Member's Library I am what the librarians have made me . . . B. K. Sandwell

Copyright Registration and the Author

Post a comment

Did you know that your work is automatically covered by U.S. copyright law as soon as you set it in a fixed format?

According to Title 17 of the U.S. Code, all works are protected under copyright law from the moment they are placed in a fixed, tangible medium and can be perceived either directly (on paper, canvas, or other “solid” medium) or with the aid of a machine or device (computer, e-reader, or electronic music player). What does this mean? Essentially, you do not have to register your work with the Copyright Office to have some measure of protection. U.S. copyright law exists to help protect content creators and to help “promote innovation” in the sciences, technology, and creative arenas nationwide.

That said, you might want to formally register your work, as there are a number of benefits to this:

  • It establishes a public record of the copyright claim.
  • If registered within five years of creation, it provides “prima facie” evidence of the validity of the copyright and the facts stated in the certificate.
  • If registered within three months of creation or prior to infringement of the work, it will allow for statutory damages to be awarded to the copyright owner in an infringement suit.

And, perhaps most importantly:

  • Registration allows an infringement suit to be brought forward in court. In the coming year, individual creators will be able to take advantage of the newly minted Copyright Small Claims Board for suits with damages up to $30,000 instead of going to federal court.

You might be thinking, “Well, can’t I just mail my manuscript to myself via the U.S. Postal Service and therefore, as a government agency, I’m covered under copyright law?” Unfortunately, all that this will do is prove the date you mailed it to yourself. There are no legal benefits to sending a manuscript to yourself in the mail, as the U.S. Postal Service is not an agency of the U.S. Copyright Office.

Note that you also do not have to pre-register your new book with the U.S. Copyright Office before you publish it as you have some protections from the moment you put pen to paper or cursor to document program. You may certainly choose to do so if you feel that your work may be infringed before you publish, but it is not necessary. Pre-registration also does NOT replace the registration once you have published your work, so it will not save you any time later on.

Not only is the process of registering copyright easy, but it’s relatively inexpensive. For example, for a simple registration (let’s say a book, with one author or artist), the fee is just $45 for registering online on the U.S. Copyright Office’s online registration portal. The Copyright Office has also made it easier to register a group of unpublished works at one time, which is especially helpful if you have a batch of poems or titles that you haven’t yet published and want to protect.

Perhaps the best part of the online registration portal is that you can register works on your own without a lawyer. The Copyright Office has some very useful tutorials to show you just what to do, and if there are any questions regarding your application, a copyright examiner will reach out to you with clarifying questions and help you complete your registration.

 

Mary Jo (“MJ”) Courchesne is the owner and principal consultant of Gryphon Publishing Consulting. A publishing veteran with more than 20 years of experience in trade, academic, and direct-response publishing, she has spent nearly two decades specializing in licensing, subsidiary rights, and permissions. MJ is a frequent and polished presenter on licensing and copyright. When it comes to intellectual property, she firmly believes that everyone from authors to publishers to corporations should know their rights. To that end, MJ has instructed on copyright and permissions in the George Washington University’s Masters in Publishing program for the last 15 years. She currently serves on the Board of Experts for the National Association of Independent Writers and Editors and is a member of the Independent Book Publishers Association and the Society of Children’s Books Writers and Illustrators. MJ has also held memberships with other publishing organizations such as the American Society of Picture Professionals and Washington Publishers.

Why Are Taxes so Confusing?

Post a comment

How COVID-19 blew up the tax code

 

The U.S. tax code is like a one-stop for domestic social and economic policy. What does that mean? Great question! Well, that means that incentives like the Economic Impact Payment (EIP) 1, 2 and 3; (Advanced) Child Tax Credit; Earned Income Credit; Mortgage Interest Deduction; and Payroll Protection Program are all implemented through the Internal Revenue Code. It seems like, the more chaos, the more tax code “anti-chaos” provisions. And COVID-19 was definitely a chaos event.

When you consider the amount of tax legislation that has been enacted in just the past five years, it can make your head spin. Last year I concentrated on how the tax legislation focused on small business(es). This year I would like to expand that discussion to how recent tax legislation has affected individuals. From this perspective, my hope is that we can see some constructive reasons why the tax code is so confusing. Basically, if the U.S. tax code is being used to solve our domestic social and economic problems, the more problems, the more tax provisions to “fix” them. Several dozen countries utilize a return-free system for most taxpayers in straightforward situations. In Sweden, you can view on your cellphone your pre-filled tax forms and even approve them on your cellphone.

