Your Guide to a Successful Writing Career
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Getting Started: Launching Your Writing Career

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Begin at the Beginning...
What Is a Writer? - Moira Allen
A Beginner's Guide to Writing Terminology - Dawn Copeman
How to Read 'How To Write' Books, by Sean McLachlan
How to Sit Down and Write an Article - Dawn Copeman
Learning the Craft - Dawn Copeman
Self-Belief: The Vital Ingredient - Dawn Copeman
Should You Write for Free? - Moira Allen
When Procrastination is a Good Thing - Barbara Florio Graham

Choosing a Career Path
Should You Specialize or Generalize? - Moira Allen
Take Your Specialty for a Spin - Moira Allen
What Kind of Writer Do You Want to Be? - Terje Johansen

Setting Writing Goals
Planning Your Writing Career - Dawn Copeman
Setting Effective Writing Goals - Moira Allen
Goals Are Worthless If... - Brian Jud

Finding Ideas
Five Unusual Places to Look for Article Ideas - Chryselle D'Silva Dias
Where Oh Where Are All the Good Article Ideas? - Patricia Fry

Should You Quit Your Day Job?
Balancing Act: Ten Reasons to Keep Your Day Job - Denene Brox
Making the Leap from a "Real Job" to Freelancing - Kathy Sena
To Plunge or Not to Plunge? - Moira Allen
Fifty Tips on Taking the Plunge - Moira Allen
Ready to Quit Your Day Job? - Hasmita Chander
To Job or Not To Job: A Writer's Question - Antonio Graceffo


Moving On...

For more information on getting started, visit these helpful sections:

Classes, Critiques, Conferences & Networking
Build your writing skills through classes, critique groups, and other opportunities; find out how to network for more help and information.
Queries, Submissions and Market Research
When to query instead of submitting a complete article; how to craft a query; crafting e-mail queries; formatting submissions; locating market information and choosing appropriate markets.
Honing Your Craft
Tips on building your article or story; editing and polishing your work; structural issues that can make or break a sale; grammar tips.
Research & Interviews
Good research and effective interviews can make the difference between a sale and a rejection; find out how to locate experts, get the right interviews, and gather information.
Rights & Copyright
What every writer needs to understand about print rights, electronic rights, copyright, and whether publishers will "steal" your work.
The Business of Writing
Your job doesn't end when the article goes out the door; find out what you need to know about tracking income and expenses; handling contracts and payments; taxes; and tracking submissions.
The Writing Life
Learn how to cope with rejection and the many other frustrations of the writing life; plus, tips on healthy writing habits; how to jump-start the creative process; how to write when you're not in the mood.

For more information, check our links to:
More Writing Sites · Publications for Writers


Recommended Reading

(Yep, these are affiliate links - use them to help support Writing-World.com! As an Amazon Associate I earn from qualifying purchases.)


Writer's Market

Writer's Market Deluxe Online Edition

Feature and Magazine Writing

Freelancing for Newspapers

Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer: How to Win Top Writing Assignments

Stephen King: On Writing

Starting Your Career as a Freelance Writer

Writer's Guide to Queries, Pitches and Proposals

Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing

Writing to Win:
The Colossal Guide to Writing Contests

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Becoming a successful writer isn't just about mastering great writing skills. It's also about overcoming the challenges and obstacles of the writing life: Rejection, fear of failure, lack of time, writer's block, the "Am I Really a Writer?" syndrome, and, of course, friends and family who just don't get it.

Fortunately, you're not alone. We've all been there. So here's a handy "survival guide" that will bring you inspiration, motivation, support and good old-fashioned advice to help you through the tough times. Don't let those writing gremlins keep you from achieving your dreams!

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