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.
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…
Richard went mountain biking with a neighbor this week. I know what you’re thinking. Where is there a mountain in Florida?
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…
Dear Angela,
Happy New Year to you and the BookLocker team. A belated thank you to BookLocker for helping to get my second book out into the marketplace. You and your staff were patient and professional and I am very pleased with the end product. My book is now for sale all across the United States and Canada and even in Australia. That’s right, Australia. A friend from down under found listings for The Walker on the Cape on Angus and Robertson and Bookworld, the two largest booksellers in Australia. So thanks very much to all my BookLocker mates!!
Mike Martin
The Walker on the Cape, a Sgt. Windflower mystery
https://www.walkeronthecape.com
It is my personal opinion that, when you set your mind to it, you can buy anything for less. Some things are pretty much the same when costs are cut. Store brand bottled water, secondhand books and 99 cent clear nail polish are just as good for me as their fancier, pricier counterparts. This line of thinking does not hold true for writing. To look at the market, though, you’d be skeptical. “Why should I pay Writer A $40 for an article when Writer B will do it for $4?” There seem to be more writers willing to work for bare bones payment than those who clearly view their writing with some esteem. The solution is simple: with writing, you get what you pay for…
The local Barnes and Noble said I could have a book signing if my status changed from P.O.D. to having copies in B&N warehouses so they could order them. What does that mean?
As a former program manager for career awareness initiatives aimed at school-age students, sometime Career Advisor at a technical college, and frequent job seeker/interviewee who has also made nice extra income as a freelance writer, it seemed like only a matter of time before my two “worlds” merged. Although I’ve written for a number of consumer magazines, once I discovered the lucrative opportunities that exist with industry-specific trade publications, I decided to try to break into those markets…
Ali and Justin recently decided to rescue (adopt) a new dog. They thought it would be a good idea to take their dog, Jax, along to the pound to see if he got along with any of the dogs they were interested in. When I heard they did that, I thought “uh oh.” While they didn’t get a new dog (yet), Jax did get a bad case of Kennel Cough…
This week’s missive will be short but I just had to share this with you. I received the following “query letter” (can we even call it that?!) last week…
