Writing non-fiction is a lot harder, it seems to me, because you DO need to market yourself, keep up with FB, sometimes have a website and do Tweets. Everything needs to be researched so well, you need to sell yourself, and it just seems to be so much specifics and trouble along with it, so I never pursued it.
I like writing the confession story market, because I can take true life, things in Dear Abby, things in the news or on talk shows, things in the paper, things which happened to me, my family, to Dmom when she was younger, or my growing up, Dfriends I used to know, and my imagination goes WILD.
I often times change the sexes of the characters, add 2 more characters, or decrease the # that was there in true life, and I also take a storyline and seem to have good luck if I add 2 - 4 different stories, from different people or times, into 1 story. I enjoy using emotions to make the editor/reader cry, get angry, cheer on the hero main character, laugh, and things, too. I enjoy throwing in something, which is totally unexpected, such as explaining back story, too.
With the confessions market, we don't get paid much, they can and do change titles often, they change the names of the characters, too, and sometimes they cut off the last 100 - 300 words, too. They don't give us a byline, unless we're writing non-fiction for the magazine and even then, you can express that only your initials be used. The fiction stories are anonymous, no "by so-and-so" is used, but they're friendly, in the first person, and readers really get to know the characters, too. I ♥ writing this way.
I took a correspondence children's writing course, for quite awhile. I was terrible at writing for kids, when at the same time I was studying for that genre, I was becoming successful in the confessions genre. I admire people who write articles for National magazines, who write for children and young adults, who write novels, and all, too. But I'm very happy with where I'm at and am grateful I don't need to have the expense of promoting myself, need a website, need to go to book signings, be on FB or Tweet all the time, to drum up sales. I might be anonymous, but I'm very happy being this way.
It's a shame, when a book loses sight of the creativity ideas and tips and info behind the business end of it, which is dry, too impersonal and kills the creative flame. Just my thought on it, is all. Natalie Goldberg is a writer, a teacher of writing and an author, too. SHE talks about the creativity. She's amazing. I love her books. A "Google" or Amazon or B 'n N search, would bring up her books or you could check them from the library.
There is also Anne Lamont's "Bird by Bird." Oh, and (I can't think of her name right now
) the lady who wrote "The Artist's Way," is an excellent creativity expert, too. Cameron? I just checked my bookshelf. Her name is Julia Cameron. Out here, where we live, they used to have Artist's Way groups, which met at different members' homes. They weekly shared what they did during the week, would bring their "discovery journal", etc... I never attended a group like this, but I knew several people who did and it seemed that their souls became more enhanced as a human being, a woman, and creative person. It didn't matter if you were an artist, a calligrapher, writer, or chef. This book helped everyone grow more deeply and mature creatively, too. Wow.
I couldn't stop typing!