by Elizabeth S. Craig, @elizabethscraig
I was speaking to a lady the other day who is an aspiring author. She has been researching ways of improving her writing, but told me that everything seemed so expensive—the classes, the conferences, etc.
It could be expensive to improve our writing, but it doesn’t have to be. Here are some cheap ways to improve our writing in 2012:
Of course, there are books to buy and magazines to read. There are excellent ones out there, actually. See if your local library has any books on how to write. It doesn’t matter if the book is ten years old or not—good writing is good writing. Many libraries also carry Writer’s Digest or Poets and Writers. Cost of a library book (that’s not overdue)=free
Learn what areas you need to improve. Probably the best way to do this is by sharing your work. I know this is tough for some. I think it’s easier to share with strangers, personally. There are plenty of online critique groups that can match you with writers of similar genres. Check out writer Clarissa Draper’s excellent list of critique groups (or her own match-up program). Cost=varies, but there are many crit group programs that are free.
Once you know what you need to improve, you can easily find resources online to help you improve. I compile the best writing-related links that I can find each week and they are sent to the Writer’s Knowledge Base where they’re searchable for free. So, if you realize you have trouble with transitions, if your book has a saggy middle, if you have trouble with point of view (POV), then you can search the WKB for those terms and find hundreds of articles on those topics. Cost=free.
Buy some inexpensive notebooks and try writing different places and at different times if you can’t seem to fit writing into your day. Make it portable…index cards for those minutes waiting at the dentist’s office. Small notebooks for your briefcase or purse. Cost= a few dollars.
Try online writing classes. I know I don’t talk much about classes on the blog, but I took five or six of them when I was starting out with my first book. I found them very helpful. I could choose the topic I needed help with, the instructors gave homework which I submitted for critique, and I got real feedback. Now, obviously, you can end up with a crummy instructor, so I’d check and see how many classes the writer has taught—or go through an organization like the Romance Writers of America.
I’ve found their classes are excellent and frequently aren’t limited to romance (clearly, since I don’t write it!) You can pay via PayPal and email back and forth. It’s very simple. What’s more, their classes are dirt cheap, compared to other venues. At a glance on their upcoming calendar (click on the link and scroll down) I see classes for using backstory effectively, writing steampunk mysteries, creating a web presence, writing synopses, weapons, queries, and more. Cost= $25-$30.
Free help pursuing the traditional publishing route. Have you got a book that you’re ready to query? Here are a couple of sites to help you screen prospects: AgentQuery (which can help you find an agent who represents your genre) and Preditors and Editors which help you eliminate agents and editors and “publishers” who prey on writers. Cost= free.
The low cost of e-publishing. You can upload your books to Amazon, Barnes and Noble, and Smashwords for free. Your only costs should be for a cover design (which you come up with independently), a freelance editor (if your book hasn’t been proofread), and someone to help you with formatting for epub and mobi (if you can’t do it yourself.) For a list of epublishing professionals, check out my spreadsheet of cover designers, formatters, and freelance editors. Cost= varies for cover artists and freelancers. The publishing process itself is free.
Reading our genre. One of the best ways for us to improve our writing is by reading the genre that we want to write. Cost of a library book= free.
And, of course, the more we write, the better we get. I’m trying to fit in more writing….and reading…time for 2012. What are some ways you’re planning to invest in your writing next year?
I’ve also given a holiday interview to Diane Morasco at Blogcritics. Thanks to Diane for hosting me.
Elizabeth – What a great topic! Thank you! I really like the fact that there are, as you say, ways to improve writing that don’t have to cost a fortune. May I also add an absolutely free way: keep a blog. Blogs are terrific ways to share thoughts on writing, get feedback on ideas and so on. One can even put a prologue or (short) sample chapter on a blog and get feedback. Sometimes that means one has to sift through stuff that’s not helpful to get to really valuable feedback, but it can be really useful. And regular blogging is good writing discipline I think.
hi Elizabeth .. excellent list of resources – you’re knowledge is extensive and it’s great that you share with us. Thanks – cheers Hilary
Good advice, although I’d urge any one considering going straight to self publishing to go beyond “proofread” because editing is so much more than finding typos and grammatical errors. Even if your critique partners are the best on the planet, you need to bite the bullet and find an editor who will look at your story, not just line edit.
Terry
Terry’s Place
Romance with a Twist–of Mystery
Thanks for the excellent overview of free or inexpensive resources for writers. As you said, even old books or magazines are worth looking at, as good writing is good writing.
What a great list! Thank you for taking time to put this post together.
I’ve carved out time to find and follow literary agent blogs and Twitter accounts. It’s good to learn what people are looking for and when they want it. (I think I read that suggestion in the 2012 Guide to Literary Agents.) Plus, the agents provide good tips and point to helpful writing resources.
