Tag Archives: writing

advice, editorial, lifestyle

Confessions of an Editor, Part Two

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Since I took my recent editing gig at an Internet publication and e-commerce site I won’t name here, I’ve jumped into the hiring game headfirst. I put out a recent call for writers and as expected, I was flooded with responses.

Regular readers of this site may recall me complaining in my last Confessions entry about a good 50% of the replies, which are totally useless. I won’t be responding to any of them because of a simple inability to follow directions. I won’t even send a mean-spirited note to say, “Drop dead!”

A disturbingly large portion of the responses–with or without my automatic dismissal based on the above–also had shoddy grammar in the cover letter, and writing samples riddled with errors. Folks, here’s a FREE WRITING SECRET for you straight from the desk of yours truly; Continue reading Confessions of an Editor, Part Two →

resources

Sandra Miller-Louden on Greeting Card Myths

Sandra Miller-Louden is a professional greeting card writer with an axe to grind. She’s got four big pet peeves regarding the myths of greeting card writing. Do you really need to submit artwork with your prose? Or use rhyming poetry? So many old chestnuts floating out there… I ran across Miller-Louden’s excellent article, “So You Want To Write Greeting Cards?” at Absolute Write and am impressed–it seems there are plenty of opportunities in this niche market, once you know where to look. I am a big believer in spreading the word about even the tiniest bit of insider information that can eliminate myths about writing, so this one’s definitely worth your time.

Lounden is the author of many works on this subject, including her 2008 title, Well Versed: Let’s Write Greeting Cards! This one comes out Friday May 30, according to her website. If you’re looking for some additional info on breaking into this industry, she has plenty to teach. I am looking forward to seeing the book come out; greeting cards have never really been on my writer’s radar and since there’s a first time for everything…

advice, editorial, lifestyle

Darren Rowse Says Bloggers are Pawns

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Darren Rowse is one of my favorite bloggers, as he writes about blogging itself. As someone who keeps his finger on the pulse of the blogging scene, he’s what I consider a trusted source. He’s also in the enviable position of being a writer’s writer. For those of us who are a bit further in the trenches in the word game, his perspective is quite interesting. I myself have to play catch-up with blogging trends in between gigs and try to keep up with the changing face of the industry. Rowse makes it his day to day business. Nice one, mate.

A recent entry by Rowse draws a comparison between bloggers and chess pieces. Rowse reposted a great piece by Nadeesha Cabral who says bloggers are pawns, with the playing field clogged with a great number of useless pieces at first. As the pawns drop out of the game, the remaining pieces become more valuable. The ones that make it to the end of the chess board naturally become incredibly valuable and can navigate the game in more powerful roles.

One thing Cabral doesn’t mention is the flip side of the comparison to bloggers as pawns; Continue reading Darren Rowse Says Bloggers are Pawns →

advice, editorial

How Ignorance Will Make You Sick

Danger–rant ahead.

I’ve just finished watching a segment on WGN TV that’s pissed me off so badly I can’t see straight. WillItBlend.com is a gimmick marketing website for the Blendtec Total Blender. If you haven’t herd of this one, chances are you’ve been living in a cave as they seem to be everywhere lately. Will It Blend? features video clips of a variety of gadgets and household items being pulverized by the Total Blender. The videos are a YouTube hit, and a favorite of guy blogs such as GearCrave.com.

When the WillItBlend.com crew showed up on WGN’s morning news program today, I watched a cell phone blended to dust along with a coffee cup and a working flashlight.

Pretty harmless, right? Until you remember that cell phones, cell phone batteries and ordinary flashlight batteries have toxic chemicals and heavy metals in them. The WillItBlend demonstrators released toxic particulate matter from these blending stunts into the air when they unceremoniously dumped the results of the blending out onto the table in the WGN studios. Neither the host or the guys working the blender wore any kind of face mask to protect themselves from the toxic contents of cell phone and flashlight batteries. Continue reading How Ignorance Will Make You Sick →

reading

Secrets of a Freelance Writer by Robert Bly

secrets-of-a-freelance-writer-book.jpgIn the early days of my career I cut my teeth reading Robert Bly’s books on freelance writing, and while I daresay that most of the people who read this great book will NOT make $100,000 a year, they CAN earn more than enough to keep the beer and chicken wings flowing freely thank you very much.

For my money, the real value for books like these is as much about showing you that other people can and do earn a living doing nothing but freelancing as it is giving you the advice on queries, research, taxes and all the other stuff. One day somebody will write the definitive book on how to avoid writing, blow off deadlines and ignore your creditors, and we can all learn some lessons in reverse. For now, I highly suggest books like Bly’s, but please take that dollar amount with a grain of salt until you can look back on your career from the time you first cracked this book open and laugh about whether that figure applies to you or not.

Maybe I am a bit biased against dollar amounts on the cover–if only because I keep finding used books with titles like “How to earn $25,000 a Year as a Photographer”. HAH! How dated is THAT one? Why not just call it “How To Take Pictures While Starving.”

Buy for $11.56 

advice

Not Getting Paid? Five Tips For Resolution

Freelancers are always running into little problems…shifting deadlines, clients who don’t know what the hell they really want, and the worst one of all–the publisher who won’t pay for some reason. Handling this situation calls for a tactful blend of psyhological warfare and extreme tact, but you can win if you play your cards properly. In a recent dispute with an editor over payment, I used the following five tactics for successful resolution of the problem. I’m happy to report that I did get paid, I’m still writing for the publication, and everyone seems happy. Here’s what I did:

Continue reading Not Getting Paid? Five Tips For Resolution →