The weekly ezine with a road map for
sidetracked writers.
"Be better writers today
than we were yesterday."
Welcome back and hello to our new subscribers! (links are
in blue)
Thought for the Week - Set a Date
Have you ever noticed how just having a date helps you get a project done? When I got married, we couldn't do much until we had the Date. I'm having a garage sale sometime this spring, and when I finalize the date, then I can put a schedule together of what needs to be done when.
Start by working backward from your date and list the tasks you need to do. For example, for my garage sale, I have to: (1) find old clothes in my closet, (2) find old clothes in kid's closets, (3) sort toys, (4) price items, (5) clean garage, and (6) place ad in paper.
Estimate how long each task will take. If you don't have enough holes in your schedule to get
everything done, it's easy to see why you need to move the date forward.
Taxes are due TUESDAY!
-- In a hurry to finish your taxes? No time to get that form you just discovered you needed? Don’t worry, you can get all the
IRS forms and publications from IRS.gov.
Select from a list by number, or check out the topical index if you don’t know the exact number or title.
-- Out of time? Get Form 4868
for an automatic four-month extension of time to file.
P.P.S. If you're trying to market a book, consider taking the Buzz your Book class at
http://www.writersweekly.com/wwu/courses/marketing.html
I took it last fall, and it was fantastic. M.J. Rose spent hours helping me craft a custom marketing plan. The class won't be available again until September so you might want to jump on it. Classes begin May 5th.
IN THIS ISSUE
==> File Your Favorites, File Your Ideas
==> Successful Selling to Regional Parenting Publications
==> Review of Feminine Wiles
Monday, April 14, 2003
Find Your Favorites
Check out
the 2003 list of the 101 Best Sites for Writers in the May issue of Writer's Digest. Several old favorites are listed, and lots of new ones -- including several Writer-Reminders subscribers! The list is not online yet, but the magazine is available at Borders.
Don't forget to file your favorite links -- in Internet Explorer you can sort your favorites into folders. Use your
Master List categories to get you started.
Tuesday, April 15, 2003
Capture Those Ideas
Do you do have a lot of seasonal queries? I do, and one of the best ways to file them is by month.
For example, suppose at Christmastime I have an idea for a holiday craft idea for kids. I can't query it, though, until next year probably in July or August. So where should I put this idea until then?
Use Monthly Idea folders, either hardcopy or on your computer or both.
Create folders for January through December. Then type up the
query, and save it in the July folder. Each month check the current folder to see what's sitting there to surprise you with an easy query.
Monthly task:
___ Send queries
for August, September and October including back-to-school and
Halloween.
Wednesday, April 16, 2003
Research
Check out the search tool recommended in the 101 Best Sites --
iLOR Search offers a way to track your results. Place your mouse over a link, and a popup menu appears to let you (1) add the link to a list in a separate window, and then email the list or add it to your favorites (2) go to your link but keep your search alive in another window,
(3) open the link in a background window, or (4) open in a new window. What a great way to keep track of all your sites when researching!
Friday, April 18,
2003
Target Your Market
Looking for markets? Check out the list at Writer's
Crossing. The links are sorted by category
(yay!), and rates and rights are listed.
If you subscribe to the site's newsletters, you get 400 Freelance Writing Markets and a list of 100 Online
Publishers free
Writer's Crossing is now on the list of markets at the end of this newsletter.
Saturday, April 19, 2003
Writer's Clips
Need more clips? Here are some tips on how to get published in a magazine from the staff of Women's Day magazine.
For you freelancers, it's our monthly "update your clips"
tasks:
1. Review your Clips Index and Clips Detail Sheets. Add
new clips and fill in any missing information.
2. Next, dash to the copy center, and make copies of the
clips you have on paper.
3. Update your web site with the most current clips (with
permission first, of course).
Monday, April 21, 2003
Email Queries
Review of the E-Writing Kit for Regional Parenting
Publications by Brette McWhorter Sember
If you write parenting articles, have you checked out the
Parenting E-Writing Kit from MooseintheBirdbath.com? The kit includes an ebook on how to query regional parenting publications; three spreadsheets with to help manage and track articles, submissions and payments; and an email database of addresses for 175 regional parenting publications.
Back in January, I started test-driving this kit for you, and it is definitely worth the money.
I debated about how useful this kit would be... first of all, regional parenting publications do not pay very well (I received $15-$40 for my article). Were these really markets I wanted to pursue since they were so small? Was it worth $30? Plus, couldn't I just gather the email addresses myself?
Here's what I found:
(1) The regional parenting market works a little differently than regular publications and the ebook explains how (I had several "Oh, really?" moments while reading the book).
(2) The author explains how to send your queries to all 175 publications at once. This definitely saves time and makes it worth it to send queries to this market. Let's do some math... suppose five of the 175 publications are interested in your article. If they pay an average of $25, you are up to $125 which is a bit more tolerable than $15 for an article. One thing to check out...make sure your email provider will let you send out this many messages at once without considering it spamming.
(3) While I probably could gather the email addresses myself, it would definitely take me much more time than the $30 cost.
(4) You can purchase an updated email list for $9.99.
(5) The method in this book saves you tons of time because instead of sending queries you send the editors the articles in your email (no waiting on responses to queries and no snail mail). I also didn't have to invoice any of the publications -- they just sent me the checks.