And don’t forget about the lobbyists we love so much in this country. It’s like once a lobby gets their claws into the tax code, they hold onto whatever provisions they got working in their favor – come what may. They will keep their respective incentives alive and well in the tax code, no matter how confusion it gets for the individual taxpayer to understand how to make the same provisions work for them, as well as how to report the activity on their return.

 

Recent Tax Legislation

In the past five years, there have been as many pretty huge legislative initiatives to deal with different tumultuous situations in the country. Each legislative enactment focusing on at least one overarching need of the individual taxpayer. The Tax Cuts and Jobs Act of 2017 increased the Child Tax Credit from $1,000 to $2,000 and created the Other Dependent Credit (which is still $500). The Setting Every Community Up for Retirement Enhancement (SECURE) Act of 2019 increased the Required Minimum Distribution (RMD) from 70 ½ years old to 72 years old. Then the world turned upside down.

The Coronavirus Aid, Relief, and Economic Security (CARES) Act of 2020 was the Trump administration’s attempt to stabilize the pandemic-stricken U.S. economy … from every foreseeable perspective. With respect to the individual taxpayer, the CARES Act provisioned the Economic Impact Payment (EIP 1), more commonly known as the “stimulus payment”. Another huge provision of the CARES Act was to remove the penalty normally levied for early distributions from a retirement account. If the distribution was coronavirus related and the distribution was $100,000.00 or less, the 10% penalty could be withdrawn.

The Consolidated Appropriations Act (CAA) of 2021 was President Trump’s last big legislative push.  CAA followed in the footsteps of the CARES Act and provisioned the second stimulus payment (EIP2). Yet another stimulus payment to the taxpayer to stimulate the economy and help people who were in various perilous situations as a result of the pandemic. The American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) of 2021 was President Biden’s first initiative aimed at ramping up assistance for the individual taxpayer. ARPA initiated a third stimulus payment, an unemployment exclusion, advanced child tax credit payments, earned income credit improvements, and a child and dependent care credit that increased from 3k to 8k for one child, and from 6k to 16k for two children.

 

Why So Complicated?! Because We Are Needy

Again, the U.S. tax code is like a one-stop for domestic social and economic policy. So, the tax code ends up just getting more and more complicated the more problems we face. COVID-19, however, was a more catastrophic event. As such, there were many policies that went into each of the aforementioned legislative actions since the CARES Act.

For example, let’s just drill down into ARPA a tad bit. If you look beyond the billions of dollars the IRS was responsible for issuing in checks, credits, and deductions, you get to the back end of the transaction – reporting said activity. Here in lies the problem. And this is what separates us from many other countries around the world that actually make reporting your taxes much more streamlined. The American taxpayer, basically, has to figure out how to accurately report all of this mess themselves, lest they receive a friendly reminder from the IRS that there is a discrepancy. Which really feels to most people like the feds are coming for you, the dog, the goldfish, and house (of course).

Let me put that into some perspective for you. This preseason (i.e., everything from the end of one tax season to the beginning of the next tax season is considered the preseason), just about 90% of the IRS letters that came into the office were in regards to the first and second stimulus payments. Basically, what the IRS thought you should have reported was not what you reported and a CP11 was automatically generated to point out the miscalculation the IRS believes exists. The point here is that this entire debacle largely stems from reporting discrepancies. And often enough, the discrepancy is the fault of the IRS. At the end of the day, the socio-economic policies that the tax code is tasked to handle create a reporting nightmare that is super stressful for many taxpayers, and even at times for the IRS itself. Confusion!

 

What Recourse Does the Average Taxpayer Have?

Well, you can spend hundreds of hours a year studying and keeping up-to-date on the tax code and all of its crazy combinations and permutations. Or if you have your own complex portfolio of financials, you can find a good Tax Advisor, and/or Accountant. Either way, the point of this article was more so to provide some perspective on why the U.S. tax code is so confusing, and to possibly get some readers thinking of why this confusion (in a very round-about way) is actually helpful to them. Food for thought.

 

Resources

Brookings Institution. “Why Are Taxes so Complicated and What Can We Do About It?” (December 1, 1999).

New York University Law. “Schenk Tells NPR that the U.S. Tax Code Is so Complex that Most Filers Make Mistakes.”

The Tax Policy Center. Briefing Book. “Why Are Taxes so Complicated?” (May 2020).

The Washington Post. “Why the U.S. Tax System Is so Complicated — but Americans Are Proud to Pay Taxes Anyway” (April 12, 2018).

