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Need a Book Blurb? 6 Steps to Getting an Awesome Endorsement

It’s a good time to be a book lover. With more than 32 million books listed on Amazon, there is no shortage of choice for readers.

Those same stats, however, are stacked against authors.

With the average reader finishing only an estimated 15 books a year (and many picking up far fewer), you’ve got to squeeze through a pretty fine filter for a reader to pick your book over someone else’s.

With competition this fierce, high-profile blurbs and endorsements are more important than ever to build your book’s credibility and visibility. Reader reviews are great, but they’re no substitute for praise from a bestselling author or high-profile leader in your field.

You need a few good blurbs to help convince readers to pick up your book.

If you’re working with a publisher, they may assemble an information package for you to send out to potential contributors, or even handle the collection of blurbs themselves. But most authors are their own marketing department.

Even if you’ve got the support of a publisher, don’t leave it to them to solicit contributions without your input. Leveraging your direct — and even indirect relationships — will get a better response than an anonymous request from a publishing house ever could.

Here are my top tips for getting the right blurbs for your book.

1. Aim high

To trigger actual sales, your blurbs need to come from people your audience knows and respects. They fall into four camps:

Bestselling authors

Name recognition trumps perfect alignment of subject matter, although it’s best if your contributors are strong in both respects.

High-profile experts

If they aren’t a household name, their title and organization must be. Think heads of large organizations and CEOs of major corporations.

For example, a blurb from the director of cancer research at a major hospital would carry some weight. Your family doctor, not so much.

Journalists

If a reporter likes your book, they may give you a blurb even if they can’t do a full review. And if you’re successful at landing pre-publication press, of course you can pick out the best line for the book jacket.

This doesn’t have to come from a literary reviewer or books editor. Depending on your subject matter, the endorsement of a health or tech reporter would have even more impact, as long as they’re affiliated with a credible media outlet.

If a journalist has written and published a full review of your book, they should expect that you’ll want to use their words on your book’s jacket or in its praise pages. You don’t strictly need to obtain their permission to do so, but it’s good practice to run the cut-down quote past them, as a courtesy (and as a thank you!).

Straight-up celebs

Maybe we shouldn’t care what a movie star thinks, but we do. People are shallow. Send inquiries to their publicists. If you’re writing about a pet interest of theirs, they might just say yes.

Start working on your dream list of blurb-writers as early as possible. Who’s name would you love to see on your book jacket?

2. Work your contacts

Sometimes the greatest rewards can be found closest to home.

Tap any high-profile professional contacts you might have first, of course, but don’t be shy about putting the word out through family and friends too.

If someone you know has a connection to a high flier, ask them if they would mind passing your manuscript along. And of course, put it out to social media. People are more helpful than you might give them credit for, but you won’t get anything if you don’t ask.

3. Start early

It’s never too soon to start drafting your network into providing endorsements for your book, especially if you have influential people among your personal friends or professional contacts.

Even while you are writing, ask your warmest contacts to look at your manuscript when it’s ready. Keep their names and contact information in a spreadsheet, and make a note of who said yes, no, and maybe. It will be easier to get the goods from them later.

Send your package out at the earliest possible opportunity. The manuscript must be complete, but not necessarily polished in order to send it out. A common time to start gathering endorsements is when the manuscript is with your copyeditor for fine-tuning.

4. Make it easy

When you’re asking someone a favor, make it as easy as possible for them to say yes — especially when this busy person’s help means a lot to you.

Start with an email inquiry or third-party introduction. Include a single page with all the background information for your book: Synopsis, format (hardcover, paperback or ebook) and book specifications (number of pages, trim size), price, release date, and publisher info.

Don’t forget to include a short author bio. Send full-color cover art too, if it’s ready, and maybe even a short excerpt from the book. The idea is to hook them into wanting to read more without overwhelming them with the whole shebang.

Offer to send them the full manuscript by PDF or mail them a hard copy. But bear in mind that printed copies can be pricey to produce, especially when you factor in express mailing fees, so reserve these for A-list readers, or those who specifically request them.

5. Be polite

Give your blurbers plenty of time to read and respond to your package. Nobody likes to be under pressure for a favor.

And do take no for an answer — graciously! You may only need two sentences, but it can be pretty time consuming to write a short, persuasive message. And, of course, they have to read the whole book first. Anything less than a two-week turnaround would be a rush job, and is likely to be turned down.

Say please and thank you again and again, and offer to send them a copy of the finished book.

6. Keep it brief

Blurbs for your book jacket and praise pages inside the book can be short — in fact, they must be as brief and punchy as possible. Two sentences is plenty.

Be clear about length when you ask for blurbs, so your contributors don’t spend time writing lengthy paragraphs that will only have to be cut.

Ideally you’ll want to get blanket approval to edit blurbs for length, since almost all blurbs can be improved with a little tightening. If you do need to trim (or you want to tweak its focus) be sure to send the text back to its contributor for their approval before putting it through to the designer.

Now you’re ready to get out there and round up some high-quality endorsements for your book. This process takes a bit of legwork — sometimes a lot of legwork — but it’s well worth it. If you get a real humdinger, be sure to put it right on the front cover. It will make all the difference for your credibility, media attention, and book sales.

