In the past several years, I’ve done the majority of my Christmas shopping online at Amazon.com. Since we boycotted and sued Amazon after they tried to force us to pay them to print our books, I’ve been scurrying around online, trying to figure out where I can send my Christmas business this year.
Letters will return next week.
Sometimes we study a market and look for article ideas to fit the style, voice and editorial calendar. The most prolific and successful writers find ideas everywhere, then pitch them to suitable markets. We can also start with experience and leave the writing and selling until later. I can’t always get a magazine assignment before an event has come and gone. And getting expenses paid is not that likely for a freelancer. So what do you do? Find something interesting and just do it.
Have you seen me? I’m the lady standing at the magazine rack picking up each puzzle publication and opening it to the masthead page. If I find my name there, I may laugh aloud. If the publication doesn’t list contributors, I may turn to the back and thumb through the solutions looking for my work- and I can usually find it.
Richard had to take a quick trip to Texas for a family illness. I decided to stay in Bangor and hold down the fort here. Problem is…school started this week. So, I’m working, trying to keep the household in order (with help from Alyssa, thank goodness), homeschooling Max, watching Mason, and running errands. Things are pretty hairy right now but I’m managing to keep up with everything!
This Week:
Do you believe that getting published is only about finding a good idea, pitching it to the right market and writing the article? While this will certainly help, there are other factors that come into play before a manuscript is accepted for publication. Understanding these allows you to reap rich dividends.
Writing for a variety of publications can bring you different kinds of visibility. After Hurricane Katrina destroyed 80 percent of New Orleans, my partner Brenda and I ended up adopting one of the many abandoned cats roaming the streets. This particular mackerel tabby had been following National Guard troops around for weeks, evidently eating whatever M.R.E.s they’d give him.
After bragging about our cool summer weather, we had a real humdinger of a weekend! It was around 90 degrees…on the day we attended the Folk Festival. Oh, it was beastly! However, the hot weather only hung around for two days. It’s supposed to be 49 tonight. What a swing, huh?!
After running last week’s article, Who REALLY Controls That ISBN You Bought? Probably Not You!, I received the following email from Andy Weissberg at R.R. Bowker…
