Support for writers and freelancers

The other day, a blog I follow linked to this article:

Freelancers Union Tackles Concerns of Independent Workers

It's about how the Freelancers Union, based in New York, provides access to health insurance -- the biggest concern for most freelancers -- for its members.  Especially interesting was the part of the article about the union's health care center, which charges no co-pays and provides a more unified approach to primary care.

Free ebooks on writing

A few of you may know that I've made almost a complete switch to ebooks, and that I regularly keep an eye out for freebies — often limited-time promotions from the publishers.  There are currently 7 ebooks on writing that are free from a small publisher, and several of them look like they are worth checking out.  The timing — offering these during NaNoWriMo — seems rather coincidental, so I wonder if they are deliberately targeting wrimos.  In any case, download them now before they go back up to normal price — there may only be a day or two left on these promotions.

Get advice from the best in the business on every part of the novel writing and publishing process!

In The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing, 2nd Edition, you’ll learn from the invaluable advice of established writers. Discover new ways to generate ideas, implement intriguing techniques, and find the inspiration you need to finish your work. This fully-revised edition includes a revamped marketing section that covers the unique challenges of today’s publishing market and the boundless opportunities of online promotion.

Inside you’ll find expert advice from dozens of bestselling authors and publishing professionals on how to:

· Master the elements of fiction, from plot and characters to dialogue and point of view

· Develop a unique voice and sensibility in your writing

· Manage the practical aspects of writing, from overcoming writer’s block to revising your work

· Determine what elements your story needs to succeed in a particular genre—science fiction, fantasy, mystery, suspense, inspirational, romance (mainstream and Christian), or historical fiction

· Find an agent, market your work, and get published—or self-publish—successfully

You’ll also find interviews with some of the world’s finest writers, including Margaret Atwood, Tom Clancy, Brock Clarke, Cory Doctorow, Dave Eggers, Elizabeth George, Jerry Jenkins, Stephen King, Megan McCafferty, Audrey Niffenegger, Joyce Carol Oates, Chuck Palahniuk, James Patterson, Richard Russo, Anne Tyler, John Updike, and Kurt Vonnegut. Their words will provide you with the guidance and encouragement of your very own writing mentor.

The Complete Handbook of Novel Writing is your one-stop resource for everything you need to know about the craft and business of creating a bestseller.

The road to rejection is paved with bad beginnings. Agents and editors agree: Improper story beginnings are the single biggest barrier to publication. Why? If a novel or short story has a bad beginning, then no one will keep reading. It's just that simple.



In Hooked, author Les Edgerton draws on his experience as a successful fiction writer and teacher to help you overcome the weak openings that lead to instant rejection by showing you how to successfully use the ten core components inherent to any great beginning. You'll find:



Detailed instruction on how to develop your inciting incident

Keys for creating a cohesive story-worthy problem

Tips on how to avoid common opening gaffes like overusing backstory

A rundown on basics such as opening scene length and transitions

A comprehensive analysis of more than twenty great opening lines from novels and short stories



Plus, you'll discover exclusive insider advice from agents and acquiring editors on what they look for in a strong opening. With Hooked, you'll have all the information you need to craft a compelling beginning that lays the foundation for an irresistible story!

The Secret to Good Writing



When asked by the Paris Review what compelled him to rewrite the ending of A Farewell to Arms 39 times, Ernest Hemingway replied, "Getting the words right." His answer echoes what every successful writer knows: The secret to all good writing is revision.



For more than twenty years, Getting the Words Right has helped writers from all professions rewrite, revise, and refine their writing. In this new edition, author Theodore Cheney offers 39 targeted ways you can improve your writing, including how to:



create smooth transitions between paragraphs

correct the invisible faults of inconsistency, incoherence, and imbalance

overcome problems of shifting point of view and style

express your ideas clearly by trimming away weak or extra words



You'll strengthen existing pieces and every future work by applying the three simple principles—reduce, rearrange, and reword. Once the secrets of revision are yours, you'll be able to follow Hemingway's lead—and get the words right!

Take Control of Your Destiny!

Bottom line: You want to get published. You want to control the future of your manuscript and your writing career.

