KickStart A Writing Career

The Filler That Bit the Dust

2011-02-07T17:45:00.000-08:00

Good things may come to those who wait.

...or not.

Take my Filler experiment, for example. I may have been a little overconfident that one of the 13 publications I sent it to would accept, so I decided to wait and see how much they paid before spending valuable time submitting a second filler or writing a third. Now, that would've made sense if I was guaranteed an acceptance within the week (a girl can dream).

But one week and an empty inbox later, I've relearned the same dang lesson I learned two years ago: don't stop. Keep moving forward. Because now I still don't know how much I'll earn from these fillers and I've killed a week of writing time.

On the other hand, holding out hope for the-filler-that-bit-the-dust wasn't a total waste of time. After rereading it and thinking about the markets I'd submitted to, I realized the format needs to be changed. So the next filler I submit will be that much better, and hopefully my parched inbox will feel the love soon. It won't be feeling the love from me though. I'll be busy writing.

Here's to resuscitating my filler and leaving bad habits in the dust.

The Journey of a 1,000 Miles Begins With a Single Filler

2011-01-31T18:48:00.000-08:00

There we were: me, my computer, and one hot 'n steamy Starbucks hot chocolate. With...[drumroll] one whole hour of uninterrupted time together.

Okay, it wasn't exactly enough time to write an article. But it was more writing time than I'd taken in, oh, 13 months and 12 days. After wasting precious minutes deciding how to make the most of it, I began writing a filler, which could be completed and submitted before my drink grew cold (or the next week, after obsessing about each tip and emailing it to a relative for proofreading).

It was only 125 words, but it got me back on the publication track, and may even make my wallet a bit heavier. Because rumor has it that the smaller publications pay the same for fillers as for articles. We'll see.

A Different View

2011-01-22T06:41:00.000-08:00

For years I'd gone to the eye doctor's and lusted after the thick, dark glasses worn by those smart, creative, writerly types. I promised myself that when I became a 'real' writer, I'd buy a pair. And one day, after years of submitting on evenings and weekends, and months of working at it full-time, I decided to trash my preconceived notions - whatever a 'rea'l writer was, I was it. I was it!

And then came my first (okay, only) big break into the national magazine market. Crazy, but - it was an article I wrote for a writing magazine about finally buying the thick writer's rims, called A New View. I loved those glasses.

Past tense.

The first time my daughter broke them, I didn't think much of it. Sported some duct tape for a few weeks and then got them fixed. Two days ago, she pulled them apart for a second time. I can't help but see the metaphor. I haven't written or submitted one thing since she's been born. And worse: up until a few weeks ago, I haven't wanted to. In the new world of first steps, hugs and bubble baths, writing about the benefits of eating bananas couldn't hold a candle. I couldn't have cared less.

Past tense.

Because when those glasses broke this time, I felt something other than exasperation. I felt sad. I miss the solitude of writing, and I miss being something other than 'mom'.

So back to writing, it is. Back to me. It may no longer be a new view, but after a year of parenting, it IS a different one. A fuller, more informed (albeit, more tired!) and experienced one.

Tax Breaks for Writers

2010-02-23T13:54:00.000-08:00

Freelancers can take a loss and still get tax money back, according to an article I read on the Institute for Children's Lit website (published 2004). Some interesting points:

1. Even if you haven't made money yet, you can claim deductions if you've been working hard to make a profit by putting in time (500+ hours per year), writing & submitting, networking, etc. - and have proof to back yourself up, like rejection emails or letters (yep, gotta keep those), a business plan, and submission logs.

2. You can deduct:

submissions expenses
research expenses like gas and meals with interviwees
writing contest fees (if money or prestige is the prize offered)
reference materials
continuing ed

3. You can get back $1000 or more. (Okay, that wasn't in the article. But it is on my 2009 tax form) :)

My Last Post

2010-02-18T12:18:00.000-08:00

..was written about a week before I found out I was pregnant (who-hoo!).

Perhaps it was the very large protruding belly that put my off balance and pulled my off-track, but over the past few months my writing & submission schedule was a bit neglected. Now that the belly's (mostly) gone, I'm ready to get back to it full-time...if the pint-sized distraction will cooperate with some well-timed naps :)

Today I set a new writing & submission focus for 2011. I've decided to change my goal somewhat. For the past two years, I've focused on getting published in national magazines. This year? Get 24 articles published in any and all types of parenting publications.

I mean, two articles a month is pretty reasonable - and with any luck, just one of those will land somewhere...well...pretty glossy. :)

DO NOT, I Repeat, DO NOT Wait By the Inbox

2009-04-14T09:20:00.000-07:00

I did it this morning. Pasted that magazine query into an email and hit 'send'. It's only been an hour and I have to admit: after a short celebration with three Dove chocolate eggs and an episode of Charmed, I checked the inbox.

Why's it so tempting to hang out and let the rest of my writing hang out, too, while I wait for a response? In the past, I've waited days--months, even--for some sort of reply before I moved on to the next project. That was when I had a full-time job, when I could afford to consider myself a hobby writer. As a full-time freelancer, I need to forget about that query and move onto my next one.

With any luck, it'll be a whole four hours before I check my inbox again.

If You're Not Confident, Fake It

2009-04-09T17:12:00.000-07:00

There's something comforting about sending out a whole manuscript. Sure, if they don't want it, it means complete and total rejection of your topic, and maybe even your writing. But if they DO want it - well. That's it, complete elation, end of story.

This month I'm working on a different type of story that not only involves cold calling potential sources (gulp), but also requires that I send out a query before the story's completed. That means:
1. They could want my story!...until they see it
2. I could estimate 550 words and end up needing 950. Or vice versa.
3. They may want additional information, which I can't obtain.

All of this is assuming, of course, that they even want the story. Funny how the scary thoughts have taken over right when I'm about to send the dang query in. Some might call it fear of success, but I think it's more a fear of dissappointing the editors. Whatever it is, it's NOT confident. So I've decided to pretend I am and email it anyways.

The worst they can say is yes.

Two More Resources for Magazine Writers

2009-04-06T10:21:00.000-07:00

On Saturday I schlepped through the rain along with 25 other writers, to get advice from the director of the writing program at Manhattanville College.

Along with some good old encouragement ("persistance is nine-tenths of acceptance; publishing is a numbers game"), she suggested a few resources that she and her writing students have found helpful. And nope, it's not the standard suggestion of the Writer's Market!:

Little Magazines and Small Presses - the "Writer's Market" for literary magazines and small publications...although many of these markets don't pay.

Mediabistro - magazines list job opening here, and I've been told that for an annual fee, the site also provide up-to-date writer's guidelines and market needs, straight from the editors' mouths. I haven't found this particular service yet-

And for fiction writers, a few great short story collections:
Immediate Fiction
The Pushcart Prize compilation
The O. Henry Prize Stories

For writers in general:
Brenda Ueland's If You Want to Write

April Goal: Grow Some Cojones

2009-03-30T11:42:00.000-07:00

He was a senior citizen who'd only written fiction for a couple of years, and hadn't written for newspapers before. Still, Rich called the editor at his local paper and offered up his article. His words: "I grew up in Bridgeport, and have a story about how all of the theatres have dissappeared. I'd love to see it in the Bridgeport paper." That simple. The editor asked him to send in the story.

Several published articles later, Rich is working on yet another piece, and the editor's asked him to send in anything else he's written. I'll bet if he asked, he could have his own column, too.

So taking some inspiration from him, I've decided that in April I'll not only grow the basil, thyme and oregano in my windowsill. I'm going to grow some cojones, too, and:

1. Ask for help from two editors I know
2. Submit to a glossy magazine
3. Talk with a published writer that I admire
4. Write a first draft without editing

I think a little bit of guts goes a long way when it comes to getting published. We'll see!

Revised Thinking: Everything is Publishable

2009-03-26T05:57:00.000-07:00

There's nothing worse than having an awesome story in your head, and then watching it disintegrate on paper. Painful! So painful in fact, that I've got a collection of half-finished stories snoozing on my laptop.

The key is to not give up on the story, but instead to rewrite it like mad. That's according to novelist Dan Pope, whose workshop I attended last night. He should know: he wrote his entire book in three months, and then spent the next two years revising it. He helped a woman turn a book filled with language like "He go out, he not come back" into an eloquent, publishable book.

This was a woman who spoke English as a second language, who had a limited vocabulary and minimal knowledge about grammar and sentence structure. If revision can get her published, imagine what it could do for some of those snoozing stories we've all got filed away.

Dan's advice: as long as something's there, you can work that material until it's clean and meaningul (and you bleed ink).

Staying on the Writing Wagon

2009-03-17T11:10:00.000-07:00

I'm not sure why it takes the bright red panic of a deadline to get me writing, but I have learned that when it comes to long-term projects that have no deadlines, there's nothing better than a conference or workshop to fuel motivation. Sometimes, just talking with another writer is enough to keep me going.

It's amazing what local libraries or bookstores offer. After looking online for awhile, I found out the local Borders is having a new author roundtable tomorrow night, and that there are several groups of local writers out there, along with (Connecticut) writer's events and groups:

http://westportwritersworkshop.com/
http://lowerfairfieldwriters.blogspot.com/
http://www.pencilswritingworkshop.com/
http://www.creativewritingcenter.com/schedule.html
http://www.borders.com/online/store/StoreDetailView_419?schid=GLBC%7CFairfield+CT%7C419

It sounds like a simple thing-and seems almost too silly to bother with sometimes-but it's amazing what a big difference a trip to Borders or a book signing can make.

Market Research: Actually Learning Something from Back Issues

2009-02-04T11:57:00.000-08:00

Reading a magazine like a subscriber will give you a good idea of its content and style. It's what I did for years, and probably why I always thought it a big waste of time.

Analyzing a magazine like a writer is the equivalent of hanging out at an editorial meeting, listening to the discussion and having all of your questions answered personally:

1. How Much is Written by Freelancers?
Get six back issues of the magazine, and make a copy of each Table of Contents. For each story listed, write in whether it was written inhouse or by a freelancer (if the writer's name isn't listed on the masthead, then she's probably a freelancer)

2. What Sections are Open to Freelancers?
Now lay the six Table of Contents side-by-side. Which sections of the magazine are only written inhouse? Cross those out. Which sections contain articles that were written by freelancers? These are the golden areas to focus on.

3. What Can I Break In With?

Of the freelancers, how many have written articles for several issues of the magazine? Do these regular freelancers always write the same article (how to make your meals healthier, or eco-traveling)? If so, the magazine may not need similar articles written by you. Of the freelancers, how many have only written one article or so in 6 months? What type of article was it, and what section was it published in? This is probably a good area to break in with.

4. What types of freelancers do they want?
Read the bio blurbs at the end of freelance articles. Some magazines provide mini bios and comments from writers FOB. What types of articles use MD's, nutritionists and authors? Which have general descriptions such as "Jane Smith is a freelancer living in CT"? If you don't have special credits, the best bet is to write on topics along the lines of Jane Smith.

5. What Stories Do They Need More of?
How many articles do they publish in each section? Do they fall under that amount in certain sections? For example, Body + Soul typically publishes 2-3 articles per section. However, I noticed that for some months, they had none or only one article under "Going Natural" (written by a freelancer). This indicates they don't have an inhouse writer that can handle the topic, and would probably welcome ideas from freelancers.

6. What Stories DON'T They Need More of?
Look for columns or certain topics inhouse writers handle each month, such as yoga workouts or "Stuff We Love" These fall under the DON'T list.

7. Prepare for Article Analysis
Hold onto a copy of the editor's note to readers, which usually indicates the magazine's purpose, style, etc., and place it in a folder with the current masthead, writer's guidelines, and articles written by freelancers. Note the issue & section the articles were in. When you're ready to query an idea, analysis of the these will come in handy.

Finding Your Happy, Glossy Niche

2009-02-02T18:24:00.000-08:00

Some writers have a natural in: they're nutritionists, or psychologists, or have published a book on the latest trend. They're already experts in their field, and have probably developed relationships with people who'd make great sources and an easy 1,000-word article.

But what about the rest of us?

After days at the library and hours of analyzing different magazines, I've deduced that nutrition isn't the way to go if you're a freelancer - unless you're a health care professional, that is. But thanks to the below criteria, I've finally settled on what should be a successful niche. The qualities I looked for in the topic were:

1. It's extremely marketable, and a topic that most publications are interested in.
2. It's written mainly by freelancers; and those freelancers don't hold degrees or accomplishments in the field.
3. Available information and sources are extensive.
4. The material can be slanted many different ways.

Now it's on to the research...

She Wants a Photo, Too?

2009-01-30T09:00:00.000-08:00

Recently a newspaper editor emailed to say she'd like to consider publishing my nutrition article for $40. Good news! However, I couldn't help getting hung up on that word, "considering".

Next came the request: "Do you happen to have any photos of the suggested treats?"

I'd read enough nutrition articles in the past few months to know they're usually accompanied by photos. However, I didn't have a photo, a professional camera, or her guarantee that my article would be published either way.

Then I got an email from a second editor, requesting the same thing. It seemed the only thing that stood in the way of getting my two newspaper submissions published, and payment, was a photo. How could I say no?

So I cooked up a batch of pancakes, borrowed a relative's 6-megapixel camera and emailed the pics. It wasn't until a recent meeting with my writing mentor Linda that I learned what I should have done.

Linda usually told (regional publication) editors that she didn't have accompanying photos, and said most of the time it hadn't made a difference. If she happened to have photos that would work, she would let them know, and then ask if they offered additional compensation. Sometimes the extra pay only amounted to $10, but it was the point: extra work should mean extra pay.

Oh, well. Click and learn!

The Best 'Market Research' Advice I've Ever Gotten

2009-01-28T14:16:00.000-08:00

I sunk into a leather library chair, pounds of Family Circles & Body+Souls on my lap, and ignored a curious stare from the old man across the room. I opened Family Circle's latest issue, and flipped through the first few pages, to its masthead. The old man's gaze finally returned to his newspaper.

According to my writing mentor, a magazine masthead is the freelancer's Holy Grail. All that writers need is a magazine and its masthead to learn who to submit to, where, what sections-if any-are open to freelancers, and how to write an article that will leave editors salivating.

For some reason, I've never looked closely at a masthead before - usually I just submit to whoever's noted in a market listing. But one look at Family Circle's masthead shows it's got its own full health advisory board! Md's, psychologists, nutritionists, you name it. Definitely gives some indication of the types of articles they don't need.

My mentor's next suggestion was to see who wrote each article in the magazine, and find out if they're on the masthead. If they are, then that section/article type is written inhouse. One of Family Circle's first sections is called "My Hometown," and sounds promising for freelancers. But the writer, Jennifer Beck, is listed on the masthead as inhouse staff. In fact, most of the articles were written inhouse by someone, be it an Editor, Editorial Assistant or someone on the health board.

A closer look at the articles that weren't written inhouse all had the same things in common, and those similarities suggest specific guidelines on what to write and how to write it, in order to get into FC (let's hope!). But that's a whole other topic. For now, it's on to the Woman's Day masthead.

Fantastic First Liners

2009-01-26T05:06:00.000-08:00

The below are from a friend's list of "25 random things, facts, habits, or goals about you." Talk about some great first lines and story ideas! The best part? We've all got quarks like this to write about and ravage for all they're worth.

