Writing Online [Paperback]

Sean Platt (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: May 11, 2011

Writing Online is more than a writing book. It's a road map to show you how to make a great living from writing.

Writing Online teaches you not only how to write copy that sells, but also marketing, blogging, social media, SEO, list building, and how to build a strong reader or fan base.

This is the book I wish I'd read when I first started writing for a living. A book that would have saved me lots of wasted time and money and made me realize my dreams a bit earlier.

I want to help you realize your dreams without stumbling as I did.

Chapters

1. The Truth About Being A Writer
2. Ways to Make Money Writing
3. Blogging
4. Guest Blogging
5. Headlines
6. Social Media
7. Social Media Usage & Measurement
8. SEO
9. Voice
10. Editing
11. Work Habits
12. Common Mistakes
13. Marketing
14. Building Assets
15. Building Your List
16. Tools
17. My Best Advice
18. How To Keep Your Dream From Dying

Editorial Reviews

Review

"This book isn't just an inspiration, it's a roadmap to owning your career as a writer in a world that seems to never stand still long enough to know which way is up."
--Jonathan Fields, Author of Career Renegade

"Sean teaches you how to do it (write online) effectively, and actually make a living with your words. The fact that he practices what he preaches seals the deal - it's time to get this book and go pro."
--Brian Clark, of Copyblogger.com

From the Author

In 2008, I gave up the security of running a preschool to pursue my dream of writing. It was both the scariest thing I ever did, and the best.

Armed with tons of energy and lots to say, I quickly built a decent following at a blog about fatherhood. But I wasn't making a living at writing.

I devoted the next two (very long) years to studying from the best and making enough money writing copy for clients so I could support my goal to write fiction.

Along the way, I made many missteps, wasting time and money on things which didn't work, while learning from what did and adapting. In a couple of years, I went from chasing low paying jobs to setting my own rate, writing for great clients, and building a successful ghostwriting and consulting business.

And I can finally afford to take time to write for myself.

If you're writing online, you need to be more than a good writer. You need to be versed in blogging, social media, SEO, content creation, and marketing. I've learned from some of the best in each of those arenas, some of the rock stars of the online writing world.

If you're tired of chasing low paying writing gigs, want to take your writing to the next level, and finally make the great living you deserve, I'm here to share what I've learned along the way.

In the course of a few hundred pages, you will learn what took me years to learn ... without making the same mistakes I made.

I wrote Writing Online for the me in 2008, the book I wish I'd read back then. It's part how-to and part inspiration that you can return to time and again.

I wrote this book in a super friendly manner, explaining things in easy-to-follow, easy-to-implement ways which can help you regardless of what kind of writer you want to be. My goal is to help other writers make their dreams come true, also.

So, what's your dream?

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Paperback: 352 pages
• Publisher: Collective Inkwell (May 11, 2011)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0984338136
• ISBN-13: 978-0984338139
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6 x 0.8 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 5.0 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (27 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,556,646 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

More About the Author

Sean Platt is co-owner of the Collective Inkwell imprint, speaker, and author, with breakout indie hits such as Yesterday's Gone, WhiteSpace, ForNevermore and Available Darkness, and traditionally published titles such as Z 2134 and Monstrous, published by Amazon's 47North.

Along with David Wright, the two authors have billed themselves as "Kings of the Serial," and have developed five series in 15 months:

With Collective Inkwell
Yesterday's Gone: Post Apocalyptic - LOST by way of The Stand
WhiteSpace: Paranoid thriller on fictitious Hamilton Island
ForNevermore: YA horror that doesn't read like YA Horror
Available Darkness: A new breed of vampire thriller
Dark Crossings: Short stories, killer endings

With 47North
Z 2134: The Walking Dead meets The Hunger Games
Monstrous: Beauty and the Beast meets The Punisher

Inspired as much by Stephen King's serialized story, "The Green Mile," as superbly scripted TV shows, such as LOST, Fringe, The Wire, Mad Men, The Killing, The Walking Dead, Carnivale, and the Battlestar Galactica reboot.

Their first series, Yesterday's Gone has received over 300 5-Star reviews, and has spent time on Amazon's list of the Top 100 Best Reviewed Fiction Books.

Platt and Wright have made Tuesdays "the new black," releasing a new 15,000-24,000 word "episode" of their audience pleasing series each Tuesday. Six episodes make a "season," which are then compiled into a compilation for readers who prefer to devour the season all at once (like watching your favorite series on DVD!).

With their weekly release schedule of high quality serialized titles, Collective Inkwell is the HBO, Showtime, or AMC for the Kindle generation.

Sean Platt is a well-respected voice within the writing community who has written hundreds of posts on writing at several of the top writing websites on the web. When not writing thousands of words each day, Sean is one-third of The Self Publishing and Better Off Undead Podcasts with co-hosts Johnny B. Truant and David Wright.

He lives in Ohio with his wife, daughter, and son.

