A couple of months back, we had guest blogger Beth Revis talk about the Scrivener software, but I was sad when I learned it was only for Mac users. She mentioned an alternative. The Page Four Software.

Now, I consider myself to be a bit of a technology freak, so when I read about the special writing software just for me, I had to try it out!

I contacted the software company, and they graciously offered me a copy of their software so I could write a review.

I have to say that while some of it took me quite a while to get used to, there are parts of this software that I find invaluable to my writing.

The coolest feature by far is the tabbed writing feature. Basically, each chapter of your book gets its own tab and you can move them around as you see fit.

I love the flexibility of being able to move my stuff around, reference notes and outlines easily, and to open a chapter without having to scroll around to find it. The tab feature alone makes me like this software, but another cool feature is the ability to quickly scan for over used words and phrases.

Not only can you scan for the phrases, but you can set all your own attributes, so if you don’t want it to search for something in particular, then it will just skip right over that.

I love this feature, and discovered things about my book that well… let’s just say I have a tendency to overuse certain words… okay?

It also has a really cool roll back feature that lets you look at older versions of your work, so if you decide you spent an entire day over editing the crap out of something and now you want it back–then all you have to do is roll back to a previous version.

I did find a couple of things I wasn’t so crazy about with the software though. Most of my friends write in word, which means they edit in word as well. We use the little comment bubbles out to the side and the track changes feature in order to peer edit each other’s stuff. You can’t use word bubbles in page four, and you can’t see the tracked changes, so if your friends are using that, then there’s really no way for you to check their comments other than to open up your MS Word stuff. You can upload .doc files into the software though, so that does make up for this flaw a little.

I really like the ability to comment out to the side of someone’s work, and I love the track changes feature for when I am line editing something, so this is a major thing to me. I wish that the software somehow offered the same amazing editing and change tracking that word offers while still having all the great features like the tabs and the overused phrase counter.

I am still mostly using word to write my documents, and haven’t completely fell in love with pagefour yet, but I have been using it more lately, and I promise to update you as I continue to get more familiar with it.

I would love to hear about the software you use to write your manuscripts with. Please let me know in the comments below.

I’d also like to extend a special thank you to pagefour for providing me with a free copy of their software for review. If your company makes a software designed specifically for writers, you can contact me at jamie (@) totally the bomb (.) com (remove the spaces and parentheses) or just leave a comment below, and I will be happy to review it.

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My 10 Commandments to Writing Success: A No-Fail Approach/Part 3
By Michael P. Geffner

As many of you already know by now, my article, “10 Commandments to Writing Success,” was so popular that various versions have appeared all over the place, including in The Writer and The Writer’s Handbook, as well as on asbolutewrite.com and a slew of other writing resource sites.

Strangely, the whole thing grew entirely out of serendipity. I feverishly wrote the first version in no more than a half-hour and never intended it to be published. It was merely a way to answer all the member questions I had received when I began my first club, Mike’s Writing Workshop on Yahoo, in March of 2001.

As it turned out, people seemed to love it. There was a clamoring for more. So I ended up writing a Part 2 to it…and, well, the rest is history.

I thought it was time to add 10 more to the list for Part 3.

Hope you enjoy—but, more importantly, that you get something out of it and that it pushes you closer to your writing dream.

Here are the new commandments:

1) Pitch stories that you absolutely own. The best way to get an editor’s attention, especially if you’re relatively new to the game or not very high up on the “publishing credits” ladder, is to offer an idea that no one else can do—but YOU! Is it an exclusive interview with someone who’s turning down everybody else? Is it a story that only you know about? Are you the sole expert in this subject? Own a story up and down and you’ll have a huge advantage like you never had before.

2) Always push for more work. Once you’ve made headway with a publication—which means you’ve built up a mutual trust and respect with an editor or editors—keep asking for more assignments or keep pitching ideas. Writing can often be a momentum business. Don’t stop the flow. Also, if you have a published story on the stands, it’s the best time to pitch editors at other places. You’ll seem like the hot commodity of the moment.

3) Rejection should only be the beginning, not the end. Two things to consider here: A. Just because a publication nixes your story idea—or you in particular—doesn’t mean the next place will do the same. If you believe in yourself and your idea, never give up on it. B. Just because a publication rejects you outright doesn’t mean the same place won’t accept you six months later. At most places, there’s high turnover. Editors, as well as mission statements, change quickly.

4) Don’t hang all your hopes on resumes, clip packages, and query letters. Go into any high-level editor’s office and you’ll see stacks of unopened envelopes that nearly reach the ceiling. You’re annoyed, or depressed, that an editor hasn’t gotten back to you? Don’t be. He or she likely hasn’t even seen the contents of your envelope yet—and may never. Make phone calls (without being a stalker). Make meetings (without being demanding). In the writing game, as in most businesses, relationships matter more than anything in an envelope.