1. I forced my husband to drink tea in the morning by putting the coffee maker in the shed where he couldn't find it.

2. I am freaked out by meat. If I have even one bite over my meat limit, I feel like never eating it again. I don't touch raw meat more than twice a year.

3. I live below my means, getting some sort of perverted joy out of major bargains and repurposing materials that would go to waste. I do this somewhat because it makes life easier: work less, vacation more, not worry about keeping up with the Joneses... or maybe it's just from growing up poor. But most people in LA just think I'm a little off my rocker.

4. I wear a scarf almost every day of the year and have a section of my closet devoted to them.

5. I had a cat in college that was black and white, spotted like a cow, and had seven toes on each front paw. Her name was Molly Moo. Short for Molybdenim Moo. I don't know. Stupid.

6. One time when I was 13, I built a mechanism in my room that allowed me to turn my light on and off from my bed entirely out of yarn, magnets and nails.

7. I don't really like even numbers.

8. My favorite toy as a child was my tape recorder. I went through tape after tape with my best friend, making up funny radio programs, stories, commercials, urgent news and weather forecasts.

9. I dress especially fancy sometimes for a girl that doesn't paint her nails.

10. I am dreaming of buying that new hanger at IKEA that looks like a bunch of circles knitted together.

11. Sometimes I'll wear elbow length opera gloves when driving to protect the skin on my hands and arms. I don't even take them off when I go into the grocery store or to pick Luke up from school. Extra fancy.

12. I am super punctual. I can gauge my arrival time down to a few minutes, even if I'm hours away. I am almost never late.

Thanks, Diana, for letting me share some of these.

In the Mood

2009-01-22T07:17:00.000-08:00

My husband has it down. He lights a candle or two, gives a relaxing massage, and turns up the heat from the standard bone-chilling, money-saving 60 degrees, and there you go: in the mood.

We writers could learn a lot from him. Take my recent attempt at putting a writing plan into action. I rung in 2009 with a new planner in which I'd scheduled the first two weeks by the hour, and with 13 New Year's resolutions, the likes of which included writing a novel and increasing my work outs to seven days per week.

All I had to do was follow the schedule to be superfit and complete phase one of Mission: Novel Publication. Simple enough.

Simple, but not easy. That planner with its blaring list of to-do's, and hour after hour of scheduled time, was so serious and regimented. Definitely not candles. So not a massage. Not putting me in the mood to work out or write.

And it showed: I hit a record workout low and didn't exercise ONCE during those two weeks. And that novel? I didn't even get as far as page one.

I got frustrated. I got angry. I took mental jabs at myself. Just get up and go to the gym. Don't be so lazy. All you have to write is one page per day, it's not that hard.

Now, if my husband approached me with insults and drill sargent commands, the last place he'd be was at the top of my priority list. So why had I thought it would work? I closed the planner. Relaxed. And thought about what it was I wanted to do.

The answer? Work on a story-in-progress I'd been thinking about, and do a workout dance tape at home. Funny what giving yourself a little space to relax will do.

WritersWeekly.com Posts Current Market Needs

2009-01-12T13:27:00.000-08:00

Unlike many online market listings, those on writersweekly.com are current and approved directly by editors at the time writersweekly lists them. Some of the most recent were posted on Jan. 7th:

Poets & Writers Magazine
CURRENT NEEDS: "The Literary Life, The Practical Writer, News & Trends." Pays $150-$300 per article for 500-3000 words.

SavvyMiss.com
CURRENT NEEDS: "Fun, Sassy, Smart pitches regarding careers, finance, dating, day projects, beauty, fashion, health and sanity." Pays $0.35/word.

Porthole Cruise Magazine
CURRENT NEEDS: "We have covered every destination in the world a thousand times; we're always looking for fresh, exciting angles." Pays approximately $0.50/word for 500-1000 words.

A Quote To Sicken and Inspire

2009-01-08T18:57:00.000-08:00

"Since I was unwilling to devote myself to the finer points of photography, I put down my camera and picked up a pen. I had read enough poorly written newspaper columns to believe that I could beat the average. I whipped up a sample essay; one month later my name and photo were on the front page of my town's weekly paper. Just like that, I was a "columnist": $50 per column, two columns a month."

(Written by Kelly Corrigan in Oprah Magazine, January 2009)

This is Going to Sound Really Obvious, But-

2009-01-07T14:02:00.000-08:00

Forget writing to magazines for sample issues, standing at Borders and debating over which four magazines to buy with your $20 budget, or stacking years' worth of magazine subscriptions into the closet, on the off chance you'll want to submit to them someday.

This is going to sound really obvious, but I swear I didn't think of it until recently: just get them at the library!

Well, maybe not Taxidermists United or the African Sporting Gazette, but (as I discovered) probably national magazines like Self, Prevention and Natural Solutions. And what better way to do market research than to pull up one of those cushiony, brown reading chairs and look through several current and back issues of relevant magazines?

For the budget-conscious writer, there's only one word that can describe the shelf after shelf of "free sample issues" sitting there pristinely, hardly read and practically begging to be poured over: JACKPOT.

So come Monday, I'll be hard at "work"...sunk into a chair...surrounded by books...and reading my favorite magazines. Talk about a jackpot.

Coming to Terms With My Tagline

2009-01-05T09:44:00.001-08:00

It's sat at the top of my blog for the past year, alternately exciting or freaking me out: On a mission to break into the magazine market and establish a freelance writing career by January 2009.

As I wrote that line last February, I was already imagining my January 2009 conclusion post. In it, I would happily (dare I say, obnoxiously?) review how far I'd come in the past year. There would be mention of publication in Family Circle, and heck, maybe even a second glossy. I'd post a record of my earnings, from the 4 cents Ehow paid me in March, to the thousands I'd be making by January.

Er.

Okay, I had high expectations. But not unreachable. And working towards those goals landed me the role of newsletter editor at two organizations, publication in regional magazines and [enter joyous singing choir] Byline Magazine. So 2008 wasn't a total wash.

I am closer to the writing, money-making homebound paradise I imagined a year ago, so I've decided to revise that tagline for the upcoming year and continue slogging ahead.

Here's hoping we all get to write the obnoxious type of post I'm imagining for 2010!

Succeeding at the Writer's Diet

2008-12-22T14:05:00.000-08:00

Writing has always been the apple, the carrot, the flourette of broccoli - the stuff that's really good for you, that thing that gives you energy - and usually gets passed up for the chocolate cake, the cheesy pizza, last night's 1.5 hour re-run of Along Came Polly.

Maybe that's why all of these health articles I've been reading lately have begun to sound more and more like my writing mentor. One thing's for sure: there's a lot a freelance writer can learn from a dietician.
(For the real article, See http://www.webmd.com/diet/features/8-secrets-to-diet-success)

1. Don't Expect to Lose 30 Pounds in a Few Weeks
...or gain 30 acceptance letters in a matter of months.

2. You have a better chance at keeping the weight off if you lose it slowly
"People who are starving [or impatient, as the case may be] get irritable and have a higher failure rate."

3. Say No to the Boston Creme Doughnut
And tonight's re-run of Along Came Polly.

3. Avoid the "I've Already Blown It So I Might As Well Eat the Whole Bag of Chips Ahoy" Syndrome
One missed day of writing does not make a failure. Unfortunately, it isn't a good excuse to forego today's writing and hit the mall, either.

4. Don't Be a Perfectionist
Or rewrite that first paragraph until the sun goes down...and comes back up.

5. Look for People at Your Local Y, Overeaters Anonymous, or an Online Support Group
Yes, it does exist!: http://www.procrastinators-anonymous.org/

6. Don't Let Your Weight Plateau Get You Down
"You've been doing everything right, exercising and eating well, and the numbers on the scale have been steadily dropping. Then suddenly: Nothing. The scale stays stuck for several days in a row. According to Ann Kulze, this is perfectly normal.

'Turn it around and congratulate yourself on the [writing] diet success you've had so far,' she urges. 'This is a natural part of the process.'

7. Reward Yourself
"Set minigoals along the way and reward yourself when you reach them. Your reward could be a massage, a round of golf, a new pair of jeans, or a hot bubble bath. 'Celebrating your diet success will fortify your resolve to continue,' says Kulze."

8. Remember that Healthy Eating is a Lifelong Goal, Not a One-Time Project.

And National Novel Writing Month is not contained to one month, but to one novel.

How Does She Do That?!, Part Two: An Interview With Superwoman

2008-11-23T15:20:00.000-08:00

She may not be wearing the red cape, but that's not fooling anybody. Last month I posted about the Superwoman I met in grad school who, since graduation last year, has gone on to create her own business, speak on life balance, and get published several times over. Most recently, Anne Witkavitch has become the resident expert at Travelingmom.com. She was nice enough to answer some of my questions about how she landed such a mint job:

What drew you to Travelingmom.com?

I was up late one night researching potential markets for my work. Since I write and speak about being a working mother and work/life balance, I was looking for publications, both print and online, that focused on these topics, particularly those that were relatively new. The editors are sometimes more willing to take a chance on a lesser known writer.

I also love to travel. Whether for business or pleasure, I’m a natural explorer. One of my writing goals was to expand into travel writing. So when I discovered TravelingMom.com, it presented the best of both worlds. I liked the look and feel, the articles were well-written, and the writers had impressive backgrounds. I felt like it was a fit for my work.

I submitted an essay called Ah Wilderness, about a camping trip my family took with “sixteen of our closest friends.” It was one of my favorites from the collection of essays about working motherhood I had written for my M.F.A. thesis. I got a note from Kim Orlando, the founder of TravelingMom.com, saying that she wanted to publish it. I was ecstatic!

What steps did you take to turn the article acceptance into a steady position with Travelingmom?

I ended up talking with Kim by phone and we had a great conversation about TravelingMom and her vision going forward. Kim has a lot of energy and tremendous drive. I instantly picked up on her passion and commitment to growing TMOM’s readership and producing a top notch publication.

Months later I was exchanging some digital photos with Kim to accompany the article and she suggested I talk to Cindy Richards, TMOM’s editor. Cindy was looking for ideas to revise the Sanity feature, which at the time featured a clip art “Dr. Cathy.” We both agreed that a sanity expert who was a real person with actual experience achieving balance on the road would add authenticity and offer a greater value for TMOM’s readers. I submitted a proposal to revamp the Sanity feature and got started the beginning of October.

Where in this process do you think most writers get stuck, and how did you avoid it?

A lot of writers think that to be successful and get published, all you have to do is write well and continuously submit your work. While talent and perseverance are important and foundational to your success, they aren’t enough. I think writers get stuck when they stay locked behind their computers or notebooks and mislead themselves by thinking that writing is exclusively an art, not a business.

Like any profession, you have to connect with people, stay on top of trends, do your research, and develop a platform from which you can build your publishing credentials. My years working in the corporate world, and most recently managing my own communications consulting practice, have taught me valuable business skills that I’ve transferred to my writing career as well. I’m used to having to market myself, so I’m also learning how to do it as a writer.

What are your responsibilities at Travelingmom?

I’m TravelingMom.com’s “resident Sanity expert” and a contributing editor. Each week I submit a new Sanity feature, which includes a short introduction to the week’s theme, advice on a particular travel topic, a Q&A, and a featured Tip of the Week from other working moms. I’ll also be one of TMOM’s bloggers in the near future.

What advice would you give to other writers who would like a similar position?

First, understand the commitment. Writing a weekly column means you must be willing to invest time to coming up with fresh ideas every week, interviewing experts, and meeting tight deadlines.

Second, make sure the column supports your broader writing goals and develops your writing platform. For example, TMOM’s focus is right in line with my writing focus on working motherhood, work/life balance, travel, and business.

Third, start a blog. Writing a blog is a lot like writing a column, but even more challenging. You need to write fresh content at least 3-4 times a week, so you really develop the discipline of producing work continuously. You also have a place to link your latest published works and create a presence for your writing online. My blog was one of the best things I did to move my writing career forward.

What’s next for you?

I’m working on getting an agent to represent my essay collection. I’m also starting to write about the recent trip to Lithuania I took with my 87-year-old mother and two sisters. It was a trip-of-a-lifetime as we traveled to the country where my grandparents were born and met relatives we never knew. I’d like to see it evolve as a book-length manuscript, but we’ll see.

Anything else you’d like to share?

Yes. Despite the flattering post you made about my “superwoman” skills, I want to come clean that I’m a mess when it comes to organizing shoes, closets, or anything else on the home front! I couldn’t sort my footwear by height, much less color!

A Scarier Question Than, "What if it Never Happens?"

2008-11-19T09:47:00.000-08:00

What if it does?

This week I looked over my new business plan and began breaking it down into practical steps to be taken each month, week and day. As I stared at the charts and calendars and my list of tasks for the week, three things became very clear.

1. I would soon be working hard. Really hard. Seventy-hour-weeks-hard.
2. In the near future, I would have an article published in a national magazine.
3. In five years, I would have a book finished and being submitted to publishers

If I stick with my plan, there's no way I couldn't finish a book, and eventually get one 'yes' from a glossy. You'd think this would excite me, and I guess the knot in my stomach could be 30% excitement. The rest...more like fear. Pure, knotty, sweaty fear.

Because as soon as I accept that these things really will happen, the questions start: when the magazine accepts my query, what if I dissappoint them with the quality of article I write? What if I become a nutrition expert and end up bored to death with writing nutrition articles? After I've spent five years pouring time and energy into finishing this book, what if no publishers will take it?

These are valid questions. They're also the ones that need to be ignored.

For now I'll deal with "what if it never happens," thank you very much. That other question will just have to wait.

What a San Joaquin Farm Woman Can Teach Writers

2008-11-17T06:01:00.000-08:00

Her name's Mattie, and every morning she gets up and picks all kinds of fruits that grow on her farm. When neighbors ask her how she's doing, her response is anything but typical.

"Five boxes," she'll say. Or, "Twenty-five."

Because how she feels - and how her business is doing - is the direct result of how many boxes of fruit she was able to pick that day.

When I read about Mattie in an old Byline article, I realized I'd been feeling, well, like around two pages. Maybe even one. Because that's about all I've had time to write lately.

Okay, let me rephrase that. It's all the time I've made to write lately. Because somehow I've managed to visit friends, go shopping, and, er, watch Oprah. But honestly, there are legitimate things that keep most of us busy for the better part of our days.

Mattie knows about that, too. She has a family and farm to take care of, along with those daily chores that never go away. That's why she starts with the thing that feels the least urgent but has such a big affect on her success: the boxes. Once those are out of the way, she can go about the rest of her day feeling like (cue triumphant music) Twenty-Five Boxes.

It sounds simple enough. And the idea of starting your day by writing certainly isn't a new one. But waking up every day, going right to my laptop and writing - instead of to the gym or my inbox - takes conscious effort. I think it's worth getting used to. Today I want to feel like 5 pages, and squeezing this writing in around everything else (or after everything else) won't do it.

I'm already feeling 1/4 page better.

The Business Plan That Completely Screwed Me Up - But In a Good Way

2008-11-05T09:38:00.000-08:00

It's so hard to find a balance between making money and doing what you really want - and to know when you should concentrate on one or the other.

I met with Matt, a business consultant who agreed to help me draw up a freelance plan, hoping he'd get me on the right track. What I realized in the process: by focusing on money and short-term goals, I'd completely lost sight of what was most important to me. Below are the questions he asked that helped me re-discover what that was - and how to get there:

______________________________________________________________

What does writing success mean to you?
*Make a list
*of these, what TWO do you want the most/need to achieve in order to feel personal success?

