Oct 9, 2004 - Model the Masters
Volume 3, Issue 25
The weekly ezine with a road map for
sidetracked writers.
"Be better writers today
than we were yesterday."
Thought for the Week - Goal-Setting for the 4th Quarter
Welcome new subscribers and old friends, too! We've got lots of fun stuff this issue so let's get to it...
As march into the end of 2004, let's set some realistic goals for the
11 weeks remaining (actually it's more like 9 if you take out all the holidays!). Those of you who have The Organized Writer
ebook know that Day 6 discusses the six areas of your life and how well the time spent on each area balances with its importance.
Let me share some of my plan for the next couple months.
First, here are three of my goals. My Home goal is to get my holiday directions (especially the Christmas lights!) up early and put away promptly at the end of the season.
My Writing goal is to finish the 2005 Writer's Calendar and get my new site for writers up and running (Wait 'til you see it! I am so excited.)
My Health goal is to get some kind of handle on the exercise thing.... we'll see how this one goes.
Next, I'm putting my six goals on MemotoMe.com so they pop up each week in my email to keep me on track.
P.S. Did you miss last
week's issue? You
can read it here.
Write More in 2004™ Audio CD now available!
How are you doing with our goal to Write More in 2004?
If you need a little inspiration, check out my brand-new audio CD, Write More. It's 45 minutes where we run through the Organized Writer 30-Day Get Organized plan with some of my favorite new tips and resources. If you need a little jump-start to get your summer writing in gear, this CD is perfect. You can listen on the way to work (or even on the treadmill).
Only $19.95 plus S&H.
"The CD came yesterday afternoon, and I listened to it as I was
zipping around the kitchen making dinner. It's terrific, and I learned
several things." --Joyce Heiser, Inspirational Writer, http://www.mychristiansite.com/ministries/lhchristianwriters/
Payments can be made through Paypal (with just a credit card if you don't
have an account).
If you have questions, require international shipping or would like to use another payment method, just
email me with
"Audio CD" in the subject line
For authors and publishers... Model the Masters
The first question you should ask when you are trying to sell your book is "Who is my target market?" Describe them in detail, and the more you can focus the details, the easier it will be to find your buyers. Then repeat the exercise for another type of buyer.
Once you've identified all your buyer types, find a book that is targeting your same market and selling well. Study how they are they are doing it.
I did this for The Organized Writer.... when it came out, Peter Bowerman's
The Well-Fed Writer was doing really well so I tried to emulate some of the same book-selling techniques he used.
For those of you who are selling romances, I came across Nora Roberts latest
promotion schedule for her new book,
Northern Lights. Even if you can't visit all the places she is, these are probably romance-writer friendly bookstores and markets.
Take a quick peek at what the masters are doing, and then see what you can emulate.
BOOK REVIEW -- The Well-Fed Writer: Back
for Seconds
by Peter Bowerman
A few books are on my "must-have" list for writers: The Well-Fed Writer is one of them if you are serious about making money writing. Author Peter Bowerman has found a way to make a good living at writing and has written two excellent books on how you can do it, too.
You can imagine how excited I was to read his sequel, Back for
Seconds. With 95% new content, this book answers nearly all the questions the first book created.
Questions like:
-- I'm working full-time. How can I transition to business writing part time? (Chapter 9 and a case study on page 221. You'll learn about a full-time AT&T employee,
husband and father who was doing commercial writing part-time.)
-- How can I write in a remote area or small town? (Chapter 8)
-- Is cold-calling the only way to build a business? (Chapter 5 holds your hand through the cold-calling primer but Chapter 6 on other ways to market and Chapter 3's discussion of web sites are even better.)
This book is filled with tons more information. The author has done lots of real-life research through his training seminars (* highly recommended, by the way), mentoring programs and many emails with flourishing commercial writers
(many of whom are profiled in Appendix B).
Even if you haven't read the first Well-Fed Writer book, get Back
for Seconds and start with the summary of the first book in Appendix A. By the time you finish the book, you'll be convinced that you can be
"well-fed," too!
Order now from Amazon
or if you order from the author's site, you'll get the free bonuses (The 40+ page Well-Fed Tool Box will save you tons of time with checklists, sample letters, etc.) at
WellfedWriter.com.
See you next week with a much shorter issue <grin>! Julie
Like Organized
Writer.com? You'll love the ebook.....
"Julie, I love your book. I have read (or at least opened) more than a trunk load of books about writing over the years. Yours is the first I have seen that gives readers so much in one place. For me, the Master List and putting that together was more than worth the cost."
-- David Stoddard
Motivational writer, trainer and publisher of the
Terrific Life Concepts ezine.
http://djstoddard.net
M T W T F S S
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1. Declutter (only 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. Read (only 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. Assess (30 seconds to 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4. Write (at least 5 minutes)
Weekly Checklist
For freelance writers: Use this weekly checklist to find, write and send a query every week of
2004!
Monday
__ Make notes on a new idea.
Tuesday: Accounting Day
__ Post your accounting records.
__ Pay bills.
__ Follow up on outstanding invoices and queries.
Wednesday
__ Find a new market using links below.
Thursday: Errand Day
__ Make copies.
__ Return books to library.
__ Make deposit at bank.
Friday
__ Finish query and submit.
__ Match your query to the market.
Saturday Weekly Review
__ How was this week?
__ What's up next week?
__ Review your Projects list in your planner and check the
status.
__ Jot the next action steps for your projects on next week's
calendar.
__ Backup your computer files.
__ Virus scan your computer.
__ Update windows software at http://windowsupdate.microsoft.com
__ Update Microsoft(R) office software at http://office.microsoft.com/officeupdate/default.aspx
Sunday
__ Relax and enjoy!
__ Do something fun today!
Thanks for visiting Writer-Reminders! If you have comments,
success stories, or suggestions, reply to this message or e-mail
me at :julie@writer-reminders.com
Your privacy is very important to me. Your email address will never be
sold by Writer-Reminders. For more on Yahoo's privacy policy, visit http://privacy.yahoo.com/privacy/us/
Copyright 2002-2004 Finally Organized LLC. All rights reserved worldwide. This
newsletter is provided with the understanding that the author is not engaged in rendering legal, accounting or other
professional services. If legal or other expert assistance is required, the services of a competent professional should be
sought.
Writer-Reminders and OrganizedWriter.com provide links to other Internet
sites solely as a convenience to its users.
Writer-Reminders and OrganizedWriter.com do not guarantee, approve or
endorse the information or products available at these sites, nor does a
link indicate any association with or endorsement by the linked site to
Writer-Reminders and
OrganizedWriter.com.
