From the Publishers' Mouths

For all you aspiring (and published) mystery writers, a comprehensive week-long report on the mystery publishing business (obtained by going to the source--the publishers themselves) appears on the Sisters in Crime blog. Check it out.

Online Press Release Evaluator

Can you be writing more effective press releases? There's an online program that's supposed to evaluate your press releases, grade them and tell you what you could be doing better.

I tried it out on one of mine and noticed the tips are very much geared toward Web publication and SEO optimization. No big surprises there. Also, it checks your content over for "gobbledygook words" (ones that are overused and lack specific meaning) and whether you've included contact information and a proper end of content marker, like ###.

Give it a try and see what you think.

Making a Case for Writing Case Studies

I wish I could find a date on this item written by Steve Slaunwhite on Freelance Writing Success, but I think it provides a number of good reasons why freelancers might want to consider writing case studies for businesses.

Freelancers Stiffed--By Lenny Dykstra?

Okay, the first part of that headline is not news. The fact that the deadbeat publication is a magazine created or owned (not quite sure which) by former New York Mets baseball player Lenny Dykstra--that's news.

Sounds like they're trying to work things out and get the writers paid. But if they don't, Dykstra's magazine could end up on the receiving end of this blogger's wrath.

Corporate Journalism

Now here's a unique service freelancers might offer. "Corporate journalism" is a term used to refer to writers (often those with a journalism background) who can talk to people in a company, obtain information from an outsider's perspective and write up what they've been told for various purposes.

For this corporate journalist, it meant interviewing the people with strategic knowledge of the business in order to capture their expertise and make it part of the company's knowledge management system.

For another one, it meant working with the company's PR/marketing division, to create better, more forthright external communications.

There's even a book about the subject called Beyond Spin: The Power of Strategic Corporate Journalism.

These seem like pretty interesting areas for freelancers to explore. Has anyone else done work of this sort?

PS--I'd like to thank independent information professional Heather Carine of Carine Research for telling me about this.

Think Globally, Act Locally

You know how environmentalists use the phrase "think globally, act locally"? When it comes to marketing a writing business, I believe we should do the same. With modern technology, we're no longer confined to working for people in our immediate geographic area--or even within our own country. At the same time, it never hurts to do some marketing right in your own backyard. Here are some suggestions for doing both.

Think Globally

1. Have a Web site. This seems elementary, but how many people still don't? And, if you have a Web site, does it include samples of your work? Testimonials from clients? These are elements that will help sell you to someone far away who's never met you.

2. Have a blog. Blogging is another way to establish your presence on the Web. It also provides a way to get feedback from others about the things you blog about. As a writer, it seems like a natural marketing tool.

3. Participate in social networks. You never know who you'll meet online. I've discovered a few people through LinkedIn that I had no idea were on there. You may make new contacts, as well.

4. Take advantage of job listings and other opportunities that arise. I've gotten jobs from around the country through online listings. And many of my best-paying clients have been referred to me by other writers. Most of those referrals have been clients outside my geographic area.

5. Stay in touch with people you've worked with outside the area. You may be separated by distance, but all your distant contacts are just an email or a phone call away. Keep in touch with them. Send them cards during the holidays. Just shoot them a note or email to say hi.

Act Locally

1. Join a local writers' organization. I'm fortunate to live in the DC area, where we have a great writers' organization called Washington Independent Writers. The group provides many opportunities for writers to learn, network and socialize. They put on a great annual conference every year. And they have a job bank with very good leads on freelance work.

2. Join a local Chamber or other business-oriented group. Writing is a business and my feeling is that you can't really meet too many people when you're in business. Obviously, you have to use your judgment about where and how much you network, but joining a local business organization is valuable because it gets your name out there, you get to practice your "elevator speech" a lot and it can get you thinking about what services you might be able to offer that you wouldn't have thought of just sitting at home in front of your computer.

3. Go to networking events. Attending networking events can benefit you for the same reasons as joining business groups. People get to know you and what you do (because you're getting your "elevator pitch" down better with each one of these things you go to). They come to trust you. When they need a writer or know someone who needs a writer, they'll think of you.

4. Take a client out for coffee. Sometimes we could all use a break from the grind. Invite a client (or potential client) out for coffee. Get to know each other over a cup of joe. Again, when a project comes up, they'll remember your kindness and personal interest.

