Good Monday morning readers!

Today, I’m shining the spotlight on Lisa Collier Cool, a best-selling author and winner of 18 journalism awards. She’s written more than 400 articles for the Associated Press, Cosmopolitan, Family Circle, Fitness, Glamour, Good Housekeeping, Harper’s, Hallmark, Harper’s Bazaar, Health, Health Monitor, Ladies Home Journal, Marie Claire, O the Oprah Magazine, Parenting, Parents, Penthouse, Publishers Weekly, Redbook, Reader’s Digest, Self, Woman’s Day, Writer’s Digest and many others.

Lisa also is a prolific author. Her book, Beware the Night: A New York City Cop Investigates the Supernatural (with coauthor Ralph Sarchie), reached #3 on the Amazon bestseller list, and #10 on Ingram’s bestseller list. Movie rights from the book also were sold to Jerry Bruckheimer at Disney Pictures. Lisa also has written several other books, including Bad Boys: Why We Love Them, How To Live With Them, When To Leave Them (with Carole Lieberman, M.D.); How to Give Good Phone; How to Write Irresistible Query Letters; and How to Sell Every Magazine Article You Write.

Lisa also is past president of the American Society of Journalists and Authors, and currently serves on the organization’s board of directors. She also is chair of the board of trustees of the Writers Emergency Fund.

Lisa  has appeared on more than 100 radio talk shows in the United States and abroad, as well as on numerous television shows, including the Early Show, Good Housekeeping Reports, Good Morning America and Hard Copy.  Before becoming a freelance writer, Lisa worked as a literary agent, and sold more than 400 books, many of them bestsellers.

How long have you freelanced? How did you get your start?

I became a freelancer in 1984 after the birth of my twins, Alison and Georgia. Previously, I was a literary agent in NYC, but wanted a job that let me work at home and be with my kids. When I was an agent, I used to write part time, so had accumulated both contacts and credits before I made the jump to full-time freelancing.

I understand you used to be a literary agent (for what agency?). How long did you work as a literary agent, and what made you decide to start writing? Had you always written? What did being a literary agent teach you about writing?

I had my own agency, Collier Associates, which I started at age 23. Previously, I was an assistant at another agency my father ran with his former business partner. Then he was offered a great job at a publishing company, so he turned the business over to me. I was an agent for 8 years. As an agent, I learned that what separates successful writers from the rest is that they are better marketers. I sold books by writers whose skills seemed marginal at best—and watched them become giant sellers, because these authors were masterful at packaging their ideas to sell. Finding the right spin on your concept, and having a nose for news and what’s hot, are also key.

I was always interested in writing. At age 9, I had a letter to the editor published in Ladies Home Journal. My mom subscribed to all the women’s magazines, so I started reading them too. I guess it was my destiny to write for LHJ, because its one of my best markets these days. In 6th grade, I won a regional essay contest, writing on “What My Flag Means to Me.” I was proud and thrilled to not only get a $25 U.S. savings bond as my prize, but also to be invited to read my essay at a Memorial Day event that was broadcast on the local radio station. I felt incredibly lucky! My father was a tremendous mentor to me and encouraged me to write.

On your Web site, there’s a quote from an article in The Writer that says: “Lisa Collier Cool has a clip file that reads like the magazine rack at Barnes & Noble.” Most people don’t start out with national credits and glowing reviews like that. Can you talk a little bit about where you started from and how you got to where you are today?

I made my first sale in 1976. It was an election year and I learned of a group of Libertarians who were waging a fake campaign, with the slogan, “Vote for Nobody, because Nobody keeps his campaign promises.” I thought that was interesting and with the help of my father, the literary agent, I found a newspaper syndicate that offered me $35 to write a 500 word piece on spec. When they accepted the story, I did other stories for them until one day I thought, “Maybe, just maybe, there is someone out there who pays MORE than $35.” Turns out there was.

I sent queries to all sorts of magazines and sold a tiny piece to Harper’s Magazine, which added a lot of luster to my bio. Soon after becoming a full-time freelancer, I landed a contributing editor gig at Cosmopolitan, which bought dozens of articles from me. From there I branched out to other women’s magazines and later Reader’s Digest, another of my childhood favorites.

