Why Every Writer Needs to Join at Least One Writers' Group

I've only recently realized how vital being part of  a writers' group is to my writing's momentum--not to mention how much opportunity and knowledge about the business is offered.

But not all writers' groups are the same--you cannot judge the usefulness of them in general based on your experience at one. When I was part of my first group, I didn't realize that that type wasn't the only choice.

1) A critique group--This is perhaps the most common type found--a group that offer members the chance to critique each others' pieces as the primary focus. This was much like my college experiences in classes and it was familiar. This type is really good for people who need others' feedback, encouragement and direction. This is vital--for a writer to get many peoples' impressions and readings is an education. The longer I was at the work of writing, more and more I became really concerned about how people read my work--were they getting what I intended? Was I successful at my goals? My group could tell me this and that is very valuable. (Note--for writers who don't really want to change anything to better succeed at getting the audience to receive what he/she meant to say will perhaps be very frustrated by this type of group. I remember when I was younger and less mature about feedback and constructive criticism, I didn't really want to be told anything needed improvement!)

2) I attended a conference and in so doing was given membership to a large writer's group, which I never intended to attend. But I started getting emails about the who the guest speakers (all professional writers) were for the next meeting, and I found myself suddenly more than willing to drive an hour to attend! This group offers a monthly meeting with a guest speaker in the industry giving a workshop or talk on some aspect of the business, then after, writers break into small groups for critique on pieces members chose to bring. This has been invaluable to me as a freelance writer and a novelist, equally. Before, I was a closet writer not really driven to publish--but now that I aim to publish (and am publishing), these opportunities are gems! From a full-time freelance writer guest, Hana Hataainan Caye last month to Joyce Magnin, novelist, this month, I'm very appreciative.

3) Through the aforementioned group, I was given the opportunity to join an online critique group made up of three other novelists. Each month, I get the opportunity to send part of my novel manuscript to three other writers and can ask their feedback on questions and problems that concern me most in my plot's development. Writing a novel is such solitary work, and traditional writers groups cannot handle dealing with a novel critique! I'd already taken the beginning to my critique group, and as valuable as that is, I cannot continue taking future chapters, once a year! The only people who can really give good feedback on them middle and end of a book are people who read the beginning. Our little group (of people I've never met in real life) are still in the beginning of our journey, and I cannot assess how valuable it is yet, but just the opportunity to have readers is a gift.

4) A motivational/accountability group. A college friend's husband (a writer with a couple completed novels under his belt ) started this group in their home once with the purpose of letting writers set goals and know that in the next meting, they'd be asked how well they completed that goal. We didn't critique, but more aimed to keep each other on track. I recently read a review of the book 90 Days to Your Novel by Sarah Domet, and read an interview with her talking about how such accountability really makes the difference.

My writing life is so much richer, and more successful, because of these four types--though obviously, I'm not involved in all 4 at the same time. Try finding a group near you by searching your local paper's listings for groups, or try a meetup.com group.

Articles I've published:
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)


Postpartum Depression: Options for Medical and Other Treatment


Why is The United States Reacting Differently Than Other Governments to Cell Phone Risk Study Results?


Pampers' Myths and Facts Page About Environmental and Health Impacts: A Critique

Breaking into the Parenting Magazine Market: Go Across the Pond?

Breaking into the page of parenting magazines is supposedly one of the hardest markets to crack. It makes sense though--there's a glut of writers with that as their expertise--while a handful of moms writing from home may have the chops to write for finance magazines, a handful more who can write about fitness, and some who can write about health issues--what is the most common feature of the many women trying to freelance is a great many of us have kids! I've gotten articles on health and spirituality published considerably easy, but most of my articles, on parenting topics, have yet to find a home.

I started freelancing 9 months ago, and have sent stuff to the big magazines: Parents, Pregnancy, Fit Pregnancy, and have yet to hear anything. I've also tried smaller magazines: Working Mother, Mothering, and Kiwi, and have, with 2 of them, gotten to the point of talking with editors, but still no sale. I've read the classic advice to "start local" and write for regional parenting magazines. However, the lone parenting magazine in my region is as impenetrable as granite for me. I see that most of its articles are written by the same freelance writers over and over. I've sent multiple queries and have not ever heard a single word in response to any. Until the day I can offer something truly spectacular that none of their currently used writers can deliver, that door seems to be shut to me. Contrary to that advice for starting out, I've gotten further with national magazines, even getting an "on spec" assignment.

I planned to write a post, frantically posing the question "How Can Anyone to Break into the Parenting Magazine Market??"  But before I got around to posting about my frustrating lack of success, I got an email about my first sale to a parenting magazine. Get this--it's a UK magazine!

This particular article began as a query to Kiwi and was respectfully turned down because the editor said something similar was already in the works. I then queried Mothering, and the editor gave me the assignment "on spec." So I then put in the time, conducted my interviews, wrote it and sent it. However, it didn't sell and I'll never know exactly why. I then did more research to figure out where to send it--the article is not general enough for mainstream parenting magazines (which is probably good because as I've stated, I've gotten nowhere with them!) I found out about the UK magazine Green Parent and sent my article their way. I received an email of initial interest and a request from the editor to keep it "on file" for consideration in a future issue. I didn't expect to hear anything more until after Christmas, so then, getting her email the day before Thanksgiving, stating that she was "keen" on publishing it in the issue coming out in January, I was surprised.

So is this an adequate "break" into the bastion of parenting magazines? Is publishing in another English-speaking country another "break in" possibility method? Will this UK magazine credit work some magic getting me further with other parenting magazines? Only time will tell, but I hope so.

