Welcome to the Year of Fearless Writing!
You write. I mean, that's why you're here. But how often do you say "I'm a writer?" And what's the difference between "I write" and "I'm a writer" anyway?
Over the last five years, YeahWrite--besides being a great place to develop and playtest your writing, build community, and enter one of the best and friendliest competitions on the web--has devoted a lot of time and space to teaching writing. This year, we want to focus on learning what it is to be a writer. So if one of your new year's resolutions for 2019 was to take your writing to the next level, you're in the right place. Our Year of Fearless Writing is focused on the craft of being a writer. We'll take you through subjects like how to submit, developing a professional presence, finding and working with professionals, and what it takes to get your story, essay, or novel in the right place at the right time, so that by this time next year you'll be able to say "I'm a writer" with confidence.
January's topic: tracking your submissions. By this point you've probably got a backlog of stories or essays and some idea of where you'd love to get them published, but how does that work? There's a little more to it than just hitting the "submit" button, and we're about to walk you through what that is- and why you should do it.
February’s topic: how to find a home for your writing. Sure, everyone says “submit” or “keep an eye out for calls for submissions” but what does that process actually look like, from your side of the keyboard? Let’s find out.
March's topic: finding and working with an editor. You may have the greatest idea in the world, but you're not the best person to make sure it all got onto the page in a form that can be understood. And you can't see your own blind spots. That's where finding the right editor comes in.
April's topic: all about critique groups. How can you tell if your idea is good? Are you stuck on a plot point? A critique group can help you sort out in-progress writing that isn't ready for an edit, or figure out what's missing in a piece that's racking up rejections.
May's topic: your bio and website. If a writer writes, and nobody reads it, did the words happen? Your professional bio and website are two related—and important—tools to market yourself as an author.
June's topic: networking on- and offline. Like it or not, getting published is—at least in part—about who you know. But who do you need to know, and how do you meet them?
July's topic: summarizing your work. We’re helping you answer the dreaded question "so… what do you write?” Learn how to talk about your work quickly and concisely while keeping your listener (or potential agent) excited to hear more.
August's topic: pitches and queries. Now that you know how to talk about yourself and your writing, and who you should be talking to, how do you put those pieces together and finally see your work in print? Learn more about taking your writing from concept to page.
September's topic: back to school. Is an MFA right for you? Or do the cons outweigh the pros? We can't make the decision for you, but we're discussing what you should consider and evaluate not just for an MFA, but for that workshop or conference you have your eye on, and what alternatives are out there for you.
October's topic: don't quit your day job. Or should you? Here's another tough decision we can't make for you, but we can - and do - talk about what a job in writing looks like, for levels from hobbyist through fulltime novelist, and the adjacent career options in between.
November's topic: taping together your time confetti. We all have a few seconds in the day here and there. But how productive can you be in five minute chunks? The answer is, very productive for some things, but not at all for others.
December's topic: so you're a writer; now what? Being a writer isn't a static thing. You'll need to keep working on each and every skill you've developed, and then some, for your whole career. While we structured this year in terms of things you must have in place before you can move on to the next thing, in December we'll take a look back through a different lens.
Why Bother With a Website?
Let’s face it. Websites are kind of a pain to create and maintain. And if you’re me, you get so bogged down in picking a cool theme that you forget that you need content until you’ve only got five minutes left in your day. But if you’re going to be an author, it’s increasingly important that you build an online platform. That way people can see easily who you are and what you’ve written.
The easier you make it for people to find you, the more likely you are to get noticed. Seems intuitive, right? To build a great website you’ll need some content, a design, and – gasp – an author bio.
As an added bonus, preparing your bio for your website will mean it’s at your fingertips when someone asks you for it. And they will ask, whether you plan to be a panelist at a convention or published in an online magazine.
So let’s dive into the two most critical things on your website: Who you are and what you do.
Your Author Bio: Who are you?
You are a writer. Say it to yourself, out loud. I’ll be honest, it still gives me a little jolt whenever I say it. I am a writer. And it’s great to be a writer, but it’s also great to be a writer whose writing is read, and to do that you’ll need to be able to market yourself. Tragically, it’s almost impossible to get noticed on the basis of kick-ass writing alone. Your professional author’s bio is a critical piece of marketing that you cannot ignore.