You’ve written several books, including a few about freelance writing. Based on your years in the business and all the advice you’ve dispensed in your books, what are the top three things that freelancers need to know? And what are some myths they need to stop buying into?

I’m a huge believer in persistence. When I was an agent, one book I was marketing was rejected by 40 publishers, but I made yet another round of submissions and got 3 offers. The book went on to become a bestseller. That taught me not to give up on something I felt was salable. Another tip I often offer is to that the best way to get an editor’s attention is to punch her in the nose—with your first paragraph. A good query has to grab editors right away or they may never read the second paragraph.

Also you need to shrug off rejection and immediately resubmit your pitch if someone says no. I once got discouraged after several editors turned down one of my queries—all for the same reason. But I brainstormed with a writer friend who suggested sending it to Parents Magazine, a market I’d never tried before. Not only did Parents buy it, but the story went on to win an award. Networking with other writers is very powerful and has helped advance my career dramatically over the years.

One myth is that after a certain point, there’s not much else you can learn from other freelancers. But the most successful writer I know, Cec Murphey, who has written 112 books, including bestsellers that have each sold millions of copies, told me recently that early in his career, he made 2 promises: to never stop learning about writing and to do everything in his power to help others. There’s always ways to improve your work and take it to the next level if you’re open to new approaches. I also look for new tools I can turn to profit. For example, I now find anecdotes for articles through social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as e-blasts to my personal writer’s query list of 500 contacts who help me find sources. (Most of these contacts are publicists who have sent me press releases over the years.)

I know that you have typically written a lot of articles for consumer magazines. Now that we’re experiencing this economic downturn, what are you noticing in terms of your own workflow? Have you noticed work slowing down? If so, how are you combating that and changing your business model? Are you employing any new tactics that you would recommend for other freelancers?

It’s a lot more work to get work than it used to be. I’m also finding that editors are more cautious about committing to an assignment, so now when I write a query, I take extra steps to rejection-proof it, such as suggesting 2 or 3 ways I could do the piece. I might propose a profile of a certain person, but also say that I could do a roundup of 3 women who have dealt with that issue. I suggest an interesting box, and point out that idea could even be a separate article.

That way, if they don’t like the approach I initially propose, they can see other ways to make it work. Also, I don’t take no for an answer. If someone says my story isn’t a good fit for their demographic, I e-mail back a solution or facts showing why the topic IS relevant for their readers. If they say there’s not enough service, then I propose flipping the topic to focus on that, or send a different idea full of practical tips. Recently, an editor at Woman’s Day rejected my pitch because she felt the person I wanted to write about had gotten too much national publicity. I shot back a reply describing something new the woman was doing that would be quite inspiring to readers drowning in bad news about the recession—and landed a $3,000 assignment.

I am also doing more stories for custom magazines. They pay less per word, but the hassle factor is lower and the pay prompter.

Have you freelanced during previous recessions? If so, how is this one different? How have you adjusted your businesses to current conditions? Did you see this decline coming, or has it been more rapid than you expected?

I have freelanced during earlier recessions, but the impact on me personally was far less than with the current crisis. That may because magazines weren’t competing with the Internet then, so even though some of my markets folded, it was easier to replace them with others that were still assigning. Since the start of the year, the downturn has been more drastic than I expected, but I am working harder, marketing more aggressively, following up faster, getting more pitches out, and it’s starting to pay off. I always have lots of ideas so I’ve been more diligent about getting them out quickly and broadly. That includes making multiple submissions of timely ideas.

Right now, we’re witnessing the rapid decline of the newspaper industry. Do you think the magazine industry is headed in the same direction? Where is the industry headed, and how will current conditions impact magazine writers?

I have an optimistic nature, but I have to be realistic. I’m very concerned about the magazine industry, with some of the giants toppling or looking wobbly. Writers have to be very nimble and adept at marketing to survive in this environment. Some won’t. The magazine world is shrinking, so we have to target additional markets, which could include corporate work, being a writing coach, or creating Web content.

You’ve written so many different articles on such a wide variety of topics. How would you characterize your writing? Would you say that you have several specialties or do you consider yourself a generalist? Which is more advantageous for a freelancer—to be a specialist or a generalist?

