CuteWriting

Once you start into creative writing and novel publishing, you may have to send many many typescripts to various publishers or literary agents. You need to track these submissions somehow. Keeping a list, spreadsheet, or a notepad of submissions will soon tire you out. Here is a better way. A software program, made just for this task: Sonar Submission Tracker . The important thing to note is this software is completely free. May it be short stories, novels, or novellas, or even articles to article directories or freelancing websites, Sonar can track their progress pretty well. Here is a screenshot of Sonar: Using this program, creating list of submissions and tracking their details is pretty easy. Go ahead and download the app free. If you like it, try more applications from Spacejock, which are all free, and give a tiny donation to the website. You can read my other review about Spacejock writing software, yWriter here .

Yesterday, I received a comment at my press release distribution sites list . Lenin, One factor not included in your list is which sites are indexed by Google News. You can check this by going to Google News and doing a search such as site:BigNews.biz (just swap out the URL for whatever site you want to check on) this will check to see if the press releases from that site are listed in Google News. Many are not, and Google news can drive a huge amount of traffic. The suggestion made through the comment is very valuable and I pointed out it in my reply. You have to check and see if the press release site is actually listed in Google News before working with it. It is a good indication of how valuable the site is. Here we have some guidelines for writing effective press releases, as well as some press release templates from the Microsoft Office and Open Office galleries. What Is a Press Release for? A press release is any news announcement made by an entity, including individuals...

This is a guest-post by professional writer and editor, Ms Lillie Ammann . Read below to know further about her You've finished your manuscript. Now you're ready to submit it to an agent or a publisher. But is your manuscript really ready? Let's assume that you have honed your craft and the quality of your work is superb. What can you do to increase the odds that an agent or publisher will offer you a contract? Aspiring authors are understandably eager to submit their masterpiece to an agent or an editor at a publishing house. But before you pack that manuscript to ship or click-send an e-mail message, take a little time to improve the chances of catching the agent's or editor's attention. Edit the manuscript one more time If you haven't read the manuscript aloud, reading aloud helps you catch awkward phrasings, omitted words, and other mistakes that are easily overlooked when reading silently. As writers, we tend to read what we meant to write, not what ...

As you read in my last post, NaNoWriMo is a fun novel writing game. It stands for National Novel Writing Month, and the month is November. Aspiring writers cannot afford to miss deadlines, and this writing game is quite a bit about keeping deadlines. Completing 50,000 or more words of pure fiction in 30 days’ time is sheer fun ride. Here I have some tips to equip you for it. Make sure you register at NaNoWriMo website before 30th this month. 1. Plan Ahead At this eleventh hour, planning ahead may seem awkward. But time is always valuable. You got three days to go before the competition actually starts. You can decide your plot, characters, schedule, time when you sit to write those 2000 words daily, maybe watch a few films or read a few short stories to gain some ideas, or read some related non-fiction as part of your research. You should make sure to write at a fixed period every day. This should be decided in these three days. These three days and the thirty days coming a...

Have you ever started a novel and gone short of accomplishing the task, cowed away by the sheer pressure and apprehension on the quality of your work? If so, NaNoWriMo is for you. This is the short for National Novel Writing Month . NaNoWriMo is a one-month long novel-writing program starting on November 1 and ending on the 30th. So, be sure to register free for the program before Oct 31. Within those thirty days, you need to finish a novel up to 175 pages (50,000 words) . The specialty of this program is that the quality of the work doesn’t matter; only the quantity does . You can submit any crappy novel of 50,000 words, if you want to win the game. It’s a program that exists there only to remove fear and apprehension from the minds of writers. Since 1999 NaNoWriMo is here, allowing people to participate. Now, almost 300,000 participants have won the contest. NaNoWriMo is only a jovial contest, without any prize. The only prize you get is an online certificate of your successf...

I am thrilled to publish this interview with 3-time published writer, Ms Carol Denbow. Her latest release, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story concentrates on all aspects of novel writing. Carol, it's wonderful to have your interview. Can you briefly tell us how you came into the world of writing? Carol Denbow: Purely by accidental discovery. After years in business for myself, and seeing first hand how difficult small business can be, I felt the need to convey the lessons I had learned (the hard way) to others desiring to be self-employed. To do this, I wrote my first book, Are You Ready to Be Your Own Boss? As most seasoned writers are already aware, writing is addictive-the road was paved. Your latest work, A Book Inside, How to Write, Publish, and Sell Your Story addresses the process of publishing in depth? Carol Denbow: Publishing is a complicated business, and yes, it is a business. The book explains in an easy to read and comprehend manner all publishing o...

