So apparently, the bigger named national magazines are called "glossies," I presume from their glossy, colorful paper. Receiving my copy of my first article published in a such a magazine was really cool! The Green Parent is a UK publication I'd never seen before, but it is a big glossy that looks like O or Natural Health.
I was surprised to find my article called a "Main Feature." I didn't know it'd be that either.
I've noticed a neat feature to the game of rejections and acceptances you play when you're a freelance writer: yes, every rejection or silence from a publication I've submitted to is a bit of a downer (that becomes less significant over time), I've noticed the three-fold buoyancy of an acceptance. First, I got word that a piece was accepted for publication, which boosts my confidence. Then later, I get the magazine in the mail, and that really boosts my confidence. Then, thirdly, I get the check. That amounts to a 3:1 ratio of positive effects. It's a kindness, really, in a profession where rejections and silence are notoriously plentiful. It's great to have three separate expediences to feel good about a success; that ratio can help keep a writer from despair!
And the knowledge of, the sight of, and the payment for my first "glossy" publication has given me a lot of motivation to start sending stuff to more glossies, now that I've got a good clip of that caliber.
Articles I've published online:
How to Avoid Nutrient Depletion Caused by Your Prescription Drugs
Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day?
Governments Issue Warnings and Restrictions for Kids' Mobile Phone Use
Sleeping Tips to Give Your Child Restorative, Restful Sleep
Monday, January 31, 2011
Tuesday, January 25, 2011
Colin Beavan, the No Impact Man, and me.
Colin Beavan, the No impact man, and me. That's right, I saw my name next to that of Colin Beavan, an interesting New Yorker who blogs, writes books and features in documentaries about striving to make no or little environmental impact. He's an interesting fellow, and it was cool to see my name next to his in a magazine editor's list of writers to thank for contributing to that issue.
I may not be famous (nor do I really wish to be), but there is some thrill in sharing pages with someone famous and interesting. By some measure some writers use, I'm succeeding. And that's pretty cool. It also marks my foray into writing for a publication that focuses on environmental issues. That's pretty cool too.
Recent things I've written online:
Hormone-free Milk: Dairy Companies Pledging Not to Use Artificial Bovine Growth Hormone
Fertility Drug May Prevent Conception
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)
Fast Food, Junk Food and Obesity Subsidized by Federal Government
Cloth Diapers Versus Disposables: Switching Systems
I may not be famous (nor do I really wish to be), but there is some thrill in sharing pages with someone famous and interesting. By some measure some writers use, I'm succeeding. And that's pretty cool. It also marks my foray into writing for a publication that focuses on environmental issues. That's pretty cool too.
Recent things I've written online:
Hormone-free Milk: Dairy Companies Pledging Not to Use Artificial Bovine Growth Hormone
Fertility Drug May Prevent Conception
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)
Fast Food, Junk Food and Obesity Subsidized by Federal Government
Cloth Diapers Versus Disposables: Switching Systems
Friday, January 7, 2011
Freelance Writing: Start Local?
Every resource I've checked has suggested that a new freelancer trying to break in should start with local publications. And to break into specific magazine markets, say parenting magazines, the key is to establish yourself in local publications first in order to get clips to earn your right to go to progressively larger markets (cuz most of the big national magazines require you provide a clip from another national magazine--a chicken/egg kind of conundrum, huh?)
I'm not here to dissent that the advice is wrong, but it did not work for me. In fact, in my nearly ten months of earnestly trying to get freelancing off the ground, most things have not gone in the order or progression that is typical, advised or expected.
