Rejection. This scary word plagues virtually every writer this side of John Grisham. It stops many writers in their tracks and often leads them to a new line of work. If your one of the millions of Americans who have a passion for writing and dream of seeing your novel on the shelves of Barnes & Noble and Borders Books, don't let fear of Rejection scare you off. Follow this simple formula, and you can publish your novel on the very first try.
The secret to getting published is both simple and complex. The simple part is two-pronged. First, you need a modicum of writing skill. Now, you don’t have to be William Shakespeare, but you do need to know how to put sentences together, while tossing in a few nifty adjectives on occasion.
The second prong of the simple part of the secret to publishing on your first try is undeniable persistence and work ethic. Most writers fail, because they are defeated by the plague of rejection; they don’t have the necessary work ethic to succeed, even if they have the skill and the idea. Oh, speaking of the idea, this is the complex part of the simple formula to being published on your first try.
You don’t need the amazing characters of an S.E. Hinton or the grace of Ernest Hemingway. What will get you published is a unique plot that appeals to a large audience. Let’s face it, publishers are in the business of making money -- not authors. In most cases, publishers don’t care how popular you become or if your work becomes the next Oscar winning movie (unless they have a piece of the pie). What they do care about is lots of sales. If you don’t have name value, which you don’t until you become a selling author, publishers want ideas that attract a large audience.
Take my first-ever novel, The League, for which I received a publishing contract the first month I began sending it to agents and publishers. Is it because it’s the next Tom Sawyer? No, rather, it is because of the unique nature of the plot. The League is suspense with a back drop of fantasy football. It is the first of its kind, and fantasy football has over 15 million participants in America alone.
Now, I was turned down by at least 50 agents and probably 40 publishers. But I didn’t let rejection defeat me, because I knew I had a remarkably unique story that would appeal to a gigantic audience. In fact, this is exactly what my publisher said when he contacted me. He told me my writing was clean and the idea was incredibly unique. So, get yourself an amazing idea. Put it together neatly and clearly. Make it fast-paced, and send it to as many agents and publishers as possible. The electronic age makes it very easy to do.
Learn more about the process and The League at www.sportsnovels.com.
Mark Barnes has published several how-to books on real estate finance, Internet business, and self-publishing. Recently, he has expanded his horizons into the fiction world, with his suspense-thriller, The League, presented by DNA Press. The League is available at Amazon.com, DNA Press, Sports Novels and will be in book stores this summer. Mark is currently working on his second novel, another sports-related suspense thriller. Mark Barnes resides in a suburb of Cleveland with his wife, Mollie and two small children.
Article Source: http://EzineArticles.com/?expert=Mark_Barnes
How To Publish Your Novel On The First Try
MyLOT
What Is MyLot
Well it is an online discussion area, where you get paid for posting, starting new threads, putting photos up and generally taking part in discussions.
The more you contribute the more you earn!
It's free to sign up, if you like writing alot - or use forums often just for fun then this could be for you and you can see your earnings almost instantly on the left.
* Update - Mylot seems to be a great way to promote your blog and site, just put your site link in your profile and perhaps start a discussion about it, I have had quite a bit of (unexpected) traffic by doing that.
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Helium
What is Helium?
Helium is a website where you can submit articles on practically any subject matter and get paid for it. It works by splitting the Revenue it makes from it's advertising between the writers. Each article can also be rated by members of the public, so the higher your article is rated the more money you will recieve.
PRO'S
The good thing about this site is that articles are instantly sumbitted, so you don;t have to wait for days before someone tells you whether they will accept it or not. You can also write about almost any topic under the sun - even poetry is allowed. You are allowed to use your material elsewhere on the Internet too.
It's great because it provides a passive income too - because you continuosly get paid for articles on there - rather then just a one off payment.
CONCLUSION
I like the idea behind the site and think it's a great idea for people who love to write and need an audience so they can get rated.
I'll keep you updated.