Today, my reader, Rahman contacted me with a doubt: Dear Lenin, would you explain why there are two types of books: hardcover and paperback? This is quite a simple affair and there are explanatory articles to be found at various places on the Net. Here is my addition. Hardcover A hardcover aka hardback is a book bound with thick protective cover, with usually a paper or leather dust jacket over the main cover. The aim of hardcover is protection and durability. These books are mainly for long-term use and collectors’ editions. Hardcover books last far longer than the corresponding paperbacks. They do not get damaged easily thus making them perfect for reference guides, great literary works, etc. In addition, there is a difference in the type of paper used to print hardcover books. The paper used is long-lasting acid-free type. Acid-free paper has a pH value of 7 (neutral) which makes it highly durable. The papers are stitched and glued to the spine. Hardbacks are prepared for...

I was busy searching for some great books that teach you the art of novel writing . I searched extensively in Amazon and selected the most popular and highest-rated books, based on the user reviews of them. In this list, I have included the average rate each book got and the number of reviewers for each. I haven’t personally read any of the books in the list, except the first one, On Writing by Stephen King . Others are purely recommended based on their rating and reviews. 1. On Writing by Stephen King Avg Rating: 4.5 (801 reviews) This is the only book in this list that I read myself and still keep as a primary writing style reference. The mere fact that Stephen King wrote this book fetched whopping 801 reviews for it in Amazon. Almost 600 people rate it as the very best writing guide. I would give it a four . On Writing is a semi-autobiographical record of King, which touches through some basic elements of writing only. It is perhaps because King likes to give writers m...

Introduction Should you feel the importance of submitting short stories, as an incentive to your normal writing career, you should do in-depth market research for the best sites and magazines to which you can submit them; the most important thing is exposure rather than payment . If you check out my previous article on short story submission guidelines and how-to , you will have a fairly good idea of the importance of short stories. Here, we have a list of short story markets that really matter. The List of Markets 1. Amazon (Star rating: 9.9) Did you know that Amazon accepts your short stories? Yes, they do. Amazon is one of the most visited websites in the world and being accepted by them, hence, can be a great privilege and advantage. The program is known as Amazon Shorts , from which users can purchase short fiction for a minimal 49 cents . Since the site gets millions of visitors daily, getting your story purchased a number of times can fetch you a good amount of mo...

Introduction As a writer, have you wondered what sort of rights you have on your work? Have you wondered which of these rights give you maximum advantage and earning ? A literary agent can help you choose your contracts or discard them according to the rights specified by the publisher. If you are careful enough, you can choose the rights yourself . Here is your complete guide to print rights in the physical print media. Electronic media rights warrant a separate post itself, as there many disputes over copyright there. The Rights Available to You as Writer You are the owner of the work. And you have all the rights to let anyone publish or not publish your work in any form. Here are the major rights you can sell. 1. First Serial Rights With this right, you can enable a publisher to publish your work for the first time . You can impart this right to only one publisher, and is usually limited to any geographical area . The most common example of this is FNASR (First North Amer...

Introduction Authors like O Henry thrived in the short story market, and became more successful than many novelists . Short stories can be a great addition to your writing life; they can add publishing credits to your career as well as gain you some purchasers for your big works. Reading a short story gives a reader a fairly good idea of the writer’s prowess, and hence, if you are really good, your readers will love to read your novels after reading your short stories. One of my most favorite writers, Stephen King , started his career with short stories . [How many times have I read King’s biography and wondered how well it depicts my own life, as I want it! Doing what he is born for every day, getting married to a fellow student, who is also a writer—a love marriage—writing his best-sellers still in his sixties, about 2000 words a day, King is really what I want myself to be like.] You can start your short story career with many of the sprawling magazines out there. Refer to Write...

Facebook is, as you know, one of the largest social networks out there (with more than 90 million active members, it is the most visited social network ). And it has enormous potential to promote anything. Here, we will see how it can be used to promote your book (and anything such as your business at that matter). Please read the past post on promoting your book online , for other ways to do that. Some Useful Resources Book Publishing and Marketing Secrets Magazine publishing success methods Publish Your eBook Here Do Freelancing Job and Earn More Finish and Publish a Book Fast Here Publishing an Ebook Without Writing at all! Create a Facebook Page for Your Book As a starting point, you need a Facebook page , such as this one here , for your book, or for your blog if you have created one to promote it. To create a page, go to Facebook Business and then pages; click here . Choose the appropriate option from Local; Brand or Product; or Artist, Band, or Public Figure . You may...

There are a lot of people freelancing through dedicated sites like Constant Content , BizReef , etc. Newspaper freelancing is a great opportunity for them to earn more money and reputation . There are a million newspapers out there, and most of them look for citizen journalists to submit interesting stories to fill their pages. Everyday, a newspaper requires a lot of content . Just imagine how many people’s hard work may go into these articles daily. Only its employees cannot fulfill this requirement; so, they always accept submissions from people like you. The Advantages Sun is one of the most popular newspapers in the world; thanks to its p0rn0-slang! The website of Sun, full of preppies in bikini on the home page, quite indubitably attracts more visitors . They are always on the lookout for articles by readers. If you have an enchanting, well-written story, Sun will pay you ‘thousands of pounds’ , and there is no other newspaper that pays you more than it in the world . Please ch...