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This post is from this week’s Monday Motivations for Writers email. To get these emails in your inbox, plus a free e-book and checklist for writers, you can sign up here.

Ever send a query to an editor and realize — too late — that you had a typo in the lede? Or accidentally hit “Reply All” on a sensitive work email?

Wonderful Renegade reader Cherese Cobb let me know about a solution: unSend.it.

unSend.it is a free service that lets you track email opens, edit emails and attachments AFTER they’re sent, and steal back emails you wish you’d never sent.

I tried it out with a couple Gmail accounts of mine. Sign-up was super easy thanks to a slideshow that covers every step.

If you choose the unSend.it mode where you’re able to edit emails after they’ve been sent — and even after they’ve been opened — the email is converted to a graphic on unSend.it’s servers. I have to say, that looks a little wonky to the recipient. For example, when I tried emailing myself with this option, as the recipient I wasn’t able to copy the e-mail’s contents since it was a graphic, not text.

Something else that’s a little strange: If you unsend an email, according to the site, “unSend.it removes all content from the body of the email (including any attachments) you sent. The email itself will always remain in your recipient’s inbox along with the subject line—however, all email message content will be removed.” But…guess having your editor see a blank email is better than having her see one you meant to send to your best friend venting about said editor!

You can also opt for the mode where you can only unsend emails and edit attachments, in which case your email comes through as regular text.

There’s also a tracking-only mode, and you can choose to have unSend.it email you when recipients open your messages.

A cool perk is that you can change modes for individual emails as you send them out by using shortcode such as [att] for “attachments,” which means you have control over that particular email’s attachments even after you send it.

Hope you can use this cool tool to take the worry out of pitching! (Thanks, Cherese!)

By the way, I love sharing tips from my readers. If you have a good one and I can use it, I’m happy to send you an e-book gratis as a thank you!

Happy writing,

Linda Formichelli

P.S. Have you seen my new Writing Assignment Checklist, which I’m selling for just $1.49?

A couple weeks ago I created a Query Writing Checklist, and it flew off the virtual shelves!

Then, while on a road trip (I do my best thinking while driving), I was like—Duh, Linda! Now writers will need a checklist to use when they’re working on a writing assignment! (You know, the assignment they got using the query checklist.)

Whether you’re writing for a magazine, a website, or a paying blog—there’s so much to think about and remember when you’re working on an assignment:

• Did I get a contract…and did I sign it and send it back?
• What are the payment terms?
• What was it the client wanted from me, again? Did she want a sidebar?
• Who am I interviewing?
• Oh man, what was that source’s email address?
• Did I include a source list with my assignment?
• When did I follow up with the interviewee?
• Did I remember to proof the article?
• Is each fact in the article backed up by an outside source?
• Did I write a compelling lede? A great kicker?
• Did I remember to thank the client?

So I did it…I created a fillable PDF Writing Assignment Checklist that covers:

Stage 1: Assignment Details
Stage 2: Sources & Research
Stage 3: Proofing the Article
Stage 4: Turning in the Assignment & Onward

Wherever possible, I also included links to websites and blog posts that will deepen your understanding of that particular element—from finding expert sources to creating a source list to writing an amazing kicker.

The Writing Assignment Checklist is a fillable checklist, meaning you can fill in the blanks and check off action items right on your computer.

Download the checklist and create a duplicate copy for each query idea…you can use the Writing Assignment Checklist over and over!

And even better—you can get this helpful checklist for just $1.49. I know…super cheap, right?

If you’d like a copy of a checklist that will help you track assignments and turn out great articles (and blog posts, and case studies…)–here’s where you can get it.

(And if you missed the Query Tracker Worksheet, that’s here!)

Enjoy!

Linda

P.S. If you get the checklist, please download it to your hard drive and make duplicates before you start filling it out. That way you’ll have enough checklists for all your pitches, and will be able to save and print them. (Do not open and fill out the PDF in your browser or you will not be able to save and print!)

P.P.S. Did you know Carol Tice’s and my new e-course Escape the Content Mills is on sale this week? Sale ends Sunday…check it out here!

Whether you’re pitching your idea to a magazine, a website, or a blog — there’s so much to think about and remember when you write and send a query letter:

• Is my idea timely?
• Is my idea relevant to enough of the pub’s readers?
• What sources should I approach about a pre-interview?
• Oh man, what was that source’s email address again?
• Could I offer this idea as a chunky format with lots of box outs…or a chart…or a quiz?
• Did I nail the magazine’s style?
• Do I have an enticing headline (and how do I create one of those, anyway?)?
• Wait, did I follow up with editor X?

