Money The Write Way A free eMagazine for writers of integrity *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ May 7, 2003 Volume 1 Number 11 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ To join our more than 4000 subscribers, and receive the FREE eBook, "So You Want to be a Travel Writer," click on: http://www.ebookstand.com It's FREE! *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ In this issue: 1.) Letter From The Publisher---On The Home Front 2.) Ask an Expert/Questions and Answers 3.) COMP-ortunity of the month 4.) Online Success-Internet Marketing Tips and Strategies For Writers 5.) The Business of Writing by Duane Newcomb 6.) Editor's Pick/Reviews 7.) Guest Article, "How to Write 'How Tos'" by Suzy McMinn 8.) The Boast Post---Bragging Board of Writers Triumphs and Victories *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Money The Write Way eMagazine is a division of The Magnum Group ISSN pending. Copyright 2003 Write Spirit Publishing. All rights reserved. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Start Comping today by purchasing our best selling eBook: "BEEN THERE---COMPED THAT!" Free Travel, Dining, and Entertainment, All for the Cost of Some Ink Available at: http://www.ebookstand.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ On The Home Front Carmel L. Mooney Well the wisteria is in full bloom here, enveloping my house in the forest. Spring is wonderful. I hope you have all been enjoying the flowers. I love daffodils and tulips and was sorry to see them go a few weeks ago. It seems that the seasons are in fast forward these days. They never last long enough for me. We hardly even got any snow this year, just three little dustings. For some of us, writing is similar, there never seems to be enough time, life just speeds along at fast forward and the writing goals get shuffled to the back behind life's priorities. Then procrastination comes along, for many and further buries our dreams. Life can be hectic but writing doesn't have to take backseat. Whether it's finishing that novel, submitting the query, or publishing a manuscript, in order to succeed we must make writing and the business that goes with it, a priority. Have you considered taking a summer vacation this year, centered around your writing? Maybe that favorite beach cottage could provide a weekend retreat where you might finally finish that novel. Maybe your in laws who've been offering to take the kids for a weekend could provided the 3 days you've been needing to finish those queries and do the research. Whatever your situation, make your writing dreams a top priority before the time disappears at lightning speed. Schedule your writing time as a top priority, plan others things around it, and watch your writing bloom this spring and summer. Best wishes for a wonderful season of writing, Carmel Mooney *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ This week's newest COMP-ortunity Idaho's Hidden Creek Ranch Website: http://www.hiddencreek.com Address: 11077 East Blue Lake Road Harrison, Idaho 83833 Phone: 800.446.3833 or 208.689.3209 Contact: Elaine Steele Description: A beautiful, family-friendly dude ranch in Idaho. Location: Northern Idaho. Coverage desired: Family destination, outdoor recreation, unique programs. Prefers writers with: assignment Possible comp: Comped accommodations when available. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ "Ask a Pro" Publishing/Comping/Writing Q&A "Your Questions---You Always Wanted To Ask," answered by professional writing consultant/coach/author/instructor, Carmel L. Mooney To ask Carmel a writing, publishing, or comping question, email her at: Carmel@ebookstand.com. Questions may be edited for length or content if necessary. Question: Ms Mooney, I'm planning a trip to Ireland this summer. How would I go about getting an assignment? Because I'm a new freelance writer, trying to get started, I do not have any clips. Is it even possible to get an assignment under those circumstances? Generally, I know which magazines would be appropriate. But are there any tips you can pass along to include in my query letter to get a response, and do you even think it is likely, before I leave in July 2003? J. Griffin, Roseville, CA Answer: Yes, this is very feasible before your departure date, but you must act fast as queries take 4-6 weeks for responses. In your query, state your upcoming trip and state specific facts, dates, etc. about your subject matter that prove you already know and have enough basic knowledge of the subject to complete research and finish a terrific article that will be of great interest to the readers of the specific publications. Up-play your knowledge and insight and forget about mentioning your lack of clips. Dazzle them with facts, quotes, and anecdotes, and don't fret about your lack of published experience. Just make that query shine! Good luck and bon voyage! To ask Carmel a writing, publishing, or comping question, email her at: Carmel@ebookstand.com. Carmel Mooney is also available by phone and/or email for private consultation, editing, and coaching. Carmel has helped hundreds of writers achieve writing and publishing success. Email her at: Carmel@ebookstand.com or call her at: 916-205-4763 *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ Internet Marketing Tips and Strategies For Writers How to sell your publications online by Hazel Nieves, Our E- business Marketing Expert and Consultant Marketing Your Writing Business By: Hazel Nieves Attention to marketing is key to survival! Why do I hold this view?