Archive for May, 2008

You ask, we answer: Should I use quotes from a press release in my pitch?

May 30, 2008
By Diana Burrell

Denise asks, “I’m starting to comb press releases from my local university to find story ideas.  Is it ok to use the quotes from the release in your query to magazine editors?  Isn’t that why the PR guys are sending out this information?  I would of course do my own interview after landing an...
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Posted in Advice, Public relations, Reporting, You Ask, We Answer | 3 Comments »

Don’t believe the hype? Jump in anyway.

May 29, 2008
By Diana Burrell

Career columnist Penelope Trunk wrote an interesting blog post last month about Twitter — specifically about why it’s good to jump into stuff like Twittering and blogging when you have no idea what you’re doing — or even if you don’t “get” it. On a grander scale, I believe in this advice, too. Writing...
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Posted in Advice, Ass, Blogging, Cool tools, Personal yammerings | 14 Comments »

How to slog your way through a boring assignment

May 28, 2008
By Diana Burrell
How to slog your way through a boring assignment

Back when I started freelancing in the mid ’90s, I was lucky to get an ongoing gig with a tech magazine that paid me over $1 a word. I didn’t even have to pitch. My editor would call, give me the topic, suggest a couple sources, and I was off. Dream job, eh? Well...
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Posted in Advice, Writing | 20 Comments »

Let’s kill the kill fee

May 27, 2008
By Diana Burrell
Let’s kill the kill fee

Let’s talk about kill fees, those profit-sucking vampires that deserve a good stake through their hearts. For those not in the know, a kill fee is the money you get when a magazine decides not to accept a contracted article for reasons ranging from poor quality of the finished piece (fair enough) to the...
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Posted in Advice, Editors, Rants | 3 Comments »

Wanna build blog traffic? Write resource posts.

May 23, 2008
By Diana Burrell

For all you blog writers out there, Dustin, who blogs over at the Writer’s Technology Companion, wrote a terrific post today about how to build your blog’s traffic by writing resource posts. He writes, “Also called ‘flagship posts’ and ‘pillar posts,’ resource posts are entries in your blog that act as resources for your...
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Posted in Blogging, Writing | 3 Comments »

You ask, we answer: How do you focus on articles when you prefer writing books?

May 22, 2008
By Diana Burrell

K asks, “Not sure how to post this as a separate question for you that I’ve not seen addressed elsewhere. Since you’ve written books and magazines, I’m hoping you can help me. I’m in the middle of writing Book 2 of a 3-book series on assignment by a children’s book publisher. I’ve published 1500...
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Posted in Book authoring, Writing, You Ask, We Answer | No Comments »

You ask, we answer: Is this a book?

May 21, 2008
By Diana Burrell

Kayleen writes, “A couple of years ago in doing research for an article I ran across several photograph albums full of pics taken during the 1930s of an around-the-world trip that two very famous American composers took together. They were working on a musical during the trip. The photos were taken by a professional...
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Posted in Book authoring, Publishers, You Ask, We Answer | No Comments »

Are you a phone-phobic freelancer?

May 20, 2008
By Diana Burrell
Are you a phone-phobic freelancer?

“I dread days where I have interviews scheduled.” “I’d rather give myself a root canal than call an editor.” “I’m so much better on paper than I am on the phone.” I’ve heard this, and variations thereof, from dozens of freelancers, many of whom are extremely successful professionals with hundreds of clips to their...
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Posted in Advice, Interviewing, Reporting, Sources | 21 Comments »

The Renegade Writer Interview: Chris Knopf

May 19, 2008
By Diana Burrell
The Renegade Writer Interview: Chris Knopf

If you’ve read The Renegade Writer (you have, haven’t you?), you might remember me reminiscing about my ten years of toil in product marketing and advertising, where I reported to various stupid and crazy bosses. That guy over on the left? He was one of my bosses … one of the few who was...
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Posted in Writing | 3 Comments »

Reminder: Travel Writing Workshop Starts Monday!

May 17, 2008
By AlisonSteinWellner

Just a reminder that there’s still time to sign up for my travel writing workshop! If you’re interested in figuring out how to turn your wanderlust into publishable words, roll your sleeves up and join us as we discuss everything from designing your itinerary to effective querying strategies. –
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Posted in Classes | No Comments »