Science Fiction Writer Camilla Stein

Camilla Stein is a science fiction writer. She has lived all over the world and is currently based in the Netherlands. She is a multilingual specialist with degrees in Humanities, Linguistics and Education. Camilla also holds a certificate in Herbal Medicine and is an apprentice in Traditional Chinese Medicine. She is working on a series of short sci-fi stories, a new sci-fi novel, a non-fiction book and a war novel. Camilla also writes on other subjects such as autism and social issues, and does film reviews.


Welcome to Writers in Business. Please tell us about your current projects.

I'm working on a series of short sci-fi stories based on a selection of completed stories that I wrote in the past and a number of new sketches. The series can be divided into two parts – Flash Sci Fi stories of no more than 1,000 words that are being published on my blog , and regular science fiction short stories. An example of Flash is SUITS, a little psychological teaser. Morning Dew is the story that marks the launch of a series with a recurrent character – Ian, the bounty hunter. He is going on some exciting adventures! There’s a plan for an eBook. It will be announced on my blog and my Facebook page.

Another short sci-fi story, titled Gaia's Children, that stands apart from previously described ones has been now completed. It's a post-apocalyptic space exploration story with an intriguing twist and a time line of 1200 years. It presents challenges we might have overlooked in our current stage of development as a civilization. This story will be released in the eBook format as a bonus for the eBook of stories about Ian and his peers. The story has a customized cover art by a professional artist, to read more about this story please go to Gaia's Children. The story is currently undergoing book-to-script adaptation.

A new science fiction novel is intended to be fully developed 300 A4 pages of text. Currently, the book has been mapped, the characters have been drawn, the book’s geography has been determined (I have real star charts!) and the first chapters have been written. This novel will have it all – aliens, FTL, some amazing gadgets, and of course a love story. The book has a distinct Japanese sub-theme. Something very unusual and unpredictable is going to happen there.

The non-fiction book is an autobiographical collection of my Autism-related reflections and my own haiku. It will tell a true story.

A war novel is a project that I began in 2008 at the peak of the research I was doing on a related subject. The book is based on real events and centers around a friendship between two women who experience a modern-day war that affects their lives on many levels. It’s a story of perseverance and a deep human tragedy.

Wow... you are certainly busy - and have such a creative mind! I'm a huge sci-fi fan. I understand Morning Dew is referred to as 'cozy horror'. This is a new term to me. Can you elaborate?

'Cozy horror’ is a completely new innovative technique that is designed to disguise horror elements inside the story. At the moment, I am unaware of any standard methodology for the technique. There’s room for an experiment and a total creativity blast here. I suggest exploring the entire spectrum of tools in the English language, not limiting horror paragraphs to descriptive epithets no matter how colorful. Sometimes a surprising effect can be achieved by an unusually employed stylistic device. I like establishing an element of horror in the finalé, in or near the climax.

Speaking of Morning Dew in this context, a juxtaposition of the setting that is introduced in the very first paragraph of the story to the reality on the planetoid creates a chill that doesn’t really wear off, instead it is being reminded of in the last few lines when an artistic detail is employed to seal the effect.

There’s some speculation going on the web whether cozy horror can be classified as a subgenre or not. I think it can, but it also is a matter of personal taste, and some readers and critics might feel a hardcore horror story that only lacks a few blood stains here and there is too cozy already, while for others it is a complete elimination of graphic imagery that makes it cozy.

Camilla Stein can be reached by email and you can visit her online at CamillaStein and CamillaSteinReview.

Press Pause Moments: Essays about Life Transitions by Women Writers - Edited by Anne Witkavitch

Today I'm excited to introduce Anne Witkavitch, editor of the inspirational book, Press Pause Moments.

Anne is a professional writer and editor, communications expert and speaker. Her own life transition and pursuit of her dreams were the inspiration for Press Pause Moments: Essays About Life Transitions by Women Writers.

Anne’s work has appeared in Miranda Literary Magazine, The Journal of Employee Communications Management, Time, Inc.'s Work in Progress blog and Vermont Short Bites. She is also a contributing editor and blogger for TravelingMom.com and serves as Managing Editor of the Thin Threads inspirational book series from Kiwi Publishing.

Anne teaches managerial, professional and expository writing at Western Connecticut State University, and serves as a writing mentor for the M.F.A. in Creative and Professional Writing Program as well as leads workshops and participates as a guest panelist at the residencies.

