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Five Keys To Leaner And Meaner Copywriting
Grab 'em and don't lose 'em. Every marketer knows that one. Human beings have very short attention spans, so you can't afford to waste your prospect's time - give them the good stuff and then let them go as soon as you can. Writing effective...
Starting a Writing Career (or How I Sifted Through the Muck and Found My Way)
So, the decision is final. I am a writer.
Actually, I have always been a person who writes, but I have never applied the term to myself in a professional sense. Having pushed aside my financial fears and gained the requisite self-confidence, I...
Web Writing: Create Writing Flow With Four Uncommon Connectors
Web Writing: Create Writing Flow With Four Uncommon Connectors Connectors -- conjunctions, punctuation, and transitional phrases -- allow readers to process information promptly by creating balance and relationships between sentence parts. The...
WRITING AN ACCOMPLISHMENT DRIVEN RÉSUMÉ
In the midst of hundreds, if not thousands, of résumés recruiters and employers receive for any given position, your résumé needs to stand out from the crowd. You must make the Hiring Manager want to read your résumé more thoroughly than just the...
Writing Articles
You say, I cant write an article, I have no knowledge of writing. Let me tell you yes you can!
Why write an article?
It can help you build your business! Yes, writing articles can help build your business. You say how can this help?...
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Writing Fiction for The Internet
'We are all apprentices in a craft where no one ever becomes a
master'.
Ernest Hemingway
Introduction
One of the best things about the internet is the freedom that it can
give. Within reason, you can talk to anyone, anywhere about mostly
anything. It is a great communication tool.
Recently, during the Seattle earthquake, I was able to get minute-by-
minute feedback about what was going on from people that I've met
online - real-time information even though I was sat in my office
across the other side of the world in the UK.
One of the areas that is currently being revolutionised by the
internet is the world of publishing. You can have your writing
available to millions of people within a few hours. The frustration
of rejection after rejection from traditional publishers can partly
be assuaged.
You can do this too.
You can have your novel, your short story or your poem available for
the entire technological world to read. You can meet and talk with
writers from all over the world. You can critique other people's work
and get feedback on your own.
In short, you can become part of the biggest writing circle this
world has ever seen.
In this book, I'll be advising you how to get started - the things
you need to get yourself up and running. I'll be including links to
useful sites and resources. I'll show you how to build a website that
will be a showcase for your work. I'll also give you advice about
that most difficult of tasks: marketing your book.
I hope this book gives you the inspiration to get started.
'I love being a writer. What I can't stand is the paperwork'.
Peter De Vries
Getting Started
You've written your blockbuster. You've sent it off to a dozen agents
and publishers. Then...then it happens - the rejection letters start
to arrive.
I'm sorry, this really isn't for us.
This is only a personal opinion, of course, but...
You write well but we're not in the market for this kind of work at
the moment.
All the best in your efforts to get published.
The first two or three rejections make you feel small and pathetic.
The next two or three make you angry. If you're lucky, by the time
the sixth and seventh rejection comes your way, you're used to it.
You have a great story but no one seems to want to get
involved.
WAIT...
There is an alternative to traditional publishing and it uses a
resource that is becoming increasingly popular - the internet.
You see, traditional publishers, bless them, are in a highly
competitive market. They cannot afford to take some of the gambles
that they might have done a few years back. They have to make sure
that the books that they publish make money. Now they all make
mistakes (anyone remember Anthea Turner's Biography?) but in the main
you can't blame them for being cautious.
Consider two circumstances:-
One
If I was a soap star, then I'd have more chance of being published.
I'd have celebrity, for a start, my name would be known. Not that I'm
suggesting that celebrities produce rubbish. It's just that if a
publisher had two books of equal literary value (in their opinion),
one by a major soap star and one by a complete unknown, I know which
one they'll pick to publish.
Two
Suppose I have written a superb biography of, for example, Prince
Rupert of Liechtenstein. It may be a truly well researched and well
written volume. It may allow the reader deep insights into the
subject matter. It may be one of the best biographies ever written.
