How to Get Started in Children’s Writing

If you like kids and have a genuine love of children’s books, you’re on your way to writing for them. But you’ve probably heard stories about how competitive publishing is—especially children’s book publishing—and how manuscripts can sit on an editor’s desk for a long time before the editor takes action, one way or the other. But don’t let that stop you.

The first step to getting published is to find an idea that will fit within the category of children’s books you’ve chosen. The idea must fit the category, and thus the age and reading level of the child who will be reading it.

To begin, make friends with the children’s librarian at your local public library. Find out what the new trends are in children’s literature.  Find out what kids are reading these days. The answers will surprise you. And if there are any kids there, watch how they choose books from the shelves, especially in your book category, and listen to their conversation. Then check out a dozen or so books in your chosen category that are similar to the concept you have for yours.

If you don’t have a definite idea, read other media directed at children. You can often get a sense of what the next trend in children's book publishing is going to be by studying kid's magazines. You’ll find a selection them at your library or bookstore. Most come out monthly, so they respond to trends faster than book publishers. Studying Web sites geared for children can also provide cutting-edge information. Many of these Web sites are educational ones. Others tie in directly to product lines or books directed to children. And many children’s magazines have their own interactive sites for kids.

When you come up with some ideas, test them out on some children of the age range you’re targeting—your own or those of friends and neighbors. Tell them about your ideas and ask them what they think. Children, especially younger ones, are extremely honest, and they’ll tell you whether they like the idea. In fact, they’ll ask you how soon they can read your book. This is early test marketing.

If you’re considering writing a non-fiction book for your children’s age group, read the news, either in print or online. Start a file of clippings or printouts of articles that apply to children and your specific subject.

Besides talking to kids about the books they’re reading, spend time with your target readership.
Volunteer at a school library, get involved with a church youth group, or figure out another way to get firsthand experience with kids. Investing your time and creativity into getting to know kids is the best way to learn to write for them.

Attend writers conferences. The Society of Children's Book Writers and Illustrators, a large international organization for those who write and illustrate children's books, sponsors regional conferences and two large national conferences a year. But don’t limit yourself to just children’s book writing conferences. Networking with other writers at general writing conferences can be helpful, too. Besides interacting with other writers in person, you should also search for children’s writing forums and communities online.

You should do all of the above on an ongoing basis. Once you get a good idea and test it on some children, you’re ready to begin planning your book. The information you gather from the above sources will help you throughout your children’s writing career.

Next Week: The Changing Face of Children’s Book Publishing

Developing a PR Plan

It used to be if you were an author, your publishing house would promote you and your books. Today, with tight budgets and the competition from ebooks, many publishing houses leave the promotion of books up to you, the writer. And if you’re going the ebook route, then promotion is all up to you. Whether you’re a book author or another type of freelance writer, you’ll have to come up with a public relations plan if you want to make your books and such a success.

Developing your own public relations (PR) plan is an important ingredient in your total marketing mix. It helps expand your reach into other areas, reinforcing any advertising you may have done or are planning to do. Your PR plan doesn’t have to be complicated, but it should lay out some basic directions for you to follow.

A PR plan should be a well-developed part of your ongoing work as a freelancer. Good public relations requires organization, discovering who your target market is—in other words, the public in your public relations—, and how you can be of benefit your target, and how you can best tell them about what you have to offer. Your target will shift depending on what you’re trying to promote. If you’re promoting your work as a magazine writer, then your target will be magazine editors. However, if you’re promoting a new ebook, then your target will be your readers since you’re offering your book direct to them.

Use your own enthusiasm and energy to not only create your plan but keep it together.  The first step is brainstorming. Think of all the usual groups that you might approach—college students and teachers, teenagers, religious groups, art groups, service clubs, social service agencies, etc. You’ll no doubt come up with many others, such as government officials, Chambers of Commerce, social groups, study clubs, senior citizens, ethnic groups, professional organizations, even friends of your local library. After you've made a list of targets, combine them with your objectives to develop your own unique strategy.

