By Dan Goodwin

All of us who write go through periods when the writing comes less easily, when it feels more of a struggle to produce the same kind of easy wordflow that we know we’re capable of.

So it’s useful and very valuable to have a few options up your sleeve you can call upon during these creatively sticky times. Creative writing exercises are one of the best of these options.

Here’s why writing exercises are so effective in keeping your writing fun, fresh and flowing:

Fun: You write because you enjoy writing, you enjoy the process itself as well as the pieces of writing you produce. And it follows that the more enjoyable writing is for you, the easier it becomes. Think about some of the other things in your life that you love doing. You don’t need asking twice whether you want to spend some time on them do you?

By using creative writing exercises you can experiment and play around with new techniques, forms and ideas. See them as invitation to a giant creative writing theme park with hundreds of different rides you can go on. Once you’ve tried a few rides, you find which you enjoy most, and which you can try more of it. It’s as much fun as you want to make it!

Fresh: One of the biggest blocks when it comes to writing is not that you can’t write ANYTHING, it’s that you feel you’re writing the same paragraphs, poems or prose over and over. You’ve got stuck in a writing rut where every piece seems to turn out like a very slightly

When you use creative writing exercises you have a whole host of new techniques to try out, to keep your writing stimulating and fresh. However experienced you are as a writer, there are still dozens, probably hundreds of writing exercises and prompts you’ve not tried before. Use them regularly for that zingy writing freshness!

Flowing: How often do you come up with one or two good sentences then go into a slump where the next dozen feel weak and uninspired in comparison? Keeping a high level of consistency is a big challenge for us as writers.

With creative writing exercises, the more you use them, the more techniques and experience you have to draw upon, the easier it flows, and the less likely it is you’ll come to a halt. Get into the habit of using writing exercises regularly and your writing will flow like a raging river after a downpour.

Creative writing exercises have multiple benefits for YOUR creative writing. So throw off those fears and hesitations and start using them to explore your writing today…

And you can get started with some great creative writing exercises right away with your free 5 part creative writing ecourse at http://www.YouAreACreativeWriter.com

From Creativity Coach Dan Goodwin

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By Melissa Kelly

So you want to write a fantasy novel? You love the work of so many fantasy writers and you have a partially formed idea about an elf, a dwarf, and an odd love triangle. Where to begin? The answer is the first of my eight rules for writing fantasy. Enjoy!

1. Begin with the world. Creating the world where your fantasy novel is set is one of the most important parts of creating a successful fantasy novel. And this world must be pretty fleshed out before you move on to the next step. Why you ask? Because just as earth has specific rules that cannot be violated without explanation (for example, the law of gravity), your world will have laws too. It will also have its own geography, weather patterns, animals, and races of people and/or other fantasy creatures. If you jump right in and begin writing your fantasy novel without any consideration for these rules, you will find yourself in a situation where you will need to rewrite carefully to avoid any contradictions once your world has been fully created.

2. Create maps. These can be very general except in the areas where the action will be taking place. Maps help lend depth to your story as you write. Your details will tend to be more grounded.
3. If your world is going to include any form of magic, then you must create the rules for its use before writing about it. You must decide its limits, its costs, its required actions, its possible uses, etc. Only by creating the rules of magic will its use make sense and seem believable.
4. If you are going to have different races living in your world, then you will need to create a history and a description for the characteristics of these races. You will also need to know how people of different races treat each other. If there are prejudices between races you will need to have an understanding of why these exist. The detail of your history and descriptions will be based on how much you will be using a person of that race in your story.
5. Characterizations must be made from the point of view of the fantasy world. You can’t take a person from 21st century earth and transplant them to the world unless that is the whole point of the story. Otherwise, the character will not be believable.
6. Your story will probably revolve around a theme. One of the most common themes is good vs. evil though there are many to choose from. Once you decide on your theme, try to avoid making overt statements concerning it at all costs. Let the reader learn about the theme and make conclusions on their own. Don’t make conclusions for them. You don’t want to be preachy – this is a huge turn off for readers.
7. Beware of deus ex machina. This term refers to an unexpected and improbable solution to a problem in your story. Think of it like the hand of God which suddenly shows up to fix the problems that you as a novelist created and can’t now resolve. These artificial resolutions are death to a fantasy novel.
8. Stay away from fantasy cliché’s unless that is something that you require for your novel (i.e., you are writing a fantasy spoof). You don’t want to have readers groaning over something you’ve written. Dwarves with long beards who love mithril and hate elves, elves who are long, willowy, and haughty, and short-lived humans who just want to fight and have fun – it seems I’ve read all of that before….

