February 2012 Issue
February Issue
Writer's Digest Magazine
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Website of the Week
Writing Website of the Week
Andrew Jack's site not only follows the journey of this writer on his quest to get his fiction published, but also offers solid writing advice.Andrew Jack Writing 
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Business Legal Matters
[description]Discover what you need to know about business and legal matters as they relate to the world of writing.[/description]
[keywords]business legal matters[/keywords]
[keywords]business legal matters[/keywords]
Do You Need a Publisher Anymore? Hachette and J.A. Konrath Duke It Out
In his obituary to the year-long Domino Project, Seth Godin wrote that publishing companies and other traditional players that do not adapt to new modes of doing business will go extinct. Others have suggested the same.
Meanwhile, some authors like J.A. Konrath and David Gaughran have eschewed traditional relationships with publishers to create and distribute their work on their own. In the aftermath to the Book Country self-publishing tool launch from Penguin, some outspoken critics took the announcement as an opportunity to question publishers’ relevance.
Writer’s Workout Exclusive
Download a free motivational poster to keep you moving as your build your writing career. Read an Excerpt! Learn how to cultivate clarity, inventory ideas, write richly, and serve up words. About … Read more
Writer’s Workout Excerpt
Excerpt from The Writer’s Workout by Christina Katz CULTIVATE CLARITY When you write something needlessly prolix and convoluted, there’s a reason for it, and that reason is usually a lack of clarity … Read more
Writer’s Workout
The Writer’s Workout: 366 Tips, Tasks, & Techniques from Your Writing Career Coach by Christina Katz Writer’s Digest Books, 2011 ISBN-13: 978-1-59963-179-0 ISBN-10: 1-59963-179-2 $19.99 paperback, 384 pages Buy the Book! Read … Read more
Get the Inside Track to Agents
Learn more about what Hot List agents Rachelle Gardner, Chris Richman, Suzie Townsend and Ted Weinstein are seeking by reading these in-depth Q&As.
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Author Q&A: Dinty W. Moore
Author Dinty W. Moore discusses not taking shortcuts, perseverance and why you need to love writing to be a writer.
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Publishing 101: What You Need to Know
Here’s your step-by-step guide to the publishing process–how it works, why you need to know and how you can play an influential role in your book’s success.
by Jerry D. Simmons
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The Anatomy of a Writer’s Website
Whether you build it yourself or hire a designer, your website can do more than bring you into the 21st century—it can be an invaluable part of your marketing arsenal.
by Linda Formichelli Read more
The Four Commandments of Writing Good Sentences
If you want to write a good sentence, don’t pay any attention to your grammar. I don’t mean “a sentence this like OK is.” I mean don’t automatically think you’ve written a good sentence just because it’s grammatically correct. Lots of bad sentences are grammatically correct. Some of these bad sentences might even be yours.
by Bonnie Trenga Read more
Challenging the Limits of Memory
In this excerpt from Writing Life Stories, Bill Roorbach teaches you how to pay attention to and translate your memories and how to overcome your resistance to remembered places and events. Read more
Back Up Your Work for Free
Just because a natural disaster or computer virus wipes out your hard drive doesn’t mean you have to lose all your work.
by G. Kyle White Read more
M.F.A. Dreams
Aching to earn that creative-writing degree that got away? It’s never too late to prove you’ve got the write stuff—especially if you have real-world experience under your belt. Read more
Are You an Ethical Writer?
Take our quiz on journalistic ethics and see if your writing integrity is up to snuff. Read more
Groping for Quotes
When even C-list celebrities won’t talk, it’s time to resort to Plan B. Read more
Bounce Back
Bounce Back Read more
Ask the Editor—Frequently Asked Questions: Self-Publishing
Wondering if it’s time to self-publish? Get the facts first and make a decision that’s right for you. Read more
Colin Beavan’s Fingerprints
“For me, research was the easy part because you know you’re getting results. And so you procrastinate the scary part, which is the actual sitting down and writing the story by convincing yourself that you’re being productive by doing more research … I researched for seven months.” Read more
Upon Further Review
Sources often want to see a writer’s work. Perish the thought, most editors will tell you. This writer respectfully disagrees. Read more
6 Tips for Working with Editors
6 Tips for Working with Editors Read more
Face Time
Thanks to e-mail, you never need to make eye contact with editors you write for. But maybe you should. The payoff is more than you might imagine. Read more
Earn More, Do Less
More money is right around the corner for freelance writers. Follow these tips to double your writing rates painlessly. Read more
Increasing Your Freelance Writing Income
Excerpts from Robert Bly’s book, Write More, Sell More on ways to earn more money. Read more
Weaving Your Web
Here are seven must-know strategies to create an enticing, business-focused Web site. Read more
4 Ways to Make More Money as a Freelancer
Want to earn more as a writer? Bob Bly, author of Write More, Sell More, offers tips. Here’s one: “When supply outweighs demand, pay scales are low. That’s why most article and book writers don’t earn much money. When demand outweighs supply, writers can charge a premium. That’s why specialists earn the big money. Maximize your value by using your knowledge and experience to sell articles that few other writers would know how to do.” Read more
Is the Book Dead?
With all things electronic demanding our attention, with new media like e-books becoming more common and more sophisticated, is the ancient book dead. Hardly. Read why. Read more