I devoured every page of my favorite magazine - the one I dreamed of seeing my byline in. Since divorcing and entering a new, sizzling relationship, even the Dear Amy column intrigued me. A reader asked, "How can I get my boyfriend to stop kissing me in public?" The answer I read would change my writing career. …
I devoured every page of my favorite magazine--the one I dreamed of seeing my byline in. Since divorcing and entering a new, sizzling relationship, even the Dear Amy column intrigued me. A reader asked, "How can I get my boyfriend to stop kissing me in public?" The answer I read would change my writing career. …
Have a Freelance Success Story to share? We pay $40 on acceptance, non-exclusive electronic rights only. Success stories run around 300 words but we're very flexible. Our guidelines are here: https://writersweekly.com/misc/guidelines.php ADVERTISEMENT Writing for Trade Magazines If you are tired of waiting for a response to your query because a thousand other writers are ahead in line, if you are looking for new and different stories and broader contacts, if you want to start getting paid for what you write today, you need to read this book! …
It all started with the elderly greeter at Wal-Mart. "I saw your picture in the paper," he said. "You're a writer, huh?" I nodded, somewhat embarrassed that he'd recognized me. But I live in a small town where getting published was enough to land you a front page spot. Above the fold, no less. "So have you been published in other things?" The greeter continued. I shrugged and said, "I don't like to brag, but yes, I've had more than 300 articles and short stories published, mostly in parenting magazines and religious publications. I've been writing pretty much my whole life, and I've been doing it for publication for the last five years. I'm currently under contract to write my first book." The greeter nodded, seeming impressed by my credentials. "All my life, I've wanted to get published, but I don't know how to go about it. Hey, maybe you could help me!" …
Sometimes it is hard to follow the old adage to submit and forget. The truth is, I've been known to check my e-mail about a hundred times a day, and more than once I have run to the mailbox only seconds after the mail carrier's truck has pulled away. But really, writing should be like the infomercial where they shout, "Fix It and Forget It!" Recently, I learned again just how valuable it is to keep on writing and forget about submissions that are in the hands of editors. …
Manga? What's that? Japanese comic books? A few years ago, when I first encountered Manga through my niece's obsession with it, I viewed it with amazement and curiosity. What was this new-to-adults writing form? Now, some people advise to never expand into other writing areas, for fear of jack-of-all trades, master-of-none syndrome. But, by being curious, and pursuing my questions, this short story writer opened up whole new areas for lucrative writing success. …
My father-in-law once told me that the reason he didn't have grandchildren yet was because I was wasting my maternal instincts on my pets. I had to laugh at his comment, even while I admitted it held some validity. Like many people, my pets are like my family. So when my cat, Tigger, developed a serious medical condition, I was willing to do whatever it took to make him well again. As I wrote the bigger-than-my-mortgage-payment check to cover Tigger's surgery, the writer in me was already thinking of a way to use the experience – and recoup some of that cash. …
When two of my closest friends became single moms over sixteen years ago, I had no idea that their trials, tribulations and challenges would become the touchstone of my writing career. What began as a therapeutic way to tell my friends' stories (and to help other single moms) has grown into multiple articles, four books, and a column. All because my dear friends were willing to share their stories, first with me, and then with others. …
After being told by countless literary agents and publishers that they liked my cookbook, What? No Meat, Traditional Italian Cooking the Vegetarian Way, but that I did not have a "platform," I decided to self-publish. I knew I had a good product - I'd spent years researching, writing, testing, and revising every recipe, every word. I had faith in my book. I had the knowledge and experience in publishing to put it all together. And, frankly, I'd put too much into it to let it just die. This book was going to see the light of day if it was the last thing I did. I chose BookLocker and embarked on the odyssey that is self-publishing. …
A year ago, my wife saw a request for stories in a post online. The publishers of a new collection of books were looking for people who had life-changing moments. They offered $100.00 for each accepted story. …
I'd love to have a time machine. If I had one, I'd go back to 2005, or maybe 2004. Back then the residential real estate market was booming. And as a writer who specialized in writing about the housing industry, my business was booming, too. …
I didn't set out to write a book. When I started my business, Twentity.com, it was more of a hobby. It was just a website to help recent college graduates make the transition from college into the real world. As time passed (years, actually), I realized I really wanted to develop this as a business and started treating it as such. …
Many times I get ideas for articles while chatting with friends. Several weeks ago, I was telling someone how my mother has played bridge all over the world. She traveled to visit my sister and me when we lived overseas and found bridge groups in Argentina and Italy, and she plays in tournaments in many U.S. cities. When I mentioned that my mother turned 80 last winter, my friend was astounded. Her reaction made me realize I should be writing about my mother's adventuresome spirit but where would I pitch it? …
Six months ago, the credit crunch seriously hit my writing income. I'd made the fatal mistake of 'putting all my eggs in one basket'. That 'basket' - a women's weekly - changed its format and no longer needed the well researched features I'd been supplying. …
Success comes about in the strangest of ways sometimes. Since I first started submitting my writings in 2005, I've racked my brain, trying to write the perfect query letter, and concocted outrageously-creative subject lines, hoping to capture the attention of anyone who might be on the other end of my e-mail, desperately trying to draw them in with my title and keep a hold of them until the end of my query. In my mind, once I stole their attention, they'd respond with that good news e-mail we all want to receive. That's what we writers strive for, right? Right. …
