First, you can self-publish your books, which means you assume all the risks, responsibilities, and rewards. Second, you can work with a hybrid publisher, which usually means you pay for their help with specific services, and they provide some of the functions of a traditional publisher. The third option, and the one most familiar to everyone, is traditional publishing. In this scenario, you sell your book to a publisher in exchange for an advance. They own the book but also take all the risk of producing and distributing the book, in addition to some marketing. Even though self-publishing has come a long way in the last ten or fifteen years, many authors still dream of getting a traditional publishing deal, especially with one of the big five New York publishers. If that’s your goal, you will need help in pitching your book to publishers to secure the best deal. That’s where a literary agent comes in. On today’s episode, I’m honored to talk with Mark Gottlieb, a New York literary agent who is here to give us the inside scoop on how to find and work with an agent. tentaclebimbo facebook Mark is the vice president and literary agent at book publishing’s leading literary agency, Trident Media Group in New York City. He attended Emerson College and was President of its Publishing Club, and established Wilde Press. After graduating with a degree in writing, literature and publishing, he began his career with Penguin’s VP. His first position at Trident Media Group was in foreign rights. He was the EA to Trident Media Group’s Chairman and ran the Audio Department. He is currently working with his own client list, helping to manage and grow author careers with the unique resources available to Trident Media Group. He is ranked highly among literary agents in overall deals and other categories. Some of the topics I talk about with Mark are: how he became a literary agent, what an agent actually does in the publishing ecosystem, the benefits of traditional publishing, what kinds of projects he looks for and how to stand out as an author, what the most successful authors do when pitching and working with an agent, and some common mistakes to avoid when trying to secure an agent. You can connect with Mark at https://literaryagentmarkgottlieb.com and find out more about the Trident Media Group at https://tridentmediagroup.com.

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But when she is swept away to Oz on a grand adventure, Dorothy finds that all she really wants is to go back home.

As writers, we are constantly dreaming about what’s next. The next book. The next conference. The next interview. The next connection. The next source of income. The next five years.

Dreaming about the future is important. Living in the here and now is also important. Appreciate who you are and where you’ve come from. Say “thank you” to the people who are supporting you. Remember where you came from.

All you have is today, this moment, right here and now. Don’t keep your head so far in the clouds that you forget to keep your feet planted on the ground.

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You enjoy being alone, which is a big benefit when trying to finish your writing. You’d mostly rather spend your time with books than people, which can help you dive deeply into literature and learning. You’d rather observe than participate, which can help you approach life like a journalist or researcher.

Those same tendencies can sometimes backfire, though.

The same strengths that help you become a great writer can make it hard for you to build an audience—which is something every writer must do.

Here are three quick tips for introverted writers on building an audience.

1. Don’t be afraid to put yourself and your writing out there.

Life is not all about observing others or writing about other people’s experiences. We want to hear what YOU have experienced and what YOU have to say about your topic.

2. Get out and have real conversations with people.

As introverts, we often live in our heads and avoid life in the real world. But this is where the action happens. Don’t think of people as “exhausting.” Instead, think of them as your best teachers and the reason you do what you do.

3. Don’t over-analyze this process.

Just start writing and course-correct as you go. You have to let go of the need to be perfect and have it all figured out. Just relax, get to work, and know you are intelligent and will figure it out as you go along.

Your greatest strength can also be your greatest weakness. Don’t get sucked into the lie that people are the enemy. You’re there to serve them, enjoy them, and learn from them.

Today’s Challenge: Choose one of these three tips and put it into practice today. Don’t wait or over-analyze it.

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One of the most common themes I come across when talking to writers is the frustration of being a creative, sensitive person… but wanting to build a successful business and doing all the things that requires.

In some ways, that’s the eternal question for creative people: how do you balance art and commerce?

That’s a huge question we can’t answer in one episode, but I’m thrilled to bring you a conversation with someone who can absolutely point us in the right direction.

Jenn Granneman is the co-author, along with her co-writer Andre Sólo, of the new book Sensitive: The Hidden Power of the Highly Sensitive Person in a Loud, Fast, Too-Much World. She’s also the author of The Secret Lives of Introverts. Both of these are wonderful books for writers!

Jenn is the founder of the popular website Introvert Dear, and she has dedicated her life to writing about topics like sensitivity and introversion after she realized how difficult it was to navigate a world that favors extroversion and insensitivity. She wrote her blog anonymously for almost two years because, as an introvert, she had no desire to be in the spotlight.