"Life is about change. As human beings we're always changing, growing, transforming and transitioning our lives. Whether it is our circumstances that lead us to take a new path or a desire to pursue a goal or dream, as women we learn that we have the power to choose who we want to be, what we want to do, and what kind of life we want to lead. These words introduce Press Pause Moments: Essays about Life Transitions by Women Writers, a collection of beautifully crafted tales by 36 women writers reflecting upon change, adversity and celebration."

Can you share some of the topics covered in the book?
When I decided to do an anthology about women’s life transitions it was important to me that I looked at the collection in a diverse way, both in regards to the topics covered and the ages at which the writers experienced their transitions. The natural thinking, of course, when people hear about the book is that this is an anthology about midlife; but truly it is a book that resonates with readers from 18 to 100 years old, who read it as part of a women’s studies group, a book club, or on the beach during a vacation.

For example, my personal story in the anthology is about going back to graduate school in my 40s to follow my dream to write and publish. I recount how my first experience attending the first week-long on-campus residency brought feelings of fear and self-doubt, emotions I had not felt in a very long time. Another story is about a woman whose ability to survive widowhood is tested when a possum unexpectedly “invades” her home.

Another writer dances her way to her 60th birthday. There are so many subjects and brilliant narratives about marriage, divorce, infertility, self-preservation, sexuality, obtaining dual citizenship, and changing careers. Transitions realized by catching fish, planting a garden, riding a motorcycle, learning to dance, deep sea fishing and caring for aging parents. Resilience discovered when one bravely tackles abuse, a child’s health crisis, anxiety and depression, moving a family, shopping with a mother, battling cancer, or studying SIDs.

How did you select the essays to include?
Before we talk about the selection process, the first critical step was writing guidelines that clearly described the vision of the book and the submission criteria. By doing so, it made it easier to sort incoming submissions. For example, if I received poetry or short stories, those submissions were automatically moved to the “no” folder as the guidelines clearly stated nonfiction work.

I also recruited the help of my college friend and fellow writer, Ann Zuccardy. Ann and I shared the same dream to publish our writing and also shared similar philosophies about the writing craft. I trusted her judgment and trusted her to share her comments and critiques.

I received just over 100 submissions, so having another reviewer helped tremendously. However, I faced an unexpected challenge. At the same time as the replies started to come in my oldest sister’s cancer took a turn for the worse. Having Ann’s help kept the process moving, even as I juggled the readings in between out-of-state commutes. In fact, my sister passed away during this process and it’s her image that graces the cover of Press Pause Moments.

I ultimately selected essays based on several criteria. The first was quality. The essay had to be well-written with attention to detail, professional with no typos, and in line with submission guidelines. The second was storytelling. I wanted these writers to share personal experiences in a way that other women could relate to them. Third was diversity. Again, I wanted to make sure the topics represented a wide range of transitions women go through at various stages of their lives. But what has truly been amazing to me is how, once the final stories were selected, I came to know each of the women and her story intimately.

In an interview, I explained how personal each story became to me and how I still carry a mental image from each “like one carries a photo in a wallet.” This truly evolved beyond a collection of stories to a collaborative effort among women writers. Each time I meet one of the writers for the first time, it’s like meeting a rock star!

What message would you like to convey to readers?
Transitions are a natural part of our lives whether they are planned or unexpected, easy or difficult, projected onto us or something we choose. I’ve done a lot of work in change management but I sometimes hesitate to use the word “change” because it implies that something must be left behind that is out of our control in order to move forward; there is a perceived loss, which conjures a sense of fear.

“Transition,” on the other hand, is more about evolving from one point to the next. There is a process and a way to measure the progression. We choose what to take with us, what to let go of, and how to move forward, adapt and grow.

You founded Press Pause Now as a way to help women figure out their vision and goals and attain them. What resources do you offer?
Many women know what they want to do next in their lives but don’t take the time to pause and figure out how to make it happen. They let everything else – family, friends, or work - get in the way. They need to invest time in themselves and have someone experienced facilitate their thinking and help translate their ideas into words and a plan of action. They need to move away from the emotional idea of making a change to the practical “this is how to get it done” approach.

The signature Press Pause Now retreat is a one-day interactive session where women come together to rethink, refocus and reenergize for what’s next in in their lives and begin or fine tune the plan to make it happen. We help each other articulate the vision and then figure out clearly and succinctly the strategic goals, metrics, networks, and priorities that are needed in order to achieve success on our own terms.