How do you plan on getting there?
Make a list
*of these, which are you already doing?
*will the things you're already doing help you to achieve those TWO ITEMS you most want to achieve...and make you money so you can keep it up?
*what else can you do to get there?

Map It Out
Now that you know what you want the most, and what you can do to get there, make a 5-year timeline. Start by writing your two most important goals at the end of the 5th year. Now map out a timeline for all five years that will help you get to those two goals at the end.
______________________________________________________________

What I realized during the process was that I'd become so involved with newsletters and other projects that made money, that I hadn't spent ANY time writing my book or brainstorming scenes...or doing research for women's magazines.

Of course, I realize that freelancers need to make money - but there is a balance. So...so long to my old business plan, which revolved around money and efficiency; I've now got one that includes what I really want for myself, and my career...and, yes, some efficiency and financial goals in the mix.

Where the Clients Are

2008-10-29T15:30:00.001-07:00

If you want the fish, you've got to go to the water.

That's according to Mary Boudreau, who owns her own company and still manages to act as director of the state Homebuilders Association. Mary spoke at a local business owners' meeting that I made myself go to on Monday night.

I went in hoping to meet a business owner I'd heard needed a newsletter written, and ended up hitting the JACKPOT of writing leads. Yep, I came out with - count'em - four job possibilities.

Businessowners of all levels were there, from Don, the cool dread-locked lacrosse team owner, who needs everything from a website to a newsletter, to a family that runs their own established & successful pet nutrition company.

Not only were there leads, but the more established business people have contacts galore - and offer their knowledge and contacts for free to all members of the organization. Okay, so freelancers may not be small business owners in the conventional sense. But as Mary Boudreau said:

Who cares?

It turns out that she joined a select few groups that didn't have anything to do with her profession - she joined because she would meet people there who'd most likely need her services. It's simple, really. Once you get out your door. And out of your comfort zone. And through the 15 minutes of networking with people you don't know and have nothing obvious in common with.

Okay, not so simple. But definitely worthwhile.

National Novel Writing Month

2008-10-23T14:09:00.000-07:00

Sometimes I can't help but think I'm the only one agonizing over a sentence, worrying over desert vs dessert, living the better part of the day in my mind.

The first time I lived with other writers - for a week during grad school - it was the strangest thing. I'd look up from my computer and see half a dozen other people typing away.

There were others out there! I wasn't alone! I felt guilty watching them - like I was intruding on something private - but I still watched, out of the corners of my eyes so they wouldn't think I was some crazy writer stalker chic.

Words appeared on one person's screen, and another person keep pulling her earlobe, thinking. After that week, I attacked my own writing with new energy.

I think this is what a program like nanowrimo offers - a reminder that we're not alone. Camaraderie. Renewed energy and motivation. That's one tall order to fill, but hey -

50,000 words IS one helluva payment.

Procrastination Happens - Now Make the Most of It

2008-10-23T10:59:00.000-07:00

Turn off Charmed and unplug the television. Tell yourself that right now - this minute - you're going to research your next batch of articles.

Somewhere between reading Setting the Right Priorities and Don't Throw the Baby Out With the Bath Water, stumble upon an intriguing article about The Ten Unhealthiest "Healthy" Foods. It has nothing to do with your research. But then again, neither does the next link to What Does 100 Calories Look Like? Follow the link anyways, and tell yourself you'll get back to Priorities after this article.

Eight hours and 30 nutritional articles later, feel guilty that you haven't done any research about priortizing yet. Guilt-trip yourself: your husband is working all day, and what are you doing? Threaten yourself: you won't make money unless you research and write those articles.

Proceed to spend another day copying and pasting nutrition information into neat files on your computer. At the end of the second day, bribe yourself: if you spend the next two days researching Prioritization, you can go buy that humongous, shiny new slow cooker this weekend. Think: if this self-bribery works, you can use it in your article about prioritization. Start mentally listing the nutritional meals you'll be able to make with the slow cooker.

On day three, as you're checking out the USDA nutritional chart, think how great it would be if you had the time to learn more about this.

Stop reading.

Fight the urges to kick yourself for stupidity and bounce up and down with happiness at the same time. Decide it's time for a change in your research topic.

Recognize that you won't procrastinate if you're researching nutrition. It's fun! It's interesting! Decide that the next time you procrastinate, you'll take a close look at what you're using to procrastinate, and see if it can be used as your next research topic.

How Does She Do That?!...and How Can I?

2008-10-08T07:29:00.000-07:00

Every now and then you meet Superwoman - you know, the lady who does 20,000 things a day and still has time to organize her shoes by height and color?

When I met her, my Superwoman was a mom, wife, full-time corporate exec, grad student - and here's the killer - an aspiring writer. As I took writing classes with her and read through her 1,000-word long critiques, wondering how on earth she had time to READ the pieces, nevermind write about them, I knew I had two choices:

1. Drown in jealousy and pretend she didn't exist
2. Get inspired, knowing that, heck - if she could get through the program with a full-time job and family, I certainly could!

After graduation, Superwoman has gone on to create her own business, speak on life balance, get published several times over, and most recently, become the resident expert at Travelingmom.com (yep, she travels too).

I'll be talking with her about how she managed to get a great position like this and what it involves, in the hopes of following in her footsteps. I'll post on it soon.

Mining for Gold in Your Kitchen Sink

2008-09-25T17:09:00.000-07:00

I hate to say it, but I missed out on a great writing gig because I was too busy focused on what jobs might be "out there," instead of what was right under my big French nose. The truth is, if we're willing to do a bit of digging, sometimes the best writing jobs are as close as a friend, a co-worker - heck, or our very own kitchen sink.

This week my sister told me that the organization she heads has been paying someone $400 per month to write their monthly newsletter...for almost a year now! The coordinator at Literacy Volunteers, where I volunteer, told me that a part-time paid job would be available in the next few weeks (luckily, before the job's been taken). And my husband, whose clients pay thousands of dollars for his marketing and business plan advice, offered to help me with my own. Why hadn't I known about Sherie's organization's newsletter, Literacy Volunteers' upcoming job, or thought of asking for my husband's professional thoughts?

While I believe it's a good idea to strike a balance between family, friends and business, that isn't why I hadn't jumped at these opportunities. I was too busy thinking the next great thing was outside of my circle to cultivate some of the opportunities right where I was.

It's amazing how many people we already know are looking for marketing or writing/editing help - if we'll only talk with them about it.

Back in the Writing (Sofa) Groove

2008-09-15T18:05:00.000-07:00

So long, plans for a new 4-seater sofa free of stains and filled with plump, soft clouds of cotton. Hello, used sofa with ink streaks from my favorite blue pen, with the permanent groove where I sat writing my book each day for seven months, the cushions parting like a combover every time I sat down.

I never thought sinking through sofa cushions could feel this good. It could have something to do with the fact that I'm sinking through with a computer on my lap and partially finished article up on the screen...or maybe it feels so good because instead of managing phones, answering questions, calming down angry callers, I spent the day - the day! - researching leads and new story ideas, and reading some of my favorite book passages for inspiration.

And while I'd love to sit in this spot forever, my rump is getting somewhat sore, and I have to believe - no, I know: somewhere between a hectic, paid call center job and my heavenly sofa groove, there's a place where writing meets income. Serious income. I'm talking new sofa income, writing conference income, buy-a-house-income.

I plan to find that place. I plan to find it now, to meet my first financial goal by Christmas. First stop? The submit-$100-per-day-plan is being increased to $200 per day. In addition to submitting $200 worth of articles and proposals each day, I've followed my mentor Linda's lead by charting my financial goals to keep track of progress and make sure I'm on-course.

And if I keep faith and stay on course, a new sofa isn't so far off in the future. In the meantime, the writing sofa groove isn't such a bad place to be.

Why is it Harder to Keep a Promise You've Made to Yourself

2008-09-11T17:19:00.000-07:00

...than it is to keep one you've made to someone else?

Take my temp job, for instance. Why did I feel the need to stay late and finish up work I was doing for them, instead of going home and focusing on my own writing career? Why give in and start temping for extra pay, when I was making visible progress with writing?

One of my mentors, Julia Cameron, has a theory about this. She calls it The Test. It goes like this:

Just when you get up the courage to quit your job, you're offered a raise.
You're finally getting over an old crazy-making boyfriend or girlfriend, when they call out of blue wanting to get back together.
You're making progress on your writing career when suddenly you're encouraged to get a second job to make more money.

When the tempting boyfriend, generous boss or your own self-doubt appears, you can either 1) give in and end up back where you'd started, or 2) find the courage to stick with what's right for you and show you're ready for new doors to start opening up.

I think this is especially crucial for freelancers to remember. Just because a client wants you to do more work on one of their projects, it doesn't mean you have to say yes and drop work on your personal project. There's a balance in there somewhere that I still struggle to find.

So two weeks ago, I decided to get back to what's right for me and gave notice at my temp job. The company tried to get me to stay through November, but despite their multiple offers to pay me more, to let me work less hours, to let me write AT WORK, for once in my spineless life I didn't cave. I didn't cave!

All I have to say is that one mega-sized door should be opening up soon. I mean, we're talking a Jack-and-the-Beanstalk sized door here. I can't wait to see what it might be.

Break In with Fillers

2008-07-29T15:42:00.000-07:00

Besides building up clips and experience, a good way to break into the glossies is with fillers. Woman's Day, Woman's World and Family Fun are three magazines that accept fillers. The following are additional publications that need fillers - I'm going to do some research on their exact needs/style, etc., and will be posting that information as I come across it:

Adventure Journal, The Adventure Travel Magazine: Travel Publishing Group, Inc.
50 Oak Street Suite 30
San Francisco, California 94102
Needs: anecdotes, facts, newsbreaks, short humor, 50-150 words.Pays $50-150.

Angels On Earth: Guideposts, Inc.
16 E. 34th Street
New York, New York 10016
Needs: short angel incidents, attributed quotes about angels. Sample copy and writer's guidelines for 6*x9* SAE with $1.01 postage.

Catholic Digest
P.O. Box 64090
St. Paul, MN 55164
(612)962-6739
fax: (612)962-6755
EMail: cdigest@stthomas.edu
Needs: Jokes, short anecdotes, quizzes, and informational paragraphs.Pays: $2.00 per published line.

Family Circle
Bright Ideas (post cards, only)
P.O. Box 5028
Grand Central Station
New York, New York 10017
Pays $50 if they print your tip. Call 1-888-216-7219 for examples.

The Family Handyman
"Great Goofs"
2915 Commers Drive, Suite 700
Eagan, Minnesota 55121
Needs: funny goof up stories about your handyman follies and escapades.Buys all rights. Pays $100

Get It In Writing!
P.O. Box 20336
Carson City, Nevada 89721-0336
Needs: Anything related to writers and/or writing. Short quotes, advice, tips, comedy and more.

Mademoiselle
Reader Mail
4 Times Square
17th Floor New York, New York 10036
E-mail: milliemag@aol.com
Needs: opinions, thoughts, tips, how to pluck your eyebrows without the pain... you get the picture. Pays: $50 if they print your writing.

Radiance Magazine On-line
Radiance: The Magazine for Large Women
P.O. Box 30246Oakland, CA 94604
Phone: 510-482-0680
Fax: 510-482-1576
E-mail: info@radiancemagazine.com
Needs: Short stories, poetry, kid's projects, book reviews and tips.Pays: Book Reviews: $35 to $75, Profiles: $50 to $100, Short Stories $35 to $50, Poetry: $10 tocom $15.

Strange Horizons Magazine
E-mail: poetry@strangehorizons.com and type "POETRY SUB: Your poem title" in the subject line. Plain text in the body of the email. No attachments please.
Needs: Poetry Submissions: under 100 words, no simultaneous submissions. Pays: $10 to $20.

Working Mother Editorial Department
Working Mother Magazine
135 West 50th Street
New York, NY 10020.
Needs: Articles and tips dealing with time, home and money management, family relationships, and job-related (work/family) issues. 700 to 1500 words.

Writer's Digest
1507 Dana Avenue
Cincinnati, Ohio 45207
Needs: anecdotes and (short) humor for or about writers, writing, and the writing life, 50-250 words.

The Journey of a Thousand Miles...

2008-07-24T17:28:00.000-07:00

The journey of a thousand miles must begin with a single step.

Although I feel somewhat guilty about hanging Lao Tzu's words opposite the toilet seat, what better place is there to hang a quote you want to read every day?

Today I submitted another article to the Christian Science Monitor, and am trying to figure out what "step" to take next. While I like Skirt Magazine's online content and am going to continue submitting to them, I was recently able to snag a copy of the physical magazine, and decided I might be better off spending more of my time targeting my work toward a different publication. Byline, the CSM...I feel as if the next publication goal should be less open to beginners - something between a regional publication and a glossy.

I'm going to try doing some research in the next week to figure out what publication to target next. I think that writing a filler for Family Circle or another glossy would be realistic, and possibly get my foot (or name) in the door for future acceptances.

Rewrite, Reuse, Recycle

2008-07-09T08:01:00.000-07:00

How do we manage a lack of time? The exact same way we manage our paper and plastic, according to Linda, the freelance writer who helped me rework my business plan this morning to accommodate my decreased writing time.

She suggested: if there's only enough time to work on the insurance article for the insurance website, then write that one article for them...and afterwards, use the same research to slant it towards parents (for parenting publications). Then rewrite it again with a different slant and more details (for magazines).

This morning I brought Linda an article I'd written for the insurance website called "Summer Barbecue Safety." She suggested I now rewrite it, angling it towards parents who want to protect their kids and home from burns and fire; and then rewrite it again by getting some quotes from a couple of BBQ manufacturers & fire officials, and pitch it to magazines. While it's probably too late to pitch a summer BBQ article, I can think of several other articles I've already written that can be reworked this way.

Doing this will reduce the time spent researching and writing three different articles from scratch, and at the same time ensure that I'm continuously pitching to the many different markets I want to break into (newspapers, magazines, parenting/writing/travel publications).

It's time to go green with our time.

When in Doubt, K.I.S.S.

2008-07-07T16:59:00.000-07:00

What do you do when you've got a business plan to follow, a list of articles that need to get researched, written and submitted - and four measly free hours this week to dedicate to all of it?

1. Complain. Lament about how your temp job, your insurance writing gig, your volunteer work is all creeping into your planned writing time. Complain until your husband suggests you've taken on too much and need drop at least one of them. Recognize he's right. Ignore him anyways.
2. Acknowledge: there's no way on God's green earth that you can do all of it this week.
3. Spend an hour talking on the phone during rush-hour traffic (you don't want to waste one of your free hours, after all) trying to figure out the best solution. Talk with the only person who'd humor your obsessive rambling for an hour straight - your mom.
4. Wonder: What happened to my nice, simple plan?
5. Remember that phrase your lovely big sister used to relish back in grammar school: Keep It Simple, Stupid.
6. Realize you're overthinking this waaay too much to be productive. Decide to forget about the articles, the research, the submissions this week. Instead, do something fun. Go to Staples and buy a pack of looseleaf, envelopes, and shiny gold letter seals that cost more than your looseleaf and envelopes combined. Imagine the author of your most recent "favorite book" smiling at your thoughtful seal. Buy the seals anyways.
7. Write the first of the letters you're going to write this week to seven of your favorite authors. Decide you'll also finally take up author Carolyn See on her second suggestion of writing 1,000 words per day.
8. K.I.S.S!

