New Year Resolutions for Writers

As you write your resolutions for the coming year remember to include some relating to your writing goals and dreams. Here are a few that might get you thinking:

• Enter a writing competition every month
• Complete and submit a short story or article to a paying publication at least twice a month
• Complete a detailed outline, including character profiles and locations, for a novel
• Organise the office or writing space
• Undertake a writing course
• Join a writing group
• Read for at least 10 minutes a day
• Write for at least 10 minutes every day
• Keep a journal.

 Select those that appeal to you and will help you achieve your writing goals – get started on them right away and you will soon find you are making progress towards your ultimate dreams.

Happy writing.

Is this the year you'll get that book written?

It’s that time of year when we look back and think about what we have achieved during the last year and, inevitably, realise that there are one or two resolutions we haven't quite managed to keep - only three chapters of the novel completed across the last two years.  When we have finished reflecting it is time to write our resolutions for the coming year with one or two "rolled over" from the previous year(s).

This year why not set yourself up to succeed, write your resolutions as usual and then write out how you are going to achieve them. For instance if your resolution is to write a novel then work out what you need to do in order to achieve it. First be a little more precise – are you going to complete a first draft or is your novel going to be ready to publish? Write this down. Next decide on the word count, whilst this may change as you develop your novel a good starting point is 100,000 words. Finally work out how much you need to do each month/week/day in order to achieve your goal. For a novel ready to publish you might allow a month at the beginning to plan and three months at the end for second/third draft and editing/proofing. That gives you 8 months to write the first draft – 12,500 thousand words a month (does this sound doable, if not don’t panic) or around 3000 words a week (still too much), or 500 words a day. When you break your resolutions down into small chunks they suddenly become achievable, 500 words is only one page of writing. 

For a novel you will also need to breakdown the planning stage into small chunks – characters, plot, location and research (only do the minimum research at the planning stage). You might have 5 major characters and 10 minor characters – you could allocate a day to develop the characteristics and motivations for each major character and then write brief character outlines for the minor characters across two days. You will need to take the same approach to editing however you don't need to break this down into daily tasks until you have completed your first draft.

You don’t need to have the whole year broken down into daily tasks on day one. Start by having monthly targets for the year ahead, at the beginning of each month break down that month’s target into weekly targets and at the beginning of each week develop a daily plan of tasks for the week ahead.

Work on your tasks each and every day, if you don’t reach your daily target don’t worry – 200 words might not be 500 words however it is still 200 words closer to your dream. Don’t try and catch up if you miss a target, you will find that as you progress towards your goal you will naturally have days when you do more than you planned. If you don’t feel inspired to write – sit down and write anyway. On really bad days think of your goal – that published novel in your hands and on bookshelves – and then write your 500 words. Always have your end goal in mind however only work towards achieving the next small chunk.

If you find it motivates you keep a progress chart to record tasks completed and your word count. 

Get started today – write out your resolution, commit to it, plan the week ahead and get started. This time next year you will have that book in your hands.

Happy writing.

CreateSpace now offer extended distribution for free

Up until recently you could publish your book using CreateSpace for free. Your book would be available on Amazon and through the CreateSpace estore. If you wanted to make your book available to and through other online and offline retailers you would need to pay for extended distribution.

CreateSpace are now offering this option for free. You can choose to make your book available to major high street and online retailers providing you with additional sales channels, each with an extensive customer base, at no extra cost to yourself.

If you have published a book using CreateSpace login in and select these additional channels now. If you have written a book and have not yet made it available in hardcopy then have a look at the services CreateSpace offer that enable you to publish and distribute your book for free.

Happy writing.

5 Time Management Tips for Writers

Do you ever get to the end of the day and feel you have not got as much done as you had hoped? There are two main reasons for this:

• You have planned to do more than is actually possible – in other words your goals are unrealistic.
• You are not using your time wisely – that is to achieve your goals.

This second reason is why many people achieve less than they are capable of. Do these sound familiar – I’ll just check and reply to my emails, a quick game of Solitaire will start the mind working, I'm at home so I’ll get the washing on and have a quick tidy up, I must watch this episode of my favourite soap, I'm not sure which task to work on first, I'm blocked – and I'm sure you can add your own. By the time you've completed all of these really important tasks there is no time left for writing.

Here are some quick and easy tips to help you make better use of your time and get more done.

1) Set realistic daily goals – 1000 words written, an article edited and sent to a magazine, write a blog post, send a tweet, outline a new book, and/or complete a character profile. Note that these are achievable daily goals, number of goals will be dependent on the time you devote to your writing activities. If you write full-time you may decide you are able to or need to write 4000 words, if this is the case you will find it beneficial to set your goals as 4 times 1000 words because ticking tasks off your list can be motivational whereas not achieving your goals can be demotivating. Set up your daily goals for the week ahead as you then have a clear idea of what you are doing each day and can also ensure you have allocated enough time to hit deadlines.

2) Track progress – for large projects, such as a book, create a chart or written record of your progress. You can use a count up and/or countdown approach. If you are writing a book that you plan to be 120,000 words have two columns, one headed target - 120,000, the other headed completed - 0. Each day subtract that day’s word count from the target and also add it to the completed column. For small projects create categories e.g. short story, blog post, and/or article. Keep a similar record of word count and number of stories/articles/posts. You may also set a target word count or number of completed projects for each category.

3) Plan non-writing tasks around your writing (not the other way round) – many part-time writers try to find time to write when all other tasks are completed. If you do this the likelihood of you creating any time at all is small. There will be things in your day that you have to do such as going to work – plot these into your day and then plan your writing slots – everything else can get done when you have achieved your daily writing goals.

