How to Write Anything and Get PAID For It

A Beginner’s Guide to Freelance Writing

From Your Home!

OVERVIEW

Have you ever heard the expression, “everyone has a book in

them that’s trying to get out?” What does this really

mean? Not everyone writes books, do they?

No, not many attempt the long, difficult process of writing

a book-length manuscript. But a growing number of

individuals are being paid for their writing — and they’ve

never attempted to write a book!

Why? Think about it! When you’re driving to work in the

morning, listening to the radio, what do you hear? People

talking, right? It may surprise you that very little of

that talk is spontaneous. The radio people work from

written material, which means …? Yes, someone has to

WRITE the information down to be read over the airwaves.

Here’s another example. Your mother’s birthday is coming

up. What do you do? You buy a card. Did you ever wonder

who wrote the cards you look through when you’re search-ing

for the right message? Well, it’s not a big company where

people sit around all day writing cards. The writers of

greeting cards could live next door to you since most of

the material is submitted on a freelance basis.

How about your mail? Do you have days when you receive an

endless amount of junk mail? Letter after letter of come-

ons trying to get you to respond are not always thrown out.

Some people read them and do inquire about the product or

service mentioned. More importantly, those letters and

flyers are WRITTEN … by someone!

You’re getting the idea — that writing is a common part of

everyday business life. From the brochures telling you

about savings accounts down at your local bank to the

billboard you drive by every morning on the way to work to

the bumper stickers you read on the back of the cars in

front of you … all of this is written by somebody. Why

couldn’t it be you?

Writing is an essential part of everyday life. There are

scores of opportunities waiting out there for anyone

interested in making some money through the written word.

It’s not just Stephen King and Danielle Steele. Many of

today’s successful freelance writers are completely unknown

simply because their name doesn’t appear on their work.

Yet you see it every day from television commercials to

newspaper advertising.

Don’t have any experience? Nonsense! Everybody writes,

from the notes you send with your holiday cards to lists

you make before grocery shopping. You probably don’t

realize how much you write in a given week. In so doing,

you are likely adjusting your writing depending on the

subject or audience. When you send a note to school with

your child, you’re writing in a certain style that’s likely

different than a note you’d send to a relative.

This is exactly what writers do … they alter their

writing content based on their subject or audience. So who

says you can’t write for a living?

There’s no end to the kind of writing you can do. However,

we do have a few suggestions for you to get started

thinking about a career, part-time or full, in the writing

field. As you review these pages, some idea may jump off

the page as something you could do. Great! More

importantly, don’t think because you’re never had a writing

lesson that you can’t do it. All it takes is practice,

practice, practice and a determined desire to get it right.

If you’re got the drive, writing may well be your career.

RESUME WRITING — FOR OTHERS!

Nearly everyone, at one time or another, has written a

resume in preparations for a job search. So why not start

there? How many times have you done your own resume? If

you’ve written it at least once, think of all the other

people who have sat down to attempt it.

What an endless list of possible clients! Not matter how

large or small the town in which you live, hundreds and

even thousands of people are in need of resumes. People

change jobs a lot today, through their own wishes or due to

circumstances beyond their control like a downsize, merger,

buy-out or similar business adjustment. Besides, people

don’t often keep their resumes up to date.

So, we’ve established the need — resumes for people. Now,

can you write them?

Why not? If you haven’t done your own lately, do it now!

Practice on yourself. There are a number of books that

offer help in formatting a “Modern” resume that you can

check out at your local library or bookstore. There are

employment resumes which lists your experience by positions

you’ve held. There are also functional resumes which lists

your qualifications by skill, with your employment history

listed at the end but of lesser significance to the overall

message you’re trying to send, which is “hire me!”

The business world is increasingly competitive in the

number of positions available as modern technology has

eliminated some positions while creating a need for others.

The key today is specialization and a well-written resume

can help you “stand out” in a potential employer’s eyes.

Since many individuals are either unaware of a résumé’s

importance or lack the con-fidence in their ability to

write a competitive resume, a resume writing service can

address both needs. Proper advertising of the service can

educate people as to the résumé’s importance, while

advertising alone may well generate more calls than you can

handle from people who know a good resume is crucial and

want some “expert” help in constructing their

“masterpiece”.

Employers use resumes today to narrow down the list of

people they want for an interview. Specialization has

employers looking for particular talents, but often a

memorable resume can help get an interview even if all of

their “requirements” for the job aren’t present.

You don’t need much to get a resume service off the ground.

