What’s so great about short stories?  Everybody knows that novels are where it’s at. Right?

In short (pun intended), starting out writing short stories or adding them to your writing practice is a fantastic way to get your chops up as a writer.  You’ll get street cred by publishing in well-known and professional fiction magazines.  You’ll hone your craft by considering and reconsidering every single word.  To paraphrase Aristotle: “An unexamined story is not worth writing”.

You’ll even get a tougher skin by bouncing back from rejections (and there will be rejections, especially at first).  But you’ll be getting paid.  That’s right cash dinero. Don’t quit your day job just yet, as it takes time and patience to get published, but when you do, it’s a nice boost to the ol’ bank account.  Nothing like a pay check to make you feel like a real writer.

Ready to go?  Great!  Here are a few things to keep in mind as you embark on your short story journey.

Be Professional

A professional market is defined by the SWFA (Sci Fi Writers of America) as one that pays at least 6 cents per word.  You may scoff, saying that there’s nowhere that pays that much.  Trust me, there is. You’re just looking in the wrong places.

Semi Professional Markets pay between 0 – 6 cents a word. Unpaid or “Token” markets generally pay you with a copy of the magazine, a by line or in other words exposure.  Remember, people die of exposure. There are also royalty markets that pay you a royalty percentage of the number of magazines sold.  This is usually a raw deal for the writer, so just don’t do it.

For the most part, you are going to focus on the Professional Markets.  There are a few very good reasons for this:

• Prestige – When you are writing a cover letter to an agent, the last section is normally a bio (if you’re new, you can skip this bit). Nobody cares if you have published in a literary magazine or anthology that isn’t a professional market.  What’s going to sound better?  The Kansas City Schooner or a publishing credit in Asimov’s, Cicada or The Atlantic?
• Moola (yep, again) – Writing is work (duh). You should get paid for your work.  Your hard, hard work.  You know that whole suffering thing we writers do so well?  Well, I’m a firm believer in getting paid for that heart blood that we spill on to the page.  There are some caveats to this, moments when you might want to give it away for free (see below).  But, for the most part, get paid a professional rate for your work.
• Career Building – If you want to write novels, building a career as a short story writer in professional markets will gain you experience, knowledge and street cred. There’s some overlap with the way rights and contracts work in short stories and in novels.  So, you’ll be learning business tactics for your career that you’ll have in your back pocket down the road.   Giving away short stories to Token markets will get you precisely no where.

Stop working for free (aka slavery).  Your career will thank you.

Be Persistent

Maybe you’ll get shot down at first, and the temptation to submit to an unpaid market will be strong.  Don’t give in.  Instead, work on improving your writing while looking for other professional markets.

There’s not that many professional markets (more about finding them in a following article), so it may be that you reach the end of your list of paid markets that would be a good fit for your story.  At that point, you may think you should start going for semi-pro and Token markets. I’d argue strongly against this.  First off, it’s like your saying to yourself, “Yep, time to settle.”  Don’t do that.  Just don’t.  Secondly, it doesn’t do your career any good.

What you should do instead is three-fold:

1. Wait for new professional markets to open up.
2. Wait for new editors to take over your target magazines.
3. Keep improving your story and write new stories to send out.

Be Strong, with a few caveats

There are a few moments when you might want to give away a short story; I would always err on the side of getting paid though.

• It’s a bonus for buying an eBook or something on your already established writer’s website.
• The story is in the world of book series you are trying to draw attention to. I’m not an expert at this technique, but I’ve heard cases where this can work well, especially if you’ve just launched the first book of a trilogy or series.

Before you give away your stories, try the “five year” test.  In five years, will you look back on this decision as a good idea, or will you be kicking yourself.  What are some of the possible consequences and outcomes?  If the answer is: “Doesn’t matter too much”, then you probably should not give your story away.

Coming Up

In the follow-ups to this article, I’ll be looking more at how to find professional markets and also take a look at how short story rights and contracts work.  Till then, go get paid!

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Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

The post Selling Short Stories, Part 1: Know Your Value appeared first on DIY MFA.

As writers we are from time to time forced to face the dreaded question:

“So, what’s your story about?”

I don’t know about you, but for me, that question has often sent me into a cold sweat. I’ll mumble something about it being hard to explain and hope that satisfies their curiosity. Usually, that’s not good enough, so, I’ll hem and haw and mention something about “Die Hard meets Farscape.” The asker smiles politely while giving me a sideways glance.