Where I live, there are few local publications it's reasonable to even consider myself a food candidate for freelancing. I interned at Central PA when I was in college; I have ties there--it should be the easiest publication for me to start with, right? Well, except that the kind of stories they're looking for aren't really things I could easily write about. I'm a "naptime writer"--I am a stay-at-home-mom to two small ones and I have to write what I know. I don't have the time or resources to go places for interviews or to seek out stories. In nearly a year of trying this freelancing thing, I've not thought of a blessed thing to offer them. The second local publication, which is up my alley, is a parenting magazine. However, I've gotten nowhere sending pitches. I've noticed the same few freelancers write everything in nearly every issue. To me, this magazine, though small and local, has been as much of a brick wall as the national Parents magazine. I've sent query after query and have heard as much back as if the editor were dead or the email address were nonfunctional. Other parenting magazines that I'd call mid-tier (not as big as Parents, yet national) actually have gotten back to me--I've received polite and specific "not interested" responses, as well as once an on-spec assignment, and most recently, a sale of an article, to be published next month, from an absolute cold-send of an article.
I've always read too that networking was so important, but so far, I can't say any of my success has come from any such connections. For instance, when I was an intern, the man who was the managing editor then is now an editor at another small, local-ish publication--and yet there too, I cannot see a way to make use of that connection. We got along well--in fact, when he was a senior in college, and I a freshman, we were on the literary magazine staff together, and we had a good working relationship. However, a style magazine for the perhaps upper-crust middle-aged women just isn't a publication I can readily conjure an idea to pitch. (Not to be rigidly uncreative or anything, but again, I know that right now I have to stick with what I know and can write from my living room)
Over the year, I've received a slim newer local magazine in the mail. It's free to every woman in South Central PA, and while it was at first quite simple, it's blossomed in quality and depth in recent issues. It describes itself as a local how-to magazine for women, hoping to offer something akin to what Real Simple and Martha Stewart offer. I have nursed an idea I could pitch to them for a number of months, but because it is seasonal, I've waited until now. I sent the pitch today for a story on how to make a whimsical herb-scape (herb garden in a pot, designed to look like a miniature park, fairy forest, etc.) Within hours, I heard back from the editor, asking if I wanted to freelance for the magazine. I just need to send a resume and clips, including something written from objective 3rd person point of view. Who knows where this will go, but getting a response so swiftly is certainly already leagues better than my experiences with the other unnamed local publication I've mentioned!
My actual scaffolding, in my hopefully upward projection, is as follows:
Midwifery Today, a national/international trade publication that doesn't pay writers, yet this magazine gave me a great clip to prove to other editors that I can/do write.
You and Me: America's Medical Magazine. This is a paying market, and the publication has also been useful because i can include the link in email queries.
Not yet in print, but soon to be, a story in a Chicken Soup book and an article in The Green Parent (UK). (Also, I've been writing in the Christian Devotional market, as well as online content writing, but for the purposes of this article, they're not applicable or part of the scaffolding.) I expect each to be a good clip to establish credibility for me in certain markets.
Who would have thought--I'd get published in a national magazine and a UK parenting magazine before a local publication, which is purportedly easier??
Articles I've published online:
What is a Disposable Diaper Made of Anyway?
Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day?
Stay-at-home-parenting: Who Can Afford It?
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays
I'm not here to dissent that the advice is wrong, but it did not work for me. In fact, in my nearly ten months of earnestly trying to get freelancing off the ground, most things have not gone in the order or progression that is typical, advised or expected.
Where I live, there are few local publications it's reasonable to even consider myself a food candidate for freelancing. I interned at Central PA when I was in college; I have ties there--it should be the easiest publication for me to start with, right? Well, except that the kind of stories they're looking for aren't really things I could easily write about. I'm a "naptime writer"--I am a stay-at-home-mom to two small ones and I have to write what I know. I don't have the time or resources to go places for interviews or to seek out stories. In nearly a year of trying this freelancing thing, I've not thought of a blessed thing to offer them. The second local publication, which is up my alley, is a parenting magazine. However, I've gotten nowhere sending pitches. I've noticed the same few freelancers write everything in nearly every issue. To me, this magazine, though small and local, has been as much of a brick wall as the national Parents magazine. I've sent query after query and have heard as much back as if the editor were dead or the email address were nonfunctional. Other parenting magazines that I'd call mid-tier (not as big as Parents, yet national) actually have gotten back to me--I've received polite and specific "not interested" responses, as well as once an on-spec assignment, and most recently, a sale of an article, to be published next month, from an absolute cold-send of an article.