 

 

Kajli Prince (“Prince”) has over 20 years of experience in small business tax preparation; he is a senior tax analyst and small business certified tax professional in the Centreville, Virginia, Block Advisors office. As a self-published author, Prince holds a special appreciation for NAIWE and its members. One of his passions is sharing relevant information with people and showing them how best to use it for their benefit. Prince is a small business owner of 25 years, and his specialties include emerging currencies (e.g., virtual/crypto currencies), information technology, intellectual property, and investment real estate.

Podcast Marketing for Authors

Post a comment

How do you reach your potential market? Especially now with limited opportunities for in-person events at bookstores and many writers’ conferences cancelled. As a marketing/public relations professional and agency founder, I know authors are like other businesses and authors should create a presence and consistent message by implementing various marketing strategies.

Let’s face it. It ain’t easy writing a book.

First, you write the book with, hopefully, a plausible idea.

Then, there are the rewrites, edits, more rewrites, more edits, and, much of the time, some level of concern about deadlines, publishers, distribution to bookstores, and—fingers crossed—sales.

Then what?

Wait? I don’t think so. Not the best idea. Having owned a marketing/public relations firm for many years, I know that good marketing campaigns work.

As an author I agree that, oftentimes, writing the book is the easiest part; it’s what comes next that involves anticipation, hope, and serious effort to get the word out about our words.

There is a truth to our ambition: most authors have a story to tell, created from life experiences or imagination. Our love of words and how they’re put together allows us to create the magic of a book. Our own book.

So . . . how do you reach your potential audience? There are many good ways, some not so good, and some that are just scams. Beware of the scams! Ask seasoned writers what they recommend and what to stay away from. You’ll save time and money.

I have found that book-signing events, some online promotions, publishing articles, blogging, and guest spots on blogs are good options. All of these give you visibility and establish your potential reader’s awareness of you and your books. As an agency founder myself, I know authors need a strong voice promoting their work, for both visibility and relevance.

One fairly new and valuable book marketing approach: podcasts.

Millions of people are listening to podcasts. Online surveys have revealed over 70 million Americans listen to podcasts each month on tablets, smartphones, home computers, and other listening devices. Online statistics assert that “beyond any doubt, podcasts are a potential goldmine for promoting your book(s).”

The following are my tips on booking an appearance as a podcast guest:

  • Be prepared.
  • Know what podcast is best for you.
  • Connect with podcast hosts.
  • Pitch the host or booker. Tell why you believe their audience will find your books, and you as a guest, entertaining.
  • Ask the host what is expected of guests.

The following are my tips on being a successful podcast guest:

  • Be prepared.
  • Provide the host with information about you and your book prior to the podcast. (You want the host to create audience interest when introducing you.)
  • Be able to discuss why you wrote the book, along with
    • what motivated, inspired, and interested you in the story or subject
    • what type of research you did
    • your writing process
    • your top three favorite authors and why.
  • Sound enthusiastic and excited about being on the podcast.
  • Never say anything negative about other authors or publishers.
  • Tell listeners where they can purchase your book.
  • And be sure to thank the person interviewing you! You may want another visit for your next book.

 

Marcia Rosen (aka M. Glenda Rosen) is the author of 10 books including The Senior Sleuths, the Dying To Be Beautiful Mystery Series, and her latest offering (which she wrote with her son Jory Rosen and was a 2021 New Mexico–Arizona Book Awards winner), The Gourmet Gangster: Mysteries and Menus. She is also the author of The Woman’s Business Therapist and award winning My Memoir Workbook. For 25 years, Marcia was owner of a successful national marketing and public relations agency and also facilitated numerous writing programs. She continues to work with aspiring author clients, providing manuscript reviews and advising them on book development and marketing, as well as writing articles, appearing on author blogs, and presenting writing programs on Zoom and in person. Marcia was co-presenter of “About Being an Author” for The National Steinbeck Center. She is a member of Sisters in Crime Albuquerque (2022 vice president), Southwest Writers, Women Writing the West, Central Coast Writers, New Mexico Book Association, Public Safety Writer’s Association, and National Association of Independent Writers and Editors—for which Marcia is also a current board member.

 

More Edits Needed? How to Get All You Need the Second Time Around

Post a comment

Reporters typically connect with a source once, get what they need, and go on their way to write a story. Sometimes you have to revise a story based on your editor’s suggestions. What happens when you don’t just need to edit, but have to ask a source for additional information? Maybe you realize you didn’t have everything you needed once you start writing the story, or your editor comes back with questions during the revision process. Either way, returning to a source for more information can be tricky.

