I hear it a lot from writers: They’ve finally broken into the national magazines, but no matter what they pitch, the editors ask them to write it up in 250 words — or less. These writers are stuck in the FOB (Front of Book) section and are looking for ways to break into the...
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I offer to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. (By the way, if you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to lindaformichelli@gmail.com.) Have a lot of excuses — or a lot of questions? I’m offering a 10%...
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I offer to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. If you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to lindaformichelli@gmail.com. Here’s Diane’s excuse: I always feel that I’m not good enough. I don’t have an MFA, I haven’t...
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Summer is a lazy time, but if you invest in your professional development now, you’ll be all set for the fall rush — when vacations are over, the kids are back in school, and you’re ready to rack up some new magazine assignments (or maybe your first!). I find that when I invest in...
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Jennifer asks: My question has to do with an expert who I spoke to on the phone. She basically said, “Read my book and it will tell you everything you need to know.” Do you know if a magazine like “Parenting” would be okay with me using quotes from the book and citing the...
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I offer to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. (If you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to lindaformichelli@gmail.com.) Ali sent in her excuse: My excuse is that I just don’t know how to start. I’ve made...
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This is a guest post by Thursday Bram. Thanks, Thursday! For most freelance writers, there are two very simple ways to measure how productive we are: how much money we earn in a given day and how many words we write. Of course, there’s an obvious connection between the two, but I’ve found that...
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Last week I posted on Facebook that an editor at Women’s Health was interested in my query. Another writer posted a comment saying something like, “A query to the glossies, how quaint!” I laughed, but then I started thinking…are queries passé? I don’t query nearly as much as I used to. Since I’ve been...
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Last year I rented an outside office in downtown Concord, NH. I loved it, but when I cut my work week down to two days in August of 2009, I realized it wasn’t worth $300 per month to spend a mere eight days in my office every month. So I sublet the office to...
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You may remember that I offered to bust readers’ excuses for not pitching magazines — or, if they’re pitching, for approaching only low/no-pay pubs. (By the way, if you have an excuse you’d like me to bust, you can send it to lindaformichelli@gmail.com.) Here’s Heather’s excuse: I’m a stay at home mom. I have...
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