Success Story

I Returned to Writing After 10 Years! By Deborah Ross

Published on April 23, 2014

For 10 years, I truly abstained from writing. You know, the kind of writing that forces you to try out 50 different ways to construct a sentence until you choose Number 51. The synapse-firing, hangnail-chewing kind of writing. Instead, my days were filled with writing lesson plans, finding succinct ways to list homework on a whiteboard, and inserting red-ink comments on student essays without becoming flippant. My years as a high school English and journalism teacher were rewarding but, when I decided to take early retirement, my decision came partly from that ache to write again. Really write... …

Fishing for Fun and Profit By Stephen King

Published on April 16, 2014

As the weather warms, a good portion of the American population takes to the rivers, lakes, and streams in search of 'the big one'. One great idea is that, if you're a reasonably good fisher person, and a reasonably good writer person, you can combine the two into one very good moneymaking scheme... …

This Author Stayed Home And Became More Grounded, Satisfied & Prosperous By Christina Katz

Published on April 9, 2014

Most author advice suggests getting out in the world and getting up in front of your book's real-live audience. I am not going to contradict this advice because I know the benefits of public speaking, making appearances, and teaching workshops at conferences first-hand. If you are a first-time author you need to get out there, get seen, and mingle with your audience, period... …

Being Legally Blind Doesn’t Get in My Way! By Pam Bostwick

Published on March 26, 2014

I knew I wanted to be a writer when I won an essay contest in fifth grade. In high school, I wrote for the city newspaper. Then, after marriage, I started having children and thought I was too busy to write. I soon realized I had to find the time to create pieces because stories were within me and I longed to share them. When my twins were two, I decided I wasn't going to wait until they grew up to write. While the toddlers took their rare naps, I wrote about what I knew... …

I Got Higher Quality Clients, and Tripled My Income, by Raising My Writing Rates! By Joy Lynskey

Published on March 12, 2014

I Got Higher Quality Clients, and Tripled My Income, by Raising My Writing Rates! By Joy Lynskey

As many new-to-the-scene freelancers do, I began my career on a well-known outsourcing platform many years ago. In the earlier days of copywriting on the web, there weren't many rules guided by search engine algorithms like there are today. For this reason alone, I seemed to have a lot of time to research my new career's possibilities. Having started writing when it was common to earn one dollar per 500 word article, I always assumed I'd have nowhere to go but up... …

Learning InDesign Increased My Freelance Income! By Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan

Published on March 5, 2014

Six months ago, I landed a contract with a local non-profit editing articles for their newsletter. They needed a freelancer because staff downsizing had eliminated several staff positions and the few staff who remained were overloaded. After three months of editing, and spending time going back and forth with the staff person who took over design and layout, I asked the director of communications if I could take over that part of the project in addition to editing... …

Visualize Your Success By Diane Stark

Published on February 26, 2014

Five years ago, I started writing a romance novel. I wrote the first 30,000 words before life got busy and the novel was forgotten. But every year, usually around New Year's Day, I made promises to myself that I would finally complete the novel. It didn't happen... …

An Easy Way To Double Or Triple What You Make On A Trip By Stephen King

Published on February 19, 2014

First, one of the things I have to say is all that talk about the "lifestyle" writers lead is totally true. For the last 20 years, I have been getting paid to take trips, go to events, and hang out with celebrities. Just a few days ago, I spent the day with a beautiful, blond national TV star. And, got paid to do it. Not a bad way to make a paycheck... …

Writers! Never Work For Less Than Professional Rates!! By Elizabeth Armenta

Published on February 12, 2014

It was November of 2009, and just 3 months after I'd lost my corporate job and my apartment. I had spent six years as a technical writer but, as a former English major, I didn't feel like I was "legit." So, while I was cooped up in an upstairs bedroom at my parents' house with my two cats, I created a dinky website for myself that would eventually become my business... …