Your bio should be short and to the point. Think of it like a microstory. What are the essential bits of information you need to convey?
- Your name (or pen name)
- Genre(s) or theme(s) of your work
- Experience (this can include pertinent publications or memberships as well as degrees or speaking engagements)
- A hook or personal touch – something that is unique about you, that makes you different from the thousands of other writers out there.
Put your best face forward
You might want to have different versions of your bio handy. For example, different lengths (50 words, 100 words, 200 words) work well for different purposes—a bio for a literary magazine might look different than one prepared for sitting on a conference panel, which might be different from the bio you use to promote your freelance writing services. Think about who will be reading your bio and what you want them to know about you.
A few other tips
- Focus on facts, not aspirations. Instead of “Amanda has always wanted to be a writer” or “Amanda dreams of finishing a story one day,” say “Amanda posts fiction and poetry to her blog and recently completed her first novel.”
- Write your bio in third person, not first, just like you’d like it to appear on the cover of your book!
- Let it reflect your voice – within reason. For example, if you write humor, it’s okay to inject a little quirkiness into your bio. Just keep it simple! Don’t hide three important facts in ten made-up ones.
Common mistakes
- Chattering on about your kids or dogs instead of your books. Keep your bio professional, even on your website. It’s fine to mention that you have kids, or where you live, but we’re talking about what you like to write now; most readers don’t actually care if Kid 3 is potty-trained yet.
- Sounding insecure. Present yourself the way you want to be seen. Don’t apologize for your lack of experience or publication credits, just present the ones you do have, or figure out a way to present your experience as a narrative rather than a checklist.
- Including information that isn’t pertinent. Keep it down to one or two memorable “fun facts” about yourself. If you’re a skydiving coach, that’s awesome and memorable! If you teach English and History and Social Studies and you used to teach Math and you teach at three schools and sometimes you supervise at recess and you lead the after school Drama Club? Thank you so much for your service; now edit this list down to “may have accidentally directed a musical.”
Examples
Here’s a short bio for somebody who isn’t published that contains all the basic elements.
Amanda Jones is a Boston-based writer of fiction and poetry. She holds an MFA from Bard College, where she was a regular contributor to YST Magazine. Her recent work can be found on her blog, amandajoneswrites.com. Amanda currently shares an apartment in Austin, Texas, with two tabbies and an iguana who thinks he’s a cat. (56 words)
Need more examples? Reedsy takes a look at the bios of some well-known writers and highlights why they work.
Additional resources
Your Website: Where on the Web are you?
Now that you’ve got your bio sorted out, let’s talk about where people can find you—not your physical address, but rather your online presence.
Say it with me: Every author needs a website.
It seems daunting, we know, especially for those of us who would rather write than promote. But agents, editors, publishers, and—importantly—readers need a way to get to know you, and a website is the number one place to put all the information they are looking for. It doesn’t have to be fancy, and it doesn’t have to be expensive, but it does need to cover some basics.
Wait—I don’t know how to make a website!
Never fear, there are plenty of places to build a free website. Here are a few:
And if you really want to go down this rabbit hole, here’s a list of the 21 best free website builders for 2019 (according to PCMag).
You can also hire someone to build a website for you! It’s a great solution if you have a little cash but neither the time nor the inclination to pick up one more freaking skill leave me alone I have 45 minutes a day of free time and I need it for writing! Just remember, if you do this, you should make sure to retain the rights to all your content, and have access to the site in order to make your own changes and updates.
You may also want to considering purchasing your own domain name. Not only does it lend a little extra professional credibility to your site, but it makes search engines very happy!
Website design
There are a thousand books and websites out there that will go into depth about website design. We’re just going to go over the basics here—everything you need to get started.
Layout
If the purpose of a website is to provide information about you, the writer, and your work, then the layout of your site is how you do it. Don’t make your readers hunt through your site to find your contact info or your bio. Make it as easy as you can. Have menus, with clear navigation in the menus. Don’t keep a lot of clutter in your sidebars. Don’t get too cutesy with your page titles.
First things first: your home page
There are two ways (okay, more than two, but these are two simple ones) to set up your site: with a static landing page or a dynamic blog page. You have to decide where you want your readers to start: with your writing, or with you. What’s your ideal first impression?
