Good Fiction is Credible Fiction

So you want to write a good story? The kind of fiction that resonates with its readers; the kind that lasts longer on the shelf than the milk at your grocer; the kind that keeps people up at night like a narcotic? Well, then here’s a little advice my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Pendergast, gave me: do your homework. But you don’t like research, you say. That’s why you write fiction and not non-fiction, you say. With fiction you can just make everything up. You don’t need to do any research. OK, so how is that working for you? Before you answer, let me also ask you this: ever hear of Michael Crichton? How about The Da Vinci Code?

I could go on and on, listing authors and titles that most anyone has heard of, besides maybe Osama—though I bet even he has read The Da Vinci Code. And though there are many reasons why these authors are so successful, there is at least one thing they have in common. They do their homework. Their works are rich with research. Think about it. If Dan Brown just made everything up in The Da Vinci Code would it have become a #1 world bestseller? Absolutely not. The Da Vinci Code’s success is directly related to Dan’s ability to convince the reader that in fact it may just be that Jesus had wed, born children, and that his lineage exists down to the present. Despite all the churchyard signs, documentaries, and nay-saying experts to the contrary, Dan’s book is credible, at least to the reader. And that is the kind of fiction that sells—credible fiction.

Now keep in mind that credible isn’t synonymous with absolute truth or fact. The Da Vinci Code is by no means a historical textbook, nor should anyone read it as such. Even Crichton’s work, as authentic as many of his may be, should never be mistaken for absolute truth, facts, or any form of non-fiction. They are all works of fiction. But they do speak a truth of a different kind. They speak of emotional, moral, and even universal truths. And it these truths that readers hunger for, not necessarily the facts. Works such as Crichton’s State of Fear and Brown’s The Da Vinci Code ring true, feel true, and in a metaphoric sense are true.

And the key to earning this sort of credibility, this authority to speak a subjective truth, is building a story upon a foundation of in-depth, exhaustive research. Readers are intelligent, in a street-wise sort of way if not in an academic sense. They know when they’re being lied to, when an author is faking it, or when she is flat out wrong. And readers also recognize sincerity, subject matter expertise, and especially when an element of a story overlaps with their own personal experience. You don’t have to discover an ancient secret that rewrites history, understand the complex workings of nano technology, or even travel beyond your city library. Your story can be a simple detective story or genre romance. But there is research that can be, and should be, done to tell that romance or who-dunit with authority and credibility.

To give an example, one I’m quite familiar with, my first novel was a thriller about Sasquatch or Bigfoot. Now I knew two things going into this project. First, most of my potential readers already believed Sasquatch to be a hoax or simply a myth at best. Second, the scariest sort of monster is one that is real, one the reader can’t simply dismiss as pure fantasy whenever the tension gets too tight for their comfort. So my task was to convince the reader that Sasquatch might not be as fantastic as they believe. Perhaps it may even be alive and well in their own backwoods. And the only way to accomplish this was through research. I had to create an authentic creature on the page for the reader to behold. Not only that, I had to graft my story into the very world the reader knew to be their own. And I accomplished that be doing a little homework on Lewis & Clark, specifically the possibility that the two legendary explorers may have actually discovered Sasquatch. The end result was Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark.

Osama may not have read Cryptid yet, but it is on bookstore shelves, and for far longer than the milk at my grocer. And I guarantee you it’s not because of my vivid imagination and ability to make-up a good story about Bigfoot. On the contrary, it is because I made-up very little, just enough. The rest came from over a year of thorough research. Readers care about the story because it feels true. And it feels true because in a large sense it is true.

So listen to Ms. Pendergast, Mr. Thatchet, or whoever your fifth grade teacher was. Do your homework. You might be surprised to find it easier to keep me up at night reading your book if you had researched it rather than faked it.

So you want to write a good story? The kind of fiction that resonates with its readers; the kind that lasts longer on the shelf than the milk at your grocer; the kind that keeps people up at night like a narcotic? Well, then here’s a little advice my fifth grade teacher, Ms. Pendergast, gave me: do your homework. But you don’t like research, you say. That’s why you write fiction and not non-fiction, you say. With fiction you can just make everything up. You don’t need to do any research. OK, so how is that working for you? Before you answer, let me also ask you this: ever hear of Michael Crichton? How about The Da Vinci Code?

I could go on and on, listing authors and titles that most anyone has heard of, besides maybe Osama—though I bet even he has read The Da Vinci Code. And though there are many reasons why these authors are so successful, there is at least one thing they have in common. They do their homework. Their works are rich with research. Think about it. If Dan Brown just made everything up in The Da Vinci Code would it have become a #1 world bestseller? Absolutely not. The Da Vinci Code’s success is directly related to Dan’s ability to convince the reader that in fact it may just be that Jesus had wed, born children, and that his lineage exists down to the present. Despite all the churchyard signs, documentaries, and nay-saying experts to the contrary, Dan’s book is credible, at least to the reader. And that is the kind of fiction that sells—credible fiction.