But as a reformed shy writer, I’m learning to enjoy that question, and to field it with new gusto. Why? Because the act of condensing down your story into a bite size nugget, is an extremely valuable one, both in terms of storytelling and marketing. It helps you tell a better story and piques the interest of curious friends and hopefully agents and potential readers.

The benefits of the Microcosmic Sentence.

A solid 15 – 20 words that details the core drama of your story is what we’re looking for here. I have found that a strong sentence that summarizes your story is valuable in every step of the writing process. I’m focusing on the marketing aspect here, but briefly here are a few of the benefits of honing in on the core of your story with one sentence:

Pre-writing

The one sentence summary, or Log Line as it’s known in screenwriting slang is an ever evolving, guiding compass. It’s the starting point of your journey and can work as an infinitely expandable map and plan. From one sentence you can expand your idea into a paragraph, page, a full treatment, and eventually a rough draft.

Writing

Here, that one sentence is a lighthouse that shows you the way through the tempestuous seas of drafting. That DNA sentence might change as you plow through the rough draft, and that’s totally fine. But more often than not, the sentence helps you stay on point and avoid unnecessary blind alleys, by knowing what the story is really about.

Editing

Here our sentence is an anchor that keeps you from going out with the tide of emotions. It’s really hard to kill your darlings. But it is completely necessary. With the anchor sentence in hand, you’ll know you are tossing the right baggage overboard.

Marketing

Now here’s the bit I’m most concerned about today. By being able to pitch your story in a sentence, you are able to connect your story to the right audience. It only takes a few moments for us as readers to decide if we want to read something.

Consider skimming through Netflix on a comfy Friday evening at home. You skip through movie and television titles at break neck speed, stopping only at an interesting cover picture. Then you read the little blurb in the corner. Either it connects with you, you press play, or you say “meh” and keep looking.

This isn’t good or bad, it’s just how people decide how they want to spend their time. In the case of your book, the more concisely you can communicate the value and interest of your story, the faster you can connect with potential readers and also dismiss the ones who aren’t interested.

Going back to the analogy of the curious friend, which of these descriptions are stronger?

Hey Kent, what’s your story about?

(Mopping cold sweat with sleeve)

Response #1: Well, it’s kind of like a sci fi post apocalyptic sort of thing. You know, kind of like uh… well… you know… Total Recall I guess, but it’s also underground, but moving above ground, like exploring you know. Heh.

Response #2: In the last outpost of humanity after a nuclear holocaust, Olivia discovers a secret plot to engineer a catastrophe and risks everything to stop it.

In Response #2, that sentence is a little long, but still it cuts right to the heart of the story. And it accomplishes what a good DNA sentence should do.

The goals of a good DNA Sentence

1. Spark interest and resonate with potential readers.
2. Hone in on the core of the story.
3. Introduce the main character and their problem.
4. Create a clear image in the mind of reader (or listener).

How to do it

Okay, so we know now that it’s really good to find a strong sentence that tells our story. But just how exactly do you do it? Many novels are 80, 100, or 200 thousand words or more. Where do you even begin?

A good starting point is the protagonist. What’s their deal? What are they struggling against? Write it down with a much space as you need, a paragraph or even a whole page. Then start cutting.

Shoot for 15 words or less. You don’t want a huge run on sentence, but you do want to be as specific as possible.

Homework:

Check out the New York Time Bestseller website. All of the descriptions are very solid (and very short) sentences. Browse through them for inspiration.

Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

The post The DNA of your Story: How to Pitch Your Story in a Sentence appeared first on DIY MFA.

Why does the term “marketing people” evoke such dread?  In some circles it might even be considered an oxymoron.  But I say that the trepidation around marketing and marketing volk comes from a lack of understanding about what marketing is, even within that world.  Marketing is about people and connecting people.  Here are five alternative views of marketing to help you fall in love with the process of marketing your work.

1) Marketing as Service

This is the core principal of my own marketing consulting business.  Marketing is a way of connecting people with the people, ideas and products they might need.  Being helpful is the new M.O. in the marketing world.

For writers, it’s not about selling yourself.  It’s not about “Hey, look over here!  I’m awesome, read my book!”.  That’s the “shiny” approach.  You try to grab someone’s attention by being shiny.

The problem is, that people really don’t care about you (nothing personal).  What people really care about, is them.  When I’m browsing the internet, it’s because I’m bored and need some net-ainment, or because I need some new shoes or because someone’s blowing up my facebook or for any number of reasons.  I never hop online because someone else wants me to.  It’s always about something I want or need.

The same logic applies to buying.  If you can give people something they need, something that makes their life better in some way, then they will start to care about you.  And that’s the basis of a relationship.

