The Wave of the Future?

Rachelle Gardner announced that her agency is testing out a new query policy of closing the doors to anyone who is not a previously published author, a referral, or a close connection.  This policy covers the first quarter of the year--after that, they will see.  But I doubt they will be going back to their open query policy.  In this publishing economy who blames them?  But is this the wave of the future for most established agencies?  Accepting only the sure thing?  And is it a sign of agency distress or success?

If so, it only makes me more determined to become a self-published success.  

Thinking with the Heart

The ancient Egyptians believed the heart was the source of both thoughts and feelings, unlike in our times where our heart symbolizes the seat of our emotions and our brain the seat of our reason.  In our world, thoughts and feelings are often in conflict with each other.  In the Egyptian world, they must have lived in harmony.  That is what I want for my life.  Harmony of mind and heart.  Passion and reason.  And I believe I can accomplish that through a career of writing.

But to achieve that harmony of reason and passion, work and happiness, mind and heart, I have to start small.  I have to treat it as a career of its own, and it takes time to learn the ways of the job.  Toward that end, I must become more conscious of what reason wants from a writing career and what my passion wants from it, and then I must devise a goal to satisfy both.  But the first step is introspection.  Readers, I encourage you to do the same.  Find out what you need and want, and this way, you begin thinking with your Egyptian heart.

Progress Report - Week Two

My week was spent crafting a viable feasibility plan for a grant committee connected with a class I took.  By going through the process, I came up with a great idea, but not in time for the deadline.  Shame, that.  It was a great opportunity, but I have since learned not every opportunity I see is an opportunity for me.  Mine is coming.  I just need to give it the hard work it deserves, first.

So what are my goals for this week?  Well, as everything last week ground to a halt for the Plan, now I get to pick up the pieces while fleshing out my idea.  Which means, today I resume work on my blogs and my ebooks.  Oh, and once the Plan is finished, I'll share tips on its creation on this blog.  Stay tuned.

Progress Report - Week One

If I had one word to wrap up the last week it would be tough.  A second word?  Doable.  Sun Tzu once wrote "according as circumstances are favorable, one should modify one's plans."  That is exactly what was needed and I found a new foundation for my writing career.  Self-published, nonfiction ebooks.  Originally that was a sideline project, but it makes more sense to approach them first and work on nonfiction articles for magazines on the side.  Why? 

Because writing is like exercise.  You can't expect to be at your goal on day one.  Instead, you have to practice and work hard at it.  Writing nonfiction articles for magazines is unlike anything I have done before.  It is unrealistic to expect day thirty quality out of day one work.  But in the meantime, I don't want to be idle in the market.  That is where the ebooks come in.  I have about ten years of experience with book length works in fiction.  But more importantly, book length works--albeit short book length works--feel like a more natural fit.  So, that is why, instead of magazines articles, ebooks will be the foundation to my writing career. 

Where does one start?  With outlines--to be covered in different blog post.

Day One: Accomplishments

Ever feel like you are going backward.  Between other things I squeezed in two drafts of articles and this morning I know one for sure will not work.  I am disappointed, but at least, looking back at what I did do (see post), I still consider it a day well done, albeit not greatly done.  Let's see if we can't change this day around.

Day One of a New Life, New Job: Task One - Web Page and Twitter

Although, I started freelance writing earlier than November, today is my official day to make it a full-time occupation.  I planned on having things set up so I could start doing real writing, but I am behind on that.  I had to start with crafting a web page.  Mommy Millionaire Kim Lavine wrote that

"your Web site [is] your virtual storefront.  It's the door your customers come into on their way to meet you.  It's probably the single most important factor prospective customers and vendors alike will use to evaluate you."  

Even though I am freelance writing, this still felt true.  But to follow that advice, I first needed a logo, for my site Chiaroscuro House.


LOGO

Originally, my logo was going to look a little like the Euro symbol, but with the "H" on the lower curve of the "C".  To incorporate the C and H of Chiaroscuro House.

That is ok but not quite what I want.  Then I created one by accident where the C looked like a eclipse or crescent moon, with a circle inside with the "H".  But that looked like the 8-Ball when I darkened in the weird "C".

Finally, I hit upon something that looked like the cent sign and that used black, white, and shades of grey:

 

 All of this was done in MS Paint.  I believe MM Kim Lavine used Microsoft  Power Point.

WEB PAGE

I had a logo, but I was not yet done.  I needed a web page, or rather a new one.  But I am running low on time.  So, I took MM Kim Lavine's advice on keeping it simple.  I made it look like a business card.  I plan on doing more of these for different markets and contacts, but for now I have a general one.  It has my blogs, my contact information, my tag line, and sample writings.  You can find it here:

http://www.chiaroscurohouse.com/businesscards/general.htm 

TWITTER

I am a Twitter virgin, but I do have library book on Twitter for Dummies, which is due back on the 4th no matter what.  So might as well use it.  I already had the tools necessary to set myself up:  My logo, my tagline, my general business e-card mentioned above.  I used these in my profile.

http://twitter.com/#!/jodiralston

Ta Da!  Although I had a late start on freelance writing setup due to my business class and a late start on setting up today due to my desire to start my nano project at midnight (read more here), I managed to get something done.  After a tweet and a break, I am going to get some actual writing done.

Writing Tip #2: Title Mania

Titles are hooks in and of themselves.  They attract our attention, especially on e-readers like nook, where there is little else to go by.  So it pays to create a title that invites clicks and further looks.  How?  By practice.  Today, come up with 5-10 titles and choose one to place on your To-Write List.