Six Actions for the Silent Weeks

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

I understand 2020 has been a strange year with a worldwide pandemic. While many things have changed, some things continue in the same general pattern. Normally the period from Thanksgiving until after New Year Day becomes a series of silent weeks. During these weeks, many people are busy with other activities so they do not return phone calls or emails and it looks like everything is going into a huge stall. Here's an article I wrote for Almost A Writer about what to do in the silence.

 

The professional writer understands this season and still keeps pressing ahead in spite of the silence. In this article I want to give you six action-oriented ideas to move forward with your writing. You don't have to do all six of them—but if you did it would help you. I encourage you to read through these ideas, then choose one or two that you will take action and incorporate into your writing life. Nothing happens without consistent action. We can think about it all we want and that does not do the hard work of getting it done.

 

1. Start or keep working on your work in progress. Books take time. During the holidays you can choose to reduce your word counts and writing schedule. Or you can cut down the number and continue writing and moving forward. Even writing 500 words a day you will move your book forward. My encouragement is to keep making progress and keep writing even in this season.

 

2. Learn a new skill or work on launching a new website. In the midst of a busy season, my personal writing plans get set aside and during this time of year they are back in focus and moving forward.

 

3. Read a writing how-to book. I continue to read a how to write book every month. It's something I have been doing for years. There is a great variety of possibilities in the writing life. In the first chapter of Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams, include a fairly extensive list of the various types of writing. You can get it here (no opt-in needed).  

 

4. Pitch magazine editors, book editors, literary agents, podcast hosts, radio show hosts, and others. As I wrote about in this article, every writer has to pitch—whether you are brand new or have been a bestseller. It's simply part of the process.

 

5. Write a review on Amazon and Goodreads plus tell others about the book through your social media connections. I continue to write book reviews when I read or listen to a book. I encourage you to do the same. Most of my reviews are about 100 to 150 words. They do not take long to write but are an important way to support and help other writers. It's an important action everyone can do in a short amount of time.

 

6. Begin a new habit for your writing life or something personal. Organize a section of your office or on your computer. For example, several years ago I started a gratitude journal with short daily entries. I continue this practice today. Or about three months ago, my wife and I changed how we were eating and I'm thinner than I have been in a long time. It has not been easy but the consistent changes have paid off. You can read here about my daily habit that I continue to practice.

 

As you practice some of these actions, understand your consistent action may not pay off immediately but will propel you forward into the new year. Which action are you going to take during these silent weeks? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

When you don't hear much from editors or literary agents during what this prolific writer and editor calls "the silent weeks," what six actions do you take? Get ideas here. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

An Often Forgotten Strategy for Authors

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

As writers, if you are going to be published, one of your consistent actions must be pitching editors and other decision makers in the industry. You can certainly blog and other actions on your own websites but in this article, I want to emphasize an often forgotten strategy for every author. I encourage you to write for other people's sites and platforms.

 

For many years, I've written and posted an article each week on this blog about The Writing Life. My blog began in 2008 but I have been consistent week after week posting an article. The result is over 1500 articles in this single location (and I will include more details toward the end of this article).

 

Besides creating new articles for my own blog, each month I have a number of other writing deadlines which have come over the years.  I'm a part of a small group of contributors at Writers on the Move. I write one article a month published on the 22^nd  each month. Here's the most recent link to my article, Some Good News for Writers.

 

Also I've started writing one article a month for the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference blog. My most recent article posted last week, Why Do Writers Need to Build an Audience?

 

Several times a year, I have been submitting an article for the Suite T blog. My most recent article was Do Editors Fix All My Mistakes? This title is a variation of a chapter in my 10 Publishing Myths book.

 

Also earlier this year, New York Times bestselling author Jerry B. Jenkins interviewed me for his Jenkins Writers Guild. We spoke for about 35 minutes about many different writing topics. After it was over, I asked for a copy of the interview. When I received it, I asked if I could also post the article on my blog. From the reaction, I suspect few of the people Jerry has interviewed have asked for this question. It involved several emails and negotiating an exclusive time period for the Jenkins Guild before I could release it. That time has passed and you can watch the interview here.

 

Since September 2011, I have written monthly column for The Wordsmith Journal called The Proactive Author. For many of these articles, I rewrite some of my blog articles but I have been consistently published in this publication for years.

