Writers’ Block—Is It All in Your Head?

All writers face the inevitable—writers’ block—at some point in their careers. For some it’s a passing state of affairs, a sort of down time after working furiously on a big project. But for others, writers’ block can be as deadly as a fear of heights. In fact, it often results from a fear of success.

But writers’ block doesn’t just happen. Usually something triggers it, much like any other psychological condition. And, yes, it is psychological. To keep from falling prey to this condition, you have to keep your mind active.

The most common cause of writer’s block is trying to make your writing perfect the first time. Many beginning writers plod through whatever they’re working on agonizing over every word. You want to make whatever you’re writing your best, so you go back and revise every sentence as you go. Instead of trying to write the final draft, work faster and steadily to complete your first draft. Get everything down on paper and don’t worry about grammar or the words you’re using. You’ll be able to fix both in the revising process. Leave sparkling writing until your second or third draft.

Another thing that seriously affects novice writers, and many veteran ones, is hearing the opinion of others. Don’t allow yourself to be stymied by what your friends, family, or spouse may think of what you’ve written. And worst of all, don’t show your writing to strangers until you have finished the final draft.

If you write fiction, you should be doubly careful about showing your work to others before its time. As a fiction writer, you have only your own experiences to draw from for your stories. If your story centers around characters who are uncomfortably similar to people you know, you could find yourself in trouble.

Whatever people say, it will affect you. Beginning writers have thin skins and aren’t used to criticism, whether it’s constructive or not. Particularly harsh criticism can cripple you mentally, causing you not to be able to write.

To combat writer’s block, there are a few things you can do.  Keep several projects going at the same time. The more involved you are in different types of writing, the less likely you’ll be to be stymied by writer’s block.

Another trick is to re-read what you’ve written most recently. You’ll be amazed at how you’ll react to your own words, especially if you haven’t seen them in a while. Besides reading your own work, try reading books, stories, and articles written by others.         
    
Create an idea file. A stockpile of ideas will give you plenty to write about, should you get stuck on your current project.

You might also try to set a word quota—writing so many words a day. This will force you to move forward and not get mired in your current work. And reward yourself for achieving your daily word goal. This could be a walk around the block or a cup of coffee at a local coffee shop.

Finally, be positive. Negativity about your writing will definitely lead to a block.

Today’s Rollercoaster of Freelancing

Remember the days when rollercoasters were the most fun ride in an amusement park. The cars crept slowly up the incline, seemed to hesitate for a moment, then gravity took hold and they plunged to the depths, riders screaming all the way.

Today, the cars still plunge, the riders still scream, but at ever-increasing, sometimes dizzying, speeds. Believe it or not, the same thing is happening to freelance writing.

Technology has taken rollercoasters to literally new heights with more curves and many more screams. It has done the same to freelance writing. Since the 1990s, computers have changed the way freelancers do business. They’ve allowed writers to work anywhere and find information on practically any subject in seconds. But those same computers have also given editors an extra edge that previously only freelancers could provide them. You’d think all this technology would provide loads of publishing opportunities for writers, but unfortunately, the opposite is true.

Sure, there are loads of additional opportunities for writers, like blogs and ebooks, but most of these pay little or nothing. And as a freelance writer, you can’t live on that.

Technology has also cut into traditional freelance markets. And while communication happens in an instant today, there are more writers out there than ever before—all trying to make a go of it as freelancers. That number also includes all those editors and staff writers who lost their jobs because of publications closing.  So even if you think you’ve sent an idea to an editor quickly, someone else will have sent the same idea faster and gotten there first.

Freelancers used to use the U.S. Mail to not only send queries with ideas, but also finished manuscripts. Today, if you don’t use some sort of electronic form of communication, you’re out of luck. However, there are still some editors who haven’t adapted to 21st-century communication and insist writers send everything by snail mail.

In today’s freelance writing environment, writers experience higher highs and lower lows. When they fall, they fall hard. So much today depends on the idiosyncracies of technology.

For instance, one writer developed a long-standing regular gig writing content for Web sites.  The same person, his biggest client, owned a group of sites. He began pulling some sneaky tricks, trying to get more hits on Google. Google discovered this and pulled all of the client’s sites from its listing which effectively knocked out his sites, putting the freelancer out of work.

Because many people get their news from the Internet and T.V., the newspaper market, which provided many freelancers with bread-and-butter work, is virtually dead.  And while there may seem to be more magazines available today, many specialize in one subject. And a specialty market will only support a limited number of publications.

A Writer's Haunted Life

When is a writer’s life like a haunted house? Always.

Writers, most of them anyway, live a haunted life. Ghosts appear at every turn. Sometimes, these are the ghosts of previously written pieces that come around to bite them in the ass. Sometimes, these are the ghosts of editors who still carry a grudge for one reason or another. And sometimes, these are the ghosts of poorly made decisions. But whatever haunts you, you can bet it will be far worse than going through a haunted house during the Halloween season.

While visiting a haunted house is meant to be entertaining, living a haunted life certainly isn’t. The bad times far outway the good ones. Usually the euphoria that comes with the good times certainly lingers longer. But the truth is that bad things that happen to writers can have lasting effects.

Take the first time someone critiques your work. You feel scared as hell—your skin may itch, your eyes water, your stomach churns. And what if the critique turns out to be horrible. Will you crawl in a hole and die? Certainly not. But you may get terribly depressed. In fact, you may never write again. It happens far more often than you think.

Perhaps you’ve been working with an editor for a long stretch and you have developed a great working relationship. Then the editor tells you that they’re leaving for another job. You know what you have, but you have no idea what you’ll be getting. The new editor may love your work and give you more than you can handle. Or the new editor may end up telling you can’t write, leaving you without a good regular market.

Or what about when an editor promises you’ll get paid, but you never see the money. If you’re a full-time freelancer, the bill collector demons may be knocking on your door—or calling you every hour. Boy, could you use that money now. But it never arrives. And what about all the work you put into that piece. Sometimes, you can’t even sell it elsewhere.

