As the screenwriters strike drags on, some writers are turning to writing novels.

Hollywood writers turn to Plan B: the novel comments however: “‘Oftentimes, you shudder when a screenwriter sends you a novel, because they tend to be strong with dialogue but crappy with context, and novels are all about creating the proper context for the story,’ said Evans, whose clients include Smith and Michael Chabon. ‘Screenwriters are attracted to novel writing because they can let their freak flag fly and just write what they want, but the truly talented novelist-slash-screenwriter is very rare.’”

If you assess the demands of the medium you’re writing in, you can be successful at writing anything. But writing a novel is very different from writing a screenplay.

Write more - the key to your writing success

Yes, you can write more - even if you’re a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them - they’re not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, “Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you’re struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you’ll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.

Writing a book is a real commitment. Whether you’re writing nonfiction or fiction, staying IN the book while you write is essential.

In “Top Five Secrets To Writing More, and Selling More of Your Writing” I wrote about the shortcomings of working memory in the The Magical Number Seven, Plus Or Minus Two. Your long term memory finds it hard to cope with the thousands of items of information you need to remember when you’re writing a book too.

That’s why it’s important to write every day.

In The Wait of the World’s on Dan Brown - WSJ.com bestselling author Dan Brown is quoted on his working habits:

“… ‘For me, writing is a discipline, much like playing a musical instrument; it requires constant practice and honing of skills. For this reason, I write seven days a week. So, my routine begins at around 4:00 AM every morning, when there are no distractions.’”

Many writers write every day, even on vacation. This is because when you don’t write every day, you get rusty. Everything takes longer; you’ve lost the rhythm of writing.

If you’re struggling with writing your book, start writing every day. It makes all the difference.

From idea to print, most books take around two years - and some can take a lot longer. That’s a lot of time to invest in a project which may or may not be successful.

So, how do you save yourself a lot of time, energy and pain, and find out whether your book will be successful before you write it?

Please note - by “successful” I mean that your book sells - to a publishing house initially, and then is a hot seller on the bookstore shelves. If you’re publishing an ebook, “successful” means that you sell lots of copies.

Your blog is a fantastic test-marketing tool - use it

Blogging gives you the means to test-drive your book ideas. For example, if you were thinking of doing a book on diet cooking, create a blog first and post some articles about diet cooking.

The number of clicks and comments you get are a good indication of how appealing (or unappealing) this idea actually is.

If you get NO clicks, and no interest, you’re likely to get exactly the same results when you spring your diet cooking idea on a publisher.

A few blog posts are a lot faster to write than a book proposal, or an ebook, if you’re going the ebook route.

Test-marketing works for everyone, even for writers, so test-market all your books before you write them.

Write more - the key to your writing success

Yes, you can write more - even if you’re a world-class procrastinator.

Did you know that when you write more, your writing improves? Many of my writing students experience this. They find that when they write more, writing is easier for them - they’re not dominated by their inner editor.

My new writing class, “Write More And Make More Money From Your Writing: Develop A Fast, Fun Productive Writing Process” is based on lessons I developed for my private coaching students to help them to write more, improve their writing, and make more money writing.

If you’re struggling with your writing, the class will help. The techniques you’ll learn in class with help you write fiction, nonfiction, and copy for business.

Discover how you can write more, improve your writing, and sell more of your writing to higher-paying markets.