Today, her mission is to empower introverts and sensitive people to embrace their innate strengths, and to start seeing their nature as a good thing. She’s been featured in The New York Times, CNBC, The Guardian, and more. Sensitive was named an Amazon Editor’s Pick for Best Nonfiction.

In this conversation, we dive into topics from her new book. Jenn and I talk about the Sensitive Boost Effect, the connection between being an introvert and a sensitive person, advice for people who are worn out by social media and Zoom calls, advice for sensitive people and introverts on building a business, and much more.

You can find out more about Jenn, read her blog, and grab all her social media links at https://IntrovertDear.com. I also recommend you check out Jenn’s free quiz, available at https://sensitiverefuge.com.

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You can do the same thing. Curiosity works both ways. It’s important to be a curious writer, but you can also make people curious about you.

In other words, you can be a “person of interest” by doing interesting things.

A simple way to become more interesting is to share what you are working on. Use social media, email, conversations, meetings, masterminds, groups, and any means you can think of to share what you are learning as you write.

Being interesting is not about doing completely original things. After all, there is no such thing as being completely original. But when you share what you are doing, how you are growing, and what you are learning, you will become massively interesting to other people

Today’s Challenge: What is one thing you have learned recently you can share with others?

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But powerful words aren’t just reserved for classic speeches or world-renowned books. You have powerful words, too.

In fact, there is one single two-letter word that has more power than anything else in your vocabulary.

But first, a quote from E.B. White, who was the author of classic children’s books such as Stuart Little and Charlotte’s Web. He was also the second half of the Strunk & White duo, who gave us the classic writing guide, ​The Elements of Style.

E.B. White said this in response to an invitation: “I must decline, for secret reasons.” We do not know the reasons he declined, but we do know this: he said “no” to an invitation and he didn’t elaborate on the reasons. He was confident enough in his reasoning to let his simple “no” be a no.

“No” is such a small word—just two simple letters. But it has immense power because it can give you the freedom to make time for your writing and focus on what is most important to you.

You have a lot of things pulling you in different directions. It’s OK to say “no.” You can’t do everything, and you can’t please everybody.

If your writing is going to be a priority, you must make time and space in your life to write. That means saying no sometimes. It’s easier said than done. But if you want to reach your full potential as a writer, you must focus on doing the work that matters, rather than trying to make everybody else happy.

That little two-letter word, “NO,” is the key to your success.

Today’s Challenge: What can you say “NO” to today?

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In this series, we’ve talked about ten ways to make money as a writer:

1. Book Sales
2. Freelance Writing
3. Ghostwriting
4. Editing & Publishing Services
5. Speaking
6. Coaching
7. Courses
8. Products
9. Membership & Masterminds
10. Affiliates & Referrals

These aren’t the only ways to make money as a writer, of course, but these are ten of the most common ones.

Now that you’ve heard about them, what’s next? How do you get started?

While you may want to eventually make money with all of these income streams eventually, you can’t put them all into practice right now. I suggest that you reach for the low-hanging fruit first—meaning the easiest options. For most writers, that is probably going to be doing freelance writing or ghostwriting, plus getting some book sales.

If you’re getting started with making money as a writer, I’d recommend the following course of action over the next 90 days. Choose one, two, or all of them.

1. Start working on a very short book you can complete and publish in three months. Shoot for about 20,000 words or 120 pages or so. A short book will validate you as a writer and give you immediate credibility.
2. In the meantime, tell people in your network that you’re building a writing business and you’re available to write blog posts, social media posts, podcast show notes, or other short-form content. Create a sheet with your pricing options and make this easily available. Do a bit of work for free in order to get a testimonial and referral, then build on that momentum as you get more paid work.
3. Become an affiliate for a couple of products or services that you love. Then, start promoting those to your email list and other places. If you don’t yet have an email list, it’s time to get started. I recommend ConvertKit.

If you get to work immediately and take consistent, daily action on just these three items, within three months you are almost certain to have some income from writing. It will be slow at first, but keep at it and you will succeed over time.

Today’s Question: Which of the three steps I’ve mentioned are you willing to commit to over the next 90 days?

The post Making Money as a Writer: How to Get Started appeared first on Daily Writer | Essential Habits for Impact & Influence.

As a writer, you use lots of different products and services. Many of those have an affiliate program that pays you a percentage of what they receive from the customer whenever the customer purchases through your individual affiliate link.

I love affiliate income because it’s like getting paid to recommend things you are already using. For example, I’m an affiliate for ConvertKit, the email marketing service. (The link I just shared is an affiliate link.) When people use my link to sign up with the service, I get a portion of what they pay ConvertKit. The basic idea is that ConvertKit is rewarding me for recommending their product because they may not have had that customer without my recommendation.