But then you get a call from your publisher with a nod to a book proposal you sent him months ago. Hallelujah! You dig in and begin working on the book. You’re having a fantastic time. You send in the manuscript. Your editor loves it. Then you wait. One day, you get an Email telling you the publisher decided not to publish your book because the market took a downturn. You get to keep the advance. But no one will ever read your book. And unless the publisher releases you from your contract, you’re stuck.

Haunted houses are full of surprises. They’re meant to be. But so will your life be as a writer. Often you won’t know what the next day will bring. Too many surprises can cause a lot of stress. This turns a lot of beginning writers away from freelancing. The New York Times is in the process of laying off nearly 100 reporters and editors. You can bet a bunch of them will try their hand at freelancing. They should succeed, but many of them won’t. Why? Because they don’t like surprises. Working for a salary has its advantages.

It takes more than writing skill to be a successful writer. It takes stamina. You’ve got to be on top of your game all the time. And when you’re hit with too many ghosts coming at you, you tend to back off and your writing suffers.

You’ve only heard about all the good things that happen to famous writers. But they, too, have had their share of surprises—ghosts that have come back to haunt them. 

Can You Really Make It as a Freelance Writer?

It’s 3 P.M. and you’re sitting at your desk in your cubicle staring at your computer screen. Your mind wanders but settles on one thought—wouldn’t it be great to have time all to yourself to sit and write articles for top magazines. 
                                   
It’s that narrow-minded thinking that will make sure you’re still sitting in that same chair several years from now—without having written a word.

Yes, it’s possible to become a successful freelance writer but to do that you have to first define “success.” Is it getting published, making a lot of money, achieving national fame, winning awards? The better you define what success is to you, the better your chance of achieving freelance writing success.

Can you really make a living as a freelance writer? Your chances are probably as good as any other entrepreneur. And just like any other person going into business for themselves, you need to look at the bigger picture.

Believe it or not, freelance writing is all about relationships. Relationships with editors, relationships with research librarians, relationship with the human subjects in your work.

The key to finding freelance success is developing relationships with editors at the publications you’d most like to write for on a regular basis. These relationships are invaluable, as you’re unlikely to make a living by relying solely on a constant stream of cold queries. You want editors to contact you with assignments. The best way to do that is to always deliver exactly what the editor wants by the assigned deadline. In fact, the more quickly you can turn around quality articles, the better off you’ll be.

Many publications, strapped by tight budgets, have smaller staffs these days. So the editors depend on a stable of good, reliable writers to fill most of their needs. While it may be hard to break into one of those stables, it’s a goal you must strive for if you plan on freelancing full time.

As editors move from publication to publication—and they move faster and more often than hairdressers do to other beauty salons—they often take along their most reliable writers, even if the magazine isn’t in the writer’s subject realm. Anyone can learn about a subject to write about it, but not everyone is a good writer. So editors opt for good writers and help them along with the subject matter as they go.

One thing that many new freelancers forget is that full-time freelance writing is a full-time job, just like the one they left to become a freelancer. Of course, the big difference is that you can choose the hours you work, but you’ll still have to put in as many hours—or more—to make it. You don’t get paid vacation time, and you don’t get benefits like health insurance, a 401k and playing on company teams. However, you do have the opportunity to out-earn what you would get working for a publisher and set a flexible schedule so you can take care of other things when you’re not overloaded with work.

So success as a freelancer depends on how all the parts fit together as a whole. It’s usually not about money, but though you can earn far more than you did in sitting in the cubicle of your day job, it’s the quality of life that counts.

Editors Can be Monsters

There’s no doubt about it. Writing is hard. Actually, it often isn’t the writing that’s hard but the crap writers have to take from editors that can set them back. Do you feel as if your writing career is in everyone’s hands but yours? Have you had less than stellar experiences with some of your editors?

For the most part, editors are nice people. They want you to succeed, but occasionally you find one or two that are so horrible that it may make you want to quit writing altogether. Let’s take a look at a few instances.

Take the frustrated writer/editor. This is an editor that tried to make it as a freelance writer but didn’t make it. She ends up having to get a full-time job to support a family and resents having to sit behind a desk and edit other people’s work. In the process of editing, this editor goes overboard and edits the work so badly—in fact, rewriting it—that the piece isn’t recognizable. And not only that, forgets to save drafts along the way, so that the piece loses its continuity. She then goes back to the writer asking all sorts of questions, making the writer fix her editing mistakes.

Or take the alcoholic editor. A travel editor of a large East-coast city newspaper, calls a writer to ask a question. The writer is working at a travel agency to make ends meet. The editor goes ballistic and says he’s throwing the writers work in the trash can and doesn’t give the writer a chance to explain. What the writer finds out later is that this editor has a drinking problem, making him irrational at times.

Or take the new editor. A writer works for a large-city business publication as a regular stringer for seven years. He’s got a great rapport with the managing editor—the editor even helps him out with leads for assigned articles. Then the managing editor takes a job at the city’s largest newspaper. A new editor comes to the business publication. After a while of putting off the writer with one excuse after another, he finally tells the writer he can’t write. And this is after working for this same publication for seven years.

Or how about the condescending editor. You’ve probably run into editors like this. They think they’re the greatest and that writers are nothing more than slaves to do their bidding. They don’t see writers as being on the same professional level as themselves. In fact, they most likely have a journalism degree and feel they’re several steps up the ladder from the writer. And while they continue to send work the writer’s way, there’s never a strong bond between themselves and the writer.

As you can see from the above examples, dealing with situations like this can be unpleasant and may even have a long-term affect on your work. Some writers quit writing altogether while others quit temporarily or become blocked.

Always remember this: Editors are just another step in the chain of publication. They’re no better than you. In fact, you may write better then they do. And some resent that. And to be fair, there are a lot of great editors out there. So if you run into a less than professional situation with an editor, move on, and keep writing.

It's All About Technique

As you proceed through your writing career, you’ll change as a writer.  While some of this change may occur naturally, you’ll have to work at improving your writing skills and developing your technique. The best way to do that is to write as much as you can and study the works of other writers.