5. Don't forget your fellow freelancers. Now and then, touch base with your peers. Meet them at the local coffee shop or, at least, drop them an occasional email. Forming relationships with other freelancers can be very helpful, when a project comes along that you've never handled and think you could, but could use some friendly advice on how. Or if someone asks you to do a project that's outside your expertise area, you can refer it to someone else.

So remember--think globally, act locally. It's more than just an environmental catchphrase.

Quotation for the Week of May 25

"I was sad because I had no shoes, until I met a man who had no feet. So I said, 'Got any shoes you're not using?'"
-- Stephen Wright

No Time to Blog? Think Again

Many business people (often, though not always, small business owners) think it takes too much time to blog. But as Laura Spencer of Business and Blogging points out, blogging doesn't have to be a time-consuming task.

B&B gives five tips for faster blogging, as well as a link to a Remarkablogger item on how to write a blog post in five minutes, along with other resources that will help blogging naysayers see that it can be less of a burden than they thought.

And Spencer's Tip #5 should not be overlooked. For those who still feel they can't do it themselves, well, that's where we can help as writers.

A Few Sour Notes About Twitter?

Laura Spencer of Business and Blogging noted yesterday that "all might not be rosy at" Twitter. It seems there have been problems with the site going down and it's generated a bit of bad press.

Spencer took a look at Twitter before this, to assess the pros and cons of using it. Her conclusion: "Twitter might be useful for some businesses, although it should not replace ordinary blogging."

Computing Your Way to a Better Story?

Fascinating news for fiction writers: it turns out, according to Paperback Writer, that there's a random plot point generator online if you're stuck for creating a plot point in your novel or script. There's also a random character generator, a generator of character descriptions, as well as a plant generator (for those of us who never go outdoors, I guess) and a science fiction medical tool generator (handy if you want to do a spec script for a show on the SciFi Channel).

I tried them all out and they work. But the results aren't terribly helpful. Plots need to grow organically. You can't just have them turn on random events (at least, not mysteries). Characters need to be created to suit plot and vice versa. If I need to identify a plant, I'll probably find it through Google. And I don't write sci fi--at least, not yet.

I think I'll just stick to relying on my own overactive imagination.

How to Wow 'em on the Web

Men with Pens has been running a highly instructive series on Web writing for the past week or so. Here's one of their posts, including links to previous entries. Well worth the reading.

Too Much of a Good Thing

We know how important it is to always market our services. When you do it long enough, it almost gets to be second nature to mention that you're a writer and you provide X services, etc., etc.

But sometimes you just have to give it a rest.

That point was brought home in this wonderful post by Donna Andrews on the Sisters in Crime blog. It was all the more wonderful for me, because I know Donna and I could clearly hear the words delivered with her characteristic dry wit and even see the twinkle in her eye.

Yes, folks, you can overdo self-promotion. And by overdoing, you're sending out the wrong kind of publicity about yourself.

Sisters in Crime, BTW, is a wonderful organization of mystery enthusiasts, with the mission of promoting women mystery authors. It's been instrumental to starting my crime writing career and I highly recommend that anyone who wants to write mysteries join the group (including all you Brothers in Crime--men are welcome as members, too).

From Tweets to Squawks

Business Week took a look at Twitter--and found out some amazing things about who's using it and how. Stephen Baker, who wrote the article, also conducted a little survey on issues related to Twitter's future. It makes interesting reading.

Thanks to the folks at MediaBistro for posting the article.

Quotation for the Week of May 18

"When everyone is against you, it means that you are absolutely wrong--or absolutely right."
-- Albert Guinon

Five Basics for Building a Solid Financial Future

That headline's a grabber isn't it? I thought so, when I was scanning the NY Times headlines today and saw the paper is starting a new column on financial management. Oh, good, I'm thinking. Five basic tips for better financial planning.

Then, I read the article. Tip #1: Investing is simple. (Really? Then, why are you starting a regular column about it?) Tip #2: It may still be worth paying for help. (Like, duh.) Tip #3: Peers may know more than professionals. (Or not.)

Perhaps you can see where I'm going with this. I posted this article not with the intent to pass along financial advice (though the column may end up being worth reading for such advice), but to make a point about what a headline promises and what your content delivers. If you're going to draw your reader in with a headline that promises "Five Ways to [Fill in Blank]," come up with something that really delivers on that promise.

