Writing and Publishing News from

Are you making it during these difficult financial times? Is your writing suffering as you concentrate your efforts on a paying job or on finding a job? Are you a professional freelance writer or do you rely on the income from your published book? How are you handling the slowdown? Or are you experiencing a slowdown? Are you scrambling to get more writing work—doing more promotion? Are you willing to expand your services in order to get work? Or have you given up on your writing work in exchange for a regular job?

What is your story? How are you keeping your head above water? Comment here. Let’s share and network. Maybe we can help each other.

I’ve been in touch with some of my former clients this month. I like to know how their projects are going. One of them gave me a newsy update and included this comment, “I am realizing that the more patient I am about this process (of publishing a book) the better things tend to work out.” She goes on to tell me about some opportunities that have come up with regard to her book project because she is taking her time moving through the process rather than rushing things. She said that if she’d grasped at the first straw offered, she would have spent more money and missed out on some marvelous opportunities. She doesn’t have a published book, yet. But she still has money in her pocket. AND she is currently negotiating with an organization who wants to help her with promotion.

Perhaps you recall my article, Hurry Up and Fail. It deals with this very issue. Check it out at:
http://www.matilijapress.com/articles/publish_hurryfail.htm

Herein, I suggest that hopeful authors take the publishing process in manageable increments and logical steps. I list the important steps and when to initiate them. If you are writing a book for publication, if you do not read another article this month, read this one—Hurry Up and Fail.

My article, How to Protect Yourself From Publishing Scams appeared in the January 2009 edition of the SPAN Connection (the newsletter of the Small Publishers of North America).

Have you checked out my latest ebook, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats? This book is also available in print (comb-bound) form. http://www.matilijapress.com/catscapades.html

I didn’t think I’d have time to post a blog entry this morning before leaving town. But here I am. And I have something I want to share.

As a freelance writer, do you specialize or are you open to writing about any topic that strikes your fancy or that’s current? I have friends in both categories. When I was writing full-time for magazines, I wrote on many, many subjects—whatever was trendy, current, needed or just plain interesting to me. I gleaned ideas from the news, eavesdropping, my own experiences, studying a variety of magazines and networking, for example.

Most freelance writers start out writing about what they know. Some of them remain in their area of expertise. I know two writers, for example, who write exclusively about animals and there is a huge market for animal stories and articles. I started my writing career by writing about a specific animal—the horse. One might wonder how in the world you could earn a living writing in one area. Well, here are just a few of my horse article themes: how to care for the backyard horse, what to do with all of those horseshow ribbons you collect, hairdos for horseshows, how to make chaps and equitation suits for competition riding, the life of a horseshow mom, various trail riding stories, stories about horse rescue, traveling with horses, how to raise a foal, how to dress and groom a horse for a parade, how to teach kids responsibility through horse ownership…

Of course, I didn’t make horses my primary focus, or I could have also written about various equine illnesses, ailments and injuries; saddle-making; choosing the right saddle; how to keep your horse’s hooves healthy; when to shoe a horse and when not to; various training tips; interviews with trainers, veterinarians, feed store owners, farriers, etc.; specialty riding (trail, English, equitation, racing, obstacle courses, etc.); interviews with horse owners; psychology of the horse; what to do when your horses get out; using chiropractic on horses…

If your mind is boggling, this is good. Maybe this will give you some idea of the vastness of most any topic you choose to write about and how you can expand on it, mold it to fit a specific magazine format and even change it for other publications by bringing in new experts and fresh material. If you can do this with one topic, just imagine the enormity of possibilities for those of you who want to earn a living or supplement your income writing articles on random subjects. You can pick subjects that interest you and create numerous articles for a wide variety of magazines. How many subjects do you think you could write about, a hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? And how many different angles can you come up with for each topic? A hundred? A thousand? Ten thousand? More?

Now don’t tell me (or anyone else) that you can’t think of anything to write about or that it is impossible to earn a living as a freelance writer. If you can schedule some time for the activity of writing (most of you will have to make a few sacrifices), if you can focus on one topic at a time, if you can come up with several angles and match them to specific publications, it’s likely that you can make some money through your writing.

If you need some help getting started—if you could use guidance related to establishing a business around your freelance article-writing work—sign up for my on-demand, online article-writing workshop TODAY. http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

Questions? I’m always here, PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Unfortunately, this is true: Being a writer is not all about writing. If you want to make money through your writing, there is also bookwork, tax returns, researching publishing opportunities and deadlines to meet. If you’re also selling books, you have book orders to prepare and ship (and more bookwork), a website to maintain, State Board of Equalization (state tax board) paperwork to do, customer relations opportunities and responsibilities, work with book and cover designers, proofing changes to the book in progress and then there is that little thing called PROMOTION. And this morning, I’ve been involved in all of the above.

