Like any decent Clark, Rowling, Morrison wannabe, I started my illustrious writing career creating books. I would go to sleep nightly with visions of sugarplums and book signings dancing in my head. However, when I woke up, only rejections came true. Discouraged, I abandoned my two best friends- pen and paper. I had every intention of never seeing them again, but they kept calling, beckoning me back.
I got really depressed over the weekend when I opened up my Christmas gift list from last year, and realized that most of the gifts we bought for the children and our relatives are no longer in use. Frank’s gigantic lego plane? Gone (Percy chewed up most of the small pieces). Ali’s “I HAVE to have it!” sweater with the fake-fur collar? Gone. (The washing machine ate all the fur within 24 hours). Zach’s video game system? Obsolete. (They only make games for the higher edition now.)
Pricing Your Book/Service Too Low
Your article on pricing made me think about a project I have just finished. Although it’s not a piece of writing, per se, many of my friends and colleagues call it a book…
Tricking Children Who Peek at Presents!
I had the same problem with my girls when they were small. I OUTsmarted them and booby-trapped their gifts…
You’ve no doubt seen your community’s alternative newspaper stacked by the hundreds in a rack at grocery stores, bookstores, and gas stations. Helpful for planning weekend entertainment, the pages are packed with features on museum exhibits, concerts and restaurant openings. (In my city, anyone with an iota of the local 411 scene is seen reading one on Thursdays.). And, news about local politics – racier, sexier and bolder than the area dailies – is also covered…
Well, I’ve never done this before. But, hey, we ran out of success stories and I’ve been very happy with the success of my new book, Query Letters That Worked! So, today, I thought I’d tell you how I made more than $1900 in 48 hours.
Several months ago, determined to keep up with my new goal to write and publish three new books each year, I wrote down a list of several possible book ideas…
My first connection with the Internet came in 1993. Together with a fellow reporter, I devised a definition for the World Wide Web for inclusion in a newspaper story. Little did I know then what a major role the Web would play in my life.
Wouldn’t it be great if the corner convenience store sold roadmaps? Not the kind for planning vacations, but the kind that tells you how to go from a wannabe to a successful published writer in a few short years? I didn’t have that luxury
I am a 27 year-old woman who has always enjoyed the buzz of print journalism. My freelance writing career started two-and-a-half years ago with a chatty e-mail to a former colleague, an editor of two trade magazines. I asked how her recent wedding went. We swapped gossip about our colleagues at the trade publishing company where I had once worked as an assistant editor on a transportation magazine. I mentioned I had just started a part-time job at an organic farm and environmental education center in California and was considering freelancing. She wished me luck.
Well, I did it. I installed a heavy-duty combination lock on our bedroom closet door. You see, Frank (age 11) peeks at his presents every year, and always has. And, it doesn’t appear to bother him each Christmas morning when there are no surprises left. His
Due to the short holiday week, this issue is abbreviated. Letters to the Editor will return to this spot next week. You can read last week’s letters HERE.
