The 2022 Marketing & Genre Intensive is filling fast, so don’t delay! You’ll experience personalized attention from our experts to get your questions answered and a wealth of knowledge on how you can grow your platform quickly into targeted readers. We’ll also help maximize time spent marketing with proven strategies for an upcoming book launch or relaunch–Sign up today before space runs out – there’s limited availability in these workshops and they fill fast.
Registration
Your Registration Includes… A FULL day of marketing and platform training with literary agent Cyle Young, who has grown his platform to almost half-a-million in less than two years. Two bonus calls allow you to participate in a pre-conference video call with the other attendees and instructors to answer questions and help you prep. Lunches is on the house, as we deliver amazing meals and some of thebest homemade desserts you’ve ever tasted. An all the recordings are included in the price of registration…no hidden fees and no surprise up-sells!
Literary Agent Cyle Young has sold over 300 books for his clients in his career, is the author of Michigan Motivations, and has built his own platform to over half-a-million followers in less than two years, and
Bestselling author of Chasing Sunsets and Word Weavers Int’l Founder and President Eva Marie Everson is a renowned editor and coach, as well as the director of the Florida Christian Writers Conference.
“Cornerstone Strategist” Bethany Jetthas won awards for 100% of her nonfiction books (from YA trade to adult inspirational) including The Cinderella Rule, her ghostwriting, articles, and marketing.
Michelle Medlock Adams, bestselling children’s book author with almost 5 MILLION books sold is also a NYT bestselling ghostwriter and the editor of children’s publishing house Wren & Bear Books.
For more information and Registration please click the link below:
There are many tips and tricks that aspiring freelance writers need in order to build a rewarding career as authors. The following article contains Tips for Freelance Writers that are invaluable suggestions for anyone who wants exciting, successful future writing pieces all over the world!
What is a Freelancer in the writing world? Freelance writers are often employed to create content for a variety of clients, such as newspapers and magazines. They can also work with different types of topics—some freelance novelists sell their short stories in creative writing journals while others write copywriting material for companies like Coke Zero.
1. Don’t Quit Your Day Job
As we continue on about our Tips for Freelance Writers, one important tip is don’t go too big too fast, ease into the job by devoting 10% of your time. It may take some time before your first client and successful money as a writer for hire; however once that happens don’t forget about holding onto a day job if one exists! Once things are going smoothly with both personal projects or corporate gigs then consider shifting more time, making this career change full time instead of just supplementing other sources like income.
2. Blogging
Blogging is a great way to share your passions with the world. If you have any skill that interests or fascinates people, consider becoming an online blogger so they can see what it’s all about! You’ll learn new writing techniques in order to create interesting content and build up a clientele through search engine optimization (SEO).
3. Basic SEO skills
In today’s market, the need for content writing has skyrocketed. More and more companies are realizing the importance of content marketing. Content writers need to be able to write engaging blog posts that will keep readers coming back for seconds (and maybe even thirds). It’s also extremely helpful if these employees know a thing or two about SEO-they can optimize your site, so it ranks high in search engine results!
4. Improve time management skills
The ability to manage one’s time is a valuable skill in any profession, but it becomes even more crucial when you’re working on short assignments that require intense dedication. Learn how to set up daily routines for yourself where necessary tasks can take priority over other obligations so as not to miss deadlines or lose sleep doing boring work!
5. Seek Out Writing Jobs
As a freelance writer, you are solely responsible for finding new clients. Otherwise, there will be downtime between projects and no money coming in! One way of doing this is through networking with other writers who can help out when they’re booked up; offer them some work yourself if necessary (or just mention that yours needs an update). You should also keep looking around online job boards as well as reaching out by email introducing yourself firstly at whatever content director’s inbox happens into fall victim next time around.
6. Be Able to Market Yourself
When potential new clients reach out to you for freelance work, they’ll often want a sample of your previous writing in order to make an informed decision about hiring them. It’s also important that any testimonials from satisfied customers are easily accessible so these people can see what kind of person will be working on their project with integrity and care!
As a freelance writer, you’ll sometimes hit that perfect bullseye and other times miss your shot. Don’t take negative feedback personally; it’s part of the process that we all go through when writing for clients in order to match their brand identity with an appropriate tone/voice! Successful writers use these experiences as opportunities not only to improve themselves but also to offer better services moving forward so, please remember this about being successful—you have no choice but to accept any change made necessary by someone else unless they specifically request otherwise (and even then).
Freelance writers who want to make an impression on others can find these tips quite useful. If you are working alone, try writing prompts that will help get your ideas out there and keep readers engaged with what they read! Keep it simple while still making sure everything has meaning so people understand all aspects of the passage.
1:26 10 Tips for children’s writing 1:42 Moral Dilemma 2:58 Entertainment 4:45 Hangout with kids (know your audience) 10:39 Short and Sweet 12:06 The mentor influencer research method 15:05 Social media and research 22:09 Fiction Writing Tips 23:29 Don’t start with “weather” 25:16 Prologues 32:21 NO Exclamation Points!!!!! (except for Bethany’s exception!) 35:55 Don’t use Dialects 38:15 Conclusion, Second Annual Intensive, and Contest Details
Oh, you’re a Writer! Have you thought about how you’re going to make money? (Possibly my favorite Progressive commercial) So you have written the next seven-book series that’s going to take the world by storm, but now things are at a standstill and you’re staring down the daunting task of Marketing. Don’t worry we have Three Tips for Marketing your Book.