Best-selling author Marilyn Ross and publishing expert Sue Collier show you how to make your own success —whether you're a published author, entrepreneur, corporation, professional, or absolute newcomer to writing. In this expanded and completely revised 5th edition of the 'bible' of self-publishing (over 100,000 copies sold), they empower you to publish your own work with minimal risk and maximum profits. You'll find:

* Complete step-by-step guidance on publishing and marketing a book
* Ways to leverage social media marketing to build your platform and make yourself stand out from the crowd
* A thorough explanation of the difference between POD self-publishing, subsidy publishing, and true self-publishing—and how to decide which is the best option for you
* Practical advice on making the decision between offset printing and print-on-demand
* How to leverage the Internet to create 'buzz' and promote your book with killer PR
* The latest information on e-publishing
* A detailed marketing plan and timetable to keep you on track
* Proven marketing strategies to get free publicity, reach nontraditional buyers, and sell books
* Information-packed appendices with marketing contacts, organizations, and vendors, complete with names, addresses, and Web sites
* Valuable case studies and examples of how other publishers excel
* Dozens of tips and resources for publishing and selling books in Canada
* An in-depth discussion of exclusive distributors, plus coverage of the most recent changes in bookstores and the book-selling industry
* Thirty-one creative ideas for generating capital to launch your publishing company

The Complete Guide to Self-Publishing is the one book you need to take control of your writing career. Read it. Believe it. Do it. Your future depends on it.

Build a Timeless, Original Story Using Hundreds of Classic Story Motifs!

It's been said that there are no new ideas; but there are proven ideas that have worked again and again for all writers for hundreds of years.

Story Structure Architect is your comprehensive reference to the classic recurring story structures used by every great author throughout the ages. You'll find master models for characters, plots, and complication motifs, along with guidelines for combining them to create unique short stories, novels, scripts, or plays. You'll also learn how to:

* Build compelling stories that don't get bogged down in the middle
* Select character journeys and create conflicts
* Devise subplots and plan dramatic situations
* Develop the supporting characters you need to make your story work

Especially featured are the standard dramatic situations inspire by Georges Polti's well-known 19th century work, The Thirty-Six Dramatic Situations. But author Victoria Schmidt puts a 21st-century spin on these timeless classics and offers fifty-five situations to inspire your creativity and allow you even more writing freedom. Story Structure Architect will give you the mold and then help you break it.

This browsable and interactive book offers everything you need to craft a complete, original, and satisfying story sure to keep readers hooked!

Athletes practice. Musicians practice. As a writer you need to do the same. Whether you have dreams of writing a novel or a memoir or a collection of poems, or you simply want to improve your everyday writing, this innovative book will show you how to build your skills by way of practice.



Through playful and purposeful exercises, you'll develop your natural aptitude for communication, strengthening your ability to come up with things to say, and your ability to get those things into the minds (and the hearts) of readers. You'll learn to:



1. Train and develop your writer's powers—creativity, memory, observation, imagination, curiosity, and the subconscious

2. Understand the true nature of the relationship between you and your readers

3. Find your writer's voice

4. Get required writing projects done so you have more time for the writing you want to do

5. And much more



Empowering and down-to-earth, How to Be a Writer gives you the tools you need, and tells you what (and how) to practice so that you can become the writer you want to be.

From the foreword by Maya Angelou:



"[T]he joy they promise in their prose makes me glad that I and other writers have been willing to make good writing our aim, and even great writing our dream."



"How do I get my book published?"



Good question. Lucky for you, publishing insiders Sam Barry and Kathi Kamen Goldmark have laid out the blueprint for what you want--your book. From transforming an idea into a manuscript to finding an agent to working with an editor to marketing your book, BookPage's Author Enablers are here to assist you every step of the way. And they've brought some backup with original insight from literary superstars like Stephen King, Amy Tan, Rita Mae Brown, and more.



It's everything you would ever want--and need--to know about the industry from the inside out.

Free stuff for writers on Freecycle.org

A couple of weeks ago, I discovered Freecycle.org, a really cool site where you can get other people's unwanted stuff for free. Each individual area has its own Yahoo! group, and once you've signed up you get emails every time someone is giving something away (or looking for something).

It means I have to weed through a lot more emails, but today all that "work" paid off: I got a free HP printer.

I needed a dedicated business printer. Although I was really the only one using the "family" printer, I'd much rather have one that is used solely for my work. I've been contemplating buying one for months, but last night I spotted a rather nice printer that was being offered on Freecycle.

