~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Writing Etc. – December 15, 2006

ISSN: 1545-5580

Tips, Techniques, and Resources to Transform You From An Average

Freelancer to A Highly Paid Professional.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

To subscr*ibe to Writing Etc. and receive the fr*e e-book, “Power Queries,” surf here:

http://filbertpublishing.com

Hey, did you know you can get your hands on 150+ webpages of fre* writing info? Just head to http://FilbertPublishing.com and dig around. Be sure to sign up for one of our fre* writing courses. Here’s to some great high profit writing.

Forward Writing Etc. to all your writing friends. They’ll be glad you did.

For easier reading and red hot links, surf to

http://filbertpublishing.com/current.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes from Minnesota

Query FAQs by Beth Ann Erickson

Paying Markets

A Special Message From Beth

~~~~~Highly Recommended~~~~~~~~~~

Four years in the making. Information like none other.

“Do you want a handy little book with some thought-provoking tips and techniques for turbo charging your freelance writing business? Do yourself a favor and pick up Erickson’s newest book. There’s a CD included featuring a High Profit Writer’s Kit.” – Patricia Fry, SPAWNNews

Whether you thrive on cold calling or are a die-hard introvert who

can’t handle rejection… these 101+ battle-tested, utterly simple

techniques will utterly turbo-charge your freelance income.

Now available as an extremely affordable, instantly downloadable e-book.

Get all the juicy details here: http://filbertpublishing.com/e101.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Notes from Minnesota

I found a replacement for my dear puppies.

Well, not really.

But what I do have is mighty cool.

You see, my dear husband purchased me a little laptop for my birthday.

Love it.

It sits on my lap as warm as a heating pad as a write like mad.

I never thought I could comfortably sit in my Lazee Boy recliner while writing. It's fantastic!

Only thing is little Rudie (the Doxie Cross).

She can't understand why she's banned from my lap.

I couldn't either.

So we figured out a way she can curl under the computer as I tap away.

Double warm. Pretty nice. Dog loves it.

Life is good.

Enjoy your holiday! I'm off to bake some raisin cookies. Yum!

Talk later,

Beth

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Think It’ll Take Forever To Earn A Great Living As A Writer?

Think again.

With Jumpstart Your Writing Career, you'll discover how easy it is to:

• Think like a writer so you can turn every opportunity into a writing assignment
• Hone your writing skills until they're razor sharp
• Tackle the most lucrative branch of writing
• Learn secrets of fiction to make your story lines sing
• Organize your nonfiction articles so editors will happily publish your work
• Write powerful queries that’ll open new doors of opportunity
• Promote your writing business for little or no money

Absolute Write calls Jumpstart “a marvelous tool for novice writers and often published authors alike. It’s refreshing, easy to use, and applicable”.

Pick up your copy today so you can jump ahead of the pack and start snagging great paying assignments, read more here:

http://filbertpublishing.com/jumpstart.htm

~~~~~~~~~~~~ Feature Article ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Query FAQs

Beth Ann Erickson

I speak with many writers each and every week. It's a most interesting activity, giving me continual insights into this fascinating profession.

As 2006 evaporates, please allow me to share some of these fascinating FAQs with you:

1. Give me some query secrets.

Great question. So many mysteries shroud these little letters. Volumes have been written trying to detangle the snarly nuances. You can even purchase entire books on this subject alone.

But when you boil everything down you can sum up effective query writing with three short sentences:

Know who you're writing to. Make sure their readership is interested in your topic. Follow their guidelines.

It's really that simple.

I've said it before (and I'll undoubtedly say it again) well over 99 percent of all queries reaching the Filbert Publishing offices are completely contrary to our guidelines. Don't fit whatsoever.

When we receive a targeted, coherent, well-written query, we darn near trip over ourselves to get back to that author ASAP.

The competition is tripping up all over the place. If you conduct just a little rudimentary research, you'll definitely have an edge over all the other queries flooding publishing houses. 

2. What should I include in my query?

Include anything and everything that'll help you land the assignment.

If you have some insider information, don't hesitate to mention it.

If you have a particular expertise, include it.

Anything that'll help you land the assignment, add it.

First and foremost, the number one mistake query writers make is that they write about themselves without a thought about the person reading the proposal.

It's a hard lesson, but publishers don't care about you. They only care about what you can do for them.

Heck, that's human nature, right?

So rather than tell you prospective publisher that you've written your entire life, tell them why this fact should interest them. Perhaps you've got a particular insight that their readers will benefit from. Perhaps all those years of writing have made you particularly prolific and able to touch readers on a level that other, less experienced, writers can.

Take a long hard gander at what you're bringing to the table and highlight that uniqueness in every query you write.

3. How should I organize my query?

You'll find reams written on this. For a long time I used the AIDA format: Attention, Interest, Desire, Action.

Lately I've had fab luck with the Four Ps: Promise, Picture, Proof, Push.

The Promise section should include what your piece will do either for the reader or publisher.

Then draw a vivid word Picture illustrating how this bold promise you just made will remedy the problem you're addressing in your piece, enhance the reader's life, somehow benefit someone.

The Proof section is where you'll introduce yourself and include any credibility-containing information.

And lastly, you write your Push. Tell the reader what you want them to do. Mention your SASE. Make contacting you effortless.

Now, this was the Readers Digest version of the process. I'll cover this in more depth in 2007. 