First, you should study the various books on how to write a

good resume. Practice a few formats and have samples ready

for potential customers to review.

Second, you will need a computer with a word-processing

program or even just a good memory typewriter. If you have

a computer and can afford a laser printer, all the better.

But remember, you’re not in the printing business, you are

simply creating the resume for your client.

Finally, this is an easy business to operate out of your

home. If you have an area sufficient to put a computer or

typewriter, you can start. Pick up a file cabinet, or the

smaller, plastic file boxes to store client files. Your

client’s need for a resume probably won’t end one effort.

Another job search is likely to occur down the road and the

client will probably come back to you for an update,

especially if they were successful getting a job the first

time around. Keeping a client’s past resume on file can

assist you for further work later.

As you research your resume writing, make a list of verbs

that are common for resume writing, such as:

- administered - managed

- analyzed - operated

- completed - organized

- coordinated - prepared

- created - started

- designed - supervised

- developed - trained

- evaluated - wrote

These lists will assist you in writing your resumes very

quickly without constantly referring to a thesaurus. Time

is of the essence to a freelance writer; there are

shortcuts to producing quality work without spending hours

and hours on a given piece.

You’re ready to start, now you must attract clients. Put

together a business card and a flyer and start tacking them

up on every community bulletin board in town. Send them to

large company personnel departments who may refer employees

who are being laid off. Advertise in the classified of

your local newspaper and in the smaller, often free

publications that are circulated around town like the

“Pennysaver”. Tell friends and family members and give

them your card/flyer. They can spread the word among

friends — someone’s bound to need help.

What should you charge? A simple one-page resume could be

priced as low as $25. The more complicated the resume, the

more you charge. Much depends on the amount of work you

have to do. Keep track of the time it takes you to

complete a resume — the more work, the longer hours, the

higher your price.

WORKING WITH LOCAL BUSINESSES

Now that you understand the idea of the versatility of

freelance writing, let’s turn our attention to

organizations you will come in contact with through your

resume services business.

As individuals come to you with resumes, make a list of all

the local company names you write on the resumes. This is

your next prospecting list.

Companies, particularly small ones, have a great need for

writers. Think about it! Every day, a business is

corresponding — with a customer, a potential customer or a

supplier. That correspondence often takes the written

form.

Well-written correspondence can make the difference between

getting a job, landing a customer, increased growth in the

business. Writing’s importance can never be over-looked.

Yet the majority of people, even business people whose

prosperity de——pends on customers, place little

emphasis on good writing and spend very little time at it.

Your opportunities here are many. Businesses write

letters, create brochures, advertise their services, send

out direct mail to potential customers; in short, they

WRITE!

You’ll have to alter your Resume Services business card or,

better yet, create a new business card to advertise your

“all-purpose” writing services. Prepare samples of

different type of writing you can do. Instead of throwing

out that junk mail, save those letters and practice

perfecting their idea — to get a potential customer to

respond to what’s in the letter. Have a family member of a

friend bring home samples of correspondence from their

places of work. Read them and practice writing business

letters. Go to the library and check the reference works

on writing good letters. Read the newspapers and magazines

for sample advertising copy. Take a product you like and

write an advertisement for it. Practice! Practice!

Practice!

Correspondence: Your best clients here are small

businesses, sole proprietors or partnerships who may not

have the time to spend on their correspondence. Contract

with them to do their written work. You can probably

charge $25-100 for a letter. Businesses may have form

letters they use, and you can redesign them for the better.

The quality of correspondence is often an indicator, to a

client or a potential client, of the company’s

professionalism. You can help businesses increase their

sales simply by improving their correspondence.

Brochures: Most businesses try to sell their services

through the use of a brochure. Brochure writing and design

is not something that takes ages to perfect.

The most important consideration is identifying the purpose

of the brochure. Is it to sell a client on the company

itself, or a specific product or service? Once the subject

is identified, then you can pinpoint the key features of

the specific idea that should be emphasized.

Keeping brochures simple is important. Writing everything

there is to know about a com-pany, product or service may

seem great, but it is usually ineffective because it’s too

much for a casual reader to take in. Simplicity, on the

other hand, can trigger a potential client’s interest and

have them seeking out the company to ascertain more about

the product or service identified within the brochure.

Once they call, the company has a better chance of

transforming that curiosity into a new customer.