Unfortunately, you’ve been taught just the opposite. While you studied literature in school, the aim of that exercise was to get you to understand the thoughts of famous writers and not necessarily their techniques. In their quest to make sure you didn’t copy parts of the works of other writers, your teachers pounded the idea that all your thoughts needed to be original. The last original thought not based on work that had been done previously most likely was that of the first person who learned to write. So why should you be any different.

While it’s okay for artists to sit in front of the works of old masters and copy them, the same doesn’t apply to writers—at least that’s what you were taught. In fact, it’s just the same. In order to improve your writing skills and develop good technique, you have to look to other writers, but not those who wrote long ago—in other words, not those found in traditional literature. Instead, you need to read and analyze the works of contemporary writers—at least ones not further back than the 1940s and 50s.

To begin, you first need to learn to read like a writer. Read over a piece of writing to enjoy it for what it is, but then go back over it and study the writer’s technique. If you liked it, ask yourself why. If you didn’t, also ask yourself why. See if you can figure out what made you read this in the first place. If you have a favorite writer, read as many works of his or hers as possible, then pick part of a particular one to study.

In order to study a piece of someone else’s writing, you need to put it in the same format as your own. Copy a few paragraphs of particularly good writing into your word processor. Make sure it’s double spaced, then print it out. Look at it as if its your own writing. What do you notice about it? Are the sentences consistently long or short? What about the types of words used? Does the writer employ any special techniques?

After you’ve studied this sample of another writer’s work, compare it directly to one of yours that’s similar in topic and tone. Why is the other writer’s work better? Now try to write a few paragraphs of your own on the same topic and in that writer’s style. The more you read and study of that writer’s work, the more of his or her technique you’ll subconsciously pick up. Over time, by reading and studying a number of other writers, you’ll soon develop a technique all your own that has bits and pieces of the technique of others woven into it.

A good way to get yourself moving forward is to put together a reading program. Pick writers who you like and who write about similar topics. Also pick a few that write about other subjects that you don’t. If you’re a non-fiction writer, start with non-fiction works, but pepper your program with a few really good short stories or novels and pieces of creative non-fiction. If you’re a fiction writer, start with works from the same genre as your own—historical fiction, romance, mysteries, etc.—then pepper your program with a few select biographies and works of creation non0-fiction. Follow this program for three to six months. Afterwards, you’ll begin to notice a distinct improvement in your writing as your writing skills and technique improve.

Take a Writing Vacation

The summer solstice has just past. The folks at Stonehenge got soaking wet as they gathered to celebrate it and watch the sunrise. For the rest of us, the solstice means thinking about taking some time off.  For writers, that’s not always easy to do. So as the old saying goes, “If you can’t beat ‘em, join ‘em.” In other words, don’t try to get away from your writing but maybe do something different that will improve it.

If money is tight, you can always take a staycation—that is, stay at home and do things you wouldn’t normally do. Instead of writing, you might want to create a reading program for yourself. Study the works of a particular writer you admire or find several with different writing styles and compare them. See how their techniques can help you in your writing. Work on your style.

An alternative to this is while on your staycation, write something opposite to what you normally write. Try something different. Have fun with writing for a change—no deadlines, no editors, just you and your words.

If you can afford it in both time and money, you might consider enrolling in a writer’s colony. Writers' colonies are good, especially if you've come to a point in your career when what you need most is to complete a long project with time off from the hectic realities of everyday writing and family responsibilities. Some writers find these communities of writers in tranquil surroundings the perfect solution to what they've been searching for.

Some colonies offer lots of time to socialize, at least around the dinner table. There’s nothing better than conversing with other writers. It expands your outlook and may give you ideas on improving your work. At other colonies, everyone pretty much keeps to themselves. Some take beginning writers, others do not. It’s important to check before you apply and to speak with other writers who have spent time at the one you're contemplating before you make the leap. If you don't know anyone who's been to one, write to a writer listed in the colony brochure for advice.

You may have to send samples of your work along with your application form. Most colonies require that you get a recommendation from a former visitor. And some require you to send along a work plan or explanation of what you hope to accomplish at the colony.

If you don’t have the time to enroll in an established writers’ colony, perhaps you may be lucky enough to find another writer who has a vacation cabin or beach house that will invite you and a couple of others to stay for a week of writing. One writer gets together with several writer friends at a bungalow in New Jersey once a year. They write during the day, but get together to cook dinner and discuss their progress in the evening. Chipping in for food is a lot less expensive than a writers’ colony.

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.

If the Idea Fits...

Every beginning freelance writer, whether of non-fiction or fiction, thinks that their ideas are great and everyone, including editors, should gobble them up. This is no accident. In fact, your teachers from the first day you entered school encouraged you to think of only original ideas and that everyone would like them. That may be the way academics think, but it certainly isn’t what life’s about in the real world.

So when you began freelancing, you reached inside yourself for ideas and doggedly forged ahead developing them without any concern for who would read and like them. You had no concern for your readers. Instead, you were more concerned about yourself. And that’s only natural since for at least 12 years, and for some people more, you learned that the writer and the writer’s ideas are the center of writing. But in the type of writing you’re attempting to do now, it’s the reader who’s at the center. To be successful, you have to write what readers and editors want to read.

Let's examine your ideas file. When you first began to consider freelancing, you probably clipped articles from the all sorts of major publications, as well as your local newspapers and printed out those you found on the Internet. You clipped information that interested you specifically, plus material about broad general trends. Then you filed these clippings in categorized folders to use later. Soon you realized you had been collecting loads of clippings but not acting on the ideas they inspired.

Or perhaps the opposite was true. You insisted on sticking to a few of your favorite story ideas even though they got rejected by editor after editor. You even tried some twice, hoping that they’d change their minds.

Let’s face it, organizing your ideas into marketable form isn't easy when you're starting out. The best way to get yourself on track is to get some feedback—ideally from other writers, but perhaps from an editor who looks kindly at beginners. Ask them why your ideas aren’t hitting the mark. In fact, ask readers—friends, colleagues, family members—if they would read a piece based on a certain idea. Talk about your work and listen to what’s said in return.

