Category Archives: lifestyle

Interview With Delphine Pontvieux

August 26, 2011 Catherine L. Tully 1 Comment

Today we have another interview to share with you….please welcome author Delphine Pontvieux…

1. How did you wind up a writer?

I always enjoyed writing, and I am also an avid reader. When I was a teenager, I used to write short stories on an electronic IBM typewriter my dad gave me (to replace my mechanic typewriter in the mid 80s.) Then, after university, I started working. Other than writing marketing plans, I did not get much creative writing done. Then, a few years ago, I was asked to write a series of articles for a scuba diving publication. i realized how much i enjoyed writing them, thus i started writing more articles for other magazines. Then one day I woke up from a dream I definitely needed to put down on paper, which i did. That’s how I realized, four chapters in, that I was writing a novel…and that was how it happened.

2. Was the road to being a writer what you expected? Why or why not?

Yes, for the most part. It’s a solitary road. It eats up all of your free time. Forget trying to quit smoking while writing a novel. But you also meet awesome people you would have never met otherwise. It is a very tough, yet, rewarding, adventure in the end.

3. What has been your best moment or biggest accomplishment as a writer?

Without hesitation, the day I received a shipment of 3,000 hardcover books written by…me! I broke open a box from the top of the pile and took out a book… The adrenaline was flowing through my veins as I looked at the cover and opened the book to a random page (mostly in fear of finding out that the text would be upside down or who knows what other tragic printing mistake I would find in there). When I saw that all looked good, my hands continued shaking, this time because I was so happy and proud to be holding my own book in my hands.

4. What has been your most difficult moment?

I honestly can’t think of a difficult moment. There are many instances when I feel a little demoralized because I wish I was further ahead, I wish all my promotion and marketing efforts would bring me more exposure than they do, but at the end of the day, it’s all been a very positive experience. So many good things have happened to me since I published my novel, the feedback and reviews I keep on receiving are very good, and I have met amazing people along the way. I still enjoy writing more than ever… I really can’t complain.

5. Can you share your top piece of writing advice with Freelance-Zone readers?

Write for the love of writing first, and the pleasure and sense of achievement it brings you before you write for any other purpose.

BIO: Delphine Pontvieux was born in Versailles and grew up in France. She studied at Stetson University in Deland, Florida and graduated from the University of Burgundy in Dijon. She also lived, studied and worked in Australia, the USA, Spain and the Netherlands until she moved to Chicago, Illinois, in 1998, where she still lives today. She has 10 years of international sales and promotion experience in the music and entertainment industry.

Delphine Pontvieux was the recipient of the “2010 French in Chicago Community award” Oscar in the category “Arts and Culture” and recently won the Indie Excellence Book Award 2011 in the Thriller category for her novel, a political thriller titled ETA-Estimated Time of Arrest. Follow Delphine Pontvieux’s acting career on imdb.com

Here’s info about her latest work…

OUT NOW: “ETA – Estimated Time of Arrest”, a novel by Delphine Pontvieux

Read an excerpt of the book here: http://www.missnyet.com/Prologue.pdf

Hardcover format available at www.missnyet.com, amazon.com, borders.com, barnesandnoble.com and more.

Also available in Ebook format at Amazon.com: http://www.amazon.com/ETA-Estimated-Time-of-Arrest-ebook/dp/B004CLYN4C/ref=dp_kinw_strp_1?ie=UTF8&m=AG56TWVU5XWC2,

as well as Barnes and Noble: http://search.barnesandnoble.com/ETA-Estimated-Time-Of-Arrest/Delphine-Pontvieux/e/9780984217625/?itm=3&USRI=eta

advice, editorial, lifestyle

Why Freelance Writing Is Like Waterskiing

August 15, 2011 Catherine L. Tully

by Catherine L. Tully

Goofy name for a post?

Not really, when you think about it.

Have you ever been waterskiing–or, if not, have you seen it? If so, you’ll be able to relate to the similarities once I’m made them plain here:

Similarity #1 – Getting up on the skis is not as easy as it looks.

