Business Basics for Today's Writer—7 Tips to Help Keep Your Email Out of the Spam Folder

by Edie Melson  @EdieMelson

Email has become one of our society’s means of communication. We use it for business interactions of course. But it’s also replaced many of the things we used to send by the US Postal Service. Because of this, it’s imperative that we do everything possible to make sure our correspondence reaches its intended destination.

That goal leads me to mention one of the frustrations of this medium—the seemingly arbitrary designation of spam for our missives. This label takes our email from someone’s inbox, to the bottomless pit known as the SPAM FOLDER. Because of this, it’s imperative that we do everything possible to make sure our correspondence reaches its intended destination.

Truthfully, the designation of spam isn’t nearly as arbitrary as it may seem. Spam filters utilize complex algorithms similar to search engines that help protect email users. Today, I’m going to share some of the things that take an innocent email from the inbox to the spam folder.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—An Unwritten Contract with the Reader

By Edie Melson

Did you know that you have a contract with your reader? You do. And it doesn’t matter if you write fiction, non-fiction, short or long. If what you write is being read, you have entered into a contractual agreement.

Today I want to explain what those expectations are and how you, as the writer, can fulfill those.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Tips to Help You Stay on Track with an Article

by Edie Melson

I have the opportunity to meet with lots of new writers. I spend a lot of time teaching writers how to earn an income, especially with article writing. I enjoy critiquing their work and helping them get better. I especially love talking to those just starting out—they are so enthusiastic—so ready to change the world. Listening to them helps me stay fresh and motivated.

But with that enthusiasm often comes a lack of focus. This lack of focus is something I see over and over again. For some reason, newer writers tend to want to cover everything, in every piece they write. So today I’m going to give you some hints to help you stay on track with an article.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Learn the CORRECT Way to Use Quotation Marks

by Edie Melson

I don’t do this often, but sometimes my inner editor just can’t take it anymore. So today I’m letting her loose with a personal rant about quotation marks. And we're begging you all to take a few moments, and learn the correct way to use quotation marks.

HINT: Quotations marks are not to EVER be used for emphasis—more on that later.

Business Basics for Today's Writer—Tune into Your Audience

Tune into Your Audience

How often do you tune into your audience as you’re writing? Probably not as often as you should. To be a successful writer you have to reflect their place in life. Let me explain by giving you an example.

I critiqued an article last week for a homeschooling newsletter and I was struck by two things. First, the depth of the research and the genius behind the conclusions the author drew. And . . . the boring way she conveyed that information.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Think Ahead When You Reference Time

You don't have to write science fiction to get caught in a time warp.

We all write about time more often than you think. From my writer’s bio where I share how long I’ve been married, to the announcement about my newest books coming out next month, I give time clues to inform my audience. But do I do it in a way that makes time clearer or muddies the issue?

The truth is, it's HOW a writer references time that makes the difference.

We don’t live in a static universe. Time passes, and what was relevant last week, last month, even last year, has changed. 

And if we don’t give solid time references we leave those reading what we’ve written adrift and uncertain where they are.

Business Basics for Today's Writer—Is There a Time you SHOULD Turn down a Book Contract?

I know that for a lot of us, getting a book contract is a dream come true. This is true for first-time authors  and just as true for those of us who are multi-published. So the thought of turning DOWN a contract may not have even seemed like an option.

So is there a time you SHOULD turn down a book contract?

Absolutely!

Not only is it an option—it can sometimes be the BEST career decision you can make.

Today I want to share some good reasons to walk away from a book deal.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Working with Photos and Images

Today’s writer has to be savvy when it comes to blogging and working online. One of the tools we need to have is the ability tow resize photos and upload them to the Internet.

Resizing photo’s is important because different platforms have different file size requirements. I’ve already given you the information you need to Resize a Photo. 

It’s also important to know how to crop photos that you may download from different image sites. I know that a lot of sites have standard dimensions for images and this can leave an odd white space around the photo and throw off the formatting of your blog.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Have You Installed the Hootsuite Shortcut, HOOTLET?

Today I’d like to share a little tool you can install yourself to help streamline your social media scheduling. It comes from Hootsuite and is known as Hootlet. If you’re not yet familiar with Hootsuite, you can visit my post on How to Schedule Social Media in Hootsuite to help you get started.

Hootlet is great because you don’t have to toggle between two windows, copying and pasting URLs. Instead, whenever you’re on a blog that you want to schedule to Hootsuite, you click on Hootlet and a small window will pop up. It’s like a miniature Hootsuite. See the Screen Shot below.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Follow Up and Follow Through

An area where a lot of writers struggle is knowing when and how to follow up on a submission.

And I know just how you feel!

I’ve sent something out through email and then I wait…and wait…and wait…without a word. My mind begins dreaming up scenarios. I think about the horror stories I’ve heard about writers who’ve bugged editors about a submission and it’s been automatically rejected. I think about the number of times I’ve sent something through email and it never arrived. And I worry that my email has been relegated to spam or just buried in a too-full inbox.

Business Basics for Today’s Writer—How to Set Format Settings for Microsoft Word

It’s been a couple of weeks since I had the opportunity to teach at the Blue Ridge Mountains Christian Writers Conference. I also had the opportunities to meet with numerous attendees and discovered that many were unaware of how to set formatting in Microsoft Word.

If you aren’t aware, Microsoft Word is the gold standard when it comes to submitting things for publication. BUT, there are some basics you need to know.

The Business Basics for Today’s Writer—Part Two—Submission Standards

Last week I began a new series on the Business Basics for Today’s Writer. This morning I preempted that post with my Calendar Days post. But I know you all are looking forward to this series, so I didn’t want to disappoint you.

Today I’m continuing with a link on submission standards. I’m going to go over the standards today. If you’re unfamiliar how to make these changes in Microsoft Word, leave your question in the comments section and I’ll walk you through it.

Every industry has standards and the writing community is no different. However, since the advent of email submissions, the rules have gotten muddy. Today I’ll share some rules to follow that will help you present yourself professionally.