Published on June 6, 2007
I have a confession to make. A couple of weeks ago, I looked up the rate of inflation over the past few years. I discovered that inflation has risen 20% since 2000. While we hadn’t raised our prices at booklocker.com during all that time, we also hadn’t raised the rates we pay freelance writers at WritersWeekly.com. I was mortified and embarrassed. Why hasn’t anybody complained during all these years? We made an immediate decision.
At WritersWeekly.com, we are raising our rates 20% for features and 33% for success stories…
Published on June 6, 2007
Angela,
Loved your comment to the reader complaining about literary publications saying they cannot afford to pay since they don’t carry ads. These publications get my goat. Even as nonprofits, they are required to operate in the black. They are required to have a budget, and they function as a business with all the expenses and issues of the for-profit publication down the street. The for-profit would go under if it could not pay the bills. Why not the journals?
Published on June 6, 2007
Years ago, I’m not even sure how long it was, I decided to write a book. Trail Training for the Horse and Rider was born. By the time I was finished, I knew I had something worthwhile. Not only was it a great book, but there were no other major titles on the subject in the market.
Published on June 6, 2007
Dear Angela,
A new subscriber to your weekly. You had a similar request for info about paying to have work critiqued. I tried that URL and couldn’t access it, so again the question is…I’ve had one dealing with the Literary Agency Group (LAG) in New York; I paid them to critique a stage play and now they seem to be looking for more money to help get this stageplay ready. Sound kosher?
Many thanks,
Charlie Gourlis
Published on June 6, 2007
Networking
You’ve all heard the old adage before: “It’s not what you know but who you know.” I never put too much stock into that expression. First, the fact that it uses “who” and not “whom” has always bothered the grammar zealot in me. Then there’s the whole idea that no matter how much talent or knowledge you possess, if you don’t have an “in,” you’re not going anywhere. I am a big believer in the value of hard work and I doubt too many people would argue that having talent – whether it’s in writing or throwing fastballs – won’t hurt. That said, I’ve personally scored several writing assignments through the power of networking.
Published on May 30, 2007
We spent the Memorial Day weekend at the “homestead” in western Maine. Richard and Frank started building a storage shed, Frank made a garden for me and I spent a lot of time inside the RV with Mason. The black flies were out in force and Mason doesn’t yet know how to swat them out of his face. He did sustain one bite. One of the little buggers got to him in the RV. Max occupied himself by building little dams in the stream and then knocking them down. We heard wild turkeys calling to each other all weekend. Frank also found some firefly larvae. They had little glowing dots on their butts! Frank and Max were, needless to say, thrilled.
Published on May 30, 2007
This week:
- Authors Who Avoid Traditional Publishers
- Signing Back-Dated Non-Compete?!
- Do You Owe Writers Money? by “In-Debt Chet”
- From the Spring ’07 24-Hour Short Story Contest 1st Place Winner
Published on May 30, 2007
The responses to “How much (or, really, how little) money will you accept for writing” recently published in WritersWeekly made my teeth grind. From these respondents, it seems that the charge for a writing assignment depends on where one lives and whether one is a (heaven forbid!) “hack” writer.
Published on May 30, 2007
I’ve had over a dozen interviews published in the local Prime Time Cape Cod magazine. I got this job after emailing its editor a couple samples of children’s articles and reviews I’d written for another local publication. Guess what? Writing locally pays well and is fun.
Published on May 23, 2007
Mason (11 months) has a bad cold and he’s been very congested for two days. Needless to say, I’m swimming in a stupefied haze due to lack of R.E.M. sleep. I know lots of parents complain about lack of sleep but, truthfully, missing sleep hasn’t ever bothered me in my mommy career. I enjoy cuddling a baby late at night (or early in the morning) when they don’t feel good and need mommy’s lovies. And, Mason just learned how to give sloppy kisses. You can imagine the horror on the other children’s faces when Mason, with his runny baby nose, tries to give them a sloppy baby kiss. Heh…
