Success Story

A Personal Blog Leads to Professional Opportunities By Virginia Williams

Published on March 2, 2011

Sometimes writing success comes when--and where-- you least expect it. Seven years ago my second child was stillborn at full-term, in a time when my writing career was focused on brick-and-mortar opportunities. With a three-year-old, I'd had little time for exploring career options online, but after my son died my writing career dried up and I had time to explore the online world. I slowly began to discover websites with resources for parents like me and, eventually, whole blogging communities helping parents of stillborn children... …

I Confess! By Barbara Weddle

Published on February 9, 2011

My success writing short non-fiction articles for the true confessions magazines began several years ago when I was studying magazines at a bookstore, searching for potential money-making markets, and picked up a copy of TRUE CONFESSIONS. One of the short columns inside, "The Life I Live", caught my attention. I read it, and thought, 'I can do that!' But it was the sidebar that really caught my eye. Wow! They were offering $100 for 500 words or less about an inspirational time in your life. I'd had plenty of inspirational times in my life... …

Opening the Door to Author Visits By Lisa Tiffin

Published on February 2, 2011

My first school author visit turned out to be a great experience. Not only was it a wonderful way to give back to the community, but it led to several paying author visits... …

My Story Time Adventures By Julie Engelhardt

Published on January 19, 2011

There are times when writers have the need to try something different, and in a sense, to reinvent themselves when it comes to the type of work they do. I've written for a variety of magazines, newspapers, and web sites over the years, which has brought me a great deal of satisfaction. However, with various moves from one town to another, or even to a new state, I've had to seek out new opportunities. I've always preferred writing for local publications, which has been quite successful for me... …

Breaking into the Children’s Education Writing Market By Rita Milios

Published on January 12, 2011

As a children's educational writer, I write for K-8 curriculum publishers, producing books, workbooks, test assessment materials and activities for both students and teachers. I am not a teacher, but that has not been a problem. Most educational publishers simply look for good researchers and writers. Here's what I did - and what you, too, can do - to get started... …

Taking the Path Less Traveled By Maria Connor

Published on January 5, 2011

At 40, after several years as a stay-at-home mom, I returned to college to complete my associate's degree to make myself more marketable when I returned to the workforce. A medical secretary by default, most of my courses were business related. However, one of my electives, Newspaper Research and Reporting, put me on a new and unexpected career path... …

The Great Escape By Debra Ann Pawlak

Published on December 29, 2010

Somewhere deep inside, buried underneath a husband, two children and a full-time day job, a writer was trying to escape. For years, I kept that pen woman under wraps, but once the kids grew up, I decided to unlock the door and let her out...only when time permitted... …

A 180-Degree Success By Ken Koch

Published on December 22, 2010

I confess, my writing assignments are boring. I write on some of the driest topics and content, but that is the market niche where I also have the most experience and knowledge. Articles on project management, disaster recovery, contingency planning and even the dreaded technology audit just don't lend themselves to an entertaining or witty writing style. Yes, these assignments pay good, but something was missing. Travel? Fiction? Personal interest? I was burning out... …

Know Your Rights By Diane Stark

Published on November 17, 2010

When I first started writing, I would find a market I was interested in writing for, send them a query and then wait to hear back from them. If they liked the idea, I'd write the story, they'd print it and I'd cash the check. End of story. But it wasn't the end of the story. Or it shouldn't have been... …

Venturing Out to Reach Others By Alice J. Wisler

Published on November 10, 2010

I've always been a writer, but not of the sorrowful poem or self-help article. Those additions to my writing portfolio came after the death of my son Daniel. With his passing, I realized that writing romance stories like I composed in seventh grade was not going to get me through the lonely nights. I delved into heart wrenching writing for survival. As my essays and articles were published, I was asked to teach on writing through grief at bereavement conferences and seminars... …

GETTING TO THE “NO” By Sarah Vance

Published on October 27, 2010

During a recent interview for a copywriting job with a retail fashion website I learned a valuable lesson about rejection... …

How I’m Successfully Promoting My Book, Marlene’s Piano By Jill Charles

Published on October 20, 2010

After five years of writing, researching and editing my historical fiction novel, Marlene's Piano, I looked for a publisher who shared my commitment to writing. A friend referred me to BookLocker.com. When I compared their services to Lulu.com, Amazon.com and other print-on-demand publishers, BookLocker offered the assistance I needed with formatting and cover art and the greatest autonomy for a writer... …

Write Onward and Upward! By Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Published on October 13, 2010

I worked hard on my magnum opus, stealing time away from spelling, arithmetic, and social studies to write. When my work, titled Good-bye, Dixie!, was complete, I carried it home to my parents with pride. I was in the fifth grade. That first novel never saw publication but it still holds a place of honor in a bottom desk drawer at my mother's house. And, while my childish scrawls tell a basic story, much of what I wrote is amusing to an adult eye. I have a fond spot in my heart, however, because without "Good-bye Dixie", I might not be a writer... …

