Put a Cap on It: Learning the Rules of Capitalization via LitReactor – It doesn’t matter how old you are or how long you’ve been writing in Standard American English; everyone should brush up on current capitalization rules. Taylor Houston provides readers with a great mini-review.

Seven Tips From Ernest Hemingway on How to Write Fiction via OpenCulture – Who wouldn’t want to be like Ernest Hemingway? We’re not suggesting you start hunting or become a war correspondent, but check out Hemingway’s seven tips on how to write fiction as compiled by Mike Springer.

Contests and Agencies to Avoid via Winning Writers – “Congratulations, your poem has been accepted for publication! If you want to see your poem in our anthology, you must purchase…” Does this sound familiar? If so, you might be falling for a scam. Learn which ones to avoid (and why you should avoid them) with this helpful list of shady venues.

Do you truly own your e-books? via Salon – With e-books becoming all the rage these days, we encourage you to read this informative article about what it means when you buy an e-book for your e-reader device. This article also addresses Digital Rights Management versus open-source e-books.

11 Words That Don’t Mean What They Sound Like via mental_floss – Judith B Herman offers insight into some particularly tricky words and their definitions. What else could “noisome” mean but to be noisy, right? Think again!

Photo by TylerIngram.

We have all been told at some point in our lives that getting started is the most difficult part of any project. As writers, we know this to be the case. In his article, “Psyched To Write! – Overcoming The Transition Barrier,” author, teacher, and non-profit manager T. James Moore discusses transitions as they relate not only to the beginning of the writing process, but to all the steps that lead to a finished piece/work. He suggests ways to accept the existence of transitory phases and how to overcome the challenges they pose. For those of you whose worst enemy is the blank page: Read on!

The feeling of moving on to another phase of any writing project is usually…ugh! After all, didn’t we just do good work? Aren’t we to be commended for having sort of finished what we started? Is there really no rest for the wicked?!

No doubt most of us consider the completion of any project to be a milestone: first draft, half draft, last draft. If it has a beginning, middle, and end then we’ve won a major personal battle that probably goes back to our childhood when we feared we would never finish (or become) anything. But eventually we must move forward. We must transition to the next thing, be it revision or a whole new story. Understanding our initial resistance to the work at hand is important in avoiding those other writer bug-a-boos: procrastination and block.

The first step in overcoming the transition barrier is to realize it exists and is replete throughout the writing process. The moment you move from having no writing project to sitting down to write the first word of a new story, you are in transition. Very often the experience is something like this: Sit down, fiddle with things on the desk, look at the blank page, begin writing, erase, begin again, think, etc. This is the effort of moving into the work. It seems hard because the page is blank, and we need to add something. But by realizing that we are in transition, it becomes easier to let go of the frustration of getting started and simply begin.

The next step is to push through the resistance and get your hands moving across the page (or keyboard). Again and again in my experience, the first ten words or so are the hardest. At first I type one word, then slowly another, followed consecutively by the next half dozen as though my mind cannot produce the words fast enough. But as the clog of my momentary block clears I suddenly find my fingers tapping wildly over the keyboard, and voilà! I have made the transition.

Perhaps the most important thing to recognize in navigating transitions is that a lot of our hesitation is based on fear. This is especially true during revision. As I sit with a fresh rough draft, the story complete and the pages clean, I am stricken with a deep worry that I am about to make all of my work a whole lot worse rather than making it any better. I get tunnel vision and tend to fall right back into unhealthy familiarity with my work. The solution to overcoming this dilemma is to engage yet another, secondary transition—that of focusing the mind properly on seeing the work in a fresh, critical way. This is why it is good to have a period of time away from the project. As serious writers, it is our responsibility to listen to the story as if we have never heard it before, catching the flaws and the internal seams where the story was first cobbled together. Once we transition into the focused mind we may then go forward with our work.

At the beginning of each new writing session, be mindful of the fact that transitions abound. Simply moving from the dinner table to the writing desk is a transition. Consider developing a ritual to help you get focused. Engage your writing environment, respect and even revere it. If you do these things, you will find yourself freely embracing the work ahead, with the challenges of transition becoming nothing more than a moment’s delay in getting started.

