Great Opportunity? No! By Ellen Scolnic

An experienced writer knows how to ask the right questions. Not just “Is your new movie a comedy, Mr. Hanks?” But questions like: “Do you pay on acceptance or when the article is published?” or “How long to you estimate interviewing the participants will take?” and “Is this contract for one-time only publication rights?”

Should I Buy a List of Email Addresses

Dear Ms. Hoy,
Once I get an e-mag together, I still need to get a list, a starting point to get it out there. There’s so much to choose from and not knowing what is good or not makes it very difficult. Do you have any suggestions?
Thanks.

I assume you’re talking about buying a list of email addresses? Please don’t do that. Most of those lists are lists of people who never authorized their emails to be sold. And, even if they had, emailing them about your book is still spam because they didn’t request specific emails about your specific book.
You’ll need to start from scratch in building your own list. Sending out spam will destroy your reputation (and may result in you losing your website and ISP account). I offer a free ebook (https://www.writersweekly.com/index-starterkit.htm) for new WritersWeekly subscribers, which is always a good way to bring in new readers.

It Never Hurts to Ask By Joe Dungan

As a relatively new freelance writer, all I can do is keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities-and write, of course. Inspiration may have its own timetable, but information can be waiting to fall into your lap if you shake the right tree branch.

Leaving My Computer Off All Day

I didn’t get to take any Sundays off during our 6400-mile adventure, so I treated myself last Sunday by leaving my computer off all day. Ali and I drove to the cloth store (Ali’s making a dress for herself) and rented some movies and we (Ali, Richard, Max and I) spent the day eating popcorn and staring at the television screen. It was heavenly! Frank decided to try to land some largemouth bass, so he spent the day fishing with his friend on the Penobscot River (in our backyard). And Zach spent the day with his friends. (One of his best friends is leaving for college on Friday.)
When it cooled off outside, we weeded the garden, which had been inundated with weeds because of the heavy July rains. Ali is currently winning the pumpkin-growing contest. She has two tiny pumpkins on her vines while I have none on mine. We have two new baby maple trees growing in the garden so I’m going to tie them to stakes so nobody will pull them out (and so Max won’t run over them with his toy tractor). Frank planted some flowers in June and they’re beautiful now!
At dusk, the mosquitoes descended on our fun and we had to race inside. I sure wish it was already the weekend again…
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts?
Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies $11,300; and many more!
See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html

Is Your Publisher Upselling You? By Angela Hoy

When being tempted by a publisher who is trying to upsell you on marketing products and services, you should balance the cost of the service with the income you expect it to generate. And don’t fool yourself. Very few of these expensive products and services are going to generate enough sales to warrant the initial expense.

Sites Who Stole My Work Paid Up

I am writing to thank you for the article you have posted on Writer’s Weekly titled How to Deal with Online Media Pirates by Alicia Karen Elkins. A couple of weeks ago I googled myself to see what might show up. Was I surprised when two articles were listed that I had no idea were posted. One I had submitted almost a year before and the other one I had never submitted. While both sites gave me credit for having written the articles, neither had contacted me for permission or payment.
I read WritersWeekly.com every week and remembered reading this article. I promptly printed it up and started following the steps Alicia suggests for getting paid. It worked!! I received checks from both sites. I never had to get ugly or threatening, I just firmly demanded payment and it came through (after about three weeks). Thank you for keeping valuable articles like this on your site. It really helped this freelancer and probably many more.
Best regards,
Martha Miller

Protect Your Profession By Reporting Bad Publishers By Justin Ulmer

Like many other writers trying to make it in the world, most of us have had an unfortunate experience in the publishing industry. With the incredible number of publishers out there who are ready and willing to make your dreams come true (or take advantage of you), what can you do to help prevent your next contract from becoming a nightmare?

Freelance Success Story By Lois Jean Riley

“You should consider being a writer.” Famous words, I thought, trying for another slam dunk with the 24th crumbled re-write. Who ever said writing was easy? I shouldn’t have listened. The teaching position certainly looked appealing right now. Teaching twenty-six students was a piece of cake compared to battling with pen and paper.