4) Set specific times to check and respond to emails and phone calls - if your email programme says you have mail you do not have to read it. If your phone rings you do not have to answer it. Set up an auto respond message for your email if you feel you need one – something along the lines of I will respond to your email within 24 hours. Also set up a message for your phone. Check emails and phone calls at a set time each day and respond to them at this point. If you need to spend time researching information or completing a task before replying then plot this into your day.

5) Turn off your Internet and delete any computer games – the amount of time that disappears into a black home as you surf or play is astronomical. Plan when you are going to use the Internet, set a time limit, and focus on any Internet tasks to need to complete whether research or shopping. Of course you can have fun either playing games or surfing the net however do not let this impinge on your writing time – do it after you have completed your writing goals.

Take this approach for the next month, this allows time for good habits to form, and you will notice an increase in productivity and you will start to realise your goals and dreams.

Happy writing.

New Amazon Kindle Countdown Deals

As I am sure you are aware Amazon wants you to be a successful author as this benefits both you and them. Amazon will market your book for you using a range of methods including “customers also bought,” targeted emails, advertising, and the “look inside” feature.

Amazon also provides you with a range of tools to do your own promotions. The latest addition to the toolbox is Kindle Countdown Deals – you can promote your book at a reduced price for up to a week. You can select either a single reduced price or have the price increase back to the normal price in increments. Typically you would reduce the price to £0.99/$0.99.

Now you may ask why not just reduce the price yourself for as long as you like? If you use Countdown Deals Amazon will put a box onto your sales page which states your book is on offer, how much the original price is and when the book will go back to that original price. They will also list your book in the separate Countdown Deals section giving your book another opportunity to be seen by potential buyers. As an additional bonus you will still receive 70% royalties even if the reduced price would normally attract only 35% in royalties.

To qualify for this benefit you need to enrol your book into KDP Select which means you cannot sell the electronic version of your book elsewhere, there is also a minimum time you have to have your book available at the original price both before and after the promotional price (a bit like sale prices in shops). Also note that if you use the Countdown Deal feature you cannot then make your book available as free of charge using KDP Select until you have started a new KDP Select period.

I have tried this and saw a significant increase in book sales both during and after the deal period. Sign into your KDP account to find out which of your books are currently eligible then promote at least one of them using this tool. All you have to do then is sit back and watch your sales grow.

Happy writing.

Do you want to achieve your goals?

If you have ever struggled with achieving your goals and living life on your terms then take advantage of the Countdown deal and purchase Life Unleashed - living life on your terms, ate the reduced price of £0.99/$0.99 from Amazon.co.uk or Amazon.com. 

This book is only available at this reduced price for the next few days.

This book contains actions to complete and enable you to create the life that you want, live life on your terms, and become a success in your own life. Experience improved health, wealth and happiness as you identify what you want and take action to achieving your goals. 


Complete the actions in this book and you will:


- Identify your dreams and goals, and start achieving them
- Recognise your values and use them to make the decisions that are right for you
- Experience the freedom of living your life your way
- Allow your friendships to flourish
- Stop living by the expectations of others
- Experience the joy of living in the now
- Develop your creativity- Realise your full potential
- Recognise what you have in your life that you would not want to lose
- Experience the benefits of kindness- Create abundance in your life
- Experience increased happiness as you live life on your terms.

Download today and start making those desired changes to your life.

Happy writing.

Kindle countdown deal - Write it! available at a discounted price

Write it! - How to write your book in 30 hours or less is available on Amazon for the discounted price of £0.99/$0.99 during this weekend.

Happy writing.

Rewrite an existing novel and create a new bestseller

It is often said that there no new plots or stories, originality comes from how you tell the story. 

Many great writers have used great stories from the past and turned them into great stories today – one example is Romeo and Juliet/Westside Story.

Why not take an existing novel and rewrite it to create something entirely new by making a few changes. 

Here are some ideas:

• Change the genre – could a crime thriller become science fiction?
• Change the period – a story set in the 1960s could be told in the 21^st century or the 18^th century.
• Change the setting – a hospital setting could become a cruise ship.
• Change male characters into female characters and vice versa.
• Consider names – change Susan to Chantelle and you get a whole new character.
• Physical features – hair colour, scars, etc. Add some new ones such as long painted nails.
• What about age – could a character in their early 40s became a character aged 15?
• Characteristics – pipe smoking could become gum chewing.
• Dress sense – conservative could become trendy or controversial.
• Think about occupations – could a doctor become a scuba diving instructor?
• Obstacles can be changed – that bomb that will explode in 30 minutes could become the oxygen system on a space craft about to fail.

Take a novel you like or know well and complete character and plot outlines. Go through these outlines and make the desired changes. You will end up with a set of new character outlines and a new plot. Give your planned novel a title and write the “new” story in your own voice. At the end you will have a novel that may or may not be recognised as a similar plot to the original – it doesn't matter if it is compared to the original because, as stated previously, there are only so many plots anyway.

When you have finished and edited your novel why not self-publish and let the readers decide if they like it? You never know this might just be the next bestseller.

Happy writing.

What will you get done in ten minutes a day?

Do you ever find that you get to the end of the day and you have not achieved as much as you would have liked, perhaps you have not actually done anything towards your writing goals. Yes you are busy and have a lot of priorities however if you have too many days like this then you are unlikely to complete much work.

One way to make improvements is to start small and develop habits that support you reaching your writing goals. Don’t think too big, 1000 words a day may be doable but if you don’t do it then you will feel a failure.

Start off by taking one of your writing goals – this might be enter a short story competition, write and submit an article or write and complete a novel.

