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Getting the most out of online networking can be tough. Today on Fuel Your Writing, Grace Myers helps us to do so, by outlining the process for creating a professional and engaging LinkedIn profile.

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LinkedIn can be an extremely powerful tool for showcasing your professional skills and accomplishments. You can connect with others, learn from those in your field and let your business shine in front of over 135 million members worldwide.

Unlike other social media platforms, LinkedIn users are all serious professionals looking to build relationships and grow their knowledge of industry trends. Unlike Facebook and Twitter, LinkedIn offers access to a specific demographic – those interested in professional networking.

Despite LinkedIn’s boundless capacities for marketing yourself and business, few of us ever tap into its full potential. Follow these simple steps to write a better LinkedIn profile, which will appeal more to other professionals, potential employers and clients.

Stage 1: Get Prepared

1. Research profiles of professionals in your field. Examine well-organized and effective profiles to gather ideas. Take a look at mine for an example of a simple profile.
2. Examine your skills from the perspective of a potential employer and/ or client. Include – and emphasize – your skills and accomplishments that employers want to know. Each section you write should answer the question, “why should I hire this person” or “why do I want to know this person” immediately.
3. Create an outline. One easy way to being your profile outline is to add your skills to the skills section, then write the positions you’ve held in chronological order. Take a close look at these two lists and determine three attributes or accomplishments that set you apart from others.
4. Fill in the details. LinkedIn allows you to add more specifics than a standard CV, so take advantage! Go into more depth about your accomplishments and projects that you’ve completed. Remember to always write from the perspective of a potential employer and client.

Stage 2: Build the Foundation

Now that you have a detailed outline, you can start filling out each of your profile’s sections.

Summary: First impressions matter. Make yours impactful by clearly describing your central skills and what you can offer them. Use an upbeat and highly professional tone to describe yourself in the first person. The goal of the summary’s writing is to clearly describe what you do while boldly illustrating your energy, confidence and enthusiasm for your work.

Experience: Simply listing your job titles along isn’t enough to create an impactful profile. Add lots of details about your current roles, achievements, leadership and projects. Similar to writing your CV, make sure to use active verbs and specific information whenever possible.

Past experience and education: When explaining your previous positions and education, use a similar writing style as the “experience” section. Include only three or four of your most important and pertinent accomplishments for each past position to prevent your profile from becoming too long.

Stage 3: Polish

Now that you’ve written the bulk of your profile, it’s time to polish the content so it stands out.

1. Keep writing concise. LinkedIn profiles can easily become cluttered and difficult to read because there is so much information. To keep things looking clean, keep sentences and points about 15 – 20 words long. Get rid of any unnecessary words to keep your content concise and powerful – and remember to write from the potential employer’s viewpoint.
   For example, change “My web design packages are of superior quality to change your business” to “Your website will drive growth after improvements with my superior web design packages.”
2. Keep layout clean. Visually separating the content is vital for improving your profile’s readability. However, this is very much a matter of personal preference. Experiment with adding spaces between points, moving sections around and using different symbols to separate key points.
3. Use LinkedIn tools to keep your profile looking sharp. LinkedIn offers several quick fixes to improve your profile’s look. Customize the names of your websites by choosing “other” in the drop-down menu. Customize your public URL to be easier to read and remember. Finally, instead of using simple bullet points or dashes to denote your points, use one of your browser’s special characters and symbols.
4. Edit, edit, edit. Print out the PDF version of your profile to check for spelling and grammar mistakes.

Stage 4: Add Extras

Take advantage of LinkedIn’s many applications to make your profile more dynamic and interesting. Include your blog posts with the WordPress or BlogLink so your connections stay up-to-date with your projects, events and thoughts. Let others know what you’re reading with the Reading List by Amazon. You can also display some of your best presentations or documents with the SlideShare and Creative Portfolio Display apps.

Stage 5: Update

Now that you’ve created a lean-and-mean profile, make sure that others continue to view it over and over by updating frequently. Every two weeks, change something in your profile – your summary, a description of your experience or an application. Another easy way to keep your profile’s content fresh is to routinely update your status with links to articles you’ve written, articles about your projects and business, thoughts and ideas.

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These five stages are simple ways to improve your LinkedIn profile’s content. Do you have other strategies for creating a great profile? Have you found a particularly great profile? Please share your thoughts!

Images courtesy of LinkedIn and Robert Occhialini.

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Many freelance writers turn to outsourcing their work to a third party in order to stay on top. In today’s guest post, writer and marketer Mitch O’Conner warns us why that might not be a good idea.

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When faced with the stress of tight deadlines and overwhelming workloads, many online freelance writers decide to outsource their content creation to a third party.

Outsourcing does have some potential benefits. You can spend a small percentage of your going rate for the meat-and-potatoes portion of your content while you worry about “bigger” things, such as the overlying structure of your work and forging relationships with new clients.

Unfortunately, outsourcing your freelance work has a number of potential dangers as well. Before you chop off a portion of your budget and hand it to an online assistant, consider the following:

You’ll Lose Your Writing Style and Voice

As a writer, you’ve probably worked hard to develop your own writing style and voice. By mastering the rules of the English language, you’ve allowed your own personality to shine through in your written content, and your client and audience appreciate the effort. Unfortunately, the same can’t necessarily be said about your potential outsourced writer.

