Muse Review: The Well-Fed Writer (2nd Edition)

The Well-Fed Writer: Financial Self-Sufficiency as a Commercial Freelancer in Six Months or Less (the revised edition) Includes heavily updated content from the original Well-Fed Writer (published in 2000) and The Well-Fed Writer: Back for Seconds.  This book includes everything that has made all of Mr. Bowerman’s books best sellers. The easy, conversational tone of the book, the numerous examples of how other writers have found their success in the marketplace, many links and resources for more information about the topics contained within the book. These resources range from other authors’ and successful freelancers’ websites, to recommended online newsletters and e-zines that you should be subscribing to, books that provide additional information about these topics and serve as essential desk reference material for any serious freelance commercial writer out there.

Don’t be fooled by the title of the book.  The book deals very little with the writing process or how to create specific written content. Bowerman provides links and suggested resources to get additional details about these specifics.  This book is about how to build a freelance commercial writing business providing information that I have not found anywhere else on how to set up your business, generating sales via cold calling, where to find customers, how to set rates and get paid, how to “adapt” your business to thrive in small markets, and how to take the business from part time (while you are still working a day job) to full time.

Bowerman’s practical advice in addition to the can-do spirit of the book can’t help but to motivate  you to take action today.  The numerous testimonials and side-bar articles written by numerous experts more suited to provide that specific information than Bowerman , is what makes the book truly unique and valuable.  He could have researched these topics and interviewed these experts, but instead turns them loose to provide the reader with first-hand knowledge and also gives the reader an additional resource to consult while taking on the challenges of the business.

This book addresses many topics of current interest to freelancers these days such as using social networking and how to push your business to earn more than $125 per hour.

The WFW is an essential resource for anyone who is serious about writing for a living or has dreamed of striking out on their own as a freelance writer.  Bowerman is a knowledgeable guide since he’s been through every step of the process himself, having started a writing business in the Greater-Atlanta area back in the early 90’s with no experience or industry contacts.  He knows how to build a business because of his experience, but also though the other writers and professionals that he has networked with over the years.  If you are looking for a way to make good money as a professional writer, then buy this book, read it and re-read it.

Buy it from Amazon here: The Well-Fed Writer

Rating ***** (Well Worth it at Full Retail Price)

About Ratings: ***** -- Well Worth it at Full Retail Price; **** — Buy on Sale/Discounted; *** — Buy Used; ** — Borrow It from the Library; * — Waste of a Good Tree

Musings – Soundtracks for Books?

An interesting article in the Atlantic  has gotten me thinking about the future of writing and books in general lately.

The e-book is here to stay. With the release of the Kindle and the iPad, e-books have now reached critical mass and are a mighty force in the publishing world.

Technology has steadily changed the way we write over the last 10 years. Social networking, the ability to easily create a platform for your book and attract fans for your project, makes it easier than ever to publish and distribute your work.  But technology has also created some interesting new ways to market your work.  For example, the advent of the book trailer. On the surface, this seems to be, well, a dumb idea.  A video trailer for a book? It makes no sense. But many authors have done it and their sales figures support increased interest and sales as a result.

e-books are game changers. For non-fiction writers, you can now embed links to other resources mentioned within your book, incorporate videos of how-to perform a difficult task, list other resources that might be helpful to the reader, and don’t forget about inserting ads for the author’s other products or possibly the products of other writers or services.

The soundtrack is a natural extension of the reading experience.  Our generation grew up with every movie having a soundtrack, which often included songs written specifically for the movie (by the hottest flavor-of-the-month artist) along with the musical score for it.  Musical cliché’s have emerged as a result of this (check out TV Tropes.org for examples). Writers sometimes forget that books ARE a visual medium. Writers use words to paint a picture in the reader's head, so why not include a soundtrack to help evoke a certain mood or feeling?  I find writing with a musical score playing in the background helpful, and many other writers also swear by this technique.

Jodi Picoult included a CD with her latest book Sing You Home  this spring. She thought that a soundtrack was a good idea because it helped the reader get into the mindset of the character, Zoe, who happens to be a songwriter.

This is nothing new.  Some audio books have featured musical scores and sound effects in their works for years now. Works dramatized for radio have been around for decades.

So what does this mean for writers? Do we need to go back to college and get a Masters in Music Composition to reach the best seller list?  No.  You can add a soundtrack to a book, put together an incredible book trailer, add interesting and informative links to your e-book, but none of these will matter if the writing sucks. Period.  Fancy bread, gourmet mustard and rare spices cannot make a crap sandwich taste like anything but a crap sandwich.

Everyone has seen an incredible movie trailer that manages to amaze and fill you with slack-jawed awe. You shell out $10 for a movie ticket, another $12.50 for popcorn, candy and soft drink, only to discover that the trailer contained all of the best scenes in the 2 hour suck-fest. You tell everyone you know not to waste their time or money on it. The word spreads and the movie plummets down the top box-office movie listings to fade away to an obscure DVD release 4 months later.

In a world where another book is published every 10 seconds, you must write a good book.  Good books get noticed. Authors who care about quality by providing good content, clean, spell-checked, grammatically correct prose will find an audience in this new marketplace.  Those that embrace technology and collaborate with others to make the message stronger will be noticed even more.

