Category: Uncategorized

Night Blossoms

 

Once there was this kid in the front row
Raising his hand as though he would turn
Into a ball of light and vanish if he didn’t
Answer the question the teacher was asking.
I was convinced I’d grow up to be a samurai
Back then, so I didn’t understand a word,
But before the kid could answer, another
Kid boxed the ears of another kid and it
Was chaos in the way nature is a chaos.
The rain has been lying to the sun again.
And heaven loves knives. Bathe in the dust.
Flocks of surprise descend from on high.
Grass flourishes between the words where
Sorrow is isosceles and red goes black very
Quickly in the light that increases the light.
When I quit smoking, I became scared to fly.
Needles tack in their gauges to extremes.
The sun keeps us. Infinities are a poker face
Hidden in this moment. We read a line of life
And we twitch in an iron dream that remains
Blinded by the shadows of their referent stars.
Words are drawings that will be missed
And this guy won’t answer the waitress when
She puts his order in the computer and asks
Him how many eggs he wants – he keeps
Saying: Look, just tell them it’s for Tim.
Absence affects sleep and hands bloom
In a desert in me. I kiss the voice I hear
And pick flowers from my veins.
Fog is writing a world inside a word.
Bones cannot hide their light. The original
Road runs ahead collapsing into nightfall.

 

 

 

 

 

Quietus

 

Before my memory leaves,
I would like to say, one late
Summer afternoon, daylight
Was at its peak intensity,
The lights were off inside,
Everywhere, then through
The windows, the light made
Its own light in the absence
Of light, and an effect, quite
Real, grand and ineffable –
As precisely inscrutable
As the present moment
And as quickeningly sublime –
Raked through the room.
I stood there a long time,
Alone, and had to live
With a distinct feeling,
Radiating from the condition,
Something complete had been
Filed with the terrible library
Of dreams and experience
That were about to begin.

 

 

Image © Takuma Nakagawa

 

These poems are taken from A Better Place Is Hard to Find by Aaron Fagan, forthcoming from The Song Cave.

The post Two Poems appeared first on Granta.

Selected by Dr Oliver Tearle Ever since the Victorians, fantasy fiction has been a huge part of children’s literature. Indeed, classic fantasy novels for children actually emerged some time before serious fantasy literature for adults – modern fantasy, at least – became popular. In this post, we introduce 12 must-read […]

‘Love’s Philosophy’ is a poem by the second-generation Romantic poet Percy Bysshe Shelley (1792-1822). The poem was published in December 1819 and is one of Shelley’s most accessible short poems. Nevertheless, a few words of analysis may help to illuminate the poem’s meaning. First, though, here’s the text of the […]

When I started my journey as a freelance writer over six years ago, my head was filled with the same visions that nearly everybody has.

I pictured myself in the corner table of my favorite coffee shop, my fingers flying over the keyboard as I cranked out stories I was passionate about. I assumed I’d land glossy magazines, big-name publications and regular columns. Very Carrie Bradshaw-esque, right? 

But after a few months of fruitless pitching, I was frustrated. I had received rejection after rejection—or even worse, radio silence. I was at a standstill and royally confused about how anybody managed to hack a career as a writer.

Just as I was about to wave my white flag from the fetal position under my desk, I stumbled upon a job posting looking for a freelance writer to produce weekly blog posts about storage unit insurance. Yes, you read that correctly: storage unit insurance.

I was desperate, so I tossed my hat into the ring. And you know what? I landed that gig. 

It was then I had an important realization: Maybe all of these writers I was shamelessly envying on social media weren’t actually making their living with tried and true journalism. Perhaps a good chunk of their income was coming from content marketing. 

Let’s back up…what is content marketing?

Imagine you need to purchase something—for simplicity’s sake, let’s say you’re starting your search for a new pair of running shoes. 

You want to make a smart decision, so you start with some research. You type “how to find the best-fitting running shoes” into Google, and you find an article that provides all sorts of helpful sizing tips. 

When you get to the bottom, you notice that the post you’re reading was actually published by a shoe company. You click through their inventory and end up purchasing a new pair from them.

