I recently downloaded the free e-book The Zero-Hour Workweek by Jonathan Mead of Illuminated Mind. The title is a play off of The 4-Hour Workweek, the popular book by Tim Ferriss. The e-book is pretty inspiring, but when you get right down to it it’s a guide on how to start a blog on...
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Tags: e-courses for writers, writing e-courses, writing scams
Posted in Hooks & Crooks, Observations, Personal yammerings, Rants, Self improvement, Writers, productivity | 15 Comments »
I thought this post from 2006 was worth another look. Enjoy! A couple of things happened today that inspired this post. First, someone posted on a forum for professional writers asking for tips on how to get started as a freelancer. This, of course, caused many pro writers to become PO’d. (Why expect professionals...
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Posted in Advice, Rants, Rules, Writers | 10 Comments »
I have thousands of bylines that attest to the fact that I make my living as a writer. But it's my keyboard that tells the story of the tens of thousands of hours I've spent at this desk working at my craft.
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Tags: computer keyboards, writer's life
Posted in Observations, Personal yammerings, Writers | 7 Comments »
This is a guest post by Pat Curry, who teaches our e-course on writing for trade magazines. Next session starts January 11! I took my daughter’s car in today to Jiffy Lube to get the oil changed, largely because we had a $3 coupon. It was a $32.99 service. I walked out having paid...
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Tags: client best practices
Posted in Advice, Editors, Observations, Writers | 5 Comments »
J. Robert Lennon spills writers’ dirty little secret in the L.A. Times: The fact that we really don’t work all that much.
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Posted in Observations, Writers, productivity | 3 Comments »
I’m reading Outliers: The Story of Success by Malcolm Gladwell. According to the copy on the jacket flap, “There is a story that is usually told about extremely successful people, a story that focuses on intelligence and ambition. In Outliers Malcolm Gladwell argues that the true story of success is very different, and that...
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Posted in Observations, Writers, Writing | 10 Comments »
We have great news from one of our Renegade Writer course instructors, Monica Bhide, who teaches our Introduction to Food Writing course. Last week she got the cover art for her upcoming food memoir, Modern Spice: Inspired Indian Flavors for the Contemporary Kitchen, and boy, it’s a beaut. Seriously, when Monica sent me this...
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Posted in Book news, Classes, News, News you can use, Writers, Writing | 3 Comments »
Brazen Careerist Penelope Trunk took aim at The 4-Hour Workweek darling Tim Ferriss last week on her blog with a post called “5 Time Management Tricks I Learned From Years of Hating Tim Ferriss.” And she’s not coy in her post. She came into the ring throwing punches and didn’t stop for 700 (or...
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Tags: Penelope Trunk, Penelope Trunk hates Tim Ferriss, Penelope Trunk Time Ferriss controversy, Tim Ferriss, Tim Ferriss controversy
Posted in Blogging, Personal yammerings, Rants, Writers, Writing | 16 Comments »
I was enjoying my morning cup of java when my eye caught a headline on CNN.com: “Adult films doing well in bad economy.” It was funny because a few weeks ago I was having a conversation with a fellow writer about subject areas where a freelancer could do well in a flaccid economy, and...
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Tags: Blogging, Classes, Opportunities, Writers, Writing
Posted in Blogging, Classes, Opportunities, Writers, Writing | 10 Comments »
Many of you are probably too young to remember the bestselling book, How to Make Love to a Man. When I was in high school, a friend and I pooled our money to buy a copy. My mother discovered the book tucked between my mattress and box spring and promptly tossed the book out,...
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Tags: Blogging, Money, Writers
Posted in Blogging, Money, Writers | 17 Comments »