Articles of mine available online:
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)


Infertility, Delayed Conception Linked to Fire Retardants in Homes


http://christiandevotions.us/tag/reneelannan/

Destroying Marriage, Career and Self-concept: Vulvodynia

Websites Advertizing Freelance Writing Work

This past Saturday, I attended a talk, hosted by a writers group I belong to, from Hana Haatainen Caye, a woman who makes an honest-to-God living as a freelancer, with no other day job. She shared how she's been conducting her business over the past five years since she started and how she's found niches for her writing.  What struck me as the most practical information, to me, was the fact that she now has a relationship with a particular magazine and writes for it monthly, and the gig started with her putting a bid on a job on www.Elance.com. I had never heard of that site, but she described how individuals and businesses looking for writers post jobs, then writers with Elance accounts can place bids, and then the poster hires someone based on those bids. I have very little knowledge of that whole system, but apparently, there's more than one: FreelanceWriting.com, Freelancer com, Guru.com. For Elance, there is a membership with a fee, but there is also a basic free membership that allows only 10 bids per month--but for the amount of time I have as a during-nap-time-freelancer, that's all I'd ever need!

I checked out Elance.com and started setting up an account. I'm quite busy right now, but when I am looking for other opportunities, I think I will really give that a shot. But as I looked through the postings, some of Hana's words rang very true. Some of the listings were way below what I'd consider doing and merit complete ignoring. There were posts from people looking for a writer to write the content for their business website, and they wanted to pay no more than $1 for each 100 word article, or even less. (Consider the percentage that Elance takes for the service of connecting you with the employment, and it's even more ridiculous...plus the percentage taken to process the PayPal payment...)

I am glad I heard advice from a seasoned freelancer who has gotten good work from such a site--to  hear her suggestion that it's only worth doing if the writing is on topics you know--if you have to do much research before you write, jobs can turn out to be extremely low paying.

There were some that looked decent though, so I think it's a good resource to know about.

Articles I've written:
Lyme Disease: Surprises in Recovery

Acidity in Your Diet Linked with Weight Loss Struggle, Depression and Degenerative Disease

How to Determine If Your Child is Ready to Begin Kindergarten

His Eye on The Sparrow? Review of The Novel, The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow

Does Writing Success Come in Groups of Three?

I had a dream that I was telling my writer's group that a few devotionals I wrote were published in God Stories 6, a regional publication for Central PA, all writers of the region sharing personal experiences to create a year's worth of daily mediations. I woke up the next morning and read an email that I really was published in that book: http://www.dcfi.org/House2House/One_Devotional_2011.html. i'm pretty sure that's the first time I've published in a book compilation.

The next day, I received an email from Chicken Soup for Soul people that a piece was officially accepted, and they wanted my final OK for the final edit. I had known my story was in the final running, but was also told that the decision wouldn't be made until March of 2011, so being told now was a surprise!

Those two developments, in a span of days, was really encouraging. As some aspects of my writing have no been so rewarding... I've been trying to freelance for magazines, but haven't gotten anywhere since September, and the online content website enterprise is on the back burner for now; I sort of forget sometimes that I write in 2 other markets: devotionals and personal essays.

So now I've got 5 official publishing credits from the traditional publishing world. (That's not counting online content stuff) I'll keep plugging away. And as always, I know not to measure my success by $ or by the number of publications--it's a calling, not merely work.

It'll be interesting to see, after this venture really takes off, at what point (as in number of months since starting) it really took on momentum. I'm still waiting for it...

PS After I wrote this, I got an email from an editor of a parenting magazine , wanting to buy my article for the Feb/March issue! (My newest blog entry catalogs this experience of breaking into parenting magazines.)

Some recent publications:

What is a Disposable Diaper Made of Anyway?

Postpartum Depression, Psychological Distress Predicted by Previous Traumatic Birth

http://www.youandmemagazine.com/articles/vulvodynia-five-years-in-the-fire

Infertility, Delayed Conception Linked to Fire Retardants in Homes

Transferring Your Values About Sex to Your Kids: Timing and Definitions are Key

List of Publications Accepting Submissions and Deadlines--Cool Resource!

Just found a pretty lengthy list of publications accepting submissions--with links to the publications: http://www.christwriters.info/open-submissions.php. It includes everything from Redbook to Christian devotional type publications. The same website also has a link to deadlines of contests, calls for content, etc. due this fall: http://www.christwriters.info/deadlines.php. Quite educational. For anyone without a Writer's Market book, this is a good second source.

Today I sent out a manuscript in answer to one of those listing I mentioned at the above resource. We'll see what happens! In fact, today I sent out three manuscripts--one to MomSense mag, another to Parents (when I can find my stamps, that is...) and the last to a Guideposts compilation book. With my recent mixed experiences as I talked of in my recent post, "My First 'On Spec' Assignment for a Magazine," I'm choosing to deal with it by attacking the market--sending, sending, sending. If it's about ratios, then the more i send, the more can possibly succeed. I've let too many manuscripts chill too long already. So if you're in the same boat--take courage, and send, send, send!

Someone in my writers' group shared some other person's goal to get 100 rejections in a year. Obviously, some acceptances had to come along with them, but putting the weight ion the rejection by stating the goal that way kinda shifts the disappointment. To meet that goal, you must send a lot--and that helps with the real goal to get published more often. I wonder ho many rejections (or implied rejections) I have garnered so far.... Maybe 20?
(Also, I remind myself of the purpose of rejection, and my personal theory for viewing it productively, which I blogged about before too.)

How I Handle Rejection of My Writing

Just as I was telling someone last night, I shouldn't take even an eventual "no" from an editor so hard. It's not the same thing as "failure"--it may just mean it's not the right place for a very good article. I remind myself that this is really all about God using me to get information to the people who need to read it. A series of "no" answers from editors could be just the path an article needs to take to get me to eventually send it to the right publication at the right time to reach whomever it needs to reach. Yes, that is just the sort of worldview I ascribe to--I was called to write, not just simply given the ability to learn how to do it. There's a purpose in what I do (if I keep communicating with God and endeavoring to follow his nudges).

