Small habits add up, especially daily writing habits. Writing 1,000 words usually gives you enough content to publish a blog post. It’s a starting point, but your career can transform when you write at that frequency every day. One thousand words per day add up to 30,000 words per month or 365,000 words per year. These word counts provide more possibilities.

If you write 365,000 words per year, you can publish multiple novels or a monthly nonfiction book. In addition, you can produce 365 blog posts with that frequency. Each internal blog post brings people back to your brand and builds trust. You can also write guest posts for others and expand your reach.

Writing is a numbers game, and full-time writers regularly produce thousands of words daily. Some writers type over one million words per year between books, blog posts, and freelance writing work. However, building up to 1,000 words per day is a significant milestone. Some people can turn writing into a viable side hustle with that daily word output. Some writers who incorporate other brand assets and marketing strategies can earn a full-time income from 1,000 words per day.

Everyone’s daily output varies, but the common rule is that writing at least 1,000 words daily gives you a substantial advantage over writers who are not writing consistently. The following strategies will help you turn writing 1,000 words per day into an effortless habit.

How Long Does It Take For You To Write 1,000 Words?

Most people can write 1,000 words in under an hour, but you may trim down the time to 30 minutes as you write more often and consistently. You can use WPM (words per minute) to monitor your progress. The average person types at 40 words per minute. At this rate, it would take 25 minutes to complete 1,000 words.

Of course, editing and reviewing work increases the time required to produce 1,000 words. Typing faster and memorizing the keyboard will help break past 40 WPM. You’ll easily memorize the keyboard with practice, but you can start with words. For example, learn how to type the word “beach” without looking at the keys. After you master that word, try typing “grow” without looking down. Memorizing how to type those words will help you remember the placements of nine out of the 26 letters of the alphabet. As you memorize more letters, it gets easier to memorize the remaining letters and reduce how long it takes to write 1,000 words.

One thousand words per day add up to 30,000 words per month or 365,000 words per year.
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Create An Outline

No writer goes into their work with a blank page. Authors do extensive book outlines before writing, especially fiction writers. And nonfiction writers often produce detailed chapter summaries before writing a word. You don’t want to feel lost about character development and scenes or research and content in the middle of writing your book.

Creating a detailed outline gives you a foundation. You can make modifications along the way, but the outline acts as your compass. Every minute of preparation can save you hours of confusion and frustration for longer pieces.

Outlines also go a long way with shorter works, such as blog posts. You can list the tactics you will discuss and do all of your research before starting the piece. Having the information in front of you lets you focus exclusively on writing when you write. Verifying facts and looking things up while writing can become distracting and hurt your ability to produce 1,000 words per day.

When you reach 1,000 words per day, consider how you can stretch it to 1,100 words per day.
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Use an Entire Day for Brainstorming

Writing 1,000 words per day isn’t only about producing that much content. You need enough article, blog post, and book ideas to generate that output. If you finish an article or book chapter without knowing what to do next, you will constantly shift from writing to planning.

These shifts don’t happen naturally. It’s like hitting the brakes on your car. It takes some time to achieve the same speed you had before hitting the brakes. While it can take a few seconds to adjust after you take your foot off the brakes, it can take several minutes (or longer) to shift back and forth from writing to planning.

Selecting one to two days each month to generate ideas lets you stay in the writing flow longer. The brainstorming day makes you less susceptible to distractions when you write content.

Writing 1,000 words daily is a great achievement that can propel your writing career.
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Set a Time to Write

If you want to get something done, put it on the calendar. Client meetings, vacation plans, and other events find their way on the calendar before they happen. Setting a time to write increases accountability and turns the practice into a habit. You can experiment with writing at different times in the day and notice which times of day work better for you.

I prefer to write in the morning. The mornings provide fewer distractions, and I am at my best. Writing 1,000 words in the morning puts me in an excellent position to write more content throughout the day. The way you start your day influences how your day progresses and ends.

You may prefer to write later in the day. For example, some people exercise in the morning, work throughout the day, and write content for their brands in the evenings. Whatever your preference, put writing in your calendar as if it were a meeting with an important client.

The issue with a 1,000-word cap is that writers get comfortable with 950-1,020 words. This mentality embraces sufficiency instead of greatness.
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Don’t Stop At 1,000 Words

Writing 1,000 words daily is a great achievement that can propel your writing career. You get to write more books, promote your business with more guest blog posts and articles, and create more opportunities for yourself. However, 1,000 words should not be the end goal. You should never stop yourself from writing more than 1,000 words.