Already gotten a great blurb? Share it in the comments!

November 19, 2015
Make the Leap to Full-Time Freelance Writing in 5 Essential Steps
Cliff-jumping is one of the most extreme, nerve-wracking sports in the world. Choosing to embark on a freelance writing career can seem just as daunting. After all, there’s no net down there to catch you if you don’t leap just right.

Not to mention, your friends and family are probably looking at you like you’re crazy. How can you make a career change to become a full-time freelance writer without taking unnecessary risks?

Think of launching your freelance writing business like jumping off that cliff. Here are five rules to live by as you prepare to take this exciting leap.

1. Do your research

When you’re throwing yourself from scary heights into the ocean, it’s vital to know every last detail about the spot. How deep is the water? Is your take-off point stable? Which way’s the tide going?

With freelancing, research is vital. To set yourself up for success, find out as much as possible about your chosen path.

The good news is you’re already off to a great start: You’re on The Write Life, with an entire section dedicated to freelancing and with a handy list of tools and resources. Way to go! Set aside the time to dive in and see what you can learn.

At this stage, you should be looking for information for beginners, such as common mistakes new writers make. Get an idea for what’s involved in the freelance writing process, from pitch to publication.

You’ll also find no shortage of people who have managed to make a living with their writing, such as Gina Horkey, who was earning $4,000 per month within six months. Or Danny Margulies, who makes six figures freelancing. It’s looking good from here!

2. Consider safety first

Safety should be the number-one priority for would-be cliff jumpers and freelancers alike. Even a safe jump spot can be dangerous if you’re careless.

After all the research you’ve done for your new career, it’s easy to get carried away and jump head first.

Instead, take a step back.

While some freelancers manage to replicate a full-time income almost immediately, for most of us building up to that level takes time.

Have you got enough savings to cover those lean months? You’ll feel more confident with a savings cushion that will cover six months worth of expenses, although obviously the bigger, the better.

Remember that freelancing comes with its own expenses. Taxes, insurance and other benefits your employer took care of before are now your responsibility. Utility costs for working from home will also increase.

The best step here is to start a budget. If you’re in the U.S., I’ve heard great things about Mint. For budgeting software available worldwide, check out You Need a Budget for resources and free classes.

If after all that you’re feeling a bit nervous, fear not! Many people, myself included, have opted to fit freelancing around a day job, adding another layer of security.

3. Start small

You don’t start with a 5x somersault half twist pike from 27 meters; your first jump might be only a couple of feet high.

You can do the same with your freelance career. Start small and work your way up.

Your first client should be yourself. If you want to be a freelance blogger, is your blog top class? If you’re a copywriter, is your website copy flawless?

After you’ve got yourself sorted, how about friends and family? Do your self-employed loved ones need help with their copy? Do they work for a company that needs new blog posts?

Not only will you polish your skills and build confidence, you’ll also build up a nice portfolio to prepare you for bigger clients. Everyone wins.

4. Stick with people who know what they’re doing

I was blessed with friends who’d made the leap to freelance years earlier and were happy to share their knowledge. Find people who have lots of experience with freelancing, and listen to what they have to say.

Writing forums can be a fantastic resource for the new freelancer. Look for active and engaged forums, and be sure to follow good etiquette: Be polite, don’t spam and add value where possible. You’ll be rewarded with a community of fellow freelancers who can offer advice and support.
- Editorial note: One of our favorite communities of freelance writers is the Freelance Writers Den. You can check out what they have to offer directly. Want more details first? Check out our review of the Den here.
For bonus points, I highly recommend finding a mentor, either online or offline. Nothing helps more than having an experienced freelancer take a look at your business. Their advice is priceless.

5. Take the leap

Yes, freelancing can be scary. But it’s also fun and rewarding. There’s a point when you’re standing at the top of the cliff when you know you’ve done all you can — now you just have to take that step.

Analysis paralysis may be the biggest danger you’ll face. It’s easy to convince yourself you need to do more research when really, you should be getting on and doing the work.

Are you ready for a freelance career? Take a deep breath. Now jump.

Have you taken the leap into freelancing yet? What other steps would you recommend?
November 18, 2015
What You Need to Know About Publicity Before You Self-Publish
An efficient media strategy can put your name and your book in front of a far bigger audience of potential readers than you can possibly reach yourself.

Unfortunately, many self-published authors assume that traditional publicity is out of reach. This couldn’t be further from the truth.

Reaching a wider audience involves a solid author platform and a book marketing plan.

Once those are in place, it’s time to focus on publicity and media coverage.

Over 30 years working in the media, I’ve been contacted by all kinds of people who wanted access to my audience — including authors, filmmakers, recording artists, comedians, businesspeople, as well as publicists representing those people.

Their pitches have ranged from elaborate and expensive (custom-made folders, branded tchotchkes, publicity materials printed on the fancy stationery) to some that were very simple (just an email or a few sheets of paper).

The best pitches weren’t necessarily those that were the most elaborate or the most expensive. In fact, what the best pitches have in common has nothing to do with expense or extravagance.

