So for your reading enjoyment, here’s some WordCount Q&As I’ve done with writers on a variety of subjects. Happy reading.

Suddenly Frugal’s Leah Ingram – This prolific magazine writer, book author and frugal living blogger explains how she wrote her latest book in eight weeks.

One freelancer’s DIY book publishing success – Colorado-based corporate translator Corinne McKay explains how she self-published How to Succeed as a Freelance Translator and netted $12,000 in two years.

NewspaperDeathWatch.com’s Paul Gillin on online community news – New media pundit Gillin explains why small news ventures, in print and online, are fairing better than their larger counterparts.

One writer’s journey from print to online – Michelle Nicolosi got the online news bug back in the 1990s. Today she’s executive director of the now online-only SeattlePI.com.

Marketing your freelance business in bad times – Keven Malkewitz, a marketing expert and assistant business professor at Oregon State University in Corvallis, says in a down economy, cultivate existing clients, brush up on new skills and increase your marketing efforts.

If you’ve a freelancer with a unique take on the business, a successful blog or an online news venture, I’ve love to interview you for the WordCount Q&A. Contact me: michellerafter (at) comcast (dot) net.

News U. and the Knight Digital Media Center are hosting a Webinar on social networks on Tuesday, April 14, 2 to 3 p.m. EDT.

The Webinar, called Social Networks: The New Architecture of the Web will help decode what’s happening on social network giants like Facebook and Twitter as well as specialty groups and how.

The Webinar will be led by Paul Gillin, a well-known social media expert and newspaper industry analyst who blogs at NewspaperDeathWatch.com. Note: I’ve interviewed Gillin for WordCount and he knows his stuff. The cost is $24.95.

Although the information sounds like it’s primarily aimed at journalists working for MSM, it could be worth looking into for new freelance markets or if you’re contemplating starting your own social networking-based new media venture. Register or learn more here.

Here’s some promo copy from the site:

Media organizations can tap into the trusted advice networks that are forming online and leverage them to their advantage. You will learn:

• Why online “friends” are the foundation of social networks’ appeal
• How trusted sources are migrating from mass media to friends’ networks
• From examples of news organizations that are leveraging social networks to extend their influence
• What newspapers can do right now to tap into emerging communities

But not everybody’s pessimistic about the future of the news business. In fact, there are quite a few optimists who believe the trauma hitting the industry will lead to new business models and opportunities for those editors, reporters and other workers who keep up with the changes.

Here’s just a sample of what commentators are saying about the transformation that’s now taking place, and why it could be a good thing:

Why we should feel bullish for the future of journalism – DigiDave, aka Dave Cohn, wrote this meditation on the future of the news biz from an airport lobby on little sleep. Put aside his youthful enthusiasm – and the f bomb he throws in for effect – and he makes an interesting point about experimenting with business models. Try enough, he says, and some will stick. Cohn doesn’t just talk the talk. With the grant money he won in a Knight News Challenge last year, he’s helped start Spot.us, a marketplace for news where readers can write in to request stories they’d like to see written and donate money toward making it happen.

For other business models, look at FieldReport.com, which is paying thousands of dollars for personal essays, or investigative news Websites such as ProPublica, Environmental Health News and BailoutSleuth, which are being funded by philanthropists or foundations – a throwback to the days when newspapers were owned by wealthy captains of industry.

The market and the Internet don’t care if you make money – News organizations can’t live by the same assumptions they always held about their business, says new media analyst Scott Karp, on Publishing 2.0. The market doesn’t care about traffic or eyeballs, it cares about networks, something Google, Facebook and YouTube have already figured out.

Why it’s a great time to get into journalism – To those who risk much will come great rewards, says social media expert Paul Gillin, who blogs at NewspaperDeathWatch. In this post from October, Gillin recounts the story of one enthusiastic college student who parlayed a summer intership with a major daily newspaper into a paid blogging/reporting gig there.