Published on July 23, 2008
I belong to a very active writer’s association that oversees and sponsors a number of writing groups and workshops in the area. My involvement in the local group has been limited in recent months, only attending meetings when a guest speaker visits to discuss a topic of specific interest to me. This may sound a bit selfish, but I prefer to avoid a handful of pompous, published blowhards whenever possible. Recently I discovered a little secret about a pair of these folks that could send both of them rushing off to therapy, but no names or associations will be mentioned.
Published on July 23, 2008
author scams
I received a call from (a certain POD company) today asking me to participate in a promotional email plan for my book. The web address they sent me to look up specifics of the plan is (link removed).
What do you think?
Published on July 23, 2008
Recently I attended a networking event for women entrepreneurs. Now, I’m not an entrepreneur in the traditional sense. I’m not looking for venture capital and I don’t need a manufacturer who can produce purses or kitchen gadgets inexpensively. But something told me that it would be a worthwhile event.
Published on July 16, 2008
While my hypochondria is usually a stressful annoyance (that’s probably an understatement), sometimes it’s good to be extra cautious but sometimes it can get a bit ridiculous. They should ban people like me from medical websites…
Published on July 16, 2008
Last week, I received an email from an author who was perturbed that we didn’t offer something similar to what he received via email (spam!) from another POD publisher. What was it? A $199 manuscript evaluation. If you paid and then decided to use that POD publisher later, you could deduct $199 from your setup fees. They could (probably do!) then upsell you on their expensive editing services that their manuscript evaluation very likely will say you need. Now, come on. Do you really think they’re going to tell you your manuscript is perfect? No way…
Published on July 16, 2008
Letters will return next week.
Published on July 16, 2008
Animal magazines target pet owners and animal businesses and cover a wide spectrum of animals and topics. These range from common pets such as dogs (Bark, Dog Fancy, etc.) and cats (Cat Fancy, I Love Cats, etc.), to fish (Aquarium Fish International, Tropical Fish Hobbyist), to less usual pets (Reptiles, Miniature Donkey Journal) to quite large animals (The Horse, Equus, etc.). Some magazines note in their guidelines they are not pet magazines but are intended for people breeding and selling animals.
Published on July 16, 2008
I am a writer that receives your WritersWeekly newsletter. Thank you for being so on top of these fake jobs, and menial rewards for writers. I enjoy reading your comments.
I was wondering if you have ever heard of a company called “Go Freelance”, which posts jobs for freelancers, as well as other jobs. It’s $2.95 a month subscription charge with the supposed option of dropping the subscription at any time. If you have, I would appreciate your response.
Published on July 16, 2008
I’ve never really thought of myself as controversial. As a parenting/health writer, I typically cover fairly straightforward and benign topics like how to sneak veggies into meatloaf or ways to squeeze fitness into everyday life. I have a blog as well, but its audience mostly consists of people (moms!) who happen to agree or at least relate to most of the things I write about (like mothering, homeschooling, and faith). Really, the most explosive topic I tend take on is my baby’s blowout diapers.
But recently, something unexpected happened to my idyllic writing life.
Published on July 9, 2008
After being diagnosed with diverticulosis and diverticulitis, I was feeling pretty good last week – once the antibiotics were gone and I was off the steroids. On Saturday, we went out for Chinese food. I ate very mild stuff – seafood, white rice, a few bites of eggdrop soup, and half an eggroll (that was probably my mistake). That night, I got very ill. Sunday morning, I was better. Sunday afternoon, I was just fine. I was feeling so good that I went shopping and then cooked a large meal for the family (since Richard’s been doing all the work around here lately). On Monday morning, I had a full-blown attack – severe abdominal cramps, blood, everything I’d experienced when I was really, really sick. It was awful.