Basically, any thoughtful campaign you use to make your abilities known to a new market or to remind an editor of your talents, will have three objectives: promoting good will, supporting ongoing  publicity about yourself and your skills, and obtaining new and better assignments.

Examine the situation as you would any writing project. First, analyze what you think would best suit your objectives. Once you know that, research your markets for overlooked areas and contacts. Thoroughly check details and statistics involved before you make your pitch. And finally, consider your resources and how best to apply them. Naturally, your objectives must be geared to the results you wish to obtain and how much you can afford to spend in time and money to get them.

If you’re promoting yourself to magazine editors, for example, create a schedule for reminding them that you're still available. You know the old saying, “Out of sight, out of mind.”  Occasionally, send a copy of  an article you've published to other editors simply for their enjoyment. You never know when one of them may ask for permission to reprint it. Create a “What’s New” page on your Web site and send out E-mail announcements with a link to it.

If you’re writing and publishing books, try to get your book reviewed—hopefully, a positive one—and send the review to editors or other interested parties. Stories about you in newspapers and in online blogs are a great form of free PR. The same goes for speaking engagements. Keep copies of letters or emails thanking you for your good work at conferences or other speaking venues. Also post them on your Web site, so visitors can read what others are saying about you.

Keep up-to-date background material about your work circulating everywhere. Never assume information about you gets to the right or helpful source without your guidance.

And finally, a PR plan is only as good as its effectiveness.  Note what works and what doesn’t, then adjust your plan accordingly.

Systematizing Your Research

Sometimes there's good reason to more research then you need. Whether you write fiction or non-fiction, you need to do research—how much depends entirely on the complexity of the subject and the scope of your project. But no matter how much or how little research you need to do, developing a system of research will not only get what you need but keep you from getting frustrated in the process.

But whether you need stacks of material or not, apply a system for getting your material quickly, using it most effectively, and retrieving it later when you may need it. Libraries are convenient storehouses. Your research for any given project may well begin with a trip to one. If you’re just starting out in freelancing and aren’t yet equipped with a large collection of files and clippings, you’ll want to rely heavily on public sources.

To get the most from your research in the least amount of time, you’ll need to mix the research techniques of four kinds of professionals—the reference librarian, the university scholar, the investigative reporter, and the detective. Knowing how each of these experts does their research, what resources they rely on, and what tricks they apply will help you systematize your own research, getting what you need faster and more efficiently..

Reference librarians approach research through their knowledge of a wide variety of indexes, almanacs, dictionaries, bibliographic titles, and vertical files at their disposal. Getting acquainted with the reference material available to you will be one of your first priorities. Good reference librarians have a wealth of information at their fingertips. They’ll point you in the right direction—often long after your inquiry and until you’ve built a sizable file of information on your subject. They also seem to know everyone in the area and state who might be of help in your search. And since interlibrary loan agreements link  most libraries are linked to others in their states and nationally, there's little information that shouldn’t be quickly and readily available to you. If you let your librarian help you uncover these sources, you'll be able to do your research much more easily.

University scholars are another source you can turn to. Their knowledge is highly specialized, and they’ve spent their careers developing in-depth comprehension of particular information. Not only will they be cognizant of related disciplines and esoteric facts, they’ll be acquainted with a great many others in their field of expertise. You may want to ask them for letters of introduction to their colleagues at other universities, museums, or laboratories if these people can help you get the information you need. From these scholarly research techniques— concentration in great depth on one subject—you can borrow the discipline of thoroughness, without carrying it nearly as far as they do. Their techniques are particularly useful when you need to learn about a subject from the ground up. To find scholars, contact your nearest college or university or check out Who Knows—and What, among Authorities, Experts, and the Specially Informed, which covers 12,000 specialists in 35,000 areas of expertise.

Investigative reporters wade through criminal indictments, police complaints, warrants, arrest sheets, bail applications, court hearing reports, and interview transcripts to obtain the information for their articles. However, unlike scholars, they have to complete their research within a specific amount of time to meet their deadline. Good reporters know they must check their facts and quotes thoroughly but that eventually, the deadline wins and they must settle for what they’ve got, so they take lots of notes along the way.

