Innholdsfortegnelse for Writer's Yearbook 2024 i Writer's Digest

Regardless of what you write, readers have the same expectation—they insist on stories with language that demonstrates economy, effectiveness, and energy. While entire how-to books could be written about each of those goals, this article focuses on the 10 most impactful story-improving editing tips I’ve shared with students and clients. A terminology caveat—while some people use revising and editing interchangeably, I see that as an error. Because revision focuses on bigger-picture things such as plot, character, and structure, it should happen soon after you’ve got a full draft. Editing is the language- and sentence-level polishing that happens after you’re done revising. Why spend energy perfecting a scene’s language only to decide later that the entire scene needs to be jettisoned? With that, let’s examine my 10 best editing tips. Apply…

There’s an adage that a camel is a horse designed by a committee. And, well, you might say that a magazine article is literature designed by a committee. Usually, the collaboration between editor and writer works out just fine. But every so often, you wind up with the camel. After 15 years of freelancing and working smoothly with dozens and dozens of editors, it was finally the day of the dromedary. I pitched an article to a great outlet I wanted to write for … and my luck ran out. Now, I should add up front that having worked as both a writer and magazine editor, I love the editorial process and the value of a solid collaboration. If anything, I let too much slide. I hate conflict and am…

Every genre has a relatively unique signature or style that readers come to expect, known as voice and tone, which make it possible to identify the genre within a few pages. Voice is like the personality of your character leaping off the page, and tone is how you want people to feel when they read your book. Nailing your genre’s voice and tone will not only make sure you’re meeting readers’ expectations, but it can increase your chance of publication. We’ll explore what these two terms mean, with illustrations from contemporary fiction. VOICE EMERGES FROM CHARACTER Voice has become something of a buzzword that you might find confusing, but in literature, it refers to the mixture of vocabulary, tone, point of view, and syntax that makes phrases, sentences, and paragraphs…

Now in its 25th year, the Writer’s Digest 101 Best Websites for Writers aims to guide writers of all ages, genres, and skill levels to reputable and useful resources to inspire, educate, and support them in every stage of their writing journey. Whether you are using writing as a creative outlet, looking to find a path toward traditional publication, make a career as a freelancer, or start your own independent publishing business, the websites on this list can help make those goals a reality. While some things about this list remain the same (like our goal of including sites that offer free or affordable content, free trials, or tiered memberships for services that are of high quality), this year’s list includes 28 new websites we’ve found particularly enjoyable or helpful.…

Dear Author, It was lovely to meet you at the conference last week; thank you for emailing me those photos! I would love to read more about the manuscript you are currently pitching. Can you send me your pitch, first few chapters, and synopsis? —Signed Agent McAgent Logline. Elevator Pitch. Query Pitch. Plot Synopsis. The terms thrown at hopeful authors can be overwhelming. To make matters even more confusing, the definitions of these terms vary depending on whom you ask. It’s enough to make an author throw their manuscript at a wall. And after you get your mind around the differences between these terms? How do you create them? What are the rules? What do agents and publishers want? The good news is that there are no hard and fast…

Most of us have lived with the belief that we lean left brain or right brain in all capacities—from our hobbies to career to the movies we love. You may have been told that this balance of one side versus the other is a natural occurrence. From the genres we write to the authors we love to read, we try to give credit to DNA for our preferences, believing how we were created dictates our leanings when actually that is far from the case. In reality, the brain juggles tasks and multitasks, and there isn’t a clearly defined spot for many tasks we do. For instance, it takes both right and left hemispheres of the brain’s cerebrum to write. Abilities, as well as troubles in performing activities, have more to…

Freelance writers often begin their journeys intimidated. Where do they find clients? Where do they collect those first all-important samples to show future clients? But mostly, they wonder what to charge. Charge too much, and they lose the client. Charge too little, and they jeopardize not only their livelihood but also their reputation. The question used to be “what do I charge?” Today, it’s as much the way you charge and why you charge as it is how much. The old school method involved deciding what you wish to earn annually, add for taxes, insurance, retirement, and administrative duties, then divide it by the number of hours you work. Voilà. There’s your hourly rate. While you need a good feel for a minimum hourly rate, changing times call for flexibility.…

Like all awesome things in this world,1 the freelance life is not for everyone.2 Making your living as a freelance writer takes a lot of hustle and stress-tolerance, and it can be difficult to figure out how to freelance in the first place. There are plenty of resources out there offering advice on finding clients, financial matters, and time management—but there’s also a lot of conflicting advice and plenty of gaps. One big gap: firing clients. One of the greatest and probably least-used freelance superpowers is the ability to just stop working with clients when they’re no longer good for you or your business.3 The first time you realize that you don’t have to keep working with a difficult, abusive, or underpaying4 client, it’s exhilarating. But then the doubts start…

Years ago, when I first began studying plot structures, I came across the Freytag Plot Pyramid, a triangular structure that contained five elements: exposition, rising action, climax, falling action, and denouement. Suddenly aware of this structure, I began to notice it in various books and films I enjoyed. I even noticed its usage in many of the comedies I watched. The first time I saw the movie Friday, I marveled at how seamlessly I was able to learn the backgrounds of the characters, as well as their motivations, within the first few minutes of the film, each of the elements of Freytag’s Plot Pyramid falling neatly into place. I would later come to understand that these elements are often expected by the audience, so when they are absent, a viewer…

