Joanna Parfitt explains why writing can be the perfect portable career and shares the secrets of other successful writing women abroad.

'Writing is the transference of energy' writes Christy Nolan, the Irish paraplegic who found his writer's voice and fame, when his mother decided to hold his head so that he might type on a computer keyboard using a stick that was fixed to his forehead.

Even without the kind of handicap endured by Nolan, many people find writing a challenge. Yet while living abroad, the act of putting pen to paper, or finger to keyboard, becomes all important. Email allows us to keep in touch with friends and family all over the world. The Christmas newsletter is now accepted and somehow the act of keeping a diary, or journal helps to keep many of us sane.

It comes as no surprise that so many women overseas see the possibility of turning writing into a career. People who have never written before suddenly find themselves writing for association newsletters, local information guides or for local press.

The thought of having nothing to do on a foreign assignment can lead many of us to take a correspondence course, and a course in freelance journalism, short story or script writing is easy enough to do wherever you may be living.

Getting published
My own story illustrates the good fortune that has come my way as a result of being abroad and how my own career as a writer has explored every avenue, only to blossom beyond my wildest dreams upon repatriation.
At school I had always wanted to be a writer, but the teachers, not knowing how to advise me, gave little encouragement and suggested I study my favourite subject instead - French and unwittingly, kick-started my writing career all the same.

Have a good idea
When I went to live in France as part of my degree course, the title of a book came into my head. That title was 'French Tarts'. The first publisher I approached accepted my idea and in October 1985 it was published by Octopus and translated into French, which was a great compliment. It was the idea that won me my contract, not my skill as a writer, nor my skill as a cook. I was also lucky. When you submit an idea, do just that, submit the idea, the title, an outline, not the whole article or book. If your idea is not quite right then you will save yourself a lot of time.

Think laterally
In order to produce the copy for 'French Tarts' I needed to learn to type and use a computer. The next writing commission I received was to write a series of simple word processing handbooks. Over the next three years I wrote ten of them.

When I was not writing handbooks I ran a CV production service, combining the layout skills I had learned with the skills I had learned when I once worked in an employment agency.

I have written copy, advertising, brochures, children's stories, short stories, cookery books, self-help books, factual articles, news, reviews, interviews, speech documentation, translation, poetry, even a novel. I have self-published three books, had 15 published by other publishers as well as been a journalist and an editor. Take the opportunity to flex your writing muscles and explore new areas.

Be brave
When we moved to Dubai in 1987 I decided to ask the local women's glossy magazine, Emirates Woman, if I might write for them, despite having no journalism experience. They agreed and I cut my journalist's teeth on the criticism and rewrites I was faced with along the way. When we moved to Oman in 1993 I ended up writing for the local magazines there too. But when we moved to Norway three years later there were no English magazines for me to tackle. Instead I started approaching airline magazines, trade publications and even had something printed in The Weekly Telegraph and The European.

Once we returned to England in 1997 my career took off, for I found work with newspapers and magazines such as the Independent, Resident Abroad, Woman's Journal and many others.

Write for free
Of course we all want to be able to earn money at our chosen career, but sadly a writer will often find it hard to be published without clippings. Sometimes writing for free, for company or school newsletters, free magazines, websites or letters pages is the only way to build your portfolio. The more you get into print, the more people will see your byline, and then, when you are in a position to charge, your reputation may proceed you.

Gather ideas
A writer should not go anywhere without a pen and paper. Not only may you meet people whom you could write about, but you may see an article in a magazine at the doctor's that triggers your imagination. Everyone you meet has the potential to help you with your writing. Make sure you write down contact details.

Know your market
If you want to write for a magazine then make sure you read at least three back issues in order to tailor your idea properly. The same goes for novel publishers. Make sure you know exactly what kind of books they publish and read some.

Get it right
The best editors are those who criticise constructively. You can only improve if you listen to criticism and do something about your faults. Make any mistakes in the copy you submit and an editor may discount your work without reading it fully. If the writer's guidelines ask you to write to a certain length, using American spelling and in simple language, do so. This shows your professionalism. Don't argue with an editor unnecessarily. If you are commissioned to write 700 words and you submit 900 don't expect to be paid for the extra. An editor has a budget to keep to. But remember, if you do have an idea rejected, that does not mean you should give up right away. Sometimes the timing is wrong, or a similar piece may have already been commissioned.

