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Easy Money For Writers And Wannabes

edited March 2014 in Writing
'Easy Money For Writers And Wannabes', is now available to download from Amazon. http://maggiecobbett.co.uk/books/easy-money-for-writers-and-wannabes/

Having run a workshop at Swanwick, written an article for Writing Magazine and given talks to several groups on the art of selling 'fillers', I've often been asked to create a handy guide, so here it is. I hope it will be of interest and help to tide you over the 'dry patches' that most of us experience. Your first sale will give you your money back several times over!
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Comments

  • Saw it on Facebook and shared - does look worth the investment.
  • Sounds interesting...
  • edited March 2014
    Just bought it- very good price too. And shared on Facebook.
  • Thank you, folks. If you enjoy it, I'd be very grateful for some reviews.
  • I'll mention it on Codsall Writers' website
  • Thanks, Betsie. Writing fillers can be a good starting point for new writers as well as helping to keep old hacks like myself solvent!
  • Just bought it to read next week.
  • I've just ordered it too!
  • I read it last night before I went to bed- in one seession...
  • Oh. Maybe I'll read it tomorrow. No time today.
  • I'm already getting emails from people who've bought my book and are now bursting with ideas. If they make even one sale they'll get their money back on the purchase several times over and I'm really looking forward to hearing about their successes.
  • My pen is poised!
  • Just spent a fun half hour sending off some letters...I'll keep you posted.
  • Best of luck with it, Montholon! Letters are a great way of getting started in the writing world.
  • Brilliant, good luck, M!
  • Thank you, ladies. It's good to know that I have your support.
  • I haven't read my copy yet. Can't wait for the pennies to start rolling in! Hubby will be very pleased...
  • Called in at Tesco on my way back from salsa last night and found my latest 'hit' in the 3rd April issue of Chat. £25 for five minutes (at most) effort on my part. I only wish that my hourly rate for short stories and articles were as good as that!
  • From little acorns...I followed montholon's advice and I've had a letter printed in this week's Bella - sadly it didn't earn me the £50 for the star letter - maybe next time?!

  • An encouraging start and I'm sorry that you didn't get the cash this time. Some editors reward every letter they print, so I suggest that you try one of those markets the next time you feel inspired. My latest 'hit' is in the 3rd April issue of CHAT, which has several slots for readers' contributions.
  • I spent half an hour going through them again and sent out six letters/photos to various magazines. I'll keep you posted... ;)
  • Good luck! The scatter gun approach has certainly worked well for me over the years.
  • Baggy, did you post or send by e-mail?

    I was having a look through a few magazines in WH Smith today, bought the 10th April issue of Chat.
  • Email - I wouldn't do it if I had to print a letter and photo - and post them.
  • Did the photos have to have a specific dpi ?
  • I haven't seen that mentioned, but mine are fairly big. Some of the photos in these mags are a tad blurry - so I think it's more to do with the content.
  • Baggy's quite right. From old family snapshots to bizarre signs snapped with my camera phone, they've all been fine. As for submitting by email, YES YES YES! I make the point in my book that one of the joys of making money from filler writing is that it generally costs nothing apart from your time - and not much of that!
  • I agree. Although it's early days for me, I doubt I've spent more than half an hour 'writing' - and I've had fun sorting through my photo archives. I spend a lot of time taking daft snaps and now I know the time hasn't (necessarily) been wasted.
  • Delighted with the latest review and the knowledge that fellow writers are now making money out of my advice! http://www.amazon.co.uk/product-reviews/B00IZHKEDS/ref=dp_top_cm_cr_acr_txt?ie=UTF8&showViewpoints=1
  • Just seen my first filler letter of the year in print in a gardening title which is an uplifting feeling. Sadly, they have substituted a kneeling pad for the garden gift vouchers they used to offer and my hip problem rules out such activity. Can't win 'em all.
  • Well done Wordy, can't beat the buzz of seeing your name in print. You could always hang the kneeling pad on a wall and use it as a punchbag to release any writing frustrations...
  • Well done, Wordy. Do you know anyone you could sell the kneeling pad to?
  • Carol, I do have gardening sister-in-law who I am sure will make good use of it. Such a shame they stopped the gift vouchers. I used to enjoy buying a special plant with them to remember my "wins" but as doodle has noted, it is the buzz of seeing your name if nothing else. Must get cracking on some longer peieces again. Always boosts the system to have something new in print however small.
  • Hope it is just the first of many more successes, Wordy.
  • Have to admit that I haven't checked the mags since the first week. But I haven't been swamped with cheques, so...

  • Thank you Carol. Certainly the first of 2014 as life got in the way of writing for a while but feeling my way back now and itching to get pitching to coin a phrase.
  • Nil desperandum, folks! After a 'hit' earlier today, I've just come home to two rejections. However, I really appreciate it when editors let me know rather than keeping me hanging. The rejected items will be winging their way elsewhere as soon as I've had my dinner and I've got a couple of great photographs taken in a well known chain store this afternoon! All I need to do now is to dream up suitable captions and they'll be sent off too.
  • Delighted to say that my book is now featured on the highly respected http://womagwriter.blogspot.co.uk/

    In addition, I was very happy to discover yesterday that a puzzle I sent to Real People has just earned me £50. It's on page 20 of the issue dated 1/5/14, should anyone care to take a look. Puzzles take longer to come up with than most fillers, but they're certainly worth a thought.
  • I saw your book highlighted on womagwriter's blog.

    Well done on getting a puzzle published. Was this a wordsearch or similar? I used to make up puzzles for the children when I was teaching but confess I never thought of submitting idea to magazines.
  • It looks rather like a dartboard with a capital letter in the 'bull' and the numbers 1-12 in the outer ring. (I drew it with my old school compass, but the magazine has made a much neater job of it.) The clues each lead to a six letter word ending with the capital letter in the centre and then the numbered squares in the outside ring form the name of a celebrity.
  • Sounds intriguing, Montholon. Will check out the magazine when I go shopping then I can have fun solving your puzzle and set myself a writing challenge at the same time!
  • Have fun!
  • Montholon, just mentioned your book- and why I recommend it- on my latest blog post.

    It should have been done yesterday, but with getting my son packed for Germany, it got delayed until today.
  • Thank you, Carol. Much appreciated.
  • I have bought this but have a bit of problem with my kindle on pc. I only found out when I tried to buy it a second time, lol.

    Apparently my kindle for PC has run out or something. :(
  • There may be an updated version of the Kindle for PC, Dora. Once you download it, you should be able to access the book without any problem.
  • Gob smacked to find that my book is currently rated as #1 Amazon best seller in its category. This won't last, of course, but I'm happily basking in the glory of the moment!
  • Apart from it being an excellent book, you've also worked exceptionally hard at marketing it. That alone is a good lesson to us all.
  • Sparing her blushes, I was delighted to spot a lucrative 'hit' by one of my readers in a popular magazine today.
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