Now keep in mind that credible isn’t synonymous with absolute truth or fact. The Da Vinci Code is by no means a historical textbook, nor should anyone read it as such. Even Crichton’s work, as authentic as many of his may be, should never be mistaken for absolute truth, facts, or any form of non-fiction. They are all works of fiction. But they do speak a truth of a different kind. They speak of emotional, moral, and even universal truths. And it these truths that readers hunger for, not necessarily the facts. Works such as Crichton’s State of Fear and Brown’s The Da Vinci Code ring true, feel true, and in a metaphoric sense are true.

And the key to earning this sort of credibility, this authority to speak a subjective truth, is building a story upon a foundation of in-depth, exhaustive research. Readers are intelligent, in a street-wise sort of way if not in an academic sense. They know when they’re being lied to, when an author is faking it, or when she is flat out wrong. And readers also recognize sincerity, subject matter expertise, and especially when an element of a story overlaps with their own personal experience. You don’t have to discover an ancient secret that rewrites history, understand the complex workings of nano technology, or even travel beyond your city library. Your story can be a simple detective story or genre romance. But there is research that can be, and should be, done to tell that romance or who-dunit with authority and credibility.

To give an example, one I’m quite familiar with, my first novel was a thriller about Sasquatch or Bigfoot. Now I knew two things going into this project. First, most of my potential readers already believed Sasquatch to be a hoax or simply a myth at best. Second, the scariest sort of monster is one that is real, one the reader can’t simply dismiss as pure fantasy whenever the tension gets too tight for their comfort. So my task was to convince the reader that Sasquatch might not be as fantastic as they believe. Perhaps it may even be alive and well in their own backwoods. And the only way to accomplish this was through research. I had to create an authentic creature on the page for the reader to behold. Not only that, I had to graft my story into the very world the reader knew to be their own. And I accomplished that be doing a little homework on Lewis & Clark, specifically the possibility that the two legendary explorers may have actually discovered Sasquatch. The end result was Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis & Clark.

Osama may not have read Cryptid yet, but it is on bookstore shelves, and for far longer than the milk at my grocer. And I guarantee you it’s not because of my vivid imagination and ability to make-up a good story about Bigfoot. On the contrary, it is because I made-up very little, just enough. The rest came from over a year of thorough research. Readers care about the story because it feels true. And it feels true because in a large sense it is true.

So listen to Ms. Pendergast, Mr. Thatchet, or whoever your fifth grade teacher was. Do your homework. You might be surprised to find it easier to keep me up at night reading your book if you had researched it rather than faked it.

Article Source: http://www.redsofts.com/articles/ Eric Penz is the author of Cryptid: The Lost Legacy of Lewis and Clark. Visit his Web site to learn more, http://www.ericpenz.com

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Go With the Flow: Write With Transition Words and Phrases

One of the most common weaknesses I see in day-to-day writing is poor logical flow from one idea or point to the next. This usually takes the form of a bunch of seemingly unrelated phrases thrown together with little or no sense of sequence, continuity, or relativity.

Although the overall subject may be obvious, the words to describe it seem to be scattered on the page like an almost random set of unconnected thoughts. On a regular basis, I see letters and reports in which each phrase seems to be independent of the one before and the one after, when in reality there is an actual sequential and/or logical flow.

Consider the following three sentence example:

1. The entire building had to be searched.

2. They started the search on the third floor.

3. It took three hours to complete the search.

Notice that the three separate statements are all valid sentences. They convey the bare essential facts of the situation, but nothing more. In fact, they raise almost more questions than they answer. For example:

– Was it a serious incident?
– Had it ever happened before?
– Why did they start on the third floor?
– What about the first two floors?
– Is three hours a long time for that?
– How long does it usually take?

These are all logical (and obvious) questions that the average person might ask when reading a paragraph made up of the three sentences above.

Now, let’s transform these three statements, using transition phrases, as follows:

“UNLIKE the previous minor incident, this time the entire building had to be searched. BECAUSE the fire was still smoking on the first two floors, they started on the third, working upwards, covering the first two last. CONSEQUENTLY, it took them a full three hours before they finally completed the typical two-hour job.”

Notice the use of the transition words: UNLIKE, BECAUSE, and CONSEQUENTLY. Using these three words has allowed us to easily connect the three independent sentences and give them a sense of chronological order and logical flow. They also allow us to answer ALL of the obvious questions, either with the transition word itself, or by adding a couple more words.
In short, transition words/phrases have turned three dry independent phrases into a little story that makes sense to the reader.