4. How long should my query be?

One to two pages.

Let me rephrase that: One to two awesome, targeted, immediately useful information-packed pages. 

5. Any other tricks?

Just the usual stuff.

Be courteous and professional. I've had writers chew me out, then expect me to hire them.

Yeah. Right.

Be patient.

Publishers are inundated with queries. We get to them as soon as we can, but to be honest, queries aren't at the top of the “to do” list.

Send a SASE.

I can't believe how many queries arrive without a SASE. Some supply an e-mail addy, but Liz (the woman who slogs through our rejections) is a senior citizen without any knowledge on how e-mail works. She couldn't send an e-mail more than fly to the moon. She just tosses those queries.

Get the names right.

My name isn't “Bart.”

'Nuff said.

Believe in your talent.

Rejection is rarely a reflection of your talent. The vast majority of the time it's a matter of economics. It honestly pains us to reject a great manuscript simply because our publishing schedule is full.

But it does happen.

The vast majority of our rejections are due to either an untargeted query or market conditions.

Publishing a book is expensive. And since we're a no-fee charging (ever) publishing house we carefully evaluate every single title we consider and if even one red flag pops up, the book's out the door.

As an author, whether you write books, articles, websites, whatever, a rudimentary knowledge of persuasion and effective marketing is essential to your success.

With marketing knowledge, you'll face each selling challenge and every single query with the knowledge that you can not only face that challenge, you can easily overcome it.

And nothing's better than seeing your name on the printed page, eh?

~~~

Want a ton more ultra-effective techniques that’ll give you an incredible edge in the over-crowded freelance world? Click this link. http://filbertpublishing.com/e101.html

Pssssst… you can even instantly download this incredible information! 

P.S. You can use this article free of charge on your own website or zine. Just don’t make any changes and be sure to include the entire byline. Enjoy!

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Paying Markets – check ‘em out!

Back next time after I dig myself out from this huge pile of writing assignments.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

A Special Message From Beth:

My friend and colleague Bob Bly is one of the most experienced – and successful – copywriters I know.

In fact, McGraw-Hill calls Bob Bly “America’s top copywriter.”

On a recent visit to Bob’s Web site, I was blown away by all the valuable content ... but unfortunately, the material I thought would be most useful to you had a hefty price tag on it.

To make a long story short, I twisted Bob’s arm – and he has agreed to give away to my readers 4 of his Special Reports absolutely FREE!

For a limited time only, Bob has agreed to send you, at no cost:

** Free Special Report #1: How to Double Your Response Rates at Half the Cost.

** Free Special Report #2: Secrets of Successful Business-to-Business Direct Marketing.

** Free Special Report #3: How to Market Information Products.

** Free Special Report #4: Online Marketing That Works.

Each report has a list price of $29 and is about 50 pages of content; total value of this package of reports is $116.

But this week only, you can get all 4 reports FREE when you click on the link below now:

www.bly.com/reports

Sincerely,

Beth

P.S. You will also get a free subscription to Bob Bly’s monthly e-zine, The Direct Response Letter.

There are way too many marketing e-zines published today. But Bob’s is one of a handful actually worth reading.

And now, it’s yours free. Just click below to start your subscription:

www.bly.com/reports

There’s no cost. And you may cancel without penalty at any time.

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

We Recommend:

Writing For Dollars! The FREE ezine for writers featuring tips, tricks and ideas for selling what you write. Receive the FREE ebook, 83 WAYS TO MAKE MONEY WRITING when you subscribe. Email to subscribe@writingfordollars.com -*-

http://www.WritingForDollars.com

WRITERS FIND MARKETS EASILY - Worldwide Freelance has a NEW fully-searchable Markets Database. Discover writing markets from North America, Europe, Australia and other places. It's free, so come and try it out

here: http://www.worldwidefreelance.com

Information Marketers! Discover the copywriter who knows the unique demands of your industry and can help you sell a ton of product. http://BethAnnErickson.com

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

Feel free to forward Writing Etc. to all your writing friends. Just be sure to include the entire issue. Thanks!

We strive to make Writing Etc. an invaluable resource to writers. If you have any comments or suggestions please send them to mailto:filbertpublishing(a)filbertpublishing.com

For Easier Reading and Red Hot URLS, read this issue online at: http://filbertpublishing.com/current.html

The Fine Print:

You are receiving this e-mag because you (or someone who has access to your computer/e-mail account) entered your e-mail address into our subscription form at http://filbertpublishing.com AND confirmed your desire to receive this fre* subscription via e-mail.

If you feel you are receiving this publication in error, we want to know about it. E-mail us at filbertpublishing(a)filbertpublishing.com so we can investigate how your e-mail address arrived into our double-opt-in system. Also, you can easily remove your e-mail addy from this list at any time by clicking your personalized link at the end of this e-mail.

To receive Writing, Etc. surf to http://filbertpublishing.com and insert your e-mail address into the form.

Please recommend this newsletter to anyone you know who'd like to learn how to make their writing sparkle.

PRIVACY STATEMENT: We will not distribute your email address to anyone. Ever. Period.

Writing Etc.

Box 326

Kandiyohi, MN 56251

Maurice and Beth Erickson, Publishers

filbertpublishing(a)filbertpublishing.com

http://filbertpublishing.com/

© 2007 Filbert Publishing