Even if your outsourced work is returned to you with perfect grammar, spelling and composition (which it won’t be, in all likelihood), your audience will be able to tell that it’s just not you. This could result in an uncomfortable conversation with your client, who may immediately notice a sudden shift in the way “you’re” writing.

A dramatic shift in style and voice isn’t the type of thing that you can easily fix with a quick once-over of the finished product. If you have to go through the work sentence by sentence in order to make it read like you wrote it, you’ll immediately regret spending the time and money on outsourcing it in the first place.

Of course, it’s important to note that this is more of a concern for opinionated and editorialized articles, which allow your voice and style to shine through brightest, and less of an issue with dry, encyclopedic content that could be written by basically anyone so long as it’s accurate and clearly composed.

You’ll Spend More Time Editing

Potentially, a lot more time. In many cases, the recipient of your outsourced work will have a different definition of “acceptable quality” from you. The writer may breeze through the work, never stopping to review the overall structure of the content, much less the spelling, grammar and sentence structure present in each paragraph.

Many online writers accepting outsourced work speak English as a second or even third language. Even if they do speak English natively, it certainly doesn’t mean that their writing will be without fault. This can present plenty of challenges in the form of misspelled words, chopped up sentences, missing punctuation and phrases that make little sense to an American audience. These are all things that you’ll need to spend time correcting before presenting the product to your client.

Your Work May Become Disjointed and/or Repetitive

What many online content creators don’t realize is that when they outsource their work to a “writer,” they may actually be hiring a group of writers that will split up the work however they see fit. This doesn’t necessarily bode well for your finished product.

Are the writers communicating efficiently and reviewing each other’s work as they go? If not, you could end up with a lot of duplicate copy throughout the overall project, with pages that echo one another in a way that your client (and your eventual audience) could notice with dismay.

On the other end of the spectrum, the finished product could end up with significant holes that you’ll end up needing to cover yourself. One of the outsourced writers could expect his colleague to cover an important topic in detail, while that colleague may expect the same of the first writer. In the absence of a final review by a “head writer,” this could spell trouble.

Adding More Links to the Chain Reduces Reliability

How much do you really know about the person (or persons) to whom you’re outsourcing your writing? Does she have a reliable wireless internet connection, or will she phone you just hours before your deadline saying that she’s been unable to get online to complete the work?

Does she possess a sufficient level of experience in the given subject matter, or will she be learning it on the fly through some simple Google searches?

Can she work independently, or will she batter you with questions at even the slightest hint of confusion? Remember, outsourcing is about saving time, so a constantly-curious writer will defeat the purpose.

What’s the quality of her finished product? Can she produce any testimonials from satisfied former clients?

The Bottom Line

With all of that said, it’s important to note that in some cases, outsourcing is still a viable option. Understanding the potential dangers of outsourcing your freelance work will help you identify when it’s appropriate and when it just isn’t.

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Have any of you ever outsourced your writing? We’d love to hear from you if you have! Please share your experiences in the comments below.

Images courtesy of stuartpilbrow, Monceau and greenpeanut.

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Today’s guest article is from Chris Hutton. He gives us some advice for all you freelance writers, on where to focus your efforts to make the most effective use of your time.

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Writing is one of those tasks that we constantly are trying to complete. However, the multitude of sources and items published every day distract us from our work. If you ask most writers what they struggle with, most of them will say that they wish they were more focused during their writing, so they could get more of the writing done and use their time more effectively.

The Freelance Curse

This struggle is even more apparent for freelance writers. Most freelance writers know that the more pieces they finish, the more they get paid. Any moment that they aren’t working costs them potential money.

So, how can a freelance writer make his time more focused? There are four areas in particular that writers can work through in order to improve their ability to be productive. And the first thing is Putting First Things First.

Put First Things First

“Effective leadership is putting first things first. Effective management is discipline, carrying it out.” – Stephen Covey

Stephen Covey is the author of self-help bible The 7 Habits of Highly Effective People. Habit 3 of his book is the idea that you must first plan what are really the most important tasks you face, in order to prioritize them and to be productive.

Freelance writers certainly need to make sure that they have everything in its place. Every writer should determine what really matters to them. Are things like family, work and relationships first for you? Is entertainment, and your own self-fulfilled joy the only thing that matters? You should answer these questions before moving forward. Then you will be able to determine what you can cut from your life so you can focus more on your writing.

Give yourself a Deadline

Another method to consider for using time effectively is setting a deadline. By having a deadline, you are more likely to stay focused. A great way to implement this on a daily basis is setting a timer for your writing. If you know how long it takes you to write X amount of words, you should use that information, and determine how long it will take you to write about your subject. Take that time amount, and set it apart. Then, set a timer that will buzz about 10-15 minutes past your estimate of time, for the sake of being flexible. This timer will instill a sense of urgency in you, that will make focus easier. And if you are able to make your goal, go ahead and get a treat, or check your email. Reward yourself for your focused attempt. It’s best to start out this method with smaller articles, and go onto bigger projects as you go.

Remove Distractions

This is the biggest hindrance for writers. We can set our time, and our efforts aside. But when we see that link to a funny cat picture our friend emailed us, or the latest article on how to succeed in blogging, we remove ourselves from our place of writing, and start to eat our time away. The five minute video leads to another, and another. Eventually, the time adds up, and we lose track.

