Dear WordCount: Is it OK to conduct interviews via email?
This installment of the weekly writing advice column looks at the pros and cons of doing interviews by email instead of in person or by phone. Which do you use?
Recommended reading for writers for April 28, 2011
This week’s essential reading – 2 guest posts I did recently, one on why it pays to blog, and another on the secrets about editors every writer needs to know.
News flash: editors don’t have all the answers
Writers, when you run into trouble on an assignment, don’t panic, think like an editor.
Keep your writing fresh
Freelance writers, use these 5 simple steps to come up with new angles on subjects you cover a lot – your editor will thank you!
Surefire ways to get editors to get back to you faster
Among the best ways to get editors to respond to you faster is a killer story pitch, one “that’s so perfectly honed to the editor’s needs it’s irresistible.”
The editor you write for today may be the writer you edit tomorrow
How do you act when the editor you write for today may be the writer you editor tomorrow?
WordCount Repeats: Handle rewrites without wanting to kill yourself or your editor
While I’m away from my keyboard this week, I’m re-running a few posts that didn’t get the attention – or web traffic – they deserved the first time around. I’ll return with fresh insights on the business of writing next week. – Michelle Rafter Rewrites aren’t one of my list of favorite work-related activities. In [...]
It pays freelancers to find wiggle room in exclusivity clauses
Given what’s happening in the media business, freelancers can’t afford to cultivate an exclusive relationship with one newspaper or magazine. Actually, an exclusive relationship would be sweet – think of all those letters of introduction you’d avoid having to do and the time you’d save. But unless you’re under contract at The New Yorker – [...]
Sometimes they're just not that into you
A friend who sells medical supplies takes a pragmatic approach to rejection. When a company says no to what she’s selling, she brushes it off and moves onto the next prospect. “In my personal life I can’t handle that kind of rejection, but at work it doesn’t bother me,” she says. “It’s just business.” Writers [...]