Publication Goals: Is There Such a Thing as Too Focused?

2008-06-30T17:13:00.000-07:00

Narrowing my goal down to a few women's and writing magazines has helped me stay on course and keep the 'Overwhelmed' factor down to manageable, but something I read recently made me think twice about just how specific those goals should be.

I've been reading Absolute Write's editor Jenna Glatzer's book "Make a Real Living as a Freelance Writer". While the title is reminiscent of a late-night infomercial, the book is most definitely not! There are some GREAT resources and solid advice in there.

In it, Jenna talks about how she set her goals when she first started: "I said I wanted to write for a national women's magazine..I set that goal very purposefully; I didn't just say 'any magazine'. It had to be national, and it had to be a woman's magazine. I knew the type of publication I was targeting, but I was careful not to get too specific, because then it would be too easy to fail."

I think this was my mistake with targeting the CSM and Skirt! so specifically. While they're two publications that would be awesome to get into, they're not the only good ones. Thinking that way almost caused me to submit simultaneously...and possibly turn off the CSM to future submissions. Sure, when (okay, I'll be positive here: if) the CSM monitor turns me down, it'll be too late to submit for next month's Skirt. But there are plenty of other magazines out there. I think this is a great thing to keep in mind when the rejections come in, too.

Simultaneous Submissions Dilemma

2008-06-25T04:17:00.001-07:00

Imagine going to a job interview, and the interviewer saying:

"Don't apply anywhere else because we may want you 1-6 months down the road."

Or going out on a first date and saying:

"Don't date anyone else because I may end up liking you after all."

Crazy, right? And yet, it's perfectly acceptable for publications to say this, by way of simultaneous submissions. I've been thinking about this lately, because I really want to make a simultaneous submission that's "not allowed".

I've been trying to decide whether or not to send the submission I'd sent to the Christian Science Monitor about 1 1/2 weeks ago to Skirt! magazine. Normally I'd have sent the piece to Skirt first, because their deadline for the themed essay I wrote is July 1. But I really want to get into the CSM, & this essay seemed perfect. Plus the CSM doesn't accept previously published material. So if it had been published by Skirt, I could never again submit it to the CSM.

So far my experience has been: if someone wants my piece, I hear back quickly. However...

Is possible my week-old email is still sitting in someone's inbox, unopened and unread? I don't think so. But then again, what if by some weird cosmic coincidence Skirt accepted and then the CSM contacted me in the next two weeks and also wanted the article? Again, very unlikely (I could only dream that those 2 publications would both want my piece!...which is another reason to make a simul. submission) But on the very off chance that it happened, I'd have to confess to breaking the simultaneous submission rule. Would that turn the CSM off to accepting future articles from me?

Well, there's still another week left until I need to make a decision. I just wish these publications would give some leeway on the simultaneous submissions front. In the meantime, I'll wait...

Who Needs the Lotto?

2008-06-24T15:16:00.000-07:00

Last week one of the other temps I work with asked what I'd do if I won the lotto. He said he'd buy a humongous yacht and throw parties every night, and the other temp said she'd quit working and go on permanent vacation. I told him I'd travel the world, and write magazine articles about my adventures...and realized that's what I'm working towards - heck, what I'm already doing.

Who needs the lotto?

I'm mentioning this because it seems to me that most of the writers I know are creating their "dream writing lives" without an overabundance of money. And, their priorities are different than other people. What makes them happy aren't necessarily yachts or dream vacations, or those other material things that are unlikely to come about. What they - or I, at least - really want is to be published, the chance to share my thoughts, to help, to get the release that comes with writing things down.

And that's the great thing about being a writer.

What are the chances of winning the lotto?
1 in 3.5 million

What are the chances of creating the dream writing life?
100%

Sometimes I wish I could be one of those people who are happy with any old job, and not go through this struggle with submissions, rejections & writer insecurties. Other times, like last week, I realize how lucky I am to be on this path.

Christian Science Monitor - Changes to Guidelines (not updated on their website)

2008-06-16T14:20:00.000-07:00

I just submitted to the CSM, and received back the following email that notes changes not yet listed on their webpage. The biggest change: their max word count is now 800. Also, the submissions email address is not listed on their website, but is listed below (I had to fill out an online form instead):

Please note that numerous changes have been made to the Home Forum section over the past few weeks:
1. We have a greater need for food-related essays and garden-related essays.
2. Our maximum word count is now 800 words. But we will probably have room for only one essay per week of that length. Most will be in the 400- to 700-word range.
3. Although we accept essays on all topics, we especially need those about home and family and those that give an international perspective.
4. Our children's page, Kid Space, has become Kid Spot and is looking for shorter articles. Please query us with your ideas.

If your submission is more than our maximum word count, we understand that you had no way of knowing our new needs. Please do NOT write us back to say that you would be happy to shorten it if necessary. We will consider all lengths and will discuss any necessary trimming when you send you an acceptance.

It is a great help to us if the beginning of your e-mail's the subject line notes that it's about food, gardening, a holiday, or is time-sensitive (i.e., it needs to be published within the next four weeks).

The best format for submitting is a Microsoft Word attachment. (We are not able to open any other attachments, so if you don’t work in Word, just cut and paste your submission into the body of the e-mail.) If you reached us through the Monitor's online form, we realize you were unable to use an attachment.

If a submission is time-sensitive, we will try to read it as soon as we can. However, if you haven't heard from us within a week, feel free to submit elsewhere.

We ask four weeks in which to consider your regular submission. If you haven't received an e-mail from us by then, you can know that we aren't able to use it and you're free to submit it elsewhere.

We're sorry that we're unable to give personal replies or critiques. The volume of submissions makes this impossible. Be assured, however, that we do read everything submitted.

Please be aware that if your e-mail account has a spam filter that blocks messages from “unauthorized” senders – and you have not added Home Forum to your authorized list -- you will not hear from us. This is becoming an increasing problem for us, and we simply don’t have time to fill out special forms in order to get through.

Thank you very much for not e-mailing the section’s editors directly; that only slows down consideration of your work. The address for queries and submissions: homeforum@csmonitor.com

You should read Home Forum and Living online to get more of an idea of the changes: http://www.csmonitor.com/homeforum and http://www.csmonitor.com/living Most of the contents of both these online sections appear in Home Forum in print.

Please note Be sure to include all of your contact information (e-mail address, daytime telephone, mailing address) with your submission or query. Please include a word count with essays and travel vignettes.

We are unable to accept:
Faxed submissions.
Telephone queries.
Simultaneous submissions.
Previously published material.
Articles that result from a press trip, free lodging or meals, etc.

We look forward to working with you.
Judy Lowe Home Forum editor

Courting Skirt (Skirt Magazine, that is)

2008-06-14T20:53:00.000-07:00

A couple of months ago I'd decided I was going to keep submitting to Byline until I got something accepted, and that persistence paid off. Now I've got a theory and have decided to test it out on a new publication: Skirt!, which is a fun, playful magazine published both online and in print.

The theory? That if the same editors see my name month after month, attached to professional submissions, eventually they'll accept something from me. It's kind of like the "courting" thing that Carolyn See talked about in her book.

Seeing as my submission to Skirt! two weeks ago not only received an actual reply back - but a nice rejection at that (!) - I figure I'm off to a pretty good start. Hey, we've already shared our first exchange...although not exactly the one I'd hoped for. This week I wrote a second article for Skirt's "Detour" issue coming up in August. Next I'll write one for their issue in September...then November...

The plan is to keep targeting publications that I'd love to list in my writer bio. The first one's down. Next are Skirt! and the Christian Science Monitor. I figure the more well-known, respected publications I can list as clips in my queries and on my bio, the more likely I'll be to catch an editor's attention & land more acceptances.

So, the courting begins!

Freelance Income: Practical vs. Creative

2008-06-09T18:04:00.000-07:00

I wonder what would happen if we put 100% into what we truly want to do, instead of splitting time and energy between what's considered "practical" and what's "creative"?

For example:
Practical - writing dull insurance articles for a website
Creative - writing that fun personal essay for Skirt!
Practical - temping at a marketing company for extra money
Creative - writing & submitting extra newspaper articles each month for extra $

As a "green" freelancer I'm constantly reminded that if I want to be a smart businessperson, I need to be practical & do whatever makes money until I break into the writing markets that pay well. Okay, this is sound advice. It's what I'm doing. But lately I've been wondering if it's the only way...

Tonight, at an ESL meeting, I talked with a retired school principal named Bob. Twenty years ago, Bob's son and daughter in-law quit their jobs (one worked at a marketing company , the other at Morgan Stanley) because they couldn't take the corporate life anymore. They quit cold, with no income and no plan other than knowing they wanted to start their own business. Well, they did a lot of research, worked hard, and borrowed money - from Bob and his wife, who took out a 2nd mortgage on their home to make it possible. Today, the couple's created a children's puzzle company and their puzzles are sold throughout the world ("Melissa & Doug")..and they've "hired" Bob and his wife as employees in the now-family business!

I'm not saying we need to go broke or borrow money to become successful writers...but faith, creativity and courage goes a long way in chucking out some of that "safe" work we don't want and taking a chance on what we truly want to do.

Breakthrough #1: Byline Magazine

2008-06-02T18:57:00.000-07:00

The first time I seriously tried getting published was about eight years ago. I took a writing class with a short, talkative blond-haired woman who had been publishing in parenting magazines for at least 10 years. I was so in awe of her: a “real writer” in the flesh. I couldn’t even work up the nerve to go up to her after class and ask a question. I did, however, work up the nerve to mail out several of my manuscripts…none of which made it to publication.

I took a second semester of her course, then a writing group she led, but eventually drifted off and got involved in “other things” – otherwise known as Writing Rejection Avoidance.

Anyways, back then in that class, before I’d quit writing for the second time, Linda told us about a magazine called Byline. Kind of like Writer’s Digest, but more likely to publish beginning writers. That night I got on the internet and subscribed online.

Each month I received Byline and read it through: the tips articles, the “My First Publication” section, and one of my favorites – the back of the book personal essays. If ever I get something published in this magazine, I thought, I’ll know I’m a real writer.

It wasn’t until I began this blog that I got up the confidence to submit an article to Byline in March, and a second article a month later. I also got in touch with Linda from those writing classes and set up weekly privates by phone: finally, I saw her as a regular person, someone just like me.

Last Tuesday I received an email from Robbi Hess, Byline’s editor, letting me know they want to publish one of my articles. Imagine, a mass of other writers, reading my words! I was escstatic. A mass of other writers, reading my words. I was hyperventilating.

The topic of the article? The opportunities that have opened since I finally allowed myself to believe that I am a real writer. It's more than coincidence. It's perfect.

Travel Writing: Three Editorial Calendars

2008-05-22T06:31:00.000-07:00

Live Life Travel

June – Indonesia
July – Eastern USA
August – South Pacific Islands
September – South Africa
October – Brazil
November – Hawaii
December – France and Belgium

Travelers Tales (anthologies)

Women's Travel Humor has been a huge hit, and More Sand in My Bra is coming out soon. We're always looking for hilarious, outrageous misadventures for future books, so send us your stories. Deadline for submission: OPEN

The Best Women's Travel Writing 2009 Women writers, please send us your best stories about travel throughout the world for our annual series, The Best Women’s Travel Writing. Previously published essays (within the last year) are OK. We're looking for the full range of experience: adventurous, mystical, funny, poignant, cuisine-related, cross-cultural, transformational—as well as solo travel and travel with friends, mates, and families. Maximum 3,000 words (short pieces are welcome too).Deadline for submission: June 1, 2008 Est. Release Date: February 2009
Please include on your essay all of your contact information, plus a 3- to 10-line bio about yourself. Multiple submissions OK. Email your submissions to submit@travelerstales.com.

More Humor and Misadventure More Laughing Hyenas. Hyenas Laughed at Me and Now I Know Why got lots of laughs, so we're seeking funny stories for another volume. The book will include stories from both women and men. No length restrictions but for humor, shorter is usually better. Deadline for submission: OPEN Est. Release Date: TBA

Travelers' Tales Vietnam, Laos, and Cambodia. We're collecting poignant, meaningful, and entertaining true stories for this collection on Indochina. Send your best writing about Cambodia, Laos, and Vietnam, from the present day to the war era. War stories should be tied to the present with reflections on lessons learned, mistakes made or avoided.Deadline: OPEN Est. Release Date: TBA

Destinations: 30 Days in... We're planning a new line of short destination titles, each of which will include 30 stories. For a description of the kinds of stories we're looking for, see below. Titles in the works:
30 Days in Baja
30 Days in the Caribbean
30 Days in England
30 Days in the Himalayas
30 Days in Japan
30 Days in New Zealand
30 Days in North Africa
30 Days in Panama
30 Days in Switzerland
Deadline for submission: OPEN Est. Release Date: TBA

Women on the Edge. True stories of high adventure and danger around the world, from ice climbing to white water rafting, from war zones to animal encounters, from dangerous border crossings to besting the world's most dangerous predator-man. Deadline for submissions: OPEN Est. Release Date: TBA

Literary Traveler

We are currently seeking submissions for these themes:
Literary travel and being "green." In other words, articles that focus on literary figures and/or places, but with an environmental message, theme or twist.
Open themes.

Publication is Like Dating...

2008-05-21T17:26:00.000-07:00

When my brother in-law was trying to win over my sister, he put single red roses on her windshield, befriended my younger sister and I - heck, he even got a job at the same place she worked.

They've been happily married for 7 years now.

Now let's say an editor turns down a piece. In dating terms: the editor's just waiting to see what's next, just needs to be "won over". It's not so much a no, as a "not yet."

Writer Carolyn See didn't let rejections stop her from submitting multiple pieces to the same editor. At one point, the editor hand-wrote a note back to her to the effect, "I think you've sent us everything but the family photos." Well, of course she had to send those next! The result of their playful exchange?

See got a face-to-face meeting with that editor in NYC. Courtship, but of a different kind.

This is a great attitude to hang onto when the rejections roll in: it's not the end of a publishing opportunity, but the beginning of a courtship. Okay, I've hit my cheese-quotient for the day.

Personal Essays: Three Editorial Calendars

2008-05-19T13:59:00.000-07:00

The following three magazines publish fun personal essays (many of the themes are women-oriented). Any article that makes it into these three would double as a great clip for a Family Circle, Self, etc.:

Cahoots
Submission deadline: not listed, but it may take up to three months for review & acceptance

Fall 08: spirit - submission deadline: June 1, 2008

Winter 08: plugged in - submission deadline: September 1, 2008

Spring 09: world - submission deadline: November 15, 2008

Skirt
Submission deadline: The 1st of each month for the following month

June: Songbirds Music – essays inspired by specific songs or song lists/mix CDs. (see books: Lit Riffs, Love is a Mix Tape, and My Life in Heavy Metal for inspiration)

July: The “F” Word (Feminism & Fashion) Feministas and fashionistas, independent women, closing the gender divide, redefining norms, girl power, what we were wearing when we changed the world and atypical fashion-related essays, how far we’ve come and how far we still have to go, trail-blazing.

August: The Detour Issue Simplifying your life; downsizing your life; organizing your home, becoming less of a pack rat, taking a different path, moving on, being in nature, cutting ties, less is more, moments of zen, running away.

September: The Rules Issue Making them, breaking them, bending them, women rule, the exception that proves the rule, dividing and conquering, rules for living, playing by the rules (or not), power, dominance, influence.

