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Did you ever think it’s not the economy, of the toughness of the industry, or just plain bad luck that’s keeping you from flourishing as a freelance writer — but your own limiting beliefs? Many aspiring freelancers are wonderful writers with salable ideas, but they can’t break out of the writing-for-cheap (or worse, writing-for-free) stage and make a full-time living doing what they love. And even while they complain about their lack of success, they have plenty of seemingly-reasonable explanations for why they aren’t even trying.

Here are some of the excuses I’ve heard from my mentoring and e-course clients — and how you can bust those limiting beliefs.

Excuse #1: “I have to pay my dues.”

Many writers believe they can’t write for magazines that pay a decent fee until they “pay their dues” by writing for markets that pay peanuts. But who decides what constitutes paying your dues, how long you need to do it for, and even that you have to do it at all? The term “paying your dues” is meaningless, because no one has defined exactly what it is and when it ends.

When I hear someone say they have to pay their dues before pitching the magazines they really want to write for, I know it’s a stalling tactic. I never hear a writer say, “Well, now I’ve paid my dues and it’s time for me to get cracking on my dream markets.” Because there’s no defined limit to paying your dues, writers just keep toiling away at sure-thing markets instead of risking rejection by the big guys. It’s the perfect excuse for not making the leap to better markets.

I’ve never heard an editor, when approached by a writer with a brilliant query and stellar writing, say, “I can’t possibly accept this — this writer hasn’t paid her dues.” In fact, consider this:

* I have a friend whose very first clip was for Cosmopolitan. She went on to have a successful freelance writing career and even write books on freelancing.

* Last year one of my students landed an assignment to write a short for SELF magazine. She had not a single clip before that. Now, she’s working on an assignment for Parenting that’s worth $1,300. She’s had only two assignments and she’s never worked for less than $1.50 per word.

* I recently had a mentoring client who kept “paying her dues” by writing for exposure and wondering why she wasn’t making more money. I convinced her to stop writing for free and cheap, and within ten days she had an assignment that was worth twenty assignments from one of her el-cheapo clients.

* My very first assignment, based on my very first query back in 1996, paid $500. I never paid a dime of dues.

Look: Paying your dues is just an excuse. No one is tracking what you do and judging whether you have written for enough peanuts-paying clients to start pitching your dream markets. If you have a great idea and you present it well, no one will care whether you slogged your way up from the bottom or just burst onto the scene.

Excuse #2: “I need to learn more.”

I hate to say this since I teach e-courses of my own, but some writers take every writing course they can find yet never feel like they know enough to actually get started pitching markets. “I can’t get started because I don’t know every single thing there is to know about query writing.” “Well, now I know how to write a query, but what happens when I get an assignment? I

• Where are some places that I can go to look for freelance web writing?
• Is it “ghost writing” or does sometimes my name get shown?
• What about being a Foreign Correspondent for a news organization in another country?
• How does getting paid work?
• How do you manage personal time, schedules, and deadlines?
• What types of writing projects are available: interviews, reviews, tutorials and how well does each pay relative to the others
• How have you improved your knowledge of English by writing over time?
• How does freelancing compare to a “regular job”? Do you get to travel more?

Listen to the PodCast!

1 Comments on Ernest Dempsey – Earn Extra Income Freelance Writing for the Web, last added: 2/19/2010 Display Comments Why Hasn’t Charlie Rose Called Me Yet? « M. Ste said, on 2/19/2010 5:37:00 PM [...] about plays and theater by Victor Volkman of Authors Access. My topics are below. For now, listen to the great Ernest Dempsey. 1. the process of writing a play 2. being a playwright-producer 3. directing your own play 4. the [...] Add a Comment More from this Blog | Email This | Add a Tag 28. Kate Harper - Getting Into the Greeting Card Market 0 Comments | Previous | Top | Next By: Victor Volkman, on 10/17/2009 Blog: Authors Access - Where Authors Get Published and Published Authors Get Successful (Login to Add to MyJacketFlap) JacketFlap tags:  Poetry, Self-Publishing, Greeting Cards, Freelancing, Add a tag On October 15th, 2009 Irene Watson and Victor R. Volkman spoke with greeting card and gift industry maven Kate Harper. Kate Harper started her line of humorous greeting card from a hobby of making greeting cards for friends as gifts. Over the next 15 years, Kate’s turned her hobby into a business, manufacturing and shipping cards to over 2,000 stores, including Barnes & Noble, Whole Foods Markets and the Papyrus chain. She informed us on key areas of getting started as a writer or self-publisher of greeting cards, including: Card terends: research, seasonal cards, occasional cards, and publishers What subject areas and categories to focus on, how to stay organized Test marketing your cards and card verse. Seven most common mistake card writers will make Why competition in the card business is vastly over-estimated

Two years ago, she transitioned out of manufacturing and into licensing, where she now designs cards for Recycled Paper Greetings (a subsidiary of American Greetings Corporation) and gift items for seven other companies.