Starting a freelance writing career usually takes time, practice and patience. You don’t get it right away, and more often than not, your mistakes are pretty big in the beginning. You crash a lot.

Similarity #2 – Staying up on the skis requires strength and technique.

Once you learn how to get work and avoid common pitfalls as a writer, it takes time to make a living at it. You need to perfect your voice, your technique and your approach. You have to build strong relationships that will help you stay in this career field for the long haul, rather than going back to a day job or waiting tables on the side. Continue reading Why Freelance Writing Is Like Waterskiing →

advice, blogging, Business, editorial, featured, Interviews

5 Questions with Jake Poinier

August 5, 2011 Jake Poinier

Jake runs Phoenix-based Boomvang Creative Group, writes an advice column for freelancers as Dr. Freelance, and is a regular contributor here at Freelance-Zone.com—most recently posting on “The 7 Scariest Words in the Freelance World.”

1. How did you wind up a writer?
I got my first encouragement from a high school English teacher, which led to writing for the school paper and later for my hometown paper in Massachusetts. After graduating college, I worked for about two years each at several different magazines. I realized at that point that my freelance stable had a lot of successful, independent-minded people in it…and I thought, “Why not me?” That was in 1999, and I’m happier with each passing year.

2. Was the road to being a writer what you expected? Why or why not?
Approximately. I consider myself fortunate to have worked for and with some outstanding businesses, which taught me more than an MBA ever could. I honestly don’t *love* writing the way some freelancers do, but the entrepreneurial aspect is what motivates me—which I credit to my dad.

3. What has been your best moment or biggest accomplishment as a writer?
Ha, I’d like to say it hasn’t happened yet. But I still get a thrill from each new client, had a blast ghostwriting my first book a few years ago, and I’ve really enjoyed the opportunity to interview some of the world’s top professional speakers for Speaker magazine. And I’m looking forward to publishing my own first book in a few months.

4. What has been your most difficult moment?
I think the shock of my first non-paying client. I’d done a big web project for a local business, which went belly-up before I got paid. It was a cold, hard reminder that, particularly if you’re doing a sizable amount of work for an unproven entity, you need to ask for a deposit. If they say “no”…there’s your sign.

5. Can you share your top piece of writing advice with Freelance-Zone readers?
Be the writer who you’d want to hire if you were an editor or client. Some folks want lots of communication and updates, some just want the finished product. Figure out what the person wants, and deliver it.

editorial, fiction, Interviews, Marketing yourself

5 Questions With Diane Holmes

August 2, 2011 Diane Holmes

Diane is the Founder and Chief Alchemist over at Pitch-University, a site devoted to teaching writers to pitch their books and make wise career decisions.

She also writes two columns here at Freelance-Zone:

Marketing-Zone: Marketing Yourself and Your Book
Fiction-Zone: Leaps in Fiction Mastery

1. How did you wind up a writer?

The best way possible. I was a Reader. Yes, big ‘r.’ In fact, I was reading adult fiction by the 5th grade.

But I’m not one of those writers who knew as an toddler they wanted to write. I only knew after graduating with a marketing degree and working as a Systems Engineer (Programmer) for 4 years. Yeah, then I knew.

What am I doing on a corporate death march? I’m supposed to be a writer!

And so I quit my job. (Don’t laugh. It only seems rash in hind-sight.)

2. Was the road to being a published writer what you expected? Why or why not?

Uh…No. No, no, no, no, no-no-no-no-noooooooooooooo,

So, no, I didn’t expect the years and years of rejection.

You have to remember, I’m a novelist. It can take years to complete a project. And then there are the years of rejection that can follow. The industry is changing now, but even now, the traditional publishers are a slow lot.

I can tell you, I’m extremely stubborn. That’s why I’m still here, and that’s saying something.

3. What has been your best moment or biggest accomplishment as a writer?

Well, I’ve co-owned a small press, had plays produced, founded and run large writers’ groups. And umpteen other things.