I wish you the best of luck as you create the next great fantasy novel. I can’t wait to read it!!!

Melissa Kelly is a published author who loves all things fantasy. You can read more of Melissa’s thoughts about fantasy writing, books, and movies and participate in weekly fantasy polls at her website: http://fantasytimes.blogspot.com

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By Dave Modie

Online freelance writing is a very convenient income-generating option, for both professional and budding writers alike. Dealing with writer’s block for one is easier as online freelance writing offers every one the flexibility of writing at his or her own pace and time.

Searching however for credible online freelance writing can be quite tricky as there are scams out there. In order to ensure that you are looking in the right places, the following tips should be considered:

1. Apply for membership to writers’ forums and online clubs. Not only will you get helpful writing tips from fellow writers but will also get important leads to writing jobs. This is because some forums and websites post ads looking for fellow writers. In addition, it is more likely that the projects are credible since you are dealing with fellow writers. Creating a network of writers will also prove beneficial in the future.

2. Check out popular sites for online freelance writing. A Google search of vital key words such as “online writing” “online freelance writing” and “writing jobs” usually leads to the most popular ones. These sites are usually devoted to posting advertisements for numerous online writing jobs in addition to providing tons of resources related to writing. Keep in mind though to double check before accepting projects. In addition, some of the sites also allow you to post your original articles of which you will get paid every time it sells. These sites are also perfect for building up your portfolio. A portfolio is important for prospective employers when looking for writers.

3. Check out the job bank sites. Some of the job search banks and websites post openings for online freelance writing and other writing jobs. As competition for online freelance writing can be quite tough owing to its increasing popularity, it is wise to have them bookmarked. Check them often as jobs could come and go in a flash. Applying early will give you an advantage. Make sure to have your resume and writing portfolio always on hand.

4. Subscribe to e-magazines. To give you an idea on the e-magazines, search for them online. Some e-magazine subscriptions are for free, if not, are only for a minimal fee. Just like some of the sources mentioned above, e-magazines offer excellent tips and resources for writers on online freelance writing. In addition, they have regular job postings for writers. Contributions to e-magazines are sometimes paid. And even if contributions are not paid, your efforts are not lost because your contributions will be part of your portfolio which can be accessed by prospective employers on the lookout for online freelance writers.

Remember, the Internet can be quite a “jungle”. If you do not know where to look and where to go, you can easily get lost. Be persistent and be patient. There is definitely an online freelance writing job for you.

Dave Modie is a HR expert on freelance writing opportunities and freelance jobs He knows how to find good writer jobs and become the best freelance writer.

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By Allie Boniface

A few days ago, a friend of mine emailed to ask me how one goes about getting published. She’d written a few novels, see, and wanted to see if she could publish them. Considering I’ve spent the better part of the last 5 years learning about the craft of writing and the business of publishing, it was hard to articulate in just a few sentences where she should start.

But then I thought, well, other people might ask the same question at some point, when they find out I’m a writer.

So I thought I’d share my top 5 places to start learning about writing and publishing for aspiring writers. All but one is an Internet resource, because I think the online world is rich with information. Plus it’s fairly accessible for most people. Here you go!