Writing a book has always been a collaborative process. Writers, editors, publishers, marketers, agents, and even fans contribute to the process.  But now writing a book may involve a larger cast: a web-master, a video producer, a composer, a social media consultant, and who knows how many more people to bring tomorrow’s books to the audience.

Bottom line: Write good books, and stay informed on how the latest trends and technology impact the publishing business. But good writing always comes first.

The First Five Pages -- The Most Important Pages in Your Fiction

Courtesy of Horia Varlan via Flickr

There is an old cliché that you “never get a second chance to make a first impression.”  Never is this more important than when you read a book. The first round of the Reading Elimination Tournament going on over at The 15-Minute Writer illustrates this well.  I am reading the first five pages of 64 books to determine if I want to keep reading them.   32 of these books will be eliminated using the following criteria:

• Back cover/Book flap cover descriptions
• Critical acclaim and quotes
• Design and layout of the book
• Author’s name and reputationn
• Writing and content within those first five pages.

Of the five criteria, the writing and content within the first five pages is by far the most important factor in deciding if the book goes onto the next round.

As any agent or publishing professional will tell you, the first five pages of any fictional work has to be great.   It has to grab the reader by the throat and force him to keep reading.

One of the greatest books of all time on the subject, The First Five Pages: A Writer's Guide to Stay out of the Rejection Pile by Noah Lukeman, says it best in the introduction of the book:

"this book is not just about the first five pages of your manuscript; rather, it assumes by scrutinizing a few pages closely enough — particularly the first few — you can make a determination of the whole."

So if you have three typographical errors on the first five pages, you can assume that the book is riddled with them. After dialogue on those pages seems awkward or artificial, you can assume that it is the same in the rest of the book. If the plot or character bores you right off the bat, it's not going to get better from here. So as a writer you have five pages to get your best stuff on their to put the reader in and make them continue to read your book. This includes any reader not just agents or people who read books for a living, but the average the customer browsing the bookshelves, trying to decide between thousands of new books published every month which one she will read next.

The Fiction Writer’s Brainstormer, provides a checklist for what the first thousand words (about four double-spaced typewritten pages) should achieve. These pages should:

• Introduce the hero character
• Introduce, or at least allude to, the heroic characters worthy adversary
• Present or strongly suggest the surpassing conflicts of the story
• Deliver evidence of the danger, suspense or dramatic irony
• Foreshadow crucial scenes
• Foreshadow the climax
• Demonstrate your ability to write at least one scene filled with action conflict imagery and dialogue

That seems like a lot, doesn't it? But try this: Get several books, read the first five pages of each, and see if the book meet some (or all) of these criteria. Chances are if it has met most of it, you‘ll want to continue reading the book.  Within the first round of the Reading Elimination Tournament over on The 15-Minute Writer, I analyze each book and determine why (or why they do not) make it to the next round, along with some other hints about making the first five pages of your story better.

This standard doesn't just apply to fiction, this can apply to any form of writing. So make sure that your first five pages are the best that they can be, because the readers are unforgiving judges with long memories.

Free Writing e-Books Recommended by Jane Friedman

I met Jane Friedman at the Columbus Writer's Conference several years ago. She was friendly and approachable, and took the time to review the manuscript for Flash Writing: How to Write, Revise and Publish Stories Less than 1000 Words Long.  Even though it wasn't a fit for Writer's Digest Books at the time, she let me know the specific reasons why (flash fiction was still too much of a niche market back in 2004, and the book was just too short).  She didn't have to take the time to do this, but she did and I am still grateful for it.

Her Twitter feed and blog is a must read for anyone in the "Word Business."  She is one of the most brilliant minds out there on all aspects of writing and publishing. She speaks at writers conferences all over the country and if you get the chance to see her speak, take it. You won't be disappointed.

Here is her link to the 5 Free e-Books that Every Writer Needs.  Check it out!

e-Book Empire?

This week's Writer's Weekly newsletter has a GREAT article from Angela Hoy (Publisher and co-owner of Booklocker.com) regarding the dustup between Amazon and some of the big-league publishers over pricing of e-Book titles.

The core of her argument is this:

"The price of just a printed book, even a hardcover edition, is nil compared to the costs associated with bringing that book to market. The publisher has to pay the author (the advance, when applicable, and royalties), the design team (for those awesome covers that scream "read me!"), the editors, the entire secondary support staff (secretaries, marketing department, and more), advertising expenses (when applicable), overhead expenses (office supplies, electricity, Internet connections, warehousing, etc., etc.) and more. The human and physical resources required to produce a traditionally published book are FAR more than just paper, ink, and glue (for a printed book), or bytes (for an ebook)."

Many people who do not write do not understand the amount of sweat, blood, time and stress go into ANY good writing.


Publishers have to be able to turn a profit in order for new books to be released and enjoyed.  And I agree with her.  No one company should establish the pricing for everyone.  It is not good for the publisher or the writer.  And with the arrival of new devices like the Kindle and the Nook, e-Books have a higher profile now than ever.  While it is important that authors, publishers and retailers need to keep up with the times and technology, it should never be to the detriment of the craft.


And if you haven't subscribed to Angela's FANTASTIC free weekly newsletter, you owe it to yourself to subscribe: http://www.writersweekly.com/