At the most basic level, a media pitch is simply correspondence that explains your story angle. It doesn’t require a formal press release, glossy paper, or a presentation over hors d’oeuvres or martinis.

At the end of the day, all that matters is whether your story angle will keep my audience engaged. You can send it via singing telegram — sure, it would get my attention — but it’s not going to help you if I don’t believe that my audience wants to hear your story.

[bctt tweet=”Here are five common myths about publicity for self-published authors”]

Plus ways to break them as you start your own promotional campaign.

[twl_reusable_block post_id=41455]

Publicity myth #1: It won’t work for my kind of book

Every type of author has a fair shot at being interviewed, profiled or reviewed.

Sure, some types of books are easier to sell than others — but any kind of author with any kind of book is just as eligible for coverage from print, broadcast and digital media. It’s all in how you present yourself.

The next time you’re standing in the checkout line at the grocery store, take a look at the magazines racked next to the candy. The cover text text shouts story hooks that pique your curiosity. That text has one job: Get you to flip open the magazine.

The cover lines promise you the answers to secrets, gossip about someone’s private life, and tips to be healthier, wealthier, and/or wise. The text almost never proclaims, “Here’s a product that exists!” They’re always focused on topics and story angles that will make that audience turn the pages.

Now, let’s look at your book. No matter its primary topic, there are likely to be more discussion starters than “This book exists.” The topic of the book may lend itself to discussions about money, health, or issues of public interest.

But what if it doesn’t lend itself to an easy discussion starter? Maybe your book is a novel, a retelling of some obscure historical events, or a how-to book on building cabinets.

If that’s the case, you may have to dig a little deeper. But discussion starters are in there somewhere. What can you share about what inspired the book, or what you learned while writing it?

Publicity myth #2: Media coverage is expensive

Actually, publicity, by definition, doesn’t cost anything at all. If you have to pay for it, it’s called “advertising.”

You can book an interview yourself with just an email and a PDF copy of your press kit. And email and PDFs are free.

Now, should you hire a publicist?

Think of it this way: A good publicist can be like a guitar teacher or a tour guide or an athletic coach.

You don’t need to hire that person to play the guitar, take a mountain hike or train for a marathon. But a good teacher or guide may help you get results faster than you would have alone.

You may decide to hire a publicist or a marketing team. You just don’t have to.

If you’re going to be your own publicist, the first job is to figure out whom to contact. How do you do that? Let’s think of it as a series of circles around your target. Working our way from the outside toward the center:
- Your perfect audience
- The media outlet that speaks to that audience
- The reporter or producer at that outlet
- The best way to contact that reporter
Don’t be mesmerized by the size of a particular outlet’s audience — if that outlet doesn’t speak to your audience, you’re just wasting everybody’s time.

Remember to tailor your media pitch — which is more of a letter than a traditional press release — to a specific person at a specific outlet. Start with a goal of contacting 3-5 media influencers. Get some small wins before you start gambling away your time trying to get on The Today Show.

Remember, every time you appear in the media is valuable to your long-term goals.

Publicity myth #3: The media only cares about famous people

TV producers and print editors and webmasters only care about their audience.

Media producers are interested in any guest or topic that will hold that audience’s attention. If you can make a compelling case for your news angle’s appeal to the audience, you have a realistic chance of getting booked.

If you can make a case for your new book (as reviewed in myth #1), you’re well on your way to grabbing producers’ attention.

Publicity myth #4: All I have to do is announce myself

The best publicity pitches succinctly explain your story hook and why your idea is suitable for that specific audience. Since media professionals are always on deadline, “Here I am, figure me out!” pitches never get anywhere.

If you want that media contact to take you seriously, make your pitch clear and to the point. Explain who you are, why you’re pitching, and your story angle for their audience.

A strong publicity pitch will go past the “This book exists” angle and use that book as a discussion starter for that audience. In fact, the pitch may not even be about the book at all. It could be about a part of your research, or how current events can be viewed through the lens of your book.

Your story pitch won’t always be directly about your book. The resulting coverage will always include your book, since you’re the expert. See the difference?

Publicity myth #5: I only have one shot at media coverage for this book

For several years, I was the editor in chief for a group of music magazines. During that period, one of the sharpest publicists I knew found a brand-new excuse to pitch something about a particular client every six to eight weeks.

Some pitches got her client into the news column, some got the band into the review section, and some led to interviews. She understood that a strong publicity strategy unfolds over time.

How about you? Can you think of five or more different points of entry to start a discussion about your book?

As you plan your promotional campaign, think beyond “Here I am!” announcements and dig into what you have to offer readers, viewers and listeners.

If you know your target audience, and you know the media outlets that speak to that audience, there’s no reason you can’t come up with a great pitch. More importantly, there’s no reason you shouldn’t come up with a brand-new pitch for that audience every few months until you publish your next book.

And then the cycle can start again.

What tips do you have for authors pitching themselves to the media?
November 16, 2015
Writing Inspiration for Days: 10 Instagram Feeds to Follow Right Now

Instagram is well known for providing inspiration for travel, cooking, artwork, design, and plenty of other niches.