That’s a very simple example, but it’s content marketing in action. Content marketing involves creating informative and valuable online materials (think things like blog posts, podcasts, infographics, videos and more) to get new customers engaged with a business or brand (or into the “funnel,” as we say in the biz). 

When done well, content marketing: 

• Starts relationships with new customers 
• Increases brand awareness and loyalty 
• Establishes and solidifies trust 

Like I mentioned above, there’s a ton of resources and assets that can fall under the “content” umbrella. But, in this post, we’re going to focus specifically on written content—like blog posts, ebooks, case studies, whitepapers and more. 

How does content marketing differ from journalism? 

I have good news for you: If you consider yourself a tried and true reporter or journalist, you’re absolutely capable of moving over into content marketing. 

Good writing is good writing, and a lot of the fundamentals you’ve picked up in your journalism career will still apply to content marketing. You need to be able to string sentences together in a coherent and engaging way.

However, content marketing does have some notable differences you should be aware of—which I’ve lovingly coined “the three p’s”:

• Purpose: Journalism aims to educate people about a certain topic, and that’s generally true for content marketing as well. However, since the content you’re creating is tied to marketing goals (and ultimately, sales), there will be a more specific purpose you’re aiming for—such as getting newsletter signups, boosting free trials, increasing sales and more.
• People: In most cases, your journalism audience is pretty broad. When you’re covering a topic, your audience could be anyone who’s interested in that subject. In contrast, content marketing usually involves writing with a very specific audience in mind. For my writing assignments, the target audience has been as narrow as, “A team manager at a mid-sized marketing agency who’s actively seeking a new project management tool.” 
• Process: The process of writing a piece varies from publication to publication. Some outlets allow journalists to run with a story with little supervision, while others take a more collaborative approach where editors work closely with journalists to shape the piece. But it’s not often that journalists are given a true creative brief to complete the assignment. That’s much more the norm in content marketing, where the client will share things like keyword research, linking requirements, word count expectations and more details with the writer upfront.  

Is there money to be made in content marketing?

Absolutely. That’s my short answer, but let’s expand on it a little bit.

All of the horror stories of publications slashing budgets, laying off staff or even shutting their doors completely are enough to have you shaking in your boots. 

It’s true that journalism has struggled in recent years. Pew Research Center found that U.S. newspapers have eliminated half of their newsroom employees since 2008. Statista states that the estimated aggregate revenue of U.S. periodical publishers was $46 billion in 2007. By 2017, it had shrunk dramatically to $28 billion.

While it seems like things are heading in the wrong direction for journalists, there are still numerous writers who manage to build thriving careers in journalism. I promise they’re out there. However, I’d venture to guess that many others have started to move over to content marketing—or at the very least, they’ve dipped a toe in.

It’s a rapidly growing career field, and research from HubSpot found that the companies they surveyed spent 46% of their budget on content creation. As journalism gigs continue to be harder and harder to come by (especially for newbies), content marketing is ripe with opportunity. 

But what about the money? Much like any other career, how much you can expect to earn will depend on your experience, niche and a dozen other factors. 

PayScale claims that the median salary of a content writer (one working in-house for a single employer) is around $49,000. 

I think most freelance content writers earn significantly more than that. Personally, I’ve cracked the six-figure-milestone twice as a freelance writer who’s focused primarily on content marketing—and I’m on track to do so again this year. 

4 tips to transition to a content marketing career

If you’ve been banging your head against your keyboard and growing increasingly frustrated with the seeming lack of journalism opportunities, content marketing might be the open door you’ve been wishing for.

Like I mentioned before, good writing is good writing and making the transition to focus more on content marketing isn’t as drastic of a leap as your inner critic would have you believe.

With that said, there are a few nuances you’ll need to be aware of. Here are four tips to keep in mind as you change gears. 

1. Understand the difference between a strategist and a writer

Before you start relentlessly pursuing new freelance gigs, it’s important to make the distinction between a content strategist and a content writer. 

