Monday, January 11, 2010

A Quiz For Writers

As requested, the following is a short quiz that appeared in The Writer magazine. These quick seven questions are supposed to tell you if your current personality is more suited to writing articles or books (either fiction or non-fiction).
Just a little fun. :) Tell me what it says you should be. I explained my score in my previous post.

Not sure whether articles or books are a better fit? Take this quick quiz.

How much time do you spend pitching new ideas to editors?
a) A lot of time. I love querying!
b) As little time as possible. I’d rather write than pitch.

How much research do you do when writing about a particular topic?
a) Enough to write the pieces. Then I’m on to the next story.
b) More than I can ever use. I like to “go deep” when doing research.

How important is your cash flow from freelancing?
a) Pretty critical. I need steady cash coming in.
b) I don’t count on my freelance income to pay my bills.

How much experience do you have as a freelancer?
a) Three years or less.
b) More than three years.

Do you have specialized knowledge in any subject?
a) Not really. I know a little about a lot of different things.
b) Yes. I’ve become an expert of sorts in one or more areas.

How do you feel about having to promote and sell a book after it’s published?
a) Less than thrilled. I would rather be at my desk than in front of an audience.
b) Excited. I love speaking and would enjoy getting media attention for my titles.

What is your attitude towards the editing process?
a) I accept it. Every editor knows her publication better than I do.
b) I get annoyed. My “voice” is very important to me.

How did you do? If you answered mostly A’s, articles may be the best fit for you right now. If you answered mostly B’s, books may be calling your name. Did you answer a few of each? Then a combinations of both may be your best bet.

9 comments:

Jules said...

3 As, 3 Bs, and one question where neither answer was completely true. Hmmm. I don't mind writing articles. I just get more satisfaction out of writing novels. I wouldn't put too much stock on the score. After all, it's only seven questions which is hardly enough to really find out what your strengths are. Do what makes you fly!

Emily Ann Benedict said...

So true. ;) This is just a little bit of fun. I think what they were hinting at is articles are often good for an author's career.

Cara Springer said...

Mostly As. :)

Katie Ganshert said...

Intersting quiz. I'm a book gal myself.

Bekah said...

Great quiz! Some of my answers surprised me! Good food for thought. :)

Warren Baldwin said...

Six Bs and one A. Definitely books I guess. But I've only written one, and have many articles. Oh well. It was a fun quiz.

Received your book today. My wife was excited to see it, so looks like you'll have two readers here. You should get my book soon. Thanks.

WB

Cindy said...

Nice quiz!

Brianna said...

You probably already know my score (from my e-mail), but I got 4 a's and 3 b's, so articles won out by only one! My score fit me almost perfectly. ;-) And since I got a little of both type answers, I guess that means I'm suited to writing both articles and books. Course, I already knew that. ;-)
Thanks for posting the quiz!

Anonymous said...

I'm a combo girl. Figures, no specific calling that I can point my finger to again. :O)