I've always read too that networking was so important, but so far, I can't say any of my success has come from any such connections. For instance, when I was an intern, the man who was the managing editor then is now an editor at another small, local-ish publication--and yet there too, I cannot see a way to make use of that connection. We got along well--in fact, when he was a senior in college, and I a freshman, we were on the literary magazine staff together, and we had a good working relationship. However, a style magazine for the perhaps upper-crust middle-aged women just isn't a publication I can readily conjure an idea to pitch. (Not to be rigidly uncreative or anything, but again, I know that right now I have to stick with what I know and can write from my living room)
Over the year, I've received a slim newer local magazine in the mail. It's free to every woman in South Central PA, and while it was at first quite simple, it's blossomed in quality and depth in recent issues. It describes itself as a local how-to magazine for women, hoping to offer something akin to what Real Simple and Martha Stewart offer. I have nursed an idea I could pitch to them for a number of months, but because it is seasonal, I've waited until now. I sent the pitch today for a story on how to make a whimsical herb-scape (herb garden in a pot, designed to look like a miniature park, fairy forest, etc.) Within hours, I heard back from the editor, asking if I wanted to freelance for the magazine. I just need to send a resume and clips, including something written from objective 3rd person point of view. Who knows where this will go, but getting a response so swiftly is certainly already leagues better than my experiences with the other unnamed local publication I've mentioned!
My actual scaffolding, in my hopefully upward projection, is as follows:
Midwifery Today, a national/international trade publication that doesn't pay writers, yet this magazine gave me a great clip to prove to other editors that I can/do write.
You and Me: America's Medical Magazine. This is a paying market, and the publication has also been useful because i can include the link in email queries.
Not yet in print, but soon to be, a story in a Chicken Soup book and an article in The Green Parent (UK). (Also, I've been writing in the Christian Devotional market, as well as online content writing, but for the purposes of this article, they're not applicable or part of the scaffolding.) I expect each to be a good clip to establish credibility for me in certain markets.
Who would have thought--I'd get published in a national magazine and a UK parenting magazine before a local publication, which is purportedly easier??
Articles I've published online:
What is a Disposable Diaper Made of Anyway?
Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day?
Stay-at-home-parenting: Who Can Afford It?
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays
Thursday, January 6, 2011
Taking Personality Tests as Your Fictional Character and Other Tips for Writers
I just took the Myers-Briggs Personality test for my main characters in the novel I'm writing. (Yes, this is a blog about someone upstarting a freelance career, but the reality that this post can attest to is that my fiction writing is threatening to hedge in on those efforts--and I'm not sure which to give priority. That's something I guess I'll explore as I blog...)
Anyway, it was quite fun, and perhaps a bit schizophrenic. I love personality tests and the theories of typing, but it's also a very useful thing to do. I'm trying to make sure I have distinct characters who are themselves, not just reflections of me. I want to make sure my characters are also consistent with themselves--sometimes I'm not always clear on how a character should react to a given situation--that means I don't know them well enough. If you've never tried this for seeing how much you know about your character, you should try it. here, I'll put the link for a free Myers Briggs personality typing test. I was surprised that I really did know my characters well enough to answer all the questions--in fact the test made me see how intuitively I really do understand them. What's also nice is that at the end, there were two written descriptions about how this personality type generally operates with others, and at work, etc., and even in romance.
I recently attended a talk by novelist Joyce Magnin, author of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow which is now the beginning of the Bright's Pond novel series. (She's being hailed the "Queen of Quirk" and that's something I really like about her work, as well as hearing her speak. She's very funny!) Anyway, she talked about how to get to know your characters. She talks about keeping a journal as if she were her main character. That's an awesome idea but I haven't the time. And I just don't know how to find it. But its' fabulous. But I've also go 4 main characters who take turns narrating. It's really tough to get to know 4 people so thoroughly that you can develop a distinct voice for each of them. I'm not writing in first person--I know that'd be so demanding. I can't really manage, at this point, the diction each would have, each distinct form all the others. So writing in 3rd person, I'm trying to still figure out how each POV can be distinct in voice... Knowing my characters really well as at the heart of so many aspects of writing the novel. I want to say "I'm just focusing on getting the plot down" as I tell my online critique group. But I'm finding it's hard, if not impossible, to figure out the plot when I don't know my characters well enough to know how they'd react to events that fuel the story!