A content strategist is going to do a lot of the behind-the-scenes work. They’ll develop audience personas, dig into keyword research, hash out a content strategy and calendar, and then assign pieces out to writers. They might do some writing work too, but the bulk of their time and energy is dedicated to, well, strategizing.

The writer is focused on—you guessed it—writing. This is the capacity I typically work in. By the time a project gets to me, the client (whether it’s their managing editor, marketing department or a freelance strategist they’re working with) has already laid that groundwork. I use that information to craft my piece, but I’m not the one actually finding it. Make sense? 

2. Find your niche

So many freelancers bristle up at the idea of zoning in on a niche. I get it—they’re concerned that they’re going to rule out prospective clients and projects. Shouldn’t they be open to all opportunities?

Not necessarily. In fact, I credit defining my niche with skyrocketing my career as a freelance writer. When I refined my focus, my client base and income actually increased. It’s counterintuitive, but true. That’s because finding a niche offers the following advantages:

• It focuses your efforts: Rather than chasing down any opportunity under the sun, you can spend your time finding gigs and projects that are a good fit for you and your expertise.
• It establishes credibility: You’re one person, and you can’t know something about everything. By choosing a niche, you can build your knowledge about the specific topics you want to write about. Plus, the more you write about a certain industry or subject, the more you’ll establish yourself as an expert in your field.
• It builds name recognition: A good chunk of my existing clients have come organically. They see something I published for another client and want to work with me in a similar capacity. Things wouldn’t work that way if I was writing about everything from healthcare to ecommerce, as my reputation would be too broad. 

If you’re struggling to identify your own niche, I recommend following this thought process:

• What topics or industries are you interested in writing about?

• What topics do you have unique expertise in?
• What overlap exists between your answers to the above two questions?

Wherever there’s overlap, that’s a potential niche for you. See? It’s not so tough after all. 

3. Ask the right questions

In order to do content marketing right, you’ll need to get your hands on some important information. Clients who have refined content marketing processes up and running will likely provide this for you in a creative brief.

But, if not, take the initiative to ask for the details you need to write an effective piece. Here are some nuts and bolts questions to ask:

• What audience are we speaking to?
• Are we targeting a keyword for this piece? Which one?
• What’s the goal for this piece? How are we measuring success?
• Are we aiming for a specific word count?
• Is there a specific call to action (CTA) you’d like me to include?
• Are there any internal resources you’d like me to link to?

Depending on the complexity of their content strategy, there’s far more you could dig into. However, those are enough to get you started on the right track. 

4. Refine your style

There’s a wide assortment of journalistic styles, but most are primarily focused on compelling storytelling. 

The best content marketing weaves that in too (it’s not as easy as it sounds), but online marketing content has the added challenge of appealing to search engines and holding the attention of unfocused internet surfers.

That means it has some notable features in terms of format and style, including:

• Short sentences and paragraphs
• Headers and subheads to break up text
• Bullet points to present concepts in a digestible way

Basically, the more skimmable your content is, the more suitable it is for online consumption. That can be a challenging switch to make, depending on the writing style you used for previous journalism assignments. 

I know it’s heart-wrenching to think that people won’t read every single one of your carefully-crafted words. But, it’s the reality of today’s rapid-scrolling world. A whopping 81% of people skim online content, rather than read it in its entirety. 

Want to expand your writing career? Say ‘hello’ to content marketing

Today, I’d say about 95% of my freelance writing work is related to content marketing. I still do the occasional reported piece for a print or online publication, but the bulk of my recurring work (and as a result, my income) comes from content marketing.

In all honesty, the lines between journalism and content marketing are already a little blurry—and they’re only going to become blurrier. 

But, that’s a good thing. It means making the switch to content marketing from other forms of writing isn’t that big of a leap. 

So, if you’re tired of dealing with inbox crickets and wondering whether all of the writing gigs have dried up and disappeared, try your hand at content marketing. You might be surprised by the way it elevates your writing career. 

Photo via Dean Drobot / Shutterstock 

The post Finally, All the Answers You Need About What Content Marketing Is (And How to Do It) appeared first on The Write Life.