My recommendation -- if you are trying to build your list of clips and like to write parenting articles, you definitely need this kit. Check it out, and read the testimonials at: http://www.mooseinthebirdbath.com/Ebooks.htm
Tuesday, April 22, 2003
Track Your Submissions
Monthly task for freelancers:
___ Glance through the Expected Response Dates on your
Submission Tracker form. Is anything late? Do you need to
follow-up?
Wednesday, April 23, 2003
The Perfect Manuscript
Review of Feminine Wiles: Creative Techniques for Writing Women's Features Stories That Sell
by Donna Elizabeth Boetig
(ISBN 1884956025)
Do you read Family Circle? Or maybe Women's Day or one of the other "Seven Sisters" women's magazines? Have you ever wanted to write for them?
I have been a big reader of Family Circle ever since I was young (my mom gets the magazine), and someday I'd like to publish the perfect manuscript with them.
Feminine Wiles: Creative Techniques for Writing Women's Features Stories That Sell tells you how. It takes you by the hand and leads you through the process.
I loved this book--but not for the reasons I thought I would. I expected a step 1, step 2, step 3 book. Start here, do this, with lots of bulleted suggestions, and I started to get worried when the author said speed reading "... seemed as sinful as swallowing shrimp in one gulp." What? I speed read nearly everything. But not this book. But
it's OK, because this book is written so well, you really don't want to miss a single word about how to write.
The author uses a friendly can-you-believe-I-did-this? message to put the reader at ease, and then acts as a gentle cheerleader to point you in the right direction. You can tell she is a writing teacher who can't wait to see her students published.
As she described how she started writing when her boys were small, turning in her articles to the local newspaper with her son riding in her backpack, I wanted to ask, "So how did you do it? What were your secrets for juggling writing with motherhood?"
Then as she started to describe the articles she had written for Family Circle and Reader's Digest, I realized that her women's stories were some of my very favorites, the ones I remembered nearly 10 years later.
If you've ever considered writing human interest or feature stories and interviews, you've got to read this book. Boetig explains how to handle every step of the process from picking your subjects, to querying the editors, to making your interviewees feel comfortable, and more.
Be sure to read all the way to the end. Some of my favorite chapters were at the back of the book including Gushing (why you shouldn't do it), The Little Black Dress (with a formula for a seven-part query), Never Listen to an Editor (what they say and what they mean), Fact Checkers (explaining what the fact checker does and how you should
participate in the process), and The Reader's Digest Secret Formula (the five parts to their drama stories).
The author's comments on the last page of the book were some of the most
motivating for me:
"It does make you wonder if the world really needs another writer. Will anyone be deprived if we never write another word? ... will we have second thoughts about the difference we might have made if we chose to spend our time another way? ... The thought distressed me, until I realized that ... Instead of supporting the frail with our arms, we support them with our words. When we write about things that really matter, our struggles to write and publish make sense.... Writing about causes close to your heart transforms an act of self-absorption into expression of concern for others."
Feminine Wiles, $14.95, by Donna Elizabeth Boetig (ISBN 1884956025) is available directly from the publisher, Quill Driver Books, at 1-800-497-4909, or at other brick and mortar and online bookstores.
Friday, April 25, 2003
Taxes and Self-Employment Taxes
-- In my state, sales taxes are due by April 30th.
-- Don't forget to file a copy of your taxes in a safe place (we keep all of our together in a box labeled just for taxes).
-- Record the following information, and stick it in your Taxes 2003 folder. It will help with planning for next year:
Wages, Salaries, and Tips
Total income
Adjusted gross income
Taxable income
Tax
Total refund or payment
Saturday, April 26, 2003
Book Writing and Promoting
Authors @ your library is a searchable online database that connects libraries around the country with authors and publicists looking to promote their books. Check out the list of publishers with links to their web sites.
As we round out our month on filing, check out the following site for Internet-based learning in a variety of courses, including A Filing System That Really Works (at the bottom of the page):
I hope you have a relaxing and enjoyable Easter holiday!
-- Julie
To
get this newsletter in your email each week:
Get
the book that goes with the plan for only $14.95!
"I'm on day 5 of your book and already have done more writing and compiled more ideas in this short time as I usually do over several months." -- reader M. Howard
M T W T F S S
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 1. Declutter (only 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 2. Read (only 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 3. Assess (30 seconds to 5 minutes)
_ _ _ _ _ _ _ 4. Write (at least 5 minutes)
Weekly Checklist
For freelance writers: Use this weekly checklist to find, write and send a query every week of 2003!
Monday
__ Make notes on a new idea.
Tuesday: Accounting Day
__ Post your accounting records.
__ Pay bills.
__ Follow up on outstanding invoices and queries.
Wednesday
__ Find a new market using links below.
Thursday: Errand Day
__ Make copies.
__ Return books to library.
__ Make deposit at bank.
Friday
__ Finish query and submit.
__ Match your query to the market.
Saturday Weekly Review
__ How was this week?
__ What's up next week?
__ Review your Projects list in your planner and check the
status.
__ Jot the next action steps for your projects on next week's
calendar.
__ Backup your computer files.
__ Virus scan your computer.
Sunday
__ Relax and enjoy!
__ Do something fun today!
Thanks for visiting Writer-Reminders! If you have comments,
success stories, or suggestions, reply to this message or e-mail
me at :julie@writer-reminders.com
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