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Now that you’ve spent the last six days improving your writing, you’ll want to showcase your improvements somewhere. Today you’ll learn where to publish your work and how to make sure it’s ready for publishing.   Where can you publish your work? You have three main methods for publishing your work that vary in cost and audience size. Online Publishers Amazon is by far the most well-known online publisher. They offer Kindle Direct Publishing which allows you to instantly share your writing or books with millions of readers via Kindle ebooks, but also provide full-service publishing to fill all your publishing needs. Other notable online publishers include: AuthorHouse, Apple’s iBooks, and Lulu. A new site, Reedsy, will even help you connect with the best online publishers.   External Publishers For hundreds of years, the classic way to publish books has been to find a publisher who is willing to print your book. You had to convince the publisher that your book was going to sell a lot of copies or else it wouldn’t be worth the publisher’s time and investment. In fact, many well-known authors, including JK Rowling, were turned down the first time they approached a publisher. Unless you know your book is going to be a bestseller or has gained a large following via another form of publishing, you may want to hold off on publishing externally. The four major publishing companies are: Simon and Schuster, HarperCollins, Penguin Random House, and Hachette Livre. Other The Internet has opened many doors for amateur writers. No longer do you need a major publishing house or newspaper to publicize your writing, you can just post it [...]

The best way to get better at writing is to seek criticism from peers and mentors who are invested in your journey to becoming a better writer. No one gets better without feedback, and writing is no exception. When I say to seek criticism, that does not necessarily mean asking someone to proofread your writing. Rather, have your coach evaluate your entire writing and suggest ways to improve. What is constructive criticism? Constructive criticism is feedback you receive from someone else about your writing. Feedback can focus on any number of things related to your writing, including: tone/mood, grammar, vocabulary, flow, captivating intros, etc. A solid mentor, which we’ll discuss in the next section, will be able to provide you with feedback on all of these areas and help you identify the areas where you need to get better.   Where can you seek constructive criticism? While you can always seek relatives or friends as writing coaches, the Internet has also opened up a whole host of other resources. From Subreddits about writing to online proofreading tools, you have access to writers and editors from around the world. Family and Friends Family and friends will probably be the most convenient sources who can provide feedback on your writing. While they may not be professional writers or editors, they can provide you with a general compass for your writing. Be wary of feedback from friends and family though, as it may not be as useful as criticism from strangers since people you know may hide your weaknesses so as to not offend you. Online Forums The Internet is filled with forums that allow you to interact [...]

It is important that you define your audience for writing. Understanding who you are writing for will determine the tone of your writing. Knowing who you are writing for will allow you to better captivate your audience. Determine Who Will Read Your Writing The first step that you need to take to define your audience is to determine who will read your writing. You will need to figure out if the audience that you are writing for is primarily technical, business, or leisurely.  You will then need to look at the demographics within those groups to ensure that you are able to write in a manner that will grab their attention.   Who is Your Primary Audience? To determine your primary audience, you need to think about who is going to be reading your work. There are three main audiences that you will need to consider: Business Technical Leisure Once you have determined which category your writing falls into, you will need to determine the demographics of the category that you are trying to reach. Each category will need to be broken down further to refine your audience. Business If your writing will be business-focused, you need to make sure that you are familiar with the business for which you will be writing. When you are writing for business there are a couple of questions that you will want to ask yourself: What type of business am I writing for? Is my primary audience male or female? What is the average age of people in this type of business? Am I teaching or informing? Once you have answered these questions, you should have a general [...]