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Keep Yourself Writing

admin — Mon, 27 Feb 2012 00:00:00 +0000

If you’ve found yourself spending more time watching football on directTV lately than writing you’ve got to get back in the habit. Writers only write well when they actually write – here are a few tips for starting back up your passion:
Set Aside Time: Make sure you’re writing every single day if even just for a bit. Get a journal of some sort and make yourself write in it while you have your morning coffee- any little bit helps.
Start a Blog: Having some sort of responsibility to other people will incentivize you to write even if it’s about clothing or food or something else mundane. When you get online you’re promising other people you’ll be writing – keep that promise and watch yourself improve.
Write for Money: A number of freelance writing sites pay you for your time and that’s a great way to keep our skills sharp as well as earn some extra cash. Get online and see what other people in your field are talking about and get signed up on one of the most popular freelance sites.

How to Publish Yourself and Still Get Read

admin — Thu, 05 Jan 2012 00:00:00 +0000

With traditional book publishing options dwindling, many authors are pursuing self-publishing. The problem with publishing yourself occurs with marketing. Without the marketing budget of a big publishing house, how will you get readers for your book? For the self-publisher, there are at least three options to obtain readers.
Make sure that your book is available through all of the online book sellers. Many people purchase books online, and you will want to have an online presence other than your personal website. By using search options on book selling websites, some readers will find your book.
Another good way to find readers for your self-published work is through advertising. If your book has a niche market, find magazines whose readers have similar interests to the topic of your book. For instance, if you write a novel that has a dog in it, you can advertise your book in the many magazines available to the dog lover.
Probably the best way to gain readers for self-published materials is through friends and family. Those closest to you should be able to spread the message about your work to their network of family and friends. Word of mouth marketing by your friends and family can reach a large number of potential readers.

Five Things Every Independent Author Should Know

admin — Thu, 22 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Have a Story to Tell
Have an idea to write on paper. Read others’ work for inspiration and writing style but don’t plagiarize. Each idea should be 100 original and unique. It should be something you are proud to write.

Write & Edit
Have an ability to write. Write down your thoughts on paper. Keep those papers and gradually bring the thoughts together. The ability to type isn’t necessary but it helps if you can’t write clearly or if you want it to look more professional. Edit work, edit again and edit once more.

Listen
People already in the business have a lot to say so take their advice. Listen to criticism from peers and take it into consideration.

Promotion
Build a website. Get a book cover that will catch everyone’s attention and don’t be thrifty about it. Promote your book on social websites. Don’t promote you and the book constantly thinking you’ll get some sales. Don’t give away your copies for free or at a discount just to get noticed because you’ll end up looking desperate.

Be Patient
Success will not happen overnight. Be persistent. The goal is to have a loyal fan base. Let go occasionally to avoid burnout.

How to Publish Your Own Material

admin — Sat, 10 Dec 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Getting started as a writer may seem daunting at first, but there is a way to get your material published.

It is important to pitch your material to publishers that offer the best fit. For instance, a romance writer wouldn’t want to pitch a publishing company that focuses primarily on horror. Sending off your material to the wrong publisher will result in wasted time. A good place to start is in the bookstore. Check for material similar to your own and look in the front of the book for the publisher name. Visit the publisher webpage or purchase a book that lists the submission requirements of publishers. Send off a letter to the publisher that briefly explains your work. Include your full material with the submission letter.

Another option is to find a good agent. An agent will help explain the marketplace to you. They know the publications that might be interested in your work. More importantly, many larger publishers require that any submissions come from an agent and not the writer. This is because of the flood of submissions publishers receive; it simply isn’t possible to read every work. An agent will also know the pay rates that apply.

Top Ten Best Independent Works of Literature

admin — Mon, 28 Nov 2011 00:00:00 +0000

All works of literature are independent if the writer whose name is credited with writing the literary piece is actually the author and if the work does not depend on another work as in a series. The best work of literature is The Iliad by Homer. The Iliad is the story of the epic love that drove an entire country to war. The Odyssey is also a part of the list of the top ten best works of literature. Although the Odyssey follows the adventures of one of the participants of the Trojan War, it has nothing to do with the events recounted in The Iliad and can be said to be independent of that work.
Aesop’s Fables is one of the best independent works of literature in fables. There are other writers of fables but none have achieved the level of world wide reading and assimilation as Aesop’s Fables. Plato’s Republic is another of the best independent works of literature in philosophy. The Republic is widely read, has been translated into every language known, and is responsible for most of what passes as today’s philosophic theory. William Shakespeare has written many plays and sonnets that can be considered individually as one of the best independent works of literature and Hamlet can be considered his finest work of literature.
Isaac Asimov’s independent work, Robots and Empire is the best work in science fiction. The book has influenced every subsequent human expression in imagining science fiction events, people, robots and machines. The futuristic book is not intimidating or threatening as Brave New World by Aldous Huxley another of the world’s best independent work of literature. Another of the world’s best independent work of literature is Nineteen Eighty Four by George Orwell, the pen name of Eric Arthur Blair. The book might have been passed over as ridiculous and improbable or the delirious desires of someone who wanted London turned into a pigsty, if not for the serious writing genius of Eric Arthur Blair.
The Crucible by Arthur Miller is one of the best independent works of literature dealing with Salem, Massachusetts, and witchcraft fears which can also include a more recent book Angels and Demons by Dan Brown, a great independent work of literature.