It's happened once already where I think God wiped the stuff off my desk, figuratively speaking, and gave me the nudge to write a different article than the one I was working on. In a mere hour or so, I wrote--no, an article poured from me--and I sent it to a content website. I was trying to work on a serious article about problems in prenatal care, but instead I was interrupted by the strong impression that I needed to write about persistent cases of infant thrush. The turn-over time on publication was unusually fast. When it was published, I posted it on my facebook wall. That very day, a friend I knew in high school but have not seen in well over a decade messaged me on facebook, saying it was "totally a God thing" that I'd posted that article that day, because she was in throes of that very issue with her son. All I could say was, yeah--must have been a God thing!

That story is a good reminder to me when I think I'm not succeeding by my own terms and lost of goals. And when rejection discourages me. The definition of success isn't getting every article accepted the first time. No, if my purpose  is to help people through my writing, inform the public on issues, and support peoples' experiences by writing words that will reach them in times of need, then I've got to get over disappointment when one editor of one magazine says o. Or even seven magazines. What I'm doing as a writer, if I'm really following God's lead, I believe, is about my writing getting to a particular audience at the most opportune time.  I will never know all the times a rejection at one publication means I get it to another magazine that reaches someone in a profound way. But I remember that little story about the thrush baby as a symbol of what could be, and what always might be, going on all the time as I go about the business of writing and publishing. And that is success that matters.

Random topics I've written about:

Acidity in Your Diet Linked with Weight Loss Struggle, Depression and Degenerative Disease

Treatment for Hair Loss: Diet is Key and Cause of Hair Thinning

Green Tea Compound Found to Work as a Painkiller

Treating Depression with Natural or Alternative Medicine

Are Schools Expecting Our Kids to Read Too Early?

Why is Facebook Failing as a Marketing Tool for Me?

Facebook used to be the by-far largest source of traffic to my articles (published on content websites) I posted there. Now, facebook is fourth on my list of sources for viewers. Google searches is the top source, followed by Gomestic, one of the sites I am published on, then Healthmad, another I write for. That is quite a flip from my first months' experiences.

I've often wondered if I'd simply exhausted the facebook audience. Were my topics just not of interest? Did my friends just learn my general stance on issues and, if they did not have a great investment in that view, deem my articles not of interest?

It's a gamble. I mean, I'd not have expected an article on diapers to gain that much attention. Last month I wrote about new studies on post-partum depression anddevelopmental delays being associated with fire retardants in a baby's umbilical cord. Those topics were the ones I expected to be noticed, but they got mere handfulls of views. My latest series (which I actually wrote way back in April), on financially making stay-at-home-parenting work, was a dismal failure. Each of the 4 parts have gained only 3 or 6 views, and I can't know if any of them actually came from facebook traffic. That's probably a work of 4,000 words and has so far not benefited much of anyone yet let alone earned me any financial gain, even pennies.

I'm taking a break from content writing, at least for a time. I feel relief in taking a break from posting on fb so much. Sometimes I felt self-conscious about it. I didn't want people to feel bludgeoned over the head with my articles. But then I reminded myself, no one is forced to read anything--I passively add the link, but there is no expectation. At least, no more than I feel when I see other friends post a link. And I remind myself that when I see others' links, it's totally comfortable for me--they're there for my to click if I'm interested, and if not, I just scroll down. Sometimes I still felt bad though if my fb activity were viewed as strictly self-promotional. I tried to balance that by making sure all I posted wasn't just articles. After all, people are my fb friends cuz they like me, not necessarily because they like my writing. And I realized too that I don't ever feel offended when fb friends do promote themselves. I have many friends with etsy shops and such who post pictures of their new items for sale. I genuinely enjoy seeing them even if I'm not interested in buying. Likewise, a friend of mine owns a bookstore and all his posts are about books he's trying to sell. Again, I never see that as pushy or annoying. That's just simply what I expect of a Hearts and Minds Bookstore post. I hope that's how people have viewed my posting of articles.

While I don't know the why of all this, what is certain is that what used to be profitable for me no longer is, in any measure. I don't have my final answer on strategy or a decision about quitting the content gigs. 

Articles I've written:

Infertility, Delayed Conception Linked to Fire Retardants in Homes

Fast Food, Junk Food and Obesity Subsidized by Federal Government

The American Diet--Are We All Made of Corn?

Problems of Using Facebook For Marketing

I don't have any plans for any articles for content websites--at least for now. Partially because of what I wrote about last month, wondering if it was worth it. I plan to put more energy into other markets, which I delineated in my last post about my level of success in traditional markets. Also, I'm getting a chance to work on my novel with a critique group online. And the time to do so has to come from giving something else up!

I'm hoping a break will allow me some time to regroup and then determine my continued path on my goal to being a solvent freelance writer. I feel sort of free, too, of posting via facebook.

When I started the online venture known as content writing, Facebook sent the most traffic to my articles--by far. For months, this continued, and last April or May, my big article on disposable diaper ingredients grew wings--no, some angel friends on facebook pasted wings on that article by reposting it to their walls and/or other forums, leading it to eventually be posted on popular parenting sites such as babycenter and even some sites in the UK, its readership growing past 6,000. (Big for me!)

But it changed. Facebook views dropped, and then, no matter what I wrote about, or how often, or what time of day I posted the links to my wall, views kept dropping and dropping. There are so many factors and unknowns that it's a difficult task to understand why and change that. But I've realized how dependent any success I was having was on my posting to facebook. Sure, I got some views from random strangers doing searches, but that volume of readers was very low if I had to depend on that alone.

First, I chalked up the drop in readership to vacationing. I figured reading would pick up when the school year started and life resumed routine. I saw a bit of recovery, but barely. In the end, the average number of views garnered by my articles diminished even as I was still writing more new articles. I did learn some valuable Search Engine Optimization strategies, picking more successful keywords, and I've seen that the views I do get average to a higher amount of money than before. However, over-all, I've experienced less success since August than I did before--both in terms of money earned and pure numbers of views.

