When it comes to regular clients, I do my best to keep the price low.  This fellow has used my services more than ten times now.  Most projects are big ones (like sales pages), but there are smaller ones like rewriting headlines, writing introductions for promotional material, and in this case, writing Clickbank promo ads.

The best part about this client (apart from the repeat business) is he pays upfront, and rarely asks for rewrites.

In addition to doing copywriting, I've also worked on my fiction this past fortnight.  My writing group (MRWG) runs a BIGFAT irregularly, which helps keep us all writing, and motivated. (BIGFAT = Bum Is Glued, Fingers Are Typing.  It's a bit like a BIAW or BIAM, only we endeavour to write as much as possible in a one week period. We don't aim to write an entire book.)

Over the past few years I've done less and less fiction, spending more time on my non-fiction writing.  I'm trying to spend more time on fiction, as it's been on the back-burner for a long time.

Next month (July 23) my novel Saving Emma will be re-released by The Wild Rose Press, and I've already begun my promotional efforts.  I expect to spend quite a bit of time promoting over the next few months.

A few days ago I submitted a query and synopsis for a novella and have already had a request for the full.  I'll have to wait and see if it's accepted or not.

Many writers tell me they can't get published.  The biggest factor in getting published is submitting.  If you don't submit, you won't be published.

If your work gets rejected, resubmit somewhere else. And yes, I've had loads of rejections over the years.  I don't dwell on rejections - I dust myself off and move on.

One of the most important lessons I learned in my fiction writing career was to research publishers, and ensure you submit to the right one.

After about eleven rejections for the one novel, this piece of advise was given to me.  A little late, I thought, but in reality it wasn't too late, as it was a lesson I needed to learn for myself.

Having learned this information, and spending a lot of time researching, I was certain the next publisher I submitted to was perfect for my novel, so I submitted.  And yes, it was accepted.

Whether it's fiction or non-fiction you write, a little research can go a long way toward your quest for publication.  Always ensuring you are targeting the correct publisher puts you closer to acceptance.

Okay, let's get onto this week's article. 

One of the hardest things for new (and even experienced) writers to do is write believable dialogue.  The problem stems from the fact we can't write it the way we speak.  It has to be readable, but often it seems like the message is 'lost in the translation'.

Judy Bagshaw has written a great article on this subject.  Whether you write romance or something else entirely, do take the time to read the article as it will help writers of all genres, not just romance.

You can also read this issue online here:

Read the entire article here