For
many of us who live in the Northern hemisphere, the month of July means vacation,
swimming, boating, picnics and camping. Long hot days entice us to slow down,
turn off computers and televisions, and grab a spot in the shade of a leafy tree
with a good book and a glass of cold lemonade. The very last thing most of us
are thinking about is Christmas.
But writers should be. Thinking about
Christmas, that is. Sure,
it's still nearly six months away, but if you plan
for it now, you'll
be ready when the holiday season arrives.
And I'm
not talking about doing your holiday shopping. July is the month to begin your
holiday *writing*. Because those very same people who are frolicking outside today
will start heading back indoors come September or October. They'll start making
their own holiday plans. And, if you start now, you'll be ready for them.
You
probably already know that you need to submit seasonal short stories, essays and
article queries to print periodicals months in advance. But here are some other
ideas you can begin to work on in July that can earn you some excellent income
in December:
1. Offer a family holiday newsletter service. Holiday newsletters
have
become a popular way for people to catch each other up on family news that happened
during the past year. Sometimes they are merely letters; others are more elaborate,
with photos to accompany the news. You can set up a few templates, plan your advertising
blitz now, and be ready to go before autumn nips the air. A little preplanning
can bring you a lot of business.
2. Write a Christmas memories book about
your hometown. This could make a great stocking stuffer or a gift for those who
love reading about history and holiday traditions. Have a press release ready
for your local newspaper to promote your book, and start getting to know your
local book dealers. An excellent guide for creating and selling your own Christmas
memories book can be found here: http:/ inyurl.com/ixc .
3. Develop your
own ezine on your favorite topic. Once summer begins to wane and people head back
indoors, many of them will return to their computers in search of information.
Now is the perfect time to plan an ezine, create your first few issues and begin
to solicit subscriber sign ups. Not sure how to generate income with an ezine?
Here's a step-by-step guide to show you how: http:/ inyurl.com/ixi .
4.
Or maybe you prefer to write and sell books on your favorite
topics instead,
rather than maintain a regular ezine schedule.
Again, sales for information
products rise dramatically once the days grow short and the nights grow long.
Will you have yours ready by then? You can, if you start *today*. Although the
very best guide for creating and selling your own ebooks is undoubtedly Ken Evoy's
"Make Your Knowledge Sell!"
(http://myks.sitesell.com/writeangles.html), you
can also find the information you need, inexpensively, in "Your Guide to Ebook
Publishing
Success" (http:/ inyurl.com/ixt).
These are simply just a few of the ways
that resourceful writers can get a head start on the holiday season. For although
it's true that the very last thing on most people's mind in July is Christmas,
you can have your writing product or service ready for them when they do. Mary
Anne Hahn is editor and publisher of WriteSuccess, THE free biweekly ezine of
ideas, information and inspiration for writers. To subscribe and start pursuing
your own successful writing career, mailto:writesuccess-subscribe@yahoogroups.com |
