5 Tips to Gain More Readers

Building a following is crucial to success as a new writer. To sell books, you must have readers, but finding those readers is not a simple task. Below, you'll find five tips every new writer should incorporate into his or her career.

Bragging rights. Writing a book is hard work. Don't ever forget that. You should be proud of your accomplishment. Be comfortable telling anyone you meet that you're a writer. Explain your current work in progress (WIP). Remember that it only takes one seed to sprout the flower. Sharing your story with one person could result in one hundred readers.

Marketing. Promotional tools are invaluable. Create a website. Make it clean and keep it current. Start a blog, and post to it regularly. Make a social media page for every platform you're willing to actually utilize. Meaning, don't make a Twitter page if you're never going to use it. Potential readers could find that page before finding your website or book, and that alone could stop them from making the purchase or hitting the "follow" button. Finally, always, always keep business cards on you--especially when traveling. Think simple, classic--like your website.

5 Items Needed to Become a Travel Writer

Yesterday, I talked about my path to becoming a travel writer. Today, I want to focus more on the items needed to become a successful travel copywriter. 

I have done a lot of research on freelance copywriting, and after a lot of thought, I have decided to specialize in travel copywriting. Below, I've listed the top five necessities for a travel writer.

1. Knowledge. This one may seem silly, but having the knowledge necessary to write well is a must. You need to work hard at being a good writer. Do research; buy books; attend conventions. Follow travel writers' blogs, and listen to their advice. Believe it or not, they won't lead you down the wrong path. 

While knowledge is thought to be free, it's really not. You still have to pay to buy the books that aren't available online or at your local library. You may even want to take it a step further and pay for online support through writing groups and/or programs. I recommend American Writers & Artists Inc. (AWAI) or The Barefoot Writer. Both organizations have great publications to help you succeed as a freelance copywriter. 

This is the latest edition of Barefoot Writer magazine.

Becoming a Travel Writer

In January 2015, I attended my final graduate school residency. While there, I began soul-searching. I've always had the personality of a planner, and now I was without plan. I needed to know what I was to do with my life now that I was no longer a student. 

I thought about what made me happy. I didn't want an office job; I didn't necessarily want to teach (for political reasons more than anything). I just wanted to write. Unfortunately, I couldn't just quit my job. I have bills (*cough, cough* student loans, sigh) to pay.

So I decided to dive into freelance writing--something that could easily be done while still working a day job. I have already been freelance editing since March 2013, and before that, I was working as an editor for several publishing companies since 2011. (And to go back further, I have been writing--I mean really writing--since 2009.) I own Narrative Ink Editing LLC, an independent editing company that targets independent authors. But that's where the majority of my freelancing stops. Sure, I've done volunteer writing and editing work for local businesses and nonprofits, but that was just a hobby.

Now, it was time to make this a business. 

3 Culprits Stopping You from Successfully Working from Home

The ability to work from home has been one of the best things that's ever happened to me--it's also one of the worst. When I work from home, productivity directly affects my income. Meaning, I lose money every time I allow a distraction to consume my time.

Seems simple, right? Remove the distraction. Problem solved. Unfortunately, it's slightly more complicated.

I've found these three culprits to be the most hindering when working from home:

1. Technology: When you're your own boss, you're the only one standing in the way of you checking Facebook, Twitter, emails, text messages, etc. If only it was as easy as "I'll only be on for a minute..." Truth is, you'll be on for much longer than a few minutes. Chances are, you'll spend hours doing nothing besides looking at funny memes and cat photos. Hours that could have made you hundreds of dollars.

To avoid falling into the chaos that is the Internet and text messaging, I recommend turning off your Internet feature on your computer and screening calls. Turning off your phone may work better, but if there is an emergency, you wouldn't be reachable. Instead, know that during work hours, your work needs to be number one--just as it would be if you had to go into the office.

Having one computer open with work, another with email, and a final with
social media profiles will leave you with no time and no completed work.

Education is Dying

Our education system is failing. There. I said it.

A few months ago, my nephew informed me that his school is no longer teaching cursive as part of its curriculum. I was baffled. How are children supposed to sign their names when they become adults? A squiggly line? Flowery initials? 