But it also offers lots of writing inspiration. From epic bookshelves, cats and dogs snuggling up to a good book, insightful literary quotes, or even just enticing images of a cup of coffee and a good book, every writer can find something to adore in their Instagram feed.

Check out these 10 sites for a dose of writing inspiration no matter your genre.

1. Elizabeth Gilbert (@elizabeth_gilbert_writer)

https://instagram.com/p/8D5h9qxyIv/?taken-by=elizabeth_gilbert_writer

The author of Eat, Pray, Love and recent release Big Magic is relatable not just through her soul-bearing writing, but also through the inspiration she dishes out on her Instagram account.

Subscribe to Gilbert’s feed to enjoy artsy designs, a variety of sayings and quotes, and updates on her upcoming book projects.

2. Cheryl Strayed (@cherylstrayed)

https://instagram.com/p/7q7q2ty-dX/

Dubbing herself “Writer, mother, light-seeker,” Cheryl Strayed’s Instagram feed offers up selfies, images of her at speaking events, snaps of her books, images of her kitties, and even an opportunity to walk down memory lane with her.

She sometimes shares photos of her hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, which she later depicted in Wild.

3. Jon Krakauer (@krakauernotwriting)

https://instagram.com/p/68C779Raa5/?taken-by=krakauernotwriting
Outdoor-focused lit lovers will revel in Jon Krakauer’s Instagram stream, which will make you want to run outside and play. From images of people climbing a 130-foot icicle to gorgeous sunsets, mountain shots, and travel images, his stream will leave any outdoor writer inspired.

He notes as his tagline, “I write books for a living. Been toiling in the writing factory for more than 30 years. Not writing is way more fun.”

4. Jeff Goins (@jeffgoins)

https://instagram.com/p/8ESreDDl1b/?taken-by=jeffgoins

If you’re seeking inspiration for both work and your overall life, check out Jeff Goins’s Instagram account. The best-selling author of The Art of Work tells inspirational tale after tale with quotes, sayings, and words of encouragement for any endeavor.

5. Cat Book Club (@catbookclub)

https://instagram.com/p/8bp67Po27z/?taken-by=catbookclub

Instagram is no different from any other corner of the Internet: cats rule. And, as much as you like to read, cats like to read even more — if you to believe the photos on Cat Book Club’s feed.

If you love furry felines, it’s a great way to watch them cuddle up with a good book (and in some cases yawn or fall asleep on the book). This account will make you want to do nothing more than grab your cat and a novel and sit down for a spell.

6. Dog Book Club (@dogbookclub)

https://instagram.com/p/70N-2kkXCx/?taken-by=dogbookclub

You didn’t think we’d leave out dog fans, did you? After all, who can resist a photo of a cuddly pup snuggling up with a good book?

This feed contains images of dogs doing everything from reading by lamplight with a glass of wine nearby, to concentrating hard on reading the big words, to scanning an e-reader. These images will make the dog and book lover in all of us smile.

7. Last Night’s Reading (@lastnightsreading)

https://instagram.com/p/8dPOoXKo5b/?taken-by=lastnightsreading

Kate Gavino creates drawings to illustrate quotes from New York City book readings. She draws the author, a quote, and the date of the reading together for a poignant package to encourage writers.

8. Ernest Hemingway Foundation (@ehfop)

https://instagram.com/p/y5Fh7wrIxO/?taken-by=ehfop

The Ernest Hemingway Foundation maintains this Instagram feed full of favorite quotes and notable facts about the literary icon. You can also spot images of vintage copies of some of his works, along with short video clips about some of his stories.

9. NaNoWriMo (@nanowrimo)

https://instagram.com/p/29Ev4El76E/?taken-by=nanowrimo

By now, everyone’s heard of National Novel Writing Month (NaNoWriMo). Following along with the organization’s official feed is a sure way to remind yourself that there are plenty of other writers also cranking along on their projects in November — and throughout the year, too!

10. Jackie Johansen (@wordselectric)

https://instagram.com/p/3Wp4m5AIoh/?taken-by=finallywriting

This account has everything from travel photos to mugs of coffee and notebooks at the ready, to inspirational quotes, pets, passports and fun travel pictures. Jackie Johansen offers a world of inspiration for creative copywriters and beyond!

What Instagram accounts inspire you? Tell us about them in the comments!

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

November 13, 2015
Can You Overcome These 3 Paralyzing Freelance Writing Fears?

I am officially free.

In just the past four months, I started my own freelance copywriting business and began making enough money to quit my job and support my wife and three young kids.

Now, granted, we’re not rolling in the cash, Scrooge McDuck-style. Yet.

And I didn’t just get here by some random chance.

Quitting my job and launching full time into freelance writing required that I conquer three specific fears.

Fears that had the potential to hold me back. Fears that could limit what I could accomplish. Fears that could sink me.

If you’re going to live the writing life, you also have to overcome these fears.

So, at the risk of sounding too much like one of those cheesy motivational posters, let me share with you how I overcame these fears as I began my freelance writing career.