Set yourself a 10 minute time and place session that you are going to use each day to write – you may have a different weekday slot and a weekend slot. Think carefully and creatively about when and where your session will be as you do not want any distractions. For some working at your desk over lunch might be fine, for others this will be an invitation for colleagues to hijack your time. You might find that 10 minutes in the morning works well for you, or you may find other family members think of you as up and available and will ask for coffee, an ironed shirt or even a cooked breakfast.

Consider going to work a little earlier and, if you drive, staying in the car for 10 minutes to do your writing. If you use public transport pop in your earphones (you don’t need to have your music on), and write. How about going out for lunch and writing in the park or a coffee shop.

Once you have identified and committed to your session then use it to write every day without exception. Never think you do not know what to write, or you don’t feel inspired, or you are writing rubbish so you may as well stop – just write. At this stage it does not matter how good your writing is, this is a first draft, you edit later.

If it helps you try these techniques to help overcome that feeling of not knowing what to write:

• Finish a writing session partway through a scene and sentence; this can help you get back in the flow quickly as you read the last sentence from the previous day.
• At the end of each session make a note of which scene or section you are going to write the next day.

Commit to developing this habit for a month. At the end of the month this habit will be embedded into what you do each day and you will have increased your word count considerably. At this stage you can now add another habit – this might be increasing your 10 minutes to 20 minutes; it might be doing your writing related admin every Monday evening. Whatever it is commit to it, do it and then add another.

Happy writing.

Creating believable characters

If you are writing fiction you will be creating characters. These characters may be human, animal, vegetable or anything else that has an impact on your story. To ensure your readers engage with your story your characters need to come to life and behave in a way that your readers can relate to or accept even if this behaviour is immoral or illegal; remember your readers do not have to like the character or behaviour.

Start by writing everything you can about each of your main characters and, most importantly, identify want they want and their motivations for wanting it. You can use a character profile template for each character if this helps or you can free write everything that comes to mind. Give each character some memorable traits that will have an impact on them during your story e.g. a fear of flying, always having toast for breakfast, a scar or a limp. Name your characters when you are ready – this might be after you have completed all of your character profiles.

Once you know as much as you can about your characters you will know how they will behave in any given situation, you will also understand when and why then might act out of character – and so will your readers. You do not need to include all of the information about your characters in your story however you will know what you need to show the reader, such as a character limping, before it becomes an important part of the story.

Here are some headings that you might like to use when creating your own characters, feel free to add other headings, combine them or duplicate information:

Character: main character

Gender: male

General background: write as much or as little as you need to ensure you understand how your character reached this point in time. Man is 36 years old, when he was 25 his parents emigrated to Australia, two years later his only sister (no brothers) was killed in a car accident. Since then he has spent all his time working and has slowly worked his way up. His promotions have been slower than other people and he believes this was because he was receiving help for depression.

What they want: a family

Barriers: you can add anything relevant at this stage if it happened prior to the start of your story however the barriers may be part of your plot and therefore not part of this profile. He pushes people away when they get too close emotionally, this prevents him developing long term relationships.

Traits: these can be character or physical traits or anything that is particular to your character. He is always friendly when he meets new people but will often alienate them if they get too close (afraid of losing people close to him).

Strengths: genuinely cares about other people and will go out of his way to help others.

Weaknesses: he has high expectations in the workplace and can get angry when he believes someone is not performing at their best.

Age: 36

Physical features: hair colour: tall, brown hair, physically fit.

Job: area manager for a chain of health centres.

Hobbies: no hobbies outside of his job

Name: add a name when you are ready

Create profiles for your characters, do this even if you have started writing your novel or short story. If you fully understand your characters and their motivations then it is likely your readers will too.

Happy writing.

The benefits of planning your novel

Some writers will tell you that, when they are writing a novel, they just start at the beginning and keep typing until the reach the end. They don’t plan they just write. Writers who successfully work this way usually either allow the novel to evolve as they write and let the characters to show the way forward or they hold the end in their head and keep writing until they reach it. If this works for you then fine, however for the vast majority of writers staring at a blank screen trying to work out what comes next is unproductive.

Planning your novel before writing has several benefits including:

• Increasing the likelihood of finishing your novel – if you have a good understanding of your characters and produce an outline for your novel you are less likely to get stuck half way through writing and give up
• Improving your writing speed – you always know what the next scene is so no more staring at a blank screen or wondering how your characters will react to a situation
• Reducing the likelihood of writers block – you always know what to write next
• Enabling you to notice and resolve any plot issues before you have written 65,000 words only to realise you need to go back and start rewriting from chapter three
• Identifying exactly what research you need to do for your novel – this can save hours, even weeks, of unnecessary research
• Identifying where you need to add clues or red herrings to support later scenes in your novel
• Enabling you to work out how to show character traits throughout the novel to ensure your readers find your character’s actions and decisions believable.

Try the planning method for your next, or even your current, novel. Outline your novel on a scene by scene basis; add details such as the purpose of the scene, location and characters involved. Check through carefully to ensure there are no holes in your plot and then start writing.

Happy writing.

Create a working office

Extract from Write it! How to write your book in 30 hours or less

In order to write productively and get your book finished you need to set up a workspace that will enable you to start writing quickly during your scheduled times. If you have to clear the dining table, locate the laptop, get the extension lead because someone has run down the battery, turn it on, wait, and then start writing, well your writing time is not going to be best used. Do this twice a day and you could easily waste half an hour of your valuable writing time. Over 10 weeks this equates to another book.

Your workspace is important; however this does not mean that you cannot write unless you have a dedicated office that no-one else has access to, though you might like to add this to your dreams list.

Setting up your workspace

Three questions often asked by people looking to start writing are - “Do I need an office? Do I need a computer? Do I need expensive software?” Let’s take these one at a time.

Do I need an office?

