Not exactly my kind of stuff, but I suspect some of fiction writers will love this. Enjoy!

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.

Yesterday was Blog Action Day; the subject was poverty. One of our commenters, Nicole LaMarco, who blogs at Your Writing Career also blogs at Loving Liberty. Her entry there yesterday was called: 20,000 People Died Yesterday.
When I read that entry I realize I’ve never been hungry and probably won’t ever be no matter what I might say if my lunch is delayed.
Like Nicole I regularly donate stuff I don’t use. Sometimes I do it formally, like to Goodwill, sometimes I put it on the street where it’s always picked up by people who can use it.
And as she suggests, we …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
Seth Godin has a wonderful post called Is effort a myth?. (Thanks to Your Book Publishing Coach for the pointer.)
It’s a wonderful and helpful essay, complete with the suggestion to find 120 minutes each day and commit to something positive. He lists a number of things that can be done with that time, plus makes some other suggestions I like.
If I had to choose just one it would be: Only spend money, for one year, on things you absolutely need to get by. Save the rest, relentlessly. In fact, I’m going to do that and so commit to you, …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
This picture is how part of me feels this morning at 5:45 on this Saturday morning. I was going to link to an article on one of my websites and went to look it over… all my sites are down, and it’s not because I haven’t paid my bill.
I called customer service and was told “a server is down.” I hadn’t known where on the planet my websites are served from and it turns out to be Kansas. I asked for that information so I could estimate how long my sites are down. I may ask for a credit.
In truth, …read more

I rarely endorse writing classes, but if I wanted to learn copywriting or become a copywriter I’d sign up for Copywriting Success Summit 2008. Here’s why:

I know it’s possible, even quite possible to earn a ton of money copywriting – I’ve seen people do it. I ghostwrite which is another area of writing altogether.
I know or recognize most of the instructors. I mean how can you go wrong with Brian Clark, known in the blogasphere as Copyblogger, Michael Stelzner of Writing White Papers fame, or Peter Bowerman who knows how to keep writers and self-publishers well-fed. Of course, Robert Bly, …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
Hello Anne,
How do I go about doing that all-important resume when I am brand-new to free-lance writing?
thanks,
V.
Dear V.
Having a writing resume or credit list isn’t the only way to break into freelance writing (and there’s no dash in the word, and brand new shouldn’t be hyphenated… I’m assuming you’re in the US – if not, I apologize.)
You need to do what we used to do and many still do and that’s do some work on spec. Usually this is writing for magazines. You query a magazine editor with an idea and if it’s accepted it will probably be on …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
One of the finalists in Michael Stelzner’s Top 10 Blogs For Writers is The Book Deal. Subtitled “An Inside View Of Publishing,” it’s written by Alan Rinzler who bills himself as a Consulting Editor. The list of authors he’s worked with is impressive to say the least and each clickable link on his Authors page gives some insight in how the book came to be and came to be well known.
Rinzler’s blog does indeed give an inside view of the arcane world of trade publishing, plus some darn good information for writers. Take today’s post: Ask the Editor: …read more

(www.thegoldenpencil.com)
An interview by Ross Dunn With Dr. Ralph Wilson, the Editor-in-Chief of Web Marketing Today. Dr. Wilson gets lots and lots of writing done and tells Ross how he does it. There’s information there any writer can use.

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.

Here are some of my favorite posts from (gasp!) June of 2005:

Google Helps Me With Spelling
What Makes a “Real Writer”?
Commercial Writing Is a Lucrative Venue
When Life Interferes With Writing
Should You Write For Free?
Enjoy this blast from the past.
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)
The other day a writing buddy of mine called. He was tempted to take a writing gig that paid way less than half of what she normally gets. True, it was a rather unique opportunity with a major trade publisher. If he did this job well he’d have an excellent contact which might lead to more lucrative work in the future. It wasn’t, however, a book, nor did it earn royalties. In my mind, the “might lead to more lucrative work” some day, some time down the road is, well, most often futile.
We’re close so I asked him what …read more