Wow! Elizabeth, WOW!! Thank you so much. I’ve heard about RWA, but did not realize they were so non-member friendly.
It’s so important to remember that improving our writing doesn’t have to have a large price tag – thanks for these ideas, Elizabeth!
There are lots of ways to improve writing. I spoke to a young lady at one of my seminars last week and she thought she had to go back to college to get a degree in order to become a writer. Now, for some writing careers that’s good, but as you just pointed out, there are many other options.
Hilary–Thanks so much for coming by!
Kath–They are *very* non-member friendly. Nice outreach, too, in larger communities. I know my area has a very active group. They seem very supportive.
Margot–Good point! Blogging is fantastic for creating a writing habit and connecting with an audience.
Diane–*So* many other options! I don’t think I know any writers with an MFA (if I do, I don’t know about it!)
These are great ways to improve our writing skills and publishing posibilities.
If you ever decide to teach writing um…let me know. I’d even pay. :)
I’ve taken advantage of Clarissa’s chapter critique. Shen then read and critiqued my book. Clariss’as awesome and has a great blog to boot! Thanks for the tips. We can all use inexpensive ways to develop better writing skills.
I’ve found so many good articles online it’s enough to make your head swim!
Terry–Good point and poor wording on my part. The *least* we should do is get a proofreader to line edit for us. In the best case scenario, we need an experienced reader/critiquer or a freelance editor who can do global edits for us to make sure the story, as a whole, works.
Diana–And we can check out back issues of writing magazines and bring them home from libraries if there’s an especially interesting issue.
Stephen–I forgot that she has a critique service, too! Thanks for the reminder.
Alex–There’s a LOT of info online, for sure!
Tracy–Several of the agents have great blogs for dispensing advice. Rachelle Gardner’s blog, Kristin Nelson’s blog, Pub Rants, and Scott Eagan’s blog come to mind.
Elspeth–It’s always good to keep things cheap for writers. There aren’t many of us just swimming in extra cash!
This is an excellent list of resources. Just make sure if you sign up for an online class, you are committed enough to complete it. There is no worse waste of money than not completing a class. I know, I’m guilty of this. :)
I think I’m so lucky that the ways I learn best are free. I strongly prefer a ‘learn by doing’ and when I run up against a challenge, I look for info THEN (so hiveword is perfect)–I don’t absorb nearly as much reading a book where the particular topics aren’t front and center for me at the moment. And then the VERY most valuable is the giving and receiving of critiques. I love having other eyes, but find it is JUST as valuable to read other ‘not yet polished’ work for spotting what works and doesn’t. Great list of resources!
Yep. I was just writing up a future blog post about how I learned to write years ago (in which I conclude that the more things change, the more they stay the same) — and the biggest element was:
The Library.
Libraries are not only full of books and magazines about writing, but they are also CHOCK FULL of well-written books.
And the internet is also full of great writing advice (which is easy to find, thanks to your Knowledge base) and examples of great writing. (Harder to find, but still out there and free.)
Excellent list of suggestions. I got connected with The Guthrie Theater, watching plays (comp tickets) then writig reviews. This is a great way to study characters and story arc. Also, writing the blog is a way to develop your voice.
Those are all excellent suggestions! I haven’t taken a writing course yet, but one of these days, I’m going to take the plunge :)
Ciara–So true! We’ve got to make sure the timing is right and that we can participate in the course and finish it. Wasting money isn’t good, even with a smaller investment.
Hart–That’s sort of the way I work, too–find the info/resources on what I need as I need it. If I try to read too much in advance of writing, it makes my head explode. :)
Journaling Woman–So nice of you to say so! Nope, no plans for teaching so far, but who knows!
Mary–Great points! I can imagine that writing reviews of plays, movies, and books would be a great way to develop our own writing.
Excellent listings here. Also great ideas in the comments. I’m going to tweet this post.
The Daring Novelist–I love the library. I could honestly spend my whole day there. When I was a kid, they’d have to drag me out…
Jemi–Actually, you could probably *teach* one! Especially with your background.
Great post, Elizabeth. Packed with suggestions and resources. Thank you.
Martina
Carol–Thanks so much!
Martina–Thanks for coming by. :)
Great post. You have highlighted the ways to produce quality of writing on the cheap ;) I have found that the library is a great source of the best resources, and all for a very minimal fee.
Like everything you say here. My only concern is that I wouldn’t push someone to publish on amazon unless they had good reasons for not publishing traditionally (like they already have a huge following). They also need to make sure what they are publishing is good. Best to hire an editor or have a professional critique.