I spent the lockdown writing a memoir about becoming a Dad unexpectedly when I was 24. I’m a few weeks shy of 40 today and now have three kids, for those keeping score.
Now, I normally write business books and also books about the craft of writing and the creative process. I also cover the creator economy on my personal site.
But I wanted to do something different with this book… and I knew it’d be a tough sell for an audience of writers.
I fired up my Facebook Ads account and set up some ads to build a list…
An expectant dad is better off preparing in advance of the delivery day rather than waiting until his partner’s waters break.
My girlfriend Audrey, nine months and ten days pregnant, flicked through a tattered copy of NOW magazine while waiting for the midwife to call her into the delivery ward.
A nurse pushed through the double doors and approached a grey-haired man sitting across the waiting room.
“Are you Tracey’s father?” she said.
“I am,” he said.
“Congratulations, your daughter gave birth to a healthy baby girl.”
The man stood and covered his mouth, sat down, stood up and wiped his face with the back of his grizzled hand. “Can I see her?”
The nurse smiled. “Why don’t you sit down…
Publish early. Publish often. A back catalogue of work gives you more chances to find an audience, promote and sell your work
The author James Patterson releases at least three books every year and has published over 300 titles. Whether you like his books or not, Patterson gives himself ample opportunities to connect with his readers every year.
It’s not just James Patterson. After interviewing dozens of indie authors and content creators who earn a full-time living online, the ones who earn the most rely on a deep back catalogue of books, courses and products readers can buy from.
Publishing early and often offers more opportunities for honing your craft. It’s kind of like the weightlifter at a gym who puts in…
Goals and targets are stressful. Let’s fix that.
Several years ago, I took a series of intensive creative writing classes in the Irish Writers’ Centre in Dublin city centre.
The instructor, a balding crank from Texas, tasked us with writing, “One true sentence”. He showed us examples from short stories by William Faulkner and Ernest Hemingway and teaching us was like, “Throwing meat to the lions at the zoo.”
After completing the course, I spent my evenings working on a collection of short stories. But no matter how many times, I read through each piece, they weren’t good enough.
So, I wrote and rewrote the same sentences and…
Start a newsletter is a great way of building a relationship with readers and earning more money as content creator
The internet is a noisy place, particularly for creators who want to build relationships with readers and fans. It’s hard to earn a living when so much great content is available for free.
Is a paid newsletter the answer for your content business?
Hamish McKenzie is co-founder and chief operating officer of Substack, a service that enables anyone to set up free and premium newsletters.
According to McKenzie, the service claims thousands of newsletter writers and millions of readers.
McKenzie, Christopher Best and Jairaj Sethi set up Substack in 2017. …
It’s kind of like playing a video game
Writing and publishing free content is a bit like releasing a video game demo. A casual gamer plays for a hour or two, puts the controller away and moves on.
A more serious gamer buys the game. They invest their time and attention in getting to the next level. Both get value but in radically different ways.
It’s ok for casual players to enjoy your free stuff, but build a premium offering for your dedicated fans. Help them breakthrough to the next level.
I set up my site Become a Writer Today in 2014 and wrote and published articles with…
Do it before investing back into your business.
The mechanic walked around my red 1995 Toyota Corolla, tapping on each one of my tires.
“Did you ever think of selling it?” He stood up and rubbed his greasy hand together.
“I can’t afford to buy a new car right now,” I said. “Can you fix it up so I can drive to work?”
“Oh, this car will run forever,” he said. “The old Corolla’s are built to last.”
“That’s good news.”
“But…”
“But?”
“It needs four new tires. They’re completely bald.”
“How much will that cost?”
He wrote down a figure of a piece of greasy paper and…
So, you want to write words that sell
After abandoning journalism, I worked as a freelance copywriter, agency copywriter, and in-house copywriter in the technology industry for over ten years.
A copywriter is an excellent way of earning a living from writing, but it’s a particular skillset, unlike writing fiction, blog posts or freelance articles.
Junior copywriters can earn $400000 to 50000 per year, senior copywriters can earn over $70000 per year, and top-tier copywriters can earn over six-figures per year. A few copywriters, who take a cut of high-performing sales pages, earn even more.
In this article, I’ll explain what copywriter is, what they work on and…
Setting SMARTER creative goals will help you earn more money, make and impact or build authority.
Most creatives are more interested in making something great than worrying about numbers and goals.
They strike many of us as like relics from the corporate world, the kind of place we worked long and hard to get out of.
I certainly thought so.
A few years ago, I read advice from David Brooks, an American writer for the New York Times and other publications. He said,
“Great creative minds think like artists but work like accountants.”
Yes, Mr Brooks!
There’s a time for…
Fear motivates creatives to keep going, but too much is debilitating. Find a middle-ground.
At the start of his career, George Carlin followed the style of other top comedians like the Smothers Brothers and Johnny Carson.
After achieving modest success, he worried he was nothing more than a derivative entertainer instead of an artist. He knew the world already had a Johnny Carson and the Smothers Brothers.
Carlin exposed parts of his inner life that most people keep hidden. He introduced what many saw as offensive bits into his acts and his comedy album FM and AM, released in 1972.
…
Bryan Collins
Author of The Power of Creativity — Dublin — Advice @ http://becomeawritertoday.com — Join my newsletter @ http://bryancollins.com