Creating a working space that enables you to be productive, not get distracted and have a work-rate that supports you producing a publishable book in the shortest possible time is vital. This does not however need to be a dedicated office, though this can help, anywhere you decide is your workspace or workspaces is fine as long as you set it up to meet your needs and you can access it with the minimum of fuss.

The working area should be comfortable, have enough space for you to work on a computer (desktop or laptop), make notes, use reference material (one notebook and one reference book) and have a place for a cup of coffee. How big does this have to be? A small garden table and chair are fine. This can even be a fold up type that you can quickly open out and start working. If you have a desktop computer then you will need to have this set up permanently. Select a spot where you can work unhindered, again this does not necessarily mean a quiet spot, but you do not want to be distracted by the TV. If you have to share the computer with the family then have a booking system!

If you are working in time slots that are no more than an hour at a time and no more than two hours a day then the table and chair set up is less important unless you have a back condition. If you are regularly working longer hours then spend some time setting your monitor height and chair position to reduce the risk of aches and pains.

It is important you keep all of your working documents, notes, and reference material together and easily accessible. Use a basket or box with handles so that you can move it around and easily store it. The box needs to be big enough to hold a notepad, pens and pencils, memory stick, dreams folder (see chapter 4), progress chart and one or two reference books. Keep it where you can access it quickly.

Do I need a computer?

You need access to a computer and the internet; ideally this should be one you can use at a time to suit you so having your own is a benefit. If you don’t have a computer then you can still write your book, find out where you can get free or cheap access to a computer with internet access, try your local library or community centre. It might be that your employer is happy for you to use one at work after hours or during your break. Whilst using a computer away from home may seem a disadvantage at first you will certainly be focussed when you sit down to type those words.

Do I need expensive software?

No. Whilst Microsoft Word is clearly popular, if you don’t have it you don’t need to buy it. There are several word-processing and office packages available to you free of charge. Consider OpenOffice or LibreOffice, both are free to download, have an excellent range of features and are compatible with Microsoft Word. You also get a spreadsheet and presentation software as well! Think about the features you really need to be able to type your words. Some basic formatting features such as bold and italic, outline features are useful though not essential, as is the facility to create hyperlinks.

The only other software needed is an internet browser; you probably already have this on your computer however these are also freely available.

This chapter contains a list of useful software available free of charge. You may like to look at some of these and decide if they would be of use to you.

What do you really need to get started?

Essentials

Access to a computer

Word-processing software (available free)

Notebook

Pen and pencil

Access to the internet

Desirable

Dictionary

Thesaurus

Graphics software (available free)

Mobile phone (with camera and Apps)

Happy writing.

Exercise for writers

The more productive you become as a writer the more time you are likely to spend sat down at your computer.  Spend too much time sat down and your body will start to object. In order to reduce the risk of aches and pains associated with lack of exercise, sitting for long periods and using a computer it is important to take a break and stretch your muscles. Try these simple hints and tips in order to remain productive and stay healthy:

• Set up your workstation correctly - ensure your chair is at the correct height, the screen is positioned at the correct distance and angle, reduce glare onto the screen and adjust the keyboard position to suit your needs.
• Look away from the screen every 15 minutes or so and rotate your head to reduce strain on the neck.
• Every half hour move your legs, wiggle your toes, clench and release your calf muscles, rotate your shoulders and wiggle your fingers.
• Stand up and stretch your arms, legs, back and neck at least once and hour.
• If you are spending the whole day writing take a break partway through your working day and take a walk or go to the gym.
• Drink water throughout the day.
• If you like to snack whilst writing choose healthy options such as fruit or nuts.

Try at least some of these suggestions and you will reduce the risk of acquiring the aches, pains and strains that can have a negative impact on both your creativity and your productivity. Stay healthy and keep writing.

Happy writing.

Set yourself deadlines to increase your productivity

When you are working on your own writing projects that you will submit to the market when complete it can be difficult to motivate yourself to complete to a set schedule – after all no-one is saying to you, ”I need that article by Friday.”  Your productivity may be adversely effected not only because of procrastination but because you may also find yourself spending considerable time perfecting your work when in fact your writing is already of a high quality.

If no-one is setting deadlines for you then it can be useful and productive to set your own deadlines.

To set and meet deadlines take the following approach; each week:

• List the projects you are working on or want to begin; these might include a novel, an article for a named publication, a short story for a competition, a short play for the local am dram group and a blog post.
• Prioritise your projects in order of importance
• Note a completion deadline against each one – write it down as this will increase your commitment
• List the tasks involved to reach completion (research, writing first draft, editing)
• Put a realistic, or best guess, estimate of the time needed for each task – for long projects you might put two hours per 1000 words rather than the total time needed
• Schedule tasks into your writing week – it is important to plan the week ahead so that you can see where you might need to make adjustments. Ensure that you allocate time to your top 3 priorities. Also ensure that your schedule allows you to complete a smaller project in no more than two weeks though completing a project each week is even better.
• Follow your schedule and complete the tasks – remember you are aiming for good work not perfection. As you are working think of your deadlines as just that – deadlines, you must complete the article by the set date even if you have to allocate additional writing slots.
• At the end of the week review how well you did and then set your schedule for the next week.

Keep this up for the next few weeks, reviewing and adjusting where necessary, and you will find that as you start to complete projects and send work to your chosen markets your motivation to further improve your productivity will increase. During your writing time you will become focussed on getting the job done which will lead to you getting the job done.

Happy writing.

Fiverr for writers

Have you tried Fiverr yet? It’s a fantastic sight where you can buy or sell gigs for just $5 (approx. £3.10). 

As a writer you may want to outsource some of the jobs you need or want to get done; for instance these might include cover design, proofreading, creating a promotional video, maintaining a website, and illustration to name but a few. As a writer you may also be looking for additional sources of income from activities such as writing web content, copywriting, and even song writing.  

