It's not always easy to be creative and to think of sales marketing in a positive light. But it can be done:
Link: CatalystBlogger: Developing a Sales and Marketing Mindset.
I think the problem was that for a long time, "sales" was kind of a dirty word to me. It made me think of overbearing used-car salesmen and telemarketers
It's been an interesting past few months behind the scenes at Antsaint. In addition to launching my new Ural blog, Ride Three, there are some other projects going on. I'm working on my own profile/resume site, for one. Jodie and I are also working on a project together. They're in early stages and not ready for primetime, but it's exciting to be diversifying.
And that's what I'm noticing. Working on some new projects, trying out some new ideas, planning and discussing and coding, has been working wonders for other things I want to work on overall, and for this site. I wouldn't have thought that tacking on some new projects would be such a help in focusing, but it is.
I've no idea yet where things are going on each of the sites, but that's part of the fun of the ride, really.
The hardest part is keeping a good balance. Ride Three has definitely been taking more time lately (that and there's a server issue we've been working on), but I've been all right with that. Antsaint always had a pretty healthy amount of posts, and a few weeks where things are slim is all right. As time goes on, though, I can see focus for Antsaint content improving, and hopefully there'll be some more details and visible changes on that soon.
How much time are you putting in for X dollars? This informative article by Rich Mintzer helps you break down what you do as a freelance writer, and how you should be charging for it.
Link: The Mathematics of Freelancing: What's Your Hourly Rate? By Rich Mintzer.
Freelance writing is a business, and like all businesses, if you are doing this full time, you should always be cognizant of the bottom line. To do this effectively, you need to first have a realistic assessment of how much work you can generate and how much money you are hoping to earn in a given year
Filler markets are an easy-to-overlook writing opportunity - but that's all the more reason to make sure you don't pass them by:
Link: Fill'er Up! - Paying Filler Markets By Jacquie McTaggart.
You do not need a boatload of experience or a degree to write fillers, but some topics may require a little research. For the most part, however, fillers allow you to share knowledge you already have on a specific topic, which can be anything you are interested in or have experienced. Fillers generally run between 50 and 350 words
Renting books — a little like renting a flick from Netflix or borrowing a copy of something from your local library — has become another odd, Internet aspect of the book business. Part Craigslist, part book swap, are book rentals a good thing? Are they bad for business? Here's some perspective on book rentals from Writers Weekly:
Link: Book Rentals?.
I found a new website that rents books to people by mail. They have my book listed on their site but my publisher says they never ordered a copy. Do you know what's going on?
The book tour is a traditional, yet often dreaded, part of any book release and marketing campaign. But the payoff is debatable, at best. You, the author, get to spend huge amounts of time on the road, away from home, sitting in bookstores, doing the occasional reading, meeting interesting people, and hoping for the best to sell a few books.
With websites, blogs, message boards and social media, it doesn't have to be that way. This interesting Writers Weekly article gives the details on virtual book tours, and how they can pay off for promotions and sales of your book.
Link: Crank Up That Computer - Virtual Book Tours Are Here to Stay By C. Hope Clark.
Book tours have gone virtual, and authors spread their messages online to capture the most sales. A writer who does not have an online presence is no different from a writer who writes the book, sets it on a bookstore shelf and expects people to stumble upon it. You won't make enough to pay for dinner
Editing is by no means simple, but I hadn't even thought of how many different levels there are to editing. And I am an editor. Ahem. Luckily for schmoes like me, Angela Harms has thought a great deal about the many facets and levels of editing, and has even put together a helpful Editing Basics FAQ.
A sentiment I understand — "I absolutely love clever word play. Puns, turns of phrases, neologisms, Spoonerisms, etc… I love them all. I just don’t use them in headlines" — and try to adhere to as well. Clever tends to defeat itself; descriptive headlines are longer-lasting, and better-converting:
Link: Clever vs. Descriptive Headlines: Which Works Better? | Copyblogger.
From just showing up to planning, drafting and researching, Angela Booth has a handy, bite-sized list of motivational and time management tips for writers:
Link: Angela Booth's Writing Blog: Time management tips for writers - the series.
Of course, one of those strategies could be not reading blogs when you should be writing, but nevertheless. You are allowed to tear yourself away from your writing for a few minutes, and pick some strategies that will help you get right back to it:
Link: 50 Strategies for Making Yourself Work.
Work avoidance is one of the major paradoxes of the writing profession. Generally, writers want to write (or want to have written), but all too often we find ourselves doing anything else but. We'll mow lawns, do the dishes, polish silverware--anything to keep from facing the blank page. At the same time we know we eventually have to get to work, so we come up with all sorts of strategies for forcing ourselves to the keyboard.
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