No Unethical Shortcuts for Me! By K.M. Lowe

Published on February 5, 2014

One of my first assignments as a writer was preparing monthly shopping, dining and events columns for a city magazine. The work wasn't exciting but it was steady. I'd been doing it for several months when the editor telephoned. The magazine was planning a special edition for an international sporting event the city was hosting and the editor wanted me to write the features for it. She asked me to work up article ideas, and bring them to a meeting the following month. I was thrilled... …

Worrying About Past, Present, And Future Writing Success? By Adam Cole

Published on January 29, 2014

Contemplating my success as a writer, I could talk about how I published my first book, Ballet Music For the Dance Accompanist, which has been carried in bookstores all across the country, and has sold overseas. Or, I could talk about Solfege Town, an exciting method for teaching children of all ages about the musical scale, which is in print, and has also done extremely well as an e-book, continuing to net me a check every couple of months. Maybe that's what prospective authors are waiting to hear but that's not success to me anymore... …

Overcome The Shy Writer Within To Sell Yourself by Tara Lynn Johnson

Published on January 23, 2014

by Tara Johnson Writers love words and stories, and working alone to do our typing, research, and editing. We can even enjoy interviewing subjects, because we're talking about them. But, sometimes, we have to talk about ourselves, which for many means going outside their comfort zones. It may not be easy, but often, it's necessary - to get published, to get an agent, to interact with our readers, and to get jobs... …

How I Landed A Book Contract At Wiley! – Steve Gillman

Published on January 15, 2014

Sometimes we do well without knowing what we're doing. This is commonly referred to as "dumb luck" and that's a good description of how I got a book contract and a nice advance from Wiley and Sons Publishing. Of course, luck doesn't preclude cause and effect and there are certain types of actions that lead to opportunities. So, even if we do not see the path beforehand, we can always look back to see how we got to where we are. …

One Pet Article Leads to 20+ Year Newspaper Column! – Brian J. Lowney

Published on January 8, 2014

Little did I know that the first freelance assignment I submitted more than 20 years ago would be the start of an exciting and rewarding adventure It would eventually lead me down a new career path and take me to places I'd only read about and dreamed of someday visiting... …

I PROFIT FROM RECYCLING! – Kaila Weingarten, M.S.

Published on January 3, 2014

My favorite piece of writing advice is: recycle. No, I am not talking about reusing paper, but about recycling writings. As I have a day job that involves quite a bit of writing, I look for ways to reuse my work... …

WHY I KEPT WRITING FOR MY LOWEST PAYING CLIENT – Elizabeth Pagel-Hogan

Published on December 18, 2013

When I launched my freelance writing career over two years ago, I had no clients and my only clips were from content mills. I needed to start somewhere so I contacted the editors of local newsletters. Finally, one editor gave me an assignment profiling a records storage company in 700 words for $75. The pay was pretty low for the time I'd need to invest, but I said yes. I did my best work, researching the company, asking questions, getting photos, etc. The editor loved the piece and ran it with almost no changes... …

WRITING INSTRUCTORS ARE NOT ALWAYS CORRECT! – BURTON H. WOLFE

Published on December 11, 2013

Usually, the moral of a story is told at the end. I will tell you the moral of this one at the beginning: If you believe in your own ability to write for pay and your sense of where to send you work, listen to your inner self and let no one, no matter how experienced and successful in publishing, dissuade you from what you believe will work... …

You Never Know Who is Reading You on Forums! By Kim Pezza

Published on November 20, 2013

Almost everyone is on some type of online forum with people of similar interests. Usually it is a hobby or lifestyle. Sometimes it is job related. When you are on "fun" forums, you may tend to let your guard down, not do your best, writing wise, and maybe not pay attention to your spelling. However, this is exactly what you should be doing. You never know who may be on those forums reading what you (and others) have written... …

From Unemployment to Full-time Writing By Dana E. Neuts

Published on November 13, 2013

In 2003, I moved from Indiana to Washington state, sight unseen, to take a job in the financial services industry only to be laid off nine months later. I was a single mom in a new state, with no job, no family and few friends. What I did have, though, was one freelance client, a passion for writing, and a stubborn streak that would keep me going... …