Mostly because you want to make sure you get exactly what you need out of your second interaction.

I’ve been there — not too frequently, but it has happened to me. Sometimes the editor raises additional questions when reading your story, or they weren’t clear about what they wanted when they assigned it. Writers can equally be to blame, because sometimes we realize what we need — and don’t have — only when we start putting an article together. And sometimes, you simply forgot to ask a question or didn’t prod the source for enough details.

Whatever the case, here are some insights to help if you have to conduct a second interview with a source.

  1. Define what you need. Whether your editor is requesting more information, or you are the one inquiring, it’s essential to know exactly the information you’re looking for. This may involve doing more research or more work — or combing through other interviews — to ensure you know specifically what you need. Writing out bullet points helps you pinpoint the concepts that need to be addressed.
  2. Devise exact questions. As you know, the information you obtain largely depends on the types of questions you ask. If you need a yes-or-no response, ask a yes-or-no question. But if you need more, be specific in your question. Ask for a real-life example of a situation. Explain that you understand the subject but need more information about what that means or does. It can help to “bullet-point out” some concepts and have your questions prepared. While you can go back to a source for information, you want to interrupt them as little as possible. Even if they say they’re there to help, it’s your job to get what you need.
  3. Consider the interview. Will you be emailing additional questions, or do you need to set up a call or meet in person? Sometimes the conversation during a live interview could lead you off track, so you’ll want to be mindful of time to ensure that your priority questions get answers.
  4. Examine the answers. Be prepared to do some digesting on the spot as the source’s responses to those questions may prompt you to ask additional questions.
  5. Ask for information. Not understanding something? That’s okay. It’s your job as the reporter to ensure that you do, and most people want everything to be accurate (especially what they say) and will take a moment to explain things. If you are unclear about something, the best thing to do is just ask. Keep in mind that if the source spouts off something like an acronym, you can probably figure it out within the context of the subject you’re talking about by doing a quick internet search. But if you’re really lost, ask.
  6. Double check. When you have answers for all your questions on the list, check to verify everything was asked. Remember, you don’t want to have to go back and forth with a source to get more and your editor will appreciate fewer rounds of revisions.

 

Writing can be a long process, especially when the editing process requires conducting more interviews. With a little planning and finesse, you can turn around a draft from the initial interview that has everything it should.

 

Kristen Fischer is a copywriter and journalist living at the Jersey Shore. She worked as a reporter and copyeditor for Gannett before launching her full-time freelance business in 2005. Her work has been published in Parents, New Jersey Monthly, Prevention, Woman’s Day, SheKnows, and Healthline.

The Four Keys to Social(media)izing Your Brand

Post a comment

So, you’ve got a great logo, a well-crafted vision statement, and your website is looking better than you ever imagined it could! Now what? What steps can you take to elevate your brand to the next level? One strategy, in this regard, is to focus on cultivating greater visibility. And that, as you’ve probably already guessed, means strapping your logo and all it stands for on your back and diving, head-first, into social media!

Don’t worry. It’s not as wild and crazy as it sounds. Social(media)izing your brand is simple—especially if you focus on the following four key components.

 

Know Your Brand

This one goes without saying, but I’m saying it anyhow: Do not create a single social media handle or post for your new product, book, or blog until you know, better than the back of your own hand, the essence of your brand. What is your purpose? What is your vision? What underlying principles are important to the work you do? Do you have a well-crafted logo or a signature photo? Good. Keep it consistent across all platforms. Do you have a color scheme? Good. Keep it consistent across all platforms, too. Do you have a style guide for written content? Good. Stick to that on social media posts as well.

 

Know Your Audience

This one should probably be first on the list. In my book, knowing your audience is equally important as knowing your brand. Of course, to figure this out, you could send out polls and study demographics and marketing analytics all day, every day. Or you could just take your curiosity to the digital streets and do a little investigating on your own. Find a few digital channels comparable to your own brand/product/goal and take a look at the type of individuals following those channels. Are they male, female, non-binary? What age range do they tend to fall in? What other social channels do they follow? Are they obsessed with hair and make-up influencers; monster truck vloggers; celebrity channels? Get to know them, like what they like and follow who they follow, and share and love their posts! These people are your audience, too. And they have the power to make or break your brand!

 

Be Natural

Just as your brand is an extension of you, so too are your digital channels. So be true to yourself! To me, this means keeping your photos un-touched and posting real, authentic content. Carefully crafted graphics work some of the time and they definitely do the trick to catch the eye of scrolling public. But people will like and share your content because it relates to them—and for that, your content has to be authentically you!

