Writing Jobs Online: 4 Ways To Find Them

It's easier than ever to find writing jobs online.  In this quick video, Jon shows you how to use four great sites to help earn valuable experience — and a  few extra dollars!

http://www.online-writing-jobs.com

http://www.indeed.com

http://genuinejobs.com

http://jobs.problogger.net/

Interested in learning how to write a book and send it to children's book publishers? Come on over to The CBI Clubhouse for audios, videos, insider writing tips and much, much more!

Editor's note: Audrey is a 13-year-old student from California who is currently working on her own novel between school, sports and choir. She's also a Contributing Editor to Write4Kids, focusing on middle grade and young adult literature. If you have writing-related questions for Audrey, or want to suggest a topic for a future column, please contact Laura at Laura@write4kids.com.

Visit Audrey's blog, Audrey Reads and Reviews, for more of her insights into YA lit.

Hello, people! I have two topics that I’d like to address today.

First off, something that I don’t like.

I’ve been reading lots lately, more than usual (which is saying something). I’ve also been reading different genres—I’ve picked up some paranormal, high fantasy, and lots of literary contemporary.

Throughout a bunch of the paranormal and high fantasy that I read, there was a recurring theme (not so much in the literary-contemporary):

Those perfect little people who talk like they’re from the Victorian Age (i.e. very smart and formal) and always look super pretty! even after some intense battle scene. In fantasy/paranormal, they usually have powers that are super epic! or they’re the Chosen One. In realistic fiction they’re always super popular! or super misunderstood!

OK, so they annoy me for two reasons:

One, on a more technical level: relate-ability. I mean, who looks completely gorgeous and/or devilishly handsome (a common description of the male characters of this persuasion) all the time? And sorry, authors, but everyone uses contractions. You shouldn’t, can’t, and hopefully won’t have a character who says “should not” “cannot” and “will not” all the time.*

Also, am I the only one who thinks the Chosen One is a little…you know…cliché? I mean, there are a lot of books out there about someone who is the special-est…

Also, if your character is popular, that’s okay. If your character is misunderstood, that’s okay too. But if your character is misunderstood because she is so beautiful, it’s a complete curse, like, you know?! we might have a little problem, and I suggest you read My Immortal by Tara (Google it).

Two, on a completely personal level: they. are. everywhere. It’s the attack of the clones, people!

I recently read a series of books, paranormal mystery-romance. These weren’t little books, they were like 600-700 pages each. I liked some parts of it a lot—the action/battle scenes were well written, and the world nicely developed. But every single character in it was super perfect, beautiful, either a sweetheart or sexyevil. Very Mary-Sue like. So I stopped reading about halfway through the second book.

I mean, even the character who is supposedly is so evil, you guys! is oh-so-sexy and devilishly handsome.

It really bugged me. You know, a friend of mine said that you should kill off a character that gets WAY too much physical description compared to the other characters.

Well, if this extremely popular series killed off the overly-described characters, there would be no story. **

Just a tip: describe your character once. You can reinforce it, if you like, with “she flicked her pink hair” or something like that, but you do not need to remind us that Elaina has luscious blonde hair or Damien has devilishly handsome black eyes every single page.

Be creative. Your character should have a great personality, not just a beautiful exterior, because… shallow, much?

Now the good:

I just finished reading Will Grayson, Will Grayson, and I absolutely loved it! I strongly encourage you read it.

I liked it because it was bubbly. One of the Wills was a normal teen; the other one was severely depressed. But, somehow, the two authors (John Green and David Levithan) managed to make it…light. It dealt with heavy subject matter at times (self-identity, self-harm, depression, lying, revenge), but it retained a nonchalant tone throughout.

That’s not to say that you should write a novel with a suicidal main character, and have her sound all breezy and offhand. But it’s a nice juxtaposition that the two authors did well.