Writing a few extra words during each writing session has a compounded effect. We have already discussed how writing 1,000 words per day translates into 365,000 words per year. Adding an extra 100 words per day to your schedule yields an additional 36,500 words per year. That output is enough for approximately 36 blog posts or a 100+ page nonfiction book.

The issue with a 1,000-word cap is that writers get comfortable with 950-1,020 words. This mentality embraces sufficiency instead of greatness. When you reach 1,000 words per day, consider how you can stretch it to 1,100 words per day. That’s a very small ask for people who can already type 1,000 words per day. You can write the other 100 words on your smartphone while walking or waiting in line for something.

Reaching 2,000 words per day yields twice the output of 1,000 words per day. A larger goal will inspire you to pursue the next milestone instead of staying in place.

Do you write 1,000 words per day, and, if so, how has that helped your writing career? Tell me in a comment below. And if you found this post useful, please share it with a friend and on social media.

About the Author

Marc Guberti is a business freelance writer who writes for individuals, small businesses, and corporations. He hosts the Breakthrough Success Podcast and has written over a dozen books, including the award-winning Content Marketing Secrets.

Photo courtesy of kantver.

The post How To Consistently Write 1,000 Words Per Day appeared first on Write Nonfiction NOW!.

Malcolm Gladwell’s 2008 best seller, Outliers, centers on the premise that, regardless of a person’s pursuit, it takes about 10,000 hours to become proficient, or perhaps an expert.

Gladwell discovered that hugely successful people such as Bill Gates, Robert Oppenheimer, and The Beatles had put in the requisite 10,000 hours into their field or craft. It just seems to be a very basic rule that to become proficient in any field, you need to put in a lot of time—which equates to a lot of years of diligent effort.

There are no shortcuts or get-smart-quick ways about it. Unless you’re a prodigy or Mensa genius, you are going to have to become an expert the old-fashioned way—by hard work and persistence.

In this modern age of instant gratification in which we can’t even tolerate more than five seconds for a web page to load, the idea of having to take such a long time becoming an expert in our craft is downright annoying. We want it all now—success, recognition, fulfillment.

“But Writing Is Different!”

As a copyeditor, I see lots of manuscripts lacking in brilliance and writing expertise—as do literary agents and acquisition editors. Yet, I’ve come across many new writers who state that because they are just “naturally talented,” or they’ve “read a ton of books,” they can justify bypassing the needed amount of training and honing of their craft that perhaps an ordinary person might need.

Oftentimes, when feeling the spirit of creativity moving on our imagination and heart, revealing to us words and themes and concepts, we figure all we need do is write it all down and—voila!—a masterpiece. Many writers feel all you need is talent—you either have it or don’t—and so if you use that talent and sit down and whip out a book, that’s all that’s required to hit the best-seller lists.

Funny how writing seems to fall into its own special category. If I felt called in life to be a brain surgeon, people would think me nuts to walk into a hospital, state I was “destined to become a surgeon,” and ask for a scalpel to operate on the patient on the table. In fact, should I press forward and take scalpel in hand, I would quickly be carted off by force and removed as far from that hospital as possible—to protect the patient lying on the table. I might even find myself in a nifty jacket that ties in the back, where my eager hands can’t reach the fasteners.

Reasonable people expect aspiring surgeons to put in the requisite hours of study, residency, and supervised and assisted training to work up to being the capable doctor they hope to be. This is the same across professions—whether one hopes to practice law, build a skyscraper, or even drive a school bus full of squirrelly children.

Some “careers” may not call for 10,000 hours of diligence, but Gladwell notes that to become an expert in your field, to rise above the masses, that seems to be the magic number. That’s about 20 hours a week for 10 years of practicing and honing your craft. We feel comforted when we hear our 747 pilot has logged in over 10,000 hours of flight time. We might not feel so at ease if we were told this was his first time behind the wheel (or stick).

“What’s Taking So Long?”

Sometimes new writers lament that they haven’t been able to sell their first manuscript after a hard year of writing and querying agents. Maybe even after even five years they ask, why is this desired goal of publishing next to impossible?

I would venture to say this: Maybe the goal feels impossible to reach because they haven’t yet put in their 10,000 hours. Sure, it can feel like walking 10,000 miles, but when you take such a lengthy trip through many lands, you grow and learn and absorb the cultures and surroundings until they become part of your soul and fill your cache of imagination to the full.

We need to mature in our writing. Our writing technique and voice needs to age like a fine wine. Remember that slogan “We serve no wine before its time”? How about: “We sell no manuscript before its time”?—meaning our writing should be honed and refined as we learn and grow through life.

