How to Promote Your Writing on the Web

Once upon a time, writers were writers and marketers were marketers. Today, things are very different: like it or not, writers of both fiction and non-fiction are called upon to market themselves and their work. Whether you’re pounding out the next bestseller or building a freelance portfolio, you need a multifaceted approach to self-promotion. Fortunately, some of the best and easiest ways to get your work out there and build a readership are at your fingertips: Blog Blogging used to be nothing more than an online diary, but now it’s one of the best ways to make yourself known on the web. Set up a simple, uncluttered blog template, and then decide what you’ll blog about. If you’re writing a…

How to Get Your Readers to Keep Reading

Sometimes you see an article or blog post that grabs you and holds you by the throat. Other times you pass them by with very little interest at all. What’s the difference between a hit and a flop? It doesn’t matter how brilliant or thoughtful your work is if your readers aren’t interested in sticking around to see what you have to say. Hooking your readers from the very first line isn’t difficult if you consider the following factors that I used in my recent post job: Start with a great headline Brian Clark of Copyblogger knows all about the psychology behind magnetic headlines. The same principle goes for blog posts, magazine articles, and non-fiction books. If the title doesn’t…

Toxic Language and How It Hinders Your Writing

There is an icky, creepy bug that may be surrounding your daily life, seeping into everything you do. Without you even realizing it. That bug is toxic language. And once it gets a hold of you, it slowly begins to destroy, attacking your confidence, your outlook and your writing. What Is Toxic Language? Toxic language is anything negative that you tell yourself, especially when it comes to your writing. It’s words like “can’t” and “should” and phrases like “have to” that make up the toxicity. Words like these take your power away. When you use toxic language all the time, you are programming yourself to believe it (even subconsciously) and that will start to take a toll on your self…

15 Ways to Reward Yourself For Writing

Let’s face it – When you know you’re getting a reward for doing something, it can definitely motivate you to do it. That’s why rewarding yourself for writing really works. When you know all you have to do is write 500 words before you can collect your reward (whatever it might be), that will motivate you to write. It’s as simple as that. Rewarding Yourself for Writing People love getting a reward for doing something. That’s why cereal companies put toys inside the box; it’s a reward for purchasing their cereal. And it’s also an incentive to purchase it over another brand. Same goes with writing. If you know writing 500 words comes with a reward, but watching TV for…

5 Strategies to Banish Writing Distractions for Good

One of the biggest complaints I hear from writers is about the difficulty of distractions. Twitter. Facebook. Google Reader. These social media outlets are highly tempting to the average writer, not to mention the everyday interruptions of a career, housework, and television. Are there strategies we can use to help keep us on track during a writing session? 5 ways to banish writing distractions for good: Dark Room Feature If you find yourself looking at all the shiny buttons and tempting options on your desktop, try a dark room feature, which blocks out everything on your screen and leaves you with nothing but a blank page and cursor. Freedom This is a program for both Mac and Windows users, which…