As you begin to do writing, you will work with other

professionals in the field such as graphic artists. These

are individuals whose artwork can help create a terrific

bro–chure. But, for small businesses, it is often

convenient to find the copywriter or graphic artist in one

person. For that reason, the use of a computer has great

potential rewards. There is a wide variety of “desk-top

publishing” software that can be used for both writing and

graphic design. There are specific programs that design a

brochure.

Being able to offer the whole package will be attractive to

the business. Brochure writing can bring you a nice

paycheck per piece, as high as $500-1000 for some elaborate

pieces.

As a writer, your object is to put the message within the

brochure across effectively. Remember — keep it simple.

The easier to read and comprehend, the higher the likely

response to the piece.

Advertising: The art of advertising is only slightly

different from the brochure. In a brochure, you have more

time and space to put your message across. With

advertising, only a few words. Advertisements must stop

the reader and thus need a “grabber” headline. You must

always remember the purpose of the advertisement. It’s not

to SELL anyone, but to attract enough INTEREST to get the

person to call for more information. Then the real selling

can start!

There are words that are consistently effective in pulling

in an audience and initiating a response. Here’s a short-

list:

- amazing - profitable

- easy - secret

- free - simple

- now - privileged

- special offer - win

- incredible - don’t wait

- make money - startling

Businesses need to attract clients. Advertising can do

that if done well. This is where you come in. Read

advertisements! Which ones do you respond best to? Try

this: cut out a few of the advertisements you like best

and show them to several friends. Record their level of

interest and rank the results. You’ll probably see a

pattern where one or two of the advertisements emerge at

the top of everyone’s list. Study those to see why. Very

likely, you’ll see that the use of a few key words and the

message they imply will prompt people to respond positively

to those ads.

Direct Mail: Many businesses do direct mail as a method of

acquiring new customers. These works must be written well

to achieve the type of response that will make the effort

worthwhile financially since postage and printing costs

make it an expensive method of advertising .

But it works! Well-written direct mail can bring in

hundreds and thousands of new customers . Your writing

efforts are not merely a cost in constructing a direct mail

letter; in fact you can help a company earn substantially

more as a result of a successful direct mail cam-paign.

Effective direct mail creates an image in a client’s mind.

That vision is primarily one in which the person’s life

will be enhanced by the purchase of the product or service

being advertised. This is your goal — to help the

potential customer see how much better things will be

because of what you are “advertising” in the letter.

Here are ways to make a direct mail letter effective.

-The opening of the letter should be treated with the same

reverence as a headline. You have to grab the reader’s

attention quickly and make them want to keep on reading.

It mat be the outside of the direct mail envelope that

starts the process. If it’s good enough, the person tears

open the envelope and begins reading. Then the headline

/first paragraph of the letter must create the same

effect — to keep the person reading.

-There must be reasons to keep reading, usually in the

form of some benefits. Because the person opened the

envelope, there is a free offer. Then, when reading the

first paragraph, more benefits jump out — the value of the

service or product, perhaps. Put in a good “benefit” with

each paragraph — and keep the paragraphs short!

- Don’t offer benefits that aren’t believable. Don’t make

promises you can’t keep. The idea is not to make people

skeptical, but to see the tangible benefits you offer are

valid. To this end, be specific. General terms usually

provoke disbelief, while actual specifics are shown to have

more honest-sounding appeal.

- Understand the product or service yourself. Would you

buy it? If so, why? If you understand why you’d buy it,

you can set about convincing people using the same

thoughts.

- Use third party affirmations, if available. If it’s only

your copy, it won’t leave as good an impression as the

insertion of a few “outside” quotes from others, testifying

to the effectiveness of the product or service.

- Simplicity sells! Short sentences. Short paragraphs.

Easy words. You’re not out to win the Pulitzer Prize. You

only want individuals to respond to your letter. They will

if they understand the benefits of doing so. Keep it

simple!

- Be explicit with your instructions. The letter must not

only detail the great benefits, but tell the person exactly

what they must do to obtain them. Be specific and make it

easy to respond — including a postage-paid card or a toll-

free number are usually great methods.

- Freebies earn responses. Giving something away usually

helps the response dramatically.

- Convince the reader that the product or service being

advertised is backed up by a strong company that guarantees

the results and benefits detailed in the letter. Readers

must be convinced of the authenticity and the ability to

back up the strong comments within the letter.

Letters can be 2 to 4 pages in length or even longer and

you can probably charge $50-100 per page to write the copy.

This is a small investment for a business in exchange

for the sales growth direct mail can achieve.

In summary, small local businesses are a great source of

writing work for you in a variety of forms.

