Do you know HARO?

If you don’t, it might be time to get acquainted. HARO stands for “If I Can Help A Reporter Out.” It was started by a PR guy and networking maven named Peter Shankman as a place reporters can turn to when they’re stuck for sources. Shankman started it as an alternative to ProfNet, which some writers have complained has grown so big the sources it nets aren’t relevant.

For reporters, HARO is easy. You don’t even need to register. Just go to the “Reporter” side of the service, fill out the request form and click “Submit it.” Your query will be included in an emailing of multiple requests for sources that Shankman sends out several times a day to a list of more than 23,000 PR representatives, company executives and other sources.

I’d heard a lot about HARO in recent months but didn’t give it a try until last week when I was hurting for sources for an IT industry story for IncTechnology.com that I was writing at the last minute. So I took the plunge and submitted a HARO request. Within 24 hours, I got about 40+ responses from PR reps, IT consultants and company presidents, etc. By the end of day two, I’d received close to 60.

HARO isn’t just for tech stories. I have freelance friends who write about all kinds of things, from green living to parenting to finance, and they all use it and rave about it. And they’ve been able to track down the hardest sources of all to get – real people.

HARO has grown so popular so quickly, it’s now got some of the same problems that plagued other source-finding services, namely too many off-topic responses, which you can read more about in this post about it on The Renegade Writer blog. Get around that by making sure your queries are as specific as possible. And state up front that people won’t hear from you unless you’re interested in using them.

If you decide to give it a try, I’ve got one more piece of advice: since HARO can result in inquiries from many more sources than you could possibly use, when you fill out the query registration form, give a very short time frame for people to get back to you, such as in 24 yours or less. Otherwise you could get bombarded.

And if you’re a PR person, read these great do’s and don’ts from Susan Johnston’s The Urban Muse blog about using HARO to pitch story ideas to writers.

Today, I’m blogging over at The Renegade Writer, a Website for freelancers run by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell. The topic: The Secret to My LinkedIn Success. If you’ve been to WordCount before, you know I’m a huge LinkedIn fan, using it every day to troll for sources, manage contacts and participate in discussion groups. To find out more about how to incorporate LinkedIn in your writing practice, hop on over to my guest post.

Thanks to the nominations submitted by all you faithful readers, WordCount has been tapped as a finalist for Writing White Papers’ 3rd annual top writing blogs contest. Yahoo!

The contest, created by Michael Stelzner, proprietor of the Writing White Papers blog, received 300 nominations, which he narrowed down to 37. According to Stelzner, he’ll choose the top 10 based on quality and frequency of posts, reader involvement and Technorati ranking. Winners will be announced soon.

In addition to WordCount, congratulations to the following freelance friends whose blogs were also nominated:

• Susan Johnston, The Urban Muse
• Beth Morrissey, Hell or High Water Writer
• Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, The Renegade Writer

When you’re just starting out as a freelancer, it’s easy to fall into the habit of taking every assignment that comes your way. But if you stay in the business long enough, you realize that to be really happy in your work you’ve got to take control over what you do. Different writers will pursue different paths. But no matter the path, choosing it requires mapping out goals for yourself and a long-term plan for your career.

Long-time freelance writer Gwen Moran offers some great insights into this process in a Q&A that’s up on The Renegade Writer blog.

Moran is a columnist for Entrepreneur, and has written for publications such as Woman’s Day, On Wall Street and Newsweek.com. She’s the co-author of The Complete Idiot’s Guide to Business Plans.

According to Moran, the first step in career planning is picturing your ideal end result. In the Q&A she says:

Do you want to work for a certain type of publication? Earn a certain amount of money? Break into a specific niche? Once you’ve defined where you want your business to go, then you can back out the steps you need to get you there. You can begin honing topics and pitches for a specific publication or start targeting clients who understand the value that you provide in exchange for a healthy rate.

If you’re interested in learning more, Moran will be teaching an online course called Build the Freelance Writing Business You Want, at The Renegade Writer. The six-week course begins Oct. 7 and costs $250 for the premium version with six weeks of e-mail support or $150 for the basic version with no e-mail support. Find out more details on the Website.

When writers aren’t writing, they’re reading about how to be a better writer, or be a better marketer of their writing, or about who else they could be writing for.

That’s what I found when I asked freelance, newspaper and magazine writers and editors to name some of their favorite blogs for writers. It’s an eclectic list and by no means comprehensive. Just don’t start reading on deadline.

