Deborah Woehr

I’ve passed the first milestone in this NaNo contest today and am anxious to see how many more words I can churn out before I call it a night. My goal is to reach 15,000 by Sunday night.

The second milestone concerns the website I built for my husband back in July. He came home this evening to announce that he got his first customer from this website. I am so stoked about this!

How are you all doing with the NaNo?

I went to work in a great mood this morning. It wasn’t because of the time change, which allows me to sleep an extra hour. And it wasn’t because I was going to start a new work week. I spent the entire weekend doing nothing but writing, mostly on my new book.

How many of you watch The Medium or Ghost Whisperer? I haven’t watched the latter, but the former was one of my favorite shows until CBS decided to muck up the schedule. I’ve always enjoyed the concept of psychics helping law enforcement to catch elusive criminals.

My story, which I haven’t come up with a title for yet, is based on this concept. I spent all day Saturday writing free form until I came up with this idea, which was influenced by a story I’d heard at my last temp assignment. It’s quite a doozie. I’ve got the plot brewing inside my head and the central conflict laid out. Karen and I have decided to become writing buddies and have been discussing our plans for our NaNo stories this weekend. Check out her blog to see what she is writing about.

The daylight burned out about an hour ago, replaced by the witching hour. I’m going to crank out some more story before I turn in for the night.

Happy writing, Everyone!

I’ve decided to participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo contest, although I didn’t make it to the sign-up process. While I don’t expect to make it to the 50K mark, I enjoy the challenge. The synopsis I had started working on last month stalled at the halfway mark because I need to do considerable research on a topic. So I came up with another idea and am working towards that.

Deb Ng at Freelance Writing Jobs wrote a good piece about freelance bidding sites, called Are Bidding Sites Worth It?. I started to post a comment, but it was turning a bit long. So, I will post it here. My perspective is a bit unique because I used Elance both to gain writing assignments and to post projects.

I signed up for both Guru and Elance back in 2003 and had a mixed experience. My very first assignment involved writing a resume for a man who was trying to get a promotion within his company. He was working overseas at the time, so his wife posted the project. I earned $50 and a glowing review. Not bad for my first assignment. The next assignment caught me by surprise. I came home from work one day to find my phone ringing. It was a client who had found me on Elance and hired me for a ghostwriting project, simply because I had included my phone number in my profile. The last Elance client wanted me to compile and rewrite the works of other writers for his ebook. I wound up walking away from that project because of ethics and payment issues. I also canceled my subscriptions to Elance and Guru.

Somewhere in the middle of all that, I posted a couple of projects on Elance and found some great writers for an article assignment. While everyone else paid pennies, I paid the writers $65 for a 1,200-word article. While that wasn’t great pay (compared to the money you would get for publishing at, say, The New Yorker), the writers I hired respected me and did their best to write good articles. One of them wrote a series of articles for the website I was working on, while another wrote a press release for that website. That website is long gone, but the experience of working with these writers was an enjoyable education on what it’s like to be a freelance writer as well as an editor.

Writers appreciate clients who:

1. Have clear ideas about their projects and how they want them executed.
2. Are level-headed and realistic about their goals for the project.
3. Pay on time.

Clients appreciate writers who:

1. Are professional. For example, I had one bidder whose post dripped with a bad attitude. Needless to say, I didn’t hire her.
2. Are honest about their abilities.
3. Show a genuine interest in the assignment.
4. Produce original, quality work on time and within their budget.

Those were the first things I learned, some by experience and often by reading the complaints in the provider reviews and job postings. Plagiarism was (and may still be) a major issue with clients. Payment, communication, and contract issues were chief complaints among the writers.

Are Bidding Sites Worth the Bother?

Most of you would say no, and I would have to agree. The subscription prices alone have kept me away. You have to wade through miles of crappy assignments before you find a client that’s willing to pay for quality writing. Landing an assignment was difficult back in 2003. Now, I’m hearing that it’s even harder because job posters expect you to have a feedback rating before they’ll consider hiring you. If I’m going to use Elance or Guru for anything, it’s to generate ideas for writing samples and book covers.

I’ve found that I’ve had more success networking through blogging than I’ve ever had with bidding sites. How about you?

