Tag: communication

Categories
Platform and Branding

What Do You Want to Say, and How?

Platform and Branding

There’s a reason that one day you sat down at an empty screen or in front of a blank sheet of paper, and started writing. Maybe you had a character’s story burning inside you and just had to write it down, or maybe you wanted to express your own story.

But for whatever reason, that one day when you sat down to write, you started an incredible journey. You had something to say, and you wrote it down.

Great branding is a huge part of platform, and for today’s writers, platform can make or break your writing journey.

You’re here because you love writing. You have something to say. Now it’s time to determine what exactly it is you want to say, and how you want to say it.

As a writer in 2021, you have multiple avenues for communicating via writing, and choosing the best one for you can help take your writing from your desk to hundreds, thousands, and even millions of readers.

So, what do you want to say?

When determining this, think big picture. If you write young adult books, there’s likely a theme you want to communicate. For example, let’s say your work-in-progress is about a teenage girl growing up during the California gold rush and the bravery she must learn traveling west with her family. You likely want to communicate the theme of bravery, resilience, teamwork, etc., to your readers.

Now, other than your book itself, how do you want to communicate these themes?

You may want to consider creating a Tik Tok account and using those short videos to continue communicating these characteristics. Maybe you love the outdoors and your Tik Tok is full of videos of your summer hikes and camping adventures. Perhaps revamp your Instagram and post photos of your camping trips with captions talking about these topics.

If you write adult Romance, the themes you communicate will likely be love and other similar topics such as sacrifice, service, loyalty, etc. You may want to continue communicating these themes through inspirational quotes posted on Twitter or paired with a graphic and posted to Instagram. You could refocus your Tik Tok or YouTube channel by creating video content that reinforces this theme.

Being a writer today doesn’t just mean sitting down at the keyboard and writing books. That’s a big part of it, but writing and communicating stretches to social media and public stages.

As you continue to pinpoint exactly what your brand is and grow your platform, focus on why exactly you are passionate about writing the genres and characters you write. Use these insights to help establish your online presence with clarity. Then post regular, quality content, and enjoy the process.

Building your platform is often a slow and steady grind, but the resulting ability to communicate your passions to your audience is worth it.

Best wishes out there!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Creator and writer. She helps authors build their platform through branding and copywriting. With a BA in Strategic Communications, Sarah equips writers to learn how to communicate their message through personal branding. She writes fiction and nonfiction and offers writers behind-the-scenes tips on the publishing industry through her blog itssarahrexford.com. She is represented by the C.Y.L.E Young Agency.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
My Writing Journey

My Definition of Success

All too often we’re shallow enough to think the prize is worth the journey. Really it’s the journey that’s the prize.

When I was little my dream fit in three words: publish a book.

I didn’t care about sales and didn’t even know about the Times list. All I wanted was to see my book on a store shelf.

Now I’ve written three books, signed with an agent, and I’m waiting to hear if and when my books will hit stores.

But the moment I signed an agent contract wasn’t the moment I found success.

Signing my first book deal won’t be that moment either.

There’s a misconception that success equals sales stats and how many digits are on an advance check. Those are extremely important. Publishing is a business after all! However, they aren’t how I define my success as a writer.

Wanting to see my book on a shelf is what started my journey, but I’ve found the journey is actually more important than whatever success I may find at the end.

In college writing was the last job I wanted because I believed I was way too extroverted for it. Thankfully, an author sat me down and explained the marketing and publicity side of writing and I realized writing isn’t just about writing.

I couldn’t be a writer if I didn’t live life to the fullest because writing is about sharing truth of experience.

It’s giving words to the feelings of others.

It’s a medium to use when one physical person has a message that needs to reach thousands and millions and billions of others. I write because I want to communicate to everyone and writing is one way to do that most effectively.

As I’ve progressed from a third grader penciling sentences on wide-rule paper to a post-graduate typing thousands of words on my Mac, I’ve learned writing isn’t about writing.

Writing is about communication.

I graduated college last December with a degree in Strategic Communications. I had no idea one year later I’d be signed with an agent and already hearing positive feedback from multiple publishing houses.

At heart, I’m a communicator. At heart, I just really love people. And at the core of what I do, the goal isn’t to just “get published” anymore.

The goal is to communicate truth – through living, through interpersonal interactions, through writing. That’s why success isn’t a once-in-a-lifetime book deal (however awesome that would be!).

Writing is so much more than words. Success is so much more than numbers.

Writing is a venue where words are necessary to communicate powerfully and effectively with the masses.

When I get my first book deal I’ll be thrilled, no question about that! But success isn’t signing my name on my piece of paper.

Success is the growth I’ll learn through the process of getting there.

Here’s to the journey!

Sarah Rexford is a Marketing Content Writer, working with brands to grow their audience reach. She studied Strategic Communications at Cornerstone University and focused on writing during her time there, completing two full-length manuscripts while a full-time student. Currently she trains under best-selling author Jerry Jenkins in his Your Novel Blueprint course and is actively seeking publication for two books.

