Are You Writing Enough?

One of the biggest complaints I hear from writers is that they don’t get enough writing done every day.

This is the topic of my latest article called “Where Does My Writing Time Go?”

And this problem happens every day.

You get up in the morning with high hopes and great intentions of getting plenty of writing done - writing a few articles, finishing your latest book, submitting a couple of freelance proposals.

But all of a sudden - BANG!

The day is over and although you’ve been busy all day, jumping from one task to another, you’ve barely touched your writing.

So you promise yourself that tomorrow will be different…but it never is.

If you’re experiencing this phenomena, one of the reasons for it could be that you haven’t established your preferred writing time.

We all know that having a good writing routine is important, but it wont’ help you if you're doing it at the wrong time of day.

You see some of us are morning writers, some work better in the afternoons while others are happier working in the evenings, burning the proverbial midnight oil.

I know one person who settles down to write at 9 or 10 pm every evening and keeps going till the early hours of the morning.

Admittedly he’s a late riser every day, but it doesn’t matter because he does whatever he wants all day before settling down to write again in the evening.

In the best selling book 2k to 10K, author Rachel Aaron explains how she tried different times to write and recorded her progress. To her amazement she found she was most productive in the afternoon, even though she was sure she was a morning person. And that’s how she increased her writing speed from 2,000 words/hour to 10,000.

So if you’re not getting enough writing done every day, try out a few different times to write and see if you are really a morning, afternoon or evening writer.

And if you do need to change the time of day (or evening) when you write, be prepared because it will take you out of your comfort zone and you will have to make sacrifices.

But before you know it, your new writing routine will be of such a benefit to you (as in, how much more you can get done) that you won’t mind at all.

Read more about how Rachel Aaron went from writing 2,000 an hour to 10,000 words.

Writing Competitions With Huge Cash Prizes plus Writing Markets that pay $1 a Word

Today I have for you two free-to-enter writing competitions with huge cash prizes plus a list of over 70 writing markets that are currently looking for freelance submissions AND they pay $1 a word or more.

These are huge if you're looking for a big return for your writing.

The first is the biggest. It's a competition run by Amazon.co.uk and is open to writers worldwide.

Kindle Storyteller Prize

 Amazon are looking for new books to be published as a Kindle book and a print book and the winning book author will receive ￡20,000 (GBP).

Here is a copy & paste about the competition information from their own website:

The Kindle Storyteller prize is open to submissions of new English Language books from all authors and genres. Titles must be previously unpublished, a minimum of 5,000 words with no upper word limit and be available as an eBook and in print.
All new entries must be submitted using Kindle Direct Publishing, a fast, free and easy way for authors to keep control and publish their books. They receive up to 70 per cent royalties on their work. To enter the contest, authors need to include the exact phrase “StorytellerUK2017” in the “keywords” metadata field and enroll their book in KDP Select.

So what they're looking for are previously unpublished books that are at least 5,000 words in length.

The Storyteller contest is open until 19th May 2017.

The winning author to receive £20,000 cash prize and be recognized at a central London award ceremony this summer.
https://amazon.co.uk/storyteller 

The Nick Darke Writers' Award 2017

This is another great writing competition and it's funded by Falmouth University's Academy of Music and Theatre Arts, and the School of Writing & Journalism. The Award commemorates the playwright Nick Darke who earned his living writing in the world of theatre, screen and radio.

This competition is open to all national and international writers aged 16 or over.

Applicants should submit a full stage play script (minimum 45 mins in length with no maximum) along with a one-page synopsis.

All submissions should be entered anonymously, do not include a name, address, phone number or email on the script or synopsis.

First prize is £6,000.

The closing date for entries is 17:00 (GMT) Wednesday 31 May 2017.
https://www.falmouth.ac.uk/nickdarkeaward

70 Publications That Pay $1 a Word
~ And They’re Looking for Writers
This is a huge HUGE list of high-paying publications that are all currently looking for writers. They all pay $1 a word or more or a flat fee of $500.

So take a look and get your creative juices flowing and submit to as many as you can.

Just don't forget that publications that pay high rates to writers are looking for top quality work.
http://www.theinternationalfreelancer.com/1-a-word/

Stop Listening To Others And Start Writing And Earning More

I spend a lot of my time learning about how to earn money from writing.

I learn through emails, podcasts, books and articles, all giving me different advice  such as, I should email more often, use social media more, use forums, write more blog content, make videos, use different daily routines, up my words per hour, use a special writing place…and the list goes on.

Everything I learn from all contains different advice (often about the same thing) but there are some golden nuggets of information contained in a lot of them.

Each of the people giving advice are usually telling me what works for them.

But everyone is different so what works for one person doesn’t necessarily work for all.