Now you may think that you are not going to get much for $5 however think again. Some people offer services in order to get their business started after all $5 is better than $0; it also gives them the opportunity to build up excellent reviews, which then only get if the work is of a high standard, and develop a client base.

Let’s say you are looking for a cover design for your next book, or indeed perhaps want to change the cover of an existing book. Why not select 3 people to design you a cover - $15 – and select the best. Much cheaper than using a professional service and it leaves you more time to do what you love – writing.

What about proofreading? You can have 5000 words proofread and/or edited for $5, and this is by someone who has received excellent ratings.

Looking to increase traffic to your website? For $5 someone will write a blog post with a link back to your site.

Thinking of a promotional video on You Tube? Yes you can have that too for just $5. Perhaps you’d like a short audio extract from your book. You could even be creative a have a song or rap recorded to use on your website.

Of course you can also offer your services on Fiverr; this can be an excellent way to get your writing business started or to generate some extra income.

Take a look on http://fiverr.com/and see what’s on offer.

Happy writing.

Developing effective writing habits

Habits are those acquired behaviours that we repeat regularly, subconsciously and often in response to a cue or stimulus.

If you want to become a productive and successful writer who completes their writing projects, meets deadlines and produces quality work then you need to acquire habits that support these aims.

Acquiring a new habit generally takes between three weeks and two months before it becomes automatic and subconscious. It may require conscience effort at the beginning as your mind will what to do what it usually does when faced with the cue or stimulus for example if when your alarm goes off you usually make coffee, shower and get dressed and now you plan to write between coffee and shower you will have a desire to shower first – don’t give in.

Acquiring new habits is a choice so first you need to make a decision to develop a new habit; to be a productive writer the only habit you need to acquire is to write regularly. This habit has three main aspects:  

1. Write every day
2.  Be prepared to write  
3. Actually get some words down during your writing times.

You can create a list of habits you want to acquire over a period of time, it is however important to only develop a maximum of three new habits at a time, only start to work on the fourth and fifth habits when the earlier habits have truly become automatic.

In order to successfully develop effective habits you will decide on one major habit and then select supporting habits e.g. writing in the morning might be your major habit and, to support this, every evening you will clear the dining table (your workspace), put your laptop on charge, make a brief note about what you are going to write (car chase scene, paragraph about hamsters for your suitable pets for children article) and note what your ten minute warm up writing exercise will be (describe the yesterday’s weather).

You’ve decided on your new writing habit, you know what you need to do to support this habit, you now need to decide on the cue or stimulus that will prompt you take action. The first cue will be for the evening preparation, the second will be for the morning writing session. The morning session is probably the easiest as you are likely to use existing cues, e.g. alarm (although you will need to set it earlier), coffee and then writing; you just need a reminder which could be a note by the bed or set an event with an alarm on your phone. You could also use an event with alarm to prompt and remind you to do the evening preparation – ensure you have a list of what you need to do as you don’t want any barriers to getting your writing done in the morning.

Finally you need to do it. As soon as you hear your prompt or cue you must take action; if you don’t you will not develop new habits. Never think that you don’t need to do the evening preparation as this will stall you in the morning. Never think that you will have just five more minutes in bed doing nothing; if you do then staying in bed after the alarm will become the new habit.

What are you waiting for? If you want to increase your output, meet those deadlines and, ultimately, increase your income, then start developing new habits today.

Happy writing.

Why not write a novella?

If you find yourself with an idea that is too complex for a short story and yet not long enough for a novel then maybe what you have is a novella. Some years back novellas were particularly popular however, somewhere along the line, it seemed that someone dictated that printed novels should be at least 100,000 words.

Well things have changed. There are publishers who publish novellas, for example The People’s Friend novellas which are around 45,000 words and, of course, you have the option of self-publishing.

If you are intending to write for an established printed collection then it is important to study the publisher guidelines and research the type of stories they publish. If you intend to self-publish then you have more options; it is still useful to research your market if you want to maximise your chance of success however you can choose to write in any genre and to any length.

One of the great advantages of writing and self-publishing a novella is that you can write your story to its natural length. You do not need to add or delete characters and story lines in order to produce a piece of work that meets word count requirements.

Typically a novella will have shorter chapters that a novel; it will also have fewer characters and conflict situations. There will be few, if any, sub-plots that involve characters other than the main character and viewpoints may be confined to one or two. Of course these points are only general guidance and you should tell your story in the best way possible.  

If you have an idea then why not start writing today. Complete your 20,000, 30,000 or 50,000 words and get them in front of your readers.

You may be interested in my book – Write it! – which covers how to write and complete a 20,000 word book in 30 hours or less.

Happy writing.

5 Story Starters

Use these story starters to fire up your creative mind. They can be used as warm up exercises before you start on your major work however you may find you produce a piece of work that you call sell.

Have fun when using these story starters, don’t censor your writing or think to hard; just write what comes into your mind. You don’t even need to edit unless you intend to market your work.

1. Jason gritted his teeth, yet again he would have to finish the job himself...
2. Jack slowly opened the door to the kitchen cupboard; it was the smell that hit him first...
3. Ruby ran down the steps into the public toilets; she looked at her face in the mirror. Not too much work needed this time she thought as she took out the bright red lipstick from her purse...
4. The car keys had been left on the kitchen table...
5. The pale figure appeared translucent as she walked up the stairs...

Happy writing.

Ignite your Creativity

As a writer being creative is no doubt important to you. You look for innovative ways for characters to solve problems, create worlds for you characters to inhabit and use words to create just the right atmosphere. If you write non-fiction you will also be looking for innovative ways for your readers to solve problems and use words to inspire others.