The best way to remove yourself from that funk is minimal writing software, such as Darkroom, iAWriter and Byword, which we have mentioned on FYW before. These create a full-screen environment that allows you to write without distraction. Also, you should consider creating a set-up where your writing computer can be separate from other devices, like a phone, or a clock. The less things to pull away from your focus, the better.

You can always try listen to music. Some writers consider music to be distracting, while others see it as essential for getting work. Both groups are correct, since some music can be very distracting, and some music can refine your focus. It all matters on why you’re using it, and what you are going to do with it. The best music is instrumental. Soundtracks are often really good. You won’t be distracted by lyrics, and it’s unlikely that you will get as picky about what you are listening to. It’s especially helpful if you use music sources like Pandora to create a constant stream of this music, so you don’t have to worry about picking and choosing.

Formulate Your Thoughts

Writers often know what they want to say, but don’t know how to say it. So, it’s always worth returning to that principle we were taught in high school: researching and outlining your thoughts. Make sure that you know enough about your subject to write about it. If you don’t, then you can complete the research, and turn it into an outline for the piece. Once you have the outline, you’ll know what you want to say up front. Transferring it to paper may be easier. It also makes the editing process faster, and allows you to focus on your main objective.

These four areas will help you to focus your energy, use your time wisely, and be able to write more than ever before. Like all things, it will require practice. It will be hard. But if you are willing to work, then you will find it profitable, and worth your time.

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How do you focus? Have you found these tips useful? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Images courtesy of sourabhj, Stephen Covey and Christopher Jackson.

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In today’s article, Grace Myers offers advice on an important aspect of business and freelance work that many writers neglect: emails.

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Email makes sharing information cheaper, faster and easier, and has transformed the way that we do business. More importantly, email has changed our business relationships. It’s now the most common way to communicate, ask questions, mentor and build your personal “brand.” Email is how we welcome, motivate, engage, inform and recognize achievement.

Yet, many of us dread a full inbox and consider emails the most headache-inducing aspect of our work. This isn’t surprising – it’s a venue where terrible writing and even rudeness pass far too easily.

Take this example string of emails:

Subject: BP Report Needed!!
Sent By: Karen@xcorp.com at 9.30 AM
To: Tim@xcorp.com
Please send me the marketing best practices report ASAP. Thx.

Subject: Re: BP Report Needed!!
Sent by: Tim@xcorp.com at 2.30 PM
To: Karen@xcorp.com
Attached.

Subject: Re: BP Report Needed!!
Sent by: Karen@xcorp.com at 2.50 PM
To: Tim@xcorp.com, Lisa@xcorp.com
Thanks for the PDF. I understand you’re currently very busy with a sales project, but I need the marketing BP report to be formatted to the layout guidelines sent to you last week. This won’t work for my upcoming meeting.

Karen, the writer, focuses solely on her immediate needs – getting the report – and not on giving background information, specificity or using this opportunity to build their working relationship. When there is a small problem, she immediately brings in a supervisor in on the conversation without any introduction or explanation.

These types of emails not only slow productivity, they create tense workplaces and strain working relationships.

A Little Effort Goes A Long Way

When you take the time to write clear, thoughtful emails, you are more likely to accomplish your short-term goal (getting the task done), as well as your long-term goals (building affable and productive working relationships).

Sound like lots of work? Well, it can be. Writing effective emails is difficult – it requires planning and editing. But it is worth that effort. There’s a significant return; when you write better emails, you’ll write fewer of them, get things done faster, improve relationships and receive better emails into your inbox.

Take this example email:

Subject: Re: July – August Best Practices Report
Sent by: Karen@xcorp.com at 9.30 AM
To: Tim@xcorp.com

Hi Tim,
Do you remember the marketing July – August best practices report you spearheaded for your team?

I have a meeting with Jim on Monday about the division’s marketing strategies. I’d like to incorporate the information from your report. Maybe even brag a little bit about your team’s success!

Could you please format the report to the layout guidelines we agreed upon last week (attached)? I need the formatted version by the end of the day tomorrow.

Thanks for your leadership on this! Looking forward to touching base with you after the meeting.

Warm Wishes,
Karen

This email is certainly longer, but it gets the job done straight away. The recipient, Tim, feels respected and valued, strengthening their relationship. The email also gives Tim the big picture of what is happening and the specifics he needs to get the task done well and on time. In fact, Tim will probably get this done right after finishing the email.

You may feel like you don’t have the time to work on your emails, seeing them as unimportant when fighting for time against bigger, more pressing projects and pressures. But the rewards are more than worth it.

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How do you make sure you write productive and efficient emails? Have you struggled with receiving poor emails in the past? How have you coped? Please share your thoughts in the comments below!

Image courtesy of ProBlogger.

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In this guest post from Vick Guthrie she outlines how freelance writers can use Dropbox to organize their work.

Dropbox is a reliable and simple freeware file hosting service which uses cloud computing to store and transfer your computer files and data. Any file you sync to Dropbox will be available on any computer by logging into the cental website. Alternatively, (or as well as) you can download their software, to make your files available as in a local file. You can sign up for 2GB of free space, and Dropbox promotes sharing by offering you extra space to invite others to join (5.25GB max free space). If you need more than the offered free space, then for a small fee, you can purchase extra storage. The great thing about it is that it doesn’t require any technical knowledge in order to use it. You can use Dropbox in so many different ways – this is what makes it more than just a file syncing service.

