Tweet Last year I sent out a flurry of queries and a couple completed manuscripts. I worked like crazy to reach that impossible, unattainable dream-to get published in a well-known magazine. And here’s what happened: No, I didn’t get into Glamour or O magazines. A prayer wasn’t answered. A miracle was yet to be seen. Instead, last year’s queries were answered by this year’s, “I’m sorry your idea doesn’t fit with the current needs of the magazine.” After listening to my heart shatter for a few minutes, I put myself back together like Humpty Dumpty. I realized that one rejecting…
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Tweet Photo by striatic Have you ever had a bad haircut? I’m sure we’ve all had them. As for me, I’m like TLC’s Duggarts, I’m on my fifth and counting. The thing my husband always says after I get back from another disappointing hairdo is, “I don’t get it. You tell them exactly what you want and they never do it the way you want.” “Hmm,” I thought. There’s a bit of wisdom in there somewhere. The more I pondered, the more I saw that there was a similarity between bad haircuts and bad business.
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Tweet Photo by: Wit Freelance writing is kind of like fishing. There’s a lot of waiting involved. You throw out the bait, wait for a bite and then get ready for the fight. However, instead of thumb twiddling or going to the opposite extreme and getting unnecessarily busy (online shopping or applying for jobs like crazy, for example), this may be a good time to get yourself organized and prepared for the next bite. Here are a few productive things to do while you’re waiting for your next big project:
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Tweet Yes, I know the holidays are officially over. Feeling any gift getter remorse? I didn’t get the Kindle this year so I feel your pain. For you writers out there who were disappointed with 2009 Christmas gifts, here are a few writerly gifts for yourself. Loving this magazine holder. What writer doesn’t own an embarrassing collection of magazines? Remember Carrie Bradshaw’s overpowering collection of Vogue editions circa 1980 and beyond? This one brings a certain modern appeal that hides a stack (5-10) in a bright beautiful way. Get it at Etsy.com for $38.
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Tweet Have you done it yet? Put pen to paper or fingers to keyboard? What will be your hopes, goals and dreams for 2010? Sure it may not be Christmas yet. Your tree is still up, ornaments hung and Santa has yet to visit your nest. But beyond the 25th, is another monster lurking, the end of 2009 and the beginning of a whole other year. What would YOU like to see happen in 2010? I know as a freelance writer I barely have time to take a breath let alone come up with a list of things I’d like…
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Tweet Something pulled me from my warm bed and hour of mindless magazine reading today. I was thinking about my last post. I was thinking about how Walt Disney encountered a lot of bad people in the biz and still waded in his way through the slime and got to the other side. In fact, not just in spite of the greedy people out there but because he had resilience. There are many traits important in having a successful freelance writing business and I definitely think resilience is one of them. Resilience helps you keep going. It’s what helped Olympic…
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Tweet A writer could learn a thing or two from Mr. Walt Disney. My husband and I attended the Walt Disney Family Museum in the Presidio area of San Francisco this weekend. You can read my overall impression of the museum here. But if you’re a writer or author, stick around, this post is for you! I didn’t know much about Walt Disney except for the fact that he created 2 amazing amusement parks, one in California and the other where I got engaged in Florida. I also felt some kind of weird spiritual connection with the guy. In a…
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Tweet I was talking with a fellow writer the other day and then it hit me. We were both striving for the same thing-to make a living as a freelance writer. But we had very different ways of reaching our goal. For me, business is a lot slower. I really want to focus on magazine and newspaper writing but the process is a lot longer than other writing gigs. There’s querying, waiting, writing and then waiting again. To make up for it, I do have a few clients that I do copywriting for. But even with that, I’m still a…
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Tweet One thing I love about freelance writing, besides the writing itself, is how there are SO many opportunities for self-growth. Confronting our inner fears, for example, is one of them. And in every freelance writer’s bag, there is an array of fears to pick from. There’s the fear of rejection, for example. To the beginning writer, a letter of rejection sometimes feels like a Dear John letter. Our writing wasn’t good enough and in return we’re not good enough either. Fear of going broke. At times writing for a living feels like a lofty career. One that’s more for…