I started writing for money at the age of 20, when I got a paid internship at my university. My supervisors were a writer from the University Relations Department and a Pulitzer-prize nominated former music critic from the Chicago Tribune. One or the other, usually both, of these mentors, plus the Public Relations Director, reviewed [...]
Archive for the ‘Writing’ Category
Writers, Editors, and Why Writers in the Age of an Unedited Internet Need Editors More Than Ever
Posted in Freelancing, Writing, tagged editing, Internett, linkedin, writing on September 28, 2011 | 1 Comment »
I Published, I Was Published; Do We Care, and Why?
Posted in Freelancing, Writing on September 25, 2011 | 4 Comments »
Oh, dear, as if I don’t already have enough pet peeves, I’ve got to go and find a new one. (Actually, this one has been brewing for a few years now.) It’s the active versus passive use of the verb “to publish,” as in the difference between “I published” and “I was published.” And my [...]
Passable to Professional: Surefire Ways to Improve Your Writing
Posted in Craft, Freelancing, Writing, tagged linkedin, writing technique on September 11, 2011 | 13 Comments »
At one of the publishing companies I worked for many years ago, the copyeditors had a list of common and funny mistakes, which they passed around. I stumbled across that piece of paper lately and had a good laugh: The more things change, the more they stay the same. I’m editing for a couple of [...]
Lessons (Re)-Learned From the Other Side of the Editor-Writer Equation
Posted in Freelancing, Travel Writing, Uncategorized, Writing, tagged Business of freelancing, linkedin on May 30, 2011 | 5 Comments »
A funny thing happens when you swap roles: Perspectives change. We know this, of course. Nonetheless, I am sometimes taken by surprise. I’m starting a new website, and I’m in the very early stages of looking for writers to work with me on a revenue share basis. Which makes me, I suppose, an “editor.” So [...]
Changing the Lightbulbs in Your Publisher’s Office
Posted in Freelancing, Writing, tagged Freelancing, linkedin on February 15, 2011 | 5 Comments »
Think your publishers are laboring in the dark? Here’s why that may be true…. Q . How many writers does it take to change a light bulb? A. Why does it have to be changed, it makes perfect sense the way it is. Q. How many crime writers does it take to change a light [...]
Writing and Discounting for Non-Profits
Posted in Business Issues, Freelancing, Writing, tagged Business of freelancing, linkedin, pricing, working for non protis on September 7, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Do electricians, cleaning crews, the phone company, the landlord, and the office furniture suppliers give discounts to non-profits? Usually not. But non-profit organizations (whose staffs also get a normal monthy paycheck) are quick to ask for discounts from freelance writers. Should we give discounts? And under what circumstances? When does it makes sense? When doesn’t it? I was asked [...]
The Best Seller List: Myth and Reality
Posted in Freelancing, Writing, tagged New York Times Best Seller List on May 29, 2009 | 1 Comment »
It’s the goal of every writer: A place on the New York Times Best Seller List. A few months ago, I was at a writer’s conference, where one of my fellow writers had achieved that golden status: She was a coauthor of a book that had been solidly stuck on the list for months. There [...]
Writing for Pay-Per-Click Websites
Posted in Freelancing, Internet Issues, Writing on January 8, 2009 | 1 Comment »
Is it a new business model to empower writers or a new way of making money off of writers? After 28 years in the business (my first bylined article was published while I was still in college) I’m ASSUMING the latter. I’m just cynical enough to look through jaundiced yellow glasses at anything that promises writers a [...]
Carnage in the Publishing World
Posted in Business Issues, Freelancing, Writing, tagged layoffs, publishing on November 15, 2008 | 9 Comments »
What do editors do when they get laid off? (Or, if you prefer, leave to “pursue other options.”) They freelance. Bad news for freelancers: There’s going to be more competition than ever. Heads are rolling in the publishing industry even more than they normally do this time of year. (Holidays = layoffs, didn’t you know?) The carnage [...]
When is a Deadline a Deadline?
Posted in Freelancing, Writing, tagged deadlines, procrastination on October 24, 2008 | 8 Comments »
All right, I know the answer to this: A deadline is when the person paying you says that it is. I’m not sure how the time stamps work on this blog software if you’re in a different time zone than I, but let me just say that I am starting to write this at 8:20 p.m., [...]
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