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 […]
Writing for free is not a business model
You see them every week on Craigslist, help wanted ads from publishers or Websites that need writers but can’t afford to pay – but you’ll get clips and the exposure will be great! And yet – I’ve never met a grocery store, credit card company or mortgage company that accepted “exposure” as payment. More information […]
Portland Wordstock book festival recap
I went to Portland’s Wordstock book festival over the weekend. John Hodgman, the PC in the “I’m a Mac, I’m a PC” ads, was one of the stars of a weekend that was filled with signings, readings, writing workshops and other book-related activities. In case you missed it, I wrote this guest post about Wordstock […]
Mediabistro hosts Portland 'Election Hangover Party' on Nov. 18
The scene-sters at Mediabistro.com know how to work an angle. With last week’s historic election still fresh in everyone’s minds, Mediabistro has renamed the writers gatherings it regularly hosts “Election Hangover Parties.” Whether you’re celebrating Obama’s victory, the end of what seemed like an endless campaign or just want an excuse to talk about those […]
Sometimes all it takes to get a writing gig is saying 'I can do that'
Sometimes all it takes to get a writing gig is saying ‘I can do that.’ That’s what New Jersey freelancer Jen Miller discovered when she pitched a World Series story to the sports section of the New York Times – and then another, and another. Miller doesn’t normally cover sports. But she’s a Phillies fan […]