 

These articles and places are a number of the locations where I am writing outside of my blog on a regular basis. If you look at these articles through following the various links, you will notice each article includes at least one link to a free resource the reader can get from me (if they give me their email address and first name). I have planned to add names and emails to my mailing list through appearing on these websites. I do deliver value in each case to these locations and my “payment” for this effort is to be able to give away free resources. I hope you can see the strategy and planning I have built into each of these efforts.

 

How can you take similar steps with your writing? Can you find these opportunties for your writing? I believe they are out there. It will take effort to find them but I encourage you to make this effort.

 

Tell Other Writers

Are you one of my email subscribers to this blog? If you aren't I encourage you to use this link and begin receiving these entries each week in your email. Also I encourage you to pass this link on to other writers and encourage them to subscribe as well. In advance, I thank you for your help to spread the word about this resource. Also notice in the right hand column of my blog, (scroll down) there is a search tool where you can use key words and search the entire blog database of over 1,500 entries. I will often use this tool but you can use it as well to find information on many different writing topics. Finally, please use my ClickToTweet link at the end of this blog to pass on the article to others through social media. Thank you in advance for this help.

 

Are you using this often forgotten strategy in your own writing? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

There is an often forgotten strategy for authors this prolific editor and author uses. Are you using it? Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

10 Reasons to Read (or Re-Read) Marketing Books

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

The book market is crowded which is no news to those of us in publishing. Thousands of new books pour into our world every day. No matter who publishes our book the author has to be taking action to tell others about your book or to find readers. The author has to continually spread the news about their book and the importance of it for their readers.

 

If I'm honest, I'd love for someone else to do this work and be able to devote more time to writing. It's simply not reality with our world and market. Another reality is there is always more to be done as a writer to be telling a new audience about your book—whether it has been out a while or whether it is brand new. Consistently in these articles, I've written about the importance of marketing and highlighted different how-to books because it is an area every writer needs help. In this article, I want to highlight a number of reasons writers need to read marketing books (and then take action on what they learn).

 

1. You are probably missing some element and the book can give you an idea. For example, maybe you are missing effective use of press releases for your book or pitching podcasts or radio stations for interviews. Have you prepared a list of possible questions? Marketing books can remind you of these tested strategies and motivate you to take action.

 

2. You get fresh encouragement to take action and try a new path. Possibly you need to launch a new product related to your book or something else that you will be reminded through the marketing book.

 

3. You reach out and touch new readers with your message and your book as you apply ideas.

 

4. You are reminded that without your actions, your book stagnates and reaches no one. Last week I was reminded about my product Editor Reveals Book Proposal Secrets. These CDs contain valuable insights and teaching but to be honest have not been selling. Why? It is my own fault because I have not been telling people about this well-done product.

 

5. Even older marketing books have valuable contents. For example, the book, Guerrilla Marketing for Writers was published before social media but still contains valuable insights and ideas. Postcards are still an effective marketing technique.

 

6. No single marketing book has all of the answers. The path is different for each of us. What works for you may or may not work for me.

 

7. If you don't try, it will not fly. In the marketing area, it is necessary to try different techniques to see what will work for you. Jack Canfield and Mark Victor Hansen talk about the rule of five. Watch this short video explanation.

 

8. Reading marketing books recommits you to consistent action. While my Billy Graham biography came out over five years ago. I'm still marketing it every day but with different messages and different photos.

 

9. Reading these marketing books opens you to new (and possibly free) ideas. If you take action on the ideas.

 

10. There is nothing new under the sun yet there are proven paths to sell books—and each of us need to walk these paths with our books.

 

Notice I didn't give you a series of marketing books in this article. Why? There are many different books and I have many different possibilities. The key is to use and re-use the books you already have—or check them out of your local library.

 

Did I leave out some reason? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

If your book isn't selling enough copies, this prolific editor and author gives 10 reasons to read marketing books. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

 

Writers Need Each Other

 

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

Alone with our keyboard, every writer creates stories, articles and other types of communication. Yet without readers of those words, the stories have little impact on others. I understand it is hard to get an editor's or literary agent's attention to get your material on the road to publication. Part of this frustration is why self-publishing has exploded with 1.6 million self-published books a year. Yet many of these books are poorly produced and only sell 100 to 200 copies in the lifetime of the book (not a good path in my view and filled with companies who will gladly take your money with poor results).

 

Early on in my writing life, I learned that other people's input into my writing improved the results. Each of us have blindspots with our writing (no matter if we are beginners or have been writing for decades). Every writer needs an editor to go through their work in detail before it is published. I understand the business is subjective and you have to find the right editor for your work but it is an important part of the process. The best kind of publishing from my experience is using a team of people.

