Value in Lies AND Truth

Writers know that all good fiction is a pack of lies that tells the truth.

However, the truth about fiction is not an easy way to pay bills - for many, it's damn near impossible!

But you want to be a professional writer! An Author!

Try your hand at some non-fiction.

Non-fiction writing not only makes money, but it helps you write better and better sell your fiction.

Money

Writing non-fiction articles is what has afforded me to write speculative fiction. There are far more markets for non-fiction, and the pay is better.

Most magazines average a dollar a word - a DOLLAR! - some as much as $2 per word… though some as low as 20 cents per word. But 20 cents is four times the average fiction professional rate! Trade magazines can average between 20 cents to $2 per word, depending on how much experience you have in the trade.

But what about novels, you ask? From every convention I've gone to and the many agent & editor blogs I peruse, Firsttime Novelist, gets less than $5,000 for an advance (often much less) If you’re a first time, it's also probably taken years of work to write, polish, sell, and get this published.

Now, time for word problems. (Didn't you just love those in school?) If magazine writer writes mostly 1200 to 2000-word articles at the average magazine rate, how soon can s/he make that? If they also pepper their main income magazines with smaller pieces from smaller publications (see my guest blog tomorrow at damcphail.livejournal.com for more on this), how quickly will s/he make that $5k? And if some months, they sell articles to the really high end magazines?

'Nuff said.

Better Writer

Writing non-fiction articles teaches you research and interview. Every writer should know how to do this. Every book should have some level of research, and in almost every book you'll have a character looking to get information from another character. I've got more articles planned that go into both these things in more detail… but know that you need these skills.

Non-fiction writing also imposes word counts and deadlines. Copy space is vanishing real estate due to advertising and short attention spans, so writers need to make their point clearly and quickly… and ON TIME! Professional authors need to meet editorial deadlines, so get used to it.

Working with an editor and getting used to changing things - or having things changed for publication - is also an important skill. It's a business. Like with children, other people will change and mold and criticize your "baby." It is never entirely yours, nor will it be - unless you only plan to write for yourself and share with no one.


Selling Better

If you can attach your name to several established magazines or newspapers, people know you can write, meet deadlines, and work with an editor - and that's a good thing.

I'm not saying this necessarily belongs on a query letter - or even a cover letter… there are much better blogs and resources that give you query/cover letter tips. However, if you get a chance to speak with other professionals in publishing and they ask you what you do - mentioning the best places you've been published gives you credentials above someone who's never been published anywhere. If you get a request to send your work, you can re-identify yourself as the person who writes for "____"

More globally, writing freelance non-fiction helps you hone your overall query and selling ability. You need to pitch articles to your non-fic editors, first of all. You should also be able to make your point in few words, which helps you write a better synopsis or blurb (in theory, at least - I'll let you know when I sell a novel). And the research and interviewing experience helps you find and screen which agents and editors would be the best matches.

Non-Fiction Markets

Have I convinced you to look more into selling non-fiction? Cool! Where do you start?

What magazines & newspapers do you enjoy reading? What do you pay to receive? Start with their submission guidelines.

Next: What interests you? Do an Internet search for your favorite things to see if there is a magazine dedicated to any of them. Writing is your life, you say? There are plenty of writing magazines that pay - but keep in mind competition is stiff.

Exhausted all those options? One of my favorite one-stop-shop places is www.fundsforwriters.com C. Hope Clark is a fabulous resource for markets and advice. I also highly recommend her regular newsletters. The paid subscription always makes its money back for me, but the free ones are still great. You can also peruse www.craigslist.com, but there are a lot of people there who expect free writing there. You may need to do a few free non-fiction pieces (blog entries do NOT count) to get "clips," but once you've got some pay pieces, don't work for free (that's what blogs are for). There are even more tips and hyperlinks at my website, www.anovelfriend.com

Now, get out there and start earning money for your writing!

Mania for this Coming Week

This Manic Monday is brought to you by an AWESOME ANNIVERSARY WEEKEND!

Despite a bout of some illness on Thursday & Friday, Husband-of-Awesome & I went up to Kittery on Saturday, did some shopping, had a fab lobster dinner, and walked down the beach under a full moon that managed to peak out from the clouds for just a bit. Sunday was sleeping in, Pumpkin Bread French Toast, then a run to the Solomon Pond Mall for more necessities (like better business pants for all my networking meetings)

So, for this week:

I have a mystery lunch with my friend Sery at 11AM today. It's a mystery because we were supposed to touch base BEFORE today and say where. I just sent him an e-mail reminding him of this… hopefully he calls at a reasonable time.