Fear of rejection

Every person fears rejection, and writers are particularly vulnerable to this fear. After all, we pour ourselves into what we write. Then we hand the projects off to other people for evaluation. For scrutiny. For criticism.

At the risk of over-dramatization, we bare our souls.

When I first launched my copywriting business, I was scared pantsless (in a mostly figurative way) of rejection.

Being a freelance writer means applying for lots of different jobs on lots of different sites. Applying for lots of different jobs inevitably means you’ll get turned down more than a turtleneck on a nerd.

And I was rejected. Quite often, actually.

But here’s what I discovered: Rejection’s not such a big deal.

I know. Crazy, right?

I discovered that for every person who rejected me, there was another person who needed what I had to offer. For every, “No thanks,” there was another, “Actually, you’re exactly what we’re looking for.”

And that’s how it goes with writing, right? You can’t please everybody.

Some people love Stephen King, other people hate him.

Some people adore Jane Austen, while others, like myself, would rather be beaten with an old Nintendo Power magazine than read her books.

Some love J.K. Rowling, while… OK, everyone loves J.K. Rowling. You get the point.

A large part of my success is due to the fact that I overcame my fear of rejection. If someone doesn’t like me, I simply move one without a second thought.

The faster I move on, the faster I find someone who really loves my writing style and method.

All great artists deal with rejection. Stephen King’s first book, Carrie, was rejected 30 times before being published.

George Orwell’s Animal Farm was rejected with the comment, “It’s impossible to sell animal stories in the USA.”

[bctt tweet=”The key to success as a freelance writer is overcoming your fear of rejection.”]

You’re going to be rejected, but it’s really OK. You don’t have the skills everyone wants, but you have the skills some people need, and that’s enough to make a living.

Fear of conflict

Most people think writing is pure art. Writers peck away at our keyboards while sipping on green tea in our brightly lit loft apartments.

This is complete and total nonsense.

Writing is just as much business as it is art, with good times as well as bad, and business always involves some conflict. If you don’t have the stomach for conflict, you should probably choose another profession.

If you’re going to make it as a freelance writer, you absolutely must overcome fear of conflict. You’ve got be able to wheel and deal. To even fight, sometimes.

Why? Because even with the best clients, freelancing always involves negotiating. You’ve got to negotiate rates, deadlines and a thousand other little details that go into each project.

If you’re afraid of conflict, you’ll let your client win all of the negotiations. If your client wins all of the negotiations, you’ll end up with less money, less time and less happiness. If that’s not a recipe for total and abject misery, I don’t know what is.

How do you overcome your fear of conflict?

By remembering your value.

You’re a not a temp who can be bought for a miniscule sum and treated like garbage. You’re a professional writer.

You bring significant value to anyone who wants to hire out your services. If they don’t want to pay you what you’re worth, you can find plenty of other work.

Don’t be afraid of conflict. Don’t be afraid of negotiating to get what you’re worth. If you want to make it as a freelance writer, you must overcome fear of conflict.

Fear of mistakes

I’ve written approximately 4,000 words already today, and it’s only 2:30 p.m. Assuming I write approximately 5,000 words per day, that equals between 25,000 and 30,000 per week. That’s roughly a 350-page novel every month.

Holy crap, I write a lot!

I don’t work for a content mill. I’m not churning out articles for $15 a pop.

I just write a lot. Fast. Which is why my clients pay me well. I can turn around a lot high-quality material for them in a short period of time.

But with that amount of output, I’ve had to completely obliterate my fear of mistakes. Yes, I’m a writer, and as a writer, I create art.

But I can’t be a perfectionist about my art. I can’t obsess over a single word choice or spend hours sweating over a paragraph. And I can’t proofread 20 times before I send something off.

I’ve got to create quickly and effectively.

Inevitably, it at means I’ll make mistakes in my writing. At some point, “fat” will become “fart.”

But I’m OK with mistakes. I realize that might sound like heresy to some, but it’s something I’ve come to terms with. I will make mistakes. I am not perfect.

So how have I overcome my fear of mistakes?

It’s pretty simple. At the very beginning of every client interaction (in the negotiation stage), I make one thing very clear: I expect clear communication from both parties.

If I produce a mistake or something they don’t like, the client needs to be open and clear about it. If they do something that doesn’t sit well with me, I’ll also be open and clear about it.

We keep clear lines of communication, which in turn allows me to deliver quickly and also be confident that they’ll alert me to any problems.

I’ve overcome my fear of mistakes by setting up clear boundaries in my client relationships.

As former President Franklin D. Roosevelt said, “The only thing to fear is fear itself.” This is rubbish. I can think of lots of other things to fear, like rodents of unusual size and a new One Direction album.

But fear of rejection, conflict and mistakes can quickly derail your freelance business and ruin your dream of living the writing life.

Take control. Take charge. Conquer your fears and launch.

What have you done to overcome your freelance writing fears?

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

November 11, 2015
Tracking Freelance Earnings: October Income Report From Nicole Dieker

If you don’t make a monthly freelancing goal, what steps do you take to keep yourself on target? This month, I didn’t hit my $5,000 income goal — but I’m working on changing things for November.