About T. James Moore

T. James Moore is a freelance writer, teacher, and non-profit manager living in coastal Northern California. He has a BA in literature and an MA in composition. Moore hosts a writer’s blog where he discusses a variety of topics important to the writing life weekly. He is currently in various stages of work on poetry, short fiction, and a recently completed novel. He has taught college writing at the community college and university levels and takes great pleasure in working with others who have a passion for writing. Moore is also a member of the Writers of the Mendocino Coast, a branch of the statewide California Writers Club.

Question: How do you break through resistance to get your hands moving across the page (or keyboard)?

As a sign of tribute to those who influenced us, we took photos with our thank-you signs and posted them on Facebook. But not all of us were able to express our gratitude on our 8 1/2 x 11 piece of paper, so we’ve written in more detail here. Without further ado, we’d like to say, “Thank you,” to the following people:

RONNIE: Thanks to the parents and teachers of all my staff members! You’re the reason Writer’s Relief does a great job for our clients! (And thanks to my own mom and dad for spending their last dime on that World Book Encyclopedia!)

HERMINE: Inspired by my teacher reading “Snow-Bound.”

FRANK: My father came from Italy when he was thirteen years old and a trained barber. He loved reading and encouraged us to read by buying a set of classic storybooks and a dictionary for us.

WENDY: Thanks to Mom and Dad for sharing their love of words, especially

JUSTIN: I want to thank Ana Douglas, who was a T.A. at Rutgers, but moved on to teach in Nevada. I was only able to have her for one semester, and surely would’ve taken another class with her again if I had the chance. She opened me up to my favorite period of literature, Modernism. After reading James Joyce, TS Eliot, Virginia Woolf, and DH Lawrence, I never looked back. I also loved being taught by Ann Baynes Coiro, also at Rutgers. She is still there and served as the head of the English graduate program in my time. She was one of the most well-liked professors, and her laid-back style (along with having us read passages of Milton’s Paradise Lost aloud) had everyone tuned in.

JESSICA: LeVar Burton taught me to love books, and that the constant pursuit of knowledge makes the world a better place. #bydhttmwfi

KRISTIN: Thank you to Mr. Sherbine for bringing humor and personality to every lesson, encouraging us to find fun in the learning process. Your creatively written vocabulary tests read more like short stories than fill-in-the-blank exams—and I still use “panacea” and “bereft” in conversation as often as I can. And thank you to Mrs. Twombly for first helping me find my poetic voice and then pushing me out of my comfort zone to ultimately be a better writer. If it weren’t for you, I’d still be rhyming in four-line stanzas.

MARGARET: The person who influenced me most was my mother, who wrote literally millions of notes to friends and relatives, letters to editors, and complaints to corporate CEOs. She was always writing to someone.

PRIYA: Thank you to Sharon Creech, author of Walk Two Moons and Chasing Redbird, the first novels I ever read that really moved me as a kid. Her main characters, Sal Hiddle and Zinny Taylor, were big inspirations to me when I was little. Very cool girls!

TIM: Dad, thank you for encouraging me to look at the world in passionate ways and express it lyrically. Though…can I borrow money? Thanks Bukowski, for teaching me to write my own voice, find attractiveness in the wretched, and comfort in the pains of life. Also, like, a ton of vulgarities when I was younger, so props for that too.

JOANNA: Aside from watching Sesame Street and Mr. Roger’s Neighborhood growing up, my fourth grade teacher, Mrs. King, really inspired me to love stories. The entire class would be so interested in the books she selected; we would stay in from recess so she could read to us. Mrs. King helped make me the book lover I am today. (She also was the daughter-in-law of comedian Alan King.)

FRANCESCA: The earliest memories I have are of me sitting on my grandma’s lap and listening to her read. Whether it was Once Upon A Potty, Just Grandma And Me (Little Critter), or People Magazine, I loved reading with Grandma. The pictures were fun and Grandma had a pretty voice. I could listen to her all day.