Press Pause™ coaching, workshops and retreats are now being expanded under the umbrella of my business, Anne W Associates, a consulting firm that focuses on communications, change and transitions management. My goal is to bring the Press Pause approach to corporations, women’s organizations, small businesses, and wellness institutions in transition and facilitate the dialogue, help them rethink the vision, goals and plan, and provide expertise to help them translate their intentions in a meaningful way with simplicity, clarity and purpose.

Can you tell us more about your workshops and retreats? What could we expect to discover or learn during our time with you?
There are four key areas I focus on in the Press Pause Now retreats and other workshops, coaching and training:

Reflect: What has worked and why? What would we have liked to have done but haven’t? Why not? What have you accomplished? How can those accomplishments and learnings help position you for achieving your goals?

Project: What do you want your life/career/organization to be in five years? What will it look like? What will it feel like? What opportunities exist now that you’d like to go after that can start taking you there?

Plan: In order to get to where we want to be, what are the short and long term priorities to focus on for the next three years? What roadblocks and obstacles stand in the way? What do we need to do more of/less of in the coming year to keep us heading in the right direction?

Promote: How do we communicate your vision and goals? How can you get buy-in from others? Who are the supporters? Who are the resisters?

Promotion and marketing are a big part of selling books. Which two methods have you found work best in promoting Press Pause Moments?

Social media and speaking have been important vehicles for getting out the word about Press Pause Moments. The idea for the book was sparked by the stories women shared at the Press Pause Now retreats. The book itself generates robust dialogue around the subject of transitions and lends itself well to online channels and speaking forums.

I’ve also been blessed to have some incredibly savvy marketing women who are contributing writers and who continuously promote Press Pause Moments along with their own work. Also, I am now working on marketing the book to women’s studies departments at colleges and universities, an audience I feel would strongly benefit from the readings.

Press Pause Moments: Essays about Life Transitions by Women Writers was released in September of 2010 and is available through Amazon and her web site PressPauseMoments.com.

You may reach Anne by email or visit her blog at TheEclecticWriter.typepad.com.

The Write Place At the Write Time with Nicole M. Bouchard

Recently I was introduced to a remarkable online literary magazine which sets itself apart from the common e-zine type publications that populate the Internet. The Write Place At the Write Time is described as “an artistic venue with a warm, supportive community environment in which to explore literature and fine art.” They are “dedicated to artistic expression, learning and living the written word.” I went to visit and was impressed.

The magazine is published quarterly and includes previously unpublished writers as well as prolific well-established writers who contribute to national publications including Newsweek and The New York Times. Editor-in-Chief and founder, Nicole M. Bouchard, is at the helm of this outstanding magazine. She is a member of the National League of American Pen Women. Her writing experience includes both journalism and fiction, explaining her love of both interviewing and creative storytelling. The other stellar half of this team is Assistant Editor, Denise Bouchard, who brings her sensitive insights, talents and own distinctive interviewing style to the table.

I’m pleased to welcome Nicole to Writers in Business. Nicole, can you tell us when The Write Place At the Write Time was launched and what your vision is for the publication?

Our magazine debuted in July of 2008. I remember that it was on the 3rd, just shy of the July 4th weekend and it seemed auspicious to me to be so near Independence Day; the magazine was, is, about freely expressing art and language- the freedom writers and artists live by to speak from the heart and soul.

Our vision was to create a safe haven of encouragement and warmth for creative expression. Our vision has evolved as we have; now we maintain those founding principles as well as add to them through the inspiring experiences we have with our writers and artists. We keep a personal touch to all aspects of the publication- everything from design to forming lasting friendships with contributors. We aim to inspire, educate and entertain on a profound level. Yet the aim goes far beyond that in our goal of carving out a very human visage (face) on the publishing industry.

What can we find in your magazine?

There are the staples of the magazine- fiction, poetry, "Our Stories" non-fiction, the Writers' Craft Box, interviews with best-selling authors and literary professionals in different aspects of the field, Exploration of Theme, Book Reviews, Archives of past issues, the Writers' Contest as well as fine artwork from various artists. In one issue you might find yourself in an intimate conversation with New York Times best-seller, Frances Mayes at a table in Tuscany. In another you’ll feel as though you’re walking through centuries old English castles with Michael Hirst, writer and producer of the Golden Globe-nominated series, The Tudors.