After circling the globe three times, my wife and I settled down and had a baby. I was a travel writer who suddenly couldn't travel much, so it seemed like a good time to write that book I'd had in my head for ages: The World's Cheapest Destinations. I didn't feel like I had the patience or the track record to break down the New York publishing doors. So after researching the options, I published it as a POD title through BookLocker in early 2003. My modest expectations of selling a couple hundred copies didn't take long to exceed. …
We've all heard the old adage, "If at first you don't succeed, try, try again." That may seem a bit old fashioned, but as writers, we know that if something doesn't work out, doesn't sell, or doesn't fit an editor's mind set, then it's important to start thinking of other ways to become creative and get the work done. …
What do you do when you get a rejection from an editor telling you your article idea isn't fresh? I used to try reslanting the query for different publications, only to receive a similar rejection. An alternative approach is to recast your idea in a completely new context and submit it to publications serving totally different readerships where your idea is new, different and fresh. This approach has worked well for me the past year. …
Sometimes all it takes to succeed is to ask a simple question. Several years ago, when I was new to freelancing, I came across an ad for literature study guides aimed at homeschoolers and small schools. They looked like great guides; in fact, they looked like guides I would use with my own students and children. They looked like guides I could write. …
Ten years ago I worked in a packing factory, I had no qualifications, just a sack full of dreams. Every day after I finished my shift I would write short stories for my own enjoyment, and gather information and anecdotes for what would later become my book, Into the Dragon's Lair: A Supernatural History of Wales. …
As a result of publishing my last book with BookLocker - a novel titled A Painful Post Mortem - I've been asked to be the Keynote Speaker at the Salvation Army's National Conference later in the year. The topic is Generate, and is about encouraging women to think big, to use their talents, and to have confidence in themselves, with a view to bringing help and hope to people in need. …
My cheapness started it. Let me rephrase that. I wanted a (frugal) website, so I turned to blogging. Blogging in turn led to a book. …
It's hard to single out a low point in my writing attempts, but I have one that illustrates what we have all heard - keep trying and read your target markets. …
I never would have thought I could make money from my writing. While I always enjoyed reading, and dreamed of being a multi-million dollar bestseller author (who doesn't fantasize about this?), I had no serious expectation that I could put two words together to make a coherent thought, must less anything that someone would actually buy. Later, when I ventured feeble attempts at dipping my toe in the novel business and mailed off some of my fanciful fiction stories, all the rejection letters that arrived proved my earlier self-doubts. …
I'd heard from other writers that posting in the services section of CraigsList.org was a good way to gain more clients. Though I was skeptical, I figured it was free, so I forged ahead, promoting myself as an online copywriter and blogger. I didn't hear anything right away, and then almost a week after I'd posted, I got an email from someone saying he needed a writer to ghostblog for his law firm. I was still skeptical (after all, I don't have a law degree and I've barely sat through a complete episode of Law & Order), but I agreed to a phone interview to find out more. …
Everyone is tightening purse strings, even editors. When I inquired about a possible rate increase for my writing in 2009, I was emphatically turned down. …
If you plan to publish any type of book, you must have a plan to promote it. If it's not in the public's eye, sales won't escalate. Books sitting in a box on a shelf don't sell themselves. It's like winking at someone in the dark - no one can see it. …
When my novel, Rain Song, made its debut, I was eager to promote it with the typical book signings at local stores. I arranged three events and enjoyed each one; people came and bought books. However, I wanted more, something unique, something to stand out. As one friend said, with a wry smile, "You want a following." I grimaced; that sounded lofty. …
One not-so-ordinary day, I opened my email to find a request that I write an abbreviated cookbook proposal for a book packager. The book packager planned to use the proposal to attract a publisher; if the cookbook was a go, I was promised the job of writing it. I had not pitched this idea, nor had I ever worked for this company. I wasn't even clear on what a book packager did. What was so extraordinary was that the company found me - online. …
I turned on the television one day to find a famous journalist contemplating his retirement. "What will you do with your time now?" asked the interviewer. "Well," he answered. "if you look in Writer's Market, there are hundreds of trade magazines. I'm going to start at A and work my way through to Z." …
Writers are idea people. We take the glimmer of an idea and turn it into something fully formed like an article or a book or even a series of books. Of course, I'm aware of this. I devote entire articles and book/workbook chapters to the process of idea gathering. So imagine my surprise when I didn't recognize my own book-worthy idea. …
For months, I had been reading the free literature my church hands out each Sunday. I read the daily devotional books and the Sunday School handouts to strengthen and learn more about my faith. I found the stories entertaining and inspiring. But one day, I realized that I should have been using these materials for an additional purpose. I realized what a freelance gold mine I held in my hands. …
Although I won my first national writing competition at the age of 13, it took ten years to see my byline regularly appear in print. I have to thank an article in Writer's Digest magazine for my breakthrough moment. …