From Letters, to Radio, to Award-Winning Book! – Elizabeth Creith

Published on November 6, 2013

In the 1990s, I was a freelance writer and broadcaster for CBC radio. I wrote and broadcast a radio series for CBC's nationally broadcast afternoon show, "Richardson's Roundup". The series featured letters about my flock of sheep, and lasted a little over a year. I put those letters aside for over ten years, then looked at them and thought, together with other stories of my shepherding experience that hadn't made the radio, they might make a book... …

RESUBMIT, RESUBMIT, RESUBMIT…and resubmit again By Monica A. Andermann

Published on October 14, 2013

You've written an article, a poem, or a piece of flash fiction. You've edited and polished it to a golden glow. Your experienced writer friend has even read it and confirms the piece is, indeed, publication ready. So you send the item out and wait, only to receive...a rejection. …

Learning the Business of Business Writing By Daisy McCarty

Published on October 9, 2013

What does freelance success look like for me? I started my writing career in 2008 with no professional experience as a writer, no industry contacts, and no portfolio. Today, I work about 25 hours per week... …

Stick to Paying Markets By Mary Laufer

Published on September 25, 2013

Stick to Paying Markets By Mary Laufer

When I started writing, I read somewhere that if you wanted to be a successful writer you had to stick to one genre and develop your craft. But, I loved to write everything: poems, essays and short stories. I searched the classifieds in Poets and Writers Magazine, and found places to send my work. My poems were published first - in literary magazines that didn't pay a dime. Poetry anthologies were next; no money came with those publications, either. At least now I had credits to list in cover letters when I submitted essays and short stories... …

Does This Sound Like Me? By Donna J. Howard

Published on September 18, 2013

My first writing disaster occurred in high school. Because my favorite things to do were reading and writing, I took Academic English my freshman year. When we were assigned to write a fictional story, I was delighted. I decided to write one like the ones I loved to read, with mystery and intrigue. I spent hours researching old castles in faraway places. I wrote about a young boy and girl lost in one of those old musty castles and how they found their way out. I proudly handed it in. It came back sporting a huge, black "C." I asked my teacher why. She said "It doesn't sound like you." I was crushed, and put writing aside. …

Success Story For Writers Weekly By Alden Tan

Published on September 11, 2013

I went "all in" a couple of years ago when I quit my job back in 2011. I love to write. And, I wanted to make it my dream to be a writer on my own terms... …

Freelance Success Story By Sarah Kolb-Williams

Published on August 28, 2013

Early this year, I quit my job to edit books full time. In October, I built a website. In December, I printed business cards. And by mid-February, I was free... …

Keep On Moving On By Diana Burns

Published on August 21, 2013

I was a closet writer for years. I read dozens of books on the subject of writing, kept a journal, and attended writer's conferences, workshops and writer's groups. But, until I moved to a rural community in cottage country, I had never submitted a thing. I was afraid I was not good enough to get published. The community we moved to had quite the reputation. It was considered the place to live if you had any aspirations as an artist. There were dozens of studios and even a few well known authors. I felt I could not be in a better spot than this to be motivated... …

Know Your Market, and Play Well With Others! By Alice J. Wisler

Published on July 31, 2013

As many of us know, deciding to independently publish a book takes lots of thought and planning. You might get a brilliant idea in the shower about a book but, often, by the time you get to your desk, some of the zeal has faded. Many ideas lose their fizzle because they are... …

A Wild Three Years By Lee Ann Sontheimer Murphy

Published on July 24, 2013

Three years ago this month, I had almost given up on ever seeing one of my novels find publication. I'd spent the last five years writing one novel after another, one version after another, until I believed I had a few marketable works. I'd sent out query after query to publishers and literary agents. I had a few near misses, agents who said they loved my query and sample chapters but they were closing the office and retiring, publishers who liked my work but didn't love it enough to offer a contract. One of my much rewritten, refined and reworked manuscripts, Kinfolk, had been rejected about eighty times. Several of my other novels had been as well. I shared my disappointment and despair with a writer friend I'd met online and he suggested I might try the growing ebook market... …

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