These types of words/phrases are ideal for allowing one to easily connect thoughts, and create logical sequences between sentences and paragraphs. They are usually inserted at the beginning of a sentence and normally refer directly back to the previous sentence and/or paragraph without repeating the specific subject.

The following paragraphs list some of the more common transition words and phrases that will help make your text more understandable and interesting to the reader. For each one, I have included a typical example of how the word/phrase might be used in a typical sentence.

Note that I have capitalized the transition words/phrases for emphasis and easy identification.

CAUSE AND EFFECT…
THEN, he moved on to the next work station.
AS A RESULT, the team lost the game.
FOR THIS REASON, she always went home for the weekend.
THE RESULT WAS always predictable.
WHAT FOLLOWED was as painful as it was inevitable.
IN RESPONSE, he quickly upped the ante.
THEREFORE, the aircraft overshot the runway.
THUS, it was just a matter of time.
BECAUSE OF THIS, the results were always the same.
CONSEQUENTLY, he was no longer friends with Frank.
THE REACTION to this event was swift and decisive.

IN CONTRAST TO…
UNLIKE last year, this one was highly profitable.
DIFFERENT from this, was our approach to manufacturing.
IN SPITE OF the dot com bust, the company prospered.
ON THE OTHER HAND, earnings per share have increased.
ON THE CONTRARY, the impact was less than expected.
OPPOSING that idea was the move to new technologies.
HOWEVER, that approach may actually prove better.
CONTRARY to his findings, the revenue picture is good.
NEVERTHELESS, something still appears to be missing.

SEQUENCE AND RELATIVITY…
THEN, each one followed in numerical sequence.
IN ADDITION, a fourth material was added to the mix.
TO ENUMERATE, first there was the car, second the boat,…
NEXT in the series was the “outrigger” brand line.
BESIDES THAT, there were two other possible sources.

SIMILARITY AND COMPARISON…
LIKE always, he took the company on a dangerous course.
SAME as before, he managed to meet all of the requirements.
SIMILAR things were known to happen at certain times.
CLOSE to that was the result of the second round of voting.
LIKEWISE, they made similar changes in the factory.
ALSO, there were the worker’s families to consider.
NEAR that one, was where we found the faulty component.

EXPLANATION AND EXAMPLE…
FOR EXAMPLE, last year’s model was underpowered.
ONE SUCH occurrence was last week’s power outage.
FOR INSTANCE, earnings this year are higher than last.
TO ILLUSTRATE, he went to Chicago just to make his point.
ALSO, there is a new approach to sheet-metal molding.
THAT TOO, just goes to make my point even stronger.
TO DEMONSTRATE, I will use the new model throughout.

The above are just examples, and there many other such transition words and phrases that are used in everyday conversation and writing. In my opinion, appropriate use of these words/phrases is the number one technique for making any type of writing flow more logically and clearly.

Bottom line: Smooth, orderly and logical transitions from one thought to the other, one sentence to the next, and one paragraph to another, are key to creating clear meaning and flow in any document. Transition words and phrases will achieve this for you.

Shaun Fawcett is Webmaster of two of the most visited writing-help Web sites on the Net. He is the author of numerous “how-to” books on everyday practical writing help. He also writes about how to create and publish books and ebooks. His main “writing tools” site is: WritingHelpTools.com

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Going The Extra Mile

There is one sure way to get what you want in life, but few people actually do it. Put this practice firmly into your day to day business activities and you will have an advantage over the rest of the crowd.

Successful people realize their life long dreams by doing things that most people are not willing to do. If you can just do what is needed instead of what you want to do, you can accomplish a lot.

People that get what they want in business don’t just give 100% each day. When the day is through and you’ve done your best, it is now time to make the extra effort to accomplish one more small goal or to finish the day’s original goal. “Going the extra mile” does not require a massive effort on your part. If you put forth only 5% of your daily effort, a small goal is easily attained. Doing this only three days a week can produce impressive results by the end of the month.

Do you have a problem getting things done? Then don’t be satisfied with another day gone and your goal not met. Put forth that small extra effort on a regular basis and you will begin reaching your goals.

Going the extra mile is part of a small business success mindset. It’s your business, you are ultimately responsible for the results. Setting deadlines for yourself and writing down your goals makes it easier to go the extra mile. You can see on paper the goal set for that day. Many times you will see that by the end of the day you are very close to meeting your goal. You can now go your extra mile because you know it is only going to take a small amount of extra effort.

Going the extra mile will enable you to reach more of your goals. This allows you to “raise the bar” on your new goals, creating growth in your business. Growth does wonders for your attitude and makes the road to success more enjoyable.