In taking the personality tests tonight for my characters, I realize two are almost identical--father and son. I have often thought how their wives are quite similar, but they turned out, in test results, to be rather distinct--more than I thought. I am disappointed though that the Jung marriage test application isn't free anymore. I've used it before for free, but tonight I couldn't find it... You can plug in the percentage numbers of each person's type and it
I was surprised by a couple things (granted, I know typing descriptions aren't fool-proof--there are exceptions in real life, so there can be in my fictional characters too) that were dissonant with the character I created. For instance, the character who is my most unreliable narrator, Maizy, the mother in the story, was described as "more in touch with reality" than many of the other personality types. And yet, that's not true for her at all!
Anyway, it's a good exercise for a novelist. If I ever get around to the journaling idea, I'll print out these personality descriptions and put them in the journal for reference....
Nonfiction articles I published when I was being good about last year's goal:
Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day?
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays
Is Lyme Disease Lurking in Your Unexplained Symptoms?
Anyway, it was quite fun, and perhaps a bit schizophrenic. I love personality tests and the theories of typing, but it's also a very useful thing to do. I'm trying to make sure I have distinct characters who are themselves, not just reflections of me. I want to make sure my characters are also consistent with themselves--sometimes I'm not always clear on how a character should react to a given situation--that means I don't know them well enough. If you've never tried this for seeing how much you know about your character, you should try it. here, I'll put the link for a free Myers Briggs personality typing test. I was surprised that I really did know my characters well enough to answer all the questions--in fact the test made me see how intuitively I really do understand them. What's also nice is that at the end, there were two written descriptions about how this personality type generally operates with others, and at work, etc., and even in romance.
I recently attended a talk by novelist Joyce Magnin, author of The Prayers of Agnes Sparrow which is now the beginning of the Bright's Pond novel series. (She's being hailed the "Queen of Quirk" and that's something I really like about her work, as well as hearing her speak. She's very funny!) Anyway, she talked about how to get to know your characters. She talks about keeping a journal as if she were her main character. That's an awesome idea but I haven't the time. And I just don't know how to find it. But its' fabulous. But I've also go 4 main characters who take turns narrating. It's really tough to get to know 4 people so thoroughly that you can develop a distinct voice for each of them. I'm not writing in first person--I know that'd be so demanding. I can't really manage, at this point, the diction each would have, each distinct form all the others. So writing in 3rd person, I'm trying to still figure out how each POV can be distinct in voice... Knowing my characters really well as at the heart of so many aspects of writing the novel. I want to say "I'm just focusing on getting the plot down" as I tell my online critique group. But I'm finding it's hard, if not impossible, to figure out the plot when I don't know my characters well enough to know how they'd react to events that fuel the story!
In taking the personality tests tonight for my characters, I realize two are almost identical--father and son. I have often thought how their wives are quite similar, but they turned out, in test results, to be rather distinct--more than I thought. I am disappointed though that the Jung marriage test application isn't free anymore. I've used it before for free, but tonight I couldn't find it... You can plug in the percentage numbers of each person's type and it
I was surprised by a couple things (granted, I know typing descriptions aren't fool-proof--there are exceptions in real life, so there can be in my fictional characters too) that were dissonant with the character I created. For instance, the character who is my most unreliable narrator, Maizy, the mother in the story, was described as "more in touch with reality" than many of the other personality types. And yet, that's not true for her at all!
Anyway, it's a good exercise for a novelist. If I ever get around to the journaling idea, I'll print out these personality descriptions and put them in the journal for reference....