… A business-marketing concept actually forms the foundation, from which all company-marketing strategies are built. It should focus on satisfying customer wants and needs, and how a business will align customer satisfaction with the overall purpose of the business. You see, your marketing concept requires that you and/or your employees concentrate on three main areas: 1. Consumer-oriented focus: This refers to all of your business processes from product development to services offered. How does the customer perceive it? What is their take on the need you are attempting to fill? 2. Emphasis on long-term profitability versus short-term profits: Your marketing concept should focus on relationship building…being "in it for the long haul." Building customer relationships and loyalty is paramount in this new business landscape. 3. Integration and coordination of marketing functions and other networking functions. No business function or transaction is an island, so all business activities need to be linked and coordinated with networked marketing efforts. Are you in the health business?" How about networking with a chiropractor, a health publication, an organic produce grower, etc. If your writing business follows this system, then it has what is called a marketing orientation, as opposed to a production orientation or a sales orientation. See the difference? The sales orientation is usually most common during economic periods when supply exceeds demand, and businesses stress aggressive promotional techniques to push their products/services to consumers. You see…Instead of learning what the customer wants, and making and/or doing it that way, a sales orientation is concerned with selling, selling, selling…regardless of how the customer feels. In marketing street talk, this is known as "C&R," short for "cramming and ramming" the product down the customers' throats. Let me tell you…this is NOT an effective way to grow your business or even stay in business these days! A production orientation emphasizes the physical production and technology. Businesses that stress this philosophy do best when demand exceeds supply. A business simply provides or produces a product or service and expects that customers will buy it because it's hot or vogue. In today's business environment, few businesses and writers can survive without attention to the marketing process. For that reason, businesses that hold fast to a marketing orientation way of doing business are going to be the winners in this new economy! ---Hazel Nieves, expert on Internet Marketing and Online business success is owner of Web Development Company, Sierra Technology Solutions, Inc. She has 20 years experience in sales, marketing, and technology and is a committed crusader in helping take the confusion out of taking your business online. You can Contact Hazel at 530-367-2915 or Customerservice@sierratechnologysolutions.com Special Offer! Writers Special E-biz Website Package Turn-key Package Includes: *5 Custom Pages *Shopping Cart (up to 10 products) *Secure Server *One year hosting service *Uses your own domain *Up to 15 Email accounts *Attractive Professional designs to choose from *Copyright Statement page Special Price: $ 600.00 complete Get started today with your Affordable Professional E-business website here: http://www.sierratechnologysolutions.com/writers/writers_special. htm Learn more from Hazel at: http://www.sierratechnologysolutions.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ The Business Side of Writing by Duane Newcomb Cashing in on the Global Market Want to increase the amount of money you make from every article? Of course you do. My advice is, after you've sold your article in the United States, then turn to the world and see what else you can do. Worldwide, there are some 100,000 plus published magazines in over 100 nations where you can sell the same article ten to forty times for a total price of between $2000 and $20,000. This creates a far different article marketplace than just the United States alone. In the future the main market for freelancers may be the entire world. You will find magazines published in virtually the same categories as they are in the United States: general magazines, women's, men's science, automotive, sports, trade/business, Sunday newspapers, corporate and organization magazines and more. A global article is one that will interest readers worldwide. An article about an American resort would be of no interest, but a break through article on genetic engineering would. Some article titles that have sold are: "Only Robots Will Apply: How Robots Will Soon Steal Your Job," "Bass Madness: Who Will Catch the U.S, $1 Million Dollar Bass?" "Get Away Now: Everybody's Passport to Space" A global query is simply a standard article query that (1) hooks the editor, (2) explains what the article will be about. (3) details what you are offering: the article, color photos, maps or graphics, and special sidebars, and (4) asks for the order. The query is sent out to as many markets as you feel might be interested. All articles are