Another thing I liked about Will Grayson, Will Grayson was that it was smart. The narrators were both intelligent, and I am sick of reading books with narrators who sound dumb or have no interesting insights. You don’t have to write a SAT Vocabulary book to make your main characters sound smart, however. Just have them talk like normal intelligent human beings—witty retorts, irony, and sarcasm are always a plus.

I also read Marcelo in the Real World, and I absolutely loved it!

The main character, Marcelo, had Asperger’s Syndrome. However, he was a very real, engaging, interesting character to read about. His struggles weren’t ones that teens would face every day, but I grew to relate and care about Marcelo.

Also, the voice (written by Francisco X. Stork) was amazing! It had interesting wordplay, humor, and was really touching. During most of the novel, I could feel Marcelo’s passion for his cause.

I really enjoyed the cast of characters, too. I liked how the main characters were so different from each other, and disliked each other from the start, but grew to be friends. I liked how everything didn’t work out perfectly. And I especially liked how, in the end, you could see exactly how the characters grew as people and as friends.

Audrey

*unless they’re geniuses, or something like it.

** no, I did not read Twilight. What kind of person do you think I am?

****disclaimer: I have no problem reading about characters with exceptional looks. Just don’t make their looks the only exceptional thing about them, and give them at least one physical flaw. Just 'cos nobody’s perfect. ****

So, just the other day we offered up our new ebook The Problem Isn't Piracy, the Problem Is Obscurity and now we look like freaking geniuses. 

To recap, Cory Doctorow's essays, as reprinted in The Problem Isn't Piracy… argue that authors should chill about people copying and downloading their books online, because, ultimately, the added exposure will help sell printed copies of the book.  Not everyone, to put it mildly, sees things that way.

Well score one for Cory.  I give you the current #1 best selling book on Amazon.com:

Go the F**k TO Sleep is a picture book parody and it's a pretty funny idea.  But here's what's really fascinating about it:

PDF copies of the book (which won't be released in print until June) have been floating around the Internet for months.  Booksellers and publishing industry insiders have been sending copies of the book around and the buzz kept getting louder and louder.   Loud enough to drive the book to the top of the charts weeks before its release and without a shred of promotion from its publisher.

So what do we learn from this?

1. Having people talk about your book is a good thing, no matter how it gets started

2. Even if they're given ebooks for free, readers still want print editions of  Illustration-heavy books (Gawker.com opines "Books with artwork have a tactile, archival appeal lacking in the latest Grisham potboiler, say.")

3. Having a great title and easy to grasp concept is always a winning combination when it comes to viral attention.

Forget this specific book, and whether you appreciate the language or the joke.  That's not relevant.  But pay close attention to what happened here — a book was "pirated" and the treasure ended up in the hands of the "victim". 

Maybe, just maybe, it's time to change the terminology a bit. 

'Go the F— to Sleep': The Case of the Viral PDF

How Viral Copies of a Naughty Bedtime Book Changed Publishing

Know your audience. This sage advice is appropriate for all writers and, in particular, authors of children’s books. “Children” is a broad concept, representing a wide range of readers from birth to young adulthood.

In order to communicate clearly so readers will enjoy and understand the story, we have to recognize the differences in age groups. The writing should be appropriate for the age group of the target audience. Emerging skills and changing interests of children require different writing for different ages.

Nancy Kelly Allen is the author of fiction and nonfiction picture books, including Happy Birthday: The Story of the World's Most Famous Song, Trouble in Troublesome Creek, and the Little World Math Concepts series. See all her work at www.nancykellyallen.com. For more information on writing for different age groups, see The CBI Challenge, a step-by-step writing course on The CBI Clubhouse.

Before writing the first word, determine the age group of the reader. Understanding the interests and abilities of the audience helps us adjust our message of what we say and how we say it. We should also consider the interests of the age group so we can develop a character with which the reader can identify. Younger children respond to child-centric books and to concepts reflecting their life experiences. Most kids like to read about characters their same age or slightly older. Boys like to read about male main characters and girls will usually read books with either male or female characters.