What’s the bottom line on going the extra mile? More signups for your network marketing business. More sales for your infoproduct business. And you’ll get what you want a lot faster when you are willing to do what others are not.

Let Ken and Willie help you achieve your burning desire... 30 Days of FREE Training and Ongoing Mentoring from Ken Leonard Jr. and Willie Crawford could change your life forever... http://EliteTeamFreedom.com

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Glossary of Children’s Writing Terms

ADVANCE: money paid to author by publisher once book is under contract. ½ of advance is generally paid upon signing of the contract, ½ upon delivery of final manuscript. Advances are paid against future royalties (see below), so the author won’t receive any additional payments until the royalty earnings have surpassed the amount of the advance.

BACKLIST: books from previous seasons that are still in print. In children’s publishing, a book can remain on a publisher’s backlist for 50 years.

COPYRIGHT: designates ownership of the book. Most publishers will copyright the text in the name of the author, meaning that when the work goes out of print all rights revert back to the author and the book can be sold to another publisher.

FLAT FEE: also called “work-for-hire.” The author or illustrator is paid one lump sum for their work, and receives no royalties.

FRONTLIST: the books being published in the current season, and featured in the publisher’s current catalog.

HARDCOVER: also called “cloth”, refers to books bound with a hard, cloth-over-cardboard cover and covered with a paper dust jacket.

INSTITUTIONAL SALES: books sold to schools and libraries. Both trade and mass market books can have institutional sales. Children’s book publishers rely on institutions for a large portion of their sales.

MASS MARKET: also called “rack-sized”, this is a paperback book smaller in trim size than trade paperback, usually with a different cover illustration than the hardcover edition, and considerably cheaper.

MASS MARKET PUBLISHERS: companies that produce paperback books inexpensively and in large quantities; their titles tend to follow trends and sell high volume in a short amount of time. Most mass market publishers are not looking for award-winning books or a strong backlist, but rather titles that fit current market needs.

NET PRICE: sometimes called “wholesale price”, this is the money the publisher actually receives from each book sale after discounts are given to book stores or buyers. Some publishers base the royalty paid to the author or illustrator on net price.

PERMISSIONS: a fee paid by anyone who wants to reprint part of your book for various uses. Some of these uses are: excerpts of your book appearing in an anthology; teachers reproducing all or part of your story for class use (often the publisher will allow teachers to use material for free); another writer using more than 50 words from your book in a published article. The publisher handles permissions for the author, and splits the proceeds, usually 50/50.

RETAIL PRICE: the cover price on the book. Most larger publishers pay royalties based on the cover price.

ROYALTIES: a percentage of the proceeds from the sale of each copy of the book. Royalties can range from 3% – 15%, depending on the type of book, amount of experience author has, etc. Authors and illustrators are both paid in royalties unless a flat fee arrangement has been made.

SASE: self-addressed, stamped envelope.

SCBWI: Society of Children’s Book Writers and Illustrators, the leading membership organization for children’s writers.

SUBSIDIARY RIGHTS: sales of your book, either by your publisher or your agent, to other outlets such as book clubs, foreign publishers, magazines, or movie studios. If the publisher sells the sub. rights, the proceeds are split with the author (usually 50/50). If the agent sells the rights, the author keeps all the proceeds minus the agent’s commission.

TRADE PAPERBACK: refers to a book bound with a heavy paper cover, usually the same size and with the same cover illustration as the hardcover edition, but lower in price.

TRIM SIZE: the outer dimensions of the finished book.

WORK-FOR-HIRE: see “flat fee” above.

Laura Backes is the publisher of Children's Book Insider, the Newsletter for Children's Writers. For more information about writing children's books, including free articles, market tips, insider secrets and much more, visit Children's Book Insider's home on the web at http://write4kids.com

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Ghostwriting for Fun and Profit

We’ve all heard of ghostwriters. For some, a ghostwriter is the ghostly assistant to junior detectives on a PBS kids’ show. For most, however, a ghostwriter is someone who writes for another, in the name of another.

Many celebrities use a ghostwriter in their forays into writing. Probably the most-noted ghostwriting project would have to be the books by V.C. Andrews, which were taken on by a ghostwriter after the real V.C. Andrews passed away. Surprisingly, there are a lot of writers that would like to break into this type of business, even though friends and family are sure to question them about such a task.

But ghostwriting can be really rewarding. You get the chance to research and write all about topics that you wouldn’t normally get the chance to learn about. The old “write what you know” theory for writing doesn’t apply here, as your clients will dictate the topic you write about. And you can make a decent living!

If you’re new to writing, it might take some time to get clients, but it’s possible. It just takes some hard work and perserverance. But there are serveral ways that a new ghostwriter can find clients.

