5 Things to Consider When Writing Webcopy

When I write for someone else’s website, the first thing I do is hold a face-to-face meeting. I want to be able to hear the owner’s actual voice and figure out what it is about their business that makes them stand out from the competition. Some of the information I’m specifically looking for is:

What is the voice? I talk about voice a lot in my marketing writing. It’s something you hear about all the time with regard to internet writing. People want to hear your voice. But what does that mean? You, as the writer, need to gauge whether the client’s voice is friendly, authoritative, funny, or motherly to name just a few examples.

A company that offers services to declutter someone’s house is going to have a far different voice than a company that offers international shipping options. When I sit down with the client, I listen to their physical voice when they explain what it is their company does, and that gives me an idea of how they want themselves represented on the internet.

What benefits do they offer the customer? I recently saw a client who showed me his introductory slide presentation for prospective customers. It started with how his company got started (30 years ago) and continued until today. That’s clearly a presentation that was designed for a person who is very proud of his company. It was not designed for someone who wants to know what it is you can do for them. Find out what the benefits and then use that information in every piece of writing you create.

What are the Keywords? I always ask my clients, what words would I use to describe your business? Those will often be the SEO words you’ll use for much of the documentation. I then ask, what words would I use to describe you? Those are often the words by which the company wants to be known  - trustworthy, intelligent, competent, etc. It will be those attributes that you’ll  be showcasing in your writing.

What’s the best way to present the information? Is what the company does visual? If so, like in the case of a decluttering service, perhaps before and after photos would be effective. Is the company more results oriented, as in, they save the customer money? Then charts and graphs might be effective. . Does the company showcase or teach skills? Well now, there’s a case for video clips.

Figure out, based on the product and services, how best to represent that information on the web.

To whom are we targeting the information? In almost all cases, it starts with a blog. That part is easy, what becomes a bit trickier is figuring out how then to broadcast that blog material.

Figure out who the company typically sells to? Is it the CFO? If so, then don’t spend a lot of effort on Facebook and instead concentrate on sending articles and blog posts to LinkedIn groups and out on Twitter. Does the company have a more “friendly” community? If so then go guns blazing to Facebook. Get those blog posts up and invite discussion in a community format.

Not all web promotion is created equal. It’s up to you to match what you hear and understand from your discussions with the client to what is available out there and that would bring the most bang from their investment dollars.

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Wendy Thomas is an award winning journalist, columnist, and blogger who believes that taking challenges in life will always lead to goodness. She is the mother of 6 funny and creative kids and it is her goal to teach them through stories and lessons.

Wendy’s current project involves writing about her family’s experiences with chickens (yes, chickens). (www.simplethrift.wordpress.com)

An important part of being a good writer is being a good listener.

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Friday Fun – Anxiety and Comfort Levels with Promotion

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: When it comes to publishing, PR, and promotion (including “platform building” and “marketing”), what causes you the most anxiety and what are you most comfortable handling?

Lisa J. Jackson: What causes the most anxiety is doing in-person events. I’m getting better at it as I do more events, but being face-to-face with folks pushes me out of my comfort zone a lot. I like the uncomfortable feeling because it means I’m growing and pushing myself, but I get anxious when I feel the words don’t come right to mind when I need them. I can be quite comfortable with silence, just not when it’s an awkward pause as I formulate a sentence. I’m most comfortable with scheduling the time to do the tasks associated with PR and promotion. I can be inspired by an online or in-person activity and get it on my calendar with ease. I’m great with time management.

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Jamie Wallace: Though marketing is what I do for a living, I have yet to come at it from the perspective of a writer promoting her services or body of work. In fact, truth be told, I’ve done precious little self-marketing for my marketing business which runs primarily on word-of-mouth referrals and repeat business from happy customers. The types of marketing I’m most comfortable with are, unsurprisingly, content-related: blog posts, articles, ebooks, etc. I’ve also started experimenting with audio and may integrate some video later this year. Like Lisa, public speaking has always made me anxious. Though I’ve gotten much better thanks to work I did in my friend Cheryl’s Platinum Presence workshop, it’s something I still have to psych myself up for. At the end of the day, I believe that finding your marketing groove is more about mindset than about mastering any particular skill or technique. It’s about knowing that you have a right to be here. Once you get past that hurdle, the rest tends to come a lot easier.