There’s a kind of maturity that comes with age, and our writing matures as well. Aside from just the refinement and tightening that comes from endless hours of actual writing (practice), we gain a deeper insight into the life experience. We can share things from a deeper place in our hearts because we have already walked a long road in life full of experiences, both joyful and tragic.

What to Do during Those 10,000 Hours

It’s easy to see how practicing a musical instrument for thousands of hours will help you arrive at the point of expertise, but how does this equate in terms of writing? Do we just sit down and write—anything, everything—and once we get to 10,000 hours we will find we are an expert in our craft?

It’s not quite that simple. Writers are wielding words, concepts, abstractions, metaphors. You could compare a writer studying and mastering the construct of language in the way a musician might master her scales and arpeggios. Over time, the study of grammar, spelling, and punctuation will help a writer be proficient with the English (or other) language, and that’s very important.

But 10,000 hours spent learning just those things does not a writer make. It can produce a great English comp teacher or copyeditor. But a nonfiction writer or novelist? That requires a little more than just learning how to put together a proposer sentence and know where a comma goes (which, from my editing experience I’d guess most writers do not know).

Nonfiction writers need to have a toolbox full of various tools to use in their craft, and a lot of things can influence and aid in gathering those tools over the years. Here is a partial list of things writers can avail themselves of in order to gain the expertise needed to become a great writer:

• Study books on writing craft. Don’t just read them but put into practice the things read as you write.
• Attend writers’ conferences and take workshops. Take notes and practice the things you learn there.
• Focus on one or two weak areas in your writing the way an athlete will spend 80 percent of her time working on the 10 percent of her ability that is lacking to bring it up to speed.
• Get a critique partner or join a critique group. Regularly have others give you constructive feedback on your writing and listen humbly and openly to their advice. You don’t have to accept everything everyone says, but pay attention to the points that make sense to you and work to improve what needs improvement. It’s better to work on just one section of your manuscript, doing many revisions to get it perfect, than to keep writing book after book without taking the time to delve into each sentence and paragraph to get it just right.
• At some point seriously consider hiring a copyeditor/writing coach who can professionally evaluate your work, tear it apart, and help you determine your strengths and weaknesses. If you feel you’re just not “there” yet and friends and family say your books are “just great” but you wonder if you’re missing something, hire a professional.

Think about the Journey—Not the Destination

A few—very few—writers find “success” or publication after only a year or two of starting their journey as a writer, but that’s not the norm. Talk to most authors who have been publishing for years and you will often hear numbers thrown around: “It took me 10 years to get an agent . . . 12 years to get my first publishing contract . . .”

Sure, there are factors of timing, accessibility to conferences, personality, the genre you write in juxtaposed to the market needs. All these things can have a bearing on your “success.” But, rather than focus on the “success” part, I’d rather focus on the “expert” part. Don’t forget to remind yourself that it’s all about the journey, not the destination.

Be honest…are you putting in the work or hours to be a proficient nonfiction writer? Leave a comment below and tell me about your experience. And please share this post with a friend.

About the Author

C.S. Lakin is the author of more than thirty books, fiction and nonfiction, and teaches writing workshops live and on her online video school. She does more than 200 manuscript critiques a year and loves to help writers pen terrific books. Check out her website/blog and critique site for more than a million words of instruction.

Photo courtesy of Avi Richards.

The post Put in the Work to Become a Proficient Nonfiction Writer appeared first on Write Nonfiction NOW!.

I know this sounds harsh, but it’s time for some tough love from your favorite Author Coach…moi. Ready? Here it comes…

Stop Blaming

You can blame lack of time, life getting in the way, your kids, your partner, your day job, your poor health, or anything else you can think of, but that’s not why you don’t write. But if you genuinely want to develop the habit of writing consistently, stop pointing your finger at anyone and everything else. Instead, point it toward yourself.

In other words, take responsibility.

You and only you are to blame for your inability to sit down and write daily. You are the only one who controls whether or not you produce X number of words or pages per week.

Blame will get you nowhere fast. It won’t help you finish your manuscript, start or maintain your blog, or write query letters to magazines. It will, however, keep you stuck.

Taking responsibility will get you wherever you want to go fast. Really, it will.

After all, when you can only blame yourself, you realize that if you want something to change, you have to change. And that insight propels you toward a consistent writing practice.

If you genuinely want to develop the habit of writing consistently, stop pointing your finger at anyone and everything else. Instead, point it toward yourself.
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A Harsh Talk with Myself

I’m telling you this because I recently had to say the exact words to myself. Yes…myself.

I have not had a consistent writing habit for a long time. I had tons of excuses. Those excuses just kept me stuck..and not writing.

So I sat down and said to myself, “Something has to change if you are ever to write your books and make a difference…and that something is you.”