Shifting Gears By Susan Boerchers

Published on September 29, 2010

With my freelance efforts at a record low, my family endured six months of tribulations in our new home, book-ended by my husband's stay in the hospital just after moving in and mine several months later. If truth is stranger than fiction then the trials and major mishaps we underwent those first six months would make a blockbuster movie. And so the freelancing went down to nothing and so did my morale... …

Tweet, Tweet: Using Social Media to Increase Sales By Lisa Tiffin

Published on September 1, 2010

I've always wanted to write a column, but it wasn't until Twitter intervened that it became a reality for me. The funny thing is I didn't even have a Twitter account when it happened. Luckily, I have a few good people looking out for me. …

Don’t Be Afraid to Ask By Jill Pertler

Published on August 18, 2010

As a home-based writer, I spend my days in a one-person office filled with thousands of potential co-workers. This week, I met up with two and, through some simple communication and cooperation, we all managed to work to benefit each other. …

Don’t Wait Until Tomorrow By Doris J. Niemann

Published on August 11, 2010

When I first decided to become a freelance writer, I could make up endless excuses to postpone putting on paper the volumes of story ideas that were stacked up in my mind. I had many ideas and memories waiting to be transformed into printed words, and sent for submission to the editors of eligible magazines, but it was difficult for me to express myself. Also, my organizing skills and writing time schedules were non-conforming and unpredictable until a few years ago. It was then I had one of those "ah-ha" moments, and remembered a motivational tool that a teacher in middle school had given me... …

I Must Confess By Russ Heitz

Published on August 4, 2010

Katy Terrega's book, It's A Dirty Job...Writing Porn For Fun And Profit! Includes Paying Markets!, reminded me of my own secret experiences as a writer of confession stories -- stories for which I got paid. Did I sell my very first confession story? No. In fact, the first couple stories were flatly rejected without a word. Then, for some unknown reason, I thought, maybe it's because I'm using my actual name: "Russ Heitz." Maybe they don't accept confession stories that are written by men. After all, ninety-nine percent of all confession stories have a first person female narrator. And how could a man possibly know how a woman feels about anything? When I started using the genderless "R. L. Heitz" on the first page of every manuscript, the Macfadden checks started rolling in. …

Thinking in Multiples: How To Turn A One-Time Client Into A Steady Customer By Don Baumgart

Published on July 28, 2010

I'm a journalist, but, anyone who has tried both knows that the money is in business promotion writing. I've learned to quickly take the initial assignment further than the client has envisioned. For example, one way to change a client's perception from a single ad to an ad campaign is to rough out a series. I had a lot of fun with a mystery campaign I wrote for the opening of a year-around Christmas store... …

When Contest Fees Make Sense By Ruth Schiffmann

Published on July 7, 2010

When Contest Fees Make Sense By Ruth Schiffmann

I don't relish the thought of admitting to my husband (or anyone else, for that matter) that this writing obsession of mine has put our finances into the red. As a means of avoiding that fate, I usually halfheartedly skim over contest listings in newsletters and blogs the same way I sort through my mail to weed out the junk. No matter how "legit" a contest was, if it required an entry fee, I would rule it out. Am I cheap? Maybe, or maybe I know how easy it would be to shell out a little bit here, a little bit there, always with my eyes on the prize until I had nothing left to show for myself but scraps of paper and tiny little pencil nubs. …

Freelance for Newspapers by Being the Middleman (or Woman) By Jill Pertler

Published on June 30, 2010

Newspapers have a number of characteristics that can benefit writers. They are published regularly and frequently. Their purpose is information dissemination through the written word. They are in need of good copy, which leads directly to a need for good writers. …

Who Do You Think You Are? By Kirsty Logan

Published on June 23, 2010

You are a complex person, and there are nuances to your personality that cannot be summed up in a few brief adjectives. Does 'mother of two' encompass the highs and lows with your children, the love you feel for them, or the rollercoaster of conception, pregnancy and birth? Does 'Christian' explain the midnight questions you asked yourself and the balancing of faith with the realities of the world? Does 'British' suggest your patriotism, your political leanings, your secret love of rainy days? Of course not! People are more than just a list of traits; that's why personal ads are so tricky to write. But you as a writer are not the same as you as a person. …

No Meat Pays By Nadia Ali

Published on June 16, 2010

My daughter recently said she no longer eats meat, which meant there would be no more Sunday roasts or fast food burgers as part of her menu. It put me in quite a quandary. Not knowing what or how to cook without meat, I turned to the pages of vegetarian magazines, looking through recipes, articles and features. It turned out to be a real eye opener in the form of a new writing niche as I realized that between the covers of these magazines lay lots of opportunity for writing submissions. …

My Book Excerpt Led to An Assignment By Diane Craver

Published on June 9, 2010

Recently, I was invited by Rebecca Vickery of Victory Tales Press to write a story for one of their anthologies in exchange for a share of the royalties. It was quite an honor to be asked to join this group of talented writers. My story will be included in a Christmas anthology. One reason Rebecca asked me was because she had read several of book excerpts that I had posted on her yahoo group. …

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