I’ve decided to take a break this afternoon and do some networking with other writers and authors. A client is doing a book signing at a meeting of authors, artists and other creatives an hour’s drive away and invited me. I’ve packed a few books, several brochures and many business cards. Hopefully, I’ll make some new friends, pick up a few tips and, maybe even meet authors who can use some of my services.

What are you doing this week on behalf of your writing/publishing career?

Book sales are still brisk. I think it has something to do with my article on publishing appearing in The Toastmaster Magazine this month. Toastmasters is International and several of my recent book orders are from outside this country. Do you still question the value of writing articles for magazines and newsletters that are read by your target audience? Have you tried it? I highly recommend it as a great way to promote your book.

If you need information, resources, tips and ideas for writing, publishing (including finding and working with a traditional publisher) and promoting your book, order The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book today. Are you new to the world of publishing? Then you need my book in order to gain a better understanding of the publishing industry. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

I did it! After eight years, I finally finished my cat stories book. I’m going to publish it as an ebook, hopefully this month. Of course, I’ll make the BIG announcement in this blog. So be watching for it.

The book is called, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats. That’s all I’ll say for now—the hype will follow in another blog.

I do want to comment about the process of completing a book, however. I tell hopeful authors that the hardest part of writing a book is starting it. And the second most difficult part is finishing it. How do you know when your book is finished—when you’ve included everything necessary, when the self-editing is complete? That’s a tough one. I kept hoping to and planning to finish this book each day for weeks. Every few days, I’d think, “I should be able to finish it today.” And then I just kept writing and writing and adding and editing. It wasn’t complete. It didn’t feel finished. I hadn’t yet come to the end of it.

On Saturday January 3, 2009, I started what would be my last go-through. As I read through the chapters one-by-one, making only an occasional minor change or adjustment here and there, I knew. I was very close to ending this book. Sunday morning I got up knowing that I would finish the book that day. I added two little points of interest toward the front of the book and then, after many distractions, finally sat down in the late afternoon to read through the last 4 chapters.

That’s it! I shouted to myself. It’s a book. It feels complete. It is complete. Now to decide on a photo for the cover. For this, I consulted Dennis. He generally designs my covers and he shares my love for our household kitties. It took us only a couple of minutes to agree on the one photo out of hundreds to use on the cover. It is a picture of our white odd-eye cat, Winfield. (For those of you who don’t know, an odd-eye cat is one with two different coloredeyes. Winfield had a green eye and a blue eye.) He is featured throughout the book, along with dozens and dozens of other wonderful, quirky, smart, adventurous, clumsy, beautiful, spirited, spiritual and delightful cats and kittens. Winfield died of cancer 2 years ago this month. The photo we chose was his glamour shot. But there’s nothing superficial about it. You look into Winfield’s eyes and you see into his soul. To me, this photo represents the cat in all of her magnificence and dignity.

There’s more to finishing a book than the sense of accomplishment and closure. There is loss. The process of writing is so magical, personal and pleasurable that it is sometimes difficult to complete a book because you just want to keep writing forever. It takes as much discipline to stop writing as it does to start and continue. Would any of you disagree?

So today, while I am celebrating my accomplishment, I am also grieving the loss of the process, even though it was an emotional one. You see, many of the cats I wrote about were my own cats and most of them are gone. So bringing them back to life was an emotional trip. I loved spending time with them again. But I had to let them go again, too. That’s tough. When I’d spend a long day doing the writing, self-editing and rewriting, I’d sometimes have to take a long walk or meditate in order to realign my emotions afterward. Those of you who are writing your memoirs have probably experienced something similar, as have some of you who are writing a gripping novel.

I’d love to hear your experiences related to completing a book and the emotions that are awakened while writing. Also, is there anyone out there who will purchase my Catscapades ebook? I think I’ll set the price at $15. I did some research this morning and this seems like a fair price for this book.

In the meantime, I’m happy to report that my book sales are on an upswing this month. Amazon is placing orders. I’m getting orders through my website. This is excellent news. If you are writing a book or even thinking about writing a book, be sure to read my book BEFORE you enter into the competitive world of publishing. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

Anyone reading this blog is probably like me—fascinated with words. Writers spend their lives attempting to come up with a better word to make a point, describe a situation, create a mood, introduce a character, illustrate a scene, portray a moment, explain an occurrence or express an emotion. Writers are all about words. We enjoy learning new ones, stringing familiar ones together to create visual images, trying out words in different situations and sometimes we develop a dislike or disdain for particular words or phrases.

