Adventures In Freelancing

Another Giveaway for Writers

marybabysteps — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 12:37:15 -0800

I have another great giveaway for you all. This time, it's a package of e-books from Carolyn Howard-Johnson. Carolyn is an award winning author who has generously donated her How To Do It Frugally series of e-books. These helpful reads include:

The Frugal Book Promoter: How To Do What Your Publisher Won't - In this book, Carolyn talks about ways to promote your book for very little money and shares reasons why you may be a better promoter of your work than any PR professional.

The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Foot Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success - This book will help you turn in fabulous, error-free copy every time. We can certainly all use a little help in this area. I know I certainly can.

The Great First Impression Book Proposal: Everything You Need to Know to Sell Your Book in 20 Minutes or Less - This one's great for those looking to impress potential editors and get the book deal. I think I better get this one if I ever decided to pursue the book route with my mom bloggers project. I've interviewed more than 20 moms about how blogging has impacted their lives, and I've heard some amazing stories. I think these stories really could be a book, but the process seems so overwhelming.

Here's a bit about Carolyn, so you know a bit about the amazing woman behind these books.

Carolyn Howard-Johnson's first novel, This Is the Place, won eight awards. Her second book, Harkening: A Collection of Stories Remembered, creative nonfiction, won three. Her chapbook of poetry Tracings, was named to the Compulsive Reader's Ten Best Reads list and was given the Military Writers' Society of America's Silver Award of Excellence. An instructor for UCLA Extension's world-renown Writers' Program, her book The Frugal Book Promoter: How to Do What Your Publisher Won't is recommended reading for her classes, and was named USA Book News' "Best Professional Book 2004." It is also an Irwin Award winner. Her second book in the How To Do It Frugally series is The Frugal Editor: Put Your Best Book Forward to Avoid Humiliation and Ensure Success is also a USA Book News award-winner as well as the winner of the Reader View's Literary Award in the publishing category. She is the recipient of both the California Legislature's Woman of the Year in Arts and Entertainment Award and the Glendale American Business Women's Association's Woman of the Year award. Her community's Character and Ethics Committee honored her for promoting tolerance with her writing. She was also named to Pasadena Weekly's list of 14 "San Gabriel Valley women who make life happen." She is a popular speaker and actor. Her website is www.HowToDoItFrugally.com.

So, do you want to know how to enter? It's easy; I want to give away as many great resources as I can here at Adventures in Freelancing. All you have to do is leave me a comment telling me which book you feel you would benefit most from and why. Don't worry, though. You'll receive all of the great books in the series if your entry is randomly chosen. Just leave your comment by Monday, November 24th by noon EST to be entered to win. Good luck!

The Next Renegade Writer

marybabysteps — Mon, 17 Nov 2008 10:13:39 -0800

The next Renegade Writer is Caroline! She is the winner of The Renegade Writer books contest. I have no doubt that Caroline will take the freelance world by storm with these fabulous tools. The Renegade Writer and The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock are excellent and comprehensive resources on how to break into or to achieve more success with freelance writing. Congrats again, Caroline - please come back and share with us what you learn and where you go with your newfound knowledge!

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Take a look at the prices for these books, used, at Amazon. Not too bad and an entirely worthwhile investment. Consider buying them for yourself. You won't regret it.

How Do I Start a Freelance Writing Career?

marybabysteps — Wed, 12 Nov 2008 08:11:12 -0800

How do I even start freelancing? That's probably the biggest question on people's minds when they think about writing for a living. Some of you may be like me, never having written for publication before. Others may have a background in journalism or publishing. The latter may have a bit of a leg up, with experience and contacts under their belts, but becoming a freelancer is something that everyone has to work at to be successful.

I'd like to share with you some resources for getting started. Of course, there are the fabulous prizes, I'm giving away in the next eight weeks here at Adventures in Freelancing. These resources are a great place to start finding information on starting your freelance career off right. Here are some other resources I've found invaluable in learning what to do and what not to do as a freelance writer. This is by no means a complete list. I'm working on a blog roll and list of resources, and my goal is to have that completed this weekend. But I'll get you started with some of my favorites.

Let's start with books. I'm getting used to reading on the computer screen, but nothing will ever replace books for me. I highly recommend:

Writer Mama by Christina Katz - This is one of the first books I read on freelancing, and I use it as a reference regularly. Christina gives so many tips for moms to squeeze writing into their busy schedules. She also discusses ways to break into print magazines, like submitting tips or pitches for shorter, front of book pieces. I consider it a must-read, even if you're not a mama! You can also visit The Writer Mama Riffs Blog.

The Renegade Writer by Diana Burrell and Linda Formichelli - Of course, I'll mention it again here, even though it is the prize for this week. I love, love, love this book! Diana and Linda tell it to you straight. Their advice on which freelancing rules to break and which to keep is just what we all need to know. They've been there, done that, and they share what they've learned in a fun to read style. Did I mention that they're just awesome ladies? Linda and Diana are my freelance gurus. Visit their blog, too!

Make a Real Living As a Freelance Writer by Jenna Glatzer - Jenna Glatzer began her freelancing career "out of necessity". Agoraphobia kept her at home, afraid to venture out into the world. So she dove into learning all about freelancing in order to make a living from the security of her home. And what a living she's made! You'll find hours worth of helpful reading at her website, Absolute Write!

The Writer's Digest Handbook of Magazine Article Writing edited by Michelle Ruberg - I love Writer's Digest magazine. You may want to check it out; they cover all genres of writing, not just non-fiction. They also have a book club, which is where I discovered most of my writing resources. The Handbook of Magazine Article Writing is an anthology of great information by many of today's most successful freelancers. This book will teach you about every aspect of getting published in magazines.

Okay, do you think that's enough to get you started? I totally recommend any of these books to get you started on the right foot as a freelancer. They're all packed with great information we need to know. I think I'll save the websites and blogs for my next post. Are there any books you'd recommend to new freelancers? Leave a comment!

Win a Prize to Jumpstart Your Writing Adventure!

marybabysteps — Mon, 10 Nov 2008 08:40:17 -0800

You've seen the fabulous prizes you can win in the upcoming weeks here at Adventures in Freelancing, right? Well, let's get this party started with the chance to win two awesome books to jumpstart your freelance career off right. The Renegade Writer and The Renegade Writer's Query Letters That Rock are two must-have books in any freelancer's reference library. The Renegade Writer was one of my first freelancing books, and it really got my motivated to work toward my dream of writing for magazines.

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The authors, Linda Formichelli and Diana Burrell, are full of knowledge about writing for both print and web publications. If you want to write for trade publications, journals, or magazines, you want to read these books. For your chance to win them, just leave a comment here telling me what you hope to learn about being a freelance writer or something you've already learned. You'll want to visit The Renegade Writer Blog for a jumpstart on learning about which rules to break when starting your freelance career. Leave your comment by noon Eastern on Monday, November 17th to be eligible to win.