Detectives and private investigators work with probabilities, official documents, confidential indexes, and government resources. Their specialties are the law and human behavior patterns. Some of the tricks they use to uncover information can be particularly helpful if you’re in search of anecdotes and colorful copy. They’re masters at combining what often appears to be infinite patience with timely impatience. Talk to a detective, and you'll discover how easy it is to gather quite a bit of data about people based on just their driver's license.

Remembering how each of these experts goes about their work is the first step to systematically approaching your material. With your project questions laid out in front of you, decide which expert's procedure is best. Often you'll use a combination of them.

Obviously, the kind of research that yields the most complete information takes ingenuity and constant practice. Remember, research often begins in the library, but it doesn't take place there exclusively. You may even end up doing research while sipping your morning coffee and watching the news.

Research, especially for books, may seem endless. Your head will become so crammed with information that you may even dream about it. When that happens, it usually means you're well on your way to understanding your subject enough to write about it.

Mining for Gold

Unless you can afford to fill a huge house with files containing research for your books, articles and the like, you’ll have to tame the paper tiger before it eats you alive. So mine other sources for research information, resources like libraries that may contain what you need and have it on hand when you need it.

Begin with your local public library. Ask for a list of its periodical holdings. Keep in your personal library only those magazines the library doesn't subscribe to. Many writers subscribe to a number of periodicals, clip and file the material they want, then discard the magazines. Before you discard yours, though, take the time to remove the tables of contents, which you can easily store in a three-ring binder. And while at the library, make copies of the tables of contents of magazines they have that you may want to use in the future. Then, before you head to your library to research a project, you can look through your binder for the precise publication and date you need. The only downside to using some smaller libraries is their lack of space for expansion. Many sell off books and magazines that have poor circulation to make room for newer ones.

Also, find out where secondhand sources for periodicals and books are in your area. Make a note of the above library book sales and plan to spend some time there perusing the items that you may want to add to your personal library. Secondhand book shops, thrift shops, and flea markets are other good sources, especially if you have a specialty. And remember to ask at your doctor's and dentist’s offices and barber’s shop or hairdresser’s salon for periodicals they no longer want. Most will be happy to give them to you.

Digital recorders are great for noting ideas you get on the go or to record information and ideas you may get from listening to your car radio. This holds true during library research, a visit to a museum, or whatever. You can then transfer your audio notes to your computer or transcribe them into your word processing program.

All writers have books in their personal libraries—lots of them. But few take the time to catalog their own library. The more books you acquire, the more difficult it is to retrieve the information they contain. With a catalog of your personal library, you have immediate access to this information in capsule form, saving you lots of time rummaging through your own bookshelves.  Your personal book catalog also shows what you have for insurance and tax purposes. You’ll find free book cataloging programs on such sites as CNET.com or just do a search on Google for them.

So much for the printed material. But don’t forget that you can build a network of fellow writers and other specialists easily using today’s social media. With such a reliable network you become more valuable to your clients and more efficient at finding information for all of your writing. A freelancer in another city, for instance, may be willing, for a reasonable fee or exchange of services, to do local telephone research for you, thus saving you the cost of travel. Also, don’t forget to ask public relations(PR) representatives if they know of any sources of information or experts for quotes in their field of expertise.

One of the best social networks for useful professional contacts is LinkedIn. While it’s geared mostly to professionals seeking to upgrade their positions or seek new jobs. It’s also good for making contacts with PR people and experts in specialized fields.  Remember, a social network is only as good as the people in it. Besides building regulars contacts, LinkedIn also offers discussion groups of professionals in specialized fields. Join those appropriate to your work and chime in on the discussions. You may be able to develop some great working relationships this way.