If you do happen to find an editor who will give you feedback, ask him or her why you haven't been able to interest them in any ideas you’ve sent. Also ask how you should rearrange your proposals and if and when he or she is most likely to be interested in some of your favorite ideas. Whatever advice you can get, act on it immediately.

Perhaps it's time to sit back and take a good, thorough look at the ideas you've been percolating, to check them against what editors say they want and need, rather than what you want to give them. At the same time reexamine your markets to see if any you once thought held promise still do, especially if you present them with ideas they want and need.

Before you send an idea to any publication or publisher, be sure to check out what they have already produced. Read several issues of a magazine or send for the current catalog from a book publisher. Keeping your ideas in mind, peruse either carefully to see if your ideas match the ones already done. If so, you know you’ve got a good chance at success with that publication or publisher. If you send out your favorite ideas blindly, you’re doomed to failure.

If you already have been published by magazine or book publisher but your current ideas have been rejected, reexamine that market to see if it has changed direction. Have they lost ad revenue or are taking different types advertising than before? Are they publishing pieces that they wouldn’t have before?  Have they cut back on freelance pieces or are they only publishing well-known writers? And most importantly, has the editor changed since you last wrote for them?

If you’re intent on publishing a book, you’ll find the book publishing industry in a state of flux. Recently, a major New York publishing house filed for bankruptcy protection. More are sure to follow.

Take a good hard look at your ideas. Will they be interesting to readers? If so, which group? Focus your ideas on what readers want to read, and you’ll come out a winner just about every time.

Don’t Put Off Until Tomorrow What You Can Do Today

Everyone suffers from occasional bouts of procrastination. The subject is so popular that over 600 books have been written about it. But for many writers, this happens more often than for others. Why? And what can you do about it?

According to its psychological definition, procrastination refers to the act of replacing high-priority tasks with those of lower priority, especially if the lower priority ones provide enjoyment. Writing can be stressful at times. Deadlines can loom overhead like giant alien spaceships. Generally, those lower priority tasks are things that you can do later or perhaps not at all.

Behind most procrastination problems lies abulia, the abnormal lack of the ability to act or make decisions. And there’s no mistake that it’s a force you need to conquer. Knowing when, how, and why you’re procrastinating is the first step toward improvement.

Just because you procrastinate doesn’t mean that you don’t have the motivation or willpower to complete a writing project. Perhaps the project is too big or maybe your skills aren’t developed enough to handle it. While you may be motivated to write a particular book, for example, you may not have the resources or knowledge to do so. This leads to putting it off as long as possible. Simply trying harder won’t do it. You must understand what triggered you to procrastinate in the first place.

One of the biggest triggers for writers is the fear of rejection. Every writer, from novice to experienced professional harbors this fear at some time or another. Too prevent the fear of rejection from overwhelming you, the best thing to do is have several projects going at once. If one fails, you’ve got the others as backup. And who knows, the rejection of one you had hopes for may cause you to put more effort into another which may go on to be a bestseller. Let’s face it. Not all writing projects are meant to be successful.

Other things that may cause you to procrastinate are distractions from your environment. Is your office cluttered with papers that need to be filed? Does your house need cleaning? Does your garden call out to you to be tended? All of these can keep you away from your work. To make sure you don’t spend all your time on them, schedule each for specific times during the week. By doing a little each day of any of your chores, you’ll not only get them done but get your writing done, too.

Procrastination isn’t a harmless little hang-up. Don't reward it. Sure, you need to take breaks once in a while, but don’t take time to drink too many extra cups of coffee.

To conquer procrastination, define the stumbling blocks in your path. Then tackle them one at a time. Pick one specific area where procrastination plagues you and conquer it. By becoming aware of the problem, you’re half way to solving it.

Learn to set priorities, then focus on one problem at a time (See my blog on priorities from two weeks ago.) If you try to tackle all your problems at once, you won’t get anywhere. Set a goal to take care of the most severe one first.

Give yourself deadlines. Many writers work best when on deadline. The added stress of knowing a project is due by a certain date makes them work harder. But when they don’t have a deadline, they find other more enjoyable things to do.

Don't duck the most difficult projects. Work on them but perhaps not as long as some of your others. By doing a particularly hard writing project a little at a time, it tends to make it seem easier. Another way of tackling this problem is to begin with an easier project, then switch to a hard one, followed by an easier one. Giving yourself a break between difficult projects makes doing them less stressful.

Don't let perfectionism paralyze you. Too many writers are perfectionists. Some continue to do edits and rewrites until they lose sight of the project as a whole. Know when to stop. Perhaps give yourself a limit on rewrites. Continually rewriting can sometimes make what would have been a good project a mediocre one.

To paraphrase an old saying, “If you can't beat procrastination, make use of it.” Perhaps the fact that you’re procrastinating about a project means that your subconscious is holding you back from something you’re not yet ready to do. This "something" may be only a segment of an article or short story for which you’ve written a good beginning, or it may be the approach to a better-paying market.

Don’t neglect that little voice inside you that’s saying "not yet." You just may not be ready.

You make good use of procrastination when—and only when—you’re able to find a better way to accomplish what you avoided by procrastinating. It can be a blessing in disguise, but it won't be unless you make it so.

Avoiding Creative Burnout

Creative burnout can bring your productivity to a halt. You’re most prone to it when you isolate yourself from others, get poor or no feedback, and work long hours with little to show for it.

Creative burnout isn’t writer’s block. In the former, you can’t get ideas. Your brain is stymied. In the latter, you simply can’t write. The words just won’t come. When you’re burned out, you lose your energy and spontaneity and become depressed and detached. Let’s face it, when you run out of ideas, you’ve run out of what drives you as a writer.

You’re not a machine that can be fixed by replacing some worn-out parts—although with transplants these days, that’s even possible. In order to restore your brain, you have to restore your body and your psyche. In this case it pays to adhere to that old proverb, “Know thyself.” Try to remember when this problem hit you last and how you solved it. If it’s any consolation, just about every writer experiences a dry spell every once in a while.