When he then shared that they are contemplating not teaching the Holocaust, I just about screamed. I took a course in undergraduate university on the Holocaust, specifically literature of the Holocaust, and it was by far the most valuable, life-changing course I have ever taken. To think that students won't even learn about the Holocaust, the genocide of SIX MILLION Jews, is disturbing.

More recently, I've read comments from Facebook friends and articles posted by major publications that believe college professors are under-worked and over-paid. In my state, Governor Walker has proposed a THREE HUNDRED MILLION DOLLAR cut to the University system. You read that correctly: 300 MILLION.

Becoming a Writer

How did you begin writing?

I’ve always thought my path to becoming a writer wasn’t normal, but recently, I’ve begun to wonder if there is such a thing as typical in a writer’s life. Truth is, my inner child shudders whenever I answer this question.

Because I know the exact moment I became a writer.

If there is such a thing as normal in a writer’s life, then I’m certain this doesn’t qualify. I vaguely remember writing stories as a child. I pitter-pattered all night long on my keyboard that was attached to a big, boxy, cream-colored monitor. I wrote more stories than I can remember. I’m sure of this, even though I never shared them with anyone. Some were flash fiction pieces set in the realms of my favorite television shows or movies. Some were longer. Some helped me to understand the world and the struggles I had been facing.

But that’s not when I became a writer. A real writer. That wasn’t the moment. Every writer knows the one. That moment of pure clarity. The moment where you fall in love with something, someone. The moment that caused the dominos to fall.

It all started with a movie.

Stonecoast Graduation and Washington DC Trip

On Saturday, January 17, 2015, I graduated with my Master of Fine Arts in creative writing. That was three days ago, and it's still bittersweet. I wanted to reminisce, to reflect on my time at Stonecoast. To do that, I needed to go back to the beginning, to a time when I wasn't the confident writer...

I started writing my novel in 2009. While each new year brought the same resolution—finish your novel!—I still felt as though something was missing.

I found that something at Stonecoast.

In December 2012, I graduated from the University of Wisconsin—Parkside with a Bachelor of Arts in English, and in January 2013, I began my journey at the University of Southern Maine’sStonecoast program. Before I graduated from UW-Parkside and before I applied at Stonecoast, I searched high and low for the perfect graduate school. I knew it existed somewhere. I just had to find it. And I refused to settle.

I was looking for a school that would let me work one on one with my professors, a school that would let me focus on my writing rather than taking more courses that taught me how to write. After four years of undergraduate English courses, I was ready to step out of the classroom and into the writing world. I had also always wanted to study abroad, something that so few schools offered. But most importantly, I wanted to work with professors who were writers I grew up reading (or, at the very least, had heard of). I wanted to work with writers who were currently in the industry, who were prolific in their own way. I wanted to work with writers who truly knew the young adult market and who also wrote their fair share of vampire novels.

It’s fair to say my Buffy-obsessed self wanted to work with Joss Whedon.

Narrative Ink

I'm currently at my final graduate school residency. It's weird to write that, to say that, to think that... On Monday, I completed part one of my MFA requirements: the public reading. It went well. I received a lot of positive feedback, and many stopped me to request a copy of the full manuscript. That's the best compliment a writer can receive. 

This morning, I completed part two: my presentation/panel. I am presenting on forming your own profitable freelance editing company. My editing company, Narrative Ink, has given me great insight into the dos and don'ts of making it in this industry as a freelance editor.

I started freelance editing in March 2013, but I had been working as an editor for various small presses for several years prior to that point. I began writing seriously in 2009, and I have received two degrees in writing: a bachelor's from UW-Parkside and a master's from University of Southern Maine. 

But this isn't about my educational background...

In March 2013, I began freelancing under the company name of Prose & Cons Editing. In November 2014, the company name changed to Narrative Ink Editing, and my paperwork for my LLC was officially processed and approved by both the federal government and the state of Wisconsin. This was a long, daunting process and quite an accomplishment, if I do say so myself.

Being able to say that I am the owner of a business is surreal.