Explore Writingliterature

Wednesday Writing Weekly #58: How to Find a Literary Agent If you want to get a book traditionally published, you will need a literary agent. Literary agents provide authors with representation for pitching their books to publishers, negotiating contracts, and providing guidance for the evolution your book will experience through the querying, editing, and publishing process. If you do not know where to begin, I want to share some of my favorite ways to find a literary agent. What is a literary agent? A literary agent will represent an author’s book to potential publishers. This is a step in the traditional publishing roadmap. Literary agents take on projects they are passionate about and think have a chance of marketable success. Literary agents will submit your finished manuscript to a variety of publishers and will help you through the negotiations, questions, and even auctions, as necessary. Something to keep in mind is that literary agents usually take about 15% of the book’s

WWW # 54 Romantic Interruptions: A Closer Look into a Favorite Romantic Trope I have a love hate relationship with romance books. I'll be up front—I adore both cute and steamy slow burns but I'm not a fan of instant love situations. While they can be good, I'm not behind the “he's so hot which means I'm deeply attracted” cliché without another reason. Do you need another reason for a hookup? Not at all! That works fine, but reading about such stories is boring to me. Today's article is an opinion piece on the romantic interruptions trope that is often the backbone of romance novels. It's necessary. It's important. But geez, why does it have to be so repetitive! The purpose of these interruptions is to stop the characters from their first kiss, from hooking up, or from advancing the relationship and discussing their feelings for plot. This stretches out the tension and aggravates the reader as we wish and read faster, hoping that these things will finally happen despite all the

WWW #55 Red Flags for Buyers When Looking for A Writer pt. 2 If you are looking for a writer to write a story for you, you will want to make sure they are dependable, communicative, and qualified to work on your project, so you are happy with the results. But what do you look for when navigating different kinds of services from different people? Today I want to provide more tips on what buyers should be looking out for when searching for freelance writers. This advice works well both ways for sellers and writers but before I say more, let's read on! No Responses or Slow Messaging If you are running a business, you might be busy. It's hard to respond to messages and emails all at once but if you are the buyer trying to reach out to a new writer for the first time and you don't hear back from them right away... you're going to look somewhere else. Generally, for any service that you're purchasing you want to buy from someone who is communicating with you frequently and is easy to get

Wednesday Writing Weekly #56 Traditional Publishing and Where to Start I often hear the question, “how do I get published?” Anyone asking this can be coming from different places in their career as a writer or as someone looking into writing for the first time. The best place to start is with research but I want to provide a small overview (for those considering traditional publishing) about what to be aware of when planning to submit a book for publication. To get started, consider this: do you submit your manuscript straight to the publisher or have you ever heard of a literary agent? If you don’t know the answer… keep on reading! Ways to Get Published With Traditional Publishing There are two main ways to break into traditional publishing with a represented or unrepresented manuscript submission. Unrepresented Manuscript Submissions: This is when a writer represents their own work and submits directly to a publisher. This is very common with small presses and indie publishing

Wednesday Writing Weekly #45 Take a Break When writing, do you want to know a great way to benefit your process? Stop writing! I know, this sounds ridiculous, but there are many benefits to putting your pencil down, to stop typing, and take a break. Let’s explore some and be sure to share with me ways taking a break has helped you. Take a Break Before we begin, what do I mean by “take a break?” Let’s say you are sitting at your computer typing. I want you to stand up, stretch, move, get some water, and spend a little bit of time off screen. Depending on what you like, there are many ways to take a break. I personally like to go outside for a walk to refresh. If I’m having trouble with dialogue, I’ll go to a park or cafe and people watch for inspiration. Maybe call a friend, catch up with family, or do something you have been putting off. All these activities will help you relax and be ready to work when you start writing again. Overdoing it and exhausting yourself does not make the