The other social media network that may be useful to building a network of contacts is Facebook. While its personal pages are more for friends connecting with friends, it’s professional pages—fan, author, and book pages—are aimed at helping writers showcase their businesses or promote themselves or their books. Work at building a good “fan” page—the equivalent of a corporate page for writers. This is an umbrella page that showcases your business. Too many writers create only author or book pages. These last two limit the type of contacts you can make.

Once you've consciously built your network of research helpers—fellow journalists, librarians, magazine editors and writers, novelists, and public relations executives—keep them informed of your needs and offer to reciprocate whenever possible.

Discipline Can Be a Good Thing

Discipline is all important to becoming a successful freelance writer—self-discipline, that is. No one will scold you for doing something wrong. You have no boss. You are the boss. So the only way you’ll get anything done is to make yourself tow the line.

To get ahead, you need to control the elements that might play havoc with your work schedule. To do this, you’ll need to anticipate problems and prepare ways to counteract them so your work won't suffer. The way to do this is to recognize patterns.

Keeping a daily or weekly journal for the first year or two of your freelance venture will help you see patterns developing. By writing down your progress—both the good and the bad things—you’ll begin to notice that they form patterns. Once you recognize the patterns, you’ll be able to take measures to break your bad ones and take advantage of your good ones.

Professional writers know all too well the pattern deadlines follow. Like trucks on a superhighway, they seem to travel in packs. It doesn't matter that you've planned them to arrive at intervals. They overtake each other and you if you don't remain vigilant.

Knowing this, professional writers build tricks into their planned writing time to minimize deadline crashes. The first step in this process is to create a Work-in-Progress chart or spreadsheet. For each project, create columns with the following headings (for non-fiction): Job Name, Publication, Query Written, Query Sent, Deadline, Research Completed, First Draft Completed, Revising Completed, Manuscript Sent, Date Sent, Payment Received, Date Received. If you write fiction, just change the headings accordingly. Then check off each item as you complete it for each project.

Let’s say you have three simultaneous deadlines. To avoid wasting time, do something for each job. Perhaps for Job No. 1 you’ll begin searching the Web for information on your topic. For Job No. 2, you’ll concentrate on interviews. And for Job No. 3, a relatively easy article, you’ll begin writing the first draft.

Professional writers follow this simple rule: As soon as you have a firm assignment to produce, take the first step immediately. By doing so, you’re on your way. The other steps follow without requiring anywhere near the effort of the first. In the case of writing a book, try starting with the easiest chapter first, no matter where it is in the book, then work on the others.

Once you've recognized patterns in your own working habits, you, too, will be able to do as the pros do. For example, you might devote your early mornings to the toughest writing chores because you know this is your most creative time. If you’re at your creative peak at some other time during the day, you should adjust your work schedule accordingly. During this time, you shouldn’t allow anything or anyone to interrupt you. With the heavy-duty work out of the way, you can devote your afternoon hours to making necessary phone calls, trips to the library, online research, or bookkeeping.

Another trick to help your self-discipline is to set a timer or alarm clock as you approach your chores. Break the job, whether it's actually writing the text, revising and editing, or diving into a pile of accumulated research, into reasonable segments, then set your timer and work against it. You'll be amazed at how much you you’ll be able to accomplish with the clock ticking away.

Yet another way to keep the work flowing is to create a daily or weekly to-do list. As you complete each chore, cross it off. At the end of the day or week, you’ll be surprised at how much you’ll get done.

Or you could compare your output with that of a more successful writer. Keep track of how often his or her byline appears not just in the markets where you'd expect to find it, but elsewhere, too. Is this writer getting into a new and promising field? Perhaps it’s time for you to consider opening up new horizons for yourself?

Also consider enlisting the help of a close friend. Tell your friend about a particularly ambitious project you're thinking about starting. Explain you're really taking a chance and that you may need reminding, now and then, about how you’re doing. If you’re friend asks “How’s that book idea you told me about coming along,” you’ll have to answer honestly or feel guilty afterwards. Be sure to choose a friend that’s action oriented, otherwise you may find yourself just talking about your plans instead of carrying them out.

