Adventures In Freelancing

I just learned this trick for using Google to find writing markets from fellow writer, Linda Hutchison, and I can't believe I never thought to do this before. Sure, I've Googled "women's websites" or "college magazines" when looking for publications in my areas of interest, but this method is rather ineffective. Instead, try Linda's way.

Go to Google. Put your topic in quotation marks. Type the words "submissions" or "writers guidelines" in quotes. Then put the word "and" between them. You'll get a list of links to writers guidelines you can explore for paying markets. For example, if you type "women" and "writers guidelines" into Google, or your search engine of choice, you'll find links to lots of online and print publications for women. Probably a bunch you've never heard of before.

The thing to do now is o go through the list and read the guidelines to determine if it's a paying market and if it looks like one that would interest you. You may need to try several versions of your search. I've searched on both "adult students" and "non-traditional students", looking for markets that cater to adults going back to school. You can also substitute "subission guidelines" or "submissions" for "writers guidelines", though I had better luck with the latter.

Take some time to play around with this method and see what you find. I found a number of new markets I'd like t check into further, ones that seem to be a good fit for my writing and experience. Let me know what you learn from your search. You may want to set a goal of querying one or two of the markets you find within the next week. That's what I'm doing. Good luck!

I feel like such a suck-up, but I can't help it. I absolutely love Linda and Diana of The Renegade Writer. I know I've talked about them many times before on this blog. I know. I know. But I just have to share this exciting news.

Linda Formichelli is offering her freelance advice and experience for free. Yes, FREE! She'll be giving free teleclasses on topics like writing killer queries and being more productive. And did I mention she's offering her advice for free? Check it out for yourself over at The Renegade Writer Blog and be sure to sign up to receive emails about her future teleclasses so you won't miss a thing.

Are there any learning opportunities for freelancers you know of that are free or low-cost? Share them in the comments.

Today's amazing giveaway is sponsored by UPrinting.UPrinting offers a variety of printing services, but one of their most popular products is definitely their business cards. As freelancers, we're constantly handing out our cards. I just attended a social media panel in my town and gave my business cards to lots of folks, hoping to make connections with local businesses looking for help with their online outreach. So I'm sure you could use 500 FREE business cards, right?

Well, UPrinting has offered to give two Adventures in Freelancing readers 500 shiny, new business cards of their choice. The lucky winners will be able to choose from three different business card sizes. Die cut business cards are also available, along with a choice of color combinations. Winners will be able to customize their business cards to suit their needs.

So, you want to win, right? Okay. All you have to do is leave a comment telling me how you would use your business cards if you were to win. Easy as that. All entries must be received by Thursday, September 10th at noon EST. Want a chance for some extra entries? I thought so.

For extra chances to win:

1.  Subscribe to this blog either by RSS or e-mail. You'll find the links in the upper right hand column.

2.  Follow this blog by adding yourself to the followers in the right column.

3. Tweet about this contest. Be sure to add @marybabysteps to your tweet, so I'll be sure to know you tweeted it.

Please leave a separate comment for each method of entry. You must enter by telling me how you'd use your cards. Other methods are optional. Good luck!

* Contest available to U.S. residents only. Shipping must be paid by winner.