I’m sure you’ve heard all about Google’s attack on the blogosphere. If not, read Andy Beard’s Slapped by Google to get up to speed because this effects everyone who owns a blog. As a result of Google’s latest algorithm change, anyone who uses companies like Text Link Ads to monetize their blogs got slammed. Anyone who has one too many links on their blogs got slammed. As a result of this change, I am no longer writing for Syntagma Media, who got hit very hard.

The words Google and Microsoft became synonymous in my mind as I got into my car to go to work yesterday morning. I know what Google is doing, and I was very upset about it. Google has cost me my supplemental income. As the morning went on, I came to realize that I had made the same mistake my father-in-law had with his business. I had placed all my eggs in one basket.

Actually, I came to realize this some months ago and began researching other ways to make a good living as a writer as well as design. Copywriting is very lucrative field, both online and off. It’s a skill that every writer needs to have under their belt, especially if they plan to sell their books and/or services. I plan to do both.

I’ve been taking copious notes from Maria Veloso’s Webcopy That Sells. I’ll post a full review of this book once I finish and apply the knowledge I’ve gained. I’ll also be reviewing other books on the subject that have been sitting on my shelf for the past three years, due to my obsession with blogging and finishing that novel.

Designing books is also part of my plan. Copywriting and book design will go hand-in-hand, especially for future clients who are publishing non-fiction books. Needless to say, my plan of participating in this year’s NaNoWriMo contest is scrapped. I will be studying and building my portfolio instead.

I’m curious. How many of you plan to participate in this year’s NaNoWriMo contest? I missed last year’s contest because I had too many things going on at the time. This year, I’m thinking about participating. I have a short synopsis already and am going to attempt to use the Snowflake method to write this into something I hope is worthwhile.

Do any of you aspire to write more than novels? If you have, what writing avenues interest you and why? I’ve given this a great deal of thought over the last year as I was clunking out the final draft of Prosperity and have come up with two areas that I plan to explore next year.

At the moment, I’m taking advantage of the downtime by compiling the piles of notes I’ve taken over the past year or so. I’ve come up with a list of the top 12 writing gigs for writers, thanks in part to Bob Bly. He’s written a great ebook called, Write and Grow Rich, where he discusses the different ways you can make a 6-figure income from writing.

1. Local newspapers. Check your paper(s) to see if they have a “reporters wanted” ad. This is a great way to build your portfolio for future freelance assignments.

2. Trade publications. Write case histories about companies or industry news.

3. Comic books and graphic novels. These have enjoyed a come-back, thanks to the popular X-Men movies. Fiction writers who have mastered the art of storytelling can break into this market by writing their own comic strips. Find an aspiring artist who can do the illustrating. Then use Lulu to publish the book.

4. Nonfiction books. How-to books have always been one of the most popular genres. Consider starting a content-based website and/or blog about one of your favorite topics. Once you establish a reputation in this topic, you can sell books to your readers.

5. Self-publishing and POD. Frankly, I’m surprised this made Bly’s list because I’ve seen only a small fraction of writers make it to bestseller status in this arena. If you’re thinking about using POD to publish your book, you must read Jeremy Robinson’s POD People: Beating the Print-on-Demand Stigma. This is an excellent book.

6. Ebooks. I haven’t tried this out, but I’ve read that people have made a fortune off of writing ebooks, the Internet Marketing industry in particular. The trick is to find a popular topic that people crave, write compelling copy that will make them want to buy your book.

7. Ghost writing. This can be a fun venture because you can gain a variety of assignments and meet interesting people.

8. Copywriting. The real money is with offline copywriting–marketing pieces, articles, speeches, annual reports, etc. You can also make a solid income with online copywriting. Businesses need content for their website, whether it’s to sell their products and services or to write industry articles.

9. Travel writing. This sounds like another fun venture.

10. Resume writing. There’s never a shortage of unemployed workers.

11. Games & Entertainment. One of things that really bugs me about my family’s video games is the flat and stunted dialogue between the characters.

12. Educational. You’ll find plenty of opportunities here in the forms of textbooks, how-to books, ebooks, web content, etc. Home schooling has become very popular, as well as distance learning for adult education.

That’s the list so far. Have you tried any of these areas with success? I’d love to hear your stories.