Here it is: the HP deskjet 6122. The lady who was giving it away thought it needed ink, but when I installed it I saw that the ink cartridges are both nearly full. This printer cleans the ink cartridges for you, so I ran through that process about four times. It still doesn't print perfectly, but it does well enough to hold off on replacing the cartridges.

I feel like a kid at Christmas. I'm so tickled with my free printer that I keep looking for a reason to use it. On a more serious note, though, I highly recommend Freecycle.org — I see a lot of printers, computer monitors, and other things freelance writers might find useful. As I said, it makes for a lot of emails, but it's well worth it in the long run!

An ebook library? Who would've thunk it?

Yesterday while doing some research, I discovered that my library has ebooks that you can "check out." Some of the ebooks are through their system, and you actually check the books out -- and while you have the book checked out, you are the only one who can view it.

They also offer some ebooks through NetLibrary. I had to call my library and have them set up an account for me, but once I'm in I can search the database and access any of their ebooks. There's no limit -- I just put the ebook in my favorites list and log in whenever I want to look at it.

Although I've known for a while that my library offered the ability to check out ebooks, yesterday was the first time I had actually tried it. After a short call to the library to set up my NetLibrary account, I was able to browse the ebook and find the information I needed. Basically, I did library-quality research without ever leaving my rocker.

Ebook lending libraries are a great resource for writers (or even students, for that matter). I highly recommend contacting your library and finding out if they have a similar service.

The continuing saga of the Freelance Work Exchange

I have posted before about Freelance Work Exchange. In a post back in May, I shared stories I had heard about the difficulty of canceling FWE a membership, as I thought it was reason for concern. More recently, I complained about the frequency of FWE ads on the Craigslist boards - ads which, according to the Craigslist Terms of Service, classify as spam because they are promoting an outside site rather than advertising a job that any Craigslist user can apply for.

Tonight, however, I have a rant of a different nature. I stumbled across this WAHM forum thread about Write-From-Home.com, and was astonished to see the WAHM members' reactions to Amy Derby's ad. They attack her for paying by money order, claiming her payment rates are "too good to be true," but their posts quickly reveal that her affiliation with FWE is the real issue.

Before I get any further into my indignant blog post, let me state clearly that I am currently working with Amy on several articles for Write-From-Home.com. She paid me before I even started, and there was no problems whatsoever with the money order, which I deposited two weeks ago.

Let me also state that I didn't realize she was associated with FWE when I first queried her, but that knowing it now doesn't change my opinion whatsoever. Regardless of her website's affiliations, the site is a fantastic resource for writers. She provides informative articles written by experienced writers, links to publications' guidelines for writers, links to job listings, and other resources. And - contrary to what the WAHM members claim - I looked through several days' worth of job listings, and didn't find anything that led me to Freelance Work Exchange (although there were a couple of ads that had been removed).

Now, don't get me wrong. I'm still opposed to FWE. I don't need to pay a service to find me work, as I find enough for myself for free. And I still hate the way they spam the boards, with links to their sign-up page masquerading as genuine job ads. But regardless of what involvement Amy Derby has in this, that doesn't change the fact that she is providing an excellent resource for writers, not to mention paying healthy rates for other writers' work.

Furthermore, no matter how unnecessary or annoying I think FWE is, I don't think they are doing anything truly immoral. And therefore, I see no good reason to boycott their affiliate, who is providing a valuable (and free!) service to writers.

A new site for writers

A little while back I blogged on problems with Freelance Work Exchange. A lot of the freelance job boards I check regularly have been pointing out recently that you can find jobs for free - probably the same jobs as are posted on paid membership sites like Freelance Work Exchange. And while I agree with that, I've started using a site lately that I think is a good compromise.

It's called Writerlance.com. The way the site works, you bid on writing gigs, and only if you get the gig do you pay a commission to the company. You see a lot of different people bidding on the jobs - everyone from beginners and low-ballers (you know, the wannabe writers that bid a few bucks for a project), to experienced professionals. You also see clients who are looking for those stupid enough to write a gazillion words for a couple of bucks, but they're offset by the clients who want good work for a reasonable price. I just got a gig on that site the other day; the project is already finishing and the client has paid me. Although Writerlance.com probably won't provide you with all your writing work, it certainly can supplement what you already get.