Writing with Jennifer

So I was reading this inspiring article today from The Cut, and it struck a chord.  Many people have asked me how a writer goes about getting an agent, and I tell them what I know. You query. And you make connections. You join submission parties on social media (not that kind... although you could say writing is a habit of masochists). Maybe you pray. One day the magic happens with a spark and then a flame. Or maybe it doesn't.  You've got to find joy in the writing itself. Some successful authors aren't published until they're dead. Every author you've ever heard of has wallpapered a bathroom with rejection letters. Blah blah blah.  Maybe you just have to be lucky. 

You've written a book. Maybe it's a great book. But no one is going to bother reading it if it doesn't have an engaging cover.  It's a harsh reality, yes, but important if you want to sell books. And why create a book and then not give it the best chance possible to sell?  Covers matter a lot when it comes to  getting your book into a bookstore convincing readers to buy your book sending the message that your book is professionally created In fact, the whole graphic design of a physical book is very important. I talk about it a little bit in this post a about what I learned while working for a publisher.  If you are self-publishing or using a cooperative-style publisher, you want to be sure that your book has a professional look. This almost always means that it was professionally designed both inside and out.  What are the important aspects of a great cover? Besides not looking photoshopped (that is absolutely the worst thing you can do) here are some things t...

I recently had some content stolen.  So sadly, I'm writing a post about how to avoid this happening and what to do once it does happen. I'm currently in the process of dealing with it and would welcome advice.  One thing I've learned is that it makes sense to use a couple of tools.  1. Google Alerts Pop your content into Google Alerts to get reports when that content is picked up on the web. You should do this with any work you're posting for sale.  It can also let you know when work you've legitimately sold is published, so that's a good side benefit.  2. Plagiarism Checker Grammarly has one, and I love Grammarly but I'm all about free stuff. People like Scribbr, but they charge a fee too.  I found this one  and it seems to be okay.   I'm definitely open to (read begging for) recommendations.  I've also discovered that plagiarism is one of those words I never learned how to spell.  I still haven't heard back from the site that curr...

The world of fiction has always been a little bit less than rigid when it comes to distinguishing categories of books for non-adults.  Once there was only fiction for children and fiction for adults. And even this was a bit bewildering. Little Women , for example, was considered a work for children, but the length and some of the themes are more fit for adults. I would argue that one of my favorite children's books, Alice in Wonderland , is strictly for adults. What child could appreciate Lewis Carrol's trippy imagery or sharp humor?  In more modern times we have had children's books, which included picture books and slightly longer books with chapters ( Ramona the Pest ) and young adult books ( Jacob Have I Loved ) with YA being a genre targeted toward teens. Then YA absolutely exploded,, and plenty of adults started reading these too. I know many fully adult readers, including myself, who find young adult fiction as mesmerizing as work created for adults. The YA label use...

 Okay, so I was dumb. I mean, I know that things can easily be stolen online. But I didn't think it was going to happen to me.  And today it did. It didn't cost me much in terms of money, but it cost me something. And I'm pretty upset about the whole thing.  I had posted an article on Constant Content several years ago. I thought it was a damn good article, but no one bought it. So today I decided to take it off Constant Content and try it on Content Gather.  Big mistake.  It turned out that the article was stolen! Content Gather ran its plagiarism check, and there it was posted on some company's blog. I've contacted the owners of that blog to find out where they got my content, but I haven't had a response.  THIS IS THE CRAZY PART: Do you know that part of Content Gather's terms of use state that you aren't supposed to upload content that was written for ANY OTHER SITE OR ANY OTHER PURPOSE?  For me - and lots of other writers - Content Gather is a pla...

So who out there uses Friverr for freelance writing gigs?  I've seen Fiverr recommended so many times that I decided to give it a go. I'm trying to increase my presence on the great web - hence this blog - and set up a Fiverr account. But nothing.  I read some articles on making the most of your Fiverr account and tried some strategies like pricing some gigs very low.  Nothing.  This is Fiverr. This is me on Fiverr. Any ideas?  So far I'm finding far more clients on job boards and through previously made connections. I wonder if Friverr is just too saturated with writers and editors... or perhaps there's something about the site that clients don't trust? 

Weddings are one of my favorite things to write about. I'm already married and haven't had a wedding in a very long time, but I'm still addicted to bridal fashion and all things wedding planning.  This blog post  written for Southern Brides is an example of how to use experts in your work. It gives the work more legitimacy and offers a plug for the people who were quoted. It's a win-win (and a win for the blog or magazine lucky enough to get your work!).