Nonfiction articles I published when I was being good about last year's goal:
Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day?
Fight Breast Cancer with Salmon, Not Pink Cupcakes (And Other Cancer- Fighting Tips)
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays
Is Lyme Disease Lurking in Your Unexplained Symptoms?
Wednesday, January 5, 2011
Results of Breaking From Writing Online Content
So I experimented. I didn't publish any new articles on content websites for a month. And nothing much changed. What I earned stayed the same. I got approximately the same number of views: between 550 and 600.
I did cave in after a month and wrote two articles on the topic of breast cancer, one decrying the sale of pink cupcakes for breast cancer awareness and another listing foods/supplements known to help treat or prevent breast cancer, simply because I felt the need to get info out there. After those two, I took another month off. The results? I got about 100 fewer views and made approximately half the amount of revenue. I can't know, however, whether that difference was only because I wasn't outputting anything new or if it was largely due to the holiday month--I know I didn't take the time to read the stuff I normally do online--I was too busy baking and sewing.
Now, I could take that as encouraging--doing nothing for a month, and then another I was still earning residual income on articles I wrote in the past. But because the sum is so low, I can also look at that and see the futility in writing more. (Granted, I do understand that those ramifications would show up later on down the road, not necessarily right now.) Either way, with both those outlooks, I've not been greatly prodded to produce more writing for that publishing venue.
Some day when I have time, I want to look over my list of 50-some articles and do the quick math of seeing which ones are the most viewed/highest earners. I did a quick perusal the other day and was surprised.
One thing I've also noticed--though I'm roundly disappointed with how well these articles are circulated, I am earning twice as much as I used to per number of views. My viewing numbers went down in November, but my earnings stayed generally the same because the articles I've published more recently, using the SEO info I've learned, earn twice as much than the older ones (on average).
I took a break from content writing, first to put more effort into writing for print publications, and second to take advantage of a novel critique group. I just published one online article, Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day? I guess I'm still just observing, re-evaluating....
Articles I've published:
Stay-at-home-parenting: Who Can Afford It?
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays
Breast Cancer Less About Genetics Than We Used to Think
What is a Disposable Diaper Made of Anyway?
I did cave in after a month and wrote two articles on the topic of breast cancer, one decrying the sale of pink cupcakes for breast cancer awareness and another listing foods/supplements known to help treat or prevent breast cancer, simply because I felt the need to get info out there. After those two, I took another month off. The results? I got about 100 fewer views and made approximately half the amount of revenue. I can't know, however, whether that difference was only because I wasn't outputting anything new or if it was largely due to the holiday month--I know I didn't take the time to read the stuff I normally do online--I was too busy baking and sewing.
Now, I could take that as encouraging--doing nothing for a month, and then another I was still earning residual income on articles I wrote in the past. But because the sum is so low, I can also look at that and see the futility in writing more. (Granted, I do understand that those ramifications would show up later on down the road, not necessarily right now.) Either way, with both those outlooks, I've not been greatly prodded to produce more writing for that publishing venue.
Some day when I have time, I want to look over my list of 50-some articles and do the quick math of seeing which ones are the most viewed/highest earners. I did a quick perusal the other day and was surprised.
One thing I've also noticed--though I'm roundly disappointed with how well these articles are circulated, I am earning twice as much as I used to per number of views. My viewing numbers went down in November, but my earnings stayed generally the same because the articles I've published more recently, using the SEO info I've learned, earn twice as much than the older ones (on average).
I took a break from content writing, first to put more effort into writing for print publications, and second to take advantage of a novel critique group. I just published one online article, Pregnancy Due Date: Why Do So Few Women Deliver That Day? I guess I'm still just observing, re-evaluating....
Articles I've published:
Stay-at-home-parenting: Who Can Afford It?
Fire Retardants Found in Babies' Umbilical Cord Blood Associated with Developmental Delays
Breast Cancer Less About Genetics Than We Used to Think
What is a Disposable Diaper Made of Anyway?
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