She’d read with me outside on the porch—the sun tickling my skin and wind blowing my hair. Or on our squeaky couch, wrapped in a blanket she crocheted. She’d even walk across the street with me so we could attend storytime at the library. I LOVED listening to Grandma read; it was our time.

Despite how much my mom (and eventually my teachers) insisted, I wasn’t so interested in doing the reading myself. Reading was hard. I’d rather just listen to Grandma, but she wouldn’t read to me anymore. I had to read to her, and that wasn’t as much fun. But you know, when Mom, Grandma, and Sister were all reading in the TV room, what was a precious cherub like me going to do?

The school suggested stupid “easy reader” books about sports or history. Boring! But they struck gold with the Amelia Bedilia and Mr. Putter And Tabby Series. All throughout grade school I struggled with reading and writing. But R.L. Stein and Amelia Atwater-Rhodes showed me how much fun books could really be. My family and teachers helped me understand that persistence, practice, and patience were key to overcoming any and all obstacles that life throws my way.

So while my fondest memories are listening to my grandma read to me, I wouldn’t be the writer I am today without fantastic teachers, awesome authors, and the support of my family.

DAN: To Stephen King, for being the first to show me that the world of a book can be more vivid than real life: Thank you.

JOE:

The Reasons I Read:

LeVar Burton
Dr. Seuss

The Reasons I Write:

William Shakespeare
Franz Kafka
William Carlos Williams
David Sedaris
The Great Gatsby by F. Scott Fitzgerald
Fenimore Cooper’s Literary Offenses by Mark Twain

The Reasons I Write Well:

The Art Of Fiction by John Gardner
The Elements Of Style by William Strunk Jr. & E.B. White

MEG: Sister Mary Francis who taught me that studying Latin would give me a greater understanding of the English language.

KRISTE: Thank you to Mrs. Huffman of Lanphier High School! When I had her as my tenth grade English teacher, she was very supportive and encouraging with my creative writing. She would share my stories in other classes, then give me their written feedback. It’s no wonder she won Horace Mann Educator of the Year Award many years later. I could go on and on about this lady!

PAM: I wouldn’t have developed my love of writing without the guidance of two outstanding teachers: my freshman high school English teacher, the late Ms. Wiseman, and my creative writing, journalism, and senior high school English teacher, Mrs. Levin. I’d like to thank both for being such amazing, inspirational women!

Ms. Wiseman’s tough love kept everyone on his/her toes while making English class fun. Her fascination with the English language was a characteristic that separated her teaching methods from other English classes I’ve taken. We weren’t just going through, chapter by chapter, memorizing words and rules verbatim from our textbooks, we understood their origins and why a sentence is structured in a certain way.

Mrs. Levin’s enthusiasm and love of writing shined through every moment of her class and was highly contagious! Her out-of-the box approach gave me the courage to break out of my shell and not be afraid to put my feelings down on paper for all to see, no matter how silly or stupid I thought my words sounded. We studied many great works and made great works of our own both individually and as a class through crazy improv sessions. I wrote what I feel is some of my best work with Mrs. Levin’s guidance. I even used a well-received short story, my creative writing class final exam, for my animation senior thesis project in college!

CHRISTINE: To all those folks who bought me those waterproof bath time books, to the Berenstain Bears who made “time out” bearable, to Le Petit Prince for those wonderful bedtime story sessions, and to my parents for teaching me how to read—oodles of thanks.  

SONIA: I just want to say…THANK YOU!

My parents, for always encouraging my creativity and keeping my bookshelves fully stocked.

LeVar Burton, Mr. Rogers, and all the people/monsters of Sesame Street, for making the world of reading fun and colorful.

To Belle from Beauty And The Beast, for making reading glamorous and teaching me that, despite what other people might say, there’s absolutely nothing wrong with being well-read.

My kindergarten teacher, Miss Lisa Frankle, and second grade teacher, Ms. Rhonda Levine, for letting me take class time to come up with as many stories as I wanted.

