We had a very exciting Friday night here! Just before bed, I heard water running through the pipes upstairs and thought one of the children was showering. (My brain didn’t register that I’d never heard that water running upstairs before.) A few minutes later, Ali screamed, “Mom! There’s something wrong with the basement!”
When someone hires you to do a special writing job, they give you the assignment and you do the job. Sounds pretty simple, right? Well, not really. Here are examples of complaints I’ve received over the years…
This Week:
Seeing my name in print gives me a boost to keep writing and to keep pitching. On a whim, several months ago, I Googled my own name along with the words “Rome” and “Italy” to see if anything I had written was still online. I lived in Rome for two years and most of my published work has come from that experience. When two unsold entries popped up in two different publications, I was shocked, then furious. My work had been stolen!
A literary agent wants to represent a children’s picture book that I have written. However, I am required to get it professionally edited at my expense plus have an illustrator draw up some sample pictures, also at my expense. They will provide me with an acceptable list of editors and illustrators. From there, the agency will try and place my work with a publisher.
Something doesn’t sound right here. It’s my understanding that a reputable agent shouldn’t charge a reading fee but what about a professional edit and sample illustrations?
When do you know for sure that you have made it as a freelance writer? Is it that burst of incredulous joy when you land your first assignment? When you hold your first book in your hand and smell that crisp new-book smell? Maybe it is the first time you answer the question “What do you do?” by saying “I am a writer.”
This Week:
Growing up, my brother, Darin, had the worst allergies of anyone I knew. He was allergic to everything, from the annual Christmas tree (we had to stop buying real ones), to our pet pony (we had to sell him). Thankfully, I never had allergies as a kid. However, it’s getting impossible to blame my annual spring sneezing and wheezing on colds these days…since there are no other symptoms. Richard, too, gets all stuffy around this time of year, though he didn’t as a child. Unfortunately, it looks like Max has inherited our allergies, though quite early, at the age of three.
Angela,
I used your letter! I had previously sent numerous e-mails to a publisher dragging his feet for payment that was promised in February. After I sent your letter, two hours later I had a sweet reply with a “sorry” on top! And a week later…behold, the check appeared.
Thank you so much!
Sincerely,
Janene
I’d held onto the brief guidelines for Landscape Magazine for months with the intention of dreaming of
