Archive for June, 2008

Beating summer ennui

June 25, 2008
By Diana Burrell

This June has been a struggle for me. I’m reminded of my school days, where I’d sit in math class, gazing out at the trees and blue sky outside the window, lost in my thoughts — thoughts that had nothing to do with the Pythagorean theorem up on the blackboard. This week I’ve been...
Read more »

Posted in Help us! | 8 Comments »

Travel Writing Workshop starting July 14

June 25, 2008
By Diana Burrell

We hadn’t planned on running our Renegade Writer e-courses during these long, hot, hazy days of summer, but due to popular demand, Alison Stein Wellner is running her 6-week travel writing workshop starting Monday, July 14, 2008 — great for those of you who want to make a profit off your summer travel. Sign...
Read more »

Posted in Classes | No Comments »

Why you should always go for the gold

June 23, 2008
By Diana Burrell

Last week Linda and I conducted a telephone mentoring session with the writer who’d won the drawing for the free half-hour of mentoring for signing up for our Renegade Writer e-courses. Both of us were impressed with this part-time writer’s magazine credits. We’re talking top-of-the-heap consumer publications that have a certain cachet. One thing...
Read more »

Posted in Advice, Editors, Marketing, Personal yammerings, Self improvement, Writing | 9 Comments »

So you think you want to be a travel writer?

June 18, 2008
By Diana Burrell

I’m not a travel writer by any stretch of the imagination, although I have written travel articles. However, I do regularly fantasize about all-expenses-paid trips to places like Dubai and Estonia … hey, I’m just not a Paris kind of girl. This post by travel writer Lara Dunston screwed my head on straight. No...
Read more »

Posted in Observations, Writers | 5 Comments »

Chicken Soup Publisher Looking for Essays

June 14, 2008
By Linda Formichelli

Here’s a note from HCI, publishers of the Chicken Soup series and the Ultimate series: ***** This is just a quick reminder of deadlines coming up for submissions from writers and photographers for the Ultimate series from HCI Books. We’re looking for “slice-of-life” stories and photos that are inspirational, motivational, humorous or thought-provoking. Here’s...
Read more »

Posted in News you can use, Opportunities | 5 Comments »

Breaking up (with your editor) is hard to do

June 11, 2008
By Diana Burrell

This morning I was talking to a writer friend about one of my editors. I guess I should say former editor. This was a guy who responded to every one of my pitches quickly, often in minutes. He was complimentary of my work. He even, if I may brag for a second, told me...
Read more »

Posted in Editors | 7 Comments »

Staying up in a down economy

June 9, 2008
By Diana Burrell
Staying up in a down economy

Tonight I got an e-mail from a self-help guru announcing that for the low price of $597 (which I could pay in three installments), I could learn the secrets of staying up in a down economy — and get some free CDs as well. Smarm factor aside, something in the sales pitch got my...
Read more »

Posted in Advice, Marketing, Personal yammerings | 11 Comments »

The Future of Nonfiction Writers

June 4, 2008
By AlisonSteinWellner

I’m sure a lot of you have seen or heard about a new trend in magazines, asking readers, i.e. nonprofessional writers, to provide all the stories in an issue. I think we’d better get used to this, since my prediction is this isn’t just going to be a one-off experiment. People are really becoming...
Read more »

Posted in Blogging, Observations, Personal yammerings | 6 Comments »