My elementary school librarians, Mrs. Michele Freschi and Mrs. Lisa Ang, for coming up with activities that turned reading from something I had to do into something I LOVED to do.

ALLISON: I have to thank my folks (the librarians) for always supporting reading and Wishbone for both making me want a dog and want to read.

JON: My dad gave me some Robert Crais books to read when I was 14 or so. I devoured them (and finally began to read for pleasure). Mrs. Jones suggested I read Slaughterhouse Five. Kurt Vonnegut is now one of my favorite authors. “Don’t Stand So Close To Me” inspired me to read Lolita. Several different songs turned me on to 1984.

STEVE: Charles Dickens for Great Expectations—the first assigned book I actually read cover to cover for school.

QUESTION: Whom do YOU have to thank for your love of words?

But great endings are hard to do well. They require a writer to have a lot of control over the narrative tension and pacing. They often gather many plot elements together into a singular compelling moment to create a high-tension climax. No easy task!

Here are a few elements that can make for a great ending for your book or story:

The “right” ending. A good ending is in line with what came before it. Consider the deus ex machina technique of ancient playwriting. At the last second, the gods swoop in and save the right people. The end.

These days, that kind of contrived ending doesn’t jive with readers. The ending needs to be a logical, appropriate conclusion for what came before—not an ending that comes out of the blue.

The unpredictable element. Even though your ending needs to follow the action that came before it, the best endings aren’t predictable. This doesn’t mean you have to write a shocking plot twist; it just means the ending incorporates some element of surprise.

The plot twist. A plot twist ending can be ginormous or subtle, but what’s most important is that it’s not expected. Some writers have reported that the best plot twists “surprise” even them. Other plots twists are scripted from the get-go. Either way, a good twist feels surprising, but it’s also natural, appropriate, and somehow right.

The dark moment. Your characters’ dark moment arrives when all is apparently lost, when the gulf between hero and heroine seems too big, when it’s clear the aliens will win, when the truth makes the world look doomed and bleak. The blacker your dark moment, the bigger the emotional payoff if/when your characters triumph. Read more about character development.

The emotional epiphany/change. Your main character’s eureka moment can make for a good ending if the moment is big enough. The moment can be one of sudden understanding or insight. Whatever your eureka moment, be sure it has big repercussions for your main character, but also for all the characters around him/her.

The could-have-changed-but-didn’t dead end. If your book is character-driven (or literary), this ending might be especially useful. In this scenario, your character is given a clear opportunity to turn his/her life around. Everything hangs in the emotional balance. But in the end, the character goes back to his/her old ways.

Comingling happy and sad. Often, the best endings aren’t exclusively happy or exclusively sad. By writing an ending that’s both satisfying and full of complex emotion, your reader will be thinking of your story long after he/she turns the last page.

But, as always, it’s important to know your genre. If your readers expect a 100% happy ending, give it to them (or joyfully embrace the risks you take as a writer and cultivate realistic expectations).

Leave room for interpretation. Some great endings are open-ended. When you leave your ending open, you get people talking, thinking, and looking for answers.

Tie up loose ends quickly. After the climactic moment, don’t linger with long explanations of “what happens next.” Once the party’s over, go home. Scenes that follow the climax tend to be low tension.

The Right Ending For Your Book

Some writers find they need to experiment with different kinds of endings before landing on the one that works best for them. So don’t be afraid of trying different endings on for size, and pick the one that feels best. Read more: 5 Common Synopsis Mistakes That Fiction Writers Make

QUESTION: What’s one of your favorite endings, and why?

Let’s start simple. In one sentence, what is mediabistro and why should it be on every writer’s radar?

Mediabistro is an online site to guide you through every step of your media career from getting the job, to learning new skills to keep or move on to the next job, to always being up-to-date on changes in the industry. With our job board, classes and conferences, networking parties, and exclusive editorial content, we make sure to arm you with all you need no matter what part of media you are in.

Mediabistro is a big place; give us a map of the neighborhood and tell us where all the creative writers are hanging out.