And even if you remember everything you need to so — inevitably, just as your query email to your dream publication zaps off the screen, you notice…a typo.

Ugh!

I had a HUGE brainstorm: How about a checklist that writers can use with every pitch they send, to make sure it has all the elements that will entice an editor to say Yes?

So I did it…I created a fillable PDF Query Letter Checklist that covers:

Stage 1: Developing the Query
Stage 2: Proofing the Query
Stage 3: Sending the Query
Stage 4: Tracking Your Query

Wherever possible, I also included links to websites and blog posts that will deepen your understanding of that particular query element — from developing a story idea that sells, to learning about the nut graf, to finding expert sources.

The Query Letter Checklist is a fillable checklist, meaning you can fill in the blanks and check off action items on your computer.

Download the checklist, and create a duplicate copy for each query idea…you can use the Query Letter Checklist over and over!

And even better — you can get this helpful checklist for just $1.49. I know…super cheap, right?

If you’d like a copy of a checklist that will help you develop, send, and track killer query letters — so you can get more assignments — here’s where you can get it.

Enjoy!

Drawing by Dawn Witzke.

(This post is based on yesterday’s Monday Motivations for Writers email. If you’d like more goodies like this in your inbox, plus two free e-books, please join the Renegade Writer mailing list!)

Carol Tice and I surveyed more than 500 content mill writers and presented the findings in a webinar last week. One of the most stunning stats was that 40% of content mill writers earn from $1-$5 per hour.

Maybe another 40% earned somewhere between $6 and $20 per hour, and I could almost hear some writers on the call thinking, “Hey, $15 per hour writing isn’t so bad! That’s how much I make at my day job.”

But here’s the thing: At your day job, you get paid for ALL the hours you work — even those hours where you’re reading Gawker and checking Facebook. As a freelance writer, you get paid only those hours you can bill for — and believe me, far from all hours are billable.

As a freelancer, you’re also paying for your own expenses and health insurance, and your taxes are higher. (Normally your employer pays a 7.5% employment tax rate and you pay 7.5% — but as a business owner, YOU pay the entire 15%. Bummer, I know.)

Renegade Reader Ivonne Cueva let me know about an hourly rate calculator that will help you determine what you SHOULD be charging to reach your target income (Thanks, Ivonne!):

https://hourlyrate.beewits.com/

You just enter your current income and how much you’d like to increase that by, your expenses, and an estimate of how many work days and billable hours you’ll have in a year. Then click “Calculate My Hourly Rate” and voila! — that’s how much you need to be earning/charging per hour.

For example, I entered in $10,000 as the current annual earnings (which is probably actually TOO high for content mill writing) and then keyed in that I want to increase my income to $50,000 per year. I very roughly estimated some expenses and figured the writer would be working 4 days per week, 8 hours per day, with 50% of those hours being billable.

(Keep in mind this is an educated guess for an average writer…you may have more billable hours, or less…you may have more hours to work during the week, or less.)

Annnnnnd: To make this work, a writer would need to earn $133.53 per billable hour.

Now, that’s not impossible — it’s the amount a good copywriter can make. And when I write, I typically earn $250 per hour because I’ve been writing so long that I can create a great article, web page, etc. pretty quickly. So, definitely doable.

And this shows that even earning $20 per hour at a content mill — about 7% of content mill writers earn $16-$20 per hour — well, it sounds good but it really isn’t.

Check out this online calculator (it’s free) and see the hourly rate you would need to bill to earn your target income as a writer. It’s eye-opening, AND it will motivate you to seek out better-paying work.

Happy writing,

Linda Formichelli
The Renegade Writer

P.S. Join us for the beta session of our new e-course Escape the Content Mills, which starts on Wednesday! We’re charging only $29 because we’re looking for YOUR feedback to make the course amazing. (And once we get your input, we’ll redo the course incorporating your questions and comments, and send you a copy of the completed materials.) Next session, the price will go up to $49, so you get a hefty 40% discount if you sign up now. http://usefulwritingcourses.com/courses/escape-the-content-mills/

P.P.S. Even if you don’t want to join us for Escape the Content Mills, visit that class page to get a free copy of our case study report “Escape the Content Mills: 6 Writers’ True Stories of Breaking Out and Earning More.”

Many of my email mentoring clients have so many ideas and projects that when they try to decide what steps to take next, they feel stuck. There are so many actions they could be taking at any one time that they freak out — and do nothing.