I just read this year’s list of “Words to Be Banished from the Queen’s English for Mis-use, Over-use and General Uselessness.” This list is compiled each year (for 34 years) by folks at the Lake Superior State University in Michigan. Here are some of the most hated words and phrases of 2008—may they never be uttered in the New Year:

Going Green
Maverick
First Dude (Sarah Palin’s husband should she become president)
Main Street (related to the middle class)
Staycation (stay-at-home vacation)
Carbon Footprint

I guess the problem with these words is repetitiveness. It might be a great term the first few times around, but when every newscaster on every TV station, every blogger, every journalist uses it in every broadcast or writing, the word gets old.

So what were some of the banished words presented by LSSU that first year? In 1976 they suggested banishing “meaningful,” “macho” and “at this point in time.” It didn’t seem to do much good, though, did it? At this point in time, some folks still think macho is meaningful. Actually, I really, really cringe when I hear “At this point in time.” What’s wrong with “now?” Other personal dislikes are: “went missing,” “very unique” and redundancies such as “overused clichés.”

What words/phrases would you like to see banned? Are there words you will refuse to use this year? Leave a comment.

One of my most loyal blog readers is Kathleen Ewing of Prescott, Arizona. Kathleen is, among other things, a working freelance writer and I’m seeing her articles sprinkled all over the Internet these days. Here’s one you might want to read. It’s called, “Income Loss Prevention.” And it was published in the December 30, 2008 edition of Writing For Dollars newsletter. Read it by following this link and then click on “Current Issue.” http://www.writingfordollars.com

Congratulations, Kathleen and thank you for your sage advice.

How does it feel to wake up on the other side of Christmas this morning? Doesn’t the tree look bare? All of those pretty packages have been opened and you have large plastic bags and dented boxes filled with new socks, electronic gadgets, scarves, kitchen utensils and maybe a few toys. The cookie plate is bare and your recycle bin is filled with soda cans, champagne bottles and Christmas wrap. Sure, you have a mess to clean up, but hopefully, each crumb you sweep from the floor, every gift you put away and every dirty glass you wash brings a rush of good memories with loved ones.

I had a wonderful holiday season. It was so much fun. I especially enjoyed seeing the gifts my adult grandchildren created for everyone on their lists. This year, we decided to make our gifts—well most of them. And the kids really came through. There were framed photos of loved ones and a few scenic shots shared. There was a handmade birdhouse and lovingly made jelly that didn’t set. (We’ll use it as pancake syrup.) One granddaughter gave me a handmade coupon booklet with gifts of time. Can’t wait to cash them in with her. Another one, a jewelry-maker for a famous jeweler, made me a pair of earrings.

Probably the most thoughtful and heartfelt gift was my 26 year old grandson’s gift to his 27 year old sister. He chose 3 words that, in his mind, describe her. Then he asked his brother and their parents to come up with 3 words each. He wrote the words in a circle around a large canvas and gave it to her to hang in her room. She was sooooo touched. Now, when she starts feeling blue or life seems to be crashing in on her, she can look at this gesture of love and feel a sense of strength and renewal.

I so believe in writers surrounding themselves with uplifting, feel-good reminders. We are so vulnerable. Anyone who puts themselves “out there,” is. As writers, we are opening ourselves up to rejection, criticism, editing and other challenges. We sometimes beat ourselves up when we’re trying to produce an article, write a story or perfect a paragraph in our book. Writer types seem to need a constant supply of kudos—lots of positive feedback. To that end, here’s what I suggest: Fill your work area with warm fuzzies, complimentary items, reminders that you are loved, appreciated and talented… Here are a few examples:

• Pictures of your treasured family members—those who love you.
• Photos of your pet.
• Shots of you involved in a memorable or prestigious activity or event.
• Awards.
• Items that warm your heart or make you laugh.
• Implications of wealth.

You might laugh or even giggle, but here are some of the things I have in my office: lots of photos—of my family, my cats and me sharing special moments with friends; a trillion dollar bill; artwork depicting cats; a large cat calendar; some of my artistic photography (wild horses, cat close-ups and ocean scenes); and mementoes from special activities, travels and events (my trip to Dubai, covers and signatures from my first self-published book) and I have a few stuffed animals, including a stuffed cat I sent to a friend who was having brain surgery. She did not survive. I inherited this cat along with her four live cats. (Read this story in my upcoming ebook, Catscapades, Tales of Ordinary and Extraordinary Cats.) Let me know if you’re interested in this book and I’ll be sure to contact you when it is completed.

