How DO you make a living as a writer? It is not an impossible dream. Let me share with you many tips that will facilitate living the writer's life. These include: marketing your writing effectively, multiple ways to make money with your writing skills, time management, financial planning, and lifestyle choices. Let's rewire your life to make it work for you in a creative way.

Be the turtle, not the hare
Prepping your mind and body for success
Can you afford to be an artist?
Making a living as a writer
Marketing your writing

BE THE TURTLE, NOT THE HARE

Make a long-term commitment to your passion. Don't think your writing should support you immediately--it's a child and won't be an adult for quite a while. Experts say it takes upwards of five years to grow a successful business.

Be committed but realistic about your writing. Yes, you can write, but you aren't Ernest Hemingway or Barbara Kingsolver. Editors will not be licking your boots and begging you to write another novel.

Your writer's ego is fragile and will have a lot better chance of surviving the turbulent waters of rejection and acceptance if you are patient yet persistent, confident yet humble.  

PREPPING YOUR MIND AND BODY FOR SUCCESS

When you work for yourself, you are the janitor, bookkeeper, innovator and CEO. That takes a tremendous amount of focus and energy. The learning curve is extremely high and challenging, but when you work for yourself, you reap the benefits of your efforts. In order to achieve this success, you need to have good energy and health.

Energy maintenance: Notice where your energy goes. It fuels your life. Are you using it to enhance and create, or do you worry and spin your wheels? This may be the most difficult change to make in your life--getting control of you and learning to deconstruct the internal stress patterns.

The mind uses a tremendous amount of energy to think and weave its stories. It is usually out of control--rather like an undisciplined child. I don't think the Western mind understands its true function. We are not our brain; it's just an organ with a job to do. Give it assignments and when it completes them, let your brain take a well-deserved rest. Learn to not think by creating down time for your mind, a time that is quiet when there is no mental activity. Perhaps going for a hike in nature or getting a massage. Many creative ideas and solutions come out of the "no mind" state that is induced through relaxation and letting go of mental focus.

Dietary maintenance. The brain needs calories to function properly and I get very hungry when I write. In the past I would skip breakfast and exist on coffee when I was on deadline.   I thought "who needs calories when you are just sitting in a chair typing?" But what I discovered was that my brain would shut off rather suddenly and I would go blank. Welcome to low blood sugar!

The brain needs protein and fluids to function. I suggest creating a "brain food" meal you eat before you sit down to write. High in protein, low in carbohydrates and sugars. Think omelets and keep a glass of water at your desk--or even better--a water bottle with a secure top.

Sleep maintenance . Fatigue causes "foggy mind" and you can't write a sentence worth reading in that state. The deepest rest happens before midnight so if you have a creative writing project or deadline slated for the next day, get to bed before 11 p.m. if possible. Don't watch violent or depressing movies before you go to sleep. Create a peaceful state of rest. Be a mental Olympic athlete and train yourself to succeed with the energy you need.

Relationship maintenance. I personally believe stable relationships are a great boon to creativity, but your partner, family and friends need to really understand and appreciate your artistic efforts. If you feel undercurrents of competition or belittling that you are a writer, stand up for yourself and ask for their support. Surround yourself with other writers and artists, people who understand the ups and downs of creativity.

If you aren't in a writer's group already, join one or start one. The editing meetings keep you on track and give you deadlines, plus the feedback is a constant source of learning for improving your writing skills.

Time maintenance. How much time is spent during your workday talking to friends on the phone about their latest breakup or an epiphany you had in the hot tub last night? I've wasted a lot of deadline time in this manner. Time management is like dieting, you need to cut out the fat (unless you are on the Atkins Diet).

Figure out a writing schedule that you can stick to. In order for this to work, you need to eliminate all distractions--unplug the phone, turn off the stereo, stay away from the refrigerator and don't suddenly decide it's time to clean the house (my house is always the cleanest when I have a writing deadline).

CAN YOU AFFORD TO BE AN ARTIST?

One of the main areas of stress in people's lives is money or lack of it. If you get smart about your resources, you can overcome the roadblock of debt and money worries. This does not mean you will become a millionaire, it means you'll use common sense in financial matters and take control of the wheel so that you can open up space in your life to write and be creative.

How can you tailor your life to meet your income? I don't own a cell phone or have cable modem. I drive a Saturn. I don't shop unless I really need something. I get airline tickets through my Mileage Plus program. I avoid credit card debt and bank charges. I still clean my own home. I have no goals to be a multimillionaire; my goal is for my art to support me.

Educate yourself about financial management and budgeting. Take a course, read one of Suze Orman's books, ask friends how they manage their money. Be frugal but not a tightwad--that in itself is a sign of stress and if you aren't enjoying yourself--what's the point?

MAKING A LIVING AS A WRITER: How to organize a freelance writing business

Be organized! Don't think an elf is magically going to organize all the paperwork piles around your office. Deal with that paperwork daily--before it piles up and deliquesces into a big heap of worry. I believe 50% of most people's energy goes to obsessing about what they have to do instead of just doing it. Streamline your energy application. This means thought followed by action.  