We love to do something different, extraordinary for the readership in each issue. We try to ask the less common questions in interviews so that what someone reads here, they probably haven’t read many times elsewhere; in this respect, we also want to portray our deep appreciation of the interview subjects by trying to cover new territory or give them space to present a different view on a subject. “I think the questions were great and the piece looks wonderful. Thanks for thinking of me. All best wishes"~ Alice Hoffman, best-selling author of Here on Earth (an Oprah's Book Club Selection), Practical Magic (made into the feature film), The Ice Queen, Blackbird House, and The Red Garden [Autumn 2008 Interview]

“Thanks for the lively and insightful interview! The questions were delightful and fun to answer, and your web site a perfect dream for a writer"~ Carolyn See, author of Making a Literary Life, novelist, winner of the Robert Kirsch Body of Work Award, UCLA professor and Book Editor for the Washington Post [Winter 2008 Interview]

A section that was initially an experiment and has become a staple is the “Our Stories” non-fiction. Done in very personalized memoir style, we are always swept away with how the writers open themselves in these pieces that have readers laughing, crying, relating... It is the human experience bared to the bone on the page and it might only be the length of a few paragraphs. This section was the brain-child of my Assistant editor and we’ve both watched it grow with pride, even so much so as to include graphic artwork from an incredible artist, NEWA, who has since passed away yet immortalizes his vivacious spirit through his work.

Nearly every single detail you find in the magazine, from major interview layouts to the colors of the tiny digital outlines around the photos, has been painstakingly pondered.

What is a Writers’ Craft Box?

The Writers' Craft Box is a section of our magazine dedicated to giving writers hints, tools, essays and advice. We say on our home page, “Think of it as an arts and crafts box full of colors and inspiration... or an old toy chest discovered in the attic on a rainy day.” There is a great deal of ‘writer-ly’ passion behind the essays put into it. It’s often a guiding whisper of wisdom to say, ‘I’ve been there. Here’s a lantern and let’s walk the rest of the way together.’

I understand you are offering something new this year, Professional Services. Can you tell us more about it?

We've introduced a new writer services page via the site that is separate and apart from the magazine(the magazine is, and we plan it to remain, free to the public) yet still has our same brand of personalized attention and detailed feedback. We'd had e-mails from writers asking us to look at their full-length manuscripts, colleagues interested to know if we’d consider doing the same.

As such we came up with the following at very reasonable rates for anyone in search of said services: Novel Navigators (developmental, substantive manuscript editing), Flashlight Evaluations (manuscript evaluations that sum up overall impressions and offer suggestions in a concise, written report) and Kindling the Spark 101 (where we offered our very first online writing course entitled, Power, Passion and Prose, meant to for beginning or practiced writers wishing to get past inner censors and blocks). We’d likely offer another course in the summer or autumn. The insights gleaned from the prepared exercises and the great work produced by the students made for an all-around wonderful experience.

Additionally, our newsletter subscription gives in-depth industry info, tools, tips, up-to-date articles and insights, also paired with one on one consultations.

What should writers do if they are interested in contributing to your magazine?

We warmly extend the invitation and love to see new talent! Our writers come from across the globe and have amazingly varied backgrounds. We recommend that writers visit our site for submission guidelines before submitting; this saves everyone time. In short, aim to move your audience. We do generally give a good deal of feedback on submissions. It’s astonishing and remarkably humbling, but we often get thank-you notes from authors whose work we’ve felt for one reason or another we had to reject. We look at each submission as something precious to the heart of its’ sender; if we feel it needs another home (publication catering to its subject) or a true paring down to the foundations to find its strength, we’ll respect the work enough to say so, knowing that writing is indeed subjective. We give our feedback with a dose of humility, understanding that another editor may feel differently and the writer, in the end, has to know their voice well enough to make the final decision of either beginning again, editing with/without the suggestions given or submitting elsewhere as is.

The editing process of an accepted piece looks at the story from many different angles to see if it fits into a working equation and has lasting power to leave the reader with a lingering impression. The story goes through a ‘work out’ between ourselves and the writer and is then released in its fittest form which should always maintain the writer’s ‘authentic voice’.

Where can we find you online?

Our web site is The Write Place at the Write Time and we are on Facebook offering insights, quotes, tools and updates. Our publication is listed on the Poets & Writers site (www.pw.org) under literary magazines, in Newpages.com, Every Writers Resource (EWR), Agentquery.com and P&E.

One of our contributors set up a Wikipedia page for us. We were featured in the Sabotage Review as well as Book Readers Heaven as a featured website, a review and interview. For additional information you can contact Nicole M. Bouchard,Editor-in-Chief

Margit Crane Offers Parents Help Understanding their Tweens & Teens

Margit Crane, M.A., M.S., M.Ed., is The Gifted-Teen Coach and an award-winning author and speaker on family relationships, child development, and learning strategies. A former teacher and school counselor, Margit coaches families to achieve clearer communication, greater understanding, mutual respect, and a lot more FUN in their relationships.