I have the same problem, and one day Renegade Writer co-author Diana Burrell said to me, “Pick one thing and do it. It doesn’t matter what you pick — just pick something.”

I’ve been following her advice ever since, and that was the inspiration for the new checklist 50 Ways to Build Your Freelance Writing Business Today – No Matter How Much Time You Have.

I created a list of 50 action items that will move your freelance career forward, whether you have 5 minutes…30 minutes…an hour…or a whole day free. I then hired the graphic designer Azita Houshiar to create custom illustrations and design the checklist, so it is a pleasure to look at and use.

To use the checklist: Print it out, or keep it on your computer’s desktop. When you have some time, just go to the section that corresponds with how much time you have, randomly pick an item, and do it.

You’ll be one more step towards your freelance writing goals, and you’ll build forward momentum to help you get the next step done, and the next.

To get your free checklist, fill out the form on this page…it will take about six seconds:

http://www.therenegadewriter.com/free-checklist/

Note: If you are already a member of my mailing list — the one where you get Monday Motivations for Writers emails — I’ll be sending you a copy of the checklist, so you won’t need to fill out the form.

Enjoy the checklist, and happy writing!

Linda

By Linda Formichelli

Karen Cioffi’s guest post this week, 7 Steps to Freelance Writing Success Through Positive Thinking, got a great response! I can see this idea resonates with many of my readers.

Karen’s step #2 was “Put your vision into words and other visuals.” For me, that visual is a video — and I wanted to let you know about Animoto, a FREE service that lets you create short videos. You can insert photos, select music, add headlines, and more to create a video vision board that will help you keep at your writing goals. My life and career coach, Kristin Taliaferro, recommended it to her clients — and I’m recommending it to you!

I haven’t used Animoto to create a vision board in relation to my writing yet, but in 2010 I made one to reflect my themes for the year: Health and peace. It’s two years old, but I still watch — and am inspired by it — often. Here’s the video:

LIGHT

I hope you find this helpful as you work towards your freelance writing goals and try to keep a positive mindset. If you create an Animoto vision board video and you’d like to share it, post the link in the Comments below! [LF]

If you’ve been interested in joining Carol Tice’s Freelance Writers Den — which includes goodies ranging from an active forum to a job board to free webinars — the time is now. The doors close next Friday, Oct. 28. (Full disclosure: That’s my affiliate link.) I think Carol has as many members as she can handle right now! And she’s a real ball of fire, so that’s saying a lot.

For anybody who’s not in the Den by then, the only way to gain Den access in November will be to sign up for the $97 bootcamp How to Make Good Money Writing Online (which I’ll be presenting at, by the way). Here’s the bootcamp outline.

Hope to see you in the Den!

I’ve come to realize that the Renegade Writer’s blogroll is seriously out of date. I want the blogroll to be a great source for writers looking for other professional blogs, and I also would like to return the blogroll love to those writing blogs that link to the Renegade Writer. If you have a writing blog you think would be of interest to our readers — mostly magazine writers, professional and aspiring — please post the name and URL in the comments below. Thanks so much! [lf]

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My first free teleclass for writers, on Querying with Confidence, was this past Tuesday evening. I think it was a great success! We had 60 writers on the call, and I got some wonderful questions during the call and afterwards in e-mail. I started out with five minutes of greeting callers as they popped on the line, which was a whirlwind because so many people arrived at once from all over the world. Then I lectured on the components of a successful query for about 15 minutes, and then there was a Q&A session for about 35 minutes.

The teleconferencing system had some quirks — like not letting people use Skype to call in, and kicking me off halfway through the call so I had to dial back in — but the price was right (free) so I’ll likely be using the service again for next month’s teleclass. However, I’m thinking about trying a webinar format in the future, so if anyone knows of a free or cheap webinar service, please e-mail me.

Many people who weren’t able to attend have asked me for a recording of the teleclass. Your wish is indeed my command. There are actually two files because when I was kicked off the line, the recording stopped and I had to start a new one when I was back on the call. The first recording contains my lecture, and the second one is the Q&A.

Querying with Confidence Part 1 (Lecture)

Querying with Confidence Part 2 (Q&A)

You’ll also want the handout, which has two queries that I refer to during the class. You can download the handout here (PDF format).

Unfortunately, the special offer that I made for teleclass participants to get a discount off my courses and a free 20-minute coaching call is no longer available. But there is still space in my January 11 Write for Magazines e-course and my October 26 Get Unstuck! for Freelancers e-course. More info on these courses on my Write for Magazines site.