Follow Sean on Twitter: http://twitter.com/seanplatt


Amazon Author Rankbeta 

(What's this?)

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

#51 in Kindle eBooks > Literature & Fiction > Horror

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

4 of 4 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Writing Online is like having a personal guide on the path to becoming a writer July 19, 2011

By fhfarmer

Format:Paperback

Writing Online, by Sean Platt, is a must-read guide for anyone wanting to know what it takes to become a legitimate online writer. From starting a blog to writing, publishing, and selling your own creations, Sean not only tells us about many different ways to make it as a writer, he also tells us HOW to do it. Sean's transparent account of his personal struggles and successes on his online writing journey are weaved throughout the book and serve to provide inspiration, encouragement, and wisdom to those just getting started.

Writing Online will also prove to be a valuable reference to aspiring online writers. Each chapter stands on its own by providing specific, valuable information that can be revisited at anytime, no matter what stage of the game you're in. Sean also provides a very useful "tools" guide that will show the writer how to save time and work smarter.

Perhaps the best feature of Writing Online is it's straight forward, tell-it-like-it-is delivery. Rather than false promises of easy riches with no effort, you'll learn that being a writer requires actual work, time investment, and diligent effort. Sean explains that, although making a living online can be very difficult, it also delivers greater rewards that make the challenges worthwhile.

2 of 2 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Save time, find clarity, become a better writer December 23, 2011

By Steve Hill

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Writing Online is one of those rare resources that saves time, provides clarity, and helps to make better writers. This is because Sean Platt has taken the first years of his journey to become a self-sufficient writer and condensed the lessons he learned into this easy-to-read book.

Sean doesn't gloss over the hard work required to be earning a living as an online writer, nor does he relentlessly promote expensive materials while promising extraordinary riches. Instead, this is a very realistic, down-to-earth practical guide to what it really takes to lead a successful online writer's life, whether that is as a blogger, copywriter, ghostwriter, novelist, or some other kind of writer.

Writing Online provides a solid overview of the core competencies required of any online writer in today's market, such as blogs, headlines, and social media, as well as work habits, tools, finding your voice, and common mistakes to avoid. It's not really a detailed how-to book (although it provides plenty of details), it is more of a foundational book that helps build a solid understanding upon which anyone wanting to learn or become better at writing online can build. Perhaps more importantly, it lays everything out with enough clarity that anyone can then visualize and build their own path to the goals they want to reach.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars A Work That Inspires January 5, 2012

By phaedrus"Neil

Format:Paperback

As an author and writer Sean has an engaging way of putting things. His take on what works and what doesn't is honest and encouraging in spite of what could go wrong (or right, in spite of ourselves). The information he gives is practical and useful and his insistence on doing what it takes to get to where one wants to ultimately be is refreshing. He doesn't deny there is work involved.

Anyone who has spent any time to research the subject of writing probably has landed on their own particular style but Sean's take on things can only help one become more effective at becoming the writer you're meant to be.

What I found most helpful was the transparency of his description of the process. Good and bad. Success comes from deliberate planning and honest effort. It's a great reality check for dreamers. Aren't we all in some way, shape or form?

The tag line of his messages are most telling of all. "I did it..so can you"

How true.

Get this.

Get busy.It won't happen until you do.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Writing Online: Write Your Dreams to Reality December 27, 2011

By Catherine McKinney

Format:Paperback|Amazon Verified Purchase

Reading Sean Platt's Writing Online is like grabbing coffee and sitting down to a long chat with a good friend who happens to be a successful writer. His conversational tone, revealing vulnerability, and actionable advice is the perfect blend of inspiration and expectation.

The book addresses the basics of the online writing potential without sugar coating. Sharing his writing adventures, Platt answers many questions an online writer poses while standing at the edge of the precipice - providing the courage for the next step.

Reading the book from beginning to end is an education in itself, but not necessary. Even single topic chapters are short intensive learning pods, to be revisited, for the budding online writer. The chapter on headlines alone provides not only a sampling of strong, persuasive headlines, but also provides ideas for jump-starting other writing projects, if not single writing exercises.

Suggestions, examples, resources fill out the friendly conversation. All through the book Platt reminds the reader, the aspiring writer, the benefits of failure, of learning, of sharing and most importantly of all, of writing. And writing some more.

Platt reminds us our dreams are meant to become real. Writing Online provides a path towards that goal.

1 of 1 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Totally helpful book December 22, 2011

By Ron Kallemeyn

Format:Kindle Edition

This book is packed with helpful information if you are looking to write online. I read through it once and took notes part of the way. I stopped because I was taking so many notes that it was interfering with my reading enjoyment. Now, I will read it again and basically convert the book into my To-Do-List.

The book was more than just information to me. It seriously inspired me. I have been trying to break into the online writing business for a while now without success. I was at the point of giving up before I read this book. Now I have a new sense of purpose and a realization that the things that I have been struggling with are experienced by all or most other online writers.

Thanks Sean for a great book!