“Rich Writer, Poor Writer …
Which One Do You Want To Be?”
Let me tell you a story about Bob and Bill.
Now Bob and Bill were good childhood friends. They grew up together. They went to the same schools. They both graduated with honors and they both started their careers at the same local newspaper.
Twenty-five years later, Bob and Bill went to their high school reunion. Bob was still working at the same newspaper, trying hard to make ends meet and keep the bill collectors from his door. Bill, on the other hand, drove to the reunion in his new Cadillac, right after returning from a three-week vacation to faraway exotic lands with his family.
At the reunion, during a casual conversation, Bob learned Bill had published several best-selling books and now had his own publishing company.
So why did Bob end up poor and Bill rich?
They both had the same intelligence, talent, and desire to succeed. They both had opportunities over the years. So what made the difference in these two lives?
Knowledge!
Bill had acquired more information about his profession and used it to his advantage when opportunity knocked.
So if you don’t want to end up like poor Bob, you should fill your head with every scrap of information you can find on writing. And I believe there is no easier way to gain that knowledge today than by buying and downloading inexpensive e-books on writing.
Here is a small sample of the informative low-cost books I’ve found:
* Get Paid To Write On The Internet
* How To Write Your Own E-Book In 7 Days!
* How To Write A Love Song
* Learn How To Write Screenplays
* Write Your Life Story Now!
* A Complete Source For Mystery Writers
* Secrets Of Self-Editing Revealed
* 1001 Character Quirks For Your Fiction Characters
* How To Write A Great Eulogy
And here’s a secret you may not know: Many of these books come with many extra bonus reports for FREE! This is a great opportunity to gain even more additional FREE knowledge.
Don’t end up like Bob. You can do something right now that will ensure your future success.You owe it to yourself to learn everything you can about all aspects of the writing field. Information is king!
Be like Bill. And some day you too will drive up to your high school reunion in your new expensive car. All eyes will be upon your perfect tan, the one you got from that recent vacation to those faraway exotic lands. You’ll be smiling, because you had learned that the secret to success is knowledge.
How NOT To Make An Editor’s Day
Ever since the gruff, profane, irascible New Yorker editor Harold Ross barked at his young staff, all editors in fiction, film, TV, and real life have been depicted as Ross clones.
My first editor, in fact, made Perry White or Lou Grant look like Don Knotts. He embodied all of Ross’s gruffness and seemed to take unusual, sardonic pleasure in reducing his new reporters to tears.
“This is a piece of crap, Burke!” is how he reacted to my first article, which, of course, I thought to be a masterpiece. Then with a wink to the staff, he ceremoniously tossed my copy in a nearby wastebasket. Later I learned he did this to all rookie reporters. This was my initiation to the bizarre world of publishing.
When I became an editor, I vowed to be a kinder, gentler version of Ross. However, during my three decades with the title, I found myself more impatient than Ross with some writers.
For instance, there were those writers who …
1. failed to include a SASE for a reply.
2. liked to talk about writing, rather than doing it.
3. dispensed “constructive criticism” about my publication.
4. did not heed, read, nor, apparently, need editorial guidelines.
5. expected an immediate reply to a query, preferably by phone.
6. submitted handwritten or badly typed manuscripts.
7. included pages and pages of credits and clips.
8. left it to me to change all errors and misspelled words.
9. placed insufficient postage on a return SASE.
10. … and (my favorite) told me how to do my job.
These are some ways not to make an editor’s day. There are many, many others. But, as you can see, I’m at the bottom of the page. So now it’s your turn. Send me your views. Come on! Make my day.
E. P. Ned Burke