In another post, I explore why facebook may have failed me as a marketing tool.

Articles I've written:

Stay-at-home-parenting: Who Can Afford It?

Postpartum Depression: Options for Medical and Other Treatment

Is Lyme Disease Lurking in Your Unexplained Symptoms?

Problems Arise When Children are Pushed to Read Too Early

Flagging Focus on the Freelancing Freeway

Lately I've been suffering from flagging focus. I have many, many ideas but I've just not been very efficient at following them. I've got the idea for a particular publication to write for, about how to apply for a job, and someone in a hiring position already as a good source. I've got another article, at least in my head, about how I used a particular strategy to make mornings smoother with my preschool aged son, and am just trying to figure out which parenting magazine is the best first place to try it. I've got a sort of prevention-minded article for a woman's health magazine I could pursue, if my head is in the right place. A particular magazine that has already responded favorably to my work has a call our for articles on how to find the time to maintain spiritual life when you're raising kids, and i have some thoughts on that. And there is a deadline this Friday for essays about mother/daughter relationships; I have the idea, but it's complex, and i haven't yet gotten it written well enough. And that's just a sampling of recent things. I'm also trying to hold off on a piece about how to involve your kids in making a whimsical herb garden, because I know it's about timing, and when magazines are working on spring issues is the better time to query with that idea. (But i"m already debating if I should try a new local publication, not knowing if it pays, or trying an national one). Not to mention, I should be doing what I mentioned in my last blog, a report on how many articles I've sold versus gotten rejections on. I should be taking rejected manuscripts/queries and trying them on other publications.

When there are so many directions I could put my energy into, I do this--write a blog entry!

I am most productive when I'm arrested by a topic and work passionately on that one thing, almost exclusively, until I'm done. In between passionate projects, I do stuff like write articles for content websites and blog.

I have a topic I'm really passionate about--seriously under-recognized risk factors for postpartum depression--but I'm in a place in my new career where I don't have the clout to get it to a magazine with a wide general audience that the topic deserves. I just haven't yet landed on where to send it. So I haven't even written it. I've done the research, and in bits and pieces, do write about it. For instance, I've written short articles on a single study I'm using for this larger piece, and published those short, focused articles on content websites. But I've not written the larger piece.

I get frustrated by the truth that my ideas are judged, not on their merits alone, but by my credentials as a published writer. So if I have really good ideas worthy of national publication, too bad, my resume doesn't show me to have enough national publication experience, so my idea will be turned down. Sometimes I wonder, should I keep hold of my best ideas, and wait until I've got a more impressive resume? Or, if I try that, selling only my second best ideas, will I not get far enough to propel the best ones to better publications? The catch 22. I may need to "waste" my best ideas just building my resume!

Here are articles I've written recently in the manner discussed:
Postpartum Depression, Psychological Distress Predicted by Previous Traumatic Birth
Postpartum Depression: Options for Medical and Other Treatment
Infertility, Delayed Conception Linked to Fire Retardants in Homes
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays

My 6+ Months Report: How Easy is it to Freelance for Magazines?

Ok, mid-September marked my 6 month mark since starting to send stuff out as a freelancer. So I've been doing it for 7 months now. And what can I say I've accomplished in 7 months? (For those who've followed my blog know I submit to both traditional publishers as well as online content websites. For this entry, my discussion is about only the traditional publishing route; my previous entries focused on the other.)

I've sent out a total of 33 articles or queries (ideas) for possible articles. Where are they now? Well, of the 33, all sent out between March 10 and Oct 4, four have been officially accepted for publication, at Midwifery Today, You and Me: America's Medical Magazine, and Christian Devotionals. I've been paid for one (highly unusual--I was paid even before publication). I've seen two in print just this past month. The other two won't see publication for a number of months yet.

Those first successes were great boosts to my confidence that I have the skill set for this line of work. I never considered freelancing when I was in college; I couldn't imagine having enough to write about that would sell, and I had a real phobia of calling and interviewing people (yes, a real handicap for someone who desires to work in the media!). But now, a decade later, life has given me enough experience and motivation to want to get information out there, that now my problem is really about not having enough time to write all the articles I have stewing around in my head!

A few other articles are currently in the editorial offices of MomSense magazine , a Chicken Soup for the Soul book, Christian Home and School, and Green Parent (UK). Each as expressed interest in the article I sent and asked to hold on to them for 4 months to a year in order to figure out if/when they can fit it in to an issue. While this is encouraging, it's no guarantee. It's a waiting game. And in the game of interest, I've already lost twice--both Mothering and Thriving Family have expressed interest in an article idea, but in the end, decided not to go with it.

And what of the remainder of the articles? 13 are on some editor's desk, presumably, and I'm waiting to hear.
Eleven have gotten an official rejection, many of them very polite, respectful, even encouraging me to take my interesting or well-written article elsewhere. I'm assuming the answer is a no for another 6 articles because it's been 6 months since I sent it and I've heard nothing. Now of course, in these numbers, there's some overlap. For instance, one of my articles that got published got a no first from a different magazine, etc.

  So yes, I've learned the truth about how freelancing is no easy game, nor does it provide compensation in a timely manner. The article I got paid for already spent 6 months collecting dust at one magazine before I then sent it to the one that bought it. So far it seems, for me, a no or two comes before I find the magazine that gives me a yes. Success is really predominantly about finding the best match between my ideas and the publications out there. And it simply takes time, and a lot of sending articles back out there, to try again. Speaking of, how many do I have that I need to send out again after they've received a no? (I need to go check my list--I need to know this and get to work on these!) The answer: 8 articles.

It's not as simple as putting a different editor's name on the send line. Sometimes it takes a lot of work to take an artilce I wrote for one magazine and change it to meet the editorial requirements of a different magazine that may want something only half as long, with fewer or more experts, different styles of referencing, or even, I may have to revamp it for a slightly different audience or different slant to make it appropriate for that publication.

