What does your fiction say about you?

Writing is very personal. I write both non-fiction and fiction. Of course my non-fiction is very straightforward. I’m knowledgeable about dogs and want to help other dog owners. My book Caring for Your Special Needs Dog was inspired because of my dog, Oscar who suffers from epilepsy. I wanted to help other owners of special needs dogs.

Fiction writing is more unique but it too is personable and can share a lot of insight about its author. My young adult novel takes place around and in the ocean. Why did I choose this setting? It’s simple—I love the ocean. My husband and I are SCUBA divers so I can easily write about that setting from my personal experiences.

You might also find it easy to believe that there is a dog in my young adult novel. My YA is a fantasy tale but you can find pieces of the real me throughout it. Writing takes a lot of time, patience and heart so it only makes sense to incorporate yourself in your fictional stories. Plus, it can save you on some research time.

What does your writing say about you?

Announcements:

I will be teaching another class of my Writing Moms: How to do it all without losing your mind Write It Forward Workshop this March. It is a month long workshop focused on busy writing moms, something I know a lot about. Click here for more information.

Who Dares Wins Publishing offers fantastic writing craft and industry Write it Forward Workshops. Be sure and check them all out here.

My book, Caring for Your Special Needs Dog is out and a percentage of the profits go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

This writer’s Thanksgiving

Having worked in public relations, communications and television I feel most thankful now to be a full-time writer. I really have always loved every job I have had but I really love what I am doing today and anytime someone can say that, they should give thanks.

I love the flexibility. The opportunity to explore new worlds through the eyes of my characters and to meet new characters, both good and bad. On the non-fiction front, I love to meet people that I probably wouldn’t meet if it wasn’t for some of the topics I cover. I love the chance to educate others on ideas and subjects that are important to me and that deserve to be shared. I love possibilities. I love walking into a bookstore and walking through the rows thinking that someday the book I’m writing now will be among those bestsellers.

I’m most thankful for the community I’ve met in the writing world. First I joined Romance Writer’s of America (even though I don’t write romance) and later I became part of the great publishing family at Who Dares Win Publishing when I published my first book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’. It is wonderful to have found such a great resource and support in both communities.

I have wonderful friends and a support group in my critique partners and beta readers for my fiction work. You know who you are. But I’m most thankful for my family. They are the ones that understand and support my writing career the most and help me make it all work even with an active toddler and dog who often is more trouble then our daughter!

If you’re a writer, what/who are you giving thanks for on this holiday?

Announcements:

The 2012 Write-It-Forward Workshop schedule is up. Take a look at the fantastic line-up including back by popular demand, Writing Moms (March 2012) and the new Time Management for the Busy Writer (October 2012) in time for NANOWRIMO both by Natalie C. Markey.
A percentage of the profits from Markey’s ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

The benefit of beta readers

Are you doing everything that you can for your writing? My answer until recently was no. I recently asked some of my best friends to read my work. They are not writers so they are not reading for the same things that my critique partner reads for but they are avid readers and care about my success.

They have picked up on inconsistencies that I dropped during my many drafts but more importantly they let me know how much they love my story. It is so important to have cheerleaders other than your family. You don’t have to be published in fiction to have fans. Let your friends fall in love with your characters and know what you spend countless hours on.

Let your friends be your beta readers and give them an opportunity to read a great story for free! How did you find your beta readers? Do you have friends that love to read the genre you write in as well?

Blog Mash-up:

Story Climax: The Whole Point- Guest: Victoria Mixon at author Jami Gold’s blog

Structure Part 7: Genre Matters by author Kristen Lamb

# Nanowrimo Why do you write by author Bob Mayer

Announcements:

The 2012 Write-It-Forward Workshop schedule is up. Take a look at the fantastic line-up including back by popular demand, Writing Moms (March 2012) and the new Time Management for the Busy Writer (October 2012) in time for NANOWRIMO both by Natalie C. Markey.

A percentage of the profits from Markey’s ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

How movies help us write

This past weekend I attended the North Houston Romance Writers of America Writer’s Conference where author/screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff taught her acclaimed workshop of screenwriting tricks for author. I’ve read her book, “Screenwriting Tricks for Authors” and absolutely loved it. I’m a huge fan of outlining and I personally feel that storyboarding is the best way to go. That may be because I’m a very visual person. I wrote my first YA manuscript as a panster and it became a disaster in the revision process when I kept finding plot holes and major character flaws.

Now I storyboard. I learned from Sokoloff that some of our best writing tools are movies. In her book and workshop she suggests listing 10 movies that are similar to what you write. From there you have something to analyze based on the criteria that she teaches. There really is a formula to the craft and it isn’t rocket science to follow it.