Our map is endless. Courses are taught both in New York and online, so that wherever you live, you have access to the top industry professionals who are here to teach you the skills you need now. Our conferences take place in New York, San Francisco, and San Jose, as well as internationally in Berlin, London, Munich, and Singapore. But if you just want to learn from the comfort of your couch, our online community is thousands strong.

We know you’ve got some amazing classes for creative writers right now. Can you give us the highlights? 

We run about 35 online and 10 in-person classes a month, in addition to our online conferences and events. In the next two months alone, we have classes on memoir writing, YA novel writing, personal essay, op-ed, children’s book writing, novel writing, and chick lit. All of our instructors are actively working in the field they teach, so they are bringing their experience and knowledge as an author, editor, or agent to give you insider information while you receive weekly feedback on assignments to complete your manuscript or article. We’ll also have a 2-day self-publishing online event this fall, in addition to our ever-popular Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, where writers can develop a cohesive social media strategy for LinkedIn, Twitter, Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and other platforms to promote their work.

We’ve been talking a lot about the importance of social media when it comes to writers who want to promote themselves. Can you give our social (media) butterflies an overview of your offerings on using the Web for promo and marketing?

In addition to Social Media Marketing, we also offer classes on SEO writing, Twitter Marketing, Blogging, Creating Your Own Website, and so much more. Our SEO classes will show you how to make your work search engine-friendly, so that you get maximum exposure for what you are putting on the Web. Remember, self-promotion is key, but you need to be sure people are seeing it! Twitter Marketing takes students through the process of maximizing their personal brand through having a greater Twitter presence, creating a keyword-rich bio, optimizing followers, and using tools to manage a tweet schedule. Every author needs a blog, where they can showcase their writing, promote their work, and build an online audience. Our Blogging class will show you how to design, promote, and maintain a blog that will be up and running in four weeks. And of course every author needs a website—one of the most important pieces of promotion and brand awareness. Create Your Own Website will show you how to create a website using WordPress without having to know advanced coding skills.

You’re hosting a number of online conferences for writers. What do they entail? (And how do they make up for not offering attendees any of those awkward cocktail hour sessions spent holding tiny hot dogs and business cards in one hand and “conference wine” in the other?)

Our online conferences feature speakers at the top companies, providing access to case studies and insight you can’t get anywhere else. Our Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, which will help you develop a social author platform, has featured speakers from Coca-Cola, The Food Network, Microsoft, Whole Foods, Late Night with Jimmy Fallon, and many more who discuss how to extend your reach through social media.

Our Self-Publishing Finishing School included the editor of Galleycat, the founder of Smashwords, the director of Kirkus Editorial, Colleen Hoover, author of Slammed, and author Guy Kawasaki.

In addition to hearing from these speakers, attendees are placed into small groups, where they are working on projects and getting extensive feedback. In Social Media Marketing Boot Camp, students are working on each social media platform to improve their presence and reach, while in the self-publishing class they work on completing and posting an e-book with knowledge of how to price, market, and publicize it.

So no awkward cocktail sessions, no terrible food, and no stale wine. Just great conversation, feedback, and progress. With BYOB strongly encouraged!

Find out more about mediabistro! Of course, don’t forget to leave a comment explaining how you’d benefit from their June Social Media Marketing Boot Camp session.

The link between the body and the creative mind is becoming better understood. In The Creative Habit, Twyla Tharp explains: “The chemistry of the body is inseparable from the chemistry of the brain. Movement can stimulate anyone. I can’t say enough about the connection between body and mind; when you stimulate your body, your brain comes alive in ways you can’t simulate in a sedentary position. The brain is an organ, tied integrally to all the other systems in the body, and it’s affected by blood flow, neural transmission, all the processes you undergo when you put your body through its paces. You’re making it work differently, and new directions can result.”

So how can novelists, poets, and short story writers increase their activity level—thereby increasing creativity and the quality of their work—short of joining a gym and adopting a dreaded exercise regimen?