Looking around this office, I see that I’ve listed only a portion of the warm fuzzies, etc. that I have. What is in your office? What keeps you writing? I’d like to know. PLFry620@yahoo.com.

Are you writing a book? Did you get money for Christmas? Here’s an idea: order the book that will respond to all of the questions you have and hundreds of those you may not know to ask, yet. The Right Way to Write, Publish and Sell Your Book is your complete guide to—you guessed it, writing, publishing and selling your book. And yes, it covers all publishing options and even guides you in choosing the one that’s right for your project.
http://www.matilijapress.com/rightway.html

There’s a story that circulates this time of year about a pastor who gave each member of his congregation $50 and asked them to double the money and bring it back to the church. Children received $10. The first thought of most church members was, “I can’t do this. I have no skills or resources to generate money. There’s no way I can participate.” Some of them even considered giving the money back.

In the end, however, almost everyone more than doubled the amount by the deadline. But something else happened, too. They learned important lessons about stretching, being flexible, thinking outside the box as well as discovering and cultivating their own skills and making the most of what’s at hand.

What did these people do to make their money grow? Whatever it took. They used what they had at hand whether it be talent, skills, opportunity or knowledge. They took what they had and expanded on it&#8212molded it, changed it, altered it and made it work for them. For example, one gentleman owned a nice motorcycle, so he gave rides for a fee. One of his most thrilled customers was an 80-year-old woman from his church who needed her husband’s help climbing aboard the bike. Some people used their talents to make bird houses, paint pictures, craft jewelry and sew various items.

One woman was ready to give back her $50. She had nothing to contribute. There was nothing she could do. And then she remembered an old family recipe for tomato soup. She hadn’t made it in years, but, when she started the process, it became a trip down memory lane for her. She made $180 selling jars of her soup. Someone else had an apple tree, so she made applesauce.

One inventive woman rented out her chickens. This interesting package included 3 dozen eggs and a photo of the chicken that produced them. One couple used their $50 to hire a harpist and then put on a fancy dinner party at $50/plate. They raised over $1,000. A doctor used his $50 for gas to drive back and forth to the hospital where he took on extra shifts. He earned $3,000.

Why share this story in a publishing blog? Do I have to explain this to my readers? I think not. I believe that you know where I’m going with this story. It’s similar to another story of the little drummer boy who didn’t think he had a gift for the King. We each have unique gifts and talents, skills and resources. We have stories and perspective we can share. Are you stalled, stilted or just plain blocked? Are you too busy this holiday season to write or to promote your book? Are you losing confidence in your writing abilities?

Explore your talents, skills and other possible contributions. Practice whole thinking instead of narrow thinking. Become aware of all possibilities instead of just focusing on one aspect. Be willing to change something about the way you are currently doing things. For example, if you can’t sell your personal essays and poetry, start writing what is selling. If your book sales are sluggish, put more energy and time into promoting it. Come up with some innovative marketing ideas.

For help with your writing , publishing or book promotion, check out my array of books and classes at http://www.matilijapress.com

This is a question that many new or hopeful freelance writers ask.

Most of us come into the writing profession with the desire to write on a certain topic, in a certain style or genre. You might hope to make it big writing children’s stories, for example, change the world through your ecological articles or share your opinion essays. And you may be able to actually sell some of your favorite pieces. But, if you hope to become a freelance writer or supplement your income through your writing, you’ll probably have to stretch a bit beyond these narrowly focused concepts.

For one thing, it is not generally practical to place all of your hopes and dreams within one area of interest. The children’s story writer may get further in this business by also writing some how-to and informational pieces, for example. The editorial staff at magazine A may reject her fantasy story, but welcome her piece on how to encourage children to read. An editor might pass on your personal family essay, but be thrilled to receive your humorous piece on how to survive a dysfunctional family or 10 tips for bonding with your long-distance grandchildren.

Becoming a freelance writer isn’t exactly the same time as writing for fun. While you get to (in fact, have to) come up with the story or article ideas to pitch and you can choose topics of interest to you, you may not be able to put your exact slant or focus on the piece. You can’t generally just sit down and write fun stuff and then easily get it published and collect a paycheck. You must be willing to conform to what the editors are looking for.