2) Marketing as Relationship

Often, a marketing relationship looks at lot like a zealot screaming at the passing horde from a top a soapbox.  If being useful is our new operation system, then our goal is to start a dialog with our audience.

Let’s say you have a writer’s blog.  If you’re selling you’re new eBook every post, it’s gonna be crickets chirping on your comments.  In his interview with DIY MFA Radio, Guy Kawasaki says that you should use the 8/2 rule, that is, for every two posts selling something, you need eight posts offering useful, funny, informative, educational or somehow engaging content.

Any interaction with your audience is a dialog, not a monolog.  It’s a discussion.  Listen.  Ask for ideas from your readers, don’t just shove yours down their throats.

3) Marketing as Truth

Marketing is also the truth made fascinating. – Guerrilla Marketing

Somehow, we’ve gotten this idea that marketing, advertising and business in general is about profits by any means necessary.  And that means shining the shinola, spinning the pins and tweaking the twerking.  Lying in other words.

But I say, it ain’t necessarily so.  As the rise of socially conscious consumerism has shown, people don’t like buying from companies that they feel are unethical.  Marketing, real marketing, is telling the truth in the most engaging way possible.  And you don’t have to bend the truth to do that.  Seriously.

Tell your audience the truth about you and your work, and they’ll respect you for it.

4) Marketing as Story

Alright word nerds, here’s your time to shine.  Every ad, every blog post, email, any damn bit of marketing tells a story.  It’s the story of how you can help me.  It’s about how you Monsieur/Madame Auteur can show me a good time with your awesome book.  But remember that 8/2 rule!  Most of the time, your marketing story is about how you can help me have a good time with your interesting blog post, funny quote, or informative email.

Keep in mind, this is the slow game.  You won’t have stellar sells, a monster mailing list, and 10,000 Facebook likes, at first.  You build the relationship, prove your worth to your audience, and in turn, they will stay loyal to you.

5) Marketing as an Act of Love

I can feel your eyes rolling, but I’m serious here.  You are offering a person something that you feel is helpful for them.  If it’s a story you actually feel is good and will help them to see the world in a new way, then telling people about it is a way of helping, a bit of generosity.  Your book won’t help them if they don’t read it.

It’s also an act of self-love.  You’re putting something, a book, a story, a website, out into the world.  You’re saying to yourself, “this is good, and I think that you might think it’s good too”.

If there’s only one take away from all this, it’s this: Be useful to your audience.

Offer them something that will make their lives better, even if it’s only a small way, and they will thank you by buying your book, subscribing your blog and being a part of your audience for years to come.

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Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

The post Five Ways to Fall in Love With Marketing Your Work appeared first on DIY MFA.

Query letters are strange and intimidating beasts.  They are the much obsessed, much abused, much scorned part of the marketing process.  Essentially they are like movie trailers for your book; they create the urge to see more.  Somehow, by some feat of magic, you are forced to describe your 80,000+ word novel in a page, really just a few brief paragraphs.

How the heck do you do it?

You’ve already written a novel (or you’re working on it), so the hardest part is over.  By connecting to the fire, what you love about your story, and using the algebra of a query letter, the form, you can craft a compelling and highly readable query.

I’m assuming you have the fire covered, so I’ll focus on the structure of the letter, the algebra.

Parts of the Query Letter

A Query can be divided into four basic parts:

1.  The Introduction, aka “The Hook”
2. The Body
3. The Tag
4. The Bio

Each section has a unique function designed to engage the reader by sparking their interest and helping them envision how to sell your story, which is, after all, an agent’s job.

One nice thing about Query letters is that each part can be customized and rearranged, depending on what makes the most sense for your story.

One core thing to remember is this: Don’t lose your fire.  Use your style, your voice, to tell the story, even if it is only a couple paragraphs.

1. The Hook – 2 – 3 sentences

Agents read a lot of these things.  You’ve got to grab their attention pretty quickly.  There are a couple ways to do this.

The meaningful connection

You mention some connection you have to this specific person you are querying.  This works very well if you have met the agent at a writer’s conference and had a chance to describe your work:

Dear Mr. Olsom,

 I was thrilled to have the chance to met you at The Writers Digest conference last august.  I’m even more excited to have finished the novel I pitched you then, The Awakening of the Socks.

Other meaningful connections might include following the agent’s blog or really enjoying a book that they landed a deal for.  This tactic involves a bit of homework, but can really get your foot in the door right off the bat.

In Medias Rey

 Another method that works well, especially if you don’t have much of a connection to the agent, is to launch into the story.  For example:

Dear Ms. Mesler,

 Brie has a problem.  Not only do her socks not match, but they seem to be… alive!

