What to do if you get stuck
Sometimes your lack of motivation doesn’t have anything to do
with your mental or physical state, it comes from feeling frus-
trated that there is a writing problem you can’t solve. For those
times, I have six strategies for you to put into practice:
✐ Go back. The problem probably is rooted in what has gone
before (or what has not gone before). What could happen
earlier that would make this moment more interesting,
more challenging, more suspenseful, more funny, or more
whatever you want it to be? Sometimes this means going
right back to the characters, not only to the previous action.
If you have miscast a character, fire him or her (as Elmore
Leonard does) and hire a new one.
✐ Think about what makes a party more interesting and con-
sider whether that might be what will make your scene
more interesting as well. The options include:
✒ introduction of a new character
✒ introduction of a different emotion (of course it must be
motivated)
✒ introduction of new information (that has emotional
implications)
✒ open out subtle conflict
✒ a subtext that goes counter to the text
✒ a dramatic change in the environment
✒ a realignment of loyalties
Consider whether any of these would help make your scene
more lively.
✐ Try the “opposite” technique. What would happen if your
story went in the opposite direction? (Of course, you’ll have
to justify this, but don’t worry about that at first.) You can
also try this with characters: What if it’s a woman instead of

a man; a young person instead of an old one; a foreigner
instead of a local; a neurotic instead of an assured person?
182 Persist!
✐ Question your inner guide as to the nature of the problem
and the solution.
✐ Ask your characters what should happen next. In your imagi-
nation, step into each character and write a page or two
about what’s on their minds, their feelings, and their
notions of their future. This is also a useful exercise if there
is one character you feel you don’t understand as well as the
others, or who is not coming alive on the page.
✐ Before you go to sleep, give your unconscious mind the request
for a solution
. The next morning, recall your dreams to
check if one appeared in them; if not, do a bit of brain-
storming to see what new ideas come up.
I hope this chapter has given you lots of ideas for how to stay the
course when you have undertaken a major project. Do come back
to it from time to time, especially if you feel your energy flagging.
It’s important that you keep going so eventually the world will be
able to share your creations. I’ll leave the last word to Tom Clancy:
“Success is a finished book, a stack of pages, each of which is
fille
d with words. If you reach that point, you have won a
victory over yourself no less impressive than sailing single-
handed around the world.”
KEY POINTS
✐ For each of your writing projects, keep a notebook in which
you answer the questions of creation, and refer to it if your
passion for that project starts to flag.

✐ An imaginary interview in which you pretend to have com-
pleted a large project already can help you plan the steps to
achieving it.
✐ Changing your metaphor for a problem or challenge can
help you solve it.
✐ Changing your self-talk can improve your performance.
Keep On Keeping On 183
EXERCISES
✐ If you have a large project coming up or are already
embarked on one, get a notebook and record your answers
to the questions of creation.
✐ What is the biggest challenge you face at the moment?
Come up with a metaphor for it. Then try changing the
metaphor to one that is less stressful and notice the differ-
ence. Sometimes the new metaphor also contains within it a
clue to a solution to the problem.
CHAPTER BONUS
On the website www.yourwritingcoach.com, click on the
“Chapter Bonuses” tab, then the “Keep On” tab, and type in the
code: keep. You will be taken to an exclusive video interview with
NLP practitioner and life coach Alice Mallorie, in which she
reveals the most successful motivational tools she uses with her
clie
nts.
184 Persist!
PART IV
SELL!
“You must not only have the idea, but must also believe in it
so strongly that you’re not going to take no for an answer.”
—Marcian Hoff

Samuel Johnson reportedly said, “No man but a blockhead ever
wrote, except for money.” I don’t agree with that, but naturally
we’d all like to be rewarded for our efforts. Whether or not this
comes as welcome news, it’s true that these days more and more
of the marketing effort falls to the writer. In this section you’ll
learn the traditional skills that are still important, such as writ-
ing an appealing book proposal or query letter. But those are no
longer enough; that’s why you’ll also find a chapter on innova-
tive, effective marketing techniques that very few of your com-
petitors will be using. You also have to understand what’s
happening in the marketplace, and the most important develop-
ment underway now is the decline of the old media, such as
newspapers and network television, and the rise of the new
media, such as internet sites, blogs, and interactive games. In this
part you’ll find a chapter on how to turn this trend into an
opportunity rather than a threat. Finally, the book concludes
with some useful advice on how to have a long and successful
career as a writer.
1155
Marketing Yourself
“The man with a new idea is a crank until the idea
succeeds.”
—Mark Twain
For a time you could hardly open a publication of any kind with-
out reading praise for the iPod (yes, I have one). But most of
them focused on the styling, the ease of use, the permutations
that keep appearing, and they missed the real genius of the entire
concept. Namely, that Steve Jobs was able to get the record com-
panies and artists to agree to a download service when “down-
load” was a word they associated with piracy and loss of control.