Toddlers are concrete learners. They explore books to learn about the world around them and accept the information at face value. Concept books with the themes of counting, colors, and objects are appropriate. Bedtime stories and books about family and animals are favorites, as well. Toddlers enjoy picture and novelty books (board books, cloth books, flap books, and pop-up books). Most of these books, such as The Very Hungry Caterpillar by Eric Carle, have bright colors, few words, and illustrations that are easily recognizable. Read more

Let's continue our series of quick videos about developing a success-oriented mindset with a chat about the way successful writers approach their careers.  The key:  avoiding the "all or nothing" syndrome.

When it comes to publishing's future, there are two kinds of writers:  those who shy away from change and those who embrace and benefit from change.

Among those in the latter group, Young Adult/Sci-Fi author Cory Doctorow is the undisputed king.  His take on copyright, giving his writing away and the use of technology in publishing is controversial, provocative and, many would say, visionary.

Cory gives away electronic editions of all of his wonderful books and, so far, it's worked spectacularly in terms of garnering renown, generating a huge following and, yes, earning income.   Inside each of his books, he pens essays – manifestos, really – about publishing's future from a writer's perspective.  They're often as compelling as the actual story that follows.

Recently,  I contacted Cory and asked if I could collect all his essays and compile them into a single eBook to share with every writer I knew.  He consented, and today, I'm proud to bring you:

In keeping with Cory's "free is good!" ethos, we're giving this ebook away, no strings attached.  In fact, we encourage you to share it with every writer you know.

Be forewarned:  this isn't "preaching to the choir" material.  Cory has some ideas that go 100% against the grain of much of publishing's conventional wisdom.  So be prepared to be nodding in enthusiastic agreement on one page and screaming "WHAT?!?!?!" on the next.  And that's why it's so much fun.

You may agree with some of what he has to say, none of what he has to say or all of what he has to say, but YOU NEED TO READ THIS AND DECIDE FOR YOURSELF.  Really, it's that important.

Me?  I'm down with many of Cory's opinions, and I'm resistant on others.  But he's a persuasive guy and his arguments are impacting my thinking, that's for certain.  They will most likely do the same for you.

HERE'S YOUR FREE COPY. READ IT, AND SPREAD IT AROUND…..

Book marketing keeps changing, and genius new ideas keep popping up.  Here's one I really like:

"I need your help naming my new book…"

The link takes you to a video from a fellow named Frank Kern.  You may not know him, but he's pretty much the Lady Gaga of internet marketing. A real superstar.

Anyway, Kern's piece of book promotion for his upcoming title is so simple, so smart and so unique I wanted to bring it to your attention.  Go watch the video and you'll get a three minute masterclass.  See how beautifully it's shot, even though it seems homemade.  Notice Frank's demeanor (his persona — which, by all accounts, is authentic –  is "laid back surfer dude") and how soft the sell is.

The end result of this little bit of book promotion?  He gets early buzz for his book, he makes at least 1000 people feel invested in the book's creation, he manages to get his distribution of teaser copies of the book subsidized and he builds a personal bond with potential buyers.

Think about how you can use this technique for your own benefit.

"I need your help naming my new book…"

It seems that reports of the death of books have been greatly exaggerated (with apologies to Mark Twain). As the numbers continue to roll in, it's clear that people still read, more titles are being published than ever, and e-books are taking their place alongside print books, not replacing them. As reported in "Is the Book Dead? Let That Myth Rest in Peace" from The Atlantic, 288,355 new and reissued titles were published in 2009, and Bowker (the data agency for publishing) speculates that the numbers will be higher in 2010 and 2011. And — here's a really astounding statistic — an additional 764,448 titles fell into the self-published, micro-niche and print-on-demand categories.

