Tips from the Pros

A place where authors can exchange ideas or thoughts. Talk about what categories are hot and which ones are not.

Moderators: Celeste Stewart, Ed

JD
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Post by JD »

I think the point Celeste made about having a shining summary is a good one. If a customer comes to CC and they have time to read only one or two articles on a topic for which there are quite a few, then the summary could be what gets your article, at least, to be read by the customer.

I am not as organized as the pros here, although I do have my own pricing structure (based on CC's pricing guidelines), which I always apply, unless writing to a public request when, for a number of reasons, I'm prepared to perhaps lower the price.
CRDonovan
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Post by CRDonovan »

The point about a shining short summary - I know this is one of my big weaknesses. By the time I'm ready to upload an aritlce I am really impatient to have it submitted. I shortchange the short summary. Unfortunately, the short summary cannot be edited, am I correct? Darn. Best to linger over those a bit more.

And thanks again, everyone, great suggestions.
Ed
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Post by Ed »

I believe the short summary can be edited, no? Might be a project for a rainy day.

Ed
Celeste Stewart
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Post by Celeste Stewart »

The short summary IS editable so have fun!
moonshadow68
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Thanks Celeste...

Post by moonshadow68 »

Hi Celeste,
I followed your link from AC and this is in fact the better place to get advice for CC. I have ahd many of my questions answered just by reading throguh the thread.
Thanks for the great advice, everyone!
Celeste Stewart
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Post by Celeste Stewart »

Glad you found this thread helpful. Check out Ed's blog too and feel free to ask questions here.
Celeste Stewart
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Post by Celeste Stewart »

Time for more tips!

Topdyke mentioned earlier how I had introduced her to Excel for tracking submissions. This is really important because you can analyze your stats in such a way that you know what is most profitable for you. You can create a spreadsheet as elaborate as you want.

For example, I know how much I make per word and per hour. This helps me when determining if a particular request is worth my time or not.

I also know my ratio of sales based on whether the article was written for a private request, public request, or an idea I dreamed up on my own. Obviously, private requests have the highest ratio. For me, I've found I have a better ratio writing to a public request instead of dreaming up my own topics. Probably because there's a willing customer with a current need. My own articles sell eventually but at a slower rate and a lower ratio.

I also have a formula entered that automatically calculates the 35% fee so that I can plug in the sales price and know how much I actually will get. This figure is then taken and calculated into a price per word and price per hour equation.
Elizabeth Ann West
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Post by Elizabeth Ann West »

On using Excel:

You can also easily copy and paste your content information into Excel, which is far faster that manually typing in each article, how much it sold for etc.

Also, the formula I use, because the 3% plus $.30 paypal takes can also be a bit of a shock is this:

Money I get = (Price of Article + $0.30)/(.65*.97)

So if I want to "net $10" on an article after everyone else (C-C, paypal) get's their cut, I need to price it at $16.34. Really makes those $7 articles not seem worth it, huh?
grouchy
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Post by grouchy »

Too much math talk going on here - I have to change the subject before I break out in hives.

Ed, not too long ago -- maybe it was in your NY resolutions -- you suggested taking risks (I assume with our writing, not our grammar and punctuation :D ). Can we talk about that for a while? What do you consider risk-taking, other than going beyond your comfort level?

Has anyone else taken a risk? How did it turn out for you? I hope we can hear from a lot of people here. Free ice cream to all responders.
Ed
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Post by Ed »

Oh, wow. Ice cream. Two scoops of something with lots of chunks of stuff.

Grouchy, you and I are in the same boat with numbers. I get hives, too. I could never study a discipline that required any type of math skills.

I'm glad you brought up the idea of "taking risks." I'm reading a great book for the second time, called "The Forest for the Trees: An Editor's Advice to Writers," by Betsy Lerner. Anyone here read it?

She almost immediately talks about risk-taking. For example, not waiting until your parents are dead before writing your life story, not holding in your emotions just because society says they shouldn't be expressed, and not necessarily editing out all the hatred and negativity you feel towards the world. Also important is to write what suits *you*, and not what's selling "right now."

There are some charming quotes throughout this book, and solid, wonderful advice. I highly recommend it to everyone.

My favorite quotation that Lerner uses so far is by William Gass. "I write because I hate. A lot. Hard. And if someone asks me the inevitable next dumb question, 'Why do you write the way you do?' I must answer that I wish to make my hatred acceptable because my hatred is much of me, if not the best part. Writing is a way of making the writer acceptable to the world - every cheap, dumb, nasty thought, every despicable desire, every noble sentiment, every expensive taste."

Writing because you hate is a risk. Writing for revenge is a risk.Writing to make yourself *acceptable* is a risk (there's no guarantee you'll ever be accepted, you naval-gazing introvert, you-who-talks-to-imaginary-characters).

While writing because you hate or writing for revenge, are, according to Lerner, perfectly okay reasons to write, one even bigger risk is to try to transcend those emotions through writing . . . or to try to turn them into something beautiful and enlightening to others.
Last edited by Ed on Thu Jan 31, 2008 2:42 pm, edited 1 time in total.
grouchy
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Post by grouchy »

The book sounds fascinating - in fact I just ordered a used copy from Amazon. Thanks, Ed.

Your funky monkey with extra chunkies is on its way.
Celeste Stewart
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Post by Celeste Stewart »

I have taken risks with my novel - I try not to censor myself too much. My main character has a lot to deal with and then I pile more on her. On top of all that she's going through, I toss in touchy subjects and use terms that aren't exactly politically correct. And this is a book written for young adults! Edgy, yes. Maybe too much for the audience but I'm writing the story the way I see it and I think it's coming out quite lovely if I do say so myself :)

I've queried my critique group "how edgy is too edgy" and so far they think I haven't crossed the line. I'm not sure how I feel about that answer to tell you the truth.

One thing I will say about this risky approach to the story that I'm writing is that the story is bold and different. Who wants to write something that's been done to death? Not me.
Lauren
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Post by Lauren »

I am at the point in my writing where taking risks means putting pen to paper and putting it in front of people's faces! One of my goals for 2008 is to actively seek out feedback. With others' feedback and suggestions, my writing can only improve. It also makes me fear rejection less (or, I hope it does and will), so that I can put more (and higher quality) work out there.

I also took an assignment to write a couple of restaurant reviews. I'd never written anything of that type before, and I had to do some research (that is, read a lot of restaurant reviews) before I determined what my voice should sound like in those articles. I went through several drafts, and I'm very happy with the final version.

This may be a different take on risks than you had in mind, but I suspect it may be representative of other newcomers' perspectives.
CRDonovan
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Post by CRDonovan »

Really Celeste I think writing a novel is itself a risk. Considering the investment of time and energy - cripes. It's a risk I've taken too, and I must say - I immensely enjoyed constructing a novel. It was like climbing a mountain that kept growing taller. But had I known in advance how much work it would be; and that marketing it would be even more difficult than writing it - well, it's just as well I didn't know.
Celeste Stewart
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Post by Celeste Stewart »

I know what you're saying! You've gotta write novels out of love, not hopes for financial rewards. (Though we can still hope, can't we?)

I have one YA novel done and I just hate the querying process and don't do nearly enough of it. It's not that I fear rejection;it just seems so impossible to break through and even get the book read. And slower than anything else in the world.
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