Writers Unbound

The Market is Open

Monday morning. Freelance writers groan, yawn, grab their robes and pad into their kitchens, stand waiting as the coffee brews. Computer flickers on and one hand meanders with the mouse while the other holds the PopTart away from the keyboard.
Five job sites to check, a few good possibilities for the day. Ten minutes later, there are ten tabs open, a half-consumed strawberry frosted square sitting by the notebook and a hand alternating between pencil-scratched notes and mouse clicks.

It’s Monday. The market is open. What will you do this morning? Do you have a plan? Do you have an inkling of what your week holds? Are you squeezing in an hour or so before it’s off to your real job? Are you feeding and dressing kids before you get some silence and time to work?

Don’t Write!

Two suggestions for the way you spend your writing time today:
1) Market
2) Manage

Egads, Batman, I didn’t even say write! I know, I know. Let me quote a few people who know lots more than I do about this sort of thing.

You Could Take My Word For It, Or…

Seth Godin, for example, whose interview in the 2008 Writer’s Market got me thinking about this writers-need-to-market-more topic. Of course, writers marketing themselves isn’t a new idea. We talk about it, blog about it, write about it. There’s the whole universe of blogs about blogging. Marketing is necessary. Often, though, we still don’t give it enough attention or don’t give it the right kind of attention.

A Decent Marketing Plan

The interviewer of the Writer’s Market article, Anthony Tedesco, asks this question of Godin: “What marketing plan would you recommend for an author who has time but not money to spend?”
Answer: “Build a blog and a squidoo lens. Contribute to bulletin boards and forum. Give help, don’t ask. Build a permission database of people who want to hear from you. Then write.”
Then Tedesco asks another question: “What’s the best book marketing plan when the budget is somewhere around “sky’s the limit”?
Answer: “Same.”

Don’t Be Cheap

One word: networking. But not sleazy, slicked-back-hair, “Have I got a deal for you” networking. Ew. Don’t be the QVC of the writing world. Have a little class. I think the key is this four-word sentence of Godin’s: “GIVE HELP, DON’T ASK.”

In this post, Godin elaborates: “it takes about six years of hard work to become an overnight success. So, if you’re going to write a book in six years, please start now and focus on hard work, breaking new ground and being a standup guy.”

Marketing is only as good, valuable, and effective as the product it seeks to promote. If you cheat on marketing by posting a few comments here and there, polishing up the surface of your site, and then shamelessly self-promoting, you will end up with, possibly, an initial rush of interest followed by silence.

So. The lesson, in brief? Dedicate significant time from your week (start today) to helpful marketing. Read, and leave insightful comments. Answer questions. Offer help. Guest post for no charge. Follow up with people. Get cards made, and give them out but only when appropriate. Make the other person’s interests more important than your own.

Manage Yourself

I didn’t forget Suggestion #2.

Take at least an hour on Monday to create a plan for your week. Set goals, make a list, block out time, brainstorm ideas, construct outlines, gather resources.

That’s it. The rest is up to you!

By the way, if you still don’t like wasting all this time on Monday, then go ahead and write on Mondays. Just do your marketing and managing on Sunday night.

Make it a good day!

Hi Writers, Once again I’ve received questions on freelance writing bid sites such as elance and guru.com. They’ve obviously got a bad rep in the freelance world, and I am one of the very few who is happy with my experience.

The main reason for my happiness is one of my biggest customers. I edit materials for a company 4-5 times per year at an hourly rate of $30-80 per hour- depending on the subject of said materials. Obviously that’s a big range, but this is an educational curriculum company, so the subject and level (K-12) has a lot to do with the amount of fact hcecking I have to do. Either way, it’s not a rate to sneeze at!

This company found me through iFreelance last Spring, and has used me for about a year now.

Last fall I met a mortgage/real estate broker who offers short ebooks on his website. I edit and format his ebooks for $150 per book. They usually take me anywhere from 1-4 hours. Again, not bad. This customer found me on elance and has used my services twice.

You do have to invest money in a bid site. That alone can throw people off. I don’t particularly like paying for jobs. I struggle with it every day. However, when I did my 2007 taxes, I used my records to compare the cost of elance to the customers I obtained from elance. The cost was about 6%  of my total elance income.  

Bid sites can work. However, you need to be smart about how you use them. Here are some ways to make bid sites work for you.

