The Real Purpose of Your Writing (Hint: It’s Not About Book Sales)
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
Knowing why you’re writing what you are sounds obviously fundamental, doesn’t it? If you don’t have a reason, what makes you put words on the page and share it with anyone? This question seems so easy a lot of writers skip it. You’re told you should have a blog, so you write posts. Your competitor has success with a book, so you pitch publishers. You need a new stream of income, so you create an online course. Besides checking boxes in some entrepreneurship to-do list (pst, that’s not real), do you know what any of these creations are supposed to achieve? A fundamental principle of good writin ..read more
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To Understand the Audience You Write for, Create a Reader Story
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
Over nearly a decade of writing and editing, I’ve learned one secret that applies to every single thing you write (in any form, for any reason): You have to write for your reader. Easy, right? Well, a lot of writers unknowingly write for themselves, their editors, their colleagues or even someone else’s reader. You could be making this mistake without realizing it — if you don’t know who your reader (actually) is. A fundamental principle of good writing, the rhetorical situation, helps you tie everything you write back to this key element: the audience. What Is the Audience in the Rhetorical S ..read more
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How to Define Who You Are as an Author (and Why It Matters)
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
If you’re the sort of introspective writer (um, all of us?) who enjoys a good personality quiz, this will be fun. How would you describe who you are as an author? Who you are significantly affects what you write, how you write it and how readers interpret it — whether you intend it to or not. That’s why a foundational principle of good composition, the rhetorical situation, starts with this key element: author. What Is the Author in the Rhetorical Situation? Simply put, the author is the writer of any piece. You’re probably used to using the term to mean a writer who’s published a book, but in ..read more
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11 Steps to Writing a Book to Share Your Message and Build Your Audience
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
A version of this article was originally published at Helping Writers Become Authors. Whether you're launching a business or starting a career as a writer, a brief nonfiction book can be a solid cornerstone for your brand. It helps your audience understand your personality and style and learn what to expect from the rest of your work. If you're already blogging to build your audience, an ebook you share for free or sell online can be the bridge from that quick, free blog content to longer works or more in-depth services you want to promote. 11 Steps to Writing a Book As massive as it sounds, w ..read more
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How to Write Anything Well: 3 Key Questions to Ask Before You Start
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
Good writing isn’t about grammar. It’s not about punctuation, vocabulary or whether to spell “all right” as one word or two. I assume you learned — and promptly forgot — these things in writing classes in school. Someone might have even taught you these elements make writing good. They weren’t exactly wrong… but they definitely weren’t right. What Makes Writing Good? Knowing the rules of grammar, punctuation and style are important for polishing your writing — but they won’t make bad writing good. Gratuitous attempts at following the rules without first understanding the point of your writing ..read more
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How to Start Writing a Book When You’re Busy With, You Know, Life
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
A version of this article was originally published at Mirasee. You’ve got a brilliant idea for a book that will blow your audience away — but you can’t seem to get the thing written. Why? When the idea strikes, it seems simple. Then you see the hurdles. You’ll encounter fear of what your ideas will look like on the page and overwhelm at the process of publishing. You may have to fit the writing around other obligations, like a full-time job or running your own business. You may have family or social obligations that demand your time. Whatever it is, you might feel like you’ll never get these w ..read more
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34 Tips for Writing a Book from Authors Who’ve Actually Done It
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
2y ago
Writing a book isn’t easy. If you’ve done it or attempted it, you know that. I’ve done it successfully — and I’ve attempted and failed. Both are hard. I reached out to fellow authors who’ve managed the feat so we could commiserate… I mean share our best tips. I imagine you’re here because you took a break from writing a book to look up advice on how to write a book. You’ve got to get back to writing soon, and there are a ton of solid tips here (from a ton of smart authors you’ll want to look into), so I recommend bookmarking this page to come back to every time you think you can’t get another ..read more
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The Real Purpose of Your Writing (Hint: It’s Not About Book Sales)
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
3y ago
Knowing why you’re writing what you are sounds obviously fundamental, doesn’t it? If you don’t have a reason, what makes you put words on the page and share it with anyone? This question seems so easy a lot of writers skip it. You’re told you should have a blog, so you write posts. Your competitor has success with a book, so you pitch publishers. You need a new stream of income, so you create an online course. Besides checking boxes in some entrepreneurship to-do list (pst, that’s not real), do you know what any of these creations are supposed to achieve? A fundamental principle of good writin ..read more
Visit website
To Understand the Audience You Write for, Create a Reader Story
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
3y ago
Over nearly a decade of writing and editing, I’ve learned one secret that applies to every single thing you write (in any form, for any reason): You have to write for your reader. Easy, right? Well, a lot of writers unknowingly write for themselves, their editors, their colleagues or even someone else’s reader. You could be making this mistake without realizing it — if you don’t know who your reader (actually) is. A fundamental principle of good writing, the rhetorical situation, helps you tie everything you write back to this key element: the audience. What Is the Audience in the Rhetorical S ..read more
Visit website
How to Define Who You Are as an Author (and Why It Matters)
Dana Sitar
by Dana Sitar
3y ago
If you’re the sort of introspective writer (um, all of us?) who enjoys a good personality quiz, this will be fun. How would you describe who you are as an author? Who you are significantly affects what you write, how you write it and how readers interpret it — whether you intend it to or not. That’s why a foundational principle of good composition, the rhetorical situation, starts with this key element: author. What Is the Author in the Rhetorical Situation? Simply put, the author is the writer of any piece. You’re probably used to using the term to mean a writer who’s published a book, but in ..read more
Visit website

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