Creative burnout can have multiple causes. The Number One cause is not letting yourself go—forcing yourself to work to fit a preconceived notion of a writer’s life. No two writers work the same way, even though all end up at the same place. Some seem like they’re not working at all while others seem to be always working.

Second only to that is tuning out everyone around you. Listening to others will inspire you to come up with your own ideas—bounce them off of family and friends.

Yes, writing is a skill, but that doesn’t mean to you have be a slave to technique. That has its place in writing, but not at the idea stage. Focusing on technique too early often leads to burnout.

Do you set your expectations too high? Lofty goals are fine but are usually hard to accomplish. Setting unattainable goals leads to failure, and constant failure leads to depression which leads to creative burnout.

Don’t evaluate your work until you’re finished. Too many writers start out with a negative attitude and never give their work a chance. Don’t judge yourself too harshly.

The old saying “All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy” certainly applies here. Taking too little time for other diversions will create blocks to creativity, as will a prolonged illness or that of a loved one.

Lastly, you may have a hard time coming up with ideas if the ones you’ve already developed are constantly rejected by editors. That can wear any writer down.

Remember, creativity means taking a fresh look and seeing things that aren't obvious. Go back and take a look at some of your old ideas. Reread pieces you did that were successful. Try to remember how you came up with those ideas. As you grow as a writer, your ideas grow. Old ideas which didn’t seem worth developing may just turn out to be your next bestseller.

One of the first things that may get you out of the doldrums is to change your routine. Do things you don’t normally do—take walks, read new books—especially types you’re not used to reading—go to the movies. Expose yourself to other creative endeavors. Plan a new garden. Create some new recipes. Above all, relax your mind. Have fun and don’t worry about deadlines. Put life and work on hold for a short while.

Another way out of the creative abyss is to write. Yes, that’s right—write. But not what you normally do. Some recommend writing about yourself, but you’re already depressed and who needs to get further depressed? Try another type of writing. If you write non-fiction, try writing fiction. Short stories are a good place to start. Take a stab at science fiction or mystery or romance writing. Write a play—start out with a one-act. If you write fiction, why no write an article about writing, for example, how you started out.

By preparing for creative burnout, you've won half the battle. Like everyone else, you’re sure to go through some periods of drought when ideas just aren’t coming. Don’t despair. It happens to the best of us.

Dressing Up Old Ideas

Ideas are like fine wine. The longer they sit and age, the better they get. Someone once said there’s nothing new under the sun. Perhaps not, judging by the way most writers work. Because there are only 36 basic plots, there’s a whole lot of adaptation going on.

In non-fiction, topics for articles go in and out of fashion. What’s ignored yesterday might be trendy today. Hot topics today most likely appeared years, if not decades before. Most readers probably think articles about drugs have only been in the media for a relatively short time. But in fact, the Victorians had similar drug problems, one of which was the addition of many women to opium and laudanum, both prescribed originally to deal with cramps and depression. And although society tried to hush the subject, it appeared in many articles and short stories.

Specialty magazines run the same type of articles again and again, albeit in slightly different forms. Statistics show that readers tend to read magazines dealing with photography, bicycling, writing, and other specialty subjects for two to three years, so the editors run the same sort of stories over and over so all the readers can get the basics.

Good concepts never die, but live on and on in new adaptations. Take comedy, for example. One of the most popular plot situations is "mistaken identity." In this, the right information is given to the wrong people, or vice-versa, and actions and complications increase by the minute.

In the movie The Boys from Syracuse—that's ancient Syracuse in the Mediterranean—the "Boys" are a master and his slave. The audience becomes quickly aware that there's another master and slave who are twins to the first set, and they live in the city the "boys" are visiting. Naturally, no one in the cast realizes there's an extra set of twins, so a great deal of misunderstanding builds.

The Boys from Syracuse was originally a Rodgers and Hart Broadway musical—and well before that Shakespeare's Comedy of Errors. Actually, this same plot dates to a Roman playwright named Plautus who created the original. English lit teachers praise Shakespeare for being such a great writer. Actually, he was a really creative writer who borrowed from everyone, but gave each of their ideas his own spin.

Disguises are often used in the mistaken identity plot. We've all seen how comic this can get, when, to get a job, Dustin Hoffman becomes "Tootsie," and Julie Andrews becomes "Victor" of Victor/Victoria. And Shakespeare also liked the idea of dressing one of his heroines in male clothing in As You Like It.

Adaptations aren’t just remakes as is often the case in Hollywood. Using a variation on a standard plot, a writer can change characters, settings, time periods, etc. Film critics often call George Lucas’ Star Wars a Space Age western. It’s got everything the old melodramas had—hero, heroine, and villain.

So why do beginning writers tie themselves in knots over using what has come before? The answer lies in the what they learned in school. Many teachers, especially those teaching literature, lead their students to believe that all the great writers created their own ideas. When in many cases what they really did was adapt ideas that came before to their own situations.

Alex Haley started the whole genealogy hobby phenomenon with his novel Roots. Another writer tried to sue him, claiming he stole her idea. If he were alive today and wrote that same book, he’d be one of hundreds with the same idea. He didn’t originate the idea of family genealogy at all, he merely adapted it to the characters and setting of his novel.

Good ideas come from good concepts. One place to find ideas to adapt is by perusing Roget’s Thesaurus. By looking up the word “time”, for example, a writer will find clocks, watches, missed time, schedule, speed, regulation, time periods, age, experience, the fourth dimension, rhythm, and so many more. How many articles, stories, and books can be created from just those concepts? It's amazing how a little effort with Roget can pay off when a writer tries to develop a gripping idea.

Step by Step

For beginning writers, the hardest step towards publication is the first. Once they achieve that first step, the others come easier. However, too many beginning writers mistakenly believe that they should begin at the top. After all, they look to bestselling authors for inspiration. One makes it into a top magazine on the first try while another lands their first book on the New York Times Bestseller List. The odds of a beginning writer making either of those are worse than winning the Mega Millions jackpot.