Helium
Creating Leading Characters In A Novel
A novel’s success ultimately depends on the quality of its leading characters. No matter how interesting the story, or how vivid the description of specific scenes, readers will quickly lose interest unless they feel a deep affinity with the main protagonist. This is no mean fete for the author. Breathing flesh, blood, guts and spirit into a character takes, not only great writing ability, but also a deep understanding of human nature, and an awareness of powerful archetypical characters that inhabit our psyche.
Autobiographical
Most authors create characters that are a blend of fact and fiction. Since authors already have a rich source of data from their own lives, it is little wonder that when it comes to creating life-like characters many of their own traits, dreams, fears, and experiences are transferred to their fictional creations. While research allows authors to go well beyond their own limited experiences, there is little doubt that direct experience of events lends a definite authenticity to a novel.
Areas of Expertise
It is particularly important for an author to have had prior experience of careers or areas of expertise that the character is involved in. In my first novel, Winter Solstice, the main protagonist, Marion, works as a psychologist. When I wrote the novel I was studying psychology, so I had developed a fair knowledge and interest in that career. In my second novel, The Transformation of Yvette, the leading character, Yvette, works as an accountant when the story begins, but later develops an ability to heal and becomes a spiritual healer. In my first job I worked as a trainee accountant and was fully immersed in the world of corporate finance. Much later when I moved to Dublin I trained with the National Federation of Spiritual Healers, and channelled healing for clients for several years. Certainly an author could have researched all of these careers and given a fair account of the character’s work environment and duties, but actually having worked with competitive co-workers in the corporate world, and with vulnerable clients as a spiritual healer, I was more than happy that I had created a realistic work environment for my characters. When an author has had direct experience of working in a similar area to his or her main characters, there’s an ease and fluidity in the narrative that may otherwise be lacking. However, when creating minor characters the attention to detail is usually less important, and research may well provide sufficient information to make the character’s background appear believable. The Internet provides an incredible amount of information that may be sifted through to create realistic careers and experiences for less important characters.
Physical Characteristics
Some authors paint incredibly detailed pictures of their characters, while others mention main details, such as hair colour and height. The main requirement for physical characteristics is to give sufficient information so that readers can visualise the main characters. Also, making sure that characters have some kind of distinguishing features is vital, as readers can easily get mixed up and confused if you give so little thought to physical characteristics that characters simply don’t stand out from each other. Even minor characters need something to distinguish them physically. In Winter solstice, the cameraman who appears several times is described as having a beer-belly, while in The Transformation of Yvette, Joe Green, a retired officer who is obsessed with Yvette, has the annoying habit of dragging the few remaining hairs over his bald head. It is often in the description of individual idiosyncrasies that characters begin to step out of the page and become breathing, living men and women with a past, a present and an unknown future.
Emotions
The key element of all romantic and dramatic novels is the emotional complexity of the characters. Emotions run deep and wide through most literary classics. Readers readily identify with the sobbing, jilted lover, with the innocent young woman who is beguiled by the charismatic older gentleman, with the tormented bride who fears that she is about to marry the wrong man. Most authors choose to describe extremes of human behaviour, and thus the full spectrum of human emotion must also be revealed. Characters usually change and grow through these challenging situations and intense feelings. In The Transformation of Yvette, the main character experiences deep pain and feelings of worthlessness when her boyfriend leaves her. Yet Yvette passes through this dark night of the soul and suddenly emerges as a transformed, joyful woman who becomes a source of inspiration to many.
When an author creates characters who are portrayed as feeling deep, troubled emotions, he or she must have an innate understanding and awareness of his or her own emotional makeup. It is true that even emotional states may be researched and developed based on third party accounts. However, it is difficult to write in sufficient depth about bereavement, separation, rejection, despondency, hatred, or rage, unless these emotions have been felt or at least witnessed firsthand.
Character Development throughout the novel
The plot and character development of dramatic and romantic novels has probably changed little over thousands of years. Deep in the human psyche there are archetypal characters that still invade our nightmares, our dreams, and our creative endeavours. The Goddess, the hero, the witch, the wicked mother, the tyrant, the fairy Godmother, the innocent maiden, the wonderful prince, and the arch-villain all inhabit our subconscious world. Myths and fairytales still intrigue us with their virtuous heroes; with the impossible tasks they must accomplish to save a beloved, a village or a way of life; the raging battles that must be fought against tyranny, and the ultimate triumph of good over evil.