October: Wonder Women Women who inspire, what you aspire to, women who do it all, heroic women, icons, rule-breakers, your political involvement, situations with female politicians, why women don’t run, why women should run for office, women who lead the pack, leadership, going out on a limb.

November: The Delicious Issue Dish, cravings, good taste, junk food, comfort food, having your cake and eating it too, the good life, heavenly, mouth-watering, appetites, drop-dead gorgeous, nourishment for the body and the mind, fit for the goddesses, pleasure, delighting the senses (all six of them).

December: Fresh Starts Resolutions you kept, resolutions you broke, why we make resolutions or why we shouldn’t, turning around a tough situation; working through hard times, starting over, clean slate, new beginnings, epiphanies.

Underwired
Submission deadline: the 15th of the month for the following month

June: The Getaway IssueAdventure bound, roads less traveled, riding, roving, wandering, rambling, planes, trains and automobiles, going abroad, seeing the world, globe trotting, getting lost, getting found

"The complete 2008 calendar will be posted soon. Please keep checking back with us!"

Breaking into the Magazine Market: A Plan

2008-05-16T15:27:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that most writers work their way up to magazine writing by starting in smaller markets that are easier to break into, like newspapers. And while getting any kind of published clip is a good thing, what's better is getting clips in the same topic you want to eventually pitch to the magazines.

Up until now, I've been writing and submitting on multiple topics. But this morning I sat down and figured out what articles I should be submitting in order to work up to a glossy magazine submission & acceptance. Okay, so I had to revise my whole blasted writing and submission schedules. BUT.

Suddenly all of it has direction, and everything is working towards the same goal. The questions I asked myself (and answers) in the process were:

1. What topics do I want to write about for the glossy magazines?
Writing, Women's Topics, Travel, Insurance

2. What magazines do I want to write for?
Family Circle, Connecticut Magazine, Self, Woman’s Day, Parenting

3. What specific articles do I want to submit? And to whom?
Home market value vs. insured value for Connecticut Magazine
The children's mutism disability for Family Circle
Our December cross country road trip for ?Conde Nast?

4. When would I need to submit them by?
Market value - within a year in case the housing market stabilizes
Disability article - anytime
Cross-country road trip - by the end of June//6 months before our road trip

5. What shoud I do now to get related clips?

Travel
1. German article, revise and send out
2. Pilates article, revise and send out
3. Mark Twain article, personalize and send out

Insurance
1. Auto insurance article, revise and send out
2. Home insurance article, revise and send out
3. ?write third article and send out

Writing
1. Z-rated words, keep submitting
2. A New View, keep submitting
3. ?write third article and send out

Writing and submitting with direction, I think, will help me stay on track and consistently build up to a magazine acceptance.

What's in a (Blog) Name?

2008-05-14T05:31:00.001-07:00

The more I read the community of bloggers out there, the more I notice that the most read & referenced blogs have short, catchy blog names. And those that don't have short names are assigned one by readers who pull out the most unique words.

The known writing blogs are usually referenced in one to three words, at most: Freelance Switch, Men with Pens, InkThinker. That's not to say there aren't popular blogs out there with longer or more generic titles, BUT -- who wants to make it hard for readers to remember and reference a blog?

The three I mentioned above came to me right away because they are unique, whereas some of the others like Freelance Writing Jobs (while keyword rich) were so general that I had to look them up to make sure I had the right wording. Another downside to keyword rich blogs (once they've got a steady readership): when I forgot the exact name and typed 'Freelance Writing Jobs' into the search engine, that blog wasn't the first listing.

So today I spent some time thinking about:
What word best describes this blog theme compared to other writing blogs?
What word would I want used to reference it?

I've decided that Kickstart is a quick way to reference it & reflects the theme. While the change from "Kicking off" to "Kickstart" sounds like a small thing, I think it really does make a difference.

Tip: A Simple Way to Start a Relationship With an Editor

2008-05-13T18:40:00.000-07:00

Today an editor emailed me with a simple question. At the end of the email, she included her phone number and said I could call her if I preferred the phone to email.

While my instinct was to email her so I wouldn't bug her with a call, my freelance writing mentor Linda suggested that I call instead. That way, the editor would hear my voice, and our relationship would form quicker. (I ended up getting her voicemail. But hey - she still got to hear my voice)

Linda's tip: be friendly, but keep the call under 5 minutes.

Forget Your Resume. Spice up Your Writer Bio.

2008-05-09T18:02:00.000-07:00

This week I've been struggling to put together a writer bio for myself. It sounds like fun to make a list of accomplishments and credits, until the questions kick in.

What kind of bio should I write? Will editors or readers care where I live and what my hobbies are, or should I just dive right into the writing credits? Have I listed enough credits? Should I list different ones?

So I've been doing a lot of reading to figure out how to write this thing and what to include in it. It seems that no matter what style bio someone has, it includes some of the following:

1. Publishing Credits
2. Writing Awards and Recognition
3. Writing job &/or experience
4. Writing Memberships or Associations
5. Recognition
6. Personal Tidbit

I'm off to take another stab at this. I found the below articles were especially helpful:
http://www.writers.com/feature_bio_blurb.html
http://www.absolutewrite.com/freelance_writing/bio.htm
http://theeclecticwriter.typepad.com/the_eclectic_writer/2009/01/the-most-challenging-assignment.html

The Day I Became (Cue Scary Music)...The Editor

2008-05-01T19:37:00.000-07:00

After sending out all of those submissions and stressing about how to deal with The Editors who responded, the project I got to work on this month was especially sweet: editing a freelance writer's article for an online publication.

That's right, I became...(dum, dum, dumm)...The Editor. Talk about turning the tables! And I have to say, I was even more nervous making the communications from "this side of the article".

It's one thing to critique a student's piece, or to edit articles written by non-writers. It's another to have a professional writer's "baby" in your hands and the power to change it however you like. I have to say that while I love editing, I don't enjoy doing it from a position where the writer might feel they have to take my suggestions. No, not one bit.

And speaking of power. Even an honest criticism, if said the wrong way and by a supposedly credible source (like an editor) could really damage a writer's idea about the piece or her writing. I'm saying this, of course, as an overly-sensitive writer who's been there.

On the other hand.

There were many errors in this piece that DID need changing & clarification. That didn't mean the piece wasn't good - it was excellent - but as an editor I also wanted to make sure the grammar, etc., was up to the publication's standards. It's just a different perspective on the whole process.

Working from the editor's side is something I'm going to start encouraging other writer friends to do. It's helped me consider my own articles as an editor might. AND - while in the midst of rejections or no responses at all - it feels good to be able to deliver to another writer the message I'm dying to hear, and give positive feedback to keep the good energy flowin'.

Which Submission Plan is Right?

2008-04-28T18:10:00.000-07:00

There are as many "successful" submission plans out there as there are diets.

You've got the 1-submission per day plan.

Then there's the 1-day-per-week plan, where six days are spent writing and one spent researching and mailing out submissions.

For those who really hate marketing, there's the 2-months-per-year plan, where 5 months straight are spent writing, and then the 6th month is used to research markets and submit everything.

And then for something really different, there's the $100-per day plan, where $100 in potential sales are mailed out each day (my current favorite).

Whatever the plan, it seems all of them follow the same rules as the multitude of diets out there: find one that fits you and faithfully stick with it, and you're bound to see results. The key is to stick with it, even when you haven't lost an ounce. Er, gotten an acceptance.

1 Letter a Day + 1,000 Words = A Writing Life

2008-04-22T18:28:00.000-07:00

That's according to author Carolyn See. Her suggestion to write 1,000 words per day isn't a new one, but what I hadn't heard before was this advice: every weekday, drop a "charming note" (she's talking good old-fashioned snail mail) to one author/editor/publishing agent whose work you admire, thanking them for their piece, or touching on an aspect of their work that you appreciate. Nothing long or involved, just a light 'hello' and compliment.

She even suggests sending balloons or other small gifts in appreciation - though I don't know if I'm that brave, or eccentric - to go that far. The idea is not to 'network' or 'kiss up,' to other people in the writing community, but just to get involved so that you feel more a part of it, and in the process give other writers the support and encouragement that we all need.

And, if her and her students' experiences are the norm, there's a very good chance that those writers you idolize will write back. Carolyn's received hand-written responses from the likes of John Updike (he wrote on postcards with a typewriter, so the lines ran into one another) and Joan Didion (who suggested a wonderful but budget-crushing hotel when she learned where Carolyn was going on vacation).

What could beat a personalized note from a favorite author? Or, possibly, even more. Talk about motivation. This is a great habit I plan to get into, although five letters per week might be asking a bit much.

The Jackpot for Connecticut Writers

2008-04-21T15:17:00.000-07:00

My only excuse is that I was out of the country for a couple of years, but still. How did I not know about this publication? The Connecticut Muse has been around since 2005, and it contains everything you ever wanted to know about local publications, authors and upcoming book signings. This directory is going to be especially useful considering advice I recently read about how to 'grow' a writing career (will post on that tomorrow).

It gets better. The Connecticut Muse holds a contest twice per year, and the 1st place winner is published in the Muse...which is distributed to EVERY LIBRARY AND BOOK STORE IN THE STATE! (excuse the excitement, but - EVERY STORE IN THE STATE!) And, of course, it's also sent to many local writers by subscription. So here's the recent contest info, but it'll require some fast writing since the deadline is April 30th:

Personal Essay Contest: Open to all writers living in CT. Write an essay on “Life in the Nutmeg State” (1,000 words or less). Essays cannot have been previously published. Send essay and $10 entry fee by April 30 to: Connecticut Muse, 4 Autumn Lane, New Milford, CT 06776

Why Am I Writing This?

2008-04-20T09:09:00.000-07:00

I've never told anyone this, probably because I wanted to avoid being stereotyped as a writer with her 'head in the clouds'. But after some encounters over the past few days, I'm feeling the need to bring it up:

I never write solely for money.

There are so many other, dreamier reasons that I write. To figure things out. To share information. To help. Reality check: as a freelancer, I need to earn money. BUT, I've never begun a writing project for the sole purpose of making money.

Take the Freelance Writing Jobs blog, for instance. It was begun because the writer genuinely wanted to share writing job information with some of her friends. Three years later, that desire has translated into a couple of thousand visitors daily and professional recognition by the freelance community. If the blog weren't begun out of her genuine desire to help, I don't believe she would've been this successful.

It seems that anything successful starts with excitement, and I'm not talking excitement about how much money/recognition the project's going to earn; there's usually a deeper purpose (just ask successful marketer Seth Godin, whose blog my writer friend Carmen got me hooked on).

I'm far from an expert on freelancing, but it seems important that freelancers try to keep this deeper purpose in mind. Otherwise, the writing life could easily turn into the equivalent of a 9-to-fiver.

The 18-Minute Chili Plan

2008-04-14T16:49:00.000-07:00

Recently I considered taking a long-term temp position to supplement writing income while I build my freelance business. Just agreeing to interview for the position left a heavy feeling in my stomach; I could practically feel my writing career being slowed by a big Job-speed-bump. I tried to ease the feeling by reasoning with myself: it would be part-time. Close to home. It's in marketing; and hey, I've always found that interesting, haven't I? Haven't I?

The brick in my stomach knew better: I'd have to give up my morning writing group. I wouldn't have the time I wanted to research and write for magazines, or even for newspapers on a larger scale. Of course plenty of people work, have families AND maintain writing careers. Somehow I've never been one of those people. Still, there were bills to pay.

Things weren't looking good...and then I read about author Carolyn See's 18-minute chili.

Actually, it was her dad's 18-minute chili. He'd started by making 18-HOUR chili - which according to Carolyn - consumed her dad's free time and resulted in chili so magnificent that it brought tears to the tasters' eyes. But there were times when he didn't have the time or energy to pour into that 18-hour chili. At those times, he settled for making 18-MINute chili which, while not eye-watering fantastic, was pretty okay tasting.

There's not always time to pour into that next novel or prize-winning (heck, Publishable!) article, but there's always time to write shorter articles or to work on pieces of a larger project. 18-minute chili may not be the best, but it's still chili.

And isn't 18-minute chili better than none at all?
Yes, I believe it is.

About.com's Training & Elimination Process

2008-04-13T12:51:00.000-07:00

In March I stumbled upon a great job with About.com, earning over $700 per month as one of their online guides.

Now WOW (Women on Writing) has published an article that dishes the specifics of About's training & elimination process. Great info to read before taking About's prep course!

Editor's Nuisance or Dream?

2008-04-11T14:53:00.000-07:00

It's no secret that if an article will cause editors extra work, they'll probably reject it. According to Eric, the magazine freelancer I talked with several weeks ago, busy magazine editors may forego an article simply because multiple clips haven't been included with the query, and they don't have spare time to ask for more clips. Ditto on having to read through a long cover letter (they may just toss it without reading) or having to answer questions a writer should already know the answers to.

So when is it okay to ask for an editor's time and help? Below are questions I've used to reduce my 'nuisance' levels and determine the difference between:
Being a nuisance and turning off a busy editor
vs.
Being a professional and following up

1. Ask: If I do nothing, could the ball be dropped?
Let's say you fax something and don't hear back for several days. While following up to confirm that a fax has been received is adding to an editor's call volume and could be considered a nuisance - in general, it's just good business to make sure the ball hasn't been dropped on either end.

2. Can I find this info somewhere else, or is the editor the only person who can fully answer it for me?
Some might question how wise it is to ask newspaper editors for overlapping readership info, since it requires work on the editors' end and writers can find some of this info online. However, there's no way a writer can be 100% certain of what readerships overlap. Editors should already know this information and be okay with sharing it in order to ensure that they maintain exclusive use in their region.

3. How can I save the editor extra work?
Can things be done to save the editor additional emails or phone calls? For example, when confirming the fax was received, forego the phone call and sent a quick confirmation email instead. Ask the editor to respond only if she didn't get the fax, piece, etc.

They Want the Article! Part II

2008-04-10T11:42:00.000-07:00

It's one thing to read about setting prices and granting rights. It's another thing to actually deal with an editor. Suddenly a dozen small questions cross your mind. Some of those questions are answered by the below email exchange with an editor. Responses are based on advice from Linda, a professional newspaper freelancer.

Hi Colleen, These are some cute ideas! Thanks for sending them. How much would you charge to reprint this piece? Would you grant web-posting rights as well as print rights? I might be interested in publishing it in a future issue. Best,
**Advice from Linda: If the editor asks what you charge, acknowledge budget issues and ask what their standard rate is. Once she'd been writing articles for awhile, Linda started asking what the "high end" of their budget was**

Hi Susan, Great! Both print rights and nonexclusive web rights are available. I realize you're working on a budget, and hoped you could give me an idea of your standard pay range. Thanks,
**She used my first name, so I used hers. **

Thanks for getting back to me. For something this length, we’d usually pay $35, payable on publication. (i.e., if we were not able to run this, I would not purchase it.) Would we be able to get geographic exclusivity in the north/central region? Let me know your thoughts! Thanks so much. Best,
**Advice from Linda: Ask editors if they have overlapping readership to ensure you don't make a mistake and send an article to regionally close publications.

