Letters To The Editor For August 9th
This Week:
- Chapstick (R) Butt Balm
- Creative Client Cons
Query Upside-Down For the Trades By John K. Borchardt
Turning the organization of your query letters upside-down can be an effective technique to win trade magazine assignments. This means first presenting yourself as the type of writer the editor needs: accomplished and professional, rather than first pitching your article idea.
George English Answers The Question: What Is A Watermark?
I just read George English’s Creative Client Cons. Great article!
I just have one question. George suggests that “Another way freelancers can protect themselves is by never sending out work that has not been paid for. Instead, send watermarked proofs.”
I have coffeemarked notes and lipstickmarked cups, chocolatemarked cookbooks and perfumemarked lovenotes, but what are watermarked proofs?
Self-Publishing Leads to Another Traditional Contract By Henry Mark Holzer
Somehow, McFarland has just awakened to the existence of the book (maybe from the endorsement by Rush Limbaugh) that I recently self-published through BookLocker. It is The Keeper of the Flame: The Supreme Court Opinions of Justice Clarence Thomas. They offered me a contract for the book. I’m delighted, of course, for all the usual reasons, and especially because now the book will get into many, many libraries throughout the United States…
Chapstick (R) Butt Balm
While the in-laws were here, we drove out to our new land. When we got there, which is located an inconvenient distance from any store, I was horrified to realize we’d left the diaper rash cream at home. Mason has very sensitive skin and his bottom was flaming red that day. In a panic, I reached for a tube of Chapstick that was in the diaper bag…
Letters To The Editor For August 2nd
This Week:
- Can Journalists Ever Really Be Unbiased?
- A Non-Religious View Of The Situation
- Bogus Proofreading Test!
- The Mag That Threatened “Tortuous Interference”
- My Time To Whine: When A Contest Sponsor Gets Fed Up!
Creative Client Cons By George English
Freelancers get ripped off every day. Sites like WritersWeekly.com are filled with stories and warnings about people who simply don’t pay for writing or editing or graphic design work. Sometimes the check just never arrives, but quite often these crooks are more creative and more sinister. Some have honed their skills over many years, and if you were to look into their backgrounds, you’d probably be entertained for weeks just reading about their various scams and deceptions: You’ll find a mechanics’ lien on the family station wagon; cell phones listed because land lines were cut off for non-payment; and frequent relocations in an attempt to keep ahead of creditors. Their entire lives are designed around dodging bill collectors.
Advantage In Self-Publishing
I am a produced screenwriter (Lost Junction) and have just recently completed a novel (fiction) that I was thinking of self-publishing (after going through the headache of getting a screenplay made into a movie for five years, not sure I want to start over with the tradional publishing venue!)
My question is – does this give me any kind of advantage in self-publishing?
Sweet Step to Success By Roy Freedman
How many of us are fortunate enough to transform our (safe) compulsions/obsessions into the start of a passionate vocation?
Oh Dear! The In-Laws Are STILL Here!!
We’ve been to Bar Harbor, on a day-trip to our land, out to a great lunch with author Mark LaFlamme (The Pink Room) and his wife, and to an endless array of restaurants. We’ve been shopping, the women have been cooking together, and the men have been fixing things around the house.