When you are writing, planning your writing or editing your work you are being creative. It is, however, important to develop and practise your creativity in other ways to ensure this part of your mind remains healthy and keeps providing you with thoughts, ideas and nuggets of wisdom that enable you to be a productive and successful writer.

Here are some ways you can ignite your creativity:

• Take on a new challenge - learn something new or solve a problem. You might learn a new craft or do a crossword.
• Play – as we get older we often forget to play. This is about having fun; you could purchase some modelling clay and just mess around with it or you could kick a ball around with friends, anything that is not too serious, not too competitive and provides the opportunity to make it up as you go along.
• Make or create something – a meal, a painting, a hat.
• Rearrange a room, or a shelf, in your home – get creative with space and objects.
• Relax – give yourself some time to just lie back and allow your mind to wander, you never know what it might find.

Try new things, have fun, break the rules and ignite your creativity.

Happy writing.

Turn your waiting time into productive time

How many times have you found yourself waiting – in a queue, in traffic, to pick someone up, for a delivery, for a repair company to arrive, or for a phone call to be returned. Add up just how much time you spend “waiting” in a typical month?

When you add up the 15 minutes here and 10 minutes there with the occasional 30 minute waiting to pick up a teenager or spouse who is “just coming,” you can easily waste 6 hours a month doing nothing except feeling frustrated. Now imagine if you were given an extra 6 hours to spend on your writing – could you make use of that?

In order to make use of your 6 hours you need to:

1. Identify when and where you regularly have to wait, even if only for 5 minutes, e.g. in the supermarket.
2. Work out what you could do during these times, e.g. think about a character and make notes in a note book or using a phone app, make a to do list, note some ideas for your next blog post, take photos that would help you create dramatic settings. In some cases you may even be able to write out an entire scene. Note that if you are waiting in traffic you may only be able to think about your writing as using equipment would be inappropriate or illegal.
3. Be prepared – have a list of tasks to do and have the right equipment to hand. Always carry a small bag or backpack containing your mobile office which might only consist of your mobile phone, pen and notebook.

Even if you can only make use of half of your waiting time that is like being given an extra morning to work on your writing.

You never know – next time you are sat in the car waiting for someone you might even start wishing they would take a little longer.

Happy writing.

Editing for increased book sales

Extract from Write it!

Engage, enthuse and inspire – as a writer this is what you aim to do, get this right and your readers will not only stay with you but they will come back for more. They will want each and every one of your books; they will recommend your work to their friends and, as real fans, will support you on your journey to success.

For any book you need to allow at least as long for the editing stage as for the writing stage. You will make three passes of your work, each with a different purpose. This helps you focus only on what you should be doing and therefore speed the whole process up. Do not be tempted at this stage to do a major rewrite or add additional information. If you do you will take considerably longer to complete your book as you may need to go back and look at your structure. If you have ideas as you go through makes notes in your notebook and then either use them to write a second book or, at a much later date, use them to update your original book and publish as a new edition.

There are at least three stages to editing; the first is to ensure you are writing using words and phrases that hook your readers. You want your readers to invest their time in you, to trust you, to believe in your knowledge and, ultimately, because you have made a positive difference to their lives, purchase future titles. Do this and you will watch your sales rise.

The second is to check and correct any typing, spelling or grammatical errors. Mistakes say one thing to your readers “I am an amateur.” If you want to be considered a professional then your book needs to be error free. One sure fire way to turn off your readers is to introduce spelling errors or include a misplaced apostrophe.

The third is to ensure consistency of formatting and remove any formatting that may not be displayed when your book is converted for publication. If you publish for ereaders the reader can choose the font size and other formatting features so any work you do to make your book look professional will be lost; keep it simple.

Power words and emotion

To ensure your readers keep coming back for more you need to write sentences and use words that speak to the reader; words that draw on their emotions, dreams and fears.

Work on one paragraph at a time, read it aloud, does it flow, does it send the right message. If not – rewrite it.

Look at each word; does the word add the right amount of emotion and intensity? Will your reader feel that this book relates to and is relevant to them?

Here are some examples of words that mean almost the same thing but give very different messages:

Erased/eradicated/obliterated

Big/vast

Flawless/perfect/excellent

Hard/difficult/challenging.

Note that the words have “almost” the same meaning, change the word and you may change the message so read aloud again. You may find it useful to have a thesaurus and dictionary to hand. Whether fiction or non-fiction your aim is to add passion to your writing; if you believe in what you are saying then so will your readers.

Tell a story, even in non-fiction, if you write a guide to a local town you might write something like this “standing in the narrow alleyway I could almost feel the vibration of the soldiers’ footsteps as they passed through on their way to such an unpleasant death.” Two points here; could you use a more emotional word than unpleasant – painful, predictable, dramatic, untimely, tortuous - and have you done enough to hook the reader to find out how they died?

Spelling and grammar

Most spelling errors are actually typing errors and you just need to correct them. Do be aware of commonly misspelt words and ensure you are using the correct spelling, for example - their, there, they’re.

Use a dictionary to check spellings and usage.

It may be useful to print your work and check the paper copy. This can make it easier to see spelling errors that you may have missed on the screen. Highlight errors and then return to the computer to make changes. You will print your work when you have completed your book to undertake a final check.

Formatting – keep it simple

Follow these simple rules:

 - One space after a full stop

 - For emphasis only use bold, underline or italic

 - Do not use tabs

 - Use a soft return if you want an extra line space (if publishing an ebook).

At this stage you have a completed book that is ready for those final elements required before publication.

Happy writing.

5 Free iPhone and iPad Apps for Writers

Increase your productivity using these useful free apps. Wherever you are make notes, record ideas, outline plots and develop character sketches. And when you get back home some apps will even synchronise with PC/Mac/Laptop software. Using these apps you can work wherever you like and pull everything together when you get back to base.