No question, you would have geographic exclusivity; I haven't submitted to any other publications in the state to ensure there is no overlapping readership. If you end up publishing the article, I'd love it if you could let me know what overlapping readerships you do have.
Your usual payment is in line with my standard pay rate. Of course if the piece doesn't run, I wouldn't expect payment. Thanks,

At this point, I don't know if I can expect the editor to let me know if she's going to use it or not. Perhaps they'll just print it and send a check. Perhaps she'll email me and let me know when it's going to run (or that it's not going to). I'll be checking & posting on this.

Who-hoo! They Want the Article...Now What?

2008-04-08T16:31:00.000-07:00

You're sitting there on the sofa, dutifully copying writer's guidelines off the net and pasting them into your word document when the phone rings. At the other end of the line is a real, live newspaper editor interested in your article (yippee!). You know that she's already got your name, address, phone and email info. Isn't that it?

In fact, there's this form she needs filled out before she can print your article. It looks like this:

In order to use a freelance writer's work, we must have a copy of this writer's agreement on file. Please complete this form and return it.

Complete: Name; Mailing Address; Telephone; Email; Social Security Number

All articles submitted are subject to editing for style, clarity and space considerations.

In purchasing North American serial rights, we reserve the right to publish a piece one time in the publication and on our website, now and in the future.

If a piece is posted on our website, it will appear during the month the article is published.

By signing this agreement, you are giving us exclusive rights in the county market to the articles we purchased and thus, you will not be able to sell the same article within 6 months to any other local, free magazines in the county area.

Writers will receive a tear sheet and check upon publication of your work.

Writer's signature & date:

Tomorrow I'm meeting again with Linda, and will ask her if this is a standard practice for newspapers...and if there are any questions the editor should be asked. Note: the editor said they don't need my social security number, and Linda said she never gives it out until her article is accepted, even when they specifically ask for it on submission forms.

Finding Freelance Gigs

2008-04-07T11:19:00.000-07:00

It was worth the wait. The writer who I got in touch with several days ago has shared several of her ideas about how and where to find freelance gigs. Unlike the freelancer who writes for parenting magazines and newspapers, this freelancer prefers to proofread, edit and write copy for business clients and organizations. Some of her suggestions are:

If you're just starting out, volunteer your editorial and writing skills to local organizations in order to build a portfolio and collect testimonials.
Identify and target a niche based on your experience. For example, if you've worked in insurance for five years, try pitching your services to insurance companies. Offer help with their copy or newsletters.
Look to trade magazines, professional associations and small business groups for leads. Talking with people from these groups and reading relevant trade publications will help you identify an area of need, potential clients, and maybe even generate a project assignment.
Offer to help students with their papers as a writing coach for a college program. An advanced degree will help, in this case.

The theme here is: be proactive and uncover potential projects for yourself. Don't wait for someone to advertise a position or ask for help. Find out what they need on your own, and if you think your services would benefit them, make an offer. (I know, easier said than done!)

Six Great Things About Newspaper Submissions

2008-04-05T12:48:00.000-07:00

1. You can simultaneously submit the same article to 50+ papers, and they won't care. Just make sure their readerships don't overlap. (Of course, it's a good idea to check their writer's guidelines to confirm this. There are always exceptions).
2. Your article can be printed by 50+ papers at the same time, and you can get paid by them all. At the same time!
3. The dailies and weeklies always need new content to publish, especially during slow news periods.
4. Publication and editor information is fairly easy to find.
http://www.newspapers.com/ provides a list of newspapers for every state and includes links to their individual websites. Many have "staff" pages that list editors' names and departments, and some also have writer's guidelines.
5. So far, I've found submission information to be standard: paste the article, single-spaced, within the email. A tip from the freelancer I spoke to this week: make sure your address is included, because some papers simply print the article without telling you beforehand, and then mail a check.
6. Once they've published one of your articles, they're very likely to publish another. Publish enough articles on a topic in enough papers, and you'll hold more weight when pitching that same topic to a magazine.

A Chat with a Successful Freelancer

2008-04-02T14:38:00.000-07:00

This morning I met up with a freelancer who paid her kids' way through school with freelance income AND has been published in Women's World, Parenting, and enough other women's magazines to make me sufficiently jealous...and very excited.

Linda said that one of her steady markets has been regional newspapers and magazines. She wrote mainly parenting articles, and discovered that many of the family/parenting publications wanted "how to" articles. Basically, she'd begin the article with a small intro paragraph, list several tips, and then add a concluding paragraph at the end. The articles typically run around 700 words (the lower word counts start at 500 and go up to 1000 on the high end). The newspapers pay from around $30 to $50 each, which isn't a lot, BUT-- regional publications typically don't care if the article is published elsewhere, as long as the regions don't overlap. For example, you can send an article to a publication in Fairfield County, CT, and another to Litchfield County, CT...but not to two different papers that are BOTH in Fairfield County, because their readership might be the same. That would allow one article to reach so many more people, and result in a higher total payout.

Another thing Linda did was collect and organize detailed publication information as they accepted her pieces - kind of like her own, personalized "Writers Market," but with publications she knew liked her stuff and might want more.

It's a good thing to start once those acceptances come rolling in (thinking positive here!). For now it's back to submitting...

Steady Freelance Gigs - Don't Wait for the Job Listing

2008-03-28T11:12:00.000-07:00

They do exist! I thought that my recent discovery of a steady freelance job (About.com) that paid every month was a rare occurrence, but it appears not. In the few days I've been looking, I found several other organizations that were looking to employ freelancers for monthly newsletters, etc. Take this one, for instance:

Freelance Online Newsletter Publisher Workitect is a small training and consulting firm that needs someone to produce a monthly online B2B newsletter. This includes project management, development of an editorial calendar, design, layout, reporting, writing and editing. Most of the content will be provided by our consultants and clients. The work should require 10-15 hours per newsletter. We use My Emma.

This was posted in a writer's newsletter, so Workitect will probably receive boatloads of applications for the position. (Read: slim chances of getting the job). But it's a great example of the freelance work out there that may be up for grabs - and not advertised to hundreds of other writers. Who's to say the local gym, or regional business owners wouldn't like a newsletter or website/blog started to promote their business? All it would take is a trip there and an offer to write or edit it for them (for compensation, of course). I'm far from a pushy or aggressive person, and don't like laying out offers like that. But I recently made my gym an offer to lead swing dance workouts in a very "me" way (aka: passive!), and still scored a meeting with their program director. Who's to say I couldn't make a similar proposal to start up a fitness newsletter, or write articles for their website? Here's another listing I found:

Manuscript Reader The Sun is looking for freelance manuscript readers. This is an ideal job for someone who loves to read and can provide insightful written evaluations of fiction, nonfiction, and poetry. If you are able to work 10 to 20 hours a week at home and can make at least a two-yearcommitment, send a letter and résumé to: Sy Safransky, Manuscript-readerposition, The Sun, 107 North Roberson St., Chapel Hill, NC 27516. We're considering local candidates only for these positions. No phone calls, e-mails, or faxes please. http://www.writergazette.com/sendstudio/users/link.php?UserID=17067&Newsletter=154&List=1&LinkType=Send&LinkID=6408

Again, how many regional publishers or literary magazines are overwhelmed with submissions? If they've published some of your work and know it's good, or they're sent a stellar resume, writing samples and references, why can't a position be made for you? Sometimes people don't know what they want until they're made an offer.

For now I'm already feeling overwhelmed by marketing efforts, so I'm just going to continue working on my submissions & other projects already in the works. But I'll definitely be making a proposal to the gym and a few other places in the near future. Here's one last job listing for inspiration:

Trade magazine PAY: $75 - $500 per story Trade magazine written for an industry with 1,500 small retailers in the U.S. seeks a permanent freelance writer. We need an individual with published experience writing for one or more niche retail industries. This is a small publication: you will be conducting your own research, interviews, fact checking, transcribing and writing. We need a well-organized, accurate, versatile person with a fully equipped home office (Internet, fax, phone recorder for interviews, etc.). Have a track record of supplying polished copy that will require little editing. Your articles assignments will include supplier question and answer pieces, dealer profiles and personality profiles. Issue-related stories about how small retailers can succeed despite threats from bigboxes, Internet, etc. Minimum 3 years experience. Prefer degree in journalism and experience with a major niche-market publisher (Rodale,Peterson, Fairchild, etc.). Pay: Stories pay $75-$500 and vary in Length from 150 words to 1500 words. This is a quarterly publication, annual budget for successful candidate approx $10,000. Please send resume andcover letter. No clips at this time. Contact mail to:tradewriterwanted@gmail.com

Getting Local Clients

2008-03-26T08:12:00.000-07:00

How do you build a client base offline? I recently found out that my sister's husband's sister (deep breath) is a freelancer who's gotten so many requests that she's thinking of turning down some clients - what a problem! I'm waiting on her email address, and then plan to ask her how I, too, can get too many clients to handle. In the meantime, the round-about ways I've found to get clients so far are:

*Volunteering my time as an editor & English tutor at Literacy Volunteers. It's helped my credibility in an area I really enjoy and want more work in, and I've made a few local contacts that way.
*Become a speaker in your area of expertise. This also gives you credibility in an area you enjoy, provides contacts and people who are interested in what you do
*Tell people what you do and what your goals are. The power of telling people what you're about was made really clear in a free, recorded teleseminar by Reach Branding called "How to Make, Grow and Keep Your Business Relationships"
*Be prepared for unexpected clients by creating and carrying business cards (I'm going to have mine printed out today). Vistaprint.com offers the first 250 for free - you just have to pay for the shipping and there's no future obligation...although they do try to sell you something at every click.

$750 per month for Experts on About.com

2008-03-25T11:16:00.000-07:00

This is the perfect online job and gives a fair, steady monthly income if you can write engaging articles about a field you know. About.com is part of the New York Times, so it's legitimate and looks great on the resume. The catch? They're looking for experts in their field. Some of the topics they need experts on are fashion, identity theft, immigration issues and gluten-free cooking. But if you happen to have extensive experience in these topics, what a great job!! The full list and employment information is listed at http://beaguide.about.com/topics.htm

I'm still writing and submitting, but am also trying to find steady writing gigs that pay monthly income I can count on. I'll post other information as I come across it...

Planning a Writing Career

2008-03-22T07:12:00.000-07:00

It's easy to say that you want to get some articles published in magazines, or establish a freelance writing career. But these goals are way too vague and won't keep writers motivated from one week to the next, according to this very specific and info-rich article. It explains how to set good, realistic writing goals and break them down into manageable parts. That includes writing goals down on a calendar or record-keeper and checking it weekly or even daily to make sure you're on track.

This article by Moira Allen begins: "When you first start freelancing, your "plan" is often simple: Send out as many queries or submissions as possible, and hope for sales. By your second or third year, however, your writing business can benefit from more careful planning." She then goes on to explain how to go about making a plan.

Their approaches are a bit more sophisticated than what I've done! I need to SEE everything, all in one place, in order to make the connection between the small things I'm doing each week and how they contribute to my overall goal. So, I took a large piece of posterboard and drew a grid on it for each month. In each month I've written what articles & queries I'm going to write, and which ones I'm going to submit. This way, I can see what I need to do and the progress I'm making at a glance. That works better for me than flipping through the pages of a calendar or journal. I've taped the poster up on a wall in my living room, so it's harder to procrastinate or forget my weekly, monthly, and 6-month goals. So far it's working great.

Hello, My Name is Colleen Wright and I Am a...

2008-03-19T05:57:00.000-07:00

freelance writer. Yes, it's true. I am not 'unemployed' or 'taking a break' or 'figuring out what I really want to do', even though at self-conscious times I've been known to give that impression.

It's hard to believe that a mere three weeks ago while sitting with eight Literacy Volunteers, I couldn't bring myself to say that I was a full-time writer. Part of me still didn't believe it myself. But a lot has happened since then. I've gotten paid for some articles, from 4 cents to a hundred big ones. I've edited and customized layout for a newsletter. I've been in touch with some writing friends and have received offers of help from people I barely know. And last night, at the National Speakers Association (NSA) meeting my writer friend Anne talked me into attending, I stood before 50 professional public speakers and not only told them that I'm a freelance writer, but that I'm planning to write my second book about it. And I only felt a flicker of embarrassment at my audacity (me, telling other people how to break into this business!).

I've wanted to learn more about public speaking for years, more for personal than professional reasons. But the professional reasons have kicked in these past few weeks, and for good reason. Did you know that before they take an author on, most publishers find out if the author's done any public speaking? I didn't either. It's harsh, and scary, and there isn't much worse news that a shy person can get. But it makes sense. I mean, who's going to put a shaking, sweating ball of fear on stage with Oprah, or even the local news, for that matter? If a publisher buys my book, they're going to expect me to go out and do readings, and all other types of promotional events that stick me in front of groups of people and even - god help me - podiums.

Experts in the field, which is what these publications want, can prove credibility by speaking on the subject. And vice versa: it's natural to share your books or blogs or articles at speaking venues where you're talking about the topic. But enough about marketing.

The simple truth is, once I learn how to do this writing gig successfully, I want to share it with other people and motivate them to stick with it. I can't do that too easily if I pray for a sudden earthquake at the first sight of a podium (which is way too close to the truth..although usually it's a building collapse). So now I've added one more thing to my writing career wish list: public speaking courses.

Finding a Market: From Canadian Organic Growers to the Teddy Bear Review

2008-03-17T18:26:00.000-07:00

With all of the specialized magazines out there, you'd think that finding 15 markets for my personal essay would be a breeze. As it turned out, it wasn't so much a breeze as a small puff of air. Expelled by a 90-year old. With chronic asthma.

Okay, I'm exaggerating a bit! But, I did expect to find more than six publications that fit my essay when I sat down with a 10-pound volume of Writer's Market 2008 and a spreadsheet of publications that I've been collecting over the years. Part of the problem is that my article has already been published. Right there, some of the markets were cut out, since some only take unpublished material. Then there was the theme: stress and life balance. I think it's a pretty good one for women's magazines, but several of them only wanted personal experience essays that had to do with relationships.

In the end, I had more luck by typing 'personal essay markets' into a search engine. That brought me to lists of markets that I could scan through quickly, which listed a broader range of topics. And, it took a quarter of the time.

Paging through Writer's Market was a good source of inspiration, and led me to a few markets I wouldn't have found through a search engine. I think that's a good place to go if I want to target a publication, and then write an article for it. But having already written the article, I found the online search to be easier.

Mission: Get Published

2008-03-13T13:37:00.000-07:00

I'm sitting here, looking at the writing & submission schedule I made for myself on Monday, and convincing myself I'm really going to do this. Man, is that a lot of work. But more than that, it takes lots of kahunas (an area where I'm sadly lacking) to call editors and deal with rejection on a consistent basis. Still, my goal is to have 20 submissions out and circulating by June. Rumor has it that once 13 are circulating, there's a good chance that one will be accepted, so here goes.

I broke down the 20 submissions into weeks, so that I'll end up writing 2 full articles and 2 (unrelated) queries per week. I'll also mail out 4 each week. Even though there are a ton of other writing-related things that I want and need to work on, I'm going to make these articles and submissions my priority, because I really, REALLY want to write personal experience pieces and articles for women.

I've also marked my calendar so that once a submission has been out there for 3 months (if it's someplace I can't - gulp - call), I'll send it somewhere else. In the past, once I got a rejection or worse, no answer at all, I'd get discouraged and stop submitting for awhile. Or move on to another article. But this time, I've got a plan: I'm going to do the market research for each article before I send it anywhere. I'll make a list of all of the publications I want to send an article to, and then write out the envelopes, etc., ahead of time. That way, when I get a rejection I won't have to do any work to get the article out to someplace else. I just stick it back in an envelope and re-mail it.