Diane MacKinnon: Most of my time in the past twenty years has been spent one-on-one with people, whether life-coaching clients or patients, and I’m most comfortable speaking with people (even groups) face-to-face, even when the topic is myself and what I have to offer. I find the whole social media thing very intimidating. I don’t want to waste people’s time with unnecessary content in their in-box or on their Facebook wall. I agree with Jamie, though. The most important thing is knowing you have a place at the table, whatever table you choose to sit at. That mindset took me a long time to develop, especially with regard to marketing, mostly because I trained as a physician at a time when it was considered really tacky to promote yourself in any way (before the advent of Dr. Phil and Dr. Oz.) I’m inspired by my colleagues skills at social media and plan to continue to learn from them. (Lisa helped me update my LinkedIn page just recently!)

Julie Hennrikus: As always, love reading what my blog mates have to say on this. Here’s my $.02–I am much better at promoting a friend than myself. So (and this is going to sound nuts, but here we go) J.A. Hennrikus author is a friend who I feel more comfortable promoting. I am getting much better at public speaking, and have a few other things I can talk about, so I can make it less about me me me, and more about engagement.

 

photo: M. Shafer

Deborah Lee Luskin: I love speaking in public! I love meeting my readers! But I don’t love asking for readings or sending out press releases or organizing all the details; this is when I wish I had a publicist. (Someday . . . ). But mostly, I like to write. I love being a contributor to this blog, and one of these days, I’ll start one of my own. But updating my website is one of those tasks that’s been on my “to do” list for going on two years. So much to do, so little time.

 

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Perspective, persistence, and patience help build your platform

Building an author (or writer) platform takes 3 things: perspective, persistence, and patience. And with commitment to each of these areas, you will see results in reaching your audience.

Let’s take a look at each category.

Perspective: Know the type of writing you (want to) do and the type of audience you want to reach.

• Start writing, write, and keep on writing. (Start, do, keep on.)
• Start finding ways to interact with the people who make up your target audience – online and in person. Interact with the people you find and keep on interacting with those people and others. (Start, do, keep on.)
• Start creating accounts on social media outlets that are relevant to your writing. Use social media to get your name seen (don’t hide behind a made up name like “iamawriter2″, use your real name (or the name you want people to recognize). Keep on using social media, and don’t be afraid to stop using one avenue if you find another that’s better. (Start, do, keep on.)
• Promote your website (or blog) link whenever appropriately possible. (Don’t just paste your link everywhere, let it have value by being associated with your name and a topic related to your platform).

Persistence: When you get that first follower, that first comment on a blog post, or that first inquiry from your web site, celebrate, but don’t sit back and think you’re all set. You’ve started, and you’re on your way, now keep at it! If you can reach 1 person, you can reach 2, and then 4, and so on.

It can be exciting at the start to want to get ‘the most’ followers, ‘the most’ comments, or ‘the most’ of everything. You’ll soon realize that quality is more important over quantity in many (not all) cases. The more you persist and build your platform and your audience, the more you’ll realize what works, what doesn’t, and what needs to be adjusted. Keep at it. You’ll get there!

When you get writing credits, flaunt them, let your audience know about your successes. The more you write, the more credits you’ll get, and the more you can promote yourself.

Keep at it. (Yes, I’m being purposely repetitive). Be persistent in letting people know who you are and what you write about.

Patience: Building a platform doesn’t happen overnight, but it will happen if you work at it. And you’ll only work at it if it’s something you truly want. So, dig deep and find out if you truly, really, honestly want to be an author (or writer), and if you do, and if you want an audience who reads your work, you’ll need to work on your platform! You can do it.