Otherwise, readers can feel like they've been had.

Ask the Ethicist

Randy Cohen, who writes The Ethicist column for the NY Times, answered a question that gets raised a whole lot in the legal profession, but I'd never seen raised by a consultant until now--if you spend an hour doing research that contributes to more than one client's project, can you bill that hour to all the clients?

In the legal profession, it's called "double billing" and, when I was practicing, opinions were mixed on whether one should do it. I think the recent trend of thought on the matter is probably against it. In general, lawyers are trying to get away from the whole billable hour concept and experiment with alternatives, like flat fees.

But it's interesting to see this issue raised by a consultant. So far, none of my clients' work has presented me with such a situation. In any case, I agree with Cohen's response.

Bring on the Tiny Violins

Interesting. This is the first time I've heard anyone complain about receiving an award--and the Nobel Prize, at that. And I love the ironic point the article raises about this woman complaining about giving interviews during an interview.

We should all suffer so.

Off-line Networking? They're Still Doing That?

Now that everyone is staking out a place in MySpace, putting their face in Facebook, linking up with LinkedIn and tweeting their little hearts out on Twitter, it's nice to know that some very effective face-to-face networking is still going on.

This article by Gabe Goldberg makes an apt comparison between networking and finding information. Just as you can't find everything you need to know on the Web (ask any reference librarian), so much of your most effective marketing will be done in the real, rather than the virtual, world.

For example, I'm scheduled to meet tomorrow with a potential new client--a nonprofit organization. The client said he wanted to meet so I could see their facility and get a better idea what their organization is about. He could accomplish the same thing by emailing me photos of the place and sending me their mission statement, promo material, etc., but he wants to meet me. How quaint, right?

Thing is, I suspect that the reasons he gave and his real reasons for wanting to meet differ. I'd say he wants to meet in order to assess me face-to-face. Listen to my voice, get to know me as a person. And give me the chance to do the same.

No matter how many blogs we write, lists we post to or discussions we have online, people still get great comfort in seeing who they're doing business with in the flesh. Dealing with one another in person creates a level of trust, rapport and comfort that no online social network can really duplicate.

And I'd like to thank Nita Congress of a local freelancers networking group I'm in for sharing this article.

Addendum: on Monday, the Diane Rehm Show on NPR took a look at online social networking and its "value to members in the profit and not-for-profit worlds."

100 Percent User-Generated Content? But What About . . . Me?

For its June issue, Budget Travel decided to let readers provide all the content. Yes, the magazine solicited about 2,800 pitches from readers and hired 324 contributors, who were paid "normal fees" and travel expenses for companions--"something we don’t do for professional writers," according to editor Erik Torkells.

I was stunned to see this. Amateur writers getting paid at the magazine's usual rates to write its content? Plus companions' travel expenses? Was this bad news for the professionals who want to write for magazines? Like, the "reality TV" version of magazine journalism, in which "real people" do the writing instead of the pros? And how come they're getting paid more?! (sniff)

But not to worry. Torkells wrote in a blog post for FOLIO: "Making this issue was neither cheap nor easy."

Torkells said the issue "would’ve been a mess" without an "extraordinary amount” of editing. "Editing non-professional writers is never easy, especially when you’re asking them to write long," he said.

Whew! I feel better already.

PS--I've had the pleasure of making a guest appearance today on The Golden Pencil, where I go off on a bit of a rant about the 80-20 Rule. Please stop by and let me know your thoughts.

Enriching Your Blog Content

One of the attractions of blogging is that it can be done quickly and easily. However, the quality of your posts will reflect how much time and thought you've put into them. If you want to post something with more substance than usual, it takes a bit more effort and time.

Patsi Krakoff of Writing on the Web suggests writing "at least one rich and meaty post a week" on your blog. "Stimulate your readers to think," she says. "Be profound. Go deep."

Toward that end, she has provided "5 Ways to Enrich Your Blog Posts"--and two ways to learn more about better business blog writing.

Quotation for the Week of May 11

"Avoiding danger is no safer in the long run than outright exposure. Life is either a daring adventure, or nothing."
-- Helen Keller

Social Networks and Security, Part Deux

Just another reminder to be careful with what you share and where you click on those social networking sites.

