National Association of Independent Writers & Editors
The Member’s Library provides articles written by current and former members of our Board of Experts on many industry-related topics to help your business grow faster than ever before. Topics include
Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
We wanted to get to know Tamian Wood (NAIWE’s Book Cover Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here is what she shared with us.
What is color psychology, and is this just for book covers?
Color psychology is the study of hues and shades as a determinant of human behavior. It is not just for book covers. Color psychology is regularly used in all kinds of marketing applications, such as product packaging, corporate branding, television commercials, automotive design, in the clothing industry, interior design, furniture design, just to name a few.
How are cultural responses determined?
Cultural responses are set upon us by our cultural environment. If your parents, siblings, neighbors, friends believe that a certain color is representative of XXX, then you will likely have the same reaction to that color stimulus. For example, a Western cultural response to mourning is to wear black or dark somber colors.
How can color affect our brain?
A human’s occipital lobe is mostly associated with color visualization. The colors green and blue, which are the most common colors in nature, can provide healing to a stressed-out mind. Thus the color blue is widely used in mental therapy to reduce stress and reduce the rate of suicide. Japan has gone as far as painting the train station walls with the color blue and found it has helped to reduce suicide in public spaces by 75%.
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Have you ever wondered what makes a person pick one product over another? Many times, it’s the result of good design. In this webinar you’ll learn a bit about the basics of color psychology, including cultural responses and the language of color.
We’ll also explore the transformative magic of typography and how you can use it, in varying ways, to change the message of your words. I’m not talking about reading the words themselves, but rather reading the mood of your font choice. And last, we’ll take a dive into tracking, kerning, and leading. OH MY!
You can join in this conversation on June 21, at 2 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on typography. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!
Many writers and people not directly in the publishing process do not know where copyediting fits in the process. Furthermore, many people don’t know the difference between copyediting and proofreading. The simplest answer is that copyediting is the last set of eyes before the manuscript is turned into a book, and proofreading is the last set of eyes before the book is published.
Whether you are a writer, editor, designer, proofreader, or another professional, where does your process for your specific service that you offer fit in this larger publishing process?
June 1: National Say Something Nice Day. Make the day pleasant for someone today by saying something nice.
June 2: National Leave the Office Early Day. This day is an incentive to many who often work more than 40 hours each week.
June 3. National Repeat Day. Take this opportunity to repeat something you needed or wanted to do again.
June 6: National Higher Education Day. Spend a moment educating or inspiring others who are interested in pursuing a similar career.
June 10: National Ballpoint Pen Day. Write a client a note today with a ballpoint pen to commemorate the patent filing on June 10, 1943.
June 11: National Making Life Beautiful Day. Celebrate those who make life beautiful through their words.
June 13: National Random Acts of Light Day. Bring light to a colleague by sharing some encouraging words.
June 21: National Selfie Day. Take some selfies that show you are balancing work-life activities.
June 30: Social Media Day. Post on all of your social media accounts today, letting potential clients know you are available for hire.
You may mail an autographed copy of your published book to NAIWE headquarters to be read and reviewed by NAIWE staff. The review will be posted on NAIWE’s blog, as well as on NAIWE’s social media’s sites. Then, the book will be added to the Book Promotions pile for a new member to read and post a review!
Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
We wanted to get to know Ruth Thaler-Carter (NAIWE’s Networking Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here is what she shared with us.
What do new and existing writing businesses have in common?
New and existing writing businesses probably share a common goal: for the owner’s words, thoughts, and perspectives to find an audience and outlet. Their owners might be at different stages of creativity, visibility, or success, but every writer wants—even needs—to be seen and heard.
Please explain why all writing is not business material.
A lot of writing isn’t oriented to business use, starting with poetry, fiction, plays, and memoir, even though a writing business can be about getting non-business material out into the world. Where the concept of a “business” comes into play is in applying business-like principles to getting the work done, finding agents and outlets for the work, responding to editing and proofreading input, getting paid, and related details.
Do audiences and readers carry the same weight in writing businesses?
Readers are audiences! Whether someone is writing a novel or a press release, a poem or a white paper, a play or a case study, a how-to book or a personal blog post, we all want what we write to be seen and appreciated. Clients might be more demanding than readers, but every audience or reader matters. We want everyone who sees our writing to understand it, respond to it positively by publishing reviews or acting on it somehow, recommending it to others, and reading or buying the next piece we write.
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Starting a writing business is exciting and challenging. Writing is a creative act. Having a writing business is a practical process. Get some practical, effective tips from a long-time, award-winning freelance writer/editor in this session. Learn about types of writing that can be the basis of a business; getting experience; finding outlets, audiences, readers and clients; avoiding scams; and more. Whether you want to write and publish books or articles, fiction or nonfiction, this session will get your writing business off to a strong start (and enhance an existing one).