Wednesday Writing Weekly #49 Bite Sized Writing Tips #2 One night, well past midnight, I was lying awake in bed thinking about writing. As I plan advice articles, I sometimes feel the need to just share random tidbits of information. Is it just a way to keep myself entertained? Maybe. Is it a good way to share some advice? I like to think so! Here are three writing tips to help you evaluate and evolve your craft. Aesthetically Pleasing Writing Very often I see writing guides created online recommending a step dedicated to picking your book’s aesthetics. This is a leap into the detailed act of world building. Creatives may browse online for ideas, create mood boards from Pinterest, and plan what details will appear in their story. This is fun to do but I always want to pop in and say pretty and aesthetically pleasing writing is only one fraction of the work. The most important part of a story is the development of your plot and characters. A gorgeous ascetic but a thread bare story

WWW Buyers Beware: Writers’ Red Flags pt. 1 Just as writers should look out for certain red flags and warnings when finding work, buyers should also be on the lookout for red flags when hiring writers. How do you tell if someone is trustworthy or will provide you with a good service if you have never worked with them before? I hope to touch on a few common topics as well as industry standards that you should be able to expect when working with a writer. I will be focusing mostly on commission based freelancing work. Messy Commissions When searching for a writer to hire for a writing commission order, you will want to read their commission services information but what happens if that information is all over the place and an absolute mess? You might think, “it’s their services info… not their actual writing,” but this really speaks to the quality of their work. Here are some things to look out for: Unorganized and Chaotic Info: This makes the writer, and their services, look bad. It

Wednesday Writing Weekly #64 Adverbs Do you know what an adverb is? If you do, did you know there are many different categories to recognize how they may modify a verb? Learning about grammar and punctuation is a great way to improve your work as a writer. Very often I see the classic, “if my writing is good and the reader enjoys it, my grammar and punctuation doesn’t matter.” I understand the sentiment that a good story is a good story, but if you have errors all throughout the text, it will disrupt the reading experience. Also, if you can improve your writing in any way, why not try to do so? Let’s learn about adverbs, the different kinds, and how they can both help and hurt your writing. What are Adverbs? Adverbs are adjectives modified by the suffix of -ly. This can make a regular adjective like “soft” modify a verb or action in the form of “softly.” See how “soft” can have a different meaning with the new ending. “I softly pet the soft cat.” The adverb shows how soft the action

Writing Wednesday Weeklies: Literature Tips for DeviantART.com Posting and sharing your work online can be scary but what happens when you post it and after all that work, build up, and effort… no one sees it? Posting can be a crap shoot. While I cannot recommend a “get thousands of views on your deviations!” kind of tip, I want to share some ways you can potentially get more eyes on your work and how your current posting habits might be hurting your chances. This article is for my fellow deviants and writers on DeviantArt.com, but when it comes to posting your work anywhere, I think some of these points might help you! Break Up Large Posts Have you ever thought of ways you can post your story to get it noticed by more people? If you post your story all at once, then you have only one chance for your followers to see it. But what if you consider breaking up large posts into multiple parts or chapters to be uploaded on different days? Most posts are viewed the day you originally

Hey People of the Internet! I'm opening up writing commissions for money via paypal. $5 per 1000 words. I'm open to any fandom or original content. I can also do NSFW stuff. I have plenty of free time to work with you and would love to hear your ideas so I can make them into a reality. If you are interested, shoot me a message and I'll get back to you right away.

This post was uploaded early for subscribers on 6/27/23 Wednesday Writing Weekly #48 Types of Poetry: The Limerick Have you ever written a poem? There are many ways to start. You can begin by just writing whatever comes to mind. You can pick out a type of poetry or poem structure and follow those guidelines, or you can invent a whole new style yourself. I used to be the type of person who didn’t understand why you would write in a particular structure such as a villanelle or a haiku. Wouldn’t that be restrictive to stick to a certain style? It wasn’t until my undergrad years in a poetry workshop class where I learned that using different structures just helps to frame what you are working on and in a way, inspires and challenges your writing to blossom even more, compared to just freely writing a poem in freeform. To celebrate the many ways you can write a poem, let’s learn about Limericks. Poetry Lingo Stanza: A set of lines in one paragraph of a poem. Line: One line or

