What Do Agents Look For? Great Writers, Great Professionals

ninaamir — Sun, 08 Nov 2009 11:57:04 -0800

Nonfiction writers looking for traditional book publishing contracts—wanting to sell their manuscripts to small, medium or large traditional publishing houses, need to find themselves literary representation. While finding an agent may not be necessary for many small publishing houses that accept unagented work, most mid-sized and large publishing houses, indeed, only accept agented book ...

10 Ways to Build Your Author Platform Online

ninaamir — Sat, 07 Nov 2009 10:07:01 -0800

As mentioned in yesterdays WNFiN post, when a publisher or acquisition editor examines a prospective author's nonfiction book proposal, he or she will look long and hard at a number of things that have little to do with that writer's writing. In particular, purchase of a manuscript depends to a great extent upon a proposal section called the "Author's Platform." If ...

The Five Biggest Questions Publishers Ask Before They Will Buy Your Manuscript

ninaamir — Fri, 06 Nov 2009 11:18:12 -0800

I know we’ve only just hit day number six, but it’s time to get into the real nitty-gritty of nonfiction writing: the business end of book publishing. (I warned you we would!) If you’re going to write a nonfiction book, you must be sure you have a marketable product. (This is true of articles, too, but we're going to talk about books today.) While fiction writers also must be sure their ...

How to Earn More and Work Less by Managing the Rights to Your Articles and Considering the World Your Market

ninaamir — Thu, 05 Nov 2009 09:15:32 -0800

My writing roots are grounded in magazine journalism, and I still spend a good bit of my time each year writing articles for a variety of publications. I have a monthly gig writing an article for a trade magazine, and I try to write a variety of articles related to my interests and to the books I am writing and trying to get published. (I do the latter as a way to build "platform" and ...

Creative Nonfiction: How to Stay Out of Trouble

ninaamir — Wed, 04 Nov 2009 08:45:35 -0800

If, like me, you enjoy journalistic endeavors, but you also enjoy the more literary side of writing, you might want to try your hand at a piece of creative nonfiction this month. If offers a journalist with a fiction-like flair to have some fun while still reporting on true events.However, creative nonfiction writers must know the rules of this genre or risk getting themselves in a world of ...

How to Land a Nonfiction Magazine Assignment… And Get Asked to Write a Second Article When You’re Done

ninaamir — Tue, 03 Nov 2009 10:10:59 -0800

During this month, we will explore a variety of nonfiction forms. For the next few days, however, we will take a closer look at journalistic endeavors. Many nonfiction writers have aspirations of writing for newspapers or magazines. Plus, many authors of nonfiction books find it necessary at times to write journalistic pieces to establish themselves as experts in their field or to publicize their ...

Coaxing Creativity Into Your Writing Life

ninaamir — Mon, 02 Nov 2009 09:48:52 -0800

Day two of Write Nonfiction in November has dawned. Are you feeling the pressure of moving forward with your nonfiction writing project? Are you fingers sitting over the keyboard and...not moving? Do you know what you want to write but are you having trouble getting the words to flow? Or are you having difficulty even figuring out what project to tackle during this month's challenge or coming up ...

It’s November 1: Let the Business of Nonfiction Writing Begin!

ninaamir — Sun, 01 Nov 2009 08:50:09 -0800

Are your hands posed over the keyboard ready to begin? Are you waiting, as if for the gun to go off so you can start writing your book, e-book, article, essay, query letter, proposal, or whatever work of nonfiction you’ve chosen to create during the Write Nonfiction in November (WNFiN) 2009 challenge? No need to wait. There’s no starter's gun or whistle for this challenge. It’s well past ...

It’s Almost Time to Take the Write Nonfiction in November Challenge…Are You Ready?

ninaamir — Sat, 31 Oct 2009 15:32:52 -0700

Today is October 31st, but I’m not writing this post to wish you a Happy Halloween. I’m writing it to remind you that it’s almost time…to for the beginning of the third annual Write Nonfiction in November (WNFiN) challenge! If putting on a costume and eating candy helps you write, so be it. If hoarding your candy from tonight’s trick or treating escapades allows you to tempt yourself ...

I declare November “National Writing Month”

ninaamir — Fri, 23 Oct 2009 11:45:08 -0700

November revolves around writing, and, like the Thanksgiving holiday celebrated during this month, that's something for which to be grateful.First, it was named National Novel Writing Month by Chris Baty, who began in 1999 with 21 San Francisco Bay Area friends writing a novel in 30 days. Of the 21, six of them succeeded that month in completing a novel, which they defined as 50,000 words—the ...

Gearing up for Write Nonfiction in November - Don't Miss this Teleseminar!

ninaamir — Thu, 15 Oct 2009 22:10:21 -0700

October is half over...That means it's almost November. Time, once again, for Write Nonfiction in November! Whoo hoo!I didn't manage to post a blog last month. I was too busy setting up some really great guest bloggers for this year's challenge. You'll be so pleased with the line up!And, to get things rolling, tomorrow you can listen to me talk about Write Nonfiction in November on The National ...

News for POD Publishers and Those Wanting to Self-Publish: Amazon/BookSurge Issues Still in Court

ninaamir — Thu, 27 Aug 2009 09:11:49 -0700

Has anyone been wondering what ever happened with the Amazon/Booksurge issue? Remember, Amazon wanted all Print-on-Demand (POD) publishers to use its subsidiary, BookSurge, to print their books or else...or else it would turn off the "buy" buttons for those books on Amazon.com? And remember, BookLocker filed an antitrust lawsuit against Amazon? Well, the saga continues...and that's ...

Why Writers (or This Writer) Would Rather Stick to Writing than Speaking

ninaamir — Wed, 29 Jul 2009 11:43:43 -0700

I became a writer simply because I love to write. However, as a nonfiction writer with aspirations of becoming a published book author, I’m often asked to do something other than what I love to do. I’m asked to speak.You see, typically these days a nonfiction writer like myself needs more than just a good idea and good writing skills to get a book published by a medium or large publishing ...

Don’t Let Your Mood Stop You From Writing

ninaamir — Tue, 09 Jun 2009 23:43:18 -0700

Seven Tips for Getting Past Depression and Discouragement andBack to Joyous and Passionate Writing Today I’m depressed. I’m dejected. I’m discouraged. I’ve had trouble getting the contributions I need for the book I’m compiling and which must be completed in a few weeks. When my new book contract didn’t arrive after three months of waiting, I contacted the publisher. ...

Editing for Word Count Improves Your Writing

ninaamir — Thu, 28 May 2009 01:40:40 -0700

I tend to be a fairly verbose writer. My husband actually calls me “The Queen of Verbosity.” Yes, I can write a lot in a short amount of time. I admit it.When I’m working on assignment, I often find that I have exceeded my 1, 500-word article requirement, for example, by at least double – if not triple the words. This may happen when I simply have researched so thoroughly that I have too ...