I was grudgingly signed up to Dropbox by my computer-whizz boyfriend, who wanted extra space for his own account. He’d been mentioning it to me for months, and I kept putting it off, meaning to have a look at it, but never really finding the time. So when I did eventually get around to trying it out, I was impressed, to say the least. Dropbox is now essential daily equipment for me – as much as, or possibly more so than my pen!

Storage

Dropbox provides you with more storage than the average computer user will ever need. A great way to use the service is to back up your entire computer onto it, as it saves the lengthy task of backing up your data to discs, and that way, you can access anything you need from any location.

You can also keep all of your passwords saved on Dropbox with a piece of software/freeware called KeePass. It is a free open-source password manager which keeps your passwords secure using encryption so you only have to remember one password to unlock the rest. KeePass is a great tool — who can remember all their passwords for their emails accounts and website logins?

Uploading to Dropbox is as simple as dragging the relevant file into the Dropbox folder. It even has an ‘restore previous version’ feature which means that if you accidentally delete a file, you can retrieve any earlier saved version of it. This works by keeping track of your files every time they are updated. To retrieve earlier versions or deleted files, simply log into your account on the website and select ‘Show deleted files’. The only downside is that you can’t access your files if you don’t have access to the Internet.

Freedom and Portability

In this day and age, with so many outlets for accessing the Internet, accessibility and mobility are essential to any freelancer. Whilst you can download the Dropbox freeware onto your computer, you don’t need to, you can just log into the website and download the file you need to work on, then upload it again once you’re finished. This is ideal for accessing your information from various different computers and devices and means no forgotten USB sticks ever again!

No need for one of these anymore?

As well as synching your files, you can access portable applications from Dropbox for use on every major platform (Windows, Mac, Linux) – extra handy if you’re meeting with a client and need to show them a presentation!

Sometimes, when uploading a file the conventional way just isn’t appropriate, you can upload your data by emailing it to your account. This is great if you’re out and have written notes on your phone that you want to be available elsewhere.

Dropbox even provides a free application for the iPhone, Blackberry and Android phones which means you can view your data from your phone.

Sharing

One of the highlights of Dropbox is that it’s a great collaborative tool – perfect for sharing drafts of work with clients, making and tracking changes quickly between a variety of different people in a range of different locations. More than one person is able to work on the same document at the same time and it will save both copies to ensure you have a copy of each. Plus, you’ll be pleased to know, signing up to access a shared folder is quick and painless (and free).

TIP: If you’re like me and one for getting easily confused when you have more than one version of the same file, put a shortcut to your Dropbox folder on your desktop and use it as you would ‘My Documents’.

Finally…

It appears Dropbox is quite the handy little piece of web based file management solution! My only niggle is that when viewing you files online it won’t show you thumbnails of images. Also, if you have installed the Dropbox folder on your computer, every time you add something, it will upload it to ALL your synced up computers. If you don’t have Dropbox, download it, you’re missing out. You’ll wonder how you lived without it!

So, have you used Dropbox? What do you think of it?

Images courtesy of Dropbox.com and peppelena.

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The thought of starting a freelance business can be a daunting prospect, but here I have compiled a list of helpful suggestions to help give your business a kickstart…

Devote The Time

If you’re just starting up your freelance business, it’s highly unlikely you’re fortunate enough to just be able to jump straight in, quit your job without any savings or support and manage to stay afloat. Cash flow will be an issue, so will finding the time to set everything up and get things going before you go full time is key. It may mean you need to save up your holiday and take a few weeks off work in order to spend a chunk of time preparing things, building up your clients, getting your website sorted or producing work for your portfolio. Don’t give up your 9-5 job unless you have enough savings to support you and your familyfor 4-5 months whilst your freelance business picks up. Starting a freelance business can take months – even years – of preparation, but preparation is the key to success!

The Client List

There is no point going freelance if you don’t have a full client list, or don’t know people who need work done. To start with you may find your freelance work taking up all your evenings and weekends, but bear in mind you need enough clients to keep you afloat, and the more work you do, the more contacts you will get and the bigger your client list will be. If you don’t have a full client list, you’re not ready to go freelance yet! If you’ve just completed copy for a website for your client, suggest a newsletter may work well. This is a great way to pick up more work from a company.

Marketing & Advertising

There’s no advertising like getting your work out there and if that means working for free, then so be it. Why not offer to work for a friend for free or for mate’s rates? Once people start to see your work and recognise it, that’s a big step forward. A good way to showcase your work and keep prospective clients updated with what you’re up to is to keep a blog and update it on a regular basis.
Make the most of social media and create a strong, active online presence for yourself. This means making the most of social media like Twitter and Facebook. Use Twitter to ask for marketing advice if you need to, it’s a great source of information and way to network and connect with people in the field, as is Linked In.

Portfolio

Do your best to make sure you have an outstanding portfolio. Build up your portfolio to show off your skills to the max. This may meanyou need to work for free, or on your own projects in order to fill your portfolio with relevant work but the better and fuller it is, the more likely you are to land that job. Because let’s face it, would you hire someone with an unimpressive portfolio?