Listen to the PodCast!

• Why target international markets?
• Where do you locate international markets?
• What do you need to consider when targeting an international market?
• What about format and language issues?
• How do you contact/pitch to an international market?
• What are the rights issues you need to keep in mind?
• How do you get paid?
• What are some pitfalls of the international marketplace?

Listen to the PodCast!

I'm coming up on 20 years of freelancing as an illustrator. So much has changed in that time in respect to the industry (e.g., computers; Internet) and myself (e.g., going digital; the Internet; my style-changes).

I had been a prolific cartoonist when I was a kid and that followed me into high school (I did the school newspaper's cartoon). When I got to college/university, however, there was no program in my school for any specializations (such as illustration or cartooning) so I delved into the fine arts, particularly printmaking, drawing and ceramics. In all these disciplines, my work still had a narrative quality as well as a comic-bend. Upon graduation, I chose to extend my studies and get a teaching certification so I could make a living. Art and illustration then took a back seat while I worked in the elementary school system for seven years, though I integrated the arts very heavily into my curriculum. But I really wanted to make the arts my full-time career, so several efforts were made to do so. At one point, I seriously contemplated getting a graduated degree in ceramics/pottery because I loved working in clay. I also realized it was important to me for my art to have a utilitarian purpose, so I needed to be doing something other than making esoteric painting, sculptures, installations, etc. (I don't know why I had that perspective of the arts in my head, but that was my thinking at the time). I eventually decided that ceramics wasn't the avenue for me, so I turned towards commercial art (the term used at that time) and began building a portfolio. And I starting taking it with me where ever I would go. One person I showed it to gave me a lead to a well-established music management agency that was looking to branch out and manage authors and artists. They took an interest in me, and through them, I landed my first job: the CD/cassette covers for a children's' series:


Over time, marketing brought more jobs and, after a while, there I was: working as an illustrator.

My style has gone through many changes over the past almost-twenty years, but my first love is really the simple style of line art and wash, which is what I've been honing in these days.

Another excellent post from multiple award-winning novelist and short story author Kristine Kathryn Rusch about the business side of writing. This week’s installment, how to get paid. And if you haven’t read the previous installments yet, take the time to catch up on the whole collection. For those of you who want to making [...]

What a weekend!

First, I made a goal I was sure I'd keep on Friday--4000 new words before midnight. Author Paula Yoo joined me and dubbed it "Friday 4k."

Well, I gave up around 1300 words. Epic fail. The chance to go out came up and I took it. And for once, I didn't feel bad about it! Usually, I'd beat myself up over not making my word count goal. But instead, I ended up going out with BFF and doing exactly what was needed for a ridic week.

I worked a little on Saturday and focused on the end incentive--a night out in my neighborhood with awesome friends. It was sooo nice to be in my neighborhood and not have to get on the train after a night out. There are lots of interesting places yet to be explored...

Today, I pulled the plug on the Internet and got serious. For real. I wasn't messing around, LOL. I got 4049 words down today, so I feel good about it. Better than yesterday's measly total!

Tomorrow, I'm going out with the Melissa Walker and Sarah MacLean. Fun!

Also, I've been getting blurb requests lately and I'm flattered, thank you! Please feel free to send me an e-mail and I can give you an address where to send your book. My rule, though, just FYI--I won't blurb a book unless I love it. I think that's what you're supposed to do...right?

AND! I found out through a neighborhood message board that...get ready...there is a stable near my park! Kensington Stables. OMG! I about died. I'm going to email them to see if I can come observe a few lessons, talk to the riders, maybe groom a lesson horse--anything! I'm insanely excited and would love to go and spend even a little time in the horsey environment. The killer? They offer trail rides in the park.

The park I adore.

That's where it's complicated. I had a spinal fusion for super severe scoliosis. So, if I rode a horse and fell, I could break or snap my rods and have to go through a spinal fusion *again* or become paralyzed. High stakes, right? But there are moments, every so often, where I want to risk it, get on a horse and RIDE! This is one of those moments.