Then I said, “Write the frickin’ books already! Be a writer.” (I am being more careful with my word choice here than during my conversation with myself.)

Now, things did not change overnight. They didn’t even change after two weeks of having an accountability partner. But now… I’m writing. I’m writing even if it’s for 15 minutes, at the end of my work day, when I’m tired or don’t feel well, and when I have other commitments to keep.

“Writers write,” I remind myself daily. “You are a writer, Nina! Write.”

Even today…with little time left to get a post up and ready for tomorrow…I wrote this post. I could have edited a post from one of my guest bloggers, but I chose to compose one from scratch instead.

Why? I’m a writer. And as a journalist and long-time blogger, I know I can churn out a post quickly. (I’ve done it many times before.) And so why not prove that to myself…that I’ve still got it in me?

Why not, indeed. And so…I wrote. And now you are reading this post, which contains the advice I gave myself that got me out of my writing slump.

Time for Change

It’s time to do things differently, is it not?

Not sure? Consider this…

If you don’t change your writing habit to one that helps you become productive, where will you be in a year, three years, or five years? Will you have written a book, created a successful blog, or landed a magazine article gig?

Probably not.

So, decide to change.

If you don’t change your writing habit to one that helps you become productive, where will you be in a year, three years, or five years?
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Be a Writer

The one change that will make the most significant difference is to change your identity.

Stop being a blamer and complainer. Be a person who is responsible. Then be responsible for your actions—including writing (or not writing).

And stop being someone who lacks personal integrity. Instead, be a person who has self-integrity. Keep your promises to yourself—like writing every day.

And, most important of all, be a writer. Then do what writers do…write. That’s how you create the results you desire—like becoming an author, blogger, or journalist.

These identities are all ones that I, too, have adopted. And they are the reason I am now writing consistently again.

Get Help and Do the Work

Transformation typically requires a hard look at ourselves and even harder work of doing things differently and being someone different. But, you need to do the work necessary to change.

While sometimes an event causes instant transformation, that’s a rare occurrence. More often than not, transformation is a process and takes time and effort.

Also, you might be able to get out of your own way on your own. But if you are like most people, you need someone or something to lend a hand and pull you out of the road. You need assistance to stop being the obstacle between where you are and where you want to go.

Humans have blind spots, so we need someone to point them out. We often need someone to call us out on our excuses and other bad habits. And we might need someone who can provide a mirror that reflects our potential and shows us who we are capable of being and what we are capable of achieving.

Be a writer. Then do what writers do…write. That’s how you create the results you desire—like becoming an author, blogger, or journalist.
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Focus on Your Personal Growth

To get out of your own way and write, you must engage in personal growth or development. Whether you choose to meditate, journal, read personal development books, or hire a coach, do something to help yourself change. Your success depends upon it.

In fact, the most successful people invest loads of time, money, and energy into themselves. This is because they realize that investment will reap a considerable ROI: success.

For the last two years, I have immersed myself in personal and spiritual growth programs. (I believe we need to address both aspects of being human—spiritual and physical.) I knew I was stuck and needed help getting unstuck.

I knew the problem was me…not someone or something outside of myself. And so I sought out help…and I got it. And now I’m writing consistently. I’m no longer in my own way.

Here’s the thing: personal growth is self-improvement. And self-improvement can’t do anything other than help you learn, grow, and become the type of person who can write consistently…and succeed as a writer.

Focusing on self-improvement will help you:

• Change your identity.
• Increase your level of self-integrity.
• Gain clarity on your project and goals.
• Make decisions.
• Act with courage.
• Become more productive.
• Step into the role of leader and influencer.
• Let go of what has held you back.
• Show up as the person and author/writer you want to be.
• Promote yourself and your work.
• Build an author platform.

And it will help you get out of your way and write consistently.

So, don’t wait another minute to get out of your way. Instead, admit that you are your only obstacle. Then begin doing the self-improvement work necessary to help you become the amazingly consistent—and successful—writer you know you are meant to be.

How do you plan to get out of your own way and write consistently? Tell me in a comment below, and share this post with a writing buddy who might need to hear my tough-love advice today.

Photo courtesy of evgenyatamanenko.

The post How to Get Out of Your Own Way and Write Consistently appeared first on Write Nonfiction NOW!.

Have you ever lost your writing mojo? You aren’t alone, but you can find the magic again and start writing easily, quickly, and joyfully in no time.

How do I know? Because I lost my mojo for a while, but I found it again.

Where Did You Lose Your Writing Mojo?

