Simply Write w/ Polly Campbell

'Tis the season to take care of business. In this episode, we cover the end-of-the-year reminders and the planning and development work you can do now to create a successful year ahead. Have you renewed your business license, and prepared your estimated taxes? Have you established your editorial calendar and drafted letters of introduction? Now is the time. Listen to this episode to learn how I la...

End-of-the-year planning and paperwork. Kids on break from school. Seasonal festivities. Planning and pitching for the year ahead. Editorial calendars and goal planning. These are just a few of the things professional writers contend during this time of the year. But, instead of being thrown by the distraction, they flex their schedule and get the job done. Here are a few of the strategies Polly u...

Sonia Frontera has always had a love of writing--even when she went to law school. Now she uses both her legal expertise and writing skills to independently publish books such as Relationship Solutions: Effective Strategies to Heal Your Heart and Create the Happiness You Deserve. Her writing voice is accessible, positive, and authentic and her books avoid pages of legal jargon. That was by design,...

Yeah, I know, it can be tough to see even the most well-deserved colleagues climb the bestseller charts when you are struggling to find an agent or even knock out a first draft. I get it. Writer's Envy is real, but it can also be motivating. There are opportunities out there for hardworking writers and your success will not limit my chances. So the best way to deal is to celebrate the success of o...

Journaling helps award-winning author Kathryn Brown Ramsperger solve problems, access her imagination, and free up her creative brain to get the work done. Whether it's Morning Pages or journaling on the go, Rampsberger is a firm believer that journaling is a door to our imagination. A journal can keep our ideas in a safe place, or allow us to release big feelings so that we can move on. It's also...

Every Service Piece Needs These Things Problems. Solutions. Hope and Humans. There are plenty of places to break in with service pieces, but each article must include the components editors are looking for and readers want. I've written service for decades and in this episode I'll share what those elements are and how you can structure them to break in and publish. Want more? Join our Simply Write...

Writing for the Children's Market Author, poet, and journalist Susan Johnston Taylor writes articles and books for children and adults, and her newest picture book is written in poetry. Diversifying your writing career is akin to diversifying your investment portfolio, Johnston Taylor says, and an important way to publish in a variety of markets. Throughout her career, Johnston Taylor says she has...

Keep Going Writing Our Way Through The news of the week has knocked me back. It can be hard to head into the quiet of the writing desk and focus on the work we need to get done. But, writing is also a job. My husband works in a hospital, and he doesn't skip work when he's feeling sad or uninspired. Last week we took our car to the mechanic, and he was there. I don't know if he has problems in his...

Reframe Your Marketing Mindset Author, writer, and book marketing expert Sandra Beckwith suggests that when writers and authors change how they think about marketing they will feel more comfortable promoting their work. It's a simple reframe, says the host of BuildBookBuzz.com a marketing resource for writers and authors at https://buildbookbuzz.com/ Nobody cares about your book more, and nobody i...

Are You a Pre-crastinator? Have you ever heard of the term, pre-crastination? I hadn't and yet, now I know, I am an avid pre-crastinator. When the to-do list is too long, or I'm feeling the tension of deadlines, I tend to act hastily, quickly checking things off my list. And that can cause big problems for writers. Pre-crastination is when we are more focused on getting things done rather than del...

Writing Despite Criticism Fantasy author Joshua K. Rutherford keeps a notebook nearby while working his day job and finds pockets of time to write at night after the kids are in bed. Often, he says, the writing process is restorative. But criticism weighed heavily on him until he decided to independently publish his fantasy novel and felt empowered. Now, readers are clamoring for his books like So...

Use Retrieval Practice for Better Writing Writers must take in and process a lot of information. But it's not enough to store it in our memories. We've got to index the information in a way we can remember it in our brains, and then apply it to the craft and the pieces we are working on. Learning is not just about memorization, it's about our ability to apply that knowledge when needed. In this ep...

