Make Money Off Your Life Story By Miki Forester At Isnare.com Ezine Articles

We have all had interesting experiences. We’ve all had things happen in our lives that are worthy of writing about, but how can we turn our memories into money?

1. Write feature articles. I knew a writer who pitched a story about being hit by a drunk driver. The night before she had actually been hit by a drunk driver and even while she was going through this horrible experience she recognized the importance of what was happening. Once she had decided that she was going to write about it, she began paying more attention and remembering feelings and details. She didn’t waste any time. As soon as she got home from the accident she wrote the story. It was raw and alive and she quickly sold it. Then, she thought of all of the ways that she could modify the story to different markets. She wrote another version about the money spent on drunk drivers and how much it really costs when someone drives drunk. She turned that one horrible experience into a few stories and a fair amount of money.

2. Look at what is going on in the world now and find a way to connect it to something that you have done in the past. When the second gulf war started I had another friend who wanted to write a piece about sex and war. It was timely because the war was obviously happening. However, there were a lot of writers who had the same idea and wanted to write the same story. My friend got the job because of her personal experience—years earlier she had volunteered in refugee camps in Croatia and had a love affair while she was there. She found a way to use her personal experience to give the story something extra, that one thing that she could offer and no one else could.

3. Write for anthologies. One of the best ways to grow your writing resume and to start getting published is to write for anthologies. Anthologies are often themed. So whether the anthology is a memoir or fiction, there should be at least an open call for submission that one of your experiences can fit into. If you’re a beginning writer, writing from memory is often easier because you already know the story. You understand the beginning, middle and end. You know what’s going to happen so you can foreshadow and construct accordingly. Experienced writers also like to use true experiences—they know that nothing can compare to the emotions and passions produced by writing about something true.

4. Teach others. Most of us are experts at something. If you work you probably spend most of your time doing one thing, chances are you do it pretty well. You can write instructional books, handouts, or teach classes. Let’s say you work with Excel everyday. You can write an ebook on the best way to use Excel. You can even send it to Microsoft and see if they’ll hire you to write some of their Excel documentation. You never know what might happen when you put yourself out there.

Published At: Isnare Free Articles Directory http://www.isnare.com
Permanent Link: http://www.isnare.com/?aid=410350&ca=Writing

Important Notice DISCLAIMER: All information, content, and data in this article are sole opinions and/or findings of the individual user or organization that registered and submitted this article at Isnare.com without any fee. The article is strictly for educational or entertainment purposes only and should not be used in any way, implemented or applied without consultation from a professional. We at Isnare.com do not, in anyway, contribute or include our own findings, facts and opinions in any articles presented in this site. Publishing this article does not constitute Isnare.com's support or sponsorship for this article. Isnare.com is an article publishing service. Please read our Terms of Service for more information.