5) Learn to negotiate for more money. No matter what a publication offers, it’s often way less than it can afford. Always express mild disappointment at the first number, then pleasantly, professionally, ask for a little more. Understand that I don’t suggest this method for rank beginners. You’ll risk losing the assignment. It’s also running before learning to crawl. But for anyone with decent experience, you’ll gain greater respect by not jumping at the first number thrown at you. Also, if in the end a place refuses to budge on the story fee, ask for something else that doesn’t cost them money, such as your byline bigger or your name—and story teased—on the front cover. Or simply agree to do the story at their price for now (make it seem like you’re doing this out of the goodness of your heart) but, if they love the final product, that the next one will have to pay more. Always have a strategic plan when negotiating a story deal (have an answer ready for anything that might come up) and always get it in writing.

6) Whatever writing you do, try your best to be utterly unique and way above average. You want to put yourself in position where a publication or publisher can’t get what you do from any other writer. This is what gets the big jobs and the big dollars and the big careers.

7) Don’t beg. Always act as if you’re confident in your work and yourself, exuding an attitude that says, “I’d love to do this story for you, I really would, but if you’re not sure that you want it, I’m certain that some other publication will.” In other words, never show weakness, because editors will pick up on that and run away from it.

Don’t be a pest or a complainer or unprofessional. Editors will always choose the path of least resistance, wanting to work with writers that carry the least amount of baggage and write the cleanest, most thorough copy. Maybe if you win the Pulitzer, you’ll gain some extra rope. But until then, you best be a writer that editors love to work with.

9) Keep making baby steps upward. Don’t get too comfortable at a certain level. Keep challenging yourself. This will force you to make the work better and better, as well as help you make more and more money.

10) Don’t worry so much about people stealing your ideas. At the major publications, it hardly, if ever, happens. Plus, assuming you’re hitting a smaller, less trustworthy market, you should have so many ideas that if someone steals one that it wouldn’t matter in the least, because you have dozens upon dozens of them. The writing business is an idea business. If you don’t have ideas gushing out of your brain on a daily basis, you might want to try some other work.

You can find Michael at http://mikeswritingworkshop.blogspot.com/

You may also follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/MikeGeffner

Michael Geffner

New York, United States Writer/Journalist/Columnist. Awarded for outstanding column and feature writing by APSE (Associated Press Sports Editors) 2005, 2006; won New York Publishers Association’s contest for Distinguished Sports Writing, 2007; included seven times in annual Best American Sports Writing anthology; voted Best Sportswriter in New York City by New York Press, 1990; won first place for profile writing by the Society of Professional Journalists (NJ), 2000; interviewed former President Nixon (twice, about baseball), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at his home atop a hill in Beverly Hills), Dennis Hopper (during a round of golf in Simi Valley), Forest Whitaker (via cell phones while he was driving around Los Angeles), Derek Jeter (by his Yankee locker); written for USA Today, The Associated Press, Details, The Sporting News, Cigar Aficionado, Texas Monthly, Page Six Magazine, FHM, The Writer, and The Village Voice.

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So, I am sitting at a DARA (Dalla Area Romance Writers Association) lunch, and the topic of websites comes up. Everyone at the table agrees that yes you need a website, and many of them start talking about how easy it is to make one.  They start spouting their web addresses to one another, and I quietly start typing the addresses into my phone’s web browser.

I open one, it’s a picture of a woman with a quick byline.  Not bad, kind of boring, but not entirely ridiculous or anything. Then I open  up another, a black background with a dancing leprechaun next to some really great writing.

No joke.

You can make a great looking website for free.  Don’t try to make it yourself.  Download a pre-made template and just stick your information in the appropriate places.  Easy as that.

How? By using simple blogging platforms.  The two most common are blogger and wordpress. If you don’t want to settle for one of the boring premade themes, there are tons of free themes out there, all you have to do is download them and upload them in the appropriate box. (If you can attach a file to an email, then you have the basic concept down already.)

Here are a couple of really great blogger template websites I have found. A lot of web designers give away free templates in order to promote their business.  Take advantage of these.)

Better In Pink

The Cutest Blog on the Block

So, just sign up, start a blog and use a cute theme and you’re set with a perfect little blog!  Simple as that.  There are many other costly solutions, but if you are just starting out, you don’t need those, and you can always import it later.

Have fun!

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ME!

Anyone else?

The Knight Agency is having a contest. They will chose 20 authors with the best 150 words that describes their story, and will offer feedback on your work. How knows, maybe an offer of presentation will come with it.

So here’s how you enter: (Stole from their blog.)