First of all, bid on writing jobs on contracted work sites such as getafreelancer.com or rentacoder.com. You sign up as a service provider to begin bidding on posted projects. If you win the bid, typically, you do the writing project as a ghostwriter.

Be sure to place ads for your ghostwriting service on free classified ad sites! It doesn’t cost you anything and it’s a great way to get your services out there in front of your potential clients.

Surely by now you’re a member of at least a few forums. Post responses with a signature that defines your ghostwriting service and an email address or website for people to visit. While in the forums, if you’re allowed to introduce your business, you should do it! Definitely seek out writing forums for this. You’ll be amazed at how many authors would love to have a ghostwriter!

Have business cards created or create your own! This should showcase your ghostwriting business, and you should definitely pass them out at every opportunity. Write a press release announcing your services. There are plenty of ways to get the message out, even no-cost or low-cost distribution services available online!

Ghostwriting may not be for everyone. If you want credit for your work, it’s definitely not the way to go, as you don’t get credit, the client does. However, if that doesn’t matter to you and you love to write on a wide variety of topics, ghostwriting can be enjoyable and you can make some pretty good money doing it!

Article source: http://www.superfeature.com Amanda Baker writes for All Things Pondered: http://AllThingsPondered.com

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Ghostwriting – Making Money by Being Invisible

My bookcase take up one whole wall in the family room, from floor to ceiling. It shows my eclectic reading tastes… fiction, non-fiction, Harry Potter next to murder mysteries and metaphysical literature. Also there are books I’ve written for the business sector – on negotiation, writing letters, communication skills, real estate sales and a lot more. The business books, however, have other people’s names on them. I’m merely the ghostwriter.

These days, I’ve moved from writing fiction and being a ghostwriter to a new career as an information marketer on the Internet. (What is an “information marketer”? Just what it sounds like. I do extensive research to find out what information people are searching for, and then I find a way to create it, package it and sell it to them. It’s a bit like ghostwriting, really, except that I’m doing it for myself instead of someone else.)

My experience as a ghostwriter was invaluable for doing what I’m doing now. So was my experience in writing fiction. Fiction writers make excellent ghostwriters, because they use their skills to bring scenes and people to life in non-fiction. You see, people love to read about people.

Not things.

Not places.

Not strategies.

Rather, they like to read about the people behind all these things: this is what brings non-fiction to life. If you are a skilled fiction writer, then you can easily adapt your talent to ghostwriting. And the happy news is this: you will probably earn a lot more as a ghostwriter than you ever will writing fiction.

“Ghostwriter” will be only one of the terms for what you do. Sometimes you will find yourself acknowledged as a “consultant”; sometimes as a “copywriter”. Most often, you will not get any recognition at all… because that’s why people hire ghostwriters: they want to produce a book (or e-book or article or a report) without having to slog away at the actual writing. So… they hire a professional.

Really, the label is not important, and nor is whether you get acknowledged for what you do. What is important is that you get paid regularly for doing something you enjoy. Plenty of people would kill for a job like that!

Any competent writer can earn a steady income from ghostwriting. You can establish a ghostwriting career online or offline – but I would recommend that you start ONline, if you haven’t done this before. Thanks to the Internet, it’s possible to establish a portfolio of work and get up and running within weeks. Yes, that’s right: not months… weeks. If you already have a few samples of articles or work done for others, then you’re off to a running start!

Here are some tips to get you started:

1. Start Building Writing Credits.

My first work in ghostwriting came about because I had a portfolio of published articles. What I did not have was a background in journalism. I learned how to write articles by reading how-to books and articles in writers’ magazines, and by analyzing the structure of articles in a range of magazines and newspapers. Then I started sending my work out. Luckily, you don’t have to take as long as I did to build up credits. You can write a number of articles on different topics, post them to article sites on the Internet, and earn yourself an ‘expert’ rating within DAYS.

2. Talk About What You Do / Network.

ONLINE: (1) join in forums and mention that you’re a ghostwriter; (2) email your friends and acquaintances and asking them to put the word out; (3) create an email signature that advertises your ghostwriting services; (4) set up a website to promote your services, and (5) take the fast route and sign up at Internet sites where potential clients post work.

OFFLINE: (1) Always mention what you do (you never know who knows somebody who knows somebody etc etc…); (2) Do a mailout to businesses in your local area; (3) Put an ad in the paper; (4) Join professional organizations where business people go (the local Chamber of Commerce; Rotary etc)

3. Create a Professional Image From Day One.

Make sure that your work is as close to perfect as you can make it: DEFINITELY no typos or grammatical errors. Sample articles, book outlines, reports etc should be attractively presented and easy to read. As soon as you start getting work, make sure you MEET YOUR DEADLINES. This is crucial!

