The Art Business of Writing by Chris Jones

Loved this book. So much helpful advice. Perfect size ... not too long and not too short. It even went beyond where I am in my career right now and took it to business cards (I do have a mommy card with all my businesses on it) and web hosting (I just use free Blogger and have for about 9 years) advice.

Here are some takeaways for me personally, and I have been writing for publication since about 2006 and ebooks since 2009:

• Check out the Pomodoro timer in your phones app store. Interesting to see how much work I was actually getting done versus how much time I THOUGHT I was spending working. It was much less, actually. Heres my post about discovering this helpful app!
• This book made me realize that it would be doable for me to write 500 words per day if I made room in my life for that and did it first, BEFORE sitting down to my proofreading jobs. Its all about priorities.
• The book is about the Art + Business of writing. To me thats like being good at English + Math, you know? You cant be all about the art of it ... because you also have to worry about record keeping, collections, getting clients, marketing and so much more!
• Who is my reader? What do I hope they will learn and how will I help them? Like with my cookbooks, thats easy. And same for my book about making money to write for magazines. But my parenting Christmas and Halloweens? Kinda general and might need to be reworked into a more general Holidays book thats more focused on solutions.
• Am I writing for them or for me? You have to somewhat write for yourself. Like most of my parenting articles were for me and same for the tater tot cookbook and even the magazine one was to compile all my markets but then I wrote all the tips in the beginning for the reader! I put all the tater tot recipes in one place so I would have them. Then I spiced them up and created more and added desserts! This gets me so excited to work on my other 8 projects I want to do, like this one!

What are some helpful things that work for you in your life as a writer?

**There were typos that were distracting to me as a proofreader. If there were only a couple I would not even mention it, but there were many and they were easy-to-catch things like commas for pauses and "your" instead of "you" ... and others. I have to admit I do proofread my own work because Im a proofreader, but I probably should not be doing that. I recently read something decent with few typos and knew the author did not use a proofreader and she said she used Grammarly. Im just saying Word and Grammarly are not humans, so spend the money to hire a proofreader for your baby (your book) or someone like me is going to mention it so you fix it. We dont do it to be mean, we do it so youll make it right and do better on your next book! I promise I am not even trolling for new clients when I point these things out; I am so busy on Fiverr already! I loved this book so much that I am choosing to ignore the typos and give it five stars on Amazon!

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Weekly Writer Challenge 4 The Art of the Query

In case you missed them, check out Weekly Writer Challenge #1 and Weekly Writer Challenge #2. Oh, and Weekly Writer Challenge #3. You can still catch up to us!

AND dont forget ... all this is free! Lots of other writers charge beaucoup bucks and call it a CLASS, but folks, I have no class, so this little situation here is FREE! Lets hold each other accountable and make some dang money writing for magazines, increasing our experience and pay as we go!

As with the last challenge, please share this with any bloggers (= aspiring writers) or writers you know so they can participate. I have lately been seeing many writers making one red cent per word to write all day long to pull down the bucks, and I want so badly to pull them out of that situation and let them know their work is worth so much more than that, even if it DOES take weeks to get paid sometimes! (By the way, I just wrote for one red cent per word this last week and it was not my thing. Blog post to come, but I make more proofing docs on Fiverr.com.)

Again, you have until Sunday to do this second challenge, then more challenges will come out on Mondays and you will have 7 days to complete them and report back here! Even if you didnt do it or only half-assed it, let me know, because chances are I might not always be rockin the challenge, either.

You dont have to sign up, just check in somewhere in the comments section if you would!

At the very least, we can offer support to each other. Dont forget there is also a Facebook fan page for this site where we can interact about my FREE writers boot camp.

Challenge #4 is to let the article you just sent to all the regionals go out of your head. Please dont sit around checking your email all day for acceptances to your ONE article you just sent, like youre waiting for a guy to call.

Dont worry, because I will occupy your time with the Art of the Query! Yes, I want you to write a query for an article idea you have. It can be one of those ideas from Challenge #1 or something newer and more thought-out. Its all up to you. Just craft a query, and next week you will be sending it to an appropriate place. So think about who you want to write for and craft that query to them. A lot of my stuff can be sent multiple places, and I have no problem with simultaneous submissions because what are the chances Parents and Parenting are going to want my article? And if they both do, what a great problem to have and I just give the gig to the person who showed up in my email box.

Here are just a few of the national magazines I have in the ebook, along with contact information (and in some cases, PAY INFO!):

American Baby
BabyTalk
Family Fun
Parenting
Parents
Working Woman

and others, like the Cricket Magazine Group and some homeschooling mags, which scare me a little bit with their persnickety guidelines. Those dang homeschoolers! Wait, I AM one of those dang homeschoolers!

So here is a sample query letter:

To: tricia.obrien at bonniercorp dot com

Subject: Query: Desperately Seeking Sleep

Dear Tricia,

Being pregnant five times has practically made me an expert on sleep disturbances. If I wasn’t rubbing out a leg cramp, I was wrestling with four pillows, eating Tums like they were M&Ms or laying awake worrying.

I would like to write a piece for you called, “Desperately Seeking Sleep,” which would offer solutions to eight of the most common sleep disruptions experienced during pregnancy. This piece was originally published as “Pregnancy Sleep Solutions” in Kansas City Baby (LINK TO ARTICLE) and several other regional parenting magazines, and I know it would be a great help for your national readership, as well.