File fanatic. Develop a filing system that works for you. It should resemble the way you organize information in your brain. Don't overlay an organizational or lifestyle model that does not match your personality. Know thyself. It prevents the feeling that you are swimming against the tide and never quite getting to the place where you feel organized.

• Open and deal with all mail daily. Immediately toss all junk mail.
• The same goes for your e-mail. I keep 40 messages--no more--in my box at a time. Do a daily review of your email inbox to see what has not been dealt with.
• Also return all voicemail messages immediately (unless you are writing).
• When you save emails or other word documents, create file names that make sense to you one month later.
• Keep your computer files clean and delete files immediately that are not of use.
• Use FileMaker Pro to file the names of professional contacts where you can source them by individual and by group (Magazine Editors, Professional Writers, Friends, etc...)

I love to throw things away. Your office, and home, should be a place that feels supportive and not cluttered with OLD business. Keep your business fresh by constantly tossing the excess. Get rid of those piles of paperwork that are daunting and create a mess on your desk.

MARKETING YOUR WRITING

Be prepared for rejection but be consistent, focused and diligent in contacting editors and keeping the query letters flowing. It will pay off! That is the law of nature. The turtle is the one that made it to the finish line, not the hare.

With thousands of newspapers and magazines in the U.S., writing feature articles is the backbone of many writers' income.

There are several ways to find out which publications are appropriate for your writing subject and style. You can start the process right now by hopping on the Internet search engine train (or check the list of links included in the Writer's Tips section).

You can search Google for a specific magazine or do a search for a genre that matches your subject material. After perusing their Web site, go to the submission guidelines page. If you can't find it on the site (sometimes they are buried deep), go back to Google and type in, for example, "submission guidelines for San Francisco Chronicle travel section."

After you study the guidelines closely and I recommend giving the editor a phone call to request information directly from the source. Most students who take my classes are not enthusiastic about reaching out in this way and think the editor will be offended. I promote the idea that it is healthy and totally correct to contact the person you want to do business with and start up a professional relationship. This means that if you get to speak directly to the editor, don't waste their time explaining yourself. Keep the purpose of the phone call clear and to the point and ask them, "What do you want for your editorial section and is there some way I can provide that?" Maybe they'll tell you to get lost. Never mind. Just submit your query or article via snail or email, following the format they specify in their guidelines. They will never remember your name anyway, so don't think it will detract from your chances of getting published if they are annoyed that you called.

Here is a big secret: the more special interests you have, the more chances you have for publication. Special interest magazines sometimes pay more due to their captive audience and advertiser base and there isn't as much competition as when you query mainstream publications.

One of my many occupations and passions is whitewater kayaking. I've become known as a female journalist who can write about whitewater expeditions for adventure magazines and sport travel sections of newspapers. More esoteric than that, one of my friends is a travel writer who loves dressage. A tour operator found out that she is an equestrian and invited her on a riding tour of the Irish coast. She sold this story to several equestrian magazines that paid quite well.

Another market that you can submit stories to is anthologies. They usually pay a pittance ($100 to $200) but are good for the ego and give you a longer shelf life than articles.

Good Stories Never Die. Obviously, you can't make a living selling one article. My solution--multiple submissions. This means you query several publications at the same time on the same story idea. It is like fishing--one hook can catch one fish--a net can bring in a bounty!

Again, there is the issue of, "What if they all want the article?" Oh, what a nice dilemma! I say to my students. Ask them how much they pay, and tell them you are offering "one time North American rights." This means they can publish it once and you own it and can do whatever you want with it. This is controversial, as many big publications want exclusive rights. Fine. But are they paying you enough to give them this exclusivity? Rights are negotiable! Again, check the Writer's Tips section for a list of links that will help educate you on this subject.

My policy is a good story never dies. That means it has a shelf life and I can just keep updating the sidebar information and re-circulating it to markets farther a field. For example, I have a story about a sea kayaking tour around an island in the Sea of Cortez. It is a timeless piece and when I sell it again, I just update the information in the sidebar. (Of course, this does not work if the place or tour changes or there is a timeliness to the article that only makes it relevant shortly after it's written.)

Send queries out en masse and keep track of submissions. Create a map and timeline for submissions and contacts. I usually recommend a plan that incorporates writing one story a month and submitting it to five to ten publications. Keep this program up for a year to see how things progress.

In order to not have to reinvent the wheel every single time, keep a thorough and useful mailing list including email addresses so you can just paste the editor name and address into the query letters.

Persistence pays off. I take the turtle approach to success. You would be surprised how many editors think they have published my stuff just because I've called them and chatted so many times.

Take yourself seriously and life will respond in kind. Are you constantly improving your writing skills? Deadlines (external or self-imposed) do it; taking classes and participating in writing group meetings will help, too. Approach your creative career from all fronts and before you know it, you will be living the writer's life.

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See Lisa's related article 10 Tips for Making Money as a Writer.

The Business of Writing is just one of many writing workshops Lisa Alpine teaches at The Writing Salon in San Francisco, Book Passage in Corte Madera and her studio in Marin County. To find out when she is offering the next course, and all the other workshops on her calendar, go to www.lisaalpine.com.