An area that I’ve been struggling with is how to wrap up my sub plots in my current WIP. I love books that have strong sub plots that compliment and add to the overall theme of the plot. I love how these elements can add beautiful layers to a well-written story. She suggested focusing on movies that do this well and modeling my structure after that. I found this to be great advice and now I’m making a list of movies with strong sub plots.

Overall, it was a wonderful conference and weekend. I got to meet some fantastic literary agents, see some of my writing friends and baby got to see family. If it wasn’t for the car breaking down on the drive down from Arkansas the weekend would have been a complete success!

You can learn more about Alexandra Sokoloff at her website. I highly recommend her book “Screenwriting Tricks for Authors.” How have used movie viewing to help your writing skills?

Announcements:

The 2012 Write-It-Forward Workshop schedule is up. Take a look at the fantastic line-up including back by popular demand, Writing Moms (March 2012) and the new Time Management for the Busy Writer (October 2012) in time for NANOWRIMO both by Natalie C. Markey.

A percentage of the profits from Markey’s ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ go to The Texas A&M Foundation to the benefit of the Neurology Section, Department of Small Animal Clinical Sciences, College of Veterinarian Medicine.

Blog Mash-ups:

Nanowrimo: Narrative Structure Cheat Sheet by Author and Screenwriter Alexandra Sokoloff

Tips on Marketing Your Novel by Literary Agent Natalie M. Lakosil

How outlining is like parenting

How do you outline? For my first YA I was in every sense of the word—a panster. For my freelance projects and my non-fiction, including my book ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ I use a very detailed outline. But I’m changing things up for my current work in progress. I’m using, what I call a working outline. With this outline, I stay at least ten scenes ahead of my writing. This way I have direction but still have freedom to be creative and let the characters speak for themselves.

Really, this is like parenthood. As a working-from-home mother to a one-year-old, I try my best to plan my day. Any mother will agree with me that such an idea is impossible. So, my new outline approach is like parenthood. I plan but I also leave room for the unpredictable.

I believe that writers have to experiment with various processes to find what works best for them. My YA came together finally but without following a plan it did make the revision process much longer and more of a challenge. That is why I decided to try something new this time around. Currently, I’m researching for my next non-fiction dog book. By the time I begin writing it, I will have every chapter and section fully outlined.

How do you outline? How did you come to find what works for you?

Announcements:

I will be hosting a live webinar on September 26 6:30-8 PDT with Farm Dogs USA titled ‘Caring for Special Needs Dogs.’ My lecture will be based off my book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ along with new research I have found. Click here for more information.

Friday blog shout-outs to….

Author Susan Meier shared her plotting secrets on author Anna DeStefano’s blog. This is a not to miss read!

Author Jami Gold’s post ‘What Wrong Turns Have You Made?’ is so true and insightful.

Social Media expert, Kristen Lamb talks ‘Spam Toad vs. Author Brand’ in another fabulous and humorous article.

Freelance Writing: A Gateway to “Authorhood?” Part 3

Thank you for sticking with me these last few days as I’ve attempted to share what knowledge I have gained as a freelance writer. Don’t miss part 1, where I discussed my personal journey as a freelance writer, plus to good and the ugly of the business. In part 2, I spoke with award-winning author Christie Craig on her personal journey from freelance writer to author. Today, I’m discussing the transition from freelance career to “authorhood” and when to say no to articles. I’ll also share some suggestions on how to get started if you want to freelance.

Christie Craig said yesterday that she no longer writes freelance since she is writing four books a year. I’m not there yet but I too am starting to feel the pressure of too much writing and not enough time. My solution? I prioritize based on contract obligations. I’ve been writing for local Houston magazine off and on for seven years. They have been good to me and I like loyalty, so they will be the last that I quit. I also, write many articles a week for Examiner.com but I have scaled back on local columns with them due to time constraints. I continue to write weekly for my Special Needs Dog Care Examiner column and my The Mortal Instruments Examiner column. You may see a pattern here. The first ties directly into my book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog.’ I count this as easy marketing that I can control. The second keeps me in the loop among the active young adult community, which is another genre that I write in.

Currently, I will not take on anymore contract writing assignments. Other than what I mentioned, I write to guest blog articles promoting my material and furthering my network. I also query topics related to what I’m writing to specific magazines, but these would all be the one time gig. It is easy to over commit yourself and lose sight of your real goal.

Do you want to be a freelance writer forever? I don’t but like Christie Craig, I appreciate what it is teaching me and using such skills to make me a stronger and more marketable author.

So how do you get started in freelance writing? In part 1 of this blog series you learned how I got started while still in school. I know some of us can’t go back and get that time but it’s never too late to set goals and strive to reach them. I recommend the following:

1. Write a letter with your qualifications and some topic ideas that you have for a local magazine. Be sure and write something that lets the editor know that you read the magazine. Off some suggestions to make it better and how you can help contribute to that.