Thanks to everyone who attended my first teleclass and helped make it successful. I’m working on setting up the November teleclass now. You can get the scoop on where and when it will happen by subscribing to my e-mail list on the Free Teleclasses for Writers web page. [lf]

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I recently read a great post by writer Thursday Bram called Why Writers Need CRM and Why I Use Gist. Gist is a free online contact management tool that’s in beta now. It can import your contacts from your e-mail applications, LinkedIn, FaceBook, Twitter, and more.

What’s really neat about Gist is that it brings together everything you could want to know about your editors: Their blog posts and Twitter posts, media mentions, and even their photos. So if you want to query an editor, you can look her up in your contact list and see what she’s been up to. For example, you might see that an editor of yours has recently been promoted, or has blogged for her magazine. This is invaluable information to help you target your pitches.

For full details, check out Thursday Bram’s post. I just started using Gist based on Thursday’s recommendation and I’m thoroughly impressed. Try it yourself! [lf]

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On her WordCount blog, Michelle Rafter writes about the Top 10 Digital Media Trends of 2008, from the recession to Twitter. Each of Rafter’s trends comes with a helpful takeaway for writers. [lf]

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But where are these markets? Writer’s Market, a print and online directory of magazine markets, is a great source to start with, but there are tons of magazines out there that aren’t listed in its pages. And then there’s the newsstand, which has an even smaller selection of magazines. You won’t find most custom pubs or trade magazines at Borders.

Here’s how to find markets that aren’t found in Writer’s Market or on your local newsstand.

• The Custom Publishing Council. As I wrote in a post last year, custom publications are magazines that are published for corporate clients and organizations. For example, the magazine you get if you’re a Wells Fargo business customer is a custom publication. The free magazine you pick up at Shaw’s is a custom publication. That magazine at the checkout in Pier 1? A custom pub. You can often break into a custom publication by sending a letter of introduction. The Custom Publishing Council lists many of these magazines and even gives e-mail addresses for the pubs’ editors or publishers.

• The Renegade Writer Markets Wiki is the place to share information about magazine markets for freelance writers, including price info, editorial contacts, e-mail formats, phone numbers, tips, guidelines, and your own experiences with the magazine.

• TradePub.com offers links to the websites of trade magazines in dozens of categories, from agriculture to utilities. As with custom pubs, you can sometimes break into trade magazines with a letter of introduction.

• Mastheads.org has a list of the 600+ magazines in its database. Once you find a title that interests you, Google it to find its website. If you shell out $24 per year, Mastheads.org says it will give you “complete magazine staff lists for every department (editorial, art/photo, advertising, marketing, & business) with phone, fax, mailing address, and e-mail formats.”

• Freelance Success, for $99 per year, offers a weekly market guide that gives a how-to-pitch for typically well-paying magazines.

• Mr. Magazine is Samir Husni, the Chair of the Journalism Department at the University of Mississippi. His website gives you the scoop on new titles every month.

• The Internet Public Library has a directory with links to magazines, journals, e-zines, and more.

• Writer’s Market, but not for the reason you think. When you find an interesting-sounding trade magazine in Writer’s Market (or in any of the directories on this list), take note of the name of the company that publishes the magazine and search for its website on Google. Chances are, the publishing company puts out other magazines that are not listed in Writer’s Market.

• TheMagazineBoy.com is another directory of magazine links, with such who-knew pubs as Bus Conversions and Medal News.

• Your mailbox. One of my phone mentoring clients last week shared with me a great idea he had for a financial article, and mentioned that it would be a perfect fit for members of the military. I told him, “You should check out USAA, a financial custom pub I write for that targets the military,” and he said, “Hey, I get that magazine! I never thought of pitching it.” So don’t overlook those magazines that show up in your mailbox from your bank, your insurance provider, your hospital, and so on.

Do you have any other suggestions for finding markets to pitch? Please share them in the Comments below. [lf]

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This post is by guest blogger Michelle V. Rafter, owner of the fabulous WordCount blog. Thanks, Michelle!

Last September I was getting ready to start writing again after spending most of the previous seven years at home with my kids. I was totally out of touch with the freelance world and way behind on the subjects I’d once specialized in, technology and the workplace. So when I friend told me about a social network for businesspeople, I was all ears. I signed up the same day and was immediately hooked. Within a month I’d reconnected with a bunch of former colleagues. One of them even gave me an assignment — I was back at work.