Karen wrote an excellent post called The Lure of a New Project, where she discusses how writers fall into the trap of starting new projects before they finish their current one. I find myself at the opposite end of the spectrum, obsessed with finishing a project before I start another. It took me about nine months to hammer out the manuscript of my first story, which I promptly shelved because I felt that bookstores had an overabundance of serial killer novels already.

I started writing Prosperity shortly thereafter and have rewritten it eight times over the past ten years. A writing mentor helped me with Draft 5. When I finished, his advice was to keep editing it until I felt that it was good enough to submit to publishers.

As soon as I typed those magical words, I would start at the very beginning. The problem is that I’m always finding things that I think need fixing. I’ll always find something wrong with what I’ve written.

I finished the 8th draft late Tuesday night. The next morning, I brought a copy of God’s Last Twilight to work with me and handed it to one of my co-workers. Everybody gathered around when she began talking excitedly about my book. I announced to them that I had just finished writing Prosperity and that I was shopping around for an editor. They were very happy for me. I smiled, but on the inside I felt a dread that I’d never experienced before.

What if they don’t like the book I’ve just given to them? What kinds of mistakes will I find when I look through Prosperity this time? Is it even close to being sellable by traditional or self-publishing standards?

The last question has always lured me back to the computer to hunt for mistakes, which inevitably leads to a near-total rewrite. This time, I forced myself not to open the first chapter, except to gather all the files together for an official wordcount. This time, I forced myself not to touch anything because I know myself too well.

Instead, I contacted another horror writer (who also offers an editing service) and submitted the first five pages of my manuscript. I’ll scout and contact more editors tonight and tomorrow. I’m hopeful that he/she will enjoy what I’ve written. What concerns me the most right now is that I’ve hacked this story to death. They’ll tell me.

My situation is not a unique one, but it is just as harmful as the writer who flits from project to project. The end result is the same: potential books that will always be “in the making.”

I’ve been tagged twice, by Patrick at Writing Life and Steve at Blog-From-The-Darkside. I wanted to ignore this meme because I tend to look at (perhaps focus too much on) my negative qualities, especially as a writer. Before I started writing, I had no idea that I was such a perfectionist.

Okay, guys. I’ll give it my best shot.

1. Determination. My first story began as a “mind movie.” I’ve been striving to learn how to write a full-length novel ever since. I won’t stop until I do. Then I’ll keep writing more.

2. Vivid imagination. That’s where the “mind movies” come from. I decided to put them to good use instead of going to waste inside my head.

3. Character Creation. I’ve always loved listening to people’s stories. Psychology was one of my favorite subjects in school, especially the abnormal kind. Personal experiences also play a strong part in the creation of my characters. I find it interesting how different people handle the same situation.

4. Dialogue. For some reason I can’t explain, this is the easiest aspect of writing for me. Well, most of the time. I love to include the characters’ body languages, their thought patterns, and their actions. This is how I get to know the characters in my stories, by “listening” to the way they talk and interact with each other.

5. A bulging library. Do I need to explain this?

If you’d like to continue this meme, feel free. I’d love to hear your strengths.

I’ve been debating whether to spend the money on an ISBN for GLT because it’s so short–108 pages. Part of me thinks that $100 is a frivolous expense for a novella, but I am proud of the design work I did for this book and want to show it off. Here is a shot of the interior cover page.

I gave some thought about using Lulu’s “Published by You” service ($50) and even went so far as to buy a domain name for my publishing company because nothing screams vanity like having your name listed as the publisher on Amazon. I’ve decided to call this company Crescent Moon Publications. So far, I’ve done absolutely nothing with that because I’ve been too busy trying to finish this year’s writing projects. This will be a project for next year.

For now, I’ll opt for the “Published by Lulu” for marketing purposes. I’ve given a copy to an acquaintance already and plan to bring a copy or two to work for my coworkers to read. I’m hopeful that they’ll enjoy the book and want to recommend it to their friends or family. If that’s the case, then I can’t complain about spending the $100.

I’m still plugging away on the rewrites for Prosperity and getting closer to typing “THE END.” I can’t even begin to tell you how glad I am to finish this project. Can any of you recommend a good professional editor that won’t charge more than $1 per page?