All writers have ways of tricking themselves into the proper mental and emotional state for high production. Some people require the wolf to be knocking at their door, others just the opposite.
How you discipline yourself to juggle your time and work load may work fine for a while, then suddenly you find what you had been doing is no longer adequate. Your bank balance will immediately register deficiencies in your methods of discipline. Once that happens you'll have to do some fast shuffling of priorities and techniques to keep from going under. Be flexible, but remember that patterns lead to other patterns. And discipline rules.

Books, Books, and More Books

A writer cannot operate in a vacuum. Ideas come from everywhere. But after getting ideas, they have to be researched. And for that a writer needs a good reference library.

Over 30 years and hundreds of books later, I can truthfully say I’ve amassed a good reference library. Setting up a basic reference library needn’t be expensive. I found almanacs, dictionaries, directories of various kinds, thesauruses, and atlases in paperback. I had several dictionaries left over from my college days. And while they weren’t the most current, they worked fine when I was just starting out.

The focus of any writer’s reference library is the subject matter he or she writes about. I started out writing about travel, so from the start, I was on the lookout for travel guidebooks from countries and parts of the United States that I was interested in writing about. Back then, online booksellers such as Amazon.com didn’t exist. In fact, compared to today, that was the Stone Age (I kept my club in the closet and only used it to go hunting.). Over time, I gathered several hundred travel guides, mostly from library and used book sales. For my purposes, it didn’t matter if they were a year or two old. The basic information never changed.

Along the way, I began to write about antiques. This subject required its own specialized library of reference books. Again, I kept an eye out for antiques books—traditionally expensive—at local library sales. Some are small reference books on furniture styles, etc. while others are massive coffee-table-sized volumes with lots of photographs. Mixed in are a number of antiques encyclopedias for easy reference. As with my travel books, these soon grew to 100 or so.

Another of my specialties is writing about Mexico. One Mexico guidebook wasn’t enough. As a specialist, I needed detailed information. I acquired many books on trips to Mexico. Often, this was the only place I could find them. While there, I constantly looked for brochures, booklets, and maps that would give me detailed information not available to me once I headed north of the border.

Over the last five or six years, I’ve written a number of books. Each book required its own set of reference books—in fact, each has its own mini library.

Besides writing, I also teach it to adults in evening classes. As the number of courses grew over the years, I needed writing reference books as well. I’ve gathered 50 to 75 books on various types of writing and writing techniques to help myself and my students. Most of these I obtained through Writer’s Digest Book Club and still purchase the occasional volume through the Writer’s Digest Book Store online.

In also created my own photographs to illustrate my articles. My interest in photography developed before my writing, so I began with basic how-to books on photographic techniques. Over the years, I’ve used these many times. Today, I not only take digital photographs but teach others how to. This has necessitated starting a small library of digital photography books, used mostly to develop the courses I teach.

As you can see, my basic writing library has grown considerably. Most of the rooms in my house contain books. And while I can easily find information online on just about any subject, there’s still information I need to look up in my library.

Master the Possibilities

The now-famous phrase, “master the possibilities,” used by Mastercard in its promotional campaigns also applies to freelance writing. But with freelancing it’s less about whipping out your credit card than figuring out how to find markets for your work.

Before you go searching, however, you have to figure out exactly what type of writing you want to do. Are you planning to write articles for publication, either in print or online or both? Or are you more into business writing, preparing press releases, ghost-written articles for trade magazines, and such? While you can work in both directions, it’s better to chose one and stick with it. And while both require the same writing skills, each requires a different mind set.

It used to be that publication was more insular. As a freelancer, you’d send your pieces to publications that might print them and you’d get paid. Today, with the advance of technology, the publishing world has exploded with what seems an endless list of possibilities. Unfortunately, just as there are many more opportunities to get published, so are there many more, especially online,  that don’t pay anything. And you can’t live on those. With the ease of online publishing and self-publishing through e-books, many more would-be writers are finding it easier to get published, even if they have to do it themselves, thus by-passing the hurdles of the traditional route. So competition is fierce.