Today marks 7 years for me as a self-employed writer. *insert party hat and noise makers* I’ve been working on my platform and it has come a long way, but it remains organic. I know I can’t stop working on it now! I hope you have long years as an author (or writer), too.

Have you started to build your author (or writer) platform yet? If not, what are you waiting for?

Lisa J. Jackson makes a living helping businesses express themselves with words. She also loves writing and talking about New Hampshire and plans to complete several 5Ks in 2013. She drinks iced coffee year-round, and needs a stash of Peppermint Patties in the fridge at all times to satisfy chocolate needs. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Biznik, Facebook, and Twitter. 

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Friday Fun – (How) are you building your author platform?

Friday Fun is a group post from the writers of the NHWN blog. Each week, we’ll pose and answer a different, get-to-know-us question. We hope you’ll join in by providing your answer in the comments.

QUESTION: Part 1: Are you building your author platform? Part 2: IF you are, how are you doing it?

Lisa J. Jackson: I’ve been building my author platform for a while now. I use the pseudonym Lisa Haselton for all my fiction. I started on MySpace with an author page, but that has since gone by way of the dinosaur. Right now I have a Facebook author page and a blog that get my name out there. Also, I use my pseudonym in my role as chat moderator at The Writer’s Chatroom to also build name recognition. I currently have short stories published; no novels yet, but it’s never too early to start building the platform!

Deborah Lee Luskin: My author platform is secondary to my first love, which is writing. I publish about five essays a month: two are broadcast on Vermont Public Radio, two appear on this blog, and one appears in our local, independent, newspaper. These are a great way to reach and build an audience between novels, which I complete with much lesser frequency! I’m also on Facebook, with a page for myself and for my published novel, Into the Wilderness, and I have a wonderful webpage, which averages 50+ hits/day – which adds up to more people than I know. I have plans to update the website, to consolidate my Facebook pages, to learn how to tweet – and when it becomes imperative, I will. For now, it’s more important I just keep writing.

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Julie Hennrikus: I have a Facebook page, and I use Twitter. A lot. I also have a blog (which I am terrible about keeping up with, but I try). And, of course, I am here. This year I am the President of Sisters in Crime New England, and I just joined Mystery Writers of America. All of these add to my platform, as does the rest of my life. I use social media for my StageSource life, and for Sisters in Crime, so it is all part of the practice. My social media mix is that you should tweet, share/like 80% for and about other people. 20% for yourself. So a lot of building a platform is being part of a community, and paying it forward for the day when I am (please please please) releasing a novel.

Wendy Thomas: It’s so important to build your platform. It’s one of the first things any agent is going to ask you about when you submit a manuscript. Basically your platform should answer the question of why you are qualified to write what you write. It also answers the secondary question of “how many people could potentially buy your work?”

To be qualified in writing means that you have to get your name out there in your field and it has to be out there often. To accomplish this I’m on Twitter, Facebook, and write for several blogs. I write for newspapers, magazines, have been featured on TV and on radio.  I teach classes and give presentations. I try to comment on others blogs in the same genre as mine (quite honestly, that’s my weakest link simply due to time constraints.) I also send out press releases to local publications when I have something that is newsworthy.

At one point I was spending about 2 hours a day just on building my platform, I don’t have to allocate that much time anymore, but that’s only because I spent the time building up a solid foundation. Like it or not, part of writing is selling your expertise to the world and the only way to do that is to market your work.

Jamie Wallace: I have not yet begun to build a platform as a fiction author, but I have put a lot of time and effort into building my platform as a marketing writer. Like Wendy, I write regularly for multiple blogs (mine as well as collaborative sites) and have guest posted on others. I have been interviewed on podcasts, presented and co-presented webinars, given in-person trainings and talks, and spoken on industry panels. I am also very engaged in social media, primarily Twitter. (Facebook, for me, is all about being social (not about business), and although it’s making some strides, LinkedIn is still a bit too stodgy for me.) In the world of my “day job,” I can trace almost all of my current work back to social media interactions. For instance, I met a woman several years ago while taking an online course about white paper writing. A year or so later, she referred me to an agency who then hired me for a project and has since hired me for about a dozen more. In another case, a friend who I originally met in that same online class gave me the heads up on an alert from a writing mentor who was going to be in town and was inviting people to join him for brunch. Both my friend and I showed up (and had a wonderful time). During the event, I connected with the woman sitting to my right. She and I have become great friends and she constantly refers work to me.