1. Writers Village University (www.writersvillage.com) - I would strongly suggest taking a class or two on the craft of writing. Even if you have a degree in English or Communications or something related, creative/fiction writing is much different. This online “university” offers both classes and study groups where you can post your lessons and assignments. I cannot over-emphasize how helpful WVU has been to me in my pursuit of publication.

2. Absolute Write (www.absolutewrite.com/forums) - Another hugely helpful onlne forum, with groups devoted to everything from the craft of writing (genre by genre) to promotional ideas to ways of dealing with frustration and rejection. AW has a huge membership that is more than willing to share ideas and advice with newbies. Plus it’s free!

3. Agentquery (www.agentquery.com) - At some point, most aspiring writers will want to query literary agents for representation (only because it’s increasingly difficult to sell your project to a publishing house without an agent). This site allows you to search by genre or keyword. Most listings give you pretty good information as far as what the agent’s looking for, how to query, etc. Another couple of helpful agenting sites: Kristin Nelson’s blog and Jessica Faust’s blog. Both agents discuss with candor what authors need to know to compete in the publishing world.

4. Preditors and Editors (http://anotherealm.com/prededitors/peba.htm) - Unfortunately, there are many people/sites/companies out there that market themselves as successful agents or publishers, when in fact they aren’t. This site can help you search by name and see if anything negative has been reported about a particular agent or publisher. (Piers Anthony is another good resource for this kind of search, though he does electronic publishers only)

5. Writers’ Market - This is the only resource that isn’t an online one. I would really suggest getting a copy of this guide. Published annually, it gives very specific information about a variety of publishers, agents, and markets for writers in all genres. Also usually includes some articles by established writers on various aspects of writing and approaching different markets.

That’s really just a start, but I hope it gives new writers (or even seasoned ones) a place to explore. The best thing you can do? Research! And don’t think you’ll find out everything you need to know overnight…be patient…it’s a long process for most of us!

Allie Boniface Author of ONE NIGHT IN BOSTON http://www.allieboniface.com

http://www.allieboniface.blogspot.com

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By Laurence James

Copywriting is an excellent way to make some extra income, and it can be very lucrative if you become proficient at it. One way to put your skills to work is to learn how to write keyword articles or keyword-optimized articles to publish on the Internet. It’s also a useful skill to use in promoting your own websites.

When writing keyword articles, the most important thing to keep in mind is that the articles must be interesting to the target reader. They must also be filled with relevant content that is valuable to readers, or they will quickly click away and go somewhere else for their information. As a starting point, therefore, you should always keep your audience top of mind when writing keyword articles – and this is true of all copywriting. Do your research on the chosen subject matter before you start to write, and gear your words to what readers want.

The search engines, like Google and Yahoo, obviously feature prominently when it comes to keyword optimization for your articles. When considering the keywords to use, always remember this rule: never litter your copy with so many keywords that the article is unreadable. Try to use enough to make the piece keyword relevant, but don’t make it so dense with certain phrases that no one wants to read it. After all, it’s no good someone finding your article on the Internet because it’s thick with search terms – and then thinking it’s complete rubbish. This will harm you or your client’s credibility.

Before you put fingertips to keyboard, do the appropriate keyword research for your articles. Google has a great keyword research tool that shows you how many people are searching for certain terms, and suggests other phrases related to your keywords too. Remember that multiple keywords are often more effective than single ones – for example, ‘web copywriting’ is better than just ‘copywriting’.

When you come to actually write your article, choose one main and two secondary keywords. It’s then important to include your primary keywords or phrases in the title. For example, if your primary keywords are ‘timeshare investing’, then make sure these exact words appear in the title - not just the word ‘timeshare’. Also ensure that your main keyword is repeated in the very first sentence of your article.

Keyword positioning is very important in order to attract a high relevance score from the search engines. Indeed, it helps to include your primary keywords as much as possible within the first 100 words of the article, (bearing in mind readability), and then spread these and your secondary terms quite sparingly throughout the rest of the copy. On this note, it’s also good practice to make sure the last 100 words of the article contain your primary keywords at least twice.

