How to Be a Writer without Writing a Book

By Lorrie Nicoles

Do you love to write?

Discover how you can translate your passion into income quickly and easily!

Lorrie Nicoles has over 20 years of writing experience, as both a staff writer and independent. By tapping her network, she has collected facts and wisdom from experts across the country and takes you through the world of writers who earn their keep without publishing books. "How to Be a Writer without Writing a Book" describes multiple types of income-generating writing and editing styles. Discover the differences—and similarities—between marketing writing and medical writing, science writing and speech writing, and developmental editing and proofreading.

"How to Be a Writer without Writing a Book" is a concise and fun to read reference of writing career options. If you love to write, hate when people ask what genre, and curious about how to make a go of writing as a career, this is the book for you.

• Language: English
• Publisher: John R. Mabry
• Release date: Mar 27, 2020
• ISBN: 9781949643343

Book preview

Apocryphile Press

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Berkeley, CA 94709

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Copyright © 2020 Lorrie Nicoles, Tora Writing Services.

All Rights Reserved

Printed in the United States of America

ISBN 978-1-949643-33-6 | paperback

ISBN 978-1-949643-34-3 | epub

Ebook version 2

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Contents

Oh, the Irony!

What You’ll Find

What Qualifies Me to Write a Book?

The Early Years

The Engineering Years

Tech Writing, No Books Involved

From Tech Writer to Writer

Writer v. Author

Contributors

Disclaimer

What, You Don’t Write Just Anything?

Grant Writers

Writing for Businesses

Marketing/Advertising Writers

Technical Writers

Electronic Communications

Writing to Explain

Explanatory Writers

Medical Writers

Science Writers

Writing for Individuals

Resume Writers

Speech Writers

Travel Writers

To Edit, or Not to Edit – Is Not the Question

What You Say v What You Mean

But That’s So Obvious

Why an Editor?

What Do You Mean, Type of Editor?

Developmental Editing

Copy Editing

Line Editing

So, What Kind of Editing Do I Do?

So You Want to Write and/or Edit

In General

Appreciate Your Value

Don’t Take Yourself Too Seriously

Impress People with Your Ability, Not Your Vocabulary

Learn from Criticism

If You Love to Write, Then Write

As an Independent

Define Your 3 Ps of Business

Appreciate Your Value – II

Feel Free to Mix and Match

Protect Yourself

The Client Is the Boss – Until You Fire ’Em

Continue to Build Yourself

Don’t (Always) Work at Home

The Rest: Don’t Ask; I’m Still Working on It

The Continuation of the Path

Living on the Corner of What I Love and What I’m Good At

Contributors

Additional Readers

Oh, the Irony!

I’m one of those people who can’t define irony but knows when it hits me over the head with a brick. Although I am likely to miss the more subtle examples, even I see the irony in a book with the title How to Be a Writer without Writing a Book.

Let’s back up: I am a writer who never planned to write a book. (Actually, I’m a writer and editor – the distinction will become clear later.) So how is it that you are reading a book by me? Personal development and sarcasm is how.

As part of my business and personal development, I participate in multiple mastermind groups. In one group, I asked for suggestions on how I could generate passive income (that stuff that makes you money without ongoing work). Workshops, webinars, and such came up. Then one member brought up the fact that he considered my work – web copy, blogs, newsletters, articles, and editing – very niche and maybe I could make something out of that. In a fit of perfectly timed sarcasm, I said, "What, write a book called How to Be a Writer without Writing a Book?" My title was born.

While I REALLY did not want to write a book, that damn title haunted me. Additionally, I had no clue as to what I would fill a book with. OK, that’s not entirely true, but my picture book called Toilets around the World: How Do I Flush This Thing? is not what I’m talking about here.

Knowing I needed help, I reached out to my friend, Sue Stoney, The Message Crafter. Sue is a collaborative coach helping people write their books. Of course, she didn’t tell me what to put in the book. Instead, she asked me two questions:

Who’s your audience?

What’s the purpose of the book? Specifically, why this topic now?

Once I got past the deer-in-the-headlights feeling, I could positively answer:

I DON’T KNOW!!!!!

I did know that I love the big old brick of irony that is the title.

I also knew that writing a book would not actually make me money; however, it would increase my credibility, and that would be profitable.

Personal and business development has done something else for me. It has taught me to be aware of when my own little voice is getting in my way. At those times, I’m much better at saying, Thank you for sharing; now shut up.

After talking to a couple of other friends/coaches (Sydney Metrick of Artful Coaching and Elaine Betts of Go Far Consulting) I came up with some ideas and uncomplicated