Margit is the author of several books, including the forthcoming, How to Train Your Parents in Less Than One Week: A Teen Handbook, and the award-winning STOP THE STRUGGLE! Solutions for Parenting Gifted Tweens and Teens. She also created the CD program, Gifted With ADD/ADHD: Insider Strategies to Increase Your Child’s Success and Happiness.
Margit is passionately devoted to making growing up much easier for ADD/ADHD kids, discombobulated teens, and the stressed-out parents who love them! I’m so happy she’s stopped by to tell us about her work and her books.

As the mom of two teenagers and one tween, your web site caught my attention. The information and resources provided are comprehensive. Despite my best intentions, communication is not always as clear as I would like it to be. Can you explain the communication gap between teens and parents?

For me, this is a huge question! I teach a whole class on Talking to Teens. In a nutshell, you've got several things going on at the same time. From the parents’ point of view, they're starting to think about their kids leaving home and they're afraid. Parenting from fear never works, particularly because most teens don't operate from a place of fear. So you've got fearful parents trying to talk to fearless teens. Teens don't have the emotional maturity to fully comprehend their parents concerns. That would require them to imagine a situation happening to them that seems unimaginable.

Like college fears - parents look at their teens' work/study habits and think, "No way is she/he going to make it through college." A teen thinks "OMG, there's my mom/dad overreacting again. I'll be fine. All my friends do fine in college." Their assurance is based on several assumptions, none of which they really know anything about. Like, "I'm fine in high school; I'll be fine in college."

At the same time, it's hard for parents to find a balance between hands-off and being smothering!

How can we close this gap and open up the lines of communication with our children?

Both parents and kids have a skewed understanding of what a conversation is. No conversation should include yelling or nagging. A yelling is called an argument, not a conversation. Nagging is more like lecturing than it is a conversation.

Also, lots of encounters that start out as conversations have an ulterior motive. "I'll just warm them up for what I REALLY want to talk about!" So everyone comes with an agenda and that means that many conversations start with one or more participants on the defensive. Obviously that doesn't work.

I suggest that both teens and parents learn to talk to each other politely and calmly with no agenda. This is a good first step, for practice. Also teens and parents need to practice what I call "Fearless Listening". I call it that because it's scary to listen and not correct, judge, butt in, change the topic, or SET THEM STRAIGHT!

Fearless listening is non-correcting and non-judgmental. You don't have to like what they're saying but both parents and kids need to feel like they are heard, and both hate to be judged.

That's for starters.

Can you share two of the most common mistakes parents make with their tweens and teens?
1. Parents underestimate the importance of sleep. If your child isn't sleeping well, it's super important to get that taken care of. There are natural products (herbs and such) to help, and a variety of physical interventions. Kids who lose sleep can't focus, are forgetful, can't organize, can't concentrate, get sick quicker and more often, and are emotionally temperamental (anger, depression, anxiety). If your child has ADD or ADHD and already has trouble with these things, they'll just get worse. Sleep is more important than grades!

2. Parents tend to take one of two opposite paths when they're frustrated. Either they give up and ignore the situation or they push harder to try to force a change. Neither works, because both are based on a Control paradigm. Who's got the power? That's a painful thing for families and has long-lasting consequences for all. If you're struggling, get help! And be prepared to work. The family is a system. Your child isn't just a loose cog that needs to be tightened. The system often needs to be reworked. But if you're willing and you find good help, you will generally notice changes and gain hope pretty quickly.

Even though my children can’t imagine it, I was once a teenage girl. I would have thought that experience would help me connect with my own teenage daughter, but it’s not. If anything, we tend to have more conflicts than I do with my teenage son. Is there a negative dynamic between moms and their teenage daughters that does not exist with their sons? In your experience have you found communication with tweens & teens differ based on gender?

In my opinion, boys and girls tend to communicate differently and we parents tend to communicate differently with them as well. I've read about negative dynamics between moms and daughters, etc., but I think it has to do with the extent to which parents affirm their kids and have a trustworthy relationship with them. If I may be so bold, saying that you were a teen once and so you should be able to get along with your daughter is like saying you took Spanish so you can still speak it.