There are a myriad of virtually painless ways! Here are a few:

• Do seated exercises. Okay, so you’re really averse to anything remotely resembling “real exercise.” How about a few simple body movements you can perform without leaving that beloved chair? Here are some ideas for seated exercises that can be done throughout the day to reduce fatigue and keep the creative juices flowing: 11 Exercises to Do While Sitting at Your Computer.

• Stand at your computer. There are a growing number of people who enjoy the benefits of a stand-up desk (including our client Irene O’Garden…take a look at her office workspace!). While standing, you naturally tend to move a lot more, and it’s also good for posture, circulation, and reducing fatigue. You can easily test the concept by placing your laptop at eye level on a box on your desk. Some awfully creative people—Winston Churchill, Thomas Jefferson, and Ernest Hemingway—wrote while standing.

• Get up and stretch every hour. Make it a point to get up and stretch every hour or so. As long as you’re up, walk down the hall and then walk up and down that staircase you’d rather avoid. Not only do these little trips invigorate and refresh…they burn calories to boot!

• Dance to the music. You don’t have to be Twyla Tharp to reap the benefits of dancing. When you’re working at home, put on some music every so often and just move to it. Rock to Aerosmith. Sway to Mozart. March in place to Wagner. Do the locomotion with Little Eva. Moving to music not only spurs the creative juices, it makes you happy!

• Take a hike! According to a study referenced in Scientific American, participants who spent four days hiking without electronic devices scored nearly fifty percent higher on creativity tests than a control group. Fifty percent is a HUGE difference. It may not be possible to go hiking in the woods for four days, but it is possible to incorporate the concept into your daily life. Take a few moments each day to stroll around your yard or the grounds of your apartment complex WITHOUT your cell or smartphone. The walking will fulfill the need for more movement, while the daily observing of the world around you will serve to inspire your writing. **NOTE: If you regularly work out with apps on your smartphone, we recommend that you silence your ringtone/notifications so you are free of distractions and can let the creativity flow more freely through your mind.

Learn More:

• Brain Foods For Writers; What To Eat To Support A Creative Mind

• Seven Tips To Beat Eyestrain

• Healthy Computing Habits For Writers

A writer needs every advantage. Exercise—any movement, in fact—is good for your health; it is good for your happiness; it is good for your creativity; it is good for your writing. So get out and about, get up and go, get down and boogie. Your body, your mind, and your readers will thank you.

Photo by: CollegeDegrees360.

Question: How do you stay active during the workday?

Our guest blog today is brought to you by Roy Furr of American Writers & Artists Inc. Since 1997, AWAI has been helping writers and artists take their careers to the next level so they can make money on their own. They have programs for copywriting, travel writing, photography, and graphic design. Their organization might be the next big thing to kick-start your career.

There’s a unique job opportunity waiting for you right now. It offers these benefits: high pay, a flexible schedule, and the ability to write from wherever you want.

It’s called copywriting.

There are dozens—if not hundreds—of well-paid writing projects available for copywriters. Each is a chance to flex your creative muscle. And many come with an extra challenge—to stir your reader to take action, whether to request more information or to buy a product or service.

There are opportunities to be a well-paid writer, once you know where to look. And it’s all within your reach if you have strong writing skills.

Here’s a quick story illustrating what is the single most valuable part of my life as a writer.

Not too long ago, my wife came into my home office around 1 p.m. (on a work day) and asked, “I’m taking Dominic [our son] to the water park this afternoon. Want to come?”

Before I quit my 9 to 5 job, my only option would have been to tell her “No.”

Now I just have to think, “Have I been productive today? Are my projects still on schedule, and will they be if I take the afternoon off?” My answer was, “Yes.” I took the afternoon off.  And we had a blast!

That freedom is the single most valuable part of becoming a freelance copywriter.

Beyond that, copywriters, including those with just a couple of years in the game, often surpass six figures in income annually. I earned a six-figure income, from home, in my first full year as a freelancer—and I don’t work full-time.

If you’re a writer who likes to flex your creative muscles on a regular basis—and wants to make a good living doing so—copywriting gives you the opportunity.