That was my introduction to LinkedIn. Since then, LinkedIn has grown substantially — to 26 million people — and the ways I use it have too. Today it’s one of my workday mainstays, something I use to research companies, find sources, organize contacts and a lot more.

I also joined LinkedIn to get up to speed on the whole Web 2.0 thing, which had passed me by during my extended hiatus. LinkedIn was my entre into the world of social networks, and from there it was an easy jump to blogging and learning new forms of online storytelling. I immersed myself in it so thoroughly, I now write about it for several clients, and happily answer questions about LinkedIn for freelance friends who are where I was a year ago.

If you haven’t taken the plunge yet, or just want to get more out of it, here are my top 10 secrets for how writers can successfully use LinkedIn:

Flesh out your profile. Include all your previous jobs and schooling. The more companies, schools and organizations you affiliate yourself with, the bigger your circle of contacts will be able to grow. Add a picture or some kind of illustration that lets a little of your personality shine through. Be aspirational: describe what you want to do, not just what you’re doing now. The LinkedIn police aren’t going to call you out for dubbing yourself a freelance magazine writer with only one or two published pieces under your belt. If that’s what you consider yourself, say so.

Join groups. There are lots of groups on LinkedIn. Joining writers’ groups is one way to build up a virtual support system. Joining those or other groups also gives you the ability to send group members invitations to join your network. So if you see an editor at a magazine you’ve been interested in writing for in a LinkedIn writing group you belong to, you can use the connection to send them an invitation.

Build a network.The more people in your network, the wider the net you can cast when you’re searching for story sources. If you haven’t already, use the tools LinkedIn provides to import information from Outlook, Gmail or another contact manager, then go through the list and pick out people you’d like to invite into your network. When you happen upon sources you think you might want to use again in the future, ask if they use LinkedIn and offer to send them an invitation.

Create a phone book. In late August, LinkedIn expanded the amount of information you can store on your LinkedIn connections. In addition to their profile information, you can now input office and cell phone numbers, IM addresses, address, Website and birthday date; there’s even a notes section for adding anything else you’d want. This makes it possible to store info on a source in one place so you don’t need to toggle between Outlook and LinkedIn.

Troll the Answers section. Forget ProfNet or HARO. This is probably the No. 1 way I use LinkedIn. Use the Answers Advanced Search feature to look for keywords related to subjects you’re researching. If you find someone you want to interview and you don’t pay for LinkedIn’s premium-level service — frankly, I haven’t found a reason to — look at their profile to see if they’ve listed their email address or blog. If they did, jackpot! If they didn’t, go to the Website for their company, group or agency and track them down through a company PR representative or even a main phone number.

Query your contacts. Another way to find sources on LinkedIn is to send group emails to subsets of your connections. LinkedIn lets you slice and dice connections list by geography or industry, which makes it easy to put group emails together. You can also hand pick a group of names to send a message to.

Update your Status line regularly. The Status line is LinkedIn’s answer to Twitter or Facebook’s “What are you doing right now?” Use it to point people to your blog, solicit sources for a story or brag about your latest publishing achievement.

Check for work on the Jobs board. Most of the positions on the Jobs board are full time. Every once in a while, though, there are listings for freelance, part-time or temporary full-time gigs. And the caliber of available jobs is much higher than what you see on Craigslist.com.

Use Companies feature to research new markets. If you identify yourself as a writer in your profile, the Companies directory will automatically show a list of industries related to writing and editing. Click on any of the industry links — book publishing, newspapers, magazines, education, marketing and advertising, public relations, software — and you’ll see lists of all the companies in those industries LinkedIn has in its database. Clicking on the Newspaper listing, for example, brings up 930 newspapers. Like everything else on LinkedIn, they’re ranked according to your LinkedIn network connections, so newspapers where you have a 1st degree connection come up first. This is a great feature when it comes to pitching stories. First, you’ve got a list of who’s got what position at a paper or magazine — again, if they subscribe to LinkedIn. If you see someone you want to pitch but don’t know and there’s another editor you do know, you could use your LinkedIn connection with the second editor to ask for an introduction to the first. Of course, you could do that without LinkedIn too.

Mind your manners. Do you really want to notify your entire LinkedIn circle every time you make a minor change to your profile? Probably not, so make sure to adjust your account settings accordingly. Likewise, it’s easy to reach out to people, but don’t overdo it. Sending group emails to every source on your list every day, or even every week, might be OK with some but others could start to think you’re a spammer.