Instagram: @sarahjrexford
Twitter: @sarahjrexford
Web: itssarahrexford.com

Categories
Uncategorized

Deadlines and Follow-up for Freelance Writers

If you want to impress an editor as freelance writer, I’ll let you in on a little writer secret. Meet your deadline with excellent writing. While it sounds too simple, writers are notoriously late to meet their deadlines. If you meet or even deliver the  article ahead of the deadline with excellent writing, you will stand out from the other writers.

In the “old” days, writers used to be able to fudge a little on the deadline. Without an internet, we had to mail our articles on disks to the editor. When the editor asked about the article, you could say, “My article is in the mail” and sometimes gain an extra couple of days to deliver the piece. Now with high-speed broadband, those excuses do not work. The editor expects the freelancer to send their material on time.

 Excellent Writing Is Appreciated

Editors have been trained to recognize excellent writing for their publication. Does your article have a great beginning paragraph that draws me into the article? Does it have a solid middle with detailed information targeted to the reader? Does it end with a single point or takeaway for the reader? If you can answer each of these questions with “yes” then you have probably written a solid article for the publication.

Also make sure you write your article several days before it is due, then you can leave  the article and return to it with fresh eyes. Pick up a pencil as you read the article fresh and make any adjustments that is needed.

Follow-up Is Important

In our tech driven world, we have grown dependent on email for our communication. Yet email doesn’t always get through or get answered. Today I remembered an article I had turned in for a publication yet the editor never responded. It had been 10 days with no response—which is long enough for that editor to have been on vacation and be back at their desk. I sent a short follow-up email with the article to make sure they got it. You can follow this same pattern if you don’t hear from the editor. A simple reminder asking if they got the submission is professional and acknowledging that things get missed in the process. It also shows the editor you want to deliver excellent work in a timely fashion. The key with your follow-up is to ask straightforward and polite questions with short emails. Editors spend a lot of time answering emails so in general the short emails get answered.

 

As you meet the editor’s deadlines with excellent writing, you will become a part of their stable of writers. These writers have proven their dependability and are the go-to people that the editor uses when they need to assign a feature or special writing  assignment. It’s a select group and you want to be part of this elite group.

To write for Christian magazines, you need to be pitching ideas through query letters and writing full length articles then reaching out and connecting with new editors and new markets. As you take consistent action to meet deadlines with quality writing, you will be published in multiple publications.

Terry Whalin, a writer and acquisitions editor at Morgan James Publishing, lives in Colorado. A former magazine editor, Whalin has written for more than 50 publications including Christianity Today and Writer’s Digest. Terry is the author of How to Succeed As An Article Writer which you can get at: http://writeamagazinearticle.com/. He has written more than 60 nonfiction books including Jumpstart Your Publishing Dreams. His latest book is Billy Graham, A Biography of America’s Greatest Evangelist and the book website is at: http://BillyGrahamBio.com Watch the short book trailer for Billy Graham at: http://bit.ly/BillyGrahamBT His website is located at: www.terrywhalin.com. Follow him on Twitter at: https://twitter.com/terrywhalin

Categories
Talking Character

Body Language: What Your Character Is Really Saying-Lisa Betz

If actions speak louder than words then a character’s body language is an important part of dialogue. And yet writers often waste the potential, using body language merely to reinforce what is already evident, such as a character who both nods and says, “Yes.”

Studies show that body language, including gestures and facial expressions, make up over fifty percent of communication. (Tone of voice makes up another thirty-five percent or so.) That means our characters can give away all kinds of information without saying a word.

When harnessed effectively, body language can be a powerful tool—because it tells us what’s really going on inside a character’s head.

4 ways body language can add useful information

  1. Revealing an emotion the character wants to conceal. The heroine is facing her nemesis in a meeting. She wants to appear calm and in control, but under the table her leg is bouncing or her hands are clenched in her lap. Although her dialogue and tone may give the appearance of complete confidence, the body language tells the reader the whole truth.
  2. Indicating the character is lying. Fictional characters don’t always tell the truth, but without a non-verbal clue, the reader may not realize when a character is being less than forthright. A bit of body language can show the reader what’s really going on, for example: a character refusing to meet someone’s gaze, rapid breathing, or covering the mouth while speaking. If the POV character notices these telltale signs, the reader will get the hint.
  3. Showing that all is not as it seems. In a scene where both reader and character expect a certain response, body language can tell a potent tale. For example, a husband arrives home from work on the day he was to get a long-awaited promotion. When he walks in the door and slumps on the couch, the wife realizes something is very wrong. And the more the husband claims everything is fine, the more out of kilter things obviously are. In a similar fashion, when the felon under interrogation acts smug, we begin to suspect he knows something the police don’t.
  4. Hinting at a character’s motives. When a hostess greets a guest with a smile that doesn’t reach her eyes, we suspect there is something between them. Perhaps the hostess is merely acting polite, or perhaps she has ulterior motives for treating the guest with a kindness she doesn’t feel. Of course, the POV character may misinterpret the clues, reading ulterior motives into a situation where there are none—which might be exactly what the plot requires.

Are you using body language to the full potential?

[bctt tweet=”How can your characters’ non-verbal cues help the reader read between the lines? #writetips #bodylanguage” username=””]