THE “READER’S DIGEST ANGLE”

Successful writers usually begin by writing about

themselves or events which have happened to them. The

familiarity about the material makes it easier to write and

there is an air of authenticity about the writing for

obvious reasons. It is these life experiences which

even the beginning writer can fashion into small works that

can be published.

Anyone that has children has plenty of humorous stories to

relate. As television personality Art Linkletter used to

point out, “Kids say the dandiest things.” If you have a

funny story like that, try writing it down. Or if a friend

tells you a tale in a similar vein, record it and read it

back to them. Practice writing these short pieces.

Short anecdotal type writing must relate the story quickly.

Short means short! Work at cutting out all the excessive

words you can. Trim the piece to its “bare bones,” yet

don’t lose the humor in it. It’s almost like writing good

comedy bits for stand-up comedians. Their material is

never overly long. Henny Youngman and Rodney Dangerfield

talk in rapid-fire delivery, a joke to every sentence.

This is the kind of writing you would ideally do since

there are plenty of paying outlets for these funny works.

The best known “is Reader’s Digest”, who has an array of

popular columns like “Life in these United States”, “Humor

in Uniform” and “Campus Comedy”, among others that pay $400

for each anecdote of less than 300 words (1 page, double-

spaced is about 250 words). That’s good pay, but you

should realize that “Reader’s Digest” receives thousands of

submissions each month. If your anecdote is one they think

is publishable, it will probably go on a waiting list. But

this is one outlet.

For other outlets, check the book, “Writer’s Market” for

the current year. They list all the outlets for short,

funny pieces. You might also try the magazine, “Writer’s

Digest”, which has a list of specialty publishers each

month. Contact the magazine to see which issue lists the

short pieces such as these. Very often, they publish

articles about how to get the short works published.

To help trigger thoughts about stories you can relate, try

compiling a list of phrases which can help you recall a

story or two that could be publishable. Showing the list

to friends can also help them remember a story that you

could use. Here’s a few phrases to get you started:

- repairs - skiing trip

- job hunting - fishing trip

- mail delivery - sports activities

- holiday gifts - military service

- car pooling - local tavern

- doctor’s appointment - grocery shopping

- dentist’s appointment - shopping (general)

- fast food - in-laws

- kitchen cooking - neighbors

- substitute teaching - scouts (girl, boy, cub)

Short anecdotes can be the basis for a couple of paragraphs

that fit into a “Reader’s Digest”, or the basis for a

longer article that other magazines (usually family-

oriented) may have some interest in. It is the easiest

method for beginning writers to start acquiring good

writing habits by actually writing over and over again.

It’s easy because the material is familiar. You’re not

laboring over research to achieve a proper article.

Keep in mind the supreme rule of successful writing: keep

it simple! Simple sells, especially with short, humorous

pieces like these.

KEEPING IT SHORT AND SIMPLE

As long as we’re on the subject of simplicity, there are

other types of writing that lend themselves to the short

and simple principle. Items such as bumper stickers, radio

spots and greeting cards are all outlets for simple, short

phrases or paragraphs that can put across a message–

preferably a humorous one–very quickly.

Did you see the movie “Forrest Gump”? In this film, the

movie’s hero answers a reporter’s question with a bumper-

sticker-like phrase. The reporter stopped short, as it

dawned on him what a great phrase for a bumper sticker he

had just heard. The next scene in the movie is a car

traveling down a highway sporting the phrase on a bumper

sticker.

That’s how it happens. There are numerous bumper sticker

opportunities. Busi-nesses, associations, charities and

other organization use the bumper sticker to deliver a

memorable phrase to the general public. What a simple,

great, easy way to advertise!

If you are familiar with any local group, you may have an

idea for a bumper sticker advertisement for them. Try

playing with catch phrases in your head. If one occurs to

you that you like, try it out on your family first and then

your friends and co-workers to see their reaction. If it’s

overwhelmingly positive, approach the organization with

your idea. They’d pay for advertising, so why not for

bumper sticker ideas?

Some slogans are just funny and don’t necessarily apply to

any type of advertising. Try these phrases out on some

people and see if they like it. Again, if the response is

heavy on the positive side, you may have an idea you can

sell yourself. Bumper stickers aren’t that expensive to

print and if you sell 50 or so, you’ll likely make back

your investment and start to make a profit.

Be sure it is a marketable slogan, though. A beach theme

would do well in a community by the sea. A slogan about

the forest would play well in the northwest. The heart-

land may buy bumper sticker themes about farms. Pet themes

have universal appeal.

