Published on June 20, 2007
Angela I was reading your column on freelance writing rates. When I saw Writer’s Digest, it reminded me of a subscription offer I received from them not too long ago. I had quit subscribing about 2 years ago when their subscriptions had raised from around $21 to $23 per year. This subscription offer was for $19. While lower than the previous rates a couple of years ago, I then noticed the word “bi-monthly.” Didn’t they used to be monthly? This got me curious. So besides checking the current guidelines, I looked at their 2002 guidelines. I was correct. In 2002 they were monthly. Now they are bi-monthly. While I’m certain part of their reason–probabIy a majority–was increasing their income, it seems to me that by being bi-monthly and only dropping the subscription cost by around $3, they wound up still not giving a little of that “income raise” to their freelance writers.
Published on June 20, 2007
Question. Can you guess what type of publication I’m describing?
*Sample copies are often free.
*The pay tends to be on the medium-high side, $500-1000 per article and more.
*These magazines are bulwarks; they survive in any economy.
*Many, if not most of them, pay on acceptance.
Give up?
Published on June 20, 2007
At 17, I wanted to write, but knew intuitively that a writer needs life experience.
When friends pursued journalism or English degrees, I studied forestry — something I know nothing about, though I’d always wanted to.
Getting good grades was easy – it was the forestry jobs that proved elusive. So, since I’d earned tuition money working as a nurse’s aide and was interested in health, I next went to nursing school.
Published on June 13, 2007
About two months ago, when there was still snow on the ground, I lovingly set out my pots and my dirt and my seeds. Max helped me gently lay each tiny seed in each pot, and gently cover it with soil. We bought a special spray bottle so we could mist them gently, each day, giving them their nurishment. Once the seedlings emerged from the soil, reaching for the grow light Matt and Frank installed for me in the mudroom, Max and I fed them organic fertilizer. And, they grew. Oh how they grew! Each day, they were taller and more proud. Some reached for the grow light while others reached for the winter sunlight streaming through the window.
Published on June 13, 2007
self-publishing
So, your book is finally being published! Congratulations! If you’re like the rest of us, you envision yourself walking into your local bookstore and seeing your book on the shelves. You start to plan book signings and appearances. And you dream about how big your first royalty check will be! But, if your traditional publisher is a small one…or even a new, unestablished POD publisher, how long will it last, and how much money and time could you lose?
Published on June 13, 2007
- We’re Raising Our Freelance Rates!
- Dog Germs and Lessons Learned
- Trying to Set an Example!
- From the 1st Place Winner of the Spring 24-Hour Short Story Contest
Published on June 13, 2007
“I think most artists create out of despair. The very nature of creation is not a performing glory on the outside, it’s a painful, difficult search within.” -Louise Nevelson
It’s been said to us many times. After hearing that you write for publication, there’s that coworker, relative or friend who will say with such ease, “Oh, yes, I would like to write, too. Everyone tells me I’m great at it. But I’m just busy with so many things now.”
Published on June 13, 2007
Hi Angie,
I was looking at the ad from Blue Mountain Arts, Inc. in your latest issue .I have always considered greeting cards as a potential place to sell, but need some clarification. This statement, “Buys exclusive rights for all greeting cards. If a work is used only in an anthology, the writer keeps the copyright.” is the one that confuses me. If they buy my idea, does that mean that I can’t sell it anywhere else or just to another card company?
Thanks,
Sandy
Published on June 13, 2007
self-publishing
Print on demand (POD) books rarely appear in bookstores, so sales usually must come through websites. But how do you get people to notice your book among the other millions of books listed on Amazon.com?
Published on June 6, 2007
I was working in the living room one day last week when I heard a “pop” and a howl from Mason. I instinctively KNEW what had happened! I flew into Ali’s room and found Mason on the floor, a puddle of drool on the floor in front of him, and Ali’s plugged-in cell phone charger cord lying about six feet away from him. Ali was supposed to be babysitting, but she left him alone in her room. And, I’ve told her a thousand times to never, ever, EVER leave the end of a live cord on the floor…