Losing your writing mojo seems to happen when you least expect it, seemingly without reason. One day you are writing as usual, and the next, you can’t get a complete sentence together. The reason for this predicament can feel a bit like a mystery.

Like most of us—me included, you will want to know why you lost your mojo. But the reason really doesn’t matter.

The reason(s) for losing your writing mojo actually is much less important than the ways to find it. I know you want to understand what happened, maybe so you can avoid having the same problem in the future. Or you might simply want to place blame—“It’s so-and-so’s fault that I have writer’s block!”

Believe me…I get it (especially the blame part). But in the end, the only thing that matters is that you regain your writing mojo. Then, if it disappears in the future, you’ll know how to bring it back like a magician producing a rabbit out of a hat.

You can find the magic again and start writing easily, quickly, and joyfully in no time.
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10 Ways to Get Back Your Writing Mojo

The following ten strategies helped me get my mojo back when I felt writing was hard…so hard that I didn’t bother to try writing for quite some time.

But writers write, right?

And I’m a writer. So, I knew I needed to find my mojo.

I tried a lot of different tricks, tactics, and tips. However, the following ones helped me most, and I hope they’ll work for you.

The reason(s) for losing your writing mojo actually is much less important than the ways to find it.
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1. Stand up.

Most writers work sitting down, which doesn’t promote deep breathing or good circulation. That means your body—including your brain—doesn’t get the oxygen or blood it needs. When you stand while writing instead, you allow yourself to breathe fully. As a result, you will feel more creative and clear-headed. You also might feel more motivated, especially if you don’t allow yourself to sit until you finish a specific number of words or pages. Find a place in your home to use your laptop that is the correct height for typing. Or purchase a portable standing desk or a desktop that goes up and down. (I have both.)

2. Be accountable.

It’s incredible how we typically lack accountability with ourselves but not others. So, if you are struggling to keep your word to yourself, give it to someone else instead. Every morning tell your accountability buddy what you intend to accomplish. Then report back to them daily (not weekly). You’ll be amazed at how much you get done when you have a “deadline” and someone expecting to receive your work—or at least an honest report that you did it. (This person does not have to be another writer.)

3. Move your body.

Sitting is sedentary and not conducive to creativity. Again, your brain needs oxygen, and sitting promotes shallow breathing. So, if you don’t want to stand and write, move your body before you begin a writing period. Exercise, dance, do yoga or tai chi, take a walk, or skip around your house. Anything that feels good or gets your heart pumping works.

4. Change your energy.

Energy is everything! And that’s why you need it to write. If you’ve lost your writing mojo, you likely show up at your computer feeling depressed, anxious, defeated, or angry. It’s hard to write when you feel negative emotions because they lower your energy. Therefore, it’s imperative to raise your energy before you attempt to write. Watch funny Facebook or Instagram stories. Go out in nature. Play with the dog or pet the cat. Call a friend who can be your cheerleader. View motivational or inspirational YouTube videos. As mentioned above, you can also move your body; exercise is a great energy enhancer! Then, when you are feeling upbeat and energized, try writing.

5. Play music.

Music is the great healer. It is also an energy and mood enhancer (as long as you don’t listen to songs about something depressing). Some people, like myself, like to listen to music meant to increase focus. Others want to listen to their favorite artists—rock, jazz, classical, blues…whatever! So if you usually try to write in silence, turn on your favorite music tracks. Then, see if that doesn’t help you get your mojo back.

6. Use visualization.

Visualization, active daydreaming, and self-hypnosis are fabulous ways to program your brain to write quickly and effortlessly. So, if you want to get your writing mojo back, try one of them. An easy breathing technique, like 7–11 breathing, will put you in a relaxed state conducive for these exercises. Then simply imagine yourself writing. Then, using your mind’s eye, visualize what it would feel and be like to have your writing mojo back—mentally experience being in the writing flow. Finally, imagine yourself six months into the future; what results would you achieve by writing quickly and effortlessly by that point? Do this two or three times per day for a month…or longer, and you will have reprogrammed your brain to get in the writing flow.

7. Remember your “why.”

Most nonfiction writers write because they have a strong sense of purpose. They want to make a difference or be of service. They may even have a cause of movement to promote. You will be more likely to write when you keep your purpose forefront in your mind. After all, someone needs your book, article, or blog post. And you fulfill your purpose by giving them what they need. Getting clarity on your purpose as a writer will fuel your writing and add a big of necessity and urgency to the mix, which will get your fingers on the keyboard.

8. Get tapped in.

One of my favorite strategies is to call on your “spirit team” or a higher power to help me write. (Yes, really.) Many writers believe God, spirit guides, ancestors, or angels help them write by providing information, wisdom, inspiration, or guidance. If you are one of those people, invoke your spirit team before beginning a writing session. Ask for guidance and for your writing blocks to be removed. You might add in a bit of meditation or a ritual. Then pull out your laptop and write.