Here are 4 tips for writers who want to achieve success in the freelance writing field:

1: Be flexible. Be willing to write a how-to piece, where required, even though you prefer penning those get-it-off-your-chest essays of yours.

2: Get in touch with what is selling. Study the magazines you want to write for and conform in topic and style.

3: Constantly research new magazines, newsletters and websites that offer payment for articles/stories. One way is through the SPAWN Market Update in the member area of the SPAWN website. Join SPAWN (Small Publishers, Artists and Writers Network) at http://www.spawn.org. Subscribe to the FREE monthly e-newsletter to learn more about this site. Also subscribe to the Wooden Horse Pub newsletter: http://www.woodenhorsepub.com, Freelance Writers Report at http://www.writers-editors.com. And study Writer’s Market. Purchase at any bookstore for around $30. Or sign up for their database at http://www.writersmarket.com

4: Learn to develop many article ideas from one concept. You may decide to write a piece on grandparenting, for example. Suggest one on how to choose cool gifts for long-distance grandkids for a senior publication. Pitch one on educational places you can take grandchildren to a regional magazine. Propose a piece on how to entertain the kids when they come to visit for a family spiritual magazine. How about one for a parenting magazine on how parents can help their children bond with their grandparents? A senior magazine might be interested in your tips for maintaining family traditions. And you might interest a nostalgia magazine on your nostalgic piece featuring Christmas at Grandmother’s house in the 1950s.

Freelance article-writing isn’t exactly an art, but if you plan to earn a living or supplement your income through freelance article-writing, there are certain rules and requirements you must follow. For additional information on this subject, purchase Patricia Fry’s book, A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles ($6.50). http://www.matilijapress.com.

Sign up for the article-writing course at, http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

While I was preparing Class Number 6 in the Article-Writing course this morning, I started thinking about something all freelance writers and authors experience as a normal part of our world&#8212rejection. And that’s what I decided to write about today.

Rejection is a part of this business and it is important to keep it in perspective. I once heard someone say that he had never received a rejection letter for one of his articles. I am not usually inclined to call someone a liar. But give me a break! The only way this could be true is if he has never submitted an article OR if he, perhaps, has submitted just a very few articles to really targeted magazines all on a subject about which he is an expert. I can say that there are certain magazines that I’ve never received a rejection letter from. And that’s because I only worked with them once or just a handful of times and my articles were very narrowly, timely and appropriately focused for that magazine.

Rejection is not necessarily about poor writing. Not at all. Why, then, are we rejected? Let me count the ways. Of course, you might be rejected because of poor writing skills or maybe you got lazy with this particular article and just didn’t do a good job on it. But, if these things are not the case, then it is something else. Here are some possibilities:

• Because your idea just isn’t timely
• The magazine has done something on this subject recently and they don’t want to revisit it right now.
• The editor is inundated with articles and, while yours is good, it just didn’t make the cut.
• You didn’t target the right magazine with your idea.
• The magazine is going out of business.
• The editor who previously requested your article has left and the new editor doesn’t like it. I swear, new editors are power freaks who refuse to go with what the former editor has already lined up. When you’ve had a good relationship with an editor, and she leaves, you can almost always wave goodbye to that opportunity. On the other hand, if you’ve had trouble breaking into a magazine, wait until the editor leaves and then pitch your stuff to the new one.
• A magazine changes their format—this happens more than you might think—so keep abreast of changes in magazines so you are always informed and prepared. If you are writing within a certain field, you might want to subscribe to some of the key magazines so you’ll stay abreast of subtle and blatant changes.
• The editor got up on the wrong side of the bed. Or she had a fight with her
boyfriend and he has the same name as you do.
• The editor happens to hate the subject you’ve pitched (cats, dogs, kids—whatever).
• The magazine advertisers would be offended by the subject matter or the slant.

See, it isn’t always you. Sometimes it’s not you, at all. Just continue to do your best to present a quality product, on a topic that’s definitely within the magazine’s realm of subject matter and style and always approach the editor in a professional manner. Follow this rule of thumb and remember these 10 reasons why articles are rejected and then rest assured that you’ve done nothing wrong.

To learn more about the article-writing process, sign up for my Article Writing Course at http://www.matilijapress.com/course_magarticles.htm

Order my great little book for freelance writers and authors who are promoting their books: “A Writer’s Guide to Magazine Articles.”
http://www.matilijapress.com/writingpage.html

Contact me, Patricia Fry, to discuss your freelance writing career. PLFry620@yahoo.com