Keep Busy

So you have no work on. What are you doing just sitting there, twiddling your thumbs?! Hop to it! Even if you don’t have any work on, spend your time working on improving your promotional material, marketing, building up your client and contact list. You could even try bidding for jobs on People Per Hour.

Get Support

Check out your local government website for details of Business Link meetings. They offer free advice on different aspects of setting up your own business and can provide invaluable information.

What did you do to kickstart your freelance business? Please leave your feedback in the comments section below.

Images courtesy of TonyVC and Dangerous Business.

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The world is full of copywriters. Their work is all around us. And yet more often than I can ever quite believe, many people still don’t really know what a copywriter is or what they do.

Just last month I received an email that went along the following lines:

I have a brilliant idea that’s going to change the world, but I’m worried that someone will steal it. Please advise.

Of course, I had to explain that a copywriter has nothing whatsoever to do with copyright. That’s one of the most common mistakes people make. Copyright and copywriting. It’s all in the spelling, you see.

The truth is, copywriting is a varied and hard to pin down occupation. Every copywriter is different. Some work freelance and some work for others. Some write adverts and some write legal documents. To be a copywriter is beyond definition, but it’s fair to say that one thing binds us together: we all work with words on a daily basis.

More than Words

Many copywriters will spend pretty much all of their time writing, which might seem a little obvious. But actually, with so much of the world moving to the web, it’s not the case for all copywriters. Essentially, these days a copywriter is more than just a writer. We are multi-skilled and multi-taskers.

The modern copywriter must understand good web usability practice and accessibility standards, for example. It all goes back to the audience, actually. We have to know how people use websites if we are to write effective copy for a website. It’s not just about writing a good call to action, it’s about working with a designer to make sure that call to action is in the right place on the page.

Exploding the Sales Myth

Copywriters are generally associated with sales and marketing. We’re the folks who write those snappy headings and catchy straplines. Just do it? That’s us. The car in front is a Toyota? That’s us too. I understand why people make that association. But there’s more to copywriting than simply sales. So much more.

We copywriters are the writing equivalent of chameleons. We must have the skill and flexibility to adapt our writing from project to project, from client to client, and from format to format.One day we might be writing a case study for a supermarket’s consumer magazine, the next we might be putting together a series of articles to be published on a legal firm’s website. Copywriting is about being able to adapt quickly and meet tight deadlines.

More than that, copywriting is about being able to understand and write for an audience.

All about the Audience

This is the big one. This is the skill that all good copywriters must have; we have to think about who our audience is and how we can reach them with our writing.

Copywriting almost always has a goal, from selling more of a product to getting web users to click through to a specific page. It’s about influencing people’s behaviour with our words. However, we can only do that once we know who we’re writing for. That involves a certain amount of research and asking the right questions from our clients.

Because of its association with advertising, some people think of copywriting as rather tricksy, a sort of style-over-substance form of writing. Others go in the opposite direction, thinking over-functional and soulless. Both are complete misconceptions.

The key for every copywriter, whatever the subject matter, is to find the clearest, most appropriate way to speak to their audience. That means neither hamming up nor dumbing down, but simply finding the best way possible to transfer a message.

Is that it?

The truth is, it’s impossible to pin down everything a copywriter does in just a few hundred words. But then that’s kind of my point. We’re an extremely flexible brand of writer and every copywriting job is different to the next.

In fact, that’s what makes it such an interesting profession. You get to write in all manner of voices for a wide range of audiences, which only helps you get better and improve as a professional writer. I’ve also found that copywriting has helped significantly improve my fiction, but I’ll perhaps save that for another post…

Copywriters; what misconceptions have you come across about what it is you do? Please share your feedback in the comments below!

Images courtesy of Jay Chambers, and Tambako the Jaguar.

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The first day of workshop might have been the worst.

The little round-circle of writers listened to every quivering word of a story about suicide — the sordid tale of a young woman contemplating her own end and spending at least sixteen pages getting around to it. I don’t think anyone moved – or breathed –  the entire time it was being read.

I’d had an uneasy feeling about the workshop right from the start. Writers are solitary creatures, right? So why herd a bunch of us into a room and expect magic to happen? Besides, I barely knew these people. I couldn’t analyze my own style, half of the time, so why should I expect to understand theirs?

The first two weeks of workshop didn’t do much to change my mind. But I started to realize, near the end of the program, that something was changing. I was changing. And for the better, arguably, which got me thinking: maybe workshops aren’t so bad after all. They don’t carry the most sterling of reputations, sure, but I think they can come in handy for anyone trying to do this for a living.

Just make sure you don’t go for the writing.

The Internet Age

Writers need a thick skin. That’s pretty well-established by this point, but it raises an important question: how do we get one?

The Internet is an option. It’s easy enough to put your work online and invite feedback, but that ease of use does cause a few problems. For one, you’re opening the floodgate for every kind of comment: flames, excessive praise, or straight-up apathy. That second category feels real nice, in a stroke-your-ego kind of way, but what about the rest? What about those comments that offer genuine criticism, and what about those critiques that read like a thousand tiny needles shoved straight into your heart?

