More and more these days, good writing is all about context. When news cycles are measured in minutes or hours rather than days, unless you’re the one doing those news stories, your work as a writer is putting what’s happening into context. That’s especially the case for many bloggers, whose raison d’etre is commenting on […]
Archives for November 2008
How to make money writing about the financial crisis
You’ve heard the expression, follow the money. Well, the silver lining of the U.S. economy sliding into the dumps is there’s plenty of work for business writers who know a mortgage-backed security from an adjustable rate mortgage. If you don’t fit that description now, you could. American University and Arizona State University’s Donald W. Reynolds […]
You may be desperate for work, just don't act like it
It’s one thing to be desperate for work. It’s another to act like it. You may have just lost a big client, or even more than one, so you’re scrambling to add some new writing assignments to your calendar. You send out letters of introduction and query like crazy. A few nibbles come in as […]
Why ex-staff writers make good trade magazine freelancers
I’m guest blogging today at the American Society of Business Publication Editors blog. The ASBPE is the professional association for editors and writers in the business, trade and specialty press. The subject: why former magazine and newspaper staff writers have all the right stuff for a successful transition into freelancing for business publications. Read the […]
As optimists tell, it's a great time to get into journalism
Most of the news coming out of the newspaper business is glum, worse than glum actually. Lay offs. Shrinking ad pages. Financial instability. Standard & Poor’s and Moody’s Investors Service recently dropped their rating of New York Times debt because of the paper’s declining revenues. Imagine that, the Grey Lady a junk bond. But not […]
Multimedia myths debunked
There’s a lot more to learning interactive storytelling than simply figuring out how to operate a digital videocamera or creating a story board for a Web-based news package. But many writers, including freelancers, are still at the beginning of the learning curve, so there’s still a lot they have to learn. Rather, when it comes […]