Published on October 10, 2007
Several months ago I was trolling the web for new writing markets and stumbled upon a website that was just what I’d been looking for: a career site with articles for young professional women. Alas, there were no writer’s guidelines on the site, and it looked like the site wasn’t being updated regularly. Still, I had an idea for an article that would perfectly fit the website’s readers, so I sent a blind email to the generic “info” email box pitching the article and asking if they needed writers.
Published on October 3, 2007
Mason is now 15 months old! He’s as cute as a button and keeps us chuckling all day long. He is also saying lots of new words. In fact, if you work with him, he’ll say just about anything just to get a laugh, which the big kids think makes him a great parlor trick…
Published on October 3, 2007
Good morning:
I’m not surprised so many of your correspondents, yourself included, report getting very few sales from doing radio interviews. Radio is a frequency medium–doing one five-minute interview (or even a whole hour) is like buying one commercial. It simply isn’t going to work. Radio advertising works because it gets inside listeners’ heads through repetition, so when they’re at the point of making a purchase, they remember a place where they can make that purchase…
Published on October 3, 2007
specialty markets for writing
Magazines for hunters and fishermen have been around in North America for about as long as modern magazines have been around in North America, that is to say, a long time, since the 1850s-1870s or so. Hunting for whitetail, mule deer, elk, and wild turkey and fishing for trout, steelhead, bass, striper and marlin in saltwater was how landowners of that era fed their families. In the 20th century, sportfishing became popular and saltwater fly fishermen would fish for bonefish in the flats in Florida and the Caribbean. The bounty of the land has always been relatively plentiful, and many people still live off it to some degree, and a LOT of magazines cater to these folks. Learn to write for these mags and you’ve got some good, steady paychecks coming your way.
Published on October 3, 2007
If you sell an essay to a magazine that purchased all rights (and you were paid) and that magazine folds before your piece is printed, what are your rights in terms of placing it elsewhere?
Published on October 3, 2007
Many people envision idle teenage chatter when they hear the words “MySpace.com.” MySpace is indeed a gathering place for high school kids; however, it is not widely known that with 200 million members, MySpace is the world’s sixth most popular English-language website. It attracts a large adult following, and can be an effective networking tool for many writers, publishers and editors.
Published on September 26, 2007
I’m writing this at 11:00 p.m. on Tuesday night. I just got started on wrapping up this week’s issue. Since I’m running so far behind this week, I didn’t think you’d mind if I let the Maxism entertain you this week…
Published on September 26, 2007
In last week’s missive, I discussed disappointing book sales resulting from authors appearing as guests on radio shows. I inquired if readers have had similar or different experiences and asked you to to share your experiences. All but one of you reported poor book sales. The one positive email I received wasn’t actually sent by the author himself, but by the radio host who interviewed him. However, some of you did report other good things that resulted from your radio interviews. Here’s what you said…
Published on September 26, 2007
Dear Angela,
While browsing through the latest issue of WritersWeekly, I saw the byline “Ben Paid” for the article about a freelancer attempting to get paid. The name made me laugh, and I assumed the writer was successful. I scrolled through the article and saw that the name was indeed the invention of a very creative mind! Kudos for that!
I plan to read the article later later since I need to get back to another project. However, I wanted to thank the writer for making me laugh. I look forward to learning how Ben collected payment. I belong to the National Writers Union, and they’ve got a great grievance division to help membrs collect payment. I started the grievance process in July to collect payment owed in April. I received the payment last month! If I didn’t belong to the union, I’d contact you. I know from reading Writers Weekly, that Angela lettersoften produce results.
Thanks for all that you do!
Sincerely,
Liz Swain, San Diego
Published on September 26, 2007
Novice writers often assume that if any agent agrees to review or represent their work, they have automatically entered the harrowing yet rewarding world of publication. In fact, however, there are many unscrupulous agents who seek to take advantage of unwary writers or who simply aren’t familiar enough with the publishing world to do justice to a writer’s work. Every writer should be familiar with these warning signs to avoid agents that may put their work six feet under instead of in a publisher’s hands.