The plan is actually one I'm stealing from someone in my old writing group. And she paid her kids' way through school with her articles. I've decided to implement Mission: Get Published on Monday. One last weekend before the nail-biting begins...

No, Really. I Got Paid for an Article!

2008-03-12T14:54:00.001-07:00

No kidding, in my email this morning, I received notice that my offer to write an article for an insurance website was accepted. I have to admit, it was a bid I placed on one of those internet boards I ranted about because they pay so little. However, I took advice from some successful online freelancers and dug through the low-paying heap to find two fair projects - one that offered generous payment, and another that sounded like it would. Both projects needed someone knowledgeable in the field, which seems to be the recent trend. I was happy to find that, I was! The insurance site wanted an article for businessowners on commercial auto coverage. This was what my proposal said:

"For five years I worked as a licensed insurance agent, and answered customer questions about their personal home and auto insurance. I can't tell you how many business people didn't want to get commercial auto insurance because it costs more. But while it's more money, it also covers the car and driver's liability in the event of an accident and lawsuit. A personal policy does not.

The key to helping people understand insurance is to talk (or write) simply, in a straightforward way, with none of the lingo. I'd be happy to research commercial policies and write an article that explains commercial auto insurance and the need for it. I've attached an instructional article as a sample of my writing. A link to my article can be found at (link). I'm a former newspaper reporter, and now freelance full-time. My current project is acting as editor of the local newsletter for Literacy Volunteers. Thanks, "

My other proposal was declined because my bid was too high. These are the first two bids I placed online, and I think the reason I got a yes so quickly was because I'm experienced in the field. I'm going to try to apply this to all of my print queries, too.

I Got Paid for an Article! (Don't Get Too Excited Yet)

2008-03-11T06:31:00.000-07:00

A couple of weeks ago I read about how one freelancer gets paid about $150 per month on articles she's already written, without having to do anything more after the initial write & publish, and decided to give it a try.

Basically, you write a 'how to' article on any topic and publish it to ehow's website. The website then pays you on a monthly basis, based on how many hits the article receives that month (I've read you're not actually paid for the hits, per se, but for ads that fill the space on your pages). After two days on the site, my article received 168 hits. In internet terms, that isn't a whole lot of hits. But I haven't been actively publishing online for long, and I have to admit: I was excited!

And then I checked my 'earnings account' to find out how much the hits had earned me. $2? $5? I started running calculations in my head. If I received 100 views per day - even if I was only paid $2 per day - that would be $60 per month on that one article. With that tantalizing number in my mind, I clicked on the button for my 'earnings' account.

That number wasn't so tantalizing. Or exciting. It appeared that after nearly 200 hits, I'd made a lump sum of four cents. Four ... cents! At that rate, I'd break a dollar in a month. IF I kept getting around 100 hits per day, which I didn't. In fact, I got barely any after the initial few days.

But you know what? I'm going to keep writing for this site during my free time on nights & weekends. While I wouldn't pour 'work' time into this as a reasonable income source, it is another opportunity to practice online marketing. And, I found several good ideas there about increasing web traffic. The best tip was:

Add your page URL to search engines. Go to http://www.freewebsubmission.com/ and add your site to about 20 different search engines at once. Free Web Submissions also shows what search engines are the most popular (top five, from most popular, are: Yahoo, Google, MSN, Open Directory, Scrub the Web) And, it includes informational articles about how the web works, as far as crawling sites, etc.

A Writing Career: Where to Begin?

2008-03-10T07:40:00.000-07:00

I've always been a backwards writer. No matter how hard I try to come up with that first paragraph, I end up thinking of the last line first. I'm not talking about knowing the general gist of how I'll wrap things up; I mean that the last sentence, word-for-word, comes to me. Before I even know the specifics of what's going to happen, that last line gets written. What I hadn't realized until now, is that more than my writing is backwards.

Take my writing goal, for example: to have a full-time writing career by next January. Okay, so my end is written. Now I just need to work out the details and actually get there; and I feel pretty much like I do when I'm trying to write that first paragraph of a story. Excited. Overwhelmed. Unsure where I want to start. I have all of these ideas competing with each other for attention. Online marketing, print submissions, blog & website reading, article writing, freelance gigs, writing volunteer work. And that's not even taking into account the writing group and marketing classes I want to take. All are important and all need to be included. The question is, what's the most best and most logical way to go about pursuing them?

Today I'll figure that out. I plan to write out a career plan on paper, so that I can prioritize a few things and stay on track. Hopefully that'll help me avoid getting sucked into the internet warp and other time-eating activities. By the end of the month, I'd like to have my 'intro paragraph' written.

RSS and SEO, ETC.

2008-03-07T16:09:00.000-08:00

Now that the newsletter's finished, I took some time this week to do some research about online marketing. I want to find out how I can get my blog out there, build a readership and an online brand. These things are probably a cinch for all of the web savvy writers out in cyberspace, but they had me bouncing from one website to another, in search of simple, concrete instructions. The problem is, every article I find on marketing assumes I know what I'm doing! They contain techie terms that I don't know. A pattern forms: I open a new window to find the definition of the techie word...and the definition inevitably contains more lingo. At one point I had three internet windows open, with three working tabs each. Ah!

Anyways, I was able to find some pretty basic strategies to start off with:

1) Add a counter. I found mine for free at amazingcounters.com I found simple directions for how to add the counter (!) at: http://www.ehow.com/how_2019245_hit-counter-blogger.html?ref=fuel Now I can keep track of how many new hits I get each week. I wanted to do this first so that I can see how my hits increase as I make improvements to the blog and expand my marketing.

2) Add a sitemap to Google. As I understand it, if you upload a sitemap - the equivalent of a table of contents for your website - to Google, Google's electronic spiders are more likely to find what you've written and spit out your website when somebody searches the topic. Supposedly, blogger automatically sends a sitemap to Google because it's a part of the company. BUUUT, I've read in some places that it doesn't happen automatically. And - when I typed my blogspot address into Google's search box, Google couldn't find it. I'll check back tomorrow and see if adding my sitemap helped. I found clear, easy directions on how to add a Blogger sitemap to google at http://theos.in/hakuna-matata/adding-google-sitemap-to-bloggercom-blog-account/

3) Add bookmark and subscribe buttons so that it's easy for readers to get new posts as they're published. I found mine at http://www.addthis.com/ , but am still working on its layout on the blog. There's also a way to edit html and add the button beneath every post, but I haven't been daring enough to try it. Yet.

There are several more tips, some which I agree with and others that sound iffy at:
http://www.elance.com/p/node/2298?rid=1A8K6 Hopefully that counter will start climbing!

Looking for the Net

2008-03-05T18:19:00.000-08:00

There's a Zen saying, "leap, and the net will appear." I love this saying. I've loved this saying since I first discovered it printed on a magnet in Successories at the Danbury Fair Mall about 10 years ago. It took me that long to slowly build the courage, skills and resources to jump
head-first into the writing life. But nevermind that - how long it took doesn't matter so much as the fact that finally, I am here. Taking a risk. Breaking the "don't quit your day job" rule as well as a dozen other practical guidelines, I'm sure. Has the net appeared?

In the past few weeks, several things have, in fact, appeared. The flu. Several bills I hadn't been expecting. My husband's dissatisfaction with his job. It would be so easy right now for me to get a dependable, steady job somewhere in a cubicle, far from rejections and free labor and uncertain income; to just push writing to a few hours in the evenings or weekends. Or, to sell out to one of these writing job boards that pay next to nothing, but enough to make things financially comfortable.

But I won't do it. Every day I tell myself not to do it. Every day small things happen that tell me I'm on the right path and that I should keep going. Sometimes I'm that small thing, encouraging myself to stick with it.

Although the full-blown net hasn't appeared, a few solid threads have begun to weave their way beneath me. Not only have I written an article for Literacy Volunteers, but in the past week, I've also edited some articles and designed their entire Spring newsletter (hence, the lack of posts) . Yesterday, I received an email from Jan telling me to make sure I credit myself as the newsletter editor. Woo-hoo! Some classmates from my writing program have been in touch, sharing information and offering help. I've even had someone offer to help me create and market my own magazine.

In some ways, these offers are so much more than I'd ever expected that I want to step back a moment and tell them 'I'm not ready!' But I'll try not to do that, either. Sometimes you just have to jump...

"I've Fired Myself So Many Times I Should've Been Collecting Unemployment for Years"

2008-03-01T12:07:00.000-08:00

Why are writers so hard on themselves?

Today while I was sifting through old computer files, I stumbled upon an article I'd written about a year ago. To date, the only eyes that have seen this article are mine and my former instructor's--and he only saw it because I didn't have a choice; it was one of my assignments.

Reading it today, with a year's distance between me and that article, I couldn't figure out why I'd once thought it was so embarrassingly bad. In fact, now I might even say it's pretty darn good. While I'd been planning to write a whole new article from scratch for Byline, I've decided to use this old article, which (after a year) kept MY attention and amused me, and doesn't need much work.

It's easy to fall into the it's-Not-Good-Enough trap, but the truth is that the bosses and instructors I've had in the past (other than myself!) have been pleased with my work. Hopefully I can be as good of a boss as they were.

Finding the Right Fit

2008-02-28T05:42:00.001-08:00

And I'm not talking about jeans (although I'd love to find a pair that doesn't leave a gap of space at my waist or hug my thighs like a chinese finger trap). I mean the right writing fit. The "write" fit.

What I'm discovering - and I don't know why it took me this long for it to sink in - is that people aren't just looking for a good writer. They're looking for a good writer who's also an expert in the field. This seems to be the trend. When I look at Hartford Magazine, Connecticut Magazine, Oprah, even freelance articles in the newspaper...the author bios will note a book the writer's written on the topic, or other related professional credentials. In fact, this month's editor's note in Ct Mag included:

"Everyone who lives in Connecticut is an expert. Not in all things, of course, but perhaps in several or even just one. You may not be well versed in French cuisine, but no one knows Chinese better than you do. You may not know a thing about the eastern half of the state, but you know the towns of Litchfield County like the back of your hand...one of the pleasures of working at a magazine like this one is coming into contact with various sorts of experts, and getting some of them to become part of our writing family."

Right out of the editor's mouth. It seems that nowadays (and maybe before), editors are interested in expertise first, writing skills second. The way I used to write was this: 1. find a topic the publication wanted that was of general interest to me. 2. pitch an article. Not that there's anything wrong with that, but now I see that I'm more likely to catch an editor's eye if I pitch topics related to my expertise and experience. It seems that "write what you know" is as much about credentials & credibility as it is about comfort level. This became even more clear to me after my meeting with Literacy Volunteers about their newsletter.

On Tuesday I went to discuss the newsletter for the first time. I met up with Jan, the epitome of a non-profit employee from the tips of her short blond hair down to her practical flat shoes: she was kind, unassuming, and maybe even more passionate than I am about helping immigrants learn to speak English and integrate.

When she told me a story about Luis, a man from Mexico who found a wallet on the street but didn't know enough English to find its owner and didn't have the confidence to bring it to the police dept, post office, etc., I felt for him. I empathized in a way I wouldn't have if I hadn't experienced it myself in Austria. I shared Jan's desire to reward him for finding a way to return the wallet, and for putting himself out there, when it would have been much easier for him just to leave the wallet alone. The idea for the article I'm going to write for their newsletter about Luis and those issues came from my personal interest, and not vice versa. In other words, if I had said, 'Oh! Literacy Volunteers. They have a newsletter. Maybe they'd like an article about immigrants because it's a hot topic and related to their business,' and then pitched a story without the personal experiences I'd had, I probably wouldn't have heard back.

The same goes for this blog. I can think of about two other topics I'm involved in and have enough passion for that I'd want to write about them every day - that I'd get so excited about I would write posts in my head during my free moments on the way to Town Cleaners and Shaw's and the train station, and then miss the driveway into the parking lot three times because I was so distracted (don't ask me how I know). It makes sense to start with those topics.

Of course, I realize that professional writers can't always write about what they'd like. But I do believe it'll be easier to break into publications as a freelancer by writing about topics that I know and love, and that I've got experience and credentials in. That just makes sense.

I Have a Confession

2008-02-26T10:24:00.001-08:00

So, I never emailed that pitch. I started off strong, confident. Nothing was going to stop me from getting that email out. That same afternoon I found the regional magazine I wanted to target, read through the latest issue for style and content, and decided what article might tempt them to bite. I wrote the pitch email, complete with slant and sources...and then reached the section where I'd normally include clips. That's when I realized the hard, cold truth.

The last objective, newspaper-styled piece I published was over 10 years ago (yikes!). I sat there and stared at what I had written: "Find samples of my work at" The cursor blinked back at me. I wondered, should I attach personal essay clips, which reflected neither the style nor the subject of my proposed article? Should I attach a clip from 10 years ago, which not only includes the date published, but also reads like a young, amateur writer wrote it? This publication is large and discerning enough not to take a pitch without clips, so sending one without samples isn't an option. I'm still not sure if this is the right decision, but I've decided to wait and publish two articles with similar style or content before pitching this magazine. Not because I was afraid of calling an editor (which I am) or because I was procrastinating (which I do), but because I think it's worth waiting for one more component in order to make this a 'you're-nuts-if-you-turn-this-down' pitch.

Desperately Trying Not to Have a Problem With...

2008-02-25T18:54:00.000-08:00

Writing a book for $86.

After reading about how one freelance writer made over $1000 per month doing freelance work listed on a job website, I thought I'd check out the site. I registered for free, and sure enough, found many projects that I'm qualified to work on. The catch? It's not unusual for the job posters to ask for 50, 100, 350 articles, and to need them completed within a few days. Still, that's possible, and I'm not opposed to working hard...but for $100? Or $80, which was what I saw one writer offer to do the work for. Don't get me wrong--I'd write for free, just for the exposure and clips. But these job posters don't offer bylines and most say that writers get no credit or rights for their work.

Here are some other gems I found on the site:

*I need 40 unique articles 400-500 words, in 4 different niches 10 articles per niche,keywords supplied, with a 2-4% density, easy project for someone that knows what they are doing. Required within three days after successful bid. (Pay: "not sure")

*We are looking to write an Ebook about our local real estate market. It will serve as a must read before people find and agent or even start looking at homes on the internet. Looking for 70-90 pages or so including some graphs, charts, and pictures. We can provide an outline of the content needed. Looking to have this project done within a week if possible. (Pay: less than $500 - writers bid)

Forgive me for ranting for a moment. What I really love is the "easy project for someone that knows what they are doing" clause, which appears in many of these outrageous requests. As if it's okay to pay a writer practically nothing for an unreasonable workload, because they "know what they're doing." Don't you usually pay someone who knows what they're doing MORE than you would an amateur? I know one writer working off the site and know for a fact that she's a professional. I just can't figure out why she's selling her soul for $50, $80 per project.

I know that I should be glad for the writing work and money, but I just haven't been able to bring myself to do work like this. Ironically, in the writer's newsletter I received today, someone asked how much a writer typically gets for an e-book. (Remember, the website poster offered less than $500 for a 70-90 page e-book) A novelist/editor gave her a general idea. It's:

Number of Pages / Price Estimate
1-5 Pages / $900-$2900
5-15 Pages / $1900-$5525
25 Page Booklet / $4000-$9700
250 Page Book / $25000-$65000

For now I think I'll stick with submitting submissions to fair, professional publications and businesses, thank you very much.