Another example is the course, Book Marketing Mastery, created and taught by Honorée Corder. The course is great, and I know it’s something that will benefit you. Plus, it doesn’t cost you any more to sign up through my affiliate link because Honorée gives me a portion of what you pay her for the course.

And by the way, if you’d like to sign up for Book Marketing Mastery, visit https://dailywriterlife.com/bookmarketingmastery and use the code “DailyWriter” (that’s all one word) to get 10% off.

One thing I want to mention is that an affiliate is different than a sponsor. The difference is in how you get paid. With an affiliate partnership, you get a percentage of what the customer pays the affiliate. With a sponsorship, the company or person behind the product or service you’re promoting pays you directly to advertise it. For example, whenever you hear me mention sponsors on the podcast, that means they have paid me to promote their product or service.

Let’s talk about referral income for a moment. It’s essentially the same thing as affiliate marketing, except referrals happen when you make a personal recommendation to someone. For example, I have friends who are editors, designers, coaches, or other service providers. When I send someone their way, and the client or customer pays them, they pay me a small percentage of what they make as a “thank you.”

I do the same thing when people send me a ghostwriting client. I pay the referral partner 10% of whatever I make from the client. I’m happy to do this because it keeps the money flowing and it generates a lot of goodwill.

Here is the main key with affiliates and referrals: you must do it in an ethical and responsible way. I never promote people or products that I don’t personally use or recommend, whether it’s an affiliate, podcast sponsor, or service provider. If you’re already using and recommending certain products or service providers, check to see if they have an affiliate or referral program, then start promoting them in an ethical way. It’s a great way to grow your bank account and have a lot of fun in the process!

Today’s Question: What products or services are you already using that have an affiliate program? Who is someone providing a service that you can send customers or clients to, and possibly receive a referral payment?

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Memberships and masterminds are two different things, but they are similar in many ways, which is why I’ve lumped them together in this episode. The main idea of both of these is that people have access to you on some type of ongoing basis. They are paid products that have a barrier to entry in the form of payment. By definition, it means that people are generally more serious about growth and learning because they have to pay more than they would for a book.

Now don’t get me wrong, we should offer free help. This podcast, as well as my blog posts and free Daily Writer Starter Kit guides, are my main ways of offering free, helpful content. But if people want to grow, they need to have some skin in the game. The way they show they are serious is if they pay for access.

Memberships and masterminds can have all kinds of different structures. But, in general, a membership is a group that has a recurring monthly charge and offers resources, courses, calls, and community interaction. A mastermind is a higher-level group where you have more access to the leader, and you are actively adding value to the other group members to help each other succeed in specific areas.

I currently offer a membership, the Daily Writer Club, which you’ve heard me promote before. I’ve also at times offered a higher-level Daily Writer Elite Mastermind. I love offering these paid experiences because I know that when people invest in themselves, they will accelerate their success.

A membership or mastermind might be something you should consider as well. Think about the different types of value you could add to others and if people would be willing to pay for ongoing resources or access to you in these types of formats. You might be surprised how much you enjoy running them and helping your fans and readers in a more direct way.

Today’s Question: What specific ways could you help people be more successful by offering a membership or mastermind?

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Many writers create hats, t-shirts, mugs, journals, and an endless array of other merchandise and products based on their brand. One of my favorite examples of a writer who creates unique and interesting products based on his writing is Ryan Holiday. His products include special editions of his books, coins featuring figures and mottos of Stoicism, a calendar, rings and jewelry, prints, and much more. See https://dailystoic.com for some great examples.

Products can be a great way to set yourself apart from others who are writing about the same topics. But let’s be honest: most writers don’t have the business mindset or the persistence to go through the stages of developing a successful product. However, if you are committed to building your audience and thinking like a business owner, and not just a writer, products can be a great source of income.

This an area I absolutely want to dive into more over the next couple of years. At our recent Daily Writer retreat, I had special journals, pens, and tumblers made with the Daily Writer logo. Everyone loved them! This was an experiment to see the response to some potential products, and it convinced me to dive into this area more.

My personal view on products is that you need to be willing to test some products and have a real entrepreneurial spirit to make these successful. You also need a customer base who can buy the products consistently in order for it to be profitable and justify the time and effort to create them.

That said, products can be a great way to stand out as a writer because most writers won’t go to the trouble of messing with them. So, I definitely encourage you to give it a shot!

Today’s Question: If you were going to design a product with your logo or brand, what would it be?

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