Blog by Toby Welch

< Previous Next >

What NOT to Include in a Writer’s CV

September 29th, 2019
What doesn’t a CV include? Don’t touch on the following facts or you’ll probably do more harm than good with your CV: - what you charge or any other aspect of payment issues - hobbies or interests you have unless they directly relate to your writing - total number submissions you’ve made to literary agents or editors - the number of unwritten works that are lingering in your head - the n ...

Sections in a Writer’s CV

September 21st, 2019
Before we get started on the CV, let me stress the importance of presentation. Now is not the time to use a wacky font; not only will it annoy the reader but it firmly plants you in the amateur category. Use only black ink on white paper; skip the floral paper and pink ink even if you specialize in horticultural writing. Use bullets, indents, and other word processing options to make the docu ...

The Importance of a Kick Ass Writer’s CV

September 14th, 2019
What’s the deal with writer’s CVs? And do you need one?The answer is that a standout writer's CV is crucial and yes, you need one. This is such an important aspect of your writing journey that I'll take four or five blog entries to cover all aspects of a writing CV. A CV, short for curriculum vitae, is basically a resume for your writing life.  The document includes all aspects of what you h ...

My Top 10 Travel Writing Tips

September 8th, 2019
    Before the economy took a hit a few years ago, I did a fair bit of travel writing, visiting countries across the globe. I picked up a few tidbits that helped me become a better travel writer: - Look for the uncovered. Everyone has done stories about the Coliseum in Rome but how about writing about the goat farmers who supply their goats milk to the shops in Rome that serve cappuccinos ...

Writing Time + Kids

September 1st, 2019
Blogger Paul Sonsteby discovered the key to finding more time in his life to write: his children. “I know it’s contrary to the norm, but the best thing that has happened to my writing time has been my kids. Suddenly, I had a completely different value for all of my time. Most of it didn’t belong to me, and I became obsessive about being productive with what remained, and I even tried to blend ...

Writings of Reigners

August 24th, 2019
A surprising number of dictators penned books when they weren’t busy carrying out atrocities.Nicolae Ceauşescu – Ceauşescu and his wife, Elena, ruled over Romania from 1965 until their much-celebrated execution in 1989. During their decades in power, the duo was successful in their quest to turn Romania into a country dominated by fear, poverty, and misery. Ceauşescu did take a break from ...

Amazon Versus Smashwords for E-book Publishing?

August 18th, 2019
There are many routes you can take to get your e-book published. My e-book journey had to satisfy two self-imposed criteria. First, it had to be technologically simple. I gave up trying to figure out how to use a Palm Pilot in the early 2000s and I’m only now mastering GIFs so you can see why I needed a route that wouldn’t be too technologically challenging. The other criterion was that it ha ...

Guest Post by a Genius - Writing Tips

August 11th, 2019
Precurser - Skip this post if you are offended by the f-word. Matt Haig, author of The Humans: It’s Hardest to Belong When You’re Closest to Home, is a writer people love or love to hate. I am a huge fan. His tell-it-how-it-is style appeals to my wilder side. On his blog, Haig shared his writing tips. Again, skip the rest of this post if you aren’t a fan of the f-bomb. “1. Don’t think that ...

Find Writing Time

August 3rd, 2019
       Robert Runte, a development editor, is one of those writers who needs big blocks of time to write in. He can do editing and other writing tasks here and there but first drafts of his work require uninterrupted time to develop his train of thought. Runte has found that the only solution for him is to go on a retreat a couple times a year to write. He and his wife found an alternative th ...

How I Started Out

July 27th, 2019
I am often asked how I became a writer. It floors me that I celebrated sixteen years as a full-time freelance writer this year. It has been an exciting journey, one that has taken me to literal and figurative places that I never imagined. I would not trade one moment for anything. No, that’s not true. I would wish I hadn’t procrastinated so long on a number of writing projects but overall I’v ...

< Previous Next >