Freelance Gig: International Theft for $200 Weekly

2008-02-25T18:52:00.000-08:00

Two days ago I applied for a long-term freelance job that, according to the listing, involved correcting grammar/spelling mistakes in English correspondence written by the french magazine Sante. Well, that made sense, given the errors in the listing.

Still, the errors had me wondering if this was a legitimate offer. Wouldn't someone professional take the time to have a translator write the listing so that it's clear and understandable? So I went to the website, and the magazine has to be real; it was professional with links, graphics, etc. Plus, the ad was listed in one of the well-known, established writing newsletters I receive weekly. Would someone be so bold as to list their scam in a professional writing newsletter? And wouldn't the newsletter smell such a scam a mile away?

I decided to take a chance and email them my resume, and was excited to see an email from Sante one day later (yesterday). They had a few additional questions about my editing experience, which I answered. I then got a third email that read like this:

We have finish the processing your application and we have approve your application to be our Proof Reader and Cashier.You can contact our english service department on this number: +44-7024087996 anytime.

You are required to summit your full address and you have to always check your mail at least twice a day(morning and night).You will verify all our our english customer service every first week of the month while you will be having a discount payment of $200.00 on weekly. This discount payment will help you in paying some bills like tax on magazine payment and salary with other bills like internet service payment and etc. You dont need to summit any love story.Some few client within your region will also make their payment through you because it will be easy for us to make all your payment this way. We will always instruct about this.Your salary will be starting from $10,000.00 monthly and your first salary will be avaliable by March 13, 2008. Here is the different between your salary and your discount payment. Your salary is a monthly payment while your discount payment is just a payment for the love story written and summited by you weekly. We will also make preparation for all tax,internet service payment and other necessar bills etc.Finally, You will have to summit your full address with the account details for your discount payment weekly and salary monthly.Here are the approved banks list: KiwiBank and St. George bank, Etrade Account From ANZ, Royal Bank and Halifax Bank. Summit your full address and the account details from the approved banks. If you dont have an account with the banks listed above. You can set up a new account with them and get back with the account details while we will also send your laptop within 2week to your address too. Here are the detail require from the account below:

ACCOUNT DETAILS:****
Bank Name: ****
Account Owner Name:****
Complete Account Numbers:****
BSB/Routing/Sort Code/Transit Number:****
Your Direct Mobile Number:****
Your Land Phone Number:****
Bank Branch/City:

We hope you can comprehend. Kindly get back to us with the account details and ensure that your phone is always avaliable for me to reach you anytime and do not put it on voicemail too, then make sure you are checking your email messages at least twice everyday.

My bank account details?! And since when did proofreaders act as "cashiers" or have to submit a "love story," whatever that is? Apparently this person wants me to believe I'll be making 10K per month on top of the $200 for checking my email twice a day...well, there is also the little job of laundering money internationally.

On the Lighter Side: The Directionally Challenged Should Not Wear New Shoes to NYC

2008-02-25T18:51:00.001-08:00

For once I thought I had the direction thing in the bag. This was the City. It's basically a grid with kind, proper street numbers that proceed chronologically. And yet. And yet, I still managed to spend 45 minutes last night clicking my way towards several blisters as I tried to find Ed2010's "How to Pitch" workshop.

The good news is that my sorry lack of confidence was finally working for me. I'd decided not to trust my NY navigational abilities and had arrived in Manhattan over an hour earlier than I needed to. Sooo when I finally pushed through the workshop building's glass doors, I was still 10 minutes early. (Note to the directionally challenged: east 43rd street does not end at Grand Central; it picks up on the other side.)

Now I love Manhattan in general, and this is going to sound odd, but one thing I especially relish is signing in at the front security desks. I remember walking around the city when I was younger, looking through the glass doors at those front desks, and wondering what famous writers or actors or Important People got to walk past them. Getting to push through the doors and sign in just makes me feel so, oh I don't know. New York.

It wasn't until I'd gotten up to the workshop room that I realized: Oh, yes. My earlier fears were justified.

About 20 bright, young 21-year old faces stared back at me. Now I'd prepared for this uncomfortable possibly by taking the time to apply some makeup and carefully plucking a few unruly grays from my hair earlier that day, but still - I couldn't help but remember that last week at the package store - for the first time ever, I wasn't carded. And I couldn't help but wonder if those girls all thought I was too old to be there. Was I too old to try to break into these markets? I know the answer is no, but I couldn't help the thoughts. Everyone looked so young and un-fine-lined.

With my daily outings running me into either 70-somethings or 20-somethings, I can't help but wonder where all of the writers my age are. Are they all working and already in the midst of achieving their career goals?

As the workshop continued, I listened to the girls' questions and heard how uncertain they were about so many things that I've already read or learned in one class or another. Compared to these girls, I've got confidence enough to pitch to every editor out there. And maybe even make a few cold calls. Maybe that's worth the price of a few gray hairs (and the few more I'll get while making the calls). I'd like to think so.

I Wish I Had Big Kahunas (aka, How to Pitch Workshop)

2008-02-25T18:50:00.000-08:00

If the writer I talked to at the Ed workshop last night is right, one of the main things you need to become a successful (I'm talking full-time, steady work, don't-need-a-"real"-job) feature writer: courage. No, more than courage. Guts. Nerve. Kahunas, balls...you name it, I need it. And quick.

Because in four days I - yes me, who breaks out in a cold sweat when I hit that 'send' button on a mere pitch email - will be cold calling an editor about the pitch I'm going to write and email today. Aaach!

Sounds like self-torture, right? Believe me, if I thought I could get Eric's results without subjecting myself to annoyed editors and a swamp of sweat, I would. But according to Eric, who led the workshop and has broken into Glamour, Men's Fitness, ESPN.com (the list goes on), this is the most effective way to sell an article. I believe it. Not just because Eric's made a living off his freelance work, but because it's HARD. And it seems everything having to do with getting published is hard. But enough whining.

This writer, god love him, actually gave us specific details on how to make effective pitches. I'm talking word-for-word what to say to editors on the phone, how many days to wait until I follow up with a call, what to put in the subject line of my pitch emails.

So, do I know what I'm going to pitch today? Not yet. Do I know who I'm going to email it to? Nope. But now I know how to do it, and that's half the work already done. The other hard part is the actual call.

One thing Eric said that really hit home was about what he called the Two RE's, Rejection and Regret. I scribbled it down so I wouldn't forget: "Rejection lasts for a moment, but regret lasts for the rest of your life." If that isn't enough to get my reluctant you-know-what on the phone, I don't know what is.

The Jackpot for Aspiring Magazine Writers

2008-02-25T18:48:00.000-08:00

Here it is: a step-by-step guide to working and/or writing for magazines. The website is run by editors currently working at magazines. It's called ed2010.com, and was started about 10 years ago by aspiring magazine editors who said they'd have their dream mag. jobs by 2010. Well, many of them suceeded and they're still running the site to network and help other people who want to get into the business. The bad news: it seems you have to have a few internships under your belt before you'll be considered for entry-level editorial positions, and that the entry-level jobs are filled by kids who've just graduated from college. [insert explative here]

God, I wish I'd found this site when I'd first graduated from college. I had no clue about how to get into the magazine business and thought the only way I could get in was to either a)know someone at a magazine or b)be pushy and aggressive enough to make them hire me. Needless to say, I never got into the industry, even though I Love-with-a-capital-L to read and write articles for women. This website explains how to get into the business without being obnoxiously pushy or having connections initially. It sounds too good to be true, but I really believe it's legit.
I applied for an editorial intern position listed on the site and the editor (who is involved in Ed) actually sent me an email back saying she was sorry that the internship was taken! Now, any sane person would tell you that's bad news, and maybe I should have been disappointed. But no editor I've ever submitted to has taken the time to personally write me back. If I get any response at all (and usually I don't), it's a standard rejection. Seeing the editor's name there in my inbox gives me hope. Sure, it's a rejection. But it's a personal rejection. I must be doing something right.

After that response, I decided to sign up for Ed's $35 workshop, to be held this Wednesday in NYC, about how to pitch myself and my articles to magazines. I know I shouldn't be nervous, but I am. What if they're all 21-yr olds there? Not that I'm ancient, but I've got a good decade on them. I'm trying to psych myself into some networking like all of these job websites suggest, but I hate forced smalltalk and always end up feeling phony. Anyways, what the wallflower inside of me is comfortable with is coming up with a list of questions to ask him, and bringing a query with me, just in case the instructor offers individual advice or asks for a writing sample.

Writing Contests: A Waste of Time?

2008-02-25T18:47:00.000-08:00

I think every writer's heard of the fake writing contests where they make everyone a "winner," publish contestants' pieces in an anthology and then try to sell copies of that anthology back to the contestants and their families as money-making scam.

Since I'd decided to enter some contests as a way to get my name out there and (hopefully) win some contests to gain credibility and build the resume, I decided to investigate the whole thing some more. It's surprising just how many companies and publications use contests as a money-making ventures. More surprising was the fact that winning even a legit contest may mean nothing to writing professionals.

It seems the big difference between a legit contest that carries weight and one that doesn't is the judges; if the judges aren't mentioned by the publication (possibly the publication's own staff judges), then the quality of the winner's work is questionable, and the win worthless as far as the writing world is concerned. If the judges' names are mentioned and they're known professionals in the field, then the contest is more likely to carry weight (the better & more discriminating the judges are, the more prestige a win carries).

Although the below aren't always clues that a contest is a fraud, likely signs are contests that:
*Have absurdly high entrance fees
*Require that winners allow their work be published by the sponsor. The sponsor can then charge the writer for publication.
*Don't mention judges' names. Who knows who's judging your work?
*Accept all types of writing that will then compete for one prize. How do you judge between a poem and a novel?
*Offer to provide feedback for a fee. Here, the contest acts as a way to lure paying customers to their company.
*Promise a nice big prize for the winner (five or ten thousand), and in the fine print say the prizes are pro-rated based on number of entrants.

Even if the contest is legit, I'll be realistic: the chances of my winning amid who knows how many other manuscripts is slim. And if I was only entering these contests to win, I probably wouldn't do it (although I did read a piece by one writer who said something like 30% of her writing income had come from contest wins). I'm also doing this to get into the habit of writing and regulary sending out manuscripts for evaluation - and for some inspiration. Some of the contest topics are pretty inspiring, and got me thinking about some essay ideas that a few publications may want to buy. And hey, I may even win the 40 bucks Byline promises for their February contest.

Employment Agency Suggestions & Writing Resume

2008-02-25T18:45:00.002-08:00

I was surprised at how willing the agency was to give me tips to expand my own job search, outside of their services. Suzanne, a friendly blond-haired woman at the agency who must have taken her caffeine intravenously that morning, told me about Indeed.com, which pulls listings from many different job search websites and lists them together (monster, careerbuilder and writejobs, to name a few). This is going to save me a lot of time, since I won't have to jump from one site to the next, like I'd been doing. I've already found a good number of editing/writing jobs listed on Indeed that I'm going to apply for.

The agency also suggested I consider PR (maybe) and marketing (not a chance). While I think of PR positions as those always having to deal directly with the press - giving interviews and speaking key phrases the organization wants pushed - she said that many are 100% writing. She also suggested I find a temp agency in NYC. By temping I could add some experience to my resume and establish connections. Great suggestions.

Writing the 'Writing Resume'

There are two difficult things about a writing resume: 1) I can't find an example of one anywhere online (I suppose they assume a writer has the skills to create one for themselves without any samples. But hey-I want an example!) and 2) there's even more pressure to make it good, as the resume itself is an example of your abilities. In my resume, I tried to highlight facts that proved I was a good writer - like the fact that several of my articles ran front-page in all newspaper editions. I made a big improvement to my resume by following some advice I found online: don't just list the duties you had in prior jobs; also list the purpose or outcome of your duties. For example, I was the editor of a newsletter. I had:

"Selected newsworthy organization events for publication"

I made it better by adding:

"Selected newsworthy organizational events that would best convey the organization's heart and mission"

I also took advice about using specifics to add substance to duties. For my business experience, I changed: "Answered client questions and formatted outgoing letters" To: "Managed accounts for agency's local VIP clientele, answered customer questions and formatted outgoing letters about claims and coverage in clear, simple language with regard for future legal implications."

As I'm applying for writing and editing jobs, I tried to emphasize anything that had to do with writing, even the business letters I sent out every day when I worked in insurance. But enough about resumes. It's time to draft a cover letter.

On the Lighter Side: An Unemployed Writer's Life

2008-02-25T18:45:00.001-08:00

The great thing about not having a job is that you have time to do goofy things like exericise to Gay Gasper's step aerobics tape in your dining room at 11 a.m. You have all day long to get to the bank and grocery store without having to deal with long lines and jam-packed roads (along with the little white-haired woman who ran her shopping cart into two cars on her way across the parking lot).

Given the, ah, not-so-young crowd I run into during my daily errands (or who quite literally run into me), I should have expected that this morning's orientation for ESL volunteers would include seven retired teachers, one attorney who I suspect is getting up the nerve to retire and, er, me. As we went around the room and told a bit about ourselves and what we did, and those eight pairs of eyes turned on me, I kind of felt like I had to explain myself. I mean, clearly, I'm not of retirement age. What the heck was I doing there, committing myself to a series of three-hour weekday morning sessions? Still uncomfortable with the 'I'm a writer' intro, I stumbled through some explanation that caused the creases above those eight pairs of eyes to deepen in confusion.

Even more uncomfortable with my lack of a paying job, I skipped right over any mention of what I do. I mean, I watch Gay Gasper at 11 a.m. I scan careerbuilder and newbiewriters.com and newspaper websites in search of open positions. I write fiction and nonfiction blips, most of which don't make it off my computer and into the mail and some of which never even make it out of my head and ONTO my computer. Not exactly good intro material, eh? But it's me. And I won't be embarrassed, dammit!

Volunteer for Writing Experience

2008-02-25T18:42:00.000-08:00

This week I volunteered for two non-profits. One trains volunteers to teach English as a Second Language and has a newsletter they'd like help with. This will both give me writing clips and teaching experience (I'm thinking of teaching to supplement writing income). The second non-profit has no writers on staff and needs help with PR (public relations work should be great for networking & building the resume). They also have a newletter they need articles for. I'm hoping my work in the organizations will help get my name out there in the community; there's also a more personal reason I chose to volunteer at these places. I don't just want to write to see my name in print. I want to write about something I care about and actually make a difference.

After struggling with the German langauge barrier in Austria, I really want to help the immigrants who are having the same problems here. I can't describe how lonely it felt to NOT be able to hold a conversation on the bus, at the grocery store...or understand what the people around me were saying (eavesdropper that I am!). I spent my time in public afraid that someone might talk to me and I wouldn't understand a word they said; I was embarrassed because I couldn't seem to get a grip on the language. I always felt like an outsider & had trouble doing the simplest things: making doctors' appointments, reading the newspaper. I want to help someone else gain language skills so they don't feel so isolated & insecure.

The second non-profit helps people who are homeless or on the verge of homelessness get back on their feet. It seems like people in these situations are so alone and lack family & friends who can help them out. I'd like to increase community support by getting word out and writing articles about them and the program. That's one of the reasons I like writing so much: you can get inside peoples' minds and (at the risk of sounding like a cheeseball) make a difference.