Invest in quality equipment. With a computer, a high-quality word processor and a laser printer, you can produce not only books and articles, but also proposals, fliers, and an attractive letterhead for your business. For fast, efficient online research: a broadband connection is well worth the additional expense. These days, an entry-level broadband connection is almost as cheap as dialup anyway.

4. Organize Your Material.

As your client base increases, you will find yourself speedily becoming an “expert” on a dazzling variety of subjects. Keep your subject matter organized by client, by subject or both. Eventually you will be able to save time by looking up previous articles – but always give it a new slant.

5. How to Decide What to Charge for Your Services.

Initially, I suggest you charge modest fees and concentrate on building up your client list and your reputation. As a rule of thumb, decide on what you would like to earn in an eight-hour day, then derive from that an hourly rate to use as a basis for costing work. If you start working for online outsourcing agencies, you will be able to get an idea of what to charge very quickly – you’ll be able to browse the jobs posted and the bids being made.

6. Time Management – a Dual Writing Career?

You can tackle ghostwriting full time, or create a dual career (use ghostwriting to give you a part-time income while you write your novel). You will find that mastering the art of writing pacy, entertaining business articles and books pays off in all your writing. Your editing skills will improve as you get used to cutting articles and copy; your fiction-writing skills will help you in writing anecdotes for articles. The essence of managing a writing career in different fields is forward planning. Keep a desk or computer diary, a pocket diary and a wall planner. Write in deadlines, assignments and consultation times (and make sure you transfer the information from one to the other). Always have a mental map of what is due in the next week or two. Write out a ‘to-do’ list each morning, and rank jobs in order of importance.

7. Different Clients, Different Styles.

Different clients like to work in different ways. I had one client who cheerfully admitted he “couldn’t even spell, let alone write”. For him, I worked from audio interviews or a few brief points on a page, and did a lot of research. Other clients sent me each chapter as it was finished, then I set to work fixing elements of style and tone; re-writing or adding anecdotes, and making suggestions about structure. When it comes to Internet clients, you’re likely to find that they want a swift turn-around (2-4 weeks for an e-book of between 50-80 pages with straightforward research). Information marketers will often provide you with a list of questions to be answered or points to cover, and require you to do the research.

8. Confidentiality.

If you want to be a successful ghostwriter, it is VITAL that you maintain confidentiality. Unless your client gives you permission to use his or her name as a reference, don’t do so. Some people are happy to acknowledge you as a ‘consultant’, but not as a ghostwriter. That’s their decision. As a ghost, you’re supposed to be invisible.

You’ll find plenty of work out there a good ghostwriter if you set about looking for it. You don’t need to work from 9-5 outside the home in order to pay the mortgage or put food on the table. If you need to earn an income, why not choose a job in which you can use your skill with words? You could find that ghostwriting is the perfect solution for you.

(c) copyright Marg McAlister www.TheEssentialGuidetoGhostwriting.com

Article source: http://www.superfeature.com

Marg McAlister has created a "Mini Guide To Ghostwriting" for all those frustrated writers who are eager to make their skill with words pay. Sign up for a free 7-day e-course on Ghostwriting at mailto:This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it..

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Getting Your Short Fiction Published: The Hard Truth

The short story market is one of the hardest to break into.

There are thousands of well-known writers pumping out short fiction, and thousands more just like you, struggling to get themselves published for the first time. But there are several things you can do to set yourself apart from the rest and start working your way to the head of the pack.

Attention to Detail

First things first, make sure your manuscript is professional. Use a plain, 12-point font, times new roman is the norm. Double-line space the entire manuscript and only left-justify your text. Use a minimum one inch margin on both sides of the page, and top and bottom. Put your name, address and contact number in the top right-hand corner of the coversheet, put your story’s title and your byline in the centre of the page. Rights being offered should go on the bottom-left corner and approximate word count on the right. Thereafter, make sure the first three words of the title and the page number appears in the page header on the right-hand side. Place your title about two-thirds of the way down the first page, your byline immediately underneath, and start your story one double-spaced line below that.

If this manuscript was for a short story competition you would normally need to remove the coversheet and delete any occurrences of your name from the final draft. Though you should always check the competition’s guidelines as some do differ.

If you can submit an error-free, professional-looking document, you will already have beat out all the dreamers who think they’ll get their story noticed if it’s printed on pink paper, bordered with little stars, or hand-written in old gothic. None of these strategies will give you an edge; they will only make you look too eccentric to be worth an editor’s trouble.

Choosing a Title

Though an editor may want to change your title, a title can sometimes make or break your entire submission. Don’t alienate yourself by selecting a title like ‘My Dog Rover,’ or ‘The Story of My Father.’ Instead, go for something mysterious or edgy, like ‘Bark the Dead Down,’ or ‘The Meanest Old Bastard from Here to Melbourne.’