Estelle Erasmus Says "Write the Piece Only You Can Write" Award-winning journalist, teacher, and editor Estelle Erasmus has spent three decades in magazine journalism serving as editor-in-chief to some of the biggest magazines in the U.S. Now she shares her wisdom on Simply Write w/Polly and in her new book Writing that Gets Noticed. To write articles and essays that get published Erasmus says wri...

Every time Polly hits "send" on a new piece, it's nerve-wracking, but especially when I'm going out cold, to the readers without editors or publishers to hone my work. Still, this regular practice of publishing on blogs or newsletters, even social media forums can elevate your writing, help you find your voice, and become better at taking a concept from your mind to the page for readers. Journalin...

One of Our Favorites and News About Season 2 We are in the dog days of summer and, though we feel like lazing on the couch in the warm afternoons, we are not. We are writing and interviewing and are hard at work on Season Two. We are excited to bring you more tips and insider info, more guests, more authors and freelancers, and people who are crafting writing careers and have ideas and insights th...

One of Our Favorites and News About Season 2 We are in the dog days of summer and, though we feel like lazing on the couch in the warm afternoons, we are not. We are writing and interviewing and are hard at work on Season Two. We are excited to bring you more tips and insider info, more guests, more authors and freelancers, and people who are crafting writing careers and have ideas and insights th...

Study the Site to Become a Go-To Writer Livestrong.com Editor-in-Chief and Editorial Director Sarah Klein talks about the importance of collaboration between writers and editors. Writers who find success and publish repeatedly tend to be those who understand the site or publication they are pitching to and the needs of the readers. Klein suggests that writers study the publication they want to wri...

Everyone talks about the Rules of Writing. The thing is many of them change depending on who you are talking to and the piece you are writing. Yet, this is a craft and we can become better writers by applying some basic techniques even while we learn about genre and figure out our process. No matter what you are writing, i think there are five things (and of course many more) that can instantly ma...

Quirky, interesting characters, a comfortable and familiar world, with plenty of clues and plot twists are the main things that keep readers coming back to a cozy mystery series, says Angela M. Sanders. She writes nonfiction pieces and is the author of multiple cozy mystery series, including the Witch Way Librarian Cozy Mysteries, beginning with Witch Upon a Star It's the continuity readers like a...

The writing process is personal, there is no one right way to do it, but no matter how you set your schedule up, you've got to find your way to get the writing done, to do the work whether you are publishing or not. For award-winning thriller author and essayist E.A. Aymar, his writing process starts at 4 a.m. before he gets his son ready for school and starts his day job. Aymar began writing dail...

Plan Ahead to Establish a Constant Revenue Stream It can take months to get paid for the essays, articles, or marketing pieces you're writing now. Sure, those delays can cause real stress. But with a savings account and a development calendar, a well-organized writer will not only have pieces ready to ship but also assignments on deck for the weeks and months ahead. Creating a developmental calend...

Time To Get Up and Go Remember from your school days the fun of a field trip? It was always exciting to get out of the classroom for a day-long trip to the zoo or a museum or a Shakespeare play. It didn't matter what we did, it was good to have a break in the routine. Writers need to change up their routines too to rejuvenate and ignite inspiration. It's good for you and great for the work. Julia...

In this episode, Polly Campbell talks about why she loves revising and the seven-step process she uses to stay on track. Write the Quick Draft Go toward the obvious. Cut out echoes. Make sure the focus is clear and the action tight. Cut vague language, add powerful verbs. Go deep. Stay with it, working over every element. Print it out. Let it cool down. Then, read it aloud. Seriously, do this! And...

What is Your Book About? Can you tell me in one compelling sentence what your book is about? Author and media strategist Paula Rizzo says it's even hard for her to do, but that's why she develops and practices her pitch long before she ever starts promoting it and she gives some great tips for other writers to use when promoting their work. The nonfiction author of Listful Living: A List-Making Jo...

In 1978 two psychologists came up with a term that describes an experience many of us have had and it is called Imposter Syndrome. If you are a striving writer who is also wracked by self-doubt and feelings of inadequacy and have a hard time saying that you are a writer, then congratulations you, like Neil Gaiman, Maya Angelou, Brene Brown, and so many other bestselling writers have felt it too. I...