writing

The most important thing to remember when writing under pressure.

Corey Blake — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 22:02:29 -0500

Honestly, when I’m under pressure, I just need to sit and keep writing. I remind myself that this is not the final draft, but I need to start somewhere. The goal is to put out the first crappy draft so I can move into revisions. Then I usually read the piece out loud and from that experience I find a dozen areas that need work. So I dive in on draft two and take care of those issues. Then I read it aloud again and find the weak spots. Around the fourth or fifth time of reading it aloud it really starts to flow. If I can, I like to then put it down for 24 hours.

Bio and Interests: Jim Schakenbach

Jim Schakenbach — Tue, 02 Dec 2008 11:16:12 -0500

With over 25 years of experience in marketing communications, I am a freelance writer specializing in science and technology accounts. I am especially adept at creating clear, concise, and compelling messages for complex technologies. I provide written content for all facets of marketing communications, including websites, case studies, application stories, business features, press releases, audio/video presentations, and sales materials.

5 Critical Mistakes Most New Writers Make - and How You Can Avoid Them

Corey Blake — Mon, 01 Dec 2008 21:48:15 -0500

This will be a five part blog! So hang onto your hats. Here is number 1 of the 5 critical mistakes most new writers make: Most writers just start writing—TRAGEDY! As writers, or artists of any kind, we feel that if it doesn’t just come naturally, or divinely, that we must be a failure. So how do we behave? We dive right in—hoping that the spirit moves us to brilliance. Shame on us! Do accountants just hope that equations come to them? Do Doctors just hope that they’ll figure out what to do with you once they’ve opened you up? Of course not!!!

How to help your writing help you.

Corey Blake — Wed, 26 Nov 2008 11:32:21 -0500

One thing you have got to realize and take so seriously is that every piece of writing that you let out into the world is going to work for you FOREVER. That means that it is going to represent you to people who have never heard of you, and many who have read nothing else from you other than what pops up in a search on the internet. You have to consider every single piece of your writing as a possible introduction to you. That means you have to always consider your grammar, spelling and punctuation, as well as any visual design that might accompany your work.

What is your Author Platform?

Corey Blake — Mon, 24 Nov 2008 20:42:08 -0500

Think of your platform as your launching pad. The place you’re taking off from. Essentially, it’s where you are today in terms of your exposure, your following, your regular speaking gigs and the organizations you’re already involved with. Publishers and others who are going to be interested in getting into bed with you (hey now!) are going to want to know how impressive you are. The way you demonstrate your grandeur is by presenting your platform, in descending order of impressiveness. Items that would be included in your platform might be:

Help required with aggregators

David Young — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 22:04:29 -0500

After setting up my website to promote my books and finding all the ways not to go about getting a high page ranking I finally got the folling advice from an on-line publisher.

"I would like to suggest that you list with an aggregator, in order to achieve greater distribution of your titles."

I had no idea what she meant but have been studying hard for the last two days. I have learnt how to add rss to my site. The question is "What do I do now?"

Is there anyone out there to make suggestions?

Writers Block

David Young — Sat, 22 Nov 2008 21:36:41 -0500

Why not just start writing?

Corey Blake — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 21:55:56 -0500

I'm a huge fan of spending time building characters before beginning the plot.   

1. Label your main characters' greatest fears and desires. 
2. Write a narrative around the root of each of those fears and desires. What was the moment that created the emotional scar, or the euphoria? 
3. Repeat this process for ten fears and desires.

Writing Holiday Donation Emails E-Book by OnlineMarketerBlog

DJ Francis — Fri, 21 Nov 2008 15:52:17 -0500

Most membership organizations use the time between Thanksgiving and Christmas to raise money for the coming year. Many use email to ask their members to donate to the cause. And many organizations do this very, very badly.

I have written an e-book about writing holiday donation emails. These are the emails where organizations, especially non-profits, solicit money from their members. It is often the life’s blood of a membership organization.

I invite you to download the e-book:

EDGE! has been named a finalist

Corey Blake — Thu, 20 Nov 2008 21:08:33 -0500

We are pleased to announce that EDGE! A Leadership Story has been named a finalist for the National Best Books 2008 Awards in the category of Business/Motivational.

How do you carry on when it’s WHO you know, not how you write…

Corey Blake — Wed, 19 Nov 2008 22:22:52 -0500

It's a combination. The reality is that you do need to know people. That's why it takes ten to twenty years to build a successful writing career. Accept it and get busy on the marketing of your work so you can be seen. Writing is a business. If you fail to treat it as such, you'll wind up pissed off with nobody reading you. Your talent is only one of four elements you have to focus on:

1. Development: all things related to your writing ability (classes, exercises, writing gigs, your novel, conferences, writing magazines, reading competitive work).

How do I avoid being too sales-y with my writing?

Corey Blake — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 21:10:10 -0500

This one’s easy. Don’t SELL in your writing. Focus on providing valuable information. The goal of your writing is actually not to sell. It’s to demonstrate your validity as an expert in your field. Few people have the ability to close a deal with writing alone. You need your writing to invite people into your sphere. From there you have to find a way to relationship build, either through personal contact, blogging, vlogging, working on small projects, advising, etc. Once the trust is there, selling happens naturally.

Should my business be sending out press releases?

