I’ve been seeing a lot of great posts on my favorite writing blogs recently! Here are seven of the best.
1. Saying No to NaNoWriMo
Marla Beck of The Relaxed Writer turns the tables on NaNoWriMo with 3 Reasons NOT to NaNoWriMo. Marla does more than give reasons to skip the event — she also offers a couple of alternatives, including doing it in the summer instead of November.
2. The Most Important Piece of Paper in Your Career
On the Make a Living Writing blog, Carol Tice discusses the importance of contracts with Why Freelance Writers Earn more with This Simple Piece of Paper. (You do work with a contract, right?) A side note: Carol is offering a 4-week Boot Camp on how to make good money writing online that starts November 8 — it’s free to Den members and $97 for non-members. I’ll be speaking on November 15 about query letters!
3. I Like This Post Because I’m 12
My almost-3-year-old boy loves it that fart jokes crack me up. PS Jones has a great post called Confident Freelancing on her blog Diary of a Mad Freelancer. You can’t beat a post that has a subhed “I’d never fart on a client.” Hilarious and on point.
4. Don’t Interview Without It
Over at The Urban Muse, Susan Johnston posts The Freelance Writer’s Interview Checklist. I’ve been hearing from some of my Write for Magazines e-course students that they’re afraid to do interviews, and this handy checklist should help every new writer feel more confident that they’re not forgetting anything important — like testing their recorder or asking the source for photos.
5. Reader Hint: Not Smooshing Bananas = Getting Your Writing Done
At one of my favorite blogs, Path of Possibility, Sage Cohen presents the amusingly-titled but very serious post It’s Never Too Late to Stop Smooshing Bananas. Read it to understand what smooshing bananas has to do with writing when you’re floundering. One great tip: “I was reminded that when you can’t act, planning can be both a satisfying and productive substitute. Can’t write for 2 hours? Spend 2 minutes imagining and outlining what the next 2-hour session will accomplish.”
6. Switching Niches
As someone who is starting (partly) over with my new career as a wellness coach and personal trainer, I enjoyed Steph Auteri’s post How to Start From Scratch with a New Niche on the Freelancedom blog. Quote of the day: “At this point, all the ‘how to boost your libido’ blog posts and mythology-based erotica essays are coming to you. But you know what’s not coming to you? Anything that’s not about your vagina.”
7. Got Clips? Use ‘Em
You’ve got clips — how can you parlay the into more work
This is a Q&A with Sage Cohen, the author of The Productive Writer and Writing the Life Poetic, both from Writer’s Digest Books, and the poetry collection Like the Heart, the World. Her writing has appeared in publications including Writer’s Digest Magazine, Poet’s Market 2011, Cup of Comfort for Writers, The Oregonian, and How to Achieve a Heaven on Earth. Sage blogs and teaches at pathofpossibility.com.
Before we get started with the Q&A, two quick announcements:
1. Sage is giving away three signed copies of The Productive Writer. I read it and it’s great! To enter the contest, simply post a comment below. Sage will randomly draw three lucky winners from among the commenters!
2. Also, don’t forget that tonight is the free teleclass Using Fear as Fuel When Writing and Querying, taught by none other than Sage Cohen. Visit the Teleclasses page to get more info and sign up.
Can you tell us how you landed this awesome book deal with Writer’s Digest Books?
Sure. It was a mix of luck, timing, good professional relationships and an effective query.
My first book, Writing the Life Poetic, was published by Writer’s Digest Books. When I learned that another editor at WDB wanted to publish a book focused on organization for writers, I pitched it and they bought it. As we got under way, the topic fanned out a bit and morphed from “organization” to “productivity.” It’s been a really fun and relevant topic for me, and I’m grateful to have had the opportunity to share my ideas with readers.
What got you interested in productivity for writers?
I’ve been working with writers as a coach, teacher and editor for nearly 20 years now. I realized recently that what I’ve been trying to accomplish in everything I do is simply: to help people align themselves with possibility–by following desire into effective action. What I’ve found is that we’re so used to getting in our own way, we may have no idea how very likely our dreams and intentions may be. My goal is to help writers find a greater alignment between their writing and their lives–by tending all that is possible along the way. By focusing on productivity, writers can hone the attitudes and skills that will make the possible far more probable.
What does productivity mean to you? Is it all about getting more work done faster?
Productivity, as I see it, is about knowing who you are, how you think and process information, what your best skills and strengths are, what you fear, and how you resist. From there, it’s a matter of working with this unique constellation to cultivate the systems, strategies and attitudes what will serve you best in accomplishing what matters most to you in your writing life.
What is the most common productivity problem you see in freelance magazine writers?
I think the most universal challenge for every writer–and every person, for that matter–is fear. Fear shows up in the many disguises of: procrastination, perfectionism, and everything a writer doesn’t attempt (or repeat) for fear that s/he is not yet expert or knowledgeable enough to try.
The fact of the matter is this: While you’re busy obsessing about not knowing enough about a particular topic or market (and therefore not taking the appropriate steps toward developing your expertise, understanding your marke
I’ve been seeing a lot of great posts on my favorite writing blogs recently! Here are seven of the best.