So to answer a couple common questions…

Industries Hiring Copywriters

Who hires writers like me? Every business needs writers who can clearly communicate their message and persuade customers to buy. There are businesses in a number of industries who want you to help them succeed.

Business-to-consumer businesses sell products directly to consumers. The style of writing that works best is often conversational. Top industries for business-to-consumer copywriters are health, financial, self-help, catalogs, and fund-raising.

Business-to-business (B2B) companies sell products to other businesses. This isn’t “technical” writing. It can include marketing business software and services, training and development materials, industrial supplies, business consulting services, and more.

Types Of Work For Copywriters

I briefly touched on the variety of work available before, but I want to reassure you: Becoming a copywriter doesn’t mean you’ll just sit down and write letters or articles.

Here are some examples of the different types of projects you might work on as a freelance copywriter:

• Online sales letters
• Direct mail sales letters
• Space advertisements
• Lead generation letters
• Magalogs
• Catalog descriptions
• Articles (online or print)
• Web pages
• Marketing emails (autoresponders and other marketing messages)
• Newsletters
• White papers and special reports
• Books (ghostwriting for clients)
• Grants
• Press releases
• Blog posts
• Video scripts

As you can see, the list is vast—and on any given day, a client may ask you to complete a new and different project.

So how do you get started?

There’s never been a better time to become a copywriter. The growth of ecommerce means that online businesses are always in need of fresh copy and content. And there are opportunities for copywriters of all skill levels, including beginners.

A flexible schedule, time and freedom, and the ability to earn a living—a great living—from writing…that’s what being a copywriter is all about. To get started enjoying these benefits, you simply need to learn how your writing abilities can be applied in the world of copywriting.

Personally, a company named American Writers & Artists Inc. (or AWAI for short) has been an important part of my early success as a copywriter. And my story is one of their thousands of success stories.

AWAI has a large number of programs to take you from wherever you’re at as a writer to working as a professional copywriter in a specialty of your choosing. Their Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting is where many copywriters get their start, and I recommend it highly if you want to fast-track your own copywriting career.

Note: American Writers & Artists Inc. is the world’s leading publisher of direct-response copywriting, travel writing, photography, and graphic design home-study programs. They’ve helped thousands of people develop skills to acquire financial security, independence, and freedom.

AWAI prides itself on publishing programs that not only equip its members with the tools necessary to succeed in their new careers…but with the critical skills and connections needed to land clients and start working professionally and earning money fast.

For more information: Visit American Writers & Artists Inc. and its training programs, including the flagship Accelerated Program for Six-Figure Copywriting.

Here are five secrets for getting a literary agent to read your query:

1.       Write An Amazing Query Letter

Your query letter is the first thing a literary agent is going to read. But it’s no secret that query letters can be pretty difficult to write—especially if you’re the author of the book.

Check out our Free Publishing Tool Kit: How To Write A Query Letter to learn more about crafting the perfect query letter.

Inside you’ll learn:

• What to include in a query letter
• How to write a killer book blurb
• How to write a professional bio
• The proper etiquette for addressing agents

 2.       Don’t Blow Your Word Count

There is a target word count for every genre of fiction and nonfiction. Be sure your book is within the range suitable for your genre. Mentioning your word count is advised for your query letter, since it will be one of the first things an agent looks for. Don’t blow your opportunity for representation on the word count.

Check out our article to find your ideal word count: Genre Fiction Rules

 3.       Make Sure Your First Five Pages Are Phenomenal

Once an agent has read through your query letter and decided to give your prose a chance, it’s important to dazzle him/her from the get-go. Focus on introducing your main character or setting in a unique or dynamic way that takes the reader by surprise. Practice your craft until your prose is clinical, sound, and vibrant. You may only get a few pages to win over an agent’s heart, so make the best of them!

 4.       Don’t Get Eliminated By Failure To Follow Submission Guidelines

One of the most critical steps to submitting your query to literary agents is following the agency’s submission guidelines. Some agencies may ask for a query packet (which contains your query letter, synopsis, and about the first fifteen pages), a query letter and sample pages, or just a query letter. No matter what they request, it’s a good idea to submit ONLY what they request. The last thing agents want is to be bombarded by unrequested materials. Play it safe and follow the submission guidelines. Keep in mind this may also mean reformatting your work.