The iTunes site launched with about 200,000 songs and now
off
ers over a million. I mention this because so many creative
people feel their work is done when they’re only halfway there:
when their book is written, or they’ve come up with the idea for
a film, for example. It’s only real when it’s getting into the hands
of the end user; when—as Jobs did—you’ve overcome the
doubts of the skeptics and enlisted the cooperation of those who
can help you get your project out there and make it useful.
Most writers I have encountered hate the idea of having to
sell themselves and their work. Is that true of you? What projects
have you left half done? Maybe a few rejections put you off, or
somebody’s negativity convinced you to abandon the idea. Often
it’s the things closest to our hearts that we leave unfinished
because we fear the pain of failure. Is it time to go back to that
one “crazy” idea or project and get to work to make it come true?
If marketing yourself scares you, I have one thing to say:
You’re going to have to get over it. More than ever, the ability to
sell yourself is a crucial skill for the writer. The good news is that,
like any other skill, it can be learned. In fact, in this chapter and
the next you’re going to learn all you need to know about this
process. After that, it’s just a matter of practice. So if this subject
strikes fear into your heart, I’m going to take you by the hand
and guide you through it.
The process has several components, including the ability to
“pitch”; that is, to tell people enough about your story or idea to
get them to commission you or to ask to read the manuscript or
script. This is usually the aspect writers find most daunting, so
we’ll get it out of the way first. The next is to do a pitch on paper,
in the form of a query letter to an editor, publisher, or producer.

As you’ll see, this is very similar to a verbal pitch, it’s just written
down.
The pitch or query letter is enough to get you an assignment
to write an article, or to get someone to ask to read your short
story or novel manuscript or screenplay. However, if you want to
get a commission to write a non-fiction book, the publisher will
want to see a full proposal, so I’ll explain what that should look
like.
The
re is an old saying in sales, “Sell the sizzle, not the steak.”
That means showing people what makes a product exciting,
rather than just telling them what the product is. When someone
buys an expensive red sports car, he (and it usually is a he) is not
buying a vehicle to get him from point
A to point B, he’s buying
an image. That’s the sizzle. These days we writers are working in
an ever more competitive field, so we have to sell the sizzle, too,
not only about our project but also about ourselves. Therefore,
I’ll be showing you how to present yourself in a manner that gets
people excited about working with you.
This chapter covers the accepted, traditional, and still useful
ways of marketing yourself and your work. These are necessary,
but sometimes they’re not enough. That’s why I’ve included
Chapter 16, which covers creative and effective ways to go
beyond the usual techniques in order to really stand out in the
marketplace.
Marketing Yourself 187
Do you need an agent?
If you are writing articles, poetry, or short stories, you don’t need
an agent. In fact, most agents won’t even handle those areas. If

you’re writing books, you don’t always need an agent, but you
will find it beneficial to have one. The one type of writing for
which an agent is absolutely necessary is screenwriting. There are
few studios or production companies that will look at scripts or
ideas that are submitted directly by a writer. This is partly
because they assume an agent will take on only writers who have
a reasonable level of skill, which cuts down on the number of
unsuitable scripts the studios or companies have to read. It’s also
for legal protection, because an agent will keep track of when
material was submitted and to whom, which is helpful informa-
tion in fending off frivolous lawsuits from paranoid writers who
believe their material has been stolen.
What does an agent actually do?
Many writers assume that the most important thing an agent
does is negotiate a good fee for your writing and make sure you
are paid the royalties you are owed. That’s certainly one element
of their function, but even more important is their awareness of
who is looking for what. They spend a lot of time socializing
with buyers, following the trade press, and making phone calls.
It’s important to remember that they are not there to motivate
you, lend you money, edit your work, or be your friend. Some do
make editorial suggestions, usually in an effort to make your
work more salable. It’s a professional relationship and agents are
looking for clients who behave that way.
188 Sell!
How much do agents charge?
Most agents charge 10 to 15 percent of what you are paid. They
may charge more for foreign sales, as in that situation they may
be splitting a commission with another agent in the other coun-
try. They may also charge you for expenses directly relating to