Use your imagination! Be creative! That’s what this type

of writing is all about! The whole trick to it is to think

of the phrase, not write a lengthy piece. If you’ve

written advertising or read our suggestions for good

copywriting earlier in this text, remember the key to

successful advertising was the headline. A bumper sticker

is nothing more than a good, snappy headline.

Successful bumper stickers can lead you to using a great

slogan on coffee mugs, hats, T-shirts, banners and similar

low-cost, easy to sell material. They make great handouts

for business sales meetings and contests. A little

creativity can go a long way.

In addition to bumper stickers, there are similar chances

to write short, catchy phrases, sentences and short

anecdotes for the radio.

You’re probably familiar with your local radio stations.

You’ve heard many of the disc jockeys, usually the morning

drive-time ones, do their usually zany bits to attract a

listening audience. Since ratings drive the advertising

which makes the station pro-fitable, the better the disc

jockey’s material, the greater the potential for higher

ratings.

These disc jockeys quite often think of their own material,

but are also willing to look at bits written for them.

More importantly, the radio stations are often willing to

buy comedic pieces for their radio personalities.

The best approach is to familiarize yourself with a radio

disc jockey’s particular style and work with it to create

your comedy. There may be particular themes or issues a

particular disc jockey likes to relate and you can build

your material on it. Don’t take the disc jockey out of his

or her regular character, simply blend your material in

with theirs.

You may be able to create a character for the disc jockey

to play off of during comedic exchanges between music

plays. There was a radio personality that we remember that

had an alter ego, complete with a different voice, called

“Mr. Friendly”. Mr. Friendly was anything but and the

radio disc jockey would tape this character’s sen-tences

and phrases ahead of time and play them in response to

questions or comments he personally made during his show.

The results sounded like an actual conversation exchange

and were often hilarious as a result. This is the type of

creation that could earn you a sizable amount of money if

it works well with the radio disc jockey.

So, the next time you’re listening to the radio, think

about the type of things you’d say if you were on the radio

and then blend it in with the disc jockey’s style. You may

be sur-prised at the reception you’d receive if you wrote a

few pieces for them to use on the radio.

Disc jockeys are always on the lookout for good material to

use on their shows. It’s not unlike all the great

comedians you’ve seen that have writers supply them with

their lines. What these individuals are best at is

delivering the lines, but very often someone else has

written it for them. Why not you?

Another short writing option for you is the greeting card

market. Did you know that nearly 50% of the first class

mail market consist of greeting cards? Cards are not

limited to birthdays and holidays any more. You name the

event, there is a card for the occasion.

Three companies dominate the card market today, according

to “Writer’s Market”. These companies are Hallmark,

American Greetings and Gibson Greetings. They are your

primary markets, although you may well find it easier to

break in to one of the smaller card companies listed in

publications like “Writer’s Market” and magazines like “The

Writer” and “Writer’s Digest” which are available at the

newsstand or your local library.

Women are the traditional card buyers by an overwhelming

number. Visit a few card racks yourself to see the

different styles under the various company names. This way

you can find which style you feel most comfortable in

pursuing and can direct your output at the proper

distributor.

Card companies are always on the lookout for promising new

material. Again, these are short pieces which require

quick, snappy thoughts that tell the message clearly and

rapidly. It’s the same style as headline, bumper sticker,

anecdotal type writing and if you’re doing those

successfully, greeting cards may be a good choice for you.

Each editor of a card company may prefer to see your

submissions in a particular type of format so once you’ve

identified the companies you believe you can write for, end

in a request for their writing and submission guidelines

along with a self-addressed, stamped envelope for

their convenience. In so doing, you’ll save yourself the

trouble of submitting material outside of their usual

format which they’ll discard.

Some like individual card ideas submitted separately while

other prefer a list of ideas at one time. Typical

categories of cards are:

-humorous, either by written word or visual gag. These are

exceedingly popular and ones that are difficult to write

and therefore in demand constantly.

-traditional, which is usually the sentimental type of

verse constructed message. These are generally the longest

pieces of writing, often poetic type verses.

-contemporary, which is also humorous, dominated mostly by

one-liners about modern society while also conveying the

specific message – birthday, anniversary, holi-day, etc.

-personal, which most often is a blank card inside for the

buyer to writer their own message. The focus of your work

is to come up with an appropriate picture or phrase (or

both) on the front of the card.