Wednesday Writing Weekly 101: How I Made $100,000.00 as a Freelance Writer Back in 2019, I read an article titled, “The Truth About Earning $15,000 a Month as a Writer.” It was by Shaunta Grimes, who was exposing how she made $15,000 a month. She talked about multiple income streams, the importance of focusing on your writing, and showed that yes, “Duh!” writers can make money but not in only one way or by a single revenue stream.   As I enter the sixth year of my freelance writing business, I have reached a particular milestone I would have thought IMPOSSIBLE if you asked me about it a few years ago.     I made $100,000.00… writing.   While that is not a good amount when spread out over five years, it is also an amount I never thought possible after being told by strangers, those I thought closest to me, and family, that I could never be a writer and I would never be able to have a stable job, insurance, or a paycheck. I’m happy to say, I have all three and I want to take this

She was unafraid, for he was unaware of her presence. She was resolute in this belief. Across the vast expanse from her village to the fern grove, she trailed him like a shadow. How she loathed him… yet her fear for him was even greater. Countless times she was tempted to turn back, admitting the futility of her mission. Yet the bitterness and anguish of her loss consumed her. Revenge— that was the sole antidote, the only way to reclaim the life she once had. To rise with the dawn, to wash in the river beside their cottage, to break bread with her family, and then to join her father in the fields, assisting him with the harvest, sowing, reaping, sowing... But her family was no more. Her father was gone. And the architect of this tragic fate now treaded on, shadowed by her, spreading death wherever he ventured. "Just like now," a thought darted through her mind. Indeed, in the path of her quarry stood an imposing figure of a man, clad in what seemed like sturdy and formidable armor.

Tiyan & Lorian Story #2 Commissioned by: @winter-unseelie Written by: Danni Lynn Word Count: 1,700 words October 17th, 2023 Heavy snow covered the boreal forest with blankets of rolling drifts, and long teeth-like icicles that hung from open boughs. A soft sprinkle of snowflakes dripped down from the dark sky as two figures made their way through the snow. In the lead was the tall fae lord, Lorian. The silky curls of his black hair were slick against his forehead as perspiration and a mix of powdered snow crowded his brow. His silver coronet was visible just under the peak of his hood and his dark eyes reflected the blue and gray nighttime shadows circled the piled snow around them. Tiyan followed in Lorian’s footsteps, carefully stepping in the path he broke through the fresh snow, to save the effort of trudging through the deep drifts himself. Burdened by a backpack and wrapped up in a warm coat, Tiyan eyed the surrounding forest, checking over his shoulder every few steps. He

Knowing too much will limit me Knowing too little will limit me Knowing enough may be enough A limitless world yet condensed in limited time Pushing myself to my limit Yet not knowing where that limited may be Or even thinking I have reached my limit I myself am unlimited But with a limited lifespan With limited abilities And limited knowledge I can expand and broaden that limited space But with limited time that costs a limited life Having to make choices and decision that make me With unlimited choices and decisions I can make Like a world full of unlimited resources But used in ways that limit its potential Becoming a limited source Even these words have it's limits to tell the truth and our feelings But the feeling itself and the truth of the matter will stand limitless Ending off in a limited manner of which I can write Limitless words to use but am limited to what I can tell Feeling limited, yet not

WWW # 78 Writing Commissions Tips Launching Writing Commissions Tips and Tricks I’ve been selling writing commissions on DeviantART since 2019. It started out as a curiosity. Could I sell fiction? Would anyone want me to write for them? I was gung-ho on graduating college and diving into the writing world (business-writing, B2B, copywriting, journalism…) but I never would have guessed that those little 100-word fiction commissions would turn into my fulltime job later in 2021. I hope to soon celebrate my 400th commission within these next few weeks. Looking back, there were many things I didn’t know how to do in the beginning. Setting prices felt impossible, planning orders was a massive undertaking, and how did I protect both myself and my client from making them feel comfortable with my work and also weeding out anyone trying to scam me? In today’s article, I’m going to list a few helpful tips for the most important things you need to think about when setting up your own writing