It’s crucial you find ways to use keywords in your articles in a natural way, and don’t just include them in every single sentence – or the articles will read strangely. Don’t just toss in the keywords or phrases wherever they seem to fit, because the search engines will flag this as ’spammy’ content - which is not good for you or your client’s rankings.

In general, keyword articles should be heavy with keywords at the beginning and the end, but much lighter in the middle. You can easily judge what is the correct usage by simply including your keywords twice within a span of 100 words in key places – and only once per hundred in the main body of the text. If you read through your article once it’s finished and you’re using keywords more than this, then you could be overdoing it. However, get the mix right and include a link to you or your client’s website in the contact box at the base of the article, and the search engines will love your work.

An English graduate from the University of Birmingham and professionally trained journalist at postgraduate level, Laurence James has been copywriting for over ten years. A Member of The Institute of Direct Marketing, he is also founder of www.thecopybox.com

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By Jo Mark

Many article submission site do not offer a separate resource box for you to fill out. I am not sure why they do this, but a number of sites use this format. Unfortunately, many writers will just shrug their shoulders and submit their article. I’m sure this is the case because a large number of articles that I see from those sites do not include any links from the authors.

That is a shame because the article is written to benefit the site and it’s readers, while the resource box is written to benefit the author. The links in the resource box represent the author’s compensation. When a writer submits an article without the resource information, he is working for free. The site still benefits, but the author does not. Personally, I would not submit many articles if there was no potential compensation for me.

I don’t mind it when I am making a submission to a site that omits the author resource box. I skip a space at the bottom of the article and add in my resource box information. I’ve been doing that as long as I’ve been writing articles. When I first tried it, I went to the site a few days later and checked my article to see if my resource info was included. Sure enough, there it was.

Since then, I always add my resource information to the bottom of the article if no box is provided and I have never had an article refused (or delayed) by those sites.

This type of site actually turns out to be a benefit to the author. When submitting to a site with a standard resource box, it is obvious to the reader where the resource information begins. However, when there is no resource box, you can design your links right into the bottom of the article. If you craft it well, it gives your links a little more credibility and can increase the clicks that you get from that article.

So the next time you are in the midst of your submissions and you run across a site without a resource box, don’t just shrug your shoulders and submit the article including only your name. Thank them and weave your links into the bottom of the article. You should be compensated for the work you do!

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By Dina Giolitto

In my ten years as an advertiser, I’ve encountered plenty of folks with a flair for writing. They were born having some idea of where to put the words within the sentence, and the sentences within the paragraph. They usually know what words to use – when to say ‘bloom’ instead of ‘grow,’ or ‘confused’ instead of ‘befuddled.’

But having a flair doesn’t make them an expert in the field.

I’m an expert ad copywriter. But I can’t write a journalistic piece to save my life. I have no experience in this area, and it’s just not my bag. So I happily leave this task to the reporters. Likewise, a retailer, marketer or salesperson should leave the writing to the writer. Yet they seldom do.

A copywriter is forever trying to explain why he inserted a word where he did, or why he chose one expression over another. Frequently, a client or employer takes a writer’s carefully constructed piece and turns it into a wordgarbage wasteland. An atrocity… of verbosity!

If you’re such an offender, shame on you! Let your writer do the job he or she was hired for: to make you look good. But if you insist on meddling with the marketing, critiquing the catalog and butchering the brochure, you may as well learn how to do it right. Master the secret to writing that packs a punch and makes people view you as a credible source. Learn the tricks of the trade that will get you taken seriously!

Use concrete examples to prove your point. Repeating an idea in different words leaves your writing flat and empty. “We’re great! We’re so awesome! You won’t believe how cool we are!” Why are you cool? Did you help a billion people save money last year? Did you rescue an endangered species from extinction? If you can’t back your claim with solid evidence, no one will believe what you say. Be specific! “I’m thinking of you” might win brownie points, but “I’m thinking of you in that little black dress you wore last weekend”—now that’ll actually get you somewhere!