Having your blog as the homepage of your site has the advantage of showing off new content whenever someone stops by—assuming you post regularly. But if you’re a sporadic poster, it might do more harm than good to have the first thing a visitor sees be a post from six months ago, even if it’s a brilliant piece of writing.
Having a static homepage, with your blog as a sub-page on your site, lets readers see who you are instead of dumping them straight into the fourth part of your serial short story or that essay about your mom’s kitchen. It might mean an extra click to get to your writing, but it gives you the opportunity to showcase other things about you, like recent publications or forthcoming books. Or, you know… your bio.
Your brand
Yes, we know. Branding is a dirty word. But it’s not just a marketing term; at its heart, branding is just how you want people to percieve you. When a reader comes to your site, you want to set expectations so that they aren’t surprised to find that you write horror, not romance.
Think of your branding like the cover of a book. When you pick up a book that’s got a dark cover with “blood drips” on the spine, you expect horror or maybe supernatural content. A glossy, iridescent cover in pink or lavender tells you that you’re likely to be holding a romance. Photographs often signal literary fiction, and comic-style art may signal young adult or early reader material, depending on the style. Just like a book jacket, your website shows your readers who you are before they read the first word. Make it look like you!
Here’s an exercise: write down five adjectives that describe you and/or your writing style, and pick a site theme that reflects your list. Here’s another: write down five authors who influence your writing. Take a look at their websites and note down the things you’d like to emulate.
Accessibility
The last thing you want is for a potential reader to skip your work because they can’t read it. Accessibility is a huge issue for readers, and this isn’t an exhaustive list of things you should consider when designing your site, but it’ll get you started. The fringe benefit here is that your site will look clean and professional.
- Pick fonts that are clean and easy to read and that contrast well against your background. Use headings where appropriate instead of making your site one giant wall of text.
- Pick backgrounds that aren’t too fussy or complicated—yes, they’re pretty, but they make it very difficult for someone with limited eyesight to read, and they may thwart screen reading software.
- Include alt text for any images to accommodate screen readers.
- Skip that cute snow animation for winter, as well as any other background animation. Constantly moving images make your text a struggle to read for people with dyslexia, and can even trigger nausea or seizures.
- Limit (or skip) your use of color in your fonts, changes in font, or effects like strikethrough.
Images
Be sparing with your use of images. Unless you’re a visual artist as well as a writer, people aren’t coming to your site to see your snapshots. Think about how to place them strategically to enhance your writing, not replace it.
Speaking of images, do not, ever, post an image without proper attribution or payment. That’s called stealing. Just like you don’t want people plagiarizing your words, photographers and artists don’t want people to “borrow” their work. There are a number of fair use sites out there (Pixabay is a favorite of ours), or you can use your own work. For more information on how to find and use images on your site, check out this post by former YeahWrite editor (and professional photographer) Flood.
Common mistakes
- Making your landing page super long and chatty (cough, sorry). Your landing page should be a snapshot of who you are. It should draw people in, and nothing makes people’s eyes glaze over like a huge wall of text. Keep it upbeat but professional.
- Using the latest—or worse, outdated—tools or fads. If your website looks like it was your MySpace page, people are going to make assumptions about you and your writing as well – and these assumptions can cost you opportunities.
You want more? We’ll give you more!
YeahWrite has touched on the topic of blog design a number of times over the years. Here are a few posts you might want to check out:
Critical content
Every author’s website should include the following basics:
Your bio
On your site, it’s perfectly appropriate to use a longer version of your bio. You can even include extra information, such as your favorite books or authors, links to your writing playlists, or a photo gallery (speaking of which, do you have a good headshot yet? Get one!). Keep it professional, but let your personality show through.
Your publications
List any publications that you want potential readers and publishers to know about. Maybe don’t reference that poem you wrote in 5th grade that was included in the school newsletter (Ed’s note: shut up, Christine, I’m still proud of that one. /RBG), but do include relevant paid or unpaid publications. You may want to consider grouping your publications by market if you write in more than one genre.
But what if I’m not published (yet)?