Relationships with teens are tricky because teens have changed and you haven't been a teen in a while. In order to relate well to a teen, you kind of still have to be a teen yourself - you have to be willing to FEEL that confusion and angst - but with the experience and wisdom of an adult. What I do in my practice is translate teen-speak to parents and parent-speak to teens.

I understand you offer classes on such topics as motivating your children and avoiding traps & pitfalls. You also offer teleclasses for people who can’t attend in person. I am interested in the teleclasses. Where can we find your schedule? Do we need to have special software installed on our computers to view the classes?

The teleclasses are done over the phone so they're audio. If you can't make a class, they're recorded so you can purchase the recording! You can find out about them by following me on Facebook or Twitter, following my blog, checking my website, or subscribing to my monthly parenting tips. Here's all that info:

Website, blog, and newsletter sign-up (on the right):
MargitCrane.com
Facebook: @Margit Crane: Gifted Kids, Gifted Parents
Twitter: @margitcrane

I’m eager to learn more about your forthcoming book, How to Train Your Parents in Less Than One Week: A Teen Handbook. Can you tell us some of the topics covered?

The thing I love about the book is that there are exercises for teens to do to get along better with parents and also to just improve their lives. This is really about relationships. What works for your parents will work for a boss, a teacher, or anyone else. Topics include: understanding parents and where they're coming from, types of parents, stereotypes about teens, becoming an expert on training your parents, and a huge section on effective communication. I've been getting great pre-publication reviews from teachers, parents, teens (both boys and girls), clergy, and university instructors.

Margit, this is a much needed resource which I’m looking forward to reading. Thank you for joining us today and sharing your wisdom.

Peter Bowerman - The Well-Fed Writer

Award winning author Peter Bowerman is the author of The Well-Fed Writer (2000), TWFW: Back For Seconds (2005), The Well-Fed Self-Publisher (2007) and the 2010 edition of The Well-Fed Writer - which combined and heavily updated the content of both original WFW titles. The WFW books are how-to “standards” in the lucrative field of commercial freelancing – writing for businesses, large and small, and for hourly rates of $50-125+.

Welcome to Writers in Business. Peter, Can you tell us more about freelance commercial writing?

Commercial writing is writing for corporations or other business entities on a freelance basis. That means marketing brochures, ad copy, newsletters, direct mail campaigns, speeches, trade articles, video scripts and about a zillion other types of projects. Because the business world generally has a lot more money than magazines or other organizations that might hire writers, the pay is considerably higher than in those fields. Hourly rates range from $50-125, with seasoned practitioners commonly making far more than that.

That's a great niche for writers. Is commercial writing different from freelance magazine or newspaper writing?

Very different. If you're reading to this and you've done some magazine writing, you'll relate to this. Imagine the editor of a publication you've been writing for saying, "OK, for this next piece, add up all the hours you think it'll take for research, background reading, travel, brainstorming, interviewing, writing, and editing. Then multiply it by $75." You'd think he lost his mind. But, that's pretty much how it works in commercial writing. Project fees are calculated based on those hourly rates of $50-100+ and all time counts. Unlike magazine writing, it's not just these flat project fees with potentially vast, open-ended commitments of time.

What sets the Well-Fed Writer apart from other books on this topic?

Most writing books either concentrate on the craft of writing or discuss arenas of freelancing with dubious and unpredictable financial potential (i.e., magazine article writing, novels, children's books, etc.) The Well-Fed Writer focuses on the lucrative and surprisingly accessible arena of commercial writing - freelancing for Corporate America.

While The Well-Fed Writer avoids romanticizing the field (while many commercial projects are fun, interesting and creatively rich, there IS more fulfilling writing out there), it doesn’t apologize for its emphasis on writing that makes money - good, steady money - an often off-limits subject in the eyes of those who would preserve the artistic "purity" of writing.


Your success in the field is inspirational. In addition to the Well-Fed Writer series of books, you have also created companion ebook publications. This is a great idea!

Ask yourself this question: "What other information could I package and sell along with my book as a companion ebook for which people would be willing to pay an additional $5, $10, $20 $30 or more?" For example, in the case of my main book, The Well-Fed Writer, I created two ebook products: a Tool Box (full of contracts, letter/email templates, and a lot more), and a Time line with action steps for various phases of building a commercial writing business. Together, they sell for $28on top of the $20 for the book, and probably 75% of people eventually buy them. Pure profit - no costs for storage or shipping.

Peter, I understand you offer mentoring, group coaching and teleseminars. How can we learn more about your work?

You can find me online at WellFedWriter.com, WellFedSP.com and my blog.