Resist the temptation to cheer for yourself. You’re good, and you know it. But if you must crow about it while doing your peacock strut, tell it to your mother because no one else cares. The world’s consumers aren’t interested in what you can do. They’re interested in what you can do for them.

Don’t pepper your writing with bad puns and kitschy wordplay. This is a weakness of mine. Puns come to me at the strangest times… in the shower, while I’m driving, as I’m trying to fall asleep. I want to paint the world with my puns, but alas, this is not appropriate! No one wants to click on their financial advisor’s website and see him raving to everyone in the free world that he’s “so money, baby!” Puns are fun, but the true meaning of a well-turned phrase is one that’s used at the right time and in the right context.

Use the active voice. I forgot about this for a long time, and my writing suffered for it. The active voice lends a certain dynamic quality to your writing. “The teacher wrote the words on the blackboard” employs the active voice. “The words on the blackboard were written by the teacher” illustrates the passive voice. Don’t be passive! Avoid any form of the verb to be, such as ‘is’, ‘are’, ‘was’, ‘were’. Practice this by literally using your own voice. Read your writing aloud, doing your best “announcer” impression. If as you read, you find yourself lapsing into a sing-songy elementary-school kid reading his essay out loud, you probably failed the assignment.

Get rid of the “asides” in parentheses. They might look cute in an email to a girlfriend, but ‘”asides” that stray from the main point of an informative paragraph make you look like a scatterbrain. Interrupting a thought with an unrelated remark is distracting to the reader. It’s a comedic tactic that plays out well in informal writing, but just doesn’t fly in the real world.

Avoid the following: double negatives, redundancy, dangling participles.

The double negative: “It’s not impossible.” Why not just say, “It’s possible.” A negative plus a negative really does make a positive, even in writing!

Redundancy: “We’re also offering free gifts to our members too.” ‘Also’ and ‘too’ may be at opposite ends of the sentence, but they’re serving the same exact purpose and that means one has to go. Better: “We’re also offering free gifts to our members.”

Dangling participle: Beware the dangler in this sentence! “Shivering with cold, Anne’s hat barely covered her ears.” Here, ‘Shivering with cold’ should modify Anne because she’s the one who is shivering. The way this reads now, Anne’s hat is the one with goosebumps. Acceptable: “Anne’s hat barely covered her ears, and she shivered with cold.”

Employ parallelism. Parallelism helps reinforce a point with repeated sentence structure. Bulletpoints best illustrate parallelism. An example:

The product effectively:

- relieves headaches
- eases tension
- boosts immunity

Notice that each bullet follows the same format: action verb, object of verb. To stray from this format is to do a disservice to the bullet. Paralellism also works in a sequence separated by commas. “I like pie, I like cake, and I like pudding.” Another example: “She enjoys climbing, hiking, and fishing.” The incorrect version of this sentence: “She enjoys climbing, hiking, and to fish.”

Avoid wordiness. Eliminate the following words and phrases from your vocabulary, and feel better about yourself: very, unique, being that, utilize/utilization, a lot, needless to say, it goes without saying, in back of, without a doubt, at some point in time, as to whether, it seems to me, oddly enough. They’re just filler, and they’re in the same category as their credibility-stealing cousins redundancy, the double negative, and the passive voice.

Go easy on the prepositional phrases. “The girl who was sitting on the porch of the house that was up on the hill, felt the breeze as it was gently blowing through her hair.” Eegads, what a mouthful! Correct this problem by breaking up your ideas into separate sentences. “The house stood atop the hill, and as the girl sat on the porch she felt the breeze blowing through her hair.”

Use adjectives sparingly. “What? But my English teacher taught me…” Forget about what your teacher said. You’re running with the big dogs now. Which is more interesting? “The boy skipped happily and grinned openly,” or “The boy skipped down the hill, a grin playing about his face.”

Don’t repeat words. I repeat: don’t repeat words.