The first step is the all-important one. Making sure that one is solid takes perseverance and patience, plus lots of hard work. The best advice is to start small—write a short article or a short story, not a book. Writing a book is like having a baby elephant. It takes 22 months to grow in the mother’s womb and a lot of care after it’s born. On the other hand, writing a short piece is like a chicken laying an egg and sitting on it until it hatches.

Once you’ve had a piece published, you need to keep moving farther out on a limb—but without falling off.  If you write non-fiction, you might publish several short articles in your local newspaper. If you prefer fiction, you might publish a short story in a small literary magazine–for a little pay, of course.

The next step should be to contact a regional magazine, suggesting an article on a subject you know well or a short story. A good way to get feedback before jumping into unknown waters is to write an article or short story and let several friends or colleagues read it. Feedback from "readers" at this stage is more important than acceptance from an editor. If "readers" like the piece, then an editor will most likely enjoy reading it, too. But its more than just liking it. Discussing your article or story with your "readers" to obtain detailed feedback is even more important.

But before you send a piece anywhere, it’s equally important to study the periodicals to find out what they publish—a least a year’s worth of issues. Read the content as well as the ads to find out what sort of content to send the editor’s way.  And reading the letters to the editor will give you a clue to what readers are thinking.

Nothing builds confidence like money in the bank and words in print. Until these accumulate in sufficient amounts, writers rely on substitutes—hope and encouragement. Some beginning writers treasure the letters of rejection that come back with manuscripts they submitted on speculation. They pore over them with a fine-toothed comb searching for clues as to how the manuscript might be revised to become a winner. However, too often they read too much into the editor's words. It's better—and more professional—to immediately send the rejected manuscript to another market, or to revise it and begin again.

But if an editor says he or she has too many stories and might be interested later, you should put a note on your calendar to do just that. If an editor says the idea isn’t a good fit with the publication but would consider others, it’s a good idea to immediately send more ideas.

Many struggling writers feel that their work is better than comparable material they see in print. Just because a piece has been published doesn’t mean it’s good. It’s all subjective. Writers learn to depend on the likes and dislikes, and whims, of editors. Having your article or story rejected may have nothing to do with the subject or your writer’s skills.

Therefore, don’t take a rejection personally but look at the situation objectively. Is getting a piece in a particular publication all that important or will trying for another equally good publication suffice? As in the fable of the tortoise and the hare, slow and steady wins the race.

Is a Writing Conference in Your Future?

The learning curve to become a writer is a long slow one, so you need all the help you can get. Just because you get a piece or two published doesn’t make you a freelance writer. Learning should continue as long as you continue to write. One of the best ways to learn new skills and make contacts is by attending a writers’ conference.

No matter where you live, unless it’s literally in the wilderness, you’ll most likely find a writers’ conference being held nearby. Some are worth the money and time you spend on them. Others are not. Matching yourself and your own writing and business needs to the right one in the right place takes planning, lots of research, and money—extra amounts of which are often harder to come by for many freelancers. Also, the quality of conferences tends to ebb and flow. What was a great conference one year may not be so great the next, depending on its management, the amount of promotion, the level of faculty expertise, and the state of the economy. And don’t be swayed by celebrity names on the roster. Just because a writer is well known doesn’t mean that they can convey what they know to you.

So what makes a good writers’ conference? You should judge a conference by the seminars it offers, not by how many editors or publishers will be there. Remember, your main objective at any conference, for writers or not, is to learn new skills. Pick a conference that will offer you the most new knowledge for the money.

A good example of a narrow view is the Philadelphia Writers Conference, held annually in June. The management of this conference prides itself in allowing seminar presenters to work at the conference only one time. This bypasses many really good instructors who could share their knowledge with even more writers over the years. It also requires participants to attend all three days of the conference. This is supposed to weed out wannabees. Instead, it makes it harders for professional writers to attend, giving the conference a definite amateur outlook.

If you're considering a conference coming up in your area, ask yourself some questions about it first. Can you tell from the flyer or Web site what type of writers the conference targets? Is this a conference for all writers—nonfiction writers as well as fiction writers and poets? Does it offer too broad a range or too narrow a one? Is it aimed at beginning writers or those already in the business? The American Society of Journalists and Authors runs an annual conference aimed primarily at those not in their ranks. They encourage their membership to volunteer for the conference, but not necessarily to attend it.

If you’re a working freelance writer, there’s nothing like enhancing your skills and knowledge better than attending a writers conference by professionals for professionals. Talking shop with other working writers for several days or a week can add immeasurably to your overall knowledge. The annual Malice Domestic Conference for both writers and fans of “cozy” mysteries, held each Spring in Bethesda, Maryland, is a good example of a conference that offers both seminars in writing skills and the exchange of ideas and the latest in mystery publishing between mystery writers. While not a writers conference as such, this massive mystery meeting draws mystery fans as well as working mystery writers.

Bouchercon, the world mystery convention held in a different location each year, attracts mystery writers from around the globe. All the major mystery writers' organizations have meetings there, and some, such as Sisters in Crime, even offer a writing workshop a day prior to the convention.
                  
Find out about the speakers at the conference you plan to attend? Do research on them beyond what you read in the brochure. Do you recognize the titles of their work? Do you know if they'll be criticizing work at the conference? Time constraints prevent one-day or weekend conferences from offering a critiquing service, unless you send in work ahead of time. However, longer conferences, with higher fees for room, board, and workshops, usually do. 

Will publishers and agents also be present? While it’s always good to mingle with these people, most of the good ones simply don’t have time to attend conferences. Plus, they’re not looking for beginning writers but more for ones who have had some work published. Does the conference have social hours scheduled or a place where you can meet and talk casually to seminar presenters? Try to find someone who has attended the conference in the past and ask them about its good and bad qualities.

The best way to find a conference near you is to search for “writers conferences” on Google. Writers’ Digest Magazine has also published a list of conferences annually in their May issue.

