Tag Archives: catherine l. tully

advice, lifestyle

Goal Setting For Writers

3 Comments
Copyright Scott Wahlen, 2007
Copyright Scott Wahlen, 2007

by Catherine L. Tully

Do you set goals? I do. As a matter-of-fact, I had two goals for this year. Want to know what they are? Here you go:

  1. To get Freelance-Zone a spot on the Writer’s Digest “101 Best Websites for Writers” list
  2. To make more money than I did last year

I have met both of those goals. Joe and I celebrated our inclusion in the 101 best sites and were thrilled that we made it. In addition to that, it’s July and I have already made more money this year than I did all of last year. My point? I don’t think I would have worked quite as hard if I hadn’t set these goals ahead of time.

For me, the key is to only pick a few choice goals and work hard toward achieving them. Some people like to do a whole list and are happy with just meeting a few. Whatever works. Everyone is different, but I would argue that just taking the step of making a concrete goal for yourself (or two, or ten) sets you right on the road to achieving it.

Don’t wait for January 1st. Start working toward something right now. See what you can accomplish!

resources

Descriptive Words For Writers

words

 by Catherine L. Tully

I don’t want to leave people out who aren’t currently doing any travel writing, so I thought I’d post something useful to all writers…a list of descriptive words to get the brain thinking. Although the list isn’t exhaustive, it is a good one–and organized into interesting categories as well, such as “spiritual qualities” and “physical qualities”. Great for when you are feeling stumped and need some ideas to jump-start the brain.

advice, editorial, lifestyle, travel

Florida: Travel Writing, Phase II

fla2

 

by Catherine L. Tully

The secret to adding travel writing to your already packed writing schedule is to work ahead. For example, I am doing these two blog posts before I even leave for my trip. I will either post them from the road before I fall into bed exhausted from the driving, or have Joe post them for me. : )

I have also spent the last three days working like crazy to get ahead on my deadlines so that I don’t have to write much while traveling for the two or three days it will take to get there. You see–I have done this before. There are real risks involved when you try to tie up deadlines on the road. The internet connection doesn’t work at your hotel. You can’t send e-mail from the local library in the town where you just stopped. Your battery dies…

Working ahead is your friend. While I don’t have everything finished up just yet, I will do as much as I can before putting my foot on the gas pedal and heading out on the highway. It’s just a smart move. So…now that my secret is out…I’ll check in from the condo I’ll be staying at once I have settled in! See you then…

advice, travel

Insider Advice From A Travel Editor

c-2007-catherine-l-tully

Today FZ readers are in for a real treat–insider advice from a seasoned travel editor–Celeste Heiter. Find out how to get published, what travel editors are looking for and get some advice on polishing your prose. Thanks to Celeste for crafting this piece specifically for FZ readers!                                  – Catherine L. Tully

 

A Travel Guide Editor’s Inside Tips for Writing a Great Travel Essay

By Celeste Heiter 

Having just finished editing the manuscript for To Japan With Love, A Connoisseur’s Guide, a travel anthology that features more than sixty contributors (including your Freelance-Zone hosts Catherine Tully and Joe Wallace), I have much to say on the subject of writing a travel essay.

 

The Basics:

 

In seeking contributors for To Japan With Love, I received nearly 200 essays, but only about half of them made it into the book. And while some were real gems and were nearly perfect upon submission, throughout the selection process, I also had some hard choices to make, with the most common eliminator being: What’s the point of this essay? What does it offer the reader? And in many cases, the answer, sadly, was: Nothing.  Although I was more than willing to work with contributing writers in developing essays that had great potential, and I even did the rewrites myself on some of them, in many cases (to borrow a phrase from Gertrude Stein), “there was no there there.” Some essays simply lacked purpose.

 

Others, while technically well written, were far too linear. “First we went here and saw this. Next we went there and did that. Then we went home.”  Some stories lacked focus, and instead included every detail of the writer’s travel itinerary and little else. And some failed to follow editorial guidelines. They were too long, too short, too encyclopedic, or they were off topic; and some were even downright negative in tone and perspective.

 

Good travel writing comes naturally to some writers, however, for those who don’t have ‘the gift’, I also believe that there is a basic formula that will turn a lackluster travel essay into something truly worth reading. Here’s how: Continue reading Insider Advice From A Travel Editor →

advice

The Query Myth

3 Comments

point

When I first started writing I was under the impression that all work you got as a freelancer came down to one thing: mastering the query. After many years in the business I’ve realized that this is…..well…..a myth. Now don’t get me wrong; queries can get you work. The thing is–there are many other ways to go about the process of freelancing. You can send a letter of introduction with an offer to send clips, you can get a gig through a pal (Joe and I have done this many times) or even send in a finished piece. Queries are part of being a freelancer, but not the whole deal.

I’d say in the beginning of my career I searched for work almost 100% of the time by sending a query letter. Great way to get started–especially when you don’t have clips or experience. But expect to be very patient. Once you are a little more established it can pay to explore other ways of getting work. Ask pals in the biz for leads. Answer ads and begin to get a feel for what that road looks like. My personal favorite way to search for work is simply to find a publication and send a letter of inquiry.

The letter of inquiry works well for publications that are local or smaller. Most big mags will pass on this format–they want queries and are too busy to sift through a letter for information. So what do I do specifically? Simple. I send one paragraph. I introduce myself, list a few mags I’ve been published in, ask if they use freelancers and leave my contact info along with an offer to send clips if they’d like to see them. (Notice I don’t just send clips. That’s bad manners.) Try to tailor your approach to the publication instead of sending a generic letter that you copy and paste again and again. And make sure you send it to the right person–call if you have to.

This approach has worked well for me and is far less time consuming than continually trying to come up with query ideas. Give it a try. Let us know how it works for you.