Published on March 21, 2012
I often write business profiles and how-to pieces for various trade and consumer publications. I get to know these businesses well and, especially with small companies, I keep in mind any writing they may need to promote or operate their businesses.
After we’ve built a level of trust, I approach the owner with a soft sell. I have good reasons for this: I’m a freelancer and I don’t want to make the business owner resent me by feeling harassed…
Published on March 21, 2012
The Charlie Rose Show – Sued by an intern who claims she should have been paid for work performed.
Shamayim Productions Ltd. – Apologizes and pays $40K for libel.
Le Canard Enchaine – Wins libel case against Bouygues SA.
CBS journalist – Sued for libel in Uganda.
Published on March 14, 2012
Max (age 10) is very creative, and is always using household items to make a variety of contraptions, as well as artwork. I give him free access to several boxes of my craft supplies and, of course, anything in the recycle bin is fair game.
Last week, he made a medieval weapon by taping two plastic bottles together, and then taping freshly sharpened pencils all over it. It resembled a spiked ball – or a flail without the handle and chain. We praised his creativity and I told him to put his new “weapon” up on the top shelf in his room because it looked pretty dangerous. He didn’t.
A few minutes later, he came to me, and sheepishly said, “I have some pencil lead stuck in my foot…”
Published on March 14, 2012
Last week, Author Solutions announced they’re for sale. Author Solutions, which is owned by Bertram Capital, has several publishing services companies, including AuthorHouse, Xlibris, iUniverse, Trafford and WordClay. They also have some lesser-known services like HollywoodPitch.com, AuthorHive.com and Palibrio.com. The announcement included some pretty revealing financial information about the company. It sure looks like Author Solutions has separated authors from a LOT of their own money! Let’s dissect the numbers, shall we?
Published on March 14, 2012
Letters will return next week.
Published on March 14, 2012
After a frustrating dry spell in terms of getting new corporate clients I changed my marketing strategy. Actually, this new strategy is the old strategy I used when I first became a full-time freelancer. Specifically, I returned to a focus on medium and large-size companies ($500 million to more than $1 billion in annual sales) located in my city (Houston). I had drifted into doing long-distance marketing by e-mail with interviews by telephone. I got some very good short-term gigs over the years. However, overall I had a low response rate to the letters of introduction I e-mailed to corporate contacts. In addition, in most cases these clients had no loyalty when their work assignments were intermittent (1 to 4 assignments per year).
Published on March 14, 2012
legal
I hope that you’re doing well. I read and printed the article about self therapy and I’m interested in writing personal experience stories. However, do I need to worry about lawsuits?
Published on March 14, 2012
My first publishing success came about thanks to a normal workday in my former marketing job. I was working for a human resources company as a marketing coordinator. My position was to research possible avenues for advertising the organization’s many conferences and workshops. That fateful day, I was in charge of advertising a new workshop being held in Toronto, Canada for new immigrants who wanted to pursue a career in human resources.
A Google search on “immigrant publications Toronto” revealed a monthly publication called “Canadian Immigrant”…
Published on March 14, 2012
Apple – “admits to two key allegations in ebook price fixing case”
Urban Outfitters and photographer – Sued for (allegedly) using “blatantly salacious” photos of a minor.
Simone Kelly-Brown – Loses trademark lawsuit filed against Oprah Winfrey.
Published on March 7, 2012
I’m not a big fan of amusement parks (especially The Magic Kingdom) but I am excited about visiting Disney’s Animal Kingdom. We’re meeting Richard’s sister and her family there later this week and Frank (age 19) is bringing his new girlfriend so we’ll get to know her better. She’ll be here all day on Wednesday with us while Frank is at school so I’m thinkin’ that’ll be a good time to pull out all the old photo albums. Heh…