 

Interact

Can you imagine going to a pool party or a cocktail party and not talking to a single soul? Well, that’s how awkward your brand looks on digital channels when you don’t interact with other users. The word social is half of the term social media because it is an interactive space. So, get out there and go for it: like content posted by your friends and colleagues; follow channels whose audience is similar to your own (influencers, brands, organizations, and even strangers—really, anything goes!); and comment on all the posts that speak to you!

 

 

Ashley Henyan is a digital marketing consultant, a freelance writer, and the executive director for the American Red Cross of Lowcountry South Carolina. Previously, she held leadership roles in digital communications and media relations with the Red Cross (the 2017 Harris Poll Non-profit Brand of the Year). Ashley has-developed curriculum and trained hundreds of staff and volunteers across the United States in courses like Leveraging Your Story on LinkedIn and Social Media Story Telling. She has been invited to discuss social media marketing and brand visibility on various podcasts and with local and national associations. Ashley has played an integral part in award-winning social media campaigns including honorable mention recognition with the PR Daily Content Marketing Awards and numerous Silver Telly Awards for Branded Content. She holds a B.A. in government and politics from the University of Maryland and an M.A. in English and creative writing with a concentration in screenwriting from Southern New Hampshire University. Ashley’s work as a ghostwriter has appeared in national and international publications including Yahoo News, China Global Television Network, and The CEO Magazine.

Better Outcomes Begin with Shared Understanding

Post a comment

When I came across this quote from developer John Cutler, I found it insightful both for its simplicity and the deeper questions it evokes. “Walk a mile in your customer’s shoes, then figure out how to remove that mile altogether.” So, what exactly does he mean by “remove the mile”? One interpretation might be the distance between the process of doing and the achievement of done, and the speed at which we deliver for our clients. Another interpretation could be the distance in our understanding between what we think the customer needs and what they actually need. Or perhaps just finding more intentional ways to reduce our overall separateness – client and vendor – us and them, getting better at aligning our shared goals. Perhaps all of these apply.

For most, the primary measurement of progress is tangible outcomes; seeing is believing. To begin removing the mile between ourselves and our customers, it behooves us to find ways to do the groundwork first, before jumping into action, going deeper at the onset to deliver on the actual need rather than just the perceived need. Instead of Idea>Action, the goal is Idea>Plan>Action. To create a plan, we first need to feel the pain our customers feel, to internalize their hard realities, for an hour, a day, a week, whatever it takes to achieve the “I get it” moment so we can begin to chart a course that will yield the desired result.

When we align with our customer at both a practical and emotional level, we achieve shared understanding and clarity of purpose and of priority toward the desired destination. This results in a more accurate context that informs our creative problem solving. To be clear, the customer isn’t always the buyer. The customer may be our supervisor, boss, co-worker, partner, colleague, or anyone else we aim to serve. The customer is the person, team, or organization that bestows their confidence and trust in us to deliver a solution to their problem.

In Agile parlance, one tool we’ve found that works well is the user story – a short wish list item expressed as a brief human story from the customer’s perspective. Example: “As a sales representative traveling to clients, I often schedule back-to-back appointments. I would like to quickly access my notes from the home screen without having to drill-down, so I can save valuable time before each appointment.”

The format is simple: As a <type of role>, I would like to <complete some task> so I can <achieve some goal.>

Add user stories to your planning process, and project participants who may not have the benefit of direct customer interaction can peer into the history, context, and origin of the thing they’re tasked with building. This places everyone closer to the customer’s experience. In the story example of the sales person, compound their pain in the form of lost time over days and weeks and we have the real opportunity to create a meaningful difference for them.

Project planning that brings us closer to the customer ultimately drives more impactful outcomes, meeting the need and saving everyone the added cost, delays, and headaches of re-design and re-work, aka “that isn’t really what we had in mind” moments.

“In preparing for battle, I have always found that plans are useless, but planning is indispensable.” – Dwight D. Eisenhower

User stories are effective when they’re visible. Add them to your roadmaps and sprint boards, virtual or otherwise, so they’re front and center when work actually begins. That way, the pain and desired outcome is expressed in human terms and doesn’t become a distant abstraction. It’s no longer just a feature, it’s improving someone’s life.

Whether it’s a new app, product, website, campaign, or any other project you’re charged with delivering . . . consistent, accurate deployment starts with clarity of understanding at the human level, serving to eliminate the mile between us and our customers.