submitting work on your behalf, such as postage, photocopying,
printing, and so forth. Reputable agents do not charge a reading
fee, and I strongly encourage you not to do business with any
who want to charge you for editorial services, or who say they
will represent you only if you use the editorial services of their
colleagues.
How do you find an agent and do you
have to sign a contract?
Probably the best way to connect with an agent is in person.
Many writing conferences invite agents and allow participants to
have brief meetings to pitch their projects. Even if you don’t talk
to the agents, seeing and hearing them give a talk or participate
in a panel discussion can help you get a sense of whether they
might be a good fit for you. Another strategy is to find out which
agent represents writers you admire. Often authors mention
their agents in the acknowledgments sections of their books, or
in interviews. You can also ask writing colleagues, writing
instructors, and editors with whom you’ve established a working
relationship.
There are listings of agents in a number of books and direc-
tories. In the UK, these include the
Writers’ and Artists’ Yearbook
and The Writer’s Handbook (both of these are annuals, so be sure
you have the most recent edition). In the US, agents are listed in
the
Literary Marketplace, which is available at most larger
libraries, the
Writer’s Market annual, and Writersmarket.com, a
subscription website. There’s also a useful list on the website
Marketing Yourself 189

www.aar-online.org. In most cases, entries in these directories
will give you an idea of the types of writers the agents handle,
how large the agency is, how long it has been established, and its
website. It’s always worth going to the agency website to get the
latest information. This is a business with many personnel
changes, and you don’t want to be addressing your submission to
an agent who doesn’t work there any more.
Agents may want to have you sign a contract just for the one
book or project with which you approached them, or they may
ask you to sign a one-year contract that would cover all of your
work during that time. Be sure to read the fine print carefully
and if there is anything that is confusing, ask. If there are terms
and conditions that seem unfair to you or that you don’t agree
with, you have the right to ask to strike those from the contract.
That may or may not be a deal breaker, but certainly you don’t
want to be tied to a contract that you consider is not in your best
interests. Naturally, if you have signed a contract with an agent,
during the term of that contract you will not be able to have the
work represented by anyone else.
Is it okay to send out multiple submissions
to agents?
It can take a long time to hear back from an agent, and I don’t
think it’s reasonable to expect you to sit around for six months
hoping for a “yes” only to get a “no” after all that time. I believe
it’s acceptable to send a query letter or a book proposal to a num-
ber of agents. If it’s a novel or screenplay and the agent then
wants to read the whole thing and says it will be done within a
reasonable time (four to six weeks), then stop sending out mate-
rial to others and wait for that response. If you’re lucky and get
several agents wanting to represent you, congratulations! Have a

chat with each one, ask how they plan to market your work, and
pick the best for you. If the others are upset, they’ll get over it.
190 Sell!
What if you don’t have an agent?
Quite a few publishers do consider books or proposals submit-
ted directly by authors. The same annuals I mentioned above list
publishers and what they are looking for, as well as submission
guidelines. Check the publishers’ websites to make sure that the
information is current.
If you are writing short stories, poems, or articles, you can
approach publications that use that kind of material. Again, the
annuals have information on a huge variety of publications, as
do magazines like
Writing Magazine and Writers’ News (UK) and
Writer’s Digest and The Writer (US). Needless to say, you should
look at several copies of a publication to make sure that what
you’re offering is in sync with what it wants.
Whether or not you have an agent, much of the work will fall
to you. One of the key skills you will require is the ability to
pitch, or verbally present, your material.
The power of the pitch
Come on a little fantasy with me. You step into an elevator,
bound for the 35th floor. Just before the doors close, someone
else gets in with you, glances at the buttons, and nods—they also
are going to the 35th. You look at this other person and gasp. It’s
a very important person, an editor or producer who is exactly the
target market for your work (henceforth referred to as the VIP).
You would sell your grandmother to have this person buy your
book or direct one of your scripts. The VIP looks depressed. You
work up the courage to ask what’s the matter.

The VIP says, “Oh, I just can’t seem to find a project worth
my time. I’m desperate—you don’t have anything I might want
to buy, do you?”
Narrowly avoiding fainting, you say that as a matter of fact
you do have a manuscript—does the VIP want to read it?
Marketing Yourself 191