In this week’s Dispatches from The Secret Library, Dr Oliver Tearle enjoys the comic verse by one of the most ‘miserable’ poets in English literature ‘The Crocodile or, Public Decency’ is not one of the best-known poems of A. E. Housman (1859-1936), the classical scholar and poet who failed his […]

Editor Jennifer Haupt delivers the top tools for creating a cohesive and engaging anthology that writers will be excited to be a part of and readers will fall in love with.

Editing the anthology Alone Together: Love, Grief, and Comfort in the Time of COVID-19 utilized many of the tools I have acquired as a journalist, novelist, and marketing writer during the past thirty years. Some of those tools include:

1. Develop a driving question or idea.

This may seem obvious, but the first step of developing an anthology of stories, essays, and/or poetry is to know what your collection is about. It may be helpful to think of this in terms of a driving question for the book, which I do for every book I write whether it’s fiction, memoir, or nonfiction. The driving question for Alone Together also wound up being the title of the first section of the book: What Now? This is the question I posed to contributing authors: What do we do now, as individuals and a society to cope with the pandemic?

2. Make the title current and evergreen.

I’ve heard this from magazine editors countless times over the years. At first, the directive seemed to contradict itself: How can something be both timely and timeless? For this book, the pandemic was the news hook. And people never grow tired of examining love, grief, and comfort. Connecting these themes for an eye-catching title was not just a marketing ploy, it was also a launching pad into figuring out the kinds of pieces I was looking to acquire.

(How to write better titles.)

3. Create a structural design before acquiring pieces.

The basic structural elements I had before I approached authors to contribute were: 1) I wanted to start each section with an interview, and then vary the tone with essays and poetry; 2) There needed to be a story arc, taking the reader from the shock of the pandemic, through the emotions of love, grief, and comfort, and then ending in some sort of solution; and 3) the overarching theme was connecting. These three elements remained constant throughout the process of curating and arranging the pieces of the anthology.

I knew the four interviews I was conducting with Kwame Alexander, Luis Urrea, David Sheff, and Dani Shapiro would shape the sections. I had collected about 60 essays when the different sections became clear: What Now?; Love; Grieve; Connect; and Don’t Stop!

4. Know your audience.

Who are you creating this book for? What kinds of pieces will they want to read? While Alone Together addresses experiences of the pandemic, it’s also a fundraiser for The Book Industry Charitable Foundation (Binc), which supports independent booksellers in financial need. I knew my audience was going to be well-read, on the literary side, and mindful of politics. The authors I solicited to contribute were chosen with this in mind.

I was lucky, I knew a lot of authors through my years as a journalist, book reviewer, and blogger for Psychology Today. (My “One True Thing” blog features interviews with and essays by authors.) So, I started by asking authors I knew — Caroline Leavitt, Dani Shapiro, Lidia Yuknavitch, Gina Frangello, Jean Kwok, Jamie Ford, Jena Blum — to contribute an essay or poem. It turned out, other authors were also feeling isolated and powerless like I was, and wanting to do something positive. I received such positive responses, that I reached out to authors I didn’t know but admired: Luis Alberto Urrea, Nikki Giovanni, Major Jackson, Kwame Alexander. Within two weeks, there were ninety authors involved.

Order your copy of Alone Together.

IndieBound | B&N | Books a Million | Amazon

[WD uses affiliate links.]

5. Put in-place written acquisitions guidelines.

This is the biggest lesson I learned during my first experience curating work for an anthology. It’s important to have guidelines to share with potential contributors regarding what you expect from contributors and how you will choose the work to be accepted in the book. These guidelines should address the length and scope of the work you are looking for, as well as your process of submissions process. Are you using submissions management software, like Submittable? Is it a blind submissions process or are you looking for authors with specific credentials? What publishing rights do you require and what’s the payment? These are all questions that authors will have.

6. Know your limits!

This is a rule I didn’t learn until after acquiring pieces from 90 authors! This was a lot of cats to herd, but somehow every piece did fit together to create the heart and soul of what I came to call my “lovely monster.” 

Click to continue.