• Begin at the beginning. Veteran writers are not going to get the rate they  deserve on bid sites without any feedback on the bid site. That’s really silly, but that’s the way it works. Join a site when you are just starting out, that way you don’t have to compromise your rates.
• DON’T COMPROMISE YOUR RATES. Come up with your bottom hourly rate and stick to it. Most of the complaints about bid sites focus on the low paying buyers. Who cares? Ignore them. 
• Focus on the companies. I have found that the most reliable and best paying buyers are mid-sized American or UK-based companies.

I think my success with elance is due to these 3 guidelines. I have noticed that little by little, as my company grew, I needed elance less and less. I generally use elance for some quick turnaround projects that I need to meet my monthly income goals.

Good luck. And, if it’s not working for you— DON’T waste your writing time on it.

Greetings readers and writers. Last week we began this 5-part series on finding markets for your magazine articles. I hope some of the resources I gave were new and useful to you.

My challenge today: to gift unto you a good variety of personal bookmarks of “potential markets” that I have earmarked while browsing the net/applying for jobs/chatting and networking.

All of these “potential markets” had a call out for new material or a blog post, or were the subject of freelancers discussion within the last 6 months.

Most of these links are directly to their “writers guidelines,” which is, of course, your best jumping off point.

Now, onto the list, in no particular order!

• From Brave New traveler, a list of over 50 travel magazines that want to publish you!
• Babble.com Writer’s Submissions page.
• Chicken Soups Calls. Ok, not particularly magazines, but a good place to sell short, personal essays.
• Skirt Magazine writer’s guidelines.
• Faith, Hope and Joy: The Unexpected Side Effects of Cancer is accepting short personal essay submissions until December 31.
• So you want to contribute to Grandparents.com?
• Highlights Magazine seems to release new calls every couple months.
• National Parks Conservation Association has writer’s guidlines available.
• Wow. Poets and Writers has a large, varied listing.
• Back 2 College is a magazine aimed at adults reentering college to start or finish a degree.

Well, I have many, many more. If you’re not seeing a particular genre in which you’re interested, leave a comment and I will be happy to see what I can come up with!

markets, writers, submissions

Hello and welcome back! We’re in the midst, nearing the end, of a market-finding series, suggested a week back by a reader who wanted to know where/how to sell more stuff. I’ve focused this series on targeting magazines.

I’m going to deviate a bit and look at Ezines today. If you’re a regular reader, you know that I gave a general intro to ezines here, including pros and cons, which I think are worth another read.

However, the bottom line in that post, in relation to markets and market series, is that ezines might just be worth your time, especially if you are a new writer. (And, honestly, even if you’re a veteran.)

Instead of rehashing the whole old post (please, take a look at it), I’d like to highlight some of my fave ezines, and perhaps jog your query writing hand in the process . I may have mentioned some of these in past posts or my other blogs, as I am drawing from my bookmarks here.

 Women on Writing: Pretty self explanatory title, huh? It’s a very chatty read, be sure to match your writing style to theirs.

Work Home You: I’m am such a fan of this magazine, and honestly, it’s on my query list, if I could just find a minute!

The Muse Marquee: I will admit that I’m not sure if MM accepts queries from outside readers. However, I also admit it’s one of my faves, so hopefully you’ll garner some inspiration anyway!

As always, BEST to you!

ezines, magazines, getting published

A couple days ago we began a series on finding markets, specifically targeting magazines/trade journals.

My second most trusted resource for finding markets, after the Writers Market, is Places for Writers. Places for Writers regularly posts calls for content from journals, magazines and other print outlets nationwide (perhaps even worldwide!)

Places for Writers is at the top of my bookmarks for several reasons. For one, it is updated often. However, past calls are easily accessed through their archives.

Secondly, Places for Writers doesn’t just post a magazine and some bare bones info. Instead, they regularly give details and hints about the print outlet, what they are looking for, and how to approach them.

Third, the remainder of their site is also a great resource. They’ve got links to writing contests, and even a section specifically devoted to young readers.

Be sure to check them out when shopping around your next piece! 

writers markets, places for writers, getting published

Last Friday, we began a series on finding markets for your writing, and are focusing first on articles/magazines and perhaps some non-fiction essay markets, which can be found in similar ways.

We started at the beginning, sort of conquering “the chicken or the egg” riddle and found a decent mix of writers here and throughout the net who tend to oscillate between beginning with the targeted market or beginning with the piece.

Today, we’re going to begin finding a market for that (hypothetical) piece that you’ve got burning a hole in your hot little hand…er…hard drive….

Enter: The Resource of All Resources. The Writers Market.

For those new to the writing and publishing world, the Writers Market is a huge print resource listing a downright feast of magazines and trade publications. Each entry also provides hints and tips for each entry regarding how to approach with an idea, who to direct pitches to, what to avoid, and how to get the editor’s attention. Honestly, as a resource, it’s one of the best out there.