I owe Christy a response to our chapter-by-chapter project… which I won't name because I think we had planned on pen-naming this one. We need to talk about that pen-name thing, too… since this one is going to be YA. Just… some religious parents may want to ban it.

Thursday, I'm meeting with my local food editor at Armsby Abby - which I'm looking forward to because my editor is cool and we've both been looking to try this place.

I'll also be guest blogging on Danielle Ackley-McPhail's blog on Thursday, too. J The article will be using small markets and small jobs to augment your pay.

Friday has me meeting with my comic collaborator, Stef, about Aurelio. That means I need to organize my notes for her before then.

I also need to get that Beer Blog for Worcester Magazine, as well as my regular assignment.

Last week:

I attended the Downtown Women's Club in Worcester. It was great! I met some really cool women.

Note: Oh yeah… FOLLOW UP!!

My book club kind of fell apart for this meeting. We may reschedule to talk about the The Alchemist, but we have picked Stardust as our next book! Whee!

Set up my next interview for Massachusetts Horse. J But that's next week.

Ongoing goals:

This is the third week I'll have maintained my 3x per week blog.

I caught up on my 1 market-a-day schedule tonight by researching 4 extra markets for the 3 I slacked on last week. ;) Of that research: 1 submission, which was actually submitted by Aimee Weinstein who I wrote "Facebook Faery Tale" with. She sent it out to the New Yorker. Let's see if they like it better than Fantasy & Science Fiction did.

Addendum to that: I need to finish implementing advice in the critiques sent to me for some of the markets I noted would be good matches for these particular stories.

The bedroom is almost entirely clean except for some heavy trash & H-of-A's clothes… which he swears simply cannot be done until we get a new bureau. Right… to find a new bureau we can afford now…

The desk still has its right hand "pile" that needs going through, but I can still see wood upon the desk itself.

I still need to send off the last 4 from my pile of snail-mail critiques - as well as my submission to the rest of my group. Let's see if I can get that ready between Monday and Tuesday so they can go out in the mail on Wednesday.

I have 2 other Writers' Group subs that desperately need attention from… er… March.

Things I need to stop Procrastinating on:

Kyra Starbard - the YA that just needs some editing & polishing before I send her off into the cruel world of agent-searching.

Hypothesis of a Soul - the android story my live writer's group asked about - even after my 2-month hiatus for convention insanity.

Synopsis for… new ideas. I had another attack me.

Editing per received feedback. I have a big pile of this - some that I may have found a home for.

That's a taste of my plan for the week. Wednesday, I'll be blogging about networking for writers outside of conventions/conferences and Friday… perhaps beer or apples. And don't forget to catch my special Thursday blog about Small Markets over at damcphail.livejournal.com

Copping out

I am sick…

My original plan was to talk apples, as its apple picking season.

Then, I wanted to write what I couldn't fit about beer from the beer & wine article I did for Worcester Magazine.

Then I ended up being sick today (Thursday). I didn't even make it to the rescue barn as I planned as… um… I didn't want to infect anyone and couldn't just duck behind a tree for what I was doing.

I did keep nummy ham soup down. After a 3 hour long nap under 5 blankets and in winter flannel pjs.

Oh - and I finally got my checks from the trade food magazines that I work for! That's food news.

But… something foodie for you:

Crock Pot Ham Soup (Italian-ish Style)

(There are many styles of this soup, from barbeque to southwestern to southern. It's one of those cupboard cleansing soups.)

1 Ham Steak
Leftover pepperoni slices, quartered
1 (14oz) can Campbells tomato soup
1 (14oz) can vegetable broth
1 (27 oz) can seasoned Kale
1 (16 oz) can black beans
1 chopped onion
4-5 smashed garlic cloves
oregano, basil, thyme, salt, pepper to season

Change around the greens and seasoning and beans, and you get your different versions. Yay creativity.

Throw everything in the crock pot on High while you take a nap to get over your illness. Serves 4. Enjoy.

Now… good night… I have a review that I will type tomorrow. (I promise, Doreen!)

The Writer's Spouse

Today is my Ninth Wedding Anniversary!



I've referred to Scott as my Husband-of-Awesome, and he really is.

Many writer's I know have a spouse or significant other in their life. When we do get together, our spouses trade war stories.

"Has she ever held a full conversation with you while typing and then forgotten every word of it?"