So yes, with all this work, you may see why it's sometimes easier to submit to content websites! It's always a gamble to wonder if it'll take off and garner enough views/ad revenues to pay me just compensation for my writing time, but sometimes weariness and lack of time make the ease of that option more appealing than trying a traditional magazine. Right now it's hard to compare; I'll need at least another year to really know what's been worth my while.

Articles I've sent to content websites instead of traditional magazines:

The American Diet--Are We All Made of Corn?

Postpartum Depression, Psychological Distress Predicted by Previous Traumatic Birth

Calcium Deficiency Changes Stem Cells and Increases Fat , New Study Finds

Destroying Marriage, Career and Self-Concept: Vulvodynia


Autism Rates Rise; University of Toledo Poises Itself to be Primary Resource for Deluge of Adults with Autism

On Jumping Ship to Another Publisher for a Better PageRank

I've posted twice about how I need to write differently to succeed at website content writing and questioning the worthwhileness of writing for content websites because 6 months of doing so has not proven to earn much in way of compensation--in fact, I made less this month than I did my second month, disproving the theory that quantity is everything (considering that I now have 50 articles online versus a mere handful at month 2). And after a few days mulling a few things around in my head, I've come to a different take on the entire situation than my last 2 posts revealed.

My first reaction was to consider how I could get better results writing for Triond websites, where I currently write. But then it occurred to me that I could switch and write for another content website company. I did some research--just as I did when I began the whole enterprise. And again, I landed on Suite101 as a place of interest. I didn't go their route initially because I just wasn't confident that I could manage writing 10 articles every 3 months, their requirement. Now that I've been writing for over 6 months, I know I've output more than 10 in that time span, so I reconsidered.

What pushed me to consider other companies is page rank. I am not earning well on articles, despite serious change about how I do SEO research and am smart about keywords and tags. It all comes down to PageRank: Triond websites' are low--because they are not viewed as professional websites like Suite101, which has a good PageRank of 7. So all this time I've been writing articles that rarely ever showing up on the first page when anyone does a google search. I have improved where they fall in the list, but I've done all I can do; I can't compete any higher because of the PageRank of Triond sites. To become more findable on the web, I need to publish with a more reputable network of sites. And yes, this comes with more professionalism, more requirements, etc.

I almost applied to Suite101 the other night. But I hesitated. What's my goal anyway? Yes, writers on Suite101 do much better than Triond writers. But a reasonable expectation of making $1 a month per article is still not worth my time. Plus, I had to add in how much longer it'd take to write articles with more scrutinizing editors, more restrictive topic choices, and the style/length requirements. In the end, I'm not sure I want to be obligated to write 10 articles a month "their " way just to see if I make a little more $ than I currently am. And it's not smart to put myself into a contract like that when my reality is my one son went on a napping strike for a month this summer, during which I wrote very little. I am still in a very unpredictable land as far as my alone time goes.

Jumping ship and signing with a new publisher might be a good investment if I wanted to focus on online content. But my real goal is print magazines and their guaranteed fees (thought the process is so looong). What I like about writing for Triond is the freedom to write about whatever I want. I think I should stick with that--using online publishing as sort of my indulgence to write whatever I want, and then chance it that it'll get anywhere and maybe make some $ incidentally. Online content writing, for me, can't have attached to it the goal to make money, primarily. My niches just aren't money makers in the searchable sense, nor is my time enough to do better really well.

So time has proved not to change much, except to have refined my goals a bit.

Articles I've published recently through Triond:

Kids with Adequate Calcium Intake Less Likely to Become Obese in Adulthood?

Skirts for Trucks: More Than One Way to Increase Fuel Mileage

Governments Issue Warnings and Restrictions for Kids' Mobile Phone Use

Switching Systems: From Cloth Diapers to Disposables or The Reverse

How to Be a Better Match for Website Content Writing

Ok, in my last blog entry, I concluded that online content writing that pays through ad revenue isn’t the best match for me. I think I understand why now.

1. Many of the articles I write are too well researched, and too time consuming to make it worth my while in this type of venue. My stuff on kindergarten readiness, the US school system's push to get kids to read before brain development is where it needs to be and learning issues as a consequence are examples of that pitfall.

2. Shorter is better in the online format. Many short articles earn better than one long one—you reach more people that way. Also, people getting articles thru social networking media, etc. aren’t likely invested enough to want to consume a lengthy piece of journalism. But it takes me LONGER to write a short article. Shortening my work to fit the online article consumer’s attention span takes me longer than I should really spend, and longer than I have, in the reality of my stay-at-home-mom life where writing is stuffed into the seams of my day.

So if I’m going to succeed and not just feel like the system abused me, taking many good, quality articles in return for chump change, I’ve got to change how I write for them.

1. Cut down on the time invested in each article. It’s getting me just a little extra monthly income, so I should only be putting in a little extra writing.

2. Write only what comes easily--I must  if I am to use less time. If I need to do a lot research in order to write it, then it’s not an article I should publish through Triond or Xomba. If, however, I’m already learning about something, my brain is engaged, and the research is not “extra” and just for the purpose of writing the article, then I could write about it for a content website.

I think I recently did this successfully, twice. I read about two different topics in my interest zone, and seeing the info was not online already, but only in my grad school alumni magazine, I decided they were good topics others would be interested in: autism and green tea’s benefits. I did do a quick search on the CDC’s website for some statistics about Autism to write the one article, but otherwise, I did not put in any significant time into research.