Copyright 2008 Michelle V. Rafter

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I’ve been noticing a lot of freelancers complaining, some bitterly, about Peter Shankman’s Help a Reporter Out service, also known as HARO. The common theme of complaints is the volume of off-target responses reporters get from potential story sources.

(For the record, I don’t know Shankman, I’ve never used HARO, and I rarely use Profnet, another journalist-source matching service. Not because I’m against services like these, but more because I like prefer finding experts through research and Google, and mining my own sources. I completely understand why freelancers/journalists love avenues like this and I wouldn’t think twice about using them in the future.)

Here’s what I don’t understand, though. HARO is basically a free hookup service for freelancers/journalists and potential sources. Shankman started this “thing” because he likes networking, had a huge source list, and thought why not do something a little more formal with this talent and the assets. (I’m assuming he also gets good PR and builds his brand — his name certainly has burst onto the scene — so it’s not a completely selfless act.) We freelancers don’t pay for this service, nor do the publicity seekers; it’s there because Shankman’s decided to take this on and we agree to play by his rules when we sign up. So why do some of us feel entitled to slam HARO (or Shankman) when others aren’t playing by the book?

I’ve read through Shankman’s thrice-daily call for sources. He does a good job establishing the rules for sources, even going so far to publicly lambaste sources who &uck up bigtime, like the university press officer who forwarded a query that ended up on some professor’s web page — complete with the writer’s e-mail address. (Granted I’d be pissed about that — but not at Shankman.) I don’t think Shankman is charging sources to participate on his list, nor is he asking journalists to pay up. (Would that even be ethical? I don’t think so.) If you get some good leads, you’ve beat the system. (And I’m guessing writers *are* getting good stuff, else it wouldn’t be as popular as it is.) If you get a mailbox full of CheeseWhiz, well, you’ve gotten what you’ve paid for.

Here’s what I’d do to ensure my pitch beat the system:

• Tell potential sources exactly what I want, who I want, and when I want to hear from them. “I’m looking for a woman between the ages of 35 and 55 who is going through a divorce with her second marriage. I need to have sources lined up by September 15.”
• Tell them what I *don’t* want, too. (”I must quote MDs who work with a university-affiliated hospital. I cannot speak with healthcare consultants, PR reps, or MDs who are not affiliated with a university hospital.”
• Set up an e-mail address I only use for HARO (or Profnet). That way I can protect my real work address from getting in some idiot’s hands. Even better, I’d set up an e-mail address for each specific request for sources.
• Be specific. I’ve read through tons of reporter’s queries. Many of them are so vague it’s no wonder so many off-target PR pitches result. Example: “Know any breastfeeders?” versus “I need to speak with women who’ve had negative social experiences while breastfeeding a toddler (between ages 1 and 3) in public. I am not interested in breastfeeding products or experts — need real-life stories here. Thanks!”

So, do you think it’s fair to bitch, moan, and whine at Shankman/HARO? What does he or his service owe you beyond a chance to connect with sources you might not otherwise meet? Post your comments below. [db]

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You may have wondered how come there’s a little picture of me next to my comments. That’s because we’ve got a Gravatar-enabled blog. If you’d like to have a little picture next to your comments, go to Gravatar, sign up for a free account, upload a picture, and every time you post here, we’ll be able to see you … or your dog, your kid, your favorite Manga character, etc. [db]

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Renegade reader Alicia Cosgrove (Wordwych on The RW blog) has a great tip for transcribing interviews. I’ll let her tell you herself:

***

I write for a small local newspaper, doing human interest stories and local news. This, of course, requires me to interview many people, both by phone and in person with laptop balanced on anything that’ll hold it. (No joke – I’ve conducted interviews in cow pastures, llama barns, bars, Chinese restaurants and, once, in a home where a pair of 5-foot iguanas wandered about the living room floor while an 8-inch-long baby caiman gnawed curiously on the corner of my laptop.) I’ve found that by creating my own “shorthand” in Microsoft Word’s Auto-Correct function saves me a lot of time. There are common words that I have reduced to just a few keystrokes so that I can keep up with what my interviewees are saying. I love the Auto-Correct function (I’m one of those people who knows that a-b-o-u-t spells “about” but whose fingers want to type a-b-u-o-t), so I decided to make it work for me by creating custom corrections for my specific shorthand.