 

The writing community is an important part of the process. I learned early on to connect with others via email or phone or in person—and to maintain these relationships. I started writing for publishing decades ago in high school on my newspaper then worked for the local newspaper. While I have a college degree in journalism, I put my writing on hold for ten years while I was living overseas and working in linguistics. 

Years ago a friend showed me how to write a query letter and pitch magazines so I could get assignments. Then I went to my first writer's conference and met editors and literary agents. It opened the door for my first book which was published in 1992 (and long out of print). One of my writer friends recently showed me a current outrageous price on my first book from a retailer.

 

When I joined a critique group, my published writing took a leap forward. It was a regular forum to gain insight from readers and also a consistent deadline for my writing. If you have never joined a group, I recommend you follow this link and read the details of how to join or create a group.

 

There are many ways to support other writers in the publishing process. It might be as simple as being in a critique group with them. Or you could read their book, then write a review. People are making buying decisions every day after reading reviews. It's one of the reasons I've written over 1,000 Amazon reviews because it is a way I can support other writers. You can also subscribe to their newsletter (then when it comes pass it on to others). You can reach out to others with a phone call or email to check in with them—and see how they are doing with their writing. Admittedly 202o with a world-wide pandemic has been a strange year but you can do this sort of networking effort any time and any year.

 

Look for ways to volunteer and give back to others. As you give to others in these ways, you join the community of authors—and yes giving will come back to you multiplied is my view. I've given you a few ideas in this article. The bottom-line is we need each other. What steps will you take today to encourage and reach out to other writers? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

While writing is a solitary action, writers need each other. Get some ideas from this prolific writer and editor in this article. (ClickToTweet)

Get 10 Publishing Myths for only $10 +FREE shipping + over $200 of free bonuses.

 

The Practice of Anticipation

By Terry Whalin @terrywhalin

 

Writers have a variety of goals and plans which need to be completed. Often these goals have deadlines or deadlines are created for their completion.  In various areas of my writing life, I practice anticipation. Years ago, I wrote to do lists and crossed off items as I complete them. I don't do this practice any longer and believe it is a waste of time (for me—maybe not for you).

 

I have many different areas of my writing life in motion: writing new material, acquiring new authors at Morgan James Publishing, emailing and calling authors who have received contracts and never signed, marketing my own books, adding people to my email subscribers, maintaining my social media and engaging with responses—actually the list is long and endless but this gives you some ideas of what I am anticipating and practicing each week.

 

Let's use these blog entries as an example. Years ago, I decided to write one new blog article a week and post it here. Currently I have over 1500 entries in The Writing Life. If you are not a subscriber to my weekly here is where you can subscribe.  Each week I reach many people with this single article but I have to produce something every week. To complete it, I practice anticipation.

 

As I see an idea or something to write about, I will often open an file, create a headline and begin to write some thoughts—even if in a rough outline format. This process captures the idea for use—even if I don't use it immediately.

 

Throughout the week, I am aware of my need to have an article for my blog. As I get a few minutes here and there, I work on crafting the article. I post my article early on a Sunday morning and it goes out to my subscribers early in the morning on Monday. I created this pattern or system years ago and people expect to see something on these timeframes. Sometimes with my schedule, I finish the article at the last minute but I'm consistent in this process (an important aspect).

 

Each of these articles have some elements which I've created. The article includes links to other resources which I have created over the years or links to other writing resources I've discovered. The article include a royalty-free photo at the top. I use this photo for on-going promotion through social media—sometimes years after I have created it. As other portions of this process, I have created a system or process which is done almost automatically and works for me. Your system will be different but you need to think about it and create one.

 

Also these articles are a planned length or word count of about 400 to 700 words. This length is intentional since it is the normal blog article length. If it is shorter, there isn't enough substance and if it is longer, people may not read all of it. Do you have a projected article length for your blog when you write it?

 

Finally for the last several years I've been including a ClickToTweet at the bottom of my article. I can see from social media use that people use this tool to pass on my article to their audience. It's a consistent pattern and part of my articles.

 

Do you practice anticipation in your writing life? Or are you still making to do lists and crossing them off throughout your day? Let me know in the comments below.

 

Tweetable:

Do you practice anticipation in your writing life? It's better than a to-do list according to this prolific author and editor. Get the details here. (ClickToTweet)