Letters To The Editor For August 3rd
This Week:
- No Social Security Number Until Contract Offered!
- Amazon.com Best Seller? Ha!
- From A Friend In Argentina
No Rejection Slips: Sub-contract Article Assignments By L. L. Star
Would you like to get an abundance of article assignments without writing a single query letter? By getting sub-contact work from public relations agencies, I wrote over 100 newsletter articles, a professional column in a monthly trade publication, and a chapter in a travel guidebook. Sub-contract work gave me the opportunity to write for large, prestigious companies such as Bell & Howell, Grant Thornton, LaSalle National Bank and many others.
The Importance of Networking and Spinning Off Stories By Deborah J. Myers
After being laid off four times in as many years, I knew I could do better in freelance writing than as an executive secretary.
I had been writing piecemeal for a few magazines and newspapers for years; however, once my day job evaporated, I put all my energy into freelancing.
Whispers and Warnings For August 3rd
This Week:
- Book Builders – Now owned by DWJ Media – but previous head of Book Builders may still be working for them.
- St. Martins Press, author Augusten Burroughs and Burroughs’ agent – Sued by family portrayed in Running With Scissors
- The Florida Times-Union – sued by golfer John Daly for defamation
- Former CIA officer sues to publish book
- The Lawrence Journal-World (Kan.) – Woman claims newspaper typo led thieves to her house
Our Little Comedian
Frank, age 12, who has always been the class clown (before we started homeschooling him anyway) has a very quick, very bright sense of humor. He can really keep us rolling most days.
Amazon.com Best Seller? Ha!
I received the following inquiry from a reader two weeks ago:
Angela,
I saw an ad in a well-known zine that offered a “free telephone
seminar” about “how any author can become an Amazon.com bestseller.”
What are your thoughts on their message?
C.
Letters To The Editor For July 27th
This Week:
- AOL = Amateurs On Line
- Amazon.com Best Seller Scams
Freelancer Beware: Read This Before You Hire a Transcription Service By Bill Shirley
A few weeks back I was especially busy in my communications consulting business. One late evening, as I pondered how I’d get everything done in the brief time available to me, I made a note to visit the Yellow Pages the next day to find a transcription service. I write a lot of feature articles for the employee newsletter of an insurance company, and most assignments involve interviews with executives whom I quote for the stories.
Persistence Pays! By Jacqueline Bodnar
Upon finding out that I was pregnant in 2004, I made the decision that I was going to become a freelance writer so that I could be a work-at-home mom. Staying home to raise my daughter means so much to me, yet like most families we rely on two incomes. Although I wasn’t new to writing, I was new to freelancing so I spent months reading every book I could my hands on regarding the subject. Three months before my daughter was born, I quit my job and dove right into freelance writing.
Whispers and Warnings For July 27th
This Week:
- The Consumer Economist / consumereconomist.com – Writer alleges non-payment.
- Foundation for Thought and Ethics, publisher of an “intelligent design” – Wants to intervene in a federal lawsuit
against the Dover Area School District and its board
- Vanity Fair magazine – Loses libel suit
- Global Contact, publisher of Directory of US Companies – Consumers complain about “the fine print”
- Paladin Press of Boulder, Colo. – ‘Hit Man’ publisher settles Oregon lawsuit