Writing is a business

Now that school is officially out, I’m ready to tend my neglected blog. Today’s post has to do with treating writing as a business. Whether you’re a freelance writer, novelist, employed as a full-time writer, or merely a dabbler, its important to understand that in order to be successful both financially and artistically you must treat writing as a job and a business. Recently I attended a terrific writing conference where featured speaker Stephanie Bond discussed this very topic. She’s a romance novelist with a business background and has managed to meld both the creative and business aspects of writing into a very successful career. She advocates writing a business plan, something I’ve done in the past. I recommend visiting her site for information on how to create a plan tailored to a novelist’s career.

For freelance writers, here’s a short blog post listing five important principles for writing success. These can be applied to all types of writers as well.

Once you’ve evaluated your career goals, set up your office, and written your business plan, the next and most crucial step you should take is making a commitment to following your plan and reaching your goals. This is where many writers, myself included, either lose sight of what they want to acheive, or completely fall off the wagon. Without committment not only will your efforts at establishing your writing career be a colossal waste of time, you’ll also become easily distracted or discouraged. To avoid this, commit to yourself, to your goals, and to your career.

Happy writing!

kathy

 

 

 

 

We have a winner!

Congratulations to Jane Perrine for winning Laurie Alice Eakes latest release from Heartsong Presents!

Oh blog, I have not abandoned ye!

Even though it may seem like it I have.

February was a quick, and tough month for me, as I’ve been swamped with work and projects. March really hasn’t been any better, what with ice storms knocking out power and snow storms stranding us inside. But spring is just around the corner (and I hope everyone remembered to spring their clocks forward), along with longer and sunnier days.

I’ve got some great interviews lined up in the coming months with several terrific authors, so please come back for regular updates. And I promise they will be more regular than the very irregular updates of the past month.

 Today I have a blog I’d like to recommend: Loaded Questions with Kelly Hewitt.  Kelly offers a wide variety of author interviews, along with terrific giveaways. Check out her blog for her latest giveaway,  Mistress of the Revolution, by Catherine Delors.

Happy writing,

kathy 

 Before I started writing I was an avid TV watcher. As a teen I went to a lot of movies (mostly those of the “Sixteen Candles” variety, which exposes my age, but whatever). At the time I enjoyed TV and movies for their surface value–as entertainment. However, when I decided I wanted to be a novelist and started writing fiction, I saw the soap operas and sitcoms and dramas in a different light. Now I pay attention to the structure of the storylines. The motivation of the characters. The way conflict is threaded throughout the story. I also pay attention to the actors. I believe writers can learn a heck of a lot from watching actors–good actors. Ones who embody their characters so thoroughly you forget that just the other day they were splashed across the glossy pages of People magazine. Johnny Depp, Al Pacino, Robert DeNiro, Cate Blanchette, and of course, the divine Meryl Streep are just a few actors whose performances are worth careful scrutiny.

I came across an Actors Vocabulary page at The Playwrights Actors Lab Studio. This is a great reference for fiction writers because it defines elements we need integrate in our stories and our prose. For example, Dramatic Faith- this is defined as an actor’s ability to take a fictional character and situation and treat it as absolute reality. Writers should strive for this in their writing–to write so deeply and honestly that the reader believes the characters and their conflicts are real. It’s not and easy thing for a writer to do, and I imagine its a challenge for actors, too. But the payoff is worth it–both for the writer and her readers, and the actor and his audience.

 Happy writing,

kathy

Happy New Year!

I know it’s a little late, but the new year wasn’t kind to me, as I have been very ill for the past few days. I never thought I would be too sick to spend even a few moments on the computer, but it happened. Since I’m still recovering, I’ll make this brief–an inspirational quote for the day.

And by the way, everything in life is writable about if you have the outgoing guts to do it, and the imagination to improvise.  The worst enemy to creativity is self-doubt.  ~Sylvia Plath

Leaving self-doubt behind…sounds like a good New Year’s resolution to me.

Happy writing,

kathy

Brilliant website #1

Occasionally I’ll highlight a webpage or website I think is particularly useful to writers. I have a collection of those on my blogroll, but today I want to spotlight the Submissions page on the Preditors and Editors website. This page has everything you need to know about querying, submitting, keeping track of submissions and contract issues. It’s a great resource for new writers and nice brush-up info for experienced writers. I suggest taking a visit and bookmarking the sight for future reference.

Happy Writing,

kathy

Welcome to Author Insight!

Welcome to a brand new year (almost!) and a brand new blog. Author Insight is your one-stop blog for insight into the world of writing. Your comments and suggestions are welcomed as Author Insight continues to develop into an informative and inspirational hub for writers.

 This Christmas I got a really cool book, The Writer’s Book of Matches: 1,001 Prompts to Ignite Your Fiction. It’s compiled by the staff of Fresh Boiled Peanuts (www.freshboiledpeanuts.com). I’ve only read through a couple of pages and I’m already inspired. Here are a couple of prompts to get you going when writer’s block sets in.

“Stop thinking about how much you love him and start thinking about how much he hurts you.”

Upon reading the contents of his teenage daughter’s diary, a man is left fearing for his life.

“In all my time as a doctor, I’ve never seen this before. I’m at a loss.”  

Happy Writing,

kathy