written in English and will be translated by the magazine. Since the translation won't be in your style, keep the writing extremely simple and the sentences fairly short. In addition, you need to remove anything which would Americanize the piece such as a reference to a well-know football player, or a slang term popular only in America. Global articles can often be slanted to fit a number of markets by including one or more sidebars. An article about how genetic engineering was found unsafe could be made suitable for the women's market by using a sidebar on a woman scientist who is leading the fight against genetically altered crops. Articles can be sold to magazines in each country by offering the exclusive rights for that particular country. If there are several languages in a country, as there are, for instance, in India, you can offer the exclusive rights to a particular language in that country. These markets are listed in Ulrich's International Periodicals Directory, the world's premier reference source. Ulrich's is essential for global freelancers; you will find it in most libraries. Ulrich's also has a website which allows you to search for magazines worldwide. This is a subscription service. Check with: www.ulrichsweb.com. Duane Newcomb is a literary consultant with 36 non-fiction books to his credit, over 5000 articles and more than 150 client books in print. He has taught article and non-fiction book courses at numerous colleges, universities and writer's conferences across the United States. He welcomes new clients needing a manuscript evaluated. dnew@thegrid.net . Subscribe to his free, monthly professional author newsletter at: dnew@thegrid.net Visit Duane Newcomb's websites: Duane has three websites which represent his interests, profession, and published books. For Authors (published and unpublished) The Booksite at www.bookforce.bizland.com offers a cornucopia of information on writing, publishing and promoting your nonfiction book. For Gardeners: The Postage Stamp Gardening site is for every gardener who wants to grow more vegetables in a small space with less work and less watering. It will also include pocket gardening for people with apartments or tiny lots. Buy our best selling Postage Stamp Gardening Book on site. Access the site through www.bookforce.bizland.com For Do-It Yourself Home Builders: Visit the Owner Built Adobe Home site through www.bookforce.bizland.com The site shows you how to build all the adobe bricks you'll need on site and construct either a post adobe or a double wall reinforced adobe home. It includes everything you need to know. Buy the Owner Built Adobe Home (published by the University of New Mexico press) on site. Purchase Duane Newcomb's writing guides at www.ebookstand.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ Editor's Pick Book, Magazine, Website, and e-Book Review by Victoria Beninga, Editor This week's Review WRITER'S MARKET ONLINE "The writer's bible." This is what Writer's Market has been called for nearly a century. Imagine you've finished your very first writing masterpiece and are eager to share it with the world. Now all you have to do is sell it. Where do you start? The first thing to do is to learn which magazines or book publishers buy the type of material you wrote. For example, let's say you wrote a humorous article about life on an artichoke farm. You sent a query to "Artichoke" magazine. You would have quickly been rejected because "Artichoke" is a magazine about visual arts in Western Canada. For nearly a century, writers have been turning to WRITER'S MARKET to find publishers. WRITERS' MARKET is a huge book packed full of information. In addition to listing more than 3,800 publishers of books and magazines, WRITER'S MARKET provides information on queries, literary agents, advice to new writers on getting published, interviews with successful publishers, and writer's guidelines for each publication. If you are a seasoned published writer, there is a section entitled "The Business of Writing," which contains information for you. Listings are broken down into categories, such as Book Publishers, Small Presses, and Consumer Magazines. Consumer magazines are listed by category, such as animal, history, religion, and sports. You'll also find a section on greeting cards and contests. WRITERS MARKET has added an incredible feature to their book: Access to WritersMarket.com. When you purchase WRITER'S MARKET ONLINE, you will be provided with an access code inside the book. You simply register online using your access code. Your subscription to WritersMarket.com will last for one year. Once you register, you won't have to wait until next year's printed WRITER'S MARKET comes out to get updated information. WritersMarket.com provides updates on publishers as soon as the information becomes available, free eMagazine subscriptions, a Submission Tracker section so you can easily keep track of your queries, a personal profile section, and an additional 1,350 publishers not listed in the printed book. WritersMarket.com also has a searchable database so you can quickly find information on specific book and magazine publishers. Two new features this year are information on newspapers and markets that buy articles to publish online. The 2003 edition of WRITERS MARKET, including the WritersMarket.com subscription, retails for $49.99. It's worth every penny. Victoria Beninga Travel Columnist/Editor/Publisher, Gold Country Families, http://www.goldcountryfamilies.com eBooks available at http://www.ebookstand.