The Profitable World of Fiction
There’s a lot of talk about just how lucrative the fiction genre is and how countless new writers are able to cash in with a combination of self-publishing and hitting the right market.
But what if you’re not a skilled writer? What if you lack the writing “know-how”? Can you still make money by tapping into the hungry, ever-growing audience that is interested in purchasing fiction-based stories?
You bet you can!
Regardless if you have virtually zero experience writing fiction or if you find yourself suffering from writers’ block every time you sit down at the computer, you can still make a tremendous amount of money by self-publishing books within the fiction genre.
With Amazon’s KDP (Kindle Publishing Platform) you can publish your first story in a matter of a few short hours and with just a few quick ‘tweaks’, you can begin to generate sales with VERY little effort on your part.
This special report will show you exactly how to claim your share of the incredible profits from the world of self-publishing.
Let’s begin!
How To Hire A Fiction Writer
The truth is, you can easily find many freelance writers who are willing to create stories in any genre you choose, but the key is to find a high quality writer with writing experience in the genres you are interested in.
Since every genre requires a different writing style, it’s important that you find a writer suitable for the industry, and preferably, one who has already published stories in that particular genre.
Fiction readers are a dedicated following and so if you are able to turn out an interesting story, you’ll be able to build up a loyal audience very quickly. This means that you need to be very careful with who you hire to write your stories. You want your writer to be able to inject action, keep the story flowing, know how to summarize, carry out plot lines, create dynamic characters and write from different perspectives (first person, third person, etc).
From my personal experience with hiring writers, one of the best places to seek out quality freelancers within the writing genre is at http://vworker.com, http://www.Guru.com and http://www.eLance.com
Both Guru.com and eLance.com attract some of the highest quality, seasoned writers online and while you can expect to pay a bit more per 1,000 words, you’ll end up with a polished, ‘market-ready’ story that requires little (to no) editing. The amount of time that you’ll save by hiring seasoned writers will pay off because you’ll be able to take the story, create a cover and publish to a global audience quickly and easily – with no extra work involved. No editing, no proofreading, and no changes necessary.
When you create your ad or project outline, you will want to be as clear and direct as possible. While I don’t suggest offering a full summary of your plot line or story itself, you need to present all of the important details that will attract the best writers possible.
For example, your project outline should include the estimated length of your story (40,000 words is considered a ‘novella’, 50,000+ is considered a ‘novel’, and so on). The length of your project will play a major role in the number of writers you attract as well as the overall budget. Many seasoned writers prefer to tackle larger projects rather than multiple smaller projects as well.
Once you’ve placed your project listing it’s likely that you’ll begin to receive bids almost instantly. Don’t hire the first writer who responds! You will want to take your time, evaluating every potential candidate, reading through their profiles, samples and past history as well as feedback left for them by others.
If you are interested in hiring a particular writer who hasn’t provided samples in the genre you are interested in, ask if they have ever written in that market before and if so, request a few samples so that you’re able to better understand and evaluate their quality and overall style.
When I create my writing team, I tend to choose 2-3 writers per genre. That way, I can tackle different story types while ensuring that if one writer is late with delivery, another one is coming down the pipeline. I also create “groups” of writers based on genre as well, since many writers are familiar and comfortable writing on specific topics rather than tackling stories in a variety of niches or markets.
Fiction writers tend to be the most flexible, being able to cover everything from mystery, paranormal to romance, however you want to be clear about the type of story you are interested in having written, making sure that the writers you hire are comfortable with the topic.
Getting Your Story Written
Hiring your writer is only the first step in getting your story ready for the marketplace. You still need to be involved in the creative process in order to ensure that your writer is able to take your concept and turn it into a dynamic, captivating story.
When you are just starting out, assembling your team of writers, getting used to the marketplaces and getting involved in self-publishing, it’s important that you take a hands-on approach. Even though you won’t be writing any of the stories yourself, it’s important that you understand the industry so that you can target the most profitable genres, develop stories around in-demand topics and ensure that every story published under your pen name are stories that you are proud to sell as your own.
So when it comes to the development of your first story, it’s important that you lay it all out on the line. It’s your job to create a story line, including plot and character outline so that your writer understands what you are looking for. Your story will also come out 100% better when you stay involved in the process, because while you aren’t writing it yourself, you are nurturing the story – helping to bring it to life and giving it a voice all your own.
Start off by creating a basic summary that includes the overall plot. If you are commissioning a writer to create a romance for example, you would want to give them an overview of the main characters as well as what obstacles they should encounter and how the story should end.
Each summary should always include:
Character Outline:
Protagonist – this is your main character(s).
Antagonist – the ‘villain’ of the story. This may also be an obstacle that your characters must overcome, problems, etc.
Round Characters – supporting characters that help flesh out your main characters strengths, weaknesses, personalities, etc.
Start, Middle & Finish:
You should always include details on how you want the story to begin, where your characters should be taken or how they evolve as well as how you wish your story to end (whether you want a ‘hea – happily ever after’, ‘hfn – happy for now’, a ‘hanging ending’, or whether the book will be the first in a series).
Don’t overlook the importance of providing a complete ‘flow-through’ that helps your writer better understand the story as a whole. It’s easier to make changes early on than make heavy edits to the feel, flow or timeline of the story once it has has been completed.
Time Period, Style & “Feel”:
You should also include any specific language, clothing and even locations that you want used within the story. The more of an outline you provide, especially when you are just beginning to build a relationship with your writers, the better your story will be.
You also want to make sure that your writer is capable of creating a story in a specific time period and that the language and conversations within the story are accurate and reflective of the time and place.
For example, historical fiction readers know the lingo and expect that stories will stay true to a specific time period. If you were to commission a story that takes place within the 18th century, you would want your writer to accurately depict clothing styles, customs, language and even laws of that time.
Be available to your writer during the creation of each story in the event they have questions or need further guidance. Even the most seasoned writers may need more direction or ideas as to where to take your story or how to create a captivating ending. I recommend setting up an email account specifically for writers so that you can easily manage inquiries, questions and tasks.
Request Segments
You should also ask that your writers send the story to you in segments so that you can approve each section. For longer stories of 20,000 words or more, I recommend asking for sections to be delivered at every 5,000 words. For shorter stories, you may split it in half (2500 words per section) or whatever you are comfortable with.
Top Freelance Hot Spots
Here are the top freelance hot spots that I use to find quality and experienced fiction writers:
I also suggest visiting forums and community boards that focus on ‘work from home’ and ‘freelancing’ to find other writers who are looking for work.
Protecting Your Investment
When hiring a writer to create a fiction story, it’s important that you think long-term and protect your investment.
Your story may take off, selling thousands of copies a month and if that happens, you want to make sure that you retain 100% copyright and ownership over the content.
The easiest way to protect your investment is to require that all ghostwriters sign both a non-disclosure agreement and a ghostwriters agreement that outlines the terms regarding content ownership, disclosure, payment and whether the writer will receive credit for any published stories.
You can download a variety of agreements and contracts at no cost from:
http://www.printablecontracts.com/Writer_Ghostwriter_Agreement.php
Tip: Make sure that the agreement is signed and dated before the story is complete, otherwise back-date the agreement so that it is in effect from the time you initially commissioned the story. You should also request a non-disclosure agreement that prevents your writer from sharing story lines with other clients, or in publishing the same storyline themselves.
Good Luck!