People have argued to me that I could ride a "bomb proof" horse and would have nothing to worry about. But IMO, there's no such thing. Accidents happen and no horse is bomb proof. I don't believe it and I've met/ridden dozens of horses and have yet to find a BP horse.

*sighs* Tough decision.

And I also got a super quick rejection today. Sent the query and got a nice note back within hours. It's a mag I've been trying to crack for years and they had just assigned the topic I pitched to someone else. Getting close I think...it's just about timing! But that's a better rejection than "Um, hello. Have you read our mag before? Why are you pitching us something off topic?!" I haven't gotten one of those--I'm just saying that if you have to get a rejection, I got a nice one today.

And now to tackle e-mails from my reader girlies. :) Hope everyone had a fab weekend!

Here’s another installment in award-winning author Kristine Kathryn Rusch’s excellent “Freelancer’s Survival Guide.” Today’s topic: If you are going to quit your day job (see earlier post), then what should you make sure you do ahead of time? And no one’s looking over your shoulder, but if you find these posts of Kris’s helpful, you might [...]

The site (at least, I believe) has been back up and running most of the week, but I've been swamped and haven't had a chance to update on anything. Between allergies and some mysterious blah-ness, my health has really been on the outs with me this week, so it has slowed down all of my work. (In fact, I basically just took Tuesday as a sick day and slept all day. I haven't done that in months. Then on Wednesday I kept thinking it was Tuesday, and I completely lost a day when I realized Wed. night that it was actually Wed. I haven't really recovered the rest of this week, but I'm pushing through it because I have so much work to do.

So to those of you who are waiting on me to get back to you on a critique: thank you for your patience. I'm slowly catching up. I have two more manuscript critiques to get out the door this week (which, since I lost a day, might push over into Monday), a couple of small critiques to get back to people in the next week, one big edit to finish up next week, and a new project to start when the author gets me the manuscript.

Among all of that--note that these are the projects that are paying the bills right now--I need to get caught up on my Tor submissions as well, for which I've had a huge backlog for a few months now. If you gave me something to consider for Tor and haven't heard from me, it's because I'm afraid it's very hard to pay the bills as a freelancer and while those submissions are very, very important to me, it will take some time because I'm juggling essentials like paying the rent and having enough food to eat. Combine that with a few weeks of allergies and suddenly I get even more behind!

But there's good news! I have finally gotten new insurance, which will allow me to refill my asthma and allergy prescriptions--I have a feeling when I come back from the doctor's office this afternoon, I will feel like a new woman, with all that breathing and everything. Part of the problem of the last few weeks is that it's been the worst part of the allergy season (blooming trees) and I had none of my prescription-strength medicines to help me out. As you can imagine, when you're as allergic to everything as I am, not having the right medicine can leave you in a puddle of wheezy, eye-itching, worn-out, possible-sinus-infection muck. I've actually been amazed that I've lasted as long as I have.

Here's to getting caught up!

Cynthia Leitich Smith's interview of me is up over at her LJ (and all the various mirrors of it). Thanks to Cynthia for the chance to tell her all about what I'm up to lately. Go check it out, and then if you don't read her regularly, browse around. She interviews a lot of interesting people--authors, artists, agents, editors, other publishing people--and she's always got the lowdown on what's happening.

This is my first post from my new website. Pay no attention to it. *This is not the website you're looking for.*

(No, really--it's not. I'm working on getting the right URL transferred, so this one is only temporary. And the only content on it so far is my LJ content.)

I'm sitting down in my office for the first time in weeks. I've been working all sorts of other places for the last few weeks except for my office, because the office has been a downright terror and it doesn't exactly soothe me to work in a space that has a tarp on the floor and where the empty bookshelves tell me that maybe I should spend my time unpacking the boxes still sitting by my bed and cluttering up the bedroom.

So the other day, I finally allowed myself a few minutes--literally, only allowed myself a half hour, or I'd work on it all day and accomplish nothing else--to organize the office and unpack the books. It's amazing the difference a half hour can make. My desk is still really cluttered, but I now have 3 feet to navigate between my dresser and bed, rather than the nine inches or so I had last week, and the shelves are nice and fully (if a bit overly) packed. I ran out of paint and haven't had the time or money to go back to fixing that one little corner yet. I still have a pile of boxes over by the closet, covered by the tarp I need to fold up and put in storage. I still have a bunch of Star Wars and D&D minis I've been meaning to list on Ebay cluttering up my shelves, making it impossible to sort everything out by genre just yet.