They’re not that useful. The people who leave them tend  also tend to stay anonymous, which makes it seem a) a little cowardly and b) way, way too easy to just ignore. Sure, they might have raised a valid concern, but are you really going to take it seriously when that one legitimate critique is mixed in with a big bag of inflammatory comments?

Even the super-positive comments, fluffy as they are, might do more harm than good in the long run. We’re trying to develop a thick skin here, people — not a thick ego, the kind which is usually built on pillars of praise and emoticons. Don’t get me wrong: the accolade feels good. But it’s only half of what you need to really excel as a writer, isn’t it?

So where can we get what we need?

Enter the Workshop

I’ll be honest: most people you meet in a workshop aren’t good writers. Some are passable, at best, and others might be flat-out terrible, making a workshop the place not to visit if you want to raise healthy debates about your writing. It took me a few months to realize this, but the workshop suddenly became much more interesting when I did.

You don’t go for the words. You go for the people.

These fine folk might not like your story. They might hate it, even, which sounds pretty terrifying until you come to grips with the idea of sharing something so personal with a group of relative strangers. If you’re unlucky, they won’t measure their words carefully when they’re discussing your work, but a good workshop will provide a healthy variety of critiques. Good, bad, ugly: they’re all fine.

It sounds brutal. And it is, in the beginning, when you’re unaccustomed to this style of feedback. But face-to-face criticism holds value beyond what the Internet can provide, and for one simple reason: you can’t ignore it. You can’t blow it off or delete the comment, and you can’t just assume someone was having a bad day. What you can do is recognize that their critique is good/bad/strange, accept it, and then move on. That might sting a little, at first, but it fades over time.

Workshops can help you develop the thick skin you need, and you might find it easier to recognize genuine criticism after a while. When any word of disagreement doesn’t automatically put you on edge, it becomes a whole heck of a lot simpler to realize that criticism, though usually bad, does provide an occasional moment of brilliance.

It helped me, at least. I’m not perfect at handling critiques of my work, but I’m getting better, and the workshop did a lot to help make that happen. So why not try one?

Please share your experiences of handling, or giving, criticism in the comments below!

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From the time we’re children, we’re told not to judge a book by its cover.

We know it’s good advice. We’re aware that what appears on the outside of a book really has nothing to do with what appears inside, or how enjoyable that book will be.

Still, there’s always the temptation to pluck the glossiest, most attractive spine from the shelf, instead of the worn, torn, forlorn spine.

We’re visual creatures, and marketing departments at publishing houses know it.

Personally, I can’t go past a shiny paperback cover with crisp images and alluring fonts.  I want to hold them, to feel their weight in my hands, to smell that distinctive scent of new paper.

Dare I say I want to own those books without even knowing what they contain?

There’s a sort of shame in it, knowing what I’m doing is wrong. Knowing that I might very well get that book home and realize it’s nothing I would ever read. Yet, the temptation is there, to have those books as a sort of art.

Of course, I would be broke if I bought every book I thought looked good, and so I use the library most of the time. I often end up returning volumes without reading them, all because I’ve been so rash as to judge those books by their covers.

And what of those books with unattractive dust jackets? The ones with dated cover art or cheesy graphics? How often do those copies get passed over, even if the stories they contain are wonderful?

What about the following covers would make you want to read them (or not)?

What visual attributes make you want to pick up a book?

What are your all-time favourite book covers?

(Photos courtesy of Karen Horton, Gauravonomics, A Journey Round My Skull, navparker, city of round rock)

]]> http://www.fuelyourwriting.com/on-judging-a-book-by-its-cover/feed/ 5 http://www.fuelyourwriting.com/slenderize-your-writing-in-only-minutes-a-day/ http://www.fuelyourwriting.com/slenderize-your-writing-in-only-minutes-a-day/#comments Wed, 21 Jul 2010 11:00:18 +0000 Kim Phillips http://www.fuelyourwriting.com/?p=3807

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As a writer, I try my best to avoid using clichés and worn out turns of phrase such as ‘lost in translation’. However, working as an English Language Editor in Saudi Arabia has opened up a wealth of new meaning for the phrase that using it as a title for this piece is not clichéd but perfect.

Editing text can be challenging at the best of times, especially text for a specific field such as engineering, medicine or education, all of which I deal with regularly. However, when that text was originally written in a different language and then fed through a computer before it lands on your desk you’re faced with an entirely different challenge. Meaning can truly be lost between the author, the translator and the editor. For example, one of the more interesting mix-ups I have come across is suggesting a doctor step in and help if your infertile husband cannot get you pregnant…

Many freelance jobs for editors are translated texts, and many freelance editors looking for work will choose to skip over them. Anyone who knows the job will tell you that it is a minefield that is best left alone unless you really know what you’re getting into. However, I believe that with a few tips and pointers to set you on the right course you could open up a whole new income stream. Following these steps should help you make a success of editing translated text from any language:

Start with the basics

As with writing, you should start with what you know. By correcting the spelling, punctuation and grammatical errors first you will not only ease yourself into the document and familiarize yourself with the text, you will also begin to notice the obvious confusions of meaning.

Never assume!

Take my previous example, it would seem a safe bet to assume that the author of the text did not mean for the doctor to call around while the husband was out with a bunch of flowers and a box of chocolates to set the mood! However, while you may think that the author meant to tell patients to visit their doctor for medical solutions to infertility you should not just change the text. Leave a comment or suggestion, or better still contact your client and ask what was meant.