Here are various reasons cards are sent, to help set your

thoughts towards particular ideas that are easy for you to

express:

Holidays:

- New Year’s Day - Father’s Day

- Valentine’s Day - 4th of July

- St. Patrick’s Day - Halloween

- Passover - Thanksgiving

- Easter - Hanukkah

- Mother’s Day - Christmas

Special Occasions:

- Birthday - Anniversary

- Belated Birthday - Graduation

- Get Well - First Communion

- New Baby - Confirmation

- Congratulations - Bar Mitzvah

- New Job - Engagement

- Vacation/Trip - Retirement

- Sympathy - Thank You

General:

- Friendship - Good-Bye

- Missing YOU - Haven’t Heard From You

- Thinking of You - Sorry I Haven’t Written

Don’t forget that many of these categories have sub-

categories with variations like “mother”, “father”,

“niece”, “nephew”, “son-in-law”, and so forth. Cards can

also be from “the two of us”, “your brother” and other

people. There are even card for single parents.

There are different types of card styles, too, like “pop-

ups”, children’s cards and bawdy humor for adults only.

Don’t limit yourself. Experiment with all types of writing

styles and themes. You’ll eventually establish a comfort

level and a knack for a par-ticular category.

Bumper stickers, radio comedy bits and greeting cards.

Think short and you may well be on your way to a successful

freelance writing career.

FROM FAMILY LIFE TO CHILDREN’S STORIES

Earlier in this text, we suggested that your conversations

with your children or younger relatives might make good

short anecdotal tales for submission to outlets such as

“Reader’s Digest”. There are many more children’s

magazines that are possibilities for this type of writing.

Children’s stories are not only the humorous recollection,

but can be both fictional and non-fiction articles that may

be easy to write because they are, again, for your PER-

SONAL EXPERIENCE! If you are a teacher, you probably have

an endless source of material to put down on paper.

You can write about children or you can write to children

for them to read. It all depends on your subject matter

and your angle. If, for example, you’ve come with a good

method of getting your child to clean his or her room, this

might make a good short article for a magazine like

“Growing Parent” or “Christian Parenting Today”.

You may have a story about your child’s first date, which

you can turn into an article about teens and dating that

kids themselves might like to read in a magazine like

“Seventeen” or “Teen”. Parents, too, might enjoy it, so

you can try submitting it to both types of publications.

If you’re writing towards a teen audience, you’ll have to

keep the story on a written level that your young readers

can comprehend. There are easy ways to do this, by using

no more than three syllable words and writing in short,

sharp sentences and brief paragraphs. Simply reviewing

spelling books for various age levels will help you develop

a vocabulary list that will be useful when directing your

piece at a specific audience/age-group level.

Writing for children should be done in a style that

empathizes with them, as if it were written by someone

their age. Don’t write like a parent! If you’re trying to

get a message across, do it in a way another child might

tell it.

Parent magazines are quite different and here you can write

for an adult audience, although the simple, spare style

will always work for you (and, quite often, the editor) as

it is easy to read. Assume, as you would with children,

that the parent needs even the most basic explanation. A

common mistake writers make is to assume that a reader

under-stands a particular subject on some level already.

Don’t make this mistake! Explain yourself and assume the

reader knows nothing. You’re usually teaching when you

write and repetition helpfully reinforces the subject

matter or the specific key points you wish to illustrate.

Assuming the reader is not conversant with the subject is

your best bet.

Here are some possible magazines for submissions:

PARENTAL: Aimed at the parents

American Baby Magazine

475 Park Avenue South

New York, NY 10016

Christian Parenting Today

P. O. Box 3850

Sisters, OR 97759

Expecting

Gruner & Jahr USA Pub.

685 3rd Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Growing Parent

Dunn & Hargitt, Inc.

P.O. Box 1100

Lafeyette, IN 47902

Home Education Magazine

P.O. Box 1083

Tonasket, WA 98855

Parenting Magazine

301 Howard Avenue, 17th Floor

San Francisco, CA 94105

Parents Care

P.O. Box 1563

Lancaster, CA 93539

Parents Magazine

685 3rd Avenue

New York, NY 10017

Today’s Family

27 Empire Drive

St. Paul, MN 55103

TWINS

P.O. Box 12045

Overland Park, KS 66212

CHILDREN’S MAGAZINES:

Businesship

Business Kids Suite 1080 E.

