The Idea Farm's Blog

 If you are a professor or graduate student, you know more about your field of study than most of the writers giving written sermons on opinion pages, Quora pages, Sub-Redditt’s, Twitter feeds, and possibly bookshelves right now. Your research and education informs your point of view. You know what you’re writing about — but commentators might know better how to write for a general audience. This means that the voices who have the most to contribute to public discourse are often getting drowned out. If this is something you struggle with, here are some writing tips to reach a broader audience: Don’t approach your introduction like it’s the warm-up before you get to the good stuff. Approach it like your only chance to attract your reader into your thoughts. Your lead is your opportunity to engage your reader: You’re conveying that your words are worth the reader’s effort. If you have writer’s block, look at the opening paragraphs of a practiced columnist, someone like Maureen Dowd o...

Writing is a means to communicate with a global audience. But how does one manage to write successfully for a broad audience when creating content? Below are some strategies and tips to correct common errors when creating content. Overall Tips Know and understand your audience : Define your ideal reader: Research their demographics, interests, challenges, and preferred tone and language. Create content tailored to their needs : Address their pain points, provide solutions, and offer valuable insights. Craft compelling headlines : Capture attention: Use strong words, numbers, and curiosity to entice clicks. Clearly state the value : Communicate what readers will gain from your content. Be specific and concise: Avoid vague or generic headlines. Structure for readability and engagement. Use a clear layout : Break up text with headings, subheadings, and bullet points. Write short paragraphs and sentences : Makes content easier to scan and digest. Incorporate visuals : Use images, video...

The process of getting published for many a fledgling writer has long been murky, and as part of the Idea farms efforts to build a more diverse community of authors and create more pathways to publishing, we’ve  made this handy article to provide you with resources that might help you be seen. Below are some opportunities we think will help you to get yourself out there and on your way to recognition. We've broken them down into categories for people who already know their own comfort zone. HORROR Tenebrous Press TP's mission is to drag the malleable horror genre into newer, weirder territory with stories that are provocative, intelligent and terrifying, delivered by voices diverse & unsung.  Horror Society Horror Society is a small but personal place where you will find news from the independent and mainstream horror scene, upcoming movies and DVDs, events and conventions, reviews, interviews, on-set reports, and more. If you truly want to be a part of this ever-growing s...

  The Jane Austen Writers' Club: Inspiration and advice from the world's best-loved novelist, by Rebecca Smith (New York Bloomsbury, 2016). While creative writing manuals use examples from twentieth- and twenty-first-century writers, The Jane Austen Writers' Club is the first to look at the methods and devices used by the world's most beloved novelist. Austen was a creator of immortal characters and a pioneer in her use of language and point of view; her advice continues to be relevant two centuries after her death. Rebecca Smith examines the major aspects of writing fiction such as plotting, characterization, openings and endings, dialogue, settings, and writing methods. Smith shares the advice Austen gave in letters to her aspiring novelist nieces and nephew and providing many and varied exercises for writers to try, using examples from Austen's work.

Obtaining permission to use text involves a four-step process:  1. You must clearly and specifically identify what material you want to use and how you want to use it. Your first stage is to identify the material you want to use and the rights you will need. Commercial Use : If you are seeking permission to use text on behalf of an advertising agency or a company selling a product or service, your use is more likely to be categorized as a commercial endorsement, which will trigger additional legal issues.  2. You must send a permission request letter to the publisher or rights holder. Your permission request letter should give the details about the text you want to use, how you expect to use it, and the permission you want. There are two different types of request letters you can use: • One simply informs the rights holder of your needs and expectations that you and the rights holder will later complete and sign a separate permission agreement. • The other serves as both a...

  The mere idea of an opportunity to grow your business can be exhilarating. However, when examining different approaches you might use to invest in your business’s growth, marketing is probably one of the avenues that would be worrying to explore. The digital marketing world is constantly changing, and it can be difficult to keep up with new trends while running your business. Even talking with different agencies about pricing can be a tedious thing. You may be tempted to take on the marketing yourself or outsource it to a freelancer. However, this may not be the best long-term option, as a marketing agency can provide extensive and cohesive services that grow your business. So, what does outsourcing digital marketing involve? If you’re unsure about what to do for marketing your business, we’ve got some advice for you. A digital marketing agency can help grow your business and though the cost may seem a little high they will give you better results than going it alone or the costl...

15 Best Writing Blogs for Writer’s to Follow These are some of the best writing blogs from thousands of blogs throughout the internet. These blogsites offer varied information from grammar to submitting your work to publishers. They are helpful to up-and-comers as well as more established writers. 1.   Daily Writing Tips Daily Writing Tips - Daily Writing Tips as the name suggests publishes daily articles to help writers enhance their skills. Daily articles on grammar, business writing, spelling, misused word s, writing basics, writing quizzes, vocabulary, punctuation, fiction writing, freelance writing, and more! 2. Writer's Digest Magazine | Write Better, Get Published, Be Creative New York, US Writer's Digest is the No. 1 resource for learning better writing and getting published. Writer's Digest seeks to inspire and inform writers and help them succeed in all their publishing endeavors. 3. Advice to Writers | Writing Advice Blog Los Angeles, California, US 4. Live Wri...