3. Leave it long or consider breaking it into two—but taking the time to cut it to be more concise is not always in my best interest. (Unless it is burdensomely long through lazy writing, in which case I should just cut my losses and leave it unpublished.) Shortening articles often takes me MORE TIME than writing it in the first place!
4.  If there’s something I really want to write and the effort it’d require goes against all my wise restrictions to guard my time and not sell myself out, I may publish it through online websites anyway if I really believe, altruistically, that the info just needs to be out there. I once realized an aspect of my writing was really becoming public service—like my article on when miscarriage turns out to be labor. I believe so strongly an article on that needed to be on the internet, because that is where I searched and searched for answers when it happened to me, and I could find nothing. For similar reasons, I recently wrote a series of articles on vulvodynia—how treatments were like throwing darts in the dark, what natural alternatives are available, how it destroys marriages, and how for so long it was treated as a psychiatric disorder. Because there just is not a lot of coverage on it, I felt the need to fill the gap.

Ok, maybe I'll give it another whirl, reducing the time I spend in this type of publishing, to give more time to traditional print magazines.

Some people say they do really well in this type of freelancing. Below is an article written by an online writer friend about all the different venues that pay to write. If it works, great, but I have to challenge myself to reevaluate constantly. When you get only a couple hours to write a day, the time is too precious to waste!

30 sites to write and earn: http://www.xomba.com/where_you_can_write_and_blog_30_sites_make_money_web

Goodbye to Website Content Writing?

I’m revamping my strategy for trying to publish both in traditional markets as well as online content websites. I remind myself I started the online stuff just to fill time while I was waiting for responses from traditional print magazines—I just had so much energy, so much to say, and was getting impatient. Well, the circumstances that prompted me to write for the websites have changed.

            Three or four months in, I thought I was beginning to see the potential for income that comes from viewers of the online articles clicking on ads (all revenue is solely based on advertising revenue). I saw how one article getting wide circulation really did add up to some cash. But now that I’d got a full six months and fifty articles under my belt, I’ve never seen that replicate itself with any other of my articles. I know it takes two years to really see whether it was worthwhile or not, as it take an average of that long for articles to garner enough views to be worth anything—but the skeptical side of me realizes that if views remain steady on my 49 articles as they have been, I’ll still be making less mere dollars per article! The optimistic side of me could expect other articles to take off, like my disposable diaper ingredients article, and get over 6,700 views (most of them in 2 weeks). But the painful truth is that as a writer, I have little to no power over that. Yes, I can find out in the research to choose the best tags and keywords that advertisers and web searchers are interested in, and I can create quality articles to keep people reading, but aside from that, I can’t duplicate what made one article of mine soar: post it inside private forums and other websites where people interested in that topic GO TO for information. If  I do it, it’s called spamming, and highly lacking integrity, turning people off from clicking my link. When others do it, it’s magic. But a magic I have almost no control over manufacturing.

            When I started getting somewhere with traditional magazines, and took a break from online writing to focus on other articles, I contemplated needing to divide my time between the two more appropriately. It occurred to me, that if I wanted to really know which was more profitable, I should write an online pay-from-ads article only as often as I write a query letter or article for a paying print magazine, then after two years, evaluate. True, it would be the way to go if my most important need was comparison. But in the end it isn’t. My most important need is to build a publishing resume in national magazines and get paid! My first paycheck for one magazine article paid me nearly four times what I’ve earned through all online ventures in six months. (But again I know it's not really fair--I can only guestimate what my online articles could earn over the next 2 or 4 years.)

            A guiding principal I’ve used so far is what I think I’ll be falling back on: Write what you have the energy to write. (I heard that from a financial planner, who spoke of it in terms of doing whichever strategy gives you energy—if paying off student loans fast gives you more energy, then you’ll go further with that in the long run than if you started saving for retirement half-heartedly, unenthusiastically, and not committed enough to stick with it.)

            Believe it or not, I’m trying to be “less disciplined.” I’ve realized I will likely do better in the end if I follow my instincts and interests. Yes, money is a motivator if you're trying to generate income, but I can't make it my only guiding principle. That even goes for choosing between writing for magazines that pay small or moderate fees versus ones that pay better. writing for lower paying markets, because if I churn out three articles I enjoyed writing, even though I am paid less on each, the total is better than groaning, plodding, to get through an article on something that pains me to write, but I discipline myself to do it just because it pays more.

            So I’m going to apply this to my online content writing: if I really want to write about something, and it’s practically writing itself in my head as I shower, brush kids' teeth and drive to the grocery store, I should just write it and get it out of my system. (This is how a number of my articles came to be--they pestered me: one about new breast cancer research, all my articles related to Jamie Oliver's Food Revolution, a rebuttal of Pampers' grossly misleading Myths and Facts page, and many others.) If I cannot find a print magazine interested in publishing it, then I can publish it online thru a content website. So yes, in some ways, the online content websites are sort of my default publishers (not always, but you can see how it is becoming so).

            I’m definitely cutting back on the time I spend in the website content writing, and focus instead on the magazines. This is a change from a few months ago when I was pouring significant energy into the websites. But it’s just not worth it right now, and may never be (though it will truly take time to tell). But I want a portfolio and paychecks. Though it takes months, even years, to get articles through traditional publishers, I think this is the best route for me to focus on. So here I mark my shift of energy away from online to print writing. 

PS I may also use website content writing as a way to deal with writer's block on magazine pieces!

  

We Were Given Bodies; On Juggling Communication Media and Kids

I recently read a magazine article (Relevant) that kept applauding me at turns because I, part of this era of decreasing-attention-spans, had managed to stick with a print article that long. And I have to admit, with much sadness, that the writer's tactic worked--I did keep reading because it was almost a dare and I wanted to prove to myself that I was not one of "those" people always rushing, preferring all their information in tidy, truncated bites, with the inability/lack of desire to read what was once a standard article-length.

I tell myself I scan and only partially read media these days because I am a writer myself and I don't have time to read anything unnecessary if I am ever to get to writing myself! I tell myself I speed-read, especially anything online, because I prioritize my real life time (time with my family, friends and my time writing and reading books). But however I rationalize it, it's still true. I am just the type of consumer who's shrinking attention span is changing  (and has been changed by) technology and online reading in general.