Here are October’s numbers:

Completed Pieces: 81

Work Billed: $4,985.36

Earnings Received: $5,521.62

I wrote roughly 44,500 words in October, with an average per-piece earning of $61.55. My highest earning piece was $849, and my lowest earning piece was $20.

I also came close to hitting my $5,000 monthly income goal. Seriously, I’m only $15 off! The fact that I was just shy of $5K — not to mention that I earned nearly $7K last month — means I’m not beating myself up over this.

Still, it’s worth looking at what happened.

How my projected income dropped by $1,000

For most of the month, I thought I would earn more than $5,000. But one of my clients asked that I hold off completing a piece until November, and another client accidentally assigned the same piece to two writers (thankfully, this client let me know before I started writing the piece).

My income line dropped by $1,000 overnight, without me doing anything “wrong.”

A year ago, losing two pieces might have cut $150 off my bottom line. Now, it’s a more significant income drop. The more successful I get, the bigger my risks become. Having one client cancel a piece or getting a request to hold on a draft for a month can mean losing 20 percent of my monthly income.

It’s also important to note that earning less money in October means receiving less money in November. I need to be prepared to only receive $4,500 in freelance payments this month, which means having a little less discretionary income than usual.

It’s time to start trading up

So I didn’t get a few assignments that I thought I would. This hasn’t happened before, but I bet it’ll happen again. This means I need to come up with a solution to this problem.

Can I prevent a client from canceling a piece? No.

Can I prevent a client from asking me to hold off on writing a piece? No.

What’s the actual solution here? I need to get more high-paying clients.

As you saw above, I earn $849 for some pieces and $20 for others. I’m always happy to earn that $20, especially if it’s for a piece that takes me 20 minutes to write, but I sat down with my freelance spreadsheet and started figuring out how much more money I could earn if I traded out that $20 piece for a $75 piece. Or if I traded a $75 piece for a $250 piece.

Those numbers jump significantly, if you do that kind of math. More importantly, the value of an individual client assignment becomes less critical. In other words: The more high-paying clients I land, the less risk I absorb if something happens to one of those high-paying clients.

This means I need to spend the last two months of the year trading up.

I’ve already sent out a referral request, asking one of my high-paying clients to introduce me to a new client that I’d like to land. I also need to start the end-of-year negotiation process with my current clients, to talk about rate increases for 2016.

In both cases, the onus is on me to explain exactly how I provide value and why I’m worth the referral or rate increase. You can’t just ask; you also have to show the client how they benefit from your request.

I also need to pitch more. I started pitching bigger markets this past month, and one of the pitches landed, so I’m hoping I can grow that into a regular relationship. I also have a list of additional clients to pitch before the end of the year.

I know that the $1-a-word clients are going to be few and far between, so I’m not expecting to turn every client into a $800-per-piece client. But it would be great to trade a few of those $20 pieces for $200 pieces.

As always, I’ll let you know what happens.

What do you do when you don’t meet a freelancing goal? Do you agree that more success equals more risk?

How do you know when it’s time to start trading up for higher-paying pieces?

November 10, 2015
Are Book Trailers a Marketing Must-Have?

Congratulations! You’ve written your book. You’re ready for its big debut.

But with an increasing number of books published each year, combined with declining sales, it’s more important than ever to make sure your book stands out.

One way to do this is through a book trailer: a short video introduction to a book. Book trailers come in many different forms: You could feature a scene from the book, show a clip of yourself speaking about your novel, or present a slide show relevant images and animated text.

And since selling books in the digital age is all about getting exposure, a book trailer might seem like a natural marketing tactic.

But is a book trailer truly the way to go? Here’s what you need to know about book trailers before you make a decision.

Three reasons to make a book trailer

Excited to show off your new book? Here’s why a book trailer might be a good choice for you.

Book trailers can make a lasting impression

A trailer offers a greater sensory experience than a typical print ad or online feature to communicate your book’s purpose.

Since book trailers are still pretty new and not every book has one, your book has the chance to make a much stronger impression on a potential reader.

They’re easy to consume and easy to share

Let’s face it: Fewer people are browsing through bookstores and perusing book reviews in the newspaper.

In an age of information overload, book trailers offer a low barrier to entry to consume. t’s easy to sit back and watch a one-minute clip, especially if it’s one you stumble upon in your Facebook newsfeed or YouTube suggestions.

Viewers recognize video as entertainment, so while a book trailer might be one of your more labor-intensive pieces of your marketing material, it is one of the most shareable, with potential to go viral.

Book trailers are eternal

While the financial investment in a book trailer might not pay off right away, it may over time. One of the greatest strengths of video marketing is that it’s eternal.

Other book marketing efforts, like ads or launch parties, have temporary reach, but a book trailer will live on as long as it remains online. Over time, it can continue to introduce new potential readers to your work.

Four reasons to skip it

Not convinced it’s worth making a book trailer? These reasons might confirm your skepticism.