As an example, Ben Settle (who is a self confessed email expert) says it’s better to email daily. But he is brilliant at writing short, pithy emails that hold attention. I, on the other hand, don’t have this talent so when I followed his advice, I failed.

But he was right about one thing, which is that everyone needs to know how to do copy writing because we all need to sell our books. But sending out daily emails just doesn’t work for me.

So in the end I recently decided that although I’ll continue to listen to podcasts and read as much as I can about writing and earning money, I will ignore most of the advice and do what I do best.

Writing.

Just writing.

In my own time.

My own way.

This make me happier and more productive.

There is a lot of advice out there that also tells me that I should have a strict writing routine so that every day I sit down and write certain things, like an hour writing my book, an hour writing blog posts, an hour doing marketing, etc.

But that’s not how I roll.

I’m an all-or-nothing person. Once I start working on something I like to see it through to the end rather than jumping around from project to project.

So that’s how it’s going to be.

Having said that, on days when I don’t feel motivated to write, I use the Pomadoro Technique so that I do actually sit down and get some work done.

But I like to work my way.

And so should you.

But never stop learning.

Just decide what works for you and what doesn’t.

And ignore the rest.

Changing How I Work So I Can Write More Books

Over the years I've earned money from my writing in several ways.

I sell affiliate products, advertising, sell my own books and do freelance writing work.

But lately I've had a yearning to only do the type of writing that I love the most.

And that is writing books.

Not only is it the type of writing I prefer to do, but also it provides more income in the long term and is also passive income which means that once a book is written, it can go on earning money while I get on with other projects.

I earn money from every book I write, but the same cannot be said for the other ways in which I make money from writing.

For instance, I have no control over the products that I sell for other people and sometimes products are withdrawn while I'm in the middle of promoting them.

Only recently I was promoting a product by doing article marketing when suddenly it was withdrawn from the affiliate network and was instead only sold by the owner. So then I had to go through all my articles and change the link to another similar product or unpublish the articles. Such a waste of time.

Freelance writing also involves a lot of pitching with very few offers. That's not to say it's not worth doing because most assignments are worth several hundred dollars if I can land them, but constant pitching can feel frustrating at times, and it's unpaid work.

And advertising doesn't always work. Some ads are popular while others attract no attention at all and so just sit there taking up valuable space on my websites.

But writing books is what I love to do and because it's something I enjoy, I'm more motivated to do it and so I'm much more productive when I do sit down to write.

So if you have a favourite type of writing that you love to do, plan to do more of it.

It can be any type of writing that appeals to you including copywriting, article writing, blogging, ebooks, fiction script writing, comedy writing...you choose.

Then buy whatever you need to help you and learn as much as you can.

And then write.

And then write some more.

Write Any Book In Just 28 Days...Or Less

I know this course works because I've done it. I love this ebook because it really does take you through writing your book in a month.

http://ruthiswriting.com/links/writequickly.html

Why I'm Unpublishing One of My Ebooks

I have several ebooks published for writers. But sadly I'm having to retire one of them and so I've "unpublished."it.

If you're an affiliate of mine then you need to remove any links to this ebook that you have on your website.

The ebook in queston is E-Publish and Be Damned!

I'm not retiring this book because it's not selling, but rather because the information it contains has now become somewhat outdated.

You see, recently Amazon changed it's layout for Kindle accounts AND they now also made it possible to publish print books through your Kindle account too.

So naturally, this renders all the information in my ebook about Kindle publishing as outdated.

There are also more changes to come with Kindle Print publishing because it's still in the beta stage so more options and services will be added in the not-to-distant future. So it's no good updating my ebook because the way Amazon operates these accounts keeps changing.

Also opening and using a Kindle Publishing account is now really easy with plenty of help and guidance along the way.

If you want to publish through an Amazon Kindle account (which now includes POD publishing too, all in the one account) then all you have to do is go to kdp.amazon.com and sign up.

It's quick to do, simple and free.

Setting up an account with Amazon costs you nothing and your books and ebooks are made available worldwide. And in the US (currently the only country allowed) KIndle ebooks can be loaned through public libraries, although so far there is no mention of payment to the authors for this service which is understandably starting to get under a few people's skin.

So although my ebook has been withdrawn from sale, you can still quickly and easily sell all your books and ebooks through one Amazon account.

And it doesn't get any easier than that.

Kindling - Ignite The Fire Under Your Kindle Publishing Dreams

This is a free ebook all about working as a published Kindle author. 

If you've ever dreamed of writing and publishing books for a living, 

this ebook will show you how you can do it. 

Download it now and start living your dream as a published author.

http://cheritonhousepublishing.com/free_ebooks/Kindling.pdf

Latest Writing Resources

Today I have a list of resources to help you write more and earn more, including a writing competition with huge cash prizes.

