Articles

Lunar Year of the Rabbit 2023

Work Like A Writer, Think Like A Publisher

When I first began working as a professional writer (which was nearly 30 years ago, yikes!) it was all about time and money.
I was working as a freelance writer, and I’d spend hours a day researching new markets, pitching, and writing.
Right from the start, my aim was to earn $400 a day. Did I make it? Sometimes yes, sometimes no. Continue reading…

The Guaranteed Way To Write More

One of the things that many writers struggle with is finding time to write and, more importantly, getting plenty of writing done during that time.
If you’re anything like me, you read as much as you can about prolific writers and how they work, hoping that you’ll find the magic information you’re looking for; Continue reading…

Using Siri to Read My eBooks To Me

I am an avid reader and love to get immersed in a really good book, especially non-fiction books because I love to learn.
But just because I love to read it doesn’t mean that I always have the time because I’m also a hard worker both with my writing and in my household and family obligations. Continue reading…

7 Ways to Earn Money Freelance Writing You Might Not Know About

Many years ago, when I first began earning money as a writer, I found many different freelance markets. Some I knew about, but others I hadn’t considered. So I thought I’d share some of them with you here, because some writers think that the only way to earn money freelancing is by writing for clients, which is a great, but there are other opportunities out there too. Continue reading…

Six Ways to Get Started As A Writer

I recently received an email from a subscriber who had joined my email list because she wanted to work as a writer but had no idea how to start. She wanted to quit her job but like any sensible person, wanted to make sure she was earning enough money from her writing before she did. So naturally she wanted to get writing as fast as she could. Continue reading…

How To Sell More Books

Today I wanted to talk to you about selling more books because as a writer, it’s one of the most important avenues of income.
Even if you earn money writing other ways, the passive income from book sales can go on working for you every day/week/month, year after year, while you carry on with your other writing projects. Continue reading…

This One Simple Mind-Shift Can Double Your Writing Output

Sometimes it seems hard to write. You know you want to write, yet at the same time it seems so hard to sit down and start writing. Why does this happen?
All writers go through this. We love to write and yet it often seems like such a huge effort to sit down and get to work. We say we love to write, yet it’s hard to do. Continue reading…

How Being a Writer Changed My Whole Life

Being a writer is more than just being someone who sits down every day and writes lots of words. Writing is more than my job,it’s my mission.
The dictionary defines the word ‘mission’ as an undertaking, vocation, calling, pursuit, goal, purpose, quest, and duty (among other things). This is why to me, writing is so much more than what I do to earn money. Continue reading…

An Intriguing Writing Challenge

I received an email recently about a half-price sale on a whole slew of writing courses. I idly clicked through to see what was on offer and there were two that piqued my interest. I didn’t want to sign up for them, but they got me thinking.
The two that interested me were writing challenges, not courses. Continue reading…

The Truth About Writing Fast
Or…
How to Be a Prolific Writer

Writing myth 1: Writing slow means writing well.
Writing myth 2: Writing fast means writing poorly.
I’ve never known why, but many writers think that if it takes them a year or more to write a book, then it’s guaranteed to be a great book.
But here’s the truth: Writing speed has nothing to do with writing quality. Continue reading…

Think Like a Publisher, Not a Writer

One thing that surprises new writers is that if you want to do it for a living, it’s about so much more than just the writing.
Writing is the easy part (and the most enjoyable) but after that you’ll need to publish your work and market it to let everyone know it’s there.
But don’t lose heart. It’s not all bad. All you have to do is set everything up so that you can keep writing and publishing. Continue reading…