But my best moment is always the moment I know I just wrote a sentence that nailed it. I got to the truth of it, whatever it is, and no one else has ever said what I’ve just written in exactly that way.

Ultimately, I’m a storyteller. And when story and the writing of it transcends me, then that’s the moment I’m a better person for having written it. I’ve transmuted words into story, shaped experience into meaning, and participated in a form of myth-making that expands back thousands of years, and reaches forward into the future even longer than that..

That’s a pretty good moment.

I love everything about writing. And this ability to explore concepts and make meaning out of experience is not just found in storytelling, but it’s also present in any form of writing, including my articles here.

4. What has been your most difficult moment?

Being stuck. And writing and writing and writing every day, all day, yet only being more stuck. This is the sort of experience that breaks your heart, because it’s so illogical. So bad-bad-bad.

Creative careers have a downside that is related to how very much you care and how big you dream.There aren’t many careers where you can end up broken in exactly this way.

5. Can you share your top piece of writing advice with Freelance-Zone readers?

Be a lifetime writer.

Care deeply. Always be working toward mastery. Love your industry. Show up to your career with the attitude that you’re on the journey to greatness. Not acclaim. Not that kind of greatness. The greatness of an authentic, fully-explored, powerful interaction with readers.

Be that.

Interviews, lifestyle

5 Questions With Catherine L. Tully

July 29, 2011 Catherine L. Tully 1 Comment

Freelance-Zone Editor, Catherine L. Tully

Hey there.

We’re going to do something fun here on Freelance-Zone.com in the coming weeks.

Interviews.

Here’s the rub:

Each writer will answer 5 questions (below) about their life as a writer. I’m going to get the proverbial ball rolling.

We’re also going to toss this out to our readers…if you would like to answer these five questions and be featured on the site, send your answers, along with a photo of yourself to: editor (at) freelance-zone (dot) com.

Nothing like free publicity. 🙂

Here goes:

1. How did you wind up a writer?

This is actually funny. I wanted to work from home and I was trying to think of something I could do. I had one writing job at the time (very, very, very part-time) and thought, “Why not become a writer.”

Yep. That’s it!

It took a lot longer than I thought it would. 🙂

2. Was the road to being a writer what you expected? Why or why not?

Heh. See above.

It took a lot longer than I thought it would. I started in 2001 and although I went full time in ’02, I was putting in crazy hours to do it. I wasn’t what I would consider comfortable until ’05 or so if memory serves.

3. What has been your best moment or biggest accomplishment as a writer?

Breaking into travel writing. I love writing about places, restaurants, buildings and outings. It’s amazing. I still can’t believe I’ve gotten to do some of the things I have. I’m very grateful.

4. What has been your most difficult moment?

Moment? How about moments? 🙂 Typically these are associated with difficult clients. A seemingly great job can be truly awful if the wrong person is in charge. Still, this is true of any job, so I take it in stride. Here are a few of the highlights:

I recall having to chase a client for 6 months over $25, finishing an assignment on my iPhone because my power went out in the middle of a blizzard and having an editor put their own byline on my piece after they added some content to it without my permission.

Lovely, huh?

5. Can you share your top piece of writing advice with Freelance-Zone readers?

Simplify whatever you can. Time is so very valuable.

And be tenacious. Always.

(Oh, and just in case you were wondering…I did get the $25 bucks from that client. Hence the advice above.)

Catherine L. Tully has been a full-time freelance writer since 2002 and is co-founder of Freelance-Zone.com. She is also the owner/editor and webmaster of 4dancers.org, co-founder of Pas de Trois at dancing3.com and owns the group Dance Writers on LinkedIn.You can reach her at info (at) catherineltully (dot) com.

1. How did you wind up a writer?

2. Was the road to being a published writer what you expected? Why or why not?

3. What has been your best moment or biggest accomplishment as a writer?

4. What has been your most difficult moment?

5. Can you share your top piece of writing advice with Freelance-Zone readers?

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