As a relatively new freelance writer, all I can do is keep my eyes and ears open for new opportunities-and write, of course. Inspiration may have its own timetable, but information can be waiting to fall into your lap if you shake the right tree branch.
I didn’t get to take any Sundays off during our 6400-mile adventure, so I treated myself last Sunday by leaving my computer off all day. Ali and I drove to the cloth store (Ali’s making a dress for herself) and rented some movies and we (Ali, Richard, Max and I) spent the day eating popcorn and staring at the television screen. It was heavenly! Frank decided to try to land some largemouth bass, so he spent the day fishing with his friend on the Penobscot River (in our backyard). And Zach spent the day with his friends. (One of his best friends is leaving for college on Friday.)
When it cooled off outside, we weeded the garden, which had been inundated with weeds because of the heavy July rains. Ali is currently winning the pumpkin-growing contest. She has two tiny pumpkins on her vines while I have none on mine. We have two new baby maple trees growing in the garden so I’m going to tie them to stakes so nobody will pull them out (and so Max won’t run over them with his toy tractor). Frank planted some flowers in June and they’re beautiful now!
At dusk, the mosquitoes descended on our fun and we had to race inside. I sure wish it was already the weekend again…
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts?
Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies $11,300; and many more!
See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
When being tempted by a publisher who is trying to upsell you on marketing products and services, you should balance the cost of the service with the income you expect it to generate. And don’t fool yourself. Very few of these expensive products and services are going to generate enough sales to warrant the initial expense.
I am writing to thank you for the article you have posted on Writer’s Weekly titled How to Deal with Online Media Pirates by Alicia Karen Elkins. A couple of weeks ago I googled myself to see what might show up. Was I surprised when two articles were listed that I had no idea were posted. One I had submitted almost a year before and the other one I had never submitted. While both sites gave me credit for having written the articles, neither had contacted me for permission or payment.
I read WritersWeekly.com every week and remembered reading this article. I promptly printed it up and started following the steps Alicia suggests for getting paid. It worked!! I received checks from both sites. I never had to get ugly or threatening, I just firmly demanded payment and it came through (after about three weeks). Thank you for keeping valuable articles like this on your site. It really helped this freelancer and probably many more.
Best regards,
Martha Miller
Like many other writers trying to make it in the world, most of us have had an unfortunate experience in the publishing industry. With the incredible number of publishers out there who are ready and willing to make your dreams come true (or take advantage of you), what can you do to help prevent your next contract from becoming a nightmare?
“You should consider being a writer.” Famous words, I thought, trying for another slam dunk with the 24th crumbled re-write. Who ever said writing was easy? I shouldn’t have listened. The teaching position certainly looked appealing right now. Teaching twenty-six students was a piece of cake compared to battling with pen and paper.
We had such a wonderful day yesterday! It reminded me of what it’s going to be like when we retire someday…no work and all play! Since it rained all night and was supposed to rain all, we decided to go do the touristy stuff instead of sitting in the RV all day long. The first fun thing we encountered after leaving the campground was a detour due to the flood…
Read the entire story and see lots of photos at: https://www.wirelesstrips.com/archives/travel_essays/001878_08012004.php
Hugs to all!
Angela
P.S. Want to read real query letters that landed these contracts?
Woman’s Day – $2,800; Redbook – $3,500; Ladies Home Journal – $3,000; DiscoveryHealth.com – $2,000; Lifetime Magazine – $3,000; Life Extension magazine – $6,480; Natural Remedies $11,300; and many more!
See: https://www.writersweekly.com/books/1409.html
Letters will return next week.
The title of the novel and movie Fahrenheit 451, by Ray Bradbury, refers to the temperature at which book paper burns. Fahrenheit 9/11, Michael Moore’s new movie, is a criticism of George W. Bush and his handling of events on and after September 11, 2001. The former is about a society that seeks out and burns all books, forcing its people to memorize and become one book or another. The latter, equally political in its own way though maybe more pointedly so, shares a portion of the title, and is to all but the most obtuse observer, a rather transparent attempt to play, for commercial gain, on the recognition generated by the former.
I’ve tried pretty much everything in the writing business. I got my first check for a magazine article 22 years ago, and writing has been a slow, steady sideline ever since.
I self-published two nonfiction books in the mid-90’s. For my third book, I went with a trade association press. My fourth was a little thing (40 pages) put together for a local historical society. Not enough to make a living on, but they’re bringing in enough money to make me realize it’s possible to get there.
