PHYSICAL FITNESS FOR WRITERS

If you’re anything like me, there are two resolutions I make every year: to get in great shape through diet and exercise and to be a more productive writer. So far so good. I quit a few of my favorite vices, which included red wine and red velvet cake, started power walking on the beach every afternoon, and enrolled in a popular copywriting course. I figure taking a class will give me the structure I need to stay productive with my writing while learning a new skill set. Because isn’t that what the start of the year is all about? A chance to start fresh, try something new, and get in great writing shape.

Last January, we explored the theme of “Fresh Starts, New Beginnings.” If you haven’t had a chance to check it out, it’s a great issue that covers everything from finding happiness and revamping your workspace to starting after NaNoWriMo and syndicating your work.

This issue, we take the two popular resolutions mentioned above, combine them, and explore the theme, “Physical Fitness for Writers,” both literally and figuratively. You’re going to learn how to put muscle into a marketing plan, trim the fat from your manuscript, make the leap into full-time writing, recover from the injury of rejection, and more! Come to think of it, we’re probably going to get a lot of people coming from search engines, looking for workout routines and diet plans...and boy, are they going to be surprised by our playful use of metaphors! But that’s okay because we had a blast putting this issue together for you, and our freelancers said they had a lot of fun writing to the theme.

Oh, and we’ve got an interview with Jillian Michaels. Don’t you just love her? She’s going to get you out from behind the computer and whip you into shape! No excuses. We’ve got a lot of other surprises for you, too. So let’s get started!

A big, warm thank you goes out to our freelancers and staff members:

We welcome back freelancer Devon Ellington and thank her for her article, Making the Leap: The Transition Into Full-Time Writing. Deciding to quit your day job and just do it, Nike-style, is one of the scariest decisions a writer can make. But Devon took some advice from one of her idols, Arthur Miller, who told her that she would never truly make a living or fulfill her potential as a writer unless she relied on it. She chose to transition gradually, though, where others chose to leap. Devon chats with freelancers, novelists, and full-time writers—including Jill Shalvis, Shirley Wells, Jennifer Mattern, Anne Wayman, Lori Widmer, and Stacia Kane—who share their best advice on making the leap, so you won’t have to stumble.

Many of us do stumble, though, and even get hurt. It’s all a part of writing. I believe it was John Irving who said, “To be a writer, you better have a thick skin.” That certainly helps, but there are other ways to prevent the injury in the first place; and if you get hurt, there are ways to treat it. We welcome back freelancer Sue Bradford Edwards and thank her for her fantastic article, Recovering from Injury: Bouncing Back from a Rejection. Sue teaches us how to warm up and prepare for the unavoidable by studying our target market (and gives us specific examples on what to look for), treat the injuries that come from a rejection letter, and get back in the game.

One way to avoid injuries is to be in optimal health. But with all this talk about “butt in chair,” what’s a sedentary writer to do? Make a commitment to exercise is what! We thank WOW! columnist LuAnn Schindler for her fabulous interview, Resolve to Burn, Writer, Burn with Jillian Michaels: Fitting Exercise and Nutrition in Your Writing Plan. As writers, we often worry about exercising our brains, not our brawn. But did you know that exercise releases certain chemicals in the brain that fight depression, improve mood, and increase our attention span? Jillian Michaels knows this first hand—she’s a NY Times best-selling author and has penned eight books! She says she loves writing and shares some fantastic tips on diet and exercise specifically for full-time writers.

One thing I always think about at the beginning of the year is what I’m going to do differently this year to market my business. You may be thinking about how to market your freelance writing services or your next book. No matter what the product is, the goal is the same—to get the attention of your potential customers or audience. To do this, you need to create a plan and a timeline to accomplish your goals. We welcome freelancer Kristie Lorette to the WOW! family and thank her for her article, Get Your Marketing Plan in Shape: How to Put Muscle into a Marketing Plan. Kristie walks you through the process of writing your marketing plan, step-by-step, both online and offline. She shares some advice from experts in marketing and also some unique examples of what other authors, agents, and business owners did to generate interest and attract their target audience.

If one of your resolutions is finding an agent this year, you’re in for a treat! We welcome freelancer Suzannah Windsor Freeman and thank her for her interview with Literary Agent Sarah Lapolla of Curtis Brown, Ltd. Sarah is one of those uber-cool agents who blogs—a people’s agent. In this interview, she tells us what she’s looking for, whether she’s a pantser or a planner, what plot twists she’s tired of seeing, and what books she recommends every aspiring writer read. Maybe she’ll be your perfect match?

FREE! A word everyone loves. Especially at the start of the year—where you want to do everything, but can’t afford to do anything, because you ended up blowing your budget on holiday shopping. We welcome back freelancer Cathy C. Hall and thank her for her article, Get in Great Writing Shape—For Free!. Cathy gives us the skinny on all sorts of free writing resources: free college courses, free online conferences, free books and e-books, free contests, and even a free membership to a writing organization. All for free!

Did you participate in NaNoWriMo? Are you in the midst of revising your fiction or nonfiction manuscript? If so, you’re going to love this article! We welcome back freelancer Katherine Higgs-Coulthard and thank her for her article, How to Trim the Fat from Your Manuscript. You won’t believe all the fantastic advice crammed into these precise sentences. Talk about meaty! If you have to cut your manuscript in half, Kathy shows writers exactly what to look for—including excess description, irrelevance, modifiers, Germanisms, poor word choice, gendered pronouns, unintentional repetition, passive voice, and more. By following her advice, your obese manuscript will be bikini-ready by spring!

Are you ready for an inspiring story? This month’s Inspiration column features an interview with Cami Ostman, author of Second Wind: One Woman’s Midlife Quest to Run Seven Marathons on Seven Continents. WOW! columnist Annette Fix interviews Cami about what prompted her to change her life, the trap of perfectionism and the ability to let go, the revelations she made along her journey, the inspiring things she saw on her trek around the world, and so much more. I think Annette summed it up best: Cami’s journey is a gentle reminder that no matter what goal you set for yourself, if you make a commitment to follow through and stay open to self-discovery along the way, you can create the authentic life of your dreams.

We’re also proud to announce the Fall 2010 Flash Fiction winners! We thank literary agent Wendy Sherman for judging this season. Congratulations go to all the winners and to those of you who had the courage to enter the contest as well. We hope you enjoy reading this season’s stories!

I’d also like to thank WOW!’s contributing editor Margo L. Dill for trimming the fat from this issue and getting it in fantastic reading shape.

One more thing before I go. Like I mentioned in my introduction, one of the things I’m doing this year is taking a class or two to help me stay on track with my writing, improve my skills, and even make some extra money. If you haven’t gotten a chance to check out our Classroom Page, you’ll want to pop over there to see what we have to offer. There are a lot of new classes starting every week. Find a topic that interests you, and let your instructor be your guide, mentor, and accountability partner. There’s something for everyone, and our instructors will help you with your writing goals.

On to the issue… enjoy!