The Seven W’s of Freelancing

You’re your own best resource. It all begins with you—who you are, where you live, what you need to survive, what you want out of life, what you believe in, what you know you can accomplish, and what you admit is difficult for you. These are the seven “W’s” of freelancing.

Let’s begin with who you are. Every person—every writer—is unique. Each sees the world in a personal way and interprets it for his or her readers. Everything about you affects the way you write—the environment in which you grew up, your family, your education, your likes and dislikes.

Where you live is equally important. Each region of the country has geographic and cultural differences that influence those who live there. You have been and still are being affected by the geography and climate of your region. Today, to be a successful writer it’s not as important to live in a metropolitan area. But where you live does affect the type of ideas you generate. And your ideas are the foundation of your writing.

Do you know what you need to survive as a writer? This could be better writing skills, better ideas, or better equipment—even money. Are you confident about your writing or do you need someone to tell you its good. It’s important to always work at improving your craft. Study works by your favorite writers and analyze them for the techniques they use. Record your ideas in an “Idea Book,” so that you won’t forget them. And buy the best computer and software you can afford. Remember, you don’t have to buy them new. Used or refurbished units work just fine—plus you don’t have to use the latest and greatest software. Financially, how much will you need to live satisfactorily? Will your writing alone bring in enough for you to live on or will you have to supplement your income. If you have to seek supplemental work, try to find something related to what you’re writing about. Then you’ll increase your knowledge while bringing in extra cash.

Have you given some thought to what you want out of life? The primary goal of beginning writers is to get published. But once you’ve done that, you need to know what you’re going to do next. Create a plan for the future, even if it’s only for six months ahead.

Your personal beliefs will definitely affect what you write. Everyone has personal opinions. Yours will work their way into your writing eventually. No matter whether you write non-fiction or fiction, your opinions will subconsciously seep into your work through topics you choose, themes, even dialogue of fictional characters.

Do you know what you can accomplish, based on your writing skill level? Most writers have no idea what their writing skill level is. Compare your writing to other writers—not the big names but other beginning writers who write about similar topics. Check out books from new writers. You’ll be able to tell immediately if their work is above or below you writing level. As a writer, you should be able to notice really good writing when you read it.

Can you be truthful with yourself and admit what’s difficult for you? People in general don’t like to admit their frailties. Writers aren’t any different. Make a list of your weaknesses–and not just those associated with writing. Once you have them down on paper, you’ll be able to work at making each stronger. You won’t be able to eliminate all of them, but just working at a few of them will make you a better writer and a better person.

Make a list of these seven “W’s” and post it on your bulletin board or your refrigerator. Remind yourself of them every day, and you will succeed.

Can Your Words Change the World?

Many writers don’t realize how their words can change the world. While the average writer may never know the effect of his or her articles, books, or stories, just about all affect their readers in some small way.

As a writer, it’s one job to enhance knowledge and ultimately change the world in which you live and work by publishing a meaningful article on a controversial new topic or by writing a short story or novel that illuminates human frailties. It’s another to affect change.

Early in my career, I wrote an article in a travel trade magazine about Apple Vacations, a travel wholesaler that has since grown by leaps and bounds. A group of people had taken a charter flight with another travel company, which while they were on vacation in the Bahamas, suddenly closed its doors and disconnected its phones, stranding this large group of vacationers. Someone in the office of the travel agent who had booked the charter read my article about Apple Vacations and immediately called them. The representative on the phone connected her to the president of the company who immediately sent one of Apple’s own charter planes to the Bahamas to retrieve the stranded passengers. The travel agency was so overjoyed about the rescue that it switched all of its vacation charter business to Apple Vacations. And I also got a call from Apple’s president thanking me for writing such a good article.

An antique dealer read another of my articles, this one about Parian ware, a less expensive look-alike to marble, and was able to identify a piece in his shop that he had drastically underpriced The information in my article allowed him to make a tidy profit on the piece when he sold it.

The first time your writing affects your reader in a visible way—providing you find out about it—the romance of freelance writing will become clear. When you incorporate the reality of this romance into every thing you write, you’ll begin to realize how rewarding a freelance writing career can be.

But keeping your ego under control is just as important, for success is often fleeting. You may bask in the glow of it for a few minutes, hours, or days, then it’s gone and you have to begin the process once more.

For many writers, the best rewards aren’t monetary, but the satisfaction that perhaps they’ve changed their readers lives for the better.

So You Want to be a Writer

Over the years, many people, especially my students in my Creative Writing classes, ask me the age-old question, “How do I become a writer?” Writers aren’t born, they’re made—by the writers, themselves.

Since writers work with words, they have to love them. And the key to loving words is reading. It’s surprising just how many writers, when asked, don’t read very much. What they don’t realize is that by reading as much as possible, especially the kind of writing they wish to do, they absorb words and phrases that later on may appear in their own writing. Writers learn by example.

Unfortunately, students aren’t taught that in school. Instead, they’re led to believe that all they have to do is sit down at a computer and the words will just flow out into their fingers as they type. The human brain needs to be fed information just like a computer. That information may come as facts, experiences, or observations. All give the budding writer the resources to create.

The second thing to consider as a writer is what to write—fiction or non-fiction. Some people only consider fiction writers true writers because they’re the only kind of writers they hear about. They read Web pages, magazines, and perhaps a newspaper–if they can find one—every day but don’t consider where the articles come from.  Each type of writing has its merits. Some writers work in both areas.

What about education? Believe it or not, a writer doesn’t need to study “writing” to write. In fact, that may be a deterrent. Outside of school, writers write in a conversational style which is as far from academic or school writing–reports, term papers, and theses—as they can get. What a writer needs is information and that comes from a variety of courses. The more a writer knows, the better prepared he or she will be to write.

A lot of people say to be a good writer you have to have talent. Talent is such an elusive thing. A talented writer is one who can get organized and write faster—a person who is brimming with ideas. But with perseverance anyone can become a writer. The key is not so much talent as having something to say and the ability to say it well.