If you’d like to read more about my thoughts on this topic, you can check out my four-part series on building the writer’s platform. You may also like Building Your Social Network from Scratch. Good luck!

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Marketing Mindset: You have a right to be here.

The scary part isn’t the writing. The scary part is putting your writing out into the world.

We writers can hack the long hours at the keyboard, wrestling with the blank page and coaxing our muses forth. We have grown accustomed to the voices in our heads – characters, critics, and editors. We and our personal demons have arrived at a working truce that allows us to get the words down.

But that’s just the first part of the battle, isn’t it?

If you’re hoping to get published, you have to not only create, but also promote. You must market yourself and your work to an audience. You must put everything out there where other people can see it, consume it, and judge it worthy … or not.

THAT is the scary part.

That is the thing – as much as, if not more than, lack of drive or talent or productivity – that keeps wannabe authors from becoming published authors.

I bring this up because this is my last post here at Live to Write – Write to Live until after the New Year and I didn’t want to miss my opportunity to give you a little 2013 pep talk.

I know that December is a time for reflecting back on the year gone by and scrying into the year ahead. This is the time of year many of us make resolutions and intentions. We try to cast off bad habits and establish new, healthier ones. As writers, many of our thoughts orbit closely around our creative work and dreams: What have I accomplished? What do I hope to accomplish? How will I reach me writing goals in 2013? Do I really have what it takes? Should I even bother?

If you’re not careful you can go careening off a cliff of self-doubt and insecurity.

That’s not good for your marketing.

How can you confidently and competently market yourself if you don’t believe you have anything to offer? How can you make the right connections and impressions if you feel like you don’t deserve to be here?

You can’t.

In my day job, I help my clients develop standout brands and craft great content. Though I work mostly with large companies, I do sometimes have the pleasure of working with authors, artists, designers, creative entrepreneurs, etc. In my experience, the first order of business with these folks isn’t establishing a value proposition or unearthing the brand story or developing the voice for the website. The first order of business is getting the client into the “marketing mindset.”

If you’re going to have to go out there and sell yourself and your work (which, you will have to do if you want to be published), you need to get into a marketing mindset, too. You need to believe that you have a right to be here.

I wrote a post about this on my home blog at Suddenly Marketing. I’d love for you to head over there and read Marketing Mindset 101: You have a right to be here. It’s my soapbox pep talk. It’s what I say to friends and clients who seem unsure, tentative, and doubtful when it comes to marketing themselves. It’s my rallying cry to incite people to action.

2013 is a brand new year, people.

Anything is possible.

This might be your year.

Are you ready to make the most of it?

Do you have the right marketing mindset?

Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

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Image from A Knight’s Tale © 2001 Columbia Pictures Industries, Inc. All Rights Reserved – sourced from IMDB

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Overwhelmed by marketing? Start marketing.

I originally published this post at my Suddenly Marketing blog, but I think it has a lot of relevance for writers and authors as well as for entrepreneurs. In today’s publishing world, authors are brands – like it or not. Whether you’re hoping to sell a lot of books through indie channels, or attract the attention of a traditional publisher, you will need to do some marketing – branding, platform development, social media engagement, and digital PR. It can be overwhelming. Most of us hardly have time to do our creative work, never mind being responsible for hawking it via a marketing plan. This post delivers a little reality check. Marketing is just like writing – you reach your goals one step, one day, one task at a time. There’s no magic – just getting it done – little-by-little, however you can. 

Are you feeling so overwhelmed by the marketing you think you should be doing that you don’t do any marketing at all?