To begin with, you need to check one of the primary annual market guides—Writer’s Market or Literary Marketplace.

The first on the list, Writer’s Market, published by Writer’s Digest Books, has been around since 1921 and of the three is the least expensive with a list price of about $30. It features over 6,000 listings of newspaper and magazine markets, book publishers, including small presses, playwriting and screenwriting markets, and even those for greeting cards. Each listing gives you the information you need to see if your work will fit. And while there are many markets in which your work will be a good match, there are 10 times as many that it will not. And while the two-and-a-half-inch book has it’s good points, it offers a lot of markets that just don’t pay well or not at all.

Literary Marketplace claims it’s the “ultimate insider’s guide” to the publishing industry. For a whopping $339, it ought to be. It offers 54 sections in which it organizes publishers, agents, advertising agencies, associations, distributors, and events. It features twice the number of listings as Writer’s Market, but concentrates mostly on book publishing. Since its cost is prohibitive, you’ll have to use it at your local library.

Whether you use one or the other or both of these annuals will depend on how well you’re repeatedly tapping certain markets, how good you are at selling spin-off material, and where you wish to focus your publishing efforts each year.

As you progress in your freelancing career, you’ll find more markets that aren’t listed in the above annuals. Publishers of all kinds choose whether they want to be published in them. Many refuse because doing so opens them up to receiving tons of correspondence from too many wannabee writers who have neither the skill or talent to write well. They prefer to be more selective. Also, new technologies create new markets. In the last five years many opportunities have opened up for educational and recreational material for home and school computers.

Because editors play musical chairs and their requirements change regularly, it’s a good idea to use the latest version of each of the annuals. It’s important to know the exact name, spelling, title, etc., of a publication’s editor. If you’re going to impress editors, you must get their names right.

In the case of Writer’s Market, you can check out last year’s edition from the stacks at your library, find what publications look good, and make a list of them, then go back to the library and find those on your list in the latest edition in the reference section and note the changes. Because of the high cost of Literary Marketplace, you’ll have to do all your work on the reference edition at the library.

You can keep up with changes during the year by watching the market columns in Writer's Digest Magazine and The Writer, the only two magazines devoted exclusively to writing. You can also subscribe to the Writer’s Market online and catch up with changes there.

If you've decided on a specialty, you'll subscribe, I'm sure, to the best publications in your chosen field, or track them down regularly wherever you can. If you’re serious about book publishing and not just publishing a book, then reading Publishers Weekly regularly at your local library is a must.

Whether markets appear to be a broadening or a row of locked doors is entirely up to you, your energies, ambitions, and skills as a writer, promoter, and, most importantly, a salesperson.

A Writer’s Library

As a non-fiction writer, I work with facts every day. Today, I have at my disposal a wide range of sources for those facts–library books, e-books, newspaper and magazine clippings, and the Internet to name a few. But nothing is more important than my own personal library, today numbering some 500 books.

During the past week, I was busy directing a group of energetic people at my church who were working to prepare for an annual fall festival that we held this past weekend. A book sale is a small part of that festival. Someone had donated what seemed like a complete collection of books on writing. The person who was organizing the books for sale said these probably wouldn’t sell, and being a writer, would I like to have them. Without hesitation, I said yes. And while I was elated to be receiving such a collection, I was saddened by the thought that a writer had perhaps retired or, even worse, had tried to become one and had given up.

So now these very useful books will be added to my own personal collection of books on writing. And while I may already know a lot of what’s in them, I’ll still use them for reference from time to time.

As a writer in several varied and some related subject areas, I’ve amassed a varied collection of books. For my travel writing, I have a library of guidebooks on all the countries I’ve written about, plus others I’d like to write about. Complementing these are books ones about countries I’ve traveled to or would like to. Add to this books I’ve purchased to help me research travel books I’ve written. Each of my books has a small library all its own.