But part of this cleaning up is allowing myself the zen to say "that's okay." I mean, that I have an office at all is really rather a luxury, so I should USE it even if it's not perfect.

I didn't take Before pictures (did I mention I have a tiny little point and shoot camera now? it's not great, but it's good enough for snapshots), but I did take After pictures, which will become the Before pictures for tomorrow's or Saturday's next 1/2 hour of Closer to Zen. But for now, I have work to do--in my office!

If you don't already know, I woke up Sunday morning to 4 inches of water across my apartment and Mogget marooned in the kitchen, unable to get past the water gushing in the front door. So due to the need to recover from the flood, I won't be able to answer individual consultation emails this week. I'll get back to you as soon as I can.

For the record, that's twice in a month it's been flooded, but this time it's much worse. So far I estimate the damage to be anywhere from $2500 to $5000 worth. And of course my renter's insurance specifically excludes any sewage backup or water damage. And the landlord claims they had no idea it was a recurring problem, claiming last month's flood was from a broken sprinkler (it wasn't--that was the last time it rained). It's a significant design flaw that puts my apartment as the drainage system for the whole complex, basically. And now they're saying that they're doing ME a favor by moving me to another apartment--on the first floor--and they won't even charge me to move! Isn't that so SWEET of them??

On the bright side (if there can be said to be one), my friends banded together and came over to rescue me, or the damage would have been a lot worse. They got all the water out they could with me with brooms, which had to have been twice the volume the carpet guy sucked out later that day (which he said was somewhere in the range of 150-200 GALLONS of water).

Still, it's catastrophic enough.

Guess who's going to see a lawyer tomorrow?

Thanks for all the advice. If I go with one of the service I'm looking at, I have the option of including an RGB photo and can pull in my own for not all that much money. I'm thinking this might make the card look nice without adding foil or raised type. So, if I go with that option, here's a poll for y'all.

Sorry for the spamming, if you got multiples of these--it should be working now!

I know many a writer who has really interesting business cards. I might keep more toward the staid side, but at any rate I'm in the market for some. For those of you have had a need to get a business card of your own, where did you get yours? I've heard that there are some good relatively inexpensive places out there especially online, but of course I don't want to have a generic business card, either, so I want a service that will let you customize. Yet it's really important to have one to pass along, so I'm looking for good, professional-looking options.

Of course, I could just design them myself and go down to the local Kinko's and have them print them on card stock and cut them. But I would think it would be easier to go through a business-card service (maybe Kinko's has a template you can use when you design so that you have the right dimensions?), especially if I can customize the content pretty easily.

Suggestions welcome!

Just a quick clarification:

If you have questions about your specific manuscript while you're writing it, it's very helpful to get involved in a writing group. Actually, that's what I did when I moved to Utah--I joined a writing group of close friends who know books and who I can trust to give open advice that will help me improve my writing. If you aren't sure where to find a writing group near you, consult your local SCBWI chapter (to find yours, go to www.scbwi.org and click on "Regional Chapters") or check out your local college or library to find like-minded individuals. Nowadays there are many critique groups available online, too, of varying quality. I would get involved in your SCBWI chapter's listserv and ask around about writing groups that might fit your needs, whether online or in person.

I highly recommend writing groups during the drafting process if you get a good group--sometimes writing groups can be known for endless revision of the first chapter, etc., and you want to be in a group that has a good pace and that progresses so that you are encouraged to finish your manuscript. And remember, it's okay to "shop around" for a writing group that fits your needs--the first one you find isn't always going to be the right one.

I hope that helps clarify what my freelancing service is: a paid critique/editing service for authors who have finished their manuscripts and feel they need an editor's perspective before/during the submission process. Perhaps you've finished a first draft but would like a professional's opinion on whether the plot/characterization/pacing is working and suggestions for improvement; perhaps you are ready to go and want an editor's feedback on your submission packet (cover letter plus first three chapters). If so, I'd be glad to consult with you. :) Before that, I'd be glad to answer general questions, and a writing group can be very helpful.

Something for my horse crazy friends to check out! My article, "Tyrney Steinhoff & Hot Shot," is the cover story for the September issue of Listen Magazine. Yay! :)

Tyrney was a great girl to interview and it was a fun piece to write.

You can view the link below to read the entire article.

http://www.listenmagazine.org/article.php?id=80

Friends, settle in. We've gotta wholelotta Devon coming our way. Stay tuned for several days of questions & answers from my new, prolific friend...