I started reading the article because the title and thesis interested me--the question about what our online time is doing to our lives. It's increasingly dividing us--into a body and a mind. Our bodies occupy a space, with our kids, significant others, friends or co-workers, and yet we are not present with them--or at least not entirely. Our mind is somewhere else, interacting with a computer screen, phone or other handheld media device.

I've read articles before about how it affects kids when a parent is constantly interfacing with some technology instead of giving the attention in the place and time their body exists in. But never had I thought of it in this very philosophical light. That overuse and addiction to communication media and social networks divides us in two--to the tune of a worldwide phenomenon.

This is a constant struggle for me, trying to work from home as a freelance writer. I began, saying staunchly that I'd write only when the kids were napping or sleeping. But in the mere 7 months since I've begun, sleeping patterns of kids have changed multiple times, as well as the schedules of my husband or myself. My writing time, as once strictly defined, sometimes disappears and I start stealing more and more online time for research, or writing time, during times of the days when I think my kids are otherwise engaged. And then too it becomes a crutch--a favorite video can give me time to write, etc. It's a slippery slope and then you realize you've been online, at least intermittently, all day, your kids are still in pajamas and you've not once been outside on a warm summer day.

I love writing. That's my problem. I consider it a great privilege to be a stay-at-home mom. I consider it a privilege too that what I do is something that can be done, at least very part-time, from home. But I think it will always be a struggle. Launching into writing has made me use social networking sites as part of my marketing and publishing. I've been drawn into that whole thing much more than I ever expected to be. It's a constant struggle to draw and then redraw boundaries for myself. I strive to continually make the unapologetic choice to put raising my kids first, and writing always has been something I do if I can fit it in.

I have to remember God gave me a body for a reason. He made me to be corporeal and limited to particular physical space because HE INTENDS ME TO BE THERE and interacting. We were made for relationship. No matter how much good I see come from relationships built and strengthened through social media, no matter how much good it gives anyone to read something I wrote, the primary relationships, for which no one else or any media or technology can never compensate, are the ones with the people in my house!

I'm not willing to trade my kids' first years in to daycare workers to go to work, as long as I have a choice. I do not then want to trade their first years in to the tv, loneliness, neglect at the hand of the facade of a mom who glances at them, distracted, glassy-eyed and glued to a screen. And all because she wanted to write "just a little bit longer."

I have cut back on writing, as daily facebook-visiting-friends may have noticed. What I have published is really stuff I wrote weeks/months before and only now just published, such as:

Governments Issue Warnings and Restrictions for Kids' Mobile Phone Use

Sleeping Tips to Give Your Child Restorative, Restful Sleep

My First "On Spec" Writing Assignment for a Magazine

Months ago I reveled in getting the editor of one of my favorite magazines, Mothering,  corresponding with me! I sent a standard query letter for my idea on an article topic, and after two months, she sent back a reply that they were interested in the topic. I was given the first go-ahead for an "on spec' writing assignment. There was no guarantee they'd buy it, but I had gotten their attention.

Now this was not my first attempt--with that idea or with that magazine. I'd already sent a manuscript to Mothering about four months ago, a birth narrative essay, and the response was a gracious no; so I re-sent it out and Midwifery Today is publishing that essay in its next issue, which has since been published.

So I embarked on writing up the idea as I described and ran into a couple roadblocks. One, I found in writing it that I came to something of a different conclusion than I expected, which changed the flavor of the piece as I originally described it. Secondly, I became aware of two completely different ways I could handle it and wasn't sure which the magazine would prefer. I ended up writing it two ways--one as a more philosophical personal essay, and the second more as a typical  collection of interviews from other moms sharing their stories on the topic. I wrote an email asking for a little more direction, and the response I got, after I'd already written my two drafts, told me the second approach was more what the editor was looking for.

I sent it in, and for a long time ( a number of weeks) just waited to hear if they likde it, if it's what matches their vision for the magazine, etc. I tried not to let myself second guess every decision I make, thinking with the lapse of time that maybe I should have been softer or harder on the view presented, if I should have structured it differently,  if my voice should have been different, etc.

The final answer was no, a short, to the point decision with no explanation. I was quit brash and emailed a request, respectfully asking that if the answer was simple and short, if they could let me know if it was the content or style that influenced their decision (since I already knew the topic was of interest.) I didn't really expect a response, and I got none. I do know from the other side of the editing desk how pressed for time an editor is, and even as much as one might want to help a writer, the time to do so just slips away--no, is eaten away by a fierce pit bull!   However, I now know it is harder to take a rejection on a "on spec" article than any other unsolicited manuscript--to have gotten so far in communication with an editor, knowing you've succeeded in getting their attention, it all makes it seem so much more possible--then the rejection is worse because you were so close to success. But I have a theory about rejection, a view of my own purpose as a writer, which helps me handle rejection pretty well I think.

As a potentially better ending to the article's story, I did send it to another magazine, and that editor asked if she could keep it on hand for four months, for consideration in the next issue. And after having fretted about my style being the cause for it's previous rejection, this editor said she "liked my style." That's encouraging.

Articles I've written which I really like (compared to my others):

Fast Food, Junk Food and Obesity Subsidized by Federal Government

When Miscarriage Means Labor

Governments Issue Warnings and Restrictions for Kids' Mobile Phone Use

The Cell Phone/cigarette Analogy

Breast Cancer Less About Genetics Than We Used to Think

Transferring Your Values About Sex to Your Kids: Timing and Definitions are Key

First Success Writing "On Spec" after Query-letter Interest

published August 26 on old blog


It wasn’t the first time a manuscript or a query letter had gotten a magazine editor’s attention. It wasn’t the first time an editor had accepted an article of mine. Or even the first time I’d gotten to exchanging emails with an editor about an idea as I worked on a piece. But it was the first time I’d gotten an editor’s attention through a query letter, one of who-knows-how-many landing on his desk, and then actually sold it after he saw the manuscript. And I sold the story for my substantial sum!  


