I saw these pearls in a short Seth Godin Q&A at Editor Unleashed, a blog by Maria Schneider, the former editor of Writer’s Digest.
1. Be generous.
2. Spread ideas.
3. Give things away.
4. Write, share and repeat.
I know, I know. You need gigs. You need to make money. The idea is if you do the above four things well you’ll build a following—and a client list.
If you write, where do you write? Is it your choice?
(As I write this, I’m sitting on my sofa at home.)
If you’re employed by a company, you probably don’t have much choice. It may be an office or cubicle, where interruptions are the norm. (If it’s an office, then at least you can shut the door.)
If you’re a freelancer like me, then you have more control over your writing space. I think it gives those of us who fly solo an advantage, although my cubicle days at an ad agency and The Seattle Times were mostly enjoyable. Most co-workers, including those task-minded account executives, were considerate. They knew creatives needed as much solitude as possible.
I thought of this topic when I recently picked up Stephen King’s On Writing, one of my favorite books on the writing craft.
Even if you’re a writing pro, facing the blank screen can be a bit daunting. I have a tendency to dread it somewhat, although when I’m actually writing rather than thinking about writing I enjoy it very much.
Dread might be too strong a word for me. The point: I know I have to saddle up the laptop and produce words. And they need to be well-crafted words, even poetic in some instances.
This morning my task was to draft a recap article on the 2009 Masters Tournament for a client. The word count was not particularly long, 500-750 words. There was a tiny bit of dread. It’s Monday, after all.
Neil Sagebiel 