Writing a novel in the form of a letter or a diary (think Bridget Jones) is a tried and true device for writing your novel.

DEAR AMERICAN AIRLINES by Jonathan Miles uses the letter device.

Book Review - ‘Dear American Airlines,’ by Jonathan Miles - Review - NYTimes.com reports:

“‘Dear American Airlines,’ Jonathan Miles’s fine first novel, takes the form of a letter to the titular air carrier, which has stranded Benjamin R. Ford, the book’s middle-aged protagonist, in O’Hare Airport on the way to his estranged daughter’s wedding.”

So if you’re writing a novel and are stuck, write a chapter or two in the form of a letter. It’s a fascinating way to reveal more of your character and help him come alive for the reader - and for you.

Writing a book is a long process, and so is selling the book.

It’s not unusual for a book to take five years and more to see publication.

It’s a long time to be working in the dark, so to speak, unsure whether your book will be accepted by a publisher, and will sell once it hits the bookstore shelves.

There’s an answer to this “in the dark” situation - cast light on it by promoting your book as you write it.

Kate Mosse blogged Labyrinth as she wrote it, and you can blog your book too.

If you need help with the promote-as-you-write process, I can work out a plan for you. Just contact me for a consultation; I’m happy to help.

There’s BIG money in ebooks - just read how much money you can make by writing and selling ebooks.

However, the ebooks which sell best are non-fiction, because people visit the online world for information.

That said, I know several writers who are blogging their fiction, and others who serialize their fiction via email. Virtual Tales sends 1500-word installments of novels to email subscribers.

And they’re looking for writers.

Virtual Tales - Becoming an
Author for Virtual Tales reports:

“We are currently looking for complete novels or novellas of at least 20,000 words to sell through the Virtual Tales website and other partner sites in eSerial, eBook and print formats. We will also consider the following:

Short story collections with a strong central theme
Reprints of previously published works, including previously published print versions (or those currently published print editions outside of North America), so long as the author owns the electronic rights to the story and North American print rights
Previously published eSerials (through defunct sites such as KeepItComing.net)”

So if you’re writing a novel, serialize it. You can’t lose. It avoids the slush pile. If the novel becomes popular, no doubt a traditional publisher will pay you for the print version.

Great idea… wish I had time to write a novel this year.

Discover Private Label Rights (PLR) , a sizzling HOT new way to make money as a writer

The basic idea of PLR content is that it’s content which is sold to people to edit, mash up, or use directly on their Web sites. PLR content may be articles, ebooks, reports, or even audio. It’s CONTENT - stuff for Web sites - in its generic form.

If you can write ten PLR articles in a week, you can make $4000 a week

Sounds weird, but it’s true. Many writers are already cashing in on PLR, and you can too.

“Instant PLR Author: Make Money Writing Private Label Rights Products” shows you how.