GwG: In what genre and capacity did your writing begin? And, how did it evolve?
Devon: I started writing as a child, short stories for school-based magazines. I was always re-writing, in my head, television shows because the female characters didn’t get to do the fun stuff!

The blog helps with that – my audience reads about the genesis of a project through to the finished version. They’re with me on the journey; they’re involved. When it’s appropriate, I cross-market the names, letting people know what the different names are and that, yes, it’s me, come play. Sometimes, it’s not appropriate, so I keep the name very separate and market it separately.

I don’t like to be locked into anything, and I don’t think creative marketing people are hired for authors early enough in their careers. The publishers are hiring the wrong people, or they’re not allowing those people to do their best work – I’m sure it’s a combination. They want everything to be “niche” and “branded” when, in reality, good writers are capable of variety. Only in this line of work is the writer punished for being unique, instead of the marketing person for not being creative enough.

GwG: What form of writing is closest to your heart?
Devon: Whatever I’m working on at the moment! Seriously, I like to move around. I’m writing mythological fantasy right now, which I love, and I also adore the mystery genre. You can put social and political commentary into both genres, help people see the world differently, and create positive change in a way that’s more palatable than standing on a soap box.

GwG: I bet you smell your book, like me. What drives you to be such an inexhaustible writer?
Devon: I’m a bibliophile, and I love the smell of bookstores and libraries. I love the smell of wet ink on paper. I love the smell of a brand new book the first time you open it. I love the slightly musty smell of a used bookstore. Reading a book is a sensual experience. It’s very intimate between reader and writer.

What drives me? Writing is like breathing to me. I can’t “not” do it. Characters start telling me their stories and they won’t shut up until I put them on paper! Seriously, it can get very crowded in my head!

GwG: You don't have "the luxury of writer's block." There's that take charge-ness again, which I so admire. What are your counter-tactics?
Devon: Choose breaks, don’t just let days slip by without writing. If you’re struggling, give yourself a planned “hiatus” where you’re not allowed to write, so the creative well can refill. Go do something else. Read. I find paintings a wonderful way to replenish the creative well. If I feel stuck, or that I’ve written myself into a corner, I go to a museum and I look at paintings... to be continued...

Yesterday an old friend from Boston who now lives in Salt Lake Ciy joined me on an expedition to that cheap but sturdy furniture haven we all love, Ikea. She needed a few little things, and I needed a few big things.



Notice that the cart I'm pushing is one of four. The two yellow-bag carts are ours, too--most of those were Mary's--and the other big cart in front of the one I'm holding is also ours--most of those were mine. A desk, several bookshelves, a storage unit shelf, and a simple bed frame that matches the rest of my bedroom, all for a relatively low price that came well within my budget. You should have seen us on the trek home in my little CRV. Two large flat boxes strapped to the luggage rack, with the long bookshelf boxes coming up into the front between the front seats, leaving us barely enough room to maneuver. I told Mary that it was her responsibility that if we're about to be sideswiped, she had to tell me. "You'll probably hear an 'Ah-ah-ah!' of panic," she said. And we set off. And even made it home safely.

I painted one office wall last night, and this morning I've been assembling shelves, and now the reason that prompted this post: they're so easy to assemble! I thought Target shelves were easy to assemble, but these are even better--and quicker!

And the best part? Manuscript shelves! This is an idea totally stolen from my friend Kirk who works for Covenant Communications, a local publisher. He has these little shelves that he's got metiulously organized by author and book. Which means he doesn't have to have them all spread out on his desk, but also doesn't have to file them away to be forgotten in a lateral file! It's ingenious!


(Notice the nice new blue wall behind the white bookshelf.)

And why do I love Ikea for this? Because you can buy extra shelves!

I love Ikea.

More pictures of my office to come as I get it set up and it stops looking like a room chest-high in boxes.

I need to change my bio page so that it doesn't say I'm an editor at Mirrorstone. This makes me sad. :(

One thing I'm finding in my fledgling new life is that a lack of coworkers--especially the awesome, hilarious coworkers I had at WotC--makes working life rather lonely. No one is popping into my cube, teasing me, or sending odd emails with geeky in-jokes. Working at home one day a week wasn't hard because I would still be in constant contact with my coworkers on one issue or another.

Today I am going to go work at the library, where I will at least be surrounded by people. (And not boxes--another thing about moving when you're starting to freelance is that it's more tempting to spend most of your time on housework, or to feel that you can't start to work until you've found the floor to your office.) 