Book trailers are held to a high standard of quality

Anyone who comes across your trailer will expect a high-quality cinematic experience. Book trailers get compared to and essentially compete with movie trailers, according to an episode of Thomas Umstattd’s podcast, Novel Marketing. We’re used to the quality of high-budget movie trailers with superior editing, emotion-grabbing audio and exciting visual effects.

But “a bad trailer is worse than no trailer,” Umstattd warned. A poorly made book trailer sticks out. It can damage the image of both you and the book, and it can hurt sales.

Because they’re so memorable, book trailers that miss the mark can turn into painfully public marketing failures.

Book trailers are not a universally accepted book-marketing tactic

Many authors, publishers and readers are wary of the emergence of book trailers, because they intrude on the reading experience.

It’s like seeing the movie before reading the book: The book no longer has the privilege of introducing readers to its world. The trailer can take away from the world the reader imagined.

A good book trailer involves a huge investment of time, money, and skill

A 45-second book trailer may sound simple to produce, but remember video is an entirely different medium than print — it requires a tailored perspective and set of skills.

Think about everything needed to make a quality trailer: storyboard, script, scenery, music, props, actors and crew, camera and other film-making technology, editing expertise and more.

While there are some great ways to make a low-cost book trailer on your own, an exceptional trailer can end up costing thousands of dollars.

It’s hard to determine ROI

Book trailers are notorious for getting few lifetime views and unimpressive conversion rates. Only 0.2 percent of people surveyed by the Codex Group in 2010 said they found their most recent book from a trailer, and 0.1 percent identified the book trailer as the persuading factor to purchase it.

Buta great video on a sales landing page can increase conversions up to 80 percent, Unbounce reported in a recent podcast on video marketing.

These statistics highlight a major risk of producing a book trailer: What if you make one, but your target audience never sees it? A video may get a lot of views, but not all viewers are potential readers.

More promising prospective buyers find their way to sales pages, and that might be where a book trailer best contributes to sales.

A book trailer has the potential to be an incredibly successful and valuable addition to your marketing campaign — or it could be a total disaster. It’s a risky marketing strategy, and a good decision depends on a strong cost-benefit analysis well before your book’s launch date.

Does your book have a trailer? How has it contributed to your sales?

November 5, 2015
Here’s How to Beat Writer’s Block and Get Back to Work
I’ve always made lists to help me write.

I keep lists of historical details for stories set in different eras, figures of speech I happen to like, and names for future characters.

I even have a list of great titles, although I haven’t used any of those yet. So if you need a good title, call me, I guess.

Along with these reference lists, I use lists to come up with writing ideas when I’m stuck.

I’m a writer in my day job, where no one has time for writer’s block. When I’m working on a story on my own time, I don’t have much patience with it, either.

I use lists to help me organize my thoughts quickly. Here’s how I do it — and how it can help you get unstuck, too.

The Fast List Method

Let’s say I have no idea why the bad guy in the story I’m writing is behaving like a bad guy. I know he wants to kill my main characters and maybe a few hundred of their closest friends, but it’s early on in the project.

I could stare at my computer screen repeating “What is his motive?” again and again, but I have little luck with this method.

If I look for inspiration online, I have a good chance of getting sidetracked and spending an hour reading about some topic that catches my interest, but doesn’t pertain to my writing project at all. Research is always dangerous for me, because I’m curious about pretty much everything.

That’s where my list method comes in. I write my question at the top of a piece of paper, like this:

Hey Bryn, why does your villain want to kill all those people?

Then I number the page — usually 1 through 20 or 1 through 25.

Now I write possible answers to my writing question — as quickly as I can.

Naturally, I think of clichéd or downright stupid answers. I write them down anyway.

The beginning of the list might look like this:
1. Uh, he wants to take over the world? To be powerful? Or something?
2. He was just born evil. Yeah. That’s it. Ooooh, evil.
3. They all made fun of his favorite T-shirt.
4. He’s delusional and believes he’s a character in a violent video game, and that someone gets points for every person he kills.
5. He’s a political extremist and a terrorist.
By the time I’ve filled out my list, I have plenty of terrible ideas. But I usually end up with at least one idea that works.

Sometimes I don’t even finish the list, because around number 16 or 17, I land on an idea that makes sense for my story.

You can use this method for just about any sticky problem you run into in your story. How does the prisoner escape the heavily guarded prison? What makes the spy turn traitor? Why doesn’t the hero just tell the heroine the truth, other than the fact that you’ve based the whole story on a misunderstanding?

Remember, if you jot down some stupid answers, you’re using the method correctly. Sometimes you’ve got to get the dumb ideas out of the way to get to the good ones!

Using the Fast List Method for outlining and idea generation

Although I used an example for writing fiction above, the Fast List Method also works for nonfiction and other types of writing.

If I’m writing an article or a paper, I prefer to start with an outline. The problem is, I’m not that great at outlining! In my brain, there are so many little things I could include, and things get confusing and complicated quickly.

Here’s where I make a big list to get all of those things out on paper, generally titled something like:

25 Things That Could Go Into This Piece

Once I have this list on paper, I go through and circle three to five of the most important things to include in the piece.

These are usually easy to put in order. I find that some of the other things on the list can support these important points. And voilà, I have an outline! I discard items that don’t fit in anywhere.