Know When to Take Instruction

Get on-line, not just for e-publishing, but for print publications as well. Find out what your target publishers are looking for in terms of genre and submission criteria, such as format and word length. You would be surprised at how many new writers will attempt to submit a piece that is 3,000 words too long, or is on a topic completely unrelated to the regular content of the publication they are attempting to break into. If you can follow a publisher’s submission criteria to the letter and are sensitive to what their publication is trying to accomplish, you will find yourself pulling even further ahead of the other writers.

However, you don’t always have to listen to the dictates of publishers. Many editors will tell you that if you are submitting a piece to them, do not submit it to any other publisher at the same time. If they find out they have been wasting their time on your piece while you’ve gone with another publisher, they could blacklist you. Although, authors will tell you a different story. Rather than having eager publishers fighting over your work, the truth is that you will probably submit your story, wait for months to hear from the publisher, and then get a letter of rejection. Is your time really that much less valuable than that of an editor? Experienced authors say submit, submit, submit. Just be sure to keep a list of all the places you have sent your manuscript so you can withdraw it if you get lucky.

Writing Competitions

While it may be hard or even impossible for a never-published author to get their manuscript in front of an editor, one strategy for breaking in is to enter short fiction contests. These contests usually come with some prize money and an opportunity to be published.

However, beware of scam contests. Any contest that says you’re a winner and then asks you for money is a scam. Any contest that says you’re a winner but wants to publish your work without paying you is a scam. Don’t be fooled – research contests as thoroughly as you would a publisher. A reading or entry fee is pretty much the norm, but again beware, watch out for high fees in return for small prizes.

Get Tough or Get Out

Being neat, professional, competitive and a contest-winner may help to put you at the head of the pack, but these do not make up a never-fail formula for success. The truth is, your stories are going to be rejected a disappointing number of times. Just remember that this does not mean your story is bad, and it does not mean that you will never succeed. It just means that you are going to have to learn to accept rejection. Some of the greatest authors in literary history have been able to paper their walls in rejection slips.

If a rejection contains comments of any kind from an editor, you know you’re on the right track. You made them care enough to want to teach you something, and this is no small feat. Whatever an editor has suggested, consider it carefully. Try making some of these changes and resubmit.

Don’t Forget that this is a Job

Like every other stage of the process, this is hard work.

Writing is like any other job, to do it well, you have to work your butt off, and deal with bosses that are going to give you a hard time every chance they get. The biggest mistake a new writer can make is to give up when things stop being easy. As soon as the creative juices don’t seem to be flowing, or they can’t get part of the story just right, they quit. This attitude is all wrong. Writers that are getting published aren’t better than you; they’re just working harder than you. Authorship can offer huge payoffs, but only to those who are willing to quit playing and do some real tough storytelling.

One last thing you can do to advance further ahead of the pack is to do your research. Writers used to depend on annually published directories like the Fiction Writer’s Market to get the scoop on submission criteria and publisher addresses, but today the Internet is the place to be for the short story writer. The new frontier when it comes to short story publishing is on-line. The form is ideally suited to on-line publications, websites and as a downloadable for hand-held devices. So warm up your mouse and start pounding that keyboard, you’ll never know unless you give it a go.

Kristy Taylor is a syndicated freelance journalist with articles and short stories strewn across all forms of media. She has written and published numerous books, and is the executive editor of KT Publishing, which encompasses several web sites. For free listings of short story competitions visit http://www.shortstorycompetitions.com .

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Getting Started in Column Writing

You’ve written many articles for Websites, newsletters and now you’ve even conquered the territory of getting published in a magazine. What’s the next step, you ask? How to I make the editor ask for my work weekly or monthly?

Enter: the column.

Before you march up to an editor’s office or send her unsolicited mail asking to write regularly for a publication, learn all there is to know about this form.

A column is written weekly, monthly or bi-monthly, and must be focused on one particular topic. You have to be consistent in what you write, maintain the same tone of voice, and stay focused on the issue at hand. If you’re writing a column for the writing parent, don’t delve into issues of parenting in general. Your readers will probably be parents who write, and they will be more interested in learning how to find time for their writing, rather than how to take care of their children.

A column can last from three to four months to ten or maybe even twenty years.

When you decide to write a column, make sure that the topic you choose is of interest to readers and will keep them coming back for more, week after week. If your topic is boring or uninteresting, chances are you’ll have no readers, and the editor will soon wrap up your column with a short goodbye note.

Make sure that you can keep the commitment. Writing a column takes more than just a bright idea and good writing. It needs dedication, discipline and the ability to meet deadlines. If you can’t meet deadlines, you’ll soon be out of a job, and out of the publication—for good. A columnist has to make sure that she provides an on-topic, interesting, timely article each week (or month), interesting enough to make the reader come back to read it.

