase proposals and submissions.
Whenever you send off a proposal, whether you’re pitching a book, a poem, or a guest post, set up an alert in your calendar to chase after a polite interval. Then, if you’ve heard nothing when the day comes round, you can send a friendly nudge to see if a decision’s been made.
Chase payments.
Cashflow failure is the #1 reason that start-up businesses fail, and if you're going to be a writing business you need to step up to the credit controller part of the job. Again, make a note in your calendar when payments are due, and send polite reminders if they fall overdue.
Conclusion: Every day, in every way…
As you can see, even when you’re very busy and can’t write as often as you’d like, you can at least make sure you’re doing a few things every day to further your goal. Writing is as much a mindset as an activity, and once you get into the habit of inching every day towards that goal, in whatever way you can, you’ll find an abundance of ways to get there and more good things start happening for you and your career.
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Dan, thanks for sharing these great tips. I need to be more consistent and make all of these a daily habit.
ReplyDeleteJen, thanks for hosting. Always wonderful content and inspiration here!
You are very welcome, Karen!
DeleteDan's tips are very helpful, especially, don't be afraid to chase submissions. Editors are busy people, too.
ReplyDeleteIndeed they are. Thanks, Lin.
DeleteThanks for reading Karen! I'm reading an interesting book (The One Thing) which says that discipline is really just a matter of developing a few good habits...
ReplyDeleteThanks Linda! Having been an editor myself, I know I'm often quite grateful to get a nudge from a writer I'm thinking about commissioning/publishing... I don't think editors enjoy leaving people hanging either - as you say, they're just very busy and trying to juggle priorities all the time.
ReplyDeleteThank you.
ReplyDeleteThanks Dan. For everything...
ReplyDeleteI wanna start writing thanks for sharing they are useful .
ReplyDelete