Corey Blake — Thu, 13 Nov 2008 21:51:27 -0500

Yes, Yes and Yes. The real answer to this question though lies not in just sending out releases. What most press releases lack is a good emotional hook…a reason for a journalist to want to call for more information and to run a story. They receive hundreds of releases every day. The key is tapping into what is timely in the news cycle. If the economy is in turmoil and that is all that news stations and print media are reporting on, your environmental press release about going green is going to get passed right by.

How do I find an editor for my novel?

Corey Blake — Tue, 11 Nov 2008 22:26:36 -0500

I'll always edit up to three pages at no cost. It is important for the writer to see the style of the editor. We all work differently. I do a line edit and pages of notes. The notes are for overall issues and the line edit gives them a definitive path for each issue I raise so a writer is not left in the dark about what to do. I'm also on the higher priced side, so it is especially important that writers know what they are getting for the money and view it as a valuable trade. Never just consider price, though. Look at strengths and weaknesses.

How can I increase business with my writing?

Corey Blake — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 22:15:32 -0500

In this day and age where everyone is making quick decisions based on what they find on the internet, how you communicate with your potential customer has tremendous relevancy to your bottom line. How many websites have you visited that failed to capture you immediately, and so you moved on? How many were full of errors that turned you off and possibly even offended you? How many were simply so verbose that you took one look and bolted off the site?

How do I choose a title for my book?

Corey Blake — Thu, 06 Nov 2008 21:38:26 -0500

In my experience, titles come from a lot of crappy brainstorming. Write lists of possible titles. Even if 100% of that list is garbage, the act of writing down possibilities engages the brain. Then you have to let your mind do its work. Think about the title in the shower, in the car, while you’re drifting off to sleep. You want to know when I named “From the Barrio to the Board Room”?

3am.

How does PR work?

Corey Blake — Wed, 05 Nov 2008 17:53:32 -0500

The key to generating PR is repetition. The media is very skeptical of what they read and so it takes time to generate buy-in. Buy-in is created by being consistent and submitting solid content to the same media players over and over again. Think of it like this:

1. 1st release reaction: never heard of them. 

2. 2nd release: who are these guys? 

3. 3rd release: I think I’ve heard of them before. 

4. 4th release: So what do they do? 

5. 5th release: Looks like a solid company. 

Setting the scene...

Corey Blake — Mon, 03 Nov 2008 22:50:33 -0500

Locations in your book should be as well defined as characters because, in fact, they are characters. Locations are living and breathing. Like people with hearts and minds and souls, locations also have hearts (the community of people that reside there), minds (the government and systems of the community) and souls (that indefinable spirit of a place). So do yourself a favor and treat your setting as though it were a main character. Give it spirit, give it history and eventually you’ll find that the location has its own set of needs and desires.

What if people find my writing offensive?

Corey Blake — Fri, 31 Oct 2008 10:08:12 -0400

If people find your writing offensive that is probably a good thing. If you’re not turning people off, you’re not turning people on. Think of your favorite actor or actress. I guarantee that as much as you adore them, there are plenty of people who cannot stand them! You have to put your authentic self out there to be judged, or no one will have ANY impression of you. Do not be bland. Do not try to appease everyone. Be true to yourself and your core demographic. The rest is out of your control.

Finding a character's motivation...

Corey Blake — Wed, 29 Oct 2008 19:19:33 -0400

Characters are just like people—completely unpredictable! At least they should be. Ask me what I think my wife will do in a given situation, and I’ll have an opinion. I won’t be right though, because inevitably, she always surprises me! So how do we create unpredictable behavior?

We do it through character bibles.

Developing a character's voice...

Corey Blake — Tue, 28 Oct 2008 19:19:19 -0400

A character’s voice should be found from the inside out, not the outside in. Meaning that characters are created through a writer’s willingness to dive into doing their homework and truly bringing a character to life. You can read my article on character development to see how I approach breathing life into a character. The process is simple, and the results are profound if you’re willing to do the work. The overall intention is not to impose your own voice onto your characters, but to unveil their own voices as a sculptor would reveal a form by removing clay from a mound.

Should I send a query letter?

Corey Blake — Mon, 27 Oct 2008 20:42:44 -0400

Are pen names a bad idea?

Corey Blake — Wed, 22 Oct 2008 20:36:50 -0400

I’m not in favor of pen names unless you are moving outside your brand and are afraid of confusing people. We all know what happened to Coke when they tried to redesign their image – it flopped. So if you are a mystery writer who wants to take up travel books, you might consider doing them under a pen name. Otherwise, if you are a first time author, you have to be willing to stand up for your book and be the face of your conversation. Otherwise, who does the media contact? Who is going to do the interviews?

Which is a better market for my book: online or in stores?

Corey Blake — Tue, 21 Oct 2008 20:32:12 -0400

A great question. The answer to that lies in your goals. I typically work with people whose intention is to make a difference in the lives of their readers and to build an entire operation around their book. They are not always writers per se; they are typically people who have a massive conversation they want to be the spokesperson of. People like Robert Renteria and Bea Fields.

Pursuing the Agent

Corey Blake — Mon, 20 Oct 2008 17:59:40 -0400

It is imperative that you have a process for pursuing an agent. The last thing you want to do is go into this blindly. Jeff Kleinman at Folio Lit, had a brilliant idea that he shared with our writers on a call last year. He recommended that writers make three lists of agents, an A List, a B List, and a C List (each with 10 agents). Your A List is agents who you would love to represent your work. Your B List is agents you would like to represent your work. Your C List is your last resort list.