 

Stephen Colwell serves as CEO and head of strategy for Clarify Media and Completing, two Southern California–based firms specializing in marketing and project management. With over 10 years of hands-on agency experience as a copywriter, brand strategist, and project manager, he brings a broad and deep range of both marketing and operations expertise to the community. From strategy and design to growth and performance, Steve offers a rare mix of creative and analytical thinking toward helping creative professionals, teams, and small businesses accelerate their progress and achieve more. He has led project teams responsible for over $100+ million in annual revenue across four continents. A certified Agile practitioner, Steve is fanatical about helping others work in teams more effectively and operate at their best using the same proven routines practiced by today’s top-performing companies.

8 Tips for Finding and Working with a Book Designer

Post a comment

Over the years, I’ve collected a few tips to help navigate the troubled waters of finding and working with a book designer. The tips below are generally about cover design, but the same holds true for book interiors.

 Tip # 1: Know your genre and target audience

Research what is available for sale in your genre with the big publishing houses. Don’t skip this step, no matter how boring it might be.

These will be your competition, so you’ll want to have a cover that’s on par. Publishers like Harper Collins, Hay House, Simon & Schuster, and Penguin all have marketing specialists on staff. They generally know what sells and how to reach your target market.

Use this information to your advantage when searching for the designer that will help you create a cover that will attract your readers. This may seem like a silly place to start, but the more you know, the better you’ll be at discerning good design from bad.

 

Tip # 2: Research your cover designer’s style

Look for designers whose style closely matches the books you are seeing in your research from Tip #1. Do you need an illustrator? Are the images hand drawn or photo compilations?

I mention this because sometimes an illustrator is absolutely the only way to go (especially for children’s books). The downside: they tend to be a good bit more expensive, so you’ll want to start saving early. Photo compilers, such as myself, are generally a bit more affordable.

You’ll want to pay attention to details like the fonts they use and the way they present their titles. Are their covers generally busy and hard to read? (If so, RUN, run fast! And find someone else.)

 

Tip #3: Get a personal recommendation

You are never going to see a bad testimonial on a designer’s website. If you ask the designer for references, they will never give you the contact info for a client that didn’t work out.

Consider the kinds of things you can only know from a personal recommendation: Is this designer reliable? Do they have experience? Do they listen to your ideas/needs? Are they pleasant to work with, or do they make you feel like you’re bothering them? Are they deadline oriented? Are they prompt in responding to your correspondence?

And, most importantly, do they produce works in your specific genre that will compete well with traditionally published works? (If you are unsure of the answer to this last question, as many new authors are, be sure to run any potential designer portfolios by someone in the publishing industry, to get a professional opinion about their skills.) These are things you can only find out from someone who has worked with a designer directly, not from reading info on their website.

 

Tip #4: Don’t let $$ be everything

I recommend that you do not make price your only deciding factor for your most important marketing tool. Budget is important, no doubt. Most indie authors have to consider costs. That’s a given. But you want a quality cover, and a good designer is going to cost more.

We have more experience — years in the trenches — and more often than not, that experience shows. Start saving early so you can afford the best designer possible.

 

Tip #5: Get a contract

It’s always best to get a contract. This way you’ll see, in writing, exactly what is expected of you and your designer. It should cover things like: How many design concepts are included? How many revisions are included? If you go over that number of revisions, what is the additional cost? What is the expected timeline for deliverables? How long do you have to review the deliverables? Is a deposit required? What forms of payment are acceptable? Are there any additional fees or expenses?

 

Tip #6: Share your vision

If you followed through with Tip #1 about researching your genre, you should now have a good idea what’s out on the market. So, how is your story unique? What is your vision for the cover? Be sure to share your vision with your designer.

There is one caveat to this tip, and that is to be sure to listen to your designer’s advice. Assuming you’ve chosen a good designer, with lots of experience, if your designer is telling you it’s probably not a good idea to include the spinning cat, taco truck, tanning salon, AND the angels with swords, your designer probably knows what they are talking about.

 

Tip #7: Be clear and decisive

Phrases like “I want it to POP!,” “It needs to be more dynamic!” or “I’m not sure, but I’ll know it when I see it.” are all extremely unhelpful to your designer. Many of us are, for the most part, wizards at what we do, but mind reading isn’t in our skill set. Knowing and expressing exactly what you want will save you time, money, and aggravation in the long run.

 

Tip #8: Save samples of what you found in Tip #1 to share with your designer

Remember the research you did in Tip #1. If you found some covers that you love, and even some that you hate, share them with your designer. Explore the reasons you love them or hate them. It helps us to know your likes and dislikes.