It’s one thing to have a great book, but do you really think people are going to find it if they can’t even find you? Your author website is your first point of contact with readers. It needs to be professional and provide the right information in an easy-to-use manner so that people can find you when they’re looking for new books to read! When you self-publish, it is important for your website to reflect the high standards of professionalism that are expected. Your site should have an aesthetically pleasing design and be well organized so readers can find what they’re looking for easily, but more importantly, is that you have the site so that you have that digital presence (even if the site doesn’t look professional done).
At Serious Writer, we stress how vital good publishing practices are in order not just to produce a book but also to market one effectively too! You may believe all this work has been done already though when actually there’s plenty more left ahead – which could lead people down false paths. Word Press is a great tool that we recommend and use for creating your online website.
LEVERAGE SOCIAL MEDIA
One of the best ways to get a conversation started is by using social media. But authors often neglect their own platforms in favor of more traditional forms like letters or face-to-face interactions—which can leave them missing out on opportunities! You should be posting regularly, staying active, and engaging with readers who may not always look at what you post but still want information from your account because it’s there waiting just about anywhere someone might find themselves scrolling downlinks without thinking too hard. It’s about creating a fire and then keeping it stoked. You would be amazed at quickly a following can grow with a daily 30-second video. The key isn’t necessarily how many followers one has though, it’s carving out their space while building up an army of readers who are passionate enough about your writing to bring you more attention than ever before! Check out what Bethany Jett has to say about this subject on the Serious Writer Podcast.
PRE-ORDERS
Often writers underestimate the power or don’t even think of preorders in their marketing strategy. It is important to get your audience excited about your book before it launches. Pre-ordering has been shown in studies as an effective marketing strategy for self-published authors because they have more control over when customers will be able to access content like copies or even review copies if ordered early enough–and this also gives them an incentive not only to gain momentum but establish themselves well within certain genres by being seen among other popular titles on Amazon’s ranking lists (for example “bestseller”).
As we said earlier Marketing is a daunting and feared task, but the key is not to get discouraged. There are plenty of resources and people that can help you get started in the right direction. And for more Marketing, Writing, and Publishing tips checkout Cyle Young and Bethany Jett on the Serious Writer Podcast, available on Android and iOS.
There are many types of characters in books, and authors can use them to create well-rounded casts. The fact that archetypes such as the Hero or Princess often appear multiple times throughout your story gives you structure while allowing for variation with each appearance, but here are 4 basic Archetypes every story needs
The Protagonist is central to your story. They drive the majority of the plot and provide an obvious manifestation of theme-based conflict in their internal journey as influenced by external events. The protagonist does not just react – they are active participants that take on different roles throughout various stages, sometimes even switching places with other characters or objects at certain points during reading. This gives them more depth than typical “good guy/bad girl” types we see often; you get insight into what makes this individual tick while also experiencing how it affects others around him/her.
The Antagonist
The Antagonist is a character in his own right or maybe an antagonistic force (e.g., weather). He directly opposes your Protagonist, who shares important similarities with him to highlight and advance areas of growth for the protagonist when they are under pressure The person playing this role must-have skills that allow them t show differences between good & bad behaviors so it’s easier on audiences members during times when we want our characters pushed past their limits.
Also known as the Mentor (think of Obi-Wan), this archetypical figure is a teacher or helper. They serve many purposes in the story and can be seen to alternately support or oppose ideas depending on how one aligns themselves with its moral standard at different points during their journey. The guardian protects the protagonist throughout the story while also giving advice when needed most.
The Contagonist
The Contagonist is a character that gets in the protagonist’s way, tries to lead him astray, and just causes tension. He’s different from an antagonist because he does not directly oppose your plot goal; rather it may be more indirect like trying his best (unwillingly) to hinder what you want for yourself or others.
What is a character? A person, or rather something that’s made up of words and scenes. But why do we care about these imaginary people in the first place?! It can be difficult to put into words yourself but luckily I’m here with 5 tips on how your Fictional Character could become more immersive for you!
Think about giving your main characters flaws. Your characters may be the heroes of their story, but nobody is truly perfect. Adding a flaw or two will make them more believable and sympathetic – just like you want your readers to feel when they’re reading about what happens next (and probably why this happened).
Backstory
When you create a character, it’s important that their past lives up to what they do in the present. Think about how every story has an origin and can be written as such–a beginning middle end with motivations behind each decision made along the way so we know why our main characters act like themselves now.
What’s the Motivation?
The best action is character-driven. You should try to base the plot of your story around the motivations and actions of characters, asking yourself “What is it that they trying to accomplish?” What do these people stand to lose or gain from this action/event? How might their goals change over time as well–throughout representing different challenges that arise along with new opportunities for growth along those paths.
Withhold information from your readers. When writing fiction, only give them what they need to know at the moment and anything else can wait until later on in a much more engaging way than just telling it all upfront! The supporting details—like backstory–should remain unseen; just like how most people don’t actually see an iceberg’s mass underwater because of its size.
Mannerisms
The perfect character is one that you can’t help but love. To make your characters stand out from the crowd, try mixing in a few small details to give them an endearing quality or add some charm – this will create more memorable people! But don’t overdo it though; otherwise, they might come off as too unstable and unpredictable which would take away everything that makes them great characters for novels
