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Tuesday, July 10, 2012

Ways Of A Writer- by Karen Cole


Hopefully I know what I’m talking about, as I have some 30+ on and off years as a freelance writer, and nearly equal experience as a ghost writer and editor. Anyway, here goes: you need to worry, first and foremost, more about your readers than about your own needs. And furthermore, you need to worry about the markets for your work, if you’re planning on ever selling any of it, far more than about your desires, unless you really feel that this involves “selling out” in some way.

A lot of people, in fact, are able to meet both their own needs as writers or authors and the requirements of their publishers, agents and marketing teams. But it helps, really, to know that you have something that is saleable material, something that people will want to buy and read. You don’t want to rip off “Star Wars,” for example – a lot of people think they can bank on a craze such as the Twilight saga and capitalize on it. You need to truly offer your readers your own marketable, original material – the more original the better.

Genre writing such as vampire books may sell really well, but you have to add an original twist of your own, such as the teenage vampires twist offered by the Twilight series. This means brainstorming up your own original ideas. And please be aware that very few people make it into the “best seller” category, especially in the fiction market. Don’t set yourself up for disappointment. Instead, research your potential writing markets, and find out what they appear to need first, before you even set pen to paper. That way, you will be able best to figure out your audience and what they’re looking for.

It also helps to attend book fairs, writers’ conventions and writing seminars. Those are places where you can meet literary agents and publishers, and find out what they are looking for. You don’t have to let other people entirely determine your writing style, but it really does help to know a lot more about what people in the field are looking for before you really commit yourself to a potentially time-consuming and difficult writing project.

And lastly, do what you can to get published. This can be done quite easily sometimes; for example, you can self-publish what you think will probably be a popular book, pay to promote it or market it yourself through bookstore and library signings, maybe even touring the country to get it around by word-of-mouth – and then you have a published book. Once it’s sold a great deal of copies, you can then probably land a commercial publisher who will be willing to take over the marketing and promotions. A double win!

GHOST WRITER, INC: Karen Cole is an affordable book ghost writer, copy editor, proof reader, rewriter and book author with a team of 100+ writing field and book / screenplay workers, some of which are New York Times best-selling authors. We do inexpensive marketing, promotions and publishing or optioning assistance, and we have contacts with literary agents, commercial publishers and literary or film field professionals. We also offer ghost writers for music and composition, such as rap music and other genres, and we have ghost writing for Facebook and Twitter as well.
Written by Karen Cole-Executive Director
Ghost Writer, Inc.
www.rainbowriting.com

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