Today I actually did what I say I want to do: I worked on my novel for about 30-40 minutes this morning, after my husband went to work. Then during the kids' nap, I edited a quick (literally an hour or less of work) article in response to a magazine's call for articles on eating at restaurants with kids, then sent out an article I wrote nearly 2 years ago to an anthology calling for submissions on the topic.
See, my goal is to stop writing so many new articles, and instead redirect the time to 1) my novel and 2) finding homes for the articles already done.
I tell myself the article on eating out with kids was OK because it was not time-consuming; I'm just trying not to rope myself into 10, 20, 40 hours of work on an article that may never see the light falling on a printed page. Or even for one that will get printed, because I've got this goal to complete my novel draft in July!
All in all, this was a good writing day--a day when I feel accomplished, having finally obeyed my own pronouncements about my priorities. These days are rare...
Keep writing! We'll all get there if we keep writing!
Thursday, January 19, 2012
Saturday, January 14, 2012
Perseverance--most important skill for selling your writing?
I was giving up on the article. I'd written it a year ago, and had failed to sell it to the few magazines I thought would be interested. The topic was herbal remedies for common ailments--typical things like colds, fevers, poison ivy, etc. As has happened before, I was just behind the trend, not right on it. Parents magazine had just done a similar multi-page article, and Kiwi magazine was addressing the topic regularly through a monthly column. After magazines I thought would be interested declined, I even tried a small website that published things for natural-minded mommies, and I got no response even then. I'd thought my article would be an easier sell than my longer articles; I rarely write short, and this was around 800 words.
My default plan of publication is publishing online through a content writing site; I've really fallen off writing for them; the financial rewards are far below what I'm making in other print arenas. But if I can't sell an article to a magazine, it's a good last-ditch effort to make something, rather than nothing, off of an article. So that was my plan--but I was slow in getting it done (even though the sooner I'd place the article on the site, the sooner it could earn....)
Meanwhile, while I was "not getting around to it," a local magazine editor responded to a list of article ideas I'd sent her a while back. She pulled 3 of my 5 suggestions and said she wanted me to write on them--2 due in mere weeks, another for later in the year. She said she was doing a special issue in March/April on green living, so my 2 natural/green-lifestyle ideas (natural makeup/skin care products and natural birth prep) fit what she was looking for. With 3 assignments snagged, I felt pretty good--I'd never gotten as much repeat business from a client yet. Then the next day, a germ of an idea grew in my mind. If the editor was looking for green lifestyle ideas, what about my herbal medicine cabinet article I was about to give up on?
Now, this editor doesn't accept already-written articles--she doesn't even operate through the traditional query system that magazines use. She's a newspaper gal and the magazine is produced by the newspaper, so it's a different style altogether. But I gave it a shot anyway--retitled the article "Greening your first aid kit", explained I'd already been working on it and wondered if she might find it interesting for the March/April issue.
Her response: "I love it. Just throw in a couple quotes from local natural health professionals, and it's done."
So I'd gotten 4 assignments! And one almost done!
And to think, I'd almost given up on that article. I'd almost turned it in for chump change, but now, I've gotten considerably more already direct-deposited into my bank account for it! Not to mention, I've gotten an article out to the reading public on a topic I'm very passionate about and think is important info.
So here's the lesson: Keep looking for other places to sell; don't give up!
Other articles I've published.
Treating Depression with Natural or Alternative Medicine
Is Lyme Disease Lurking in Your Unexplained Symptoms?
Baby Food: Save money by Making Your Own
Potty Training: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables
Cloth Diapers Versus Disposables: Switching Systems
My default plan of publication is publishing online through a content writing site; I've really fallen off writing for them; the financial rewards are far below what I'm making in other print arenas. But if I can't sell an article to a magazine, it's a good last-ditch effort to make something, rather than nothing, off of an article. So that was my plan--but I was slow in getting it done (even though the sooner I'd place the article on the site, the sooner it could earn....)
Meanwhile, while I was "not getting around to it," a local magazine editor responded to a list of article ideas I'd sent her a while back. She pulled 3 of my 5 suggestions and said she wanted me to write on them--2 due in mere weeks, another for later in the year. She said she was doing a special issue in March/April on green living, so my 2 natural/green-lifestyle ideas (natural makeup/skin care products and natural birth prep) fit what she was looking for. With 3 assignments snagged, I felt pretty good--I'd never gotten as much repeat business from a client yet. Then the next day, a germ of an idea grew in my mind. If the editor was looking for green lifestyle ideas, what about my herbal medicine cabinet article I was about to give up on?
Now, this editor doesn't accept already-written articles--she doesn't even operate through the traditional query system that magazines use. She's a newspaper gal and the magazine is produced by the newspaper, so it's a different style altogether. But I gave it a shot anyway--retitled the article "Greening your first aid kit", explained I'd already been working on it and wondered if she might find it interesting for the March/April issue.
Her response: "I love it. Just throw in a couple quotes from local natural health professionals, and it's done."
So I'd gotten 4 assignments! And one almost done!
And to think, I'd almost given up on that article. I'd almost turned it in for chump change, but now, I've gotten considerably more already direct-deposited into my bank account for it! Not to mention, I've gotten an article out to the reading public on a topic I'm very passionate about and think is important info.
So here's the lesson: Keep looking for other places to sell; don't give up!
Other articles I've published.
Treating Depression with Natural or Alternative Medicine
Is Lyme Disease Lurking in Your Unexplained Symptoms?
Baby Food: Save money by Making Your Own
Potty Training: Cloth Diapers vs. Disposables
Cloth Diapers Versus Disposables: Switching Systems
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