Avoid hyphenating words that shouldn’t be hyphenated. What is this new trend that’s sweeping the nation? “Put-on your coat.” “Please check-in before 9 pm.” Hyphens are used to join two words that, when used in conjunction, take on another word form. “Put on your coat” doesn’t require a hyphen because you can also say “Put your coat on.” ‘Check-in’ would require a hyphen if the sentence read like this: “Check-in is at 9 pm.” This is because check and in work together here as a noun. Hyphenation is tricky, I admit; even as a grammarian I must consult my styleguide from time to time. I suggest you do the same.

For the Love of God, SPELLCHECK! Enough said.

Don’t over-exclaim or use excess punctuation marks in formal writing or advertising. And for God’s sake please don’t slip emoticons in to help you convey a feeling. That’s what the vast English vocabulary is for. When people see you dropping exclam-bombs everywhere, they’ll think you’re cheap, tawdry and lacking design capabilities. Remember, you can use big bold fonts to make certain buzzwords jump right off the page.

Dashes – and – ellipses… are not acceptable ways to finesse a poorly constructed paragraph. There’s nothing wrong with having two separate sentences instead of one that’s broken up into sections. Dashes and ellipses are a copywriting crutch. I’m tempted by them just as much as the next guy. It’s so easy to insert a little pause in my rambler of a run-on using those three cute little dots. The ellipse… I love it! But I must control myself. Make a simple statement, punctuate with finality, move on to the next idea. Don’t underestimate the power of the period. We all need a break now and then!

Don’t be afraid to use contractions. More and more I come across emails written by people who are either too lazy to use contractions, or they are simply fooled into thinking it is going to make them look smart. What’s wrong with the sentence I just wrote? Contractions such as it’s, I’m, we’re, you’re, they’re, couldn’t, wouldn’t didn’t, doesn’t, aren’t etc. are a way to sound conversational in writing. That’s how people talk. What if you were making a formal speech? If you eliminated all the contractions, you’d sound pretty robotlike, wouldn’t you?

One space will do. Those who are behind the writing times still type two spaces after an end punctuation mark. Modern word processing programs have eliminated the need for this, as they can sense the need for a skoche more room after periods, question marks and exclams. So as much as I applaud you for being fastidious in your space insertion, you can stop it right now. Do your clients a favor! They’re not doubling up on spaces in their websites, so when you submit writing for them, don’t you do it either.

This article is lengthy, but every single sentence holds weight. Read, and heed these words! Don’t be an advertising amateur; if you really want to wow ‘em with your wordsmithing wizardry, memorize and hold true to the writing rules outlined here. Above all: practice, practice, practice! Master these tactics, and you’re sure to establish yourself as a writer with valuable insights, expert information and a powerful message to the world. And a writer like that gets taken seriously.

Copyright 2005 Dina Giolitto. All rights reserved.

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By Will Kalif

There is no mistaking that Stephen King is a masterful writer. His prose is clean and extraordinarily well written. But there is another, very valuable lesson, he has to offer you as an aspiring author. To understand this lesson you have to take a look at his body of work.

If you look at the enormous body of work that Stephen King has produced over the last several decades what do you come up with? You come up with an incredibly diverse range of works that run the complete spectrum of writing. He has written multi-volume stories that span decades of his life, collections of short stories, single book stories, and well just about every length of story imaginable. He doesn’t limit himself to the format of a novel or of a short story. In terms of story length he has no limits.

This same observation on his writing holds true for his television and movie writing. He has written traditional length movies, multi-episode Television shows, and movies that are a compilation of shorter works all tied together with a theme.

But this freedom of expression that he has is not just limited to the length of the work. It is also clearly evident in the subject and genre of his work. He has written horror, science fiction, fantasy and more. And often times his books simply do not stay within any one category. You often find a mixture of all these genres in one book.

His work, in other words, is very diverse. He has no qualms about writing whatever he wants to write in any length, and in any genre. He allows his stories go wherever they need to go.