Think about that for a moment. For the first time in publishing history, authors are self-publishing more books than publishing houses are producing. Considering that these numbers are over a year old, and advances in e-publishing are happening faster than you can download an app from the iStore, 2011 could potentially near the one million mark in self-published titles.

Upon hearing this, many seasoned authors (read: those with several traditionally-published books under their belts) worry about the lack of gate-keepers. If so many people are self-publishing (and publishers are paying attention to successful self-published efforts, as described in this Publishers Weekly article), who's going to decide what's good? Who's going to create the buzz, tell us what to buy? Without the taste-makers, how will we know what to read?

It's a seismic change, to be sure. And like all changes, it feels a bit scary. But the answer boils down to one word: you.

You, as the consumer, get to decide with your dollars what constitutes a good book. Sure, book buyers always voted with their purchases, but the pool of choices was limited by what publishers presented. And publishers often make decisions based on non-artistic criteria: Does this book cash in on a current trend? Is the market broad enough to make a substantial profit? Will it stay on the shelves of Barnes & Noble for more than three months? Is the author a celebrity? Many great books get published each year, but just as many great books get rejected because they don't quite fit the corporate plan. Readers have never had the opportunity to decide for themselves if those books deserve to exist. Now they can.

You, as the author, still have to put in the work, learning how to write, learning how to revise, and learning how to communicate with your audience. That age-old truth won't change. But now, after you've workshopped the manuscript, had it professionally edited and gotten the go-ahead from your writers' group, you have the power to see your words in print. Since self-publishing is rapidly losing its stigma as the last resort for rejected authors, you have a real choice of submitting to publishers or producing the book yourself. You also now have a choice of paper or electronic formats. Low-cost and no-cost options for e-books mean you can make your dream a reality without a trust fund.

You, as the publicist for your book, can generate reviews, create a buzz, connect with readers and set up personal appearances in direct proportion to the amount of time you're willing to devote to marketing. You're not limited by the publisher's marketing dollars going to the big authors, or the New York Times' limited space in their book review section. The internet is the great equalizer, giving authors the same access to their audience as publishers have had. The more you reach out, the more sales you'll see. It's that simple.

The book is far from dead, and the opportunities for authors are more plentiful than ever. The only difference is that now both authors and consumers have more choices, which means they're responsible for deciding what constitutes a worthy book. As an author, you now have options: you can go the time-honored route of submitting to agents and publishers, waiting months for a reply, and hoping you're one of the lucky ones who gets a book contract. Then you can hope your book sells enough to get contract #2. Many authors still find success and fulfillment this way, and if you're one of those, then I'm looking forward to seeing your book on the shelves. But if you're tired of waiting, you believe in your book and you're not afraid to do the work necessary to get it out there, then for the first time you have equal (or very close) access to book production and marketing as the big publishers. And it's only going to get easier.

So make your choice. Your readers are waiting.

You gotta watch this.  It's from Seth Godin, one of the smartest folks out there, and he's walked the walk:

We spend so much time talking about the grown-ups involved in publishing for children — the authors, the editors and agents, the reviews and bloggers and book buyers — that we sometimes forget about the most important people of all: the kids who read the books. Linda Arms White, Laura's cohort for the Children's Authors' Bootcamp writing workshops, was pleasantly reminded of this last week. When Linda returned home from the Austin Bootcamp, she found a letter from a mom whose daughter was inspired by Linda's picture book, I Could Do That! Esther Morris Gets Women the Vote. Six-year-old Cora Musser, who lives in Mifflin, PA, was motivated by Esther Morris' can-do attitude to write Pennsylvania governor Tim Corbett and ask him to rethink his plans for cutting funding for full-day kindergarten. "Because of kindergarten, I can write this letter…..I am ready for first grade," Cora wrote. See the Lewistown Sentinel article here.

"Such is the power of books!" said Linda. And smart girls, and parents who support them. And the authors who hang in there for moments like these.

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