Don’t be afraid to ask

Chances are your client is the one who translated the text, meaning they read both the native language of the author and English. If you are unsure about something, then they are the person to ask. They will have access to both the original and the English version of the document, and talking to them will clear up any misunderstandings. Being in constant contact also helps break down the barrier that working via the Internet can often create, which will lead to a better finished piece at the end and may also open up the possibility of future work.

Double-check everything

In some languages, such as Arabic, there aren’t words for certain technologies or medicines. Instead of simply naming a new machine or procedure it will be described. A good translator will at least make a stab at what the machine or procedure in question is, however, that does not mean that the name or the spelling is correct. Having a good dictionary, specific to the field the text is aimed at, is a must. For example, I frequently make use of TheFreeDictionary.com’s medical dictionary for any medical text I edit.

Once you have ferreted out what you believe to be the right name, phrase or term and inserted it into the text you MUST make a comment, or contact and inform your client that you have done so. Remember, you are an editor; not a doctor, engineer or expert in metaphysics! Besides, there is a very good chance that during the course of translation meanings were lost again, leading you to the wrong conclusion.

A full copy edit is a must

When you think you’re finished, even if you have been through the text one hundred and fifty four times always, always perform a final full copy edit before you send it to your client. When providing your client with time frames for completion add an extra day. Even if it can be done in two days, tell them three.

Here’s why: you need to sit back and read something else before a final edit. By moving away from the project you ensure a more thorough final read, rather than simply skimming because you’re sick of reading the same thing over and over and over again. It will be the little things like confused spellings such as weather when it should be whether, or a comma where there should be a semicolon. Read each word slowly, and out loud, to make sure you miss nothing.

DON’T PANIC!

So you’ve read this post, done some more research and won a bid for a translated text. Then it arrives and you read it. Suddenly you feel that you would be able to make more sense of Lewis Carroll’s The Jabberwocky than you could of the document on the screen. This is normal. Every day I get sent a booklet that I am utterly convinced was translated into Swedish instead of English. Words are back to front, grammar is non-existent, there are absolutely no full stops, and only 1.5 words out of 10 are spelled correctly.

Step away from your computer, make a cup of ~insert favorite beverage here~ and take a few steadying breaths. You CAN do this. Start with step one of step one, spelling. Then tackle the lack of proper punctuation, and before you know it the grammar is starting to take care of itself. Work one paragraph at a time this way and you’ll be finished before you know it.

Good Luck!

Has anyone had any difficult experiences editing translated texts? How did you manage? Please share your thoughts in the comments below.

Images courtesy of ippbooks.com and abc.net.au

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For the past couple of years, all people have heard about is networking. Myspace, Facebook, Twitter, LinkedIn, Google Wave, Google Buzz, various blogging platforms… it’s amazing the number of websites that connect complete strangers with the click of a few buttons.

For most, it’s just a fun way to pass the time. But for writers, networking can be both an essential tool to success and a source of endless information.

It’s a tool because a steady platform can only help you in the search for an agent, an editor or publisher. Have no cause for doubt: they will Google your name. Seeing that you have a regularly updated blog, a good following on Twitter, connections on LinkedIn — it takes pressure off them because you are already marketing yourself. They see that people know your name, and they won’t have to worry as much about trying to sell a completely unknown person, particularly if you write non-fiction, such as self-help books.

It’s also a great research source if you’ve ever tried to find information on the Internet and just could not find it. You can go to these networking sites (Twitter, especially) and you are almost guaranteed to find someone who knows something about it, or where to find the information.

As a confessed Twitter addict, let’s take this a bit further. For those of you not on Twitter, you join and set up your profile. Your updates are confined to a 140 character limit. You follow whoever you like, provided their profile is public, and anyone can follow you unless you block them.

Agents are on Twitter. Editors are on Twitter. Publishers and other writers are on Twitter. Not only is this an opportunity for you to learn what these industry professionals are looking for, it’s a chance to meet other writers. News travels at impossible speeds with the click of a “ReTweet” button. You’ll hear about the newest agents, the newest book deals. What’s in, what’s out.

As a bonus, you might even make some really good friends. I know I have.

Is networking for everyone? Not at all. Would it work for you? That’s entirely up to you – what you put in is what you get out. But I do believe that every writer should give it a shot.

Like anything else, it’s hard to build something without a foundation.

How much do you network? Please let us know how networking has benefited you in the comments below!

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I’ve stared at this article for the better part of an hour.

Dedication, you might call it, were you the flattering type (thanks!). Idiocy, you might counter, if you weren’t. But let’s label it perfectionism, the bane of the diligent writer, and the whole messy reason I’ve rewritten this introductory sequence three times over.

I’m tempted to rewrite it again.

That’s the terrible truth of it: perfectionism, celebrated in fields that demand little attachment to your work, proves a dangerous hurdle for folks who make a living off the sweat, blood and tears they pour onto the page. Think I’m being dramatic? Tally up each and every unfinished story on your harddrive. Count, too, each draft sitting a simple click away from going live on your website. Now – the best part! – consider where you might be right now if every single one of those projects had seen the light of day.

