Narrow Your Focus Before Pitching Your Book By Christina Katz

If there is one key piece of advice my editor, Jane Friedman from Writer’s Digest Books, has for writers with a non-fiction book idea, it’s the importance of narrowing a book’s focus before submitting a query. Seven years ago, I didn’t know that I needed to start the nonfiction book pitching process with a simple, narrowly focused query. I made things much more difficult for myself by trying to write the whole book first and then trying to sell it, lack of focus and all.

Escape!

Lucky Ali (age 16) is in Florida for a 10-day Spring Break trip. She went with a friend and the friend’s family. They have visited Epcot, Disney World, Universal Studios, Sea World, and a few other places. Ali will probably sleep for a week when she returns. She’s having a fabulous time and, while she says she misses her mommy, I know she’s lying.

Technology Steals Three Days From Me By Angela Hoy

I’ve chosen to whine long and loud this week about what happened to me last week. My laptop has had an electrical short for the past few weeks. The plug in the back would jiggle loose and I’d lose power. It also sucked the life out of two batteries. Sure, I had every intention of taking it in. But, as long as I could keep jiggling it back into working mode, I figured I could just put it off. Well, on Friday, it died for good. Luckily, I had backed up all my information the night before…

Letters To The Editor For April 18th

This week:

  • WritersWeekly Saves Reader $3K
  • World’s Worst Book Proposals
  • Selling Stock Photos
  • Kudos!
  • Angela’s Paranoia – Children Who Are Choking

My Paranoia – Children Who Are Choking

Gene Papin (https://www.papincraft.biz), a writer and woodworker, sent me an email last week in response to my missive on choking parts in squeaky toys. He said, “One of the things I do is make toys, along with scroll work. With regard to small children, if the toy fits inside the pasteboard roll (inside lining) of a paper towel roll, it will go down a small child’s throat and choke him.”

Book Fairs – Worth The Effort? By Angela Hoy

I occasionally receive orders for books that authors plan to sell at book fairs. Unfortunately, in almost every case, the authors are sorely disappointed in the resulting sales.

Increase Your Freelance Income Through Stock Photography By Joan Airey

Increase Your Freelance Income Through Stock Photography By Joan Airey

If you love photography, there are numerous ways to expand your freelance income, by doing stock photography, fine art, contests, and assignments from ad agencies. The first photograph I entered in a calendar contest was of red mountain ash berries covered with snow. I took the photo in my front yard . It was picked for the calendar and it is the most I have ever been paid for a photograph.