Sell Your Writing and Make More Money

As a freelance writer words stand as your only connection to the editor/publisher (and a paycheck). Beyond that, you remain a nameless faceless entity. Take heed of these five common weaknesses most writers fall into while trying to produce more product in less time:

1) Passive. Is, are, was, were, have, had and has. This works in sections of fiction if you are trying to pace a story a certain way. I know I'll hear from people on this. It's usually from people who insist on doing it. I don't care what you say, unless you really know what you're doing with it, and it's an add-on device, it will stall what you are trying to say. In nonfiction, a verb trumps an adjective or adverb ALWAYS. When I read fiction, I feel the same way. Every now and then, when a writer is trying to bring nostalgia or pacing into it, passive works, but not much. You want someone doing something to someone.

2) There is/There are. It's like the stuff above, but a personal one for me. I didn't realize I did it, but early on, an editor grabbed me and pointed out that I used the phrase "there is" and "there are" quite a bit. Invariably, it can be rewritten, and it will be stronger as a result. When I write, I scan for all of the key words I'm mentioned to decided whether or not they should be changed. Also invariably, I do change them.

3) Cliches. Like a ton of bricks. The thing that makes writing good is to draw a picture the reader can identify with. We cling to cliches (and I do this, too) because they're familiar. A good writer reaches for common things to relate to other familiar things. One of my favorite lines is from a Lyle Lovitt song. He's talking about the aroma of coffee. "Coffee's on the stove. You can smell it crawling in from the kitchen." How great is that? You immediately conjure up that picture. So think outside the box (Yes, I did that on purpose).

4) Chronological. I just edited a book that was a fairly good story but the guy went pretty much from his birth to the present day. That wasn't the story. The story that his mother was on a track to become the next Patsy Cline and decided to put her family first. The rest of it was side story. Figure out what the most important part of your topic is, and feature that. It sounds easy, but it's much easier to just tell something in order. Not as interesting though.

5) Many, Very, Some. Weak, weak, weak. If you use these terms, chances are you haven't researched something enough to be specific. Although they were almost extinct, there are many bald eagles in Maryland now. A good reporter would ask an approximate number and then relate it to how many eagles soared the Maryland skies just 10 years ago, and so on. When I was on a short deadline and had a restaurant review to do, my best friend always told me he could add as many "verys" to the story to make it fit the space to fill it up. "It was very, very, very good." You can say so much more that will say the same thing.

If you do little more than spell check your writing, scan your work for these little points. Use it as a checklist, just as I did the "they are" "there is." Make your writing shine, and you'll be selling---and earning---more!