For Writers—Better than Resolutions

New Year resolutions are sewn with the seeds of their own demise. Why bother? Yes, goals are important, and we should articulate them. (I intend to do that any day now!) But right now I’m feeling focused on…right now. Hence these better-than-resolutions that we freelance writers can accomplish today. Well, Monday, if you’re reading this [...]

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Writer, Get Over Thyself

In my recent post about writing packages, I mentioned some that I was proud of—and a couple of others that were, well, just gigs. When fanny packs and sport sandals first came out about 15 years ago, I managed to become the world’s leading authority on both, at least among journalists. (Lots of people who [...]

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Tie Up Some Packages

I just got a call from an editor asking if I’d be interested in doing a package for his magazine. I’m sure you know what I mean. Packages are feature-length (or longer) bundles of shortish write-ups, like World’s Greatest Anythings, or 50 Things You Must Do Before You Die (start a blog!), Best Places to [...]

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James Glave’s Freelance Journalist Aptitude Self-Assessment Tool

My friend James Glave has posted this Freelance Journalist Aptitude Self-Assessment Tool on his eponymously titled blog. I can only cop to two yeses, so I guess I’m doomed….

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Writers! Turn Passion into Profit

Turn your passions into profit. If you’ve read my book Write Where the Money Is, you know that’s a message I pound like a drumbeat. And I set out a course for exactly how to do it. It’s common ground I share with the brilliant Internet marketer James Schramko, who interviewed me recently for his [...]

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Hot Stories to Pitch in 2010

My friend Chris Farrell has compiled a list of hot arenas for Internet marketers in 2010. We as writers should pay attention. These are topics we should be pitching to magazines and websites this year. You better believe they’re aware of the timeliness of these subjects and will be looking for stories relevant to them.

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A Powerful Tool for Writing Ezine Articles

EzineArticles.com is not exactly a forum for fine writing. Still, article directories serve a purpose, which I discuss in my book Write Where the Money Is. Since you might well end up submitting articles to Ezine or other article directories, here are Four Powerful Ways to Write Better Articles….

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Free Trips! Exotic Vacations!

First-class travel, everything paid for! Ah, the life of a travel writer. All you need to do is bang out a few words about it and you’re part of the besotted brotherhood of pampered travel journalists. Oh, yeah. And sign up for an pricey program that tells you how to cash in on all these [...]

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Surefire Writing Tip: Get Engaged

“Good writing does not succeed or fail on the strength of its ability to persuade,” writes Malcolm Gladwell in the preface to his book What the Dog Saw. Gladwell is the fine New Yorker writer and author of best sellers such as Outliers and The Tipping Point. He goes on to write in this preface: [...]

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The Craft of Writing: Nicaragua Is Not Cambodia

“This is just like Cambodia,” one travel writer said to her photographer friend. Really? I was traveling with them and a few other writers on a press trip in Nicaragua. We were slowly boating up a narrow estuary lined with mangrove trees. Great egrets and tiger herons combed the banks. Whenever the trees parted, we [...]

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