To make this article a knockout, I would interview national experts about the latest sleep solutions, research and recommendations (e.g., if Ambien is alright to take during pregnancy, whether or not calcium tablets work for leg cramps, etc.) and would get quotes from moms all over the country about their pregnancy sleep woes and solutions they found helpful. It would also include a sidebar of relaxation exercises to try before bedtime.

I have been published in over two dozen regional parenting magazines, including Calgary’s Child, Columbus Parent, San Diego Family, Family Timeand Washington Family. You can find all of my publishing credits, as well as links to published pieces, at KerrieMcLoughlin.blogspot.com.

I would be happy to customize this piece in any way you might need and look forward to hearing from you.

Sincerely,

 

Kerrie McLoughlin

The instructions and all the email addresses are in the ebook. You can click on "you have to have the resource Im using" above or [shhhhh] you can save a ton by going here. This will save you 50% and get you started.

You send 5 bucks (I only get 4), and I email you the 2012 version. Yes, there are some changes that are going into the 2013 version, so if you have emails that bounce back, Im on top of it in the newer version. AND the 2013 version will be ready later this week and all you have to do (if you decide this niche is for you), is go back to Fiverr and order another gig for $5. So you get both versions for only $10 when ONE usually goes for $19.85.

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NEW IDEAS ABOUT ART

It can be a painting in a museum or a sculpture in a park. Or maybe a movie that knocks your socks off. It can be a painted Chinese screen, an African mask, a Persian rug, or ancient Egyptian jewelry. Or a photo that captures a moment in history. It might be a construction made out of automobile parts. It’s all art.
WHAT IS ART?
We call lots of things art today. We use the term visual arts to describe the arts we can see. Painting, sculpture, and architecture have long been the major visual arts in Europe and North America. Today, we include photography, furniture, pottery, jewelry, and many other arts and crafts among the visual arts.
Sometimes we speak of the fine arts-other forms of expression that appeal to our sense of beauty and form. This broader category includes literature, music, and dance, in addition to the visual arts.
PAINTING, SCULPTURE, AND ARCHITECTURE
Painting, sculpture, and architecture have all been around for a long time. We tend to consider them the most important forms of art.
People painted and drew on the walls of caves during the Stone Age, as long as 32,000 years ago. They made pictures of animals-probably the animals they hunted for food.
Over time, artists started painting different subjects. They painted landscapes, portraits of people, religious figures, and still lifes (fruit, flowers, and other objects that don’t move).
Sculpture is as old as painting. The first sculptures we know about are small human figures. The human figure remained the most popular subject of sculpture until the 20th century. Today, sculptors are concerned more with the materials of sculpture than with subjects. They even make sculptures out of junk and other objects they find lying around.
Architecture is both an art and a science-the art and science of making buildings. Rulers and religions are responsible for putting up some of the most impressive buildings in the world. Rulers built magnificent palaces to display their wealth and power. Religions need churches, mosques, temples, and other structures as places of worship. Religious buildings also celebrate the mysteries of religion.
WHY DO WE MAKE ART?
Everybody likes to draw, swoosh paint around with their fingers or a brush, or model things out of clay. The desire to make art is universal. People make art everywhere, and they seem to have been doing it for as long as they’ve been around.
One of the main reasons for making art is pleasure. We enjoy making art and we enjoy looking at it. We find beauty in art, and that gives us pleasure. We also admire the skill and imagination that go into making art.
Art has served other purposes, too. Think about portraits-pictures of people. Before there were cameras, a portrait was how people remembered someone who wasn’t there.
Portraits of rulers made them look powerful to impress their subjects. History paintings reminded people of victories in battle and other important events. Sculptures also commemorated rulers and victories.
Before many people could read, art instructed and educated. For example, stained glass windows in churches were meant to teach people stories in the Bible. Many paintings from the past show religious scenes.
NEW IDEAS ABOUT ART
Our ideas about art changed during the 1900s. Technology expanded our notions of art. Photographs and film are new kinds of art that developed from new inventions. Today, people also create art on computers.
Artists also changed our ideas about art. In 1913, French artist Marcel Duchamp put a bicycle wheel on display in an art gallery. Nobody considered it art at the time. But Duchamp claimed it was art because he said so.
What did Duchamp mean? He meant that he had changed how we look at the bicycle wheel by putting it in a gallery. We could now see the wheel as a beautiful object, not just as a bicycle part. He turned other everyday objects into art to make people look at things differently.
Some artists decided to get rid of subject matter. They focused instead on shapes, lines, colors, and other elements of art. These artists made what we call abstract art. You can’t see objects in abstract art. But you can respond to colors and shapes. Perhaps they make you feel happy or sad.
Art museums also broadened our ideas of art. They began to display the arts that add beauty to our homes and our bodies. These so-called decorative arts include furniture, pottery, glass, fashion, and jewelry.

AT THE ART MUSEUM
Don’t try to take in too much when you visit a museum. You’ll just get tired. Find something you like to look at. Make comparisons.
Perhaps you like a particular color. Compare paintings to see how different artists have used that color. Look for that color in other kinds of art-for example, in rugs and pottery. What other colors do artists put with your color? Does your color get brighter or dimmer as a result?
Maybe you like art with animals. Pick an animal and find it in different paintings, carvings, weavings, or pots. Has the artist made you see things about the animal you’ve never noticed before?

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