2. Research local and National publications that cover topics you are interested in. Focus on publications that accept queries. A query is a letter suggesting a topic giving away some details but without writing the entire article. You will also share your credentials in such a letter. I am not a fan of publications that require a full article for consideration. This takes up a significant amount of your time and could be for nothing. I do understand the value in finishing a manuscript prior to querying but not with a feature article.

3. Be persistent, not annoying. There is one magazine that I’ve always wanted to be featured in (I’m not saying which one!) My topics have never matched up with their issue goals. I’ve had bad timing but I resend new ideas along with reminding them of my old ones twice a year. Maybe someday it will pay off and I’ll write a big blog post about it!

4. Set aside a certain amount of time for freelance research. I’m always looking for publications that would be a match for topics that I write on and speak on.

5. Never lose sight of your main goal. My main goal is to be an author. Long before my first book was published, I kept a sticky not by my workspace that said, “AUTHOR.” This way I always remembered the BIG picture and didn’t get lost among the articles.

I hope that this blog series was helpful for you. Next week I will return to my usual Wednesday and Friday posts. Since these posts were all closely related, I wanted them coming out back to back.

Do you write freelance? How did you land your first article?

Announcements:

Take a deep breath and remember your real writing goal. Many of us use stepping-stones to reach goals but don’t get lost among those steps. A fantastic read is “Warrior Writer: From Writer to Published Author” by Bob Mayer. I thought I was organized, but this book really shaped my writing process so that I keep things on track to reaching my big picture goals.

Freelance Writing: A Gateway to “Authorhood?” Part 1

Many of my Twitter followers read my tweets about meeting freelance deadlines and how happy I am to finish so I can return my focus to my WIP or research for my WIP. Such relief often can be misunderstood, even though it is always a wonderful feeling when I hit the ‘submit’ button and send an article to an editor, freelancing has made and continues to make me the writer that I am today. For that, I am grateful for the path I am on and because this is such a huge topic, I’m discussing it in a three part. Part two will be out tomorrow followed by part three on Sunday. But how did I get into freelance writing and what do I think?

I started freelance writing ten years ago during high school. I knew then, after too many injuries from my dance career, that I wanted to be a writer. The problem was that I wasn’t sure what kind of writer. At that time, I had recently won the National Scholastic Writing Competition with a short story but was told by teachers that I couldn’t make a living as a fiction writer (well, HA to that as now I’m sure trying!) I volunteered for free labor. I spoke to the local Chamber of Commerce and any small, local publications and wrote for free. It was a great experience and opportunity to have my writing seen by people outside of school.

I attended Baylor University, where I studied Journalism, Public Relations and Business Management; because remember, there is no money in fiction (a great example on how you shouldn’t always listen to your elders.) In one of my favorite PR courses, I was required to find a freelance position out in the community. Since, I use to dance and perform in theatre it was no surprise when I started working for a local and historically beautiful theatre house. And to make it better, they paid me to write for them! I would send articles to local publications about upcoming performances. I wrote press releases and held press conferences for the media. It was a wonderful experience.

After that job, finding work came easier. I began to write and get paid by several local publications. I queried a political PR topic to the Public Relations Society of America quarterly publication and was accepted. That was my first National published piece (and yes, I’m a dork it is framed.)

After graduation, I always continued to freelance part-time in addition to having “real jobs.” It did bring in money and I would use that for my “play” money. When my husband was transferred to Houston, I quit my job and had the luxury to be picky in my search. I didn’t find anything that I really wanted to do. I’ve always been the type that wants to love my work and nothing was standing out to me that was worth the pay. I decided to take my part-time freelance work and see how it would work as a full-time position. That’s when I began to write for Examiner.com and I still continue to write for local and National publications, as topics I query are accepted.

So here is the good and the ugly of the freelancing business!

The Ugly:

1. For most, it starts out as volunteer work or with very little pay. You have to prove yourself and pay your dues.

2. Querying and finding contracts can be very draining.

3. The pay is not consistent. I have good months and not so good months but I keep trucking along.

4. It takes a lot of discipline and dedication to meet the deadlines and still make time for any other writing projects that you have such as fiction writing. You are your own boss.

5. There are no traditional benefits. For me this isn’t s big issue since I was married and my husband had benefits when I took this full-time.

The Good:

1. I have the opportunity to cover topics and talk to amazing people that otherwise I wouldn’t have had the privilege to speak with.

2. I love the opportunity to learn about things. Having a curious nature, I believe is a must for a freelance writer.

3. It gives me the opportunity to see my work published. A thrill for any writer.

4. Through freelancing, I’m practicing my craft everyday and always learning and improving.

5. It gives me the flexible life that I love. I set my own hours, which is ideal for a working-from-home mom BUT this means that I must always stay on top of deadlines and writing goals.