Take a look at what is currently on offer and see what inspires you.

An Introduction to Screenwriting - free online course
Screenplays form the starting point for most dramatic films, the essential work from which all other filmmaking flows. All of the tender romance, terrifying action and memorable lines begin at the screenwriter’s desk. This free online course will introduce you to the basic elements and key concepts behind a professional screenplay.
Starts: 8 May 2017. Duration 2 weeks. Time: 3 hours per week.
https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/screenwriting

The Writer Creative Writing Competition
The advice is always to write about what you know, right? So what could be better than to craft a story around a writer? The theme is open to interpretation. Make it amusing, serious, contemplative or mysterious. We don’t mind. Just bring your main character to life.  You don’t have to use the photo depicted here if you prefer to craft a character of your own making. Just make sure that your character is larger than life and your story is unique and an enjoyable read. You have 1200 words or less including the title – which should be The Writer.
Closing date: April 10th 2017. Entry fee: £3.50. Open to writers worldwide.
http://creativecompetitor.com/creative-writing-competitions/creative-writing-competitions-2017/writing-competitions-january-february-2017/writing-competitions-march-april/writer-creative-writing-competition/

Kindle Scout
Kindle Scout is reader-powered publishing for new, never-before-published books. It’s a place where readers help decide if a book gets published. Selected books will be published by Kindle Press and receive 5-year renewable terms, a $1,500 advance, 50% eBook royalty rate, easy rights reversions and featured Amazon marketing.
https://kindlescout.amazon.com

Breaking into Copywriting
Whether you're an aspiring screenwriter, novelist or playwright, or even just an avid reader, with Screenwriters University new course, you can turn your love for words into a lucrative career as a professional copywriter. With the explosion of the Internet, the need for creative copywriters who can craft compelling advertising has skyrocketed. And because most companies across all sectors need marketing content, copywriting is a virtually recession-proof career choice.
Breaking into Copywriting with Screenwriters University

Creating Subtext in Your Dialogue
In this new week-long intensive at Screenwriters University, first watch and discuss (via discussion boards) a two-part video lecture and a third bonus lecture exploring what subtext is, why it's imperative to avoid "on-the-nose" dialogue, and the 12 dialogue techniques successfully utilized in popular films. Then, apply those techniques to creating a scene in which two characters express their love for each other without ever saying the words "I Love You."
Creating Subtext in Your Dialogue at Screenwriters University

How to Pitch a Script
With How to Pitch a Script, Hollywood Insider Kathie Fong Yoneda is your go-to expert for teaching you how to pitch a script. She will share the best and most effective ways to prepare, pitch, and present a script! After you've taken this course you will be prepared and have the confidence to meet and greet the people who assist in your big break or take your career to the next level.
Pitch & Presentation: How to Pitch a Script

Seven Weeks to Your TV Spec Script Workshop
In this new workshop beginning on March 23, writers will learn all the key elements to a successful "episodic spec," and will receive ongoing instructor guidance in building their own, from basic idea through finished outline. It begins with knowing how to choose the right kind of show to spec, then understanding which elements to study, in order to really grasp how a typical episode functions well enough to write one. Students will then learn the elements of great story ideas for a spec, and be given a chance to pitch and re-pitch multiple ideas for their episode, before finally settling on one to write.
Seven Weeks to Your TV Spec Script Workshop

Advanced Sitcom Rewriting Course
In Advanced Sitcom Rewriting, an established screenwriter can look over your ENTIRE screenplay and give you tips on how to polish it. Whether you are writing a spec script or an original pilot, this workshop offers you tools to polish up your script for eyes in Hollywood!

This four-week workshop is broken up into two sessions that each focus on individual elements of the rewriting process. Each session, you will submit a section of your screenplay for review. Each session will also have focused lectures that help you on each step of your revision process.
Advanced Sitcom Rewriting Course

Finish Your Book in 2017 Premium Collection
Finding the motivation, time, and energy to finish your book can be difficult for even the most seasoned writer. In this premium collection, you will get step-by-step instructions and practical techniques for developing plots, staying motivated and managing competing priorities during the novel writing process. Experts will give you helpful hints to inspire you to write better than ever before so you can not only finish your novel in 2017, but get the attention of agents and publishers all while maintaining a healthy work-life balance.
Finish Your Book in 2017 Premium Collection at Writer's Digest Shop

How To Develop Psychological Backstories For Your Characters
At the conclusion of this course you will have gone through the process of developing psychological backstories for your protagonist and supporting characters. You will also have created an environment in which your characters come to life as their personalities either mesh with their environment or thrive in spite of it. In this course you will learn from an actual psychologist with production experience.
How To Develop Psychological Backstories For Your Characters at Screenwriters University