Then there are my specialties—writing about Mexico and antiques, now expanded to history in general. I’ve gathered a collection of reference books for each of these specialties. For Mexico, my collection features not only guidebooks on various parts of the country but books on its history and culture. My antiques specialty has required me to gather pricing guides, as well as books on individual types of pieces, including those on different kinds and styles of furniture. Added to that are those on ceramics and porcelain, silver, marks, rugs, glassware, etc.

Besides the books for my specialties, I have a rather large collection of books on writing. These include those on how to write various types of proposals, as well as published pieces—articles, short stories, plays, novels, and non-fiction books. The more useful ones sit on shelves by my computer while others occupy another “branch” of my library in my bedroom.

And then there are the books I’ve reviewed and those I read or haven’t gotten to yet. While I prefer to read non-fiction, I have a number of novels and books on short stories from which to choose when the spirit strikes me.

I’m a multifaceted person and as such have other interests. I love to cook, so the “cooking” branch of my library sits on shelves across from my kitchen.  I also love to grow houseplants and gardening in general. This requires me to have a modest collection of books on gardening and growing plants indoors. It takes a bit of specialized knowledge to grow a mini rain forest.

Lastly, the most important books in my library are those I’ve written and those written by writer friends of mine. Nothing boosts my confidence more in slow times than looking at them on the shelf.

The Keys to My Success

When I’m at a dinner party or other gathering, inevitably someone will ask me what I do for a living. I tell them I’m a writer and immediately they think of Stephen King or some other celebrity writer. No, I’m not one of those, but I have made a living at freelancing for over 26 years, so I must be doing something right.

There are a dozen keys to my success. Any beginning writer, with a little hard work, can achieve what I’ve done by following them.

1. First and foremost, I meet deadlines. It’s become second nature to me after this long. Editors appreciate a writer who works with them and doesn’t cause them to get behind.

2. I write something new every day.  Perhaps its one of my blogs, a book review, an article for a publication, or an article or two for one of my four Web sites. It’s sometimes hard to make enough time to write since I now have to exercise about an hour and a half a day after recent coronary surgery, plus teach writing classes in the evenings.

3. I read as much as I can. The more I read, the better writer I become because I’m influenced by the thoughts and techniques of other writers. But I don’t just read as a reader, I read as a writer, analyzing the text as if I had written it and seeing how I might improve on it.

4. As a writer, I’m constantly making notes. In fact, my desk is flooded with them. Often, I’ve made so many, I lose track. I make To-Do Lists almost daily. If I don’t, I may forget what needs to be done on what piece.

5. Over the years, I’ve learned to mentally record conversations, visual details, sensory stimuli,  facts—lots of facts. I also record these facts in copious notes that I prepare for each article and book. Notes for the latter often fill an entire file box.

6. To keep myself organized, I’ve learned to clip and file vital information so I can retrieve it later.  This has increased my productivity over the years.

7. Even in this day of e-books and the Internet, I still use my public library from time to time. Some information just hasn’t been digitized. However, I find myself using my local library less and less as technology marches on.

8. And though I love words and their origins, I’m careful not to add vague words, that my readers won’t understand, to my vocabulary.  (See my previous blog on $20 words).

9. I love books and my house shows it. There are books in just about every room. As my writing career has advanced, I’ve amassed a small library of perhaps 500 books on both writing, and the subjects I specialize in—Mexico, travel, and antiques.

10. In order to sell my work consistently, I study the markets for it.  However, today, it has become a challenge to keep up with writing markets. It used to be easy to spot a trend, but things have changed so much and so fast, that today it’s difficult. And while it’s always my goal to be at the right place at the right time, I don’t always hit the mark.

11. Since I began writing books, I’ve had to learn as much as I could about editing, publishing, and marketing. Being more knowledgeable about all facets of my business, I’m a more effective business person.

12. I take my writing seriously and have made an effort to make my family and friends do likewise. It isn’t just a pastime or a passing fancy. I communicate with my readers and now, through social networking, many of them communicate with me.

These keys are what have made me successful, but they won’t necessarily work for every writer.
And while my name may not be a household word, I’m still successful at what I do.