My main focus is health reporting, but I also like to write dramatic narratives and profiles. I’ve also done personal finance and travel stories recently. For me, it’s been more profitable to have a specialty. I’ve added a new one lately by writing celebrity health profiles. Previously, I’d only done one celebrity story.

What is the best piece of advice that you ever received as a freelancer? As a small business owner?

The best advice was Cec Murphey telling me to never stop learning about writing and to help others. I believe in paying it forward. As a small business owner, I donate to charity. I’m chair of the board of trustees of ASJA’s Writers Emergency Assistance Fund, a registered 501 (c) (3) charity. Donations are fully tax-deductible and aid professional writers facing hardship due to illness, disability, natural disaster, advanced age or an extraordinary crisis. To donate, download a grant application, or find out more about this worthy cause, run by volunteers, go to www.weaf.org.

The annual ASJA Writers Conference is coming up next month, and as you know, finances are tight for many freelancers right now. That said, why is this year’s conference a good investment for writers and freelancers? What will people walk away with knowledge-wise if they attend?

It’s a great investment for several reasons. In this difficult climate, networking with editors and other writers is especially important. Not only have I made tens of thousands of dollars through editorial contacts made at the ASJA conference over the years, but at one conference I met an ASJA member who regularly speaks on six-figure freelancer panels. She’s become one of my best friends and we talk on the phone  almost every day about our ideas, new markets to try, how to solve creative problems that crop up while writing our articles, and much more. That’s resulted in both of us making a lot more money and sales. Just meeting that one person has more than paid for a lifetime of conferences.

What are the top three mistakes that freelancers and small business owners tend to make? What about in this business climate?

Some freelancers don’t spend enough time marketing. When you have a few assignments, there’s a temptation to stop pitching and focus on getting the pieces done. But that can lead to lack of work down the road, particularly in this daunting environment. I send out new pitches every Monday, as well as resubmitting old ones. I also go on idea hunts—for me, one of the most exciting things to find a great story. It’s also important to keep yourself on the editors’ radar. Since I live near NYC, I go to ASJA evening programs to make new contacts and reconnect with former customers. Not only are these programs webcast free to ASJA members all over the world, but nonmembers can download them for $10 apiece at the ASJA store. There’s a ton of terrific market information in these programs—and I should know, because I’m chair of ASJA’s Program Committee.

You also have to get out of your comfort zone. I’m pitching markets I never tried before as well as old ones.  I developed a letter of introduction to send to custom publishers. I’m a bit of technophobe, but this year, I finally created and launched my Web site. And I did it entirely by trial-and-error, using iWeb. You have to be nimble to adapt to these conditions.

After launching my Web site, I read an excellent article in the Wall Street Journal about how to boost your search engine ranking. I followed the tips, and my Web site zoomed from not even being in the first 30 results for googling my name in quotes to #2 if you Google my name without quotes. The most helpful tip is to plaster your URL on as many sites as possible, especially on LinkedIn and Facebook.

You have a book called How to Sell Every Magazine Article That You Write. Is that even possible anymore or have times changed? Given current economic conditions, are there additional pieces of advice that you’d offer, but that weren’t covered in the book?

I still sell every article I write, because I always write the query first. If it doesn’t snag an assignment, then I don’t write the article. I sell about 50 percent of my queries. My best advice to freelancers is to form a brainstorming/goal buddy group with a few colleagues. I did that with 7 writers I respect, including my best ASJA friend, and we share market information, brainstorm about where to submit our queries, vent about problems, share our goals for the week, and support and encourage each other during these difficult times. It’s been extremely valuable for all of us.

I’ve discovered new tools I can turn to profit. For example, I now find anecdotes for articles through social networking sites like LinkedIn and Facebook, as well as through e-blasts to my personal writer’s query list of 500 contacts who help me find sources, such as publicists I know. Also, I think about ways I can use the recession as a news hook for stories, such as a recent Woman’s Day article I did titled, “Can You Afford a Vacation?”

When I didn’t make Michael Stelzner’s list of Top Ten Blogs For Writers, I posted twice about it. Michael himself suggested it would be a gift, and he’s right. What I also didn’t expect was the support I’ve gotten from readers of this blog. Some in comments, some via email, and at least two blog posts.