For me, freelance writing has been an excellent step into becoming an author. For my debut book, ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ I was all ready accomplished as an interviewer and researcher that helped me greatly. My dog inspired that book, but I involved many families points-of-views, not wanting the book to be all about Oscar.

Freelancing introduces a writer to many different styles, which I’m finding is helping me with my fiction work. It also instill work ethic and proves to future editors and agents that you are capable of being professional and meeting deadlines. These are all great reasons why freelance writing can easily be a gateway to “authorhood” and other authors are experiencing success from the same path.

Tomorrow, I’ll be talking with award-winning author, Christie Craig who also followed a freelance writing path to “authorhood.” She writes sexy, suspenseful and seriously funny romantic fiction. Not that that was enough to keep her busy, she writes the YA paranormal Shadow Falls series and non-fiction for writers. Craig is funny and very insightful. She also, has a large and beloved family dog, Max so I can relate to her greatly! Check back tomorrow morning to read her thoughts on freelance writing.

Do you write freelance? How did you get started? Do you feel that this is helping or has helped your journey toward “authorhood,” if that is your goal?

Announcements:

This week, I was a guest at Joy Held’s Writer Wellness blog. Check out my “A-Musing” post and share what motivates you as a writer.

I have begun research and interviews for my next book in my non-fiction dog book series with Who Dares Wins Publishing. The topic is dogs and children and how to create introductions that will lead to positive and beneficial relationships for them both. Please email me at NatalieCMarkey.com if you feel you could contribute.

Check out ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ to learn easy, common sense ways to give your dog the best quality of life from the perspective of owners that are making it work. Your dog doesn’t have to have a disability to benefit from this book. Some dogs are “special” in many ways.

Some great blogs to follow:

http://writeitforward.wordpress.com/ Bob Mayer

http://jenniholbrooktalty.wordpress.com/ Jennifer Holbrook

http://warriorwriters.wordpress.com/ Kristen Lamb

http://inspiration4writers.blogspot.com/ Inspiration for Writers, Inc.

I wish I had done this sooner

Most writers have a story. Why are you a writer? When I was at the National RWA Conference in NYC I heard so many writers talk about how they wish they had started writing sooner. I do feel that there has been a shift in the attitude of the writing career. I remember being in high school and winning the Scholastic Writing Competition in the short story category. Of course, I was thrilled but I remember my teacher telling me to go into journalism because there is no money in fiction writing. I believed her.

Well, I’ve got news—there isn’t much money in journalism or public relations either. However, I’m glad that I went that route. I believe that every experience we have makes us better writers. I’ve read countless times from many successful authors, that you must write what you know. Now, in my young adult fantasy, Atlantis doesn’t really exist (at least it doesn’t to the best of my knowledge) but if you know me, then you know that I love the ocean so it is no surprise that I incorporate it into my fiction writing.

I also incorporate what is important to me in my non-fiction. I write about dogs from an owner’s perspective. In my freelance writing, I’ve literally covered any topic from how to create a brilliant dining room tablescape, to a National Alligator Festival, and aviation pollution studies. For me, being a professional writer is the ultimate cure to boredom. Even through my fiction research, I get to study and become an “expert” on so many topics. Even though the industry is tough and the work is not easy, this is by far my favorite job. To echo what many said at Nationals this year, I do wish I had taken the leap into professional writing sooner.

That leap doesn’t come lightly. It certainly didn’t for me. I like making money, who doesn’t? For me, I eased into a full-time writing career from years of part-time freelancing that just evolved. The big push for me came when I had my daughter and I wanted to work from home. Some writers are still writing well into the night and on breaks from other jobs. I salute you if you are one of these people.

How did you become to be a writer? What made you take that leap? I do think that we will see more young, out of school writers. As a speaker, one of my topics in schools is goal setting. I use to never hear anyone say that they wanted to be an author, now that career option is mentioned much more frequently.

Announcements:

I've noticed some outstanding blog posts this week. Check them out:

Where Do You Want Me? Choosing Narrative Distance in Multiple Third Person by Janice Hardy

Five More Mistakes That Will Expose You As a Rookie by Larry Brooks

Efficiency 101: The Power of “No” by Kait Nolan

Three Tricks to Keep Your Eyes Fresh When Revising by Jill Kemerer

On September 26 6:30-8PM PDT I will be hosting a webinar through Farm Dog USA on ‘Caring for Your Special Needs Dog’ based on my book by the same title. I will be posting sign-up information as soon as it becomes available.

This October I will be teaching an online workshop on the ‘Writing Mommy: Making it all work without losing your mind’ through Who Dares Wins Publishing's Write It Forward workshops. I will post a sign-up link when it’s available.