If you decide to delve into the world of column writing, your best bet would be to start with a regional daily or weekly newspaper. Not only will this market be easier to break into, but will give you a lot of exposure. Columns for cooking, astrology, inspiration and living in the city run frequently in newspapers and are the best places for starting off. However, try to avoid topics that have been done to death. Put a unique and interesting spin to a topic, and you’re bound to get the editor’s interest.

Websites too are now beginning to open up to columns. Just like their print counterparts, Websites, e-zines and even online versions of print magazines ask for original material on a weekly or monthly basis. The biggest advantage of writing online is the short acceptance and publication period.

The best way to query an editor about writing a column is by sending clips of your work and your column topic. If the editor likes your query, you’ll be asked to send in an article, and you’ll soon be on your way to publishing glory. Keep in mind though, that column writing is not like writing an article—it’s not *your* convenience and *your* time constraints that matter. The only thing the editor wants from you is a good quality article each week, submitted on time. Do that, and you’ll have a regular income from at least one source.

Mridu Khullar is a full-time freelance writer from New Delhi, India and has written for almost 70 publications, recently including Chicken Soup for the Soul, Writer's Digest, Women's Health & Fitness, Girls' Life, Wedding Dresses and ePregnancy. Visit her at http://www.MriduKhullar.com

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Getting Motivated By A Motivational Speaker?

In the past years, there has been a sudden rise of motivational speakers. They appear in television and in magazines as well as sold out seminars that are just brimming with people who are just craving to get some direction with their lives.

A motivational speaker, instead of focusing on the financial gains that he or she will most probably get from these seemingly “needy” people, should focus his or her attention to actually motivating people to actually be the best that they can be through their sheer motivation to change their lives for the better that is actually inspired by such a speaker.

A motivational speaker is, most often rather should be seen as, an expert, the one person who “normal people” can rely on when it comes to instilling positive thinking in them as well as providing them not just the answers that they want to hear but the answers that they would actually need and eventually help them with their lives. Best motivational speakers are actually regarded quite highly by the people who depend on them for the “answers.”

A good motivational speaker should exude confidence (not cockiness!) by being extremely knowledgeable as compared to most people, even one’s own colleagues about a specific topic.

This is what makes speakers highly in-demand especially when organizers are trying to set-up an event or a seminar that aims to educate people about a certain topic. However, a motivational speaker shouldn’t just rely on book smarts to be able to help him or her throughout his or her motivational speaker career.

Various experiences can actually help enrich a speaker’s expertise and knowledge about a certain topic. This is actually that will serve the speaker on a positive note considering that the audience during seminars actually want real affirmations of what the speaker is trying to teach them. People who are in doubt need the actual proof for them to be able to motivate themselves to believe.

For those who are aspiring to become a motivational speaker, here are a few reminders from public speaking experts that you should know before actually pursuing your dream as a motivational speaker as well as being able to get the attention of the people and companies who might want to get your services:

*First and foremost, for you to be able to motivate other people and get them out of the rut that they’re in, you must have a pleasant-sounding, clear and well-modulated voice. The type of voice that a speaker should have so as to be able to command attention. This is incredibly important because as a motivational speaker, or any kind of public speaker for that matter, you must be able to get a hold of your audience’s attention and make them believe in what they’re saying (this is NOT to say that you should “brainwash” your audience into doing something that are already against their will and moral standards based on what non believers of adhering to a public speakers advice). Still, having a good voice cannot assure you of a career as a motivational speaker.

You must also have the added charisma, charm, intellect, wit and sense of humor that can make people irresistibly drawn to you.

Also try to brush up on current events or whatever new information that you may see as “relevant’ to your speeches.

Relating your talk to present events or things that of interest to your audience would help capture your audience’s interests more.

*As a responsible motivational speaker, you must always keep in mind that you should value your audience because these are the people who actually took the time (and money) to be able to hear out on what you’ve got to say with regards to the topic on hand.

This should actually motivate you to actually showing up on the venue on time, properly dressed and groomed as well as very much prepared for your talk. A good motivational speaker should know that people actually come to these seminars to learn new things from you and not just hear about rehashed material. They expect you, the motivational speaker, to be able to supply them with the information that they’re looking for, so always be prepared.

These are just a few tips to help you get started on being a motivational speaker. Remember, when it comes to holding your audience attention you must always be yourself. Be natural in your gestures. Absolutely no pretensions because people are incredibly smart and they can actually see through those who are just putting up a front.

About The Author: For more great motivational speaker tips and ideas check out: http://www.event-speaker.com Copyright 2005 Trevor Marshall This article may be republished as long as this section is included and all links are left live

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