Learn more about submission guidelines here: How To Interpret Submission Guidelines

5.       Send Your Work To The Right Agents

So you’ve written your query letter and prepared your materials. Now it’s time to actually submit your query to literary agents. First things first: Be sure to only target agents that represent your genre of work.

To find literary agents, try looking through market books or online listings such as the Association of Authors’ Representatives. Thorough, up-to-date research is one of the many perks offered by Writer’s Relief’s submission service. Learn more about our Full Service and A La Carte programs. Once you’ve found appropriate literary agents, send that query!

Submitting your book to literary agents is not as intimidating as you may think. It’s important to remember that agents do take queries quite seriously as long as writers don’t give them a reason not to. By taking heed of these five secrets, you bring yourself one step closer to securing representation!

Photo by fanz.

Question: What other tips do you follow for getting literary agents to read your query?

Simultaneous submissions are sometimes confused with multiple submissions. When you make multiple submissions, you’re submitting more than one piece in a single packet (three stories to one market at the same time). In the case of poetry, submissions are often made in groups of three to five poems, so a multiple submission would include two groups.

Read more: How To Interpret Submission Guidelines

The good news is that most literary agents and editors of literary journals are open to simultaneous submissions. Some include a request like, “Let us know if this is a simultaneous submission,” so the writer adds a note in his/her cover stating that. However, perhaps more important than a note in a cover or query letter is a follow-up note if there is interest in the work in question.

Editors and agents hate spending hours and hours deliberating on whether or not to accept a piece for publication or make an offer of representation only to discover that said work is no longer available. That said, some literary journals are open to accepting reprint rights instead of first rights (but the majority are not).

When Making Simultaneous Submissions To Literary Journals

Most lit mag editors understand that writers must submit a given work to more than one market at a time. If you find yourself with two offers of publication on the table, just be sure that you understand what rights you’re granting to each editor.

Read more: Literary Journal Contracts: Terms And Conditions.

When Making Simultaneous Submissions To Literary Agents

Simultaneous submissions for books can be fantastic, especially if you receive interest from multiple literary agents. Even if you don’t have an offer of representation, you can sometimes leverage one agent’s interest into interest across the board.

To learn how to handle this situation, start with these two articles: Literary Agent Manuscript Requests and When A Literary Agent Requests An Exclusive: Solutions For Sticky Situations.

Happy (simultaneous) submitting!

QUESTION: Do you make simultaneous submissions, or submit one place at a time?

“Once, I autodialed a fellow writer who had the same name as the superintendent of my apartment building. I didn’t wait more than a second after saying hello before launching into a litany of complaints about having no hot water. After a minute, the man said, ‘Who is this?’ And then I realized I made a mistake. He laughed and told me not to worry about it. He also said it was fun for him to get such a high-stakes call; nobody ever calls writers telling them they ran out of novels or poems in the middle of the night and need it fixed right away.”

The point here is that, as writers, we sometimes feel we don’t have a meaningful way to contribute when there’s an emergency or crisis. But it’s important not to undervalue our own individual potential.

Whether a crisis is national, personal, or both, writing can lead to greater understanding, comfort, and possibly, closure. Our writing can point to core problems that engender violence. Eloquence and well-wrought insights can affect our readers, family members, fans, and lawmakers. Our impact might not be measurable, but it’s real…only if we get out there and use our talents to the best of our abilities.

This doesn’t mean that all of our writing must be overtly political; Anne Lamott, in her book Bird by Bird doesn’t advise writers that their work should have a “message.” Instead, she says the morality in a creative writer’s work should stem from “a passionate caring,” as opposed to a desire to teach, lecture, or instruct.

But whether the “passionate caring” of our writing is overt (in letters to the editor or senators) or implicit (tucked away in poems, novels, etc.), it is powerful.

QUESTION: How do you use your talent as a writer to engage with the world in times of triumph or tragedy?