1. A Novel Idea - record ideas, outline your novel, develop characters and locations and start outlining and writing scenes. I use this myself and mind it particularly useful when I have an idea or want to start developing a new novel.
2. Evernote – capture pictures and attach notes about them, make notes, photograph a passage from a book and  record any other snippets that are needed for your writing.  Use this when researching a location or using books in a library; you can add reference details as you go. Everything is stored in the cloud so when you get back to base all of these notes can be accessed on your main computer.
3. Dragon Dictation – a great app that converts short voice recordings to text. These can then be emailed to yourself.
4. Dragon Recorder – whilst similar to other voice recorders this has the advantage that if you have the Dragon Naturally Speaking software you can convert the voice recordings into text. Great for writing that novel, article or blog entry whilst you are on the go.
5. CloudOn – create, access and edit Word, Excel and PowerPoint files. Save your files in the cloud and then access them when needed. Useful if you want to check a detail or notes whilst out and about.

Happy writing.

Do you need to illustrate books aimed at young children?

There's no doubt that pictures add value to books for young children; they provide opportunities to:

• Introduce unfamiliar environments, real or fictional, to children. This might include places, animals, cultural practices or people. 
• Reduce any fear a young child might feel when about to engage with a new experience such as attending nursery or flying in an airplane.
• Link objects to words. This is useful for both extending the vocabulary of young children and also supporting children when they are learning to read.
• Increase engagement with books and reading. Young children enjoy looking at images.
• Provide opportunities to extend the reading time beyond the words on the page. Parents and children can discuss the images beyond the actual story.

However, using illustrations is not essential. Young children enjoy the experience of being read to and the attention given to them during this time with or without pictures. 

Many books are now read from a mobile device such as a mobile phone, iPad or Kindle. All of these devices will support pictures however the parent, or other reader, may not be sharing the device with the young child, they may choose to read aloud in a cafe or car whilst facing, or perhaps not even looking at, their child.

In short, if you have a great idea for a children's story but are worrying about the illustrations then go ahead a write it anyway. Read it aloud to ensure it works as a "words only" story and then publish it.

For an example of this type of book have a look at George and his Dragon, available on Amazon.

Click here to view.

Happy writing.

Should you ever write for free?

Recently I have been reading a lot of comments about how writers who write articles and short stories for free do all writers a disservice by devaluing the profession and preventing other writers from earning a decent living.  On the other side many new writers appear to have little opportunity of gaining any paid work until they have been published.

It’s funny how, in nearly every other type of business, it would seem absolutely normal for a newcomer to cut prices, offer free samples and aim to take market share away from competitors. And, as with writing, if the product isn't good enough then the customers will not buy. In any other type of business no-one says that you are “devaluing the profession” or consider you irresponsible if you “prevent others from earning a living” because you charge less than your competitors.

Let's be absolutely clear that only good quality writing will get published regardless of whether it is offered for free or not. Editors would rather pay a high price for quality or, if they are unable to pay, will reduce the written content in their publications. One poor piece of writing can ruin the reputation of any publication.

Also be aware that editors will always pay a rate based on their publication’s policy which might include no fee for an unpublished writer or indeed no fee for any writer. As you demonstrate reliability and produce work of a consistently high quality you will be able to negotiate a better fee. Think of it as investing in your own future. If you are worried that you will be taken advantage of then do some research into your chosen magazines.

If you feel really strongly about writing for free for magazines that make a profit then why not write for local magazines or charity publications. These still require high quality material and you might still receive a rejection slip but you can consider the article or short story as both an investment in your future and a donation to the community or charity.

Whether you get paid for your work or not, if you are published always keep a copy of your work in print so that you can start building a portfolio.

Happy writing.

Make money writing about your holiday

Have you just enjoyed your annual holiday? Or maybe you are still planning it. Either way have you considered making extra income from your experiences? 

There are a multitude of opportunities available to you including a personal experience piece, letters to magazines, short fillers and full length articles. There are even opportunities to get paid to write reviews about hotels you have stayed in.

You could write a traditional travel piece however you will increase your chance of publication and payment if you look for a less obvious angle that will appeal to the readers of your chosen publications.

Here are some suggestions:

• Tips for travelling abroad with a disabled child – finding hotels, public transport, medical facilities
• Pack light for less stress and costs – whether driving, flying or using public transport packing the absolute minimum can make travelling easier and cheaper
• Eat well for less – tips for saving money when eating out whilst on holiday
• The hidden attractions at your holiday location – shops, restaurants, museums, buildings, parks, beaches
• Interesting people who live or have lived where you are holidaying
• Keeping children amused on long journeys
• Tips for travelling alone
• What to take on a walking holiday
• Wildlife in the area
• Taking pets on holiday
• Cooking whilst camping.

As you can see there are a multitude of topics relating to your holiday so take a break, have fun, and come home with a host of ideas to earn you some extra income.

Happy writing.

Increase your income using effective time management strategies

Effective time management can really boost your productivity which, in turn, can increase your income, you become more confident, complete work on time and gain a reputation as a reliable writer.

Here are some tips on improving your time management:

1. Set clear writing goals – some of these will be commissioned work, others may be speculative, and some will be longer term investments e.g. writing a novel.
2. Identify non-writing tasks – these might include marketing activities, making phone calls or keeping your records up to date.
3. For each goal and task set the deadline and identify how much time is required to reach completion. Ensure the time you allow is sufficient and allow for setbacks however do not overestimate the time required.
4. Prioritise your goals and tasks.
5. Create time slots within your writing time and allocate tasks from your list. You may want to plan for the week ahead to ensure you allocate time to all of your goals, even those that have a low priority. This plan will ensure that each time you sit down to write you will know exactly what you are doing.
6. Start work on time. If your writing slot starts at 9.00 in the morning then start writing at that time; make coffee before your writing slot.
7. Focus on one task at a time. If during your time slot you are working on an article then only work on that article. Keep a notebook beside you to note anything that comes into your head that might become a distraction, you can come back to these after you have finished writing.
8. Be flexible. If you suddenly have a burning desire to complete a piece of work or a last minute commission comes your way then adjust your plan ensuring that you still complete your top priorities to their deadline.
9. Finally - have fun.