For example, Lori Widmer, long-term writing friend I’ve never met devoted her post today to mostly me (ah ego) called: They’re Just Not That Into You

Thanks you all for your good thoughts. It’s appreciated.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)

Michael Stelzner, owner and creator of Writing White Papers runs a contest each year for the Top 10 Blogs for Writers. Now in its third year, the contest had almost 300 entries. I’ve had some envy for his contest and now I think I’m glad Micheal’s doing it, not me. Three-hundred entries is a lot to sort through.

But sort through he has and he’s posted the finalists. I made the cut, or rather we made the cut since comments and community are part of his criteria and I’m delighted with the company I’m keeping. Like you, I know many of these blogs, but there are a bunch I’ve missed! It will be fun exploring these too.

Congratulations to us all:

• A n n a r c h y
• Beyond the Rhetoric
• Book Deal
• Confident Writing
• CopyBlogger
• Copywriter Underground
• Diary of a Wordsmith
• Freelance Parent
• Freelance Writing
• Freelance Writing Jobs
• Get Paid to Write Online
• Golden Pencil
• Hell or High Water
• Ink in my Coffee
• Ink Thinker
• Itty Biz
• J A Konrath
• Men with Pens
• Pro Blogger
• Remarkable Communication
• Renegade Writer
• Rogue Ink
• Story Tellers Unplugged
• Urban Muse
• Wealthy Freelancer
• Well Fed Writer
• Whatever
• Word Count
• Word on the Page
• Word Tales
• Write from Home
• Write to Done
• Writer Dad
• Writer Mama
• Writer’s Manifesto
• Writers Resource Center
• Writing Journey

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)

Arghhhh. I’ll never finish this d**n book! At least it almost feels that way. This morning when I started I had about 30 pages to go. Now hours and hours later I’ve still got 16 pages to go. It keeps growing! I’ve gone from a 20,000 word count a week or two ago to over 31,000 - yikes that’s a lot of writing. I didn’t realize I’d done that much!

But it all needs to be done! The book is better for it. Pant pant pant. I feel like I’m chasing these last few pages.

Oh well, back at it.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

Books are not only hard to write, the manuscripts tend to get long and messy. I’m going through the draft of my book about writing books and my headings are all messed up. I also changed typeface for the body somewhere in the middle. Plus, I started drafting in double space and then, as I got closer to completion, switched to single, except there are three or four sections that didn’t get switched.

As I’m editing and realized it was past time to set up a style sheet for the book. A style sheet simply defines the style, like typeface, type size, header size and placement, how many returns before a new chapter title, etc. etc. etc.

Currently the one for the book about book writing includes the following:

• 8 returns to chapter title
• Quote – Ariel 10 itl, author not itl
• Drop cap first word of chapter
• Body text Georgia 12
• Chapter title Verdana 12 centered
• Heading 2 – Verdana 11, left
• Heading 3 –Ariel 3, itl

Just so you know, in my shorthand, itl equals italics; chapter titles are also heading 1, headings 2 and 3 are what you and I think of as subheads, but tagging them as headings allows Word to create a decent table of contents.

Now that the style is written down I don’t have to try to remember it all. I’ll probably make some additions.

The take-away? Make your life easier with style sheets for book-length manuscripts.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)

Most of you who follow this blog are probably vaguely aware I’m writing a book about getting your book written. It’s designed to go with a class I’ll be teaching and I’m getting close to the end. I’ve figured out what’s wrong with the exercises and I know how I want to fix them although I haven’t done it yet.

After some soul searching I decided I have to include a chapter on marketing books, even though I don’t feel like I know much about getting books sold. So I drafted a chapter a month or two ago. Yech! I just read it and it’s awful. But there are some things in there I want to say to people who are trying to get a book written. So I’m in for a major rewrite. I don’t want to do it. I can think of a dozen or more things I’d rather do… sigh.

Creating a blog entry kvetching about it was one strategy, but that’s done now. So it’s make another cup of coffee and plunge in.

Thanks for listening!

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

Blogs by writers and by literary agents gives us some almost insider information that wasn’t available before blogging. If you’re looking for an agent you could do worse than search out their blogs. Here are a few agents and a couple of authors sharing their experiences with agency.