You might be thinking to yourself that he is, after all, “Stephen King” so he can write whatever he wants. I don’t think this is true. I think this is backwards and the reality here is that he became “Stephen King” because he followed his heart and wrote what he wanted to write. He had the courage to follow his internal voice.

So what is the rule for Stephen King, and the lesson for you? It is that he writes what he wants to write. He has the courage to listen to his internal voice and take the story wherever it needs to go. This is the lesson of courage in writing and you should follow the same process. Write what you want to write, listen to your internal voice, and follow the story wherever it leads you in whatever length or genre it takes you.

Will Kalif is the author of two Epic Fantasy novels. For more insight into the craft of writing visit his site at: StormTheCastle.com – Creativity with an Edge

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As editors become increasingly swamped with inappropriate manuscripts, more and more publications are closing their doors to unsolicited submissions. This means that the query letter is fast becoming the only way to break into some of the best markets.

The Value of a Query

Queries benefit both editors and writers. Editors much prefer to review a one-page letter than a 10-page manuscript, so queries spend less time in the slush pile. They also enable an editor to determine, quickly, whether you:

* Can write effectively

* Have a coherent, well-thought-out idea that fits the publication’s content

* Have a basic grasp of grammar and spelling

* Have read the publication

* Have the credentials or expertise to write the article

* Are professional in your approach to writing

Queries save YOU time by ensuring that you don’t invest time and energy into writing an article that won’t be accepted. Keep in mind that articles are often rejected for reasons that have nothing to do with quality. An editor may already have a similar piece on file, or assigned, or have covered something similar in a recent issue. It’s much easier to find this out through a query, than to tailor an article for a publication and then have to rewrite it and send it somewhere else. It’s also easier to obtain interviews when you can say you have a solid assignment.

By querying first, you also give the editor a chance to provide feedback on your idea. The editor may want to suggest a particular length, or approach, or recommend experts to interview. S/he may want you to cover other aspects of your subject in sidebars. By finding out what the editor wants before you start writing, you’ll avoid having to revise the piece later.

A well-written query can also result in assignments you didn’t expect. If the editor is impressed by your style and credentials, s/he may offer you some other assignment, even if your original idea isn’t usable. This can often be the beginning of a long, rewarding relationship!

Query Letter Essentials

But how do you “sell” an editor on your article when you have no more than a page to explain your concept and display your writing skill? The answer is: By including everything the editor needs to know about your article — and about you. A successful query letter generally includes these five basic components:

* The hook

* The pitch

* The body

* The credentials

* The close

The Hook

Your very first line should grab an editor’s attention. It must demonstrate that you can write effectively, and that you understand your market.

There are several ways to approach the “hook,” including:

# The problem/solution hook. This defines a problem or situation common to the publication’s audience, then proposes an article that can help solve that problem. Here’s an example:

The pet magazine market is an ideal place for newer writers to “break in”. However, it is constantly flooded with inappropriate submissions. To break in, one must understand what these magazines want, and what they won’t accept. (”Writing for Pet Magazines,” sold to Byline.)

# The Informative Hook. This usually presents two or three lines of useful information (e.g., facts, statistics), followed by an explanation of how this applies to the target audience. For example:

Thanks to a translation glitch, Microsoft was forced to pull its entire Chinese edition of Windows 95 from the marketplace. Microsoft recovered — but that’s the sort of mistake few small businesses can afford! (”How to Localize Your Website,” sold to Entrepreneur’s Home Office — see Sample.)

# The Question. Often, this is a problem/solution or informative hook posed as a question, such as:

Did you know…?
What would you do if…?
Have you ever wondered…?

# The personal experience/anecdote. Many writers like to take a personal approach, as it immediately establishes the credential of “experience.” Be sure, however, that your market uses more personal articles, or first-person accounts, before attempting a hook like this:

Forget-me-nots. I love their wistful name. I love their tiny blue flowers. And yes, I love