Do you start to gear up to tackle one marketing task and then realize that it’s connected to something else that’s connected to something else that’s connected to something else, and then you give up?

Does the very word “marketing” give you a case of vertigo?

You’re not alone.

I hear these kinds of things all the time from people who want to take charge of their marketing, but just don’t know where to start. I don’t blame them. I’ve been at this gig for a decade now, and even I feel overwhelmed now and again. There is just so much to take in – new strategies, new technology, new tactics. I subscribe to over a hundred marketing blogs just to try and keep up with what’s happening in this crazy marketing landscape.

So, how do you get unstuck?

I am a big believer in strategy. When you put together a strong, sensible strategy, all that gooey stuff that was confusing the heck out of you suddenly becomes clear. When you have a plan that’s built on goals, resources, and ability, you can stop stressing about what to do and just get on with doing it. Yep – I really like a good strategy. In fact I’m very excited that I’ll soon be unveiling a whole new Suddenly Marketing that delivers a unique way to think about and approach your marketing strategy, BUT…

I totally understand that for some people (especially solopreneurs who are wearing six different hats and working eighteen hours a day), it’s not feasible to carve out the time (or budget) to dedicate to brand development and marketing strategy. Believe me – I get that. The “new” Suddenly Marketing has been in the works for THREE YEARS. (No, I’m not kidding.)

SO … I’d like to offer you a get out of jail free card:

Just. Start. Marketing.

I know, I know – sounds like empty advice, right? It’s not.

In a perfect world, each of us would have the luxury of time and money to spend developing a seriously well thought out and buttoned up plan. However, the world I live in is anything but perfect. I’m guessing your address isn’t in Perfectsville either.

Here’s what you do:

1. Stop beating yourself up.
2. Step back and take a deep breath.
3. Know that a plan is a good thing.
4. Start to cultivate a geeky love for a good plan.
5. But, while you’re waiting for time to sit down and craft that plan, pick a marketing task and do it.

Don’t overthink. Don’t overanalyze. For the sake of all that’s holy to you, don’t compare your marketing to anyone else’s marketing. There will be plenty of time for that later. For now, you just want to get your “marketing legs” under you, so to speak.

Your goal is not marketing brilliance, it’s marketing momentum.

You know that if you want to read a book, you have to read one page at a time.

You know that if you want to have six-pack abs, you have to do one crunch at a time.

You know that if you want to amass million dollars, you have save one dollar at a time.

Marketing is no different.

Start somewhere. Start anywhere. Just start.

The best thing about this non-strategy strategy is that it gets you doing something. It gets you experimenting. You’ll be learning a lot: what works, what doesn’t, what you’re good at, what you never want to do again. The more you talk about your business, the more you’ll understand how to talk about your business. The more you talk to your customers, the more you’ll understand your customers and their needs.

Pick one thing.

Start today. What one thing can you do to kick start your marketing momentum?

• Join a LinkedIn (or Quora or Focus or …) group and answer a question
• Write one blog post
• Write one guest blog post
• Unleash your blogging honey badger
• Update your “About” page
• Update your LinkedIn profile
• Brainstorm topics for your next three months of blog posts
• Brainstorm the stories behind your brand
• Retweet some posts to your Twitter followers
• Make a list of your favorite brands
• Make a list of your least favorite brands
• Make a mindmap of your brand’s purpose
• Make a mindmap of what your customers say about you
• Go on vacation
• Offer to speak to a local group or class
• Have coffee with a colleague
• Install sharing tools on your blog
• Sign up for an email service (like Mailchimp)
• Read a few blog posts – on marketing or your competitors
• Face your marketing fears
• Set up a new social media account – Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, etc.
• Take yourself for a walk and rediscover your enthusiasm

Each of these is a valid and valuable marketing task. Don’t worry about whether you’re picking the “right” thing or the “smartest” thing or the “most important” thing. Just pick something and do it. Read that first page. Do that first crunch. Save that first dollar. Before you know it, you’ll be building up your marketing momentum and then the sky’s the limit.