 This technique works to grab your agent reader right off the bat, and help them get a feel for your voice

2. Pitch (3 – 10 sentences)

The Pitch is notoriously the hardest part of a Query Letter to write.  It’s here that you actually tell the story.  So, how do you sum up 60,000 – 100,000+ words in ten sentences or less?

The good news is, you don’t.

A pitch is a lot like the text you’ll find on the back of a paperback or in the inner flap of a hardcover book.  It’s a teaser, a lot like movie trailer.  It gives you enough to want to see more (like all great movie trailers).

You’ll want to focus on the first third of your story, the first act in other words.  Starting with the Plot Catalyst or the inciting incident you’ll then kick into other key details about the story.  You might cover some backstory, character insights; plot points or a mix of all three.

The key is to answer the important questions about your story:

• What is the book about?
• What makes this story unique?
• Who are the major players?

Let’s add to our example:

Brie has a problem.  Not only do her socks not match, but they seem to be… alive! [Catalyst]  After a strange dream of aliens visiting her room (at least she thinks it was a dream), Brie’s socks start disappearing.  Next, the remaining ones start talking to her telepathically! [Backstory]  Brie thinks she going nuts until one night her socks guide her to the crash site of a UFO. [Character insight/Plot Point]  With only her socks to guide her, Brie is charged with getting the aliens back home and saving the world in the process!  She’s gonna need more fabric softener.

This isn’t a treatment or a synopsis.  You don’t need to spill the ending or even get into the second act.  Just focus on giving a succinct and compelling description of the first part of your book.

Remember; use your voice to tell your story.  Let your fire come through, especially in this part.

3. The Tag – 1-2 Sentences

The tag is a brief thumbnail of your book.  It tells the title of the book, how many words and the genre with a word or two about target audience.  This is really pretty easy, think of it as telling someone where your book belongs in a book store:

The Awakening of the Socks is a 80,000 word YA novel that blends Sci Fi and humor in the spirit of Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 

This is also a good place to mention if this book is part of a trilogy or series of books.

4. Bio 2 – 4 sentences

It’s not uncommon for new writers to admit the Bio.  And that’s fine; it even gives you a little more room to add to your Pitch.  This section is really just about vetting you and showing why you are the best person to have written this book.  Some things you could mention:

• Who are you?
• Qualifications
• Published books, short stories or articles
• School or training
• Awards
• Platforms, promotional processes
• Where you live, who you live with and pets

Example:

I am a full time novelist and Mom.  I live in Toronto with my hubby Jordan and vengeful hamster Morgan.  I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU.  My short stories have been published in Tin House and The Atlantic.  My first book, Journey to Hamsterville, received a Critics award for best new comedic novel. 

Wrap Up 

Here are the key points to take away when setting out to write your kick ass Query:

• Write in your voice; let the reader feel the heat of your fire through the algebra of the query.
• Hook your reader with a meaningful connection or by jumping into the story.
• Pitch your story by focusing on the first act of your story.
• Tag your story: let the reader know how to sell your story by clearly defining what the story is and who will like it.
• Show why you’re the best person to write this story by including a pertinent bio (or omit and focus on strengthening your pitch)

In case you’re curious, click here to see the full Query we used as an example.

Dear Mr. Olsom,

I was thrilled to have the chance to met you at The Writers Digest conference last august.  I’m even more excited to have finished the novel I pitched you then, The Awakening of the Socks.

Brie has a problem.  Not only do her socks not match, but they seem to be… alive! [Catalyst]  After a strange dream of aliens visiting her room (at least she thinks it was a dream), Brie’s socks start disappearing.  Next, the remaining ones start talking to her telepathically! [Backstory]  Brie thinks she going nuts until one night her socks guide her to the crash site of a UFO. [Character insight/Plot Point]  With only her socks to guide her, Brie is charged with getting the aliens back home and saving the world in the process!  She’s gonna need more fabric softener.

The Awakening of the Socks is a 80,000 word YA novel that blends Sci Fi and humor in the spirit of Douglas Adam’s Hitchhiker’s Guide to the Galaxy. 

I am a full time novelist and Mom.  I live in Toronto with my hubby Jordan and vengeful hamster Morgan.  I hold an MFA in Creative Writing from NYU.  My short stories have been published in Tin House and The Atlantic.  My first book, Journey to Hamsterville, received a Critics award for best new comedic novel. 

All the best,

Cynthia Small

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Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

The post Anatomy of a Kick A$$ Query Letter appeared first on DIY MFA.