1300 I Street

Washington, DC 20005

Exploring Magazine

Boy Scouts of America

P.O. Box 152079

Irving, TX 75015

Guide

55 W. Oak Ridge Drive

Hagerstown, MD 21740

The New Era

50 E. North Temple

Salt Lake City, UT 84150

Keynoter

Key Club International

3636 Woodview Trace

Indianapolis, IN 46268

Magazine for Christian Youth

United Meth. Publ. House

201 8th Avenue S., Box 801

Nashville, TN 37202

Seventeen

850 3rd Avenue

New York, NY 10022

Teen Magazine

8490 Sunset Boulevard

Hollywood, CA 90069

Transcend

4 Daniels Farm Road

Suite 134

Trumbull, CT 06611

Youth Update

St. Anthony Mess. Press

1615 Republic Street

Cincinnati, OH 45210

SELF-PUBLISHING FOR PROFIT

Now that you’ve mastered the shorter forms of writing,

perhaps you’re ready to write a book-length work of fiction

or non-fiction. If you’ve developed strong writing skills

over the course of your writing for profit career, you will

likely be able to master the discipline necessary to write

a longer work.

The problems are more likely to lie with getting the book

published. It is often easier to write a book today than

to see it finally get published. Writers often see

multiple numbers of rejection when submitting to book

publishers. Some persist and do well like Richard Bach who

survived more than fifteen rejections before getting

“Jonathan Livingston Seagull” published. Many others

simply give up.

There are other options, however. Getting a book published

by a large New York firm is probably the least likely way

to break into book publishing. Many of these houses are

owned by large corporations today whose interest lies

primarily with pub-lishing blockbusters, book that can sell

50-100,000 copies in hard cover. Since few books by

established authors do this, the beginner’s chance in this

market has virtually disappeared.

In addition, you need an agent in order to approach a large

publisher like Random House or Doubleday. If you try to

submit directly, your manuscript will likely lay unread.

Some may even give you the courtesy of mailing it back.

Still others will send you a postcard essentially saying,

“Thanks, but no thanks”.

The editorial director of the popular magazine,

“Publisher’s Weekly”, believes that self-publishing is the

best alternative for new writers to get a book out there

for others to see. If an author is convinced of the

quality of his or her book, and is receiving dozens or

rejection letters, this editor suggests publishing the book

yourself. Com-paratively simple equip-ment, he says, can

be used to turn out a reasonable facsimile of a finished

book.

This establishes a writer as serious about one’s work and

can lead to publishers looking at the author’s future

manuscripts more closely. It always looks good to say

you’ve been published, even if it is self-published.

Some self-publishing books have gone on to bigger and

better things. “Bartlett’s Familiar Quotations,” a

standard reference work now was originally self-published

by the author as was the writer’s bible, “The Elements of

Style”. They sold well, publishers noticed them and bought

the rights to publish it in greater quantity.

If you decide to go ahead with self-publishing you book,

you will have to be prepared to make an investment. It

isn’t cheap to publish, but you can save on costs by doing

as much work ahead of the printer as possible.

First, desk-top publishing software can often let you type

set you own book yourself. Or, if not, you should try and

type your book on a computer and furnish a typesetter with

a disk. It will make it much easier, quicker and less

expensive for the typesetter to actually lay the book out

in its eventual published format.

Next, work with a graphic artist to design the cover. A

photograph of you as author will likely suffice for the

back cover copy.

Print your book in soft cover. It’s cheaper to print and

thus you can keep your book priced lower for resale. This

could improve the volume of your actual sales. The most

popular book size is 5 ½ by 8 ½ inches. Depending on

typeset size, there are usually 350-400 words per page. It

is easy to fit this book on your shelf, in a briefcase, or

an overnight bag for airplane reading, thus making it a

good size to market. Many original soft cover paperbacks

are in this standard size.

Have the book perfect-bound on 60 pound offset paper. The

text printing should be black. The cover should be in 2

color while the cover stock should be 10 point coated, one

side only.

Look for a printer that can print a book. Only a few of

them can! Get at least three or four price quotes. The

unit cost of each book will vary depending on the volume of

copies you print. 5,000 books, for example, will have a

much smaller per book cost than will printing of 500 books.

The reason is due to the high cost of setting the machine

to print. Once the press is running, you simply pay for

the paper and materials.

Don’t have 5,000 books printed, however, simply to save on

your unit cost. If you don’t anticipate selling that many

books, don’t order that many. Judge how many you think you

can sell and then have that number printed. You can always

do a second printing cheaper than the first since the set-

up charges will not repeat unless you make changes to the

book.