WRITER’S DIGEST: WritersDigest.com The online hub for everything WD, including the “Writer’s Digest Presents” podcast! Join a writing challenge, get writing and publication advice from bestselling authors, and learn how you can enter any of our six writing competitions. WRITER’S DIGEST UNIVERSITY: WritersOnlineWorkshops.com Take intensive writing classes taught by world-class instructors at WDU. Whether you want to improve your copy editing skills, write the first draft of your novel or memoir, or learn tips for querying agents, the courses, boot camps, and virtual conferences have what you’re looking for. WRITER’S DIGEST TUTORIALS: Tutorials.WritersDigest.com If you prefer your online education to be on-demand to fit your busy schedule, the 350+ recorded tutorials are available to watch whenever you are. Monthly and yearly subscriptions are available to watch any video at any…

So, you’ve finished the manuscript, congratulations! You may think the hard part is over, but there are some challenges ahead—including not falling for a scam … and in the process, losing energy, momentum, and money. There are a number of reasons writers might fall for a scam. Many writers love the writing process but know little about the business of publishing. Knowing industry standards goes a long way toward not being taken. Misinformation and conflicting advice abounds. Scammers use flattery. People may feel desperation after numerous rejections. Let’s make sure you don’t fall into any of these categories. Publishing a book is much more than creating content. It involves editing, design, cover art, printing or electronic formatting, publicity, and so on. And there are people—some honest, some not—waiting to provide…

Use the following writing prompts to write a minicollection of interconnected short stories in the genre of your choosing. Th ink about how these scenarios would play out differently depending on whether you write romance, thriller, science fiction, literary fiction, dystopian, etc. 1. Write a short story of no more than 500 words about a character who reports to work only to quit unexpectedly later that day. 2. Write another short story of no more than 500 words set in the same workplace on the same day, but from another character’s POV. This character was witness to the resignation of the character from the first story but doesn’t fully understand what happened. For whatever reason, the resignation turns this person’s day upside down. Why? 3. Write another short story of…

Inspiration and voice can feel like the most elusive of the ingredients that go into both fiction and nonfiction writing. Even when we’ve managed to carve out time, find the tools that work for us, and determine the path to getting our words into the world, the heart of the story may remain a question mark. We frequently hear advice that we should “write what we know,” but how do we know what we know? Without diving too deeply into the theory of knowledge frameworks, we can look at the topic we are most familiar with for the answer: ourselves. Uncovering the heart of the story can be as simple—and as difficult—as looking within our own hearts. Exploring the different facets of what makes up your life and experience offers…

Interviews are a vital aspect of nonfiction writing. Depending on the topic, freelancers may turn to subject matter experts or everyday people with unique experiences, knowledge, or opinions to help inform the articles they write. Over the course of my career, I have uncovered five specific questions that can be extremely helpful in getting the most out of potential sources. While not applicable to every interview, these questions can help add detail, color, and heft to our work. 1. WHAT WAS YOUR INSPIRATION? Inspiration is the creative spark that leads to great things, the “aha!” moment when the abstract suddenly takes form. It strikes writers, musicians, researchers, and more—anyone striving to create, build, or innovate. Almost every important accomplishment has started with a moment of inspiration, and it behooves writers…

We’ve all heard it said before: There are two sides to every story. Sometimes writers take this adage quite literally when they decide the novel they’re dreaming up would best be told through two different perspectives. Writing from the vantage point of two narrators, or dual points of view (POVs), can add a richness and complexity to your story that a single point of view may not. Imagine if we only had Nick’s side of the story in Gillian Flynn’s Gone Girl. Or only Amy’s. Without dual POVs in Alison Cochrun’s The Charm Offensive, we might have only experienced half the humor, half the heat. Of course, writing from two perspectives can also feel like twice the amount of work. In order to successfully pull off this kind of narrative,…

When I was a newer writer, I bought a drink for a famous old novelist at the hotel bar after a long conference day. When he’d consumed half of it, I asked him for advice on crafting good, satisfying final chapters. He snapped, “Your ending depends on your beginning and middle!” Yeah, no kidding. Even I had that much common sense. He did add, “Thanks for the drink.” But I wasn’t asking simply about “endings.” A last line can comprise an ending. Short stories are great for one-liner endings: He had never slept in a better bed, Rainsford decided.—“The Most Dangerous Game” by Richard Connell “Villains!” I shrieked, “dissemble no more! I admit the deed!—tear up the planks!—here, here!—it is the beating of his hideous heart!”—“The Tell-Tale Heart” by Edgar…

Last year, I shared my unscientific list of 100 great markets for writers that covered a variety of topics and categories to share opportunities for writers of fiction, nonfiction, poetry, and even more experimental genres. This year, I’ve updated that list—both by updating information for many of the magazines in the list and by adding 15 new magazines (and, of course, removing magazines to keep the list at a firm 100). I’ve included information on what they want, how to submit, and payment information. However, keep in mind that publishing is constantly changing and that new guidelines could develop at any moment. That’s why I’ve also included each market’s website—so you can confirm the current situation for each market. If this list whets your freelancing appetite, keep in mind that…

What happens to your books when you die? If you create a solid estate plan, they can live forever. If you don’t, then your books will die with you. No one likes to think about death. It’s not easy to face your mortality, but it’s painfully necessary. As writers, we are so busy building our careers that we forget about the legacies we’re building also. And let’s not forget our families. They are likely to be overwhelmed at the prospect of managing an author estate. If we don’t prepare them, we are setting them up to fail. I’d like to share five actionable steps you can take today to get your affairs in order and leave a legacy for your family. They will thank you for taking these steps. Nothing…