The Fast List Method also helps me come up with ideas at my job at Hallmark Cards. There, the question at the top of the page might be:

OK Bryn, what are some things a grandma might want to say to her granddaughter?

Or even simpler:

20 ideas for Hallmark website articles. Go!

No matter what task I use the Fast List Method for, allowing myself to write down a long list of ideas — no matter how good or bad — can help me work toward a solution.

Do you ever use lists to help you write? Do you have other ways of breaking through writer’s block?
November 3, 2015
3 Ways You’re Probably Sabotaging Your Freelance Writing Business

In freelancing, all your fears come true.

Afraid you won’t be able to command high rates for your work? You’re right. Worried that you won’t get paid on time (or ever)? Right again. Think there’s a shortage of good clients? Correct-a-mundo.

But… none of this happens for the reasons you think.

Actually, your brain causes these challenges.

No, I’m not talking about some mysterious, law-of-attraction-type power. I’m talking about the old self-fulfilling prophecy. That dang connection between our beliefs, our behavior, and the results we get in life and business.

Let me reiterate: There is nothing mystical about this. Nothing whatsoever.

Quite the opposite, actually. It’s just plain logic.

Here are three huge self-fulfilling prophecies that can hold you back from freelance financial success and professional growth.

Self-fulfilling prophecy 1: “Clients want low prices”

You become doggedly convinced (often through peer pressure) that all clients are actually Terminator-style cyborgs on a mission to grind your freelance rates into post-apocalyptic dust.

To compensate for this perceived threat, you quote (and even brag about) “competitive” prices in an effort to avoid scaring anyone off.

This approach repels the best clients, who are as attracted to low prices as vegans are to steakhouses. Ironically, it does succeed in reeling in budget-conscious clients in droves.

Result: You end up with nothing but low-paying clients, and a reinforced belief that there’s nothing you can do about it.

The fix

Realize that clients do not all own the cheapest computers, desks, or chairs. In fact, if they really wanted to save money at all costs, why even have a desk at all, when they could just work on the floor instead?

People are willing to pay for things they value. Period.

Self-fulfilling prophecy 2: “Clients won’t pay me on time (or at all)”

You suspect that most clients will happily take advantage of you, if given the chance.

To counter this dark human tendency, you concoct complicated and draconian payment terms, including contracts, fine print, and strict penalties. And you make sure to dangle these in front of prospective clients right up front to “weed out the deadbeats.”

Unfortunately, the best clients (who pay all of their bills promptly anyway) routinely respond to complexity, red tape and paranoia with “No, thank you.”

Result: Once again, you’ve managed to screen out the exact type of client you want most, while drawing in the hard-payers, who are used to this sort of treatment.

The fix

Understand that you can cover yourself without putting up a wall between you and potential clients.

Simple payment terms can be just as effective as complex ones. And in any case, they should be the last thing you discuss with prospects, not the first.

Self-fulfilling prophecy 3: “There aren’t enough good clients”

You worry all the good clients in the world will get snatched up by your competitors.

To combat this misguided scarcity, you take any job that comes your way because “it’s a paycheck.” You also cling to each client for dear life, willing to drop your prices at any hint of resistance.

Result: You end up mired in unrewarding work that doesn’t pay well, which holds you back from professional growth. In other words, you do indeed experience a shortage of good clients — but, yet again, it’s a self-imposed shortage as a result of your own limited beliefs.

The fix

Think bigger. There are literally tens of millions of businesses in the U.S. alone. In 2014, I worked with 20 clients who were all happy to pay upwards of $100 per hour. I promise you these were not the only 20 “good clients” on earth.

Are you ready to charge what you’re worth?

If you’re new to freelancing, awareness of these limiting beliefs will help you avoid some of the biggest traps that keep writers from breaking through to the next level.

And if you’ve been freelancing for a while, it’s never too late to break free of these (and other) self-fulfilling prophecies and start earning what you want and deserve.

Have you been held back by self-limiting beliefs like the ones I’ve just described? What are you going to do to break the cycle going forward?

This post contains affiliate links. That means if you purchase through our links, you’re supporting The Write Life — and we thank you for that!

November 2, 2015
Tell Us Your Favorite Writing Websites!

It seems far off on the calendar, but January is one of our favorite times of the year here at The Write Life. It’s a time for new beginnings and new goals. And we want to help you prepare for one of your best years yet!

That’s where our 100 Best Websites for Writers list comes in.

After compiling fantastic resources in 2014 and 2015, we’re excited to bring you the ultimate list of your favorite writing sites in 2016.

Whether your goal for 2016 is to get more freelance writing clients, finish your ebook (and sell it!), or seeing your byline in a major magazine, we’ve got you covered with this list of websites for writers. We want to make sure we include valuable resources, and to do that, we need your help.

What’s your favorite writing website? Which blogs do you visit for inspiration, information or writing-related entertainment? Which sites have earned bookmark status on your toolbar? Who do you want to nominate for our list?

Let us know your favorite sites in the comments. We’re looking forward to sharing the list with you in January!

October 28, 2015