Examples:

PPL = PEOPLE

CMT = COMMUNITY

REC = RECOMMEND

GSO = GREENSBORO

OR = OAK RIDGE

SUM = SUMMERFIELD

BS = BROWNS SUMMIT

HP = HIGH POINT

NC = NORTH CAROLINA

HM = HOME

HS = HUSBAND

DAG = DAUGHTER

FD = FIRE DEPARTMENT

SD = SHERIFF’S DEPARTMENT

PD = POLICE DEPARTMENT

The A-C function inserts the full words as I’m typing along. I started out using it for local town names, and then realized that my typed shorthand was getting rather cryptic. I started looking at other words and abbreviations I used frequently, then just went into Word’s Tools, then Auto-Correct options, where it’s easy to make the tweaks. Town names, school names, states, departments and annual events are just a few of the things that can be whittled down to a few keystrokes. I’m a swift typist anyway, but this little trick has enabled me to increase my speed – not to mention dazzling a few of my interviewees and my boss, who has been known to compare my typing to machine gun fire.

I rarely have trouble with the A-C function inserting the full word before I can finish typing the word I intend. I can type “receive,” “receipt,” and so on without any problems with the A-C trying to toss in “recommend.” The only real annoyance I find is that when I want to type “rec” as in “rec center” or “parks & rec”, the A-C function tries to insert “recommend.” I must then remove the unwanted letters by backspacing. My work-around for that is to use ‘reccenter’ or ‘parknrec’ when I am speed-typing my interview notes and quotes.

***

Thanks, Alicia! This is a very helpful idea. [lf]

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It’s 2:30 pm…do you know where your wiki is?

This is a public service announcement by the Renegade Writers, creators of the Renegade Writer Markets Wiki. This feature of the RW site includes pitching info on magazines such as Health, BabyZone.com, The Engravers Journal, Swimming Times, and Road King. Please check it out, sign up (it’s free), and add or edit markets! [lf]

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Rachel asks: I’m moving up in the freelance world, and need to improve my interviewing equipment. I’d like something that will record my phone interviews so I can concentrate on the questions I’m asking and not note-taking. What do you recommend for phone interviews?

When I was starting out, I used a regular tape recorder and recorded every interview. Storing all those tapes was a real hassle. Now, although I don’t typically record interviews, when I do (such as when I’m interviewing someone on a complicated subject), I use an Olympus digital recorder. It is awesome! You can store the interview files on your computer, adjust the playback speed to make transcribing easier, and e-mail the files to a transcriptionist if you’re lazy like me.

To hook the recorder up to the phone, I use a mini recorder control from Radio Shack, which costs $17.99. This works with corded phones only, but there are devices that work with cordless phones as well. [lf]

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Are you the type of person who always has a long list of to-dos? Do you manage to check off items fairly easily, but never feel like you accomplish much despite being “busy”? Or maybe you’re a writer who has a lot of projects on the burners, but you rarely complete them to your satisfaction?

If you fit any (or all) these types, then I urge you to read blogger Cal Newport’s guest post on Scott H. Young’s blog about completion-centric project planning. When I first read it, I thought “duh.” But then I looked at some of my lists and had to admit to myself that I had no idea what some of my finished projects would look like. I spent a couple hours with some of those ideas and developed measurable criteria for the end product — stuff like writing book proposals, building my food writing specialty, and organizing my pantry. Seriously, I felt more motivated than I’ve felt in months about these formerly nebulous ideas. I could clearly see that some of the activities I thought were moving me toward the finish line were only slowing me down.

Cal showed a sample of his completion-centric project planning sheet. I created one that’s similar to his, and if there’s enough interest, I’ll upload it to our server as a free download.

Do you plan with a clearly defined goal in mind? Is this news to you? Please, add your comments below. [db]

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LinkedIn is a professional networking site that works on the “six degrees of separation” principle: Find someone you want to meet, and chances are you know someone who knows that person. You invite friends and colleagues to “link” to you, and then all their contacts are your contacts, too. LinkedIn is free unless you want to use advanced features.

I’ve been browsing around on LinkedIn and finding lots of editors and writers. I discovered that one of my friends knows someone who knows an editor at a career magazine. I created a message to the editor, LinkedIn forwarded it to my friend, my friend forwarded it to HIS friend, and that guy passed it along to the editor. Within a couple of days, the editor e-mailed me to give me the name of the editor at the magazine who accepts freelance pitches.

I also used LinkedIn to find the perfect sources for two articles. And this was no easy task: One source I needed as a PR exec who was also an expert in credit union topics, and the other was a journalism professor with experience in writing and critiquing profiles.