Some experts on online security issues think there's too much personal information being freely shared online, with few guarantees that it's safe. They also think social networkers have little understanding where their information goes and how it's used, thus giving them a false sense of security.

"I suspect that there's a whole lot of clicking without a lot of thinking," according to Mary Madden, a senior research specialist at the Pew Internet & American Life Project which studies privacy issues. "So much of this sharing happens in a way that users don't see the consequences. It's kind of a big, black hole."

You could always choose to be like the gal in this cartoon--to the tune of John Lennon's "Imagine."

20 Rules for Writing a Detective Novel

Author and critic Willard Huntington Wright, who wrote under the name S.S. Van Dine and created the Philo Vance mystery series, came up with a list of no less than 20 rules for writing detective stories.

Some of them seem redundant to me, and I know a few of them have been out-and-out broken, if not actually chucked in their entirety. For instance, Rule 3 that "[t]here must be no love interest" and Rule 16 that "[a] detective novel should contain no long descriptive passages, no literary dallying with side-issues, no subtly worked-out character analyses, no 'atmospheric' preoccupations" seem rather dated given today's sleuths, with their angst-ridden relationships, unhappy childhoods and other sundry personal problems.

Even Rule 7, stating that there "simply must be a corpse in a detective novel" was violated ages ago by no less an author than Dorothy L. Sayers in Gaudy Night.

However, some of these rules (such as the notion of playing fair with the reader by providing all the clues necessary to solve the mystery) have stood the test of time. In any case, it's interesting to compare the 1920s view of the genre with today's.

Moving Outside Your Comfort Zone

This article from the NY Times about habits got me thinking about the ways we do business as freelancers, independent contractors or whatever term you prefer to call yourself.

Our brains have an amazing capacity to change--even to form new neural connections and reassign tasks from one part of the brain to the other. And we are capable of forming new habits--new ways of approaching problem-solving and getting things done.

Two authors who've written on this subject have identified "three zones of existence: comfort, stretch and stress. Comfort is the realm of existing habit. Stress occurs when a challenge is so far beyond current experience as to be overwhelming. It’s that stretch zone in the middle--activities that feel a bit awkward and unfamiliar--where true change occurs."

Successful entrepreneurs tend to be willing to push the boundaries of their comfort zones. To test unfamiliar waters. To stretch their abilities by using their skills in new (and sometimes intimidating) ways.

What are you doing to get into the stretch zone? How can you expand or improve your business by challenging yourself to do more than the usual thing? What new habit would you like to form?

Will Global Warming Change Book Publishers' Return Policies?

Authors everywhere will tell you it's the bane of a book writer's existence--the policy adopted throughout the publishing industry of allowing booksellers to simply return unsold books.

But a HarperCollins imprint is trying out a "no returns" policy. And, apparently, the rationale of lowering the industry's carbon footprint from all that shipping is winning bookstores over.

According to publisher Margo Baldwin, "In this age of global warming it's insane to be shipping books back and forth across the country for no good reason. It's just a waste of energy and, not only that, it still encourages the overproduction of books--many of which end up in landfills."

So then? Is a sea change (no pun intended) in the publishing business coming because of global warming? Maybe--and then again, maybe not.

Says Jim Milliot of Publishers Weekly, "It would require Random House or HarperCollins to develop an entirely new business model, [a]nd that is not going to happen."

Tell it, Harlan!

A tip of the hat and many thanks to The Golden Pencil for posting this wonderful video of Harlan Ellison on how writers should be paid. It really needs no further explanation. Just watch. And laugh. And say, "Yes! Yes!"

But Harlan--don't hold back next time. Tell us what you really think.

The Whole World is Watching

Given the popularity of social networks among freelancers and entrepreneurs, it seemed appropriate to point out this article from the LA Times about how unscrupulous types are using social networking sites to commit identity theft.

Now, I just know you all are too smart to be posting your SSN or other sensitive information in such a public forum, but some of the scams these people use are not so obvious. Further, I just returned from a conference of independent information professionals and learned while I was there that some of them mine social networks for competitive intelligence on people and companies.

So, a word to the wise--be careful what you post and/or click on. You never know who's out there, keeping an eye on you.

Quotation for the Week of May 4

"The road to hell is paved with adverbs."
--Stephen King