"Oh, God! Tell me about it. There was this one time…"

Honestly, writer's spouses deserve a lot of credit and respect. Many times Scott has been picked up the slack on housework, cooking, cleaning, and so on when I am on deadline - or overtaken by one of my fiction problems. He put up with several weekend-long Skype sessions with me and Christy while we edited Yesterday's Shadows - bringing me food and honeyed tea to preserve my voice. When I've had my 24-hour blogathons for theBay State Equine Rescue, he's waited on me hand and foot. I take off for conventions and events several weekends a year. Sometimes he does his own thing with the guys - and sometimes I come home to a wonderful surprise of a house project being finished.

He does come to Dragon*Con with me. Here we are this year:




On top of all that, when I've had a slow income year, he's still been supportive. We are very fortunate & blessed that he has a steady, well-paying job. And if he weren't so wonderful a person, he could hold that over my head - but he doesn't. He's always pushed me to be the best person I can be and to discover more things I'm good at (and good at making money at).

This year, with the company that has owed me significant pay and cut my jobs opposed to the biggest convention/travel spending year I've ever had, it has been difficult. But he always believes in what I'm doing - even when he's acting as a rational sounding board and asking hard questions and giving no-nonsense and honest answers.

If you are a writer and have a significant other, make sure you let them know they are appreciated. They are special people indeed to put up with our eccentricities (because face it, what writer ISN'T eccentric - on a good day).



I really do have the Husband-of-Awesome, and I sympathize with all you other writers out there that he's not yours.

Time Management II

I maintained a week's worth of blog posts! And I have a plan!

Ok, yeah, I know that's nothing compared to great regular bloggers - for me, who has struggled with regular blog posts since 2006 on MySpace, it's big.

And I have this week all planned out, too.

I have topics and themes. My Monday posts are Manic Mondays, where I talk about how I try and organize my life & work - which, to me, is an important topic. When I interview other artistic entrepreneurs, their answers intrigue me because it's so hard to do. Oftentimes, I learn something useful. And, in all my chatting with other artistic entrepreneurs who are looking for a way to "quit their day job," organization and time management are key issues for staying on track with one's goals.

The trick/truth is: most people are still changing and adjusting their time management and organization tactics.

So, I'm sharing this particular journey with people because I do think it is helpful, and it is helpful to me.

Doing my annual blog about goals and achievements every New Year does wonders for an overall ability to achieve because I think of it throughout the year… and it is pure magic for my January productivity.

So, here are my current plans, goals, and accomplishments:

A Monday, Wednesday, Friday Blog:
Manic Monday (explained)
Writerly Wednesday - an article about writing business
Foodie Friday - I hardly ever talk about food writing - which is most of my income, so finally: I reveal MY secret ingredients!

Clean the effing upstairs!
One hour a day. It's exercise, and it's accomplishment. And seriously - you don't want to see my upstairs bedrooms/storerooms. The bathroom is ok - my Mother-in-Law cleans it once a week.

Clean the effing desk "area"!
I seriously have no idea how I can work with this much CRAP blocking my most immediate books & resources. & I have noticed that tidier desk = more productive Trish

Research 1 Short Market a day, M-F, and if there's a match for any of my available short stories/poems/etc., submit. If not, make notes and move onto something else.
Other than Broad Universe Mailing parties, this has been my most successive project yet, with 4 submissions in 2 weeks

1-2 Owed short critiques a day.
I am sooooooo behind on critiques that I owe people. I belong to several Writing Groups - one disbanded - but I feel horrible for not having returned critiques to people. If I keep this up, I WILL catch up.

Make adjustments for 1 Critique given to me.
I'm equally behind (if not moreso) in reviewing and implementing critiques from people, too. If I had all of these done, I'd have twice as many short stories ready for circulation. I have noted in my Market Research, at least, which stories would be good fit for these markets once they have been edited.

I have a few more, but they're more personal to projects or specific to household chores. But having the to-do list has been a great help.

Some of Next Week's specific projects include:

Setting up Broad Pod Preliminaries. (Don't know what the Broad Pod is? Are you a member of Broad Universe? ;) More later - stay tuned!)