In the August 29 New York Times, columnist David Pogue asks what’s the big deal about LinkedIn — and dozens of readers have weighed in on how to make it a useful tool for your business. [lf]

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I’ve been a subscriber to Marcia Layton Turner’s free monthly e-zine, Become a Six-Figure Writer, since the spring, and I’ve gotten a lot of good tips and advice from it. I rarely recommend e-zines, but this one is really quite useful — and with only one issue a month, you’ll actually look forward to reading it!

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Thanks to everyone who has signed up for and contributed magazine markets and edits to the Renegade Writer Markets Wiki! Recently, members have added The Writer, WOW! Women on Writing, front+porch, The Writer, and Graduating Engineer. There have also been helpful edits to the American Cheerleader entry. Please do visit and help us make the database of markets even more useful! [lf]

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An editor sent me this press release today…I hope she wasn’t trying to tell me something about my grammar skills!

Purdue University’s online writing lab receives millions of visitors a year, and here are the questions people most frequently ask. People may be surprised to learn it’s not just students asking questions. Our tutors and educators are even asked to settle bets between colleagues, friends or spouses about everyday grammar questions.

“Without a doubt our No. 1 request for help is about formatting research papers for college or high school students,” says Tammy Conard-Salvo, associate director of the Writing Lab, which is housed in the Department of English. “The most common questions are about citing sources, especially electronic sources.

“People may be surprised to learn it’s not just students asking questions. Our tutors and educators are even asked to settle bets between colleagues, friends or spouses about everyday grammar questions.”

Here are the other questions that round out the top five queries received by the Online Writing Lab, known as OWL:

* The difference between “affect” and “effect.” Affect is a verb and effect is a noun.

* Questions about subject-verb agreement, especially with indefinite pronouns such as each, every and any, which are singular and require a singular verb.

* Questions from English-as-second-language students about idiomatic expressions or exceptions to grammar rules. For example, one student recently submitted a question about whether the word “data” is singular or plural. The answer is based on the context because “data” can be both.

* A number of questions are from nontraditional students who are working on a writing assignment. Conard-Salvo says many requests start with a phrase like, “I haven’t taken an English class in many years. How do I get started on writing an argument essay?”

The online resource, located on the Web at http://owl.english.purdue.edu, provides more than 200 printable resources on starting and revising a writing project, business and technical writing, Web research, and research papers. These resources provide punctuation and grammar rules, guides to effective organization, tips on the writing process and how to cope with writer’s block. The site also includes style guides for the popular Modern Language Association and American Psychological Association citation formats.

The lab also offers a grammar hotline, at (765) 494-3723, staffed by writing lab specialists. Questions also can be submitted online from the Web site. Tutors will respond to questions from anyone in the world, Conard-Salvo says.  [lf]

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Ed2010 — a group for young editors who are looking to reach their dream magazine jobs by the year 2010 — has a list of links to the websites of dozens and dozens of newsstand magazines, from AARP to Yoga Journal. No longer do you have to wear out your fingers typing magazine names into Google when you’re researching markets! You can also use this list to find new-to-you markets to pitch. [lf]

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A couple weeks ago, I started thinking about what would happen with my work if I suddenly became incapacitated. (I have to learn how to procrastinate better, huh? Thinking about my demise doesn’t really cut it.) I have so many passwords to my computer and websites that my husband wouldn’t have a clue how to log in. At any one time I have six to 12 assignments due with various editors: how would anyone know who they are and how to contact them? Worse, I hate thinking about my editors tapping their fingers, wondering what the hell happened to their AWOL freelancer.

It gave me the idea of setting up an “In Case of Emergency” binder. I spent a few days collecting all of my passwords and procedures and writing them up for my book. I have a page that gives detailed instructions on how to log into my computer. Another page shows them how to log into the server that hosts this blog. There’s a page that tells them who to contact if I go belly up so those people can spread the word. There’s a list of my editors’ names, their e-mail addresses, and phone numbers. I made copies of my driver’s license, credit cards, passport, insurance papers, and other docs, and listed locations for my p.o. box and safety deposit box keys. I even programmed my cell phone with a couple ICE (In Case of Emergency) phone numbers.

It sounds kind of depressing, but it ended up offering an illuminating look at how I run my business. I realized how much of “stuff” I carry around in my head, stuff that would be better stored in a binder. I created some spreadsheets that helped me get a better look at my systems. Best of all, it eliminated that “what would happen” worry that lingers in the back of my mind. My husband knows where the binder is; I’m also going to tell a couple other family members where they can find it. I have peace of mind that my affairs will be in good hands.

Has anyone here done anything like this? What else would you include in your binder? Post your thoughts in the comment box! [db]

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