Submit three compelling sentences (150 words max) about your completed, unpublished manuscript to submissions @ knightagency.net (delete spaces). Write BOOK IN A NUTSHELL in the subject line or it will not be deemed elligible. One submission per project, please.

Hurry, the deadline is April 20, 2009. Winners will be notified by May 1, 2009.

Now, for all those who want to know if their 150 words is up to par. You may leave them in the comment section here for others to critique. Let’s keep it helpful, in a friendly manner.

I will post mine, just as soon as I come up with it.

Oh,yeah… write a story for the Tuesday Storybook Picture too.

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By Michael P. Geffner

1) Don’t forget that networking is just as important as your talent and computer. It’s a must-have tool in your writing existence. You need to seek out contacts, preferably the power brokers at the top of the masthead or high-level editors, and cultivate them as “allies.” If you ignore this aspect of the business, believe me, you’ll suffer the consequences. I hear all the time from writers, “But I don’t like to mingle. I’m too shy. I’m not a good talker.” My response is matter-of-fact: “This is the way the game is played. If you don’t want to play, don’t expect to win.” Which means: Don’t expect editors to come to you. They won’t. Like Mohammed, you need to go to the mountain. I don’t care how much talent you think you have. It’s not enough to “make your career” all by itself. And remember: If you’re not cultivating contacts, some other writer out there is.

2) Force yourself to work under deadline pressure. Deadlines are what separate the professional from the hobbyist. Pros can’t wait for inspiration, or an act from God, to propel their creativity. They write because they have to, because someone on the other end is waiting for their work. They write whether rain, sleet, or snow, and all hours of the day and night. I’ve tortured myself to hit deadlines over the years, from five-minute ones to monthlies. That’s the nature of the beast. It’s where the tough gets tougher. So, either get assigned to something with a due date or create an artificial one. If nothing else, it’s good practice to see how well you function in such a situation. You may actually find that you’re not cut out to write professionally, that in reality you’re merely a dabbler. Not that there’s anything wrong with that. It’s just good to know where you stand.

3) Build a portfolio before you start hitting the major newspapers/magazines/

You can find Michael at http://mikeswritingworkshop.blogspot.com/

You may also follow him on Twitter http://twitter.com/MikeGeffner

Michael Geffner

New York, United States Writer/Journalist/Columnist. Awarded for outstanding column and feature writing by APSE (Associated Press Sports Editors) 2005, 2006; won New York Publishers Association’s contest for Distinguished Sports Writing, 2007; included seven times in annual Best American Sports Writing anthology; voted Best Sportswriter in New York City by New York Press, 1990; won first place for profile writing by the Society of Professional Journalists (NJ), 2000; interviewed former President Nixon (twice, about baseball), Kareem Abdul-Jabbar (at his home atop a hill in Beverly Hills), Dennis Hopper (during a round of golf in Simi Valley), Forest Whitaker (via cell phones while he was driving around Los Angeles), Derek Jeter (by his Yankee locker); written for USA Today, The Associated Press, Details, The Sporting News, Cigar Aficionado, Texas Monthly, Page Six Magazine, FHM, The Writer, and The Village Voice.

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So, you’ve written a book… and now you need people to look at it.  What now?

This is a tough one. You don’t want to show your book to your friends yet, because it isn’t finished, and your significant other will look it over, but chances are… he’s not your target audience.

So, now you have to find Beta Readers and critique groups.  You can check out forums like Absolute Write to search for Beta Readers. Or you can find a group of trusted writing friends to share work with.  Both of these are great in their own respect.  It’s tough when you find a brand new person to read your work, just because it means that they won’t personally know you, or what hurts your feelings.  Your friends, on the other hand… will work extra hard to find the stuff they love in your story mixed in with the stuff they hate.  (If they don’t do that… then you need new friends.)

So, now that you’ve found your preferred type of reading group… you need to know how to get together.  There are several different ways.  The first is just with emails and chats.  You need to use a good group chatting program so you can get together and talk about your stuff.  I recommend Yahoo Messenger or Aol Instant Messenger for this. Both of these programs are top notch, and make group chatting a breeze.  Google Talk is okay, but it’s just not as well designed as the other two are.

If you are feeling extra technological, you can start up a private Yahoo Group what’s cool about this is that you can upload files, keep databases with everyone’s contact information, and manage most of the stuff through email.  Then you and your friends have a small message board type place to talk freely about each other’s work without saying the same things over and over again.  This is my favorite option.  But make SURE you set your settings to private!  This is very important so you don’t accidentally make all your work public to the world.

So, if you have a critique group just starting out, give Yahoo Groups a whirl and let me know how it works out for you.  If you have questions about how to set it up, let me know in the comments below!

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