However, it has no real market. Maybe only a handful of people in the
world are interested in Prince Rupert. Now, supposing that on the
same day a moderately well written biography arrives of a famous
Premiership footballer. Which one will the publisher pick?
You see, the above two examples show two things in the modern world
of publishing. You need to have an assured MARKET and you need to
have a PROFILE.
Granted, new authors are published every week. But it is getting
increasingly difficult to be published by the traditional route.
The internet is the great leveller. You can publish, within reason,
what you like. Someone in Brisbane who shares your passion about
Prince Rupert can type his name into a search engine and find your
glorious book.
You are no longer dependent on someone else to become published.
You are free...
About the Author
Andy Walsh is a househusband and writer living in Cumbria in the UK.
He writes novels, short stories and poems some of which you can read
at www.stbrodag.com. Buy 'Writing Fiction For the Internet' at www.stbrodag.com/buy.html
Contact him at andwalsh@lineone.net
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| Writing.Com: Writers, Writing, Poetry, Creative Writing, Fiction ... |
| An online community dedicated to fostering writing skills. With a free membership anyone may read, write, rate, and review works. |
| www.writing.com |
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| Welcome to Writing-World.com! |
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| www.writing-world.com |
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| Guide to Grammar and Writing |
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| grammar.ccc.commnet.edu |
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| Purdue University's Online Writing Lab - The OWL Family of Sites |
| Writing lab and resources. Email newsletter available. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| OWL at Purdue University: General Writing Concerns Handouts |
| This page contains important links to the writing: planning/writing/revising aspects of the OWL website. |
| owl.english.purdue.edu |
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| Writing - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia |
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| en.wikipedia.org |
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| Writing.org - Advice for Freelance Writers |
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| www.writing.org |
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| Writing HTML |
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| www.mcli.dist.maricopa.edu |
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| National Novel Writing Month - National Novel Writing Month |
| NaNoWriMo is an annual (November) novel writing project that brings together professional and amateur writers from all over the world. |
| www.nanowrimo.org |
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| Poynter Online |
| Apply by Dec. 11 Reporting and Writing the Untold Stories Apply by Dec. 11 ... Reporting & Writing for Multi-Platform Newsrooms. Apply by Jan. 10 ... |
| www.poynter.org |
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| Pages tagged with "writing" on del.icio.us |
| This short online course provides a practical introduction to writing fiction. During the course you will be expected to write two short pieces for ... |
| del.icio.us |
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| BBC Get Writing |
| The BBC's online resource for writing drama and comedy for television, radio and film. |
| www.bbc.co.uk |
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| TOC About Writing |
| Menu of articles on writing written by professional SF/F writers. |
| www.sfwa.org |
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| 11 Rules of Writing -- a concise guide to important grammar ... |
| A concise guide to some of the most frequently violated rules of writing, punctuation, and grammar. |
| www.junketstudies.com |
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| NAEP Writing Subject Area |
| NAEP assesses student performance in writing periodically in grades 4, 8, and 12 for the nation, and in grades 4 and 8 for the states. |
| nces.ed.gov |
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| Writing: See what people are saying right now on Technorati |
| See all blog posts tagged with writing on Technorati. |
| www.technorati.com |
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| IPL Teenspace: A+ Research & Writing |
| Includes step-by-step instructions on researching and writing, how to find information online and offline, as well as links to useful resources. |
| www.ipl.org |
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| Dictionary.com: Writing Resources |
| Free online English dictionary and reference guide. List of sites writers can use. |
| dictionary.reference.com |
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| WritingFix: Home of Interactive Writing Prompts and 6 Trait ... |
| Daily and interactive writing prompts. |
| www.writingfix.com |
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| Advice on Academic Writing |
| Includes articles on critical reading, planning, researching, style and editing, grammar and punctuation. |
| www.utoronto.ca |
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