I’ve had multiple query experiences lately, and even gotten to the point of writing on spec for more than one magazine—with no guarantee of course, that they’d buy the piece, just that the idea sounded good. One editor told me my query letter’s subject matter made her cry—she wrote to me within days of my query, and we batted emails around for about a week, until the editorial meeting concluded that the entire staff was not on board featuring my idea in the magazine. I was however encouraged to find a place to publish my “powerful story.”  


A positive piece of knowledge is that I know that query letter was effective—I will send it out, to as many magazines as it takes, until I find the right place tp publish the piece. The success I started referring to at the opeing of this post actually wasn’t begun with a query. I sent a manuscript, and though the editor said they weren’t interested in publishing on the topic of breastfeeding at the time, he said they found my writing interesting and ASKED ME if I had any other topics I could write about for them. I felt like I’d been offered candy! I mean, I was just thinking, as I read their gentle turn-down, that if they liked my writing, it would be savvy of me to offer them other ideas and see if I could carve a place for myself. I was surprised, and honored, to have them offer outright!  


I listed three ideas in reply, and the funny thing was, I almost didn’t add the third—because I recalled their writer’s guidelines saying they did not want any more articles on that particular topic of women’s health. As I listed that very “unwanted” thing, I didn’t know why I was doing so, yet left it in the list nonetheless. Against all likelihood, I got an email the next day, the editor saying he as in fact interested in that article from me. So I went back to the half finished file I’d begun and quit months ago, spruced it up, and sent it in a matter of days. Hardly more than 24 hours later, the editor mailed me a contract and told me to look for a check in 2-3 weeks! 


The amount of that check surprised me too—this magazine had not published their typical payment-per-word, and it was higher than I expected. And the time frame? This was simply unheard of! Perhaps because this magazine, though having started as a traditional print magazine, has switched to an online format, they pay faster because they publish faster, more on their own terms than outside terms.  


So because of this success, I try not to take too hard, or personally, the rejections I got the same week. I’m understanding that query letters have so mch to do with getting your foot in the door, but that it’s also about much more—a lot of which has nothing to do with how good I am at my craft. After making an editor respond with tears after reading my writing, I still got turned down cuz it wasn’t quite a direction the magazine wanted to go. So each article that got rejected last week (3), I’ll be sending right back out to other magazines I think may be a better fit. In fact, I already did that with one rejected mss on Friday.  


And while I'm thinking how unlikely it was to get an article published on a topic that a magazine said they were expressly NOT INTERESTED in, I'm listing online articles I've written, but almost didn't, because I didn't think there'd be much interest:

Firefighters Fight to Rid Kids’ Sleepwear, Baby Gear, Furniture of Toxic Flame Resistant Chemicals

Should Dietary and Nutritional Supplements be Regulated The Same Way Pharmaceutical Drugs are?

Transferring Your Values About Sex to Your Kids: Timing and Definitions are Key

Part 2: Writing from Personal Tragedy

published August 16 on old blog

Part 1 talked about how my miscarriage labor experience fueled me to start writing again, though it took four years after the experience. (Click here to read that part.) In this second part I talk about the different, unexpected ways its led me to writing opportunities.

There are so many angles to the stories of my miscarriage and birth experiences that I’m still producing articles on topics tangentially related. Perhaps the most unlikely was an article I wrote about my cat, sent to a publication about cats, because of the way she featured in the story of both my pregnancy losses, being my substitute baby of sorts. Another recently sent, in response to a call for articles on fertility issues, I tell the part of my story of how Levi’s existence is so miraculous, in part requiring the telling of how God granted his survival of the same thing that caused me to miscarry the second time.
I’m also really invested in getting an article published locally about how different local practitioners and birth facilities handle pregnancy loss—both miscarriages and stillbirths. Central PA is a perfect study in some very interesting comparisons illuminated by a Harvard anthropologist who wrote about how differing cultures handle pregnancy loss. I’ve got more than enough local women who are willing to share their stories in this article-- experiences covering the range of possibilities and situations. I realize my own experience is just one of many types. I tried to cover miscarriage labor more broadly in When Miscarriage Means Labor.

I’m tinkering, in my head, with another article on the importance of pregnancy classes and the different kinds available, illuminated by the stories of women who went into labor and found themselves unprepared or underprepared by the narrow focus of the type of class they chose. From the grief angle, I’ve been working on an essay about the difficulty of losing a child when your spouse doesn't share your world view, leaving you essentially to grieve on your own for a baby who’s father doesn’t even recognize her enough to mourn her. (The story has a good ending in real life, as my husband’s views changed over time, due to our experiences, and in credit to God’s amazing  breakthroughs).

A fellow writer who hails from my alma mater Messiah College, Janel Atlas, also has published on the topic of pregnancy loss, after her experience of stillbirth. (Incidentally, she has a book on the topic coming out this fall from Rowman and Littlefield Publishers, entitled They Were Still Born.

I remember in one of her articles on dealing with the loss, she quoted her husband saying something to the effect that he didn’t get why she felt the need to tell everyone, even perfect strangers, about her experience. That resonated with me, because I feel that same push. Maybe at first it was just to be heard, recognized, understood, and then it was to find community—to locate the people who knew the experience first hand—like a bat sending out signals everywhere, just to sense the vibrations coming back from contact. But now, after I’ve processed through a lot of the attendant grief, I’m at a place where I feel driven to write about my losses and trauma from them because there’s a severe lack of useful information on the issues I had to live through without any preparation or anyone, even in the midst, offering any help or guidance.

Other writing I've published:
When Food Producers Mislabel The Food You Buy; What Labels Can You Trust?
Cell Tower Radiation of No Concern for Pregnant Mothers or Childhood Cancer?