Monday: Last minute restaurant review
Beer Blog Article from Beer & Wine Pairing notes
Start on MA Horse article
5+ Tutoring Hours - (oh crap, must contact friends)

Tuesday: Women's Networking Event in Worcester
Blog post on Spousal Support for the Working Writer
(because my "Tuesday" goes until 2AM)

Wednesday: Anniversary - yeah, we're both gone early until late. Yay weekend…
Chiropractor
Lunch Date + Food Review with Renée
Book Club Meeting
Tutoring Hours…

Thursday: Write Friday Blog
Catch up on everything else…

Friday: 3+ tutoring hours
Pack for Anniversary Plans
Catch up + stuff I haven't thought of yet. ;)
Oh - send out Novel Friends newsletter - so add that writing/editing M-Th
(though, may want to send that out Thurs PM for Fri…)


An overall set of goals would be to have a clean upstairs, a clean desk area, be caught up on my writing business, catch up on tutoring, and meet all of my deadlines. Very general, right now, but I'm carving them out. And the more I get done, the clearer and more detailed I can get these goals.

So far, I'm happy with the past few weeks of planning, organizing, and managing of my work & time.

I'll keep you posted of what's working - so maybe it can work for you, too!

Eating Stars - Secret Ingredients in Restaurant Reviewing

When I say I review restaurants, people are intrigued.

"What's that like?" they ask, which is an easy answer of, "Really cool" or "A lot of fun."

No one asks me how I do it either… it's like some magic discernment that only a few people have: awarding little stars (or asterisks on my end of the keyboard) to places that may affect their sales and reputation for years to come.

I've gone to plenty of restaurants that proudly display the stars earned by the local magazine I review for, most predating when I started reviewing.

It is pretty damned cool - but it's not magic.

Despite the fact I'm throwing numbers of stars and hoping they'll stick.

Some things are easy to quantify. Service and Value are two starred items. We rate on a scale of 1 to 5, with five being best. A three for service means the server has done his or her job promptly and without being rude. Extra friendly earns a 4, and Omigod-above-and-beyond earns a 5. You can guess 2 and 1. With Value, 3 denotes a price and experience about on target for what wanted to pay or am average with equal establishments. A 1 means I'm sick and crying over my wallet, and a 5 means there is NO WAY I could have paid any less and not needed a confession.

Ambiance is hard to quantify - and not a lot of people really look at that and judge their visit to the restaurant on that - unless it's a 1, and I note somewhere that I found a cockroach or rat droppings. Then it matters. Other than that, it's a "best guess" based on how I "felt" in comfort and/or luxury and/or whatever the restaurant is trying to make me feel based on their décor (and cleanliness).

Then there is Food. The most important score - and what the restaurants will post if it’s a even a decent rating - if you know food, you know that so many elements can play together. Scents, tastes, heat, texture, presentation… all that must boil down to how many stars (or asterisks) you type.

Both the Husband-of-Awesome and I are pretty gosh-darned good cooks. Good enough where we can draw a crowd to help us with heavy and/or disgusting labor in promise of our food. But if I'm paying someone to prepare my food, it better damn well be better than I can get at home… so I quantify my stars on how likely I would be able to get and enjoy that food experience outside of that restaurant.

A 3 is better than what I can cook at home - or requiring more effort than I'm willing to put in at home. 4 is unquestionably better than I or HoA could cook at home - flavor, texture, and presentation wise. Plus, it should have some use of ingredients we A) wouldn't be able to get easily or B) totally surprises us in usage and/or combination that tastes amazing. A 5 is beyond even the imaginings of what we could accomplish at home - even with classes and schooling - and has just done something we would never have imagined flavorwise - above and beyond the expectations of 4.

It does help to be educated in food. Watch cooking shows, try to cook, read how food works… read other reviews. There might be a food that I simply don't like… just because I don't like it. I have to still evaluate if its good quality (though, having a partner helps here). Knowing what the texture and flavor of squid or octopus (for me) should be lets me discern the quality of the surprise addition to a chef's sushi platter (very good, in this instance). The same goes for something I love. I adore chocolate, and hot fudge - even if its broken - tastes pretty darned good. But a broken hot fudge doesn't have the best texture and it means that the ice cream shop has their settings too high - or they don't prepare it properly.

While I still don't think there's any magic to restaurant reviewing, it does take the ability and willingness to think about things differently. You have to make a credible scale for your quantitative assessments of things that aren't really countable, measurable, or provable. You need to impose levels and rationale on your impressions, feelings, opinions, and preferences in food - a HIGHLY personalized preference. The most important part, though, is to not let this quantitative thinking interfere with your - hopefully entertaining - experience dining out.

Find your Inner Bard: 5 Tips for Better Readings

Yay Dragon*Con Broad Universe Rapid Fire Readers!

So, I've been on the Motherboard of Broad Universe, officially handling RFRs for a few months. Of course, I've run a more than a few since then. And, before that, I've read at some RFRs, and even a few bouts of poetry for Jacob Edwards Library with my Southbridge Writing Group.