What keeps you from tackling your marketing monsters? Which tasks do you fear most? Which do you kinda-sorta-almost enjoy? What are your marketing goals between now and the end of the year? 

Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

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Image Credit: Angela Cirrone Smith

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What type of writing do you do?

At networking events, I most often introduce myself as ‘a writer’ or ‘a business writer.’ Both lead to one of two  inevitable questions: ‘What do you write?’, or ‘What kind of writing do you do?’

Then I take a deep breath and try to explain myself in 30 seconds or less, (even typing this, I took a deep breath.) I’m interested and have experience in a lot of different types of writing. For my business, I can write marketing collateral – and that in itself can be an arm-long list of different things from success stories to business profiles to solution profiles and product briefs.

Then there’s ghost blogging for businesses, web content, press releases, content for newsletters, interviews, process guides, and more.

I’ve found that my business card is a great ice breaker, however. My business tagline is “Your words, only better.” And I constantly get a lot of compliments on that phrase. Business folks who are intimidated by writers, especially, smile at that and visibly relax. That’s when they’ll share a bit about their insecurities or concerns with their own writing.

I’m also realizing that if I can find out what type of business the person I’m meeting is involved with before I answer, I can give examples that he or she can relate to.

• For instance, many businesses have websites that have existed for 5 years or more and never been updated – I can talk about my web copy experience.
• Or if the person mentions sales letters that have resulted in zero inquiries, I can talk about how I can write marketing and sales pieces that catch attention.
• Social media scares a lot of business owners – they don’t know how to even approach LinkedIn or Twitter for business. If I know this is what they’re thinking about the most, I can talk about how each has a different goal and therefore the writing has to also be different. I can mention that it isn’t rocket science, but it is a skill, and I’ve been writing professionally for more than 25 years.

Empathy goes a long way, and I love it when someone gets inquisitive about the art of writing. For me, asking questions about their business is natural – I need to know more in order to be able to write for them and keep their ‘voice.’

It’s probably not best to reply to ‘what do you write’ with ‘whatever you need,’ but in most cases, it’s true. I love working with words and helping others express what they need to in their own words, only better.

How do you answer the question, ‘what type of writing do you do?’

Lisa J. Jackson is a New England-region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She loves working with words, and helping others with their own. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on LinkedIn, Facebook, or Twitter. 

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An essential for freelance writers – the business card

Business cards are just one essential tool freelance writers should have in their marketing toolboxes.

Business cards can be a way to start branding yourself. The colors, fonts, and designs are just a few ways to start discovering yourself as a business.

Think of how you’d react to these examples – plain white cards, no images, standard horizontal placement:

Business Card A is entirely in blue script (cursive) font.

Business Card B is entirely black Arial font.

Without know anything about either cardowner – you already have an impression about each one, right? So when you design your card, play around and find what feels right for you.

As for what to include on your card, here are a few recommendations:

• Have the cards be simple and inexpensive
• Include your name
• Include your business name (if you have one for your freelance writing business) or a tagline that says “freelance writer”
• List a business telephone number (I use a Google Voice number so I don’t have to share my personal phone number)
• Use a PO box (instead of a home address) if a mailing address is required for your business
• Make sure to list an e-mail address

[You never know where your business card may end up, so keeping your home address and personal phone number private are ways to stay safe.]

I use Vistaprint (and am in no way compensated by anyone for saying that). Over the years, I’ve found them to be the most reliable, reasonably priced, and of consistent good quality. It also doesn’t hurt that even when I ask for ‘standard shipping’ (up to 2 weeks), I always receive my order much sooner.

Where do you hand out your business cards?

• In-person networking events for business owners, chambers of commerce, industry-specific organizations, and so on
• Bulletin boards in places where your target market visits
• Speaking engagements
• Conferences
• Basically, wherever you meet people you want to work with or who may be able to connect you with someone you could work with

And, remember, just because you hand someone your business card, doesn’t mean you’re done marketing. People need to get to know you a bit before hiring you. So make sure to develop (and follow) a process for following up with people you meet – that is, if you truly want to build a career as a freelance writer.