It’s okay! Every writer is unpublished at some point in their career. It’s still useful to share your writing experience here. Refer people to your blog. List the stories and essays you’re proudest of! Mention any writing groups in which you participate. Sign up for a competition and post your work with the results, or “written for Competition XYZ.”
If you’re nervous about having no publication credits, consider looking for ways to get something out there. It’s okay to start small. Ideally, you should try to place your work with paying markets, because even if you can afford to give your work away not everyone can, and let’s face it we’re living in late-stage capitalism and you deserve to be compensated for your labor. But what if you can’t, or if you’re nervous about submitting to a major market? Submit a piece to a charity publication where the writers don’t get paid, but the proceeds benefit a cause you support. Look for small publications that pay token amounts. Or even self-publish a story or two—as long as you’re confident it won’t hurt you in your target market.
Looking for places to submit? Check out February’s Year of Fearless Writing topic!
Your contact info
It seems like it’s hardly worth saying, but people need to know how to reach you. Whether they are looking for more of your work or just want to pay you a compliment, give your readers a way to say hello.
If you’re not comfortable listing a personal email address (for example, if you have a very distinctive name), many websites and blogs have a “Contact Me” option available. Alternatively, create a forwarding address (or email alias) that sends mail to your personal inbox without disclosing your actual email address. Or one of our personal favorites: just make an email address (a professional looking one, don’t be the guy who submitted their resume using Weeaboo6969) using Google and have a separate inbox that’s just for writing. As a bonus, that ensures your opportunities don’t get lost among the 500 emails a month from Banana Republic (just me? okay then).
Include links to your public social media profiles. What, you do have a public social media presence, don’t you? We’re not going to delve too deeply into this topic this month, but social media is a crucial way to build your audience and engage with readers. You don’t have to do them all; focus on one or two platforms.
Other things you might include on your site:
- Blog—this is a place to showcase your personality. You could post your own creative writing, book reviews, writing journal excerpts—anything to give your readers (and potential publishers) a sense of who you are, what is important to you, and—maybe most importantly—your writing style and skill level. Your blog can live on a separate site or be integrated into your website.
- Products—that is, do you have books, short stories or articles for sale? Make sure to link up to the sales site!
- Excerpts from your longer works—give people a taste of your writing.
- Newsletter or email list sign-up form—newsletters and emails are a great way to keep in touch with fans (or potential fans). Just remember that a newsletter is a commitment: if you’re not going to send it regularly, don’t offer.
- Upcoming events—are you doing a reading? A book signing? Let your readers know! Just remember to keep these updated, and don’t leave events sitting for months after they happen.
May’s YFW assignment is:
Write (or update) your author’s bio.
Write three versions: 50 words, 100 words, and 200 words. Keep in mind who you might expect to read the bio: prospective agents or publishers? Academics? Do what is right for you and your needs.
Extra credit: Create (or update) your writing website.
Does your site need a refresh? Or maybe you haven’t gotten around to setting one up yet. Get yourself organized and make sure your site has everything you need to attract and retain readers.
Share your bio and/or website in the YeahWrite Coffeehouse! We’ll set up a dedicated thread so that all of your information is contained in one place.
About the authors:
Rowan submitted exactly one piece of microfiction to YeahWrite before being consumed by the editorial darkside. She spent some time working hard as our Submissions Editor before becoming YeahWrite’s Managing Editor in 2016. In real life she’s been at various times an attorney, aerialist, professional knitter, artist, graphic designer (yes, they’re different things), editor, secretary, tailor, and martial artist. It bothers her vaguely that the preceding list isn’t alphabetized, but the Oxford comma makes up for it. She lives in Portlandia with a menagerie which includes at least one other human. She blogs at textwall and CrossKnit.
After a long stint as a Russian scholar and composer, Christine rediscovered her passion for writing in 2006. She joined the YeahWrite team in 2014 as the microstory editor. A lover of beautiful stories in small packages, her primary focus has been microfiction; she also writes flash fiction, short stories, and the occasional personal essay, much of which has been posted to her blog, Trudging Through Fog. Christine was a 2015 BlogHer Voices of the Year award recipient and Community Keynote speaker. Her short fiction has been published by MidnightSun Publishing, and she is currently editing her first full-length novel.
Love the website tips. Will do a little cleaning.
Thank you!
Glad you found it helpful!