It's definitely a transition process, going freelance. This solitary life is what a writer feels every day, of course. But as you can imagine, moving and changing jobs at the same time is a huge challenge because it's two major changes in one. 

For you writers out there, and anyone else who works from home: what was your transition like? Are you naturally a solitary person? Do you have to get out of the house to work sometimes? What helped you to transition?

Well, yesterday I finally got a portfolio on www.childrensillustrators.com. The cost for a portfolio is $200/year. I did a lot of research before I signed up. There are other professional illustration sites, (like www.theIspot.com) but they are more expensive. This one is geared specifically for children's illustrators, which is really where my heart is. I thought I would give it a try for a year. If I don't get any work through them, then I won't renew for next year. But here is hoping! If you have had any experience with the site, good or bad, leave a comment!

I decided to go for it yesterday while I had a little free time (meaning, I was thinking of a mean girl trick and taking a writing break) and made the freelancing video I've been plotting for a while. I hope I answered your questions and thanks so much for the emails and messages! As I say in the vid, if I don't answer your question or if you have other writing questions you'd like me to tackle, get in touch. :)

Hope you enjoy it!

The web has made it too easy to build a spreadsheet and email-bomb publications with your stories. But just because you can submit your stories to one hundred magazines in a single keystroke doesn't mean that you should do that.

For my money, the biggest mistake that freelance writers make is not reading the publications they submit to.

Before you ever submit someplace, you should already love the editors and writers published on those pages--you should know exactly where and why your submission would fit in that magazine before you ever push the send button.

But don't take my word for it. Isak's inspiring writing site has a link-filled discussion of the topic, with some great thoughts about people who submit to the literary journal, Virginia Quarterly Review. Don't be in the 99 percent of thoughtless writers.

Check it out: "Ross White (who first tipped me to this) lays the matter, finally, to bed: 'I don’t see what all the fuss is about since 99% of VQR submitters have never seen the magazine. Hell, 99% of all submitters anywhere have never read the magazine.'"

Have you guys heard about Boys Blogging Books? If not, go check them out. They’re a cool group of young guys who review books. Yay for guys who read!

My brother Jason, who’s sixteen, just joined BBB. He’s going to be reviewing a book a month. Thanks for having him, guys! He’s excited to join and is already thinking of his review. I’ll let you guys know when he posts his first review so you can give him some comment-love. :)

I’m enjoying the 80 degree temps this week and am getting stuff done before I go on Super-Secret Project Trip. My to-do list is loooong. I’m bouncing out of my chair to share my first clue with you guys and that’ll be posted on Monday.

You’ll get the next clue a week later. After that, all clues (to be explained in Monday’s video!) will come from the road whenever I have wireless access.

And then. The BIG one. A video (or group of videos) will be posted when I get home that will hopefully be fun, exciting and informative. I feel like I’ve been drinking 10 coffees a day since I heard about this project. Date of this video is TBA. Yes, yes, I know I’m being a tease. I’ve been told. :)

One of the things I’m working on this week is a new author photo. I’m going to schedule a visit to a local horse farm and will have my photo taken with a gorgeous, sweet palomino gelding. I like my other pictures, but it just makes sense to have a photo of me with a horse. :)

I was also looking at the calendar and the very first hint of PR work for Take the Reins starts in May. My promo plan is H-U-G-E and going to be oh-so-time-consuming. Eeek! But worth it. I want to go all out so I don’t look back and say, “Damn, I wish I’d…”

The first wave of pre-publication promo includes querying all of the magazines on my list that have a lead-time of 8 months. That means I’ve got to get out about 75 queries between May and June. Yeah. Thankfully, I’ve been writing them here and there when I have a free moment and I’ve got about half left to write. I’m not writing on spec anymore, but have to make an exception for a couple of magazines. I’m going after bigger mags this time and finally feel more confident about targeting magazines I wouldn’t query last year. Even now, with the book deal, my confidence meter is a little low when it comes to pitching to glossy teen mags. But I’m going to give it a shot!

I’ve fired up my Power Tracker and am prepping to send those babies. The really crazy part comes with keeping track of follow ups and deadlines. Thankfully, there’s software to track that. I used to track in a notebook, but finally plunked down the dollars for software and now I couldn’t live without it.

J.A. Konrath swears freelancing is the Number One way to get attention for your book and I have to agree. This is my…what…seventh year as a freelancer and it MADE my platform when I started looking for an agent. I swear by freelancing.

That is all.