Writing Tips from HARO, part 2

Here are some more tips from writers on HARO. Some of you have emailed asking, “what is HARO?” It means Help a Reporter Out at http://www.helpareporter.com/ and if you subscribe, you’ll get requests from reporters re stories they are working on. I posted a request for tips for writers, and got a great crop that I’m stretching out over several posts.

Write each day—even if it is a stream of consciousness or the same word over and over...just do it for an hour every day. Kelley Rexroad America’s HR Strategist™ The HR expert with front porch common sense http://www.krexconsulting.com/ and www.krelleyrexroad/blogspot.com

POLISH POLISH POLISH: One draft is not enough. Two drafts are not enough. Nor are three. Once you get the story just the way you want it, go back and read it again and again and again. Somewhere in there something is not right, or a comma is out of place, or a whole paragraph (or maybe a whole chapter) is crying out to be deleted. Have a brutally honest friend read it. Have a professional editor go over it. Go over until you can't stand looking at it anymore. Everyone in the book world is crazy busy. Acquisitions editors really appreciate a clean manuscript--and they are much more likely to read it to the end if they aren't mentally making corrections along the way. From Joan Schweighardt, a four-time award winning published author, a former publisher, and currently a freelance editor, ghostwriter, publicist and sometimes agent. [joanschweighardt@mac.com]

Budding writers should not be averse to doing "minor" sorts of writing jobs while they await the big break. Although my own (brilliant!) novel is still languishing in a carton, waiting for an open-minded editor or publisher, I have taken all sorts of odd jobs that involved writing in some aspect. I was (and still am) a stringer for the newspaper, covering human interest stories. I also do some freelance editing for other aspiring writers. I do research and editing for a best-selling author and life coach. And I edit and semi-transcribe the minutes of Town of Woodstock board meetings. My labor of love is writing for and associate editing a grassroots animal welfare organization's quarterly newsletters. (http://www.wildwatch.org/). No, none of these jobs help to get my novel published, and none of them pay very well, but they do give me a wide experience and help me hone my skills. From Eileen Fay.