In today’s novel, character development is as vital as ever to make the reader fall in love with the hero and to seek the destruction of the arch-villain. Leading characters must be shown to grow in strength and stature during the course of the novel. In the early stages an author will describe the character’s current living situation. The main character will be described in terms of physical characteristics, emotional state, and his or her relationship to other characters. Challenges or problems that the main character must battle against are then outlined so that the reader can identify with the character’s predicament. Perhaps like Marion in Winter Solstice, the protagonist needs to discover deep inner healing so that she can finally break through her pain, and awaken to the possibility of a new healthy love. Whether or not the protagonist can triumph over these obstacles, and become stronger and wiser throughout the ordeal, is often the core of a dramatic or romantic novel.
Lucy Costigan is an author and therapist from South-East Ireland. Lucy has written eight books, including Winter Solstice (http://www.wintersolstice.eu), and The Transformation of Yvette (http://www.transformyvette.com). The leading characters in her novels were created to be breathing, flesh and blood people, with deep complex emotional lives, who battle against inner demons to discover their own innate strength and light.
Article Source: Here
Welcome to Writers World
Hi,
This site has lots of knowldege and articles for all writers out there. Whether you want to know how to write a novel, or how to be able to make money writing online it's all here.
Just browse around.
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71 Ways To make money writing
here are so many ways for writers to make good money by writing. Some people love to write, even as a hobby. You can turn your writing skills into income. Here are a brief list for your reference.
GENERAL WRITING:
1. Copywriting for television commercials
2. Copywriting for radio commercials
3. Copywriting for newspaper and magazine ads
4. Professional letter writing
5. Creating plots for other writers
6. Writing correspondence courses
7. Travelling writer
8. Newspaper feature writing
9. Writing for weekly tabloids
10. Writing humour
11. Writing greeting cards
12. Writing witty sayings for bumper stickers
13. Writing fillers for newspapers and magazines
14. Ghost writing
15. Script writing for movies
16. Scrip writing for television
17. Writing plays
18. Resume service
19. Writing non-fiction
FREELANCE WRITING FOR:
20. Daily newspapers
21. Professional journals
22. Consumer magazines
23. Confessional magazines
24. Poetry magazines
25. Fiction magazines
26. Farming-dairy-poultry- livestock journals
27. Technical journals
28. Manufacturers' trade journals
29. Retail trade journals
30. Sports magazines
31. Teenagers' magazines
32. Children's magazines
33. Gag magazines
WRITING A NEWSPAPER COLUMN ON:
34. Crafts
35. Art
36. Celebrities
37. Street interviews
38. Travelling
39. 25, 50, 100 years ago today
40. Local street names
41. Gossip column
42. Personal problems
43. Gardening
44. Cooking
45. New products
46. Child care
47. For teenagers
48. Children's question-and -answer
49. With humour and jokes
50. Sport
51. Pets
52. Shopping
53. Cars
54. Hunting and fishing
55. Do-it-yourself
PUBLISHING:
56. A newsletter
57. Sportsmen's bulletin
58. Bulletin for the handicapped
59. Apartment bulletin
60. Club bulletin
61. A tourist guide
62. Restaurant guide
63. A home-business guide
64. Part-time and free-lance help directory
65. Teachers' yearbook
66. Small newspaper
67. Magazine
MISCELLANEOUS
68. Proof reading
69. Free-lance editing
70. Become an author's agent
71. Teaching English
Good luck for your writing and wish you get some ideas for which areas you want to write to from the list.
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Julia Tang publishes Smart Online Business Tips, a fresh
and informative newsletter dedicated to supporting people
like you! To find out the best online business opportunities,
and to discover hundreds more proven and practical internet
marketing secrets, plus FREE internet marketing products
worth over $200, visit: Here
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