What price do you set for the book? Much depends on the

market and your own costs in printing the book. Go down to

your local bookstore and see what the range of prices are

on books of your size and style (soft cover). If the

average price is $12.95, this will tell you what a

competitive charge would be. Now, contrast that with the

unit cost of your book which is the total printing,

typesetting and graphic arts charges for your books divided

by the number of copies. If your unit cost is, say, $3.50

per book, you’d like to ideally charge about three or four

times the cost on the open market, which would be around

$10.50 to $14.00, for which the $12.95 average price fits

quite nicely.

You must copyright your material and it is recommended that

you also register your book and obtain an International

Standard Book Number (ISBN). To do this, you must write to

a couple of organizations.

First up is the Copyrights Office. If you write to:

Register of Copyrights

Copyrights Office

Library of Congress

Washington, DC 20599

and ask for the copyright registration forms and the

booklet entitled “Copyright Basics”. This will give you

explicit instructions on copyrighting your material.

Copyright protection now lasts for your lifetime plus fifty

years.

While we’re on the subject of copyrighting, you can also

obtain a Library of Con-gress catalog card and number for

your book. Libraries around the country often use this

number to identify books and order them.

You can obtain information about this process by writing

to:

The Registrar, CIP Division

Library of Congress

Washington, DC 20540

International Standard Book Numbers (ISBN) are another type

of classification system for a book. Libraries, bookstores

and wholesalers all use this number system for ordering

books.

As a self-publisher, you will be assigned a number prefix

which is part of the ISBN. There-after, for future

publications, you will assign your own ISBN based on the

pre-assigned codes you’ll receive.

To get more information about this, write to:

ISBN Agency

R.R. Bowker & Company

205 E. 42nd Street

New York, NY 10017

Ask specifically for the “ISBN System User’s Manual” and

the “ISBN Log Book” when contacting the ISBN Agency.

All of this work, including copyrighting, ISBNs and Library

of Congress cataloguing is crucial in establishing your

book as a professional entry. You have a far better chance

of having your work noticed if it is officially filed.

Just because it’s a self-published work doesn’t mean it

isn’t a good book and worthy of attention. This work en-

hances your image and your potential as a serious writer.

Publishing yourself can be a rewarding experience and

launch a whole new career for you. If you like to write,

book publishing can be a worthy goal.

LISTING OF BOOK PUBLISHERS

Here is a partial listing of book publisher to whom you

could submit a manuscript or a book proposal. These are

not the major publishers, who will only work through an

agent. These firms to whom you could submit a book

manuscript directly. For a larger listing, consult with

the publications, “Writer’s Market 1995″ or “The Literary

Marketplace”, both of which are usually available at your

local library.

Almar Press

4105 Marietta Drive

Vestal, NY 13850

The Benjamin Company, Inc.

21 Dupont Avenue

White Plains, NY 10605

Camino Books, Inc.

P.O. Box 59026

Philadelphia, PA 19102

Down East Books

P.O. Box 679

Camden, ME 04843

East Coast Publishing

P.O. Box 2829

Poughkeepsie, NY 12603

Donald I Fine, Inc.

19 W. 21st Street

New York, NY 10010

Gardner Press, Inc.

19 Union Square West

New York, NY 10003

Hancock House Publishers

1431 Harrison Avenue

Blaine, WA 98230

Imagine, Inc.

P.O. Box 9674

Pittsburgh, PA 15226

Intervarsity Press

P.O. Box 1400

Downers Grove, IL 10011

Kodansha International

114 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10011

Liberty Hall Press

11 W. 19th Street, 3rd Floor

New York, NY 10011

Madison Books

4720 Boston Way

Lanham, MD 20706

New Rivers Press

420 N. 5th Street, Suite 910

Minneapolis, MN 55401

Paladin Press .

P.O. Box 1307

Boulder, CO 80306

Pelican Publishing Company

P.O. Box 189

Gretna, LA 70053

Perspectives Press

P.O. Box 90318

Indianapolis, IN 46290

Rainbow Books

P.O. Box 430

Highland City, FL 33846

Rutledge Hill Press

513 3rd Avenue South

Nashville, TN 37210

St. Martin’s Press

175 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10010

Sasquatch Books

1931 2nd Avenue

Seattle, WA 98101

Signature Books

350 S. 400 East #G-4

Salt Lake City, UT 84111

Ten Speed Press

P.O. Box 7123

Berkeley, CA 94707

Walker and Company

720 5th Avenue

New York, NY 10019

Remember to always request manuscript submission guidelines

first. Send a request letter accompanied by a large

mailing envelope, self-addressed and with at least three

first class postage stamps on it. Good luck!

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