9. Change your identity.

As I said before, writers write. So be a writer. If you take on the identity of a writer, you will do what writers do…write. That will be your habit, and you’ll form it naturally because it will align with your identity. To have a completed (and published) writing project, you must first be a person who can do what writers do—write. So tell yourself daily that you are a writer. Then show up as a writer every day.

10. Do the thing.

All that’s left is for you to do “the thing”…write. Sometimes, that’s what it takes. Don’t wait for motivation or inspiration or for your writer’s block to suddenly disappear. Just write. Even when it’s hard, write. Even when you don’t think you have anything to say, write. Even with the writing is horrible, write. Write every day at the same time…no matter what. No excuses. Just write, and your mojo will return.

Tell yourself over and over again, “I am a writer, and writing comes easily and effortless to me.”
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Focus on What You Want

Last but not least, don’t keep telling yourself you’ve lost your writing mojo. Stop focusing on what you don’t have…and don’t want. Instead, focus on what you want—to be in the writing flow.

Whenever you find yourself bemoaning that you aren’t writing as easily or joyously as you’d like, turn your mind to a time when you did. Remember yourself writing magically. And tell yourself over and over again, “I am a writer, and writing comes easily and effortless to me.”

If you ever lost your writing mojo, tell me how you got it back. And please share this post with someone who is feeling challenged to write. And if you need some support getting it back,

https://ninaamir.as.me/15-min-strategy-session
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Photo courtesy of evgenyatamanenko.

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Writing your book can be a solitary process, but you don’t have to go it alone when it comes to marketing and promotion. Sharing the burden of getting your book in front of readers is one of the best reasons to search for other authors with whom you can collaborate.

Don’t fall into that mindset trap that any author who writes in your niche is your direct competition. This is a common misconception among indie authors, who fail to see that other authors can be their most significant assets.

However, the key to successful book marketing collaborations lies in picking the right authors to collaborate with. After all, you want an effective partnership for all involved.

Book marketing can be challenging. It doesn’t matter whether you’re self-published or have chosen the traditional route; the effort to market and promote your book rests on your shoulders. If you don’t have the budget to employ a marketing specialist, you’ll have to roll up your sleeves and start mastering the nuances of book marketing and promotion specific to your book’s niche.

So, how do you choose collaboration partners? You can use a simple five-question process.

Sharing the burden of getting your book in front of readers is one of the best reasons to search for other authors with whom you can collaborate.
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Five Questions to Help You Find Author Collaborators

When establishing collaboration relationships, consider five things before you reach out and connect with other authors.

1. Do you and the other author write in a similar niche?

No two books are exactly the same, so it’s doubtful that you’ll find an author with precisely the same viewpoint and content focus. But that shouldn’t concern you anyway. What you’re looking for is some audience overlap between your books. The other author’s books don’t have to be a mirror image of yours. Still, there have to be enough similarities to appeal to the same audience.

For example, I’ve collaborated with other authors and bloggers within my niche in the following circumstances:

When I started travel blogging about our adopted home in Turkey, two other writers blogged about the same area. One was a gay couple who wrote about moving to a Muslim country. The other was an immigrant who had returned to the area after 20 years away.

We all had our own perspectives and specialized in writing about different aspects of life in Turkey. Still, we soon discovered that cross-promoting each other positively impacted our site visitors and book sales.

I’ve blogged and written books aimed at travel writers who want to become authors. So, I partnered with a travel writing coach who blogs and writes books about how to become a prolific travel writer for the magazine industry.

Our target audiences overlap. By cross-pollinating content—sharing mine with her audience and hers with mine—we create the opportunity to expand our audience’s goals and our reach.

I also wrote a poetic memoir about my mum’s Alzheimer’s journey. For that project, I collaborated with an author collective that writes books about all the other forms of dementia besides Alzheimer’s.

Before I reached out to these authors, I assessed whether our audiences had enough in common to make the collaboration worth the effort. What each author writes about may not be a 100% fit with my audience, but there’s enough in common to make including them in my online and newsletter content feel organic.

2. Is the author’s book worth recommending?

One of the primary collaboration activities is to offer recommendations for another author’s book. You might even offer a promo for that book at the back of your book or send a recommendation to your mailing list. But you don’t want to put your name on a recommendation unless you’ve taken the time to read the book.

If the book is enrolled in Kindle Unlimited, you can borrow it from your Amazon Prime membership. Otherwise, purchase the ebook version to review.

