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| Unheardwords Writers' Guide |
We've pulled together a wealth of collaborative advice to create a concise writers’ guide, designed to help you with your writing regardless of the stage you’ve reached as a writer.
"Thinking about writing, is thinking about what you’d like to say, is thinking about who you’d like to say it to and how your writing will communicate the message, is thinking about your readers, is thinking about reading." |
Unheardwords Writers'
Guide (part 1 - 5)
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Thinking About Writing
Part 1 |
Writing Something
Part 2 |
Preparing a Manuscript
Part 3 |
Considering Publishing
Part 4 |
Building a Readership
Part 5 |
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A collection of advice and writing tips.
Publish First, Get a Style Later | | | Don’t worry if your style is not perfect before you seek publication. Most new writers are in the same boat except they are not waiting and therefore they are getting published. If we as writers wait till our work reaches our own sense of perfection before seeking publication then we would not get read in this lifetime. A work (Style) by any writer is like his child, and though the reader may not be able to detect the growth of style from one piece to the next, the writer sees it. His work becomes complete throughout his legacy of stories. | | | © wheytoobuff, 2004 | |
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| What Can I Write? | | | If science fiction or fantasy is your thing then you’ve already got an advantage - you can make up the environment and the events - let’s face it anything can happen. For many of us though, at some point or other we will wonder what we can write about. But, fear not sometimes the answer is closer to hand than we think, and if you think about it you can always write about YOU.
About me! About me! Yes, about you.
As you sit for a moment, where ever, when ever, there are a myriad of things going through your mind: it may be what happened to you on the way to the bank or cinema this afternoon; the what you would like your evening to turn out; why your child keeps forgetting to bring home his school work or the meaning of life itself. In short, you think, live and breath, therefore you have something to write about. And, though much of our life may appear to us mundane, and many of us may share common pursuits - in cities tens of thousands commute to work during the hours of 07:30 and 09:30 - our experience of events is different because our cultural context (our values and what we believe) is different. People are interested in the insights of other people. So your potential audience of readers of writing that is about YOU is great and ranges far and wide.
So, ask not what you should write about. If in doubt, write about your own experiences first of all. | | | © Mary Vincent 2004 - All Rights Reserved | | | | | | How A First Time Author Got His Book on Managing Fear Published | | | Wondering how to get your writing ideas published? I am a first time author who recently got his self help book on managing fear published. The title of the book is
"A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods". I was able to get my book published even though I didn't have any experience in the publishing field. Let me explain:
Over the years, I collected much information on how to manage fear and anxiety. Although I didn’t have a background in the religious or psychology fields, I did a lot of research including discussions with various professionals - in both fields - on how to manage fear and anxiety. One day I was wondering if I could develop a small book from these notes. I went to the bookstores to read various books on how to submit a book idea to some of the publishing companies. I learned that a writer must first develop a
query letter to send to the various publishers and then submit a manuscript. After a good deal of research, I organized my notes into a small manuscript and did much editing to get my manuscript ready to send to the various publishers. I then wrote up a query letter and explained the benefits of how my book was unique to what was on the market. I mentioned that my book would be complete and cover all the ways to manage fear, unlike a lot of other books in the market today. My book would also be easy
to read and results oriented, and it would be non technical. I explained that my book provided an important need to people who needed to manage their fear and anxiety.
I then went to some of the writing sites on the Internet that contained a listing of various publishers; publishers that might be interested in my self help book. I then submitted a query letter to these publishers and was eventually asked to submit my manuscript. I followed this process for a little less than a year.
During this time, I talked to various writers on the Internet and asked them how I could increase my chances of getting published. A writer told me that if I focused on the small niche publishing companies, that I would increase my chances of getting my book published. He was right. It took a lot of work and persistence; however I found it much easier to market my book idea to the small Print On Demand Publishing companies. I eventually found a small publishing company who really liked my book idea. I then briefly worked with the publisher to turn my manuscript into a small easy
to read book.
I was able to get my book published by explaining the need, and the importance of my book in my query letter, developing a well written manuscript, and focusing on small publishing companies. It is not easy to get your work published, however with a lot of research, persistence and a willingness to continuously improve it is possible.
BIOGRAPHY: Stan Popovich is the author of "A Layman's Guide to Managing Fear Using Psychology, Christianity and Non Resistant Methods" - an easy to read book that presents a general overview of techniques that are effective in managing persistent fears and anxieties. For additional information go to: For additional information go to: managingfear.com | | | © Stan Popovich - All Rights Reserved | | | | | | | Encouraging Your Writing? | | | The Blank Sheet - simply get a blank sheet of paper or make use of the <new> function on your word processor. And, begin to write.
The object of this exercise is to fill a page with your words, the beauty being, it doesn’t matter what you write and you don’t have to employ your usual quality control over what you write - the important thing is just to write.
Think of it as a brain dump and let the contents of your mind flow over the page devoid of punctuation or editorial control (as you wish).
Often it’s the prospect of having to do for a reason or to achieve a particular outcome that prevents us even getting started, so you may find the freedom of this exercise liberating. And, you’ll hopefully be encourage by how easy it is to fill a page (or two). So go on - restore your faith in your ability to write.
| | | © editor@UnheardWords.com 2004 | |
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