Writers Market is also made of an online component- a subscription-based service that basically provides the same thing, but also adds in newer listings, updates, and software that helps you track your submissions. 

Veterans, don’t fret! I know your Writer’s Market is thumbed through and flagged up! Tomorrow, we’ll continue our series on finding markets, and perhaps you can jump in pass along some of your favorite little gems!  

writers market

In a past post, one reader said they’d like to see more information on finding markets for your writing.

Today, I’m starting a blog series on selling to the consumer and trade magazine markets.

I was fortunate to intern under a magazine with a decent circulation in college, and found my editor/supervisor to be a wealth of knowledge. I also write and edit for a local magazine, and although the publisher himself actively seeks out our writers, I have a sense of what he likes to see from them.

However, unfortunately (or fortunately I guess), I haven’t needed to go through the process of querying very much, as I’ve found these contacts to be enough- for now ;) So I did some digging for you, dear readers, so that you can benefit from those actually in the trenches of querying. I think that viewpoint is equally as important as the editor’s viewpoint for those just beginning the query process.

The Beginning 

My first and foremost question was the very beginning of the process. Do you begin with the idea, or begin with the audience?

 Of the few times that I did query, waaay back, I was..ahem…pushed to it by a professor who particularly liked an article. So, I had an article in hand, and had to match it to a publication.

However, I figured this may not always be the case, and did some research and poking. Sure enough, there are writers who are inspired by a particular magazine or type of magazine, and may write a wholly targeted article to/at that magazine.

Honestly, I think that either approach has the potential to work, as long as the end product is a polished article and a polished query.

So, let’s begin at the beginning. What approach do you take in marketing to magazines? Do you have an article in hand? Or do you simply have a targeted publication? Or, perhaps you’re somewhere in between, as one of the community members I polled said- having more of a rough idea of an article that is then pushed, pulled and mashed to the magazine’s specifications?

magazine writing, magazine markets, getting published

I spent a massive portion of last week running the Scholastic Book Fair at my child’s school. Overall I think I spent upwards of 30 hours between prep, marketing, set up, working at it, and tearing it down.

So, on top of that, I figured I’d give Scholastic a little extra boost (as if the sweat of my labor wasn’t enough) and feature them in a market profile:

Scholastic Inc.

 Imprints/Divisions: Scholastic Press, Scholastic Library Publishing, Grolier, Children’s Press, Franklin Watts, Grolier Online.

Accepting:  Agented queries on children’s (up to middle grades) fiction and non fiction. (Also accepting non-agented queries on professional books only).

Offers: Variable advance, royalties on retail price.

Not currently interested in: fairy tales, retellings, board books or series fictions.

Best of luck! 

(Oh, and  by the way, my weekend wasn’t ALL work. I did get to see Love in the Time of Cholera, the movie based on Gaby Garcia Marquez’s novel. I loved it! Two thumbs up!)

scholastic, gabriel garcia marquez, love in the time of cholera

I must thank Write From Home for this one!

The Parenting Publications of America Association will charge you 50 bucks if you wish to have a listing of their parenting publications who are members….Sounds like great thing to have for us writers, right? Sure…but who wants to spend 50 bucks on it? (not me, thanks, I’m saving for a new printer that works with my Vista).

So, as Write at Home explains, you can get around that by visiting the site, clicking on ‘Find a Member’ in the left navigation, and then plugging in your state and searching. POP! You’ve got all the parenting publications in your state, just waiting for your well thought out query!

Many people answered my post from yesterday about what you NEED in yet another writing website, and I will most certainly get on that soon. Items mentioned were blogging and cold calling, among others. So let’s start brainstorming!

Hump day’s near done everyone!

I spend so very much time on the internet. Given that my work is 90% virtual, that’s probably obvious & expected. Since I tend to surf a lot, I’ve noticed that there’s a million writer’s websites out there. Any info you want can be had, and quite easily.

With that said, I really am wondering how I can help readers of WritersUnbound. I know you’re out there! SiteMeter told me you’re visiting!

If you’ve happened along here looking for something in particular, would you kindly let me know what it is? Potential markets, jobs, advice, a peek into another writers world, maybe? I’d really like to help ya out!

As you can see, my last couple of blogs have spanned many topics and resources. I hope you’ve found them usable!

So, leave me a message. What do you  need out of a good writing blog?

Meanwhile, so that I can be the best blogger I can be, I’ll be following up on this story about blogger blindness.