THE NEW LITERARY AGENTS - chatty blog from agents who are fairly new to agenting.

Guide to Literary Agents - a blog about finding and using agents by the author Chuck Sambuchino. Worth spending some time with.

Dystel & Goderich Literary Management - interviews with their authors plus posts by the agents themselves.

How To Get Your Novel Published - author David Bridger shares his search for an agent for his novel.

BookEnds, LLC - a blog from a literary agency “focusing on fiction and nonfiction books for adult audiences.” An uninspired mission statement, but their blog is interesting and often helpful.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

You’ve head me say it before - they are upgrading the electricity on my 1920ish cottage… it’s a fair drama for sure. I’m one of four, that is part of 10.

The next step is to “cut over” to the new box and this takes at least two agencies… the city and the electric company and at least one inspector. I’ll be running off extension cords until that process is complete and we don’t know if it’s half a day or a week and a half! So if the blogging seems spotty…

Darn, guess I should be set up with a laptop, but I’m not… I don’t like writing in coffee shops.

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

A friend, one who loves me enough to tell me the whole truth, asked me if I might be a workaholic.

I don’t know… or maybe I do. According to the Workaholics Anonymous website, the only requirement for membership is the desire to stop working compulsively. That doesn’t help a whole lot at the moment, but the site also has WA’s version of the 20 questions which I’ve quoted here:

How Do I Know if I’m a Workaholic?

1. Do you get more excited about your work than about family or anything else?
2. Are there times when you can charge through your work and other times when you can’t?
3. Do you take work with you to bed? On weekends? On vacation?
4. Is work the activity you like to do best and talk about most?
5. Do you work more than 40 hours a week?
6. Do you turn your hobbies into money-making ventures?
7. Do you take complete responsibility for the outcome of your work efforts?
8. Have your family or friends given up expecting you on time?
9. Do you take on extra work because you are concerned that it won’t otherwise get done?
10. Do you underestimate how long a project will take and then rush to complete it?
11. Do you believe that it is okay to work long hours if you love what you are doing?
12. Do you get impatient with people who have other priorities besides work?
13. Are you afraid that if you don’t work hard you will lose your job or be a failure?
14. Is the future a constant worry for you even when things are going very well?
15. Do you do things energetically and competitively including play?
16. Do you get irritated when people ask you to stop doing your work in order to do something else?
17. Have your long hours hurt your family or other relationships?
18. Do you think about your work while driving, falling asleep or when others are talking?
19. Do you work or read during meals?
20. Do you believe that more money will solve the other problems in your life?

If you answer “yes” to three or more of these questions you may be a workaholic. Relax. You are not alone.

Many have found recovery through the tools of this fellowship.

Let’s see. I can answer 2, 4, 5, 6 sort of, 7 (don’t all freelancers have to?), 10 (sometimes - not a pattern, maybe not a pattern), 11, 13, 14, 18, and 19 (but I live alone!) affirmatively. Sigh.

Okay, I meet their definition of a workaholic; am I ready to claim that title? No, not yet. But their book is on its way to me. I am willing to seriously consider what they have to say. I’ll keep you posted.

Now, are you willing to tell us which of these questions you can answer “yes” to?

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu

Jennifer Williamson who owns her own writing service and blogs about it all at CatalystBlogger recently took a temporary full-time, on-site writing job even though she’d promised herself and the world she wouldn’t ever do that again.

She tells the story in a post called: On-Site Writing vs. Freelancing: The Showdown

As she points out, it doesn’t have to be all or nothing. She then lists some benefits of on-site work and some drawbacks. Included in her benefits is Quick feedback on your work. And, apparently, in this on-site job that’s what she got, often in a matter of hours. My experience on-site has been different. Feedback in offices where I’ve written has often taken as long as it does with clients.

Of course, I identify with the drawbacks. I’m truly a committed freelancer who never ever wants to see the inside of an office on a regular basis again.

What do you think? What are advantages to on-site work?

Write well and often,

Two newsletters:
Abundant Freelance Writing - a resource for freelance writers including 3x a week job postings.
Writing With Vision - for those who want to get a book written.

Image from http://www.sxc.hu