You can join in this conversation on May 20, at 7 pm eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on giving your writing business a strong start. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!
In fiction writing, writers create the plot, develop the characters, design the storyline, and construct each scene. Writers have stories they want to share, but at least in the first few drafts, the writers are writing for themselves.
As several of our experts have shared in their webinars, the transition comes when the draft is no longer written for the writer, but is being revised for the reader.
And this is where the editor comes in and begins working with the writer. Perhaps the editor comes on the scene before the writer has made the transition of writing for self to writing for the reader, but whether the editor comes on the scene before or after this transfer has taken place, this shift should occur for the manuscript to become a successful book.
In addition to the editor helping the book (and the author) in this transition, the editor corrects logic and grammar in the manuscript. And then finally, the editor is wrapping up the drafting process, finalizing the manuscript for its entrance into the world.
May: National Get Caught Reading Month. Wherever you go, the campaign challenges you to get caught reading.
First Week in May: Small Business Week. Small businesses account for half of America’s workforce, and more new jobs come from small business than any other source.
May 1: National Mother Goose Day. This day honors Mother Goose, the imaginary author of a collection of fairy tales and nursery rhymes we loved as children and also as adults.
May 12: National Limerick Day. Celebrate the birthday of English artist, illustrator, author, and poet Edward Lear who wrote Book of Nonsense.
May 16: National Biographer’s Day. Commemorate the anniversary of the first meeting of Samuel Johnson and his biographer James Boswell in 1763 by honoring biographers.
May 30: National Creativity Day. Celebrate you and your creative pursuit!
May 31: National Speak in Complete Sentences Day. This day is dedicated to using proper sentence structure while speaking.
If you have published a book, you may mail autographed copies to NAIWE headquarters. When new members sign up to support a member, they will receive a copy of a member’s book, along with a request that they post a review online. This is a great way to build your book’s audience and reviews!
Visit the NAIWE website to see all of the member benefits.
We wanted to get to know Kristen Fischer
(NAIWE’s Journalism Expert) better, so last month we sat down with her. Here is what she shared with us.
What types of questions add to the story?
Personally, I approach every story as if another outlet is covering it, because that’s likely happening. I’m always on the lookout for a different quote or a different angle to explore in addition to that main news. For me, questions that add to a story go beyond the who-what-when-where-why. Depending on the story, the type of story (say, feature versus exclusive breaking news), and the audience, questions that add to the story always dig a little deeper. And you have to do so in a way that doesn’t cause the source to clam up, so you have to build that objectivity and trust, and avoid being accusatory. That’s why I often go beyond the “why do” to “why don’t” types of questions. That prompts the source to give you more information and really explain it in a way that gives the reader the whole picture. It’s hard to give a specific question, but I believe that by being aware of the different kinds of questions we can ask, it will give reporters an edge.
What are some types of open-ended questions?
I like to ask “what does that look like” to get the source defining what we can expect–other than “we’ll see” or “it’ll be good or bad.” It forces them to give more detail. Then if they do, you can go from there with any additional questions. I also like to ask sources to explain something to me like a layperson if something is confusing, so they explain things and both I and the reader understand the point they are trying to convey. I like to ask “what’s next” in certain cases so the source may speculate on the implications of a news development–that’s the kind of digging that takes my story a step further and sets it apart from the competition. I rarely ask a yes/no question.
Is there a situation when a yes-or-no question works best?
Yes, definitely. Though I rarely ask them (or rarely only ask a yes-or-no question), these questions are great when you want a source’s stance on something and they are not being clear. Make your question clear and you may get that yes-or-no answer that in many cases gets a source to go on the record with their stance on something. Otherwise, yes-or-no questions don’t lead into much of a response. There’s definitely a type of story that they are imperative, and in other stories, they’re not as relevant. You have to know when to ask a yes-or-no question, in terms of thinking of the primary objective of your article. If it’s to get a lawmaker to state their stance on something, it certainly fits. But I think we owe it to readers to go beyond that and understand the sources reasoning for that response as well.
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Journalists have to guide an interview, and how they do it can make or break a story. In this webinar, we’ll explore different tactics for asking questions that receive more open responses, and produce better sound bites. Come prepared with one example of a great question you’ve asked in the past, and one that you thought was great yet fell flat.
You can join in this conversation on April 14, at 10 am eastern, when NAIWE will host a discussion on asking better interview questions. The cost for NAIWE members is only $10! Non-members can join for $30. Register today!