Writing books
Writing a novel is very hard and with rewrites and rejection it can be particularly painful. Nevertheless I would wager that the satisfaction derived from seeing your novel in print is the highest of all.

Writing a factual book is simpler as long as you approach the right publisher. A publisher has to invest a huge amount of money in a new book, with editing, production and marketing. Often a publisher will only take on a book once he is certain he can sell it in translation and in several different countries. The editorial director of one, recently merged, publishing company told me that they only take on a book if they know they can sell 250,000 copies. Other publishers are happy with a print run a tenth or less of that size.

It is vital that you know the kind of work that a magazine or publisher likes to use before you approach them. Buy a copy of 'The Writer's Digest', 'The Writer's and Artist's Yearbook' or 'The Writer's Handbook' for complete listings, annually updated.

Think about getting an agent or professional help from someone who knows the market best and can help you to get it right first time. Hilary Johnson helped me and she also helped Sharon Maas, whose novel, 'Of Marriageable Age', below, came out last year. 'If you feel you have a novel in you, remember that the contemporary fiction market is fiercely competitive and that it takes a combination of outstanding talent, persistence and luck to succeed,' advises Hilary. 'My best advice to the aspiring novelist is to read as much modern fiction of all types as possible, try to develop some understanding of the publishing/bookselling industries - and then get stuck into the pleasurable challenge of writing that all-important first book.'

When you write a novel you will usually be paid an advance on the royalties you will earn from sales. Remember that your royalty will usually be much less than 10 per cent of the net sales achieved. With booksellers expecting about 35 per cent discount, and mail order catalogues wanting up to 75 per cent discount, you may not become rich overnight.

Short stories
It can be very difficult to get your short story accepted in the most popular magazines, and some pay less for fiction than they do for articles. There is also a lot of competition. Midland Exposure is a small literary agency dealing in short stories. Their advice is of great value and their success rate high. Enlist the help of a professional critic if you can. You will find their advertisements in magazines such as 'Writers News'.

Self-publishing
Self-publishing is not about vanity publishing, though it can be. A vanity publisher will take your money to print your book and then, likely as not, leave it in a warehouse making no attempt to market it for you. Self-publishing means that you pay for a printer to produce your book, but that you accept responsibility for its publicity and promotion. The retail price of a book should be at least four to five times the unit printing cost if you are to make a profit once you have paid for marketing and advertising. If you know your market, or better still are living within your market, you have a good chance of success. When Sue Valentine and I published 'Dates' in Oman, we sold over 4,000 copies in the first year.

Writing articles
It is safe to say that the new writer is best off writing about what she knows first of all. For the best articles will be peppered with quotations from professionals, resources and be written in an authoratative, yet accessible, style. Women abroad can all write with authority about living overseas, but they can all, variously, write about being female, a wife, a mother, a sister, a daughter, a student, being new in town, repatriation, finding work and so on.

The best way to sell an article is to sell the idea first, backed up by a good title, a short outline that states the content and interviewees and written in a clear style.

It is particularly difficult to sell humour, unless you are already famous, or first person accounts.

Websites
Despite the fact that so many websites do not pay for content, there are plenty of others that do. A website clipping is still a clipping, and you can tell potential editors the URL of your story so that they may take a look. Lots of the expat websites are looking for material. Real Post Reports have a plea in Four Corners of this issue and there are plenty of other sites for you to try. Websites are fast becoming a good place to showcase your work with Tales From a Small Planet, Worlds Apart Review and Indipen being three of them. Some writing websites offer online instruction too.

There are lots of websites where journalists can advertise their services for free or find topical quotes.

Click on to www.womanabroad.com where SWANS can download a factsheet compiled by Susanne Nally on websites for freelancers, with many useful sites for writers listed.

Writing Circles
All new writers should join or form a writer's circle. It is the best way to be inspired and be with people like you. If you want to succeed then you need to be criticised and to accept that criticism. It is important that at least one member of the group is already published and has the authority to give plausible criticism however.

Click on to www.womanabroad.com where SWANs can download a factsheet on setting up a writer's circle

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