Happy writing.

Promoting your book

Extract from Publish it! available from Amazon

You've written it, you've published it, you now need to sell it! Any published writer will tell you that making your book available to the public does not equal sales. You need to actively promote your book on an ongoing basis to maximise sales and income. At this stage readers do not know who you are or even that your book exists; you must tell them.

If you are publishing your ebook exclusively on Amazon Kindle then enroll onto KDP Select and make use of the five promotion days. During this period your book will be made available as free to download. Now you might think that giving your book away is not a good idea, how are you ever going to make money if you charge nothing. Give it away and you will get significant downloads across all Amazon sites, this increases the chances of getting reviews, your ranking will go up, when a reader looks at a similar book they will see your book in the “customers also bought” section, and your book may be promoted on an “Amazon recommends” email. The key to making sales on Amazon is to increase all sales whether paid for or free. There are many websites that will promote your book as a free download, some require a few days notice and others will only accept books that already have good reviews.


Many self-publishing companies that offer retail and distribution as part of their service provide additional promotional tools for the writer because the more sales you make the more money they make. One of these tools is the author page, make best use of this to publicize yourself as well as your books. These are used by readers and therefore offer you a valuable marketing tool.


Create a website - you can do this for free and websites can be really easy to set up and maintain. Update regularly to ensure your potential readers come back time and time again. Offer incentives such as a free download related to your subject area. Many writers capture email addresses; if you do this ensure you send emails regularly and only send emails/newsletters that contain relevant and useful information.


Promote yourself on other websites – if you have written a book about steam engines then maybe there are website owners that would welcome an article or blog from you.


Write a blog - this can be on anything that is of interest to you and your readers. It could be about your writing day including any frustrations and successes. It could be on anything that is going on in the world. It could include reviews of books you have read. The main point is blog regularly, once a fortnight at a minimum.


Use social media - Facebook, Twitter and Pinterest all provide platforms that enable you to engage with your readers. Sometimes it is suggested that you should not openly promote your wares on social media; you can however say “really excited about publishing my new book title on Amazon today.” or “received an excellent review.” Manage your time carefully when you engage with any Internet activity as you can soon find that five minutes has become an hour.


Consider setting up a social media or website page in the name of your book character; ensure you make it clear this is a fictional character; this can be particularly useful if you are writing a series. Again update regularly.


Create opportunities to promote your book to groups of people – give a talk to an interest group, arrange book signings, do a reading, volunteer, or offer your book as a prize in a raffle. Make use of any opportunity to raise the profile of yourself and your book.


Local radio stations and newspapers - they are only too happy to interview local people with something interesting to say. Think about what you want to say; will it be about the characters in your book, your previous life, why you write or what are you working on now.


Advertise - this can be expensive with limited payback so look for reasonably priced or free advertising opportunities in locations that are frequented by your potential readers. This might include buying cheap online space or using a small local newsletter.


Contact your local shop – if your book has local interest, don't forget you are a local writer, ask your local shop to stock your book on a sale or return basis; create a poster or leaflet to promote both the book and the shop.


Contact historical sites and tourist attraction – if your book includes a location of historical interest, e.g. a manor house, perhaps they will stock it on a sale or return basis.

As you can see you have many opportunities to promote your printed or ebook, create your strategy today and start increasing your sales.

Happy writing.

Extract from Publish it! - How to self-publish your book for free using Kindle Direct Publishing (KDP), CreateSpace and Smashwords

Why write for a living?

When I first started to write and earn an income from my writing I didn’t really appreciate the benefits this new lifestyle would bring me. It wasn’t until I realised I could take a flexible approach to both my writing and non-writing activities that the true benefits really dawned on me – I could live life on my terms. Go surfing when the surf was up, watch my children at sports day and work at a time of day that suited me.

I still have to work hard at my business, yes writing is both business and pleasure, however I can choose my working hours and, more importantly for me, where I work.

I am typing this blog post in my garden during the cooler evening hours. In a few days I’ll be by the sea; in between surfing I’ll be completing my book and continuing to blog. The hour each morning I used to spend commuting is now spent in bed with my laptop writing, marketing or updating sales data.

Whilst some days I spend 12 or 14 hours on writing or writing related activities there are times when much of the day is spent with my family.

Why not give it a go, start writing your first book, short story, article or blog and make the switch from the 9 - 5 routine to a flexible approach to work.

Happy writing.

Dictate your book and increase your writing speed

Have you ever imagined lounging on the sofa or in the garden whilst dictating your latest book to your secretary or PA? You've heard the stories of the writers who have done just that and have published several books a year.  

As you are probably aware most people can speak faster than they can type so it seems logical that dictating your work will improve your productivity.

You too can join those writers whose output seems to defy belief. Essentially you have two options:

1) Dictate your book using an audio recorder, send the recording to a virtual (or real) assistant who will type up your words and deliver an electronic copy of your book back to you ready for editing.

2) Use speech to text software and watch the words appear on screen as you talk. You can even use an App on your mobile to record small amounts of speech, convert it to text and then email back to yourself.

Both options have a cost however when you think how much you could increase your output – possibly by 400% – the investment will soon provide a return.

Happy writing.