Pay attention to the quality of the writing, formatting, and the content itself. Will you be comfortable recommending and promoting this book to your readers? If you have any doubts, this isn’t the collaboration opportunity to pursue.

The key to successful book marketing collaborations lies in picking the right authors to partner with.
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3. Is the author active on social media?

Before you collaborate with another author, check that you’re not the only one with something to offer.

An author collaboration only works if you both maintain a presence and interact with your audiences on social media. You can search for authors who are active on the same social platforms as you so you can cross-pollinate your newsfeeds with each other’s content. Alternatively, you can look for authors who use a social platform you don’t have a presence on to widen your reach.

Look at their number of followers and their audience’s level of interaction or engagement to assess whether the author you’re planning to reach out to will be an effective partner. Also, this type of review helps discern if the author will work as hard as you to promote your online content and books.

You might also analyze the other author’s content to determine if your book fits into that well. Additionally, notice if they are already promoting their book or other author’s books.

4. Does the author have a mailing list?

Readers who share their emails in return for joining an author’s mailing list have shown greater interest in that author than a casual social media follower. So, when you find an author you think maybe a good collaboration partner, sign up to their mailing list to see the frequency and type of content they share in their newsletters.

If you have an extensive mailing list, you may decide that you only want to partner with authors with an equally robust list. As part of the assessment period, you can ask the other author for details of their list.

But don’t look at the mailing list in a vacuum. The author may have a smaller list but a very active group on Facebook or a large audience on a social network where you have none. Therefore, look at all the promotional opportunities—not just an email list—before ruling an author out.

4. Does the author have similar values?

A substantial online presence or extensive mailing list is enticing. Still, it’s also important that the tone of an author’s online communication is aligned with yours.

Check that you’re comfortable with how the other author behaves online. For example, are they sharing content you think is inappropriate for your audience? Or do they voice strong views fiercely opposed to your core beliefs?

If you’re uncomfortable with their values, this definitely isn’t the collaboration opportunity to pursue.

Keep in mind that you may not find all your marketing solutions in one author.
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5. Will the partnership be balanced?

You’re looking for a collaboration partner to lessen your marketing load. So, the last thing you want to do is work with an author who isn’t willing to commit to a comparable level of effort. Nor do you want to do more work than they do on any partnership aspect.

Once you’ve found a potential author to collaborate with, take the time to write your marketing goals and what you’re willing to offer as part of the partnership. This should include the type of activities you provide and how frequently they are offered.

For example, you could offer quarterly mentions of their book in your newsletter, a specific number of social media mentions of their books or blog posts over six months, support during book launches, or having them as a featured guest blogger on your website.

This summary is your starting position, but you’ll need to be flexible to ensure your collaboration goals are aligned. You want the collaboration to be a win-win, and it might take a little negotiation to arrive at that.

Find Several Authors with whom to Collaborate

Keep in mind that you may not find all your marketing solutions in one author.

I’ve worked with authors and established a reciprocal guest blogging arrangement and the level of promotion for those articles we are committed to on social media. Our blog posts all include bios with a mention of our books, but we don’t actually promote the books directly.

I collaborate with another author, and we periodically promote our travel-related books in our respective newsletters. Yet, we don’t actively promote them in our social media newsfeeds.

Some authors you reach out to may commit to a whole gamut of marketing activities, whereas others want to limit the collaboration. Of course, it doesn’t matter which type of collaboration you settle for, but you and the other authors must have similar expectations.

An author collaboration isn’t something to enter into lightly. When you team up with another author from your niche, you’re vouching for each other. To retain and maintain your reputation, make sure the authors you collaborate with are the right fit.

Have you collaborated with other authors to lessen the marketing load? Leave a comment below and tell me about your experience. And please share this post with a friend.

About the Author

Jay Artale abandoned her corporate career to become a digital nomad and full-time writer. She’s an avid blogger and a nonfiction author helping travel writers and travel bloggers achieve their self-publishing goals. Join her at Birds of a Feather Press where she shares tips, advice, and inspiration to writers with an independent spirit.

Photo courtesy of mukphotos.

The post How to Choose Authors to Collaborate with on Book Marketing appeared first on Write Nonfiction NOW!.

If you’ve ever faced writer’s block, you may have tried freewriting to get yourself into the writing zone. But using written prompts isn’t the only way to loosen your writing muscles and engage the creative side of your brain. You also can switch gears and use a different type of art.

Many writers find viewing artwork can prove just as effective. For example, you can visit a local art gallery or look at famous works of art online.