I liked to think I was pretty good at reading.

I purposely avoided listening to recorded versions, though. It would absolutely pop my "I'm pretty good at this" bubble. It was like how I KNOW I could totally kick ass at American Idol while I'm driving and hammering out whatever Crüxshadows or Ego Likeness… or even Nightwish… song is on my iPod.

Just don't record me! Self-delusional, huh?

I'm not the only one.

Most current writers hate hearing themselves read. An awful lot hate and fear reading out loud.

The problem is, the world of selling one's books is changing.

Inanna Arthen described it in her great panel at Readercon this year. This idea that writers are holed up, just writing, is a new construction. For millennia before, storytellers… told their stories. Or sung. They performed.

And now, with so much competition out there and so much marketing falling to the writer's responsibility, an author are returning to performance to drive sales.

Personal example: Every place I've read my poetry: I've sold out of chap books. Completely.



Of course, this is now a few years - and many lessons - of regularly reading out loud. And listening to my friends & colleagues read out loud - and also get better.

How about I share some of these hard-earned "secrets"? Here's my top 5 ways to ma

Credit where credit is due, first. Inanna was a big help in coaching me with her panels and in our overnight sessions at her house. Also, Mary Robinette Kowal has taught me so much from her panels and from her website resources. Definitely check out both of their web pages for more information.



5. Get friends & colleagues involved.

If you are lucky enough to have a live writing group near you, suggest that you spend a meeting every so often reading out loud. In my case, my live writing group reads almost everything out loud. Because we want feedback, we have an indirect pressure to perform well so our colleagues can understand and critique us. If you don't have a live writer's group, make Skype dates with online writing friends. Skype is free, and reading aloud will help both of you sell, so what's the


4. Pick strong passages

You want a passage that has a beginning middle and end. You don't want to spend more than a sentence or two acquainting your reader with the scene, and while you want a bit of a cliffhanger so the reader buys your book for the end, you want some sort of end to it. Your listeners want a story. If you can find a passage that's a natural scene in your book, you probably have what it needs. You may also want to pick a scene with a combination of narration and dialogue - and be careful not to have too many characters in dialogue. You'll need to differentiate your speakers - including the narrator, and most people have a hard time differentiating more than 4 speakers.


3. Record it.

Yes, yes, I admitted I hated the sound of my recorded voice. I still do, actually, but it's become much less painful. Record your readings and analyze them. Where you are stressing, and where you are stumbling (and may not realize it)? Where do you naturally speed up? Where do you naturally slow down?

Just being aware of what you naturally do helps you read better; you'll subconsciously fix yourself. Taking conscious steps to fix common mistakes makes your performance even stronger.

As an added benefit, move your recording device (or yourself if you are using a computer) to different distances to practice projecting. If you have to read to a full room of people (which is a good thing - really!), you want everyone in the back of the room to hear as well as those in the front.


2. Numbers game with Words.

With Rapid Fire Readings, all the readers have a strict timeline to follow. Even if you are reading alone or have more than 4.5 minutes, you don't want to go over your allotted time (it aggravates the people who scheduled you) and you don't want to be under time (who wants an awkward silence?). Inanna told me this ONE THING that has made calculating my readings a million times easier: You should read at a pace of between 100-120 words a minute.

Why is that so cool? It means that no matter what time frame I have to read, I can whip out my calculator and select a reading within that word count! 20 minutes? 2000-2400 words. 4.5 minutes? 450-540 words. If it's dialogue, I know it will go faster, so I can go towards the higher number. If it's a lot of narrative, I aim lower. If it's poetry, I also aim for the lower end because I know my poetry depends on dramatic pauses.


1. Practice and Perform.

Knowing you should practice reading out loud should go without saying, but I still like reminders, myself.

The harder part is to break beyond practicing: Go out and read!

If you're a member of Broad Universe, a great way to wet your feet is to be part of one of our Rapid Fire Readings at a convention you're attending. If you are on your own, talk to libraries, bookstores, and coffee shops to see if they have open mic events or if they'd be interested in hosting a reading. This is another chance to bring together your writing friends, too. A group of readers will have more draw than just one or two: organize a local author event with readings!

Maybe you're one of the few who won't want to puke or be caught with the shakes for your first few readings… or you might be like me and get stomach jitters and need an inhaler years into reading in front of people. Either way, read. Read as best you can. And do it again. And again.
Soon, you may find you need to pack more books to your events.