All About the AiA: The Association for Independent Authors

admin — Fri, 12 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

The Association for Independent Authors (AiA) is a recently founded nonprofit organization of independent authors. Its vision is that independent publishing will be the first choice for all authors. Membership is currently available in several continents, with directors in four – Asia, Australia, South Africa and the United States.

Membership Grades

There are five grades of membership in the AiA:

1) Affiliate/Student: Unpublished independent writers who are interested in publishing their own work. They may eventually upgrade to member status.

2) Associate: Authors who are in the process of having their work published independently or plan to do so once their work is finished.

3) Member: Authors who have made plans to publish their own work as well as authors who previously published traditionally.

4) Fellow: Authors who have achieved exceptional service as independent authors. Members may apply for upgrade to Fellow with required documentation.

5) Consultant: Professionals in the publishing industry, such as editors, book designers, publicists, etc.

Why One Should Join AiA

Members can collaborate, share and exchange information to help one another grow in a secured environment. It gives new writers the opportunity to gain feedback and knowledge in their craft. The annual subscription rate for AiA is 50 USD.

Independent Works That Have Shaped American Literature

admin — Mon, 08 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

There have been many major writers who have helped to shape American literature. People like Edgar Allan Poe, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Walt Whitman were all very influential writers of American literature. While these prolific writers have had a huge influence on fiction over the years, there are also many great independent American writers who have done their part in shaping how humanity views the literary world.

One such writer is Cormac McCarthy. Having written many controversial works, McCarthy is truly the definition of ‘freedom of expression.’ Works of his, such as ‘No Country For Old Men’ and ‘The Road’ have brought a dry, darker view on American fiction. Many of his fans feel that he is beginning where Poe left off, startling his readers with vivid and often frightening commentary on humanity and modern society in general.

Robert Frost is another writer who, while many will debate how independent he truly is, has had a massive influence on masses of literary gurus and poetry fans alike. Frost’s poetry typically revolved around scenery, such as forests or seasonal settings. His famous poem, entitled ‘Stopping by Woods on a Snowy Evening’ is one of the most widely read poems of all time and is still taught by many teachers and professors of literature.

There are many more blooming independent writers coming up in the world today, attempting to grow their reader base and leave their mark upon the world of literature. Any lover of fiction or poetry would do well to give these new writers a chance and see what they have to offer.

Independent Publishing Houses: The Wave of the Future

admin — Wed, 03 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

With a new era of digital media available at our fingertips, major publishing companies and big-box booksellers have taken huge losses in revenue. The way that people view and shop for entertainment has changed drastically and soon it seems like many businesses in which we have taken for granted our whole lives may cease to exist. So, where does this leave our beloved literary geniuses when the time comes to get their works published?

Independent publishing houses have become the wave of the future, and not just for small-scale authors. Even major writers are beginning to take notice and have been placing a few of their works with these smaller companies. Independent publishers make fantastic use of the internet to market their authors and they have been able to gain the much needed footing to thrive in this new day and age.

Not only are these publishers able to market online with great success, they are also in a place which allows them to work more closely with each of their writers, ensuring that these creative minds put out the highest quality of work for their fans to enjoy. Indeed, independent publishers have risen up and taken the place of the mainstream, higher volume companies of the past.

A Brief History if Independent Literature

admin — Mon, 01 Aug 2011 00:00:00 +0000

Independent literature was, of course, the first literature; some ancestor decided to record an important event, and so it all began. While we can thank Johannes Gutenberg for making printing easier (and propelling the creation of a literate culture), he also enabled hasty production. In modern times, in defiance of a generation becoming rapidly paperless, book publishers are among the biggest, often oldest companies in the world.

For writers the challenge is stark: break into the ranks of the elite. Get your work published by one of the biggest and best, and you’ll have made it.

The solution for many aspiring authors is publishing independently. Not only does this allow a broader spectrum of literature to seek an audience, but it provides the audience itself with something it may otherwise never have seen at all!

In fact, we largely have the digital age to thank for enabling a number of independent scribblers to craft and publish on their own. While this new era will certainly present new challenges (they’ve barely begun legislating intellectual property violations with regards to internet access), it enables even the greenest of authors and publishers to find their audience in any corner of the civilized world.The hits keep comin’: Unbound’s Crowd-Financed, Spine-Tingling Effort To Reinvent Book Publishing