What is a target market anyway?

It sounds like a horribly dry, textbook term that has nothing to do with us creative volk, the scriveners toiling away on creative conquests.  But in reality, it’s an incredibly powerful tool for making your story better.  Defining the target audience helps inform and sharpen ideas about your story.  It creates a focus for a rough draft, because you’re writing for somebody, not just throwing words at the wall and seeing what sticks.

Why Define a Target Audience?

If you’re like I was, you probably need a little more convincing.  I interviewed Randy Ingermanson  about target audiences.  Randy is a novelist and creative writing teacher, as well as the author of “How to Write a Novel Using the Snowflake Method”.

He is a champion of the target audience as a writing tool.  I asked Randy why so many writers either feared or misunderstood the role of defining a target audience.

Here’s a few of his valuable insights:

Let’s first ask why so many writers hate or fear marketing.  There are several reasons:

1. They don’t know how to market themselves.  Ignorance is a big driver of fear.
2. They don’t want to look like an Amway salesman.  Nobody likes pimping themselves out.
3. They don’t want to spend lots of time, energy, and money on something that might not work.

But see how defining your target audience relieves these fears:

1. If you define your target audience in terms of what they love, then you’re no longer working on the basis of ignorance.  You’re working on the basis of knowledge.
2. Marketing is not about pimping yourself out.  Marketing is about helping people in your target audience.  You do that by giving away as much free stuff as you can–stuff that will delight your target audience.  Once your target audience discovers you and realizes they like you, there’s no pimping required.  Your target audience will demand that you sell them more of that good stuff they like.
3. The above takes very little time, energy, or money.  It does take a bit of creativity, but writers are creative types, so this is not hard.

Marketing is not some slimy, weaselly thing you do to persuade unwilling people to buy.  Marketing is helping people.  Marketing is giving away excellent stuff free that will make people’s lives better.  This is not some Pollyanna theory.  This is reality.  It works.  It’s fun.  It’s part of the writing life.

Defining your target audience isn’t a chincy marketing function; it’s a very grounded way of connection with your potential reader.  And in a more practical terms, it’s how booksellers know where to put your book on the bookshelf (either physically or digitally).

Convinced?  Good, let’s move out of theory and into the practice.

 How to Define a Target Audience

You are your own first audience.  By figuring out what you love in terms of the story you want to write (or are currently writing) you will get an insight into your target audience.  Do you love romance?  Comedy?  Maybe you’re writing for an audience that loves romantic comedies.

Sometimes, however, you won’t be exactly in your target audience, but you may know a lot about them.  For example, in this article (and this column as it were), my target audience is new novelists and creative writers who are a bit put off by marketing.  I connected to my love for writing and my love for the horribly misunderstood and creative elements of marketing to find my audience (and my idea!) for this column.

How do you define your target market?  Start with what you love in your story and connect that to folks who would love the same thing.

The Fine Art of Delighting Your Audience

 This section could be an entire book (or series of books).  But here are some ideas on how to start:

1) Write the best story you can.

Randy defines quality as “how well you delight your target audience”.  A famous literary critic may not enjoy your YA story about a werewolf in military school, but if your audience enjoys it, I count that as a tremendous success.

2) Meet expectations of the genre.

Don’t promise a zombie story, and then suddenly switch to a musical, unless you’ve got a really good reason.

 3)  Defy expectations.

I know this seems like contradicting advice, but really they are two sides of the same coin.  You can’t have a good zombie story without zombies, but you don’t want to bore them with tired tropes.

4) Get to know your audience

From Randy:

Once you’ve defined your target audience, you can brainstorm ways to make yourself discoverable to them.  If they’re all on WattPad and you’re on Twitter, they’re not going to discover you.

In his book on outlining novels, Randy calls defining the target audience “Step 0”.  It’s the prime mover of the writing process for him.  However, it’s still an incredibly powerful tool, even if you are mid-draft or beginning the revisions process.

Figuring out your target audience is one of the most powerful ways that marketing can inform and electrify your writing, no matter where you are in the process of writing.

Many thanks to Randy for his words of wisdom.  Check out his blog at: https://www.advancedfictionwriting.com/.

Kent Bridgeman is a freelance writer and marketing strategist who also writes short stories, screenplays and poetry.  He helps his clients clarify their marketing messages and craft potent content. He lives in Chicago with his lovely fiancée D, and a grumpy parrot named Poncho. Check out his work at thewritejazz.com

The post How Defining Your Target Audience Can Make Your Story Stronger appeared first on DIY MFA.