Published on May 23, 2007
An article in “Writer’s Digest” magazine about looking for opportunity in my own backyard put me on track. Following the advice brought me the first of many sales to an alternative newspaper. Full of excitement and eager to write, it was a short step to other newspapers, local and regional magazines, and national syndication. Each step led to a modest career writing newsletters, press releases, speeches, book reviews, web sites, editing and ghostwriting, each sale piling up clips and credits. Editing, blogging and writing book reviews was safe and comfortable and paid fairly well.
Published on May 16, 2007
If you’re looking for a unique gift for grandparents, check out “Flippies.” Flippies are custom flip books. This is one of those “wish I’d thought of that!” products. Very cool.
Mason (almost 11 months old now!) is a very good napper…provided there’s a steady stream of noise in the background, such as television, soft voices, etc. The problem is, we have other children whose voices are anything but soft. Richard recently downloaded “white noise” to his computer and we played that during Mason’s nap yesterday. He slept for three hours!
Published on May 16, 2007
I keep hearing the same question: “If I self-publish, can I still land a traditional publishing contract?” Yes, you absolutely can!
On Monday, I received a note from a fiction author who said an agent told him he can’t land a traditional contract if he self-publishes. We told him that was hogwash.
Published on May 16, 2007
Thanks, Angela. Your check arrived today! You’re one of the best for paying
promptly!
Dawn
Published on May 16, 2007
In today’s uncertain employment environment, magazine articles on job hunting and careers are more popular than ever. Slanted appropriately, these are published in trade magazines such as Women in Business, Minority MBA and Nursing Spectrum, all aimed at working professionals. Other magazines, such as Equal Opportunity and Black Collegian, target graduating college students. Broader interest magazines such as Self and Woman’s World occasionally publish articles covering career concerns.
Published on May 16, 2007
Hello.
I’ve read a lot of articles that say agents should not charge fees but I wonder if this one is different. The agency promises to “provide a free evaluation of your entire work.” Then, below the signature is the line. “We charge a $250.00 submission fee if you are offered a contract.” Is that normal? I think that if it goes to contract then the contract should not cost anything. Otherwise it still seems like a reading fee. I’m confused.
Published on May 16, 2007
I didn’t realize I was depriving myself of fun and profit. Although I considered myself a fairly versatile writer, I avoided electronic publishing…until recently
After 14 years as freelancer under my belt, I finally took the plunge with eBooks. You can read about my success in that area here: https://www.writersweekly.com/success_stories/003705_10252006.html. Pleased with the results, I considered extending my career to blogging…but I wasn’t sure what I could offer that would be different or useful.
Published on May 9, 2007
I’m writing this on Monday night. Richard’s vasculitis is coming and going and it got worse over the weekend and included something new – red lines under his skin (no, not the blood poisoning type). And, his other ankle swelled up. As of this morning, we’ve been waiting a week for a referral to a rheumatologist. I called the doctor’s office right when they opened this morning and expressed my frustration (you know how I can be!). They immediately called Richard back and told him they can’t find a rheumatologist who can see him before July!
Published on May 9, 2007
Do *Not* Edit A Chapter As a “Test!”
Dear Angela,
Last year, I contacted a writer about a job listing editing a book. I included a copy of my writing resume, testimonials, contacts, rate sheet, and a list of links to articles and sites I had written and/or edited. The writer replied promptly with a request that, as a test, she was having all applicants edit a chapter. I had just read something in WritersWeekly about that very subject a week or two before and responded to the writer that I was a professional and the information I sent should be sufficient to determine whether or not she wished to work with me. I didn’t hear anything for a few days, but evidently she heard quite a lot. Her next email mentioned that, because so many of the people who responded balked at editing a chapter as a test, she was going to make her decision based on a test paragraph. Looks like I wasn’t the only person reading WritersWeekly at the time who caught onto this scheme. Thanks for alerting us to the scams.
As always…
J M
Published on May 9, 2007
One of my most reliable sources of articles is industry events. In addition to getting the journalistic type of story that is relevant for news readers, I’ve found industry events to be a good source of features and “how to” articles.