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Guest article: How to Write 'How tos' by Suzy McMinn Some people write because they cannot "not" write. How I envy those people; I write because I need money. I would much rather read a good mystery than sit down at the typewriter and make my brain and fingers work. Also, I am a perfectionist and can't just pop out an article. I have to research, write, proofread, and correct until I am so sick of the article that I send it on to the editor. I haven't had any rejections yet but I figure that is because the editor doesn't seem to grasp the boredom and staleness I feel. The magazines seem to want to buy them. As an editor, I know that I always welcomed a 'How to' article to put in the newspaper. I include the 'how something works' and instructional nonfiction in this category. 'How tos' make up the largest single slice of today's freelance market. To grab your share of this market, make sure that every article you write has a beginning, a middle, and an end. Especially important, is grabbing your reader with an entertaining opening how-to-hook. Arouse your readers' (and editor's) interest and curiosity by setting the mood of your article in a clear, descriptive style. So, remember the bulk of any entertaining writing, mood-setting or other enticement must come in the lead of the article. I have to caution you to study the prospective magazine. Some magazines or newspapers opt to pack as much hands-on information as possible between their covers. These markets prefer brief, to- the-point leads. Connection between the start, middle, and end of any article is vital to readability. We have all heard, "Tell them what you are going to tell them, tell them, then tell them what you told them." Preview your article, explain and then recap. You don't have to be an expert to write 'How to's', just enthusiastic about your subject and willing to share your experiences. These are the most popular articles you can write, editors love them, and no matter how many 'How to's' are written about the same subject, each author has a different viewpoint. I believe your viewpoint will offer a fresh look at any subject. For more information on writing 'How to' articles there are many great books on this subject or maybe Carmel will let me share more of this another time. Thanks for the read, Suzy Suzy McMinn is a former newspaper editor, copywriter, and enthusiastic interviewer with an abundance of articles in non-fiction venues. Suzy is a professional expert in the world of horses and riders. Not only does she teach horsemanship, she gets paid for writing about horses. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ ~*~ The Boast Post Don't be modest—we applaud you! Whether it's an assignment victory, a publishing accomplishment, comp, or a writing goal achieved, we'd love to hear it. Please include your full name or initials, and your city and state. Send your boast in 75 words or less to: Carmel@ebookstand.com (may be edited for length or content) Boast: An article I wrote about hiking and biking in the Sierra with kids was printed in the May/June issue of Sierra Heritage Magazine. Hurray! M.Caster, Auburn, CA Our own John Nightingale, formerly of eBookstand, was featured in the Auburn Journal (front page!) in Auburn. CA, this week for his contribution to the Last Mission documentary featured on the History Channel Monday. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Coming Soon/Around the Corner: Carmel Mooney's online Travel Writing/Comped Travel Course. Take it from the privacy of your home and have email access to your questions from the instructor. COMING SOON! Email for more information; there's no obligation. Carmel@ebookstand.com Carmel Mooney's Upcoming Writing and Publishing Classes/seminars: 6/28 Making Money the Write Way for Magazines and Newspapers, Learning Exchange, Sacramento, CA *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ It's FREE---List your inn, resort, restaurant, entertainment venue, business, or destination seeking written coverage---contact the publisher at: Carmel@ebookstand.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Money The Write Way eMagazine TO SUBSCRIBE: Send an e-mail with "subscribe" as the subject to: subscribe@ebookstand.com TO UNSUBSCRIBE: Send an e-mail with "unsubscribe" as the subject to: unsubscribe@ebookstand.com *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ Write Spirit Publishing P.O. Box 3405 Auburn, CA 95604 Contact us at: Carmel@ebookstand.com We welcome your comments/suggestions/requests/contributions Carmel L. Mooney, Publisher Victoria Beninga, Associate Editor http://www.ebookstand.com Should the links we provide not work, this may mean your E-mail program doesn't like our code. If this occurs, please go directly to our current online issue at: http://www.ebookstand.com/newsletter_archive.htm You may freely distribute this eMag to friends, discussion lists, and writing groups as long as the issue is included in it's entirety. *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~ *~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~*~