My own number settles somewhere between embarrassing and horribly depressing. Excuses? I’ve got plenty: too little time, a lack of inspiration, etc. The truth, naturally, hits a lot harder. I’m a perfectionist. Everything I write must visibly gleam on the page, diction so shiny and golden that it affords new meaning to the moniker ‘wordsmith.’

But life, ladies and gentleman, doesn’t play that nice. That’s admirable ambition, sure, but a goal unrealistic for the regular writer – the kind, y’know, trying to afford things like bread and toys off the bounty of the gray stuff between his ears. Striking it big proves a lot easier when the words shine at least silver, but here comes the reality check: if I’m too much of a perfectionist to ever call my work complete, hours spent perfecting every single word do little beyond waste precious time.

I don’t advocate sending your work off the moment you finish, mind. Taking time off afterward can prove a great help to the exhausted writer, but there comes a point when you have to stop rephrasing sentences every time you pull the words up on your screen.

Found Guilty

Obvious confession: I’m guiltier than the rest. A story of mine still lurks on my hard drive from nearly two years back, one that could have seen sunlight were I not so picky about the final product. The constant need to rewrite should already flash as a warning sign, but imagine that process pushed to an agonizing end – reluctance to even revisit the work, to sitting down with the words your own mind convinces you will never be just right.

Your brain does fine work in many cases. Telling you when to drop the editing pen isn’t one of them. But that’s a hard truth to swallow, especially for us poor writer types, and the kind of realization that only clicks when weeks – or months, or years – have passed since you last sat down with your story and tried to tighten it up.

Don’t do what I do, folks. Don’t obsess over minor details and waste countless hours debating the impact of each word on the audience. Give your work its due diligence, of course, but realize that there’s a point when just one more revision will do so much more harm than good.

Your words will thank you for the chance to breathe. And you’ll take away something too: the chance to channel your creative energy into a new project, maybe, without leaving the last one cold and unloved on your desktop. You might even come away with new respect for the countless books and stories crowding the store shelves. Are they perfect?

Of course not. But at least their authors knew when to let go, right?

How do you get over your perfectionism when it comes to your writing? Or do you?

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In today’s economy, many professional communicators are finding themselves without a job, with fewer clients or with the need/urge to change careers in the hope of having more options. Because of these factors, individuals sometimes find themselves looking to further their education to get an edge over the competition.

If you are one of these people, here are some writing and communications-related graduate programs offered throughout the US that are worth checking into further. (Disclaimer: I’ve recently begun taking classes to work towards my Master of Business Communication degree at the University of St. Thomas).

University of St. Thomas- Master of Business Communication (MBC)

California State University Fresno-  Master of Arts: Mass Communication and Journalism

University of Baltimore- Master of Fine Arts- Creative Writing & Publishing Arts

Illinois State University- Master of Arts Degree- Writing

Emerson College (Boston)- Master of Fine Arts- Creative Writing

Fordham University (NYC) – Master of Arts with a Writing Concentration

North Carolina State University- Master of Fine Arts in Creative Writing

School of The Art Institute Of Chicago- Master of Fine Arts in Writing

University At Albany (S.U.N.Y.)- Master of Arts with a Concentration in Writing Practices

Texas State University-San Marcos- Creative Writing

University of Denver- Graduate Communication programs include Communication Studies, Advertising Management, Mass Communication and Public Relations

I’ve tried to include schools in all corners of the country but there are plenty of resources out there to help you find a program near you. GradSchools.com is a great place to start!

Are you currently enrolled in a writing or communications-related degree program? Are you thinking about it?

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In February, James Chartrand wrote a brilliant post on why writers need to show up for work.   For those writers who are not paid for their craft, how seriously do we take this art?    Do we enforce our daily scheduled writing times?  Do we share our work with others, to receive feedback, both positive and constructive? Do we budget for our writing?   Did I throw you for a loop with the last question?  If no, then you are definitely on the right track. If yes, then let’s get into it.

The act of writing is simple and cheap.  All you require is a writing utensil and a piece of paper.  As your work matures, the items that you use to hone your skills tend to develop.  No longer are napkins and Bic ballpoints enough, now you covet designer notebooks and legendary pens.   Great, but what about the real cost, the cost of showing your work to the world?

We will budget for coffee, drinks after work, a round of golf, and food, but writing usually never makes the list.  What costs, you ask?  Stamps for starters.  Yes, stamps.   Though numerous publications will allow you to submit your work on-line, paper submissions are still king.  Budget for the basics; stamps, envelopes, both 8 ½ x 11 and letter size, more paper, and a computer if you do not have one.   As you review the submission guidelines, another term pops up which may send a slight shiver down your spine.  Submission Fee!  Oh Snap.  That’s right sunshine, you are paying  for the right for some unknown person to reject your work.

I am quite new to the world of submissions and the intricacies that surround the specific guidelines that are set forth by the powers that be.  Yet I do understand that magazines, journals and newspapers are in business to share great work, but also to stay a float- recession or not.  Fees are not limited to submissions, but also to the entity called writing contests.  From $5 – $50, the costs, which are levied at you to enter your work for a chance at prestige and publication, need to be budgeted.

Once we start to take our writing seriously by accounting for the necessary tools and opportunities that present themselves, we attract the serious possibility of becoming great.