The Mechanics of Writing, Editing and Copyediting
You Don’t Say – Written by John McIntyre, the Baltimore Sun’s assistant managing editor for the copy desk. McIntyre is a human version of the AP Style Guide or one of those other grammar and usage mauals – but funnier. Thanks to Matthew Crowley, business copy editor at the Las Vegas Review-Journal for the tip.

WordWise – Forget for a minute that Dan Santow is a PR guy. His blog on grammar and usage is good – and not just because he’s got fellow flacks discussing things like commas and overused words (for which reporters everywhere thank you). Oh wait, Santow was a reporter before he became a senior v.p. at Edelman, the big PR firm. Now I get it.

WordHappy – Toddie Downs, a freelance copywriter and editor, uses her blog to celebrate good writing of all types – TV, movies, fiction, non-fiction and advertising.

Freelance Writing and Marketing Yourself as a Writer
Erik Sherman’s WriterBiz - Sherman, a long-time freelance writer and photographer, tackles the business end of writing in this very professional if plain-looking entry. Sherman’s written for some of the biggest names in the business including the New York Times Magazine, Newsweek, Fortune, Inc, US News & World Report and knows what he’s talking about.

The Renegade Writer by Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, co-authors of The Renegade Writer: A Totally Unconventional Guide to Freelance Writing and The Renegade Writer’s Query Letters That Rock. Lots of practical wisdom on this blog, which fellow freelancer Peggy Noonan recommends for its useful resources and “common sense tips that work.” UPDATE: Thanks Diana, for pointing out that this is a team effort.

Freelance Switch – This group-written blog about freelancers of all stripes – Web designers and illustrators as well as writers – includes classifieds, podcasts, resources and a job board.

FreelanceWritingGigs.com - Started in 2005 by Deborah Ng, this blog posts info on new jobs almost daily. But proceed with caution: the listings include a lot of “work from home” situations, Web content writing assignments and other low-pay gigs.

Men With Pens – Wait, you did want to be a Web content writer? This is the place to learn. This site was formerly known as Web Content Writer Tips.

TheUrbanMuse – Lots of practical advice on writing and the mechanics of freelancing make this well-suited to beginners. Author Susan Johnston Home is away this month and has guest bloggers filling in.

Screw You – Kathy Kehrli calls herself the Irreverent Freelancer and uses her blog for rants against low-paying clients and other mistreatments that go with the freelance territory. Read it as a cautionary tale, or visit when an editor’s got you steamed and you need an acceptable place to vent.

InkThinker - A personal take on the freelance life, written by Virginia copywriter and consultant Kristen King.

About Freelance Writing and The Golden Pencil – Two more personal takes on freelancing written by Anne Wayan, an independent writer, blogger, ghostwriter, editor and writing coach.

Publicity Hound – Although this is written by a public relations specialist for other PR types, freelancers can glean tips on marketing and generating publicity for their own work – and take a peek at how the other half lives.

Jugglezine – Herman Miller’s elegantly designed e-zine is all about balancing work and life, a freelancer’s constant challenge. And if reading it makes you want to spruce up your home office with some new furniture, well hey, you’re in the right place.

The News Business
Romenesko – This daily recap of major happenings inside U.S. newspapers lets ex-staff reporters like me and other news junkies get their fix.

Publishing 2.0 – A blog about how technology is transforming media. Is the Web going to be writers’ salvation, or is it the Dark Side? The publishing industry insiders who write this blog argue for the former.

Copywriting and Corporate Writing
Copyblogger - The well-organized site has multiple authors who cover everything from getting more done to writing better headlines to personal branding. Joel Kelly, interactive media specialist at Cossette Atlantic, calls it “fantastic.”

Bob Bly’s Blog – Bly lifts the veil on the copywriting business and is as good a start as any for magazine writers considering a leap into corporate work. If Bly’s blog – and related Web site – are any indication, there’s a world of difference.

Dianna Huff’s B2B MarCom Writer Blog - Advice from a marketing communications pro.

Copywriter Underground – More solid copy on copy from an industry veteran.

The Bad Pitch Blog – Apparently the P.R. firms whose work gets lambasted on this blog aren’t reading Copyblogger or Copywriter Underground. “Funny and well-written,” says Lewis Harrison, PR and communications manager at Codeworks.

Michael Stelzner’s Writing White Papers – Everything you need to know about writing a corporate white paper.