Every writer dreams of the big successes of famous authors. But only a very few make it to this level. And it’s not because they aren’t good writers. In this business, it’s often who you know, not what you know or write. Believe it or not, luck often plays a big part in a writer’s success. Being at the right place at the right time may land a writer a juicy article or book. And knowing more about a subject than the next writer definitely helps, even in writing novels.

Taking all of the above into consideration, the most important thing a writer needs is discipline. Good writers don’t just write when the spirit strikes them. As long as they have a good topic and something to say, they can write any time. They communicate with their readers. They make those readers feel as if they’re writing only to them.

There are no secrets to becoming a writer. It just takes lots and lots of hard work to make the grade.

Just How Much Can You Make on Book Royalties?

Many of you writing wannabees on the outside of publishing most likely entertain the idea that all authors get rich, based on the handsome advances and royalties paid to some of the top stars. Unfortunately, that is far from the truth. In fact, the average percentage of royalties hasn’t changed since before the 1980s! Can you think of anyone whose salary hasn’t gone up at least a little in all that time. Even those earning minimum wage get a hike every once in a while.

So what is this elusive thing called a royalty? Essentially, a royalty is a sum paid for the use of a patent or to an author or composer for each copy of a work sold or for each public performance. Sounds easy enough, but it’s far from it.

First, royalties are basically a percentage of the retail price of books actually sold by the publisher. And in today’s market where booksellers can return unsold books for a refund, the amount a writer actually gets can be quite puny. Currently, the author of an adult hardcover book can expect to receive a 10-12.5 percent royalty for the first 5,000-10,000 copies sold. Big name authors might receive 15 percent based on increased sales volume. If you're negotiating a deal for a paperback, you’ll most likely receive 5-10 percent, with 10 percent more common.

Traditionally, publishers computed royalty rates and the author's earnings from the list price of all copies sold. Thus, if they sold 2,500 copies of a book listed at $15, the author's royalty earnings would be $3,750.  However, some publishers sell books at less than list price through chains of bookstores, supermarkets, and other outlets. As a result, they compute royalties on net proceeds from book sales rather than the number of copies sold. Then again, the larger volume of wholesale sales may compensate for a smaller per copy earning.

Try this. Compute what you would earn if your publisher paid you a royalty based on the list price of your book. Compare that to your royalty earnings the net amount many publishers today use. Then decide if it’s worth negotiating for a higher royalty rate or a higher advance.

Publishers usually pay authors advances against future royalties. How do you figure how much money you might earn from your book? For this you need to study the market for it, rather than take out your calculator. If the subject of your book is a hot one and potentially lots of readers will buy it, then you should negotiate a higher royalty percentage against future sales. However, if the subject is one that may not attract lots of readers, then you should negotiate for a higher advance.

An advance is an up-front payment against which royalties are set. If you fulfill your part of the contact—that is write the book as ordered—then you don’t have to refund it. If your book sells poorly, you’re ahead. And if your book sells well, you ahead based on the amount you’ll get in royalties after you have earned enough to make up the advance. Most beginning authors get three or four-figure advances. So don’t think you’ve hit the big time just because a publisher says her or she will publish your book.

Look Before You Leap

When writing a book, most writers begin by doing just that. They bury themselves in researching their topic or story and spend months, if not years, writing about it. Sounds logical, doesn’t it? But how many of them actually get their book published?

In general, most people feel they have something so important to say that every publisher will want to publish their book and every reader will run out to buy it. Nothing could be farther from the truth.

This attitude of self-importance originates way back in school—as far back as first grade. Most teachers don’t mean to instill this in their students, it sort of happens through a process of educational osmosis. The teachers had it instilled in them by their teachers in a never-ending educational process. So what is a book writer to do? Market research.

Whether you plan to write a non-fiction or fiction book, it pays to take a look at the market for your idea—not your book. Take a trip to a good bookstore and browse through the books on your topic. This will tell you what’s being sold. Remember, most of the books on the shop’s shelves originated at least two years prior to you seeing them. Now stroll over to the sale tables. The books on these tables are remainders—leftovers that didn’t sell during the book’s most recent run. Many may be terrific, but for some reason didn’t hit the mark. Take notes, being sure to nor publishers names.

Next surf on over to Amazon.com, the world’s greatest book depository. Search for books on your topic. Amazon has practically everything in print. Do the same at their competitor, Barnes and Noble’s Web site. Take more notes, again being careful to note the names of publishers.

After all this research, review your notes and draw some conclusions about how viable your topic really is. Generally, too many books on your topic means the market is overloaded. Too few often means not enough readers are interested or the topic hasn’t been explored to any great degree by writers.

Armed with your conclusions, you’re ready to proceed with your book, modifying the topic to reflect market trends. It’s important to note that you shouldn’t cater to your topic’s market but be driven by it. Doing so will greatly enhance your chance of publication.

Having a Baby Elephant

What is it about our society that people put so much stock in authors but not so much in writers. Aren’t writers and authors the same? Don’t they both communicate with words?

Beginning writers seem to think if they write a book that they’ll be recognized as a writer. Many of my Creative Writing students come to class after they start to write a book and realize they don’t know what they’re doing. What drives so many beginning writers to write a book when they haven’t written much else? Perhaps it goes back to school.

We learn to read by reading books. Sure, they’re short with just a few sentences, but they’re still books. How many first graders are out there reading articles and short stories? None. As they progress through the grades, they read more and more books until, before they know it, they’re sitting in English classes studying literature.

I see myself as a writer, even though I’ve written 14 books. When I meet someone for the first time, and they ask me what I do, I say I’m a writer. “Would I have read something you’ve written?” they ask. When I tell them some of the magazines I’ve written for or some of the non-fiction books I’ve written, they’re eyes glaze over and that’s pretty much the end of the conversation.

I’ve learned over the years that a lot goes into writing a book. It’s not just the writing, it’s the research, the organization, the energy. I tell my students that writing a book is like having a baby elephant—it takes 22 months for the little guy to grow inside it’s mother. That’s just about how long it takes to create a book—getting the idea, marketing the idea, researching the idea, organize the idea, writing the idea, and rewriting the idea. Oh, and let’s not forget promoting the idea.