Published on February 6, 2013
Fear is everywhere for the freelance writer. The moment we put words on a blank page, we dread what others might think. Querying an editor stirs this fear: “What if she rejects me? I really need the money this month…” That fear may cause you to play it safe and write what you think others expect you to write. It may even keep you from writing your novel, or from pitching The New Yorker because you’re scared you’re not good enough. If you’re not getting the kind of work you want, and consistently, then fear is why you fail. The goal, however, isn’t to be fearless, as a person without fear is not courageous, but reckless. The goal is to leverage your fear so as to propel your spirit to write in its authentic voice…
Published on February 6, 2013
Being seven months pregnant and in a new city without a job is not a good combination. I went about learning this the hard way when I was pregnant with my second son. I had applied for numerous jobs, then one day while searching for a job online I ran across a work at home mom forum and the light bulb in my head immediately went off…
Published on January 30, 2013
The weather this week has been gorgeous!! I love being able to take my laptop outside to work while the boys play on the patio or catch sea slugs (ick!). There are no mosquitoes but there are many birds singing and flowers blooming. I talked to a friend in Maine who said it was below zero each night and I kinda felt sorry for her…
Published on January 30, 2013
Today, I noticed two email addresses for fictitious people in a novel I was formatting. They were very basic email address, too, and from gmail.com. So, I was certain they were already being used by someone. I was hoping it was the author himself who owned the email addresses.
I sent a note to the author and, sure enough, he had not registered those email addresses. They belonged to other people…people he did not know.
Published on January 30, 2013
Angela,
Your reply about the letters regarding the treatment of your query letter writer was perfect. No one is doing that person a favor by coddling him; how is he to learn even the fundamentals of writing if he’s allowed to skim on every basic? He is best positioned to gain by your direct answer, which was simply that: direct, and not unkind.
Good stuff,
Tom B.
——-
Dear Angela,
Regarding your response to the presumably teenaged person writing to you using text acronyms: I think you were perfectly correct in your response. First of all, if this person has aspirations of becoming a writer, he/she needs to learn right now how to appropriately write to editors and how to write PERIOD. Plus, this person needs to learn how to communicate appropriately in general. Whatever profession this person goes into, he/she will need to communicate with colleagues and it will look bad if this is how he/she communicates.
Second, you are also correct in your assessment of the younger generation. These young people seem to think that they are entitled to whatever they want, when they want it. Well, it doesn’t work that way, and better that they find out before going into the working world, where they are surely in for a very rude awakening. Sometimes a kick in the pants is the kinder action.
(I truly hope that this person was a teenager. If that was an adult, we are all in really big trouble.)
Regards,
Roberta Roberti
Published on January 30, 2013
book marketing, promotional pitfalls
Today, authors can buy reviews and social media followers with the hopes of fooling a publisher or agent into believing they’re a hot commodity when, really, they’re not. In the online world it’s known as black hat SEO. It’s the process of artificially inflating web visibility either for social media accounts, websites, or blogs using unethical techniques. Now granted, places like Amazon or Facebook won’t throw you in the slammer. They will, however, ban your account…
Published on January 30, 2013
First, thank you so much for your website. It’s proving invaluable as I embark on my journey to full-time freelance writer.
I have a question. How do I access the writer’s markets archives?
You gave details of a pet magazine a couple of weeks ago and I just want to have another look at it.
Published on January 30, 2013
When I started in my freelance writing career, I was excited to do reviews of beauty products, write articles about how to organize your kitchen, the cheapest diet plans and foods to brighten your skin. While I felt a sense of pride seeing my byline on the somewhat superficial pages of slick magazines, I never imagined the power my words could have. After my father was diagnosed with cancer in 2007 and survived chemotherapy, a stem cell transplant and drug cocktail that left him depleted of energy and sullen – he was unable to walk down the street without falling short of breath. He decided to cycle 200 km in the Ride to Conquer Cancer – a fundraiser for the hospital that saved his life. He joined a local group of cyclists who trained together all summer and he crossed the finish line as the leader of the pack, pumping his fist in the air as only a survivor can. I wrote an article for a national cycling magazine on his team and relished in their excited faces as they poured over my words.
I realized my words held power, not only to inform women how to properly apply makeup to make their faces appear thinner, but to impact the lives of individuals like my father who struggle to defeat cancer…
Published on January 23, 2013
Richard went mountain biking with a neighbor this week. I know what you’re thinking. Where is there a mountain in Florida?
Published on January 23, 2013
Last week, we published the worst query letter I’d ever received. I subsequently received two emails from readers who disagreed with my response to the writer, saying it may have been a teenager who wanted to write for us. They implied I should have been more gentle on the writer. Pfffttt!!!
This was my response to one of them…