Inspired by the Greeks

Using visual art as a prompt for written work has been an often-used strategy as far back as the Greeks, who called it ekphrasis. Greeks were inspired by art—the feelings it triggered and even the process used to create it. Their art-inspired pieces of writing aimed to make the reader envision the object being described as if they were seeing it first-hand.

Vision is our primary sense, and ~70% of our sensory receptors in the body are in the eyes. Thus, it’s no wonder that what we see can dramatically affect us and our emotions.

The Greeks considered ekphrasis important for developing written and perceptual skills, and contemporary writers have adopted the technique to improve their writing.

Inspired by Paintings and Artwork

Art is an effective trigger for your imagination and can help you develop descriptive and thought-provoking writing. Studies have shown that artwork activates the area of the brain involved in deep contemplation and daydreaming. So even if you’re not planning on writing about the artwork you’re viewing, looking at it can lull your brain into the right gear for creativity. This simple act is enough to inspire a train of thought that could ignite a spark of inspiration in your writing.

How many times have you tried to problem solve a writing dilemma, and the more you think about it, the more frustrated you get by your writer’s block? But as soon as you think about something else, you have a creative breakthrough. It’s the same with looking at art. The trick is to find artwork that speaks to you and encourages your mind to wander.

Artwork can move you away from the mundane challenges of day to day and help you lose yourself in another world. It enables you to let go of your analytical thoughts and embrace creative ideas instead. Once you’re in the zone, the thought shackles are off, and your mind is open to reaching its full potential.

Art is an effective trigger for your imagination and can help you develop descriptive and thought-provoking writing.
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Inspired by Photographs

As a travel writer, strolling through a city or sitting at a sidewalk cafe watching the world go by helps me get a sense of the environment by triggering all my senses. Months later, these photographs still have the power to transport me back to those locations, even though I have to rely on my visual sense.

When looking at these photographs, I often spot things I hadn’t noticed before or see something that triggers a vivid sensory memory of the experience. I know I couldn’t write effectively without these visual prompts. They’re the cornerstone of travel writing. But no matter what nonfiction content you write, you can use photographs to trigger your imagination.

As soon as I look at a photograph, I have an immediate emotional response to specific aspects—these could be tiny details, a block of color, or a shape. I’ll ask questions to activate my senses and start by focusing on those elements that initially grabbed my attention. These don’t always trigger a coherent internal dialogue. Sometimes, it is just a random collection of words or memories rushing past so quickly I can’t grab hold of them. These thoughts are fluid, so let them rush past like a stream.

As soon as you try to hold onto a thought to analyze it, you’re in danger of building a creative damn that stops the flow. So, embrace your emotional or sensory response to the art rather than analyzing why you have a specific response.

Artwork enables you to let go of your analytical thoughts and embrace creative ideas instead.
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How to Use Art as a Prompt

Here’s a three-step approach for using artwork as a writing prompt:

1. Find a location where you can avoid as many distractions as possible. Relax, take a few breaths, and get present. Then gaze at the image. If your mind drifts, bring it back to focus on elements within the image.
2. Really look at the image. Don’t just scan it but absorb the details. You will immediately be drawn to a focal point, which is an excellent place to start to scan your emotions. Ask yourself why you were drawn to that area. Then move your gaze around the rest of the image and note how the elements affect your senses or trigger emotions.
3. Start Writing.

During step 2, it’s essential to be as open as possible. Let your mind wander and rely on your emotional response. Push any desire to analyze or dissect your thoughts to the back of your mind. This takes practice, but the more times you do it, the better you’ll get at the process.

You may only engage your brain for a few seconds before it wanders towards analytic thought. Each time this happens, bring yourself back into art. One technique that works for me is to scan a picture and mentally observe the colors I see. This helps keep me in the moment and pushes wandering thoughts aside.

When you’ve gotten as much as you can from the artwork, or it becomes too much of a battle to stay in the moment, it’s time to write.

Time to Write

It doesn’t matter if you’re writing about the picture you’ve viewed or if the artwork served merely as a tool to get into the writing zone. This visual exercise lubricates your creativity enough to commit words to a page. Try it, and see how quickly you move past any creative writing blocks you might have had in the past.

Have you used artwork or photos to inspire your writing? Leave a comment below and tell me about your process and how it unblocked your writing.

About the Author

Jay Artale abandoned her corporate career to become a digital nomad and full-time writer. She’s an avid blogger and a nonfiction author helping travel writers and travel bloggers achieve their self-publishing goals. Join her at Birds of a Feather Press where she shares tips, advice, and inspiration to writers with an independent spirit.

Photo courtesy of mukphotos.

The post How to Use Art to Inspire Your Writing appeared first on Write Nonfiction NOW!.