 

Bonus Tip: Make sure that your designer is either creating original works of art or sourcing images from a reputable stock photography house and getting proper permissions to use them.

I can’t tell you the number of times I’ve seen someone steal an image off the internet and alter it slightly and call it their own. It doesn’t work that way. You can be sued. If you are at all unsure, ask to see early sketches or variations of an original artwork. If you are getting a photo compilation, ask your designer which stock house they used, ask for license information and the image numbers, so you can verify.

 

Tamian Wood, winner of numerous print and cover design awards, uses art, photography, typography, and digital collage techniques to create book covers that sell. She works with several publishers and a growing number of indie authors. Tamian’s most famous client to date is Pope Francis, whose Encyclical Letter won first place for cover design. With over 25 years in the design trenches, she is also a partner member in good standing with the Alliance of Independent Authors (ALLi) and a co-judge for a monthly cover design contest at Discovering Diamonds Historical Fiction Review site. Tamian has a weekly featured post (Critique Corner) at the Writers of Non-Fiction Facebook group. And she is the director of the LinkedIn group, Authors’ Resource. Tamian holds degrees in computer science and graphic design technology and is a proud member of Phi Theta Kappa National Honour Society.

What Kind of Writer Are You?

Post a comment

I remember going to lots of writers’ conferences, back when I lived in Philadelphia. And then going to more writers’ conferences after I moved to Los Angeles. And also taking writing courses and attending writing workshops by the dozens.

Along the way, I met a lot of wannabe writers (and also a lot of don’t wannabe writers, but that’s a different story).

I remember reading a lot of their work, some of it quite good. But much of it was quite bad. And I remember thinking: “How can you claim you want to be a writer and then ask someone to read something put together so sloppily.”

I’m talking about errors in punctuation and spelling, poor and repetitive sentence structure, and inadvertent subject-verbs disagreements. I’m also talking about unclear references and — more fundamentally — disordered thinking.

I never had to resolve to become a more professional writer; it was a drive that just came naturally to me. Like a carpenter who made straight cuts in the wood, or a plumber who produced tidy solder joints in the pipes, in my bones I felt it was important to master my craft and write at least professionally, if not well.

I make the distinction because writing well is all about touching your audience and leaving them changed. Not everyone can do that.

Anyone who claims to be a writer can crank out professional quality work. And once you’re capable of cranking out professional quality work, adhering to all of the rules is no longer of prime importance.

Think of Picasso. He could draw like nobody’s business, a single line conveying a tremendous amount of image and information. But after he mastered that skill, he broke free of realism and could produce images no one had ever seen before, presumably the exact images he wanted to show to the rest of us.

I can create a nonsense image, too. But since I can’t draw very well, it’s more random than Picasso’s and unlikely to reflect exactly what I’m trying to convey.

So what kind of writer are you? Are you comfortable stringing together some words in hopes your production touches your audience and leaves them changed? Or are you the kind of writer who wants to master your craft so that you have the best chance of conveying your fullest depth of meaning precisely?

Over the years, in some cases, I have helped aspiring writers clarify their thought processes, delve deeply into their innermost feelings and ideas, and dredge up some powerful material that they might never have been able to produce on their own.

But in almost every case, I have been able to teach aspiring writers to craft better material, reflecting more precisely their intended meaning and often carrying more power to change their readers than the works they had previously been producing.

I don’t take any credit for this; it’s just a gift I have learned to share. But I think it’s an important calling, and I hope to continue sharing this love of mastery for many years to come.

 

Robert Moskowitz is an award-winning independent professional writer who has written and sold millions of words in just about every format over five decades. He instinctively sees the big pictures, breaks each one down into coherent slices, meaningfully prioritizes and sequences those slices, and then executes the tasks inherent in each slice in very productive ways. Put more simply, Robert knows how to succeed as an independent writer, covering all the bases from soliciting assignments to delivering polished work, from pricing jobs to budgeting and managing personal finances, from organizing a conducive office environment to establishing and following sensible guidelines regarding life, work, and productivity. Having done all this, and having paid attention to how he did it, Robert is now in a position to pass along what he knows to others.

