Author: jankilby

To be a freelancer for newspapers or magazines, consult a publication’s guidelines for writers. Email  editors to express interest in a piece you’d like to do or to ask for assignments.  Attach a resume, publications list and samples of published work. Network with other writers. Take journalism courses for credit or in adult education programs. Join the Society of Professional Journalists or American Society of Journalists and Authors. Check the websites of your local and state press associations to see job listings. View www.journalismjobs.com and www.mediabistro.com for leads. See the employment links on the websites of media or press organizations for which you’d like to work. If you’re in high school or college, write for your school’s paper, and apply for summer internships and workshops in journalism.

I hope this advice helps you on your path to success.

Be into progress, not perfection.This is the advice I give my consulting clients and my students when they despair about ever improving their writing.

With enough effort, direction and support, they can reach the beautiful horizon they seek.

Writing simply by using short sentences can be most helpful to readers. A large bouquet of different kinds of flowers can be attractive but distracting. Those seeing it can’t focus well on just one.  A single rose can have more power because people tend to look at it longer and more closely. The same is true in writing.

 

 

 

 

 

Writers can find literary agents in several ways.

One is seeking referrals from other writers. Another is hearing agents speak at conferences. Consulting the annual Literary Marketplace directory can also help. Buying the annual Guide to Literary Agents can be useful, as well. Reading magazines like Writer’s Digest, The Writer, Poets and Writers and Publishers Weekly can assist you, too. Visiting agents’ websites can be informative. Reading books about agenting can be instructive. Looking at the Association of Authors Representatives, Inc.’s site at www.aaronline.org can acquaint you with some of the best agents. Viewing www.publishersmarketplace.com can show you those seeking new authors. Checking the acknowledgments sections of books published by authors you admire can often reveal the names of their agents. Contacting a publisher’s sub-rights department can help you learn which agent represented a writer in selling a book to it. Working with a writing consultant can help you quickly reach your goal.

If you follow this advice, you may soon find that you’re a writer whose pen is quite golden.

Use higher-level language to attract and maintain readers’ interest.

For example, avoid such trite words as “easy,” “hard,” “nice,” “good,” “big” and “small.” Eliminate informal diction like “a lot” and “get.” Delete overused intensifiers like “very” and “really.”

You will then be painting a powerful image of a sunset or anything else.

If you’re afraid of writing, lead with love.

Focus on a message you believe in for readers you care about.

Let the support of those who admire your talent encourage you.

 

Organize your writing.

Readers can then do something more important than trying to understand what you’re saying. They can think about your message and respond to it.

This principle applies to all kinds of writing.

Think of your job as providing readers a map of the territory to be covered. Show them the quickest route from point A to B.

 

Writers can’t totally control whether or not their work is published. They can, however, do much to ensure that it is.

They can educate themselves on the art and craft of writing. They can also determine the quantity, quality and variety of what they submit. Managing their time in order to be more productive is something they can do, as well. Networking with authors, editors and others in professional and community organizations for writers is helpful, too. They can take risks by trying new projects and markets. In addition, they can set high-level goals and use effective strategies to reach them. These are all keys to success.

Punctuation is powerful. This is because we use it so frequently.

Effective writers use it to create a path to understanding a text.

Know the rules, and consult them frequently if you have questions. You will soon find that your work is more interesting, readable and publishable.

The best fiction writers have the gift of showing us the extraordinary in the ordinary. Their characters help us see what is special about people. We learn that every individual is as unique as each flower on earth. This can help us learn what it means to be human.