What do you think about using business cards as a freelance writer?

Lisa J. Jackson is a New England-region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She has several business cards to suit different needs. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter. 

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Writing as a business

We talk a lot about writing, but we haven’t really touch on the topic of formally creating a writing business.

This post lists types of business structure options you have, at least in the U.S., for categorizing your writing or (self-) publishing business.

Since I’m neither an accountant or an attorney, please seek out someone who is one or the other, to help you determine the best structure for your needs. All states should have (at least) similar categories; these are for New Hampshire businesses.

The full definitions (these are paraphrased) can be found via the NH Division of Economic Development site:

• Sole proprietorship –  is a business with the least amount of legal formalities and simplest to form. You assume sole responsibility for the operations and finances of the business, including profit or loss.

• General partnership - is an agreement between 2 or more individuals, or entities/businesses, to jointly own and operate a business. Profit, loss, and managerial duties are shared among the partners, and each partner is personally liable for partnership debts. As entities, partnerships do not pay tax, but must file an informational return, while individual partners report their share of profits or losses on their personal returns.
• Limited partnership – offers some of the partners’ limited liability. It includes a general partner who organizes and manages the business and its operations, and limited partners who contribute capital, but have limited liability and assume no active role in day-to-day business affairs.

• Limited liability partnership (LLP) - is organized to protect individual partners from personal liability for the negligent acts of other partners or employees not under their direct control (i.e. licensed fields like law or medicine). Not every state has this category. Partners report their share of profits and losses on their personal tax returns.
• Limited liability company (LLC) – combines the corporate and partnership entities. Parties in an LLC control shares and their operational liability of the company is determined by their level of investment. However, like partnerships, income tax is not paid at the LLC level, but rather it is “passed through” and taxed at the shareholder level. It’s not an easy entity to explain or understand.

Two others categories are “C” corporation and “S” corporation. Each of these has shareholders and for the purposes of this conversation, aren’t what a writing or (self-) publishing entity would need – at least not immediatly.

But again, each of the above business structures has legal, tax, and other consequences. I’m a writer, not an attorney or accountant, but I think these details can at least give you a start if you’re considering turning your writing into a business, or you’re thinking about creating an entity to self-publish under.

Have you thought about turning your writing into a business at some point?

Lisa J. Jackson is a New England-region journalist and a year-round chocolate and iced coffee lover. She’s a sole proprietor and solopreneur. She writes fiction as Lisa Haselton, has an award-winning blog for book reviews and author interviews, and is on the staff of The Writer’s Chatroom. Connect with her on Facebook or Twitter. 

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The business of writing

How do you start a writing career?

This was the question that inspired my recent interview with the wonderfully enthusiastic and ebullient Monica Magnetti of Luna Coaching. Monica has an online radio show on Voice America called Brand Your Fire – Get What You Want. She interviews a wide variety of guests, providing her listeners with a look inside the creative process, business acumen, and life philosophies of people who hail from all walks of life. I recently had the pleasure of being interviewed by her along with my Savvy Sisters from Savvy B2B Marketing, so I was delighted when she asked me to come back for a solo interview on one of my favorite topics: writing.

In this one hour conversation, we talk about when to call yourself “writer,” how I got started, how I took my passion from hobby to career, the discipline of writing (what works for me anyway!), business development, and more. A chat with Monica is always full of fun and laughter, so there’s plenty of that as well.

I hope you’ll click on over and check it out. You can find the archived interview on Monica’s Voice America channel. You can listen online via a streaming feed, or download the MP3.

I hope you like it!

Listen Now. 

Jamie Lee Wallace is a writer who also happens to be a marketer. She helps her Suddenly Marketing clients discover their voice, connect with their audience, and find their marketing groove. She is also a mom, a prolific blogger, and a student of voice and trapeze (not at the same time). Introduce yourself on facebook or twitter. She doesn’t bite … usually.

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