Wednesday Writing Weeklies #71 Writers’ Rights If you are trying to publish a book, are negotiating a contract, or want to copyright your work… do you know where to start? I’ll give you a hint, that last part was a trick! I imagine we have all heard of contracts, copyright, and have worried about our rights as authors of our works at one time. Did you know if you are the writer of a piece, you do not need to copyright it because you, the author, are already the sole owner of that idea? You own those rights unless you give them away to someone else! Writers’ Rights: The Types Copyright: Legal rights to an intellectual property. Granted by federal law and gives copyright to authors in a tangible on-paper way. Authors do not have to apply for copyright of their own work. This can automatically be called, “literary rights,” or “author rights.” Now you know what copyright means, what does it really mean? What are you allowed to do when you are the author of a work (who holds the rights

What is the Difference Between Indie-Publishing and Traditional Publishing Publishing a book is hard. No matter what route you chose (or what one works out for you) it is important to know what the difference is between indie and traditional publishing. Whether you want to attempt both or are weighing the pros and cons to see what one is the best fit for you, there is a lot to think about! What is Traditional Publishing? Traditional publishing is the term used when discussing publishing within the publishing industry. The publishing industry is made up five main publishing houses (and thousands of others!) where your book’s, marketing, editorial work, editing, and more all happen. These books, once published, can be found virtually anywhere and in any store, depending on their distribution. The usual process is to query a literary agent for representation, the agent will pitch your books to traditional publishers, and then the publishing houses will either outright purchase or bid

(This post was uploaded early on 6/27/23 for subscribers. The public version was uploaded on 7/5/23) Wednesday Writing Weeklies #46 How to Plan a Story When writing a story, there are many ways to start. You can start writing without any direction, you can make an outline, or do all the above and just go for it. When I get a brand-new idea, I usually write it all down in one go. This is how I make sure I don’t forget anything, and I get all my ideas on the page. Next, I build an outline. Today, I want to show you how I come up with a simple outline! The Character I always start with a character first. I pick a name, age, and their personality. This can be random, it can have meaning... whatever you like! Character Name: Lizzie Madison Age: 24 Personality: Chipper, thoughtful, overwhelmed Next, what do you think I should pick? You might be thinking about what she wears, what she likes to eat, maybe how she talks... but I want to guide you to something even more important. What

Wednesday Writing Weekly #70 Writing and Contracts When I first started my writing business in 2019, I was terrified of contracts. Not because I didn’t want to follow any rules but more so because I didn’t understand exactly what they did for both me, the writer, or the client. Contracts are here to help outline what is being worked on, what is expected, when it will be done, and when it will be sent to the client. Documenting the agreed upon work is just as important as a receipt! Invoices, contracts, or terms of service documents are essential in a business. They’ve both helped me, and I’ve been scammed by them so to help you all wrap your heads around these ideas, let’s talk about some documents you might find in the writing world. What is a Contract? A contract is an agreement between two parties. The essential information you may find on a contract is the information of those two parties, a list of services or products being created or delivered within this project, the expected

Time and again, he cautioned himself against gazing downwards, yet his eyes, as if possessed, would invariably descend into the deepening abyss that he treaded upon. Would it have truly been worthwhile to traverse to the frigid pinnacle through snow-clad plains, fraught with their inhospitable denizens, to scale the icy facades of the mountains, courting imminent death, and to penetrate the lifeless city in pursuit of those elusive artifacts unseen by any, but whispered of by many? "If tales of it exist, then veracity must be within them. But, how much do words exaggerate the tangible truth?" he mused, seeking solace whilst pressing his back against the frost-laden slope of the legendary Peak. From the times of the Great Land Division, no mortal had ventured to the plains of Freezenhire, bordered to the east and south by what once stood as a capital but now was a spectral, desolate city at the feet of the Ice Summits. At its most exalted peak rested a cavern, morphed into a