Downshift Your Responsiveness When You Work at Home

Post a comment

Many people today feel pressure to be immediately responsive to every request, no matter when it is received, no matter from whom it is received, and regardless of the method it is delivered. So that you can focus and be more productive in your writing when you work at home, may I respectfully encourage you to downshift your responsiveness in these areas:

  1. Answering the door: Just because someone is knocking on your door or ringing your doorbell does not mean you have to answer.
  2. Answering the phone: More and more, no matter how many do-not-call lists you are on, your home phone seems to be fair game for surveys, checking on your satisfaction with our service, political calls, and any number of robo-calls. Either let your answering machine pick up, screen the calls and only pick up those from people you know, or just call back those you want to talk with. There’s no need to be like Pavlov’s dog with the sound of a ringing phone.
  3. Text messaging: Even though text messages can be incredibly convenient and offer opportunities for real-time problem solving, they can also be major distractors and detractors for productivity.
  4. Friend (or connection) requests on Facebook, LinkedIn, or Twitter (or other social media): It’s not urgent; get to it when you get to it.
  5. Face-to-face requests from people in your family: Be reasonably responsive to reasonable requests.

That last sentence applies for all of these. Be reasonably responsive to reasonable requests. If someone makes an unreasonable request, well, then I would carefully consider the response to that request.

If you will downshift your responsiveness in the five areas I have listed above, you can upshift your responsiveness and productivity as it relates to writing. And isn’t that what you want?

 

Meggin McIntosh, the PhD of Productivity, is an award-winning professor who now works with academics who prefer overjoyed to overwhelmed. She is a former university professor and administrator and currently a coach, author, and workshop leader. People who are overwhelmed, and would prefer to be overjoyed instead, are the people I’m fortunate enough to connect with.

Interview Others For Rich Material — Who, How, and Why?

Post a comment

If you are a writer, speaker, trainer, or really, have any other kind of job or avocation, you have content that you can access for your writing, speaking, and so forth. One of the many ways to generate new content that is related to your areas of interest and expertise is to interview others. Once you have done that, you have a wealth of material to share for free or for a fee.

If you are wondering, should I interview others, my answer is a resounding, “Yes!”

To answer the WHO? question, consider individuals from these categories as resources (depending on your purpose):

  • Children and young adults
  • Former students
  • Former teachers
  • Teachers
  • Administrators
  • Former clients
  • Organized people
  • Disorganized people
  • People you would like to have as clients
  • People you know and would love to learn from
  • People you have never met but would love to learn from
  • Folks in crisis
  • Folks who seem to have it all together
  • Authors
  • Speakers

And the list continues on and on. . . .

The idea here is that, depending on what you want to learn, you can interview anyone. All you have to do is ask. Most people are willing to be interviewed, because most of us love to be asked for our opinions, knowledge, ideas, how-we-did-its, etc.

To answer the HOW? question, here are some suggestions:

Figure out what you want to know (and you don’t even have to know for sure what you’re going to do with the information).

Determine who would be able to help you know what you want to know.

Ask the person if you may schedule a time for an interview. It might be face-to-face or on the phone. It could also be an email interview, although generally, I prefer some voice contact because you can read (actually hear) so much when you have the voice, too, not just the words. But be flexible if the other person prefers email. They are doing you a favor so make it as easy as possible.

If you’re interviewing on the phone and want to record the call, there is equipment you can purchase for that, however there are services that provide that as well. The nice thing about recording the interview is that you do have it to use later for reference, or potentially as a “product” (as long as the other person is fine with that—and can use it as a product, too).

To answer the WHY? question would take many articles; here are four reasons:

  1. You gain information you wouldn’t have otherwise.
  2. You make connections with others through your interview that you might not have made connections with (or at least this type of connection) if you hadn’t asked to interview him/her.
  3. You have information to freshen up or extend your knowledge that you can share.
  4. You can turn the interviews into “products” of different types, e.g., MP3 downloads, CDs, Special Reports, and the like.

It’s easy to find people to interview and to capture that interview. Who are you going to call or email today to ask? Why wait?

 

Meggin McIntosh, the PhD of Productivity, is an award-winning professor who now works with academics who prefer overjoyed to overwhelmed. She is a former university professor and administrator and currently a coach, author, and workshop leader. People who are overwhelmed and would prefer to be overjoyed instead, are the people I’m fortunate enough to connect with.

Latest Posts

Build a Brand That Google Trusts: The New Reality of Search

August 6, 2026

Beyond Writing: How Expanding Your Services Can Strengthen Your Freelance Business

July 22, 2026

Am I a Writer or Not?

July 16, 2026

Be Prepared for That Crisis Moment When You Need Business Backup

June 30, 2026

Stick with Your System

June 29, 2026

In a Pricing Rut? Try These 3 Strategies

June 25, 2026

Contact Us

Facebook Instagram Linkedin